My Old Hometown Bikini Coffee Baristas At The Foxy Lady Latte

I seem to be blogging a lot lately about my old home zone. I guess it's because those wacky Pacific Northwesterners generate some goofy news of a different sort than the news I find goofy in Texas.

I knew of the current fad in the Puget Sound region of espresso stands being manned by girls in bikinis.

This type thing would seem to be something that there would be in Texas, but substitute snow cone stands for espresso stands. There are so many strip joints in Texas, few of those exist in the Northwest, it seems logical that Texas would be the place where scantily clad females sold beverages in little drive-thru stands.

The "bikini barista" stand I read about in my old hometown newspaper, this morning, is called Foxy Lady Latte. It's the first in Skagit County. The county to the south, Snohomish, made embarrassing national news a couple months ago when some of the Snohomish "bikini barista" stands were raided for providing additional services.

So, I'm a little surprised that one of these has opened in Skagit County. The Foxy Lady Latte is managed by Kymm Rivers. She talked her boss into opening up Skagit County's first "bikini barista" joint in June. Apparently Kymm had worked in one of the Snohomish County "bikini barista" stands.

Business has been brisk for Foxy Lady Latte. 75% of the customers are male. Some customers verbalize surprise that a place called Foxy Lady has coffee brewers working in bikinis.

I never bought into the espresso fad when I lived in Coffeeland. Paying 3 bucks for a tarted up cup of coffee just seemed dumb to me. That and I hated the lingo you had to use when ordering a cup of coffee. It always has sounded so pretentious to me. I'll have a Double Tall Mocha Frappacino Skim with Whip. I have no idea if that means anything.

The Blue Sky Of Texas Does Not Fit My Blue Mood

Not a good day in Durango World. My website got hacked again. This time only 2 pages, but Google flagged every page with their dire warning that "This website may harm your computer."

I learned I had a problem a little after 6 this morning. I called tech support. Calling tech support you get Americans, not the Ukrainians you get if you use the online tech support. I got Jen.

Jen told me I'd get a call back in an hour or so and that the problem was being handed off to their best tech guy. I did not hear back in an hour. I called again. This time I got Robert. Robert knew Jen. Robert checked on why I'd not been called back. After 5 minutes of listening to awful music Robert told me the process was taking longer because the best tech guy was being real thorough. Robert told me Jen would call me back when it was all done.

Two hours later Jen called. Told me everything should be fine now. And that the ftp.deny and ftp.allow files had not been correctly set. I told Jen I get told this after each incident.

After lunch I found that FTP does not work. Trying to connect generates a "denied by access rules" message. So, I called again. This time Dave answered. Dave knows Jen. I asked to speak to Jen. Dave put me on hold and came off hold to tell me Jen was on a break but would call me as soon as she got back. That was about 10 minutes ago.

Just got a call from Jen. FTP is now fixed.

After my first talk with Jen, this morning, I was so aggravated I was hoping a dip in a very cold pool would be salubrious. It wasn't. I had the phone sitting beside the pool, waiting for that call that came hours later.

Around noon I had to get out of here. Went to close by Quanah Parker Park for a walk. That's the Quanah Parker Trail, well, actually, the paved trail that leads out of the park, I don't know if it is in the park, but wherever it was it had a lot of water on the trail.

And yes, today was the final straw. Despite it being a major, BIG pain, I'm moving my websites to another host. After I'm successfully divorced from my current host marriage I will blog the bloody details and name names.

5 Year Old Romanian Boy Strongest In The World

This video of a 5 year old Romanian strong boy/man named Giuliano Stroe is a bit disturbing. Apparently there are several YouTube videos of the kid performing feats of strength. The kid has been lifting weights since he was two. I couldn't even do a pull up til I was 15. He is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest 10 meter hand walk with a weight ball between his legs.

I'm guessing there are a lot of people trying for that 10 meter han walk record.

I found the boy's abs of steel disturbing. And the strange way he winked at the camera.

I must go lift weights now.

Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct Comes Down In A Simulated Earthquake

I mentioned the Alaskan Way Viaduct a couple days ago. And that it's set to be replaced by a tunnel before Mother Nature destroys it with an earthquake.

I did not know the sea wall also needs fixing. I did not know there was a sea wall.

Something about a big tunnel, next to saltwater, in a town that regularly gets the shakes, seems counter-intuitive to me.

Supposedly the other big tunnel that runs under Seattle, that being the combo bus/rail tunnel, is designed to make it through a very strong earthquake. I would not want to be in the Seattle bus tunnel or any of its stations during a quake.

Seems to me Seattle is really pushing its luck with this $4.2 billion tunnel/viaduct replacement project. The viaduct won't come down until the tunnel is finished. What happens if the Big One quakes during the construction phase?

This morning in the Seattle P-I, online, I watched a YouTube video of a simulation of what would happen to the sea wall, the viaduct and the waterfront if another big quake strikes, as strong as the last big one, known as the Nisqually Earthquake, with an epicenter 30 miles closer to Seattle and lasting twice as long as the 15 second Nisqually Earthquake.

The video gives you a good look at the Seattle waterfront and a real good simulation of what an earthquake might do....

Fort Worth 350

Okay, I admit my Adult Attention Deficit Disorder causes me to miss a lot of things. That and no longer reading a daily hard copy newspaper. I know I have been reading 350, this or that, a lot lately. You might say 350 has become a bit ubiquitous, if you had a tendency to use polysyllabic words that render your prose to be a bit on the dense and ponderous side of wordsmithing.

Apparently this 350 deal is a Global Warming thing. Reducing CO2 gas to 350 parts per million. I'm guessing we are way over that 350 mark here in gas-happy Fort Worth. We've got more gas-spewing holes poked in the ground in Fort Worth, Texas than any other large city in the world. We are quite proud of that record and intend to keep it, not matter what blows up or gets polluted.

A short time ago I was sent an urgent request to help with the proper insertion of a YouTube video. I did the insertion without watching the video. I figured it had something to do with Senior Citizen issues, due to who sent the urgent request. After I stuck the code where it needed to be I decided to watch the video. Imagine my surprise when it had nothing to do with oldsters.

The YouTube video is about Fort Worth. And that 350 thing. Forget about the 350, for now. If you've never been to Fort Worth and have no idea what it looks like, well, this video does a good job of showing you this town. You'll see the Tandy Hills, museums like the Kimbell and the Modern in what Fort Worth calls "The Cultural District", the Fort Worth Stockyards, Longhorns, Barnett Shale drillers sucking water out of the Trinity River, downtown Fort Worth, including the parking lots known as Sundance Square, I forget what else, but I can guarantee if you watch the video and had no clue what Fort Worth looks like, after you've watched it, you'll have an idea of what Fort Worth looks like. I even think we got a look or two and heard a word or two from Fort Worth's #1 Watchdog, Don Young. Look for a wise-looking guy with long gray hair.

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.