As you’ve probably already heard, the Texas Railroad Commission (the oversight agency for the Texas oil and gas industry, for the non-Texians in the audience) today approved a regulation that will require the public disclosure of chemical ingredients used in hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells permitted on or after February 1, 2012 [read… Continue reading Hydraulic Fracturing Chemical Disclosure: Too much information?
Random Thursday – The Weekend Edition
It’s been a while since I inflicted a Random Thursday post on you. Sorry; the vacation is over. I’m typing this on a Zaggmate bluetooth keyboard linked to my iPad. It’s like typing on a computer made for elves. The keys are just enough smaller and closer together to make you think you’re doing a… Continue reading Random Thursday – The Weekend Edition
Mocking Bird
I was driving past the south pond this morning and something caught my eye on the far bank. I pulled into the clubhouse parking lot, grabbed the camera (which, for once, actually had a charged battery) and set out across the grounds to get a closer look. Turned out to be this guy: It’s a… Continue reading Mocking Bird
There’s interesting. And there’s REALLY interesting.
They started building a new house across the street from us today. This is a momentous occasion, as it’s the last vacant lot on our cul-de-sac…well, on our entire street, for that matter, although our street is only two blocks long. We have mixed emotions about it. On the one hand, it will be nice… Continue reading There’s interesting. And there’s REALLY interesting.
Snow Report
We got 3-4″ of heavy, wet snow last night and today. It’s not that unusual to have snow in West Texas, but we usually get the dry variety that stays on the trees and shrubs only as long as it takes for the first gust of wind to blow through. But this was snow of… Continue reading Snow Report
My Excellent Christmas Lights Adventure
First, the lessons. (A) Just because something is labeled doesn’t mean that it’s labeled correctly. And (2) The solution to the problem is probably more simple than you think, if you haven’t pushed all the buttons. I spent three hours yesterday afternoon putting up our Christmas lights. This included twelve strings of lights around the… Continue reading My Excellent Christmas Lights Adventure
The Domino’s Muse
I realized tonight that whenever I run short on blogging inspiration, I need only visit a Domino’s Pizza outlet for a few minutes and I’ll come away with plenty of material. I volunteered to pick up a pizza tonight if Debbie would order it, so she did via the Domino’s website. Normally, you can track… Continue reading The Domino’s Muse
TiGr Bike Lock
Update (2/2012): The Tigr Lock website has launched and the locks are now available for purchase. They’re not inexpensive, but they’re also not cheap, if you know what I mean. I took delivery of a new bike lock yesterday. I realize that sounds like dull news, or no news at all, but it’s actually quite… Continue reading TiGr Bike Lock
Cleaning up iTunes Album Art
We went to a dance a few weeks ago and the band performed a song that we weren’t familiar with, but it was catchy enough that I looked it up when I got home. It turned out to be Forget You by a pudgy hip hop musician named Thomas Calloway; the cognoscenti will know him… Continue reading Cleaning up iTunes Album Art
A Modest Rationale for Ending “Economic Diversification” Efforts
If you live in Midland, you’re familiar with the Midland Development Corporation (MDC), the quasi-governmental agency that uses some of our taxes to bribe entice companies to either locate in Midland County or expand their operations if they’re already here. The special sales tax that funds these efforts has been in place for a decade,… Continue reading A Modest Rationale for Ending “Economic Diversification” Efforts