WAIW: Traffic Stopper

Where Am I Wednesday!

Fifty points to the first person to identify where this photo was taken.

America's "Third Places"

It's odd how something that you notice for the first time suddenly seems to be everywhere. How did I ever miss it? One example is the word "chocolaty". I noticed the package for Girl Scout Tagalongs® cookies (by the way, the best Girl Scout cookie) describes them as "Crispy cookies layered with peanut butter and covered with a chocolaty coating." I wondered why they didn't say "chocolate coating". Looking at the ingredients, I realized the answer is because the cookies don't contain any chocolate. They use various chemicals that taste "chocolaty." Once I was aware of this, I now see "chocolaty" on lots of products that I previously would have called "chocolate."

Likewise, I had never heard the term "third place" until a week ago. (Actually I had, but it had a different meaning. I'll get to that in a postscript). Then I heard "third place" three times in a week.

My Thoughts on the Recent Election

The Wheel followed seven contests in the local elections this year. All were settled on election night with no runoffs. Of the seven, voters' choices matched my recommendations in four of the races. I take no satisfaction in that's a majority. I think it's more an indication that voters and I are on slightly different wavelengths. Oh well. On to my first impressions of the results.

CoR and RISD Election Results

Final unofficial election results for the contests The Wheel was following this year for City of Richardson and Richardson ISD.

I'll have thoughts about this in the blog tomorrow.

POTD: Madrid's Plaza Mayor

From 2022 10 19 Madrid

This photo-of-the-day is from Plaza Mayor in Madrid, Spain. According to Google, "Cafes & restaurants line the arches of this stately square with Philip III's statue in the center." It's a great place to start exploring Madrid in any direction.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

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Looking out from Plaza Mayor through one of the square's arched entrances towards the streets of old Madrid.

From 2022 10 19 Madrid

POTD: The Land of Flamenco

From 2022 10 19 Madrid

The first photo-of-the-day from another odyssey is from Madrid, Spain, the home of flamenco. According to Smithsonian Magazine, "the world outside Spain often stereotypes the nation as inhabited by flamenco dancers, singers, and guitar players...Inside Spain, however, the relationship between the flamenco art form and Spanish national identity has been fraught for more than a century." But forget that for an evening, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music.

Bonus video after the jump.

Morris Ice House Gets Respect from Google

In May of 2019, when I first wrote about the Morris Ice House in old downtown Richardson, now called the "CORE" (you know, like New York has the "Big Apple", Richardson has the "Core"), I noticed that on Google Maps, the Morris Ice House was labeled "Rinky Dinky Building." Offended, I immediately submitted a correction to Google Maps. Of course, I was ignored. (Remember, our motto here is "Not Being Listened to Since 2006.") Or so I thought.

8-Day Campaign Finance Reports for RISD

Candidates for Richardson ISD Board of Trustees have filed 8-Day Campaign Finance Reports. Here are the totals for the 30-Day Reports and the 8-Day Reports, ranked by the combined totals.

Total Political Contributions

Eric Eager	Place 6	$2,484.14	$1,886.09
Debbie Renteria	District 3	$2,226.43	$1,943.40
Blake Sawyer	Place 6	$1,967.37	$573.00
Bonnie Abadie	District 3	$1,205.00	$650.00

8-Day Campaign Finance Reports for City Council

Candidates for Richardson City Council have filed 8-Day Campaign Finance Reports. Here are the totals for the 30-Day Reports and the 8-Day Reports, ranked by the combined totals.

Political Contributions

		30-Day	8-Day
Bob Dubey	Mayor	$21,697.55	$3,387.10
Dan Barrios	Place 3	$14,629.56	$8,481.69
Janet DePuy	Mayor	$11,350.00	$7,515.00
Ken Hutchenrider	Place 5	$3,915.00	$11,515.00
Curtis Dorian	Place 1	$10,401.00	$2,050.00
Stephen Springs	Place 3	$6,875.00	$5,260.00
Todd Hunter	Place 5	$1,961.70	$3,386.15
G. Scott Waddell	Place 1	$3,755.00	$700.00

Random Thoughts: Jeff Leach Had It Coming

2023-04-02: Jeff Leach had it coming:
"Texas GOP lawmaker is tricked into reading dirty names during committee meeting."

2023-04-07: "On a vote of 86-52 the Texas House adopts amendment to ban school vouchers."
Richardson's representative, Angie Chen Button, who campaigns on a message of supporting public schools, votes to support vouchers.