Dear Sven Alstrom…

February 14th, 2011

…I live in Austin, Texas.

Spamming the comments in my blog with posts about your campaign for a City Commission seat in Lawrence, Kansas is a bad idea for the following reasons:

  1. I’m not going to vote for you, since I don’t live in Lawrence, Kansas.
  2. The vast majority of my readers aren’t going to vote for you, since they don’t live in Lawrence, Kansas.
  3. Any of my readers who do live in Lawrence, Kansas won’t vote for you anyway because you are a spamming scumbag. Let me repeat that: Sven Alstrom is a spamming scumbag.
  4. If you keep spamming my blog comments, I will be going to your ISP, Hostgator, and I will be asking them to shut your site down.
  5. Is there any word in what I just said that you have trouble understanding?

Hugs, kisses, and die in a fire Sven Alstrom you spamming scumbag. Sincerely, your friends at sportsfirings.com.

P.S. Strongly worded message follows.

Posted in Politics | 3 Comments »

Notes on Lucky J’s Chicken and Waffles.

February 13th, 2011
Lucky J's menu.

Lucky J's menu.

I’ve had a couple of people ask me if I was going to do a review of Lucky J’s once I’d had a chance to eat there. Here you go:

  • This wasn’t what I was expecting. I don’t know what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it.
  • The “2×2” is actually a pretty hefty plate of food for $9; two waffles and two large-ish pieces of fried chicken. In retrospect, the “1×1” or one of the tacos would have met my needs.
  • Not having coffee is a serious strike against any place I’d consider going for breakfast. The selection of non-coffee drinks didn’t impress me much, either.
  • I’m not a big fried chicken person, but I thought Lucky J’s chicken was pretty decent, with a dark, slightly peppery batter.
  • On the other hand, the waffles are a little thinner than I was expecting. I think I was looking for something more along the lines of a Belgian waffle, thick and with a slightly crackling crust, rather than the thinner waffles Lucky J’s serves.
  • Being “out of turkey” when half the sandwiches on your menu have turkey in them is a bad thing.
  • I could have lived without the loud 101x on the boombox in the dining room. Also, you damn kids need to get off my lawn.
  • There’s not a lot of seating, maybe four tables total. On the other hand, we were the only people there. (Except for one guy who got a to-go order, and one woman who walked in while we were eating, and walked back out after discovering the lack of turkey.)

Would I go back? I think I would, but they need a month or two or three to settle into a groove. It would help some if they had less of an Austin slacker vibe. I’d like to try some of the waffle tacos, but the lack of coffee and the weird 11 AM – 4 PM schedule are drawbacks for me.

Posted in Food | 2 Comments »

Hey! I resemble that remark!

February 11th, 2011

…trouble spots they are still apparently unaware of, despite the fact that even people in, say, Texas who haven’t actually seen the show could make light of them on their blog for months now.

Posted in Clippings, Music, Theatre | Comments Closed

This is NEWS?

February 11th, 2011

It’s 7:15 a.m. at the Verizon store in Burbank, and tears are welling in Chelsea Northrop’s eyes.

Perhaps I should have sent my story to the LAT.

Posted in Clippings | Comments Closed

This is just what we needed.

February 11th, 2011

CSM headline: “Scientists discover how to make squids go completely berserk“.

We still have no cure for cancer, or ALS, but we’ve figured out how to drive (some) cephalopods crazy. Go science. I’m sure this will come in handy next time the SyFy channel wants to make a movie.

To be honest, I’m more than a little skeptical about this article. I’m hoping someone with a stronger biology background (like LabRat) picks up on this.

(Hattip: Dinosaur Comics, the go-to comic for biological news.)

Posted in Clippings, Geek, Squid | 1 Comment »

Top Gehry.

February 11th, 2011

I missed this one until Tam linked to it (with her usual dose of snark):

NYT architecture critic Nicolai Ourossoff reviews 8 Spruce Street, a new residential tower designed by WCD’s favorite living architect, Frank Gehry.

Speaking of Gehry, I can buy Frank Lloyd Wright Legos; where are my Frank Gehry Legos? Wouldn’t you buy a Guggenheim Bilbao set? I know I would. I’d buy a Disney Concert Hall, too, except I think it would be hard to get Legos that shiny.

Posted in Art, Clippings, Gehry | Comments Closed

One for the Ayoob Files?

February 11th, 2011

This story is worth keeping an eye on, especially since it represents a weird intersection on the Venn diagram between the jihad watch and gun crankery.

In brief, Raymond Davis is an employee with the U.S Embassy in Lahore. Davis was out driving around when (he claims) two men on motorcycles tried to rob him. Davis shot them both, and claims self-defense. Pakistani prosecutors claim that Davis killed the two men in “cold blood” and are pressing murder charges against Davis.

The two men were in possession of handguns and bullets were found in the firearms’ magazines, but neither of them had a bullet in the chamber of their pistols, [Lahore police chief Aslam] Tareen said. Moreover, after Davis began firing and one man darted down the street to flee, Davis shot him in the back, according to the police chief.

More:

Police officials say no witnesses have turned up who corroborate Davis’ claim that he was being robbed. However, Punjab police officials who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the case said both of the men Davis shot dead were known to police as being members of a robbery gang. Cell phones that they had when they were shot turned out to be stolen, police officials said.

And:

The judge also referred Davis’ claim of diplomatic immunity to the Lahore High Court, an appellate panel that will take up the issue Feb. 17. The U.S. Embassy has stated repeatedly that as a member of the embassy’s “technical and administrative staff,” Davis enjoys immunity from prosecution. Embassy officials, however, have declined to clarify exactly what his assignment was in Pakistan.

CIA, maybe? That would explain why he was carrying a pistol. It would also lead me to give more credence to his robbery defense; somehow I doubt a CIA employee would blow his cover and blow away people in the street unless he had a genuine fear for his life. (This is where you all can accuse me of being naive, which is probably true.)

Posted in Clippings, Guns, Politics | 2 Comments »

The bitter, bitten.

February 11th, 2011

There’s a guy in Pflugerville who leases out food trucks to independent operators. He had some issues with the way the City of Austin regulated food trucks, and started lobbying for stricter rules “to address health, safety and environmental concerns”. Ultimately, the City Council did make some changes to the law.

Can you guess what’s coming?

But now Ramsey says the teeth he sought have come back to bite him — since November, nine of his 53 vehicles either have not passed or would be unable to pass a city Fire Department inspection mandated by the new mobile food vending requirements. Passing is a requisite for getting an Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department permit, which vendors need to do business.

More:

Ramsey said he’s tried since November to get a permit for one of the nine trucks but has been rejected at least four times. Eight other trucks have expired operating permits. Because they are made by the same manufacturer, Ramsey said, he had not taken them in for the fire department inspections. About 25 other vehicles made by the same manufacturer will soon have their permits expire, he said.

Posted in Clippings, Food, Schadenfreude | 1 Comment »

For Cthluhu’s sake, why?

February 10th, 2011

As much as I like LaRue Tactical and the 10/22, this is one product I won’t be purchasing.

(Hattip: Say Uncle.)

(Edited to add: Video of the product in action here. Thanks to our friend James.)

Posted in Guns | 2 Comments »

Mexican Gun Ducks!

February 10th, 2011

I generally don’t read Stratfor articles unless someone points me to them. Nothing against Stratfor; it’s just a matter of limited time, and the sort of geopolitics Stratfor usually covers being more along the lines of other bloggers.

However, Snowflakes In Hell has a link to a solid article on the Mexican gun issue.

…the 3,480 guns positively traced to the United States equals less than 12 percent of the total arms seized in Mexico in 2008 and less than 48 percent of all those submitted by the Mexican government to the ATF for tracing. This means that almost 90 percent of the guns seized in Mexico in 2008 were not traced back to the United States.

Interesting fact:

Cartel hit men in Mexico commonly use .380 pistols equipped with sound suppressors in their assassinations. In many cases, these pistols are purchased in Mexico, the suppressors are locally manufactured and the guns are adapted to receive the suppressors by Mexican gunsmiths.

Posted in Clippings, Guns | Comments Closed

I’m not worried.

February 10th, 2011

Interesting article in the NYT about the state of the Houston Grand Opera, focusing in particular on their recent productions of “Dead Man Walking” and “Lucia di Lammermoor”.

Clearly the work being done here is on a par with almost anything the company has undertaken, and in some ways finer.

Good to know.

Posted in Clippings, Music, Theatre | 4 Comments »

Obit watch: February 10, 2011.

February 10th, 2011

Emory Bellard, former Texas, Texas A&M, and Spring Westfield football coach.

He spent five years as an assistant at Texas, where he helped Royal revive the Longhorns’ football fortunes by creating the wishbone, the high-octane, run-oriented scheme that carried the Longhorns to 30 consecutive victories from 1968 through 1970 and to national championships in 1969 and 1970.

He had two 10-win seasons at Texas A&M, including a share of the 1975 Southwest Conference championship, and spent seven years at Mississippi State, twice coaching the Bulldogs to top 20 finishes. His final coaching job was at Spring Westfield, where the Mustangs reached the playoffs four times in six years.

There’s nothing wrong with breast cancer awareness, but where are the colored mugs and other tchotkes for ALS?

Posted in Clippings, Obits, Sports | Comments Closed

Impressive.

February 9th, 2011

Actual HouChron headline:

Actual text of article:

The White House has rejected a request from the U.S. agency that monitors weapons sales to give them emergency authority requiring firearms dealers near the Mexican border to report multiple purchases of high-powered rifles.

I see the Journalist’s Guide to Firearms Identification is still in use.

Posted in Clippings, Guns | Comments Closed

Followup roundup for February 9, 2011.

February 9th, 2011

Staff Sergeant and Medal of Honor recipient Sal Giunta is leaving the military when his current tour ends in mid-June.

Giunta, 26, plans to move with his wife to Fort Collins, Colo. and will use the G.I. Bill to continue his education, according to Army spokesman George Wright.

You know, if I ran a public (or private) university somewhere, I’d come up with the money to offer Sgt. Giunta a full free ride for four years. Maybe he’d be willing to work part-time, perhaps as a mentor to younger students who could use some help?

The NYT reports on the controversy over early “Spider-Man” reviews.

Lucky J’s Chicken and Waffles has opened their sit-down restaurant. Until I visited their website, I had no idea how tough these guys have had it. I knew about the trailer theft, of course, but the death of a child, divorce, and reconstructive hand surgery? This guy sounds like Austin’s own version of Job. I’m going to try Lucky J’s this weekend; not because of the suffering, but because I like the idea, and because it’s sort of on my usual weekend path. (Man does not live by Torchy’s Tacos alone. Though I have to admit, the new location on Burnet Road is much nicer than some of the others I’ve been to.) Full report to follow.

The LAT would like for you to know that cockfighting is bad, m’kay? And not just because people sometimes get stabbed to death by roosters with blades.

Posted in Clippings, Food, Heroism, Theatre | 3 Comments »

Obit watch: February 9, 2011.

February 9th, 2011

Ken Olsen, the founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, has passed away.

I came in right at the end of the DEC era, and never really had a chance to work on a PDP-anything, a VAX, or a DEC-XX. (There was, at one point, a scheme to purchase a used PDP-8, but nothing ever came of that.)

I still smile, though, whenever I see a reference to one of those machines (or, for that matter, one of those machines in person at DEFCON).

In honor of the late Mr. Olsen, here’s a link to SIMH, which will let you emulate much of the DEC line.

Posted in Clippings, Geek, Obits, Retrocomputing | 1 Comment »

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