We’re down to the final four! Loyola, Michigan, Villanova and Kansas will play this coming weekend to determine which two of those teams will play for the national NCAA College Basketball Championship. Just like in 811, damage prevention is key to winning these games. The tournament so far has been exciting and entertaining, and these […]
FANTASTIC BEASTS, MERCAPTAN, AND RODEOS
Over the weekend I finally watched the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It’s by Harry Potter author JK Rowling, and as you might expect is full of, well, Fantastic Beasts and other things magical. If you haven’t seen it, and without giving away the plot, it seems that 1926 New York City […]
SO LONG, 2016
SO LONG, 2016 We made it! This is the last blog for 2016 – but 2017 will be double the fun. I’m also writing the blog for the Damage Prevention Councils of Texas at http://blog.dpcoftexas.com starting next week. In fact, there are already a few of them posted there already. Looking back at 2016, we […]
IS IT REAL, OR IS IT MEMOREX?
Some of you reading this may remember that old ad campaign slogan. For those who don’t, it advertised Memorex recording tape (yes, back in the day, we recorded sound on audio tape) and asked the listener to decide if they were hearing a live performance, or one […]
Olympic Success
The Summer Olympics have come to a successful close, and the Tokyo Winter Olympics are now two years away. It’s going to be difficult for Winter Team USA to match or beat the Rio medal total, though. The USA walked out of Rio with a staggering 121 medals, 46 of them gold. That’s 51 more […]
ROAD TRIPPING
Texas811 is the non-profit “call 811 before you dig” entity in Texas. We have over 1500 members throughout the state, from the largest to the smallest utilities, and including many municipalities. You would think that just the day to day operation of keeping utilities and municipalities in the loop on proposed digs would be enough […]
A SOBERING LESSON
The 2nd Annual Eagle Ford Safety and Equipment Rodeo Roundup is history now. Attendance at the October 2nd event in Pearsall, Texas – the heart of the Eagle Ford Shale play – rocked last year’s numbers of over 600. Attendees enjoyed beautiful weather and the opportunity to meet with plenty of oil and gas related […]
CAN YOU BE TOO SAFE?
Ok, I’ll date myself. I grew up in the mid-1960’s. I didn’t wear a bicycle helmet. I got to roam and range all over the neighborhood. I went trick or treating with the other neighborhood kids without a parent in sight. I didn’t have a child safety seat in a car. I rode in […]
10 Steps for Building A Storm Shelter
April showers may be over, but with the unpredictable Texas weather, you never know when a storm shelter could provide exactly the protection you need. Given its safety function, a storm shelter should be one of the most secure structures you build for your home. (If you choose not to go the storm shelter route, you […]