Am I Coming Down With A Cold In The Texas HEAT?

I have not been sick in years. No flu, no cold, no nothing.

A few summers ago I did have a bad allergy bout that I thought was a cold at first.

That may be what I have going on now. An allergic reaction to something.

Or I may have a cold. I do not believe I have ever had a cold in summer before. With the temperature over 100 every day it would seem that cold viruses would be withered from the heat, just like everything else.

Right now, at a few minutes after 5, we are being heated to 104.7 degrees HOT. A full blown cold in these HOT temperatures would be a miserable thing, I would think.

My symptoms are a slightly sore throat, a burning sensation in my nasal passages, slight eye irritation and an overall crankiness that is at a higher level of crankiness than my usual ongoing crankiness.

Could Fort Worth's bad air pollution and me exposing myself to it, daily, be what's causing the burning sensations? Anyone else having these symptoms?

I remember having a sore throat when I flew up to Washington in July of 2008, thinking it was caused by the air that I breathe here and that it would quickly get better breathing Washington's much cleaner air. But, it took a week for the cleaner air to clear up the sore throat.

Maybe I am just still recovering from Saturday night's saloon hopping with Elsie Hotpepper. Lord knows a night with Elsie Hotpepper exposes one to a lot of unexpected toxins.

A HOT Reflection On The Top Of Mount Tandy Thinking About My Mom & Dad & Nephews

In the picture I am on top of Mount Tandy, today around noon. As you can see I discovered a new way of taking a picture of myself by aiming the camera at one of my vehicular transport's windows.

That would be the Tandy Tower, aka the Fort Worth Space Needle, behind my right shoulder.

When I exited air-conditioned comfort today the outdoor air was heated to just a couple degrees under 100. The Real Feel Heat Index was supposed to be making it feel like 104.

However, a steady wind seemed to be introducing a bit of Wind Chill Factor to the Real Feel Heat Index on today's Tandy Hills.

Currently we are heated to 102.4 with a Real Feel Heat Index of 107. Right now up in my old home zone, the Skagit Valley of Washington, it is 64.2.

I believe my mom and dad are up in Washington right now. This would be their first return in 2 years. I have not been back in Washington for 3 years. Mom and dad have met their new grandson, David, previously. I think little David has flown down to Phoenix at least twice to visit them. Mom and dad will likely be visiting Tacoma to see David and their new twin grandbabies, Ruby Jean and Theo John.

Just a sec, I will go check the Blue & Max Blog to see if my mom and dad have been seen by the poodles.

Well. Blue & Max have pictures of David's visit to Phoenix. I know mom and dad's plan was to take off for Washington the morning that David was flying back north. Which must mean mom & dad are either on the road or have made it up to Washington. I guess I could make a call and get to the bottom of this mystery.

I can't tell from the picture if David is at my mom and dad's place in Sun Lake or my sister's in Chandler. The next two pictures I can tell are at my sister's house.

On the left that is my nephew Christopher Jay, more often known as CJ, with his cousin, my nephew, David.

That would be CJ on the left, David in the middle and, on the right, CJ's little brother, JR, Jeremy Ryan, my youngest nephew, until David and Theo showed up, in their mom and dad's backyard, blowing bubbles.

Seeing pictures of my nephews has me feeling a bit melancholy. JR was 13 when I moved to Texas. I remember Jeremy's mom telling me that me being gone was going to be hard on JR, because he liked to call me up when he had a day off of school and get me to do something fun. Often this involved a long bike ride.

When I moved to Texas the last month of 1998 the idea of CJ and JR and their mom and dad moving to Arizona was not on the radar screen.

I remember flying up for a family reunion in July of 2002 and my brother-in-law taking me aside to tell me about the possibility of moving to Arizona, wanting me to help get my sister to realize it could be a good thing to make a drastic move. I think within a year of moving to Arizona my sister came around to thinking it was a good thing.

I would not mind moving to the Phoenix zone. Currently it is only 101.7 in Phoenix. That is way cooler than the current temperature in my location of 103.4, warming up a little since I started writing this blogging.

Temperature Records Keep Falling In One Of The HOTTEST Summers In Texas History

The 27th day of July has dawned with a clear sky, near as I can tell. Currently the outdoors in my location is being heated to 83.6 degrees.

That liquid location you see in the picture is looking particularly inviting this morning.

We broke another temperature record yesterday. Again it was the morning low. A record high of 86 for the morning low. The highest morning low ever recorded at the official National Weather Service Dallas/Fort Worth temperature monitoring station.

In these HOT parts of America we keep a Top 10 list of days in a row of triple digit days. We are now tied with 1952 at #3 on the Top 10 list. If the current predictions turn out to be correct, on Saturday we will be at #2 on the Top 10 list at 29 days in a row of 100 or HOTTER.

To reach the coveted #1 position, after Saturday we will need 13 more HOT days to reach the record 42 days in a row of 100 or HOTTER set in 1980.

August of 1980 was the first time I was ever in Fort Worth. I had driven here in a Toyota without A/C. I remember the HEAT was totally unbearable. I did not understand how people could live in such a place. And now, 31 years later, I totally understand how people can live in such a place.

Because I am one of them. About to go swimming in the HEAT and later likely to go hiking in the HEAT.

Amy Winehouse & The Disturbing Random Thoughts Of A Disturbing Texas Blogger

That is Amy Winehouse in the picture. Amy Winehouse has been in the news lately due to becoming the latest member of what is known as "The 27 Club."

Amy Winehouse has been a hot mess for quite some time. Drug problems and re-hab.

The only Amy Winehouse song of which I was aware was called "Rehab."

I had had no intention of mentioning Amy Winehouse in the blogging mode.

And then this morning I was reading a blogging about Amy Winehouse's tragic demise and was sort of appalled at what I was reading.

I won't be specific as to who the blogger is, due to not wanting to embarrass him. Suffice to say the blogger is a West Texas boy, prone to odd random ramblings. There have been incidents in the past where this particular blogger blogs after consuming adult beverages, with embarrassing results. This may have been what caused this particular blogging's disturbingness.

I'll copy and paste a few paragraphs of the disturbing verbiage....

Interestingly, she died at the age of 27 which puts her in an increasingly non-unique category of musicians.  They've even got a name, "The 27 Club".  The famous members of the club are, of course, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain.

I'm not much on disparaging dead people.  Of the four artists listed above, Kurt was the only one I didn't care for.  So today, on the Russ Martin Show, when a caller called in adamantly complaining that people were going to put Amy Winehouse on a level with Kurt, it irritated me to the point that I felt the need to blog.

His complaint was the that her music sucked, she only had two albums out and she had no influence.  Not like Kurt who seemed to have some sort of godlike status in this deranged moronic stupid ass listeners brainless opinion.

First, he needs to somehow develop an IQ.  Then, he needs to learn to read.  Then, he needs to learn the difference between fact and opinion.

Of course, the most disheartening part was that Russ let him on the air and didn't degrade him.  He is normally very good at degrading morons.  I was mostly disappointed that Russ agreed with the stupidity.  It was very disappointing.

Where do I start? First off, you really should not be making disparaging remarks about a "listeners brainless opinion" when you are too dumb to insert an apostrophe between the "r" and "s" of "listeners."

So, this blogger is listening to a radio talk show and gets irritated because someone calls in to opine that he felt Amy Winehouse did not belong in the sainted "27 Club."

And then the blogger is further upset because the show's host, some guy named Russ Martin, agrees with the caller.

Due to the caller having a different opinion than the blogger the blogger feels the caller needs to develop an IQ. And learn to read. And learn the difference between fact and opinion.

Well, first off, one does not develop ones IQ. What made the blogger think the caller could not read? And that the caller did not know the difference between fact and opinion?

It seems to me the blogger does not know the difference between fact and opinion and maybe should avail himself of some of that IQ development he seems to think exists.

It sounds to me as if the caller was verbalizing his opinion about something he felt passionate about. That happens a lot on radio talk shows.

This particular blogger seems to frequently focus on what he perceives to be stupid. In his two bloggings today he used the word "stupid" an awful lot of times.

And what does it mean to be "not much on disparaging dead people?" Is this some sort of sterling character trait? I've never known anyone who did any disparaging of dead people.

Anyway, like I said, I don't know if this particular blogging was caused by too many adult libations, low blood sugar, a deluded self-view as the smartest man on the planet or just a deranged moronic stupid ass brainless opinion.

The Great North Texas Drought & Day After Day Over 100 Degrees Is Browning Texas

I had to be in Pantego around noon. So on the way to Pantego I stopped at Veterans Park in Arlington for my daily HOT walk.

The Veterans Park grass has turned brown since my last visit. Much of the Veterans Park vegetation seemed to be doing a bit of wilting.

As you can see by looking at the sky, in the picture, clouds continue to do some sun blockage.

The partial sun blockage has not brought any cooling relief.

According to my temperature source we have once again gone over 100 degrees. I do not know if the official temperature monitoring station at D/FW Airport has officially deemed this Tuesday our 25th day in a row of 100 or higher.

What I do know is currently the forecast for the next 6 days is for each of them to get heated to 100 degrees or more.

Record Breaking Temperatures Keep Baking North Texas Day After Day After Day

Looking skyward through the bars of my patio prison cell on this last Tuesday of July it appears there are clouds between me and the sun.

However, even with this sun blockage, somehow that HOT overhead orb has managed to heat the air this morning to 87.2, according to my Weather Underground temperature source.

Yesterday we broke the temperature record with the low for the day being a HOT 85.

If we hit 100 again today it will be the 25th day in a row of 100 or HOTTER.

This morning's Fort Worth Star-Telegram announced a Summer Heat Streak Contest. The person who correctly predicts the day the 100-degree streak, as recorded at D/FW Airport, ends, will win 4 tickets to the NRH20 Waterpark in North Richland Hills.

With all these clouds my prediction is the 100-degree streak ends today. I am never correct with these type predictions.

I am not going swimming this morning. My one longtime reader may remember that Tuesday is pool treatment day.

Getting Real HOT In Texas With My Leo Therapist & Me Being Shy About Horoscopes

Coming up on 5 on July 25 we are currently heated to 105 at my location in blistering HOT Texas.

The wind is blowing less than 5 mph.

The slight wind is not enough to bring on the Wind Chill Factor, instead the humidity has the Real Feel Heat Index feeling like 109.

In my current location a mechanical temperature altering device is chilling the air to somewhere in the 80 degree zone.

I remember 3 years ago today, shivering up in Tacoma. I asked if I could move to the upstairs loft, which was way warmer than the frigid basement I'd been being very cold in. The upstairs loft had 2 high tech A/C units. The A/C unit's digital thermometer indicated the temperature in the loft was 82.

The occupants in the house, in which I was incarcerated, could not understand that, to me, 82 degrees felt cool.

On a totally non-temperature, non Great North Texas Drought related subject, my therapist, Dr. L.C., sent me an amusing Horoscope thing this afternoon. The Horoscope thing said...

Far from shy, Leos can be quite opinionated, and their idealism is contagious––they are known for inspiring others. Starting your own blog where you can express yourself openly would be the perfect creative outlet for you. If you're not into writing, then try an acting class. Your flair for the dramatic makes you born for the stage.

Next month, in the Leo time of the year, my therapist's birthday and mine are one day apart.

As usual, with silly Horoscope stuff, this Horoscope stuff was really way off.

Both my therapist and I are very shy. Neither of us is at all opinionated. My therapist and I are not contagious. We are not very inspirational. We do both have blogs, but I can't see where they are a perfect creative outlet for either of us. My therapist does have a slight flair for the dramatic, unlike me and my very dull lack of any sort of flair.

A New Tandy Hills Mystery With An Invite To Ride The Waves At Cowtown Wakepark

It was in the high 90s when I hit the HOT Tandy Hills today, at noon. Currently, coming up on 3 in the afternoon it is 104.

There was only a slight wind blowing on the hills today, yet I did not have the overheating problem I encountered on Saturday.

I do not know, for sure, what made today so much more pleasant. Maybe my electrolytes were in balance, today, due to the drinking concoction I made in my Vita-Mix this morning consisting of all sorts of good stuff I got at Town Talk, like frozen Acai Berries, soy milk, frozen Dole strawberry/banana mix, lime juice, pineapple juice and likely some other good superfood stuff I'm forgetting.

I seem to hardly go a week without finding a new Guerrilla Art Installation on the Tandy Hills. I'm not sure if that is what I found today. Below the now dry Tandy Falls there were dozens of business cards scattered about.

The business cards showed no water damage. Which indicates they did not get flushed over Tandy Falls by the recent broken water main flood.

The business cards were for a business called PEBE J KIDS INC., with the personal name on these cards being Irene Montalvo.

Why would someone throw dozens of business cards over the Tandy Falls escarpment?

On a totally different note.

I was really happy upon returning to my computer and checking my email to see that Gail Galtex got a really good Groupon deal for going wakeboarding at the Cowtown Wakepark and invited me to go do some wakeboarding, with GG, in the polluted Trinity River water. Something I have long dreamed of doing.

Now, who is going to solve the Tandy Hills Irene Montalvo business card mystery while I go wakeboarding?

Getting Help For My Chronic Typo Problem From Betty Jo Bouvier & Elsie Hotpepper

I don't think anyone is immune to the occasional typographical error. However, my personal trend line for typos seems to have the typo incidents increasing.

Just minutes ago I caught a real bad one that totally changed the meaning of the sentence...

An intervention where the parents are shown who to properly feed their kids.

I know I don't catch all my typos. I almost did not catch the above one.

The word "how" seems to be a frequent pitfall for me. When intending to type "how" I have typed "who", "would" and "wood".

Awhile back I saw a memorable typo related line on the Connie Dees Facebook page, saying, "THEY'RE going THERE with THEIR friends. It's called grammar, use it."

Grammar errors are a different woe than typos. However, what may appear to be a grammar error might actually be a typo. I know I've quickly typed "your" when I mean "you're" a time or two. Quickly catching the error.

I have experienced people who do not understand that "your" is a possessive pronoun and that "you" and "are" can be contracted as "you're". When these types type "Your driving me crazy" it is not a typo, it is a grammar error born of ignorance or laziness or both.

Wikipedia has an article titled "Typographical error." The first paragraph of the Wikipedia article is pretty much a definition of typos...

A typographical error (often shortened to typo) is a mistake made in, originally, the manual type-setting (typography) of printed material, or more recently, the typing process. The term includes errors due to mechanical failure or slips of the hand or finger, but usually excludes errors of ignorance, such as spelling errors. Before the arrival of printing, the "copyist's mistake" or "scribal error" was the equivalent for manuscripts. Most typos involve simple duplication, omission, transposition, or substitution of a small number of characters.

When I have a typo escape my attention, making it to the point of being read by others, I have a few kind people who take pity on my mistakes and point them out to me. Betty Jo Bouvier and Elsie Hotpepper are both quite helpful in the typo spotting department.

UPDATE: I thought I'd done a careful job of proofreading this particular blogging to make sure there were no typos. However. Elsie Hotpepper found a typo. I'd typed "Grammar errors a different woe than typos." I was missing a word, with that word being "are".  I really do not like my chronic typo woe.

The Last Monday Of July In Texas Thinking About Flying To Seattle

I am up before the sun, looking through the bars of my patio prison cell at the last Monday morning of July.

The outdoor air is currently chilled to 83.4 degrees. A little warmer than my interior artificially chilled air temperature.

We are currently scheduled to be heated to a HOT 104 today.

The morning, with this morning being the morning of July 25, I realized it has been 3 years and 5 days since I flew up to Seattle on July 20, 2008.

For an entire month.

I realized about one week in to that month that I'd made a BIG mistake in scheduling staying for an entire month. When I finally escaped, August 20, it was with great relief when the airplane lifted off the ground and headed south. I said at the time I would not return for at least 10 years. But 3 years have been enough to slightly fade the bad memory of the bad month of 2008.

I think I'm again ready for a visit to the Pacific Northwest. For a relatively relative free visit.

But. Before I do that I think I will go swimming, now that the sun has finally gotten around to doing its daily illumination duties.