Monthly Archives: January 2003

A bit more on SUVs

Posted on January 20, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

One more point that needs to be made about SUVs is that there’s no technical reason why they don’t have better fuel economy. MIT’s Technology Review magazine did an article in November pn this topic. You can only get an … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 4 Comments

Milestone approaching

Posted on January 19, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Sometime soon, I will get my 50,000th hit, counting visits on the old site plus the current one. I don’t know exactly what my total is right now, since there was some overlap with the hit counters, but I know … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Traffic Reports | Comments Off on Milestone approaching

Bradford trial begins Tuesday

Posted on January 19, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Embattled Houston Police Chief C.O. “BAMF” Bradford goes on trial starting Tuesday for perjury. The charge stems from an incident in which Bradford said under oath that he had never cursed at his assistants, a statement that was contradicted by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in K-Mart Kiddie Roundup | 5 Comments

High and Mighty

Posted on January 18, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Though I dislike and won’t drive an SUV, I don’t care to make judgments about people who drive them. I have too many friends and family members who own them, and my house has enough glass in it, thanks. That … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 3 Comments

Death versus life

Posted on January 18, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

One of the stronger things I’ve seen written about the recent decision by outgoing Illinois Governor George Ryan to commute the death sentences of every condemned inmate is the following by The Talking Dog: For the record, I am “operationally … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 1 Comment

Political State Report

Posted on January 18, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

If you haven’t visited the Political State Report yet, I highly recommend it. It’s full of interesting information that I never would have known about from places like Nebraska, North Dakota, Wyoming (here and here), and Pennsylvania. And of course, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | 1 Comment

Yes, we have no bananas

Posted on January 17, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Will bananas go extinct? Maybe, say Noted Scientists: It is one of the world’s favorite fruits, but the banana hasn’t had sex in years and its days may be are numbered. Without scientific help the sterile, seedless fruit could disappear … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | 4 Comments

Prison reform touted for budget relief

Posted on January 17, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

An op-ed in today’s Chron suggests reducing the prison population as a means of helping the current budget crisis. It’s something I’ve talked about before (see here and here), and it’s something that I hope picks up momentum. As the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 1 Comment

Like state, like city

Posted on January 17, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

In case I wasn’t concerned enough about federal and state budget shortfalls, now we know that the CIty of Houston is $67 million in the hole. There is some good news in that this number spans the 2002 and 2003 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Like state, like city

Malcolm survives recall effort

Posted on January 17, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Democratic Party Chair Molly Beth Malcolm has survived an attempt to oust her before her term expires in 2004. Shortly before Malcolm’s speech [before the State Democratic Executive Committee], a small number of hard-line Democrats pushed a resolution urging … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Comments Off on Malcolm survives recall effort

Anyone seen my stuff?

Posted on January 17, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I posted a couple of entries yesterday afternoon, and was rather dismayed to see that they never made it onto my main page. After dinking around unsuccessfully, I finally posted a message to the Movable Type support forum. A few … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 6 Comments

Owners to vote on All-Star Game change

Posted on January 16, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Baseball owners are set to vote on a proposal to award home field advantage in the World Series to the league that wins the All-Star Game. They’re doing this, they say, to Put Some Meaning back into the so-called Midsummer … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | 1 Comment

How many Ted Barlows does it take…

Posted on January 15, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Man, it’s hard to pick a favorite joke among Barlow’s Bulb-O-Rama, but I think I lean towards this one. I must say, despite the excellent efforts of Ted and Hesiod, there’s still room for more joking at Instapundit’s expense: Q. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in General snarkiness | 3 Comments

Even better than peanut butter and jelly

Posted on January 15, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

When I die, I want Trish‘s son to write a rap for my funeral. Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | Comments Off on Even better than peanut butter and jelly

Another one will bite the dust

Posted on January 15, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Dang. I just discovered that RAWbservations is not long for this world. Sorry to hear it, Alex. Hope you’ll be able to rise from the ashes someday. Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on Another one will bite the dust

Potter publication date set

Posted on January 15, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will make its debut on June 21. Woo hoo! At 768 pages, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” is more than one-third longer than its predecessor, “Harry Potter and the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 4 Comments

When is a tax increase not a tax increase?

Posted on January 15, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Answer: When you can get someone else to do the tax-increasing for you, as the Lege is fixing to do by cutting $1 billion out of their education allocation, thus passing the bucket to individual school districts. Those that can … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on When is a tax increase not a tax increase?

So long, K-Mart

Posted on January 15, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

K-Mart is closing all of its stores in Houston as part of its reorganization efforts. This ends a 40-year relationship between K-Mart and our fair city. You won’t find a K-Mart in a 100 mile radius of Houston. Nationwide, over … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness | 1 Comment

What about the tax cuts?

Posted on January 14, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

With all of the blame for the state budget shortfall being assigned to that bad ol’ 2001 Legislature, I started wondering what effect the vaunted Bush tax cuts of 1997 and 1999 may have had on the state’s revenue stream. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on What about the tax cuts?

New leader, new troubles

Posted on January 14, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County Democrats selected Gerry Birnberg as their interim party chair to fill out Sue Schecter’s unexpired term. Birnberg will have to run for reelection in the 2004 primary. He promised to raise enough money to hire a full-time executive … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2002 | 1 Comment

New AG says Enron should liquidate

Posted on January 14, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

New Attorney General Greg Abbott has some harsh words for Enron’s bankruptcy attorneys: Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott blasted Enron’s bankruptcy attorneys Monday, saying they are “lining their pockets” with fees at the expense of taxpayers, former employees and investors. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | 3 Comments

Looking forward: Harris County Democrats

Posted on January 13, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Seeing this article about the resignation of Harris County Democratic Party Chair Sue Schecter reminds me that I never did follow up on this post, which pointed to this article about the many things that the local party did wrong … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2002 | 3 Comments

Texans for Joe

Posted on January 13, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Fellow Houston Democrat Greg Wythe has announced the launch of Texans for Joe in support of Joe Lieberman’s announcement that he is in fact running for President. I confess that Lieberman is not my first choice (I’d rank him behind … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | 2 Comments

We have a number

Posted on January 13, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The New and Improved Budget Deficit Estimate is $9.9 billion, nearly double the $5.1 billion estimate that Comptroller Strayhorn had once insisted on. This is an early AP wire story that mostly recycles its previous story, including Governor Goodhair’s attempted … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on We have a number

It’s snowin’ down in Texas

Posted on January 13, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The Dallas area got some snow over the weekend, causing minor problems for some people. It was cold and nasty here in Houston, but none of the white stuff – it wasn’t quite cold enough. Folks from Northern climes may … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 2 Comments

A little taste of tort reform

Posted on January 12, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron editorial raises some interesting points about the tort reform – namely, medical malpractice damage award caps – which is being proposed by Governor Goodhair: [A] look at the data does not confirm the charge that the wave of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Comments Off on A little taste of tort reform

Old ways, modern times

Posted on January 12, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a fascinating article about a Mennonite community in Mexico and how it has adapted its traditional ways of making a living by farming and dairy farming in an increasingly competitive environment. Check it out. Continue reading →

Posted in Around the world | 1 Comment

The many faces of diversity

Posted on January 12, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

O-Dub recently mentioned the topic of blogger diversity (here and here) in reference to a recent blogger get-together in San Francisco. Oliver noted, in response to this approving InstaComment, that there wasn’t much in the way of racial diversity in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 11 Comments

Reinventing government, Texas style

Posted on January 11, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

State Comptroller Carolyn Keeton Strayhorn has released her report on money saving measures for the upcoming budget. Called “Reinventing Government” Limited Government, Unlimited Opportunity, the report claims to find a total of $3.7 billion in savings, mostly from efficiencies, as … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 1 Comment

Flushing out the problem

Posted on January 11, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

And so the saga of Lubbock and its problematic prairie dogs, which I’ve reported on before, is on the road to a conclusion, as Prairie Dog Lady Lynda Watson has begun flushing the critters out of the Oglalla Aquifer recharge … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Comments Off on Flushing out the problem

Gun toting coach resigns

Posted on January 10, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

What is it with coaches named Nolan Richardson? Nolan Richardson III resigned as men’s basketball coach at Tennessee State University on Wednesday night, two weeks after he was indefinitely suspended for bringing a gun into the school’s arena. Richardson, 38, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Comments Off on Gun toting coach resigns

Our friends the Saudi phreakers

Posted on January 10, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas A&M phone system was hacked by some Saudi Arabians, who used it to make free long distance calls. Phone carriers alerted the school to the suspicious activity Thursday, said Walt Magnussen, A&M’s associate director of telecommunications. The university … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Around the world | Comments Off on Our friends the Saudi phreakers

For want of a zero

Posted on January 10, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

In 2002, Montgomery County got a $2.5 million grant from the Justice Department for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, an initiative aimed at easing the burden for housing illegal immigrants jailed on state or local charges. The size of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

More “The Crooked E” bashing

Posted on January 10, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

If you managed to sit through The Crooked E for any length of time this past Sunday (about 20 minutes was all I could take), you might have noticed that pretty much all of the female employees portrayed at Enron … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | Comments Off on More “The Crooked E” bashing