Sleepless in Midland

Midland Police Officer charged, resigns

One of the things I really appreciate about the Midland Police Department is their willingness to police their own.  We see movies about the code of silence among police officers in which cops try to put themselves above the law.  But, in reality those conspiracy theories don't necessarily apply, at least not out here.

Ryan Myers, in the 8/30/05 issue of the Midland Reporter-Telegram article titled Midland police officer arrested, informed readers that Jessie Ortiz, a nine year veteran of the Midland Police Department, had been arrested for allegedly assaulting a female companion and firing his service pistol into the wall of a residential bedroom early Sunday morning.

Then in the 8/31/05 issue of the Midland Reporter-Telegram, with the information packed headline: MPD officer resigns amid criminal charge, Mr. Myers quotes Police Chief John Urby as follows:

"This concludes the department's administrative investigation into the issue," Police Chief John Urby said of the man's resignation.

"Because he is no longer an employee of the police department, it's no longer our concern and there is not a need for the department to investigate the case," Urby said.

The Sheriff's Department has the responsibility of investigating the crime, digging the bullet out of the wall, and turning over evidence to the District Attorney's office.  But what exactly was the police department's "administrative investigation," and how did it result in Mr. Ortiz's resignation?

Too much public information about that might jeopardize any prosecution of the alleged offense, so my query to the Public Information Officer was a simple "yes" or "no" question.  "Did Mr. Ortiz participate in an interview with an officer of the MPD Internal Affairs Department between August 27, 2005, and the time he resigned?"

"Yes," was the answer.  Why is that significant?  The Midland Police Department has an Internal Affairs department which investigates allegations against police officers.  And Internal Affairs has a potent weapon.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in GARRITY v. NEW JERSEY, 385 U.S. 493 (1967) held that information obtained from police officers with a threat of firing was coerced and therefore violated the officers' constitutional right against self incrimination if that information was used against them in a criminal trial.

That resulted in the Garrity Warning which, once given, provides an accused officer with a choice of either to talk or get fired.  The constitutional rule against self incrimination is intact as any information obtained in such an interview can't be used in criminal court.

Here' a short description of the Garrity Warning found at the Americans for Effective Law Enforcement site:

The employee is informed that although he (or she) has a right to remain silent and not incriminate himself, his silence can be deemed insubordination and will result in administrative discipline; further, any statement he makes under compulsion of the threat of such discipline cannot be used against him in a later criminal proceeding.

Tough but fair.  So what can we surmise from Mr. Ortiz's resignation following the Internal Affairs interview? He had the right to remain silent, and jurors are told not to let someone's silence influence their decision of innocence or guilt.  But we live in the real world not in a court room.  So we are all free to draw own conclusions.

Society Page Gossip Column -- HospiceMidland's White Elephant Auction

Some of Midland's most caring people let their hair down last night.

The HospiceMidland held its fourth annual White Elephant Auction, and the people in attendance had a grand old time in honor of the HospiceMidland volunteers.   And after a huge meal there was that infamous White Elephant Auction.

The auctioneer was the dynamic SanDee Pitman.  She kept the audience in stitches as she described and auctioned off those white elephants -- she could hold her own against any prop comic you would ever hope to see on Comedy Central.  She had the audience  howling with laughter.

The only currency accepted for payment at the auction was "Monopoly" type play money which was given to the volunteers as "payment" for the time each spent providing volunteer services for the organization.

The food was plentiful, and the money flowed!  The play money, that is.  With this being the only place that currency had any value, items such as a loaf of homemade bread merely hours old brought out bids in the thousands.

Some of the auctioned items were real honest to goodness treasures.  And true to the name, some were white elephants.  But SanDee Pitman made treasures of them all, and each item went home with a proud new owner.

Among the honorable guests were former mayor Carroll Thomas along with HospiceMidland medical advisors Dr. Robert Vogel and Dr. Gregory Bartha.  And of course the volunteer coordinator, Susie Mauldin, was there.  Anyone who hasn't yet met Susie has missed out on a certain something.  She could herd cats if it would benefit HospiceMidland.

I promised gossip, and here it is.  Eligible bachelor, Gregory Bartha, M.D., appeared at the event with a girl friend.  She's lovely, blond and attractive, and rumor has it she's a lawyer in a large city.  Sorry ladies.

There are other hospices in Midland, but HospiceMidland is the only not-for-profit hospice in town.  By not-for-profit I mean that it was formed as such under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act.  What that means is that there is no owner, and any revenue in excess of expenses has to be plowed back into the organization and not into an owner's pocket.  And its 501(c)(3) status means that a donation can be deducted from the donor's federal income taxes.

The not-for-profit status makes it much more comforting for patients and family in a business that deals with people made helpless by sickness or grief.  In my book, HospiceMidland is the only hospice in town.  (But, uhmmm, I'm not exactly dying to get in.)

Midland Dog Park - Scooping Up

The Friends of the Dog Park held its second annual Soggy Doggy Splash Day fund raiser a few weeks ago.  (I wrote about it here, and here.  Read about last year's event here.)

According to knowledgeable people, the event raised $875 through entrance fees and T-shirt sales with an estimated 165 dogs attending at a ticket price of $5 per dog.  The 400 humans got in free.  Prior to that event the sums collected amounted to $4,400.71.  So the total amount of money now dedicated to the dog part is a shade under $5,500.  That's still a very long way from the goal post.

Originally it was said that a dog park would cost $50,000, and an event was held at Hogan Park to show the artist's sketches of the proposed park and introduce the concept to the public.  Then almost immediately, the estimates were said to be $60,000.  And the most recent estimate is $70,000 to $80,000.

But where do those numbers come from?  According to Mr. Coy Willis, head of Midland Animal Services, those estimates of $70,000 to $80,000 came from Bill LaPoint who was the city of Midland Parks and Recreation manager until he took a job in California about a year ago.

Clearly the price is rising faster than the money is coming in.  Those of us who aren't familiar with construction prices might be scratching our heads right about now trying to figure out how two fences, one surrounding four acres and the other surrounding three acres, a rock walkway and a concrete entrance can cost so much.  Maybe the park doesn't need that concrete entrance.  Maybe the park could be smaller.  Maybe there's a cheaper alternative to the rock walkways.

The original proposition was for the citizens to raise the money for building the park, and the city was to maintain it.  But, at the current rate that the park price is rising versus the current rate the funds are coming in it doesn't take an Alan Greenspan to see that it ain't just gonna happen, at least not in the way originally intended.

Mr. Willis said he is hoping that the City Council will provide funding for the project.  Apparently, that is the way it has worked in other cities, Dallas, Fort Worth,  Austin, and Houston, for example.

But, there was something about the citizen funded aspect of it that was very appealing, and I hate to see that effort abandoned.  Maybe one of the problems was that the person/persons who came up with the plan and estimates was not that concerned with the cost.  Eighty grand just seems like an outrageous price for fences and rocks.

Anyway, this is an unfinished story.  Stay tuned.

P.S.  To answer the person who asked who picks up the money from the collection cans posted at various locations in town, according to Mr. Willis, the money is picked up by an Animal Services employee and delivered to the Permian Basin Area Foundation to hold for safe keeping.

Would you like a Screwdriver with your Ficus?

You find the most interesting things in the legal notices.  This one was in the print edition of the Midland Reporter-Telegram of 8/24/05 and provides notice that Alldredge Gardens, the nursery and plant house, has made an application for a mixed beverage permit.

Now there's an interesting product mix.  Plants, fertilizer and a Grasshopper. 

Don't forget that designated driver.

Updated 8/25/05; 6:27 pm -   Stewart Doreen reports that they are planning a restaurant. Now that makes sense.   Thanks Stewart.

A nice glass of red with steamed fresh home grown vegetables and a grilled chicken breast.  Mmmmmm.  Now you're talking!

Fingers in the Air - Hand Signals on the Highway

We've probably all received some sort of finger sign language from another motorist on the road.  I know what you're thinking,  but let's skip "the finger"and focus on some others.

The other day I posted an item on these pages titled Speed Limit 75: Night 65 in which I described a two finger "V" sign from other drivers as a signal there was a radar trap ahead back when the highway speed limit maxed out at 55 MPH.  Following that I received an email from Joe Hathaway who is very knowledgeable about many things, and he elaborated on Bear Warnings and other roadway hand signals and how they came about.  And he tells us why we are required to have a front license plate and replace it so often.  It's very interesting.  Here's what he said:

We old timers remember the very first radar speed measuring devices (stationary use only).  The antennas looked like an over sized tuning fork, two rods protruding from a solid box, parallel and horizontal, which were pointed at the approaching targets, from the back windows of patrol cars belonging to well-funded law enforcement agencies, usually highway patrols.

The warning symbol then was a hand displayed with the "V" horizontal, symbol so like the device that everyone knew its meaning, road-savvy or not.  At about the same time (pre-CB), the truckers added to the"vocabulary" with horizontal digital salutes which indicated varying degrees of alert.  One finger meant something so mild that I have forgotten what I then knew, something like "Be prepared to slow or stop ahead." or "Weigh Station ahead."  I certainly remember the three-finger warning, however:  "Prepare to stop now; extremely dangerous situation just ahead!"

Later radar speed measuring devices had reduced the length of the "fork" (raised the frequency), and placed the emitter into a parabolic reflector with a white dome-shaped cover, making it appear that the officer had a vertical 12-inch white-covered pie-plate in the back window.  (Radars were in the back windows because they required stationary use, and the officer's vehicle was thus aimed in the same direction the target was traveling.)  They were still "always-on" devices, low powered (with short range), and thus someone invented the first Bear Finder (or whatever it was originally called) to receive the transmitted signal.  The law and tradition then was "If you broadcast a signal, for whatever reason, on the publicly-owned airwaves which we, the people, have allowed you to use, we, the people, have an absolute right to listen to your broadcast."  That inalienable right has been somewhat abridged in tiny little bites since then!

Trivia question #1:  Why does Texas still have front license plates when their cost is in the $millions, when so many states have eliminated them?  Why are they replaced, by law, every eight years or so, as they lose their reflectivity?

One answer:  The front license plate is the target of choice for laser speed measuring devices, extending the effective range 400% over non-"Scotchlite" surfaces, especially as chrome bumpers have given way to painted fiberglass.

Trivia question #2:  What does the warning beep tell a speeding motorist when it has detected a laser device aimed at it?

One answer:  "Smile; you are getting a ticket immediately ahead!"

Heh heh!  Thanks Joe, that's very useful information.  See ya on down the road, unless you're driving some sort of "stealth" automobile!

The idea for Travelocity's Roaming Gnome - another theory

Where did that idea come from?

There has been speculation.  I thought the inspiration was the excellent movie "Amelie" which featured a shy but clever trickster who swiped her dad's garden gnome and sent it off with a stewardess friend.  The dad received photos in the mail of the gnome from scenic tourist destinations and was eventually encouraged to do some traveling himself, thus Amelie's ultimate goal was achieved.

But, there's another theory.  Almost exactly a year ago an item appeared in the Wall Street Journal that said the idea for Travelocity's Gnome came from stories about an Australian in the 1980's who took a neighbor's gnome and sent back photos of it in various locales.  You can see that article reproduced on these pages back on August 25, 2004.

But, now comes another theory.

The Harry Hood caper

Tom Demeter emailed a fascinating story of events that occurred in the 1970's at the advertising agency of Hill Holiday Connors Cosmopulos in Boston, Massachusetts.  It's a great story.

Let's let Mr. Demeter tell it:

I think that it was inspired by an incident at Hill Holiday Connors and Cosmopulos.  It seems that HHCC handled Hood Milk a local New England dairy's TV campaign for years back in the early 70's.

The ads  featured a small claymation figure of a milkman called Harry Hood.   One day a group of writers and art directors at Hill Holiday kidnapped Harry from the creative director on the account.

They took Polaroids of poor Harry in precarious positions under semi tires, in manholes, on iron beams at the top of skyscrapers being constructed in Boston.  Harry was always only seconds away from eminent disaster.  With every picture that was mailed to the agency was attached a ransom note asking for thousands of dollars.

Harry was a one of a kind claymation figure complete with his own custom carrying case.  The kidnapping actually held up production of the TV campaign.  And as weeks went on Harry started showing up in exotic places all over the world.  In Brussels he was blind folded with a gun to his head,  In Paris he was teetering precariously on the railings of the Eiffel Tower.  The agency even received pictures of Harry from Istanbul in the presence of drug lords.

It seems the whole incident was leaked to the Boston Globe and became a news worthy item on the evening news for weeks.  Eventually a ransom was paid which turned out to be a contribution to a local charity and Harry found his way back to Paul Regan's office, the Creative Director on the account.

This happened long before garden gnome rip offs became popular.  It seems that Hill Holiday under Steve Cosmopulos had established a world wide reputation for out of the box creativity.  Most people thought Steve Cosmopulos thought up the whole kidnapping idea as a brilliant PR stunt.  But he didn't.  He just provided an atmosphere that allowed creatives to do legendary out of the box TV and magazine ads.  The art directors and writers involved in the great Harry Hood caper remain nameless to this day.  I know most of the original guys involved having been a creative director for Stavros (Steve) Cosmopulos myself for over five and a half years through the 80's.  I really believe this incident inspired the whole gnome phenom.

You may be right, Tom.  However, it's a fascinating story on its own regardless of the possible inspiration for the Roaming Gnome.  It's one of those tales that's so good that it makes a reader hope it's true.

Mr. Demeter is an artist and is currently the Executive Creative Director at Parker Sahhar Demeter.  You can see his artwork and read more about him at  TomDemeter.com.

The Leaning Monolith of Midland

The movie "2001, A Space Odyssey" was an amazing piece of science fiction cinema from the late 1960's that gave us a vision of a time far into the future, 2001, to be exact.

The movie was a great one, though.  And one very prominent thing in the movie was that black monolith.  It seemed to just pop up out of nowhere.  But, it was significant because its appearance preceded an era inventiveness, and age of intellectual advancement.  Apes learned how to use tools that helped them fend off predators.  And in a mere scene change, humans were traveling in space.

All of this comes to mind, because last week a monolith appeared just outside my back fence.  One of the independent contractors said it belonged to "Telecom."  Another said "T-Com."  It's tall, it's black, and it stinks of creosote.  Oh yeah, it's leaning at about 5 degrees.

But, that won't matter because of the intellectual advancements that are sure to follow the appearance of this monolith.  What'll it be?  Maybe it foretells of an advancement in medicine, a cure for cancer for example.  Or maybe it precedes an era of peace.  Or maybe it's something more mundane, like free citywide highspeed broadband wireless internet connections.  Whatever it is, it's bound to be a great boon to human advancement.  At least I hope it is if I have to look at that hideous thing every time I go out the back door.

Laundry tip (for men)

Guys, did you ever end up with pink Jockeys because you tossed your red gym shorts in with the wash?  It has happened to me several times.  (Hey, I thought the color should have stopped running after a couple of washes, okay?)

Well, here's a solution.  The other day at the Soggy Doggy Splash Day I bought a bright orange "Friends of The Dog Park" T-Shirt, and the fellow who sold it to me gave me this tip.

There's a Shout product called Color Catcher which comes as a box of paper sheets.  You toss one of those sheets in with the laundry, and somehow it absorbs the dye that gets loose from those bright colored items.  It works!

Check out the photo.  The white one is a Color Catcher sheet straight out of the box unused.  The dark one is the one that was washed with the laundry with the orange T-Shirt.  And the Jockeys came out white!  (No photos of the Jockeys.)

Friends of the Dog Park, my dog thanks you. I thank you.  And my Jokeys thank you.

---

Upated 8/23/05; 2:45 pm - A comment by Redman caused me to try another test run.  The machine settings for the test were "Ex Small" and "Warm/Cold."  And the load consisted of a Color Catcher sheet, a white T-shirt, two pair of white never worn, never washed socks, and a pair of notoriously red gym shorts.  The red shorts have never failed to bleed onto other clothes -- sometimes I think they have hemophilia -- except when I used the Color Catcher.

You can see all of these items in the accompanying photo.  The Color Catcher is that reddish square.  And the socks on the left went through the wash.  The socks in the wrapper on the right are new, never worn and never washed and were laid there for comparison.

So it worked for me.  But, I'm not making any guarantees that it will work for you.  And it's probably worth mentioning that the box has a disclaimer, as follows:

"Effectiveness cannot be  guaranteed if there are large amounts of dye bleed from non-colorfast garments.  Use reasonable care when washing whites with colors and when washing new garments for the first time."

Good luck.

Tigers Love Kids

Remember the images of  Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin holding his baby near a crocodile?  Remember the media outrage?

The kid was probably safe because Mr. Irwin has had a lot of experience with crocs and was most likely in complete control of the situation.

So now we have a local car dealer and his ever present bid to get the attention of tv viewing car buyers with over the top commercials.  One commercial has him strolling through the car lot with a live tiger on a leash, and there are shots of a small child in the scene with a tiger.  Is the kid safe?   I don't know.  Maybe the dad could fend off a tiger attack.

No need to worry about media outrage, though.  There's too much advertising revenue at stake.

In related news:  Tiger Kills 17 year old Haley Hilderbrand Posing For Senior Picture in Altamont, Kansas, on 8/18/05.  The Labette County Sheriff said the "tiger had been around people throughout the country without any previous problem."

George W. Bush Presidential Library, Midland College drops out

Streams had a very thoughtful item on July 31, 2004, about the possible location of the George W. Bush Presidential Library.  (Sorry, I haven't yet figured out how to make a working link to Streams' archives and permalinks.)   In the Streams' post, Wallace put Midland College third in the running.

However, an article in today's Midland Reporter-Telegram tells us that Midland College has effectively given up by throwing in its chips with Texas Tech at Lubbock in exchange for a "Laura Bush Center for Reading Literacy" to be placed in Midland.

Midland College, as Streams pointed out, would have been a long shot.  The number one obstacle would be the cost, estimated to be $200 million, which is a huge sum, even for deep pocket donors.

It's true that the Bill Clinton library donors chipped in something like $160 million.  But that was different.  The love Bill Clinton's fans have for him is more like celebrity worship.  They love him like a rock star.  A lot of people seem to have trouble saying "no" to him, and he took that to the bank.

Feelings are different for George W. Bush.  His donors might agree with him.  They might support his efforts.  They might think that if the Iraqi experience is successful then it could change the face of the Middle East for the better for decades to come.  But, he's not a rock star, and he just doesn't inspire the same sort of adulation that Clinton did.

So $200 million for a building already named is just too high a price, at least for us local folks.  But good luck to Texas Tech.  Midland probably won't benefit much from it, but it might be nice to drive up there for a visit of the place.

Update 8/19/05:  Here's the permalink to Streams' July 31, 2005, article titled Presidential Library.

Local Taxes to Rise

Today's Midland Reporter-Telegram tells us the following:

The council met briefly Tuesday to receive input from the public regarding the proposed tax rate of $.6420 per $100 of property, but no members of the public were present to address the council with their concerns.

"I take that as a good sign," At-large Councilman Bill Dingus said. "I think if we weren't running our business properly there would be a lot more people here."

In other words, since everybody was at work when the meeting was held then they must approve of a higher tax.  Oh yeah?

More:

"Our responsibility is to make this town better and raise people's property values," Dingus said. "If we do our job well, people's taxes will go up because property values are going up."

Uh, yeah, but isn't this double dipping?  If the real estate values go up but the tax rate per dollar of valuation stayed the same then the taxing entities could expect to receive a higher tax revenue.  So isn't this a tax increase on top of that?  Surely a politician wouldn't try to confuse us.

Where's the Jessica's Well crew when we need them?  JW, call your office!!!

"Send a message!" - The Minuteman Project

Minuteman Project in Midland/Odessa

Chris Simcox:  "Unsecured borders are the most serious problem facing the nation."  And about illegal immigrants coming in from Syria, Iran and Iraq he added, "I don't think they are coming here for landscaping jobs."

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corp has been up and running for couple of years, and to hear former teacher and Minuteman founder Chris Simcox talk about it, they have accomplished quite a bit.  In what was described as a training session, Mr. Simcox gave an hour long lecture last night about unsecured borders, the accomplishments of the Minuteman project, and the goal of his organization.

The ultimate goal, simply put, is to get the U.S. Government to enforce the existing immigration laws.  And the method to achieve this objective is to focus so much public attention on the problem that lawmakers will be pressured to fund the appropriate agencies so that they can do an adequate job.

Training Session

Tuesday night Mr. Simcox addressed a couple of dozen people who had registered to be a part of the Odessa/Midland branch of the organization.  The meeting took place at Jake's Clays, a private ranch, and only registered members, invited guests and media representatives were allowed on the premises.

Volunteers  who actually participate in the patrols, scheduled for the month of October, will have to pay for and undergo a criminal background check unless he/she possesses a Texas Concealed Handgun License, the securing of which would have already required a criminal background check.

Patrols would consist of small squads stationed 1/4 to 1/2 mile apart with binoculars, cell phones and 2-way radios.  Their job would be simply to sit and watch for trespassers, and they would also be expected to help the land owner clean up the property.

Where?

Mr. Simcox said that many land owners are opening their land to the Minuteman volunteers.  But, the land that the Odessa/Midland group would be patrolling was described as 30 miles North of the border in the Rio Grande Valley.  Mr. Simcox said it was South of Falfurrias, but a quick check of the map suggests that it would be closer to McAllen than Falfurrias.  In any event, it looks like a nearly 600 mile journey from here.

If I might be permitted to make an observation here, one has to wonder just how much illegal immigrant pedestrian traffic might take place on a ranch 30 miles from the border.  Maybe it's an "underground railroad" type of thing, but without knowing the details on the ground, it's very easy to conclude that perhaps many of the border land owners, for whatever reason, might not be so eager to open their lands to citizen patrols.

Minuteman results so far

Mr. Simcox reported that so far his group has reported over 6,000 illegal immigrants from 26 countries.  He said they've apprehended 60,000 pounds of illegal items and performed 162 life saving rescues.

Sending a message

The goal of Mr. Simcox and the Minuteman Project is to bring attention to illegal immigration, and they are certainly doing that.  All the local media had representatives at the meeting, and all three local tv news shows had items about it on their Tuesday 10 P.M. news programs.  And both local newspapers reported about it, see links below.

Furthermore, a national cable tv show, "Hannity & Colmes," was broadcast live from there last night.  U.S. Representatives J.D. Hayworth and Mike Conaway were present.

With the help of Connie Hair, a paid media representative, the Minuteman project has gotten so much attention that one would have to have his/her head buried in the sand not to have heard about it.

The objective is to send a message, and if the patrols turn out to be merely private "sit-ins," then however inconvenient it might be for the participants, it will have sent a message.

But, with all of this attention focused on the leaders, the people on the ground out in the field doing the patrolling seem almost superfluous.  While they are all spending their own time and money and taking all of the risks, the glory and credit goes to Mr. Simcox.  One has to wonder what's next for Mr. Simcox.  Don't be too surprised if his name shows up on an Arizona ballot in 2006.

Link roundup

Here's the Odessa American article.

And this Midland Reporter-Telegram article addresses  the meeting.

An earlier report appeared in the Del Rio News-Herald.

The Ft. Worth Star Telegram had a recent article about the Minuteman.

The Houston Chronicle reported a confrontation with LULAC in Houston the other day.

The Washington Times editorializes that New Mexico governor, Bill Richardson, has made a shrewd political move by declaring a state of emergency in four counties abutting Mexico.

Stephanie Corley of the Big Bend Sentinel wrote about the Minuteman meeting that took place in Odessa on June 2.

Here's the Sleepless in Midland report about the June 2, 2004, Minuteman meeting in Odessa.

Finally, here's the link to the official Minuteman Civil Defense Corp website.  Note:  that organization is not to be confused with the Texas Minutemen which is a separate unaffiliated organization.  A common error revealed by Google News searches is the mistaken interchange of the suffix "men" with "man."

Soggy Doggy Splash Day update

The second annual Soggy Doggy Splash Day took place at the Doug Russell Park Pool in Midland yesterday.  It was a fund raiser for the proposed dog park, and hopefully, they raised some money from the admission fee and T-shirt sales.

Not all the dogs there liked to swim.  The labs and retrievers seemed to love it, or maybe their drive to chase a throw-toy overcame any fear of water they might have had.

The pool had a ramp for a gradual water ingress, and my dog would walk down it with some encouragement, then swim to the nearest edge.  Once he realized that he could climb out on his own he was much more relaxed about the whole thing.  That's my dog in black and white zeroing in for an olfactory introduction.

The photo shows a very innovative K-nine flotation device.  It's on a tall dog, and the owner said he likes to walk around the pool on his rear tippy toes.  So the life belt keeps his rear end on the surface encouraging him to swim.

All in all, it was a pretty good time.  Last year they raised a few hundred dollars, but that was just a drop in the bucket towards the sum needed for the dog park.  So it's going to take a pretty big effort to meet the goal.  And if the Splash Day is any indication, getting to that goal is half the fun.

Speed Limit 75; Night 65

Eat your heart out, Jimmy Carter.  You too, highway patrolman who gave me a warning ticket for driving 74 on this highway a few years ago when the speed limit was 70 mph.

This sign designates the speed limit on Highway 349 between Midland, Texas, and Rankin.  Other signs note that the distance between the two cities is 55 miles.  At one time not so awfully long ago, when gasoline prices were much higher in today's dollars, the speed limit was 55 MPH.  And that short trip between the two cities took a dreadfully long time to drive.  One hour, to be precise.

Those 55 MPH speed limits were pure torture for anyone who drove on these lonely West Texas roadways.  I recall one trip on that road back in the 55 MPH days when oncoming drivers were all giving me the peace sign, the "V" sign with their first two fingers.  Obviously something was going on.  I had never seen the use of that hand signal for this purpose before or since, but they were warning of a radar trap ahead.

There was a lot of cooperation among drivers back then.  Mercy sakes alive those CB radios were squawking.  We all had a common enemy to avoid, and radar detectors helped warn of law enforcement hot spots.  Many drivers ignored the posted speed limits and drove at what was probably a reasonably safe speed.  It was civil disobedience on four wheels.

Bad laws are meant to be repealed, and eventually that one was.  In fact, many drivers actually slowed down to 70 MPH and obeyed the law when the speed limits were bumped up from 55 to 70 on most highways.

It's statistically a little bit more dangerous now, but most of us are able to judge the risk for ourselves and assume the risk, if it is there.

And that 55 mile trip between Midland and Rankin?  It's a breeze at 75 mph.

------------------------------

Followup, 8/13/05:  There's a funny joke from the 55 MPH era --

West Texas roughneck speeding down the highway gets pulled over by a Highway Patrol officer.

The roughneck is late for a job, and he's absolutely livid about being pulled over.  He says to the officer, "What would you do if I called you a son of a bitch?"

"You can't use abusive language to a peace officer.  I would arrest you."

"Well what would you do if I just thought it."

"I can't arrest you for what you're thinking."

"Okay then, I think you're a SON OF A BITCH!!!"

Lovely, and lonely, stretches of roadway

Each of us has his/her own favorite stretches of highway, and there probably aren't many people who will agree with me on this one, but one of my favorites is that lonely stretch of two lane grey top between Rankin and Iraan, Texas.

There's an ominous aspect to that drive, however.  For some reason it's a favorite hangout for vultures.  They sit on the fence posts and watch the cars go by with a hungry look on their faces.  It's very unsettling.  It's the modern day equivalence of a scene in an old cowboy movie where some poor soul is crawling across the desert and the vultures are circling overhead.

I once thought that if I ever struck it rich I would buy one of those plateaus and build a house on top.  I imagine I could see for miles and miles.  But, I wasn't really using my head.  The wind would probably huff and puff and blow both me and the house down.  In fact, the wind is currently being harnessed to generate energy.

A TXU and Cielo Wind Power  press release from 2002 said that the Noelke Hills Wind Ranch will contain 240 Mitsubishi wind turbines, each with a output capacity of one megawatt.  Google didn't provide any current info on it, but from the highway it appears as if it could be complete.

Opinions probably vary as to whether they add to or subtract from the beauty of the area.  I like them.  There's something about the order and pattern of those shiny steel structures that creates a harmony of design.  I love the look of wind turbines in the morning.  It looks like victory.

Magellan GPS and Chevrolets

I've used a Magellan Map 330 GPS for several years, and it's a wonderful little device.  The MapSend CD contains a very detailed street and road map of North America, and once the map is loaded onto the hard drive it's very easy to plot a route, upload it to the GPS, and go on my way knowing that at any given time on the trip I could look at the GPS to see how far I am from the next town, rest stop, junction, or whatever else I might have selected as a marker.

But here's a problem I've never had before.  I just completed a 1,200 mile road trip -- without even getting out of Texas, by the way -- and I got interference from the car radio.  I was driving a 2004 Chevy Impala owned by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and my GPS didn't work when I had the radio on the AM band.  Strangest thing.  I suspect that the radio was transmitting a signal.  I've seen references to radio frequencies in various owner's manual for electronic gear.  But, this is the first time such a signal actually interfered with something else, at least to my knowledge.

The poor little GPS simply got lost whenever the radio was on and the band was set for AM stations.  It had FM and XM capability, but it was only AM that caused the problem.  I wondered if the rented car had it's own GPS system and transmitter and was sending out a signal, but the Enterprise branch manager assured me that wasn't the case.

In any event, I was able to find my way home the old fashioned way:  A paper road map.

Soggy Doggy Splash Day II - August 13, 2005

Last year the first annual Soggy Doggy Splash Day took place at the pool at Washington Park in Midland.  And it was a great day for man and beast.  (Click here and scroll down to the update to read about it.)  The dogs had a great time.  Humans too.

And it's a good way to give the dog a good soaking.  My dog has an aversion to water if it's forced on him.  You can lead a dog to water, but you make him to sit still for a bath.  He will happily trot through a mud hole, but if I try to clean his feet he goes nuts.  A passerby would think I was trying to extract his toe nails. So, needless to say, I like the Doggy Splash Day.

It's a fund raiser for the future dog park.  (You can read Stephanie Miller's description in last year's Midland Reporter-Telegram.)  The original estimated price was $50,000, then it jumped to $60,000.  But, that was a year ago, and we probably have to use dog years to calculate today's price tag.

The Permian Basin Area Foundation reports that $4,400.71 have been raised so far, so there's a ways to go yet.  The price for a dip in the pool has remained the same at five bucks per dog; humans swim free.

If the dog park comes about  -- and I sincerely hope it does -- it will have 4.2 acres for large dogs and 3.1 acres for small dogs to run around free of a leash.

So get those dogs in the pool.  It's at the Doug Russell Park Pool on August 13, 2005; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

And that fragrance?  It's called "eau de wet dog," not available in stores.

National Night Out - Let's Party!

Tonight, August 2, 2005, is the official night for National Night Out which will involve neighborhood parties all over the country where neighbors can get to know one another.  And by learning who their neighbors are they can help keep their neighborhoods safe by being able to spot burglars and other criminals who might otherwise try to prey on their neighborhoods.

There was a time long ago when neighbors knew one another.  They sat out on their front porches, and the kids played in the yards.  Then came television and air conditioning.  Who can blame them for not wanting to get out in the heat?

So if you aren't hosting a neighborhood party tonight, then go to one.  With 83 people signed up locally to host a party it shouldn't be too hard to find one.

Party on, Garth!  Party on, Wayne!