The Second Saturday Of April In Texas Has Dawned Heated To 70 Degrees With No Government Shutdown

I was up late Friday night and thus up late Saturday morning.

It appears this second Saturday of April has dawned with yet one more clear blue sky day in Texas, as you can clearly see, looking out one of my viewing portals on the world.

Yesterday started off that way too. But by noon hazy grayness had moved in.

I was so relieved this morning to see the news that a government shutdown had been averted at the last minute. What would have become of all of us if the government ceased to exist? It is just too troubling to even consider such a dire thing.

Like John Lennon once said, "Imagine there's no government, I wonder if you can." Or something like that.

It is 70 degrees at this point in time. I think I will go swimming now.

Talk to you later.

I'm Having A Hazy Lazy Day In Fort Worth Thinking About Nothing Except Keeping Cool

When I drove to the Tandy Hills a bit before noon the sky was not blue. It was gray. Looking towards downtown Fort Worth it appeared the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth was being viewed through a hazy gauze.

By the time I reached the point where I took today's picture of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, the haze was lifting and blue sky was starting to make its way through the cloud cover.

We are now almost cloud-free and 86 degrees.

Which means I can do my daily lounging under the sun, working on my tan, in preparation for being in the Arizona desert.

When I got back here from the Tandy Hills I turned on the A/C. I'd forgotten I'd turned it on til right now when it cycled back on, blowing chilled air on me.

An afternoon bout in the pool, followed by some sun lounging should cool me off. I think I will go do that right now.

On The 2nd Friday Of April I Learned I Drink The Best Water In Texas

Looking through the bars of my patio prison cell it appears that the 2nd Friday of April is going to be yet one more sunny day in Texas.

Currently heated to 72 degrees.

Yesterday I ran my A/C for the second time this year. I've got my windows open right now, but I suspect later today the windows will be closing and the A/C will be running again.

This morning I was a bit surprised to learn that Arlington has the best drinking water in Texas.

I believe my drinking water comes from the Arlington system. But I am not certain about that. It is perfectly tasty drinking water, just as tasty as I used to taste when I drank pristine Washington drinking water.

At my first location in Texas, in the hamlet of Haslet, on the border of far north Fort Worth, the water was not drinkable as it came out of the tap. A special filter made it slightly more drinkable.

My one and only time in San Antonio occured while I was still drinking the Haslet water. The water in San Antonio comes from the Edwards Aquifer. This water was as good, if not better, than Washington water. I fillled 2 gallon jugs with the San Antonio water to take back north with me.

So, I'm a bit surprised that Arlington's water beat San Antonio's for best in Texas.

Arlington's water now goes on to the national drinking water competition, held by the American Water Works Association. No Texas water has ever won the national competition. That is really shocking.

Water seems to be the theme this morning. So, now I guess I will go swimming in it.

Talk to you later.

Smelling Roses In Arlington's Veterans Park And A Bigger Stink In Fort Worth's MHMR Of Tarrant County

I had to be in Pantego today. Pantego is close to Arlington's Veterans Park. Which had me deciding to go walking in Veterans Park before going to Pantego.

Upon arrival at Veterans Park and exiting my motor transport device I was immediately hit with air heavily perfumed by roses.

It was like being stuck on an elevator with someone with way too much perfume or cologne. Only not annoying.

Those are the smelly roses in the picture, below the waving flags and the soldier guarding them.

I am starting to get ever more annoyed at the Mental Health Mental Retardation of Tarrant County people who make comments regarding the Paradise Center Scandal. I don't mean to be too rude, but they are so incredibly stupid.

One of the issues in this scandal is the fact that the Paradise Center was an independent operation, which MHMR helped. MHMR represented itself as running the operation, which is not true. Then MHMR staged their February 17 coup d'etat, kicking out the Paradise Center and putting their possessions in a storage container.

In the Anonymous comment below, the Anonymous MHMR moron is bragging about all that MHMR is doing to the old Paradise Center. Which begs the question, if the Paradise Center was a MHMR operation why were these good things not done previously, if the quality of the Paradise Center's stuff was so trashy?

Below is the comment I'm talking about, and then below that I do more commenting.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Fort Worth's Paradise Center Scandal Now Has A Blog":

No it was not a April Fool's joke. Adults I am around "act like Adults" amd we do not play childish April Fools jokes. We have better things to do with our "Time". Yes, it is true that the new Drop In Center is Upgrading the old Paradise Center Building. Yes, Sam's Club is bringing supplies to us. With the cost of gasoline it is cost effective to have it delivered. The "old couches" were heavily used and Steve (Teresa's Davis husband) had put stacks of boards under the middle of the couches which didn't help much, and definitely made them look "trashy". New couches are ordered to replace the "junk". My understanding MHMRTC actually purchased those and that is why they are still there and not in storage. MHMRTC is replacing them with couches that will hold up to alot of wear, that will hold up to people flopping down on them, and accommodate heavy clients as well. The PROS brag alot, but, it has now been six weeks and Teresa Davis, her so called board, has accomplished very little. Let's see you act like "grownups" and rent your own storage building, rent you a Uhaul and put your own "dumpsters best" items in storage.

Has it occurred to MHMR people that maybe the Paradise Center's lawyers have told them not to touch the stuff that MHMR took possession of and placed in a POD storage container?

Today on the Paradise Center Scandal blog I compiled all the comments to that blog from the past 3 days. It is a daunting task to do that. If I don't figure out an easier way I don't think I'll be doing any  more comment compiling.

It's No April Fool's Joke: Fort Worth Is An All American City Finalist Due To Its Homeless People Programs, Mental Health Programs & Anti-Graffiti Programs

This morning Elsie Hotpepper pointed me towards something really bizarre.

On Wednesday Fort Worth was selected as a finalist in the National Civic League's All-America City Competition.

Along with 25 other cities, most of which I've never heard of, like several towns in California, such as Downey, Dublin, Yucaipa and Huntington Park.

Others I've never heard of include Eden, North Carolina. Dakota County, Nebraska. Dedham, Massachusetts. Belleville, Illinois. Lakeview, Oregon. Taylor Landing, Texas. Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Beloit, Wisconsin. Scott City, Kansas. Marshalltown, Iowa.

And then there are the towns I have heard of, like Cincinnati, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Kenai in Alaska, Torrance in California, Lakewood in Colorado, Tupelo, Ann Arbor and Seaside, Oregon.

Seaside, Oregon? That's just a little coastal town.

The criteria for being on this list is also what makes it very bizarre that Fort Worth is on it.

The cities are picked based on the strength of three specific items. Those being the town's participation in the Directions Home program that addresses the homeless people problem, the Mental Health Connection program, plus something called the We Are Legal Anti-Graffiti program.

Where do I start?

First off, you've got to hear what Fort Worth's goofy mayor, Mike Moncrief said about Fort Worth being in the running for this supposedly prestigious award....

"Fort Worth's credentials are stronger than a horseradish milkshake. Homelessness is not a new problem, but a different solution was certainly in order. Fort Worth was no longer going to sit on the sidelines. It was time to act. The same can be said for our local mental health care system, which was disjointed and ineffective. This community came together and did something about it."

I can't help but wonder if maybe Fort Worth's mayor is possibly insane.

Yes, Fort Worth took a different tack with its homeless population problem than most modern American cities. For instance, there was a functioning Shantytown west of Beach Street that the City of Fort Worth removed, right before the Super Bowl.

The City of Fort Worth's city government has been "studying" the homeless problem for years. Task forces have been sent out to modern American cities like Denver, Portland and Seattle to see how those towns handle the homeless. And then the task force comes back to Fort Worth where nothing changes.

The community came together and did something about Fort Worth's disjointed, ineffective mental health care system?

Really?

Because Fort Worth does not have a real newspaper the mayor of Fort Worth likely has not heard of the MHMR-TC shenanigans and the Paradise Center Scandal. How did the community come together and do something about Fort Worth's ineffective mental health care system? By sitting mute while the county mental health agency booted out a well-functioning mental health facility because that facility would not go along with an insurance monetizing scheme?

And what is it that Fort Worth has done about the graffiti problem?

Fort Worth's credentials are stronger than a horseradish milkshake? Does no one check over Fort Worth's mayor's press releases before they get released, to reduce the goofiness quotient?

Note to the National Civic League: On June 17 in Kansas City,  Missouri, if you pick Fort Worth as an All-American City based on your stated criteria, you will have rendered your All-American City Award meaningless.

65 Degrees With A Red Flag Warning On The First Thursday Of April In North Texas

As you can clearly see, looking out one of my viewing portals on the world, this first Thursday of April, it is a relatively balmy 65 degrees outside.

And, for some reason, the outdoor world seems to be glowing with a greenish tint.

Currently in North Texas we are under what the National Weather Service calls a Red Flag Warning. This means wildfires are easily started due to the dry conditions.

So far no wildfires have erupted near enough to me that I have smelled that distinctly acrid odor.

I have no idea what lays ahead for me today. Except for the fact that I am going swimming at this point in time.

Talk to you later.

Hiking Among The Tandy Hills Prickly Pear Cactus Thinking About Being Up A Creek With TRV MHMR SFRF FWW & Other Initials

In the picture you are with me today around noon, face to face with a patch of prickly pear cactus prickling up the Tandy Hills.

It was a perfect hiking temperature today, with a strong wind blowing.

This morning's swim was also perfect with the water warmer than the air.

I've been a blogging/websiting maniac today, on my blogs and other blogs, that are sort of like my secret secondary blogs.

I think all the commenting on the Paradise Center Scandal Blog is the most of that type activity I've experienced since years ago when I inadvertently caused myself the Scarborough Faire Renaissance Festival Brouhaha of over the top silly reaction.

The Scarborough Brouhaha was pretty much silly nonsense. The Paradise Center Scandal brouhaha is not something silly, it's something serious that sort of is like a boil on the festering sore that is the dark side of the Fort Worth Way of how the city and county government operate, with little accountability and zero transparency.

Meanwhile, on a brighter note, FW Weekly has an excellent article about Tarrant County's fiesty firebrand, Layla Caraway, and her multi-year battle to get Fort Worth and Tarrant County to wake up and face the water.

Read "TRV's Up a Creek: As the Trinity River moves right along, local communities still aren't  safe from floods" in this week's FW Weekly, the closest thing Fort Worth has to a real newspaper.

Up With The Texas Sun On The 1st Thursday Of April

UPDATE: I was time traveling on Wednesday, shifting ahead 24 hours.

The sun and I got up about the same time this morning, which you can sort of see from the picture I took when I stepped outside to recover my swimming suit.

This 1st Thursday of April is currently heated to 54 degrees, heading to a high today somewhere in the 80s.

Heard from the Scrabble Queen of Washington this morning. describing something I could not do in my current location where this is no ferry to ride to an island to go to a restaurant.

The Scrabble Queen said...

Went to Lummi Island to a restaurant called the Willows. Fantastic dinner - a little like French Laundry in Napa - everyone ate the same meal, lots of courses. They used a lot of rocks from the beach. Some were on a plate with water - frozen, with oysters on the half shell. Heated rocks under the bread. Big rock with radish and dip served on it, very fun.

Okay, that all sort of made me homesick for a ferry ride, being out on the San Juan Islands and having fresh Puget Sound oysters. I can't remember when I last had oysters.

Maybe I will find some shellfish on the Tandy Hills today. But, before that, I am going swimming with the tweeting birds.

A Yellow Flower Blooms On The Tandy Hills While The Paradise Center Re-Opens

Today there was pretty much nothing wet that would make one think it rained an inch or more on the Tandy Hills during Monday's Thunderstorm.

Monday's short bout of wetness seems to have activated some new wildflower activity. Like the yellow wildflowers you see in the picture, that appear to grow out of a rock.

These particular yellow wildflowers may be my favorite. The blooms are relatively large, wildflower-wise, about 3 or 4 inches across.

I mentioned yesterday that I might soon have good news to report regarding the Paradise Center. I got the go ahead to spread that good news this morning. And so I did on The Paradise Scandal blog. You can read the long version there. Short version, they have found a new location for the center and are moving in.

I called the Phoenix zone whilst driving to the Tandy Hills today. I called my sister in Chandler. My mom and and were at my sister's. I got an email a couple days ago, from my sister, because they'd had their first 100 degree day and my mom wanted me to make it there by early May at the latest.

Or wait til September or October. I think my mom remembered I live in Tornado Alley and spring is tornado season.

The plan is for me to fly to Phoenix and then drive back to Texas.

Did I mention that that bright yellow wildflower, at the top, is a perfect metaphor for my currently sunny disposition?

Well, it is.

Insomnia On The First Tuesday Of April Only 7 Degrees Above Freezing In Texas

Looking out one of my viewing portals on the world, on the first Tuesday of April, you can see it is yet one more clear blue sky morning in Texas.

What you can't see is that it is only 41 degrees out there.

I had myself an Insomnia Night last night. When I finally managed to go into slumber mode I had myself an extremely detailed nightmare. Nazis were involved. I now sort of know what it is like when Nazis take over your town.

I see the Tandy Hills in my future for today. Yesterday's wind should have dried the hills.

The ubiquitous Anonymous left a  comment on yesterday's blogging about walking around Fosdic Lake, asking....

How close is Fosdic Lake to a drilling site? I'm just saying... 

I did not understand the premise of the question til I looked, just now, at what I said in the blogging. So, I guess Anonymous is suggesting my miserable cold like symptoms may have been being caused by a Barnett Shale Natural Gas drilling site being near Fosdic Lake.

Well, there is one a fairly short distance to the northwest of Fosdic Lake, maybe a quarter mile distant. I live closer than that to a Chesapeake Energy drilling site. I suspect it is the culprit behind my occasional misery.

Regarding my feeling miserable, the symptoms have abated, so far, this morning.

I don't know about going swimming this morning, with it now only 7 degrees above freezing, having dropped 2 degrees since I woke up the computer. I'll probably give it a try because the water is going to feel so much warmer than 37.

I will let you know how that goes, later.