The Houston Chronicle

“Good night then, Casca; this disturbed sky Is not to walk in.”

Cicero in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar 1.3.40

A technology blog, truly an early version of the crossover corporate blog-style material, but it was an early one that had hotlinks in it. Some important, some not so important, some relevant, some only tangentially of concern. Still, spurious, amusing, wry, wryly amusing, tenuous, even no apparent rhyme or reason whatsoever? Hotlinks of varying degrees. That started more than thirty years back, and therein is problem. Over the ensuing years, what I’ve accumulated a ton of “Link-Rot.” I knew this would happen when I was linking to the Houston Chronicle, but some of their tabloid-style journalism was too fun not to pass on. Headlines and topical material usually stayed at a specific URL (Universal Resource Locator) for a year or less. In comparison, I’ve linked to old BBC and Guardian articles, watching as those have remained the same. The pointers didn’t change. To be fair, I’m as guilty as the next, with the questions about link rot, as I’ve used maybe a half-dozen different iterations for the weblog. But it was experimental. This weblog has always been experimental. The horoscopes have stayed at astrofish.net since summer of 1998, so that’s all in one place. The various blogs, and blog-style matter that I’ve created? Blog-pointers older than 25 (plus) years might be out-of-date. Likewise, in the horoscopes themselves, there is much rather dated material. There are a number of old-school bloggers who have shuffled off the web, or onto other material. Changes in URLs, blog motors, much of the stuff is just dead end link rot. I was reading the Houston Chronicle on Tuesdays in Austin. It was, at the time, all over the place, neither right wing nor leftist, just shy of British tabloid headlines, but not by much, and a more enjoyable experience, located nominally in Houston. I figured out, then, that the link rot was a problem, especially with that one news source, but I liked the brash, unabashed style, more facts, less breathless outrage.

But now that Mercury is in Retrograde?

A simple goal, fraught with pitfalls nonetheless, but a single, easy target to aim for? Gradually reducing that link rot on the site, and mostly just in the horoscopes. Plus a few old blog-style entries. It could be automated, but where’s the fun of that?

The Houston Chronicle

All started when I clicked on a disappearing Houston Chronicle link. • Terms and Conditions, the fineprint

Two-Meat Tuesday

Mercury is basically retrograde for all of Pisces, late February past middle March. See horoscopes for details.

The Best Hot Dog

Being in Dallas causes a reflection. Moments of reverie and remembrances of lives past. Part of it was waxing poetic about simple TexMex at Chuy’s, but that location, across the street? Tacos one night after a Jimmy Buffett show. Further back: the old Sears store, bought tools there. A late night Mexican hangout for food, called Guadalajara’s. We just called it “Gwads,” at the time. More recently, I’ve become interested in hot dogs and baseball, truly Americana at its finest. From there, to straight street hot dogs, and what better place than outside a giant Home Depot type of place? Lowe’s, to be exact. Lowe’s parking lot, on Lemmon, in Dallas. Signage suggested it was the best hot dog.

The Best Hot Dog

Got a regular and a hot-link. Watched as the chef skillfully slit the wieners open and set them on the griddle while adding some onion slivers.

The hot-link goes back to old Austin roots, the place had a roller with its various tubes of meat, or meat-like cylinders, and the hot-links were the best, and for me, a regular customer from the trailer park, free after 2 PM because those links and dogs been up there since the store opened that morning. Good price, good food.

Splitting the hot dogs open and dropping it on a griddle just adds a little snap to the flavor. Then, onions, and relish plus mustard for a regular all-beef dog? Perfect. It’s the splitting and grilling, just an added touch. Bonus points it’s in the parking lot of a construction store like Lowe’s.

The Best Hot Dog

Stand’s signage claimed it was “The Best Hot Dog,” and while I’m unsure of the source, it was well-received, and quite tasty. With the right amount of peppers? That hot-link was superior. Split it and grill it. No secret sauce needed. The number of contract trades waiting in line suggests quality.