Archive for June, 2007
Thursday Night at The Broken Spoke
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After a day shooting guns, what better way to unwind than with a little two step at The Broken Spoke, one of Austin’s most popular dance halls. Here I am with Broken Spoke owner James White and his son-in-law…from Manchester, England. I don’t think I need to explain who’s who.

I was trying to shoot this picture without being obvious. I’m gutted it came out blurry. But I think you get the idea.
I call this one: “The Gibson Bus.” Excuse the titles, I’m still learning. The singer, in case you’re wondering, is Jesse Dayton.
Texas Washout
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It’s rained every day since I arrived in Austin. The TV and radio are full of stories of flooding, rooftop rescues, and rising streams, rivers and lakes. Some parts of Texas nearby are being pelted with the same amount of rainfall in 24 hours—about 18 ins—as they would normally expect in one year. And yet I am in that strange situation where the only evidence I see of the flooding is on the news. In Austin itself, all I see is a gray sky and intermittent bursts of sunshine:
Central Texas is getting hit by more storms this morning, and the National Weather Service has put a large portion of Central Texas, including Travis, Hays and Williamson counties, under a flash flood warning until 11:15 a.m. The storms, which are moving in from the southwest, are expected to cause flash flooding and spread north throughout the morning. There’s another line of storms coming into the area from the northwest through the Hill Country.
[...]As of 6:45 this morning, Lake Travis was at 693.6 feet above sea level, which is 12 feet above what is considered full. The Lower Colorado River Authority, which regulates the flow of water through a series of dams on the Colorado River, says four floodgates are open at Mansfield Dam, which regulates Lake Travis. Three floodgates are open at Tom Miller Dam, which holds in Lake Austin.
A Petite Brunette With Terrific Legs…and Alzheimer’s
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the more unusual intros to a story:
First you get phone calls that seem kind of strange. Mom is quitting her bridge club because “they think I’m stealing from them.”
A week later, she mentions an old boyfriend from the war who’s coming to take her to dinner. You think, OK, it could be true.
Then the police call from her house. “Your mom thinks there’s someone hiding under her bed.”
Now you know. The forgetfulness, the fantasies, are dementia, Alzheimer’s, something like that. Your sister suspects the worst.
This isn’t just the story of one petite brunette with terrific legs who was called “Shorty” by her husband, granddaughters and daughters, including me.
This is the story of millions of Americans caring for elderly parents and maneuvering in the murky worlds of medicine, law, hospitals, nursing homes, guilt, fear and family ties.
Spotted in USA Today.
Overheard at Austin Airport
Posted by: | CommentsA song on the radio with the lyrics “Oh Lord I wish John Stetson made a heart instead of a hat.”
On The Road Again
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On the road again. This time headed for Austin, Texas, on another work project.
I’m really looking forward to seeing Texas again after our roadtrip from Houston to Big Bend to Marfa last year. I’m expecting tasty barbecue, great live music and lots of big hats.
If this work assignment is similar to the last one in England there won’t be too much spare time. But I do intend to make the most of it, and to find out why the city’s unofficial motto is “Keep Austin Weird.”
The Times They Are A-Changin’
Posted by: | CommentsI always swore never to blog while drunk. But I have a very busy day ahead tomorrow. And if not now, when?
Tonight, thanks to my friend Jen, I attended the farewell party for the New York Times building at 229 West 43rd Street. The Times has occupied the building for almost 100 years. And it was a delight to watch the staff partying among the desks in the now vacant newsroom.

it was a little sad too. I only got to visit the building a few times since I arrived in New York. But the rooms definitely had a certain aura about them. The place just oozed news. In a hundred years will the new building feel the same? Probably.

It was also great to see my friend Nick (left) who splits his time between the Times’ research and development department and the news department. I knew Nick growing up in Leeds. But we hadn’t seen each other for about 15 years until we met up the other week via Facebook. Nick and his colleague Michael (pictured with Michael’s wife Kim) flew to England last week where they competed in Hack Day London.

Nick and Michael took on hundreds of developers from companies such as IBM and Google to design a new web mashup in just a couple of days. Apparently they were up until four in the morning putting the finishing touches to their application called Shifd, which syncs a computer and a cell phone. Not only is Shifd a brilliant idea. It also won first place.
How’s The Weather Over There?
Posted by: | CommentsA Brooklyn Lad is basking in the rays of a little schadenfreude. (I suppose by posting this, I am too.)



