More fun with anagrams

Three at-large councilors: Reallocation, urges retch.

Downtown Arena: A wanton wonder.

Private toll bridge: Big river plot, dealt.

(UPDATE)
Medlock for Tulsa's Mayor: Do smarter folks calm you?

Fun with anagrams, part 1.

Technorati Tags: anagrams
at-large councilors
Tulsa Arena
toll bridge

Target Practice

I think I did a little better than last time. I shot 150 rounds, with only 2 out side the center of mass.





Technorati Tags: Target Practice
firearms

Fun With Anagrams

Tulsa world:
SALLOW TURD

Mayor Bill LaFortune
LOFTY ARENA OR ILL BUM


Technorati Tags: Tulsa World
Bill LaFortune
anagrams

Lines & Colors

My three-year-old daughter drew this on the computer today. She drew the lines and picked the fill colors.

Technorati Tags: art

Keep ICANN in Control

The following is a letter I wrote to Congressman John Sullivan:

Congressman Sullivan,

I urge you to support resolution 268, introduced by Rep. John Doolittle, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, and Rep. Rick Boucher. This resolution states, “…the United States and the Secretary of Commerce should maintain oversight of ICANN so that ICANN can continue to manage the day-to-day operation of the Internet's domain name and addressing system well, remain responsive to all Internet stakeholders worldwide, and otherwise fulfill its core technical mission.”

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, is the origination that coordinates the Domain Name System (DNS), and manages the top-level domains for the internet.

I believe that it is vitally important that the US, through ICANN, retain control of the root level domain servers. Miring the role of internet by handing the reigns to an international body would have devastating effects, varying levels of bureaucratic red-tape would be added, introducing a stifling affect on business and innovation. In addition, the international community has an abysmal record in roles involving oversight. We cannot afford to hand them the reigns to the internet. Please support resolution 268

Regards,
Steven H. Roemerman

Technorati Tags: ICANN
John Sullivan

YGI's letter to Lottery Commission

I received this copy of a letter that YGI plans to send to the Oklahoma Lottery Commission:

Dear Sir/Madam:

The International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High Risk Behaviors at McGill University in Montreal, Canada has been committed to understanding and addressing youth gambling behaviour by actively engaging in research, training, treatment, prevention, information dissemination and policy development for over a decade.

As part of the Centre’s work in prevention, we would like to support organizations and Lottery corporations such as yours in taking part in an annual press release campaign. The goal of the initiative is to encourage Lottery corporations to actively collaborate with a local problem gambling organization to raise awareness of the risks of buying or offering children and adolescents lottery products as gifts. In particular, the press communiqué would be released a month before the Christmas holidays and would encourage parents and relatives not to offer lottery products as Christmas or Hanukkah gifts to underage minors.

For three consecutive years, our Centre has partnered with a number of Lottery corporations in promoting responsible gambling behaviour through the release of a press communiqué just before Christmas, urging parents to think before giving their children lottery tickets as presents. This prevention activity, while simple to implement, raises considerable public awareness and garners positive media interest.

We have included a sample press release in order to facilitate the process of developing your own, should you choose to follow in our initiative. We have also included a fact sheet for additional information as well as a pamphlet about our Centre.

Should you require any additional support or information, please do not hesitate to contact Carmen Messerlian at the coordinates below, or for more information visit our website: www.youthgambling.com.
Sincerely,

Jeffrey Derevensky, Ph.D. Carmen Messerlian, M.Sc.
Co-Director Director of Program Development
Email: jeffrey.derevensky@mcgill.ca Tel: 514.398.4438
Email: carmen.messerlian@mcgill.ca

Technorati Tags: Gambling
Youth Gambling International
Oklahoma Education Lottery

Youth Gambling

CENTRE ANNOUNCES THE DEVELOPMENT AND RELEASE OF INTERACTIVE CD-ROM PROGRAM FOR THE PREVENTION OF GAMBLING PROBLEMS

Montreal, November 5th, 2004 - After four years of research and development, McGill’s International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors is releasing two interactive CD-ROM programs, The Amazing Château for primary school students (grades 4-6) and Hooked City for secondary school students (grades 7-11). These programs, accompanied by a teacher’s manual, will be distributed to all schools throughout the province as part of Quebec’s Action Plan on Pathological Gambling for 2002-2005.

“Our research has shown that kids can get hooked to gambling and that the consequences are serious. Depression, anxiety, problems with family and peers, academic difficulties, substance use, as well as problems with the law are just some difficulties associated with problematic gambling. This new prevention resource will help children and adolescents learn about the facts of gambling and help them make healthier choices,” says Dr. Jeffrey Derevensky, Co-Director of the Centre.

With the popularity and expansion of gambling, we have seen an increase in participation among adolescents, according to Dr. Derevensky. Recent research suggests that 70-80% of adolescents report having gambled for money in the past year, approximately 30% report gambling on a weekly basis, and problem gamblers report beginning gambling during childhood, ages 9-10. While school-based prevention programs exist, warning youth about the dangers associated with smoking, alcohol use and substance abuse, few programs have been developed and implemented for the prevention of gambling problems.

Both levels of the program have been evaluated to ensure that no harmful gambling behaviours were acquired by participants. After following children for several months, the program was found to be effective in a number of areas related to preventing problem gambling. For example, student’s knowledge concerning youth gambling problems increased and distorted beliefs about gambling decreased.

For more information visit our website at www.youthgambling.com or contact:
Carmen Messerlian, Director of Program Development and Communication, International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors, McGill University, 398-4438, carmen.messerlian@mcgill.ca.

Technorati Tags: Gambling
Youth Gambling International

Downtown

The sheer power of music has made me re-think my position on the Downtown Arena and Downtown Tulsa development in general. After listening to this, I'm ready to pack my bags and move downtown. I was thinking that the Mayor could use this as the theme song for his re-election campaign.

(UPDATE: If you would like to listen to the German rendition, you can find it here!)

Here are the lyrics:

When you're alone
And life is making you lonely,
You can always go downtown
When you've got worries,
All the noise and the hurry
Seems to help, I know, downtown
Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose?
The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares and go
Downtown, things'll be great when you're
Downtown, no finer place for sure,
Downtown, everything's waiting for you
(Downtown)
Don't hang around
And let your problems surround you
There are movie shows downtown
Maybe you know
Some little places to go to
Where they never close downtown
Just listen to the rhythm of a gentle bossanova
You'll be dancing with 'em, too, before the night is over
Happy again
The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares and go
Downtown where all the lights are bright,
Downtown, waiting for you tonight,
Downtown, you're gonna be alright now
(Downtown downtown)
Downtown
(Downtown)
And you may find somebody kind to help and understand you
Someone who is just like you and needs a gentle hand to
Guide them along
So, maybe I'll see you there
We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares and go
Downtown, things'll be great when you're
Downtown, don't wait a minute more,
Downtown, everything's waiting for you
Downtown (downtown) downtown (downtown)
Downtown (downtown) downtown (downtown)
(repeat and fade out)

Technorati Tags: Downtown Tulsa
Downtown
Petula Clark

Deleterious Effects

Chalk this up to one more reason not to subscribe to the Tulsa World.
One of their deliverymen tried to kill a 75 year-old woman.

Paul Williford had been delivering Tulsa World newspaper for the 75 year-old woman for two years and when she didn't get one today, she called him. Police say that was part of the plan.

Captain Tracie Crocker, Tulsa Police: "He admitted purposefully not delivering her paper so she'd call him. He did deliver the paper, gained access into the house and tried to kill her by strangulation."

Perhaps they should do a better job when selecting their employees.

Technorati Tags: Paul Williford
Tulsa World

Claims Over XML a Stretch

Apparently these guys think that XML violates their patents.

Patent lawyer Bruce Sunstein, a co-founder of Boston-based Bromberg & Sunstein, viewed Scientigo's patents and concluded that the company will have difficulty in enforcing claims over XML.
Sunstein noted that XML is derived from SGML, which dates back to the 1980s. SGML, in turn, is based on computing concepts from the 1960s. If Scientigo's claims were ever litigated, the company would have to address all the prior work on data formats.

I think XML, and those who use it, are probably safe…

Technorati Tags: Scientigo
XML
Bruce Sunstein

Multi-Monitor Mania

A while back, I told you about my dual-monitor set up, and how much I liked it. This is probably a little overkill…

Technorati Tags: tom's hardware

Airport Debates and Election Dates

At tonight’s council meeting, the airport investigation was on the agenda…again. Listening to this council “discuss” the airport investigation is like listening to some inane children’s song. “Second verse, same as the first!” A request that will further the investigation is tendered and rejected by this council. Tonight, councilors Neil, Martinson and Sullivan nixed another perfectly reasonable request for an appropriation that would help the investigation. This time the request was for the city auditors to audit the dispensation of fuel flow fees at Jones Riverside Airport.

When the subcommittee tries to investigate, they are accused of incompetence; they are scolded for not letting the professionals do the work. Try to bring in a professional and the usual suspects, Neal, Sullivan, Martinson, and Baker, balk at the price. They complain that the investigation is taking too long, but block it at every turn. Out of one side of their mouth, they complain about political motivations, while out of the other side they spew their own brand of political rhetoric.

On to lighter news, the council has agreed on the dates for next year’s city primary and general elections. March 7 will be the primary and April 4, the general. Typically, these elections are held in February and March. For various reasons the elections have been moved to the afore mentioned dates. Before the council unanimously approved these dates, some concern over whether or not there was enough time between the primary and general was voiced. It was in the middle of this discussion, Councilor Christiansen chimed in. His primary concern was with how these new dates affected the deadline to sign up as a candidate. I guess he just wanted

Technorati Tags: Tulsa
Tulsa City Council
Tulsa 2006 city elections

Expose Your Kids to the Lottery?

If you play the Education Lottery with your children, perhaps you should think twice. A few months ago, I blogged about poker and its negative effects on children. Now that we have an Education Lottery here in Oklahoma, I would like to remind you of some startling facts about gambling and our youth.

Youth who gamble early are three times as likely to become problem gamblers. Moreover, young gamblers are more likely to participate in other high-risk behavior such as smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol and the use of illegal drugs.

According to Youth Gambling International

80% of teenagers gamble. Furthermore, between 4% and 6% of teenagers may be considered probable pathological gamblers with an additional 10% to 15% that may be considered at-risk of developing a gambling problem

Read this page about Youth Problem Gambling. After you read that “adolescent prevalence rates of problem gamblers are 2-4 times that of adults,” or “adolescents with serious gambling problems are at heightened risk for suicide ideation and suicide attempts,” or “Problem and pathological gambling in adolescence has been shown to result in increased delinquency and crime, the disruption of familial relationships, and decreased academic performance,” how can you consider playing such a destructive role in your children’s lives?

According to YGI

Gambling has become a normalized part of many cultures. It is not unusual for parents to purchase lottery tickets for their children at an early age or to take them to play Bingo. Retrospective studies have indicated that adult problem gamblers report the onset of their gambling to have begun quite early, often beginning between the ages of 10-19. A large scale study of adolescents in Alberta found that most problem gamblers began gambling, on average, at age 10 with similar results being found in several of our studies of high school students and young adults in Canada, and other studies conducted throughout the world.

As parents, we worry about our children’s exposure to alcohol and tobacco, why would we not worry about their exposure to gambling. Why would we play a role in their potential demise? We want the best for our children; we want them to lead productive and successful lives. Why expose children to the lottery?

Technorati Tags: Parenting
Gambling
Oklahoma Education Lottery

I love Tulsa

The following are some things I love about Tulsa:

My church
My neighbors
My co-workers
My proximity to work
The proximity to the countryside
The ability to get from one end of Tulsa to the other in less than 30 min
The traffic
71st street
Riverside drive
The weather
Ron’s Hamburgers
Mario’s Pizzeria
Sutherlands
Oktoberfest
Mayfest
The Tulsa State Fair
TU basketball at the Reynolds Center
The local bloggers (not just the Tulsabloggers)
KFAQ
Homeowners for Fair Zoning
Tulsa City Council meetings
The Tulsa County Republican Party

What do you love about Tulsa?

Technorati Tags: Tulsa

Ankle update

Thank you for your prayers. I believe it has made a difference. My ankle is black, blue and swollen, but I can now put weight on it. I can walk and push the clutch in my truck.

Technorati Tags: ankle
injury

Meeting of the minds

This morning I attended the first meeting of the Tulsabloggers. Our first meeting was at the Double Shot coffee house. Meeting at a coffee house seems appropriate. Issue by issue, our merry little band fall on the opposite side of the established good ol’ boy network. As such, we are labeled persistent naysayers. In the 18th century, another group of naysayers met in coffee houses to exchange ideas.

The great thinkers of the 18th Century would gather at colonial coffee houses/taverns, such as the Green Dragon in Boston, to discuss the important issues of the time. In 1765, a crowd gathered burn an effigy of Andrew Oliver a Liberty Tree. Oliver was doing the unpopular work of King George III by selling stamps, a form of taxation. The group eventually dispersed, but they gathered the next day at the Green Dragon to discuss the political events of the previous day. In so doing, they formed a group that they dubbed the Sons of Liberty. The Green Dragon Inn, Tavern and Coffee House was their regular meeting place.

Because of this group of naysayers, the world will never be the same. Certainly, the Tulsabloggers will not be as important as the Sons of Liberty. In Tulsa, our very liberty is not at stake. However, Tulsa does have some great challenges. Those who currently run this city with back room deals do not have our best interests at heart. Issue after issue the rights of neighborhood groups are trampled, in favor of a small group of investors, builders, and businessmen.

Each member of the Tulsabloggers, with out exception, loves Tulsa. We love our neighbors, and the community. We are saddened by the current course Tulsa is headed. We have a different view. We fight for a more open government, where the rights of business and neighborhoods are in balance. We believe that Tulsa needs to protect its interests and only though increased revenue can we overcome the current obstacles. We believe that a community with the finest roads, good schools, and topnotch public safety is what Tulsa needs to attract homeowners, and business. If fighting the establishment makes us naysayers then we proudly accept that characterization.

We will continue to meet and exchange ideas. We will continue to keep and eye on, and report on those who do not have Tulsa’s interests at heart. You can keep an eye on us by visiting Tulsabloggers.org.

Technorati Tags: Tulsa
Tulsabloggers

AHHHHH!

Tonight I fell down the stairs and twisted my ankle. Stacey was standing at the top of the stairs when it happened, so she saw it all*. The tumble followed by my scream, really scared her. She has never heard me scream. It was not a blood-curdling scream…more of a manly howl. Imagine a Klingon death ritual, or in Wrath of Kahn when Kirk yells, “KAAAAHN!”**

I have had this exact injury before, it resulted in a trip to the orthopedic surgeon. I’m hoping it does not come to that this time.

*She did not push me…I don’t think.
**I’m not sure how manly it is to allude to Star Trek whilst describing a scream.

Technorati Tags: ankle
injury
Star Trek

Tulsa County Does Not Own River

I recieved this press release from The South Tulsa Citizens Coalition.

The South Tulsa Citizens Coalition (“STCC”) has uncovered new evidence which indicates that Tulsa County has no ownership rights in any of the land or riverbeds associated with the IVI Toll Bridge deal. It has always been known that the ownership of the banks of the Arkansas River reside with the Cities of Tulsa and Jenks at the proposed IVI Toll Bridge location, but new information reveals that Tulsa County has no rights in the Arkansas River either. STCC has obtained copies of a title opinion commissioned by the City of Tulsa’s Public Works Department that concludes that the landowners abutting the Arkansas River are the rightful owners of the Arkansas River, not Tulsa County. The title opinion clearly eliminates the State of Oklahoma and likewise Tulsa County from owning any portion of the Arkansas River at the IVI Toll Bridge location. A copy of the title opinion is enclosed with this press release. The applicable portions of the title opinion are highlighted in yellow.*

The landowners abutting the Arkansas River in the location where the proposed IVI Toll Bridge is to be located are the City of Tulsa and the City of Jenks. This means that the City of Tulsa and the City of Jenks own that portion of the Arkansas River from the banks of their respective land to the middle of the river. As a result, Tulsa County owns absolutely no land or the body of water where the proposed IVI Toll Bridge is to be located.

In response to the newly uncovered evidence, STCC spokesman Michael Covey said “The County Commissioners’ conduct with regard to this whole IVI Toll Bridge deal has been nothing but smoke and mirrors. They can’t sell what they don’t own and they can’t build a bridge where they don’t own the land.” Covey went on to add, “We knew this IVI Toll Bridge was a bad financial deal for the citizens of Tulsa County when we discovered a $35 million bridge would cost the citizens over $650 million, but to now find out that the County doesn’t even own the rights they gave away, well, that kind of bad government must stop!”

*Here is one of the afore mentioned highlighted areas. I can't host PDFs so I turned the relevant portion into a Jpeg. Click to enlarge.

Technorati Tags: Tulsa
Bixby
Jenks
Toll Bridge
Arkansas River
Tulsa County
Infrastructure Ventures, Inc.

Signs of Tulsa

I found a new blog named Signs of Tulsa, a photographic collection of Tulsa's memorable signs. So far it is pretty interesting. Check it out.

Technorati Tags: Tulsa

Ancient Noodles

Much to my wife’s dismay, I often throw out food that is only a few days old. I do not need any physical evidence that the food is spoiled, if it looks at me the wrong way I toss it. Somehow, I don’t think that Stacey would balk at throwing out these noodles.

Technorati Tags: Noodles

Satisfy an Itch

In an interview about our new Education Lottery, a local gambler gave her reasons for playing the new scratch and “win” games, "the thrill of scratching something."

Huh, I never knew scratching things could be so exciting . Since I’m choosing to abstain from the lottery, how can I partake in this thrilling experience?

• A Cats scratch post looks like fun.
• Maybe a scratch and sniff book.
• Here is a blog about scratching your brain.
• Sometimes I find it fun to scratch my facial hair.
• I hear walking through poison ivy provides for hours of scratching fun
  

Unfortunately, none of these things provide much needed money for education…what a conundrum.

Technorati Tags: Oklahoma Education Lottery

Let them eat spice!

I’m not sure if this is correct or not, but it does make a lot of sense to me.

Ditch the rice cereal and mashed peas, and make way for enchiladas, curry and even — gasp! — hot peppers. It's time to discard everything you think you know about feeding babies. It turns out most advice parents get about weaning infants onto solid foods — even from pediatricians — is more myth than science.

That's right, rice cereal may not be the best first food. Peanut butter doesn't have to wait until after the first birthday. Offering fruits before vegetables won't breed a sweet tooth. And strong spices? Bring 'em on.

"There's a bunch of mythology out there about this," says Dr. David Bergman, a Stanford University pediatrics professor. "There's not much evidence to support any particular way of doing things."

It sure is a lot easier to feed your baby what you are eating. With our second, we have found that she will eat almost anything. She wants to try what we are eating so we give it to her. The other day, she wanted some hot sauce so I gave it to her…she thought it was great.

With our first, we were so concerned that we might do something wrong. We followed the “guide lines” like Bible truth.

"Parents have lost touch with the notion that these charts are guides, not rules," says Rachel Brandeis, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "Babies start with a very clean palate and it's your job to mold it."

It's easy to mistake that for a regimented process. Most parents are told to start rice cereal at 6 months, then slowly progress to simple vegetables, mild fruits and finally pasta and meat.

I have found that children can move quicker than these guides allow for. Regardless, it is a lot cheaper to feed your kids what you are eating than to buy all that cereal, and baby food.

Technorati Tags: infant nutrition
Parenting

Worried

I am rather freaked out by this, and this.

At least with the first one I can mitigate my risk of loss by sleeping with this.

Technorati Tags: bird flu
home invasion

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Mmmm...The Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks. I think I like it a bit more than the Egg Nog Latte.

Technorati Tags: Starbucks
Pumpkin Spice Latte

Dismissed!

The Judge dismissed my ticket for driving with an expired tag. I think I won a lot of points for having renewed the tags within 24 hours of the citation. This morning I watch defendant after defendant unprepared to go before the Judge. I still had to pay 25 bucks for the court fees, but you will not hear me complain about that.

I also watched defendants get nailed to the wall for all kinds of traffic violations. With $100-$600 fines, it is just not worth it. Obey those traffic laws folks, and get your tags renewed in a timely manner.

Technorati Tags: expired tag
traffic ticket

Political Mayoral Phone Poll

My wife got an interesting phone call tonight.

Caller: May I speak with Stacey Roemerman?
Stacey: This is Stacey.
Caller: Would you be interested in participating in a political survey?
Stacey: Sure.
Caller: Do you consider your self a liberal, a moderate, or a conservative?
Stacey: A conservative.
Caller: To which party are you registered?
Stacey: Republican.
Caller: Will you vote in the upcoming Mayoral Election in 2006?
Stacey: Yes.
Caller: Whom will you vote for? Mayor Bill LaFortune, Councilor Bill Christiansen, Councilor Chris Medlock, or County Commissioner Randy Miller?
Stacey: Medlock.
Caller: Would you be interested in being interviewed by a reporter?
Stacey: I guess.

The last questions were questions about race, income, and age.


Technorati Tags: Tulsa Mayoral Election
Bill LaFortune
Bill Christiansen
Chris Medlock
Randy Miller

What are the odds?

I tried to do some research on the new scratch and win tickets for Oklahoma’s Education Lottery. I wanted to know what the odds were but not surprisingly, that information is nowhere to be found.

It turns out that the true odds on these types of games are rarely advertised. For example, check out this Illinois lottery website. For each of their instant win games, they list the overall odds of winning (including break-even prizes). Odds like 1 in 3.65 seem to be the norm. These odds are deceptive, because they give the impression that winning is easy. This is untrue. The odds of winning your dollar back are not too bad, but the odds of winning the big prize is extremely low. In the long run, the scratch and win player will lose money.

Since I could not find those odds, just for fun, here are some other interesting odds.

Heart Disease: 4 to 1
Cancer: 6 to 1
Being struck in your lifetime (Est. 80 years) 3000 to 1
Successfully navigating an asteroid field: 3720 to 1 (according to C-3P0)
Being dealt a royal flush: 649,750 to 1
Powerball (The overall odds of winning a prize): 35.61 to 1
Powerball (jackpot): 146,107,961 tO 1


Technorati Tags: odds
Oklahoma Education Lottery

Earthquake in Pakistan

One of my favorite bloggers posts this unique report on the 7.5 magnitude earthquake in her home country of Pakistan.

Technorati Tags: Pakistan earthquake

Texas & Chili

I am pleased with the turnout of my chili and of the Red River Shootout. First and more importantly, at their 100th match up, Texas beat OU 45 to 12. The past 5 years as a transplanted Texan, living in Oklahoma has been difficult. OU has absolutely dominated Texas during the past five matches. This year has been a great year for Texas; I look forward to the rest of the season.

As for the chili, I believe that this is the best batch I have made. It had the requisite amount of spiciness with the depth and complexity of flavor that I expect from chili. I am very pleased with the switch to 100% chipotle chilies and the chipotle infused olive oil. They made for an excellent change to my recipe. I believe there are three secrets that make my chili good

1. I cook it the night before. The flavors have time to marry, giving the chili a depth of flavor that really makes it interesting.
2. I cook the meat over low heat, adding half the chili powder for the chili directly to the meat. This accomplishes two things. First, it makes the meat tender. Secondly, the meat becomes super seasoned. The meat adds to the chili not the other way around.
3. Cocoa. I know that sounds like a weird ingredient, but it gives chili that depth and character that it just could not have with out it…
   

MAN IT WAS GOOD THIS YEAR! Accompanied by smoked bacon and jalapeño corn bread…brother you cannot go wrong. What a good day!

chili2, originally uploaded by sroemerm.

Technorati Tags: Chili
Red River Shootout
Texas
OU

Chili update

I have not had time to cook my chili. Wednesday, I was volunteering at the Tulsa County Republican booth at the Fair. This reminds me, if you find yourself at the Tulsa State Fair, check out the republican booth (on the east wall of the expo building). They are doing a straw poll where participants can choose their candidate for Governor and Tulsa Mayor.

On Thursday, I spent the evening swooning over Greg Jennings at the City Council meeting. His brilliant dissertation against the airport investigation swayed me. Who cares what happened to the 30 million Oklahoma tax dollars that were wasted in the Great Plains airline experiment. Anyway, I did not have time to make it then either.

The new plan is to make it tonight for Saturday afternoon. I cannot think of anything better than watching Texas beat the crap out of OU whilst eating a hot bowl of homemade chili.

Technorati Tags: chili

Greg Jennings

I think I love Greg Jennings. He is so well dressed, and he is so spicy when he gives delivers public comments during city council meetings. Of course, I do not agree with what he says, but that is part of the fun. The Cockroach Caucus usually ignores public comments made by opposing citizen groups. However, when Jennings delivers one of his diatribes, there, quite often, are direct rebuttals by the Gang of five four. In an attempt to slam these reform minded members of our council, he gives them ammunition during council discussion. It is really great.

His continued presence at all of the meeting has brought a renewed spice and vigor to public side of the Council meetings. If he were to stop attending, I don’t know what I would do…Did I mention his lustrous flowing hair, and that he is so well dressed?

Technorati Tags: Greg Jennings
Tulsa City Council

Technorati resolution?

Some time ago, I sent an email to Technorati to inform them of my woe. Here is their response.

Steven,

Your blog has been erroneously excluded from our index for some time. I've remedied the situation, and forced a re-index of
your site. Your updates should start appearing in Technorati search results shortly.

Thanks for bringing it to our attention, and sorry for the inconvenience.

Sincerely,
Adam Hertz
VP of Engineering
Technorati, Inc.

VP of Engineering! How is that for service? We will see, if Technorati picks up the following tags, then I'll be happy.
[UPDATE: It looks like I'm back in business]

Technorati Tags: Technorati
Technorati test

Marriage: What does it take?

Bowden McElroy, over at Counseling Notes has this to say about what it takes to make a marriage work.

...regarding marriage, “Does this generation have what it takes?”. I worry the answer is “No”. Too many couples come to me for counseling with a presenting complaint of “We just drifted apart. We’re not happy any more.” That’s it: no infidelity, no abuse, no crisis, just “not happy”. That got me to wondering, with those kinds of complaints in mind, what does marriage take?

He lists, and expounds on:

• A Commitment to “Oneness”
• Give up the right to be right.
• Make OUR needs a priority, not my needs or your needs.
• Understand, and guard against, the thinking that leads Christians to divorce.

He concludes:

Obedient, married, AND happy? Is God big enough that I can be married to my current spouse and learn to be happy? Is He big enough to actually change my spouse? Wrong question. The right question is, “Is God big enough to change OUR marriage (there’s that teamwork dynamic again)? The answer to that question is… Yes!

Technorati Tags: Marriage

TPS - the District of Choice

I am not entirely sure what "District of Choice" is supposed to mean, but that is what is on the Tulsa Public School home page. Perhaps it refers to the students who attend one of the 38 failing Tulsa schools and their choice to attend a different school elsewhere in the district.

Anyway, I digress. This was supposed to be a post about the school bond package. I am not sure where I stand on this yet. Hopefully there will be some detailed analysis from Bates or Tulsa Chiggers. Until then, here is the official line from TPS…

If approved the bond package will provide:
• $116.4 million for facilities
• $9.7 million for library improvements
• $29.6 million for textbooks and technology
• $6.5 million for transportation

Technorati Tags: Tulsa Public Schools

Zombie Survivor

I love zombie movies. I would like to think that I have learned enough from watching them, that I would fair well should I find my self in a real zombie situation.

Well I turns out, according to this test, that I would make it out ok.

Official Survivor
Congratulations! You scored 70%!
Whether through ferocity or quickness, you made it out. You made the right choice most of the time, but you probably screwed up somewhere. Nobody's perfect, at least you're alive.

Fair warning to my friends who are unfortunate enough to be bitten while in my presence, you will be shot.

(via Terry)

Viva Casa Bonita...er...Casa Viva

Same Bonita location, same Bonita decor, but better food?
That sounds good to me. The last time I ate at Casa Bonita I got sick.

Casa Bonita closed its doors Friday after more than 30 years of operation. But, founder Bill Waugh says the new Casa Viva will be just the same, just with better food.

The 30-thousand square foot facility will retain the features everyone has come to know at Casa Bonita, including a 30-foot waterfall, walls that look like caves, a puppet theater and even the small flags on each table that signal a waiter.

I'll give Casa Viva a chance.

What you said but exactly opposite

Increasingly, that is how Dan Paden feels about the Tulsa World. Like him, I use the World as a kind of reverse barometer. If my position on any given issue is the opposite of the World’s, then I know I am on the right track.

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Chili time

When autumn breaks, the cool air beckons me to prepare chili. Every year I make some modification to my chili recipe. This year I will use more chipotle. Also in preparation, I roasted my peppers today and created a chipotle infused olive oil. I may end up making a few more changes, I cannot say for sure what I will do until it is done. I will probably cook my chili on Wednesday for consumption on Thursday. The high on Thursday will be 67, that seems like good chili weather, and that will give the oil time to garner more chipotle flavor.

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Google's Patents

Here is a fascinating article about how analysis of Google's patents indicate a strategy to beat Microsoft.

“Google really doesn’t hide things,” said Stephen E. Arnold, who has written a book on his one-year odyssey studying the search firm. “Bill Gates is basically in the same spot he had IBM in. IBM was challenged by Microsoft and IBM didn’t understand Microsoft’s business model. It’s history repeating itself.”

Arnold, author of “The Google Legacy”, said in an interview this week, that it appears that Microsoft doesn’t understand Google in much the same way that IBM didn’t understand Microsoft 20 years ago. “It will be the Googleplex from 2004 to 2020 – a network paradigm,” said Arnold. “It will be enabled by Google’s approach to innovation.”

In placing Google’s patents under microscopic scrutiny, Arnold said he believes Google is not so much protecting its past technology innovation, but is positioning itself for the future with the first stop targeting Yahoo!’s Web advertising. Microsoft will come into its gun sights later.

Closed Door Toll Bridge Meetings

Apparently Tulsa County Commissioner Bob Dick held a closed door meeting to garner support for the private toll bridge across the river(or perhaps to rally the troops, you decide). Attendees were Commissioner Dick, City Councilors Bill Martinson, Randy Sullivan and Tom Baker, Bixby Mayor Joe Williams, Jenks Mayor Vic Vreeland, Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune and his chief of staff, Clay Bird. Also in attendance was City Councilor Bill Christiansen. I hear that Christianson while not actually invited to the meeting, was in attendance.

Of particular interest to me is the revelation that the folks building the bridge are willing to give the City of Tulsa a cut of the profits. Both Tulsa County and Infrastructure Ventures Incorporated are willing to do almost anything to get this bridge built. If you had any allusions about this toll bridge being dead, you need to wake up. This bridge is far from dead.

This meeting, which was designed not to violate the open meetings act, concluded with plans for another meeting where specific details of IVI and the County’s proposal
will be tendered.

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