Presidential Library....
As thoughts turn to the end of the presidential term of George W. Bush, thoughts also turn to the sweepstakes involved in who gets to host his presidential library. The short list of those who the President wishes to see a proposal from have been made public. On the list is our own Midland College. The others are the city of Arlington, Southern Methodist University, the University of Dallas, Baylor University, Texas Tech University, the University of Texas System and Texas A&M.
When the rumors of who would be invited to bid first surfaced and I heard Midland College mentioned, my first thought was....."yeah right, a snowballs chance in hell". However after seeing the entire list I've moderated my view somewhat. Midland may have a chance. The one chance being if Dubya steps up and says, "I want my library in Midland". Otherwise I think we can forget it. I have to think that the selection process involves some degree of ego, the scholarly disposition of the proposed host, money [who can afford to build it] and the President's personal wishes. A strong wish could override the other factors. Dubya could simply say, "Midland is where it's going".
Now I do think that we may be ahead of some of the others on the list. I cannot see the "city" of Arlington being selected. Dubya has no real allegiance to the entertainment capital of Texas except that his former baseball team was located there. Big deal. University of Dallas.....I don't think so, small school with no connection to George. The University of Texas and Texas A&M were good choices for two former presidents but I can't see Dubya located with LBJ and I don't think he wants to follow in Dad's footsteps at A&M.
This leaves three other large universities as the front runners. The "M" in SMU is for Methodist. George and Laura belong to the Methodist Church and coupled with the fact that it is located in a major metropolitan area, one in which George lived, it may have a good chance. As does Baylor. For whatever reason Dubya has become fond of this area of Central Texas and one supposes that George and Laura will retire in Crawford, so having his library close at hand would be a plus. Texas Tech is a large school but, again, George has no connection here except that the school is in West Texas. Texas Tech is an also ran to the first two schools.
SMU and Baylor have to be the odds on favorites, with Midland leading the long shot field. I'm afraid that our remote location works against us as does the small size and depth of a two year college and the perceived trouble in raising the necessary $200 million to build the facility. But Dubya loves Midland and has strong emotional ties here so stranger things have happened.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Cool breeze........
The unusually cool weather has been the buzz of bloggers around town the last several days and I have to add one final thought, one final mention of a blessing bestowed upon us. That blessing is that the air conditioner in our home has not been on for two entire middle of the summer days. That is unheard of in West Texas.
Owning a home that has been in existance almost as long as you have is a trying experience sometimes, but with the tribulations come some decided advangtages, chief of which is to be surrounded by windows that actually open to the clean, pure and cool air outside. We have been communing with nature now since Wednesday and in the main enjoying it. It's good to hear the sound of our feathered friends as we awaken in the morning and calming to me to be able to hear the trains pass by just a little over a mile away. When all is calm late at night and one listens carefully, the click-clack of the wheels on the tracks can even be heard. Coming from a railroad family it is a balm to my soul.
We have one more night of open windows until the weather turns back to a more normal heat and we have to shut the house up once again. The two air conditioning units cooling the home will start to drown out the sound of nature and I'll have visions of dollar bills being sucked out of my wallet by the hour, but for now I'll just enjoy the quiet cool reverie.
The unusually cool weather has been the buzz of bloggers around town the last several days and I have to add one final thought, one final mention of a blessing bestowed upon us. That blessing is that the air conditioner in our home has not been on for two entire middle of the summer days. That is unheard of in West Texas.
Owning a home that has been in existance almost as long as you have is a trying experience sometimes, but with the tribulations come some decided advangtages, chief of which is to be surrounded by windows that actually open to the clean, pure and cool air outside. We have been communing with nature now since Wednesday and in the main enjoying it. It's good to hear the sound of our feathered friends as we awaken in the morning and calming to me to be able to hear the trains pass by just a little over a mile away. When all is calm late at night and one listens carefully, the click-clack of the wheels on the tracks can even be heard. Coming from a railroad family it is a balm to my soul.
We have one more night of open windows until the weather turns back to a more normal heat and we have to shut the house up once again. The two air conditioning units cooling the home will start to drown out the sound of nature and I'll have visions of dollar bills being sucked out of my wallet by the hour, but for now I'll just enjoy the quiet cool reverie.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Storm........
We had been forewarned that the weather was going to be taking a drastic change on Tuesday, so it was not surprising that when I drove back to the office after lunch I spotted a massive thundercloud over the mountains to the southwest. In West Texas we can see storms a far way distant and this one was over 125 miles away but still looking beautiful and large. It was one of those times that I wished a had carried my camera along.
Later in the afternoon as I left the office there were storms popping up in all directions and at a much closer range. It was strange, though, that with all these storms we barely had a sprinkle by the time I left to go on my 5:15 p.m. walk at Midland Memorial Stadium. The track has unobstructed views in all directions and I was struck by the thought that this looked like some of the pictures of the primordial earth I had seen in geology textbooks. The image of volcanoes spewing ash while thunderstorms streamed lightning down on the still forming earth from all quarters.
There were two massive storms, one to the southwest and the other to the east, that had torrents of rain flooding down while lightning bolts shot to groud every few seconds. Beyond these storms to the southwest I could still see the mountain storm lit a mellow golden hue in the afternoon sun. Still no rain on the Bedford estate after I arrived home. No rain until around 10 p.m. when thunder and lightning announced the arrival of the deluge to follow. There was constant thunder for almost two hours....sounding much like the artillery barrage at the seige of Khe Sanh must have been like in 1968.
I haven't checked the rain gauge, but I don't think that we got the several inches that were predicted as possible, but still a copious amount of needed rain and the temperature has dropped a good 25 degrees from yesterdays steamy heat. Quite a dramatic and beautiful display of natures glory with the added blessing of unheard of cool weather!
We had been forewarned that the weather was going to be taking a drastic change on Tuesday, so it was not surprising that when I drove back to the office after lunch I spotted a massive thundercloud over the mountains to the southwest. In West Texas we can see storms a far way distant and this one was over 125 miles away but still looking beautiful and large. It was one of those times that I wished a had carried my camera along.
Later in the afternoon as I left the office there were storms popping up in all directions and at a much closer range. It was strange, though, that with all these storms we barely had a sprinkle by the time I left to go on my 5:15 p.m. walk at Midland Memorial Stadium. The track has unobstructed views in all directions and I was struck by the thought that this looked like some of the pictures of the primordial earth I had seen in geology textbooks. The image of volcanoes spewing ash while thunderstorms streamed lightning down on the still forming earth from all quarters.
There were two massive storms, one to the southwest and the other to the east, that had torrents of rain flooding down while lightning bolts shot to groud every few seconds. Beyond these storms to the southwest I could still see the mountain storm lit a mellow golden hue in the afternoon sun. Still no rain on the Bedford estate after I arrived home. No rain until around 10 p.m. when thunder and lightning announced the arrival of the deluge to follow. There was constant thunder for almost two hours....sounding much like the artillery barrage at the seige of Khe Sanh must have been like in 1968.
I haven't checked the rain gauge, but I don't think that we got the several inches that were predicted as possible, but still a copious amount of needed rain and the temperature has dropped a good 25 degrees from yesterdays steamy heat. Quite a dramatic and beautiful display of natures glory with the added blessing of unheard of cool weather!
Monday, July 25, 2005
Connected....
The Internet is an amazing thing, sometimes allowing for almost instant connections with things that appear in one's life.
If you live in or around Midland, perhaps you read the story in the "Lifestyles" section of Sundays Midland Reporter-Telegram about the WWII veteran who has his photographs of life in post war Germany on display at the Allied War Museum in Berlin. I was interested in Mr. Carl F. McDaniel and his story because he is a long time photographer and for the historical context of his remembrances, so I followed up the newpaper story with a visit to the websites referred to in the article. While browsing through his pictures I came across a "Guestbook" for the site where I left a note commenting on how I'd found his information and what a pleasure it was to see his historical record being preserved. I thought this was the end of the story.
It wasn't. Not more than an hour later I received an email from "Mac" thanking me for my comments and expressing, it seemed to me, some degree of surprise that his story had been printed in a newspaper far distant from his Pennsylvania home. He asked if I might send him a copy of the paper for his archives....something I did this afternoon. Apparently the Associated Press picked up Mac's story and it appeared around the country.
Mac and I exchanged further emails Sunday evening and I caught a glimpse of a very interesting man. Mac is 81 years old now, but his interest in photography has not waned and he has, like many of us, learned what a good vehicle the Internet is for displaying our work. Mac does his own websites and expressed to me his interest in moving from Minolta 35mm cameras into the digital camera realm, something I hope he gets to do. For now, Mac is doing 35mm camera work and then scanning the photos for posting on his websites. Sites like the Williamsport Market Street Bridge
The Internet is an amazing thing, sometimes allowing for almost instant connections with things that appear in one's life.
If you live in or around Midland, perhaps you read the story in the "Lifestyles" section of Sundays Midland Reporter-Telegram about the WWII veteran who has his photographs of life in post war Germany on display at the Allied War Museum in Berlin. I was interested in Mr. Carl F. McDaniel and his story because he is a long time photographer and for the historical context of his remembrances, so I followed up the newpaper story with a visit to the websites referred to in the article. While browsing through his pictures I came across a "Guestbook" for the site where I left a note commenting on how I'd found his information and what a pleasure it was to see his historical record being preserved. I thought this was the end of the story.
It wasn't. Not more than an hour later I received an email from "Mac" thanking me for my comments and expressing, it seemed to me, some degree of surprise that his story had been printed in a newspaper far distant from his Pennsylvania home. He asked if I might send him a copy of the paper for his archives....something I did this afternoon. Apparently the Associated Press picked up Mac's story and it appeared around the country.
Mac and I exchanged further emails Sunday evening and I caught a glimpse of a very interesting man. Mac is 81 years old now, but his interest in photography has not waned and he has, like many of us, learned what a good vehicle the Internet is for displaying our work. Mac does his own websites and expressed to me his interest in moving from Minolta 35mm cameras into the digital camera realm, something I hope he gets to do. For now, Mac is doing 35mm camera work and then scanning the photos for posting on his websites. Sites like the Williamsport Market Street Bridge
Friday, July 22, 2005
Laugh out Loud....
I received an inquiry this morning from blogosphere buddy Justin T. concerning residential living at the Petroleum Building in downtown Midland. I office in that building and sometimes forget just how much people who read blogs know about their authors one way or the other. I try not to post anything that I wouldn't want anyone to know, it's just a reminder to be on my best behavior.
Anywho....Justin wanted to know if there is residential living space in the Petroleum Building. It seems that Justin is a performer in the Summer Mummers and as he is exiting the Yucca Theater after performances he has seen what looks like the light from a TV screen coming from the office space above. I had to give Justin the news that, no there is no residential space in the building. I suspect he is seeing someones computer monitor reflecting light on the windows.
What interested me about Justins e-note was the link he provided with the mail. Justin is a member of The Venue a comedy improv group that is available for bookings now. Sounds like an interesting idea for your next party or group meeting. I thought I'd give Justin's group a little plug.......
I received an inquiry this morning from blogosphere buddy Justin T. concerning residential living at the Petroleum Building in downtown Midland. I office in that building and sometimes forget just how much people who read blogs know about their authors one way or the other. I try not to post anything that I wouldn't want anyone to know, it's just a reminder to be on my best behavior.
Anywho....Justin wanted to know if there is residential living space in the Petroleum Building. It seems that Justin is a performer in the Summer Mummers and as he is exiting the Yucca Theater after performances he has seen what looks like the light from a TV screen coming from the office space above. I had to give Justin the news that, no there is no residential space in the building. I suspect he is seeing someones computer monitor reflecting light on the windows.
What interested me about Justins e-note was the link he provided with the mail. Justin is a member of The Venue a comedy improv group that is available for bookings now. Sounds like an interesting idea for your next party or group meeting. I thought I'd give Justin's group a little plug.......
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Louis H. "Mike" Michaelson
1919-2005
Having been in Odessa most of the day, I hadn't had the chance to read the paper before I checked my emails this evening. I was saddened beyond words to read my Mother's short mail message telling me that Louis Michaelson had passed away on Sunday.
Louis H. "Mike" Michaelson was the head scoutmaster of my old unit, Troop 85, of the First Presbyterian Church, Midland, Texas. It's hard to imagine in this modern world how a man could have such an impact on me and most of the boys he came into contact with during those growing up years. Many men I know today owe much of what we are to Mike Michaelson and the other leaders of that troop. People like Bill Bosworth, Gene Thomas, Wilmont Hunt and my dad, Wally Craig.
The time and effort they put into our scouting education was enormous. Activities like the 50 mile hike along the old Butterfield stage route near Sheffield, visiting all the old cavalry forts like Lancaster and McKavett. Camping on the Devil's River, at Horsehead Crossing, Camp Pegasus and of course a week every summer at the splendid Davis Mountain Boy Scout Ranch. Mike Michaelson planned, organized and led one of the great treks that I've ever heard about in scouting, taking 40 boys on a Greyhound Bus from Midland up through Canada, to the New York Worlds Fair of 1964, capped off by a week at the Scout National Jamboree at Valley Forge....a monumental three week excursion. When I asked him, later in life, how he and the other adult leaders managed to stay sane during the trip he told me his secret. "After you boys went to bed, we drank a lot of Scotch".
Mike and the other leaders had grown up during the depression and had all served their country in the military during WW II, most in combat situations. The lessons they had learned during these difficult times they passed on to us scouts. The Scout oath and motto were not just slogans to them, but the way they lived their lives. They expected us to do the same. Mike Michaelson was not an easy scoutmaster to please. He expected you to do your best. His expressions are legendary and still talked about whenever Troop 85 alumni get together. "You knothead". "I didn't ask for any chit-chat". "Get moving you yardbirds"! My neighbor and fellow Troop 85 scout, Scott Davis, and I always have a laugh over these. I usually remark that I did so well in the Army Airborne because of my scout training. Scouts was tougher.
I'll miss Mike Michaelson and the thought that he is no longer around, I used to stop in and see him at his office until just a few years ago. I wish I would have stopped in one more time.
Mike is pictured above in this shaky 1962 photo I took on the 50 mile historic hike on the Butterfield Stage route. He is the man on the far left on the road in the white shirt and pack watching scouts rest. In an example of history repeating itself, I have a picture of me in the army 10 years later standing on the road with a pack while my platoon rests on the side of the road.
1919-2005
Having been in Odessa most of the day, I hadn't had the chance to read the paper before I checked my emails this evening. I was saddened beyond words to read my Mother's short mail message telling me that Louis Michaelson had passed away on Sunday.
Louis H. "Mike" Michaelson was the head scoutmaster of my old unit, Troop 85, of the First Presbyterian Church, Midland, Texas. It's hard to imagine in this modern world how a man could have such an impact on me and most of the boys he came into contact with during those growing up years. Many men I know today owe much of what we are to Mike Michaelson and the other leaders of that troop. People like Bill Bosworth, Gene Thomas, Wilmont Hunt and my dad, Wally Craig.
The time and effort they put into our scouting education was enormous. Activities like the 50 mile hike along the old Butterfield stage route near Sheffield, visiting all the old cavalry forts like Lancaster and McKavett. Camping on the Devil's River, at Horsehead Crossing, Camp Pegasus and of course a week every summer at the splendid Davis Mountain Boy Scout Ranch. Mike Michaelson planned, organized and led one of the great treks that I've ever heard about in scouting, taking 40 boys on a Greyhound Bus from Midland up through Canada, to the New York Worlds Fair of 1964, capped off by a week at the Scout National Jamboree at Valley Forge....a monumental three week excursion. When I asked him, later in life, how he and the other adult leaders managed to stay sane during the trip he told me his secret. "After you boys went to bed, we drank a lot of Scotch".
Mike and the other leaders had grown up during the depression and had all served their country in the military during WW II, most in combat situations. The lessons they had learned during these difficult times they passed on to us scouts. The Scout oath and motto were not just slogans to them, but the way they lived their lives. They expected us to do the same. Mike Michaelson was not an easy scoutmaster to please. He expected you to do your best. His expressions are legendary and still talked about whenever Troop 85 alumni get together. "You knothead". "I didn't ask for any chit-chat". "Get moving you yardbirds"! My neighbor and fellow Troop 85 scout, Scott Davis, and I always have a laugh over these. I usually remark that I did so well in the Army Airborne because of my scout training. Scouts was tougher.
I'll miss Mike Michaelson and the thought that he is no longer around, I used to stop in and see him at his office until just a few years ago. I wish I would have stopped in one more time.
Mike is pictured above in this shaky 1962 photo I took on the 50 mile historic hike on the Butterfield Stage route. He is the man on the far left on the road in the white shirt and pack watching scouts rest. In an example of history repeating itself, I have a picture of me in the army 10 years later standing on the road with a pack while my platoon rests on the side of the road.
Friday, July 15, 2005
Noteworthy....
The Bride and I decided to step out for a bite and a bit of browsing at Barnes and Nobles tonight. An interesting and out of the ordinary experience from our usual B&N visits as it was just hours before the release of the new Harry Potter book. Some strange and different folks were habituating the store. As I told Julie, it seemed more like we were in California than West Texas.
Ever since I found some great golden retriever note cards at B&N years ago, I always check the card selection. It's usually good, diverse and eclectic.......like me! Anyway, I did spy a whole rack of very interesting cards all with a Texas theme. The company that makes these has the regional market in mind, and I'm sure produces cards oriented towards each state's areas of interest. I bought four different cards and as you can see from the scan above these are geared towards the West Texas oil business. These are first rate folding note cards with quality art work, not post cards, although some of the cards were probably taken from old post cards such as the nostalgic "Vist Marfa" and "Jackalope" cards. The caption on the card at left says, "Instead of a gusher, Fire! Oil well explosion in West Texas". On the right the card reads, "One of the new gushers in the Odessa Oil Field".
If you're in Barnes and Nobles check these out....they're not cheap but you may find one that you can't live without. To view the huge array of Texas cards go to Found Image click on "Image Catalogue" and then select "Texas".
The Bride and I decided to step out for a bite and a bit of browsing at Barnes and Nobles tonight. An interesting and out of the ordinary experience from our usual B&N visits as it was just hours before the release of the new Harry Potter book. Some strange and different folks were habituating the store. As I told Julie, it seemed more like we were in California than West Texas.
Ever since I found some great golden retriever note cards at B&N years ago, I always check the card selection. It's usually good, diverse and eclectic.......like me! Anyway, I did spy a whole rack of very interesting cards all with a Texas theme. The company that makes these has the regional market in mind, and I'm sure produces cards oriented towards each state's areas of interest. I bought four different cards and as you can see from the scan above these are geared towards the West Texas oil business. These are first rate folding note cards with quality art work, not post cards, although some of the cards were probably taken from old post cards such as the nostalgic "Vist Marfa" and "Jackalope" cards. The caption on the card at left says, "Instead of a gusher, Fire! Oil well explosion in West Texas". On the right the card reads, "One of the new gushers in the Odessa Oil Field".
If you're in Barnes and Nobles check these out....they're not cheap but you may find one that you can't live without. To view the huge array of Texas cards go to Found Image click on "Image Catalogue" and then select "Texas".
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Musings......
Sometimes I just wonder about different and strange things.
Before adding an RSS feed and thence signing on with a news aggregator service I was vaguely aware of the posting patterns of the bloggers that I regularly read. With the aggregator, which I check several times daily, I am now more in tune with how often people post new material. So I am always amazed that when I check updates Powerline always seems to have at least 6 or 7 new stories posted since the last time I checked, just hours previously. Don't these guys work? Don't they have families that require some attention when they're not working?
I know there are multiple contributors to Powerline, but really, these guys are attorneys. If I had hired them to do legal work for me and then saw them posting international news stories on their personal website every hour or so, I'd begin to wonder where my fees were going. Of course, I enjoy their work and they're free to do whatever they want...I was just wondering.
I've also been wondering what bottled Blueberry Juice tastes like. Grapes and most dark berries are very good anti-oxidants and I've been drinking much more grape juice lately in respect for my cardiac system. I recently spotted blueberry juice at the store.......I love blueberries. The price for the juice is rather high though, so I've passed it by. Until today. I saw that pomegranate-blueberry juice was half priced so I bought some. The verdict is.....it's wonderful. Not overpowering in the pomegranate department [as if I'd now what pomegranate juice tastes like anyway] and very sweet and mild. I'd recommend it. Make sure you get the sort that is mostly juice and not sugar and fillers. Bon appetite.
Sometimes I just wonder about different and strange things.
Before adding an RSS feed and thence signing on with a news aggregator service I was vaguely aware of the posting patterns of the bloggers that I regularly read. With the aggregator, which I check several times daily, I am now more in tune with how often people post new material. So I am always amazed that when I check updates Powerline always seems to have at least 6 or 7 new stories posted since the last time I checked, just hours previously. Don't these guys work? Don't they have families that require some attention when they're not working?
I know there are multiple contributors to Powerline, but really, these guys are attorneys. If I had hired them to do legal work for me and then saw them posting international news stories on their personal website every hour or so, I'd begin to wonder where my fees were going. Of course, I enjoy their work and they're free to do whatever they want...I was just wondering.
I've also been wondering what bottled Blueberry Juice tastes like. Grapes and most dark berries are very good anti-oxidants and I've been drinking much more grape juice lately in respect for my cardiac system. I recently spotted blueberry juice at the store.......I love blueberries. The price for the juice is rather high though, so I've passed it by. Until today. I saw that pomegranate-blueberry juice was half priced so I bought some. The verdict is.....it's wonderful. Not overpowering in the pomegranate department [as if I'd now what pomegranate juice tastes like anyway] and very sweet and mild. I'd recommend it. Make sure you get the sort that is mostly juice and not sugar and fillers. Bon appetite.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Where I've been.....
Once again Eric at The FireAnt Gazette has introduced me to an interesting little excercise, this time asking which states I've been to or resided in. I've been waiting for this one!
For purposes of "residing in" I have qualified this by locales in which I had an address for 2 months or over. Visiting, in all cases means actually boots on the ground....not just passing through an airport in that state.
bold The states I've been to, underline The states I've lived in and italicize the state I'm now in....physically not metaphorically!
Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C. /
Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.
Once again Eric at The FireAnt Gazette has introduced me to an interesting little excercise, this time asking which states I've been to or resided in. I've been waiting for this one!
For purposes of "residing in" I have qualified this by locales in which I had an address for 2 months or over. Visiting, in all cases means actually boots on the ground....not just passing through an airport in that state.
bold The states I've been to, underline The states I've lived in and italicize the state I'm now in....physically not metaphorically!
Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C. /
Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.
Monday, July 04, 2005
Happy Independence Day.....
We hope you are having a great July 4th. What better way to celebrate the meaning of America than by attending a Little League baseball game which we did this afternoon. Unfortunately Jack's All Star team did not play one of their better games and so now they were eliminated from the tournament, but a good time and great season was had by all.
We hope you are having a great July 4th. What better way to celebrate the meaning of America than by attending a Little League baseball game which we did this afternoon. Unfortunately Jack's All Star team did not play one of their better games and so now they were eliminated from the tournament, but a good time and great season was had by all.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Chaparral Update....
It's always exciting for me to visit the Chaparral Racing garages on the southside of town. I took my partner Del Sloan out today for his first visit and he, like me, was in hog heaven. The purpose of my visit was to see my friend Jim Edwards who runs Chaparral Racing for Jim Hall and who tends to the cars. Since I posted my Chaparral Racing website last year I receive a fairly constant flow of emails wanting to know more about the cars....or like the mail I received last week, wanting to know about visiting the offices and garages. I needed to ask Jim about a tour group from Dallas who wanted an upclose tour of the shops.
Most of the famous Chaparral's are in the Petroleum Museum's exhibit, but as you can see from the photo above there are still some significant cars from Hall's personal collection that reside in the garage area at Rattlesnake Raceway. The yellow Pennzoil Indy car was the one that Gil de Ferran drove for Chaparral, while the green car in front of it is an early 60's Lotus Formula I racer. Jim Edwards is leaning on the blue prototype that was developed by Chevrolet to be tested by Hall at Chaparral. Jim also has many what I would term, antique, vehicles as seen in the rear.
As we visited, Jim Edwards told me the interesting news that Jim Hall was developing a reproduction Chaparral 2E to be sold to the public....price to be determined. Now you too can race a little piece of history. And more news about a new Indy League racing team is brewing with Jim he may be looking for partners if you are interested!
It's always exciting for me to visit the Chaparral Racing garages on the southside of town. I took my partner Del Sloan out today for his first visit and he, like me, was in hog heaven. The purpose of my visit was to see my friend Jim Edwards who runs Chaparral Racing for Jim Hall and who tends to the cars. Since I posted my Chaparral Racing website last year I receive a fairly constant flow of emails wanting to know more about the cars....or like the mail I received last week, wanting to know about visiting the offices and garages. I needed to ask Jim about a tour group from Dallas who wanted an upclose tour of the shops.
Most of the famous Chaparral's are in the Petroleum Museum's exhibit, but as you can see from the photo above there are still some significant cars from Hall's personal collection that reside in the garage area at Rattlesnake Raceway. The yellow Pennzoil Indy car was the one that Gil de Ferran drove for Chaparral, while the green car in front of it is an early 60's Lotus Formula I racer. Jim Edwards is leaning on the blue prototype that was developed by Chevrolet to be tested by Hall at Chaparral. Jim also has many what I would term, antique, vehicles as seen in the rear.
As we visited, Jim Edwards told me the interesting news that Jim Hall was developing a reproduction Chaparral 2E to be sold to the public....price to be determined. Now you too can race a little piece of history. And more news about a new Indy League racing team is brewing with Jim he may be looking for partners if you are interested!
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Blog Survey...
Because my brother attended this fine institution and following the lead of noted social scientist and web developer Eric at The FireAnt Gazette, I have taken the MIT Blog Survey. Are you man or woman enough to do the same?
Because my brother attended this fine institution and following the lead of noted social scientist and web developer Eric at The FireAnt Gazette, I have taken the MIT Blog Survey. Are you man or woman enough to do the same?
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Ya just gotta' laugh...
I had to laugh at the conversation at the estate today. What else can you do?
I had been working in the yard all morning wearing my gardening shoes. These are the expensive $5.98 slip on models from Albertson's that I can hose off before coming into the house.
As I finished up the yard and was returning to the bedroom to deposit my shoes, the Bride spied me. The conversation went thusly.......
Bride: "Go take those shoes outside, they're wet and they stink"!
Me: "Well I hosed them off and anyway you're not the boss of me"!
Bride: "I most certainly am too"
I took the shoes outside as I had no rejoinder for her assertion.
I had to laugh at the conversation at the estate today. What else can you do?
I had been working in the yard all morning wearing my gardening shoes. These are the expensive $5.98 slip on models from Albertson's that I can hose off before coming into the house.
As I finished up the yard and was returning to the bedroom to deposit my shoes, the Bride spied me. The conversation went thusly.......
Bride: "Go take those shoes outside, they're wet and they stink"!
Me: "Well I hosed them off and anyway you're not the boss of me"!
Bride: "I most certainly am too"
I took the shoes outside as I had no rejoinder for her assertion.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Update.....
Short update at that. My Dad has been in the hospital for one week today and we're hopeful he'll be getting out this afternoon. Out meaning, again hopefully, out to rehab. He was weak when he entered Midland Memorial last Friday and lying around down there hasn't helped, so a few days working on rehabilitating his strength seems to me to be in order.
And don't forget, if you're home tonight, to watch my good buddy Joe Galloway on The History Channel's, Mail Call with R. Lee. Ermey. The show is scheduled at 9 o'clock p.m. Central Standard Time.
Short update at that. My Dad has been in the hospital for one week today and we're hopeful he'll be getting out this afternoon. Out meaning, again hopefully, out to rehab. He was weak when he entered Midland Memorial last Friday and lying around down there hasn't helped, so a few days working on rehabilitating his strength seems to me to be in order.
And don't forget, if you're home tonight, to watch my good buddy Joe Galloway on The History Channel's, Mail Call with R. Lee. Ermey. The show is scheduled at 9 o'clock p.m. Central Standard Time.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Other Matters.....
Posts have been few and far between here at the Blog. Not that I haven't had the time, it just that my mind has been otherwise occupied. My Dad has been in the hospital since last Friday.
A lifetime of smoking has left it's mark on him. Not that he hasn't had troubles in the last decade because of this, but as he approacheds his 83rd birthday, each bout of respiratory troubles becomes more serious. He has had troubles breathing before but last Friday it worried even him, so we decided that a stay in the hospital was the prudent course of action, to see if we couldn't reduce the fluid in his lungs and to have him get some rest. There has been some progress and the plan is for him to go home tomorrow.
An interesting coincidence concerning my Dad and his WWII service occured during this time, which, in a strange way made us both feel a little better. Some time ago I made mention of my Dad's war record and the fact that he had served in the 45th Infantry Division in Italy. Earlier this week I received an email from a local newsman who reads this journal. He said that he had seen the reference to the 45th Division and that his Dad had served in the 45th also, with "K" Company in the 179th Battalion. My Dad served in "A" Company of the 179th. A small world. Serving in the same battalion is quite a coincidence.
My most interesting blog update has actually been elsewhere, at Neo-Neocon where I helped fill in some details about the Bush family and their "mansions" in Midland. An interesting take from a former liberal!
Posts have been few and far between here at the Blog. Not that I haven't had the time, it just that my mind has been otherwise occupied. My Dad has been in the hospital since last Friday.
A lifetime of smoking has left it's mark on him. Not that he hasn't had troubles in the last decade because of this, but as he approacheds his 83rd birthday, each bout of respiratory troubles becomes more serious. He has had troubles breathing before but last Friday it worried even him, so we decided that a stay in the hospital was the prudent course of action, to see if we couldn't reduce the fluid in his lungs and to have him get some rest. There has been some progress and the plan is for him to go home tomorrow.
An interesting coincidence concerning my Dad and his WWII service occured during this time, which, in a strange way made us both feel a little better. Some time ago I made mention of my Dad's war record and the fact that he had served in the 45th Infantry Division in Italy. Earlier this week I received an email from a local newsman who reads this journal. He said that he had seen the reference to the 45th Division and that his Dad had served in the 45th also, with "K" Company in the 179th Battalion. My Dad served in "A" Company of the 179th. A small world. Serving in the same battalion is quite a coincidence.
My most interesting blog update has actually been elsewhere, at Neo-Neocon where I helped fill in some details about the Bush family and their "mansions" in Midland. An interesting take from a former liberal!
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Race Day.....
A big race weekend for me with some amazing stories.
First, from Saturday morning until Sunday morning was the 24 hours of LeMans. One of my favorite races, it involves all manner of sports cars in several classes from the unrestricted custom built racers dominated by Audi variants through Corvettes, Porches, Panoz and this year great runs by Aston Martins. The big news was that an American team won the overall trophy for the first time since 1967. That fact stunned me. No American team has won in the 38 years since Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt did so driving a Ford GT40. Fairly amazing really. 38 years ago, our own Chaparrals were running at LeMans.
The second and more remarkable story was the complete snafu of the American Formula One Gran Prix at Indianapolis. If you didn't catch the race, what was left of it, or haven't heard it was a complete bust. Only hours before the race was to begin, one of the two tire suppliers, Michelin, announced that the racing tires they supplied to most of the field were unsafe. A point highlighted by the crashes of several drivers at the high speed turn 13 during practice.
As controversy swirled, Michelin offered to supply new tires, the Indy race committee offered to modify the track to slow down traffic at turn 13 and the Michelin equiped teams said that they would not allow their drivers to compete unless the safety of their drivers could be insured. The Formula One Administration held firm to their rules that no new tires could be supplied and that the track could not be altered at the last minute. The outcome was that only the 6 cars supplied with Bridgestone tires started the race. The finishing order was a foregone conclusion as two of the six starters, the Ferrari's, were top contenders and the other four cars had been finishing at the rear of the ranks all year. And so it was.
The whole event was a fiaso and will not bode well for future Formula One events in the United States. It was a sad day for drivers, teams, Formula One in general and for the fans in particular.
A big race weekend for me with some amazing stories.
First, from Saturday morning until Sunday morning was the 24 hours of LeMans. One of my favorite races, it involves all manner of sports cars in several classes from the unrestricted custom built racers dominated by Audi variants through Corvettes, Porches, Panoz and this year great runs by Aston Martins. The big news was that an American team won the overall trophy for the first time since 1967. That fact stunned me. No American team has won in the 38 years since Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt did so driving a Ford GT40. Fairly amazing really. 38 years ago, our own Chaparrals were running at LeMans.
The second and more remarkable story was the complete snafu of the American Formula One Gran Prix at Indianapolis. If you didn't catch the race, what was left of it, or haven't heard it was a complete bust. Only hours before the race was to begin, one of the two tire suppliers, Michelin, announced that the racing tires they supplied to most of the field were unsafe. A point highlighted by the crashes of several drivers at the high speed turn 13 during practice.
As controversy swirled, Michelin offered to supply new tires, the Indy race committee offered to modify the track to slow down traffic at turn 13 and the Michelin equiped teams said that they would not allow their drivers to compete unless the safety of their drivers could be insured. The Formula One Administration held firm to their rules that no new tires could be supplied and that the track could not be altered at the last minute. The outcome was that only the 6 cars supplied with Bridgestone tires started the race. The finishing order was a foregone conclusion as two of the six starters, the Ferrari's, were top contenders and the other four cars had been finishing at the rear of the ranks all year. And so it was.
The whole event was a fiaso and will not bode well for future Formula One events in the United States. It was a sad day for drivers, teams, Formula One in general and for the fans in particular.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Bookish.....
Here's a revealing little exercise I've received from Neo-NeoCon and the Red Falcon. It involves, as you can see, books.
1) Total number of books I own:
This is very difficult and if I knew I'd tell you, but my books are scattered all over creation. They are in seperate bookcases, shelves and warehouse units. I have books from my childhood, from college courses and all stages of adulthood. If I had to wager a guess on the total number of books I own, it would be over 600. I have gotten rid of at least that many.
2) Last book I bought:
My best guess is that I last bought a bundle of T.R. Fehrenbach's books several years ago when Julie and I went to San Antonio and had the chance to spend a morning with T.R. We took copies of "Lone Star", "This Kind of War" and "Comanches". T.R. was kind enough to autgraph them all for us.
3) Last book I read:
I know this one without doubt. I just this week, finally, finished Gene Cernan's "Last Man on the Moon". A great story of his personal life as an astronaut and the early space program. Gene autographed it for me.....through my brother.
4) Five books with notable influence on me:
a] "We Were Soldiers Once....and Young" by Joe Galloway and Hal Moore-- a big influence since I ended up becoming great friends with the author and many of the key characters in the book. Autographed by authors and numerous characters.
b] "Comanches" by T.R. Fehrenbach-- a great, detailed history of the region I live in. I have an autographed copy.
c] "Son of the Morning Star" by Evan S. Connell-- a great story told in an almost mystical manner.
d] "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien-- This would be on my list if it only contained the first chapter, the description of the things they carried. Some of the best prose ever written. Another autographed copy.
e] "A Rumor of War" by Phil Caputo-- A vivid personal journey of one young man's war in Vietnam. Autographed volume.
5) Five people to hand this meme off to:
The usual cast of characters mostly with a local flavor, some of which may have already been thru this bookish exercise. They can simply note the archive link!
Julie aka The Bride
George at Sleepless in Midland
Eric at the Fireant Gazette
Jimmy at Sticky Door Knobs
Lisa, far away at A Broad from Abroad
Here's a revealing little exercise I've received from Neo-NeoCon and the Red Falcon. It involves, as you can see, books.
1) Total number of books I own:
This is very difficult and if I knew I'd tell you, but my books are scattered all over creation. They are in seperate bookcases, shelves and warehouse units. I have books from my childhood, from college courses and all stages of adulthood. If I had to wager a guess on the total number of books I own, it would be over 600. I have gotten rid of at least that many.
2) Last book I bought:
My best guess is that I last bought a bundle of T.R. Fehrenbach's books several years ago when Julie and I went to San Antonio and had the chance to spend a morning with T.R. We took copies of "Lone Star", "This Kind of War" and "Comanches". T.R. was kind enough to autgraph them all for us.
3) Last book I read:
I know this one without doubt. I just this week, finally, finished Gene Cernan's "Last Man on the Moon". A great story of his personal life as an astronaut and the early space program. Gene autographed it for me.....through my brother.
4) Five books with notable influence on me:
a] "We Were Soldiers Once....and Young" by Joe Galloway and Hal Moore-- a big influence since I ended up becoming great friends with the author and many of the key characters in the book. Autographed by authors and numerous characters.
b] "Comanches" by T.R. Fehrenbach-- a great, detailed history of the region I live in. I have an autographed copy.
c] "Son of the Morning Star" by Evan S. Connell-- a great story told in an almost mystical manner.
d] "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien-- This would be on my list if it only contained the first chapter, the description of the things they carried. Some of the best prose ever written. Another autographed copy.
e] "A Rumor of War" by Phil Caputo-- A vivid personal journey of one young man's war in Vietnam. Autographed volume.
5) Five people to hand this meme off to:
The usual cast of characters mostly with a local flavor, some of which may have already been thru this bookish exercise. They can simply note the archive link!
Julie aka The Bride
George at Sleepless in Midland
Eric at the Fireant Gazette
Jimmy at Sticky Door Knobs
Lisa, far away at A Broad from Abroad
Friday, June 17, 2005
Friday Night....
Here I sit at my computer while the Bride sits 5 feet away at her's, the time made more cheery by the newly purchased Classic Moody Blues CD. "Once upon a time" is the track playing right now. I like the Moody's especially the very early tunes that really sound like a different band than what the MB's ended up being. The bride bought this Moody's CD and another "best of" album tonight, The Best of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. TJB hits stretching back to 1964, thru the easy listening 60's, a few from the 1970's and then a selection of Herb's hits from the era I call, "Disco Herb". Actually some of these are quite good, like "Rise" and although Alpert was obviously playing to the disco pop crowd of the time, these are more than just disco mania. More jazzy and just very artistic.
The Bride purchased these CD's on our stop at Best Buy after dinner. At Best Buy we ran into blogger Jimmy Patterson. It was rather coincidental that after having spent Monday with two of the other active Bloggers in Midland, I had the chance to chat with a third on Friday. The meeting gave us a chance to talk about our defective, but hopefully mending hearts, and for Jimmy to update me on the idea that several of us will be blogging for the newspaper online soon.
All of this took place after Julie and I had a romantic dinner for two at a local eatery of some fame, Chez IHOP. We hadn't been to the IHOP in quite some time, and after having been to all of our favorite restaurants recently we decided that a pancake supper was in order. I had been gone from IHOP all too long I suppose for I discovered, with both joy and regret, that I now qualify for the Senior Citizens "Early Bird" Special, a free entree with any entree purchased between 3 and 6 p.m. I might add that the age at which the IHOP defines a "Senior Citizen" is ridiculously low. Somewhere Jerry Seinfeld is laughing.
Here I sit at my computer while the Bride sits 5 feet away at her's, the time made more cheery by the newly purchased Classic Moody Blues CD. "Once upon a time" is the track playing right now. I like the Moody's especially the very early tunes that really sound like a different band than what the MB's ended up being. The bride bought this Moody's CD and another "best of" album tonight, The Best of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. TJB hits stretching back to 1964, thru the easy listening 60's, a few from the 1970's and then a selection of Herb's hits from the era I call, "Disco Herb". Actually some of these are quite good, like "Rise" and although Alpert was obviously playing to the disco pop crowd of the time, these are more than just disco mania. More jazzy and just very artistic.
The Bride purchased these CD's on our stop at Best Buy after dinner. At Best Buy we ran into blogger Jimmy Patterson. It was rather coincidental that after having spent Monday with two of the other active Bloggers in Midland, I had the chance to chat with a third on Friday. The meeting gave us a chance to talk about our defective, but hopefully mending hearts, and for Jimmy to update me on the idea that several of us will be blogging for the newspaper online soon.
All of this took place after Julie and I had a romantic dinner for two at a local eatery of some fame, Chez IHOP. We hadn't been to the IHOP in quite some time, and after having been to all of our favorite restaurants recently we decided that a pancake supper was in order. I had been gone from IHOP all too long I suppose for I discovered, with both joy and regret, that I now qualify for the Senior Citizens "Early Bird" Special, a free entree with any entree purchased between 3 and 6 p.m. I might add that the age at which the IHOP defines a "Senior Citizen" is ridiculously low. Somewhere Jerry Seinfeld is laughing.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Imaging....
I love photography and I think I'm most happy when taking new images, reviewing and reworking old images of mine, or as now, helping other people with images for their use. Three projects undertaken in the last several days. Most recently I've begun to work thru the shots Julie took on her recent trip to London and Paris. We have downloaded her digital shots and I've put a few of them up at our London Images website. More will be posted in the next several days, as she captured most of her images on 35 mm. cameras. Scanning and posting of those is coming.
Last night I got one of those "emails out of the blue" that happens when you have many photographs catalogued on the web. I received a request from a young man in Oregon who wants to use several of my Chaparral Racing photos on a website he is developing for a major game, Gran Turismo 4, played on PlayStation2. It just so happens that I have the GT-3 version of this racing game and he flattered me by saying I had the best Chaparral pictures on the web...so I OK'ed his usage of my images for free. It didn't hurt that he also has just gotten out of the army!
The third project is another one of those very interesting ones that I get to do through my good friend, author Joe Galloway. Last week I received an email from the producer of Mail Call, with Gunny R. Lee Ermey on The History Channel. Joe will be appearing on Mail Call to talk about the battles of the 1st Cavalry Division in the Ia Drang Valley, Vietnam in 1965. To go with his, and others, distinguised oratory they needed pictures. Since I handle many of Joe's digital image files, it was my pleasure to get the photos to the producers at Digital Ranch Productions. The episode will air June 24th at 9 p.m.
I love photography and I think I'm most happy when taking new images, reviewing and reworking old images of mine, or as now, helping other people with images for their use. Three projects undertaken in the last several days. Most recently I've begun to work thru the shots Julie took on her recent trip to London and Paris. We have downloaded her digital shots and I've put a few of them up at our London Images website. More will be posted in the next several days, as she captured most of her images on 35 mm. cameras. Scanning and posting of those is coming.
Last night I got one of those "emails out of the blue" that happens when you have many photographs catalogued on the web. I received a request from a young man in Oregon who wants to use several of my Chaparral Racing photos on a website he is developing for a major game, Gran Turismo 4, played on PlayStation2. It just so happens that I have the GT-3 version of this racing game and he flattered me by saying I had the best Chaparral pictures on the web...so I OK'ed his usage of my images for free. It didn't hurt that he also has just gotten out of the army!
The third project is another one of those very interesting ones that I get to do through my good friend, author Joe Galloway. Last week I received an email from the producer of Mail Call, with Gunny R. Lee Ermey on The History Channel. Joe will be appearing on Mail Call to talk about the battles of the 1st Cavalry Division in the Ia Drang Valley, Vietnam in 1965. To go with his, and others, distinguised oratory they needed pictures. Since I handle many of Joe's digital image files, it was my pleasure to get the photos to the producers at Digital Ranch Productions. The episode will air June 24th at 9 p.m.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Bloggers....
Two "old pro" bloggers, Eric Siegmund [C] and Wallace Craig [R], get together with a rising star of the blogosphere, Burr Williams [L], to discuss a new website for Burr's organization the Sibley Nature Center. To my knowledge this is the first group photo of Midland bloggers. Burr has only recently started blogging but already has a good base of support at his interesting and colorful journal, El Llanero. The website that we discussed will be interactive and full of more useful information about West Texas.
Two "old pro" bloggers, Eric Siegmund [C] and Wallace Craig [R], get together with a rising star of the blogosphere, Burr Williams [L], to discuss a new website for Burr's organization the Sibley Nature Center. To my knowledge this is the first group photo of Midland bloggers. Burr has only recently started blogging but already has a good base of support at his interesting and colorful journal, El Llanero. The website that we discussed will be interactive and full of more useful information about West Texas.
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