It Is Almost Freezing In Texas On The 3rd Saturday Of December While I Ponder The Barefoot Bandit & Japanese Tsunami Flotsam

It appears, looking at the outer world, via my primary viewing portal, that, even though it is currently one degree above freezing at my location, that frost is between me and a clear view of the dawn of the third Saturday of the last month of 2011, Day 17.

One week til Christmas Eve.

Two weeks til New Year's Eve.

Two weeks and one day til the New Year of 2012.

This morning I was bugged to read that up in Washington the Barefoot Bandit, Colton Harris-Moore, was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to dozens of charges in the State of Washington. Colton faces additional federal charges and additional time, to be served concurrently, at a later sentencing.

The Barefoot Bandit is only 20 years old. He was a teenager when he was doing his banditting.

The Judge in Colton's sentencing, Vickie Churchill, said, "this case is a tragedy in many ways, but it's a triumph of the human spirit in other ways." She described Harris-Moore's upbringing as a "mind numbing absence of hope," and believed he was genuinely remorseful and contrite.

The Barefoot Bandit has said he plans to make restitution using the money coming his way for book and movie rights. He is banned from using such money for himself.

I know of at least one criminal in Washington who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars, made no restitution, plead guilty and did only 3 days jail time and six months house arrest and did not pay any of the court ordered restitution. And this was a 40 something woman committing this crime. The only lasting debt paid to society by this particular criminal is the idiot is banned from voting due to being a convicted felon.

Methinks all would be better served if the Barefoot Bandit was put in college, with close supervision. This is obviously a very smart kid. He taught himself to fly a plane. Flying a plane is not easy.

In other Washington news of the sort that is not possible to happen in Texas.

Flotsam is washing ashore on the Washington Pacific Coast from the Japanese Tsunami. Beachcombers are finding all sorts of interesting things, including giant fishnet floats.

Beach combing is a fun thing to do. I can't remember the last time I did any beach combing in Texas.

On Top Chef Texas This Week We Learned That Tim Love Owns Fort Worth & Loves Tequila

Tim Love Loving Tequila

I watched a TV show on Wednesday that I keep forgetting to mention, wanting to mention this particular TV show because of its Fort Worth connection.

I am fairly certain that this particular Fort Worth connection is not going to be making anyone outside of Fort Worth Green With Envy.

Anyway.

That is Fort Worth Celebrity Chef, Tim Love, standing next to Padma Lakshmi, in the Top Chef Texas kitchen in Dallas.

In the picture Tim Love is shooting back tequila. He seemed well practiced at shooting back tequila. Perhaps his pal, J.D. Granger, has been giving Tim tequila lessons.

This week the Top Chefs had to cook in the kitchen of Tim Love's Lonesome Dove Western Bistro in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

This was to be the only visit to Fort Worth by Top Chef Texas. Next week they head to Austin.

Months ago there were news reports regarding Top Chef's producers shaking down Texas towns for various perks. I assume in exchange for publicity. Fort Worth must have resisted the shakedown, because all we saw of the Fort Worth Stockyards was a fraction of a second flash of the iconic Fort Worth Stockyards sign. And then we spent the rest of the time in Tim Love's restaurant.

One of the judges on this season of Top Chef is celebrity chef, Hugh Acheson. Hugh is a very amusing Canadian. Amusing Canadians are a rare breed. On his Bravo TV Top Chef Texas Blog, Hugh Acheson had this to say about Tim Love...

"Time to get to Fort Worth. Tim Love owns this town. It’s a great honky-tonk town."

So. In the world of celebrity chefs, apparently, it is known that Tim Love owns Fort Worth.

This is the best explanation yet as to how it was Tim Love got his sweetheart restaurant deal for his new Woodshed restaurant, courtesy of the generosity of his drinking buddy, J.D. Granger, the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle and the Tarrant Regional Water District.

You can read the details of why it was that Tim Love was drinking tequila with Padma on my TV Blog.

Walking With The Indian Ghosts In The Unnatural Village Creek Natural Historical Area

Some Village Creek Trees Naturally Minus Their Leaves

Yesterday lightning bolts striking Fosdic Lake stopped me from getting my daily aerobic stimulation. Today I was not going to let anything stop me from getting my much needed endorphins.

Today I did not go back to Fosdic Lake.

Instead I went to walk with the Indian Ghosts at the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

Have I ever mentioned that I get calling this area "Historical," but I don't really get identifying it as "Natural"?

It is historical because in this location a series of Indian Villages lay on either side of what is now known as Village Creek, extending for about five miles to the south from near what is present day Lamar Boulevard to the top of a hill on which the largest village was located and which is now the location of the clubhouse of the Lake Arlington Golf Course. 300 acres of corn grew near the villages of Village Creek.

The modern day version of the Village Creek Historical Area contains all sorts of unnatural things.

Like paved trails. And paved pods for picnic tables. With some of the paved pods being quite large with multiple picnic tables. The picnic tables have unnatural fireplaces next to them. There are unnatural benches throughout the "Natural" area. There are two unnatural cement dam/bridges across Village Creek in the 'Natural" area.

A network of power lines runs through the Village Creek "Natural" Area.

Village Creek Natural Sanitary Sewer Vents

Among the most unnatural things in the Village Creek "Natural" Area are big vents for an Arlington Sanitary Sewer line, along with manholes. These look sort of like the unnatural monoliths that got the monkeys all excited in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

At times the malodorousness wafting from the sanitary sewer monoliths is quite unnatural. Today the sanitary sewer monoliths were being particularly unnaturally malodorous.

The unnatural viewing platform that looks out over the Village Creek Blue Bayou is made from planks made from recycled plastic, with a metal railing. Not very "Natural."

There is a mirror on a stick at a bend in the paved trail that I find useful, but totally unnatural.

There are large expanses of mowed lawn in the Village Creek "Natural" Area. Mowed lawns are really not all that natural.

I'm sure there are more unnatural things that I am not remembering, right now, in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

I don't know if it is ironic, or not, or simply a signage mistake, but the sign at the west side parking lot, off Dottie Lynn Parkway, says "Village Creek Historical Area." No mention made of this being a "Natural" area, as well as "Historical."

It is the signage you see as you walk from the parking lot onto the paved trail that informs you that this is "Village Creek Natural Historical Area."

It is all very perplexing. And sort of schizophrenic. And one of my favorite parks, even though it is not very "Natural."

The 3rd Friday Of December Thinking About Not Swimming & A Republican Debate

This morning is already the morning of the 3rd Friday of the last month of 2011. Day 16 of December appears, judging from the view from my primary viewing portal on the world to be, currently, free of rain, with a sky only partially covered by clouds.

The outer world is being chilled to only 10 degrees above freezing at this point in time.

After yesterday's aborted attempt, due to lightning strikes, to walk around Fosdic Lake, I am desperate for endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation. I suspect I will find such stimulation somehow, somewhere, today.

Speaking of endorphin inducing stimulation, I made it all the way through last night's Iowa Republican Debate on Fox News.

I don't quite understand why I am finding watching the Republican debates this election season to be entertaining Reality TV.

From watching the debates I've come to an opinion or two. One is, I really do not like Michelle Bachman. She is like some bad substitute for Sarah Palin. Less good looking and, I think, even dumber.And not nearly as likable. I can't stand how she seems to be always squinting and smiling at the same time as she says the dumb, misinformed things she says. I liked Newt Gingrich calling her on her nonsense last night.

I like Ron Paul. Methinks his thinking is in the right place, though he seems to have trouble articulating what he thinks in a way that does not come across as wacky doodle.

I never hold anyone's religion against them. Unless they wear it on their sleeve and try and convince me that I must think what they think.

However, I have long had a bit of a problem with the Mormon religion. Somehow believing that Jesus left Jerusalem and journeyed to the New World where he preached to the Natives is just a tad odd. When the Spaniards arrived in the New World they did not find the Natives practicing Christianity. The Spaniards got very violent trying to force Christianity on the Natives.

So, how do the Mormons explain Jesus' apparent failure in the New World, while he sparked the start of Christianity in the Old World?

This is very perplexing to me.

I knew nothing about Mormonism til I visited the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, years ago. And saw murals on walls depicting Jesus ministering to the Native Americans.

Bizarre.

And then there is the comic relief provided by Texas.

Rick Perry.

I actually like Rick Perry more now than I did before all his exposure due to running for President. I had no idea he was such a clueless goofball.

John Huntsman is probably a very competent guy. Saying this is what is known as damning by faint praise.

I don't like Rick Santorum. Don't quite know why. Maybe it's my aversion to people who seem to always be smiling when they talk. Yes, I can be very shallow at times.

And then there is Newt. I have always liked Newt Gingrich. He had me last night, again, when he referenced Thomas Jefferson, once again displaying his knowledge of the actual history of America, as opposed to someone like Michelle Bachman, who was unaware that America has not had an embassy in Iran for decades.

Enough of politics. It is time to go swimming. Unfortunately it is too cold for that.

A Texas Sized Downpour & Lightning Strikes Keep Me From Walking Around Fosdic Lake Today

I exited my abode at noon to head to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdic Lake so as to get some of my recommended daily salubrious endorphin inducing aerobic activity.

A small amount of precipitation was precipitating when I walked to my motorized vehicular transport.

As I headed west the 4 miles to Oakland Lake Park I saw lightning strikes in the distance.

The closer I got to Fosdic Lake the larger the amount of precipitation precipitating became.

By the time I got to the Oakland Lake Park eastern parking lot the rain had segued into heavy duty Texas-style downpour mode.

With lightning striking to the north of me, lightning striking to the south of me, lightning striking to the west of me.

I looked through my rain streaked windshield at Fosdic Lake, and its army of ducks, and decided it was likely not a good idea to wander around Fosdic Lake, under a bumbershoot, with lightning making random strikes.

So, on this very rare occasion, I let common sense get the better of me and bailed on dodging lightning bolts striking around Fosdic Lake.

Obviously I am now back under cover, in my abode, with the rain no longer falling. I think I am now in for the duration of the rest of today.

Ten Days Til Christmas With Me Concerned About Robotrons & Fort Worth's Bad Sad Sidewalks

I escaped to the other side of the bars of my patio prison cell, this morning, to take a picture of the very very dark pre-dawn morning of the Ides of December, already the 15th day of the last month of 2011.

Only 10 days until Christmas.

That is not many shopping days left for the sheep-like robotrons who feel compelled to play along with the annual Christmas present buying economic boost.

I've always thought Scrooge had it right and Charles Dickens thoroughly maligned him. And Tiny Tim was a bit of a whiner.

Speaking of whiners. Some guy in a wheelchair has the gall to think that Fort Worth is being grossly unfair in how it treats the disabled via its patchwork of messed up sidewalks.

Apparently Fort Worth's next door neighbor, Arlington, is in the midst of a 6 year long lawsuit that claims Arlington is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, due to Arlington's inadequate sidewalk access.

I have walked in both Arlington and Fort Worth. If Arlington is getting sued for bad sidewalks, well, methinks Fort Worth's are much much worse.

If I had to rely on a wheelchair for mobility I could not make it to my neighborhood Krogers via sidewalks. That has long seemed extremely wrong to me, what with my location being in a rather densely populated area.

With a lot of people walking.

So many people walking that dirt paths have been worn in the ground that leads to Krogers.

How is it that the city that is the Envy of the Nation and causes towns, big and small, to be Green With Envy, can have such a sad patchwork of bad sidewalks?

The last time I was in the relatively small town of Tacoma, population less than a third of Fort Worth's, I walked many a mile. I do not recollect walking anywhere in Tacoma that did not have a wide sidewalk on both sides of the street, with a wide median separating the sidewalk from the street in the residential zones.

I don't think anyone in Tacoma has ever suggested that Tacoma is the Envy of the Nation or makes any other town Green With Envy.

Of the Fort Worth sidewalks that do exist, most are ridiculously narrow. There is no way two wheelchairs could meet each other without one having to move off the sidewalk. Most Fort Worth sidewalks are not wide enough for two wide Fort Worth natives to walk side by side.

Enough of the sad subject of Fort Worth's badly lacking sidewalk situation and on to my favorite subject.

The weather.

I am not running my furnace this morning. The temperature in the outer world got well into the 70s yesterday. It is currently 55 degrees in the outer world at my location about a half hour before the sun arrives to begin its daily heating duties.

Even though I said, yesterday, that my new swimming protocol was 5 days in a row of averaging 60 degrees or above, over a 24 hour time period, I am going to give the pool another try this morning. Even if it does not work out that I can stay in the pool, I find the bracing attempt to be invigorating.

I like being invigorated.

Walking In The Rain Around Quanah Parker Park On The Way To Town Talk Thinking About Time Wounding All Heels

A River Called Trinity Flows Through Quanah Parker Park

Today is Wednesday. Since today is Wednesday and since I am a creature of deeply embedded habit, it is clearly obvious, to anyone paying any attention at all, that today I would go somewhere and walk.

And then go to Town Talk.

During the noon time frame scheduled walking period the temperature was balmy, approaching 70.

And the sky was dripping wet stuff.

I decided to take a short walk in Quanah Parker Park on my way to Town Talk.

In the picture you are not looking at a serene lake. That is a river. The extremely slow moving Trinity River, flowing east, past Quanah Parker Park. I thought the Trinity River presented a rather bucolic scenic scene today.

I like bucolic scenic scenes.

As I walked today, admiring the bucolic scenic scenes, I pondered how true it is, the ancient saying that says "Time Heals All Wounds and Wounds All Heels."

Today I heard from someone up north telling me about the wounding of one particular Tacoma Heel.

I can not pretend that this wounding is/was not well deserved.

I heard on the radio that thunder is booming to the west of my location.

With these warm temperatures and rain, I suspect I will see some lightning strikes and hear some thunder booming before the day is over.

In The Middle Of The Morning Of The Middle Of The Last Month Of The Year It Is 75 Degrees At My Location In Texas

It is not yet 10 in the morning at my location. I looked up at my computer temperature monitoring device to see the device indicating it was currently 75 degrees in the outer world.

This seemed unlikely to me.

So, I stepped outside to be greeted with some wind, some rain and some of what felt like slightly warm air.

Methinks, with these suddenly balmy temperatures that that lightning strike in the weather graphic likely accurately represents what may be happening soon.

Due to figuring that the 24 hour temperature average had been 60 or above, I did get in the pool this morning.

Getting in the pool this morning did not go well. I ran from the shallow end to the deep. Swam, paddling and kicking hard for, maybe, 20 seconds, before deciding that I think I need at least 5 days averaging 60 degrees or above to make the pool doable.

Apparently I need to lard on even more fat to give myself a sufficient layer of insulative adipose tissue to make swimming comfortable during this cool time of the year.

Google Has Altered My Profile Photo To Accurately Reflect How Fat I Am

I know Google is technologically innovative to a level that is almost spooky.

But, methinks the latest Google innovation, that I have made note of, has gone too far.

In the column to the right you see my original Google Profile Photo. That photo was taken years ago, back when I was skinny.

Somehow Google figured out that I am no longer skinny and so Google altered the Profile Photo to be more accurate when one views my Google profile.

If you click on "View My Complete Profile," on the right, you will see the same Google altered photo that you see above.

I am sort of embarrassed to have my fatness revealed in this manner, but, the fat bottom line is, it was I who ate all those gallons of heavily buttered popcorn, so I guess I have to willingly accept having Google display a more accurate profile photo of me.

This may cause me to go on a diet.

In Texas Observing Three Generations Of Pacific Northwest Train Fanatics

In the picture you are looking at one of the Pacific Northwest's best selling authors, Martin Burwash, on the left, with his dad next to him and son, Seth, on the right, near the town of Lombard, in the state of Montana.

Martin is married to one of my best friends, dating all the way back, decades ago, to high school.

I am not sure, because my Adult Attention Deficit Disorder causes me to remember things incorrectly, but I believe Seth is about to be a baby daddy, making Martin a grandpa. I could be wrong about this, so don't go repeating what I say. I'm not a reliable source.

Martin's best selling historical novel is called Vis Major. I read somewhere that "Vis Major has received glowing reviews and is climbing the Best Seller lists. It's been reported that Burwash has been negotiating for screen rights to Vis Major, with Brad Pitt playing Burwash as the story's narrator."

Vis Major is about the Wellington Train Disaster, way back early in the previous century. A train disaster in the Stevens Pass zone of Washington's Cascade Mountains. One of the worst train disasters in history.

On Facebook Martin regularly posts black and white photos, that he has taken and then developed in his secret darkroom, of trains rolling across various tracks in the Pacific Northwest.

I have long wondered from whence Martin's rather extreme interest in trains came.

This morning, via Martin's blog, I got the answer, in a rather charming blogging titled "Three Generations."

I do not know what the current status is of Vis Major: the Movie. I do know that Martin told me that he preferred to be played by Sam Elliot, not Brad Pitt. I see Meryl Streep as Martin's wife in the movie. Or Jennifer Anniston. Or maybe Kim Kardashian.