S2L77: Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

Bangkok, Thailand
February 12-20, 1977

The weekend market is on again, telling me that I've spent too long in Bangkok.

Source: Personal travel notes.

From 1977 02 11 Thailand

My last excursion in Thailand was to the Bang Pa-In Royal Summer Palace. It's located on the Chao Phraya River about 10 miles south of Ayutthaya and 50 miles north of Bangkok. Originally built in the 1600s, it served Thai kings when the capital was at Ayutthaya. It fell into disrepair when Ayutthaya was sacked in 1767, but restoration took place in the 1800s. Most of today's gardens and buildings date from that era.

More photos after the jump.

God and Ross Perot

Everybody is gushing about the newly opened Perot Museum of Nature and Science, made possible by a generous $50 million donation by the Perot children in honor of their parents, Ross and Margot Perot.

Q. What is the difference between God and Ross Perot?
A. One is an all powerful being, an object of worship, the source of all that is good, and the other one is God.

See what I did there? Comedy gold. Top shelf. (With apologies to Craig Ferguson.)

Well, not *everyone* us gushing. There's at least one person in north Texas who doesn't worship Ross Perot and that's Jesse Morrell, or at least he doesn't worship the Perot museum. Morrell is a minister dedicated to "open air outreach," that is, a street preacher from Tyler. Morrell recently visited the new Perot Museum and blogged about it.

After the jump, my review of Morrell's review.

Review: Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Amazon

From Behind the Beautiful Forevers, by Katherine Boo:

Abdul rose with minimal whining, since the only whining his mother tolerated was her own. Besides, this was the gentle-going hour in which he hated Annawadi least. The pale sun lent the sewage lake a sparkling silver cast, and the parrots nesting at the far side of the lake could still be heard over the jets."

After the jump, my review.

Spendthrift Sam and Judicious Janet

Recently, I bemoaned the bipartisan agreement that the government needs to "tighten its belt." This conventional wisdom is just plain wrong. I pointed to a column by economist Paul Krugman to explain why.

Apparently, some readers had trouble understanding how inflation and debt can sometimes work to our advantage (and by some readers I mean one in particular). Admittedly, it's counter-intuitive. If government debt contributed to our economic stagnation, how can more government debt get us going again?

After the jump, my attempt at paraphrasing Krugman's argument.

S2L77: Ayutthaya

From 1977 02 11 Thailand

Before there was Bangkok, there was Ayutthaya. The city was founded in 1350 and was the capital of Thailand until sacked by the Burmese in 1767, after which the Thai capital was moved to Bangkok. In recent decades, the ruins of Ayutthaya have been undergoing excavation and restoration. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, four years after my visit.

More photos after the jump.

Straus versus Perry

The opening of the biennial Texas legislative session featured two speeches that could influence what issues the legislature focuses on. Paul Burka of The Texas Monthly highlights the tension between those two speeches.

After the jump, my own take.

Weak Tea in District 102

Two years ago, newly elected Texas state representative Stefani Carter pissed off local Tea Party activists with her support for establishment figure Joe Straus for Speaker of the Texas House. The Dallas Morning News had the story in November, 2010. Carter's support for Straus cost her "TeaApproved" status from the North Texas Tea Party. The Texas Tribune had the story in January, 2011.

It wasn't just that Carter supported Straus (although that would have been bad enough for the Tea Party). It was that, in the Tea Party's view, in public Carter was professing to be uncommitted, but in private she was pledging her support to Joe Straus. As the North Texas Tea Party put it, "Stefani Carter has no problem talking out of both sides of her mouth."

Two years later, where do things stand? After the jump, let's catch up.

Enough with the Belt-Tightening Already

When times are tough, everyone needs to tighten their belts. It's a cliché but everyone agrees with it, right?

"Small businesses and families are tightening their belts. Their government should, too." Who said it? That would be President Barack Obama.

"It's time for government to tighten their belts and show the American people that we 'get' it." Who said it? That would be Speaker of the House John Boehner.

After the jump, what I wish President Obama and Speaker Boehner and every other American would learn.

Boosting LBJ/Skillman

Regular readers of this blog know of my frustration regarding Richardson's incomplete history of trying to redevelop the West Spring Valley corridor, the Main Street downtown area, and especially the neighborhoods surrounding the train stations along DART's Red Line.

Today, I turn your attention to another redevelopment challenge, this one just to Richardson's south in Lake Highlands. The Dallas Morning News has the story:

Construction could begin by late next year -- if additional funding becomes available -- on an overhaul of the confusing intersection between the LBJ Freeway and Skillman Street in Lake Highlands.

Source: The Dallas Morning News.

After the jump, my reaction.

Of Slumlords and Castles

Now that the arbiter of all that's important, The Dallas Morning News, has weighed in on the subject of home rental inspections in Richardson, I guess I have to, too. After all, the license every blogger is required to get specifically insists that he has to have a strong, uncompromising opinion on every subject, no matter how hard it is to get worked up over.

So, after the jump, my obligatory opinions on home rental registration.

S2L77: Bangkok's Floating Market

From 1977 02 11 Thailand

As large and as sprawling as Bangkok is today, hundreds of years ago it was a small trading post on the Chao Phraya River delta. It was built on a network of rivers and canals and was known by Westerners as the Venice of the East. Thirty five years ago, that history was still visible in Bangkok's floating markets. I'm told that the floating markets survive today mostly as tourist destinations.

More photos after the jump.

OTBR: A House Decorated for Christmas in Quebec

Latitude: N 46° 28.758
Longitude: W 071° 32.688
A child on a road trip with his family asks, "Where are we?" and the father answers, "Let's check the map. We're off the blue roads [the Interstate Highways marked in blue on the road atlas]. We're off the red roads [the US and state highways]. We're off the black roads [the county highways]. I think we're off the map altogether." It was always my dream to be off the map altogether.

After the jump, a few of the random places (and I mean random literally) that I visited vicariously last month that are "off the blue roads".

Repeat Tweets: Badgers, Beavers, and Eagles

Repeat tweets from December, 2012:

• 1 Dec 2012: Bucky Badger being tortured with pushups already just in the first half. Oh, the humanity. #B1G #Badgers http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/120112aaa.html
  
• 3 Dec 2012: Headline: "Corporate Profit Share of GDP Reaches All-Time High Despite Sharia Socialism." Thanks, Obamacare??? http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2012/12/03/profit_share_of_gdp_corporate_profits_after_tax_are_at_an_all_time_high.html
  
• 6 Dec 2012: Headline: "Caltech Beavers women's basketball team snap 55-game losing skid." Go Beavers. (Really, that's their name.) http://www.pasadenasun.com/sports/pasadenasu-caltech-womens-basketball-team-breaks-streak-20121205
  
• 8 Dec 2012: Final: Dallas Skyline 17, Allen Eagles 37. #txhsfb playoffs
  
• 9 Dec 2012: After denouncing his rape comments, Cornyn secretly OK'd GOP money for Missouri's Todd Akin just before election. http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2012/12/cornyn-and-nrsc-pumped-760k-in-akins-senate-bid-after-all-despite-legitimate-rape-comment.html/
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Armed Forces Bowl: Rice 33, Air Force 14

From 2012 00 Miscellaneous

Saturday, under sunny skies with little wind, which made the mid-40 degree temperature very comfortable, the Rice Owls defeated the Air Force Academy Falcons 33-14 in the 10th annual Armed Forces Bowl at TCU's Amon Carter Stadium. The Rice defense held Air Force to a season-low 214 yards and backup Owl quarterback Driphus Jackson led the Owls to 26 unanswered points in the second half to win going away. Jordan Taylor caught nine passes for 153 yards for Rice to win game MVP honors. Hoot!

From 2012 00 Miscellaneous

S2L77: Bangkok's Wat Arun

From 1977 02 11 Thailand

Across the Chao Phraya River from Bangkok's Grand Palace is Wat Arun. This temple complex has existed since the 1600s, but the landmark spires were only built in the early 1800s. Covered with small pieces of porcelain and seashells, supported and flanked by statues of monkeys and demons, Wat Arun is spectacular from near and far.

More photos after the jump.

A White Christmas in Richardson (2012)

From 2012 12 Christmas

More Christmas photos after the jump.

Merry TubaChristmas - Dallas 2012

From 2012 12 TubaChristmas

TubaChristmas was celebrated in Thanksgiving Square in downtown Dallas at noon on Christmas Eve, the 35th annual performance of over 200 tubas, sousaphones, euphoniums and baritones. One musician has attended all 35 annual concerts. Another began playing only this September. After a two year absence (in China), John returned for his tenth TubaChristmas. Oh, the joyful sound!

This year's concert was dedicated to Alex Burton, long time Dallas and Ft. Worth TubaChristmas Master of Ceremonies, who passed away in 2012.

More photos after the jump.

S2L77: Bangkok's Grand Palace

Bangkok, Thailand
February 12-20, 1977

We took a hot and crowded three hour bus ride to the Burmese Embassy only to find we were an hour late to apply for a visa and must return tomorrow.

We took a long walk along the river warehouses and finally caught a river taxi back to our hotel.

We make another attempt at the Burmese Embassy.

I spend four hours retrieving my passport from the Burmese Embassy and securing a visa from the Nepalese Embassy (3:45 on buses, 0:15 at embassies).

I toured the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo -- an eye-popping compound.

Source: Personal travel notes.

From 1977 02 11 Thailand

My first couple of days in Bangkok were spent working on visas. My plan was to travel next to Burma, then on to Nepal. Getting visas in Bangkok was a hassle. Big city. Crowded buses. Finally done, we were free to do some sightseeing. The Grand Palace complex, home to Thai kings from 1782 to 1925, is today still used for state occasions, but is mostly a tourist attraction, a theme park of magical architecture and amazing treasures. Disneyland without the rides. I couldn't help thinking of Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr, in "The King and I," singing and dancing their way into movie legend.

More photos after the jump.

Newtown

What would have prevented the tragedy?

After the jump, considering the usual remedies and an unorthodox one.

Review: The City & The City

Amazon

From The City & The City, by China Miéville:

I could not see the street or much of the estate. We were enclosed by dirt-coloured blocks, from windows out of which leaned vested men and women with morning hair and mugs of drink, eating breakfast and watching us. This open ground between the buildings had once been sculpted. It pitched like a golf course -- a child’s mimicking of geography. Maybe they had been going to wood it and put in a pond. There was a copse but the saplings were dead. The grass was weedy, threaded with paths footwalked between rubbish, rutted by wheel tracks. There were police at various tasks."

After the jump, my review.

"Great News !!!"

"Great News !!!" That was the subject of an email blast from the Richardson Coalition PAC that I received on the heels of my less than enthusiastic review of Richardson City Council's rezoning of the land surrounding the PGBT DART station to accommodate the construction of big, corporate campuses.

After the jump, parsing the Richardson Coalition's "Great News."

The Last, Best Hope of Richardson

At the December 10, 2012, Richardson city council meeting, the council approved zoning changes for the vacant land around the President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT) DART station. This property, because of size and location, is potentially much more promising than anything previously done at the Spring Valley or Arapaho DART stations and, if done right, can improve upon the mistakes made around Galatyn DART station.

Source: City of Richardson.

The diagram above is the new zoning for the property just to the east of the PGBT DART station platform. See that undifferentiated big block labeled "TOD Core"? In the old zoning, there was a network of streets there. Now a slide says, "The proposed development includes: Significant new corporate campus (1.5 million sf)."

In subsequent news, it appears that the tenant for that corporate campus will be State Farm Insurance. After the jump, why it's likely that State Farm being there won't make for a good neighbor.

S2L77: Bangkok's Chatuchak Weekend Market

Bangkok, Thailand
February 12-20, 1977

We arrive in Bangkok after a 23 hour train trip having had nothing to eat but peanut butter sandwiches on the way.

Our cab driver ignored our directions and took us to his own hotel.

Finally, after getting settled, we tour the huge weekend market. I buy a used copy of "The Floating Opera" by John Barth for 5 baht.

Chinese New Year! It's quiet in Bangkok. No celebrations.

Source: Personal travel notes.

From 1977 02 11 Thailand

It is 750 miles from Kota Bahru to Bangkok, up the long Malayan peninsula. We traveled by overnight train, a long ride on hard bench seats, with nothing to eat but what we brought with us. More than a little tired, we rolled into Bangkok as the sun came up, watching the endless industrial and warehouse districts pass by. We weren't impressed with what we first saw of Bangkok. Before we ended our visit, we learned that Bangkok has much to offer. It turned out to be the city where I would spend the longest amount of time on my whole 9,000 mile trip, until reaching the end in London.

More photos after the jump.

Retail-Ready is the New Mixed-Use

Just what is transit-oriented development anyway? A high-density, mixed-use residential and commercial area with convenient access to public transit. More or less, right?

After the jump, another definition.

GreenVUE: A Case Study in Muddleocracy

I've been thrashing around on the subject of efficient local governance. For example, in "Mayor John Marshall", I suggested that maybe a strong personality in the mayor's office can bring leadership and direction to the Richardson City Council. It's a start. Today, I want to review a recent example of the council at work to suggest that the muddled process on display Monday nights at city hall might be only part of the problem.

After the jump, analyzing the second council hearing on the GreenVUE apartment application.

Berkner 87, Lake Highlands 53

From 2012 00 Miscellaneous

Basketball season is underway. The Berkner Rams defeated the Lake Highlands Wildcats 87-53 at LHHS Tuesday evening in the District 9-5A opener for each team. The Rams, ranked 11th in the state, are off to a great start. It's a great time to be a Ram!

Come out to support the Rams or Wildcats all season long. The season schedule for the Rams is after the jump.

Review: Lying

Amazon

From Lying, by Sam Harris:

What was so fascinating about this seminar, however, was how difficult it was to find examples of virtuous lies that could withstand Professor Howard's scrutiny. Even with Nazis at the door and Anne Frank in the attic, Howard always seemed to find truths worth telling and paths to even greater catastrophe that could be opened by lying."

After the jump, my review.

Mayor John Marshall

Confidential to Amir Omar and Laura Maczka: This first paragraph is the only time your names will be mentioned in this blog post, but I have you both in mind as I write the rest.

Recently, I lamented what I considered the recent sorry state of Richardson government. In my opinion, in this council term, we've been treading water, accomplishing little, missing opportunities. I titled the blog post "Dysfunctional by Design" because I saw the problem as structural, imposed on us by the constraints of Richardson's City Charter and the Texas Open Meetings Act. I ended on a pessimistic note, saying "I'm thrashing around here. I don't have the solution."

Well, thrash long enough and sometimes you break free from the constraints holding you down. John Marshall, Tom Craddick and the Texas State PTA provide three examples of how things can get done even in the face of structural constraints. One example is lauded by history, one reviled, one trivial, but all show what can be accomplished if you take the initiative to do something.

After the jump, what a Richardson mayor can learn from history.

Playoffs: Allen 37, Dallas Skyline 17

From 2012 00 Miscellaneous

The Allen Eagles defeated the Dallas Skyline Raiders 37-17 Saturday afternoon at Mesquite Memorial Stadium. It marked the first loss for the District 9-5A champions, who end their season 12-1. The Eagles (12-1), the District 10-5A champions, advance to play DeSoto next Saturday at 6:00 PM at SMU's Ford Stadium in one of the Class 5A Division 1 state championship semifinal games.

Laura Maczka Wants Businesses to Come to Richardson

A week late, Neighborsgo has the story that Laura Maczka is running for mayor of Richardson. Taylor Adams quotes Maczka:

"As the mayor, my biggest job is to encourage businesses to continue to come to Richardson. I have a responsibility to bring what is most important to the taxpayer. My goal is to balance the quality of life and the amenities our city has come to enjoy," she said.

Plans also include development of the remaining green space in the city, she said.

Source: Neighborsgo.

After the jump, unpacking Maczka's words.

Texas Picks Winners and Losers

Rule of thumb: picking winners and losers is bad if Barack Obama's Washington does it. It's good if Rick Perry's Texas does it. That's the kind of contradiction that makes American politics inscrutable to foreigners and infuriating to the ever-shrinking middle of the American electorate in between the party bases.

Under Mr. Perry, Texas gives out more of the incentives than any other state, around $19 billion a year, an examination by The New York Times has found. Texas justifies its largess by pointing out that it is home to half of all the private sector jobs created over the last decade nationwide. As the invitation to the fund-raiser boasted: "Texas leads the nation in job creation."

Yet the raw numbers mask a more complicated reality behind the flood of incentives, the examination shows, and raise questions about who benefits more, the businesses or the people of Texas.

Source: New York Times.

After the jump, a big loser in Texas.

OTBR: An Olympic Rowing Course in Australia

Latitude: S 33° 43.560
Longitude: E 150° 40.812
A child on a road trip with his family asks, "Where are we?" and the father answers, "Let's check the map. We're off the blue roads [the Interstate Highways marked in blue on the road atlas]. We're off the red roads [the US and state highways]. We're off the black roads [the county highways]. I think we're off the map altogether." It was always my dream to be off the map altogether.

After the jump, a few of the random places (and I mean random literally) that I visited vicariously last month that are "off the blue roads".

Richardson Leaves ICLEI

From David Chenoweth's blog comes word that the City of Richardson is dropping its membership in "ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability." I assume that this doesn't mean that Richardson's interest in sustainability is waning. Or that it thinks sustainability is best accomplished with a go-it-alone approach.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves here. You probably have never heard of ICLEI. If you have heard of it, the chances are it was through some right-wing channel that views it as part of a worldwide conspiracy to impose socialism, herd you into cities, confiscate your guns and pickup trucks, and force you to use contraception and abortion to control population growth. Or something like that.

After the jump, let ICLEI introduce itself to the rest of us.

Repeat Tweets: America Votes

Repeat tweets from November, 2012:

• 1 Nov 2012: A British look at the election: "America could do better than Barack Obama; sadly, Mitt Romney does not fit the bill." economist.com
  
• 1 Nov 2012: Today I've read three different calls for Obama's impeachment. Could GOP be reconciling themselves to defeat and moving on?
  
• 1 Nov 2012: Yelling at Nate Silver is like yelling at a thermometer. We're learning just how many news pros just don't get math. nytimes.com
  
• 1 Nov 2012: The good news of Daylight Saving Time: you get an extra hour of sleep Sunday. The bad news: the election campaign is extended another hour.
  
• 2 Nov 2012: Headline: "Sandy cost $50B." When will business decide the cost of ignoring global warming is higher than the cost of addressing it? #Sandy
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Big Ten Champs -- Rose Bowl Bound

Everything's coming up roses. The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 70-31 Saturday night in the Big Ten Championship game to earn their third consecutive trip to the Rose Bowl, the "Granddaddy of them all," where they'll face the Stanford Cardinal on January 1, 2013. It was reported that Bucky Badger was on suicide watch during the game, the football team torturing him, forcing him to do so many push-ups. Go Badgers, the best 8-5 team in the country! ;-)

Look back on last year's Rose Parade and Rose Bowl game.

Will the World End on December 21?

No.

S2L77: Kota Bharu

Kota Bahru, Malaysia
February 9-11, 1977

I woke up with a dozen insect bites on my arms. Then, I discovered cockroaches and a rat in this hotel.
It rained most of the day preventing us from seeing much of Kota Bharu.
Something tells me I'm not going to have good memories of Kota Bharu.
We went to the beach at Pantai Cinta Berahi. The sea was rough.

Source: Personal travel notes.

From 1977 02 02 Malaysia

The photo above is of the market outside our hotel in Kota Bharu, on the east coast of Malaysia. Except for the photo, I don't remember the market. I don't remember the rain. I don't remember the roaches or rats or insect bites. So much for the predicted bad memories.

I do remember the beach, but I didn't save any photos. It was a gray, windy day at the beach. The South China Sea was rough. I remember that. I didn't realize that this would be my last view of the sea for the next 7,000 miles, when I would arrive at the Mediterranean coast. But I get ahead of myself. Next stop, Thailand.

One of a continuing series.
Start: Around the World in 800 Days
Previous: Taman Negara
Next: Bangkok's Chatuchak Weekend Market

Mayoral Campaign: It's On

Richardson's city council elections are still five months away. In past elections, that meant that no candidates were doing anything at this stage, in public anyway. That's all changed this year, with voters having approved a city charter amendment calling for direct election of the mayor. That change led to a prediction that elections would get longer and more expensive. Money was going to become more important at the city level, just like it has swamped state and federal elections. That prediction is coming true.

Amir Omar was the first candidate to jump into the race. If anyone thought Omar's early move would cause some other likely candidates to rethink their own plan to run, he was wrong. Laura Maczka has now jumped into the race as well. Whether any other candidates enter the race remains to be seen, but it's not expected that any other council members will run for mayor, including incumbent mayor Bob Townsend.

After the jump, my early thoughts on the race.

Review: Free Will

Amazon

From Free Will, by Sam Harris:

One fact now seems indisputable: Some moments before you are aware of what you will do next -- a time in which you subjectively appear to have complete freedom to behave however you please -- your brain has already determined what you will do. You then become conscious of this 'decision' and believe that you are in the process of making it."

After the jump, my review.

Separate Mayoral Campaign Forum

Now that Richardson voters have decided to directly elect their mayor, an election campaign is upon us. I know it's over five months until the election, but that's not keeping the players from jockeying for position. Amir Omar is the only declared candidate so far, but other candidates are likely.

It's not just the candidates who are getting active. After the jump, an unfortunate move by the Dallas County North Republican Club and Richardson Republican Women.

Review: Hard-Boiled Wonderland

Amazon

From Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, by Haruki Murakami:

I was standing on a three-meter-square concrete platform jutting out over bottomless nothingness. No railing, no enclosure. Wish she'd told me about this, I huffed, just a tad upset. An aluminum ladder was propped against the side of the platform, offering a way down. I strapped the flashlight diagonally across my chest, and began my descent, one slippery rung at a time. The lower I got, the louder and more distinct the sound of water became. What was going on here? A closet in an office building with a river chasm at the bottom? And smack in the middle of Tokyo?"

After the jump, my review.

Late Autumn in the Steger Garden (2012)

From Flowers

More photos after the jump.

S2L77: Taman Negara

Taman Negara, Malaysia
February 4-8, 1977

At dusk, thousands upon thousands of swallows line the wires outside the hotel in Jerantut.
We saw a few Samba Deer at the Tahan Hide in Taman Negara.
I took a three hour walk up to the top of Bukit Teresek. Four or five hornbills were the only wildlife.
The Swiss tourists have left, leaving only a dozen or so people.
I spent today sleeping late, reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and writing letters.
We came back down river in a drizzling rain, walked two miles to the train station in the rain.

Source: Personal travel notes.

From 1977 02 02 Malaysia

From Kuala Lumpur, we headed east. At the fattest point of the Malay peninsula, we switched buses at Temerloh and headed north to Jerantut, our jumping off spot for our trip into the Malaysian rain forest. Our means of travel was a long, wide, motorized canoe (I call it a canoe because that's what its shape resembled, but it was bigger than any canoe I was used to). We traveled upriver for an hour or more to Taman Negara, a national park in the heart of the Malaysian forest.

Our stay in Taman Negara was more R&R than "Heart of Darkness." My biggest discovery was a can of A&W Root Beer (or maybe it was Dad's Old Fashioned) in the guest dormitory's refrigerator -- the first I had seen since leaving the US two years earlier. Deer, hornbills, even tigers (which I didn't see), I was prepared to see all of these in the Malaysian jungle. I wasn't prepared to find A&W Root Beer. Sweet.

More photos after the jump.

Thanksgiving Day (2012)

From 2012 00 Miscellaneous

"Don't let the turkeys get you down."
-- Sandra Boynton

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Dysfunctional by Design

Watching Richardson city government in action can be frustrating. Sometimes I find myself asking the same question the great baseball manager Casey Stengel asked when hired to manage the hapless New York Mets in their first year of play, "Can't anybody here play this game?"

But then I catch myself. Just how is the game supposed to be played? I end up thinking that maybe the appearance of dysfunction in city government may, in fact, be just how it's designed to operate.

After the jump, am I expecting too much?

A Tale of (Parking in) Two Cities

What's the difference between 20th century suburban sprawl and 21st century urban renewal? In a word, parking. The last time we looked in on parking in Richardson, the city council was deliberating whether to allow a Burger King restaurant to whittle away Richardson's strict landscape buffering requirements in order to build a bigger parking lot. That's right, the business owner wants even more parking than what Richardson requires, which is already a lot. That's a sign that Richardson is still stuck in 20th century suburban sprawl.

After the jump, a city with a 21st century attitude towards parking

Review: Leonardo's Lost Princess

Amazon

From Leonardo's Lost Princess: One Man's Quest to Authenticate an Unknown Portrait by Leonardo Da Vinci, by Peter Silverman and Catherine Whitney:

One would have to be a fool not to be wary of a Leonardo attribution. There's bound to be controversy. The last time a serious claim was made, it took nearly a century to sort it out."

After the jump, my review.

S2L77: Thaipusam at Batu Caves

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
February 3, 1977

We visited the Batu Caves during Thaipusam. Men skewered their cheeks and tongues and danced themselves into a frenzy on their procession to the great cave.

Source: Personal travel notes.

From 1977 02 02 Malaysia

One hundred miles up the Malay peninsula from Malacca is Kuala Lumpur. We arrived just in time for Thaipusam. Thirty five years later, I'm still stunned. That's all. I don't know what else to say. To learn more about this totally amazing festival, look it up yourself: Thaipusam.

More photos after the jump.

The Permanent Campaign Comes to Richardson

It used to be that Richardson residents would be blessedly free from local election campaigns until a couple of months before the May election, about the time of the filing deadline. That all changed November 6, when Richardson residents voted to have a say in the choice of who cuts ribbons and presides over the city council. Now that the voters will directly elect the mayor, the election campaign begins earlier than ever. On November 14, Amir Omar announced his candidacy, a full six months before voters go to the polls.

After the jump, the implications.

Finding Clarity in a Mountain of Trash

Two years ago, the Neighborhood Protection Alliance of Richardson (NPAR) announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning the reconstruction of the Lookout Trash Transfer Station (LOTS). Even though NPAR was aware that the MoU carried little or no weight, NPAR still presented it as some kind of achievement. I was skeptical. Here's what I had to say about the MoU at the time:

Don't let the fact that the agreement is "tentative" worry you. Or that the guarantee is "implicit." Don't mind that "there are still questions as to the legal teeth" of the understanding. Trust that capacity will be capped at 625 tons even though "NTMWD has rejected any stipulation to permanently restrict capacity." Ignore the fact that, on their own websites, neither COR nor NTMWD admits to any commitments, or even mentions an agreement at all.

Source: Mark Steger.

After the jump, NPAR finally appears to get the clarity they somehow missed two years ago.