Texas Thunder is Making My Head Hurt

We have been under assault here in the Dallas/Fort Worth zone of North Texas for hours now. It's coming up on 8am and it is still very dark out there.

And wet.

It appears I will not be doing any outdoor activity today.

I don't know when this loud bombing began. I had my earplugs in so as not to hear the air conditioner cycle off and on. Sometime after 5am I started seeing bright flashes. When I pulled out the earplugs I knew what was causing the flashes when I heard some big booming.

That big booming has gone on for hours now. It's making my head hurt. I want it to stop now. But it seems to be getting worse. WeatherBug says this could continue til noon.

Maybe I'll put my earplugs back in. Oh oh, I hear a siren. I don't think it's a tornado siren. But, I think maybe I should keep my hearing at full function.

If this is the last you hear from me today it means I've either lost power, been struck by lightning or been blown away by a tornado, or some combo of all three.

Fremont Solstice Parade

I talked to Lulu this afternoon, while I sweltered outside in the near 100 degree temperatures, while Lulu shivered inside her Tacoma abode. Lulu was working on stuff for next week's Fremont Sunday Market.

And she told me she was getting her outfit ready for the Fremont Solstice Parade. That is this coming Saturday, due to that being June 21, the Summer Solstice. I know Lulu has watched the Fremont Solstice Parade before and has been amused by all the naked bike riders.

But, I just can't picture Lulu doing this bike ride. Though I have seen her on some pretty scary bike rides. Like Gemini Bridges in Utah. I'm almost certain Lulu was not serious.

I mentioned the Fremont Solstice Naked Bike Parade a month or more ago. I recollect Gar the Texan asking if he could rent a bike near where the parade took place. I've not heard from Gar the Texan in awhile. I suspect he may be up in Seattle getting ready to ride.

Click on the link and you'll find a video of last year's Fremont Solstice Naked Bike Parade in all its glory.

Time For Me to Rob a Bank

Last week a 50 something guy decided to rob a Wells Fargo Bank in north Fort Worth. He successfully pulled off the bank job. And then he tried to carjack a ride from a woman. Two men, who had been in the bank, jumped the robber, pinning him down. Then 2 others joined in, holding the guy down til the cops arrived. The bank robber was, obviously, ill-prepared. He didn't even have a getaway car. Everyone knows you need a getaway car.

Now, I'm thinking, what drives someone to such a desperate act? You've lost your source of income, or income has not matched outgo, to the point that money is down to nothing. Bills are due. You can't pay the rent. Or maybe the mortgage. You're hungry.

So. You think to yourself, what if I rob a bank? If I succeed and get away, I've got money. If I fail and get caught, I've got free room and board. It's a win-win either way.

It's too bad there isn't some sort of Desperation Hotline that you can call and get some sort of one-time-only help, help that takes away the desperation and directs you to some sort of more sensible solution than robbing a bank and hoping to get a place to sleep and food to eat at the county jail.

Maybe there is a Desperation Hotline and I don't know about it. If there is, can someone send it to me, so I can call it before I need to rob a bank? Thank you in advance for your help.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram Shrinks Some More

The Star-Telegram announced on Monday that it is shrinking again. This time by 130 employees. The Star-Telegram, or Startlegram, as the locals call it, was bought by McClatchy Co. two years ago. It's been downhill ever since.

McClatchy Co. also owns the Tacoma Tribune. Lulu told me the Tacoma Tribune shrunk on Monday too. From my reading experience, the Tacoma Tribune is a much better paper than the Startlegram. Takes way longer to read, because there is way more to read, in a paper in a city of 200,000, where the Star-Telegram is in a city of almost 700,000. But with a lot less readers. And a smaller paper.

On Monday, McClatchy Co. cut about 1,400 jobs from its 30 papers.

The Star-Telegram is going to increase its full subscription rates by $1.50 to $17.50 a month. The Star-Telegram says this monthly rate is less than other major Texas newspapers, like the newspapers of Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Austin. Uh. Maybe those newspapers cost more and that cost is justifiable because you get way more of a newspaper.

With the Star-Telegram it's just like what I read today that Kellogg's is going to do with their cereal boxes, as in put less cereal in the box, but charge the same. The Star-Telegram has been putting less news in their box and charging the same. Now they are going to be putting less news in their box. And charging more.

But. I don't think they'll be charging me more. I'm thinking I'm about done with the Star-Telegram and it's time for it to go bye-bye from my morning doorstep. I won't pay more for less.

Fat Americans & the Strategic Fat Preserve

This blogging is part of my ongoing attempt, in my own small, itsy bitsy way, to encourage Americans, or at least the 3 who read this blog, to draw down on the Strategic Fat Preserve by eating less.

I came across an interesting Newsgroup posting by an American who had visited Europe and was shocked by how skinny the Europeans are. I'll copy that below.

But, first I need to tell you that that is Gar the Texan in the photo, in Booger Red's Saloon in the Fort Worth Stockyards, having a Buffalo Butt beer with his wife, Madlen. Gar the Texan met Madlen in Germany. When I met Madlen she was a thin, beautiful young thing. Now, after just a short exposure to both America's food culture and Gar as a husband, the dear girl has greatly contributed to the Strategic Fat Preserve by becoming one of the Balloon People. Shocking.

And now the Newsgroup posting:

"After 17 days, 3600 miles, and 10 countries later, we returned home, and the first thing we noticed was how many fat people there were in North America, compared to Europe. Even in the Bavarian Alps region, an area noted for jolly chubby Germans, the % of fat people was not even close to the average American town/city... At breakfast, we noticed that our fellow travellers, all European, never took more than they needed... a croissant, an egg, just enough till lunch...the portions at the restaurants were not as big, the meat cuts at the supermarkets were smaller...but still, everyone looked so healthy and slim!!! In fact, I think they quietly shoot ugly people in Europe...everyone looked so damn good! In fact, the only fat people we saw were...well...American tourists pouring out of a bus, loud enough to be heard in Mosquito Neck, Iowa (a really really small place) (grin)"

Durango Texas Comment: Regarding the Newsgrouper's comment that he thought "they quietly shoot ugly people in Europe." It's a little known bit of history that, in addition to the known victims the Nazis sent to Death Camps in Hitler's attempt to creat a Master Race of Aryan Perfection, ugly people were also sent to the death camps. I don't know how Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Goring or Joesph Goebbels escaped that fate.

Read the Newsgroup Posting in its entirety here. The writer also comments about how liberated Europeans are in other areas, as compared to us repressed, unliberated Americans.

Eleanor Roosevelt, Joe Lash & J. Edgar Hoover

That image you see on the left is from Eleanor Roosevelt's FBI files. If you click on it and are able to read the small print, you'll have read the short version of what I'm blogging about.

The FBI had over 3,900 pages of files on Eleanor Roosevelt, forced free by the Freedom of Information Act. This is one of the largest collection of files ever made by the FBI on an American citizen, let alone a First Lady. These files were compiled by the FBI, mostly at the behest of what we now know was a detestable little cross-dressing creature, known as J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover ran the FBI, like a dictator, from its founding, in 1935, til his death in 1972.

Hoover was able to last at his position through President after President, til he met his match in Nixon, by compiling dossiers of info on anyone he wanted to have influence over. Presidents were sort of scared of J. Edgar Hoover. And with good reason.

I just finished a book called Roosevelt's Secret War, by Joseph E Persico. FDR did not care for J. Edgar. But he found him useful.

Eleanor Roosevelt befriended a young man named Joe Lash, who was 25 years her junior. There were no allegations of anything improper in this relationship. Til J. Edgar saw an opportunity. The First Lady and Joe Lash were in Chicago at a hotel. They stayed in adjoining rooms. The FBI had Joe Lash under surveillance, I don't remember why. A lot of people were watched by the FBI during WWII. Sort of like what goes on now, during our less sensible war, under our less sensible President.

So. J. Edgar had those hotel rooms bugged. J. Edgar heard something useful to his purposes, recorded from that hotel room. He felt he had to get the info to the President somehow, in a way that sort of kept his hands clean. J. Edgar had had clashes with the First Lady. She was on his enemies list.

So, a report found its way to the President which contained the info that a microphone planted in the room had recorded the clear indication that Mrs. Roosevelt and Lash engaged in sexual intercourse during their hotel stay. Mrs. Roosevelt was called into the conference, confronted with the charge, which resulted in a terrific fight between the President and Mrs. Roosevelt.

FDR sent orders to have Lash sent outside the United States within 10 hours.

Now. Here's the bad part. What really happened was J. Edgar's microphones had caught Joe Lash making whoopee with a married lady, 2 weeks after he'd been in that hotel with Mrs. Roosevelt.

Nothing untoward was recorded between Mrs. Roosevelt and Mr. Lash. It is believed J. Edgar Hoover was fully aware of the truth. But saw an opportunity to do some dirty manipulating.

To what gain, I can't fathom. J. Edgar Hoover kept these secret files in his possession til his death. I don't know if the goal for his little dirty trick was to make Mrs. Roosevelt think he was a powerful foe, not to be crossed. Or if it was to ingratiate himself, somehow, with FDR. Or both.

Who knows? But, what I found interesting is our nation has always seemed to be quite a roller coaster of dicey doings that aren't pretty at times.

J. Edgar Hoover was one twisted sister.

We're Storming in North Texas Today

A couple hours ago WeatherBug went off with a warning of incoming. Then the radio said a powerful storm was advancing on the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex from the north. And was moving fast. At that point in time the sky was mostly clear with little wind.

A couple minutes later, though it was totally calm, the power went out. And stayed out for quite awhile. By the time the power came back on, the storm was here. Cloudy and very windy. But the power stayed on.

The best part of this storm is it had been hot, as in it'd gotten to 90 this morning. By the time I sat outside on the balcony, enjoying the wind and taking the above picture, the temperature had dropped to goose bump producing temps, as in the low 70s. Brrrr.

There is supposed to be fresh incoming, later this afternoon, with falling wet stuff. It's nice having the A/C off for a bit.

And that's your weather report for the day from North Texas. Meanwhile, up in Tacoma, at this point in time, it is cloudy and 56. That is Super Brrrrr!

ABC's The Bachelorette 4 & Me

Go here for this morning's blogging about last night's Bachelorette final episode.

Last night I was tired and in a foul mood. I needed mindless, stupid, escapist television to put my mood in a better place. So, I decided, no matter how boring or appalling I found it, I was going to watch an entire episode of The Bachelorette.

I did not know, at the time, this was a 2 hour commitment, with the first hour called "DeAnna Tells All." I didn't want to know all. I don't remember much of that hour. My mind must have wandered. I do remember they went to Vail, Colorado to visit the only married couple to result from one of these shows. The husband part of this pair did not seem a happy fellow. And the skin all around his eyes was an odd shade of blue. I don't think it was eye shadow. His name is Ryan, the wife's name is Trista. I've seen this pair on TV before.

And then the second hour began. There are 6 potential husbands remaining. In this episode she must get rid of 2 and then next week take the other 4 to their hometowns to meet their friends and family. Most of the conversation on the show revolved around DeAnna's overarching concern regarding those visits.

The show started with the Outhouse boys being let out and with everyone taken to Palm Springs for a week of heavy dating.

I read someone describe this DeAnna person as having the personality of a gnat. I get what they mean now. If, of all the video footage they must have filmed, if what they show is the best they had to work with, well, that's just sad.

I've seldom listened to so many stilted conversations. She's so earnest about her search for a husband. It's a process, we hear again and again. That takes 4 weeks. You develop a lifelong relationship, in 4 weeks, with cameras recording your meetings with your potential mate.

One of the ones she booted she first took on a ride up the Palm Springs Tramway. They had dinner outside in the cold and a lot of stilted conversation where he, whatever his name was, professed his growing feelings for her, now that they've finally been alone. Except for the camera crew.

She took another guy on a very weird date. I remember his name. Jeremy. A very boring lawyer from Dallas, who claims to work til 10pm every night, yet still finds time to hit the gym, what appeared to be excessively, as he looked like a skinny Schwarzenegger. Is a guy who works til 10pm each night, and then hits the gym, good husband material?

So, for her date with musclebound Jeremy, DeAnna drove him, in a vintage car, to the late Frank Sinatra's house where much hilarity ensued as they badly karaoked a Frank Sinatra song. Their conversation was painful to listen to. This girl does not have the slightest bit of wit to her. And then, suddenly, they were in robes. Apparently, their swimming suits had been smuggled in. And so they swam in Frank's pool. Jeremy was a tad funny when he apologized to Sinatra for the singing and other desecrations of Frank's house.

At one point, DeAnna stuck the boys in helicopters, with one weird guy named Twille, I think, getting what they call "one on one time" with DeAnna. Unfortunately Twille has a motion sickness problem, so DeAnna spent most of the flight worrying that Twille was "gonna puke on me." He didn't. But when they landed he couldn't figure out how to open the door.

The reason for the copter ride was to get out to the desert to participate in one of DeAnna's favorite things. Riding an ATV. She was a real wild woman at it. She was not impressed with how wussy some of the guys were, but was impressed with how masterful a short, professional snowboarder was, named, I think, Jesse. She was not impressed with what a weeny Twille was on the ATVs. So, he got the boot.

Regarding Jesse, later, now slightly smitten with him due to his ATV riding skills, back at the house, sitting at a table, looking longingly into Jesse's eyes, DeAnna desperately wanted him to kiss her. He didn't. She lamented about this later. DeAnna's seems to have no problem with doing a lot of smooching, sometimes quite ardently. During the period while they were all in the yard and she got no smooch from Jesse, she did do smooching with each of the other guys, I think. The ones who weren't currently doing the smooching could see this going on. Very romantic to watch your future wife being busy with other guys. That session ended with DeAnna and Graham embracing tightly in a hammock, to the chagrin of the other boys.

And then there's this guy from Kirkland, WA, that's a suburb of Seattle. He seems like a nice guy. But he's got a 3 year old kid. I figured his wife must have died. But, no, it was a divorce. He doesn't have sole custody. Isn't that a redflag in dating world? Young divorced guy, with kid?

And then there is the guy the other guys seem to think is her favorite. His name is Graham. I read in Survivor Sucks that he has claimed to be celibate. In previews his own mother told DeAnna that Graham has never had a relationship last longer than 4 weeks. It appeared from the previews that this leads to a lot of crying and claims of betrayal. I assumed this was directed at Graham. Graham is an interesting name. It makes me think cracker.

For the booting the 6 guys arrived and were quite perplexed, because usually DeAnna is there to greet them, while a cocktail party takes place where each guy can once more make his case to stay and declare his undying love that he's found. In 3 weeks. But, DeAnna did not want to put them through this living hell, because she had made up her mind, so there was no use prolonging the agony. What a sweet, sensitive girl. The guys seemed more upset, though, that they weren't getting their usual cocktail party. And the bootees did not seem all that upset at leaving this trainwreck.

Anyway, I made it through 2 hours of this, with very little channel chasing. Now that I've seen the whole appalling thing it is more bizarre to me than ever. What sort of fool thinks this is the way to find a mate? With tv cameras running. In 4 weeks.

I'll admit the show had some amusing moments. Though I think they were all unintentional. Like the bootees were all more interested in hugging the other guys and saying fond farewells to them than they were in saying goodbye to the one who had rejected them. The host of this show is funny too, in that he seems to take it all very serious, almost like it is all part of some weird religion and he's running the church service.

I won't be watching again. Unless I'm in a very foul mood.

Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision

Yesterday, in a blogging suggesting Fort Worth build a Rotating Tower, I mentioned that a current, slow-going project, known as the Trinity River Vision was a likely boondoggle.

Mr. Anonymous commented on the blogging and the reference to "boondoggle" with this:

"The TRV is crucial to the city's future. It's no boondoggle, and it's far more than what you're describing. It will serve as a critically important tool to give new residents an alternative to the idiotic suburban sprawl that cripples our wonderful city."

From Wikipedia, defining Boondoggle---"Boondoggle has come to refer to a government or corporate project involving large numbers of people and usually, heavy expenditure, where at some point the key operators have realized that the project is never going to work, but are reluctant to bring this to the attention of their superiors. Generally there is an aspect of "going through the motions"—for example, continuing research and development—as long as funds are available to keep paying the researchers' and executives' salaries. The situation can be allowed to continue for what seem like unreasonably long periods, as senior management are often reluctant to admit that they allowed a failed project to go on for so long. In many cases, the actual device itself may eventually work, but not well enough to ever recoup its development costs."

Note, I did not say the TRV project was a Boondoggle, I said it would likely become one. Now, why do I think this project may become a Boondoggle? Well. The proposed area is an industrial wasteland. I remember when Tacoma wanted to remove an old industrial plant from the waterfront called Asarco, it became one of the biggest Superfund pollution cleanups ever. I suspect when the bulldozers begin to do their thing and testing of the soil is done, bad things are going to be found.

Another reason I think this is a likely Boondoggle is originally the plan did not call for a flood diversion channel. That was added on so as to justify getting Federal money for the project. The Trinity River flooded badly at some point in the 1950s. After that, dam-like dikes were built to stop that sort of flood from happening again. Now those dam-like dikes are to be taken down due to the diversion channel supposedly being able to handle an epic flood.

Another reason I think this may turn out to be yet one more Fort Worth Boondoggle is I've seen so many since I've been here. The Sante Fe Rail Market Boondoggle where city planners claimed an extremely lame food court type thing was the first public market in Texas and was modeled after Seattle's Pike Place and markets in Europe. Instead it was a Boondoggle.

The Lancaster Avenue Redevelopment Boondoggle. Years ago a section of Interstate 30, that hovered above Lancaster Avenue, was removed, revealing a very run down section of highway, just south of another Fort Worth Boondoggle, that being the Convention Center, where few Conventions take place, and where a city-subsidized hotel is under construction which will likely turn into yet one more Boondoggle, when it fails to cause an increase in Convention bookings.

After the freeway came down the plans were to quickly fix up Lancaster Avenue, with landscaping. But for years it remained a heavily weeded eyesore. In the past year there has been some improvement. But there are still none of the promised restaurants or flurry of other development, except for converting an old building into lofts.

The whole Cabela's deal is sort of a Fort Worth Boondoggle.

The city of Fort Worth taking over the failed Mercado in the Stockyards zone is pretty much a Boondoggle.

So, it's no mystery to me why I think this Trinity River Vision may turn out to be yet one more Boondoggle. Mr. Anonymous said the vision is far more than I described. Yes, I failed to mention that part of the Visioneer's claims is that this will spur residential development, restaurants and other entertainment venues. Sort of the same stuff I read about what would happen with Lancaster Avenue and the Sante Fe Rail Market.

One good thing has been added to the Trinity River Vision, that being sprawling the project all the way to Gateway Park and restoring wetlands.

Now, I really hope the Trinity River Vision does not turn out to be a Boondoggle, I really do. But when you don't put such a thing to a vote of your citizens, when the person in charge of the project is the son of the Congresswoman who represents Fort Worth (this is what is known as nepotism), when you add bogus elements (an unneeded diversion channel), when there are great unknowns (a potential massive Superfund pollution cleanup), you've got a recipe for total Boondoggle.

Or so it would seem to me.

Fort Worth's Rotating Tower

One of beautiful Fort Worth's identity problems stems from the fact that nothing in Fort Worth creates an iconic image that the rest of the nation or world sees and instantly knows it's Fort Worth. No Golden Gate Bridge, Statue of Liberty, Hollywood Sign, Reunion Tower, Riverwalk, Space Needle, Washington Monument, Eiffel Tower, you get the idea.

Fort Worth currently has this likely boondoggle called the Trinity River Vision that copied a bigger vision in Dallas that the citizens of Dallas got to vote on, but which was rammed through in Fort Worth by the Ruling Junta, without the good citizens of Fort Worth getting to vote on the destruction of the historic confluence of the West and Clear Forks of the Trinity River.

The Trinity River Vision is an un-needed diversion channel, a lake and some canals, ala San Antonio's Riverwalk and Oklahoma City's Bricktown. Trumpeted by the Ruling Junta's mouthpiece, known as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, to turn Fort Worth into the Vancouver of the South. Without mountains. Or oceans. A Vancouver of the South, with a canal and a lake. This was the same mouthpiece which trumpeted the party line that Cabela's would be the #1 Tourist Attraction in Texas. Til a month later when one opened by Austin.

So, I'm thinking if Fort Worth is trying to make something cool that might make someone somewhere see an image of it and instantly know it's Fort Worth, well, something tall is the way to go.

This month, in that zone of over the top architecture known as Dubai, a new tower will begin construction. So far the only name I've seen attached to it is The Rotating Tower.

The Rotatating Tower is 59 floors tall. Each of the 59 floors will be able to rotate independently. In between the floors, wind turbines will generate enough power to provide the electrical needs for 10 other towers, in addition to meeting all the Rotating Tower's power needs. There will be 48 wind turbines and solar panels on the roof.

I'm thinking scrap that silly Trinity River Vision and go for something that's not been done in Texas or America before. Fort Worth has plenty of sun, with lots of wind. It's a little weak on stunning views from the windows of those rotating floors, but it's not that weak. I remember the view from the Reata, before a tornado destroyed it, was quite scenic, especially at sunset.

Below is video of Dubai's soon to be Rotating Tower.