The 19th Day Of 2012 Dawns With Yet One More Nice Day In Texas

We  are looking out my primary viewing portal on the outer world as the sun begins its daily lighting and heating duty on the 19th day of 2012.

The sky appears to be clear this morning over the spot in North Texas were I am located.

The outer world is already heated to 43 degrees in my current home zone. My old home zone is below freezing this morning with an icy mess of slipperiness on the ground.

Last night I was emailed some more snow photos from Washington.

I suspect the next photos I'll be being emailed from Washington will be flood pictures.

Pictures Of Today's Washington Snow Day With Things Texans Say When It Snows

In the first picture you are looking at what I believe is the north shore of Big Lake. Big Lake is a big lake in the Skagit Valley of Washington, located about 2 miles to the east of the location of my former abode in Mount Vernon.

Before my brother moved to Arizona he lived in a house on a hill that overlooked Big Lake. Currently the only person I know who lives at Big Lake is my brother's first ex-wife, my favorite ex-sister-in-law, Spencer Jack's Grandma.

My Sister's Front Yard In Kent

For Texans topographically used to flatness, that white covered object in the background, in the Big Lake picture, is what is known as a foothill.

This particular foothill is a foothill of the Cascade Mountains.

If the view turned just a bit to the left you would see yourself some Cascade Mountains, including the Mount Baker volcano, if the sky was cleared of clouds.

The non-Big Lake snow day pictures are from my sister, playing out in the snow, whilst snowbound, in the south King County suburb of Seattle called Kent.

The #1 Vehicle In Washington Today Is A Sled

From my sister's location, above Lake Meridian, there is no direction she can go without having to deal with a hill. So, til the slipperiness subsides, my sister is driving nowhere, even though she has a 4 wheel drive Honda SUV.

I can not tell if that is my sister or my ex-wife sledding solo down a steep hill.

I thought I was going to get some pictures of Tilly the Dachshund on a sled. Apparently Tilly has specially made winter outerwear. I do not know if Tilly's older siblings, Rosie the Rat Dog and Bean have winter outerwear.

I suspect Rosie likely stays away from the snow. Rosie the Rat Dog is something like 40 years old, wrinkled, with failing eyes. Still cute though.

The only text in the email that contained my sister's snow photos said, "I should know better than to walk a mile in snow, get on a sled, go down a hill and expect for it to turn out okay!"

My Sister & Ex-Wife Caught Possibly Illegally Sledding

I do not know what did not turn out okay. However, there was one photo of a firetruck, at least I think it was a firetruck.

In the last photo it appears that my sister, on the left, and my ex-wife, on the right, have their hands in the air, as if a law enforcement officer has ordered them assume that position.

I have no idea why my ex-wife has been cut-off at the knees. I'm guessing what ever the story is, it is not a tragedy.

Meanwhile, over on Facebook, I think it was MLK who posted an amusing video of a guy in Seattle saying various things the locals say about the snow when a rare occurrence, like today's Snow Day, happens. Methinks Texans might be heard saying similar things during a rare Texas Snow Day, except for any mountain or public transit references (View Part 2 of Seattle People Snow Taking at the end of the video. It is funnier and mentions Sedro Woolley. Twice) ....

A Walk Around Fosdic Lake With My Snowbound Sister While Gar The Texan Risks Being Sent To Guantanamo

In the picture you are looking at the vast inland sea, located in Fort Worth, known as Fosdic Lake, with Fosdic Lake being the centerpiece of Oakland Lake Park.

I have looked for years and have recently given up the search for Oakland Lake. I have been over every square inch of Oakland Lake Park, with the only lake I've found being Fosdic Lake.

I am usually relentless persistent when I am on a quest, but this time I am giving up.

My sister who lives in the south King County suburb of Seattle called Kent walked with me today. And talked.

My sister told me that today's conditions in Washington are worse than anything during her 25 years of working for UPS. Olympia and points south of Olympia have up to a couple feet of snow piled up. I suspect it is currently impossible to drive I-5 to Portland.

My sister was about to go out to play in the snow when I called. She said she'd send me pictures. And so she did. I'll make them into a separate blogging.

Prior to leaving my abode to go walk around Fosdic Lake I'd blogged about the Wikipedia blackout. Gar the Texan then kindly pointed out yet one more of my embarrassing typo embarrassments.

And then later Gar the Texan made another comment, telling me how to work around the Wikipedia blackout. With the passing of Steve Jobs, Gar the Texan is likely the world's top computer guru.....

Gar has left a new comment on your post "The Wikipedia Blackout Puts A Stop To My World Of Free Knowledge": 

When you get to a wiki page, you may notice it "flashes" to the blackout page. This is because it's loading a JavaScript to display the World Without Free Knowledge page. If you hit ESC before it loads the JavaScript, you can still read your Wiki pages. Alternatively, you could just turn JavaScript off for the next 20 hours or so :). Just don't tell the feds.

The Wikipedia Blackout Puts A Stop To My World Of Free Knowledge

I have now experienced the pain of the Wikipedia blackout.

I read in one of my online news sources that workers working on widening the Panama Canal are striking, due to being way underpaid.

I did not know the Panama Canal was being widened and was curious as to what level of involvement America still has in the Panama Canal.

So, as I often do when I seek info, I Googled and clicked on the Wikipedia link. The Panama Canal article popped up, quickly followed by the message you see above. asking us to "Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge."

Okay, I tried, but I can't imagine what I'm being asked to imagine.

I can easily imagine a world without stupid people. That would be a nice world.

Near as I can tell, this Wikipedia blackout is being caused by too many stupid people sending too many stupid people to Washington, D.C. to represent them, where they've stupidly come up with some stupid legislation that, like I said, near as I can tell, is an American world wide assault on Freedom of Speech.

That really sounds terribly un-American to me.

We Are Freezing In Texas With No Snow Unlike Snowbound Western Washington

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the outer world, on this 18th day of the New Year, you might guess, due to the frosty window pane, that it is freezing this morning in Texas.

Your guess would be correct. My computer-based temperature monitoring device indicates it is currently 27 degrees.

Once again the morning temperature at my current home location is the same as my old home location in Mount Vernon, Washington.

Up in my old home location, this morning, it is not only cold. it is covered deeply in snow.

Pretty much every school in the Puget Sound zone of Western Washington is closed today. The only one I saw open was Anacortes, starting two hours late, subject to change. Seattle is shut down. Flights in and out of Sea-Tac have been cancelled.

I suspect when the sun arrives over the West Coast this morning, in less than two hours, my old neighborhood will be a Winter Wonderland of sleds sliding and skis skiing.

I wish I was there.

Spencer Jack & His Dad Drove By My Old Snowy Home In Washington Today

Snowy Pawnee Lane In Mount Vernon Washington

Spencer Jack's dad has been driving Spencer all over the Skagit Valley today, checking out the snow.

Including a drive by of where I lived before moving to Texas.

I am not understanding how the Douglas Fir that is to the left of the carport has grown so big. It was nowhere near this tall when I moved.

I actually don't even remember a Douglas Fir tree being in that location. Had you asked me I would have said it was several Alder trees.

A month prior to the move a bad windstorm knocked down several trees, including a pair of Alder by where that tall Douglas Fir stands.

Having your house sit under really tall trees and having a lot of windows makes for an interesting scene when the wind gets blowing hard.

Or when there is an earthquake.

Tall trees sway very strangely in an earthquake.

I can see some remodeling has taken place. A different entry door on the second level. The open carport now has a garage door. The stairs from the second floor have been rebuilt with what looks like a landing halfway down. It looks like the windows have been replaced.

I miss this house. Everything about it worked well. It required no air-conditioning, not that many homes in Western Washington have air-conditioning, but this house was designed to passively stay cool.

I like a house that is designed to passively stay cool, since that matches my own personal design. I always stay passively cool.

I wonder what snow pictures my nephew and Spencer Jack will be sending me tomorrow?

Walking With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts Thinking About Black Kettle, Log Plugs, A Juicy Snowstorm In Washington & Wikipedia Going Dark

A Log Plugs A Hole In A Village Creek Dam Bridge

When I woke up my computer this morning, well before the arrival of the sun, my computer temperature monitoring device indicated it was 58 degrees in the outer world.

By the time the sun arrived, the incoming cold front also arrived, dropping the temperature to 41.

I took off from my abode earlier than the norm to go on my daily bout of endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation.

I went to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area for one of my regular walks with the Indian Ghosts who haunt this area.

Indian Ghosts were on my mind today, with me thinking about Black Kettle surviving the Sand Creek Massacre, thinking he had his tribe in a safe place, protected by the American government, then a few years later, again thinking he had his tribe in a safe place, only to find himself, and his wife, murdered by George Custer and his 7th Cavalry, in the Washita River Massacre.

I'd link to the Wikipedia articles about Black Kettle and the Sand Creek and Washita River Massacres, but Wikipedia is about to go dark in a protest I don't quite understand.

My Van Rendered Immobile By Snow

A few minutes ago I blogged on my Washington Blog about the snowstorm that is covering Western Washington, today, in what may end up being a record breaking accumulation, in a blogging titled "A Juicy Snowstorm Hits Western Washington Today & Tomorrow."

In the picture you are looking out my bedroom window in my house on Pawnee Lane in Mount Vernon, Washington, in December of 1996, at what was the deepest snow I'd ever seen in the county I lived in.

I was snowbound for almost a week, that month in 1996. Today and tomorrow's snowstorm is predicted to be equal to, or deeper than the 1996 snowstorm.

I am feeling a bit homesick today.

The 17th Morning Of 2012 Dawns Dark & Warm While Snow Covers My Nephew's Restaurant In Washington

As you can see, looking through the bars of my patio prison cell, the 17th morning of 2012 is very very dark, with just a little illumination provided by a sliver of the moon directly overhead.

Seeing a sliver of the moon directly overhead would seem to indicate at least a partially clear sky.

Currently, in the outer world at my location, it is 58 degrees. Yesterday's high got into the 70s.

I think I will see if swimming is doable this morning.

Changing the subject from the sublime to the ridiculous.

I watched last night's Republican debate.

Changing the subject from the ridiculous back to the weather.

My old home zone is bracing for what the weather predictors are predicting may be a record breaking snowstorm, arriving on Wednesday, with possible accumulations of well over a foot of the white stuff all over the Puget Sound lowlands.

In all my years of living in the Puget Sound lowlands zone I can only remember one time the snow got over  a foot deep. That was in December of 1996. That particular snowstorm had me trapped on the hill my house sat on for almost a week. I could only travel by cross country ski til the snow melted.

Spencer Jack's Dad's Fidalgo Drive-In

It was a Winter Wonderland. The steep cul-de-sac that my house was on became a sledding mecca well into the night, with night sledding illumination provided by the street lights.

This morning Spencer Jack's dad, my nephew Jason, sent me a picture of what his restaurant, the Fidalgo Drive-In, was looking like yesterday.

My nephew's restaurant is in Anacortes, on Fidalgo Island, hence the name of the restaurant. Anacortes is a port town. It is where you hop a ferry to get out to the San Juan Islands, or to Victoria, up in British Columbia.

A cold front is moving in today at my current location on the planet. I see no snow in the forecast.

Martin Luther King Day Finding A Rutted Muddy Mess On The Tandy Hills With Drowned Tires

Stunning Skyline Of Beautiful Downtown Fort Worth

Today was my first time back on the Tandy Hills since we had some rain fall a week, or so, ago.

When I arrived at the top of Mount Tandy to take the picture you see here of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth a strong wind was blowing, making the air feel cooler than its 65 degrees.

I did not realize today was Martin Luther King Day til I was on the road listening to Rush Limbaugh doing his ranting when he said he also did not realize today was a holiday til someone mentioned it to him.

I don't know how I missed it being Martin Luther King Day. Surely there was mention made of the holiday in each of the online news sources I check in on every morning.

The Rutted Muddy Tandy Highway

During the night I did have a dream. Maybe that was my sub-conscious telling me it was Martin Luther King Day.

Changing the subject back to the Tandy Hills.

I was more than a little appalled when I got to the bottom of Mount Tandy and saw that the Tandy Highway has been turned into a rutted, muddy mess.

The muddy ruts have dried for the most part. The rutted up road made walking on it more difficult than it was before this happened.

I did not check today on the current status of the Tandy Bamboo Teepee.

The Drowned Tandy Tires

But I did check in on the current location of the Giant Tandy Tire #2 and its mate.

A cruel vandal has drowned the tires in Tandy Creek at the base of Tandy Falls.

Who would commit such an act?

When I left the drowned tires and headed south, back to the Tandy Highway, I saw the rutted, muddiness continued into the northeast corner of the Tandy Hills.

Back to that first photo at the top. Today when I was looking across the prairie at the skyline of Fort Worth I wondered if there is any other city in America, with a population over a half million, which has such a large expanse of undeveloped land so near its downtown?

I suspect not.

Fort Worth is very unique.

The Dawn Of The 3rd Monday Of 2012 In Texas Is Already Heated To 60 Degrees

I was up late Sunday, which has me up late on what is already the third Monday of the New Year of 2012, which you can sort of tell via the view from my primary viewing portal on the outer world.

Half of January is already history.

It is already 60 degrees out in the outer world, this morning, with the sun only a short time into its daily heating duty.

The temperature predictors are predicting a high in the 70s today.

I see a possible bout of swimming by tomorrow morning.

And possibly the Tandy Hills around noon today.

Blue & Max Take David, Theo & Ruby Sledding At My Future Home Zone Of Tacoma

This was so darn cute I just had to share.

I have been getting reports from Western Washington, all day today, that the predicted snow actually arrived, as predicted.

Those who have never lived in Washington don't know that it is fairly rare for Western Washington to get snow all over the Puget Sound lowlands. Up in the mountains, yes, lots of snow, but not so much the closer you get to the saltwater.

I learned on the Blue & Max Adventure Poodle Blog, this evening, that the snow covering Western Washington reached all the way to the south Puget Sound zone, to my living quarters in 2020, in Tacoma.

In the sled, that is my nephew David in the rear, with nephew Theo in the middle, which would make niece Ruby Jean in front.

I'd Go To Haltom City To See The Sara Lee State Fair Corn Dog Water Tower

The Haltom City Sara Lee Corn Dog Water Tower

This morning, or was it yester morning, I learned of an important contest in Haltom City to design a new look for the town water tower.

Currently the Haltom City Water Tower has the name of the town on it and what appears to be Snoopy the Dog smoking.

Some have suggested that water flowing should be painted on the tower, since Haltom City is well known for its floods.

Others have suggested the naming rights be sold, with many suggesting selling the naming rights to Haltom City's biggest employer and polluter, Sara Lee, which makes world famous State Park Corn Dogs in Haltom City.

Additional others have suggested selling naming rights to Chesapeake Energy, because Chesapeake Energy already owns so much in Haltom City. The Chesapeake Energy logo could go on the tower, with a catchy phrase, something like "Your Water Is Our Water."

The Haltom City Water Tower In Its Current Condition

Those who decide what is best for Haltom City could not decide on how to solve the water tower problem, hence the contest.

On the right you see how the Haltom City Water Tower currently looks. This is not the view with Snoopy smoking.

I think it'd be real cool if the top part were made to look like a flying saucer, with the ribbed support tower underneath the flying saucer painted to look like exhaust from the flying saucer.

I bet people would come from as far away as Richland Hills and Watauga just to see the Haltom City Flying Saucer Water Tower.

A Windy Xeriscaped Walk In Veterans Park Wondering Why Betty Jo Bouvier Chose To Be Happy

I had to be in Pantego today in the noon time frame, so, since I was in the neighborhood I dropped in for a visit with the soldier who stands guard at the memorial in Veterans Park in Arlington.

As you might guess from the 3 flags waving, a strong wind was blowing in Arlington today.

I saw several groups disc golfing. A strong, gusty wind would not seem to be ideal for disc golfing.

Speaking of disc golfing. There are signs in Veterans Park advising that you be on the lookout for flying discs. Methinks disc golf parks should have their own designated park. It does not seem right to be required to dodge flying discs in a multi-use park.

I walked on the trails that meander through the Veterans Park Xeriscape display garden that shows people native Texas plants they can plant which require little water.

This had me wondering if Veterans Park were located in Fort Worth if the city would issue a citation to Veterans Park for having tall native grass growing that does not match the other yards in the neighborhood, like Fort Worth did to the Young couple who live across the street from the Tandy Hills, hills which are covered by native grass and other plants that grow naturally in Texas?

Changing the subject from the City of Fort Worth's bad behavior to happiness.

Betty Jo Bouvier has been on a trek to find the meaning of life. Just minutes ago I saw on Facebook what Betty Jo has discovered so far, that being that "Happiness is a Choice."

I did not know this.

I know happiness is discussed in the American Declaration of Independence, something about the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. If happiness is a choice, like Betty Jo Bouvier believes, then why would you need to pursue it, I can't help but wonder? In Betty Jo's America you don't pursue happiness, you simply choose happiness.

I wonder if Thomas Jefferson had the benefit of Betty Jo Bouvier's more enlightened view would he have changed his wording to "Life, Liberty and the Choice of Happiness?"

Doesn't quite have the same poetic ring that Thomas Jefferson's wording has.

The 3rd Sunday Of 2012 Dawns With No Snow In Texas

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the outer world you might correctly guess that I am up well after the sun on this 3rd Sunday of the New Year of 2012.

Already almost half the first month of the New Year is history.

It is not freezing in the outer world this morning. It is currently 38 degrees at my location.

This morning, rather than being the same temperature, like it has been the past two mornings, my old home zone is freezing, with white flakes falling.

Nothing is falling from the sky at my current location. Except, maybe some pollution. Something is annoying my eyes this morning, causing leakage in near copious amounts. Is it that black smoke that spews from my neighborhood Fort Chesapeake's gas fracking operation that is irritating my eyes?

I must cease typing now. I tire of looking at a computer screen through eyes clouded by leakage.

I wish I could say I am going swimming now.

Visiting A Pipeline Construction Project On Fort Worth's Trinity Trails Without Elsie Hotpepper

Looking Across Trinity Falls At A Guard

For several weeks now, driving over the Trinity River, via Beach Street, I've noticed some heavy duty heavy equipment activity.

Lots of bulldozers and other pieces of machinery. Plus several white pickups.

White pickups always make me nervous.

Plus, what appeared to be a guard standing near the paved Trinity Trail.

As I drove away from my abode today, to head to Gateway Park to see up close what all that heavy equipment is doing, I flipped open my phone to see that Elsie Hotpepper had called me.

So, on my way to Gateway I called the Hotpepper to see if she wanted to go walking in Gateway Park with me. I got the Elsie Hotpepper is indisposed message.

Heavy Equipment On The Trinity Trail Making Dust Storm

In the first photo above you see the man standing guard at the entry to the area being worked on by heavy equipment. I suspect he is stationed there to prevent any collisions between heavy equipment and bike riders, of which, today, there were many.

While I was still on the south side of the Trinity River I saw the piece of equipment you see in the second photo, going back and forth on the Trinity Trail, under the Beach Street Bridge, then to where a new road has been made for the heavy equipment, then back again, stirring up a lot of dust in the process.

Trail Guard Sign With Trail Guard

As I walked across the dam bridge that causes Trinity Falls, I saw a regular looking car drive up to the trail guard. By the time I was on the levee on the south side of the river I saw that the heavy equipment operator, the trail guard and a man in what looked to be policeman type uniform, heatedly seeming to discuss something.

When I got to the Trail Guard I asked, "What are you constructing here?"

"No." was the Trail Guard's reply.

I don't think he spoke English.

Why Are Tires Appearing All Over Fort Worth Parks?

I then asked if they were putting in a pipeline.

"Si." the Trail Guard said.

A natural gas pipeline I then asked.

"Si." he said again.

Is this the pipeline carrying non-odorized natural gas from the controversial Scott Avenue Chesapeake Energy drill site? Chesapeake backed off from endangering Carter Avenue with this pipeline.

Closeup Look At The Muddy Pipeline Road

But all this pipeline activity is on the opposite side of the freeway from Carter Avenue and the Scott Avenue source of the non-odorized gas that was going to run under Carter Avenue.

The last two photos are giving you a closer look at the "road" that has been punched through on top of the Trinity River levee's south side.

There were a lot of eyes and white pickups in the vicinity of my camera, which made me a bit nervous about my picture taking.

In the last picture a big piece of heavy equipment is heading towards me. I snapped the above photo, then put my camera away. The big piece of heavy equipment heading towards me was carrying a long piece of what looked, to me, to be narrow pipe.

Visiting this gas-related activity up close really did not make it any clearer to me what is being done there. I don't believe I'd seen a wood plank road over mud before. So, I guess seeing that made the walk worthwhile.

I also learned today that, apparently, the paved Trinity River hiking, biking trails are engineered to be able to support heavy equipment without cracking up.

The 2nd Saturday Of The New Year Dawns Blue In Texas

I stepped outside to look at the outer world through the bars of my patio prison cell about the same time the sun began its daily illumination duty.

As you can see, it is a clear, blue sky morning this second Saturday of the New Year.

What you can not see is the sun has already heated this Saturday morning to a relatively balmy 40 degrees. That is relatively balmy compared to yesterday's morning sub-freezing temperature.

Yesterday when I did my world-wide temperature checking I found my old home zone in Washington was the same temperature as my current home zone.

This morning it has happened again. What are the odds that two days in a row my old home zone and current one would be heated to the same temperature?

One major difference, today, between the weather in my old zone and my current one, is snow is in the forecast up in Western Washington. No precipitation, of any sort, is currently in the forecast for North Texas.

I got a strange auto-call yesterday, supposedly from U.S. Airways, telling me I had won a no-strings attached 7 day cruise out of some port in Florida. I had 24 hours to call and claim my prize.

I did not make that call.

Being stuck on a cruise ship is one of my visions of a living hell.

The picture of a cruise ship tipped over, this morning, in the Mediterranean Sea, was a bit disturbing. It will be interesting to learn what the explanation is for this currently unsolved mystery.

I wish I could say I am going swimming now. Well, actually I could say I am going swimming now. But it would not be true.

Looking Forward To Taking A Break From My Texas Exile To Spend A Year In Washington

In the picture you are looking at my house in Washington. Construction started during the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, moved in in late spring of 1985. Moved from this house, to Texas, in December of 1998.

Today, after lengthy negotiations, I agreed to move back to Washington.

But not to my former house in Mount Vernon. It was sold in 2003. A sale which cut my last physical connection to Washington.

I will be moving to a house in Tacoma.

I like Tacoma.

There may be a person, or two, in Tacoma, who I don't like, but I like the town.

I am agreeing to move back to Washington for a year. So, Texas is not totally rid of me. At least I think that is the case. And even if Texas was rid of me, it is easy to keep an Eye on Texas from afar, what with our modern communication devices.

I like the idea of spending a year in Washington, after all this time away. Elsie Hotpepper can fly in for a visit. Elsie Hotpepper has never been to the Pacific Northwest. It would be amusing to cause Elsie Hotpepper some culture shock. Elsie does not like it when the earth moves unexpectedly.

Shooting Egrets On Fosdic Lake While Worrying About Mob Hits & Elsie Hotpepper On Friday The 13th

Going to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdic Lake was my endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation location for today.

Yesterday I was underdressed for my aerobic stimulation. Today I was overdressed. It makes it a lot easier when it is real HOT and this type problem is not an issue.

Today there were a lot of birds on Fosdic Lake. Mostly ducks, paddling together in tight circled groups. I assume to keep warm.

I believe that is an Egret on a limb above Fosdic Lake you are looking at in the picture. Usually these type birds are easily spooked and fly away. This guy or gal let me get fairly close before its fight or flight response kicked in.

I believe I have taken a picture of this type bird before and that someone, I think it was CatsPaw, identified it.  Due to my AADD (Adult Attention Deficit Disorder) I often forget what I'm told. Like the name of specific bird.

Speaking of specific birds. I am a little worried about Elsie Hotpepper. She sent me an email message from her phone that said, "the mob is going to kill me."

I'm thinking this "mob" hit was a predictive text error that Elsie Hotpepper did not notice before she hit the send button.

A predictive text error happened once with my mom and dad when they texted me "be good at noon." Noon was only about 15 minutes away when I got the message from mom and dad telling me to be good at noon. I later learned what they'd meant to tell me was "be home at noon."

Then again, now that you are making me think about it, it really is not all that far fetched to think that the "mob" might have a hit out on Elsie Hotpepper. Elsie is a bit of a feather ruffler. Something I avoid being, hence no "mob" hits out on me.

I hope everyone is having themselves a mighty fine Friday the 13th.

Friday The 13th Thinking About Not Voting Al Smith For President Because He Is Catholic

It is appropriately very very dark this Friday the 13th, looking out my primary viewing portal on the world, past the bars that surround my secondary viewing portal patio prison cell, at a swimming pool that is currently too cold to swim in.

It is currently 29 degrees in the outer world at my location.

This is the first time, that I remember, since I began obsessively monitoring the temperature around the world, that the temperature at my current location and my old location, in Washington, are the same.

Changing the subject to Mitt Romney. I knew he was a Mormon. I should have guessed, since he is a Mormon, that Mitt Romney has reproduced himself a lot of times.

But I had no idea, til this morning, that there are so many Mitt Romney reproductions. And that they look like clones. I saw a group picture of Mitt Romney and a large percentage of his clones, I mean, sons. Mitt Romney looks like their big brother, not old enough to be the maker of all these reproductions.

I don't know if I got the info on all the sons, but the bios of the ones I read had them all married and busy making reproductions. I saw no photos of the secondary reproductions, so I don't know if they are all Mitt Romney clones too.

I'm not understanding why there is not more of an issue made of Mitt Romney being a Mormon. Has America really gotten totally tolerant? It does not seem all that long ago that a Catholic had a hard time running for President.

I remember when the governor of New York, Al Smith, became the first Catholic nominated for President, in 1928. He lost to Herbert Hoover. I don't remember who I voted for in that election. It was likely Al Smith, because I seldom vote for the winner.

A much bigger fuss was made in 1928, over Al Smith being a Catholic, than the almost zero fuss made over Mitt Romney being  Mormon in 2012.

I have nothing against Mormons, or any religion. I just think it's goofy to believe that Jesus got resurrected in Jerusalem and then made his way over to North America where he preached to the Native Americans, before taking off for wherever it is His heavenly paradise is located.

I wish I could say I am going swimming now.

Taken For A Ride On Fort Worth's New Futuristic Super Bowl Buses

A Futuristic Fort Worth Bus

I read that bus, you are looking at in the picture, described in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, as being futuristic.

Futuristic.

I had no awareness of the existence of the futuristic Fort Worth buses until I was informed of their existence by Miss Gail Galtex.

I do not understand how I missed this.

Way back last year, in February, the futuristic Fort Worth buses made their debut during the February 6 Super Bowl, an event that is now known as the Dallas Cowboy Stadium Super Bowl Boondoggle Fiasco.

The new buses arrived in time for their drivers to be trained to operate them in time to transport Super Bowlers from the Trinity Railway Express (TRE) Centrepoint Station to the Dallas Cowboy Stadium.

I can find no information as to how many people actually used the futuristic buses to get to the Super Bowl. There is a bus from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport that goes to the Centrepoint Station.

That must have really impressed people incoming from World Class Cities to get off the plane to hop a bus to get to another bus stop to hop another (futuristic) bus to take them to the futuristic Dallas Cowboy Stadium to watch the Super Bowl.

Fort Worth spent $6.4 million on their fleet of eight 80 passenger futuristic buses. This $6.4 million came from people all over America, courtesy of the Federal Recovery Act.

I assume this is part of what is known as The Stimulus.

This fleet of eight futuristic buses are now being used for the T's (Fort Worth Transportation) Rapid Transit Lines on East Lancaster Avenue. The Fort Worth Transportation Propagandists say the futuristic buses are a hybrid between a bus and light rail and will give passengers the feel of a light rail car.

Well.

I have ridden in a light rail car. And I have ridden in a futuristic articulated bus, those being futuristic articulated buses that I believe are quite a bit bigger than Fort Worth's futuristic articulated buses. I would not compare being on a futuristic articulated bus to being on something with the feel of a light rail car.

I guess you could say, if you were a practicing propagandist, that riding in a car has the feel of a light rail car. I mean, you are moving in a motorized vehicle that is connected to the ground by wheels.

So, I guess it makes sense for Fort Worth Transportation's propagandists to propagandize that these new futuristic Fort Worth buses give passengers that really special light rail experience that is denied the people of Fort Worth, but can be easily had by a trip to Dallas.

Changing the subject from propaganda back to the Super Bowl Boondoggle Fiasco.

Has there been any sort of investigation by anyone into how much money was wasted by Fort Worth in that particular Boondoggle? Some of the disaster was weather related, courtesy of ice storms and snow. But some of it was hubris related.

Like, how much money was wasted making ESPN happy? Fort Worth officials did such an embarrassing happy dance when ESPN indicated they wanted to broadcast from a parking lot in downtown Fort Worth. ESPN was not the Super Bowl broadcaster. They could not broadcast from a venue near the Super Bowl. Dallas likely turned down ESPN's request to broadcast from a place like the plaza in front of the American Airlines Arena.

And so Fort Worth got the prize of having ESPN on one of its parking lots. Fort Worth city officials were expecting HUMONGOUS crowds to come downtown to watch ESPN do its broadcast, indicating, at least to me, that Fort Worth city officials really think the locals are hard up for something to do.

Anyway, how much did the City of Fort Worth spend on its various Super Bowl related expenses, like clearing out the Shanty Towns and buying futuristic buses?

The small buses that have been serving Lancaster Avenue are never full. This is the only bus line I've actually ridden. It must feel like being in a ghost town to be riding those new, futuristic light rail-like buses, with a couple of poor, homeless people.

I am done now.

Dealing With The U.S. Postal Service While Resisting The Urge To Go Postal

Ever since I closed my Post Office Box I don't go to the Post Office very often.

But I did today.

On the way to Village Creek Natural Historical Area I stopped at my neighborhood Handley Post Office to mail something to my favorite aunt living in Eastern Washington.

I walked into the deathly quiet Post Office and saw a line of 6 with one Postal Clerk clerking.

I got in line. About 10 minutes later the line moved. I was now 5th in line. Fifteen minutes later I was 3rd in line.

When I was 4th in line a lady got in line behind me. That lady had one of those Post Office supplied type boxes filled with what looked like around 20 big envelopes to mail.

When I was 3rd in line the Postal Clerk looked at the Lady with the Box and told her she could not process that mail now because the line was too long.

"Are you allowed to refuse service?" the Lady with the Box asked.

"Yes, I am," said the Postal Clerk.

The Lady with the Box had been on the phone all the time she was behind me. I could hear what the person she was talking to was saying. That person then told the Lady with the Box to ask to talk to the manager.

By the time I was 1st in line and finally face to face with the surly Postal Clerk, the Lady with the Box was talking to the unkempt looking short blonde frumpy woman who apparently was being the Post Office manager today.

I asked the Postal Clerk if all the other postal clerks had called in sick today. The Postal Clerk told me that they had not called in sick, but were in the backroom working. She told me this in a very surly manner.

Going to the Post Office has always been annoying. It was annoying when I lived in Washington. It is annoying in Texas. But, I think the experience has gotten even more annoying the past several years.

I've got a private Post Office operation across the street, part of the Albertsons strip mall. I think it is called Mail Etcetera, or something like that. I never think to go there til it is too late. Miss Puerto Rico has a Post Office Box at Mail Etcetera. I've been in there with her. The guy who runs it seems very competent. And not at all surly. He always greets Miss Puerto Rico by name.

I have no idea what the outcome was for the Lady with the Box. My business was completed, so I left.

Wikipedia has an article about "Going Postal".

Walking With The Indian Ghosts To The Blue Bayou Of Village Creek With Cbonesmom & Otterpengu

Village Creek Blue Bayou

Two out three of my sisters went walking with me today with the Indian Ghosts who haunt the Village Creek Natural Historical Area in the town of Arlington in the state of Texas.

One of my sister's Indian name is Cbonesmom. The other sister's Indian name is Otterpengu. Cbonesmom lives in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler. Otterpengu lives in the Seattle suburb of Kent.

It was nice today to see that the Village Creek Blue Bayou has returned to being blue due to the return of blue sky.

A really cold blue sky. Which had a strong wind blowing below it, which had the wind chill factor making the air feel real cold.

Talking to two-thirds of my sisters today left me feeling rather melancholy.

I can't go swimming to make myself feel in a less melancholy mood.

And chocolate does nothing for me.

I've heard before, somewhere, that adult beverages containing alcohol can elevate ones mood from melancholy. I've also heard, somewhere, that consuming adult beverages containing alcohol can cause health woes and acts as a depressant.

Anything that acts as a depressant is likely not something someone feeling melancholy would want to imbibe in.

I think I'll drink a glass of alcohol-free water and see if that lifts me out of my melancholy mood.

An Arctic Blast Has Blasted North Texas This 2nd Thursday Morning Of 2012

You might guess via the view out of my primary viewing portal on the outer world that the sun and I got up about the same time on this 2nd Thursday of 2012.

Your guess would be correct.

A strong wind, during the dark hours, blew in a cold front that was chilled up in Canada before delivery to Texas.

Canada has Arctic blasted us formerly warm Texas inhabitants to the sub-freezing cold of 30 degrees.

I had my windows open yesterday. I don't remember doing that in January before. I've got the furnace blowing artificially heated air on me right now. I do remember doing that in January before.

I had a strange bout of sneezing yesterday afternoon. Have there been any reports of strange bouts of sneezing associated with being in close proximity to a Barnett Shale well getting Fracked?

I wish I could say I am going swimming now. But I can't. I used to have thicker skin, but in my old age I've grown more sensitive to cold temperatures.

Inside The Walls Of Fort Chesapeake Is A Beehive Of Fuming Fracking Activity

Frac Job Underway In Fort Chesapeake On Wednesday

On Sunday the gate to my neighborhood Fort Chesapeake was wide open.

So, I walked inside the notorious walls.

That day, January 8, I saw the Frac Job was due to start January 10.

In the photo, from a couple hours ago, you can see that there is now a lot going on inside the walls of Fort Chesapeake.

It really is quite astonishing to see how much equipment is brought in and put in place. It looks as if it would be a logistics nightmare.

Whatever it is that is involved with Fracking, it is very noisy.

Can you see that grayish discoloration in the photo, above the white piece of equipment? That looks like exhaust fumes? It is rising from what looked to me to be the location of the hole that was poked in the ground, so the Fracking Water can reach the Barnett Shale and Frac it.

Inside The Walls Of Fort Chesapeake On Sunday

I smelled nothing foul, unlike my previous close up encounter with a Frac Job, that being the notorious Scott Avenue well on the west side of the Tandy Hills.

With the noise of what sounded like a lot of engines running one would think I would have at least detected diesel fumes.

I have no idea how long this Fracking is going to last. This is totally different than my other nearby Chesapeake Energy well operation.

That time there were days of long lines of trucks. I assumed they were bringing in the Fracking Water.

Now I"m thinking maybe those long lines of trucks were taking away the used contaminated Fracking Water.

The first drill pad in my neighborhood is closer to the Trinity River, with the current water sucking pipeline running right by that previous Chesapeake operation. I saw the pipeline today, running from the Trinity River, under Randol Mill Road and then in a creek bed, heading up the hill, past my first neighborhood Chesapeake drilling site, then to Fort Chesapeake.

So, I guess I have the long line of trucks part of this operation to look forward too.

Walking With The Spirit Of Quanah Parker & Other People Before Being Hypnotized By Naked Pecan Tree Limbs

I saw this vision of the last great Comanche Chief, Quanah Parker, today, on an acorn, when I took my daily salubrious, endorphin inducing aerobic walk, this time in the Fort Worth city park called Quanah Parker Park.

Quanah Parker was not 100% full blooded Comanche. Quanah Parker was half Texan, because his mom was a Texan named Cynthia Ann Parker.

Cynthia was a member of the large Parker tribe that settled in East Texas in the 1830s, eventually building a fort called Fort Parker, near what is now Groesbeck, Texas.

In 1836 the Comanche raided Fort Parker, likely in retaliation for depredations foisted upon them by the incoming Texans. Cynthia and her grandfather, John Parker, and other relatives, were taken captive. Grandpa John was killed. Others, included Cynthia, were tortured.

Somehow, eventually, the Comanche Chief, Peta Nocona, stopped the torture and made Cynthia his wife. Cynthia became part of the Comanche tribe, birthing 3 children, including Quanah, living happily with the Comanche for 24 years, until Cynthia was "rescued" from the savages when she was 34 years old.

Cynthia lived another 10 years, unhappily, attempting, at times, to escape the Texans to return to her adopted tribe.

I have had that feeling a time or two, that feeling of wanting to escape the Texans, to return to my adopted tribe. Then the feeling passes when I remember I don't have an adopted tribe to return to.

Today's walk with the spirit of Quanah Parker was very pleasant. One could not ask for a more perfect temperature. Today there were 3 groups, besides myself, walking on the Quanah Parker Park trail.

Quanah Parker Naked Pecan Trees

And for the first time I saw two people using one of the newly installed benches that are part of City of Fort Worth Natural Gas Revenue in Action.

I tell you, Quanah Parker Park is getting popular.

All leaves have left the Parker Pecan Trees. I like to look at the fractaling limbs of big trees after they have been stripped naked of leaves. It's hypnotic.

Speaking of fractaling. I have my window open due to the fact that it is currently 63 degrees in the outer world at my location. With the window open I can hear the dull roar of the Fracking currently going on at my neighborhood Fort Chesapeake.

I stopped at Fort Chesapeake, well, actually, I stopped on the Albertsons parking lot and walked across the street to Fort Chesapeake, to take a picture of the Fracking. But, that is a subject for a separate blogging.

Smoke Makes Me Homesick For Washington But I Am Not Going To Rant About It

About once or twice a year I'll have a moment or two where I get slightly homesick for my old home zone of Washington.

Last night my oldest nephew sent me a photo which made me homesick for the first time this year.

It is a simple photo, sent from a phone. In the photo my grand nephew, Spencer Jack, is standing next to two of his aunts, with the one in the middle being his namesake.

My nephew was told he can't go wrong by naming his kid after his richest relative. And so he did.

The thing in the photo that made me homesick is not the bottle of beer next to the aunt on the right that appears to be floating in the air.

The thing that made me homesick was the campfire. I have not sat around a campfire on a foggy winter day in this century.

Texas BBQ smoke smells good, but that smoke smell smells different than the smoke smell you get from the firewood that you have available for burning in Washington. Like Alder. Or any of the Evergreen softwoods, like Cedar, Douglas Fir, Pine or Hemlock.

Changing the subject from smoke to ranting.

Elsie Hotpepper informed me today that I have been in rant mode lately. I realized I was not quite sure exactly what a rant is, as in the precise definition. So, I consulted the Urban Dictionary, where you know you're going to get a precise definition, and learned....

To rant is to speak aggressively about something. or to take your own tangent about a subject and talk for a long time in a passionate manner. To suddenly give a long speech that usually results in rambling and repeating of nonsense.

Well, reading that definition I can clearly see that it is true that I am a ranter. I constantly and consistently ramble and repetitively repeat nonsense.

I hope this new self awareness about ranting does not make me self-conscious about it to the point that my venting via ranting comes to a screeching halt. Because I really enjoy rambling repetitive nonsense, in what, apparently, is a rant.

The 2nd Wednesday Of 2012 With Stars Twinkling & Rick Perry A One Percenter

I was feeling liberated when I stepped outside into the outer world to view that world from my secondary viewing portal to find myself not looking through the bars of my patio prison cell.

The bars will likely return by tomorrow morning with me again feeling trapped.

I am up way before the sun this morning. The second Wednesday morning of 2012.

Currently chilled to only 4 degrees above freezing.

Judging from a few stars I saw twinkling above me, methinks the cloud cover that has been covering my location on this formerly parched part of the planet the past couple days may have lifted.

I did not see much that struck me as interesting as I read my various online news sources this morning. I guess the stunning Mitt Romney upset in New Hampshire was the biggest news. Rick Perry did better than I would have thought he would, getting a whopping 1% of the vote.

If Rick Perry lasts until the Texas primary I wonder if he will get more than 1%?

Mr. Galtex and CatsPaw made amusing comments on yesterday's blogging about me having myself a real fine time riding Fort Worth buses with all the poor homeless people.

Is CatsPaw going to go play bingo with me at Paradise Bingo on Friday the 20th? I don't know. Cats are very inscrutable.

Having Myself A Real Fine Time Riding Fort Worth Buses With All The Poor Homeless People

Fort Worth's Long Gone Light Rail Subway

Yesterday I was motivated to blog about Fort Worth's World City Status after reading an article in Fort Worth Weekly about the current state of public transit in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, and the opinion verbalized that Fort Worth will not be a world class city until it has a mass transit system.

There were another couple of paragraphs in Fort Worth Weekly's A Tale of Two Rail Systems cover article that sort of bugged me.

I don't know if the couple of excerpts that bugged me reflected the point of view of the author, Dan McGraw, or if he was reflecting opinions he'd encountered whilst writing the article.

But, I do know I have encountered the same opinion being verbalized by locals. I won't name names.

The first excerpt that bugged me....

The T, on the other hand, has had no choice but to maintain a bus system whose main purpose is to provide basic transportation to poor folks without cars.

The main purpose of the bus system is to provide basic transportation to poor folks without cars?

The first time I rode a Fort Worth bus I found it a fun, amusement park like ride. I asked a local if she ever road the bus. She told me she thought only poor people rode the bus. I've been on Fort Worth buses at least 5 times. How does one tell it is poor people riding the bus?

I can't help but wonder what does a Fort Worth native think the first time they visit New York City and see all those people using public transit? They must think New York City has an awful lot of poor people.

What does a Fort Worth native think the first time they visit Seattle and find themselves in the transit tunnel under downtown Seattle, seeing so many buses and a light rail, with a lot of people on  board. They must think there are an awful lot of poor people in Seattle.

The valley I lived in in Washington, the Skagit Valley, has a pubic transit bus system, called SKAT. SKAT was free to ride when I lived in Washington. I believe a fare is charged now. A Fort Worth native visiting the Skagit Valley must think the valley has an awful lot of poor people who can't afford cars, when they see a public transit bus system exists.

The other excerpt that bugged me was...

The current bus route through that area has the highest ridership of any route in The T’s system, and Eastside residents have supported the plan in surveys. But part of the large projected ridership would be homeless folks, due to the number of homeless shelters and services on East Lancaster. The homeless qualify for free bus passes, and many use them frequently to go downtown, usually to the main library, where they hang out and use the computers. The big unspoken question here is whether commuters who work downtown will be willing to share their commute with that group.

How is it known that the homeless hop a bus to get to the downtown library? Would that not involve a long walk to get to the library? I don't think there is a bus stop at the library. Would it not make more sense for the homeless person to hop on board the 21 bus and go to the Eastside Regional Library? Which also has a lot of computers.

I have never been in the Eastside Regional Library and thought to myself, wow, look at all those homeless people.

I have never been on a Fort Worth bus and thought to myself, oh my, this is awful, I am on a bus with a bunch of poor, homeless people.

Who or what taught the Fort Worth locals that buses and public transit are for poor people? And the homeless?

In a highly evolved world-class city, like New York City, Dallas or Seattle, you can use mass public transit to get all over the town. When I am in Seattle I sometimes stay in the north end. I'll take a bus to downtown and then use the downtown transit tunnel to zip from one end of downtown to the other.

It would not make much sense for Fort Worth to have an underground transit center to facilitate zipping around downtown. Because downtown Fort Worth is rather tiny. There is not a lot to zip to. Or people needing to be zipped.

I have long been curious as to how many Fort Worth natives have even been to Dallas to check out how well the DART train has worked in that town. I assume not a lot of Fort Worth natives make the trek 30 miles east to Dallas. If they do they must think Dallas has an awful lot of poor people.

Few Fort Worth locals visiting Dallas may be why the Fort Worth Star-Telegram knew it could get away with tall tales told to the locals, making up propaganda about Fort Worth's Santa Fe Rail Market being the first public market in Texas, and that it was modeled after public markets in Europe and Seattle's Pike Place Market. This propaganda was spewed when Dallas has the Dallas Farmers Market, which every one of my visitors from the Northwest has remarked reminded them of Pike Place Market.

Below you can walk with me through Seattle's Westlake Center, an actual town square, unlike Fort Worth's Sundance Square, and then into the Westlake Center vertical shopping mall, where you can go down a few levels and enter the Seattle transit tunnel, where you will see a lot of buses with a lot of poor people who don't own cars....

Walking A Fosdic Lake Stairway To Nowhere Pondering How Difficult It Is To Have Dutch Sensibilities In Texas

Fosdic Lake Stairway To Nowhere

The photo of the dark Fosdic Lake Stairway to Nowhere may be what is known as a visual metaphor, signifying symbolically the depths of despair this day after day of damp, gray, cold weather is having on my usually reliably upbeat self.

This endless gloomy weather is even getting to the perennial Polly Anna known as Elsie Hotpepper. Today Elsie is talking about consulting a Fortune Teller to see if some direction can be found for Elsie's quest to figure out if she is okay or not okay.

I told Elsie Hotpepper that she is okay, but I'm no Fortune Teller, so my opinion really does not matter.

It was slightly raining when the point in time came for my doctor prescribed daily bout of endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation. I chose the Oakland Lake Park walk around Fosdic Lake option, which I've already sort of indicated with the mention made of the Fosdic Lake Stairway to Nowhere.

I did not employ the services of of a bumbershoot to facilitate a dry walk. A windbreaker with a hood sufficed as sufficient waterproofing.

This morning my nephew sent me several photos taken when my nephew took my grand-nephew, Spencer Jack, up to our family hometown, Lynden, to visit relatives.

That is Spencer Jack standing above my grandma, his dad's great-grandma and Spencer Jack's great-great-grandma.

Neither Spencer or my nephew would have reason to know this, but grandma would have been very pleased to know a great-great-grandson was visiting her.

Lynden is a Dutch town. With a number of churches that would make the Buckle of the Bible Belt, where I am now, Green with Envy.

Lynden's cemetery is called Monumenta. Monumenta is on both sides of the Front Street entry into Lynden.

Monumenta is segregated.

Dutch people are buried on the north side of Front Street, non-Dutch on the south side. I have relatives in the ground on both sides of Front Street.

In Lynden you will find no litter. Lawns are kept meticulously trimmed. To not keep your lawn meticulously trimmed would be to risk extreme ostracism. But likely, unlike Fort Worth, you would not be in danger of a citation or fine.

Growing up with Lynden, Washington as part of my background, may explain part of the reason why I can be so appalled at some things I see in Fort Worth. Like littered, weedy, un-landscaped freeway exits to a town's top tourist attraction.

Am I the only Dutch person in Fort Worth?

Up Before The Sun The Second Tuesday Of 2012 After A Night Of Explosions Had Me Wondering About Chesapeake Energy's Barnett Shale Fracking

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the world at the pre-dawn darkness I see no stars or rain falling. I am assuming we are still under a rain producing cloud cover in North Texas.

According to my computer temperature monitoring device it is only 39 degrees, currently, in the outer world at my location.

Today is the 2nd Tuesday of the New Year. Already almost a third of the first month of 2012 is gone.

I was exhausted by early evening, last night, which had me horizontal fairly early.

Around 3 in the morning an explosive noise woke me up. At first I thought it was thunder. The follow up explosive noises were clearly not thunder-like.

I don't know what was causing the booming. It lasted, intermittently, for a couple hours. This put me into insomniac mode.

Sometime around the 4th or 5th boom it occurred to me that this booming could have something to do with today's scheduled "Frac Job" at my neighborhood Fort Chesapeake. But, would they actually start something like that in the wee hours of the morning if it made a big noise?

Pondering the "Frac Job" got me obsessing over it in my sleepless state.

Maybe someone has an answer to what I'm obsessing about Frac-wise.

Okay, the hole gets drilled, all the way to the Barnett Shale, a couple thousand feet below the surface. Pipe lines the drilled hole. There is no way a continuous pipe can be inserted into a hole that is a couple thousand feet long.

So, is the pipe installed in sections, joined together somehow? Like the water pipes currently laying on the ground to bring Trinity River water to Fort Chesapeake?

When the drilling process reaches an aquifer, how does that work? How can a drilling process possibly get past a layer of water without polluting that water?

If the well lining is a pipe in sections, how are the joints made to be leak-proof? The pipeline that is bringing water to Fort Chesapeake from the Trinity River is definitely not leak-proof at the joints.

When today's fracking occurs, at the point where the Barnett Shale is fractured and starts producing natural gas, what happens next?

Does all that fracking water get pumped back out?

What stops the newly released natural gas from zooming up the poked hole with explosive force, like the natural gas version of the cliche oil gusher when a drilling operation strikes oil?

Today, with all this fracking going on are there going to be some extra nasty things in the air that I breathe?

Does anyone have any answers to any of these question?

I wish I could say I am going swimming now and think about something else.

The Gates Of Fort Chesapeake Are Still Open But Attended By Vigilant Humans

The gates of my neighborhood Fort Chesapeake were still open today in the noon time frame.

However, the gates are now open with humans inside the Fort.

With a trailer moved in, along with at least 4 outhouses, lighting and a white pickup or two.

Due to wetness falling from the sky above I did my walking today in Wal-Mart and Target. I don't see how Target stays in business. In Wal-Mart I have myself a fine time playing dodge humans, in Target there are very few humans to dodge.

On the way back to my abode, from my shop walk through Wal-Mart and Target, my route takes me through my neighborhood Albertson's parking lot. That is when I saw the gates of Fort Chesapeake were open, but with new things added.

I pulled over on the Albertson's parking lot to take a picture through the water drops on my sideview window.

I only took two photos.

See the guy in a white hardhat standing by the trailer door?

When I stopped my vehicle, parallel to Boca Raton Boulevard, clearly aiming at the open gate of Fort Chesapeake, that guy in the white hard hat started walking towards me.

I finished my picture taking, then took a right turn to head on home. As I pulled out of the Albertson's parking lot the guy in the white hat was looking towards me and my vehicle and writing feverishly on a notepad.

Was he writing down my license number, I paranoiacally wondered? But, then again, was I really being all that paranoid? It is not like I have not had a few encounters with guys in white  pickups guarding pipelines sucking water from the Trinity River.

The fracking begins tomorrow. I have a feeling it is going to be interesting.