Session 80

Governor Perry Signs SB 11 at Hidalgo County Sherrif's Dept.

2007-06-06T20:25:00.001-05:00

Calling a Bluff

2007-05-28T01:55:00.000-05:00

If you are going to call a bluff, you better have a good hand. Many bills died tonight.

Moving the Blog

2007-03-12T00:22:00.000-05:00

I'm simplifying my blogging by just having one blog from here on out. Since most of my posts are about me and my experiences, I figure the best thing to do is have a dedicated personal blog. So, I opened up ShaineMata.net today and worked on it a bit. You're welcome to change the links to keep up with the latest.

If you followed RGV Life, I may continue that theme as a podcast only. However, it may just be easier to merge that with the new blog.

Coworking.com presentation

2007-03-10T16:44:00.001-06:00

Coworking.com presentation,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

This is an interesting concept for working.

SecondLife

2007-03-10T16:42:00.001-06:00

SecondLife,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

Linden Labs is presenting on SecondLife. There is some info on the war on Grey Goo.

Steel reign

2007-03-10T16:41:00.001-06:00

Steel reign,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

A real-life battlebot, Steel Reign. Visit teamxd.com for more info.

Good times at BarCampAustin

2007-03-10T14:07:00.001-06:00

Good times at BarCampAustin,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

I'm having a good time at BarCampAustin, which is sort of an ad hoc series of tech seminars. Microsoft gave away copies of their ExpressionSession07 software and opened up a $1000 bar tab.

Most of the time, whe I start talking tech, people's eyes glaze over. This is not so here. It's a nice change.

Filing deadline

2007-03-09T10:46:00.001-06:00

Filing deadline,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

Today is the last day for Reps to file bills for this Session. I have the honor of being the filer of our last two bills.

I took a pic of this note that says "Too late, too bad, so sad. Love, Rob" on Rep Eissler's door. Basically, lobbying for new bills is over. For the most part, lobbying will focus on those bills already in the pipeline.

Good thing I went early, a line of other filers formed behind me at the Chief Clerk's office.

Positive Image

2007-03-08T18:37:00.001-06:00

Positive Image,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

A haircut goes a long way towards improving your image. Well, that and shaving. Back in the day when I was a student here in Austin, I had the long hair and scruffy look. I also wondered why I did not get any respect. In time, you learn that the world does not run on ideals. It runs off the whole lot of us who fall short of ideals. Ideally, looks should not matter, but they do. Good grooming goes a long way towards improving our image.

Nice trees

2007-03-08T18:36:00.001-06:00

Nice trees,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

I saw these lavander colored trees and thought I'd capture them.

Penny pinching

2007-03-07T19:40:00.001-06:00

Penny pinching,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

I got through the day without spending a penny on eating today. I had a bowl of oatmeal at home and had a lobbyist join us for lunch. There are several receptions tonight, but I'll skip. Lunch was pretty satisfying. With all the money I've been saving up, I can buy a beer on the way home tonight.

Bad CD, Bad!

2007-03-07T14:36:00.001-06:00

Bad CD, Bad!,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

I got another coaster. The cd burned, but won't play back last night's hearing. Now, I've got to get another copy.

Committee Hearing Today

2007-03-06T07:57:00.001-06:00

Today, the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence will be meeting at E2.016. The following bills will be heard:
HB 1887
HB 79
HB 267
HB 303
HB 1779
HB 495
HB 959
HB 681
HB 184
HB 1212
HB 541

Just as a notice, these bills are scheduled, but there is always the possibility that one or more may be rescheduled. You may see the video feed at the House Audio/Video page later today.

Morning Brewcast Mention

2007-03-05T22:16:00.000-06:00

Sisters Jackie Adame and Jennifer Navarrete of the Morning Brewcast made brief mention of me on their latest show. If you recall, I got a visit from Jennifer and her two sons last month. They have an ongoing segment in which they highlight the coffee mugs that people use. All you do is send them a photo of your crusty old mug. If it's not crusty, you're not a real coffee drinker I say. Strangely, the bottom of the cup, which I cannot reach, is clean. It's the area where the coffee reaches its max height that has...something that refuses to come off.

I don't take this cup to work because it's the only cup I brought from home, along with 1 bowl, 1 plate, a knife, a fork, and a spoon. If I take the cup to work, then I might forget it and have a horrible time waking up in the morning. We don't want that to happen.

I recommend you listen to Jennifer and Jackie if you get a chance. You will hear what high doses of caffeine can do to you. Even if you're not a coffee drinker, their laughs are contagious and you will at least find yourself smiling through the show.

The Morning Brewcast also has another segment in which listeners tell the crew of two their earliest coffee memories. I've been meaning to record a bit for their show, but haven't made the time. I'll have to get around to it soon.

Down in the committee offices

2007-03-05T20:29:00.001-06:00

Down in the committee offices,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

The committee offices have serious problem with their sameness. The layout is simple, but the uniformness and lack of color make it easy to become disoriented. To this day, I have to think about how I will exit. My mental map is all white like the halls.

Making copies

2007-03-05T20:19:00.001-06:00

Making copies,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

I am assembling hearing packets for distribution this morning.

Connected

2007-03-04T18:29:00.000-06:00

When you are involved in heavy minutiae as is common around the Capitol, it's easy to become lost in the goings on that you may or may not have any direct bearing on your life. In a sense, you become disconnected from your life and become submersed in the affairs of the state, the challenges of your boss, and the details of your job. I have found myself disconnected from my own personal mission as of late. We all require some personal time to reflect on where we are and what progress we have made towards our goals. When you put that time off for too long, you grow disoriented, disconnected, uncentered.

The past couple of weekends were great because I had the opportunity to spend time with my family. The only downside was that I spent my free time with them or on the road. The result is that I had two weeks of mental junk piling up without a moment to go through it and throw out all the useless information. When you collect mental crap, it clogs up your thinking.

This weekend, I am without family and with a few housekeeping tasks to do. I also have a few hours to devote to mental housekeeping. The result has been great. I had something happen recently that really hurt my dignity. I think that if I had not had the opportunity to decompress and look at the big picture of my life, I may have made a poor decision. In retrospect, it doesn't matter; my life is not affected in one way or the other. So long as I can put food on the table, provide shelter for my family, and live a good life, the rest is just chaff that gets blown away in the wind. Very few of us have the chance to become great people and even fewer have the ability to do it successfully without losing ourselves. I doubt that I'm destined for greatness, let alone have the ability to deal with it; I would be better served with focusing on my humble needs. So, I have a clean slate and am ready for more.

If there is a lesson to be gleaned from this post, it should be that when you are lost in a forest of details, it helps to take some time to put your head above the treetops to make sure you are going in the right direction. Sometimes problems seem huge until you look at the big picture and realize that it's an inconvenience that doesn't really matter. Deal with it or forget it, and move on to your goal.

My first landing

2007-03-03T20:15:00.001-06:00

My first landing,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

Today, I went on a bike ride from my place to Zilker Park. I wanted, originally, to look around and find the Green Belt. I read that this was a good trail for mountain biking. When I found the entrance to the trail, I couldn't help going in to check it out. It was a pretty good trail. There was a combination of both rocky and dirt trails. You can see many rocks with marks from bike pedals and other scraping parts.

Two miles into the trail, I decided to turn back. There was a small drop that passed between a manhole and a large rock that I attempted to ride through. I hit a rock that turned my handlebar and lodged the wheel with another rock. The end result was that I flew off my bike and landed a few feet ahead of my bike. Unfortunately, the landing was amongst the rocks. I scraped my knee and bruised my left hip really well.

I was stunned for a moment when I realized I was no longer riding a bike and in pain. I did not move for a few moments while I figured out if anything was broken. After determining that there were no fractures, I hobbled my way to the manhole until the pain could subside.

The ride back was tough. In addition to the discomfort from the fall, I ran out of energy around downtown. I didn't think I'd ride so much, so did not take any sugar or other energy food. I granny geared it most of the way back, except for the downhills.

I'm still exhausted and sore all over. I'm going to load up on protein to assist in recovery.

When I ride, the first half-hour is hell. My legs don't want to go. After that, I seem to be able to go with little problems. That is, until I run out of energy. I did OK, only 18 miles after months of not riding. Subsequent trips will be better. For now, recovery is the goal.

Sharks!

2007-03-02T20:31:00.001-06:00

Blacktip Reef Shark Sea Life Centre München,
originally uploaded by Wolfgang Kopp.

No, this is not a post about politics. I feel good about our hard work this week and decided to treat myself to a movie. I went to the Bob Bullock Museum to watch a 3D movie about sharks. It was a great movie. I would love to take my children to watch it if they have a chance to visit this spring break. There are a couple of scenes with jellyfish that really amazed me. The jellyfish seemed to be floating right up into my face. The sharks and other creatures did seem to come off the screen but the jellyfish had the best feel of depth.

I never went to a 3D movie as a kid because they were all violent. As an adult, I haven't seen many movies in 3D that interest me. I was skeptical about enjoying a movie in which I had to wear glasses in red and blue.

At the Sharks movie, you don't wear colored glasses. I don't know for certain, but I think the glasses they hand out are polarized. It's the only way that you could get a 3D effect with clear lenses. This way you can enjoy the movie in its true colors.

Texas Independence Day

2007-03-02T17:43:00.001-06:00

Texas Independence Day,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

Today was a rather slow day, probably the last of its kind this session. Today is Texas's Independence Day. Some offices had skeleton crews, others were fully staffed, and some were completely empty. Every Rep. Has discretion over their own sweat shop (that's a joke only about 5 people really understand).

Down at the Committee Offices, clerks do have to show up. It isn't mandatory, but taking time off only makes the work pile up. Clerks have to process incoming hearing requests, which includes entering stuff into a database, writing bill analyses (despite getting one from the author's office), and a bunch of filing. Prepping for the hearing involves assembling hearing packets for the committee members. Usually the pieces to the packets slowly creep into the office up until the day of the hearing. We send out the packets as soon as the more important pieces are available. Some pieces may not arrive until the day of the hearing. It helps to drop by on the weekend to check for new items. Even with holidays, committee staff have firm deadlines.

Serranos

2007-03-01T23:11:00.001-06:00

Serranos,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

Today was pay day. Alex and I went to Serranos for dinner.

Texas Association of Builders BBQ

2007-02-28T15:11:00.001-06:00

Texas Association of Builders BBQ,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

The Texas Association of Builders threw together this big event. The food smells delicious, but the line is incredible. I'm better off buying lunch than waiting for a free one. There is much to do today.

UPDATE: I forgot we had lasagna in the fridge. I microwaved it and had it for lunch.

No burn

2007-02-28T12:07:00.001-06:00

My first stop, after breakfast, was at the committee coordinator's office. Last night's recording did not burn right on the CD. I could not get the CD to play back this morning.

It's not a loss. The hearings are recorded on hard drive before burning. They can hook up to the recorder and burn another copy. Last night I noticed my keyboard was gone. I learned this morning that it was intentional to prevent problems. I don't think the keyboard and CD problem are related. I've had a few CDs fail to burn properly at home, they now function as coasters.

Dry Cleaning

2007-02-28T08:26:00.001-06:00

Due to time constraints this week, I've had to resort to dry cleaning. Having gone home this weekend and getting out of work late has kept me from doing laundry. I'll try to keep it to a minimum.

The first of many

2007-02-28T00:02:00.001-06:00

The first of many,
originally uploaded by shainelee.

Tonight was the first of what I expect will be many long days at work. Roughly, it was a 14 hour day. The morning was pretty exciting as we prepared for upcoming appointments and Rep Peña's activities for the day. I kind of got sucked into Committee work earlier than expected, but I suppose the need was there. We did what needed doing.

The hearing ended a while ago, but the committee work is not done. We have to start preparing for next week already. So far, we have over 200 bills in the criminal jurisprudence committee. Given the amount of time available before the end of session, there is no way we can hear all of them. Tonight, the Chairman mentioned setting up subcommittees to allow a hearing for as many bills as possible. I agree that the need is there. What immediately comes to my mind is that it will complicate the process of organizing the hearings. We would have to juggle multiple timetables to perform certain tasks on different days. In addition, the more difficult aspect would be having multiple bosses with the subcommittee chair. I've had this situation before, where there is more than one boss. It's always a recipe for problems. Nobody can serve two masters (or three or four). Still, it must be done. The alternative would be to leave many bills unheard.

In terms of my work, I find myself more and more enmeshed in the committee because of the volume of work headed our way. Consequently, I am becoming less connected with the goings on upstairs. I'm hitting that two masters issue again. If I concentrate more on one job, the other suffers.

I've already got a list of stuff to do tomorrow. If we'd got out of committee earlier, I may have put some work into getting it done. In practical terms, I could have stayed tonight to start on some work, but it is still too early in the session to start burning the candle on both ends. I need to ensure there is enough candle to last through the end of the session.