Texas Jeff

Rest in peace Jimmy ... a live well lived and an example to us all. I remember listening to his energy speech, I was in 5th grade I think, and that speech made me want to be part of the solution by conserving energy. All the adults blew it off and we went through the 80's guzzling gas like it was an infinite resource, and I was bummed. Carter was always trying to help his fellow Americans. As a kid, I loved this SNL skit:

Responding earnestly, they plan to run it up and blame the Dems.

Meanwhile, just down the street, this thing is laughing at the biology building:

My take on Robin Hood: It was originally intended to equalize wealth between rich and poor districts. It leveled funding for teachers but it did not level funding for facilities. Texans approved plenty of money for "stuff". When Ross Perot was trying to reform schools in the 80's, artificial turf was rare. Now it is ubiquitous. Now schools have indoor practice facilities and at least one poor district built a water park and a golf course. No one wants to see their football team get their ass kicked by the town down the road, so we fund whatever. While we were all bitching about Robin Hood, the Texas government slowly reduced funding for teachers. It used to be about equal funding, but now it's about capped funding. Austin ISD just raised taxes $180 million per year but only $17 million will make it to teachers, and Austin ISD is now capped on what they can do. Shouldn't Austin ISD have the right to raise their own taxes to what the trustees and the voters think is appropriate, to properly fund education? And should the state be prevented from taking 75% of the extra tax money raised? The state is capping what is possible AND taking local property taxes for themselves AND not even putting that part towards education. Why this is the best course of action is beyond me...

I would like to point out, at this juncture, that there is exactly one team that was in the playoffs last year that is also in the playoffs this year. That team is the only team from last year that still has the same coach. That team has a mascot so big that a domed stadium cannot hold it. Texas could possibly beat the ACC champs, then the Big XII champs, then the Big Ten champs, then the SEC champs in consecutive games. No way that has ever been done.

That is Longhorn Band playing a very short arrangement of the main theme from "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" by Ennio Morricone, designed to fit in between plays:

Seeing the words to the Aggie War Hymn on ABC was hilarious. It needed a bouncing ball so that folks could follow along.

Wikipedia says 26-22-2 going back to 1915. 1915 was the 13-0 game that lead to Bevo's name. Texas neither scored nor won in College Station until 1923. Texas did not get another win in CS until 1941.

No. It was really quiet ... Longhorn Band left the field to drum taps and applause. Here it is, starting after Amazing Grace. LHB played an arrangement of "taps" and marched off. The Aggie Band performed next, since they were the home team.

I would be amazed that someone making $400k to $999k can't build wealth. Here's a chart showing US household income by percentage. Only the top 3% are above $400k. The bottom 97% make less. One problem with being in those higher income brackets is that you are much more likely to live close to someone making a lot more than you. If you are in the middle, everyone in your neighborhood is about the same. Folks on the right see people close to them that are making significantly more. Maybe you make a lot more than your neighbor and that person feels they are not "wealthy" because you fly first class while they are in coach, but maybe you feel you are not "wealthy" because you are in first class and they have a private jet. You are all wealthy compared to the guy riding Greyhound, but maybe you don't feel it.

Lots of data out there: https://data.utsystem.edu/data-index/applied-admitted-enrolled Only about 30% of UT system students come from the top 10% of their class. UT Austin gets the press by limiting admission to top 6%/top 5%, but most system schools are not as picky. UT Austin has a 30% acceptance rate. UT Dallas is second with a 65% rate. Everyone else is above 80% and UTEP is at 100%. Top Ten percent reports for UT Austin: https://provost.utexas.edu/automatic-admission-reports/ Most UT students are from major or "central city" suburbs (50%), followed by major or "central city" urban areas (29%), with a smidge of kids from other towns or rural areas (3%). The rest come from other sources, private schools, school not reported, and other categories.

Hmmm, I suspect that the "free" tuition is on top of things like Pell Grants (federal assistance). The kid fills out the FAFSA and gets some federal assistance, then UT tops that off to cover tuition. UT Austin's tuition and fees are about $14,000 per year. A federal Pell Grant might be around $5,000 per year. So they are shaving maybe another $9,000 per year off of annual expenses. The kid still has to pay for housing and food, but the kid would have had to pay for housing and food *somewhere* for four years. UT Austin estimates those "other" costs at around $20,000 per year, and around $13,000 per year if the kid is living with their parents. Students costs through work-study programs (like working for Rec Sports or at the library) and some have part-time jobs off campus. Some are doubled up on housing (two to a room) and are paying half the "normal" rent. Some have efficiency rentals that are reserved for low income students. Many get summer internships or stipends during their last few years on campus as they get farther along in their degree. The "free tuition" takes off a layer of cost to make it a little easier. Not completely paid for, but one step towards a more level playing field.

BTW, Montgomery is about an hour's drive from Auburn. It's like A&M putting their Texas pep rally at a park in Temple.

That is totally a map of the Metroplex. It's missing a few loops but the rest is there.

As part of Project Connect, Cap Metro purchased 46 electric buses from a company that went bankrupt ... and the buses evidently suck ... so Cap Metro is parking them for at least a year: https://www.statesman.com/story/business/transportation/2024/11/19/capital-cap-metro-austin-tx-proterra-electric-bus-fleet/76429586007/ Which is worse, empty diesel buses actual making rounds or electric buses purchased and parked?

I attended the 1991 Texas Arkansas game, four years after the 1987 Tony Jones win. At pregame, the announcer said "There are some kids in the end zone that have a message for everyone in Arkansas, so please pay attention." Each end zone had a line of kids and there was a teacher passing out letters to each kid. The announcer said "OK kids, on the count of three, show us your message!". The kids turned around and held up their letters, which read: ! D U O R P D N A E E R F G U R D The announcer said "That's right! These kids are drug free and proud". The woman behind me said "I'm sure about the kids, not so sure about the teachers"

In other city council news, Kirk Watson is likely to win reelection and avoid a runoff by 14 votes. He currently has 50.0041% of the vote. He raised three times more than the total contributions of his four opponents.

They spend about $200 billion per year. Mostly they give grants to undergraduates and local school districts, with an emphasis on those with financial need or from low income households. The big ticket items are Pell Grants, student loans, Title 1 funding, and special education. A Pell Grant is funding to help college undergrads with financial need earn an undergraduate degree. Title 1 funding is extra funding to schools with 40% of students from low-income households. The money is given to local school districts, and the local school districts spend it. The money they distribute does help states and local school districts and, in theory, helps to level the opportunities within our country. What would you replace it with? Nothing? Or something different?

Last Sunday, Trump promised to put Herschel Walker in charge of US missile defense.

Anyone can send astronauts to Mars. Even Boeing got astronauts to the space station. Kennedy made the moonshot a lot harder as soon as he started talking about getting them back. 🙂 I like the idea of this list...

My predictions for Trump's 2nd term: Trump likes the adulation of the presidency. Trump has no interest in governing. And it will show. Trump will spend a lot of time golfing. Lots of parades. Lots of Diet Cokes. Governing will be delegated to others. He will be mostly alone in the White House. We will watch him get old and slow. Somewhere around the middle of 2026, both parties will kick off a wide open race for 2028 and attention will shift away from Trump, and he will not like it. Second terms usually see less action than the first, but we have never experienced non-consecutive terms. There may be more change in the next year or so, but eventually 2028 will loom. Trump's minions will do a lot of damage. His first term bench is gone. We are going to see some wacky people in high level jobs. The minions are the concern. The Dems have at least two years and maybe four to sit in the penalty box and think about how to get back on track.

1992: * A one-term president, portrayed hilariously by Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live, is removed from power and replaced by a guy born in 1946. 2024: * A one-term president, portrayed hilariously by Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live, is removed from power and replaced by a guy born in 1946.

Lady Gaga can sing... At this point, Andy Samberg is more Doug than Doug.

Trump has hosted SNL twice, once during his 2015 campaign. Candidates have made cameo appearances on SNL but I’m not aware of any other candidate that has hosted.

I would say Vandegrift. Looks like they are at the top of their district despite having the lowest enrollment: District 25 6a standings with UIL enrollment numbers: Vandegrift (2533.5) 7-0 Round Rock (3882) 6-1 Vista Ridge (2668.5) 5-2 McNeil (2631) 4-3 Hutto (2929.5) 3-4 Cedar Ridge (2898) 3-4 Stony Point (2769) 2-6 RR Westwood (2834) 1-6 Manor (2570) 1-6 Games left: RR Westwood vs Vista Ridge Round Rock vs Vandergrift Hutto vs McNeil Manor vs Cedar Ridge Austin High's enrollment is 2296.5, by comparison. One of the smallest schools in 6A.