Decatur ISD Opening at 10:30?

That's the preliminary report (but I've not seen anything official.) But I just glimpsed at Channel 21 news (which I've watched maybe twice in my life) and, at 7:10 p.m., cars are standing still on the overpasses at I-35 and I-30. Any reports from dear, sweet Wise County?

Fake Ice Day Pick Me Up

This girl says, "Pete Delkus, you lied to me." Edit: Ok, maybe not a lie. Maybe a prediction delayed.

Sure . . .

. . . Wise County is slipping and sliding all over the place, but we'll take time out to honor this women who really wanted to get back to the great state of Texas. Unfortunately, she sacrificed any chance of winning Mother of the Year. Oh, my. But, as far as mug shots go, not bad.

Pete Delkus Has Breaking News

He just posted that on his Twitter page.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• I'd be scared not to shut down the schools if I was making the call. The last thing you need is wet streets in the morning and frozen streets in the afternoon with the schools full.
• "We are getting reports of drizzle!!!" - Channel 5's weather girl this morning
• I've truly seen at least three reporters utter the phrase, "Sand trucks are standing by." How can you say that with a straight face anymore?
• And if it's not sleeting or icing at the moment, the reporter will say that is "positive news" despite the fact that 90% of the audience wants it to sleet/ice.
• I had a dream last night that I had to have my eyes sewn shut for a time period to correct my vision. And a former Texas Ranger who hates me was helping me arrange it.
• I also dreamed/dreamt I was negotiating to buy the dumpiest lake house ever.
• When I have intense dreams, I wake up exhausted with my muscles tense. Once I realize it was a dream, I can feel my body relax. What a beating.
• Fox 4 didn't have the new super hot weather girl in this morning. They whipped us with Ron Jackson. Why!!??? Why!!!???
• Wow, the Rev. Ted Haggard's former megachurch now admits that it paid money to a 20 year old who had a (newly revealed) sexual relationship with the former pastor. The church agreed to pay the man in exchange for his pledges not to talk publicly about the relationship," the current past said. Riiiiiiighhhhhhtttttt.
• If you're not ready for the "digital conversion" of your TV, you'll never be ready.
• There's a Decatur lady on facebook with the last name of McIntyre who posts pictures of the most beautiful little girl (I presume it's her daughter.)
• I downloaded The Sea Wolf by Jack London. Whenever I see anyone I even remotely admire say a book "changed the way I see life", I can't help myself from buying it. (But now I can't remember who suggested it this weekend.)
• Isn't it amazing there was a character in the old Popeye cartoon named "The Sea Hag"? Think you could get away with that today?
• I've been a little interested in Jack London ever since I learned the subject of Into The Wild was a fan of his.
• I've got a close friend who still tells me that saying I "read" a book after I listened to the audio version is cheating. But that person also says it takes more concentration to listen than to read.

School Closings

(Don't panic. Pic from the Great Wise County Snow Storm of March 2007 2008.) There's no way I'm sitting around and doing a comprehensive list of school closings (and if I'm a superintendent, I'm closing all of them) but . . . . . . as I'm up at 4:43 am for who-knows-why, I see the following closings on my television invention:

• Decatur ISD
• Bridgeport ISD
• Alvord ISD
• Chico ISD
• Slidell ISD
• Northwest ISD
• Paradise ISD <-----Last one to announce
• Forestburg delayed till 10:00 a.m. (What??????)
• Bluebonnet Nudist Resort (I'm guessing on this one.)

Oh, My

And he's expected to plead guilty on Thursday in federal court? We've wondered what was going on up there. In an obviously unprepared statement: “What a jerk,” said Paul Cunningham, who replaced Keating as sheriff this year, after learning the specifics of the federal charge Monday afternoon. “There ain’t no other way to put it.” As most of you know, the Montague County jail population is being housed at the Wise County Jail (The AP has already picked it up.)

Monday Afternoon Pick Me Up

I've been studying the new picture of Jessica Simpson all day long and something is not quite right.

I'm Announcing A Triple Ice Winter Blizzard Storm Of 2009 Warning

I've been in my laboratory all morning looking at maps of high pressure cells and cumulus clouds and other stuff. After doing so, I'm now willing to project there is a 100% chance that the local TV stations will go bat arse crazy tonight and tomorrow.

As A Follow Up To My Hot Economic Opinion This Morning . . .

. . . comes this news just released: Get ready, people. (From the Dallas Business Journal.) Edit: Hey, a new one added late in the day: Edit again: CNN has referred to this as "Bloody Monday" with even more layoffs than documented here. (Credit: Found that link at another Wise County blog here.)

And Another

Link.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I saw Revolutionary Road last night. It starred Kate Winslet, Leonardo DeCaprio, and Kathy Bates ---- it took me a second to realize that it was darn near the entire cast of Titanic.
• Line of the movie when referring to our daily grind of getting up and doing the same thing: "Hopeless emptiness. Now you've said it. Plenty of people are onto the emptiness, but it takes real guts to see the hopelessness." (Yep, this is a recurring theme with me.)
• Woah! The new weather girl on Fox 4's morning news, Fiona Gorostiza, has arrived. Very hawt. Watch her dance, yep dance, here.
• So this morning there was Megan Henderson, Krystle Gutierrez, and Gorostiza all on the same show. Mercy.
• If I were a hot girl (stay with me here), I think I'd walk around the mall just to catch people looking at me.
• Light freezing rain tonight and tomorrow? From the NWS: "Freezing Rain Advisory in effect from 6 PM this evening to 6 am CST Tuesday... Winter Storm Watch in effect from Tuesday morning through late Tuesday night."
• Women are confusing.
• I still think an economic crisis - far worse than anything we've seen -- is coming later this year.
• Just your average college basketball face stomp over the weekend.
• Had a friend say that we should follow "Me Love You Long Time" as a cute Asian girl walked past us (we were trying to find an exit.)
• I heard The Knack's other hit "Good Girls Don't" last night on the radio for the first time in I bet 20 years.
• Good grief. Paul Blart: Mall Cop was at the top of the box office again. They'll probably have Mall Cop 2 out by the end of the summer.
• Will this story never end? One private school beat another private school 100-0. Nothing happens for 10 days until the Dallas Morning News printed a front page story about it. Six days later, the winning coach was fired. And the losing team has been glorified somehow.
• I watched a little of the Senior Bowl this weekend -- enough to see Tech's Graham Harrell play awful. And I mean badly.
• I have no interest in the Fort Worth Stock Show.

In Case You Missed It . . .

. . . and everybody did, Miss Indiana became Miss America 2009 this weekend. And Miss Texas didn't even get into the Top 15. How far the Texas Hotness Factor has fallen. Edit: Hey, Now.

Random High School Sports Excerpt

I'm not sure I've ever seen high school crowd harassment acknowledged in a story before. But I could be wrong. (Collin White is from Bridgeport.)

Future Mrs. Greens

Sure you laugh. Until the 1:00 minute mark. Edit: At least one person claims it won't play. Direct link is here.

Random Tonya Harding Pic

Decatur Beggar Spotted Today In Decatur

(Thanks emailer.)

Cool

You start with this: And you can zoom in this close: If you want to play around with an amazing "scan and zoom" pic from the inauguration, click here.