Downtown Tulsa

I’ve been thinking about taking this picture for about a month now. I’ve seen several photos of Downtown Tulsa from several different vantage points, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this particular one before. It’s probably because there are few that are stupid enough to stand on the I-44 bridge at night to take it…



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Downtown Tulsa

It’s a Miracle!

Scientists have turned the miracle of life into a miracle of science by restoring the sight of a blind rat with human embryonic stem cells. Of course healing a blind rat with the parts of an unborn human isn’t nearly has miraculous as healing a blind man with mud, but we have start somewhere. In any case, I’m sure this makes Jesus really happy.

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Good Fences

A few Months ago, the Securing America’s border act failed in the Senate. Because the Senate failed to act, the House is taking a piecemeal approach, passing some of the key features of that bill one at a time. One of the first pieces to pass the House is the Secure Fence Act of 2006. This bill authorizes building 700 miles of double-layer fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as "the installation of additional physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and sensors."

Last night, a cloture on the motion to proceed was invoked by the Senate (94-0). This virtually insures passage by the full Senate. Ah Election year! It’s nice to see that sometimes overwhelming public support forces our politicians to act.

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Secure Fence Act of 2006

Honor You Father and Mother…In Court

Yesterday, I found myself an unwilling participant in the proceedings of a municipal court in a suburb of Tulsa. Having a last name that starts with ‘R’ afforded me the opportunity to witness the hearings of many of my fellow defendants whose last name was before mine. One such defendant was a minor who was required to stand before the court with his mother. During his hearing, the judge asked the young man and his mother to approach the bench to sign some papers. While I could not hear what was being discussed, I could see that the judge was becoming increasingly perturbed at the young man. Finally the judge turned his mic back on and said “I’ve been watching you for about 45 seconds now and I don’t like your attitude. Specifically the way you disrespect your mother. Tonight I want you to go home get a Bible and read the Ten Commandments, specifically the one that says ‘Honor your father and mother.’”* He further admonished the young man that if he ever retuned to his court with that attitude again, he would spend some time in jail.

In addition to the judge’s advice that he should be on his best behavior while in court, I’d like to offer some free advice this young man. When you appear in court, it probably is not the best idea to wear flip-flops, a ratty t-shirt and shorts.


*based on my notes and to the best of my recollection this is what the judge said.


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Ten Commandments
etiquette

Dollar Thrifty’s Spending Choices

Dollar Thrifty recently completed the outsourcing of it’s entire IT department to EDS. We no longer have to wonder what they plan to do with the money they saved. Dollar Thrifty is going to fork over 1.4 million dollars for the BOK center. Their money has secured their position as the exclusive car rental company for the BOK Center. Also their name will be placed on the box office, appropriately named the Dollar Thrifty “We canned our IT staff” Box Office…oops, I mean the Dollar Thrifty Box Office.


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BOK Center
Tulsa
downtown arena
outsourcing

For The First Time

I just turned on the TV to see OU down by 6 to the Oregon Ducks, and for the first time ever, I find my self cheering for OU. Perhaps, it’s because I hate Oregon’s stupid green uniforms, with those dorky shoulder pads; maybe it's because I think a duck is a stupid mascot, or perhaps it's because I have a friend that drove all the way to Oregon for this game and I don’t want him to be disappointed, or maybe it's because I’ve lived in Oklahoma for over 8 years, and I’m starting to be worn down. Whatever the reason, I don’t what OU to loose this game.

I want to make it clear that this doesn’t mean that I’m now an OU fan, and if anyone calls me on this post, I’ll deny it that I ever wanted OU to win…maybe someone hacked by blogger account and wrote this entry.
[UPDATE]
Oh well, I'm not terribly disappointed. Final score OU:33-ORE:34

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Oklahoma
college football

Keep It Simple Stupid

Recently, I’ve seen several posts and stories about the new E-voting machines and their propensity to be hacked. I’m a believer in the KISS principal, which is really just a variation of Occam’s razor. KISS dictates that the simplest solution is probably the best solution.

With regard to these new electronic voting machines, we should not confuse the simplicity of the user interface with the simplicity of the underlying system. I fear that these systems are just too complicated for their own good. In addition to the published problems with these systems, I'm also very concerned with the underlying principal of an electronic system; their fundamental flaw is a lack of a paper trail.

I’ve been voting in Oklahoma for over 8 years now, and I’ve always been impressed with our voting system and the machines that we use; I think they conform to KISS very well. I’m also a big believer in the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” principle. With regard to the actual voting process in Oklahoma, it ain’t broke. I spoke with Michael Clingman, Oklahoma State Election Board Secretary, and he agrees with me. The paper based, optically scanning system, uniformly applied across Oklahoma, is one of the best in the country. Clingman told me, however, that our current system was purchased in 1990 and had an intended 10 year lifecycle. We are now 6 years past the shelf life of our current system and there are starting to be problems. It is becoming more and more difficult to find parts for maintenance. Clingman suggested that we might need to replace these machines as early as 2008. However, he assured me that Oklahoma has no desire to part with the basic system under which we currently operate. The paper trail that an actual paper ballot affords us is something that any new system will have to incorporate. This is good news; I firmly believe that a paper trail is of paramount importance. The last thing we want is to replace that security, with a hack and fraud prone system with no paper trail.

Additionally, what we need is reform in the process that takes place before the proverbial lever is pulled. Our voter rolls in Oklahoma are chocked full of dead people and people that don’t live where we think they do. Also, our failure to verify the identity of the voter creates a situation where someone who is so inclined, could vote multiple times under multiple aliases. Let’s take the fraud out of the pre-voting process. If and when we need to purchase new machines, let’s make sure that they operate under the same elegant and simple process we already have.


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electronic voting
Michael Clingman
voting machines
voter fraud

Ann Richards Dies

Ann Richards, former governor of Texas lost her struggle against cancer last night at the age of 73. While I did not always agree with her politically, I certainly respected her. Richards holds a special place in my heart because her race against Republican Clayton Williams for Governor of Texas was one of the first political races I ever paid attention to.

Williams was doing well until he uttered the now famous comparison of bad weather to rape. “…you might as well lie back and enjoy it.” This was one of the major missteps that cost him that election.

Since George Bush beat Ann Richards in the next election, I’ve often wondered whether or not Bush would be our president now, had Williams won the first election. I suppose we’ll never know. In any case, my thoughts and prayers go to her family,


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Clayton Williams
George Bush

Illegal Immigrant Hiring Practices on Council Agenda

Here is an interesting agenda item for the City Council's Public Works committee meeting tomorrow.

8. City policies and procedures to ensure City of Tulsa contractors, sub-contractors or other entities ultimately receiving City funds are not hiring illegal immigrants and/or are complying with all federal and state employment laws while performing work for the City. (Christiansen) [PW 9/12/06] 06-1315-1

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immigration
Tulsa City Council
Public Works

New Route 66 Signs

A few weeks ago, I first noticed these new route 66 signs pop up allowing I-44. I just now got around to taking a picture of them.



I have to say that I like them quite a bit more than the old ones.




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Oklahoma
Route 66
I-44

Almost Finished

Here is shot of the work being done to widen 129th between 41st and 51st.



From the looks of things, they are almost finished.


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East Tulsa
129th East Ave
road construction

What an Honor

After a long weekend in Iowa, I’m just now getting caught up on a weeks worth of posts from my fellow bloggers. What a surprise to find out that I’ve been nominated for Best Political Blog in the 2006 Okie Blog Awards. To be honest, looking at the other blogs that were nominated in this category, I don’t think I have a chance, but it is an honor to even be in their company. Thank you to who ever nominated me.

If you are an Okie Blogger, be sure to cast your votes for The 2006 Okie Blog Awards. The voting ends on September 23 20, 2006.


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Labor Day in Iowa

I spent last weekend in Blakesburg Iowa. As a child I spent many summers in Blakesburg with my grandparents. A few years ago I would go up in late September to help with the soy bean harvest. More recently, however, a trip to Iowa meant watching my grandmother die in a hospital, or burying my grandfather.

It was nice to visit my childhood home away from home for reasons of fellowship and fun with my family. One of the highlights of the trip was the Annual Blakesburg Corn Carnival. The corn carnival is a tradition that started in the 1920s. The weekend is marked with live music, good food, all kinds of activities, and a parade. To view the pictures click here.

The Deer in Iowa are amazing. Perhaps I’ve never noticed how many there were before or perhaps the population has really exploded in the last few years; in any case the amount of deer I witnessed over the course of my visit was staggering. Driving down a gravel road it was not uncommon to see a doe, and her fawn in every field.



My uncle took me on a tour of the back roads, and showed me a few fields that usually contained large bucks. Here is a picture of six in the back of a field. Click on if for the larger version…wow.



Not far from Blakesburg is Eddyville. One of their claims to fame is the Cargill corn processing facility. If you have ever consumed a soft drink sweetened with corn syrup then the chances are that the corn syrup came from Eddyville. They also produce Ethanol. Here is a night shot of the plant.



Last but not least, I also traveled to Des Moines to visit family and got some great shots of Iowa’s capital building.



I love Iowa, it’s always nice to visit the land of my forefathers and enjoy time with my family. It was a great trip, and I can’t wait to do it again next year.

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Iowa
Eddyville
Corn Carnival
Cargill
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Labor Day