Monthly Archives: February 2002

Hell to dip into low 20s tonight

Posted on February 9, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Tom DeLay has decided that he doesn’t fanatically oppose commuter rail after all. He now supports extended the Metro light rail line out into the lower Fort Bend towns “if the residents want it”. Mighty decent of you, big … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Hell to dip into low 20s tonight

Administrivia

Posted on February 8, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Finally added a hit counter to the page. Dunno if it’ll be enlightening or depressing, but I finally got jealous of all the other sites that had ’em and did something about it. Thanks to Erica for the info. Also, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Yet another silly web-based personality quiz

Posted on February 8, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Which John Cusack Are You? Thanks to Jack for the link. Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | Comments Off on Yet another silly web-based personality quiz

Crime and punishment redux

Posted on February 8, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

My dad has his say about mandatory sentencing and judicial discretion. He did 14 years on the bench in New York, so he’s got some perspective on the issue. Speaking of such things, the California Supreme Court just dealt a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Yet another reason to love Houston

Posted on February 8, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Baseball season has officially begun, with Rice’s wild 10-9 win over Baylor last night in the second annual Astros Collegiate Classic at the Venue Soon To Be Formerly Known As Enron Field. I’ll be there tonight to watch the Owls … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Comments Off on Yet another reason to love Houston

First Houston blog get-together

Posted on February 8, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The Houston blog community had its first get together last night. Sadly, I was unable to attend this time, but it sounds like there will be other opportunities in the future. Thanks to Hanna for playing photojournalist. I think this … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 1 Comment

Mieszkowski alert

Posted on February 7, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, Katherine! This guy thinks Silicon Valley sucks! And he lives there! UPDATE: Ken Layne hates San Francisco too! Be sure to follow the links, especially this one from Nick Denton’s blog to one of Layne’s old Tabloid.Net pieces. Woof. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | 1 Comment

You keep using that word…

Posted on February 7, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Megan McArdle takes issue with liberals’ use of the word “fascist” as a code word for “people I don’t like”. She suggests the following experiment: 1) Find a liberal 2) Get him to say someone is a ‘fascist’ 3) Then … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The readers strike back

Posted on February 6, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Salon’s readers (mostly) give Katherine Mieszkowski the business for her sweeping generalizations of Houston. Ginger notes something we both missed the first time around, that Mieszkowski hails from Clear Lake. And as she notes, that explains a lot. Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | Comments Off on The readers strike back

Krishna Krishna

Posted on February 6, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

A dozen Hare Krisha congregations are filing for bankruptcy. I was going to make a cheap Arthur Anderson joke about this, but the Chapter 11 filing is in response to a lawsuit that alleges sexual and emotional abuse of children, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Comments Off on Krishna Krishna

Julia Child’s kitchen

Posted on February 6, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Julia Child’s kitchen is going to the Smithsonian, while the legendary chef moves into a retirement community in Southern California. If they really want to honor her life, the kitchen should be fully operational and properly staffed at all times. Continue reading →

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The long arm of the law

Posted on February 6, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The chief of police in West University Place, a small incorporated city within Houston, will be docked two weeks’ pay for surfing naughty web sites at work. That’s $3000 in pay that he’ll be forfeiting. What really makes that hurt … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on The long arm of the law

The Troubles of Being Tiffany

Posted on February 6, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

My wife’s name is Tiffany. She’s a graduate of Georgetown University. She holds a doctorate in Science and Technology Policy from The University of Manchester. She’s a sweet, intelligent, serious person. And she’s got a name which is routinely and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | Comments Off on The Troubles of Being Tiffany

Why I’m not a libertarian

Posted on February 5, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Charles Dodgson sums it up pretty well for me. I like the free market just fine, thanks, but I’ve never viewed it as magic. I agree with Molly Ivins here – government is like a hammer. It can be used … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | 1 Comment

Fish In A Barrel Dept

Posted on February 5, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Britney Spears is starring in a new movie. According to the IMDb, the plot summary is as follows: Three high school girls, from a small Georgia town, who used to be best friends when they were younger, but now have … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The local angle

Posted on February 5, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Chronicle political columnist John Williams makes this interesting observation about Enron: For all the lobbying power Ken Lay had, the company “never won a big government contract in Houston.” Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | Comments Off on The local angle

Life in the not-so-fast lane

Posted on February 5, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

As part of its effort to clean up the air and comply with EPA regulations, an eight-county area covering Houston and its hinterlands is now under a 55 MPH speed limit. Some folks are not too happy about this, saying … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Comments Off on Life in the not-so-fast lane

Confirming what we already knew

Posted on February 5, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

There will be no contraction in baseball in 2002, as Minnesota’s Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of an injunction that forces the Twins to honor their lease this year. Many folks in Minnesota, including the players, are glad … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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More on guns

Posted on February 4, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

I really don’t want to get into the whole gun debate here. It’s been done to death in blogdom, and frankly I find the whole thing boring. If there’s one issue on which a lot of bloggers (including myself) who … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Comments Off on More on guns

Broadband and blogging

Posted on February 4, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Ginger says that blogs rely heavily on broadband. She cites some blogs with sizaeable front pages (including mine, though I’m tied for third smallest at 52K) as evidence that bloggers assume we all have fast connections. Well, for what it’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Random Super Bowl observations

Posted on February 3, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Tiffany and I were heading over to her sister’s place to watch the game on their amazing HDTV-ready widescreen TV when we passed a Ford Excursion with a baby stroller attached to its rear door on a bike rack. This … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | Comments Off on Random Super Bowl observations

One month in

Posted on February 2, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Well, I started this thing a month ago. Didn’t know how long I’d be able to keep it up, didn’t know if I’d run out of things to say or would find it a chore. So far, it’s been mostly … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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A different kind of voting scandal

Posted on February 2, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll for men’s college basketball is smaller by one today. Seems Utah coach Rick Majerus had been delegating his voting duties to an assistant, and said assistant had been voting for the Temple Owls, who currently … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 1 Comment

And back to politics

Posted on February 2, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Score one for the Harris County Democrats, as a ruling from the 14th Court of Appeals knocks out a GOP challenger for the 270th District Court bench. I still think that technicalities should not eliminate otherwise legitimate ballot applicants, but … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2002 | Comments Off on And back to politics

Covering Houston, take two

Posted on February 1, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Salon tries again to capture Houston’s mood in the post-Enron collapse. While this article is a lot closer to reality than their cringe-worthy first attempt, it still felt off to me. I don’t deny that the free-market deregulation worship that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Covering Houston, take two

Give me options

Posted on February 1, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

An interesting opinion piece on the nature of alternative political parties and restricted ballot access. The writer, a Libertarian, makes the case that freer access to ballots would not necessarily weaken the traditional parties: Mark Rutherford, chairman of the Indiana … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2002 | Comments Off on Give me options

Score one against term limits

Posted on February 1, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Idaho has repealed its term limits law, becoming the first state to do so. I’m genuinely shocked that the mostly Republican state legislature did so over the veto of the Republican governor. Term limits were a rallying … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2002 | 2 Comments