Sleepless in Midland

Mel Hudman Gets It

Mel Hudman recently replaced Mike Barker as the local ABC Big 2 news evening reporter.  (Mike Barker  - a long time Midland news man - recently left the station for the published reason that his contract was not renewed.  There's definitely a story there if only we could learn the behind-the-scenes facts.  Perhaps they wanted a good looking young face for the news show, so Mr. Hudman stepped forward...  oh wait, maybe that's not the reason.)

So, with Mel Hudman now at the desk it's a different show.  Mr. Hudman isn't shy about expressing his opinion, and on a recent show he gave an editorial about how the main stream media is so heavily into broadcasting the negative news from Iraq and ignoring the good news.  Blogosphere readers have known that for a long time, and it's very refreshing that a tv news guy is expressing it in public.

So many news people try to keep their political leanings a secret in the mistaken view that their customers want it that way.  Where do they learn this?  Is this what they're taught in journalism school?

A columnist for the Midland Reporter-Telegram recently wrote a column bragging about how secretive she was outside her own group of co-workers about her politics, and how open minded she is. Well, the truth is that none of us are really open minded about important issues.

And, as for newspaper people, their political leanings creep in whether they realize it or not.  After all, they are the people who are selecting which Associated Press articles that they expect us to read.

Don't get me wrong.  I like the Midland Reporter-Telegram.   It's a great local paper.  But, keeping the news reporters' and editors' political leanings a secret isn't really serving the public.  Someone suggested a pretty good solution.  I don't know who to give credit for this idea, but someone suggested that all news people be required to contribute $1,000 to a political candidate in each presidential election, and their contribution should be publicly disclosed.  The dollar amount is enough that they wouldn't want to blow it to skew the listings.  And, we the consumers, could factor that into their reports.

But, until that happens, we must celebrate those who take it on themselves to voluntarily disclose their own political views.

Since channel two is an ABC affiliate Mr. Hudman has an uphill battle if he expects to counter all of the biased coverage at the network level.  So, more power to you Mr. Hudman.

Answers with their questions - Thanksgiving day at the Sleepless house

Answer:  "Twice."  Question:  How many times did the smoke alarm go off?

Answer:  "Tasty, except for the blackened part."  Question:  How did the blackened salmon turn out?

Answer: "Uh, did I say it was tasty?"  Question:  Was it originally planned to be "blackened?"

Jerry Seinfeld gives Puffy Shirt to Smithsonian

"I can't believe it.  I can't believe this.  How did I get here?"

"Well, I can't even tell you the pride that I feel being the focal point of what has to be the most embarrassing moment in the history of the Smithsonian Institute.  This is truly a new low.  I couldn't be more proud to have my name plastered all over it."

As seen on tv.

Drive Time in the West Texas Wetlands

By golly we've had the rain!  Early this morning the backyard gauge had about 4.6 inches that had accumulated over the past couple of days.  The gauge tops out at 5 inches, so I emptied it to start over.  As of around 4:45 pm CST it contained almost 3/4 inch of new rain.  Anyway, here are a few photos from around town.

 

 

   

    

   

Anyone interesting in re-reading the Midland Reporter-Telegram's account of the flood of 1968 in Midland, as reproduced in this weblog last year, then click this link.

I promise not to complain about the rain. I promise.

We've had the rain!  The backyard rain gauge shows that over three inches have fallen in the last couple of days.  And, it's still coming down.  Big time!

Ordinarily, the street in this photo would have been as dry as a bone, and this poor guy would have no trouble crossing.  Hat not needed.  But, not today.

The drought out here in west Texas was so bad, up until this year, that we were afraid it would never end.  Now, we don't know what to make of all of this water.  We've had so much rain this year that it's tempting to say that the drought  is over.  But no.  That might jinx it.

The rain certainly has been good for the lawns.  Grass is growing in spots where grass hasn't grown in a long time.  So, come on, let it rain.  Keep it coming, we can take it.

Park Workers' Rodeo

Last week the Texas Parks and Recreation Society had a park equipment rodeo in the Holiday Inn parking lot in Midland, Texas.  Teams from Amarillo, Lubbock, San Angelo, Odessa and Midland competed in skill contests involving mowers, pickup trucks, trailers and backpack blowers.

The trailer event consisted of teams of two contestants starting in a parked pickup truck .  They then drove to a trailer, hooked it up, pulled it to another location, backed the trailer into a stall, then unhooked it all the while trying to avoid dislodging tennis balls balanced on top of posts.  The driver stayed in the truck the whole time, and the passenger was the one who got to do the really exhausting part of the job.

One quibble I had was about the harshness of the rules.  It seemed that the participants had to hook up two safety chains connecting the trailer with the pickup.  But, the chains had to be crossed.  One team had the trailer hooked up, and the referee shouted "STOP!  You guys are done."    Well, they had failed to cross the chains, so they were disqualified.  That was tough on the participants.  A better result might have been to simply tack on some penalty time to their actual time.  But, they didn't ask me.

Capping off the rodeo was an event that required the participants to propel a tennis ball through four hoops using a gasoline powered leaf blower.  Slow and steady turned out to be the winning strategy.

So, the next time I'm sure the teams will remember to cross the safety chains in the trailer event.  And to the referees, the teams would enjoy it a lot more if you weren't so quick to kick participants out of the match.

Real Men Cooking Real Food Outdoors

Yummmm!  Check out this meatfest at Hog On Ice.

What if Pirates ruled the world?

A Pirate's finger prints

Things would be much different if pirates ruled the world.  Check out the Photoshopped entries at Worth1000.

Via Boing Boing.

Blue Angels Simulator at Midland Mall

Wednesday afternoon Navy recruiters offered free rides in the Blue Angels mobile flight simulator, and it will continue Thursday (11/11/04) from noon until 6:00 p.m.  It's quite a ride.

The two Navy gentlemen pictured are, from left to right, GSMFR Matthew Ham and AD1(AW) Navy Recruiter Scott Halford.

The simulator has two modes: a flight with the Blue Angels and a simulated take off and landing from a carrier.  I rode with the Blue Angels, and it was a thrill!  The simulator bounces us around as our jet takes off, and then it goes through aerobatics maneuvers with the other Blue Angels.  And, at one point one of the other jets is headed straight at our plane and missed a collision by only a few feet.

It was a rocky ride as the simulator lept, lurched and leaned.  It lasted several minutes, but we never actually moved from the spot where it was parked, so fortunately, there weren't any G-forces to contend with.

Overall, it was a fun experience.  And the objective is to interest potential recruits.  Hopefully, they will be successful.  We're proud of you fellows.   Keep up the good work.

Shocked and Awed in Fallujah

If, like me, you are continually in shock and awe at the equipment and skill level of the modern military, then check out this article at Tech Central Station which touches on some of the tactics and equipment used by our Army and Marines at Fallujah.

As the offspring of a man whose oldest brother uttered his last words on earth (France to be exact) saying something like this:  "there's no way that sniper could still be out there," I liked this part about Snipers and 360 Security -

This so-called "back clearing" requires extraordinary nerve and discipline. If you are at the "back" of a circle and your buddies are taking and returning fire at the front, the impulse to take your eyes of your sector and help return fire is overwhelming. But your unit's safety from a sniper or a new source of fire depends upon you keeping your back to the action and your eyes on buildings or terrain in your area of the security circle.

The availability of attack helicopters and armor means that, when necessary, rather than pick off a sniper the Marines or Army can call in firepower to destroy his immediate "environment," be it an apartment or a whole building.

Those backpack UAVs should certainly help, too.

Citizens on Patrol (COPs)

The Citizens on Patrol group, headed by the very capable Sgt. Dale Seago (see photo), is a group of volunteers who help the Midland Police Department do many of the things that the sworn officers simply do not have time to do themselves.    A new class is starting Tuesday night - here's the recent press release:

The Midland Police Department will conduct a new Citizens On Patrol training class on Tuesday, November 9 and Thursday, November 11, 2004.  The classes for both nights will be from 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.  The classes will be held at the police department, 601 N. Loraine. The C.O.P.S. program allows citizens to patrol neighborhoods as extra eyes and ears for the police department.  Officers cannot always be everywhere at once.  The volunteers of this program assist as a deterrent to crime and help catch criminals. Upon completion of the classroom training, the candidates must ride for eight hours with Patrol Officers.  There is no cost, however, you must complete and submit an application for the program to attend.  Applications are available at the front desk of the police department or through the Community Relations Unit. For more information contact 685-7582.

There's no pay, but it's a very rewarding program for people interested in volunteering their time.

Crime Victims and Recovered Property

The Midland Police Department evidence room looks like a well organized warehouse.  For one reason or another, a lot of personal property has ended up there.  Some of it was found and turned in.  Some of it was secured during the execution of a search warrant.  But, however it got there, once the case has been adjudicated, the next big step is to get the property back into the hands of the rightful owners.

Many manufactured items have model numbers and serial numbers imprinted somewhere on them.  But, a surprising number of people don't bother to write those numbers down anywhere.  After all, what are the odds that it will get stolen?  So, when the property gets stolen about all the owner can provide is the brand name and a general description.

The result is a property room full of personal property and a stack of theft reports with very general descriptions of the stolen property.  Some of the volunteers with the Citizens on Patrol, including your humble writer, have been working to try to reconnect some of this property with the person who lost it.  And, it is a daunting task.  There's just so darn much of it! But, it's very rewarding when you can give back stolen property to its owner.  It's almost like playing Santa Claus, except the recipient owned it already.

Last week, under the lead of Midland Police Sgt. Dale Seago, hundreds of items were hauled out to the parking lot of the old police department building for display.  And, many people who had lost something or who had been burglarized showed up to claim their property.  But unfortunately, much of it had to be hauled back to the evidence room unclaimed.

Occasionally, an item might have some personal identifying mark on it, someone's initials, perhaps.  And, sometimes it might be something very unique, but unless that marking appeared in the police report when the item was stolen then it is not that helpful if the property is recovered. Much of the property in the evidence room has nothing that would connect it with the owner.  And even if it did, the overworked staff there might not have the time to search for the marking, pull up a matching report, and make the phone calls.

But, here's an example of a marking that got someone's attention.  There were some personal items stolen from a victim, and one of those items had a leather strap with the following (heavily edited) words stamped on it:

I am not a [expletive deleted].  I am THE [expletive deleted]!

Well, that piece of personal property was recovered, and one of the detectives recalled seeing that rather attention getting language in the report.  Result:  property returned to owner!

The advice given by police is to inscribe one's Texas driver's license number on personal property as those numbers can be used to look up and locate the owner.  Sounds like pretty good advice. So, if you've lost something, check with the PD to see if it has been recovered.  And, if you aren't a theft victim then mark your property with your TDL number.  (And uh, if you really want to get their attention, add an obscenity or two.)

"Simpsons" fans, check this out

Here's an article about the making of the "Simpsons". 

And, here's a neat little "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" quiz with "Simpsons" questions.  (Note: it starts out easy.)

All via A Welch View.

John Kerry Honorably Discharged (according to C-SPAN, but not verifiable elsewhere)

These lingering campaign issues really should just die a quiet death.  However, this morning on C-SPAN a caller tried to raise the question of whether or not John Kerry may have received a less than honorable discharge from the Navy.  C-SPAN's moderator cut the woman short proclaiming "that's absolutely false.  Others have called about that, and it's simply not true."

Well, is it? 

The story line is that Kerry got a less than honorable discharge because of his contacts with the Viet Cong.  Much later President Carter issued him an honorable discharge.  But, since Senator Kerry never authorized the full release of his full military record, it remains a mystery. 

I've tried to find information on this - Snopes.com remains silent on the issue.  Factcheck.org has its stiff upper lip firmly pressed against its stiff lower lip on the issue.  And, Google News searches result in articles merely restating the issue without resolving it.

It appears to be one of those questions that will linger. But, let's just let it rest.  And, note to C-SPAN:  remember all of those callers who kept saying you have a liberal bias?  Please don't be so dismissive of them.  They're right, you know.

Under the radar: Cynthia McKinney's back in Congress

Via Neal Boortz, who says:

Yesterday's election wasn't a total wash for Islamic jihadists. The voters of Georgia's 4th Congressional District have seen fit to send Cynthia McKinney back to the Congress. Denise Majette, the woman who clobbered Cynthia a few years ago, got the big head and decided that she was ready for the U.S. Senate. The voters in Georgia had other ideas. While Majette was tilting at windmills Cynthia ran for her old seat and won.

Giving her a label she might wear with pride, Boortz is calling her "the cutest little Jihadist in Congress."

Oh, those undecided voters!

We keep hearing how this election is the most important one in many years. And, they tell us that the undecided voters will swing to the challenger, because that's what they did in the past elections. Well, if this one is so darn important, how can anyone expect the old patterns to persist?

They say Usama, I say Osama.

Osama bin Laden, I thought you were dead.

"We are free," Osama bin Laden says, according to the transcript found at CNN.com. Who's he talking about when he says "we," himself and his merry band of terrorist? Afghanistan had an election recently, and the people there actually have a chance now. So, how many elections were held there when bin Laden held reign?

North Viet Nam had Jane Fonda and John Kerry. Bin Laden has Michael Moore and wants John Kerry.

Make your vote count today. Reelect George W. Bush who won't take his eyes off the big picture.