Greg In The Desert

The local TV news stations KRQE has a news story about a preview event for the “Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular” show at the Santa Ana Star center in Rio Rancho. The show uses a combination of actors in costumes with animatronics to show very realistic dinosaurs which can walk freely.

In the preview event the video very clearly shows that they have what is reported to be a baby tyrannosaurus rex who interacts with children. Although the tyrannosaurus rex is not real, The children are allowed to pet it like it’s some sort of giant two-legged kitten (I have a kitten, they act just like this). The fact is that the tyrannosaurus rex is a very dangerous species of dinosaur much like all dinosaurs are.

Clearly the producers of Walking with Dinosaurs do not want children and adults to know the truth. If a child was to approach a real tyrannosaurus rex in real life, like they are in this preview event, the child would most likely be eaten. Parent’s need to teach their children the truth about how dangerous Dinosaurs are because clearly the makers of Walking with Dinosaurs cannot.

Update: More details of the show are on the Rio Rancho Observers website.

• Ford Ranger sales are up for June – New Mexico Business Weekly: – The Ford Motor Co. sold 8.8 percent more Ford Ranger pickup trucks in June than in the same month a year ago, according to data released by the automobile manufacturer Wednesday.
• ‘Asteroids’ lands at Universal – Universal has won a four-studio bidding war to pick up the film rights to the classic Atari video game "Asteroids." Matthew Lopez will write the script for the feature adaptation, which will be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura.
• www.KOB.com – Naked man diverts flight to Sunport – ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A US Airways flight to Los Angeles was diverted to Albuquerque after a passenger removed all of his clothing mid-flight, forcing flight attendants to cover him with a blanket before he was arrested.
• Revenge of the Fallen is messy, unfunny, and way too long – Ars Technica – The story makes very little sense, and introduces so many strands and subplots that by the end it's nearly impossible to care about anything. The humans pepper everyone with machine gun rounds for very little reason, as it never seems to do anything to anyone. The human characters have very little to do, and no reason to be near each other; there isn't a single relationship that is used for dramatic purposes in a believable way. Megan Fox reprises her role so she can stand around and look hot, jiggling in the appropriate ways when she runs endlessly in slow motion. During one scene, her new pet Decepticon humps her leg as she smiles at him. I guess we know where those egg sacs come from now.
• Intel China fab to use 65nm process, produce notebook chips – Ars Technica – Now, Intel has announced that by a rule change, it will be allowed to produce 65nm silicon at Fab 68, and will abandon the 90nm process. This makes a qualitative difference in the meaning of the new fab, since 65nm will be only two nodes behind the cutting edge in 2010. Current chipsets are produced at the 65nm node, and 65nm processors included the first generation of Core 2 processors, Merom, Conroe, and Kentsfield. If Intel continues to be allowed to produce 2-nodes-behind silicon in China, Santa Clara may drastically expand fab activity in China. Earlier this month, the Taiwanese government announced it was considering allowing TSMC and UMC to operate more sophisticated fabs in mainland China.
• Meltdown 101: Where are the renewable energy jobs? – The Denver Post – Everywhere you turn there is talk of a shift to renewable energy, of building wind farms and solar plants, of making buildings more efficient, of developing biofuels. And of billions in federal funding to help make it all happen. This should mean a whole lot of new energy jobs. So where are they—and how do I get one?
• NM woman hoards 334 hopping bunnies – Rio Rancho Police Officer and Spokesperson John Francis said Monday the county's animal control division discovered 334 hopping bunnies in one woman's backyard.

  Nancy Haseman has been cited for violating a city ordinance that allows five pets per household, and for failing to restrain her animals.

• ABQNews: Some Bad Apples Have Impact on N.M. Film Industry – Film crews are jerks, and small towns are saying, "Enough already, go back to L.A. – we don't want you here anymore."First, it was a moratorium on filming in the village of Los Ranchos that's been going on for a year. Then later this week, the Las Vegas, N.M. City Council passed new restrictions on filming that could seriously impact movies there.
• The Official Site of Rio Rancho, NM – Stimulus Funding for Rio Rancho – Via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the city of Rio Rancho has received confirmation that it will receive the following either directly from the federal government or other government agencies that have received stimulus funding.
• News : Scorpions still looking for owner – Rio Rancho Observer – Will the New Mexico Scorpions play at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho next season? That question still hasn’t been answered. The hockey club is still searching for a new owner, after claiming a $1 million loss in its first three seasons of playing in Rio Rancho. The Central Hockey League gave the New Mexico Scorpions until Friday to find a new owner, but as of press time the team hadn’t been sold.

I’m trying to think back to my own graduation 15 years ago. It was held at the high school football field and I think there was a limit of how many people I could attend, something like 5 people (the class was 2000 people (update: 2000 is the total number of students in the school that year)). The Rio Rancho High School graduation is in some controversy due to the 8 person limit imposed when the school moved the ceremony to the Santa Anna Star Center. It was previously held at the “Pit” in Albuquerque.

The Santa Ana Star Center, which opened in November, will hold 5,500 of the graduates’ family and friends, while the The Pit held 11,000 for the ceremony last year, said Bill Duncan, Rio Rancho High activities director.

One thing that is annoying me is the woman I’ve seen on the news several times who complains that she cannot take all 50 of her relatives (she has a blog rioranchogradsunite.blogspot.com) to see her kid graduate. The Albuquerque Tribune says another person is upset because she ordered 40 invitations. Even if it was held at the Pit, there isn’t enough room for every kid to take that many people.

I know this is important to a lot of people and I don’t have a kid who is graduating nor 50 relatives that would come out for it even if I did. It appears that the school is willing to accommodate a reasonable amount of people (this problem isn’t unique to Rio Rancho High School). I feel it’s better to have the graduation in Rio Rancho, where the school is. I also feel that parents should be reasonable.