Photo Confirmation Has Arrived Confirming Spencer Jack Is Touring San Francisco

Yesterday in a blogging titled The Dog Days Of August Rolling With the Village Creek Indian Ghosts Wondering About Spencer Jack Going To Prison I wrote the following....

Changing the subject from Indian Ghosts to prisons. I just got the oddest blog comment from someone calling himself Anonymous about sending me photos of my favorite nephew and great nephew and Lombard Street in San Francisco. But this sending of photos must be postponed til after Tuesday, because on that day my favorite nephew and great nephew are scheduled to appear in prison.

I have no idea what this means. What in the world did Spencer Jack do at his young age that has him going to prison?

Below is the comment to which I refer....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Recovering From Lombard Street Triggered Nightmare...":

Weird dream. Perhaps a 'great' and favorite nephew may send you a photo of their Lombard Street experience in a couple days. However both are scheduled appear in prison on Tuesday. 

As I attempt to decipher the above riddle I am wondering if it means that Spencer Jack and his dad are currently in San Francisco, and that tomorrow they are scheduled to tour Alcatraz? I suspect all will become clear eventually.....

___________________________________________

Well. In this morning's email inbox there were a couple emails from Spencer Jack's dad, with a couple pictures, one of which is above, with Spencer Jack standing in front of one of San Francisco's Cable Cars, with the text in the email saying....

Your speculation of your greatest nephew touring San Francisco was spot on.

When Spencer Jack's dad and his brother Joey were kids their favorite uncle used to have himself a mighty fine time taking those two to places all over Washington. But never anywhere as adventurous as San Francisco.

Til they got older.

I recollect Spencer Jack's dad and me riding Vancouver's SkyTrain from its southernmost station all the way to its northern end and then floating the Sea Bus across the harbor to North Vancouver. The only time I recollect taking Spencer Jack's dad and uncle out of Washington was when we went to Las Vegas the summer before I moved to Texas.

Today I suspect Spencer Jack will be winding his way down Lombard Street, with me eventually getting photo documentation. A photo of Spencer Jack in Chinatown would be a good thing. Along with riding BART under San Francisco Bay.

The Dog Days Of August Rolling With the Village Creek Indian Ghosts Wondering About Spencer Jack Going To Prison

These HOT final days of August have me looking forward to the fall following these dogs days.

Why is the latter part of August referred to as the Dog Days of August it just occurred to me to wonder?

Is this a Native American saying?

Speaking of Indians.

What with the heat and the humidity and what with needing to go to Walmart and ALDI I opted out of doing anything too strenuous during my regularly scheduled daily bout of endorphin inducing aerobic activity and instead had myself a leisurely roll through the shaded Village Creek Natural Historical Area, prior to ALDI and Walmart.

Eventually I left the shaded Historical Area and the Indian Ghosts and pedaled the less shady Bob Findlay Linear Park trail to the location you see in the picture, near a monument memorializing the murders, I mean, incident,  known as the Battle of Village Creek, a battle where a lot of the residents of Village Creek, natives, were killed.

Changing the subject from Indian Ghosts to prisons. I just got the oddest blog comment from someone calling himself Anonymous about sending me photos of my favorite nephew and great nephew and Lombard Street in San Francisco. But this sending of photos must be postponed til after Tuesday, because on that day my favorite nephew and great nephew are scheduled to appear in prison.

I have no idea what this means. What in the world did Spencer Jack do at his young age that has him going to prison?

Below is the comment to which I refer....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Recovering From Lombard Street Triggered Nightmare...":

Weird dream. Perhaps a 'great' and favorite nephew may send you a photo of their Lombard Street experience in a couple days. However both are scheduled appear in prison on Tuesday. 

As I attempt to decipher the above riddle I am wondering if it means that Spencer Jack and his dad are currently in San Francisco, and that tomorrow they are scheduled to tour Alcatraz? I suspect all will become clear eventually.....

The Next To Last Hot Sunday In Texas

As you can see via the pool view from my patio this next to last Sunday of August it is yet one more almost clear blue sky day in Texas, with just a few wispy white clouds to break up the blue monotony.

This is being the coldest summer I have experienced since I have been in Texas. Yet I am finding myself being vexed by the HEAT more than in Texas summers past.

Is it because I've added a lot of weight with its resultant insulating heat gain?

No, that is not the cause of my HEAT aversion. I've lost weight this summer, skinnying down to my skinniest since the summer of 2008.

Speaking of which, I realized yesterday that this past August 20, that on that day six years ago, as in August 20, 2008, I returned to Dallas, via Love Field, from a month in Washington. A month which seemed much much longer than a month.

Six years is the longest I have gone without a return to Washington. When I left Washington I said it'd be 20 years til I returned. So, I guess I have 14 years to go. Maybe I'll make it back for Spencer Jack's college graduation.

Today MSG Kept Me From My Regularly Scheduled Saturday Mountain Bike Ride Followed By Town Talk

This next to last Saturday of August I have found myself rendered miserable by MSG.

I consumed some beef jerky and some tortilla chips not realizing both contained monosodium glutamate.

It was way back in the last century, whilst enjoying Chinese food at a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Chinese restaurant in Vancouver's Chinatown when I found myself suddenly feeling nauseated, red-faced and hurting with a pounding headache.

I did not know at the time that I was super-sensitive to something called monosodium glutamate. It was some time later, after MSG became controversial, that I realized that it was MSG which caused me to not have myself a mighty fine time at times when eating out at some restaurants.

I got the MSG related illustration from a website dedicated to "The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about MSG" with the tagline "This Web site is dedicated to people with problems that once defied medical diagnosis -- people who discovered that elimination of MSG from their diets let them be well."

I have successfully avoided a MSG headache this century, until today. Hours after the poisoning I am slowly beginning to recover. But, it is too late and the recovery too weak, to go on my regularly scheduled mountain bike ride in Gateway Park followed by treasure hunting at Town Talk.

I have not been to Town Talk for several weeks. I was looking forward to going there today. Maybe I will feel up to Town Talking by Monday. I hope so.....

Funnel Cake Ale For The 2014 Big Tex Choice Award Win

Every year around Labor Day, after Big Tex announces the latest finalists for the State Fair of Texas Big Tex Choice Awards I blog about all the exotic fried food on this very blog you are looking at right now.

This year I decided to blog about this important subject on my Eyes on Texas blog, instead.

I just realized, I am pretty much blogging about the Big Tex Choice choices on this blog too, in this very blogging.

Anyway, you can go to my Eyes on Texas blog to the blogging titled The State Fair of Texas 2014 Big Tex Choice Awards This Year With Beer to read all the details of this year's finalists.

I do not remember there ever being an entry which was not deep-fried til this year.

The un-fried Big Tex Choice Award entry is called Original State Fair Brew – Funnel Cake Ale. One must be 21 to sample this Big Tex Choice. Apparently this is a beer type product which somehow tastes like State Fair Funnel Cake.

My one and only time tasting Funnel Cake I recollect thinking it tasted like powdered sugar on greasy fried dough. My taste in all matters is not very refined, so me thinking I would not like beer which tastes like powdered sugar on greasy fried dough would not stop me from taking a sip, or two, nor should it stop you from taking a sip, or two....

Recovering From Lombard Street Triggered Nightmares Searching For The Missing Village Creek Indian Ghosts

Today was the first day I got around to rolling my bike's wheels after fixing the rear wheel flat that flattened the last time I rolled my wheels with the Indian Ghosts in Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

As you can see,  it was back to Village Creek I rolled today, with my bike's handlebars posed on the overlook which looks over the former Blue Bayou of Village Creek.

The Indian Ghosts were not in evidence today. Methinks they are not fans of HEAT and  HUMIDITY.

Vegetation seems to be choking the water out of the Village Creek Bayou. The first deep freeze of the year should be interesting regarding what will become of all that vegetation. I suspect it will be a mess.

I do not know why, what with this being the mildest summer since I have been in Texas, but the HEAT is getting to me this year. Not enjoying the natural sauna steam bath effect to the level I enjoyed it in Texas summers past.

In addition to HEAT exhaustion I'm also suffering the effects of a slight bout of sleep deprivation. In other words I had bad nightmares last night.

Near as I can tell the nightmares were triggered by reading that the Texan who goes by the name of John Spivey ran down Lombard Street in San Francisco yesterday.

The idea of running the streets of San Francisco would be enough to provoke nightmares, but what Mr. Spivey's Lombard Street running tale triggered was a long suppressed memory of a time back in the last century when my ancient 65 Fastback Mustang's clutch started slipping as I tried to drive up the steep side of Lombard Street which leads to the curvy, scenic downhill side. I had to back down the hill, cars were honking. taxi drivers were shaking  fists at me.

It was traumatic.

Last night my long ago Lombard Street woe morphed into a nightmare where I get an unexpected call from my Little Blister, calling from D/FW airport, insisting I pick her up and deliver her to the University of Dallas. So, I pick up the Little Blister who proceeds to be a bit typically overbearing, unpleasant, humorless and demanding.

Apparently my speedometer makes an annoying repetitive noise that was unacceptable.

The drive to Dallas was very dark. I reached downtown, pulled over to look at a map to try and figure out where the University of Dallas was, due to never having heard of it before. In my nightmare the topography of Dallas was hilly, with Dallas surrounded by water on three sides. Totally not like flat, waterless Dallas.

When I awoke from the unsettling nightmare I realized I'd turned Dallas into the nightmare which is driving around in San Francisco, what with way too many hills, absolutely no freeways and no easy orienting landmarks like I usually use to find my way around a town I am not used to.

If I remember right I think I read on Facebook that Mr. Spivey is planning on going on a run in Carmel.  I had another incident in Carmel. Police were involved. I got out of it unscathed.

Reading about a Carmel run probably will not trigger a nightmare.....

John Basham's Psychic Ability To Predict Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorials

Yesterday, regarding yesterday's Fort Worth Star-Telegram's latest slanted, biased article about the latest TRWD meeting fiasco's villainizing of Mary Kelleher and John Basham and their co-conspirators in imaginary crime, John Basham opined, regarding the Star-Telegram article by Bill Hannah, that since the article made the mistake of giving Basham the last word this would surely result in yet one more Star-Telegram editorial in which the Star-Telegram acts like the obedient lapdog of the corrupt Fort Worth powers that be.

John Basham apparently possesses some sort of intuiting psychic powers, because just as he predicted, this morning the Star-Telegram published yet one more of its biased editorials regarding the Tarrant Regional Water District Board scandals.

This morning one of John Basham's imaginary co-conspirators emailed me the link to this morning's Star-Telegram anti-Basham/Kelleher editorial titled Latest episode of Tarrant Regional Water District soap opera is disappointing.

However, due to what amounts to being a form of censorship, I am unable to read the Star-Telegram's editorial. Or any other article in the Star-Telegram, for the most part. Clicking on the link to the Star-Telegram editorial brings the reader to a webpage which is quickly rendered unreadable, as you can see, screencapped below.

After the screen goes gray that which you see below pops up, indicating one must be a Star-Telegram subscriber to read a Star-Telegram editorial.

While the Fort Wort Star-Telegram is not a real newspaper in the way newspapers of record in other towns I have lived in have covered the news, it still is what passes for the only newspaper of record in Fort Worth.

I know the Star-Telegram is not doing well, financially, and thus is thrashing about trying to raise revenue. But, I really don't think cutting down your number of readers in this censoring manner is really the way to go. When one is allowed to read a Star-Telegram article one is subjected to multiple ads. The Star-Telegram needs readers if it wants those advertisers to keep on advertising.

Lately I have discovered a much better source of online local news, via the WFAA website. WFAA is the ABC affiliate in the Dallas Metroplex. The WFAA website is well done, has limited ads, does not censor articles, requires no subscription, and comprehensively covers the entire Dallas Metroplex, unlike the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which primarily focuses on Fort Worth and Tarrant County.

Is Vegas taking bets on how long it is til the Star-Telegram folds for good? My bet would be sooner than later. There are just too many local sources of news which do a much better, much fairer covering of the news than does the Star-Telegram....

Fosdick Fountain Fizzles While Fort Worth's Favorite Blowhard Calls Mary Kelleher A Puppet

I'd not visited Fosdick Lake in Fort Worth's Oakland Lake Park lately. Til today.

Upon arrival at the park's east side parking lot I immediately noticed something was missing because I was not seeing the white spray of Fosdick Fountain spouting above the lake.

Exiting my motorized transport device I soon saw that the former Fosdick Fountain has been reduced to a sputtering stubby version of its former self.

It has been at least a year since the mysterious appearance of Fosdick Fountain, suddenly spouting with no apparent fountain building project having been in evidence. And now something has turned down Fosdick Fountain's volume. Is Fosdick Fountain now in slowly disappearing mode?

Speaking of blowhards.

Whilst walking around Fosdick Lake I got a text message telling me that the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy referred  to John Basham and Mary Kelleher as being puppets of Dallas puppeteer Monty Bennett.

That's the translated version. The actual text message said "Dud called John and Mary Bennett puppets."

I wonder if Bud Kennedy knows that a lot of people  refer to him as Dud?

I don't know why Bud Kennedy seems to have such a grudge against Mary Kelleher. Does it have anything to do with the fact that Mary Kelleher, and her supporters, refused to talk to Bud Kennedy on the night of her stunning, record breaking TRWD board election victory?

The People's Republic Of The TRWD Battle Against Those Who Oppose Their Shady Shenanigans

Well. Yesterday was one of the more disturbing days I have spent being perplexed in Texas.

Being perplexed started early with a text message telling me that Mary Kelleher was heading into battle at the TRWD, with limited pre-battle warning and thus limited backup.

I asked what the battle was about this time to be told it had to do with the ongoing objections to Jim Lane and Marty Leonard continuing to serve as TRWD directors without benefit of being re-elected to the post.

I was walking with Arlington's Indian Ghosts when I got some more text messages telling me I needed to check my email inbox for a pdf regarding one of the lawsuits against the TRWD and that I needed to check a specific Facebook page to read play by play of the ongoing Battle at the TRWD.

By the time I got back to my computer there was an email from John Basham telling me I needed to check out his Facebook page.

I checked out the Aaron Harris Facebook page first to read the TRWD Battle play by play. There I learned Jim Oliver and his TRWD director minions had stuffed the meeting with TRWD lackeys, whilst banning Mary Kelleher supporters to a separate room. And that, unlike the Mary Kelleher censure farce, this time there was a uniformed armed guard of some sort in the room.

I don't quite understand the why of it, but there were multiple calls to the Tarrant County sheriff seeking some sort of law enforcement intervention in what I guess the Mary Kelleher supporters perceived to be criminal behavior by Jim Oliver and his TRWD board minions in conducting a public meeting without the public allowed to attend.

At one point in the meeting Mary Kelleher excoriated the board, topping off her excoriation with a call for the resignation of Jim Oliver.

After reading through the info on the Aaron Harris Facebook page I was off to John Basham's Facebook page, where I quickly found myself appalled, disgusted and dismayed.

John Basham posted his own very well reasoned excoriation of the TRWD's latest shenanigans, in part saying, "....the TRWD has decided to take on; Mary Kelleher, Adrian Murray, Andy Nold, Monty Bennett, Craig Bickley and Me for a trumped up set of issues regarding campaign finance reports. In short ANYONE who has ever opposed the current money & power brokers at TRWD are now under the legal cross-hairs of this agency using YOUR tax payer dollars."

"I personally want to apologize to ALL of the people listed above for being dragged into such a petty use of tax payer resources on a personal vendetta. IN SHORT THE TRWD IS SENDING A MESSAGE: IF YOU SUPPORT JOHN BASHAM OR STAND WITH HIM AGAINST US, WE WILL SUE YOU OR TRY TO CRIMINALLY CHARGE YOU.... Hey wait! Isn't this same thing happening in Austin to Rick Perry? Welcome to THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF TRWD, where the powerful elite will ruin your name if you disagree with them."

The object of John Basham's righteous ire is a document prepared by a San Antonio law firm, the cover of which is screencapped above, titled INVESTIGATIVE ANALYSIS REPORT ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTING COMPLIANCE AT THE TARRANT REGIONAL WATER DISTRICT.

Apparently the TRWD board directors, except for Mary Kelleher, decided it was a real good use of taxpayer money to spend some of those funds investigating the past couple TRWD board elections, basically going after all those who have opposed the TRWD's shady dealings.

To what end? And why?

When is there going to be an investigation of the TRWD's shady dealings? Such as the sweetheart deal which resulted in the world's first new drive-in movie theater of the 21st century? When is there going to be an investigation of the TRWD's bidding practices? The nepotism?

When is there going to be an investigation of the TRWD's abuse of eminent domain and that abuse's possible resulting financial gain for various TRWD board members?

Is the fact that the TRWD wasted public funds to conduct this Investigative Analysis of Campaign Finance Reporting, in a vindictive effort to stifle opposition, not an extreme abuse of power worthy of an FBI investigation?

What is the real reason for not holding an election, thus giving Jim Lane and Marty Leonard an extra un-elected year? Is it yet one more effort to postpone a day of reckoning? The day when a couple more Mary Kelleher-esque honest real public servant sorts get elected to the board? A day when the TRWD board and Jim Oliver can no longer stonewall regarding the release of public documents to the public?

Like I already said, this is all very perplexing. And once again causes me to lament the fact that Fort Worth suffers from not having a real newspaper.....

An Unexpected Flat Had Me Ghost Walking With Litter Before Getting My Mysterious Reward

On the left you are looking at the latest litter log jam on Arlington's Village Creek, at the southern dam bridge crossing in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

I knew there had been flash flood warnings a couple days ago. But at my location in the Dallas suburb of Fort Worth I did not see rain fall in amounts copious enough to flash flood.

I am always impressed that a fresh flash flood is able to find a fresh supply of wood and litter in the short distance between Lake Arlington and the litter log jam.

I had intended to roll my wheels today at River Legacy Park. But that plan went all asunder on me. Early this morning, after my regularly scheduled swim, I fixed my bike's flat rear tire. After fixing the flat I re-inserted the bike into the motorized transport device I use to haul the bike to its various rolling locations.

A few hours later I exited my abode to head to the aforementioned motorized transport device where I discovered the rear tire had gone flat again. Apparently I had not located all the punctures.

So, I aborted the wheel rolling plan and instead had myself a mighty fine time walking with the Village Creek Indian Ghosts, after which I headed to Walmart to use up an AT&T Reward Card that AT&T inexplicably mailed me.

Reward for what? I have no idea.