6.01.2015

That Wasn't Collateral Damage




I had heard that she was actually targeted, but I had no idea it was such a direct hit.
at 11:47 AM

During The Rain In Grand Prairie

at 8:50 AM

Random Monday Morning Thoughts


  • Little bit of chaos last night when the bridge on 280 at Runaway Bay was shut down for flooding. But how about the directness of the Runaway Bay FD's message: "CONFIRMED: TxDOT will be closing Hwy 380 at the Lake Bridgeport bridge. Please do not call the Sheriff's dept to ask questions. If we get word on whether they are going to open it back up or not, we will try to keep everyone informed." TxDot's website says that it is expected to open at 4:00 p.m. today but I'd take that with a grain of salt. 
  • That horrible story of the family in Wimberley whose cabin was picked up by flood waters has a fact in it which is hard to believe: The surviving man was found alive 12 miles downstream. Most stories say the cabin was carried by flood waters for "miles" before it crashed into a bridge and everyone went in the water. I'd like to know how far he went after going into the water. Surviving for long in rapid flood waters would be hard to do.
  • Another project over the weekend: My old gas stovetop started "clicking" about every five minutes even though the burners were off. As a result, I now have learned more about how a gas burner works than I ever wanted to.  I think I've got it diagnosed but my temporary work around involves using an extension cord to cut the power to it when not in use. That's the equivalent of fixing things with duct tape. 
  • Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert was indicted Friday for lying about hush money that he spent to keep a seedy affair private.  That led to this from the Washington Post: "If I understand the history correctly, in the late 1990s, the President was impeached for lying about a sexual affair by a House of Representatives led by a man who was also then hiding a sexual affair, who was supposed to be replaced by another Congressman who stepped down when forced to reveal that he too was having a sexual affair, which led to the election of a new Speaker of the House who now has been indicted for lying about payments covering up his sexual contact with a boy."
  • I made a trip to Home Depot but before I did I downloaded the company's app. Greatest development ever: Look up a product and it will tell you what aisle it is on for the specific store you are in. 
  • New Texas Ranger Josh Hamilton is on fire but I expect he'll have some mental meltdown in the next few months. But in the meantime, the Angels have to have Slumped Shoulders as they are on the hook for $63 million of his salary over the next three years. 
  • I managed to drive five miles after accidentally leaving a hack saw on the trunk of my car. And it didn't budge an inch. 
  • A long read that I have saved: Wired's "The Untold Story of Silk Road".  And it becomes even more fascinating with the news that the "creator" of a deep Internet site responsible for peddling drugs and perhaps murder for hire any maybe more was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Friday. 


at 8:39 AM

5.31.2015

Country Club Fight!




I hope everyone is OK.


at 2:08 PM

5.30.2015

We Got Us A Couple Of Middle Aged Wise County Outlaws!


Hang on guys, I'm coming to help! There has to be something in the Bill of Rights to protect you from being chased off government land by a government employee while you are simply watching water (which has fallen from Heaven, mind you!) being released because of a governmental decision.

But I'll give the deputy credit for just running you off.  This silly concept of "you break the law and you will be arrested and prosecuted" without any consideration of for the facts, circumstances, common sense, and common decency is lost on many people theses days.  Or maybe that's just my old Wise County roots talking.
at 4:29 PM

View From Highway: Two Miles West Of Bridgeport


at 12:40 PM

Tweet From Tea Party Darling Rep. Jonathan Stickland

But has much as I can't stand that guy (because he has no idea what he is doing), that was better comedy he just threw down than a certain Texas judge always tries to attempt.






at 12:25 PM

5.29.2015

Oklahoma Man Bitten By Snake Taking You Into The Weekend

at 5:02 PM

Lake Bridgeport Right Now




at 1:20 PM

One More Dallas Flood Photo


This is truly amazing. As drivers have been stuck for over six hours due to flooding, they are removing the barriers to allow traffic to do a u-turn.
at 12:47 PM

Dallas Flooding This Morning






And now it gets serious . . .


And if someone from Wise County doesn't have an opinion on this, I'll be disappointed:


Edit: And this from noon:

at 10:48 AM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts


  • I've got a fancy weather app which has arrows showing the direction a storm is traveling and at what speed. I knew there was a problem last night when that line of storms hit the metroplex and, when I checked back 30 minutes later, I noticed it was moving backwards at five miles per hour.
  • Watched the last two standing in the National Spelling Bee last night and was happy to see that one of them was Vanya Shivashankar - a girl who I followed for weeks on the show Child Genius. It made me unjustifiably feel smart. 
  • Few minutes ago: "Sachse Fire-Rescue is trying to get an officer out of his squad car. He is stuck in high water." Photo.  Hey, turn around, don't . . . . Dang it, I can never remember that phrase.  Edit: Of course they rescued him with a helicopter.
  • BagOfNothing referred to a Punky Brewster episode of a kid getting locked in a refrigerator. I don't think I ever saw a single episode of that show but being warned about playing arpimd an abandoned refrigerator was a huge public service campaign back in my childhood. Which now has me thinking: Was there an epidemic of abandoned refrigerators back in the day? 
  • Saw FBC Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress embarrassing his church again by going on a political rant on Hannity.  I almost expect the IRS to try and take away the church's tax exempt status because its leader is more of a political pundit that a religious leader.
  • Lake Bridgeport is 2.27 feet high this morning, and I believe the spillway is open.
  • There were pictures released yesterday allegedly showing Jerry Jones partying with a couple of women. I don't think that's Jerry. 
  • Official Liberally Lean Baseball Player Chris Davis has 11 home runs this year but I haven't mentioned a single one. 
  • The Open Carry bill is now back on track with the amendment of "police cannot detain to check for a CHL" language taken out of it.  It's absolutely amazing that Tea Party favorites Konni Burton and Jonathan Stickland have been going on rants saying the legislature has no respect for the 4th Amendment for striking that language. That shows a complete lack of understanding.  The bill's amendment provided greater protection than the 4th Amendment -- a state can do that. But with the bill's amendment gone, it is the 4th Amendment which will control what police can and cannot do when they see an openly carried handgun. 
  • Three of the Waco bikers have been released once their bonds were reduced to $25,000.  But innocent people who were arrested without probable cause sit in jail down there. Amazing. 



at 8:38 AM

5.28.2015

That Storm Last Night Parked Itself Over Saginaw and Blue Mound


at 9:10 AM

Lake Bridgeport Time Lapse



I'm not sure what's more impressive: The lake's rise or the filming of it.

What's the story behind this? I can't tell if a plane, helicopter or a drone was used.
at 8:52 AM

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts



  • Amazon is hiring another 450 people in Haslet. And it looks like Facebook will probably occupy a 750,000-square-foot data center nearby. That's a lot of jobs close to Wise County.
  • Great clip yesterday of Ann Coulter, with contempt, refusing to hug an undocumented immigrant at an event. (Yeah, there are a ton of reasons not to do so in that environment -- safety being one of them.) But being mean is what she does -- and it sells books.
  • That slow speed chase yesterday ended with a ton of cops pulling the guy out of the car. One of them immediately takes the butt of his rifle/shotgun and slams it down on the guy. Another cop behind him immediately pulls him off realizing that  the force used was unnecessary and that any idiot should know there are cameras on them.  Edit: 54 second mark to 58 seconds here.
  • TV critic Ed Bark was on the radio this morning and said that one of the four local stations might get better ratings in the future if it had refused to cover the chase and then led its nightly news broadcast with a note that they didn't believe it was newsworthy.  (I don't think Bark will get a job as a consultant any time soon.) 
  • Republicans Rick Santorum and George Pataki entered the race for President yesterday. Man, that field is crowded. By the time all is said and done, even Wordkyle will be taking part in the first televised debate.
  • Back during the silly TCU football team "drug bust", the morning boys on The Ticket were talking about  it and two of them were adamant that marijuana users may not need to be locked up but those "dealers" sure did. Gordon Keith asked, "If your roommate just gave his buddy $20 for weed and you ask the roommate if he could have his buddy get you some next time and you give the roommate $20, is the roommate now a 'drug dealer'?" 
  • Trying to figure out the status of the Open Carry bill in the Texas Legislature has been next to impossible over the last 24 hours. If it is dead (and I'm not sure that it is is), it's because of the amendment prohibiting cops from detaining and checking an open carry participant for a concealed handgun license. 
  • "Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong.'' - Stephen Decatur (the namesake of Decatur, Texas.) History of that quote is here.
  • There was a story yesterday of a 17 year old in Irving allegedly choking his ex-girlfriend to death. Fox 4 referred to the her as his "estranged" girlfriend. I guess that's technically correct but just seems weird. 


at 8:39 AM

5.27.2015

Texas Flooding



Wow.

at 4:46 PM

I Think The Slowest Police Chase Ever Is Going On Right Now



But we love bits . . .
Edit: SWAT Team tank? Rammed. And a police army jumped out!



at 3:15 PM

Dog vs. Fence: Who Ya Got?



I don't know why it's so funny to me, but I love how he looks briefly at the camera at the :17 mark.  Just a dumb expression of, "What? You've never seen a dog climb a fence before?"
at 12:02 PM
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