Doodle 4 Google Won By Texas Girl

A 6th Grade Texas girl named Christin Engelberth, from San Antonio, won a contest called Doodle 4 Google. Kids from Kindergarten through 12th grade were asked to come up with a new logo for Google's homepage.

Because the world and our country are in such a mess Google asked the students to Doodle around the them "What I Wish for the World."

Below is Christin's winning Doodle...

A New Beginning

My doodle, "A new beginning," expresses my wish that in the current crisis discoveries will be made. That in these discoveries solutions will be found to help the Earth prosper once more. That those solutions will help the world get back on its feet, and create a better place for everyone.

Christin Engelberth
Bernard A. Harris Jr High School
San Antonio, TX

A sixth grade Texas girl wrote that? And designed that logo?

Google gave the 3 Doodle finalists a laptop computer.

Miscellaneous Melancholy & Other Woes

I'm being vexed by that Durango Roadtripping Blog I started awhile back. I can see visitor stats on the blogs, as in I can see how many visitors, where they came from, and sometimes, what they were searching for.

I get a list of the most recent 50 visitors. On this blog you are reading right now that list sometimes goes back only an hour or less, meaning more than 50 visitors an hour. At one point, due to some Atlanta Housewife Scandals my TV Blog was getting 50 visitors every 20 minutes or so. I had to turn off the incoming visitor sound effect due to it got way too annoying.

The new blog is the first time I've seen one of my blogs have a visitor/stats list that goes on for days, as in, just a second, I'll see how far back it goes...

"Calgary, Alberta arrived from google.ca on "DURANGO ROADTRIPPING: Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park" by searching for going to the sun highway.
17:34:53 -- 1 day 22 hours ago"

Now, I'll go look at how far the blog you are reading right now goes back...

"Wilmington, Delaware arrived from google.com on "Durango Texas: Biking the Trinity Trail in Fort Worth" by searching for trinity trails biking blog.
12:48:52 -- 3 hours 33 mins ago"

The new blog goes back almost 2 days, this one about 3 and a half hours. Today is not being a very busy day on this blog.

Writing those Roadtripping Bloggings is way too much like being in school and doing homework. I actually have to pay attention and get the info correct.

The search engines have the new blog indexed, the Google Web Tools are now generating what search queries bring up the blog and in what position, the ads started matching the content last week, I guess I'm being impatient. And being boring by writing about this particular subject which is vexing me at this point in time.

East Fort Worth Armed Robbers

I guess I needed something new to worry about. The Fort Worth Police have warned residents of my neighborhood that we are having an armed robber crime spree.

The robbers work as a two man team. One has a gun. They work after 10pm. They wait til you get out of your car and then pounce. We are being advised to be very careful if coming home or leaving after 10pm.

We are also being asked to call the police if we see anyone out after 10pm. I have not personally been a victim of a crime, well, there was that breaking in of my van that did a lot of damage. I forgot about that. There have been a few murders in my neighborhood. And there was that woman who drove home with a guy stuck in her windshield. And Lee Harvey Oswald is buried nearby, but then again, of late, I've decided he was a patsy and didn't do the dirty deed.

I don't remember the last time I got back here after 10pm. Oh, I remember, August 20, 2008, incoming from Seattle, I got picked up in Dallas after 9, didn't get back here til after 10pm.

It being Fort Worth and Texas, a lot of people pack heat here. That's slang talk for carrying a gun. I've never owned a gun. They make me nervous. Maybe if I plan to continue to live in this wild west lawless region I should get over my nervousness and start packing heat.

So, that's been my day in Texas, an afternoon swim in 90 degree temps and keeping an eye out for an armed robber.

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Presents Concerts In The Garden

UPDATE: I WAS OFF A WEEK WITH THE CONCERTS IN THE GARDENS SEASON OPENER. GO HERE FOR THE CORRECTED INFORMATION AND MORE.

I think tonight is the first of this year's series of Concerts in the Garden. Tonight, apparently due to popular demand, someone or something called Mingo Fishtrap will be making music in Fort Worth's Botanic Garden, along with the Fort Worth Symphony.

I don't understand some of the terms, but Mingo Fishtrap is known for its top-notch music which dances a line between "gutbucket soul, N'Awlins' grit-down funk and horn-fueled Motown pop."

I've been to a Concert in the Garden. My first summer in Texas. I was not yet quite used to the heat. Even though the concert takes place after the sun has gone down, it was still way too hot for my comfort zone. Now, I'd likely find it chilly.

The theme the night I went was Star Wars. The Star Wars theme music sounded pretty cool outdoors. People were dressed up like Star Wars characters, though I do not remember seeing a Princess Leia. One would have thought that would be a popular character due to the comfortable in hot temps skimpy outfit.

The night I was at Concerts in the Garden was the first time I ever saw fireflies. Those flying glowing bugs perfectly fit the theme. I tried to find a list of this year's themes and all I came up with was something called Laser Spectacular Night, a Gatlin Brothers Night and I think an Eagles Night, oh, and one called Jailhouse Rock Night. One would think that would mean Elvis, but some other band name was listed.

You can get special seating on chairs near the stage, or sit with the masses on the lawn. We chose the sit with the masses option. You can bring your own food or buy what's available at the concert. If I remember right there were quite a few feeding options.

The concert ends with a fireworks show. And then you go home. I remember by the time the fireworks went off I was no longer hot.

In The Dumps Over Water Pumps

Two days ago I got back here after riding my bike, stepped out of my van to hear a hissing noise mixed in with a sputtering spitting noise. This can't be a good thing, I thought.

I tried to open the hood, but couldn't. I tried to pry it open with a screwdriver. I will admit I am not mechanically inclined. Eventually I got the hood open. The first thing I did then was spray lubricant on the hood latching mechanism. I find spraying lubricant on something that is misbehaving is always my first go to solution. And once more it worked. Now the hood pops open effortlessly.

Now, what did I find under the hood. Well, there was a big hose from which a little pinprick of a hole was allowing water to escape. I went to an auto parts store and got a new hose. Then I found my mechanically inclined friend with tools, Sean, and he replaced the hose. All was hunky dory again.

Until yesterday. On my way back from Arlington I stopped for a walk at the Village Creek Natural Historic Area. When I stepped out of the vehicle I didn't like what I was smelling. I popped up the hood to see water oozing from a new location.

On the drive back here, after the walk, the engine temperature gauge began to move towards HOT during the short 3 miles back here. When I got here, I again lifted the hood to see water oozing from something near the bottom of the engine.

So, I called Juan, another mechanical guy I know and described what I saw. Juan told me my water pump is shot. He's going to replace it for me on Saturday.

It is a good thing to know mechanically minded people. My first car was a 65 Mustang Fastback. Worth a fortune now if in good condition. I got it used for $1,150. That car was nothing but trouble, but it was easy to work on, unlike these complicated modern vehicles.

Over the course of driving that Mustang I replaced the shocks, the carburetor, the fuel pump, installed a sound system,fixed the radiator, did the tuneups and even replaced the water pump. It was all relatively easy to do. But I hated doing it. It's been years since I've worked on a car.

I didn't even know that it was the water pump that was leaking that I was looking at on this currently disabled vehicle.

Dallas Cowboy Stadium Drive-by Shooting Photos

Earlier today I blogged that the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium sort of had its Grand Opening on Wednesday. I'd not seen the stadium, up close, in a couple months, so, today, since I had to be in Arlington anyway, and on Collins Street, I thought I'd drive by and see if I could see those End Zone Plazas where Jerry Jones is going to charge die-hard Dallas Cowboy fans 30 bucks to stand outside the stadium, to sort of have a live, game day experience.

Well, they are still working on the landscaping around the stadium, but the stadium, itself, does appear to be finished. I could see the big end zone glass doors. That's what you're looking directly at in the picture. There is nice looking signage for all the parking lots. I saw at least a dozen parking lots. And new lamposts on Collins Street by the stadium.

A new pedestrian bridge across the creek that runs between the Cowboy Stadium and the Ballpark in Arlington, connects the Ballpark's parking lots with the Cowboy lots. I saw other new paved pedestrian trails along the creek.

There has been none of the hoped for boom in new businesses in the area around the stadium. It's still mostly run-down pawn shops, restaurants, apartments that have seen better days, an awful lot of buildings and businesses that are run-down and have seen better days.

I think the area around the new stadium may generate some negative press when the rest of the country checks out this futuristic giant space ship looking thing that's been plopped down in a run-down American neighborhood.

Speaking of Collins Street (info only locals will understand), the new Collins Street bridge over I-30 looks complete. The new Collins Street eastbound exit is open, so I exited there for the first time, which is the first time I've seen the new bridge up close. Arlington is building, I think, 3 new bridges across the freeway to better connect the entertainment district that is on both sides of the freeway, making it pedestrian friendly.

So, the new Collins Street Bridge is very wide. I think I saw maybe 8 car lanes. And two wide, covered, separated pedestrian sidewalks. Now, what struck me as odd is neither end of this new bridge is near the entertainment district stuff like Six Flags, the Ballpark, the Cowboy Stadium, Hurricane Harbor. None of it. I think Whole Foods may be easily accessed from the north side, maybe. But on the south side this pedestrian access takes you into a neighborhood and Center Street. It made no sense to me. But the bridge looks cool, even though it seems to be mislocated. I would have taken a picture, but traffic did not let that happen.

Arlington's Reservations About Hybrid Vehicles

I went to Arlington this morning, to a Tarrant County Courthouse Sub-Station to get a vehicle registration renewal sticker for my windshield. The parking lot was almost full, I saw some empty spaces facing away from the sun, so I headed towards them.

When I got to the 4 empty spaces I saw they were reserved.

The signs said, "RESERVED FOR HYBRID AND LOW EMITTING FUEL EFFICIENT VEHICLES."

Since I was driving a vehicle that did not qualify for one of those empty spaces, I continued emitting pollution in my non-efficient vehicle, til I found a parking space. That somehow seemed sort of ironic to me.

Back to the registration renewal subject. The Texas method for this is very annoying. Each year you have to replace two big stickers on your windshield, the registration renewal and the emissions test sticker. They are not small stickers. It seems counter-intuitive that the State of Texas makes you put two vision blocking stickers on the thing the driver looks out while he is piloting his vehicle.

In Washington a much simpler method is used. You simply put your new license tabs on your license plate every year. Washington is not quite as polluting as Texas is, so, in the county I lived in I did not have to take my vehicle in for an emissions test. Some areas of Washington, like Seattle, do make you get your vehicle tested. I have no idea where the proof of that testing goes. I would hope common sense prevails up north and it's not a sticker on the windshield.

More irony, just as I'm typing about emissions, WeatherBug went off with an alert, warning that a Level Orange Ozone Alert has been issued. But it appears so clear and blue out there. It must be invisible pollution.

Fort Worth's Natural Gas Is Officially...DIRTY

I just got back from Arlington where I saw an amusing 'environmentally friendly' sign on my way to check out the now finished new Dallas Cowboy Stadium.

I checked email to find fresh incoming from Don Young regarding the Barnett Shale natural gas drilling air pollution.

By the way that's a guinea pig, as in we are all being test animals for the first time ever massive drilling operation in a highly populated urban zone.

Below is the message from Don Young....

The Jig is Up !!!!!! Natural Gas is officially...DIRTY.

The "clean natural gas" myth has been debunked by none other than the State of Texas.

Mike Moncrief, Ed Ireland, Chesapeake, XTO and other environmental criminals were wrong.

Barnett Shale gas is now, officially, just another dirty fossil fuel and a major contributor to DFW smog.

How much?

200 TONS per day !!!!!

Dr. Al Armendariz of SMU, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) all agree that oil and gas development in the Barnett Shale is about equal to all the vehicles in the 9 county DFW Metroplex.

This particular study is ONLY about air quality.

When you factor in the water and safety issues, greenspace destruction and other quality of life issues, natural gas production is a significant endangerment to public health and safety.

Environmental Justice has been denied to people, pets and wildlife in the Barnett Shale.

Now the jig is up.

We are ready for some justice.

Click to read Dr. Armendaiz' press release and TCEQ data results.

New Dallas Cowboy Stadium Open For Business

Some things seem to take forever to get built here, like the little lake, unneeded flood diversion channel and canals that Fort Worth is very slowly trying to see in their Trinity River Vision.

And then there is something like the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium. It seems like just yesterday dozens of homes were taken and thousands of people displaced in what many believe to be the worst case of eminent domain abuse ever to occur in America.

This morning I got a typically ignorant comment to the YouTube video I made that shows what was destroyed to build the new stadium...

"I've lived in Arlington since 1966 and the apartments that were the vast majority of the buildings that were torn down were havens for criminals and crack dealers. That area of town was responsible for the highest total cost of police calls in all of Tarrant County. The last holdout homeowner received $1.5 million for her house. Everyone who lived or owned a business there got paid well. Scandal my ass."

First off, the last hold-out, Evelyn Wray, finally settled for well over $2 million. Second off, not everyone got paid well, several of the homeowners, who's homes were taken against their will, are still fighting in court for more money. Arlington has had to pay out many millions more than they'd originally planned, due to the dozens of court cases. Third off, if this area of Arlington was such a crime haven why would Wal-Mart build the nicest Wal-Mart Supercenter I've ever seen in that location? I'm sure Evelyn Wray and her neighbors love reading their former neighborhood was such a slum.

Before I interrupted myself I intended to say that unlike some public work projects that seem to take forever to get built, the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium seemed to get built at hyper-speed. The new stadium sort of had its Grand Opening on Wednesday.

There was no ribbon cutting. Instead Arlington Mayor Cluck pulled a lever that opened the giant glass doors at the west end's end-zone. Once the doors were open about 1,500 people walked inside. I do not know if any of the former residents, who's homes the stadium was built on, were among the invited guests. Or if any of them are getting free tickets to the first event in the new stadium, that being the June 6 George Strait, Reba McEntire concert.

Cowboy owner Jerry Jones was quoted as saying, "A building like this is beyond anything that me and my family could ever imagine."

If they were unable to imagine it, how did it manage to get built?

The new stadium cost $1.15 billion. Arlington taxpayers paid $325 million of the tab.

Jerry Jones talked about an interesting revenue raiser at Wednesday's door opening. Outside the stadium, past the end zone glass doors, there are end-zone plazas. Jones said they were designed to create an exciting atmosphere during events. He said that fans will be able to buy tickets to hang out on the plazas and the main concourse platforms at the Cowboy games this fall.

So, if you are not one of the 90,000 inside the new stadium watching, Jones says, "This plaza along with the platforms allow us to have as much as 30 and 40,000 people here that come to an NFL football game and be involved, and they may not be paying but $30, $29 a ticket to get that done."

Will people actually pay 30 bucks to mill around outside, watching the game on big video screens, just to somehow feel like you're part of the game? That will truly amaze me if it actually occurs.

Asparagus Cancer Treatment

Alma, the Songbird of the Texas Gulf Coast, constantly sends me interesting tidbits, some word tidbits, some picture tidbits, some video tidbits and other miscellaneous tidbits that I'm not remembering right now.

This morning Alma sent me an article titled "Asparagus for Cancer," printed is a publication called Cancer News Journal in December 1979.

Today is the day I go to Sprouts Farmers Market while I'm up in Southlake. Today I guess I'll get some asparagus if it's available.

Below is the article....

Asparagus for Cancer

I am a biochemist,and have specialized in the relation of diet to health for over 50 years..Several years ago, I learned of the discovery of Richard R. Vensal, D.D.S. That asparagus might cure cancer.

Since then, I have worked with him on his project. We have accumulated a number of favorable case histories. Here are a few example S:

Case No. 1, A man with an almost hopeless case of Hodgkin's disease (cancer of the lymph glands) who was completely incapacitated. Within 1 year of starting the asparagus therapy, his doctors were unable to detect any signs of cancer, and he was back on a schedule of strenuous exercise.

Case No. 2, a successful businessman 68 years old who suffered from cancer of the bladder for 16 years. After years of medical treatments, including radiation without improvement, he went on asparagus. Within 3 months, examinations revealed that his bladder tumor had disappeared and that his kidneys were normal.

Case No. 3, a man who had lung cancer. On March 5th 1971, he was put on the operating table where they found lung cancer so widely spread that it was inoperable. The surgeon sewed him up and declared his case hopeless. On April 5th he heard about the asparagus therapy and immediately started taking it. By August, x-ray pictures revealed that all signs of the cancer had disappeared.. He is back at his regular business routine.

Case No. 4, a woman who was troubled for a number of years with skin cancer. She finally developed different skin cancers which were diagnosed by the acting specialist as advanced. Within 3 months after starting on asparagus, her skin specialist said that her skin looked fine and no more skin lesions. This woman reported that the asparagus therapy also cured her kidney disease, which started in 1949. She had over 10 operations for kidney stones, and was receiving government disability payments for an inoperable, terminal, kidney condition. She attributes the cure of this kidney trouble entirely to the asparagus.

I was not surprised at this result, as `The elements of material medical', edited in 1854 by a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania , stated that asparagus was used as a popular remedy for kidney stones. He even referred to experiments, in 1739, on the power of asparagus in dissolving stones.. Note the dates!

We would have other case histories but the medical establishment has interfered with our obtaining some of the records. I am therefore appealing to readers to spread this good news and help us to gather a large number of case histories that will overwhelm the medical skeptics about this unbelievably simple and natural remedy.

For the treatment, asparagus should be cooked before using, and therefore canned asparagus is just as good as fresh.

I have corresponded with the two leading canners of asparagus, Giant and Stokely, and I am satisfied that these brands contain no pesticides or preservatives.

Place the cooked asparagus in a blender and liquefy to make a puree, and store in the refrigerator. Give the patient 4 full tablespoons twice daily, morning and evening.

Patients usually show some improvement in from 2-4 weeks. It can be diluted with water and used as a cold or hot drink. This suggested dosage is based on present experience, but certainly larger amounts can do no harm and may be needed in some cases.

As a biochemist I am convinced of the old saying that `what cures can prevent'. Based on this theory, my wife and I have been using asparagus puree as a beverage with our meals.

We take 2 tablespoons diluted in water to suit our taste with breakfast and with dinner. I take mine hot and my wife prefers hers cold. For years we have made it a practice to have blood surveys taken as part of our regular checkups.

The last blood survey, taken by a medical doctor who specializes in the nutritional approach to health, showed substantial improvements in all categories over the last one, and we can attribute these improvements to nothing but the asparagus drink...

As a biochemist, I have made an extensive study of all aspects of cancer, and all of the proposed cures. As a result, I am convinced that asparagus fits in better with the latest theories about cancer. Asparagus contains a good supply of protein called histones, which are believed to be active in controlling cell growth. For that reason, I believe asparagus can be said to contain a substance that I call cell growth normalizer. That accounts for its action on cancer and in acting as a general body tonic.

In any event, regardless of theory, asparagus used as we suggest, is a harmless substance. The FDA cannot prevent you from using it and it may do you much good. It has been reported by the US National Cancer Institute, that asparagus is the highest tested food containing glutathione, which is considered one of the body's most potent anticarcinogens and antioxidants.