Cut Off From The Temperature I Ponder All That Is Unnatural In My Favorite Natural Area

Most days I seem to find myself being fairly productive in various ways. Then there are other days, days that don't happen all that often, when I do not seem to be very productive.

This has been one of those very unproductive days. So far.

I had a long list of things I was going to do today. I've only done two things on the list.

And then this afternoon tragedy struck. I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but my number one interest is the temperature. I monitor the temperature more religiously than I monitor anything else.

Around 2 this afternoon my Flock browser informed me there was an update to the Forecastfox Weather Plug-in. I figured this must be some sort of necessary improvement, so I clicked to do the update.

About 5 seconds later the Forecastfox Weather Plug-in was generating a connection error message. I tried all sorts of things to fix it. Uninstall, re-install, delete the temporary Internet files.

Then I Googled "Forecastfox Weather connection error" to learn I was not the only person vexed by this problem.

Around 4 I needed to get some outdoor action. I had to check the temperature via a more primitive means than I have grown used to, to learn it was 100 degrees.

I decided to to go Village Creek Natural Historic Area. I was pleasantly surprised at how much more pleasant 100 degrees is in the late afternoon with long shady shadows and a good breeze blowing.

A few things have always perplexed me about the Village Creek Natural Area. It's the natural part. Like the picture above. That is a part of the natural area where the paved trail crosses under power lines, with a broad swatch cleared through the natural trees for the power lines. The broad swatch creates a sort of tree canyon effect. That really is not very natural.

And then there is all that pavement. Not very natural.

And the viewing platform that looks out over the dried up Village Creek Bayou. The deck is made from planks made out of recycled plastic bags.

Anyway, I miss looking at the lower right hand corner of my browser and seeing the temperature. I think I'm experiencing some sort of temperature information withdrawal.

Up Early On The 21st Day Of July Thinking About Swimming & Getting A Lethal Injection

The 21st morning of July is dawning with yet one more clear blue sky morning in North Texas.

The aquamarine colored pool is looking particularly inviting this morning. The only thing not all that inviting about the pool is it is starting to be not all that refreshing to take a dip in it, due to the fact that the temperature of the water is warmer than the morning air, which this morning is chilled to 82 degrees.

We are currently scheduled to reach a high of 101 today, with the Real Feel Heat Index feeling like 105.

I do not know if I will make it to any HOT hill hiking today. I have a doctor's appointment in Hurst at 10 this morning.

Speaking of getting an injection. We had an execution last night down in Huntsville. A guy named Mark Stroman was put permanently to sleep. This particular idiot went on a Dallas convenience store killing spree in retaliation for the 9/11 terrorist attacks, killing 2 and injuring 1. He thought he was targeting people of Middle Eastern descent, however the victims were all from South Asia.

The final Space Shuttle touched down yesterday. Atlantis made the final landing. It seems like only yesterday I watched the first Space Shuttle launch. And now it is 30 years later.

Time flies at a speed that is sort of depressing if you think about it.

I think I will go swimming now and try not to think about time flying.

Tacoma's Fubbo The Hut Mistaken For An Australian/Tasmanian Blobfish

A few minutes ago incoming email from one of my Tacoma Informants included the photo you see here. The TI claimed this is a recent photo of Fubbo the Hut.

I do see the resemblance, but I am almost 100% this is not actually Fubbo the Hut.

For one thing, I've not heard anything about Fubbo being bald.

Fubbo the Hut has recently been caught, again, doing her creepy stalking thing. I think just about anyone on the planet would empathize with how unsettling it would be to have something that looks like Fubbo the Hut stalking them.

What the sad-looking creature in the photo actually is, is a Blobfish. Now, I can clearly see how one might use the word "Blobfish" to refer to Fubbo the Hut. But a Blobfish is actually a real fish.

Blobfish float along the ocean floor off the coasts of Australia and Tasmania, surviving by eating whatever drifts in front of it.

Okay, that is one more eerie similarity to Fubbo the Hut, who also eats whatever drifts in front of it.

Big Clouds Over Fort Worth & The Tandy Hills Make Me Forget About Big Ed's Annoying Website

It was only 86 when I left my abode to head west to the Tandy Hills. Three hours later it is 10 degrees hotter, at 96, with a Real Feel Heat Index of 102.

As you can see, in the picture, looking west, from the Tandy Hills, at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, today we have some sunblocking going on in the form of big white clouds.

I had myself an annoying morning of frustrating annoyance. Mostly all self-inflicted. The Tandy Hills Sanatorium restored my peaceful balance.

My morning annoyance was caused by Big Ed's website. For awhile now Big Ed had been asking me to update his website and get rid of stuff no longer relevant, like Chambers of Commerce, Balloon Festivals, Toastmasters and some strange thing called StuGurCo.

Big Ed's website was an antique, made in 2001, using the now never-used framed method. I figured I'd just take the main frame page and turn it into the index page. That took all of 2 minutes. And then the fun began. When I uploaded the new index page and went to test it, it would not load. Instead it overheated my computer, hanging it up.

Eventually I got back control of the computer. Two hours later I realized code for the framed page remained, so I took all of a minute to make a new page, and pasted in the sparse info that is on Big Ed's website's now bare homepage.

And now this afternoon I found out Betty Jo Bouvier is sending Honey Lulu here so I can put her in bootcamp of hiking the Tandy Hills and swimming. That should be very interesting.....

Up Early July 20 Thinking About Going Swimming and a Tacoma Creepy Psycho

July's Day 20, the 3rd Wednesday of Month 7 of 2011, has dawned with yet one more blue sky morning in the land of the Great North Texas Drought.

That blue oasis you see in the picture is ready for swimming this morning. I think I will make good use of it.

I do not know if we hit 100 here yesterday. I also don't know if we did hit 100 how many days in a row of 100 or more we have currently accumulated.

What I do know is it is currently a relatively chilly 80, heading to a predicted 101 with a Real Feel Heat Index of 106.

Changing the subject to Tacoma mental health. I was dismayed last night to learn that Tacoma's most psychotic creep is still stalking me. It's vexing. And disturbing. I would have hoped that law enforcement would have had her back behind bars, again, by now. Or in a mental institution. Or both.

Changing the subject again. This time to chicken tacos. I got really good, already cooked, rotisserie style, chicken breast, from Town Talk on Saturday. This morning I realized this would make for really good chicken tacos. This will require a return, today, to Town Talk, to get some sharp cheese and salsa. And any other good stuff I find there.

But, before that I have some swimming and webpage making to do. And likely some HOT hiking on some nearby hills.

Lamenting The Now Dry Village Creek Bayou & Pondering The Great North Texas Drought

Just a couple days ago there was still water in the Village Creek Bayou in Village Creek Natural Historic Area.

With birds in the bayou.

A couple weeks ago I saw a couple water snakes in the Village Creek Bayou.

Today I saw that the Great North Texas Drought has totally dried out the Village Creek Bayou.

Where have the birds gone, now that the water has gone? Where have the water snakes gone, now that there is no more water?

On a more upbeat wildlife note, today whilst walking amongst the Village Creek, still green foliage, I saw a scrawny raccoon run across the trail ahead of me. A few minutes after that I saw my first armadillo of the year.

The Great North Texas Drought is perplexing me. Something about The Lawn Whisperer, that I blogged about yesterday, has been bugging me.

The Lawn Whisperer makes a big fuss about people wasting water irrigating their lawns. But, that water remains in the ecosystem. It may evaporate, it may make it's way to the Trinity River, wherever it goes, it remains in the ecosystem.

The water taken from the North Texas ecosystem, by the Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drillers, does not return to the ecosystem. If that Fracking water does intersect with the ecosystem, it is a mistake, and hurts the ecosystem.

So, what I was wondering was this. How much of the Great North Texas Drought is being caused by having millions upon millions of gallons of water permanently removed from the ecosystem?

It seems fairly obvious that at some point the level of water removal will have a bad effect. Are we already at that point? If the millions upon millions of gallons of water that have been removed from the ecosystem had not been removed, would we not be in the midst of the Great North Texas Drought?

It's perplexing.

A Fort Worth Call For A To HALT Seismic Testing Now

You are looking at what a 30" water pipeline looks like when it breaks. This particular breach occurred in Fort Worth near Sycamore Park, on July 14, 2011.

Last week Don Young emailed an open letter to Fort Worth Councilwoman, Kathleen Hicks, about the Seismic Testing taking place all over East Fort Worth, to the growing dismay of many of the seismically shaken residents.

This morning Don Young sent out a followup open letter to Kathleen Hicks. This letter details the very legitimate concerns of those who are experiencing the Seismic Testing.....

Dear Councilwoman Kathleen Hicks-

It has been more than a week since I requested that Seismic Testing be halted in Fort Worth until the public has proof that it is safe, legal and cost-free to all residents. However, testing is still underway and many of your District 8 constituents are concerned.

Our primary concern is that the City of Fort Worth relied too heavily on information provided by the drilling industry or one of its partners when issuing a testing permit to Dawson Geophysical. We are also concerned that because the City is in business with Chesapeake, XTO, etc. and depends on them for City revenue, that an appearance of conflict of interest exists that may affect prudent decision making.

The concerns I spelled out in my message dated July 9 are very real. For example, the huge water main break near Sycamore Park that occurred last week may have been at least partially caused by seismic testing that occurred in that area. That leak affected thousands of homeowners and wasted a lot of public water during drought conditions. A water department spokesperson could not say for certain the cause of the breach.

There was a similar report back in May, 2011 of a water line break in the Westcliff West neighborhood while thumper trucks were in the area.

How many other events such as this have been caused by seismic testing? Is the City keeping tabs and connecting dots?

I have also received the following reports from concerned residents as a result of my email from last week:

- Seismic testing is going on in Wedgwood where neighborhoods remain un-leased. There is no protection in place for homeowners should damage occur to their property. Also, companies can use information gathered against the mineral owners in future negotiations.  TT

- This (Seismic testing) has the markings of potential disaster for existing utilities. Exhibit A is that Atmos has a number of older gas service lines that need immediate replacement in North Texas, due to parts that weaken with age. How well would those weak gas service lines respond to nearby seismic testing? I'm afraid to find out the hard way, and those in Government should be, too! There's estimated to be 500,000 of such weak gas lines around North Texas, so it's a gamble to do seismic testing around them.  MH

- I would therefore request an explanation as to what authority they (Dawson) are using to explore the property that I paid for and own outright.  The testing creates massive vibration of the area and would appear to possibly damage roads, foundations and any other structure within proximity to the source of vibrations.  It is not a risk I wish to see if it damages anything, like my property.  It is likely damage may not appear immediately or be apparent until sometime in the future.  It would then become my burden to prove what the source of the damage actually was.  As we have seen repeatedly, any damage would be denied by any and all parties involved. JA

- From what I remember, Texas homeowners policies exempt payments for damages from seismic activity. Check out your policy. Bad stuff, that seismic crap. LM

- They (Dawson) have also recently been in the Westcliff West neighborhood.  In the process, they broke a water line on Encanto Drive, depriving residents of water for hours. GA

- They went through our neighborhood in Arlington in May, the noise was horrendous, some neighbors complained that their houses were shaking, cracks appeared , and one person told me that their toddler found the shaking of their house very distressing and cried inconsolably. RB

- This (seismic testing) felt like collective rape on Winifred Drive Friday afternoon. The dishes in my cabinets were rattling; the dogs were freaking out. I thought it was Armageddon, as did my neighbors. I was livid and expressed it to the police escort and the lady in the Lexus following them who the police told me would "tell me what it was all about." I emailed Jungus that afternoon as well as the lawyers at Riddle and Williams.  KE

- Thanks for the support. I have not signed a lease and I do not want someone taking picture under my property. A friend told them not to take any picture under his property that he is not signed a lease agreement. They had already taken a couple of pictures before he stopped them. So he asked them if he can get the pictures from there company. They said NO. This is invasion of our property and I will get in contact with the company and request my pictures. JL

- On the morning of July 4, 2011, I was alarmed by a sound I'd not heard before. Looking out my front window, I saw at least three huge trucks, with the sign DAWSON on them. Their loudness, and their presence, stunned me - the ground shook!! I went out my front door and was further surprised to see a man kneeling over paperwork at the end of my walkway (25 feet from my door, 35 feet from the street). I asked him what he was doing, and I told him he was within the easement of the property. He said I could talk his boss, and he nodded toward a tall young man, who then came from the street to where I was, and he asked me if there was a problem. I asked him what they were doing, and he said they were "x-raying" the ground. (He said they were "x-raying" downtown also.) I asked him who he worked for, and he replied, "Chesapeake."

I told him I had not given permission for them to be on my property, and  I asked if he could show me anything that gave him permission to do so? He said that if I didn't want them on my property, they could go across the street and get the information they needed. The two of them left my property. ( I don't know, but  they may already have gotten a "reading," or whatever they wanted,  from my location.)

If I had been given notice of their coming, and/or had received a request that they come onto my property,  I could have checked on my rights in such an instance.  I think perhaps that is exactly why we  were NOT given advance notice--so Chesapeake could have access, without permission.  Such permission, from some citizens such as myself, had they asked, they are not likely to have been given.  SR

- I asked an attorney. They have NO right to conduct seismic testing if you have not leased. Further, they have no right to conduct seismic testing even if you have leased unless it is covered in the lease or an agreement has been made. He said that usually the language in the leases is vague enough that it confers them the right but they definitely do NOT have the right if you are not leased.  DD

Specifically, we request that that Seismic Testing be halted immediately unless and until you provide the following:

1. Third-party documentation proving it is safe to all life-forms, including people, pets, wildlife and livestock.
2. Third-party documentation addressing impact to public roadways and utilities .
3. Property owner compensation for data already accessed from their land without consent.
4. Documentation showing that private pipeline, telephone, cable TV and electric companies, etc. have OK'd the testing without caveats.
5. Minutes from all FW Water and Street Dept. meetings where seismic testing was discussed.
6. Documentation from the City legal department identifying the responsible party in case of any reported damage.
7. An explanation of your statement that "properties are protected from damage."
8. The City plan for compensation in cases where damage occurs in the near and long term.
9. Proof that homeowners' insurance will not be impacted by seismic testing.

Thanks for your attention to this urgent matter.

Don Young

A Tuesday In Texas With Zero Outdoor Activity In Solidarity With Gar The Texan Syndrome

The 3rd Tuesday of July, day number 19, has dawned with yet one more clear blue sky morning in North Texas, currently heated to 82 degrees, heading to a scheduled high today of 102.

Since it is Tuesday I will not be getting wet in that blue oasis you see in the picture, via looking through my primary viewing portal on the world. Tuesday is the day the pool gets its weekly treatment. A very necessary treatment when the temperature is over 100 day after day.

Today is going to be a day of greatly curbed outdoor activity. I think I may have overdone my aerobic pool activity yesterday, because I am sort of sore all over. A day of rest from physical strains is an occasional good and needed thing.

Speaking of taking a rest from physical strains, Gar the Texan conjured one of his more interesting bloggings of late, basically an ode to his inability to engage in outdoor activity without getting a case of the vapors.

From Gar the Texans's latest blogging.......

"I have a t-shirt that reads, "Extreme Indoor Enthusiast".  For some reason, I've never been much for the great outdoors. Durango was fond of calling it the vapors and when he gave up trying to cure me, I never heard from him again."

Gar the Texan then goes on to list dozens of instances, on my blog, where I refer to his getting a case of the vapors.

Gar the Texan is completely erroneous in thinking that his Expiration Date was reached due to incurable cases of the vapors. What actually brought about Gar the Texan's Expiration Date is I got tired of too many behavior instances of what I now know were caused by Asperger's Syndrome.

Had I realized that what I was experiencing was caused by a syndrome, I probably would have been a bit more sympathetic regarding the symptoms.

One of the Gar the Texan Asperger's Syndrome things is to always be wearing a t-shirt with a message on it. This is sort of vaguely embarrassing to see on someone approaching the half century mark, age-wise.

I was a little surprised I did not hear from Gar the Texan last week after I blogged about discovering him in an FW Weekly ad.

The Lawn Whisperer Has Found Another Victim Of Overwatering In His Quest To Save Texas Water

For a long time now I have been driving by the billboard you see in the picture on my way to the Tandy Hills. The billboard faces westbound traffic on I-30.

On the billboard a guy is looking at grass with a magnifying glass.

The billboard identifies the guy as The Lawn Whisperer and has him saying, "Looks like another victim of overwatering."

At the bottom of the billboard there is a website address, SaveNorthTexasWater.com.

Going to the website you meet The Lawn Whisperer again. You are directed to select the city you live in. I selected Fort Worth.

Selecting Fort Worth brought me to SaveTarrantWater.com, where I was advised to save water because nothing can replace it.

More important water information from Save Tarrant Water...

It's a drought out there.

Texas is experiencing the worst drought in more than half a century. No rain means our water supplies are taking a hit - outdoor watering plays a big role in how fast they go. When the combined storage capacity of TRWD reservoirs reaches 75%, TRWD will require it's municipal customers to initiate Stage 1 of its drought plan. The primary way to stretch our supplies and save water will be to limit outdoor watering to no more than twice per week. And although many of you do water efficiently, there are some who don't. Now is a good time to start. Thanks.

I wonder how many Lawn Whisperer billboards grace the Tarrant County landscape? I wonder how much the billboard ads cost? How much has been spent on the Save Texas Water websites? The Lawn Whisperer is also on Facebook.

How many gallons of water has all this propaganda saved?

No where in The Lawn Whisperer propaganda did I see mention made of the millions of gallons of water being taken from the Texas water supply by Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drillers.

Not only are millions of gallons of water being used to Frack wells, that water does not return to the water supply.

Plus, there have been instances where the Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling has contaminated the water supply of multiple hapless victims.

So, really, how much is all this water propaganda costing? How many gallons of water are alleged to be wasted by overwatering? Compared to the many gallons of water wasted by Fracking?

A Drought Resistant Wildflower Of Yellow Color Has Sprouted On The Tandy Hills

Due to the Texas Drought and day after day of temperatures over 100 degrees, the Tandy Hills Prairie is in full wilt mode.

Yet somehow, today, in multiple locations on the Tandy Hills, the bright yellow wildflower, you see in the picture, and its siblings, have bloomed.

Is this some sort of drought resistant flower which blooms when triggered by extremely dry conditions? I don't know.

What I do know is the bright yellow flower matched my own personal sunny disposition on this particular day.

It was 92 with a Real Feel Heat Index of 101 when I left air-conditioned comfort today. Upon my return it is now 96 with a supposed Real Feel Heat Index of 111.

I did not over heat on the hills today. A breeze was blowing. I think the humidity must be being lower, thus making the HEAT easier to tolerate.