Monthly Archives: April 2007

What if Harry Potter was a black kid?

Posted on April 20, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. That’s the question that author Troy CLE initially tried to answer when he created his character, Louis Proof. But it would be simplistic to paint Louis as simply a black version of the beloved Harry. Louis is a very … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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“She maketh me to drive down concrete pastures”

Posted on April 20, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

The 23rd Psalm, as written for Allen Parkway. That’s all you need to know. Check it out. Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | 1 Comment

It’s only a compromise if both sides give up something

Posted on April 19, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I’m as big a fan of Rep. Nick Lampson as you’ll find. Which just makes it that much harder for me to read stories like this in the paper. Concerned by the troop withdrawal timelines in a huge war funding … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq attack | 1 Comment

Not the campaign finance reform bill I was expecting

Posted on April 19, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday, there was a rally in front of the Capitol in support of three bills to limit campaign spending in Texas. Far as I can tell, nothing much happened to them. But one bill did make it out of committee, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Comments Off on Not the campaign finance reform bill I was expecting

The day without BlackBerry

Posted on April 19, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Thankfully, yesterday’s unpleasantness turned out to be not so bad. One of our servers hadn’t reconnected after RIM’s switchover at their network operations center, so we had to reboot it. As noted in my comment at Dwight’s place, we had … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 1 Comment

Fund CHIP fully or lose money

Posted on April 19, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve spilled plenty of electronic ink arguing for a full restoration of CHIP funding in Texas. Among the many reasons for this is the fact that not doing so has cost Texas millions of dollars in federal matching funds. If … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on Fund CHIP fully or lose money

Finding #755

Posted on April 19, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I love this story. It was one of the more forgettable home runs of Hank Aaron’s remarkable, record-setting career. But it was nonetheless historic, and the Brewers are going to great lengths this summer to commemorate it. The club has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | 1 Comment

TIERS for Albert Hawkins

Posted on April 19, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, the state of Texas recently cancelled its contract with Accenture to run call centers to determine eligibility for benefits like Medicaid. But the call-center deal was only part of what Accenture was doing for the Health and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 1 Comment

600 Sq Mi

Posted on April 19, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Do you live in or around Houston and like taking pictures? If you do, Houstonist would like you to know about 600 Sq Mi, its first-ever photography show: It’s a juried exhibition of photographs from Houston, from Main Street to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

The good, the bad, and the annoying

Posted on April 19, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve seen the 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time, and we’ve seen the 50 Best Tech Products of All Time. What else is there? Well, there’s the 20 Most Annoying Tech Products: Unlike PC World’s 25 Worst Products of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 1 Comment

The Center for Hearing and Speech

Posted on April 18, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Meet the neighbor of the Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation: Renee Davis, executive director of the center that teaches deaf children to speak without using sign language, said she has not been contacted by the city, but she worries … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 3 Comments

And so it goes

Posted on April 18, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

That didn’t take long. The ink was hardly dry on today’s SCOTUS decision before the legislative outsourcing of abortion to Mexico – for women who can afford it, of course – got underway. Coming soon to a Lege near you: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Comments Off on And so it goes

Voter ID video

Posted on April 18, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

If I had a couple million dollars to spare, I’d blanket the state airways with this video: I don’t know who made it, but it’s brilliant. Share and enjoy. UPDATE: Just so there’s no confusion, I didn’t create this. And … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 3 Comments

CLOUT can sue after all

Posted on April 18, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Back in June, the Edd Hendee group CLOUT filed a lawsuit that claimed that the constitutional spending cap was illegally exceeded by the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) during the 2006 special session on school finance. That suit was thrown out … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on CLOUT can sue after all

Not the sort of headline I like to wake up to

Posted on April 18, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

RIM says it has Blackberry outage Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM) said on Wednesday its Blackberry mobile e-mail network had an interruption, and gave no time frame for restoring service. “We are currently experiencing a service interruption that is causing … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Comments Off on Not the sort of headline I like to wake up to

Reminder: Fundraiser for Mark Strawn

Posted on April 18, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder about the fundraiser for my neighbor Mark Strawn, who is recovering from a nasty auto accident that almost killed him. The cost is $40 per person in advance, $45 at the door. If you think you might … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | Comments Off on Reminder: Fundraiser for Mark Strawn

Suffering Sappho!

Posted on April 18, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

As someone who grew up reading my uncle’s old superhero comics of the 1950s and 60s at my grandmother’s house, I have to say that this is simultaneously the most awesome and the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen. Be … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | 1 Comment

Freeway blogging, Houston-style

Posted on April 18, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this story regarding Houston’s freeway bloggers. 1. How you can write such a story while never mentioning the original Freeway Blogger is beside me. (His blog site is now here.) I mean, FreewayBlogger.com … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | 1 Comment

On second chances

Posted on April 18, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg is one half of a duo filling in for Rick Casey while he’s off doing whatever it is that he’s doing right now. Her first column in his stead is a beaut. It’s a comparison of how Dallas … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 2 Comments

Campaign finance reform bills up today

Posted on April 18, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

The three campaign finance reform bills that I mentioned before are on the calendar today for the House Elections Committee. There will be a press event put on by Texans for Public Justice in support of them today in Austin. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Comments Off on Campaign finance reform bills up today

Clarification of the Center’s lease with the city

Posted on April 17, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

The following was sent to me by Ed Davis, who is a media contact for the Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation: Clarification of $1 rental agreement with The City of Houston: Since the original lease was amended effective June … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Clarification of the Center’s lease with the city

Time for the real sausagemaking to begin

Posted on April 17, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Of all the things the Lege does, none is quite as awe-inspiring and stomach-churning as the joint committee to reconcile the House and Senate budgets. Basically, everything that’s happened so far – in particular, all of the victories by the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on Time for the real sausagemaking to begin

TDEX followup

Posted on April 17, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Previously, I mentioned that Rep. David Swinford had promised to amend his HB13 to include DPS oversight of the TDEx database. Here’s a statement from Rep. Richard Raymond, who had introduced HB4108 for that purpose after news of TDEx became … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Five and ten

Posted on April 17, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

If you want to know why every other year some of us turn into obsessive Lege-watchers, the answer is in stories like this. A bill designed to give homeowners some relief from rising property appraisals was tentatively approved by the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

A rail threefer

Posted on April 17, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Catching up from yesterday, three related items of interest: First, the Chron speaks out about the anti-rail “lawsuit” from last week: In what is shaping up as a repeat of an unsuccessful but expensive legal battle to stop the Main … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 2 Comments

TDEx fallout

Posted on April 17, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Big Governor may be watching, but it looks like DPS may be about to get into his way. According to the Observer, Rep. David Swinford has agreed to amend HB13, the Homeland Security/border security bill that Governor Perry is pushing, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Comments Off on TDEx fallout

Ban on demolition in Old Sixth Ward could be permanent

Posted on April 17, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

The moratorium on demolitions in the Old Sixth Ward may be made permanent. City officials have proposed a permanent ban on demolitions of historical buildings in part of the Old Sixth Ward — a proposal that would be the most … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

More on the DMN’s death penalty change of heart

Posted on April 17, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

More good stuff from the Dallas Morning News, whose conversion on the death penalty has if not the zeal then certainly the earnestness one expects from a convert. In theory, the ultimate punishment is imposed for the most heinous of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Comments Off on More on the DMN’s death penalty change of heart

Voter ID bills coming soon

Posted on April 17, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Sometime in the next few days (it was going to be today, but it got postponed), the odious voter ID bills, HBs 218 and 626 will come to the floor of the House. Never mind that claims of voter fraud … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 8 Comments

Virginia Tech

Posted on April 16, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, my God. I just saw the story about the shootings at Virginia Tech. I’m horrified beyond words. All I can say is that the school and everyone connected with it are in my prayers. Here’s a report from someone … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Comments Off on Virginia Tech

Strip club crackdown coming

Posted on April 16, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Having finally won the lawsuit, the city of Houston is planning to crack down on the SOBs. Houston police vice officers are working with city attorneys to determine which topless clubs, modeling studios and adult bookstores to target first. They’ve … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 6 Comments

Community meeting for TSU

Posted on April 16, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, Governor Perry ordered TSU be put into conservatorship. Gov. Rick Perry asked Texas Southern University’s regents to resign Friday in favor of a single conservator with extraordinary powers to make changes at the financially troubled school. The governor … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 1 Comment

If at first you don’t succeed, amend another bill

Posted on April 16, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

You may recall the mysterious case of Rep. Hubert Vo’s HB478, which would require utilities in Texas to accept a bill as being paid by the postmark date on the envelope, thus preventing them from “processing” payments internally and charging … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 2 Comments

Former City Attorney explains the deal with the Center

Posted on April 16, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

From the Sunday letters to the editor. I’m going to copy it here for future reference. Former city attorney explains In the dispute over the city’s contract with the Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation, it appears that Mayor Bill … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment