12.07.2013

OSU Loses: Now Will The Evil Empire Keep Baylor From A Big 12 Championship?



Edit: It's 3-3 at halftime. First team not to freeze to death wins.

Edit: I never dreamed I'd see it . . .


Final edit:


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12.06.2013

Above The Fold

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Warmer Days Taking You Into The Weekend


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Tweet from WFAA TV (@wfaachannel8)

WFAA TV (@wfaachannel8)
Canopy collapses on boats at Pier 121 Marina at Lewisville Lake bit.ly/IWbzo8 #wfaaice pic.twitter.com/D1ALE1VAp8


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Ice Day Reading: I Despise This Guy

From the Texas Monthly. Here.
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Attendance Warning



I'm not sure why Cowboys Stadium was chosen as the venue tonight of the double header of Kentucky vs. Baylor in men's and women's basketball.  (There was a Tip Off Showcase earlier this year at American Airlines Center involving the three games of Oklahoma/Alabama, TCU/SMU, and Baylor/Colorado where the stands were virtually empty.)  Cowboys Stadium, on the best of days, would be an empty barn tonight. Throw in bad weather, and it'll be comical. But, per Stubhub, you can get a ticket for $11.  From there, you can probably wander to the best seat in the house. Good luck, we're all counting on you.


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Random Friday Morning Thoughts


  • A night spent with sleet/freezing rain crashing against the windows facing the north is one of the strangest things I've seen.
  • It's not supposed to get above freezing today but it looks like there's a chance for some sun this afternoon. That could clear things up a little bit. 
  • A quarter of a million customers without power in North Texas? And a customer can equal a family. It could get cold inside pretty quickly. 
  • I posted a tweet from Paris Hilton yesterday in wake of Nelson Mandela's death which read, "Your 'Have A Dream Speech' was so inspiring."  I took it down when I found out it was fake. 
  • The amazing lights on the Omni Hotel in Dallas transformed into a South African flag last night. That can't be done on the fly, can it?
  • Crazy footage of an underground fire in downtown Dallas with flames leaping out. No one seems overly concerned with 15 foot flames leaping into the air by a hotel. 
  • There's a new managing partner of the massive law firm of Baker and Botts in Houston. I may be wrong, but doesn't he have Decatur ties? I do know that I graduated law school with him -- I'm guessing he's doing a little better than I am. 
  • Spent the pre-dawn minutes cleaning off the trampoline of ice since it looked like it would collapse. What a beating. Had to take a hammer to break it up. And those chunks were heavy.
  • Wise Countian Michelle Perry had one of her ice photos make it on to Fox 4 this morning.
  • We bought an electrical train to go around the Christmas tree. It started up by itself this morning. Hello, Ghosts of Christmas Present. 
  • The unemployment rate falls to 7.0% this morning. Wordkyle in three, two, . . . 
  • I watched The Football Life documentary on the Cowboys offensive line in the 1990s called The Great Wall of Dallas -- a nickname that never existed. The show reminded me of a saying I heard once: "Qualities that make someone a great football player are also qualities that should eventually be outgrown."
  • I ended up watching two of the three hour live performance of The Sound of Music with Carrie Underwood last night on NBC. Not bad. (Then I learned that Captain Von Tropp was a big vampire player in True Blood). I kept waiting for some major flub but it never happened. 
  • Watching people stuck in traffic on Fox 4 this morning is a guilty (and I do mean guilty) pleasure.
  • I made myself instant hot chocolate this morning. The Fifth Grader In The House was afraid I didn't know what I was doing.
  • In case we make it to the Baylor game, Mrs. LL bought me a sweater to wear underneath my jacket or other layers. It was burnt orange. She registered shock when I pointed it out  - "It was the closest thing to gold I could find!" Either she is color blind or something wicked this way come. 


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12.05.2013

Talk About A Winter Storm Warning


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Panic From The National Weather Service In Fort Worth


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Well, That Was Deleted Fast


Posted moments after it was announced that the Florida State QB would not be charged.
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The News, The Law, And Tragedy


A tragic story. A guy blows through a red light on a Dallas street while drunk and kills the other driver, his passenger (after she was in a coma for 400 days), and the unborn child of the passenger.

He pled guilty to "three counts" of Intoxication Manslaughter. Three? Yep. Texas criminal law states that an "individual" is "a human being who is alive, including an unborn child at every stage of gestation from fertilization until birth."  So he caused three deaths in the eyes of the Texas Penal Code.

He agreed to a plea bargain of 15 years.

The story read: For all three deaths, Price will serve 15 years. The maximum he could have received was 20. He pled guilty to three counts of intoxication manslaughter as part of a plea deal agreed upon by each family involved. 

 Now a portion of that is inaccurate. The maximum he could have received for each death is 20 years (a very real possibility because of these horrific facts.) But then it would be up to the judge to decide if he wanted to stack the sentences or run them concurrently.  There is nothing procedurally the Defendant could do to keep that decision out of the hands of a judge.

And the story is silent as to whether there was a "deadly weapon" finding as part of the plea bargain. If there is, he would have to serve at least half of the sentence. If not, the parole laws would allow him get out much sooner. (But, based upon experience, the parole board might keep him in there for well over half of the sentence even without a deadly weapon finding. It's hard to predict. Horrible facts and family members constantly dogging the parole board can lead to a longer incarceration.)


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Presidential Dog Knocks Down Little Girl




Originally I had thought that this was Bo (from Boyd) and was prepared to say, "Take him to Tater Junction and he's fine. Put him in some high tone setting and he busts up a little girl. You can take the dog out of the country, but not the country out of the dog."

Then the whole thing was ruined when I found out that this wasn't Bo but their new dog Sunny.  A Wise County dog can be with the First Family for five years without causing a single incident but this new mutt causes chaos right away?  This country is messed up!


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Random Thursday Morning Thoughts



  • Exclusive News Flash: It's cold!!!
  • High school playoff football games are in a bad way. If icy rain starts falling this afternoon you can't play tonight -- you simply can't have those buses on the roads -- and tomorrow sounds out of the question. With another round of bad weather coming in Saturday, we've got scheduling chaos. Chaos, I tell you!
  • I'd cancel that Children’s Medical Center Holiday Parade in Dallas on Saturday.
  • In a press release, DPS said, " "In preparation for this winter storm, the governor has activated the Texas Military Forces".  Didn't even know Texas had an army. 
  • It drives me nuts when any government agency or media outlets provides "tips" for handling the newest Arctic Blast. I can sum all of them up: "Don't be an idiot."
  • The DA in Tallahassee will hold a press conference today to announce whether charges will be filed against Florida State quarterback and Heisman favorite Jameis Winston. Can you say media ho? I've never heard of a DA holding a press conference to say charges will be filed. Instead, you simply arrest the guy. There is a 99% chance the announcement will be that charges will not be filed -- an announcement that could have been handled through a press release. 
  • If I can get to the Baylor game, I will. Mrs. LL has proclaimed she'll go to. It would be a heck of a beating and a heck of a memory. 
  • 81 comments blasting Richie Whitt for charging $5 a month to have access to his blog. 
  • CNN is airing a documentary tonight on the wrongfully imprisoned Michael Morton. 
  • Bob Sturm of The Ticket is in Guatemala this week for an annual pilgrimage where he and a group of men go to visit and bring supplies to orphanages. Makes me feel fairly worthless. But always inspiring. 
  • With all the fantastic GPS systems built into smart phones now, that Garmin GPS company has to be in trouble, right? 
  • I don't have a strong opinion on global warming, but I always shake my head at those who think four days of extremely cold weather conclusively proves it doesn't exist. (And you didn't hear much from those knuckleheads during that unbearable summer heat a couple of years back.) 
  • So far the Elf on the Shelf has been fishing in the sink (with those gold fish food thingys), swung from a suspended trapeze, flown a suspended paper airplane, and gotten into the candy bowl (complete with empty wrappers around and chocolate on its mouth.)
  • Saw a report the other day that Twitter was for kids and Facebook is now for adults. Could not disagree more. 
  • I'd never get upset over a public school having only a "Winter Party" instead of a "Christmas Party". I would be upset if I was Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu and my kid was required to attend a government sponsored "Christmas Party". 
  • Read the Update item entitled: "SUSPECT LEADS INVESTIGATORS TO BODY". Uh, an "anvil"? 



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12.04.2013

Above The Fold

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At 3:12 PM, It Became Official: Iceageddon


The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for Wise County and other parts of North Texas beginning at noon tomorrow until 6:00 p.m. Friday. (The area in pink is part of the warning as it will exist at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow and covers more counties including the metroplex and beyond.)

Of course, they did that for the weekend before Thanksgiving but then backed off.

But this time is different. Because it just is. We may not survive.

Edit: Dang it, I deleted a comment accidentally which inquired about "Good luck, we're all counting on you". Answer: It's an Airplane reference.
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Old Guy Kicks Arizona State Bro In The Face



Hey, I'm against violence. But I'm gonna presume that college kid did something to deserve this kick to the chin by a senior citizen.

And talk about perfect execution. It's like something right out of Kill Bill.
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They Don't Even Need The Public To Arrest Now


More.
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Channeling Harold Taft: Why This Graphic Cannot Be Correct


Ok, we all should know how a "daily high" and a "daily low" works. It's all based on midnight to midnight. So sometimes you'll hear a brain dead radio weatherman say, for example, that the "high tomorrow will be 65 with a low of 28." But when you walk out of the house the next morning you are hit with 40 degrees and blue northern. However, the weatherman was technically correct: At midnight it had been 65. That was, in fact, the day's high. What he didn't tell you was that the temperatures would plummet after midnight until it reaches 28 at 11:59 p.m.

So let's look at this graphic. On Thursday at 11:59 p.m., we know from the graphic that the temperature is predicted to be somewhere between 39-40.  But on Friday, which begins at midnight + 1 second after Thursday, the range is 30-28.


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Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts



  • It looks like we've got a heck on ice storm coming on Thursday night and Friday morning. But why is it ice instead of snow? From the NWS: "Winter Storm Watch remains in effect from Thursday afternoon through Friday afternoon... timing... rain is expected to transition to freezing rain and sleet Thursday afternoon and continue through Friday."
  • I saw that some Texas high school football games have been moved to Thursday. Smart move ( think). Thursday night is going to be a mess, but Friday night is going to be brutal.
  • Wendy Davis made $284,183 last year. Greg Abbott will receive over a half million dollars this year (with more to come) for his settlement for having a tree fall on him in 1984. 
  • I don't know anything about baseball, but Twitter blew up last night when the Yankees signed former Red Sox player Jacoby Ellsbury to a seven year deal at $21.85 million a years. (As in all baseball contracts, it's all guaranteed.)  The 30 year old injury prone player has played in only 384 of 648 possible games in the last four years. 
  • Richie Whitt's blog, DFWSportatorium, went to a Random Morning Thoughts format about a month ago. Now he has announced he'll charge $4.95 a month for access. Love the guy's work, but that's going to be a failed bit. He takes more of a beating than I do in his comments section, so it will be interesting to follow them today in the above link. 
  • TCU's Gary Patterson, who has taken a beating over the last couple of days due to his bizarre attack on Art Briles as being "classless", has hired Houston's offense coordinator. Yep, he's abandoning the traditional offense for an air raid offense. 
  • I'm guessing any talk radio caller who smugly says, "We live in a Republic, not a Democracy" has just uttered the most he knows about political science. 
  • More movie material: There's a manhunt underway in Dallas County for an escaped mental patient from the Terrell State Hospital who has a long criminal history. 
  • Alice Walton, the Walmart heir, had her 2011 DWI arrest expunged after the case was not filed. (Recall it wasn't filed within the required two years because the County Attorney said the arresting officer wasn't available due to a suspension before the deadline -- a flimsy excuse since he need not be available in order for the case to be filed.) Anyway, why file for an expunction? In that high profile case, does she think now that no one will ever find about the arrest again? And why even worry about it? She looking for a job or something? 
  • [Here was a Baylor women's basketball note that I deleted because, upon reflection, even I thought it was boring.]
  • According to the Update, there was one Wise County resident involved in that monster crash last weekend on the Montague/Wise County line. Here's her Pinterest page. 
  • Also from the Update, due to the weather, Santa will not appear in Rhome on Saturday. He will be able to make it to Newark, however. I demand an investigation. 



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12.03.2013

Random funny

Bric (@BricFlair)
cruising thru white twitter pic.twitter.com/zaxJWtRXUN


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David Dewhurst Panders To Conservatives And Takes Responsibility For Texas Economy



He might want to think the natural gas and oil boom over the last ten years.

And for this to be a commercial about the economy, there sure are a lot of abortion references when he touts legislation that has been passed:


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The Greatest Finish Ever In Poster Form


Source.
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Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts



  • That UIL reclassification was crazy yesterday because every school automatically moved up one classification simply because of renaming (i.e. all 3A schools became 4A schools) but the cut off student population numbers also changed. So if a school would normally move up one classification because of growth, they have now moved up two classifications (i.e. Highland Park is going from 4A to 6A). Got that?
  • I got my outdoor Christmas lights fixed and it wasn't the lights: It was the tripping of the breaker. Here's one of the dumbest things I've ever done: I initially tested the outside outlet and found it to be working which led me to believe the lights were the issue. But here's what I did: I tested the outlet by grabbing the first electrical product I could find which happened to be a plugged in Dustbuster in the foyer. I plugged it into the outside outlet and it fired up right away. See the problem in my diagnosis technique? Thank goodness I figured out the blunder before anyone else did. 
  • I've been a big fan of the Twitter account of @HistoryInPics and was stunned yesterday when it posted a photo of JFK and Marilyn Monroe snuggling through a creaked door which I had never seen. BagofNothing guy has alerted us that it is obviously fake. Now I don't have any faith in @HistoryInPics.
  • I was skeptical of the Amazon drone story and someone commented yesterday that it was nothing more than a publicity trick. If it was, it was a great one. I saw that story a million times yesterday on TV and the Internet. 
  • That being said, I wrote on this blog almost two years ago that I wanted to invest in a drone company if one was publicly traded. 
  • The phrase, "If you don't like Texas weather just wait a minute" drives me as crazy as, "Jerry Jones the owner should fire Jerry Jones the general manager."
  • I've got tickets to the Baylor/Texas game -- the last game ever in Baylor's stadium. But the temperature will be in 30s, which I can handle, but I'm not sure the roads will be clear enough to get there for a 2:30 start.
  • This could be a movie: A bunch of former SMU frat boys, now in their 30s, have been sent to federal prison for a massive hydroponic marijuana operation that involved 11 houses in Dallas. It sounds like the houses were devoid of furniture and completely dedicated to marijuana growing. But it's still just weed. 
  • I moved a bird-feeder yesterday to make room for Christmas lights. Little did I know that there was water underneath its leaf covered surface. Picking up the top of it and tilting it towards my waist was not pleasant. 
  • Someone mentioned yesterday that the Boise State/Oklahoma bowl game might be the greatest game in history instead of Saturday's Auburn/Alabama. That's not a bad argument. 
  • The Update reports that an Oklahoma man was arrested in Boyd last night on murder charges. Here's background on that case. 



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12.02.2013

I'm Sitting Here Wide Eyed



Ok, this is normally the kind of subject that I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. But it involved a courtroom. And, more importantly, the goat was in the courtroom.

The only thing that would have been better if the goat had been given the right to make a Victim Impact Statement. Wait a second, I've found exclusive footage!:




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That's A Bad Day




BREAKING NEWS: 18 Wheeler rollover on 101 3 miles north of Chico. Driver was up and walking around, truck was loaded with pipe. 
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UIL Conference Realignment Announced

Conference Cutoffs 
6A: 2100 and above 
5A: 1060-2099 4A: 465-1059 
3A: 220-464 
2A: 105-219 
1A: 104.9 and below

 Source. 

 (1) I'm not sure where the 104.9 comes from. Perhaps there some weird averaging they do which means you can have average enrollment of a portion of  a kid.
(2) I'm too lazy to determine if those numbers impact any Wise County school. 
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That Amazon Drone Delivery System of the Future That I Mentioned



Still don't believe it'll happen in the next 25 years, if ever. But everyone sure is freaking out about it.
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Random Monday Morning Thoughts



  • That house explosion in Johnson County on Saturday night was crazy. It was a two story log cabin which was totally blown apart. Here's a before/after photo.
  • College football: (1) I'll proclaim Auburn/Alabama is the greatest game - with the greatest ending play - ever but I saw basically none of it live because I was watching TCU/Baylor which might have been the worst game ever, (2) Both teams in the Baylor game tried to give it away -- it was just a question of who would give it away last, (3) Is Gary Patterson mentally unstable or does he have some anger issues? Going off on Art Briles in his post game press conference bordered on the bizarre especially knowing that Briles would attend his brother's funeral in less than 24 hours. (4) If you call Briles "classless" you might please a fraction of TCU fans but you are going to be killed in the Texas media. And in the high school coaching circles, maybe in recruiting.  
  • The official GOP tweeter account posted yesterday: "Today we remember Rosa Parks’ bold stand and her role in ending racism." Ending? Ever see the comments on here?
  • I felt out of the popular culture world over the weekend because I had to look up who Paul Walker was. 
  • Plugged in the outdoor lights yesterday and they all went out within seconds. Popped open the fuse box by the plug in and didn't see a fuse at all. Just the lights' electrical line which snaked down to a connection. As with so many home projects, I was baffled. And still am. We are now in the middle of Christmas decoration chaos. And we've got less days between Thanksgiving and Christmas than anytime during the last decade. Edit: The electrical outlet is fine. It's the lights. And I thought there was always a fuse in the lights. 
  • We've got the Elf On The Shelf up and running again this year. Every morning he is somewhere else and he's getting crazier and crazier.
  • Got up at least three times last night to stop the Family Cat from playing basketball with Christmas tree balls. I finally got so frustrated that I put thing in the utility room only have to get the dang thing an hour later when the "meow!" became deafening. 
  • I actually walked 60 Minutes last night where the president of Amazon demonstrated how packages could be delivered by drones to your doorstep in the future. The news media is all over it this morning like it's the world of the Jetsons. But the basic theme of 60 Minutes was "this is cool, but it's not happening anytime soon -- if at all."
  • Trying to get any updated information on that massive wreck next to the Wise/Montague County line was next to impossible. The last report I saw there were four helicopter ambulances dispatched. 
  • Craziest high school playoff game of the weekend came in 2A: Refugio 73, Rogers 72 in overtime.
  • A guy was killed in the parking lot after the Chiefs/Broncos games.
  • Bottom of the Update today was filled with this placeholder: "ALL THE REST OF THE UPDATE GOES HERE. ALL THE REST OF THE UPDATE GOES HERE. ALL THE REST OF THE UPDATE GOES HERE. ALL THE REST OF THE UPDATE GOES HERE. ALL THE REST OF THE UPDATE GOES HERE. ALL THE REST OF THE UPDATE GOES HERE.ALL THE REST OF THE UPDATE GOES HERE."


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12.01.2013

Talk About Water Works



Happened during the National Anthem but no one really knows what he was thinking. I don't care. But, man, those are some serious tears.
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Above The Fold

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