1670 (TV 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

1670 (TV 2023): Poland. Satire. A 17th century nobleman deals with a village's problems using a modern mentality. Most of the jokes are anachronistic takes on life in Poland in 1670. The ensemble cast gives the community life. It's worth watching, when you have time. B-

Netflix

#VeryTardyReview

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe (TV 2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe (TV 2026): Stuart spends 10 episodes bouncing around the multiverse trying to set things right. Much of the pleasure comes from seeing different timeline versions of the original TBBT characters. A refreshing departure from the style of the original. B-

HBO Max

The Worst Places to Eat in Richardson Last Month

Graphic by City of Richardson.

The City of Richardson is rightly regarded as having some of the best and most diverse dining options in north Texas ("Eat & Drink"). But that doesn't mean every restaurant in Richardson exceeds in every measure. Here is a list of the worst places to eat in Richardson last month, based on the City of Richardson's Health Department Restaurant Scores from inspections last month. Not all Richardson restaurants are inspected each and every month. Only those inspected last month are ranked here. Only the lowest scores are shown.

POTD: Cruising the Douro River

From 2025 12 31 Porto, Lamego, Castelo Rodrigo

Today's photo-of-the-day is of the Douro River in Portugal. It's wine country. Full of vineyards. Grapes are harvested, crushed, fermented and transferred to oak casks for shipment down the river to Porto cellars where the wine matures before export to the world. We visited in mid-winter when things are quiet. Even the river seems to be at rest.

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"Winter on the Douro.
Vines sleep beneath leaden skies.
Wine dreams in the dark."
— h/t ChatGPT

POTD: Vista da Avenida Dr. Alfredo de Sousa

From 2025 12 31 Porto, Lamego, Castelo Rodrigo

Today's photo-of-the-day is of the magnificent boulevard in Lamego, Portugal (pop. 24,000). This wide, tree-lined avenue is seemingly many times too big for the small city. On a foggy, mid-winter day like the one we visited, not just the end of the boulevard is lost in the mist, but even the sides of the avenue seem to fade into the fog.

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"Trees line the wide street.
Lamego fades into the mist.
Lost in winter fog."
— h/t ChatGPT

Council Member Justice Calls for Charter Change

Source: ChatGPT (mostly)

On September 28, 2026, the Richardson City Council appointed Daniel Burdette to fill a vacancy for Place 3 on the Council. Council Member Jennifer Justice's comments on the experience were not a glowing endorsement of the process.

I will say it was the hardest decision that I've made since joining the Council...I genuinely hope a future Council is not forced to make a similar decision, and I support changing the Charter the next time it's reviewed so that the council does not have to stand in for the voters should this situation ever arise again.

Source: City of Richardson.

His & Hers (TV 2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

His & Hers (TV 2026): Murder mystery. Jack and Anna, detective and TV reporter, married but estranged, both investigate a murder in which they each suspect the other. Deliciously entangled relationships in small town where everyone seems to be sleeping with everyone else. B+

Netflix

The Choral (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Choral (2025): WWI leads to recruitment of soldiers for the war and, in turn, replacements for a choral group in Yorkshire, England. Ralph Fiennes plays the new director, just returned from living in Germany, adding tension to the drama. Movie is worth watching just for the climactic concert. B-

Netflix

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026): A quest with lots of battles. Adds nothing to the TV series, or the Star Wars universe as a whole. The masked Mandalorian character and his puppet apprentice are just too difficult to breathe life into. Overall, this feels like a money grab by Disney. C-

Disney+

Dan Barrios: His Own Man

Source: City of Richardson

On September 28, 2026, Daniel Burdette is expected to begin representing Richardson's Place 3 on the City Council, replacing Dan Barrios. I discussed whether this will make a difference in Richardson policy. I believe it will, although I couldn't find evidence for that notion in this term's voting history. I have more on Barrios's voting history in today's post.

POTD: Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies

From 2025 12 31 Porto, Lamego, Castelo Rodrigo

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies in Lamego, Portugal. Our visit was on a foggy midwinter day that gave the site a particularly romantic cast. According to Wikipedia, "Popular devotion to the site dates back to a chapel, dedicated to Saint Stephen, erected in 1361. Over time, devotion to Saint Stephen diminished, replaced by devotion to the Virgin Mary. The devotion of those who turned to her seeking relief from illness, in turn, gave rise to devotion to Our Lady of Remedies. The current sanctuary was begun in 1750 and only completed in 1905."

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"Fog veils the long stairs.
Winter softens every stone.
Mary waits above."
— h/t ChatGPT

POTD: Carrapatelo Lock

From 2025 12 31 Porto, Lamego, Castelo Rodrigo

Beginning our cruise up Portugal's Douro River, today's photo-of-the-day is from the Carrapatelo Lock. It is one of the deepest and highest river locks in Europe, featuring a large water level change of about 35 meters (115 feet).

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"Deep within the lock
Portugal's river rises
To the upper Douro."
— h/t ChatGPT

Will Swapping Barrios for Burdette Make A Difference?

Source: ChatGPT, City of Richardson

Beginning September 28, 2026, Daniel Burdette will represent Richardson's Place 3 on the City Council, replacing Dan Barrios. Will that make a difference in city policy? Who's to say? As a test, I looked at votes in the 2025-2027 term (so far) to see what might have been different had Burdette been in that seat for the full term. That is, had Barrios resigned in 2025, perhaps getting replaced by Burdette as early as May 2025, what would be different in city policy today?

I looked for Council votes in which Barrios's vote was determinative: winning votes in which Barrios was one of four Ayes, or losing votes with only three Aye votes, in which Barrios voted Nay. There were five such votes.

Council Recap: Analysis of Daniel Burdette's Interview

Source: City of Richardson

On September 21, 2026, the Richardson City Council interviewed the three finalists for appointment to the vacant Place 3 position. Then, after about a half-hour in executive session, the Council returned to open session to name Daniel Burdette the lone finalist for appointment. The Council is scheduled to vote on the appointment at its September 28 meeting. The Council did not publicly provide the reasons for its choice. I asked ChatGPT to score their answers against a specific set of criteria that I defined with suggestions from ChatGPT. Based on ChatGPT's scoring, Daniel Burdette's interview received the fewest "Strong" ratings of the three. That result was consistent with my own impression of the interviews. So, I asked ChatGPT to report a textual analysis of the interview, identifying Burdette's strengths, weaknesses, and implications for appointment. I include that report verbatim here.

Council Recap: Scoring the Place 3 Applicant Interviews

L to R: Jordan Noret, Jeff Davis, Daniel Burdette.

On September 21, 2026, the Richardson City Council interviewed the three finalists for appointment to the vacant Place 3 position. Then, after about a half hour in executive session the Council returned to open session to name Daniel Burdette the lone finalist for appointment, which will be made at the September 28 meeting. What reasons did the Council give for its choice? They didn't say in public. That leaves the citizens to guess at their reasoning. As my impression of the interviews would not have led to me choosing Burdette, I started digging to see what I might have missed. My first exercise was to examine the seven questions asked of each applicant and score their answers. I didn't consider whether I agreed with their answers (yet), only how the answers measured up to a consistent set of criteria like Knowledge, Responsiveness, Clarity, Specificity, etc. To keep my own biases to a minimum, I asked ChatGPT to do the scoring. The scoring is systematic to the extent that I strove to keep from giving ChatGPT subjective scoring instructions.

In The Hand of Dante (2025)

Rotten Tomatoes

In The Hand of Dante (2025): An author with a Dante fixation gets drawn into a heist to steal an original manuscript by Dante. The movies moves back and forth from the present to 1300, with Oscar Isaac playing for the author and Dante, along with many stars playing cameos. Ambitious, artsy, but overall, empty. C-

Netflix

Council Recap: Good Questions Get Good Answers

Source: ChatGPT (mostly)

On August 24, 2026, the Richardson City Council interviewed eight applicants for the vacant Place 3 position on City Council. On September 14, they reduced the field to three finalists. Rather than primarily evaluate the applicants based on their answers, I'm going to focus on the questions the council members asked, in hopes of getting good questions asked September 21, when the three finalists will face the Council again for another round of questions.

POTD: Porto, Portugal

From 2025 12 31 Porto, Lamego, Castelo Rodrigo

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Porto, Portugal. Porto is the second largest city of Portugal, after Lisbon, with a population of its metropolitan area of 1.9 million. According to Wikipedia, "On the Douro River estuary in northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centers, and its core was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996...Port wine, one of Portugal's most famous exports, is named after Porto, as the metropolitan area, and in particular the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia, were responsible for the packaging, transport, and export of fortified wine."

Porto by day. Click for a photo of Porto by night.

POTD: Nazaré, Portugal

From 2025 12 28 Pena, Cascais, Óbidos, Nazaré

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Nazaré, Portugal. According to Wikipedia, "Nazaré is one of the most popular seaside resorts in the Silver Coast (Costa de Prata). It is famous for its huge waves and surfing competitions. As of 2026, the record for the tallest wave ever surfed stands at a wave measured at 26.2 m (86 ft) at Nazaré in 2020."

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"Ancient fishing town
Now the world's great wave arena,
The ocean excels."
— h/t ChatGPT

Per Aspera Ad Astra (2026)

Rotten Tomatoes

Per Aspera Ad Astra (2026): China. Sci-fi. A long interstellar mission that relies on stimulated dreams during hibernation gets hijacked. The heroes have to enter others' chaotic dreams to regain control. Lots of surreal action and imagery, but the plot is tired. C+

Netflix