Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

Rare Photo Of Ex-Mrs. Green #3

• We've had three earthquakes recently (yesterday in Cleburne, May 16th in Euless and October 21st of last year in Irving)? What' going on?
• Some of the "I hate all drilling" crowd are blaming in the exploration of the Barnett Shale. My one semester of college Geology provides me with the expertise to say, "Heck if I know."
• There's a Mesquite elementary school that has shut down because over 100 students have the flu. If that had happened during the Swine Flu Panic of 2009, every school in North Texas would have shut down.
• I get a ton of mass forwarding anti-Obama racist emails like I'm part of some "white club" or something.
• I finally solved my home Internet problems. I almost had to go to therapy.
• After the tech guy installed my new router, he wrote down the new wireless key like he expected me to know what to do with it. I did, but would everyone?
• Will Ferrell is everywhere promoting the new Land of the Lost movie. Not interested.
• Oddest encounter outside the Decatur courthouse yesterday. A scruffy looking guy was carrying a bottle of baby oil and a lighter and then began to bombard me with questions: "What's in this bottle?" "Can I trust the label?" "Would you rub something on you that would clog your pores forever?" "Which one of these is more toxic?" I have no idea.
• I think I heard where our Texas government killed someone last night.
• Crazy story: A senior vice president of Frost Bank plummeted 14 stories to his death yesterday in downtown Fort Worth and no one knows what happened.
• Wow: The Bridgeport Index is in the process of placing every page of its paper online from 1957 to 1975. It's a little cumbersome but it does have a name index. I browsed around it a little bit and it's fascinating. (I tried to find my birth announcement, but couldn't.)

A Faithful Reader . . .

. . . put a lot of effort into this proposed logo change. The silhouettes of hot chicks in the background is a very nice touch, but we can't foresake Speedo Man, can we?

The Art Of Track

If you want to see Joe Duty's photo essay on Wise County track athletes competing at the State Meet this weekend. Here ya go. (That's a Slidell gal above.)

Wise County, I Don't Even Know You Anymore

Ran across this graphic on Facebook. I demand an explanation as to why I was not informed of this immediately.

Denton Police Arrest Of The Night

What's the world coming to when even this girl can't catch a break?

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Report of highway 114 shut down in Paradise at CR 3259 this morning due to a wreck -- and that's from WBAP.
• Crazy news that happens all the time: (1) a person driving the wrong way on the North Dallas tollway - happened last night, (2) a single car crash where the driver later turns out to be a gunshot/murder victim -- happened again in Fort Worth two days ago.
• If I set the timer on my microwave, I have this weird ability to sense when it gets under five seconds on the countdown.
• I'm just four chapters into it, but "Outliers" is one fascinating book.
• I'm pretty sure that there's a bill on Gov. Perry's desk which will allow the cops to take your blood without a warrant after a DWI arrest IF you have two prior convictions for DWI. And in a couple of years, they'll amend it to make it applicable to first time DWI arrests. That's how MADD works the legislature.
• GM declares for bankruptcy and the stock market goes up 221 points ---- all on the same day. Is there any question that we are living in Bizzarro world?
• And some "financial advisor" on WBAP said GM stock is pretty much worthless right now, and will always be.
• My closest friends tell me they get upset when I allow comments critical of me on here. "I just get so mad at those people," someone told me the other day. I've got lots of faults, but having a thin skin isn't one of them.
• I would have liked to have seen No Doubt last Saturday night in Dallas. Not enough to go through the arse whip of actually going, though.
• Do you think a new movie starring Tommy Lee Jones, John Goodman, and Mary Steenburgen would go straight to DVD? Yep, Into the Electric Mist. I watched most of it last night and it was really good.
• Texas/OU has been set for an 11:00 a.m. kickoff this October. I'm already excited.
• I don't recall a plane just vanishing like the Air France jet, but I don't know how you find it once it plummets into the ocean. Edit: ABC News just reported that it might have been found this morning.
• There was one American couple on board the plane (Michael and Ann Harris) who had moved to Rio last year from The Woodlands and were on the plane headed for a "seminar" in France. That sounds like a pretty good life that was gone in the blink of an eye.
• And he was a geologist for Devon.
• President Obama and his wife have a date night in New York on Saturday and the right wing goes crazy at the cost. Uh, folks, he's the President.
• Crazy storm this morning in Wise County, and this is what it looked like shortly before 7:00 a.m.

Afternoon Mind Bursts

• After I posted my "I've got a friend who I think is bi-polar" thought this morning, I had five people email me wanting to know why I said that about them.
• I have a lot of crazy friends.
• There was a district court docket today in Decatur today that was excruciating slow.
• As we all sat around in the back griping, one funny-man-lawyer said, "Sheesh, guys. It's not like you're out working on the highway for two hours."
• Whenever you represent a hot girl, every other attorney in the room will come by and give you the business.
• One of my court appointed clients showed up for court with the biggest hole in his jeans that you've ever seen. And, trust me, it wasn't a fashion statement.
• As we walked up to the judge, I tried to position myself to block the offending clothing from, uh, a person's eyes who would be offended. At one point I even discretely lowered my legal pad to block the clothing from his view.
• When I walked to the rear of the courtroom, I had this test text message waiting for me on my phone:

Another Record Month

Further proof that we all have too much time on our hands. You should all be very ashamed of yourselves.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Jimmy Johnson was at the invitation only grand opening of the new Cowboys' Stadium? I didn't see that on TV at all.
• After four months of receiving Texas Monthly as a Christmas present, I'm hooked.
• A shocking reminder in last week's issue of Newsweek, covering our history with Iran, about a story I had completely forgotten about: "January 20, 1981: The Navy warship USS Vincennes shoots down an Iranian airliner it had mistaken for a fighter jet, killing 290 passenger." Edit: Someone pointed out the date is incorrect. That's probably my mistake and not Newsweek's.
• "Drag Me To Hell" may be the worst movie ever. After seeing some great reviews and learning the director had some street cred, I checked it out. I can't begin to tell you how much I hated it. Then I was also stunned to see it was rated PG-13.
• The Cowboy scout that was paralyzed in the pavilion collapse . . . . I wonder what this morning is like for him.
• Plaid shorts have made a comeback. I last owned some in the late 1980s.
• Jim Carey = Not Funny.
• Pink is now synonymous with breast cancer awareness. The color, not the singer.
• I walked out of a restaurant on Friday, got in the family truckster, turned the key, and .... nothing. Battery dead. After trying a variety of options, I ended up walking 1 1/2 miles. Nice night though.
• Kate, of Kate and My Beaten Down Husband Make 8, is in a bikini. Hey, now.
• Extreme Makeover, Home Edition is kind of a tear jerker, isn't it?
• The Rangers won 20 games in May. That's the most in team history.
• I think I've got a friend who is bipolar.
• The last survivor of the Titanic died this weekend. She was looking pretty old when she climbed up on that rail in the movie.
• I kid.
• The MTV Music Awards were last night and they had a bit on "Real mean walk away from explosions in slow motion without looking back." Funny.
• And, man, the crowd went completely bonkers over that Twilight guy. (Who, by the way, doesn't seem all that bright.)
• And the most awkward moment of the night: Miley Cyrus' acceptance speech: "I wanna thank God, helloooooo!" Wow.
• An Air France jet with 228 people on board is officially "missing" this morning after last being tracked over the Atlantic. World famous aviation expert Ann Curry speculates that it might be a lightening strike. Yep, that happens all the time.

I'm On The Shoulder Of Information Super Highway

So I've been having Internet issues at home and it takes A LOT before I'll call tech support. But I finally got frustrated enough to do so. Twenty-two minutes later, the really nice guy on the other end of the line told me he'd have to send someone out. And get this: He apologized because it would take until tomorrow (which was Sunday). Heck, I'm happy it would be within a month. But I had the dreaded window of 12 to 4 p.m. But my luck continued to roll when the guy shows up before 1:00 p.m. Meet "Dave" - the tech guy. He takes a look at the problem and decides that he's going to have to swap out the modem. No problem. Let's get after it. All is going well (with the exception of the awkward moment when Dave says, "It's awful quiet in here. Everyone run out on ya?") Buddy, do you have a minute? So I'm sitting in my favorite chair reading the paper expecting to have me some lightening fast Internet any second. And, then, a power down moment. Dave rounds the corner and says, "There's nothing I can do for you." Me: "What?" Dave: "They tell me it's a billing issue." Me: "What?" Dave: "They probably should have told you that when you called." Me: "But I've got it set up for automatic credit card billing." Dave: "Sorry, nothing I can do. Here's the number you need to call." Me: "Well, is that my tech problem? Is it cutting out because I'm behind on the payment? I would think they would cut it off completely. Will you have to come back?" Dave: "I really can't say." (And it was like he was following a manual that read, "If you find out you're in the house of a deadbeat, do NOT provide any assistance. Get out immediately. And fast.") As he drove off and a tear rolled down my cheek, I began to try and figure out what went wrong. Ah ha! It dawned on me that MasterCard had sent me a new card with a new number a couple of months ago because "my account, along with others, may have been compromised in a security breach." I had forgotten to update the new credit card number with the Internet company. OK, I'll just update it on the Internet. Uh....not so fast. So I dialed the number. Uh....not so fast since "Customer service is closed." Slumping in my chair. Oddly, my Internet fires back up and I'm able to make the change online. Then it died for a few hours. Now it's back up. Now if I can just get this posted befo

Ponder This

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Late-term abortion doctor George Tiller, a prominent advocate for abortion rights wounded by a protester more than a decade ago, was shot and killed Sunday at a church in Wichita where he was serving as an usher and his wife was in the choir, his attorney said.

Last Night's Leisurely Baseball Game: 7 Hours

(Above, Texas player is seen showing loyalty to the Devil by demonstrating some weird hand gesture.)

I like crazy things. This qualifies. Edit: And I just noticed the most shocking sentence of all: "Texas reliever Austin Wood pitched 13 innings, including 12 1-3 of no-hit ball before allowing a two-out single to Tony Sanchez in the 19th."

Wreck

This was sent to me last night and I would have posted it sooner but (1) I came out of a restaurant to find my car battery dead which prompted a 1 1/2 mile hike, and (2) once I got situated at midnight my home Internet was down. Good times. But things good be a 1000X worse which brings me to the picture. The note attached to the photo read, "at CR2224 and 51N - Decatur,..... Barry, I did not talk to any bystanders or Police, took photos while driving. The maroon car is stuck into the DRIVER side of the up-side down 4dr. Ford Ranger pick-up."

Friday Afternoon Pick Me Up

FOX 4's Natalie Solis.

Real News: Plane Crash

PLANE CRASH----BETWEEN COUNTY ROAD 3519 AND 3526... CONFIRMED Updated: Two people were on board -- both men. Both have been transported by air ambulance with one being described as being in "serious condition". And it was in fact an ultralight. Fox 4 News is sending a helicopter. Edit: At 12:04 p.m. you could go here and watch the helicopter's camera as it heads to the scene. Choose "Stream 2" Edit: Screen shot from the helicopter feed:

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I jogged this morning outside in the dark which is something I never do. That was kind of weird. And now I'm exhausted.
• Arrested Development > The Office
• Always be wary of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. First and foremost, he believes his primary official obligation is to get on TV.
• The National Spelling Bee would be fun to watch. At least the last 15 minutes of it.
• I still believe that local news broadcasts need to do more "where are they now?" segments.
• I would love to be able to freeze time and then walk around.
• During negotiations with a Wise County prosecutor yesterday in an impromptu public forum, I actually had to turn to another lawyer and say "you might want to butt out" because he/she kept making insane pro-State comments.
• I've said this before, but police are trained to identify themselves in a tense situation as "PO-leece" so as not to be confused with "please". That is, "Stop, PO-leece" will not be confused as "Stop, please."
• I'm rarely asked if I'm in a bad mood.
• Maybe that means I appear to always be in a bad mood.
• Isn't this HIV-Spreading criminal case a little weird? This one guy is able to infect what, eight women? Maybe more. When the news of AIDS first broke in the mid-1980s, the public was in panic because we believed it could be passed on as easily as the flu. Then we discovered that wasn't true. Now this guy makes us all rethink that.
• And if it's true, why aren't there thousands of criminal cases like this?
• The Wise County classifieds are beginning to fill up.
• Just had a guy call me and asked me if I wanted to play golf this morning. Uh, yeah but no.

Head Shaking In Private

This Letter to the Editor will appear in today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram. (Click to enlarge.) (1) The defense has no right to present any evidence to a grand jury. The DA can prevent it. (2) The premise of the letter is wrong. The requirement of at least nine members of a grand jury choosing to indict a person is mandated by state law. It is not the "policy" of the DA. But that's OK, this guy was just the forman of a Tarrant County grand jury responsible for indicting thousands of individuals.

From the Weatherford Democrat

Link.