No Video Tolling For Oklahoma

While I was down in Dallas for Thanksgiving I saw a billboard for Texas’ new high tech toll road on State Highway 121.

It’s a toll road without toll booths. You can pay with an electronic toll tag or without one. Either way, there’s no stopping or slowing down to pay.
The first of its kind in the country, the Texas Department of Transportation’s State Highway 121 will make everyone’s life a little easier in the northern Metroplex area.

So if there is no booth, how do you pay?

If you don’t have a toll tag, you’re still welcome to use SH121. There’s no need to prepay or register. Just get on, and we’ll record your license plate, match the license plate number with the state’s vehicle registration file, and send you a monthly bill for your toll charges.

So not only is the idea of toll booths done away with, but the idea of toll violators. The underlying assumption is not that drivers are criminals, but customers. What a novel idea. I contacted Jack Damrill, public relations for OTA, and asked him if this was in the future for Oklahoma. I got the impression that they were cool on the idea, the official position seems to be “We will watch what happens in Texas.”

I’m not sure why we would not want to implement video tolling. Getting rid of toll booths would eliminate the need for the employees to man the booths; it would reduce unnatural congestion points, and would make the toll roads more accessible. But if our official stance is “wait and see,” I guess we will wait and see.

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OTA
Texas
video tolling
toll roads

31st Widening

I returned home from the Thanksgiving weekend to this letter informing me that 31st, between 129th and Garnet, will finally get widened.

This letter is to notify you that construction will begin during the week of December 4, 2006 on a project to widen East 31st Street South, from Garnett Road to l29th East Avenue. This project has received funding from the 2001 Third Penny Sales Tax.

The City has contracted with Horizon Construction Company for this nearly $4.5 million project. Completion of the project is scheduled for September 2007.

East 31st Street South between Garnett Road and 129th East Avenue will be widened to five lanes — two eastbound lanes and two westbound lanes, plus a center left-turn lane. The project will include storm sewers, curb, gutter and sidewalks on both sides.

South 116th East Avenue will be closed north of 31st Street from the beginning of the project until mid-January. Residents who use 116th East Avenue to drive to their homes should use East 29th Street from South Garnett Road for access to their neighborhood. At least one eastbound lane and one westbound lane on East 31st Street will remain open throughout construction.

I'm happy this is finally getting started. It has needed to be done for a long time.


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East Tulsa
31st Street
widening
Horizon Construction Company

Preparing For Advent

When I was a child, my father would bring home German advent calendars filled with chocolate. It was always one of my favorite treats during the season. I had wanted to incorporate the advent calendar into my family’s tradition for a few years now. Instead of a paper calendar, however, I wanted a more permanent calendar that we could re-use every year.

After a few years of searching for the right one, we have finally purchased a calendar this weekend, and it is already a big hit. I’ve placed it on the mantle, hopefully out of the reach of two-year-old and four-year-old hands. The mystery of what might be inside, and when those little hands might be able to find out has been a very popular topic of conversation. And while my children are very excited about the new tradition, I’ve found that finding treats and surprises to fill the calendar makes me just as much or more excited. Since I only have 10 days filled, I better hurry up and finish.


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advent calendar

Caught Speeding Update

The police are still out in force at 129th East Ave between 41st and 51st. I spoke with a security guard at one of the office complexes in the area; he told me that they had pulled 15 over before 10:30. He told me that they will go like that most of the day. Getting a ticket for speeding through a construction zone is no way to start the holidays. Watch out folks…slow down.



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construction
Tulsa Police

Caught Speeding

Nary a day goes by that I don’t see at least a half a dozen people pulled over for speeding through the construction zone on 129th East Ave between 41st and 51st. Slow down people, that is unless you just want to give money to the city out of the kindness of your own heart.



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construction
Tulsa Police

Defying Labels

I asked my four-year-old daughter if she was a Republican or a Democrat, a Conservative or a Liberal. She replied, “I’m a little girl!”

OK, point taken. I’ll try again in a few years.

Technorati Tags: parenting

Casino Royale

Yesterday I saw the latest Bond movie featuring Daniel Craig as the new Bond. It was nice to see the return to classic Bond. There were no invisible cars, no guys with diamonds in their head, no unmanned jumbo jets flying despite being torn apart by spaceborne super lasers, and no bond girls with questionable acting skills*. There were guns, fast cars, fast chases, irreverent quips, really bad guys, really beautiful women, and everyone’s favorite Bond theme music in the background to underscore the action.

One of the things I found most interesting was the casino scenes. Had this movie been made 10 years ago, Bond would have been playing Baccarat or some other card game that is a total mystery to me. But now, thanks to Bravo’s Celebrity Poker Showdown, No Limit Texas Hold’em is Bond’s new game.

I’d had high hopes that Pierce Brosnan would have brought us back to the classic Sean Connery style bond. For a brief moment I thought he did, but after Golden Eye the franchise brought me nothing but disappointment. I was especially disgusted with Die Another Day. It’s really a shame that the franchise got so silly; otherwise Brosnan could have been the greatest Bond since Connery. Fortunately for Craig the series seems to be back on track. I think the recent spy movies featuring the fictional Jason Bourne have helped bring the franchise back; The Bourne Identity and Bourne Supremacy were successful without all the over the top nonsense. Whatever the reason, Bond is back and I’m looking forward to more movies featuring Craig.

* There is some disagreement in my household over whether or not Halle Barry was a good bond girl. Oscar or not, I think she is an awful actress. I say take away what she looks like in a bikini and she was horrible. While my wife disagrees with my assessment of Miss Barry, we both do agree that Denise Richards was travesty in The World is Not Enough


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Daniel Craig
Casino Royale

For Your Consideration: Texas Chili

Last year some punk from Texas derided my chili because I had beans in it. To prove I can make a real Texas style chili with no fillers, I have developed the following recipe:

1 lb steak chopped
1 lb pork sausage
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt*
4 tsp chili powder*
4 roasted jalapeño peppers
2 roasted habanero peppers (if you want)
One finely chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic
29 oz beef broth
15 oz tomato sauce
1 tbsp cocoa
2 tsp Cholula hot sauce*
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp garlic powder*

*add to taste, a variance of plus or minus a tsp is allowed.

Cook steak under low heat adding half the chili powder and salt. In a hot pan with the oil, sauté onions and garlic add the other half of the salt and chili powder. In a separate pan cook your sausage. Using a food processor purée the onion, garlic and peppers, add some beef broth to make it smooth. Add the puréed mix to the steak, also add the tomato and the rest of the broth, and all the other ingredients. Cook for another 40 min.

Here is my original recipe; also Rich Tatum has one that looks good.


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My Two Cents

Not to long ago I decided to end my relationship with Bank of America. Over the years they had irritated me with their crummy hours, and their crummy service, and had grown exceedingly wary of being nickel-and-dimed with fees and surcharges. I decided to close my accounts in phases: First I closed the savings accounts, then I transferred the money to a credit union, next I switched my direct deposit, waited for a few weeks, and finally closed the checking account. The only thing I regret about the whole process is the cumulative 1-1.5 hours I spent in the Bank of America branch waiting area.

Today I received my final balance for my savings account. It looked like this

Balance...............$ 0.02
Service charge.....$3.00
Ending Balance...$ -2.98

I called customer service and the conversation went something like this

2 minutes of navigation through the system.
3 minutes of holding
2 minutes of identity verification and initial pleasantries
Me: I closed my account, the balance should be zero, but you say it is 2 cents. The next line shows a service charge, which is one of the reasons I closed my account, of $3.00. Next you say I owe you $2.98. I will NEVER pay you that $2.98, if anything, you owe me 2 cents.
Agent: You went to the branch and closed the accounts, filled out the paper work, and received pay out?
Me: Yes.
Agent: well I suggest that you go down to the branch and have them take care of this.
Me: ABSOLUTELY NOT!, I will not go down there. The other reason I closed my account is because they have hours that are inconvenient for me, and when I do go I have to wait for 30 min or more. I will not go down there, and I will not pay you $2.98 so we are going to handle this on the phone tonight.
3 minutes of transferring and holding
2 minutes of re-explaining my issue
New Agent: I can mail you a cashier’s check for $0.02.
Me: For a multitude of reasons that would make me very happy.
2 minutes of ending the call

So there you have it. After years of getting screwed by Bank of America, I was able to stick it to them for a change. I don’t know exactly how much this interaction will cost them, but I know it will be more the 2 cents. If you want my 2 cents it would be ditch the big national bank, especially if it is Bank of America, and switch to a local credit union.

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banks
Bank of America

College Students are Stupid

They only thing that is worse than know-it-all teenagers who think they know it all, are know-it-all college students who are sure they do. Case in point, the student council at Orange Coast College in California, last week, voted 3-to-1 to eliminate the Pledge of Allegiance from their meetings.

According to news accounts, student Board member Jason Ball, a self proclaimed atheist, called the flag salute" irrelevant to the business of the student government”, and referred to a 2002 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on a possible "church-state conflict." Ball, wearing black boots, a beret and a hammer-and-sickle pin, was quoted as saying, "Nationalism is something that divides people."

Isn’t that nice? It is isn’t it? It’s nice that we live in a wealthy superpower where its citizens enjoy freedoms that are assured by a volunteer army. It gives Mr. Ball the luxury to disparage the instrument of his freedom and the time to come up with boneheaded statements like “Nationalism is something that divides people.”

I doubt that if Mr. Ball had grown up in North Korea, he would have had the luxury, or the courage to be a dissenter. North Korea isn’t as kind to it's dissidents.



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Jason Ball
Pledge of Allegiance

Eastland Target to Close

I've just learned that the Eastland Target on 21st and 145th will be closing on Feb 3. I've contacted Councilor Troyer about this, he informs me that he had just found about this yesterday and has not had a chance to follow up on the news. I'll provide more information as I get it.

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East Tulsa
Target

Vote Republican!

Yea Batesline, he saved me a lot of typing for my election picks. if you want to know how I voted, click here.

Don't forget to vote today! Vote Republican!



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Oklahoma

Last Minute Smear Tactics

There are a lot of last minute smear tactics in the race for House District 23 in East Tulsa. I first learned about this from Democrat candidate Steve Gallo ( via automated call). He accused the Republican candidate Sue Tibbs of distributing a smear piece, illegally, through the mail.

As a volunteer for the Tibbs campaign, I know that Sue takes the law very seriously. She has told me on multiple occasions not to put literature in mail boxes. I know that she would never condone this activity, so I called her. She told me that she absolutely had nothing to do with this illegal smear piece. I believe her for two reasons.

1. I’ve known sue for several years and I know her to be a honorable and Godly woman.
2. I’ve seen the piece in question and it is a crummy piece of junk. All of Sue’s campaign pieces are of very high quality. Content aside, she would not put something like this out.
   

If she didn’t put this out, then who did? I see two possibilities…

1. Some overzealous person put this out on their own thinking they were helping Sue. This is possible but not likely, everyone knows that you are not supposed to put literature in mail boxes.
2. Steve Gallo orchestrated this himself so he could smear Sue Tibbs. He is afraid he won’t win the election so he had this piece made up and had his union cronies put it in people’s mail boxes. Then at the last minute he sent out an automated call to tell the people how Sue Tibbs wronged him.

I don’t have proof for either possibility, but I do know this had nothing to do with Sue Tibbs.

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Steve Gallo
House District 23

He's Not a Politician

I just got a letter from Democrat candidate for Oklahoma State House 23, Steve Gallo's wife. She said, "Steve Gallo is a teacher not a politician."

I really hate it when politicians say they are not politicians. We have gone over this before, but I guess we will have to do it again. The dictionary defines a politician as

A. One who is actively involved in politics, especially party politics.
B. One who holds or seeks a political office.

A. Steve Gallo is the Vice Chairman of the Tulsa County Democrat Party. I think that qualifies as actively involved in politics...especially party politics.

B. Steve is actively seeking a political office.

I'm sorry Mrs. Gallo, your husband is a politician.

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House District 23

Fewest Dropped Calls?

Cingular Wireless that "Cingular has the fewest dropped calls of any network." They further claim that it's not just Cingular that says so, they point out that a leading independent research company says so.

I guess the independent research company did not do any research in Kansas City. On Thursday, I was driving through Kansas City where I had 5 dropped calls on Cingular's network. One of my dropped calls ironically enough was with a Cingular representative who was listening to me complaining about dropped calls...

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dropped calls

Viva Doubleshot Coffee Company

Congratulations to Doubleshot Coffee Company for standing up to Starbucks and winning!

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Starbucks
Tulsa

Tibbs: A Do Nothing Legislator?

Two weeks ago Democratic candidate for State House District 23, Steve Gallo, stood in incumbent Sue Tibbs’ front yard and called her a “do nothing legislator.” I assume that means that Representative Tibbs doesn’t do anything in Oklahoma City, that she is not involved in the legislative process that she never votes on bills that her constituents in District 23 care about. If that is what he meant, then Mr. Gallo is sorely mistaken.

Sue Tibbs serves as the head of the Rules Committee with honor and distinction. Maybe she is so busy with chairing the Rules Committee that she doesn’t have time to be actively involved in writing and voting on bills. But that can’t be, because in the past two years Rep. Tibbs has authored, co-authored, or voted for the following important bills.


Sue Tibbs voted to lower our taxes. - HB 1172

Sue Tibbs helped reform the Medicaid system, making it more efficient and effective at helping those in need. - HB 2842

Sue Tibbs expanded the Prescription drug program in Oklahoma to help the underinsured and uninsured. - HB 1853

Sue Tibbs helped Public safety by funding our under funded DA’s office. - HB 1147X

Sue Tibbs increased teachers pay to the regional average and expanded their health overage. - SB 2xx, SB 1272

Sue Tibbs provided protections for unborn children, requiring parental notification before a minor can get an abortion - SB 1742

Well for some one that doesn’t do anything, Sue Tibbs sure gets a lot done for District 23. On Nov 7th, I’m going to vote for Sue Tibbs because I want her to go back to Oklahoma City and continue to “do nothing” on my behalf.


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House District 23
Steven Gallo