Rush Limbaugh Weighs In On The Texas Super Bowl Week Ice Storm, Rolling Blackouts & Getting Power From Mexico

I listen to Rush Limbaugh for a few minutes every once in awhile while I do yoga. Getting aggravated listening to someone be aggravating is entertaining at times. And might be salubrious for ones blood pressure.

Somehow I often manage to be listening to Rush Limbaugh during one of his episodes when he says something that catches flak. And due to having heard what he actually said I find myself on Limbaugh's side, as I hear how badly out of whack the flak is from what he actually said.

Anyway, I just heard Rush do a little rant about our current frozen situation in Texas. According to Limbaugh, Mexico is helping Texas out of its power problem by sending electricity to Texas.

I did not know the Texas grid is connected to Mexico.

Rush also mentioned the havoc the Ice Storm and freezing temperatures have wreaked on Super Bowl week, mentioning, in particular, the pathetic ESPN scene in downtown Fort Worth where broadcasters broadcast to an empty Sundance Square parking lot while enveloped in the vapor caused by their hot air meeting the frozen air.

Limbaugh also said that nothing like getting power from Mexico ever happened back when J.R. Ewing was running Dallas.

Typing this is not as amusing as it was hearing it.

I've still got him on and he's now taking a phone call from someone in Dallas who is telling Rush how bad the ice situation is here, with freezing pipes breaking, closing down power plants. The caller is now telling Rush that Texas drivers don't know how to drive on ice.

Rush is now defending the Texas drivers, saying no one can drive on solid ice.

Next caller is complaining about the Rolling Blackouts being due to no new power plants having been built in Texas in years.

Rush is continuing to speak well of Texas, most prosperous state in the Union, having to get power from Mexico. And how this must be embarrassing to a lot of Texans.

I'm a transplant. I'm not finding it all that embarrassing to get some electricity from Mexico.

Okay, I've reached my Rush Limbaugh limit for the day.

According To Dolores The Super Bowl Will Be Played In Cowboys Stadium In Arlington

The weather info and countdown to the Super Bowl is a screencap from this morning's Dallas Morning News.

Note that the countdown is titled Super Bowl XLV - Arlington, TX.

Meanwhile, over in Fort Worth, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, there was an amusing letter to the editor this morning, written by a resident of Arlington who feels Arlington's honor is somehow being besmirched by the media and Jerry Jones.

Below is that letter, complete with the Star-Telegram's title for the letter...

Arlington's honor

Why is it so difficult for the media as well as Jerry Jones to acknowledge the fact that Cowboys Stadium is indeed in Arlington, where, I might add, the Super Bowl will be played? We, as residents of Arlington, voted to raise our sales tax to help pay for the stadium. Give us the courtesy of recognizing the city as the host of the Super Bowl. Our mayor, Dr. Robert Cluck, worked very hard to secure the honor of the stadium being built in Arlington. Please, give credit where credit is due.

-- Dolores Bielby, Arlington

I Am Still Freezing In Texas With No Rolling Blackout So Far Today

It was nice to wake up this morning to not find that another Rolling Blackout had rolled in.

It is still well below freezing on this dawn of the third day of the second month of 2011.

I read this morning that the Rolling Blackouts were caused by the freezing temperatures knocking out some key pieces of equipment at many of the Texas generating facilities.

I was hoping to drive up to Hurst today.

To see if this was possible I went on a test drive yesterday around 5.

I failed the test drive, so I won't be going up to Hurst today.

I had visually checked the road in my immediate vicinity and it seemed fairly clear of ice. I was not too long on the road when I discovered the clear road, in my immediate vicinity, was an anomaly. I was not long into driving north on Bridgewood Street, heading to Randol Mill, when the road became ice covered. Bridgewood, on its way to Randol Mill, goes down what amounts to being a steep hill in these parts.

I crawled down the steep hill at a speed my speedometer was not able to register. Eventually, before it got dark, I made it back here.

I am really really ready for the Texas Temperature Pendulum to swing back into the 70s or 80s. And stay there.

I Slipped & Slided My Way To The Super Bowl Buffet & Found It Closed

That almost looks like a mountain range in the background rising above my neighborhood Super Bowl Buffet.

But, there are no mountain ranges within 100s of miles of the location of my neighborhood Super Bowl Buffet.

In the picture, I am standing in front of Albertsons, looking northeast, across an iced over parking lot, with trucks sliding around helter skelter.

It appeared that the Super Bowl Buffet is not open today. No big surprise, all things considered. But it is sort of ironic that the Super Bowl Buffet is closed on Super Bowl week, with the Super Bowl being played just a few miles to the east in Arlington's Jerry Jones Palace, also known as the Temple of Greed and sometimes referred to as the Dallas Cowboy Stadium.

I wish the Super Bowl Buffet was open today. Now that I've established that I can bi-pedal my way to it, via simulated cross country skiing, I'm in the mood for some good Chinese food.

I probably have ingredients in my refrigerator with which I could simulate a good imitation of Chinese food. But it would not be all that good. And it sure would be no buffet. With shrimp. Come to think of it, I do have shrimp in the freezer.

I've got a few hours of power before the next Rolling Blackouts roll in. I am prepared for it now. Sort of.

Day Two Way Below Freezing In Texas Waiting For The Next Rolling Power Blackout To Arrive

Looking out my viewing portal at a little bit before 11 on the second day of the second month of 2011 you can see I have some icicles forming on the window.

I keep hearing the screeching of tires spinning on ice.

I do not handle being immobile very well.

When the power was out this morning I went out in the 9 degree heat for awhile to see if I could see how widespread the outage was. Or if it was being worked on.

This was before I learned we were having an Electrical Emergency in Texas requiring rolling blackouts. My blackout rolled way longer than the 15 minutes the power people claimed the blackouts would roll.

The State of Texas is cut off from the electric grid the rest of the country is connected to. Except for, I believe, the El Paso zone. I have no idea how this works in Texarkana which spans the border of both Texas and Arkansas.

I've not yet heard what is causing the power shortage, besides the West Texas windmills not spinning. It would seem the power use during this cold snap would not be as bad as when it is 111 and ACs are running hard.

I think I'll bundle up and go watch some tires spin.

Texas Power Emergency Knocks Out My Electricity This Morning In Rolling Blackout

Around 6 this morning I sensed something was not right. A few minutes later I saw a light blinking on my computer that usually is not blinking.

A few seconds after that I realized the power was out.

Having no power, in the dark, when it is 11 degrees out makes for an interesting morning.

I figured the power would quickly come back on.

After an hour and a half of getting ever more cold I called ONCOR.

Busy signal.

That was encouraging. A busy signal indicated to me that this must be a REAL big problem.

When the sun finally arrived to provide me some illumination I found my propane camp stove, a teapot and some green tea.

I was suffering though a cup of green tea when the power came back on. I am now suffering through a cup of hot coffee.

After I was finally able to re-connect with the outside world I looked at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and learned that the entire state of Texas is having a power emergency. With rolling blackouts, or "Planned power outage" as the Star-Telegram put it in the screen cap below.

Apparently the cold and the lack of wind has brought wind power generation to a halt in West Texas.

An ONCOR spokesperson told KXAS Channel 5 that the emergency measures were instituted shortly before 6 am in North Texas.

Great. My neighborhood got blacked out in the first wave.

The spokeswoman also said ONCOR was selecting feeders to go out for 15 minutes at a time.

I don't know what a feeder is, but, what ever feeds me electricity went out for over an hour and a half.

I am really ready for an end of the Global Warming problem.

Icy Weather Raises Questions About Dallas Super Bowl Travel

The above is a screen cap from an article in today's CNN online. With a picture of the Cowboy Stadium. In Arlington. With snow on the stadium and snow on all the stuff that has been erected around the stadium for the Dallas Super Bowl.

I am not sure, but I think maybe some local umbrage might be expressed over the caption under the photo which says....

"Officials in Dallas, Texas, say the city will be ready to host the big game on Sunday."

I wonder when, or if, the big game takes place, if the talking head is going to say, "Live from Dallas, Texas, the 2011 Super Bowl."

Variations of this have already occurred at previous events in the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium. In Arlington.

I imagine the same type thing used to occur at the old Dallas Cowboy Stadium. In Irving.

Big difference is you could actually see the Dallas skyline from the stadium in Irving. And Irving actually borders Dallas. And is in Dallas County.

I have seen the Dallas skyline from the top of the Oil Derrick in Six Flags Over Texas. Six Flags is just a short distance east of the Dallas Cowboy Stadium. I don't think the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium has any vantage points high enough from which you can see Dallas.

Jerry Jones should build a Seattle Space Needle-like structure next to his new stadium. With a revolving restaurant and viewing level on top. A futuristic structure, like the Space Needle, would be a good match with that futuristic looking stadium. You could market the ride to the top with something like "Take the Ride to the Top of the Cowboy Needle Where You Can See the City the Team is Named After."

I'd not thought of it before, but Fort Worth actually does border the town in which the Dallas Cowboy Stadium sits. Dallas doesn't, Fort Worth does.

I think it had occurred to me before that the Dallas Cowboy Stadium is in Tarrant County, that being the county of which Fort Worth is the county seat. Dallas sits in Dallas County. But, the Dallas Cowboy Stadium does not sit in Dallas County.

And someone at CNN. And likely elsewhere, thinks Sunday's Super Bowl is going to be played in Dallas. Where the city is ready to host the game. In another town.

The Great Fort Worth Freeze Of 2011 Has Me Shivering & Not Driving

I have had myself a successful venturing in to the Great Freezing Fort Worth Outdoors.

Currently 18 degrees, with the Wind Chill Factor causing it to feel like -12.

I do not recall ever shivering like I was shivering out there. The shivering was caused by taking off my gloves so I could  take pictures.

I was surprised to find people out driving on the thick coat of ice. Including the Fort Worth buses known at the "T".

Most of the vehicles, including the buses, were having serious sliding issues. Which the following photos will sort of show you.

You are looking east on Boca Raton Boulevard, at a car trying to slide up the hill. I doubt the Super Bowl Buffet is open, but, if it was, it would be up this hill, and on the right, where I would go for Chinese food today.

Right after I took this picture I looked across the street and saw Miss Puerto Rico. It was a very slippery crossing to the other side. Then when I got there I realized I'd dropped one of my gloves back where I'd come from.

At these temperatures you can not go long without gloves, so I had to do some more sliding, back across the street. The roads have a very thick coating of ice, but the sidewalks much less.

Miss Puerto Rico and I watched, in semi-horror, as the jack-knifed Dr Pepper delivery truck driver tried over and over again to straighten out his rig at the intersection of Boca Raton and Bridgewood Street. Cars and trucks were sliding down and up Bridgewood, barely missing Dr Pepper. Miss Puerto Rico was out watching when the Dr Pepper truck drove by, fast up the hill, and then went in to a skid as the driver tried to turn left, then going into jack-knife mode.

In the above scene I am right at the aforementioned intersection, after the Dr Pepper truck had de-jack-knifed. The pickup truck, aimed at that guy walking, was sliding down the hill with its wheels against the curb. If you look closely you can see the stop sign that a sliding vehicle took out.

Soon after all those cars cleared out in the previous picture of the downed stop sign, the #21 Fort Worth bus showed up, sliding down the hill, not able to come to a stop, then making the left turn on to Boca Raton, coming to a stop next to the Fort Worth bus that had been stopped ever since I'd been watching the jack-knifed Dr Pepper truck.

I am assuming those buses are still sitting out there, with the drivers realizing it is not safe to be on the roads right now.

I was not able to get a look at the freeway to see if it is moving traffic. I assume it must be. I am also assuming there are a lot of wrecks out there right now.

I've yet to hear anything about how well the Super Bowl temporary buildings are handling this wind, cold and ice.

Are 58 MPH Gusts, Snow, Ice & 8 Degrees Wreaking Havoc With The Temporary Super Bowl Buildings Surrounding The Dallas Cowboy Stadium?

The sun has now arrived, lighting up the icy morning of the first day of the second month of 2011.

As you can see, looking at the view through the bars of my patio prison cell, a layer of white has descended on my zone of North Texas.

The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is covered in white. I don't know about the rest of North Texas.

Small snow pellets are now falling. Landing on top of a layer of ice.

The National Weather Service WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect until 4 in the afternoon tomorrow.

The low today is scheduled to get down to 8. Tomorrow the low will supposedly be 4. If it gets down to 8 it will be, by far, the coldest since I've been in Texas. The only time I've experienced colder temperatures was one winter while going to college in the Eastern Washington town of Ellensburg. I came back from Christmas vacation to see a bank's temperature sign say it was -18.

Wind gusts are blowing the snow into little drifts. AccuWeather is reporting gusts as high as 58 mph.

I wonder how all those temporary tent-like Super Bowl structures are faring down by the Dallas Cowboy Stadium? How much snow and ice can those roofs handle before collapsing? What level of wind are they engineered to be able to handle?

Is Mother Nature meting out some sort of Divine Retribution for the Worst Case of Eminent Domain Abuse in American History?

The Faith Tabernacle Church by the Dallas Cowboy Stadium is canceling Super Bowl Sunday's church services so they can sell parking spaces to football fans.

I'm not what one would call religious, but I think God might get you for that type behavior.

Ice Storm Freezes Dallas/Fort Worth To A Stop 5 Days Before The Super Bowl

The above is a screen cap from the Dallas Morning News, taken a few minutes ago.

It is currently 19 degrees with a Wind Chill Factor of -7.

I started hearing ice hitting my windows at around 3 this morning, right when the National Weather Service predicted it would arrive.

The sun has not yet arrived but I can see the ground is white, covered with ice.

I do not know how extensive the Ice Storm is, but I do know that the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex has shut down. It is likely no Super Bowlers will be arriving today.

This is either the 3rd or 4th Ice Storm I've experienced since I have been in Texas. My first Ice Storm arrived my second week in Texas. It was a shock. The temperature plummeted overnight to around 15 with the ground covered with a couple inches of ice.

When I moved here I did not realize it could get so cold in this zone of Texas. I remember upon arrival thinking it odd that the house had a fireplace. Why would you want a fireplace in hot Texas?

Last night I saw a guy selling firewood down by Wal-Mart. Little piles of big sticks. I don't see firewood for sale here of the sort you see in Washington. Which makes sense, because you don't see trees here of the sort you see in Washington.