Up Early In Texas Well Before My Local Yellow Dwarf

I am up way before the sun, looking closely through the bars of my patio prison cell at the hot tub and pool below me, on this 19th Day of August.

That hot plasma yellow dwarf, around which the solar system where I currently reside revolves, has not yet arrived for its daily heating duties and already the outer world, at my Texas location, is heated to 86.9, heading to a scheduled high today of 108.

What is the all-time record high temperature recorded at the official temperature recording station at D/FW Airport? I just realized I do not believe I have ever read what the all-time high has been in North Texas.

My personal all-time high temperature was experienced in August of 1998 at Badwater in Death Valley. It was 124.

I think I will go swimming before the sun arrives. I've not gone swimming in the morning darkness in awhile.

Have You Ever Known Rick Perry In The Biblical Sense?

I first heard of the ad you see here whilst listening to Rush Limbaugh do his daily ranting for a short while.

Then Elsie Hotpepper mentioned it to me and had me momentarily worrying she was about to answer the ad as one of the "young hotties" being solicited for.

A guy named Robert Morrow, of Austin, Texas, he being a Ron Paul supporter, took out the full page ad you see here in this week's Austin Chronicle.

Morrow claims to know strippers in Austin who have told him juicy stories about Rick Perry's peccadilloes with strippers, escorts and young hotties.

Hence the ad asking "Have you ever had sex with Rick Perry?" Further asking, "Are you a stripper, an escort or just a 'young hottie' impressed by an arrogant, entitled governor of Texas?"

I'm not a fan of Rick Perry, he sort of appalls me, creepy man that he seems to be. And the idea that he is being taken serious as a presidential candidate is just bizarre to me. Then again, I thought the same thing when George W. Bush was taken serious as a presidential candidate. Clearly I am clueless as to who should be taken serious as a presidential candidate.

But, regardless of my cluelessness as to who is a viable presidential candidate, this ad is really way over the top. Trolling for trollops to expose a bad man's bad deeds, in this way, seems a tad tacky to me. Prudish boy that I be.

The ad targeting Rick Perry is not the first time this Robert Morrow guy has gone extreme in a political attack. Way back in 2008, in South Carolina, Morrow paid for and was the voice on a robocall smearing Hillary Clinton, with the message claiming "Hillary knew about and helped cover up Bill's rape of Juanita Boderick."

Does Ron Paul approve of this particular ad asking this particular question about Rick Perry? I would hope not.

What is sexual hypocrisy? I don't think I have heard of this brand of hypocrisy before, let alone the need for committee to be against it.

Walking Under The Shade Of The Village Creek Oaks Thinking About Generals Grant, Sherman & Washington

You are looking up at a Village Creek Natural Historic Area oak tree in the picture.

When I am in a mood most foul, which is most of the time, I find I get temporary respite from a mood most foul when I commune with some types of nature.

For me, big trees and big waves seem to be the best foul mood alleviaters.

I do not have any contact with big waves in Texas. The only time I've even seen a semi-big wave in Texas was in Galveston.

I think big waves rolling up on an ocean beach cast off negative ions. Hence the mood enhancement.

I think big oak trees may also cast off negative ions.

The biggest tree I've ever had put me in a good mood was a sequoia called General Grant in Kings Canyon National Park in California. General Sherman in Sequoia National Park is the biggest tree in the world. General Grant is number 2. The Washington sequoia, named after General/President Washington, also in Sequoia National Park, used to be the #2 tree. But the Washington tree had a partial collapse a few years ago.

It's been a long time since I've seen a really big tree.

It's also been a long time since I've been cold. Currently I have my air conditioner working hard to keep me semi-cool. The A/C is having to work extra hard because it is currently 107 degrees in the outer world. With the Wind Chill Factor making it feel like 106.

It is only 13 days until the arrival of September. At some point in September it would seem like cooler temperatures might arrive. I hope.

Fort Worth To Serve As Oligarchy Model For Iraqi Provincial Councils

Fort Worth's official website has some interesting news in its City News section.

The headline of the story is "Fort Worth to serve as model for Iraqi provincial councils."

Under that headline is the following....

The transition from autocratic rule to democratic government isn’t easy, but it helps to have an example of how to do open government right.

Since 2003, the U.S. Agency for International Aid has been working to provide these examples to Iraqi officials as part of the Local Governance Program and, recently, they looked to Fort Worth for help.

Iraqi national Satie Najm has worked with officials at City Hall through the month of August to create an informational video about the structure of local government and the role citizens play in open government.

Mayor Betsy Price and Mayor Pro Tem Zim Zimmerman, along with members of city staff, were interviewed this week for the video, which will be presented to Iraqi provincial council governors in Iraq Sept. 12.

I am sort of speechless. Of all the towns in all of America Fort Worth is picked as a model for Iraq's transition to democratic government?

Is the real reason Fort Worth was picked for such a thing due to being the biggest city in America run as an Oligarchy, like a giant company town? Thus fitting the Iraqi way of operating more than a more democratic, liberal, liberated town, like, for example, Austin or Portland or Denver or Seattle or New York City?

Was Fort Worth picked so that Iraqi officials can learn how to impose big public works projects on their citizens without having to resort to something as messy as a vote?

Fort Worth to provide Iraq an example of the role citizens play in open government?

Did not Fort Worth only recently get rid of a mayor who acted like an autocratic dictator? Limiting citizen input at city council meetings. Refusing to talk to Fort Worth's real newspaper of record, that being Fort Worth Weekly.

This is all very perplexing.

Up Early August 18 Pondering Drowning In The Trinity River

I got up way before the arrival of the sun on this 18th morning of August, already heated to 85.2 heading for a scheduled high today of 104.

Sad news, again, from Fort Worth's Trinity Park. A mom drowned trying to rescue her 8 year old son who had somehow fallen into the Trinity River.

The mom did not know how to swim. Bystanders safely pulled the boy from the river.

Currently, due to the drought, the Trinity River is running rather low. What is it about the section of the Trinity River that runs through Trinity Park that causes so many drownings?

Is being taught to swim part of the curriculum in Texas schools like it is elsewhere?

The sun has now sufficiently illuminated the outside world so I can find my way to the pool to go for my morning swim.

Walking With The Fosducks & Squirrel After Visiting Leadville Colorado's Baby Doe's Matchless Mine

On my way to Town Talk today I stopped at Oakland Lake Park to walk around the drought shrunken Fosdic Lake.

The Fosdic Lake Fosducks continue to struggle with the HOT temperatures. Today they were huddling in their regular shade spot on the eastern shore of the shrinking lake.

The Fosducks were doing a lot of quacking today. I think a heat-demented squirrel acting squirrelly was upsetting the Fosducks.

You can see the squirrel in the picture. I think it thought it was a duck. The Fosducks seemed accepting of the new bird in their flock.

Changing subjects from Fosducks and squirrels to Elsie Hotpepper. This morning Elsie Hotpepper shocked me by telling me I can be difficult. I have no idea what that means.

In addition to Elsie Hotpepper being difficult this morning I visited Leadville, Colorado and Baby Doe's Matchless Mine.

When I first moved to Texas a structure visible from Interstate 35E, in Dallas, intrigued me. The structure was by a big Coors billboard that had a waterfall falling out of it. Eventually I learned that the intriguing structure was Baby Doe's Matchless Mine.

Eventually I visited Baby Doe's Matchless Mine in Dallas. Finding ones way to Baby Doe's was a bit tricky. And required valet parking.

I can see why Baby Doe's eventually went out of business, though once you did mange to find your way to its entry it was rather cool, like entering a mine. With an excellent view of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Dallas, with Reunion Tower putting on its nightime light show.

I believe there were several Baby Doe's Matchless Mines in various locations in America, inspired by the original in Leadville, Colorado. I do not know if the other Baby Doe's Matchless Mines have met the same fate as the Matchless Mine in Dallas.

Another HOT August Morning In Texas Pondering Bringing Democracy To Fort Worth

The light of the moon is being filtered through some clouds on this 17th morning of August.

The sun has just started its daily heating duties and already that overactive nuclear reactor has my zone of Texas heated to 86 degrees. This seems to bode ill for yet one more super HOT day in Texas.

Changing the subject from the temperature to democracy in America.

Something occurred yesterday in Seattle, a democratic city in the democratic part of America, that can not occur in Fort Worth, which is not much of a democratic city in a democratic part of America.

Some Seattle citizens collected enough signatures on a petition to put a referendum on a ballot, forcing a public vote on a public issue.

In Seattle the issue was the replacement with a tunnel of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The Viaduct replacement is a multi-billion dollar project.

The Seattle Viaduct replacement project had already been approved prior to yesterday's vote. But the Seattle mayor opposed the tunnel.

Yesterday, Seattle voters, in Referendum 1, overwhelmingly voted to support the tunnel project, which had Seattle's mayor saying, "I worked to give the public a direct vote on the tunnel. The public said move ahead with the tunnel, and that's what we're going to do."

Meanwhile in Fort Worth there has never been a public vote on the almost $1 billion public works project that is known as the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

Why is it that, apparently, the citizens of Fort Worth don't understand that they have a democratic right to vote on projects like the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle? By vote, I mean a real vote, a straight up referendum or initiative on a ballot.

It is very perplexing.

I Lost My Way To The Farmers Branch Creek Waterfall And Ended Up Walking With Indian Ghosts

Around noon today I left air-conditioned comfort and, as per the suggestion of CatsPaw, intended to head west to hike to the Farmers Branch Creek Waterfall to see a "precious gem" and experience something "unique and natural."

Trouble is, I have experienced an awful lot of waterfalls. Roaring, powerful waterfalls, with big drops dropping an awful lot of water.

As the wheels on my vehicular transport began rotating I soon found myself directing the steering wheel to move those wheels in an easterly direction, not west.

Soon I found myself at the Village Creek Natural Historic Area where I walked in the shade til I came to the mysterious mirror on a stick.

It was nearly 100 degrees when I walked to the mysterious mirror on a stick.

Walking over all the crunchy leaves that have fallen on to the paved trail one would think it was already Fall, instead of over a month to go before that particular season of the year begins.

I suspect trees are starting to lose their grip on their leaves due to the drought. I know the drought is causing me to lose my grip on my leaves.

After I was done crunching Village Creek leaves I continued on to ALDI Food Market to get me some vittles.

Having a unique natural experience with the Farmers Branch Creek Waterfall will have to wait for another day.

CatsPaw Thinks I Should Shake Up My Tiresome Routine By Hiking To A Fort Worth Waterfall I've Never Hiked To

CatsPaw read my sad lament about overheating yesterday on the Tandy Hills, which had me vowing not to return to the hills until reasonable temperatures return to North Texas.

After CatsPaw read my sad lament she opined (I paraphrase) that I needed to shake up my tiresome routine.

CatsPaw then pointed me to a "precious gem" that exists in Fort Worth, but which has never been visited by me. CatsPaw's research indicated that this gem is "unique and natural," which is my favorite type of thing.

CatsPaw's source for the information about this "precious gem" is the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle website. I don't know how reliable this information is, the website says "visiting the waterfall is a sinch." I have no idea what a "sinch" is.

I suspect Farmers Branch Creek Waterfall is currently a dry falls, just like Tandy Falls.

Below is the verbiage from the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle website about this precious gem of a waterfall. I found it mildly disturbing that the TRV Boondoggle website is encouraging people to play in the water of these falls, just like they encourage people to play in the pristine waters of the Trinity River...

With the weather being absolutely gorgeous, now is the best time to get out and expore the Trinity Trails. One of our favorite spots on the river is the Farmers Branch Creek waterfall located in Westworth Village near the Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base. Until recently, getting to this precious gem was nearly impossible, but since the Tarrant Regional Water District completed the connection between the main part of the Trinity River and the length of the creek, visiting the waterfall is a sinch.

The quickest ways to access this new portion of trail is from Pumphrey Dr. off of 183 (this area will soon be home to a new trailhead!) or from the trailhead at White Settlement Rd. and Isbell Rd.. Once on the trail make your way to this unique and natural scene using the below map. Once you've reached the destination, take in the view from the new sitting area, snap some photos or even play in the falls!

The 16th Morning Of August In Texas Worrying That The Confederacy Of Dunces Thinks Rick Perry Is Presidential Material

Looking out my primary viewing portal this 16th morning of August I was surprised to have the camera's flash light up my morning.

I did not realize the camera was still in aquarium mode, set in that mode last night when I took a picture of my TV screen.

Tuesday morning is the morning I can not go swimming due to the pool getting its weekly shock so it can maintain that crystal clear chemically-enabled look one wants in water one immerses oneself in.

Unless it is the Trinity River. Then I want my immersing water to be an unnatural color, like lime green.

The past couple days I've been sort of depressed at once again having the bad feeling that I really do live in a Confederacy of Dunces. The bad feeling this time is coming from the fact that, for reasons I am unable to fathom, the current D-Student Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, is being taken serious as a presidential candidate.

Has America already forgotten what happened the last time they elected a Texas D-Student to be president of this formerly fine country?

It is very perplexing. And right now I can not go swimming to take my mind off my perplexations.