Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Washington & Texas Are Mighty Fun States


I saw an amusing MSN article yesterday titled 11 States Americans Say Are the Most Fun which had my old home state of Washington and the #1 most fun state. You can click the 11 States Americans Say Are the Most Fun to see the other fun states, including the fun state I am currently located in.

This is the fun description of Washington...

Washington State was the top-voted most fun state in the United States. It is an exciting destination offering diverse attractions. Its natural beauty encompasses iconic sites like Mount Rainier and Olympic National Park. Seattle’s vibrant culture features the famous Pike Place Market and arts scene. “The food was great, the people were nice, and the weather was to die for,” said one recent visitor.

Outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy hiking, skiing, and kayaking, while wine and craft beer enthusiasts can explore local vineyards and breweries. The state’s cultural diversity, water activities, music scene, and adventure sports provide ample entertainment. National parks, scenic drives, and seasonal events add to the charm, making Washington a fun state for various interests.

And then there is the state I am currently in and its fun description...


Texas offers a diverse range of attractions that make it a fun state to visit. In Austin, the vibrant capital, you can immerse yourself in live music, cultural festivals, and a thriving food scene. Houston boasts world-class museums, the Space Center, and diverse neighborhoods. San Antonio’s historic sites, like the Alamo, blend with the picturesque River Walk.

The Gulf Coast provides sandy beaches and water activities, while the Big Bend National Park showcases stunning desert landscapes. In Dallas, cultural districts, shopping, and renowned barbecue eateries await. Texas’s cowboy heritage comes alive in Fort Worth’s Stockyards National Historic District. The state’s vastness offers opportunities for outdoor adventures, from hiking in the Hill Country to exploring caverns. With its mix of urban experiences, natural wonders, and Texan charm, Texas promises an enjoyable and unforgettable visit.

Some of the 11 fun states seemed a tad dubious, such as Tennessee and North Carolina and Illinois.
As were some omissions of what, to me, are super fun states, like Utah and Oregon and Arizona and Wyoming and Nevada.

Oh, and South Dakota.

Late in the previous century I had myself a mighty fine fun time in South Dakota...
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Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Wonder Why Washington Is America's Best State Instead Of Texas

A few days ago, or maybe it was last week, I saw an article headline in the Seattle Times which I clicked.

Washington ranked nation’s best state by U.S. News & World Report

Of course I was intrigued regarding by what criteria U.S. News & World Report would rank my former home state as the Best in America, what with that particular news source having a relatively high level of credibility.

Unlike the "news" source, as in an in-house publication of a Washington, D.C. lobbying entity, which named Fort Worth as one of the Ten Most Livable Cities in America (based on a town's use of the Urban Village concept).

Following this earth shattering news, Fort Worth's city government instigated a city wide celebration, including a big event at Gateway Park. Sort of like a homely girl or guy waking up to suddenly find him or herself in the Top Ten of the Miss or Mr. America pageant, giddy with excitement, ignoring feedback from any nearby mirror.

I remember blogging about that particular Fort Worth embarrassment multiple times, but using this blog's search tool I only found three instances, with all three sort of amusing to read again.

The first instance I found was from 2008...

Oh My! Someone in the News has a Texas Connection!

And then again in 2012...

I Have Done Just About All The Holiday Shopping That I Am Going To Do

The comments to the above link are particularly amusing, particularly the second one, followed by the third.

I have long been made aware of the fact that my hobby of making fun of the American embarrassment known as Fort Worth is greatly irritating to those caught in the Fort Worth bubble, with little exposure to the rest of America.

Or even Dallas.

Along with the extremists who have not yet figured out that the town's problems are largely a result of the town operating in what is known as the Fort Worth Way.

A Way which has come to be known to savvy observers as being a backward, corrupt, insular, regressive way of running a town, allowing the town, for instance, to permit things like being the world's biggest experiment in urban fracking (yet one more Fort Worth failure) or the town embarrassing itself by having something like Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats in the regularly polluted with too much e.coli Trinity River.

Searching the blog to see if I can find the earliest instance of blogging about those ridiculous floating beer parties brought up dozens of blog posts, with a particularly amusing J.D. Granger Is A Great Family Man, Faithful Husband & Brilliant Project Manager Rockin' The Trinity River Better Than The San Marcos River one, rendered ironic due to its timeliness, even though it was posted way back in 2011.

Click Rockin the River Happy Hour and you will be seeing a lot of posts about this particular Fort Worth embarrassment. I was surprised to realize this has been going on for so many years now. With no common sense end to the dirty river rockin' yet in sight.

Oh my, my train of thought does go off the rails at times. I'd forgotten this blog post is about my old home state of Washington being ranked the best in the nation.

Going to U.S. News & World Reports Best States Rankings we learn the magazine was "Measuring outcomes for citizens using more than 70 metrics."

And that since U.S. News has been doing this important reporting no state has remained at #1 in subsequent rankings, but there is a state which has managed to rank as the #50th best multiple years in a row.

No, it is not Texas in last place. Last place went to another Southern state, Louisiana.

My old Washington home state has managed to be in the Top Ten whenever U.S. News & World Report has issued one of these Best State in America rankings.

The bottom of the ranking goes mostly to America's southern states, with Alabama nipping at Louisiana's last place finish, coming in at #49. Mississippi is #48, Arkansas #45, Oklahoma #43, Kentucky #40.

With Texas proudly ranking as the #38th Best State in America.

The rest of the South ranks a bit better than Texas, with Tennessee #30, North Carolina #18, Florida #13.

And that old Southern Stronghold of Virginia managing to be in the Top Ten at #7.

Let us end this with the two paragraphs from U.S. News & World Report explaining upon what their Best Rankings were based, which might give us some clue as to what Texas might do to someday manage to be one of the Best States in America (Fixing Fort Worth might be a place to start)...

Some states shine in health care. Some soar in education. Some excel in both – or in much more. The Best States ranking of U.S. states draws on thousands of data points to measure how well states are performing for their citizens. In addition to health care and education, the metrics take into account a state’s economy, its roads, bridges, internet and other infrastructure, its public safety, the fiscal stability of state government, and the opportunity it affords its residents.

 More weight was accorded to some state measures than others, based on a survey of what matters most to people. Health care and education were weighted most heavily. Then came state economies, infrastructure, and the opportunity states offer their citizens. Fiscal stability followed closely in weighting, followed by measures of crime & corrections and a state's natural environment.
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Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Texas Is A Large State With Deserts Pine Forests Houston And The Rio Grande


Yesterday I Googled "Texas" for what reason I no longer remember. Upon Googling "Texas" Google, in addition to the myriad Texas links, came up with the above snapshot of Texas, in which we learn...

Texas is a large state in the southern U.S. with deserts, pine forests and the Rio Grande, a river that forms its border with Mexico. In its biggest city, Houston, the Museum of Fine Arts houses works by well-known Impressionist and Renaissance painters, while Space Center Houston offers interactive displays engineered by NASA. Austin, the capital, is known for its eclectic music scene.

Seems a bit Houston centric, to me. though Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Galveston are mentioned as Destinations. No mention made by Google of Fort Worth. Google must have missed the memo that Fort Worth is a world class city making other towns, far and wide, green with envy.

Seeing what Google did to Texas had me wondering what Google did to my old home state when one Google's "Washington".


Well, we learn that...

Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest with terrain spanning the snow-capped Cascade Mountains to forested islands in Puget Sound. Its largest city, Seattle, is known for its thriving tech industry, vibrant music scene and celebrated coffeehouses. Its landmarks include the futuristic Space Needle and century-old Pike Place Market. Nearby, hiking trails wind through vast rainforest in Olympic National Park.

Well. Google makes my old home state sound a bit more interesting than the state I am currently sitting in, what with snow capped mountains and forested islands, rainforests and coffeehouses.

And a minimum wage over $2 higher than the Texas minimum wage.

Google thinks the Points of Interest in Texas are the San Antonio Riverwalk, the Alamo, the state capitol and a pair of Six Flags theme parks.

While in Washington Google thinks the Points of Interest are Olympic National Park, the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, and Mount Rainier and North Cascades National Parks.

With Google's Destinations in Washington being Seattle, Forks, Bainbridge Island and again with the state's national parks.

Leaving out the most interesting national park n Washington, that being Mount St. Helens National Monument.

Bainbridge Island? But no mention of the San Juan Islands? Or Whidbey Island? Eastern Washington is totally ignored. Spokane? Grand Coulee Dam? Lake Chelan? Wenatchee? Yakima? Leavenworth? Apple orchards?

As for Texas. No mention of Big Bend National Park? Or South Padre Island? Or Enchanted Rock? Or Marfa?

Or Fort Worth?

How can Google ignore the most important city in Texas? If not the entire world?

Clearly, Google needs to adjust the algorithms used to determine a state's Destinations and Places of Interest....
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Saturday, February 21, 2015

Texas Is The One Big State Where America Remains America According To Forbes

I saw that which you see here, this Saturday morning, on Facebook, via the Texas Hill Country Facebook page, quoting a quote from Forbes.

I assume we are talking about Forbes the magazine.

I sure do agree with the part of the quote which says Texans have a peculiar talent for a kind of braggadocio that drives other Americans a bit crazy.

The outrageously out of sync with reality Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's propaganda comes to mind as one example of peculiar braggadocio to which I have reacted.

Such as Ma Granger claiming her little boy, J.D.'s, malfunctioning, slow motion, no project timeline, unfunded, unneeded, poorly planned Trinity River Vision is currently the biggest urban water project underway in North America.

Currently the only thing noticeably going on, construction-wise with that imaginary biggest urban water project in North America is three bridges being built over nothing. Three very simple, ordinary, small bridges, being built over dry land, because no funds exist, yet, to dig the ditch under the bridges through which water might one day flow.

Those three bridges being built over nothing are being built with a four year project timeline, longer than it took to build the Golden Gate Bridge and other actual feats of engineering, many of which were built over water.

I do not know if it will work or not, but I will try and copy the comments made on Facebook regarding this Forbes quote, to give you not in Texas an idea of how delusional Texans can be,  along with a few who seemed to be a bit more reality based...

Page Liked · 9 hrs · 
 

Oh look, Forbes figured it out and realized that America needs and is lucky to have Texas!http://www.forbes.com/sites/joelkotkin/2015/02/11/america-needs-the-texas-economy-to-keep-on-rolling/— with Amanda Cook Hesterley, Joan Cook, Walter Cook and Mary McClain.
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