Here's what we have to look forward to tonight and tomorrow. My daughter can't quite understand why her daddy doesn't want snow. Ah, the innocence of youth.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Is wintry mix found next to spring mix in the produce section?
Here's what we have to look forward to tonight and tomorrow. My daughter can't quite understand why her daddy doesn't want snow. Ah, the innocence of youth.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Who knew this cold weather was coming?
And what was the cause behind today's rolling blackouts in Texas? A frozen pipe and a busted pipe at two coal-fired power plants took some 7,000 megawatts off the grid this morning. Compounding the problem were pressure drops in natural gas lines due to the freezing temperatures.
A frozen pipe and a broken pipe. Just think about that for a second. The utility companies are swimming in cash but couldn't be bothered with insulating their pipes? The freezing weather wasn't a surprise - we all knew it was coming.
And here's something for all of y'all who had to deal with periodic blackouts -- Jerry World (otherwise known as Cowboys Stadium) was not affected by the blackout order.
Think about that while you're watching the millionaires' ball Sunday evening.
A frozen pipe and a broken pipe. Just think about that for a second. The utility companies are swimming in cash but couldn't be bothered with insulating their pipes? The freezing weather wasn't a surprise - we all knew it was coming.
And here's something for all of y'all who had to deal with periodic blackouts -- Jerry World (otherwise known as Cowboys Stadium) was not affected by the blackout order.
One of the state's largest utility providers said rolling statewide electrical outages that started Wednesday in response to high demand from a rare ice storm will not affect Cowboys Stadium in suburban Arlington. But Oncor spokeswoman Jeamy Molina said other Super Bowl facilities, such as team hotels, were not exempt.So not only do the owners of sports franchises receive public money to build their money-making monuments to wastefulness, they are also exempt from the blackouts that other residents of Texas have had to endure today. Public expenditures for private gain. That, apparently, is the capitalist creed these days.
Think about that while you're watching the millionaires' ball Sunday evening.
Is there an information blackout, too?
Looking for information from ERCOT (Energy Reliability Council of Texas, Inc.) about the rolling blackouts across Texas? Here's what you'll find on their website:
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Texas court lowers the standard for reasonable suspicion
Over the years court have continually lowered the standard by which a police officer may intrude upon the liberty of an individual. A law enforcement officer in Texas can stop a motorist on what the law calls "reasonable suspicion." A mere hunch is not good enough. An officer must be able to point out specific facts that lead to reasonable inferences that some criminal is afoot.
If the officer can't do it, then there was no reasonable suspicion and the stop is deemed illegal.
Well, at least that's the way we learned it.
According to the Texas Court of CriminalAffirms Appeals, a person's strange, non-criminal behavior, can give rise to reasonable suspicion that he would soon engage in a criminal act.
In Derichsweiller v. State, No. PD-0176-10, (Tex.Crim.App. 2011), an officer was called out to a Wal-Mart parking lot after a couple in the McDonald's drive-thru called 911 about a man who drove up alongside their car and grinned at them. He drove around the restaurant and stopped and grinned a second time before driving off into the Wal-Mart parking lot.
There were no allegations that Mr. Derichsweiller was doing anything illegal -- just weird. The officer stopped Mr. Derichsweiller while he was circling the Wal-Mart parking lot. The officer didn't witness Mr. Derichsweiller doing anything remotely illegal. Of course after he stopped him, the officer noted a strong odor of alcohol and then commenced a DWI investigation. And Mr. Derichsweiller had two prior DWI convictions.
The trial court found no problem with the stop and denied Mr. Derichsweiller's motion to suppress. The Court of Appeals, on the other hand, had a problem with the stop and reversed the trial court on the grounds that neither the officer, nor the couple at the restaurant, witnessed any behavior that suggested Mr. Derichsweiller was involved in criminal conduct.
The Court of Criminal Appeals disagreed and stated that
Reasonable suspicion of what? The facts pointed to no criminal offense. The officer's observations of Mr. Derichsweiller's driving pointed to no criminal offense. It would appear that the court's decision had more to do with finding a way to uphold a felony DWI conviction than upholding the Constitution.
If the officer can't do it, then there was no reasonable suspicion and the stop is deemed illegal.
Well, at least that's the way we learned it.
According to the Texas Court of Criminal
In Derichsweiller v. State, No. PD-0176-10, (Tex.Crim.App. 2011), an officer was called out to a Wal-Mart parking lot after a couple in the McDonald's drive-thru called 911 about a man who drove up alongside their car and grinned at them. He drove around the restaurant and stopped and grinned a second time before driving off into the Wal-Mart parking lot.
There were no allegations that Mr. Derichsweiller was doing anything illegal -- just weird. The officer stopped Mr. Derichsweiller while he was circling the Wal-Mart parking lot. The officer didn't witness Mr. Derichsweiller doing anything remotely illegal. Of course after he stopped him, the officer noted a strong odor of alcohol and then commenced a DWI investigation. And Mr. Derichsweiller had two prior DWI convictions.
The trial court found no problem with the stop and denied Mr. Derichsweiller's motion to suppress. The Court of Appeals, on the other hand, had a problem with the stop and reversed the trial court on the grounds that neither the officer, nor the couple at the restaurant, witnessed any behavior that suggested Mr. Derichsweiller was involved in criminal conduct.
The Court of Criminal Appeals disagreed and stated that
[w]hile it is admittedly a close call, the information known collectively to the police in this case ultimately satisfies this standard. The appellant's conduct, particularly as directed at the Holdens, while not overtly criminal in any way, was bizarre to say the least. Moreover, the repetition of similar, apparently scrutinizing, behavior directed at parked cars in the adjacent Wal-Mart parking lot reasonably suggests a potential criminal motive that transcended any particular interest in the Holdens themselves. It reasonably suggests someone who was looking to criminally exploit some vulnerability--a weak or isolated individual to rob or an unattended auto to burgle. It matters not that all of this conduct could be construed as innocent of itself; for purposes of a reasonable-suspicion analysis, it is enough that the totality of the circumstances, viewed objectively and in the aggregate, suggests the realistic possibility of a criminal motive, however amorphous, that was about to be acted upon. Under these circumstances, the Fourth Amendment permits the police to make a brief stop to investigate, if only by their presence to avert an inchoate offense.So now what does "reasonable suspicion" even mean? Does it mean anything? Sure, Mr. Derichsweiller's behavior was bizarre, to say the least, but does it follow that bizarre behavior now gives rise to reasonable suspicion that someone is about to commit a crime?
Reasonable suspicion of what? The facts pointed to no criminal offense. The officer's observations of Mr. Derichsweiller's driving pointed to no criminal offense. It would appear that the court's decision had more to do with finding a way to uphold a felony DWI conviction than upholding the Constitution.
Rolling blackouts come to Texas
Deregulation will usher in a new era of lower consumer prices and more reliable service.
Those words, or words to that effect, have been uttered every time a regulated industry has been turned loose from government reins. In some instances, it's true. Air travel is much cheaper now that it ever was during the days the government oversaw the industry. The cost of making a long distance call is cheaper than ever, as well.
But when it comes to utilities, the promised benefits of deregulation are (almost) always just beyond reach.
Now we have rolling blackouts in Texas due to the extreme winter weather that has moved into the state. But we've always gotten at least one nasty "blue norther" a year without the state calling for rolling blackouts. What's different?
In the old days the local utility owned the lines (transmission) and the power plant (generation). Money was to be made through the sale of power. The lines were a fixed cost that the power companies had to eat. The Public Utility Commission would approve rate requests from the utilities that took into account the cost of putting up poles and stringing lines.
When the energy market was deregulated the utility companies shed their lines and because marketing companies that bought and sold electricity. The utilities spun off units that maintained the transmission lines. These units became independent companies who made their money charging the marketing companies for shipping electricity across their lines.
In theory, the new utility companies were free to make money without worrying about the cost of installing or maintaining the power lines. This made the companies more profitable. As we all learned in economics, companies who wish to become more efficient take those profits and reinvest them in the company - constructing new plants or exploring new technology to generate electricity.
A growing futures market in electricity developed. Companies could enter into contract to deliver, or purchase, electricity for a given period at a fixed price. Companies could enhance their profitability by hedging their bets with these contracts. Guaranteed fixed prices for electricity and long-term contracts with customers turned the utility market into the equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel for the utility companies.
In reality the utility companies took their buckets of cash and showered their executives with lavish bonuses and plastered their names on sports stadiums throughout the state. The result was that production capacity has failed to keep up with the demand for electricity.
Those words, or words to that effect, have been uttered every time a regulated industry has been turned loose from government reins. In some instances, it's true. Air travel is much cheaper now that it ever was during the days the government oversaw the industry. The cost of making a long distance call is cheaper than ever, as well.
But when it comes to utilities, the promised benefits of deregulation are (almost) always just beyond reach.
ERCOT, which overseers power supplies in Texas, has asked electrical companies to institute "rotating outages" to compensate for increased demands for electricity during the wintery cold snap gripping the state.Electricity deregulation was sold to Texans just like it was sold to everyone else. And we've all looked at California's annual rolling blackouts during the summer when energy prices skyrocket. Of course Enron had their hand in the mess by engineering shortages in order to drive prices even higher.
Now we have rolling blackouts in Texas due to the extreme winter weather that has moved into the state. But we've always gotten at least one nasty "blue norther" a year without the state calling for rolling blackouts. What's different?
In the old days the local utility owned the lines (transmission) and the power plant (generation). Money was to be made through the sale of power. The lines were a fixed cost that the power companies had to eat. The Public Utility Commission would approve rate requests from the utilities that took into account the cost of putting up poles and stringing lines.
When the energy market was deregulated the utility companies shed their lines and because marketing companies that bought and sold electricity. The utilities spun off units that maintained the transmission lines. These units became independent companies who made their money charging the marketing companies for shipping electricity across their lines.
In theory, the new utility companies were free to make money without worrying about the cost of installing or maintaining the power lines. This made the companies more profitable. As we all learned in economics, companies who wish to become more efficient take those profits and reinvest them in the company - constructing new plants or exploring new technology to generate electricity.
A growing futures market in electricity developed. Companies could enter into contract to deliver, or purchase, electricity for a given period at a fixed price. Companies could enhance their profitability by hedging their bets with these contracts. Guaranteed fixed prices for electricity and long-term contracts with customers turned the utility market into the equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel for the utility companies.
In reality the utility companies took their buckets of cash and showered their executives with lavish bonuses and plastered their names on sports stadiums throughout the state. The result was that production capacity has failed to keep up with the demand for electricity.
"Although we realize this is an inconvenience for our customers, these controlled rolling outages are planned emergency measures designed to avoid potentially longer, and more widespread power outages. We will continue these rolling outages until we receive direction from ERCOT that the electric supply in Texas has stabilized." -- Scott Prozchaka, CenterPoint EnergyFunny how no one ever mentioned the term "rolling blackouts" when trumpeting the benefits of deregulation.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Pounding the pavement
Here are a couple of pictures to let you get a sense of what it's like just before the race. Both of these pictures were taken about 6am Sunday - the first is outside the convention center and the second is inside the convention center.
With the threat of thunderstorms on Sunday morning, the organizers did an awesome job of keeping everyone informed as to what would happen in the event of violent weather in the area. As it turned out, it was wet but the thunderstorms stayed away. Thanks to all of the volunteers along the course - without your hard work this race wouldn't be possible. I get up at 4:45 a.m. and run in the cold and wet because that's what I do for fun, the race volunteers do it so I can have my fun. And thanks to the quarter million folks who turn out on the streets during the day to cheer us on. There are times during the race that I feel I'm running out onto the Cotton Bowl field to do battle with the evil Sooners.
I realize that I'm fortunate to be able to run a marathon. I'm fortunate that I live in a city like Houston that hosts a marathon. After 23 marathons, my best marathon running days are behind me but I keep pressing on because I know that one day I won't be able to.
The perpetual state of war
Being in a perpetual state of war is the perfect way to deflect attention away from the lack of civil rights and liberties and from the growing gap between rich and poor. After all, your boss can't be your enemy if you're fighting an endless war with a neighboring country.
Just look at what evil plans our enemy has in store, the government tells its people. We must defend ourselves against the aggressor next door.We all must make sacrifices so that we can outlast our enemy and win this war. Protesting about your station in life will only show our enemy chinks in our armor -- it is the equivalent of treason. Rally behind the flag.
And so it went in Egypt until a week ago when the masses finally reached their breaking point. Without having Israel as the perpetual enemy of the people, light has finally shone on the policies of the Mubarak government that have left the vast majority of Egyptians living in poverty.
Of course the United States has been in a continual state of war since the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Japan. Germany. The Soviet Union. Vietnam. Libya. Iraq. Afghanistan. Poverty. Drugs. Terrorism.
Just look at what evil plans our enemy has in store, the government tells its people. We must defend ourselves against the aggressor next door.We all must make sacrifices so that we can outlast our enemy and win this war. Protesting about your station in life will only show our enemy chinks in our armor -- it is the equivalent of treason. Rally behind the flag.
And so it went in Egypt until a week ago when the masses finally reached their breaking point. Without having Israel as the perpetual enemy of the people, light has finally shone on the policies of the Mubarak government that have left the vast majority of Egyptians living in poverty.
Of course the United States has been in a continual state of war since the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Japan. Germany. The Soviet Union. Vietnam. Libya. Iraq. Afghanistan. Poverty. Drugs. Terrorism.
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