Weekend Inspiration

I was prepared to make fun of this but, to my surprise, I was ready to bust out "Pass It On" by the time it was over. That transformation into a jet was A+ video graphics.

Unfortunately, Dr. Shine is on a highway to the danger zone.

Messenger Above The Fold

Robbing Peter

OK, my headline technically made no sense but that's all I could think of at 7:41 on a Saturday morning.

Safe choice. No big news. He's a Tea Party favorite. But I suspect his supporters were already going to vote and vote for Romney.

Not a Game Changer.

P.S. Who announces a VP pick at 7:30 on a Saturday?

Edit: I love the Internet.

Edit:

Romney: "Join me in welcoming the next President of the United States..." #whoops
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) August 11, 2012

Italian Politician Taking You Into The Weekend

Nicole Minetti.

I don't care if she had the political beliefs of Sarah Palin, I'd vote for her.

"McKayla Maroney Is Not Impressed"

More.

(Thanks, Wayne.)

Motorcycle Death Lawsuit

I don't do personal injury law, but this one seems like a stretch. (Dallas Observer story.)

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• "Fox News poll: Obama's lead grows as Romney's support slips." But I agree with the comment from yesterday that the national polls are irrelevant since it is all going to boil down to the electoral college. A relatively few states (and few people) will decide the election. 
• The girl who walked into the propeller last Christmas was on the Today Show yesterday.
• Other Hurricane Harbor observation: Kids are wearing sunglasses as big as the regular glasses of Buddy Holly.
• RG3 went 4 of 6 for 70 yards and a touchdown last night. (Video). Craig Miller on The Ticket this morning said his delivery was "weird", "high school like", and "reminds me of Vince Young his first two years."  That's the craziest thing he's ever said. 
• It's not the point of the Star-Telegram story, but there's a $10 million estate off of Blue Mound Road pretty close to 287?
• The story on the local news last night was a cop body slamming a teenage girl after an "end of summer" party got out of hand. He took her down pretty hard, but we kind of need to know what prompted it before passing judgment. 
• I think there was a Pet Glamour Shot session that broke out in the house last night. (And I get a little nervous with a Fourth Grader walking by me with a Nikon camera with the words "Remember is is not a toy!" echoing in the background.)
• Hope Solo is no fraud.
• There's a difference between the SuperPAC Romney-killed-my-wife ad and the Dewhurst Chinese ad.  The Chinese ad was paid for by the Dewhurst campaign. (There was a late Cruz-killed-my-son ad but that was from a SuperPAC.)
• But, man, the right wing is going crazy over the anti-Romney ad. 
• I don't understand Usain Bolt letting up on the 200 yesterday even though he won the gold. It's the finals. It's the Olympics. It might be the last time he's ever on that big of a stage. Why not go all out?
• Dwight Howard to the Lakers? Mav fans need to prepare themselves for a decade of mediocrity. 
• West Nile Virus over sold?
• Neighbor woke us up around midnight to alert us that our garage door was open. I probably was a little overcautious having Mrs. LL stand behind me with a baseball bat as I cracked the door open. 

OK, Who Wasn't Guarding Our Borders?

The Messenger is reporting there has been a confirmed case of the West Nile Virus in Wise County. No information as to whether that person is West of the Big Sandy.

Edit:

Can't Trust Those Girls

 "Whack"

Kind of looks like the singer Pink

Fear The Pole Vault

I gotta admit, I fear this happening every time I watch the pole vault competition -- and I fully expect one of these days for the jagged edge of the bottom broken portion to flat out impale the guy. Gruesome thought? You bet. But I think its my duty to warn those folks over in London because once I have a dark thought, it tends to come true.  It's the only honorable thing to do.

P.S.   In Junior High in Bridgeport back in the day, the school was so bad off that we used a metal pole for the pole vault. I bet that thing was three inches in diameter, weighed a ton, and it wouldn't bend an inch. I remember us taking it to a meet in Joshua one time and some other kids saying, "Look at that thing. I'm glad our school isn't that poor."  I should have slapped that kid down right there and told him to keep a lookout for the term "Robin Hood Plan" in the future. Need to keep those one percenters in check at an early age.

Edit: We also had a cane pole. A real cane pole which was wrapped in tape from top to bottom. I have a vague memory of one legitimate pole but I think there were some strange limits on who could use it. Maybe only 8th graders?

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• I'm not sure what that Misty May gal has to scream into the camera after every volleyball win. (Side note: Didn't she used to be hot?)
• They were talking about hyphenated names (maiden-married) on the radio this morning and how that was a fad of the 1980s.  But they also mentioned how the children of a hyphenated named woman were burdened with the hyphenated name they were given. Huh? I can't think of a single person I know (or who I have seen on any docket) who has a hyphenated last name they were given at birth.
• Hot sports opinion: The Rangers will not get out of the first round of the playoffs.
• Hot political opinion: President Obama will win re-election. (OK, haters. Bookmark this one. You'll never get to use it, but go ahead and do it.)
• Watched the premiere of Hard Knocks last night. I love that show. (Note: Chad Johnson will not make the roster of the Miami Dolphins.) 
• There continues to be rumors of Chris Christie being named the Republican VP nominee.  That would be a disaster for the GOP.
• I will not mention that Randy Travis walked out of jail in a paper outfit while wearing a University of Texas cap.
• Lolo Jones and Hope Solo are the two coolest names at the Olympics (although Lolo might have turned out to be a bit of an overhyped fraud.)
• Mrs. LL has now become obsessed with Casey Anthony books. The odd thing is that I don't remember her even mentioning the case while it was ongoing. 
• I'm not sure what this "Report a DUI" site is about, but this report about a Bridgeport man yesterday seems to be a set up.
• I saw six Corvettes with Alabama plates go through Decatur on 287 yesterday and they were paying particular attention to speed limits. 
• "Decatur ISD's 2012 Secondary Teacher of the Year, Erin Griffith, was named Region 11 Secondary Teacher of the Year this evening." Look out for Region 12. I've heard their loaded this year. 
• I watched about 15 minutes of Go On last night. It was what I thought it was.
• I'm not sure about the scope and size of the property, but how can the resort "Atlantis" in the Bahamas afford to advertise so much?
• According to the Update, we've had a fatality wreck in Wise County this morning. Here's the location on Google maps.

School Daze

Nearly half the schools in North Texas and across the state got failing marks on their federal report cards this year after passing standards in reading and math were sharply increased and students switched to a new testing program. The number of school districts that failed to show “Adequate Yearly Progress” in student achievement also jumped dramatically from a year ago as a larger percentage of students was required to pass the state math and reading exams under federal standards spelled out by the No Child Left Behind Law.

A report released Wednesday by the Texas Education Agency showed that 876 districts and charter schools failed to make AYP this year, just over seven of every 10. The 27.6 percent that made the cut was down nearly 50 percent from a year ago. At the campus level, 4,080 schools fell short of the federal benchmark, an increase of 1,847 schools. Overall compliance with the standards dipped to 44.2 percent of all regular and charter school campuses. Several hundred campuses were not evaluated for a variety of reasons, including many that were new last year. More

Full PDF report.

It looks like there are two categories: Reading and Mathematics. Wise County results above. Boyd and Decatur almost hit the mother-load by not meeting the requirements in both categories for every school -- falling just one short. 

I couldn't find Paradise and Slidell on the list which I don't understand. Chico made the list even though every school in the district met the requirements. 

Diver (Again. With Video. Until They Take It Down.)

Afternoon Pick Me Up: Spain

Internet Tries To Cure Your Fear Of Heights

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Uh, oh. Randy Travis, who was arrested outside of a church in February for Public Intoxication, is in jail again. This time for DWI.
• "Remember people . . . When it comes down to it, just being you is good enough." -- A tweet by RG3 last night. I wish he'd stop saying things like that. It makes me feel like I'm looking at Facebook. 
• There is simply no way to avoid Olympic results during the day.
• Aly Raisman (the Mean Girl) won the bronze in the balance beam competition last night but only after a protest/"enquiry" by her coach (which only occurred because he was told to by former and famous coach Bela Karolyi from the stands.)  I thought it was the most riveting moment of the Olympics but its barely on the news radar this morning. 
• But someone had a sit down with Raisman -- even as the protest was ongoing, she was bending over backwards to give her congratulations to the other competitors. 
• Edit: Looks like I got my Mean Girls confused based upon the comments.
• When you block a shot in volleyball you can hit it again without forfeiting the point? How did I not know this?
• Whoever/Whomever that U.S. female runner with "Felix" on her jersey is --- she's smokin' fast. 
• I scared the Females in the House with a spider last night and the screams were so loud I was afraid the neighbors would call the cops. 
• Somehow I'm on the email list for President Obama's campaign (I promise I didn't sign up nor have I donated -- I'm too cheap.) Anyway, I got an email yesterday giving me a "chance" to meet with the President and Michael Jordan and other basketball stars.  If that wasn't odd enough, the subject line of the email read "Michael freaking Jordan!"
• Texas executed a guy with a 61 IQ last night. Good grief. 
• The first photo of Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln "leaked" yesterday which prompted someone to write, "We can call off the competition for Best Actor." 
• Everyone is up in arms about a new President Obama ad blaming Mitt Romney and Bain Capital for the death of a steelworkers wife. But it's not from the President, it was produced by a SuperPac -- and that's what you get from SuperPacs.
• The Messenger had the oddest quote at the end of a story this week about the return of two-a-day football practice: "Hail, Ceasar. Those who are about to die salute you."

Messenger Above The Fold

Along Denton/Wise County Line This Afternoon

Either a burst of rain or a couple of nuclear bombs.

And Another - Oregon

We must have hit the summer slump. Link.

Edit: Wow - We had a late day rally out of Mississippi

That "Missing" Got My Attention For A Second

This is the 40 year anniversary of disaster in Munich. And I still proclaim this to be one of the greatest documentaries ever:

Epic Dive

Someone track down the video for me because all I have is this.  Straight zeros across the board. Something had to have gone horribly wrong.

Edit: Thanks, guys. I'm not sure, but there might have been a little bit of a splash.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• I keep the Olympics on in the background, but maybe I should watch more closely. For a second there I thought our two man beach volleyball team lost to Latvia.
• The new Mathew Perry show "Go On" looks horrible.
• Viral photo of the day yesterday: A marriage proposal captured in Austin. 
• The way Olympic runners slow down in the preliminaries when they believe they are assured of being in the top three is amazing to me. Does that ever come back to bite anyone?
• When Michael Phelps spoke of this being his last Olympics the other day, he said he was tired of "staring at a black line" for four hours a day. It took me a second to understand what he was talking about. 
• Sometimes I wish the Soviet Union would get back together just for the Olympics. There was nothing like the feeling of seeing that yellow hammer and sickle on a red jersey.
• Any show that has a chef who is yelling is an immediate power down for me. 
• "Obama: Flags To Be Flown At Half-Staff In Wake Of Shooting At Wisconsin Sikh Temple."  There really doesn't appear to be any standard that we use.
• I woke up the other morning really content. Mrs. LL was happy. The Kids in the House had achieved some exciting goals. The Family Pup was asleep at my feet. The house was quiet. Then I asked myself, "Did I turn that water sprinkler off last night?" So much for the moment.
• I'm so conflicted about  Dena Schlosser being found to be working at a Walmart and then fired. Yeah, she did an insane thing but if she didn't know right from wrong at the time, does that mean she should never work again? (And that was a pretty good "get" for WFAA. Lots of buzz about it this morning.)
• I had forgotten that Schlosser was found not guilty by reason of insanity by a judge and not a jury. That had to be the equivalent of an agreed sentence --- the State has to consent to a defendant waiving his or her right to a jury. 
• I've never been in a house struck by lightning but I bet the noise is indescribable. 
• TCU has a curious standard. If you are caught with a little bit of marijuana in your pocket, you are kicked off the football team and kicked out of school. If you admit to smoking pot, using cocaine, and using ecstasy, there are no repercussions. 
• For some reason I'm thinking of Big Tex this morning . . . .

That's The Subdivision Near The County Line Off Of 287 Southbound

Edit:

Cop vs. A One Percenter. Who Ya Got?

Boy this is a tough one.

And what exactly was Mr. Policeman trying to do by punching the window at the 28 second mark? Everyone knows Ferrari's have magic windows. That thing was probably bullet proof, too.

Bonus: The girlfriend who shows up is Stephanie Pratt. (I had to go find out who that was, too.)

"Here Comes Honey Boo Boo!"

Emmy?

Fire In Lewisville This Morning

Via Facebook.

First Images From Mars

Not sure it's worth $2.5 billion, though.

This one is my favorite of the morning:

She's A Real Charmer

They Toned Down The Paint Job

Before

After:

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• It's hard to think of a story that is more gut wrenching than that of the seven year old girl killed in front of her father by an out of control truck in a Lake Worth parking lot. And the video, even though they stop it before impact, is almost impossible to watch.
• And they were just going to Target on a Saturday. They left the house to go the store. Did you do something similar on Saturday?
• Most of the TCU students arrested in the Spring "drug bust" are receiving three years deferred adjudication and a small fine. Why do we even waste the time?
• ESPN has released the schedule for its Fall 30 for 30 series, and I can't wait to see the one on Bo Jackson. 
• Mrs. LL went to Chick-fil-A on Friday. Not because of support -- the kids wanted chicken. 
• Allen High School's sixty million dollar stadium is completed. Good grief. 
• What's the deal with that body tape that some of the Olympic divers have on?
• I don't like the font on the USA uniforms. Block letters just doesn't seem American. 
• I went to Hurricane Harbor (or as I sometimes call it, "Wet and Wild") yesterday. Observation: The masses have invested in a lot of tattoos. Observation #2: Apparently anyone can wear a bikini.
• The USA's female gymnastics squad looks like they walked off the set of Mean Girls.
• Everyone seems to forget that Kerri Strug's "historic" vault in 1996 was actually meaningless. NBC did a whole segment on it and that fact wasn't mentioned until Bob Costas said it after the package was over. 
• The double amputee running the 400 meters seems even more unfair now that I've seen him compete.
• That decomposing body found South of Newark was wrapped in carpet.  Last year, the body of the lady found in Paradise that gave rise to a murder charge was also wrapped in carpet. 
• I don't know much about Sikhs.