8/2/2013 HostGator Has Been Down For Hours But Is Back Up For Now

It has been 4 years since I had web host nightmares with something called IX Webhosting.

Nightmares which caused me to move my websites to a Houston based web host called HostGator.

During the 4 years my websites have been on HostGator I have not been aware of any server downtime.

Til last week when HostGator went down for a short time, as in well less than an hour of downtime.

But now, today, HostGator went kaput again.

Starting sometime around 10 this morning I found email not working, followed by finding the websites not working.

HostGator's Twitter feed informed followers that their Provo server bank was having a network connectivity problem that was affecting their entire system. That being a system with 100s of thousands of customers with millions of domains.

Coming up on 3 in the afternoon HostGator is back working for me. I realized it was back working when I saw email incoming without a connection error. I then checked my Eyes on Texas website to see my Six Flags Over Texas webpage was back up.

And running a HostGator ad.

Further irony. I now see this very blog you are reading right now is running HostGator ads.

So, at the same time HostGator cost me money by being down, HostGator is paying me money by buying ad space on my blogs and websites.

I am hoping this has been a HostGator fluke that will quickly fade from memory and that I don't find myself having to go through the annoying process of moving websites to a new host again.

Asking For Whom The Bell Tolls While It Is Not Tolling For Me

Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.

Hardly a month goes by, or so it seems, without me hearing the bell toll. Or get the news that the bell will be tolling soon for someone.

It seems the main cause of the bells tolling is cancer in one of that dread disease's many forms.

Last month it was Solrun for whom the bell tolled.

I think it was my Junior year in high school that Solrun showed up. From Iceland. Barely speaking English. Solrun was a year younger, which would have made her a Sophomore.

Solrun's nickname was Lilla. I never called her Solrun.

I think I spent a lot of my time in high school in some sort of a state of traumatic shock. Because I don't remember a lot of it.

For instance.

I remember Betty Jo Bouvier and Honey Lulu conspiring to get me to go with Lilla to some prom/ball/dance thing that required going out for dinner before or after the dancing. I agreed to the conspiracy. I remember Honey Lulu's "date" did the driving, with me and Lilla in the back seat.

I have no memory of being at the prom/ball/dance. I do remember the dinner. Til corrected I thought the dinner took place at the Lighthouse Inn in La Conner.

It was what happened at the dinner that I totally remember. One of us ordered something that was of the flambe sort that the waiter set to fire upon delivering the plate to the table. When the plate went to flames Lilla did not know what was happening and proceeded to douse the fire with her glass of water. I believe we were asked to leave, but I am not sure of that. I do remember being totally mortified.

So, after I learned that Lilla had died I exchanged messages with Honey Lulu. Honey Lulu informed me that the food on fire incident took place at the Hope Island Inn, not the Lighthouse Inn. Honey Lulu said this took place after the prom/ball/dance that I don't remember dancing at. I don't remember dancing and I don't remember ever being at the Hope Island Inn.

And then Honey Lulu informed me of a bit of information that had been kept from me for decades. As in Betty Jo Bouvier and Honey Lulu had to pay Lilla an undisclosed amount of cash to get her to agree to go to this event with me.

I was shocked, shocked, I tell you. Like I already said, my high school years were traumatic for me....

In His Latest Blog Post We Learn Gar The Texan Wants To Get Buttered Like A Biscuit

In the picture you are looking at the logo that sits atop the blog known as Gar's World. I am guessing the image represents Gar the Texan being on top of the world taking some sort of untoward liberty with Pakistan.

Gar the Texan is a self confessed ardent aficionado of cliches. For instance, Gar applies the cliche "less is more" to just about everything he does.

For instance, believing that less is more, Gar the Texan limits himself to one blog post a month. This scarcity causes the Gar the Texan monthly blog posts to be eagerly anticipated by everyone who eagerly anticipates them.

This month's Gar the Texan Gar's World blog post is titled Practice Makes Perfect.

In Practice Makes Perfect I learned several things about myself, such as I am a fine professional writer and grammar police chief, as detailed in the following paragraphs lifted from Gar the Texan's blog...

Mostly it helps because the Grammar Police Chief (Durango), is usually kind enough to point out all my mistakes. And, to be honest, Durango is a mighty fine writer. He writes more than I read every day.

At the end of each post I'll link you to my favorite current post by Durango so you can read something written by a professional writer and hopefully ease the pain. Don't skip to the end though. That wouldn't be fair.

I think it was Durango who accused me of using too many cliche's. Instead of trying to fix the problem I just have accepted it and made it my own.

Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit! Here's Durango discussing the language of Southern Belles. The video is worth watching as well. I like the one who is demanding some sugar. She makes me happy.

Butter my butt and call me a biscuit? That sounds original to me, not a cliche.

The Queen of Wink asked me last week if I was going to attend Gar the Texan's latest wedding with her. That wedding is currently scheduled to take place later this month. Neither the Queen of Wink or myself managed to RSVP in time to secure a spot on the Gar the Texan wedding attendee list.

A Person With Any Common Sense Would Not Be HOT Hill Hiking Today In Texas

This morning when I found Don Young's Prairie Notes #80 in my inbox I realized it has been weeks since I have been on the Tandy Hills.

So, with today scheduled to be HOT enough to have a good sauna steam bath I decided to drive to the summit of Mount Tandy and have myself a HOT walk.

As you can see, looking west, across the wagon train trail that leads towards the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, the air does not appear to be all that smoggy, despite the air quality alerts.

It did not take me long walking to realize maybe I should pay heed to all the warnings I hear advising the elderly to stay inside during these troubling HOT times.

When I began to be blinded by the copious amount of moisture leaking from me I cut short the hiking, down to only 3 hills from the usual 5.

In addition to being HOT I had to contend with getting around the trail block you see in the picture below.

Just north of the currently dry Tandy Falls, where one takes a left to a shady trail up to the View Street Trail, a big tree has fallen across the trail.

I do not know what the policy is regarding windfalls in the Tandy Hills Natural Area. Is it like a national park, where the tree remains where it fell, unless it is blocking a highway or causing a hazard?

I am thinking for the duration of this 100 degree plus HOT time of the year, my mode of getting aerobic stimulation will be my morning swim, shady walks and bike riding, saving the Tandy Hills for the cooler time of the year.

This current plan is subject to change.

Bum Puzzled By Things Southern Belles Like Elsie Hotpepper Sometimes Say

Last night Elsie Hotpepper said something to me along the line of "I gotta hankerin' to be fixin' to get myself a free Koozie."

I did not know what a Koozie was or how one would get a Koozie for free. Getting a free Koozie sounded borderline nefarious to me. So, I asked Elsie Hotpepper what a Koozie was. And what dire deed she had to do to get a Koozie for free.

Elsie said something along the line of "Well bless your heart. A Koozie is what you stick a can of beer in to keep it cold."

"Koozie is Southern Slang for refrigerator?" asked I.

Elsie then said something along the line of "Aren't you just precious."

After suggesting I was precious, in that charming dripping with honey Elsie Hotpepper patented Texas accent, Elsie emailed me a picture that alleviated me of my Koozie ignorance. I then blogged about the Koozie because the way one got one for free was interesting to me.

Elsie also emailed the link to the YouTube video above which has a bevy of Elsie Hotpepper's fellow Southern Belles spouting their special lingo....

Hopefully Tomorrow's Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Happy Hour Inner Tube Float Will Be Corpse Free Along With Clean Swimmin' & Dirty Livin' Free Koozies

Yesterday a woman was found floating, dead, at the location where the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube floats take place.

Some have suggested that tomorrow's floating should be canceled, due to a body being found floating where the inner tubes congregate.

Others opine that it is no big deal, people turn up dead all the time.

We don't shut down a freeway because someone died in a car wreck.

We don't shut down a roller coaster just because someone got tossed off it to their death.

Oh.

Well, anyway, tomorrow's J.D. Granger floating show will go on as scheduled.

Not only will the floating show go on, despite bodies found floating in the floating zone, tomorrow if you buy one of J.D.'s classy "CLEAN SWIMMIN' DIRTY LIVIN'" tank tops you will get yourself an equally classy "LET ME HOLD YOUR CANS" can Koozie for free.

What a deal.

And the band providing the music for tomorrow's inner tube float?

"Dirty River Boys".

Perfect.

And people wonder why it is that J.D. Granger now has a world wide reputation for being the world's best inner tube happy hour music event promoter....

I Was A Hot Mess In North Texas Ignoring A Heat Advisory & Air Quality Alert

I drove to my neighborhood Walmart Supercenter around 4 this afternoon. At that point in time the temperature was not over 100, except for the Heat Index version of the temperature.

On the way to Walmart the air-conditioning part of my motorized vehicular transport made a disturbing noise. The temperature quickly rose.

By the time I made the long 3 mile trek to the Walmart parking lot I was a HOT mess, rushing inside Walmart to get cooled.

I got what I was getting at Walmart and then left the Walmart air-conditioned comfort to return to the outside furnace.

I started up my motorized vehicular transport, began moving, turned on the A/C and felt cool.

Even though I felt cool, after I turned on the A/C, I was still a HOT mess by the time I made it back to my abode.

And now, coming up on 7 in the evening, we are being heated to 101, with the Heat Index feeling like 107.

But I am no longer a HOT mess, because A/C is blowing cold air directly on me....

I Found No One Floating In The Trinity River When I Biked In Gateway Park Today

In the picture it looks like my handlebars are looking at a lake.

But that is no lake.

It is the green Trinity River, as viewed from a cliff in Fort Worth's Gateway Park, today, around noon, with the temperature a few degrees below 100.

Yesterday, a few miles upstream, the body of a woman was found floating where the Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube floaters float.

I don't know if tomorrow's scheduled Trinity River Inner Tube Happy Hour Float has been cancelled pending the results of the investigation into what caused a woman to float dead in that location.

On a happier note, I saw no one floating, dead or alive, in the part of the Trinity River I looked at today.

I had a fast pedal on the Gateway Park mountain bike trail today. Most of the trail is heavily shaded, which makes for a much cooler experience than being directly under the blazing HOT Texas sun.

When I finished pedaling I continued on to Gateway Park's neighbor, Town Talk, hoping to get some more packages of Chorizos and bags of Poblano Batard  bread. I was successful on both counts.

I Refuse To Eat The Fish I Catch In Fort Worth's Fosdick Lake

Upon arrival at the Oakland Lake Park parking lot I saw the guy on the left catch and release a fish back in to Fosdick Lake.

I was standing on Fosdick Dam, looking south across Fosdick  Lake, when I zoomed in to take a picture of the bucolic fishing scene you see here.

A crowd of spectators, in the form of humans and ducks, were spectating the fishing.

I've never enjoyed fishing. Even though the fishing gene runs strong in my relatives, like Spencer Jack's Uncle Joey.

Joey catches fish he can eat, caught in water that is not polluted.

One is advised not to eat the fish one catches in Fosdick Lake.

I would think that a town that felt compelled to post such warnings about fish caught in the town's water would be motivated to clean up the town's dirty water to make the fish safe to eat.

The town of Bedford has a stocked fishing lake in Chisholm Park that is quite popular.

Bedford is only a few miles from Fort Worth.

Maybe Fort Worth could send a study group to Bedford to find out how it is that Bedford has a lake from which one can consume the fish one catches.

Spencer Jake Riding The Great Seattle Wheel Reminded Me Of The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle

No, that is not an artist's rendering of what little Pond Granger will look like if the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle ever becomes something anyone can see.

What you are looking at in the picture is my Great Nephew, Spencer Jack, and his favorite girl friend, Brittney, in Seattle, high above Elliott Bay in a gondola attached to the Great Seattle Wheel.

I blogged about Spencer Jack and the Great Seattle Wheel, this morning, on my Washington blog in a blogging titled Spencer Jack & Girl Friend Brittney Take A Spin On The Seattle Great Wheel.

Looking at the above picture did get me to thinking about the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle. To the left of Brittney we can see a small slice of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The Alaskan Way Viaduct is getting replaced by a tunnel. The world's biggest tunnel boring machine, christened Bertha by the locals, has started her boring job.

The new transit tunnel is scheduled to be operational sometime in 2015 or 2016.

Does anyone know when some aspect of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, other than a drive-in movie theater, a restaurant, a wakeboard park, inner tube floating parties and a lame music venue, is scheduled to be operational?

Like when is that celebrated flood diversion channel scheduled to finally start protecting downtown Fort Worth from a flood?

Has anyone seen an artist's rendering of what that flood diversion channel will look like?

Is the flood diversion channel, if it is ever built, going to be a big cement lined ditch? Empty of water except when a flood comes to town?

When can we expect to be seeing cruise ships docking on Pond Granger? This decade?

Have any of J.D. Granger's thousands of Magic Trees been planted?

Over two years ago we learned that those Magic Trees had to be in place during a flood to slow down the Trinity River after it shoots at high speed through the flood diversion channel. Shouldn't those trees be planted by now? Giving them plenty of time to get well rooted before they get  hit with a flood?

So many questions. Never any answers....