2014 Mesothelioma Awareness Day

Today is Mesothelioma Awareness Day. I was made aware of Mesothelioma Awareness Day a couple weeks ago via an email asking me to help raise awareness about Mesothelioma. The email was from Cameron and Heather Von St. James.

Mesothelioma is rare form of cancer that develops from cells of the mesothelium. Mesothelium is a fancy word for the protective lining which covers the internal organs of the body.

The prognosis for those who are diagnosed with Mesothelioma is bleak. Heather Von St. James is a Mesothelioma survivor. You can listen to Heather tell you about her winning battle against Mesothelioma in the video below.

Exposure to asbestos is the primary causal agent for Mesothelioma. Heather was exposed to asbestos when she was a kid, before the danger of asbestos exposure was common knowledge.

Asbestos began being mined and used commercially in the late 19th century. Use of the mineral greatly increased during World War II, exposing, since the early 1940s, millions of Americans to asbestos danger.

It is now known that breathing in asbestos fibers is extremely hazardous to human health. And yet asbestos continues to be mined, with 2 million tons mined world wide in 2009. Russia produces about half the world's asbestos, followed by China, Brazil, Kazakhstan.

Canada closed its last two asbestos mines in 2011.

The dire severity of asbestos related diseases, including Mesothelioma, combined with the extremely widespread use of asbestos, along with it continued long term use, even after the dangers were known, has brought about asbestos litigation which has become the most expensive mass tort case ever in the U.S.

Approximately 100,000 Americans have died or are currently terminally ill from asbestos exposure related to ship building. Thousands of tons of asbestos were used in World War II ships. Some 4.3 million shipyard workers were exposed to asbestos during the war. For every thousand of those shipyard workers fourteen died from Mesothelioma.

In this century, when New York City's World Trade Center towers were knocked down, lower Manhattan was blanketed with the dust of debris, with asbestos among the combustible materials in the debris. Breathing in the 9/11 dust is thought to be the cause of the high cancer death rate among emergency workers since 9/11. Thousands of others who were exposed to that day's dust are thought to be at risk.

With today being Mesothelioma Awareness Day, beware of the continued danger caused by asbestos.

Go here to learn about Asbestos sites in Texas. Go here to learn about Asbestos sites in Fort Worth, including information about medical and legal help.

Watch the video below to hear Heather Von St. James testimony to the fact that one can be a Mesothelioma Cancer Survivor....

Multiple Towers On The Tandy Hills Today With Men Hanging From Above

Towers shall be the theme for today's visit to the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

On the left we are looking west across an old wagon trail which heads west from the summit of Mount Tandy towards a lone tower sticking up above the horizon, with that lone tower being one of the few skyscrapers which make up the stunning skyline of beautiful Downtown Fort Worth.

Also known as the Top Downtown in America by some local fact distortionistas.

Today's hill hiking was the coolest in a long time. Cool in the temperature sense of the word.

The outer world was chilled to the low 60s when I went swimming early this morning. The low 60s was cooler than the temperature of the water, which made for a very refreshing time in the pool.

The temperature had only risen about 20 degrees by the time I drove myself to the summit of Mount Tandy, hence the cool hiking.

For months now every time I drive to the summit of Mount Tandy there is a crew there working on the Tandy Tower, also known as the Fort Worth Space Needle.

Today was no exception.

As I walked past the Tandy Tower I heard shouting, but could not see who was doing the shouting.

Then about half way down Mount Tandy I looked back at the tower to see a guy hanging from a rope, halfway up the tower. And then another guy came into view. I got the camera out and zoomed in for the photo you see above.

I have no idea what these two guys are doing to the Tandy Tower, but I do know watching them activated my usually dormant acrophobia.

Soon after I started getting dizzy from being too high I came upon the towering Hoodoo you see below.

The above Hoodoo appears to be well engineered with a solid, substantial foundation. That was not the case with the second towering Hoodoo I came upon today.

The below Hoodoo tower was towering at Hoodoo Central at the north end of the trail that leads to the Tandy Hills from View Street. I think we could call this one the Leaning Hoodoo Tower of Tandy.

I suspect it will not be long before the Leaning Hoodoo Tower of Tandy finds itself horizontal.

To Experience America's Top Downtown Go To Fort Worth Weekly's Best Of 2014 Edition

Yesterday I picked up this week's Fort Worth Weekly, the eagerly anticipated Best of 2014 edition.

I did not get around to looking at the eagerly anticipated Best of 2014 edition of Fort Worth Weekly til this morning.

It only took flipping the cover to the first page to aggravate me.

You are looking at the aggravation on the left. A full page advertisement from the entity known as Sundance Square.

I know there is often little truth in advertising, but this un-truthful advertisement is downright embarrassing. I know that Fort Worth Weekly likes its advertising revenue, but, really, this ad is totally shameless.

The ad claims "Fort Worth has the #1 downtown in America, according to livability.com..."

That is a lie.

Livability.com did not designate Fort Worth's as the #1 downtown in America. I blogged the facts about this ridiculous propaganda previously in a blogging titled Elsie Hotpepper Helped Me Learn How Fort Worth Became The Top Downtown In America.

Why does Fort Worth Weekly go along with this false advertising I can not help but wonder?

Than again, maybe I don't need to spend all that much time wondering, what with the following propaganda gem from Fort Worth Weekly itself in the "On the Town" section of its Best of 2014 edition....

The few readers who participated in the Best of 2014 voting voted Lightcatcher Winery and Bistro as the place to Take a First Date.

While the Critic's, meaning the Fort Worth Weekly staff, chose Coyote Drive-in as the place to Take a First Date.

Part of the Critic's Choice explanation for their choice says "Situated at the scenic Panther Island Pavilion, the outdoor theater serves tasty food and beverages..."

Okay, let's just ignore the fact that what used to be known as Trinity Bottoms has been renamed Panther Island, by the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, even though there is no island, and it is highly likely there never will be anything one could stretch their imagination far enough to call an island.

There also is no pavilion on the imaginary island. A blogging from a few weeks ago titled The Futile Search For The Missing Pavilion, Island & Panther At Fort Worth's Panther Island Pavilion elaborated on the fact there is no pavilion at Panther Island Pavilion.

Now, let's get back to what those Fort Worth Weekly Critic's had to say.....

Coyote Drive-in "Situated at the scenic Panther Island Pavilion"?

The area that is known as Panther Island Pavilion is at the confluence of the West and Clear Forks of the Trinity River, that being the location of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats.

I do not know anyone whose imagination is so imaginative that they would see this location as being scenic.

The oddest part of what the Fort Worth Critic's had to say about the Coyote Drive-in being situated in the scenic Panther Island Pavilion is not the scenic part, it is the fact that the Coyote Drive-in is no where near the confluence of the West and Clear Forks of the Trinity River and that which is being called Panther Island Pavilion.

Well, you get what you pay for. Fort Worth Weekly is free.....

A Walk Through The Forest Of Trinity River Vision Gateway Park Master Plan Propaganda

A few days ago I biked by the Trinity River Vision's Gateway Park Master Plan propaganda installation, stopped to take a picture and later blogged about my wonderment that this signage has been touting the Boondoggle's Master Plan for years now.

With absolutely nothing to show for  it.

Not even J.D. Granger's Magic Trees have been planted, which one would think would be of foremost importance, to give the trees plenty of time to grow strong roots, so as to slow up a Trinity River flood as it races through the un-built, un-needed flood diversion channel before it inundates Arlington.

In the video below I take a long walk through the forest of Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Gateway Park Master Plan propaganda signage marveling at the wonder of it all.....

Spencer Jack Wishing Us A Mighty Fine Fall From The Skagit River Vision

On the day before the Autumnal Equinox, Spencer Jack took his dad to Ground Zero of the Downtown Mount Vernon Revitalization Project, also known as the Skagit River Vision, to take a Happy First Day of Fall photo for his Great Uncle.

Spencer Jack is standing before a Get Ready sign which depicts what the Skagit River Vision will look like when it can totally be seen in a week or two.

If that sign behind Spencer Jack were not blocking the view you would be looking at the signature bridge which crosses the Skagit River, connecting West Mount Vernon to Downtown Mount Vernon. That signature bridge was built in less than four years and was built over a wide, fast moving body of water, with water elevation changes, cyclically throughout the day, to varying degrees, due to tidal action a few miles downstream.

When the Skagit River Vision's re-built riverfront opens to the public the public will be enjoying a plaza which dwarfs a recently opened plaza in another town about which I am familiar, a town with a population about 25 times bigger than Mount Vernon's.

I am still unclear how the new flood wall works. The flood wall is the key ingredient which instigated the Downtown Mount Vernon Revitalization Project, also known as the Skagit River Vision. When the Skagit River goes into flood mode Downtown Mount Vernon finds itself in a New Orleans type situation,  as in below the level of the river.

A big sandbag wall has saved Downtown Mount Vernon multiple times from a raging Skagit River. The big sandbag wall took hours to build, with hundreds helping. It takes just a few people a few minutes to put up the new flood wall.

Knowing what it is like to have lived in a town with serious flood issues, seriously addressed, is part of what makes it perplexing to me to currently live in a town with imaginary flood issues, goofily, irresponsibly addressed.

Yes, perplexing.

Very perplexing.....

A Moving Look At One Of Fort Worth's Boarded Up Gateway Park Boardwalks

On the left you are looking at one of Fort Worth's Gateway Park boarded up Boardwalks.

There are two boarded up Boardwalks in Gateway Park. One at the west side of the park, one at the east side of the park.

Both Gateway Park boarded up Boardwalks have been boarded up eyesores for years.

One used to be able to get by that which boarded up the Boardwalk and make ones way down the Boardwalk to the point where going further was impossible.

Now, in 2014, the boarded up west side Boardwalk is boarded up with sufficient boards to prevent anyone getting on the boarded up Boardwalk without extreme effort. Upon a close look it appears a lot of the boards that make up the Boardwalk have now decomposed to the point where one would be a fool to try and get around the blockage to walk on the boarded up Boardwalk.

Below is a YouTube video which gives you a good idea of what an eyesore this boarded up Boardwalk is. And, like I say in the video, I don't understand why Fort Worth does not either tear down this boarded up Boardwalk. Or fix it...

No Fallen Trees Blocked Me From Seeing The Scenic Trinity River In Gateway Park Today

I did not manage to get myself a sufficient endorphin dose via this morning's long aerobically stimulating pool bout, so around noon I headed west to Gateway Park to roll my wheels and take a picture at my favorite Trinity River photo op location.

What you see in picture is really what the Trinity River looks like under the bright, clear blue sky. I used no special lighting effect or filter to enhance the river's natural beauty.

When I got to the roller coaster section of the mountain bike trail I heard the sound of chain saws. I figured the fallen tree obstruction I came upon the last time I rolled my wheels at this location was being chopped into pieces.

I had a lengthy debate with myself whether or not to cut the ride short so as to avoid the logging operation. By the end of the debate I decided not to avoid the logging operation.

Turned out the lengthy debate was totally unnecessary. By the time I got to the fallen tree location the chain saw operators had moved on to another fallen tree, one that had fallen on the paved trail, not the mountain bike trail.

After one time around the mountain bike trail I got on the aforementioned paved trail and rolled to the boarded up boardwalk on the west side of the park because I wanted to make a video of this eyesore. I figured if a picture is worth a thousand words a video has to be worth a lot more.

After finishing the boardwalk video project I continued rolling til I got to the Fort Woof location of the massive installation of Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Gateway Park  Master Plan Propaganda signage to make a video of that, as well.

The boarded up boardwalk video is currently being processed. It seems to be stuck at the PROCESSING 95% mark. If it ever finishes processing I'll upload the Gateway Park Master Plan video. It is quite a bit longer than the boarded up boardwalk video.

In the meantime I await incoming photos from Spencer Jack and his dad, photo documenting for me Mount Vernon's Skagit River Vision, along with that vision's completed signature bridge over actual water....

Are You A Fellow Trash Bashing Trinity Believer?

A couple minutes ago incoming email came in from Felicity Harper, subject line "OMG", with nothing else in the email but that which you see on the left.

I am assuming this is a badge one gets if one participates in the upcoming annual event where thousands of people fill thousands of bags with Trinity River litter.

The Trinity River produces an astounding amount of litter. It truly is a wonder to behold at times.

What does the T.R.E.E.S. part of the badge stand for? I have no clue.

"BELIEVE IN THE TRINITY"?

What does that mean? Believe what in the Trinity?

Are we being divided into two groups? One group which believes in the Trinity" With the other group not believing in the Trinity?

I really don't know if I believe in the Trinity or not. I suspect though that I am likely a non-believer.

Very perplexing.....

Is Open Space For Feral Cats Included In Trinity River Vision Boondoggle

Wikipedia has a Trinity River Vision Project article about which, apparently, Wikipedia is aware there are a lot of problems, as evidenced by the blurb at the top of the article which starts with the statement "This article has multiple issues".

I can clear it up for Wikipedia. The multiple issues in this Trinity River Vision Project article can be summed up by the fact that it is non-factual, for the most part, Trinity River Vision Boondoggle propaganda.

Four paragraphs from the Trinity River Vision Project article.......

The Trinity River Vision Project is a master plan for 88 miles (142 km) of the Trinity River (Texas) and its major tributaries in Fort Worth, Texas. The river is a significant part of the history of Fort Worth, and the city's downtown was developed in 1849 as an army outpost along its banks.

More than a decade in the making, the master plan was conceived by volunteers and community leaders, and adopted by the city, county, state and federal officials.[citation needed] The goal of the master plan is to preserve and enhance the river and its corridors so they remain essential greenways for open space, trails, neighborhood focal points, feral cats and recreation areas.

Infrastructure needed for flood control and transportation will restore an aging industrial area once devoted to oil refining, scrap metal yards, electrical and chemical plants. When the bypass channel is completed around 800 acres (3.2 km2) of underutilized land between the Tarrant County Courthouse and Northside Drive will be accessible for private redevelopment opportunities- in essence doubling the size of downtown. An envisioned 10,000 housing units and three million square feet of commercial, retail and educational space will make it possible for Fort Worth residents to live, work, shop, play and learn near the river.

The 2003 Trinity River Vision Master Plan was adopted by the Tarrant Regional Water District, Streams & Valleys, Inc., The City of Fort Worth and Tarrant County. Many projects including trail extensions, new trailheads, trail amenitites, additional low water dams and pedestrian bridges and private developments oriented to the Trinity Greenbelt have been implemented in the last six years.

I left any misspellings, bad syntax and grammar errors intact.

My favorite bit of info is this --- "The goal of the master plan is to preserve and enhance the river and its corridors so they remain essential greenways for open space, trails, neighborhood focal points, feral cats and recreation areas."

Feral cats? Methinks someone was having fun adding something ridiculous. Then again, with the Boondoggle, who knows?

Tarrant Is Not The County Leading The U.S. In Real Domestic Product Growth

This morning as I perused the various online news sources I peruse every morning, when I got to the news source for my old local home zone of the Skagit Valley, via a website called GoSkagit, I learned something I did not know previously.

That being that my old home zone is designated as a Metropolitan Statistical Area by those who pay attention to such things in the federal government, specifically designated as the Mount Vernon - Anacortes Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The article where I learned that Skagit was a Metro zone interested me for a couple reasons, with the main reason being the news that the Skagit-Anacortes Metropolitan Statistical Area has the highest Gross Domestic Product Growth in the U.S.

Another reason this article interested me was it was quite noticeable the stark difference between how the news in this article was told in my old home zone and the way it would have been told in my current home zone, a home zone which does not have what most people would consider a real newspaper reporting news in a factual, accurate, honest, un-biased, non-propaganda manner.

Had the Fort Worth Star Telegram the same type news to report we would have seen a GIANT headline at the top of the Star-Telegram's front page, screaming...

TARRANT LEADS U.S. IN REAL GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT GROWTH

While in GoSkagit the news that Skagit leads the U.S. in real gross domestic product growth is way down past the fold on GoSkagit's front page, as you can see via the screen cap above.

And the article about the Skagit Metropolitan Area leading the U.S. in GDP growth makes no mention of this fact making other Metropolitan Areas far and wide Green with Envy.

You had to click on the link on the GoSkagit front page to go to the actual article to see a big headline,

When I lived in Skagit County it was the least prosperous of Washington's Puget Sound counties. I don't know if this 10.6 percent growth has Skagit County no longer being the least prosperous Puget Sound county, or if the growth is helping the county catch up.

What I do know is this. That upon moving to Tarrant County, well over a decade ago, it was readily apparent that Tarrant County was not nearly as prosperous as the county in Washington from which I had moved.

A few examples.

Parks in Mount Vernon and Skagit County have modern amenities, like running water and modern restrooms.

Is there any other sporting venue in America which has more outhouses surrounding it on game day than the Dallas Cowboy Stadium?

The freeway exits in the two towns in Skagit County which I-5 passes through, that being Mount Vernon and Burlington, are landscaped.

Fort Worth's freeway exits to its only tourist attraction, that being the Fort Worth Stockyards, are not landscaped, instead they are littered, weed covered messes.

Arlington is in Tarrant County. The freeway exits in the Six Flags Over Texas, Ballpark  in Arlington, Dallas Cowboy Stadium zone are very well done, with murals and landscaping.

So, some parts of Tarrant County seem as prosperous as Skagit County, freeway-wise.

Skagit County has a public mass transit system called SKAT. SKAT connects to the public mass transit systems of surrounding counties. When I lived in Skagit County it was free to ride SKAT. In 2014 a fare is charged. One buck for 90 minutes, two bucks for an all day pass.

A Fort Worth T bus charges $3.50 for an all day pass. Unlike SKAT, which has lines covering all of Skagit County, Fort Worth's T does not cover all of Tarrant County, just Fort Worth.

Tarrant County is a much smaller county, size-wise, than is Skagit County. And not nearly as prosperous....