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: HOUSTON—Mario Barson has been named vice president of recruitment advertising for Hearst-owned Texas newspapers, which are headquartered at the Houston Chronicle.
Texas Business reports: LAREDO, Texas—Commerce Bank chief executive Ignacio Urrabazo was inducted as chairman of the Texas Bankers Association (TBA), the largest state banking association in the U.S.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Robert D. Cravaritis has been named executive vice president of sales for Houston Chronicle Media Group, a Hearst Corporation company.
Texas Business reports: PLANO, Texas—Working Solutions, a provider of custom contact center solutions, appointed Larry Deering as senior vice president of sales.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Datacert Inc., a provider of software solutions for enterprise legal management, appointed Uwe Schneider as vice president and general manager of EMEA.
Texas Business reports: DALLAS—Marshall Hess has been named senior managing director of Encore Wealth Management LLC, a subsidiary of Dallas based Encore Enterprises Inc.
Texas Business reports: FORT WORTH—RadioShack Corporation named two to its senior management team. Jennifer Warren has been named senior vice president and chief marketing officer, and Michael DeFazio has been named senior vice president – store concepts.
Texas Business reports: DALLAS—Southwest Airlines announced Craig Maccubbin will join the airline as its new chief technology officer (CTO) and vice president of technology operations, effective May 6, 2013.
Texas Business reports: FORT WORTH—Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company selected Jeff Babione to serve as vice president and deputy program manager of the F-35 Lightning II program.
Texas Business reports: TEMPLE, Texas—McLane Advanced Technologies (MAT), a provider of information technology and logistics solutions, announced that executive vice president Major General James Chambers , USA (Ret.) has been promoted to president and chief operating officer.
Texas Business reports: Engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti, announced that Nicolas Saenz has joined the firm as an associate in the Dallas office, and will lead the expansion of its Building Performance and Property Loss Consulting (PLC) practices there.
Texas Business reports: LEWISVILLE, Texas—Uranium Resources Inc. appointed Christopher M. Jones, P.E., as president and chief executive effective April 1, 2013.
Texas Business reports: FORT WORTH—American Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of AMR Corporation, announced that Bev Goulet has been promoted to senior vice president and chief integration officer for American Airlines.
Texas Business reports: AUSTIN—Big Data cloud services provider Infochimps named Burke Kaltenberger on board as vice president of worldwide sales, and Dave Spenhoff as vice president of marketing.
Texas Business reports: AUSTIN—Clockwork, a provider of predictive analytics for enterprise asset management (EAM) solutions, named Tracey Ellis as vice president of marketing.
Texas Business reports: AUSTIN—Ron Wright , who has served as president and chief executive officer of Texas Mutual Insurance Co. since 2009, announced that he will retire.
Texas Business reports: DALLAS—Summit Midstream Partners LP promoted Jesse G. Wood to senior vice president of engineering, construction, and operations.
Texas Business reports: DALLAS—Brinker International announced that Valerie Davisson, executive vice president and chief people works officer, has resigned effective immediately to pursue other opportunities and that Ian Baines, senior vice president of strategic Innovation, has resigned effective immediately to pursue an opportunity to be announced.
Texas Business reports: AUSTIN—Whole Foods Market, the world's largest organic and natural foods supermarket, hired Jason J. Buechel as global vice president and chief information officer for the company.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Jo Drake Keim, with 17 years of experience in the field as an environmental professional and educator, joined Partner Engineering and Science Inc. as a project manager in the firm’s Houston office.
Texas Business reports: THE WOODLANDS—FleetPride Inc., the nation's largest retailer of heavy-duty truck and trailer parts, appointed Jeff Liaw as chief financial officer.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Powell Industries Inc., a supplier of custom engineered solutions for the management and control of electrical energy and other critical processes, announced two changes to the board of directors.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Pediatric plastic surgeon Larry Hollier was appointed as chief of the division of plastic surgery at Texas Children's Hospital.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Burleson LLP, the largest full-service law firm in the country devoted specifically to the oil and gas sector, announced that Gary C. Johnson, a partner in the firm's Houston office, has been named the leader of the firm's corporate practice group.
Texas Business reports: IRVING, Texas—Donald D. Humphreys, 64, senior vice president and principal financial officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation, announced his intention to retire on February 1, 2013, after more than 36 years of service.
Texas Business reports: DALLAS—Brinker International Inc. announced the resignation of Michael Dixon from its board of directors following his appointment as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Ignite Restaurant Group Inc.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON— Prosperity Bancshares Inc., the parent company of Prosperity Bank, announced that James D. Rollins III, president and chief operating officer of Prosperity and president of Prosperity Bank has resigned to pursue another opportunity.
Texas Business reports: ANGLETON, Texas—Benchmark Electronics Inc. announced its succession plan for chairman of the board, appointing current board member Peter G. Dorflinger to serve as non-executive chairman, subject to his re-election as a company director by shareholders at its annual meeting in May 2013.
Texas Business reports: DALLAS—Kenneth R. Hanks has been named chief financial officer of NexBank Capital Inc. and its banking subsidiary, NexBank SSB.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Dril-Quip Inc. appointed Terence B. Jupp to its board of directors upon the recommendation of its nominating, governance and compensation committee.
Texas Business reports: AUSTIN—Susie Ellwood is the new publisher for Cox Media Group's (CMG) Austin American-Statesman and The Statesman Co., Austin's leading media business, which publishes newspapers and websites and also acts as a regional commercial printer and distribution company.
Texas Business reports: DALLAS—Computer Vision Systems Laboratories Corp. appointed, effective December 3, 2012, six new members to its board of directors.
Texas Business reports: AUSTIN—Golfsmith International Holdings Inc. appointed Sue E. Gove as president of the company, in addition to maintaining her role as chief operating officer and chief financial officer.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Synthesis Energy Systems Inc.,or SES, announced today that its board of directors has voted unanimously to expand the board to eight members from seven and to elect Yang Guang to fill the vacancy.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Sirius Solutions LLLP, an independent business consulting firm, announced that Kevin Cohn joined the firm as executive vice president of operations and chief financial officer.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Synthesis Energy Systems Inc. appointed Gao Feng, chairman and president of Hongye International Investment Group Co. Ltd. to the company's board, filling the vacancy created by the passing of Michael Storey in October 2011.
Texas Business reports: DALLAS—Stream Data Centers, a data center developer specializing in private data centers for corporate users, named Chris Kincaid as vice president of project management.
Texas Business reports: DALLAS—Haggar Clothing Co. filled two key roles on its executive committee with the selection of William Davenport as the new chief financial officer and Tony Anzovino as vice president of sourcing.
Texas Business reports: PLANO, Texas—RemitDATA Inc., a healthcare industry provider of comparative analytics for provider productivity and financial data, appointed John Stanton as vice president of consulting and Phillip McClure as vice president of sales.
Texas Business reports: DALLAS—Vericrest Financial Inc., a premier financial services company specializing in the servicing of residential mortgages and consumer finance loans, announced that David Slear has joined the company as senior vice president of Default Services.
Texas Business reports: DALLAS—The Republic Group announced that the boards of directors of its various insurance entities have named Timothy R. Wiedmeyer to serve as the companies' vice president of claims.
Texas Business reports: AUSTIN—Amherst Securities Group LP, a financial services provider to institutional investors in the mortgage sector, announced Dan Derby joined the company as a vice president of fixed income securities.
Texas Business reports: PLANO—Santa Fe Petroleum Inc. retained the services of Steven Crane to serve as the interim chief operating officer of the company.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Southwestern Energy Company announced Greg D. Kerley will retire as an executive of the company and its subsidiaries effective at the end of the third quarter.
Texas Business reports: THE WOODLANDS, Texas—Tetra Technologies Inc. appointed Elijio V. Serrano to the positions of senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective immediately.
Texas Business reports: SUGAR LAND, Texas— CVR Energy Inc., a refiner and marketer of petroleum fuels and the majority owner in nitrogen fertilizer manufacturer CVR Partners LP, announced that Susan M. Ball will become the companies' chief financial officer and treasurer effective August 7, 2012.
Texas Business reports: DENVER & SIERRA BLANCA, Texas—Texas Rare Earth Resources Corp., a rare earths mineral exploration and development company, announced changes to its management team and board of directors.
Texas Business reports: IRVING—WebTPA, a provider of health plan management services and an AmWINS Group Company, named two additions to the executive team: Thomas G. Martin, vice president, and Todd Fane, vice president of sales.
Texas Business reports: IRVING—Caliber Funding LLC, a national wholesale and retail mortgage lender, appointed Jim Ferriter as president, effective immediately.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Bristow Group Inc., a provider of helicopter services to the offshore energy industry, announced that Edward Chipman (Chip) Earle will join the company as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary effective July 30, 2012.
Texas Business reports: PLANO—Petro Harvester Oil & Gas LLC, an oil-focused exploration and production company formed by TPG to acquire and develop producing assets in North America, named William M. Griffin as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately.
Texas Business reports: HOUSTON—Copano Energy LLC expanded its management team with two key executive additions. Bryan W. Neskora has joined Copano as chief operating officer, and Susan B. Ortenstone has joined Copano as chief administrative officer.
Texas Business reports: AUSTIN—Rev Worldwide, a payments processing and marketing services company focused on product innovation for underserved markets, announced that Virginia Gambale has been appointed to the company's board of directors.
Texas Business reports: FORT WORTH—RadioShack Corporation named Telvin P. Jeffries as executive vice president and chief human resources officer and general manager of retail services, effective Aug. 1, 2012.
The Texas News Scrawl is a handy reference to stories Texas Business recommends from other news sources. Some of the stories that Texas Business currently suggests include: America’s greatest threat: Unsafe work conditions; The West News proves the value of a great weekly newspaper in a community torn up with grief and chaos; Chinese investors checking out Texas, Austin; Texas makes bounce house operators carry liability coverage, but not plants like West Fertilizer; bSpaceX’s Grasshopper leaping to NM spaceport;American Airlines, US Airways to name post-merger leadership within weeks; Texas power cushion seen at lowest level in a decade; Media outlets reflect Houston's diversity; and more.
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