Author Archives: Patrick Lamb

You’ve got to give it up to the kids in Clovis. They know how to get in on the latest online challenges. And also how to get the attention of their school nurses. A report last week said that the nursing staff in Clovis schools had suddenly been inundated with treating kids eating a newContinue reading “Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are so yesterday…”

An article in this week’s Albuquerque Journal announced that the iconic slope in the center outfield of Isotopes Park was being removed. It was a unique feature that was installed when the park was completely redesigned in 2003 in an apparent nod toward eliminating the “cookie cutter” approach to baseball parks that had been pannedContinue reading “Thrill Hill no more…”

Be careful out there. There could be a baby alligator or tiger lurking somewhere in the state. Police in Albuquerque reported earlier this month that they had received a tip that a juvenile tiger was being held captive in an apartment in the city. When they checked the apartment, they didn’t find a tiger. TheyContinue reading “Is New Mexico the dumping ground for team mascots?”

I wrote a blog earlier about how a bunch of Atari video games had been buried in a landfill near Alamogordo as the company was slowly dying in the early 1980s. Sources say 29 truckloads or almost 800,000 games which could not be sold were dumped in the Alamogordo landfill apparently because the company wasContinue reading “E.T., Phone Alamogordo…”

Our semi-rural neighborhood has always had lots of critters running around in it — skunks, raccoons, foxes, squirrels and even an occasional javelina. It makes the place interesting as long as they don’t invade the house, spray our dog Chester or dig up the yard. Three weeks ago, we went on a week-long trip toContinue reading “We won’t get a great rating on our squirrel airbnb…”

I attended a high school reunion in my home town Ruidoso last weekend, It’s the third or fourth one I’ve been to in the past several years. This one marked our 75th birthdays. Usually, these events revolve around just two questions: “Do you remember when we … ? or “Whatever happened to old so-and-so… ?Continue reading “No politics, just ailments…”

You may remember that earlier this year I wrote posts about how Mexican bologna was being smuggled into the United States, much of it through New Mexico. U.S. Customs officials said smuggled bologna was a threat to all Americans and said it was “not funny” that people were making jokes about it. I mean really,Continue reading “You heard about it here first!!!”

If you live in New Mexico, you either own a Ford F-150 pickup, will own one someday or know about dozen people who already own one. I think on birth certificates issued in New Mexico, there is a box you have to check that says that at some point, you promise that this child willContinue reading “The Ford F-150 of Orange County California…”

I got a letter last week with the return address for the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions on the left upper side of the envelope. It was a window envelope with what looked like a check of some sort inside. Woohoo, I thought. I savagely ripped open the envelope expecting to find a fatContinue reading “Did I just get a job offer with a big $$$ signing bonus?”

You’ll need to take a long breath before reading the topic of this newly patented research project by the Colorado State University Research Foundation and Pebble Labs of Los Alamos, New Mexico. Here goes: “A system for the biocontrol of disease-transmitting mosquitoes and their eggs using horizontally transferable symbiotic bacteria to deliver pathogen specific interferingContinue reading “Mosquitos beware…”

If you pay taxes in New Mexico, part of what you sent to the state is now going to help an unusual new industry. The industry, under the name “Parting Stone,” was recently given a $175,000 state economic development grant through the Local Economic Development Act to make sure the start-up business flourishes at itsContinue reading “Is that a pet rock or Uncle Vern?”

I got comments from two friends about my blog regarding how the name of the city of Albuquerque (or Albuqueque or Alburquerque) seems to have missed the spell-checker when it was printed on a directional sign erected by the New Mexico Highway Department. Here’s the link to that post, if you missed it: wordpress.com/post/aero-cordero.com/3570 First,Continue reading “Spelll checkqer doesn’;t weork hear..”

I hoped that headline would get your attention. It’s the scientific name a spectacular variety of purple thistle that grows only along the waterways and canyons in the Sacramento Mountains of southeastern New Mexico. The common name is “Sacramento thistle.” I’ve always appreciated these plants with their purple puff-ball flower, sometimes growing as tall asContinue reading “Cirsium vinaceum…”

Supply chain issues have been popping up everywhere as a result of the pandemic. Recently, one showed up in our state government that I suspect many people didn’t anticipate. This one affected the Motor Vehicle Department. Those of us who have lived in New Mexico for years have stories to tell about the continuing bumblingContinue reading “Is it my car registration or a job offer?”