I love living here!

Being iced in for most of 3 days means you have waaaay too much free time on your hands to play on the internet.  I spent much of mine on Google Earth, zipping around the globe from the Swiss Alps to the beaches of New Zealand and Oz.

I've commented here before about my neighborhood and our nearby baseball park, our mall, and all the hundred-plus (no joke!) restaurants just a short drive away.  Courtesy of Google Earth, here's what it looks like:

1....This field is where the Dallas Cowboys, the pride of the National Felon Football League, will build their new headquarters and 12,000-seat domed practice field.  It's supposed to open in 2015.

ME....This is our humble abode.  We're on the 3rd floor in a very comfortable apartment with a nice balcony.  I'm looking forward to being out there in the Spring, watching the thunderstorms rolling in from the west.  Just south is a park with a winding (man-made) stream and several ponds that Luke claims as his.  (The ducks dispute that.)

2....This is the Dr. Pepper StarCenter, a public ice rink where the Dallas Stars also practice, and the Frisco Conference Center, a mini-convention venue.

3....This is Dr. Pepper Ballpark where our Texas Ranger's Frisco RoughRiders AA minor league team plays.  I enjoy their first-class fireworks show after every Friday night home game. 

4....This is Stonebriar Mall, one of the largest in the Metroplex.  In addition to the usual better stores they have a 16-screen (?) United Artist theatre.  It also has a huge parking lot where more than a few donuts have been cut during icy weather.  Just sayin'.  ;)

5....Here is the north Texas IKEA.  The first few times I went there I hated it.  Now I've learned my way around and it's actually a fun place to visit.

6....This is where K works.  It's 1.6 miles from home, door to door.

O....These are all mid-rise (4-10 story) office park campuses.  The number of new ones being built right this minute is amazing, but because the highway infrastructure is already in place, traffic is very manageable.

R....retail.  A huge retail district has sprung up for blocks all around the mall.  If you have a tough time controlling your credit card spending, this could be a dangerous place to live.  Ouch!

DNT....the Dallas North Tollway goes north to ? and south straight to downtown Dallas (26 miles +/-).

SRT....the Sam Rayburn Tollway goes northeast to Bonham, TX (home of the legendary former Speaker of the House) and southwest to DFW International Airport (25 miles +/-) and then on to downtown Foat Wuth (50 miles +/-).

All these toll roads take a....umm...."toll" on my wallet.  I probably spend $1,000 a year for the privilege of risking life and limb daily at 80 mph.

PRESTON road....miles and miles of stores and RESTAURANTS!  I once tried to count all the eateries on or within a few blocks of Preston, but gave up at 100.  

The main residential areas of Frisco are a mile or so farther north.  The homes are huge and uber-expensive, and the owners are uber-snooty, too.  By mutual agreement with the residents, we never go there. 

That's home.  All in all it's a pretty great place to live.  :)

S 

A lump of coal in their Christmas stocking

Playing nice is vastly overrated.  For the last week my posts have been about past Christmas presents, dogs, icy weather, and other fluff.  But now I feel the need to stir the pot.  (Most of you can go back to sleep. I'll be back tomorrow with more fluff stuff.)

You all know I have a serious hard....umm....problem with the major banks.  Ever since bank deregulation back in the 1990's their focus has increasingly turned to pulling in as many deposits as possible, then "investing" that pot of money to make themselves a hefty profit.  Sure, they still make some loans, but if they have a chance to make trades for their benefit (in hedge funds, packaging/selling derivatives, etc) vs making a loan, well, borrowers are just SOL.

It's sort of like a spoiled rich kid going to Vegas with daddy's credit card.  As long as he's winning, it's "party like there's no tomorrow!"  But if his luck runs out and the "knuckle draggers" come looking for him, then he's back at daddy's door wanting a bailout.

For a decade the banks were on a hot streak, making billions and paying themselves handsomely.  But in '08 it all hit the fan and they came knocking (desperately banging?) at the taxpayer's door, wanting a bailout.  This led to the passage of the Dodd-Frank (banking reforms) Act*.  It's taken 5 years, but it looks like we're finally going to see the bankers get a solid spanking.

The five major financial regulators (FDIC, Federal Reserve, Securities & Exchange Com, Commodities Futures Trading Com, and the Comptroller of the Currency) will tomorrow vote on the "Volcker Rule" which will prohibit banks from trading for their own gain (known as "proprietary trading") and limit their investment in hedge funds.  If the regulators stick to their guns this will curb bank risk-taking and avert future Wall Street taxpayer bailouts.

Bankers of course don't like this at all because it will hurt their bottom line and make a big dent in their HUGE bonuses.  Collectively they have hundreds (thousands?) of lawyers and lobbyists scrambling right now to try and devise ways to fight the Volcker rule, or at least get some loopholes inserted that will allow them to get back to business as usual. 

I'm hoping the regulators won't knuckle under to the special interests who would throw us all under the bus if they could make a buck for themselves in the process.

Heehee....I love watching bankers squirm and squeal.  :)

S

*  Ironically named after Sen. Chris Dodd and Rep. Barney Frank, two of the bankers most proficient enablers during their go-go years.

Hello....hello....anybody?

I fear I'm the lone human survivor.  They say rats and insects will always be around, and so far Luke the Wonder Dog is still with me, but I'm afraid we're about it.  

From my vantage point 3 floors up I have a good view of the Dallas North Tollway, a major traffic artery, and Parkwood Lane, which normally feeds thousands of people a day into Stonebriar Mall.  For hours now I've been looking in vain for any sign of life out there.  The street lights are still burning so I know the power plant is operating, but is it manned or on autopilot?  An hour ago I saw a light on the horizon and felt a tinge of excitement, but it turned out to just be a light on a radio tower I guess I hadn't noticed before.

So where is everyone?  Have they frozen to death, or just gone insane because of boredom and offed themselves?  K is propped up in a corner staring at words on a page, but I fear she's already too far gone.  So young....  *sniff*

Yes, it's cold....19 degrees....but it's actually rather eerily pretty outside if anyone will just give it a try.  Shortly I'm going to launch a search party (of one) and scour the neighborhood looking for anyone still holding on.  I might even take along a flask of brandy, St. Bernard style.  I've thought about going out touring on my skates, but I fear the crunchy ice will just clog up in the little wheels.  I'd better stick with boots on the ground.

My concern is this isn't limited to just my neighborhood, but has spread like some sort of toxic fog over the entire city.  *gasp*  Or could it even have crossed state lines?  I may top off my car with scavenged gas from cars left abandoned in our parking garage.  That should enable me to widen my search for signs of life elsewhere.

I understand the insidious effects cabin fever has on people....I feel it myself from time to time.  But come on people....be strong.  Whatcha say we meet up for some coffee somewhere?  Even if the barristas have succumbed, I'll bet we can figure out how to work those steam-spewing machines of theirs.  They might even still have some of those dry 'ol nasty sandwiches in the display case.   

Trust me....it ISN'T that cold outside.  Come on....let's go.  WE CAN DO THIS!

S

ICE APOCALYPSE 2013!!!!!

The end is near!  If you're not frozen yet, it's just a matter of time.  Prepare to meet your Maker.  Just as a broken clock is still right twice a day, our North Texas weatherguessers [finally] got one right. Kudos to Pete Delkus & team.  They're 1 for 340.  WooHoo!

That seems to be the consensus opinion coming from Storm Team 8.  Prepare to bust a gut laughing all you Yankees....we've had 3-4 inches of sleet and our city of 6.5M people is paralyzed.  Our light rail transit system is down, all schools are closed, and most businesses, too.  (K is home working from her laptop.)  

Even Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Foat Wuth is closed.  (Don't get any crazy ideas North Korea.  We all have guns, and we know how to use them!)  DFW International is a ghost town, too.  They're just not prepared to deal with this kind of weather.  

Luke the Wonder Dog has shut down, too.  I took him out at 0-dark-thirty and he couldn't deal with it.  He gets all ready, lifts one leg, and his other 3 just splay....dog down!  Dog down!

Me?  I'm excited!  I'm probably one of only a handful of north Texans who are enjoying this.  I finally get to wear my super-heavyweight winter coat (what was I thinking?) and all my other cold weather clothing. too.  In fact, if I wasn't the mature adult that I am [sic] I'd probably drive up to the mall just a few blocks away and check the grip of my tires. *wink*

For now I'm just keeping a lookout to see if any of the other kids come out to play.  Join me?

S

To some, this is a dream job...

I think if I were a drunk I'd be making my way to Amsterdam.  That city has initiated a new program aimed at their alcoholic citizens;  they've put them to work as street cleaners, and are paying them at least partially in beer.

Street cleaners taking a break from their city jobs.

Talk about job security!  They're paid in beer, they drink it, throw their empties in the gutter, then the next day are paid to clean up all the beer cans in the gutter, and are paid in beer.  Then they drink the beer, throw the empties....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now I have yet another reason to NOT shop at Victoria's Secret (besides the fact they never have my size)....they discriminate against men.  It seems they're quick to tell their women shoppers of any sales in progress, but never mention them to men shopping there.  They say men are usually uncomfortable being seen there at all and will willingly pay the posted price just to complete the transaction and get out the door.

So, guys, the next time you're in Victoria's Secret buying some new duds for your latex girlfriend, haggle like you were buying a used car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll believe it when I see it:  They say a big ice storm is headed our way here in North Texas.  Yeah, yeah.  I've heard that before, like just last week.  It's definitely cold out there, but let's be honest, this isn't exacrtly the frozen tundra.  (It was 78 yesterday.)  So maybe I'll be cutting donuts in the empty mall parking lot tomorrow, and maybe I won't.  We'll see.  :)

S

The Napolean Complex canine-ified

I seem to have a new not-so-secret admirer, namely one Mr. Luke The Wonder Dog.  I'm wondering if he knows I'm a dude, too?  So far he's reserved his leg humping for K, but I'm wondering if that's where our relationship is headed also?

He's apparently decided that I'm more comfortable to lie on than his pet bed.  If I'm on the computer for more than just a few minutes he's beside me standing on his hind legs, wanting me to pick him up.  Then when I do he walks from my lap right up my chest and gets in my face.  This causes me to lean my desk chair as far back as it will go, trying to get a little face-to-face separation.  

By this time he has me right where he wants me at about a 45 degree angle.  Next he plops down and proceeds to settle in for a nice nap. 

I guess I should be glad he's an 8 lb Yorkshire Terrier and not some big honkin' Mastiff or something.

Next he'll probably want me to fan him with palm fronds and drop kibble into his mouth.  What happened to the days when your dog would bring YOU your slippers, or the newspaper, or maybe a beer?  I think I'm being played!

S

"Unique" or "odd"? Is there really any difference?

I've always done things juuuuust a bit differently.  To my face people might say I'm "unique", but I suspect behind my back they say I'm just "odd".  When most guys were buying red roses for their ladies for Valentine's Day, I was buying yellow or sometimes varigated roses for mine.  "Unique" or "odd"?  You decide.

I think the Christmas gift I gave one of my college girlfriends tells my story well.  What to give her?  The usual perfume?  Tickets to some special event?  How about a bird?  I gave her a pure white parakeet.  I might have embellished it a bit, calling it a rare albino parakeet, which it might have been for all I knew.

The evening before it was time for us both to go back home for the Christmas holidays we exchanged gifts.  I thought I'd hit a home run with this bird idea.  She thought otherwise.  She had some excuse why she couldn't keep it....some bad experience, allergies....I can't remember.  What I do remember is she left it with me.

Now I was stuck with this damn bird.  I packed my car the next day and headed back towards Dallas, the bird in his cage, bouncing along holding on for dear life.  About half way home, just outside Guthrie, TX, a wild bird hit my car right where the front grill turned and intersected the hood.  Ugh!  I had bird feathers and blood and guts all over my car, the hood, and up my windshield.  I can only imagine what that white bird sitting there next to me thought when he saw his cousin's remains staring at him through the windshield.  For me, I can see now it was an omen.

I got home with the bird, where he, or maybe it was a she, I never knew, had a nice Christmas.  But then that fateful day in early January came when I had to pack up again and go back to college.  The last thing I wanted to do was take that damn bird back with me.  I thought my mom had actually developed a mini-relationship with him/her/it (I was wrong), so in my mind it wouldn't be wrong to just sneak out and hit the road early sans bird.

I thought I made my escape good, until about 9 pm that night when there was a knock at my apartment door.  It was a friend of mine from home who also went to Harvard on the Plains, aka Texas Tech.  When my parents realized I was gone without my bird, they called Neil and asked him to stop by and pick it up and take it to me back in Lubbock.

Ever since I've never been a big bird fan.  Even now it's hard for me to say "bird" without putting "damn" in front of it.  In the wild they're beautiful; in my house, not so much.

Needless to say, I've become much more traditional in my gift giving.  :)

S

PS....I finally found a sucker willing person in one of my classes who said she would love to have a bird.  The day I delivered it to her I think I made us both very happy.