Author Archives: Patrick Lamb

In July, a man entered a Walgreen’s in Las Cruces, jumped up on the check out counter, demanded money from the cash register and then reached in his pocket to brandish — well, not a gun or knife but a screwdriver. The tool-wielding robber told the cashier at the counter that the store owed himContinue reading “Is that a weapon in your pocket or are you just here to repair something?”

A recent story made me wonder what kind of basic training applicants for the police department in Portales is required. It must not have included basic chemistry. Police reported that a guest at a local motel complained that when he turned on a faucet in his bathroom, a shard of methamphetamine shot out of itContinue reading “Maybe chemistry should have been in their curriculum…”

I spotted this fireworks combination pack a couple of weeks ago while traveling along I-10 east of Deming at the Bowlin’s Akela Flats store. The store has all kinds of interesting and unusual (some might say tacky) kitsch for sale, none of which I wanted except possibly for this. It’s the largest fireworks combo packContinue reading “Just in time for Christmas…”

You may have been following recent news stories about the arrest of two Americans for espionage in a scheme to pass nuclear submarine secrets to the Russians. The plan might have worked except that the “Russian agents” turned out to be American counter-intelligence officers.  I found this interesting because the oddball method used to transferContinue reading “From a Jell-O box to a chewing gum wrapper — or maybe a peanut butter sandwich…”

Last week, police in Albuquerque were able to recover a stolen vehicle using a “Tile” tracking device attached to the SUV. Police were notified by the SUV owners that the vehicle had been stolen from their property. Using an app associated with the tracking device, Police were able to begin following the vehicle. When itContinue reading “A new excuse for justifying bad behavior…”

I participated in a Trout Unlimited project last weekend in the Gila, helping to garner support for the region by introducing new people to fly fishing. A group of five of us, four from TU and our one “student” hiked up Mineral Creek canyon to try to catch Gila trout on a fly rod. EveryoneContinue reading “No trout this time, just spectacular scenery…”

(With apologies to Snoopy) It was a dark and stormy night. Chester, the Golden Doodle sensed that something was awry in the dark corners of his back yard. He ran to the back door, tail on high alert mode. His dimwitted co-owner, not picking up on the intelligent clues that Chester was offering, opened theContinue reading “Skunks 2, Chester 0… Then more drama…”

There’s a website used mostly by car nerds looking for classic or collector cars called Bring A Trailer, or BaT, as it’s referred to in gearhead jargon. Here’s the website: bringatrailer.com After spotting the vehicle below in my neighborhood today, I’m wondering if someone has started a new website called “Bring Your Own Tires andContinue reading “B.Y.O.T.&W.”

My wife and our dog Chester traveled to Sunspot in the Sacramento Mountains this weekend, hoping to catch some turning aspen leaves. The drive was spectacular but the leaves were not quite ready to show their fall brilliance. It was a good trip, but a bit sad as well. Sunspot, which I mentioned in anContinue reading “The sun may be setting on Sunspot…”

Earlier this year, I wrote about an Albuquerque city bus driver who was distracted while munching on a burrito during his route along Central and rear-ended another car. Earlier this week, we had another incident of a driver under the influence of burrito (DUIB — I think it could be pronounced “dweeb”).  In this case,Continue reading “Burritos acting badly…”

Last week, the New Mexico Supreme Court handed down a decision that probably encompasses a lot of attitudes in our state. The ruling said in essence that if most of your car’s taillights were working, it was “good enough.” The decision grew out of a case involving a traffic stop by an Albuquerque policeman whoContinue reading “It only needs to be “good enough” in New Mexico…”

A New Mexico man’s plan to buy an airplane in Wisconsin in 2018 proved there should have been a little more flight planning than just checking the weather. The would-be purchaser had asked another man, from Portales, to fly with him to Wisconsin to pick up the aircraft after it was purchased, then fly itContinue reading “A flight plan that hatched, then fell out of the nest…”

A story in last week’s Albuquerque Journal about Tesla opening a factory outlet in New Mexico led me to reflect on a somewhat similar set of circumstances in the state several years ago. Both involved efforts by trade groups to protect their turf in the Land of Enchantment. The Tesla outlet, the Journal reported, willContinue reading “They got more than they wished for…”

Last Saturday, our excessively affable and energetic Golden Doodle, Chester, encountered a skunk in our back yard.  Although Chester was apparently interested in making a friend, the skunk would have none of it.  Luckily ,Chester didn’t get a full frontal blast on his face — just a glancing blow on his side.  I had justContinue reading “No, Chester hasn’t been smoking pot, he’s just high on life in general…”