Random Post Holiday Thoughts

- Odd sight this morning: A nice bus pulled off to the side on 287 outside of Decatur with about 20 teenagers hanging out under a railroad bridge.
-A site that has recorded what every website has looked like over the last 10 years or so.
- Ralph Hardy's father was said to be a lawyer. Ralph Sr.?
- Four new names were placed on the Vietnam War Memorial yesterday (per ABC World News Tonight.) Not exactly sure how that works.
- Palo Pinto deputy shot and killed a man over the weekend. Taser probably would have been a better idea. Three gunshots may not have been necessary.
- I've never been to Black Creek Lake in Wise County but was surprised to learn there are no paved roads leading to it.
- I've begun using my debit card for convenience store purchases.
- Could it have been any more humid yesterday? And an emailer sent me a pic of this "panting" baby bird.
- I might have been a little hard on Colonial. Didn't realize 5 of the top 10 players were in the tournament. But, despite an amazing finish, seeing that guy jump in the water on 18 might have been the best part, but the broadcast didn't even acknowledge it.
- Ted Kennedy needs to take it easy. He was out on his boat again over the weekend.
- The "new" tradition of pausing for one minute at 3:00 p.m. on Memorial Day to remember the dead is a great idea which has been slow to catch on.
- I saw a blurb about it on some local news channel but nothing since: Over the weekend a guy landed a small plane on I-35 near the speedway. He was having health issues and took the plane down - safely.
- Horrible story over the weekend: The 9 year old that was dragged (for over a mile and a half) to her death by a horse in Benbrook. But it was strange to learn she had stopped at a convenience store before the incident to get a coke. But what adorable eyes she had.
- The very odd and dark postsecret.com had a "speedo man" posting this week. (Thanks emailer.)
- Being a boat owner for 10 years, I can say this about days like yesterday: A holiday coupled with high winds is a beating.
- When did the Tampa Bay Devil Rays become the Tampa Bay Rays?
- Finished watching The Fountainhead. Silliest. Movie. Ever. Next in my Netflix stack is There Will Be Blood and The Savages.
- No one really gets excited about the Texas Lottery anymore.
- The Texas/OU football game has been moved up to 11:00 a.m. I like that. I've only been to the game twice. One was a Texas blowout but the other was the OU victory when Roy Williams caused a Chris Simms interception at the goal line. That was a scene. Edit: And I just learned that OU will play in the Cotton Bowl Classic on January 2nd. Wait. Really?
- Google doesn't trick up its logo for Memorial Day but others have suggestions.

Saw At A Fort Worth Sonic Today

I'm supposed to donate in order for them to learn about the "culture"? That's kind of like asking me to fund a vacation.

I tipped a buck. But I always tip a buck.

Dallas Woman

Trust me, there's a sentence at the bottom of this Channel 8 story that will drive you nuts.

(Thanks emailer.)

Mickelson Wins Colonial On Final Hole. Fan Has Too Much Beer.

Not That I Would But . . .

an emailer writes:

You do NOT want to go to Wise County Park this weekend. We came in from fishing at 2am this morning and there were 5 Sheriff's cars and the "Mobile Command Post" all set up. I was told last weekend one of the Constables wrote over 200 tickets for glass containers out there (unconfirmed).

Holy Cow!!! (Kinda)

If you've been around these parts for a few years, you will remember the Collin County case where Michael Blair was convicted in 1994 for the death of little Ashley Estelle and given the death penalty. (I remember being in DFW Airport when the verdict came down.)

This afternoon, the DA for Collin County issued a statement that he can no longer assert in good faith that Blair had anything to do with the girl's death and will seek to overturn the conviction. (Nice timing since the Rule of Thumb to avoid bad publicity is to release the bad information on Friday afternoon.)

The "kinda" above is simply because Blair has apparently been convicted of other crimes and isn't going anywhere. Still, for a jury to convict a man and sentence him to death on evidence that was as good as a warm bucket of spit is amazing.

Hey, the next time you're on a jury and the judge tells you to find a defendant not guilty if you have a reasonable doubt about his guilt, listen!

Possible Captions

(1) "You're my boy, Blue!!" (2) "Speedo Man tries to fly." (3) "Secret video of Decatur Chamber Of Commerce 2007 annual auction party." (4). "Andrew Rottner* Goes Crazy in 2020." Have at it, boys. Or add your own. _____________ * Did you know that if you Google "Andrew Rotner" it comes back with "Did you mean Andrew Rottner?"

Only One Thought While Reading The Morning News At Lunch

I don't know how we survive in America. It's tough. In fact, sometimes we have to go without guacamole.

And if Jesus had ever talked about bad service, I'd of quoted him for all of us to ponder. But I'm pretty sure it wasn't high on His priority list.

(Rest of review, if you care, here.)

Friday Morning Pick Me Up From The Dallas Morning News

Greatest headline ever? Yes. I think so. And the only thing that makes it better is the age of the Fort Worth mom. Stuff like that happened all the time when I was a kid in Bridgeport.

(Thanks emailer Mike.)

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

- That TMZ show on Channel 4 after the news is CHEE--ZEE.
- It was 80 degrees at DFW Airport at 6 o'clock this morning.
- At the Driver's License hearing yesterday in Fort Worth, I rode up in the elevator with a girl who was very nervous. Not because of me (maybe), but because she had been arrested for DWI and (very oddly) her lawyer wanted her to be at the hearing. Trust me, that's a sure fire sign that the lawyer doesn't know what he's doing. But, wait, there's more . . .
- She starts telling me that "I can't believe this! I never go out!" and "I never drink!" and, also oddly, "I'm a single mom!" (I'd rate her as a 6 on my scientific "Hey, Now" scale). And . . .
- Her lawyer was late in arriving and, after a while, she asked me how long her DL suspension could be (another sure sign that the lawyer didn't know what he was doing if he hadn't discussed that with her yet.) Anyway, I tried to help out and asked, "This is your first DWI, right?" Answer: "Uh, no." Ok, maybe she does drink a little bit.
- Saw this story on Fox 4 News: Judge Brent Keis out of Fort Worth has been ordered to take racial sensitivity training for saying this last year: "Blacks are better athletes because their ancestors survived the slave trade." I had a Jimmy "The Greek" Flashback.
- Also on Fox 4: The most popular male baby name in Texas last year was "Jose."
- Keeping one's "head on a swivel" may be the most important thing. Ever.
- Very obscure childhood memory: I learned a ton from Phineas J. Whoopee and his Three Dimensional Blackboard. (That's a Tennessee Tuxedo And His Tales reference.)
- On traffic stop videos I constantly review, I've noticed one local trooper always angrily says, "Why are you ruining your life??!!" when he finds a single joint of marijuana.
- The Ticket was railing on the new Indiana Jones movie yesterday.
- Is there anything more frustrating than the Star Telegram web site?
- I find Julliett Lewis strangely attractive.
- My guilty pleasure podcast: The Dawn and Drew Show.
- I've started reading The Great Gatsby. Never saw the movie. Never read the book. I'll be dang if "Gatsby" isn't a person.
- Shania Twain has filed for divorce (to lazy to link to) because, she alleges, her husband got horizontal with some lady named Marie-Anne Thiébaud. Here she is. Oh, my.
- WBAP played a Foster Brooks boating safety bit this morning. Foster Brooks!!!! How old are those people over there? 90?
- Trivia I learned at the courthouse: Jennifer Aniston is the daughter of that guy that played Victor Kiriakis on NBC's "Days of Our Lives" (a show I watched religiously in the summer while in high school - and I saw it about a month ago and I'm not sure I've missed much.)
- I've rented the movie The Fountainhead after wasting 30 hours of my life on the book. I'm going to make sure there wasn't something I'm missed before I go off on what may be the most simplistic. unrealistic work ever to be hailed as some great literary masterpiece. Edit: Thanks for the link in the comments.

Ralph Hardy - The Man Behind The Man

I missed that the story appeared on Fox News, but today the D Magazine Blog points out that it has been learned that the whole thing was more than just fake: it was a marketing ploy. And I learned a new phrase: "Link Bait." Thought you could get 2 to 20 for that.

I Present To You: Decatur Speedo Man

Thanks emailer. 100% Gold.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

- American Airlines charging $15 for the first bag and $25 for the second makes me think they are in trouble. Big trouble. I'm not sure we won't see, gasp, the federal government transform air travel into public transportation in the next 50 years.
- I actually bought a whopping 100 shares of American Airlines stock at $2 a share right after 9/11. Yep, a whole $200! It went up into the $30s and now is back around $6. I never know when to sell.
- Don't care about American Idol. Don't care about American Idol. Don't care about American Idol.
- I had the experience of doing a smell test on my milk this morning only to find it had suddenly gone sour. I hate that moment.
- Steve Curtis Chapman tragedy.
- New York Jets cheerleader tryout page made me disable my pop-up blocker. (And some jokes just write themselves.)
- Watched The Thin Blue Line documentary last night - the story of Randall Dale Adams. I thought it would be great in light of the recent exonerations out of the Dallas DA's office, and I was not disappointed - it was fantastic. But there's been a heck of a lot happen in the case since the film was completed. Edit: Page from Dallas Times Herald about 10 years after conviction.
- Three TCU athletes had their lives ruined last year when they were arrested for Aggravated Sexual Assault. Yesterday, the final case was dismissed. Arrests are thrown around like candy.
- Saw, in the back window of a pickup this morning, the words "Git Ur Dun" that had been placed there with the use of individual letters and a great deal of care. My head almost exploded.
- The biblical story of The Rich Man posted yesterday has fascinated me for years. I asked my pastor hard questions about it 29 years ago. Didn't really like the answers back then either.
- When I was kid, everyone in my neighborhood let their dog run lose. No chains. No fenced back yard. Just let 'em run wild. And they never ran off and never really caused a problem.
- Yeah, we're probably getting ripped off by Big Oil but having Congress drag the oil company execs in for hearing of sound bites is silly and a waste of time.
- Glanced at our district court stats yesterday: It looks like one out of every three cases is drug related.
- The Decatur baseball team has a game in Abilene of Friday night and the on Saturday afternoon. I presume they are spending the night.
- Those Tommy Lee Jones ad for "Friends of the Barnett Shale" (or something like that) is weird.
- Odd note: "The San Antonio Spurs spent Monday night aboard their chartered 727 at the airport in New Orleans after winning a semifinal game over the New Orleans Hornets, according to ESPN.com. The plane was grounded by mechanical difficulties, there were no hotel rooms available in the city and the team had to wait for a replacement plane to arrive."
- Edit: I called a prosecutor an "idiot" a couple of days when he/she mad a post on her blog lumping "Nigerian Prosecutors" into one negative lot. Surprise. Surprise. It's now gone.

Sad Update

Full story.

From a mass email today:

They took Treyton [the 2 year old] off life support last night Please pray for his family. A poor innocent 2 year old boy . . . is now at home with God. Please PRAY for his family.

I got this update a few minutes ago. Please pray that God heals this family and properly handles the mother who had narcotics on her when she hit the truck and ultimately resulted in her baby's death. We know God is in control!

Actually, it was drug paraphernalia.

How One Thought Led To Another After Reading The Dallas Morning News At Lunch

(1) T. Boone Pickens had a birthday party last night at the Dallas Country Club. Comedian Dennis Miller was brought in to perform (who quipped "This place makes Caligula look like a minimalist") as well as Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman (their fine work here). Some billionares whose names I didn't recognize attended along with Jerry Jones, Tom Hicks, and Gov. Rick Perry.

(2) Mark 10: "17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments [he then lists most of them].20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. " (Emphasis added.)

Fatality

If a commenter is correct on another post, we have a fatality at 2123 and 114 in Bridgeport. Unconfirmed. Nothing in Update . . . yet.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

- Saw on the news this morning of a mom running over her two year old in the driveway. I cringe about those stories more than any others.
- In every state which is historically redneck, (West Virginia, Kentucky, Texas, etc.), Hillary just kills Obama.
- Saw Sen. Robert Byrd on the Senate floor yesterday lamenting the condition of Sen. Kennedy. Byrd looks to be in worse condition that Kennedy.
- Sean Hannity telling every caller "You're a great American" - when he has no idea who that person is - drives me insane. And I bet he cashes his check laughing about how he just panders to the masses and tells them what they want to hear.
- Dallas County will do forced/search warrant blood draws on DWI arrestees over the Memorial Day Weekend. Every goes nuts over this, but it's been an viable option for as long as I can remember - it was just never utilized.
- But the blood draw does have this backfire effect: In 99% of the breath test refusal cases, there is never a blood draw via a search warrant. In the past, the prosecutor could argue to the jury: "He refused to give you a critical piece of evidence!" Now the defense can argue, "The police failed to get a search warrant for his blood when they've done it hundreds of times in the past."
- I remember when the Colonial Golf Tournament was one of the greatest events of the year.
- Former KVIL DJ Ron Chapman has been filling in for Paul Harvey for weeks. And although Harvey's radio broadcast is basically nothing more than rehash of news we've already heard, I bet Chapman gets that gig permanently.
- Yesterday the Dallas Morning News released the post-arrest affidavit in the Prestonwood Baptist Church "I'm Gonna Drive A Krillion Miles To Have Sex With A 13 Year Old" Pastor Case.
- And speaking of that guy, did "To Catch A Predator" never cross his mind?
- And speaking of the Morning News, says here the daily copy will jump to 75 cents next week with the Sunday edition going to $2.
- Question that came up yesterday in the courthouse: I wonder who holds the record for the most marriages by a Texan?
- Second question that came up: Is the proposed Brookshire's in Bridgeport more like Albertson's or more like IGA?

Bridgeport Company Not Doing-A-Good

Story.

And an emailer, who sent in the link, says, "Unless I'm mistaken this is the second time that outfit has done this. The first time they were doing pre-paid telephones."