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.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Checking Up on Amir Omar

It's been a while since we've checked up on what Richardson City Council member Amir Omar has been up to.

"Tree the Town", his signature initiative in his first term, seems to be suffering from a little lack of water, literally. City staff floated the possibility that the city might want to install an irrigation system for many of those 50,000 trees that Omar wants to plant in the city over the next ten years. When originally pitched, the first year of hand-watering was included in the private funding secured for the project. After that, the drought-tolerant, native-species, hardy trees were supposed to be able to survive on their own, without need for city-installed sprinkler systems. If that part of the story is no longer operative, the whole project is likely to wither and die well before the tree count gets anywhere near 50,000.

Yesterday, Omar tweeted, "At the Duck Creek Home Owners Association Meeting at Dartmouth Elementary. Here as Councilmember & it's newest association member!" For those interested in any politician's future, watching for changes to his home address can be a fruitful pursuit. That doesn't seem to offer any hints in this case. As near as I can tell, Omar's move keeps him in the same Texas House District (112 - Angie Chen Button), Texas Senate District (16 - John Carona), and Congressional District (32 - Pete Sessions). None of those offices look like they'll be vacant any time soon (Carona hinted at running for Dallas mayor, but that's on hold now). All of the incumbents are Republicans and it's most unlikely Omar would challenge any of them in a GOP primary. Maybe Omar plans to stick around the Richardson City Council. There's one telltale sign that a new homeowner plans to be in his new house for a while. Neighbors, let us know if Omar plants any trees.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Richardson Website to get Makeover

The public got a glimpse of what Richardson's Director of Communications has been up to since his hire early this year. At that time, I had a few suggestions for him. The first suggestion, one that I called "low-hanging fruit," was a major redesign of the city's website. At this week's city council work session, we learned that the city has been, ever so slowly, working in that direction.

After the jump, what the website designers ought to do.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Kirk Gibson to auction off historic home run bat

What bat, you ask? Read about it here. It plays a central role in an old family story. John was just a baby who still needed a bottle in the middle of the night. I knew it was going to be my turn. So, before the World Series game of the night before was completed, I put a blank VHS tape in the VCR (yes, that ancient technology survived into John's own lifetime) and recorded the last few innings. I played it back at five in the morning while John drained the bottle of baby formula. That was the setting when he and I were witnesses to the historic World Series moment. John may not remember it, and neither may you, but I do... and I'm not going to explain it here. If you're a fan of the game, you already know. If you don't already know, click on the link. It'll make a fan of you.

A Peek At My DVR's Auto-Record List

You can tell a lot about a person by the television he or she watches. Or if they watch television at all, for that matter. Anyway, for the consideration of any armchair psychologists who want to analyze me, after the jump is my list of television shows that I currently have my DVR set to record automatically.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Komen Dallas Race for the Cure - 2010

From 2010 10 Race for the Cure

Saturday morning. Up at 6:00 AM. Out of the house at 7. Hitting the pavement at 8 along with 26,000 others for a 5K run/walk/stroll in the neighborhood around Dallas's NorthPark Center. This can describe nothing other than the "Komen Dallas Race for the Cure," in its 28th year of raising funds for and heightening awareness about breast health as well as celebrating breast cancer survivorship. Last year's event raised over $2.5 million for the cause.

The race coordination was superb, the weather beautiful and the participants in a festive mood. To see photos of all the action, look here.

P.S. Can't wake up that early on a Saturday morning? You can still participate in "Sleep In for the Cure."