RGV Life

Here is something that cought my attention while out for a walk today. I saw this tree growing on an irrigation bridge. I took pictures from both sides so that you can see that it's not a illusion.The other tree on the right is growing on the side of the Edinburg Canal. The tree in the center is the one growing on the bridge. I'm sure the tree gets its water from the irrigation pipe that crosses the canal through this bridge. You can hear water flowing inside the pipe as you walk by. I remember as a kid, my family would forbid us from playing around the pipes because we could fall in and drown. I'm sure there may have been such drownings. Some people have the good fortune of buying homes with irrigation pipes still in place. New subdivisions do not have irrigation pipes because the city buys the water rights for new subdivisions. This way they can take that water and use it for drinking. If cities don't do this, they would not be able to produce sufficient water to mee...

I took a tangent while researching and have seen the future of IT for small businesses. In a small business or organization, it can be expensive to implement some of the technology used by large organizations. An entrepreneur will be focusing on survival rather than maintaining servers and other hardware. In a small business, hiring the work out to a contractor or having an IT staffer can be equally expensive. Collaboration and systematic communication make it possible for big organizations to do things much more efficiently.This isn't related to life in the Rio Grande Valley. It's more along the lines of geeky stuff that excites me. If you're a small business person or need to keep people on your team on the same page, this may help you learn about some possibilities. In my experience with networks and productivity software, I have found that a MS Outlook type program is very helpful when it comes to collaboration on projects. You can automatically check someb...

I'm going to be listing some stuff on eBay . It's mostly music, videos, a shop-vac, roasters, and some other stuff that's stuffed in a closet. I should be done listing by Saturday, so check in to see if you are interested in anything.   If you want to sell anything of yours but don't have the time or patience to list, call me. I can help you sell your stuff. Don't let it sit around cluttering your home.

Yesterday, it rained in the Rio Grande Valley. It was a nice change of weather. The rain did not last very long, but it was welcome nonetheless. Looking at radar, it appeared to be coming from the direction of Monterey. In Mission, you could see the rain clouds coming in from the south looking dark and ominous against a sunny sky to the north. Eventually the storm system made its way over us and for a short time dropped water and had gusty winds. The clouds cleared somewhat in time for a gorgeous sunset.   Usually, when it's going to rain, the air gets really thick with humidity. You can somewhat predict what the day will be like based on humidity. On those days when it's foggy in the morning, you know that the day will have oppressive heat. This is the kind of weather that makes you question your desire to keep living. There is absolutely no evaporation of your perspiration on these days. The good news is that on those terribly muggy days, you know that it won't be lo...

The light bulb just went on with respect to the Edinburg Road Runners and the newly formed Coyotes. One of the lessons I learned about breach of contract in Business Law, such as a lease, is that the lessor is obligated to mitigate the damages. That is to say, since Edinburg Road Runners failed to honor their part of the contract, the City of Edinburg had a duty, not only to evict, but to seek another organization to reduce the amount of damages caused by the breach of contract. A court would not look favorably upon a landlord who fails to make a reasonable effort to lease the property again and sues to collect on the remainder of the lease. If Edinburg failed to seek a replacement team or other leasing party, they would stand to lose any damages sought from the Road Runners. I think none of this matters anymore. I don't have any knowledge about what's going on over there; it just occurred to me as a real-life example of a lesson. I'm having flashbacks from the semester.

I made mention of a recent experience on RGV Life Podcast #16 that I want to share in writing as well. I had the recent opportunity to walk 5 miles from the north of Mission to Madero, which is a part of Mission on the south side. The trek was around 2pm in full daylight. During the hot season in the Rio Grande Valley, residents suffer through high humidity. It doesn't matter if the day is sunny or overcast, the humidity will have you sweating like a cheese if you exert youself in any way. So there I was, walking around town and it dawned on me, I could sure use a handkerchief to wipe my brow. I realized why young people do not use handkerchiefs like people of previous generations did. We are accustomed to driving everywhere and often with air conditioning. We no longer have perspiration on our brows to wipe, so we no longer need handkerchiefs. So, the articles used to be a necessity rather than a fashion accessory. People of previous generations walked places because cars were a l...

Local elections, some local blogs. School finance. Bond issues. Reconnecting with customs of the past. Duration:25 minutes, 10 seconds Date Last Updated:Wed 10 May 2006 11:50:07 AM CDT File Size:6.04 MB MP3 File