- Details
- Written by: Super User
- Category: Blog
- Hits: 764
When you live in a country that claims to be against corruption and wrong doing that when you receive an official looking letter (such as the one above) you really need to act because surely it is all above board. Isn’t it?
This letter says we need to pay $87 (or $122 if after 13 April) to get a copy of our property deed. It implies that this is an official document from a government department and that we need to act accordingly.
It turns out that this is not an official letter. When you read the letter you see it says “Record Retrieval is not affiliated with the county in which your deed is filed in, nor affiliated with any government agencies. This offer serves as a solicitation for services and not to be interpreted as a bill due”.
At the bottom of the letter it further adds that “you can obtain a copy of your grant deed or other record of title from the county recorder of the county where your property is located in for up to $87” which is true. In fact in our case Harris County charges $5 to get a copy of any record. Of course if you’ve just moved in to your property (which is what triggers this solicitation) then you will have a copy anyway.
I bet this sort of thing is illegal in Nigeria.
- Details
- Written by: Super User
- Category: Blog
- Hits: 774
Wilbur Sardo is a neighbor of ours, and a most unusual one at that. He is a miniature pot-bellied pig and has caused quite a stir since he appeared in Christmas 2010.
The Home Owners Association (HOA) is locked in battle with the family over whether or not Wilbur is classed as livestock or pet. Experts have been called and deposed in a legal battle that has ensued since the HOA sent a letter to the family asking that Wilbur find a new home back in July.
Wilbur can only hope that the Seventh Commandment of Animalism is interpreted in its final form, the same way it was restated by Napoleon and Snowball - “All animals are created equal but some animals are more equal than others.”
And if you think that’s unusual, think again: just round the corner in another neighborhood another resident has just won a battle with their HOA to keep their pet kangaroo!
Can’t wait to see what’s next...
- Details
- Written by: Super User
- Category: Blog
- Hits: 773
If you wake up and find a flag outside your house, don’t worry. You are probably in America (if unsure check the flag on the CIA website).
Obviously we had seen the specially marked hole for a flag pole when we moved in:
And we knew about the idea of displaying the flag on holiday weekends. So this being President’s Day weekend it was no big surprise to see flags appearing in our neighborhood.
But where did our flag come from? Well it turns out that the local High School offers a service where they put out a flag for you for a small fee. The previous owners must have already paid and hence our flag was delivered and put on display.
It is highly recommended to have someone to set up your flag. The number of rules and regulations is mind-boggling. Take a look here at The Flag Code.
Interestingly the local High School created national news in 2010 when a student, frustrated that the Mexican flag was apparently being displayed higher than the Star Spangled Banner, took it down and tossed it in the trash can. He was suspended for three days for theft (the flag belonged to a fellow student). One year later he was interviewed by local news about the incident:
Flags and National Anthems are a big part of American life. Every event, no matter how small (even the local swim meet), starts with everyone facing the Stars and Stripes and singing the Star Spangled Banner. Like here, at the Aggies game:
In England, there is a proud tradition of flag waving, but for somewhat different reasons:
- Details
- Written by: Super User
- Category: Blog
- Hits: 766
Denver, Colorado, is very proud of the fact that it is 5,280ft above sea level; so much so that it has a local magazine called 5280 which tells you about what you can do in this city (Bakersfield has a similar magazine but in Denver it’s much easier to recommend where to go to eat).
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr liked Colorado so much that he renamed himself after its capital city. Colorado returned the favor and made John Denver, as he is better known, their poet laureate and chose “Rocky Mountain High” as one of their state songs.
Jack Swigert was born in Denver and he is commemorated by a nice statue in the airport (see above). Swigert landed on the moon on the Apollo 15 mission (so is one of only 24 people to visit the moon) but is probably more famous for being the replacement Command Module Pilot in Apollo 13 after for Ken Mattingly had to pull out in case he developed German Measles. He died in 1982 so never got to see Kevin Bacon playing him in the movie “Apollo 13”.
Here are some things to do in Denver:
- Go skiing. This is recommended in Winter only, requires large sums of money even prior to medical bills after accident:
- Go to the Zoo. At $10 per entry this is probably the best value day out in the country (aside from St Louis Zoo which is free):
-Get a cashier’s check from the Alpine Bank in Breckenridge. If you bank with Bank of America you will probably be under the impression that “America” includes Colorado but you would be wrong. But not only is Alpine Bank convenient but they have the most helpful people in the entire world working there.
-Go to Boulder and see some, erm, boulders:
-Have an Indian meal at the India House restaurant in downtown Denver. Having tried Indian food in many places in the US it is safe to say this is by far the best in the country (so far at least).
Colorado is a nice place. No wonder John Denver used to sing:
“Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh baby, I hate to go”
- Details
- Written by: Super User
- Category: Blog
- Hits: 773
Is there any date/time (other than September 11 2001 8:45am) in history better know than November 22 1963, 1PM? When President Kennedy died from gun shots sustained about 30 minutes earlier whilst driving in an open top car in Dallas. To quote Biff Byford, who wrote the song Dallas 1PM for Saxon’s classic1980 album Strong Arm of The Law:
“The world was shocked that fateful day
A young man's life was blown away, away, away
In Dallas 1 p.m., 1 p.m.”
And here is the classic line-up playing it live:
Of course if you’re a conspiracy-theorist you won’t believe that the fatal shots were fired from the 6th floor window of the Texas State Book Depository (pictured above) but in fact from the Grassy Knoll. But where is this grassy knoll? Well thankfully someone has signposted it:
Dallas was founded by John Neely Bryan (but note that Bryan, near College Station, home of Texas A&M, is named after William Joel Bryan, no relation). There is a replica of John Neely Bryan’s first house on Dealy Plaza (near the infamous shooting location):
Just as Bryan and College Station are linked as one metropolitan area, so are Dallas and Fort Worth, only they call theirs a Metroplex.
Forth Worth is an old Army outpost from the 1800s and today is the 16th largest city in the US.
As with everything in Texas, Fort Worth is big and full of big things - such as the cattle, which you can see wandering around in the Stockyards:
The Fort Worth Stockyards are the last of their kind in the USA and are now really just a tourist attraction. Although, if you happen to ride into town on a horse they do offer full boarding and facilities (no hitching posts though). This is definitely “Where the West Begins”!
- Details
- Written by: Super User
- Category: Blog
- Hits: 756
Homecoming is an annual tradition at this time of year. The idea is to welcome back former students and residents. Most often there is a football game or other sporting event that everyone goes to. There is also often parades and the coronation of a Homecoming Queen and King. A dance commonly follows the game.
Another big part of Homecoming is the giving and wearing of Homecoming Mums. A Homecoming Mum is a large corsage decorated with streamers in school colors as well as bells, charms and furry animals.
The name Mum comes from Chrysanthemum, the traditional Fall flower used in many corsages. They say that Texas has a tradition of making bigger and more elaborate Mums than anywhere else and who can argue, given the size of these ones:
The cheerful chap on the left is probably thinking about how the money he blew on the Mum could have gone on some quality weed. However his girlfriend is happy and so he has learned one of life’s most important lessons.
[with thanks to Eileen Bergen for her knowledge of Mums, which can’t be found in Wikipedia!]