Extra Random Thoughts

• Regarding the iTunes password that I keep forgetting. I keep a password manager on my computer (fantastic idea, by the way) but for some reason it works only for browsers and not for the stand alone iTunes program. So why don't I just write that one down (especially since I am a notorious notetaker and documentor)? Because I'm now in a loop where I have to reset about once every three months when I want an app/music/book right then!!! After I go through the beat down of resetting it, I'm so happy to get my app/music/book that I just do the ol' "I can remember it" trick.
• I was almost killed yesterday at the four way stop at Hale and Trinity at Decatur.  I pulled up to the stop sign right before the car going from my left to right arrivesd. We exchanged the wave to confirm I had the right of way. (Thank you, sir.) I pulled into the intersection to execute my left turn and then out of the corner of my eye I saw a car coming from the right to left. It seemed to be going pretty fast. I quickly took my foot off the gas and gently hit the brake in the intersection. Yep, that car blew right through the intersection at a speed of at least 40 miles per hour. My cat like reflexes saved me again.
• I took this picture last night with my phone pointed straight up.  Suitable for framing. (And I'm almost serious about that.)
• 
  

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• I'm not familiar with Padera Lake alongside U.S. Highway 287 in Midlothian, but its dam is about to break this morning. (Photo.)
• And let the word go forth, over the last 24 hours Lake Bridgeport has now become full -- the first time that has happened since August, 2010. (It's .10 feet over to be exact.)  The Tarrant Regional Water District said this morning that it will open the gates when it hits .20. That's surprising because Lake Worth is full, too.
• Thanks for all the advice on my backstop project. Lots of options to look at. Bird nets. Mosquito nets. Professionally designed nets made to order. But, whatever I decide, I'm expecting the first test softball throw to make it all go tumbling down. I've got a lot of Clark Griswold in me. 
• "AUSTIN - The director of the Texas Department of Public Safety [Steve McCraw]  today apologized for an embarrassing lapse by the Texas Rangers that ended with a confidential witness interview being released to the press."  McCraw is having a heck of a Spring.
• The only time I hear the word "torrential" is when rain is mentioned. I don't think it is limited to just that subject.
• All the northbound traffic on 287 was detoured to residential Decatur this morning due to a truck fire. Flashback: Remember when 380 actually sent all of its traffic, including tons of rock trucks, right by the courthouse before the bypass was built? 
• The Supreme Court has decided to hear a "One man, One vote" Texas case.  This is really pretty interesting. A conservative group challenged the way districts have been drawn for Texas legislator elections based upon the fact that the districts were drawn using total population instead of eligible voters. Using a crazy hypothetical, if there is a district with a million people in it but only 100,000 eligible voters, those voters have more power than a district of a million people with 500,000 eligible voters. 
• Hey, iTunes: When I want to buy something and I can't remember my password it's because you make me reset my password every time I forget. And  since you won't let me use any password I've used in the last year, guess what? I keep using passwords I can't remember!!!!!

What Could Go Wrong?

Spoiler alert: Actually nothing,

And I'm now depressed because the guy who came up with that plan could probably do a better job than me on a high school electricity project or a backstop project. (Although our design concepts are very similar.)

Another Day. Another Reason For People To Get Mad.

Story.

Kind of reminds me of Tommy Lee Jones disgust in The Valley Of Elah.

Is That The Same Guy?

Dallas Morning News tweet:

Fort Worth Star Telegram tweet:

The Morning News story now uses the picture that the Star-Telegram uses.

Edit: Dead of death.

Amber Alert victim found safe. Suspect shot dead. https://t.co/tuqd41SPGg

— DFW Scanner (@DFWscanner) May 26, 2015

Fox News' Darling Ann Coulter Has A New Book

And you wonder why the Republicans will lose the Hispanic vote.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Obligatory weather observation: Stop Raining!!!!
• Shocking story in Wimberley: Eight people are missing after the cabin they were staying in was swept up by flood waters. (And the news coverage of this event has been horrible -- which is what you get when no one works on Memorial Day).
• A crazy picture from the flooding on I-45 in Houston this morning taken by a former Wise County resident. (I don't say "must see" very often but this is "must see".)
• Lake Bridgeport is 0.40 feet low this morning.  Low? I think the body of water is now just toying with us.
• Mrs. LL accidentally washed her car keys which, mysteriously, caused her Gangsta Mobile to periodically begin honking its horn the other night. As we stared at the car going crazy in the garage, I told The Kids In The House that  "we have a real live Christine going on here." I received blank stares.
• I saw some friends in the hardware store yesterday as I once again made a trip to conquer my softball backstop project.  The gal gave me a hug and it was about an hour later when I realized that I had jogged that morning, jacked around in the back yard in the humidity, had covered myself with bug spray, and hadn't showered.  
• And the backstop project is now beyond ridiculous. I now have PVC pipe within PVC pipe raised telescopically with net being raised with cords (like you see at a college extra point.) But it's pretty impressive if I don't say so myself. But I need strong yet light netting. Help me!
• President Obama's Memorial Day Address yesterday: “Today is the first Memorial Day in 14 years that the United States is not engaged in a major ground war.”  Thank you.
• Josh Hamilton joined the Rangers this weekend. I still think he's dumb as a box of rocks but why does he no longer mention God when that was all he could talk about three years ago?
• Harry Shearer made news the other day when it was announced that the multi-character voice man for The Simpsons would not be returning to the series. Because of that news I stumbled upon his project where he recreates the Nixon Tapes word for word and cadence for cadence. 
• Back in the 1990s when I had my lake house, I took my boat out one evening even though the lake was closed because of flooding. But that was back in the day when a Game Warden wouldn't stop you you within 50' to do a "safety check". (Before you guys jump me, I was up in the remote north end and went very slowly so as to create very little wake). 
• I watched most of 12 Angry Men late the other night. It's still great, but it finally dawned on me that "reasonable doubt" was hardly discussed at all. They kept using the word "innocent". 

New Yorker and The Republican Hopefuls

Take note of one missing hopeful from Texas who is only represented by a pair of empty boots.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Once again, I'm the hardest working man in show business.
• Lake Bridgeport is at 1.20 feet low this morning, but I'm surprised it's not full. That rain forecast for the weekend seemed to hit more south than north.
• I'm trying to make a homemade softball backstop for the back yard that will extend over the peremiter fence by about six feet. I'm using PVC pipe and (here's the mistake) orange safety fencing. It'll work, but my goal was to have it easily taken up and down. This has turned into my marathon electrical school project from a few weeks back. But my new revised plan is to make it work like a football net that you'll see on TV being raised and lowered for field goals and PATs. I love this stuff. And I have the best time thinking about what will work and proudly, yet reluctantly, scrapping everything I've done when I discover a new and better way. 
• I visited Arlington National Cemetery once and it was overwhelming.
• This story on the alleged Chico murder/arson gave me Tired Head while reading it. 
• Sheriff Joe says he needs money to pay for lawyers. 
• I'll echo BagOfNothing today: I never say, "I know what you are going through" or "I know how you feel." I don't know. Nor do you. 
• Watched a little of the Fox News morning news show yesterday where Chris Wallace made presidential wannabe Mike Huckabee look silly on his assertion that Supreme Court decisions should not be enforced unless all three branches of government agree on the issue.
• I think I write Random Thoughts every morning for the same reason "you should make your bed". It may be a small and insignificant accomplishment but, nevertheless, it is an accomplishment at the beginning of the day. 
• The more I think about the Waco biker shootings the more I think the DA is in over his head. It may very well be there is only one murder that can legitimately prosecuted and won. Everything after that is an act in self defense or defense of a third person. (And I'm focusing only on the people involved in the actual shootings -- not the 95% of those being kept in cages for just being there.)
• A video I wish someone create: A side by side of Eddie Vedder going crazy with the guitar on David Letterman the other night at the end of "Better Man" and Michael J. Fox at the prom in Back To The Future.
• The Texas Senate passed the Open Carry bill on Friday night which included a provision that cops can't detain someone to ask if they have a license. I'm almost embarrassed to say I watched the process online. Just like an electrician would shake his head as he watched me work on the Junior In The House's school project, I had Slumped Shoulders as the Senate argued about "probable cause", "investigative detention", and "consensual encounters" with no idea what they were talking about. 
• Just saw that a fan ran up to Roger Federer on the court at the French Open and tried to take a selfie.  Federer was friendly at first and then seconds later became nervous. If he wasn't thinking, "Hey! Monica Seles was stabbed by a fan on the court, right?", I'd be surprised.
• Supreme Court Justice Jeff Boyd posted a Twitter pic this morning about Memorial Day. Note to judge: When you put your name in the graphic, it is obvious that you are pandering.
• Fantastic photo collection of the damage caused by the storms in Texas and Oklahoma. (Thanks, W.C.)

.

Doesn't Quite Do Whatever A Spider Can

Let's Check In On A Newly Formed Wild River of Boerne (TX)

Crazy day out at tap! So glad that the man inside was okay pic.twitter.com/BHu9hRo5k2

— Bradley Veselka (@Brad_Veselka8) May 24, 2015

News Of The Death of "A Beautiful Mind"

John Forbes Nash Jr., the Princeton University mathematician whose life story was the subject of the film "A Beautiful Mind," and his wife of nearly 60 years died Saturday in a taxi crash on the New Jersey Turnpike, police said. More.

Are We Going To See Lake Bridgeport Not Only Full But Over The Banks?

Now just about 2 1/2 feet low on Saturday morning. Amazing.

Here's the rain forecast from National Weather Service (Note: The Liberally Lean Weather Center has not confirmed these projections. We've still got some maps to look at and some animals to consult.)

I hate the labels on that thing. "Bowie" is a dot probably where the "w" is in its name. Wise County is below it and Jack County is to the left of Wise County. That's important because . . . 

This is the often mentioned but rarely understood "watershed" for the lake:

So if the watershed sweet spot is above Jacksboro, that rainfall map has it in its cross hairs.

That's all for now. I'll throw it to the very dramatic Clarice Tinsley so she can read some inane comments from Facebook and her phone that she is currently holding.

Clarice: "Thank you Liberally Lean. The comments on the rain are just on fire on our Fox 4 Facebook page. Jim Bob from Cundiff writes, 'We been praying for rain but I think we need to stop praying.'  That's so right Jim Bob. You nailed it. So true. You're spot on. Couldn't have said it better myself.  And Dakota from Cottondale says, 'If I had known this was gonna happen, I'd built an ark like that Noah guy."  Absolutely! We should have all thought of that!  You might want to get to work on that ark, Dakota and [Production note: Clarice becomes serious as she looks at the camera] don't forget to gather up those animals. They need our love and protection during these trying times. We'll be back after this."

Getting Off Barstools In A Creative Manner Taking You Into The Weekend

Speaking Of Wise County Park

Today's View From The Boat Ramp

Aerial View from April, 2014

That Guy Is Still Showing Up On The Front Row Of The NBA Playoffs

I wrote a post about him four years ago.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Lake Bridgeport this morning is only 4.72 feet low.  I predicted at 6:00 a.m. this morning to a faithful reader that it would be full by Thursday. I would like to revise that prediction to Tuesday. And you might want to take the under. 
• Being a past Lake Bridgeport homeowner with a boat dock (not a bad life, by the way), I can safely say that we have Boat Dock Chaos going on out there. Floating docks have old cables now breaking, and stationary docks have motors and cables that are malfunctioning. 
• Never doubt the Liberally Lean Storm Center. The following was a Random Thought from nine days ago (Hey, Delkus, I'm gunning for your job.): 
• 
• "Waco, Texas (CNN) Texas law enforcement officials are investigating what they say are new threats against officers from biker gangs in the wake of a recent shootout in Waco. Members of the Bandidos biker gang who are in the military 'are supplying the gang with grenades and C4 explosives,' according to a bulletin issued Thursday by the Texas Department of Public Safety and reviewed by CNN. The bulletin warns of plots targeting high-ranking law enforcement officials and their families with car bombs."  The Bandidos have disputed this. In light of how t DPS has recently had its credibility severally damaged under the leadership of Steve McCraw and seems to be operating based upon the Politics of Fear, I think I'll believe the Bandidos on this one. 
• Nothing stuns me more than conservatives, in connection with the Waco shootings, saying "Lock 'em all up and figure it out later." 
• The Texas House has tentatively approved a bill to protect ministers from lawsuits if they refuse to preside over a same sex marriage. I had heard that was a major problem in Texas much like the invasion of chupacabras.  Side note: This bill, as we spiral towards Idiocracy, was offer by Wise County representative Sen. Craig Estes.
• In March of 2010 Texas Monthly published a story encouraging people to complete our “Bucket List”— “63 Things That All Texans Should Do Before They Die”. A Baylor law student did them all in one year.  As much as admire the guy, I'm worried Baylor Law School isn't as tough as it used to be. 
• David Letterman has been doing his show since 1982, and his finale had 13.9 million viewers. The finale of TV's Breaking Bad, which had only 62 episodes on a cable channel you had to search for, had 10.3 million. 
• Back in my DA days in the 1990s, the Wise County Sheriff and I drove past the entrance to Wise County Park. There was a sign for the park which read, "By order of Sheriff: No alcohol allowed."  I looked at him and asked, "Can you that?" He said, "I don't know, can I?" I replied, "I have no idea."  Those were the good old days. 
• MADD and some Texas legislators will soon be holding a news conference announcing that a bill has been sent to the governor requiring Ignition Interlock devices for all people convicted of first time DWIs. And then I'll explain how they are completely wrong.

A Selfie Stick, Driving, Singing, And .... We Could Have Died

(Delayed edit: Oops. Language warning.)

Side note: I'm very confused by the appearance of this group of friends. And how old is the guy who looks like Forest Gump after he ran across the country?

Side note #2:  A group called Player sang Baby, Come Back but don't you dare question the Internet which seems to have a strong belief it is Hall & Oates.