Wreck

This was sent to me last night and I would have posted it sooner but (1) I came out of a restaurant to find my car battery dead which prompted a 1 1/2 mile hike, and (2) once I got situated at midnight my home Internet was down. Good times. But things good be a 1000X worse which brings me to the picture. The note attached to the photo read, "at CR2224 and 51N - Decatur,..... Barry, I did not talk to any bystanders or Police, took photos while driving. The maroon car is stuck into the DRIVER side of the up-side down 4dr. Ford Ranger pick-up."

Friday Afternoon Pick Me Up

FOX 4's Natalie Solis.

Real News: Plane Crash

PLANE CRASH----BETWEEN COUNTY ROAD 3519 AND 3526... CONFIRMED Updated: Two people were on board -- both men. Both have been transported by air ambulance with one being described as being in "serious condition". And it was in fact an ultralight. Fox 4 News is sending a helicopter. Edit: At 12:04 p.m. you could go here and watch the helicopter's camera as it heads to the scene. Choose "Stream 2" Edit: Screen shot from the helicopter feed:

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I jogged this morning outside in the dark which is something I never do. That was kind of weird. And now I'm exhausted.
• Arrested Development > The Office
• Always be wary of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. First and foremost, he believes his primary official obligation is to get on TV.
• The National Spelling Bee would be fun to watch. At least the last 15 minutes of it.
• I still believe that local news broadcasts need to do more "where are they now?" segments.
• I would love to be able to freeze time and then walk around.
• During negotiations with a Wise County prosecutor yesterday in an impromptu public forum, I actually had to turn to another lawyer and say "you might want to butt out" because he/she kept making insane pro-State comments.
• I've said this before, but police are trained to identify themselves in a tense situation as "PO-leece" so as not to be confused with "please". That is, "Stop, PO-leece" will not be confused as "Stop, please."
• I'm rarely asked if I'm in a bad mood.
• Maybe that means I appear to always be in a bad mood.
• Isn't this HIV-Spreading criminal case a little weird? This one guy is able to infect what, eight women? Maybe more. When the news of AIDS first broke in the mid-1980s, the public was in panic because we believed it could be passed on as easily as the flu. Then we discovered that wasn't true. Now this guy makes us all rethink that.
• And if it's true, why aren't there thousands of criminal cases like this?
• The Wise County classifieds are beginning to fill up.
• Just had a guy call me and asked me if I wanted to play golf this morning. Uh, yeah but no.

Head Shaking In Private

This Letter to the Editor will appear in today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram. (Click to enlarge.) (1) The defense has no right to present any evidence to a grand jury. The DA can prevent it. (2) The premise of the letter is wrong. The requirement of at least nine members of a grand jury choosing to indict a person is mandated by state law. It is not the "policy" of the DA. But that's OK, this guy was just the forman of a Tarrant County grand jury responsible for indicting thousands of individuals.

From the Weatherford Democrat

Link.

Decatur Beggar Spotted

It's been a while, but an emailer sends in this pic of the Decatur Beggar spotted today in Arlington at Collins and NE Green Oaks. in Arlington. History.

The New Liberally Lean Mascot

Isn't it the cutest little thi........Wait. What the????!!!!

Thursday Afternoon Pick Me Up: Softball Edition

Reese Witherspoon + Softball = Oddly Jazzing.

Pooch Alert

OK, I'm not turning this cutting edge news blog into a lost and found, but I'm trying to help a gal out. Does anybody recognize this mutt? It was found this morning off of Hlavek road out by Indian Trails in Decatur. He had a collar but no identifying information on it (which really doesn't make the collar particularly useful.) So if you think your pooch is in the backyard but you look at the photo and realize he's made a break for it, let me know in the comments. If not, that bleeding heart girl who found him will be the proud owner of your little Cujo. (And it may be a girl dog for all I know.) Edit/Update: This just in from the Finder Of The Dog -- "[I took him to the vet] hoping for one of those chips they could scan for his info. Turns out he had one of those, and 2 broken legs. They are fixing him, and calling his people."

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• The HIV spreading defendant who got convicted yesterday in Collin County is scary looking.
• And I think he had a horrible defense lawyer who uttered such things in closing yesterday as "no glove, no love" as well as telling the jury that the Swine Flu was more deadly that HIV. (As Gordon Keith on The Ticket said this morning, "Do you think the defendant slumped in his chair and thought to himself, 'Where's he going with this?'")
• And here's an oddity: Normally the defendant would face a maximum of 20 years for Aggravated Assault. But since the victim(s) was part of a "dating relationship" with him, the maximum becomes life in prison. The Texas Penal Code is tricked up.
• Why do we say "full blown" AIDS?
• I've got full blown Tired Head.
• I watched The 20 Most Horrifying Hollywood Murders on the E! Channel last night. I had never heard of the Black Dahlia case. Oh. My.
• You think they would design a gas cap that you didn't have to take off.
• Anyone who says gas prices are a function of supply and demand is nuts.
• People are crazy.
• We had a great pitcher meltdown yesterday. Stick around to the end when he commits Aggravated Assault on a Gatorade machine.
• Instantly loading audio of the soon to be Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor saying her own last name. Somebody needs to check and see if she is a red blooded 'merican.
• I saw a commercial this morning for Hawaiian Waters water park saying "there's one near you in the metroplex." Where did they come from?
• Decatur will have a Juneteenth parade?

From Monday: Chasing Cheese Down A Hill 2009

I really don't know what the object of this competition is, but why it's not an Olympic sport is beyond me. You can keep your rowing, archery, badminton, etc. -- give me guys chasing cheese down a hill that is guaranteed to turn the participants into floppy dolls. And if local charities would use this instead of silent auctions, fun runs, casino nights, and walkathons, I'd be the most generous donor in the county.

Snake Update

As you may recall, last Friday I single-handedly wrestled a King Cobra to the ground watched a Decatur Animal Control officer snag a big ol' snake on the courthouse square of Decatur. Many asked what type of snake it was. The answer is: I still don't know. Yesterday, a buddy told me, in all seriousness, that it was some type of python that had probably escaped its owner's home. I told him he was crazy and that was no longer my friend. But some of the mystery as to why there would be a snake under a sidewalk bench in Decatur was revealed this morning. As I was walking to the courthouse, a lady scared the crap out of me by screaming and pointing down. I looked down and saw a pretty good sized mouse run across my foot. I, in turn, screamed like a school girl. So we at least know where his food supply came from. (This message not sponsored by the Decatur Chamber of Commerce.)

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Those were some crazy clouds yesterday with crazy spurts of rain.
• Despite golf ball size hail (or larger), I'm not sure there was much damage last night in Decatur.
• Do people still think they are clever when the say "intestinal fortitude" instead of "guts"?
• Thought about that this morning when a caller to KLIF said "we don't have someone in the White House that has the intestinal fortitude to bomb North Korea." Good lord.
• I shake my head a lot in disbelief when I'm alone.
• Everyone seems to be optimistic about the economy (consumer confidence was up yesterday) but unemployment continues to rise and GM is headed to bankruptcy. I think we just got tired of being pessimistic. I call it Tired Head Economics Syndrome. That just might win me a Pulitzer right there.
• I should have made the TAKS/Graduation ceremony issue a completely independent post. I misjudged the emotions about that one.
• If I find a gas pump that is ridiculously slow, I'll stop it before I fill up. It makes me feel like I've taught the pump a lesson.
• The right wing is already going crazy over the clip of the new Supreme Court nominee having stated that courts "create policy." They fall back on "judges should interpret the law, and not create law."
• Oh yeah, and yesterday Supreme Court conservative majority overruled 23 years of precedent by holding that cops can initiate interrogation of a defendant without his lawyer present even though a court has appointed a lawyer for him. Unless that rule was buried in the Constitution (it's not), that is creating policy.
• When did $80 loud print T-shirts get popular? And why?
• I now use my debit card for almost everything and never go to the cash machine.
• But shouldn't the scanner know it's a debit card without it having to be asked?
• I've begun reading Outliers and it's great. It's basic premise is that hard work is certainly needed to get ahead, but circumstances and luck play just as an important role. I believe that.

Radar vs. Photo

I was driving to Fort Worth around 6:00 and noticed the huge storm that looked like it was just south of Newark. The picture was taken about one mile north of Rhome headed southbound on 287. The screenshot of my iPhone shows the actual size and location of the storm at the time. Cool. Edit: Then that little blob grew, split in half, and headed towards Decatur landing at around 7:50 p.m. Edit: Radar on Channel 21 at 8:12 p.m. Email from downtown Paradise: Email from a Decatur reader (Holy cow, those things are huge): This from emailer James in Decatur: And another: And one that looks like a Medieval weapon: From emailer Mary "about two miles north of Decatur":

Hottest Girl Ever To Get In A Bar Fight

Link (with pictures involving blood so you know it's good.)

Are You Smarter Than A Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader?

Tryout for the squad began in Grapevine this weekend and, sad to say, I was cut after the first round. Well, I would have been cut after the first round because I'm not sure I could have passed the test given to all would-be booty shakers that includes “80 to 100 questions covering the Dallas Cowboys football team, the cheerleaders’ history, the National Football League and current events.” Eight sample questions:

1. Where will the Cowboys play their final home game this season? [I have no idea]

2. Where will the Cowboys hold their 2009 summer training camp?[I think Oxnard but is it back to San Antonio?]

3. Name the Cowboys legend who served as head coach for the team’s first 29 years. [Ok, that's easy. Barry Switzer.]

4. What year was the Cowboys’ first season in the NFL? (A) 1960 (B) 1962 (C) 1964 (D) 1965 [I think it was 1960 but I wouldn't rule out 1962]

5. How many stars are on the Cowboys Cheerleaders’ uniform? [No idea]

6. Who is commissioner of the National Football League?[I actually know that because I don't like the guy]

7. How many yards are in an NFL end zone? (A) 10 (B) 20 (C) 30 (D) 50 [That's easy unless I grew up in Canada]

8. Name one country that borders Iraq. [I know Iran. I know Kuwait. But I'm not sure who it is to the north.]

Source.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Someone asked me whatever happened to Prestonwood Baptist Church minister Joe Barron who was arrested when he drove to a location to meet what he believed to be an under-aged girl. I have no idea.
• I was without Internet and TV for half the day on Sunday. You know, after my initial panic was over it wasn't a bad experience.
• I caught a little bit of the first Cowboys Super Bowl (1993) under Jimmy Johnson last night on the NFL Network. The NBC broadcast pointed out that no one on the Cowboy defense made the Pro Bowl that year. Really? Edit: Hey, 5:54 p.m., I said the first Super Bowl under Jimmy Johnson. Pay attention.
• After a Cowboy touchdown near the end of second quarter to make it 28-10, the PA played "Don't Blame It On Texas."
• New this morning: We will have an hispanic female on the Supreme Court. Here wikipedia page is here.
• ABC's Ann Compton reported on the radio this morning that the prospective judge was a Harvard Law School graduate. Wikipedia says Yale Law School. I wonder who is right?
• My office a/c won't kick on this morning. That is a very bad sign. Edit: Penny arrived and diagnosed the problem in about, uh, five seconds.
• North Korea tested a nuclear weapon yesterday which sent earthquake like shock waves for miles around. All of the world condemned the test.
• I've never understood how some sovereign nations believe another sovereign nation can't have a nuclear weapon. If I run North Korea and hear George W call me part of the "Axis Of Evil" and then watch him order the invasion of Iraq without provocation, one of the first things I do is develop nuclear weapons. At the very least, it will give me respect at the negotiation table.
• I saw a lady buying a home drug testing kit at the grocery store the other day.
• I like the Goo Goo Dolls -- which, now that I think about it, is one crazy name.
• I saw Danica Patrick interviewed after her third place finish at the Indy 500. I bet she is insufferable.
• TO blames Romo via Twitter.
• I saw a Bentley like this in Fort Worth the other day. Cool. (And the photo link was taken at the Byron Nelson.)
• The most grateful I am for any course I've taken: One year of high school typing.
• That was the ultimate let down as the Rangers hosted the Yankees yesterday. But from the sound of the crowd over the TV, it seemed like half the fans were Yankee fans.
• WBAP sports guy Steve Lamb said today that he has no idea what "boom goes the dynamite" means.

"Star Trek" Review

• I haven't been to a theater in a few months, but a holiday and a 10:20 a.m. showing at the Rave in North Richland Hills seemed like a crazy good idea.
• Overall: Not bad. Not great. But pretty good.
• Some say that you'd like it even if you haven't seen the original TV series. I'm not sure that's true. It's the subtleties that put it over the top.
• I kind of became extremely nostalgic during the movie. I grew up watching the Star Trek series as a kid on Channel 11 in the afternoons. Since then, I really haven't paid attention to the Star Trek developments, but the movie caused a ton of memories to come flooding back. That was nice.
• Side note: Every preview seems to involve a movie that is nothing more than CGI overload.
• I felt stupid that I didn't figure out that the character that played Chekov was also the kid that got murdered in "Alpha Dog." (Actor Anton Yelchin.)
• Same thing for not immediately realizing the guy that played Sulu was from the "Harold and Kumar" movies.
• Star Trek was on the brink of CGI overload.
• Quite a few senior citizens in the audience. (No jokes, please.)
• As I was walking to my particular theater, I passed a movie preview placard promoting a flick called "Drag Me To Hell." That powered me down a bit.
• During the opening credits (which are always confusing -- is it produced by Paramount? No, it's also by Dream Works? Now it's someone else) the screen shot came up of a still of the words "Bad Robot." I've seen that at the end of some sitcoms, but never as a credit at a movie.

After All, It Is Memorial Day.

Photo was taken today. I can't imagine. Background. Idea stolen from. (Edit: Oops. Link fixed.)

My Fox 4 News Night

Steve and Heather: The "blue screen" that the weather map is projected onto: The control room (you can see the teleprompter screen at the top): The weather center. Lot's of screens. Being a powerful member of the liberal media, I had a chance to visit the Fox 4 News set on Friday night. In a word, cool. In more words:

• The place is huge. I don't know why I thought it would be a small operation, but it was a pretty big building with tons of employees.
• Everyone I met was really nice and with a great sense of snarky humor.
• All the offices of the big time anchors are off to the side but are about the size of an office cubicle. They were all crammed packed with junk that I could have gone through for hours if no one were watching.
• The anchor desk and weather center are in two different rooms.
• Saw the girl who was responsible for taking phone calls from the public regarding news tips and monitoring the police scanner. I think there is the possibility that a lot of the public may make drunken news tips.
• I got to meet Heather Hays. Very sweet and a certifiable "Hey, now."
• I saw Steve Eager before the newscast sitting at a computer. He was actually working on his news script.
• The control room is incredible. Six people run show but I'm not sure what three of them did. The three main folks are the Producer (who I really didn't see do anything after the show had begun) and the Director who was telling the Technical Director (the man pushing the buttons) what to do at a rapid fire pace. That was impressive.
• You'd think that moments before they went on the air there would be increased intensity. Nope.
• In front of Steve Eager and Heather Hays during the newscast is only one guy despite there being three cameras. Two cameras are controlled by another guy in a different room by remote control.
• And those are the only people in the room of the anchor desk. No one else. That surprised me.
• Lots of talking in technical terms by the crew.
• I saw the script for the newscast. Everything is planned down to the second. Set up for throwing it to Emily on remote (9 seconds). Emily live. (27 seconds) Roll prepared video package (1:15) Back to Emily live (15 seconds). Back to anchor desk.
• Everyone reads from the teleprompter except the weather guy. He's on his own. I think that would be hard to do.
• And despite all the show being planned, no one tells the weather guy what to say or has the right to overrule his forecast.
• There are more computers there than at Microsoft

(Thanks, Alice!)

Picture Along 287 This Afternoon

A mushroom cloud can make a guy a little uncomfortable. (Thanks, Wayne.)