I am working on an agent to download hundreds of monthly utility bills that the providers can't be bothered to email me. We get them by mail and scan them in individually for processing, this should allow us to scrape the PDFs directly to the system saving many hours, pages, and postage.

We're at least partly energized!

One thing that LLMs have done wonders for is chatbot support for accounting software. From basically useless to very helpful. I used to dig through manuals or technical support but now I can just explain what i'm trying to do and the bot gives a set by step solution (with manual links).

I reached a point during the reporting on the Uvalde shootings that I had to shut off social media because it was giving me nightmares. About to be there again.

If you are an architect, developer, or contractor who works on high-rise buildings in the US and has some very vague familiarity with the costs and complexity of high-rise systems (fire command centers, stair pressurization, generators, etc.), could you email me? [email protected]

Looks like we're going to lock in decades of malinvestment by ceding leadership to cities that largely despise the primary users of the system.

Get ready for a whole new battle over Dallas City Hall on February 20!

Sure your downtown has problems. But at least you’re not getting ready to demolish your iconic City Hall for a billionaire‘s stadium-casino complex. New from me: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Powerful soil test results this year: for our ph below 7 after several years of sulfur application. Gotta keep an eye on that P and soil conductivity.

Got my sample of TimberHP's Timberboard!

Here at the DART board of directors meeting. Not a whole ton going on this meeting, but there is an agenda item to call a public hearing on the service changes that would be required if cities pull out of the system. 🧵

The only good thing about the once every five years ice we get here is that I get to put on my little ice spikes and feel SO PREPARED

The early blossom gets the frost.

Don't forget to prepare for snow loads...even in Texas.

So far so good but the brutal lows are still to come.

The cat is taking the cold weather well.

We recently inherited a garden pond with fish and hoo boy these things are an entire lifestyle choice. Animals, plants, pumps, aerators, liners, etc that all take special care...like what am I supposed to do when it is going to be 10F for like 2 days?

Having already extracted millions from City coffers, Washburne presses to see just how much more he can get.

Sleep tight sweet citrus 🍊

I decided to defy nature and plant 5 citrus trees a few years ago. Time for a CHALLENGE

I started a new job this year, one that requires real work, and it is really cutting into my posting. Serious quality of life issue over here. Should have priced this in to the salary negotiations.

The only thing worse for DART than member cities leaving would be giving control to the suburban members. Better to lose every member and have Dallas go it alone than turn control over to them.

The City of Dallas is holding up our rooftop solar permit until I complete a notarized 4 page land use statement for a building that already exists and has a certificate of occupancy. Thinking about this podcast where I learned that you can get a permit for rooftop solar in 24 hours in Australia.

This video about why elevators are so much more expensive to install and maintain in North America than the rest of the developed world is fantastic. (Hint: it's a solvable policy problem!) youtu.be/Or1_qVdekYM?...

Unfortunate placement happening in the timeline.

Elon Musk has repeatedly expanded the boundaries of permitted speech on his social-media platform X. Child-safety watchdogs and international regulators say a recent update to its AI chatbot Grok crossed a dangerous line: permitting sexualized editing of photos, including of children.

A reminder that it's not too late to RSVP and join our first organizing Zoom meeting of the year this evening from 7-8 PM. RSVP here: actionnetwork.org/events/2026-...

Landmark commission continuing its important work.

You don't find red alligator print linoleum floors as much as you used to. Retvrn

I get a lot of crazy looks when I say self-driving cars are designed for lawbreaking. But it’s 100% true.

Our old cabinets make demolition easy.

POV: you gave your kids a bunch of slingshot chickens for Christmas.

Introduced the kids to the game of Hearts tonight, which they thoroughly enjoyed. Little do they know it is just setting them up for the far more ruthless game of Spades.

My new, internet-connected monitor has important smart features like 1) people in the conference room trying to connect to it and 2) defaulting to some media hub screen instead of acting as a second monitor.

The Oncor kids race might be one of the most wholesome events in Dallas

Benign neglect is a thing. Reminds me how a neighborhood here complained about lax code enforcement of businesses so the city did a crackdown and it turned out most code violations were at single family residences.

I look forward to this every year but I really feel like the Council's heart was not in it.

POV: you're dealing with a bank.

As happens every 4-5 years, someone stole our trash wheelie bin. They are bulky, smelly, and not particularly fit for other purposes so I always wonder what they do with it.

This is an extremely Texas story: A Buddhist monk who was walking from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C. "to promote peace, kindness and compassion" lost his leg after being hit by a large pickup truck near Houston

Late season carrot harvest. Not much but I also put in Zero effort after sowing.

Driving kids home from school. Kid 1: What time is my concert this week? Me: From 6 to 7 BEDLAM ENSUES: !!!SIX SEVEN!!!

Tired: Reserving urban lakes for wealthy enclaves Wired: Letting as many people as possible enjoy lakes.

I am also remembering how the City Plan commission wanted developers to cut 2 stories off the top of a nearby apartment building because the mere sight of an apartment would despoil the sanctity of the lake. Also, don't forget the 1/3-1 acre zoning around the lake. Why don't we have any money 🤔.

City raised building permit fees 833% on October 1st. Love explaining what special ways the budget is blown this time.

When dredging White Rock lake first came up, I half-jokingly said we should drain the e. coli-infested body of water, saving us millions and resulting in an expanded park in the process. Now it sounds like we might do that anyway because we have no money. www.dmagazine.com/micropost/im...

I suffered an email bombing attack where I received hundreds of email sign ups to disguise a purchase made on an ecommerce site using a credit card that wasn't mine. The ecommerce site spotted it and declined the purchase but I am left unsubcribing from dozens of newsletters. An annoying time.

So by 2050 we will have spent $29B to create $11.6B in GDP gains? www.fox4news.com/news/texas-s...

What was September Nathaniel thinking? There's no room for this thing.

Recent data shows that changing local and state policies are contributing to growing housing stock, but much of it is still out of reach for lower-income renters. kerane.ws/4prup9v