Hiking On The Tandy Hills Thinking About Outrage Fatigue Caused By Chesapeake Energy Drilling Next To Fort Worth's Trinity Park

I recollect saying I was not going to do any Tandy Hills hill hiking til the temperature dropped out of the 100 degree range.

But, today I was in the mood for Tandy Hills solitude. Of a short duration. So, I parked on View Street and hiked the trail on to the hills from the View Street park.

I went up and down no hills on the Tandy Hills today and I did not overheat, even though the air was heated to a bit over 100.

I saw an odd thing on the trail today. That being the wooden pallet you see in the picture. Why would anyone haul a wooden pallet to this location? Is it a new Tandy Hills Guerrilla Art Installation?

Speaking of strange things in Fort Worth parks. A few minutes ago I was logged into Facebook. There I saw Gail Galtex make an interesting comment that gave name to a syndrome I suffer from.

Outrage Fatigue.

I think I am burned out from Outrage Fatigue.

This is what Gail Galtex said....

This is a disgrace. I have outrage fatigue over so many things, but obviously still have some left. Trinity Park is a jewel and I can't believe our city 'leaders' are allowing this to happen.

What is the disgrace to which GG refers? Well, earlier today I got an email from Don Young. It was the info in Don Young's email to which GG is referring.

Below is Don Young's message that added to Gail Galtex's (and my) Outrage Fatigue...

In late 2009, Chesapeake Energy managed to get waivers for a controversial gas well in the heart of Fort Worth's high-end commercial district. The site is just two blocks from the world-class Cultural District museums and the fancy, new 7th Street corridor.

Trinity Park, the crown jewel of the Fort Worth parks system, is right next door to the pad-site, a mere 225' away. This old-growth forest of Pecan, Oak and Elm trees is one of the most beautiful spots in the city. Just a short distance from the pad-site is the ever-popular duck pond, miniature train, playgrounds and hike/bike trails that attract families and children. The Trinity River flows nearby, along the perimeter.

Now, in the middle of a record-breaking drought and with the blessing of the Fort Worth Mayor and City Council,  Chesapeake is preparing to frack the well with water from the river. As of last week, they began ramming water-sucking pipes through the park... right next to the duck pond... and playgrounds... where children play.

Brother, can you spare some outrage?

Well, I have plenty of outrage. I think I can spare some. Where should I send it?

A HOT 3rd Saturday Of August With Continuing Record Breaking HEAT Making Me HOT

The sun has arrived this morning of the 3rd Saturday of August, Day 20, already heated to 87.4 degrees, heading to a scheduled high of 108.

Yesterday's high of 107 broke the record for that day, set in 194.

Yesterday was Day 53 of 100 degrees or higher in 2011, as measured by the official measuring station at D/FW Airport.

53 days of 100 or more is the 3rd most days of 100 or more in a given year in North Texas. On Tuesday we should reach the #2 record of 56.

The year with the most 100 degree days was that infamously HOT year of 1980, with 69 days of 100 or higher.

All  this HOT talk has made me HOT. Which means it is time to go for my morning swim and cool down.

The Fort Worth Lawn Whisperer Needs To Talk To Fosdic Creek

You are looking at Fosdic Creek in the picture. With water flowing. This is the second time in recent weeks that milky water has been seen flowing through Fosdic Creek into Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park.

Water is supposedly very precious in these drought parched parts of the planet. We get a lot of admonishments not to waste water, with messages often delivered by a man calling himself the Lawn Whisperer.

I have no idea how many lawns could have been watered by the water leaking into Fosdic Lake today.

Changing the subject from nutjobs whispering to lawns to my decrepit, rapidly aging body. I think I may have overdone it this morning in the pool. I seem to be in body ache mode, particularly in the mid-section zone. I'm sure I will recover.

Changing the subject again. A few minutes ago Elsie Hotpepper sent me a long email with a lot of text and pictures, asking me if I could translate it into legible English. I tried, really I did, but I quickly realized I was not sufficiently skilled to complete this particular Hotpepper task.

I do not remember ever failing to complete a Hotpepper task before, so now I'm feeling just a little depressed.

I'm sure I'll recover from that too....

Fort Worth Resident Survey Shows Satisfaction Regarding City Services With 93% Agreeing Dallas Is Their Ideal City

The Fort Worth, Texas, Official Web Site Home Page is home to some very interesting information.

If the Internet had existed back when the Soviet Union was in its propaganda spewing heyday, I imagine the Moscow, Russia Official Web Site Home Page would have been very much like Fort Worth's.

In the City News section of the Fort Worth, Texas, Official Web Site Home Page we learn that "Resident survey shows satisfaction with City services."

A few paragraphs about this "Resident survey".....

Fort Worth registered high marks in an annual survey that measures residents’ feelings about municipal services. Residents ranked the City highest for having a clean and attractive city and ensuring a strong economic base, and lowest for improving roads and public transportation.

In April, ORC International, a global market research firm with offices across the U.S., surveyed a random sample of 1,614 Fort Worth residents age 18 and older. At least 200 surveys were completed in each City Council district.

Ninety-five percent of respondents said the overall quality of life in Fort Worth meets or exceeds their expectations, and 93 percent agree that Fort Worth is close to their ideal city.

Fort Worth residents feel that the overall quality of City services meets or exceeds their expectations, and 79 percent feel the city is headed in the right direction.

On a scale of five stars, 73 percent of residents rated the City as four stars or better. Only 11 percent of cities rate five stars, ORC International reported.

It is clear that Fort Worth residents feel that the No. 1 strategic goal should be to ensure a strong economic base, a reflection of the nation’s current economic state and overall concerns about the economy. Twenty-nine percent of respondents ranked “having a strong economic base” as the most important goal. Also important were “being the nation’s safest city” (21 percent) and “improving roads and public transportation” (18 percent).

95% said the quality of life in Fort Worth met or exceeded their expectations? With 93% agreeing that Fort Worth is close to their ideal city?

As in Fort Worth is close to their ideal city of Dallas? Dallas is considered the ideal city by 93% of the Fort Worth people surveyed? Well, I sort of do understand that. Dallas is a very attractive city, with an iconic skyline and some nice attractions, like Fair Park and the Dallas Farmers Market.

Even though there are some nice locations in Dallas, Fort Worth has my favorite attraction in the D/FW Metroplex, that being the Fort Worth Stockyards.

In the survey, 18% thought Fort Worth needed to improve its roads and public transportation.

The Dallas transportation infrastructure is likely another reason why 93% of the Fort Worth people surveyed opined that Fort Worth was close to their ideal city, because Dallas has all those miles of DART train tracks, that you can now ride all the way to Denton. Fort Worth has a TRE train that you can ride to Dallas to connect to the DART trains.

I wonder how much the City of Fort Worth paid for this rather absurd survey? Enough to buy a library book or two? Fill a pothole or two?

Up Early In Texas Well Before My Local Yellow Dwarf

I am up way before the sun, looking closely through the bars of my patio prison cell at the hot tub and pool below me, on this 19th Day of August.

That hot plasma yellow dwarf, around which the solar system where I currently reside revolves, has not yet arrived for its daily heating duties and already the outer world, at my Texas location, is heated to 86.9, heading to a scheduled high today of 108.

What is the all-time record high temperature recorded at the official temperature recording station at D/FW Airport? I just realized I do not believe I have ever read what the all-time high has been in North Texas.

My personal all-time high temperature was experienced in August of 1998 at Badwater in Death Valley. It was 124.

I think I will go swimming before the sun arrives. I've not gone swimming in the morning darkness in awhile.

Have You Ever Known Rick Perry In The Biblical Sense?

I first heard of the ad you see here whilst listening to Rush Limbaugh do his daily ranting for a short while.

Then Elsie Hotpepper mentioned it to me and had me momentarily worrying she was about to answer the ad as one of the "young hotties" being solicited for.

A guy named Robert Morrow, of Austin, Texas, he being a Ron Paul supporter, took out the full page ad you see here in this week's Austin Chronicle.

Morrow claims to know strippers in Austin who have told him juicy stories about Rick Perry's peccadilloes with strippers, escorts and young hotties.

Hence the ad asking "Have you ever had sex with Rick Perry?" Further asking, "Are you a stripper, an escort or just a 'young hottie' impressed by an arrogant, entitled governor of Texas?"

I'm not a fan of Rick Perry, he sort of appalls me, creepy man that he seems to be. And the idea that he is being taken serious as a presidential candidate is just bizarre to me. Then again, I thought the same thing when George W. Bush was taken serious as a presidential candidate. Clearly I am clueless as to who should be taken serious as a presidential candidate.

But, regardless of my cluelessness as to who is a viable presidential candidate, this ad is really way over the top. Trolling for trollops to expose a bad man's bad deeds, in this way, seems a tad tacky to me. Prudish boy that I be.

The ad targeting Rick Perry is not the first time this Robert Morrow guy has gone extreme in a political attack. Way back in 2008, in South Carolina, Morrow paid for and was the voice on a robocall smearing Hillary Clinton, with the message claiming "Hillary knew about and helped cover up Bill's rape of Juanita Boderick."

Does Ron Paul approve of this particular ad asking this particular question about Rick Perry? I would hope not.

What is sexual hypocrisy? I don't think I have heard of this brand of hypocrisy before, let alone the need for committee to be against it.

Walking Under The Shade Of The Village Creek Oaks Thinking About Generals Grant, Sherman & Washington

You are looking up at a Village Creek Natural Historic Area oak tree in the picture.

When I am in a mood most foul, which is most of the time, I find I get temporary respite from a mood most foul when I commune with some types of nature.

For me, big trees and big waves seem to be the best foul mood alleviaters.

I do not have any contact with big waves in Texas. The only time I've even seen a semi-big wave in Texas was in Galveston.

I think big waves rolling up on an ocean beach cast off negative ions. Hence the mood enhancement.

I think big oak trees may also cast off negative ions.

The biggest tree I've ever had put me in a good mood was a sequoia called General Grant in Kings Canyon National Park in California. General Sherman in Sequoia National Park is the biggest tree in the world. General Grant is number 2. The Washington sequoia, named after General/President Washington, also in Sequoia National Park, used to be the #2 tree. But the Washington tree had a partial collapse a few years ago.

It's been a long time since I've seen a really big tree.

It's also been a long time since I've been cold. Currently I have my air conditioner working hard to keep me semi-cool. The A/C is having to work extra hard because it is currently 107 degrees in the outer world. With the Wind Chill Factor making it feel like 106.

It is only 13 days until the arrival of September. At some point in September it would seem like cooler temperatures might arrive. I hope.

Fort Worth To Serve As Oligarchy Model For Iraqi Provincial Councils

Fort Worth's official website has some interesting news in its City News section.

The headline of the story is "Fort Worth to serve as model for Iraqi provincial councils."

Under that headline is the following....

The transition from autocratic rule to democratic government isn’t easy, but it helps to have an example of how to do open government right.

Since 2003, the U.S. Agency for International Aid has been working to provide these examples to Iraqi officials as part of the Local Governance Program and, recently, they looked to Fort Worth for help.

Iraqi national Satie Najm has worked with officials at City Hall through the month of August to create an informational video about the structure of local government and the role citizens play in open government.

Mayor Betsy Price and Mayor Pro Tem Zim Zimmerman, along with members of city staff, were interviewed this week for the video, which will be presented to Iraqi provincial council governors in Iraq Sept. 12.

I am sort of speechless. Of all the towns in all of America Fort Worth is picked as a model for Iraq's transition to democratic government?

Is the real reason Fort Worth was picked for such a thing due to being the biggest city in America run as an Oligarchy, like a giant company town? Thus fitting the Iraqi way of operating more than a more democratic, liberal, liberated town, like, for example, Austin or Portland or Denver or Seattle or New York City?

Was Fort Worth picked so that Iraqi officials can learn how to impose big public works projects on their citizens without having to resort to something as messy as a vote?

Fort Worth to provide Iraq an example of the role citizens play in open government?

Did not Fort Worth only recently get rid of a mayor who acted like an autocratic dictator? Limiting citizen input at city council meetings. Refusing to talk to Fort Worth's real newspaper of record, that being Fort Worth Weekly.

This is all very perplexing.

Up Early August 18 Pondering Drowning In The Trinity River

I got up way before the arrival of the sun on this 18th morning of August, already heated to 85.2 heading for a scheduled high today of 104.

Sad news, again, from Fort Worth's Trinity Park. A mom drowned trying to rescue her 8 year old son who had somehow fallen into the Trinity River.

The mom did not know how to swim. Bystanders safely pulled the boy from the river.

Currently, due to the drought, the Trinity River is running rather low. What is it about the section of the Trinity River that runs through Trinity Park that causes so many drownings?

Is being taught to swim part of the curriculum in Texas schools like it is elsewhere?

The sun has now sufficiently illuminated the outside world so I can find my way to the pool to go for my morning swim.

Walking With The Fosducks & Squirrel After Visiting Leadville Colorado's Baby Doe's Matchless Mine

On my way to Town Talk today I stopped at Oakland Lake Park to walk around the drought shrunken Fosdic Lake.

The Fosdic Lake Fosducks continue to struggle with the HOT temperatures. Today they were huddling in their regular shade spot on the eastern shore of the shrinking lake.

The Fosducks were doing a lot of quacking today. I think a heat-demented squirrel acting squirrelly was upsetting the Fosducks.

You can see the squirrel in the picture. I think it thought it was a duck. The Fosducks seemed accepting of the new bird in their flock.

Changing subjects from Fosducks and squirrels to Elsie Hotpepper. This morning Elsie Hotpepper shocked me by telling me I can be difficult. I have no idea what that means.

In addition to Elsie Hotpepper being difficult this morning I visited Leadville, Colorado and Baby Doe's Matchless Mine.

When I first moved to Texas a structure visible from Interstate 35E, in Dallas, intrigued me. The structure was by a big Coors billboard that had a waterfall falling out of it. Eventually I learned that the intriguing structure was Baby Doe's Matchless Mine.

Eventually I visited Baby Doe's Matchless Mine in Dallas. Finding ones way to Baby Doe's was a bit tricky. And required valet parking.

I can see why Baby Doe's eventually went out of business, though once you did mange to find your way to its entry it was rather cool, like entering a mine. With an excellent view of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Dallas, with Reunion Tower putting on its nightime light show.

I believe there were several Baby Doe's Matchless Mines in various locations in America, inspired by the original in Leadville, Colorado. I do not know if the other Baby Doe's Matchless Mines have met the same fate as the Matchless Mine in Dallas.