Monthly Archives: November 2004

Back tomorrow

Posted on November 30, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Today was a travel day – we returned home from a week in Portland to visit my parents and siblings. It was a great trip, and Olivia is already a better flyer than I am; for sure, she whines and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | 1 Comment

More Heflin-pounding

Posted on November 30, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The editorial reviews on Talmadge Heflin’s House challenge to overturn his electoral loss to Hubert Vo are coming in, and it’s as you’d expect. The Statesman says “Heflin is asking his House colleagues to give him the seat he didn’t … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 3 Comments

The usual BCS mess

Posted on November 29, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

With the college football season drawing to a close, we can turn our attention to our real favorite sport, the game of What’s Wrong With The BCS This Season? We’ve got a twofer this year, as one of three undefeated … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 23 Comments

Don’t pave paradise

Posted on November 29, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I obviously missed the story that spawned this editorial, but I agree 100% with its arguments and conclusions. Building a toll road through the Heights so that commuters from the far reaches of the 290 Corridor can get downtown a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 3 Comments

The diversity of “Lost”

Posted on November 29, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Nice atricle about the diversity of the cast of “Lost” and how it happened more or less naturally. And here’s a word about Staten Island’s newest breakout star-to-be: “What’s cool about that, actually, is that on an international flight, you … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | Comments Off on The diversity of “Lost”

Another lawsuit in the wall

Posted on November 28, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The kids who sang the chorus in Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall” are suing for royalties. Twenty-three teenage pupils from Islington Green School secretly recorded vocals for the track, which became an anthem for children with the chorus … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Music | 10 Comments

Another hidden danger of the holiday season

Posted on November 27, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I just heard a Neil Diamond version of John Lennon’s “Happy Christmas (War Is Over)”. If the Republican Party wants to use its complete legislative hegemony for good and not for evil, they would take immediate steps to ban such … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Music | 4 Comments

Legal costs for indigent defendants rise

Posted on November 27, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

With the passage of the Fair Defense Act in 2001, this should be no surprise. The cost of providing lawyers for poor defendants in Harris County has risen about 80 percent since the Legislature set new criminal defense standards in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Comments Off on Legal costs for indigent defendants rise

Muusings and the Sideshow

Posted on November 27, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Sarah Berel-Harrop, a frequent commenter around here of late and a member of the Hubert Vo campagin team, has her own blog now. I promised her I’d give her some publicity when she got started, and I’m pleased to do … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 3 Comments

Explain that one to me again

Posted on November 26, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

OK, so UT muffs an extra point attempt against Texas A&M. The ball, which was never held properly, is kicked into the end zone, where an Aggie falls on it. The refs then award UT a one-point “safety”, which apparently … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 3 Comments

Baby blogging

Posted on November 26, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

No, this is not a feeble attempt to one-up all those catbloggers. I’m just noting a story about Yet Another Trend In Blogging. Baby blogs are fast becoming the new mommy (or daddy) must-have. Like other kinds of blogs, they … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 3 Comments

Exploding cellphones

Posted on November 26, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Great. Another thing to worry about. Over the past two years, federal safety officials have received 83 reports of cell phones exploding or catching fire, usually because of incompatible, faulty or counterfeit batteries or chargers. Burns to the face, neck, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 3 Comments

Must it always be about religion?

Posted on November 26, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Al Hartman, the man behind City Proposition 2. “I’m doing this because it’s right versus wrong,” says Hartman, 52, an attentive, mild-mannered real estate developer who proclaims he has been “on fire for the Lord” since becoming a born-again, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 1 Comment

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 25, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

No news is good news today. Enjoy the food, family, and football, and I’ll see you tomorrow. Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | Comments Off on Happy Thanksgiving!

Ronnie Earle fights back

Posted on November 24, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I’m thinking we might have ourselves a theme in this. Politicians in Congress are responsible for the leaders they choose. Their choices reflect their moral values. Every law enforcement officer depends on the moral values and integrity of society for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 3 Comments

Still doing the Convention Center shuffle

Posted on November 24, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Carlos Guerra writes about the continuing effort to develop a bigger and badder convention center hotel in San Antonio, and follows it up with a look at the numbers game. This is a topic I’ve touched on before. You’d think … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Comments Off on Still doing the Convention Center shuffle

Heflin to challenge election

Posted on November 24, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

You know, I try not to curse or swear on this site, but I’m having a hard time controlling myself. State Rep. Talmadge Heflin will ask the state House of Representatives today to overturn the results of his failed re-election … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 7 Comments

What’s it worth to me?

Posted on November 23, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

In the comments here, Kevin asks: If the e-slate totals change significantly, maybe even enough to justify a new election under House procedures, would it be worth it to you because it would drive home the need for a transparent … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 3 Comments

Here’s what I missed

Posted on November 23, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Chron TV writer Mike McDaniel recaps the missing episode of “Desperate Housewives” and notes that it still got a pretty good local rating, despite not starting until midnight. I’m still mad at KTRK, though, and I still think it’s lousy … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | Comments Off on Here’s what I missed

Light blogging ahead

Posted on November 23, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Family obligations through the weekend and into next week mean a light blogging schedule for me during that time. I plan on enjoying my holidays and hope you will do the same. I’ll check in occasionally, and I’ll be back … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | Comments Off on Light blogging ahead

Amend but not for Arnold

Posted on November 23, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I think Byron is right about the potential trap in the “Amend for Arnold” movement, and I approve of his solution: If Republicans are smart, they’ll turn this into a campaign about supporting immigrants, and enlist prominent Hispanic elected officials … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | 8 Comments

Rosenberg for DNC Chair

Posted on November 23, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I heartily approve of this. Rosenberg has just about everything I’d want in a DNC Chair – non-recycled insider, creative outside-the-box thinker who makes things happen, and non-controversial (sorry, Howard). If only it weren’t almost too hard to believe the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 2 Comments

Not off the hook

Posted on November 23, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Reports that anyone may be off the hook in the Travis County grand jury investigations are premature. Assistant District Attorney Gregg Cox, who is leading the investigation, said all individuals associated with Texans for a Republican Majority are still potential … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on Not off the hook

Desperate programming

Posted on November 22, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

You know, it’s bad enough that local ABC affiliate KTRK bumped “Desperate Housewives” to 11:35 PM last night so it could simulcast the Texans-Packers game, but what really cheeses me off is that they couldn’t bother to wrap up their … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | 6 Comments

Recount for Heflin

Posted on November 22, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Talmadge Heflin has asked for a manual recount of the votes in his electoral loss to Hubert Vo. State Rep. Talmadge Heflin has asked the state to order a manual recount of all ballots cast earlier this month in Heflin’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 15 Comments

Off the hook?

Posted on November 22, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Via Political Wire, an anonymous source has told CBS News that Tom DeLay will not be indicted in Travis County. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, appears to have dodged a bullet. The powerful GOP chieftain is unlikely to be … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 7 Comments

Comment approval problem resolved

Posted on November 22, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

OK, I got a response to my support ticket, which seems to have resolved the problem of all comments needing to be approved before they appeared. I needed to delete the following old MT Blacklist files: extlib/jayallen/*.* (three .pm files) … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Administrivia | 3 Comments

SNAPping back

Posted on November 22, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

File this under “Things Enron affected that you didn’t know they affected”. After [Enron]’s collapse, SNAP’s budget fell from $3 million to $2.5 million. […] SNAP (www.snapus.org) has slowly recovered, and now has its largest annual budget ever, $5.5 million, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | 2 Comments

Ron Artest’s suspension

Posted on November 22, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Ron Artest has been suspended for the rest of the NBA season for his role in the arena melee from the weekend. Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest, who led the charge into the stands and sparked a near riot at … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 6 Comments

Dubose on Abramoff and Scanlon

Posted on November 22, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

This is the chapter that Lou Dubose and Jan Reid would have added to their book “The Hammer” if publication had been delayed until now. It’s a good overview of where things stand in the Senate investigation of DeLay cronies … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on Dubose on Abramoff and Scanlon

Keep your hands off my tax returns

Posted on November 21, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The Istook Amendment. Is this what those of you who supported Republican candidates in the election were voting for? How about the Presidential yacht? Somehow, I don’t recall that being a theme in the campaigns. It sure as hell isn’t … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 10 Comments

The upgrade so far

Posted on November 21, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I’m liking the new version of Movable Type so far, and other than the sheer drudgery of FTPing all the new files to my webhost it was pretty darned easy to do. One problem I have noticed, and I’ve got … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Administrivia | 2 Comments

“Ruby shot Lee Harvey, TV proved he did”

Posted on November 21, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your chance to learn more about Jack Ruby, the man who shot the man who shot the President in 1963. Even if you’re still not sure who killed Kennedy, you’re probably pretty certain who killed his alleged assassin. After … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Comments Off on “Ruby shot Lee Harvey, TV proved he did”

KLOL still in the news

Posted on November 20, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The local ABC affiliate did a story on the KLOL format change, with an emphasis on the online reaction to it all. Christopher Jones was one of the impassioned Rock 101 listeners. After the change, the Kingwood College student jumped … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Music | 7 Comments