The Mavs, other Dallas Sports, other thoughts with prelude thoughts towards the disaster scenarios

First of all the damn wine is out. The family had a good dinner and the better half and I opened a bottle of wine. Now it is gone. It is nice to share good food and a good bottle of wine, even if it is table wine. We have found a winery/brand of table wines both for red and white that we both like very well. Told the better half if we ever tour California wine country we need to make sure we drop by this vineyard. For now though the bottle is empty and it is time to go to bed for work Monday.

Got a text from a friend this evening I haven’t spoken to in a bit. Second time this week caught up with sports opinions from someone I haven’t heard from in a while. Always great to catch up. And with any major metropolis in the US there are tons of sports to talk about for the local teams.

The Mavs ticked me off this evening and in general lately. And this got me to thinking. There really isn’t a problem with the Mavs that consistency can solve. The real problem is they need time to gel and there are way too many free agent problems coming into play this summer for this consistency to happen. I hate it when the national press is right, but I am seeing some articles coming out from various sources that are correct. Cuban has hamstrung the Mavericks. They don’t have a team, too many changes from year to year and sooner or later this catches up to a team. What is unfortunate is the Mavericks have a great team right now. What they need is time. If the current team could play together for a year or two they definitely could win a championship. There is a host of great players and great role players that is needed to win a championship. You just can’t expect them to come together all of a sudden and it work out. I was hoping that would be the case, but the more I examine it the more I have to agree with the national press about being together is very important for this team. Can Cuban resign everybody and Dirk still play to the level he has played this year? If so, next year would be great, I think they will do well in the playoffs, but to win a championship would take too much luck; not because of the lack of talent, but because of the lack of cohesiveness.

I really like this team. As a Mavericks fan, my goodness this is great. Just think about the names on this team, and then think about the potential. There is no other team in the West that has this much ability. What is killing them is it was put together too late in the season. Give them the year and the motivation and wow. So let’s see. This could be one of those teams that history says “the team that could have been”. Just so damn frustrating to see this happen especially if they cannot come back together next year. Cuban has to sooner or later commit to developing a team or we will never see another championship. I definitely would like to see this team, as it stands, play well these playoffs, but also come back next year. This includes who we have in Dirk, Parsons, etc, but resign Ellis, Rondo, Chandler, and Amare’ and the rest of the bench. We still need: Jefferson, Charlie, Harris Aminu, etc. to round out our starters. There is so much possibility on this team it is frightening. Can we do it now, or can we pull it back next year and really do it? As a fan I am dying for the potential.

So Darvish is out. I like what Holland says that don’t count us out. There is still the rest of the team and they want to play. I am still focused on the Mavericks, but baseball is around the corner. Hopefully some of my friends and I can get out to the ballpark and enjoy a game or two. Too bad most of the people I know now are quite different from the mindset of crazies I grew up with, it makes it hard to have non-sports conversations. Too early to talk about the Cowboys. I still am having emotional issues being a fan of that team. And even though I am not a hockey fan, got to give some kudos to the Stars for fighting hard here at the end of the year. Let’s hope they can fight through and make the playoffs. I am such a homer I did stay up and watch the Stars win their Stanley cup what is now more than a few years ago and it was one hell of a late night that last game.

So after eating dinner, watching the Mavs lose, and talking to my friend I took the dogs out for their late night walk and started thinking. And I always hate when you have that train of thought that is far from a computer, typewriter, or even piece of paper and you have some good ideas and nowhere to write them down. It seems that is the case this evening. I was thinking about my promised post about the Middle East disaster scenario and had some good ideas, but by the time I got back the thought process was long gone.
I do know that a theme I constantly harp on in my thoughts and one I mention regularly is that we need better education. And this goes for around the planet also. Trying to tie that together for now that the Middle East is ripe with the problem of ignorance and poverty is difficult. This tied together with the manipulation of religious leaders over these same people suffering from this poverty and ignorance is why we have so many of the problems we have today. Islam is not the problem. The problem is God has been lost from Islam.

I know many atheists and agnostics feel they are more in Chic than being a Christian or believing in God. I am a believer and have stated this before that education will eventually prove God. Or at least awaken people to the realization we were created, that nothing about life is a fluke. And yes I know that people who profess to be agnostic or atheist will laugh, but I ask you to study how life came about and tell me this is all a fluke. And I also ask you to put aside this argument for now and realize that we who believe are struggling with another group who say they believe in one God going so far astray. It is not easy to watch a religion who states they believe in the same God you do, completely and utterly disavow our God in their actions.

And this goes for all levels of Islam, the terrorists to the so called moderates. I will work to write about this in more detail hopefully someday soon, but I cannot let a day go by any more without stating how much we are affected by their ignorance and by the people manipulating them.

The overall people of the Middle East have been lied to over the centuries by people who want to control them for their own benefit. This has been discussed by many Western writers, but until we come together in the Christian and Judean world we will have to live with this insanity. Islam is a religion that purports to believe in the same God as we do, but none of their actions over many centuries shows this to be true. If God is love and God has a purpose for us, then we should be able to come together. If you want to manipulate others to gain something for yourself then you have lost touch with God. And the development of wealth from oil over the last century has only exacerbated this problem.

This is why what is going on in the Middle East is the most realistic scenario for a doomsday on planet Earth.

Well it is getting late and there is much more to discuss about this situation. I will say this, if you do not believe that education is one of the most important issues facing this planet then you are a fool or complacent to the destruction of humanity on this planet. I really believe and cannot stress enough that until we make education at many levels the top priority for man, then mankind as we know it, will be an archeological study for some other people in the future. And for all the so called religious people who think short sighted (creationists) this does not go against God. God created life, if we fail, God will move on. We need God to move on, not vice versa.

These aren’t the most popular ways at looking at religion, but well truth is: none of us truly know God. We can say we read the Bible, but St Augustine said it best (this is paraphrased) as part of creation we cannot project our knowledge of creation onto creation. And my rendition: we are here, not because of what we believe, but because of why we were created. Frankly we just don’t know everything and for us to say something in the absolute, we are speaking foolishly. And yes to you believers and non-believers this does mean education is important. The more you question, the more you realize how little we know.

And this why I feel what is going on in the Middle East is so scary. The answer is easy, we need to find ways to overcome people using God to manipulate the ignorant and those in poverty. Actually finding the ways to accomplish this is maddeningly difficult.

And for all you complacent agnostics in the West, this problem is building here too.

The problem with the Doomsday scenarios

Part 1 Water

I was reading an article the other day that says the world will be short 40% of its water needs by the year 2030. It basically has all the trappings of all the problems we face if we do not do something about the problem.

And this is one of the problems. There are hundreds of articles telling us about problems, however, very few follow through with a real solution map. Water or supply of water is a real problem our world faces and there are things we can do. One of the posts following the article says nothing ever gets done unless someone can make a lot of money. And in some ways this is correct. And the great thing is water can be a business, but if managed well can still be available to all. The key is not to have water as a commodity, but work to make the technologies to provide water continue to be a profitable venture. We do need to keep water in the profit sector, but because it is such a valuable resource, the business aspect of it needs to be kept in check. No one wants to hear the word regulated, but something will need to be done by governments around the world to keep this from becoming a traded or hedged commodity.

And there are many solutions to maintain the world’s water supply. I once wrote an entire post dedicated to a very long term and macro scale project for the United States to improve our water planning going forward. And it incorporates a business aspect which allows for growth of water projects and growth of technologies to help create new jobs and new industries. This is just one idea.

Desalination projects are another solution. Two obstacles talked about by people who do not think desalination is viable can be overcome. One is building the plants and where to locate them and the other is the need for large amounts of energy to run the plants. The second can be overcome with improving solar energy or even better wind energy. Location will need to be near an ocean or sea so the natural breezes coming onto shore gives some opportunity to power the plants. Location can be solved by concerted efforts of state and local governments to dedicate the land to these plants, heck they do it for roads and other projects. It would be harder to argue against building water plants in areas where they need water. And with some costal real estate over-priced you will get push back, yet there are still areas available. One area is the Baja peninsula. This is open land on an ocean in an area that needs major economic growth for multiple reasons. It will take work to get it started, but once going the change to the area, the people, the country could be so positive the start-up costs in hindsight would be nil comparable to the benefits. And we already have successful desalination plants operating around the world so we are not starting from scratch to develop this into a major industry.

Going back to what the post said about money, having new technologies develop such as improvement of wind or solar energy, the plants themselves, developing more efficient ways to transport water to cities and agricultural areas, creates new ways to run other industries. The opportunity to create new economic wealth will help offset the need for people to make money off water which allows the increase of the water supply without creating a commodity cost to water itself. And yes this will take governments keeping the water supply available to all. And this is part of what our constitution says, one of the government’s responsibilities is protecting the people. Since we need water to live, this should not be considered a hindrance to true capitalism. Sometimes all involved need to do what is best for all. The greed oligarchy will argue, but as such our need to retain power for the people in a democracy and not be run by economic oligarchies is another obstacle that needs to be overcome to have a viable water supply.

Of course conservation, graywater technology, more efficient use of water in agriculture, and if you talk to any liberal ecologist there are many other ideas out there to manage use of water. All these can be applied, some as stop gap measures, others developed over time to slow the waste of water to better use of water allowing us to slow consumption down to the level of us using only what is needed.

The answer is the same though, with work we can have viable solutions without all the hyperbole of the doomsday scenarios. And this brings me to my second beef with these articles. They are written with much effort to scare us into action, yet no action ever follows. Yes there are international groups or other academic conferences etc.. to tell us how bad we are with water and how bad things are going to be, but no one enforces a will to drive the world into action. There is a I am telling you that you are bad, and my responsibility has ended tone to these article. Now is this previous statement unfair to some who are working on the problem, yes it is, but the amount of ivory tower finger pointing exceeds the true amount of work that is being done, much less needs to be done.

And the work will have to come from us the people. And we the people need water the most. So here is the real problem for all the talk. The problems are being caused by the people who most need the problem solved. This reality never works in the political arena to get something done. How does one change the verbiage, the perception to create solving the water situation as a positive that has many benefits and can be done versus the negative tone of the world is ending because we are bad of most of these articles?

This makes the first step in solving the water shortage nothing to do with water. It is the message. Let’s quit talking doom and start talking in the language of those who can make it happen. And those who can make it happen are all of us. Let’s start selling the benefits of change, the benefits of growth, the benefits of this is for me, and the water solutions will start to sell themselves.

Part 2: The Middle East. coming to a theatre near you , or at least a blog post

Just saw my first posts did post

Should know better when someone comes up to you and says taste this....

Philippine flags flying...can't understand a word he is saying words coming through the beat of the music...lime green glasses flying
Now the don't worry be happy crap is playing

Better half was saying not going to party etc... Is way ahead of me and drinking too much of the ultra sweet drinks

Okay pineapples and bobble heads on bar with the Grand Marnie (? sp) bottles flying


Multi color drinls flying

More pounding music,, give me back my rock n roll

Getting close to final two...close in preliminary scoring

Okay now pouring drinks on your head ...crowd loving it....closer to final two

Ink stained hostess interviewing ladt year's champion

Too much of that Happy song...wrote a I m so happy as a punk rack band song in late seventies doesn't work for me

Hosts making long island ice teas.....winners to be annnounced soon

Waiting through announcements of runner now third is Brian

Second is Russell

Winner is Stavros

Thank goodness walking home.

Have a great night

WBC cont

G n R blasting now are we starting to get back to my era more 80's insanity the brain starts to get in gear still survivin' people still crazy, nothing like the Fridays in the seventies gorillas and all, but still a good time
just asked for long island ice tea, not being served as part of the freebies, c'mom folks its Fridays

world bartender championship

Tried posting twice this evening, but my phone isn't saving them

Just pisted GnR blasting

Great drinks, great food here at House of Blues Dallas, people trying to talj Cowboys signing G Hardy... Announcing proceeds going to fight hunger in U S

Fridays not the as 70's no gorillas etc, but good time

Wish first two posts had saved

More to come

World Bartender Championship

Currently at House of Blues Dallas for thevWorld Bartender Championship. The hashtag is #tgifwbc if you want to catxh up. Typing fast, very crowded, place is wild. Too many cowbells, people coming up to me asking about Cowboys signing Hardy... saying who cares about past if he gets 15+ sacks.

The show is great...lots of drinking...too much Jack...too much gin..
Food is good, but hard to eat with two fisted drinking going on

Sucks to be judges barely a sip

The contestants putting on great show...good luck to them all...

More to come later

And more of the same theme…

I am more old school when it comes to us not using fossil fuels. I still believe we need to change what energy sources we use because gasoline and it’s by products are just poison to the human body. I do not join in the climate change debate very often, however, there was an article by John Tamny in FORBES titled “Global Warming Hype is Mocked by the World’s Most Powerful Market Signal” that just left me flabbergasted.

And I am outraged for a few reasons, but the main reason is (and I hope I read his premise right) the premise is completely ludicrous. He goes on and on trying to act like he is giving the climate warming side some degree of respectability and even in doing so it seems a bit hyperbolic. And after a semi long round about discussion he makes this concluding statement:

“Repeat the above again: 44% of the world’s humans live in coastal communities. Conversely, 97% of scientists think humans cause global warming, the causes of global warming by seemingly all accounts are not being corrected, and according to scientists of varying certainty, if the causes are not corrected the world’s coastal cities face a fairly bleak future; possibly one under water. Interesting about the latter is while scientists apparently believe one thing, where people live is the most information pregnant market signal of all. Nothing else comes close. Facts are stubborn things, head counting is seen as perfectly valid among warming believers when it comes to client science, so while 97% of scientists believe in human-caused global warming much to the delight of warmist head counters, nearly half of the world’s population presumably thinks all the hand wringing about warming is much ado about nothing. What else could explain much of the world’s residential choices? Can scientists really be so smart as to see what nearly half of the world’s population apparently does not?”

Final paragraph:

“Whom to believe? No scientist here, but if “science” is correct with its predictions, then a microscopic sliver of the world’s population would have to know more than nearly have of the world’s inhabitants. That’s very unlikely. Simply put, the purest market signal of all—where people live is plainly mocking the scientific consensus about global warming. “

If I read the above correctly he is basically stating humans will make intelligent choices about where they live based on a known or potential looming disaster that would destroy their homes.

I tried to read through some of the comments and the author’s responses, but my mobile “smart” phone sucks (somewhat old now) so hopefully there was a discussion to this point.

If his premise is true than how does he explain everyone living in California, Japan, or anywhere else on the Pacific Rim. Really Mr. Tamney based on your thoughts no one in their right mind would live in areas where fault lines intersect because where people live would be plainly mocking the concept of tectonic plates. Or how about coastal areas subject to hurricanes, or rebuilding cities where rivers flood without building cities better able to adapt to the flooding.

We can do better, we are highly intelligent people, We just don’t, so using this as an argument against the idea that global warming exists is fundamentally flawed.

And finally will someone explain to me, how this premise can be published and someone be paid for putting out this insane dribble.

And below is Forbes Thought of the day that came up on my mobile phone when I accessed this article

“Ideas are the mightiest influence on earth. One great thought breathed into a man may regenerate him.” William Ellery Channing

Seemingly one huge contradiction in thought here Forbes. What does one idiotic thought do to a man?


Inbreeding is insane, it is immoral, it is illegal, and it is rampant. And not necessarily only on the right.


And on a completely different note, but with all the dating sites advertising like heck, maybe some people need to think about this quote.

“Until you get comfortable with being along, you will never know if you are choosing someone out of love or loneliness.” Mandy Hale

And others have also noted, you have to be able to love yourself before you can love others. Sorry I do not remember where that came from, but that thought is around also. And just as important to a person having a successful relationship with another person as above.

Some potentially relevant quirky thoughts and observations

The Oklahoma Fraternity episode is probably a tip of the iceberg situation. I am not going to say a huge iceberg, but more to come I think is pretty obvious. I think most whites are not racists, but there is a significant minority that have some tendencies and the fact that this fraternity was so brazen as to post a video for the whole world to see shows there are still deep problems out there. Somehow they felt embolden enough to do this and where they came to this thinking is not a good sign.

One thing I harp on over and over is how our education system keeps getting dumbed down generation after generation. The Oklahoma incident is just one symptom of how bad our education system has become. And I am not talking about the university education specifically, but the whole system. Another example is the Texas State legislature wanting to take over DISD and some of their ideas for DISD. Ignorance is one breeding ground for hatred and manipulation.

And if you don’t think poor education is a problem, you probably don’t realize this is by design. The powers that be including the elite liberals do not want educated masses. They are smart enough to know, if we were educated they would be screwed.

Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Clemens, and Will Rogers have more wisdom and understanding of the American people in their individual pinky finger than the collective wisdom of all the legislators of the past fifty years.

Most people want to be liked and unfortunately there are way too many people in D.C. that are passing out money telling people how to be liked. Okay, okay…derivative thinking from the people mentioned above.

And apparently the Republicans and Democrats alike will criticize each other for having gone to Harvard Law school, but not understanding the Constitution. People seem to forget education and understanding/working knowledge are more than passing an exam. If you ask me, none of our leaders have a working knowledge of the Constitution. In addition it wouldn’t hurt to have CLEs in ethics every day for some of these jokers.

There are people in Iran laughing out loud right now.

And if you think stating the above is anti-American, you really do not understand what making this country better is really all about.

I do not post too often on the news story boards anymore, but I do read them semi regularly and it still amazes me the amount of people who are tired of Republicans and Democrats, but offer no alternative ideas or organizations. Things won’t get better folks till we make them better. And this goes back to the dumbing down of America. Our leaders don’t want us to figure out what we can do. I am always open to the “call to votes” for a better America.

I hate speaking ill of the dead, but HST still ticked me off. We need more of the strong voices in the fight against “the bastards”.

an excess of quirky thoughts and observations

It is always fun to talk to someone who self-diagnosis their mental condition.

Well known fact, but you have to acknowledge it every now and then that way too many times perception seems to be more important than the truth.

The Mavs are really starting to tick me off.

How do you know who to trust?

And what is scary about the above question is you are asking yourself this when so much is at stake.

Everyone has heard a penny saved is a penny earned, except in today’s current interest rate market.

Smugness is a dangerous trait.

Is it just me or do sports game analysts jinx more stats/games by what they say????? Once they mention a stat as an assured thing, good or bad, the opposite happens.

And on a similar note, when you are in Vegas and you have been playing the same machine, betting the same number etc and not winning as soon as you walk away someone behind you will win on the same machine or bet big time. Always walk away early on. If it ain’t happening, it ain’t happening

A few quirky observations and thoughts///updated

I was watching the TV show Person of Interest and near the end of the show the song that was playing in the background came to the forefront of my mind. I wasn’t expecting to hear a modern version of the song “I’d love to change the world” by the group Ten Years After. Complete and pleasant surprise

I was reading an article from US News and World Report that sounded more like an advertisement for solar energy than anything else. There was some criticism of why some Republicans wanted the Keystone Pipeline. This was on my mobile phone, but off to the side of the article on the webpage was an ad supporting the pipeline. I wish I had taken a screen shot. I wish I knew how. Hahaha

Its icy out, you got the high dollar car with the great brakes and great traction etc, but as you fly down the highway, please remember that many people going twenty are doing so because their car doesn’t have the same quality. Wrecks are usually caused by someone doing something that makes someone else brake unexpectedly. Wet, icy, or dry. Of course this is especially important here in Texas where we are clueless on how to drive in winter weather.

Every now and then, when someone says I don’t think that is a good idea, it is a good idea to listen to them.

I have a love/hate relationship for the San Antonio Spurs. As a Mavs fan I hate the Spurs, as a basketball fan you gotta love them as a team and their play over the years. Unfortunately Tim Duncan is at the twilight of his career and he still does not get the respect and due he deserves except it seems from the true basketball fans. The casual fans get so caught up with Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, or Lebron James, but Mr. Duncan for quality of basketball play is just as good as anyone in the history of the sport. He is definitely first team all time, but you probably have to go about ten + deep to get true first team all time. There is Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon, John Stockton, and a few others. Most of who I choose is not just a great athlete, but also very critical to the teams they played on. Team play is a must to be a great player. As always, whenever you do a greatest whatever list it will be subject to criticism. I will stick by mine.

The current twenty somethings are a bunch of wimps when it comes to partying. Probably better for the rest of the world, but they can’t hold a candle to my generation. Or when they try, just sad folks, just sad. Then again I am watching late night TV and Drew says that the biggest group of binge drinkers are middle age white males. Still going strong with the self destruction are we???

Sorry Johnny, there is still no Hunter anymore. And what is worse 2016 is coming at us too fast.

Hasn’t anyone read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich? The Democrats and liberals are just too smug and complacent about the rise of the far right in this country. Bad enough I can’t get conservatives to look for separation. Back in the 60s’s the phrase was feed your mind which really meant: read.

And hopefully winter storm “Thor” is the beginning of the end of winter for us all this year. Be safe

___________________________________________________________________

We do not get much snow in Texas and right now it is the middle of the night, yet it looks light outside there is so much white in the atmosphere, it is coming down pretty strong right now. Really interesting. Actually looks lighter than earlier tonight, like a cloudy day



Okay it just isn't fair when Bill Watterson says: " Reality continues to ruin my life" This coming from a man that made a living off his imagination. Wow! Calvin knew more about life than 99.99% of the rest of us.