The Texas Ice Storm Cometh

We are heading into what weather service meteorologists are predicting may be the worst Ice Storm we've had here in the Dallas/Fort Worth zone since February 24, 2003.

The temperatures dropped below freezing early this morning. The ground is wet, with more wet stuff falling.

We'll likely be covered by a very slippery coat of ice by Wednesday morning.

The Tuesday evening commute is going to be dicey and icy. DART in Dallas is already having rail delays.

There are already school closures. I just got an email canceling an Arlington Chamber event that was scheduled for tonight.

I made it out and to the Post Office. So far the roads have not slicked up. But there was ice on the stairs and the handrailing, making it a little difficult to navigate.

I found some funny comments on the Dallas Morning New website regarding our incoming Ice Storm...

Henry Hill said---
Now we get another chance to see how Texans can't drive in icy conditions. I love watching them go by me sideways on the Bush Turnpike. If you can't drive on it then stay home so you don't ruin someone else's day.

To which Bobby Joe said----
Henry - If you are on the Bush Tollway, those aren't Texans you are seeing, they are Yankees, Californians, etc. Just like you.

To which Texans Can't Drive said---
Bobby Joe Texans are the worst drivers I have every seen! end of story.

And then Dallas Driver said---
I love how the Yankees criticize Texans winter driving skills. Try searching You Tube for ice driving. Now, that's entertainment. Yankees sliding all over the place. Besides, North Texas doesn't have an army of road clearing equipment. Only a couple dozen sanders for the bridges and overpasses.

Which caused fmlsr to say---
I am a dang yankee that cant find I-35 north and today i am not going to go hunt for it either. smart ppl stay home and watch the dummies slip and slide down the road.

And, finally, Tired of the Yankees said---
I find it very interesting how people who are not from Texas say bad things about Texans - how we are rude, can't drive, etc... Honestly, if it's that awful here - get out of here! No one is making you stay! Go back to wherever you came from. Or could it be that life back there is not all you crack it up to be?! Life around here would sure better once you are done, that's for sure!

Less Than Half Of Lessie Alvarado

That is Lessie Alvarado on the left. Lessie lives in Grand Prairie, Texas. Grand Prairie is a town east of Arlington, west of Dallas. In the photo Lessie weighs 305 pounds.

Nowadays, Lessie Alvarado is truly living up to her name. As in there is way less of Lessie. She now weighs 140 pounds. Less than half the size she was at her biggest. Lessie's weight loss accomplishment is detailed in People's cover story this month, featuring people "Half Their Size."

What motivated Lessie to lose the weight, you can't help but wonder.

Well, during a family trip, with her two kids, to Six Flags in San Antonio, Lessie was all excited to get on a particular ride. She climbed aboard, but the ride would not start, due to Lessie being too big. She was told to get off the ride, which she did, with tears flowing, while the other theme parkers gawked and whispered, adding to Lessie's humiliation, while her husband and brother comforted her. And the kids enjoyed the ride.

In addition to People, Lessie has also been featured on Inside Edition, Entertainment Tonight and the Today Show.

Lessie got to her 305 pound high by sneaking in extra fast food meals. Or she'd sneak in a buffet and then a few hours later her husband would want to go out to eat and Lessie wouldn't admit she'd already eaten. That would be a pattern that would pack on pounds.

Lessie continues to lose weight. Besides eating sensibly and nutritionally, Lessie also took up kickboxing to help with the weight loss. That is the "new" Lessie on the right.

I don't know what type ride Lessie was trying to enjoy that wouldn't start due to someone weighing over 300 pounds. One of those that you go upside down in? A bumper car? I don't know.

I've only seen a BIG person have a "can't get on the ride" type humiliation once. It was at a McDonald's. The BIG person wanted to sit at a high table with high stools. This BIG person tried and tried to pull herself up onto the stool, pulling hard on the table to try and pull herself up. The table being to tremble. I had to insist she stop, lest she injure both of us.

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I should have encouraged her to keep trying, hoping that the table would come crashing down, injuring both of us, with us suing McDonald's for having such dangerous stools and tables.

I think if I had trouble sitting on a stool, I probably would have foregone the chocolate shake, quarter pounder with cheese and fries and started my diet right then, continuing the diet til I could easily sit on a stool.

Gar the Chunky Texan & Contagious Obesity

Earlier today I blogged about going up to Turner Falls with Gar the Texan. Later in the day, Gar took exception to the accuracy of what I wrote.

I had suggested that, due to his butter loving German wife, Gar the Texan had packed on a few pounds and was no longer the skinny Gar the Texan in the Turner Falls pictures.

Gar claimed, "I weigh the same now as I did then."

I then asked for photo documentation with a date/time stamp.

Gar the Texan then pointed me to the picture you see above. To my observant eyes it appears he has packed on quite a few pounds since I last saw him. Even his hair has gotten bigger.

Meanwhile, I listened to Rush Limbaugh for a very short time today. He mentioned some UK Scientist saying that obesity can be contagious. Rush can be so far behind the times. That news has been out there since 2007.

Obesity is not contagious in that there is some virus or bacteria that you catch. Rather it is contagious in that you tend to pick up the bad (or good) habits of those with whom you associate. I did not gain any weight when I was in Tacoma for a month last summer. I had done some heavy duty immunity precautions to prevent any dire weight gain during a month of being exposed to bad habits and obese people.

When I used to hang out with Gar the Texan he was skinny. I would worry about hanging out with him nowadays, what with that obesity being contagious thing. And I do like butter. I had me some today at Sweet Tomatoes. On real good whole grain bread.

Sweet Tomatoes is a very healthy eating type restaurant, that is also tasty.

Unlike my usual buffet haunts, like Zorro's Buffet in Fort Worth, where at least 30% of the patrons appear to be obese, I saw not a single plus-sized person at Sweet Tomatoes today.

An Ice Storm is predicted to be here by morning, with up to an inch of ice. Which means I won't be going anywhere until it melts. The National Weather Service Ice Storm Warning ends at noon on Wednesday. I'm stocked up and can survive 2 days of being stuck.

I hate it when that happens.

Turner Falls In Winter With Gar The Texan

I was scrolling through Picasa looking for pictures of Mount Rainier to go along with one of a Volcano Eruption Evacuation Route sign, when I came upon pictures taken up in Oklahoma, in January, at Turner Falls Park.

The pictures include ones of the illusive Gar the Texan, who does not use photos of the real him on his blog. I understand that several years of marriage to a butter-loving German has added some poundage to the skinny Gar the Texan we see in these photos.

In the first photo Gar the Texan is climbing down some steep stairs at the Turner Falls Castle. This very eccentric, well, castle, was built during the Great Depression.

The day that Gar the Texan and I went to Turner Falls Park in Winter, on the way north, he had the worst case of the vapors I'd seen him have. A Whopper at Burger King revived him. But, even after the revival I was concerned as to what he'd be able to do at Turner Falls Park, due to a lot of climbing and hiking being involved.

There is a cave high up the cliff beside the falls. Gar the Texan was determined to get into that cave, because we'd seen people in it when we looked down on the falls from the overlook. I am a bit of an acrophobe, though my acrophobia is very situational, as in it makes no sense. Get me at the Grand Canyon and I can climb out on some precipitous ledge and not be queasy. But if you mix a waterfall into the steepness, I get wobbly.

So, I followed Gar the Texan higher and higher as we climbed the Turner Falls cliff. The effort came to a point where I did not want to go further, but Gar did, climbing through a hole and then into the cave.

To celebrate his triumphant rock climbing and spelunking, Gar the Texan climbed a pinnacle high above the falls and let out some sort of primal scream that had me, for a second, thinking he was having another case of the vapors.

Honey Creek is what flows over Turner Falls. The water comes out of an underground spring a short distance away. It is very clear water. In summer the water gets nice and warm. In winter, not so much. But there is more of it in winter, making for scary rapids above the falls.

I have not been back to Turner Falls Park since the visit with Gar the Texan. I have been up to Oklahoma, a time or two, and have driven by the exit from I-35 that quickly leads to Turner Falls.

All year long the Turner Falls pages on my Eyes on Texas website are the most visited. Why? I do not know.

Cooking Oatmeal In Texas & Waiting For An Ice Storm

I'm blogging while I wait for my rice cooker to finish making steel cut oats. Did you know a rice cooker works great for cooking oatmeal? I didn't either, til I tried it. You can make grits in the rice cooker too. For you Yankees, grits is this thing us Southerners like with breakfast, or just about any ol' time. Grits is made from corn meal. It's pretty much tasteless, so you melt butter on it or syrup or honey or sorghum or cheese or anything that seems like it'd taste good.

It is a gray, foggy, drizzly Monday here in Texas, with a potential Ice Storm for Tuesday and Wednesday, with the temperature below freezing and with wet, likely frozen, stuff falling. I do not like Ice Storms. I had a butt bruising fall in my first Texas Ice Storm that was my biggest bruise ever, til a few years after that, when I had my worst roller blading fall ever.

I need to get another battery back-up, so a trip to Fry's Electronics in Arlington is on today's agenda. I'll see if my new digital camera is at Fry's. I bought all the parts, for the last computer I built, at Fry's. Fry's is good at making it easy to return stuff that doesn't work right, like my last laptop that blew up soon after being turned on.

After Fry's it's to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. I like Sweet Tomatoes.

I just heard the rice cooker click off. Breakfast is ready.

Ancient High School History

I've previously mentioned that a couple days ago, while looking at a thing called Facebook I inadvertently sent out a thing called a "Friend Request" to some names I recognized. I only actually knew 3 of the people to whom I sent one of those "Friend Requests."

One of the 3, who I actually knew, has been trying ever since to figure out who I am. This amuses me. She keeps sending me initials. Like are you MO? FC? SW?

This identification problem has caused both of us to dig out our long buried high school annuals. Or yearbooks. It's been so long I forget what they are called. I only have 3 of them, somewhere along the way I've lost my Freshman yearbook.

So, this morning I started looking through the yearbook from my Senior year, thinking there might be a picture of myself and the person who doesn't know who I am. I found numerous ones of both of us, but never in the same photo. Near as I could tell.

But, what was unsettling was reading the things people wrote in my yearbook. A lot of it made no sense to me, because I couldn't remember what they were talking about, about things I did or some wanted me to do. Were those years so painful I've blocked the memory? Or is it a function of time? Since I can't remember, I don't know the answer.

After I was done looking at the Senior yearbook I looked through the Junior one. That got even more confusing. Most of the people writing comments sign with only their first name, leaving me clueless as to who they are. Apparently I went to various places with someone named Laurie. On one of those occasions, apparently we were at the home of someone named Sue. For some reason a smacking noise was made and Sue popped around the corner all excited because she thought smooching was going on.

Another comment was from Beth. I remember Beth. I don't remember the incident Beth commented on, about me being a good sport taking someone named Lila to some prom/ball thing. along with Beth and some guy who's name I've already forgotten. I've no memory of going to a dance thing with someone named Lila.

I do remember Linda and I knew what she was talking about in her comment about Linda and me sitting in the front seat of my car for way too long, unaware that the windshield had been broken and we were sitting on glass.

A running theme in all these comments is the majority seemed to feel I have a good sense of humor. And repeatedly I am being advised not to ever change. But then there was one who commented that I had changed so much that year, and for the good. I don't remember changing. I do remember sort of being my mouthy self all the time, where earlier I only acted like that to the ones who really knew me.

Many commented on a fun event that happened to me my Junior year that gave me some bad boy notoriety that I'd never had before. That may have been the point where I decided to be my mouthy real self all the time.

In my Sophomore yearbook the comments really made me realize where the term sophomoric comes from. The Sophomore yearbook is the only one where I saw a comment from the Facebooker, Karen P.F., who can not remember me.

Apparently a friend of mine from grade school had spoken of me. In her comment in my Sophomore yearbook, Karen P.F. said that she ".....really had fun this year and one of the reasons is because I met you! I was scared of you at first and felt dumb, but after Wendy talked about you all the time I had to get to know you---glad I did!!!......"

Okay, now I know who Wendy is. Wendy and me were practically neighbors. Sometimes I rode her to school on my bike, with her sitting on the handlebars. Later we often rode the bus together to high school. And by the time I was 16, and had a car, I'd, ever so often, give Wendy a ride home. But, Wendy and I had a very, well, sarcastic sort of way of talking to each other. She'd make fun of me, I'd make fun of her. I can't picture her speaking of me in a way that would want someone to get to know me.

An example of Wendy sarcasm is what she wrote in my Sophomore yearbook..."Dearest (ooops, I can't type my name, that'd give Karen P.F. too good a clue) Let's start over....

Dearest X,
I don't know how I could have managed to complete the year without seeing your shining smile and knowing that your presence was not too far away. You really made my year and I don't know how I managed all the others without you. Your really a great guy. Good luck in absolutely everything. May the sun always shine on your path.
Just me,
Wendy

I remember exactly where the above was written. We sat next to each other in the back of the room in Geometry. All year long we bickered. I remember when I read what she wrote, I pointed out that "your" is a possessive pronoun and that she should have used "you're." In grade school I always got straight A's. Wendy usually got straight A's. I think she thought I was smarter than she was, so correcting her grammar was really annoying.

The last I saw Wendy was in 1991. She was looking real good. If I remember correctly we spoke pleasantly to each other. I actually don't remember for sure if I talked to Karen P.F. on that occasion. I do remember talking to her brother.

Okay, it is time to put these ancient annuals away for another couple decades, unless Karen P.F. comes up with some more initials for me to decipher.

Still Freezing In Texas

Okay, I know I've whined about it before, but I'm in a whining mood, so I'm gonna whine about it again. As in the schizophrenic weather of Texas is so annoying.

Yesterday was so warm I had my windows open and was tempted to turn on the A/C. Then today it's back in the DEEP FREEZE. I think our high for the day was 34. I think it was freezing when I went hiking on the Horseshoe Trails on Lake Grapevine after shopping at a super crowded Costco, that had more people cramming the aisles than when I was there before Christmas.

Where is this recession I keep hearing about?

Well, okay, other than all those shoppers, lots of cars on the road and restaurants with lots of cars in the lots, I did see some signs of the bad stuff that's going on. I saw a Circuit City with its going out of business sign. I saw the Alan Young GMC dealership with its empty lot, due to GMC shutting it down and taking the cars. I saw a lot of people having a free lunch eating Costco samples today. Including me. Yes. Hard times.

These cycles of HOT & COLD are wearing me down. It's like that torturous month I spent last summer in Tacoma, miserably shivering the entire month, for more reasons than the temperature. It took me quite some time to recover from that month last summer. Bouts of cold, like today, bring back the pain, sort of like post-traumatic stress syndrome, I suppose.

Well, the heater just came on, so warm air is now blowing down on me, giving me temporary relief from the cold. For now.

I need a tropical vacation. I hear Puerto Rico is nice.

A Tale Of Two Cities: Fort Worth And....

No, not Fort Worth and Dallas. I'm talking about Fort Worth and Seattle.

One of the many things that makes living in a new location interesting is noticing how differently things are done.

Like Public Works projects.

Both Seattle and Fort Worth have projects in the works that involve water.

In Fort Worth the water project involves changing the Trinity River, obliterating two forks that join at the north side of downtown, making the confluence into a little lake, taking down the flood levees, building a flood diversion channel and some canals where housing and restaurants will be built, along with 3 new bridges.

Seattle's water-related project involves tearing down what is known as the Alaskan Way Viaduct, that being an elevated section of Highway 99 that runs along Seattle's downtown waterfront. The Alaskan Way Viaduct is of a similar design to San Francisco's Embarcadero Freeway that came crashing down in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The Alaskan Way Viaduct was damaged during Seattle's last earthquake.

There has been one public vote in Seattle regarding replacement options. That vote did not settle the issue. Because it is a state highway, the state got involved. After a lot of debate the governor decided on a $4.2 billion tunnel option.

In a classic example of how differently things work up north, Elizabeth Campbell filed an initiative to prohibit replacing the viaduct with a tunnel. The Initiative was coincidentally named Initiative 99, like Highway 99. This initiative was filed the same day Governor Christine Gregoire and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and King County Executive Ron Sims announced the agreement to build the $4.2 billion tunnel.

Campbell has to get 17,968 signatures to have her initiative either adopted by the city council or sent to a public vote. Campbell thinks the tunnel option is ridiculous, preferring a cable-stay bridge over Elliot Bay.

Meanwhile, in Fort Worth, what is known as the Trinity River Vision has not been put to a single public vote. Though a lot of people think the vision is a boondoggle, there has been no attempt to force a vote, via petition or any other means. Fort Worth has snagged some pork barrel bucks, due to the machinations of Congresswoman Kay Granger, who's son runs the Fort Worth Vision, in what many consider an outrageous example of nepotism.

In these new, leaner times it is likely the Federal dollars will be cut from Fort Worth's Bridge to Nowhere. Unless, I would guess, Fort Worth's citizens finally get to vote and approve of the project, including taxing themselves to build it.

And then there is a third city. Dallas. Also with a Trinity River Vision. The citizens of Dallas have voted and approved of their vision. The first of 3 signature bridges is under construction.

I'm guessing Dallas is going to see its vision turn into a reality long before Fort Worth's Town Lake sees its first boat or the first car drives through Seattle's mile long $4.2 billion tunnel.

Unless another earthquake knocks down the Alaskan Way Viaduct, forcing a fast fix.

We're Freezing Again In Texas

That's the view from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony late Friday afternoon. It was an 80 degree day. Very pleasant. I had the windows open and was tempted, at one point, to close the windows and turn on the air conditioner.

I was almost back believing in Global Warming again.

But then this morning we are back in a deep freeze, as in it is only 30 out there at 10 in the morning. Brrr. The furnace is back on.

I was not successful in getting a new camera at the Arlington Costco yesterday. I'm able to temporarily revive my current camera out of its drop-induced coma to take a picture or two, like the one from Miss PR's balcony. And then it dies again.

I think I'll go up to the Grapevine/Southlake Costco today to see if my new camera is there. That Costco is a lot nicer than the Arlington one. It's more like one you'd find in Costco's homestate of Washington. Which makes sense due to Southlake having the D/FW Metroplex's highest percentage of transplanted Yankees, as in customers who have been in a West Coast Costco and thus have a higher quality expectation.

It's the same for the Southlake School District. The parents are used to non-Texas school standards and so they make their expectations known to the school board. And so Southlake has top-rated schools.

I read this morning that Gar the Texan has temporarily given up reading children's sci-fi type books and is instead taking someone's advice that he read some non-fiction. So, apparently Gar the Texan is now reading "Columbia History of the World." He is rushing through history, currently he's at the part in the World's History where the continents form and life begins.

Gar the Texan has a long ways to go. It's my hope that by the end of this book he will be able to talk about something other than computers, religion, Harry Potter and German beer. I hope it doesn't shock him too much when he gets to the part where he realizes his beloved Germans were bad boys long before World War's I & II.

The Priority Mail Myth

Yesterday I mentioned my newfound disdain for the delivery reliability of the U.S. Postal Service. I mentioned a package that someone sent me over 2 months ago, via Priority Mail, that had not arrived.

I also mentioned unsuccessful attempts to call my local Postmaster to complain. Well, today I got through.

The person I talked to put me on hold while she went to see if the package was there. She was back on the line within a minute, telling me that the package was there, that a delivery attempt had been made December 24.

I was here December 24. That was the day that I got a note from my mailman telling me he was sorry he was unable to deliver a package. That's the time I successfully called the Postmaster, he told me the package was there, so I went and got the package. A box of Christmas cookies.

The Priority Mail package that I got today, cost $9.80 to ship from Washington to Texas.

It seems to me there is not much of a priority to Priority Mail if the priority is so lax as to allow a package to languish for so long on a shelf with no attempt to deliver it. Or return it to the sender.

So, I opened the package. It was several Christmas gifts, all wrapped. It was like having Christmas all over again. Out of it I have a nice Washington calendar. I'm looking at a snowy Mt. Spokane ski lift right now, with the lights of Spokane in the distance. It doesn't make me homesick. It looks cold.

Facebook Friends Fiasco

A couple days ago I was reading the Only Child Syndrome blog when the Only Child mentioned that she was finally provoked to check out Facebook. She had been an early user of MySpace, but grew tired of MySpace when it was co-opted by teenagers and trashy webpages with way too much going on.

I went through a MySpace phase a couple years ago, moved to do so by Tootsie Tonasket. She was having some problems (they've gotten worse) with her son and the mother of her granddaughter. I had fun making up a bunch of characters. It was amusing having all these people interacting with fake people.

Two of the characters, Durango & Igor, used pictures of me. I had Igor being a 34 year old Dallas cop. One thing led to another and soon Tootsie Tonasket's son was making threats to Igor. Which led Igor to cause the son to believe Igor had been in contact with the Wenatchee police regarding the threats.

Which all sounds ridiculous, but had the son, he ain't too bright, telling his mother he was going to turn himself in to the Wenatchee police before they arrested him. His mother was then able to tell the wayward son that she could get Igor to stop this, if the son would shape up. And that's what he did, for awhile. And he was grateful to his mother and treated her better. For awhile.

So, anyway, after reading what the Only Child said, I decided to check out Facebook. Well, before you can do anything in Facebook you have to set up an account. The steps in that process have you listing your birthdate, where you went to school, what year, I forget what else.

And then the setup process comes to this part where people from your high school years show up. I thought I was supposed to click on names I knew. I only recognized 4 of them. So, I clicked them, not realizing this sent the person something called a 'Friend Request."

One of the Friend Requests went to someone named Jeff Kenoyer. I recognized the name, but had no memory of the guy. He sent a message back asking who I was, how he knew me and why I wanted to be his friend. This felt vaguely embarrassing.

Then I got another reply from one who I actually do remember, Karen Fisher. Since I'd made myself younger than reality during that setup thing, she said "Hey. We were not in the same class. Are you from Burlington?"

To which I explained how it was I came to send out that Friend Request thing, and that some of the info in my Facebook profile isn't true, due to me not thinking I'd be using this Facebook thing, so why bother worrying about making every little detail accurate. That and I like being 15 years younger than my actual age.

Anyway, last night Karen made a series of amusing attempts to figure out who I am. I pointed her to this very blog, but apparently I look so much different than I did in high school that I am not recognizable. This pleases me. I had no idea!

To figure out who Jeff Kenoyer is, I had to find my high school yearbook. I was pretty certain they'd made it to Texas with me. I was right, all but the Freshman one. I've no idea what became of that one. When I saw Jeff Kenoyer's face, I recognized him as someone I'd seen before.

I'd not looked at a yearbook in a long long long time. It all looks so dated now. I guess that makes sense since it was a long long long time ago. That's Karen and her twin Keith, above, scanned from the yearbook. Apparently they were voted "Most Dependable" by my class. I have no memory of voting on such a thing. I don't remember if they were dependable or not. I do remember they were both cheerful and nice people.

What a world we live in now. Way back in high school if you'd told me that in 2009 we'd have an African-American President, that I'd be in Texas, walking distance from where Lee Harvey Oswald is buried, sitting at something called a computer, writing something called a Blog and scanning a picture out of my high school annual, well, little of that would have made any sense to me. Though I would have thought the info about the black President to be cool.

I wonder if Karen will figure out who I am today. I suspect not. I have never been a memorable person....

Caroline Kennedy Affair?

The Dallas Morning News had not arrived by the time my morning coffee had.

The lack of a newspaper had me laying on the floor reading that book I've mentioned earlier, that being "Sons of Camelot: The Fate of an American Dynasty." It's a good book. I had no idea how bad the behavior was of some of Bobby and Ethel's offspring.

I remember John Jr.'s infamous photo in his magazine George were he posed as Adam, nude, with an apple above his head and chastised two of his cousin's, Michael the Statutory Rapist, and Joe, as, "Poster Boys For Bad Behavior." The Poster Boys For Bad Behavior is the chapter I read this morning.

However, despite currently reading this book about bad Kennedy behavior, I'm still not quite able to believe this morning's fresh Kennedy scandal. That being that the actual reason Caroline Kennedy withdrew her bid to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate, was that she'd been told if she didn't withdraw, her supposed affair with New York Times publisher, Arthur Sulzberger would be exposed.

The alleged affair has been reported on Fox News and MSNBC. Sulzberger is in the midst of getting a divorce after being married to Gail Gregg for 33 years. Caroline is married, with children, to Ed Schlossberg.

That's a photo of Sulzberger above.

HOT Hiking January Tandy Hills Day In Cowtown

We're in the 80s today, this 22nd day of the New Year, in Texas, in what some British newspaper called the United States of Obama.

The check I mentioned in a blogging earlier about the Post Office, showed up today. I got it on my way to the Tandy Hills around noon. That's today's view of beautiful downtown Fort Worth. This view is actually from a vantage point outside of the park, out in the zone where all the broadcast towers are.

On the way out of the park I saw that someone had dismantled the Tandy Hills Shrine, removing it from the trail and tossing it all in the grass. I was appalled at this senseless destruction of a living piece of ever growing guerrilla art. It can and shall be rebuilt.

But not today. I was in a hurry to get the hiking done.

Being an exercise addict is not all it's cracked up to be. It's like an annoying addiction. If I don't get my fix, I don't feel good. It's a living hell having a monkey like this on your back. I don't know how to get the monkey off my back. There are no 12 step programs that I'm aware of. There should be, because there are a lot of people out there, like me, with this addiction.

I took the Island Girl to the airport. Again. This morning.

A couple hours later, I got a call from Miami asking if I am mad at her. Then another from San Juan with the same question. I'm expecting a 3rd call from Ponce with the same question. The answer is "Duh." I let the calls go to voice mail.

I'm heading out in this blistering heat, again, to head north to Washington Mutual, then further north to Sprouts Farmers Market. I have room for one passenger in my vehicle if you want to come along.

Problems With The United States Postal Service

Up til recently I thought people who complained about Post Office competence were being totally unfair. With me thinking the Post Office does an amazing job of delivering so much stuff.

Up til recently, as far as I knew, I'd never not received something sent to me, or had someone not receive something I'd sent.

But, in the past several months I've had 2 packages not properly delivered. In that the mailman leaves a note saying that he was sorry he was unable to deliver. The note tells you to sign it if you want to have another attempt to deliver made. Or pick it up yourself.

I've tried the 'sign the note for another delivery attempt' option before. The note just stays in my mailbox. Ignored.

My mail room has a separate area for parcel deliveries. The mailman is supposed to put the package in a parcel box and leave the key in my mailbox. Apparently that is extra work and it's easier to leave a note.

I called my local postmaster to complain. I was told the problem was chronic and that he was old school which took pride in doing the job right, but a lot of the new younger mailmen were slackers.

About a month ago I learned someone had mailed me a package with around $250 worth of stuff inside. What stuff, I don't know, she wouldn't say. When I was asked if I got the package it was already a month since it had been mailed. It's now been another month. No package.

Calling the Post Office, now, I get an answering machine. I don't know how I managed to get the Postmaster on the line the previous time I called to complain.

And now this morning I learned that a check I've been expecting had been mailed to me, at my P.O. Box. It is a large check. I have not seen it. This vexes me.

High Tandy Hills Hiking Temps, Big Mammal Encounters, Tootsie Tonasket & The Island Girl Returns

That's the view from the Tandy Hills, a couple hours ago, at about 4 in the afternoon, looking west towards downtown Fort Worth and Interstate 30. It was 75 when I went hiking. We are in the 70s the next several days.

The picture was taken with my miraculously brought back from the dead camera. It remains alive.

I was in the Tandy Hills zone in the late afternoon due to agreeing to deliver a party, who insists on not being talked about in my blog, to a doctor's appointment. The appointment was supposed to take about an hour. Which meant I hiked for about an hour.

I had a scary encounter with a large mammal in one of the more isolated areas of the park. I heard loud noises, I first thought it was an armadillo, which I've never seen in the Tandy Hills, but I'm well used to the noise they make as they rut about for bugs to eat. I hear them all the time at Indian Village Creek Natural Historic Area.

As I got closer to the source of the noise I knew it was not an armadillo, it was too loud. I began to be concerned it might be one of those wild hogs I've read about.

And then I saw what it was. A man clearing some brush. We exchanged a few words and then my phone rang.

It was Tootsie Tonasket wanting to tell me the latest chapter in her soap opera. The short version is she had her son arrested on outstanding warrants. The son had been getting drunk and threatening Tootsie. Tootsie's husband has moved out to his own rented house a few houses from Tootsie's. The son moved in with his dad. And now is in jail. There were more details but I can't remember them, due to my attention deficit disorder problem. Or blessing.

Tomorrow I once again deliver an Island Girl to the airport for a sober return to the land of her birth. I enjoy the early morning jaunts to the airport. Why? I do not know.

My Olympus Camera Has Come Back From The Dead

A few days ago I blogged about dropping my Olympus camera, breaking it, and my search for a new camera, with the 2 finalists being an Olympus waterproof, drop damage resistant, weather proof camera and a top-rated Canon.

So, yesterday I picked up my damaged Olympus, thinking I'd take out the rechargeable batteries. But, before I did that, for some reason, I thought I'd try to turn the camera on again.

It came on as if nothing had happened to it. I took a picture as if nothing had happened to it. After I'd dropped it there was a real bad grinding noise when the camera tried to open. The display would not light up. Pushing on the shutter button did nothing.

I can only speculate why the camera is back working. Here I was going to buy a new Olympus, that was supposed to be harder to break. But apparently my, once more alive, current Olympus, has some sort of magical repair itself ability.

Or maybe when I dropped the camera some part of the inner mechanism was wrenched out of alignment, but held in tension by a spring, or something. Then while sitting idle the tension slowly put whatever had wrenched out of alignment, back into place.

I'm going with the magical repair itself option. We'll see how long the newly healed camera continues to work. It likely is a temporary return from the dead.

Are You In With Starbucks Free Coffee Call For National Service?

Minutes ago I was doing the secret behind my flexible, youthful body, that being yoga on a big inflated ball. I listen to the radio while I do this.

There was a new Starbucks ad that struck me as, well, wrong. While seeming to be altruistic.

The Starbucks ad said Starbucks was getting behind President Obama's Inaugural Speech call for community service by joining forces with something called HandsOn Network.

Starbucks is suggesting the good citizens of America answer their new President's call for service by giving up 5 hours a week to community service.

And, if you do your 5 hours between Wednesday, January 21, as in today, and Sunday, January 25, Starbucks will reward your good service by giving you one free cup of coffee. Not a Frappaccino, not a Mocha, not any of those other fancy coffee drinks Starbucks sells, that I've seldom bought, even though I'm from the coffee mad Seattle zone.

Directly from Starbucks...

How to Participate at Your Local Starbucks

Visit Starbucks:
You can join the “I’m In” campaign, part of the Starbucks™ Shared Planet™ commitment to community involvement, when visiting a local participating Starbucks beginning Wednesday, Jan. 21 (and continuing through Sunday, Jan. 25). Stop by the “I’m In” display featuring community pledge cards, pick up the card, and fill it out with your five-hour commitment to volunteer.

Pledge Five:
Place the “I’m In” sticker from the pledge card on your lapel, signifying your pledge, and take the card with you as a reminder to keep the effort going. As a thank you, each customer who pledges five hours of their own time will receive a complimentary tall cup of brewed coffee.

Track Success:
Customers can log on to pledge5.starbucks.com to record pledge hours, find local volunteer opportunities via the HandsOn Network, track hours pledged-to-date, and receive updates on the campaign."

I don't know, maybe this is Starbucks doing a good thing. But something about it struck me as sort of a cheesy marketing ploy. I think if the ad had simply said Starbucks had allied itself with the HandsOn Network and were encouraging people to volunteer, suggesting people go to Starbucks' website for info on how to volunteer. And not had the free cup of coffee thing if you do your 5 hours in the next 5 days, then it would have seemed like a totally altruistic thing.

Or if Starbucks pledged some monetary donation to some good cause for every 5 hours of community service, that would have seemed like a good thing.

But the idea of doing 5 hours of community service and going into a Starbucks to get a cup of coffee for free, well, I might do the 5 hours, but I wouldn't bother with the coffee.

I remember years ago, Burger King had a promotion where you got a free Whooper if you'd go to the counter and say "Whopper beat the Big Mac." I was able to get myself to do this once. But something about it was embarrassing to me. Even though I actually do think the Whopper beats the Big Mac.

Now, I'm off to do 5 hours of community service so I can get a cup of coffee...

Public Airport Intoxication: Part Two, The Seinfeld Moment

Well, I really had me a day, yesterday. A totally absurd day. The most absurd part was a Seinfeld moment, well minutes, that had me running for 45 minutes, covering miles of two D/FW Airport parking garages. I'll get to that later.

So, you may remember, yesterday I took someone to the airport who proceeded to get arrested and jailed for public intoxication.

The party in question was heading to an island in the Atlantic, where the arrestee's 83 year old mother was going to pick her up.

So, the arrested was quite panicked as to how to let her mother know not to go to the airport. Several calls were made from the jail cell to various people trying to get the recipient of the call to call the mother. However, the cell connection from the cell was so bad, no one could make out much of the calls. And I don't speak Spanish. So, how could I call the mother.

At some point the arrestee was able to get ahold of someone on the island and told that person to tell the mother that the arrestee was sick. The person on the island somehow then told the mother that the arrestee was sick and in the hospital. Which is sort of true if you stretch poet license to its limits.

I got the number of the jail. Called, explained the situation. I'd been getting constant phone calls from the arrestee. Little of which I could understand. The jailer said he'd put the arrestee on a land line. Before that could happen the arrestee called again. I said I'd head that way and see if I could cause a release to happen.

The jail is not inside the airport. It's on a side road to the east about 3 miles from the main airport freeway. I found the jail. I talked to the jailer. He said the arrestee had not sobered up, under the legal limit, almost 9 hours after the arrest. I was appalled.

The jailer put the arrestee on a jail phone. I felt like I was in a prison movie. The arrestee was in a panic, worried her mother would have a heart attack thinking she was in a hospital. The arrestee begged me to get her out of there. I said I'd see what I could do.

I talked to the jailer, asked if the almost sober arrestee could be released to me. He said he'd go check on the current condition. He came back and said he could release the now sober arrestee.

It took a half hour to process us out of there. That is when it was learned that the 3 pieces of carry-on bags and a jacket, were back inside the airport.

The jailer gave me a number to call to make sure the items were there. I got an answering machine. The jailer told me Lost and Found was in the C2 section of the C terminal. I'd dropped the drunk off at C31 that morning. C31 is a long ways from C2. It's a big airport.

While I was trying to call Lost and Found the newly released jailbird called her mother. The cell phone had a good connection once it was out of the cell. I don't know what cover story was told the mother. I didn't care at that point.

So, we head back into the airport. I easily park right across from C2. I barged the line at the ticket counter and asked the agent where Lost and Found is. Right behind us, through security, she said. So, we had to show our driver's licenses and she printed up what looked like boarding tickets.

I was not happy having to go through security. I hate that part of flying. And I was not prepared for it. As in I was wearing baggy pants held up by a belt. But I made it through with only one slight moment where it would have been embarrassing. I was going commando, also with no socks.

I started to feel like I was in an Amazing Race episode. I found Lost and Found. Explained the situation. The Lost and Found lady, Tiffany Washington, said that type stuff is not brought there. I used my considerable powers of charm, and Tiffany made a lot of phone calls and located the missing items. They were back at baggage claim for C31.

We went back to my van, left that parking garage and headed for the C31 parking garage. Unlike C2, the C31 entry level was full, so I go to the next level, then the next. Find a spot, park, hurry to the C31 baggage claim. We find the stuff behind a locked door. A lady opens it. All is there but the jacket.

We grabbed the stuff and hurried out of there. Crossed over to the parking garage. I quickly walked to where I thought the van was. It was not there. I was totally baffled. We walked around for a bit, re-traced steps, all to no avail.

I then told the recently drunk one to stay put and I'd run through the garage. I proceeded to do so. It was sort of fun. I was told later I looked like a cartoon character. I thought I had checked out every possible location in that garage. So, I ran to the next garage. I quickly figured out, after running through 2 levels, that there was no way that could be the location.

Ran back to the C31 garage. Found the freshly sober one, who had asked an airport employee for help and was given a number to call where they'd send someone to drive you through the garages looking for your vehicle. I thought that sounded ridiculous, but I took the number.

I said to the sober one, I think I made a mistake, thinking we'd had to go up, to find my van, but then I remembered that when I left the full level, the road went downhill, before re-entering the parking garage.

So, I ran down a level, then another. I was pretty sure I was on the right track, but I was calling that rescue number anyway. As I hit option #1 on the phone tree, I spotted my van.

I called the arrestee/jailbird/drunk/sober one and said stay put, I'll be right there.

It was an uneventful drive back. 121 had backed up 183, so I exited at 157 and took a right on Trinity Boulevard to get back here with no more traffic jams.

The starved arrestee/jailbird/drunk/sober one had not eaten, so I drove through Jack in the Box, then back to her place, where I hauled up the baggage and poured the rest of the liquid, that had caused the trouble, down the drain.

I needed a good symbolic gesture.

And then I was out of there. 20 minutes later I got a call telling me she found the missing jacket, stuffed into one of her bags.

What a happy ending to a sad, sordid, pathetic story.

Today's Obese Outhouse Joke

Regarding yesterday's incident where an intoxicated wannabe flier was not allowed to fly, but was instead allowed to spend the day in the airport jail, well, Gar the Texan opined regarding the absurdity of being so harsh with someone who is a tad tipsy, due to the tipsiness potentially presenting a hazard to the other fliers once they are in the air and facing some potential problem, where it'd be best if everyone were stone cold sober.

While at the same time, an obese person, who it would logically seem might present just as much a safety hazard, if not worse, to their fellow fliers in case of an emergency, is allowed to fly. Sometimes after having to purchase a second seat to hold all their girth.

As usual, Gar the Texan, with his extremely highly evolved thought processing, seems to be making a valid point.

I truly would not want to be seated next to either a drunk or an extremely obese person. Either would be uncomfortable and a potential safety hazard, particularly if I had the window seat, in both an emergency and a restroom call.

The Hazards Of Public Intoxication At D/FW Airport

That is the morning view of part of the enormous Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. Or, as Fort Worth would prefer it to be called, Fort Worth/Dallas Airport.

I was there this morning, real early. To deliver a person flying out of the country.

On the way to the airport the person flying was consuming a liquid beverage. I thought it was some liquid breakfast of some sort.

But, by the time we got to the terminal I began to think that the liquid breakfast had a high alcohol content. It was so early in the morning I thought there was no way the person flying would be drinking a liquid breakfast with a high alcohol content.

I got the person flying through the terminal door and I was on my way home.

About 5 minutes after getting back here, that'd be about 15 minutes since I left the airport, I got a call. The person flying had been stopped from getting on a plane, charged with public intoxication and brought to the airport jail to sober up. I really was not able to understand much of what the person flying was saying.

So, I called back. A man answered. It was the jailer. The phone had been taken away from the person flying. He told me the person flying was going to be held until sober and a fine was paid.

Hours later, the jailer must have returned the phone to the person flying, because I got a garbled, bad connection call, asking me to call the person flying's mother to tell the mother the person flying was sick.

I reminded the person flying that I do not speak Spanish and even if I did, telling the mother that the person flying was sick would likely worry the mother more than the person flying not showing up at the appointed time.

About an hour back I got another call. Another bad connection.

An hour or so later, another call, this time I could make out that the fine had been paid. $210. And that the person flying would be released in an hour or so.

I then called the jail for directions. The jail is not at the airport.

I guess I'll head that way, but I'm in no big hurry to rescue the person who was formerly flying.

So, that's been my day. Up at 3am, dealing with public intoxication. And now another trip to the airport zone.

I need to find a better class of persons flying to deliver to the airport. I delivered Gar the Texan to the airport once. I don't think he was drunk.

Seeing West & Clear At The Fort Worth Omni Convention Center Hotel

The best Fort Worth blog, about Fort Worth, that I've seen, definitely isn't mine. The best that I know of is called West & Clear. So named after the two like named forks of the Trinity River, which become one on the north end of Downtown Fort Worth.

A rather scenic confluence that will be obliterated if the Trinity River Vision ever becomes clear.

Awhile back I verbalized my disdain over Fort Worth's new Omni Convention Center Hotel.

West & Clear are fans of the new building. They verbalize their appreciation of the new Hotel here. They also mention my disdain for the Hotel.

I've not seen the inside of the new Hotel. I probably will like it when I see it. My only problem with the building is all those huge balconies sticking out from the sides that look like scaffolding from the distance. To my architecturally untrained eyes they look goofy. And dangerous.

Other than that, I like the look of the building, the way it matched sleek modern tower with the stone-faced non-tower part. The shape looks slender, vulnerable in the wind, like a sail on a ship.
If only someone had said no to those balconies. I fear someone will fall from one. Or jump. Or drop something, injuring someone below. Causing a lengthy closure, like what happened after drownings in the Water Gardens, while a fix to the dangerous balconies is found.

I hope I'm wrong.

You At 50: AARP Video

The American Association of Retired People (AARP) had a contest titled "U @ 50." The below video won 2nd place. It is quite good. Very clever. The video was submitted by a 20 year old.

The Bush Regime Ends Today

I suspect there will be some partying today, around the world, with the end of the Bush Regime finally here.

I hope George slept well on his last night in the White House. I did. After yesterday's insomnia bout, this morning I slept in til past 3am.

I needed to be up early today. I have to take a Puerto Rican to the airport so she can fly to Miami, then San Juan, then Ponce, where her 82 year old Mom will pick her up to take her to her hometown of Coamo.

Coamo, Puerto Rico is known for its hot springs. And being the location of a big battle during the Spanish-American War. Miss Puerto Rico does not know that that war is why her island is part of the United States. I find people not knowing such things to be perplexing.

By the end of today George Bush will be starting his exile in Texas. I think he is heading to his ranch in Crawford, not his new home in Dallas.

I'm considering today to be the actual start of the New Year.

Happy New Year!

MLK Day Insomnia in Texas & Naked Bart Simpson

I have been up since about 2 this morning. I went to bed early. I did not have any nightmares, like during my last insomnia bout, where I was chased by 6 monster women trying to eat me.

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning in effect til 6pm. A Red Flag Warning means the conditions are right for wildfires, as in it's dry and windy. So far, I smell no smoke.

For the past few days, AT & T I-verse has been having all their pay to view channels running free. That meant what appears to be a couple hundred versions of multiple HBO, MAXs, Showtimes and others were viewable and recordable.

Consequently I watched large parts of Suburbia and The Simpson's Movie. Maybe too much uninterrupted Homer wrought havoc with my ability to sleep. Or maybe it was that extremely long, Bart, full frontal nude skateboard scene.

Anyway, so far it's been a rather low energy Martin Luther King Day. Usually I celebrate by doing something altruistic. Right now I can't remember an example.

I read my Tacoma nephew's blog this morning. They are all sick. I have not been sick in a long time. Sleepless, yes. Sick, no. When I was up in Tacoma I tried to instill in those boys and their parents the salubrious benefits of washing their dishes with hot water and soap. I warned if you don't do this you risk getting all sorts of viruses and bacteria.

Now, I wash all my eating equipment in extremely hot water, with extremely potent dishwashing soap, to the point that I reach hospital level sterility. Hence that not getting sick thing. Maybe, now, with this most recent bout of ailing, those Tacoma nephews of mine will finally take heed of their uncle's wise advice.

And right now I don't need to hear from you boys, bragging about how easily you can fall asleep. All day long.

Fort Worth's Endangered Marvel of Modernism

At the north end of Fort Worth's downtown there is something known as Heritage Park. When I moved to Fort Worth, Heritage Park was the first thing I saw in the town that impressed me as a good thing.

Heritage Park was supposed to be a sort of memorial to the founding of Fort Worth. It was a complex set of stairs, catwalks, overlooks and water features.

You may have noticed I used the past tense "was." Because for well over a year the city of Fort Worth has had Heritage Park surrounded by ugly cyclone fencing. And "Closed Signs."

Go here to see the current sad state of Fort Worth's Heritage Park.

The excuse given for this civic neglect is that people were scared to go in the park due to homeless people hanging out there. And its water features were expensive to maintain. There has been no attempt, as far as I know, to fix this park that has become an eyesore, yet one more blight on Fort Worth's self image as a town that is the envy of other towns, far and wide.

Heritage Park is adjacent to a police building. It would seem that regular patrols could have easily been made of the park. Better lighting could have been installed. Along with surveillance cameras.

Seattle has a similar park, called Freeway Park, considered a precedent setting park of the same nature as Heritage Park. Freeway Park had some crime problems. Seattle fixed the problem. Freeway Park did not close. Go here to read the Wikipedia article about Seattle's Freeway Park and how Seattle modified the park to make it more secure.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation has released their annual list of Endangered Marvels of Modernism. Heritage Park, in Fort Worth, is on the list.

" Boston City Hall Plaza, Boston, MA
" Estates Drive Reservoir, Oakland, CA
" Heritage Plaza, Heritage Park, Fort Worth, TX
" Kaiser Roof Garden, Kaiser Center, Oakland, CA
" Lake Elizabeth, Allegheny Commons, Pittsburgh, PA
" Manhattan Square Park, Rochester, NY
" Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks, Kent, WA
" Miller Garden, Columbus, IN
" El Monte, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
" Pacific Science Center Courtyard, Seattle, WA
" Parkmerced, San Francisco, CA
" Peavey Plaza, Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN

FDR, IKE, JFK, LBJ, NIXON & BHO

As far as I know, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was our first President frequently referred to by his initials, as in FDR. I assume this came about due FDR's long last name having 3 syllables.

I know some people, like Richard Nixon, refer to FDR's cousin Teddy as TR, but I don't know if Teddy Roosevelt's contempories did.

FDR's successor, Harry S Truman, did not become known as HST. The S between Harry and Truman is not the first letter of his middle name. Truman's middle name is a middle initial. With no period after it. Why, I do not know.

Truman was followed by a President with a long last name, but he did not become known as DDE. Instead he was known as Ike. Ike was Dwight David Eisenhower. Ike sounds better than saying DDE.

Ike was followed by JFK. Who was followed by LBJ. LBJ had a fairly short last name. But I think people liked the sound of saying JFK and so they segued easily into Lyndon Baines Johnson being LBJ. It worked great for anti-war chants, as in "Hey Hey LBJ. How many kids did you kill today?"

LBJ was to be our last President known by his initials. Nixon followed him and while there were some instances of him being referred to as RMN, it just did not stick. Mostly, I suppose, because Nixon is a nice short name with a punch to it when said aloud, like Hitler.

Nixon was followed by Ford. Again a short name. Then Carter. Again short. I think Jimmy Carter's middle name is Earl. That'd make him JEC. That just looks weird. Jimmy Carter was followed by Ronald Reagan. I do remember seeing Reagan referred to as RR a time or two, but that definitely did not stick. It was just way to easy to say Reagan, a good short name, like Nixon and Hitler.

Reagan was followed by Bush. No need to call him GHWB. Bush was followed by Clinton. Again a nice 2 syllable name that has a punch to it, so it was Clinton, not WJC. That would have looked to much like the initials for Water Closet.

Of course, Clinton was unfortunately followed by another Bush. Who was never referred to as GWB, but sometimes the, to be retired tomorrow, Bush was referred to as W.

Tomorrow the world breathes a sigh of relief as W is replaced by Barack Hussein Obama. I'm fairly certain he will not be referred to by his initials. BHO sounds too much like HBO. And if you take the middle name out you are left with BO. And that definitely would not sound Presidential.

Roman Philosopher Cicero Predicting The Future

I've mentioned several times that Alma, the Songbird of the Texas Gulf Coast, sends me a lot of real amusing, interesting stuff. Every once in awhile Alma sends something that just seems too good to be true.

Like this morning.

An email with a quote from the Roman Philosopher, Cicero.

In the subject line it said, "What have we learned in 2 Millennia?"

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."

Cicero - 55 BC

And then the punch line to the what have we learned question, "Evidently Nothing!!!"

The 2 red flags for me were the part about assistance to foreign lands and people living on public assistance. Rome occupied foreign lands and extracted wealth from them. Rome didn't operate an American style foreign aid program. Rome had a lot of slaves, there was no welfare program.

Several websites deal with this erroneous Cicero quote. With several people saying they liked fictional Cicero.

The closest Cicero came to uttering the fictional quote is when he said, “The arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and assistance to foreign hands should be curtailed, lest Rome fall.”

Despite the fictional quote not being what Cicero said, the punch line sure rings true. It does seem, at times, that in 2000 years the world has evidently learned nothing. Or very little. We had religious crazies killing and maiming people back then, we have them now. Only now they have machine guns and rocket launchers. And Internet websites.

Polite Texas 8th Grader Asking Permission First

Fairly frequently I get an email asking permission to use some of my photos from my Eyes on Texas website.

Usually the request comes from a student.

One time it came from a restaurant decorator wanting Fort Worth images to put on its wall.

Another request came from Backpacker Magazine. They wanted to use a picture of a Longhorn in Wildflowers that I took by the west end of Lake Grapevine. One time the request was for a charity coffee table type book featuring Waxachachie. I think I said yes to everyone but the restaurant designers. I didn't see why he should use my pictures for free. And he wasn't willing to pay anything for them.

Sometimes I learn someone has hotlinked to one of my photos. That annoys me. It's like stealing, with them using my server bandwidth to put my photo on their webpage. When I find one of those I alter the photo and upload both the original and the altered one to my server. Sometimes it takes a long time for the photo thief to find the picture has been changed.

Today I got an email from an 8th grader named Tiffany, politely asking for permission to use some of my Dallas photos.

I'll paste Tiffany's request below. It's nice to see we're getting some kids being taught well, here in Texas, coherent, grammatically correct and with no spelling errors. If only I could manage all three of those attributes.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am an eighth grader at Livingston Junior High in Livingston, Texas, and I am writing to request information for a school project.

My class is involved in a large project called "Business Professionals of America." This project has many different categories of competition such as keyboarding, spreadsheets, prepared speech, etc. and i am participating in web site design. Every year this project follows a theme set by the Business Professionals of America office, and for the 2008-2009 school year our theme is "The Top Ten Things To Do In Dallas." For this project, we are required to design a web site rating the top ten things to do during your stay in Dallas.

I am writing to ask for written permission for the use of the pictures on your website. If this would be possible, it would be extremely helpful. I appreciate your time and assistance. Thank you in advance for your help.

Sincerely,
Tiffany Shelby

Six January Executions In Texas

Last week, on Wednesday, we had our first execution of the year, here in Texas.

A Fort Worth man named Curtis Moore got the lethal needle for murdering three people in Fort Worth in a particularly brutal fashion, with two of the victims shot and thrown on a Fort Worth street. Then 2 other victims were driven to another part of Fort Worth, shot, set on fire and left in a car to die.

Darrek Wayne Hoyle survived the shooting and the fire, but with very bad burns which left serious scars, visible when he watched the execution of the man who tried to kill him.

Five more are slated for the lethal needle this month here in Texas, putting us on track to keep our #1 spot as the state with the most executions. There are 8 executions scheduled this month in the United States. Six of those 8 are in Texas.

The Taliban & Mentally Ill People Everywhere

That's an Afghan Taliban killing an Afghani woman. The Afghani woman had committed the horrendous crime of having polish on her fingernails.

What sort of twisted world do we live in where there are barbarians like this? It's not a capital crime to murder someone, but it is a capital crime to wear fingernail polish.

In this morning's Dallas Morning News there was an article about the Taliban in northwest Pakistan banning female education. More than 40,000 girls have been kicked out of school.

In their ultimatum, the Taliban warned parents against sending their daughters to school, declaring female education to be "un-Islamic."

In one week, this past December, the Taliban beheaded 13 people. Many people in the Pakistan Valley of Swat are fleeing the Taliban, included policemen, leaving the area even more lawless.

How do humans get so twisted and backwards all in the name of their religion? Why is there no high ranking Islam Ayatollah type person who orders these idiots to knock it off?

To me if you are in a gang that goes around murdering women because they have polish on their nails and beheading people for equally stupid reasons, well, it's just insane mental illness.

I've dealt with mental illness up close and personal. Mentally ill people are usually absolutely sure of whatever ideas and beliefs their degraded thinking produces. There is no reasoning with them. They have no sense of responsibility for their actions and behaviors. They believe anything they do is okay.

If you find yourself having to defend yourself against a mentally ill person, they never understand that their behavior brought on the defense. The Taliban are equally self-righteous. America has been blasting them for years, with America justifiably mad over 9/11, and the Taliban just continue on, doing their evil deeds.

The only way to stop them is to kill them. America kills them for killing others. Not for using fingernail polish.

Now, what to do with the non-killer type mentally ill person? We used to lock them up. Now only the most serious cases are institutionalized. Now, way too often drugs are used to control the bad behavior. That has not seemed a very good solution either, from what I've seen.

I think maybe the best solution might be move them all to the Taliban controlled zones of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

I'm Leaving Texas And Heading To Oz

This coming July I'm planning on ending my Texas Exile for 6 months to be exiled in Australia instead.

As in for 6 months I'll be living off the coast of Queensland on the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef, my homebase will be on Hamilton Island, which is part of Australia's Whitsunday Islands.

I'll be working for Tourism Queensland. My job is "Caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef." But I really won't be doing any caretaking.

What I will be doing is explore around the islands, above and below water, going to places like Qualia on Hamilton Island for a spa treatment, do some bushwhacking, feed some fish, fly with the aerial postal service and whatever I feel like doing.

And taking video and pictures of what I see and do. Then writing a blog about my ongoing 6 month experience, with a video diary and photo gallery.

And now for the best part. Tourism Queensland is paying all my transportation costs, plus all my other costs while on the islands. And on top of that, they are paying me $100,000, for 6 months of fun. If some emergency comes up, back in the states, I can fly back to attend to it. But at my own expense.

You can go here and see what my new home zone looks like....

I Know No Mean People In Texas

I like the true crime genre, although lately I seem to have gone deep into the political book genre, with my favorite of that genre being Richard Nixon's In the Arena. No matter what you think of Nixon, I think you'd find this an interesting book. It was like Nixon in gossip mode.

One chapter is devoted to drinking, with Nixon telling stories about the drinking habits of all the political figures he'd met. Celebrities too. John Wayne came for a visit, I think it was after the resignation, when Nixon was recuperating from his near death bout. Nixon asked John Wayne if he'd like a drink. Sure, gin and tonic. Well, Nixon couldn't find the tonic. I forgot what he used instead. And he made it heavy on the gin. John Wayne took one sip and said "that's a damn fine drink."

Nixon was one complex guy. The chapter about Pat was very touching. I think I almost shed a tear. And the way he wrote about his grandkids was poignant and funny. He was quite proud that his grandkids were proficient with computers and video games, while Nixon confessed to being baffled by both.

Nixon had a reputation of being a mean, bad man. I don't think he was, mean, I mean. Yes, he may have done a few bad things, that he came to regret, but he was not mean.

I got an email today telling me about the latest troubling shenanigans of a notoriously Mean Person we know in common.

I don't have much tolerance for Mean People, you know, those sorts who say things just to be Mean. It doesn't have to be truthful, usually it isn't, being Mean is the main criteria.

I haven't experienced all that many Mean People, but the ones I have known, have no scruples. They will out and out make up lies to buttress whatever Mean Thing they are saying. Mean People have no concept that they bring on themselves the reactions they get to their Meanness, as if they think they are under some sorta of immunity blanket.

As in, Mean People think they can say the most outrageously Mean Thing, in reaction to the most minor of stimuli. Yet, when their victim puts the Mean Thing into perspective, in an attempt to comprehend the incomprehensible, well, the Mean Person gets all bent out of shape and even Meaner. Mean People have trouble with mirrors, either verbal or physical.

The epic hypocrisy of the Meanest Person I've known, is the most outstanding trait of that particular Mean Person. This Mean Person has absolutely no sense of the irony of what comes out of this Mean Person's mouth. It can be astonishing. This Mean Person can go into full bore Mean Person mode, attacking another person in the most scathing way, while acting as if the Mean Person has no idea why the Victim of the Meanness gets fed up and does some bitch slapping. It's kind of funny to observe.

The Mean People I've known have not been very bright. Not being very bright may contribute to being Mean. All the smart people I've known have been Nice People. Nice People never act Mean. Probably because they're too smart to be Mean.

I sort of feel sorry for Mean People. That has to be a miserable way to go through your day, feeling all Angry and Mean. But then again, part of being Mean is pretty much lacking what most would consider to be a fully developed conscience. The lacking of a conscience and any ability to feel remorse for the hurt feelings the Mean Person leaves in their wake, let alone to make amends for the damage left behind in their wake, is what makes them a Mean Person. If the Mean Person had a conscience they would not be a Mean Person.

I guess what I'm saying is Mean People are sociopaths. They should all be locked up or banned to some big island somewhere, like Australia or Antarctica and leave all us Nice People in peace in a world without Mean People.

I hope Barack Obama has the banning of Mean People on his agenda. That and keeping obese people off planes.

Saturday At Tandy Hills Park & Lemon Curd

I decided against going to the Stock Show Parade this morning. I figured it'd be too cold. I was wrong. I just got back from hiking at the Tandy Hills, that's the Tandy Hills noonish view of downtown Fort Worth, with it being in the 60s and quite pleasant.

There is another drawback to going to downtown, when it's busy, which it seldom is, nowadays, as opposed to my last time going to the Stock Show Parade, due to easy parking being no more, due to the now defunct new Radio Shack Corporate Headquarters removing the huge free parking lots and free subway that connected the parking lots to downtown.

A couple days ago I blogged about the oodles of lemons my Mom & Dad left me and me not knowing what to do with them. Then discovering a Lemon Curd recipe, which came out well, which had me asking if anyone knew what one does with Lemon Curd.

That day, or the next, someone named Shirley commented, telling me, "Put it on toast, silly."

Well, this was one odd coincidence, because my Mom's name is Shirley. I'm sure this Shirley was not my Mom, because, first off, my Mom can't see a webpage. And second off, Mom would have signed the comment "Mom," not "Shirley."

So, Shirley, if you are reading this, thanks for the toast advice. This morning I made French Toast and that Lemon Curd stuff was real good on it.

I found out this morning, after the Lemon Curd French Toast, that I get to go to the airport the morning of Inauguration Day. Miss Puerto Rico is flying to her home island for a week and needs to be delivered to her plane. I better make it back here by 10am or I'll be cranky.