Monthly Archives: December 2002

We sing to thee, O Trinity

Posted on December 15, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

My alma mater Trinity University will play in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl for the Division III football championship after beating St. John’s of Minnesota in the semifinals game. Trinity has been in the Div III playoffs for the last … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Comments Off on We sing to thee, O Trinity

The nanny car

Posted on December 14, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The Swedish National Road Administration is testing customized GPS receivers in about 1000 cars, according to this article in Technology Review. You can only see a brief excerpt right now, though the full article should be online eventually. I’ll quote … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 3 Comments

Squaring the circle

Posted on December 13, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The TNR blog &c recently referred to squaring the circle in reference to Team Bush’s new economic advisors. The point they were making was that the nominees, who have a history of advocating fiscal discipline and balanced budgets, will have … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 1 Comment

We really are a one-paper town

Posted on December 13, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The Houston Chronicle bought out the Houston Post in 1995 in order to acquire its better printing facilities. The Post was shut down, with barely a chance to say goodbye, and Houston has been a one-daily town ever since. The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 6 Comments

Aguirre appears in court

Posted on December 13, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Captain Mark Aguirre and Sergeant Ken Wenzel appeared in court yesterday to be arraigned on five counts of official oppression. (Why five counts? There were 270 arrests, not that I’d expect 270 counts. Why not one count? Where do the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in K-Mart Kiddie Roundup | Comments Off on Aguirre appears in court

Is there another shoe?

Posted on December 12, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

One reason I read Unqualified Offerings is that there’s always an interesting link to something I don’t find elsewhere. Here Jim points to this Gene Healy piece that asks if al Qaeda is as big a threat as we think: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | 1 Comment

Drop ’em a line

Posted on December 12, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

TAPPED invites people to email Mark Steyn and inform him that his latest column contains a big, fat, long-since-debunked lie. Meanwhile, Atrios is on Day Three of his campaign to get Jonah Goldberg and Andrew Sullivan to apply the same … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | 5 Comments

What bodies?

Posted on December 12, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

I knew we were largely whitewashed about Gulf War I. I didn’t realize it was this bad. In manipulating the first and often most lasting perception of Desert Storm, the Bush administration produced not a single picture or video of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq attack | Comments Off on What bodies?

Peanut Johnson

Posted on December 12, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

I almost missed this story about Mamie “Peanut” Johnson, one of three women to play (and the only one to pitch) in the old Negro Leagues in the 1950s. She spends her time now talking about her experiences playing baseball … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Comments Off on Peanut Johnson

They knew

Posted on December 12, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a trifecta of Enron-related stories in the Chron today. In the first, we see a law firm’s memo written in October, 2000, where Enron was told that its strategies to manipulate the California energy market were illegal. What did … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | Comments Off on They knew

What’s for Christmas? More lawsuits!

Posted on December 12, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Two more lawsuits have been filed on behalf of 43 people arrested in the K-Mart Kiddie Roundup. The suits seek “unspecified damages” and name the indicted Captain Mark Aguirre and Sergeant Ken Wenzel as well as the city of Houston … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in K-Mart Kiddie Roundup | Comments Off on What’s for Christmas? More lawsuits!

Echoes of the past

Posted on December 11, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

“I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 2 Comments

Reinstatement possible for Pete Rose

Posted on December 11, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Pete Rose has been negotiating with Bud Selig about getting his lifetime ban from the game lifted. The good news is that Selig has focused on the right thing: Negotiations are still ongoing on the terms of exactly what Rose … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | 6 Comments

Barlow returns

Posted on December 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Ted Barlow is back. Woo hoo! Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | Comments Off on Barlow returns

Lott update

Posted on December 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

So Trent Lott has offered an apology of sorts for his recent racist remarks: “A poor choice of words conveyed to some the impression that I embraced the discarded policies of the past,” Lott, R-Miss., said in a statement. “Nothing … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 2 Comments

It’s still a tax on stupidity

Posted on December 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The state Lottery Commission is considering changes to Lotto Texas, the state’s main lottery, with the intent of providing bigger prizes but lower odds of winning, despite the fact that the same change made over two years ago did not … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Jackpot! | 3 Comments

RIP, Bobby Joe Hill

Posted on December 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Bobby Joe Hill, star guard of the 1966 Texas Western (now UTEP) team that beat Kentucky in the NCAA men’s basketball championships, has died at the age of 59. Hill’s team made history by starting five black players in te … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 40 Comments

On gay marriage

Posted on December 9, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Julian Sanchez has a thoughtful piece about gay marriage and why arguments against it fall by their own logic. Recommended reading. Via Jim Henley. Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | 1 Comment

Next stop, Jerry Springer!

Posted on December 9, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Today’s fun headline: Stripper’s dad accused of going on rampage at club: WICHITA FALLS — A man upset that his daughter was working at a strip club was arrested after allegedly going on a rampage in the building, destroying furniture … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 1 Comment

Garfield v. Letterman

Posted on December 9, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

This is just strange: The city of Muncie, IN, dedicated an alley to David Letterman as a tongue-in-cheek honor. The event was picketed by two protesters who apparently thought that Garfield creator Jim Davis was a more appropriate honoree, since … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | Comments Off on Garfield v. Letterman

Who’s overwhelmed?

Posted on December 9, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

A new study says that email overload is mostly a myth: A new study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project finds that overwhelming levels of e-mail are quite atypical, an outcome that surprised even the researchers. “All of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Comments Off on Who’s overwhelmed?

Our cookoffs are the chiliest

Posted on December 8, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The Sunday Texas magazine in the Chron has an excellent story on the grandaddy of all chili cookoffs, in a little west Texas town called Terlingua. Jim Henley will no doubt be pleased to learn that the Terlingua tradition started … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 4 Comments

Trent Lott Is A Racist

Posted on December 8, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t toss words like “racist” around lightly. (Feel free to browse my archives if you don’t believe me.) But even before Trent Lott’s amazing statement about how things would be better if Strom Thurmond had been elected President in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 6 Comments

Enron! Enron! Read all about it!

Posted on December 8, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

I just know you’re all on pins and needles at the news that there’s gonna be a buttload of Enron-related books published in the next few months, to go along with the half-dozen or so titles already in print. What … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | Comments Off on Enron! Enron! Read all about it!

Haircutgate scandal widens

Posted on December 8, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Kevin Drum admits he lied about where he gets his hair cut. I demand a special prosecutor! Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | Comments Off on Haircutgate scandal widens

Barlow update

Posted on December 7, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Went to Rudyard’s last night to see the Asylum Street Spankers. As always, it was a great show, and it’s nice to be able to see them do two full sets, something which they don’t do at the Mucky Duck … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | 3 Comments

Style sheet fixed

Posted on December 7, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

To those of you who tuned in this evening, that was not an intentional site redesign. I was dinking around in my main index and managed to screw it up, thus causing the site to load with no style sheet. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Administrivia | 3 Comments

2 indicted in K-Mart Kiddie Roundup mess

Posted on December 6, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

HPD Captain Mark Aguirre and Sergeant Ken Wenzel have been indicted on charges of official oppression stemming from their role in the K-Mart Kiddie Roundup. For the record, “official oppression”, which sounds vaguely Orwellian to me, is a Class A … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Beer killing gets life term

Posted on December 6, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

From today’s Chron: BANDERA — A jury Thursday handed a life sentence to a man who shot and killed a longtime friend he accused of drinking the last beer in his refrigerator. Jurors deliberated for less than two hours before … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 1 Comment

More fun in Montgomery County

Posted on December 6, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

What could be sillier than affixing a fig leaf to Michaelangelo’s David and removing paintings from a men’s restroom in a restaurant because they have nekkid people in them? Why, getting into a lather over the slogan on a high … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

RIP, Roone Arledge

Posted on December 5, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Roone Arledge, one of the great innovators in sports television, has died at the age of 71 from cancer. Arledge gave us instant replay, slow motion, personal profiles of athletes (don’t thank him too much for that when you watch … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 4 Comments

It’s a Mad^4 World

Posted on December 5, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Mark Evanier, probably the world’s biggest fan of the classic comedy It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, recently attended a screening of the movie that commemorated its 39th anniversary. Several stars, stunt people, and the widow of the director … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | 3 Comments

33K for Disco E

Posted on December 5, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The glittering “Disco E” was the highlight of Day 2 of the current Enron auction: The glitziest of Enron’s signs, the “disco E,” was sold for $33,000 at auction Wednesday to a man who declined to give his name and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | 1 Comment

Strange bedfellows

Posted on December 5, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Probably the most curious thing about Dahlia Lithwick’s overview of Scheidler v. NOW is seeing who’s on what side. The case involves the use of RICO statutes against anti-abortion activists who engage in violent protest. NOW originally sued the Pro-Life … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | 2 Comments