Street Signs & Flying Saucers

Standard Street Sign Installation

On the way home from work today, I noticed something at the intersection of Parker Road (Colorado 83) and Lincoln Avenue. Take a look at the picture above. Notice that the Town of Parker's backlit street signs are prominently displayed at this crossroads. This one is installed the way I have always seen them; hanging from the traffic signal arm. But then I looked diagonally across the street from this one and saw a sign mounted in a totally different manner (see next photo below).


An extra arm for the street sign.

I don't know if there was a problem and the street sign had to be remounted, or if it was just an alternate way of hanging it. Still, it is odd that there are two methods at the same intersection.

Now for you UFO nuts out there, here is one to get you going. I noticed in one of the photos that there was an object in the sky. Now I figure it is just a reflection on the lens or on the windshield of my car.


Look! Up in the sky!

But lets take a closer look at the mysterious object. It seems to have a glowing white dome with a saucer surrounding it. Could this be an alien spaceship? No, but it does show how such things can get started.


The UFO over Parker

I must add however that I am still sore from the alien probe! ;)

License Plate Triviality

I tend to notice trivial things. For example, below are two examples of Texas license plates currently in use. The top one is a newer version than the one below it, and has a few changes from the older style below. First notice the shape of Texas in the middle of the plate. On the older edition, the state is colored red. On the new one a piece of the Texas flag is superimposed on the map. Then notice the space shuttle in the upper left corner. On the new version, the shuttle sports a United States flag, and has seven distinct stars above it that are missing from the previous version. These represent the lost astronauts of the shuttle Challenger.

Also over the years, the format of the license number has been revised to insure enough unique numbers were available. I can remember formats that included two alphabetic characters and four numbers, three alphas and three numbers, three numbers and three alphas, and an alpha with two numbers followed by three alphas.

That last format is on the second plate below. But on the new plates, Texas has gone back to the three number/three alpha format.


The "new" Texas plate


Previous edition Texas plate

I remember a legislative and public relations brouhaha a few years back when I still lived in Texas. It involved a proposed and approved design for a new license plate. It was to be powder blue and carry the official state motto, "The Friendship State". Well what an uproar that caused! Powder blue and friendship? Too wussified for a state known for cowboys and manliness! The plan was quickly revised, and a plate that had just the state name and flag was adopted.

There is one more thing. The person who owns the second plate is at risk of being arrested. There is a new law in Texas that no attachment (such as a frame) may obscure the state name, motto, or other design elements on the tag. This frame from a dealership covers up part of the bottom design, including the phrase "The Lone Star State". In effect, this gives police a reason to stop and harrass a motorist who has committed no other infraction, even if the plates digits are clearly visible.

Here are two links about this insanity foisted upon Texans by Governor Rick Perry and the state legislature.

• A blogger talks about it
• Another news report about it
  

Happy Birthday, Mister President

Today would have been the 90th birthday of President John Kennedy. The moment gives me pause to think about what different times we now have than during the Camelot years.

What did the assassination of the young President in Dallas that horrible November day take from us? It is possible that we lost much more than a political leader; we likely have had a very different past and present. It is arguable that the debacle in Viet Nam would not have been escalated to the level that Lyndon Johnson oversaw. Without the divisiveness of that conflict tearing the fabric of the nation, would we have avoided the massive deaths now enshrined on a black wall in Washington? Would the young lives taken by the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University be with us still? Would America have elected former Vice President Richard Nixon to the Presidency on the promise of a "secret plan" to end the war? Would President Kennedy have led a full life as an elder statesman? We will never know the answers to these questions, but it is interesting to speculate.

The Problem of Evil

The gods can either take away evil from the world and will not, or, being willing to do so cannot; or they neither can nor will, or lastly, they are able and willing.

If they have the will to remove evil and cannot, then they are not omnipotent. If they can but will not, then they are not benevolent. If they are neither able nor willing, they are neither omnipotent nor benevolent.

Lastly, if they are both able and willing to annihilate evil, why does it exist?

The Greek philosopher, Epicurus, expressed those thoughts in his collection, Aphorisms. What he was addressing has since been succinctly become known as the problem of evil. Epicurus lived from about 341 BCE to 279 BCE, and in the 2.3 millennia since, no philosopher, theologian, thinker, priest, preacher, or shaman has been able to resolve the issue. Attempts to do just that are known as theodicy.

Given the existence of what we call evil in the world, it makes an omnibenevolent and simultaneously omnipotent god an impossibility. Any human being who knows in advance of a crime that is about to be committed and has the power to stop it, yet stands idly by is an accessory to the deed. With that standard, God as described by most religions is the greatest criminal accomplice of all time.

Let's look at one fairly recent example. Let's suppose that you knew that Timothy McVeigh was headed toward Oklahoma City in a truck full of explosives to park it under the day care center at the Murrah Federal Building. Let's also imagine that not only do you have preknowledge of the plan, but that you had the power to stop it. Not only that, but at absolutely no risk to yourself. Given that set of facts, if you sat idly by, didn't get people out of the building, didn't stop McVeigh, would you not have the blood of 168 victims on your own hands?

That is a high toll, yet it is a mere drop in the ocean of death and destruction needlessly caused by acts of man or acts of nature. Not only have human beings killed millions upon millions of their own, nature does an outstanding job of dealing death as well. From earthquakes in Iran, to Hurricane Katrina, to the deaths of over 200,000 in the tsunami of December 2004; natural calamities have no feeling or intent; no malice or altruism. They just happen.

Isn't this just what one would expect in a universe without a god? The universe doesn't care what happens to us, we just get in the way sometimes. The only ones who care about humanity are people themselves, and all too often, they don't care either.

So, I have to ask my religious friends, what would be different from the world we have if there were no god? I submit there would be no difference, as it is readily apparent that gods, devils, angels, demons, and the like are mere constructs of the human mind. Salvation is not coming from above, but from the efforts we ourselves put into making this little spot in the universe a better place. The best way to start is to abandon the provincial concepts of "my god is better than your god, mine is the TRUE one, yours is false", and instead work toward a world where we take care of each other. No one else is going to do so.

Speed Traps, or "Here's the 10-20 on the Smokeys"

In an earlier post, I mentioned the notorious speed trap known as Estelline, Texas. Well, it isn't just small towns that entrap motorists. The National Motorists Association has come out with its list of the top speed traps cities in the U.S. Here are the top ten worst places to speed:

1. Detroit & Suburbs
2. Colorado Springs
3. Houston
4. Orlando
5. Nashville
6. Ann Arbor
7. Albuquerque
8. Washington
9. Denver
10. Virginia Beach

The NMA gets reports of speedtraps on its web site, www.speedtrap.org. While these are the places that top the reports, they say that many other places have arbitrarily low limits and heavy enforcement, so motorists should beware. Obviously, public safety is not the primary reason for such traps; rather revenue and harrassment seem to be the motivating factors.

Just another reason to watch your speed. And while many cops are good citizens and public servants, too many others are in the business as a legal way to bully others. Who needs that hassle?

Galveston, oh Galveston

Rocky shoreline

Not much to say in this post; just sharing a few more pictures I took last Thursday in Galveston. The rocky shoreline above is on the eastern end of Galveston Island, near the site of the former Fort San Jacinto. Since this point of land is at the entrance and exit to Galveston Bay from the Gulf of Mexico, it was an important defense position. This is why the fort used to be here.

There is a large concrete base for large artillery remaining at this far eastern part of the island. This is where the unidentified woman in the picture below chose to relax for a few moments and watch the ships heading in and out of the Ports of Galveston and Houston.


A woman enjoys the sound of the surf and the view of the ships

Here are some more ships coming and going. This is how we get much of our petroleum, as well as all of the cheap junk made in China and sold at Wal-Mart.


Busy shipping lanes at the entrance to Galveston Bay

Further to the west, I saw this lone seashell resting on the sandy beach on the part of the island where there is no seawall. Shortly after I shot this, my sister-in-law laid claim to this former mollusk home.


She sells seashells down by the seashore

In town near the Opera House, I saw the side of a building painted with layers of old advertising. The Wrigley's Spearmint Gum ad still remains visible . . . "Buy it by the box. The flavor lasts."


Old advertising on a brick wall

You can also see the Uneeda Biscuit ad that once graced the wall. A painted ad for Coca-Cola is to the right, but has been repainted more recently. The rubble below indicates that perhaps an adjacent building was demolished, exposing these old advertising signs.

Historic Galveston

Bishop's Palace in Galveston, Texas

When people think about Galveston, many things come to mind. Seawall Boulevard, Stewart Beach, the Bolivar Ferry and the 1900 Hurricane are some of them. However, what many don't know is that Galveston is also home to many examples of Victorian architecture. The Strand district has many historic buildings that have been maintained over the years.

While driving down Broadway, there are also several examples of such architecture. The mansion in the picture above is named Bishop's Palace, and is open for tours. Unfortunately, time did not permit a tour of the interior this trip, but I managed to get a few pictures of the exterior of this fine building.

Across the street from the Bishop's Palace is Sacred Heart Catholic Church. While I am certainly no fan of religion, there is no doubt that some of the world's most beautiful buildings are houses of worship. What is striking about Sacred Heart is the gleaming white color and the detail of the architecture. On the roof of the tower portions, just above the top parapet, there are stone fleur-de-lis at each of the corners. Surrounded by palm trees, this outstanding structure cannot be missed.


Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Galveston

Over on Postoffice Street, The Grand 1894 Opera House is still in business. It hosts a variety of shows throughout the year, including Banjomania every Father's Day weekend, as well as its role as a venue for private events. Built six years before the Great Hurricane of 1900 at a cost of $100,000 dollars, this historic building has survived many storms and serves today as both a cultural attraction and a link to Galveston's past.


The Grand 1894 Opera House

The image below is the main entryway to the Opera House, showing the arch and the box office located just inside the arch.


Opera House entryway

Here is a detailed close up of the 1894 medallion at the peak of the archway. These pictures barely scratch the surface of the classic architecture that is pervasive over much of the city. It would be easy to spend a lot of time exploring Galveston's past and present. Someday I hope to do more of that.


Detail at top of arch, showing the year it was built

Even More Houston Road Geekiness

One messed up sign!

Okie dokie, here are some more Houston highway shots for you photo hungry road geeks out there. As always, you can click the pic for a bigger version.

The picture above is in a construction zone between Sugar Land and Richmond, Texas. The story here is that the old freeway bridge over the Brazos River is being demolished and rebuilt, so they have diverted traffic off onto the feeder streets. This was beside the feeder and is obviously a temporary sign, but you'd think they could at least take a little pride in their work! The SOUTH banner should be above the highway shield, not below it. Looks like they have more than enough room to do it, but NOOOOO!

Ultimately, this stretch of freeway is slated to become part of the new Interstate Highway 69!


US 59 braided ramp

As TxDOT has been rebuilding freeways, they have also been eliminating a hazard. The ramps on and off of the freeway to the feeder streets (frontage roads) used to go onto the freeway and then the off ramp following immediately thereafter for the next intersection. People used to pull a maneuver called slingshotting, where they would run off of a congested rush hour freeway, race down the feeder and pop back on. Plus you would have a traffic weave on the highway or on the feeder, depending on ramp placement. These braided on/off ramp combos are being put into place, and should reduce slingshotting, as well as totally eliminate the dangerous weaves. These are more expensive, but hey, Texas does there freeways like everything else...BIG!

Speaking of big, I took my own shot of one of the Katy Freeway stars. Each intersection has the star painted a different color, and are quite striking.


You can drive your car, on a road that has a star!

And just for grins, here is another shot of the new signs on the Katy. This was taken from the westbound feeder. The BGS shows the exit to the new Grand Parkway, Texas 99, which will someday be a third major freeway loop around Houston. Notice the exit number . . . 743. That's right, 743 miles to where I-10 leaves Texas and crosses into New Mexico. This may be the only Interstate anywhere that has mile markers in the eight-hundreds! That occurs when you leave Louisiana and enter Texas on the eastern side.


Katy Freeway Feeder

Here are a couple of old I-45 markers on a cross street. Looks to me like the North signs had a bad run in with a truck at one time or another.


I-45 . . . No place but in Texas

Speaking of Interstate shields, all over town on various city streets are directional signs for the freeway HOV lanes. This one is on Westheimer Road at Wilcrest. It seems that all over Houston they have standardized new Interstate shields on the wide 3-digit format for all roads. Compare the picture below with the one directly above. This is pervasive on all new signs I saw.


Directions for a quick HOV trip into Downtown

Finally, let's wrap up this post with a nice skyline shot. This is on the North Freeway (I-45) southbound approaching Downtown. This freeway has the oldest HOV lane in town. Back in the 70s, Houston had a trial of something called contraflow lanes for car pools and busses. Holes were drilled on the inside lane dividers both directions. Then just before morning rush, a truck loaded with pylons and a man on the back would drive down the lane. The man would insert the pylons in the holes, so that the outbound left lane became an inbound, or contraflow, lane. Then after the rush, the truck would again make the trip and the man would collect the pylons. Then for the evening rush, the same procedure would turn the left-hand inbound lane was a contraflow outbound lane. Dangerous? Hell yes. For the man in the truck AND for the head on freeway traffic. But, it did prove the concept of HOV lanes, and the North Freeway got the first one in town.


Downtown in sight on the North Freeway

More From the Road

Stop signals embedded in the pavement

While in Houston last week, I came across a couple of examples of something I had never seen before. That is signal lights embedded in the pavement. The example in the photo above is under a skywalk near The Galleria, where red lights are embedded and facing the oncoming traffic. When the signal light is red, the ones in the pavement also light up. When the light changes to green, the pavement lights go out.

Even more striking were embedded lights in the Theater District downtown. Flashing amber-colored lights in the road surface marked the crosswalks, and made one very aware of pedestrians crossing, especially at night. Unfortunately, I didn't get a shot of one of those. Maybe next time.

The next photo shows a sample of the types of Big Green Signs being used in new freeway construction around Houston. Not only are these notable for the attractive gantry support and their use of the new Clearview font; they also do away with the directional exit number tabs. Instead, the exit numbers are contained within part of the BGS separated by a line. Instead of a left-aligned tab for exits to the left, and right aligned for exits to the right; direction for the exit is indicated only by the orientation of the text itself.


Interstate Highway 10 (Katy Freeway) westbound approaching Katy, Texas

For comparison, here is an example of the old style taken in the Denver area. Notice the left tab for left Exit 217B and the right tab for right Exit 217A. Also notice the sloppy sign hanging job, as the 217A sign is not installed parallel with the sign to its left.


Example of old-style exit tabs

Also, I noticed on the Katy Freeway photo there are no lighting booms. I am not sure how these signs are illuminated, but I don't believe they are backlit.

The next photo was taken through a dirty windshield, but you can get the idea. This is also the older, tabbed BGS style, but this one is significant as it marks the southern terminus of Interstate 45. This is in Galveston, where Broadway becomes a freeway headed north toward Houston and Dallas. A couple of interesting items here. One, the wrong, wider shield is used for the Interstate 45 indicator; and there is not a sign indicating the beginning or ending of I-45 on either side of the highway. The causeway connecting Galveston Island to the mainland is just a few miles down the road from here.


Beginning of I-45 Northbound. Mile 1 exits a mile or so ahead!

Keep checking in. Lots more to come.

Williams Tower

Metro bus routes at the Williams Tower stop

Okay, its time to get started with some of the photos from last week's trip to Houston. A good place to start is the iconic Williams Tower on South Post Oak in the Uptown District, also known as The Galleria Area.

Williams Tower was constructed in a record 16 months, and was completed in 1983. It was originally known as Transco Tower, and many locals still refer to the building that way. Transco Energy, the major tennant, was acquired by Tulsa-based Williams, thus the renaming of the building.


Williams (formerly Transco) Tower.
Notice the lone cloud reflected in the buiding's glass surface.

I worked across the freeway from this structure during its construction, and watched over the months as it rose from the ground to its ultimate height of 64-stories and 901 feet above the street below. The tower's architects, Philip Johnson and John Burgee, created in glass the echoes of Art Deco skyscrapers of stone. Topping off the building is a rotating beacon that sweeps across the nighttime skies of Houston. When I fly into Hobby Airport, it is one of the things I look for on approach, although most flights I have taken into Bush Intercontinental take a path too far to the north to readily identify it.

This building's design is unusual in other ways; for example, it is actually built as two separate buildings stacked one atop the other, each with its own lobby and elevator system. At the time it opened, it was the tallest skyscraper in the world outside of its city's central business district. Currently, it is the fourth tallest building in Texas.


Front facade

Adjacent to the Williams Tower is the Waterwall. Situated across a park green to the south of the tower, the waterwall is another Houston landmark. The first photo below is a view of the entire north-facing front of the waterwall.


Waterwall

Here is a picture I took up close, under one of the arches. I like the arcs, lines, and angles of this shot.


Waterwall close up

Anyone interested in architecture should definitely make a stop at the Williams Tower when visiting Houston.

Ah, the Joy of Broadband!

The wifey's sandals, abandoned for a wade in the Gulf of Mexico at Galveston

Well, as my parents do not have broadband Internet at their home and I have no dial-up account, I have not been able to post for a few days. So, tonight I am at The Coffee Groundz in Sugar Land to log into our flight back to Colorado tomorrow on the Internet, and decided to make a quick post. I have lots of good road geek pictures to share, photos of Galveston and a few around Houston. When I get back home, these will be going up for all to enjoy.

In the meantime, let it be known that ole Randy is still rambling and has lots to say and photos to share, so stay tuned. Below is one to whet your appetite. This is The Swinging Door barbeque just outside of Richmond, Texas. They have, hands down, the best Texas barbeque around. Smoked on aged pecan wood, their tasty fare cannot be beat. I used to eat here frequently when I lived in Fort Bend County, and had to return during this trip to Texas. It remains as good as ever. A little out of the way on FM 359, but worth the hunt.

See you all back here soon!


The best Texas barbeque in the world is at The Swinging Door

Good luck and good flying!

Yesterday was interesting as far as Saturday's go. My lovely wife and I went to Denver International Airport for our trip to Houston. Our morning flight was overbooked, so we decided to volunteer for a later flight, particularly since we had middle seats and not together. In exchange, we got two free round-trip tickets to anywhere in the 48 contiguous United States, good for two years. What a deal. We were confirmed on a flight 6 hours later, and put on standby for one in 3 hours. Lucky us! We got on the one 3 hours later, which was a nice Embraer regional jet with wide, leather seats. Still not seated together, but a United pilot who was riding along next to me changed seats with my wife, so we got to sit together on the flight down.

It used to be that when I rented cars from Thrifty at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, I had to go to a remote lot on Beltway 8. Now, all the rental car companies have a huge complex of their own on the airport grounds, with a shared shuttle bus for all of them. Very nice! Our car ended up being a Chrysler PT Cruiser, which I like, but my wife doesn't. Oh well, it is only a rental. We aren't buying it, and it will be fun to tool around town in.

So, here we are in southeast Texas, with free airline tickets to use at a later date, and it is a beautiful (albeit humid) day. Pictures will follow soon as I take them and get back to a broadband connection. Currently I am posting from Panera Bread in Sugar Land. In addition, I hope to get down to Galveston this week. Should have good pics from there as well.

Oh, by the way. Happy Mothers' Day to moms everywhere. You all have the most important job there is.

Even More Signs Along the Road

The old school state line signs welcoming you to Texas

When I was a kid and we used to travel to Oklahoma City to my grandparents' homes, the trip home always had one of these style signs along the highway re-entering Texas. I came upon this one back in the summer of 1999 at Texline, Texas, entering the Lone Star State from New Mexico on US 87. Texline is near the far northwest corner of the panhandle, near the convergence of New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. Had I been making my upcoming trip to Houston via the highway as originally planned, I would have passed by this spot. I am curious if this marker is still in place, although I imagine that it probably is. While this spot is only about 300 miles from where I live, you lose one hour passing this sign, as this is a point where you leave the Mountain time zone and enter the Central. Just a few miles to the west is Clayton, New Mexico, and about 50 miles west is the extinct Capulin volcano.

Since this post is another about signs along the road, lets show a few more. Here is a sign directing motorists to Houston's Westpark Tollway, curiously spelled as "West Park". This toll road is a new one that follows the corridor of the former Westpark Road, extending from the big bend in the Southwest Freeway (US 59) out to the west toward the town of Katy.

The Houston Toll Road Authority also operates the Sam Houston Tollway (Beltway 8), and the Hardy Toll Road that parallels I-45, the North Freeway from the 610 loop northward. These pentagonal blue signs are commonly used as county road markers in many states around the nation, but they are used in Houston in this fashion, designating toll roads. The Westpark Tollway has no toll collectors, as you must have an electronic toll transponder on your vehicle to use it. The HTRA calls their transponder EZ Tag.

Since I mentioned Beltway 8, a little known fact is that Beltway 8, a state highway, is technically only the feeder streets along the tollway wherever the main lanes are tolled. The main lanes are just the Sam Houston Tollway. This is because of a rule that state highways cannot be toll roads.

Just for grins, here is a signpost hosting a junction sign in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is where one of the city streets approaches an on ramp to the I-244 / US 412 freeway. Despite its 3-digit, even initial digit number, I-244 is not a loop, but instead connects I-44 on the west side of town to I-44 on the east side of town, paralleling I-44 a few miles to the north. The so-called Inner Dispersal Loop, or IDL, is a little loop around downtown comprised of I-244 and unsigned I-444, also not a full loop. Tulsa is also laid out a bit unusually, since downtown is not at the city's center, but is near the northwest corner of the city limits.

The Grand Canyon of Texas

When Coronado's expedition was traveling across what is today the Texas Panhandle, they were exploring a flat prairie. I can only imagine their surprise to find a beautiful canyon cut into the arid, level landscape by a river. Today we call the river the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. We call the Canyon Palo Duro.


A view from the floor of Palo Duro Canyon

This natural wonder located to the south of Amarillo and just east of the town of Canyon is the second largest canyon in the United States, the largest being Arizona's Grand Canyon. Formed by erosion of 240-million years, Palo Duro Canyon was home to people since prehistoric times, as the attraction of the river's water and its sheltering walls made it appealing as a habitat. The walls of the canyon are over 800 feet high, and it is home to a wide variety of indigenous flora and fauna.


A view from the top

Today visitors to Palo Duro Canyon can enjoy a variety of activities, from exploring fossils of extinct life forms, to a presentation in an amphitheater, to riding a chuck wagon train into the canyon for a cowboy breakfast.

When people think of Amarillo, they often think of the Big Texan Steak House or the Cadillac Ranch. I prefer the natural beauty of Palo Duro Canyon. It is a place you must see if you enjoy geology, history, or just the artistry of the forces of nature.


Yet another view from the top of the canyon

Toonerville Trolley

Early 20th Century version of "light rail", the Bellaire Line.
Click on photo for larger version.

Bellaire Boulevard is a wide, tree-lined thoroughfare as it traverses the city of Bellaire, Texas. It has a wide, park-like esplanade, and is a very pleasant part of the greater Houston area. After it leaves the cities of Bellaire and West University Place to the east, it makes its way to the Texas Medical Center as Holcombe Boulevard after re-entering Houston.

In the early years of the last century, there was a trolley line that connected Bellaire to the Houston trolley line at South Main Street. The city of Bellaire has one of the old trolley cars preserved for posterity in the middle of the esplanade, along with an historical marker, seen below.

The text on the marker reads as follows:

Bellaire Streetcar Line

In 1909 the Westmoreland Railroad Company, directed by Bellaire developer William Wright Baldwin, began construction of a streetcar line between this site and Houston's Main Street (4 mile) to improve transportation between Bellaire and Houston. Laid out on the esplanade of Bellaire Boulevard, the streetcar line consisted of one railway track and an overhead electric wire. The line terminated at this site, where the company constructed a waiting pavilion and a turnaround loop. At the same time, the Houston Electric Company extended its south end line from Eagle Avenue down present Fannin Street to connect with the Bellaire line at Bellaire Boulevard (now part of Holcombe Boulevard). The trip between Bellaire and downtown Houston required one transfer at Eagle Avenue. Service began on December 28, 1910.

The streetcar line, often called the "Toonerville Trolley", became an integral link between Bellaire and Houston and played a vital role in the development of this area. The availability of motor transport and frequent derailments caused by worn-out track led to the abandonment of the line on September 26, 1927. Motor bus service began the following day.

For the sake of comparison, here is Houston's 21st century version, MetroRail.


MetroRail southbound in Hermann Park

Common Sunflowers

The common sunflower, the state flower of Kansas

Drive along the highways and you will almost certainly come across the common sunflower, or Helianthus Annuus, growing in fields along the roadside. These bright yellow blooms not only resemble the common image of the sun, but also turn their faces toward old Sol as he traverses the sky.

The common sunflower is a plant that almost every part can be used to create products, such as yellow dye from the petals, purple dye from the seeds, cooking oil, soap, and many others. The common sunflower is a much smaller bloom than its relative, the giant sunflower. Not only does the giant variety grow taller and have a huge flower, it also has only one flower per plant; whereas the common sunflower branches out and has many blooms per plant. The giant sunflower is actually a product of human intervention in directed evolution, being developed by people from the common sunflower.



In the photo above, you can see the fuzzy stem of the sunflower. While many times the sunflower is seen as a weed, it is a very beautiful flower in its own right.

Below is the sunflower as depicted on the Kansas State Highway shield.

Playing a Little Bit of Catch Up

Okay, how the heck did I get so busy that I haven't posted in a week? Well, lets talk about a few things, shall we?

Trip to Dallas


Looking up inside the biodome at the Gaylord Texan resort

First of all, my week at the trade show last week in Grapevine was a full agenda, from the daily opening of the eyes, until nearly midnight. The Gaylord Texan resort is a very nice facility, but after a week inside this enclosed environment (even the "courtyard" is inside a glass dome), I was aching to get some non-conditioned air. We did get one night outside, as my company took bus loads of employees and channel partners for a barbeque night out at Lone Star Park to see the horses race, but it is regrettable that I didn't have the time to do much other than teach seminars and work a booth. Still, that is why I was there, was it not? In actuality, Sunday was a free day and they had me scheduled on a flight out at 8 PM, but with a work week ahead starting on Monday morning, I flew out on standby before 10 AM. Back in Denver in time for lunch! Maybe next time I get down to Dallas I can enjoy more of what that great city has to offer.

The indoor courtyard was welcome last Wednesday night though...a line of catastrophic thunder storms and tornadoes ripped through the DFW area, but inside the Gaylord Texan, we all had plenty of room to roam around inside the biodome, while it looked like the Apocalypse had begun on the outside.

On the way to the horse track, I did see one Big Green Sign on one of the freeways that used the new Clearview font (read about this new font in my previous posts). Also at Lone Star Park, we were entertained by the Texas Gypsies and their mix of western swing, folk, and bluegrass sounds.


The Texas Gypsies make beautiful music

I also was surprised to see lots of families with their kids at the track. "Hey kids, forget doing your homework tonight! We're gonna go play the ponies!"


I think I won $17 with a $2 bet on the lead horse in this race!

Other entertainment at our trade show included Huey Lewis and The News, and country music phenom, Gretchen Wilson. I enjoyed their shows, but with the volume up so loud that it shakes your internal organs, there is no way the music isn't distorted to the point you can't even make out all the lyrics to the songs. This is one reason I don't go to concerts. I have no pictures of their performances, as cameras were forbidden, despite the fact that some people brought them anyway. Oh well, what'ya gonna do?

Also, comedian Jim Gaffigan kept us all in stitches with his hilarious comedy routine. His monologue about bacon and Hot Pockets was extremely funny.

Change of Plans

My anticipated road trip to Houston has also met with a change of plans, but it is my own doing. As much as I would have liked to drive, my wife and I decided to fly down so as to maximize our time with family down there. Still, I will get more photos while I am there. I guess the speed trap cop in Estelline will have to wait for another day to have his crack at me. I'll be 35,000 feet over him speeding by at over 500 mph.

OJ

Former football player, movie star, and murder suspect Orenthal J. Simpson was booted from a restaurant by its owner. The man reportedly sickened by the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman, along with the behavior of Simpson, asked him to leave the premises. Now OJ's lawyer is saying it is because OJ is black. What the hell? Puhleeze! Race has nothing to do with it. Could the attorney have a clue regarding any other reasons why Simpson is so despicable that a business man would want him to leave? Could it be because many people still consider Simpson to be guilty of two horrible butcherings of human beings? Could it be his mocking treatise, If I Did It? Being black has no part of why many people think that OJ Simpson is one of the most vile human beings on the planet. As for me, if I came across OJ on fire, I wouldn't bother to piss on him to put out the flames. Hate to waste good pee like that!

Kingdom Coming

I am just about finished reading a very eye opening book entitled Kingdom Coming - The Rise of Christian Nationalism, by Michelle Goldberg. This book has shot to the top of my must read list for anyone who cares about America. Goldberg spent her research interviewing and researching the people involved in the Christian Nationalism, or Reconstructionist movement. These folks have taken over not only the Republican party, but also hijacked much of mainstream Christianity in the United States in their effort to rule our beloved country by their narrow interpretation of the Bible, rather than by our Constitution. This book shows how many of the movements leaders, such as Tim LaHaye, are former John Birch Society members, and have taken the extremist views of the JBS into the modern Republican party and into the evangelical church. Such views were once repudiated by even the likes of Barry Goldwater. Now, through a grassroots takeover of the GOP, they have become the platform of much of the party.