Hot Rock Lukewarm's Photo Of Smoky Midland Texas Surrounded By Wildfires

Incoming photo from Hot Rock Lukewarm, currently out in Midland, in West Texas, where his band is playing in a gala at the Midland Petroleum Club.

The above view was from last night, looking south from beautiful downtown Midland, where the smell of smoke was strong, very windy, with fires burning in several directions from Midland.

I have not heard from the Queen of Wink, yet, as to the status of her realm. Wink is to the west of Midland, about 30 or 40 miles, I think.

What happens with all those oil wells in West Texas when a wildfire burns through?

When you drive through the West Texas zone the air reeks of petroleum.

We are now past 3 in the afternoon in my zone of Texas. As you can see in the latest weather update, what was earlier predicted to be 'A Severe T-Storm," has turned in to "A strong t-storm in spots."

Currently my zone of far east Fort Worth is not one of those spots. It is relatively sunny, birds are chirping, the wind has died down.

And I think I'll go for an afternoon swim with no fear of incoming thunderbolts.

Driving On Fort Worth's New Crosswalks With An Electric Motorized Transport Device

After I left Village Creek Natural Historic Area today I headed north on Eastchase Boulevard to the location of my coffee purveyor on the north side of Interstate 30.

Several months ago I was surprised to see work being done to the overpasses over I-30 at Eastchase and at Cooks Lane, about a half mile west.

The sidewalks were being upgraded with wheelchair accessible ramps added.

I remember thinking to myself I'd never seen anyone walk across either the Cooks Lane or Eastchase freeway crossing.

So, I was a bit surprised, today, to be stopped at the light before crossing the freeway overpass, to look up to see a lady on some sort of motorized transport motoring on the new sidewalk crossings.

She'd made it up a rather steep hill from the Lowe's/Wal-Mart/Sam's Club zone. That must be a very powerful electric transport device to be able to haul so much mass up such an incline.

If I remember right, I think I actually heard myself opining that working on these crosswalks seemed like a huge waste of resources, considering how many areas of Fort Worth are in dire need of a sidewalk, in places where people actually walk.

So, color me deeply chagrined, now that I realize this particular lady on wheels would not have been able to safely cross the freeway, had these improvements not been made.

I wonder how far she was traveling on her motorized transport? I wonder if she drives it right in to Wal-Mart. Or does she switch to one of the Wal-Mart electric carts to do her shopping?

Testing For Barnett Shale Natural Gas In Village Creek Natural Historic Gas Drilling Area In Arlington

I nixed going to the Tandy Hills today and instead opted for going to the Village Creek Natural Historic Area in Arlington.

I needed to replenish my coffee supply, so, since Village Creek is closer to my supplier, it made sense to go there.

I was surprised as soon as I pulled into the Village Creek Natural Historic Area parking lot to see some very unnatural cable strung on the ground.

I'd seen this type thing before, at River Legacy Park. Seismic testing for Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling.

I soon confirmed that that is what the cables were for when I came upon testing equipment deeper in the park.

There were a lot of walkers today. The first group I came to was quite excited to tell me they'd seen water moccasins swimming in the creek. I saw no snakes, but I did see what appeared to be a couple alligator gar.

I don't know what ever became of the River Legacy Park seismic testing. Is a drill pad slant drilling under that park? I've no idea. I suppose since it is natural gas that is being sought, testing for it in a Natural Area sort of makes sense.

Seems very odd to me, though, having all that cable of various colors and equipment laying about.

We've got about an hour and a half to go before the predicted arrival of today's severe Thunderstorm. Currently it appears a bit topsy turvy out there. I think topsy turvy is a very scientific meteorologic term.

Early Sunday Morning After A Bad Night Of Insomnia Wondering How Close The Giant West Texas Wildfire Is To The Queen Of Wink's Realm

Stepping outside on this second Sunday of April and looking up at the sky it does not appear that the expected cloud cover has yet arrived.

We are already one third of the way through April. Time seems to be accelerating along with the price of gas.

I had myself another really bad insomnia bout last night. I think this was mostly due to being unable to find a happy medium between too hot and too cold.

So far I have not smelled the acrid odor of a wildfire. The wildfire currently burning out in West Texas is enormous. I do not know if it is burning in the Queen of Wink's realm in West Texas.

Checking the hourly forecast, for my zone, I see the predicted Thunderstorm is scheduled to arrive around 3 this afternoon.

If it rains hard today, the noon time frame may be my last chance to do some Tandy Hills hiking til dryness returns.

I see a morning swim, a mid-day hike, fish and chips and a Thunderstorm in my future for the 10th day of April. I don't think I will be going for an afternoon swim in the Thunderstorm.

Two Weeks Til The 2011 Prairie Fest On The Tandy Hills Hopefully With Lots Of Wildflowers

Two weeks to go til the 2011 Prairie Fest, with the Tandy Hills Wildflowers needing to get serious about amping up their bloomage.

It was in the low 80s when I hit the hills today. And windy. Very pleasant.

I saw several of the wildflowers you see in the picture today. Each day there are more wildflowers, but some areas, like Lost Sunglasses Ridge are still bloom free.

A lady with a little kid was flying a kite on top of Mount Tandy today. The little kid had rolled the toy stroller, that is part of the Tandy Hills Shrine, over to where his mom was flying a kite, in case the Tandy Hills Shrine Keeper wonders why the stroller moved.

The top of Mount Tandy does not seem, to me, to be a good kite flying location, due to all the cables anchored to the ground from all the towers. I guess the worst that could happen is the kite gets tangled in a cable.

Tomorrow we are currently scheduled to get heated to a high of 92, with a strong Thunderstorm. I don't know at what time Sunday the T-Storm is expected to arrive.

A pushy lady on Weight Watchers convinced to buy a big loaf of gingerbread at Town Talk today. She had several people chiming in on how good this gingerbread is. Having never had gingerbread I would not know good from bad.

I'll let you know what I think of gingerbread when I get around to trying some.

In the meantime, I am going swimming again.

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.