Moving back to Richardson, Tx

Dallas high crime areas that feed RISD

2011-10-13T03:05:00.003-05:00

We have our own problems, but we import a significant amount from Dallas. Car thefts that are nav-tracked south down US75, robbery and burglary suspects whose NCIS info comes back to Dallas, and public school disruption from kids bringing "rough neighborhood" culture to our school district.

This year's list of areas of Dallas where one is most likely to be a victim of crime, according to the DMN:

2. Forest/Audelia (north of LBJ - feeds into Richardson ISD)
10. Greenville/LBJ (both sides of LBJ - feeds into Richardson ISD)
13. Royal/Skillman (south of LBJ - feeds into Richardson ISD)
21. Walnut Hill/Jupiter (northeast Dallas, inside LBJ, part feeds into Richardson ISD)
23. Maham/Spring Valley (outside LBJ, feeds into Richardson ISD)

Sources: DMN article, RISD info from this thread.

Still loving Aldi

2011-08-28T11:26:00.000-05:00

My appreciation of Aldi remains undiminished.

I like the food, the prices, the employees, the other shoppers. I'd
like it if there was one within walking distance.

I can get in, get some stuff, and get out in less than 5mins if I stay
organized. Try that at walmart where mouth-breathing customers and
mouth-breathing checkers conspire to waste maximum time and block every
possible walkway.

Walmart reminds me very much of the end of Wall-e with all the
semi-conscious human globules were carted around in electric scooters.

written offline and synced later

Stage 2 Water Conservation Measures

2011-08-03T02:16:00.002-05:00

No lawn watering between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. (From May 1 – September 30), mandatory watering schedule, etc.

I wonder how this affects the golf course.

Radio geeks and the COR radio system

2011-07-26T07:45:00.003-05:00

And I mean geeks in the most loving way.

Anyhow, they're expecting testing to start soon in the P25 (digital) system. See this thread.

I don't have any digital gear at the moment and my personal economic situation won't allow that anytime soon. Hopefully someone will put a stream up after it goes P25.

A forceful anti-HOA argument

2011-06-25T09:03:00.003-05:00

One of the best arguments I have heard against HOAs. Not talking about Neighborhood Associations here, just HOAs:

...HOA assessments are "forward looking". The homeowner did not incur debt, the HOA corporation incurred it. The homeowner has little control over the debt that the HOA racks up. The HOA seeks to pay for its debt by assessing the homeowners. There is no "principal balance" or term. As long as the HOA exists, it will continue to run up expenses. The HOA assessments are perpetual. Homeowners are burdened by a lien securing payment of future HOA assessments which last into perpetuity. There is no sum certain that the homeowner can pay to terminate the lien even though the debt has yet to be incurred. HOA assessments are more akin to illicit taxes by a corporation that has not been delegated governmental taxation authority.

A note on a house (or anything else) can eventually be paid off. HOA assessments are ever-increasing and never ending. HOA assessments are never "done"...

It's from this post in this thread.

RISD: wrap-up

2011-06-17T12:55:00.000-05:00

I have one more piece to write about the alternative certification
situation but will let that age until later this year.

For practical purposes this is the last post in the RISD series.

-= to RISD =-

Please ensure there are enough desks and books for the students. Pencil
sharpeners are mandatory, not optional.

RISD is (in both reality and reputation) a good district. If you do
not get a handle on thug behavior the reputation and reality will
suffer. It's chiefly a cultural issue: kids who have no exposure to
academic culture will wreck the academic environment critical to
top-notch learning. You cannot afford to tolerate serial misbehavior.
Publish high expectations for student behavior and ENFORCE it with vigor.

Principals: please walk your hallways. Schools with "wandering groups
of thugs" problems can be vastly improved by having principals walk the
hallways and deal with wandering/roving kids. Berkner: if you need
help with this talk to LHHS. The new P there is kicking butt and taking
names. Wandering and hallway disruption is greatly reduced.

-= to the teachers =-
Thank you for your kindness and professionalism toward me. I appreciate
the opportunity to work with your kids on days you were away. Thank you
for your words of encouragement.

-= to support staff =-
Custodial staffs: you rock. Keep up the good work. Especially you,
Carlton. If everyone was like you the world would be a friendlier,
gentler, and better-run place.

Inclusion assistants: please stay in the classroom when you see there
is a sub. I can count on ONE HAND the number of times an inclusion asst
stayed with the kids instead fading away with of "oh.... you're a sub.
I have... uhhh... a meeting. Yeah, a meeting" or similar. You are
needed most when sub is there. Please stay and help. To those that
stayed: thank you.

-= to the entire staff at Christa McAuliffe LC =-
I don't know how you do it day after day. If I were a praying man I
would include you in my prayers every day. It is a shame the rest of
the community is unaware of the work that goes on there, the constant
and compassionate effort to provide structure for at least one aspect of
troubled young lives.

-= to the students =-
Thank you for being creative, funny, and brave. Thank you for asking
insightful questions for disassembling the answers.

Worth singling out: The Pre-AP class English class (at Westwood?)
parsing A Christmas Carol was one of the most fearless and thoughtful
student discussions I have ever witnessed. You rock.
Runner-up: Law club students at RHS. I look forward to your running
the world.
Classes like this restore my faith in humanity.

To AP students: thank you for your work ethic and civility. Having an
AP class somewhere in the day's schedule was like being handed a
delicious blue raspberry Slurpee on a hot summer afternoon. How does it
feel to the best part of another person's day? :-)

-= to the parents and community =-
Remember to talk to your kiddo about how school is going: fears,
successes, failures, joys. Friends. Crushes. Talk to the teacher. If
your kid's educational success is being hindered in any way then do
whatever it takes to remove the obstacle. There's nothing more important.

written offline and synced later

quick and dirty

2011-06-17T11:33:00.000-05:00

I am aware that my recent posts are rougher than usual: typos,
fragments, etc. This email-to-blog mechanism and the time of day I'm
doing it means I'm trading off quality for timeliness. Hopefully some
of it's worth reading.

Also the timestamp on the emailed blog entries is wrong, some
combination of the timeshifted nature of my offline email and timezone
on my laptop. Or something.

submitted by email

RISD: how to get good results from a sub

2011-06-16T14:59:00.000-05:00

This quick/dirty post is intended to be a tickler rather than a specific
set of requests. I'm shooting for "Oh, that's a good idea. I hadn't
thought of that."

I think of subbing like a relay race: teacher hands the baton off to
the sub. Sub runs around the track and hands the baton back to the
teacher. No drops, no drama, just the best possible education for the
students no matter who's in the classroom that day.

Here we go. I'd polish/extend/rewrite this and make and actual
checklist or template if I were still in the subbing game. I'm not so
perhaps someone else can take it as a jumping-off point.

-= checklist for the particular assignment =-

Ask before placing an assignment; some subs work in more than one district.

Put in the job if you say you want that date. Your sub has no way to
hold that date open for you, and Subfinder will keep calling to fill
that date with "you WILL substitute ... ". This can go wrong in many
ways. Defuse all the disastrous scenarios by posting the assignment as
soon as you can practically do so.

Please make any copies necessary beforehand. If the copies were handed
out previously, assume a certain percentage of absences then or losses
since then. If the sub does need to make copies please provide the
copier code.

Reschedule any parent/teacher or contractor meetings.

Accurate, recent attendance sheet visible somewhere. If kids go by
names other than that on the role, please indicate.

If you have a seating chart, please look over it to check that it is
passably accurate.

-= general checklist for all assignments =-
Most of these can be done in advance by making a sub lesson template
that includes stuff that doesn't change.

INFORMATION
Important phone, numbers, schedules, duties, room numbers. When
mentioning other teachers please include first and last name (room /
telephone number would be gravy). "See John if you need help" can be
cryptic if first names are not given on door placards.

Let the sub know where things are: pencil sharpener, loaner
pens/pencils, nearest bathrooms, copy room, lounge.

LESSON
I encourage teachers to provide a lesson that is likely to take the
entire class period. A test is perfect because all students are
engaged on a graded, solo activity with generally-understood rules.

Consider making any assignments due at the end of class. "Turn it in in
tomorrow" (or, worse, when the teacher gets back) is immediately
translated by problem students as "nothing to do; goof off".

If there are special needs students please give the sub a heads up:
Billy is allowed to use the bathroom at any time and for any reason.
Todd goes to reading pullout on Tuesdays. Julie takes her tests in
another room. Freddy has Tourette's which manifests thusly...

If your students are allowed some exception to school policy please tell
your sub. "Kids are allowed to listen to iPods after they turn in their
test, " or similar.

If kids are allowed to eat lunch in your room (particularly kids who are
not your students) please let the sub know. Otherwise the sub may leave
the room during lunchtime and kids will be unsupervised, or may lock the
door leaving students in a lurch and wasting their lunch time. Advise
where they are to throw away their lunch garbage (preferably not in the
class trashcan, for the sake of kids in later classes).

"teacher lets us" . If there are things you allow the students to do
(get things out of your desk, use the classroom phone, go to the
bathroom without a pass) please say so.

Duty: please indicate what is to be done on any assigned duty periods
and where it is to be performed. If there is no duty in an off
periods but the sub must vacate for a traveling teacher, please give
warning.

ROOM PREP
Classroom phone charged, functional, and available to the sub.

If you lock your desk (which is fine) please make sure the sub will not
need anything that is inside the desk: paperclips, staples for the
[empty] stapler, classroom phone (!), remote controls (!), audio
controls (!). I have seen this go wrong in many ways.

Ensure emergency materials are in place: green/red placards with room
number, etc. I have been in three lockdowns; in 2/3rds of the rooms
the emergency information was not visible. I ended up making green
placards out of materials found in the room.

Testdrive any A/V equipment before you leave, particularly if 1st period
is expected to use it. There will be no room for error.

written offline and synced later

RISD: how to be a good sub [in progress]

2011-06-15T00:11:00.005-05:00

[to be corrected and updated as I think of stuff]

These are my own peculiar opinions and, as always, Your Mileage May Vary. I do not claim any special insight or talent but most of my sub assignments were scheduled ahead of time by referral and by teachers who had used my services before. This may or may not be indicative of some success at the job.

Getting the job

Calendar management is critical for subs. Similar to contract workers, we have to both work and find the next day of work. Both paper calendars and electronic calendars are fine, but you must always have it with you. Teachers will stop you in the parking lot, hallway, lounge, etc and ask if you have such-and-such date open. These are your customers. Your ability to know your availability right then and there is crucial to collecting jobs.

I did my calendar in Google Calendar, and cut/pasted straight from Subfinder into the calendar entry.

If you have a choice, Subfinder online is preferable to Subfinder by phone. You can see multiple entries and it offers you the jobs instead of slamming it into your schedule with "you will substitute for..." and forcing you to cancel something you can't (or won't) take. This is particularly important for folks that sub in more than one district.

A note about "save the dates". Subfinder has no way for a sub to hold a date open for a teacher who has not put in an assignment. If a teacher does not put in the assignment soon, one of several things things can happen, and most of them are Bad:

Subfinder will continue to call for that slot and say "you will substitute for..." and fill the slot. Teacher is unhappy with sub for not saving the date.
Sub marks date unavailable in an (unsuccessful) attempt to hold it open for teacher. Teacher cannot enter assignment for that date since it is unavailable. Teacher is unhappy with sub.
Sub either remembers the date or marks in the calendar as a "possible"; declines further assignments for that date. This can go right in exactly one way and wrong in so many ways; I won't go into them here.
Sub doesn't remember it's a possible and takes another assignment. Teacher is unhappy with sub weeks later when s/he finally tries to put in the assignment. Note: this usually happens immediately before the assignment. Like the day before.
Teacher decides s/he doesn't need the assignment but doesn't tell the sub, who keeps declining assignments for that day. Sub is unhappy and/or doesn't get work (and doesn't get paid) for that day.

Having an oral agreement about an unposted assignment is a Bad Idea. Get the assignment in. I found best results by saying something like: "I do have that day open now. Please put the assignment in as soon as you can; Subfinder doesn't have a way to let subs hold any particular date open." It's true, and it's important. Interestingly, it does allow teachers to offer a job to a sub ("you have been requested for...") on a particular date. The converse would be useful.

If you are getting a day off or working in another ISD, mark that day unavailable in Subfinder ASAP. This will prevent you from overbooking. If you think you have the day off, check Subfinder first to make sure you really do...

Preparing for the job

Know where each school school is. If I had not been to a school before I visited the location the previous night.

Know when the school opens. Do not believe the hours given in Subfinder.
There is at least one school (Westwood, IIRC) that the wrong time for assignments. Reporting at that wrong time would mean kids would be in a classroom with no teacher... I reported this oversight in 2009. No, they didn't change it or at least not by the time I turned in my badge.

Check the job in Subfinder the night before. Sometimes weird things happen in Subfinder and you won't know unless you look at it.

Have your sub gear.

Your badge. I taped my Subfinder and Oracle ID numbers on the back since many sign-ins require both.
Your calendar
Pencil, pencil, notebook for you to use.
A pencil sharpener. The pencil sharpener situation in RISD is dreadful. You simply cannot count on there being a functional sharpener in the classroom. It's ridiculous.
Pencils and pens for students to borrow, if you are so inclined. Be aware you will not get most of them back, at least not in usable condition. I picked up pens/pencils I found in the hallway and used those as loaners.
a water bottle. You will often be unable to get to a fountain.
lunch, preferably one that needs no preparation or utensils as you cannot count on there being anything available. A sandwich in an insulated bag is nearly perfect.
your phone, on vibrate. Teachers will call you directly for assignments.
business cards with your phone and email on it. These can be very cheap, and are easy to hand to a teacher who wants you for a job. You can put your Subfinder ID on it.
headache medicine of choice :-)
clipboard (optional but useful). Holds all the various sheets of paper together. Also, tape front office and SRO phone numbers on the back as you will need them and they will probably not be posted anywhere.
timer - I've used standalones and an app on my phone. Really useful. Students will accept the timer's notification that time is up.
I carry earplugs because the fire drills at JJP are so frequent and the alarms so painfully, ear-distortingly loud. It's terrible. Kids are walking around with their hands over their ears. Having earplugs allows me to keep hands free and completely focused on student safety instead of OH MY GOD MY EARS ARE DYING. I have walked on the tarmac behind an idling 747 in the Middle East before, all engines spun up before takeoff, and it wasn't as loud as JJP fire alarms. You can hear them driving by on Coit with your windows rolled up. I swear alarms that loud have got to be an OSHA workplace violation.

Doing the job

Show up as early as you can, as soon as the doors open. This will allow you to find the classroom, find someone to unlock the door (you usually won't have a key), and look over the assignment.

When you get to the classroom there are several things to do. Most require time and are easier without students underfoot so this is another reason to arrive early.

Find the lesson plan. This is job one upon arrival. Get your paws on the lesson plan. Usually it is on top of a stack of paper on the teacher's desk but might be in a Sub Folder if a school uses that procedure. It might be face down, under things, or in unusual format. Worst case scenario: there isn't one. Start talking to nearby teachers; maybe they have it or know something about it. Pray the teacher makes a flyby right before class starts with the lesson plan. 2nd-worst case scenario: lesson plan exists, but is a line or two scrawled on yellow legal pad paper and says something like "the kids know what they should be doing." (both of these situations are Giant Red Flags and in my experience happen more often in coachs' classrooms for some reason).
Look over the lesson plan. Read it all the way through. How many different classes are there with different plans? What are they working on and when is it due?
Post info on the board: including your name (they will ask), the date (they will ask), and maybe even what time the period ends (they will ask), the assignments/activities (they will ask) and when they are due (they will ask). Having this info on the board acts as a prompt when you tell the class what is going to happen. Some will also refer back to the board later if they forget.
Find the emergency information about evacuations, green/red sheets, etc. I have been in two lockdowns in RISD and in both cases the mandatory green/red sheets and other emergency info were not visible in the classroom. I improvised both and left this info for the teacher.
Find the phone and see if it works and is charged. Put it on the charger.
Find any A/V gear you need, including the remote and test it. You will likely have to figure out various input/output switches, remotes, and other stuff. Queue the media you need. Trying to figure out how to start a film while a class erupts in chaos is a special kind of hell; better to get it figured out before 1st period.
Look at the boards, walls, and doors for additional information the teacher may have left. Classroom-specific rules are often posted.
Find the stapler, pencil sharpener, paper clips, hole punch, extra notebook paper, etc. The kids will ask you where these things are even though they are in the classroom each day and this is your first time there.
Make sure you have attendance sheets. If they are not present (check the sub folder, too) you will have to get them from an admin person in the front office. Another reason to be early.
If you have time, do the assignment before the kids get there. This helps spot errors, problems, confusing terms, etc, before the kids see it. It will help you help the kids. It actually does many other subtle and useful things but I will leave this for the sub to figure out. Try it. I think this is the most important non-classroom-management thing I did. It's a point of distinction between teaching and babysitting.

Classroom Management

This is actually the most important thing. Teaching kids can be like herding cats on the best of days. Throw in a few thugs or several unfocused kids and it can get messy in a hurry. I have had many, many teachers tell me subbing was the worst job they ever had and would never, ever do it again.

Here is my general approach to classroom management:

Try to be mindful that most kids are doing ok and it's 10% of the kids that disrupt and take 90% of your attention on bad days.
Make it clear the idea is for the class to follow the teacher's lesson plan; the sub and the classroom will work together to make it happen.
Interact with students based on the behavior they present. Leave expectations and biases (including expecations based on past experience with the student) at the door.
Respect the students. Show respect and concern and most will reciprocate.
Be tough but fair. Have high expectations together with compassion and flexibility.
Use "proximity" in subtle-to-less-subtle ways
Identify disruptive students as soon as possible and learn their names. This overlaps a good bit with with the thug problem I've been discussing, but thugs are only the most disruptive in a set of disruptive students.

Pre-emptive strike

The disruptive kids will usually out themselves even before class starts. Knowing their names is the only real leverage you have with the wildest kids because they think there may be repercussions. The hardest cases don't even mind the possibility of getting in trouble. But here's a field guide to spotting disruptive kids.

Running in the room before class
pushing, hitting, or tripping kids before class
yelling in the hallway or classroom. Not talking about normal "kids are loud and laughing in the hallway stuff", I mean yelling at the top of the lungs, yelling at people in different parts of the school or other end of the hallway.
being ecstatic that there is a sub. Running up and down the hallway telling everyone "we got a sub! we got a sub!"
having no school materials at all. No pencil, nothing.
being tardy, particularly tardy in a group that comes in together
You may find fashion choices that correlate closely with disruptive behavior but I will leave those as an exercise for the sub. Fashion changes so swiftly that anything I say here might be outdated from semester to semester.

What to do with this information

The trick is to A) remember who is who, and B) figure out their names.

The process I finally ended up with is writing a short clothes-based description down on the attendance and pairing it up with the students name as I figured it out. So a kid with wild behaviors wearing Rangers shirt and shorts might get an entry like this:

Rngrs/shorts -

which would later be expanded to something like

Rngrs/shorts - Charles

and erased off the attendance later before turning it in.

Some methods for learning the student's name:

their friends will use it, usually loudly. Sometimes in an unwittingly useful manner like "Ooooh Charles, you always late to class!" as Charles comes through the door late.
written on their folder, in the unlikely event they brought one

written on their clothes, necklaces, bracelets, shoes
written on their ID, in the unlikely event they have one on and it is arranged so you can see it when passing
written on their assignment, in the unlikely event they write their name on it
written on their folder, in the unlikely even they brought one
written on seating chart, in the unlikely event 1) it is correct; and 2) the disruptive student is sitting where they are supposed to. Disruptive students are the main reason for implementation of a seating chart, and they are by nature the most likely to violate the seating arrangement if the teacher isn't there to enforce it. The well-behaved kids will keep their assigned seat no matter what; they are, after all, well-behaved. Sometimes you can look for the missing kid in the chart and pair that up with the seat of someone who is absent or where a seat is not indicated to have student there

Using the student's name in an offhand, natural manner during guidance/correction results in stares of disbelief from the kid and about a 50% chance of reduction in disruption. Often they will ask "how you know my name?".

The teacher lets us

Students commonly report that "the teacher lets us" do some particular thing which either 1) sounds unlikely; or 2) is expressly against school policy.

Sometimes you can tell you're getting played by a conniver. Other times you can tell the teacher really does make some kind of exception (e.g. ipods after turning in test on Fridays).

My approach to this matter is twofold: deny the request as it is against school policy and the teacher has left no guidance to make an exception) and indicate to the kids you are sympathetic to their legitimate loss, if any.

So I say something like this: "I understand you are usually allowed to [do whatever activity in question]. Because your regular teacher is not here I will make a judgement call and not allow it. " {mass groans and complaints}

"HOWEVER, I will note for your teacher that I disallowed it today in case s/he wants to have a make-up for this loss."

This makes it more clear to the kids that I want them to get their special dispensation when the teacher returns. And it short-circuits the problem if the kids are (shall we say) presenting inaccurate information.

some final thoughts about subbing

Pick your battles, both in the classroom and when accepting jobs. You don't have to take every job. There are about a dozen teachers' classrooms and two entire schools in RISD I wouldn't return to. If I wanted to be a minimum security prison guard I would have been one. (Actually, I did apply to teach prisoners in an actual prison but there was a guard posted in each room to handle the wilder students.)

It is almost never helpful to give a student an answer, as much as they say they want it. It is immensely helpful to help them learn how to figure it out themselves. Teach a man to fish, as they say.

As crappy as subbing can be there are moments of glory, of joy, of near-spiritual satisfaction. Being there when it goes "click" in a kid's head is amazing. It's like watching your own kid take first steps, or say the first sentence. Listening to young people have real differences of opinion and working them out appropriately. Watching kids be brave and take academic chances. Failing and starting again. Having kids say "you ought to be a real teacher."

RISD: grafitti and textbooks

2011-06-14T22:48:00.013-05:00

A recent comment about tax dollars reminded me to post a couple of pics. I am not saying we need to squeeze RISD for money. I am saying that all new students and parents coming into the district need to understand how seriously we take education and our investment in education. Destruction of taxpayer-funded property is unacceptable. This is effectively the same thing as I said about the SVC: educate newcomers and let them know how we do things. If they persist in breaking the law, prosecute them with vigor.

Reminder: the schools are generally well-maintained and the custodial staffs are worth singling out for praise. They are professional and respectful around your kids.
The issues depicted below are not a maintenance problem.

Another reminder: these pics are exceptions rather than the general rule. All the textbooks are not destroyed, but books (and all other school property) are treated roughly by thugs and disrupters.

I think this shot was from LHHS. Does it make you want to increase your taxes? How much do you think a textbook like that costs? Picture your kid using a text with part of the index ripped out, or racist comments written on it with sharpie.

One time in a junior high a quiet, sweet, well-behaved student came up to me and said while doing her assignment she found her text defaced; the vandalism was exceptionally crude (and I am hard to shock). She wanted me to know she had found it and not written it. I told her I was sorry she was exposed to that kind of filth and that it was not aimed at her. I traded that text for one on my desk. That is when you want to hug a kid but don't, lest you end up on the 5 o'clock news. Reassuring words have to suffice. But that's definitely a time when you would hug your own kid who had just been exposed, suddenly, to bad things in life. I left a note for the teacher with a sticky indicating the page.

Grafitti is an interesting problem. It ought not be cleaned up by maint until the SRO (school resource officer, the school police) have seen it. In the cases below I reported the vandalism to the SRO in the next free period.

This was up in Berkner for at least a week. D-hall stairway IIRC. Since I'm not there (or not in that hall) every day I don't know when it comes down. I /do/ know when I see it again after I report it to the SRO.

Not so bad, right? Maybe not worth a blog entry. I mean, the vandalism is irritating and having to clean it up on the taxpayers' dime is obnoxious, but whatever.

This one is a bit worse and is actually in a classroom, and was there for at least 5 weeks. Also in Berkner if you are keeping score:

This one also in the classroom. Don't remember how long it was up:

I have not talked yet (IIRC)about the rough treatment substitute teachers receive because that would sound like personal whining. If you are interested in how subs can deal with challenges they face then stayed tuned for the How To Be A Good Sub post coming later. But I will give you a little taste.

In between classes I stand at the door to great and guide students. I usually have my clipboard with me, but once at LHFC I left it on the teacher's desk. When class started and I retrieved my clipboard it had this sticky attached:

It's hard to read in the phonepic but the sticky on my clipboard reads: "I like it in the butt". Now, it is not clear if the student was indicating they like it in the butt or if it was meant to indicate I, the sub, prefer it that way. Regardless, try to imagine a scenario wherein
1. affixing that note
2. to a sub's property
3. on the teacher's desk
could be an appropriate act. Now imagine a sub picking up the clipboard, and reading that note while addressing the class. For bonus points, imagine your kid sitting in junior high with a kid who is willing to leave notes about anal sex for the teacher.

Some random thoughts

Gang-related grafitti is quite bad in the bathrooms in both jr high and high schools.

Berkner's school colors are, IIRC, green and white. Why does red (or blue, to a lesser degree) appear to be the color of choice for thugs? I have actually had to ask students to quit giving gang hand signs in class about 1x/month.

Fwd: RISD: addressing the thug problem

2011-06-12T20:41:00.004-05:00

Here I address a core problem facing teachers, administrators, and
your kids in the classroom. There are are more "macro" problems facing
RISD (budget shorfalls, etc) but those things do not occur in the
classroom.

It is common to say that kids are less polite, more informal, more
easily distracted, and less academically engaged. That may be the case
to one degree or another, but those are challenges and not crises. I am
talking about behavior that has a devastating effect on the academic
environment. This, in turn, affects how your kid performs in school and
how s/he feels about school. This behavior is poisonous, corrupting,
immensely counterproductive.

I am talking here about self-described "thugs", "gangstas". Their
words, not mine. Thugs come from many backgrounds although patterns do
reveal themselves in places.

I will try to accurately describe the behavior of the thug from the
classroom teacher's point of view. If you think I'm exaggerating print
this off and give the description below to your RISD [student] to see how much of
this sounds familiar. AP kids might not see this stuff as much (see
below) but the rest sure do FAR more often than a taxpaying RISD parent
would like.

PASS PERIOD
Our student spends the pass period sprinting and ducking in the
hallways, hollering at great volume. Extra points for hitting,
slapping, or shoving other students.

START OF CLASS
Our student is not present at the start of class.
He makes a grand entrance after class has begun, disrupting the
teacher's explanation of the day's lesson. This entrance could include
dancing into/across the room, hollering at some other student tardy in
the hallway, or hollering at a student in the same classroom.

After the initial stage of the entrance is complete the extended
wandering period begins. Wandering includes exaggerated, slow swagger
up and down the aisles delaying taking a seat as long as possible.
Bonus points for slapping people on the head, kicking desks, or knocking
items off other students' desks while traversing the aisle.
SuperBonus points for responding to teacher's "please sit down" request
with "I'm about to sit down" or the Kafkaesque "I AM sitting down".

This would be a good time to relate the list of school-related materials
the student brought with him: Nothing. No paper, no notebook, no
pencil. Maybe no ID. Definitely not whatever might have been due that day.

CLASS TIME

The class gets to work on the assignment, except our student who insists
he doesn't understand the assignment. I believe him because:
1. he missed part of the explanation because of his tardiness
2. he actually hasn't looked at the assignment. It is likely
face-down, upside down, or on the floor.

Another version goes like this:

Teacher: here is your copy of the assignment.
Student: (looks at paper for a moment) This too easy! We already done
this one!
Classroom: No, we haven't.
[a few minutes pass]
Student: This too hard! We don't know nothin' about this!
Classroom: Yes we do, we've been working on [whatever skill] the last 3
days.
Students: [groans / curses / refuses to do the work]

Student continually disrupts working peers with horseplay, physical
aggression and wildly inappropriate comments. Frequently the comments
are so loud and so offensive they must be addressed immediately.
Saying these things in a workplace would likely result in "hostile
workplace" litigation.
Teacher: Focus on your assignment, and stop the conversation, please.
Student: [continues obscene yammering]
Teacher: [using proximity and more direct language] Use appropriate
language in school, and hold your voice down. It's time to work on your
assignment. You are distracting other students.
Student: (turning to teacher) I ain't talkin' to you, ni__ah! Don't be
listenin' to our private conversation!

The mind boggles. I maintain that one is unlikely to reform a student
with this response to guidance from authority.

The student has many tales about why he must leave the room: bathroom,
water, counselor, coach, clinic, "gotta do something", etc.

Or consider this testing scenario:
Teacher: we are having a test [provides normal test guidelines,
including having only a pencil on the desk, everything else under the
desk, no talking, etc.]
[students make progress on test. Some finish, turn in their test, and
ask for a bathroom or water fountain break. Teacher grants it.]
Student: I gotta get a drink of water.
Teacher: have you turned in your test?
Student: No.
Teacher: You can go after you turn in your test.
Student: Why?
Teacher: You cannot leave the room /while/ you're taking a test.
Student: [some other student] went [wherever].
Teacher: s/he already turned in the test.
Student: so can I go get a drink of water?
Teacher: after you turn in your test.
Student: You racis'. ("you are a racist" or "you are racist")

Boggle. What can you say to change the behavior of a student who
believes enforcing the rules equally for everyone is racist? Worse, how
do you change the behavior of a student who /pretends/ to believe that?
I think the latter is even worse. It's more manipulative. I

There is more. Tons more. But you get the idea and I don't to wallow
through the mire. Tired of writing this kind of negative stuff.

END OF CLASS

Student, having made little or no progress (not even writing his name on
the paper), folds up the work and pockets it several minutes before the
end of class. When encouraged to continue, he says "There is only [x]
minutes left; I couldn't do anything in [x] minutes. Student begins
finding excuses to get near the door: putting a book up, sharpening a
pencil (your loaner pencil he just broke in half so he could sharpen
it), etc. Hangs around the door. Starts /leaning/ out of the door,
signalling friends, hollering to anyone else doing the End Of Class
Early Escape Plan. If the teacher does not catch this move the student
may just leave.

-= how teachers feel about this =-
I can't tell you how many times I've heard teachers say: "My class did
so well today. We covered /everything/. [thug student] was absent and
the class just sailed through the material. I feel guilty for saying
that but it's true. "

Think about that.

-= why RISD will ignore this problem =-
1. parents don't know what is happening
2. kids are so used to it that many don't realize a classroom does not
/have/ to be chaotic and intimidating.
3. MONEY. There are financial incentives that lead the ISD to want to
keep the kid enrolled, and enrolled in the district instead of placed in
JJP or other extreme remedies.
4. COR, RPD, and RISD have a unified desire to keep unpleasant things
hushed up. Makes us look great to all those young professionals Amir is
so obsessed with courting.
5. Fear.

-= What parents can do =-
Let your kid know that exposure to aggressive, inappropriate behavior
and language is not mandatory.

If your kid can/will do it, encourage them to take AP or other
academically challenging classes like physics and calculus. Thugs won't
go there.

Visit your kid's school. Get a badge and see what happens in the
hallways and the classrooms. If I'm making this stuff up, call me a
crank and sleep well. If I'm /not/ making this stuff up then the change
will need to come from you. I put in my two years and did the best I
could. If they'd hired me I'd still be in there fighting to get EVERY
kid the best education they would take. Thugs included. My own kid is in
college now so I have no direct stake in the game anymore. But I felt it
was my duty to share some of the concerns I have after spending time in
RISD classrooms. That chapter of my life is now closed.

I have a couple more posts then no more.

emailed in

RISD: a deep breath before diving

2011-06-11T12:20:00.001-05:00

This post, which will lay some groundwork.
Next post, which will be the most challenging and difficult for me

Then later this week two posts about subbing: one about how to be a
good sub and one for teachers about how to get results from a sub.

After that, not sure.

-= some scenarios to ponder =-
"Discuss amongst yourselves"
You have a box of puppies. There are ten puppies and you love them all.
One puppy continually injures, bullies, and annoys the others to the
degree that their sleep and feeding is not normal. The puppy destroys
any bedding you provide and anything else within reach. What do you do?

You are at a nice restaurant with your spouse. Customers at another
table are arguing loudly, discussing topics inappropriate for public
display, verbally abusing the staff and other customers, throwing things
on the floor and damaging the restaurant. What do you do? If you were
the manager what would you do? What is the likely outcome?

You are at a movie (drama, let's say) and the people behind you are
laughing raucously and talking so loudly that you cannot hear the
dialog. What do you do? If you were the manager what would you do?

You are at meeting at work and a co-worker continually disrupts the
presenter, wanders around the conference table and makes inappropriate
comments. What is likely to happen?

Your neighbor signals you to come over. You do, and he asks you to
borrow a tool. He really needs that tool; it is some kind of necessity
but he has lost or broken his. Within minutes you notice he has started
disassembling the borrowed tool or has already broken it. Only 25% of
the time do you get the tools back. What do you do?

You are playing Monopoly with a group of friends. One player
continually plays out of turn, takes money from the bank without cause,
and refuses to pay rent when he lands on a developed property. What do
you do? What is the likely outcome? Is it even a game as long as
disrupters are participating?

You live in a city. There are people roaming the city at night,
vandalizing and taking property. They are prone to casual violence,
both among themselves and to passers-by. What do you do as a citizen?
What would you expect the city to do?

-= what these scenarios have in common =-
These scenarios are intended to bring to the light our assumptions about
how individuals behave within a larger society, how we conform to
expectations or defy them, and how we choose to to deal with those that
disrupt shared systems.

I think the core idea here is that groups (cities, civilizations,
organizations or classrooms) are fragile structures and only function
when everyone plays by the same rules.

In first-world countries we call this "rule of law," and I suggest it is
a crucial difference between successful cultures and war-torn,
structurally/perpetually impoverished and murderous cultures.

I don't mean everyone has to be a clone or a Stepford wife or have no
personality; I do mean that any large group requires baseline
cooperation and it requires relatively few miscreants to bring it down
or greatly reduce its effectiveness.

-= what are you talking about? =-

I tell you that to tell you this: the majority of kids in RISD are
doing fine, and their behavior is fine, and they will be just fine.
There is a subset of the enrollment who are serially and seriously
disruptive and unresponsive to guidance. They disrupt your kid's
education the same way one jerk in a restaurant or a movie can run that
experience. They will greatly harm the academic effectiveness and
reputation of RISD if this matter is not addressed. First we talk about
it and someone has to bring up the topic. I'll do it in the next post.

But first a few biographical notes that may help you distinguish my
professional and civic concerns from personal preference or bias.

-= standard English =-
I do not always speak standard English. At home, with friends, with my
wife, or when typing out into the ether like this at 2am I am liable to
get sloppy (let's call it "creative") and use salty language. I am told
that after a few beers a Texas drawl sneaks out. Still, my language in
front of students, teachers, administration is standard English. This
is how society operates: you talk one way with your friends watching
football on TV and another way in the church pew. This isn't hypocrisy;
it's decorum.

-= modest means =-
I have eaten my share of frogs, squirrels, and rabbits when other food
was not available. I have lived in more than one trailer. A more recent
datapoint: my total income last year was less than $11k. I share this
not-so-flattering information because I want you to understand I am not completely without experience or compassion.

-= one more tidbit =-
My first girlfriend's name was Bonita Jackson.

posted by offline email

RISD: how things have changed

2011-06-10T16:24:00.000-05:00

I will start this series with a comparison of how things were when I
went to high school (mid-80s) and how they are now.

I think most of the changes are good. Kids seem to base their decisions
about who to befriend, shun, or date based on personal preference rather
than by race, class, age, language, etc. Boys and girls seem genuinely
comfortable around each other. Gender equality and racial is taken as a
given by most. Gay kids are probably the last group to be openly mocked
and even that is changing.

I realize the kids are probably farther along the tolerant spectrum than
is comfortable for parents. Fair enough. But these are generational
changes and the parents won't be around forever. Our kids will run the
world and it will be /their/ world.

The demographics of RISD are changing. I stood in front of a series of
class photos at one JH and the transition from Anglo to a variety of
faces is unmistakeable. In my experience in the classroom, immigrant
children (and children of immigrants) are doing fine. Do not fear the
/reconquista/. Texas has always been a syncretic frontier.

Your kids probably know more about Office programs like Word and
PowerPoint than you do. [edward tufte suggests this may not be a Good
Thing). Kids are entirely comfortable with online applications, but
will find any opportunity to sneak onto Facebook or mp3 streaming sites.
Ever had a dog that could find any weak spot in a fence? It's like that.

Texting is a cultural tsunami; the immediacy of SMS and ubiquity of
cellphones mean whole subsets of kids are finding opportunities to text.
Kids used to smoke in bathrooms; now they text. The most distressing
aspect is encroachment of textspeeak (IDK, 2, U, etc.) into homework,
quizzes, tests.

Teachers appear to be better prepared, academically.

A few changes have been less positive.

Teachers and the kids are trapped in seemingly endless cycles of high
stakes testing. The "Want to teach?" altcert billboards should, if
truth in advertising is important, read "Want to train kids to take
tests?"

There is a marked decrease in classroom decorum; it is destructive to
the academic environment and is my single greatest concern for RISD. I
am not talking about "kids these days" fist-shaking stuff, but behavior
that would get adults arrested, sued, or fired. There is a real chance
that your kid is being cheated out of full academic opportunity by the
disruptive behavior and general wildness of poorly socialized kids in
their classroom. More on this in a later post.

Lunch over now; must run.

posted by offline email

RISD: first things first

2011-06-09T12:58:00.001-05:00

My role as a substitute teacher allowed me to see a good deal of the
district. I subbed in every high school, every junior high, the
alternative school (CMLC) and some elementary schools.

I had days with delightful kids and days when kids were taken away by
the police. Classrooms where I would want my own kid to be and
classrooms where I would never, ever consider placing my kid.

I had small, easily-managed groups and class sizes that were out of
control. Hint: when the teacher's note says "there are not enough
desks for the students so some sit at my desk or on the floor" it is
safe to say that class is too big. I had a 9th grade social studies
assignment at Berkner where there the largest class was 42 and the
smallest class was well into the thirties (38? 36? don't remember). It
is common to have more students than textbooks.

I spent time in schools that were nurturing and healthy (North JH, for
example) and schools that felt like a street fight or rioting minimum
security prison (Forest Meadow). How /do/ 7th graders get tattoos, anyhow?

I believe RISD is still a very good school district and is facing some
real challenges. I'll address this in a weekend post.

My next post will be about school might be different now compared to
when I (and maybe you) went to school.

posted by offline email

Upcoming: RISD retrospective

2011-06-05T11:18:00.000-05:00

Because of some dramatic changes in my work life I have been unable to
make any real updates lately.

Short version: the continued implosion of the national and state
economies has caused stresses on the ISDs. This resulted in hiring
freezes and attrition scenarios. It is a Bad Time for folks who were
subbing until they could get hired as a teacher. I subbed for RISD
until I ran completely out of resources. Sometimes dreams are deferred
and we have to man up about it.

I did successfully land a non-teaching job which allows me to pay my
bills and keep the house. I am grateful to have a job in this
craptastic economy. Anyhoo.

This may be a good time to take a look back on my experiences in RISD.
I've got a few posts sketched out; I hope they are interesting or at
least informative. I may ruffle some feathers, and I am conflicted
about how to constructively present some of the more challenging and
delicate issues. Hopefully I can shed more light than heat.

posted by email

Voted at the old red schoolhouse

2011-05-08T14:31:00.003-05:00

I was the only voter there at the time. Three determined and good-spirited volunteers worked the polling place. Two of them were fighting the wind to get the "no signs past this point" marker to stay in place.

The touchscreen on my machine was a bit stubborn for both myself and the volunteer who did the setup. But my stubbornness surpassed that of the machine and I gamely pressed and pressed until it took the input. It was accurate, just unwilling to take input. I suspect the digitizer needed to be recalibrated.

Review - Favorite Yogurt in DFW Chinatown

2011-04-26T19:39:00.004-05:00

Dear Wife and I checked in at Favorite Yogurt there in the 400 N Greenville strip. Modern space, clean, machines in good order, and all but one or two flavors frozen and ready to serve. The fellow working there was genteel and accomodating. Recommended, although it'd be pretty easy to go over $5 for each person.

I had:
original tart (why am I so late to this game? Awesome!)
vanilla - the most 'usual' flavor there
taro
green tea
lychee
blueberry

Wife had:
green apple
strawberry
orange

All the flavors were well done, which is not to say I think all those flavors belong in yogurt. Green tea was spot-on perfect flavor but not something I'd do again, though I like that same flavor in soy "ice cream".

Joe Bob Briggs would say "check it out".

Those weather radios

2011-04-10T22:33:00.003-05:00

I found one of those $40 automatic weather radios at a garage sale for $4 and snapped it up. I don't think it had been used.

The basic idea is that you can turn it on to hear the NOAA weather forecast, or let it automagically come on with an alert if a warning/watch is issued.

This works because in addition to transmitting audio that humans hear, NOAA transmits data that consumer (and emergency services) radio gear listens for. This data includes a few things:

the type of hazard (tornado, freeze, volcano, nuclear, chemical, etc)
expiration time
the county affected by the alert, identified by a SAME code.

If you opt for the alerts you can either say "trigger the radio when it receives any alert" or "trigger the radio when it receives any alert in the counties I have defined." I plugged in the Dallas and Collin county codes and, as designed, it was triggered by the severe thunderstorm watch this afternoon. Good stuff, Maynard.

If you haven't picked up one of these I'd say it works well and is worth the time/money. If you are frugal or economically challenged you can grab one used off craigslist, eBay, or (like me) a garage sale. If you have one and haven't programmed in the SAME codes, I'd encourage you to do it: it's only painful once, as long as you have a battery backup in there.

$3.63 is the cheapest in town

2011-04-08T07:08:00.003-05:00

Here's the current listing.

I don't remember what gasoline got up to a few years back, but I think it was around this territory. It spiked to ~$3.65 at the station near where I worked in Dallas but the most I'd paid during a fillup was ~$3.45.

I suspect the freak-out point will occur when we start seeing $4.00 for regular around town.

Dear Shouty McRedshirt

2011-04-05T21:50:00.004-05:00

Please don't yell and curse in our candidate forums.

We wouldn't shout and curse when you're playing on the golf course (or at the Eisemann with cronies), so extend us the same courtesy.

Thanks.

Endorsement: WIlliam Gordon for Place 1

2011-03-23T09:37:00.003-05:00

I have reviewed Mr. Gordon's platform on his website and I think it's good. I endorse him for Place 1.

I am pleased that his approach appears that of a pragmatic and economic nature rather than that of a culture warrior. I believe this is the way forward for a successful, responsible/transparent, civil city where all residents get along and contribute to the common good.

I should say that this is an endorsement for Mr. Gordon rather than one against Mr. Townshend personally. I have met Mr. Townshend a couple of times in civic situations and he seems to be a decent fellow. He has treated me fairly and appropriately when we interacted. I appreciate his willingness to serve on the Council.

I have not met Mr. Gordon (that I am aware of) and am endorsing him based on his platform. I also believe his activism in the past has been the irritating sand that began the growth of the pearl -- greater transparency in city governance. Last, and probably least, I've been increasingly willing to "throw the bums out" as they say; inject fresh blood. Try something different. I've heard it said that the definition of crazy is "doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results."

My concern from a governance point of view is that service on the council in the last few years is nearly indistinguishable from dancing to the Mayor's and City Manager's tune. Not talking about Mr. Townshend specifically, but I want councilfolk up there, not marionettes. I want discussion, not rubberstamping. I want people who actively fight for the minimal, appropriate, informed, and transparent use of taxpayer funds. I'm talking about stewardship of taxpayer resources.

Note: I do not know that an endorsement from a blog like this has any positive value for Mr. Gordon. Since I want his campaign to succeed I would pull this post if he found it to be counterproductive.

more spin/waste at $0.335 per household

2011-03-11T11:37:00.004-06:00

As I said before, Mr. Mayor, stop sending us spin on our own dime.

Is there ANYTHING in this letter you couldn't have posted online or sent in your weekly email instead?

Note: only a rough scan of the front side uploaded. I assume we'll all have a copy soon enough, anyhow.

Salaam

2011-03-07T20:23:00.004-06:00

I thought I had written a comment Friday AM on the anti-Muslim email emailed to DC's blog, but I don't see it there.

The main points that were on my mind:

* I moved to Richardson, in part, because of the rich mix of cultures and the ease with which Richardson seemed to absorb them. The not-always-subtle anti-Islam whispering I've heard in the last year is troubling in the extreme. It is beneath us and it is counterproductive. It's not acceptable.

* I have been warmly received by our Muslim brethren when exploring restaurants and markets. I especially recommend World Food Market, Andre Food, and Sara Bakery. For sit-down eating: Afrah, Tovi (the place next to Asel), Ali Baba. Food is a wonderful starting point to learn about and understand another culture. Hey, ya gotta eat anyway.

* My Muslim neighbors are good neighbors; I would rather have them next door than the author of that email.

* Muslim kids are doing just fine academically and behaviorally in RISD. Kids seem to get along with each other fine. (There are many such instances of kids getting along with people their parents shun, but that's the subject of a different post).

* Should I also be alert for Christian outreach in my neighborhood? Of the doorknocking religionmongers on my doorstep (ignoring my No Solicitors sign), 100% have been Protestant. 0% have been Muslim.

* It is fair to ding Amir's politics if you don't like his approach to the Council (or Twitter :-). It is not fair to ding his faith. Off limits.

My challenge to myself and to the community
If you are already accepting of our Muslim brethren, speak out against prejudice and bigotry when you see it. Continue to embrace people of all faiths. Extremists (of all flavors) can flourish only when the moderate population remains silent.

Special thanks to Mark Steger for speaking out so strongly in his comment.

If you are on the fence, spend some time with Muslim folk, eat some Middle Eastern food, shop at the local markets. Your decision will be made from the basis of experience and not of fear or rumors.

If you are anti-Islam, please consider being more Christlike when expressing your concerns.

$3.25/gal is the cheapest in Richardson

2011-03-02T12:32:00.003-06:00

Looks like we're climbing up there.

http://www.dallasgasprices.com/index.aspx?area=Richardson

My 15yo car is averaging a gps- and pump-calibrated 27.8mpg at the moment. Take that, SUV that cut me off in traffic this A.M. with nary a signal... I hope that full-throttle blast cost you $5.

Gasoline price listing for Richardson

2011-02-26T08:24:00.005-06:00

In case you haven't seen this kind of thing, there are sites that track gasoline prices in a particular area. Here's one page for Richardson.

I load that page every day. I do it to stay aware of pricing trends rather than to chase 2c less per gallon price differentials.

My old car still averages 29mpg and I am grateful for it. If the prices get really bad I can swap to the motorcycle which gets 49-52mpg, depending on how much self-restraint I can force into my throttle hand. :-)

RPL's OverDrive emedia, HarperCollins

2011-02-25T20:47:00.005-06:00

Earlier today the weekly update came out with this news:

Library Acquires “Overdrive” Allowing Downloads Of Audiobooks And eBooks
On Monday, the Richardson Public Library switched on “Overdrive”, which is an online service that offers access to best-selling and classic audiobooks and eBooks all day, every day from the Library’s website.

Anyone can browse the collection, but a Richardson Library Card is required to check out a selection. The books can be downloaded to computers and many mobile devices, and some audio titles can also be burned to CD. Titles automatically expire at the end of the lending period, meaning there are no late fees. A link to the site is available in the Related Links section.

Then a few minutes ago this pops up online -- "HarperCollins to libraries: we will nuke your ebooks after 26 checkouts":

LibraryGoblin sez, "HarperCollins has decided to change their agreement with e-book distributor OverDrive. They forced OverDrive, which is a main e-book distributor for libraries, to agree to terms so that HarperCollins e-books will only be licensed for checkout 26 times. Librarians have blown up over this, calling for a boycott of HarperCollins, breaking the DRM on e-books--basically doing anything to let HarperCollins and other publishers know they consider this abuse."

A little to too arcane and inside baseball? Maybe. But electronic media will probably increase as a percentage of library loans going forward, and this kind of battle is important and inevitable.

The OverDrive service page at RPL doesn't say so, but there is one open platform
player available: an Android client is available on the official overdrive page.

[I should point out that completely DRM-free ebooks and audiobooks are available, legal, and free elsewhere online. You can help prepare free ebooks for publishing by volunteering your keen proofreading skills.]

Preparedness fair Sat 2/25, 9am-12pm

2011-02-25T12:51:00.003-06:00

Your friendly local LDS folk are putting on a Preparedness Fair. I think this is an annual thing for them; I attended in 2009 and enjoying poking around. Learned about pressure canning meat, went home, and got'er done. Awesome.

Water preps, canning (both jars and actual cans), grain grinding, safety, etc. I recommend it.

No, I'm not a Mormon. No, the fair is not about religion. Yes, I tend to like LDS folk as a group: friendly, self-reliant, and clean-living. What else could you want in a neighbor?

Here's the address:
900 S Bowser Rd
Richardson, TX 75081

Map and pic of bldg, so you can recognize it when you get there.

@amiromar, interjections, and schoolhouse rock

2011-02-24T18:51:00.006-06:00

Ok, Amir.

I dig the timely tweets, I dig the energy, and I'm generally sympathetic to your approach. But, really:

there is no law requiring one to put an exclamation point (!) in every. single. tweet.

Srsly. They will not fine you, cart you off, or revoke your social media membership card if you just stick a period at the end. Your content is good, you're articulate and energetic. No need for the hyperventilating punctuation. No one will think you are getting old, suffering from Low T or anything like that.

Sometimes we use non-exclamation punctuation "when the feeling's not as strong":

(yes, I know Mr. Omar rarely posts actual interjections but that was the closest pop culture reference I could find on youtube).

Postscript: once I got an email from a bizness d00d who contracted me to do web editing or similar. He asked me to add an "explanation mark" to one of the sentences.

I wracked my brain trying to parse what this meant. Was this some kind of esoteric punctuation my liberal arts education had skipped? Did I make a mistake going to a state school? Was it a business-specific symbol like the Copyright © or something? I was in agony. Finally he wrote "one of these -> !!!".

Ahh. The wiley explanation mark. I see now. I'll have that done in a few minutes...

Interpreting ERCOT tea leaves

2011-02-03T08:08:00.006-06:00

Since the first rolling blackouts caught everyone by surprise, I've been trying to figure out how we tell what's going on for ourselves. Sharing what unscientific, unverified info I have grokked below.

ERCOT operations messages are listed here. Also in a handy RSS form. These appear to be the best real-time information available to the public.

Heavy on energy market terms like DAM (Day Ahead Market), the most important stuff for us appears to be the EEA levels:

EEA Level 1 - All available resources in use. Discretionary ("non-firm") energy sales stop.

EEA Level 2 - Load Management procedures in effect; no longer able to meet demand. Public appeals to reduce demand. Reduction in voltage. Interruption of power to entities who have signed contracts allowing such. Make use of "all resources".
2a - Medium potential for outages.
2b - High potential for outages.

EEA Level 3 - Forseen or actual loss of power. Rotating blackouts, etc.

Also, here's a fun "load shedding" training doc to peruse.

Grid emergency = rolling blackouts

2011-02-02T06:20:00.007-06:00

Power went out this A.M. Called Oncor: recording said Tx grid is in trouble, and they are having rolling 15-minute blackouts to limit damage. Actually lasted about 9mins at my location.

Note: It's showing up in Oncor's tweets now:

billcarleton Bill Carleton
@oncor why no advanced notice that you will be rotating grid outages?
28 minutes ago
in reply to @billcarleton ↑

@oncor
Oncor
@billcarleton Sorry for your inconvenience. We found out <1 hour ago from ERCOT, who operates the state's electrical grid. Please be safe.

{Edited to add: just put the Oncor outage number 1-888-313-4747 in my cellphone yesterday. Guess that paid off.}

{Another edit: another round from 7:47a - 8:03a. If this is going to go on all day i'll leave my PCs off and just use this laptop.}

Destiny+Twitter: Slagel hangs it up

2011-02-01T12:22:00.002-06:00

Destiny posted it here. Looks like she might have been one of the first to spot it in the Mayor's twitter post.

Looks legit to me. DMN reporting it, also.

Councilman Omar, re-election campaign committee meeting

2011-01-30T19:59:00.004-06:00

"Kickoff meeting for my Re-Election Campaign Committee! So inspired by the support & ready to serve for 2 more years!"

From this tweet.

DC on bragging rights

2011-01-23T08:32:00.004-06:00

Hop on over and read his article on bragging rights and the BURP TOD. I think it's (unfortunately) got the ring of truth.

I have zero interest in underwriting d*cksize wars between city governments. I am reminded of an African proverb that says something like "when elephants fight it is the grass that suffers."

COR leadership is, generally speaking, overly concerned with comparisons to Plano. Richardson is our chosen city, not some consolation prize for folks who couldn't quite swing a mortgage in Plano.

{this originally started out as a comment on DC's blog, but I didn't want to put the crude language there, even beeped out.}

"your thoughts on the proposal"

2011-01-06T16:10:00.004-06:00

"On behalf of your City Council and myself, I want to provide you with an update concerning two important rezoning requests regarding property located in north Richardson adjacent to the intersection of US 75 and the Bush Turnpike."

--Gary Slagel, in a Jan 4 letter.

My thoughts on the proposal are "quit snailmailing me propaganda about Apartment the Town at my own expense."

Additional thoughts are something like "I look forward to the next City Council election."

{editing to scans of the front and back of the letter, .pdf format and quite small, 40k and 50k respectively}

Councilman Murphy not seeking re-election

2011-01-05T12:09:00.002-06:00

DMN article online here.

{edit - DC beat me to it.}

I haven't heard any talk* about this decision. I wonder if it is an indication the incumbents sense a "throw everyone out and start fresh" vibe?

* won't use the word "chatter" because I know how it can upset the locals.

COR Best of... 2010

2010-12-28T14:42:00.005-06:00

Just to prove I'm not (only) a grinch, here are some departments/people worthy of recognition in 2010.

Richardson Public Library
The RPL has been a lifeline for my family during this economic rough patch.

DVDs and CDs to rent for entertainment. I haven't been to a multiplex in years.
books (duh)
Wifi. IMO the wifi is a tremendous value for taxpayer money. No additional hardware required for users; they bring their own. I wouldn't mind paying for a buildout of that infrastructure. Nothing fancy, just enough bandwidth to check email and do light browsing. The kind of stuff students, job seekers, and the retired might need.
the new Six Flags-style waiting line seems to be an improvement
Interested and interesting reference librarians stashed away in the basement. If you haven't been down there take a few minutes to poke around.
RPL director Steve Benson is kicking butt, in every way I can think of.
It's time to consider a separate slot on future bond votes just for the RPL; I believe they are doing great work with our collective tax monies.

COR Solid Waste

Our guys are efficient, quiet, and don't make a mess. Thanks, guys!
BABIC is Johnny-on-the-spot. An excellent program.

Don Magner @ COR Neighborhood Services

I can't tell if this guy is a robot, never sleeps, or is just exceptionally organized/dedicated. But he and his team win the "getting stuff done" award for 2010. I don't know how he does it, but I am grateful.

Dave Carter @ COR Traffic/Transportation

He handles resident concerns professionally and respectfully in situations that might make lesser men lose their temper. I actually enjoyed watching his presentations at the work meetings; he obviously knows his stuff.

Every RPD patrolman I have talked to this year

...or read about, or heard on the scanner. [No disrespect to female patrol officers; just had no contact with any this year. Same for RFD.]

The street cops are representing us well, making good decisions, doing the best with the resources and directives they have. I won't comment on leadership since I have no direct interaction with them. I keep hearing decent things about Chief Spivey, though, even from grouchier folks than me.

Staff @ COR Utilities office

The folks there are always friendly and helpful. I usually snailmail my bill but when I stop by in person these ladies are great.

So that's my list for 2010.

feathers in our cap

2010-12-28T11:47:00.004-06:00

In Catch-22 there is a character who is obsessed with appearances/reputation. He obsesses over small details and decides which ones are "feathers in my cap" and which ones are "black eyes."

This is what immediately popped into mind when I read the "City Receives Two Awards from GFOA" article in the December issue of Richardson Today.

Now, before we go any further: if you have not read about the Wine Spectator fake award scandal please do so now. I promise it's relevant (and funny).

Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting
How to get certificate:

join GFOA ($840)
send in at least another $290 with your application (pdf) for the certificate
do your job reasonably well.*

*Note: even if you fail to meet the standards (but your check is still good at the bank) we might still give you the award and not tell anyone but you (pdf) that you really didn't deserve it. [Not making this stuff up, folks. Read it yourself.]

At most places I worked, doing one's job as expected resulted in a type of certificate called a paycheck, which could be used to buy food and such. Apparently city governments (like peewee football?) are teams where everyone who plays gets a trophy. Ok, maybe not everyone. Only 7,132 entities got the award in 2008.

Note to self -- membership fee + app fee times 7,132 = $8,059,160. Quite a going concern. Here's a an offer: for $1130 a year I will issue anyone, anywhere a certificate that says you are KING OF THE WORLD or any other wording you prefer. (certificate issued when your check clears)

BN: if you are excellent but just can't get your application (and check) in on time, the deadline has been extended.

Distinguished Budget Presentation Award

More good stuff, and this one at the low price of $185, assuming you've already ante'd up for membership. Richardson has already won this one for 12 yrs (12 x $185 = $2,220).

This award puts us in an elite group of Texas municipalities like Abilene, Addison, Allen, Alvin, Amarillo, Arlington, Austin, Azle,

Baytown, Bedford, Belton, Benbrook, Brenham, Bryan, Burleson, Cedar Hill,

Cedar Park, Cleburne, College Station, Colleyville, Conroe, Coppell,

Copperas Cove, Corinth, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Denton, Edinburg, El Paso,

Euless, Farmers Branch, Flower Mound, Forney, Fort Worth, Friendswood,

Frisco, Gainesville, Garland , Georgetown, Glenn Heights, Granbury ,

Getting the idea?

Grapevine , Greenville, Haltom City, Harker Heights, Harlingen, Heath,

Hewitt, Highland Park, Highland Village, Houston, Huntsville, Hurst,

Hutto, Irving, Jacksboro, Kaufman, Keller, Kerrville, Kilgore, Killeen, La

Porte, Lake Jackson, Laredo, League City, Leander, Lewisville, Longview,

Lubbock, Lufkin, Mansfield, Marble Falls, McAllen, McKinney, Melissa,

Mesquite, Midlothian, Missouri City, Nacogdoches, New Braunfels, Odessa,

Ok, I have to admit at this point I almost stopped. But so close...

Pearland, Pflugerville, Pharr, Plano, Portland, [Richardson], Richland

Hills, Richmond, Rockport, Rosenberg, Round Rock, Rowlett, Saginaw,

San Angelo, San Antonio, San Marcos, Shavano Park, Southlake TX, Sugar

Land, Sweetwater, Taylor, Temple, The Colony, Tomball, Trophy Club,

Tyler, Uvalde, Victoria, Waco, Watauga, Webster, Weslaco, Westlake,

White Settlement, Woodway

Those were in 2009. 116 x $185 = $21,460, and that's just for Texas. A few states like that and you've got yourselves a real income. Get cities to do it year after year and it starts to look like an annuity.

I'm not saying GFOA awards are a strict quid pro quo. I am saying two things:

If you want to impress the populace, publish the stats on what percentage of applicants were rejected (including the "tell no one" exception above)
We, the taxpayers, are paying for memberships and app fees for some third party to give the city awards. Is this a wise use of your money? Who really benefits?

Rob the Town

2010-12-21T23:08:00.005-06:00

Lots of action around the Zone [d'Erotica], and apparently not the erotic kind.

Dunno about you guys, but I'm getting a little tired of all the armed robberies in the last ~~30 days~~ two months?. I started writing a robbery-related post here a few days ago and shelved it as being a bit too obnoxious, even for me.

"Rob the town" to accompany our "apartment the town" initiative?

12/16 DART Station robbery (4x BM)
2700 12/14/2010 11:25:00 PM CST 2600 Block of CUSTER PKWY 120 ROBBERY 10-120162 (BM, UM)
12/13/2010 08:15:00 PM CST 500 Block of CENTENNIAL BLVD 120 ROBBERY 10-119768 (2x WM - atm bandit + accomplice?)
9100 12/12/2010 06:15:00 PM CST 500 Block of CENTENNIAL BLVD 120 ROBBERY 10-119453 (2x WM atm bandit + accomplice?)
6300 12/12/2010 08:00:00 PM CST 800 Block of E ARAPAHO RD 120 ROBBERY 10-119467 (BM, WM)
8200 12/07/2010 08:25:00 PM CST 2400 Block of BUTTERCUP DR 120 ROBBERY 10-117859 (BM, WM)
1700 12/07/2010 07:10:00 PM CST 700 Block of W SPRING VALLEY RD 120 ROBBERY 10-117844 (2x BM)
0610 12/02/2010 03:10:00 PM CST 100 Block of N COIT RD 120 ROBBERY 10-116200 (2x WM, WF)
6610 12/01/2010 06:14:00 AM CST 1000 Block of FRANCES WAY 120 ROBBERY 10-115667 (BM)

0800 11/30/2010 10:30:00 PM CST 900 Block of S COIT RD 120 ROBBERY 10-115606 (2x BM)
7610 11/29/2010 12:00:00 PM CST 1400 Block of E ARAPAHO RD 120 ROBBERY 10-115123 (2X BM)
2110 11/27/2010 07:20:00 PM CST 500 Block of W ARAPAHO RD 120 ROBBERY 10-114663 (UM)
0800 11/26/2010 04:30:00 PM CST 1300 Block of WESTON WAY 120 ROBBERY 10-114339 (WM)
1200 11/22/2010 11:27:00 AM CST 900 Block of REDWOOD DR 120 ROBBERY 10-113060 (2x BM)
11/12 Attempted Robbery 1700 Belt line (2x BF, BM)
11/5 Agg. Robbery 3500 Harlington (2x BM)
11/4 Bank Robbery 4200 Renner (BM)

34 suspects in 17 events.

(image from Oleg's site.)

First K2. Then RMD Gutkha?

2010-12-21T20:32:00.003-06:00

Actually, I'm less concerned about whatever exotic betel nut / tobacco concoction people are chomping on, and more concerned about the fact they are leaving the wrappers in my front yard. "You hopped up kids! Get offa my lawn!"

Interesting sidenote: it appears that the fellow who did the "formulation" is some kind of shady character.

Maggie on 75@Renner

2010-12-21T08:21:00.005-06:00

There's so much good in the recent Maggie May post that I wanted to chime in on a few points and simply repeat a few others.

The majority of people like, even love, excitement and prestige, not to mention convenience, and also wealth. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just not free. Neither is decay nor the dreaded "creeping blight."

The "not free" part is the crux of the matter. All decisions have opportunity costs, and many have direct costs. Our leadership would like us to believe we can have whatever they sell without actually having to pay for it (in taxes or otherwise).

I don't feel good about subsidizing other people's profit dreams to such a large extent these days.

Preach, sister, preach.

Business should mean competing and taking the risks (and reaping profits, if any). It should not be about crony deals, governmental PR blitzes, and fleecing the public tax cattle for all they can bear.

For the ones who do not want to use a vehicle or give up private transportation, I hope there is improved, viable travel options, like real bus service and rail and other things, that gets them where they need to go.

Bicycle-friendly would be cheap, and wouldn't hurt.

As you can tell, I am hopeful, but skeptical and I think I have very good reason to be.

I think this is the most productive stance. It would be nice if these ruby slippers worked as touted, but I'm not holding my breath.

If you haven't noticed, our taxes never go down...

Tex's position on this is: "the council can vote to reduce taxes at any time."
Wayne's position on that is: "Monkeys might fly out of my butt."

...the developers make the sale, set up to make the profit, spread it around to just the right person or people to convince and sell it to well-meaning and enlightened people to be completely for it and not to ask too many questions and not to give too many answers.

Well put. I worry that the HOA/NA leaders are pawns in the developer-COR complex (to paraphrase Eisenhower). The Complex shows a few people some slides and then crows about "support of the neighborhood." This is a real problem. I've got some ideas about it and may post some ideas on it later.

The crime doesn't go down when dense apartments move into an area. Traffic doesn't reduce in the area. Air pollution doesn't get better. Education levels do not go up and the dropout rate doesn't decrease. Local schools don't seem to get better because of dense apartments even though the schools get more money with increased head count (so far) ... Apartments are not any more dream-like than anything else.

Nothing to add. Just thought it was worth repeating.

Well managed apartments have a place in most communities ... Apartments are not evil. It is what comes with poorly thought out plans that could be called that.

True. There are even oases of tranquility and beauty in the much-maligned SV corridor barrio. I lived in one for a few years and ran into the manager at one of the SVC consultant-clicker fests; this manager was unamused by the broad painting of "blight" across the whole SVC. I agree, but that's a different topic altogether. Sorry. Back to Mags...

...the politicians even pretend to blame the developers who they say they have no control over to get them to do certain beneficial things, when that's just not true. But naive people believe it and repeat it, not holding them accountable and pointing fingers at only developers and commissions under the politicians. The anti's turn on each other and favor the smooth tongue politicians who won't level with them and the top politicians are free to move about the cabin.

Holy crap. If you are not reading MMUSA on a daily basis, this is the kind of writing you're missing.

ATM robber caught (on TV, no less)

2010-12-14T09:54:00.002-06:00

Robber shows up to rob people at the same ATM. TV crew is filming, catches robbery on tape.

You can see the video in the story here. Check out how the guy approaches the SUV. This is useful info.

Maggie and msteger on density

2010-12-14T08:40:00.005-06:00

Maggie on density:

"I like my [suburban] life. If I wanted to live in a much more dense place I would have moved directly into the big city."

This is a straightforward, compelling argument. Makes me pine away for a comment function on Maggie's site. At least 1x/week I find myself wanting to chime in on MMUSA, but I respect MM's decision not to enable them.

msteger has a different view:

"Banning apartments is not the key to that success. Limiting density is not the key to success. The key to success is setting high quality building standards and strict and continuous inspections, not just during construction but for years and decades afterward.

Richardson residents should resist the urge to stop the project..."

I am sympathetic to the idea of mixed use, urban living. I've seen it work in France, Italy, Germany, and a few cities in the US that have a cosmopolitan, worldly feel. I am concerned that the model, as Bloom remarks about continental philosophy, "does not travel well" to areas that lack an existing sense of place.

You can build it, but you can't make it succeed. Eastside appears to be holding together for the meantime but Brick Row may be stillborn. Perhaps we make any new developments contingent on the success of the old? It'd keep us from ending up with a bunch of boarded-up, never-occupied property development projects.

Armed Robbery @ ATM

2010-12-13T16:46:00.005-06:00

[update - he got caught]

Here's the DMN story. I suspect this was at the Bank of America but haven't listened to the scanner audio yet. If so, this is the place that was hit (in Nov?) by an armed robber who fled on foot and, apparently, was not apprehended.

Here's a link to the release; I didn't see it on COR.net yet.

And here's how to get an application for a CHL (concealed handgun license).

Gas line rupture: Belt Line / Jupiter

2010-12-09T20:08:00.000-06:00

RFD is working it as HazMat.

RC: "Misconceptions of the Past"

2010-11-18T15:59:00.002-06:00

In the RC editorial "Richardson's Restaurant Scene, A Whole New (and tasty!) Experience," they say:

It is time to rethink any misconceptions of the past, and rejoice in the gastronomic diversity that is now available in Richardson.

I don't get it. What were the former misconceptions? Has Richardson historically been some kind of culinary laughingstock and I didn't know it?

I know the String Bean moved, but can we really call it a "new restaurant that [has] opened recently"? I mean, it'd been next to the patio furniture place just across the Dallas border since fire was invented.

BTW, it's palate not pallet.

Thanks, vets!

2010-11-11T07:38:00.002-06:00

My heartfelt thanks to our former and current servicemembers.

I will think of you today.

@DallasISDblog disappeared

2010-11-10T16:20:00.002-06:00

It wasn't deeply involving, but I did read their Twitter posts. Wonder where/why they went.

Not found in the Wayback Machine, either.

RPD manhunt for robber, Buckingham/Audelia

2010-11-08T20:33:00.002-06:00

Happening at the time of this post. DPD Helo (Air One) and DPD ground officers are assisting.

[update @21:23 - the robbery appears to have been a carjacking. Sounds like the scene is winding down.]

ALDI review: beef jerky

2010-11-03T11:16:00.005-05:00

Ok. Today's smackdown is beef jerky.

Jack Links vs Kroger vs ALDI Simms

Jack Links: $5 for 3.25oz (on sale for $3.99 that day). Uninspiring, almost wet.
Kroger: $2.99 for 3.25oz (on sale for $2.49 that day). I've had it, but don't remember much about it. Most house brand (and 2nd tier national) jerky isn't particularly good.
Simms: ~~$2.99~~ $2.95 for 3.25oz. Decent for non-premium jerky.

Recommendation: make your own danged jerky. It's cheaper, more fun, and much better than storebought. Plus your house will smell like heaven for a couple of days. I like a good dusting of cracked pepper over jerky as it dries. Woo hoo! I've made jerky for a couple of decades and AB's recipe to be a great starting point. I suggest skipping his selfconsciously geeky box fan recommendation and use your dehydrator as the Good Lord intended.

Of course, if you are on a road trip it is mandatory to stop on the side of the highway to buy jerky from any smokehouse you might see. Bring all your money, as it will not be cheap.

{updated to correct Simms price; read the receipt wrong. D'oh}

Props to Carona for his [e]mailer

2010-11-02T07:29:00.004-05:00

Disclosure: I have no love for John Carona (for several reasons, including his foundational role in the "HOA foreclosure for fines"-obsessed CAI). But his Nov 1 emailer contained useful information and was even borderline interesting. I think this may the first mailer I've ever received from a politician that seemed to have content for the citizens' benefit and not exclusively the politician's. I will assume that it was timed to remind His Base to vote but it was done subtly enough that I raise my coffee cup in his general direction. Well done, sir. Give that staffer a day off or something.

If there is a bright spot in the usual self-serving pol emails, it's that they are at least not franking snailmail postage at our expense.

ALDI's review series

2010-11-01T16:54:00.002-05:00

Since ALDI is cheap but relies heavily on unfamiliar house brands, I'm going to start a series of reviews about ALDI food items. Before we start the beginner must know a few things:

bring your own bag for the loot. Yes, there are bags but you have to pay for them. Besides, not bringing your own bag is the Mark Of Cain which indicates you hate whales, koalas, endangered creek snails, etc.
bring a hard quarter if you want a cart. You have to use a deposit to get the cart. I just carry my stuff.
Cash and debit only. Seriously.

So here's the first reviews. Where possible I will compare national brand vs. common store brand vs. ALDI store brand.

Kool-Aid vs Wyler's vs ALDI Mixade

Kool-aid: ~$0.25 each ($3 for 12; see below). The standard from your childhood.
Wyler's: ~$0.20 each ($2.40 for 12; see below). Fewer flavors, but I don't veer far from the norm in most cases (sharkleberry excepted). Another exception: Wyler's black cherry is beautifully colored while Kool-aid's BC is plain red. Weird. 25% savings compared to Kool-aid.
Mixade: ~$0.89 for a package of 12. The packs I got were:

3x berry punch (blue)
1x grape
2x lemon-lime
2x strawberry
3x cherry
1x fruit punch (blech, I hate fruit punch)

If you liked all the flavors this would be a 70% savings compared to Kool-aid. Since I hate fruit punch and would not have bought that packet that makes it only a 68% savings.

Verdict: ALDI Mixade for the win.

I'll do saltine crackers next. Please try to control your excitement.

ALDI Richardson, TX
1549 E. Beltline Road
Richardson, TX 75081

Business hours
Monday - Friday 9am - 8pm
Saturday 9am - 8pm
Sunday 10am - 7pm

C & S (Ace) Hardware closing

2010-10-23T20:29:00.003-05:00

Popped up to C&S Hardware to grab some o-rings, and saw Store Closing signs. :-(

I overhead the clerk say their building (and the garden center) are being torn down, and the C&S owner will retire rather than relocate.

Although the store is technically across the street on the Dallas side, it has always felt like a part of Richardson to me.

NNO followup

2010-10-06T08:45:00.003-05:00

Last year I rode a bicycle on every street in my neighborhood; took 2.5hrs. I stopped and talked to everyone I saw outside; two knew it was NNO.

So this year I sat in my front yard in a rocker alongside a card table to hold neighborhood info, Crime Watch info, NNO info, and a dog to keep me company. Saw four couples walking; none knew it was NNO.

It is not clear to me what else COR could do to get the word out on the cheap. I'm not so enamoured with NNO that I'd support buying new hardware for the project. Maybe drag around one of those programmable road signs if we already have one? Leave it at the main entrances to each neighborhood for a few days in Sept next year? Maybe that'd seed the idea at least.

National Night Out is Oct 5

2010-10-04T06:43:00.005-05:00

Here's the official RPD page on it.

My plans this year are fairly low-key. Maybe sit in the front yard in a lawn chair, pet the horse, and meet passers-by. Enjoy the Fall temps.

But I'm a little conflicted about NNO. On the upside it's a decent way for neighbors to meet each other. It's an excuse for the more motivated to have a party.

On the downside it seems, on my more cynical days, like one more "feather in my cap" pantomime for COR/RPD brass. Accruing awards for best NNO for any city in a given category, etc.

When the wife and I lived in the Spring Valley Corridor a few years back we made it a point to be seen walking the 'hood almost every night. We called it Nightly Night Out, and did it to make some small stand against the Dallas thugs coming up north to SVC to prey on locals. Hey, punk, if you 'jack my paletero you 'n' me are gonna have a problem. Wifey gotta have that la fresa goodness and I could use el coco.

BTW, if a fire truck swings by your location (and your house is not on fire) be sure to call it a fire apparatus. Apparently that's the PC name these days. But, seriously. How many little kids will be inspired to grow up and ride on a fire apparatus? It's a fire truck to me.

September = National Preparedness Month

2010-09-12T12:07:00.008-05:00

Basic information can be found at Ready.gov, including making a preparedness kit.

Unofficial nudges from me (not the .gov):

Have your important documents copied or scanned and backed up? I carry mine (encrypted) on one of those flash drive dongles, but that might be overkill for Normals.
Have a bit of water on hand in case we get into a no-water situation as happened in a nearby town this year?
Have a bit of food in the pantry in case a distribution infrastructure problem prevents the local supermarket from getting restocked? (note: many grocery stores are an extreme case of Just In Time and have about 3 days of inventory at any given moment).
Have a way to cook if your power/gas goes out unexpectedly? Or at least have a few meals that require no cooking?
Have a plan to prevent spoilage in your freezer/fridge if the power goes out for a couple of hours? Days?

Have an agreed-upon plan for housefires and tornado?

My most recent preparedness efforts included making a Get Home Bag (GHB) to stay in the trunk of my car. I picked up a serviceable, used Jansport daypack for $2 at a garage sale in Heights this summer and it goaded me into action.

Note that a GHB doesn't have to be all 'tacticool' or $$$; do the best you can with what you've got. You probably have all the items already, or can find them at garage sales or dollar stores. Something is better than nothing. Build one, then build another for your mate's car, kids' cars, etc. Hopefully you'll never need it.

No more apartments at Brick Row

2010-09-06T21:08:00.003-05:00

Word is that the developers (Winston Cap?) are going to ask COR to let them skew the existing 300 condos / 500 "luxury apartments" agreement toward more apartments units at a lower price point.

DART Rail + cheap apartments = bad news. Listen to a scanner and see how often RPD is dispatched to the rail station. There is already graffiti on the upper deck, and broken glass panels. DART PD is MIA. Maybe the new radio tower will encourage them to show up in Richardson from time to time?

Anecdotal, but interesting: my last two experiences on that DART rail platform have been unpleasant. This Tuesday I rode the DART down to the VA hospital for a dr's appointment. While I was buying a ticket at the Spring Valley station ticket kiosk I was approached ("Hey, dawg...") with an offer to participate in an activity specifically prohibited on the ticket. I will note that getting approached with a "Hey, dawg" when you have your wallet in your hand bumps up the threat level from yellow to orange pretty fast. My right hand settled down to the Spyderco Endura clipped to my pocket.

The time before that I called 911 when it appeared my wife and I were in physical danger. Yay, DART.

Got a little sidetracked there. What was I saying? Oh yeah, NO to more apartments in Brick Row.

Dallas Green Festival, Sept 18th

2010-09-05T13:21:00.003-05:00

I'm more of a "primitive skills" guy than a treehugger green if that distinction makes any sense. I recycle fairly rigorously, mainly because it seems wasteful and pointless to pay someone to bury a bunch of stuff that could be repurposed. I don't do it because a Wolf spirit guide (be sure to read the reviews) appeared to me in a dream and told me to "get back in sync with Mother Nature, man."

Anyhow. I haven't attended DGF before but will go this year to take a look around.

Dallas Green Festival 2010
Texas Discovery Gardens • Fair Park Dallas
The third annual Dallas Green Festival will be held at the beautiful Texas Discovery Gardens, Saturday September 18, 2010 from 9:00 until 2:30.

Join us for a day of family fun and environmental stewardship including...

• Monarch butterfly tagging
• outdoor recreation zone
• recycled arts and crafts
• lifestyle demonstrations
• food and live music
• door prizes and give-aways
• mass butterfly release
• children’s area
• face painting
• classes for adults and kids
• vendors and artisans
...and much more!

I. Did not. Have. Postal relations. WIth that mailer.

2010-09-02T21:43:00.007-05:00

[the formatting is a little weird. This started out as a comment but was too big for blogger.com to accept. D'oh!]

A commenter (Mark) identifying himself as Mr. Harcrow has taken issue with the content of my [original] post. Since he deleted the comment I will not repost it to comment on it.

I will try to summarize and address his concerns. I hope to do so fairly.

1. I have the facts wrong.

My response: I look forward to correction in any factual errors I have made.

2. Misrepresenting oneself as the VA is wrong.

My response: Well, I agree. I will point out that I did not claim SMI was misrepresenting themselves as the VA. Readers can make their own judgement about that. The scan of the actual mailer, with the Seal of the United States, the words "Verterans Affairs" and "Official notice", combined with a total absence of a business name does not seem purpose-built for transparency or clarity.

BTW, it is not entirely clear to me that the Seal is lawfully usable in that manner:

TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 33 > § 713
§ 713. Use of likenesses of the great seal of the United States, the seals of the President and Vice President, the seal of the United States Senate, the seal of the United States House of Representatives, and the seal of the United States Congress
(a) Whoever knowingly displays any printed or other likeness of the great seal of the United States, or of the seals of the President or the Vice President of the United States, or the seal of the United States Senate, or the seal of the United States House of Representatives, or the seal of the United States Congress, or any facsimile thereof, in, or in connection with, any advertisement, poster, circular, book, pamphlet, or other publication, public meeting, play, motion picture, telecast, or other production, or on any building, monument, or stationery, for the purpose of conveying, or in a manner reasonably calculated to convey, a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States or by any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

3. I (Mark) have not sent any email or mailer advertising a rate reduction.

My response: I didn't say you did, nor did I say you generated the mailer at all. The mailer itself has the words "rate reduction" on it. The readers may decide for themselves whether or not an advertisement with the words emblazoned with the words "rate reduction" is, _prima facie_, an advertisement for rate reduction. The rate reduction aspect seems to be the smallest of the problems of this mailer, anyhow.

4. I assume you searched for the mortgage company, found my name, and thought I sent the mailer to you.

My response: Close. Since no business name was given I searched for the address, found the company at that address (SMI), found another page related to SMI (http://www.vamortgageconnection.com/contact.php) by address and email, which had Mr. Harcrow's SMI email address on it.

To be fair, the site referenced above no longer gives the 4230 LBJ address and no longer lists the SMI email address. This, combined with some of the content of Mr. Harcrow's removed comment, suggest he has moved on to greener pastures. I accept this, even though the SMI page still lists him as a staff member:
http://www.smimortgage.net/StaffProfiles.aspx?ID=308844

I did not claim you sent the mailer. I did claim:
* the mailer claimed to come from the 4230 LBJ address
* where SMI claims to reside,
* where your company/site VA Mortgage Connection claimed to reside (now changed)
* and on the VAMC site MH's SMI-based email address was given.

That is the sum total of my claims directly or tangentially related to Mr. Harcrow.

5. Deceptive practices are wrong; slander in this type of forum is wrong.

My response: Deceptive practices are disagreeable and ultimately unproductive. Slander is illegal, which is why I didn't do it. The phrase Truth is an absolute defense come to mind. If you believe any of the facts in my post are incorrect, point out the counterfactual information and I will correct it. The approach you are taking appears to be "You claim I did this. I didn't do this, the other people in my office did it." Fine with me. I never claimed you personally did it. I claimed your email address was on a VA-related website related to SMI.

BTW, the TDSML complaint link on your contact page is STILL broken. Specfically, it's missing the http:// prefix so it looks like a relative URL to the server. Your webmaster will know what this means.

Free VIN etching Sept 9

2010-08-26T09:21:00.002-05:00

Richardson Police Department | 140 N. Greenville Ave.

The Richardson Police Department in partnership with the North Texas Auto Theft Task Force and UTD, will be offering free VIN etchings and conducting H.E.A.T. registrations on Friday, September 10, 2010. This is a pre‐National Night Out 2010 event.

Bring your car to UTD at 800 W. Campbell Rd. in Richardson, between 10am and 2pm to have your car’s VIN etched into each window. VIN etching is used to deter auto theft. Car thieves who steal cars for re‐sale or for parts will tend to avoid vehicles that have the glass etched with a VIN. VIN etching reduces the criminal’s profit, associated with replacing a vehicle’s windows and the windows themselves becoming worthless for resale.

The H.E.A.T. (Help End Auto Theft) registration program places a sticker on your vehicle and registers it in a statewide database used by
law enforcement in Texas. H.E.A.T. registration allows Police to stop the vehicle if it is operating between the hours of 1:00am and 5:00am to determine if the driver is the owner. The event is conducted on a first come first serve basis and only takes minutes to complete and is free of charge.

The Richardson Police Department will also be collecting canned food donations for the Network of Community Ministries. If it should rain, the event will be rescheduled and details will be published at a later time.

Contact the Richardson Police Department, Crime Prevention Unit for additional information at 972‐744‐4955.

State Fair 2010

2010-08-25T14:07:00.007-05:00

The official site is bigtex.com.

Opening Day: Sep 24.
Senior Citizens days: Thursdays. Highly recommended. Calm, uncrowded.
DISD day for secondary: Oct 8. Accidentally did this once; never again.
RISD Day: Oct 11. Have fun!
Closing Day: Oct 17

Here's the livestock schedule.

Richardsonians (?) should be able to ride the Red line DART train, xfer to the Green line and step off at Fair Park ~~if the Green line opens on Sep 17th as planned~~. Looks like any station between Pearl and West End will allow transfer between the lines, but do your own homework.

Note: if applicable, have your CHL/DL visible before the Fairgrounds guard wands you. I usually hold them up, splayed, by my face at eye level so the guard can immediately grasp the scenario; no ambiguity. Sometimes they will wave you through. Sometimes they will direct you over to DPD who waves you through or makes small talk. No drama. Security has already been briefed to some degree, but handling it this way will make everyone's life easier.

RPL email newsletters

2010-08-25T13:43:00.003-05:00

I attended one of the recent RPL focus groups. My tablemates indicated that the RPL had a rather extensive list of broadcast email lists.

Hmmmm. Hadn't seen those before.

Turns out they are called Bookletters on the main RPL page. The only other link to the email list page is on the left menu of the Calendar of Events page where they are called newsletters. I wonder if the lists would see more subscribers if they were called something more intuitive.

So I selected the ones I wanted and subbed. Each list sent its own "welcome" msg without requiring an opt-in. A bit sloppy, but better than nothing. I think email lists are an effective and cheap way to reach the residents.

the publicity nature of transparency

2010-08-03T12:58:00.005-05:00

Just doing this off my low-quality recording from Ch16, so I am not sure who the first voice was. I think the speaker was recognized as Bob before he spoke, so this would mean Macy or Townshend.

The following exchange suggests that Old School ways of governance have a certain amount of inertia. The CM was quick with the damage control. I don't think it's scandalous or evidence of shady doings, but it does reveal a partiular style of thinking.

Bob: I wonder about the, uh, publicity nature of those organizations we do business with. You know, people will get on there and just... you know, all this "the city does business with so-and-so." Are there effects [unintelligible] get in any trouble with that kind of thing...

Keffler [cuts in quickly]: Uh. Uh. I wouldn't know what that would be, but... uh, we, uh, I mean, we, you know, we, award bids all the time and so it's... it's a very public process. [CM pivots and changes the redirects the conversation].

I will leave it to the reader to decide if the leadership wants transparency or just the appearance of transparency. I hope for the former.

I am reminded, however, of most city "art" museums. They unintentionally give evidence that the city was less interested in art than they were about being seen as the kind of city that has an art museum.

I have heard a possibly-related beltway joke --

There are two things you must do to be a Senator:
1. get elected
2. get re-elected

COR Library focus group needs volunteers

2010-08-02T13:36:00.002-05:00

If you are interested in providing input to help make RPL even better, this is your chance to donate some time.

Here's the Point of Contact info for the pre-screen:
Dallas by Definition
(972) 869-2366
Diane or Sheila. Mention it's for the Richardson Public Library study.

Early word is that they need something like 10 people in each of 7 planned focus groups.

Three recommendations for auto services in Richardson

2010-07-26T13:51:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to mention these businesses, so here we go.

Discount Tire Co. on Midpark. Discount Tire is superfantastic; I would never, ever buy my tires anywhere else. Seriously. Start a conversation around the watercooler with "hey, where should I buy my tires" and people will start gushing about Disco.
Bass Automotive on Floyd. I've had a couple of repairs there. Good troubleshooting, repairs done quickly and at the quoted rate. I don't remember who recommended these guys, but thanks!
If you have a Honda, your place is Hondew behind TI.

Mortgage [kittens] target veterans

2010-07-26T13:10:00.003-05:00

When we got our mortgage from the much-loved Guardian Mort. in the Chase building, the rep told us to expect a truckload of mortgage-related knavery in the mail. I've tried to mention the most obnoxious of the [kittens].

Here's a nifty one that should remind you read carefully and assume the worst. Imagine your war vet great-grandfather reading this. Are you ready? Here we go.

The company does not list their name, only "Interest Rate Reduction Department." The outside of the mail says "Official Notice" on a fake seal and "Veterans affairs Program Information," as you can see above. Nice, yes?

On the inside the letter is topped by a bolded line that says Audit Review and the company name is still not revealed. It helpfully lists a "VA Case #".

Google shows us that the address in the letter matches this local business:

SMI Lending, Inc.
4230 LBJ Freeway Suite 225
Dallas, TX 75244

This same address appears on vamortgageconnection.com. I am certain that the link to the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending for complaint lodging on their contact page was broken accidentally and not on purpose.

~~The email address associated with the company is mharcrow@smimortgage.com.~~

[update 2010/09/02: Mr. Harcrow wishes to clarify he was not the source of the mailer. I take him at his word. See below.]

One book: The Art of Racing in the Rain

2010-07-23T10:06:00.000-05:00

I like the Richardson Reads One Book idea. I read the tea book last year and got a copy of Rain from the RPL. All of them were checked out but there were so many copies (30?) that my hold request came through in a couple of days.

I'm about 50 pages in. For the first couple of pages I thought it would be maudlin "marley and me" pap, but it's shaping up. I assumed the "racing in the rain" reference was going to be about the dog running around in the rain but that misconception was cleared up in a (for me) more interesting direction.

I should point out that when I first cracked open the book in bed my own aging, graying hound was crashed out beside the bed on his own dog pillow. So I might approach the story with a bit more bias than I otherwise might.

I met Igor @ 7-11

2010-07-11T19:11:00.000-05:00

I saw him on the tv show and have been meaning to stop in and meet him at his 7-11 on the SE corner of 75/Campbell. I made an excuse to make trip up there and make a trivial purchase (see below).

If you haven't seen this segment, do so now. If you are ever cynical about mankind or this country, this gentleman will restore your faith. Consider this sample:

"That's the story about America. That's not story about me... I am so thankful for this country which allow me to survive and be happy."

The moment I cracked the door Igor noticed and called out to me. I waved and made my purchase. Afterwards I went over to meet him. He had been cleaning up the soda machines and stopped immediately to say hello. He was friendly and warm, and received my congratulations humbly and with gratitude. I turned and left rather quickly because I was having some kind of allergic reaction that caused some tearing up and a runny nose all the way home.

Welcome, Igor. I am proud to share the Texas soil with you. People like you make our nation great. Іске сәт!

July 12th council meeting - West Spring Valley Corridor Reinvestment Study

2010-07-07T08:21:00.000-05:00

Part of the recent emailed annoucement:

"The consulting team is scheduled to make the final presentation related to this phase of the study at a meeting of the City Council on Monday, July 12, 2010, at 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers at the City Hall/Civic Center, 411 W. Arapaho Road (southwest corner, Central Expressway at Arapaho Road). The presentation will include the recommendations that have been developed with the community and market-tested by the consultants, along with an implementation strategy and a computer animation depicting the redeveloped corridor. You are welcome to join the Council for this briefing. No RSVP is necessary."

Monica Heid, AICP

Community Projects Manager

City of Richardson

Preparedness display up in City Hall

2010-07-06T15:57:00.001-05:00

Went to go pay the water bill today and noticed a KnowWhat2Do preparedness display out in the hallway. DVDs, pamplets, and a small booklet for kids.

KnowWhat2Do is a north central Texas regional emergency response effort for citizens. The DVD mentioned above is streamable online.

IMO the most important takeaway is the emergency kit planner (pdf). You may also hear these referred to as 72-hr kits or, if easily portable, bug out bags (BOBs). I have found that this kind of kit is conveniently storable in a a 5gal "homer" or "pickle" bucket. One per person. Stack'em up in the corner, tape the contents list (with expiration dates) to the outside, and remember to rotate food stocks in/out. A $3 bucket opener will save your fingernails and cussing.

There's also an online emergency planner that you can populate with your specifics, but I am cognizant that not everyone feels comfortable submitting their personal data to quasi-governmental sites. I got about 3 pages into it and went, "nahhh, I'll do that in OpenOffice instead."

If you need a little bit of motivation, consider these non-paranoid scenarios:

A run of 100F days cause massive increase in load on the electrical grid, causing rolling blackouts in DFW. Your house is without power for 48hrs. Can you get around? Cook? Feed your kids?
Trucker's strike causes infrastructure slowdown. Grocery stores keep about 3 days of rolling inventory on hand. Can you feed your family?
Gas line break disrupts natural gas to your home for 48hrs. Do you have a way to cook or enough food that can be eaten without cooking?
Some kind of water main problem disrupts water to your home for 24hrs. Do you have a bit for hydration, cooking, and hygiene?
Some kind of algal or other contaminant gets in our water supply from Lavon. Water flows but is not safe to drink untreated. Do you have water for hydration? Have a way to boil or otherwise treat water? What if there is a simultaneous electrical or gas outage?

Just like we wear seatbelts but don't plan to get in a wreck, we plan for emergencies we hope never happen. I humbly suggest that duty to one's family can require more than providing iPhones and Xbox games. Our fantastically high and thoroughly enjoyable standard of living is a precarious balancing act. A three legged stool is stable so long as all three legs are present...

If you think I get fired up about HOAs...

2010-07-02T15:12:00.003-05:00

These folks burn with a white-hot hate for HOAs. They make me look positively beatific by comparison.

Found them while doing some google-fu on the Community Associations Institute (CAI), who are putting on a trade show in Plano next month.

Essentials (ABCs) Class with Paul Grucza, CMCA, AMS PCAM of Classic Property Management, Inc., AAMC, provides board members with the basics of properly governing their community.
New pond technologies by Trent Lewis at Pond Medics.
Understanding High-Rise mechanical systems by 4-L Engineering.
Managing foreclosed communities by Marc Markel, Roberts Markel, PC and Norm Silversteen, PCAM
Closing keynote by Paul Grucza, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, of Classic Property Management, Inc, AAMC
And more!

In case you were wondering:

CMCA = $250-$300. "It can elevate your credibility and your community association's confidence in you."

AMS = $150-$250 application, $75-$175/yr. "The AMS designation demonstrates a higher level of commitment to your career and the community association industry."

PCAM = $195-$295 application, $150-$250/yr. "The pinnacle of community association management... earn your PCAM and join the elite — the select — the best."

AAMC = $300-400 application, $150-$325/yr. "The AAMC accreditation demonstrates a company's commitment to providing the unique and diverse services community associations need."

Oh, and just in case you thought letters were free:
"CAI designations and accreditation programs are trademarks of CAI. Misuse of CAI trademarks, designations, or other copyrighted materials without proper authorization is a violation of CAI policy and federal law."

Can you tell CAI is in the credentialing business? I've always mistrusted that market. Admittedly reductionist, but to me it seems like "give us money, and we'll refer you business!"

If you're a big fan of policies like non-judicial foreclosure, unlimited increase in HOA fees without resident voting, more esthetic control, HOA liens, no requirement to adhere to minimum standards of decency put forth in the Fair Debt Collection Practices act, and reliance on CAI-credentialed service providers then you need to get on this bandwagon ASAP. Open your heart, open your wallet. You (and the new resident of that house you think you own free and clear) will be happier.

Theft is dangerous

2010-07-01T12:09:00.000-05:00

When criminals start telling each other it's dangerous to steal AC units, copper tubing, etc., the behavior will decrease markedly. Until then it's an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Somewhat related: G20 looter steals some stuff, bystander tackles him and tosses the loot back into the store. Nicely handled.

Who says we don't care about World Cup?

2010-06-27T13:07:00.000-05:00

Some locals are fully engaged.

BTW, did anyone else get in on the "world's largest paella" at the Anatole when World Cup was hosted here last?

"Frisco HOA that foreclosed on soldier..."

2010-06-22T12:17:00.000-05:00

Oh, you wacky HOAs. Why don't you hire a public relations officer after the fact instead of doing the right thing in the first place.

Plenty of fault to go around here, but is this really what your organization wants?

I certainly do not condone death threats, but they do make an interesting barometer for how one's actions are being received by the public. If you're getting death threats it's a pretty good indicator you're Doing It Wrong.

M Cafe has closed

2010-06-17T09:22:00.000-05:00

I liked this place, but it's closed down. I should have realized ut when I got this spam recently:

My name is John Macatee, and I am the former owner of M Cafe', Atlanta Bread Company, and Macatee Brokers, Inc.. I want to make you aware of the fact that in late 2009 I aligned my financial services practice with New York Life. I have had the opportunity to establish myself as a valuable resource to many individuals, families, and business owners. I have had great success in developing plans to help guide my clients toward reaching their financial objectives.

The email addy it was sent to was on my business card, so I assume I dropped a card in a jar or similar. Maybe I can't call it spam if I gave them my email addy. Or maybe I can since it's not being used by the company I gave it to? Hmmm.

I had assumed that the owner had sold the place to another owner at some point rather than shutting it down. Guess not. Seems to me that little strip is in sad shape.

You requested these (nonexistent) projects

2010-06-17T09:18:00.000-05:00

Do you remember the 100% of bond projects that you requested, and how your city leadership listened?

Some of the Prop 4 projects some of them were not even defined; there would be a request for proposal after the bond vote. But now that we've agreed to pay for them we get some input on what they might be. Get crackin'!

So which is it? The projects existed and we requested them, or the projects did not exist so we could not have requested them. Perhaps I am operating under a faulty understanding of what "requested" means. Perhaps elected officials are tempted to increase their power and influence by redistributing the treasure of the tax livestock, and will dangle the vaguest of carrots to get it. Seems like the real request, if any, was "please tax us and go deeper into debt. We'll work out the details later."

We are in an unenviable position of begging the city to get our own money back to our neighborhoods. Let us be clear: the citizen wouldn't have to be a supplicant if his funds were not co-opted in the first place. An economist's argument might be: if the neighborhoods really wanted these tokens of "vitality" the residents would have already bought them.

While I'm playing the crank this morning, let's keep going.

Consider these two scenarios:
1. Protection racket
You buy a house in a nice neighborhood.
A fellow knocks on the door and tells you he'll watch your house to make sure nothing happens to it, in exchange for a yearly fee.
He provides some neighborhood services which you may or may not want, and you can ask him for favors.

2. Taxation
You buy a house in a nice neighborhood.
The city knocks on the door and tells you to pay a yearly fee or something may happen to it (ie, "Property taxes attach as an enforceable lien on property").
The city provides some neighborhood services which you may or may not want, and you can ask them for favors.

In both cases it is demonstratable that the provided services are unwanted, fictive, or at least overpriced;. Otherwise the residents would have voluntarily sought to pay for those services beforehand. In both cases power accrues to the provider of protection and the resident must pay or lose property. Does this setup sound like a good idea? If we were remaking it from the ground up would you choose this option?

I am not a tea party guy but I do believe it is in the citizens' best interest to avoid "enabling" the tax/spend/indebtedness addiction of local governments. (Link pointed out by RCN; thanks!)

DFW Chinatown entry feature

2010-05-31T11:06:00.003-05:00

Noticed this entry feature going up last week when I was on a crime watch patrol. DFW Chinatown is a commercial property and so not on our patrol route, but I saw the equipment from Apollo.

Haven't been back by to see what it looks like now.

kudos to RPL Director

2010-05-29T10:19:00.004-05:00

Earlier this year RPL Director Mr. Benson bravely waded into the blog comment world, and provided interesting and valuable input.

I want to point out that that there were also results, not just talk. Here was his response to one particular suggestion in the commments:

Call numbers for My Lists? I know it's possible because I've seen it done on other Horizon systems and I've asked for the change before. I'll ask again and push harder.

As the screenshot shows, Mr. Benson made good on his word. COR needs more high profile folks that listen, think critically, and take action where warranted.

So here's a public pat on the back for our library director.

Dissent, physical threats, and city government

2010-05-19T07:00:00.004-05:00

This is an interesting situation in Plano.

If the guy really did make a physical threat then he got what he deserved. This is a practical reminder to keep arguments civil and reasonable. More light than heat.

If the guy did not make a physical threat then the city is misusing the legal system to stifle resident dissent. Question: are there citizens that COR leadership would prefer to keep at a 500' distance for whatever reason? While answering this question for yourself you may want to think back on COR hiring an expensive new PR flack to deal with blog posts.

I found this piece interesting:

It also bars Lagos from going near Plano Mayor Phil Dyer and City Manager Tom Muehlenbeck. The order excludes public events, such as City Council meetings, in which Dyer and Muehlenbeck are acting in their official capacities.

I think interaction with public officials about city matters should be handled in public, official events. This helps keep the interaction official (literally related to the public office) rather than personal. It may also assist transparency as it will have a greater chance of being recorded/transcribed.

My preference for this approach is why it bothers me when officials want to take a citizen's concerns to a private venue: phone, meeting, email. It's public business and needs to be handled in public. No drama, no he said / she said, and much less opportunity for misunderstanding.

Remember: HOAs are evil

2010-05-13T17:45:00.005-05:00

To quote Mike Myers: "E-ville. As in froo-its of the deh-ville."

Seriously. Do NOT get involved with control freak organizations, particularly ones that can charge you money and take your house. Run, do not walk.

Bond vote results

2010-05-09T09:53:00.003-05:00

I am ok with the voting results.

The Yes win was narrow enough that I hope the council/manager will be more aware of their responsibilities toward all residents and to their official duties. I hope we get a leaner, more fiscally responsible city govt. I hope for more transparency.

I hope that neighbors continue the broader discussion and bloggers keep writing about their home city.

"100% of these projects were requested by you..."

2010-05-01T13:46:00.003-05:00

Received a postcard from Neighborhoods for Richardson today; I assume everyone else did, too.

"100% of these projects were requested by you, , the residents of Richardson.
Your city leadership listened."

Uh, no. Some of the more vocal residents screamed for pet projects the same way baby birds scream for worms.

Doesn't anyone remember the quote about how the council didn't want a bond package now and had to be strongarmed by Tex?

"Invest wisely". Indeed. I already cast my vote.

COR and AAA bond ratings

2010-04-27T07:18:00.004-05:00

When I was listening to Tex Keffler at the HTNA neighbor meeting earlier this month something chafed me a bit. He mentioned our AAA bond rating and added something like "the bond rating people know what they are talking about."

What chafed me was I remembered that bond rating agencies, including Moodys and Standard and Poors, had been involved in conflict of interest and unwarranted optimism exacerbating the current economic crisis. A somewhat spicier write-up is online here.

The situation is so jacked up that rating agencies actually started claiming immunity from liability for their ratings by claiming they had free speech rights like (and no more responsibility than) a movie reviewer. Unfortunately for them (WSJ):

Manhattan federal Judge Shira Scheindlin dealt a blow to ratings firms, rejecting a free-speech defense asserted by Moody’s Investors Services and Standard & Poor’s.

Do those names sound familiar?

I am not claiming that COR's AAA ratings are fraudulent. I do think they are unlikely to stay AAA if we keep up the profligate spending, including elective project spending and overpayment of top officials. My suspicion has been that COR wanted to shoehorn in a huge bond because they know/fear/suspect that the AAA bubble will burst sooner rather than later. I sure would like to be wrong about this.

Early Voting

2010-04-26T16:17:00.004-05:00

There was no line in the civic center; I was in/out in about 3 minutes. There were no other voters while I was there.

To be fair, there were projects I would have considered funding on a bond if they were line items and not bundled with other non-essential stuff. If I were the the director of the Dog Pound or Library I would pressure The Powers That Be to put my projects on seperate lines next time around.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch: pro-bond folks are probably not amused that the DMN published an article about Keffler's sick/vacation pay bonanza today. There's no straight line to be drawn between Keffler's benefit package and the bond, but seeing non-trivial amounts of citizen treasure spent that way might irritate some residents who were otherwise on the fence about the bond.

COR employees used to pull Vote No signs?

2010-04-24T11:14:00.002-05:00

I'm hearing chatter that COR employees may be:

contacting households with the Vote No signs on their property and/or
removing the signs based on that contact

Can anyone confirm/clarify? FOIA request on a police report may be productive shortly. Trying to pull some RPD audio.

COR library's new system

2010-04-19T08:11:00.003-05:00

From (I assume) Cheri Duncan-Hubert in the comments on this C&P blog post:

"Library RFID upgrade is a Multi Bin System from TechLogic at a cost of $450k. But the reported amount of 724,500 is almost double the cost with markups and the lovely 5% capital improvement cost (sweeping, sweeping, sweeping)."

I was in the Library a couple of weeks ago and noticed the self-checkout stand was gone. You know, the one with the "a new printer has been ordered" sign on it that's been dead for at least a year.

I asked a staffer if they'd given up on the station and she said "yes, but we're getting a new system in the Spring." I wonder if there is, coincidentally, a new [self-]checkout system coming in the spring or if the worker bees are metaphysically certain that the bond will pass.

City bond video on cable access

2010-04-18T18:08:00.003-05:00

From the recent COR email update:

2010 Bond Election Video Available Online In an effort to provide information to voters about the upcoming May 8, 2010 Bond Election, our Citizens Information Television Department has produced a video overview of the $66 million proposal. The video is available online at www.cor.net and will also be aired on the City's cable channel.

I wonder if video from last night's Just Say No meetup will get free play on the cable access? It's worth thinking about. Equal time and all that.

Cabjacking in Richardson ends in HP

2010-04-13T07:08:00.002-05:00

Dallas police are looking for a man who carjacked a Yellow Cab in Richardson early this morning and led officers on a chase into Highland Park.
...
According to Richardson police, the carjacker got into the cab in the 400 block of East Buckingham Road, pretending to be a passenger. This was about 12:40 a.m.

Story here.

"Just Say No" enclosure in Money Mailer coupons

2010-04-07T22:14:00.004-05:00

We love our great city, and we love it enough to demand strict fiscal accountability. Go to the polls and vote Against a 10.4% tax increase for you and your neighbors.

The insert references www.jsn2010.com (a yellow page with the text from the flyer) and blog.jsn2010.com, which lists all and discusses some of the project proposals. I think the blog is interesting, as the format allows readers to comment on each project.

If I were on the council and had made a lot of porky promises, I'd think I'd be feeling a bit uneasy these days.

No wonder Highland Terrace gets no love

2010-04-07T11:39:00.004-05:00

Oh, man.

After publishing the meeting on the website, physically delivering newsletters with the meeting time/date to every house on every street in Highland Terrace, and at least one email blast, the neighbors at the neighborhood meeting were in real danger of being outnumbered by the speakers. I'm guessing there were 20 residents there, and half of those were HTNA board members or family of board members). If HT votes in those kinds of numbers it's no wonder the city thinks they don't need our input on projects like the MST Gym.

I would not fault the speakers if they opted not to accept invitations to our meetings; the turnout was so low that I cannot imagine it was worth their time. As a resident of HT I believe it was worth my time to be there, if only to hear the questions submitted by the audience.

Speakers included:

HTNA board members who spoke about their respective efforts.
Button's policy wonk was there to throw red meat to the right. Fair enough; that's the demographic here (for now).
Lanet Greenshaw, RISD Board of Trustees, was there to remind us she's up for re-election (same ballot as the bond election). Don't know anything about her, but she seemed pleasant enough.
Amir Omar (Place 7, at large) was there to talk about Tree The Town (April 18th, 2pm @ Galatyn Plaza). Gracious and impressive as always.
Steve Mitchell (Place 6, at large) and Bob Townshend (Place 1, our member) both spoke. Mitchell more briefly and Townshend in a bit more detail about things happening on the east side. Don't care what anybody else says: I dig Mitchell's jeans-and-jacket vibe.
Bill Keffler had the most speaking time: he was on-hand to provide background information on many land/development deals that came up during Townshend's talk; Keffler did a good job job filling this info in. Keffler also made the "Vote Yes on the Bond" pitch. He kept his cool during the pitch, stopping to answer questions or comments that came up. Audience participation was more civil than recent "baby killer!" or "you lie!" scenarios but there was a bit of heat in some of the tax rate increase comments. Others were very neutral and thought-provoking: "is it common for cities to build water towers on land they do not own?" This was a reference to the UTD land-lease-for-roads deal. I was not swayed to vote Yes on the bonds, but I did come away with a greater respect for Mr. Keffler's encyclopedic knowledge of development in Richardson.
Non-speaking attendees of note. From other parts of the city: Nathan Morgan and David (DC). From COR: Assistant city managers Morgan and Thames.

If I forgot anyone, let me know.

Oncor admits meter-reading error

2010-04-03T13:24:00.001-05:00

But it turns out the error was in reading the old meters during the changeover to the new meters.

If this is true only the first bill should be out of whack.

3/30 Spring Valley redevelopment meeting

2010-03-30T21:50:00.005-05:00

The majority of the ~50 attendees were homeowners. There was a renter and some biz owners and some non SVC interlopers like me. Apparently some folks from Dallas were there. Mitchell and Murphy were there. The audience skewed distinctly Anglo, shall we say.

Executive Summary
What Richardson Heights doesn't want: Mexicans. Things that are Mexicany. Admitting that it's about Mexicans.
What Richardson Heights wants: {mumbling} uhhhh...... distinctive... uhhhh... destination..... mid-to-upper income... Did we mention no Mexicans already?
How Richardson Heights proposes to pay for it: {crickets chirping}

About 1hr of the 3hrs was productive: the table discussions and the feedback sessions using the little remotes. In the example to the right, we are voting on how well this mixed-use streetscape fits our vision. I timed it so you could see the voting graph overlaid on the image. The left of the graph is SUCKS! and the right is GENIUS!, so you can see the crowd seemed to like this image.

State of play
It appears the locals are ready to rip-and-replace the Spring Valley Corridor (SVC hereafter). I don't know that this is really necessary and I have to believe the project will die on the (expensive) vine without 100% buy-in from Dallas.

I think another approach would be simpler, faster, and would result in fewer property tax hikes and bond proposals. The overall idea would be to embrace what's productive about SVC and set postive expectations to change what's counterproductive:

Embracing the productive

make use of the capitalist spirit and work ethic of the people who live and work in the SVC. Let's use a trivial example. Ever seen elderly heladeros pushing the ice cream cart when it's 105F outside? That's a work ethic. Buy a dingdang ice cream (they are generally $1, and quite good. I like vanilla; wifey likes fresa). Welcome the heladero; encourage him to follow the rules, and encourage residents to value him and his service: this is a churro. These are duros. This is how you buy them from the vendor. Learn to love the heladero. He could be as valuable as a Crime Watch Patrol member in watching your neighborhood.
Make our Hispanic brethren feel more welcome and wanted. Rework business buildings as needed, but retain a esthetic that says "we value what you bring to the table." Solicit Hispanic leadership in the SVC process. Sponsor a food fair where Mexican regional dishes are prepared and tasted. Simple cooking classes given by matriarchs would be delightful.
Sponsor "tours" of mercados and other businesses so that nearby residents will experience the astounding vegetable/fruit/cheese/meat counters our Hispanic residents already know about.
There are some lovely old apartments on the SVC; I lived in Spanish Trails (now Lakeside or something) and the physical area was really nice. Calming. Interior courtyards, ducks, a pond. It was cheap, quiet, and safe. Which brings up the next point...
retain a place in Richardson for hardworking blue collar people to live. Seriously, folks. We can't (and shouldn't) push out our working folks of modest means to Garland or whatever. We need all types. We are them.
etc

Changing the counterproductive

require (or strongly suggest) that all rentals require background checks. When I lived in the SVC the crime was largely youth from Dallas preying on Hispanic folks living in the SVC. Still, criminal background checks would weed out the few bad apples and would soothe the concerns of nearby residents.
Provide "this is how Richardsonians behave" information to all newcomers so they know how things are done in our city. They may not know. Follow this up with bilingual beat cops who are dedicated to the enduring success of the SVC.
Enforce traffic laws rigorously; the SVC is a deathtrap of terrible driving, DUI, and lack of insurance. I have affection for the SVC and still avoid it much of the time because the drivers are so predictably bad. It would be funny if it weren't so dangerous.
etc

Ok, that's enough Pollyanna for tonight. I certainly don't have the answers, but perhaps these disjointed thoughts will inspire someone smarter, better organized, and better connected than I am.

Strongest case

2010-03-27T10:04:00.002-05:00

An anonymous writer laid out a compelling, rational argument to vote against the upcoming bond proposals.

It's worth reading, even if you are voting for the bond proposals.

Tree fixation @ work session 3/23

2010-03-23T19:21:00.002-05:00

[this was a draft I started and didn't finish. But it contains a dig at the datacenter millions, so I'll go ahead and turn it loose as-is.]

I may have made some errors while making this transcription. Better check it against the video yourself. :-)

Mitchell: I'm digging this "visually obscure 25% of the front door or porch" bullet. I mean, we're interested in making Richardson look good.

But there's this detail where the law only allows us to use this kind of tactic for "health & safety" issues. Still, we really like to be ahead of the curve.[0] Do you really think we are we going to be able (with a straight face) to claim in court this is about health and safety and not about looking good, despite what I just said 10 seconds earlier?

Don: Oh, hells yeah. We've been pulling this crap for years, since at least 2001; we were the first ones in North Texas to twist the law this way. We're way ahead of the curve. And now Mesquite is doing it, too! We haven't been sued yet by the residents or slapped down by the A.G. so we're golden. Masters of the universe and all that. It may be a dilrod thing to do, but our lawyers say it's totally defensible[1] and can be tied back[2] to health, safety and general welfare[3].

Mitchell: Man, you're good. Ok. Next question. My neighbor has this big old oak tree. I mean, this thing is annoying, what with all the birds, the acorns, the shade and all that crap. Is is this a stump, based on your new language?

Don: Believe it. If you don't like it (and you've got some pull) then it's a stump. They'll have to cut it down even to the level of the lawn.

Slagel, interrupting: Let me just ask. Is there any way we can pay some completely transient, unstable company five or ten million dollars to cut that tree down and then relocate some kind of datacenter or insurance company where the tree was? We could call it LumberTech or something. I like that branding, and I think it might yield the city thirteen or fourteen cents over the next six centuries.

Tex Keffler: I know some people who are perfect for that. I was playing golf with them Saturday morning. Or was it drinks in the hotel lounge? Regardless, it'd probably have to be closer to 10mil to "get their attention", if you know what I mean.

Macy: It seems traditional in many places to cut off the tree trunk at a couple of feet high and use it as a flower planter. Are we allowing that?

Don: The people who do that are trashy, and may not even be White. Deeply, profoundly "problematic". Denied!

[unfinished, unedited draft ends here]

[0] ie, do things that wiser people might say is "unwise", "inadvisable", or "illegal".
[1] ie, "we will bill you $500/hr to defend it"
[2] ie, fig leaf successfully attached
[3] ...of the city

bond props, 1-4

2010-03-17T08:53:00.003-05:00

First off, COR webmaster, stop with the unnecessary Flash animation crap, ok? I think there's an important metaphor in there somewhere but I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.

I think in future bonds we need more granularity. Instead of
Street Improvments
Parts and Rec
Municipal Public Buildings
Neighborhood Vitality

we could have
Street Improvments - Critical
Street Improvments - Optional
Parts and Rec - Critical
Parts and Rec - Optional
Municipal Public Buildings - Critical
Municipal Public Buildings - Optional
Neighborhood Vitality - Critical
Neighborhood Vitality - Optional

This would help prevent critical expenditures from getting bundled with "sure would be nice" issues.

Or, even better: think of how different borrowing would be if we actually got to vote on each item. That would be something like 34 items instead of 4. Would I be willing to take the extra 10 minutes at the poll? Believe it. I don't think it will ever happen because it would KILL pork, and pork is the lifeblood of politics. Starve the beast, people.

Prop 1, $24.7M
The question here is whether or not to spike this $24.7M prop because of the inclusion of:
Galatyn Overpass Extension $787,500
UTD Roadways $2,836,000

Am I willing to drive on worse roads for a couple of years in order to send a signal that the city shouldn't try to bloat up bond props? Yes, I am.

BTW, I'm not sure I'm entirely comfortable with the city building erosion features for what appear to be two private residences at 1709 Timberway Dr. and 1502 Braeburn Dr. Anyone know the dates of the work sessions or council meetings when those were discussed? I'd like to educate myself on that issue. My immediate reaction is that underwriting poor residential location choices increases moral hazard.

Prop 2, $22.6M
This one is easy. No.

We're likely required to do
City Wide - Park ADA Modifications $262,500
which we can do out of current funds.

As much as I'd like to see trails, I will take my own medicine here. This is not the time to borrow money for that.

Note: Hey COR, I understand your girlfriend Heights Park is hot and more than a little high maintenance. Promise her all the trinkets you want, just don't expect the rest of us to underwrite your adventures. We're trying to buy groceries and make the mortgage over here.

Prop 3, 10.5M
No.

Would I like to increase doggie ventilation? Sure. Do it out of current funds. Or get a corporate partner. Who wouldn't want to go on the record as helping adoptable dogs stay cool?

The 724K RFID project will probably save money in the long term, and if so should be in a reasonable bond prop.

Prop 4, $8.15M
No.

Seriously, this is how you're going to list it? How about a link of some kind.
HOA Requested NV Projects Screening walls, entry features, bridge aesthetics $2,100,000

I have no problems with sidewalk repair but 25% undifferentiated fluff in that prop seals it for me.

Man, I'm getting grouchier as I age.

Tree The Town == debt lever?

2010-03-17T07:26:00.003-05:00

I'm getting a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I really, really hope this isn't the underlying rationale for Tree the Town:

Posted by Dollar Tree @ 2:04 PM Tue, Mar 16, 2010
The hidden story in this is how these sponsors are effectively bolstering the City's asset base by tens of thousands of dollars. Not long ago, the Texas Legislature enabled municipalities to place a dollar value on trees. This is intended to increase the net worth of the municipality, and thus make its financial solvency seem more plausible. Well, enter the Tree The Town project. For every tree that is planted, the City will gain additional credibility in the financial markets, thanks to the value of trees being added to the asset base. The only loser here are the citizens who have to repay the debt for which these assets will be applied as collateral.

I hope Amir addresses this in public somewhere.

Line in the sand: I will actively work against any council member/candidate who seeks creative ways to increase COR's ability to go deeper into debt. We need leadership that will help wean COR off debt.

Trash Bash 2010

2010-03-08T18:07:00.001-06:00

COR Trash Bash
"All citizens, social organizations, and civic groups are invited to participate in this event to help clean up the community from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 3rd."

I did this in 2008 and had fun. 2009 I had to attend a teaching class. It's on my calendar for this year. See you there!

Census letter

2010-03-08T17:17:00.003-06:00

I just opened the pre-Census letter from the Census Bureau. I am not someone they need to convince. I will fill out the form and return it; it's my duty, at least the way I read the Constitution.

But they go on to mention "without a complete, accurate census, your community may not receive its fair share."

I will confine myself to remarking that the simplest method of ensuring folks get their fair share is to not take it from them in the first place.

Library Elf / Richardson Public Library

2010-03-04T16:46:00.004-06:00

I was checking out some books and noticed a Library Elf flyer:

Who uses Elf?

Anyone who wants to reduce overdues
Families with children and lots of books
Individuals with several library cards
Anyone who requests a lot of holds

What's delivered?

Email and/or RSS alerts before items are due
Email and/or RSS alerts on overdues and holds
Consolidated list of yours or your family's library loans and holds
Cellphone text message alerts for holds (US and Canada)
Real-time checking by browser

The flyer said that RPL subscribes to www.LibraryElf.org so use is free for RPL members. It mentioned email alerts for due dates and holds.

Ok, I'll bite. You register and indicate your library affilliation, and put in your card number and PIN. This didn't freak me out as RPL account info is only used at RPL. Answered the required email test and, sure enough, it displays my checked out items and holds.

Since you can't turn off ready hold notifications at RPL, I think the main advantage is being able to see multiple accounts at once. Neat idea but I think there's not a lot of meat there yet.

next Crime Watch Patrol class scheduled

2010-03-02T14:31:00.003-06:00

... word has it that the RPD has booked rooms in the Civic Center for the next class, on April 12-13th. The same word further indicates that if a suitable applicant gets their application in now they will likely be scheduled for the April class.

Things to know:

You must be invited to the classes by RPD (ie, must already have application approved). You can't just show up. Since non-public information is shared with CWP as part of the crime watch effort, background checks and other due diligence is in effect.
Must attend both classes
After you attend and pass the test you will do one or more "check rides" with your area's CWP coordinator. Then you're active!

[none of this necessarily reflects the opinions of RPD; I'm just a citizen. Do your own fact checking before plunking down your time and effort.]

All funds do not have to be spent

2010-03-02T07:58:00.004-06:00

Here ya go.

This is what financial conservatism and responsibility look like.

For Immediate Release
March 1, 2010

Congressman Paul Returns Over $100,000 to Treasury

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Ron Paul has continued to run his Congressional office in a frugal manner, and was able to return more than $100,000 from his allotted office budget to the Treasury this year, an increase over the $90,000 returned last year.

“Since my first year in Congress representing the 14th district I have managed my office in a frugal manner, instructing staff to provide the greatest possible service to the people of the 14th district at the least possible cost to taxpayers,” said Paul.

Moving back to Richardson, Tx

Dallas high crime areas that feed RISD

Still loving Aldi

Stage 2 Water Conservation Measures

Radio geeks and the COR radio system

A forceful anti-HOA argument

RISD: wrap-up

quick and dirty

RISD: how to get good results from a sub

RISD: how to be a good sub [in progress]

RISD: grafitti and textbooks

Fwd: RISD: addressing the thug problem

RISD: a deep breath before diving

RISD: how things have changed

RISD: first things first

Upcoming: RISD retrospective

Voted at the old red schoolhouse

Review - Favorite Yogurt in DFW Chinatown

Those weather radios

$3.63 is the cheapest in town

Dear Shouty McRedshirt

Endorsement: WIlliam Gordon for Place 1

more spin/waste at $0.335 per household

Salaam

$3.25/gal is the cheapest in Richardson

Gasoline price listing for Richardson

RPL's OverDrive emedia, HarperCollins

Preparedness fair Sat 2/25, 9am-12pm

@amiromar, interjections, and schoolhouse rock

Interpreting ERCOT tea leaves

Grid emergency = rolling blackouts

Destiny+Twitter: Slagel hangs it up

Councilman Omar, re-election campaign committee meeting

DC on bragging rights

"your thoughts on the proposal"

Councilman Murphy not seeking re-election

COR Best of... 2010

feathers in our cap

Rob the Town

First K2. Then RMD Gutkha?

Maggie on 75@Renner

ATM robber caught (on TV, no less)

Maggie and msteger on density

Armed Robbery @ ATM

Gas line rupture: Belt Line / Jupiter

RC: "Misconceptions of the Past"

Thanks, vets!

@DallasISDblog disappeared

RPD manhunt for robber, Buckingham/Audelia

ALDI review: beef jerky

Props to Carona for his [e]mailer

ALDI's review series

C & S (Ace) Hardware closing

NNO followup

National Night Out is Oct 5

September = National Preparedness Month

No more apartments at Brick Row

Dallas Green Festival, Sept 18th

I. Did not. Have. Postal relations. WIth that mailer.

Free VIN etching Sept 9

State Fair 2010

RPL email newsletters

the publicity nature of transparency

COR Library focus group needs volunteers

Three recommendations for auto services in Richardson

Mortgage [kittens] target veterans

One book: The Art of Racing in the Rain

I met Igor @ 7-11

July 12th council meeting - West Spring Valley Corridor Reinvestment Study

Preparedness display up in City Hall

If you think *I* get fired up about HOAs...

Theft is dangerous

Who says we don't care about World Cup?

"Frisco HOA that foreclosed on soldier..."

M Cafe has closed

You requested these (nonexistent) projects

DFW Chinatown entry feature

kudos to RPL Director

Dissent, physical threats, and city government

Remember: HOAs are evil

If you think I get fired up about HOAs...

All funds do not have to be spent