Tort Reform Attracts Doctors To Texas

With all its problems (mainly in capping awards for actual malpractice when it occurs), the tort reform enacted in 2004 has done its job, bringing doctors to Texas from all over the country, Kevin Williamson reports in National Review. The bottom line:

Before tort reform, Texas had the 48th-lowest ratio of doctors to residents out of the 50 states. When that figure is next measured, [State Rep. Joe] Nixon says, Texas expects to have climbed into the 30s. Not bad for four years’ work.

Note: Sorry, but for some reason, NR doesn’t link its print articles. Stupid, I know. But you’ll just have to take my word for it that Williamson talked to several doctors who are newly arrived and working in towns that previously never had specialists in their fields.

Someone at Seagate is Hitting Mark Cuban Where It Hurts

Right in the hard drive.

Ben Stein, Others Party For New Flick Like It’s 1999

Belo8 film critic Gary Cogill was among hundreds partying at the Palomar Hotel Wednesday night after the world premiere here of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, a controversial new documentary about the Establishment jihad to suppress proponents of “intelligent design.” The flick stars Ben Stein, a prolific writer but probably best known as the boring teacher in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. “I’ve always admired Ben Stein,” Cogill said at the party. “He’s one of the few intellectual conservatives who have a sense of humor–something that’s rare among conservatives and intellectuals.” Jump to find out how Ben Stein reacted to that.

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Dallas Cowboys’ Big, Big Screen

The Cowboys 2008 schedule is out. Blah blah blah. Bigger news: the details on the huge, HD displays are now public. How huge are the TVs? The 11,393-square-foot screens are about five times the size of my house. The 170,000-pound things will take about nine months to install, because I bet Jerry Jones, like a certain member of my household, insists that the new TVs cannot have any visible wires. It’s like the “no wire hangers” of TV installation.

The Need For A Dallas-based Research University

The News has an excellent editorial today about the lack of a tier-one research university in Dallas. Please read the whole thing. As a UT graduate, I feel comfortable laying the blame directly at the doorstep of the UT Board of Regents, which has exibited a parochialism completely unsuited to the exigencies of a state with the 8th largest economy in the world. This magazine made its own proposals in 2000. Read “How To Create An Economic Engine for Dallas” here. Read “How To Create A Research University” here. Key paragraph:

Cities without research universities are the Rust Belts of tomorrow. No city that does not have a vibrant intellectual climate that attracts and engages bright minds will be a long-term player on a major scale in the new economy.

Bosworth Steel Erectors, Inc. Built the New Nationals Ballpark in D.C. Out of Metal and Brawn

And now the Dallas-based company has won an award for it. Well played, fellas.

RE: Oncor Hearts Great Blue Herons

The other day I brought this news item to your attention. Today comes “a neat story” about “the large bird” from KTAB news in Abilene. (Warning: loud music and MMF–multiple “metroplex” references.)

Oncor Hearts Great Blue Herons

Here is a picture of Hank, the heron who fishes regularly outside of my house. Hank is a lovely bird, and he builds his nest high up in the trees or on a conveniently placed telephone or power line, which can be a problem if they bust the connection. Apparently Great Blue Herons are a huge hassle for Dallas-based Oncor. They monitor over 100,000 miles of power lines many of which are lined with heron nests. Read the jump to find out what they plan to do about it. (more…)

Chantix to Receive Additional Warning Labels

A wire-watching FBvian pointed me in the direction of this story, which says that Pfizer, the maker of the smoking cessation drug Chantix, will be adding additional (and more prominent) warning labels to the drug, based on patient reports of depression and suicidal thoughts. As you may remember, and the CNN Money piece points out, the drug came under scrutiny last September following the death of Carter Albrecht.

“The Most Successful Philanthropic Fund-Raising in Dallas History”

Harold Simmons just gave another $50 million to UTSouthwestern’s “Innovations in Medicine” Center, bringing the total to $741 million. What a nice sendoff to retiring president (and all-around Dallas hero) Kern Wildenthal.

UT Southwestern Finds Anti-HIV Drug

This really has me worried. The headline: “UT Southwestern Finds Drug to Prevents HIV’s Spread in Mice.” Am I the only one who thinks this will lead to increased promiscuity among mice no longer worried about getting infected?

Nerd Alert: Texas Instruments Giving Gamers a Better View

As the folks at Gizmodo point out, head-to-head competition on any gaming system is always tainted by the split screen. Opponents can get an advantage (or just get plain confused) by taking a peek at the other side of the screen. Texas Instruments has some newfangled DLP technology in the works (I hear it has something to do with an elephant, a little girl, and millions of tiny mirrors) that lets each player see only their car, tennis player, ninja, or whatever it is he or she is controlling. Follow the link for some video footage of the TI doohickey in action at the recent CES show.

Why I Won’t Be at the Museum of Nature & Science’s “News” Conference

On Tuesday at 2, the museum will announce the architect of its new digs at a “news” conference. This is a big deal. The facility figures to be another big draw to our resurgent downtown. I’m looking forward to hearing which of the four finalists will get the nod to build the joint. But I won’t be making the trek to the conference. Instead, on Tuesday morning I’ll pick up the morning paper (or, more likely, check it online) and learn everything I need to know. That’s because the Morning News already knows who the architect is. The museum by now has almost certainly told the paper, with the understanding that it embargo the news until Tuesday. That way the reporter has time to research the architect’s background and get the requisite quotes and prepare a story in time for the announcement (actually, ahead of the announcement). I suppose the conference still has value. The TV people need to get their pictures. But I don’t see any reason for a print person to attend.

Irving Is New U.S. HQ For BlackBerry Maker

Major economic news this morning out of Irving, a city that BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. said it’s selected to be the site of its U.S. headquarters, beating out at least two other unnamed cities. Two big reasons for Irving’s win: Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport, and this area’s proximity to Mexico. The Waterloo, Ontario-based wireless company also said it would hire as many as 1,000 new employees here over the next five years in the likes of R&D, business operations and administration.

Fun With DMN Headlines, Stereotypes

“Faced with Wii shortage,  Nintendo to offer rain checks at GameStop”

NINTENDO SPOKESMAN: And so, to sum up, since retailers are facing a Wii shortage, we’re offering rain checks at GameStop locations.

IRISH REPORTER: Excuse me, sir, a wee shortage of what?

NINTENDO SPOKESMAN: I don’t understand the question. It’s like I said: “A Wii shortage.”

IRISH REPORTER: A wee shortage of what? Super Mario Galaxy? Masters of Illusion? What?

And … scene.

The Ups And Downs Of Birdwatching

On Friday November 23 at 3PM, I hung my thistle feeders at the D office located in Frankston, Texas. By 10AM on Saturday, I had 25 goldfinches. By happy hour I had close to 50. Did I have my camera? Nope. A few days ago I returned to find two almost-empty feeders and no finches. However I do have a loyal white-breasted nuthatch and a pine warbler hanging around the peanut gallery. At this moment, I have white-throated sparrows and dark-eyed juncos pecking across the lawn, but the huge flock of goldfinches has dwindled down to just three or four. Dang. Any Dallas sightings? I heard them high in the trees last week.
 

Gatorade Inventor, R.I.P.

As Keith Jackson has told us on numerous occasions, Dr. Robert Cade invented the sports drink in 1965 for the University of Florida’s football team. But Dr. Cade spent much of his time ’round these parts, attending UT-Southwestern and doing his residency at Parkland. The never-thirsty doctor died of kidney failure. He was 80.

People Who Read Preston Hollow People

This morning I sipped my copy and perused Preston Hollow People even though I’m not one. I live 22 houses away from Preston Hollow and the good folks upstairs haven’t published Midway Hollow, A Treasure To Keep, People yet. Anywhoo, I enjoyed reading “A Day in the Life of Trash”, Krista Nightengale’s recycling tale of Fred the plastic orange pumpkin. It’s a beaut. Recycling cynics beware. (Photo: Jeremy Chesnutt)

UT Southwestern Researcher Receives Award, Blog Post

Since Paul is in Boston, beating down everyone he meets with his impression of late Celtics announcer Johnny Most, it falls to me to tell all of you sweet FBvians this: the American Heart Association has named UT Southwestern’s Helen Hobbs a distinguished scientist. Hobbs won the national honor for her work identifying and distinguishing genetic factors related to blood cholesterol level and coronary heart disease, and probably a few other things I barely understand.

It Might Be Warmer This Winter … Or Colder

I know I sound like a 1980s standup comedian, but I honestly don’t know why people (other than, say, farmers and elementary school kids praying for snow) pay attention to weather forecasts. No matter what fancy equipment is advertised, it’s always just a guess. But by all means, read this, and get ready for a tropical Christmas. Or don’t:

“It wouldn’t surprise me if we’re warmer than normal, but I don’t think you can rule out some winter events,” said Steve Fano, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Way to take a stand, Steve. “This winter, it might not get cold,” Fano continued, in my imagination. “But it might. Conversely, the sun might fall from the sky and wipe out existence as we know it. Or a race of underground mole people could steal all our women and blacken our skies with their odd scorching devices made of honey and brawn. Honestly, be prepared for anything.”

Play With Water, Get Wet

For a couple of months now, the driver’s side window on my car has been broken. Not smashed. Broken as in a couple of months ago, my wife borrowed my car and upon return noted that she had rolled the window down and it wouldn’t roll all the way back up again. It sounds like I’m blaming my wife. I’m not (anymore). I’m blaming Volkswagen, as this is the … let’s see … right … sixth time this has happened. It’s open about three or four inches, which isn’t that big of a deal, so I’ve been waiting to get the window fixed again. Is it because I’m lazy or cheap? Yes.

Anyway, my lack of attention caught up with me big time this morning, around 5:45, when I had to run outside to drape trash bags over the window. Classy. It blew back on me even more on the drive in — quite literally. So … to anyone I might have cut off on the way to work, I’ll just say this: I’m sorry. But you try driving with a beach towel covering your window. All this is the long way of saying: I’m glad the drought is over. But stop it already.

As My Electricity Turns, On

Ok people, sorry for the constant updates on my electrical problems, but it is not really all about me. The same saga happens to powerless people every day. Twelve days ago, my AC went out. It was restored 15 minutes ago. In a little less than 4 minutes. “Well, I just climbed up on the roof and cut a couple of thangs and crimped them back together and wrapped them in electrical tape,” said the man who just climbed off my roof. (Props to Grumpy for meeting the service guy and handing him my phone.) I don’t know whether to point the Monkey Paw at TXU, Oncor, or both. On Thursday, I was told it would be back on by “late afternoon.” At 3 p.m. on Friday, I was told it would be on “in a couple of hours.” Today, almost 72 hours later, a guy shows up and, after hearing my tale of woe, says, “Well, it sounds like you didn’t need to have all that electrical work done at all. You should have just called us first.” Luckily Grumpy pulled the phone from the guy as I screamed, “You are the first people I called,” followed by an endless stream of vulgar language, including some new, quite inventive adjectives that rolled out of my toxic mind, across my tongue, and on to, I hope, my new Wikipedia page. (Developing.) But I digress. TXU and Oncor: quit lying to your customers. Twelve days. Out of my house. Four minutes. Grrr. Josh, loan me a cigabutt.

Hanson Brings Robot Boy to Life

You may remember David Hanson, CEO of Hanson Robotics, from the saga of the missing Phillip K. Dick head. (There has to be a better way to say that.) Today, Hanson has made plenty of headlines as he unveils Zeno, his latest project, today at Wired’s NextFest in LA. Zeno, named after Hanson’s real-life kid, is a robot boy that sees, hears, remembers names, and generally freaks people out. Or amazes them. There are bunches of pictures on Gizmodo. Check ‘em out.

UT Southwestern Finds ‘Skinny Gene’

It’s called adipose and the Southwestern researchers, in a paper published today, disclose how they were able to turn the gene on and off. The gene is “likely to be a high-level master switch that tells the body whether to accumulate or burn fat,” UT’s press release says. And Tim warned me that I need to quit eating so much, that one day my metabolism would slow down.

Pssht. I knew science would save me. (Jump for the full release.)

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Heely’s Hacked for, Um, Art Purposes

Heely’s: They aren’t just for kids in the mall. Apparently, they can also be used to harvest energy that powers a microcomputer that uses an LCD to give the wearer random directions meant to mimic the movements of a staggering drunk. And it’s all part of a big art project. At least, I think that’s what it is. Check it out. (Link via Boing Boing.)

Margaret Keliher’s Next Job

Tim has inspired me to read the editorial page today. The DMN board thinks former county judge Margaret Keliher would be a great fit as chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. After all, she’s a Republican who cares about the environment. It’s like this job was made for her. But Perry won’t appoint her because Keliher would actually serve the state well. As county judge, she more or less formed a Dallas clean air committee and petitioned hard to for the cement plants in Ellis County to belch as few emissions as possible, much harder than the TCEQ did. She thought up pilot programs to clean up our air and constantly made trips to Austin to plead with and berate legislators. Which is exactly why Perry, who fast-tracked 11 new coal plants (remember?), will never appoint her.

I pray I’m wrong.

I’m Proud My Wife is a UT Grad

Because today researchers have assembled their research, after conducting over 2,000 interviews, as to why people have sex. There are 237 reasons, it turns out, and they include:

I wanted to feel closer to God.

I was drunk.

I wanted to get rid of a headache. [Ed. note: very interesting, that finding.]

I wanted to make my partner feel powerful.

I wanted to return a favor.

I wanted to hurt an enemy.

I wanted to change the topic of conversation.

Bravo, University of Texas. Bravo.

Details Sketchy, Downtown Ablaze

We don’t know much but we know that there were several explosions and a large fire downtown. The Morning News’ website is down this morning, perhaps because of all the people like me trying to figure out what went wrong.

iPHONE iFANATICS

In case you hadn’t heard, Apple’s iPhone comes out today. And in case you couldn’t guess, some of us want one. Or two. Extra shiny. We are not alone. FrontBurner picture-taker Alex Muse snapped a few shots of the eager souls waiting in line (or on line, if you insist) at the Apple store on Knox this morning. Here’s the first guy in line and here are some other pictures. Note: The Apple site said the phones don’t go on sale until 6 pm today. Hope it doesn’t rain.

RE: SPACE PLACE

A PR-working FrontBurnervian notes that KERA’s Think (the TV version) is all over the space conference. She passes along the program notes for the 6/1 episode:

We’ll talk about shielding the Earth from space with Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart, who now serves as Chairman of the Board of the B612 Foundation. The foundation champions the protection of Earth from future asteroid impacts.

That episode will also feature an interview with my friend Nicole Small to talk about the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science. I doubt Krys Boyd asked Small how to protect the planet from asteroids, but I bet she could come up with an answer. (She = smart.)

LET’S TAKE A LITTLE NATURE BREAK

My backyard is a McDonald’s play station for baby birdies. Grackle, cardinal, downy woodpecker, starling, and blue jay parents are teaching their young how to maneuver around the various feeders and birdbaths. It’s quite a show. Sid, with one of his two young girls, Nanette, was such a huge hit yesterday with my small group of FrontBurnervian Birders, that I’ve posted another picture of the loving father. Debuting today, Junior, the new downy trying to hold on to the suet feeder. Tra la, enjoy.

FOUR ARCHITECTS ENTER, ONE ARCHITECT WIN

The Dallas Museum of Nature & Science has announced the final four architects in consideration to build the museum’s new Victory Park facility. Each architecture firm will present their vision during a lecture series in June at the Nasher. But if you want to come up with your favorite based solely on their respective Web site, they are Morphosis from Santa Monica, Polshek Partnership from NYC, Shigeru Ban of Tokyo, and Snøhetta of Oslo.