Friday, October 29, 2010

Derek Holland, Meet Atlee Hammaker

Atlee Hammaker

"It's like deja-vu, all over again."
-- Yogi Berra

Baseball is life. Life is unfair. Texas Rangers' relief pitcher Derek Holland learned that lesson the hard way in Game 2 of the World Series. He was called into the game with two outs in the eighth inning of a close game. His team put him on the mound and put the pressure on his back.

After the jump, what Holland does with his moment in the spotlight.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Pete Sessions Wants to Take Away Your Health Care*

Pete Sessions (R-TX) sent a mailer to voters this week that advocated repealing "Obamacare." I've received tons of campaign mailers this election season. But this one got me thinking. First, Pete Sessions doesn't need to spend money on campaign mailers. His re-election is assured. Second, Sessions gave a number of arguments, most of which were either dubious or false. Third, it's what he did *not* mention that was most interesting of all.

After the jump, more about each.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Unforgettable Memories of the Texas Rangers

Rangers ticket

When the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez took a called third strike from the Rangers' Neftali Feliz, the first thing I tweeted was "The Rangers win the pennant! The Rangers win the pennant! The Rangers win the pennant!" That was in homage to the radio broadcast of Bobby Thompson's "shot heard round the world" that won the 1951 National League pennant for the New York Giants. That home run came on October 3, 1951. I always thought it was poor timing that the most famous home run in baseball history came three weeks before I was born, robbing me of even the vicarious thrill of experiencing it. (My son John, on the other hand, had the good sense to be born just in time to experience another historic home run, one of the most famous in World Series history.)

The Texas Rangers have added little to baseball lore themselves. They didn't even exist as a team for a whole decade after Bobby Thompson's home run and didn't move to Texas for another decade after that. Still, I have two indelible memories of the Texas Rangers. Now that they are in their first World Series, it seems as good a time as any to recount them. Read on after the jump.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Learning Math: Square Acres

In case you aren't aware of it, Google provides a very useful calculator/conversion feature built right into its search form. For example, type "5*9+(sqrt 10)^3=" into Google and let it serve as a calculator. Or, type "10.5 cm in inches" to do unit conversion. Google can also perform whimsical searches. For example, type "number of horns on a unicorn" into Google and the Google calculator returns the correct answer of "1".

After the jump, some tricks that are harder for Google to master.

Monday, October 25, 2010

RISD Band Showcase - 2010

RISD combined HS and JHS bands
From 2010 10 RISD Band Showcase

A thousand of the Richardson ISD's talented young musicians took to the field Monday night for the annual RISD Band Showcase. The marching bands of Berkner, Pearce, Richardson and Lake Highlands High Schools each performed their competition shows to an enthusiastic full house, followed by a combined performance of all four bands joined by the musicians of all the junior high schools in the RISD. What a wonderful sound! What a show!

For photos of each band as well as the combined RISD band, look here.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Skies Clear for Huffhines Art Trails

From 2010 10 Huffhines Art Trails

The rains made Saturday a washout. But the gloriously sunny and warm day on Sunday brought out the crowds for the second and last day of Huffhines Art Trails, one of the best arts and crafts shows in north Texas. The artists' stalls, the live entertainment tent, food vendors and a park playground all were busy Sunday afternoon.

To see more photos, look here.

Bury My Heart at the Corner of Navaho and Mohawk

I've shied away from commenting on the issue of what to call that Richardson neighborhood with all the streets named Seminole, Chickasaw, Apache, etc. Should entry signs announce it as "Estates North" (the original name given by developers in the 1960s) or "The Reservation" (the unofficial name homeowners have been calling it ever since)?

After the jump, why I'm jumping into the fray.