Food: Tavern White Wings

[photo: delicious white wings]

One of my favorite food specials is back: 50 cent white wings at The Tavern. White wings are pieces of chicken wrapped around a serrano pepper, then themselves wrapped in bacon, and finally doused in Buffalo wing sauce before being baked. They used to be fried, but the shift to baking has resulted in a plumper, juicier product.

Normally, a plate of 8 white wings costs $9.50, but on Monday and Thursday nights you can once again order these tasty item for 50 cents a piece. I find that 10 makes a good meal unless I've been working out. At that point, I pile on as many more as seems reasonable.

White wings (at any price) are one of my favorite items on The Tavern menu. I'm planning to order white wings and beef fajita nachos at the upcoming Austin Pub Quiz trivia finals, wherein we will be competing to win an evening ride on the Austin Pubcrawler.

Outdoor: Stand Up Paddling ("SUP")

[photos (by WDFloyd): Kayaking and SUPing on Town Lake]


by WDFloyd



Earlier this week, I went down to Town Lake in order to do some kayaking. Unlike my last kayaking excursion, I didn't see any gators in the vicinity. I did, however, see my older brother's Stand Up Paddle ("SUP") boards nearby. Thus, I decided to learn how to SUP. Both of his boards were made by Hobie, a company well known for traditional surfboards and catamarans. I opted for the more stable lake model (as opposed to the SUP board designed for actual ocean surfing).

While the technique of SUPing isn't difficult to pick up, the act of SUPing is not necessarily easy. Ok, if you haven't worked out much lately it isn't easy. However, it is a lot of fun. And, it's also great exercise. Your legs have to work in order to stay balanced, your core works to keep you anchored to the board and to transfer power, and obviously your arms are doing the paddling.

Once you are on the board and upright then you paddle with fairly straightforward stokes, alternating sides as necessary. You don't have to use and sweeping or feathering motions, as you would in canoe paddling. On a flat surface like that of Town Lake, you basically glide over the water with little resistance. It's quite novel to float standing across the lake, and you will get a few questions from passing boaters. While I didn't fall off the board, there is a decent chance that one will; ergo, prepare accordingly for falling into the water.

I enjoyed my first foray into SUP. I will undoubtedly SUP again. If you're looking for a fun and different for of exercise, I recommend trying it.

Hobie SUP boards run from $800 up. If you want to try SUPing without much of a cash outlay, then you can contact SUP ATX about board rentals (and, they are sell their own brand of boards). If SUP ATX seems familiar, then you've probably seen the step van they frequently park in front of the RunTex at Lake Austin Blvd and MoPac.

Texas Politics: State Rep. Proposes to End Higher Ed Coodinating Bd

Brown Bill Would Kill Higher Ed Coordinating Board

by Reeve Hamilton, The Texas Tribune
November 16, 2010

With a budget shortfall of historic proportions looming and legislators looking desperately for savings, state Rep. Fred Brown, R-Bryan, is proposing a drastic step: the elimination of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

“If there was ever a time to get this done, now’s the time,” says Brown, who has filed a bill that would shutter the agency. “There is going to be some really nice savings for the state, but that shouldn’t be the justification for the bill.”

The justification, he says, is that the state needs to begin thinking of K-12 and college as part of the same pipeline instead of as two distinctly different worlds. His bill would merge the Coordinating Board with the Texas Education Agency to create a single state agency focused on preschool, college and everything in between. “There’s always been a real disconnect,” he says. “We need to be thinking about K-16. For the sake of our students, it just makes sense.“

Brown isn’t the only one from his district pushing such a proposal. “I think you should consider creating a single state entity that is responsible for education,” Texas A&M University System Chancellor Mike McKinney testified before a joint meeting of the House and Senate Higher Education Committees in August. “I would not call it P-16. I would call it P-20-plus. I think you need to include professional schools, the medical schools, the dental schools.”

McKinney described the distinction between primary education and secondary education as “artificial,” warning that it “creates silos that hinder the continuity of education.”

As originally filed, Brown’s bill would have folded not just the Coordinating Board but the responsibilities of the elected State Board of Education into the TEA. Brown says that was a mistake, and he's redrafting the bill to preserve the State Board’s duties. Under the umbrella of the proposed public education agency, higher education would fall under the SBOE’s often controversial, and often partisan, purview.

State Education Commissioner Robert Scott is agnostic about the bill’s merits, but cautions, “There are serious governance structure discussions to be had. There are serious policy implications across the board. It’s not just an efficiency thing.”

Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes, whose position would be eliminated under such a proposal, sees several problems with the bill. “First of all, higher ed is pretty much overseen by appointed boards, and public ed is primarily overseen by elected boards,” he says, “and I don’t know how you reconcile that fundamental difference.”

For fiscal year 2011, the Coordinating Board, which makes recommendations and advises the legislature on the distribution of money and services to state universities, has a total budget of more than $945 million. But Paredes doesn’t anticipate that Brown’s bill would provide much in the way of savings. About $680 million of that total is designated for financial aid. And Paredes suggests that there would be initial costs associated with merging the two agencies. Higher education and public education are so distinct, he says, that “it’s hard to imagine a giant, combined agency being very different from what we have now.”

Aims McGuinness, a senior associate at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, says that only four states have a P-20 governing body of the sort McKinney and Brown are advocating: New York, Pennsylvania, Florida and Idaho. “In reality,” McGuinness says, “not one of them really functions like a P-20 operation.” The worlds of higher ed and public ed grapple with such “fundamentally different issues,” he says, that they tend to be managed separately even in the few states where they are bureaucratically combined.

McGuinness notes that every state in the country is pushing for a more comprehensive P-20 approach to education. As for the specific role of the coordinating board, he says there is a need — especially in a state as large as Texas — for an entity “that keeps a focus on the agenda for the state, but plays a coordinating role and not a governing role.” He recommends improving efficiencies not by killing the whole agency but by eliminating superfluous “barnacles” that the Legislature has appended to the coordinating board, allowing it to focus on its effort to bring student achievement in Texas up to par with other states.

Brown says one of his chief concerns is that Texas has “two agencies that barely even talk to each other.” While that may have been true in the past, Scott and Paredes say their agencies have stepped up their cooperation and coordination in recent years. In 2003, the Legislature formally created the state’s P-16 council; lawmakers strengthened it in 2005. Co-chaired by Scott and Paredes, the college-readiness-focused body also includes members of the Texas Workforce Commission and the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services. Additionally, there are 40 regional P-16 councils throughout the state.

Brown knows his bill might face some opposition, and he says he anticipates significant changes in committee. House Higher Education Chairman Dan Branch, R-Dallas, says he appreciates Brown’s interest in and desire to improve efficiencies in education but has some concerns about the distraction of rearranging government agencies. “While I’d say there are still opportunities for greater efficiencies,” Branch says, “this might cause more damage to substantive reform and economic efficiencies simply because it’s a real reach to try and combine these two agencies.”

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://trib.it/9vUQQV.

Art: "Ride of a Lifetime"

WDFloyd

[photo and video (by WDFloyd): "Ride of a Lifetime" Art Hearse]

Normally, I don't like art cars. However, for some reason I was intrigued by the pictured hearse, named "The Ride of a Lifetime." Parked across the street from El Hotel Paisano in Marfa, it piqued our interest and demanded closer inspection. As the video demonstrates, what we found was an interesting collection of painted figures and scenes with a combination of themes including cowboys, vaqueros, the West, and El Dia de los Muertos.

If you're art collection isn't complete without this car, you can (according to the sales flier found with the car) call Beverly Montgomery at 432-837-3768 for more information.

Texas Politics: Bill Filed to End DPS Surcharges

Rep. Berman Files Bill to End DPS Surcharges

by Brandi Grissom, The Texas Tribune
November 18, 2010

State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, wants to end something besides illegal immigration and federal intrusion in Texas. He also wants to get rid of the much-maligned Driver Responsibility Program.

Along with a slew of anti-illegal immigration bills and measures meant to limit federal involvement in Texas, Berman on Tuesday filed HB 299, which would repeal the 2003 law that created the program, which requires drivers to pay expensive annual surcharges for certain moving violations.

"I thought it was not only double jeopardy … but I thought it was triple and quadruple jeopardy as well," Berman says.

The program was started to raise revenue for roads and trauma centers statewide when legislators were in a $10 billion budget bind. Under the program, state surcharges are attached to citations like speeding, driving without insurance, driving without a license and driving while intoxicated. In addition to paying the fines and court costs associated with the initial ticket, drivers must pay an annual surcharge ranging from $100 to $2,000 or their license is suspended. Since 2004, trauma centers have gotten more than $380 million from the program. But the program has also been roundly criticized for failing to collect more than $1 billion in surcharges and for causing some 1.2 million drivers to lose their licenses for failing to pay.

Berman says he has received many complaints, especially from young drivers, and he thinks the program puts Texans in double jeopardy. Once drivers pay the fine, he says, they should be allowed to move on instead of forced to pay hundreds of dollars more over the course of three years. And he says it makes no sense to issue a ticket to drivers who can't afford auto insurance or a driver's license and then require them to shell out more money they can't afford for surcharges.

The Department of Public Safety, which administers the surcharge program, adopted changes scheduled to take effect next year that it hopes will make it easier for people to pay the fines, but Berman says those aren't enough. The surcharges, he says, just need to end.

"It’s the wrong thing to do," Berman says. "It's not fair."

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://trib.it/9SkTvj.

Recycling with Tacodeli

I stopped in Tacodeli (on Barton Skyway) this morning and noticed the sign pictured to the left. If you are into composting and that sort of thing, Tacodeli would like to hook you up with some of their vegetable scraps.

Turning unused food into fertilizer is one of many ways to promote sustainability, to recycle useful materials, and to help lower the city's waste output. It's good to see that Tacodeli, which already produces extremely delicious food, is also actively promoting the recycling of its leftovers.

Of course, I still think the coolest restaurant waste recycling program is the processing of biodeisel from used cooking oil.

Law News: NLRB and Social Media

Here's an issue which has been all over my legal update emails from the Association of Corporate Counsel: the National Labor Relations Board is considering taking action against an employer allegedly having an social media, blogging, and internet posting policy which violates the National Labor Relations Act. Considering that social media, blog, and internet use by employees is still an evolving area of law, it would behoove general counsels and employment lawyers to pay close attention to Federal regulators' actions regarding issues in said area. Moreover, it would behoove business owners, managers, and HR personnel to consult appropriate counsel with questions about social media, blogging, and internet use policies.

In my experience, it usually pays to analyze potential problems before they become larger issues.

Disclaimer: this post is not intended to be legal advice. Rather, this post is intended to alert readers to potential legal issues which may need to be discussed with their attorneys. If you have a question about a legal issue, consult your own lawyer.

Texas Opinions: Bill Ratliff on The Tea Party & Debt

On Debt, Tea Party Should Put Up or Shut Up

by Bill Ratliff
November 16, 2010

Over the last year or so, I have been seriously conflicted regarding the Tea Party movement. On the one hand, for many years I have been extremely concerned about our national debt and our national leaders’ inability to even approach a balanced budget. As a country, we simply cannot continue to push this ever-increasing debt balloon out onto our children and grandchildren. Nor can we expect the world to continue to buy our debt instruments without someday having this debt bring this great country to its knees. I heartily endorse the Tea Party’s criticism of this irresponsible fiscal policy and their attempts to force a recognition of its seriousness.

On the other hand, it is not good enough to adopt the mantra of “balance the budget with no new taxes.” While this mantra may be a starting point, I have witnessed no willingness by the Tea Party activists to show their seriousness by acknowledging the items in the budget that must be cut and the level of pain that the American people must endure to approach a responsible fiscal policy.

Up to now, the two major political parties, and their Washington officeholders, have been unwilling or unable to address the burgeoning debt. The members of Congress are all fearful of the political consequences that could result from the massive cuts that must be made. There is much rhetoric from both parties about the need to address the problem but no real courage to make the really tough decisions.

Now, the Bowles-Simpson draft report has called out not only the two political parties but also the Tea Partiers. They have shown, in a painfully graphic manner, the types and level of cuts that would be necessary to approach a balanced budget. And they have also shown that, if the goal of a balanced budget is to be reached, even deeper and more painful cuts would be required unless the Congress is willing to also adopt revenue measures — including some added tax revenues.

Having served as chairman of the Texas Senate’s Finance Committee and as lieutenant governor of Texas, I know a little about making the tough calls in budgeting. I was one of those responsible for adopting six years of balanced budgets for the state. The Texas Constitution requires a balanced budget. Deficit spending is not an option for the state’s budget, nor is there the option of simply printing more money. Unfortunately, there is no such restraint on our national budget writers.

The immediate reaction to Bowles-Simpson from some of Washington’s leadership has been a hue and cry criticizing the solutions puts forward. So far, it appears that even the Tea Partiers are reluctant to agree with the tough love concepts put forward by Bowles-Simpson. But the American people must not allow these folks to dodge this bullet.

If the major party leaders are not willing to make these tough decisions, and if the Tea Partiers are not willing to endorse these painful measures, the American people must ask them, “Okay, what is your solution?” Until the Bowles-Simpson report, neither the Tea Party nor any other credible group has had the courage to actually identify what specific measures will be necessary to address the deficit. It is simply time for these so-called leaders to show leadership — in other words, they should be told to “put up or shut up.”

When the Tea Party comes forward and endorses the types of measures recommended by Bowles-Simpson or comes forward with a detailed alternate plan for addressing the deficit, they will deserve to be considered a truly responsible movement. If they only stand on the sidelines and criticize the deficit without putting forward an alternative solution, they will become rightly regarded as just another group of malcontents. The time for generalities is over. It’s time for the Tea Partiers to demonstrate that they are a responsible movement by exhibiting the courage of their convictions.

Bill Ratliff is the former lieutenant governor of Texas.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://trib.it/bCC3py.

Events: Homeslice's Carnival O' Pizza, Benefiting HYP

by WDFloyd


Not in the mood for tailgating this Saturday? Then I recommend checking out Homeslice's Carnival O' Pizza from noon-7 at Homeslice Pizza on South Congress. Proceeds from this event will go to benefit Austin Habitat Young Professionals.





From the Homeslice blog, here are some of the highlighted events:

State wide pizza dough throwing contest in which pizzaiolas in games of skill

A HUGE raffle featuring Grand Prizes including a guitar from Collings Guitar, a night at Hotel St. Cecilia, two nights at Hotel Havana, and the right to be the only person on Earth who can make a reservation at Home Slice for the next year!!

Hands on an Eggplant Sub contestants (H.O.E.S) stand until they can’t stand it anymore.

Performances from Big Don, Little Stolen Moments, Wino Vino, break dancers, graffiti artists, and much much more

Tons of kids games including our very own creations: Pee Wee Pizzaiola, Meatball Madness, Fishin’ for Chovie and more!

And, also from the Homeslice blog, here's the event's agenda:

12:00 PM Midway Opens

12:30 PM Wino Vino (gypsy minstrel band)

1:15 PM Little Stolen Moments (award winning dance troupe)

1:30 PM Pizza Box Folding Competition

2:00 PM Big Don (hip hop for kids)

2:45 PM Pizza Dough Tossing Competition – Size

3:30 PM Little Stolen Moments

3:45 PM Pizza Dough Tossing Competition – Speed

4:50 PM Pizza Dough Tossing Competition – Endurance

5:15 PM Pizza Eating Contest

6:05 PM Grand Prize Raffle

7:00 PM Team Fabrication DJ Set @ More Home Slice

10:00 PM Parking lot double feature screening of “Hands on a Hard Body” and “The Jerk” (Free)

Check out Homeslice Pizza's blog for more information about the Carnival O' Pizza, and details on how to enter specific events such as "Hands on an Eggplant Sub."



About Austin Habitat Young Professionals:

HYP is an organization of young professionals which supports Austin's Habitat for Humanity. HYP offers personal and professional networking opportunities, social functions, and the ability for individual young professionals to contribute to the building (both by fundraising, and by actual building) of a Habitat for Humanity house every year here in Austin.

Have fun. Build a House. Change Lives.

For more information on HYP, go to: www.austinhyp.org

Texas Policy: Water Rights

Will Water Rights Be on the Legislature's Agenda?

by Kate Galbraith, The Texas Tribune
November 17, 2010

Next legislative session, during the few minutes not taken up with the budget, redistricting and immigration, an old stand-by of an issue could creep onto the agenda: water.

Observers say legislative proposals on groundwater rights are probable, given that Texas is just wrapping up a controversial process for planning the allocation of water from aquifers, while environmentalists will be pushing more measures for water conservation. The discussions will be amplified because the Texas Water Development Board, which finances water and wastewater infrastructure projects around the state, is up for review by the Sunset Advisory Commission, as is the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which regulates water pollution.

Water "should be an important issue in this next session," says Russell Johnson, a water law expert with the McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore law firm who has done work for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and the Texas Wildlife Association on groundwater-related matters. However, he adds, "whether it will be or not in light of all the other things that are happening this legislative session is an open question."

Last session, one of few notable water-related bills to pass was was a conservation bill carried by state Rep. Allan Ritter, D-Nederland, thattightened water-efficiency requirements for toilets sold in Texas, as well as for faucets or shower heads. (The only other state to enact similar requirements for toilets is California.)

The biggest water issue before the Legislature is likely to be balancing the long-term health of Texas' aquifers with property rights. The state has just completed an intensive planning process, established by the Legislature in 2005, in which local authorities decide how much they will allow their aquifers to be depleted in 50 years (the resultant numbers are called the "desired future conditions" of the aquifers). The Texas Water Development Board is processing these aquifer-depletion numbers and will soon send back to local authorities calculations on how much water per year they can draw down, given their 50-year outlooks.

But some groups are unhappy about the planning process and may well urge legislation amending it. In particular, water marketers — entities seeking to gather groundwater rights and sell water in bulk to thirsty municipalities — say their property rights have been abridged, because their potential use of the aquifers was not taken into account in the 50-year plans.

Existing legislation "does not provide for a dispute resolution process," says Joel Katz, a manager of End-Op, a water-marketing firm that wants to sell water to the fast-growing Interstate 35 and Highway 130 corridors. End-Op is currently battling the Lost Pines groundwater conservation district around Bastrop for the right to do so. (Johnson also represents End-Op's interests.)

The Sunset Advisory Commission's report on the Water Development Board, released this month, seems to agree that a remedy is needed. As it stands, the groundwater planning process "does not provide for a complete administrative process that ensures the basic elements of due process," the report states. Currently, Katz says, the only option for filing an objection is the relatively mild step of complaining to the Water Development Board, which can then ask local authorities to reconsider their plans.

Legislation on other aspects of the groundwater-planning process could also be forthcoming. A group called the Texas Water Conservation Association has been working to bring together a range of water interests — cities, river authorities, industry consultants — to reach consensus on desired improvements to the groundwater management process. Several areas of agreement have been reached, according to Dean Robbins, the group's assistant general manager — including, for example, how information about the process gets published.

The Sunset Commission staff report also calls for better coordination among various authorities involved in the groundwater-planning process. And other possible groundwater-related legislation hinges on the long-awaited outcome of Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day, currently pending at the Texas Supreme Court, which will weigh the balance between landowners' rights to water beneath their land and the authority of groundwater authorities to regulate it.

Besides groundwater planning, conservationists will also be putting forward proposals next session. Among them: remedying municipal water-conservation reporting requirements, which currently do not adhere to a common standard, thus making it hard for the state to judge the success of conservation efforts. State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, has already filed a bill on on the subject, and the Sunset report recommends making this change.

Another bill would require most water utilities to audit their water losses (from leaky pipelines or other glitches) each year, as opposed to the current requirement of every five years. A bill to do this was pushed last session by state Rep. Tara Rios-Ybarra, D-Padre Island. But it "got lost in muddle," says Carole Baker, the Texas-based chairwoman of the national Alliance for Water Efficiency (Rios-Ybarra was beaten in the March primary). Legislation to encourage rainwater harvesting was also introduced last session by Rep. Doug Miller, R-New Braunfels, and defeated state Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs; rainwater's backers could try again.

Then there is Sunset. Unlike other agencies subject to Sunset review, the Texas Water Development Board will not be automatically abolished if Sunset legislation is not passed. But the Sunset process will increase scrutiny of the agency, which, as the report notes, is "not accustomed to being square in the eye of controversy" but is currently in the crossfire of concerns about its groundwater-planning process.

The Water Development Board also badly needs something else from the Legislature to keep it going: up to $6 billion in bond-issuance authority, money that will go toward projects like fixing sewer systems or keeping tap water safe, as well as assisting small rural water utilities. The board generally has to request the money (not its only source of funding, but its largest) every few years, and current bond money "may be exhausted as soon as the end of fiscal year 2011," according to the Sunset report. Any bonding authority must also be approved by voters and will presumably be on the ballot next November.

But getting bonding authority approval is "going to be semi-controversial," says Ken Kramer, the Texas director of the Sierra Club. The reason is that, unlike past bond issues, the Water Development Board is requesting up to $6 billion in permanent, or "evergreen" authority — meaning that, unlike in the past, it will not need to keep going back to the voters unless truly vast sums are needed. "That is something that many of us have a problem with because it takes away one layer of accountability," Kramer says. The environmental community, he says, is "probably going to be in opposition to the evergreen provision."

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://trib.it/9Du3oZ.

Events: HYP Social Hour

by WDFloyd


The Austin Habitat Young Professionals November "Social Hour" is tomorrow (11/17) from 6-8p at Third Base. HYP is a great way for young professionals in Austin to engage with Austin Habitat for Humanity, meet other interesting people, have fun, and get involved with rewarding charity work. Furthermore, tomorrow night HYP will be rolling out the details regarding their impending first annual Habitat Global Village trip.

The 2011 Global Village trip will be to Xela, Guatemala. Space on this trip will be limited, so be sure to hit Third Base tomorrow night if you want information about how to get involved.

Travel: El Hotel Paisano in Marfa

[photo (by WDFloyd): courtyard at El Hotel Paisano. Videos (by WDFloyd): Room 205, and the hotel lobby]

by WDFloyd

If you are heading to Marfa, Texas, then you should reserve a room at El Hotel Paisano. Walking into this historic hotel feels like stepping back into a past era out of West Texas lore. Maybe it was the courtyard, the tiled lobby, or the animal heads mounted by the door which added to this vibe. I'm not sure; I just know it was cool. Furthermore, the hotel has a connection to American cinematic history. James Dean, Rock Hudson, and Elizabeth Taylor stayed here during the filming of Giant.

We found that much of Marfa was within easy walking distance of the hotel. This included plenty of shops, galleries, and restaurants. And, more importantly, Padre's Marfa bar was an easy walk from the hotel.

Rooms available at the hotel range from small (w/ a queen size bed) up to several spacious suites. My friend Dustin stayed in Room 205 (see video above), a large suite with a kitchen and a private rooftop patio overlooking the pool. What made the patio even more fun was the fact that is accessed via a secretive walkway attached to the wall above the pool. Once you reach the patio, you have the use of both a couch and a breakfast table. While this was a great set up, it appeared that the Rock Hudson suite's patio was even larger and was equipped with an outdoor fireplace.

Prices at El Hotel Paisano are very reasonable. Queen size rooms start at $99/night, while the highest price quoted to me was $220/ night (for the Rock Hudson suite). Room 205 was $169/night.

Rally to Restore Sanity in DC

[photos and video: by WDFloyd, at the 10-30-10 Rally to Restore Sanity in DC]

by WDFloyd

When I saw Jon Stewart announce the Rally to Restore Sanity one night in late September, it seemed like the kind of festivus I would need to attend. Unfortunately, at the time of said announcement I knew I'd be really, really busy during late October and so mostly wrote off the idea. Apparently, one of my good friends didn't catch all of my qualifying statements about attending the rally, because soon after a late night discussion about me "possibly, but not likely" flying to DC, he shot me an email with his flight itinerary and a request for me to pick a good hotel. Lesson to the kids: be careful what travels plans you discuss at 1am at Donn's Depot (I also enter into evidence the horrifying mustache I wore to hike up Colorado's Mt. Elbert).

If you watched the rally on TV, you undoubted know more about what happened on stage than I do. We showed up at the mall around 10:30 and it was already packed. My friends pushed ahead toward the stage, but I elected to hang back on 7th (about halfway between the Capitol and the Washington Monument). Thus, I didn't get any awesome photos of famous people on stage; however, I took a lot of shots of random people in the crowd with their signs and/or costumes (some of which are on my Flickr page, and can be accessed via a widget to the right of this post).

It's been estimated that about 215K people showed up for the rally (about 3.5x what was anticipated on the original park permit). That sounds like a lot of people, which corroborates my experience on the ground and my perception that I was in the largest crowd in which I'd ever been (watch the above video to get an idea of the crowd size). This was novel until the need for snacks set in, and I realized that I was trapped squarely in the middle of the action with no hope of obtaining a Coke or a hot dog for hours.

The crowd, as one might expect from a "Rally to Restore Sanity," was pretty calm and polite. The only incident of name calling came when a bunch of anti-corporate activists in suits marched down 7th St holding a sign entitled "Republicorp" and displaying some anti-business, GOP, and government slogans. These activists were denounced with the chant:"douche bags! douche bags!" It wasn't the content of the sign, though, which raised the ire of the generally left leaning crowd; instead, it was the fact that the activists from "Republicorp" were sporting an enormous sign which was blocking the view of a jumbo-tron.

What was especially nice is that once the official program was finished, thousands of the rally attendees filed down the Mall in an orderly manner and began to visit many of our nation's fine monuments en masse. The rest of the afternoon felt like a mass exercise in observing and respecting America's ethos and history. It was nice, in addition to being a refreshing end to an amusing but long afternoon. And, of course, I was in a pretty good mood already, after having heard Ozzy play "Crazy Train" live.

Events: AYC & Big Brothers Big Sisters Tailgate

[photo: by me, from the iPhone, @ the Texas-UCLA game]


The Texas Longhorns may be on the ropes, but the Austin Young Chamber of Commerce and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas know how to throw a great tailgate. I was there last year and it was a lot of fun. They'll be at it again this Saturday @ 4p @ the SW corner of 17th and Congress.

Here are the details from the official invitation:

Come out for food, drinks, football and fun! This is a great way to give back to the Austin Community while having a great time. All proceeds from this event benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas and the Austin Young Chamber of Commerce.

Special thanks to our tailgate sponsors!

Budweiser, BuildaSign.com, Deep Eddy Vodka, Edible Arrangements, Hat Creek Burgers, SAAVY Vodka, and Sweetride Motorwerks

Special guest, Todd Phelps, will provide live music!

Also, Purchase a $5 raffle ticket to win a ride on the big white school bus from Sweetride Motorwerks!

Tickets- $15 in advance, $20 at the door- so sign up now!

*Tickets include food and drink.

Look for the big white school bus. It's pretty sweet, so bring some extra cash for those raffle tickets.

Mobile: REI and Facebook Places

After lunch at the Tavern, I decided to swing by REI to obtain a new pair of sunglasses for my outdoor shenanigans. What I found was an interesting twist on mobile interactive marketing. REI had a sign at the door promising to donate $1 to the Hill Country Conservancy for every person who publicly checked in at REI today, via Facebook Places (FB's answer to Foursquare, Gowalla, Whrrl, et al).

Most of the articles I've read about the potential of mobile social networking as a marketing tool have focused on the potential of such services to promote deals, sales, give-aways, and so forth to certain people based on proximity, check-in frequency, or check-in order. I've personally used offers on Gowalla for discounted lattes at Austin Java and on Whrrl for free appetizers at J. Black's. What I had not seen until today was a business offering up charitable donations in exchange for publicity on Facebook. I thought it was an clever concept (encouraging your customers to advertise your business and sponsorship for you, all for a relatively low price) and it certainly made sense for REI to be operating such a program. REI is, after all, a non-profit co-op, and people can buy gear at REI which can be used on land which has been protected by conservation. Moreover, supporting conservation programs is part of the image which REI should portray to existing and potential customers. It will be interesting to see if more Austin businesses have sponsorship programs such as this.

Movin' On Up: Foskitt Law Office

As of Monday, the gf has moved the headquarters of her firm to a swank new location downtown. The Foskitt Law Office is now located at 702 San Antonio St. I'm loving the new office, which is housed in the historic William Franklin North Apartment building in Austin's historic Bremond Block. As an added bonus, she's now a neighbor of my friends at Avalanche Consulting and Pulse Global Public Relations.

The Foskitt Law Office is available to handle general litigation as well as real estate matters. For a period of three years, Sara worked as a staff attorney for a Travis County District Judge, thus she is familiar with the workings of the local courts (such as the central docketing system, which was addressed in this year's Bar & Grill by the song "Docket Man").

Sara has recently become a Realtor, and is launching Foskitt Realty.

In addition to being excited for Sara about the swell new office, I'm excited for me about having a great launching point for evenings downtown. :)

Resources: Austin Social Planner

Two of my friends from Catalyst 8 have launched a very cool website dedicated to events in Austin. The Austin Social Planner is the project of Kevin Smothers and Laura Villagran Johnson, both of whom know truckloads about what goes on in this town.

The Austin Social Planner highlights events, subdivided into the categories of: (1) charity, (2) arts, (3) food, (4) fashion, and (5) entertainment. Certain events are highlighted for promotion, as others are selected for review and recap. The site also features interviews with Austinites who do exceptional work for and with events such as Maria Orozova, owner of the award winning design firm The MOD Studio.

Another stand out feature of the Austin Social Planner is the site's interactive calendar. You can add events to a list and set up email reminders. There is also an interface with iCal and RSS feeds.

Check out the Austin Social Planner, and/or follow the Austin Social Planner feed on Twitter.

Bar & Grill: Plea

[photo (by WDFloyd): The Long Center, before a storm]


It's done! Thanks to everyone who came out to see the show. There are many ways to fill a Friday and/or Saturday evening, and I'm very pleased you all choose law themed musical comedy.

I had a great time working with the show from start to finish. Our group has very talented actors, singers, writers, and dancers; I'm glad they actually let me on stage with them. And of course, the band was great as always.

This was my second year to do Bar & Grill in the Rollins Theater at The Long Center. Once again, The Rollins Theater was a great place to perform. I've seen some really great shows at the Rollins, and it's fun to be able to work in the space where many talented performers have come before. Moreover, as one of the Membership Chairs for Catalyst 8, it's great to now have experienced the excitement of performing on the same stage which the members of our organization work to make accessible to qualifying performing artists in Austin.

Bar & Grill: Plea

I'm very excited about tonight. After weeks of rehearsal, we're set to do the first run of Plea in front of a full house at the Long Center's Rollins Theater. Last year was fun, but this year's show is even better.

My character is based on "Finn" from Glee; I describe him as "aggressively wholesome" and "lovably clueless." As a bonus, tonight I'll be dancing the Time Warp as well as breaking out some moves to 70's funk.

Tickets may still be available: click here for the link to the Long Center's ticketing site

Also, I'd like to thank my pals at Catalyst 8 for providing snacks for last night's dress rehearsal. The mixture of Chik-Fil-A nuggets and tasty Central Market cheese was quite tasty. And, or course, the generous spread made the long evening of rehearsal much more pleasant. Everyone in the show is a full time attorney by day, so the energy boost was quite helpful before the full evening of rehearsal. Catalyst 8, your generosity toward the Bar & Grill cast was greatly appreciated!

Catalyst 8 has a special connection to the Long Center's Rollins Theater, as this is where all of the recipients of the Catalyst 8 Boost Rental Subsidy perform. Having been on the Catalyst 8 Leadership Council since 2008, I am especially honored to have a second opportunity to perform in the theater space we know and love. Now that I've used the facilities twice, I am especially passionate about helping Austin's up and coming performing artists have access to such a fantastic theater space.

DC Metro

[photos and video taken on my iPhone]

Every time I go to DC, I leave in a state of civic jealously about the Metro. If you haven't used it, let me assure that it's fantastic. First opened in the 1970's, the stations are clean and easy to navigate. Instead of the claustrophobia found in some cities' subway stations, you get the and expanse of vertical space under retro-cool brutalist vaulted concrete ceilings. You get trains which will take you around the city until about 2-3am. And, you get to ride on some absurdly long escalators. I never rent a car in DC, as between the Metro and the very prevalent taxis there is no need.

The train from east Austin to Leander is a nice start... but, it would be really great if one could catch an underground train from Far West down to Zilker, or even a streetcar (like in Portland, not like in NOLA) from Eastside Showroom over to J. Black's. Seriously... after a plate of antelope tartare and a few drinks, nobody should be driving.