Category: Uncategorized

From the Star Telegram:

Democrat Chris Bell’s fundraising during the recent 30-day special legislative session on school finance was nearly on par with that of Republican Gov. Rick Perry and slightly ahead of independent gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn, according to reports filed Wednesday.
Bell, a one-term former congressman from Houston who has been seen as an underdog in this year’s governor’s race, reported collecting more than $333,000 from April 17 through May 16. Perry, who is seeking his second full term, reported raising just over $375,000. Strayhorn, the state comptroller who quit the Republican Party in January to run as an independent, raised about $307,000 during the period.
“This report shows that Chris Bell is consolidating his support in the Democratic Party in a serious way,” Stanford said. “People are beginning to realize that he is the only guy who can beat Rick Perry.”
Author and entertainer Kinky Friedman, who is also making an independent bid for governor, reported raising $149,142.

Texas Monthly will be covering the Governors Race in their July issue. Here’s an excerpt:

Yet I knew that the space separating us across the table was symbolic of something more: the unbridgeable divide that puts politicians and their close associates at a distance from the media. We would never agree on what it meant to be a great governor. Perry’s boosters insist that he has proved himself to be a leader with his toll road plan and his deregulation of college tuition. They point to tort reform passed on his watch—the strongest such measure in the country, and the model for others—and now they are touting his tax cuts. Even I would acknowledge that he did Texas proud by opening the Astrodome to Katrina evacuees and sending Department of Public Safety troopers to the border to meet the threat of violence from Mexican drug cartels. But I would also say that being a great governor means principled governance on behalf of everybody, not just slavish obeisance to your biggest campaign contributors. I would say that it means putting policy ahead of ideology, that it means addressing problems by doing what has to be done but not going overboard, that it means giving everybody a place at the table. In short, I believe that if the process is fair, the outcome will be fair, and that is about all that can be asked of politicians. This is not as hard as it sounds. Perry served with people who governed like that—Bill Hobby, Bob Bullock, Pete Laney, Bill Ratliff, and, before he went to Washington, George W. Bush. For that matter, I have seen Perry himself govern that way. But not often.

Just an FYI – from Wikipedia:
Any of my British mates know where this is? Wanna get a pic for me?
Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, England and is home to Grimsby Town. In 2004 Blundell Park was listed in The Observer as one of the ten worst football grounds in the England.

El Grande Mexican Restaurant has opened in Waxahachie, where the old Busy Bee Bakery was.
The restaurant is owned by Jose and Rosalia Garcia and is their first venture in restaurant ownership.
The restaurant had a classy Texas decor and the food was fresh and tasty.
I usually look for three things at a Mexican restaurant, the beans, hot sauce and chips.
The chips were fresh and not heavy laden with grease. The hot sauce was good but a bit watery for my taste. The taste was reminiscent of Chili’s salsa. I didn’t try the beans, but my taco salad was great.
I tried to only have a small bite of the salad shell, but it was so light, fluffy and flavorful and I ended up eating most of it before I realized it. Doh.
Check them out at 1200 Ferris Ave, at the corner of Ferris Ave. (Hwy. 77 and Sycamore).

By JONATHAN BLUNDELL
Daily Light staff writer

There’s always a fear when purchasing new computers or technology that the product will be out of date before you get home.
But new online software, released yesterday by GoldenRam, hopes to take the worry and fear out of upgrading your PC.
The online ActiveX software, UpgradeDetect, will perform a detailed inspection of a computer system, analyzing more than 3,000 pieces of data down to the chip level. After analyzing your system the software will compile a complete report, listing suggested upgrades and including exact part numbers from which to choose.
Users are now one click away from a detailed list of possible upgrades for their PC compatible machines.
“The dirty secret of the computer industry is that corporate profits are based on users believing that the ‘state-of-the-art’ computer sold to them a few years ago is now outdated and worthless,” Betsy Scherzer, a spokesman for GoldenRam, said. “It is a selling cycle called ‘planned obsolescence’ and while it is keeping computer manufacturers happy, it sends mixed and often erroneous signals to consumers. For most PC users, their current system is more than adequate when properly configured. Furthermore, the cost difference between upgrading an existing system and buying a new one is substantial.”
The software works fine on a Windows XP machine, but tests in the office look like Mac users, including users of new systems with Intel processors, are out of luck. With the list, users can simply click-to-buy upgrades of preference and purchase add-ons like warranty protection, phone support and on-site installation.
With my Toshiba Satellite Laptop, UpgradeDetect recommended a RAM upgrade from my current 512 MB to 1 GB as well as internal and external hard drive upgrades.
The prices are about average for most of the parts bought online, but bargain shoppers can simply take the information and do a quick search on Froogle.com to search for the best deals — of course then you lose the assurance that you’re buying the correct part for your machine.
The site works great if you know what hardware requirements you need but for the computer novice, the options may get a bit confusing.
There’s nothing to tell you what your best options for upgrading are.
You’ll need at least a basic understanding of computer hardware to use the site to its fullest potential.
With Microsoft’s new operating system Windows Vista expected to be released early next year, many system owners will be looking to make major upgrades to run the graphic heavy OS, but while running the software for my laptop, no options were given for possible graphic card upgrades.
Currently Microsoft is recommending a PC with a minimum processor running at least 800MHz, 512 MB of system memory and a graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.
Many industry insiders are suggesting that users double those requirements to run the OS properly.
For a premium system, Microsoft recommends a 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor, 1 GB of system memory, a graphics processor that runs Windows Aero, 128 MB of graphics memory, a 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space, DVD-ROM Drive, audio output capability and Internet access capability.
A DirectX 9 class graphics processor that supports a WDDM Driver, Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware, 32 bits per pixel and at least 64 MB of graphics memory is recommended to run Windows Aero, the high-end graphics portion of Windows Vista properly.
Users getting ready for Windows Vista will be best served using the UpgradeDirect site in conjunction with Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, available at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/
getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx. Otherwise, with a basic understanding of computer hardware and knowledge of basic system requirements for certain tasks, UpgradeDirect can become a highly useful tool.
To access the free software or for more information, visit UpgradeDirect.com. Jonathan Blundell is a staff writer with the Waxahachie Daily Light. He may be reached by e-mail at j.blundell (at) waxahachiedailylight (dot) com

it’s the dawn of the 21st century
America is still on top
there’s political confusion, social illusion
but its no worse than most folks have got

we read in the papers about the dealers and the rapers
and the wars that are being fought
we see those who are needy
give thanks to the banks that are not

workin’ the 9 to 5
so we can afford our pretty white homes
and if we run out of money buying stuff we don’t need
we can always just apply for a loan

we live in the suburbs with our aunts and our mothers
and our pagers and our cellular phones
and our email, world wide web
so we’re never alone

we give and we give to ourselves
but still we need more
we drink and we drink to our health
pass out on the floor
there is something very wrong with this nation
that we all gladly ignore
rather be ignorant and complacent
than pack our bags and walk out the door

each Sunday the choir fills the churches with such beautiful sounds
then the music trails off
and its back to the noise
of traffic and the smell of downtown

we pass by the whores, the gays, the drunks in the doorways
and we try to keep our eyes on the ground
we snicker at the lost and think,
“man, I’m so glad that I’m found”

we give and we give to ourselves
but still we need more
we drink, yeah, we drink to our health
pass out on the floor
there is something very wrong with this nation
that we all just gladly ignore
rather be ignorant and complacent
than pack our bags and walk out the door

sometimes I find myself asking
“have we come this far?”
if only we could be the country we were
instead of the country we are
except the country we were was built
on the backs of the blacks and the blood of the red
America the beautiful
home for the rich and the graves of the dead

Seth Woods, America Part 1