Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The entire city of Bridgeport was without power as of 4:30 a.m. and the situation hadn't changed as of 45 minutes ago (per the Update.)  You boys got your lights on yet? And what in the heck could possibly cause that?
• At least one local news outlet (KXAS) has a "countdown clock" for the federal government shutdown. Silly. Just silly. 
• Christie Brinkley at 57 is still a definite "Hey, Now."
• It can't possibly be true that the crazy Arizona Sheriff was in Austin yesterday to advise the legislature about a "tent city" jail. (Since I've followed his self-serving and redneck twitter posts, he's really risen very high on my Drives Me Crazy List.)
• The Ticket made a reference to Wise County and Meth yesterday. If I had to guess and the breakdown of drugs cases in the county, I'd go 50% meth, 45% marijuana, and 5% other. (It's incredibly rare to see cocaine, ecstasy, heroine, or the like.)
• And I bet 90% of the drug cases originate out of traffic stops completely unrelated to a drug investigation. 
• The amount of time that is spent cleaning inside a household is staggering: Whether it be dishes, counters, rugs, clothes, or the human body, that's a lot of time. 
• I heard about some officer in Mesquite pepper spraying a baby squirrel (yep, you read that right), but somehow I completely missed the video!  (Any bets the officer's report reads "The squirrel was not complying with my commands, made threatening gestures to such an extent that I feared for my safety and the safety of others, so I used reasonable force to obtain compliance.")
• Mrs. LL woke up early and completely screwed up my morning routine. 
• Hot sideline reporter apparently doesn't like fried food (and the cook looks like a young "have you seen my stapler" guy from Office Space.)
• The Texas House bans texting while driving but you would still be allowed to read texts and fiddle with a GPS device. Sounds like an enforceable law.
• And one lawmaker actually threw out the "if it saves one life" card. Hate that argument. I could advocate a law that requires crash helmets and flame resistant body suits while driving because it would certainly "save one life."
• FBI: The Vault looks interesting.
• I heard the Texas NASCAR race was moved to Saturday night so as not to conflict with the Master's final round on Sunday.  As odd as it sounds, I bet the average NASCAR fan is a huge golf fan. 
• Crazy story: A sex offender in Fort Worth facing new charges kills a homeless man and then burns him in his (the sex offender's) own  car in order to fake his own death. That is dark. 
• There should never be a remake of Arthur. And there definitely should not be a remake of Arthur starring Russell Bland. 
• Viral video from yesterday: Guy cleans Cobra Pit where he is surrounded by cobras looking at him like even they think he's crazy.

Happy Birthday to Gladiator's Maximus Decimus Meridius

Ladies, I bring you Russell Crowe. (And that's a pic from this week.)

Edit: Winner . . .

Texas DPS Surcharge Amnesty Deadline Is Midnight

If you have one or more of those double-jeopardy-double-punishment* surcharges assessed by DPS before December 31, 2008, your last chance to get rid of them for pennies on the dollar is midnight.  That includes surcharges for no insurance, no driver's license, DWI, etc.

The site. Go.Go.Go.
____________
*That no court has the guts to so rule

Does This Look Like The Face Of . . .

. . . a Virginia teacher who received 22 years in prison for ..........wait for it............sending a topless picture of herself to a 14 year old boy?

22 years? For that? Have we lost our minds? (And that's only after a judge knocked off 10 years from the 32 year sentence that a jury gave her in January.)

Story.

Edit: And after I posted this, the Star Telegram posts this story. And not only was it child porn, they were pictures that he took himself.

Edit #2: And another probation out of East Texas for a high school band director.

Live Tweeting From Trooper Graduation

Gives me goosebumps, too, but for a different reason.

(DPS Twitter feed.)

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

• Guy and girl run together at full speed.
• Holding huge balls that if contracted will certainly expand
• Hard floor
• Newton's Law Of Motion

Sounds like a plan. Roll the tape. 

Palestine Pro-Confederate Flag Rally Yesterday

My favorite screenshot from Fox 4 News last night as these folks argue with an African-American county commissioner about whether the Confederate Flag should be flown. (The guy whose face is partially blocked was talking loudly and pointing his finger.)

They look like an open-minded and compassionate bunch. I wonder who they voted for in the presidential election?

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post ate at Joe T.'s last night in Fort Worth. No website fires off more blog posts on a daily basis than hers.
• Lake Bridgeport, which has seen a couple years of being full, is in a dicey situation as it sits at five feet low before a potentially long and dry summer.
• New kid in the neighborhood is an overtalker. Sweet kid, but she can extend an "Ok, we'll see you later" moment into an eternity. 
• That video of the 2 by 4 going through the car window (posted here two days ago) led Fox 4 news last night. Of course, they had to package it in a "dangers of debris on the road" news segment -- you can't just show a crazy video.
• "Maryland Man Superglued To Walmart Toilet As A Prank." The boys on the Ticket this morning wondered why he didn't carefully inspect the seat before sitting down since it was a public restroom. Fox 4's Lauren Przybyl told us that her mother taught her to "hover." It's been a very informative morning.
• I haven't heard what happened to the goofy "worst day of my life getting married tomorrow" guy. But you'd certainly think someone would track him down and interview him.
• What budget crisis?: Texas adds 44 more DPS troopers to the roads today.
• What's the world record for hitting the snooze button on an alarm. Someone in my house might have broken it this morning. 
• Two guys kiss in the crowd at Cleveland Indians game. (:17 sec mark). America goes crazy.
• The legal blogosphere has gone ballistic over a young lawyer who advertised himself as a specialist, had a misleading website, had his first trial (murder) stopped by the judge because he was incompetent (wow), and then proclaimed "Mistrial!" on his Facebook page as if he had done a good thing. 

From NBC News Tonight: Who Will Challenge President Obama

There's not a single one of the four that can win the Oval Office. Who else ya got?

• Romney is a Mormon, governor of State that had its own form of Obamacare, and had a video released yesterday showing him to be strongly pro-choice in 1994.
• Trump is a nut, a birther and probably just throwing out presidential aspirations to boost his silly TV career. But I support his running because that brings us one step closer to Idiocracy.
• Huckabee would win the conservative Christian vote (and those who are fond of Dad Jokes) but that's about it. 
• Gingrich is too busy writing books (17) and having wives (3).

The Story Of My House

Cute little dog wants to play a bit with the cat, and the cat has to go all Rocky Balboa on him. (Except my dog goes running like a school girl.)

The Politics Of Fear: It Lives!

Hey, I was all over the Bush Administration for pumping up the terror fear factor from time to time  in order to justify its "Do What We Want Policy In The Name Of Keeping You Safe".  And when The Obama Administration does it, I'll point it out, too.

Isn't that headline a coincidence? We bomb Libya two weeks ago and there's a little bit more of a backlash than the President expected. So what to do? Just float a couple of alerts out there about Libya being active evil terrorists. Problem solved.

And Then Comes The Fall

From being a Time cover boy as one of Fox News' hottest properties in 2009:

To today:

Not Sure What I Think About This

A ticket broker has a bunch of tickets stolen and now the Rangers have deactivated the bar codes on them.

I think a lot of innocent people are about to be screwed. I understand that if I buy a watch out of the trunk of a car that I should suspect it is stolen. But these tickets are likely to end up on Stubhub, eBay, and Craigslist where legitimate sales of tickets are resold every day. I wouldn't think for a second they are stolen.

So, in the end, isn't the thief going to get his money while innocent purchasers become more victims? And if the Rangers don't re-issue the tickets to the ticket broker (they wouldn't, would they?), they'll end up with empty seats instead of concession buying fans.

My Aggie Tribute

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• The Messenger's above the fold story today concerns the death of the Decatur freshman and its lead editorial is about bullying although they also say there is "no evidence" of suicide. It's unusual for them to cover the elephant-in-the-room, but I'm not critical of it.
• Congrats to the Lady Aggies for winning the women's basketball championship last night. That game was a heck of a lot more entertaining than the men's game on Monday night.
• But I'll admit to confusion as the Aggies coach danced "The Dougie" after the game. (Video) Yep, I had to look it up. And finding Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kate Upton doing it at a basketball game a couple of days ago was worth the effort. 
• Dish Network bought Blockbuster in the middle of the night at auction for $230 million? Why?
• Having a full calender at work is a beating until you consider the alternative.
• A skinny LeAnn Rimes sang the National Anthem the other night in Houston. Hey, now.
• Weeping Willow tree update: If it were a person, I would have called an ambulance yesterday.
• I haven't heard much about Bridgeport ISD teacher cuts. (Plano ISD made news by laying off 223 and an additional 123 support staff yesterday.)
• The new Republican House promised to slash the federal budget (which I'm all for.) Now it's time to put up or shut up as a federal government shutdown looms on Friday. 
• "You need to go back to the house even though the game is starting because the 2nd Grader In The House forgot her batting helmet." Patience. Be patient. 
• There wasn't much to the Bridgeport Index web site but now it seems to be gone. 

Here's Some Advice: Don't Marry Him

Edit: It was taken down. Another version here. Or here.

Unwed Teenaged Mother Earned Over Quarter Million Dollars For Supporting Abstinence

In 2009, Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol joined a teen pregnancy prevention nonprofit called the Candie’s Foundation. Today, the Associated Press reported that the Candie’s Foundation released its 2009 tax information, revealing that Bristol was paid a salary of $262,500.  

But the Foundation distributed only $35,000 in grants to actual teen pregnancy health and counseling clinics

Only in America. 

Source.

Now YOU Can Have One Of Those AL Champ Rings They Gave Away Last Night!

And I just thought they were worthless! $149.99!!!?? I had no idea that an item given to tens of thousands of attendees at last night's Rangers game was worth so much.

I feel like I'm watching one of those gold commercials! Buy now before the price explodes!!!

Ebay link.

(Thanks, Will.)