January 2004 Archives

31 January 2004

More Non-Super Bowl Stuff For Locals

Here's some more alt-country alternatives for locals who hope to avoid the "official" Super Bowl events tonight:

I'm heading to Gruene for an afternoon show and hope to make it back in time for The (new) Great Divide at the Firehouse.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/31/04 09:08 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (0)

Mayor Pothole's Legacy

Mayor White is discovering that former Mayor Pothole indeed left a legacy beyond potholes, trash, and graffiti:

Acting Police Chief Joe Breshears on Friday attacked a review panel's ruling that forced the Houston Police Department to reinstate a DNA analyst despite a decision to fire her because of her discredited work in a rape case.

Mayor Bill White said later that he does not want to see the analyst, Christy Kim, a 21-year veteran of the city's troubled crime lab, testify as an expert in any future trials.

"The important thing is that we not have a witness on the stand whose credibility, fairly or unfairly, could be called into question and that would compromise a criminal prosecution," White said.

Kim, whose work helped send a teenager to prison for a rape that retests of evidence show he may not have committed, got her job back Tuesday when the city's Civil Service Commission reduced her punishment to a 28-day suspension.

She had been the only DNA analyst to be fired from the department's crime lab, which has been shut down since an independent audit in December 2002 revealed widespread problems in the DNA lab and raised questions about hundreds of convictions.

The decision to reinstate Kim prompted concerns about whether the civil service system is too lenient and criticism from observers who said analysts who testify as expert witnesses should be held accountable for their work. It also raised questions about what Kim would do upon returning to the lab and whether she could ever be a credible witness.

"Investigations into Ms. Kim's job performance revealed deficiencies that warranted an indefinite suspension," said an HPD statement released Friday. "Chief Breshears is concerned that the commission did not properly understand the level of accountability to which the upper management in the crime lab was held and thus mistakenly assumed that Ms. Kim's indefinite suspension was an unduly harsh level of discipline."

Kim's lawyer, Fred Keys, did not return phone calls for comment Friday. Breshears refused to elaborate on the written statement.

White also said he has begun to review the civil service system, through which municipal employees, such as police officers, can appeal discipline ordered by the mayor or police chief. White said he has not looked at individual commissioners or cases but is concerned about how the system functions as a whole.

"That issue has much broader implications and is something that we have got to take a hard look at as a community," he said. "We need to make sure we have the sufficient tools to change the mix of skills and reward good performance and penalize poor performance."

The three-member Civil Service Commission is appointed by the mayor and confirmed by City Council. Former Mayor Lee Brown appointed the current members.

Good luck to Mayor White in fixing yet another of Mayor Pothole's messes. He's going to need it.

Incidentally, this sort of thing would be precisely why the President fought Democrats so hard on hiring/firing authority in the Department of Homeland Security.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/31/04 08:15 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (0)

30 January 2004

We're The Kids...

There's something that amuses me very much about....

Going to the Continental Club to listen to Molly and the Ringwalds (who closed with a badass version of Kids In America).

And leaving well before headliners Reckless Kelly were even in the building.

Up next: Saturday roadtrip to Gruene.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/30/04 21:30 | Music | Technorati | Comments (0)

Non-Super Bowl Stuff For Locals

For locals who want to avoid the official Super Bowl events around town, here are some possible alt-country/Americana alternatives tonight:

I'm not doing any of those shows, but I am planning on catching Molly and the Ringwalds at the Continental Club (7-10) for some 80s music. That should be a good start to the evening.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/30/04 12:52 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (0)

Wishing Simmons A Successful Suicide

Houston's not New Orleans.

Houston's not San Diego.

Fine. We locals are down with that. Never claimed any differently.

But for all its limitations as a tourist town, it's a great place to live. GREAT.

Which is why I'm getting sick of whining like this from Bill Simmons:

Friday is looking like one of the nicer days of the week here: Gloomy skies, heavy fog, basically the kind of weather that makes you contemplate suicide.
I like Simmons, but geez -- what a whiny ass.

What kind of ingrate goes to one of the warmest big cities in the country in the middle of winter (yeah, it's gray today, but also in the 50s -- compared to, say, Chicago at 1 -- yes, 1 friggin' degree -- or New York at 20 or even San Diego at 58 at the moment), on an expense account, basically to booze it up, chow down, stay in nice hotels, hang out with "pretty" people, and write about it on a non blog -- and then has the audacity to complain it's all so bad as to make a person contemplate suicide?

Dude needs a good swift kick in the ass to hasten his trip out of town. Or to his suicidal death. Or wherever he's headed, so long as it's away.

For other visitors in town, I think Rob hits the nail on the head:

I'd like to say welcome to everyone visiting Houston. We're really happy to have you all here. I'm sure there are plenty of folks like me who are avoiding the parts of town where all the crowds are heading. Don't take it personal, I just don't care for big crowds. Y'all have fun.

If you're interested in moving here, we'd be honored to have you as a neighbor. Houston isn't that great a place to visit, but it is a wonderful place to live.

But, if you're thinking of moving here and helping us get with the way other cities do things, I'd have to ask you not to. If you think zoning will solve the "problems" of growth, no thanks. If you think that C&C Barbecue (where Mister Charlie is king) shouldn't be able to cook food in a mobile trailer by the side of the road, well, maybe we're not the place for you. If you want to make Houston like where you come from, it was nice to have you visit, but maybe you ought to live where you do.

And if the place makes you contemplate suicide, by all means GO AWAY.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/30/04 12:17 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (2)

METRO's Dangerous Rail Line

For everyone who thinks the METRO rail/traffic accidents are completely the fault of incompetent drivers, here's a little reporting to the contrary (via email from Callie):

Speaking of trains, my mom just picked me up after leaving my car at goodyear for them to do some work on it. We were on fannin, about to turn right onto blodgett to enter 59 (by the way, the damn spur construction is going to cause that entrance ramp to be removed) and we had a green light to turn right onto Blodgett. The thing is, before the intersection, there were crossing arms and flashing lights telling us to stop. Several drivers went through the flashing red train lights, because they saw they had the green light. My mom was quite confused as to what to do. We stopped at the appropriate place because we saw the train coming. The arms finally went down as the train PASSED THROUGH and finally the traffic lights turned red. To top it all off, there were two trains there at the same time, going both ways.

Needless to say, metro is not doing enough to get the message across. Those traffic lights should not have been green. You can put up signage till the cows come home, but a green light means go.

Not only that, the flashing lights are too far back from the light. People don't stop at the white line. They come up to the intersection and stop. There's about a two car length between the intersection and the solid white line.

I predict many an accident at that intersection.

METRO's traffic engineers and beat cops can blame motorists all they want for these accidents, and in some cases they'll be right. But from this account of poorly engineered intersections and traffic control signals that give conflicting information, it's clear that METRO has some major, potentially deadly, flaws it needs to correct on the rail line. It's not even "getting the message" across so much as flawed engineering that needs to be corrected.

One would have thought this occurred back when they were smashing up cars during the "testing" period before they opened the thing to the public.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/30/04 10:04 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (0)

Pepsi Rookie Internet Vote Getter Of The Year

Domanick Davis of the Texans had himself a fine rookie season last year.

But there's no way he should be getting any rookie of the year awards when there's another rookie who put up these insane numbers.

Of course, Davis "won" his award based on internet voting by fans, which doesn't reflect all that well on NFL fans who vote on the internet. But it makes a lovely little story during Super Bowl week in Houston, huh?

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/30/04 08:03 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)

29 January 2004

Love For Spanish Village

Spanish Village

Venerable Spanish Village gets a brief mention from the Comical:

Since 1953, the made-from-scratch cheese enchiladas with chili gravy and white onions having been drawing people to Spanish Village. So have the pitchers of margaritas. Popular with college students, the low-ceiling candy-colored dining room can be lively.
Either one could contend for the best in Tex-Mex, but the combination of Spanish Village cheese and onion enchiladas and frozen margaritas blows away the competition.

Especially anything from that overpriced, overrated Greek establishment.

However, we do not recommend the combination of Spanish Village margaritas followed by Molly and the Ringwalds on Fridays. It does make 80s music more fun (and we know the 80s were all about fun), but can lead to BAD hangovers on Saturdays.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/29/04 20:54 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (3)

Jimy

ESPN's Phil Rogers says Jimy Williams better get off to a good start this season with the Astros, because he's on the hot seat:

JimyFor starters, he's lucky to still have his job, and he knows it. Now he has the good fortune of having Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens in a starting rotation that doesn't have room for Jeriome Robertson, who led the staff with 15 wins last year. With Phil Garner and Don Baylor available, it's hard to see Williams surviving if the Astros misfire in the first half. This is a bull-headed man who won't admit the modern manager's job is more than calling hit-and-runs and burning out your bullpen. His 2003 team ran out of steam in September, largely because his best relievers could no longer brush their teeth, and finished one game behind the Cubs. He doesn't see the season as a failure, as does owner Drayton McLane and most Houston fans. "It's how you guys use your adjectives,'' Williams said. "With seven games left, we had the lead. It's not like we were trying to catch the Cubs. We just didn't win and they won.'' He's managed second-place teams the last six years in a row -- four in Boston, two in Houston. The Red Sox went into the playoffs as wild cards in 1998 and '99 but he's unsuccessfully contended since then. Pythagorean standings, which measure a team's wins vs. what would be expected given the difference between runs scored and allowed, aren't kind to Williams. They show that his teams have underachieved in all but one of his 11 years as a manager in Toronto, Boston and Houston. That includes a shortage of seven wins in 2003. Ouch.
I'll admit that I liked the Jimy hire when it went down, but it hasn't worked out all that well. It certainly hasn't been an improvement over Dierker, and I can't imagine a single journalist who will go to Jimy's defense given his "manager's decision" non-answers to any question asked of him. Still, I can't see the conservative Hunsicker pulling the trigger if the Astros falter early. Drayton might be a different story, though.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/29/04 13:22 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)

28 January 2004

METRO -- Clueless As Ever

This reporting says about all one needs to know about the clusterf*ck known as METRO:

John Sedlak, a Metro vice president, told the board of directors at today's meeting that Park & Ride contractor Ace Parking Management has placed four port-a-potties for its staff working at Fannin South. Those will also be available for use by MetroRail customers, some of whom had requested such a facility for use between a long car commute and a half-hour train ride into downtown.

Metro has a policy that it does not construct bathrooms at its parking lots and transit centers due to concerns about safety, security, and vandalism. Installing the portable toilets at Fannin South will accommodate train riders' requests without running afoul of that rule, Sedlak said.

Let me parse all of that:

METRO wants people to use the little choo choo, even when it's inconvenient and possibly results in a longer commute.

But METRO has a policy that it shall not provide restroom facilities at transit centers (to hell with customers who have a long commute -- let them pee in a cup!).

But the Fannin South Park and Ride staff AND commuters need/demand restroom facilities.

So does METRO reconsider a one-size-fits-all policy that clearly makes no sense at the Fannin South Park and Ride?

Of course not! That would make too much sense. Instead, the Park and Ride installs port-a-potties, which apparently don't (technically) violate the original policy of no permanent restrooms.

Because nothing quite says "WORLD CLASS" like smelly, disgusting port-a-potties on your city's flagship rail line.

How retarded. METRO is an abomination.

Elsewhere, the same article reports that METRO will not even consider dropping the parking fee at Fannin South, the only Park and Ride center in their whole system to charge a fee:

Metro staff declined Morales' request to rescind the parking charge for Fannin South, however. Chief Financial Officer Francis Britton briefed the board on the rationale behind the charge, which the board approved without discussion in November when it gave Ace a five-year contract to manage the lot.

The parking fee is a way to gain more revenue, Britton said, and lessen the burden on taxpayers, who subsidize most of Metro's costs. Britton said he expects the parking fees from Fannin South will total more than $1 million over the five-year period.

When you inflate ridership estimates, you have to squeeze revenue from every possible source. That is the real reason why the Fannin South parking fee will never be rescinded, no matter how little sense it makes. The other arguments put forth for the fee in the linked article are just more examples of METRO's dishonesty.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/28/04 22:43 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (0)

A Better Super Bowl Visitor's Guide

Richard Connelly has gone beyond the call of duty.

Not only does he have his smile on as per Mayor Bill's request, but he's provided a handy visitor's guide to the real Bayou City.

I don't imagine this has put a smile on Mayor Bill's face. :)

(Update) Be sure and click on the handy PDF of the map that appears on the dead-tree version of the Houston Press. Be warned it's a big file, though.

(01-29-04) Ken Hoffman has a mini-guide in today's Comical that's not bad.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/28/04 21:13 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (1)

That's The Eddie We Know

A few weeks ago, Rocket bust Eddie Griffin was ecstatic about joining the New Jersey Nets, and insistent he had his life in order.

Now, he's decided he's not ready to resume his NBA "career" and is returning to his home here in H-town.

Greg Wythe will be shocked at this news, I am certain.

Hard to blame Eddie, though. Probably some good drugs to be scored during Super Bowl week.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/28/04 21:04 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)

Tears For Fears

I'm sure everyone is delighted to hear that Tears For Fears is (are?) getting back together.

Come to think of it, why don't Molly and the Ringwalds do any TFF songs?

Hmm.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/28/04 20:31 | Music | Technorati | Comments (2)

That's Mack

Mack Brown has announced the person who's going to resurrect the Shorthorn defense -- none other than a guy who was effectively fired because his defense couldn't stop ANYONE in the NFL, thereby neutralizing Kansas City's AFC-leading offense.

That's right -- Mack's bringing on Greg Robinson as the main co-defensive coordinator (wonder where he got the co idea? Hint, Mack: There's more to the annual Stoops stomping of your ass than co-defensive coordinators). He also promoted his secondary coach to second co-defensive coordinator, and hired former Arizona and Hawaii coach Dick Tomey to do... something.

Mack Brown, coaching 'em upBut the hits just keep on coming. Shorthorn fans will be pleased to know that Mack, one-time offensive coordinator of the wishbone attack at OU, will be more involved in the offense next year:

"Managing the game on game day is so important," said Brown, a former offensive coordinator. "I'll get more involved in that and with plays I think are important. I'm going to help Greg. He's taken undue criticism. I have fun on offense, and that's where I have the most expertise."
I can almost see the look of dismay on the faces of Shorthorn fans right now. It will probably get worse come October.

(Update) Is that a groan I perceive from Longhorn homer Kirk Bohls?

Brown introduced Robinson and Duane Akina as co-defensive coordinators on Tuesday, but we're curious if he's not actually installing the first tri-coordinator scheme in college football. Take that, Bob Stoops. Whereas Stoops hires future head coaches, Brown goes after candidates closer to drawing Social Security and, in doing so, entrusts his job security to them.

Tomey is so fiery, so knowledgeable, so much of a go-getter that it's hard to believe this senior citizen will take a back seat and just coach the defensive ends. Let's hope he doesn't.

And don't be surprised, Longhorn fans, if we suddenly are treated to a strong dose of zone blitz, which Robinson mentor Monte Kiffin and Dom Capers have made so commonplace in the NFL that it's filtering down into the college game.

Admittedly, when the changes were first revealed, the nagging thought that Robinson, 52, and Tomey, 65, were both past their primes did register. And with defenses that ranked 29th and then last in the NFL the past two seasons, Robinson left Kansas City just ahead of the tar-and-feather crowd after that 38-31 meltdown against the Colts.

His good buddy, Chiefs head coach Dick Vermeil, blubbered like only the good-hearted, soft-in-the-center Vermeil can at Robinson's departure. And my temptation was to do the same at Robinson's arrival since he had been let go by KC and Denver before that.

The notion that maybe he didn't have anywhere else to go also struck me....

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's the Bohls equivalent of a groan. Thing is, next week he'll be writing how sound the defense is going to be, and how improved. Myopia seems to affect Austin that way.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/28/04 09:54 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (3)

27 January 2004

Welcome Super Bowl Visitors: Day Two

We're into our second day of Super Bowl week, and Houstonians have really stepped up to welcome our guests.

That's right, the second rail accident in two days!

For the second time in two days, a light rail train has collided with a car. That makes 11 total accidents since the trains hit the tracks. This latest light rail accident happened just before 3pm Tuesday.

So far there have been 11 such accidents, and METRO rail has only been up and running for less than a month.

Driver Quien Lu was visibly shaken and confused after the accident. He said he saw the green light, but not the no turn signal. Lu was trying to make a left turn from north on Main to west on McGowen.

Eyewitness Velmarine Szabo asserted, "It was the (car's) driver that was at fault. The (train) slowed… (the operator) blew (the whistle)… he gave every warning that he could. He tried to visibly stop the train."

No one was hurt, but the passengers on board the train say it happened so quickly. Thorne Dobbins was sitting right behind the train engineer.

He said, "I heard him say, 'Oh no!' and hit the brakes. You could feel the braking, and then the collision."

This brings to 11 the number of accidents involving the METRO light rail. It is the second such accident in two days. Witnesses suggest the signage may be the problem.

"I don't know. It's not that well marked, I don't think, for people to see," said Dobbins. "You can't turn left here, turn left there… It's all so changed up."

And Mayor Bill White seems to agree.

"I think we need to do a better job of communication and signage because we can't continue at this rate," he said.

Sure we can, Mayor Bill! Where's that can-do spirit?!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/27/04 17:10 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (4)

26 January 2004

Silverman On The Reliant Choo Choo

Kuffner points out the the Comical has a Super Bowl blog going, and Dwight Silverman shows some promise (certainly more than the Comical's last effort at blogging). It's stupidly designed, and has no permalinks, which renders it not really a blog at all.

But Silverman has a really interesting observation tonight:

The Choo Choo after a bad crashLet's see. As many as 100,000 people will be here for the Super Bowl. Many of them will want to get from Point A (downtown) to Point B (Reliant Stadium). A lot of them will want to do so via Houston's nifty new light rain system.

Provided, of course, there are any left by the time the game starts.

The trains can move about 2,000 people an hour. That means it would take 50 hours to move 100,000 people. Even if only 10 percent of them want to use it, that would be 5 hours -- a long time to be waiting in line.

Metro tells us they hope folks will just think of the train as just another Park & Ride. Best of luck, guys.

Dear gawd.

Better have some buses ready to go -- buses being a flexible, reliable, and cost-efficient method of mass transit.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/26/04 23:11 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (0)

Best Western Gets Connected

The Best Western hotel chain has announced plans to offer free high-speed internet in all of its rooms:

In a big step bound to put pressure on its rivals, Best Western International Inc. said Friday it would begin offering free high-speed Internet access in all 2,300 of its hotels in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.

The move reflects how travelers of every ilk, not just those on business, have come to expect having fast Internet access wherever they go.

"It's the No. 1 amenity requested by virtually everyone, especially businesspeople," said Tom Higgins, CEO and president of the Phoenix-based hotel chain. "High-speed Internet for free is going to be where it's at."

Hotel chains that cater to business travelers have offered Internet access in hotel business centers and select suites for years. Many are adding broadband or even wireless networking, or Wi-Fi, service.

Recently, some major hotel operators have begun offering broadband Internet access for free, but Best Western is the first to implement the policy for all its hotels.

"Come Sept. 1, when you see a Best Western sign, you'll know they have it. That's the comfort we want to provide for the traveling public," Higgins said.

Tom Higgins gets it.

The only other hotel chain I know of that offers this is the Drury Inn chain, but it's a considerably smaller outfit and geared more towards business travelers. The Comfort Inn/Suites people also have it in quite a few places, but it's not chain wide.

Good move, Best Western!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/26/04 22:33 | Web Stuff | Technorati | Comments (2)

It's Not A Blog, But It Should Be Fun

My friend Dave points out to me that ESPN's Bill Simmons will be "blogging" on the Super Bowl, from right here in H-Town.

Now, I really like Simmons, and his old article on the absurdity known as the GalleryFurniture.com Bowl is one of the more hilarious things he's ever done, but I really DO WISH he would not call what he is doing blogging. This is not indicative of a blog:

During these next eight days, I'll be filing reports from Houston blog-style, which means you'll be hearing from me two or three times per day (and at all hours, so there will be no rhyme or reason for when anything goes up). They won't read like columns as much as e-mails from me to you, the home reader. I'm giving myself 120-150 minutes to write each entry. That's it.
That's IT?!

Dude, That's about 118-148 minutes longer than the average blog entry by most anyone whose last name is not Den Beste (and who shouldn't really be called a blogger, but an internet essayist, since I'm on the topic).

Still, it will probably be a fun read. If he actually DOES start posting something. Maybe he'll write about a rail accident, or getting shot by a water fountain, or Frank's Metrosexual Weather Garden, or Marvin Zindler or some such Bayou City fun.We're world-class, after all; there are so many possibilities! I can only imagine what a pro will be able to do, even "limiting" himself to 120-150 minutes per entry.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/26/04 22:21 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (0)

Welcome To Houston

Mayor Bill White tells us Houstonians to smile at our guests who are in town for the Super Bowl.

But why not introduce them to our city in a more appropriate fashion?

That's right -- let's have a rail crash!

It's happened again. Another light rail train has slammed into a car. Again the driver of the car was at fault. However for the first time, a passenger on the train was also hurt.

The METRO light rail car was coming southbound on Fannin when it approached the intersection at Southmore. A car was turning left right into the path of the train. A left turn from Fannin onto Southmore is legal, but not when a train is coming. When that happens, a warning light comes on telling drivers not to turn.

"The rail collided with her and dragged her and pushed her and pulled her all the way to here," recalled witness Anna Marie Foisey.

Foisey watched as the METRO light rail train #104 slammed into a car turning left into the path of the train.

Foisey said, "Clearly, she wasn't seeing it, and she made a left turn. The light was green, and the warnings are there, but it's coming up on you so fast. And then it just dragged her. You know, I think she's just glad to be alive."

Another witness, Nicholas Mitchell, exclaimed, "I'm lucky to be alive!"

Mitchell was working just ten feet from the collision.

"It sounded like thunder crashing. WHOOSH! The crash impact was unbelievable," he said.

Mitchell ran away from the flying debris and was not hurt. But the driver of the car was taken to a hospital, as was a passenger in the METRO rail car. Both are said to have minor injuries

WHOOSH indeed!

Welcome to Houston, Super Bowl visitors!

More coverage here, here, and here.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/26/04 18:49 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (1)

25 January 2004

Sunday at Cecil's

Okay, I lied.

I said I probably wouldn't head over to Cecil's, but I just couldn't stay away.

I'm a Montrose kid at heart, after all.

So I just got back from a few beers at the place. Very cheap beers, I might add.

Surprisingly, the place is in decent shape. The actual bar area inside didn't get wiped by the fire, just the booths/darts/restroom area over towards the PJ's side. I think they'll actually be able to put the thing back together. Strangely enough, it still SMELLS like Cecil's inside. Maybe a little smokier than usual, but not that bad.

We spent most of our time outside on the deck, watching the goings-on around the West Gray area. I miss that goofy neighborhood.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/25/04 19:34 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (0)

Was It Really Ten Years Ago?

The Split

Ten years ago, Jimmy Johnson coached his last game for the Dallas Cowboys, a Super Bowl victory, the team's second consecutive NFL championship.

The picture above is the press conference announcing The Split.

The team hasn't been the same since, although Bill Parcells seems finally to have the thing on the right track.

Anyway, this is an interesting retrospective for Cowboys fans.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/25/04 12:45 | Dallas Cowboys | Technorati | Comments (0)

Sunday at Cecil's

Rusty from the Mucky Duck sent out this email last night:

The place to be Sunday is Cecil's ... they are having a fire sale on their deck ... since it will be several months before they can reopen we need to help them drink up the inventory ... come on over around 4pm....bring cash ...we'll see you there.

Cecil's suffered that horrible fire a couple of weeks ago. So I guess you could call what they are doing today a fire sale.

I'm probably not going to make it over as I've done enough damage to Houston's collective booze inventory this weekend, but the weather seems like it's going to be nice for a gathering on the Cecil's deck. So I thought I'd pass on the word for anyone who might be interested.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/25/04 10:30 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (0)

24 January 2004

RRB @ The Firehouse

Randy RogersI'm looking forward to seeing the Randy Rogers Band at the Firehouse tonight.

Randy's stuff is a little more country than a lot of the music I see, but it's good country. The songwriting is much smarter than your average "Shiner Bock/Aggie Nation" Texas country, and Randy and band have a good sense how to put a country song together musically (something not all songwriters can pull off). Plus he's a character on stage, and an awfully nice guy.

I've missed his last few Houston gigs. I hope he puts on a good for our little crew tonight.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/24/04 18:57 | Music | Technorati | Comments (2)

CRUNCH

KHOU-11 has a clip from a train-mounted camera showing that collision with a Union Pacific truck a few days ago.

It's good to know that even rail workers don't have any sense when it comes to avoiding the train. More accidents to come, I'm certain.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/24/04 18:45 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (0)

The Coming US 59/Spur 527 Mess

There's good coverage of the coming US 59/Spur 527 mess (which TXDOT doesn't really want you to know that much about) in the following places, as a result of Friday's little protest:

Comical
KTRK 13
KPRC 2
KHOU 11
News 24

All of the mayhem is going to start in February, on Friday the 13th. That seems appropriate.

I meant to go grab some photos of the protestors Friday, but wound up otherwise involved.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/24/04 18:37 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (0)

Freak Accident OR Sudden Acceleration Syndrome?

There's been a little accident in Las Vegas that is vaguely similar to some we've had around here lately:

A driver who may have mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake steered a car off the fourth floor of a casino parking garage, killing two people, police said.

Witnesses told police the car accelerated as the driver pulled into a parking space, then jumped a curb and crashed through a concrete wall before falling onto its roof in an alley below.

The driver and passenger, a man and woman ages 83 and 79, died in the crash Thursday at the Golden Nugget hotel-casino. Their identities were not immediately released.

Investigators believe the driver may have mistakenly stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake.

"Right now it just appears to be a freak accident," Detective Doug Nutton said.

Detective Nutton ain't no Columbo.

If he were, of course, he would immediately suspect Sudden Acceleration Syndrome, instead of assuming a driver simply hit the wrong pedal. How negative and short-sighted of the detective!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/24/04 18:09 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)

23 January 2004

Captain Kangaroo, RIP

Captain Kangaroo

Bob Keeshan is dead at age 76.

He played Captain Kangaroo.

As a kid, I spent much quality time entertained by Captain Kangaroo (and also Mr. Green Jeans, and Mr. Rogers of course).

We'll miss you, Captain.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/23/04 14:32 | Other | Technorati | Comments (1)

22 January 2004

I Just Can't Figure Jimy

Jimy Williams says Tim Redding will be his fifth starter this season:

The anticipated spring training battle for the No. 5 spot in the Houston Astros starting rotation was settled a month in advance when manager Jimy Williams penciled Tim Redding in for the final starting role today.

The obvious top four spots already had been assigned to Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Roy Oswalt and Wade Miller.

"I've made this decision and this is where we're going to start," Williams said. "(Trainer) Gene Coleman hasn't even stretched us yet. I'm not going to go into spring training like we did last year with four guys trying to get the fourth and fifth spots in our rotation."

Redding, as one might imagine, is happy with the decision:
"The last couple of years I've had to come down to spring training and fight for a spot," Redding said. "I'm happy to get a chance to verify myself for the good year I had last year. I understand the tough decision they made to make me the fifth starter."
Verify yourself? Err, okay Tim.

This seems like an odd decision to announce. Are we really to believe that if Redding has a crap spring but Carlos Hernandez or Jeriome Robertson show throughout the spring the flashes of greatness they've displayed sporadically that there's no chance they'll have a chance at cracking the lineup? Or Brian Duckworth, for that matter? That hardly seems sensible.

Jimy's got four great starters, and there are ZERO questions about their abilities. Why not go to spring training with the competition for the fifth spot wide open this time?

I have to admit, I thought the man would be a good manager, but about all he does is confuse the hell out of me and other fans. Constantly.

And he's still short a consonant.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/22/04 22:26 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (4)

Sedan, KS

There's an interesting story in the New York Times on Sedan, KS, a small prairie town about 30 minutes or so north of where I grew up in Oklahoma:

Not long ago this isolated town nestled in the Flint Hills seemed about to blow off the map. The bank failed, farmers lost or sold their land, stores shut down, and people drifted away.

Now, however, life here is changing. Driven in part by the dream of Bill Kurtis, a Kansan and longtime television newscaster, Sedan is reinventing itself as a prairie art colony.

As word spreads, artists have begun arriving. Some are refugees from what they say are overcommercialized art scenes in places like Santa Fe, N.M. One, Stan Herd, a pioneer of environmental art, has built a monumental stone work called "Prairiehenge" on a hilltop outside town.

Interesting. I didn't quite make it up to Sedan during my little spin around the Prairie Preserve over Thanksgiving, but maybe next time.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/22/04 22:09 | Other | Technorati | Comments (1)

The Deaniacs Go LJ

William Dyer surveys what the Deaniacs are saying after their candidate's bizarre meltdown a few nights ago.

I don't know how he got through all that, but I have to say, it sort of reminds me of a bad LiveJournal discussion.

Bleh.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/22/04 00:11 | Other | Technorati | Comments (3)

21 January 2004

More Spur 527 Badness

Most Houstonians are still unaware that after the Super Bowl, US 59 will be effectively shut down around the Spur 527 (downtown exit) area.

There is no real plan to deal with the overflow traffic, and TXDOT for the most part has just dumped the problem on City Council.

City Council's response (if you can call it that) has been to build reversible lanes (a la the Heights, but still unfinished) on West Alabama, build an additional lane to 59 from Greenbriar, repave some streets, and call it a traffic mitigation plan.

As I've noted previously, it's going to be a huge mess ("world-class" even). And hardly anybody even seems to know what's coming (TXDOT seems not to want anyone to know, judging by its lies).

Unlike TXDOT, I suppose I should give the Southwest Corridor people credit for being more skillful liars. I found this on their Q&A section today:

13. Will the City or TxDOT direct or divert traffic to West Alabama, Richmond or other streets while the Spur is under Construction? No. There will be no signs installed directing drivers from the US -59 to any street as a detour because the Spur is under construction. There are no plans nor have there ever been plans to turn any street into an "off ramp for US-59" as has been reported.
Nobody has said there's a LITERAL plan to turn Alabama/Richmond/Kirby/Shepherd-Greenbriar into ramps for 59! But figuratively speaking, that's exactly what is going to happen. TXDOT knows it. City Council knows it (hence the reversible lanes and such on Alabama). And even the deceivers at Southwest Corridor know it, judging from this admission ON THE SAME PAGE:
14. Why is Richmond and West Alabama being cited by the City’s Congestion Mitigation Plan to handle the additional traffic? The traffic experts in TxDOT, the City and those commissioned for the Peer Review agree that many drivers will use those streets during reconstruction of the Spur. Those experts also agree that many drivers will use other alternates that are available. The responsible action for the professionals in our public agencies is to study, plan, design and build the needed improvements to handle the inevitable traffic prior to that traffic arriving on the streets that will see the largest increases. The Team is very pleased that the City is working to take all those actions prior to TxDOT’s reconstruction of the Spur.
If "many drivers will use those streets during reconstruction of the Spur" then they are effectively (figuratively) off ramps for 59!

So Southwest Corridor seems to be deliberately misleading.

Here's more BS from the Southwest Corridor people:

9. What alternate routes are available? Preface to the answer-- Months before the Spur construction begins we will undertake an extensive information distribution campaign to tell drivers about alternate routes. The answer to this question will become at least one full page with maps. For now here is a condensed answer. --- At this time we expect the most heavily used alternate routes into and out of neartown, midtown, downtown and points beyond to be for inbound US-59 exiting the new Main Street ramp, the existing Gray/Pierce ramp or the new Polk Street ramp; US-288 to US-59; US-59 to a Edloe, Buffalo Speedway, Kirby, Shepard/Greenbrier and then north to Alabama, Richmond, West Dallas, West Gray, or Allen Parkway and west to downtown. When the outbound main lanes are closed one lane will be opened outbound on the newly constructed inbound lanes as a temporary route. That temporary lane will carry a large number of the vehicles that will be exiting neartown, midtown and downtown. Drivers that choose to not use that temporary route have other alternatives available such as: take Webster east and follow the signs to US-288 southbound to IH-610 and go west bound to US-59 west bound; enter IH-45 from Houston Avenue and take US-59 west bound; take Allen Parkway to Kirby to US-59; Take Richmond or Alabama, Shepard/Greenbriar, Kirby, Buffalo Speedway or Edloe to US-59.
Months before? Hmm. That must explain why so few people know anything about this, and those who have heard about it largely have the WALQ and 59Gridlock people to thank.

As for the bolded sections, one might even suggest those routes will act as off ramps for 59. Unless one is a liar affiliated with TXDOT or Southwest Corridor.

I realize progress is necessary, but I do wish our "public servants" and the pollyannas affiliated with Southwest Corridor could, in the absence of formulating a reasonable plan to deal with this mess, at least not lie to the public about it.

(Update) Well, what do you know. The liar from TXDOT is in tomorrow's Comical:

Janelle Gbur, Transportation Department spokeswoman, had no comment on the planned protest. Gbur said her office will soon launch a Web site and education campaign outlining other routes Spur 527 drivers may use.

"Everyone will handle this closure much like they do other construction closures: They'll find out what works best," she said. "Motorists are extremely adapted to picking their path of least resistance."

Thanks, Janelle. As to that website -- Soon?! That's all you have to say? Just a request -- maybe you could get it launched in the remaining three weeks (SOON!) before you start to wreak havoc on Montrose and surrounding neighborhoods?

(Update 2) Tomorrow's Comical will also feature this op-ed from Steve and Diane Biegel. It's a little alarmist for my taste, and I wish they hadn't concluded with that unfortunate term "quagmire," but they do make some good points, and they use hard numbers (moreso than that rag's reporters typically do).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/21/04 22:28 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (1)

Nothing About Blood Sugar?

Like most people who examine the Atkins diet (or, to some extent, Sugar Busters or South Beach), the BBC seems to have spectacularly missed the point. This is typical of people who are wedded to the conventional wisdom of counting calories.

Otherwise, there might have been some mention about how the body metabolizes foods, the impact certain foods have on the body's blood sugar levels, the body's response to skyrocketing sugar loads (generally produced by ingesting foods high in refined carbs and certain starchy veggies), and what nutritional steps a person can take to control these matters once they are properly understood.

You won't get that from the silly BBC, so you'd be a lot better off printing off a copy of this guy's page and giving it a good read instead.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/21/04 21:39 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)

Coach Fran's "Rebuilding" Project Continues

Aggie fans who chased off the winningest coach in their program's history in hopes that "Coach Fran" could duplicate the Bob Stoops feat of winning a National Championship two years after being hired got some bad news today instead:

A year ago Texas A&M tailback Derek Farmer happily greeted the news that he'd be playing football for Dennis Franchione, newly hired as the Aggies' head coach. Now Farmer has decided that happiness lies somewhere down the highway.

Farmer, A&M's leading rusher his freshman and sophomore seasons, confirmed on Tuesday that he has enrolled at Stephen F. Austin with the intention of playing next fall for the Lumberjacks, members of the Southland Conference.

"I decided it was time for a change in my football career," Farmer said. "I'm looking forward to being able to come over here my senior year and help the team."

Farmer's transfer means that both the leading rusher and the leading passer from R.C. Slocum's final A&M team will finish their careers elsewhere. In December, junior quarterback Dustin Long announced that he was transferring to Sam Houston State.

Leading passer, leading rusher?

Who needs 'em, when you've got "Coach Fran" instead of ol' R.C.

Right, Aggies?

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/21/04 21:19 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (2)

Texas Vinegar?

Michael Lonsford writes about various wines produced by the Llano Estacado winery here in Texas.

Now, I consider myself a native Texan and all, but I'm sorry -- like any sane person, I'd much prefer a California wine.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/21/04 21:10 | Texas | Technorati | Comments (1)

20 January 2004

Bud Being Bud

Bud Adams decided to let go of the executive who's overseen his team's success in recent years, in order to hire himself for the job:

The story on Bud Adams and HoustonTennessee Titans owner Bud Adams did not renew Jeff Diamond's contract as team president today to take the job back for himself.

Diamond was hired in July 1999, and the Titans went 56-24 in that stretch with one AFC championship. They also reached the playoffs four of those five seasons.

But Adams, who turned 81 on Jan. 3, said in a statement that he needs to be more directly involved in managing the team and the company that oversees The Coliseum, Tennessee's home stadium.

"We are facing some challenging issues on and off the field, and I intend to be personally involved in seeing to our businesses," Adams said.

Oh, you poor dumb Tennessee fans. What were you thinking when you coaxed his fat ass out of Houston to Nashville?

Granted, he's behaved pretty well over the last few years. But it won't last. It never does.

I'm so glad that sack of sh!t no longer has anything to do with the Houston sports scene.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/20/04 22:56 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (3)

Frank's Weather Garden?

Okay, am I the only one that finds the whole notion of the News 2 Houston weather garden odd?

Frank's Weather GardenNews2Houston wants to show off the newest way to look at the weather: it's Weather Outside.

This stunningly beautiful area was created by AJ Benys of AJ's Landscaping & Design. The garden features a tropical waterfall surrounded by sego palms, and a sculpture garden flanked by a beautful crepe myrtle.

Quaint urn plantings on either side of the bricked-arch entrance remind one of an English garden, while an Italian-style fresco adorns the north wall.

The Weather Arbor houses the forecast area, where News2Houston meteorologists bring you the latest weather information from right where it's happening -- outside!

It sounds a little too.... metrosexual for my taste.

Maybe I'll just scoot on over to the Weather Channel.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/20/04 20:23 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (0)

The Rest Of The Story

The Comical has this interesting blurb (speculating on candidates) in an article about Bill White's search for a new police chief:

[William J.] Bratton, who was New York's police commissioner under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, has been the Los Angeles chief for a little more than a year. He was received credit for reducing homicides and other major crimes in New York.
I can't imagine why Bratton would leave his current post to come to Houston, but the interesting part -- the part the Comical conveniently leaves out -- is that Bratton is largely credited with fixing the mess left behind by our very own former mayor, Lee P. Brown, when he was NYC police commissioner.

Small world, huh?

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/20/04 06:30 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (0)

19 January 2004

Waltzing Waters

The new Main Street fountain is having some problems, and everyone associated with it is in full spin mode

Less than three weeks into its role as a dramatic centerpiece for downtown Houston, Main Street Square's $2.5 million dancing fountain was scheduled today to be shut down for adjustment and repair.

The blocklong fountain's biggest problem is its tendency to spray pedestrians walking on its eastern side in the 1000 block of Main. At fault is a series of "jump jets" that shoot water 40 feet into the air.

The fountain will be drained for at least two days this week to correct the problem.

That would be a world-class problem!

Once again, the hype surrounding light rail and downtown rail proves much greater than reality:

The fountain began operation on Jan. 1 in tandem with the opening of Metro's light rail line -- both key elements in downtown's reincarnation as a pedestrian-friendly center for shopping and entertainment. Early promotional images depicted jets of water arcing over passing trains.

Central Houston was hoping such a dramatic effect could be achieved, Hagstette said, but deferred to Metro's request last fall to abandon the plan because of safety concerns.

"They didn't want all that activity (the jetting water) in the vehicle operators' view distracting them from pedestrians or passing autos," Hagstette said.

Metro's Ken Connaughton countered, "There never was a plan to shoot water over the trains," and insisted the concern was "water spotting the cars" rather than possible safety problems.

Shooting water over the trolley's spaghetti-like overhead electric lines was probably never a very good idea, however "world-class" it might seem.

Or course, spraying pedestrians isn't a very good idea either.

Maybe we'll get it straight by the Super Bowl. We want to put on a "world-class" show, after all.

(02-17-04 Update) Per the comments below, let me be absolutely clear that the headline above refers generically (and whimsically) to waltzing waters, and should not be confused with the company that makes beautiful water/sound/light displays and has copyrighted the term for that purpose. That company obviously is not involved with the fountain in the city of Houston.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/19/04 23:00 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (4)

Johnny Of The Cross

There's a thoughtful piece on Johnny Cash in First Things:

We all knew the end was coming, particularly after June Carter, to everyone’s shock, beat him to it. But the impact of the news was not thereby diminished. On that Friday we lost possibly America’s most singular individual. I don’t think that it’s too much of a stretch to say that in Johnny’s death a little bit of what is best about America died, too.
Go read the whole thing.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/19/04 22:42 | Music | Technorati | Comments (0)

A 'Toy Train' For Ignorant Urbanites - OC

Owen took a ride on the light rail line Friday, and documents the experience here.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/19/04 08:14 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (0)

18 January 2004

Justice On Rose

I missed this one (in today's letters section) because I don't read Comical columnist Richard Justice regularly:

Richard Justice's Jan. 4 column was so dramatically different from his Jan. 7 column that I couldn't believe it was written by the same man. Here's a quote from Jan. 3: "Trust me on this one. He'll be a landslide first-ballot electee, as he should be." And here's Jan. 7: "He does not belong there."

Justice heard his media colleagues line up to bash Pete Rose last week, and he's totally changed his mind and joined the anti-Rose bandwagon?

Justice is a smart guy and cannot be claiming that he has now learned new information that he never knew before about Rose. He gambled on baseball -- Justice already believed this. I'm sorry, all I can think is that he doesn't want to be the only media guy left supporting Rose.

Perhaps the Jan. 7 column should have run on the Chronicle's corrections page instead of its Sports page.

John B. Ramsey

New Carrollton, Md.

Good catch, Mr. Ramsey.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/18/04 12:39 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)

Better Keep The Bus Fleet In Good Shape

I hope Metro's not hoping to cut down on its bus maintenance budget any time soon:

For about an hour and half Saturday, a portion of the METRO rail line was shut down after a small fire at a power station.

The effected area was on Main Street from Franklin to Bell. Trains were only running from the Reliant Park area to the downtown transit center. Just a few passengers were affected.

Within 15 minutes, METRO put some extra busses in service to take those stranded riders back to the downtown transit center.

"Certainly when something like this happens, you learn how good your response is and you try to improve it the next time," said Ken Connaughton with METRO. "Certainly, we will learn from what happened today and hope to be able to react more quickly in the future."

METRO is trying to figure out what caused the fire. Nobody was hurt.

ABC-13 really needs someone to edit this copy. Ugh.

Nice that "just a few passengers were affected," eh? That's the positive spin, I suppose -- when the thing breaks down, hardly anybody is riding it anyway and so it's easy to put them on buses. The negative side, of course, is the exorbitant cost of the boondoggle, and the fact that mobility for downtown motorists is reduced by it.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/18/04 11:59 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (1)

Sooners Hire Pelini; Huskers Get Blake

Bob Stoops hired former Nebraska defensive coordinator and interim head coach Bo Pelini yesterday to be his co-defensive coordinator with Brent Venables:

Given the chance, OU coach Bob Stoops didn't pass over Pelini. Stoops said he believes Pelini's addition will help the Sooners' defense remain special.

Co-defensive coordinator Brent Venables, whom Stoops elevated Saturday to associate head coach, will retain final authority on defensive decisions. But Stoops said Pelini, who has a reputation as an intense, fiery competitor -- much like Mike Stoops, the coach he was hired to replace -- would complement Venables, defensive line coach Jackie Shipp and defensive ends coach Bobby Jack Wright.

"I've got total confidence in Brent Venables, coach Wright and coach Shipp," Bob Stoops said. "And now with Bo joining them, it will be a great fit. I believe we'll continue to do awfully well."

The move had been rumored since Nebraska coach Frank Solich was fired last November. And it seemed a natural fit, since Pelini and Bob Stoops have long been friends.

Like Stoops, Pelini hails from Youngstown, Ohio. He played at Cardinal Mooney High School for Bob Stoops' father, the late Ron Stoops Sr.

"That relationship has been built for a lot of years," Bob Stoops said Saturday. "But more than that, he comes in with great credentials, and he'll help continue our tradition of being a great defensive football team."

Pelini, 36, spent nine years as an NFL assistant. He became Nebraska's defensive coordinator a year ago and installed an aggressive attack that greatly resembled OU's in scheme and performance. The Cornhuskers improved from 55th nationally in total defense in 2002 to 11th in 2003, and from 45th in scoring defense to second.

After Solich's ouster, Pelini served as Nebraska's interim head coach and led the Cornhuskers to a 17-3 win over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl. He was a popular choice among Nebraska fans and players to become the permanent coach, and was interviewed for the position by Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson.

But Pelini said he wasn't surprised when former Oakland Raiders coach Bill Callahan was hired last week.

"I think he (Pederson) was determined to bring somebody in from the outside," Pelini said. "I don't think I got much consideration, though I was led to believe I would."

It's not hard to believe that Steve Pederson misled the best young coach on the Nebraska staff. Pederson completely botched the coaching search at Nebraska, and Callahan has done nothing to win over fans and alums by basically saying to hell with so many longtime assistants (other than Pelini, who was new). It's almost like Howard Schnellenberger's hiring at Oklahoma in that sense. Speaking of that Sooner time of turmoil, Pederson/Callahan have added former Sooner head coach and tub of goo John Blake to the defensive staff at Nebraska.

Here's what Tulsa sports columnist Dave Sittler thinks:

Nightmare: John Blake heading up things at Owen FieldSo let's do a quick review:

Nebraska has hired a former OU coach who was a laughingstock within his own profession by the time he was fired after three disastrous seasons. Some OU supporters will never forgive Blake for putting their program through a series of embarrassing situations. Remember OU drastically changing offensive schemes in the middle of games?

The Sooners, meanwhile, could be on the verge of hiring one of the most popular and successful assistant coaches in Husker history. In his one season in Lincoln, Pelini worked wonders with a defense that had struggled for more than two seasons.

Pelini for Blake? Blake for Pelini? Oh, yeah, that's a fair trade.

Look, I don't disagree with those who say Blake deserves a second chance. And he could yet prove to be a solid assistant coach.

But he's already had second and third chances on the college and professional levels. The latest came this past season at Mississippi State, where he coached a defensive line that helped convince coach Jackie Sherrill it was time to retire.

Which brings us to the obvious question every Husker fan and alum should be asking this morning: What in the heck is Callahan thinking?

It's becoming clear that Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson is driving every aspect of this new-look Husker football train and Callahan is merely along for the ride.

Pederson, who angered, frustrated and embarrassed Nebraskans with his prolonged search for Solich's replacement, is obviously wielding his influence when it comes to hiring assistants.

Pederson fancies himself as an expert when it comes to recruiting. He arrived at that opinion after serving as recruiting coordinator at three powerhouse programs -- Nebraska, Ohio State and Tennessee.

The primary reason Pederson fired Solich was because he felt Nebraska's recruiting had tailed off badly since Tom Osborne retired. And it now seems clear that he's identifying assistants for Callahan, coaches whom he admired as strong recruiters when he was working in that end of the business.

That became apparent Tuesday night when Blake and South Carolina assistant Dave Roberts both arrived in Lincoln to interview for positions on Callahan's staff.

Yes, that's the same Dave Roberts who didn't even last as long as Baylor's coach as Blake did at OU. Roberts was two-and-done with the Bears after going a combined 4-18 during the 1997-98 seasons. That compares with Blake's 12-22 record at OU from 1996-98.

Roberts reportedly returned to South Carolina to discuss his future with Gamecocks coach Lou Holtz. Roberts was Holtz's top recruiter at Notre Dame before taking the Baylor job.

If Callahan gets both Blake and Roberts, he'll probably figure he's getting coaches with intimate knowledge of the Big 12. Also coaches with strong recruiting ties in Texas. He'll also be getting two coaches who are going to be shocked to find out just how much recruiting in Texas has changed since the arrival of Stoops and Longhorns coach Mack Brown.

On the other hand, if OU gets the coach Stoops is interviewing today, Sooner fans can definitely figure this: Absolutely nobody among the more than 80,000-plus who will attend next season's Nebraska-at-OU game will look forward to it more than Stoops and Pelini.

It's almost enough to make you wish the 2004 season kicked off Saturday.

Oh man, don't get me started. I'm already having college football withdrawal.

There's an interesting pattern at work here, though. When "Coach Fran" went to A&M with lots of fanfare, he let go one of the best young assistants on that staff, the guy who revitalized the Aggie offense after being promoted to offensive coordinator midseason, Kevin Sumlin. Stoops quickly got him on board the Sooner coaching staff. A year later, Nebraska pulls the same stunt by bringing in an outsider coach determined to put his mark on the team, and Stoops picked off the best young coach on that staff. Stoops isn't invincible -- we saw that against Kansas State and LSU -- but after coming on board at Oklahoma, he put together, and has since maintained even though three men have been hired as head coaches, one of the best coaching staffs in Big 12 history.

As for Blake letting everyone know that "he recruited 18 of 22 starters" on the Stoops national championship team, one wishes the big tub of goo would just shut his piehole. Blake was a good recruiter as an assistant at Oklahoma, and he was a solid (but unspectacular) recruiter as head man at Oklahoma. But let's not confuse him with Mack Brown, okay? He usually brought in a Top 25 class at OU. But ANY coach at Oklahoma should bring in a Top 25 class, every single year, given that program's history, status as the state's flagship football program, and proximity to talent in Texas. The problem was that Blake went 12-22 with that talent, and couldn't even get players lined up straight. It was embarrassing. And had AD Joe Castiglione let it continue, recruiting would have dropped off precipitously. At some point, what recruit wants to play for a program -- whatever its history -- when the team doesn't win, the coaches are a national laughingstock, and the experience doesn't prepare them for the NFL?

Thank goodness Joe C convinced Bob Stoops to come fix the mess. I can't wait for the Sooners to play Nebraska this fall. That should be fun.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/18/04 11:47 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (0)

17 January 2004

Testing Transit Options

The Comical did a little test of transit options from a randomly chosen suburb. I'm surprised they printed the results:

Five Houston Chronicle reporters assembled in a randomly chosen subdivision one morning last week to conduct a race to the newspaper's main office on Texas Avenue downtown. One reporter drove alone from Quail Valley, two carpooled, a fourth rode an express bus and the other drove to the Fannin South Park & Ride and hopped on the train.

The solo driver and the carpool pair, each using U.S. 59, arrived in a parking garage near the newspaper within a minute of each other and rode the same elevator down, walking into the newspaper simultaneously. The bus rider arrived 15 minutes later, while the train passenger came in last, rolling in after a commute of 1 hour, 15 minutes.

The Chronicle calculated the expense of the commute by adding parking fees and transit fares and estimating a cost of 37.5 cents per mile driven. The bus was the least expensive. Still, the rail option seems to have fared poorly.

Transit trains in other cities are often successful because they serve a dense inner-city and far-out suburbs, where trip time can equal or beat driving alone, city-center parking is limited and therefore exorbitantly expensive, or good bus service is unavailable. None of those factors exists in the Houston area.

With such a short rail line, a $2 parking fee and plentiful downtown parking, MetroRail offers few incentives for most solo auto commuters to change their habit. During the first week of revenue service, according to Metro, an average of 313 cars per weekday parked at Fannin South, one-fifth of the lot's capacity.

That bolded paragraph would be more useful if the Comical told us the total times of the other transit options, or how much longer the train commute took than the other options.

Here's another surprising concession from the Comical:

For now, MetroRail appears mostly to attract commuters who live close to the tracks and riders on leisure excursions.
Imagine that.

Metro gets its chance to spin, of course:

John Sedlak, a Metro vice president, said Chronicle reporters happened to pick a light traffic day to conduct their test. If it had been raining or there had been a wreck on the freeway, the transit riders would have beat the drivers, he said.

"Transit is trying to provide reliable trip times on a regular basis to our passengers," he said. As rail is built farther out, "absolutely it will compete with a private automobile trip."

Doubtful.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/17/04 23:31 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (3)

Willis Wilson

Rice basketball coach Willis Wilson gets some love in today's Star-Telegram.

The writer is about as impressed with Autry Court as I am.

Today's game against Tulsa should give Wilson a good idea of where this team stands.

(Update) Rice lost. It was a road game, but the sort Wilson needs to win if he ever wants to make the big dance.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/17/04 14:31 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)

A Super Bowl Lineup For Locals

Rob Booth points us to this article on Houston's Super Bowl from USA Today:

With the scores of invitation-only parties closing down night clubs, restaurants and banquet facilities to the general public, where's an ordinary football fan to go for a good time?

Try downtown Houston, where the streets are being transformed into one big open-air party from Wednesday, Jan. 28 until Feb. 1. Forget about formal dress codes and stuffy seated dinners, the Coors Light Super Bash is the people's party, complete with "I Can't Drive 55" crazy man, Sammy Hagar. The former Van Halen front man is the official party host and will entertain the masses in a 32,000-square-foot, climate-controlled tent. (One never knows how the wind will blow in Houston. It's good to be prepared.) Those in the know have hinted Super Bash may be the scene of a super reunion with some of the members of Van Halen playing together again.

Also taking the stage at the massive event are the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Trick Pony, Better Than Ezra, Blue October, Asleep at the Wheel, Reckless Kelly, Eve 6, Deana Carter, Los Lonely Boys and BR549. Adding a dose of regional and local flavor to Super Bash are a bevy of bands hitting two other stages throughout the five-day event. Latin band Mango Punch is a local favorite and, as a part of the Houston Texans' halftime show, has quite a football fan following.

This pedestrian-friendly party is in the heart of downtown, bounded by Austin, LaBranch, Prairie and Capitol streets, making it easy to find. Smart revellers would be wise to purchase a five-day pass for $38, available prior to Super Bowl week. Otherwise, the cost of a daily ticket is $20. All tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 713-629-3700 or at Ticketmaster.com. For a schedule of performers and events, visit www.houstonsuperbash.com.

Standing in a sticky tent with hundreds/thousands of grubby little people listening to those bands, all for the privilege of $20/day (or $38/week if you're quick enough)?

No thanks.

Here are some alternatives at local music venues that will be cheaper, less cramped, and almost certainly more interesting:

January 29

January 30 January 31

Those lean more alt-country/folk and are not a comprehensive list by any means, but it's a good starting point for locals who don't really give a crap about the "world-class" Super Bowl festivities downtown. As always, check with the venue before heading out to one of those places.

(Update) While I'm looking at music, Rob is looking at Texas Congressional races more closely.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/17/04 12:36 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (3)

16 January 2004

The Last Gasp

The Supreme Court will not stop the state of Texas from using the new Congressional boundaries from the last round of redistricting in this year's elections:

The Supreme Court refused Friday to block a hard-fought Republican redistricting plan in Texas that could cost Democrats as many as six seats in Congress.

The justices will announce later this year whether they will consider an appeal from congressional Democrats and others who claim the map dilutes minority voting strength. In the meantime, they rejected an emergency appeal that sought to stop the state from using the new boundaries in this year's elections.

That's effectively the end of it. I'd be shocked if the Court stepped in later, after an election under the new boundaries, to impose some sort of remedy, although I suppose anything is possible on a court that includes Sandra Day O'Connor.

The poor Dems, hiding out in Ardmore, OK for... nothing.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/16/04 17:18 | Texas | Technorati | Comments (0)

15 January 2004

Sinking Roads

This is a bizarre report from KHOU-11, which I'm reproducing in its entirety:

There's trouble for drivers along North Braeswood where the eastbound lanes are closed underneath Loop 610.

The road has sunk there about eight inches.

The Texas Department of Transportation isn't sure why, but it's re-routing traffic.

TxDOT has no idea how long this'll be the case.

I love that in-depth, four-sentence coverage of trivial matters like A MAJOR THROUGHFARE DROPPING EIGHT INCHES.

It's good to know that nobody knows how long "this'll be the case."

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/15/04 22:22 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (0)

Richard Perle In Houston

Richard PerleEarlier tonight, Rob Booth and I attended a talk by defense policy intellectual Richard Perle sponsored by the Houston World Affairs Council (HWAC).

I've been familiar with Perle's work and outlook for quite some time, as some of my old defense and strategic studies profs were associates of his (one prof now holds the post he held in the Reagan DoD; another prof effectively put Perle in that post). So much of the substance of the talk wasn't all that new, especially since his speeches and writings are widely available on the net. But I'd never seen him live before, and I was impressed.

Those who caricature him as a neoconservative warmonger would have been disappointed. He wasn't advocating invasion of Syria or North Korea or Iran (nor was he ruling it out).

Mainly, he was talking about the war on terror, about the radical nature of the President's declaration that the United States will make no distinction between terrorists and the nations that harbor them, and about some of the inadequacies of Cold-War era institutions like the FBI (a crime unit) and the U.N. (and its dated notion of the inviolability of borders with no provision for dealing with terrorism). Serious political bloggers would have been familiar with everything he covered.

I'd never attended an HWAC event before, but I'm pleased to say the crowd was attentive and well-behaved. Very impressive. Nobody seemed too horrified by anything Perle said, although I didn't think he was overly provocative. In all, a good event. I need to remember to keep an eye on future HWAC speakers.

(01-16-04 Update) I forgot to mention one area of disagreement with Perle. He tried not to get drawn into a discussion of Paul O'Neill, saying he hadn't read the Suskind book, but he did debunk some of O'Neill's assertions about pre-war planning while contending that he thought the Bush Administration was shabby in the way it fired O'Neill. That last is probably my one major area of disagreement with anything that was said. The Administration tried to let O'Neill step down gracefully, and he wouldn't take a hint. So Cheney fired him, fixing his one big mistake.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/15/04 22:17 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)

14 January 2004

A Different Kind Of Mayor?

The re-timing of traffic lights in midtown is proceeding apace, and Mayor White is planning on going for a test drive:

White said Wednesday that he intends to get in his car and drive through Midtown sometime "in the next three or four days."

"I'm going to be out there," White said. "The most cost-effective way to reduce congestion is to manage the traffic on that infrastructure the best."

It's nice to have a mayor who's out testing traffic flow, instead of blitzing other motorists in an effort to eradicate bandit signs.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/14/04 22:52 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (2)

A Very Super Bowl

Owen found this editorial on light-rail's inaugural in the Houston Business Journal:

The running barrage of media reports on Metro's first day of light rail operation this week seemed more like dispatches from the front lines of a major disaster than discourses on the dawning of a glorious new mass transit era.

And after a day when just about everything that could go wrong evidently did go wrong, a public relations person adhered to the now-familiar Metro party line by assuring that things ran "very smoothly" and there were "no big glitches."

The desk dictionaries over at Houston's transit agency must deviate from the standard definitions found in most of Webster's wordbooks.

Based on the accounts I read and heard, incidents on light rail's inaugural run followed the script of a slapstick skit in a silent movie.

Ouch.

The conclusion:

All aboard for the next rollicking episode entitled "Light Rail Fear and Loathing at the Super Bowl."
I keep saying that the coverage from journalists who come to town for the Super Bowl is just going to be brutal.

I imagine the ones who have to stay up at Greenspoint to cover the NFC team (the AFC team will stay in the Galleria area) are going to be particularly harsh. Yes, you read that right -- the Gunspoint Ghetto:

AFC shopping: The Galleria, where the ladies' clothing boutiques include Gucci and Chanel. NFC shopping: Greenspoint Mall, where women shop at Lane Bryant and Fashion Cents.

Greenspoint officials are eager, however, to let folks know that their part of town is so happenin' it's known as The Downtown of North Houston, which sounds like a very hip place indeed. If you're from a sleepy suburb of "North Houston."

The Wyndham Greenspoint Hotel invited the media out January 7 to see how they'll be "rolling out the green carpet" to welcome the NFC champs. To show how much the players eat, they brought out a giant grouper that was, we guess, pretty big as far as groupers go.

Thinking that Big Fish might not be enough of a lure, they also offered NFL Hall of Famer Marcus Allen, who said the hotel was "beautiful" and would be "the epicenter of excitement" during Super Bowl week.

Allen said he'd been hanging in Houston the last few days with pal Clyde Drexler, playing golf. "And I've been around the Galleria area, just having fun," he said.

Okay. But what about the Greenspoint area, Marcus? What hot spots have you hit in The Downtown of North Houston?

"I really haven't been around here that much," he said. "But they're giving me a tour later, and I'm looking forward to it."

Here's a tip, big guy: Be sure to bring your coupons for the Quizno's in the mall food court.

Umm, just one question -- WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING?!

Elsewhere, Carlton Thompson wonders if the grass will still be green by the time the game is played at Reliant:

Unlike the portable tray system the Texans use for home games at the 2-year-old stadium, the NFL, which is overseeing and paying for the process, is putting down a conventional grass field. The installation of the field is expected to take two days.

The turf came from Casa Grande, Ariz., and was transported to Houston this week using 35 refrigerated trucks.

Those familiar with the struggles the Texans and Reliant Stadium officials have endured maintaining the appearance of the grass might be wondering: Why now? Because the playing field, surrounded by a large building with a retractable roof, does not get maximum exposure to sunlight, is there any guarantee the field will have the pristine appearance that typifies Super Bowl playing surfaces come Feb. 1?

Let's hope they don't have to spray-paint the thing green to cover up the brown spots (like they did for the Big 12 title game a couple of years ago).

The coverage is just going to be brutal. Sportswriters are unmerciful, and they're used to the Super Bowl being done a certain way. I don't think we're gonna measure up.

It's too bad. Houston deserves better.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/14/04 22:34 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (0)

Ausmus

Jose de Jesus Ortiz argues that the presence of Brad Ausmus on the roster influenced the ability of the Astros to land Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens.

I think that's probably true. The Astros could have gone cheap at catcher, but kudos (again) to Drayton McLane for not going that route.

And kudos to Ortiz for not referring to Drayton's "losses" of $15 million last year for a change.

In the same column, Ortiz speculates that Gerry Hunsicker could move Richard Hidalgo to the Dodgers as a cost-cutting move. Hidalgo bounced back last year, but I can understand the team wanting to move his $12 million salary for this year.

(Update) The column is less than 24 hours old, and Ortiz is backtracking. He now says Hunsicker has no intention of trading Hidalgo. The Astros may be close to signing OF Orlando Palmeiro, however, who would be the lefthanded backup that Hunsicker has been coveting in the offseason. For the second column in a row, Ortiz doesn't mention Drayton's "losses." That must be a record.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/14/04 22:15 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (3)

Losers Stick Together?

Ann RichardsKuffner picked out this little nugget of interest hidden in all the verbiage about that bloated liberal slob whose car should be equipped with mandatory flotation devices:

Meanwhile, we're told that Dean has secured another big endorsement this week. It may not be Jimmy Carter or Sam Nunn (or is it??), but it's another Southern Democratic ex-officeholder who still draws a crowd.

Sources tell the Grind that former Texas Gov. Ann Richards is set to endorse Dean, probably in Iowa. Like Al Gore, Richards, whose not-so-narrow loss to Bush in 1994 set the stage for his meteoric rise, helps Dean make a key argument about his '04 electability. The argument: Few people are more viscerally focused on beating Bush than Richards and Gore, so they presumably wouldn't back Dean unless they believed he could win.

Huh?

It seems to me that the endorsements of two people who lost to George Bush despite enjoying all the power and prestige of incumbency during (relatively) good times only surround the candidate with a "LOSER" aura. The Dean people should keep the hits coming, and trot out Carter, Mondale, and Dukakis in rapid succession.

In any case, Ann, we'll always remember you for two things: Losing to W, and forcing overmatched Baylor into the Big 12.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/14/04 21:32 | Texas | Technorati | Comments (2)

TX Reviews

I just stumbled across this movie review site by Curtis Edmonds during a completely unrelated search.

It looks like a pretty interesting site. And it's good to link sites that include TX in the name. :)

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/14/04 21:09 | Web Stuff | Technorati | Comments (0)

ANOTHER Case of Sudden Acceleration Syndrome?

A man in California has been charged with vehicular manslaughter after his car killed ten people and injured 63 others:

Crash!The Los Angeles district attorney's office filed charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence Monday against the driver of a car that struck and killed 10 people and injured 63 others at a farmers' market in Santa Monica last summer.

Attorneys for George Russell Weller, 87, have been notified to surrender their client to authorities at 10:30 a.m. (1:30 p.m. ET) Tuesday, according to a statement from the district attorney's office. Bail was recommended at $50,000.

If convicted of all 10 counts, Weller faces a possible sentence ranging from probation to 18 years in state prison, the statement said.

The victims were all shopping July 16, 2003, at the market on Arizona Avenue in Santa Monica when the crash occurred.

Santa Monica Police Chief James Butts Jr. said at a news conference in December that after a five-month investigation, authorities believe that Weller hit the gas pedal instead of the brake of his 1992 Buick LeSabre after a minor fender-bender at a nearby intersection, just before his vehicle careered three blocks through the crowded pedestrian market.

The only reason his car eventually stopped, Butts said, was because a body trapped beneath the vehicle slowed it down.

"Mr. Weller was conscious throughout the collision sequence; no evidence exists that Mr. Weller attempted to take the car out of gear; there is no indication of braking throughout the entire collision sequence," Butts said.

Surely the man's attorneys will be asserting that he's a pillar of the community, and a victim of Sudden Acceleration Syndrome.

That seems to be the trend.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/14/04 21:01 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)

Lopez Rips Snyder

John Lopez rips Kansas State coach Bill Snyder a new one for his handling of the Ell Roberson situation:

Snyder had his chance to discipline Roberson on the spot in Arizona, after Roberson and other K-State players were caught doing assorted non-compliant things in someone else's hotel room until 4 a.m. the day before the Fiesta Bowl.

But instead of suspending or benching Roberson and the other culprits while an investigation into an alleged sexual assault was still ongoing, Snyder started Roberson and played him wire-to-wire in the loss to Ohio State.

It was only after returning to Manhattan, Kan., with Roberson's career done and the Baytown Lee product just more than one semester away from graduating that Snyder pulled his scholarship. He also will not grant Roberson a Fiesta Bowl ring.

And all this just in time for recruiting season!

In his letter released last week, Snyder said he anguished over the decision. He used lots of key words and carefully selected adjectives aimed at tugging on heartstrings and covering his backside.

He talked of "suffering" and said the whole 4 a.m. sex and lies thing cut to the core of his value system. He brought up prayer and God, then wrapped it all up by saying he was sorry to the "depth of my soul."

Excuse me while I dab away the tears, bow my head and pat my heart.

How touching. How caring. How ... sincere?

Where was his soul in Arizona?

This may well be the biggest pile of Manhattan chowder I've seen come from a major college coach in decades.

Snyder's actions certainly are not illegal, but they may well be the lowest coaching moment this reporter has witnessed since staking out Sugar Daddies and corrupt coaches back in the SMU and TCU scumbag days of the 1980s.

It reeks that bad.

More, it harkens back to those days of NCAA lawlessness, when coaches and alumni thought of football players as mere commodities. Players were replaceable parts, like thoroughbreds -- run 'em until they can't go anymore, then take them out to the barn.

Someone, namely university administrators and regents members, should take Snyder to task for his selective sense of discipline.

I wouldn't hold my breath. Many of those same administrators remember what is was like being the perennial football doormat.

Good for Lopez, though. It's good to see someone else who thinks Bill Snyder handled this like an ass.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/14/04 20:49 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (0)

Pederson, Callahan, and BLAKE (Dumb, Dumber, and Dumberer?)

Dumb and DumberI've commented previously on Steve Pederson, Nebraska's clueless A.D. who botched their coaching search.

I haven't really commented on their hiring of Bill Callahan (other than calling it Clueless in pursuit of Failure), because I'm frankly still in shock how Callahan managed to take a Super Bowl caliber team to one of the worst records in the NFL in one short year AND preside over a massive player revolt. That Pederson thinks this guy is going to get Nebraska back to the promised land is enough of a comment on both of them (it kind of reminds me when Donnie Duncan, then AD at OU, panicked, hit the bottle, and wound up with Howard Schnellenberger as coach, and THEN John Blake).

Why do I bring up John Blake?

Because if we needed any further proof that Pederson and Callahan might just as well be referred to as Dumb and Dumber, here's the news out of Lincoln today:

Just five days after his own hiring, Nebraska Head Football Coach Bill Callahan quickly secured John Blake as his defensive line coach and Dennis Wagner as his offensive line coach on Wednesday.
Quickly secured? Why, because there was great demand for his services? He's been a lame duck for months, ever since Jackie Sherrill announced he was "retiring" and there seems to have been no great clamoring for his skills among college or NFL teams.

John Blake?! Dear Gawd. Guys, this was only a joke! Decent (but overrated) recruiter, nice guy, not much of a coach, probably would have been fired by Jerry Jones had Switzer not gotten him the OU gig.

Meanwhile, Bo Pelini, the fired defensive coordinator who got so much out of a slow Nebraska defense this year and the man Pederson probably should have considered more seriously as his next head coach, interviews at OU tomorrow.

Blake for Pelini. I'll take that.

I do think Pederson/Callahan have probably alleviated one of my great nightmares (I would see John Blake standing on the sidelines in Norman). Now, he'll be standing on the sidelines again, once every four years as per Big 12 scheduling, and for a change he'll be EFFING UP some other team.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/14/04 19:01 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (0)

13 January 2004

The American Road

Claudia Rowe writes up her roadtrip across the United States in this article in the NY Times.

I love the fact that she got her best hotel deals by booking ahead each day using her laptop. These certainly aren't the days of Route 66.

Anyway, the trip sounds like a hoot. Driving cross-country can be a lot of fun. The longest journeys I have made driving are Houston to Los Angeles, and Springield MO to Kingsville, both pretty good hauls, but nothing compared to a coast-to-coast trip.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/13/04 21:12 | Other | Technorati | Comments (2)

Prince of Darkness

An End To EvilRichard Perle, author of An End To Evil and prominent foreign policy hawk, will be giving a talk in Houston on Thursday night.

It's sponsored by the Houston World Affairs Council, and will take place at the Westin Oaks (Galleria).

It's free for members, and $20 for non-members (but you have to make a reservation in advance regardless).

I'm looking forward to hearing what the so-called Prince of Darkness has to say. Interestingly enough, there were a number of years (in the 90s) when some of my defense and strategic studies professors (and former colleagues of Perle) were criticizing him for "going soft." For all I know, they probably still are. Heh.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/13/04 20:18 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (0)

News Of The Strange

This is just bizarre:

A Florida woman has been charged with driving while drunk - in her motorized wheelchair.

Cynthia Christensen, 45, of Spring Hill, was busted after she hit a van at 3 mph and flunked a Breathalyzer, police said.

She claims she was in her driveway when her wheelchair accidentally careened into the road.

"I can't even drive," she fumed. "I am very upset."

How long before she gets a lawyer and starts claiming her wheelchair experienced Sudden Acceleration Syndrome?

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/13/04 19:59 | Other |