Mrs. Davis (TV 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Mrs. Davis (TV 2023): Sci-fi action mystery parody. Godlike AI brings happiness to all; sends Sister Simone, wife of restaurant-owning Jesus, on quest for the Holy Grail (winkingly called “the most overused MacGuffin ever”). Bonkers, but it all makes sense by the end. B+

Random Thoughts: Time for a New General Manager

2023-05-02: Headline: "2023 NFL Draft team-by-team grades: Eagles, Steelers and Lions clean up; Cowboys, Patriots among worst marks."
Time for a new general manager. Amiright???

2023-05-03: UT-Dallas is an asset for Richardson that the City should leverage.
"Allegro officials cited the number of other technology companies in the area and the talent pipeline created by The University of Texas at Dallas as reasons for expanding to the city."

2023-05-03: The cost of Brexit to Great Britain:
"By 2024, the average British household will likely have a lower living standard than the average household in Slovenia. On present trends, the average British household will be poorer than the average in Poland by 2030."

The Costs of Brexit Are Undeniable Now - The Atlantic

2023-05-08: You know, back in my day, someone who seemed to be obsessed with guns was looked at suspiciously and often reported to police. Today, such a person is considered by many to be just another patriotic American.

One Argument Against Electric Vehicles

I'm feeling optimistic today. I know, my style here usually leans towards the negative, so regular readers who did a spit-take with their morning coffee just now are forgiven. But, this morning I'm believing in American ingenuity, in American can-do spirit, in an expression attributed to Winston Churchill, "Americans will always do the right thing, after they have tried everything else." What am I optimistic about today? Electric vehicles.

Team Parking or Team Health Care

The City of Richardson will be taking up the City's outdated Comprehensive Plan in this next City Council term. It will be a heavy lift. Not everyone even agrees on what the action item encompasses. Will it just be an exercise of refreshing the map that shows where in Richardson single family homes are allowed, and offices, and shops, and parks? Or does it include related things like whether homeowners are allowed to add an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to their property? Or whether the minimum number of parking spaces buildings are required to have should be relaxed or eliminated altogether?

City government resists change. It's in their nature. I'm expecting Mayor Dubey to align with the institutional interests and narrowly draw the boundary of what's open for review. I'm hoping that there will be pushback from the new City Council to get the boundary drawn expansively. Updating the Comprehensive Plan to allow a broader mix of uses is useless if they leave in place other regulations and building codes that deter such uses. A push for broad change is bound to meet resistance. Some people are passionate about the status quo.

Air (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Air (2023): Starts as pure 1980s nostalgia, becomes a standard sports movie, where the sport is brand marketing, finishes as a movie championing economic justice for athletes. The audience manipulation is visible throughout, but I couldn't help but be won over regardless. B+