Snowman Mike Talks Texas and Moscow Snow

Snowman Mike on Staying Cool

Guaranteed White Christmas

Thanx to the internets!  There is a Christmas Blizzard brewing right now pretty much over Lubbock, Texas’ head.  The storm started as rain in California, but brought snow to some areas south of Tucson.  The storm sank further southward than originally expected and the forecast for Lubbock changed from rain and some snow to some rain and more snow!  Right now the Hub City is covered with about 6″ and it’s coming down sideways.  The 7am observation at LBB is:  “Snow, Freezing Fog, Blowing Snow and Windy, 26.”  I’m jealous, especially since I should have been there had I had a few extra $$s.  Thankfully, there is the internets.

This gathering storm is now plowing east.  The kids and grandkids north of Dallas are under a Winter Storm Warning and they could see rain changing to snow by this afternoon and maybe an inch or three just in time for Christmas!

Add this snow to what is already on the ground and a large chuck of the U.S. is fixin’ ta have a White Christmas.  If you aren’t, then just surf some web cams, put on some Bing Crosby and dare to dream!

New Mexico/Texas Storm Now…

The storm that left 5″ of snow on Mt. Lemmon and even a dusting on Tombstone has now moved into Far West Texas.  El Paso has had a couple of inches of snow from the storm as the vigorous upper level low combines with more moisture and some cooler air.  The Sun isn’t quite up yet in El Paso, but here are some web cams to check this morning before it all melts.  The roads look wet, so the snow has marginal sticking power in El Paso even though they do have a Winter Storm Warning.

Meanwhile in Roswell, NM (my old stomping grounds) it’s snowing right now with a Winter Weather Advisory in effect.  They are expecting “Generally 2-4″ of snow..”  Here’s a nice web cam on the Pecos River in Carlsbad, NM with which to watch the snow coming down.

Lubbock, where I also lived for years, is expecting 1-3″ of snow with some sleet and rain mixed in today.  Yes, I am jealous!

The good news is (for snow lovers like me) El Nino Winters are generally cooler and snowier for places like Roswell, Lubbock, El Paso and even Tucson.  We’re just getting warmed up… er started.

Update 6:24 a.m. MST: The El Paso cams I have linked are somewhat of a bust with images from last night that aren’t updating.  However, the Carlsbad “Brad Light’s Cam” camera is GREAT!  Here’s a shot I just captured.  Snow in Carlsbad!

Update 6:42 a.m. MST: Here is a link to webcams in Midland, Odessa, Notrees and Hobbs.  Snow in Hobbs and a dusting in Notrees.  Also, a friend of mine on Facebook, Jessica Armstrong, says it has started to snow in Lubbock near 50th and Quaker.

Update 8:07 a.m. MST:  Snow sticking in Lubbock.  Courtesy KCBD First Alert DigitalTower Cam:

Texassize Weather

Keith Monday tells me this picture is 1999ish.  That fits about right.  This is the combined ABC28 and CBS13 (Texassize) weather team at the time.  Good times!

Matt Hines, Matt Miller, Keith Monday, Ron Roberts, Mike Shaw and David Young.  There are a few folks here I don’t remember their names.  My apologies.  I’m not good with names.  I really need to work on that.

Lubbock TV

CBS 13 & ABC 28

Yes, that’s the President. As for my camel hair jacket with purple spot tie? It only proves that I had (have) no fashion sense :-) This was taken when President Bush was running for Governor of Texas.

Cotton Pickin’!

Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl just a little over two hours away as I type!   Very exciting amidst the disappointment. Don’t get me wrong.  The match up is a good one, but honestly, Tech deserved better.

11-1 in the Big 12 South.   The only loss at Oklahoma.   The same Oklahoma that is ranked number one in the country and will be playing for a National Championship.  Texas Tech went from #7 to #2 when they beat Texas at Tech that fateful October day.  A day that throw the whole BCS in a tale spin!

Mississippi has had a great finish to their season.  They went 3-4 before winning their last 5 games.  Their biggest win was against Florida in the swamp!  The same Florida that is ranked #2 in the country and will play Oklahoma next week for the National Championship.

Texas Tech is a heavy favorite in this game.  Tech is a team that easily should have been BCS qualified, but since Texas and Oklahoma were ahead of them in the BCS standings, Texas Tech is left out.   This is where the danger is for Tech.

Flashback to 2004.  California had just one loss going into the Holiday Bowl.  They had lost out to the BCS rankings and ended up out of a BCS Bowl.  Very similar to what happened to Texas Tech this year.  California complained all over the media and then ended up losing to Texas Tech in that Holiday Bowl 45-31.   It was really fun for this Tech fan to watch!

However, the scenario is too close to this year.   Texas Tech should beat Mississippi.  They are heavily favored.  That means all the pressure is on Tech.  They have to guard against their disappointment of being slighted this year and take that frustration out on the Rebels this afternoon!  Tech cannot afford to take Mississippi lightly.  If they can do all that, they should win.

I’m hoping Tech WINS BIG to make a statement.

UPDATE:  Final – Mississippi 47,  Texas Tech 34

Ouch

What About Texas?

It’s a little aggravating.  All this talk of Florida being in the National Championship after beating Alabama.  I guess I understand that Florida IS playing great football right now.  They just beat number one at a neutral site.  In fact Florida has been playing great football since their loss to Ol’ Miss.  What?  Ol’ Miss beat Florida?  Yeah.  In the swamp!  AT Florida!  When they were unranked!

Meanwhile, Texas has one loss.  It was on the road against #7 Texas Tech.  Tech beat ‘em on the last play of the game.  Now, it wasn’t all that.  Tech lead the whole game except for 1:29 of the fourth quarter.  However Texas mounted an impressive comeback in the second half of that game before they got beat with :08 on the clock.

Assuming Oklahoma beats Missouri in the Big 12 Championship that is about 2 minutes awy from starting as I type this, then I contend it should be Texas and Oklahoma for the National Championship.  It’s the right and fair thing to do, but I doubt it will happen.

Texas Tech is being left out of the conversation because of the way they lost to Oklahoma on national TV.  But, don’t forget.  Tech has only one loss and they have impressive victories over Texas, Oklahoma State and Kansas in Lawrence.  Not really fair that after that kind of season they should play a Mississippi team that has lost 4 games.  Not a slam on Mississippi.  If that’s the way it is then Tech could have lost a couple of more games and still gone Cotton.

Utah, USC (who lost to Oregon State, who lost to Oregon), Cincinnati all are probably going to be in BCS Bowls and Tech won’t?  I don’t think it’s fair, but maybe I’m just being a fan.

To me it should be Texas and Oklahoma for the National Championship and Texas Tech to the Fiesta Bowl.  They all earned it!

We’ll find out for sure when the Bowl bids are given out I think later tonight.

UPDATE:  Bowl Selection Show is Sunday Night at 8:00 Eastern.  That’s 6:00 pm for me here in Arizona.  College Football needs a playoff.  Take the top 16 teams and play it out through December.  Fun times!

Wild at Heart

GREAT book!  I remember when I was a new Christian.  Barely a year in the faith.  My Church, Trinity Church in Lubbock, had a men’s groups study on, “Wild at Heart.”  I already had a home group so I didn’t sign up although I was interested.  Especially since it was being taught by an Air Force recruiter I admired.

So, years later, I FINALLY read it.  I read it on Saturday.  Now I’m wondering, what took me so long??

There is so much to the book.  I’ll probably reread it sometime.  The main messages I got out of the book?  For me, it boils down to a couple of principles that has really igniting something in me.  The biggest and most impactful?  It’s OK for me to be who I am!  God gave me a lot of wonderful gifts.  I don’t need to be afraid of them.  I shouldn’t suppress them.  That’s like hiding your light under a bushel.  No.  God has reasons why He made me the way He did.  I need to come out from behind my personality and quit beating myself up for being an under achiever.  And, to challenge myself to not be so lazy.

Growing up, school was very easy for me.  I’d show up, stay awake in class (for the most part), blow off the homework and ace the tests.  I developed a nasty habit of being lazy.  Hey.  If I can excel without trying, then why push myself?

It truly is a blessing and a curse.  How cool that I can just show up and learn!  Of course the flip side is, sometimes challenges come along in life that do require extra effort.  I’d rather watch TV :-)

When I was in elementary school I found out that not everyone thought the really smart people were cool.  I also discovered I could make people laugh.  So.  Why not suppress the one and develop the other?  Classic under achiever syndrome.

I think God is challenging me.  Not to be the smartest around, but to not be afraid to be who I am.  To be thankful for the gifts He has given me and to use them for His glory!  That means studying His word more.  Spending time in His presence.  As I learn about Him and get to know Him, I can share with others.  I desire to teach and preach.  If it’s His will I need to pursue it!  The big question I have now is, what is the best path to take to do that?

Another area is assertiveness.  I need to assert myself more and have more confidence!  Or at least realize that I have more to contribute then I have at times.  Once upon a time in high school I was brimming with confidence.  I was class president.  I was all league in track.  Good at football.  School was easy and I was popular.  It seemed everything I did turned to gold!  Slowly as my drug and alcohol use increased I started to falter.  By the time I was a junior I quit football, was kicked off of the track team and dropped out of school the following year.  I languished for a few years before I moved to New Mexico to start my broadcasting career.  I have done pretty well despite not having a college degree thanx to the gifts God has given me, but I never quite regained the confidence I had before I started messing up.

I need to realize.  God’s gifts and talents are without repentance!   I didn’t mess up His best plan for my life, rather He has made me a new creation in Him!  I can forget the former self and truly live!  That means forgetting those things that are behind and pressing forward to the high calling of God.  With His help I intend to do just that.

The other area is relationships.  Women.  But that is none of your business :-)  God is teaching me some things.  Someday, Lord willing, I am going to be a great husband to a blessed beautiful woman!

Yet Again!

Tedious.  Another evening ANOTHER AWESOME SUNSET!!!  Arizona has every place I’ve been to beat by quite a long ways when it comes to sunset awesomeness!  Better than Roswell.  Better than Lubbock.  Better than Odessa.  Better than Oregon.  (although Oregon has best lots of other stuff!)  Even better than San Diego at the beach!  It really boggles the mind.

Two things.  First, I noticed that my camera adds some color to the sunsets.  Usually it’s a nice effect, but I would rather capture the actual real colors.  Maybe that’s the difference between a $199 camera and a $1,199 camera :-)  I suppose even a $500 camera might do the trick.  Great.  Something else I need!

Next was catching the hummingbird in flight.  They are sooooo cute!  I stood just a few feet away and waited with my camera.  A couple of times I didn’t have it raised to eye level.  Even when I moved to raise the camera (s)he didn’t fly away every time.  A couple of times, but not every time.  After  I got a few pictures and knew I had what I wanted the next time (s)he came around, I just watched.  Standing three feet away looking at this tiny wonder while (s)he sipped away on some sugar water.  Pretty remarkable.  Did I mention the sunset going on the whole time wasn’t too shabby?!

There really is a God and He really is good!

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