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Flood of Webcams Coming to E-Bay — Why Now?
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Flood of Webcams Coming to E-Bay

For some reason the governor of Texas is known as “Good Hair”. I don’t think it looks much better than Ann Richards’s hair, but I guess Rick Perry will take what he can get.

From this BBC article, Web users to ‘patrol’ US border, I conclude that he will be giving more than taking.

He’s planning to install a network of webcams along the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo river that will be streaming to the Internet and people can log on to a web site and monitor the border from the comfort of a cantina with a Dos Equis in their hand and figure out where La Migra isn’t working and plot a path appropriately.

Of course, others will be sucking down a Pearl in bar and planning on coming up the other way, throwing a bag over the camera, stealing it, and flogging it on E-Bay.

I hope they’re solar powered and the whole system is sold as a unit.

6 comments

1 andante { 06.03.06 at 6:52 am }

For some reason the governor of Texas is known as “Good Hair”.

From what I can determine, this is a Southern kindness…a conversational filler. You know, ‘if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all’. He certainly doesn’t have much of anything else going for him between the ears.

2 Steve Bates { 06.03.06 at 10:24 am }

I’ve seen Ann Richards’s hair, up close and… well, not personal, but up close, no more than a foot away in a room packed full of Democrats at a pre-convention breakfast. Gov. Ann’s hair is a magnificent work of architecture. Of its type… appropriate for a Texas woman of her age… it’s the best I’ve ever seen. By comparison, Rick Perry has scant claim to the title “Gov. Goodhair.”

Seriously, for some reason, our current Texas officeholders seem to think cameras will solve all sorts of problems, from marauding hordes (not!) coming across the river, to scoundrels who run traffic lights that are “orange” (i.e., red). How silly. Some time back, the blog Grits for Breakfast linked to a study that showed that traffic light cameras cause accidents, as drivers in front get close enough to see the camera and slam on the brakes, while those behind haven’t noticed it yet and speed along toward the “orange” light.

It’s a terrible thing to say, but I hope the camera thieves get a good price. Some taxpayer somewhere may as well get some actual use out of them.

3 Bryan { 06.03.06 at 2:47 pm }

Of course most Southern governors go for the “Baptist preacher pompadour” if they have hair, it’s just a bit weird that the hair seems to be something that always gets mentioned in articles about Perry.

Cameras have legitimate uses in law enforcement, but for some reason you can’t get funding for legitimate uses, but money is always available for the weird uses.

Putting the views from the cameras on the ‘Net is just weird. You don’t provide the “enemy” with reconnaissance.

4 Steve Bates { 06.03.06 at 5:27 pm }

… it’s just a bit weird that the hair seems to be something that always gets mentioned in articles about Perry.

I can’t swear to the origin, but the estimable Molly Ivins is the first I remember using “Gov. Goodhair” regularly.

5 Wagontongues » Blog Archive » Webcam strategy for cyberXenophobes { 06.03.06 at 9:04 pm }

[…] Clearly, it’s going to start more floods than it stops. But when I think of how many cameras it’ll take to cover that border, it makes me wonder if someone could buy them all up on the cheap. […]

6 Bryan { 06.04.06 at 12:20 am }

If Ms Molly used it, everyone will pick up on it.