A Tale Of Two Town's Temperatures Via Spencer Jack's Dad

When last I checked in on Facebook I saw that Spencer Jack's dad, he being my favorite nephew Jason, also known as FNJ, brother of my favorite nephew Joey, also known as FNJ2, had shared the temperature forecast for Mount Vernon and its Skagit Valley Western Washington environs for the coming week.

Looking at the evidence Jason provided, on Facebook, screencapped above, it appears that Jason's zone on the planet is looking forward to a week of natural air-conditioning.

While at my zone on the planet, judging by my temperature predicting evidence, it appears I will need to rely on un-naturally air-conditioned air to keep cool in the coming week.

I am hoping that within a month the temperature at my zone on the planet gets down to Jason's naturally air-conditioned level.

I am planning on going to this year's State Fair of Texas. When I go to the State Fair of Texas I prefer that the temperature be chilly enough to warrant long pants, because I have gotten chilly a time or two in short pants at the State Fair of Texas after the sun goes down.

This year's State Fair of Texas starts up September 27, ending October 20.

The last time I went to the State Fair of Texas I drove to Dallas, found myself directed to a parking lot a distance from Fair Park, with transportation to the fairgrounds provided by a Trinity Rail Express train. I'm thinking taking the Trinity Rail Express (TRE) train to Dallas, and then the DART train to Fair Park, might make for an interesting day.

Or a nightmare of missed transit connections....

A Regular Saturday Roll Through The Gateway Park Jungle Followed By Town Talk Maple Yogurt

Today being Saturday naturally I was back at what has recently become my regular Saturday photo op, that being a cliff in Gateway Park overlooking the beautifully green Trinity River.

I have seen a river or two named Green. Green River in Utah comes to mind, with that Utah Green River not being green.

I have no idea what grows in the Trinity River that colors it such a pleasant shade of green, but today, looking over the cliff into the water  I spotted two very large fish near the surface.

The spotted fish were a couple feet in length. The distance and distortion caused by the water kept me from telling for sure if this was a pair of Gar Fish I was looking at.

I have not been in a Texas body of water, except for my swimming pool, since the day I had a Gar Fish pointed out to me for the first time, in Village Creek. A week after that I was at a dock on Lake Grapevine where a pair of teenage girls informed me that one of their friends had stepped on the teeth of a Gar Fish, at that location, the week before.

I have seen a large lizard basking in the sun at the fringe of my pool, but no Gar Fish. I think it is likely almost impossible for a Gar Fish to make its way to my pool.

An alligator, maybe.

A few years ago an 11 foot alligator was run over and killed a very short distance from my abode. That alligator had wandered from the safety of the Trinity River on to Trinity Boulevard. Perhaps the gator had misread the signage.

After having myself a really fine time rolling my wheels in the refreshingly shady Gateway Park jungle I rolled my motorized wheels to Town Talk where I did not find anything particularly noteworthy, besides my Town Talk staples, unless one considers a couple cases of Greek Maple Yogurt to be noteworthy. Maple was the only flavor in the cooler and I was out of yogurt.

I was in the pool for an hour early this morning. I am tempted to have myself a rare afternoon swim, what with it being nearly 100. I'll likely resist the temptation.

September 28 Josh Fox Brings Myth Piercing Fracking Documentary "GASLAND 2" To Fort Worth's Ridglea Theater

High Priority incoming from Don Young which says it is for Immediate Release, which I guess means right now....

Working Films Reel Power - Earthworks' Oil & Gas Accountability Project - Texas Drought Project - North Central Texas Communities Alliance - FWCANDO and director, Josh Fox, bring myth piercing documentary on fracking, "GASLAND 2", to the historic Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth.

Director, Josh Fox and other stars of the film will be in attendance.

September 28, 2013
Program begins at 7:00 pm. (doors open at 6:00 pm) Admission is FREE. Donations are welcome.

The anti-fracking movement that is reinvigorating environmentalists worldwide has its roots in Fort Worth, Texas. Fort Worth was the first large city in the country (maybe the world) to allow this dirty, dangerous and controversial process of extracting natural gas and oil from the Earth.

FWCANDO.org was the first website devoted to urban gas drilling and fracking. Dirty Ol' Town, the first documentary short film on the negative impacts of fracking in the Fort Worth area, was produced by FWCANDO in 2006. Fort Worth is also the site of the first public protest against fracking in an urban area (coincidentally on 9/28/2005) and also the site of the first anti-fracking art show.

These are a few reasons why Josh Fox began filming the Academy Award-nominated documentary film, GASLAND, in Fort Worth in 2008. The film helped spark an international movement to ban fracking that is growing daily and inspiring people and organizations like few other environmental issues ever have.

I am pleased to co-host this film for and with my fellow north Texans. Don't miss this rare opportunity to see it on the big screen in the city where it all began.

DY

The North Texas Air Quality Has Turned Unhealthy For Us Sensitive Group Members With Too Much Ragweed

As you can see, via the gauge in the middle of the top row of the graphic above, the Air Quality Index at my location on the planet is currently in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Red Zone.

Since I am borderline elderly I have decided to limit the outdoor air that I breathe today and not get myself any noontime endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation. I think I got myself plenty of endorphins from an hour in the pool starting before the sun arrived this morning to begin its daily heating duty.

Currently that aforementioned sun's daily heating duty has it only heating the outer world to 86, at about an hour before noon. Those 86 degrees are predicted to increase to 101 as today progresses.

In a related air quality issue. The past couple days I've been doing a bit more wheezing and sneezing than is the norm.

Today I learned that ragweed levels have been rising, which is having people sneezing all over North Texas. I think it was ragweed which brought about my allergic misery last October.

Apparently the high levels of ragweed are being mixed with elm and grass pollen, with the grass pollen being higher than the norm due to grass not turning the brown color it usually turns to by this time of the year.

Us Sensitive Group members are being advised to limit our pollen exposure by not going outside, while taking anti-allergy medications and taking showers to wash off the allergens.

Does swimming count as an allergen removing strategy?

A HOT Humid 103 Degree Walk With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts

With the outer world heated to only 91, with the heat index having that 91 degrees really feeling like 103, I thought it a good idea to go on a HOT walk with the Indian ghosts who haunt Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

I'd not walked with the Village Creek Indian ghosts for over a week. I think they missed me.

Walking the paved trail under the shade of the Village Creek jungle the 103 degrees of real feel HEAT does not feel all that HOT.

Still, I did get my desired sauna steam bath that I find so salubrious.

In just a few weeks this HOT time of the year should be winding to a close. I hope that is the case.

I don't remember my previous HOT summers in Texas being so humid. So humid, yet so lacking in downpour mode rainstorms.

Today We Anonymously Learned The TRVA's JD Is Friendly With That Lady

Over 2 years ago, on August 12, 2011, in a blogging titled The Trinity River Vision Updates Rockin' The River Live On The Trinity I blogged about bizarre propaganda I was reading in the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle propaganda brochure that I found in my mailbox that day.

The last 3 paragraphs of that blog post were...

On page 3 of the brochure, there is a picture of JD Granger, Jennifer Harnish, Rachel Navejar and Shanna Cate at the NCTGOC luncheon. 

I think I remember seeing JD and Shanna checking in to a Dallas hotel. I wonder if that was where the NCTGOC luncheon was held?

The back page of the TRV brochure is pretty much like the front page, devoted to Tubing the Trinity, with 9 photos of people doing the tubing.

Just minutes ago, I got an anonymous incoming comment to this blogging from over 2 years ago.

Now, as you well know, my blog is a totally family friendly G-rated operation.

With that family friendly G-rated thing in mind I did not hit the publish button on this particular anonymous comment.

However, with just a slight bit of editing, replacing the non-G-rated words with G-rated words (in parentheses) I feel it is okay to share this edited version of this anonymous comment below....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Trinity River Vision Updates Rockin' The River Live On The Trinity": 

Everyone at the TRVA knows that JD is (friendly) with that (lady).

Which lady? Jennifer, Rachel or Shanna? Anonymous really should be more specific when he or she makes such a comment....

My Weekly Wednesday Neighborhood Inspection Found A Fort Worth Water Truck Leaking Water

With today being Wednesday today is one of my twice weekly neighborhood inspections days. That and it is the day I walk up the hill to Albertsons to get this week's Fort Worth Weekly when I remember to.

When my walking brought me to the point where I see Boca Raton Boulevard I saw that water was flowing where water should not be flowing.

And then that which you see above came into view.

A Fort Worth Water truck.

It was from this Fort Worth Water truck that the water was leaking, gushing out of the round pipe you see at the top of the truck, then running down the street to the nearest drain.

Seems like only yesterday I read that Fort Worth and environs may soon be needing to get way stricter with the water restrictions, due to the ongoing dire Great North Texas Drought, 2013 version.

Then again, it did rain Labor Day morning. Maybe that rain ended the Great North Texas Drought, 2013 version....

Tarrant Regional Water District Loses Another Court Decision

Yesterday in my incoming email I found the for Immediate Release Press Release you see to the left from Texans for Government Transparency. I hope releasing this press release the day after I got it is immediate enough.

Below is the TFGT Press Release in its entirety....

Texans for Government Transparency

TRWD Loses Key Court Decision on Case about Violating Texas Open Meetings Law

(Fort Worth, Texas) This past week, a key decision was handed down in a lawsuit against the Tarrant Regional Water District for violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act allowing the suit to move forward in court. The judge struck down a motion from the TRWD where they asserted they were not only exempt from being sued due to jurisdictional issues, but did not have to comply with the Texas Open Meetings Act in any matters before the court. Judge Susan McCoy of the 153rd judicial district denied the TRWD’s motion on August 26, 2013 clearing way for the case to be heard.

 The suit filed by East Texas ranch owner and businessman, Monty Bennett, alleges the TRWD violated the Texas Open Meetings Act over 600 times in making key decisions. This suit also alleges these decisions were made behind closed doors and away from public oversight. In these meetings millions of dollars of taxpayer’s money was awarded to contractors and individuals. Perhaps the lawsuits most damaging allegation contends in these same secret meetings people’s land and properties were marked to be taken by eminent domain without owners ever having been told of any meeting of the TRWD. Mr. Bennett’s family ranch in East Texas, where they raise exotic wildlife and endangered species, is one of the properties the TRWD has marked for the taking and prompting him to action.

“The Texas Open Meetings Act is there to ensure oversight of government agencies by the citizens of Texas.” says John Austin Basham, President of Texans For Government Transparency, “The idea of our government meeting in secret and planning to take someone’s family ranch, home, or property is outrageous!” Basham adds, “The argument the TRWD puts forth that they are exempt from any oversight under the Texas Open Meeting Act speaks to how little regard they have for both the law and the people they purport to serve. We are Texans, the government saying ‘trust us, we know what’s best for you’ is not something that sits well with our nature or our spirit.”

Mr. Basham did however express his doubts with any rapid resolution in this case, “The TRWD has a track record of spending Millions in taxpayer’s dollars to defend legally troubling arguments. But worse, they lose every single time! So, in fact they spend all this money on lawyers and court costs as a delay and harassment tactic. This misuse of money and trust allows them more time to continue violating the law, ignore the public’s will, oversight, and input.”

Texans For Government Transparency has also filed suit against the TRWD for violating the Texas Constitution by skipping elections and allowing board members to serve an extra year without a vote of the people. TFGT expects to be victorious in this case forcing the TRWD to allow the people to vote for those who represent them, rather than having career bureaucrats dictate who serves and for how long.

Texans for Government Transparency is a non-profit human rights organization focused on bringing transparency and accountability to government, while protecting the privacy and civil rights of the citizens of Texas.

Contact: John Spivey
Telephone: 817-706-2947 September 2, 2013
Email: johnhspivey@hotmail.com
8551 Boat Club Road Suite 121
Fort Worth, Texas 76179-3674
www.TFGT.org

Tuning Up After A Morning Swim Before Wildscaping To Arlington's Chinatown

I don't know why it almost looks like waves were waving in the pool this morning whilst I was having my morning swim.

Due to weather related concerns yesterday's Labor Day Picnic took place in my communal neighborhood park.

There is a big fireplace in the center of my communal neighborhood park. For some reason Crazy Greg thought it a good idea to build a real big fire. I guess it was not HOT enough. This type behavior is why this boy is known as Crazy Greg.

Several people dragged barbecuing devices to the communal neighborhood park. I BBQed my keilbasa on the Silas and Sue BBQ. Miss Puerto Rico showed up, food-free, but with a supply of adult libations. Big Ed got in a rather odd argument with Miss Puerto Rico over the Spanish-American War.

All in all Labor Day was interesting. I was forbidden from photo documenting the communal neighborhood park Labor Day Picnic. However, no one said anything about me not painting any word pictures.

The day after Labor Day started off fine, with the aforementioned photo documented swim.

And then, mid-morning, I drove to Arlington to get a tune up for one of my motorized motion contraptions. For a decade, or longer, when I need some auto doctoring I go to a place on Division Street in Arlington, run by Iranian exiles.

I walked a bit in the neighborhood while the tune up was taking place. In the picture, above, we are looking east. That is the auto medic place on the left, to the left of the pointy thing. As you can see, this part of Arlington's Division Street is a bleak bit of commercial wasteland. Sparse on sidewalks.

The tune-up did not take too long. Since I was in the neighborhood I decided to drive to Veterans Park for a short walk before heading to Arlington's Chinatown.

Walking in the Veterans Park Xeriscape area eventually leads to the more formal garden area, where the above deck exists. The above deck  made me a bit homesick, due to reminding me of the deck on the backside of my house in my old home zone in Mount Vernon, Washington.

And then it was off to Arlington's Chinatown, to the Cho Saigon Market. I got myself some much needed Asian supplies. Curry powder, sesame oil, coconut milk, soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, jasmine rice, garlic, tamarind pods, fresh mints, bean sprouts.

And 10 pounds of lean ground beef.

Yes, the Cho Saigon Market in Chinatown has an excellent fresh fish and meat counter.

Changing the subject from fresh fish and meat to something else.

I am only barely finished with lunch. Homemade black olive, green olive, mushroom pizza, BBQ chicken and salad.

To wake up my computer to find an email from the Fort Worth Library reminding me that the Ernest Hemingway Short Stories Collection that I checked out way back in early July, is due today and must be returned, lest I face a hefty fine that I can ill afford.

2013 Big Tex Choice Award Winners Are Deep Fried Cuban Roll & Fried Thanksgiving Dinner

The eagerly anticipated ninth annual Big Tex Choice Awards for the 2013 State Fair of Texas were announced on Labor Day.

This year the winners actually sound tasty and something I would be willing to try, unlike some of the winners previous years.

Deep-Fried Coke and Deep-Fried Butter come to mind.

This year's winner of the coveted Best Taste Award went to Isaac Rousso for his Deep Fried Cuban Roll.

The Most Creative Award went to Justin Martinez for Fried Thanksgiving Dinner.

From the Big Tex website we get a description of the winners and the top competitors. I believe all will be available for consuming at the State Fair of Texas which starts up September 27 and closes on October 20.

Big Tex Choice Award Top Picks...

BEST TASTE
Deep Fried Cuban Roll
A filling of slow cooked pork shoulder, chopped ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, and secret sauce is spread onto a slice of Swiss cheese, rolled up in pastry dough, and deep fried.  Roll is served with a side of majo sauce for dipping.

MOST CREATIVE
Fried Thanksgiving Dinner
Mama’s homemade stuffing and diced roasted turkey are rolled in a ball.   Next it’s dipped in southern cream corn and rolled in seasoned corn meal - all fried to a crispy golden brown. Served with old fashion giblet brown gravy.   The zesty orange cranberry sauce fills your dipping needs and results in a complete thanksgiving dinner, FRIED!

Fernie’s Deep Fried King Ranch Casserole
Melted cheese, salty, spicy, goodness that is dipped in a zesty southwestern egg wash and coated in panko bread crumbs.  Deep fried golden brown and crunchy on the outside; steamy and creamy on the inside! Served with a side of red, white, and blue tortilla chips and your choice of our homemade “salsafied” sour cream or cheesy queso.

Awesome Deep Fried Nutella®
Whipped Nutella wrapped around a extra crispy dough and deep fried. Topped with strawberries bananas MORE Nutella chocolate whipped cream and powdered sugar.

Golden Fried Millionaire Pie 
Sweetened, fluffy cream cheese filling is loaded with golden pineapple and Texas pecans then wrapped in a flaky pie crust and fried to a golden brown. Topped with whipped cream, toasted coconut, and candied pecans.

Southern Style Chicken-Fried Meatloaf
Homemade meatloaf slices are coated in an authentic Texas chicken-fried breading and deep fried golden brown. Served with garlic mashed potatoes, Texas cream gravy, and a ketchup/brown sugar glaze for dipping.

Spinach Dip Bites
Creamy and delicious spinach artichoke dip bites are coated with crispy tortilla chips and flash-fried until golden brown. Bites are served with salsa for an additional kick.

Texas Fried Fireball 
Pimento cheese, pickles, cayenne pepper, and bacon are rolled into a ball, dipped in buttermilk, covered with a jalapeno-infused batter and deep fried. Served with chipotle ranch for dipping.