Monday, March 6, 2017

Underappreciated American Cities Other Than Fort Worth You Should Totally Move To

No, that is not Fort Worth's Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District you are looking at here.

Though I can understand how someone might think so, what with this looking sort of like some of the propaganda which has been foisted on the apparently easily duped Fort Worth citizenry by dupers employed by the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision.

I saw that which you see here in an article titled, all in capitals, UNDERAPPRECIATED AMERICAN CITIES YOU SHOULD TOTALLY MOVE TO.

The underappreciated city you see above, with its already installed river vision, is Providence, Rhode Island.

Fort Worth was not one of the listed underappreciated cities. But, Houston was. I read the article and still don't understand how Houston is underappreciated.  San Diego and Salt Lake City apparently are also underappreciated.

Most of the underappreciated cities I had some awareness of.

A recognized level of national awareness may have been one of the criteria for a city being underappreciated, as in Americans had to have some awareness of the city. Which might explain Fort Worth not being underappreciated. Even though Fort Worth is becoming better known, what with being the host city for what has become known as America's Biggest Boondoggle.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is another of the underappreciated American cities cited in this list of towns you should totally move  to.


As you can see, Milwaukee also has what appears to be its own version of a river vision, already installed and floating boats.

Meanwhile, in underappreciated Fort Worth, that town's river vision has been blindly stumbling along for most of this century, with no project timeline and ever shifting project completion dates.

Such as a couple years ago construction began with a TNT explosion on three simple little bridges being built over dry land, with an incredibly long four year construction timeline. About a year ago construction on those bridges halted due to design errors, with that halt, at the time, only supposed to last about a month. It is now a year later. Anyone seen any action on that one bridge stuck with its wooden V piers piercing the sky?

During the stalled bridge construction period, the project's executive director, Kay Granger's son, J.D., told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that most of the project's infrastructure should be completed by 2023.

The slow motion progress of this project does not much seem to bother the locals. I don't think the majority of the Fort Worth locals have any awareness that public works projects, never submitted to a public vote, built in slow motion, directed by an unqualified local politicians's son, criminally abusing eminent domain, is not the norm in modern democratic locations in America and the world.

Meanwhile, on a sort of related note. Recently the parent of America's Biggest  Boondoggle, the Tarrant Regional Water District, had one of its meetings. These meetings are recorded in video form, viewable by anyone who wants to look.

A couple days ago Elsie Hotpepper emailed me regarding the most recent TRWD meeting with a link to the meeting's video, along with telling me to "check out Agenda  Item 13 on the last TRWD meeting, where at the 1:18 mark Mary Kelleher tries to get J.D. Granger to answer a simple question."

The questioning had something to do with funding America's Biggest Boondoggle, cost estimates, or changing budget estimates, or some such thing. Mary Kelleher asks J.D. who approves the change, to which J.D. answers "the Congress", to which Mary Kelleher asks the question again. And again. After several repeats, back and forth, Mary Kelleher finally pins J.D. down regarding it being J.D.'s mother, not the entire Congress, who is responsible for whatever it is that is being questioned.

I did not listen to the entire meeting and all its agenda items. Was the Boondoggle's bridge debacle discussed? I suspect no is the answer to that question....

Sunday, March 5, 2017

Spencer Jack Blizzard Geographically Confuses Me

Yesterday Spencer Jack and his dad, my Favorite Nephew Jason, sent me that which you see here.

Along with a text message which said...

Just another PNW Blizzard with more snow expected tonight.

I do not know how I ever managed to live in that frigid climate. A couple days ago I read somewhere that February was the coldest on record in my old home zone of Washington.

I have received no reports of the expected additional snow adding to the alleged  blizzard accumulation.

When I saw this picture it was yet one more iteration of an incident  where I find myself having trouble remembering geographic details of my old home zone.

It took me a minute or two to realize that in this picture Spencer Jack and Jason are heading down the hill which has Lincoln Elementary School behind them. Is this called Lincoln Hill? I don't remember, but that does not sound right.

I realized what I was looking at when I noticed Mount Vernon's Tulip Tower in the distance. Which indicated that at the bottom of the hill Spencer Jack and Jason would be either getting on I-5 or going under I-5 to downtown Mount Vernon.

At my current location north of being deep in the heart of Texas there was no blizzard yesterday. And no snow today.  Instead the air is currently being heated to one degree less than 60, under a gray, cloudy sky, which has done a little dripping.

Tomorrow the high is scheduled to reach 84...

Saturday, March 4, 2017

Apparently Neo-Nazis Are Known To Operate In Wichita Falls

Yesterday I happened upon The complete list of American cities where neo-Nazis are known to operate.

This complete list listed the states in which neo-Nazis are operating and the cities in those states where the neo-Nazi operations are supposedly taking place.

Both my old home state of Washington, and the state in which I currently reside, had towns on the neo-Nazi list.

The town I resided in in Washington, prior to moving to Texas, Mount Vernon, is not on the list of Washington towns where neo-Nazis supposedly operate.

Seattle and Spokane are the Washington towns alleged to be harboring neo-Nazis operations.

Mount Vernon may not be a neo-Nazi town, but, the town I reside in currently, Wichita Falls, is on the list of four Texas towns in which the neo-Nazis are supposedly doing their operating.

In addition to Wichita Falls, the Texas towns with neo-Nazis supposedly operating are Austin, San Antonio and Dallas.

I have no way of knowing if by "Dallas" this neo-Nazi list means Dallas/Fort Worth.

Some states, according to this neo-Nazi listing, have no neo-Nazis operating. Such as the state I was born in, Oregon, supposedly has no town with neo-Nazis operating.

And Idaho, a state well known for its surplus of skinheads and lunatic fringe types, supposedly has no towns in which neo-Nazis are known to operate.

Since I have been in Wichita Falls I have seen nothing which has seemed to be of the neo-Nazi ilk.

I have seen some extremely odd tattoo installations combined with odd haircuts whilst walking among shoppers in Wichita Falls' Walmarts.

Maybe I have been obliviously shopping amongst neo-Nazis whilst in Walmart, with zero awareness of such.

But, I don't see how one could be much of a neo-Nazi hater type and shop at the local Walmarts, what with the diversity of people I see shopping and working there.

I wonder when and where the Wichita Falls neo-Nazis meet? Are the meetings open to the public? I have not experienced anything new for a week or two. Attending a neo-Nazi meeting would qualify as doing something new...

Friday, March 3, 2017

Texas Almost Makes Bottom 10 In U.S.News & World Report 50 Best States Rankings

No, my one regular blog reader, what you are looking at here is not a group of Goobers in the polluted Trinity River getting ready to enjoy a Fort Worth Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Float.

The clean water and that volcano looming in the background likely clued you to the fact this is not a look at Fort Worth or any other location in Texas.

What you are looking at is Lake  Washington with Mount Rainier hovering high in the distance. This was an illustrative photo in a Seattle Times article titled Washington is best West Coast state in new national ranking — and 5th overall.

I clicked on the article to quickly learn this national ranking deal was a U.S. News & World Report production titled Best States Rankings.

Using dozens of various measuring metrics U.S. News & World Report made its important Best States determination.

The Top Ten Best States are...

#1  Massachusetts
#2  New Hampshire
#3  Minnesota
#4  North Dakota
#5  Washington
#6  Iowa
#7  Utah
#8  Maryland
#9  Colorado
#10  Vermont

North Dakota at #4? I am guessing treatment of protesters was not factored into the rankings.

And then we have the Bottom Ten Worst States...

#41  West Virginia
#42  Kentucky
#43  Alaska
#44  Oklahoma
#45  South Carolina
#46  New Mexico
#47  Alabama
#48  Arkansas
#49  Mississippi
#50  Louisiana

I am guessing you thought Texas was going to be in the Bottom Ten. Well, you guessed wrong. Texas missed out being in the Bottom Ten, but almost made it there...

#38 Texas

You can click the Best States Rankings link to see the entire list of 50 and learn how these important determinations were made.

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Wichita Falls Flood Destroys Thousands Of Books

Lately, blogging-wise, I seem to be about the books, all about the books.

In the past couple days I have Looked Inside Sikes Lake Center Wichita Falls Literacy Council Book Fair Prep Not Googling Gosling and Loaded Books For The Wichita Adult Literacy Council's 17th Annual Book Fair.

This morning I learned that a malfunctioning sprinkler, which was intended to only spew water when a fire was detected, went rogue and spewed thousands of gallons over the course of an hour or so, til the flood was discovered and stopped.

By the time the water was not turned off thousands of books were ruined.

No, this disaster did not occur at the Sikes Lake Center, which is the location of the 17th Annual Wichita Falls Literacy Council Book Fair, which starts of today with a $10 Sneak Peek, and continues tomorrow and Saturday with Free Peeks.

This flood disaster occurred at the Wichita Falls Public Library, in downtown Wichita Falls.

Today I had to return Truman Speaks, which was due, and a couple other books, which were not due, but which I had finished reading, so I was able to check out the current state of the flooded library, which re-opened this morning, after a couple days of being closed due to the flood.

As you can see above, the area which was flooded is blocked off by an orange mesh fence. The whoosh of air blowers did not make too much noise. Were in not for the orange mesh fence, and the multiple whooshing air blowers, one would not know anything wet had happened.

It was the children's book section which suffered the calamity.

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Look Inside Sikes Lake Center Wichita Falls Literacy Council Book Fair Prep Not Googling Gosling

Yesterday I mentioned Loading Books For Wichita Adult Literacy Council's 17th Annual Book Fair.

Today, what with the outer world once again being heated to a pleasant temperature, albeit under a cloudy gray sky, I opted to walk to Sikes Lake to the location where those aforementioned books were being delivered after being loaded onto a Coke truck.

What you are looking at here is Sikes Lakes Center, which is the location for the 17th Annual Wichita Adult Literary Council Book Fair, starting up with a $10 Sneak Peek on Thursday, March 2, from 5-8 PM.

It will cost you nothing to visit the 17th Annual Wichita Adult Literary Council Book Fair on the two days following Sneak Peek. That would be Friday, March 3 and Saturday, March 4, with the Book Fair open from 9 AM til 8 PM on both days.


Above is a look at the state of the Book Fair, around noon, two days before the Sneak Peek.

Books are still arriving and being organized, which is a daunting task for the book organizers.

Til today I think it had been at least a month since I'd walked around Sikes Lake and had a visit with the lake's ducks, geese and seagulls.

Today I saw a mama goose with a flock of goslings. I think gosling is the term for a baby goose. But I am not sure. Would this mean that Canada's most popular actor's name means Ryan Baby Goose? I have no idea. I could look it up, but I am in a hurry and Googling is such a time consumer.

I took a photo of the mama with her goslings, but the photo did not do justice to the goose babies.

From Thursday to Saturday would be a perfect time  to visit  Sikes Lake, if you've never experienced a Book Fair, or had a commune with nature which included baby geese, also, maybe, known as goslings.

Monday, February 27, 2017

Loading Books For Wichita Adult Literacy Council's 17th Annual Book Fair

You might think what you are looking at here is a Coca-Cola employee wheeling Coca-Cola products to a Coca-Cola  truck.

You would be erroneous if that is what you thought you were looking at.

What you are actually looking at is a Pepsi-Cola employee wheeling books to load onto a Coca-Cola truck, with the loaded truck eventually delivering the books to the Sikes Lake Center at Midwestern State University.

Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola are among many various entities collaboratively cooperating to help facilitate the Wichita Adult Literacy Council's 17th Annual Book Fair.


As you can see, via the photo of a poster on one of the Wichita Adult Literacy Council's many doors, this year's Book Fair starts up with a Sneak Peek on Thursday, March 2, from 5-8 PM. It will cost you $10 to have a Sneak Peak.

Admission is Free on the two days following the Book Fair Sneak Peek. That would be Friday, March 3 and Saturday, March 4, with the Book Fair open from 9 AM til 8 PM on both days.


As you can see above, the Wichita Adult Literacy Council offices are closed for the duration of the Book Fair Operation.

The location of the Book Fair is at the Sikes Lake Center located on the east side of Sikes Lake.

For the compass challenged the east side of Sikes Lake is the side of the lake where you find the university president's house, you know, that mansion which sort of looks like the White House. There is plenty of parking in the lots south of the soccer field, directly northeast of the Sikes Lake Center, where  you will find the Book Fair.


More information about the Wichita  Adult Literacy Council can be found on the WALC Facebook page...

Saturday, February 25, 2017

The Eyes Of Texas Are Upon You Trump Cruz

For almost a year about once a month I find myself driving from Wichita Falls to the Dallas/Fort Worth zone.

Along the way, on Highway 287, a thing or two or three caught my eye the first time I drove by, and every time since.

One of the oddest I see shortly before passing through the tiny burg of Bellevue, with that odd thing being an adult video store. I thought video stores of all sorts, including the adult  type, had gone the way of the dodo bird, due to the Internet, along with cable TV.

Prior to Bellevue, about  20 miles out of Wichita Falls what I saw odd originally was "CRUZ" crudely spray painted on a large wooden wall billboard type thing slightly elevated above ground level.

Upon first perusal I did not know if this particular CRUZ sign was a political sign supporting the creepy Texas senator who bears a striking resemblance to Grandpa Munster, or what. Around the time of last summer's Republican Convention I saw that CRUZ had been crossed out, with "TRUMP" sloppily spray painted over CRUZ.

So, apparently this is a political sign of the times.

As I drove by I tried to snap a photo of the CRUZ/TRUMP sign, but that did not work out. Next time I will pull off the highway so as to facilitate successful photo documenting.

I forgot to mention a giant cowboy stands in front of CRUZ/TRUMP, adding to the oddity.

One of the other odd things, well, not really all that odd, more Orwellian than odd, I come to a few miles south of Decatur.

That to which I refer you see above.

A billboard warning passing people that "The EYES of TEXAS are Upon YOU". With a spy in  a cowboy hat snooping with binoculars.

I think this sign's purpose is to discourage people from poaching wildlife. Or maybe cattle. I did not realize this was a problem of such serious proportions that it would warrant a billboard and a phone number so that one can call and be a snitch about a suspected poacher...

Friday, February 24, 2017

Orcas Not Yet Seen In Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision Boondoggle

No, that is not an artist's rendering of the latest imaginary addition to the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision, adding a pod of Orcas to the newly designated "Houseboat District" of America's Biggest Boondoggle, which can't even manage to build a simple little bridge over dry land.

I was going through my library of photos last  night and came upon this picture I took earlier this century on a trip back to my old home zone of Washington.

The pod of Orcas you see here are part of the entry to the Tulalip Resort Casino complex. The Tulalip Resort Casino complex is in Marysville, a town north of Seattle, about 40 miles south of my place of residence prior to moving to Texas, that being the town of Mount Vernon.

Texas evicted most Indians and their tribes way back in the 1800s. So, Texas only has a couple Indian reservations with small casinos.

When I was a young lad going to Nevada was a novel experience, to Reno or Las Vegas, or any other town in Nevada, due to the legalized gambling, with slot machines ubiquitous, not just in casinos.

And then the native tribes of the west coast won legal battle after legal battle establishing their right to operate casinos. Eventually this rendered going to Nevada not nearly the unique experience it once was.

My old home county of Skagit has two big casino complexes. The Skagit Casino Resort is the location of one of my all time favorite buffets, of which I  partook frequently when I lived in the valley. The other casino complex in Skagit County is the Swinomish Casino & Lodge, which is the location of my all time favorite seafood buffet.

Today if I wanted to partake of a buffet in a casino I could drive about 20 miles north, crossing the Red  River into Oklahoma, to go to the Morning Star Buffet in the Kiowa Red River Casino.

The buffet may be good at the Kiowa Red River Casino, but I have not partaken, I know from personal experience  the buffet at Oklahoma's WinStar World Casino Resort is real tasty, with the best coffee I have had in all my years in the South.

I am about 100% certain I will not be going to a casino today.  I am also about 100% certain I will not be seeing any Orca pods today playing in Lake Wichita, or any other Texas location.

Well, maybe Sea World in San Antonio. Or have the captive Orcas been freed?

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Record Breaking Temperature Has Me Thinking About Being Stuck On An Imaginary Fort Worth Island

Does that view looking north from the Wichita Falls Circle Trail look HOT to you?

I heard via the radio, a few minutes ago, we may be heating up to a record high today.

Currently, barely past noon, the outer world at my location is not quite HOT, but is merely extra warm at 77 degrees.

I do not know if I will be able to resist turning on the air conditioning today.

If I do turn on the A/C I believe  this will be my first time doing such a thing in February.

I remember a February day a couple decades ago, when I lived in the Puget Sound zone of the Pacific Northwest, a rare winter heat wave struck with temperatures in the 70s. Or was it 80s? I don't remember. What I do remember is Washingtonians by the thousands  flocked to the beach. I recollect my beach of choice that day was the one at Camano Island State Park.

I had not thought of it before, til typing Camano Island,  that my old home zone actually has one thing in common with Fort Worth.

Imaginary islands.

There were two islands which were not islands a short distance from my Washington abode. The aforementioned Camano Island and Samish Island.

Fort Worth's imaginary island is called Panther Island.  Currently Fort Worth is stuck trying to figure out how to build three simple little  bridges over dry land to connect to the imaginary island.

A key difference between those two Washington islands, which are not islands, and Fort Worth's island, which is not an island, is the Washington islands were actual islands before farmers built dikes to hold back the saltwater.

Now that you are making me think about, Camano Island may actually still be an island. It has been years since I drove to that island, but I am sort of remembering a bridge crossing to the island, which would seem to indicate Camano Island is still an actual island.

Even if Fort Worth ever manages to dig a ditch under those three non-existent bridges, and fill that ditch with water, I don't think any sane person would consider the result to be an island.

When I starting writing this blogging about it being HOT I sure did not think I would somehow end up on an island...