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Football Time in Texas
August 30, 2007The circus is in town boys....Every Friday night until mid December (and some Thursdays and Saturdays), the greatest spectacle in sports will be on display in virtually every town with a high school football field.
Texas Friday night football....the greatest season on earth.
For me it starts tonight with the Kickoff Classic between Windthorst and Holliday. There is no reason the stands shouldn't be full of people from both towns, and anybody else who just wants to see some football.
I'm pretty excited....see you there.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
New pair of kicks.
August 29, 2007Ever since I was worked at a huge shoe store when I was just out of high school, I've always been a bit OCD about shoes.
Especially when it's time for me to purchase new ones and wade through the crap that the major shoe companies throws out there and tries to pass off as anything other than "cool."
All that non-withstanding, I bought a new pair of shoes the other day....
Really, it is kind of a big ordeal for me to find exactly what I am looking for in a pair of shoes. My needs are simple, but fairly specific.
- Good pronation control (I have the bad tendancy of rolling my feet inwards when I walk, causing all kinds of knee problems)
- Good cushioning system (I am on my feet almost all day shooting things and running around)
- Colors that aren't rediculously bright....and not white (because my shoes get fairly dirty pretty quickly).
It doesn't really sound all that hard if you only take into account two out of the three....but all three is what I want.
After high school, I got a job at the "big box concept" shoe store Just for Feet. We stocked some 10,000 pairs of shoes in our warehouse and easily had the biggest selection in Fort Worth/Dallas. I worked my way up to being one of the assistant managers and earned all kinds of shoe company certifications (meaning I knew everything there was to know about Nike, New Balance, Adidas, etc.)
Believe it or not...there are a few shoe companies out there that are still relatively unknown to the masses. Companies that cater to the needs of the very specific and have pretty much cut out a niche from the Nike/Reebok/Adidas crowd.
Take my new company of choice....Brooks. Now, I've known about Brooks for a long time, but haven't been really impressed with their product line for a few years. Until now that is. I had several pairs of Brooks shoes back 7-9 years ago...and I loved them.
Well, back before the summer started, I was having more than normal trouble with my knees, and something somebody said to me made me realize that I really needed to seek out a shoe that would help me stop rolling my feet in.
There are several shoes out there designed with that specific purpose....even Nike has a few technical shoes like this. But the majority were from Brooks or Asics (a longtime runner's fave.) I gave the Brooks Trance 6 a shot (at $120) and never looked back. I learned a long time ago also that shoe companies put a lot more technology in their more expensive shoe.....and nothing is more important than being comfortable on your feet.
Well, with football season fast approaching, I decided it was time for a footwear upgrade. I immeadiately looked to the Brooks line for what I wanted.
I was hoping for a trail runner (something with better off-road grip and water resistance if not total water proof). Brooks had one. The Adrenaline ASR 4.
I didn't pull the trigger right away, but it was always the front-runner. I didn't even have to try it on (good thing too, because nobody in town carried it).
Now, my mom has never liked the dark colored shoes that I have always tried to wear....but I know she'd be proud of me trying hard to take care of my feet.
After all....they'll carry you the rest of your life, you just have to treat them right.
The only thing I don't like about them.....the burnt orange. I am a Boomer Sooner fan....and that awful color was nearly enough to prevent me from getting them.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 8:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Fat Elvis
The favorite son of Tupelo, Mississippi may have had it coming one way or another.
Depending on what you believe caused Elvis to die on the toilet.... he probably would have had a massive heart attack anyways.
Mississippi is the fattest state in the union according to a new study by the Trust for America's Health.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Experts say Mississippians need to skip the gravy, say no to the fried pickles and start taking brisk walks to fight an epidemic of obesity.According to a new study, this Deep South state is the fattest in the nation. The Trust for America's Health, a research group that focuses on disease prevention, says Mississippi is the first state where more than 30 percent of adults are considered obese.
Aside from making Mississippi the butt of late-night talk show jokes, the obesity epidemic has serious implications for public policy.
There are nearly 3 million people living in the "Deep South" of 'Ole Miss. That would mean nearly 1 million of them are obese.
Big shocker there.... they practically invented fried _____________ (chicken, okra, pie, etc.) They may have even started the fried turkey tradition in Mississippi. And who hasn't been to a catfish fry.
I know all about the fried culture of the great state of Mississippi. My mom's father comes from those parts and he can make some amazing fried chicken and catfish.
The story makes some intresting points though...up until this year, schools in Mississippi were not required to have P.E. time. This year, mandatory 150 minutes a week (or 1/2 an hour a day).
How on earth can you not have some kind of structured time where you run the kids around until they are tired?
I don't remember how long each day I was in PE in elementary school....but I remember Coach K. at Benbrook Elementary. He was everybody's stereotypical PE coach.
Grey coaching shorts up to his thighs.....grey shirt stretched across his huge back. He looked like a retired linebacker and he worked us until we fell down.
If he said start doing jumping jacks....you didn't wait to see how long he'd say to do them. You just started jumping.
And lunches... we never had soda machines in the elementary school. And my mom never gave me a canned soda to drink. It was always either tea, kool-aid or water. Usually kool-aid with about 1/2 the sugar it should have had.
Percentage wise...Mississippi probably has Texas beat on the overweight problem. But I'm pretty sure that Texas has a much larger number of people, including children, who are overweight.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 7:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Not feeling so Hotter'N Hell
August 27, 2007Sorry for the lack-o-blogs the last few days. I haven't been feeling very well.
And I'm pretty tough, but some kinda bug nearly put me out of commission, even though I didn't get to take any time off of work.
Sick Jason is not a Happy Jason
So it all kinda started Thursday afternoon. All of a sudden, this wave of a headache came over me. Not like one of my normal stress-related headaches either.
This one was a doozy.
After about an hour of that...the old bones starting hurting. Now, I know that 28 isn't "old", but my shoulder, neck, knees, chest, calves and feet started feeling like I had just completed the 100-mile route of the Hotter'N Hell.
Then came the fever.....now, I don't remember the last time that I actually had a fever....but before bedtime, it was at 101.5.
By morning, it was 101.7 and I still had to come to work on Friday, there just wasn't anything I could do about it. Jeff wouldn't be able to cover all of the Hotter'N Hell 100 stuff by himself.
I was like a freaking zombie for the entire day. I couldn't focus on the computer screen, I was probably rocking back and forth in my chair.
And I didn't recognize the height of my fever.... but I was shaking from being cold. I kept asking if I was the only person who was cold, and people were looking at me crazy.
I drove home without the air conditioner on because I had goosebumps all over.
I would guess that the fever reached it's height of about 102 degrees. Then the sore throat and cough came into play.
It was about this point that I had to go shoot the Men's and Women's Criterium Friday night. I could barely form a complete sentence. I was lucky to get whatever shots I could. At one point during the women's race...I just sat on the curb for about 10 laps, just watching them go by and trying to not fall over.
Friday night spelled relief.... I think the fever broke sometime after 3 a.m. I woke up about 7:30 for HHH100 duty with a temp of 98.2. I joked with my girlfriend that I was going to go from a fever to hypothermia.
The cough and sore throat was still there...but it slowly worked it's way away over the rest of the weekend.
I'm sitting at the computer now, feeling about 300% better than I did on Friday.
All of this...without ever going to the doctor. Although I probably should have. My educated guess would be I had some kind of 3-day flu bug. I know I hadn't felt like that in a looooong time.
It's good to feel good.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
We are go for launch. Go for launch.
August 23, 2007If you're reading this blog...you have no doubt already seen the rest of the new TRN website.
If you haven't seen it yet, finish reading this first, then go look at it.
There are a few things about this new design that I love. Of course, they are all photography related.
First: The ability to have several large thumbnail photos in the story window make a lot of sense. And, you can click on them and they will be enlarged to a huge size for better viewing. This was not something we could do with the old page.
It allows us photogs. to have more photos on the web....which is important to us, and those that like looking at our stuff.
Second: We have a dedicated multimedia area where we can put up slideshows of events now....there's a Texas Ranch Roundup one up alread, I'm working on the flooding slideshow, and the Hotter'N Hell 100 after the weekend.
Again...this is kinda new for us. But it's not going to take long for me to love love love it.
I'm not really sure how I feel about the ability for readers to post comments without any kind of moderation (other than the cuss word filter)....but as long as it works okay, it's kinda cool. But I can see things turning ugly really quickly when we get into football season and the Coyote faithful have their annual inferiority complex.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 1:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Testing Testing...is this thing on?
August 22, 2007So...apparently, my concerns of not being able to being over our blog archives has been fixed. Yay for me.
I guess that means that people are actually listening to me around here.
Let the blogging commence.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
New TRN Website
August 17, 2007So...in case you haven't heard yet...
The TRN's completely new website is due to launch either next Tuesday or Thursday (21 or 23). We've heard both dates tossed around. Honestly, a lot of people would rather wait until Thursday so we can continue to iron out the kinks.
We had a training day on the new system yesterday, and I think that everybody is going to like it. I'm just glad that it's finally a reality and not some rumor about the site.
Lots of good news for people who like reading our website and blogs on the net.....
But there is bad news.
While we will continue to have our blog section, we won't be able to carry our archived blogs over to the new site with us. The system is totally new. They want everybody's blog to be consistent with the overall look of the new website.
Unless I copy and paste the old blogs, they'll be lost to cyberspace. That's just a bit time-consuming for me.
The good news is I'll still be able to post photos....and seeing as how I can't write, that's about all I've got I guess.
I'll probably take the time off from this blog until the new site launches, especially if I can't carry over what I'd write.
peaaaaaaace.....
Posted by Jason Palmer at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Greatest Holiday Ever...
August 15, 2007Found this article in the Denver Post this morning.....wow.
Basically...it's a baby-making contest. Have a day off from work to focus on baby-making and hope that you have the baby on June 12, the day the parliament of the Russian Federation formally declares its sovereignty in 1990.
Moscow - A Russian region of Ulyanovsk has found a novel way to fight the nation's birth-rate crisis: It has declared Sept. 12 the Day of Conception and for the third year running is giving couples time off from work to procreate.The hope is for a brood of babies exactly nine months later on Russia's national day. Couples who "give birth to a patriot" during the June 12 festivities win money, cars, refrigerators and other prizes.
Ulyanovsk, about 550 miles east of Moscow, has held similar contests since 2005. Since then, the number of competitors, and the number of babies born to them, has been on the rise.
Russia, with one-seventh of Earth's land surface, has just 141.4 million citizens, making it one of the most sparsely settled countries in the world. With a low birth rate and a high death rate, the population has been shrinking since the early 1990s.
In his state-of-the-nation address last year, President Vladimir Putin called the demographic crisis the most acute problem facing Russia and announced a broad effort to boost Russia's birth rate, including cash incentives to families that have more than one child.
Ulyanovsk Gov. Sergei Morozov has added an element of fun to the national campaign.
The 2007 grand prize went to Irina and Andrei Kartuzov, who received a UAZ-Patriot, a sport utility vehicle. Other contestants won video cameras, TVs, refrigerators and washing machines.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 1:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
The harshest comment so far...
August 10, 2007This made me smile this morning....it was a comment in regards to the blog stats.
I just couldn't help but post it for everybody to see and punch a few holes into it.
The problem, though, is you're not a writer. You're a photog, looking for a platform for notoriety. People read Gholson because he's got interesting things to say. You don't. Nick is trained as a writer. You're not. Do you see Nick posting pics on his blog and saying, "Oooh, look at the pretty picture I took?" No, you don't.Stick with what you know - click, click - taking pictures. Save the writing for the people that are paid to do it..... April
A few things....first of all, yeah, actually I am a trained writer. That's a huge part of the journalism program at Midwestern State. I graduated in Dec. 2004 with classes including News Writing I and II, Feature Writing, Mass Comm Law, not to mention all of the television broadcast classes I took as my minor.
Not only did I anchor MSU's weekly student-run news show, but also shot stories (video) and wrote scripts for the other anchors to read as well.
Then there was all the time I put in at the Wichitan, MSU's Student newspaper, where my first award-winning piece was for writing. Imagine that. I went on to write dozens of articles ranging from sports features, game stories, a weekly column and was the primary beat writer for the administration beat, where I covered the beginning of the financial crisis at MSU (and across the state) and the deregulation of tuition and the Board of Regents.
I could pull up the list of awards I received for things other than being a photographer, but that's just being a bit over-dramatic.
As for looking for a platform for notoriety.....I'm not even sure how to respond to that. I don't go out of my way to write derisive things in an effort to stir up people as Nick does on occasion. I haven't attempted to incur the wrath of the First Baptists as he did the other day.
I think the main thing is, people read Nick G. because he's been around here for 423 years. He is very entrenched in the community, especially with his ridiculously detailed knowledge of historical football lore. Nick is a lightning rod, people either love him dearly or hate his freaking guts.
Clearly....April must love him.
Now, if you'll excuse me, i have to go...click click...take pictures.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
July Blog Stats
August 7, 2007Still behind Nick.....grr.
Nick - 399
Jason - 318
Some other folks....less than 100
Must...keeep....writing.....
Posted by Jason Palmer at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Two drownings in two weeks....
August 6, 2007Seriously folks, how many kids sinking to the bottom of pools does it take before parents will take some freaking responsibility for their kids.
Nothing in the world frustrates me as much as kids running all kinds of chaotic loose without proper supervision.
As bad as it is for the parents who lose their child.... it's the people like my sister that I worry about.
She is a respitory therapist at Cooks Children in Fort Worth. Daily, she deals with kids dying because of the mistakes of their parents. DAILY.
Case in point....
FORT WORTH -- Police are awaiting lab results to confirm their suspicions that a 39-year-old man was drunk early this morning during an all-terrain vehicle crash that left his 12-year-old daughter seriously injured.Emergency crews were called to the 7600 block of Parkwood Plaza about 3 a.m. after a caller reported that the vehicle had rolled over on the street and that two people were injured. When they arrived, they found 39-year-old Louie Esparza kneeling over his 12-year-old daughter, said Lt. Dean Sullivan, police spokesman.
Esparza told police that he was driving his camouflage E-Z-Go vehicle — similar to a golf cart — in the 7600 block of Parkwood Plaza Drive when he lost control and the vehicle rolled over near the intersection of Haun Drive.
During the crash the cart rolled atop of the girl, police said, resulting in a severe head injury and numerous abrasions.
The girl was taken to Cook Children’s Medical Center where she was last listed in serious condition, police said.
Believing that Esparza was intoxicated and after finding evidence of alcohol in the debris from the crash, police arrested Esparza on suspicion of intoxication assault and injury to a child. He was later released from custody pending the findings of his blood alcohol level.
The residential neighborhood is northwest of the intersection with U.S. 377 and Basswood Boulevard and west of Fort Worth’s boundary with Watauga.
Check back for details.
Deanna Boyd, 817-390-7655
What the heck is a 12-yr old doing up at 3 a.m. hanging out with her drunk father riding around in an all-terain golf cart?
I'd be willing to bet that my little sister is helping that child breathe through a machine at the moment.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 1:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Shame Shame Shame
August 3, 2007Normal weekend rate at Best Western (both locations) in Wichita Falls - $69 per night
"Special" HH100 rate.... $269 per night.
That isn't only rediculous...that is absolutely price gouging. No question. Who knows, they may have been doing this for a few years, but with the shortage of rooms in the city due to the flooding and whatnot, you'd think they would back down a bit. Guess they're just being greedy.
What really stands out to me is that none of the other hotels are raising their rates, especially not the 4-5x the Best Western locations are. Looks like I'll be boycotting a hotel chain for a while.
By Lee Anderson/Times Record News August 2, 2007Finding accommodations for the massive influx of out-of-towners for the Hotter'N Hell Hundred traditionally causes headaches for people who need hotel and motel rooms and the organizers of the event.
This year is no exception.
In addition to a shortage of rooms throughout the Wichita Falls area for the event that attracts some 12,000 riders each year, at least two motels appear to be raising their prices significantly to take advantage of the visitors, director Roby Christy believes.
Click below for the rest of the story if you missed it.
Christy said the two Best Western motels in Wichita Falls have established "a Hotter''N Hell Hundred rate - which is four or five times the normal rate in Wichita Falls.""They established a rate of $269 per night, and it comes to about $300 when you add taxes," Christie said. "Not very many are willing to stay there. They (Best Western) have been unavailable for me."
Christie said he found out about the huge rate hike a few months ago when one of the ride participants emailed him about the situation.
"I contacted the Best Western national and they said it is a local decision. I explained to them that people who are going to be upset don't know the difference between Best Westerns. A Best Western is a Best Western.
"You can look at their Web site and they use the phrase 'low rate guaranteed worldwide.' I wonder what that means? The segment of this community that has the greatest opportunity to profit by tourism is poorly represented by Best Westerns' rate structure. In my opinion, it is an unfair rate and unjustified."
Mani Patel, the general manager of the Best Western Northtown, confirmed the price for the Hotter'N Hell weekend. The normal weekend rate, he said, is $69 per night.
"That ($269) is true," he said. "I have made them a good deal. Others make you buy two nights. They are charging much more.
"Some have lower rates but they make you buy two-night packages. They don't have to buy two nights here."
Patel said he doesn't feel his business is price gouging.
"Do you really think so? It is not. It is the one event of the year everybody is doing it. You have to meet supply and demand. People come in here year after year. This happens every year and you people start jumping on this."
The Best Western Wichita Falls Inn also charges $69 per night, with no special weekend rate, a spokesman said. It likewise is charging $269 for the HHH weekend, which comes to $306.89 with taxes.
The manager of that hotel was not available for comment late Wednesday.
Rates vary
A survey of other Wichita Falls hotels by the TRN showed that two hotels do require two-night stays - Hawthorne Suites and Ramada limited. But spokespeople said their HHH are much lower than the Best Western motels. Hawthorne's is $138 per night plus tax while Ramada Limited's is $89 plus tax.
Other motels contacted by the TRN said their rates for HHH weekend are not adjusted upward above their regular rates.
Christie said he approached the city about establishing an ordinance that would disallow hotels and motels from going up more than 60 percent for any event, not just the Hotter'N Hell. But the city said it was impossible since it wasn't an emergency situation.
"I worked with the city attorney and the Visitors and Convention Bureau, but they said it couldn't happen," Christie said. "They tried, but it didn't work."
Christie stressed that the event is highly supported by the majority of the hotel industry in Wichita Falls.
"We have criticized the price structure at the Best Westerns, but we get tremendous and appreciated support from most of the hotel industry in Wichita Falls," Christie said.
"Wichita Falls isn't the only city faced with this issue. Many cities that host huge, popular events actively try to find some common ground between event organizers and hoteliers in terms of their pricing. The CVB doesn't determine pricing for any business or organization, it's just not what we do," Wichita Falls Visitors and Convention Bureau director Tawanna Thomas said.
"We do know how important these types of events, such as HHH, are to a community and look forward to this year's tremendous event, as do so many riders who come to Wichita Falls," she said.
Flood impact
Christie said part of the shortage of motel and hotel rooms is because of the closing of the Knights Inn (old Tradewinds) and the temporary closing of the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, which suffered damage from last month's flooding.
"Hotels are booked up all around here all the way up into Lawton," Christie pointed out. "We have some trouble with hotels ...one (Knights Inn) that we had last year is closed and the Holiday Inn can't seem to make up its mind whether to be open because of the flood."
Christie said a representative of the Holiday Inn had said it wasn't being allowed by the city health department to reopen at this time, but he said the health department denied that.
"I called Nila Patel (hotel representative) and called her hand. She said there were a lot of situations with the catastrophe and that they were not going to be able to be open. I shamed her on that," Christie said.
He also said he couldn't persuade the hotel to contact those who had already made reservations for the HHH weekend to inform them of the closure.
"She wanted us to provide volunteers to call those with reservations and tell them there were not going to be open," he said. "I said no ...that it was their job. I don't know if they are going to call them or not. She would not give me a number for the local representative, just an email address. I got no response. I don't know what they have done about that. You just get a recording saying they are not open."
A sign on the door at the Holiday Inn said that it was closed for repairs caused by the recent flooding and that it was scheduled to reopen Sept. 1.
The closure of the two facilities equates to displacing at least 600 people, he said, possibly 1,200, since there are normally at least two people to a room.
New hotels
Possibly two to three motels that are under construction will be open in time for the late August event.
Clyde Katzaman, owner representative for the soon-to-open Ramada on Maplewood, said the construction project is 95 percent complete and that they hope to be open by Aug. 15.
Sonny Kurani, owner of the Baymont Inn & Suites and Days Inn & Suites, located on Kell Boulevard, also told Christie he is making an attempt to have the motels open in time to accommodate patrons.
"He said he is trying to have at least one of them open in time," Christie explained. "He has hired some additional workers and they are working on both to have them open. He hopes to know by the end of the week."
The Ramada will have 80 rooms and suites. He said room rates range from $69 to $149.
The Baymont Inn & Suites will have 65 rooms and the Days Inn & Suites will have 55 rooms, according to Judy Kurani, general manager and co-owner with her husband.
"We are running a triple crew so we can get them open," she said. "It is going to be tough. I can't predict it (opening). One holdup can hold up the whole process. We have always been a supporter of the local folks and we want to support what goes on in Wichita Falls."
Although the room rates haven't been determined, Judy Kurani said "they will be in line with anyone else in Wichita Falls."
"We have done a survey of Wichita Falls rates. There are standard rates and then those for the Hotter'N Hell Hundred," she said. "We are very much in line. Our goal is to help the community and not price gouge."
Posted by Jason Palmer at 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wow...it's August
August 1, 2007Amazing how this year has flown by all of a sudden.
I'll post some bloggings up later this afternoon.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
