OTBR: A Rainbow in Utah

Latitude: N 39° 20.946
Longitude: W 111° 55.656
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".

The Wheel's Voters Guide

Local: Vote for doing the right things. Vote against doing things the wrong way.

State: Vote for public schools, for health care, for water supplies, for women, for voting rights, for paying for government, for science and fact-based government.

Federal: Vote for jobs, for Medicare and Medicaid, for health care reform, for Social Security, for paying for government, for a carbon tax, for financial regulation, for civil rights, for the environment, for immigration reform, for Keynesian economics, for science and fact-based government.

Most importantly, vote, while they'll still let you. ;-)

Playoff Bound: Richardson 47, Berkner 35

From 2012 11 02 Richardson vs Berkner

In a game with playoff implications, the Richardson Eagles defeated the Berkner Rams 47-35 Friday night at Wildcat-Ram Stadium. With the win, Richardson secured the fourth and final playoff spot in District 9-5A, while the Rams will finish in fifth place.

The Mighty Ram Band put on their UIL competition show at halftime as a final warmup before heading to San Antonio for the state marching competition in the Alamodome on November 6. Good luck, band.

More photos after the jump.

S2L77: "Caught Smuggling"

Singapore is commonly described as a "fine city" -- you are fined for dozens of small offenses: jaywalking, chewing gum, carrying durian on public transport (that fine is well deserved), driving in forbidden zones without a permit.

Singapore is where I first encountered the idea of relieving traffic congestion by requiring drivers to purchase permits to drive in the central business district. What struck me in 1977 as novel and a little draconian, I now view as a sensible way to keep automobiles from clogging our cities. Maybe it's not surprising that it was the people of the "fine city" of Singapore who gave such a practical policy a chance to demonstrate its effectiveness.

From 1977 01 29 Singapore

"The Good-For-Nothing Rich Man's Son Caught Smuggling"

After the jump, a place that reveals the puritanism behind the "fine city."

Repeat Tweets: Election Edition

Repeat tweets from October, 2012:

• 1 Oct 2012: Libertarian candidate upset by treatment by WFAA. Complains to government for help. Can you say irony? http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2012/10/libertarian_senate_candidate_j_1.php
  
• 1 Oct 2012: Bring Up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell. Intrigue. Treachery. Smart dialog. Rich characters. A-
  
• 2 Oct 2012: Romney sounded like a moderate Dem. I wonder how his answers would have gone over at GOP primary debate.
  
• 3 Oct 2012: Romney's for good things in Obamacare, and good things in Wall St regulations, and against tax cuts. He's a closet Democrat!
  
• 3 Oct 2012: Romney promised tax rate cuts, no education cuts, bigger military, more Medicare spending, reduced deficits. But no plan how.
  
• 3 Oct 2012: My previous tweets focused on substance. But let's get real. Many people care only about style. Stylistically, Romney won.
  
• 3 Oct 2012: "I'm not going to say I've done a poor job." -- Jim Lehrer. Sadly, not the biggest lie told on that stage in debate full of them.
  
• 3 Oct 2012: "Richard Nixon is a no good, lying bastard. He can lie out of both sides of his mouth at the same time." -- Harry Truman. Listen up, Obama.
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.