Underage Drivers At Fort Worth's Fosdick Lake With Yellow Wildflowers Before Town Talk Treasure Hunting

As I was leaving my abode today to head towards Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fort Worth's inland sea known as Fosdick Lake, I got a text message from Elsie Hotpepper asking "You at Tandy?"

To which I replied, "No. Should I be?"

To which Ms. Hotpepper answered, "Yes. I am holding a meeting of my bird watching group on the Tandy Hills. But the meeting is over now so we are heading east to see Mary's little lamb."

I did not know Mary had a little lamb. I knew about the pigs, horses and river rats.

That kid you see driving the off road vehicle by the Fosdick ducks looked, to me, to be too young to be driving a motorized vehicle.

Fosdick Lake had a lot of people walking around it today, enjoying the relatively balmy, well above freezing, temperature, along with a mostly blue sky.

Today whilst walking with the ducks I came upon that which I come upon every year, that being the first sign of spring in the form  of a colorful wildflower.  In today's case that being the big, yellow beauty you see below.

It seems a bit early for wildflowers to be springing into bloom. This yellow wildflower did not have a pleasant rose-like fragrance, it was, instead, a rather bitter smell.

Post Fosdick Lake walk I was off to Town Talk for the first time in weeks.

I got some good stuff today. Artisan bread, Italian sausage, three cases of yogurt, giant carrots, multiple varieties of beans and other stuff I am not remembering right now.

All this food talk reminds me I have not had lunch yet. I must rectify this at once....

Open Call For Manly Men & Wild Women To Bash Tandy Hills Brush Saturday January 31

On the last day of this first month of 2015 the Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area are inviting you to the 7th Annual Brush Bash. I know this because I just got an email telling me so, copied (for the most part) below....

In the beginning....

....wildfire and wildlife maintained the Tandy Hills prairie keeping it free of woody growth. The grasses and wildflowers flourished without the hand of woman or man. But those glory days are over, so...

One day a year, Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area with help from the City of Fort Worth Parks and Community Services Dept. hosts a Brush Bash to clear sections of the prairie of invasive and unwanted trees, brush and trash.

The brush has been cut and will be ready for volunteers to drag to waiting trucks for delivery to a composting facility. Your help REALLY makes a difference! Manly Men and Wild Women welcome.

WHO: Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area
WHAT: 7th annual Brush Bash
WHEN: Saturday, January 31, 2015 9 A.M. - Noon
WHERE: Tandy Hills Natural Area
               3400 View Street
               Fort Worth, TX 76103
BRING: gloves, sturdy shoes, hat, water, lunch, tarps, rakes, small wagons and anything else you think might be useful to Bash Brush

Coffee, tea & morning snacks provided.

CONTACT - RSVP: Don Young <donyoungglass@earthlink.net>

In Texas The Fourth Thursday Of 2015 Dawns Dripping Cold

It is a dark and stormy morning, pre-dawn, this fourth Thursday of the New Year of 2015.

Rain began precipitating at my location yesterday before the sun receded, with the dripping continuing all night long.

I think I will let the drippage give me a good reason to bail on a hot tub swim this morning.

Last night I was over at Miss Puerto Rico's when the rain started. I was visiting Miss Puerto Rico to receive kitty sitting instructions.

Miss Puerto Rico is returning to her home island today, hence the kitty sitting instructions necessity.

Since Miss Puerto Rico's last return to her home island the cat I previously cat-sat, who I called Hitler Cat, both because of its odd mustache-like upper lip zone and its behavior, has gone to Cat Heaven, replaced by two kittens.

As for this vexing rain, apparently there is a chance that the falling water may turn icy, either in snow form or sleet form, as today progresses towards Friday.

I found the details of today's weather trauma on Facebook this morning, via the North Texas Weather Guru, John Basham....

WEATHER UPDATE - 850 PM WED JAN 21 2015 - NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS / WESTERN D/FW METROPLEX - Rain will continue across all of North Texas overnight tonight through Thursday as an upper level storm system continues to slowly move across the region. A mixture of Rain & Snow (with some brief sleet possible) will move into the Western portions of the Metroplex by mid-morning Thursday. The greatest chance of a Wintry Mix in the Metroplex will be in Parker, Wise, and Denton Counties between sunrise and mid-day. Some accumulations are possible BRIEFLY on elevated surfaces, grass, and trees in some of the heavier wet snow. The temperature will remain ABOVE FREEZING so there will be no travel issues. This will simply be a beautiful view with a welcome period of precipitation. I'm attaching the High Resolution Rapid Refresh HRRR radar projection for the region through this time period. THIS IS NOT AN NWS FORECAST.

This Morning The Republicans & ISIS Have Me Searching For A Desert Isle Hermit Refuge

This morning I suddenly found myself deciding that I think it may be a good idea to live out what years I have remaining on this planet in utter sublime isolation.

Googling for desert isle refuges or ghost town hideaways brought me no useful information.

I am not sure what the tipping point was which pushed me over the brink into thinking being a hermit was a really good idea.

It may have been reading yesterday that the demented criminal barbarians who call themselves ISIS had taken a group of 13 Iraqi boys who had been watching an Iraqi soccer match on TV, to a public square where they were executed by machine gun fire after an announcement to the watching  crowd informing those watching that the boys were being executed for their serious violation of Sharia Law of watching soccer on TV.

Did this actually happen?

If this did actually happen did I miss that emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, called to finally do something serious about this latest Islamic aberration, which calls itself ISIS?

Back when Hitler was doing his dirty deeds, murdering millions of Jews, and others, in Death Camps, there was no United Nations, there was no mass world-wide communication via television and the Internet. Most of humanity had  no idea, til the war was over, just how evil Hitler and his Nazi minions were.

Had the world known, would more have been done to stop the slaughter of innocents in gas chambers? I would have hoped so.

But, judging by the world's reaction to the ongoing ISIS atrocities, murdering innocent boys, beheading innocent men, terrorizing a wide swath of Iraq and Syria, with there really being no meaningful world reaction that I've made note of, well, I don't know if the Internet and world-wide mass communication would have been of any use against the Nazi evil either.

And then there was last night's POTUS SOTU speech. I thought this was the best State of the Union speech of Obama's reign. If only he had a Democrat majority in Congress to give the world some hope that some of which he proposed might actually to pass.

But, somehow Americans voted last November to give the Republicans a majority in both Houses.

This morning the thing that seems to have bugged those Republicans the most of what Obama said last night was when he reminded the Republicans that he had twice won election to the presidency, with that remark coming after derisive Republican applause when Obama said he'd run his last campaign.

Out of all that was said last night by the President, this retort by the President is something Republicans want to focus on? With all that is going on in the world worthy of focus, this is something to complain about?

I just grow tired of it all. Whether it is the world issues, like the ISIS barbarians, or the national issues, like the Republican barbarians, or the local to Texas issues, with even more barbarians. With not much of anything being done to thwart the barbarians.

With so many barbarians storming the gates I really just want to pull the plug and make it all go away.

In the meantime, it is time for lunch....

Fort Worth Dunce Confederacy's Congratulatory Arena Propaganda

Looking at the screencap you see here, you see that Fort Worth is being congratulated for doing it.

What did Fort Worth do, you who are not privy to what Fort Worth does, may be wondering?

Well, last November a few Fort Worth voters voted on Three Propositions whose passage was alleged to have approved of the building of a new Multi-Purpose Arena which will accommodate around 14,000 event attendees, thus, also allegedly, filling a supposed Fort Worth entertainment gap that caused big name acts to avoid Fort Worth because the only performance venue available in town was the puny Fort Worth Convention Center Multi-Purpose Arena which held only around 12,000 attendees.

Yeah, I know, you reading this where your drinking water and air does not make you somewhat insane, that really does not make a lot of sense. But, apparently those who are in charge of Fort Worth's Dunce Confederacy think those extra couple thousand seats are just what are needed to get some big events to come to Fort Worth.

As for those Three Propositions, those have perplexed me ever since I first learned of them. Basically they are three voter approved taxes, as in fees on renting livestock stalls,  parking and event tickets.

Why these Three Propositions could not simply have been One Proposition is a mystery to me. To create the illusion of having more to vote on?

I have never gotten an answer to the question if one or all of those Three Propositions failed would that mean no arena would be built?

Which leads me to what is bugging me today.

A few days ago I blogged a blogging titled Why Does Fort Worth's New Multi-Purpose Arena Cost So Much And Do So Little Compared To Phoenix Arenas? in which we learned about two Phoenix area arenas built this century, those being University of Phoenix Stadium, where the Super Bowl is played this year, and the next door Gila River Arena. Both hold way more attendees than Fort Worth's newly approved arena. The Super Bowl stadium cost about as much as Fort Worth's arena and holds about six times more people. The Gila River Arena cost about half what Fort Worth's arena will allegedly cost, and holds around 6,000 more people.

Both Phoenix area arenas had a project timeline, a begin construction date, with a proposed opening date.

This morning I Googled looking for project timeline info for Fort Worth's recently approved arena. I could find no such info, but the first website which came up in the search is that which I screencapped above, that being the Fort Worth Arena website.

Go to the Fort Worth Arena website and you will find no project information about the new Fort Worth Arena, Instead you find typical Fort Worth Dunce Confederacy propaganda about the alleged wonders this new arena will bring to Fort Worth.

During the recent election no project funding data was provided by those pushing for the arena, explaining how it was that the money raised by those three fees was going to pay for half the cost of the arena.

How could such a revenue projection be possible? What with it not possible to know if there are any big acts willing to book themselves in this relatively puny arena.

How many days of the years are those livestock stalls going to be providing rental fees?

This is all so bizarre to me. Why is it Fort Worth seems to have such a habit of having pseudo public works projects, such as the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, and now this arena, with no project timelines?

How can that extremely vital economic development and flood control project, the TRV Boondoggle, be built on an extremely slow motion time schedule if it is so essential and if it provides such a great benefit to Fort Worth?

And now this Fort Worth Multi-Purpose Arena. Will it be open for next year's Stock Show? How about the year after that? Will it be open by the time the TRV Boondoggle's Three Bridges Over Nothing are able to be driven over, to nothing?

Who knows?

Like I said, bizarre.

Martin Luther King Day In Texas Hoping One Day We Shall Overcome

This morning, on Facebook, via one of my oldest and dearest friends, Miss Linda, currently residing in my old hometown of Mount Vernon, Washington, I saw my first Martin Luther King Day memorial of the day.

A reminder to remember lest we ever forget.

We shall overcome, we shall overcome.

We shall overcome some day.

Deep in my heart I do believe We shall overcome some day.

Who knows when that day will come when we overcome all the hate that roils the world, overcoming that hate with peace and compassion.

The current Catholic Pope, Francis, seems to be the current world's best version of the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr.

Methinks we need several dozen more world leaders of the Pope Francis, Martin Luther King sort, with at least a dozen of that quality of leader leading those in the Muslim world to a more modern way of looking at the rest of humanity with whom they share the planet....

Watching The Super Bowl Bound Seattle Seahawks Win Again From The Imaginary Football Capital Of The World

What an entertaining Sunday afternoon of football, from my vantage point, here in the Imaginary Football Capital of the World, Tarrant County, where no football was played today, watching a rather amazing Seattle Seahawk's overtime comeback win over the Green Bay Packers, which sends the Seahawks to Arizona for the Super Bowl.

I "watched" the Seahawks win today via live blogging with Scott up in Seattle.

This was a much more enjoyable means of watching a football game than enduring a television broadcast with its endless yammering and commercials.

The live blogging provided plenty of visuals, including visuals likely not seen on the TV broadcast, such as Richter Scale readings when the fans would get quaking way too much.

I did not envy any of those live on the scene 12th Man fans watching that game in person on what looked to be a rather miserable stereotypically rainy Pacific Northwest winter day today.

But, I suspect the record breaking crowd, though wet, in the end, except for the Packer fans in attendance, thought it was well worth it, watching those beloved Seahawks win again.

And now the two weeks of pre-Super Bowl hoopla begins for parts of America.

I suspect the hoopla will be a bit muted in the Football Capital of the World....

Macie Is The Seattle Seahawks Latest 12th Man Fan Not From Texas

I saw that which you see here, this morning, on Facebook, via Macie Knappson's mom.

Macie is a Snicker Doodle, combo Schnauzer/Poodle, who found her forever home this week in Kent, Washington, where she will now live in Only Child Syndrome splendor.

In other words Macie is getting a lot of attention, hopefully not enough to turn the little cutey into a spoiled brat.

Macie already has had herself fitted with a Seattle Seahawks green and blue sweater with the #12 on it.

The past couple weeks the #12 has sprouted up all over the Pacific Northwest on all sorts of things.

Including the Seattle Space Needle, as you can see above.

A few years ago some obscure Texas school got itself all twisted due to thinking Seattle had somehow stolen this 12th Man concept from them. That Texas school went so far as to sue someone over this supposed 12th Man theft. I recollect more than once reading about more than one Seattle Seahawk 12th Man fan having no clue that some obscure Texas school also deemed its fans its team's 12th Man.

Due to very few people in the Pacific Northwest knowing that some obscure Texas school shared this 12th Man thing the case never progressed to the point of being tried in court.

I don't know if that obscure Texas school still clings to this 12th Man thing, what with the Seattle Seahawks having sort of brought the concept to national awareness.

I doubt I will watch today's pre-Super Bowl game between the Seahawks and Green Bay Packers. Last year I watched, for the most  part, the games which led to Seattle being in the Super Bowl.

This year it all has a sort of been there, done that, seen it before feel to it. I suspect if Seattle wins today I will be watching the Super Bowl in two weeks. I usually do that anyway, for the commercials, which have been a bit lame the past few Super Bowls....

For $70 TRWD Kingpin Jim Oliver Will Make Texas Water Issues Clear For You

A couple days ago a perplexing invitation from the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce showed up in my emailbox.

The invitation was to an event titled Leaders in Government with Jim Oliver, General Manager, Tarrant Regional Water District.

First the details of this event, copied from the email and then my perplexed wonderment about this event...


EVENT DESCRIPTION:
With Texas’ and especially Tarrant County’s growing population -- coupled with ongoing drought conditions -- our water sourcing, delivery, conservation and reuse is a top business priority for the Chamber.

You’re invited to hear about opportunities for solutions when we welcome Jim Oliver, general manager of the Tarrant Regional Water District at our next Leaders in Government luncheon February 12. Led by a publicly elected five-member board, the Water District owns and operates four major reservoirs including Lake Bridgeport, Eagle Mountain Lake and the Cedar Creek and Richland Chambers Reservoirs.

Oliver will discuss water quality and supply; the Integrated Pipeline, a joint project with TRWD and the City of Dallas to move existing water from Cedar Creek Reservoir, Richland Chambers Reservoir and Lake Palestine; recreation sponsored by TRWD; and the Trinity River Vision.

EVENT DETAILS:
Date/Time Details:
Thursday, February 12, 2015
11:30 a.m. - Registration & Networking; Noon - Lunch; 12:30 p.m. - Program
Location:
City Club - Ballroom
301 Commerce Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102
Fees/Admission:
$35.00 - Upper Tier Members
$40.00 - Standard Members
$500 - Member Corporate Table of 8
$70.00 - Non-Member

____________________________________________________

Now, I admit that I continue to be woefully ignorant as to how public operations operate in an oligarchy, in comparison to how public operations operate in a democracy, in other words, what is known as the Fort Worth Way continues to perplex me.

Isn't Jim Oliver sort of a public employee, being the Kingpin, also known as the Keykeeper, of the Tarrant Regional Water District?

Yet, for the public to get to hear the TRWD Kingpin Oliver share his insight about solutions to issues regarding supply of water and its quality, and the controversial Integrated (with Dallas) Pipeline, with which the TRWD plans to suck water from and flood land in East Texas, the public must pay an expensive fee to gain access to hear the TRWD Kingpin's words of wisdom.

$500 for a Corporate Table of 8?

$70 for non-members?

What is a corporation buying with that $500? Who is being paid the $500? The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce?

Is the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce a for profit agency?

Is the TRWD Kingpin, Jim Oliver, being paid a fee for making this "public" appearance?

I guess I will have to fork over  $70 to attend  this major event and maybe get a chance to ask a question or two....

My First Endorphin Inducing Bike Ride In Texas Of The New Year Has Me Feeling Good

I did not realize, until this 3rd Saturday of the New Year, how much I have been missing the blue sky of Texas, when the sun which that blue sky lets shine, heats the air to a temperature allowing outer wear of the t-shirt and shorts variety.

In other words, the temperature currently is halfway between 60 and 70 which made it possible to go on my first bike ride of the new year along with getting my first good strong dose of endorphins of the new year.

If I remember right the last time my handlebars parked at the location you see here, looking at my neighborhood golf course, the grass of the golf course was still green.

How come Western Washington grass in winter remains green, while Texas grass in winter turns brown, for the most part? One would think it'd be the opposite, what with Western Washington getting way less sunshine in winter than what usually brightens Texas.

I did not realize til getting today's strong endorphin fix how much I had had been suffering from the rigors of endorphin withdrawal.

Prior to getting an endorphin fix I had no energy or desire to take myself to downtown Fort Worth to watch the 2015 Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo Parade.

That parade is now over, but if I felt before it started, like I do now, I think I would have made one of my rare visits to America's Imaginary #1 Top Downtown to do some parade viewing.

The Stock Show Parade is one of the best, if not the best, parade I have ever witnessed.

Seems like in years past my regular Saturday habit was to go to Town Talk. I don't think I have been to Town Talk yet this year. I guess I am no longer a creature of habit....