I Have Become Insane In Texas And Am Paying $450 For 10,000 Twitter Followers

Twitter continues to perplex me. There seems to be a lot of Twitter spamming and scamming. I've had someone somehow using my Twitter account to send out weird "Direct Messages" saying stuff like "I think you look weird in this picture." Of course, the person clicks on it. I did. Next thing you know you're taking an IQ Test that wants your cell phone number.

Then, just seconds ago, Irma Rogers became my latest ardent Twitter Follower. I clicked on Irma to see she wanted me to check out this wonderful thing that automatically got me Twitter Followers.

For a fee.

Why I would so desperately want Twitter Followers that I'd pay for them is a mystery to me. Somehow I've gotten some Twitter Followers, like Irma, without paying a single dime.

Apparently, for only $450.00 I can get myself 10,000 Twitter Followers. What a bargain. If I'm feeling like being cheap I can get 500 new Twitter Followers for only $50.00.

I think I'll take the go for the gusto option and get 10,000 Twitter Followers for a measly $450.00.

What a bargain! Follow me on Twitter!

A Blimp Leads Me To A Wal-Mart Closed By The Dallas Cowboys

After a quick visit to River Legacy Park I drove towards the Dallas Cowboy Stadium to see why a blimp was hovering in the vicinity. I did not think there was a game today because I thought the Dallas Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving because they are America's Team and for some reason that means they play football on Thursday.

I had not driven south on Cooper Street very far when I saw that the blimp said Direct TV on it. Not Goodyear. I took the picture you see above, that looks like someone has launched a missile to take down the blimp, and continued on towards the stadium.

Evidence quickly accumulated that indicated the Dallas Cowboys were playing football today. I saw dozens of buses, of the commercial sort, like Trailways, parked in one of the new lots that Arlington would not let Jerry Jones take by abusing eminent domain.

Soon I was at the intersection of Randol Mill Road and Collins. It was clearly obvious a football game was happening, due to all the tailgate parties on the corner of that particular parking lot, which you are looking at in the above picture.

Yesterday, that being Saturday, I dropped in on the Dallas Cowboy Stadium to take pictures of outhouses. I was surprised by what I found and blogged about it. There were high school football games going on, with lots of cars parked in the lots. I went to Wal-Mart yesterday, had no problem parking. Wal-Mart was busy, like the day before Christmas type busy. I thought to myself that I thought there had been complaints about Wal-Mart suffering a loss of business when the stadium was being used. I thought, well, one more crackpot making a bogus complaint.

So, imagine my surprise today. I wanted to go to Wal-Mart to get a missing ingredient for the curry thing I was making for lunch. The blimp had led me to the Stadium Wal-Mart so I figured I'd go there. Nope. Could not happen. There were a few cars in the Wal-Mart parking lot, but all entries off Randol Mill were blocked. The above picture shows the west entry blocked.

I figured maybe I could get to Wal-Mart via one of the side streets, and that maybe that was how the few cars in the lot had gotten in. Nope. All roads in were blocked. I was appalled. How is Wal-Mart being compensated for this?


Just past Wal-Mart I saw a pair of Pedicabs with no customers. I was to see maybe a dozen more, all with no customers.

Arlington is notorious for being the largest city in America with no public transit. That's right, the town that has Six Flags Over Texas, Hurricane Harbor, The Ballpark in Arlington and the Dallas Cowboy Stadium, in what they call the Entertainment District, has no bus system. Except for the aforeseen Pedicabs and the trolleys you see above, that were lined up today by the Ballpark in Arlington, I assume after dropping people off for the game. The trolleys travel around the Entertainment District, stopping at the District's many lodging locations.

In the above picture you are looking past one of the Texas Ranger parking lot's outhouses at some Tailgaters having a BBQ. This particular lot charges $60. It is not close to the stadium. Maybe a 3/4 mile walk. How much did those first Tailgaters pay to park in that first lot I showed you, that is right up next to the stadium?

Above you see an Event Parking $60.00 sign. Along with another sign spelling out the Tailgating Rules. Such as you can only BBQ on the grass. And pick up your litter. Why must a sign tell Texans to pick up their litter?

The Outhouses Of Arlington Texas Series: The Outhouses of River Legacy Park

Yesterday I toured the Dallas Cowboy Stadium's Outhouses. And blogged about it. In that blogging I made mention of outhouses in my favorite Dallas/Fort Worth park, that being River Legacy Park in Arlington.

Today I decided to drive to River Legacy Park to continue my Outhouses of Arlington Texas series.

I was barely on the road when I saw a big blimp. No, I am not talking about a plus-sized person in the Albertson's parking lot. I'm talking about a Goodyear blimp type of big blimp. A couple miles further and it appeared to be hovering above the Dallas Cowboy Stadium.

I was talking to Tootsie Tonasket on the way to River Legacy. Tootsie directed me to take pictures of the blimp after I was done with the River Legacy outhouses. Which is what I did. You don't say no to Tootsie Tonasket.

But, back to the River Legacy outhouses. The pair you see in the picture serve the River Legacy Pavilion. You can see the Pavilion in the background behind the outhouses. It is a very nice structure, with some glaring omissions. There is no sink or water faucet. There is a nearby drinking fountain, which would seem to indicate it would be possible to have running water in the River Legacy Wedding Pavilion. I have seen a dozen or so Saturday weddings taking place over the years in the River Legacy Pavilion. Usually with meat products being BBQed on the provided BBQ pit.

There is a modern facilities type restroom in River Legacy Park. It is built on a knoll, due to the fact that a large area of River Legacy, including the Pavilion, can go under water during a major flood of the Trinity River. I have seen that happen twice. The outhouses are evacuated prior to an incoming flood.

I know building another knoll and putting another restroom on it would be more expensive than outhouses. But, isn't it the right thing to do in such a nice park? In such a nice city as Arlington? And it would set a good example for Jerry Jones. Maybe he'd decided that real restrooms might be a nice thing to provide his customers who pay $60 or more to park on his lots and use his outhouses.

I wonder why Jerry has not thought of a way to monetize the Dallas Cowboy outhouses? He sells Party Passes for $29. I'm thinking a one use Potty Pass for $5 seems reasonable.

46th Anniversary Of JFK Assassination In Dallas Texas

In about an hour it will be 46 years to the minute since John F. Kennedy was assassinated as his motorcade drove by Dealey Plaza in Dallas.

I was at Dealey Plaza for the 40th Anniversary, along with thousands of others.

It was a sober, sort of macabre, experience. The moment of silence and countdown to when the shots were fired was disturbed by the arrival of Dallas police in full riot gear. I have never learned why that happened. The police quickly backed off when it was apparent there was no riot.

And then the moment arrived, suddenly the mournful sound of a lone bugle filled the air.

Go here and watch the video I made of what I saw on this day, 6 years ago. Or watch it below...

Dallas Cowboy Cadillac Outhouses & Other Unsanitary Eyesores

We are looking at a Tailgate BBQ Party taking place this afternoon on the east side of the Dallas Cowboy Stadium before a high school game. This Tailgate Party was taking place on one of the Cowboy's parking lots. Not on one of the Texas Ranger's lots, that are also used by the Cowboys.

What got me back to Arlington this afternoon was something I saw when I drove through this area on Friday. As in I was amazed and appalled by all the outhouses. Some were in the parking lots, some were on the grass at the side of the road. Some were solo. Some were lined up. I saw a truck with a load of outhouses. I don't know if he was delivering or removing.

The outhouses on the Texas Ranger's lots were particularly tacky. Bright blue with a big sign saying "NATIONAL PORTABLE TOILETS" and some other stuff, with a toll free number to call and a website address, rentnational.com. Also attached to the outhouse was another sign that said "PUBLIC RESTROOM".

Public Restroom? As opposed to other outhouses that are Private Restrooms?

Now, the Texas Rangers are on real tough financial times. Their owner, I think his last name is Hicks, has all sorts of money woes. So, I guess he can be forgiven his low rent outhouses.

Which brings us to the outhouses on the parking lots of the new $1.1 billion Dallas Cowboy Stadium. When I first walked on to the most expensive parking lots in the world I was distracted by the wonderful smell of a Texas BBQ. BBQers in the Cowboy's lots get to park on grass parking strips. I thought that was interesting.

That is the Ballpark in Arlington on the left in the background. You can see a couple of the blue outhouses in the Ranger's lot with the BBQers parked on the grass in the foreground on the Dallas Cowboy parking lot.

A short distance from the BBQers I came to my first up close look at a Dallas Cowboy Outhouse. I was immediately struck by how much more substantial the Cowboy Outhouses are than the Ranger's. And then I saw something that really struck me. These are outhouses specially made for the Dallas Cowboys, as in molded into the plastic that makes up the outhouse is a Dallas Cowboy star and the word "COWBOYS".

And then I realized the Dallas Cowboy Outhouses are made in the Cowboy team colors of silver and blue! The Dallas Cowboys, like the Texas Rangers, also have signage that refer to their outhouses as Restrooms.

Now, maybe I am way off on this, but to me a Restroom has running water and a sink. The Dallas Cowboys may have bought themselves the Cadillac of Outhouses, but these are not Restrooms.

Which leads me to another thing. How does it make sense to spend $1.1 billion to build a stadium and then surround that building with outhouses? You have people spending $40, or more, to park, then $100s, some $1000s to watch a game and you provide outhouses in your parking lot? Would it not have made more sense to have built actual real Restrooms? The stadium was built with the knowledge that the football fanatics have tailgate parties before a game. Why were Restrooms not built for them?

It's not like all these outhouses don't cost anything.

And don't get me started on the sanitation issues. Well, I guess I started myself. So, you have all these people BBQing, having a picnic. They use the outhouse. Nowhere to wash their hands. Maybe they have hand sanitizer back at the Tailgate Party.

I can understand the use of portable outhouses at some types of events, like a 2 day festival. But this stadium is a permanent facility. A Super Bowl may be played there. A Super Bowl surrounded by 100s, or is it, 1000s of outhouses. And nowhere to wash your hands.

I have been vexed by outhouses in Arlington previously. Like in River Legacy Park. Which I consider the best park in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. But River Legacy Park needs to lose the outhouses. There is a pavilion in River Legacy Park. Used for weddings. Serviced by 2 outhouses. There is running water (not hot) there, though, so you can wash your hands.

I dunno, maybe a wedding with outhouses is a perfectly normal thing in the South. Seems sort of outdated and early last century to me. I know most of America got indoor plumbing a long long time ago. Maybe Jerry Jones owns an interest in an outhouse business.

Looking At Gateway Park Barnett Shale Gas Driller Damage & Litter Art

It rained last night here in North Texas. On Saturday my usual boring habit is to go hiking on the Tandy Hills. But rain renders the hills muddy.

So, I went to Gateway Park instead. On Thursday I was on Beach Street and saw the notorious Barnett Shale gas drillers water pump and pipeline was no longer sucking water from the Trinity River.

I was curious to see if the rut makers had restored the river levee to its pre-damage state.

As you can see in the picture, the mess has not been fixed. It appears heavy rain has smoothed out the ruts I showed you the last time I checked out the water pumping mess.

Many months ago I saw a similar gas drilling related water pumping mess at Village Creek. I took pictures and blogged about it. Three days later I was back and the ruts had all been smoothed over, with grass seed sprinkled over the damaged area.

Gateway Park and the Trinity Trails do not seem to have been as blessed with a responsibly acting gas driller as Village Creek Park was.

Speaking of pipelines. There is a huge pipeline that crosses the same ravine that the Gateway Park bridge crosses to get to the Trinity River Trail where I take pictures of mud. I don't know what flows in this huge pipeline. What made it interesting today was the astonishing amount of litter surrounding the pipeline and in the trees. It almost looks like an art installation.

I'm out of here in a bit and heading to Arlington to take pictures of something I saw yesterday associated with the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium. I was appalled by what I saw. But I was in a hurry yesterday and so did not stop to take pictures.

250 Bodies Are Being Exhibited At West End In Dallas

For awhile now, every morning when I check in on the Dallas Morning News I see an ad about bodies being revealed at some exhibit at the West End in downtown Dallas. The pictures in the ads seem a bit creepy to me. But I paid no further attention.

Til this morning when I saw the headline of an article about "Bodies: The Exhibition" opening this weekend.

Here's a blurb from the article...

"Featuring more than 250 real human specimens consisting of whole-bodies and individual organs that have been meticulously dissected and preserved through an innovative process, the Exhibition provides visitors an up-close look inside the skeletal, muscular, reproductive, respiratory, circulatory and other systems of the human body."

Okay, am I understanding this correctly? These are real bodies being exhibited? Including the reproductive system? Preserved by some innovative process?

The Bodies are touring the country. And other countries. Here's a blurb from about the Bodies when they were in New York City....

"Both captivating and edifying, Bodies ...The Exhibition- New York, NY unveils the many complex systems, organs and tissues that drive every aspect of our daily lives and unite us all as Humans. Featuring over 200 specimens consisting of whole-bodies and individual organs that have been meticulously dissected and preserved through an innovative process, Bodies ...The Exhibition will enlighten, empower, fascinate and inspire."

So, an additional 50 real human specimens were added between New York and Dallas. Where do these bodies come from? Are the bodies identified? As in "This is Bob Smith's Reproductive System." Are these the bodies of people who willed their bodies to science?

I'm likely way off base here, but it all just seems unseemly to me.

Please Don't Let Your Kids Play With The Crabs In Arlington Texas

No. Those are not the catfish in my fishtank I call a pool.

Speaking of which, the temperatures the past 24 hours never got under 50, so this morning swimming was not the bracing glacial experience it'd been for a few days.

I had to be in Arlington today. On the way to my destination I drove by Johnson Creek and the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium. I thought Johnson Creek might be in flood mode due to last night's rainy thunderstorm.

On my way to Arlington I saw that Village Creek is in flood mode, causing the closure of Village Creek Natural Historic Area. But, Johnson Creek did not appear to be running any extra water. I was hoping to see what happened when flooding water hit the cement fins you see in the picture.

Since I was in the neighborhood I went to Cho Saigon Market in Arlington's Chinatown. I love going there. I'm almost always the tallest person in the store. I feel like a giant when I'm in there.

Today when I was seeing dozens of Vietnamese people it occurred to me that had there not been a Vietnam War. And had America not sort of lost that war, I would not be shopping in a Vietnamese grocery store in Arlington, Texas. All those Vietnamese immigrants have been a real good thing for America.

I had not paid much attention to the Cho Saigon Market's live seafood selection til today. The picture of the catfish in the tank shows only a few of the dozens of catfish swimming in the tanks. A Vietnamese man was very excitedly trying to point out which of the live catfish he wanted for his own.

The crabs that the sign references are smallish blue crabs. Another tank held what the sign said were Alaska Dungeness Crabs. I didn't know there were Dungeness Crabs in Alaska. I've caught and cooked Dungeness Crab. It's one of my favorite seafoods. But, somehow the idea of driving home, in Texas, with a live crab in the vehicle did not appeal to me. Dungeness Crab can get very fiesty. They are like giant hard-shelled spiders on steroids that taste good.

I had a slight wait in the checkout line, which moves very fast and is very high tech. Due to the wait I was able to check out what the persons in front and behind was buying. The most interesting thing in front of me was a big chunk of squid. It was frozen. The guy behind me had pork intestines. I saw them when I checked out the butcher area. And wondered what one did with pork intestines. He also had a bag of clams that looked like steamers. And 2 Dungeness Crab. The crab were not moving. So, there must be a they will cook it for you option, like there is with the fish.

So, that's been my exciting, cloudy, wet Friday in Texas, so far.

It's Time To Move From Texas Back To Mount Vernon Washington

You are looking at the Skagit River in flood mode as it flows past downtown Mount Vernon. I have seen the Skagit almost go over the top of the sandbags on a couple occasions. I believe the sandbagging no longer takes place in downtown Mount Vernon when the Skagit goes rogue, due to some sort of flood wall that can quickly be put in place.

The flooding Skagit isn't what I wanted to talk about. Mount Vernon is on my mind due to some surprising news I read this morning.

BusinessWeek Magazine has ranked Mount Vernon as the #1 city in America to rebound from the recession by the first quarter of the new year. The magazine says among the reasons for this #1 ranking are the town's diverse tourism, its retail and hospitality industries and its location 60 miles north of Seattle and 80 miles south of Vancouver.

Not that I don't think Mount Vernon is a great town, because it is, but still, how in the world would a magazine zero in on little Mount Vernon as the #1 town in America to rebound from the recession? Mount Vernon is the county seat of Skagit County. Skagit County has, as long as I can remember, had the lowest per capita income of the Puget Sound counties. The per capita income is way higher than the county I currently live in, that being Tarrant County in Texas.

For all I know in the 10 years I've been gone Skagit County has become the most prosperous of the Puget Sound counties.

I'm thinking this news is a sign that it is time to move back to Mount Vernon to somehow benefit from the Mount Vernon rebound from the recession. The year I moved, Mount Vernon was picked as the "Best Small City in America." Why? I don't remember.

Mount Vernon is a very good-looking town, particularly the downtown. I liked living where I could go 10 miles east and be in the mountains or 10 miles west and be at a saltwater beach. Mount Vernon is the hub of a big tourist zone, the likes of which I've never seen in Texas.

Those are tulips and Mount Baker you are looking at from the westside of Mount Vernon. The tulips and other flowers bring in a lot of tourists causing big traffic jams all over the valley.

But, the #1 town in America to recover from the bad economy? That perplexes me. Not as perplexed as I would be to wake up to find Fort Worth named the Most Livable City in America or the Cleanest Air in America or the Highest Per Capita # of College Graduates.

One town in Texas did make the BusinessWeek list of 25 towns poised to rebound, that being Brownsville, way down on the far south Texas Gulf Coast. It'd be closer to move to Brownsville, for me, than Mount Vernon. I like the Texas Gulf Coast. I'll have to think about it.

Arizona Desert Invades Fort Worth Prairie & Message From Fort Worth Star-Telegram

I don't know if those are fresh 4-Wheeler tracks rutting up the Tandy Hills Natural Area, or if they are the remains of 4-Wheeler vandalism of weeks ago and I just noticed it freshly today. The tracks appeared new to me. But they went nowhere. As if the vehicle was lifted away by a helicopter. That and the location of these tracks would not be easily reached by a vehicle, 4-Wheel drive or not. It's at the top of a hill, with all approaches to the top being either very steep or very narrow or hemmed in by trees.

So, we have yet one more Tandy Hills mystery. Maybe it's the ghostly Billy Hill returned once more.

I am still sore from my ordeal Tuesday where I found myself pounding the Fort Worth pavement for mile after mile. My aches and pains give new meaning to the "pain in the butt" phrase.

Swimming this morning in my melted iceberg made my aches and pains feel better for awhile. As did the endorphins that hiking the Tandy Hills drugs me with. But now, a couple hours later, my Tandy Hills fix is wearing off and the throbbing pains are starting up on me again.

I love whining about my aches and pains like an arthritic ol' geezer.

My mom called me last night to ask me which of my addresses she should mail me some beef jerky.

I just got what is called a "Direct Message" from the Star-Telegram, sent courtesy of Twitter, thanking me for following the FWST news and updates. And telling me they'd like to hear what I think about their Tweets.

My one longtime reader may be thinking, along with me, oh, the irony.

I went to Town Talk after Tandy and got some real good tomatoes, mangoes, petite brussels sprouts and other stuff I'm not remembering right now.

Being at the Tandy Hills today I got to see for myself Fort Worth's latest public art installation, called, I think, "Arizona Desert Invades Fort Worth Prairie."

I've yet to learn who made this beautiful piece of art or how much it cost. Currently Fort Worth is planning to spend about a quarter million dollars to build a memorial to JFK commemorating the fact that JFK spent his last night and morning alive, in downtown Fort Worth.

Meanwhile the Fort Worth Public Libraries have cut back and the city pools are being shut down.