The New Mister Television

In the 1950s, comedian Milton Berle, fondly called "Uncle Miltie", was also given the nickname "Mister Television" for his groundbreaking work in the early days of network TV. Is there a successor to the title in today's world of 500 channels? If so, I nominate the ever ubiquitous Regis Philbin for the honor.

Regis just turns up all over the dial. His long-running Regis & Kelly (formerly Regis & Kathie Lee) continues in syndication; Game Show Network reruns ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire; Last year he hosted NBC's America's Got Talent, and he now is on a revival of the old favorite Password on CBS. In this revival of the old show that was amicably hosted by the late Allen Ludden, Regis Philbin and celebrity contestants play with the average Joe or Jane to see if they can give away a million bucks. And who better to do that than Reege? The new Million Dollar Password looks like it could be the latest hit game show, as it has all the core components...a familiar and likeable host, a million-dollar prize, and the nostagia factor to bring the baby boomers into the fan base.

I watched the premiere episode, and thought the contestant, Dante Mercadante (love that name), left too early. He was doing great, but got cold feet. But who can argue with his fifty-grand prize money?

The password is "entertaining".

The Ongoing I-69 Project

The ongoing project to extend Interstate Highway 69 south from Indianapolis to the Texas-Mexico border continues to move along slower than rush hour traffic. The plan has been surrounded by a number of controversies, with people fighting against it for anti-NAFTA reasons to conspiracy theories to environmental opposition. In Texas, the project is the Trans-Texas Corridor, and will run southwestward from Texarkana to an eventual triple fork running to the towns of Laredo, McAllen, and Brownsville, all on the Rio Grande and the Mexican border.

The Houston Chronicle reports today that TxDOT has changed plans to route the highway through rural areas to the north and west of Houston, instead using existing US 59 (the Southwest and Eastex Freeways), the 610 Look (West Loop and North Loop), or the Grand Parkway (Texas 99). Through most of the state, US 59 will become the new I-69, and while much upgrading is needed, a lot of this highway is already up to Interstate standards, particularly in the Houston area.

However, running the new "I" either straight through on US 59, or worse, putting it on 610 (the busiest highway in Texas, and possibly the U.S.) seems to me to be a bad idea. If this gets Grand Parkway completed, it will be a much better routing, in my opinion, although the new road will quickly become as developed and congested as the others. Still, it is far enough on the outskirts of the city to avoid running the Mexico to Canada traffic into the Bayou City's rush hours.

I-69 already exists from Indianapolis to the Canadian border in Michigan, and upon completion, this will be a major trade route from Mexico to the markets in Canada such as Toronto, Montreal, London, and other major cities. For more on I-69, check out the following links:

I-69 Article on Wikipedia

Keep Texas Moving

Snopes debunks a sexy I-69 myth

Houston Chronicle article about the routing of the highway

Let's Get Ready to Rumble!!!

Well, it is June 1, and it has been a while since I posted anything dealing with roadgeekery. Therefore, it's time to do so!

I took this picture in late April heading back to Colorado from Houston. It is a stretch of Texas Highway 6, just a few miles to the north of the towns of Bryan and College Station. Highway 6 is a major state highway that runs from Galveston County on the Gulf Coast, to the Red River where it crosses into Oklahoma to become Oklahoma Highway 6. Major cities of note on the route include Houston, College Station and Waco.

The thing that makes this stretch of highway interesting is the fact that there is not one center stripe, but two...one for each lane. But that's not all. Notice that there are not only rumble strips in the pavement on the outer edges of the roadway, but between the center stripes, there is also a rumble strip. This is a great idea, as it would give a loud, audible warning if a driver veers across into the oncoming lane. Such a simple thing could easily result in saved lives by warning inattentive drivers that they could be about to cause a deadly head-on accident.

This is one innovation that should be considered for all roads where oncoming traffic shares the pavement without benefit of an esplanade.

My PCLOS Haiku

On the discussion board for PCLinuxOS, someone started a thread to post haiku about the operating system. Developed by a guy in Houston who calls himself Texstar online, it is a great Linux distribution. So anyway, I wrote some haiku for the thread at the forum, and decided to post them here. So away we go . . .

Haiku #1

PC was too slow
Got an OS from Texstar
Best upgrade ever!

Haiku #2

My OS of choice?
Make mine PCLOS.
No Microsoft here.

Haiku #3

Use Linux? Of course!
Customizable? You bet!
Fast, safe, and secure!

Get Ready for the Aliens!

Will the city of Denver have an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission? It will if Denver resident Jeff Peckman has his way. The 54-year-old who reportedly lives with his parents (big surprise, huh?) has been petitioning the city to create such a commission just in case we have an otherworldly visitor.

Today, Peckman is supporting his case by showing a film that purports to be actual video of a space alien. One film "expert" says that it appears to be real and not doctored in any way. Allrighty then.

Long time Denver residents complain about the Californication of Colorado by the influx of folks from the west coast. Just wait until the aliens get here. Nobody will be able to get a seat on the light rail!

CLICK HERE for a story on this from The Denver Post.

Ding Ding!

This week I have noticed a number of traffic counters deployed on various thoroughfares around Parker, Colorado. I am not sure why the counts are occurring, but I have to assume that a study is underway for planning which roads may need upgrades. These counting devices consist of a pressure hose stretched across the roadway and every time a set of tires rolls over it, a counter is incremented.

This got me thinking about another pressure hose device that used to be very common. Back when gasoline was purchased at a "service station" (they actually pumped your gas and performed other maintenance checks), there was a pressure hose across the vehicle paths that was connected to a loud bell. When a car entered the pump area, a loud "ding ding" was heard, notifying employees that a customer had arrived. I don't remember when the last time I encountered one of those was, but it has to be years, maybe even decades ago. Still, the sound is indelibly written into my memory to the point that I would instantly recognize it if I heard it today.

This makes one think . . . how many of today's adult drivers have no recollection of this once-familiar sound? Many people cannot remember a time when the station personnel pumped gasoline, checked fluid levels and tire pressure, washed the windows, and wore uniforms with the oil company's logo on their shirts. For that matter, how many people now driving remember gasoline selling for less than 35 cents per gallon?

One other thing provided free by service stations were roadmaps. One thing I have always loved is maps, and as a young kid, I was always glad when I could pick up a new road map at a service station.

Speaking of gas stations, I recall that the more expensive gas used to be called "High-Test" or "Ethyl". I believe Ethyl Corporation made an additive that boosted octane. However, it contained lead, and was eventually phased out of motor fuels. Every brand of gasoline tried hard to differentiate its product from the competition. There was Texaco's Fire Chief and Sky Chief brands. Super Shell with the mysterious additive "TCP" was also available. I remember my dad joking that TCP stood for a "TeaCup of Phillips". Phillips 66 future merger partner used the slogan, "Conoco! Hottest Brand Going!" Many other brands have been merged out of existence, such as Skelly, Apco, D-X, Gulf, and Sohio/Boron. Humble, Esso, Enco, and others were rebranded Exxon. Cities Service is now Citgo. Atlantic and Richfield became Arco, and now is part of BP if memory serves. More obscure brands included Gibble Gas, Hess, Fina, Pure, and Clarke.

Ding Ding!

Sunday at the Meat And Three

Well, this has been a rather busy month for me, hence the lack of posting on the blog. But so as to not disappoint my few readers, it's time for another post.

Last night I returned from Tennessee courtesy of Southwest Airlines. My company had its annual retailer conference at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville. What a crazy five days! And what an enormous hotel. Last year, we were at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas, and the Opryland facility is much, MUCH larger than that one. The lush foliage and waterfalls inside the biodome give the appearance of being in a tropical jungle, and it is really weird. It feels like you are outside, but you are really inside a glass dome. Pretty, but it doesn't feel quite right to me.

Anyway, the trip afforded me the opportunity yesterday to see my uncle, aunt, and cousin who live just outside of Nashville. They took me to lunch at a type of place that Nashvillians love . . . generically known as a "Meat and Three", called this because they serve a meal of a choice of meat and three side dishes for a fixed price. This is apparently a common type of establishment in the southern United States, but I don't recall having heard of them as this before. These places are typically family owned and serve what I consider home-style cooking. If you think Cracker Barrel or Black-Eyed Pea, you get the idea of the kind of food, only these are little hole-in-the-wall joints, rather than bland, cookie-cutter, corporate-owned chain restaurants.

The place we went was The Dinner Bell Restaurant on Lebanon Pike in Donelson, Tennessee. The service was fast and the food was delicious. I had a fried boneless chicken breast for the meat, and selected for brocolli and rice casserole, fresh sliced tomatoes, and cooked cabbage as my three sides. Oh man, was it ever tasty!

There was a steady stream of customers, but with the fast service and table turnover, seating was not a problem. We arrived just before the "after church" Sunday diners started coming in.

I don't know if there are any real Meat and Threes here in Colorado, but I now plan to see if there are any out there.

Okay, so it stuck!

Beautiful, ain't it? But this is springtime!

(Photo taken on MotoQ cell phone)

Yeah, I know. Here is a view out the back window about an hour after I said the snow probably wouldn't stick. If this keeps up, maybe we'll have a white Memorial Day!

That Blasted Groundhog!

Back on February 2, Punxatawney Phil, the weather forecasting groundhog, predicted 6 more weeks of Winter. So here we are 13 weeks later, the first of May, and it is snowing like crazy, the sky is gray and you cannot see very far away because of the dense snow and fog. Yesterday we had seasonal, nearly 80 degree Fahrenheit temperatures. Today it's a different story.

Since snow goes along with living in Colorado, that part in itself is not too distressing. What is bothersome is that I have carpet cleaners coming to the house in an hour or so, and they will have this mess to deal with. I suppose it will be no big deal to them, since the hose from their truck-mounted equipment will come into the house with no trouble...I just don't want them tracking snow all over the place.

This weather is supposed to last into tonight, but the ground is warm, so I doubt we will see much accumulation in the Denver metro area; however the mountains will likely see some significant amounts sticking to the ground. I am sure all of the blossoming plants around here, such as the many oriental pear trees, are getting quite confused.

Obama Denounces Wright

So, the blog entries here have been less frequent, largely because not much has been happening that I felt like writing about. Yes, there are stories in the news that are beyond belief, yet all too real. The appalling story of pubescent girls in Warren Jeffs' fundamentalist Mormon cult being given in "spiritual marriages" that are nothing but child rape shocks the rational mind, and once again points out the evil that religion does to the human mind. The news item about the depraved man in Austria who kept his own daughter as a sex slave, impregnating her seven times and burning one child that died by putting the body in the furnace of his home goes beyond what a normal person can wrap their head around. These totally repugnant and twisted news items are so foreign to how I think that I haven't felt like providing any commentary. The stories speak for themselves to the depravity that human beings are capable of committing.

So instead, I will comment on the sad state of our society when it comes to race relations. Case in point is the extreme right's continued attacks upon Senator Barack Obama. They have tried to paint him as a muslim (to quote Seinfeld, "Not that there's anything wrong with that!"), at least as far as Constitutional requirement for office. Playing upon his middle name to connect him in people's minds with Saddam Hussein, accusing him of refusing to respect the flag, and trying to pin the disgusting words of Jeremiah Wright on Mr. Obama, continue incessantly by the irrational righties. I think I have this figured out however. These objections are smokescreens.

The detractors don't want debate on the issues. They would rather work in the realm of character assassination, lies, and innuendo. The reason, in my opinion, is the fact that these objections are substitutes for the fact that these folks hold racist beliefs. The fact that Senator Obama is half African is absolutely scary to the racist crowd. They cannot maintain any credibility in today's society by laying their racism out on the table for all to see. Therefore, they substitute other spurious attacks on him to accomplish their goal of keeping Obama from gaining the White House at any cost. And shamefully, Hillary Clinton has also joined the fray in taking this card from the deck of Karl Rove. I am thoroughly disgusted.

It is clear to me that of the three remaining candidates for President, Mr. Obama is the most rational, intelligent, and statesmanlike of the bunch. I hope he can get the nomination of his party wrapped up in short order, as I believe his message of hope, change, and progress is exactly the prescription to cure what ails our nation today.

Home Again

Last night, we got back home just after 9 PM Mountain Daylight Time. It is good to be back, although I wish we could have stayed longer. It turned out that it was critical that we were in Houston to help my parents during my dad's first week home from the hospital, just as I thought it might be. We got him to three doctors appointments (urology, cardiology, and cardio-vascular surgeon), plus an appointment to get a chest X-ray. My mom could not have handled that on her own, as we even ended up taking her and dad both in wheelchairs to one of the appointments due to the walking distances involved. The lovely spouse worked herself nearly to death cleaning the house, as my mother cannot physically handle that chore in such a big house. All in all, I believe we made a vital difference in Dad's recovery from his triple-bypass.

Not to say we didn't have some touch and go moments, however. Still, huge progress was made. When we arrived last Sunday, Dad was rather pale and very weak, having just been out of the hospital one day. By the time we left on Friday, he had gotten rid of the catheter and was walking a little further each day. When we arrived, he could make 2 loops of the living room, through the kitchen and back to his bedroom with his walker. By the time we left, he was walking a loop around the supermarket while holding on to a shopping cart. I hope it won't be long before he can shed the walker altogether, but he has still got a ways to go to get there.

The surgeon gave him a heart-shaped pillow with a human heart picture on it. The surgeon had drawn what the bypass looked like on it, and signed the pillow. Dad holds it to his chest to cough, helping keep him supported while coughing. He named the pillow "Pete". So during his recovery, Pete stays right beside him.

Friday was a crazy day. Thursday night, the lovely spouse's left eye developed an issue. She wears special contact lenses for her keratoconus, and light hitting her eye was even causing pain. She also had extreme pain in her eye all around the socket. Thursday overnight brought a thundershower to Houston, with the lightning illumination even causing her pain. I was asleep and didn't know, since she was letting me sleep. SO...Friday morning off we go to the emergency room at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Sugar Land. They had to turn off the lights in the ER to keep her out of pain. She ended up getting drops for pain put in her eyes and a referral to an opthamologist. The opthamologist diagnosed an ulcer and a scratch on her cornea. So we had to fill a prescription for antibiotic eye drops and a follow up appointment was made with her doctor back in Colorado.

Here's the odd thing...while we were in the ER with her cornea problems, our oldest son was receiving a cornea transplant back in Colorado. He found out a day before that a cornea had become available for him. He has keratoconus so bad in one eye, that he could barely see out of it. We are hopeful this transplant will give him his full vision back.

So anyway, back to Friday...after returning from the opthamologist's office, we took Dad in for his appointment with the surgeon. Then we decided that since we have to work on Monday, we should try to get back to Colorado with a little time to rest. So, at 4:30 PM, we hit the road, avoiding I-45 to Dallas, opting instead for Texas 6 to Waco and I-35/I-35W to Fort Worth. Houston's god-awful Friday PM rush traffic stole an hour-and-a-half from us, but we still got in to a hotel on the north side of Fort Worth by 10 PM. That gave us a jump start, and less than 800 miles to home, with Saturday and even part of Sunday left to cover it. We got out of Fort Worth at 9 AM after eating breakfast at Waffle House, and got home about 9 PM...thus a 13-hour drive on Saturday, accounting for the gain of an hour at the New Mexico line.

Oh, one more thing. Coming back, we saw the Estelline cop and his new silver Dodge Charger parked in front of a house about half-a-block north of the highway. Cool looking car for this nothing town's speed trap. Luckily we avoided any "imperial entaglements" anywhere along the way. But since I don't speed, much to the lovely spouse's chagrin, I am not in much danger of that anyway.

So today, we have to go pick up Molly the dog, and try to get the bugs washed off my car. And it is a beautiful day here in the Rocky Mountain West!

Drive to Houston

Over the weekend, the lovely spouse and I drove down to Houston from Colorado to try to help out with my father now that he is home following his triple bypass heart surgery. As it was a rather hurried trip down, I didn't take any pictures as I usually would on such a road trip. However, I did notice some things to get shots of during the return trip, if possible.

This was almost the trip that wasn't, as the spouse came down with a case of pneumonia in one lung, and I had to stop by the urgent care clinic in Parker on the way out of town due to a persistent cough and sinus problem. Not wanting to make my dad sick during his recovery, I wanted a professional opinion of the situation. The doc said my problem was a virus, but he said I should wear a mask when close to Dad, and be sure to wash my hands often. My father's doctor said he was in less danger around us than when in the hospital, so we drove on down, albeit at a later hour than we had hoped. It was around 10 am Saturday (11 am in Texas) by the time we got on the road.

Last year, I wrote about the speed trap cop in Estelline, Texas, so I was curious to see him. I even considered trying to get him to pose for a photo with me. As we approached Estelline just before dusk, a big 18 wheeler blew by us, so I thought I might get to see Estelline's finest in action. But much to my dismay, he was nowhere to be found.

We kept going until we got to Wichita Falls, where we shut down for the night at about 10 PM. We stayed at the Candlewood Suites at the Madeline Street exit. The hotel clerk, a very nice woman named Linda, looked for the best rate we could get. She got us in for $75. Now I must say that this hotel was very nice, very clean and very nicely appointed. It is a new facility with a kitchenette in each room, and the most comfortable beds I have ever experienced in a hotel. The room had a flat-screen, high-definition television, and was the cleanest room I have seen at any lodging facility. I highly recommend this facility if you are in need of a place to spend a night or more in Wichita Falls.

So we ended up driving about 650 miles on Saturday, and today we traversed the remaining 400 miles through Fort Worth and Dallas, and on to Houston. Along the way through the Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex on Texas 114, we passed the Texas Motor Speedway, the north end of DFW International Airport in Grapevine, through Las Colinas and on by Texas Stadium. By about three o'clock this afternoon, we were in Houston.

Dad was released from the hospital on Saturday, so he is home for further recuperation. He is doing well, but he still has a long road ahead. I am so very glad that they found this problem before it was too late. He said he felt himself having a problem that was making him feel worse every day just before the surgery.

My mom has very limited mobility, so this is a difficult situation. It is also difficult to know what to do to help. However, I am glad to see my mom & dad. But as always when we go to a different environment, the lovely spouse's asthma acts up, and with her still getting over pneumonia, I am hoping we don't have to cut this trip short.