A Scofflaw in Texas!

This is a photo I took last week of a Lexus driving east on Richmond Avenue in Houston. It drew my attention, as it was a European-style plate, but had a Texas flag on it. Now I know that Texas allows its drivers to order a wide variety of custom plates on myplates.com, but I have never seen one of these.

Well, as it turns out, a quick Google search yielded the site this was obviously purchased from. What is interesting is that these are novelty plates only, and are not to be used in place of the state-sanctioned plates. In fact, the site that manufactures these has a warning about this on one of their pages, seen here.




So, obviously we have a case of someone thinking they are above the law. But the way I see people driving in Houston, I doubt that is an infrequent feeling amongst the motorists there.

Presidents & Super Guys

In the news this week is the appearance of President-Elect Barack Obama in the new issue of The Amazing Spiderman. In the story, our hero, Spidey, saves the day at the inauguration by taking down an impostor Obama, and is thanked by the new President with an Obama fist bump.

Mr. Obama has said that he used to collect Spiderman comic books. So this tribute seems quite appropriate. A week from Tuesday, we will officially have a geek president. As a geek myself and former comic book collector, I must say this is a good thing.

As great as this is, Obama is not the first President of the United States to be paid homage in the comic books. Somewhere in my collection, I have an issue of Superman that contains a story that was planned for publication, but was put on hold after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The story finally saw the light of day when it was published in 1964 at the request of President Lyndon Johnson and the Kennedy Family as a tribute to the slain President. The story behind this issue, and the decision not to use Kennedy's image on the cover is documented very well on "Dial B for Blog".

There have been other instances of Presidents appearing in the comics as well, so this latest issue of Spiderman carries on the tradition. If I can find one, I will definitely have to pick up a copy.




President Kennedy was entrusted with Superman's Secret Identity

Just Flying Around

Our routes to and from Houston

Last night, the lovely spouse and I made our return trip to Colorado from Houston. All in all, a good trip. We flew out of Denver International Airport on New Year's Eve, and our trip took us over Colorado, clipping the northeastern corner of New Mexico, and barely missing Oklahoma airspace as we entered the Texas Panhandle. Of course, as we left Denver, the Continental jet that crashed taking off for Houston was still sitting, cracked and burned up, in a ravine. As it was dark, we didn't see it.

As you can see from the map above, our trip took us right over the Dallas-Fort Worth area both coming and going. On the way down, I got this halfway decent picture of the Metroplex from over 39,000 feet as we cruised by. The camera is generally looking toward the northeast, and while it is not totally sharp because of the motion of the airplane, it isn't bad. On the full-sized version, you can actually see the semi-circular terminals at DFW International airport. To help you identify what you are looking at, I have added a few labels. Be sure to click on the picture for a large version to see them. You may have to scroll right and left to see it all.


Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas from 39,000 feet up! Click the picture to get a better view.

Then on the approach to Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, it was after ten o'clock PM local time. What was amazing was seeing the fireworks popping up all over the city! I have never flown on New Year's Eve or Independence Day evening before, so this was an unexpected treat.

What wasn't a treat was the 2 hours spent on the SuperShuttle van. There was one passenger who couldn't speak much English, and his destination was not on the GPS, so it took about half an hour to get that resolved. We greeted 2009 in the back seat of the SuperShuttle. We finally got to my parent's home at around 1 AM or so.

Leaving Houston last night, we left the gate, and then the plane stopped out on the taxiway for quite a while. Then it moves again, and we end up back at the gate. It turns out that a passenger was feeling ill, so they had to let her and her baggage off the aircraft. Leaving Houston about a half hour or so later than scheduled, we ended up in Denver only about 5 minutes late, thanks to making up time in the air.

Coming back we flew through Texas twice, Oklahoma twice, clipped the southwest corner of Kansas, and flew past Lamar and Limon, Colorado before landing at Denver. Over Wichita Falls, you could clearly see Oklahoma City. At that altitude, the horizon is about 250 miles away, and even though it was about 150 to OKC, it looked closer than that.

It is always good to see my parents, and it is always good to get back home!

Always Low Prices? Wow!

We all know that Walmart (formerly Wal-Mart) advertises low prices. However, if this isn't a mistaken sign posting, it has finally gotten to the point of being free. This was an end cap display of plastic bins for storing holiday decorations that I saw today at the Stafford, Texas store. What next? Maybe negative prices, meaning they pay you to take merchandise? Well, probably not.

2009 Resolutions

I have never been one to make New Year's resolutions. After all, a calendar is very arbitrary. One can make a fresh start on anything at anytime, without the benefit of a new number on the calendar. Still, 2009 seems like it will be a milestone year in a number of ways.

Shortly into the new year, we will see the United States, a nation that the current Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice said was “born with the birth defect of slavery”; inaugurate its first African-American President, proving that this is the land of opportunity and that we have made great strides in getting past the history of both slavery and racial discrimination. Hopefully we are a lot closer to the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King of an America where people are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

We are in the throes of an economic disaster that is the worst one in the lifetime of most Americans, and the deepest recession since the days of The Great Depression. We are finding out that the wisdom of living below one's means is always a good policy, and that saving for a rainy day isn't a bad idea. While we are still a long way from the type of economy that gripped the world during the 1930s, no one really knows how bad it will get, or how long it will last.

As people lose their jobs, they lose not only their income, but also their heath care. The new President and Congress must finally figure out a way to address the failings of our current system, which ends up being more expensive than it should, since we truly have not health care, but sick care. People cannot afford preventive measures, and end up in emergency rooms when things become dire. All of us end up paying the tab. Surely there is a better way to “promote the general welfare” of our citizens.

The spectre of global terrorism still is with us over seven years after the September 11 attacks; maybe more so than ever before. Horrific acts perpetrated by human beings upon other human beings because of some offense to their idea of a god threatens to bring untold misery to millions. This nation, despite all its military and economic might, cannot unilaterally impose its will upon the rest of the world, nor should it be our policy to attempt to do so. We must find a way to begin the arduous and lengthy process of trying to bring rational thought to irrational people.

This is doubly difficult when irrational thought still runs so rampant in America. As we saw in the Presidential primary debates, questions about whether a candidate believes literally in the Genesis mythology were asked. The office of President of the United States is a political office in a secular republic, not a pastoral position. The question is irrelevant and in fact flies in the face of the fact that there is no religious test for public office.

So knowing that there is little to nothing I can do in the face of these immense issues facing the nation and the world, I can only effect change in small ways; in ways that have a much more individual impact on me and those around me. With that, here are some New Year's resolutions for me for 2009.

1. Lose a few pounds - This is probably the most common one for many people, but let's just get it out of the way.

2. Keep my job – In this challenging economy, there are few things I can control. I cannot even control if my employer continues to keep me around. What I can control is to continue to give my best effort every day, give them a day's work for a day's pay; and hopefully my bosses will realize that I am a valuable asset to the business.

3. Feed the hungry – While the lovely spouse and I do occasionally get items for the food bank,we can do more.

4. Provide warmth – Get blankets and coats to some of those who have no home, and suffer the cold of the Colorado's winter.

5. Make more visits to my parents and the lovely spouse's parents – If employment remains stable in this horrific economy, I have reached the point where I finally get 3 weeks of vacation. Rather than one trip a year to each set of parents, more frequent trips of shorter duration will be the routine.

6. Explore alternate income sources – With the uncertainty of our economy, it is incumbent upon each of us to figure out ways to survive should the worst case scenario come to pass.

7. Change the world by contact – I am a compassionate person who tries to keep everything in perspective. I was not always this way, years ago being quick to anger over things that don't really matter. So I want to continue to reach out to people with grace, respect, and a calm demeanor, even in the midst of crises.

8. To be there for my family – I believe this is the case today. I want to continue this, whatever the situation.
   

I wish to all, peace, joy, love, and prosperity in 2009!

Non-Standard Roadsign Colors

It has been too long since I have posted any road geek photos, so let's remedy that right now. This is a picture of a 'YIELD' sign I saw in a Phoenix parking lot. I didn't Photoshop it, and yes, it is really blue. Looks weird, doesn't it?

Looks Like The Rolling Stones Logo

Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic Magazine, says humans are pattern seeking animals. This is why we see shapes of familiar things in the clouds and stars; and why people see the Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese sandwich.

I am not immune to this human trait. I noticed this hole punched in the tile of the cafeteria floor at work today. To me, it looks like the logo of the Rolling Stones, you know it...the open mouth with a tongue sticking out. What do you think?

Two Kinds of Coaches

After being unceremoniously dumped by the NFL's Houston Oilers, head coach Bum Phillips said, "There's two kinds of coaches. Them that's fired, and them that's gonna be fired." Today the Denver Broncos taught Coach Mike Shanahan the truth of Bum's words. The coach who has spent 14 years with the Broncos and led them to two Super Bowl victories was given his walking papers. In my opinion, it was high time.

The Broncos have barely broken .500 in three seasons. They had a three-game lead in there division this year, and only had to win one of three games to make the playoffs. They botched every chance. Fresh blood will do the team good.

After the Dallas Cowboys abysmal loss over the weekend, could Bum's son, Wade (a former Broncos coach himself) be tossed aside in Big "D" to give Tom Landry's old chair to Shanahan? I imagine we'll find out soon.

Digital Darkrooms

I have always enjoyed photography. Although I never had the proper resources to do the whole darkroom setup with enlarger, chemical baths, red lights and such; it has always fascinated me. My brother did dabble with this, and I thought it was a fascinating hobby.

I also recall the first time I saw a tin type photo and some of the work of Matthew Brady and his photos of the U.S. Civil War. As it turns out, the imperfection of the early photographic techniques give them a certain charm. Today, using digital post processing, one can recreate the look of some of these old photos fairly easily.

For years, I have used Adobe Photoshop, which is still the gold standard for digital image manipulation. The problems with this amazing product are its high cost and its steep learning curve. Luckily, there are powerful options for the photographer on a budget.

Since my main computer runs Linux, I cannot run Photoshop natively on it. I do run it under WINE, and it works fine. But there is a native Linux application known as the Gnu Image Manipulation Program, or The Gimp for short. The photo above started out as a full color digital photograph I took earlier this year in downtown Denver, Colorado. In a matter of about three minutes, I straightened it up, cropped out tell tale items like modern cars and signs, adjusted the levels, and applied a filter that gave it a treatment to mimic the look of a very old photo. If I had taken more time, I could do even more, like applying digital scratches and stains to it to further add to the illusion.

The Gimp will also run on Windows, but there is another very good (and free) program you can use to post process your pictures. It does require Windows, but is very powerful. It is called Paint.net, and is an absolutely amazing little piece of software.

To get these programs, click on these links:
The Gimp
Paint.net

For the sake of comparison, here is a small version of the original photo. Click on either one to see a larger image.

Dennis Yost & The Classics IV

Remember the 1960s hits, Stormy, Spooky, Traces, and Every Day With You Girl? These memorable songs were performed by Dennis Yost and the Classics IV. You couldn't turn on the radio during 1968 and 1969 and not hear one of their records being played.

I just learned that earlier this month, Dennis Yost, the group's mellow-voiced lead singer, died of respiratory failure. Dennis fell down the stairs about 3 years ago, suffering a brain trauma that left him unable to perform. Now at age 65, Dennis has lost his battle to live. Yet another baby boomer cultural icon gone.

Labels? We Got Labels!

Okay, it's time to take a look at a couple of wacky labels. The first one is obviously either written by Mr. Obvious, or maybe it was a result of the work of the Department of Redundancy Department.

On the right we see a package of peanuts I got out of a vending machine at work. Ordinary looking bag of peanuts, nothing unusual or seemingly out of the ordinary, right?

So, we flip over to the back of the bag, and what do we see? Wel, there is the typical list of ingredients. Here we see this product contains "peanuts, (vegetable oil or peanut oil), salt". Fine. Sounds like a wholesome snack.

But then we look a little further down, and see an allergy information line that warns us this product was "packed on equipment that processes peanuts and tree nuts". Ya think? It would be quite a feat if they were packed with equipment that doesn't handle peanuts.

This reminds me of the potato chips that we used to see in Oklahoma. I don't know if the brand is even made anymore, but we used to get "Kitty Clover Potato Chips". The bag always said "Untouched by human hands". I always wondered just what kind of hands were touching them during the production process!


























Then we also have this little jewel I picked up today. The lovely spouse and I drove all the way over to the Stapleton area to have lunch at Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que. Now I have to say that Dave's has just about the best barbeque anywhere. No matter if you want Texas-style brisket, Georgia pulled pork, Saint Louis ribs, or just some good sausage or barbequed chicken, Daves is great. I have some favorite places, such as "The Swinging Door" outside of Richmond, Texas; or Spring Creek Barbeque in the Dallas area. But Famous Dave's can stand up to (and probably beat) any of them.

So anyway, I opened the little wet napkin they give you to clean up and notice the tag line under the Famous Dave's logo. "Better than the family dog"? What? I could think of better comparisons than saying the meat you serve is better than the family dog. What was funnier still is that we almost ate at a Chinese restaurant, but the LS is so afraid that they really are serving dog meat that she is leery of them. So now what do we find at Dave's? "Better than the family dog"!

Shake & Make Foods

Back in the 1960s there were some shakeable foods that my sisters and I used to love to make. Both were based on the same idea. They came with a cup with a lid, and a tetrahedronical envelope of powder. You tore the end off an envelope, poured the powder into the cup, added milk, and shook the cup.

One of these products was Royal's Shake-A-Pudd'n. As you might guess, the agitation of shaking the powder and milk caused the mixture to set into a smooth pudding. Their commercials started with a jingle singing, "Pudd'n, Pudd'n, Shake-A-Pudd'n".

Then there was Great Shakes, a similar idea, but instead of pudding, you ended up with a frothy milk shake. Below is a Great Shakes commercial, courtesy of You Tube. These were great fun as a kid, and as I recall they didn't taste too bad either.