Articles for September 15th, 2009
Arts Center Holds Some Surprises
At least, according to the LA Times, which did a travel report about the center and its opening in October. Most of the information I already know. However, this sentence provided some insight I had yet to hear.
The new venues will be woven together by a 10-acre pubic park.
So many jokes. So little time.
JCPenney Most Innovative Company in North Texas
JCPenney apparently has the most innovative business technology in North Texas, as it’s the highest ranking local company on this year’s Information Week 500. The Plano-based retailer finishes No. 6 and was the category winner for Supply Chain and industry winner for Retail at the star-studded awards gala last night:
JCPenney`s Door to Floor technology was cited by InformationWeek as one of the
“20 Great Ideas.” The technology enables store management to know what
merchandise will be delivered up to 48 hours in advance, allowing for optimal
planning and preparation for getting merchandise off the truck and onto the
sales floor.
That’s some outstanding work to ensure that your mom can get you dressed in style.
Willard Spiegelman: “I’m No Tollway Scofflaw!”
Sweet, long-suffering readers of the “print product” are familiar with the name Willard Spiegelman, the bow-tie-wearing SMU professor who regularly writes for us. Well, the good professor has gotten himself crosswise with the NTTA. He seeks advice, after the jump.
Jessica Simpson Has Lost Her Dog, Wants It Back
People.com has a story up about Jessica Simpson’s dog, Daisy. The maltipoo was snatched by a coyote right in front of her, according to Simpson’s Twitter feed. She wrote: “My heart is broken because a coyote took my precious Daisy right in front of our eyes. HORROR! We are searching. Hoping. Please help!” Here’s a pic of the cute dog, along with a poster offering an unspecified reward. I wonder how many coyotes follow Simpson on Twitter. (Aside: I had a few marmot tweeps for a while, but then I made an off-color rodent joke, and they all un-followed me. And don’t ever follow water buffalo. IJS.)
Woodall Rodgers Park: Where Will Children Play?
Over on Renegade Bus, Peter Simek compares the Woodall Rodgers Park with Millennium Park in Chicago (a comparison the Woodall boosters themselves have made) and asks some good questions. Worth a read.
American Airlines: Based Here, Busted for Smuggling Drugs Here
Eight American Airlines employees were arrested for smuggling drugs. I love the stock image that NBC used to illustrate the story. This poor guy was just filling a plane with fuel. But in this context, it looks like he’s pumping heroin into a special smuggling compartment in the wing.
Dallas Might as Well Be in Gabon
An odd reference to Texas in today’s New York Times article about Libreville, Gabon:
In the airport duty-free store, the wine is upward of $400. The service at the fancy French restaurants in the chic Louis district is immaculate, and at the luxury hotel on the sea the call girls dress like fashion models.
The futuristic government palaces on Omar Bongo Triumphal Boulevard, with their flying-saucer and rocket-ship outcroppings, marbled interiors and expanses of plate glass, would make the pedestrian feel humble, if there were any. It is almost as if you could be in a prosperous city in Texas.
Is the writer saying A) That we also don’t have pedestrians in Dallas, B) That everything is big in Libreville, just like everything is big in Texas, or C) Dallas call girls dress like fashion models?
City of Dallas Sends 400 iPhones to CEOs
Bloomberg is reporting that the city of Dallas is sending 400 iPhones to CEOs across the country in an effort to get them to relocate their businesses to Dallas. The Dallas Regional Chamber is footing the $250,000 bill for the scheme. Says Bloomberg, “Each phone contains an application with customized information about the city and messages from Leppert and other CEOs. The phone also comes with contact numbers and links to a Web site with additional information. … The city plans to follow up delivery of the phones with calls and emails from the mayor and others.”
Initially, I thought this giveaway was insane. But the more I think about it, the more I wonder if it might be genius. First, you only need a success rate of .2 percent for this program to pay for itself. Second, the program is so goofy that it’s sure to be picked up by news outlets all over. Essentially, you’ve bought a national ad — in newspapers and on TV — for $250k.
Here’s a guess, though. If I’m the CEO of Behemoth Corp., chances are I’ve got a BlackBerry. BlackBerries have traditionally been the smart phone of choice for big business because they work better with exchange servers, and IT guys are more comfortable with them (even though the iPhone is clearly superior). So I get this iPhone. I’m not going to carry two phones. I think it’s cute. I give it to my assistant (because my kids and wife already have iPhones). My assistant, who also uses a BlackBerry, uses his new iPhone strictly for sexting and playing Super Mario Cart or whatever. Then one day he gets a call from Mayor Leppert. Um, what happens next?
Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Gets Cozy With AT&T
Just when we were all getting accustomed to that acronym rolling off our tongues, the Dee Cee Pee Yay has gone and picked up a corporate sponsor that requires a name change. The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts is no longer the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. It’s the AT&T Performing Arts Center. The Ay Tee Tee Pee Yay Cee? I’m guessing folks will just call it “The Pack” (for PAC). Anyway, the full release is after the jump. It doesn’t tell you the one thing we all want to know: how much was the deal worth?
Leading Off (9/15/09)
1. Police are looking for a man who has been exposing himself in Lake Highlands. Technical question: if he’s wearing only a paper bag over his head, is he a flasher or a streaker? Anyway, I do have a suggestion on how to track him down: get a good stereo and play this. Everyone knows Eric Celeste can’t resist .38 Special.
2. Footloose sequel?: “Lovejoy High’s ’spirit horn’ too loud for some.” I don’t know. I’m with this lady.
3. Won’t our crazy billionaires start doing crazy billionaire things again? Making schools better? COME ON, T. Boone. That’s bush league. Where’s your clone army? Digitally inserting yourself into every classic movie? A volcano in downtown Gun Barrel City? Paying everyone to start saying a word you invented? Funding research to invent a better fork? A train/ferry between Dallas/Austin/Houston? Those are just off the top of my head, and I didn’t even have to use my go-to (weather machine). Step your game up, sir.
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