Sleepless in Midland

The night Debra Medina came to Midland

Debra Medina has been on a talking tour of Texas to win support for her run in the Republican primary race for the Texas governor's spot. And last night she spoke in Midland about the principles she would adhere to if she gets voters' support. Today's MR-T tells all about it in Gubernatorial candidate Medina woos Midlanders with anti-Washington talk. Well, it was a friendly audience, and while I can't speak for anyone else, I came away feeling adequately wooed.

I jotted down some of Ms. Medina's quotable remarks, but it looks like many of those same quotes appear in Kathleen Thurber's MR-T article. (Damn, she's good.)

Regarding property rights, "Property ownership is as essential to freedom as air and water."

Regarding government's response to the Fort Hood shootings, "Our leaders should tell us to buy a gun, learn to use it, and keep it with you."

We need to "get the federal government out of agriculture, energy and education in Texas."

"The government needs to get out of the way and let people produce."

Ms. Medina is in a tough race. Her opponents, incumbent Rick Perry and challenger Kay Bailey Hutchison, are entrenched career politicians with firm ties to the political machines. But so far 2010 has been a year of political upsets. The earth is shifting under a lot of entrenched pols, and much of voters' anger is aimed at the politicians who've been in positions where they could have done something to try to head off the problems facing voters. Campaign consultants are probably working overtime to figure out ways to convince voters that their candidates are part of the solution and not part of the problem and get far enough ahead of the movement so that they don't flattened by it.

Can Ms. Medina displace Perry and Hutchison? It's too soon to predict, but she certainly makes a impression, and she gains adherents everywhere she goes. Texas Republicans have been saying they want smaller government, but politicians haven't delivered. Here's a chance for voters to tip over the old apple cart.

There's a Duracell Bunny. Who knew?

I bought a pack of Duracell AAA batteries at a roadside convenience store a few months ago but didn't look at the package until later. Take a look.

The wording is in a foreign language which could be Chinese. I presumed they could be counterfeit batteries, especially with the bunny in the corner. There is an Energizer bunny, but a Duracell bunny?

Well, it seems that there is a Duracell bunny. If this Wikipedia entry is accurate, Duracell used a bunny in its advertising long before Energizer did. And Duracell was phasing out that portion of its marketing campaign when Energizer adopted its bunny and staked a trademark claim in the U.S. As a result, the only bunny we see advertising batteries in the U.S. is the Energizer bunny.

As for the batteries in the package, they still may be counterfeit. I'll eventually find out when they either wear down or blow up.

Upside down and on the phone

Did you hear the one about the blond driver who picked up the phone upside down, so she rolled the car to get it right side up? No?

I hope AP and the Wall Street Journal don't mind this fair usage of a photo from the print addition of the 1/29/10 WSJ, but I just had to share it.

As you can see from the photo, the vehicle is upside down, the driver is upside down, and she's on the phone. One has to wonder if she is continuing a conversation that started when the vehicle was upright.  "Can you hear me now?"

This is dedicated to the blond lady who rear-ended my vehicle while chatting on the phone a couple of years ago. But it's presented with genuine sympathy to the plight of the driver in the photo. I'm sure we all hope she and anyone else involved in that mishap are OK.

State of the Union speech and the standing ovation

Watched a montage on Fox News showing Nancy Pelosi popping up to give Mr. O the standing O. Up and down, up and down, up and down.  Old Joe Biden looked tired trying to keep up.

Let's give Old Joe a break. Frank Luntz uses an electronic response device for folks in his audience so they can twist a dial to register their approval or disapproval of what's being said. The TV audience sees a graph with the results.

Let's give one of those devices to each of the attendees of the State of the Union address. And next time instead of giving a standing ovation to show their wild approval, they can twist the dial up to "wild approval!" The TV audience will see an inset with the score to see how much the Senators and Representatives love the speech without them having to bounce off the seat so often.

It would be a great way for Obama to show some humility and dismiss all those who call him a narcissistic. Do it for Joe.  So could this happen? Nah, I guess not.  Mr. O is not likely to give up the standing O. But I can dream can't I?

Rural broadband -- another government expenditure

Long time debt watchers have probably gone cross eyed by now after seeing government debt soar to current levels. Each new report about more government spending probably sends needles into their eyes. They've got company now with more and more people watching and worrying.

One of the more recent spending news items is an announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that $313.5 million will be spent to bring broadband internet service to rural customers. These days a denomination in millions seems trivial compared with the billions spent elsewhere, but they all add up, and there's only one ultimate source, taxpayers.

Texas District 11 Representative Mike Conaway's pet pork project was the farm bill, and he's applauding this program. And well he should. The farm bills over the years have made west Texas cotton farmers wealthy from government subsidies in an industry that probably couldn't compete on its own. So spending money on broadband infrastructure seems mildly better than merely handing out money to whomever can game the farm bill most successfully.

The people who will be able to use the broadband service resulting from this expenditure will probably enjoy surfing the web and watching hilarious Youtube videos just like the rest of us. But the theory is that internet service will stimulate job growth in rural areas, so we'll have to wait and see whether that happens.

But it still leaves the question hanging in the air: Who should pay for it? The notion that the government is here to help has consumed so many people that whenever there's a need, there's an automatic expectation that the government will satisfy that need. Hopefully that attitude will change before the nation goes broke.

Debra Medina to be in Midland January 30

Texans voting in the Republican primary will be able to vote for Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison or Debra Medina for governor. Perry and Hutchison are career politicians known well to Texans, and they both carrying so much baggage into the campaign -- Perry with his Executive Order RP65 for mandatory Gardasil vaccinations for little girls, Hutchison for her easy acquiescence to Obama's scheme to nationalize volunteerism, just to name two examples -- that voters may be looking for someone not so intertwined with the political machinery. Enter Debra Medina.

For anyone interested, Ms. Medina is scheduled to be in west Texas on January 30 with stops in Monahans, Andrews, and a 5:00 pm talk in Midland at the Midland Center.

As for me, I'm still waiting for that viable candidate who will support initiative and referendum for Texas voters.

Buffalo slaughter in King County

There was a time when hunters shot buffalo for sport, and the hairy beasts may have gone extinct but for some rational thinking on the topic.

Buffalo are found on a few ranches around the country, and according to a news report, one rancher in King County, Texas, had a herd of about 120 until recently. It seems that 51 of them wandered across his property line onto a neighbor's land. So the neighbor shot them dead.

Here's a link to a news report at Everythinglubbock.com. And here's an interesting sentence from that article:

"The 51 killed is worth more than $280,000."

Good fences make good neighbors. Otherwise don't let your buffalo roam.

Updated 1/26/10: Apparently QB Ranch, the home of those buffalo, is a hunting ranch at which hunters would be expected to pay from $2,000 to $3,500 for the privilege of killing a buffalo. So it's not exactly as if the owner was a conservationist trying to preserve the animals. Additionally, the ranch website price list throws into question the $280,000 value that appeared in the Everythinglubbock.com article: $280,000 ÷ 51 = $5,490.20.

Sights with cites -- the Trijicon Acog gun sights with Bible script citation

Apparently, Trijicon had been using a few alphanumeric characters in the model numbers of the Acog gun sight on military rifles which happen to be Bible verse citations. The example used in an NPR article is "JN8:12" as a reference to John 8:12. Photo example at NYDailynews.com.

This has some people upset, and one critic even claimed it could be used in al Qaeda recruiting. Really? "Join al Qaeda! Reason #1: The heathens use Bible citations on the sights they use to put a bulls eye between your eyes." I don't think they'll be knocking the door down to get in on that.

Not to worry. The company will be issuing kits that can be used to remove the offending characters. Source: NPR.

Let's just hope the complainers don't actually look down those scopes and see -- Gasp! -- cross hairs!

Irina Akimova on Conan's show -- A hula hoop act like none other

One day last week on The Tonight Show -- Conan's last week -- Irina Akimova of Cirque Du Soleil was the guest performer, and she did an act with hula hoops that was simply unbelievable.

Cirque Du Soleil is the circus of circuses. The shows occasionally appear on TV, and live shows are put on around the globe. And they feature human beings who do the most amazing things. Those people are such incredible athletes they must be freaks of nature.

Ms. Akimova uses hula hoops, and her performance on The Tonight Show is worth watching. if you are the least bit interested watch the performance at Youtube or at Promomo, but act fast, these links won't last forever.

According to Ms. Akimova's Myspace page, she's 27 years old, grew up in a small town in Russia, and currently lives in Miami, Florida.

Looking good in that online profile photo

An online dating site called OKCupid.com has analyzed the profile photos the site's users have uploaded and evaluated them in relation to the users' success in gaining contacts. And they offer some photo tips:

Best bet for women -- smiling with flirty face looking into camera.

Best bet for men -- not smiling, not looking into camera, no flirty face.

Go figure.

There are other conclusions on whether a guy should be shirtless, a woman should show cleavage, and the value of sending a message with the picture. Read the whole thing at 4 big myths of profile pictures. Via Metafilter.com.

The article is narrowly directed at profile photos. But there are some lessons that can have some application for anyone who takes very many people pictures.

Home shopping TV show for guns

It's a proposed shopping TV show for selling guns called GalleryofGuns.com Television. Here's an article about it at Ammoland.com. Excerpt:

Firearms enthusiasts and first-time buyers will be able to view on television a selection of firearms, watch as they’re explained and demonstrated, and then purchase. They simply place an order at GalleryofGuns.com for immediate shipment from Davidson’s huge firearms inventory and complete their purchase on location at one of over 3,000 participating gun shops nationwide. All in as little as 48 hours!!

The sales will be finalized through local licensed gun dealers in compliance with state and federal laws which, unfortunately, would include sales tax laws.

It's a civil rights extravaganza -- free speech plus the right to own firearms. How could anyone object to that?

Via The DC.

The Hole in the Door Gang -- West Texas Home Invaders

Now this is a strange crime spree. The perps kick in the front doors of houses then leave. The last time we talked about this there had been three such events -- see Home Invasion for a sketch of one of the perps. And now Kathleen Thurber tells us in the MR-T that there have been six such crimes reported between 12/31/09 and 1/19/10.

Are they would-be burglars who lost their nerve at the last minute each time? The first time they were confronted by a homeowner who had a little battle with them before they skedaddled. Whatever their motive, a human encounter is probably not what they wanted. Another such incident happened in Connecticut last month when a resident encountered a burglar and let out a scream which sent him packing -- see Homeowner's screams scare would-be crook from home. Now that sounds like a scene from an Elmore Leonard novel.

Are these perps looking for empty houses, and therefore they run off at the first sign of life? Is this a home improvement scam whereby the victims will get a visit from a friendly repair man who offers to fortify their broken doors or sell an alarm system?

With many homeowners within easy reach of a firearm the kickers are wise to make a hasty exit.

Maybe these crimes make a case for some sort of poor boy alarm system like the Door Stopper Alarm which acts like a door stop but emits a high pitched alarm when the door triggers it. One that lets out a blood curdling scream would be nice.

Updated 2/7/10: CAPTURED!

Police nab teen suspects in home break-ins MPD:
Two 18 year-olds charged with six, third-degree felony counts
By Audrie Palmer
Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, February 6, 2010 11:32 PM CST
Midland police on Saturday arrested two male teens investigators say admitted to kicking in the front doors of six homes in northwest Midland during the past month.

Chance Taylor Morton and Taylor Lane Holden-McCarty, both 18, were arrested and charged with six third-degree felony counts of attempted burglary of a habitation.

Bonds were set at a total of $180,000 for each and both remained locked up at press time.

Police said they received a Crime Stoppers tip that helped investigators and detectives follow up and make the arrests.

Once in custody, the two cooperated with investigators and admitted to their involvement in all six break-ins, police said.

“Basically, they stated they were just doing it for fun,” MPD Lt. Tony Dickie said. “It’s unfortunate because they’ve made choices that will now have serious consequences.” ...

Back when people really were tarred and feathered

A prominent blogger is always saying that so-and-so should be tarred and feathered. While that's bloggy hyperbole, but there was a day when it really did happen.

The Star Tribune in Minneapolis has a columnist who browses through the newspaper archives looking for interesting old news. And one recent story was about a guy who got tarred and feathered in 1918. It was criminal assault then and now, but the article described the court case as a civil suit.

It seems that some men thought the victim, a German immigrant, wasn't loyal enough to the U.S. during the Great War. So they tarred and feathered him. He sued them for $100,000, which according to an inflation calculator would be worth about $1.5 million in today's dollars. He eventually settled for $6,000 which comes in at just under $95,000 by that same calculation.

Old newspaper archives must be full of fun stories, and it would be tempting to peruse the Midland Reporter-Telegram archives at the local library for those buried treasures. Unfortunately, looking at microfilm for very long makes me seasick. Maybe someone else with stiffer sea legs or a supply of Dramamine will give it a shot.

Happy 1st year anniversary, Mr. President

It was a year ago that Mr. Obama was sworn in as his fans cheered and TV personalities swooned.

So here we are a year later digesting the news that voters in Massachusetts jerked the Kennedy Senate seat right out from under the Democratic contender and handed it to Scott Brown in a very public repudiation of Obamacare.

Mr. Obama's talent was in presenting himself as blank slate onto which voters could project their own dreams and desires. Let's reshape the caustic words of the eloquent Ann Richards:

Poor Barack Obama. He was born with a silver tongue in his mouth. Well no wonder, no wonder he can't figure it out. Because the leadership of this nation is trying to force something on us we don't want.

Did Mr. Obama deliberately mislead voters when he persuaded them that he represented their interests? Maybe he misinterpreted their passion for him as a passion for his far left ideas. More likely he assumed that they were so enamored of him that they would simply go along with whatever he proposed.

In any event, the election in Massachusetts was the 3 a.m. call that Hillary warned her followers about.  We'll see whether Obama answers to the people or to the far left.

Click and sniff -- if your Tylenol stinks, throw it out

Some consumers have sniffed out some stinky Tylenol, or an "uncharacteristic smell," as it's described in the Recall Notice. Excerpt:

[They determined that the] uncharacteristic smell is caused by the presence of trace amounts of a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA). This can result from the breakdown of a chemical that is sometimes applied to wood that is used to build wood pallets that transport and store product packaging materials.

How does a chemical like that get in an over the counter drug? Whatever the reason, click and sniff to see if you are in possession of any of the recalled products.

Hat tip, Kathy P.

Two all beef patties, special sauce, and free Wi-Fi

McDonalds is now offering free Wi-Fi at its restaurants in the U.S. So a person can surf the web and eat a Big Mac in a McDonalds and saturate his/her mind and arteries at the same time. But wait, a Big Mac only contains half of the maximum saturated fat daily value -- see nutrition PDF -- so help yourself to another.

Via WiFiNetNews.com.

Bank of America trying to make online banking safer

We are always hearing warnings about unauthorized snooping at Wi-Fi hotspots, so it's nice to know banks are trying to make online banking safer.  Here's a neat new security device that Bank of America is offering customers. It's called Safepass. One can never feel completely secure when using free wi-fi, but banking transactions should be a little safer with this.

 It's a service that will send a one-time six digit pass-code text message to the customer's texting device which is then required for large online bank transfers or adding new payees. The customer can elect whether it will be required for signing onto online banking, so the user could save it for travel.

For those without a texting device -- that would be me -- a card the size of a credit card is available for $20 which generates the pass-code at the push of a button. Pretty cool in a belt plus suspenders sort of way.

As for keeping the snoopers out of our other Wi-Fi hotspot business, a VPN might be the way to go.

Watching football on TV = 94% wasted time per WSJ

WSJ has a must see article for football fans titled 11 Minutes of Action in which the author and others have analyzed the time spent on various aspects of a typical televised football game. They found that in the four recent games analyzed there averaged 10 minutes and 43 seconds of actual playing time.

Here are highlights from the graphic accompanying that article (commercial time excluded, rounding results in more than 100%):

Game Time

Playing time	9.4%
Standing around	58.5%
Replays	14.5%
Coach shots	4.9%
Sideline player shots	3.4%
Referee shots	2.4%
Injury shots	1.4%
Player celebrations	1.4%
Other	1.4%
Highlights	0.9%
Crowd shots	0.9%
Other games	0.7%
Announcer shots	0.5%

Pretty amazing.  If you watch a game this weekend enjoy that 11 minutes. 

(The 94% in the title is based on 11 minutes of play time in a 185 minute broadcast which includes commercial time.)

Things we didn't need -- Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems in our cars

How did drivers survive the 20th century without the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)?

Firestone sold some defective tires a few years back, and they most likely caused several vehicle rollovers, some of which resulted in death. There were headlines. There were breathless TV reporters. And there were lawmakers who saw this as a calling for more laws. The result was the TREAD Act which mandates TPMS in cars which Bill Clinton signed into law adding yet another reason to remember him.

Apparently there are two types of TPMS. The "direct" type monitors the air pressure with a sensor inside each tire. The "indirect" method monitors each tire rotation speed in relation to the others in the theory that rotation will be slowed in a low tire. Source.

So do they work? Yes, but flat tires have their own very low tech way of getting the driver's attention. And the dashboard alert is redundant in that situation. As for low tires, both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers recommend actual physical tire pressure checks once a month anyway. So what's the point?

The reason for this rant today is that I've had two flats in the past two weeks -- puncture wounds both times -- in a car with the direct version TPMS. Contrast this with my old SUV which has tires with sealant in them. They've had lots of puncture wounds, but not once has a tire containing the sealant gone flat. But here's the problem. Sealant will damage the direct version of TPMS. What a development.

I would like to think that changing a tire is a small price to pay for a life saved. But that's baloney. The problem that caused all of this was a tire manufacturing defect which was found and fixed. The TPMS requirement was an overly complicated government solution to a problem that was easily cured by the marketplace.

It wasn't the first time that has happened. And as long as lawmakers' primary concern is making their marks on history, it will happen again.

Graham Pharmacy

The tradition continues. Graham Pharmacy has been a fixture in Midland, Texas, for a very long time. Originally it was Crawley Drug until Wes Graham bought it from Mr. Crawley and gave it its present name. He eventually sold it too, and the subsequent owners kept the name which is a real credit to Mr. Graham's reputation as a pharmacist.

Not only is it a pharmacy, it's also store where shoppers can find unique items the big stores wouldn't have. But most important to many of us is the lunch counter. The lunch crowd filled the old place, and there was always a line waiting for a chair, bench or stool.

Almost everyone in town knows that they moved to a new, bigger building over the Christmas and New Years holidays. And the store is going strong at the new location. I had lunch at the new place the other day, and the food is just as good. They have more space in the dining area now, but the place was still full at lunchtime, so that part hasn't changed.

And it looks like they've got a grill in there too, so diners might be seeing new menu items once they get settled in.

So now we get to the personal part. The first indoor job I had was behind the lunch counter at that old drug store. Yes, I was a teenage soda jerk, although term "soda jerk" had gone out of fashion by the time I worked there. Hey, I'm not that old.

However, I had toyed with the idea of applying for a job there again when I do get old -- career symmetry, book ends, the first and last job at the same place. But it looks like that won't happen now that they have moved. Oh well, I can't expect progress to wait on me.

It was a great place for a teenager to work. And three memories stand out.

First, when I started there the boss had a policy of letting the employees eat free. Oh man, could I make a delicious Sundae! My personal favorite was a hot fudge double. But it wasn't long before they realized how problematic an employees-eat-free policy could be with a growing adolescent on the staff, and the festival came to an end.

The second memory is of the gap between the building and the one next door. Maybe it was about four feet wide, but it went from the street to the alley in back. For some reason that was a very frightening place for me. I would walk around the block before walking through that gap. Maybe it was claustrophobia, or maybe it was some irrational fear resulting from watching too much TV. But I could not go in there beyond a few steps.

And third. One Saturday afternoon I was working behind counter all alone, and this gorgeous girl came in. She was very friendly, and she ordered a Coke to go. We went to different schools and didn't know each other, but we had the most enjoyable conversation. Another few minutes and I would have been in love. But she left, her lovely fragrance lingering in the air as she waved back at me. Then a few minutes after she left it hit me. She left without paying. Dammit! What an idiot I was.

So let this be three easy lessons for young men everywhere. (1) If someone offers you food, don't be a glutton. (2) Avoid walking down long gaps between buildings -- hey, there could be a pack of rabid dogs just about to enter the other end. (3) If you lose your head over a pretty girl, keep an eye on the money.

Home Invasion

A news release from the city of Midland, Texas, yesterday alerted us of three door kicking break-ins within the past couple of weeks. One has to question this guy's awareness of the risk involved in this type behavior, or maybe he doesn't know how many armed citizens are out there. Here's the release:

The Midland Police Department needs the public’s help in identifying a suspect(s) in three recent incidents.

On January 3, 2010, around 2:00 a.m., three unknown white male subjects kicked in the front door of a residence in the 2400 block of W. Dengar.  The victim was in the house asleep, heard the commotion and got up. The victim confronted the suspects in the hallway and they proceeded to physically assault the victim.

On December 31, 2009, the front door was kicked open in the 3300 block of Woodhaven, around 9:47 p.m. and in the 2800 block of Cimarron around 10:46 p.m.  In these incidents, the suspects never entered. They fled the scene as soon as they realized that someone was home.

A motive is still under investigation since the first two did not include entry or assaults.

The suspect is described as a white male, in his 20s, 5’8”, 165 pounds.  His hair is black in corn rows that hang down to his shoulders.  He was last seen wearing a red shirt.  A composite of the suspect is being emailed to the media.

The suspect may drive or have access to a white Ford truck, a 2008 or 2009 model, with a long bed possibly the style of a King Ranch.  It is believe the truck is diesel.

Anyone with information about the incidents or the suspect, they are asked to contact the Midland Police Department at 685.7108 or Crimestoppers at 694.TIPS.

Know this guy? Bring him to justice and collect a reward.

You've come a long way, baby doll -- A sex toy that talks back.

In the old days a sex doll looked about as lifelike as a pool float, or so I've heard. But get a load of the new generation.

Apparently she had her debut at an expo in Las Vegas, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010. The developer's website is TrueCompanian.com, but at the moment the site is temporarily unavailable -- high demand, maybe? In the meantime, here's a news release and excerpt:

Complete with artificial intelligence and flesh-like synthetic skin, ROXXXY the sex robot was introduced to the world at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas.

"She can't vacuum, she can't cook but she can do almost anything else if you know what I mean," Douglas Hines, the president of ROXXXY manufacturer TrueCompanion, told the AFP. "She's a companion. She has a personality. She hears you. She listens to you. She speaks. She feels your touch. She goes to sleep. We are trying to replicate a personality of a person."

The Roxxxy is 5 feet, 7 inches tall, 120lbs, and "has a full C cup and is ready for action," according to Mr Hines, who was an artificial intelligence engineer at Bell Labs before starting TrueCompanion.

The anatomically-correct robot has an articulated skeleton that can move like a person but can't walk or independently move its limbs. Robotic movement is built into "the three inputs" and a mechanical heart that powers a liquid cooling system.

So it's a sex doll that talks back. The market place will decide whether that's a feature or a bug.

How much is it? "The doll goes on sale next week for for $7,000 - $9,000 plus a subscription fee, which is 'comparable to a cell plan,' according to Roxxxy's creator, Douglas Hines." Source, PCMag.com.  Perhaps the monthly payment is supposed to make it more lifelike.

But before signing up, be sure to watch the Futurama public service announcement, "Don't Date Robots."  (If the embed doesn't work, click Don't Date Robots!")

Hat tip: email from Westgate.

Hillary, you look so young these days

One popular theme we often see in the news is the presidential aging pictorial with before and after photos highlighting how the person's appearance changed for the worse over a period of years.

Camera lenses can do wonders for a person -- just ask Barbara Walters. So it's difficult to look at a picture and know whether to believe one's own eyes.

But take a look at Hillary Clinton. She was giving a speech the other day which was captured in this C-SPAN video. She looks so much younger than she did a few years ago. She looks as young as Madonna.

Now before you jump all over me for sexism, let me just say in the interest of equal harassment that had I know a few years ago that Joe Biden was headed for a VP spot I would certainly have put him under the microscope for the hair transplants and who knows what else way back then.

But really, since politicians' looks count as much with today's voters as what they say, then who can blame them for doing anything they can to improve their looks?

A kiss is just a kiss, except at the airport

What a guy will do for a kiss! It turns out that the guy who caused all that disruption at the Newark Airport last weekend wasn't a terrorist after all. He was just a fellow in love. He simply wanted one last hug with his sweetheart, and now he's a wanted man. The authorities were on high alert during the holidays following the Christmas day underwear bomber's attempt. But a guard can't be everywhere at once, so when he left his post, the guy slipped under the rope and hugged his gal.

Here's a news report with video. Here's the CBS version.

Maybe someday the guy and girl can show it to their grandkids, and they can all laugh at the precautions we had to take back then. TSA learned something too. When that old love bug bites, there's just nothing you can do about it.

Via The Daily What.

Updated 1/10/10: The love struck student has been nabbed and identified as 28 year old Haisong Jiang. Let's hope the jury goes easy on him as it was probably difficult for him to realize the seriousness of the matter when the flimsy rope barrier and slipshod guard duty certainly didn't telegraph much concern on behalf of the authorities.  Who knew that the plan for protecting passengers from terrorists relied so heavily on the honor system?

Baby it's cold outside!

The thermometer is showing 29°F at the moment, and the forecast calls for a low of 13° tonight. That's a bit cold even for a west Texas winter, but we can take it.

I feel for the folks in Houston, though, where a freeze is comparable to a hurricane in its ability to bring things to a halt. But they are a little bit schizoid about it. Take a look at the Houston city website. Not only do you see a freeze warning, but there's also a notice about a global warming display.

Global warming -- never there when you need it.

"Hello? OUCH!" -- Taser to market cell phones

Actually, it may be a useful product. It's a cell phone for kids called the PROTECTOR.  Excerpt:

PROTECTOR is a revolutionary toolset that gives parents the ability to supervise their children's mobile phone usage and driving behaviors. Parents can manage the contact lists and content of their child's mobile phone - including calls, texts, emails, photos and video, and can automatically limit phone functionality to prevent dangerous distractions while driving. PROTECTOR uses integrated GPS, allowing parents to track their child's location, monitor driving habits, and release vital records to the authorities in emergency situations.

Maybe future generations of the product will allow parents to send a Taser like jolt through the phone to misbehaving kids.

Via WSJ.com.

France -- proposed new law against domestic verbal abuse

I listened to an interview in a podcast the other day in which a fellow told a story about confronting his wife about her infidelity. She got angry because he snooped, and she started hitting him. He pushed her back, she called 911, and the guy spent the night in the jail. No charges were filed, and apparently the only injury was to the guy's reputation.

Now let's be clear, domestic abuse is serious when it happens. But anyone wanting to abuse the process could do so quite easily with a single 911 call, and it's usually the guy who is victimized by domestic abuse law abuse.

So it's interesting to learn that lawmakers in France are taking domestic abuse a step further by proposing a law making verbal abuse a crime. They call it "psychological violence," and here's a BBC article about it. If it becomes law, the accused could be guilty of a crime simply because of something he said. Now that really would be a case of "he said," "she said."

"Whatcha in for?" "She asked me if the dress made her look fat, and I said 'yes.'"

Somehow I don't see this coming to America. Never mind the free speech issue, give lip to an American woman, and whoa, look out buddy.

Farouk U

Farouk University is better known as CHI Academy, and it's part of Farouk Shami's hair product empire.

Mr. Shami is running for Texas Governor in the Democratic primary, and if you live in Texas, you've probably heard his advertisement: The day he becomes Governor is "the day business as usual ends in Texas."

That slogan is what got my attention. It has to have been group tested as he has lined up an experienced gang to run his campaign. And it may be an attempt to ride the "change" coattail of the 2008 presidential campaign. It would be more clear if he specified whether he is talking about changing government or business.

But we have to admire someone who plans to spend his own money in a campaign for governor. But wait. The early promise to refuse to accept special interest money has disappeared from his website. Original promise reproduced here. Current website here.

Will Texas Democrats put a Palestinian-American hairdresser up against the Republican candidate? We'll have to wait and see. But one thing is almost certain: Mr. Shami doesn't have bad hair days.

Shooting at Las Vegas Courthouse - courthouse screening vs. airport screening

I've often wondered why courthouse screening doesn't generate the outrage that airport screening does. They are equally intrusive, yet complaints about airport screening fill the search engine results. Not so with courthouse screening.

In the news today is a report of a shooting at the Lloyd D. George Federal District Courthouse in Las Vegas, Nevada, in which a gunman killed a courthouse security officer and wounded a deputy U.S. Marshal. (News report here. And the U.S. Marshals Service statement here.)

I visit a courthouse seldom enough, but each time I get newly annoyed by the indignity of the screening. One has to wonder how prospective jurors perceive this as they line up for mandatory jury duty. Do they harbor any resentment as they are made to remove jewelry, strip off belts and empty their pockets as if they are about to get booked? Does that resentment linger as they sit in the jury box listening to a criminal defense theory about some overzealous law enforcement action?

The resentment over the airport screening is certainly real enough. But if it exists as to courthouse screening it must lurk below the surface. Then we hear about the courthouse shooting today in Las Vegas. The intrusive screening isn't any less annoying, and courthouse shooting instances are extremely rare. But at least we can think of that incident as we try to empathize with the guards' suspicion that everyone is a potential killer.

Backing out of death's doggie doorway -- A New Year's canine miracle

How much is a dog worth? Dog dealers put price tags on certain dogs on the presumption that they inherited some intrinsic value from their ancestors. That aside, a dog really isn't worth a lot in dollar terms.

But you can't put a monetary value on a good pet, because the joy and happiness that an animal can provide is priceless. Every pet owner has a story to tell, and here's one to ring in the new year on a happy note.

Almost twelve years ago he followed me home from school. Really. I was jogging past a school early one summer morning, and he started following me. The newspaper ad and the utility pole signs didn't locate his true owner, and that was fine with me -- I would give him a good home.

He has one brown eye and one blue eye -- named him "Old Blue Eye" -- and he has been a wonderful companion.

So it was distressing when he developed arthritis a few years ago, and the initial flare-up was so severe he couldn't sit or lie down comfortably. Rimadyl and Deramaxx (NSAIDs) did wonders. But this cold winter the arthritis came back like gang busters, so the Deramaxx came back into his daily intake.

Then a couple of weeks ago he went into a zone. His condition worsened, and things looked grim for the old boy. He staggered around, bumped into things, knocked over tables, broke lamps, and generally wrecked the whole house. He lost interest in everything he had previously enjoyed, including food. Toilet habits vanished, but the most disturbing aspect was the way he would walk into a corner and just stand there leaning head first into the wall. He seemed unaware of his environment. A steroid shot didn't seem to make any difference -- he was in zombie land.

The Vet said he has seen that behavior in animals with a brain tumor or that had had a stroke. So in mid week last week the dog started getting daily doses of Prednisone (a steroid) and Senilife (a doggie dementia drug) in the hopes that he could get a little relief. And his home became a barricaded bathroom as I stood by on death watch hoping to make his final days comfortable. He was in a make shift hospice, he was dying, and it was killing me.

But something funny happened. I walked by his room early yesterday morning, and his big ears shot up -- he was awake, aware and ready for interaction. This was a consciousness I had not seen in well over a week, and he just kept getting better. Today he even pranced around the backyard to put the birds and squirrels on notice not to rule him out too soon.

So what was it that sent him for a loop? If it was a stroke, I sure wish humans could snap back like that. Or if it was a brain tumor maybe the steroids shrunk it. Or maybe it was all simply a reaction to the arthritis drugs -- sites all across the web warn against them. But whatever it was, he dodged a bullet, his lease on life got extended. And I'm ecstatic.  Old Blue Eye is back!