Perfect Attendance

Makenzie Franklin from Sundown, Texas finished his school career with 14 years of pefect attendance. That's Pre-K through 12th grade. That's incredible.



I don't think I have ever had perfect attendance in anything. The only time I didn't miss a class was in college. I was taking Greek I and if you attended class every single day you didn't have to take the final exam. I couldn't pass that offer up. I even had a bad case of bronchitis during that semester and Greek was the only class I went to that week I was sick. I do admire his tenacity for sticking it out and not missing school. I'm impressed.

Good luck Makenzie on your future plans!

**Note--Sundown is a community located about 45 miles west of Lubbock.**

DEI

Pete Rondeau is out as crew chief for #8 and Steve Hmiel is in. This is not suprising since #8 hasn't won a race this season and his finishes have been up to #8's expectations. I would have thought they would have given it some more time, but I guess they weren't happy with him as crew chief. Of course I don't know all the ins and outs of these things, but Michael didn't have a good last year so DEI may have taken that into consideration as well. We will have to wait and see how these changes will effect #8's season. The first will come this weekend at the Coca Cola 600.

This will probably be the topic of conversation during all the pre-race stuff. Ay Karumba!

Saturday Racin'

Wow! This past weekend at Lowe's was definitely an All-Star event. What a finish in the Open Race! I still think Brian Vickers spun out Mike Bliss to get his ticket into the All-Star race. I'm pretty sure I would have done the same thing. I mean come on..you have a chance to race for a million dollars!!!! That's a nice piece of change in anyone's pocket.

That was just the beginning of the excitement.

The All-Star race was even better. Tony did get into the back of Joe N., but that was racing. Tony didn't take out Joe on purpose. And then the post crash festivities were a blast. That's Saturday night at the races.



It was like being at the dirt track in Amarillo watching the guys get into one another after the main event. Kevin did fly off the handle a little too soon, but he was ahead of Tony. He had no idea that Joe got bumped into and that is why Joe's car hit #29. For some reason I am becoming a Kevin H. fan. I guess I like the bad boys of racing. They are more exciting to watch.

Congrats to Mark Martin! He said he wasn't sure if he was going to race in the next All-Star event because he didn't know if he could get a ride. After he won on Saturday he decided yes I will run. I think Mr. Roush will make sure Mr. Martin has a ride for next year's All Star race.



and it was really cool that he did a victory lap instead of a burnout or doughnut. Anyone can do those--in fact I can do that in my car in an empty parking lot.

SUNDAY!!!! INDY 500 AND COCA COLA 600!!!
GOOD LUCK BOYS!!!

Coughin' & Sneezin'

I hate it when i get sick especially when i am constantly coughing and sneezing. It prevents you from having a decent nights sleep because every five minutes cough...sneeze...cough...sneeze. This happened so much over the past several days I strained my back muscles which makes it even worse. Luckily, I am finally feeling about 75% better than I did when all this crap started last Thursday. My doctor told me it was just allergies..hah..you don't run a fever and cough up a lung with just allergies. I am surviving however, luckily I was able to stay home and sleep...well between the coughing and sneezing that is.

Last Wednesday I discussed the lubbock tornado..strange enough the next day on May 12..it was Tornado Watch 2005! It was like tornados were everywhere on the South Plains. Luckily most of it was north and east of Lubbock. There was one spotted in eastern Lubbock county, but it didn't do a whole lot. Most of the tornados seemed to come out of the sky...touch down...and go back up. They seemed to be playing hide and seek with us. They were such a tease! If they did touch down it was in a relatively unpopulated area--farm land, etc. And you have to love the local weathermen...i know it is nice to be informed on all the sightings, rain, etc, but three hours worth of coverage!!! I understand you need to break in when a tornado is barreling down on a town, but come on...if it was me, the last thing i am doing is listening to these guys. I am cowering in my tornado shelter waiting for it to all blow over. After all the coverage I felt like I could give the weather reports. Each station had its share of technological gadgets, radars, etc, but I was just tired of it all by the first hour. Thanks for the lsson in meterology boys!

If you need a good cry..watch ABC's Extreme Home Makeover. I swear that show has me tearing up in the first five minutes of the show. I am glad they help people who really need it unlike some of the other design makeover shows. Have you seen some of the houses they use on Trading Spaces?? TSome of those rooms don't need a makeover. Those are people are just geniuely designed challenged. I have pretty much stopped watching Trading Spaces except for an occassional rerun (when the show was good). It's not the same show without Paige Davis. I tried to watch last Saturday, but it just wasn't the same. They need a host to meld everything together. I still get my fix however on Sunday nights with Ty and his crew.

Tomorrow the final installment of Star Wars opens...YEA!

Richmond

Congratulations to Kasey Kahne! It was not if he would win a race, but when. It was strange how during the his "10 laps with..." segment, the one person he would like to beat out in a race was Tony Stewart. How strange that he did it in that race??? Maybe he should have said something before now. The All-Star race is on Saturday..no points...just racing for a cool million. Of course May 29 is a great day of racing the Indy 500 and then the Coca Cola 600.

I didn't get to see exactly what happened to Jeff's car (sleeping during race...very, very sick!!), but I woke to hear he was out of the race. On the other hand Tony was driving exceptionally well. But Kasey had the car to beat and sometimes no matter what a driver does, there is nothing he can do when someone's car is running in the zone.

Good Luck on Saturday night!

signs of summer

the usually signs of summer for lubbock are here...ttu campus is a virtual ghost town. classes/finals have been over since tuesday. so the only students you will see are those taking care of few things before leaving town for the summer (nothing like last minute) or the whiny ones who realized that "d" isn't going to get them that stellar gpa boost. plus if you look closely you will see proud parentals smiling joyfully as their child completes another major accomplishment in their life--graduation. i have always wondered how many years some of these students have been here..sure there are the ones who can make it out in 4 years (congrats), but they majority seem to take at least 5 years. oh well..congrats to everyone who will graduate on saturday--good luck whitney and antonia!

another sign of summer--the rememberance of the lubbock tornado...yesterday (may 11) was what i call tornado day in lubbock...it was 35 years ago yesterday that an F5 tornado greeted the great citizens of lubbock....but we have recovered nicely...talk about a weird conincidence...the waco tornado (F5 as well) hit waco on may 11, 1953. how eerie that i have resided in both communities...strange??? maybe??? here is a picture from the lubbock tornado devastation


speaking of tornados...have you ever noticed how the snack food bugles look like little tornados??


another sign--the more frequent wearing of flip flops--i still get when it happened...when did the wearing of flip flops become a fashion statement. i am an owner of flip flops--have 3 pairs..but i usually just wear them around my house or to take the garbage out, not as an acessory to my wardrobe...it's just not limited to the girls..men wear them too..well if you are going to wear them at least pick up your feet when you do...my gosh...walk with a little pride people!

all the public schools will let out in a few weeks...including those who will enter tech in the fall as freshman...just to let you know those students who will enter as freshman in fall 2005 were born in 1987!!! still trying to adjust to that age thing...speaking of the eighties..i was listening to my rick springfield cd yesterday and it brought back quite few memories from back in the day...there wasn't a day that went by that i wasn't listening to my rick springfield cassettes or record (that's right)...was in lubbock several months ago, but couldn't find anyone brave enough to go with me..i bet diedra who likes rick would have gone with me...oh well...i will just keep rockin' on to my cds...




only 7 more days still the final chapter of Star Wars is out...i am excited about seeing the final chapter of how anakin skywalker became Darth Vader...i will be there in the theatres with the rest of the star wars junkies to view the film...hope it answers all those naggin questions about just who is darth vader...the skywalker family has such disfunction...i mean i think luke wanted to hook up with his sister leia in the first movie...well he was smitten with her..talk about an episode of jerry springer waiting to happen....until tomorrow....

Chesney & Zellweger

I had no idea these two were getting married. I saw in people magazine that they were dating, but getting married completely shocked me. I thought for sure he was going to be an eternal bachelor. He is so into his career, but I guess sometimes you just never know about people. Who wouldn't want to marry Kenny Chesney? I mean he is sooooo adorable and boy can he sing. I wonder if he sung "You Had Me From Hello" (which was inspired by Renee) to her at their wedding..hum???

Here's one of their wedding photos



Congratulations!

Beer Barrel Belly Burger

OH MY GOD!!!! I couldn't believe the size of this burger! I just had to post it for others to see.

This burger comes with 10.5 pounds of ground beef, 25 slices of cheese, a head of lettuce, three tomatoes, two onions, a cup-and-a-half each of mayonnaise, relish, ketchup, mustard and banana peppers and a bun.





This burger is served at Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, PA.

Does this burger come with a side of Tums???

Quotes from Famous Mothers

ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S MOTHER: "Again with the stovepipe hat, Abe? Can't you just wear a baseball cap like the other kids?"

BARNEY'S MOTHER: "I realize strained plums are your favorite, Barney, but you're starting to look a little purple!"

MARY'S MOTHER: "I'm not upset the you lamb followed you to school, Mary, but I would like to know how he got a better grade than you!"

BATMAN'S MOTHER: "It's a nice car, Bruce, but do you realize how much the insurance will be!"

GOLDILOCK'S MOTHER: "I've got a bill here for a busted chair from the bear family. You know anything about this Goldie?"

LITTLE MISS MUFFET'S MOTHER: "Well, all I've got to say is if you don't get of your tuffet and start cleaning your room, there'll be a lot more spiders around here!"

ALBERT EINSTEIN'S MOTHER: "But, Albert, it's your senior picture. Can't you do something about your hair? Styling gel, mousse, something....?"

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S MOTHER: "The next time I catch you throwing money across the Potomac, you can kiss your allowance good-bye!"

JONAH'S MOTHER: "That's a nice story, but now tell me where you've really been for the past 3 days!"

SUPERMAN'S MOTHER: "Clark, your father and I have discussed it, and we've decided you can have your own telephone line. Now will you quit spending so much time in all those phone booths!"

THOMAS EDISON'S MOTHER: "Of course I'm proud that you invented the electric light bulb, dear. Now turn off that light and get to bed!"

Darlington

Saturday night racing Darlington--good luck boys!

One other comment on Talladega--i have been reading the articles regarding the big one. Last week was just gave me another reason not to like Dale Jr. He has said it wasn't his fault for the wreck, but I beg to differ. It was a combination of things all coming together at the same moment. He was bump drafting M. Wallace which caused Wallace to wiggle at the same time Johnson was coming up the track. All those things plus the close pack racing contributed to the "big one". No one driver was at fault. Johnson isn't exactly on my good list at the moment (Phoenix race he hit Tony S.), but you can't blame everything on him.

I have never been shy about my dislike for Earnhardt Jr. I don't like the way he handles himself sometimes. I had issues with him (last yr for example) spinning out his car on purpose just because his tire was going down and he needed a caution to come out. Sure he was penalized for it, but it's a matter of principle. You don't see Mark Martin or Rusty Wallace doing that. I just get tired of Jr. this, Jr. that. It has been nice of late too see less coverage of Jr. on the prerace shows with the exception of Talladega this past weekend. UGHHH!, but I guess I will just have to deal with it because Jr. is the darling of NASCAR. I do believe he has the potential to be a great driver like his daddy.

New Seal vs Old Seal

I usually don't comment on some of the bone head ideas at Tech, but this one deserves some space in the trailer park.

TTU is wants to change the official Texas Tech seal.

I personally don't want to see it changed. I have always abided by the concept "if it ain't broke..don't fix it" I don't understand why Chancellor Smith is trying to change Tech. I understand Tech wants to improve their academic image not only in Texas, but nationwide as well. It feels sometimes the higher ups are always trying to be like Texas or A&M. I don't want Tech to be like them. That's what makes our university unique. Our chancellor was quoted as saying "A lot of people had a lot of extra time today," Smith said. "It was kind of ridiculous."
I am just appalled by this statement. That comment right there shows he doesn't give a rat's butt how the alumni feel.

The cotton bolls were removed from the old seal and in its place what looks to be wheat. I understand there are other agricultural endeavors in this part of the state, but the cotton industry has contributed vastly to Texas Tech. Tech is known around the world with regards to its cotton research. I think the cotton icon should be in the new seal.

And here's the kicker...it hasn't been approved as of yet. The TTU Board of regents still have vote on the new seal. I hope the regents take into consideration the number of alumni who do not want the change to happen or table the vote until more input from the community has been surveyed.

If the seal is approved university departments will have to order new letterhead, stationery, etc. Several of the colleges may have to reorder new banners that are used during commencement ceremonies and other functions. This is going to cost quite a bit for the departments all over campus. I know of one who just redesigned their brochure spending hundreds of dollars and now the university is saying change it again...thus costing even more money--money they do not have to spend. What is wrong with this picture?????????

I am not against updating things...Tech did that a few years ago with the Double T. There were some people who didn't like it first (including me), but this is different. With the Double T you were just bringing it into the 21st century. With this change you are eliminating part of the TTU tradition and heritage.

Talladega

What a wild ride it was this weekend at Talladega! First the Busch race "big one" taking out several cars and then the Cup race with 25 cars! Talk about the "car"nage. From the replay it looked like both Jimmy Johnson and Dale Jr. were the cuplprits, but that's Talladega for ya! Luckily Tony was able to stop his car to avoid the mess. It was close at the end, but sometimes paybacks are tough..the last crash of the day took out Jr. and Jimmy. Oh well...Jeff finished first with Tony a close second. CONGRATS everyone and on to night racing at Darlington.