All about me

In Wimberley, Texas, near where my brother lives, is a wonderful outdoor theater where high school students perform Shakespeare under the Stars, and all kinds of concerts and community events are held. There is also a story behind the place -- there would have to be, with a name like The EmilyAnn Theatre. Emily Ann Rolling was a 16-year-old Wimberley High School student in December, 1996, when she was killed in a head-on car collision.

Ralph Peters on the fifth anniversary of Iraq:

I  cannot help repeating the heartbreaking truth that it didn't have to be this hard, this bloody, or this expensive. This is what happens when war is made by amateurs. Has anyone in Washington learned that lesson?

You can't have a travel day without passing along a couple of airport stories, however tame:

1. Former Mayor Graham Richard was on the same Fort Wayne-to-Chicago flight I was yesterday morning. He was traveling alone, and I didn't ask him anything, so I have no idea if Chicago was his final destination or not. Feel free to start whatever rumor you wish -- it's pobably nothing more exciting than a Six Sigma consulting gig.

My brother had his house built on 35 acres in Hill Country, Texas, just outside of Wimberley. Here is an aerial view to give you a little perspective. He took it from a neighbor's plane (some people out here have their own runways).

Today is my travel day. I should get to my brother's late in the afternoon -- perhaps I'll do a post from there. I don't want to make you feel bad or anything, but check out the weather in Hill Country, Texas -- mid to high 70s during the day, high 40s to low 50s at night. Cheer up -- I hear the first day of spring is just around the corner.

The three giants of the golden age of science fiction are now gone. Arthur C. Clarke has followed Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov into that unknown territory that all humans eventually travel to but nobody reports back from:

Another language pet peeve:

The Clintons are barnstorming Indiana, with six stops today and Thursday in a push to win this state's May 6 primary election.

In preparation for my flight to Texas tomorrow, I went to the Transportation Security Administration's Web site to see if there were any updates to the carry-on rules. I still have to check my blackjack, brass knuckles and throwing stars. Bummer.

I hate to tell you this, but I'm in the first group:

The Internal Revenue Service outlined Monday how your Social Security number will determine when you probably will get your economic stimulus check this spring or summer.

The IRS said it plans to deliver 130 million checks between May 2 and July 11 based on the last two digits of the recipient's Social Security number.

OK, this is a pet peeve. I've been seeing vehix.com commercials all over TV the past few days, and they brag that you can "literally test drive" a car at that Web site. No, no, no. As the ad admits, the site puts you "practically in the driver's seat." Well, if you are practically in the driver's seat, you are not actually in the driver's seat, are you? So you are figuratively, not literally, test-driving the car.