A Dog Runs Wild In The Rain In Fort Worth

That is the dreary Monday noon, Fort Worth, Texas view a short distance from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony. We had some thunder late last night. It didn't boom too long.

The rain has lasted much longer than the booming. It wasn't dripping too much on me when I went pooling this morning. The water didn't feel as cold as yesterday. That's always a good thing.

You're heading to the Post Office with me in the picture. On my way back, in this same location, a cute little puppy was walking on the road as if it thought it was a car. Vehicles stopped on both sides of the road, including me, trying to get the dog to safety.

Eventually I drove on and left the matter to Darwinian selection. I can be heartless when I don't know what else to be in a particular situation.

It's time for lunch. I hope little Toto made it home safe.

Living Like Kramer Ticketed For Driving Shirtless In Dallas While Speaking Spanish With No Seatbelt Clicked

I have heard comments a time or two that I somehow remind someone of Seinfeld. I never ask if they are referencing the TV show or Jerry Seinfeld, the person. I just choose to take the remark as some sort of compliment and move on.

And then this morning the oh so ubiquitous "Anonymous" commented that my adventures are reminiscent of Kramer's life on Seinfeld. I'm having a little more trouble choosing to take this comment as some sort of compliment than I do the more generic Seinfeld reference.

The Kramer comment was in reply to a comment Jovan made about yesterday's blogging about the Caelum Moor.

Jovan is not another "Anonymous." He has a face. I've seen it. In photo form.

Below is a slightly abridged version of what Jovan said....

"How is it that you always stumble upon all these really cool things? I just googled Caelum Moor and was met with some very interesting stuff. You must just attract off-topic cool stuff. Now, when I make it back to Dallas, I suppose I'll be having to check out things in FW and Arlington. I'll make sure to being going on like afternoon on Tuesday..."

Until Jovan asked me I had no idea I stumble upon really cool things.

Like I already said, "Anonymous" commented on Jovan's comment. The "Anonymous" comment was funny. "Anonymous" said....

"Hey Jovan--remember that "Texas is like a whole other country!" (from PR materials). The Fort Worth (formerly Cowtown but now Tasertown or Drillville) and Arlington (i.e. Jonestown--eww!) area are really putting a set of new meanings to that PR slogan. Of course, don't drive in Dallas if you "don't talk English", comprende amigo? Be sure and get Durango to take you driving shirtless without a seat belt slowly near the famous (or infamous) Carter Ave. area. This is not meant as an insult but I keep thinking that Durango and his adventures are very reminiscent of Kramer's life on "Seinfeld". G-g-g-giddy up!! Come visit our new "country" soon, Jovan---if you dare."

Jovan previously commented on the Dallas cops giving tickets to people for not speaking English problem that "Anonymous" references. About getting a ticket for not speaking English Jovan said...

"I'm now going to see if I can get any tickets for not speaking English. I already speak Spanish -- should be no problem! I'll make sure to direct all cops to this page, hahaha. If I get one, I'll make sure you send you a picture of my lovely ticket. Okay, I'm not going to actively try to get a ticket, but next time I get pulled over there will be no English!"

Jovan, go for a combo, drive in Dallas, real slow, speaking Spanish, with your seatbelt and shirt off. So far it is not a crime to drive shirtless in Fort Worth, if you're a man. I'm not sure about Dallas. It probably is a crime there to drive shirtless. Dallas tries to be more refined and sophisticated and driving shirtless is not very refined or sophisticated. Unless you're really HOT. Which I always am when I'm driving shirtless.

The Devil Made Me Do It Today In Arlington At The Caelum Moor

That's the original location of the Texas Stonehenge, known as Caelum Moor. It has been in hiding since sometime around 1996, due to almost 2 dozen evangelical preachers complaining that the Caelum Moor was attracting wiccans and pagans.

God forbid.

A preacher from Stephenville, that being the town that sees UFOs, Michael Tummillo, posted on his website the news that "Occultic landmark resurrected near home of the Dallas Cowboys." And then warned Arlington about a demonic backlash. And claimed that this outrage is a mockery of Christianity and that those near the Caelum Moor and the Dallas Cowboys were in a "dance with the devil."

So, today I felt I really needed to go see the Caelum Moor and take some pictures. Little did I know that the devil was already busy.

I figured Sunday would be an easy time to go into the congested zone by the Dallas Cowboy stadium. It's a mess of freeway construction. I knew I had a problem when I saw the freeway emergency signs were playing a message about stadium traffic congestion.

I was talking to Tootsie Tonasket when I got off the freeway, so I'm a bit confused as to where I exited. So much has changed. I think I exited on Collins and soon found myself on the new road that runs between the Ballpark in Arlington and the new Cowboys stadium.

I had no idea people were being parked on lots so far from the stadium. I was barely off the freeway when I saw the first $40 parking lot. All the parking lots around the Ballpark in Arlington were parking cars at $40 a pop. I had never seen a tailgate party before. Today I saw hundreds, maybe thousands. They put up a canopy and BBQs. It smelled good.

Then the Caelum Moor came into view. And the new stadium. It was a bit hectic, trying to get a look without running into anyone or thing, but I have to say, what I saw looked cool. I wanted to park. But there was no place to park without shelling out $40. I'd not seen the outside video boards fired up on the stadium before. It made that impressive structure look even more futuristic. And out of place.

I saw a lot a long ways from the stadium charging $60 to park. As I continued south I kept expecting to find a place to park, close enough that I could walk back and take pictures of the Caelum Moor and the tailgate parties and the parking signs and the stadium's video screens.

I was quite a distance south of the stadium when I saw a FINA gas station selling parking for $40, with the Jack in the Box across the street doing the same. I gave up.

Later I was in my neighborhood Super Wal-Mart and the checkout girl asked me what I'd been up to. Why do you ask? Do I look frazzled? She said, yes, you do. I told her I got stuck in the traffic mess by the new stadium. She told me that the Super Wal-Mart by the stadium sold parking and let people have tailgate parties.

With the Caelum Moor bringing the devil to Arlington, and to the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones particularly, one can only fear what sort of fresh hell is about to descend upon that hapless area now. I thought the devil had already taken control of that zone when he worked in cahoots with Jerry Jones to commit the worst case of eminent domain abuse in American history.

Caelum Moor is one part of what's been quite a day. I don't want to talk about the rest of it. It's just too convoluted.

A Tale Of Two Cities: Fort Worth and Seattle's Public Works Projects

That is the Alaskan Way Viaduct you're looking at in the picture, looking south to the Seahawk's football stadium and the Mariner's ballpark, both of which were built without booting anyone out of their home.

I have blogged about the Alaskan Way Viaduct previously while comparing the way things are done in Seattle with how stuff happens in Fort Worth.

When I make a comparison between Seattle and Fort Worth I invariably get a comment from the ubiquitous "Anonymous," a very thin-skinned Anonymous, saying "we get it, Seattle good, Fort Worth bad," not getting that what I'm actually doing is comparing 2 large cities with which I am very familiar, but which have very stark differences.

Both towns have large projects in the works. One absolutely needed, the other not. The needed one being the Alaskan Way Viaduct which needs to be replaced before it is torn down by an earthquake. The not needed project being Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision. That vision being destroying the confluence of the West and Clear Forks of the Trinity River to build a very little lake, an unneeded flood diversion channel and some wetlands restoration.

If I remember right the canals have been dropped from the Trinity River Vision along with the signature bridges, as the price tag nears $1 billion.

In Fort Worth this public works project was foisted on the public with very little input from the public.

Contrast that with what the Governor of Washington, Christine Gregoire said at the recent document signing ceremony that started the Viaduct replacement project, "We've had nearly 10 years of public meetings, town halls, interest group briefings, thousands of public comments. We have ended the debate, we have made the decision, we have selected the option that will forever change the face of downtown Seattle. This will make a huge difference in the face of the city. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In six years we will able to stand on or near this spot and look across and be able to see the waters of Elliott Bay, you'll be reconnecting Pioneer Square with the water, downtown with the water, we'll have a great place for our public to come."

I've been following the debate about Viaduct solutions since shortly after I moved to Texas. I've always found the way issues get debated, in Washington, interesting to follow. The lack of any real debate, here in Fort Worth, with the public pretty much used to things being done the Fort Worth way, as in run like a Company Town, has been real interesting to me.

In the end, Seattle, Washington and King County decided on the $4.2 billion tunnel option. When the viaduct was built, 56 years ago, Seattle was not the tourist mecca it is now, no cruise ships docked in town, the waterfront was a working waterfront, not a tourist attraction. The Alaskan Way Viaduct has long been an eyesore, a real noisy eyesore. I'm thinking when this project is completed in 2015, or thereabouts, it is going to cause some major good things to happen on Seattle's waterfront.

So, that's how a Seattle public works project happens, it being a much more ambitious and expensive project than Fort Worth's little lake and flood diversion channel, that won't be finished, if it does get finished, til sometime a decade or more in the future.

In Seattle there is a lot of debate, a lot of arguing, a lot of input, and in the end, something good happens.

In Fort Worth the public is pretty much left out of it, there is no real debate.

And there really is no actual problem that is being solved, as in Fort Worth is already protected from bad flooding by huge levees that were built after a bad flood in the 1950s. Did Federal dollars help build those levees? Are Federal dollars being used to build the unneeded flood diversion channel that will, supposedly, replace the levees which are already doing their job, which were likely built with the help of taxpayer money?

If the Fort Worth and Tarrant County public got to have input there would likely be a consensus that no money should be spent on the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle until money is spent to fix the deadly flash flooding creeks of Haltom City.

More Of A Muddy Gas Driller's Mess At Fort Worth's Gateway Park With A Missing Kayaker

Too much rain this week made it likely the Tandy Hills are not dried out enough for my usual mud-free Saturday hiking. I decide to go see mud at another Fort Worth park, that being Gateway Park and the Trinity Trails.

I was not disappointed, mud-wise. That location I've mentioned a couple times now, due east of the Beach Street bridge across the Trinity, where a gas driller runs a pipeline across park property to a diesel pump that sucks water out of the Trinity River.

The pump was not running today. But the gas boys had been at the pump. That was obvious due to the fact that the damage done to the levee and the park grass was much worse than it was when I was at the same location on Thursday to take a picture of the Trinity roaring over the dam/bridge.

Another view of the muddy ruts left on top of the Trinity levee. On the south side of the river, immediately east of the dam/bridge, the latest bout of high, raging river water has eroded off the dirt/grass top part of the levee, exposing a large area of the huge boulders that, apparently, were used to build the giant dam-like levees. I've asked before and have not heard an answer, how is it that the gas drillers get away with this bad behavior? Are they in cahoots with the local power structure? Or something like that?

Now, this was an odd scene, the Trinity River had lowered a bit since I saw it on Thursday, but it was still roaring over the dam/bridge. Why did someone, nowhere to be seen, wheel a kayak down to where the launching dock usually floats, but is currently in malfunction mode due to the flood? Where was the kayaker? A little gust of wind could easily blow the kayak into the water and over the dam. Was the kayaker actually considering launching from this location, so close to going over the dam? I saw no vehicle up by the building that stores kayaks, where the kayakers park.

If you look on the other side of the river, in the kayak picture, you can see the eroded area I referenced above.

Carter Avenue & The New London School Explosion

No, that picture is not the aftermath of a natural gas explosion on Carter Avenue in Fort Worth. The picture shows what remains of the New London School in the town of New London in East Texas.

By March 18, 1937, un-odorized natural gas had accumulated, unbeknownst to anyone, under the school. The gas ignited, with a big explosion, killing over 300 children and teachers, to the horror of the world, including Adolf Hitler, who sent his condolences.

It was this explosion that brought about the mandate that added a strong, detectable odor to natural gas.

However, Texas is back again allowing natural gas to be piped under children without an odor added to it. The natural gas is known to be corrosive to pipelines. It seems fairly sensible and logical that a homeowner would not want non-odorized natural gas piped underneath their home. Or the yard their kids play on.

This issue is what has the people who live on Carter Avenue upset. They don't want Chesapeake Energy piping odor-free gas under them.

Several of the Fort Worth Bloggers have been blogging about Carter Avenue, including the Fort Worth Star Telegraph. A few days ago the Star Telegraph blogged about Carter Avenue, in a blogging titled "Why YOU Should Care."

"Why YOU Should Care" generated several comments. Several of which were of the brain-dead, moronic sort that I often get when I complain about the eminent domain abuse that occurred in Arlington in order for Jerry Jones to build a football stadium. Comments from people with no understanding of what eminent domain is and who actually believe that Jerry Jones could not take people's homes without their consent.

So, the Star-Telegraph empathized with the plight of the Carter Avenue Dwellers. This brought comments from Barnett Shale natural gas drilling shills. They have been known to comment to my blog when I mentioned something scandalous about Chesapeake Energy. Within a short time of posting I'd see the FeedJit stats light up with hits from Oklahoma City (Chesapeake Energy Headquarters). And then the boilerplate comments would come. Soon the Texas bloggers getting the comments figured it out, made fun of the shills, using them for blogging fodder, sort of causing a they-are-shooting-themselves-in the-foot type effect.

And now the shills have found a new target for their shilling. I had intended to copy and paste the best examples of shilling comments that "Why YOU Should Care" generated, and then comment on the comments. But I've pretty much already done that. So, go to the Fort Worth Star Telegraph and read "Why YOU Should Care" and read the comments.

And also read my Texas Natural Gas Explosion blogging about the New London School Explosion and Chesapeake Energy, with videos.

Texas Natural Gas Explosion

UPDATE: The powers that be in Texas are still allowing un-odorized natural gas to be piped under children. So, I am re-posting this because I think it is relevant to the Carter Avenue Scandal in Fort Worth.

One of Chesapeake Energy's propaganda techniques, when someone objects to the location of one of their drilling operations, is to paint the objector as an out of touch iconoclast stuck back in time.

I don't mind being an iconoclast. Below, I'll be showing you two videos of Texas natural gas explosions. The first occurred on March 18, 1937, two months before the Hindenburg blimp blew up in New Jersey. The Hindenburg disaster is etched in America's memory, well those American's who remember such things. Sadly our numbers are dwindling. Few Americans know of the New London School Disaster.

In 1937, out in East London in East Texas, natural gas pipelines running under the New London School, unbeknownst to anyone, because no odor was detected, because, at that time, no odor was added to natural gas, leaked. The gas was trapped under the school and began leaking from the trap into enclosed crawlspace that ran the 253 foot length of the school.

Students had been complaining of headaches for some time, but no one investigated as to why their heads were hurting.

And then sometime after 3:05, that fateful day, an instructor, Lemmie R. Butler, turned on an electric sander. It is believed that a spark from that sander ignited the explosion that destroyed the school, killing over 300 students and teachers, in the worst school disaster in American history.

Adolf Hitler sent his condolences. Walter Cronkite was sent to New London on one of his first assignments and throughout his career he continued to say this was the worst thing he ever covered.

As a result of what happened in New London, Texas, it was mandated an odor be added to natural gas, that being the sulfur smell we are all familiar with.

Chesapeake Energy's Propagandists will claim that modern technology has solved all the technical problems that might have made drilling for natural gas and transporting it in urban pipelines, safe, like those pipelines now being run all over, under Fort Worth and Tarrant County. Pipelines under homeowner's yards, under their streets, pipelines through which natural gas flows that HAS NOT YET HAD THE SULPHUR ODOR ADDED.

Below is a newsreel type video of the New London School Disaster. Below that a more recent Texas natural gas explosion.



The Chesapeake Energy Propaganda Purveyors claim their industry is safe, that modern technology has solved all those little problems that existed in the last century, that we are living in the age of I-Phones, Flat Panel TVs, the Internet and Space Shuttles, that we don't live in an age where things blow up. Oh, scratch that last one on the list. Accidents happen, but not in the Chesapeake Energy world.

Below is video of a natural gas explosion that occurred in Texas on April 29, 2007. I guess Chesapeake Energy has made tremendous advances since that date and this type thing is no longer possible.

Meanwhile, I've got Chesapeake Energy back drilling across the street, again. So, do not be fooled by thinking that once they are gone, that they don't show up again.

Dallas Texas Police Issue Dozens Of Tickets For Not Speaking English

This morning I read in the Dallas Morning News that a rookie Dallas cop, Gary Bromley, had ticketed a Mexican national, Ernestina Mondragon, who had a driver's license, for not being able to speak English.

I am not making this up.

And now, late in the afternoon, Levi Johnston, who is now one of my regular news sources, via Twitter, tweeted the news that by this afternoon the story had changed.

Now, we learn it was not just one isolated rookie incident, instead, dozens of tickets have been issued, in Dallas, for not being able to speak English.

My great-great grandpa came to America, from Holland, unable to speak English, and never learned the language. But his descendants are all quite fluent with the language.

Sarah Palin really should have worked harder at keeping Levi in her realm. He seems to be quite a wise guy at only 19 years old.

Below is Levi's Twitter Tweet about the Dallas Cops Non-English Speaking Ticket Scandal...

"39 tickets issued to Mexican workers 4 not being able to speak English in DaLLAS TEXAS WTF? TEXAS IS ONE CRAZY STATE."

WordPress THESIS: AVOID

Well, this Texas boy had himself a very aggravating morning this second to last Friday of October. A couple days ago someone dangled money in front of me to get me to figure out a WordPress blog theme thing called THESIS.

I was about 2 minutes in when I decided THESIS was a piece of outdated junk that belongs back in 1999.

But, for reasons unfathomable to me, there are blogging gurus who swear THESIS is the best blogging thing in the world. And I know simple saps who listen, without critical questioning, to blogging gurus, and then buy in to what they are selling. So, THESIS gets bought.

I'll tell you how bad this piece of junk is. The BIG problem was the THESIS user could not figure out how to upload their logo to their THESIS blog. This is a rather elemental part of any publishing software I've ever used, be it blogging or print. The ability to easily insert an image where you want it.

But not with THESIS. Logo uploading is among the many missing features. To upload a logo in THESIS I had to search for a solution. The THESIS style sheet had to be altered with code injected.

No big deal. Been there, done that before. So, I'm logged into THESIS. I open the custom.css file. I copy the code. I save the file.

However, THESIS, upon saving, changed a key part of the code from 880 pixels to 8800 pixels. Trust me, that creates problems. So, I delete the extra 0 and save again. Nope. Still there. I delete all the code and save again. Nope. Still there.

I've been down this type road enough times that I know to backup a copy before altering. So, I went through several steps and used FTP to overwrite the file that the idiotic THESIS thing would not save correctly.

By that time it was 10 in the morning. I'd missed my morning swim. I'd been up fiddling with this stupid thing since 5am.

And now I was mad. Which means I was gonna keep at it til I got the stupid logo to work.

It all had to be done outside the criminally bad THESIS mess, using Windows Notepad and FTP. By 11am I had the logo uploaded and on the blog.

Six hours to do something that would take me all of 20 seconds using the blogger system I'm using to write this blog.

If I've not been clear enough, let me be clearer.

THESIS SUCKS!

Men's & Women's Toilet At Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

Yesterday when I picked up Miss Puerto Rico at Terminal D at D/FW Airport, due to being stuck in the airport way too long due to a stuck piece of luggage I noticed something that I don't believe was there to be noticed on previous visits to D/FW.

As in the signs for and pointing to the entities formerly named "Restrooms" have been changed to "Men's Toilets" and "Women's Toilets."

I don't know for sure why, but something about this struck me as being really tacky.

While standing in the airport, waiting for the luggage to get unstuck, I asked a few others what they thought of the signage. Strange, different and never seen that before was the general opinion.

The signs are not accurate. Yes, there are toilets in the former restrooms, but there are also sinks, diaper changing tables and for the men, urinals. It could be very confusing for someone desperately searching for a sink to wash their hands.