OH NO SHE DIDN’T: Sarah Fowlkes: This Bad Teacher is All Smiles After Student-Sex Bust
Posted: March 21, 2017 Filed under: Crime & Corruption, Education, Law & Justice, Mediasphere | Tags: Harris County, Houston, Houston Chronicle, Houston Police Department, Lockhart High School, Sarah Fowlkes, Sex, Sexual Misconduct, Teacher, Texas 1 CommentYaro Steinbuch reports: Married Texas teacher Sarah Fowlkes couldn’t wipe the smile off her face for her mugshot after being accused of romping with a 17-year-old student, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Fowlkes, 26, was suspended from her job as an anatomy and physiology teacher at Lockhart High School after turning herself in to police Monday – hours after celebrating her birthday with her hubby.
The beaming blonde allegedly engaged in “sexual content with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire” of the student, the Daily Star reported.
Detectives launched the investigation on March 10 after getting a tip from a school administrator. The probe led them to the boy, who had been in touch with Fowlkes, cops said.
[VIDEO] BOY HOWDY: Super Bowl Brings Economic Surge to Houston
Posted: February 3, 2017 Filed under: Breaking News, Censorship, Entertainment, Mediasphere | Tags: Civic Pride, Football, Groundbreaking, Houston, Superbowl, Texas Leave a comment

ASTRODOME – DOMED STADIUM GROUNDBREAKING JAN. 3, 1962, HARRIS COUNTY TEXAS. At the January 1962 groundbreaking ceremony for the Harris County Domed Stadium, civic leaders eschewed shovels in favor of Colt 45s.
[VIDEO] The Gift of Apollo
Posted: December 18, 2016 Filed under: History, Mediasphere, Science & Technology, Space & Aviation | Tags: 1960s, Apollo, Buzz Alrdrin, Earth, Houston, Michael Collins, Moon, Moon landing, NASA, Neil Armstrong, Space Exploration, Space Program, video Leave a comment
Space History: The Brilliant, Funny Computer Code Behind the Apollo 11 Mission
Posted: July 16, 2016 Filed under: Global, History, Science & Technology, Space & Aviation | Tags: Apollo 11, Apollo program, Astronaut, Houston, Manned Mission, Margaret Hamilton, MIT, NASA, Space Exploration Leave a commentThe code was written in the late ’60s by Margaret Hamilton and her team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Instrumentation Laboratory for the Apollo Guidance Computer.
Paul Smith writes: NASA’s Apollo 11 mission—the mission that put human beings on the moon for the first time—was launched in 1969, the year after I was born. My early Christmas presents were giant kids’ books full of pictures of that giant Saturn V rocket launching into space, the command and lunar modules, and of guys in bulky space suits walking on the moon. The first intelligible answer I gave to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” was, “Astronaut.”
I did not end up becoming an astronaut.
Computers also captured my attention at an early age, and now I work as a developer for Slate. But my fascination with space endures—so needless to say, I was pretty excited when I heard that the source code for Apollo 11’s computer guidance systems was uploaded on July 8 to Github, a popular site used by programmers to share code and collaboratively build software. Anyone can now read the actual lines of programming code used to land men on the moon.
[Read the full story here, at slate.com]
The code was written in the late ’60s by Margaret Hamilton and her team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Instrumentation Laboratory for the Apollo Guidance Computer.
“I have no idea what a DVTOTAL is, but I’m pretty sure that by BURNBABY, they mean ‘launch a 300-foot rocket ship into space.’ And how totally and completely freaking awesome is that?”
The code is pretty inscrutable to casual inspection: It’s not written in a programming language recognizable to modern coders. But Hamilton and her team wrote comments in their code (just like I do when I write code for Slate’s website) to help remind them what’s going on in a given spot in the program. Those parts are surprisingly readable. Here’s a block of code from a file called BURN_BABY_BURN–MASTER_IGNITION_ROUTINE.s (really, that’s what it’s called):

So, clearly, “don’t forget to clean out leftover DVTOTAL data when GROUP 4 RESTARTS and then BURN, BABY!” I have no idea what a DVTOTAL is, but I’m pretty sure that by BURNBABY, they mean “launch a 300-foot rocket ship into space.” And how totally and completely freaking awesome is that?
47 years ago today Neil, Mike & I took a ride on a big rocket to the moon.
Liftoff on #Apollo11 pic.twitter.com/FrvdmddkYo— Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) July 16, 2016
Altogether, with comments and some added copyright headers, the AGC code adds up to about 2 megabytes—a teeny tiny fraction of the amount of code packed into an Apple Watch. Read the rest of this entry »
Cocaine Found Inside Barrels of Hot Sauce
Posted: July 14, 2016 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Food & Drink | Tags: El Chapo, Hot sauce, Houston, Sinaloa Cartel 1 Comment13 Tons of Cocaine Linked to Sinaloa Cartel
A Mexican cartel allegedly tried to smuggle 13 tons of cocaine by hiding it in barrels of hot sauce.
“The Mexican government was tipped off to the cocaine-laced ‘salsa picante’ through intelligence work among different government branches.”
According to the website Blog del Narco, the Mexican navy found the barrels full of zesty condiment and cocaine in Manzanillo, Colimo, about 500 miles west of Mexico City. The drugs are believed to belong to the Sinaloa Cartel.
[SEE ALSO: ‘El Chapo’ is still behind bars, but Twitter users showed preparedness amid rumors of a third escape]
Blog del Narco reports the drugs were found inside a container from Ecuador and were bound for the port of Mazatlan, Sinaloa.
The Mexican government was tipped off to the cocaine-laced “salsa picante” through intelligence work among different government branches.
When the barrels were recovered by authorities isn’t clear. Blog del Narco’s report on the 13 tons of cocaine taken by authorities was published Wednesday.
[SEE ALSO: Released Mexican drug lord trying to get back into business]
The blog also reports that on Tuesday, the Mexican navy found 33 packages of cocaine floating in the water, off the coast of Chiapas, near Guatemala.
Blog del Narco reports the cocaine recovered in Chiapas weighed almost 2,000 pounds and could fetch up to $810 million, according to the Mexican government. Read the rest of this entry »
Massive LGBT Turnout for Free Training Course Surprises Local Shooting Range
Posted: June 24, 2016 Filed under: Guns and Gadgets, Self Defense | Tags: Conceal Carry, Firearm Safety, gun range, Gun rights, Houston, LGBT community, Open Carry, Training 1 CommentHOUSTON – Ryan Korsgard reports: It was a unique offer by the Shiloh Shooting Range in northwest Harris County, just days after the shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. Shiloh offered free gun classes to the LGBT community and hundreds of people responded.
“We learned gun safety,” said Jared Anthony. “We learned that it’s not … it’s a big responsibility. If you do carry, it’s something that you do need to take seriously. You are providing … you’re providing a service to the community really.”
Anthony was one of the more than 300 people who responded to Shiloh’s offer of free concealed carry classes. The calls kept coming.
“Everybody has been so excited about being able to come out and do this. And it’s been a great learning experience for not only my community but for their community as well. They’re learning about their rights and learning about the License to Carry Class and they’re absolutely thrilled to take it.”
“They’re not necessarily what we’ve been told and we’re not necessarily what they’ve been told,” said Shiloh owner Jeff Sanford.
He said the classes broke barriers. In the first class, he said 60 of 62 who signed up showed up. He said that was a record for a free class. Read the rest of this entry »
Multiple People Trapped Beneath Scaffolding Collapse in Downtown Houston
Posted: October 16, 2015 Filed under: U.S. News | Tags: American Broadcasting Company, American City Business Journals, Apartment, Architectural Review, Construction, Houston, Minute Maid Park, Scaffolding Leave a commentAt least six construction workers have been injured in a huge scaffolding collapse in downtown Houston.
“We are monitoring the situation very closely and working alongside authorities as we try to determine the cause of this accident. In the mean time, we are grateful to the first responders on the scene and praying that everyone is OK.”
The accident occurred just after 11am at a luxury apartment building under construction at 300 Crawford at Commerce, near Minute Maid Park.
HFD Captain Ruy Lozano says six workers have been pulled from the rubble and have been transported to area hospitals. Capt. Lozano describes the injuries as non life-threatening, but significant.
[CLICK HERE TO WATCH LIVE VIDEO]
Capt. Lozano says a secondary collapse is not only possible, but highly likely. Onlookers are being moved back due to fears of further collapse.
Witness Julio Zavala says he heard the collapse and ran toward the scene, where he helped pull at least one victim from the twisted metal.com Read the rest of this entry »
WTC Tribute in Light: Never Forget
Posted: September 12, 2015 Filed under: Art & Culture, History, U.S. News, War Room | Tags: 9-11, Firefighters, Houston, New York City, NYC, Police, Tribute in Light, World Trade Center, WTC Leave a commentToday marks the 14th anniversary of terrorist attacks in the US
Source: Houston’s MIX 96-5
Suspect Arrested in Shooting of Houston Sheriff’s Deputy
Posted: August 29, 2015 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, U.S. News | Tags: Devon Anderson, Gas station, Harris County, Harris County Sheriff's Office (Texas), Houston, Ron Hickman, Search warrant, Sheriff, Texas 1 CommentThe officer was shot from behind while filling up his vehicle
Officials say a suspect has been arrested in the fatal shooting of a deputy at a suburban Houston gas station.
Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman was scheduled to hold a news conference at 4:30 p.m. CDT to discuss the arrest.
Officials with the sheriff’s office declined to comment on details of the arrest or what charge the suspect might face until the news conference….(read more)
Source: TIME
Texas Deputy Executed Days After Black Radical Group Calls for Killing Cops
Posted: August 29, 2015 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption | Tags: Ford Ranger, Gas station, Harris County, Harris County Sheriff's Office (Texas), Houston, Police car, Sheriff, Texas Leave a commentHOUSTON, Texas — A Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy was shot execution style at a gas station while reportedly in full uniform. The deputy was filling up his patrol car. Witnesses told Breitbart Texas the shooter shot the deputy in the back of the head and then three times in the back. This tragedy comes within days of a group of Black radicals calling for “lynching whites and killing cops,” as Breitbart Texas recently reported. Witnesses also told Breitbart Texas that the shooter was a black male…(read more)
Source: Breitbart.com
[VIDEO] REASON TV: Whole Foods’ John Mackey: Why Intellectuals Hate Capitalism
Posted: August 13, 2015 Filed under: Economics, Mediasphere, Politics, Think Tank | Tags: American City Business Journals, American wine, Austin, Capitalism, Conscious Capitalism, Democratic Party (United States), Free market, Houston, John Mackey, Liberal Fascism, Nick Gillespie, Peter Thiel, Reason.tv, Texas, Todd Krainin, United States, Whole Foods Market Leave a commentThey’re jealous, he says, they side with rulers, and they don’t understand how markets work.
Nick Gillespie & Todd Krainin “Intellectuals have always disdained commerce” says Whole Foods Market co-founder John Mackey. They “have always sided…with the aristocrats to maintain a society where the businesspeople were kind of kept down.”
More than any other outlet, Whole Foods has reconfigured what and how America eats and the chain’s commitment to high-quality meats, produce, cheeses, and wines is legendary. Since opening his first store in Austin, Texas in 1980, Mackey now oversees operations around the globe and continues to set the pace for what’s expected in organic and sustainably raised and harvested food.
Check out the book “Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business” at Amazon.com]
Because of Whole Foods’ trendy customer base and because Mackey is himself a vegan and champions collaboration between management and workers, it’s easy to mistake Mackey for a progressive left-winger. Indeed, an early version of Jonah Goldberg‘s best-selling 2008 book Liberal Fascism even bore the subtitle “The Totalitarian Temptation from Mussolini to Hillary Clinton and The Totalitarian Temptation from Hegel to Whole Foods.”
[See more at Reason.com]
Yet nothing could be further from the truth—and more distorting of the radical vision of capitalism at the heart of Mackey’s thought. A high-profile critic of the minimum wage, Obamacare, and the regulatory state, Mackey believes that free markets are the best way not only to raise living standards but also to explore new ways of building community and creating meaning for individuals and society.
[Order Jonah Goldberg’s book “Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning” from Amazon]
At the same time, he challenges all sorts of libertarian dogma, including the notion that publicly traded companies should always seek to exclusively maximize shareholder value. Conscious Capitalism, the book he co-authored with Rajendra Sisodia, lays out a detailed case for Mackey’s vision of a post-industrial capitalism that addresses spiritual desire as much as physial need. Read the rest of this entry »
Apollo 11 Astronauts Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong Returned Safely from the Moon, 46 Years Ago Today
Posted: July 24, 2015 Filed under: History, Science & Technology, Space & Aviation | Tags: 1060s, Apollo 11, Buzz Aldrin, Houston, Lunar Landing, Michael Collins, NASA, Neil Armstrong, The Space Race Leave a commentAs Dave in Texas notes, it was a mere 66 years from Kitty Hawk to the moon.
Homecoming Queen Swept Away In Floodwaters Coming Home From Prom
Posted: May 26, 2015 Filed under: Breaking News, U.S. News | Tags: CBS, CBS News, Flood, Homecoming Queen, Houston, Los Angeles, Prom, Texas, Twitter Leave a comment“She did the right things. She called 911. She called her father, but it was just too much and too quick.”
— Roberta Ramirez, Alyssa’s aunt
Josh Gelernter: Americans in Space
Posted: May 24, 2015 Filed under: History, Space & Aviation | Tags: Apollo 13, Elliot See, Eugene, Eugene Cernan, Frank Borman, Gemini 4, Gemini 6A, Houston, Jim Lovell, Jim McDivitt, Josh Gelernter, NASA, National Review, Pete Conrad, Texas, Thomas P. Stafford, Tom Stafford Leave a commentFifty years ago next month, Ed White made America’s first space walk
Josh Gelernter writes: We’re coming up to the 50th anniversary of one of the best-known photographs in history: astronaut Ed White floating in space with a gem-like blue Earth floating beneath him. Ed White made America’s first space walk on the first day of NASA’s Gemini 4 mission, June 3, 1965. Ed White, tethered to the Gemini capsule by a gold hose, was on the cover of Life; White and his photographer, Gemini 4 commander Jim McDivitt, were on the cover of Time.
[Read the full text here, at National Review]
White and McDivitt were both members of NASA’s second astronaut class, the “New Nine,” who followed the original “Mercury Seven.” The New Nine are generally considered the all-time greatest group of astronauts. They included Frank Borman, who commanded the first flight to the moon, Apollo 8, and Jim Lovell, who navigated Apollo 8 and commanded Apollo 13. Lovell was the first man to fly in space four times, and the first to fly to the moon twice.
Also: Pete Conrad, who commanded the first American space station and the second moon landing, and Tom Stafford, the pilot for the first space-rendezvous mission (Gemini 6A), the commander of the “dress rehearsal” for the first moon landing (Apollo 10), and the commander of the first joint American–Soviet space mission, Apollo–Soyuz.

Astronaut Ed White making first American space walk, 120 miles above the Pacific Ocean.
And John Young, who flew on the first Gemini mission, flew to the moon twice, on Apollo 10 and Apollo 16, which he commanded; commanded the first Space Shuttle flight and the first Spacelab mission, and became the first man to fly in space six times. Read the rest of this entry »
[VIDEO] Garland Shooting: Texas Imam Wants Free Speech Law Changed
Posted: May 13, 2015 Filed under: Censorship, Religion, War Room | Tags: First Amendment, Free speech, Freedom of speech, Garland Attack, Garland Shooting, Houston, Imam, Islamism, Jihadism, Pamela Geller, Sharia Law, Terrorism, Texas Leave a commentBREAKING: Texas House Gives Final OK to Open Carry of Handguns, Bitches
Posted: April 20, 2015 Filed under: Breaking News, Law & Justice, Mediasphere, Politics, Self Defense | Tags: America, American Civil Liberties Union, Austin, Civil Rights, Dallas, Gun rights, Handgun, handguns, Houston, Houston Chronicle, Open Carry, Open carry in the United States, Pistols, Police officer, Republican Party (United States), Second Amendment, Self-defense, Texas, Texas House of Representatives Leave a commentBREAKING: Texas House gives final OK to open carry of handguns http://t.co/2uedQXCK31
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) April 20, 2015
Astrodome Celebrates 50th Anniversary
Posted: April 9, 2015 Filed under: Entertainment, U.S. News | Tags: Bob Knepper, Eighth Wonder of the World, Harris County, Houston, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Nolan Ryan, Reliant Astrodome, Texas Leave a commentHOUSTON (CBS HOUSTON) – Howard Chen reports: The Astrodome still holds a special place in the hearts of Houston sports fans. Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of the first game ever played there.
“In ’97, seeing that place go crazy, in ’98, seeing that place go crazy, in ’99, we had 50-something-thousand people there, with the additions that they made for the football stadium, it doesn’t get any bigger than that for a baseball field.”
— Newly-elected Hall of Famer Craig Biggio
It was an exhibition contest on April 9, 1965 in which the Astros beat the Yankees 2-1 in 12 innings.
More recently, the Astrodome was home to the Astros during three years making the playoffs from 1997-1999. Newly-elected Hall of Famer Craig Biggio was a stalwart on those teams and played over a decade in the building known as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”
“In ’97, seeing that place go crazy, in ’98, seeing that place go crazy, in ’99, we had 50-something-thousand people there, with the additions that they made for the football stadium, it doesn’t get any bigger than that for a baseball field,” Biggio said. Read the rest of this entry »
[PHOTO] Gemini Mission Control, 1965
Posted: March 23, 2015 Filed under: History, Space & Aviation | Tags: Houston, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Marylebone Cricket Club, Mission control center, NASA Leave a commentGemini Mission Control
Overall view of the Mission Control Center (MCC), Houston, Texas, during the Gemini 5 flight. Note the screen at the front of the MCC which is used to track the progress of the Gemini spacecraft.
Family’s Pet Goat Killed, Skinned
Posted: March 5, 2015 Filed under: Crime & Corruption, U.S. News | Tags: CBS, Goat, Houston, Louisiana, Pet, Slaughter, Tangipahoa Parish 1 CommentTANGIPAHORA PARISH, La. (CBS Houston) – The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office says a family’s pet goat has been skinned and killed.
Authorities said it happened last weekend and the goat was left behind so the family could see it.
“Whenever I got close, I saw hooves and white fur and I was just horrified because why would somebody do this to our pet animal?”
“Come here baby,” Debbie Perret told WVUE-TV, as she petted another goat.
Perret says her family loves animals and that they are heartbroken over what happened to their goat.
“We bottle-fed them, Billy and Lilly, they were very bonded to each other,” Perret told WVUE.
Perret told the station that she noticed something outside when she woke up Sunday.
“I noticed my dog outside was pulling something that looked almost like a blanket, which – we didn’t have any blankets out there, just the hay,” she told WVUE.
“Somebody took her, killed her. I don’t even want to think about what they did to her – and then made a point of coming back a second time to flaunt what they had done, make a point of leaving her hide.”
Perret went on to say that she sent her 14-year-old son out to investigate.
“He started hollering, ‘it’s Lilly, it’s Lilly,’” Perret said.
The goat was found by the swing set that the family has in their backyard. Read the rest of this entry »
‘Tumbling End Over End’: Gemini VIII, 1966
Posted: January 20, 2015 Filed under: History, Science & Technology, Space & Aviation | Tags: Agena, Apollo 11, Apollo 13, Apollo program, Astronaut, Dave Scott, Gemini 8, Gemini Space Program, Gemini VIII, Houston, Moon, NASA, Neil Armstrong, Space Exploration, The Right Stuff (film) 1 CommentDave Scott (left) and Neil Armstrong breathe the fresh air of Earth as the hatches of Gemini VIII are opened after splashdown. Photo Credit: NASA
[Also see – ‘A Finite Number of Heartbeats’: The Trauma of Gemini VIII (Part 1)]
Ben Evans writes: Gemini VIII astronauts Neil Armstrong and Dave Scott accomplished a key goal in America’s bid to land a man on the Moon by successfully rendezvousing and docking with an unmanned Agena target vehicle in Earth orbit. As noted in part 1 AmericaSpace article, it was the first time that a manned vehicle had achieved physical contact with another target in space. However, the situation aboard Gemini VIII was far from perfect. A distinct lack of available tracking stations across the flight path had already resulted in decidedly “spotty” communications with the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) in Houston, Texas.
“We have serious problems here. We’re tumbling, end over end. We’re disengaged from the Agena.”
— Dave Scott
In fact, only two ship-based stations were supporting the flight, the Rose Knot Victor and the Coastal Sentry Quebec, together with a land site in Hawaii. Shortly before one loss of contact, at around 6:35 p.m. EST on 16 March 1966, Capcom Jim Lovell radioed the Gemini VIII crew. If problems arose, he told them, they should immediately deactivate the Agena with Command 400 and assume manual control with the Gemini. It was a standard call. Lovell could hardly have imagined that a potential disaster would soon engulf the mission.
Half an hour after docking with the Agena, Dave Scott instructed the target to roll them 90 degrees, and Neil Armstrong, in the commander’s seat, told Lovell that it had “gone quite well.” The call came a few seconds before Gemini VIII passed out of radio contact with the ground. Alone, the astronauts electronically activated the Agena’s tape recorder. Shortly thereafter, their attitude indicator showed that they were in an unexpected, and almost imperceptible, roll of about 30 degrees.

Neil Armstrong (left) and Dave Scott sought to fulfil many of the objectives needed to reach the Moon, including orbital rendezvous and docking. They were the only Gemini crew whose two members both walked on the Moon later in their careers. Photo Credit: NASA
“Neil,” called Scott, “we’re in a bank.” Were the Agena’s attitude controls misbehaving? Or was it a problem with the target vehicle’s software? Certainly, Gemini VIII’s own thrusters were now switched off and the assumption could safely be made that the Agena was at fault. What they did not know was that one of their thrusters—the No. 8 thruster—had short-circuited and stuck into its “on” position. Unaware, Scott cut off the Agena’s thrusters, whilst Armstrong reactivated the Gemini’s thrusters in an attempt to stop the roll and bring the combination under control.

Credit: NASA
For a few minutes, his effort succeeded.
Gradually, the craft stabilized. Then, as Armstrong started to reorient them into their correct position, the unwanted motions resumed … albeit much faster than before and along all three axes. Perplexed, the men jiggled the Agena’s control switches, then those of the Gemini, on and off, in a fruitless attempt to isolate the problem. Glancing at his instrument panel, Scott noticed that their craft’s attitude propellant had dropped to just 30 percent. At this stage, it dawned on the astronauts that the fault was with their craft. “We had to disengage from the Agena,” Scott later wrote in his memoir, Two Sides of the Moon, “and quickly.”
“Television stations began interrupting their programmes—Batman and, ironically, Lost in Space—to provide live coverage. Original plans had called for Gemini VIII to splash down in the Atlantic and be recovered by the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Boxer, but the emergency guided them instead to a point in the western Pacific, 500 miles east of Okinawa.“
This posed its own problems, since both craft were rapidly rotating and could hit each other. Quickly, Scott set the Agena’s recording devices to allow flight controllers to remotely command it; a crucial step, since, after undocking, the target would otherwise be dead. “No one would ever know what the problem had been or how to fix it,” he wrote. His prompt action saved the Agena and preserved it not only for subsequent investigations, but also for a remarkable “double rendezvous” on the Gemini X mission in July. Read the rest of this entry »
BREAKING: Man Holds Hostages at Texas Hospital
Posted: January 10, 2015 Filed under: Breaking News | Tags: 29th Street (film), Apartment, Associated Press, Bryan, Crime scene, Dispatcher, Harris County Sheriff's Office (Texas), Houston, Intensive-care unit, Texas, Tomball Leave a commentHOUSTON — Authorities say a man believed to be the father of a patient has taken at least two people hostage at a hospital near Houston. It was not immediately clear if the man was armed.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday night it believed the man was a distraught parent of a patient and at least two people were being held hostage at the Tomball Regional Medical Center. A supervisor at the county’s emergency dispatch center said the situation was in the critical care unit and began around 7 p.m….(read more)
Developing….
Central Texas TV Meteorologist Shot, Gunman Sought
Posted: December 17, 2014 Filed under: Crime & Corruption, Mediasphere | Tags: Central Texas, Houston, Meteorologist, Texas 1 CommentSacré Bleu! Bumper Sticker Seen in D.C.
Posted: December 4, 2014 Filed under: Global, Humor, Mediasphere | Tags: Bumper sticker, EUROPE, France, Houston, Paris, Texas, Twitter, Washington D.C. Leave a comment#geography RT @ScottPetersSD: As seen in DC. pic.twitter.com/uJHQCWl6SA
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) December 4, 2014
FBI: Air Marshal Attacked With Syringe In Nigeria
Posted: September 9, 2014 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Space & Aviation | Tags: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ebola virus disease, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Houston, Lagos, Nigeria, Syringe 1 Comment(AP) — The FBI says a U.S. air marshal was attacked with a syringe at a Nigerian airport.
FBI spokesman Christos Sinos said Tuesday that preliminary tests show the syringe did not contain any deadly pathogens. It’s not known what was in the syringe, but Sinos says the tests are “negative for any bad stuff.”
The air marshal was attacked Sunday at the airport in Lagos, Nigeria, a country dealing with an Ebola outbreak. Read the rest of this entry »
Man Kicks Down Door, Stabs Roommate for Being ‘Too Loud’ While Having Threesome
Posted: September 3, 2014 Filed under: Crime & Corruption, U.S. News | Tags: Antonio Flores, Bexar County Texas, CBS, Flores, Houston, Roommate, San Antonio, San Antonio Police Department, Stabbing, Threesome Leave a commentSAN ANTONIO (CBS Houston) — A man is accused of stabbing his roommate several times because he was being too loud while having sex with two women in his bedroom.
KENS-TV reports that 42-year-old Antonio Flores kicked down his roommate’s door for being too loud. The San Antonio Police Department revealed that Flores’ 36-year-old roommate was having sex with two women at the time.
Police say Flores grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed his roommate several times in his head, back and arms…(read more)
Note: The roommate turned 35 that day. Can’t a guy make a little noise on his birthday? He was treated for non-life threatening injuries, according to the affidavit. We suspect he’s considering getting a different roommate. Observing the mug shot photo, even without the stabbing, is that the face you’d want to see every day?
Delicioso y Estimulante Relleno! Cocaine-Stuffed Tamales Seized at Houston Airport
Posted: August 24, 2014 Filed under: Crime & Corruption, U.S. News | Tags: Cocaine, Drug Smuggling, El Salvador, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Harbourmaster, Houston, New York, Tamale, U.S. Customs and Border Protection 1 CommentCan’t eat just one. RT @ABC Cocaine-stuffed tamales seized at Houston airport: http://t.co/LPSVJQW2D2 pic.twitter.com/c66UwRsqNA
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) August 24, 2014
SpaceX Rocket Blows Up During Test Flight
Posted: August 22, 2014 Filed under: Science & Technology, Space & Aviation | Tags: Falcon, Flight test, Houston, McGregor, McGregor Texas, Rocket, SpaceX, Texas 1 CommentMCGREGOR, Texas (AP) — An unmanned SpaceX rocket exploded shortly after launch on a test flight at the company’s Central Texas development site.
A SpaceX statement said nobody was injured in the Friday afternoon explosion at its test site in McGregor, Texas, 23 miles southeast of Waco.
In a statement, SpaceX spokesman John Taylor says the test flight involved a three-engine version of its reusable Falcon 9 rocket. He said an “anomaly” was detected in the rocket and it automatically self-destructed…(read more)
Independence: Oil Imports Decline as Shale Revolution Supercharges Production
Posted: August 21, 2014 Filed under: Economics, Mediasphere, Science & Technology, U.S. News | Tags: Bakken, Bakken Formation, Eagle Ford Formation, Energy Information Administration, Houston, North Dakota, Permian Basin, Petroleum, Texas 1 Comment
Andrew Burton / Getty Images
“Oil production gains from the Bakken and Eagle Ford shale formations are a major reason why U.S. imports of crude oil have dropped to levels not seen since the mid-1990s.”
— Benteck Director of Energy Analysis Jack Weixel
HOUSTON, Aug. 21 (UPI) — Oil production from shale basins in North Dakota and Texas are the primary reason for a decline in U.S. oil imports, data published Thursday show.
“Total U.S. crude oil production reached 8.5 million barrels per day in July, the highest monthly level since April 1987.”
Bentek Energy, the analytical division of Platts, said July oil production from the Bakken area in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford shale play in Texas increased 3.4 percent year-on-year, or more than 86,000 barrels per day.
From AEI:
The chart below shows the combined daily oil output in America’s three most productive oil fields — the Bakken in North Dakota, the Eagle Ford Shale in south-central Texas and the Permian Basin in west Texas — from January 2007 to June 2014, based on estimates released by the EIA. From combined output of 1 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in 2007, total crude oil production in those three oil fields will top 4 million barrels in June, based on drilling rigs data and EIA estimates of changes in production from existing wells…(read more)
“Oil production gains from the Bakken and Eagle Ford shale formations are a major reason why U.S. imports of crude oil have dropped to levels not seen since the mid-1990s,” Benteck Director of Energy Analysis Jack Weixel said in a statement Thursday. Read the rest of this entry »
Rare Photo of Pundit Planet Co-Founder
Posted: August 20, 2014 Filed under: Dr. Strangelove's Notebook, Guns and Gadgets, History, Humor, Mediasphere, Robotics, Science & Technology, Space & Aviation, The Butcher's Notebook, Think Tank | Tags: 3D printing, Bat Cave, Dr Strangelove, Hong Kong, Houston, NASA, primatologist, punditfromanotherplanet, Rocketry, science, SpaceX, Tony Stark 1 CommentOur co-found and Editor-At-Large. Though this snapshot looks vintage, it was actually taken fairly recently, around 2007, back when he had a bit less gray hair, and long before he had a 3-D printer. But his hobbies are essentially the same. He’s currently heading up our Hong Kong Bureau, where his time and space doesn’t allow for recreational rocket building, so I’m sure he’ll enjoy this archival snapshot as a winsome reminder of a cherished pastime.
Malala Yousafzai: ‘All I want is education. And I’m afraid of no one’
Posted: July 5, 2014 Filed under: Art & Culture, Global, History | Tags: Houston, Houston Heights, Malala Yousafzai, Pakistan, Pakistani, Swat District, Taliban, Yusufzai 3 CommentsI was driving past a business here in the Houston Heights, when I glimpsed this painted on the side of the building. I recognized that iconic WWII poster before I realized it was not just any woman, but 14 year old Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who was attacked for wanting an education. The words next to her are her quote, ( “I don’t mind if I have to sit on the floor at school.) All I want is education. And I’m afraid of no one.”
(at the Avis Frank Gallery, 1606 White Oak Dr., Houston, TX
Shepherd Songs I was driving past a business here in the Houston….
Energy Boom: Texas Creeping up on Iraq’s Crude Oil Production
Posted: July 3, 2014 Filed under: Economics, U.S. News | Tags: Eagle Ford Formation, Energy Information Administration, Houston, North Dakota, Permian Basin, Petroleum, Texas, Texas Public Policy Foundation 1 CommentHOUSTON, Texas–For Breitbart.com, Kristin Tate reports: 3 million barrels of crude oil are now being produced in Texas each day, according to new federal data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This means that the state has almost reached the production level of Iraq, the second-largest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Texas’ oil production has been increasing rapidly in recent years: in 2009, the state only produced about 1.1 million barrels of oil. The gas and oil industry continues to explode in the Lone Star State, thanks in part to the Eagle Ford Shale and Permian Basin.
The EIA reported, “Gains in Texas crude oil production come primarily from counties that contain unconventional tight oil and shale reservoirs in the Eagle Ford Shale in the Western Gulf Basin, where drilling has increasingly targeted oil-rich areas, and multiple reservoirs within the Permian Basin in West Texas that have seen a significant increase in horizontal, oil-directed drilling.”
North Dakota’s oil production also saw an increase; the state produces about 1 million barrels per day. Read the rest of this entry »
[VIDEO] Anger Management in Houston: Surveillance Cameras Rolling, Female Driver Plows into Two Men in Gas Station Parking Lot
Posted: July 2, 2014 Filed under: Crime & Corruption, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: Bissonnet, Buick, CCTV, Fuel Depot, Gas station, Hit-and-run, Houston, Houston Police Department, Marcus Chukuwuu Leave a comment“When I turned around it was a lady coming full speed to take us out.”
— Marcus Chukuwuu, one of the two men struck by the motorist
HOUSTON – The surveillance cameras were rolling outside the Fuel Depot gas station in the 11500 block of Bissonnet when a driver hit two men and kept going. “When I turned around it was a lady coming full speed to take us out,” said Marcus Chukuwuu. “She took off. (She) hit us both and just kept going.” Chukuwuu told Local 2 he and his boss stopped at the gas station to fill up after work.
“He was like, ‘Don’t kill me.’ And she was like, ‘If I wanted to kill you I’d shoot you, I won’t run you over.”
They were standing at one pump when a female driver tried backing into the space next to them. The video shows she came close to men, and they said they thought she was going to hit them. So one of the men told her to be careful.
“I walked across to give him the change and that’s when she just ran both of us over.”
The woman was mad, Chukuwuu said, and her comment scared him. So the 21-year-old walked away and went inside the store to get some change. He came out less than one minute later and that’s when the two men were hit.