Can this be done in Austin?

If you have kids, that’s your excuse to try this in front of the neighbors — science experiment. If not, fry at your own risk.

I’m gonna use a glass cake dome to heat up a piece of the sidewalk. Is that cheating? I might also use a stainless steal pan. Totally cheating. Don’t care.

Send me photos or videos of your effort and we will post them, and you get a Cityism PLAY AUSTIN tee shirt. If we are inundated with entries, we’ll award only the top entries.

Many of my contemporaries are unwilling to accept Austin’s evolution. I understand. They’re annoyed at the young newcomers who spend a lot to look poor and whose parents helped them drive up our cost living.

What the complainers don’t realize is that Austin has always been about convergence.

I’m old enough to remember the Armadillo World Headquarters and what Austin City Limits really is (a live recording session at KUT). But I am sure that when I was young, old Austinites scoffed at us, too.  They kept saying that Bob Wills was still the king. I didn’t care about Bob Wills, and the kids today don’t care about Stevie Ray Vaughn. Sad but true.

While the traffic is hell now, we have to keep evolving. That’s what has always kept Austin ahead of the curve — it just looked different to us when we were younger.

So whether you still have Stevie Ray or Janis Joplin in your CD player, or you’re fresh from LA and standing in line to get into a posh club, you’re still a part of the convergence that will always be Austin.

I do have one thing to say to the newcomers, though. Please don’t carry your chihuahua in your purse. Dogs are not accessories.

After his Pro Bowl rookie year, he lost his starting job to a Super Bowl winning quarterback. And he once had a little meltdown in which he needed a few days away from the public eye. So what? He was young — can’t we let him grow?

The only other “bad” thing he’s done is shove a guy who put the downward Hook ‘em Horns in his face. I’m glad he did.  The video even shows Vince trying to get out of the situation. With so many guys getting DWIs, doing drugs and assaulting their girlfriends, Vince is a pretty good citizen. And considering his horrible cast of receivers, he’s done pretty well on the field, too.

What happened to giving a guy a few years to develop as an NFL quarterback? Especially when he has a strong-armed veteran ahead of him?

But now is the time. Going into his fifth year, he should have the experience and the receivers he needs. He certainly has the running back. If you paid any attention to Vince during his three years at Texas, you would not bet against him.

Margarita served up in a chilled martini glass

My response to Beth: Your friend from the Alamo City is right about adding a splash of OJ, but there are more things to make em just right.

You must start with fresh lime juice — you can buy it at Whole Foods if you don’t want to squeeze.

I prefer Cointreau as my orange liqueur but any will work.

Your tequila must be 100 percent agave, silver or gold, to taste. Silver has a more tangy bite while gold is smoother and sweeter. I prefer a reposado.

Let’s talk about sweetness. I like mine more tart than most, so I don’t add sugar to mine. But for most people, you’ll need more sweetener than just the Cointreau and OJ. I highly recommend agave nectar for this.

Finally, a spash of 7Up is nice. That’s because a real margarita is too concentrated for most people, and you’ll get some sweetening AND some dilution this way.

Speaking of dilution, if your unique concoction doesn’t need any dilution, then serve them “up” in chilled stemmed margarita or even martini glasses, with a lime wedge for presentation. Wet the outside of the glass and put in freezer for an hour. But it’s OK to serve in anything and over crushed ice if you prefer. After all, they’re perfect for the lake or pool, so you don’t have to go elegant.

I also like to put a splash of olive juice in — it’s a nice little ripoff of a Mexican martini, much like the 7up and OJ are.

A real margarita is nothing but tequila, lime and cointreau, but after 20 years of making them, I know these secrets make em better for most people. If you add a little sweet & sour to all of the above, that’s a Mexican martini, but I do not recommend messing with sweet & sour if you don’t know what you’re doing. It can wreck a margarita.

I wish I were there to make them for you — I do like to bartend. Oh, and don’t forget cocktail napkins!

I’ll be on standby if you get in a pickle because margs are serious business.

Oh, one more thing, top secret — mix and serve with confidence — like an umpire making a close call, you gotta sell it.

Gandhi statue in Cleveland where they also hold a yearly One World celebration

Not longhorns but long horns

Do you like these noisemakers or should they be banned from sporting events? Take our poll:

100% Man Purse

1. If you hurry, local handbag artist Andrea Couch will custom make the dad in your life a handsome man purse. Visit BottleUpAndExplode.net …get yourself a bag while you’re there!

2. Real men drink beer. Austin Home Brew has beer-making kits starting below $85. If  that’s too big of a leap, they also have books on beer-making, so he can feel it out.

2. A framed photo of the great Colt McCoy, the all-time winningest quarterback in college football history. Available at the Texas Photo Store. Other Longhorn photos also available.

Colt McCoy, one of the best ever

3. Manscaping. He may not admit he’d like a spa day, but we bet he would. Here’s a list of Austin-based places where he can get a trim, a massage or even a little laser work: I BuyAustin Spas.

4. Watch a World Cup soccer game with him. Bars all over town will be showing games, so pick a country and root, whether you like soccer or not. It will be fun. The team shirts are great gifts, too.

5. Let him win at Cityism. Fast delivery. Order now.

Play Cityism with Dad

My significant other, from Dallas, is stressing over what to wear to a ritzy Dallas hotel gala.

Scholz, Austin's most iconic bar

I’ll be with my buddies from Austin LBJ, at Scholz Beer Garden, throwing back Shiner and waxing poetic about growing up with Waylon, Willie and the boys. Is it so wrong to be proud? It’s this disease called cityism.

Keely, Dannah, Avery and Kyler

It’s not every day you get to play ping pong for a cause. But that’s what we did on Sunday. Raised money for GirlStart and won us some trophies, too!

Congratulations Cityism ping pongers.

Dr. Kyler Brown reaches for a low one.

2. Take her to gospel brunch at Threadgill’s (south) or Stubb’s. These are hand-clapping fun, and the food’s great.

3. Do the the Garden’s Tour (Saturday only) — Visit the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center for more information, or just visit there to celebrate National Wildflower Week.

4. Enjoy free coffee for all moms at Whole Foods, then shop with her there. But if she’s like my mom, go early before it’s a madhouse.

5. Take her to the University Co-op and get her a new Longhorn tee, or skirt or ANYTHING. They have a huge women’s department with anything Longhorn you can imagine. And even if she’s not a Longhorn, she secretly wants one.