Sleepless in Midland

A.I. will try to figure-out what you are thinking

Here's a neat little game. You think of an object, and it asks you questions trying to guess what that object is. I thought of a Coyote skull that I have on a nearby shelf, and after 28 questions the game guessed "bone." Close enough. LINK.

I'm eventually going to add to the links you see in the left sidebar, and one link I will be sure to add will be Bean Counter Daydreams which is where I found that quiz.

Please wash your hands before touching me.

An acquaintance was in the hospital a few weeks ago, but he ended up staying much longer than would have ordinarily been necessary. Why? He got an infection while he was there.

It would seem that infections could be easily prevented. An expert on the subject is Betsy McCaughey, a former New York lieutenant governor with a Ph.D. in public health policy. She's an outspoken critic of hospitals and their inability to prevent infections, and she says that infections are the fourth leading killer following heart disease, cancer and stroke.

The CDC says "at least 50 percent of those infections are preventable by one change, getting doctors and other health-care workers to clean their hands in between treating patients," McCaughey said.

The hospital industry agrees, saying there is a need for better hygiene practices overall. /snip/

Hospital infections are an ugly but well hidden secret in America's health-care system. McCaughey said.

"You can't get the information you need to avoid hospitals that have a serious infection problem or history of medical errors," she said. "Most hospitals don't report that information and state governments won't release the information they do have." Source: ABCNews.com.

And, if that's not bad enough, the patient gets stuck with the expense: "One serious bloodstream infection adds $35,000 to a hospital bill." Source: American Enterprise Online.

Oh, now that really hurts!

And double the cilantro, por favor.

Cilantro vs. Salmonella, who would win?

In yet another astonishing food news flash we learn that cilantro can kill salmonella bacteria. Source: Webmd.com.

At the University of California, Berkeley, Isao Kubo, PhD, and colleagues found that salsa juice fights several nasty germs. As any Mexican food aficianado knows, salsa contains tomatoes, onions, green chiles, and cilantro. But which one is the germ killer?

Most of us would suspect the green chiles for burning up germs. But being chemists, Kubo and colleagues looked at cilantro. They knew this flavorful member of the parsley family is loaded with "volatile compounds" likely to affect bacteria.

One of these compounds -- dodecenal -- turns out to be the main bug slayer. Kubo's team tested it against salmonella, a major cause of food poisoning. Dodecenal killed the germ better than the antibiotic gentamicin. The findings appear in the May 26 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

But wait, there's more:

But simply adding cilantro to contaminated tacos -- or any other food -- won't make it safe to eat.

"If you were eating a hot dog or a hamburger, you would probably have to eat an equivalent weight of cilantro to have an optimal effect against food poisoning," Kubo warns.

Well, if you can only kill some of the bacteria then that's gotta help, right?

COPS. Volunteer opportunities available

Citizens on Patrol, or COPs for short, is an organization of volunteers who serve as extra eyes and ears for the police department. And they do other things as well, such help out with traffic control when help is needed. Anyway, there is going to be another COPS training class in Midland, on Tuesday, June 8 and Thursday, June 10, 2004 from 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. at the Midland Police Department. Applications are available at the front desk of the police department or through the Community Relations Unit which can be reached by phoning (432) 685-7582.

Regular readers of this web log might remember that I became invloved with the group a few months ago, and I'm very happy to report that things have worked out quite well. There are several volunteer opportunities available each month, and as most people know, it's very gratifying to do something that helps others.

John Kerry vs. John O'Neill on Dick Cavett show 1971

On March 26 of this year I wrote a short item noting that the television debate between John Kerry and John O'Neill on the Dick Cavett show in 1971 was going to be rebroadcast on C-SPAN. If anyone is interested in reading a transcript of that show it's available at wintersoldier.com.

Update - 8/14/04: An announcement on C-SPAN said that they are going to show it again today (8/14/04) at 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM Eastern.

Pat Tillman killed by friendly fire?

This is just awful. Azcentral.com is reporting that Pat Tillman was probably killed by friendly fire:

News of that finding was disseminated Friday to some members of Congress and some Tillman family members just as the Memorial Day weekend was to begin, including today's dedication ceremonies in Washington of the World War II Memorial.

"It does seem pretty clear that he was killed by friendly fire," said Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, which was alerted to the information by the Army's Legislative Liaison Office. /snip/

But an e-mail circulated within the House Armed Services Committee from committee staff members said: "Army just called to give us a heads up. They have every reason to believe the 15-6 investigation shows Pat Tillman was killed as a result of friendly fire."

That same message continues, "The Army has notified his family, so it may come out in the media this weekend."

What a tragic loss this was. Pat Tillman possessed the character and bravery we all wish we had. And to find out he died from friendly fire is just devastating. What a terrible loss.

Quick thinking (ex) Texan

Rita sends this delightful joke:

A man walked into the produce section of his local supermarket, and asked to buy half a head of lettuce.  The boy working in that department told him that they only sold whole heads of lettuce.  The man was insistent that the boy ask his manager about the matter.

Walking into the back room, the boy said to the manager,  "Some a**hole wants to buy half a head of lettuce." As he finished his sentence, he turned to find the man standing right behind him, so he added,  "And this gentleman kindly offered to buy the other half." The manager approved the deal, and the man went on his way.

Later the manager said to the boy, "I was impressed with the way you got yourself out of that situation earlier. We like people who think on their feet here.  Where are you from, son?"

"Texas, sir," the boy replied.

"Well, why did you leave Texas?" the manager asked.

The boy said, "Sir, there's nothing but whores and football players down there."

Really?" said the manager. "My wife is from Texas."

"No kidding??" replied the boy. "Who'd she play for?"

Thanks Rita.

Imus this morning: Andrea Mitchell

This morning on Imus in the Morning guest journalist Adrea Mitchell made an interesting observation about John Kerry and whether he would accept the Democrat presidential nomination at the convention:

"They float the trial baloon about delaying, you know, the acceptance of the nomination. And then, excuse me, but Tom Brokaw goes on Larry King Live and says 'okay, well NBC wouldn't cover, if this is going to be a pep rally then I would recommend that NBC not cover it.'

"And, within 24 hours Kerry caved. So, I mean, my point is if he can't stand up to Tom Brokaw, how's he gonna stand up to Osama bin Laden?"

Well, past performance isn't always a predictor of future behavior. But, make your own judgment. I'm not so much worried about whether he could stand up to Osama as I am about whether he could stand up to the sado-environmentalists and peace-at-any-price factions within his own party.

Adriana, I'll miss you.

Photo Source: Soprano Sue's Sightings

Adriana LaCerva got whacked in Sunday night's episode of "The Sopranos." What a loss for the viewers - she was such an entertaining character. She had big dreams of being a mafia wife, and she had a lot of spirit. She was loaded with flaws, but damn it, she was so likable.

But, she got caught up in the cross currents of a ruthless mob and the FBI which was trying to nail them. She had been talking to the FBI for a year feeding them what she thought was useless information. But, when she accidentally got involved in a murder coverup, some miscalculating FBI agents pushed her past her breaking point. Thinking that she and her mafia soldier fiance could run away she told him all about it. A fatal mistake.

Christopher had a greater loyalty, and Adriana paid the price. Tony and the gang had such a clever plan that the viewers didn't really know whether she was being taken for a ride to the hospital or being taken for a "ride" until the last possible moment. Fantastic drama! Viewers were probably on the edges of their seats the whole time.

But, one flaw in the whole episode was how quickly Tony and the gang came up with the plot to kill her and how flawlessly it was carried off without Adriana suspecting a trick until it was too late. Most of the prior episodes had Tony agonizing over some important decision, having panic attacks, acting too impulsively or sometimes waiting until the last minute to act. So, this plan and the way it played out was simply uncharacteristically efficient. But, like I said, it was great drama.

With all of this talk about "The Sopranos" you might think that I actually watched the show. But, I no longer get HBO. I grew disgusted with that annoying converter box, so I canceled HBO along those other channels Cox Cable bundled with it whether I wanted them or not. I don't miss it, and that converter box was such a nuisance that I'm not likely to get the new digital box either.

But, the pull of "The Sopranos" was too strong. No, I didn't resubscribe, I just watched the scrambled screen and listened to the unscrambled dialog. I miss practically all of the visuals, but the sounds come through loud and clear, and that's usually enough to keep up with what's going on. Having watched the prior seasons, the voices are easily recognizable. And the two new characters this season, Robert Loggia and Steve Buscemi, have unmistakable voices.

By the way, the name of the latest episode was "Long Term Parking." We get the connection as Adriana's killer wheels the car with her body in the trunk into an airport parking lot, and an automated recording over a loud speaker provides instructions for parking patrons.

Anyway, for more on the subject of "The Sopranos" here are some links. For a nice obituary for Adriana, go to Death of a Mafia bride-to-be. [Thanks to Bob in Houston for that link.] And, here's the HBO episode guide for that particular episode along with a nice photo album. And, for another summary, go here.

Adriana, may you rest in peace.

"Friday Night Lights", A Houston Extra Reports

An extra at the Houston FNL set, who wishes to remain anonymous, emailed a very interesting report. We've already heard about Peter Berg and 2nd assistant director Dave, so here's another take.

Love the site. I took my son down to be an extra for the Houston shoot and ended up working as an extra myself for a week. What a great time! I can tell you nothing improper went on within the Permian extra group. Everyone seemed to get there on time; appropriate lunch breaks; and did everything expected, etc.

There were hundreds of extras a day in the Dome, and they had "wrappered" foods available for us all day long. I would say things were pretty clean considering that. Extras seemed to take photos whenever they wanted and hollered to stars to come over and sign autographs. It made me nervous to watch all that, but I never once heard anything said nor did I ever see a star not want to come over to an extra that called them... unbelievable. You wonder how they ever completed the shoot.

I even had a scene as an extra in the Permain Booster suite where some of the paid actors came up and introduced themselves to me... again unbelievable.

My thought on Peter Berg is that he is better working and communicating with professional talent. By the time they got to Houston I think his patience had pretty well "had it" with this massive group of non-professionals running around the movie set. On the other hand, I think 2nd A.D. Dave did a tremendous job of working with the bottom of the barrel and getting their best. Extras don't like being told to move here and there after sitting in one place for three hours; or not being chosen for a particular scene. But I thought Dave was very political in his handling of all that crap, and I have to especially admire how he took the time to memorize literally hundreds of "extras" names.

In the movie the championship game comes down to the very last play (about a 30 yard run after a pass) and Permian gets stopped at the six inch line. They did a couple different endings of Billy Bob's reaction. The second one they shot, Billy Bob turns to his wife in the stands, and you see a close up of tears coming to Connie Britton's eyes. The problem is that the second version was shot on a different day with a different set of extras. A lot of work had to go in to making the extras look like the first set of extras (including painting beards and faces).

Thanks! Those first hand reports really bring it home. He emailed back to add the following:

Also, there was quite a long article on being an extra in the FNL movie about two weeks ago in the Houston Chronicle. It might be found on their website. I can't remember the day now but the lady they interviewed was a Permian extra that worked the whole Houston stint. Although she was quite quiet among our group I remembered her.

Another interesting thing about the Houston extras is that quite a few were from Austin and worked both locations. What some people won't do to get their face on the big screen.

Yeah, we've heard about those "professional" extras. Anyway, thanks again! By the way, that Houston Chronicle article was mentioned in these pages, and the whole thing can be seen here along with a falsh photo gallery. It's worth a look.

Bonnie Parker. Poet?

Today the Midland Reporter-Telegram contained an AP item about Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. And, the part that was most intriguing was the reproduction of a poem purportedly written by Ms. Parker. It's titled "The Story of Bonnie and Clyde". Here it is:

You've read the story of Jesse James--
Of how he lived and died;
If you're still in need
Of something to read
Here's the story of Bonnie and Clyde.

Now Bonnie and Clyde are the Barrow gang.
I'm sure you all have read
How they rob and steal
And those who squeal
Are usually found dying or dead.

There's lots of untruths to these write-ups;
They're not so ruthless as that;
Their nature is raw;
They hate the law--
The stool pigeons, spotters, and rats.

They call them cold-blooded killers;
They say they are heartless and mean;
But I say this with pride,
That I once knew Clyde
When he was honest and upright and clean.

But the laws fooled around,
Kept taking him down
And locking him up in a cell,
Till he said to me,
"I'll never be free,
So I'll meet a few of them in hell."

The road was so dimly lighted;
There were no highway signs to guide;
But they made up their minds
If all roads were blind,
They wouldn't give up till they died.

The road gets dimmer and dimmer;
Sometimes you can hardly see;
But it's fight, man to man,
And do all you can,
For they know they can never be free.

From heart-break some people have suffered;
From weariness some people have died;
But take it all in all,
Our troubles are small
Till we get like Bonnie and Clyde.

If a policeman is killed in Dallas,
And they have no clue or guide;
If they can't find a fiend,
They just wipe their slate clean
And hang it on Bonnie and Clyde.

There's two crimes committed in America
Not accredited to the Barrow mob;
They had no hand
In the kidnap demand,
Nor the Kansas City Depot job.

A newsboy once said to his buddy:
"I wish old Clyde would get jumped;
In these awful hard times
We'd make a few dimes
If five or six cops would get bumped."

The police haven't got the report yet,
But Clyde called me up today;
He said, "Don't start any fights--
We aren't working nights--
We're joining the NRA."

From Irving to West Dallas viaduct
Is known as the Great Divide,
Where the women are kin,
And the men are men,
And they won't "stool" on Bonnie and Clyde.

If they try to act like citizens
And rent them a nice little flat,
About the third night
They're invited to fight
By a sub-gun's rat-tat-tat.

They don't think they're too smart or desperate,
They know that the law always wins;
They've been shot at before,
But they do not ignore
That death is the wages of sin.

Some day they'll go down together;
They'll bury them side by side;
To few it'll be grief--
To the law a relief--
But it's death for Bonnie and Clyde.

This was era in which one of the major forms of entertainment was the recitation of poetry. I can just picture Bonnie Parker reciting her poem while the Barrow Gang listens in silent rapture wishing they could be accepted as ordinary citizens and yet still be notorious outlaws.

Post script. Speaking of criminal poets, Saturday Night Live did a spoof of them some years back. A jailhouse poet with a spelling problem, played by Eddie Murphy, recited his poem, "Kill My Landlord", which ended something like this:

"Kill my landlord.
Kill my landlord.
C-I-L-L
my landlord."

Well, he's no Bonnie Parker.

Click It or Ticket, once again

The Midland Police Department will be conducting another Click It Or Ticket program beginning Monday, May 24, and continuing through Sunday, June 6, 2004. Police officers will work approximately 250 hours of overtime which is funded through a grant.

The fine for a driver not wearing a seat belt is $135. However, the fine for an unbelted passenger is $185 which seems a bit weird. We all know people who refuse to buckle up for whatever reason. So it seems a little unfair to fine a driver so much because some other person decides to accept the risk of riding unbuckled.

And, there's this from the city press release:

The objective is not to write tickets. Click It Or Ticket is about saving lives.

Those people who end up paying a big fine aren't likely to take much comfort in that. Hopefully, when it's all over with they will release the number of tickets handed out versus the number of warning tickets issued so we can make our own judgment about whether this is about saving lives or raising revenue.

Gasoline

With the price of gasoline in the area touching $2.00 per gallon, Newswest 9 had a short segment last night on regulatory testing of gasoline pumps at area gas stations.

The testing method appears to be the same one used for years, and it's a crude one. The Agriculture Department tester pumps out ten gallons from the pump into a container. A gauge on the container provides a measure of the volume, and if it's within six cubic inches of ten gallons, then the pump is deemed accurate. The Newswest 9 reporter tells us that the pumps tested out here in west Texas passed the test.

But, there are other ways for an unscrupulous station owner to cheat customers. The ten gallon test has been in use for so long that some enterprising inventors have devised computer chips that will make sure that the pump measures an accurate ten gallons, but allows for some cheating on either side of ten gallons.

In other words, if a customer wants nine gallons, and the measurement shown on the pump says nine gallons, the pump might have only pumped eight gallons. (The difference wouldn't be that extreme, but the round numbers make for a better example.) But, if the customer went ahead and pumped a full ten gallons, then the pump would make up the difference so that the ten gallon reading would be correct. This was reported in the Wall Street Journal a few years ago.

And finally, there's the octane. Most stations sell 87 octane, but customers wanting 92 octane can get it at a higher price. But, how does anyone know that some cheaper 87 octane gasoline hasn't been mixed in with the 92 octane gasoline? They don't. And, I'm reminded of something a former accountant at the home office of a major integrated oil company once remarked. There was usually some loss of product between the refinery and the final sale at the pump. But, it seemed that the company consistently sold more high octane gasoline than it refined. Go figure.

But, surely none of the gasoline station owners out here would commit such a fraud on his/her customers.

Post script. Some politicians are crying for withdrawals from the strategic oil reserves, ostensibly, to relieve supply pressures and help the consumer. But, if they really wanted to help consumers then they could repeal some of the taxes on gasoline. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the oil industry knows that oil and natural gas is taxed by every taxing entity that can get a crack at it from the well head all the way to the pump at the gasoline station. Coastal cities have even annexed the ocean into their city limits so that they can tax offshore oil and gas wells. So politicians, if you are really serious, let's see you cut some taxes.

Wake up!

Dedicated to keeping people awake, the London based AWAKE has developed a formula which will calculate when a person will be the most tired.

Scientists have devised a formula that can tell the 12 million Britons who struggle to stay awake at work when to expect a daytime "dip" - and also when they are most likely to feel alert.

The formula, produced by the fatigue-management consultancy Awake, is based on circadian rhythms - the 24-hour biological clock that determines our sleeping and waking cycles.

Awake arrived at the equation CDA+CT+KF=TMT, where CDA stands for "circadian dip in alertness", CT for "chronotype" - the timing of an individual's body clock - and KF for "knacker factors" such as prior sleep quality and quantity, and alcohol consumption. TMT is the time a person is likely to feel "most tired".

Dr Paul Jackson, managing director of Awake, said "This simple equation enables anyone to calculate what time of the day they are likely to feel most tired and schedule their activities accordingly." Source.

For your very own chart showing your daily up/down cycles, fill out the questionnaire at Knackerfactor. [Note: the site appears to be promoting some sort of stimulant.]

Via A Welsh View which always has some original and interesting items.

San Antonio voters to politicians: "It aint gonna happen!"

Redman in San Antonio emailed about an interesting election held there last weekend.

We had an interesting election here over the weekend. It was a "city charter reform" election with four items on the ballot. Three of them were as follows:

1. Raise city council salaries,

2. Extend city council term limits from two, two year terms to three, three year terms, and

3. Increase city council's staff salaries.

The mayor, all sitting city council, unions, newspapers, TV stations, developers, and all the various minority public interest groups supported these propositions. Supporters spent $325,000 on the campaign. There was hardly any organized opposition, except for one group that spent $800 on one newspaper ad. All three propositions were defeated by two to one margins. [emphasis added]

The only thing that passed was an item to the increase the ethics board's funding.

And, to put a spin on the results, the mayor said that the voters weren't opposed to the reforms, they just didn't want to implement them all at once. Yeah, right.

Free Range Dog Park in Midland - Update #1

My dog probably dreamed about black helicopters last night. You see, he got a microchip installed under the skin on the back of his neck yesterday at the pet fair at Hogan Park. They use a little wand to pick up the number from the chip, and hopefully it might keep him off the fast track to the incinerator if he ever gets nabbed by the pound patrol.

The pet fair at Hogan Park yesterday was the kick off for the first stage of the new free range dog park. The plan is to construct fences in and around approximately seven acres and lay a round rock walkway inside perimeter. There will be two areas, one for large dogs and one for small ones with 30 pounds being the divider.

The first stage, of course, is the raising of the money to pay for it. The cost is expected to be $50,000 which will be funded by donations. Good news for taxpayers, right? The idea to collect donations from those who would use it is probably one of the best concepts to come along in a long time. After all, who among us hasn't complained about our taxes going toward things for which we have no use?

I know I'll pitch in. The Permian Basin Area Foundation is in charge of collecting the donations. They're in the phone book. Dog owners, give them a call.

Odessa High School grad has part in "Friday Night Lights"

"Friday Night Lights" correspondent Teresa McMahan sends this link to the Sul Ross website which contains an article about Charles "Tiki" Davis. He went to Odessa High School then went on to graduate from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, with a degree in communications. He originally had a part in the movie as a football player, but after getting to know some of the key people, he ended up with a speaking role. Here's an excerpt from the article:

Cast as minor, "locker room/in the huddle" extra during the first two of weeks of location filming in Odessa, Davis used much of his down time in between shots to network and associate with other cast members.

/cut/

"By the time we went to Houston, the director had decided to put me in a speaking role of the team captain for Dallas Carter," Davis said.

"That gave me several important scenes where I give hard time to the Odessa Permian captain," he said, so I'll be sure to be on the screen."

We'll be watching for you Tiki.

"Friday Night Lights" - an extra in Houston featured in HouChron

A May 7 HoustonChronicle.com article provides a glimpse of an extra's life at the Houston Astrodome setting of the filming of "Friday Night Lights". There's a flash photo slide show with some interesting pictures. One shows a pump jack in the foreground and Ratliff Stadium in the background with this caption:

An oil jack pump sits in front of the infamous stadium used by the Permian High School football team, where the team's story is being filmed in Odessa, March 22. (emphasis added)

That's the first time I've heard it called "infamous." Maybe it's because the Panthers won so many games that it was a crying shame for their rivals.

"Friday Night Lights" - vintage cars

"Friday Night Lights" correspondent Teresa McMahan sent this link to Tony Scharp's pictures of his Mustang which served as a vintage Texas DPS Highway Patrol car for the movie.

Mr. Scharp has a nice write up at the site about his experience working in the movie with his car, including this about having cleaned up the car nicely only to have the crew make it look dusty, a condition not really that hard to achieve out here.

I got the car so clean that in some shots there was too much glare. One area was the right rear bumper. Others were the spotlights, front bumper and new headlamps, and painted area around the left spotlamp. They sprayed the area with Arrid spray deodorant and had a special little "puffer" machine to blow dust on it. The picture with the rear bumper and bumper stickers show what it looked like. So much for worrying about getting the car all cleaned up!

Click the thumbnail to see what he's talking about. I really doubt that the Highway Patrol cars had MOJO bumper stickers on them back then, but hey, it's only a movie. Thanks for sharing this, Tony.

You talkin' to me?

Apparently, the easiest way to get a bunch of people together for a street fight is through the internet. Talk about a meet-up!

Reuters is reporting via Yahoo News:

Teenage street fighting entered the digital age in a Dallas suburb where 33 people have been arrested for slugging it out in a massive melee arranged on the Internet and videotaped by participants, police say.

Police in Garland said Wednesday several people were injured in the fight and those arrested included 27 high school students. Police were able to make arrests in this case earlier this week after reviewing a videotape of the brawl.

And, there's this astonishing bit of info:

Those arrested could face between two to 20 years in jail if convicted of second-degree felony relating to the fight.

Whew! That's a mighty stiff sentence! Imagine the conversation in the prison yard. "Whatcha in for kid? Murder, rape, armed robbery?" "Naw. I got in a fist fight with a high school rival."

Another Sasser worm?

Yup, it's the Sasser-F. That's what they are saying at PC World:

"It makes sense that this is a variant of the [Sasser-A] source code. It's been out for more than a week and made the rounds of whatever computing underground [Sven Jaschan] was connected to. Now somebody has had a chance to play with it," [Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel at Microsoft] says.

And there was this from InfoWorld :

[Patrick Hinojosa, chief technology officer of Panda Software U.S. ] called the changes to Sasser-F "child-like." The changes include a switching the name of a process created by the worm to "Bill Gates," and the addition of new comments containing expletives, Hinojosa said.

Microsoft's Sasser (A-E) Worm Removal Tool (KB841720) hasn't yet added the "F" variation.

Hale and Hardy after a Hearty Meal

Bob in Houston sends this link to Common Errors in English which helps with common questions such as whether the word "hearty" or "hardy" is more appropriate for the situation.

The owners of that website would prefer that you go to the cover page first to help move their site up in the Google ranking. So there it is.

Million Mom March, give or take 998,000 moms

The Million Mom March took place today, Mother's Day.  And, it was estimated that  2,000 people  were present.  The purpose of their march was to build support of the Assault Weapons Ban - a useless law that restricts semi-automatic magazines that hold over 10 rounds. 

The other day Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, D-NY, was on the teevee proclaiming that the AR-15 was an "assault weapon" and had no other purpose than to kill people.  Back during the short era of the D.C. Sniper, the AR-15 was called a "sniper rifle", but that moniker seems to have fallen out of favor with the anti-gun movement.  I guess the AR-15 is an "assault weapon" again. 

Anyway, I was at the Midland Shooters Association Rifle/Pistol range Saturday where they had a Practical Pistol and Tactical Rifle match.  Before the rifle match there were around a dozen rifle shooters milling around while the match director finished constructing the shooting scenario.  A glance at the rifle rack suggested that most if not all of them were going to be using AR-15s.  So, I asked the group a question.  "Does anyone use an AR-15 for hunting?"  Around four immediately spoke up in the affirmative, and one of them rattled off a list of varmints that he hunted with his.  So, the AR-15 is used for hunting by roughly a third of the shooters in that informal survey.  The remainder use it for recreational purposes, rifle matches, practice, etc. 

In any event, the Assault Weapons ban is a useless law and a waste of our lawmakers time.  Let's allow the thing to die a quiet death when it sunsets this September.  May it rest in peace. 

Coda:  They got rid of a bunch of old gun magazines (the paper kind) at the rifle/pistol recently, and I rescued a couple of boxes of them.  Eventually, I'll go through them all, but most recently I looked at one dated December 1964 and noted an ad for the new varmint rifle, a Colt AR-15.  And the most intriguing aspect was the price:   $189.50.  What a bargain!

"Friday Night Lights" Follow Up

Ace correspondent and "Friday Night Lights" cast extra Teresa McMahan has logged in with another report and commentary. As a Permian High School alumnae, she has a thorough knowledge of the real world of the West Texas high school football that was supposed to have been depicted in a book on which the movie is based. Ms. McMahan makes some very telling observations about the Hollywood reality likely to appear in the movie vs. real reality. Check it out:

"Friday Night Lights", The Early Aftermath
By: TMcMahan

Well, the film crews are finished and now the wait begins. I am sure the question on many Odessans' minds is "what will we be portrayed like"? Since I was only active in the Odessa filming, I honestly don't have a clue. However, I have identified a few things that made me a bit nervous.

For example, in one scene, an angry Mr. Billingsley (the father of a player) leaps out of the stands, runs onto the field and knocks his son to the ground during a game! I have never seen anything remotely like that happen, and I have been watching Permian games since I was 5 years old. That parent would probably be barred from the game at that point.

Also, there was a scene where an opposing team member is injured and those of us in the stands were supposed to cheer for that. That is not what would happen in a real Permian game. Even the most ardent, die-hard fans in west Texas would be concerned about the downed player regardless of what team the player was on and would only cheer and applaud as a show of support and relief when the player was deemed okay.

Another thing that has bothered me somewhat is the fact that they had people in the stands supposedly drinking beer during a high school football game. Granted, that might appeal to some of the fans, but as we all know, that does not LEGALLY happen in Odessa, Texas (with the exception of those who "bootleg" their favorite beverage in illegally).

It follows the book roughly which means the racial aspects will most likely be included. We have grown a great deal in that area, so I hope our residents and all those who watch the movie realize that we are not nearly as racist at this point in time. Nonetheless, I hope they don't over-do that aspect.

On the other hand, I have heard report that the movie will have a "Hollywood" ending. Much of the turmoil ends up being laid to rest in the end and everyone lives happily ever after.

As far as the "hero worship" aspects of the movie, I hope they portray us as a people who sincerely appreciate all the hard work these kids put into their chosen sport. They should be admired and respected. After all, there is no way I could survive their grueling two-a-day practices. Furthermore, most of these kids have been working towards their goals since they were young boys. The schools demand good grades from the players now, and I have not seen any preferential treatment there. My son played, and he was expected to do the same amount of work as the other kids or risk not being able to play. By no means am I saying that everything is perfect in the football program, but we have come a long way.

My son lived a PHS Football horror story, but I don't hold that against the entire program. Fortunately, the coach that caused that debacle has been gone for a while now. I hope they show our good points, because, really, west Texans are pretty great folks. Furthermore, our football is great fun for those who don't exist for it, but merely enjoy it as a sport.

Since filming has ceased, I have received emails from extras from Austin, Houston, and Odessa, and from interested parties who weren't thrilled with my observations. Since a couple of them are still active in the industry, I won't use their names. Their observations were interesting so, I thought I would share them with the readers.

From a Houston Extra:

"I found the hire-ups in the crew to be very professional and friendly However, I did find some P.A.'s to be a little irritable, but that is going to happen when working 15 or 16 hour days for months at a time. They were also in charge of the extras......Some extras DID NOT FOLLOW THE RULES and those people who broke the rules (and irritated the crew) made it 10x harder for those of us who did follow the rules I do know that the crew was very angry about the trash on the set in Odessa. I heard it was out of control and the crew was constantly having to monitor and pick up after the trash. The trash in the Houston Astrodome was bad, but I heard that Odessa's worse.

"Yes some of the crew and cast had been to your site. Particularly some of the doubles and the assistant coaches..........then there was buzz about your site and the negative comments made about the crew......that's how I found out about the trash in Odessa (from the crew).

"I had some probs with some people, particularly some of the P.A.'s BUT not the ones mentioned.

"In Houston, the 2nd unit team was really cranky and took it out on the extras the 3rd week. I was ready to quit. Basically, their nastiness was because they caught people leaving and returning around the time of "wrap up", they caught people taking very long lunches, and they caught some people doing some hanky panky in the stands.

"Anyway, I agree with a lot that you have to say. I must say that I found Billy Bob Thorton to be tremendously friendly and wonderful to his fans. Most of the other "stars" were very nice also. The only one that I didn't like very much was Jay Hernandez..... but other than that.... Garrett Hedlund, Derek Luke, Lucas Black, "The Famous Jett Jackson" , Connie Britton, the new breakout star from Austin, Ken Farmer and the list goes on..... they were very nice to me and I was able to have nice solid conversations with them.

"I'm not going to comment on Peter Berg because my thoughts of him are better left unsaid, but I thought very highly of 2nd team director Alan Graf.

"Oh, and I met most of the producers.....nice, but of course kept their professionalism.
Tim McGraw seemed okay, but I only spoke with him a second and never even saw Faith Hill.

"Actually, as an extra, I probably shouldn't have been chatting with any of these people....".

From a professional extra/stuntman:

"I was puzzled that they only paid non union extras $7/HR the rate is $10/HR non and $14 union so I'm glad I don't work extra work. It's fun, but not any thing you can live off of. I haven't seen that low a pay since the 80's when non was $5 - 7 and union was $10 – 12.

Well enjoy those pictures you never know when they will be back around your area again to shoot."

On the other hand, not everyone was so appreciative:

"Well to start out Teresa your pictures are nice, but you should count your blessings. The main reason for no cameras or recording devices is because the production company doesn't want anything to be out before the movie is out. Also a lot of stars don't like for you to just pop a shot of them just any old time. The other trouble is that some idiot will take a shot during the shooting which can cost alot of money when it messes up the camera shot, and they have to repeat the shot again. The other thing is $$$$ too many people know that if they can get a picture of a big star that it might bring big $$$ if sold to the right media. Also I know you may have not like what the AD said as far as the trash issue goes, but hey your an adult right which means you should know to pick up after yourself, but trust me there is alot of so called adults who don't and the AD didn't want to have to do something that he thought was going to be his. Another thing until you have really seen what AD's have to go through & do don't say anything. They have alot of things that they have to do. I do stunts, but started out as an extra, and I have been in the industry for awhile so I have alot more experience then you do about what happens on sets and what to do and what not to do. Like I said earlier you got some nice shots, but the next time you may not, so think about it. Is it worth getting sent home no pay and no camera for just a few pictures ????? NO it's not. You wanted to work for them so you have to follow the rules that apply. Oh another thing professional extras know that SAG says the same thing "NO CAMERA ON THE SET". Enjoy what you got, but for those who want to follow your steps I would say "DON"T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT". Like I said they can send you off the set and take your camera, if they want to. Extra work can be fun & exciting, but do it with the proper mind set, and enjoy it don't abuse it."

From Houston:

"The acting community is trying very hard to bring feature films here. We are trying very hard to get film directors, casting directors, producers, etc to use TEXAS ACTORS as PRINCIPAL characters And yes, word does get around.....I know for a fact that some of the cast and crew have read your message board/articles

"Bottom line: People at the Houston Film Commission and the Texas Film Commission work very hard to try to bring films here. Actors work hard to bring films here. Feature films bring great work and more work to Texas, great publicity to Texas, etc, etc, etc.

If we are pleasant, positive, and professional then maybe more production companies will choose Texas for their filming location."

From a reader not affiliated with the filming:

"This is in response to the person that made the comments about Tim McGraw. Tim McGraw who I've met before more than once is probably one of the most humble, sincere people out there. Disrespectful to women he is DEFINTLEY not. As for signing autographs that is one thing Tim is great about have you ever been to one of his concerts and seen how many he signs for his fans. Also Tim performed at a benefit dinner/show last night in his hometown that benefit the Boys and Club of Nashville. Go to his site and see the pictures of Tim with the kids that speaks volumes. Sorry but you are defintley 100% wrong when you say Tim is not friendly are disrespectful."

Another extra wrote:

"and last but not least, I took exception with your depiction of the 2nd AD David as "rude and condesending." I am sorry if he offended you out there but after 2 months of 14 hr days you too might lose some of your sunnyness! A thick skin helps out in this business!"

In conclusion, I would like to say that I never meant to say or do anything that was unduly offensive. I have responded to each concern mentioned above. I sincerely wanted to report to the reader exactly what I saw and heard. I also took great care to be fair to all involved. I would encourage readers to continue to express their opinions-both good and bad. I think it makes for some very interesting dialogue. Thanks all and enjoy the movie! Hopefully, we will see further reports in the near future.

Thanks Teresa. Your reports are always full of honest and interesting observations, and they are a joy to read. And it helps us all to make some sense of this crazy thing. I'm especially looking forward to your review of the movie once it hits the big screen.

Brisket Cookout

Anyone near downtown Midland tomorrow, Friday, May 7, between 11:30 AM and 1:00 PM and looking for lunch can get a plate of brisket for five bucks at the police station. It's a fund raising event for the benefit of a police officer's daughter who needs some very expensive medical testing. Good food, good price and a good cause. Hey, we've all gotta eat, so why not?

Hiroshima today

"Hiroshima." That's a loaded word. It certainly conjures up images in most people's minds. But, to see some photos of present day Hiroshima go to this Typepad Photoblog. Life does go on.

Burglar: "I'm sorry. Here's some of your money back."

This is a true story. It's so astonishing that it had to be shared.

A friend's home was burglarized in February. It's a family of four, and they had been accumulating spare change in jars and other containers for a long time as a way to save for a trip. They estimated that they had around $200 in coins in containers around the house. But, someone broke into their house, made themselves a cup of hot cocoa and stole the coins.

The police were called, finger prints were lifted, and reports were filed. But, after several months nothing developed. Nothing, that is, until the other day.

Early one morning last week one of the family members walked out to the car, and lo and behold, there was a cardboard box full of coins totaling roughly $80. And there was a note saying something to the effect that this won't replace all that was stolen, but it might help.

So, here's the dilemma. Suppose the burglar gets caught, and that was the only crime the evidence can connect to him/her. Surely some sort of probation would be appropriate. We can't totally forgive the thief, but this certainly gets us a long way toward that goal. After all, once a person recognizes that he/she has made a mistake, what he/she does next is a very crucial one in establishing that person's character.

Citizens Police Academy, Volunteer Work, and Getting Dissed by the COPS

The Citizens Police Academy is a public relations program sponsored by the Midland Police Department, and it's a fun class to go through. There is a speaker on each of the main areas of investigation and law enforcement. It was very educational as well as fun. When I took the course, among other things, we got to visit the police shooting range, and that was a blast!

I'm sure the program generates a lot of goodwill in the community.

Then the next step for those who want to proceed with it is Citizens on Patrol, also known as COPS.

Once a person completes the courses and the training then he/she can volunteer to assist the police department in various capacities. Most of them patrol the streets helping to spot law breakers. Here's an item in these pages about local COPS and the work they do in that regard. And some volunteers do office work.

I completed the training in February, and it seemed like forever before I actually heard from someone. Actually, it wasn't until the first Tuesday in April, and it was in the form of a letter advising me that they had a monthly meeting on the first Tuesday of each month - that very day. So, I attended the meeting and learned of some volunteer opportunities available during the month of April. One was assisting with the Fatal Vision program in which high school kids got to drive a golf cart while wearing drunk goggles. (I wrote about that experience here.) But, mostly I helped out doing office work. And, I ended up working a combined total of 17 hours of volunteer time in April on those two projects.

So, now we get to the part where I start complaining. I've already mentioned that it seemed like an interminable amount of time before I ever heard from someone after completing the training. But, that's okay. People get busy. Then, yesterday was the first Tuesday in May, so I planned to attend the monthly meeting. But, there was only one other person there, and we waited around for several minutes, but it was obvious that the meeting just wasn't going to happen.

I pulled out the letter I had received in April and dialed up the cell phone of the woman who had written it. I asked about the meeting. Nervous laughter. "Well, this is the night we are having our annual banquet." Well, how does a person find out about these things, do you have a website or something? More nervous laughter "uh, no. I uh, we didn't call the new members about it."

Oooookaaaay. I had canceled out of another meeting so I could attend what I thought was their meeting. But, they were partying, instead. And I'm not invited. Not a good feeling. Some of that community goodwill just evaporated.

I've got a friend who has done a tremendous amount of volunteer work for other causes, and she has a one-strike-and-they're-out rule for things like that on the theory that to cause someone to set aside a couple of hours and then cause them to waste it is unforgivable. Just because a volunteer might work for free doesn't mean their time is worthless. But, I'm a softy, so I'll give them another strike. The office work I was doing seemed to be appreciated by the people who benefited from it, and I would hate to leave them high and dry.

And besides, I'm an optimist. Maybe they'll get their kinks worked out and not be so clubish. We'll see. But, I'm not very likely to be attending any of their social functions, even if I'm actually invited.

Update - 5/8/04: I've received some very nice emails from some of the people involved with the organization. And, it turns out that someone who spoke at the April meeting informed those present that the meeting in May would be postponed. I was present at that meeting in April, but I guess I must have been daydreaming. This day and age others might be tempted to claim some sort of attention deficit disorder, but the simple truth is I must not have been paying attention.

However, communicating of information to members might be improved with a website. Typepad hosts this site, and I am very pleased with their service. It's cheap, and users don't have to be tech-sperts. And, if privacy is an issue, it can be password protected. Check out Fire Fighter Frathouse to see what a casual web surfer would encounter upon stumbling onto such a site.

In any event, I've raised a big stink when it was my own lack of attention that caused the problem. Looks like I'll have egg on my face tonight as I dine on a supersized order of chicken fried crow.

Women on Target - A SUCCESS!

This past weekend the Midland Shooters Association held its first Women on Target program directed at first-time women shooters.  And, it was a roaring success!

When someone comes up with an idea like this they generally have no idea of how many people will actually be interested.  And the first thought is probably something like "I sure hope someone shows up."  But, as more and more people found out about it the response grew, and ultimately there were 51 participants.   

And, they seemed to have had a pretty good time. 

The program consisted of roughly an hour and a half of lecture time conducted by Freddy Haltom, Gaylene Stansbery and Fran Compton.  Following that the participants were divided into two groups, one of which shot on Saturday.  And the other group returned Sunday to shoot.  The shooting was highly organized with roughly ten shooters at a time and one-on-one instructors for each shooter. 

The participants were asked to fill out an evaluation after the program, and I glanced at the questionnaire to see where the participants learned about the event.  Most of them found out about the program either through a friend or through one of the fliers that were distributed.  Some learned about it through the newspaper, and some through the radio.  I had placed several notices about the event on this web log, but apparently that didn't attract any of the participants.   Oh well, that's the eternal blogger's problem - you never know for sure who's reading.  But, I digress. 

A Big 2 News camera man learned of the program and got some footage for Saturday's news show.  Many thanks for the publicity.

Overall, the program was a phenomenal success.  And a huge amount of credit goes to Jerry Moritz and Gaylene Stansbery for coming up with the idea, recruiting helpers, accumulating the equipment, and pulling the whole darn thing off without a hitch! 

And, yes, there will be another one in the future.

New Midland Blogger

There's a new blog in town - Rancid Poncho. It contains a link to Sleepless in Midland along with the other Midland blogs which he refers to as "Road Kill." So, maybe he's going to leave us in the dust and produce some spectatular things over there. Hey, go for it!

He's got a description of his dealings with a local auto repair shop, and that's the sort of thing that can really pay off big time for blog readers. The next worse thing to having your car break down is trying to get it repaired.

He's a bit harsh on the local tv news programs, though. We all want the most accurate news reporting possible, but I would give them a break if he's referring to the appearance and presentation. There's probably not a lot of money to be made in a market this size, and they are probably doing a decent job for what they are paid. After all, a talented person who aspires to be a big time tv news person is probably not going to have this region at the top of his/her list of stops along the road to fame and stardom.

I'm partial to Big 2 News, but I didn't really know why until Saturday. The Midland Shooters Association hosted a Women on Target program to acquaint new women shooters to the sport of recreational shooting. (More about that later.) And, a Big 2 News camera man came to the event, and sure enough, that night there were a couple of minutes on the news show about it along with some footage from the scene. The camera man told one of the organizers that he saw the notice about the event in the newspaper and came out to report on it. So, that tells me they are trying to keep track of what's happening in the community and not just waiting around for someone to call.

And to Rancid, there's plenty of room in this ocean, so dive in. And keep those consumer reports coming!