What's a non-traditional high school? Talk to three people and you'll probably get six different answers. One frequent answer is wrong. It's the one thing a non-traditional high school is not. So, before we get into Richardson ISD's decision to build a non-traditional high school, let's start by asking just what a non-traditional high school is and isn't.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Repeat Tweets: World's Top Research University
Repeat tweets from October, 2015:
- Oct 1 2015: "The world's top research university? It's Caltech -- again." That's good but US needs to invest more in research. latimes.com
- Oct 1 2015: What we're doing (following NRA's policy prescriptions) isn't working. It's time for a change.
- Oct 1 2015: "Rules Chairman Running for Whip: 'Process is Broken.'" That's @PeteSessions, hiding a hammer behind his back. myajc.com
- Oct 2 2015: Final. Mesquite 28, Lake Highlands 63. #txhsfb
- Oct 3 2015: @Rangers, I'm not getting back on your bandwagon until you get the third out in the ninth inning of the clinching game of the World Series.
After the jump, more repeat tweets.
Monday, November 2, 2015
Richardson Charter Amendments - How to Vote
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Bat Boy: The Musical at RHS
From 2015 00 00 Miscellaneous |
Bat Boy The Musical at RHS: Halloween treat. Quirky update on age-old story of being different, a freak. B&W. Great voices and production.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
GOP Debate: Bad Questions, Bad Answers
There has been a lot of commentary on the recent GOP presidential debate on CNBC. The Wheel doesn't usually do national politics, but we make an exception for this remarkable television show. First, let's look at the questions. Then, the answers. Then, the fallout.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Qualified Voter vs Registered Voter
Qualified voter vs registered voter. Is there a difference? Does it matter? It matters because Proposition No. 50 in the upcoming Richardson city charter amendment election changes the requirements for a person to serve as mayor or council member. The current charter requires a person to be a "registered" voter. The amended charter calls for a person to be a "qualified" voter.
One person in social media complained that the change "waters down" the requirements. Another (and by another I mean me) said the change, if anything, toughens the requirements. Who is right?
One person in social media complained that the change "waters down" the requirements. Another (and by another I mean me) said the change, if anything, toughens the requirements. Who is right?
Thursday, October 29, 2015
POTD: Hanoi Tube Houses
From 2015 03 28 Hanoi |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from Hanoi. It shows typical houses in central Hanoi, called tube houses. The explanation is that street frontage is expensive, encouraging homeowners to build deep rather than wide, tall rather than sprawl.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Review: Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh
Amazon |
Eggs were such a rare treat that the old women had to show us how to peel them first. Clumsily we peeled away the shells, only to find feathery little chicks inside. They chirped when we bit into them, and they bled. When we stopped eating, the old women took switches to us and demanded that we keep eating. We did."
Yikes! Reading these short stories, the reader quickly realizes that we're not in Kansas anymore. We're in China at the hands of one of China's most acclaimed authors, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Mo Yan.
After the jump, my review.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
POTD: Ethnology
From 2015 03 28 Hanoi |
Monday, October 26, 2015
A Strong Mayor for Richardson
Jim Schutze of the Dallas Observer thinks he knows why the City of Dallas can't get big things done. It's the weak mayor.
Given that Richardson's council-manager form of government (a.k.a. weak mayor) is similar to that in Dallas (originally, our city charter was based on Dallas's of the time), and given that Richardson voters are about to decide whether to amend our city charter, it's probably worth a moment of our time to think about Schutze's thesis.By tightly husbanding control of the city in the office of city manager -- a person hired, not elected -- the city fathers here have maintained their own access while effectively shutting off access for the larger electorate. It's not that voters can't ever get anything done, but they can only get little things done, on the scale of new stop signs and storm sewer repairs.
To get big things done, like a grand public vision for the river, we would have to have what Houston has -- a strong mayor system. To accomplish a great dream, a city needs someone at the helm who can steer a course but who also can be kicked off the ship if he steers a course the public doesn't want.
Source: Dallas Observer.
Friday, October 23, 2015
Leviathan (2014)
IMDB |
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Texas Prop 6: The Right to Hunt
The Wheel hasn't made recommendations for the Texas State Constitutional amendments on the November 3rd ballot. But there is one recommendation we read that is too good not to pass on. Besides telling you how to vote (or not), it explains the time wasted by the Texas legislature pandering to the base.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
POTD: Ho Chi Minh?
From 2015 03 28 Hanoi |
In the background is the Maison Centrale (Central House), also known as Hoa Lo Prison, built by the French in the late 1880s to hold Vietnamese political prisoners agitating for independence. But that's not the name Americans know it by. It was known as the "Hanoi Hilton" by American prisoners-of-war during the Vietnam War. Today, what's left of it is a museum.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Prohibiting Public Input
Ken Hutchenrider, chairman of the Richardson Vote YES Campaign Committee, explains why he thinks it's necessary to amend the city charter to prohibit public input at emergency city council meetings.
He chose the wrong example. I can't think of an emergency more in need of public input than an offer by the city to house refugees in our community. Where? How many? How long? All questions for which public input could be critical in getting the answers right. Surely, Richardson's reaction to this emergency wouldn't have been negatively impacted due to a short delay to let Richardson residents speak to the council before the council acted.Another change grants the City Council the right to prohibit public input when it calls an emergency meeting. An emergency Council meeting has been called only once in recent history, and that was when the City agreed to house and offer services to refugees from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It seems appropriate for the Council to keep its focus on the issue at hand when it is an emergency.
Source: Ken Hutchenrider.
Monday, October 19, 2015
CitizenTownHall.org
There's a new blog about Richardson politics: CitizenTownHall.org. (Kudos on the domain name. I'm surprised it was still available.) The blog claims to be "created by and for the fine people of Richardson, Texas." (OK, fine. Don't name names.)
What will the blog be about? It says, "Here we discuss issues that affect our quality of life, our pocketbooks, and our rights as citizens. What we have discovered has taken years of research, dogged determination in digging up the facts behind the stories, and collecting documented evidence that can help protect our lifestyle and the city we have come to love." (If that reads a little like someone who writes prolifically on Facebook, well, maybe yes, maybe no. She doesn't say.)
Will the new blog have something to say? Certainly. Will it add anything of value? That remains to be seen.
What will the blog be about? It says, "Here we discuss issues that affect our quality of life, our pocketbooks, and our rights as citizens. What we have discovered has taken years of research, dogged determination in digging up the facts behind the stories, and collecting documented evidence that can help protect our lifestyle and the city we have come to love." (If that reads a little like someone who writes prolifically on Facebook, well, maybe yes, maybe no. She doesn't say.)
Will the new blog have something to say? Certainly. Will it add anything of value? That remains to be seen.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Aurora: Light, Video & Sound
From 2015 10 16 Dallas Aurora |
The city had traffic barricades aplenty. Perhaps a big map/sign in each block would have helped orient those who just stumbled upon this without knowing what was what. We had done some homework before going so we sort of knew what to expect and just kind of wandered the Arts District. Serendipity worked well for us.
We had a great time. We ate before we went. We rode DART. We strolled the whole Arts District without worrying too much about trying to see things with long lines. Instead, we found things like the young singers in the Booker T. Washington courtyard theater. Uncrowded, relaxing, beautiful.
Two thumbs up from us.
More photos after the jump.
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Friday, October 16, 2015
City Charter Amendments: Upon Further Review
The League of Women Voters of Richardson hosted a panel discussion on October 14 about the upcoming Richardson city charter amendments election. Dr. Robert Lowry of UT-Dallas and Dr Matthew Wilson of SMU discussed the pros and cons of many of the 83 propositions on November's ballot.A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
Source: Ralph Waldo Emerson.
And, just to show I was listening, and just to show that old dogs are capable of learning new tricks, I actually changed my mind on a few of the propositions.
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Outdoor Lights Don't Deter Crime
There, I said it. Bear with me. I'll walk back that counter-intuitive statement in a bit. But only a little.
Regularly I read on Facebook or Nextdoor or in chain emails a call for everyone to keep their porch lights on overnight. Or for the city to install more street lights. The following is a typical example:
Regularly I read on Facebook or Nextdoor or in chain emails a call for everyone to keep their porch lights on overnight. Or for the city to install more street lights. The following is a typical example:
This is repeated so often that most people just assume it must be good advice. I, on the other hand, have never been convinced of the logic of this. I've suspected that street lighting might even do more harm than good. But I didn't have the facts. Now I do.Some people regularly turn porch lights off when going to bed. I'm always amazed driving through neighborhoods and no exterior lights are on. It's one little thing we can do to maybe deter a crime. Having a well lit exterior just sends a signal that we care and are watching.
Source: Facebook.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Rosewater (2014)
IMDB |
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
POTD: Vietnamese Tombs
From 2015 03 26 Halong Bay |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from northern Vietnam. It shows a farmer at work in his field. Behind him are family tombs. I'm no expert on Vietnamese burial practices, but from what I've read, when someone dies, their body is buried in their rice field for three years, after which it is exhumed and moved to a family cemetery. I heard two different reasons for this practice. One is religious. The time in the first tomb is used by the deceased to earn the right to be buried in the family cemetery. The other reason is more practical. The tomb in the family's rice field denotes clear ownership of the field. But the family doesn't want to take up too much of their rice field, so the burials are only temporary. If I've insulted anyone with a mistaken understanding of local culture, I apologize. Personally, I found the practice both moving and visually compelling.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Decoherence
In his great biography of Benjamin Franklin, Walter Isaacson describes how Franklin fundamentally changed America, bringing Puritanism "into an Enlightenment era that exalted tolerance, individual merit, civic virtue, good deeds, and rationality." I used to think all Americans since Franklin shared those values. Used to. I changed my mind long ago.
I wrote that in 2012. I'm back today with another realization that rocks my childhood understanding of the values that I just assumed all Americans shared.I'm a go-along, get-along kind of guy. Cooperate. Compromise. Consensus. Win-win. It's the way I was raised. When I was young, I used to think it was the American way. One nation. E Pluribus Unum. Melting pot. I'm learning not to be so naive, but I'm still caught off guard when I run across people to whom a preference for compromise or tolerance is considered a character flaw.
Source: Mark Steger.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Lake Highlands 37, Richardson 22
From 2015 10 09 Lake Highlands vs Richardson |
All the action, including the game, cheerleaders, drill team, colorguard, marching band and all the rest that make high school football the best value in sports entertainment, can be seen on Google Photos. Remember, without the band, it's just a game.
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