More Proof That I'm A Modern Day Nostradamus

Friday's Random Thought:

Today's Paper:

Careful With The Word "Only"

If you've ever seen Mimi Coffey's billboards, you might get a kick out of this.

"Make up your mind. Decide to walk with me. Around the lake tonight."

Actual WFAA story and video link here. (Just a graphic above.)

Some have referred to a Stephens County fire and a Possum Kingdom fire but it looks like they are one and the same. (I think.) It has destroyed at least 30 homes. Fox 4 has helicopter up there this afternoon.  Amazing pictures. That fire is HUGE. Edit: It's two fires. Sheesh.

I've griped about the wind all Spring, but today is a doozy. The walls are rattling.  But I don't think we have any Wise County fires reported -- a nice change.

Edit: We've got a pretty big Boonesville fire at 1:15 p.m.  


Edit: Power lines down in Boyd.


Edit: Sheriff's Office just told me there was a guy who was burning leaves in Briar. 


Edit: Now with a report of people burning limbs on Hwy 51 south of FM 2123. Goofy, goofy people.


Edit: Bridgeport High School's gym roof severely damaged.


Edit: Fire north of Decatur reported around 4:30 p.m. 


Edit: Hide you wife, hide you kids . . . . 

First Verdict Of The Day

Motorcyclist 0
Fed Ex 1

(Unofficial way of saying that Fed Ex won the civil case and will not owe any money after the trial this week in Wise County.)

My source is impeccable*: Complete secondhand hearsay.

Edit: Getting comments about there being a "high/low agreement." If so, it works something like this (with completely made up numbers): Prior to trial the lawyers agree to a low figure of $200,000 and and a high figure of $1,000,000. If the verdict of the jury is anywhere within that range, it stands. If less than $200,000 the Plaintiff gets $200,000. If more than $1,000,000, the Plaintiff only gets $1,000,000.  It's a way of putting some absolute certainty into the jury system.
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The original version of this hard hitting news item contained a spelling error which caused an immediate dog pile. The current version has been revised accordingly. Liberally Lean regrets this error.

Tarp Guy Gets Rolled

Not sure why this video is so jumpy it looks like the Internet in the 1990s, but that guy looks like Mike Tyson just gave him a left hook once he gets back on his feet.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The Wise County case of Motorcyclist vs. Fed Ex went to the jury yesterday afternoon. They went home without a verdict and will return this morning. I haven't watched a second of it.
• The Denton drunk-dad-shoots-daughter case goes to the jury today with a range of punishment of probation to 20 years in prison. I predict 13 years. 
• There was some controversy over a low pre-game flyover at a college game earlier this year, and then someone found footage of an insanely low flyover at involving TCU in 2000. Man, that plane is lower than the top of the press box. (Begins at :16 mark with three views.)
• Another Fort Worth police officer arrested for DWI.
• Got word that an ex-Boyd coach was arrested yesterday for online solicitation of a minor. (Hey, jail, fix your online inmate directory!)
• Cliff Lee last night: 9 innings, 0 runs, 12 strikeouts.
• I've been working with the Second Grader In The House on how to hit a softball. Never knew I would get so much satisfaction of now seeing her regularly getting hits in games. 
• Somebody pointed out yesterday that the Tarrant County Medical Examiners site listed a double fatality motorcycle accident near Alliance Airport on April 9th. I wonder why that didn't make the news? Edit: As many pointed out, it did make the news.
• Googling "fixing a toilet" is not a high point in one's life. 
• We had an impromptu test this morning in the house as to the cause of the sinking of the Titanic. All passed. (It's the anniversary of its sinking. All together now: "Jack! Jack!")
• PGA tour member Kevin Na shot a 16 on a par 4 hole yesterday in Houston. Yep, one hole. Hello, record books.
• If you were on Camp Bowie yesterday in Fort Worth (like I was) you would have been buzzed by the Blue Angels practicing for this weekend's air show. 

I'm hearing one child was hung, photo'd, and picture sent to mother.

Shocking.


Edit: Star Telegram story. Wichita Falls story.

Some stories say a photo was sent before the murder. My source on the pic being sent after the murder was based upon conversation at the Graham courthouse this morning. Either way, this thing is bad.

Is Fox News Trying To Mimic "The Onion"?

Nope, they run this as a real story.

I wonder what else happened in this country at the time of Obama's speech?

Everyone Is A Comedian

Me in Costa Rica last year (a photo I have on Facebook)  . . .

Picture sent to me by a wise guy claiming it must have been taken from a different angle.

I Want To Go On Record

I've just been joking about my disdain for the LL Family Cat and my desire to do horrible things to it.  Absolutely joking. I wasn't even close to going over the edge and becoming a Mass Cat Killer.

Note to self: Find program that deletes "kill" "cat" "hate" "strangle" "dismember" from blog posts.

(Story.)

One Second You're Sipping Drinks In Monte Carlo . . .

. . . and the next second you realize that five digit subtraction is really hard.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• The video of the 12 year old in Desoto getting run over after others had a street fight (causing one kid to flee in a car) was hard to watch even though Fox 4 cut the tape short.
• I actually proclaimed to the girls in the house as I watched it, "If you ever see a group of kids acting like fools, get out of there!"  If only I had listened to that advice as a kid. 
• One thing I've grown tired of is Internet videos of street fights --- the amount of violence (and ignorance) out there is shocking.
• Big 12 football fans: The conference signed a massive deal with Fox Sports which guarantees that every Big 12 home game will be televised for the next decade.
• Ever try to practice softball with a Second Grader when a few yards away is a little girls soccer team playing Simon Says? You can only say "Focus!" so many times.
• Someone speculated that Barry Bonds could be sentenced to eight months home confinement. Heck, I'd volunteer for that. 
• Every time a president - any president - says he is going to dramatically cut the budget in future years, I'm reminded of the person who says he is going to start a diet on Monday.  Why not start right now?
• Mav Dancer wardrobe malfunction last night?
• "She was delivering her grandchild to her ex-husband's stepmother." - A sentence that was actually uttered to me yesterday. 
• Never a good start when there's a note in the kitchen that reads, "The potty is broken."
• Yeah, we can all go nuts when a little kid is patted down by airport security, but we'd all go nuts if a plane blew up because a bomb was hidden on a little kid. 
• For all you conspiracy nuts, here's a college professors investigation into whether Sarah Palin is actually the grandmother of Trig. Did you know she won't produce a birth certificate? Sound familiar?
• Pete Delkus has already tweeted this morning about afternoon tornadoes and severe storms. He's even using exclamation points!!!

Real News: Proposed Legislature Redistricting Map Has Major Impact On Wise County

If I've got my facts right (always a dicey proposition), Wise County very possibly will be in a new state legislative house district (#88) joining a bunch of west Texas conservative (and slightly populated) counties.  This also means that Rep. Phil King would no longer represent us. (The horror!)

And since District 88 used to surround Amarillo with the current representative being moved to District 87, it would become an "open seat" meaning there will be no incumbent in the next election.

(If this makes the Messenger's Update, I want full credit or I'll unleash a team of lawyers bigger than those involved in Motorcycle Guy vs. Fed Ex. In the meantime, I'll credit the Star-Telegrams's Bud Kennedy who provided this info to me directly. Follow him on Twitter.)

Barry Bonds Verdict Coming In Minutes

The jury has been deliberating on perjury charges for four days.  Certainly they won't now say they have no reasonable doubt about his guilt.

Update: Hung jury on all counts with the exception of one. That verdict is. . . . Guilty on "Obstruction of Justice" (the most catchall of federal crimes.)

Edit: How vague is this?? Counts 1 through 4 of the indictment were for perjury. One was abandoned at trial leaving three counts of perjury which the jury did not convict on. So look at the remaining language of the Obstruction count (below). Without lying being proven, the jury had to have convicted him on being "evasive" or "misleading". Sheesh.

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And since I'm all things to all people, if the Barry Bonds post bores you, we've got another teacher sex scandal. Get this: She lives in Attica.

You Can't Ignore This Story Even If You Tried

Twin brothers in Houston saw their 89 year old mother fall on the floor while they were watching the football national championship game and simply left her there. (Hey, it was an exciting game!)  From fall until death took three days, and from there they left her for another three months. Oh, my. (Story).

I think those boys might be a little slow. And although they might be guilty of something, murder may not be it.  (It's pretty complicated but watch for the charge to be changed to Injury to the Elderly By Omission.)

But momma had a checking account with $700,000 in it?

Wednesday Afternoon Pick Me Up

And they're Dallas chicks who hang out in Uptown at Sfuzzi's on "Industry Mondaze" night. (Which I'm guessing caters to the service industry crowd, but that theory only causes me more questions about these two than it answers.)

Motorcyclist v. Fed Ex: Day Two

My update: I still don't know a thing. But I did snap this pic this morning which, I'd wager to guess, includes only attorneys, legal assistants, corporate reps, and parties to the lawsuit. I was able to get fourteen in the pic (red dots), and there were about six I couldn't get in.  And for everyone in the courtroom, there are more back at the office working in support.

And the sad thing is you'll never see a criminal trial with that amount of resources being spent because those being charged can't afford it.

(Side note: I noticed that the criminal investigator for the Wise County Attorney's office made it on the jury.)

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• The District of Columbia is the first to allow Internet gambling asserting that the federal law banning it has enough murky loopholes to let them try it.
• You would think the soon to open Hawaiian Falls water park in Roanoke will be a tremendous success.
• Subway beat down a couple of days ago from kid sweeping the floor: "Mind if I sweep under your table while you're eating?" Dude. 
• Is there any baseball player more fragile than Josh Hamilton (who is out for around two months after the Ranger broke his arm in a head first slide into home plate yesterday)?
• And several have noted that Hamilton had a can of snuff in his back pocket. Necessary?
• A one car wreck in Wise County yesterday injured occupants named Felipe and Fidel. 
• Whatever happened to Amy Grant?
• "If I create a thing that can be exposed, do I become a folly or a star?" - opening line of a very long and philosophical text I received from a buddy on Saturday night that might have celebrated a bit too much. 
• Every organization tries to expand by courting those that really have no interest in the core product. Example: An NBA game has video, music, cheerleaders, light shows, mascots, and everything else to entertain kids and spouses that would otherwise be bored to death by basketball. Or how about an example of a twitpic yesterday of a Hooters girl doing the hula hoop at a college baseball game?
• Does the above "expand by courting" apply to today's churches?
• A mom got into her minivan and drove three of her kids into the Hudson River in New York last night. All are dead. But she let one son, age 10, out of the van beforehand. A trust fund should be established for his future therapy. Edit: The Fox story was updated after I published this. I swear the original version said she let the 10 year old out. Now it says he escaped. 
• And speaking of trust funds, my criticism of Baby Jessica's trust fund was based on "why does she deserve the money?"  If she needed the money as a child for medical or mental treatment, that makes sense. But what purpose does it serve to dump a trainload of cash on her now?
• Always fun: Being befriended on Facebook by an old girlfriend and then checking out what became of her through her photos. 
• Reader submitted "Hey, now."
• Worst person to be behind in convenience store checkout line: The guy turning in and buying scratch off lottery tickets. "I'll take one of them Texas Two Steps ... no, not that one....one down ... yeah, that one. And I'll take two of them Don't Mess With Texas . . . . "