Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• So we went to the Dallas Arboretum on Friday -- my first time to ever go there. Verdict: Beautiful place situated right along White Rock Lake. You'll never see so many tulips in one place.
• But combine beautiful weather, spring break, and an art show on the premises, and you've got traffic Armageddon. We ended up having to use a shuttle about a half mile away. (But it wasn't as big of a beating as you would think.)
• For lunch we went to go to -- get this -- Crystal's Pizza.  I used to go to the on in Fort Worth all the time as a kid, and I had noticed the one along 183 in Irving. It was just like I remembered, and that might have been because the video games and the carpet look like they hadn't been replaced in a couple of decades.
• A great portion of Saturday was dedicated to digging a hole for a weeping willow tree. Clay soil and rocks made that a joy. (And I fear death for the tree.)
• Charlie Sheen putting on a show at the American Airlines show in Dallas is ridiculous.
• AT&T buying T-Mobile for $39 billion is mind blowing.
• As to the bombing of Libya, is there some secret and arbitrary list of "acceptable" and "unacceptable" leaders in the world that we don't know about?
• And I've had Dr. Emmit Brown's voice from Back to the Future in my head all weekend saying, "Marty! It's the Libyans!"
• Tiger Woods has a 22 year old girlfriend. 
• The end of the Texas game yesterday was a disaster for them. Who know you couldn't call time out when throwing the ball in when the referee's count got to four. Edit: Seth Davis said that was the rule on TNT but later retracted it.
• The standings for the Liberally Lean Tourney sponsored by Mark "The Decatur Hammer" Howell and myself are here. (Funny: "Triple Fake LL Family Cat" is in second place.)
• Trying to teach the younger kid in the house how to bat when she suddenly went from hitting little dribblers to almost taking my head off with a line drive. Her laugh was more one of fear than humor. 
• I got confronted by the Neighbor Boys and their big brother on the street. Thankfully, the older brother had some common sense and decency about him. (When I asked the littlest hellion what he had done with our ball that had gone over the fence he said, "We took it inside and the next morning when we woke up it was gone.")

I Must Be Dreaming

Story.

France? France takes military action in a land they generally have no interest in? And against a country they are not at war with?  France?  A country whose "French Resistance" in World War II meant bad service to the Germans in restaurants? France?

This world is getting more confusing by the moment.

Edit: Well, at least I know we'll act rationally. Wait, what's that? You're kidding. For the life of me, I don't understand this at all.

Come Monday, I'm Going To Be Turning Some Heads

Random/Crazy Decatur Photo From Yesterday

I call it "Lady With Two Leashes And Dog Disrespecting Neighbors"

Taken by the "old Decatur bus barn". 

(Thanks emailer Marie!)

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• A car hit a cow this morning on 287 just south of the Saginaw cutoff. Hitting a cow at any time is not good. Hitting a cow on a freeway is triple not good. 
• And another.
• The "monster truck" involved in the strip club parking lot death was ridiculous. 
• And the media is bending over backwards to make sure we all know the victim did not work at the strip club. But we all know that nothing good comes from being in a strip club parking lot at 2:00 a.m. on a Thursday morning. On a Saturday morning maybe. But not on a Thursday. 
• Posting will be slow today since I'm engaged in "family time." I suggested the Dallas Arboretum and got royally poo poo'd. 
• Beat down: Having a piece of ice fall to the floor out of the freezer and not immediately being able to spot it. That's something you've got to track down. 
• TCU's baseball team started the season #1 in the nation and then promptly lost 5 of its first 15 games.
• I finally got around to putting the broken down Family Truckster on Craig's List. You know what happens when you are honest and tell people that it is not drivable and then price it ridiculously low? You get money thrown at you hand over fist, that's what. It sold within 24 hours to a couple of guys that showed up with a trailer to haul it away. 
• They weren't particularly interested in me giving them the title. They are probably going to use it in some bank robbery today.
• Mohammed Reza was convicted of a sexual offense in Wise County in 2009 and sentenced to 15 years. His conviction was affirmed by the Fort Worth Court of Appeals late yesterday. (And I would link to the Messenger story back when he was convicted but I can't because their redesign has jacked up all their archives.)
• President Obama announces his picks for the womens's NCAA Tournament today. Prediction: He chooses Baylor and specifically mentions Britney Griner. Edit: I'm done with him! He picked UConn to beat Baylor in the finals.
• And, yeah, he'll be criticized for not taking action in the Middle East where unrest, especially in Libya, continues. But for once, I'm glad the U.S. isn't sticking its nose in everyone else's business. 
• Channel surfing last night and came across a Ranger's exhibition/preseason game. I lasted 10 seconds before boredom set in. 
• NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell isn't an independent advocate for the league -- he's an agent of the owners who pay him a shocking $10 million a year. (And his publicity stunt of cutting his salary to $1 during the lockout only highlights this fact.)
• Channel 8 weather gal Coleen Coyle is pretty cute. I'm not sure how I've missed her. 
• The Liberally Lean Tourney ended up with right at 200 entries. After day one, five of you got 14 of 16 picks correct. Standings.
• I'm pretty sure Decatur lawyer Mark "The Decatur Hammer" Howell and I will provide a gift card to the winner.  How's that for commitment?
• South by Southwest even makes the cover of a hip New York newspaper.

That's One Fancy Want Ad

Thursday Afternoon Pick Me Up

There's A Lot Going On There

So How's This Supposed to Work?

Last week there was concern that our business neighbors might have a gas leak. So the gas company was called and they came out, detected gas, and brought out a backhoe to tear up the street. (They actually worked until about 10 at night.)  

Once done, however, the street is torn up and three cones are left to mark the spot.

Question: How long do you think it will stay that way?

Note: That building in the background still reminds me of The Amityville Horror house.

Greatest Extra Ever

His name is Jesse Heiman.

It's St. Patrick's Day So You Know What That Means!

 Where da lepacon at??!!

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• "Pilates" and "Pirates" should rhyme.
• Today Samsung releases a computer that is lighter than the Macbook Air. But, in a twist, it is more expensive.
• A traffic control light will installed on 380 and Business 380 by the Sheriff's Office? 
• Political junkies: I love Congressman Anthony Weiner (D - New York) who goes on Sean Hannity and just beats him senseless.
• When the news came out about the crazy guy that abducted the Perrin lady and burned her house down, I thought about a possible connection to the missing Perrin teen mom from last summer who I've written about. And although that's a stretch, law enforcement now want to talk to him about it.
• Saw a shot of a helicopter trying to dump water on one of the nuclear reactors in Japan. That looked like a very futile act.
• I think Mrs. LL is about to kill the family cat. Whoever out there told me that that type of cat would be a holy terror, you were absolutely right. 
• And the other night she was in the kitchen just fixated on one location on the ceiling. Wasn't there a scene like that in Poltergeist or some other horror movie (except it involved a dog)?
• Twitpic of Greg "The Hammer" Williams asleep this morning in a hotel in Surprise, Arizona. As the caption says, "Crime scene?"
• If you haven't seen the baby who is both scared and entertained by his mother blowing her nose (I know, weird), you have to see it. One of the cutest things you'll ever watch.
• Hip Hop guy Nate Dogg died yesterday, and I felt out of the loop because I had no idea who he was. Then I felt at least 1% of hipness when I discovered I knew the song Regulate that he was featured in. 
• Those Lake Highland parents who are getting fined by their homeowner's association for their noisy toddler seem to really like the attention. 
• During the last NFL work stoppage in the 1980s, I was 100% behind the owners. This time around, I'm in the players' corner.  Edit: And the next person that says "millionaires fighting billionaires" gets tased. 
• Idea for a cartoon I had last night: A swimming and talking breaded fishstick.
• 23 year old stripper from Granbury killed by monster truck in club parking lot in Dallas. If this is her Facebook page (name, age, and high school match up), the slogan of "I'm the master of my fate" was woefully untrue. Edit: A commentor points out that the story doesn't identify her as a stripper and just states she was in the parking lot. Duly noted. (And Fox 4 has some pictures.) Edit #2: Fox 4 reports her friends and family members say she not employed by the club. 

Liberally Lean Tourney Reminder

• First game is at 11:45 a.m. on Thursday. That should be the deadline but I'm not exactly sure when Yahoo! shuts down the entries. 
• Enter here.
• Had a ton of entries. The list should be here. Some funny names. 
• The winner will get something worth $100 or more. I'm thinking about just going with a generic Master Card gift card or something like that. 
• You have to search a bit, but you are able to change your team's name. 

You Would Think . . .

. . . that a company that employs 43 people in Decatur being sold would be news.

The company (which I had no idea was out at the airport) presumably will stay put. Let's at least hope so.

Note To Self: Never Go To Fort Worth Zoo On Half Price Day

And there's no way I would.  People rarely factor in time and inconvenience when getting discounts. Those things have value, too.

Sign In Parker County

Just got this sent to me from a buddy.  Not sure why I blocked out the number -- I might actually be hurting his cause instead of protecting him from harassment.

(Thanks, David.)

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• President Obama filled out a men's bracket and a women's bracket with the top four seeds in each to get to the final four.  He puts in as much effort as I do. (And he's already receiving criticism for taking a little time out to do a bracket. Sheesh.)
• I think Decatur's internet is screwing up again this morning. 
• Mrs. LL doesn't seem to understand that the front bumper of her car is about three inches off the ground. Yet another incident yesterday which caused me to "whisper yell" at her according to a member of the household. 
• The Caravan Inn sign on Jacksboro Highway may soon be a thing of the past. When I was a kid, we'd always take that road into Fort Worth, and the sign would always catch my attention. "That must be a really nice hotel," I'd think to myself. It wasn't then. Certainly isn't now.
• Dumb question: When was 287 from Rhome to Fort Worth built? I remember 114 into Dallas as a kid but don't have any real memory of 287 until I was a teenager. Might just be my faulty brain. 
• Rick Perry apparently agreed to reach into the Rainy Day Fund and take about three billion out of it to balance the budget. But it looks like this doesn't change the school funding crisis one single bit. (I think the money is going to be used to cover the shortfall before the budget for the next two years even kicks in.)
• A teenage girl's song has 8.7 million hits on youtube. It's an earworm. Edit: I finally listened to it. I dare you. Friday! Friday! Friday!
• Completely under the radar: Protesters in Bahrain are knocked back by Saudi troops which have entered the country. Saudi troops? Yep. If it weren't for the Japanese earthquake, this might be the lead story. Edit: Wow. Shocking video released this morning. 
• Three or four helicopters landed at the Decatur Hospital last night. Was it a drill?
• I don't condone violence, but the viral video this week of a bully receiving a beat down almost made me condone violence. (Warning: Youtube wouldn't even keep it up.)
• Dumb service advertised on WBAP: Have weather alerts sent to your cell phone for $2 a month. 
• The Texas Senate agreed to allow employees to have guns in their cars at the work place. You think those folks in the northeast, where guns are like leprosy, are shaking their collective heads?
• The story behind the headline in the paper below is weird. I just hope that DA's office in Denton doesn't indict someone over it. 

Last Call To Sign Up For The Liberally Lean NCAA Tourney

Here. (And sometimes the name of the team is the best part.)

Edit: Someone signed up as "BSG's Neighbor Boy". Funny.

Wild Pictures Just Keep Coming

More found here today (but some are hard to look at.) But it also includes a couple of maps that are pretty informative.