5,171 Texas Poppies

"The Richland College 'Poppy Project' is one major component of the college's 2015 Arts Fest. The 5,171 poppies are symbolic of the 5,171 Texas veterans who died during World War I."
"The Blood of Heroes Never Dies"

POTD: Healthy Black Smile

From 2015 03 28 Hanoi

Today's photo-of-the-day is from a village west of Hanoi. It shows a Vietnamese woman with blackened teeth. The methods used to blacken teeth and the reasons for doing it are varied, so I won't try to explain the practice in general, but at least for this woman, it's both deliberate and a source of pride.

Are Richardson's Goals SMART?

There's a common philosophy in management that goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based. There's even an acronym for it: S.M.A.R.T.

Let's evaluate the "2015-2017 Goals" set by the Richardson City Council according to the S.M.A.R.T. standard. On second thought, let's not. You know, don't you, that they are going to come up short. And they do. Because the goals are pretty much the same as two years ago, let's just review what I wrote then, "The 'Wow Factor' of Richardson's Goals", when the city council of that time published its "2013-2015 Goals". Go ahead. Go off and reread it, then come back. I'll be here.

OTBR: Saguaro with a Helping Hand

Latitude: N 32° 40.848
Longitude: W 111° 11.736

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".

POTD: Hanoi Elder - II

From 2015 03 28 Hanoi

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Hanoi. It shows another Vietnamese elder at Thay Pagoda, one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Vietnam, dating back to the 11th century. He kindly served hot tea to us Western visitors. This temple is also the ancient home of water puppetry, which for centuries has been performed in a pavilion on a lake adjacent to the temple.

POTD: Hanoi Elder

From 2015 03 28 Hanoi

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Hanoi. It shows a Vietnamese elder at Thay Pagoda, one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Vietnam, dating back to the 11th century. He kindly served hot tea to us Western visitors. This temple is also the ancient home of water puppetry, which for centuries has been performed in a pavilion on a lake adjacent to the temple.

Seven Takeaways from the Charter Election

Richardson voters approved all 83 city charter amendments by wide margins. Here are seven takeaways from the election.

What's a Non-Traditional High School?

What's a non-traditional high school? Talk to three people and you'll probably get six different answers. One frequent answer is wrong. It's the one thing a non-traditional high school is not. So, before we get into Richardson ISD's decision to build a non-traditional high school, let's start by asking just what a non-traditional high school is and isn't.

Repeat Tweets: World's Top Research University

Repeat tweets from October, 2015:

• Oct 1 2015: "The world's top research university? It's Caltech -- again." That's good but US needs to invest more in research. latimes.com
• Oct 1 2015: What we're doing (following NRA's policy prescriptions) isn't working. It's time for a change.
• Oct 1 2015: "Rules Chairman Running for Whip: 'Process is Broken.'" That's @PeteSessions, hiding a hammer behind his back. myajc.com
• Oct 2 2015: Final. Mesquite 28, Lake Highlands 63. #txhsfb
• Oct 3 2015: @Rangers, I'm not getting back on your bandwagon until you get the third out in the ninth inning of the clinching game of the World Series.

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Richardson Charter Amendments - How to Vote

There's an election in Texas on Tuesday, November 3, 2015. Among other things, there are 83 propositions for amendments to the Richardson city charter. Some people want you to vote all "YES". Some want you to vote all "NO". I'm here to help you navigate between these all-or-nothing positions. You're welcome.