Monthly Archives: November 2003

Don’t mess with Texas

Stories like this really piss me off. On some days, Darrell Echols feels more like a trash collector than the research scientist he is. Although his job is to monitor the 380 species of birds that frequent Padre Island National … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | 2 Comments

Pity the poor Republicans

You know, nobody really appreciates how hard it is to govern when one party controls every branch of the government. As Republican lawmakers wrapped up the first year in a half-century in which they controlled the Senate, House and White … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 3 Comments

Good Reputation

Joan Jett, celebrated far and wide for her trip to Afghanistan to support the troops, is now supporting a candidate for President: Howard Dean. A slate of convention delegate candidates from New York made public by the Dean presidential campaign … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in The making of the President | Comments Off on Good Reputation

Splitting Sutton County

Not sure why this story is just getting printed today, but it’s about another no-name casualty of redistricting out in West Texas. SONORA — To folks in this hamlet on the western edge of the Texas Hill Country, redistricting seemed … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Killer D's | 3 Comments

Life in the fast lane

If you’re going to plan that road trip through Texas, beware of suburban counties near large cities, for they are the speeding ticket capitals of the state. Of the 10 counties that got the most of the 2.2 million tickets … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | 1 Comment

Turner endorses everybody and nobody

Who needs to endorse a candidate when you can get both of them to agree to a set of ideals as Sylvester Turner did? Standing with U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Rep. Al Edwards at the Four Seasons … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Election 2003 | 2 Comments

Not very festive

This article talks about how various cities have cut back or cut out holiday celebrations like tree-lighting ceremonies in recent years due to budget crunches. Houston, despite its own fiscal woes, hasn’t done any such thing, but what I’ve noticed … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Society and cultcha | 4 Comments

From one holiday to the next

My dad and I just got back from buying a Christmas tree. We had an artificial tree when I was growing up, and in my secret heart of hearts I still think that’s the way to go. It’s cheaper – … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in See, I do have a life! | 2 Comments

The Astrodome: A space museum?

Just one news item for today: The winner of the what-to-do-with-the-Astrodome sweepstakes is an outfit that wants to turn it into a space museum. The empty confines of the Reliant Astrodome could someday offer a glimpse at the vastness of … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on The Astrodome: A space museum?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! My parents are in town and dinner is at our house, so I’ll be focusing on Real Life for today. It occurred to me last night that this is the first time in 20 years that I’ve … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in See, I do have a life! | 1 Comment

Hilbert problem solved?

In 1900, the great mathematician David Hilbert listed 23 outstanding problems in mathematics and challenged his colleagues to solve them. Three of those problems remain unsolved today, but according to this report, one of them may have been conquered. Elin … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 5 Comments

Redistricting subpoena contested

Reps. Tom DeLay and Joe Barton are contesting the subpoena that they were issued to testify about their roles in redistricting. Attorneys for DeLay, R-Sugar Land, and U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, filed a motion in U.S. district court in … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Killer D's | 4 Comments

An interview with Don Novello

Here’s an entertaining interview with Don Novello, whom you may know as Father Guido Sarducci but whom I will always think of as Lazlo Toth, American. He talks about the history of the Lazlo Letters, the challenge of keeping the … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Books | 5 Comments

Bad telemarketer!

Attorney General Greg Abbott has announced that the state is suing fifteen businesses for violating the state’s no-call law. The Texas attorney general’s office filed suit against 15 telemarketing businesses Tuesday, claiming they violated the state’s no-call law. The state … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | 1 Comment

Turkeys of the Year

Richard Connelly gives us an amusing look at the “worst flock-ups of 2003”, though given his gleeful trashing of Tom DeLay and John Culberson, it’s admittedly more amusing if you’re not a Republican. Just one minor point here, Rich: DeLay … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Turkeys of the Year

Teachers picket DeLay

Some 300 teachers protested outside Tom DeLay’s office in Sugar Land yesterday after he refused to bring a bill that would benefit them to a floor vote. About 300 public school employees from Houston, Fort Bend, Brazosport and other school … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 5 Comments

Dude, you may or may not get routed to India

Recently, a Dell spokesman announced that in response to customer complaints, they would stop routing corporate support calls to India. Tech support for Optiplex desktop and Latitude notebook computers will be handled from call centers in Texas, Idaho and Tennessee, … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Bidness | 5 Comments

The Enron blame game continues

The special examiner who’s been doing a postmortem on the Enron collapse has released his final report, in which he lays blame at the feet of Kenny Boy Lay and Jeff Skilling. Atlanta-based examiner Neal Batson also suggests that the … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Enronarama | Comments Off on The Enron blame game continues

Fiiiive Golden Tuques!

It’s a total tuque-a-rama in Quebec! MONTREAL (CP) – The Heritage Classic has made a simple Montreal Canadiens’ hat into the hottest product in Quebec. Demand has been “overwhelming” for the red, white and blue tuque with the Canadiens logo … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Other sports | 1 Comment

RIP, Warren Spahn

Warren Spahn, probably the greatest lefthanded pitcher ever and the winningest pitcher since the 1930s, died yesterday at the age of 82. David Pinto and Rob Neyer have some good profiles on him. Rest in peace, Warren Spahn. Continue reading

Posted in Baseball | Comments Off on RIP, Warren Spahn

Harbinger or tease?

You’ve seen this question a million times already: “If next year’s election for President was held today, do you think you would vote for George W. Bush, or some other candidate?” Suppose I told you that in a recent poll, … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in The making of the President | 3 Comments

California not leading the way

Nevada’s governor recall drive terminated CARSON CITY, Nev. — An anti-tax group trying to oust Gov. Kenny Guinn gave up Monday after failing to gather enough signatures to get the recall on the ballot. The recent recall of former California … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Comments Off on California not leading the way

A little hacking around

I finally got around to adding MT-Search, a nice consequence of upgrading to Movable Type version 2.64 and converting my database to MySQL. It’s over there on the sidebar, between Archives and Categories. Seems to work nicely, but please do … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Administrivia | 1 Comment

RNCC to return illegal contributions

In case you’re wondering about those phony-award campaign contributions that Tom DeLay solicited from foreign nationals (see here, here, and here for the background), the answer is Yes, someone did notice that such things are illegal. Here’s the story, sent … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on RNCC to return illegal contributions

Only Selig could go to China

I do a lot of bashing of Beelzebud Selig and his cronies for their relentless avarice and stupidity, so I owe it to them to point out when they’ve done something farsighted and intelligent. Sunday, MLB and its fledgling counterpart, … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Baseball | 3 Comments

JD Tippit

I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to the 40-year retrospectives about the Kennedy assassination. It’s just a subject that doesn’t interest me much. I did, however, take the time to read this touching article about Dallas police officer … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in National news | 17 Comments

Out from the woodwork

Like a zombie from a low-budget George Romero knockoff, former district Judge John Devine is coming back. Devine is the sixth Republican candidate to announce his candidacy for the [newly drawn 10th Congressional District] seat. Others are Pat Elliott of … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Killer D's | 2 Comments

October traffic report

October was a slower month than September, thanks in part to the end of the redistricting battle and the week off that I took to go to France. Still, some 27,000 hits were recorded, making it my second busiest month … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Traffic Reports | Comments Off on October traffic report

Economic recovery watch

Looks like the secret to good economic health this holiday season is rich folks buying stuff. “The stars are aligned for the wealthy,” said Howard Davidowitz, president of Davidowitz & Associates, a national retail consulting firm in New York. “Who’s … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in National news | 2 Comments

Opus returns

As promised, Opus has returned to the Sunday comics page. You’ll have to find a dead-tree version of it to see for yourself, as I can’t seem to locate one online, but I’m looking forward to future installments. There’s good … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Society and cultcha | 3 Comments

Senility watch

You’d think sharing a bathroom with a guy for two years would leave more of an indelible memory on one’s brain, but apparently I’m farther down the path of total incoherence than I’d feared. It’s the only explanation I can … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on Senility watch

DeLay subpoenaed

No, not for his many sleazy fundraising activities, but for his role in redistricting. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, and Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, have been subpoenaed to testify in a legal challenge by Texas Democrats to a … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Killer D's | 8 Comments

The future of demographically appropriate radio stations

I found this article in last week’s San Antonio Current to be pretty interesting. Hard to believe that there are four distinct rock stations in San Antone, not counting oldies and mix formats. This bit got me thinking: Early response … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Music | 6 Comments

Behold the power of cheese

This article about how it’s OK to enjoy cheesy movies validates Pete‘s entire existence, though I’m quite sure that Pete would have listed a much better selection of admirably cheesy flicks. Continue reading

Posted in TV and movies | 10 Comments