Category Archives: Scribbles

Roses for Lady Bird

Posted on July 15, 2007 | Comments Off on Roses for Lady Bird

Just as expected, it was neither sedate nor private but, instead, went way beyond gushy this weekend: the tributes, eulogies, dubious sentiments, etc. for Mrs. Lyndon Johnson, who was rarely seen in public (other than in the news media) in the past decade. One woman along the cortege route apparently called her "Texas’ mother." Please. It’s bad enough that we’re now supposed to believe the wildflowers, which have only been blooming here for thousands of years are not to be thought of again without her. There’s a much less-flattering story behind the wildflower center she established in Austin, but I’ll save it for another time. I’ve already been discourteous enough.  I will say it was a nice touch, the photo on the daily’s web site of several women on a bridge over an Austin highway Sunday who were scattering rose petals from a plastic bag on the funeral procession.

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Posted in Scribbles

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MD-80 phobia

Posted on July 15, 2007 | Comments Off on MD-80 phobia

I’m no fan of air travel, despite growing up as an Air Force brat watching the blinking lights on the wingtip of a C-54 Skymaster, going somewhere or the other at night. In fact, I have a phobia about MD-80s, the spindle-shaped jets with the narrow wings, a T-tail, and engines attached to the rear of the fuselage. Whenever I see one passing over the rancho, I remember the one that crashed in the Pacific not so long ago. So when I saw one heading west this afternoon, I Googled the crash: Alaska Airlines, Flight 261, Jan. 31, 2000, it was. The horizontal stabilizer on the T-tail became stuck and the plane was uncontrollable. It finally flipped upside down at about 24,000 feet and dove into the ocean off Los Angeles at 700 mph. All 88 aboard died, of course. Turned out to be a little maintenance problem: a lack of sufficient lubication. Nothing like that has happened since. But I’m convinced. You won’t catch me on an MD-80.

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Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Scribbles

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Happy Birthday Blue Bell

Posted on July 15, 2007 | Comments Off on Happy Birthday Blue Bell

The fact is I try to stay away from ice cream because it makes me fat. But when I do break down and indulge a little–usually because we keep the stuff around for Mr. B.–it’s Blue Bell all the way. That’s long been the case for many Texans since the stuff is made here (in Brenham, between Austin and Houston) and has been, this year, for 100 years altogether. So happy BD, Blue Bell. Keep it up.

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Posted in Scribbles, Texana

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Happy Blogiversary to me

Posted on July 14, 2007 | Comments Off on Happy Blogiversary to me

It was a year ago today I began scribbling here an average of about three times a day. Despite an Instalanch last December, I still have only a small number of constant readers, who return almost every day. I thank you for your support. Try my book, at the Amazon link near the top of the front page. It’s cheap, and you might like it. My hit count from search engines has gone up modestly, from a few dozen a day last summer and fall to eighty or more on many days now. I had even begun to attract more commenters, until last week when I decided I’d had enough of the daily hunt-and-delete for comment spam. I was attracting three hundred or more of them a day, mostly for porn and pills. So I went to a free registration, TypeKey system, the default comment security system for my blog software Movable Type. It completely eliminated the comment spam. I’ve used TypeKey myself, to comment on blogs like Roger L. Simon, and giving it my email address hasn’t come back to haunt me. I don’t get much email spam anymore, anyhow. The switch to TypeKey has made my life a lot easier. But, so far, none of my commenters has made the move with me. I regret that, y’all, but I’m sorry. I’m not going back. If Instapundit can do without commenters, except by email, I guess I can, too. If you prefer to do it that way, the address is scribbler AT texasscribbler DOT com.

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Posted in Blogosphere, Scribbles, Site building

Parent alert

Posted on July 12, 2007 | Comments Off on Parent alert

Here’s an airline to try to avoid if you have a talkative toddler: Continental Express Airlines.

“’As we started taxiing, he started saying ‘Bye, bye plane,’ said Penland. “At the end of her speech, [the flight attendent] leaned over the gentleman beside me and said, ‘It’s not funny anymore. You need to shut your baby up.’"

Mom refused, the touchy attendent complained to the pilot, the plane returned to the airport, and mom and child were removed. Mom’s considering suing. I hope she does.

UPDATE  Appearing on Good Morning America with his Mom, the 19-month-old boy "kicks, whines." Oh, shocking. Do they really think a 19-month-old will stay quiet and still if he doesn’t want to? 

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Posted in Scribbles

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Fisking the AP

Posted on July 11, 2007 | Comments Off on Fisking the AP

Somebody certainly should, as they have strayed so far afield from their old, just-the-facts days.

"All of which means, so far, the Democratic-controlled Congress is not only wasting everyone’s time, but again undermining U.S. troops in the field and aiding the enemy with pointless gestures, while the AP distorts the picture through skewed presentation."

You can’t make this stuff up. Jules Crittenden doesn’t have to. He just takes it off the wire.

Via Instapundit. 

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Posted in Iraq, Scribbles, The War

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Through the floodgates

Posted on July 10, 2007 | Comments Off on Through the floodgates

Two teenage girls and a canoe. Pulled under and through the floodgates at Longhorn Dam. Whoa.

"Paramedics evaluated the victims at the scene, and then transported both to Brackenridge Hospital. Neither of the girls appeared to have life-threatening injuries, however paramedics report one victim did swallow a significant amount of water."

I’d imagine so. This is why Lake Travis is closed. You can bet it would happen there, too.

UPDATE  One of them tells KVUE: "My whole body hurts. I spent the better half of today in a neck brace, stuck with needles, and strapped to a hospital bed. We are both very thankful to be alive."

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Posted in Scribbles, Weather/Climate

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