Seven Summits On 7 Continents & Mount Baker

You never know when a day begins if you're going to learn anything new that day. Or not. More often than not it's not. Today was a learn something new day.

Earlier today I blogged that my ol' high school classmate, Karen, finally remembered who I was. What a relief.

I'd mentioned something about making websites and Karen then mentioned that her daughter, Danielle, had a website. And gave me the URL.

So, I went to Danielle's website and was pleasantly surprised to learn that she is a news making record breaker. At 20 years old, on June 2 of 2005, when she reached the summit of Mount Everest, Karen's daughter became the youngest person to have climbed the tallest mountain on each continent.

Antarctica is a continent. I'm assuming a mountain must have been climbed there too.

Looking around Danielle's website I learned she was inspired to climb by growing up looking at all those mountains that surround those of us blessed (no longer me) to live in the northwest. Particularly looking up at Mount Baker, which was the first mountain she conquered. With her dad, if I understood correctly.

I've said before I've climbed Mount Baker. But, when I say that, I more mean I've climbed on Mount Baker. But I've never climbed to the top of Mount Baker. That would be scary. I'm an acrophobe. I think the last time I "climbed" Mount Baker was with nephew Joey. Here's a webpage with pictures of that "climb" and Mount Baker.

Canton First Monday Trade Show Starts Today

Who wants a Fried Pie? I'm partial to an Apricot Fried Pie. I've only had one once. At Canton's First Monday Trade Days Flea Market.

When I first learned of the existence of Fried Pies it sounded like a bad thing to me, like when I learned they fry turkeys here.

But, just like I learned with Fried Turkeys, Fried Pies are a good thing. And not greasy. Just tasty.

Today is the start of February's First Monday Trade Days in Canton. The Trade Days are held the 4 days before the First Monday of every month. The First Monday in February is February 2, which makes all of February's First Monday Trade Days take place in January, beginning today.

I have gone to Canton for the First Monday Trade Days 3 times. It is fun but exhausting. I've never seen the entire thing. It's just too big.

You can rent electric carts to haul yourself and your purchases. They are sort of like the electric carts you see at Super Wal-Mart. But there they are mainly used to haul super big people around the Super Wal-Mart. In Canton you see all sorts of people, of all sizes, driving around in the electric carts.

That's a pair of Canton shoppers tooling along at walking speed in electric carts in the photo on the right.

I've not been to Canton for a couple years. The last time was the First Monday Trade Days before Christmas. It was very crowded. I webpaged what I saw that day.

Maybe I'll head east this weekend and go to Canton.

The Case Of The Mistaken Identity

My longtime reader may remember me mentioning, a few days ago, a little incident with something called Facebook that had one of my classmates from high school, Karen, trying to figure out who I was.

Karen went through so many initials trying to narrow it down. Then she finally got to my correct initials. Six of us had the same initials. One by one Karen picked the wrong name. At one point she eliminated me and another "D" and said she'd finally figured it out. That I was the guy you see in the photo.

Yikes! I thought. That guy in the photo was a nice guy. But a real doofus.

At this point in time I was thinking to myself that either my appearance has changed drastically or that Karen has met so many people through the years that some, like me, have fallen out of her memory.

Now, to be fair about it, I'll admit that that picture that I use at the top of my blog doesn't look all that much like me. I was down at Enchanted Rock State Park, it was February, windy and very cold when I snapped that picture with my very old Casio digital camera that cost an appalling, now to look back on it, $599. That camera was bought back in the last century, so you can imagine how low wattage resolution wise it was.

When Karen was making all those guesses as to who I was, I assumed, in addition to the Enchanted Rock photo, she'd also seen the slide show that runs on the right side column of this blog. But she hadn't.

Karen returned yesterday, well-rested, from 3 days in Seattle, and last night realized she'd misread one of my earlier replies, then looked at the blog again, then saw the slide show, then recognized me.

Karen said her next guess would have been David Sutton. I doubt Karen would remember this, but at our 5 year class reunion a guy named Ray was lamenting about how when he first came to our school, in grade school, he was picked on and nicknamed "Nipples." Karen overheard part of this and thought it was I Ray was complaining about. Karen began to sort of chastise me for my bad behavior when Ray told her, "No, he was the only one who stuck up for me." To which I said, "Yeah, it was that weasel, David Sutton who called him Nipples."

I wonder what became of David Sutton? I saw him once, in the late 70s or 80s at this disco called Duffy's. He sat with our group and was being all Mr. Friendly. I think he was talking about being in the army. After about 10 minutes I told him to go sit somewhere else.

The Dallas Morning News' Ice Storm Delivery

Well. I was wrong. In the blogging previous to this one I said I didn't think my Dallas Morning News paper would be able to be delivered this morning due to the coating of ice on the roads.

I was wrong. It arrived. Almost on time. Usually the paper thumps my front door between 6 and 6:30. This morning's thumping occurred about 7.

The sun is up. I am able to look out my window now. Hours of the furnace blowing hot air has melted the ice off the window.

I'll see if I can revive my comatose camera long enough to get an Ice Storm picture....I'll be right back, hopefully with a photo....

Well. That didn't work. My camera appears to be unable to be revived.

So, I used my camcorder to take video and extract a picture. Those never turn out too good. This time was no exception. But you can see the white ice that covers our roofs here in Texas this morning.

I think I'll layer on some clothes and venture out to see if the road out of here is drivable. If not a meeting at noon will likely have to be cancelled.

Well. I'm back from venturing outside to check on how bad it is. I made it to my vehicle to find it covered in ice. The road appears to have about an inch of ice covering it. I saw two vehicles moving, very very slow, on the road. It is quiet out there, almost eerie. Usually it is quite noisy.

Ice Storm Paralyzes North Texas

I doubt I am going to be seeing my Dallas Morning News paper this morning.

It is 21 degrees right now at 6am. I can not see out my bedroom window due to it being covered with ice. Frozen stuff was hitting it for hours last night, making a tinkling noise like a muted wind chime.

Schools of all types, grade schools, high schools, colleges and universities are closed today, or opening late, across North Texas, .

My town, Fort Worth, had 366 wrecks between 8am and 8pm, with 207 of them taking place between 6:30 and 8pm.

In Dallas a man fell to his death on a bridge over the Trinity River when he slipped after getting out of his car after a wreck.

A Crowley man was killed when he slid into a tree near East Loop 820.

The weather has not been kind this year to the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. On Tuesday most of the Stock Show, including the carnival midway, shut down early, or did not open at all. Even though the Stock Show shut down on Tuesday, Stock Show officials say they will open today, regardless of weather conditions. Which does not make a whole lot of sense, due to Wednesday starting off way worse than Tuesday, temperature-wise and ice-wise.

There have been some flights cancelled at D/FW Airport, most by American Airlines. I have a Puerto Rican flying in today on American Airlines. I won't be going to the airport to provide taxi service.

The Texas Ice Storm Cometh

We are heading into what weather service meteorologists are predicting may be the worst Ice Storm we've had here in the Dallas/Fort Worth zone since February 24, 2003.

The temperatures dropped below freezing early this morning. The ground is wet, with more wet stuff falling.

We'll likely be covered by a very slippery coat of ice by Wednesday morning.

The Tuesday evening commute is going to be dicey and icy. DART in Dallas is already having rail delays.

There are already school closures. I just got an email canceling an Arlington Chamber event that was scheduled for tonight.

I made it out and to the Post Office. So far the roads have not slicked up. But there was ice on the stairs and the handrailing, making it a little difficult to navigate.

I found some funny comments on the Dallas Morning New website regarding our incoming Ice Storm...

Henry Hill said---
Now we get another chance to see how Texans can't drive in icy conditions. I love watching them go by me sideways on the Bush Turnpike. If you can't drive on it then stay home so you don't ruin someone else's day.

To which Bobby Joe said----
Henry - If you are on the Bush Tollway, those aren't Texans you are seeing, they are Yankees, Californians, etc. Just like you.

To which Texans Can't Drive said---
Bobby Joe Texans are the worst drivers I have every seen! end of story.

And then Dallas Driver said---
I love how the Yankees criticize Texans winter driving skills. Try searching You Tube for ice driving. Now, that's entertainment. Yankees sliding all over the place. Besides, North Texas doesn't have an army of road clearing equipment. Only a couple dozen sanders for the bridges and overpasses.

Which caused fmlsr to say---
I am a dang yankee that cant find I-35 north and today i am not going to go hunt for it either. smart ppl stay home and watch the dummies slip and slide down the road.

And, finally, Tired of the Yankees said---
I find it very interesting how people who are not from Texas say bad things about Texans - how we are rude, can't drive, etc... Honestly, if it's that awful here - get out of here! No one is making you stay! Go back to wherever you came from. Or could it be that life back there is not all you crack it up to be?! Life around here would sure better once you are done, that's for sure!

Less Than Half Of Lessie Alvarado

That is Lessie Alvarado on the left. Lessie lives in Grand Prairie, Texas. Grand Prairie is a town east of Arlington, west of Dallas. In the photo Lessie weighs 305 pounds.

Nowadays, Lessie Alvarado is truly living up to her name. As in there is way less of Lessie. She now weighs 140 pounds. Less than half the size she was at her biggest. Lessie's weight loss accomplishment is detailed in People's cover story this month, featuring people "Half Their Size."

What motivated Lessie to lose the weight, you can't help but wonder.

Well, during a family trip, with her two kids, to Six Flags in San Antonio, Lessie was all excited to get on a particular ride. She climbed aboard, but the ride would not start, due to Lessie being too big. She was told to get off the ride, which she did, with tears flowing, while the other theme parkers gawked and whispered, adding to Lessie's humiliation, while her husband and brother comforted her. And the kids enjoyed the ride.

In addition to People, Lessie has also been featured on Inside Edition, Entertainment Tonight and the Today Show.

Lessie got to her 305 pound high by sneaking in extra fast food meals. Or she'd sneak in a buffet and then a few hours later her husband would want to go out to eat and Lessie wouldn't admit she'd already eaten. That would be a pattern that would pack on pounds.

Lessie continues to lose weight. Besides eating sensibly and nutritionally, Lessie also took up kickboxing to help with the weight loss. That is the "new" Lessie on the right.

I don't know what type ride Lessie was trying to enjoy that wouldn't start due to someone weighing over 300 pounds. One of those that you go upside down in? A bumper car? I don't know.

I've only seen a BIG person have a "can't get on the ride" type humiliation once. It was at a McDonald's. The BIG person wanted to sit at a high table with high stools. This BIG person tried and tried to pull herself up onto the stool, pulling hard on the table to try and pull herself up. The table being to tremble. I had to insist she stop, lest she injure both of us.

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I should have encouraged her to keep trying, hoping that the table would come crashing down, injuring both of us, with us suing McDonald's for having such dangerous stools and tables.

I think if I had trouble sitting on a stool, I probably would have foregone the chocolate shake, quarter pounder with cheese and fries and started my diet right then, continuing the diet til I could easily sit on a stool.

Gar the Chunky Texan & Contagious Obesity

Earlier today I blogged about going up to Turner Falls with Gar the Texan. Later in the day, Gar took exception to the accuracy of what I wrote.

I had suggested that, due to his butter loving German wife, Gar the Texan had packed on a few pounds and was no longer the skinny Gar the Texan in the Turner Falls pictures.

Gar claimed, "I weigh the same now as I did then."

I then asked for photo documentation with a date/time stamp.

Gar the Texan then pointed me to the picture you see above. To my observant eyes it appears he has packed on quite a few pounds since I last saw him. Even his hair has gotten bigger.

Meanwhile, I listened to Rush Limbaugh for a very short time today. He mentioned some UK Scientist saying that obesity can be contagious. Rush can be so far behind the times. That news has been out there since 2007.

Obesity is not contagious in that there is some virus or bacteria that you catch. Rather it is contagious in that you tend to pick up the bad (or good) habits of those with whom you associate. I did not gain any weight when I was in Tacoma for a month last summer. I had done some heavy duty immunity precautions to prevent any dire weight gain during a month of being exposed to bad habits and obese people.

When I used to hang out with Gar the Texan he was skinny. I would worry about hanging out with him nowadays, what with that obesity being contagious thing. And I do like butter. I had me some today at Sweet Tomatoes. On real good whole grain bread.

Sweet Tomatoes is a very healthy eating type restaurant, that is also tasty.

Unlike my usual buffet haunts, like Zorro's Buffet in Fort Worth, where at least 30% of the patrons appear to be obese, I saw not a single plus-sized person at Sweet Tomatoes today.

An Ice Storm is predicted to be here by morning, with up to an inch of ice. Which means I won't be going anywhere until it melts. The National Weather Service Ice Storm Warning ends at noon on Wednesday. I'm stocked up and can survive 2 days of being stuck.

I hate it when that happens.

Turner Falls In Winter With Gar The Texan

I was scrolling through Picasa looking for pictures of Mount Rainier to go along with one of a Volcano Eruption Evacuation Route sign, when I came upon pictures taken up in Oklahoma, in January, at Turner Falls Park.

The pictures include ones of the illusive Gar the Texan, who does not use photos of the real him on his blog. I understand that several years of marriage to a butter-loving German has added some poundage to the skinny Gar the Texan we see in these photos.

In the first photo Gar the Texan is climbing down some steep stairs at the Turner Falls Castle. This very eccentric, well, castle, was built during the Great Depression.

The day that Gar the Texan and I went to Turner Falls Park in Winter, on the way north, he had the worst case of the vapors I'd seen him have. A Whopper at Burger King revived him. But, even after the revival I was concerned as to what he'd be able to do at Turner Falls Park, due to a lot of climbing and hiking being involved.

There is a cave high up the cliff beside the falls. Gar the Texan was determined to get into that cave, because we'd seen people in it when we looked down on the falls from the overlook. I am a bit of an acrophobe, though my acrophobia is very situational, as in it makes no sense. Get me at the Grand Canyon and I can climb out on some precipitous ledge and not be queasy. But if you mix a waterfall into the steepness, I get wobbly.

So, I followed Gar the Texan higher and higher as we climbed the Turner Falls cliff. The effort came to a point where I did not want to go further, but Gar did, climbing through a hole and then into the cave.

To celebrate his triumphant rock climbing and spelunking, Gar the Texan climbed a pinnacle high above the falls and let out some sort of primal scream that had me, for a second, thinking he was having another case of the vapors.

Honey Creek is what flows over Turner Falls. The water comes out of an underground spring a short distance away. It is very clear water. In summer the water gets nice and warm. In winter, not so much. But there is more of it in winter, making for scary rapids above the falls.

I have not been back to Turner Falls Park since the visit with Gar the Texan. I have been up to Oklahoma, a time or two, and have driven by the exit from I-35 that quickly leads to Turner Falls.

All year long the Turner Falls pages on my Eyes on Texas website are the most visited. Why? I do not know.

Cooking Oatmeal In Texas & Waiting For An Ice Storm

I'm blogging while I wait for my rice cooker to finish making steel cut oats. Did you know a rice cooker works great for cooking oatmeal? I didn't either, til I tried it. You can make grits in the rice cooker too. For you Yankees, grits is this thing us Southerners like with breakfast, or just about any ol' time. Grits is made from corn meal. It's pretty much tasteless, so you melt butter on it or syrup or honey or sorghum or cheese or anything that seems like it'd taste good.

It is a gray, foggy, drizzly Monday here in Texas, with a potential Ice Storm for Tuesday and Wednesday, with the temperature below freezing and with wet, likely frozen, stuff falling. I do not like Ice Storms. I had a butt bruising fall in my first Texas Ice Storm that was my biggest bruise ever, til a few years after that, when I had my worst roller blading fall ever.

I need to get another battery back-up, so a trip to Fry's Electronics in Arlington is on today's agenda. I'll see if my new digital camera is at Fry's. I bought all the parts, for the last computer I built, at Fry's. Fry's is good at making it easy to return stuff that doesn't work right, like my last laptop that blew up soon after being turned on.

After Fry's it's to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. I like Sweet Tomatoes.

I just heard the rice cooker click off. Breakfast is ready.