Welcome To Case's Column

Let me say a big welcome to all of you for joining me here. I'm going to call these blog meetings Case's Column. I wanted to use "Corner", but that was already taken. Since 2008, it's been a real privilege to come on here and share some of my life with you, and it's a big world where we live.

In these blogs, I'll just speak whatever is on my mind, but we will be playing within the rules here. I may pick a particular topic, point out an event, or shoot the breeze. I'm a little bit of an essayist at times, so I'll just speak what's on my mind, and I might tell a story or two. Or, I might spew out an opinion or three. There will be some serious moments, some tender, some poignant, but there will also be those moments that you'll just bust out laughing. But, hopefully, everything will be in good fun here. And, of course, there's a place below for your comments and thoughts as we go along here. So feel free to join me for the ride -- I sure as heck hope I'm doing this right and not making any mistakes.

Thanks for taking your time in reading Case's Column. Hopefully, you'll enjoy being entertained by it as much as I've enjoyed putting these writings together. And thanks for the time you spend in City-Data.com, where it's great to be alive!

Regards,

case44

1. Scattershooting Once More / Hurricane Patricia Could Be Biggest Storm Yet That was one whopper of a rain shower. Hope everyone out there is doing okay. They're trying to play that Baylor football game in the rain, and Waco's already got about, what, 10 inches in two days? You mention the Cubs, and I agree that they'll be a contender for some time to come. I still think that the Cardinals won't be going away. It's still a sustainable-enough winner that they can overcome comebacks by the Pirates and Cubs. Great stuff in your column as always, Case!

   Posted 10-24-2015 at 01:21 PM by malfunction

2. 	Scattershooting Once More / Hurricane Patricia Could Be Biggest Storm Yet With all the rain we're getting in D/FW, and with more forecast for tomorrow, don't be surprised if the area UIL for band gets delayed.
   	Posted 10-23-2015 at 07:29 PM by case44

3. 	I-69 Update: We Now Have The First Exit Numbers One exit number sign is now visible: Westbound I-2 one mile before the Salinas Blvd exit.
   	Posted 10-17-2015 at 09:45 AM by case44

4. 	One Era Officially Ends, But Another Begins It's a great new thread, Case. I still miss the old days of Free for All, though, but I can see that the future will sure be a lot different. Your posts have meant so much to a lot of people, more than you realize.
   	Posted 10-12-2015 at 12:01 PM by malfunction

5. 	Are The Astros Ready For A Championship? And to think you counted them out last month. LOL. Now, they're about to get to the league championship. Still, no matter the outcome, this has been a great year for Houston and still one of baseball's big surprises.
   	Posted 10-12-2015 at 11:59 AM by malfunction

6. 	Could Four Frisco Football Teams Make The Playoffs This Year? Hey, don't count out Liberty, either. They're knocking on the door, so you never know.
   	Posted 10-12-2015 at 10:19 AM by case44

7. Case's Vacation Journal: Tasty Valley Finds Quote: Originally Posted by malfunction Sounds like you had a good time. Looks like you were obsessed with bad iced tea on your trip. Yeah, mal. What is it with the RGV and iced tea? The majority of places I attended, it wasn't good at all. My mother says it's the water, and that may be true, but I think it's just a bogus mix those places use to make the tea. Most of the time I eat out, I ordinarily get iced tea, but down there, I've had to settle for soda pop.

   Posted 10-12-2015 at 08:24 AM by case44

8. Case's Vacation Journal: Tasty Valley Finds Let me add two more: Grapevine Café in South Padre Island. Good American and Mexican breakfast choices, plus the best coffee in the Rio Grande Valley. ****(4) Also, Cobblehead's in Brownsville. Limited bistro-style menu with a window view of the little lake next to it. Wonderful, well-seasoned chicken-fried chicken, good mashed potatoes (with the peppered cream gravy), and scrumptious corn-on-the-cob. Terrible iced tea and coffee, however. **** (4)

   Posted 10-12-2015 at 08:22 AM by case44

9. Are The Astros Ready For A Championship? Astros keep rolling. They just might win that divisional series against the Royals. Yep, they just might. I'm hoping that the Rangers will fold against Toronto because I'd rather the Astros play the Jays than the Rangers. While that's probably unlikely (but you never know), I wouldn't mind seeing a Texas two-step in the ALCS in future years. First, however, I would like to see the Astros get back to the World Series and actually win one.

   Posted 10-12-2015 at 08:19 AM by case44

10. 	Coffee 9-1-1: When The Brewer Stops Working I hate when stuff like that happens, when you get up in the morning and expect things to work, and then, suddenly, they just stop. Happens to my car a lot.
    	Posted 10-11-2015 at 01:10 PM by malfunction

11. 	Case's Vacation Journal: A Tale Of Two Hotels LOL. Amazing what you can discover when you plan for different locations. You'll need to go back to that Pharr hotel again. That's something.
    	Posted 10-11-2015 at 01:02 PM by malfunction

12. 	Case's Vacation Journal: Tasty Valley Finds Sounds like you had a good time. Looks like you were obsessed with bad iced tea on your trip.
    	Posted 10-11-2015 at 01:00 PM by malfunction

13. 	Case's Vacation Journal: A Tale Of Two Hotels This definitely was not uneventful. Guess what I saw at my hotel at South Padre? One very small live crab. You can't make this stuff up. First time I've seen one up close. Spotted him between the back door and the pool area. By the time, Red Tide warnings have been in effect all week at Padre. Must be the washed-up fishies ashore.
    	Posted 10-08-2015 at 02:29 PM by case44

14. 	Could The Astros Pull It Off This Week? Astros Beat Yankees! Kansas City, here we come!!!
    	Posted 10-07-2015 at 09:06 AM by case44

15. 	Could The Astros Pull It Off This Week? Rangers win the division, and Astros get the second Wild Card. Houston's locals will now proceed to Yankee Stadium for the one-game showdown on Tuesday in New York. Keep fingers crossed.
    	Posted 10-05-2015 at 07:25 AM by case44

16. Could The Astros Pull It Off This Week? Houston gets two out of three in Seattle. Rangers are still winning, however, and, so, the division title could be out of reach. The only thing that would save the Astros for that is if, like I said, Houston wins every game and the Rangers lose the remainder of their games. The latter would be unlikely, since Texas will be at home, but their opponent would be the Angels, who are also still fighting for a playoff spot. The Astros are, however, back in the Wild Card chase, but hanging by a thread. They'll still need to win all of their games in the Diamondback series. They cannot afford to lose even one. Stay tuned.

    Posted 10-01-2015 at 03:19 AM by case44

17. 	I Have Proclaimed This Week As My Own Personal Burger Week Looking forward to Athens on Saturday. I've had a great time with great food at the aforementioned burger stops.
    	Posted 09-25-2015 at 08:28 PM by case44

18. I-69 Update: Signs Slow To Come Up In The Valley I've tapped the shoulders of folks at TXDOT's Pharr office. New guide signs will eventually go up, along with new gore signs, so exit numbers will start appearing. Different projects to bring them in will be fully completed by February. It's not known if that same project will include some new sign bridges for control city markers, but progress is nonetheless being made.

    Posted 09-25-2015 at 08:26 PM by case44

19. 	I-69 Update: Signs Slow To Come Up In The Valley ^^^ The above was via Google Map Street View search. Also spotted mile markers on I-69C and I-69E. Good trend.
    	Posted 09-25-2015 at 08:19 PM by case44

20. America Under Assault: What Some Have Said I think you pretty well nailed it when you said ignorance. Too many people are misinformed and misguided, and that is why this nation is in the shape it's in. And I'm not sure that Trump can legitimately handle the presidency unless he really surrounds himself with experienced advisors. While he'll be a breath of fresh air, it still remains to be seen whether he'll keep his word on making America great again. We've got to put up with Obama for thirteen more months. I don't know if I can stomach much more of whatever this is.

    Posted 09-23-2015 at 02:32 PM by Gurn350