Early Sunday Morning Swimming & Twittering

As you can see it was well before the dawn of a new Sunday that I was out and about and wet. I got up way too early this morning. As in before 4.

Twitter continues to perplex me. This morning I read an article about how Twitter has zoomed to being a powerful tool that has altered how information is shared.

This morning I installed a Twitter add-on called Twitter Local. This lets me see, in real-time, what people are Twittering within a certain distance of a location. As in I have Twitter Local set to within 15 miles of 76124, that being my zip code.

What I'm seeing is a surprising number of disturbing people within 15 miles of me, busily typing nonsense, to whom or for whom, I don't know. This being the Buckle of the Bible Belt, and Sunday, there is a lot of religious Twittering.

As in....

Read a few bible stories to my son at bedtime. He asked if he could sleep with it...1st thing this morning he wanted to read more. :)

And...

Come spend some time with Me, let us fellowship together. I love you.

And...

off to worship w Venture Community in Denton - first service! Exciting when God is doing a new thing . . . be encouraged.

And...

Send a prayer out for me, work on Sundays so can't make. I listen to church on the radio every Sunday. Know it's not the same.

But then there are some non-religious Twitterings, as in...

Just when you think you grilled a phenomenal meal last night, you're awakened by the screaming jalapenos knock-knocking on your chamber door.

And this one...

don't think that Men in Relationship or Married Men should be at Strip Clubs. Just my personal opinion. LOL

Well, that is more than enough of that. Interesting that the Buckle of the Bible Belt has the world's highest per capita number of strip clubs, while my old home state of Washington, with the nation's lowest % of churchgoers, has very very very few strip clubs. And none of the sleazy Texas sort.

After typing the above I thought it'd be interesting to see what's being Twittered within 15 miles of my 98233 location in Washington.

Well. There is not a single word of religious Twittering going on within 15 miles of my old zone. I'm seeing way more polysyllabic words and complete sentences than I am in my current zone of occupation. The closest thing to a spelling error is Angie used "u" for "you." One Twitterer got back at 3 am from watching 2 movies at a drive-in. Where is there still a drive-in up there? The 2 I remember have been gone for years.

Okay, time to do something constructive now.

The Tandy Hills Are Not A Sanctioned National Naturist Day Location

Everyone disappointed me on going to Wildwood Naturist Resort today to be part of the national effort to break the world record for most people skinnydipping at one time.

I don't know, and it had not occurred to me to wonder, what country currently holds the coveted skinnydipping record? Russia? Sweden? An African country? Canada?

After Jammin Mole jammed my last hope that someone was going to go to Decatur with me, I took my sad, sorry, lonely self to the Tandy Hills Natural Area. I was there before the 2 in the afternoon national take off your clothes time, so I kept mine on.

But, now that it is a minute before 2, I am participating in spirit, if not in person. Sadly I won't be counted by the Guinness people. I am not at a sanctioned location.

There are few things sadder than a kite killed by a tree, particularly if it is one of those fancy, complicated kites. A big tree in the Tandy Hills had captured a nice one today, as you can see in the first picture.

For weeks now there have been these fragile looking, but obviously not, purple wildflowers that continue to look fresh and new, in spite of the daily assault of HOT and no water.

Don Young gave me some good anti-cockroach advice today. I need to get me some Geckos. I thought I had some in here already. But I'm not all that savvy with my lizard identifying. Or I can find non-pesticide treatments at Marshall Grain. I know where that is.

Jammin Is Flying In To Go To Wildwood Naturist Resort With Me

As you can see, I was in the pool way after the sun came up this morning, with there being so much sun that sunglasses were required.

My Wildwood date bailed on participating in today's attempt to break an important world record. Jammin Mole is trying to make it here in time, as a last minute replacement.

My coffee was cockroach-free this morning. That always starts the day on a good note.

I will likely end up participating in today's event, but in a non-sanctioned location, like my usual Saturday hike to the top of Tandy Mountain.

Speaking of breaking records, my Google ads made the most $ ever yesterday. I've no idea why. It was spread all over the place. The Parker County Peach Festival was yesterday, so that accounted for some of it, I guess.

I just got a message from Jammin Mole:

"It just so happens that I have Midland Oil Tycoon friend with a private jet...just spoke with him, he said no problem, he can have me there by 1:45PM...once I arrive how do I contact you?"

1:45 would be too late. Maybe it would work if he could fly Jammin to the Decatur airport. I may be going to Wildwood Naturist Resort after all...

United Breaks Guitars

I was sent a not quite ready for prime time new blog to inspect. Today's blogging, in the new blog, had an amusing YouTube video that is only 3 days old and going viral. I thought I'd help do my little part in contributing to the virality.

I love how there are so many ways, anymore, to smack back when something or someone does you wrong. Like when WaMu melted down and messed up my account for a week. Or when Wal-Mart had the gall to overcharge me for milk over and over again by two cents. Or when someone in Tacoma turns into a toxic Jabba the Hut.

Apparently United Airlines claims that the guitar was not packed in a proper guitar case. That had it been, it would not have done the guitar any harm when the luggage loaders tossed it around in full view of passengers and the guitar's owner.

And, how did United Airlines know what type case the guitar was in? After the complaint was made did they send an inspector to look at the case? I know someone who had a similar experience, only with American Airlines. That was over lost luggage. She never got any compensation. Just a run around.

Avoiding Hot Texas Sun By Walking Under Oak Trees At Village Creek

After a way too long flusterating morning I had to get out of here and away from anything with a non-human memory.

We are under a Level Orange Air Pollution Alert here, advised to avoid the air as much as you can.

I accept it as fact that there is some air pollution out there, but it has never remotely reached the level I've experienced in years past in the Los Angeles zone, where it'd cause my eyes to sting. The air pollution here does not cause a disturbing distant haze, like it can in the Puget Sound zone, when you look north towards Vancouver, or south towards Seattle.

With the health warnings in mind I decided to go to a shady spot and walk under the green protection of giant oak trees, so I went to Village Creek Natural Historical Area. I saw 3 other humans, all on bikes. No snakes, armadillos, panthers, tarantulas or alligators.

The only wildlife that I was aware of today, at Village Creek, I was unable to see, but I could hear them. Those noisy cicadas doing their mating chants.

One of the humans on a bike, it being one of those recumbent bikes, startled me bad, coming up behind me. I jumped, he said, sorry.

There was very little water running in Village Creek, a sad sign of the drought we are having here. The pond with the overlook deck, where water moccasins and turtles live peacefully together, is pretty much dried up. I've never seen it like this.

When I got back to my current location there was a message from Jammin Mole. She seems to think I need to get the exterminator back in here, if I'm getting cockroaches in my morning coffee. Cockroaches in my morning coffee are the least of my worries. That sort of stimulating moment is just a welcome diversion from a less stimulating reality.

Remember, tomorrow at 2 in the afternoon we go for the Skinny Dip World Record.

Another Quake Strikes Cleburne

I don't think I've mentioned the last couple Cleburne quakes. When something unusual starts seeming like the same old thing, over and over again, it tends to start to seem less noteworthy. But it shouldn't. All these earthquakes, where previously the ground did not shake, is disturbing.

This morning's 2.0 ground cracker shook about 27 miles south of Fort Worth, a bit before 7 this morning.

Last week, up near where I lived in Washington, there was a 3 or 4 point quake. I am almost absolutely certain the Washington earthquake was not caused by Barnett Shale gas drilling.

The Dallas Cowboys have banned drilling under their new $1 billion plus stadium because the thing weighs 805 million pounds. Earthquakes could do all sorts of bad things to the stadium. Or it could sink into a giant sinkhole, like they have in Wink.

So, Don Young raised a very interesting point. How much do all the buildings in downtown Fort Worth weigh? Drilling is taking place under downtown Fort Worth. People live and work in downtown Fort Worth. If drilling is too dangerous for a seldom used football stadium, should not an equally cautious policy be in place to protect downtown Fort Worth and those who live and work there?

It's perplexing.

Befuddled In Texas By Oklahoma Casinos

So far today, this second Friday of this year's July, things have not gone well. Up to the point where I tried to go up to Oklahoma to a couple casinos, those being the WinStar World Casino and the Riverwind Casino, I was having me a good day.

I was in the pool early, the water about the same temperature as the air. I just remembered, the bad Friday started off bad way before the pool. I must have temporarily blocked the trauma from my memory.

I got up, made coffee and about 5 minutes later was sitting in front of the computer monitor. I took a sip of coffee and something other than coffee floated into my mouth. I spit it out. I could not find whatever it was. My worst case scenario is it was a cockroach. But I found no evidence.

So, a couple hours after possibly having a cockroach in my mouth, I decided to make some webpages about Oklahoma casinos. I make these things for purely non-altruistic reasons. Usually I whip them out, slap ads on them and am done with it. But it was one screw up after another. Like the Riverwind Casino. A couple weeks ago I'd made a webpage about Riverbend in Oklahoma. I kept changing Riverwind to Riverbend. You would think this is no big deal, but after you've slapped the wrong name on multiple pages, it is a big deal.

And then, somehow I put the Riverwind info on the WinStar page, and vice versa. That also sounds like no big deal, but trust me, it was very befuddling.

I made a map for the Riverwind one. After it had uploaded I saw I'd turned it into Riverbend. This involved re-doing the map in a photo program. Sounds like no big deal, and it did only take about a minute, but it's just the making the same mistake over and over again thing is annoying. Very annoying.

I have not been up to the WinStar since its name change from plain ol' WinStar to WinStar World Casino. I knew they had expanded the thing, but I had no idea it is now the world's 5th biggest casino. I really have trouble believing that. I have been in some pretty big casinos.

I'd not been in the WinStar since several years ago when Chris, then living in Ada, met me there to go to the buffet. At that point in time the WinStar building was a tent-like building. It looked very cheap. Now it looks like real buildings. And is huge. Themed, with 6 of the 10 casino plazas making like you are in a foreign city. You can walk from Vienna to Rome to Madrid to Paris, then cross the channel to London, before you take a long flight to Beijing.

The new WinStar sounds sorta fun. But I know I'd be disappointed and regret it later. I always am and I always do. Usually. I think maybe I'll go hike the Tandy Hills and see if that improves me foul mood.

The WinStar is not far from my location. About an hour and a half drive, a mile across the Red River and the Oklahoma border. Below is a video that takes you on a virtual tour of the WinStar World Casino. Who wants to meet me there for lunch?

Megan Jones Guest Blogger: Texas Toll Road Debate

A few weeks ago Megan Jones, no relation, emailed me asking if I ever had Guest Bloggers or accepted contributions, or something like that.

Megan gave me some examples of her blogging and her website, which is about nursing colleges. I really did not see a connection between this Blog and Megan, but I replied, telling her that she seemed to be very medical advice oriented, while my Blog is all over the place, sometimes about my day in Texas, or something else in Texas. Or elsewhere. Or just about me being annoyed about something. Or someone.

I told Megan she could send me a sample blogging that she thought fit in with my blog. I got that sample blogging this morning. She is writing about something I've paid no attention to. Or know anything about. That being a debate here in Texas over toll roads.

Anyway, below is the Megan Jones Guest Blogging in its entirety....

Toll Road Debate

Recently, toll roads have become a big deal for legislation for Texas lawmakers, as a special session has been called in order to re-authorize the ability for the Texas Department of Transportation and regional mobility authorities to partner with private companies to build and operate toll roads. Toll roads are remarkable inventions that serve to cost us more money as taxpayers while still allowing us to get stuck in traffic. The only way to avoid such traffic is to purchase a toll tag which simply allows you to pay for the toll via credit card, rather than millions of quarters. However, toll roads have served their purpose in allowing us to get to certain places around large cities without directly traveling through the city and thereby encountering more unneeded traffic.

This new bill would in effect afford protection to Texans while allowing an important financing tool for roads, which is desperately needed in these economic times. One project in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is classified as a comprehensive development agreement though does not involve a private company. In order to finance this endeavor, a tolled segment is included although it is backed by public revenue, not bonds. The toll revenue will therefore support several other projects as well as support upkeep on the road. Toll roads are tricky piece of legislation to pass because of the limited use which they get across the state. Smaller towns and areas are not faced with a continuous usage of the roads, which are typically placed in larger cities like Houston and Austin. These tolls are a god-send for the citizens of the area and allow them to navigate around the city at an easier pace then they would have otherwise.

This bill has gained a lot of press recently because it is one of the most hotly contested issues in the state, as many funds are needed to finance increasing road projects. Incorporating public and private companies into one sphere to complete these projects seems to be the most logical conclusion, although many lawmakers are skeptical over the ability to attract private businesses to invest. With the economy on a seemingly downturned spiral, it becomes important to question whether or not companies will be willing to invest in such a major project when they have their own finances to worry about. Texas is one state that has fared for the better throughout the recession due to the many revenues that the Gulf Coast brings in, although this has been slowly changing as the economy has not repaired itself as speedily as many national lawmakers would have liked. While toll roads are one way to aid in boosting revenue across the state, many more sessions need to be called in order to counteract the impending economic woes and thereby allow citizens to go on leading their carefree lives.

This post was contributed by Megan Jones, who writes about the nursing colleges. She welcomes your email feedback.

Fort Worth Town Talk Part 2

Yesterday I blogged about going to Fort Worth's Town Talk surplus store. I didn't quite know what to make of it.

Then this morning Don Young commented on that blogging, telling me he got raspberries and blackberries at Town Talk. I'd seen absolutely no produce. I figured this was a function of my chronic problem with being un-observant.

So, after burning some calories hiking to the summit of Mount Tandy I had to be on Beach Street again. I decided to check out Town Talk again and see if I could find the mysterious produce section.

I'd walked right by it on yesterday's visit. It's a walk-in cooler. A very, very cold walk-in cooler. There were a lot of raspberries, blackberries and strawberries in there. And papayas, oranges, Roma tomatoes and likely several other things I'm not remembering. I never can bring myself to buy raspberries or blackberries. They are free in Washington, particularly blackberries. And they are really good. 99 cents for a little container of blackberries just seems bizarre to me. Strawberries I have bought here, if they look and smell good. I had to buy strawberries up in Washington, too, though I did try to grow my own. That did not work out so well.

However, those Town Talk Roma tomatoes were big and a very deep red. And only $.59 a pound. Or was it $.69? So, I got myself some Romas. And a Hormel sun-dried tomato pork loin for only $3.99. I did not need any cheese, but stored in the same cold place as the Romas, only on shelves accessed from the outside, which I did see yesterday, there were a lot of real good cheese bargains. High quality type cheese, as in hard cheeses and crumbled Gorgonzola. And Parmesan

So, I shall return. It's cheap, you can find some good goods. And it is close to where I live, with me driving by it all the time. So, it's convenient. And very interesting people shop there.

Tandy Hill Fissures Barnett Shale Earthquakes & Related Cowboy Stadium Dangers

Yesterday I read that the Dallas Cowboys, well Jerry Jones, somehow got Barnett Shale gas drilling banned for some area around the new stadium. The reason being that the stadium is very heavy and drilling under it might wreak havoc.

Different type concerns were unable to stop Chesapeake Energy from drilling off Carter Avenue at the west end of the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

Today, around noon, I did my regular Thursday inspection of the Tandy Hills. I noticed large earthquake-like fissures have appeared. Is the ground rumbling under the Tandy Hills?

I expected to overheat hiking Tandy today, but did not. This morning I pretty much overheated soon after getting out of the pool. I got up later than usual, so the sun had done its light up the place thing by the time I hit the water. I swam particularly hard, I guess, because when I got out and dried off I was quickly wet again, due to that sweating thing.

Before I moved to Texas I hated sweating, rarely did so. I've adjusted. Here, it is like living in a healthy natural sauna.

That is what a Level Orange Air Pollution Alert looks like today in Fort Worth from high atop the summit of Mount Tandy, looking west at an un-zoomed view of beautiful downtown Fort Worth's stunning skyline.

Hiking the Tandy Hills, today, there was a breeze. That helps. And it was only 90. It has not managed to get to 100 yet today, at a bit past 3 in the afternoon, the temperature is maintaining at 99.

Big Ed in Tex went along on the Tandy Hike today. That always makes matters difficult. Big Ed in Tex is a bit on the plus-size side. So, he does not move as fast as me. Consequently he falls behind. Eventually I got a call telling me he was lost. Again. This type aggravation really does not help with my nature enjoyment.

I heard from Connie in Tacoma today. She wants to be my new BFF. I've had dinner with her mother, at Anthony's Homeport at Point Defiance, but I've never had dinner with Connie. Connie is not a Toxic Tacoma Person. She does not drink the water.

It took a long time for anyone to figure out why the crazy water in Mineral Wells, Texas made crazy people less so. I don't know if anyone is trying to figure out, yet, why their tapwater makes some people in Tacoma Toxic. It's perplexing.