RISD TRE Information Meeting at BHS

The Richardson ISD held another of many information meetings about the upcoming Tax Ratification Election. The meeting was held at Berkner High School. I was there live-tweeting the show. What follows are my tweets, with only the most cursory proofreading. If I heard wrong or garbled what I heard, that's on me. Don't blame the RISD without checking your own sources first. Here, you get what you pay for.

Escaping the Poverty Trap

The story is from The New York Times. It's about Seattle...and Memphis and Minneapolis. But it could be about Dallas...and Richardson.

SEATTLE — The part of this city east of Northgate Mall looks like many of the neighborhoods that surround it, with its modest midcentury homes beneath dogwood and Douglas fir trees.

Whatever distinguishes this place is invisible from the street. But it appears that poor children who grow up here — to a greater degree than children living even a mile away — have good odds of escaping poverty over the course of their lives.

Believing this, officials in the Seattle Housing Authority are offering some families with housing vouchers extra rent money and help to find a home here.

Source: The New York Times.

After the jump, a look at Richardson.

POTD: The Not-So-Great Barrier Reef

From 2018 03 25 Cairns

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Unfortunately, it doesn't show the beautiful colors of the reef or its sea life. Sadly, due to global warming, that color and sea life is only a shadow of its former glory. I asked a guide how much of the reef at our particular spot was dead and was told, "about 70%." The reef stretches 1,400 miles and is composed of almost 3,000 individual reefs, so making sweeping generalizations after visiting just one particular spot of one particular reef is not indicative of what it's like everywhere, but word is it's not a pretty story, and it's only getting worse as ocean temperatures continue to rise. So, instead of treating you to a photo of the beautiful colors of the reef and its sea life, instead you get a photo of the beautiful colors of the snorklers who came to see the beautiful colors of the reef and almost certainly left disappointed. At least I did.

Trolling: "Beto Will Lose"

Trolling from September, 2018:

• Sep 3 2018: RT @Redistrict: "Prediction: after all the hype, Beto will lose the epic 2018 TX Senate race by 1%, then settle for the 2020 Dem presidential nomination as a consolation prize."
  1. Beto losing by 1% is a prediction right in the margin of error.
  2. Predicting 2020 ahead of the 2018 mid-terms is a crap shoot.
  3. Winning the 2020 Dem presidential nomination is hard to imagine if he loses.
• Sep 4 2018: Empower Texans. Remember the name. Anything published by Empower Texans is not done in good faith. Be on the watch for the billionaire.
• Sep 4 2018: Eat Pray Vote.

After the jump, more trolling.

Going in Style (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes

Going in Style (2017): Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin as seniors facing money problems who decide to rob a bank. Not an original line or scene in the movie, but these actors are still fun to watch. C+

POTD: Dot Painting in the Outback

From 2018 03 21 Alice Springs

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Ayers Rock Resort in the Australian Outback. It shows Ellen exhibiting her artistic skills making a dot painting. There's no souvenir finer than one you make yourself. It's not just a pretty painting. Ask her to explain her symbolism.

From 2018 03 21 Alice Springs

POTD: A Toast to Kata Tjuta

From 2018 03 21 Alice Springs

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Kata Tjuta (aka the Olgas), a rock formation near Australia's Uluru (aka Ayers Rock). Kata Tjuta is equally impressive but much less well known.

From 2018 03 21 Alice Springs

Ellen wearing a fly net

From 2018 03 21 Alice Springs

Reason why a fly net is desirable

POTD: Please Don't Climb Uluru

From 2018 03 21 Alice Springs

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Uluru (aka Ayer's Rock). It shows the track by which countless tourists have climbed to the top of the rock. Traditional owners have put up signs asking tourists to respect native law and culture by not climbing, but climbing is not outright prohibited...yet. The Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management has decided to close the climb to the top of Uluru on October 26, 2019. But don't rush to climb before that date. How about just respecting the local culture which holds Uluru sacred.

POTD: Uluru Up Close

From 2018 03 21 Alice Springs

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Uluru (aka Ayer's Rock). It's not the classic distance photo, which makes Uluru look like a big rock surrounded by desert. If you get up close to Uluru, the experience is different. There are stands of gum trees and glades with water holes and an altogether pleasant environment.

POTD: Field of Light Uluru

From 2018 03 21 Alice Springs

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Uluru (aka Ayer's Rock) at dawn. Uluru is forever. The "Field of Light" in the foreground is fleeting. It's a temporary exhibit by artist Bruce Munro. Its website says, "Overwhelming in size, covering more than seven football fields, it invites immersion in its fantasy garden of 50,000 spindles of light, the stems breathing and swaying through a sympathetic desert spectrum of ochre, deep violet, blue and gentle white." Its run has been extended until December 31, 2020.

Bonus photos after the jump.