This next to last Wednesday of 2013 has been a slightly balmy, very windy, two days til the end of Fall kind of day today at my location in North Texas.
The temperature got into record breaking zone, yesterday, heating up to nearly 80. This morning, when the sun arrived, the temperature, according to my computer based weather monitoring device, was 67.
Since the average temperature the past 24 hours was well over 50 degrees I figured the pool would not be too cool this morning, and thus swimmable.
I figured wrong.
In the noon time frame, of this windy Wednesday, I opted to go hiking in Gateway Park, hiking the trail I found a couple weeks ago that seemed to treacherous to pedal on my bike, what with the trail being on the edge of a cliff that ended in the Trinity River. You can see part of this cliff trail in the above photo, along with the treacherous green Trinity River.
I did not have to dodge too many falling branches whilst hiking Gateway Park today. Apparently today's wind is delivering yet one more Arctic Blast of extreme cold to this usually somewhat reliably warm part of the planet.
As you can see, via some of the data I get from my computer based weather monitoring device, in addition to the WIND ADVISORY, which is accurate, I am also being told the sun is being sunny, which is not accurate. I do believe that 76 degree temperature is accurate. As is the forecast of a plummet in temperature to being barely above freezing before this day is done.
If the forecast is to believed, ignoring today's inaccuracies, the next several days are going to be chilly, including Christmas.
A couple years back we had a very White Christmas at my location in Texas.
In all my years of living in Washington I think I can only remember one White Christmas. In Texas I think I've experienced 2 or 3 White Christmases.
When I moved to Texas I did not think something like a White Christmas was possible, let alone an Ice Storm, which I experienced within a week of arriving in Texas. I never experienced an Ice Storm in Washington.
In Washington, though, I recollect only one White Christmas at my location in the lowlands of Puget Sound. One can always have oneself a White Western Washington Christmas by driving a few miles east til one gets high enough in the Cascade Mountains to be in the snow zone. I don't know how many miles, or in what direction one would have to drive in Texas to be high enough to be in a mountainous snow zone.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Spencer Jack Is Being A Good Shepherd For Christmas With Drumsticks
I learned last night, on Facebook, via Spencer Jack's favorite girl friend, Brittney, that Spencer Jack is starring in his first major acting role, playing a shepherd in some sort of Christmas Pageant that I imagine likely involves a Manger, some Wise Men and a little baby.
I do not know how many performances have been scheduled of Spencer Jack's Christmas Pageant. I do know that my invitation to this event must have gotten lost in the mail.
I sure don't remember another Holiday Season where I have been so full of Holiday Cheer, in the form of Holiday Themed bloggings, as I have been this year.
Yesterday (or was it the day before?) Spencer Jack's dad emailed me a picture of Spencer Jack holding the Christmas present that had arrived in the mail from Arizona, from Spencer Jack's great grandma and grandpa, also known as my ma and pa.
Apparently Spencer Jack is convinced that the box he found inside the package from my ma and pa literally contained what the box indicated it held.
Spencer Jack understands he can not open this box until Christmas, but, evidently, does not understand that if the box does actually contain what the box indicates it holds, that the contents will be melted by Christmas.
This sort of deceptive Christmas presenting is part of what caused me to be so disillusioned with Christmas at such a young age. That and Santa Clauses with no scruples....
I do not know how many performances have been scheduled of Spencer Jack's Christmas Pageant. I do know that my invitation to this event must have gotten lost in the mail.
I sure don't remember another Holiday Season where I have been so full of Holiday Cheer, in the form of Holiday Themed bloggings, as I have been this year.
Yesterday (or was it the day before?) Spencer Jack's dad emailed me a picture of Spencer Jack holding the Christmas present that had arrived in the mail from Arizona, from Spencer Jack's great grandma and grandpa, also known as my ma and pa.
Apparently Spencer Jack is convinced that the box he found inside the package from my ma and pa literally contained what the box indicated it held.
Spencer Jack understands he can not open this box until Christmas, but, evidently, does not understand that if the box does actually contain what the box indicates it holds, that the contents will be melted by Christmas.
This sort of deceptive Christmas presenting is part of what caused me to be so disillusioned with Christmas at such a young age. That and Santa Clauses with no scruples....
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Biking Gateway Park Freshly Amused By Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Propaganda
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| A Few Of The Gateway Park TRVB Propaganda Signs |
Currently, at my location, according to my computer based temperature monitoring device, the outer world is only 25 degrees shy of 100.
The air was heated to around 70 when I did my bike pedaling at Gateway Park today.
If you have not yet been to Gateway Park and Fort Woof you really should pay a visit. Not to see all the dogs, but to see the bizarre collection of propaganda signs that have been installed by Fort Woof by the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.
I have mentioned these signs previously on my blog, but they really never fail to amaze and amuse me when I freshly experience the propaganda.
The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle has been boondoggling for a long time now. I think the TRVB began late in the last century, at some point in time after the citizen's of Dallas had voted for a Dallas version of the Trinity River Vision.
Fort Worth is not located in a democracy, so, unlike Dallas, the citizens of Fort Worth were not allowed to vote on their Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.
It is almost 2013. Should we not be seeing more progress? How many more years will it be before the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle installs the flood control measures that are at the heart of the project, protecting downtown Fort Worth from a massive flood, just like the existing flood control levees have done for over a half a century?
Near as I can tell the noticeable progress of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle is a number of businesses taken by eminent domain abuse and destroyed, the world's premiere urban wakeboard lake, a possibly soon to open drive-in movie theater, a restaurant in the form of the Woodshed Smokehouse, Trinity River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats, quarterly propaganda mailings and an incredible amount of signage.
In the picture above, the sign closest to my camera touts the many imaginary recreational amenities that will result from the Gateway Park Master Plan. I do not know if this Master Plan is slated to be something built in this century, or not.
In addition to all the imaginary amenities listed on the sign there is also some propaganda verbiage the likes of which I have read elsewhere, courtesy of Trinity River Vision Boondoggle propaganda....
The Gateway Park Master Plan is an exciting component of Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision. The 1,000 acre park will be filled with new community-requested recreational amenities, making it one of the nation's largest urban-programmed parks. With the planting of over 75,000 trees and the restoration of the original river channel, the park will transform into a natural setting the entire region can enjoy. The project is expected to spur economic growth around the park and will connect the East and Southeast neighborhoods of Fort Worth to the Trinity River corridor.
Over and over again we read Trinity River Vision Boondoggle propaganda that claims the boondoggle is somehow building community-requested recreational amenities.
Does anyone know how these community requests are made? And to whom they are made?
75,000 trees? We have heard of these trees before. They are known as J.D. Granger's Magic Trees, designed to save Arlington from a Trinity River flood which, post TRVB, will move flood water more rapidly, due to losing the levees and instead diverting flood water into a big, un-needed, flood diversion channel, which will accelerate the speed of the flood, thus the need for J.D. Granger's 75,000 Magic Trees.
Are these special genetically engineered Sponge Trees?
Seriously, with the Trinity River Vision well over a decade old, when can we expect to see something really concrete with the vision?
Is there some sort of construction timeline? I don't believe I've seen any sort of timeline in any of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle propaganda mailings.
I have read mention made of the soon to open drive-in movie theater. Everyone knows drive-in movie theaters are big flood inhibitors and are key to any legit flood control project.
My Aunt Told Me She Will Believe Corporations Are People When Texas Executes One
I found the above in my mailbox this morning. The cover of a Christmas card from my favorite aunt who lives in Eastern Washington. For you Texans who have never seen such a thing, that big mound of white, that takes up most of the picture is what is known as a mountain.
This particular mountain is named Mount Rainier.
Pronounced Rain-eer, not Rainy-er.
I believe Mount Rainier was named after an explorer who explored the Puget Sound zone with George Vancouver.
Methinks, with Western Washington's reputation for being rainy a lot of the time, the name of the mountain should take on the second rainier meaning, not the long dead explorer meaning.
Then again, Mount Rainier is not the rainiest of Washington's volcanoes. That would be Mount Baker. Though the rain is accumulated as snow, with that accumulation being the deepest accumulation on the planet known as Earth.
The Indians who lived in the Puget Sound zone long before white explorers "discovered" it and started naming things, called Mount Rainier, Mount Tahoma. Which is where the big town that is close to Mount Rainier, Tacoma, got its name, and for some reason switched out an 'h' for a 'c'.
I think that tugboat in the picture is sailing the straits that go under the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, judging by where the mountain is located in relation to the shoreline.
Those big white things in the picture are snowflakes. I believe snowflakes are currently falling at various locations in the Western Washington lowlands. Smart phone weather alerts erroneously warned Western Washingtonites that a blizzard was heading their way. The correct info was that the blizzard possibility was predicted for the High Cascades, not the lowlands. I don't believe the Western Washington, Puget Sound lowlands has ever had a blizzard.
My aunt who sent me the Christmas card with the picture of Mount Rainier frequently sends me things she reads about Texas that either appall or amuse her. Or both. Rick Perry provided a lot of mail fodder during his embarrassing run for president.
Below is the Texas related clipping my aunt included in this year's Christmas card.
My aunt said she was about to send me a t-shirt with the above on it, and then thought better of that idea, for fear I'd wear it and get beat up by an irate Texan.
I tell you, Non-Texas America has so many erroneous ideas about what Texas is actually like.
Just one example.
Non-Texans think all Texans pack heat. However, I know of only one Texan who is always armed and dangerous. Elsie Hotpepper.
Monday, December 17, 2012
The Shadow Of The Tandy Hills Thin Man Brewing Trouble With An Abrasive Ex-Wife
In 4 days, December 21, to be precise, the Winter Solstice arrives. On that day my shadow on the Tandy Hills will start to get shorter.
Today's shadow on the Tandy Hills is so long it creates the illusion that I was wearing long pants to do my hill hiking, when I was not wearing long pants.
Changing the subject from not wearing long pants to something else.
I have been being a bit oblivious, it seems. I did not realize til this morning that Elsie Hotpepper has gone missing again. I have not heard from Ms. Hotpepper since Saturday.
When Elsie Hotpepper goes missing it usually means trouble is brewing.
Speaking of brewing trouble. This morning, on Facebook, I saw one of my Facebook Friends had written something about my ex-wife regarding my ex-wife saying something untoward about my Facebook Friend. My Facebook Friend's posting about my ex-wife prompted someone to comment with the following amusing few words....
When someone hurts you over and over, think of them like sandpaper. They scratch and hurt you, yes. But in the end you are polished. And they are useless.
I actually know several people who have been rendered useless due to being abrasive sandpaper.
Today's shadow on the Tandy Hills is so long it creates the illusion that I was wearing long pants to do my hill hiking, when I was not wearing long pants.
Changing the subject from not wearing long pants to something else.
I have been being a bit oblivious, it seems. I did not realize til this morning that Elsie Hotpepper has gone missing again. I have not heard from Ms. Hotpepper since Saturday.
When Elsie Hotpepper goes missing it usually means trouble is brewing.
Speaking of brewing trouble. This morning, on Facebook, I saw one of my Facebook Friends had written something about my ex-wife regarding my ex-wife saying something untoward about my Facebook Friend. My Facebook Friend's posting about my ex-wife prompted someone to comment with the following amusing few words....
When someone hurts you over and over, think of them like sandpaper. They scratch and hurt you, yes. But in the end you are polished. And they are useless.
I actually know several people who have been rendered useless due to being abrasive sandpaper.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Biking Gateway Park Experiencing Boardwalk Perplexations
In the picture that is my bike at the top of the stairs, under what looks like a big branch of a hangman's tree.
Those stairs and that branch of a hangman's tree are in Gateway Park in the town of Fort Worth in the state of Texas.
It has been many years since I've been able to walk down these particular stairs in Gateway Park, prevented from doing so due to the stairs being blocked by a big board with a sign that said "Close to Public."
Several "Close to Public" signs, with "Close" missing a "d" still remain in Gateway Park. And the other access points to this particular Gateway Park Boardwalk remain boarded up with "Close to Public" signs.
I don't know why the Fort Worth Parks people don't either fix the two Gateway Park boarded up Boardwalks, or douse them with gasoline and have a big bonfire.
A big Gateway Park Boardwalk Bonfire could be a big event on the Trinity River, something that has not been done before, like the now popular Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats on the formerly polluted Trinity River.
Due to there being no barrier preventing me access to the formerly "Close to Public" Boardwalk, I was able to walk almost all the way to the Trinity River.
As you can see, in the picture above, this particular Gateway Park Boardwalk is in bad shape, really bad shape. The other Gateway Park Boardwalk, further downstream, is in better shape.
When the Gateway Park Boardwalks were built did no one remember that the Trinity River floods every once in awhile, with a tremendous amount of water flowing in what most of the time is a very sedate river?
Did no one suggest that spending money on the Boardwalks was a waste because a flood would come along and seriously damage the Boardwalks?
After inevitable floods did do damage to the Boardwalks why was no attempt made to clean up the mess and repair the damage?
I see these Boardwalks as some sort of metaphor for the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.
On a happier note, Gateway Park sure is seeming popular these days.
Is Gateway Park the most visited park in Fort Worth? I suspect it may be. Yesterday I saw thousands of motorbikes in Gateway Park. Today it appeared there was some sort of Disc Golfer Convention. Balls were flying in soccer games. I saw dozens of people on bikes, others walking and dozens of dogs in Fort Woof.
Changing the subject to my favorite one. The weather.
It is currently 72 at my location, according to my computer based temperature monitoring device. I have my windows open. There are some things I like about Global Warming. Windows open in December is one.
I tried to go swimming this morning. That did not go too well. I rather quickly ended up in the hot tub, and then back in the pool, and then back in the hot tub again.
I am not a fan of hot tubs.
Those stairs and that branch of a hangman's tree are in Gateway Park in the town of Fort Worth in the state of Texas.
It has been many years since I've been able to walk down these particular stairs in Gateway Park, prevented from doing so due to the stairs being blocked by a big board with a sign that said "Close to Public."
Several "Close to Public" signs, with "Close" missing a "d" still remain in Gateway Park. And the other access points to this particular Gateway Park Boardwalk remain boarded up with "Close to Public" signs.
I don't know why the Fort Worth Parks people don't either fix the two Gateway Park boarded up Boardwalks, or douse them with gasoline and have a big bonfire.
A big Gateway Park Boardwalk Bonfire could be a big event on the Trinity River, something that has not been done before, like the now popular Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats on the formerly polluted Trinity River.
Due to there being no barrier preventing me access to the formerly "Close to Public" Boardwalk, I was able to walk almost all the way to the Trinity River.
As you can see, in the picture above, this particular Gateway Park Boardwalk is in bad shape, really bad shape. The other Gateway Park Boardwalk, further downstream, is in better shape.
When the Gateway Park Boardwalks were built did no one remember that the Trinity River floods every once in awhile, with a tremendous amount of water flowing in what most of the time is a very sedate river?
Did no one suggest that spending money on the Boardwalks was a waste because a flood would come along and seriously damage the Boardwalks?
After inevitable floods did do damage to the Boardwalks why was no attempt made to clean up the mess and repair the damage?
I see these Boardwalks as some sort of metaphor for the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.
On a happier note, Gateway Park sure is seeming popular these days.
Is Gateway Park the most visited park in Fort Worth? I suspect it may be. Yesterday I saw thousands of motorbikes in Gateway Park. Today it appeared there was some sort of Disc Golfer Convention. Balls were flying in soccer games. I saw dozens of people on bikes, others walking and dozens of dogs in Fort Woof.
Changing the subject to my favorite one. The weather.
It is currently 72 at my location, according to my computer based temperature monitoring device. I have my windows open. There are some things I like about Global Warming. Windows open in December is one.
I tried to go swimming this morning. That did not go too well. I rather quickly ended up in the hot tub, and then back in the pool, and then back in the hot tub again.
I am not a fan of hot tubs.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
I Am In A Concrete Limbo Annoyed About The American Gulag Archipelago Of Concentration Camps
This morning I read an article in this week's Fort Worth Weekly that totally disturbed me. The article is titled Concrete Limbo.
Even though what you read in this article is disturbing, I think you should read it.
Not that it will do any good that you read it, or that any good will come from FW Weekly telling this story.
I remember a time long ago when I was young and naive and thought the world was fixable, that all one had to do was make the case that something was wrong and good-hearted, right-minded people would fix it.
And then I grew up.
I am currently reading "The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder" by Vincent Bugliosi, he being the famous California prosecutor.
Richard Nixon had to cease being president due to way too much outrage over various things that were all wrapped together in this thing called the Watergate Scandal.
The Watergate Scandal.
Such innocents were we to turn such a thing into such a scandal. No one died due to the scandals that brought down Richard Nixon.
However, thousands of American kids are dead, due to Bush's War in Iraq. Thousands upon thousands of Iraqis are dead due to Bush's War in Iraq. Saddam Hussein could have been neutralized, was neutralized, without a war, had a wiser head been at the head of the American nation.
And yet, where were the Congressional Hearings into the Iraqgate Scandal? I am only part way into this Bugliosi indictment of that man who should never have been president and it's got me totally aggravated.
I get the idea that Vincent Bugliosi totally despises George W. Bush, and so far he is making a really good case for feeling that way.
Back to the article in FW Weekly. It is about the detention centers where those suspected of being illegally in this country are kept til their fate can be decided by a judge. These are called detention centers, but what they actually are is Concentration Camps.
To me it is just a bit shameful to have anything that smacks of a Concentration Camp in America.
Long ago I read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago and was appalled that such inhumanity on such a scale existed in the Soviet Union, and got worse after World War II. The Soviet citizens did not have that free speech thing us Americans have. Nor did they have mass communication available to help right a wrong.
Yet, even with America's free speech and mass communication, a lot of evil, government sanctioned, festers unfettered.
An entity called Detention Watch Network compiled a list of the 10 Worst Illegal Immigrant Concentration Camps in America. Two are in Texas.
How many of these Concentration Camps are there in America, if there are enough to have a Top Ten?
Way back in 1996, as part of a long roadtrip that started with houseboating on Lake Powell, and continued on to Taos, then Alamogordo, then Douglas, Arizona, with Douglas, Arizona being the reason I am bringing up this particular roadtrip.
Douglas is a bordertown. Across the border, in Mexico, is the much bigger town of Agua Prieta. By the time I got to Douglas, on that day's drive, I was tired and needed a motel. A 6 Motel filled that need. It was a very busy 6 Motel.
After checking in and finding my room I wandered around and saw there was a former motel next door, completely surrounded by high fence topped with concertina wire. It looked rather dire. I saw what looked like guard towers.
I went to the 6 Motel office to ask what that was next door. I was told it was a Detention Center where suspected illegals were held, and that a lot of the people staying in the 6 Motel were relatives trying to free their incarcerated relatives.
I found this all very disturbing.
But, not nearly as disturbing as the Concrete Limbo article in FW Weekly.
Other than the horrific conditions in which these people in the American Concentration Camps are kept, the thing that bothers me most is the fact that these American Concentration Camps are operated by giant, for profit, private businesses.
Even Hitler did not do anything so galling as to contract out to private business his Concentration Camps. Nor did Stalin.
Those incarcerated in the American Concentration Camps are kept there while they await a hearing in front of a judge, regarding their status. A shortage of judges causes the long incarcerations, supposedly.
Would it not make more sense to hire a lot more people to do the judging, than pay to warehouse thousands of potential innocents in American Concentration Camps?
Of course, that method would not be profitable for the private businesses running the American Concentration Camps.
I'm not going to get into how much it annoys me how much our Mexican neighbors are demonized, by some, for crossing the border into the the land that used to be Mexico, before America used a 19th Century version of an American Anschluss to gain more Lebensraum. Methinks we could be, should be, a bit more accommodating of our Mexican neighbors, even when they visit their old home without an invite.
And we certainly should not throw our totally welcome, albeit, un-invited guests, into American Concentration Camps. That is just un-American, un-friendly and un-neighborly.
And very very very stupid.
Even though what you read in this article is disturbing, I think you should read it.
Not that it will do any good that you read it, or that any good will come from FW Weekly telling this story.
I remember a time long ago when I was young and naive and thought the world was fixable, that all one had to do was make the case that something was wrong and good-hearted, right-minded people would fix it.
And then I grew up.
I am currently reading "The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder" by Vincent Bugliosi, he being the famous California prosecutor.
Richard Nixon had to cease being president due to way too much outrage over various things that were all wrapped together in this thing called the Watergate Scandal.
The Watergate Scandal.
Such innocents were we to turn such a thing into such a scandal. No one died due to the scandals that brought down Richard Nixon.
However, thousands of American kids are dead, due to Bush's War in Iraq. Thousands upon thousands of Iraqis are dead due to Bush's War in Iraq. Saddam Hussein could have been neutralized, was neutralized, without a war, had a wiser head been at the head of the American nation.
And yet, where were the Congressional Hearings into the Iraqgate Scandal? I am only part way into this Bugliosi indictment of that man who should never have been president and it's got me totally aggravated.
I get the idea that Vincent Bugliosi totally despises George W. Bush, and so far he is making a really good case for feeling that way.
Back to the article in FW Weekly. It is about the detention centers where those suspected of being illegally in this country are kept til their fate can be decided by a judge. These are called detention centers, but what they actually are is Concentration Camps.
To me it is just a bit shameful to have anything that smacks of a Concentration Camp in America.
Long ago I read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago and was appalled that such inhumanity on such a scale existed in the Soviet Union, and got worse after World War II. The Soviet citizens did not have that free speech thing us Americans have. Nor did they have mass communication available to help right a wrong.
Yet, even with America's free speech and mass communication, a lot of evil, government sanctioned, festers unfettered.
An entity called Detention Watch Network compiled a list of the 10 Worst Illegal Immigrant Concentration Camps in America. Two are in Texas.
How many of these Concentration Camps are there in America, if there are enough to have a Top Ten?
Way back in 1996, as part of a long roadtrip that started with houseboating on Lake Powell, and continued on to Taos, then Alamogordo, then Douglas, Arizona, with Douglas, Arizona being the reason I am bringing up this particular roadtrip.
Douglas is a bordertown. Across the border, in Mexico, is the much bigger town of Agua Prieta. By the time I got to Douglas, on that day's drive, I was tired and needed a motel. A 6 Motel filled that need. It was a very busy 6 Motel.
After checking in and finding my room I wandered around and saw there was a former motel next door, completely surrounded by high fence topped with concertina wire. It looked rather dire. I saw what looked like guard towers.
I went to the 6 Motel office to ask what that was next door. I was told it was a Detention Center where suspected illegals were held, and that a lot of the people staying in the 6 Motel were relatives trying to free their incarcerated relatives.
I found this all very disturbing.
But, not nearly as disturbing as the Concrete Limbo article in FW Weekly.
Other than the horrific conditions in which these people in the American Concentration Camps are kept, the thing that bothers me most is the fact that these American Concentration Camps are operated by giant, for profit, private businesses.
Even Hitler did not do anything so galling as to contract out to private business his Concentration Camps. Nor did Stalin.
Those incarcerated in the American Concentration Camps are kept there while they await a hearing in front of a judge, regarding their status. A shortage of judges causes the long incarcerations, supposedly.
Would it not make more sense to hire a lot more people to do the judging, than pay to warehouse thousands of potential innocents in American Concentration Camps?
Of course, that method would not be profitable for the private businesses running the American Concentration Camps.
I'm not going to get into how much it annoys me how much our Mexican neighbors are demonized, by some, for crossing the border into the the land that used to be Mexico, before America used a 19th Century version of an American Anschluss to gain more Lebensraum. Methinks we could be, should be, a bit more accommodating of our Mexican neighbors, even when they visit their old home without an invite.
And we certainly should not throw our totally welcome, albeit, un-invited guests, into American Concentration Camps. That is just un-American, un-friendly and un-neighborly.
And very very very stupid.
A Tandy Hills Walk Over A New Bridge While Being Detoured In Town Talk By A Fun Run
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| New Bridge Over Tandy River |
Colorful Fall foliage is no more. Not to return until some point in time in 2013.
On Thursday on the Tandy Hills I came upon a Fort Worth Water Department crew digging up the culvert pipe that was not big enough to handle the Tandy River when it goes into flood mode.
Or when a sewer or water pipe breaks.
Today the new bridge appeared to be totally installed, which you can see above. The new culvert pipe is multiple times bigger than the old culvert pipe, which, inexplicably lies to the side of the Tandy Highway, between the orange posts that you see in the picture, and crime scene tape.
The temperature was near perfect, today, for a perfect Tandy Hills hike. I saw only one other human out enjoying this perfection. Currently, after 3 in the afternoon, this 3rd Saturday of December, it is 71 degrees. The temperature has been above 50 for a couple days. I think I may try to see if swimming works, later today.
Whilst hiking today, when I came to the location on the View Street Trail, aka, I think, the Jackrabbit Trail, that overlooks I-30, I saw two pickups parked precariously at the side of the freeway. Within the hour I figured out why the pickups were parked precariously.
Today is Fun Run Day in North Texas, that being the day, each year, when thousands of motorcycles and their drivers drive east, to Dallas (or is it Arlington?) on I-30, delivering Christmas toys to those in need of such things.
On my way to Town Talk, driving Oakland Boulevard over I-30, I saw dozens of vehicles parked on the side of the freeway, waiting for the Fun Run. This seems sort of unsafe to me, but, what do I know about what's safe?
Driving by the north entry to Gateway Park, almost to Town Talk, I saw what looked like thousands of motorbikes, assembling in Gateway Park.
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| Fun Run From Town Talk Parking Lot |
Whilst pushing my cart amongst the Town Talk throngs I began hearing the roar of motorbikes. I walked outside to see Fort Worth police blocking traffic from Beach Street, so the phalanx of motorbikes could make it to the freeway, unimpeded by pesky motorists.
The blocked road meant I needed to take the scenic route back to my abode, through a very interesting industrial zone of Haltom City, where I saw a herd of tiny horses, dozens of kids on dirtbikes and a lot of other vehicles forced to take this detour over a very bumpy road.
Friday, December 14, 2012
The Sweetwater Rattlesnakes Will Have Their Day
The largest rattlesnake roundup in the world takes place every year on the second weekend of March, in the Texas town of Sweetwater, out near the eastern fringes of West Texas.
I have only been to the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup once. I was both amazed and appalled at the spectacle.
It is sort of both amazing and appalling that there are so many rattlesnakes out in West Texas that every year thousands can be rounded up and murdered, with a fresh supply ready to be rounded up for a repeat the next year. And the year after. And the one after that.
The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup takes place every year on the second weekend of March. The roundup begins on Thursday and ends on Sunday, so it is what is known as a long weekend.
There are those who strongly object to the Sweetwater rattlesnakes being rounded up and murdered. People like Robert Piller, from whom I got the email you see above.
Robert insists that "The snakes will have their day."
And that "If there's anyone out there that opposes this butchery and has information that might assist, then please get in touch. We intend to go global."
Robert ends his email message with...
Robert Piller
Campaign Against the Trade in Endangered Species...
Are rattlesnakes an Endangered Species? They seem sort of prolific to be endangered, but what do I know?
I have only been to the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup once. I was both amazed and appalled at the spectacle.
It is sort of both amazing and appalling that there are so many rattlesnakes out in West Texas that every year thousands can be rounded up and murdered, with a fresh supply ready to be rounded up for a repeat the next year. And the year after. And the one after that.
The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup takes place every year on the second weekend of March. The roundup begins on Thursday and ends on Sunday, so it is what is known as a long weekend.
There are those who strongly object to the Sweetwater rattlesnakes being rounded up and murdered. People like Robert Piller, from whom I got the email you see above.
Robert insists that "The snakes will have their day."
And that "If there's anyone out there that opposes this butchery and has information that might assist, then please get in touch. We intend to go global."
Robert ends his email message with...
Robert Piller
Campaign Against the Trade in Endangered Species...
Are rattlesnakes an Endangered Species? They seem sort of prolific to be endangered, but what do I know?
Thursday, December 13, 2012
The Lingering Creepy Weirdness Of Fubbo The Hut
On the left you are looking at a recent photo of Fubbo the Hut.
A long time ago Fubbo the Hut was a distant acquaintance of mine.
I suffer from a syndrome known as having a Hypersensitive Empathy Complex. Years ago, due to that confounding complex, I found myself being too nice to Fubbo the Hut, due to feeling sorry for her, due to all the damage she'd done to herself, both via ingesting way too many calories and via also ingesting too much money that was not hers to ingest.
My Empathy Complex had never kicked in before for someone who was a convicted felon who had done jail time. This was new territory for me.
When it became clear to me that Fubbo the Hut's damage was all self-inflicted I found myself feeling less empathetic. That and I was more than a little offput to learn that my problem with being just too charming and amusing for my own good resulted in Fubbo the Hut telling people I was her best friend and second husband.
Needless to say, I was mortified. Second husband to Fubbo the Hut? Like I said, mortifying.
Anyway, after over 4 years of trying to be totally rid of Fubbo the Hut, I've given up. I've decided Fubbo the Hut is like a chronic virus, or an incurable cancer, that one just puts up with as best one can.
I get emails from Fubbo the Hut, keeping me informed about her burgeoning flea market career. I must admit Fubbo's flea market career is quite astounding. Apparently Fubbo has now grown very wealthy due to having a flea market that is open once a month for a few hours. I'm guessing business schools across the world are likely studying this business model to figure out how to replicate the success.
Fubbo the Hut also continues to make the mistake of making comments on my blog, with the latest comment only recently discovered, by me, due to the comment being correctly identified, by Google, as annoying spam.
This Fubbo the Hut comment was to a blogging about Pathological Liars. I had used a classic Fubbo the Hut lie as an example of the genre, for blogging fodder. When Fubbo read this blogging, rather than own the lie, Fubbo the Hut chose to instead make the following comment, which, ironically, was full of more pathetic, pathological lies...
"I lie? Your entire life is a lie. I recently attended a reunion where I learned you are still blogging hateful things about me. Really? Is that all you've got? You are a pitiful, ugly, little man. Just so you know, people who you knew in high school know what a zero you have been in life. I am embarrassed I was ever your friend."
I really don't know where to start. But, I will try.
It totally hurts my feelings for someone who is an expert at being as ugly as Fubbo the Hut, and as pitiful, to paint me with that brush. I own a mirror, I am fully aware of how totally ugly I am. And how pitiful I am. And how little I am. I really don't need a really ugly, really fat, really pitiful woman reminding me of my ugly, little man pitifulness.
Fubbo is embarrassed she was ever my friend? Shouldn't she be more embarrassed she thought I was her best friend? And second husband?
What really impresses me is, according to Fubbo, she goes to an imaginary reunion where she has imaginary conversations with imaginary people who somehow read my blog, know the blog author is me, and know obtuse bloggings are references to Fubbo the Hut. This is a rather astoundingly ridiculous stereotypical lie from a pathological liar. I am also really impressed that Fubbo talks to imaginary people who have so accurately tracked my life that they know what a zero I have been at it. It is rather impressive for a zero at life, like myself, to have imaginary people talking about me.
Anyone, with even a passing understanding of psychology, can figure out that it is Fubbo the Hut who worries that others know she's been a big fat zero at life. A zero with a criminal record. It is obvious Fubbo mentioned attending a reunion, where I was the topic, to make me think she was referencing her class reunion, which took place last summer. What Fubbo did not know was I knew she did not attend that reunion. Did not attend, likely out of fear of someone mentioning her criminal record, or the fact that she was now a dead ringer for Jabba the Hut.
In addition to comments on my blog, Fubbo has been caught making comments on other blogs, caught by the magic of IP address tracking. The most amusing instance of this had Fubbo caught commenting her vileness anonymously, then when caught, via the IP address tracking, and made fun of, returning within an hour, to make denial comments, as Fubbo, denying ever commenting anonymously, while being so stupid she did not realize the same IP address tracking info was nailing her. At that point the pathological liar made up the lie that someone else was using her computer, making those anonymous comments.
Have I mentioned that Fubbo the Hut is stupid? Very stupid. Uneducated. Barely made it out of high school. Zero higher education. I would not say such things about someone, except, Fubbo the Hut gives herself unfiltered permission to say such things, and worse, about people, including me.
Over the years since I finally had to terminate allowing Fubbo the Hut to have direct contact with me, I have heard from many people, emailing me with questions. I think they ask me questions due to believing that I am Fubbo's best friend myth, and thus have answers, which I don't, not to all the questions, but I do to some.
For instance...
What does the Fubbo part of Fubbo the Hut stand for?
Fubbo is an acronym that stands for Fat Ugly Beast with Bad Body Odor. Yes, I realize that should make it Fubbbo the Hut, but the extra 'b' really seemed redundant. The nickname also comes from the fact that she bears a remarkable resemblance to Star Wars' Jabba the Hut. At some point in time, when Fubbo neared the quarter ton mark, her neck disappeared, consumed by the fat of her back and shoulders, which pushed her head forward, creating the Jabba the Hut look. Fubbo can not turn her head to look left or right, due to no longer having a functioning neck. I don't know how she keeps a driver's license.
On her blog Fubbo said that when she used to be thin she was into fashion. Was she actually ever thin?
I have never known Fubbo to be what anyone would consider thin. But, I have gone years, at times, without seeing Fubbo. So, she could have been thin at some point in time. I doubt it though. As for being into fashion, all I can think is how would she know what is fashionable? Let alone be into it? I've only known her to be slovenly. With really bad taste. Thus the flea market, junk dealer career, where she surrounds herself with fellow Mr. Haneys, who compliment her on her non-existent exquisite taste, while peddling re-purposed garbage.
Yes, I realize you who are reading this may be thinking what I am writing seems rather hateful. But, please refer to Fubbo's comment above where she said imaginary people had told her I was still writing imaginary hateful things about her. I really don't want to make Fubbo a bigger liar than she naturally is, and so I am trying to be a bit hateful here and thus make one of Fubbo's statements at least somewhat true.
Do you know what Fubbo did to John Bob that caused them to dump her?
The above question perplexed me. Who is John Bob I sat and wondered? I asked one of my Tacoma informants who this is. I got an answer. John Bob Cool Junk. I've met them. These are the guys who took Fubbo on her imaginary free flight to Phoenix for a free lunch, the tale of which generated the annoying comment above from Fubbo. I have no idea what Fubbo did to alienate John Bob. If history is any predictor, it likely involved Fubbo being caught in a BIG lie, or stealing something. Or both.
Do you know if Fubbo is a suspect in the mysterious death of Frank?
What? Who is Frank I wondered when I read the above question. Fubbo is now a murder suspect? I again queried my Tacoma informant. Turns out I've also met Frank. I had a few encounters with Frank and liked him. Frank despised Fubbo the Hut, accused her of stealing from him. And then ended up dead. I have no idea if this is an active homicide case, or what. Frank was a small guy. Did Fubbo sit on him?
On her blog I read that Fubbo has a group of young women lawyers, who get her, and leap to her defense when Fubbo needs defending. This was about something that happened at her show that had people taking sides for and against her. Do you know what she did?
I got an email telling me I should check Fubbo's blog to read the post referenced in the above question, with that email telling me Fubbo had gone totally into nuts mode. I just checked to refresh my memory to see Fubbo has deleted this particularly demented post. This post was far weirder than just the reference to an imaginary group of lawyers who get the incredibly difficult to get entity known as Fubbo the Hut. In the post, Fubbo had one of the imaginary lawyers sending in a Private Investigator to find out who said what about her at her flea market. I am not making this up. Then Fubbo went off on a tangent about an uncle who molested her, giving her an STD when she was 7, after which her parents accepted money from the uncle to keep quiet about the crime. Somehow the imaginary doctor also is convinced to keep quiet about the child with the imaginary STD.
To answer the "Do you know what she did?" question. I do not know what had people taking sides for or against her. But, as I've already said, with Fubbo the Hut, it usually involves Fubbo getting caught in a BIG lie. Or stealing. Or both.
Why is your sister involved with Fubbo and chickens?
I have absolutely no idea what my sister is doing with chickens and Fubbo. I know Fubbo has long had a chicken fixation. I remember an incident where Fubbo's chickens were left in her mother-in-law's care with the chickens all ending up dead.
Did your sisters go to Hawaii on vacation with Fubbo?
Not that I know of. I've been told about Fubbo trying get my sisters to go to Hawaii. If I remember right I blogged about this because I found it so amusing.
Fubbo is totally clueless regarding how transparent her embarrassing machinations are. She is no Machiavellian. She is more a clueless fat boob with really weird delusions. And really bad taste in all things that matter. Like knowing when to shut up. And knowing when to say she is sorry for her really bad behavior.
Have you heard anything about Fubbo getting in a fight with a homeless man in a Goodwill dumpster?
No, I have heard nothing about this. Sounds ridiculous. I don't think Fubbo could get into a dumpster without some sort of mechanical assist, like a forklift or crane.
Fubbo told me you are homeless, living in your car. How do you get internet service in your car?
I think I have already mentioned that Fubbo the Hut is a pathological liar. I have heard from others that Fubbo tells people variations of my alleged homelessness. And that she he has gotten imaginary phone calls from imaginary people in Texas, asking Fubbo if she has the resources to help me in my imaginary dire straits, when the fact of the matter is, no one I know in Texas knows the real identity of Fubbo the Hut, let alone that lying idiot's phone number.
Well, that ends this amusing blogging about Fubbo the Hut. I'll be sure and share any incoming Fubbo the Hut lunacy should it occur.....
A long time ago Fubbo the Hut was a distant acquaintance of mine.
I suffer from a syndrome known as having a Hypersensitive Empathy Complex. Years ago, due to that confounding complex, I found myself being too nice to Fubbo the Hut, due to feeling sorry for her, due to all the damage she'd done to herself, both via ingesting way too many calories and via also ingesting too much money that was not hers to ingest.
My Empathy Complex had never kicked in before for someone who was a convicted felon who had done jail time. This was new territory for me.
When it became clear to me that Fubbo the Hut's damage was all self-inflicted I found myself feeling less empathetic. That and I was more than a little offput to learn that my problem with being just too charming and amusing for my own good resulted in Fubbo the Hut telling people I was her best friend and second husband.
Needless to say, I was mortified. Second husband to Fubbo the Hut? Like I said, mortifying.
Anyway, after over 4 years of trying to be totally rid of Fubbo the Hut, I've given up. I've decided Fubbo the Hut is like a chronic virus, or an incurable cancer, that one just puts up with as best one can.
I get emails from Fubbo the Hut, keeping me informed about her burgeoning flea market career. I must admit Fubbo's flea market career is quite astounding. Apparently Fubbo has now grown very wealthy due to having a flea market that is open once a month for a few hours. I'm guessing business schools across the world are likely studying this business model to figure out how to replicate the success.
Fubbo the Hut also continues to make the mistake of making comments on my blog, with the latest comment only recently discovered, by me, due to the comment being correctly identified, by Google, as annoying spam.
This Fubbo the Hut comment was to a blogging about Pathological Liars. I had used a classic Fubbo the Hut lie as an example of the genre, for blogging fodder. When Fubbo read this blogging, rather than own the lie, Fubbo the Hut chose to instead make the following comment, which, ironically, was full of more pathetic, pathological lies...
"I lie? Your entire life is a lie. I recently attended a reunion where I learned you are still blogging hateful things about me. Really? Is that all you've got? You are a pitiful, ugly, little man. Just so you know, people who you knew in high school know what a zero you have been in life. I am embarrassed I was ever your friend."
I really don't know where to start. But, I will try.
It totally hurts my feelings for someone who is an expert at being as ugly as Fubbo the Hut, and as pitiful, to paint me with that brush. I own a mirror, I am fully aware of how totally ugly I am. And how pitiful I am. And how little I am. I really don't need a really ugly, really fat, really pitiful woman reminding me of my ugly, little man pitifulness.
Fubbo is embarrassed she was ever my friend? Shouldn't she be more embarrassed she thought I was her best friend? And second husband?
What really impresses me is, according to Fubbo, she goes to an imaginary reunion where she has imaginary conversations with imaginary people who somehow read my blog, know the blog author is me, and know obtuse bloggings are references to Fubbo the Hut. This is a rather astoundingly ridiculous stereotypical lie from a pathological liar. I am also really impressed that Fubbo talks to imaginary people who have so accurately tracked my life that they know what a zero I have been at it. It is rather impressive for a zero at life, like myself, to have imaginary people talking about me.
Anyone, with even a passing understanding of psychology, can figure out that it is Fubbo the Hut who worries that others know she's been a big fat zero at life. A zero with a criminal record. It is obvious Fubbo mentioned attending a reunion, where I was the topic, to make me think she was referencing her class reunion, which took place last summer. What Fubbo did not know was I knew she did not attend that reunion. Did not attend, likely out of fear of someone mentioning her criminal record, or the fact that she was now a dead ringer for Jabba the Hut.
In addition to comments on my blog, Fubbo has been caught making comments on other blogs, caught by the magic of IP address tracking. The most amusing instance of this had Fubbo caught commenting her vileness anonymously, then when caught, via the IP address tracking, and made fun of, returning within an hour, to make denial comments, as Fubbo, denying ever commenting anonymously, while being so stupid she did not realize the same IP address tracking info was nailing her. At that point the pathological liar made up the lie that someone else was using her computer, making those anonymous comments.
Have I mentioned that Fubbo the Hut is stupid? Very stupid. Uneducated. Barely made it out of high school. Zero higher education. I would not say such things about someone, except, Fubbo the Hut gives herself unfiltered permission to say such things, and worse, about people, including me.
Over the years since I finally had to terminate allowing Fubbo the Hut to have direct contact with me, I have heard from many people, emailing me with questions. I think they ask me questions due to believing that I am Fubbo's best friend myth, and thus have answers, which I don't, not to all the questions, but I do to some.
For instance...
What does the Fubbo part of Fubbo the Hut stand for?
Fubbo is an acronym that stands for Fat Ugly Beast with Bad Body Odor. Yes, I realize that should make it Fubbbo the Hut, but the extra 'b' really seemed redundant. The nickname also comes from the fact that she bears a remarkable resemblance to Star Wars' Jabba the Hut. At some point in time, when Fubbo neared the quarter ton mark, her neck disappeared, consumed by the fat of her back and shoulders, which pushed her head forward, creating the Jabba the Hut look. Fubbo can not turn her head to look left or right, due to no longer having a functioning neck. I don't know how she keeps a driver's license.
On her blog Fubbo said that when she used to be thin she was into fashion. Was she actually ever thin?
I have never known Fubbo to be what anyone would consider thin. But, I have gone years, at times, without seeing Fubbo. So, she could have been thin at some point in time. I doubt it though. As for being into fashion, all I can think is how would she know what is fashionable? Let alone be into it? I've only known her to be slovenly. With really bad taste. Thus the flea market, junk dealer career, where she surrounds herself with fellow Mr. Haneys, who compliment her on her non-existent exquisite taste, while peddling re-purposed garbage.
Yes, I realize you who are reading this may be thinking what I am writing seems rather hateful. But, please refer to Fubbo's comment above where she said imaginary people had told her I was still writing imaginary hateful things about her. I really don't want to make Fubbo a bigger liar than she naturally is, and so I am trying to be a bit hateful here and thus make one of Fubbo's statements at least somewhat true.
Do you know what Fubbo did to John Bob that caused them to dump her?
The above question perplexed me. Who is John Bob I sat and wondered? I asked one of my Tacoma informants who this is. I got an answer. John Bob Cool Junk. I've met them. These are the guys who took Fubbo on her imaginary free flight to Phoenix for a free lunch, the tale of which generated the annoying comment above from Fubbo. I have no idea what Fubbo did to alienate John Bob. If history is any predictor, it likely involved Fubbo being caught in a BIG lie, or stealing something. Or both.
Do you know if Fubbo is a suspect in the mysterious death of Frank?
What? Who is Frank I wondered when I read the above question. Fubbo is now a murder suspect? I again queried my Tacoma informant. Turns out I've also met Frank. I had a few encounters with Frank and liked him. Frank despised Fubbo the Hut, accused her of stealing from him. And then ended up dead. I have no idea if this is an active homicide case, or what. Frank was a small guy. Did Fubbo sit on him?
On her blog I read that Fubbo has a group of young women lawyers, who get her, and leap to her defense when Fubbo needs defending. This was about something that happened at her show that had people taking sides for and against her. Do you know what she did?
I got an email telling me I should check Fubbo's blog to read the post referenced in the above question, with that email telling me Fubbo had gone totally into nuts mode. I just checked to refresh my memory to see Fubbo has deleted this particularly demented post. This post was far weirder than just the reference to an imaginary group of lawyers who get the incredibly difficult to get entity known as Fubbo the Hut. In the post, Fubbo had one of the imaginary lawyers sending in a Private Investigator to find out who said what about her at her flea market. I am not making this up. Then Fubbo went off on a tangent about an uncle who molested her, giving her an STD when she was 7, after which her parents accepted money from the uncle to keep quiet about the crime. Somehow the imaginary doctor also is convinced to keep quiet about the child with the imaginary STD.
To answer the "Do you know what she did?" question. I do not know what had people taking sides for or against her. But, as I've already said, with Fubbo the Hut, it usually involves Fubbo getting caught in a BIG lie. Or stealing. Or both.
Why is your sister involved with Fubbo and chickens?
I have absolutely no idea what my sister is doing with chickens and Fubbo. I know Fubbo has long had a chicken fixation. I remember an incident where Fubbo's chickens were left in her mother-in-law's care with the chickens all ending up dead.
Did your sisters go to Hawaii on vacation with Fubbo?
Not that I know of. I've been told about Fubbo trying get my sisters to go to Hawaii. If I remember right I blogged about this because I found it so amusing.
Fubbo is totally clueless regarding how transparent her embarrassing machinations are. She is no Machiavellian. She is more a clueless fat boob with really weird delusions. And really bad taste in all things that matter. Like knowing when to shut up. And knowing when to say she is sorry for her really bad behavior.
Have you heard anything about Fubbo getting in a fight with a homeless man in a Goodwill dumpster?
No, I have heard nothing about this. Sounds ridiculous. I don't think Fubbo could get into a dumpster without some sort of mechanical assist, like a forklift or crane.
Fubbo told me you are homeless, living in your car. How do you get internet service in your car?
I think I have already mentioned that Fubbo the Hut is a pathological liar. I have heard from others that Fubbo tells people variations of my alleged homelessness. And that she he has gotten imaginary phone calls from imaginary people in Texas, asking Fubbo if she has the resources to help me in my imaginary dire straits, when the fact of the matter is, no one I know in Texas knows the real identity of Fubbo the Hut, let alone that lying idiot's phone number.
____________________________________
Well, that ends this amusing blogging about Fubbo the Hut. I'll be sure and share any incoming Fubbo the Hut lunacy should it occur.....
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