It  appears that the  jihadist chickens are coming home to roost at the coop of the horror of Fort Hood. More and more evidence seems to be pointing toward Major Nidal Hassan's heinous mass murder rampage as not the act of a distressed man, but of a man killing in the… Read full post »

Radical Muslim Cleric Anwar al-Awlaki declared the suspected Fort Hood mass murderer, Major Nidal Hassan, "a hero" in an article posted on the cleric's website Monday. The English language article also said Hassan was "a man of conscience who could not… Read full post »

According to a Guardian UK story posted earlier  today, Fort Hood Gunman, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, shouted the Arabic phrase "Allahu Akbar" or "God is greatest" as he commenced his shooting rampage on Thursday.


The Guardian story also states that… Read full post »

Folx: As you may be aware, the recent storms in Austin wreaked some havoc on our dear Barton Springs. For the first time in god knows how long, water from Barton Creek usurped the West dam at the springs,  bringing all sorts of debris into the pool. The clean-up is taking… Read full post »

It's that time of year, kids! It's something that I am always on tenterhooks about around the end of every October. And how appropriate it is that it falls on or near Halloween. In fact, I'll say that Halloween is a… Read full post »

I surveyed the debris strewn about  the well-worn wooden floor for only a fleeting moment before burying my face in my hands.

"Holy Shit! What have I done?" blew in and out of my head, competing with the phrases, "Get out… Read full post »

Okay... Before everyone starts screaming "Racist Dallas Cops!" and "Racist Backward Texans!" as you yankees are want to do at the merest screw-up of one of my fellow Texans, let's get one thing straight:

Pursuant to Federal Law, you must be able to "... read and speak the English language… Read full post »

It appears that the French Far Right Party of Jacques LePen is trying to force-feed foreign minister Frederic Mitterrand his own words, and with very good reason. In a battle of "French Politics - The Next Generation," the daughter of LePen,… Read full post »

I decided to walk to work yesterday. Most of my commute was along Lady Bird Lake. I broke my cardinal rule on my way home about sunset and listened to an I-Pod while  walking and taking pics.  You bicyclists and fast… Read full post »

Storm clouds rolling in from the north; Austin, Texas; Approximately 7:00 pm Central Time; 9/13/2009.

Unfortunately, they did not leave as much rain as I had hoped.

On the surface, much has changed in Bridgeport, Texas since I was a high school student there in the late 70's and early 80's. The largest employer in my day, Mitchell Energy, has been replaced by Devon, an O&G (that's Oil &… Read full post »

 It seemed to be a typical morning. I had slept peacefully in my cave of a casita on Wednesday night and right into Thursday morning, August 20, 2009. I arose around 8am, which is very early for me, had an apple, some watermelon and prepared for one of my twice weekly… Read full post »

It looks like the agents who beat the poor guy at the Fort Worth gay bar lost their jobs this week. Don't have any time to go into it, but the Austin American-Statesman article an the firings and head rollings is HERE.

 And HERE is the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Story. … Read full post »

Photo co-credits: The Fabulous NC and myself.

I would rather go out and play today. That has been my modus operandi in this  here recession thingy since mid-May: No work at the office? Too many settled cases? Not enough litigation in the fire? What to do? Well, go out and/…

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Finally, the good little communist, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has an idea I can wrap my every-lovin' redneck working-class arms around and bestow enough wet kisses to drown a pack mule. Senor Chavez, per the hold yer breath 'til you turn… Read full post »

 Note: New info added at 9:16 central, 10:16pm eastern, 8/11/09

 

Well the wolf has taken off his sheep's clothing. Hippie health food store proprietor cum corporate hoo haw John Mackey, CEO of Austin-based Whole Foods, in a Wall Street Journal… Read full post »

Photos by the Fabulous NC


"Marfa! Marfa! Marfa!"

You can hear the Jan Brady overtones of the ever-overshadowed middle child rising from the Chihuahuan desert.

Alpine is in the middle of the great Marfa-Alpine-Marathon metropolitan area- a grouping of some 10,000 souls caught between the Davis Mounta…

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I posted  some photos of San Solomon Springs earlier.

Those were around the pool. These are in the pool.

Thanks to the generosity of the Fabulous NC, who bought me a disposable camera in an underwater housing, and the… Read full post »

The Fabulous NC and I had to stop in Marathon on the way back to Austin from Big Bend on Sunday to visit Front Street Books, check out the historic Gage Hotel, and get some coffee at Marathon Coffee. While wandering… Read full post »

These were some of the last photos I took on my Nikon Coolpix L18 before the viewfinder went all scrambled pixels on me. I've only had the camera for a mere 10 months!!!  After doing some googling, apparently this is a… Read full post »

My Nikon Coolpix L18 died  during the trip out west. Fortunately, the Fabulous NC had  her I-Phone. Some of these pics were taken by the FNC herself. We can't  remember who took what. So we'll do co-credits on all photos herein.

… Read full post »

Balmorhea State Park [Toyahvale, Texas] boasts a wildlife habitat cienega and a swimming pool fed by the San Solomon springs which is comprised of water draining from the nearby Davis Mountains. The average flow of the springs into the park is… Read full post »

Here are more photos taken of the Davis Mountains and the great Texas sky from Balmorhea State Park.

These were taken at around 4pm central time on Tuesday, 8/4/09 right after the Fabulous NC and I arrived at Balmorhea State Park in Toyahvale, Texas just north of the Davis Mountains. This is looking south into the mountains. The storm… Read full post »