Repeat Tweets: Sports and Weather

Repeat tweets from January, 2013:

• 1 Jan 2013: Headline: "Bard men fall to Caltech again in basketball." Go Beavers! http://www.dailyfreeman.com
  
• 2 Jan 2013: Final. Berkner 100, Sunset 36. It's a great time to be a Ram. #txhsbb
  
• 4 Jan 2013: Headline: "Senator John Cornyn's Outrageous Op-Ed On The Debt Ceiling." Cornyn's a deadbeat. http://www.slate.com
  
• 6 Jan 2013: I'm glad I'm not only one who thought Sunday's Redskins game was less playoff football, and more medical malpractice. http://www.slate.com
  
• 7 Jan 2013: Headline: "Seahawks' Russell Wilson last rookie QB left in playoffs." He's from the University of Wisconsin. :-)
  
• 8 Jan 2013: Headline: "Australia Is So Hot, They Had to Add a New Color to the Weather Map." Not to worry. Weather is not climate. http://www.theatlanticwire.com
  
• 8 Jan 2013: Headline: "US roasts to hottest year on record by landslide." Great. Global warming wasn't bad enough? Landslides, too? http://news.yahoo.com
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

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.

Update: Tree the State

Two years ago, when Richardson launched its "Tree the Town" program with a goal of planting 50,000 trees in ten years, I was skeptical. There just isn't enough space in Richardson (28 square miles) for 50,000 more mature trees.

I backed off a little when I learned that the goal included trees planted on private property by homeowners and business owners. But something else has happened since then that makes me rethink my skepticism even more.

After the jump, the record-breaking drought.

OTBR: A Rare View of Hoover Dam

Latitude: 35.9853° N
Longitude: 114.7721° W

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".

My Year in the Arts

My Year in the Arts. Not necessarily just 2011 works. Not necessarily the best, because I didn't see and read everything, but the plays, books and movies that I chose to see or read in 2011. All in all, I'm happy with my choices. It was a very good year.

After the jump, theater, books, television and movies.

Un-Tree the Town

You are undoubtedly aware that beginning today, November 1, Richardson has imposed Stage 3 water restrictions, meaning watering lawns is allowed only twice a month on even or odd Saturdays, depending on house address. Richardson has done a good job of getting the word out on this water conservation measure.

What you might not be aware of is a related change to a program that started up with such fanfare just a year ago. After the jump, what's up with all those stressed trees in our roadway medians?

A TreeKIT Grows in Brooklyn

Richardson's "Tree the Town" program has been pretty quiet so far this fall. In fact, it's been pretty quiet ever since its initial burst of tree-plantings last fall. You have to go back to last October to find anything on its official event calendar.

So, after the jump, a recap of other cities' efforts, including a new one (new to me, anyway) in New York City.

Of Droughts and Trees - Continued

Sunday in Evansville, Indiana, brought with it an otherworldly experience. It was raining when I awoke. It was raining after breakfast. It was raining before and after lunch. It was raining before and after dinner. It was raining when I went to sleep. Steady, continuous, life-giving rain. The locals could not understand why I walked around all day with a smile on my face.

Tuesday, on my drive home, the stretch from Texarkana to Dallas brought a return to Dante's Inferno. The ground was parched. The grass was dry or blackened from fire. The watering holes were shriveled. More trees than I could count were dead or dying, with leaves brown and withered, way too early in the season to be the normal signs of autumn.

Recently, I blogged about the effects of this drought on the trees of Houston, Dallas and Richardson. After the jump, an update.

Of Droughts and Trees

Richardson's "Tree the Town" project has a goal of planting 50,000 trees. "Tree North Texas" has a goal of planting 3,000,000 trees. The current drought being experienced across Texas shouldn't change those ambitions, but it does require some adaptation.

After the jump, some thoughts by the arborist for the City of Dallas, Phil Erwin.

Counting the Holes, Not the Trees

How do you count 50,000 trees? How do you count 3,000,000? Recently, I blogged about Richardson's "Tree the Town" program (goal: plant 50,000 trees) and North Texas's "Tree North Texas" program (goal: plant 3,000,000 trees) and pondered the challenge of counting all those trees.

Since then, I've learned a thing or two from readers (wonderful readers!) that turns my thinking completely upside down. I experienced an "ah ha!" moment. You know, when the light bulb clicks on over your head (the new cool squiggly kind, not the old Easy-Bake Oven heat source kind). I was thinking about the problem of counting trees in the exact opposite way I should have been. The experience reminded me of a chapter in the history of science:

"Around 1752, Benjamin Franklin developed his theory on the flow of electricity. Franklin believed that electricity flows like a fluid, and this fluid flows from areas of positive charge to areas of negative charge. It would be over 100 years before it was understood that current flow was actually the movement of charged particles.

"By the time science understood that electric current was the movement of negatively charged electrons, it was too late to change the standards, the textbooks, the schematic diagrams, and the generally accepted theory. The direction of current flow was set as opposite to the actual flow of the charge carriers, which we now know flow from areas of negative charge to areas of positive charge."
-- Everything2.com

Today, it's best to think of electric current not as a flow of electrons in one direction, but as a flow of "holes" left behind as electrons move in the opposite direction.

After the jump, why Ben Franklin's mistake is like the challenge of counting trees.

Open Mike Night: Goals

The Visitors Section of the Richardson City Council meeting sometimes is the best part of the show. Sometimes that is because of the amusement it offers, but sometimes because of the thoughtful and thought-provoking ideas offered. Monday night's lineup included some of the latter.

Andrew Laska offered his suggestions for the Statement of Goals for the 2011-2013 council term. You know the routine for such documents -- Vision, Mission, Priorities, Goals and Action Items liberally sprinkled throughout with Snooze. Even the best of these efforts are often painful to read. Worse, Richardson's past efforts weren't among the best of these efforts.

After the jump, my own rant about Richardson's past efforts and Andrew Laska's recommendations.

Counting Trees

The City of Richardson has a goal of planting 50,000 trees in its 28 square miles. Impossible? Maybe. Or maybe not. That's a question for another post.

Today, I want to discuss how we'll count all those trees being planted as part of the "Tree the Town" program. 1, 2, 3, ..., 50,000. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, right? Maybe. Or maybe not.

After the jump, how another city is counting its own trees and the many benefits of the effort. Maybe Richardson ought to consider upgrading its own efforts in this area. (Hint to Amir Omar: think of an app as cool as RunKeeper, but for trees.)

OTBR: On a Qatar Sand Dune (Again)

Latitude: 24.6790 N
Longitude: 51.3246 E

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".

Chicago Expects to Feel Like Baton Rouge

A funny thing happened on the way to a world changed by global warming. While the environmentalists who seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are just as convinced as ever about the seriousness of the problem, and the climate deniers are just as determined as ever to stop them, there's a third group that is quietly at work, mostly out of the spotlight, trying to adapt to the reality of climate change.

"Cities adapt or they go away. Climate change is happening in both real and dramatic ways, but also in slow, pervasive ways. We can handle it, but we do need to acknowledge it. We are on a 50-year cycle, but we need to get going."
-- Aaron N. Durnbaugh, deputy commissioner of Chicago's Department of Environment

That's from an article in The New York Times describing Chicago's attitude towards the need to adapt.

After the jump, what adaptation looks like.

Place 7: Challengers Never Had It

The Richardson Idol viewers made their choice (and by viewers I mean, of course, me) for Richardson's Place 7 City Council seat. They picked Amir Omar by a wide margin.

After the jump, has anything changed since the final show to question the judges' decision?

Richardson Citizens Alliance 2011 Voter's Guide

Last week was the mailing of the highly anticipated Richardson Coalition PAC's 2011 Voter's Guide. Richardson voters can be forgiven for eagerly checking their mailboxes for the competing guide, the Richardson Citizens Alliance PAC's 2011 Voter's Guide. After all, the RCA has a war chest of $50,000 (all donated by one man), surely enough to pay postage for a mailing of their own. But so far, my mailbox has been empty. Maybe my voter's guide got lost in the mail. But, the RCA Voter's Guide is available on the RCA website.

After the jump, let's pore over the copy there.

Twitter Tracks: State Budget Cuts, City Candidate Forums, Trees

Twitter tracks from April, 2011:

• 2011 04 01 - For your April Fool's pleasure ... Rent-a-Grave. This might sound like an April Fool's story, but it's not. http://www.slate.com/id/2285478/
• 2011 04 01 - Richardson Heights NA urges members to turn out to *support* the city. How refreshing. Is "IMBY" an acronym? http://goo.gl/vWeKG
• 2011 04 01 - Headline: "Unemployment rate falls to 8.8 pct, two-year low." GOP blames health care reform.
• 2011 04 01 - I grew up loving baseball. I'm glad Rangers won pennant. Still, steroids & money & mismanagement spoiled it all for me. No excitement today.
• 2011 04 01 - By critics' logic, we ought to pave parks. If they really want to help Richardson, they can find more sponsors to cover more costs of trees.
• 2011 04 01 - The Adjustment Bureau (2011): Bourne meets The Matrix meets The Candidate with a touch of Mad Men style. Most of all, a love story. B+
• 2011 04 02 - Mark's Stylebook: Maybe the rest of us don't know what a compositor is, but he can only blame himself if the movie credit reads "composter".
• 2011 04 02 - Get yourself over to Eastside. Free food. Great weather. Party atmosphere. Hurry. 'Til 4. Oh, did I remember to say free?
• 2011 04 03 - Metropolis (1927): Long overdue viewing of this classic. Overwrought story but some amazing imagery. Will Avatar look as good in 2100? C+
• 2011 04 03 - RT @amiromar: "Tree the Town inspires Tree North Tx." @amiromar doubles down. No concessions, then? In your face, critics?
• 2011 04 03 - Tree North Texas: "a plan to plant 3 million trees in North Texas." http://goo.gl/joiMO Just think of the water that'll suck up. ;-)

After the jump, more Twitter tracks.

Richardson Coalition 2011 Voter's Guide

Sears

It's out. It's the most anticipated mailing of the year. It's even better than the Sears Christmas Wish Book of old (ask your parents). It's the Richardson Coalition 2011 Voter's Guide.

After the jump, let's pore over our new Wish Book.

Un-Tree the Town, I Say

"They took all the trees
And put them in a tree museum
Then they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go,
That you don't know what you've got
'Til it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot."
-- Joni Mitchell

A public meeting is planned for April 27 for public input on location and design for a new "mini-neighborhood park" in the Richardson Heights and Cottonwood Heights areas. It's great to see this 2010 Bond item moving forward. It's rare to see buildings giving way and trees making a comeback in a developed area.

Then I got to thinking about parks in general. And that made me think about one undeveloped part of Richardson in particular (yes, there is at least one such gem left). And that led me to flip-flop on a vision/dream/fantasy I've long had about that gem of nature. Yep, flip-flop. I'm now thinking that some trees, at least a few anyway, just might have to go. I'm suggesting "Un-Tree the Town," at least a little bit, in one very specific location.

After the jump, please stop me if I'm making a big mistake.

"Tree the Town" vs "Trash the Town"

The Richardson City Council election has spilled over onto the D/FW local news, with Diana Clawson, candidate for Place 7, complaining to Channel 5 about Richardson's "Tree the Town" initiative. Critics of the city are piling on, saying they aren't against trees, they just want to know how much the program is going to cost.

After the jump, how much will it cost?