Welcome Back, The Dallas Morning News

October 1. The government shut down. Obamacare exchanges opened for business. And The Dallas Morning News removed its paywall. "Its news content will once again be free to all web visitors." Once again I can read the bad news, the good news, all the news, in the News.

Long ago, I gave up my print subscription to The Dallas Morning News. And when the online product was locked behind a paywall, I largely gave up reading The Dallas Morning News online as well. I quit clicking on links to The Dallas Morning News stories because most of the time, I'd get the first paragraph, then a paywall notice telling me that the rest of the article was for paying customers only.

Now I can go back to clicking on links to The Dallas Morning News. That's good, right? After the jump, the downside of free.

Repeat Tweets: Time for Washington to Listen

Repeat tweets from Septemter, 2013:

• 1 Sep 2013: MT @SenTedCruz: "It's time for Washington to listen to the people!" Yeah, that 2012 Presidential election was like so 10 months ago. #wacko
  
• 2 Sep 2013: MT @SenTedCruz: "Right to vote is fundamental building block of our democratic process." Making it easier to buy guns than to vote is #wacko
  
• 2 Sep 2013: Headline: "CBS, Time Warner Cable Agreement Reached." w00t! I've been having withdrawal symptoms without @CraigyFerg. www.huffingtonpost.com
  
• 5 Sep 2013: The Butler (2013): Civil rights movement seen through prism of White House black butler's family. Works as both history & drama. Moving. A+
  
• 5 Sep 2013: The Master (2012): Acting A+. Depiction of mentality behind cults B+. Overall, empty and depressing. Characters, scenes don't connect. C+
  
• 5 Sep 2013: MT @SenTedCruz: "Voter ID protects election integrity. Despite AG Holder's claims, in GA minority turnout INCREASED." Minorities are pissed.
  
• 5 Sep 2013: Amour (2012): Elderly man cares for his invalid wife. What do you do when nothing can be done? Heartbreaking. Oscar-worthy performances. B+
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Breaking Bad

Source: Breaking Bad.

No spoilers here. :-)

This blog post is not for Breaking Bad fans. It's for those who missed out. Maybe because a story about dying of cancer and cooking meth and dealing with drug gangs sounds like nothing you'd ever like. Or maybe because you didn't hear of this television series until season 2 or 3 and felt it's too hard to catch up. Maybe you didn't hear of it until a week ago when it won the Emmy for best drama, only a week before the series finale aired.

After the jump, it's never too late.

Who Is The Council Dealing With Now?

The Richardson City Council has a full plate on its September 30 meeting agenda, most of which will be conducted out of sight of the public.

In compliance with Section 551.087(1) and (2) of the Texas Government Code, Council will convene into a closed session to discuss the following:

• Deliberation Regarding Economic Development Negotiations
  
  • Commercial Development -- President George Bush Turnpike/Plano Rd., U.S. 75/Campbell Rd., and Collins Blvd./International Pkwy. Areas
    

Source: City of Richardson.

After the jump, let's speculate on what's going on.

Rivalry Week: Lake Highlands 55, Berkner 21

From 2013 09 27 Lake Highlands vs Berkner

Each year, the two high schools that share the football stadium at Lake Highlands High School face off against each other in a rivalry game. In this year's game, Friday night, the Lake Highlands Wildcats prevailed over the Berkner Rams, 55-21. Berkner kept it close for a while, leading 14-13 early in the second quarter, but it was all Lake Highlands after that.

More photos after the jump.

S2L77: Tehran

From 1977 03 29 Iran

The symbol of Tehran is the Azadi Tower (Freedom Tower). Originally built by the Shah of Iran to honor the 2,500 years of Persian history, but mostly to honor his own place in that history, and called the King's Memorial Tower, the tower was renamed after the 1979 revolution.

Tehran itself, like Delhi, is appreciated differently depending on your approach. Fly in from Europe, and Tehran is likely to strike you as exotic and foreign. But arrive after traveling overland from Afghanistan and Tehran is the height of familiarity and modernity. At least that's what it felt like in 1977.

After the jump, my impressions of Tehran.

Why I Blog

Why do I blog? It's not for the money. Lord, no. It's not because I like to hear myself talk. Although I confess that I'm probably guilty of that. It's not because I think my writing is any good. I freely admit to living up to Theodore Sturgeon's adage that "90% of everything is crap." It's not to persuade people that I have the answers. I'm not dumb enough to believe people are in the habit of having their minds changed because of something they read on the Internet.

After the jump, so what is it?

Say Hello to a Call Center

I opened my (figurative) newspaper and was struck by a surprise: "Fobare starts Richardson's first spec building in a decade." The building is at 1225 Alma Rd, between Arapaho Rd and Collins Blvd. The surprise is the use the developer envisions for it. Not another data center, like what has rejuvenated much of the old Collins Radio site. Data centers are stuffed with computers, not employees. The developer says the new office building will be ideal for a call center. A call center is stuffed with people.

The building has eight parking spaces per 1,000 square feet, which is a rarity in office real estate, and makes it an ideal location for a call center or other office user with a need for a high parking ratio.

Source: Dallas Business Journal.

After the jump, what should I think of this?

Spring Creek Equinox

From 2013 09 22 Spring Creek Nature Area

The autumnal equinox this year occurred at 3:44 CDT on Sunday, September 22. In Richardson, it was a glorious, warm (not hot), sunny day. These photos were taken in the Spring Creek Nature Area on this first day of autumn.

More photos and a little bittersweet musing after the jump.

Off the Leash

It looks like Richardson may finally be getting that dog park that the city council summarily dismissed in the last term.

Some say the council supported a dog park all along. Some say that the council was only prevented from building a dog park because of neighborhood objections and because tea partiers (for lack of a better term) oppose funding it with borrowed money.

What some say is false.

After the jump, speculation on what's behind the turnaround.