POTD: Popular Crossword Answer

If you do crossword puzzles regularly, you surely have encountered a clue like this: "state bird of Hawaii." According to The New York Times, "NENE has been an entry in The New York Times Crossword a total of 295 times since 1944. They may be rare in Hawaii, but they have hidden nests in your puzzle."

From 2019 01 13 Maui

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a nene crossword sighting in the wild, or a least a sighting of a nene crossing. It's on the road in Maui's Haleakala National Park.

Did We Have Fun at the Fair?

From 2019 10 10 State Fair of Texas

You bet your boots we did.

More photos from the 2019 State Fair of Texas can be found on Google Photos.

2019 State Fair of Texas

From 2019 10 10 State Fair of Texas

The cattle barn on the fairgrounds of the State Fair of Texas was busy Thursday with boys, girls, men, and women grooming their cattle, leading them to or from the show area, or just waiting around until their time to show. This unknown young man is using his downtime wisely.

More photos from the 2019 State Fair of Texas can be found on Google Photos.

Will Our Code of Ethics Be Strengthened?

Two points today. First, I was keenly interested in this week's Richardson City Council meeting because it was the goal-setting meeting that every council undertakes near the beginning of their term. I wanted to know if the council would undertake to strengthen our Code of Ethics after former Mayor Laura Maczka's bribery trial revealed how toothless the current one is. We have new council members, some of whom explicitly said during their campaigns that it is necessary to review and strengthen the Code of Ethics. I wanted to see what goals they would set related to that.

POTD: Aloha to Big Sugar

From 2019 01 13 Maui

Aloha can be used for hello or goodbye. In this case, it's definitely goodbye. Today's photo-of-the-day is of an abandoned sugar mill in Maui. Many people think Hawaii and sugar are synonymous. But nothing is forever. Commercial sugar cultivation was introduced to Kauai in 1835. The last sugar plantation there closed in 2009. Maui held on a little longer. Maui's HC&S was Hawaii's last and largest sugarcane producer, ending operations in 2016.

Joker (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Joker (2019): Origin story for Joker, a mentally ill clown who is bullied and exploited until he snaps. First movie (or comic book or TV show) I've ever seen where Joker is a believable character. Explains a murdererer, doesn't glorify him. Give Joaquin Phoenix the Oscar now. A-

POTD: Nature's 3D Printer

From 2019 01 13 Maui

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Iao Valley State Park in Maui. It's a spider web. D'oh. It caught my eye. That's all I know.

Bonus photo after the jump.