9.02.2015

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




  • It's Salma Hayek's birthday. I may watch her appearance in From Dusk Till Dawn on an endless loop to celebrate it. 
  • I'm mad at Fox 4's web site again.  How do web site designers not understand this?: Look at the Drudge Report. No layout could be more simple or boring. And it kills in page views. It's not the layout, it's the content. (And if I find any news site that auto-plays a video of an ad or a news story, I'm out. I'll come back only because of a specific necessity. Then I'm gone again.) 
  • Bridgeport ISD is lowering its tax rate.
  • "Beaumont solo [practitioner] John S. Morgan faces a disciplinary lawsuit after he pleaded no contest in a case that accused him of lying that people in the district attorney's office smoked pot and 'skimmed' it from drug cases." Two thoughts: (1) I would hope he does suffer consequences if he falsely accused prosecutors of a crime, but (2) Shouldn't there be consequences for anyone who makes an allegation of a crime which is not true. No one should simply get to walk away in the "interest of justice" when there is more to it than that. 
  • Sports: (1) In addition to the Baylor and TCU games, I'm also very interested in Texas at Notre Dame on Saturday. On my bucket list of stadiums I've been to (I need to post an updated list), I'll go to South Bend in the next few years. (2) Will it be Baylor or TCU who wins the Big 12? Hot sports prediction: It'll be a team from Oklahoma. (3) Baylor's Antwan Goodley and TCU's David Porter were cut by the Cowboys yesterday. Both were rookies. Both are now experiencing something they've never felt before: The realization that their tremendous athletic ability is no longer valued. 
  • Windows 95 was revolutionary when it was released 20 years ago.  I had no idea what all the fuss was about. I was just getting comfortable with DOS. Sheesh. So much has changed. Just think about those days and then look at your phone. (Edit: For old extreme computer geeks only: Over in a building in Bridgeport right now, there is a printout of a computer program comprised of over 1,000 lines of code that I wrote in COBOL over thirty years ago. And it worked perfectly.) 
  • I updated the Montague County DA / Open Records controversy below. It will bore most of you. However, I suspect the Messenger and various local government agencies and entities will read it with interest. If not, they should. 
  • My favorite characters on The Ticket: (1)  Ed Carter (2) Ribby (3) the long departed Coach Tom Foolery.
  • The other day I implied I had no sympathy for those who suffer from depression unless they also suffer from some type of self-medicating addiction. That was not my intention, and I expressed my views poorly. 
  • The Decatur Eagles will play in "Stuart B. Lumpkins Stadium" in Waxahachie this weekend. Very random memory: His son is a lawyer who once changed jobs which allowed me to take his place in a Fort Worth law firm many years ago. One of the first few times I saw him was from my third baseman position as he was a batter in a "Lawyer's Softball League". Of all the softball errors I made that season (and there were many), I avoided one as he hit a screaming line drive down the third base line, and I somehow instantaneously stuck out my glove and snagged it. Admittedly, it was more luck than skill. And to think I still remember that
  • Note to Kentucky County Clerk who refuses to issue marriage licenses for same sex couples: I appreciate your commitment to your convictions (although you are a nut if you believe it is a "heaven or hell decision"), but you are going to end up in jail if you keep it up. I hope you know that and your plan is to be a martyr. But I have my doubts.