Monthly Archives: March 2003

City to crack down on tax scofflaws

Posted on March 11, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The City of Houston is proposing new rules to its contracting ordinance that will forbid any business from doing business with the city if they or one of their owners owe more than $100 in city taxes. After months of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 1 Comment

Spring is here

Posted on March 10, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Finally, we’ve had a string of sunny and warm days around here. I suppose if my birthday weren’t in February, I’d hate the damn month as much as everyone else does. And I don’t even live in a cold climate. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Just call me Coach | Comments Off on Spring is here

Three times a lady…runs over her husband

Posted on March 10, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Jumping Jehosaphat, it’s an epidemic! A man was in good condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital on Sunday evening after Webster police said his estranged wife struck him with her car. Clifton Leroy Dickerson, 29, was with a female friend about … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 2 Comments

Fifth columnist alert

Posted on March 10, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Which lily-livered America-hating limpwrist said the following? Wars are easy to get into, but very difficult to get out of. They can sap the moral and spiritual fiber of a nation, squander lives and resources, deplete scarce funds, cause undue … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq attack | 1 Comment

It’s not whether you win or lose, but whether you play the game

Posted on March 10, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a university president resign over an athletic controversy (though $deity knows a whole bunch of them, including every one that’s hired Jim Harrick since he was fired at UCLA, ought to), but it … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Comments Off on It’s not whether you win or lose, but whether you play the game

I gotta tell ya

Posted on March 10, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Houston isn’t the only major city in Texas that will feature a wide-open mayor’s race this year. So will Austin, where incumbent Gus Garcia is not running. Here in Houston, the most offbeat candidate we’ll have is Boy Wonder, which … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 2 Comments

Photos from the recent attack on Planned Parenthood

Posted on March 10, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Here are some photos from the Planned Parenthood clinic in Houston that was recently attacked by a protester who smashed a van into the clinic’s front door. You can see from the first couple of pictures how fortified the entrance … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Photos from the recent attack on Planned Parenthood

Name that tune

Posted on March 9, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Kevin had noted that all of the poetry of Emily Dickinson can be sung to the tune of “The Yellow Rose of Texas”. I started to write a reply to that, listing a few examples of other such phenomena, but … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Comments Off on Name that tune

The Boy Wonder

Posted on March 9, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Michael “Boy Wonder” Berry is set to become the second official candidate in this year’s Mayoral race, and today’s Chron has a profile of him. I’ve called Berry’s candidacy a joke, and while I stand by that assessment and his … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2003 | 2 Comments

New friends, new links

Posted on March 9, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Tiffany and I just got back from a trip to Austin where we attended a birthday party for my buddy Matt. The theme of the party was Roll Your Own Sushi. No, really – Matt bought all the ingredients at … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | Comments Off on New friends, new links

Aussies at the rodeo

Posted on March 8, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

We’re midway through the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and this year we have some fans who’ve come a long, long way to take part in the festivities: The laugh lines around Sue-Ellen Mays’ eyes deepened as she smiled … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

Attack on Planned Parenthood clinic

Posted on March 8, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

An abortion protester drove his van into the front entrance of the main Planned Parenthood clinic near downtown Houston yesterday, causing some damage but thankfully no injuries. Frank Lafayette Bird Jr., 61, of the 2300 block of Callie Street, was … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 3 Comments

Morales responds

Posted on March 8, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Former Attorney General Dan Morales surrendered himself to federal authorities on Friday after being indicted for multiple counts of fraud in the 1998 tobacco lawsuit settlement, and he had some harsh words to say about it. “Every single allegation of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 1 Comment

Going wireless

Posted on March 7, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

With a big assist from Michael Croft, we installed a wireless router today. Now both machines can connect to the Net. Shweet! Of course, the process wasn’t without a fair amount of wailing and gnashing of teeth. The original PC … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | 3 Comments

It’s a great time to be a political consultant, Part 2

Posted on March 7, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

A little more than two weeks after the Houston Press gave an overview on fat times in the local political consulting market, the Chron follows suit with a Who’s Who of the men and women behind the candidates. This sort … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Comments Off on It’s a great time to be a political consultant, Part 2

Mixed messages

Posted on March 7, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

So the other day I was channel surfing, and an ad played for Time Warner’s high-speed Roadrunner cable modem service. The ad showed a bride who was crying her eyes out because the DJ had just called and said he … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Music | 3 Comments

A bad year for the Morales family

Posted on March 7, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

First Michael Morales, brother of former Attorney General Dan Morales, pleads guilty to a charge of attempting to extort money from the Tony Sanchez gubernatorial campaign. Now Dan Morales is in his own legal trouble, as a federal grand jury … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 1 Comment

Hack ’em Horns

Posted on March 7, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The University of Texas’ computer system was hacked two weeks ago, with the thief or thieves making off with the names and Social Security numbers of 59,000 current and former students. “We flat out messed up on this one,” [university … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Comments Off on Hack ’em Horns

If you’re going to strike a blow, be sure you have the right club

Posted on March 6, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose I should be grateful that articles like this even get written. I mean, San Antonio is a military town in the heart of Bush country, so when one of their writers goes off on a screed about how … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | 2 Comments

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse

Posted on March 6, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn says that revenue projections are worse than she originally thought. With layoffs of state employees and potential cuts in services to thousands of Texans already looming, Strayhorn … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 2 Comments

So what kind of coach will I be?

Posted on March 5, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

“There are three things the average man thinks he can do better than anyone else: Build a fire, run a hotel, and manage a baseball team.” — Rocky Bridges, quoted in Why Time Begins on Opening Day Thomas Boswell once … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Just call me Coach | 5 Comments

Three cheers for Mozilla

Posted on March 5, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an extended commercial for using Mozilla, both as a blogging tool and as your everyday web browser. I use Mozilla at home and generally love it, mostly for the ability to kill unwanted popup windows. There are some links … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 8 Comments

Another view of Iraq

Posted on March 5, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

As long as we’re thinking outside the box today, I’ll point you to Centerpoint’s take on how to bloodlessly resolve the Iraq situation. Interesting reading. And I plan to hold Ted to his promise of future analysis. On a different … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Around the world | Comments Off on Another view of Iraq

A different view of college athletics

Posted on March 5, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Eric McErlain points me to this piece by Eugene Volokh about how to reform college athletics. It’s a pretty radical idea, suggesting that for most college athletes, the education they’re there to get is in athletics, so why not acknowledge … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 5 Comments

Now pitching

Posted on March 4, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

We managed to have a fairly short practice tonight in spite of the wet field. My goal for the evening was to give everyone a turn on the pitcher’s mound to see what they all had. League rules mandate how … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Just call me Coach | Comments Off on Now pitching

Appoint or elect?

Posted on March 4, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

It’s interesting to see this article about bills in the Texas Senate to replace the current system of electing statewide judges with appointments and retention elections. Currently, all Texas judges are elected. Even if appointed by the governor to fill … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Comments Off on Appoint or elect?

Chief gets a clean record

Posted on March 4, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The judge who gave a directed verdict of “not guilty” to Chief C.O. “BAMF” Bradford in his perjury trial has now expunged the arrest from his permanent record. State District Judge Brian Rains, the judge who called off the chief’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in K-Mart Kiddie Roundup | Comments Off on Chief gets a clean record

For this I went to college?

Posted on March 4, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

One of the companies that we support is transitioning its IT functions to an outsourcing firm. Included in their total package is support for an old, cranky, inscrutable, and ridiculously expensive fax server package. No one in their right minds … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | Comments Off on For this I went to college?

That’s more like it

Posted on March 4, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

NZ Bear has updated his Blogging Ecosystem, and now it looks a lot more representative. Now Atrios and TAPPED are in the Top 10, with Josh Marshall, Calpundit, MaxSpeak, and Daily Kos in the Top 15. I qualify as a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on That’s more like it

Evening the Ecosystem

Posted on March 3, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Like Max, I noticed that NZ Bear’s latest version of the Blogging Ecosystem is, um, a tad bit lacking. NZ says the following in Max’s comments: Sorry you aren’t on the list, but by all means, go ahead and add … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on Evening the Ecosystem

On Top Of Spaghetti

Posted on March 3, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Via Christine Quinones, I learn of the sad news that folk singer Tom Glazer died last week at the age of 88. Who was Tom Glazer, you ask? Why, the writer of one of the best songs ever, On Top … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Comments Off on On Top Of Spaghetti

San Antonio dethrones Houston

Posted on March 3, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have named San Antonio as America’s Fattest City: In 2001, the most recent year for which national data on obesity are available, 31.1 percent of adults in San Antonio were considered obese — … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 1 Comment

February stats

Posted on March 2, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

February was a slower month than the previous two, but it still wound up as my fourth-best ever, with slightly over 5500 visits. February 8 marked one year since I installed a hit counter. I recorded about 54,000 visits in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Traffic Reports | Comments Off on February stats

Chocoboozefest

Posted on March 2, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Last night we had a few friends over for a chocolate and wine tasing party. It went very well and a good time was had by all. We had been invited to a chocolate-tasting party at someone else’s house some … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Comments Off on Chocoboozefest