Out of 26 million Texans, you may have an idea to change the world. You may have had several ideas to change the world. But only a tiny minority of you pushed through the U.S. Patent office from application to successful patent. We've seen Texans change the world many times over. Jack Kilby did it with Texas Instruments in 1958 with the integrated circuit, causing the start of the digital revolution, which, in part, is why you can read these words over your electronic device.
Over the last few years, Texas Business has brought its feature: Texas Business Patent of the Day. This list is of the ones that were either extremely clever, odd or strange. One thing becomes apparent from these patents and the patent that runs daily in Texas Business—Texans have a unique mind set.
Though the history of the Corn Dog is disputed, the State Fair of Texas claims to have introduced the Corny Dog sometime between 1938 and 1942. As a paean to that invention that now sits in the freezer section of every grocery store in the southwest, here are the fried foods the State Fair of Texas has introduced, or tried to introduce, in the last seven years.
Dead Texas musicians live on every time you hear their songs. Their songs play everywhere, so the dead Texas musicians appear to be immortal. Here's the short list.
Don't get caught up with John Wayne religion. For one thing, he's not Texan. He's in some fine movies involving Texas, most notably The Searchers, but none of his movies can make the best cut of Texas movies. Here's the short list.
Unsung Texas Business Journalists Mention that one is a reporter, and there's a spark of interest. Mention that one is a business news reporter, and watch the eyes glaze over. Except to the players, business and economic journalists are unappreciated. While many wish to become sports reporters when they grow up, most do not realize that business journalists cover the Real Game. Mention that reporter covers business, and watch the eyes glaze over. A toast to these below on the short list and the numerous unnamed ones slogging away. Full Story » TexasBusiness.com
Best Texas Mexican Food: The Short List No, we're not going to debate the difference between Tex-Mex, Mex-Tex, Mexican and Texican food. Just know these establishments are the pinnacle of Texas Mexican fare. No brag, just fact. Full Story » TexasBusiness.com
Best Texas Burgers Texas Burgers. . While a hamburger is merely sustenance and gratification for a meal, the memory a good Texas burger can give rise to Homeric odes. The short list. Full Story » TexasBusiness.com
Texas Business reports: The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which initiated controversial rolling blackouts in early February, released the final list of forced outages during last month’s severe weather event.
The forced outages identified by time period are:
50 units: Feb. 2, midnight to 5:43 a.m. , the beginning of the rotating outages
91 units: Feb. 2, midnight to 1 p.m. , the end of the rotating outages
102 units: Feb. 2, midnight to 11:59 p.m. , the full operating day
152 units: Feb. 1-4, the full period of the winter storm.
The units on the list represent those whose owners or operators have given ERCOT written consent to publicly disclose the unit names and represent approximately 99 percent of all the units that experienced a forced outage at some time during Feb. 1-4.
ERCOT developed data on the generation outages through review of its internal operator records, outage scheduler information, telemetry data received from generators, and responses to information requests sent to generators.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power to 22 million Texas customers - representing 85 percent of the state's electric load and 75 percent of the Texas land area.
As the independent system operator for the region, ERCOT schedules power on an electric grid that connects 40,000 miles of transmission lines and more than 550 generation units. ERCOT also manages financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers customer switching for 6.5 million Texans in competitive choice areas.
ERCOT is a membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation, governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature.
ERCOT's members include consumers, cooperatives, independent generators, independent power marketers, retail electric providers, investor-owned electric utilities (transmission and distribution providers), and municipal-owned electric utilities.
The Texas News Scrawl is a handy reference to storiesTexas Business recommends from other news sources. Some of the stories that Texas Business currently suggests include: Texas becomes one of 23 states to use electronic insurance proof; Emcor agrees to $455 million deal for Texas company;Volkswagen to open dealership in Waco; American Airlines To Add More Seats To 737s, MD-80s; Police officer says helicopter from gun range endangering his cattle; Contractors get OK to build new Beaumont Army Medical Center;Midland looks to join spaceport race; UTEP’s solar-powered house to compete internationally; State Farm to shutter El Paso call center; Dallas-Based Media Company Sold In $1.5 Billion Deal Austin's film catering gurus learn how to make do in a changing industry and more.
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