My Nephew David Is Thinking About Taking Up Skin Diving

Continuing on with the continuing series of bloggings about my cute nephews.

That is my nephew David in the picture. I am hoping to meet David for the first time next month.

David has a wind-up skin diver toy that has replaced his banjo as his favorite.

David calls his skin diver toy his "swimmer diver."

On Sunday David went to the Seattle Aquarium. At 11 in the morning the aquarium puts on a show with a skin diver in a tank. People watch the show whilst seated.

Except for David.

David spent the entire show standing as close as was allowed to the glass, showing his "swimmer diver" to the skin diver in the tank. I don't know if the lady narrating the show made note of David and his "swimmer diver."

My sister said when David got home he was "over the moon with happiness at the whole experience."

Methinks David has himself an uncle who is going to find him very amusing.

Trying To Keep From Getting Dirty By Practicing Good Habits When I Walk Around Fosdick Lake

The temperature in the outer world at my location currently is colder than when I left my abode for my daily constitutional.

With some cloud action blocking direct sun action I thought I'd go to the Tandy Hills today. And then I saw the temperature on my computer based temperature monitoring device indicated it was 88 degrees, with the 68% humidity and no wind blowing making it feel like 101.

So, I opted out of overheated hill hiking and instead drove to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdick Lake.

As you can see in the picture, Fosdick Lake is looking peaceful today. And sort of jungle-like.

Fosdick Lake has grown greener since my last visit. With thick green algae returning to the north end of the lake.

Today I looked at the Fosdick Lake informational sign and noticed verbiage I'd not previously noticed, or remembered noticing, which seems to be making excuses for Fosdick Lake's sad condition.

Under the question "HOW DO LAKES GET DIRTY?" we are told "When it rains, water flows down the street and collects anything in its path, like cigarette butts, fertilizer and pesticides, litter, leaves, grass clippings and dirt, oil from leaky cars, pet waste and soap from cars washed in driveways."

Then we learn that "All that dirty water flows into the nearest storm water drain in the street, then travels underground and ends up in the nearest stream, river or lake. This polluted water not only looks bad, it causes harm to fish and plants."

Finally, to prevent this scourge we are told we should "PRACTICE THESE HABITS, keep cigarette butts inside your car and then throw away properly, use fertilizers and pesticides when rain is not expected and follow product instructions, pick up litter, leave grass clippings and leaves on your lawn - they add nutrients to the soil, clean up fluid leaks from cars, scoop up what your pet leaves behind, wash your car on the lawn or at a commercial car wash."

____________________________________________

Well, all that is well and good, but it all leaves me perplexed. Why is it small lakes in other urban zones do not have the type pollution problem that plagues Fosdick Lake?

Green Lake in Seattle, for instance. Green Lake is located in a much more densely populated area than Fosdic Lake. Highway 99 runs by Green Lake's west side. Restaurants and stores and apartments ring the lake. Thousands of people walk, jog and roller blade around Green Lake daily. This time of year hundreds of people go swimming in Green Lake daily.

So, what is it about Green Lake that ends up with that lake not suffering the woes that Fosdick Lake suffers?

Methinks the answer is not to be found on the Fosdick Lake informational sign in Oakland Lake Park.

Going Down A Birch Bay Water Slide With Spencer Jack Looking For A Big Chunk Of Driftwood

Spencer Jack's dad sent me a new video in Apple Quicktime .MOV format that I have to turn into a YouTube video to view.

In this latest video Spencer Jack is sliding down a water slide at the waterpark at Birch Bay. Birch Bay is a shallow bay between Lummi Bay and Semiahmoo Bay, just a few miles south of the Canadian border.

Birch Bay is not a town, but it has a population slightly under 10,000. This population swells during tourist season.

Growing up in Washington, with most of my relatives living in Whatcom County, that being the county due north of Skagit County, with Skagit being the county I grew up in, going to Birch Bay was a fairly common occurrence.

Way back in my memory my Grandma had a cabin at Birch Bay. I don't remember staying at the cabin, but I do remember having a birthday party there.

More often than not, if we were staying at the Bay, which is what locals call Birch Bay, we'd stay at Birch Bay State Park.

During the days of my youth and on into my older years there was a big piece of driftwood on the beach at the state park that lingers fondly in my memory. My nephew was tasked with seeing if that driftwood was still there, and if it is, to get a picture with Spencer Jack climbing on it.

On the driftwood subject, when he sent me the video, my nephew had this to say...

Had planned on getting your requested drift wood photo at the state park, however ran out of time and never made it that far.

The waterpark is on the north end of the bay, the state park is on the south end. It's a big bay, with very slow, very heavy traffic.

Birch Bay is a very shallow bay. Which is one of the reasons it is such a popular tourist attraction.

In summer, when Washington finally warms up, the tide goes out on Birch Bay, leaving a huge area of sand exposed. The sun then heats up that sand. Then, when the tide comes in, the water gets heated, making swimming in the saltwater of Birch Bay the warmest in the Western Washington saltwater zone.

I was going to say warmest in Puget Sound, but I think Birch Bay is north of Puget Sound. One would think I would know such a thing, but I don't.

Having Indian Food For Lunch After Walking With Village Creek Indian Ghosts & Noisy Cicadas

In the picture we are looking at one of the sign designated Wildflower Areas in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

I have seen this particular Wildflower Area look more colorful than it is looking today.

Currently at almost 3 on this Sunday afternoon, at my location, it is 93 degrees, with the humidity making it feel like 113.

The temperature was a bit cooler when I went walking with the Indian Ghosts.

Speaking of Indians. Indian food was what I made for lunch today. Chicken Samosas, Curry Rice with carrots, onions, chicken, garlic and peas. And spinach. Usually I am not much of a fan of anything I cook. But, today I found it all quite tasty.

Changing the subject from Indians and Indian food to cicadas.

The cicadas are out in force. Millions of the beasts. In mating mode. This makes for a cacophony in the morning whilst I'm trying to enjoy peace and quiet in the pool.

The Village Creek Natural Historical Area cicadas have been being particularly rambunctiously noisy this mating season.

I only saw a few dozen cicada bodies today, laying on the pavement. I don't know if they die in the throes of passion or of old age or murdered by a jealous husband.

This morning there were a few cicada corpses in the pool with me. Cicadas are quite large when still alive and quickly bloat when dead in a pool. Eventually the cicada corpses sink. More than once I've stepped on a cicada corpse and thought it to be a rock, which I then fish out of the water to be mortified that I've got a big dead cicada in my hand.

Below is a short video I shot today while walking with the Indian Ghosts, prior to having Indian food, in which you can hear the cicada cacophony and see how nicely shaded the Village Creek trail is...

Day After Day Of Being HOT Makes Cool Western Washington Very Inviting

We are already to the second Sunday of July. I think I've mentioned previously that I tire of time seeming to fly by ever faster.

This morning I drove up to Hurst to go to ALDI. Driving through the 820/121 road construction zone is getting very adventurous. I've not driven west on 121 since the construction project began. I believe the drive is adventurous is multiple locations.

I don't know what is wrong with my picture taking ability. Or my camera. I took the picture you are looking at at around 11 this morning. Looking at the picture one would think it is dark and stormy here. Even though the forecaster's forecast for today is for dark and stormy, currently the outer world at my location is mostly sunny.

Sunny and humid. Though the temperature is only 82 it apparently feels like 97 due to that vexing humidity being at 71%.

To escape HOT Texas the itinerant Galtex's decided to escape the HEAT by going to Chicago. Where it is even HOTTER than Texas.

I am hoping to escape the Texas HEAT by going to Washington in August.

My weather luck will probably be like the Galtex's, with me arriving just in time for the annual heat wave.

A heat wave in Washington, well, Western Washington, is 3 days in a row over 80. Heat waves in Western Washington rarely last longer than 3 days due to all that HOT air causing a cooling marine air flow to blow in from the Pacific, bringing natural air-conditioning.

I was in the pool for over an hour this morning. I think that may be a record. The temperature has now gone up to 87 in just the few minutes I've spent typing this blogging. With the humidity now making it feel like 101.

I guess that means it is time for me to take my daily steam bath. Today's will be with the Indian Ghosts who haunt the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

Hot Tandy Hills Hiking Thinking About Cruising Fort Worth's Interior Water Feature

At this point in time, some time between 2 and 3 in the afternoon, the temperature in the outer world at my location is 99 degrees, with the absence of wind plus humidity of 31% making the temperature really feel like 113.

Despite the outer world being a little warm today I decided to try my hiking luck on the Tandy Hills for the first time since earlier in the week.

As you might guess, if you are familiar with the Tandy Hills topography, I parked on top of Mount Tandy. You might make this guess due to the fact that in the picture we are looking west across the Tandy Wagon Trail that leads towards the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, which you can see looking tiny in the distance.

It is almost hard to believe that in the near future an Interior Water Feature is going to be located immediately north of that stunning skyline. The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle has not yet announced what cruise lines they have signed up to dock on the Interior Water Feature to take tourists on cruises up the Flood Diversion Channel that may be wider than the Panama Canal.

The cruise ships cruising up the Flood Diversion Channel may give Fort Worth its first iconic image recognizable to the rest of America and the World.

Changing the subject from cruising the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Flood Diversion Channel to my overheating problem.

Today I came to the conclusion that the reason I am overheating when it is only 113 degrees, when last summer I did not overheat at 113 degrees, is because last year at this time I weighed somewhere in the 190 pounds zone. This summer I weigh somewhere north of 210.

It must be all this muscle I've packed on and the extra weight that all that muscle weighs that is weighing me down and making me overheat whilst getting a little exercise. Yeah, I'm sure that is it.

Below is the current HOT condition at my location. Apparently we are in for some stormy times the next few days...

Looking Out For New Signage From TRVD Along The Trinity River

Continuing on with our look at the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Volume VII - Issue 1 - Summer 2012 Update.

As I read the TRVB Update, at times, what I was reading had me wondering if those who were writing the verbiage were just making it up, thinking that no one is going to read this, and of the few who do, few will have actually seen, in person, what is being described.

For instance, let's take the article in the Update titled LOOKOUT FOR NEW TRINITY TRAILS SIGNAGE FROM TRVD ALONG THE TRINITY RIVER.

Below is a blurb from that article....

At the community's request TRWD continues to expand their recreation efforts by providing the beloved Trinity Trails system with new amenities. One of the many requests has been to update the current signage along the trails as well as creating additional signs. TRWD has responded by placing new signs along the entire trail system that provide users better notice of trailheads and wayfinding.

In addition to the signs TRWD has added everything from new restrooms at trailheads to state-of-the-art canoe launches to the trail system. These improvements were a result of requests voiced by trail users and neighborhood improvement committees. A number of new signs are at the improved sites to explain the amenities provided for the public. In addition, there are signs letting trail users know every amenity each trailhead provides, acknowledging additional sponsors and directing trail users to the nearest access point.

The TRWD is expanding recreation efforts with new amenities at the community's request?

By what form does the community make these requests? To whom are the requests made? Is there some sort of request hotline about which I am ignorant?

One of the many requests has been to update trail signage?

Really?

Someone called the request hotline, or by some other request means, requesting trail signage be updated? Why does that seem really unlikely to me?

In addition to the updated signage these community requests have also resulted in new restrooms at trailheads and state-of-the-art canoe launches?

I have no idea what a state-of-the-art canoe launch might be. Do you?

New restrooms at trailheads? Where were the old restrooms at trailheads? The only thing I have seen added to the Trinity Trails that one might call a restroom is the outhouse that is part of the TRWD/TRVB's Woodshed Smokehouse. Those state-of-the-art "restrooms" also have an outdoor shower. Likely another amenity requested by the mysterious community.

As for the updated signage placed along the entire trail system to provide users better notice of trailheads and wayfinding.

Wayfinding? If you can't find your way on the Trinity Trail you really should just stay home.

Better notice of trailheads? What does that mean? A couple weeks ago I made note of these new signs on this very blog.  I saw a couple of the signs at trail junctions. The signs seemed fairly useless to me. I mean, does someone really need a sign pointing them to the direction of downtown?

The signage looked tacky to me, like temporary futuristic signage one might see at a World's Fair.

The signage could have had a cool/useful factor with just a little tweaking.

Why not Old West style signs, like one might come upon on a trail in the wagon train days.

Instead of just pointing towards Gateway Park, add the distance, as in Gateway Park 4.6 miles. That would be useful. Downtown 2.4 miles, Stockyards 3.5 miles, Interior Water Feature 1.5 miles.

Whimsical signage could be added, like San Antonio 230 miles, El Paso 605 miles, that type thing.

Instead we've got these tacky, plastic looking signs, with mostly useless information on them, and information that will soon be dated. Like pointing trail users to the soon to go out of business Cowtown Wakepark.

Has anyone from the community requested that J.D. Granger be fired and replaced with a qualified person?

Has anyone from the community requested that the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle be put to a public vote?

Has anyone from the community requested that public funds cease being wasted on an un-needed flood control project and instead be spent on a needed flood control project, like fixing the killer Haltom City Fossil Creek flood problem?

Has anyone from the community requested that instead of wasting money on an un-needed flood control project that money be spent cleaning up the Trinity River so that sane people might enjoy floating in the river in Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats?

CatsPaw Sees Bacteria Floating In The Trinity River Near The Rockin' The River Zone

Floating Bacteria-Like Artwork

A couple weeks ago I biked the Trinity Trail past the Rockin' the River zone. When I blogged about this particular bike ride in a blogging titled Following My Handlebars To Check Out Cowtown Wakeboarding & A Bridge To Nowhere I mentioned seeing three strange things floating in the river by the aforementioned RTR zone.

I took several pictures which showed all three floaters, but I only put the one of the giant duck floating in a giant inner tube on the blog.

I did not realize, til today, that CatsPaw and I had a failure to communicate over this serious Trinity River Mysterious Floaters issue.

I blogged about the latest Trinity River Vision Update this morning, which had CatsPaw commenting....

CatsPaw has left a new comment on your post "The Latest Trinity River Vision Update Is Full Of Interesting Interior Water Feature Information": 

You know, I was so puzzled before (when I mentioned having seen the big duck near the Woodshed during the Colonial) that I didn't reply. You asked what those other two things were in the water and I kept looking at your photo, thinking, "Well, the duck's got two feet, two wings ..."

Now that I have seen the latest update, I *still* don't know what those other two things are supposed to be, but at least I know to what you were referring.

Frankly, they look like giant bacteria to me. I *know* you'll make something of this perception.

When I saw the Mysterious Floaters I had no idea what the two floaters floating with the Duck on an Inner Tube were supposed to be.

E. coli or bacteria did not cross my mind.

So, did a Northeast Tarrant County College student make some sort of political statement with his or her giant ball of floating bacteria? I have no idea.

What I do know, via info gleaned from the Trinity River Vision Update, in the 2nd Annual Trinity River Art Contest the Floating Bacteria came in 2nd, the University of Texas Arlington came in 3rd with its Gray and Pink Ball, which means Tarrant County College Trinity River came in 1st with its Duck on an Inner Tube, which apparently is named "Lucky."

Captain Crud & The Crud Cruiser Is Coming To Fort Worth's Green Fosdick Lake Interior Water Feature

In the picture we can see that the Fort Worth Interior Water Feature known as Fosdick Lake, in Oakland Lake Park, has turned a bit green.

A couple months ago we went through a period where Fosdick Lake was covered with thick green algae. I wondered at that point in time how bad the green slime would get when we started being heated to over 100 degrees.

Well, the layer of green algae has been long gone, with the Fosdick Lake Interior Water Feature now appearing to be tinted green, whilst free of an algae covering.

Today after admiring the new green color of Fosdick Lake I came upon signage stuck in the Oakland Lake Park lawn that gives me hope that help is on the way to save Fosdick Lake from its current green fate.

The first sign informs us that "The Crud Cruiser is Coming!" Asking us to "Help Captain Crud Conquer The Cruddies."

The second sign has Captain Crud advising us to "Drop off old Chemicals, Paint, Oil, etc."

The third sign lets us know Captain Crud and his Crud Cruiser will be at Oakland Lake Park this coming Saturday from noon til 2pm.

Fosdick Lake does have an oily rainbow sheen in a few locations. I'm sure Captain Crud will put a stop to that.

When I returned to my abode I saw that my original Chesapeake Energy Barnett Shale natural gas drilling operation has also returned, with a tower erected, with re-fracking likely soon to follow.

I hope those nefarious Chesapeake Energy people don't try and take advantage of Captain Crud by bringing truckfuls of their dirty fracking fluid to the Crud Cruiser on Saturday.

That "etc" in the list of bad stuff Captain Crud wanted in his Crud Cruiser seems to leave a door open for fracking fluid.

The Latest Trinity River Vision Update Is Full Of Interesting Interior Water Feature Information

In my mailbox this morning I was quite pleased to find the latest Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Update, Volume VII - Issue 1 - Summer 2012.

The Trinity River Vision may be a boondoggle, but I have to admit the boondoggle does a masterful job of propagating propaganda.

I don't think the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle is any sort of public government operation, so I, as a citizen, have no right to know how much all the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle propaganda costs.

As in, how much is spent producing and mailing these slick multi-page, full color propaganda pieces? How much is spent on the very slick Trinity River Vision website?

On the Trinity River Vision website you'll find PDF versions of the infamous Trinity River Vision Updates, including the current update.

Via the TRV Update I learned that those giant items I saw floating in the Trinity River a couple weeks ago are the result of a Trinity River Vision Trinity River Art Contest. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? As in what does this type thing have to do with flood control? Now, I can understand what Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats have to do with flood control, but this art contest baffles me.

On the TRV website I read what must be the latest version of the vision mission statement...

Trinity River Vision (TRV)

The Trinity River Vision Authority (TRVA) is the organization responsible for the implementation of the Trinity River Vision (TRV) - a master plan for the Trinity River in Fort Worth, Texas. It is underway now - connecting every neighborhood in the city to the Trinity River corridor with new recreational amenities, improved infrastructure, environmental enhancements and event programming. The TRV will create Trinity Uptown, a vibrant urban waterfront neighborhood, expand Gateway Park into one of the largest urban-programmed parks in the nation and enhance the river corridor with over 90 user-requested projects along the Trinity Trails.

Event programming? When did event programming get added to the vision? Was this the doing of that Eternal Frat Boy, J.D. Granger, adding event programming to the vision so he could have himself some fun happy hours?

The TRV Update pretends to be full of useful information. But I read nothing about the current status of the various aspects of the vision. I read various articles with aspects touted, like the "Drive-in Theatre Coming to Trinity Uptown." But nothing about what stage we are at in the construction of this important flood control element.

We are told via one article's title that the "Trinity Uptown Bypass Channel Enters Final Stage of Design." In the article we are told that the unneeded flood diversion channel's design effort will address the safety and functionality of the channel while also considering the community's desire for a thriving, urban river walk experience that attracts people and business to the Trinity River.

The community's desire? How did the TRV Boondoggle find out about the community's desire for a river walk? Was it via that public vote on the project? Oh, that's right, there's been no public vote.

In the graphic accompanying the article about the unneeded flood diversion channel I saw something interesting that was not graphically enhanced for easy reading, like the Update's propaganda elements are.

The graphic shows the Boondoggle's various elements. It is hard to make out the text. But after I got my magnifying glass I found the interesting element I referenced above.

When the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle was first hoisted on Fort Worth, about the biggest element touted, before the much needed flood control was added, was that there would be this big Town Lake, covering over 30 acres, giving downtown Fort Worth a water feature that would make other towns in America green with envy.

As the TRV Vision began its slow fade into Boondoggle land, the Town Lake started to shrink. Eventually it became a fraction of its original size, with the locals now referring to it as Pond Granger. Or the Kay Puddle.

Well, this graphic in this latest TRV Boondoggle Update does not refer to the former Town Lake, there is now no mention of a lake, pond or puddle.

On the graphic the Town Lake Pond Puddle is now called the "Interior Water Feature."

George Orwell would be proud.

So much material, so little time.  More later on this subject.