Why Coach Leach should remain Head Coach of the Texas Tech football program:

Let us not forget that under Coach Leach, the football program enjoyed a very high graduation rate…the last few years having been in the top 10 nationally, but number one among public institutions. A huge turn-around from when he took over the program and Tech was on NCAA probation. Plus, he helped take Tech to a bowl game each of the 10 years under his helm. We had winning records every year under Coach Leach. More Tech football players began to get drafted into the NFL. Tech ticket sales increased for sure and not just for home games, but for away games. That in itself was an awesome feat. People can watch bowl games now and see as many or more Texas Tech fans in the crowd. This year’s Alamo Bowl sold out twice, and who was the majority of the fan base to buy it out each time? Yes, Texas Tech. There is so much that Coach Leach did for our university. As fans and alumni, we know his resume and his accolades, but for anyone else wishing to research his accomplishments, google it for there are many. Plus, under Coach Leach we were not just fans, we became more like a family. Raider Nation and Raider Power took on a deeper meaning, and our pride increased. Our popularity increased as well, sometimes because of the quirky coach, but most often because our football program had finally arrived and they were winning more games - not just the games they were supposed to win, but important and significant games. Under Coach Leach, Tech started giving the bigger schools in the Big 12 and around the country a run for their money in many facets of the game - especially in the logistics that is football. Lest we not forget Pirate Nation! Coach Leach brought that tradition to our university and the camaraderie which ensued was awesome. What is our Pirate Nation without Captain Leach?!! It is nonsensical under the helm of any other coach. It will become another awesome tradition lost due to the Tech brass who wanted to save some money. The brass who never did partake in the Pirate Nation tradition which in turn makes me question if they were ever on the Raider Nation bandwagon.

Why Texas Tech AD, Gerald Myers must resign or also be terminated:

I am especially citing Gerald Myers for using the James family ordeal to terminate Coach Leach because it was Myers who first wanted to hire Coach Leach then became indignant with Coach Leach in years to come because he never joined “Country Club Myers”. Furthermore, Coach Leach refused to succumb to being a “yes man”; he did things his way as a head coach should be allowed. No decent coach would ever agree to play the role of marionette. In further stating my views of Myers and his inabilities as an Athletic Director, it was Myers who proceeded to get Coach Bob Knight hired even when Indiana University fired him and no other institution wanted him. But, because Myers was a friend of Coach Knight, Myers disregarded Bob’s reputation for being hard on players. At the beginning of being hired by Myers, Bob Knight brought a lot of fame to Tech but little glory half-way through his contract and almost none in the end. The Tech men’s basketball team suffered severely under Knight as many good players gradually left the team for obvious reasons directly relating to Knight’s treatment of them. Our team diminished in power through the years under Knight and as victories became fewer, they were usually over-shadowed amidst controversies that be Coach Knight. This was a coach who blatantly mistreated his players, but he was allowed to retire his position in his own time as head coach of the Texas Tech Men’s Basketball Program and even allowed to name his replacement long before he retired. The replacement Knight named was his son, Pat Knight, whom I strongly do support and wish well.

So what is my point regarding Myers not being a good AD for Texas Tech?  That he allows a coach like Bob Knight (whom I do respect and support), with a long-storied reputation for being hard on his players and whom has had numerous grievances filed against him, to remain employed as a coach for Tech.  But then takes part in firing Coach Leach whom has never had such allegations brought forth against him in nearly 10 years with Tech prior to James.  That deal stinks but will not go away, Mr Myers, you will be next if Raider Nation has anything to do with it.

Family members we missed this Christmas day.

Another year-another Christmas. Everything went well this year and all the Dominguez family once again gathered at my Mom's home in Big Spring to celebrate another Xmas holiday. The usual suspects were there sans my niece, Michelle, and her husband. Also missing were my two nephews, Gilbert and his new family; they spent the holiday at their home in San Francisco. My other nephew who was missing was Jay; we hope he is home next year to celebrate with us as he was sorely missed as were his comedic ways. My brother, his wife and their 3 sons (Rudy III, Christopher & Jacob) were also not there but missed just as much. To add, his second oldest son, Christopher, is in Afghanistan via the Army doing a second tour of duty. Many blessings and God speed to him while he is there and may he come home safe, sound and soon.

Another awesome Christmas for the record books!

Anyway as is the "norm" in my family, Mom's home was jammed-packed with loved ones. Mom, my four sisters (Aurora, Betty, Josie & Eva), and I were there including our respective spouses, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren - with the exception of the ones aforementioned who were unable to join us in our annual Xmas folly this year for different reasons. I was in awe as I looked across the room and thought about how our family has been so blessed and how it has grown so much in size. With the addition of my great-great nephew, Ayden, this year - our family is now into our 5th generation. I plan to write an article for a local media outlet who requested I do so as 5th generation-based stories are rare and of human interest for the avid reader. BTW: Ayden was born to my great niece, Dominique, on June 25th. 3 days after my birthday (23rd); he was born on the very day that the great Farrah Fawcett passed away due to cancer. Oh, yeah, Michael J. also died that day.

Anyway, like I said, my family and I did partake in our usual follies...one has to be witness to appreciate what I mean, but we do have a great time. We gather on Christmas Eve and everyone eats until their hearts content as everyone pitches in a variety of foods to compliment the food Mom has already prepared. Oh and how there are a bunch of desserts from which to pick from as well. All kinds of edibles one could imagine -sweet, sweet'n'sour, surf'n'turf, hot'n'spicy - is strewed out on the stove, the counter tops, the table, even some making their way onto the washer and dryer because there are so many. As those who did not attend mass await those who did, we keep ourselves occupied closely watching out for the church-goers to finally arrive so we can first eat before we start tearing open all the many gifts placed under the awesome tree. Again I give thanks but for the many gifts which clearly stretch a good 15 ft diameter under the tree which is a pretty big pre-lit one that towers a good 7.5 ft in size. Because of all the gifts each member of the family has brought, it makes the tree seem almost diminutive in size . Despite the bad economic times this world is currently experiencing, our tree does not denote such set-back, but for that we acknowledge the luck we have had rather than being petty and proud of having such things because now is a time to remember so many who have so little and to give thanks and appreciation for what we were able to have because no one knows when that could come to a halt for any of us.

A long while after the clock struck midnight and brought in this day of Christmas, everyone at Mom's knew somewhat of the gifts Santa and his helpers had brought them this year. Even after we all gathered for the holiday at Mom's, many of us still had more presents to open up as each respective family gathers again in various homes to open more presents immediately following this first celebration.  That adds to our great fortune this year, and I continue to be thankful and hopeful.  I hear this year brought more electronics than ever as some received their much anticipated laptops, Wii(s), Playstation3s, X-box3s, PSPs, DSs, MP3s, MP4s, HDTVs, Droids, Iphones...I received several Bollywood DVD's and was ecstatic to see my DVD collection grow to the point where I have to keep it catalogued.
In reflection of Christmas 2009 come and gone, it makes me giggle as I think about how much time and care that goes into wrapping of the gifts, and how it takes just seconds to tear them open with probably little thought being given to how pretty the box looked all draped in Xmas paper attire.  As the gifts are opened, the culprits that are us begin to create another layer of flooring - Christmas wrapper flooring - across Mom's living room and foyer. My sister's and I usually take the lead and ensure that all left-over wrapping, bows, boxes, etc is carefully placed into trash bags before we leave or Mom won't let us go (ha,ha).  We also do this to prevent too much chaos at the end because as careful as we are to make certain that no gifts are thrown away...trust me, in our family, this has been an occurrence for the past few years to have a gift accidentally thrown away.  It is guaranteed to happen each year so we now deem it a family tradition only now we await to see who will fall victim to such said event. This year it was yours truly and my cat. (story about that to follow).

Anyway, another successful Christmas...many blessings...much happiness - yea!

Dude, where's our Xmas gifts?!!

As I wrote in the post above, our family Christmases are always surrounded with lots of people so that when it comes time to open up presents, chaos almost breaks out in the form of lost Xmas presents.  This year it was moi and my cat who fell victim to the lost present's bandit.  With over 20 adults and over 20 children gathered at Mom's when we open gifts, it can easily be that someone will accidentally take someone else's gift by mistake or it can be accidentally thrown away.  Each year we separate every one in such a way that each person has her/his own little space for which she/he may open up gifts.  For the most part it works out okay except for the one or two gifts which get lost in the shuffle somehow.  This year, I thought I was being "slick-Willy" by retrieving silently into a corner where the foyer turns into the living room.  All the furniture had been placed back onto different walls to give us more floor space so all could spread about and such.  My Mom hates the look of furniture backed onto walls, but for this day, we opt for that arrangement for obvious reasons.  Anyway since I thought my gifts would be safe, after I opened up all my stuff I left it carefully placed in said corner and began to assist with putting trash into bags so we could control the amount of litter in the room(s).  I even helped my great-nephew, J.J., pack away his presents.  Yes, I even helped him with his UT Longhorn stuff; some of which Sara and I bought him since we support collegiate interest of all kids in our families even if it is not Texas Tech. 

(on a tangent...We just want the kids to go to college, but I am happy and proud to say that 24 out of 25 nieces, nephews (great & great-great) are Tech fanatics.  Especially Rudy, Erica, Felicia, Alex and Gabby they will not start any smack-talk but if anyone is stupid enough to start in on them and try to put down anything Texas Tech, watch out.  Yes, indeedy, their Auntie Dora is proud of them for that!)

Anyway, my gift and my cat Caty's gifts went missing.  The weird thing was that both gifts were from my sister, Eva, and my niece, Felicia.  Even funnier---both gifts ended up being accidentally taken by the same family member my other sis', Betty, but she did not find them until they went back to their home.  Eva's hubby Philip retrieved my gift that same night, but we are still waiting for Betty's son, Rudy (my nephew) to bring Caty's gift over.  At least we know where it is and who has it.

Don’t forget the furry-family members at Xmas time!

Each year our family remembers each others furry-family members, and this year we added several more to the Xmas list. Aside from almost 40 family members who received gifts this year, there were 2 cats, 8 dogs, 1 turtle and 2 horses.

Cats (our cat, Caty; Felicia's cat, Noey)

Dogs (Alex's 2 dogs, Shadow & Spirit; Rudy's 2 dogs, Jackson & Mike; Erica & Nick's 3 dogs, Lola, Emma, Ricco; and Betty's dog, Casper)

Turtle (Felicia's mini turtle, Squirt)

Horses (Erica's 2 horses, Red & Raider)

Where Have All the Young Stars gone...

In remembrance of Brittany Murphy, 32, who passed away earlier today, Sunday 12-20-09.

(click on each pic for IMDb bio, open in a new tab or window)

I posted on my FB wall that she, like Heath Ledger, was much too young when they died. Heath passed away last January 2008 at the age of 28. Brittany was found collapsed in her shower at the West Hollywood home which she shared with her British screenwriter husband of 2 years, Simon Monjack. The LA Times writes that she suffered a massive heart attack, but hospital sources refused to comment. Additional reports state that Brittany was found in full cardiac arrest and that attempts to revive her were unsuccessful. She was rushed to Cedars-Sanai Medical Center and was pronounced dead at 10:04 a.m according to a hospital spokeswoman. TMZ media sources said it was her beloved mother who found Murphy and Brittany's husband who called the LA City Fire Department. The rumormill started out quickly after her death was announced by the LA Times- as is expected in Hollywoodville - alleging anorexia, drugs, and such just like when Heath died last year; his an alleged drug overdose . Many blogs, forums and trash mags all too ready to cite the negative and unproven which is why I am dedicating this post to the late Brittany Murphy in order to shed a brighter light on her career and her life.

Whatever the causes were behind the untimely death of each respective actor, let's not forget that they were still someone's loved one and several broken hearts remain amiss. Somewhere out there survives many a loved one, a close friend, and a grateful fan who will continue to love and will forever miss each one of these brilliant actors. Yes, each one much too young to die especially near or at the prime of their craft, but each one leaves behind a legacy perhaps bigger and surely longer than the short-life they were allowed. Today I remember Brittany Murphy and the movies she made which made me laugh, cry, etc...several emotions brought about but never a disappointment to me. My final thought on the death of Brittany...'what a loss!'

Other actors we lost earlier this year whom were especially endearing to me for different reasons... Natasha Richardson, Farrah Fawcett...

Today I also remember my beloved nephew, Philip Guzman Jr, who passed away May 4th, 2000. Click on his pic to view the blog I dedicated to him...

[JavaSpecialists 100] - Java Programmers aren't Born

[JavaSpecialists 100] - Java Programmers aren't Born

Remember the Alamo...the Alamo city, that is!

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Well, here is my story. Many of you have been asking me what it was about and when was I going to write about it. After many months of going back and forth with issues surrounding this problem, I am finally in a lucid state through-out all the madness surrounding said ordeal and am in spiritual place where I can write about it without getting irate all over again. Before I begin, I want to encourage everyone reading this post to always keep all your paperwork in a safe place for an indefinite time, no matter what it may pertain to, because the proof it provides could come back to save you later in life. Trust me, I know!

As you know, I lived in the fair city of San Antonio for several years and came back in 1995 to be with my family in west Texas. This past April, the city of Midland-where I now reside-was hit by a terrible thunderstorm which brought with it lots of hail, large hail. I had to get a new roof for my home and the workshop in the backyard. During all of this my birthday came and went in June (yes, it took over 8 weeks to bring the roof issue to fruition); Sara and I even took my niece, Alex, and her friend, Danielle to San Antonio for the Vans Warped Tour in early July. Anyway, I forgot to renew my driver license on my birthday (June 23rd) and had to get Sara to drive me to the local DMV to get it renewed upon our return from the SA trip. I especially needed my DL because I was opening up a second banking account with Chase because my bank of over 15 years, Bank of America, was difficult to work with during the roofing fiasco so I was going to show them they were "personas non grata". Without a current DL I could not get another account, that was when I finally realized I had allowed my DL to expire.

Well, long story short, Sara drove me to the DMV and I waited in line for what seemed like hours, which is no surprise. I waited only to be told that my DL was flagged and not eligible for renewal. I was given an 800 number to call because the DMV did not know why I was denied the renewal.

Well, it turns out that the city of San Antonio, the city I loved and wanted to move back to one day, put the block on my DL. They (city) alleged that I had 2 traffic tickets that supposedly went unpaid so it showed me as "fta" (failure to appear). The tickets dated all the way back to October of 1993...YES, 1993!!! I fought the issue for months because it is so not like me to ignore such a thing. I don't mess around with the law and in the past, whenever I did get tickets, I paid them right away. To add, since those said tickets in 1993, I have never received a driving citation of any kind (knock wood). I spoke to an Attorney whose services I often use in Big Spring, Texas and to several other people. As part of the Pre-Paid Legal team, I even took advantage of the tools within our community as well. Turns out that in Texas, traffic tickets have no statute of limitations so they (TX) can go back as far as they want and charge people for tickets they (TX) allege are unpaid. Like I said, I fought it for months mainly because I did not agree that I had allowed the 2 tix to go unpaid. I was not willing to pay for something I did not believe I would have neglected. By this time, it was not a monetary issue but a matter of principle.

Half-way through arguing my case, I was no longer sure I would win. Since I did not want to drive to SA to appear before court, I first asked for "deferred disposition" and was granted it (10-01-09). I then got the mayor of San Antonio (his office staff) and some nice and caring City Council members involved and in the end I changed my request for "deferred disposition" to "deferred adjudication" (11-03-09). The fines for each respective traffic ticket were reduced by a lot (cannot say how much for obvious reasons). Since I did not want to drive to San Antonio for a court hearing and since I could neither provide proof of having paid the two tickets, I decided to meet them half way. I would be allowed to renew my DL as soon as I paid the fines and such which I did pay on 11-09-09 thanks to my Mom's encouragement. I was thankful to the City Council members who intervened on my behalf and to the Mayor for making sure my issue was handled.

The week before Thanksgiving Day, my niece, Erica, had a business/training trip in Austin so Sara and I went along with her. By going to Austin - our state capitol, where my driving record data was being stored via Omnibase, I could make sure in person that my record was cleared and I could then renew my DL in person. I also had a huge opportunity to work with the State of Texas so it was more important than ever by this time that I have my DL. I was indeed able to renew my DL by the end of that Austin trip. I was so nervous when I was getting it. I kept making stupid mistakes and kept waiting for someone to pop out from the back of the DMV office and tell me I was being punked or arrested. I left there like a kid in a candy store. I jumped up and down outside the office and hugged Sara and was laughing like an idiot - I am sure. I called my Mom first since she was my rock through-out this 4+ month ordeal. Then I sent a text to all my family & friends who knew the situation and were awaiting news about my DL renewal. Everyone sent a congratulatory text reply right away.

Last week I finally received my actual DL via snail-mail, and I showed it off to everyone and re-told the story to anyone who would listen to it. My loved ones were so happy for me as always and glad to see me driving again. So...think about what consequences we may endure when we throw away any paperwork, no matter how old it might be. Please, please, please, to everyone who reads this - keep my story in mind and tell everyone you know about it and hold onto your paperwork. I usually do that myself for taxes, medical purposes, insurance records, you know - the obvious. But it never occurred to me that I should have to hold on to proof of paid traffic tickets dating back to over 16 years. Going forward, I will hold onto all tangible proof for anything and everything. As unlucky as I thought I was leading up to all of this nonsense, I concluded that I was just as lucky for never having had an arrest warrant issued in the 16 years and for never having been arrested. My record was flagged but never issued a warrant; apparently it fell through the system and somehow popped up this year. I still stand tall and proud and will say that I know I paid the tickets in 1993.

In closing my dear readers, remember that in Texas and many other states, there is no statute of limitations for traffic tickets. Big Brother can and will come for you for anything they allege is not paid...it is up to you to prove otherwise if the occasion ever arises, and I hope it does not because it totally wreaks.

I bid you all well and...Remember The Alamo (the city and Dora's terrible ticket issue).

BTW: For those asking...YES, I still like the city of San Antonio.