Articles for August 6th, 2010
HP CEO Mark Hurd Resigns for “Inappropriate Behavior”
I figure it’s germane enough for us because of HP’s purchase of EDS. And because it involves inappropriate behavior. Check out the note from Cathie Lesjak, the CFO who will do honors while a search for a new CEO is underway:
Accessories of the Week: Lauren Ferguson Plus Shoes
It’s just been too dang hot for the Accessories of the Week to venture out. That is until last night. Amy Turner’s party for the Simply Summer Simply Shoes underwriters had a whole passel of adorable, well-tanned gals in silk sundresses and namedropping shoes. One of them was Lauren Ferguson (pictured), who is co-chair for the event’s underwriting as well as a banker at Amegy Bank.
Oh, and if you want to see some pretty great looking shoes, follow the jump. (more…)
Friday Question (8/6/10)
Say it’s Friday, and you have a migraine, but all you have in front of you is a pair of scissors, a metal water bottle, 1/4 of a cream soda, five plastic sporks, 1 box of water crackers, a University of Arkansas coozie, and a pair of not so gently used earbuds.
What would you use to remedy the situation? Because I’m thinking scissors to the temple.
Learn to Make the Best Sushi in Dallas
SideDish has a video with instruction by chef Yutaka Yamato.
We’re Giving Away $354 Worth of Skincare Products
It’s all happening here.
An Open Letter To a Future Resident of Huntsville
Dear Sir or Madam,
You must be relishing your accomplishment Tuesday — setting a puppy on fire in the middle of South Corinth in Oak Cliff. It took no brains, no guts, no talent to strike the match that created an excruciating death. When you saw the creature screaming in pain and running in confusion, did you get some kind of thrill? What will it take next time? The vile abuse of a child? The rape of a woman? Your kind always needs to ramp up the level to get a greater thrill. You start with the most helpless and move up the ladder because it’s the only thing that you can do successfully — hurt others for your own failings.
But there is an end in sight. (more…)
What to Do in Dallas This Weekend: Aug. 6-8
Oh Friday. Exhausted though we may be, it would be a crime to squander you.
If you want to feel all cultural and stuff, find your way out to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, which is kicking off its Festival de la Risa celebrating the bicentennial of Mexico’s independence and the centennial of the Mexican Revolution. The evening begins with drinks, live music, and dancing in the grand lobby, followed by a showing of Ahí está el Detalle (You’re Missing the Point), a 1940 comedy about mistaken identity.
If you’re more in the mood for nightlife, however, I suggest helping Dallas model Ken Echols celebrate his birthday at Victory Tavern. I predict drinking, dancing, and air kisses.
What’s Going On at AAA Texas?
I am a proud member of AAA. Love those people. The other day I had a flat, made the call to the hotline, and the guy was there in 20 minutes to fix it.
But I have never used their insurance service, which I suspect is their big money-maker. Here’s a FrontBurnervian’s description of her recent experience:
After getting several bids from competing companies I signed up with AAA insurance for $1853. A week later I received a notification thanking me for adding “pet coverage” and saying my new policy would now cost $2518. I don’t own a pet and did not sign up for this change. I thought it was a mere computer glitch. I called my agent, Brandon Bracken. I left him a voicemail. When he did not call back, I sent him an email. No response. I tried to call him again. No response. A helpful operator advised me to talk to his supervisor, Chris Webb. He was not in. I left a voicemail. Mr. Webb never called me back. This has gone on for two weeks. Maybe fifteen phone calls. Radio silence from AAA.
This is an easy one, I thought. I called Dan Ronan, the media contact for AAA Texas. He asked me why I was calling. I said I was looking into a possible computer glitch that was beginning to look like bait-and-switch. He said he was on another line and would call me back “in ten minutes.” Ten minutes came and went. No phone call. UPDATE: Dan did indeed try to call me yesterday. He thought it was a direct line number and didn’t take down my name. So he ended up at the switchboard trying to find the person who had called him, to no avail. He is now on the case.
Ok, there’s an innocent explanation. Probably. Or maybe not. I place the question before the FrontBurner Nation. Have you had similar problems with insurance at AAA Texas? Have you suspected bait-and-switch? How responsive or non-responsive have they been to you?
Leading Off (8/6/10)
1. The new vendor for vanity plates for the state, My Plates, is a new company with an unproven business model. They’ve promised $25 million in generated revenue for the state in five years. So far, they’re off that pace. My prediction? As soon as those of us who are about to have to lose their old Texas plate have to cycle in to the new version, which looks like something I did in junior high art class, My Plates’ business will pick up. Also, I have wasted a lot of time playing with the My Plates website to see what will pass through its censor (Hint: ANLWRT will).
2. This is just sick and sad. But to the people who would burn a puppy, then run over it? Karma. I’m pretty sure that you’ll never have a good day ever again. And if karma is really on point, every day will be as painful as possible.
3. I know in the old days, people lived in Texas without the benefit of air conditioning. But I’m convinced that if someone Marty McFly’d their way into, say, 1913 Dallas, and said, “There is a magic machine that will cool down this room for you, and I can bring you it,” they’d be happy and take it. This little girl in Hurst really wanted air conditioning again. Her parents didn’t have the money to replace their broken unit, so Kaitlyn Chiles opened a lemonade stand. By the end of the day, a company had donated a unit to her family.
4. Color me confused. CW 33 has been working with a Dallas woman, Lisa Linehan, to promote her Project Husband. She’s got a page on the station’s website. She blogs there. They follow her exploits as she tries to find a guy to marry her by her deadline. It’s been going on for a while. My confusion? WFAA just did a story about her, calling it a YouTube campaign.
5. It’s Friday, so of course there’s earworms. Lots of them. If you run out, you can go here.
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