Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• I don't know how you could have better beaches than what is here. White sand. Small waves. And, depending on the tide, the water is so shallow that it is like walking on it. 
• The picture below (rare for me to post stuff like that, I know) shows what I'm talking about exactly. And the sun set makes for perfect lighting for great photos. We took a ton. 
• In the photo I'm actually saying, "This is so cheesy."  Then I saw it later and it was anything but. 
• I don't know what I think about Seaside. It's like you are walking around in a 1950's town that would be quaint if the tourists hadn't found it. 
• There's actually a Truman House on a side road which had absolutely no one looking at it besides us. 
• The dolphins swam by yesterday when the beach was crowded but their fins breaking the surface looked a little creepy. I soooo wanted to break out into the character of the mayor from Jaws with, "It's a beautiful day. The beaches are open. Welcome to Amityville."
• Finally had a few drunk spring breakers show up but very few. Almost all the condos require someone over 25 to be the renter. 25 is the new 18. 
• Florida has the "speed limit enforced by aircraft" signs.  That's a government lie, right?
• I'm posting this now but I'm still writing more. I overslept. 
• I had to make the dreaded Subway Sandwich run for five orders. I made everyone write theirs down neatly because I'm not talking to anyone for that long to order food. And when a lone guy came in behind me, I asked the clerk to let him go in front of me. "No! You were here first!" Sassy little gal
• I found a beat up football. After throwing it with the Fourth Grader in The Condo, we secretly buried it on the beach. The goal today is to find it. 
• We watched The Cosby Show last night. To my surprise, I now want the kids to watch every episode. There are a lot of life lessons in there that I'm not capable of teaching. 
• Beach people watching is the best people watching. 
• On the first day on the balcony I looked out and said, "The sea was angry that day my friend."  Our Visitor in the Condo who goes to a private school said, "old man in the sea".  I'm thinking Seinfeld. She's thinking Hemingway. 
• Before we went to sleep the other night, I was watching The Family Guy and Mrs. LL was reading a book on New Orleans voodoo. And we were both totally happy. 
• 
  

Best Of Days

Me. The Teenager In The House. The Fourth Grader In The House. Mrs. LL 

There are some photos you know you want to keep close to your heart. 

Above The Fold

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Someone mentioned yesterday that I was an idiot for choosing Shreveport as the overnight stop destination on the way to Destin because it was only four hours into the trip. I couldn't agree more.
• Day One of the trip: Rain and horrible weather.  We stayed inside and watched movies and actually had a great time. But it's supposed to be sunny the rest of the week. 
• We are staying in a high rise condo and here's the view from yesterday.
• And I'm now a big fan of the condo. It's more expensive than a hotel, but with a full kitchen, I think it may end up cheaper by having most meals here.
• I was a regular real estate tycoon when I guessed condos in this place sell for around $400,000. 
• We rented this one from a doctor in Louisiana who owns four of them. 
• Before we made the grocery store run, we had breakfast at Cick-fil-A. I would never eat such a breakfast on my own and am stunned how many people do.
• There was a young tatted guy who came in asking for an application. Call me weird, but I was a mess of emotions as I watched him fill it out.
• Any one else know about that tunnel in Bilouxi?
• I don't think I've ever taken Spring Break off since law school. 
• Our plan today is to go to Seaside, home of the filming of The Truman Show, and a state beach park that is right by it. 
• Mrs. LL Thinks she is now a new person of discipline after going ten days in vegetable juice and driving the whole way here. She might be right. 
• This condo has a machine in the lobby which gives you two free dvd rentals at a time. Based on The Kids' reaction, we found the Holy Grail. 
• The older kids watched Dark Shadows yesterday. I didn't even attempt to explain to them it was a weird soap opera when I was a kid. 
• Clint Eastwood may have screwed up the Republican National Convention but his daughter is a Hey, Now. 

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• We're live from Destin, Florida this morning. Things might be a little slow around here this week, and the content will be a little different.
• Mrs. LL gets sick whenever she is a passenger. So what did she insist on this road trip? Driving the whole time. Fine by me. We broke it up by spending the night in Shreveport.
• You ever been in a car from Shreveport to Destin? BEAT-ING.
• I'm not a big restarant guy but I made it a point to taking everyone to Shreveport's Crawdaddy's Kitchen because it was ranked #1 on TripAdvisor.com (which I am a big fan of.) It was the worst service in the history of ever. And when we go back to the hotel, Mrs. LL was writing a review on TripAdvisor that looked to be as long as War and Peace. I'm so scared that I haven't read it yet.
• Recall we've got two teenage girls and one Fourth grade girl on this trip with us. On the way back from the restaurant, Mrs. LL played a trick on me by firing up the seat warmer. I was so delerious that I fired off an uncharacteritic, "My butt is on fire!" Within moments, the Kids in the Car were singing, "My butt is on fire" to the tune of Alicia Key's "This girl is on fire."
• Odd comment from our guest teenager afterwards: "You're so distinguished that it is really funny when you're not." I don't know how to take that. 
• She also has her driver's learning permit so we asked her how well she could drive. "I have a little trouble aiming the car sometimes," she said. 
• Our plan was to go to the Bonnie and Clyde death scene (dark) and Vicksburg's Civil War Memorial the next day but it was raining. My scientific calculations determined that we'd be driving underneath the storm all morning if we headed East. So we decided to go through New Orleans on the way to Design and see the other sights on the way home (if we're still speaking.)
• We stopped by the Nottoway Plantation on the way and I took this pic. You can't help but being swept back in time as you walk the grounds. 
• Our stop over in New Orleans was brief and we walked along the Mississippi River. There a "Holocaust Park" area which was being honored by three guys by smoking pot. 
• Highway 10 in Mississippi and Alabama is the darkest road in America.
• Mrs. LL likes to listen to Ticket Podcasts with her favorite being the callers in the voting of "Emergency Brake of the Week." We both had headset in and we're laughing out loud. The 
• Kids in the Back decide to do a bit, unbeknownst to us, by saying crazy things to us and seeing if we would laugh at the perfect time.
• Even when loud, it's impossible to get irritated with the Kids laughing. 
• The Wise County kill-a-hog contest is over. That was some serious money they were throwing around over there. 
• No newspaper shot today because I can't make it work.

Weekend Reading

Lots of folks talking about this article.

Above The Fold

Marketing 101 In Austin

I had no idea I was doing it wrong.

New Warning In The Wise County Courthouse

I'm Still Learning Life's Lessons

So on Thursday night, as I'm about to go to bed very early, I hear "Ohhhh!!! It's soooo cute" coming from Mrs. LL as she looked at Facebook. She was on some dog shelter page of some metroplex city -- Irving? North Richland Hills? I have no idea. The Girls In The House rushed to the screen and reacted as you would expect.

The cause of this ruckus? What looked to be almost a full blood Yorkie that was on doggie death row. It was cute. Very cute.

And here is what followed.

Kids: "Can we get her?"

Me: (Very smugly because I know everything): "There is no way someone won't pick up that dog. We paid a krillion dollars for ours. It'll be snatched up in no time."

Kid #1: "But what if it isn't?"

Me (Feeling very confident): "It'll be gone tomorrow."

Mrs. LL (as skillfully as Racehorse Haynes): "But if it is still there, can we get it?"

Me (Feeling a slight panic realizing my bluff had been called but deciding to go all in): "Absolutely."

Kids: "Yeeaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!"

Me: (Heading upstairs knowing I'm the smartest guy in the room).

So yesterday Mrs. LL sent me a picture of me and The Family Pup saying, "This is such a good picture."  I replied that the dog was better looking than me. She sent back the above picture with the message, "Not as cute as this girl."  I thought that was a cute picture of The Family Pup.

I could stop right here because you know what happened. When I got home the house was empty so I decided to check on The Family Pup in the back yard. If I could have anything, I want a picture of my face when I looked down and saw two of them. I had completely forgotten about the above conversation, but it came rushing back to me at the speed of light.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Couldn't decide.
• Hot justice opinion: If Jodi Arias is acquitted, which seems extremely unlikely, it will happen because of one thing -- the jury has been infected with the Stockholm Syndrome because of listening to her for so long. 
• When I mentioned that theory to Mrs. LL last night, I called the "Stockholm Syndrome" the "Helsinki Effect" which is the title of some obscure book from 2001. I have no idea how my brain works. 
• Daylight Savings Time this weekend. 
• The news broke this morning that the unemployment rate is now at a four year low of 7.7%. Combine that with the stock market at an all time high and what we have here is what we call A Republican Nightmare. 
• A non-story: The indictments against the Grand Prairie teacher who allegedly  hit the kid and then took off a couple of months ago were voluntarily dismissed by the prosecutor. Why? The defense filed a motion to dismiss them because they didn't have an opportunity to present their side of the case to the grand jury as promised by the prosecutor. That's a dumb motion. It would never be granted. That's a publicity stunt. But the prosecutor then dismissed the case and will present it to another grand jury, not because they had to, but to counter the publicity stunt. "This office is all about credibility and doing the right thing," they said. 
• For some reason, I'm close to putting Justin Bieber in my Nancy Grace/Ann Curry/Sheriff Joe category. 
• I drug my parents to an office in Bridgeport in 1996 to show them the Internet because I thought it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. In 2013, I still hold the same belief.
• I've never felt so old: Today is the 30th anniversary of the birth of New Order's Blue Monday. Still love it. 
• Ted Cruz is going to be solid gold entertainment -- until Texas ultimately becomes a blue state. 
• A moment that made me pause as I scanned the Update this morning: "NO SERVICE is scheduled for Sandra Berneice Cagle, 69, of Wichita Falls. Coker-Hawkins is handling arrangements."
• I bought an iPad this summer with a great deal of trepidation. Verdict: I love it. I hardly use my laptop at home anymore. 
• Heard on The Ticket this morning that a new college football rule is that the quarterback will no longer be able to spike the ball to stop the clock if there is less than three seconds left. Really? What is the purpose of that rule. 
• Speaking of a "Motion to Dismiss" an indictment, that request cannot be honored in Texas criminal law except in the area of Speedy Trial violations. Prediction: The trial court dismissing the case in Dallas yesterday after DA Craig Watkins refused to testify will be reversed. 

Just In: Chico Man Sentenced

Jury convicts Jeremy Sturch of intoxication manslaughter & sentences him to 10yrs probation & $10,000 fine in death of Michelle Lightfoot
— GET THE LATEST (@TarrantDAOffice) March 7, 2013

Man, that's been a lot of probations in Intoxication Manslaughter cases lately.

(That time stamp is screwed up. This tweet came out at around 3:30 p.m.)

Jerry Was Just Slaying It Last Night In Little Rock

Trial Lawyering Like Nobody's Business

Some law firm paid the Texas Lawyer magazine to send out this email blast that I just received. Holy cow! $30 million!  How bad of an accident was this? Was someone maimed? Killed?

Nope. The verdict was against a small welding company for "negligently" setting a fire that burned down 42 condos.  That's not particularly exciting. And get this: The small company had a liability policy of only $100,000, and the company offered that amount to the Plaintiff's lawyer from the beginning but he wouldn't take it. Now he's got a $30 million judgment he'll probably never collect.

Attorney Tony Buzbee said the verdict sent a message to out-of-town contractors, many of whom were accused of taking advantage of island residents after Hurricane Ike. "Don't sell us a bill of goods and don't lie to us," Buzbee said.

Message received! Check that. Paid advertising email received. 

Dallas DA Thrilled To Be On Stand Right Now

But he ain't talking.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Another gas leak. Another house destroyed. This time in Lake Highlands.
• There was a hit (a cop car) and run last night in Dallas. But check out the guilty vehicle -- an El Camino with tricked up wheels. 
• I was explaining what a Molotov cocktail was last night when it occurred to me I didn't know why it was named that way. And I've yet to search the Google for an answer.
• Senator Rand Paul conducted a filibuster last night in the Senate over the issue of drone strikes against U.S. citizens on U.S. soil.  But that was the worst filibuster ever. First, he quit at midnight which is hardly an Herculean effort. Secondly, other senators got to speak at length so Paul didn't even have to work that hard.
• I think the U.S. would never do such a drone strike. Then again, the government kills a man "armed with sticks" by Lake Grapevine and no one bats an eye. 
• Mark Davis said on the radio this morning that he is actually fine with the federal government killing "enemy combatants" with a drone on U.S. soil in "limited circumstances." Incredible. He said the determination of who is an "enemy combatant" can be made by the "intelligence forces of the United States." Double incredible. "It's a trust issue," he said. Triple incredible. 
• Mrs. LL saved a puppy on the loose last night in the neighborhood.
• Yeah, I agree: The White House stopping tours because of the sequester is nothing but a stunt. 
• Jodi Arias will answer 150 questions from the jury. What kind of kangaroo court system does Arizona have? 
• I watched Bill O'Reilly go off on Alan Colmes from this Tuesday. Man, that guy has an anger problem. He has grown up much from his "Do it live!" days.
• Deion Sanders and his crazy wife are actually having a divorce trial in front of a jury this week. Listen, if your divorce case goes before a jury, one or both of you have serious issues. 
• I never dreamed I would see this headline: "County, private lockups sit empty, drain money as Texas prisoners dwindle."
• Mrs. LL has taken up sleepwalking. Have I mentioned this? Last night she got up, opened the bathroom door, then turned around and walked over and slowly picked up pillows off of a chair and dropped them on the floor as she giggled. I can always tell when one of her episodes is about to start because she will thrash in the bed. 

Definitive Proof That Texas AG Gregg Abbott Is Running For Governor

A couple of weeks ago he posted pictures of him "hunting" (from his wheelchair) on Facebook. Today he posted the above graphic. Source.

Then he posts this tweet which may say more about his understanding of economics than his view of Obamacare. The man is still stuck in 2007. ("RT" means to re-tweet that post for those uninitiated to Twitter.)

RT if you agree with @tedcruz’s plan to cut #Obamacare funding until the economy is growing again blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2013… #tcot #teaparty
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 6, 2013

Facebooking and Twittering and Pandering to the Right Wing. At least he's transparent.

"Am I My Nephew's Keeper?"

And if you're going to shoplift, you might want to take the weed out of your pocket.

Story.

Edit (and I do mean a serious edit.)

On March 6, 2013, the Media Relations office was notified of an arrest involving a person, Thomas Lee Watkins III, who claimed he was the nephew of Craig Watkins, Dallas County District Attorney. An email intended to go to Dallas Police Media Relations Personnel only was accidentally sent out to an email distribution list for media outlets. Further investigation revealed that Thomas Watkins is not, in fact, related to Craig Watkins at all. The Dallas Police Department deeply regrets the error and we offer our apology to the Watkins family.