It Is Feeling Like 17 Degrees This Windy Thursday Morning In North Texas

 I was a little surprised this morning when I stepped outside to take a picture of the view through the bars of my prison cell patio to find water falling from the sky.

Water falling and wind blowing.

As in a heavy wind blowing, so much so that the current temperature of 34 degrees, with the Wind Chill Factor, supposedly causing a Real Feel of  17.

It did feel cold out there taking a picture with the wind blowing rain on me.

I did not realize we were scheduled to have a return to be frozen with the low today possibly getting as cold as 21.

The Nation Weather Service has issued one of its Severe Weather Alerts in shouting mode, as in ALL CAPITALS. Below is a screencap of the current cold conditions and the forecast for my zone of Texas and below that is the National Weather Service shouting a Severe Weather Alert at you.

...WINTERY PRECIPITATION POSSIBLE ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF NORTH TEXAS TODAY...

A STRONG COLD FRONT IS MOVING SOUTHEAST ACROSS NORTH TEXAS THIS MORNING. THIS FRONT WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON. NORTHERLY WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 30 MPH ARE EXPECTED TODAY BEHIND THE FRONT WHICH WILL USHER IN MUCH COLDER AIR. THERE IS A CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN ACROSS MOST OF NORTH TEXAS THIS MORNING...WITH PRECIPITATION CONTINUING INTO THE AFTERNOON ALONG AND EAST OF THE I-35 CORRIDOR. AS TEMPERATURES FALL BELOW FREEZING...THE RAIN WILL CHANGE OVER TO LIGHT FREEZING RAIN OR FREEZING DRIZZLE ALONG AND NORTH OF THE I-20 CORRIDOR. THE PRECIPITATION MAY MIX WITH OR CHANGE OVER TO SLEET OR SNOW ALONG AND EAST OF A BONHAM TO CANTON LINE THIS AFTERNOON. AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE LIGHT SO NO ADVISORIES ARE BEING ISSUED. SOME LIGHT ICING IS POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY ON ELEVATED SURFACES. AREAS NORTHEAST OF A SHERMAN TO EMORY LINE APPEAR TO HAVE THE GREATEST THREAT OF HAVING SOME TRAVEL IMPACTS...AND A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON IF THE PRECIPITATION IS A LITTLE HEAVIER THAN IS CURRENTLY FORECAST.

RESIDENTS ACROSS NORTH TEXAS SHOULD MONITOR THE WEATHER CLOSELY TODAY FOR THE LATEST UPDATES ON THIS POTENTIAL WINTRY WEATHER EVENT.

If The Chicago Bears Get In The Super Bowl President Obama Plans To Be In Arlington Watching

I learned today that if the Chicago Bears get in the Super Bowl, that President Obama plans to attend.

How does that work?

Does he pay the $2,000 that other people pay for a ticket? How many people are in the Presidential Entourage? Several dozen?

How is room found for the President and all who accompany him to a game that will be sold out?

Will room for President Obama be found in the Party Pass area?

Now, if I were currently President, during these very trouble economic times, I am 100% certain I would not be wasting taxpayer money flying Air Force One to D/FW International Airport to take the Presidential Limousine to the Cowboy Stadium in Arlington.

My 100% certainty that I would not do this has nothing to do with me not being much of a football fan, it would have 100% to do with the fact that I would not want to be seen so frivolously wasting money at a time of record breaking deficits.

I like President Obama. Not as much as I did when I voted for him though. I have thought more than a time or two that he seems to enjoy the perks of office more than what would seem seemly to me in the current era.

I am likely being thoroughly wrong-headed about this and will thoroughly deserve being chastised for my wrong-headedness.

Looking At The Envy Of The Nation From On Top Of Mount Tandy Thinking Good God This Town Has An Idiot For A Mayor

I was not able to get outside for any salubrious walking until after 4 this afternoon. I decided to go to the Tandy Hills, even though I was fairly certain the trails would not be dried out, I figured I could do some cross-prairie hiking.

I figured right.

In the picture you are looking west across the prairie on top of Mount Tandy. In the distance you can see the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, you know that town that recently became the Envy of the Nation because a school in the town won the Rose Bowl.

I learned this morning that in the same batch of utterings where Fort Worth's Moron Mayor, Mike Moncrief, told the people listening to him, at a celebration for TCU's Rose Bowl win, that that win made Fort Worth the Envy of the Nation, that additionally, apparently, the mentally challenged mayor also spewed out some profanity that offended the delicate sensibilities of some of the Texas Christian University Christians in the crowd.

I do not know what exactly the mayor said, but whatever it was, some considered it to be a case of taking the  Good Lord's name in vain.

Am I the only person in this town who thinks Fort Worth would be well rid of this sad excuse for a mayor? I've given up on the idea that the dishonorable mayor is ever going to get in any trouble for his conflicts of interest violations, making millions from the gas drillers operating in his town.

Maybe with Fort Worth being part of the Buckle of the Bible Belt, the dishonored mayor will be run out of town for taking the Lord's name in vain. In these parts this may be a worse crime than making big bucks violating conflicts of interest laws.

If You Qualify You Have Til Thursday To Pay $200 So You Can Stand Outside the Dallas Cowboy Stadium During The Super Bowl

That's the Rose Bowl you're looking at. In Pasadena. A long time ago, with UCLA playing Wisconsin. The top Pac-10 team against the top Big-10 team.

In my younger years the Rose Bowl seemed like a big deal. Nowadays, not so much, even though Fort Worth recently became the Envy of the Nation because a Fort Worth school won the most recent Rose Bowl.

Yesterday brought more weird local football news.

Jerry Jones desperately, for who knows what demented reason, wants to break the NFL Super Bowl attendance record, which is currently 103,985, a record set in the Rose Bowl in 1980 when Los Angeles won Super Bowl XIV.

Jerry Jones has been working on getting the NFL to agree that people buying tickets to stand outside the Dallas Cowboy Stadium during the upcoming Super Bowl should be counted as having attended the game.

Even though these attendees will not be in the stadium and will not be watching the football game in live action mode, instead viewing the game on TV screens. While standing.

The new Dallas Cowboy Stadium has around 93,000 legitimate seats. Jerry Jones will need to sell around 12,000 Party Pass tickets to beat the Rose Bowl record.

Well.

Yesterday NFL Spokesman Brian McCarthy announced that the NFL will count Outdoor Party Pass tickets, purchased by season ticket club seat holders, as part of the official attendance.

I can't help but wonder how many palms got the Jerry Jones grease treatment to cause this ultra-goofy decision to come about.

There are no plans to sell the $200 Party Pass tickets to the general public. Only the 15,000, or so, club seat ticket holders can buy up to 4 Party Pass tickets. Club seat owners have til Thursday to buy Party Pass tickets.

If you are a club seat personal seat license holder in the Dallas Cowboy Stadium, paying anywhere from $16,000 to $100,000 for your seat, you are not guaranteed a chance to buy your seat for the Super Bowl.

Hence the ability to buy 4 Party Passes so you can stand outside while Jerry Jones sells your seat to someone else.

For the Super Bowl the outdoor Party Plaza will be at the east end zone plaza where you get to watch the game on a big TV screen for your $200.

In addition to getting to stand outside the stadium, in your Package of 4 Party Passes, you get one free parking pass, 4 commemorative programs, 4 commemorative scarves (to keep you warm in the likely cold temperatures?). And you will have the privilege of being able to buy overpriced food and beverages. And on top of all that the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders will put in an appearance to try and warm you up.

I do not know what the restroom situation is for the Party Passers. Do you get to go inside the stadium and use modern facilities. Or, for your $200, do you get to use one of those really cool custom-made Dallas Cowboy Outhouses?

Methinks if mine was one of the houses taken to build this stadium, I would be really annoyed to not be allowed to stand, for free, on my former property, outside the stadium, during a football game.

I can't be the only one who thinks this is all nuts, charging $200 per person to stand outside a stadium during a Super Bowl and then counting those standees as having attended the game.

Two Degrees Above Freezing On The 3rd Wednesday Of 2011 In Texas Aggravated By The Dallas Morning News

The temperature chilled to 34 degrees overnight, which seems to have caused a lot of condensation on my viewing window.

But, not enough condensation that I am prevented from seeing that this 3rd Wednesday of 2011 is starting off with a nice, clear, blue sky.

This morning my #1 Aggravation is the Dallas Morning New online. The hard copy version of the Dallas Morning New is the last newspaper to which I subscribed, til they aggravated me well over a year ago.

The online version of the DMN had a total makeover in the past couple days. You have to be a "Registered" user in order to read the full text of an article. I was already a "Registered" user, but had to confirm my info when the DMN switched to its new format.

One supposedly only needed to confirm ones info once and from that point on logging in would be automatic.

However, this morning the Dallas Morning News online did not remember me. I re-entered the info again. I then got a message that I had til some particular date to do some particular thing that made no sense.

I really don't need to be reading both the Star-Telegram and the Dallas Morning News, even though, for the most part, the Dallas paper seems the better of the two.

So, I'll give the Dallas Morning News online one more chance and if it fails that chance it'll be going in to delete-ville.

And in the meantime I'm going swimming.

Fort Worth's Shanty Town Has Vanished While The World's Biggest Outhouse Graveyard Is Still Prominently On Display

Last week I learned of, and blogged about, Fort Worth's Shanty Town of Homeless People.

The Fort Worth Shanty Town had existed for over two years, becoming a town with about 50 dwellings. The Shanty Town was visible from Interstate 30, that being the freeway that runs from Arlington, with Arlington being where the Super Bowl will be played in a couple weeks, and Fort Worth, where no Super Bowl will likely ever be played.

Even though Fort Worth is the envy of the entire nation.

When I wrote about it, I had not actually seen Fort Worth's Shanty Town with my own eyes. So I asked for directions to it from one of my fellow Eyes on Texas, known as YSD. YSD told me to drive down Bomar Street and before I got to Lancaster and the homeless shelter zone I would see the Fort Worth Shanty Town.

However, on Saturday, all I saw was one tent and some sort of ramshackle structure, where I thought I should be seeing the Shanty Town.

I turned from Lancaster on to Riverside, thinking I'd then see the Shanty Town, but I saw nothing, except what I believe may be the World's Biggest Outhouse Graveyard.

Clearly viewable, from I-30, are 100s of Outhouses, just to the west of where I had expected to find Fort Worth's Shanty Town.

I returned to Bomar Street on Sunday, taking along an extra pair of eyes to look for the elusive Shanty Town.

Still no luck. But I did stop to take some pictures of the Outhouse Graveyard.

Most of the Outhouses are labeled "Texas Toilet.." But one had the special label of "CAN DOO DFW."

Yesterday I told YSD of my inability to locate Fort Worth's Shanty Town. So, YSD took off to check it out and reported back that it was just as I saw on both Saturday and Sunday.

Fort Worth's Shanty Town is gone.

All that remains is one tent and one ramshackle structure. With no Homeless People to be seen.

Now, how did this happen? Last week the local supposed newspaper of record, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, reported that the city code people were taking issue with the Shanty Town. Some of the Homeless People claimed they'd been given 10 days to get out of there.

City officials claimed no evacuation order had been given.

So, where did the Shanty Town and its residents go?

Where is the mother with the baby in a stroller? Where is the pregnant lady?

How was the Shanty Town so quickly de-Hoovervilled?

And does the City of Fort Worth really think a little Shanty Town of tents was more embarrassing than having what must be the World's Largest Graveyard of Outhouses so prominently displayed?

It is all very perplexing.

UPDATE: cd0103 has informed me that the Fort Worth Star-Telegram did have an article regarding the disappearance of Fort Worth's Shanty Town. Apparently I arrived on Saturday after the removal had taken place.

Taking A Long Walk Under A Blue Sky On Arlington's Veterans Park Boardwalk

The early morning cloudy gray sky soon gave way to blue. I prefer my sky to be blue and not gray.

I had to be in Pantego today. Being in Pantego gave me a perfect opportunity to take a long walk on the boardwalk in Arlington's Veterans Park.

Ahead of me on the boardwalk, where it takes a left, there was a little kid screaming at his dad because the kid was sure there was a troll hiding under the boardwalk. I think the dad was egging the kid on about the troll.

I told the kid I'd seen no trolls, just snakes.

How was I to know the kid was more scared of snakes than trolls?

There is a lot of work being done on Veterans Park. There was a "Bridge Closed For Construction" sign. But I saw no construction on the already constructed bridge.

The playground equipment has been removed with the new playground construction underway. The previous playground equipment was quite nice, so this new playground is likely going to be spectacular.

Unlike Fort Worth's parks, the Arlington parks have restrooms of the modern sort, with indoor plumbing. Plus picnic facilities, with running water.

If you live within 20 miles, give or take a mile or two, of Arlington's Veterans Park it is worth a look. The park has a variety of hiking choices, a Xeriscape to show you what you can grow in a low water Texas climate. A composting exhibit that shows you what you can do constructively with your lawn clippings. And a disc golf course where you can dodge flying discs.

Clouds Return On The Morning Of The 3rd Tuesday Of 2011 While My Drinking Water Source Changes

The sun has not quite illuminated my surroundings enough to make an absolute determination, but currently it appears we are back under a gray cloud cover on this 3rd Tuesday of 2011.

On a warmer note it is not freezing at only 2 degrees shy of being 50. Which you can sort of tell because no steam is fuming from my hot tub.

This morning I learned my drinking water may be tasting not so good for a few days. Apparently the Tarrant Regional Water District will be working on the water supply lines that bring water in from East Texas.

While the water lines are being worked on, the water I drink will be coming from Benbrook Lake. That is to the southwest of my location.

One thing I've not understood about Texas drinking water coming from lake sources is the lakes are also used for recreation. As in boats and swimming. Where my drinking water came from in Washington, the Judy Reservoir, that lake is surrounded by high fence with concertina wire on top.

I am used to enhancing the drinkability of my Texas water by keeping a big pitcher of water with lemon slices floating in it, in the fridge.

All this water talk is making me think it is time to go swimming now. Talk to you later.

Martin Luther King Day With Blue Sky At Village Creek Thinking About An Unstoppable Woman, A Hotpepper & A Grammar Challenged Queen

You are looking at an impoundment of part of Village Creek, at least I think it is part of Village Creek, although the main branch of the creek is to the left of the water in the picture. This impoundment may have something to do with the system that puts water in to the cool canals of Interlochen.

But. What is really important about this picture is something else that is shows.

Can you see it?

Blue sky has returned to my zone of North Texas.

And it is almost 60 degrees.

I really was starting to suffer my first bout of SAD of this winter. If I remember correctly I had several bouts of Seasonally Affected Disorder last winter.

I never was a SAD sufferer when I lived in Western Washington. A place with way more SAD type days than North Texas has. I guess I had developed a tolerance for drippy, gray days when I was a Washingtonian and Texas has caused me to lose my immunity.

Texas has caused me to lose so many things.

I heard from my favorite Unstoppable Woman today. The Unstoppable Woman is just about my favorite person I ever worked with to make a website. So many people do not communicate well. The Unstoppable Woman knew exactly what she wanted and was able to explain exactly what she wanted. It made it all so easy.

My other favorite Unstoppable Woman, Elsie Hotpepper, well, it goes without saying you really can not stop the Hotpepper. Even if you are foolish enough to try. Anyway, Elsie is safely back from her long weekend of tropical island saloon hopping.

And then there is the Queen of Wink. Near as I can tell her Wink Realm is growing evermore chaotic. I am not even certain that the Queen is still the Queen and has not been replaced by a King, who is now keeping the former Queen prisoner in the Wink Tower.

I got the oddest message from the Queen of Wink this morning, going on about her grammar errors, which the Queen called grammatical errors, as she complained, out of nowhere, about me being a Grammar Bully. I don't even know what a Grammar Bully is, let alone how to be one. And then, in her message complaining about me being a Grammar Bully, the Queen made at least one rather bad grammar error. I'd point it out, but I don't want to be a bully.

So, there you go, my exciting Martin Luther King Day. So far.

Fort Worth Mayor Moncrief Thanks TCU For Making Fort Worth The Envy Of America

You are looking at Fort Worth's ultra-goofy, ultra-corrupt mayor, Mike Moncrief, in purple shirt and tie, in Texas Christian University's Daniel-Meyer Coliseum on Sunday for a public celebration where only around 6,000 TCU fans showed up to celebrate TCU winning the Rose Bowl.

You who live in the part of America that is not Fort Worth may be surprised to learn that Fort Worth is the "envy of the nation" because a university in this town won the Rose Bowl.

At Sunday's celebration Mayor Mike Moncrief thanked TCU "for making us the envy of the entire nation."

The "entire nation."

That is impressive.

I no longer subscribe to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Because it was no longer worth subscribing to. So, I do not know if the paper has reverted to using its "Green with Envy" type verbiage over and over again in its print version regarding some nonsensical thing that no one is envious of. Like some little known country music singer moving to town.

But.

I do look at the online Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and, though I missed it til Elsie Hotpepper pointed me to it, there it was, once more the goofy "envy of" conceit. This time in quote form on the front page, linked to an article titled "More than 6,000 TCU fans pay tribute to 'unbelievable' season for Horned Frogs" in which the Star-Telegram repeats the "envy of the nation" verbiage....

FORT WORTH -- As the community heralded its university and Rose Bowl champions as the "envy of the nation," one couldn't help but wonder whether guys named Baugh, O'Brien, Meyer and even Wacker weren't somewhere looking down and sporting smiles as big as Fort Worth.

More than 6,000 enthusiastic Texas Christian University fans filled Daniel-Meyer Coliseum on Sunday for a public celebration honoring coach Gary Patterson's football team and recognizing a 2010 season that was about as good as any in the 110-year history of the program.

I have no clue who guys name Baugh, O'Brien, Meyer and Wacker are.

But, I do know I read in west coast online newspapers, more than one Pac-10 football fan opine that a Fort Worth school named TCU, from one of the non-top type conferences, playing in and winning the fabled Rose Bowl is the final nail in the coffin of the widely disliked BCS system of choosing who plays in what football Bowls.

This somehow does not sound like envy to me. It seems more like disappointment that a fabled institution like the annual Rose Bowl has been greatly lessened. And is no longer even played on New Year's Day.

Now, what I am really curious about is all the years some team other than a Fort Worth football team won the Rose Bowl, was Fort Worth collectively envious of the town in which that winning team was located?

I do not recollect ever reading in the Seattle P-I, or hearing anyone opine that Seattle was the "envy of the nation" because the University of Washington won the Rose Bowl.

Do these locals who tout this type verbiage have even the slightest clue that it gets read by people outside of Fort Worth, you know, out in America, and that it makes Fort Worth seem really silly? And that it is sort of embarrassing to be saying this that or the other thing in a town like Fort Worth is the "envy of the nation."

This type bragging really needs to be retired permanently from this town. Until the day comes where something is actually worthy of such lofty verbiage.