Dallas/Fort Worth Drivers 2nd Most Angry Road Ragers

I don't know who did the survey, but the results somehow determined that New York City drivers are the worst Road Ragers in America.

25 Metropolitan areas were surveyed. The #2 location for angry, aggressive, tailgating, horn honking, overreacting, temper losers is my current location of Dallas/Fort Worth.

I have been accosted by a Road Rager or two in Texas. Just a few days ago someone got quite agitated at me because I'd stopped in the middle of an intersection to take a picture of a spouting leak.

If I'd been taken that picture in Baltimore, Sacremento, Pittsburgh, Cleveland or Portland I likely would not have gotten yelled at, due to those towns being the top 5 with the most courteous, considerate drivers.

I don't know what makes these Texans in D/FW so angry. It could have something to do with the heat. We are expected to hit 100 tomorrow.

I'm feeling a bit angry and aggressive today. I have not felt any rage on the road though. I did get a bit agitated at Wal-Mart due to seeing this woman in super short shorts and a top barely covering her top, with a big belly button adorned by a piercing. She was not fat, but she was super homely, with a pimply face and stringy hair. Why does such a person bother to get a belly button pierced? I don't get it.

I'm also agitated due to having been up since 4 am. I was in the pool this morning while it was still dark. That was a bit odd. Then I turned into a webpage making machine again. Then around 8 am I realized I needed to alter every page on my humongous Eyes on Texas website, removing elements that only Internet Explorer displays, which look odd on other browsers.

To make the fix involved 5 changes on each page, with each change involving multiple mouse clicks. I figured I could go through the entire website in 2 hours. I was wrong. It took til past noon. My mouse clicking hand is worn out. If I were to drive anywhere right now the slightest little thing might set me off with an explosion of Texas-worthy Road Rage. I say might, because it's never happened before, no matter how cranky I am.

Downwinders At Risk in Dallas/Fort Worth

It really is a miracle that somehow there are not 100s of us Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplexers dropping dead daily from breathing the air here. We've got Barnett Shale gas drilling operations that apparently spew more bad stuff into the atmosphere than all the vehicular traffic in D/FW.

And then there are the cement kiln spewers that pump bad stuff, like mercury into the air that we breathe, along with a lot of other bad things, like soot and hydrochloric acid.

I know it's short notice, but tomorrow, Wednesday, June 17th, at the Grand Hyatt in DFW International Airport inside Terminal D the Environmental Protection Agency will take public testimony from 10 am til 8 pm. The EPA is working on some new federal rules that might decrease some of the most dangerous types of pollution being spewed by cement plants.

In a surprising twist, the cement industry is lobbying against any new rules that might force them to clean up the air and so they are working hard to thwart President Obama's EPA's first attempt at reigning in some of America's worst polluters.

Go to the Downwinders at Risk website for more information.

Roy Orbison Festival This Weekend In Wink

My West Texas Corespondent, Jammin Mole, has told me that this coming weekend, June 19 & 20, the 20th Annual Roy Orbison Festival is coming to Wink.

The festival will feature a California Rockabilly Boogie group called Truly Lover Trio.

On Friday the Pretty Woman Contest takes place. I'm pretty sure Jammin Mole will be the winner of that contest.

On Saturday the festivities start off at 9 am with a parade, likely featuring the winner of the Pretty Woman Contest. There will also be an antique car show and flea market.

Then, Saturday evening, Wink's main drag gets closed to traffic for a street dance and concert.

Big crowds are expected for the Roy Orbison Festival. There is plenty of parking. Please be careful when driving in the Wink vicinity. Sinkholes are known to suddenly appear. If Wink's infamous ghosts worry you, you needn't be concerned. The Wink ghosts are all friendly.

Swimming & Hiking All Over Big Bend Country

I got up a bit early this morning, about 5. Then after my early morning skinnydip I turned into a webpage making machine til about noon.

I have not gotten around to getting my bike wheel fixed, so my only aerobic outlet is on my feet. I don't go roller blading when it gets over 90. I've had too many incidents.

The humidity has dropped a bit from yesterday, so I did not overheat as much as I did yesterday, whilst hiking the Tandy Hills Natural Area. All the rain from a few days ago has really amped up the jungle-like foliage in parts of the Tandy Hills. My camouflage cargo shorts almost blend in with the jungle.

I mentioned earlier that I had gotten back to a project I started a long time ago, that being webpaging The Regions of Texas. It's a daunting task. Currently I am in Big Bend Country. Some call this West Texas.

Today I have been to Alpine, Balmorhea, the Big Bend National Park Area, Del Rio , El Paso, Fort Davis, Marfa and Wink. Like I said, it's exhausting.

I'm off to Fort Stockton now and Paisano Pete, he being the world's largest roadrunner.

Wink Texas Ghosts, Sinkholes & Roy Orbison

My West Texas Eyes On Texas corespondent, Jammin Mole, has been sending me pictures from West Texas for my humongous Regions of Texas Project that has been tormenting me for a year.

Actually, it has been tormenting me for a bit less than a year. A year ago this coming July 20 I flew up to Tacoma for what turned into a torturous lost month. Prior to leaving I'd built the website framework for my Regions of Texas Project. I brought the reference materials north with me and my intention was to make 5 to 10 webpages a day.

By the time I escaped Tacoma I'd been so traumatized that I'd totally forgotten about my Regions of Texas Project. When I got back here I was more interested in regaining my sanity than working on that website project. And so it remained way in the back of my mind for months and months.

And then last week I was looking at my Google webstats and I saw that the few pages of that project that I had gotten done were doing real well. I had not noticed. I have an awful lot of webpages to try and keep track of. That and I forget things.

So, I'm currently in what's called Big Bend Country. That is where Wink is. Wink is both famous and infamous. Wink is a very little town, it's seen better days. Wink was Roy Orbison's hometown. There is a little Roy Orbison Museum in Wink that you can visit by appointment.

Wink needs to have someone make the town a statue of Roy Orbison, similar to what Lubbock has done for Buddy Holly. And maybe someone could make better signage for the Roy Orbison Museum and for the sign that says "The Original Home Site of Roy Orbison."

Wink is also known for its Sinkholes. There are two of them. The first Sinkhole sank on June 3, 1980. Then, almost 22 years later, to the day, an even bigger Sinkhole sank. And now there is a sagging in the ground, near Wink, that geologists say will become Wink Sinkhole #3.

My West Texas Wink Corespondent tells me that locals travel about Wink in pairs. One car following another with about a 100 foot gap. If the ground sinks underneath car #1, car #2 is supposed to get help, and vice versa if car #1 sees car #2 disappear in the rear view mirror.

That is Wink Sinkhole #2 in the Sinkhole picture.

Little Wink is also famous for being really HOT. As in Wink is often the HOTTEST spot in Texas and the entire country.

Wink is also known for its ghosts. There are several Wink ghost stories. The Wink ghosts are nationally known. By those who pay attention to such things.

So, for a little town of less than 1000 people, Wink has a lot going on. Ghosts, Roy Orbison, record breaking temperatures. And giant Sinkholes.

The Iraqi/Nigerian Scam Targeting A Gullible Texan

I've gotten the Nigerian email scam many many times. There have been a few variants over the years, but, til today, they have always been African.

I've figured these scams must work, otherwise they would have long ago disappeared from the Internet.

Reading the Wikipedia article about the Nigerian Scam, apparently it is quite a little industry in Nigeria and has been for quite some time.

And now Iraq is getting in on the act. Or maybe it is Nigerians posing as an American major in Iraq who somehow came into possession of $45 million of Saddam's money.

Below is the scam email. One would have thought the scammer would have properly spelled "good luck." And properly signed the major's name....

Dear Sir,

I am Major.scott J.wright, an American soldier in peace keeping force in Iraq, I am serving in the military of the 1st Armoured Division in Iraq, as you know insurgents everyday and car bombs are attacking us.

We managed to move funds belonging to Saddam Hussein's family in the tune of USD$ 45 Million Dollars in cash. We want to move this money to you, so that you may keep our share for us till when we will come over to meet you.

You are to take 40% of the total 45 Million Dollars and keep 60% for me and my partners. Please No strings attached, we plan on using diplomatic courier and shipping the money out of Iraq in three large silver boxes using diplomatic immunity.

The boxes can be shipped out in 48hrs,so If you are interested kindly send me an e-mail signifying your interest including your most confidential telephone numbers for quick communication, then we can send to you the shipment details and the fright number and labels.

goodluck,

major.scott J.wright.

Natural Hiking At The Tandy Hills Natural Area & Whataburger

Apparently today is Au Naturel Day in Texas. So, after this morning's refreshing skinnydipping and way too much time clacking on a keyboard, and even though the Heat Index was 92, I decided that it was likely that the Tandy Hills had dried out from our recent deluge, so I went to the Tandy Hills Natural Area for some natural hiking.

It was HOT. The humidity has dropped, so it was not quite as HOT as yesterday. At noon, on a Sunday, when it's this hot, you have the Tandy Hills to yourself. Except for noisy birds.

I saw a few diehard wildflowers today, but most of the color has left the prairie.

A long time ago I blogged about Whataburger after Alma, the Songbird of the Texas Gulf Coast, sent me a disturbing email about her Whataburger experience. The last few days I've been getting rather detailed comments from Whataburger employees, pretty much guaranteeing that I am never going to ever experience what a burger Whatburger makes.

Speaking of lunch, mine is done. Time to eat it. Talk to you later.

Sunday Morning Texas Skinnydipping Before Church With President John Quincy Adams

It is 10 am, Sunday morning. The humidity is at 64%, the temperature is 80. The Heat Index is 83. We are gradually burning off the excess moisture that has us being way too humid here in my zone of Texas.

Yesterday, when the Heat Index was 104, I went in to Wal-Mart. It was like walking into a refrigerator. Icy. And then walking out of the refrigerator, back into the hot, humid air, it was instant sticky. I am not a fan of instant sticky.

I did my usual Sunday morning skinny dip later than usual. Which made the moon a bit more faded than normal and the sun a bit brighter.

I'm always getting asked if I have had any embarrassing skinnydipping incidents. The only one I can think of was at my previous abode, the meter reader showed up in the back yard while I was au naturel. I think the meter reader was more embarrassed than I was.

Did you know one of our Presidents was a skinnydipper? John Quincy Adams liked to take a daily skinnydip, weather permitting, in the Potomac River. John Quincy had a couple embarrassing skinnydipping incidents.

One involved a female reporter named Anne Royall. Adams had over and over again refused interview requests from the woman, she being the first female professional reporter in America. When Ms. Royall learned that Adams skinnydipped in the Potomac virtually every morning at 5 am, she went to the river, waited for the President to get in the water and then sat on his clothes until he answered all her questions.

Another time, while the President was skinnydipping in the Potomac, a bum stole his clothes. President Adams stayed in the river for almost an hour, til he saw a boy walking by. He hollered at the boy to go up to the White House and ask Mrs. Adams to send down a new set of clothes for the President. About 20 minutes later the boy came back with a servant carrying clothes for the President.

I don't know if President Adams continued his Potomac River skinnydipping after that. I suspect he continued.

Walking The Dog At The Gateway Park Sauna In Fort Worth

Well, there seems to be a lot of concern regarding my failing health as evidenced by my headache epidemic. As in someone emailed me inquiring as to my current status.

I am happy to report I am currently headache free.

Going swimming this morning did nothing to help my head pain. But going walking sometime after noon did have a salubrious effect. Possibly this salubrious effect was due, in part, to the natural sauna we've got going on here today in Tropical Texas. It is 94 with the high humidity making a Heat Index of 104. It felt like 114 to me.

To do my walking today my only choices were Oakland Lake Park, Quanah Parker Park or Gateway Park. Village Creek Natural Historical Area is still closed due to flooding. I don't like walking at River Legacy Park, and I'd just been to Veterans Park 2 days ago and Oakland Lake yesterday. It'll take a few days for the Tandy Hills to dry out.

So, the walking choice was Gateway Park. I had an ulterior motive. I wanted to take a picture of the long abandoned sewage treatment plant that Fort Worth wants to turn into an amphitheater. About a year ago I discovered the old treatment plant. I did not know, then, what it was. It looked liked an old fort with guard towers. It reminded me of Fort Casey in my old home state of Washington. Fort Casey is a Spanish-American War era fort.

While I thought the treatment plant looked like a fort, I could not imagine why a fort would be in such a location. Then I decided it must be an abandoned jail. Sewage treatment plant did not cross my mind as a possibility.

Today I was unable to get through the cyclone fence that guards the perimeter of the jail/fort/treatment plant. Previously there were several breaks along the fence. It has now been made impenetrable again.

I was hoping that the Trinity River would be running a lot of water due to the deluge two days ago. But it was only slightly higher than the norm. We are looking at the Trinity in that picture at the top, when the water is running high that area turns into rapids.

Gateway Park was very busy today. Several girl softball games were being played. At noon. With a heat index of 104. It looked miserable. Spectators watched from the shade of trees. No one sat in the uncovered stands.

Fort Woof had a lot of dogs running around. Have I mentioned before that Dog Fancy magazine, whatever that is, has picked Fort Woof as the #1 Dog Park in America? We are very proud of that here in Fort Worth. Having the #1 Dog Park in America is the first time in history Fort Worth has been #1 in anything. There was talk of having a city wide celebration, but none materialized.

A Saturday Morning Headache In Texas

Yes, that is me this fine Saturday morning. My one longtime reader may recall me mentioning yesterday that I'd come down with a headache, 2 days in a row, and how this used to happen to me all the time, but has not for a long time. With me crediting Texas with the cure.

When I used to have headaches, the worst were the ones that continued for days, as in go to bed with a headache, wake up with a headache. When your head aches that bad it is pretty much all you can think about. And then when it finally goes away it is such a relief and you feel so good.

My only multi-day bout I can remember in Texas happened in July of 2001. I drove solo up to Washington for my mom and dad's 50th. I was barely 100 miles in when a headache started up. By the time I got to Pueblo, Colorado, for that day's pitstop, I had a blinding, eyes weeping, throbbing headache. The next morning I was still throbbing. On into Wyoming my head ached. I was hoping the All You Can Eat KFC Buffet in Rawlins, Wyoming would cure me. But, no buffet, it was summer, tourist season and all the fast food joints in Rawlins had long lines. I ended up finding food in a grocery store and continued on, stopping at Little America for coffee. And then, as I descended into Utah, to the Great Salt Lake Basin, the drop in altitude seemed to melt the headache away. By the time I got to that night's pitstop in Twin Falls, Idaho, I felt great. I remained headache-free for the rest of this trip.

This morning when I woke up and found my head was still aching I thought floating in the pool might cure it. It did help, but no miracle cure. I will say this in my headache's defense, this current pain in my head is not nearly as bad as the epic bad headaches of the past. I'm just hoping this isn't some sort of new trend and that I'm not sliding down some slippery slope that ends with me being a chronic aching head sufferer again. Because that will make me very cranky. Me being cranky is not a good thing.