The HOTTEST Day Of The New Year Walking With The Turtles Of Fosdic Lake

The Fresh Mowed Fosdic Lake Lawn

It is really being a really good thing to be back feeling almost like my old really healthy self.

I think this return to feeling good is being helped by the relatively balmy temperature in the outer world.

My walk today around Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park was heated to 77 degrees, heading to a predicted high today in the 80s.

If I was still living in Washington and it was in the 80s, today everyone would be whining about wilting in the incredibly HOT heat wave.

But, I am not in Washington, so I don't whine these days when the sun heats the outer world to the 80 degree zone. I don't whine in Texas, about the temperature, in Texas, til it goes over the 110 zone.

Dozens of people and turtles were enjoying the sun at Oakland Lake Park today. The turtles seemed particularly happy and were not being at all skittish.

The Oakland Lake Park grass is being mowed today. I'd forgotten how good fresh mowed grass smells on a warm winter day.

My attempt to go swimming today was aborted after going from the shallow end to the deep end without feeling like there was an indication I was going to quickly acclimate to the temperature. I may make another attempt tomorrow morning, due to it getting HOT here today.

Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision Coyote Drive-In Movie Theater Boondoggle

Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Drive-In

I have been slightly ailing for the past couple weeks, so a thing or two has slipped past my notice.

Like the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle has now been expanded to provide Fort Worth with a much needed drive-in movie theater.

The Tarrant Regional Water District, it being the entity in cahoots with the TRV Boondoggle, is leasing 25 acres, give or take an acre or two, of land it owns south of LaGrave Field, to a Dallas startup business called Coyote Theaters.

Yes. That sounds like a good plan, lease land to a startup business starting up a new business they've not started up before. Sounds like a recipe for success. Sort of like building the world's premiere wakeboard park where it can get wiped out by a flood.

Tarrant Regional Water District board member, Jim Lane, is totally on board, thinking this is a great idea. Mr. Lane plans on borrowing a neighbor's 1957 Chevy to take his wife to the drive-in. I assume to recreate the wild drive-in nights of his youth.

I've been there, done that. My drive-in vehicle was a 65 Mustang Fastback. In the Skagit Drive-In. A drive-in theater long gone. As are most drive-ins in America. Outdated relics of the past.

The TRV Boondoggle Drive-In will have 3 screens. Each screen will be able to be watched by movie goers in up to 300 cars. Tickets will be in the $6 to $8 range.

The TRV Boondoggle Drive-In propaganda promoters are saying they anticipate around 300,000 TRVBDIT (Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Drive-In Theater) movie goers a year.

That works out to about 822 paying customers a day.

That sounds believable. Sort of like how the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and its propaganda co-horts claimed 7 to 8 million visitors a year to the Fort Worth Cabela's sporting goods store would make Cabela's the top tourist attraction in Texas. With apparently no one doing the math to see how unlikely was a daily average of around 22,000 visitors to a sporting goods store.

The Tarrant Regional Water District con jobbers are claiming they will realize $1.7 million in rent from the lease to the Coyote Theater start-up.

I have found no info as to how this deal came to be. Was it the same type machinations that got Tim Love his sweetheart deal for the cool new Woodshed Smokehouse?

I can not help but wonder if one of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Drive-In Movie Theater's screens will be facing the Trinity River, so that in summer, the Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Feces Infested Floats can enjoy watching a movie from the comfort of their favorite dangerously polluted river?

My only drive-in experiences have been in Washington, decades ago, before most cars had air conditioning. In Washington you don't often have any need for air-conditioning. With modern cars and air conditioners, how does that work at a movie drive-in theater?

Three screens with up to 500 cars each? That'd be 1,500 cars running their A/Cs to keep cool on a HOT Texas summer night. That does not sound very eco-friendly to me.

The Final Thursday Of February Underwhelmed By Last Night's Arizona Republican Debate

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the outer world on the final Thursday of the second month of 2012, the day appears to have dawned with a pleasantly blue sky.

I can tell via my computer based temperature monitoring device that the outer world at my location is currently heated to 56 degrees.

My attempt to go swimming yesterday morning did not succeed. I got waste deep and decided it was too cold to go any deeper.

The temperature got into the 70s yesterday and is almost 60 right now. I don't know if I will make another swimming attempt. I do know at this time last year I was swimming. I fear I may have become somewhat of a cold water wimp.

Speaking of cold water. I made it through last night's Republican Debate in Arizona. I thought Newt Gingrich did the best. At times Rick Santorum seemed borderline convoluted. Mitt Romney continues to annoy me, but I'm not sure why. Maybe it's my aversion to used car salesmen. Ron Paul continues to amuse me.

But, where is a Ronald Reagan when the Republicans so desperately need one?

I think I will go try and go swimming now and take my mind off the sad state of American politics.

The Walls Of Fort Chesapeake Come Tumbling Down While Albertsons Draws A Yellow Line

The Walls Of Fort Chesapeake Come Tumbling Down

Yesterday I noticed new signs at my neighborhood Albertson's.

A few minutes ago I decided to walk over to Albertson's to get this week's FW Weekly and DFW.com.

And to take a picture of the new Albertson's signs.

I was surprised to see an unexpected bonus during my walk to Albertson's.

That unexpected bonus was to see that the walls of my neighborhood Fort Chesapeake are being taken down.

Last Thursday, in a blogging titled "When Will The Walls Of Chesapeake Energy Come Tumbling Down?"  I mentioned being appalled that these Fort Chesapeake eyesores were allowed to visually pollute residential neighborhoods.

I guess the answer to that when will the walls come tumbling question, asked last Thursday, was the following Wednesday.

Albertson's Cart Warning Sign

Back to Albertson's.

Signs have been placed at various locations on the Albertson's parking cautioning shoppers that their cart will STOP suddenly if taken beyond the yellow line.

I can't help but wonder how it was determined that it made business sense to invest in new high-tech shopping carts?

I do know, a time or two, I have noticed Albertson's grocery carts abandoned, off property.

I suspect shoppers use the grocery carts to haul their groceries back to their nearby abodes.

Rather than replace the old grocery carts with these new auto-lock ones, why not go for other options? To use an ALDI grocery cart you rent it for a quarter.

If a shopper is so desperate to haul their groceries home, due to not having a vehicle, that they roll their groceries home in the Albertson's grocery cart, why not come up with a way to solve that problem?

The Next To Last Wednesday Of February Dawns Warm

Looking through the bars of my patio prison cell on this next to last Wednesday of the 2nd month of 2012 the swimming pool looks like it might be warmed to a swimmable temperature.

It is currently 55 degrees in the outer world at my location, soon after the daily arrival of the glowing sky orb.

I feel like I am at the tail end of my recent first viral bout of the new century. The fact that I'm going to test out the swimming pool this morning would seem to be indicative of a return to feeling healthy.

A week from today will be the last day of February. I totally tire of the ever increasing speed with which time flies.

Spencer Jack is flying to Phoenix on March 14 to visit my mom and dad. I told my mom and dad I'd fly to Phoenix in March. Now March is almost here and I'm not much in the mood to fly to Phoenix.

Before I moved to Texas I used to take off for long distance locations on momentary whims. I have no idea what about Texas has made me so stodgy about taking off for long distance locations on momentary whims. Maybe it is yet one more age-related malady.

I am going swimming now. For how long I do not know.

Walking With The Indian Ghosts In The Village Creek Natural Historical Area & Finding Mysterious Firewood

I am still not back to my regular healthy self. I do not like not being my regular healthy self.

Today I took my not back to my regular healthy self to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area to take a walk with the Indian Ghosts.

What you are looking at in the picture is some plastic wrapped store bought firewood and a barbecue grill sitting on the ground.

In the barbecue was an unopened self-starting log.

Finding firewood and barbecue grill in a park would not normally be at all perplexing or a mystery. Normally.

However.

These items were found about a mile and a half from either entry into the park, either the west parking lot on Dottie Lynn Parkway or from the Interlochen neighborhood.

Along the paved trail in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area are a lot of picnic tables with firepits.

The firewood and barbecue I saw today were about a half a mile from the paved trail.

Why would anyone go to the effort to haul firewood and a barbecue grill to this location?  And then leave it sitting there, unused?

Very perplexing.

Currently it is 65 degrees in the outer world at my location. I heard on the radio we may get heated to 80 tomorrow. That is a swimming temperature.

The 3rd Tuesday Of February Thinking About Losing My Nuclear Codes

Looking at the outer world via my primary viewing portal it appears that this 3rd Tuesday of the 2nd month of 2012 has dawned free of clouds littering the sky.

We are currently on day 21 of a month with only 29 days.

In just a few weeks the Vernal Equinox will arrive. By the time the Vernal Equinox has the sun midway to its Summertime highest point in the sky, it should be warm enough to enable a pleasant return to swimming.

Changing the subject from the sun to Presidents.

I just read a President's Day article about the bad behavior of two presidents, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton.

I was appalled to learn that at one point in time Clinton lost the nuclear codes that he was supposed to keep with him at all times. And when he finally fessed up to losing them, he did not know how long he'd lost them.

I have no idea how the nuclear codes work. But, does this mean if Clinton lost the nuclear codes during one of his frequent trips to McDonald's or a doughnut shop and if a kid found the codes, could that kid have accidentally started a nuclear war? Into what are the nuclear codes entered?

Speaking of nuclear war, we seem to live, currently, in a much safer world. I can not remember the last time I heard the subject of Fallout Shelters mentioned.

The Stormy President's Day View From Miss Puerto Rico's

By the time noon rolled around on this President's Day I did not have the energy to drive anywhere to go on a walk to try and get my daily dose of endorphins from aerobic over-stimulation.

So, I hiked over to Miss Puerto Rico's to take a picture of this stormy looking President's Day in Texas.

I don't think I've been over to Miss Puerto Rico's to take a picture since I took a late in the afternoon shadowy picture which had someone named Anonymous all perplexed over the important issue of what was depicted in that picture.

Which perplexed me because I'd quite clearly indicated it was the late in the afternoon shadowy view from Miss Puerto Rico's.

On the hike over to Miss Puerto Rico's I called my mom because yesterday I got gas and did not call my mom to tell her I'd gotten gas and how much it cost. My mom and dad were not home when I called.

I assume, by now, my mom and dad have learned that their one and only great-grand-kid, Spencer Jack, is flying to visit them in mid-March.

If I remember right, I don't think I ever flew anywhere til I was 18. Up to Alaska. Spencer Jack is only 4 and he's flown to Los Angeles to go to Disneyland, to Hawaii, across the country to Florida to go on a Caribbean cruise and probably a time or two I'm forgetting.

I just got an executive email order from Elsie Hotpepper ordering me to get better. I wish I could, but I don't know how to do that.

President's Day In Texas Thinking About Tornadoes & Avalanches

Looking through my primary viewing portal on the outer world on this 20th day of the 2nd month of 2012 it appears that this 3rd Monday of the month is a bit cloudy.

The weather predictors are predicting it will be windy today.

I saw no confirmation whilst reading any of my online news sources this morning, but I believe today is President's Day. George and Abe used to get their own special days on their birthdays. Now they have to share with all the other presidents.

Yesterday's news brought news of a danger I've not been exposed to since I moved to Texas.

On Sunday more than a dozen skiers in the Stevens Pass zone of Washington's Cascade Mountains got caught in a massive avalanche, with 3 of the skiers killed.

I don't think there is any place in Texas where you might find yourself caught in an avalanche.

Every location on the planet has its own special dangers. I never heard a tornado siren when I lived in Washington.

The 3rd Sunday Of February Dawns Bright & Blue In Texas

I don't know why it looks so dark looking through the bars of my patio prison cell on this 3rd sunny Sunday morning of the 2nd month of 2012.

While the picture would seem to indicate otherwise it actually is quite bright in the outer world at my location this morning.

A bright blue sky with the outer world chilled to 41 degrees.

A bright blue sky is a nice change from yesterday's rain that fell, with only a few respites, all day long.

Changing the subject from my favorite one to Elsie Hotpepper.

Miss Hotpepper modeled her Margaret Thatcher look last night for me. I think I mentioned that Elsie Hotpepper will be Margaret Thatcher at next Sunday's Fort Worth Modern Art Museum Oscar Party.

I opined to Miss Hotpepper that I thought it would be easier for her to look like Marilyn Monroe than Margaret Thatcher. But, as I so often am, I was wrong. Elsie Hotpepper is a dead ringer for Margaret Thatcher.

I wish I could say I am going swimming now, but I can't.