Up Early Saturday Morning With Computer Woes And The Wind Finally Calm

You can not tell by looking out my window, but I can tell you the wind has finally stopped blowing.

This morning I found out the smoky air is being brought to us from massive wildfires to the north along the Red River.

It is a bit chilly this morning at only 45 degrees. The swimming pool will be way warmer than the air this morning.

I had myself some computer woe fun starting last night. I was looking for an image, clicked on one I wanted and instantly something called XP Security Update took over my computer.

It disabled the Microsoft Security Essentials, which I've now learned is essentially worthless. The XP Security Update tried to make me think I had some dire things on my computer that I could fix if I got out my credit card. This scam is actually quite clever in its sinister nefariousness.

I gave up on fixing this problem last night. This morning I was able to figure out the .exe program that was causing this from the Windows Task Manager "processes" list. I saw two entries that should not have been there in the MSCONFIG startup tab. Unchecked them. Then searched the registry for uaq.exe and removed all entries. This fixed the woe.

Now, the extreme irony of this latest computer problem is yesterday morning Microsoft sent out one of its security updates. This time it was at least a dozen XP updates due to threats being discovered that would allow an attacker to take over my computer.

So, the updates updated and then within a few hours an attacker took over my computer, turning off the Microsoft anti-virus program and disabling the Malwarbyte's Anti-Malware program, which is now running and has found 4 infected objects.

The Queen of Wink just called. She is in Roanoke to do some obstacle course thing.

I must go swimming now to relieve my stress.

The Smoky Windy View From Miss Puerto Rico's Balcony

I zoomed the view from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony so you could more clearly see how unclear the air is on this Friday, April 15 in my zone of North Texas.

The wind continues to gust.

I like a good windstorm, but I am ready for dead calm to return.

I would have gone for an afternoon swim if it weren't for the whitecaps on the pool.

By the time I got back here, from Miss Puerto Rico's, I realized I'd forgotten to check on the cat and its food supply.

Note to anyone reading this. It really is not wise to have me babysitting any animate creature. I did remember to reset the security alarm, so I'm not really totally 100% irresponsible.

Below is video I took a few minutes ago of the view from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony of the wind blowing and being loud....

I Came Back From The Tandy Hills Today To Learn I Have Been Handpicked To Help The Prairie Fest Get Setup

I made it to the Tandy Hills in the noon timeframe today for the first time in a few days.

It is not being particularly hot today, only in the low 70s. But it is being very windy. The windiest I've ever experienced on the Tandy Hills. Earlier today the gusts were up to 55mph. Currently 35mph.

The pink wildflowers in the picture look like they'd be blown apart by heavy wind, but they seemed to be surviving just fine.

The horizon to the north was looking very smoggy as I drove back from the Tandy Hills. I suspect this heavy wind is blowing in some wildfire smoke. I'm going over to Miss Puerto Rico's in a bit to take a picture of the panoramic view to the north from her balcony. And feed the cat.

I got an urgent message from Don Young a short while ago. Congratulating me for being a hand-picked individual. Below is the message....

Congratulations! YOU are among a few hand-picked individuals invited to be on the Prairie Fest set-up Posse. Your help is needed to prepare for the festival site for the 4 - 5,000 people who will attend Prairie Fest.

We need your help the day before the festival doing the following:

-Setting up a few tents
-Installing signs and banners
-Setting up the stage
-Arranging barricades and hay bales
-Unloading and setting up tables and other equipment
-etc.

• We need reliable individuals with willpower and stamina. Handyman-woman skills are a plus.
• Work will start Friday April 22 at 10 am and end about 7 pm with breaks for lunch.
• Bring tools, wheel barrows, garden wagons, hand-trucks, gloves and whatever else you need. Water will be available.

This is an URGENT request for assistance. RSVP.

Yesterday I told you I ran into Stenotrophomonas on the Tandy Hills, picking up litter and putting it into a black garbage bag.

Today, part way up Mount Tandy, I found a black garbage bag sitting beside the trail.

Was this the Stenotrophomonas bag?

My best guess is that his bag burst open, so Stenotrophomonas left it in this location til he could return with more garbage bags.

The wind was not impacting too strongly on the damaged bag. I'll bring a bag with me tomorrow in case this abandoned bag is still being a hazardous waste site.

Halfway Through April Thinking Of Riding Mass Transit That Does Not Exist To Six Flags Over Texas In Arlington

We are already halfway through April. I tire of lamenting the rapid passage of time.

I got up about the same time the sun did this morning. As you can see, looking at one of my views of the outdoor world, it is yet one more blue sky morning in Texas.

Yesterday's predicted Thunderstorm did not arrive in my location. I saw no mention made of lightning striking in other locations in North Texas, when I checked the news this morning.

CatsPaw identified the big purple wildflower I found on the top of Mount Tandy yesterday as a variety of bearded iris. Iris's are one of the flowers grown commercially in the Skagit Valley of Washington, along with daffodils, tulips and flags.

Speaking of Washington. I did not know, til I read it this morning, that a new section of light rail is under construction in Seattle, with the new line extending from downtown to the University of Washington.

It is a subway line. Building the subway tunnel workers discovered some long buried artifacts from earlier years. Items like shoes and long sections of boardwalk. Seattle used to have really steep hills that were made less steep by using water to do what  was called re-grading.

Recently Mr. and Mrs. Galtex were in Seattle, doing some lamenting about the steep hills. I wonder if they knew the hills used to be way steeper and taller?

This morning in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram I read some lamenting about the lack of regional transit planning in this slightly backwards zone. It does sort of appall me that no one seems to think it makes sense to have a mass transit system connecting all the towns that make up the D/FW Metroplex.

Minimally, you would think someone would think it a good idea to connect Dallas and Fort Worth to Arlington's Six Flags/Cowboy Stadium/Ballpark in Arlington/Hurricane Harbor zone with a people moving system like the Dallas DART trains.

It is time to change the subject from the lack of public transit, where I am currently located, to last night's setting sun seen as I walked back here from doing my cat tending duties at Miss Puerto Rico's. The sun was glowing reddish-orange.

I suspect smoke from wildfires may have contributed to the coloring of the sun.

I think I will go swimming before it gets any later.

I Found The Legendary Stenotrophomonas Doing Maintenance On The Tandy Hills Today Along With Possible Poison Ivy

A 10 o'clock doctor visit, this morning, rendered my regular noon aerobicizing not doable, til later.

It was 85 when I hit the Tandy Hills today. And very windy.

The wind was blowing clouds in front of the sun, making taking a picture of the Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man slightly difficult. It was as if the lights kept getting turned off right when I clicked the shutter button.

As you can see, a buzz cut has my head looking like it's shrunk. A buzz cut makes for a much cooler hiking experience.

Today I had 3 Close Encounters of the Human Kind on the Tandy Hills. I can go weeks without seeing another human on the hills.

The first encounter came as I reached the bottom of Mount Tandy, at the point where the trail enters the Tandy Highway. A guy was walking towards me, picking up stuff and putting it in a black plastic bag.

As our paths crossed I said howdy, to which the guy with the black bag said, in a quizzical tone, "Durango?"

"That would be me" said I. "Who are you? I asked.

"Stenotrophomonas" came the reply.

I was face to face with the legendary Stenotrophomonas.

I continued on. A mile or so later I saw movement across a gully. Soon another human came into view. I'd seen this guy before. He had some sort of music playing device in his ear. So his "howdy" was quite loud.

The Third Encounter of the Human Kind occurred in the dark, foliage thick area you reach from the north side of Tandy Falls. I was coming down the trail that leads to the falls. Suddenly this guy hollers at me some sort of warning. I was a little concerned.

Turns out he had found what he thought to be a lot of poison ivy. I've no idea if it was poison ivy or not. But he was quite concerned. He was wearing one of those identity cards, like people who work in a hospital have.

The new wildflower, for the day, I found on top of Mount Tandy, near the Tandy Hills Shrine. It is a humongous wildflower.

In other Tandy Hills news, today I learned I will be in a booth at the Prairie Fest on Saturday, April 23. Currently I am scheduled to be at the Prairie Fest starting at 2 in the afternoon, til, I assume, closing.

I have never spent more than an hour or two at the Prairie Fest.

The last time I was in a booth, at a festival type event, it was in Seattle at the Fremont Sunday Market. That time I was in a booth with a crazy, raging sociopath who weighed 5 or 6 hundred pounds and looked like Jabba the Hut. This time I will be in a booth with a relatively sane person who is a skinny little thing who does not look like Jabba the Hut.

Up Late The Second Thursday Of April In Texas Expecting An Incoming Thunderstorm

You might guess, looking out one of my viewing portals on the world, that I woke up after the arrival of the sun on this second Thursday of April.

It was a perfect temperature condition last night for peaceful slumber. Not too hot, not too cold.

Right now it is 67 degrees out there in the pool zone. Heading to a predicted high of 83 with a supposedly strong afternoon Thunderstorm in the forecast.

Methinks I'll go over to Miss Puerto Rico's for her elevated, panoramic view, this afternoon, if a Thunderstorm does arrive as predicted.

I don't know if any hill hiking is in my future for the day, what with this incoming inclement weather. I do know I am going swimming this morning, as in right now.

Hiking My Way To A Better Mood On The Tandy Hills While Buzz Cutting Myself

It is half past 5. I have returned from the Tandy Hills Natural Sanatorium in a better mood than when I left here.

Today's picture of a Tandy Hills trail is a good metaphor for my steep climb today, looking for a sunnier disposition.

Elsie Hotpepper proposed a form of saloon hopping tonight to put me in a better frame of mind. I can't do that. I have to check on a Puerto Rican cat tonight. That could take hours.

Miss Puerto Rico called during her layover in San Juan, waiting to get on a little plane to take her to Ponce. I was not in the mood to listen to how miserable the flights had been. So, I let it go to voice mail. I think she had a two hour wait in Houston to get on the plane to San Juan.

When I'm in a foul mood sometimes giving myself a buzz cut improves my outlook. So I buzz cut myself. I've not detected, yet, any additional mood improvement, beyond the Tandy hiking uplift. Sometimes the salubrious effect of a good buzz cut takes awhile to manifest itself.

The Paradise Center news continues to be good. You really can't keep good people down. And in the end, usually, bad people get what they deserve. This seems to be happening.

Is anyone else noticing anything in the Texas air that is being a bit of an eye irritant? I'm really getting tired of it.

I must go talk about Karina Smirnoff and Kendra Wilkinson on my TV blog now.

I Am Being A Melancholy Baby In Texas Today

It does not happen too often, but every once in awhile something will trigger me in to a melancholy mood. Sort of a wistful, nostalgic, sad feeling.

Today is my little sister's birthday. That is her in the picture at about 4 years old. I'd moved on to college by the time my little sister was about 2.

When I'd come home from college and come in to the house, my little sister would run at me at full speed and literally jump into my arms.

We had a poodle then, named Peppy. Peppy and my little sister would act the same way. All glad to see me.

But, thinking of my little sister, back when she was little, is not what got me melancholy.

I was in the ALDI store in Hurst. There was a little kid that so reminded me of my nephew, Joey.

When my nephews were little kids I used to have so much fun taking them places. To Seattle, up in the mountains, across the mountains to Eastern Washington. Up to Canada.

Joey is the nephew who would go mountain biking with me. The last time I was in Port Townsend, Joey and I parked at Fort Casey State Park and rode our bikes on the ferry to Port Townsend, then pedaled out to Fort Worden. We were having too much fun and barely made it on the last ferry of the day, which turned out to be a rock and roll wild ride, due to a big tide change.

I last talked to Joey after the tropical storm Hermine flooded us in North Texas. Joey saw it on the news. Apparently it looked bad. So, Joey called to see if I got flooded. We talked for a long time. The grown up Joey is my nephew who most reminds me of the little kid version of a nephew.

I last saw Joey in person in early August of 2008, at Bay View State Park, in the Skagit Valley. I was in the valley to meet my grand nephew, Spencer Jack, for the first time. So, Joey came out to the park.

The summer before I moved to Texas, Joey and his brother took me to Las Vegas for 4 days. That was the last time I've spent extended time with any of my nephews. That was 1998. Joey was 15 when we went to Vegas.

I did some of my usual "Nephews in Danger" stuff when were in Vegas.

If I remember right the Hard Rock Casino and a Bordello Museum in Pahrump were involved. Also swimming, after dark, in Lake Mead, behind Hoover Dam.

That is Joey and me on the roller coaster at the New York New York Casino. I am not a big fan of getting flipped upside down on a roller coaster.

A lot has changed since I moved to Texas.

One of my sister's and her family moved to Phoenix, along with my two youngest nephews.

My mom and dad moved to Phoenix.

My brother, Joey's dad, moved to Phoenix, well, actually Maricopa, south of Phoenix. It's just easier to say they live in Phoenix. If I say Chandler, Sun Lake or Maricopa, no one knows where that is, just like on a trip, whilst living in Washington, I'd say I was from Seattle, not Mount Vernon.

Or like now, I say I'm from Dallas, not Fort Worth. Dallas and Seattle have greater name recognition than Fort Worth and Mount Vernon.

Anyway, thinking about fun times, long gone, never to be repeated, is what has me feeling melancholy.

I think a hike around the Tandy Hills will break me out of this mood. Or make it worse by getting me dwelling on where I used to hike and what I settle for now.

Up Before The Sun In Texas Thinking About An Island Of Debris From Japan

As you can see, looking at my view of the world, I am up well before the sun on this 13th day of April.

It is 58 degrees out there this morning, heading to a predicted high of 82.

No noonday hike is in my future for today. In the noon time frame I will be north of my current location, in the town of Hurst.

A late afternoon hike may be in my future for today.

A Young man identified the yellow/orange wildflower I saw yesterday on the Tandy Hills as Yellow Prairie Flax.

Two Japan Tsunami bits of news struck me as surprising this morning.

One was the body of the man, Douglas Weber, who was swept out into the Pacific by the tsunami from the mouth of the Klamath River in Northern California, was found on April 2 on the south shore of the Columbia River.  I can see how a body might be carried north a couple hundred miles, but how does it float upriver?

The other tsunami news is a massive island of debris is slowly moving east, across the Pacific. The island of debris is made up of houses, trees, cars and human and animal remains. This island is expected to reach the west coast in about 2 years.

I remember when I was a kid we'd go beachcombing on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean. One of the things you might find were glass balls used in Japanese fishing nets. These balls came in all sorts of sizes and colors. Some were bigger than basketballs.

So, in a couple years beachcombing on the Pacific beaches might be a bit disturbing.

Hiking The Tandy Hills With New Wildflowers Thinking About Steamy Pools & Elsie Hotpepper Laughing Til She Cries

With 11 days to go til the 2011 Prairie Fest the Tandy Hills is starting to become a bit more colorful.

Better a late bloomer than a no bloomer.

This year I must try to be at the Prairie Fest when my favorite Fort Worth band, Triggerfish, is playing.

My noon inspection of the Tandy Hills found the trails dried out, for the most part. The rain seems to have caused some new blooms to sprout for the first time this year, like the yellow and orange wildflower you see in the picture.

Changing the subject to my other regular subject, that being my morning swim.

Well, this morning's swim was odd. The air was heated to 50. The water in the pool was at a temperature level of a heat differential significant enough to cause vapor to rise from the water, like what happens when the air is freezing. This seemed strange to me.

Changing the subject again to one of my other regular subjects, Miss Puerto Rico. Tomorrow she returns to her home island, which means I begin cat sitting duty.

Cat sitting duty is a boring subject, so let's change the subject to another of my regular subjects, Elsie Hotpepper.

This morning Elsie sent me an email that said....

I don't know if it's as funny to you since you don't text but you have to check out the site damnyouautocorrect.com. It made me laugh til I cried. It happens to all of us...

Do people really do that? Laugh til they cry? I don't think I've ever laughed til I cried. But I really don't do all that much laughing or crying. Maybe if I laughed more I'd cry more. I am emotionally stilted.

My therapist, Dr. L.C., is working on my emotional stiltedness. We are not making much progress.

I think I'll go for an afternoon swim in the steamy pool and see if I can force myself to laugh til I cry.