Study Indicates High Rate Of Dementia Among NFL Players & More On Tony Romo's Backwards Baseball Cap

Earlier today I blogged about the super shocking disgrace of Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo's improper use of a baseball cap.

There are Dallas Cowboy fans here in this Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex zone I live in who feel quite strongly about Tony Romo's outrageous fashion faux pas, getting so worked up about it that they send off earnest missives to the local newspaper editors.

And then this afternoon one of my researching corespondents, based here in D/FW, sent me information from the New York Times regarding a study commissioned by the National Football League in which it was learned that Alzheimer's disease and other memory-related problems appear in the league's players at a rate vastly higher than the general population of non-football players.

100s of on-field concussions occur at all levels of football every week, at high school, college and the NFL, there are football players sustaining head injuries. Apparently those silly looking helmets need a serious re-design.

Scrutiny of brain injuries in football players has grown more intense in the past 3 years, with many players and former players coming forward and reporting cognitive problems.

The NFL is currently conducting an in depth study of 120 ex professional football players, doing extensive neurological examinations over the course of the study. This process is expected to take several years.

For dementia related diagnoses, 6.1 percent of NFL players age 50 and above had a dementia rate 5 times higher than the general population. NFL players aged 30 to 49 showed a dementia rate 19 times the national average.

I do not think Tony Romo is quite 30. I heard Tony Romo speak at an event in Dallas a couple years ago. I was quite impressed and found him very likable. I really hope it is not early onslaught of NFL football dementia that is causing Tony to forget which way to point his baseball cap. You add this baseball cap problem to Tony's seemingly irrational dumping of Jessica Simpson and you have some rather strong indications of somewhat slightly demented behavior.

I don't know if Tony Romo is still firing on all cylinders in the football throwing department. Are there signs of diminished capacity there, too? I don't watch football, if I can help it, so I don't know. I think the Dallas Cowboys won their most recent game and there was no rioting of the Party Pass People.

My Eyes On Texas Website Got Hacked Again

It has not been a good morning in Durango World.

My Eyes on Texas website got hacked by malware again. I think I caught it before Google did. I found out I had a problem when I clicked on my State Fair of Texas page to find it acting odd. I looked at the source code and saw the hacking code.

The hacking seems to always target the same pages, all of them the ones that get the most hits. Like Turner Falls Park.

My webpage about the Dallas Cowboy/Jerry Jones/Arlington Stadium building eminent domain abuse scandal also is one that has gotten hacked each time. If I were a paranoid sort I would suspect that nefarious Jerry Jones guy of being behind trying to shut me up about his new palace in Arlington.

I've Googled for info about my server, IX Webhosting, before and found a litany of complaints. Most of the complaints do not match my experience with my server. Yes, the Ukrainian support people can be a bit of a strain, but they usually end up being useful. Calling support has always been a good experience, friendly and efficient.

Many people have complained that the IX servers go down regularly. Some claiming it's an every day occurrence. That has not been my experience. Some claim the servers are slow and that there are email and spam problems. That also has not been my experience.

Yes, there was the time a couple years ago when my home page re-directed to Ebay. I called support and the problem was fixed while I was on the phone. I never did get an explanation as to how this could happen. Same with the hacking incidents. I followed IX's tech support instructions as to how to tighten FTP security. And then had the problem re-occur, this morning.

It's very perplexing. I had other things I wanted to do this morning than fix a website.

Tony Romo's Backwards Cap & America's Dallas Cowboy Team's Eminent Domain Abuse

I found some good letters to the editor and comments in this morning's Dallas Morning News about Dallas Cowboy, Tony Romo, he being the team's quarterback and former boy toy of Jessica Simpson.

Tony Romo often wears a baseball cap backwards. I have read negative comments about this previously, and again this morning in the DMN letters to the editor.

The cap backwards umbrage commenter also mentioned the Dallas Cowboys being America's Team. That got a good comment. I also have commented before about the Dallas delusion of being America's Team.

Another letter to the editor was regarding the abuse of eminent domain crimes that were committed in Arlington to get land for the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium. This letter was written in reaction to a Dallas Morning News article about America's Team and the corrupt Jones family.

I'll copy the letters and comment below, followed by the YouTube video I made of the homes and apartments destroyed in Arlington for the new stadium.

Turn that hat around

If Tony Romo wants to turn the Dallas Cowboys around, he needs to turn his hat around first.

Romo is the quarterback for the Cowboys, not a street musician. He should wear the uniform properly until he has earned the right to assume the casual nature he projects with his various hat-wearing contortions.

Perhaps if he wins a Super Bowl, he will have earned the respect needed before he can take a casual approach to dressing for America's Team.

Patrick Gallagher, Fort Worth

The Dallas Cowboys are NOT America's team. There is no such thing. And get a little perspective here. They are a private entertainment company like any other sports team or league. Sports teams do become part of our culture like musicians and other entertainers but they are not any more deserving of respect than any other private enterprise.

Comment Posted by Mike D

The right to take away homes

Re: "Behind America's Team and its home, an American family -- State-of-the-art facility a labor of love for Joneses," Monday news story.

How do the Jones family and Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck justify the use of eminent domain to seize homes and businesses in order to build the stadium where they wanted?

The Jones family and Cluck always have pat answers that voters voted for it, the stadium brings tourists, the city owns the stadium or the owners were paid, but these homes and businesses were not for sale.

Heir Stephen Jones is correct -- this stadium was built on the backs of families -- the working class and elderly former owners whose homes and businesses were condemned and destroyed.

Linda Lancaster, Arlington

Massive South Pacific Earthquake Sends Deadly Tsunami To Samoa & American West Coast

I've been intending to find out where, in the South Pacific, Samoa is located ever since Survivor Samoa started up. I now know exactly where it is.

This morning news of a powerful 8.3 magnitude earthquake striking about 125 miles from Samoa, causing 4 tsunami waves, 15 to 20 feet high, to crash into Samoa and American Samoa up to a mile inland.

So far the death count is at 99 on Samoa and American Samoa, with dozens missing. Tsunami warning sirens got many people to high ground before the big flood arrived.

There are 180,000 people on Samoa, with 65,000 on American Samoa.

10 hours after the quake, Japan was hit with very weak tsunami waves. On the U.S. west coast strong currents and dangerous waves were forecast from California to Washington. Los Angeles lifeguards cleared beaches by 8 pm due to the possible dangerous currents.

I've seen the damage caused by a tsunami from a massive earthquake in Alaska. If I remember right that one killed a couple people and did a lot of damage in Crescent City, California. That tsunami also flooded on to shore on the Washington coast, doing damage at Ocean Shores and other low lying locations.

I was hit by a rogue wave years ago while on the beach at Ocean Shores. All of the sudden it was obvious the incoming wave was bigger than the norm. Everyone started running. I picked up my little sister and ran, climbing up on a big driftwood log. The wave hit, knocking us off the log, getting us soaking wet. Every time I see images of the effects of a tsunami I think of that rogue wave. A tsunami would be like a rogue wave on steroids. Very very scary.

We may be getting natural gas drilling caused earthquakes here in North Texas, but there is very little chance any of those little temblors will be causing a tsunami.

Age Related Fort Worth Forgetfulness & Other Woes

I got up around 4 this morning. It was not an insomnia issue. I'd slept well, woke up and knew I was done with the sleeping thing for the night.

It was while down at the pool this morning I had my first dingbat incident of the day. It was 56 when I went outside to brave the elements. The water was warmer than the air.

The sky was being clear and very dark. A very starry sky. Often the stars are not all that viewable in this polluted urban zone. But this morning I saw the Orion constellation. I looked for the Big Dipper, but I think trees blocked the view.

I forgot to say what the first dingbat incident of the day was. Well. I forgot to take a towel with me. That did not turn into the chilly problem that I thought it would.

When I got done pooling I turned into a Twittering Maniac, seeing if I could repeat yesterday's record breaking website/blog day.

After I tired of Twittering I shoved a chicken in the oven. A totally natural bird with none of that added bad stuff that some chickens get injected with. I pulled the chicken from the cooking device about noon and headed to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdic Lake.

That is when my 2nd dingbat incident of the day occurred. I have developed a habit of never leaving home without my camera, lest I miss taking a picture of something strange that I might come upon. Well, as I walked along I looked up to see an interesting view of the Tandy Hills tower that I called the Fort Worth Space Needle. I reached in the pocket where I keep the camera to find the pocket empty.

I knew where my camera was so I didn't panic thinking it'd slipped out of my pocket like a previous incident. So, no picture, today, of the Fort Worth Space Needle as seen from Oakland Park.

The chicken and baked tomatoes turned out real tasty. I really should open a restaurant.

Big Tex Takes DART Green Line To The State Fair Of Texas

That is Big Tex waiting to get on a DART train at Mockingbird Station. Big Tex is heading to the State Fair of Texas where he stands tall all day long and talks to people.

To get to the Fair, Big Tex will need to switch to the DART Green Line at Pearl Station. The Green Line will take Big Tex directly to the State Fair.

Before getting on the DART train Big Tex went to Kroger where he bought a combo ticket to the Fair. For $16 Big Tex gets a ticket to the Fair and a Round Trip transport on DART.

For those not familiar with Dallas, DART is Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Dallas has about 50 miles of light rail. Each year seems to bring more miles of DART. There are currently 3 DART lines, the Red Line, the Blue Line and the Green Line. The Green Line will currently take you to the State Fair of Texas. By 2010 the Green Line will take you beyond the State Fair.

The Orange Line is under construction. It will take riders to Irving and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

The Dallas Morning News has a video of Big Tex going to Kroger and riding DART to the State Fair of Texas. You'll really want to be sure and watch it.

Being Vulgar In Texas While Twittering

Yes, I know it's vulgar to talk about money. Being vulgar has never really been something I've spent much time worrying about.

Anyway, I don't know what's causing it, for sure, but today is not even over and I've somehow broken my ad revenue record in both the total of all sources and in the total from this very blog you are reading right now.

The only variable that has come in to play, of late, is I finally figured out how to use Twitter. Is Twitter driving traffic to my websites and blog? According to the Bit.ly website I use to shrink URLs, for Twitter, those Bit.ly links have been clicked on oodles of times. However, those oodles of clicks do not show up in my other stats, such as FeedJit or my Google Webmaster stats.

It is very perplexing. But I'm finding it amusing. Just doing the Twittering is addictive, sort of. You have only 140 characters to get your message across. Doing so makes you have to come up with some clever editing. This uses the same part of my brain that does not get all that much use that Scrabble strains. I suppose this type straining is a good thing. It's like exercise.

A Difficult Pink Wildflower Blowing In The Cold Wind At The Tandy Hillls Natural Area

I saw a wildflower I'd not noticed before, today, coloring up the Tandy Hills Natural Area. I set the camera on macro mode and tried 28 times to get a sharp focused closeup picture. The result on the left was the best of the 28 attempts.

I think the ethereal, translucent petals of the pink wildflower made it difficult for the camera to focus on it.

We are in the midst of another cold front chilling us here in North Texas. It is only 77 right now, a couple hours past noon.

I'm continuing to be perplexed by Twitter. Ever since I started Tweeting with a webpage link as part of the Tweet, with those webpages being either one of my blogs or my Eyes on Texas website, well, my stats have gone way up. But, I have no way of telling if this is being caused by Twitter.

Above is one of the 27 pictures of the pink wildflower that managed to look somewhat ghost-like. Today slight coolness in the breeze blowing over the Tandy Hills made me remember last winter, hiking the Tandy Hills in sweatpants and running up the hills to try and get warm. Those cold days will soon be here.

We Are Getting More Bullets In North Texas As Ammo Supply Increases

A headline in this morning's Fort Worth Star Telegram caught my eye, the headline being "After almost a year, ammo shortage starting to ease in in Dallas-Fort Worth."

I had no idea we were suffering from an ammunition shortage. I know I've got all the bullets I need for my guns, because I own no guns.

Reading the article I learned it was not just us in the D/FW Metroplex who are having trouble keeping our arsenals supplied, it's a national problem.

Seems that when the Democrats came back to power those who insist on having their own little private armies got panicky that the Democrats would enact stricter gun control laws, or outright bans.

And so those who feared not being adequately armed stocked up on assault weapons and ammunition, thus creating the shortage. Gun owners bought 9 billion bullets this year, up from the usual 7 billion.

That is an awful lot of bullets. When the demand for ammo went way up, those who manufacture bullets were caught by surprise, unable to quickly meet the increased demand. This caused the price of ammunition to go up. A box of bullets that used to cost $15 went up as high as $39 per box. The price has come down from its high as the supply of bullets has increased.

I think I'll go to Guns R' Us today and get myself an assault rifle and some ammo.

Don Young Gets Moody About The Tandy Hills

I got an email this morning from Don Young, waxing poetic about the Tandy Hills. It motivated me to go there, again, today, even though I was there yesterday.

There were several beautiful photos included in the email. I used the one that looked like the prairie was looking today. It continues to perplex me that I have lived in my current location for about 8 years and only 2 years ago discovered the Tandy Hills Natural Area. I would guess that the majority of the people of Fort Worth have not set foot on the Tandy Hills. Their loss.

Prairie Notes #35
September 27, 2009

The Many Moods of Tandy Hills Natural Area

This is a quickie "Notes" to remind you that right now the weather is nearly perfect for late afternoon hikes along the (too) many trails at Tandy Hills Natural Area. The trails are mostly dry after the extended rains of last week. The prairie has suddenly come alive, not unlike the Spring.

Tandy Hills is not a typical prairie. The variety of elevations resulting from the hilly terrain gives THNA a variety of moods. You can go from a wide-open, prairie view up on top to a deep woods experience in just a few hundred steps. There are bright, sunlit meadows with panoramic views and shaded alcoves where you can disappear from the mad, mad world. Creek-hiking and exploring is yet another way to experience Tandy Hills. You may have to bypass the occasional pool but that's part of the fun. These pools are where the local wildlife come to drink.

>>> Bring the kids. >>> Tandy Hills is a great place to see and learn about plants not commonly found in Fort Worth. You can see grass as high as an elephant's eye. There are cottontail rabbits hopping along most trails. THNA is also a fossil hunters paradise, especially in the creek bottoms. (But please don't overdo it.) Don't forget to look up, either. THNA is great for bird-watching. Bring your binocs, camera, notebook and always bring drinking water.

Come on in and let yourself and the kids off the leash for awhile. THNA is open for business pleasure.

DY