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.

The Dawn Of Martin Luther King Day In Texas Thinking About Going To Fort Worth's Stock Show

I went to bed early Sunday night and yet still somehow managed to sleep in late after a long night of very strange nightmares which I will not go into detail about because my memory of the nightmares is sketchy.

My chicken football fajitas turned out good yesterday. Much better than the football game. I erroneously thought the Seahawks were scheduled to start getting beat by the Chicago Bears around 1 in the afternoon.

I did not get back to my TV until a bit after 1 in the afternoon yesterday. By then Seattle was behind by 3 touchdowns and the second half was under way. By the time the 4th quarter was ready so were my fajitas.

I did not last long watching Seattle play football before the boredom syndrome kicked in. How do people keep watching these games through all those commercial breaks? I think I suffer from a bad case of FADD, Football Attention Deficit Disorder.

Changing the subject from football back to my dire existence in Texas. As you can see looking out my computer room window, it is yet one more gray sky winter morning. Currently nothing is precipitating from the sky. And it is again a balmy 13 degrees above freezing.

I have no idea what lies ahead for me on this Monday Martin Luther King Day. If it were warmer I might consider going to the Fort Worth Stock Show. I've only gone twice. It can be interesting. Saturday's Fort Worth Stock Show Parade drew a smaller number of parade watchers than what shows up when it is not cold. It has been several years in a row now that it has not been warm for that parade. If I remember right, ice cancelled the parade a couple years ago.

Well, it is time to go for my morning swim before it gets any later.

Sunday Dawns Foggy In North Texas While I Ready Fajitas To Watch Seattle Beat Chicago On Their Way To The Super Bowl

The Ides of the first month of the New Year dawns late with the ground covered in wetness from last night's downpours and fog making a haze of the view into the distance, which you can sort of see from the view from the window I am currently looking out.

On a happier note, it is currently 13 degrees above freezing.

I did not stay up all that late Saturday night, but, for some reason, I got up later this Sunday morning than any time in recent memory, as in, my eyes did not open to the dawn of this Sunday til well after it dawned. As in, past 8 o'clock.

It feels borderline scandalous to sleep in in this manner.

It is now almost 9 am. I have just a few hours to get my Football Fajita Feeding ready to watch the Seattle Seahawks beat the Chicago Bears so that the Seahawks can play in the AFC Championship Game. Which apparently will be a home field advantage game for Seattle, if I understood what I was reading correctly.

All Seattle has to do is win today, and then one more game and then they will be visiting here in Texas to play in the Super Bowl in the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium where the Dallas Cowboys are not allowed to play in the Super Bowl.

In anticipation of an exciting day of football, I guess I will go swimming now, out in the fog.

Fort Worth's Fosdic Sinkhole Grows Bigger & Now Requires Protective Measures

On Wednesday I was surprised to see a sinkhole forming near Fosdic Lake in Fort Worth's Oakland Lake Park.

Today, as I was on the phone talking to Elsie Hotpepper, who I am happy to report is not saloon hopping on a tropical island, I was surprised to drive in to Oakland Lake Park to see the Fosdic Sinkhole has sunk deeper since Wednesday.

And it is now surrounded by orange and white pylons and yellow crime scene type tape.

As you can see, this sinkhole is nothing you would want to accidentally walk into while you were out on a peaceful stroll.

I have not heard from Sinkhole Expert, Gar the Texan, as to his assessment as to the cause of the Fosdic Sinkhole. I suspect the Fosdic Sinkhole will not grow to Wink Sinkhole proportions. If it did it would swallow Fosdic Lake.

Is Fort Worth's Shanty Town Being Dismantled Because Of The Super Bowl?

Yesterday's blogging about Fort Worth's Shanty Town generated some interesting comments.

The comments from "Ashamed in FW" mentioned something that had totally not occurred to me.

That being that it is likely the sudden interest in this Shanty Town of Fort Worth Homeless People likely has something to do with the fact that in a few weeks the attention of the nation, and to a lesser degree, the world, will be focused on the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex with the Super Bowl coming to the Dallas Cowboy Stadium in Arlington.

ESPN will be broadcasting from downtown Fort Worth. City officials are expecting HUGE crowds downtown. I think this expectation is delusional, but what do I know?

Visitors driving from Arlington to Fort Worth on Interstate 30 will be driving right by Fort Worth's Shanty Town.

Back during the era of the Soviet Union, when visits by western leaders were rare, when one did get invited to a town, like Moscow, the route traveled by the leader was tightly controlled, with the route all spruced up.

Russia has a long history of creating what are called Potemkin Villages to fool visitors about the quality of life in Russia.

If the City of Fort Worth succeeds in the coming weeks in dismantling the Fort Worth Shanty Town, to remove that embarrassment from the eyes of visitors, what about the other eyesores? What if a visitor visits downtown Fort Worth and decides to head back east on Lancaster, Rosedale or Berry?

I take visitors from the Northwest on drives down those roads. My visitors are always shocked and appalled, not realizing that such Third World type squalor exists in America.

Are there plans to paint some sort of pretty face on the eyesore areas of Fort Worth? What if a visitor gets a bit lost leaving the Fort Worth Stockyards, driving around in the neighborhood around the Stockyards? That won't leave a very good impression.

On a related, but different note, back when it was announced that the 2011 Super Bowl would be played in the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium I opined that this was going to end up being embarrassing when the national press gets a look at that bizarre building plopped down in a rundown residential/industrial area.

However, there have been many events that have taken place in the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium and I have not heard a word mentioned of the urban blight that surrounds it on 2 sides.

This sort of tells me that other stadiums in America must be located in equally blighted zones. The only stadiums I have seen are those in Seattle, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Diego. All with no blight. And so, I guess I had some sort of elevated expectation of what sort of location a stadium is built.

Anyway, I hope the City of Fort Worth finds a more elevated solution to putting a pretty face on Fort Worth's Shanty Town than doing something ham-handed like when President Hoover sent in General MacArthur and the Army to clear out the Hoovervilles that had sprung up in Washington, D.C. during the Great Depression.

And.

I hope the City of Fort Worth does not send in its Gestapo Army to clear out the Shanty Town that has sprung up during the Great Recession.

A Rainy Saturday In Texas Feeling Homesick For Washington & The San Juan Islands

I was up late Friday night, which has caused me to be up late Saturday morning. I hate it when that happens.

Rain was in the forecast for today. Looking out my peephole on the world this morning I can see it has already been raining.

Raining and 40 degrees. Welcome to a stereotypical Pacific Northwest Western Washington type winter day.

In Texas.

Speaking of Washington, this morning's New York Times had a list of "The 41 Places to Go in 2011.". The San Juan Islands of Washington was #2 on the list, between Santiago, Chile at #1 and Koh Sumai, Thailand at #3. Washington's Olympic National Park was a little further down the list.

I was shocked, shocked I tell you, that no location in Texas was on the list of places you need to go in 2011.

The dock to board the ferry to the San Juan Islands, in Anacortes, is about 20 miles from my abode in Washington. When I lived there I took the San Juan Islands for granted, but had a great time anytime I took the ferry out to the islands. I did this twice in the months leading to my move to Texas. If I remember right the last time included going to the San Juan County Fair at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, eventually sitting at an outdoor bar watching the harbor and catching the last ferry of the night to the mainland.

The San Juan Islands are in the rain shadow of the Olympics, hence getting way less rain than where I lived. What those who have never lived in the Northwest, who think it rains all the time, don't understand, is the geography is so diverse you can easily escape the rain, if you want to, unlike in my current location, where there is no escape, no ferry to anywhere.

So, I'm starting Saturday just slightly homesick for Washington. And all there is to do there on a rainy day.

Fort Worth's Shanty Town For Homeless People Under Attack By Fort Worth

I just listened to the most depressing video. Basically the world as we know it will soon come to an end. As in, within the next two years the American economy will collapse, the U.S. dollar will no longer be the world's reserve currency, inflation will be astronomical, food riots will break out.

And Shanty Towns will spring up all over America, as Americans lose their homes. On the depressing video the depressing video maker said Shanty Towns are already springing up, some big, like in Fresno, California, visited by that savior of the downtrodden, Oprah Winfrey.

The depressing video did not mention depressing Fort Worth and its Shanty Town. I knew of Fort Worth's Homeless Person Problem. But I did not know we had a Shanty Town of around 50 tents, until one of Fort Worth's Best Texans, Steve Doeung told me about it.

The Shanty Town is not all that far from my abode. Just a short distance west of the Tandy Hills Natural Area, on the south side of the Trinity River near Riverside Drive and Lancaster Avenue.

The Fort Worth Shanty Town has a mayor, There is a kitchen tent with two camp stoves. Another tent serves as the camp's food storehouse. The residents of Fort Worth's Shanty Town are pretty much a cross section of America; Black, White, Mexican, a mom with a baby in a stroller, some old, some young.

Some of the residents have lived in Fort Worth's Shanty Town since it was first founded, over two years ago.

Despite sending out study groups to other towns to take a look at their Homeless People Programs, in places like Portland, Seattle and Denver, the City of Fort Worth has not come up with any new solutions to the Homeless Problem

Local churches fill the void, delivering supplies to Fort Worth's Shanty Town.

And now, despite Fort Worth's Shanty Town not really creating any real problems. And despite the fact that Fort Worth's Shanty Town is providing a community where Homeless People can sleep safe at night, the City of Fort Worth apparently has decided the Homeless People must abandon their camp and move elsewhere.

City Code Officers descended upon Fort Worth's Shanty Town and supposedly found many violations.

I can't help but wonder if the veracity of those violations is just as legitimate as what Fort Worth Code Officers found during their Gestapo Raids on Steve Doeung's Carter Avenue home, in ham-handed attempts to stifle Steve Doeung in his successful fight against the City of Fort Worth and Chesapeake Energy.

Supposedly the Fort Worth Shanty Town is on private property with the owner unaware his property has sprouted a town and with the owner telling the Code Officers that the Shanty Town residents did not have his permission to set up camp.

The residents of Fort Worth's Shanty Town believe they have been given 10 days to get out of their Shanty Town. However, Brandon Bennett, he being Fort Worth's Code Compliance Director said no vacate deadline has been issued, but criminal trespass citations could start being issued if the property owner wants the Homeless People off his property.

The whole scenario reminds me of the Grapes of Wrath. The part where the Joad Family finally got to a safe camp, ironically run by the government, with the locals not wanting them there and trying to stage an incident to cause the shut down of the camp.

Methinks that since it seems obvious that Fort Worth's Shanty Town is solving a problem the City of Fort Worth has not addressed, as in, finding a safe place for Homeless People to seek refuge, that rather than working to destroy the Shanty Town, the City of Fort Worth, working with area churches, should find an acceptable piece of land, somewhere, land with running water. Bring in Port-a-Potties. Fort Worth has a big supply of Port-a-Potties in its parks. And bring in a couple big trash bins.

Fort Worth's City Homeless Program Director, Otis Thornton, claims Fort Worth's homeless shelters have room to accommodate the Shanty Town's residents and blames the church groups for causing the Shanty Town to grow by delivering food and supplies.

I really find it hard to believe that all these people would prefer living in tents in a Shanty Town if there were decent facilities available to accommodate them.

And, please, don't let me hear some City of Fort Worth official get all high and mighty about supposed code violations in Fort Worth's Shanty Town, not when more than one Fort Worth City Park lacks running water or restrooms, but has picnic facilities.

I wonder if my favorite Cambodian-American ever thought he would see something like Fort Worth's Shanty Town in the America he envisioned when his family escaped Cambodia to start a new life in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave?

That is, the Brave who have a Home....

Giant White Puffballs & Startled Ducks Today At Fort Worth's Fosdic Lake

Today as I walked across the grassy field that surrounds Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park I came upon an area where stems with big white puffballs were sticking out of the ground like gray-haired wildflowers.

Such a delicate looking bloom.

The increase in temperature, to a relatively balmy 12 degrees above freezing, had more people out walking and running than when the temperature was 12 degrees on the other side of freezing.

When I got to Fosdic Lake I got out my phone to make a call and saw I had a message. It was Elsie Hotpepper, urgently wanting me to call her back because she had something to tell me that would amuse me.

I like to be amused, so I called Elsie back. But, she did not answer. Instead I got a long message about tropical islands, cruise ships and saloon hopping.

I take this to mean that Elsie Hotpepper is taking a cruise ship to a tropical island to do some saloon hopping. I guess I can see where I might find that amusing.

I don't previously recollect ever seeing as many ducks taking refuge on Fosdic Lake as I did today. Many of the ducks were huddled near the shore. Others were huddled in the water.

The lady in the picture is looking at the ducks with an expression of horror. I think she thought those were dead ducks that had washed up on shore, rather than live ducks who were at that location by choice.

The lady looked relieved when I startled the beached ducks and they flew out on to the lake.

Startling ducks and relieving old ladies passes for excitement in my sad little world.

The Morning Of January 14 In Texas Thinking About Super Bowl Attendance Records & Not Freezing

We are almost to the mid-point of the 1st month of the New Year of 2011.

It is 23 Days til the Dallas Cowboys are not playing in the Super Bowl in their new stadium.

I read this morning that around 10,000 suckers, I mean fans, are expected to stand outside the Dallas Cowboy stadium during the Super Bowl, in the Party Pass Zones.

I do not know how much Party Pass tickets cost.

Jerry Jones is hoping to set an attendance record at the Super Bowl. I suppose this record is important for the all important bragging rights about such an important record.

There is currently a controversy over whether or not it is fair to count Party Pass people as actual attendees.

On a totally different subject, looking out the bars of my patio prison cell, this morning, it appears, again, that the day is starting off with a blue sky over North Texas. But, this has once again proved to be some sort of pre-dawn optical illusion. The sun has now lit up the place a lot brighter than when that photo was taken. And, now I can clearly see, we are still under a gray cloud cover.

But.

Good news.

It did not freeze last night. This morning it is a relatively balmy 36 degrees out there.

So, I guess I will head to the swimming pool now. No need for sunscreen.

The 3rd Annual Tandy Hills Brush Bash

It seems like the Manly Men and Wild Women have barely been cleared from the Tandy Hills. And now it is time to clear some brush, according to the following message from the Tandy Hills Brushmaster, Don Young...

The annual Brush Bash gets to the core of what Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area is all about. Removing invasive and unwanted woody plant species is a cornerstone of the Master Plan for restoring Tandy Hills. The Master Plan was prepared for the City of Fort Worth in July 2008 to address community concerns about the preservation of this one-of-a-kind green space. The end result will be a more natural prairie ecosystem full of wildflowers and native grasses. One that is not overrun and shaded out by trees and shrubs.

That's where FOTHNA comes in. We ask you to help us help the City which benefits all. Here's how it works.

City crews have been busy the past two weeks cutting unwanted trees and other woody species. That material is now on the ground. Volunteers drag the material to designated locations where City crews load it into trucks and haul away to be composted.

We need you. Please see details below and make a commitment to help us care for our beautiful prairie.

DY

WHO:
Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area. That means YOU!

WHAT:
3rd Annual Tandy Hills Brush Bash

WHEN:
Saturday, January 22, 2011
9 am - Noon
1 pm - 3 pm
Work one or both shifts
(rain date is February 5.)

WHERE:
Tandy Hills Natural Area
3400 View Street
Fort Worth, TX 76103

BRING:
Gloves, work clothes, sturdy shoes, hat, sunscreen, picnic lunch

CONTACT - RSVP:
Don Young
donyoungglass@earthlink.net
817-731-2787

Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area

P.O. Box 470041
Fort Worth, TX 76147
817-731-2787
http://www.tandyhills.org

Texas Clouds & Cold Continue to Chill My Usual Sunny Disposition Despite Monosodium Glutamate Poisoning

I was erroneous earlier this morning when I optimistically opined that we were having ourselves a clear blue Texas sky this Wednesday morning.

As happens way too often, my optimism was unwarranted, with reality turning out to be the opposite.

Which means it is cloudy this morning, just like it was all day yesterday, as you can see via the dimly lit view from my gray dominated abode.

I don't think I am even going to attempt to go out in it today to get some salubrious aerobic activity. It was just too COLD when I was out in it yesterday.

I suppose I could dredge up the stuff I wear to go skiing.

I know all my ski equipment made the move with me to Texas and it is located somewhere inside these walls. I suppose ski pants, ski gloves and a ski jacket might make the Texas COLD tolerable.

The last time I saw my cross country skis I was not happy to see that they had somewhat de-laminated. I had foolishly stored them in a storage area that was not protected from the Texas HEAT.

Did I mention I got poisoned by Monosodium Glutamate the past couple days? I bought a bag of jerky at Town Talk. It said it was "All Natural." I've learned to be wary of "All Natural." But I was not this time. I looked at the ingredients only far enough to see that papaya extract had been used. I went no further on the list.

Then, starting late Tuesday I got a headache and felt like my head might explode. Woke up with the same woe Wednesday morning. By Wednesday afternoon I recollected that the way I was feeling was how I've felt when succumbing to Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, back when MSG was widely used in such places.

I then again looked at the ingredient list on the bag of jerky and was appalled to see Monosodium Glutamate on the list.

Thursday morning I am free of symptoms. For the most part.

Except I am very very COLD.

Wednesday The 13th In Freezing Texas

It is a little less  frosty this Wednesday morning of the 13th of January, looking out the window at what appears to possibly be a clear blue sky.

It is only 9 degrees below freezing this morning. I am really ready for the temperature to return to being well above freezing.

Last night I watched the Memorial Service in Tuscon. This was one of the few times I thought President Obama gave a really good speech since I voted for him and he became President.

I was expecting a solemn memorial of the funeral sort, instead the memorial had more of a pep rally feeling. Which seemed to be a good thing.

I have too much I need to get done today. I don't know if I have time to go swimming. Or if the pool is still in liquid form.

Fort Worth's Special Sanitary Sewer Manholes & Sinkholes

A  couple months ago I arrived at Oakland Lake Park to see heavy equipment digging a deep ditch.

When this project was completed I was surprised to see the tell tale indicators indicating the deep ditch was for a sewer line.

Which seem sort of ironic for Oakland Lake Park to have a sewer line running through it since it has no public restrooms or running water.

Even though Oakland Lake Park does have picnic facilities.

I think in more, well, uh, civilized parts of America it is sort of a no-no to have public picnic facilities without running water or public restrooms.

Apparently Fort Worth can not afford to put such amenities in all its parks.

But, apparently Fort Worth can afford to have signature Sanitary Sewer Manhole Covers made that say "City of Fort Worth Sanitary Sewer" complete with the Fort Worth Longhorn Logo.

Is this done because Fort Worth is just so darn proud that it has a Sanitary Sewer? I remember years ago being surprised by how many of the Fort Worth Stockyards venues touted having indoor plumbing as one of their attractions.

Moving past the Sanitary Sewer Manhole to something more disturbing that is near the manhole.

A Sinkhole.

Seeing a Sinkhole sink right in a location that has recently been dug up, with new piping installed, does not seem to be a good sign.

In the picture you can see that "special" manhole cover in the background.

This new Fort Worth Sinkhole seems to present a bit of a problem. As in, someone could trip on that hole in the dark.

Every time I mention a Texas Sinkhole on my blog it erupts into a comment controversy. I hope that does not happen this time. Usually the Sinkhole controversies are caused by Gar the Texan going on about aquifers. I don't think this particular Sinkhole has anything to do with an aquifer.

I Lost A Pair Of Sunglasses & Got One Of The World's Biggest Tandy Hills Prairie Fest Coffee Mugs

After Saturday's Tandy Hills 2nd Annual Manly Men/Wild Women Hike I got a message from one of the Manly Men, initials "DY", telling me he'd lost his ultra-valuable Ray Ban Sunglasses somewhere on the Tandy Hills.

I said I'd look for the Lost Sunglasses the following day, even though I was fairly certain I would have about as much luck as finding a needle in the proverbial haystack.

Well, the next day, Sunday, it rained and snowed, rendering Sunglass Hunting impossible.

Yesterday, Tuesday around noon, I returned to the Tandy Hills and began a Systematic Sunglasses Search.

After an undetermined length of time I miraculously found the Missing Sunglasses.

On my way to Oakland Lake Park, this afternoon, to walk around frigid Fosdic Lake I pulled up to "DY's" abode just as he and his lovely wife "D" were leaving.

"DY" stopped his vehicle and went to his front porch to retrieve the BIG Prairie Fest 2010 Coffee Mug you see above. "DY" told me this mug is a valuable collector's item worth $100s.

Which sort of indicates that those lost Ray Ban Sunglasses must have been very valuable.

That Prairie Fest Coffee Mug is so big, I'm not sure I can lift it if it has coffee in it. I sat it beside my pool with the hot tub in the background just to give you an idea as to the ENORMITY of this Coffee Mug.

An Extremely Cold Walk Around Fosdic Lake After Talking To My Latest Tacoma Sister

Around 4 this afternoon I headed towards Fort Worth's most dangerous neighborhood to conduct a Glasses/Mug Exchange.

More on the Glasses/Mug Exchange later. With pictures. Well, a picture.

After the Glasses/Mug Exchange I went to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdic Lake.

The air was warmer, at 30, than yesterday's Tandy Hills Hike at 22 or 21, the 30 degrees felt way colder today because the sun was being blocked by clouds.

I did not enjoy walking in the cold too much.

Earlier today I was up in Southlake. On the way back from Southlake I called my Arizona sister who is currently under a form of self-imposed house arrest in Tacoma, helping take care of one of my other sister's new babies, Theodore Ryan and Ruby Jean.

It sounded like the twin care was going well. My Arizona sister, who is used to being warm, is being kept in the Tacoma House Dungeon. I was incarcerated there for a week, during a horribly long month in the summer of 2008, before I got a reprieve and was allowed to move to the much warmer third floor. I don't think these type issues are as serious in winter when the furnace is running.

I do not know how long my Arizona sister is planning on being in Tacoma. I would think a week, at the max, is a safe duration.

I must go for a long soak in a hot tub to try and put a stop to this shivering sensation I have going on right now.

Up Way Before The Sun On An Icy Cold Wednesday In North Texas

I am up a bit early on this frosty Wednesday morning in North Texas. Looking out my computer room window it looks very cold and dark out there, with the view somewhat restricted by a somewhat frosty window.

21 degrees this morning before the sun arrives.

I believe after today we are scheduled to warm up slightly. I am ready for more than a slight warm up.

I heard from someone last night, calling himself Don, who told me those sunglasses I found yesterday on the Tandy Hills are his. Don was able to correctly articulate the serial number on the sunglasses, thus establishing himself as their rightful owner. I will attempt to return the sunglasses to Don today. Apparently without them Don is virtually blind in the bright sun.

This morning in the Dallas Morning News there was an article, the theme of which was, what the 8 teams in the NFL playoffs have going for them that the Dallas Cowboys don't have going for them.

For Seattle, apparently, it is the noisy 12th man, as in very loud fans.

I thought what the article writer, Tim Cowlishaw had to say about the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium was amusing, but I doubt that ancient artifact who built that stadium, Jerry Jones, will find it amusing.....

"As for Cowboys Stadium, well, Jerry Jones figured out how to pack 100,000 people in there. But he also created a cavernous building in which half the fans stare at the big screen hoping to see themselves. A 2-6 home record in 2010 speaks loudly. Like Seattle.--Tim Cowlishaw"

Trying To Hike On The Frozen Tandy Hills With A Lost & Found Operation

With the temperature being well below freezing I thought that the muddy trail conditions created by Sunday's rain and snow would be rendered frozen and thus the trails on the Tandy Hills hikable.

As is way to often the case, I thought wrong.

Though there was some mud on the trails I was still able to go hiking, by going cross country and blazing my own trail.

Before I bailed on the Tandy Trails I found the sunglasses you see in the picture. Ray Bans. The sunglasses appear to be in good condition, successfully surviving being snowed on and frozen.

I now somehow need to find a way to reunite these sunglasses with their rightful owner.

By the time I finished with the ICY hiking and got back to the relative warmth of my vehicle I have seldom seen my cheeks look so red. I don't know what the blowing wind made the Wind Chill Factor  real feel of the temperature. I'm guessing near zero.

From the Tandy Hills I went to Town Talk. In summer the Town Talk walk-in cooler can be very refreshing after over heating on the Tandy Hills. Today the Town Talk walk-in cooler was warmer than the outdoors. It is above freezing in the Town Talk walk-in cooler.

20 Degrees In North Texas On The Second Tuesday Of The New Year

As you can sort of see, looking out my computer room frosty window, the predicted Deep Freeze has arrived in North Texas.

It is only 20 degrees out there, soon after the dawn of the second Tuesday of 2011.

That is cold. Really cold.

My furnace has been running nonstop ever since I got up and turned it on. It's still not all that warm in here.

On the bright side, the sun is no longer being impeded from shining by a thick cloud cover. In simpler words, blue sky has returned. I am pleased about that.

I guess I will go swimming now. It should be refreshing.

Village Creek Bayou Egrets & The Queen Of Wink's Adult Diapers

Egrets. I've seen a few. But then again, too few to mention.

I think I saw an Egret in the Village Creek Bayou today. Big white bird with a long neck. I think that's an Egret. I am fairly certain it is not a swan.

When I approached the Village Creek Bayou today a flock of geese startled me after I had apparently startled them, sending the nervous birds quickly into flight mode.

Looking at the refection of the Egret in the Village Creek Bayou you might think that smooth mirror-like surface was ice.

It was cold enough to be ice, but it was still liquid.

It would be my guess that the slough of chemicals that are likely in the stew of the Village Creek Bayou likely lower the temperature required to freeze that water, just like the water in my vehicle's radiator, which I remembered to add anti-freeze to today, because tonight we are currently scheduled to be chilled down in to the teens.

This morning I received a somewhat disturbing message from Elsie Hotpepper saying she is so distraught over our current dire weather situation, here in North Texas, that the Hotpepper is plotting to go somewhere warm where she can hibernate. I believe a beach was mentioned.

Last night I got multiple messages from the Queen of Wink. It was very confusing. Something about inviting myself and Gar the Texan to Wink, not scamming the Queen on the Internet and my possible need for adult diapers.

I understood most of what the Queen of Wink was saying, except for being able to follow her train of thought that somehow ended up thinking of adult diapers.

I tell you, there are many signs that something is amiss out in the Realm of Wink. An investigative team may need to investigate.