No Room at the Inn in Richardson

NIMBYism rears its head again. The latest manifestation of this all too common human weakness is over group homes for people recovering from chemical dependency.

There are 22 such group homes in Richardson. Does the number surprise you? Perhaps that's because nothing much is going on in these homes that affects the rest of the neighborhood, at least not in a bad way. As Richardson Police Chief Jim Spivey told The Dallas Morning News, group homes "generate no more calls than single-family residences." One could argue that supporting recovering alcoholics affects the neighborhood and the whole community in a good way, but that's not how NIMBYism works.

After the jump, why this is an issue now.

Fruitvale Station (2013)

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Fruitvale Station (2013): Unarmed black man shot by cop. Based on a true story, but politics aside, it's the drama that's compelling. A-

Dead Man (1995)

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Dead Man (1995): Early Johnny Depp as William Blake on the run in the Old West. Quirky as all get out. Everyone is stranger than Depp. B+

Nonstop Love Surprisingly Unpleasant

Source: Dallas Morning News.

The parking garages at Love Field were filled up on Thanksgiving Day. Even the remote overflow lots were full. Why should this be? After the jump, really, why should this be?!?

Poetry (2010)

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Poetry (2010): Korean grandmother struggles with poetry as her life falls apart. Quiet desperation with dignity. Moving. With justice. B-

All the Debt We Can Carry

Everyone knows the federal budget deficit is large and getting larger all the time. It's out of control, right? Well, what everyone knows and what's the truth sometimes bear little resemblance to one another. In fact, the federal budget deficit has been plunging in recent years, falling from nearly 10 percent of G.D.P. in 2009 to less than 3 percent in 2014, below the average experienced over the past 40 years. So much for what everyone knows.

Let's bring the discussion closer to home. What about the situation in the City of Richardson? After the jump, a look at what our community owes.

Somm (2012)

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Somm (2012): Quest to pass the Master Sommelier exam (in Dallas) that almost everyone fails. I'll never make fun of wine tasters again. B-

OTBR: The Devil's Bread in the Czech Republic

Latitude: N 49° 06.066
Longitude: E 015° 13.356

A child on a road trip with his family asks, "Where are we?" and the father answers, "Let's check the map. We're off the blue roads [the Interstate Highways marked in blue on the road atlas]. We're off the red roads [the US and state highways]. We're off the black roads [the county highways]. I think we're off the map altogether." It was always my dream to be off the map altogether.

After the jump, a few of the random places (and I mean random literally) that I visited vicariously last month that are "off the blue roads".

Columbia River Gorge

From 2014 11 08 Columbia Gorge

I knew the Columbia was a major river between Oregon and Washington. I knew gorge meant canyon, but probably smaller. That's really all I knew of the Columbia River Gorge. Planning to visit Portland, I Googled it. That turned up some photos, pretty but nothing a must-see. Or so I thought. Then I visited. Seeing the Columbia River Gorge in person is so much better than the pictures. The Historic Columbia River Highway threads through forests and around cliffs and past waterfalls. The 620-foot high Multnomah Falls is spectacular. So, in short, yes, the Columbia River Gorge is a must-see.

More photos after the jump.

Repeat Tweets: Stefani Carter Says Goodbye

Repeat tweets from November, 2014:

• Nov 2 2014: "I lost my seat, partly because my consultants encouraged me to run for higher office." Stefani Carter, taking ownership for poor decisions.
  
• Nov 10 2014: Shouldn't Dallas Morning News say somewhere that Richardson Real Heroes is a product of a political action committee? yourrichardson.dallasnews.com
  
• Nov 10 2014: "Are The Concerns About Water Fluoridation Legit?" Short answer: No. fivethirtyeight.com
  
• Nov 10 2014: Headline: "The Chicago Bears are dead. The Green Bay Packers killed them." Almost as satisfying as a Super Bowl win. ftw.usatoday.com
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.