May 2006 Archives
30 May 2006
Float Trip 2006
Float Trip 2006 is a wrap, and goes down as a win I guess.
I'm still tired (and sunburned in strange spots), not to mention behind on my news reading, so blog posting probably won't resume here for a little while yet.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/30/06 21:34 | Outdoors | Technorati | Comments (2)
24 May 2006
Camping Time
I'm sneaking away to a campground to get an early start on the Memorial Day weekend.
It's not exactly primitive, but there won't be any internet, so I obviously won't be posting to the blogs or probably even checking email for a few days.
I'm going to turn on moderation here, so the spammers won't just trash the place while I'm gone.
I hope everyone has an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend when it finally rolls around. I'm looking forward to the first bottle of wine tonight. :)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/24/06 06:49 | Announcements | Technorati | Comments (1)
21 May 2006
Congrats To Texas Gigs
Big congrats to my buddy Cindy Chaffin and the crew over at Texas Gigs.
They just won a much-deserved EPpy in the category "Best Internet Entertainment Service under 1 million unique monthly visitors."
I didn't expect that an indie/outsider/non-mediot site like TexasGigs would actually win the award from the pros, but I guess it's hard to deny what they've done with the site.
Good for them! I hope Cindy doesn't forget all of us little people who have tilted a brew with her at crappy bars in Deep Ellum now that she's all famous! :)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/21/06 19:49 | Media Matters | Technorati | Comments (0)
There's A Tent In My Living Room
There's a tent in my living room.
Quite a large tent, actually.
With my annual float trip fast approaching, I decided to go for comfort this year. Instead of using one of my lightweight (but bomb proof) backpacking tents, I decided to go for a larger "car camping" style tent that is large enough to hold... an air mattress.
Yep, I'm giving in this year. This is a leisure camping trip, it's not like I'm throwing all this stuff on my back and hiking ten miles, so an air mattress is going to be subbing for the old backpacking pad this year. I think my body's going to appreciate it, because I'm turning into an old fart.
But back to the tent in my living room...
I wanted to assemble the thing, because I suspected that it might need a little prep work, even though the specs claimed that the floor and rainfly seams were factory taped. That was true, but sure enough, there are some exposed sidewall seams that were NOT taped. They just got a nice dose of seam sealer. If you're just an occasional car camper, you probably don't even know what I'm talking about. Unless they're taped, every seam in the tent has a corresponding hole in every spot that the thread goes through. Water likes to go through those little holes. So you "plug" 'em with a little bottle of seam sealer, available at most camping stores, unless you relish the thought of sleeping in puddles during a rain storm (I don't).
This tent isn't bomb proof like my backpacking tents, but it seems pretty solid now that the seams are sealed. The Kelty is actually a pretty good compromise between low-end car camping tents and the more bombproof backpacking tents (going bombproof probably would have added about $100 to the total, which seems silly for a leisure tent that won't get used that often).
Now if the seam sealer will just dry, I can pack the silly thing and put it away.
By the way, if you are planning on the little float trip and don't have contact info for me/Callie, please email me.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/21/06 19:02 | Outdoors | Technorati | Comments (7)
The Mandate Assesses KBH
He’s Sisyphus, and He Approves This Message: Does Chris Bell have a chance in hell to be governor? (S.C. Gwynne, Texas Monthly)
TEN MONTHS LATER, 46-YEAR-OLD Chris Bell’s world is a vastly different place, the product of what might be considered—at least as seen from the basement of the Midland Hilton—a nearly unimaginable sequence of political events. These reconfigurations of destiny actually began back in June 2005, when Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison announced, after months of feverish speculation, that she was not challenging Perry in the Republican primary for governor, an earthshaking nonevent in Texas politics because she was viewed by many people, including many Democrats, as unbeatable. “She would have cleaned my clock, and no Democrat stood a chance in hell of beating her,” says Bell. “No way were we going to raise a lot of money.”
How about Chris Bell indirectly slamming Kay Bailey Hutchison's Dem opponent for the Senate, the precinct-chair-turned-Senate-candidate Barbara Radnofsky?
While some people actually hold out hope that Radnofsky is going to be able to raise lots of money (or already has, even!), the fact is that she's not going to raise the kind of money she needs to avoid the lopsided defeat that is coming.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/21/06 08:59 | Texas | Technorati | Comments (1)
19 May 2006
Mary Cutrufello At Rudz
Former Houstonian Mary Cutrufello returns to town with a gig at Rudyard's tonight.
On this latest swing through Texas, she's put the old "honky tonk" band back together, and is promising to do lots of old material from the "Who to Love and When to Leave" CD and the "Mary Cutrufello and the Havoline Supremes" cassette (remember those?). Her email says she'll have a reissue CD of that great old material available.
Oh, and she'll be playing with her old bandmates Roland Denny and Terry Kirkendall.
The email says the show starts at 9:30, but that start time may well get pushed back to the end of the Astros game (like the old days).
This is the live show to see tonight. Woo!
UPDATE: Great show. Here's hoping the recording turned out okay. Quite a few annoying effers running around, though. Blar.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/19/06 17:42 | Music | Technorati | Comments (0)
18 May 2006
Kiwi
This has been kind of a crazy week, with a client user meeting going on, lots of people in from other offices, too much work, and not enough free time!
No time for a real post here at the personal blog, but here's a photo of Kiwi for everyone who's been clamoring for one. Enjoy!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/18/06 19:35 | Other | Technorati | Comments (15)
16 May 2006
So Much For McNair's Bush Holdout Worries
Bush to agent: No holdout (Jim Corbett, USA Today)
Rookie Reggie Bush has instructed his agent to avoid a New Orleans Saints training camp holdout at all costs.
"I told my agent I want to be in here in camp on time ... whatever it takes, I want to be in camp on time," he said Saturday at the team's minicamp. "I think it is important to start off on a good foot and a good note, not only with the team but the city."
Wasn't one of the reasons that the Texans decided not to draft Bush because owner Bob McNair feared a holdout?
At least, that was one of the reasons that was floated before the Texans PR department flooded local journalists with assurances that money had nothing to do with it, Williams was their co-#1 guy all along (which many of the locals just lapped right up).
Ah well, it's good to know that a holdout isn't in the works for Bush with the Saints.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/16/06 22:57 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)
14 May 2006
Happy Mother's Day
Here's wishing a Happy Mother's Day to all those patient souls who put up with us little sh!ts. :)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/14/06 10:26 | Other | Technorati | Comments (2)
13 May 2006
Danger Train Collision!
An off-duty police officer hit the Danger Train today:
An off-duty Houston police officer was involved in a collision with a Metro train at about 3 p.m. today, at the intersection of Main and West Alabama.
The officer, and two passengers on the train, have been transported to area hospitals for treatment of their injuries.
The police officer's dog also was injured in the crash.
Metro spokesman George Smalley said that a preliminary report about the train wreck showed that the train operator was headed south bound on Main, when the train was struck by a black Ford Expedition headed westbound on West Alabama.
HPD spokesman Nate McDuell said that the police officer is an undercover narcotics officer who was not on duty. The officer's dog, which was riding in the Expedition, also was injured in the collision, McDuell said.
Smalley said the preliminary report also indicated that the officer may have run a red light at the intersection.
The police officer was taken to Memorial Hermann hospital for treatment of his injuries, Smalley said.
A female passenger on the train was taken to St. Luke's Hospital, after complaining of a neck injury, and a male passenger on the train was taken to Ben Taub Hospital. The extent of his injuries are unknown, Smalley said.
The weekend crew at the Chronicle must not understand that they're not supposed to report such news!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/13/06 18:29 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (0)
12 May 2006
The Saints Don't Need Him...
Texans work on deal for Bennett: Veteran RB now with Saints would add depth (Megan Manfull, Houston Chronicle)
Just a week after signing free-agent running back Antowain Smith, the Texans are seeking even more depth in their backfield.
The team is in talks with the New Orleans Saints in hopes of acquiring veteran running back Michael Bennett via trade.
With the Saints drafting Southern California running back Reggie Bush, Bennett was pushed to No. 3 on their depth chart behind Bush and Deuce McAllister.
It's that third paragraph that really stings, eh Texans fans?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/12/06 17:19 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)
The Texas Sapphires
There's a nice baseball matchup on tap at Reckling tonight, but I'm not heading over.
Instead, I'll be at Fitzgerald's downstairs for the Texas Sapphires.
I've been wanting to catch that band for a while now, and the fact that DEA buddies Rick Poss and Troy Wilson are filling in on guitar and bass tonight seals the deal.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/12/06 14:17 | Music | Technorati | Comments (3)
11 May 2006
The Great Philanderer
At the start of The Office tonight, Michael announced that he was a great philanderer.
The episode was about an office casino night being held for charity. He meant philanthropist.
That show has really grown on me.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/11/06 23:16 | Other | Technorati | Comments (6)
10 May 2006
A Fence AND A Guest-Worker Package?
The ugly duckling issue (Michael Barone, Washington Times)
Republicans face the bigger political split on immigration. A large part of their base feels strongly about the issue and wants border security beefed up and immigration cut. But Democrats are split, too. Part of their base -- including many black politicians and voters -- sees immigrants as competitors for low-skill jobs. Most Democratic politicians have been willing to support generous guest-worker and legalization provisions. But not all their base is on board.
A columnist is tempted to say the politicians should toss aside political concerns and do what they believe is in the public interest. Easy enough to say. But something just like that may be happening.
Politicians act out of some combination of calculation and conviction -- the proportions vary. On immigration, some politicians, of both parties and on both sides, are visibly acting out of conviction. And not just the noisy restrictionists, like Rep. Tom Tancredo, who wants a border fence.
These conviction politicians include Sens. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and John McCain of Arizona, who favor relatively generous guest-worker and legalization provisions, and Sens. Jon Kyl of Arizona and John Cornyn of Texas, who favor a less generous version. Add to this list George W. Bush, who seems poised to take an unusually active role on the issue.
The route to agreement is to give all these conviction politicians much of what they want. A fence, high-tech border-security and identification devices, some compromise on guest workers and legalization -- all could be part of an omnibus measure.
As for the calculation politicians, as they try to assess the political landscape and reconcile the seemingly contradictory findings of various polls, they appear to be concluding that inaction -- or blocking action now that the issue is so visible -- poses more political risk than action.
Earlier this year, I wouldn't have given a comprehensive immigration-reform package much of a chance. I'm inclined to rethink that assessment, given this column by one of our most astute observers of American politics.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/10/06 22:09 | American Politics | Technorati | Comments (6)
Weekend College Baseball Gets Some Print Attention
Serious series: The competition between UH and Rice is fierce, but the intensity will be turned up full blast this weekend (Moisekapenda Bower, Houston Chronicle)
Success had slipped away so suddenly and so drastically the previous two seasons that all Houston coach Rayner Noble longed for was progress.
He had no designs on a conference title or hosting an NCAA regional, just sincere hope for improvement.
After winning at least 40 games four times between 1997 and 2002 and advancing to a super regional in 2000, 2002 and 2003, the bottom fell out on the Cougars in 2004, and there was no rope available to escape the pit in 2005.
UH was 59-59 over that two-year stretch, and with Noble having elevated the program to the brink of a third College World Series berth and national prominence, mediocrity seemed unfathomable.
But after re-examining expectations heading into this season, Noble has the Cougars back where they belong — in contention for the Conference USA championship and poised for a postseason run. That top-ranked. crosstown rival Rice stands between UH and a fourth C-USA title represents timing so impeccably ironic it seems almost implausible.
It's nice to see Rayner Noble and the baseball Cougars getting some play in the local Hearst daily, but my gawd, that writing is just overwrought. Sometimes less is better.
I wonder why Michael Murphy doesn't cover Cougar baseball. Maybe he just sticks to covering football and basketball there.
Rice has a regional locked up at this point in the season. UH probably needs to win two of three against Rice to get a regional for itself. The NCAA won't be inclined to have Houston play host to two regionals, but it would be hard to deny UH if they pulled off a series win at Reckling this weekend.
The big problem is that Wayne Graham always seem to have UH's number, and he never seems to mind letting his pitchers throw a bunch of pitches (pitch count? what's that!). If he starts Degerman against Lincoln on Friday, that ought to be interesting.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/10/06 21:02 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (1)
07 May 2006
Pols Act Like Pols (Cont'd)
Scandals may blunt Dem attacks on GOP (Bennett Roth, Houston Chronicle)
For months, congressional Democrats have accused Republicans of fostering a "culture of corruption" that led to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal as well as the bribery conviction of Rep. Randy Cunningham of California.
But the Democrats' plans to use corruption as a campaign issue have been undercut by the highlighting in the last few days of questionable conduct in the party's own ranks, according to political experts.
Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia, said the spotlight on alleged Democratic transgressions makes it hard for party leaders to take the moral high ground.
"It's over for the Democrats on corruption," he said.
This week, a Kentucky businessman pleaded guilty to charges that he paid Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., and his family more than $400,000 in bribes.
Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.V., recently relinquished under pressure his seat on the House ethics committee after the development of allegations that he steered federal spending on special projects to friends and former staffers.
On Friday, a different type of errant behavior by a Democratic lawmaker — partially admitted rather than merely alleged — was on display in the case of Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., son of Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.
[snip]
A Pew Research Center poll conducted in April found that only 14 percent of Americans were paying close attention to DeLay's decision to step down compared to 43 percent closely following Iraq.
"At this point it (corruption) is not a front-and-center issue the way that gas prices or Iraq or even immigration is," said Carroll Doherty, a pollster at the center.
To the extent that voters find "corruption" a salient issue in 2006 (and I'm bearish on the prospect), Republicans will probably get more of the anger because they are the governing party. But it's not clear to me that voters are going to think of Republicans as the party of corruption and Democrats as the party of honesty and goodness, no matter how much angry lefty bloggers wish for it to be true. Rather, it still strikes me that most voters aren't terribly surprised that pols act like pols, something I've noted before.
The 2006 elections will almost certainly hinge on other issues, which isn't exactly going to leave incumbent Republicans breathing easy.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/07/06 18:35 | American Politics | Technorati | Comments (0)
05 May 2006
What, No Chron Eye?
'United 93' and the 20th Hijacker: Moussaoui will never rot in prison (Daniel Henninger, WSJ)
There is reason to believe that pre-9/11 thinking will in time return and prevail.
Defenders of Moussaoui's life sentence say he will "rot in prison." Perhaps in a better world Zacarias Moussaoui would share a cell with Hannibal Lecter. But if our moral betters aren't going to let Saddam's torturers rot in Abu Ghraib, if they aren't going to let the CIA's most important al Qaeda captives rot in "secret" foreign prisons, they certainly aren't going to let Moussaoui rot in Florence, Colo. He will be treated more than well.
Not to mention the Moussaoui trial itself. We arrive at the end of these interminable trial circuses of procedural delay and then claim "the system works" and "justice" has been done. No, it has done damage to the normal idea of justice. He saw the game early on and made a mockery of it. Moussaoui achieved a two-year delay in his trial by demanding to interview al Qaeda detainees. But our moral betters insist that the whole lot of Guantanamo detainees be given access to this same system of justice. They would diminish and crush it.
The odds were strong, as Moussaoui's lawyers knew and the government's should have known, that 9 of 12 jurors would vote that Moussaoui's childhood was "dysfunctional" and "mitigating." This is the therapeutic vocabulary that the West has developed to explain anything in the years from the postwar period to, say, September 11.
I'm surprised the local Hearst daily didn't chip in with a Chron Eye on Moussaoui.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/05/06 09:39 | Other | Technorati | Comments (5)
04 May 2006
I'd Rather Watch House
So not funny (Richard Cohen, Washington Post)
... Colbert was not just a failure as a comedian but rude. Rude is not the same as brash. It is not the same as brassy. It is not the same as gutsy or thinking outside the box. Rudeness means taking advantage of the other person's sense of decorum or tradition or civility that keeps that other person from striking back or, worse, rising in a huff and leaving. The other night, that person was George W. Bush.
Colbert made jokes about Bush's approval rating, which hovers in the middle 30s. He made jokes about Bush's intelligence, mockingly comparing it to his own. "We're not some brainiacs on nerd patrol," he said. Boy, that's funny.
Colbert took a swipe at Bush's Iraq policy, at domestic eavesdropping, and he took a shot at the news corps for purportedly being nothing more than stenographers recording what the Bush White House said. He referred to the recent staff changes at the White House, chiding the media for supposedly repeating the cliche "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic" when he would have put it differently: "This administration is not sinking. This administration is soaring. If anything, they are rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg." A mixed metaphor, and lame as can be.
Why are you wasting my time with Colbert, I hear you ask. Because he is representative of what too often passes for political courage, not to mention wit, in this country. His defenders -- and they are all over the blogosphere -- will tell you he spoke truth to power. This is a tired phrase, as we all know, but when it was fresh and meaningful it suggested repercussions, consequences -- maybe even death in some countries. When you spoke truth to power you took the distinct chance that power would smite you, toss you into a dungeon or -- if you're at work -- take away your office.
But in this country, anyone can insult the president of the United States. Colbert just did it, and he will not suffer any consequence at all. He knew that going in. He also knew that Bush would have to sit there and pretend to laugh at Colbert's lame and insulting jokes. Bush himself plays off his reputation as a dunce and his penchant for mangling English. Self-mockery can be funny. Mockery that is insulting is not. The sort of stuff that would get you punched in a bar can be said on a dais with impunity. This is why Colbert was more than rude. He was a bully.
The smarmies of the night (Chris Lehmann, New York Observer)
The left’s prim dissection of the media’s scurrilous failure to laugh and applaud wildly misses the essential point: that such behavior is usually reserved for material that comes off as funny.
The new Bush twins: Double Dubya (Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts, Washington Post)
The reviews from the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner are in, and the consensus is that President Bush and Bush impersonator Steve Bridges stole Saturday's show -- and Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert's cutting satire fell flat because he ignored the cardinal rule of Washington humor: Make fun of yourself, not the other guy.
I haven't watched the routine, so I can't really say whether it's brilliant or stupid. Frankly, who has the time for it? Especially when there were two new House episodes this week!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/04/06 22:16 | American Politics | Technorati | Comments (0)
02 May 2006
The Only Question Is When They Make The Announcement
NFL job's in mix as Texans, Casserly plan ahead (John McClain, Houston Chronicle)
When Texans owner Bob McNair returns from the Kentucky Derby next week, he will meet with Charley Casserly to see if the general manager wants to stay on the job in his seventh year with the franchise.
Casserly has been a candidate for NFL vice president of operations and development, a position vacated when Art Shell returned to the Oakland Raiders as head coach.
Casserly's house disappeared from the HAR.com website not long after the price was reduced by $500,000. If he was that anxious to sell his house, my guess is he's not sticking around Houston.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/02/06 21:38 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (4)
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