Sleepless in Midland

Local Rapists Who Aren't Serial

Yesterday a detective in the Midland Police Department held a press conference to address some assaults that have occurred locally in the last few months and to dispel the information in an email apparently in circulation which warned of a serial rapist in the community.

A rape which occurred last November and two attempted abductions which occurred in March and July were similar, although, "There is not a serial rapist running around that we know of," a police detective was reported to have said.

All of this is according to the Midland Reporter-Telegram which apparently had a reporter at the press conference.  Your humble correspondent tried, but was not allowed to attend that press conference.  More on that later.

The picture you see here was borrowed from the Midland Reporter-Telegram site, and it purports to be an artist's rendering of the perpetrators of those three crimes, said sketches were apparently on display at the press conference.

The November rapist was described as "'50 to 60-year-old Hispanic man with bushy white hair' and a 'soft,' stocky physique. He was about 5 feet 8 inches tall."

The March attempted abductor was described as "'stocky' and wearing a thin mustache" and drove a white van.  The July attempted abductor was described as "5'8" to 5'10" with a mole or tattooed teardrop under his left eye. He had an 'old English lettering' tattoo of an unknown name on the left side of his neck," and drove an old Cadillac.

Let's all keep an eye out for anyone fitting those descriptions.

The Press Conference -- by invitation only

Tuesday's Midland Reporter-Telegram contained a short notice about a press conference that was to be held by the police.  The article mentioned a detective by name, and I left a voice mail message for that detective to please call me back with the time and place of that press conference.  A short time later I received a return call from a different police officer.  I explained who I was and why I wanted to attend the press conference.  But, it turns out that the press conference was by invitation only, and I wasn't on the invitation list and was told, firmly but politely, that I would not be allowed to attend.

The reason given was that the press conference was to be held inside the police station, and they didn't want just anyone (namely, me) wandering around in there.

To be fair, the person who compiled the invitation list was apparently the only person who could make any variance.  And that person was out of the office.  In any event, I didn't attend.

A proposal and a suggestion

Here's a modest proposal:  Conduct two press conferences.  One would be held inside the police building, and it would be for the elite media.  Camera crews could set up their tripods, and tv reporters could do their one-on-one interviews.

The second press conference would be out on the front steps of the building, and it would be for the people, the rabble, us.  That way everyone could get whatever information there is, and the mainstream media, having been first to hear it, can say they heard it first.

Okay, I'm being sarcastic.  There really could be just one press conference in some place that doesn't have to be fortified.  There are plenty of those places around town.  Even the public lobby of the police station would probably suffice.

And here's a serious suggestion.  That picture you see of the three perps --  the one borrowed from the Midland Reporter-Telegram.  It could have been made a little bit more accessible for the rest of us.  When the police get a sketch that should be made public they could scan it into a jpg file and disseminate it through email.  They did it last September with the sketch of a wanted person.  See it here. 

What was wrong with that?  Is the general public simply useless to the police?  Or is there some reason why they don't want our help?

It seems that the only reason that the press conference was held, and the sketches shown, was to quell any concern raised by the alleged email rather than to enlist the public in helping solve the crimes.  (Maybe it's supposed to be more comforting knowing there are two or three threatening people on the loose instead of just one.)

Well I, for one, believe that the public really is helpful in solving and preventing crimes.  And someone in the MPD must believe that too, otherwise they wouldn't work so hard to keep Midland's status near the top of the list of towns of similar size in number of National Night Out neighborhood parties.

Speaking of which, check your neighborhood next week.  National Night Out is August 2.

Cirrus clouds in the morning. Rain clouds in the evening.

There's probably one of those catchy weather slogans that says it better.  But, cirrus clouds often precede a cold front.  And it's almost here.

But, to give credit where credit is due, Channel 9's Darrell Ward predicted rain today on the Channel 9 early morning show.  And the others probably predicted it, too.

So as a lay person I can safely say, "Sure looks like it's gonna rain!"

Updated 7/27/05, 4:51 p.m.  Yup.  Darrell was right; we got the rain.  There was 1.1 inch in the back yard gauge this morning, and there has been drizzle off and on all day.

Local Blogger to Blog One Day for Charity

Eric at The Fire Ant Gazette has requested that the other local bloggers help in bringing as much attention as possible to his participation in a fund raising event described as a blogathon in which he has agreed to write in his blog once every half hour for 24 hours beginning at 8 a.m. on August 6.  The hoped for result is that people will be so moved as to donate money to his charity of choice, Midland Fair Havens.  For a more details about of his charity work go here.

Send a message to terrorists, posthumously

Here's a website with a good idea.  If you are killed by terrorists the news media will probably grab any photo of you that they can from some relative.  It might be a graduation photo, a vacation snap shot, or maybe some picture of you looking your absolute sweetest.

So this outfit is offering an opportunity for people to take their own photos displaying an expression showing what they think of the terrorists.  It's YouBlewMeUpYouBastard.com.  And they promise to store it and distribute it if you are killed by an act of terrorism.

In reality, the probability of being killed by a terrorist is fairly remote, so the main appeal would be the opportunity to display some expression of disgust while alive -- the counter weight to the appeasement images found at Sorry Everybody.

(Found at Screenhead.)

More, much more:  We Are Not Afraid is another site where people can post their images with as message to terorists.  Thanks Hepcat!

Look into my eye ...

There's something absolutely hypnotic about a hurricane's eye.  Don't stare too long, though.  Who knows what might happen?

This is Emily.  We hope the best for the folks in her path.  But, we also hope for a little rain in West Texas.  Photo Source.

"Friday Night Lights" winner of ESPY 2005

And the award goes to:  "Friday Night Lights" in the ESPY category of Best Sports Movie.

Yeah!  Well deserved.  What a great movie that was.  Congratulations to Peter Berg and all involved.

See the full list of winners here.

Speaking of awards, Eric alerts us to another winner.  It's Midlander Jon Lindgren who won $50,000 in the Amazon Theater/Tribeca Film Festival Short-Film Competition for "Rachel's Challenge."  Follow the link and the instructions there to see the seven minute movie.

Eric Hammock wrongful death lawsuit filed

The Fort Worth law firm of Kobs & Haney has issued a press release announcing that they have filed a lawsuit on behalf of clients Kathi Hammock and daughter against Taser International for the wrongful death of Eric Hammock.

Eric Hammock died shortly after being shot multiple times with a Taser in Fort Worth on April 3, 2005.  See my earlier entry titled Eric Jay Hammock: 5/20/1961 - 4/3/2005, R.I.P. for details.

Jeffrey Kobs and Mark Haney apparently represent the plaintiffs.

An earlier news report [sorry, no news link] had said that the cause of Mr. Hammock's death was cocaine intoxication and not the Taser.  I wondered at the time just how anyone could say for sure that cocaine caused his death and that he would have died anyway if he had not been shot with the Tasers.  One might expect a self serving statement from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office, but Dr. Nizam Peerwani at least doesn't deny that Tasers played a role.  See Dallas Morning News:

"We can't say Tasers caused the death," said Peerwani, the county's medical examiner since 1979. "Tasers may have played some role.  We are basically saying there's a temporal relationship."

The anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that a human body might be more susceptible of dying from a Taser wound if the person had an intoxicating drug in his/her system.  I'm not condoning illegal drug usage, and I don't use them myself.  But, it shouldn't condemn a person to death at the muzzle end of a Taser gun.

To be continued.

Update: 7/18/05,  2:34 pm -  More about this case and Taser in links below:

- AP article in the 7/18/05 edition of the Midland Reporter-Telegram titled Groups question Taser gun safety after suspects' death.

- FWWeekly article about Tasers titled Torture by Taser.

- AZCentral.com special report on Tasers saying, among other things, "The Arizona Republic, using computer searches, autopsy reports, police reports, media reports and Taser's own records, has identified 132 cases in the United States and Canada of death following a police Taser strike since September 1999."

Are you a hippie? How about white trash? Quizzes

Awww man?  Now that stings.

You are 30% Hippie.

You need to step away from the tie-dye.  You smell too good to be a hippie.  Being a hippie is not a fashion craze, man.  It was a way of life, in the 60's, man.

Take the
Hippie Test
@ FualiDotCom

Find out whether or not you are a hippie at Hippie Test.

Or take the White Trash Test:

You are 26% White Trash.

The white trash in your blood will not keep you from becoming a doctor or a lawyer, but it will keep you from a good haircut and any sort of fashion sense.

Take the
White Trash Test
@ FualiDotCom

Nailed!

Found at Resistance is Futile.

A Fatwah against a Blogger

Gullyblog writes in Resistance is Futile that a fatwah was issued against a fellow blogger, AnarchAngel.

Technically, a "fatwah" is issued by an Islamic scholar or religious lawyer -- see definition of "fatwah" here --  but let's not get overly technical.  What seems to have happened is the FBI has contacted AnarchAngel about a possible threat against him.  AnarchAngel tells all about it in Fatwah.

So why would anyone want to threaten AnarchAngle?  See for yourself at Team Infidel where a viewer can see MPG clips of a Koran being shot full of bullet holes along with other things done to a copy of the Koran that would likely get screaming headlines in the New York Times had they occurred at Gitmo.

In "This guy does HORRIBLE things to the Koran" AnarchAngel explains why he did it:

Actually, I've recived surprisingly little negative reaction to it. Almost disappointing really, because I know how most of us freedom and gun lovers who read me every day feel about that stuff, so I'm preaching to the choir as it were. I got a lot of GREAT negatives on some of my other controversial essays, like "Homophobia is Offensive". Great negatives means your message is getting out beyond your social mirror, and into the hostile intellectual world out there.

I want to see your negatives people. I want you to THINK about WHY we did this.

Careful what you wish for, AnarchAngel.

But, AnarchAngel probably doesn't have anything to worry about.  While his actions may have been a bit more overt than simply writing a book critical of Islam like Salman Rushdie or even the harsher criticisms of Theo Van Gogh, Islamic radicals will probably steer clear of him.  Their modus operandi is to make a surprise attack against people who aren't in a position to easily defend themselves.

And that's what sets AnarchAngel apart.  He's ready.  And he's armed to the teeth!

Were the London terrorists duped?

The Mirror asks some interesting questions about the London bombings of 7/7/05 suggesting that the terrorists could have been duped into believing that they would get away without killing themselves:

Police and MI5 are probing if the four men were told by their al-Qaeda controller they had time to escape after setting off timers. Instead, the devices exploded immediately.

A security source said: "If the bombers lived and were caught they'd probably have cracked. Would their masters have allowed that to happen? We think not."

To support this theory they point out that the bombers bought round trip tickets and "pay and display car park tickets" before boarding.  They carried wallets containing identification and personal items.  They carried bombs in backpacks that could have been left behind instead of bombs strapped to their bodies.  And some of them had strong personal reasons to live.

It could just be wishful thinking that these terrorists were just four dumb suckers, but it does make some sense.

(Via Sploid.)

Deepest, Darkest Secrets, For All to Read

There are weblogs for all sorts for reasons.  And here's one that serves as an outlet for people with secrets they need to share.   The blog owner invites people to mail in a postcard with their secrets on them for posting.

Some are funny.  Some are sad, and some are downright disturbing.  See them at PostSecret.

(Via slapdummy.)

Pump Jacks in the Parks -- Let's Drill for Oil

A knowledgeable person once told me that the Sprayberry formation underlies this entire region and that a well drilled just about anywhere in Midland would probably produce oil, albeit in low quantities.  I don't have the background, knowledge, intelligence or clairvoyance to confirm or deny that, but I'd love to see someone put it to a test.

There's a lot of city owned land in town, parks for example, and I suspect that some of the local taxing entities own some real property through foreclosures.

So let's drill some wells on that city property.  Not only could it add some income to the city coffers and lower our taxes, but it would show the anti-oil crowd that oil wells really aren't as environmentally unfriendly as they want people to think.  We could build a cage around them to keep the kiddies off, but otherwise they might add to the beauty of the landscape.

There's an old saying.  The sound of a pump jack can drive a person stark raving mad, that is unless he/she is getting some of the revenue from the well.  Then it sounds as sweet as a purring kitten.  So with the revenue pumped back into the city parks or something else from which we can all benefit, then we can all sit back and listen to those kittens purr.

The Map

Texas Railroad Commission Digital Map Data service sells digital maps of each county in the state of Texas.  And I recently bought the one for Midland County to see what it has on it.

In order to see the map on a computer screen a user has to have the appropriate software installed.  And the one I used is a free program called ArcExplorer made by ESRI.  Anyone who depends on maps for a living will have shelled out the money for a better program as the free version has some definite deficiencies.  For example, there is no text or labels visible on the map.  And there were several types of files on the map CD that were simply rejected by the ArcExplorer program, and I have no idea what they contain.

The image you see here shows a black outline of the Midland city limits as of some unknown date in the past.  The red lines are major roadways, and the green area within the city is Fairview Cemetery.  See all of the wells?  They're symbolized with blue triangles.  The map software doesn't show any text, so I have no idea what these wells are, dry holes, maybe.  The easiest ones to locate would seem to be the two just to the Northeast of the cemetery, but a drive-around didn't reveal anything in that area that resembled a well.  However, anyone who has driven by Hogan Park Golf Course will have seen the pumpjack there, so there is at least one active well out there.

Some cities put statues in their parks.  But, can you imagine a more fitting tribute to the industry that put this city on the map, and an aesthetically pleasing money maker at that, than a shiny pump jack nodding it's head up and down, up and down, purring like a kitten?

Query

I'm really just spouting off here.  I don't really know whether there's oil down there or not.  Maybe some local geo-scientist can give us a more informed idea.  Or as an alternative question, full credit given for identifying the movie and actor in the picture.  Hint:  Over the course of this big budget movie this character is transformed by the event depicted in this scene from an "Aw shucks" cowboy into a rich and ostentatious drunk.

Carnival of Cordite #21

Attention gun enthusiasts and 2nd amendment supporters:  Carnival of Cordite #21 is up and running, and there are some fascinating articles linked there.

That Stiff British Upper Lip

In the battle of Al-Qaida vs. Britain is there really any question of who will win?  I know, there are some elements in Britain who will want to appease the terrorists.  Heck, we've got those right here in the U.S.  But that's got to be a small minority.  When the chips are down the strong go to town.

Follow the money

There's really not much I can add to what's already been said about today's terrorist attack in London except to say that the Brits I've known were not ones to give up easily.  And there's evidence of that today.  Take a look at the FTSE 100.  It started out the day at 5,229.60, then after the bombs went off, it dropped to as low as 5,022.10 but bounced back to close at 5,158.30, down 71.30 (1.36%).  Sure, it finished lower for the day, but look at that bounce back from its low at midday.  Pretty darn resilient, if you ask me.

[Chart from MarketWatch.com.]

"Contagious Fire" - shooting because everyone else is doing so

L.A. Sheriff's deputies open fire

It's always fun to learn new word usage, and the phrase "contagious fire" is one I learned just the other day.  It's used to describe the tendency of a police officer or sheriff's deputy to start shooting simply because one of his/her fellow officers starts shooting.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's office is trying to discourage "contagious fire" following an incident in which deputies unloaded 120 rounds in Compton, California, in May following a vehicle pursuit.  Their marksmanship was astonishingly poor as the guy they were chasing was struck only four times, and the remainder of the bullets rocketed through the residential neighborhood.  The guy was unarmed, by the way.

Now each Los Angeles deputy is expected to use his/her independent judgment before shooting, and I'm sure everyone down range is hoping that judgment is good.

Here's a link to the story: Pasadena Star-News, and to see a video of the event go to Welsh View and click the link.  Or go directly to this site.

What's it like here?

Midland residents might recall the incident a few years ago when the Midland SWAT team opened fire with their AR-15s at an armed suspect near a new car dealership.  The suspect was wounded and taken into custody.  No police officers were injured.  And the city of Midland bought a fleet of pick up trucks -- they were brand new and in perfect shape, except for all those little holes.

But, hopefully that's not likely to happen again locally.  The officers get very thorough firearms training, and some of the officers are excellent marksmen as demonstrated at the Police Games held in San Antonio in mid June in which four Midland police officers won a total of nine medals in the rifle and pistol events.

Those Crazy TV Commercials

Fireworks.  It's for the children.

Awwww. Isn't that sweet?  Just what you want to see:  A child with a backpack stuffed with explosives strapped to his back.

Maybe next year they'll have a vest.

Don't try this at home.  Ford has a better idea.

They've hoisted this truck up to demonstrate the strength of the bolts that hold the bed onto the frame.  Has that been a problem?  Do pickup truck beds fall off?  I would be more worried about rollovers.

Anyway, the ad has a don't-try-this-at-home notice.  Dang.  I was just about to do that.

What a shot!

Bullseye!  Deep Impact stuck it's target!  See story at JPL .  And see Impact Movies at the NASA Multimedia page, especially the "Impact Movie 3" in which the camera rode the rocket all the way to impact.

That favorite pocket knife; avoiding confiscation at the airport

The government has created a new class of entrepreneurs.  They are people who provide a service so that owners of prohibited items don't have to forfeit them to the Transportation Security Administration at the airport, according to a recent Wall Street Journal item.

One of these services is MailBack which sells envelopes and postage at various airport retailers so that pocket knife and scissor owners can mail those items back to themselves at the airport.  If the traveler is thinking ahead then he/she can print out his/her own MailBack envelope -- go here and click on the PDF file.  Although if he/she really is thinking ahead then one must wonder why he/she didn't just leave the offending item at home in the first place.  But never mind.

Another innovative service is ReturnKey. It's an outfit in League City, Texas, that makes an ATM like machine they call an AMK for Automatic Mailing Kiosk -- see a photo here.  They are located in just a handful of airports now, but there's bound to be a growing demand for them as they seem quite easy to use with a touch screen on the machines which provide an envelope and a slot in which to insert the envelope containing the knife, etc.

(Note:  If the offending items is a handgun then I don't know what to tell you.  None of these services mention handguns on their websites.  You can forget about sending one through the U.S. Postal Service.  And the commercial delivery services either prohibit them or make it very difficult.  So the best bet is to check with the airline in advance for rules on packing them with non-carry on luggage.)

Since the TSA has been confiscating knives and scissors they've accumulated tons of the things -- personal treasures or illegal items, depending on your perspective.  And, according to another Wall Street Journal article, much of that stuff ends up sold on E-bay.  Do an E-bay search for the term "NTSA" and you'll see lists with knives, scissors and tools sold by the pound.  As of just a few minutes ago there were 87 lots for sale there.  And there could be some real treasures there -- some pocket knives can be quite valuable.

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in America.  They saw a need, and they started a business.  Those folks keep the economy humming, and it's such a thrill to see it happening.

Blogging Midland Expats

There are a couple of blogging Midland expatriates out there who deserve some attention.  Trey Barker is a deputy sheriff in Bureau County, Illinois, who's an excellent story teller, in fact, he's an author.  And although he has just gotten started with his blog, Bullets and Whiskey, it certainly has some great potential.   His latest book, "2000 Miles to Open Road," is due out this month.

Then there's Aunti Cracker.  What can I say about Aunti Cracker?  Perhaps I should just let her speak for herself:  "Aunti is a politically incorrect psychopath and Midlander stuck in Liberal Land."  Be sure to let us know when the Oregon turns into a red state, Aunti C.

Too bad they had to move away, but how are you gonna keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen Paree?