Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• There was a gas plant fire near Chico last night which caused an evacuation of all homes within a one mile radius. Within that radius were "10 to 15" homes. That's a lot of land with very few homes. Home many homes would be in a one mile radius of Frisco, north Fort Worth, of Plano?
• One year ago I would have thought you were out of your mind if you had told me: "Next year, while Donald Trump is leading in the polls for the Republican presidential nomination, he will verbally attack Kareem Abdul-Jabbar."
• I'll put a headset on and listen to a podcast almost every evening while I walk, do lawn work, or work on my curve ball. But I have been so obsessed on a particular case lately that I'll go 15 minutes before I realize I hadn't paid attention to a single word said in the podcast.  
• How about this ad on the very conservative 660 The Answer: Medi-Share. It's "not insurance" but a program "to help Christians" by "members [sharing] each other's medical expenses". They promote that members know "their dollars will never be used for procedures that go against their conscience." Specifics? Every month, you are obligated to pay a fee but you pay that fee by paying another members medical bill that has been selected by Medi-Share to be published on the secure website. I don't know if I think that's a great idea (the financial concept actually is), or if I'm offended by Christians who only care about the health care of Christians. 
• And, continuing on, I'm wondering about the type of bills which would not be selected as eligible to be paid by others on Medi-Share. AID bills? Certainly. Abortion? No way. Maybe lung cancer bills but that's a huge stretch. So what exactly are the other type of medical bills are not Christian-like? 
• I had an old client come by yesterday who told me that a police officer told him he couldn't possess a shotgun outside of his home because of his criminal history. He received deferred adjudication for a tiny dope case over 10 years ago which, since he successfully completed it, has no impact on his right to possess firearms. (For Texas criminal law folks only: I bet we had a cop who heard dispatch say "Possession Controlled Substance. 1 and 1" and didn't know the many possible meanings of that second number.) I'm on it. 
• The Ticket's Craig Miller did his own tour of the prisons in Huntsville a couple of days ago. I've always said a great documentary would be to film a handful of inmates from the moment they are released and then follow them for the next month to see how they adjust. Some may have only been there for a few months and have family and friends to welcome them back. The opposite end would be the inmate who has been locked up for years and is released to . . . emptiness.
• Baylor has hired a Philadelphia law firm to investigate the recent "scandal". Unrelated but true story: In the 1990s I was in the Wal-Mart in Decatur wearing a suit when I was the DA. I'm standing around while another prosecutor was talking to the security manager in connection with a theft case (that's another story). Any way, an elderly lady walked up to me and, believing I must be associated with WalMart,  asked me where she could find a certain item. I told, "I'm sorry ma'am, I don't work here."  She wheeled around and yelled, "Then why are you standing around looking like a Philadelphia lawyer!?" I would pay for a photo of the expression of confusion on my face at that moment. 
• Sports: (1) TCU better be careful tonight. First game. At Minnesota. Thursday night games are weird. (2) And Baylor better be careful tomorrow. At SMU. SMU has a new coach. Who knows what to expect. And Friday games are weirder. (3) I always remember stumbling upon the end of Appalachian State at Michigan in 2007 (my luckiest Sports Channel Surfing moment ever).  After that, I believe anything is possible. (4) A buddy showed me the Hudl app the other day which is used by most high school teams to review game film. Wow.