August 29, 2013

Colonel Meow's 9-inch hair sets record

LOS ANGELES (AP) — This is fur real. Colonel Meow has 9-inch hair.

That's good enough to put the Himalayan-Persian mix into the 2014 edition of the Guinness World Records book, due out Sept. 12.

Owners Anne Marie Avey and Eric Rosario, of Los Angeles, say the 2-year-old cat got its name because of his epic frown and fur. It takes both of them to brush the cat's fur three times a week.

Three independent veterinarians verified the length of the colonel's hair and submitted their findings to Guinness before he won the title.

More at http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2013-08-28/colonel-meows-9-inch-hair-sets-record .

Online:

https://www.facebook.com/colonelmeowinthecity

August 29, 2013

You know that TexasTowelie is craving for catnip...

...when he sees this clip on the Web and reads, "Bongs about good ol' San Antonio".

My only dilemma is whether I need a smoke break or an eye exam.

August 29, 2013

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says CAT scan showed he has ‘brain of a 40-year-old’

ARLINGTON – Some wonder if Jerry Jones is slowing down. He’s 70 years old. But the Cowboys owner insists he is as mentally sharp as he was when he bought the team in 1989. A recent visit to the doctor convinced him he has the perspicacity of someone nearly half his age.

“I’ve been told that I have, by CAT Scans, that it’s like the brain of a 40-year-old,” Jones crowed. “…The guy really did not know it was me. I was there anonymously. He said, ‘And so I just wanted to come down. I saw your chart. I know how old you are. That part is really impressive.’”

Whether Jones’ claim will reassure fans who have seen the Cowboys win two playoff games in the last 17 seasons is uncertain. But Jones remains confident in his abilities to manage an organization that has failed to earn a Super Bowl title since January 1996.

“I know more about what I’m doing than hopefully I did 25 years ago,” he said, referring to the time he entered the NFL as an owner.

More at http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/dallas-cowboys-owner-jerry-jones-says-cat-scan-showed-he-has-brain-of-a-40-year-old.html/

[font color=blue]A glaring error in the headline by the Dallas Morning News. Everyone that has watched the Cowboys' draft picks over the past 15 years knows that Jerry Jones actually has the "brain of a 4-year old".[/font]

August 29, 2013

Feds arrest East Texas police chief for role in meth ring

Federal and state law enforcement officials arrested an East Texas police chief in connection with his alleged role in a methamphetamine trafficking ring, U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman of the Western District of Texas announced.

Normangee Police Chief Joseph Ray "Jody" Navarro, 40, is in federal custody, charged with one count of intentionally exceeding authorized access to a protected computer, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

According to a criminal complaint filed Aug. 22 and unsealed today, the Madisonville resident used a law enforcement computer system to aid the alleged meth trafficker.

In May 2013, Navarro ran a background check on a name supplied to him by suspected methamphetamine trafficker and Normangee resident Brenda Antanette Evans, 45. A separate but related criminal complaint charges Evans and 25–year-old Joshua Troy Thomas, also of Normangee, with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

More at http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Feds-arrest-East-Texas-police-chief-for-role-in-4769172.php?cmpid=hpts .

August 29, 2013

Johnny Manziel to sit half of A&M's opener against Rice for an "inadvertent" rules violation

HOUSTON — Johnny Football's season will start a little late.

Johnny Manziel was suspended for the first half of Texas A&M's opening game against Rice on Saturday for what the school called an "inadvertent" violation of NCAA rules by signing autographs.

The penalty appears to have brought a quick end to an investigation that could have ruined the seventh-ranked Aggies' upcoming season.

The school issued a statement Wednesday saying it declared the Heisman Trophy winner ineligible and that the NCAA agreed to reinstate Manziel after he sits out the first half against the underdog Owls.

More at http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2013-08-28/manziel-sit-half-ams-opener-against-rice .

[font color=maroon]A slap on the wrist. The NCAA could have had him sit out the second half of the Alabama or LSU game.

August 28, 2013

Tea partiers on tour stop at Texas Capitol call for defunding of Affordable Care Act

A tea party group on a national tour stopped by the Texas Capitol on Wednesday to call on Congress to gut the funding for the Affordable Care Act.

Jenny Beth Martin of Atlanta, the national coordinator of Tea Party Patriots, and Brent Bozell III, chairman of the Reston, Va.-based conservative organization ForAmerica, led a group of speakers who encouraged Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas to stand with the Senate’s most conservative members — such as the other Texas Republican in the Senate, Ted Cruz — to defund the Affordable Care Act, which is often called “Obamacare.”

“The only way to stop the train wreck is for John Cornyn and other Republicans in Congress to stand up and say ‘enough,’ ” Bozell said at press conference, which took place under the hot sun on the south steps of the Capitol. “We are not going to force the American people to pay for this train wreck.”

Cornyn had signed onto — and later removed his name from — a recent letter by Cruz and several other conservative senators in which they promised to oppose any appropriations or continuing resolutions that would dedicate money to the Affordable Care Act.

More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/tea-partiers-call-for-defunding-of-affordable-care/nZffN/#cmComments .

August 28, 2013

At Your Service: Top 10 Etiquette Tips for Restaurant Servers

Waiting tables is no longer the venerable position that it once was in America before World War II. It's still a fairly prestigious job in much of Europe, but even in the United States, waiters used to pay for the right to work at good restaurants. If a head waiter position opened up at a fancy, well-known restaurant, a person might have to get a financial backer in order to bid on the position. The financier would then receive a portion of the waiter's tips after he got the job.

Today, waiting tables is more of a punchline. Most waitstaff don't even make minimum wage. They rely solely on tips to pay their bills, and many members of the public see waiters as people who have to serve because they can't get any other job. You know, all those unemployed actors and singers and high school drop-outs.

While this is definitely not always the case in America, waiting tables is a largely thankless job. Because it's not always a job that people seek out anymore, and because the pay is fickle, some servers have lost a sense of propriety that should come with any service job. Most waiters I've encountered in Houston are great, but some could use a reminder about a few specific etiquette tips. I've talked to waiters around town to get their impressions about how to behave properly at work, and this list reflects their suggestions.

In my last post on diner etiquette, I gave the impression that I'd never worked in the business, when what I should have said was I've never been employed by a restaurant. I have family in the industry, and I've volunteered in restaurants on more than one occasion, taking a turn in the kitchen or on the floor to see what the job is all about. And it's hard. So be nice to your server, and chances are your server will be good to you as well.

The list is at http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2013/08/at_your_service_top_10_etiquet.php .

August 28, 2013

Dewhurst says Davis will fail if she seeks statewide office

FORT WORTH — Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst hopes that Texans will finally stop talking about state Sen. Wendy Davis by the end of next year.

Speaking Tuesday night to Republicans gathered in Davis’ hometown, Dewhurst said he doesn’t believe that Davis — the Democrat who led a more than 10-hour filibuster to temporarily kill a comprehensive abortion bill — will succeed if she runs for higher office.

“It’s my hope, my friends, that about a year from now that people are saying, ‘Why were we talking about Wendy Davis?’” he told more than three dozen people gathered for a meeting of the Tarrant County Republican National Hispanic Assembly at Ol’ South Pancake House in Fort Worth.

“I know Wendy Davis,” he said. “And I don’t think she stands a chance running for statewide office.”

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/08/27/5113803/dewhurst-says-davis-will-fail.html#storylink=cpy

August 28, 2013

Dallas Zoo's Ocelot Kitten Explores Her New Home (With Video)

Lindy, just the third ocelot kitten ever born at the Dallas Zoo, is exploring her habitat more and more. But her mom, Milagre, isn't so happy about it. In age-old fashion, little one pushes back when mom wants to take her back into the nesting area. Enjoy!

The Dallas Zoo’s rare ocelot kitten is exploring her new habitat.

Lindy, just the third ocelot kitten ever born at the Dallas Zoo, was born to new parents on June 26.

Mom Milagre, age 4, and dad Joaquin, age 5, are part of the Ocelot Species Survival Plan. The OSSP is a conservation and breeding program designed to ensure the survival of the endangered Texas predator -- of which only 50 are believed to be left in the wild.

The Dallas Zoo says ocelots are small, spotted, secretive cats that are mostly nocturnal.

More at http://www.nbcdfw.com/entertainment/the-scene/Dallas-Zoos-Ocelot-Kitten-Explores-Her-New-Home-221416711.html .

August 27, 2013

8 fried finalists in running for Texas fair honors

The List:

1. Awesome Deep Fried Nutella® – Cream cheese and Nutella® are whipped and spread over flaky Phyllo dough sheets, rolled up, and deep fried. Served with a drizzle of honey and shaved almonds.

2. Deep Fried Cuban Roll – A filling of slow-cooked pork shoulder, chopped ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and secret sauce is spread onto a slice of Swiss cheese, rolled up in pastry dough and deep fried. Roll is served with a side of majo sauce for dipping.

3. Fernie’s Deep Fried King Ranch Casserole –This Texas-shaped creation is melted cheese, salty, spicy, goodness that is dipped in a zesty southwestern egg wash and coated in panko bread crumbs. Deep fried golden brown and crunchy on the outside; steamy and creamy on the inside! Served with a side of red, white and blue tortilla chips and your choice of our homemade “salsafied” sour cream or cheesy queso.

4. Fried Thanksgiving Dinner – Mama’s homemade stuffing and diced roasted turkey are rolled in a ball. Next it’s dipped in southern cream corn and rolled in seasoned corn meal - all fried to a crispy golden brown. Served with old fashion giblet brown gravy. There is a zesty orange cranberry sauce for dipping.

5. Golden Fried Millionaire Pie – Sweetened, fluffy cream cheese filling is loaded with golden pineapple and Texas pecans then wrapped in a flaky pie crust and fried to a golden brown. Topped with whipped cream, toasted coconut and candied pecans.

6. Southern Style Chicken-Fried Meatloaf – Homemade meatloaf slices are coated in an authentic Texas chicken-fried breading and deep fried golden brown. Served with garlic mashed potatoes, Texas cream gravy, and a ketchup/brown sugar glaze for dipping.

7. Spinach Dip Bites – Creamy and delicious spinach artichoke dip bites are coated with crispy tortilla chips and flash-fried until golden brown. Bites are served with salsa for an additional kick.

8. Texas Fried Fireball – Pimento cheese, pickles, cayenne pepper and bacon are rolled into a ball, dipped in buttermilk, covered with a jalapeno-infused batter and deep fried. Served with chipotle ranch for dipping.

Photos at http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/texas/article/8-fried-finalists-in-running-for-Texas-fair-honors-4764322.php .

Cross-posted in Cooking & Baking Group.