April 2005 Archives
30 April 2005
Robert C. Byrd College Baseball Coach Of The Year
It looks like Sooner baseball coach Larry Cochell has probably coached his last game:
Oklahoma baseball coach Larry Cochell was indefinitely suspended from the bench Friday for racially insensitive remarks made in two off-camera interviews with ESPN’s Gary Thorne and Kyle Peterson before Tuesday night’s OU-Wichita State game.
According to ESPN, the Sooners coach told Thorne, “There’s no n***** in him,” in reference to freshman Joe Dunigan, an African-American.
In a separate discussion about Dunigan with Peterson, Cochell reportedly said, “There are honkies and white people and there are n****** and black people. Dunigan is a good black kid.”
You'd think the guy was a Democrat senior statesman in the U.S. Senate or something, eh?
Except unlike the former Klansman, he will lose his job.
And honestly, it's not that tough a decision for Sooner AD Joe Castiglione. He's got Sunny Golloway on the staff already, and some folks think it's well past due that Golloway take over the program anyway.
(05-02-2005 Update) Cochell "resigned" on Sunday, ending a successful coaching career on a really down note. If only he were a Democrat U.S. Senator, it never would have come to that.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/30/05 23:32 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (6)
29 April 2005
Capping Off A Fun Week
It's been a good week.
Thanks to a new SR VP, work seems a whole lot less silly all of a sudden.
A segment of the Houston-area Coven had a secret beer gathering. All talk of a new site is just cover for our REAL agenda -- that's right, we were plotting some volunteer blockwalking.
Our friends on the left are very sad because KOS favorite Richard Morrison has left the race.
Chris Bell still can't manage to take a photo and NOT appear to be sneering. BUT, the good news is that a sneer doesn't really come across over a fancy schmancy podcast. Good move for the mandate!
3.1% growth in GDP is portrayed as economic calamity by silly people, further illustrating that we ARE a very affluent society.
I have not used "gawd forbid" in a single recorded conversation.
And our own Yao Ming is Communist of the Year! THAT is world class!
Really, what's not to like about all that?
To get the weekend really rolling, it only seems appropriate to go catch the Ringwalds. I haven't been to a Ringwalds show in months, but it's always a hoot -- the people watching as much as anything. Maybe there'll even be a few other members of the Houston-area coven in the house. Ya never know.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/29/05 17:22 | Other | Technorati | Comments (4)
28 April 2005
Another Good Blog Line
The earlier blog line of the week still rocks, but this one from Orrin Judd isn't bad:
He was, for awhile, worth reading even if your world didn't revolve around your anus.
Oh my.
Elsewhere, Laurence helps dude out with the Bill of Rights.
Fun stuff.
(Update) Of course, there's the serious take on all of this. Professor Knippenberg reminds us that Sullivan was a student of Mansfield's, although it's not particularly evident of late, and that he completely neglects Strauss in his discussion.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/28/05 22:27 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)
Bloathorn?
Chron tech guru Dwight Silverman has gone off to be briefed by Microsoft on Longhorn, the next version of Windows.
He's been blogging about the new OS on his techblog.
From the sounds of things, Microsoft is going to give us all sorts of pretty new stuff and all sorts of new bloat -- and, of course, the bloatware is going to require plenty of horsepower to run.
Now, maybe it's going to be worth having. Maybe Microsoft will start to get security right. That would be nice. But it has the sound of bloatware. And I can't help but think that bloated software from Microsoft is not going to be any more secure. We'll see, I guess.
As an aside, I've decided to order an iBook to use as a portable/travel machine. I haven't pulled the trigger yet, but it's going to happen, and soon. I'm looking forward to playing with that OS. And who knows, by the time the Microsoft Bloathorn OS is released, I might well be a committed OS X user.
Dwight, on the other hand, didn't find his Mac Mini experience compelling enough to win him over, and suggests other committed Windows users might have the same problem.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/28/05 20:51 | Other | Technorati | Comments (3)
27 April 2005
Duke City Fix
I've been negligent in mentioning a new cityblog, Duke City Fix.
It's an independent cityblog (hard to find those!) with a swarm of bloggers who focus on Albuquerque.
Chantal Foster and crew have just done a bang up job with it, in terms of content and also in terms of customizing Nucleus so nicely for it.
Even if you aren't that interested in Albuquerque, I'd encourage you to click over and take a peek at what they're doing. Because I think we're going to see more efforts like this (and like blogHOUSTON, and eventually whatever the folks at Pegasus put out) as people continue to seek alternatives to the tired monopoly daily newspapers and alt-weekly print publications that (at least in the case of New Times) don't seem all that alt these days.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/27/05 14:27 | Media Matters | Technorati | Comments (0)
Best Blog Line Of The Week
Here.
Ouch.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/27/05 10:38 | Other | Technorati | Comments (1)
25 April 2005
Danger Train: Collision #87 (15)
Early in the day, the southern end of the the light rail line was shut down by a big rig that took out the electric.
However, that in itself was not world class.
So, later, the northern end of the light rail line was shut down courtesy of collision #87 (unless METRO has been less than forthcoming about reported accidents again) at Main and Alabama. The accident took place about 3:30, meaning that (unfortunately) I narrowly missed a chance to get out of the Jeep and watch the festivities on my way home. Maybe next time.
Anyway, that'll show Dallas just who's who these days! :P
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/25/05 18:09 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (2)
24 April 2005
I'm Part Of A Coven!
Details here.
Cragg Hines is an unintentionally funny man.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/24/05 21:59 | Media Matters | Technorati | Comments (4)
23 April 2005
Polk Audio R50
Just after Thanksgiving, I bought an early Xmas gift for myself from Fry's (shocker!) that I thought was an incredible steal -- Polk Audio R50 tower speakers for $79 each (and if you follow the old link, they're back to $199 now).
I just got a Fry's email, and those puppies (in black, not cherry) are on sale now for $69 each.
I've been really impressed with these speakers. They were a steal at $79. Fry's is practically loading 'em into your car at $69.
If you need speakers or just want to upgrade, GO to your nearest Fry's.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/23/05 11:06 | Other | Technorati | Comments (1)
Draft Day
Jimmy Johnson shares his "draft formula for success" on the Fox Sports site today.
Both the Cowboys and the Texans need some success in today's NFL draft.
The Texans have done a decent job with their top picks, but have not done so well (in my view) with other high picks.
The Cowboys have been an absolute disaster in the draft since Jimmy Johnson left, and Bill Parcells' pick of Jacob Rogers last year (who couldn't actually play the position they envisioned him switching to play) didn't inspire any considence that things are changing. The Cowboys need to come up with two starters today minimum (either by draft, trade, or some combination of the two), and desperately need at least that many more impact players.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/23/05 08:24 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)
22 April 2005
Temper Temper
Actually, he was screaming the the effort was "nonchalant. VERY nonchalant."
He was not happy at all.
This rebuilding season isn't going all that well, which is a little hard to understand. There are many more arms than the Coogs had last season, hitting is about the same, defense has been a bit better, baserunning has been a bit better, but coaching has been an absolute mystery at times, and the team just can't seem to put it all together. This team could well finish as one of Noble's worst teams, but it's certainly not one of his least talented teams. Very hard to figure.
(04-25-2005 Update): Okay, the team played well on Saturday and Sunday, and took those two games to win the series and let Rayner Noble become the winningest coach in UH history. Sunday's game was especially nice, as it got tense at the end and the Coogs held on to win by a run. They've lost many games like that this season, so it's nice to pull one out. Maybe the young Coogs are turning the corner. I just can't figure out this team.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/22/05 22:37 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)
20 April 2005
Texas Public Beaches Under Attack
An illegal geotube (photo courtesy Surfrider Foundation)
Banjo Jones calls attention to an SOS from Ellis Pickett, a member of the Surfrider organization and one of the most knowledgeable people on coastal erosion issues in the state.
It seems the state legislature is again considering various legislation that would damage the Texas Open Beaches Act (and the public's right of access to Texas beaches) while benefitting owners of beachhouses who are effectively violating state law at the moment. I added a link in Banjo's comments to this position paper from the Surfrider folks on this legislation, as it tells the tale pretty effectively.
It sure would be nice if some of the lefty bloggers who can find time to bitch and moan about the HORROR of requiring identification to vote or the HORROR of property owners wanting property tax appraisal caps might actually devote some of their attention to this clear case of private interests attempting to prevail over the current right of every Texan to have access to the public beaches of this fine state.
I mean, this should be bread and butter stuff for lefty bloggers, right?
It's kind of offbeat for me, but what can I say? I don't especially like the fact so many of those b@stard property owners openly flaunt the Open Beaches Act, even if some of them have Rs by their names.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/20/05 19:22 | Texas | Technorati | Comments (6)
19 April 2005
Jury Duty
Jury duty was uneventful.
I sat in the assembly room, but was never called and was dismissed at lunch.
I did get several hours of reading, and the book on the '76 Reagan campaign is good so far.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/19/05 23:07 | Other | Technorati | Comments (3)
18 April 2005
Best Two Blog Lines Of Last Week
Evan writes:
Perry hosted the Baylor Lady Bears basketball team. Then he knocked over their trophy.
THAT made me laugh.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/18/05 23:10 | Texas | Technorati | Comments (2)
Fun Reading For The Courthouse
Just about every book I own is still packed away in the garage.
So, the looming jury duty tomorrow forced a run to the bookstore for reading material.
The thing is, I was drawing a complete blank wandering around the place.
I finally settled on Reagan's Revolution : The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All
It's a beefy narrative of Reagan's 1976 campaign. Until now, that's been an underdeveloped area of Reagan history. So, I'm ready for a day of sitting around the courthouse and reading fun election stuff. I hope some silly trial doesn't interrupt my entertainment.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/18/05 23:00 | Other | Technorati | Comments (1)
Things I Can't Get Worked Up About
Dan Gillmor and his trackbackers and commenters are very worked up about remarks made by Verizon's CEO to the San Francisco Chronicle.
A big problem I have here is that we don't have the full context of the remarks.
Rather, we have a reporter writing a story about a meeting with the Hearst newspaper's editorial board.
As I've suggested before with regard to the local Hearst paper, why not just post a transcript to the website?
Now, as for said CEO's alleged upsetting comments, well, he apparently said cities building wi-fi networks is a really dumb idea. That may be ridiculous to computer geeks who want wi-fi access all around town (yeah, wouldn't that be nice during my jury duty wait tomorrow!?), but let's just think about Houston, and the SimDesk debacle of a few years ago. Or the inability to repair potholes in a timely manner for six years (leading to the nickname Mayor Pothole). Or the fact that the light rail's "smart cards" still aren't working. Might a reasonable person be excused for thinking municipal wifi might not be something the city of Houston needs to take on anytime soon? That it might even be a dumb idea?
Then there's this:
Seidenberg, for instance, said people often complain about mobile phone service because they have unrealistic expectations about a wireless service working everywhere. Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon and Vodafone, is the state's largest mobile phone provider.
"Why in the world would you think your (cell) phone would work in your house?" he said. "The customer has come to expect so much. They want it to work in the elevator; they want it to work in the basement."
Some people really DO think the things should work in elevators! Or in the bowels of huge buildings. Is it so wrong to point out those sorts of expectations are unrealistic?
Anyway, I found the link via Dwight Silverman, who's appalled. I guess I'm just a contrarian, because I can't get that worked up over it.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/18/05 22:52 | Other | Technorati | Comments (2)
17 April 2005
Jury Duty
So, I've been summoned to jury duty, scheduled to start on Tuesday.
I imagine it will be plenty of sitting around, and probably no action. We'll see. It's the first time I've ever been called.
Anybody know if there's wi-fi available? :)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/17/05 23:56 | Other | Technorati | Comments (6)
Houston's 97.5
I've been listening a bit tonight to 97.5, the station that's attempting to recreate the old KLOL sound.
It's pretty good, actually, although the signal is a real challenge. It will be good when they flip over to a more powerful transmitter, I think.
Of course, I so rarely listen to anything over the actual radio anymore at home that I keep looking to the Squeezebox for mp3/streaming information -- but there's none to be found.
Ah, radio. Through the air. With commercials. And no tags. Go figure.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/17/05 23:45 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (5)
15 April 2005
Radio Time
It looks like Anne is determined to make me mention tomorrow's blogHOUSTON radio appearance on Jon-Michial Carter's show on BizRadio 1320.
Last week, Jon-Michial was kind enough to have me on, and it was enjoyable. He's asked me back again this week, and I understand that Charles Kuffner will be joining the fun this time.
I am painfully self-conscious about all media that doesn't involve a keyboard, but Jon-Michial made it easy last week, and it's a great opportunity to promote the blog, and blogging more generally. If you're outside of Houston, the station has a feed you can listen to if you're so inclined. The segment is supposed to begin about 10:15 am.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/15/05 21:50 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (1)
Extended Moving
Callie and I made one last trip to the old place to clear out one final load of crap.
I think we're now completely moved to the new place.
The new place still looks like a small bomb went off, though.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/15/05 21:44 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)
Beware Downtown Speed-Trap Revenue Streams
We took Main up to the exercise in gluttony last night.
One street over to the east (Fannin, I think?), still in midtown south of the Pierce Elevated, we saw three cops working a speed trap. One cop was shooting cars with radar, and two more cops were waving in the traffic and writing tickets.
Sure, we have home invasions all over town, and even in midtown we have homeless people urinating and bathing themselves in public, not to mention vandalizing property.
But the biggest concentration of HPD manpower I've seen away from an accident in MONTHS in this city is focused on writing tickets to poor SOBs just trying to get out of midtown/downtown and home to their families after work.
Don't get me wrong -- I'm not a big fan of speeders, and I don't have much sympathy for lawbreakers in general. But that just seems like a ridiculous use of HPD's manpower.
It did get me thinking, though. How well do you think it would go over if I walked up a few blocks north of the speed trap next time it's in operation, stood on the sidewalk, and waved a posterboard sign that says "SPEED TRAP. SLOW DOWN!"
Would I get busted for not having a proper permit for such "protesting?"
Would the city's little guy who drives around ticketing non-permitted signs in town come plant a ticket right in the middle of MY sign?
Seriously, any thoughts on what might happen?
Because I really am inclined to do this next time I see that damn speed trap in operation and have a little time to spare.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/15/05 16:32 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (9)
14 April 2005
Bring On The Dead Cow
In about an hour, I'll be joining pal Ethan and a few other people at the Strip House.
I've heard a lot about the place, and I can't wait to see if the steaks live up to the hype.
For Ethan, it's sort of the Last Supper before he heads out to work the MS 150 this weekend.
For me, it's just the latest episode of gluttony.
Now how long has it been since I've been to the gym? Oh yeah, since before the move. Gotta work on that. Next week. Yeah, that's it.
(Update) Oh my! That was worthwhile. Oh my!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/14/05 18:10 | Other | Technorati | Comments (5)
Maybe Not Everyone Should Blog
Texas Rep. Joe Deshotel (D) makes an appearance on Democratic Rep. Aaron Pena's latest blog, which seems to be all the rage among lefty bloggers:
It is a real honor to participate with so many of you on this newest of mediums. I was invited to be a participant in the Lone Star Rising blog to share my thoughts on the issues of the day.
All these Republicans welcoming the retired teachers but won't vote to fully fund there retirement and health care benefits, shameful.
All these legislators finding time to blog but don't write better than this, shameful -- to borrow from the writing-challenged representative.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/14/05 11:51 | Texas | Technorati | Comments (6)
11 April 2005
How Did We Ever Get By Without DVRs?
So, I ran across this little blurb on No Left Turns about the upcoming PBS special on Karl Rove to run tomorrow night.
In about two minutes, I was on the ReplayTV site setting my ReplayTV to record the thing.
THAT is sweet.
I would never remember to set a traditional VCR tonight.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/11/05 10:05 | Other | Technorati | Comments (1)
Previously Unreported Danger Train Collisions
The Chronicle runs a list of Danger Train collisions for March today.
Some of them have not been reported by any local media, so I'll have to get the Danger Train numbers here updated later.
Thanks to the readers who have emailed the story!
(Update) KHOU-11 reports another Danger Train crash Sunday.
(Update 2) By my calculation, that makes the crash above #86.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/11/05 07:32 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (0)
10 April 2005
The New Digs
So, it's been about a little over a week since the big move to midtown.
The place is still somewhat of a jumbled mess, and too many boxes remain stacked in the garage unpacked.
BUT, the place is at least fairly functional now, if not exactly presentable. Dishes are unpacked and kitchen is (mostly) set up, bedroom is (mostly) unpacked, internet is working finally and all parts of the network (printer, replayTV, squeezebox, computers) are back online.
I'm even doing a little Sunday morning blogging and reading before heading off to watch college baseball this afternoon.
The email inbox is still insane, but I will get around to it at some point. Really. :)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/10/05 11:33 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)
Trying To Talk Myself Into An iBook
Dwight Silverman's been blogging about his effort as an XP user to live for a few weeks JUST using the Mac Mini he's been sent to review.
I've been watching his blog with interest, as it comes as I've pretty much convinced myself that I can't beat the price/power/portability combination on this iBook that comes with a $100 rebate until 26 April.
Since my previous post on the topic (which generated lots of discussion), I've played around a little with Averatec's tiny lightweight XP machines in the same price range, and I don't especially like them compared to the iBook (that, and their battery life is about half of the iBook's).
Nothing quite generates reader feedback like these XP/Mac debates, but I think for a purely portable machine that's simply used for light stuff (emailing, browsing, blogging while travelling or on the move), the iBook wins at the $894 price point. (There are some good deals occasionally on the Apple Store, but I can't escape sales tax there, so the Amazon deal is still best).
Anybody who wants to offer up alternatives should have at it in the comments.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/10/05 11:16 | Other | Technorati | Comments (3)
08 April 2005
An Interruption
Unpacking and organizing will be interrupted shortly for UH-Louisville baseball.
Spring has been a little slow to arrive this year, but I can't imagine better weather for baseball than this. I hope it holds all weekend.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/08/05 18:03 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)
Rambling Thoughts On Journalism
So, there's a little post over at blogHOUSTON that was intended to spark some discussion on journalism.
It wasn't especially intended as a criticism of MeMo, but I did use her blog post as a jumping off point.
For those of you who don't want to register at the bH forums, please feel free to add your thoughts here.
Also, I left a comment on what I thought was highly related subject matter over at Kimberly's blog.
(Update) Of course, it might be smarter to take my buddy Scott Chaffin's advice, and get outta the house and ignore the horsepuckey all together.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/08/05 18:00 | Media Matters | Technorati | Comments (1)
07 April 2005
How Not To Rebuild A Party
Dan Balz does some reporting on our friends on the Left:
Dean attracted an activist corps that is whiter, wealthier, better educated and far more liberal and secular than Democrats generally or the population at large, according to the Pew Research Center. But the study found that Dean's followers were not, as some reports had suggested, dominated by young people and that he had strong appeal among voters ages 40 to 59.
[snip]
In a party that includes substantial numbers of blacks and Hispanics, the Dean Democrats are overwhelmingly white -- 92 percent, according to the survey -- and constitute what could be described as part of the American elite. More than half (54 percent) hold post-graduate degrees and a quarter have graduated from college. Almost one in three (29 percent) have household incomes of more than $100,000 annually.
So, the Dems are basing their comeback on a party chair who draws out highly educated, rich, white liberals who came of political age in the 60s/70s (to the extent this study is useful, which is debatable)?
No wonder they'd rather talk about the House Majority Leader.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/07/05 08:00 | American Politics | Technorati | Comments (0)
05 April 2005
Back Online
A Time Warner tech came yesterday, and unbelievably (given my past experience), he seemed to know what he was doing and seems to have resolved my problems. Things are flying now.
I haven't had much time for playing around on the net just yet, as we're only really unpacked enough to be functional. It kind of resembles a disaster area.
Anyway, if I owe you emails or other communication, I will get around to it. Just maybe not until the weekend. Or beyond that. :)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/05/05 22:39 | Other | Technorati | Comments (3)
02 April 2005
Ah, Time Warner
So, the move has gone relatively well, aside from me having a million things to do yet.
But, Time Warner is no better than ever.
Cable tv and internet installed today. Internet is completely unreliable. Slow, terrible packet loss, modem freezing up.
Lovely. They have a tech scheduled for Monday. I guess maybe I'll get in an order for DSL shortly.
Anyway, if you've emailed, I may not get to that anytime soon. You can thank Time Warner for that. :)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/02/05 18:20 | Other | Technorati | Comments (3)
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