April 21, 1836...This is the day most Texans celebrate as Texas Independence Day even though that day is officially March 2nd when the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed at Washington0on-the-Brazos. To some historians, the April 21, 1836, engagement between the ragtag 900-man Texian army and the more formally trained…
"The idea that all this can be reduced to money — that doctors are just people selling services to consumers of health care — is, well, sickening. And the prevalence of this kind of language is a sign that something has gone very wrong not just with this discussion, but…
I decided to take a lunch run across the river a week or so ago. After eating my sack lunch with another eastern bluebird I wandered over to the nature trail...This is one of the shots I captured...
... columnist and former GOP presidential aide Pete Wehner notes, "now that he finds himself intellectually outmatched by Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, and in a precarious situation when it comes to his re-election, Obama is dropping his past civility sermons down the memory hole. - Mean streak:…
As a major drought settles in on the state of Texas, the main problem with all of last years tea party campaign rhetoric about secession comes home to roost. When you wake up and find that you have already had 7,800 fires burn more than 2,400 square miles of your state and…
For a few years I have refrained in many instances from commenting on the political debate in this country. But the budget discussion this year is beginning to get my need to comment going again. Here is the straw that broke this uncommon, for me, silence... Here are two numbers to keep in…
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Continuing the conversation from earlier in the month... Forget about May flowers, Houston needs April showers to break a severe drought. The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows 95 percent of Texas now in a drought, including Harris County. For the first time this year, a large chunk…
Time is a luxury you don’t have, until you wake up one morning and realize you have misplaced your life.- Phyllis Theroux on Keeping a Journal - Kindle Blog.
The "efficiency" of globalization is nothing but a cross-your-fingers fantasy.- Jim Hightower | JAPAN'S EARTHQUAKE JOLTS SHREVEPORT.
The fate of wild salmon and a panic over power plants that no longer answer to human commands would not seem to be interlinked. But they are, in the belief that the parts of the world that have been fouled, or found lacking, can be engineered to our standards —…
Reading Mark Bittman's blog this morning I saw this lead-in to a link I had to follow: Here’s the thing. A lot of stuff isn’t directly about food, but TB – that’s tuberculosis – is becoming, has become, antibiotic-resistant. And a lot of antibiotic resistance may be because there are…
General Electric, the nation’s largest corporation, had a very good year in 2010. The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States. Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2…
December 8, 2010 - Drought's grip on Texas tightens | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle. The great drought of 2011 may have started two months ago. Since Tropical Storm Hermine drenched central Texas in September, the state has been very dry, with large swaths receiving less than…
RALEIGH, N.C. – For the past three years, American consumers have been on a shopping diet. They cut nonessentials from their shopping lists. They’ve made do. They’ve thought twice before buying. And yet, they’ve continued to open their wallets for natural and organic products. via Recession-racked shoppers still spend on…
I've been away from the blog this week because my better half took a couple of days off work. It seems she always wants to talk right about the time I start typing (how long will that word mean anything?). Yesterday I noticed the female hummer that had been visiting…
Ladies and gentlemen, the days of unlimited broadband may be numbered in the United States, and we're not talking wireless this time -- AT&T says it will implement a 150GB monthly cap on landline DSL customers and a 250GB cap on subscribers to U-Verse high speed internet starting on May…
And if you missed Annie Leonard in her Story of Stuff, it's here: Any thoughts? Related articles Annie Leonard Derides Corporate Influences on American Democracy [Video] (fastcompany.com) The Story of Stuff Does Democracy (strongerdemocracy.org) The Story of Annie Leonard: Her Take on Stuff, Bottled Water, Cosmetics and More (treehugger.com) Live…
One hundred and seventy five years ago today a group of men came together just a few miles to the northwest of where I sit this morning and proclaimed Texas and independent nation. I can imagine what it might have been like that morning walking the streets of Washington-on-the-Brazos. Early March…
Ironically, then, a month of extremes will end up with an average temperature around 55 degrees, within a few tenths of normal levels. via SciGuy: Houston Chronicle. The first half of last month was the coldest on record in the last century. While the last half is the second warmest on…
Over the weekend the signs of spring began to reach out and shake my senses. Apple trees are breaking bud and sending forth blooms. This has been one of the first winters since we planted them that all of the leaves have been off the trees at one time. In…
I wandered over to Amazon this morning looking to see if they had anyone offering a product out of Australia that takes humidity from the air in your home and creates clean drinking water from it. The product is called the Skywater® 14 Water Making Machine and, while it looks…
Sitting at the computer this morning I looked out the window and saw my second Bluebird in my entire 57 years upon this earth. I was so surprised I had to lean forward for a closer look. I still remember the occurrence of my sighting. Sherry and I were new home shopping…
The sun rose once again this winter over a white frosty landscape. I can only remember a few winters where I have seen frost as often. The number of nights when the lows have been in the 20's is also passing any remembered winters past. So, if any one reads…
Not so much this morning...But there is ice everywhere. After days of buildup (again), the snow the prognosticators were promising predicting just didn't happen. Though most of the state seems to be covered with snow this morning, the Houston area just has a layer of ice covering almost everything. Roads are…
Even the threat of snow can cancel school classes... The Houston Independent School District has canceled school Friday, Superintendent Terry Grier announced, saying he doesn't want to take a chance with hazardous road conditions for buses, parents and teachers. The district has yet to decide whether to release students early…
AUSTIN - Burst water pipes at two coal-fired power plants forced them to shut down, triggering rolling power cuts across the state, the lieutenant governor said Wednesday.Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said this is something that "should not happen." via Broken water pipes at power plants cited in outages | Facebook |…
Yesterday we welcomed the latest addition to our family. Abigail Nicole... Abigail Nicole was born at 11:10 am on February 1, 2011. Both Mother and Daughter are doing well and will be coming home by the end of the week. I took Grandson #2 up to the hospital in the…
It's Sunday morning and we are sitting here with the back door wide open. Listening to a light rain fall outside as the cool outside air filters in. It feels more like spring than the middle of winter. The low last night must not have fallen below 60°. The last half of…
