Texas Linux Fest

[david pardue]

Hi, Adam,

It's always nice to hear encouraging words, so I was glad to write something
positive. Thanks again to you and the other Xfce SIG members for all your
hard work on the Spin.

I had heard about the Texas Linux Fest and it sounds like it could be a cool
event. Unfortunately, I won't be attending it because it's in Austin and I'm
in McAllen -- about 350 miles (6.5 hours) away. McAllen is in far South
Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley. We're about 40 minutes from Brownsville (at
the very tip of the state). McAllen is on the international US-Mexico
border, and our Mexican neighbor city, Reynosa, is 8 miles away. The Valley
is an interesting place to live; geographically, we're in the US but
culturally, we're in northern Mexico. There is a joke among old gringos in
the area: "You know, it's pretty nice living in McAllen -- it's almost like
being in the United States."

The map here will you give a better idea of Valley geography:

http://bit.ly/9OoZgK

This area has made the national news lately because of the border violence
in Reynosa (which now has a population of ca. 1 million) and surrounding
areas in Tamaulipas State. There is an ongoing turf war between rival drug
cartels: the Cartel del Golfo (CDG or 'Gulf Cartel') and the Zetas. Members
of both groups are heavily armed (automatic weapons, grenade launchers,
etc.) and some innocent bystanders in Reynosa have died in crossfire. The
Mexican government has sent troops to the area but it's unclear whether they
are really in control of the situation. McAllen is still safe but we've
heard increasing concern about "spillover violence." :-(

=david
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