Sleepless in Midland

Mike Barker -- As if he never left.

A small child might have caught a glimpse of Mike Barker casting the news on local tv years ago.  The child grows into an adult and has great grandchildren who might still be watching him.  Mr. Barker must have a Dorian Gray in his attic.  Just kidding.  He isn't really that old, but he has graced our screens off and on for a long time.

Actually it's nice to see a mature person presenting the news.  Not that there's anything wrong with the younger ones, but it's good to have Mr. Barker back again.  And it's reassuring to know that the tv news presenters may not always have short shelf lives.

The local stations build up their on-air anchors into local celebrities.  But when the anchor quits or gets fired, there's hardly any mention of it.  And those of us not in the gossip loop are left wondering what happened.  Now you see them, now you don't  -- like one of those old Soviet photographs where people popped in and out.

The on-screen tv people really should start their own websites independent of their employers so that those of us who see them in our living rooms every night can keep up with their comings and goings, or more specifically, their goings.

Sometimes search engines can dig them up after they leave.  See What the heck happened to Glenn Glazer in the Sleepless archives.

Maybe some of the new media specific blogs, West Texas TV,  Media Showdown or Kmid Blews & Blows, can help the rest of us keep up with what's going on at the other end of the cable.

In the meantime, welcome back Mr. Barker.  You've witnessed a lot of local history, maybe there's a documentary in your future.

"South Park" is on FIRE this season

This season's "South Park" has really been hot.  Okay, they've had a few misses, but most of the new shows have been pretty good.  They skewer just about anything that anyone would hold sacred, and they do it in such a hilarious way.

The season started out with a goodbye to dear old Chef (Isaac Hayes) who left the show to follow the dictates of the Super Adventure Club (Scientology).  Then in a two-parter, the show poked fun at the Islamic cartoon rioters.  It was marred, only slightly, by Comedy Central's decision to block the image of Muhammad, but the show was quite good nonetheless.

Last week the show involved Oprah and the author whose true story was made up.  And that show stunk, big time.  But in the most recent episode they were back in focus with none other than Al Gore as the target of their fun.

It seems that Al Gore has made a movie all about global warming titled An Inconvenient Truth.  Here's an excerpt from a glowing review by David Corn:

The documentary follows Gore as he travels the world giving a slide show on the reality and perilous consequences of global warming, and much of the film shows him presenting his laptop show-and-tell to what seems to be a hand-picked crowd in a space-age auditorium.

So in Wednesday night's South Park episode there was Al Gore in the South Park Elementary school auditorium giving the kids a slide show and speech about the grave danger facing mankind.  Let's let him tell it:

Al Gore:  "Thank you Mr. Mackey, Students of South Park Elementary."

"I am here to educate you about the single biggest threat to our planet."

"You see, there is something out there which threatens our very existence and may be the end to the human race as we know it."

"I'm talking of course, about Manbearpig."

"It is a creature which roams the earth alone.  It is half man, half bear, and half pig."

"Some people say that Manbearpig isn't real.  Well, I'm here to tell you now, Manbearpig is very real, and he most certainly exists.  I'm cereal."

"Manbearpig doesn't care who you are or what you've done.  Manbearpig simply wants to GET you."

"I'm super cereal."

"Have no fear, because I'm here to save you.  And someday, when the world is rid of Manbearpig, everyone will say 'Thank you Al Gore.  You're super awesome.'"

"The end."

Mr. Mackey:  "Okay.  Thank you Al Gore."

Al Gore:  "Thank you class.  Excelsior!"

As the episode progresses, the kids get trapped in a cave, and Al Gore's efforts to extinguish what he thinks is Manbearpig almost result in the kids getting drowned.  But that couldn't happen to the loveable little tykes of South Park, so they get out of it in fine shape.

Great stuff.  Keep it coming, South Park.

Trivia:  The South Park creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, made a theatrical movie with puppets released in 2004 titled Team America: World Police.  It will make you laugh.  It will make you vomit.  Not many people saw it, so if you did, then you are among a very select few.

United 93

That movie, United 93, is opening this weekend and is all over the news.  The people on that United flight 93 were real heroes, and they deserve every bit of the attention they get for many reasons, not least of which is the lesson they gave us on how to reason, organize and respond in the face of terrorism.

But this entry isn't about the movie itself, it's about all the attention it's getting.

The cable channel A&E showed a made for tv movie about the same incident a few months ago.  It was a great movie, an emotional tv event.  The Flight 93 surviving family members who were interviewed gave it a thumbs up.  But, apparently, very few of people actually watched it.  (I did, by the way.)

So along comes this new theatrical release titled "United 93."  And in a stroke of marketing genius, commercials for it were shown in theaters in NYC to unsuspecting audiences.

"Too soon!"  "Too soon!"  We all heard the reports.  But it seems that the movie producers had to spend very little money on advertising, because the news folks gave them as much exposure as any movie producer could ever hope for.

Poor A&E.  Been there, done that, they are probably saying.  But their thunder got stolen by a shrewd marketer.  It's as if they were airline passengers watching helplessly as their plane got hijacked.

Instant update!  The A&E show Flight 93 is scheduled for airing again on April 29 and 30.  Great timing, A&E!

The Long (Ready for Prime Time) Arm of the Law

Falcon II is in the local news.  According to a local report "F.A.L.C.O.N." is an acronym for "Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally," although based the local coverage, the  U.S. Marshall's service seems to have spearheaded the operation.

Last night on one of the tv news programs viewers got to see video of law enforcement officers apprehending suspects on alleged warrants.  And in one noteworthy scene, we see some young fellow trotted around in handcuffs.  We are told in a voice-over that the guy was arrested in front of his co-workers but that it was later determined that he had previously dealt with the warrant, so he was released.

So not only did the officers show up at the guy's job, parade him in cuffs in front of his co-workers as if he were America's Most Wanted, but they put him on tv to boot.  Never mind that the fellow was apparently in compliance with the law, what were those tv cameras doing there?

It's as if the officers wanted to star in their own "Cops" tv show.  One would think that a prudent news producer wouldn't want his/her crew to be such willing accomplices, but I suppose they are going to do anything that they believe will boost ratings.  However, there's just something very unseemly about the idea of law enforcement officers calling up the local tv stations and inviting them along for an perp roundup photo op.

[See local coverage at Kwes.com and MyWestTexas.com.]

Desert Reel Film Festival 2006.

Mark your calendars.  The Desert Reel Film Festival has been scheduled for November 2, 3 and 4, 2006.   And they are currently soliciting entries.

Last year they showed some very unique films, some of which were made by our own home grown film makers.  And this year should be no different.

There are a surprising number of talented writers, actors and film makers around here.  In the past, the cost of making a movie was prohibitive.  But since the use of digital media became so prevalent, the cost has dropped significantly .  And some of last years Desert Reel features were made on a shoe string. 

So all of you talented people out there get cracking.  Why don't I do it?  Got no talent.

Zacharia Moussaoui -- life or death?

The court of public opinion doesn't hold much sway in the case of Zacharia Moussaoui.   But let's assume that it does and that we are the jury deciding whether to give him life in prison or death by lethal injection.

The death sentence is the appropriate penalty in many cases, and Zach seems to be begging for it.  So let's not let him have it.  My vote goes for the life sentence.

Put him in one of those super-max prisons where he has to stay alone in his cell for 23 hours a day.  And to leave the cell he has to strip down, expose all potential hiding places, open his mouth for inspection, spread his cheeks, etc, etc.  And he's hand/foot cuffed before he has contact with the guards.  Any resistance and he gets popped with a few pepper balls.  If that doesn't work, then ZAP with the Taser.

Having him put to sleep by some needle stick would be very unsatisfying to those of us who watched our tv screens as those planes hit the twin towers that day.

On the other hand, knowing he is subjected daily to some forced humility could be quite satisfying.  There would be no 72 virgins for that boy.  And he would know it.

Updated 5/04/06:  It's official.  Zach got a life sentence. (Actually, I may have misspelled his name above.  Most of the accounts say it's Zacarias Moussaoui.)

MSNBC has had programs showing what life is like in those super max prisons, and it's a bleak existence for the hapless souls who end up there.  And in the next few days the main stream media will probably give us more information about prison life than we ever wanted to know.

But it's perfect for someone like Zach who was probably motivated, like many terrorists, not by expectation of some heavenly reward but by earthly attention and glorification.

So the austere life of a super max prisoner should be a fitting way for Moussaoui to finish out his life.

Bad Boy Blast -- a sporting clay shoot

The annual Bad Boy Blast is scheduled to occur on April 22, 2006.  Participants will get to blast clay targets from the sky with shotguns, and the proceeds are destined for the Midland Police Department, Odessa Police Department, Midland County Sheriff's Office and Ector County Sheriff's Office.  Today is the last day for registration.

Find a map to the location here.

And find tips on how to construct your Dick Cheney joke here.

Correction:  The correct name for the event is the ConocoPhillips Halliburton Bad Boy Blast.  (Thanks Janie.)

The Classiest First Lady in Over a Decade

The secret service is probably comprised of guys with an overdose of the protective gene.  Being alpha males, they didn't shy away from ordering the crowd around to fit their whims at the Bush childhood home this morning as First Lady Laura Bush toured the house.

So it was doubly thrilling when Ms. Bush exited the house, spied some school kids in the crowd, and walked directly to them with a big smile on her face.  What a class act!

Here are a few photos from the scene.  In the one showing all of the photographers Laura's green sleeve can be seen in the lower right corner.

For a photo of the house without all the people around, see a February 22 entry on these pages titled The Bush Family Home - 1412 W. Ohio Avenue, Midland, Texas.

Updated 12/31/2007:  Welcome visitors from linked sites.  Please note that there are three houses still intact in which the Bush family lived in the Midland/Odessa area.  The fire in December '07 was at the house in Odessa.  Please see Who would do such a thing? for links and photos of the fire damage.

Dog Park -- completed but all locked up

Took the hound to the new dog park this morning.  At the last visit -- see Dog Park Almost Complete! --  most of the fences were up, but there were no gates.  The gates are now in place, but they were mysteriously padlocked.  Perhaps the dog park gatekeepers want to keep it officially closed until it's officially open.

So many people put so much work into getting the park constructed that there's probably a sense of ownership that causes them to want to delay turning it over to the rabble, i.e., people like me.  I can't begrudge them that.  If you've every been in a house full of kids on Christmas morning you know that the motivation to possess is a very deep seated instinct.  In fact, our whole economic system is devoted to satisfying it.

The official dog park opening should be a grand old time.  There was speculation that it could occur on Tuesday, April 11, 2006, following the monthly city council meeting.  But with the Bush childhood home dedication at 2:00 pm that day and attendance expected by George H. W. Bush, wife Barbara, and First Lady Laura, (news report), that event will certainly command the local politicians' attention more so than a dog park dedication.

Here's a message for the dog park gatekeepers.  Please stop reading now.  Thank you for visiting this site, I still love you, and I look forward to your return in the future.

(Pssssst.  Are they gone? Hey prospective park users,  there was one gate left unlocked!  But, you'll have to walk the perimeter to find it.  Shhhh.  Don't tell anyone!)

The parking lot is apparently a spot for late night liaisons.  Dutifully complying with the sign which says to leave the park cleaner than when I arrived, I cleaned up the parking lot of a couple of beer bottles -- one of which was broken -- an empty peanut package, and an empty condom package.  I picked up most of the pieces of broken glass because that stuff and barefooted canines don't mix well.

Let's try to reconstruct the scene of the crime.  Guy gets lucky in the back seat.  So lucky in fact, that he christens the bumper with a beer bottle.  Broken glass all over the place.  Then he looks deeply into his partner's eyes and says those three words, "Pass the peanuts."

Wait a minute, this isn't CSI Midland.  Let's get back to the dog park.

For any of the dog park gatekeepers who disregarded my request for you to stop reading and who really want to protect the dog park, here's an assignment:  Try to prevent people from breaking glass in the parking lot.  Thanks in advance for your efforts.  We would all appreciate it.

The next day - Follow up: Linda at Midland Animal Control said that the official ribbon cutting and opening for the park will take place at noon on April 22, 2006, and that patrons will be denied admittance until then. The reason given was that the park is not complete as water stations and waste receptacles are not yet in place.

It's going to be tough for them to let go. Those of us who use the baseball parks for dog parks, supplying our own plastic bags for refuse, will need to continue doing so until that grand opening.

The right way to treat customers

There was an entry on these pages the other day titled Computer repair shops browsing customers' files which addressed the recent news about someone arrested for having kiddie porn on his computer.  He had been turned in by someone he had hired to service his computer.  I am definitely not defending the possession of kiddie porn, but it seemed oddly intrusive that someone hired to work on a computer was browsing through the customer's personal files.

Ed Coyne left a refreshing comment to that post which I wanted to bring to the surface, as follows:

I own a computer repair business in San Angelo. I can't imagine ever having to look at pictures or documents on a client's computer to solve ANY kind of computer problem. The only thing I require my clients to sign is a "data loss waiver". I would think that "effective consent" would still limit the computer repair shop to file access only having to do with the repair at hand.

Thanks for leaving that comment, Ed.

I really have to appreciate his respect for his customers.  He can be found at Angelo PC in San Angelo, Texas.

The wrong way to treat customers

I wonder how many people chuckled when they read the news that some people were suing Walgreens because of some impolite comments about them in the Drug Utilization Review (DUR) which apparently appears on Walgreens' pharmacy computer screens.  It seems that the DURs were printed out and stapled to those customers' receipts.

It's hard to imagine that those plaintiffs actually suffered compensable injuries, and the lawsuits probably shouldn't succeed.  But still, one has to sympathize with those customers.

I've been using a local Walgreens pharmacy for years, and a couple of years ago I was standing at the Walgreens pharmacy counter and overheard a conversation a Walgreens employee was having with a customer in the drive-through lane.  The customer was being told to take her business elsewhere.  The customer, an elderly woman, was dumbfounded and asked "why?"  She was told that she had been verbally abusive to an employee and they didn't want her as a customer anymore.

No good customer complaint goes unpunished, it seems.  Hmmm, I wonder what her DUR said.

It isn't unusual to have long unexplained delays in trying to get a prescription refilled at the pharmacy in question.  Just last week end I was next in line to be served, and a local doctor walked up to the counter.  I let him cut in front of me.  Big mistake.  His prescription was ready, but It took about five minutes for them to locate it.

It's a waste of time to complain because the person to whom you complain really can't fix the problem.  So why do I keep going back?  I dunno.  Maybe it's some weird new psych disorder -- the battered customer syndrome.  But there may be hope.  Perhaps they'll read this post and tell me to get lost like they did that drive-through customer.

Gun Show Gossip

For the past several years the gun shows in Midland have been put on by The Texas Gun & Knife Association, Inc.  (TGKA).  Visitors to the gun show here last February may have noticed a difference.  One notable change is the disappearance of their website which until recently was found at www.texasgunandknifeshows.com.

I've written about gun shows on these pages in the past, and search engines frequently lead people here who may have been looking for a schedule or a clue as to what happened to that site.  So here's a possible explanation.

According to the gossip, TGKA was run by a husband and wife team who were recently divorced, and the husband ended up with the company.  And if you do a Google search for "Texas gun and knife show" and look at the page cached on  August 27, 2005, you'll see this company profile:

Texas Gun & Knife Association, Inc. began in January of 1978 in Austin, TX.  Don Hill was and still is President and founder, his ex-wife Kim was with the company from January 1989 till August 2005.

According to the gossip, Kim Hill started her own gun show company, and a search reveals her website at Silver Spur Gun Shows.  And according to the schedule, she has shows planned in New Mexico and West Texas with a show in Midland at the new Horseshoe Center on October 7 & 8, 2006.

It's not exactly "The War of the Roses," but it's an interesting development.  And customers almost always benefit from more competition.

By the way, if the principals wish to correct anything, weigh in on the matter, or just add more gossip, please feel free to email or leave a comment.

Dog Park Almost Complete!

They said it would take about a month.  And sure enough, it's darn close to meeting that goal in spite of the recent rains.   Great job, folks.

And I'm especially proud of Midland Animal Control Director, Coy Willis, who was out there doing some of the manual labor himself.  Here's a photo of him applying some "hog legs" to fasten the fence to the bottom runner.

The fence for the large dog area is up, and the fence for the small dog park is about 95% complete.  There are no gates yet, but they could be in place as early as Monday (4/3/06).

Old Blue Eye and I have given it a few test runs, and it met or surpassed our expectations.  Once other dogs have left their markers -- I call it Pee mail -- it should be an exiting place for dogs to do the snuff and sniff.

Note to humans:  The ground is not level, and joggers need to be aware of foot placement.  I'm currently hobbling around on an ankle twist after a jaunt this morning.

A sign at the entrance sets out the rules, and one noteworthy suggestion for users is to leave the place cleaner than it was when they got there.  Good advice, and I dutifully hauled off a couple of handfuls of cups and cans someone left behind.  And of course, there's the matter of the dog poop.  I carry several plastic bags along for that, and I sure do hope the other park users practice some courtesy.

The official ribbon cutting ceremony will probably take place on April 11.  See you there.

Three Dog Tales

#1.  Why did the Dachshunds cross the road?

Picture this scene on a busy Midland street recently.  Two cute little brown Dachshunds on the loose, waddling toward the busy street.  Then they entered the traffic as if they had the right of way -- it was a heart stopping moment.  But the traffic did stop for them.  It was as if Moses parted the seas as traffic going both directions came to a halt to let them cross.

It was an amazing sight.  Of course, no one wants to run over a dog, but accidents do happen, you know.  Lucky dogs!

#2.  Pit Bulls -- nature or nurture

Pit Bulls have a reputation to some as dangerous and vicious dogs.  Is it deserved?  It's hard to say and impossible to prove.  But a lot of dog bite cases seem to involve Pit Bulls.

The breed is used by those who want to engage in the illegal activity of dog fighting.  And most likely the owners of Pit Bull who want to make them fighting dogs strive to make them as mean and aggressive as possible.  One example of what they will do, provided by Odessa Animal Control director Cheryl Brom, is walk them down an alley and wrap on fences to try to stimulate some aggression in the resident dogs so that the Pit Bull can work up his own aggression.

In any event, Pit Bulls seem to work up some aggression among humans, too.  Apparently, there a dog serial killer loose in Michigan.  See Detroit News.

But here's a good Samaritan story.  It seems that a woman saw what she thought was a dead dog along side a road, but it turned out to be alive, barely.  It was a badly damaged Pit Bull, the woman took the dog to the Vet, and the dog is recovering, badly scarred and minus one leg.  Read the story and see photos at Ernie's House of Whoopass  (Via MsFanni's Neighborhood).

#3.  My own dog, and the soon to be completed dog park

He followed me home from school.  Honest.

It was eight years ago this summer, I was jogging near a school and a dog started following me -- actually he led, but he made sure we were always going the same direction.  I put signs on telephone poles and an advertisement in the paper -- "found" ads are free thanks to the Midland Reporter-Telegram.

A few people called, and one woman with a child came for a visual ID.  A lot of dogs had been lost, but no one had lost that dog.

He's an Australian Shepherd mix with one brown eye and one blue eye.  His name?   "Old Blue Eye."  And he's a great pet.

Anyway, about a month ago he developed a severe pain in his backside.  All he could do was pace around because it hurt too much to sit or lie down.  It was awful.  The Vet diagnosed it as arthritis of the hips and gave us an anti inflammatory drug and suggested daily Glucosamine.  So the episode passed, and he has had a few mild attacks since then, but none as severe as that first one.

What does this have to do with the dog park?  Well, the one thing that the dog seems to enjoy more than anything else, if his anticipation is any indicator, is to go jogging with me around the neighborhood.  If he does have arthritis then that can't be good for him.

That's why I'm really looking forward to the new dog park.  He can run, walk, sit, stay, or whatever he wants to do.  And the good news is that the park is almost complete.

See Dog Park Almost Complete! for an update on the dog park.

Happy April Fool's day

Photo courtesy of Life is a Bowl of Jerry's.