Random Olympic Moment

It's just wrong to post pics of the beach volleyball players solely for the purpose of gratuitous gawking.* I'm better than that. I'm a track and field man. __________________ *Would make a good name for a band

Calling All Math Majors

Someone calculate for me what the tax savings will be on a $150,000 house. I'm not too good at ciphering.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• The 100 hurdles with Lolo Jones hitting hurdle #9 was compelling stuff last night. (Good story and photo here if you don't know what I'm talking about.)
• I'm still wondering what has happened to the Fox 4 traffic helicopter? Chip Waggonner has been in studio for about three weeks now. He looks depressed.
• Government waste is one of the few things that drives me nuts.
• You don't see much of the great Christian Aguilera since she had her baby. That makes me very angry at that baby.
• I had self-checkout chaos yesterday at the grocery store when I tried to buy tomatoes. Since there wasn't a bar code, I had to weigh them. Then, for some reason, it asked for "quantity". I pressed "4" since I had four tomatoes. (Made sense to me.) Then $16.87 showed up as the purchase price with the command of "please bag item." That was enough for me to ask for help.
• I listen to NPR's "This American Life" podcast from time to time. Sometimes it's great. Sometimes it's awful.
• It looked like a thunderstorm camped out over Alvord last night.
• I had known, but forgotten, that Houston has no zoning laws.
• The video that was going through all the tubes of the Internets yesterday.
• Paid $3.39 for gas this morning. That's still too high.
• I had a tag on one of my dress shirts that I got from the cleaners yesterday that simply read "torn". That is not a good tag.
• That Jamacian sprinter Usain Bolt is a freak. And I had never heard of him before this week.
• Silence of the Lambs was on HBO last night. Man, that thing is great no matter how many times I've seen it. (And I remember seeing it for the first time in a theater by Hulen Mall.)
• Eight days until Baylor v. Wake Forest. I can't believe it.
• If you start smiling when you hear the phrase, "Boom goes the dynamite" then you'll be interested in who just got a job in Waco.
• Christina Applegate told Good Morning America that she had a double mastectomy to combat her breast cancer. No jokes about that. Hope she lives until she's old and gray. I'll always be in love with Kelly Bundy.
• Note to commenters: I don't think scatological humor is funny.
• When I was in high school, I visited my brother in college one time for a few days. Since I had some time to kill, I went to the Baylor library and discovered they had archives of newspapers on microfiche. I spent hours looking up old stuff by threading that film on a machine as big as a desk. That seems like the Stone Age now. And I recall I didn't have to show an ID - I just walked in and started rummaging around.
• Cubs fan catches baseball in his beer cup and still drinks it. You kind of want to see that, don't ya?
• I like a shot of orange juice within two minutes of waking up. After that, I don't really care for it.
• I was able to run my normal outside jogging route yesterday with no problem. A few days ago I had had to stop due to the heat but part of me thought, "What if I can't do this anymore?" Fear now conquered.
• Edit: McCain's new radio ad. Mighty big talk from the party that spends money like a drunken sailor.
• Edit: An emailer sends along a link for the latest political cartoon from JibJab.

She Took A Pic Of A Bus Of A Girl Who Kissed A Girl And She Liked It

A faithful reader just took a phone pic (uh, a tiny phone pic) of this tour bus rolling through Decatur. "It's Katy Perry's tour bus," I was told. But I didn't know who that was. Then I was informed that she's the singer who belts out "I Kissed A Girl." That, I know. But we've got some confusion brewing. Even though sweet Katy is to be performing at Six Flags on August 30th, she's supposed to be singing in Maryland tonight. So it may be that Katy Perry's stuff just came through Decatur. But that's good enough for me.

German Invasion

So I'm walking up to the courthouse when I come across this little number on Main Street. That's right, "Main Street" as in "Main Street in the Good Ol' U S Of A" where we like our pickup trucks, Allsups' burritos and overweight women showing their midriffs. This is not the place you expect to see some fancy Mercedes - much less a red Mercedes - much less a red Mercedes convertible. Obviously, our immigration policy isn't working in this county because we have a foreigner amongst us. I'll keep my eye on it. In the meantime, I'm raising the Big Money Intruder Alert Level to orange. And I'm getting the Sheriff on the horn. Developing . . .

I Did A Double Take

Thought the man had a halter top on for a second.

I Don't Think That's First Baptist

Hey, I got no problem with people worshiping in any way they see fit. Who am I to judge? You want to handle snakes? No problems. Guitars and drums? Get after it. Poisoned Kool Aid? Only on special occasions. But this video does give rise to an objection that I just have to voice: Bad dancing. That kid in the blue jeans has watched on too many Charlie Brown cartoons. And what's up with that chick in the blue dress giving the older guy the what-for there at the end?

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• That little Chinese gymnast that keeps winning does, in fact, look about 10 years old. But they try to trick her up with make-up to make her look older. Doesn't work. But it's kind of funny that you can cheat in a sport by bringing in someone too young.
• And the Americans kind of came off as whiners last night in the women's gymnastics. But that was one crazy tie-breaking system.
• How in the world have we gotten to the point of both presidential candidates are sucking up to Rick Warren with his questionable "Purpose Driven Life" philosophy? And Nightline called him possibly the "next Billy Graham" last night.
• I almost went to the store to buy sandwich stuff last night but decided it was too much of a beating.
• I've noticed that KLIF begins every day at around 6:00 with the replaying of news accounts of 9/11 followed by the National Anthem. Seems to be pandering to the "I'm a better American than you are" crowd.
• I drive by a house on my street that has a motion detector light that is activated simply by driving by it.
• Who is that Wendy Williams and why does she have a talk show?
• The stretch of road where 114 and 287 merge in Rhome has more potholes than . . . well, it's a lot of potholes.
• Lots of controversy over the guy in Frisco who is being threatened with a fine because, according to the Homeowners Association rules, he can't park a pickup in his driveway. Yeah, it's silly but you knew the rules before you bought the house.
• Getting odder: The guy that allegedly killed the clerk and dumped her body in Sunset is under investigation for burning down a house in Bowie which killed two people
• Getting creepier: I've learned that I prosecuted that guy in the 1990s in Wise County and sent him to prison (but I have no memory of the case whatsoever.)
• The Rangers have lost 10 of 12. Ian Kinsler may be out for the season with a "sports hernia".
• I think I suffer from "lawyer butt" sometimes.
• I cannot tell you the number of times I've ordered a Chicken Salad at the Whataburger drive through in Decatur only to get a Chicken Sandwich
• An off duty Fort Worth police officer was arrested over the weekend. Her book in photo has a "I'm so screwed" look about it.
• I wear older shoes on rainy days.
• That crazy "Funny Games" movie I've been watching just got a little nuttier. I'm pretty sure the film spent an entire 20 minutes last night showing the victims untying themselves without a word being spoken (but with NASCAR being played on the TV in the background.)
• Barring a last minute settlement, I should be in a DWI trial today. Might do some updating on that silly Twitter thing.

These Times They Are A Changing

Throughout most of the 1980s and 1990s, if the State asked for the death penalty in Tarrant County, the jury would hand it to them on a silver platter. No more. Case in point: Three guys were allegedly involved in the shooting a clerk. One struck a deal for life in prison if he would testify that one of the other three was the shooter. That trial was this week. Verdict: Guilty. Punishment: In less than an hour, the jury rejected the death penalty and sentenced the man to life in prison (their only other option.) You wouldn't have seen that 15 years ago. And the other man who didn't plea? He was found "not guilty" of capital murder a couple of months ago. That's almost unheard of. (I'm looking for a link to back this up. If I'm wrong, I've officially lost my mind. Edit: Yep, I got it right. )

Rain

Took this pic out the back door of our office a second ago. Probably doesn't do the amount of rain justice but then I decided I'd give Mr. Pinkerton (our neighbor) a shout out for his landscaping.

Sad

Saw this story on the news last night about this family from near Houston dying in a private plane crash in Colorado. With all the discussion of race lately, I'll admit that Ie wondered if my heart strings would have been pulled had they "looked" different. Regardless, that's a horrible story. How many times are we reminded how fragile life is?

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• A little close to home: A body was found in Sunset over the weekend. Turned out to be a store clerk from the tiny little town of Scotland, Texas, and the arrested suspect is from Bowie.
• Everyone tells me that Montague county (that's where Sunset is located) has a reputation for being extremely racist. (But talking of race gives me Tired Head after the last few posts.)
• That may have been the most pleasant August day on Saturday (weather wise) that I've ever experienced.
• From Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News: "College football is a strange game. It hands out the finest pastries for free, then charges for the crumbs. Witness the season openers for Texas and OU.The Longhorns will host Florida Atlantic on Aug. 30, while the Sooners will host Chattanooga . . . For only $29.95 a pop, you can watch a game the networks deemed unworthy [to show on TV for free.]"
• Hey, now.
• In the Olympics, why are all the country's names that appear on the jerseys written in English (even the countries that don't speak English)?
• I ate at Rockfish in that Southlake Town Center this weekend. It's really good but be warned of the limited seating area. (I'm not sure how they can sell enough food to pay what has to be a very expensive rental fee.)
• I like looking at all the high tone folks walking around shopping in Southlake. But I did see one guy with tennis shoes, short, a belt, and suspenders. I'm pretty sure he was from out of town.
• The pecuniary value of a gold medal is $89
• I ate German food in Muenster this weekend. I'm pretty sure it wasn't fat free. And did you know that red cabbage doesn't look like cabbage at all?
• I paid $3.45 for gas this morning. But I had the huge Beat Down of having one of those "super flow malfunctioning pumps." You know the kind - it shoves gas in the tank so fast that it keeps backing up and shutting down the automatic flow.
• My office's cleaning lady is always here on Monday mornings while I write this stuff. The sound of a vacuum cleaner this early in the morning is not-a-good.
• I'm interested in Jeremy Wariner in the 400 meters. Former Baylor guy. Former gold medal winner. He ran in the prelims last night and won, but I didn't see it despite the fact that the Morning News said he would run at 8:00 p.m. (he didn't).
• I'm watching Funny Games (a movie) and I have no idea when or why I put it in my Netflix queue. ("Anna (Naomi Watts) and George (Tim Roth) are enjoying a vacation with their son when a pair of sadistic young men, Paul (Michael Pitt) and Peter (Brady Corbet), breaks into their cabin and holds the family hostage.") So far it's pretty weird and pretty good.
• Yeah, it's early, but the Cowboys may be reading too much about how great they are.
• I actually played a very small role as a prosecutor in Tarrant County case that eventually led to a high profile wrongful conviction case. The Star Telegram has the story here. (Although I sat at the counsel table, I played a minuscule role at the trial and I'm not "the prosecutor" referred to in the story. And, to further distance myself, I didn't know anything about the "tattoo note" since I didn't take part in that witness interview.) But, man, it bugs me to have even been associated with such a thing.
• This will only make sense if you were watching women's gymnastics at the Olympics at 9:02 last night. Germany's Oksana Chusovitina has got to be a guy.
• One more gymnastic thought: I think I've figured out why Alicia Sacramone has been struggling. Home girl is gettin' a little chunky.
• I finished the The Shack, but I don't know what I think. There were some great moments (How can God be disappointed if he knows exactly what are choices will be?) and then there were chapters which were completely incomprehensible.
• I like the name "Low Land Gorilla."

The Glass Cactus

Not that I hang out in clubs very much, but I met up with some friends last night at the Glass Cactus on the property of the Gaylord Texas. Thoughts:

• That place is really nice. Extremely nice. Then again, anything the Gaylord Texan does is top notch.
• The place was packed on just a random Saturday night.
• $10 cover charge
• The club has a huge outdoor deck (with easy access) that overlooks Lake Lewisville [Edit: Uh, wrong lake.] Very impressive.
• Funny line: There's a second floor balcony that overlooks the dance floor (good times) but it had a safety net to catch any drinks that might be dropped. "Just like Wrigley Field," a buddy remarked.
• The band was just a cover band but it was a great cover band.
• The negative: After the limited valet parking fills up, you have to park back at the hotel and have a shuttle take you over there. That. Is. A. Beating.
• The shuttle ride on the way back is much more entertaining that the ride getting there.
• On the way back we got off the shuttle at the wrong exit. Amazingly, a doorman at the hotel told us "this happens all the time" and offered to take us back to the parking garage in one of the hotel's SUVs for free. Nice guy. (Yeah, I tipped.)
• The crowd was pretty upscale (yeah, that sounds uppity, I know.) Basically in your 30s and (how do I say this?) looked like they had gone to college, partied hard while there, don't go out all that much these days because they have real jobs, but like to have a good time when they do.
• Loverboy is going to be there in a couple of weeks. Think I'll miss that.
• Edit: Man, I forgot to mention that I saw two newlywed couples getting out of (ih, separate) limousines at the hotel. And one of them was an interracial couple - great looking by the way - which made me smile.

Yes, I Love Technology

The race involving Michael Phelps was shown on a hi-def TV in a Mexican restaurant I was in tonight. The diners actually stopped and cheered. I'm not sure I've ever seen that in a non-sports bar atmosphere. But, man, it looked like Phelps came in second. But I'll trust technology. And this opening sentence from the AP story describes the race perfectly: BEIJING - With history hanging in the balance, Michael Phelps decided to take one more stroke. His long arms soared above the water, windmilled past his ears and slammed into the wall. In the next lane, Milorad Cavic was gliding to the finish, just inches from the gold, his arms no longer driving but just reaching for the end. (Actual photo of the ending above. Phelps on the right.) Edit: Better photo from Sports Illustrated.

From Comment To Post

Click to enlarge. Absolutely incredible.

Irony

I just saw this headline which seemed ironic to me since the city has become famous for trying to rid itself of illegal aliens.

Texas Flag Chaos

From the looks of it, it seems the Texas flag up at the courthouse has been caught on the top of the flag pole which apparently prevents it from being lowered by the use of cables. It's been that way for a couple of days. Why the locals aren't rioting is beyond me. At first I thought it was a distress signal and I almost stormed that place like Santa Anna. But I stopped halfway once I realized what was going on (but after I had already ripped the buttons of my dress shirt in preparation for battle.) Those colors don't run. But they can get all whopperjawed.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Stating the obvious: The rain and cool weather this morning was great.
• I've never understood the fascination with John Wayne as being the icon for a "tough guy." He was acting.
• This is a morning you should be glad you don't commute in the metroplex. Man, it's a mess out there.
• Propel bottled water is good. But I drink water straight from the tap about 99% of the time.
• Finally watch the second episode of Hard Knocks last night - training camp with the Dallas Cowboys. Man, I think that show is great.
• I had a cop admit to the prosecutor and me yesterday that he had no independent recollection of the facts of a misdemeanor case. It, in essence, gutted the prosecutor's case, but I'll believe anything that officer says in the future.
• Drove me nuts yesterday that almost every media outlet reported the Joel Osteen's wife had been found "not guilty" of assault. That's not right. It was a civil case so she was found "not liable" by the jury. "Not guilty" is reserved for criminal cases.
• And that Osteen woman is hawt. Probably extremely high maintenance, but good looking nonetheless.
• I normally allow racists comments on this here blog to go through to demonstrate how racism is rampant. But you wouldn't believe the number of them I get that are simply too offensive to post.
• Heard on The Ticket as they discussed whether it's fair that Michael Phelps has so many opportunities to win medals: Is there anyone who gets ripped off more than the winner of the Decathlon? Ten events. One medal.
• One of the Texas 7 was executed last night and I heard what his last meal was on the radio this morning. I'm trying to find it online, but I'm struggling.
• That guy also died as he began singing a Christian song. His voice, the story said, trailed off. Little creepy.
• I gave a dog I'm taking care of bath last night. I expected to get mauled, but the little fella liked it.
• I felt a little goofy taking that dog out for a walk since it might be a little small with a couple of bows in her hair.
• The Fort Worth Court of Appeals answered a question last night that has been a point of contention for years: "The question in this DWI case is whether a police officer has probable cause or reasonable suspicion for a traffic stop when the officer observes the the tires of the defendant's vehicle cross into an adjacent same-direction lane by a tire's width a single time when there is no other traffic in the area. We answer 'no' and reverse the trial court's judgment."
• I think Jon Stewart is very funny but I've never laughed at Stephen Colbert.
• So maybe the economy isn't bad: There's about to be a new subdivision in Southlake (right off 114) which will include 455 upscale homes ranging in size from 3,450 to 5,350 square feet.
• And those homes will be occupied by white people with blond hair. I think that's a requirement by ordinance. Maybe. Could be wrong.
• Obscure football note: Some cable channel was replaying a 1997 Tennessee v. Vanderbilt football game last night. Peyton Manning was the Tennessee quarterback but, get this, he had Jamal Lewis in the backfield and he was throwing to Peerless Price and Horace Copeland.
• Every incoming Abilene Christian freshman will get either an iPhone or iPod Touch. And I bet that is one strict school.
• I love the Firefox browser with multiple tabs.
• Over in Jack County, the Bryson girls' volleyball team would like to wear those little spandex shorts. But a trustee Clifford Smith calls them "immodest and immoral." Really.