June 10, 2009 Texas Tornado Thunderstorm

It's coming up on 11. I can see I am going to have another night of insomnia. Though the worst of tonight's storm has been over for a couple hours, lightning continues to strike and thunder continues to roll.

I took video during the worst of the storm with my new Canon camera. Trying to get that video off the camera failed a couple times. I had to do a re-start of the computer to get it to work. And even then it took a long long time. When it was done I saw why. The video was over half a gigabyte big.

After I'd made the video into a movie it was just a bit over 42 megabytes. YouTube is processing the video right now. In the video you'll be watching the storm from my balcony window. In the background you'll hear the nonstop TV weather guy chatter on channel 5. You'll hear mention made of a tornado being spotted.

Big Storm Hitting Knocking Power Out

Power has gone out 3 times. Very windy. Big hail. Picture taken at just before 7. Getting very stormy. TV out.

This is being the worst storm we've had for awhile here in Fort Worth.

I'm hitting the publish button and turning this off.

Wednesday Night Windy Lightning Hail Storm In Texas

I can hear thunder rumbling to the west. I'm seeing lightning flashes in the distance.

The National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning a few minutes ago. It should be here soon. I have already heeded the warning to be in a sturdy shelter and not near a window.

Below is the NWS Warning....

Bulletin - Eas Activation Requested Severe Thunderstorm Warning National Weather Service Fort Worth TX 608 PM CDT Wed Jun 10 2009

* Severe Thunderstorm Warning For, Denton County In North Central Texas, Parker County In North Central Texas, Tarrant County In North Central Texas, Wise County In North Central Texas

* Until 715 PM CDT

* At 608 PM CDT, National Weather Service Meteorologists Detected A Line Of Severe Thunderstorms Capable Of Producing Golf Ball Size Hail, And Destructive Winds In Excess Of 80 Mph. These Storms Were Located Along A Line Extending From 5 Miles East Of Bridgeport To 4 Miles South Of Springtown To 21 Miles Southwest Of Cool, And Moving East At 45 Mph.

* Severe Thunderstorms Will Be Near, Decatur, Weatherford, Reno And Briar By 615 PM Pelican Bay, Azle And Aurora By 620 PM Willow Park, Pecan Acres And Hudson Oaks By 625 PM

For Your Protection Move To A Sturdy Shelter And Stay Away From Windows Until The Storm Has Passed.

If You Are Caught Outside, Seek Shelter In A Strong Building And Stay Inside, Away From Windows Until The Storm Has Passed.

This Storm Has A History Of Producing Destructive Winds And Large Damaging Hail. Seek Shelter Now Inside A Sturdy Structure And Stay Away From Windows!

Insomnia & A Punch Drunk Drive In Texas

Night Two of my latest Insomnia Outbreak was not too bad. I went to bed well past 11 and got up a bit before 4 this morning.

My synapses seemed to be firing with some accuracy, so I was a blogging maniac this morning. I was even able to think clearly enough to figure out two words to play in my ongoing word game with the Scrabble Queen of the State of Washington.

I was a bit concerned to learn this morning that there had been 2 more earthquakes in my zone of Texas. Even though I was awake for a lot of the night, I did not feel the earth move.

My one longtime reader may remember that since it is Wednesday I probably went to Southlake and likely went to Sprouts Farmers Market. My one longtime reader would be right.

I tried to snap pictures of the bizarre "Air Pollution Alert" signs I see each week on Davis Boulevard. I don't quite get what one is supposed to do with these alerts. Right after the first alert that nitrogen tank with a warning sign, that I've mentioned previously, still sits about 5 feet from the road. I tried to snap a picture of the tank when I drove by, but my timing was off.

Due to that sleep deprivation thing, driving was fun, it felt like being punch drunk after 600 miles on a long Roadtrip. Speaking of which, my favorite nephew named CJ, was reading my Roadtripping Blog and a posting I wrote today about White Sands National Monument. I mentioned this was a stop on a trip that led to 4 days at the Luxor in Vegas. My nephew somehow misunderstood and thought I am currently on my way to Arizona and Vegas and asked if I'd pick him up on the way.

Maybe my nephew is being sleep deprived too, hence the confusion.

Two More Earthquakes Hit Cleburne Texas

Yesterday, late in the afternoon, I blogged about a 3rd earthquake shaking Cleburne, Texas, Monday morning, that I did not learn of til Tuesday.

Little did I know, even as I was typing the blogging about Monday's Cleburne quake, that quake #4 was shaking Cleburne with a 2.6 magnitude that shook at 5:16.

The 5:16 pm shaker prompted city officials to call an emergency meeting to hire a geologist to investigate the quakes and their possible cause being the fracturing of the Barnett Shale.

About an hour before the emergency meeting another quake struck at 6:19 pm at 2.1 magnitude.

The mayor of Cleburne, Ted Reynolds, said residents want to know if the earthquakes are related to natural gas drilling in town. I want to know if it is what is causing all the water leaks oozing out of the ground

SEO Spam Scam Watching In Texas

In 2004 I made a website for an older guy up in Tacoma. It was an e-commerce site. This guy was a handful. One thing after another. I made the website deal in August. He flew me back up there the following November. Because they couldn't get their email working. I had his website ready to go live in October. I told him it would take awhile for Google to properly index it. One week later he was whining that he'd had no online sales.

Then someone told him that you to have a certain amount of keywords, and certain meta-tags. I told him that this is no longer the case, that Google and the other search engines make their own judgment about content, that you can get penalized by jimmying the system with bogus meta-tags that did not match the content.

He sold things like Market Spice Tea and Space Noodles. By month 4 I had several of his products Googling at #1 and flying out of the store. This happened not due to doing some tricks with keywords, it happened because I injected a lot of specific content about the products.

Today I got an email from a relative I've not heard from in a long time. Offering to help this very blog you are looking at, telling me "Might I suggest you optimize DurangoTexas.com, Get some relevant ads up there and quit wasting space! Optimize your tags and drive some traffic to the site. It's time to make money!"

I was appalled. He was referencing this blog, but using my Eyes on Texas domain name to reference it. He told me I should at least specify the ads that are running. Which tells me he has no idea what he's talking about. Google generates those ads, the only control I have is placement and whether I want to allow image ads.

I think this blog has over 1400 postings now. Most people come to a single post after this blog shows up in a search.For instance, it shows up high with all sorts of search strings involving the Dallas Cowboy Stadium, and right now, Texas Earthquakes. And unfortunately, The World's Biggest Butt. Which, admittedly, brings up really bad ads.

There is a lot of website info out there with warnings to beware of SEO Spammers. According to one, the #1 indicator that it's a SEO Scam Spam is that they contacted you via email.

Anyway, that's the end of this day in Texas, a SEO Scam Spam from my dear little nephew.

Third Earthquake Strikes Cleburne As North Texas Continues To Tremble

Go here for the latest Cleburne Quakes.

The constant earthquaking here in North Texas has grown so common, I did not know til today that Cleburne was shaken, again, Monday morning, for the 3rd time in a week.

This time the earth moved at 8 am.

Monday morning's Cleburne quake was a 2.3 magnitude, making it less powerful than the previous two.

The latest quake struck about a mile west of Cleburne.

Today, the leak I told you about yesterday, was mostly under control. Today I asked one of the people working on one of the leaks why we are having so much leaking. She told me it's because the ground is moving. I asked, moving from all the earthquakes? She shrugged her shoulders, in a who knows type gesture.

Meanwhile, I think I'll start securing things as if I was still living in the northwest, in anticipation of the big one that may strike North Texas. This daily quaking reminds me way too much of the daily rumbles that led to the eruption of Mount St. Helens. I guess it is a very good thing that there are no mountains in the vicinity of the cracking Barnett Shale.

The Texas Burger Guy & Kincaid's Hamburgers

A few days ago I blogged about a Fort Worth Sacred Cow, Kincaid's Hamburgers, and how I'd never understood the burger worship this place gets and my pleasure at reading others were also perplexed, with a poll showing that there are a lot of people who have thought that this particular Emperor had no clothes, while everyone seemed to be admiring his attire.

Then I got a comment from my most frequent commenter, Anonymous, chastising me for my demonstrably bad taste, after he had trusted my supposed rave review of Zorro's Buffet, to the point that he and his wife went to Zorro's one Friday night, with the subsequent discovery that I have very bad buffet tastes. I felt really bad when Anonymous told me he felt he'd thrown 20 bucks down the drain by following my misguided words.

I feel so bad about it that I'd happily send Anonymous 20 bucks if I only knew his last name and address. Or maybe Anonymous is his last name, I'd need the first name, in that case.

In the interest of fairness, and that really is what I am all about. Being fair. There is a website run by this guy, Texas Burger Guy. He goes around Texas writing very extensive, very detailed reviews about non-chain, Texas burger joints and the burgers, fries, onion rings and other stuff these places produce. The exception to the non-chain Texas burger joint aspect is a review of a McDonald's in Arkansas. Why not a McDonald's in Texas? I don't know.

Texas Burger Guy pretty much gave such a rave review to Kincaid's Hamburger it almost makes me want to give the place a 3rd chance to appeal to my demonstrably bad tastes.

Below is part of what Texas Burger Guy had to say about Kincaid's Hamburgers burger (go here to read the entire review and see pictures of burgers, fries, onion rings and the restaurant).....

Since the very first time I started discussing the TexasBurgerGuy concept with people - EVERY person I spoke to said I had to try Kincaid's in Fort Worth. They claimed it was hands down the best burger joint in Texas. That is a mighty bold statement. Obviously with such high expectations, I was prepared for a royal letdown. I am happy to report that Kincaid's definitely lived up to at least part of the expectations. They do have without a doubt the most unique atmosphere I have EVER witnessed in visiting various burger joints. I'll talk more about this later. As for the burger... mmm mama... it was a big, thick, juicy, 2-handed monster that made me remember why I enjoy traveling around the state enjoying mom and pop burger joints.

An Orchid, Lost Monsters, Foul Moods & Tandy Hills Hiking

My Physical Therapist, Dr. L.C and I have been in a foul mood today for a long list of reasons, with any single reason being good enough for a bad mood. But, all together, it's a Perfect Storm of Reasons for a Bad Mood.

Even though I communed with nature yesterday, Dr. L.C. prescribed solitude with nature, for its possible salubrious benefit, hopefully somewhat mitigating my foul mood.

I needed to go to a location on Beach Street. The Tandy Hills are sort of on the way, so that was my go to choice for peaceful solitude with nature.

However, it was not as peaceful as I would have hoped. At the Tandy Hills I am hiking almost at the heart of a really big city. But it feels like you are not in a city, that you are isolated out in the wild. Because you sort of are. As I carefully picked my way down a steep, rocky slope I heard noises to my right, as if something large was walking in the trees along the creek. Then I saw movement in the trees, along with the noises, very much like when the "monster" blows through the trees on LOST.

It was unsettling, but I continued on. When I crossed the dry creek bed I looked to my right, to where the noise had come from. I hear and see nothing. I continued on walking.

I really wasn't getting that feel good endorphin thing happening, I cut the communing with nature short and continued on to Beach Street. During the communing I did see a delicate new wildflower, it sort of looked like an orchid.

So, that's been my day today in semi-hot 88 degree Texas, up at 4 am, starting up a new blog, gradually developing the aforementioned foul mood, a Doctor prescribed hike, that really did nothing for me, but make me sweat and now I'm back here, typing out my whining to no one.

Only Child Syndrome: The Epidemic Continues

Like I've said before, every day a lot of people come to this blog looking for relief from having to deal with Only Child Syndrome.

The various bloggings have gotten a lot of comments from victims of OCS. And from those who are OCS Deniers. I've previously likened OCS Deniers to Holocaust Deniers.

I've gotten a few comments from Only Children. Some admitting to suffering from the Syndrome, others denying its existence, others verbalizing in stereotypical Only Child Syndrome fashion.

Some of the commenters, like two of yesterday's Anonymouses seem very earnest, yet also sound as if they've not actually read the blogging to which they are commenting, or somehow missed the drift.

Below are the 2 Anonymouses comments, with links to the blogging they are commenting on...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Only Child Syndrome Strikes Again":

One only child is not like every other only child so do not get stuck in grouping them all together. You limit your ability to expand your horizons and accept others for who they are when you label and classify people. There are plenty of people out there that are insulting, disrespectful, troublemakers and are manipulators and has nothing to do with with their birth order or with being an only child - it is a choice!

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Only Child Syndrome":

Yeah, only children are the bane of society. We should exterminate all of them, because they're all exactly how you described. All of them. At least you aren't stereotyping.

And thank God you were lucky enough to not be an only child and too bad for those poor bastards with parents who had only them because they couldn't afford more children, they couldn't have more children, they simply were smart enough to know they shouldn't have more children for whatever reason, they had other children who died, they died, whatever other scenario. You are SO lucky. The rest of us are just selfish, I guess.

There is an Urban Dictionary website. The Urban Dictionary entries for Only Child Syndrome are amusing, and seem rather on target....

ONLY CHILD SYNDROME

1. A terrible disease that typically effects only-children, but can occasionally strike people with siblings. It may also effect children whose parents divorce.

Symptoms include: playing mind games with members of the opposite sex, a crippling desire for instant gratification, the inability to compromise or share, and a total disregard for anyone's thoughts or feelings but their own.

2. The self-centered attitude and actions that a large percentage of people with no siblings make their calling card.

3. Only children sometimes exhibit characteristics resembling women who have their periods. This can occasionally lead to flashes of intense anger when they don't get their way or someone insults them even the slightest bit. Also, when there is dissent in the friendship ranks which they are a part of, they lash out and try to make the other friends seem more culpable and especially more gay than they are. They have an overwhelming feeling that the world is against them and they tend to ruminate a lot as well. When you factor girls into the picture with an only child, it is never a pretty sight.