Solo Tandy Hill Hiking Hoodoos Before Town Talking Cabbage

That Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man was back on Fort Worth's best hills on this first day of November. Last Saturday I sort of overheated running up the Tandy Hills. This Saturday I was almost underdressed.

This morning we were colder here in the D/FW zone, at 39 degrees, than the balmy 50 something in my old home zone in the Skagit Valley of Washington.

I did not last long in the pool this morning. It was too cool and the hot tub was in  malfunction mode, as in it was not hot, not even warm.

Oodles of footprints on the new Tandy Hills trail seemed to indicate it is getting well traveled. I hope the trail blazers return to blaze some more trails.

On a perfect weather Saturday like today it is always a great puzzlement to me why there were no other hill hikers hiking hills today.

The Tandy Hills is pretty much at the center of a city with around 800,000 people, the majority of whom would benefit from more exercise. That city with around 800,000 people is part of a metropolitan area with around 6 million people, the majority of whom would also benefit from more exercise.

I've opined before that if something like the Tandy Hills existed a couple miles from the downtown's of Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, San Francisco, and many other towns, the hills would be alive with the sound of people on a day like today.

There is plenty of evidence that there are some people hiking the Tandy Hills.

Evidence such as the aforementioned footprints.

And there is also the Hoodoo evidence of humans on the hills. The Hoodoos don't build themselves.

Today's Hoodoo was shorter than the norm, but no less a feat of Hoodoo engineering.

After I'd had enough of the Hoodoos and the Hills I was off to Town Talk.

It's been a couple Saturdays since I've been to Town Talk on its busiest day.

Today I got another big chunk of Italian sausage, two big bags of russet spuds, strawberries, red kidney beans, two cases of soy yogurt, one lemon, one raspberry. I've not had soy yogurt before. I suspect I will like it. I also got a huge bag of already shredded cabbage.

Cabbage is currently my favorite vegetable. I think I will have some for lunch, as in right now....

FW Weekly Has Me Doing Some More Fort Worth Multipurpose Arena Questioning

I found Ed Bass and Betsy Price in my mailbox again today. Along with a long list of co-horts calling themselves co-chairs, co-horting to co-chair a huge committee of committed Fort Worth citizens determined to convince Fort Worth voters to vote on Three Propositions to impose Three User Fees to pay for half of a new Fort Worth Multipurpose Arena.

I have opined previously that I think it is absurd to ask voters to vote on something as goofy as whether or not to charge a $1 or $2 fee per day for the use of a livestock stall in the new arena. Near as I can tell I am the only person who finds this to be ridiculous.

However.

This week's Fort Worth Weekly's Metro section is all about the proposed arena and asks some questions that really need answering, in an  article titled Worth Questioning.

In the FW Weekly article I got an answer to a question I have opined about previously. As in, are we to think these Three Propositions are a Yes or No vote on the arena? As in if the voters vote NO, does that mean NO arena? The ballot verbiage implies that that is the case, that No means no. I blogged about the ballot verbiage after I voted.

Regarding if voting NO means no arena, the following paragraph in the FW Weekly article indicated NO does not mean no arena....

"At a recent public meeting to discuss the arena, a city official told the crowd that if the voters don’t approve the tax measures, the project will still move forward with alternate sources of funding."

The FW Weekly article addresses another arena issue, one I had wondered about but did not know enough about to the point I felt like opining about it.

The "it" to which I refer is the cost of the arena. $450,000. That is almost a half billion dollars.

The proposed arena only holds, at its max, 14,000 people when it is in concert mode, only 9,000 in rodeo mode.

That is a rather puny arena for a lot of money.

I figured maybe it was all those livestock stalls for rent for $1 which might be the reason for the high price tag, that it was the multipurpose aspect that raised the cost.

What perplexed me is similar public works of which I am aware cost less than the cost of this little arena. Like the new Seattle Seahawk Stadium and the Seattle Mariner Ballpark. The Seahawk Stadium may have cost in the half billion dollar zone, I don't remember for sure. But, these are big venues able to entertain way more people than Fort Worth's proposed little arena.

Plus, the Seattle venues are right next to each other, with well designed means to move traffic in and out of the area, including freeway connections directly to the venues, underground transit in the form of light rail and buses. And this in a busy downtown zone.

The FW Weekly article touches on the lack of transit planning for the new Fort Worth Arena. I have received several blog comments from people who live in the Arlington Heights neighborhood impacted by events held in the Stock Show zone who are not happy about the bad planning and who foresee traffic nightmares.

The congested West 7th mess in the same area is an example of how bad Fort Worth is at adding needed infrastructure when new development occurs.

The FW Weekly article also touches on the costs vs. size issue, and has better comparisons than my use of the Seattle venues....

"They question why the cost is so high compared to similar event centers. The cost of the arena even makes the Cowboys’ huge Arlington stadium look like a bargain. AT&T Stadium has almost 10 times the capacity of the proposed Fort Worth arena but only three times the price tag."

"The proposed arena would hold 14,000 people for concerts and about 9,000 for rodeos and sporting events. It will cost 20 percent more ($100 million) than a similar-sized one on the Las Vegas strip that has a 20,000-seat capacity. The Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan., can hold nearly 16,000 people but will cost only half of what’s being planned in Fort Worth. Construction began on the Vegas arena earlier this year; the Intrust arena was built in 2010."

In addition to mailers, advertisements and yard signs the Forward Fort Worth Partnership, PAC has also been airing radio ads. In those ads Betsy Price touts how this new little arena will bring back big concerts to Fort Worth. And big sporting events.

Why would a concert booker book his act in a small arena that can sell only 14,000 tickets when other venues in the D/FW Metroplex can hold concerts which can sell multiple times 14,000 tickets?

As for a sporting event. Same thing. The only sport I can think of which might be held in such a small arena would be basketball. I assume the basketball capacity would be about the same as that for a rodeo, as in 9,000 spectators.

Methinks this proposed new Fort Worth arena idea needs to be sent back to the drawing board to come up with a new plan which delivers much more bang for the buck, as in way more seats for the almost half billion dollars. And which addresses the traffic issues.

And let the voters actually vote on the thing, for gawdsakes, like grown up towns do.....

Today I Rolled Wheels Over The Neighborhood For A Hilltop View Of Nurse Martha's Living Care Center

Early this morning I had myself a mighty fine time in the not too cool pool. The air was chilled into the 50s zone, with the pool feeling a bit warmer.

In the noon time frame I felt the need for speed so I opted to roll my wheels to the west to explore part of my neighborhood I'd not previously explored.

Driving west on Boca Raton I have long noticed a road to the right, the last road before Boca Raton terminates at Woodhaven Boulevard.

My rolling goal today was to roll down that road I'd not rolled before, then continue on to Quanah Parker Park.

Prior to getting to my intended right turn I took an unplanned right turn to the north, on Country Club Drive. That took me to a convoluted confusion of roads which eventually had me parking my handlebars to take the photo you see above, high above my neighborhood golf course, looking west at Nurse Martha's Living Care Center in the distance.

Back on my wheels I was soon going down a steep hill, then up a steep hill, then I took a right into an area of beautiful homes. That soon came to another steep downhill, which dead ended at a golf course hole. I reversed course and eventually found myself on Doral Avenue, which was the new road I had intended to roll on today, albeit coming on to it from the south, but instead I found myself exiting it from the north.

Continuing on to Quanah Parker Park I was surprised to find the route there, via the aforementioned Woodhaven Boulevard, had marked bike lanes on both sides of the street. I have driven this road countless times and never noticed it had bike lanes.

I really need to learn to be more observant.

I got to Quanah Parker Park, rolled that park's paved trail, then reversed course back to my abode.

Today's rolling through the neighborhood was a bit of a revelation to me. Years ago to get me some hill hiking action I would drive 25 miles to Cedar Hills State  Park. Or over 50 miles to Dinosaur Valley State Park.

And then I discovered the Tandy Hills, less than four miles from my abode.

When I lived in Washington I frequently biked on roads. In Texas I found that to not be as pleasant and safe feeling as I used to feel in Washington. But, all these roads I have now found right in my neighborhood, they remind me of why I felt perfectly safe rolling in Mount Vernon.

It appalls me to think of it now, because I now can not imagine doing so, but I actually biked all the way from where I lived in Bellingham to Mount Vernon. More than once. Both directions. That is over 30 miles, over roads with fast traffic and gravel shoulders. I was young and stupid.

When I lived in east Mount Vernon for about 14 years, before moving to Texas, my main bike riding was to simply roll down the hill from my abode and choose to go up a steep hill to the Eaglemont Golf Course to pedal its very hilly golf cart trails. Or roll the trails that cut across Mount Vernon, all the way to the Skagit River where I would access the river dike, roll around the riverbend zone and then head up steep Hoag Hill on the way back to my abode. About a 20 mile loop.

It had never occurred to me before, but how odd that little Mount Vernon, population around 30,000, would have non-vehicular paved trails one could use to get around the town, whilst the town I am currently in, Fort Worth, population around 800,000, does not have any non-vehicular paved trails that take one all over the town.

The paved Trinity River trails don't count. Although, those trails are convenient when I don't want to drive all the way to the Woodshed Smokehouse for lunch. I can simply park at Gateway Park and then bike the twenty-some miles to the Woodshed Smokehouse....

On Tuesday Vote To Set The Clock Back 50 Years To A Time Of Liberal Progress

I found that which you see on the left on Facebook.

I found it to be both amusing and to make no sense.

I suppose though if one was a right wing nut job, then I guess voting Tuesday to NOT set the country back 50 years might make sense, in an ignorant sort of way.

In the November election 50 years ago my favorite Texan, Lyndon Baines Johnson, won the presidency in one of the biggest landslides in presidential election history.

Along with LBJ getting elected president, after having become president due to the unfortunate demise of John F. Kennedy, the Democrats also increased their majorities in both houses of Congress.

When LBJ assumed the presidency in 1963 he used his highly evolved political skills to pass all sorts of legislation which resulted in things like new libraries, schools, hospitals, roads. The one thing LBJ was not able to pass, until after the election of 1964, was augmenting Social Security to provide medical care for the aged. That had to wait til 1965 when LBJ began to expand his Great Society programs.

In addition to what became known as Medicare, other anti-poverty programs were expanded, along with a multi-billion dollar federal aid to education program. Civil rights bills were passed which were first proposed way back when Harry Truman was doing a good job as a Democrat president.

It was Harry Truman who, in his Fair Deal, first proposed what later became Medicare. When it came time to sign the Medicare Act into law, LBJ flew to Independence, Missouri so that Harry Truman could be present at the signing of the bill.

Expanding Social Security, Medicare, Civil Rights, other social programs. That is the legacy of the election of 50 years ago.

Only the most extremist right wing nut job in 2014 would dare suggest terminating Social Security or Medicare.

Or a Rick Perry type, too dense to understand why it would be a good idea for Texas to accept the Medicare expansion concept.

So, to me, it would be a very good thing if on Tuesday America gets set back 50 years to the time when one of the greatest Texans in history did some mighty fine things for all of America. Mighty fine things a Rick Perry, Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz and others of their limited ilk would never consider doing....

The Former Chesapeake Energy Parade Of Lights Bringing Holiday Spirit To Downtown Fort Worth

Incoming email from Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. has among its plethora of information what appears to be a bit of misinformation.

This upcoming day after Thanksgiving, November 28, 2014, to be precise, for the 32nd year in a row, the annual Parade of Lights will take place.

The message from Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. is calling this the 32nd annual XTO Energy Parade of Lights.

I know my memory is shot, but I know for a fact that XTO Energy has not been the sponsor of this parade for 32 years.

Why, just a year or two ago it was the now disgraced and run out of town (for the most part) Chesapeake Energy which had its name attached to this parade.

How did the Chesapeake divorce from this parade take place? Did Chesapeake Energy leave the parade after Fort Worth and multiple prominent people in Fort Worth sued Chesapeake Energy? Or did Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. kick Chesapeake Energy out of the house, so to speak?

And why, oh why, after having this parade sponsored by one disgraced gas driller, would whoever decides such things agree to have it sponsored by another gas driller?

All I know for sure is the Parade of Lights, whoever the sponsor is, is a very good parade, attended by thousands, even if the temperature is uncooperative.

I have watched the Parade of Lights twice and found myself impressed twice, with how downtown Fort Worth can go from being a ghost town on the busiest shopping day of the year and then that night come alive with an extremely bright, extremely well done parade.

But, after the parade is over, in downtown Fort Worth there are no department stores for the parade goers to go to to continue their Christmas shopping....

Are We On The Air With Elsie On Radio Hotpepper?

I don't quite know what to make of this photo attached to an incoming email.

Apparently RADIO HOTPEPPER is on the air, located at AM 1220 on your old radio's dial.

Elsie Hotpepper has so many irons in so many fires I can not be the only one who has trouble keeping up with where or what or who the Hotpepper is burning at any particular point in time.

I must say Elsie Hotpepper does have a very radio friendly voice, tailor made for broadcast.

I am guessing that RADIO HOTPEPPER is a call-in talk show.

Could Elsie Hotpepper be about to become our first female Rush Limbaugh, something America has long been in dire need of hearing on its radio waves? You know, a female voice of reason counteracting right wing male voices of unreasonableness?

Well, I guess I will have to tune in to find out exactly what it is Elsie Hotpepper is up to this time....

A Pre-Halloween Visit With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts Prior To Trick Or Treating With Butter From ALDI

Today I needed to get myself a pound of butter at ALDI, along with other weight gain nutrients, so I decided prior to getting fat gain enablers, I'd go to Arlington to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area to check in on the Indian Ghosts on the day before one of their favorite holidays.

Halloween.

All of which explains why you see my handlebars parked on the Village Creek paved trail.

Upon arrival at the Natural Area's paved parking lot I saw an Arlington Animal Control Officer releasing several opossums back to the semi-wild. I see this so often I can not help but conclude that Arlington is over run with possums.

I did not get any candy type material at ALDI to hand out to trick or treaters tomorrow. I get no trick or treaters. I am behind a security fence which blocks trick or treaters.

When I lived in Mount Vernon I would get 100s of trick or treaters on a good night with good weather. A rainy Halloween would cut down the number of beggars. My house was mid way up a steep cul-de-sac, with the walk to the front door up a long flight of stairs.

Due to it being a nice neighborhood people would come from other areas to trick or treat me and my neighbors. This never bothered me. A couple days ago I read on Facebook a discussion among people taking umbrage at the gall someone from another neighborhood would intrude to do some candy begging.

This attitude seemed sort of offputting to me. That and sort of meanspirited.

Anyway, it's time for lunch now. Oodles of butter will be incorporated into that which I will be eating, but no candy....

Today It Is Chuck Norris Who Wants Me To Help Greg Abbott Save Texas

Yesterday when I returned to my computer after voting for Wendy Davis I found email from the Republican opponent of Wendy Davis, Greg Abbott, trying to enlist my help in his efforts to stop the federal government from stealing private property in Texas.

The stealing of private property in Texas is a serious problem which happens all too frequently, but I'm only aware of Republican-related private property stealing, such as that which was done in Arlington to build the Dallas Cowboys a new stadium, and that which is being done in Fort Worth to facilitate a boondoggle known as the Trinity River Vision.

I digress.

So, yesterday, for reasons unknown to me, I got email from Greg Abbott, with his fervent plea for my help. Today I got email from a Greg Abbott lackey named Chuck Norris, with the email's subject line being "Because I Said So".

Chuck Norris is an actor, I think.

In the email, screencapped above, with a video of Chuck Norris removed because it caused the screencapping to malfunction, Chuck Norris says "It's been said that guns have two enemies...rust and politicians."

I have never heard that said, til Chuck said it. Personally, I think the worst enemy of guns are morons who use guns to wreak havoc on innocent people.

Apparently among the gun enemies, according to Chuck, is President Obama and his allies, who Chuck thinks are anti-gun politicians.

Additionally Chuck feels Greg Abbott needs my help in his fight to protect our Second Amendment rights, and other rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution.

If rights are guaranteed by the Constitution why do Chuck and Greg feel we are in danger of losing them? Are there proposed Constitutional Amendments of which I am unaware?

Chuck also opines that there are some liberals in Texas who want to impose gun control in Texas with outrageous ideas like tampering with concealed carry laws and banning gun shows within a city's limits.

Chuck thinks those progressive sorts who think we need some additional gun controls are just backwards.

I am drawing a blank right now as to what the psychological term is for people who project on to others what they are unable to face in themselves. You know, like calling someones thinking backwards when it is your thinking which thinks in the wrong direction.

Chuck also lets us know that if Greg Abbott gets elected he will make sure that the next four years in Texas don't look like the last six years under Barack Obama.

Yeah, I agree, that really makes no sense at all.

I thought Texas was doing just peachy under the enlightened leadership of Rick Perry, leadership which has thwarted much of what Obama policies have done for the rest of America.

Things like expanding Medicare.

Perry blocked expanding Medicare so we in Texas were not faced with the spectacle of seeing who knows how many millions of poor Texans able to afford medical insurance for the first time in their lives.

Why am I getting these embarrassing emails from the embarrassing Greg Abbott and his equally embarrassing lackeys?

Not that I mind, too much.....

A Fixed Flat Had Me Rolling My Handlebars Around My Neighborhood Today

Today, weather-wise, is just about as perfect as perfect can get at my current location on the planet.

One in the afternoon with the outer world warmed to 70 degrees, clear blue sky, little wind.

Perfect.

For a bike ride.

On Monday I aborted a bike ride when I discovered my rear tire had completely flattened. I got around to fixing the flat this morning, hence today's bike ride tour of my neighborhood.

Golfers were golfing in droves at my neighborhood golf course today. Which indicates to me that golfers like perfect weather conditions too.

This morning's early morning swim was quite pleasant as well, with the water being warmer than the air's somewhat chilly 55 degrees.

For quite some time I have been reading, on Facebook, the running exploits of a young runner named John. John runs wherever he goes, with most of his running taking place in the D/FW zone. But, John seems to be constantly flying to various locations, where he still does his running. A couple weeks ago it was the Burke Gilman trail in Seattle. I recollect reading of a John run along the Hudson River in New York City. Runs in Chicago. Runs in San Francisco. Other runs I am not remembering right now.

So, yesterday, inspired by John, I decided to go jogging. Back in the last century jogging was my main exercise. I could run for miles. Well, yesterday I was about 5 minutes into jogging when I decided I'd stick with the biking, hiking, swimming and long walks. Jogging was too jarring on my elderly bones....

Betty Jo Bouvier's Sedro-Woolley Big Brown Bear Brouhaha

Last night in my email inbox there was an email from the Wild Woman of Woolley, Betty Jo Bouvier.

Among the things Betty Jo mentioned in the email was the fact that a Big Brown Bear had moved in to town, with that town being Sedro Woolley in my old home zone of the Skagit Valley.

The Big Brown Bear had taken up residence in a tree a couple blocks from Betty Jo's house.

Now, you reading this in Texas, particularly in the Dallas/Fort Worth zone, likely think this is probably not all that unusual, particularly if you are aware that the Cascade mountains are a bear habitat, with lots of bears living there.

However, though Sedro Woolley is somewhat close to the mountains, it is located in the river zone of the Skagit Valley, as in the Skagit River flows by the town.

For a Big Brown Bear to get a couple blocks from Betty Jo Bouvier the bear would have had to cross multiple roads, gotten around multiple fenced off farms and residences. Plus Betty Jo pretty much lives in the center of town. Was the bear not seen by anyone as it walked the streets of Sedro Woolley before climbing up a tree?

All my years living in the Skagit Valley I do not recollect a bear showing up in any of the Skagit Valley towns. I do recollect, decades ago, a big moose creating a sensation by wandering around the valley. I recollect seeing that moose whilst driving on Interstate 5.

To be clear, that was me driving on Interstate 5, not the moose.

Years ago, I think the year was 1996, I floated the Lady of the Lake from Chelan to Stehekin in North Cascades National Park. Soon upon checking in at the National Park Lodge we saw a small brown bear climbing a nearby tree. That was to be the first of dozens of bear sightings.

Soon thereafter we were riding our bikes through an abandoned apple orchard to find a herd of bears having themselves a mighty fine time gorging on delicious apples.

On our last day in Stehekin a small brown bear, it may have been the one we saw upon arrival, was having fun playing on the second floor of the lodge. A crowd gathered, rangers showed up. The rangers captured the bear and mortified the crowd by informing us the bear had to be destroyed due to the fact that it had lost its fear of humans. This news did not go over well with the crowd.

I made three webpages of that visit to Stehekin, on one of those pages you can see a photo of the soon to be executed bear.

As for Betty Jo's Big Brown Bear.

Another email from Betty Jo arrived this morning. That email included the picture you see above of the Woolley Big Brown Bear, plus the news that in attempt to get the bear out of the tree it had been shot with a tranquilizer, which caused the bear to fall out of the tree, rendered dead from the fall.

What did the shooters think was going to happen? Shooting a bear in a tree with a tranquilizer? Did they think the tranquilizer would just calm the bear down with the bear calmly climbing out of the tree?

Bigger question is what would cause a Big Brown Bear to leave the safety of the mountains? Is this the start of a trend?