Walking With The Shadow Of The Tandy Hills Pin-Headed Thin Man Thinking About Being The Master Of My Domain

That's the Shadow of the Tandy Hills Pin-Headed Thin Man on the day before the start of the last month of 2011, in the noon time frame.

I was fully covered in outer wear today. I thought I needed to be because my temperature monitoring device told me it was 45 degrees in the outer world. I think my temperature monitoring device lied to me.

I was overdressed and quickly slightly overheated.

I think I am suffering from low energy due to not getting my regular early morning swimming stimulation.

I had myself a very rare experience this morning.

I'd been procrastinating dealing with my domain renewal for a domain that expires on December 5. I wanted to renew/transfer it to something called Dot Earth. I went through the process, Dot Earth sent me a confirmation email. When I clicked on the "approve" link I was brought to a webpage where I needed to have something called an "Auth Code."

I was confused.

And then the first shocking thing happened. I called Dot Earth's customer service line and a pleasant English speaking woman answered on the 2nd ring! The Dot Earth lady explained what I needed to do.

Basically I had procrastinated too long and needed to call the current registrar to renew the domain. So, I called Frontline Communications. I hit #4 for customer support and this time a pleasant English speaking man answered on the 1st ring!

The domain was renewed and the pleasant English speaking man explained how to get the "Auth Code" so I can take care of transferring my domain before it needs to be renewed in another year.

I am still feeling slightly shaken from last night's nightmare with J.D. Granger, that ended up in a Dallas hotel room. I am likely going to be an insomniac tonight, fearing a repeat of last night's nightmare.

The Last Day Of November Having Lunch At Joe T. Garcia's With J.D. Granger

Standing outside on my secondary viewing portal we are looking at a clear blue sky above a cold blue pool on this last day of the next to last month of 2011.

In only 32 days it will be 2012. Or is it 33? Counting is not one of the things I do well.

It is currently 3 degrees above freezing in the outer world at my location on this parched part of the planet.

I had a strange nightmare last night. I met J.D. Granger for lunch at Joe T. Garcia's. We had two platters of fajitas and several giant pitchers of margaritas. At some point a blonde named Shanna showed up. Next thing I remember is being in a hotel room in Dallas. And then something traumatized me, causing me to wake up yelling something.

The first day of December is tomorrow. I've already got all my Christmas shopping done. And all the Christmas cards that I send have been sent.

The Mysterious Star Telegraph Pointed Me To A Surprising Editorial In The Fort Worth Star-Telegram About The Woodshed Scandal

Can anyone tell me who the person or persons are who make up the Star Telegraph blog?

Frequently I will notice on my blog stats that the Star Telegraph has referenced one of my bloggings, linking to the blogging.

This happened this morning to the blogging titled The Next To Last Morning Of November Thinking About Bankrupt American Airlines & Other Fort Worth Corporate Boondoggles.

In a Star Telegraph blog post titled Who's Next (without a question mark) the first sentence is "Durango tells you about American Airlines filing bankruptcy and the boondoggle/bankruptcy connection in Fort Worth."

The Star Telegraph's use of my first name, rather than the more formal Mr. Jones, makes it seem as if they know me.

Looking at the Star Telegraph this morning I came upon interesting info about which I was unaware.

An editorial yesterday in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The title of the Star-Telegram editorial is Fort Worth restaurant deal has folks talking.

The Star-Telegram is actually being critical regarding some aspect of the Trinity River Vision for the first time that I am aware of.

For example, this paragraph....

The persistent cadre of Trinity River Vision detractors probably still would pounce on the idea as conniving. But one would think after the various criticisms of the authority through the years, its officials and water board members would have learned to appreciate the value of being aboveboard with everything connected to this project.

Click on Fort Worth restaurant deal has folks talking to read the entire editorial.

The editorial currently has generated 3 comments that I rather like....

TexasR

The only people who should be surprised by any of this have been living under a rock.

loosinmyland

The persistent cadre of Trinity River Vision detractors is most people. Other than those involved, those who will benefit, and the Star Telegram, few support the project that was never put to a public vote, that was enabled with a questionable cronyistic state law, and that operates with a huge gas royalty budget obtained from land managed by a political subdivision that is supposed to be insuring our future water needs. That is public land entrusted to their care. The TRWD is an octopus that can operate in secrecy, grab land and hand out largess to their chums.

Where then is the persistent cadre of journalists at your fine paper, that should be looking into all aspects of the TRWD operations as well as the TRV. Do your job and pull back a few curtains and let the light shine in!

Restore the Water District to their previous mission and reduce our water rates. How's that for starter?

jimposter

Thank you for your editorial.  There were many details of which I was unaware. 

It is truly mind-boggling the extent of political incest at work here.  

Apparently just about every member of the inside-circle gang has helped himself to a piece of the public's pie.

The "lesson" of transparency should have been learned. Instead the actual lesson learned was to just do a better job of hiding it until it is too late for the public to do anything about it.

Disgusting. They ALL should be driven from any office or employment with any public or taxpayer-funded entity.

________________________________________

Methinks this has not been a good couple months for J.D. Granger and the Trinity River Vision.

J.D. caught a lot of flak for bailing at the last minute from a public forum he had agreed to appear in. This earned him a prestigious Turkey Award from FW Weekly. And now J.D. is entangled in The Woodshed Scandal.

I like attaching "gate" to a scandal, but The Woodshedgate Scandal just did not seem to work.

One final note on the Star Telegraph. I clicked on the "Email Us Your Concerns" link on the blog and politely asked who they were. The reply said "the Star Telegraph is a collective of concerned citizens from the community."

Well, that was helpful. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of concerned citizens in this troubled, troubling community.

The Quanah Parker Park Ghosts Will Now Be Lit Up At Night By Solar Powered Lights Thanks To Fort Worth City Gas Lease Revenue In Action

Ghosts Flying In The Quanah Parker Park Trees

We are way past Halloween, so I don't know why there appeared to be ghosts in the trees of Quanah Parker Park today.

It was 50 and slightly windy when I went on a walk today. And somehow I managed to overheat.

Today a City of Fort Worth work crew was picking up the tires I mentioned in a blogging earlier this month and then again when the tire pile grew bigger.

Where did all those tires come from I continue to wonder?

Last Wednesday I blogged about Fort Worth city gas lease revenue in action in Quanah Parker Park. Action like adding a new section of paved trail that seems a bit redundant.

Solar Light To Illuminate Trail At Night

The paved trail of Quanah Parker Park does not see a lot of people. But that Fort Worth city gas lease revenue in action has been adding new benches that someone someday may sit on.

I had noticed poles stuck in the ground beside the paved trail and wondered what they were for.

Today I found out.

A crew was installing solar powered lights on the poles to illuminate the trail at night that few walk on during the day.

Clearly Fort Worth is flush with cash with all that city gas lease revenue in action.

I'm assuming now that Fort Worth is flush with cash with all that city gas lease revenue in action that the Fort Worth public swimming pools will be reopened and the public library operating hour cutbacks will be reversed.

The Next To Last Morning Of November Thinking About Bankrupt American Airlines & Other Fort Worth Corporate Boondoggles

The steamy view through my primary viewing portal on the world is not due to a freezing frost on this next to last morning of the next to last month of 2011.

It is yet one more clear blue sky dawn of a new day semi-deep nowhere near the heart of Texas.

Currently heated to a chilly 37 degrees.

If the temperature predictors are correct it looks like Thursday may be the first day in several that the 24 hour average is 50 degrees or above, thus warming the water I swim in sufficiently to make going swimming doable.

Elsie Hotpepper has gone missing. Again. Even though she sent me an email telling me she has not gone missing. Again.

The most troubling news this morning was that American Airlines has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. American Airlines is one of the few big corporations based in Fort Worth. Along with Radio Shack and Pier One Imports. There may be others I am not aware of.

I'm not sure if Pier One Imports is still in business. They built themselves a very nice corporate headquarters near the Trinity River and then soon had to abandon their nice new corporate headquarters to Chesapeake Energy so Chesapeake Energy could have a nice new building from which to run its shadow government of Fort Worth.

I am almost certain that Radio Shack is still in business, even though Radio Shack also abandoned its very nice new corporate headquarters in downtown Fort Worth. I think Radio Shack may still lease a room or two in its former corporate headquarters, but it has mostly been taken over by Tarrant County College.

It is interesting how Fort Worth's scandals and boondoggles intersect.

Fort Worth abused eminent domain to take away a public housing project so the land could be given to Radio Shack. Radio Shack then took away Fort Worth's free parking lots and subway which used to make visiting downtown Fort Worth pleasantly easy.

Meanwhile Tarrant County College began building a very expensive new downtown campus that eventually turned into a boondoogle that was costing too much. So, that construction was scaled back with the majority of the new downtown campus moved over to the then mostly abandoned Radio Shack corporate headquarters.

And now American Airlines is bankrupt. If AA goes out of business that is going to leave an awful lot of open slots at D/FW International Airport.

I wonder what causes corporations headquartered in Fort Worth to have such woeful woes?

Trying To Find The Phantom Fosdic Ducks While Thinking About Riding A Ferry In Texas

Fosdic Blue Lake In Oakland Lake Park

I snapped 4 pictures of this view of Fosdic Lake. My eyes saw dozens of ducks floating on the lake. My camera somehow saw none of them.

The only evidence of the flock of ducks is the waves on the lake. Bigger waves than when I saw Fosdic Lake on Saturday when it was very windy.

Today is being pretty much dead calm in the outer world.

Dead calm and slightly cold. We are no longer freezing. It is currently 48 degrees at my location.

Yesterday I blogged about the Tacoma Adventure Poodles, Blue & Max's Thanksgiving blogging, mentioning that they were the Primary Caretakers of my nephews David and Theo and niece, Ruby. And that the Secondary Caretakers had taken the kids to play in snow. I was not certain where that snow was located. I have now heard, via a blog comment from one of the Secondary Caretakers, that my guess as to the snow location was correct.....

Secondary Caretaker has left a new comment on your post "A Happy Thanksgiving From A Pair Of Poodles Has Me Homesick For Washington": 

As we were driving up - yes to the Summit - I was thinking how thankful I am to live somewhere with such geographic diversity. We could have chosen a ferry ride, a trip to the snow, or even the ocean. We are very lucky here.

In one long day's drive I could go from my current location to Galveston where I also could ride a ferry and be on an ocean beach. Well, a gulf beach. That looks just like an ocean. It would be a longer drive to find some deep snow.

The Locals Are Taking J.D. Granger To The Woodshed For A Well Deserved Spanking

J.D. Granger Covering His Rear On The Way
To A Spanking In The Woodshed

The picture is a figurative representation of the Fort Worth public taking J.D. Granger to the Woodshed.

A big brouhaha is brewing over the sweetheart deal J.D. Granger gave Tim Love.

That sweetheart deal being a new restaurant called The Woodshed that has area restaurateurs crying foul. Complaining that the Trinity River Vision went through no competitive bidding process for the sweet lease deal that Tim Love was gifted with.

The article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about this latest Trinity River Vision nefariousness sort of manages to raise more questions than it answers.

Apparently the Freedom of Information Act does not apply to a governmental body like the Trinity River Vision. So, there is no transparency. J.D. Granger claims he approached other restaurateurs about the sweetheart deal, but was turned down.

But, J.D. refuses to say who these other mystery restaurateurs were.

And, apparently neither J.D. Granger or Tim Love remembers who approached whom first about this sweetheart deal. Does it not seem like one would remember such a thing? Apparently the Star-Telegram reporter, Barry Shlachter, was not curious enough to push harder for answers.

The Star-Telegram's best reporter, Bud Kennedy, mentioned The Woodshed Scandal on his Facebook page a couple days ago, which resulted in oodles of comments indicating there are a lot of people not happy with what they are seeing with the Trinity River Vision.

The Star-Telegram article titled "Restaurant owners irked by no-bid deal with celebrity chef Tim Love" has also generated a lot of comments, 70 in total, as of right now. Likely to increase.

I particularly liked the most recent comment, it being #70, from someone calling him or herself FoodCourtJester...

Seems everything Mr. Love touches turns to gold except his sorry food. Did I see he baked a roasted jalapeño granny smith apple pie for the Cowboys game? He thinks he's inventing new food if you read the recent paid advertisement, I mean article, in Ft Worth magazine. A bunch of clueless locals so eager to latch onto anything a celebrity chef does because Ft Worth has a major inferiority complex is to blame. That same inferiority complex brought us the TRV. Austin has town lake and SA the riverwalk. Oh, and the comment in this article that Love mentioned Woodshed on national TV. Yippee. Sounds like Baby Granger, Lane, et al should be taken to the woodshed.

Another comment suggested that the FBI would soon be raiding the offices of the TRV. Apparently that comment maker was not aware that Fort Worth is under a protective bubble where its corruption is immune from federal scrutiny.

But, if there was an FBI investigation, or even if someone was able to invoke the Freedom of Information Act, I think the public would be fascinated to learn how much of their money is spent on the liquor supply at TRV headquarters. How much has been spent on junkets to other towns? How much has been spent at expensive restaurants? How much has been put on a TRV credit cards for a room or two in an expensive Dallas hotel?

Why doe the Star-Telegram not politely ask J.D. Granger for a look at the Trinity River Vision's books? If it is all on the up and up and totally justifiable, J.D. Granger should have no objection to total transparency.

Regarding FoodCourtJester saying that Tim Love makes sorry food. All Tim Love has ever cooked for me is a Dirty Love Burger at the Love Shack in the Fort Worth Stockyards. After reading all the hype about the Love Shack burgers I was a bit disappointed to find I found nothing all that great about it. And the fries were cold.

The Last Monday Of November Freezing & Earthquake Free In Texas

On this last Monday of the next to last month of 2011 I am looking through the bars of my patio prison cell at a swimming pool that could have ice floating in it, if the circulating pump did not stop that from happening.

Because it is below freezing this morning in the outer world at my location on this parched part of the planet.

I have turned on my interior heating device for the first time since last winter. I do not like having to run my interior heating device.

I did not feel any of the 6 earthquakes that have rattled Oklahoma in the past 4 days.

Hyper sensitive to having the earth move, Elsie Hotpepper, usually feels any ground movement within a 200 mile radius.. But I've not heard if Elsie felt any shaking the past 4 days.

I will not be going swimming again this morning. My health is rapidly deteriorating due to this decrease in activity.

My Regular Sunday Walk With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts Was Blowing Below Freezing Today

The Sunny Sunday View Of The Village Creek Blue Bayou

With it being Sunday and creature of habit that I be, today in the noon time frame I drove to Arlington to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area to walk with the chilled Ghosts of the Indians who used to live here in one of the biggest Indian Villages in North America, til the Natives were run out of their town by incoming Texans and their primitive use of an early version of eminent domain.

We are having another gusty day in North Texas. So gusty that the wind chill factor had the 41 degrees feeling like 4 degrees below freezing when I entered the outer world.

As seems to be the pattern there were a number of other people enjoying the brisk wind blowing over Village Creek today.

Due to the big trees that line the walkway that you pass under as you commune with nature in this location, when it is windy, you must keep an eye out for flying branches and other airborne debris.

I had no flying branch incidents today.

As you can see via the screencap I made of the weather conditions prior to taking off to visit the Indians it is going to be cold for the next 5 days.

It appears that there will be no 24 hour periods where the temperature averages 50 degrees or above. This means I will not be swimming into the foreseeable future.

Without my salubrious morning swim my health is likely to quickly deteriorate. And I will get very very cranky. A substitute must be found.

A Happy Thanksgiving From A Pair Of Poodles Has Me Homesick For Washington

Ruby, Theo & David With Kristin
Getting Ready To Ski

This morning I saw that Tacoma's best known Adventure Poodles, Blue & Max, had written their annual Happy Thanksgiving blogging.

Apparently, on or about Thanksgiving, Blue & Max sent my nephews, David and Theo and niece, Ruby, up somewhere in the Cascade Mountains with their secondary caretakers, Michele & Kristin, for some fun in the snow.

It looks like the snow location may be the Snoqualmie Pass summit zone. There are several ski areas in this location. The Snoqualmie Pass summit zone is a fairly short distance east of Seattle and Tacoma, on Interstate 90.

Among the things I miss about Washington, that I don't have in Texas, is the extremely varied topography within very short distances.

In my current location the topography is pretty much the same in any direction for 100s of miles. There are no snow covered mountains in this parched part of the planet.

Where I lived in Washington, in the Skagit Valley town of Mount Vernon, I could drive about 10 miles to the east and be up in the mountains. Or go 10 miles to the west and be on a Puget Sound beach. Or in the tourist town of La Conner.

In Washington I could get up on a Saturday morning in November and choose to go cross country skiing, or go have a weenie roast picnic on a beach, or hop a ferry 20 miles from my abode, in Anacortes, and head out to the San Juan Islands, which is in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, and thus is a reliable escape from rain, if you feel in need of escaping the gray dripping.

View From My Bedroom Window Of My
Van & Car Covered By Snow

The Puget Sound lowlands do not get a lot of snow. Some winters pass with no snow. There was one snow storm in the 1990s that was the deepest snow I ever saw in the Puget Sound lowland zone. I was pretty much trapped in my house for a week. I could not drive anywhere, but I could cross country ski to the grocery store.

When the thaw finally came I had all sorts of problems. Water was backing up on the flat roofs. Two drain pipes broke off. It was a mess.

Go here to visit me in Washington. Scroll down and you will come to more photos of the most snow I ever saw piled up in my location in Mount Vernon.

In Western Washington when you want a really major change of scenery you can drive one of the passes over the Cascade Mountains to a starkly different type of topography than the evergreen western side of the mountains. East of the mountains the hills have no trees growing on them, except for the 1000s of acres of fruit orchards.

In Eastern Washington you have a climate much more like Texas. Very HOT in the summer.

There is a big river than runs through Eastern Washington, called the Columbia, with several big dams, like Grand Coulee. Because of the big river and the reservoirs behind the dams, much of the desert of Eastern Washington has been turned into land upon which all sorts of things grow. One of the side benefits of Grand Coulee Dam was the appearance of lakes in various coulees (Washington Indian-speak for canyons), like Sun Lake. Sun Lake State Park was one of my favorite places to go in summer in my younger years.

Dry Falls, by Sun Lake, is the location of what at one point in time was the biggest waterfall the world has ever known. The melting of the last Ice Age and its massive flooding is what made the coulees of Eastern Washington.

Can you tell I'm feeling a bit homesick for Washington? It has been over 3 years since I've been back. That is the longest I've been away from Washington in my long life. I'm thinking I will likely be going to Arizona and Washington soon.