Getting Soaked By My Second Texas Downpour Of The Day

At noon I got soaked by a downpour on the Tandy Hills. Around 4 I left here, heading to a store to buy some stuff. When I got a view of the horizon I saw a wall of the blackest clouds I think I have ever seen.

I did not take a picture because the wall of black was in the direction I was heading. I figured I'd get a better picture option.

I was wrong.

I was soon in the black, getting hit with a heavy, torrential downpour.

I got to my destination. Ran in. Got my stuff. The noise inside was very loud. On leaving the store there was a cop standing guard. I asked if he was providing umbrella service. He had the gall to suggest I turn my baseball cap around so the bill could provide some protection from the rain.

I got back here to the wet view you see through my windshield, in the picture.

I made a run for it, got back behind closed doors and removed everything wet. I am now drying out for the second time today.

I woke up the computer to see email from Elsie Hotpepper asking if I'd dried out yet. Referencing the Tandy Hills soaking.

I called my mom today because I got gas, and as my one reader knows, when I get gas I call my mom. Mom was jealous of our chilly weather. And rain. She is eagerly awaiting a predicted monsoon rain to hit the Valley of the Sun, also known as the Phoenix area.

I am now seeing flashes and hearing thunder boom.

I am ready for this wet weather to return to the Pacific Northwest, where it belongs. And for Texas to get back to being reliably dry and HOT in summer. It is only 72 out there right now. If the rains stops I'll be opening the windows again.

Getting Soaked On The Tandy Hills & Confused At Chase Bank

That is not the early morning, dark view, from my patio. No, it's the noon view, looking north, on the Tandy Hills.

Hiking the Tandy Hills did not go well today. On the drive there a couple raindrops hit my windshield. But I did not think a rainstorm was imminent.

As I often am, I was wrong.

About 15 minutes into hiking it started to rain. And then it really started to rain. I then started to run. Then I had to stop running because the rain had made the trail slippery. I had not experienced that on the Tandy Hills before.

By the time I made it back to vehicular cover I was drenched.

Next stop. Chase Bank to make a deposit in the ATM. I usually make a deposit via the drive-thru, but I was wet, was in a hurry.

As I sat on Beach Street, waiting for the light to change to green, so I could turn left to the bank, I kept watching a guy in a pickup spend way too much time at the ATM, with a lot of interaction between him and the ATM. I sat there wondering what that guy's problem was.

The light changed just as the pickup finally pulled away from the ATM.

When I pulled in, beside the ATM, my first problem was I could not find any deposit envelopes. I've made a deposit at Chase via this means before, with the check stuck in an envelope.

After a couple minutes of being baffled, I decided to shove the bank card in the reader slot. That did not go well. Previously the ATMs simply took the card and gave it back when the transaction was completed. I kept getting an "unable to read card" message.

Then I realized it was now like swiping the card at a gas station. So, I quickly swiped it through the reader. After several more failures, success, now being asked to enter my PIN.

The PIN part went easy. Then I pushed the "deposit" button. I get told I can enter up to 25 checks into the check entry slot.

Huh?

A door opens, I stick in the check. I've not been asked to enter the amount of the deposit. I was getting very frustrated.

The ATM tells me it can not read the check, to please re-enter it correctly. I looked at the example on the ATM screen. I tried again. Still wrong. After I don't know how many attempts I was successful.

The ATM told me it had accepted a check deposit and said the amount and asked that I confirm it. Or reject the deposit if I wanted the check returned to me.

Next confusion was asking me what type receipt I wanted. I think there were 3 options, one of the options was a receipt with a photo image of the deposited check. I chose the just give me the damn receipt with the current balance on it option.

After what seemed another minute, the receipt showed up.

The next time I attempt to make a deposit in a Chase ATM I'm assuming I'll have an easier time of it. I hope.

I wish Washington Mutual had not had its meltdown. Their ATMs were so easy to use.

In Texas With A Hippie & Wee In Singapore

I went to school with the hippie in the picture, Tommy N.

Back then Tommy was a really skinny kid, a self-described socially misfitted geek, before geekiness turned cool.

I'd not heard anything about Tommy in years.

Til, this past week, when I heard from long lost Tommy N. and long lost Wee Cheng in Singapore.

I'm not much of a fan of Facebook, but I have sort of enjoyed some of these re-contacts caused by Facebook. Because it's interesting.

Wee now has 2 boys. Yesterday they helped Wee make sushi.

Wee asked me if I have any plans to visit Asia soon. And then asked me when it was she first invited me to Singapore. I told Wee it was way back late in the previous century.

Wee is a yoga instructor now. And has designed a line of yoga bags that she sells on the Internet.

As for Tommy N.

Well, those of you who remember him from our school years will likely be surprised to learn Tommy did a long stint in the navy, serving 6 month tours on the Kitty Hawk and Carl Vinson aircraft carriers. Plus submarine duty.

Tommy started being an electronics whiz way back in grade school. He continued to amp up his whizness after he got out of school. By the time he got out of the navy he had the electronics skills to work in Las Vegas and Reno as a slot machine fix-it guy.

At some point in time Tommy reproduced. A boy named Adam. And then Adam reproduced, thus turning Tommy N. into a grandpa.

I know no details regarding Tommy N.'s apparent hippie era. Except for the fact that it had to have taken place well after the hippie era heyday in the late 1960s.

Up Before The Texas Sun Again Thinking About Betty Jo Bouvier Not Being Memorable Among Other Things

Up early again. You can see there is some illumination beginning to light up the view from my patio. Not enough illumination, yet, to tell if we are under a cloud cover.

The Fort Worth police officer, who suffered bad head injuries in yesterday's chase/crash, remains in critical condition. It is now known the injured officer lost control of his cruise moments after he joined the chase.

The 2 motorcyclists who had been chased from Mansfield managed to successfully escape capture.

I thought that only happened in the movies.

I'm feeling bad this morning about Betty Jo Bouvier suddenly feeling like she is not memorable. This due to one singular instance of forgetfulness, by one individual, due to who knows what? In reality, Betty Jo is really quite memorable, even before she became the Wild Woman of Woolley.

Switching subjects to the weather. I had my windows open all night and the A/C off. In July. In Texas. Something ain't right about that. Meanwhile, last night, from an island in Washington, I got an email from a HEAT sufferer, so dismayed she was shouting in all CAPITAL letters about the HEAT.

Washington is scheduled to cool down by tomorrow. Texas is not scheduled to cool down tomorrow. Or the day after tomorrow. Or the day after that.

A Trip To The Post Office Finds A Fort Worth Police Officer Critically Injured In Chase

I left here about 3, this afternoon, heading to the library and post office. As soon as I had a view of the horizon I saw helicopters hovering over the freeway.

By the time I got to the library I could see traffic eastbound on Interstate 30 was not moving.

I was at the library all of a minute. As I left Miss Puerto Rico called to tell me she'd never seen so many police cars. She was over by Taco Bueno. Which is by the post office.

Driving past Taco Bueno, on Handley Road, I saw two police cars blocking entry to the freeway. Handley makes a bend past the post office. Around the bend I saw where the trouble was. Cars were backed up on Handley at the site of the problem.

As I joined the traffic jam I got out my camera and turned it on. The police cruiser you see in the picture came into view.

The car looked bent, as if it'd wrapped around the tree that appears to be coming out of the car.

This was the end result of a high speed chase that began in Mansfield. The Tarrant County Sheriff's Department had a house under surveillance due to it being a suspected Meth Lab House.

A couple of motorcylists left the house. The police began their pursuit. Fort Worth police were asked to join the chase, after which the crash occurred, just a short distance east of the I-30/I-820 Mixmaster Exchange.

The police officer was critically injured in the accident when his car slammed into the tree you see in the picture.

I have long been of the opinion that police chases of this sort should only be allowed for the most serious and dangerous of crimes. The police and public should not have been in this type danger chasing suspected drug dealers on motorbikes.

In my opinion.

No word yet if the police caught the motorcyclists they were chasing.

Fort Worth Flock Of Fosdick Baby Ducks & Their Car Baby Seat

You are looking at a little flock of Fosdic Lake baby Fosducks and their Baby Duck Mama, today around noon at Oakland Lake Park.

The Baby Duck Mama and her brood seemed to have exited the Baby Seat you see in the foreground, to head to the lake for lunch.

Why would someone leave a Baby Car Seat sitting next to a lake? Why would you haul the car seat all the way from your vehicle and leave it sitting on the ground in this location?

There were not very many birds on Fosdic Lake today. Have a lot of them flown north for the summer?

This morning I learned that the Texas Department of State Health Services has determined that eating fish caught in the Trinity River in 8 Texas counties, including Dallas and Tarrant, could lead to health issues, due to the river being so contaminated with chemicals, like dioxins and PCBs.

But, there is no health risk to swimmers, the state warning advisory said.

Huh?

Who in their right mind would go swimming in the Trinity River? It is usually a very muddy river. There are snakes and turtles who call that river home. And giant garfish.

I saw a guy swimming in the Trinity River once as I crossed the river on the Randol Mill Road bridge east of Beach Street. I was so astounded I stopped on the bridge to stare. And confirm it really was a guy swimming. He had on a wetsuit. Not that that made it seem any more doable.

The state also advises against eating fish caught in Fosdic Lake. I don't know if the Fosdic ducks are safe to eat. As you can see the Baby Fosducks were leading their mom on a food hunting expedition, occasionally finding something tasty to eat. Likely laced with dioxins and PCBs.

I thought dioxins and PCBs were banned a long time ago.

Fort Worth Forecast 89 & Showers, Seattle Forecast 95 & Blazing Sunshine

Currently coming up on 11 in the morning it is 81 here in Fort Worth, heading to a predicted high today of 89. With showers.

Meanwhile, up in Seattle, coming up on 9 in the morning, it is 69, heading to a predicted high of 95. With Blazing Sunshine.

Here in Fort Worth we have this vexation called humidity which leads to a thing called the Heat Index. Currently thought the temperature is 81, it feels like 86.

Meanwhile, up in Seattle, there is not much of a humidity problem, so, somehow with the temperature being 69, it feels like 67. Is this the Anti-Heat Index? I don't know.

Below is the Seattle forecast, taken from the Seattle P-I. Note the amusing weather descriptors, "Blazing sunshine", "Sunny record-tying heat", "Mostly sunny, not as warm", "Beautiful with sunshine".

Meanwhile, our Fort Worth weather descriptor is pretty much "Chance of Showers" until 7 days from now when we get "Mostly Sunny".

My Tex-Mess Hummus Debacle

A couple weeks ago I bought a bag of garbanzo beans at Town Talk. That bag has been mocking me ever since, reminding me that I bought the bag thinking I'd make hummus out of the garbanzos.

How hard can that be?

It is very easy to find recipes for the world's most popular condiment. All the recipes have you blending the ingredients in a food processor, also known as a blender.

I have that kitchen item covered in the form of a Vita-Mix, bought years go at the Home Show in Seattle's Kingdome. Which seems to indicate I have a very old Vita-Mix.

Early this morning I started boiling the garbanzos. Hours later the beans seemed to have reached some level of doneness.

So, I drained them and dumped them into the Vita-Mix. Then I added some chopped up garlic, olive oil, tahini paste, lemon juice and liquid from the boiled beans.

Put the lid on the Vita-Mix and hit the 'go' button. This did not go too well. I was not getting the mixing action I was hoping for. So, I got out the wooden stick thing that came with the Vita-Mix, that you stick into the stuff you are trying to mix to help it get mixing.

The stick didn't work too well. Soon I could tell I was over working the Vita-Mix motor.

I added some more liquid, kept trying to shove the beans to the mixing blades. Eventually I was a HOT sweaty mess from all this exercise.

I decided the hummus was blended well enough. Then I found that I'd pretty much mixed up a batch of cement. It took about 20 minutes to get the cement plug out of the Vita-Mix.

I tasted what I'd made. It did not taste bad. Blindfolded I don't know if I would have guessed hummus. It does not look too appetizing, which you can clearly see in the picture at the top.

I grew addicted to a constant supply of really good hummus when Town Talk had a constant supply. And then it was gone.

I'll eat the Tex-Mess Hummus I made this morning. But, I won't be making anymore. Probably.

Up Before The Sun Again On a Fort Worth Thursday Colder Than Seattle

You might be able to guess from the dark nature of the view from my patio that I am up, again, way before dawn's crack. And, once more, with no sun lighting up the place, my camera's flash provides the only illumination.

The waking up way too early thing causes me to be tired way too early, thus causing the getting up way too early to repeat.

It's only 78 out there. I turned off the A/C and opened the windows about 2 this morning. I do not recollect ever doing this in July, in Texas, before.

Meanwhile, up in the Pacific Northwest, the locals are in overheating mode due to record breaking temperatures, as in, Seattle hit 90 on Wednesday, breaking a nearly 60 year record, when it got to 88 at Sea-Tac on July 7, 1953.

Today is predicted to be even hotter in the Northwest. In the Northwest few of those hapless souls have air-conditioning in their homes. In addition to rarely having any need for A/C, a heat wave usually only lasts 3 days, at the longest, due to the hot air getting drawn over the Cascades and thus drawing in cool air that had been hovering over the Pacific Ocean.

Our high, here in my Fort Worth zone of Texas, is predicted to hit 88 today. Cooler than Seattle. But, we have no hope, here, of the HOT temperatures drawing in some cool air from the Pacific Ocean. We might draw in some HOT humid tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico.

My current plan is to be in Arlington today. Among other things, I'll likely go to Veterans Park and ALDI.

Walking Around Fort Worth's Fosdic Lake Looking For My Camera

Earlier today we were looking out the pre-dawn view from my patio. Right now we are looking at the early evening view from the same location. We are not out there drinking coffee. Or a cooling libation. Because it is too HOT to be out there.

As in it is 91 coming up on 6 o'clock.

I took off out of here around 3 to go to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdic Lake. On the way I got gas.

Even though I got gas I did not call my mom to tell her I got gas. I know this is a radical departure from my norm, but I had my reasons.

When I got to Oakland Lake Park and reached for my camera, it was missing. I knew I had either left it at home, or it had fallen out while I was getting gas. I had a previous falling out incident.

So, I drove back to the gas getting location. No camera was laying on the ground. When I got back home, I did find the camera, unmolested, sitting on my desk.

This morning I heard from the long lost Singapore native, Yap Wee Cheng. Later in the day I heard from the long lost Washington native, Tommy Nelson. Both natives came to me via Facebook. I generally do not like Facebook. But, it does have some uses.

My re-filling pool is almost full. This means I can resume my bad swimming habit in the morning. Unless some currently unforeseen calamity intercedes.