"Forest Grumps," by Alexa Schirtzinger, March 19
the Money Tree
I enjoyed your article on the tree problems with Dallas City Hall. It looks to me like there should be a follow-up on where the money went. Thanks for this article. I have long felt that our city government was inadequate and very sloppy in its work.
E.G. Lomax, Dallas
"Blowin' in the Wind," by Chris Vogel, March 26
Hot Air
Mr. Pickens' plan has a couple of problems:
1. For the same amount of money he, his investors and the different levels of government are spending, you could get more generation capacity (that is more reliable) from nuclear generators. This would also use less space and cause less damage to wildlife. If we changed the laws here in the United States, we could recycle the spent fuel and have a lot less waste.
2. Ask any delivery driver who drives a liquid natural gas-powered truck, and they will tell you that they hate them. The range is very limited, and the amount of time to fill the fuel tanks is extremely long. Diesel/electric hybrids are a much better way to go.
Tim Covington, via dallasobserver.com
The main problem is that wind is a variable power source. Since there is still no good way to store massive amounts of power, you are at the mercy of the wind. You can't do things like ramp up production during peak usage times. Also, wind requires massive amounts of infrastructure, especially transmission lines. These lines impact the property owners between the wind farms and the major usage areas. And when you take into account all the subsidies given, wind is one of the most expensive forms of power out there.
The Deacon from Garland, via dallasobserver.com
"Home Improvement," by Richie Whitt, March 26
Less sizzle, more steak please
Whoop-de-do. The new Jumbotron is nice for the fans out in the home-run porch, but the Rangers never show controversial calls anyway, so they weren't missing much. And frankly, I liked the old-school manual scoreboard.
The new wraparound light boards will probably do exactly what they do at the AAC, display advertisements 98 percent of the time, tell fans to "Make Noise!" 1 percent of the time and display useful information the other 1 percent. That will go well with the worst mascot in pro sports (Rangers Craptain) and the awful new T-shirt-launching girls. Season-ticket renewals might also be down because old-timers are getting sick of the Mavs-like presentation that games at the ballpark are turning into. More video boards, more advertisements, more noise, more distraction. Same crappy baseball.
The new facade behind home plate is OK, but what they really need to do is sell the seats that you can see on TV to real fans who show up every game. I'm sick of seeing a new group of idiots every night waving and gesturing as they call everyone in their cell phone contact lists from the third inning (when they arrive) through the seventh inning (when they leave). It makes us look very bush league.
Complaints aside, I still love the team and love the direction [Nolan] Ryan is taking them.
Adam, via dallasobserver.com
"Baby, One More Time," by Cole Haddon, March 26
A real revivalist
Back in Black was '81; I point that out because the comeback of 1985 was John Fogerty. The man dropped off the radar for 10 years. When "The Old Man Down the Road" hit MTV—wow! A camera follows a guitar cable down an old road as that familiar voice roars back. At one point you're teased as you see John in the distance crossing the road with his guitar. Finally, at the end, the cable leads to Fogerty's guitar and there's the man! Singing and picking and looks so great, like he'd never been away.
ChrisU from Dallas, via dallasobserver.com
