I Got Distracted

I saw where a couple in Texas had sued 178 anonymous posters on a web site for libel. That will get a man's attention. It made the news because a Tarrant County judge ordered the "names" of the posters released this week which, uh, makes it a lot easier to sue them. That story is here. That's a little weird. Libel suits are hard to win and most comments are libel-proof opinions. "Barry's an idiot" isn't defamatory while "Barry embezzled $1,000 from the Boy's Home For The Blind in Ponder" probably is. But most comments on blogs are just hot opinions containing no assertion of fact whatsoever. But I wondered who brought the lawsuit because it would be expensive. I mean, the costs alone to have the district clerk prepare the citation and have it served on 178 people is daunting. Then take their depositions? Sheesh. Plus, how in the world can you ever prove who made a post? I'm not sure how a "name" can be released but even is you had their IP address, that just tracks it to a computer and not a person. Anyway, I wanted to find out who the plaintiff's lawyer was and it turned out to be "William Pieratt Demond". That's an unusual name, and I found one lawyer out of Austin with a match. It looks like he's graduated from law school in the last two or three years ago. But his profile made me stop down. Take a look. I'll be reading his graduate thesis all night. Uh, you might want to be careful with your comments. :)

Oh, My

Star-Telegram story. The Update has a few photos (scroll down). Edit: From Fox 4: "Investigators believe Robles cut his leg on the fence and died from blood loss. A medical examiner will determine his exact cause of death." Edit: CBS 11 has a new video up. And the station's written account has this:

When a CBS 11 News crew went to gather information they encountered two people claiming to be brothers of the dead 15-year-old. Unprovoked, they yelled obscenities while walking into one homeowner's yard, across the street from where Rowdy Slade Robles body was found. "My f%/k#@* brother is over there laying on the f&%k#@ ground dead," the two brothers yelled.

The homeowner said the treats [sic] against him were unnerving. "He was threatening to beat us and punch us," the man explained. "It was a little frightening."

Parenthood

This, from The Onion (a parody site), made me laugh.

As The "Stimulus" Package Sales Sails Through Congress

Trey Garrison examines "the U.S. Conference of Mayors wish list of all the things mayors across the country want the federal government to fund in the name of 'stimulus'” and informs us about:

some of the dodgier requests from North Texas cities. It starts on page 293, and my short list here is just a taste of the absurdity.

• Frisco wants $125,000 for an armored vehicle and $200,000 for a mobile command vehicle. You know, for all that gang tank warfare going on up in Frisco.

• McKinney wants $5 million for SWAT toys and stuff.

• North Richland Hills wants $51,000 for volunteer patrol volunteers. Let’s throw in $10 for a dictionary so they can look up the word “volunteer.”

• Irving wants $5 million for biometric scanners, digital cameras, RFID scanners — nothing Big Brother there.

• Grand Prairie wants $1.25 million for nicer landscaping around the public safety building.

• And finally, Arlington is really gearing up for urban warfare. Arlington wants $1.6 million for SWAT toys including more equipment for those deadly but camera-friendly no-knock raids, $56,000 for military grade carbines, $625,000 for unmanned aerial surveillance drones, and $130,000 for “covert ops.”

(Stolen from and Credit Given to: Grits For Breakfast)

The Cleansing: Day 5

• Another good day.
• There's a slight euphoria that has set in, coupled with a slight nagging hunger pain.
• But Day 5 is 75% easier than days 1 and 2.
• I really didn't feel fatigued until late afternoon.
• Despite the euphoria, I feel a tad bit more agressive in my daily routine.
• I've added the "special tea" in the morning followed by the salt water cleanse in the evening. Uh, that has made it imperative not to leave the house in the evening.
• OK, since I've not had any solid food in five days, you'd think I'd have nothing to cleanse out. Right? Wrong. Whatever is being flushed out of my body now has probably been in there for a while. I think that's the whole point of this program.
• I've been stopped by quite a few people that are fascinated by this program and want to try it.
• I'm at the halfway point. I think I'll make it --- especially if I can get through the weekend. Friday evening was an exciting time of watching three episodes of Season 2 of The Wire.
• And my Text Message Taunter from Dallas was silent last night.

Mood: Melancholy Feeling: Determined Weight Loss: 4.5 lbs.

New Decatur Beggar Spotting

Today outside of the Walmart in Bowie. (Thanks emailer.) Past sighting here.

New Mother Of 8 Is Kinda Hot

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I'm so asking her out. I've always wanted to be a daddy to 14 stepchildren. (And check out the "fake concern" of Ann Curry, my nemesis.)

Maybe Another This Morning

Link. (Thanks Danielle) Edit: Now comes this completely different story. Good grief:

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The Haslet robber from yesterday was a cross dresser? Take a look at him/her. You'd think the alarm would go off just by him/her entering the building.
• The legend of Scully grows. Did you hear the audio tape as he was about to land the plane in the Hudson? That man has nerves of steel (as do the air traffic controllers.)
• There was truly no real news yesterday.
• Daily WBAP Hal Jay cluelessness: He indicated this morning that he wanted to see wanted to see one of the Oscar nominated films this weekend. Then, in complete seriousness, he asked sports guy Steve Lamb, "Which one is the funniest?"
• Holy cow: The lady that recently gave birth to eight babies (she's a single mom who already had six kids) has received $165,000 in disability payments from the government in the past years.
• Some commenter complained about Fox News not being linked on the home page of WiseCounty.com. Sheesh. It's been there for years. I wonder if, as a Fox News fan, he only sees what he wants to see.
• Unemployment news this morning: It's risen to 7.6% and it's only going to get worse.
• The far right is now claiming that Obama is trying to govern by the "politics of fear." Pot, meet kettle.
• I've been to political lately. I blame the Master Cleanse.
• I stare at myself in the mirror sometimes and think about my life. (I originally wrote "and have a moment of reflection" but that would be a pun.)
• The Texas Bar Journal always has a "short story" contest every summer. I'm thinking about sending in an entry. I'd make it a little dark.
• Facebook has a crazy phenomenon going around which requires each person to share "25 Random Things About Themselves." I'd be scared to do that if I were honest. But I guess most people feel that way.
• This is the time of year where I delve back into audiobooks. Sports talk radio is a little boring with nothing going on other than the NBA/NHL.

The Cleansing: Day 4

• This experiment has taken an interesting twist: I felt fine yesterday for the first time since I began this silly program. There were very few hunger pains despite not having a bite of solid food in four days.
• The first two days, upon reflection, were very hard. Almost like the initial feelings of weakness when the flu is coming on.
• But I felt good enough yesterday, and had enough energy, to jog.
• I bought some of that "special tea" to help the cleaning process. (I finally had to break down and ask the clerk where it could be located. Ugh.)
• While waiting to check out with the tea, I saw the "The Master Cleanser" book. Unfortunetaly, right beside it was the book by known scam artist Kevin Trudeau. (Pic above.)
• And I continued to drink the salt water at night which gave rise to this realization: The tea serves to aid the cleansing process by, uh, loosening things up.
• And, although I'll keep most of this to myself, the cleansing process (which is supposed to remove gunk that has built up in your system for years) has become fascinating.
• This is not supposed to be about weight loss, but I'm very surprised about how little weight I've lost. But I've always been that way. Diet for three weeks and see little result only to have the weight come off the following week.
• And my Dallas nemesis sent yet another text last night: ""Grilled flank steak with cheese filled bacon wrapped in jalapenos." (These are coming from girl who is skinny as a rail, by the way.)

Mood: Optimistic Feeling: About 90% of normal Weight loss: 3 lbs (OK, I dropped the "-" sign to be technically correct)

A Little Disturbing

These are some of the scam ads that show up on the sidebar of Facebook. The use of Obama's name and likeness as well as trying to capitalize on the words "stimulus"/"bailout" is flat wrong.

Thursday Afternoon Pick Me Up

(Thanks emailer.)

Programming Note

Speaking of the Star-Telegram, I just saw:

This should be interesting: Whoopi Goldberg will appear tonight on Fox News Channel's Hannity, featuring Sean Hannity[*]. Let's just say that the two tend to have divergent opinions. According to a Fox publicist, topics will include her defense of Michael Phelps and that now infamous photo of him smoking pot . . . .

Good times. ____________ * Editor's note: Sean Hannity is a conservative radio talk show host and television personality. He is also a tool.

I'm Worried About Newspapers

Today:

"Here at the Star-Telegram we have seen an unprecedented loss in advertising revenue with many of our best customers either going out of business or closing locations, and employment advertising dropping to all time lows. In response to these losses we are developing plans to reduce expenses. Unfortunately, these cuts will include position eliminations."

Source I like the Star-Telegram. (And on an unrelated note, another high tone restaurant in Victory Plaza, which is quickly becoming a ghost town, looks like it has closed.)

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• I noticed that St Thomas Aquinas in East Dallas shut down for few days because of the flu. I remember that happened at Bridgeport Junior High when I was in sixth grade.
• I never get a flu shot.
• Fox 4's Lari Barager's hair looks fuller.
• Speaking of, I need to cut my hair. (Remember, it was July when I last had it cut.)
• Victim Impact Statements, that can only be delivered in court after the trial is over, seem more for show than for "impact".
• Hypothetically, you know a relationship is over when your significant other changes her "relationship status" on Facebook.
• I watched a little of Jamie Foxx in Booty Call last night Kinda funny.
• For the first time ever, I've heard of the college football term "gray shirt". It's when a high school recruit doesn't enroll in college in the fall and instead waits for the spring semester. That gives him an extra year to, uh, grow, and keep four year's of eligibility.
• National Signing Day is a little silly. Every coach does indeed say he has a "great class" or even "his best class ever."
• I hate Jimmy Buffett.
• Baseball man Manny Ramirez was offered a one year, $25 million dollar. He turned it down. I remember that happening in the Great Depression as well.
• Had a new client come in who was charged with an adult criminal offense. I looked at his info sheet and saw that he was born in the 1990s. Ugh.
• I guess it's a big deal when someone gets a golf scholarship to Southeast West Texas A&M Technical University.
• I've always been against the financial bailout, but how has this country come so far that we find it acceptable for the government to impose a salary cap on a private sector employee? Think about that.
• I used to play in the woods behind my house. I mean real woods: Acres and acres of trees. And I knew every square inch of it.
• The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office lets the media interview a murder suspect and his attorney says, " "I thought that in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, they would have learned after the Lee Harvey Oswald/Jack Ruby incident that that was unwise.” Huh? Come again?
• Weird: The wives of our new District Attorney and new County Attorney have both given birth since the first of the year.

The Cleanse: Day 3

• It's odd. The hunger pains (pangs?) were significantly less than days one and two.
• That doesn't mean I'm not dying to eat something.
• The Sonic "double melt sandwich" (or whatever it is) on TV is haunting me. Which is silly because I'd never eat one of those even if I wasn't on this program.
• I traveled a few miles to buy "Grade B" maple syrup after I realized I had accidentally bought "Grade A" for my daily drink. (It looks thicker -- which is good.)
• Drinking the one liter of salt water for the nightly "cleanse" is horrific. I'm researching some other alternative.
• I've noticed some people are fascinated by this program and want to talk to me about it.
• I'm really dreading the weekend.
• I'm still have a bit of light headedness but it's combined with a little bit of motivation. (As I was walking out of work yesterday, I decided to watch one more DWI video.)
• I had been getting sleepy around 8:30. That stopped last night.
• And I got another taunting text message from Dallas: "Homemade mac and cheese with gruyere and pancetta."
• This program takes insane will power. I wouldn't ridicule anyone that couldn't do it.

Mood: Settling In Feeling: Not Bad At All Weight Loss: -2 lbs

And Another

Oh-no-you-didn't. Story.

Back From Jack County

Yep, I'm pretty sure that was Jack County.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• I saw on the news Wells Fargo has canceled a junket at the Wynn in Las Vegas because they are recipient of some of the federal bailout money. I was more shocked to learn that stingy Wells Fargo needed the money in the first place (which turns out to be $25 billion.)
• If ten years ago you had learned your bank needed $25 billion to survive, there would be a panic. Now we just shrug our shoulders.
• An emailer tells me that the Bridgeport Sissies clinched the district championship last night by beating Wichita Falls Hirschi 52-45.
• Charlie Gibson asked Obama yesterday if he was embarrassed about the "I didn't pay my taxes" nominees that had to withdraw. His answer, "Yes." He also referred to it as a "self induced injury." At least he's taking blame.
• I've got to go to Jacksboro this morning.
• I'm over halfway through Jack London's "The Sea Wolf." Uh, kinda boring. And he's a pompous writer.
• I've been seeing new GM pickups that are a light cream color.
• I was right about people going crazy over the free Denny's breakfast. One person interviewed by Fox 4, who had been standing in line for over a half hour, said she had driven 30 miles to get there. Sheesh. Bud Kennedy wrote about it today.
• Why isn't more teaching done with the School House Rock concept? I can still recite the preamble to the Constitution due to that three minute show I saw as a kid. (Hey, I found it.)
• If I could play the bass, I'd sit around all day playing Nirvana's "Come As You Are."
• Google has announced a new gadget which gets us closer to everyone having a GPS tracking device.
• The Chico girls lost to Peaster 101-15?

The Cleansing: Day 2

• Was incredibly hungry all day long, but during the evening I finally started feeling normal.
• I still get sleepy much earlier than normal
• Felt a little light headed and tired during the day but, oddly, I was incredibly productive yesterday.
• Lunch without having lunch is a strange experience.
• I had to get encouragement from a friend --- kind of like an AA buddy.
• I'm stealing this line from Richie Whitt: You don't realize how much time we spend on thinking about food, preparing food, and eating food until you don't have to do it.
• Drinking that salt water mixture was, once again, brutal. Friends are suggesting I switch to "special tea."
• As far as the unmentionable side effects? Not too bad so far.
• A friend from Dallas sent me a text message last night that simply read: "Mmmm tacos al pastor con guajillo sauce :)"
• There's a package of Baked Doritos Nacho Chips on the top of office refrigerator that is mocking me. Hard.
• And, yes, I've not posted a multitude of comments. Once again, I proclaim that I don't do scatological humor.

Mood: Still apprehensive Feeling: Much better Weight Loss: - 1.5 lbs

Sarah Palin Breakin' Out The Boots

That's almost enough for a Tuesday Afternoon Pick Me Up. More of the GOP Vixen is here. Edit: AUSTIN – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has endorsed Rick Perry for re-election, calling him the "true conservative" in a primary election showdown with fellow Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Caught This On HBO Over The Weekend

• In case you didn't know, Haggard was the pastor of a Mega-Church in Colorado but resigned in disgrace after admitting to using meth and a male hooker.
• I'm pretty sure either one alone would have cost him his job.
• I started out really disliking the guy, but you could see his charisma.
• And in a subtle way, it really takes a swipe at the former church. If any one body should be forgiving, it should be the Church. Instead, New Life Church agreed to pay him a year's salary if he would leave the State of Colorado for a year. Yep, he was banished by Christians.
• During that year, he and his wife and two kid stayed in a variety of cheap hotels and with people who cared enough to take him in for a while. He didn't sell his home in Colorado -- once the year was over, he just returned back to it.
• During the year in exile, he tried to sell insurance. Very unsuccessfully.
• He has the greatest wife ever.
• It was interesting to see him read parts of the Bible that deal with compassion and forgiveness. Interestingly, and I paraphrase, he said, "I read the Bible with a very different perspective now."
• The documentary pulled up a video from a sermon about ten years ago where he claimed to have caught a church member coming out of a gay bar in the middle of the day.
• There was also a scene of the faces of the congregation as his resignation letter was read. The senior citizens in tears was truly heart-breaking.
• The website for the documentary which doesn't run over 40 minutes.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Finally, a guy caught smoking pot and it does not seem to be a big deal. Exhibit A: Michael Phelps.
• Wait!! Shouldn't we lock him up??!! He's a drug user!!! Right is right and wrong is wrong!! (I, of course, jest.)
• What am I supposed to the tell the next kid that sits across my desk who has been arrested for pot when he says, "They had pictures of Michael Phelps and they didn't do anything to him"?
• The Ticket had a pretty good discussion over how we forgive Phelps even though he has a DWI and is an admitted pot user, yet we vilify Terrell Owens who has never even had a run in with the cops.
• The Ticket then said we probably forgive Phelps because he is an "ah, shucks, kind of guy." Which gave rise to the question: Have you ever seen an "aw, shucks, black guy?"
• AnObiter update: She's hanging out at a bar in Hawaii with Eli and Peyton Manning. Really.
• Every Denny's is giving away a free Grand Slam breakfast this morning. I wouldn't go within a mile of the place. Anyone who will stand in line for two hours to get a free $7.00 breakfast scares me.
• New Las Vegas odds to win next year's Super Bowl: New England at 8-1. Dallas is second at 9-1.
• There have been lots of Harlem Globetrotter commercials on TV recently. I can't believe I fell for that bit as a kid.
• The Collin County jury (who is unfamiliar with the term "reasonable doubt") sentenced Raul Cortez to death yesterday for his part in the 2004 quadruple murder in McKinney. It was odd to see the family of the victim smiling and hugging in the lobby for the cameras after the verdict. I'm not sure it's a reason to celebrate.
• I sound grumpy. Maybe I'm hungry.

The Cleansing: Day #1

• This was rougher than I thought it was. I was starving. But all those that have done the program before says the first day is the hardest. Lordy, I hope they are right.
• I had to go buy the ingredients of sea salt, natural maple syrup, and cayenne pepper, but I got lucky when I ducked into Central Market off of Hulen in Fort Worth and found them all.
• That's the first time I had ever been in that grocery store. High tone. Lots of hot mommas with very well behaved kids.
• And that place is expensive.
• My daily drink of two quarts of water flavored with 14 tablespoons of maple syrup, 14 tablespoons of pure lemon juice, and a one tablespoon of cayenne pepper is pretty good.
• I refuse to talk much about the "cleansing" aspect of the program, but I did drink one quart of water combined with one tablespoon of natural sea salt. It was awful. And the results were mild. All I'm saying.
• I don't know if had anything to do with the program, but I became exhausted last night at 8:30. At least I got a long night's sleep.
• I'm not doing this as a diet, I'm using for cleaning purposes. I know at least three people personally that have done it and loved it.
• Yeah, I know diet and exercise are the way to maintain weight. I've done that for 13 years.
• And, yeah, I've received a ton of emails telling me I am out of my mind.

Mood: Apprehensive. Feeling: A little tired. Weight Loss: 0 pounds.

Been A Busy Day

And with all the officers showing up at my driver's license hearings this afternoon, I felt like that Arizona Cardinal. (If they show, you always lose.)

The Master Cleanser

Assuming I can get all the ingredients today, I'm starting the ten day Master Cleanser. I've been fascinated by it since Richie Whitt of the Dallas Observer did it last month. But I feel like I'm about to go into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts - Super Bowl Edition

• All this was written as I watched the game (that at least makes a little sense out of this.)
• Faith Hill is still hot.
• Having the crew of the Miracle On The Hudson coming out onto the field before the game was a nice touch. Video.
• There was a Doritos ad with the punch line of a guy being hit in the crotch with a crystal ball. Idiocracy moves closer. Edit: The reviews on Monday morning rate it as the top commercial.
• John Madden = Beating.
• There were a lot of movies advertised. And, if I may sound nerdy, the Star Trek one looks pretty good.
• No team has a right to be more frustrated than the New England Patriots. They go 11-5 for the season and beat the Arizona Cardinals 47-7 yet they didn't make the playoffs. Do we need the BCS in the NFL?
• You can't help but like Kurt Warner. And is wife has definitely upgraded her looks.
• I still like those "G" commercials.
• Craziest name from the game: Dominique Reshard Rodgers-Cromartie. And how does a guy end up with a hyphenated name?
• Weirdest moment. With 2:46 left in the second quarter, were the defensive backs of the Steelers huddled in prayer on the sideline? Huh? "Dear lord, let us cover those speedy receivers better."
• The Teleflora "talking flowers" commercial was funny. Although the line of "no one wants to see you naked" was a little shocking.
• The 100 yard interception return by Pittsburgh was crazy. Who would have ever thought that crazy concept of dropping a krillion pound defensive lineman into pass coverage would work. (And I couldn't tell if he made it in or not.) Video.
• As I write this at halftime, I predict that Harrison (the guy that returned the interception) becomes the rare defensive Super Bowl MVP.
• The best part of the Bruce Springsteen halftime show was when he tossed his guitar to a roadie at the beginning of the performance and it was almost dropped. I've never understood why he's considered so great.
• Commercial: Jack of Jack In The Box got hit by a bus? My fake kids would be crying right now.
• Commercial: The Ed McMahon gold commercial was funny but he looked like he was 10 minutes from death.
• If John Madden says "No one does it better than [insert any player's name who just made a good play]" I might off myself.
• Commercial: PepSuber was kinda funny.
• You had to be watching closely, but Al Michaels yelling "Huge!" (when Pittsburgh's Harrison was flagged for street mugging an Arizona player near the end of the game) wasn't huge at all. And then he tried to cover himself by saying, "Huge in a sense as to when the flag was thrown."
• Arizona WR Larry Fitzgerald is money.
• It's cool how Larry Fitzgerald looked up on the big screen to see how close his chasers were on his touchdown catch in the 4th. (Obscure reference: The first time I ever saw a player do that was a UT tight end on a huge catch in the first Big 12 Championship game against Nebraska.)
• Commercial: Man, those GoDaddy.com commercials are shocking.
• What a game!! (As I just saw Holmes take a pass down to the 6.)
• What a game #2!! (As I just saw Holmes pull in a tip toe touchdown pass.)
• With seconds left in the game, I'd still make Harrison the MVP. That was a 14 point swing.
• I really dislike NFL Commissioner Roger Goodall. And he makes a shocking $11 million a year.