29 June 2009

Linkpost: 06/29/09

Why the Microgrid Could Be the Answer to Our Energy Crisis (Anya Kamenetz, Fast Company) Microgrid development/promotion makes way too much sense.
Climate Bill Faces Long Odds in Senate (Jay Cost, RCP) One hopes.
The climate change climate change (Kimberley Strassel, WSJ)
Jacko, Sanford and weirdness (Mark Steyn, OC Register)
A Debt The Founders Wouldn't Believe (Judd Gregg, IBD)
Honduras Defends Its Democracy (Mary Anastasia O'Grady, WSJ) Sensible, reasoned stuff.
The Pitfalls of the Public Option in Health Care (N. Gregory Mankiw, NY Times)
Why Did the Washington Post Sack Dan Froomkin? (Erik Wemple, Washington City Paper)
Big 12 appears ready to surpass SEC in football (Chuck Carlton, DMN) Umm, no.
Lamest #followfriday tweet ever?
Brooklyn gumbo (Robb Walsh, Houston Press) Must visit soon. This is my kind of place.
Benjy’s on Washington (Alison Cook, Houston Chronicle) This is not my kind of place. Pass.
The Three-Tier System and Consumer Access To Wine (Fermentation) In Texas, and many places, we pay too much for wine. Thanks, government!
Behind the bar: Mike Sammons at 13 Celsius (Brett Koshkin, 29-95) Some good content on a silly website. I really want to like my neighborhood wine bar, because they have some nice natural wines, but over half my trips in '09 have resulted in me leaving because of truly horrendous service. The last trip will be my last for a while.
Lobster and lighthouses for less in Portland, Maine (Clarke Canfield, USA Today) I'd love to make it back to Portland for some seafood later this year, but airfares aren't cooperating at the moment.
Oh yeah, some Greece photos are posted (but I haven't added any descriptions yet).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/29/09 21:44 | Links | Technorati | Comments (2)

23 June 2009

Linkpost: 06/23/09

Obama's political play should shock no one (John Kass, Chicago Tribune)
Dodge facts, skip details, govern Chicago-style (Michael Barone, RCP)
Despite Obama's popularity, polls show waning support for his economic policies (Jake Tapper, ABC News) It might have been helpful if he had been forced to elaborate on his Big Government plans DURING the campaign, no?
Congress Wants to Shrink Your Carryon! (View from the Wing) Just another day in the era of big government.
Iran and the Tragedy of Bad Ideas (Andrew Klavan, WSJ)
Welfare in a bad way (Robert J. Samuelson, WaPo)
Wyden's Third Way on health insurance (Collin Levy, WSJ)
NCLB Found to Raise Scores Across Spectrum (Sean Cavanagh, Education Week)
Positive thinking's negative results: Words of wisdom (Economist) Maybe this explains some of the unpredictable anger from some members of the self-help flock?
Jay Porter Had a Plan to Stick It to the Man (Or Something Like That) (Slampo's Place)
Pete's Fine Meats Cheeseburger All the Way (Eating Our Words)
How Do I Get Kickbacks for My Blog Posts? (View from the Wing) No kidding!
Many netbook buyers aren't happy (TechBlog) The author doesn't care for netbooks, and conveniently has found evidence that some other people don't -- mainly people who have unrealistic expectations of them.
Review of Palm Pre smart phone: It could be a contender (Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle)
The keyboard slides out from underneath the screen is small, with firm rubber keys. It was fine for short messages, but typing a long e-mail on it was frustrating. It would have been nice if Palm had also included a virtual keyboard as well.
The iphone fanboy who skipped the Pre announcement at CES (which stole the show) laments that the Pre isn't more like his precious iphone? Funny.
Neal Rosenthal, Farmer, Beekeeper, Wine Agonist, pt.2 (Reign of Terroir)
Behold, the Greek Nacho (Mark Bittman, NY Times) And it almost rhymes with free nachos!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/23/09 10:52 | Links | Technorati | Comments (0)

17 June 2009

Linkpost: 06/17/09

Joel Osteen and the Glory Story: A Case Study (Michael S. Horton, Westminster Seminary California)
Bush's Determination and the Rule of Law (Harvey Mansfield, The Harvard Crimson)
Justices Gone Wild (Ross Douthat, NY Times)
Is anyone less fit to assess a presidency than the academic left? (Brothers Judd) The universe of less-fit assessors is surely small.
Why inflation is so scary (Steven Malanga, RCM)
Spent: America after consumerism (Amitai Etzioni, TNR)
Liquidity drowns meaning of "inflation" (Henry C. Liu, Asia Times)
It's the printing presses, stupid (Larry Kudlow, RCM)
Love or lust, Obama and the fawning press need to get a room (Bronstein at Large)
Obama's Conundrum: Shunning Iran's Opposition (Robert Kagan, WaPo)
Just Make Stuff Up: President Obama's war on truth (Victor Davis Hanson, NRO)
“Conservatives” Are Single-Largest Ideological Group (Lydia Saad, Gallup) We rock! :)
Did Dietrich Bonhoeffer deserve to swing? (Brothers Judd)
Hey kettle (Brothers Judd)
More global warming skepticism (Unca Darrell) Somebody send those links to Eric Berger!
Kurdistan goes glug glug (Economist)
Iraqi Kurds begin oil exports (Al Jazeera News)
Legendary French chef Albert Roux opens first U.S. restaurant (Edward Glazarev, NY Daily News) This is old news now, but it still strikes me as odd.
Berlin’s Hidden Restaurants (Gisela Williams, NY Times)
Neal Rosenthal, Lawyer, Wine Merchant, Writer (Reign of Terroir) I'm reading Rosenthal's book right now. I wish Houston had an old-world-focused wine shop where I might find more of his (and other natural) wines. Ah well. At least people who admit they don't drink wine are satisfied with the selection in town. *eyeroll*
Are French ingredients better? (Food in Houston) High-end restaurants in the U.S. use ingredients comparable to high-end restaurants in France, I think. The real difference comes beneath that top layer of restaurants, and I think in terms of ingredients, the inexpensive French joint is going to blow away the inexpensive American joint, just like most any place serving gyros on a less-touristy Greek island is going to blow away the fare at Niko Nikos.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/17/09 22:57 | Links | Technorati | Comments (0)

14 June 2009

Home

We stumbled in and crashed close to midnight last night after a LONG day of travel (nearly a full day).

The islands of Samos and Patmos (especially Patmos) were a lovely escape. I'll post lots of photos to flickr at some point.

It's definitely nice to be home, although I have to admit wondering if it wouldn't be nicer to have a small internet cafe or some other biz on a Greek island some days. Probably not in the winter, though. Houston is definitely a good place to be then. :)

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/14/09 13:45 | Travel | Technorati | Comments (2)

31 May 2009

Another blog vacation

The blog is going on another vacation, this time for a couple of weeks.

See ya'll on the other side!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/31/09 05:48 | Announcements | Technorati | Comments (0)

28 May 2009

Linkpost: 05/28/09

Here are some links to clear the backlog following the last trip and before the next trip.

Madness of cap-and-trade (David Sokol, NY Post)
Is Germany the Harbinger of America's Energy Future Under Cap-and-Trade? (Ronald Bailey, Reason Hit and Run)
Mitch Daniels: Republican Revolutionary (Chris Cilizza, The Fix)
China's Yuan: The Next Reserve Currency? (Steve LeVine, Spiegel)
Inflationary musketeers (Hossein Askari and Noureddine Krichene, Asia Times)
Uncle Sam's F-rated bonds (Peter Morici, Asia Times)
The Dollar Dike Gives Way? (Bill Bonner, The Daily Reckoning)
Hank Paulson Admits He Doesn't Understand Mortgage Securities (Derek Thompson, The Atlantic Business Channel) What I don't understand is why the Bush Administration handed off the economics portfolio to the guy, when it had previously had such a strong economics team (as in, people now in important positions in strong economics departments).
Dolphinplasty as a principle of governance (Spengler, Asia Times)
LaHood: “Yes, I am Secretary of Behavior Modification” (The Antiplanner)
Sotomayor links (Unca Darrell)
I admit I believed him this once (Brothers Judd)
If it isn't all about him then it's all about nothing (Brothers Judd)
Obama Aide: Not Our Goal to Reduce Abortions (Wendy Wright, Human Events) What sensible person believed it was?
New National Poll Shows 14 Percent Pro-Life Majority on Abortion, Fifth in May (Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com)
Out of Touch: Most Americans disagree with Obama on abortion and the Supreme Court (David Freddoso, NRO)
The Public Editor and the Internet: The Match Game! (Megan Garber, CJR)
When I was a kid, I had to walk to school uphill and in the snow… under the threat of nuclear annihilation (Trent Seibert)
In praise of Matt Schaub -- and not just because he isn't the Titans backup quarterback (TexansChick) Consistently a better source of info and analysis than the dreck served up by the paid NFL writers at the Chronicle.
Yes, I have a new job. Welcome Brian McTaggart (Alyson's Footnotes) It's never good news when one of the better reporters in town is bumped upstairs and replaced by one of the guys whose work at the newspaper didn't impress.
Battle On The Light Rail: The (Not Really) Shocking Video (Hair Balls) The dude overreacted, but why is it so many Houstonians have such a problem following simple rules designed to help large numbers of people get along? No food/no drink on the transit. Easy and sensible.
Favorite Wine Shops That Jive With Appellation Feiring? (Appellation Feiring)
Why so few tasty American wines under $12? Wine importer Bobby Kacher (Dr. Vino) Speaking of Bobby Kacher, Richard's here in Houston is the exclusive source for his selections, and they are running their 15% off six bottles or more of French wine sale through the end of this month. I have found some nice bargains!
Tasty American wine under $12: why so little of it? Industry replies, part I (Dr. Vino)
No wine worth more than $10? (Steve Heimoff)

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/28/09 08:58 | Links | Technorati | Comments (0)

20 May 2009

It's time for the #floatrip

It's time for the annual float trip in northeastern Oklahoma.

That means gathering with friends for lots of time on the river, grilling, hitting the wine and other adult beverages, and generally unplugging from life in the big city.

However, it's a collection of geeks, some of whom are smartphone carriers -- so chances are decent some of the crew will tweet occasionally (with the #floatrip hashtag, of course). So feel free to take a peek at twitter from time to time.

And enjoy your Memorial Day holiday!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/20/09 08:36 | Announcements | Technorati | Comments (0)

18 May 2009

Their youth gives them away....

Girl Crashes Car Into House, Boy Hurt (KPRC-2 News)

HOUSTON -- A 12-year-old boy was hurt when his sister crashed a car into their northwest Harris County home, KPRC Local 2 reported.

The 16-year-old girl's mother was teaching her how to drive on Wellington Meadows Drive near Billneys Park Drive at about 12:30 p.m.

Cypress Fairbanks volunteer firefighters said the girl was pulling into the garage when she accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake.

The car went into the house and the 12-year-old was pinned underneath.

If she were a few years older, she would know NEVER to admit what actually happened, but rather to blame it on "Sudden Acceleration Syndrome."

Sometimes, even, you can be married to a hack at the "local" Village Voice publication, and your sudden acceleration story spreads all across the empire, with nary a mention of the relationship! Evil carmakers and their evil accelerators!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/18/09 21:28 | Other | Technorati | Comments (1)

Linkpost: 05/18/09

The SAT and Its Enemies: Fear and loathing in college admissions (Andrew Ferguson, Weekly Standard)
The Luxury City vs. the Middle Class (Joel Kotkin, The American)
A legend's legacy: The basketball. The music. The smile. Tisdale remembered as a great player and great man (Guerin Emig, Tulsa World)
Accepting cancer's limitations (Captain Tumor Man) I love this guy's wines. And sometimes his blog posts are pretty good.
Thoughtful voice all but lost in Obama-Notre Dame drama (John Kass, Chicago Tribune)
The real lowdown on stress-free barbecuing (John Kass, Chicago Tribune) John Kass is my kind of writer, a guy who can write about his town, about bbq, and about serious stuff (see above).
Some pics from my recent travels: Bimbos, swine flu, major brand gas and Jersey! (Trent Seibert)
Moron Alert (Lou Minatti)
Santa Monica Farmer's Market (Dude, you going to eat that?)
I love visiting farmers' markets. I hate to say it, but sometimes our local farmers' markets in Houston aren't quite up to snuff.
I wasn't aware that any sort of criticism of food/drink in Houston was allowed. Similar comments a while back with regard to Houston's inadequate natural wine scene/market/retailers produced all sorts of hostile and erratic behavior from the borg.
Grilled Calamari (Kalofagas.ca - Greek Food and Beyond) YUM!
Tincture of lawlessness (George Will, WaPo)
The New Tudors (Holman Jenkins, WSJ)
Chrysler and the Rule of Law (Todd Zywicki, WSJ)
Diminished Returns (Niall Ferguson, NY Times)
The Alinsky Administration (Jim Geraghty, NRO)
Health-Care Hardball (David Gratzer, City Journal)
A new way to fund health care reform (Dan Gerstein, Forbes)
Health care, a lesson in pain (David Leonhardt, NY Times)
We interrupt the Rockets playoffs for an exciting Houston Texans news bulletin... (TexansChick)
McClain: Texans' defense looks to have stronger case (John McClain, Houston Chronicle) Contrast this filler/garbage with the analytical post above. Stephanie Stradley regularly produces better football analysis than any professional employed by the Chronicle to do so.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/18/09 09:00 | Links | Technorati | Comments (0)

12 May 2009

Linkpost: 05/12/09

A Table for Tyrants (Vaclav Havel, NY Times)
Pakistan's ethnic fault line (Selig Harrison, WaPo)
The Hamas 'Peace' Gambit (Charles Krauthammer, WaPo)
The Harlem miracle (David Brooks, NY Times)
Capitalism in Crisis (Richard Posner, WSJ)
Our have-it-both-ways generation (Victor Davis Hanson, RCP)
How Ford Restructured Without Federal Help (Paul Ingrassia, WSJ)
Barack Obama and the carmakers: An offer you can't refuse (Economist)
Republicans and ObamaCare (Kimberley Strassel, WSJ)
Should the GOP Forget Reagan? (Daniel Henninger, WSJ)
Obama Loses His "Cool" (Matt Welch, Reason) All the libertarian economic stuff is fine, but at the end of the day, it's about the weed!
Nothing solves the problems of motherhood... (Brothers Judd)
Time Magazine spotlights Texas Watchdog in story about new media and watchdog journalism (Texas Watchdog) Nice job, guys!
A Friday Game: Great Literary moments by Houston Scribes (Lose an Eye, it's a Sport) Good stuff!
Roger that (Off the Kuff)
I had a brief email correspondence with Smith about this, and told him that while I'm on board with the first two planks in that platform, I'll be supporting a Democratic candidate next November.
The Future is all about The Party, and has been for some time.
Alice Feiring's Top 5 Websites (WSJ Magazine)
Vin de Napkin: Incredulous consumer edition (Good Grape)
Obesity and the Fastness of Food (Catherine Rampell, NY Times)
Those French know how to live (LA Times) Their wine is pretty damn good too!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/12/09 10:36 | Links | Technorati | Comments (0)

10 May 2009

Happy Mothers Day

To my mom, and all others. Enjoy your day. You've more than earned it!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/10/09 08:42 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)

07 May 2009

Linkpost: 05/07/09

What else are you supposed to do with a body after things go bad in the wake of an all-night drug binge? (Trent Seibert)
In-N-Out: Can perfection survive? (Michael Hiltzik, LA Times) Keep the corporate suit types out, and it will be just fine. PLEASE don't screw up In-N-Out!
Never Right, But Never in Doubt (Ronald Bailey, Reason)
Democrats wallow in a 'culture of corruption' (Jonah Goldberg, LA Times)
Obama's economic policy: Washington knows best (Dick Morris, RCP)
Return of Le Car (Holman Jenkins, WSJ) Gawd, that Le Car flashback is perfect. I wish I had thought of it!
How Austin's Rise Became a Tale of Two Cities (Chris Bradford, New Geography)
In Defense of Texas Wines (Beyond Beltway 8)
A Tale of Biodynamics, Feiring and the Death of the Chronicle (Cepage Noir)
Bordeaux as it should be (Dale Robertson, Houston Chronicle) After a few weeks covering other topics. the Spec's Company Newsletter returns. So pathetic.
Never buy a bad bottle of wine again: Slate's guide to the importers you can count on (Mike Steinberger, Slate) GREAT stuff for buyers like me!
Yet another reason why I love French wine (The Wine Curmudgeon)
In Wine, 'Unoaked' Doesn't Mean 'Less Flavor' (PR Newswire) No, and it generally means better wine in the $15 and up range. Unless you prefer to drink something akin to butter on a board, that is.
London Sizzler (Alison Cook, Houston Chronicle) I found nothing redeeming about this place on my only trip, and see no reason ever to return.
Manena's Magic (Katharine Shilcutt, Houston Press)
The sense of being transported to a small pastry shop in Buenos Aires is unexpected and welcome as you stand in front of the mesmerizing pastry case at Manena's Pastry Shop and Deli.
I had no idea the author had ever been to Buenos Aires. I wish I had.
The Chronicle Continues Its Descent Into Porn Hell (Hair Balls) It's a separate site. Granted, it's a stupid and insulting site, but it's not THE site of The Chronicle, and it's really not that far from the sort of fare that runs in the Houston Press, which has little credibility these days on the topic of media criticism.
Baseball: Hunker down Houston, this could get ugly
If they're 20 games out on July 31, I won't be surprised. At that point, Valverde should be healthy and able to bring back a few good prospects via trade. Suck it up, Houston, because this could be a 100-loss team.
Only one month ago, he picked them to finish second in their division and win nearly 90 games. How could he not be surprised? This is indicative of the level of talent in the Chron sports department.
Rockets notes: Battier OK with league ruling (Jonathan Feigen, Houston Chronicle)
As much as the Rockets experienced in the Portland series – when they also won the first game – might serve as a reminder that the second game can be more difficult, Yao Ming said that series offered another useful experience.
Good gawd, that reads more like the ramblings of a reading-challenged nachoblogger than a professional sports writer at a newspaper with editors. Brutal.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/07/09 23:17 | Links | Technorati | Comments (0)

05 May 2009

Linkpost: 05/05/09

Jack Kemp, 1935-2009 (David P. Goldman, First Things)
Quarterback Jack (NRO)
What Jack Kemp Accomplished (Fred Barnes, Weekly Standard)
Jack Kemp in His Own Words (WSJ)
Remembering Jack Kemp (Michael Gerson, WaPo)
The Truth About Cars and Trucks (Holman Jenkins. WSJ)
Saturn's demise is a lesson for GM (LA Times) GM had a real chance with Saturn to experiment and figure out how to remake itself, but I always sort of had the feeling that Saturn would be remade into the failing behemoth instead. Let the whole damn thing go bankrupt.
The Next Housing Bust (WSJ)
Pelosi: Utterly contemptible (Charles Krauthammer, RCP)
A Double Standard on Party-Switchers? (Howard Kurtz, WaPo)
The bias against oil and gas (Robert Samuelson, WaPo)
Bush's Lawyers Strike Back (Dan Abrams, The Daily Beast)
How Pakistan became the 'crucible of terrorism' (Duncan Gardham, Telegraph)
Pakistan and the Taliban: A real offensive, or a phony war? (Economist)
Moment of truth in Pakistan (David Ignatius, WaPo)
Big-Screen e-Readers May Help Save Newspapers (Brad Stone, NY Times) The big screen may be a bigger hit in the textbook field than with the newspaper crowd.
Goodbye Cafe Annie; hello Restaurant RDG (Alison Cook, Houston Chronicle) In trying to do so many different things, is RDG going to do any of it well? This just has the look of a disaster.
Rainbow Lodge - Toss Up
When the appetizers arrived we started in immediately. Considering we were still waiting for bread and water, we dove in - without hesitation - for a taste. Even though I was a bit put off by the look of the tuna dish we'd been served, I stretched my fork toward it. What we assumed to be the tartare consisted of six small slices of albacore slathered in white foam. For the record, I hate foam. While the culinary garnish has made confident strides into mainstream preparation, I hate it. It looks like spit. I just don’t get it.
Me either. I also don't get how such a pricey restaurant with such spotty service can be rated so highly, whatever the quality of the food. Maybe the foam is hallucinogenic, or gives a little Obama/Matthews-like tingle up the leg?
God Bless America, kudos to Astros (Baseball)
As a proud American who tips his hat to all our men and women in our armed forces, I proudly thank Drayton McLane for recognizing the importance of his players visiting wounded soldiers.
Three grafs in, and Drayton's PR man at the Chronicle is going full tilt. If the sports section had editors, they would have ended that crap years ago.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/05/09 07:52 | Links | Technorati | Comments (0)

04 May 2009

Could it be?

Car crashes into store, hits child (KTRK-13 News)

An out of control car crashed into a store and hit a child in Brazoria County, just outside of Pearland.

[snip]

Authorities say the driver was leaving a Bed, Bath and Beyond in a shopping center on FM 518 Sunday afternoon. She somehow lost control and went all the way through an Eyemasters store.

This was surely a case of sudden acceleration, right?

Heck, if the driver is married to a Houston Press staffer, you might expect the story to appear all over the Village Voice empire (with no mention of the relationship, of course, because that's really ALT).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/04/09 23:10 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (0)

01 May 2009

Linkpost: 05/01/09

Verbal virus-infected Biden needs our pity (John Kass, Chicago Tribune)
100 Days: 'Harry, I Have a Gift ' (Daniel Henninger, WSJ)
President of Everything (Brian Doherty, Reason)
Obama's liberal arrogance will be his undoing (Jonah Goldberg, LA Times)
Obama sows seeds of demise (Dick Morris, The Hill)
Declining Notre Dame: A Letter from Mary Ann Glendon (First Things)
Flu by any other name wouldn't be as tasty (John Kass, Chicago Tribune)
The Politics of Liberal Amnesia (Bret Stephens, WSJ)
The GOP After Specter (Kimberley Strassel, WSJ)
The price of a porcine panic (Michael Fumento, Forbes)
The Taliban and Pashtun Nationalism (Michael J. Totten, Contentions)
HTC Snap on internal Sprint list (WMExperts) I loved my Dash on T-Mob. Since it's unlikely the Pre will be allowed on SERO plans, this could well be my next phone.
Kubiak likely to sing playoff tune (John McClain, Houston Chronicle) Draft season is over, and Chron cheerleading season has officially begun. Really pathetic.
Houston's Clear Thinkers: McClain keeps mailing it in (Houston's Clear Thinkers) The necessary corrective to the nonsense directly above.
UH coaches remain positive despite AD shake-up (Steve Campbell, Houston Chronicle) Such weak reporting on this forced "retirement."
Off-season moves make Dallas Cowboys more 'Wade Friendly' (Mac Engel, FWST)
Tech's Pirate sails his own direction - often into stormy seas (Kevin Sherrington, DMN)
Tech, Aggies feud boils over into the offseason (Brent Zwerneman, Houston Chronicle College Station Bureau) College Station bureau? Umm, okee!
First Couple of Americana Sings of Setback, Sorrow (Barry Mazor, WSJ)
Beloved Arena Theatre gets a second life (Ken Hoffman, Houston Chronicle) I think I'll be catching the Gipsy Kings in this intimate setting. I saw them at Cynthia Woods Mitchell, and it sucked, as shows there do.
Wine Aroma Wheel This is pretty cool.
Sienna Sip and Stroll: Pinot Gringos and All Their "Trick Wines" (VintageTexas)
Big Establishment Acknowledges the Blog-O-Sphere (Cepage Noir)
Biodynamic Wines: Of Cow Horns and the Cosmos (Dave McIntyre, WaPo)
Risky Business (Nate Blakeslee, Texas Monthly) I don't miss the Dan Patrick orbit. Not one bit.
One Sexy Cephalopod (Whole Fish) I would have loved to get to the restaurant before they ran out of these babies.
Lots of barking over getting a bite with a dog (Ken Hoffman, Houston Chronicle) Everything old in Houston becomes new again. But Ken Hoffman is still right on this.
Hoffman: Just say no to dogs in restaurants (bH) See above.
Everybody panic! Part dos (MeMo)
The swine flu panic has had an unintended consequence, but not an unexpected one. It has made people a little happy. Now I am not making light of death, especially a toddler's death, but really, we are all a little in love with anything that takes us out of our daily lives.
I sometimes wonder if this woman has brain damage. And then occasionally she'll write a blog post that erases all doubt.
Swine flu is for punks (Trent Seibert) More sense on the topic than I've seen from any other Houston media member!
Comments from an unperson at an unblog (Unca Darrell) I love this post!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/01/09 22:27 | Links | Technorati | Comments (0)

27 April 2009

Linkpost: 04/27/09

Selling the Green Economy (Robert J. Samuelson)
Global Warming Overreach (Kimberley Strassel, WSJ)
Monetarism defiant (Guy Sorman, City Journal)
Volcker punctures the nonsense (Mogambo Guru, Asia Times)
Steady descent into third world (Wesley Pruden, Wash Times)
The revenge of geography (Robert Kaplan, Foreign Policy)
Who will lead the 'post-American era'? (Mark Steyn, OC Register)
Post-Christian? Not even close (Stephen Prothero, USA Today)
Obama Among the Dictators (Daniel Henninger, WSJ)
The Idiot's Bible (Mary Anastasia O'Grady, WSJ)
Judd Gregg: 'Elections Have Consequences' (WSJ)
In GOP base, a 'rebellion brewing' (Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin, Politico)
The Achievement of Francis Canavan (Kenneth Grasso and Robert Hunt, First Principles)
The roots of Thailand's tension (Charles Morrison, Asia Times)
Iraq journal, part two (Jerry Weinberger, City Journal)
Michael Oher Drafted by the Ravens (Jay P. Greene's Blog)
Rockets getting along just fine without T-Mac (Cedric Golden, AAS)
Dinner With David Bradley, an A-List Affair (Howard Kurtz, WaPo) Wouldn't it be interesting if a media critic in Houston wrote about any such meetings that might (hypothetically) take place here? Wouldn't it be interesting if there was a media critic in Houston, for that matter?

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/27/09 22:51 | Links | Technorati | Comments (0)

26 April 2009

Sudden Acceleration, Prius/Village Voice Media edition!

Wild rides (Paul Knight, Houston Press) (also appearing in slightly reworked format across the Village Voice empire)

The second problem happened while Sherman was driving into Winter Haven, waiting at a stop sign to turn onto a busy street. The traffic cleared a bit and Sherman sped up to merge, but quickly had to hit the brakes for an approaching stoplight. Trouble is, her Prius kept going.

"It was very scary, but finally after stomping it a few times, I finally did stop without hitting anyone," Sherman says.

The dealer told her that the floor mat probably caught the gas pedal, but she says the "floor mats were nowhere near the accelerator."

"Of course they made excuses, and then they said something about the computer, all gibber-jabber," Sherman says. "I told them, 'Garbage, I was driving it, and I know what happened.' There definitely is a problem."

The dealer was being more polite than honest. There's no reason to insult a good customer, after all.

On the other hand, the older lady isn't my customer, so here's the likely problem: When you panic and stomp the accelerator instead of the brake pedal, there is acceleration. It is sudden. And quite often, it creates problems.

Toyota probably should quietly redesign the pedal layout of these cars. That would probably help a great deal with this mysterious sudden acceleration problem.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/26/09 15:52 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)

Linkpost: 04/24/09

The campaign's over, Obama (John Kass, Chicago Tribune)
Means so humane we used them on our own guys (Brothers Judd)
The Case for the Torture Memos' (Rich Lowry, NRO)
Charles Murray responds to Greg (Jay P. Greene's Blog)
The tough little Greek islands (Nigel Summerley, Times)
Fourni: The Greek islands you didn't know (Nigel Summerley, Times)
36 Hours in Barcelona (Stuart Emmrich, NY Times)
His Big Idea Is to Get Small (Eric Asimov, NY Times) He's saying some great things. Maybe more winemakers will follow suit. In the meantime, I want to find and drink these sorts of wines NOW. So any help I can find is always appreciated!
The whine critics (Eric Arnold, Forbes)
Acknowledging the nudges, remembering life's little tales (Cepage Noir)
I'm declaring a war against wine writers (Captain Tumor Man)
My Apology to Wine Spectator (or "Has Hell Frozen Over?!??") (1 Wine Dude)
The Future of Food and Wine Reporting in Houston? (Lose an Eye, It's a Sport) I left a few thoughts in the comments. Bigger picture thoughts on the future of food/wine reporting in Houston: we are moving more and more towards amateurs, and especially amateurs writing for professional publications but not to professional standards. The former is great. The latter?
Brisa Cocina Mexicana (Tasty Bits)
Is the elitist attitude really necessary?
Pot, kettle? Hee!
No bickering about the details (Unca Darrell)
Maggard leaves big shoes to fill for UH (Jerome Solomon, Houston Chronicle) Not really. There is one word for an athletics director who in recent years has been outhustled by Rice's AD on the fundraising and facilities improvements fronts: Liability. It's time to aim higher than this.
Review: SPB Mobile Shell 3.0 (WMExperts) I must give this a try at some point. 2.0 was promising, but ultimately didn't work for me. Maybe 3.0 will win me over.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/26/09 15:40 | Links | Technorati | Comments (2)

21 April 2009

Linkpost: 04/21/09

The truths behind the Tea Parties (Steve Chapman, RCP)
Tea Party animals not boiling over (Mark Steyn, OC Register)
CNN versus the tea parties (Mona Charen, RCP)
Hiding the Evidence (PowerLine) If everyone starts protecting their intellectual property, what will the heavy blockquoters do for content?
Is All Spending Created Equal? (Mario Rizzo, ThinkMarkets)
Generation Me (Raina Kelley, Newsweek)
President Potted Plant (Brothers Judd)
Getting schooled (Brothers Judd)
Deflation isn't just a matter of how many fewer hours you work to provide a house than your dad did... (Brothers Judd)
Obama's faulty "foundation" (Charles Krauthammer, RCP)
A Cuba policy that's stuck on Plan A (Michael Kinsley, WaPo)
Isolation will not free Cuba (Christopher Caldwell, FT)
Ideology My Teacher Taught Me (Anthony Paletta, City Journal)
Book Review - 'Billy Graham and the Rise of the Republican South' by Steven P. Miller (Ross Douthat, NY Times)
Greek wines of long lineage return (Katherine Cole, The Oregonian)
Look at the back label, or, It's the Importers, stupid! (BSCRSW Blog)
(American) Grenache enters the spotlight (Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, WSJ)
The Chronicle Recommends: Red Languedoc (Lynne Char Bennett, SF Chronicle)
Coq Au Van: In Defence Of Gordon Ramsay (Chef Sandwich)
Alice in Wonderland (Julie Gunlock, NRO) There are merits to the arguments of both sides (organic/natural vs affordable). Unfortunately, here we see on display the worst from both sides.
Good Grub and the Spirit of Capitalism (Joseph Epstein, WSJ) New York IS a boutique kind of town.
Hutchison made Perry do it (Rick Casey, Houston Chronicle) It's frequently amusing when libDems opine authoritatively about conservatives and Republicans, since it usually reveals more about the libDems' prejudices and faulty assumptions.
Those are code words, Governor (Rick Casey, Houston Chronicle) It's interesting that the Chron reader rep once said the newspaper avoids descriptions of race for fears of racial scorekeeping, yet here is Rick Casey inflaming a debate not about race with accusations of racism. I guess that sort of racial scorekeeping is allowed.
BAR for AG (Off the Kuff) It's not clear why the Precinct Chair won't help her resume and her party and run for some winnable lower offices first. Hubris?
Cecil Cooper's Contract Extension Makes No Sense (The ClownVision Chronicles) Eh, it's not much of an extension -- basically, as John Lopez says, it's an up-front severance agreement.
UH end zone facility? Dave Maggard thinks he has a bigger, better plan (Cougars) UH really needs to retire Dave Maggard and get an athletics director who isn't such a serial bumbler.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/21/09 07:52 | Links | Technorati | Comments (3)

17 April 2009

Linkpost: 04/17/09

Tax Day fix requires more than 'tea parties' (John Kass, Chicago Tribune)
10 years later, the real story behind Columbine (Greg Toppo, USA Today)
There He Goes Again! Kmiec's Latest Obamapology (Matthew Franck, Moral Accountability)
Now we're just haggling over his price (Brothers Judd) He's a pretty cheap faux-lifer, but maybe he got a tingle up his leg. *shrug*
Brave New Barbarism (George Neumayr, TAS)
And Spengler is... (Spengler, Asia Times)
Life Choice Fail
FoodBorg Cliche #4,485 Just repeat it enough times in the hopes that this will make it true? Gawd, I hate such sweeping generalizations. It reminds me of the old Editorial LiveJournalists writing about Houston v. Dallas.
Fleming's at Town & Country now open Wow -- Houston/Woodlands' third branch of the chain. Dallas has none, by the way. But Dallas is more of a chain town than Houston, because the FoodBorg has so decreed! Too funny.
Are you a switch hitter? (Good Grape) I like food and I like wine, but I'm probably not a switch hitter, since I have to admit I like good wine much more than good foam.
Sticking Up For Sauvignon Blanc, again (Eric Asimov, The Pour Blog) I had a very tasty Sauvignon Blanc by Wildhurst recently that was so nice that it's put me on a Sauvignon Blanc kick. The Cupcake Vineyards (NZ grapes) effort we tried tonight was good, but not as good.
Unoaked Chardonnay on the Rise (Food and Beverage Underground) I just picked up a Toad Hollow unoaked to try. I really don't care to drink white wine that tastes like a board slathered in butter, but apparently I am in the minority.
Sleeping giant' big wines (Wichita Falls Crave)
Languedoc may be France’s largest wine region but being big has won it little respect. Usually overshadowed by Bordeaux, Burgundy, Loire and Alsace, Languedoc (pronounced lahng-DAWK) is best known — if known at all — for the vast lake of inexpensive wine it produces. Although times and wines have begun to change, Languedoc has remained, in the words of author Robert Joseph, "the sleeping giant of the wine world." The region’s winemakers are trying to awaken consumers in hopes that some day you’ll find and buy their wines in your local store. And you should look for them. As Joseph notes in his book, "French Wine," Languedoc can produce some really great wines at affordable prices.
Coming home to roost (Good Grape)
It is very simple: The biggest issue facing the wine industry today is that there aren’t enough “super core” customers to go around. The rising tide isn’t raising all ships. The answer to how to remedy this is more convoluted, however. Changing purchase intent and creating mind share for an industry takes a long time and a lot of money.
Houston cheerleaders reacted poorly when Christopher Massie spun his version of this tale, but it seems pretty clear that there were not enough fine wine drinkers/consumers to support the store of a merchant with a fantastic palate in Houston TX, although the problem does not seem exclusive to Houston. Too bad for those of us who care, I guess.
Mileage Deals Spur Runs for Elite Status (Scott McCartney, WSJ) Thanks to the double EQM promo, we should have gold locked up with June's trip to Greece, but even silver makes flying much more enjoyable.
Astros negative-free zone (Chron Baseball) That's how Drayton McLane likes it from his man at the Chronicle. Those who rely on the Chronicle for more critical coverage of the Astros are just out of luck, unfortunately.