Today will be the 30th day of triple digit temperatures in the Dallas - Ft. Worth metro area. And this week the forecast is for even more soaring temps, up to 108 by mid week. Joy.
The drought is so severe here that contractors are getting hundreds of phone calls for foundation work. It seems that the soil is so dry that building foundations are slipping and cracking. The soil is heavy clay which expands when wet and contracts when dry. Since all the moisture in the soil is virtually gone, the support is failing.
On a happier note, my brother John is coming to TX today for a short visit. Jennifer is also returning home after an absence of a month! Hurray! Some people to talk to! We will have a good, albeit hot, week.
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Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Texas drivers
Two things that Texans don't get: driving intelligently and stoplights. First, picture if you will three lanes of traffic, surface streets, 40 mph speed limit. One would think that cars would spread out on these three lanes. But no, not here. If there are ten cars in a space of a block or so, eight of those ten cars will be in one lane. No reason, just following along like sheep. Even at a red stop light, there can be two lanes with no cars and one lane with all ten cars. It isn't that the lanes end or merge or exit, it is just that Texans (and yes, I am generalizing here) seem never to look around, they just follow what is in front of them. So odd.
And can we talk about stop lights? You know how most lights, especially in Northern California, have some sort of sensor that tells the light if there are cars in the lane. That sensor will trigger the light to turn from red to green, or trigger the left-turn light to come on. In this part of Texas that does not occur. Ever. In fact, the lights really have nothing to do with the flow of traffic. I have sat at countless stoplights, waiting for the lights to take their sweet time progressing through their approved cycle, no traffic in sight anywhere. Will the light change early because I have stopped? No. Will the left turn light come on so I can make a left turn? Not unless it is part of the cycle. It is quite frustrating, just sitting at an intersection, no cars anywhere, watching the traffic lights letting the non-existent cross traffic have the green light. So stupid.
They also have a law that every seven years you have to physically get a new license plate with a new plate number. Why? According to the Texas DMV site, it is because the reflective tape on the plate wears out by then. Really? And it wouldn't be a lot less cheaper to just get better reflective tape than issue all new plates and hire bureaucrats to deal with that whole issue?
And finally, there are many freeways between Dallas and Ft. Worth, which is where Grand Prairie is, where I am serving my sentence. Some freeways say North and South and some say East and West, but some that say East and West actually run North and South.
Those goofy Texans!
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And can we talk about stop lights? You know how most lights, especially in Northern California, have some sort of sensor that tells the light if there are cars in the lane. That sensor will trigger the light to turn from red to green, or trigger the left-turn light to come on. In this part of Texas that does not occur. Ever. In fact, the lights really have nothing to do with the flow of traffic. I have sat at countless stoplights, waiting for the lights to take their sweet time progressing through their approved cycle, no traffic in sight anywhere. Will the light change early because I have stopped? No. Will the left turn light come on so I can make a left turn? Not unless it is part of the cycle. It is quite frustrating, just sitting at an intersection, no cars anywhere, watching the traffic lights letting the non-existent cross traffic have the green light. So stupid.
They also have a law that every seven years you have to physically get a new license plate with a new plate number. Why? According to the Texas DMV site, it is because the reflective tape on the plate wears out by then. Really? And it wouldn't be a lot less cheaper to just get better reflective tape than issue all new plates and hire bureaucrats to deal with that whole issue?
And finally, there are many freeways between Dallas and Ft. Worth, which is where Grand Prairie is, where I am serving my sentence. Some freeways say North and South and some say East and West, but some that say East and West actually run North and South.
Those goofy Texans!
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Friday, July 29, 2011
Water and fountains
As I mentioned a few days ago, I am reading a book about water, the current status of the world of water, the future of water in our world. Lots of data and some amazing facts, good examples of wise water usage and examples of foolish usage as well. It's easy to skip around in it, which is what I have done. "The Big Thirst" by Fishman.
Reading a book like this encourages you to investigate other paths that you might not have previously taken. The author talks about huge water fountains and introduces the company that has designed and implemented many of the world's most incredible water features: WET Designs. If you are at all enamoured of water fountains I encourage you to google the name and check out some of the fountains they have on their site, under "Creations." Some have a short movie about the fountain and the best one is the one from Dubai, UAE. This is the largest water fountain in the world, surpassing the size of the fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. There are dozens of still photos of fountains as well, from all over the world. You can also go to youtube.com and search for WET Design fountains and see other videos from around the world.
Gorgeous designs and the scope of some of these water features is awesome in the jaw-dropping meaning of that word. Makes me want to see them all in person.
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Reading a book like this encourages you to investigate other paths that you might not have previously taken. The author talks about huge water fountains and introduces the company that has designed and implemented many of the world's most incredible water features: WET Designs. If you are at all enamoured of water fountains I encourage you to google the name and check out some of the fountains they have on their site, under "Creations." Some have a short movie about the fountain and the best one is the one from Dubai, UAE. This is the largest water fountain in the world, surpassing the size of the fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. There are dozens of still photos of fountains as well, from all over the world. You can also go to youtube.com and search for WET Design fountains and see other videos from around the world.
Gorgeous designs and the scope of some of these water features is awesome in the jaw-dropping meaning of that word. Makes me want to see them all in person.
.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Dullsville
Sorry for the lack of blog postings this week, I have totally lost any sort of focus, any motivation and definitely have lost a great deal of perseverance. I fear the heat has become the tyrant that I must obey. Yes, I do my little daily routine but that's about all I can manage to accomplish. Walk the dogs from 6:45 to 7:30, sweat for a half hour, shower, have coffee and read for an hour. Run some half-ass made-up errand. Return before noon, read some more, go to the gym at 1:00 for 40 minutes. Return, gather the dogs into the car, take them to the grassy area of the park where they run around for 7 minutes and then beg to be let back in the car. Return to the house, where it is cooler. Sweat. Take another shower. Read some more. Feed dogs at 5:00. Make cocktail or pour wine at 5:30 (sometimes managing to hold out until 6:00.) Create some sort of dinner around 7:00, watch crappy TV til 10:00, let dogs out for last chance to pee. In between, check email, apply for jobs on-line, occasionally talk to a human person on the phone. That's it. That's the routine, varied slightly by perhaps seeing a movie or taking a different route in the car after completing stupid errands. Boring.
And with all that excitement during my oh-so-busy day, there just isn't enough time to create some amusing musing about my sojourn here in TX. Well, no, there is time, but the will to do so has vanished.
I will try to be better, try to write even if I don't have anything to say (like today!) and hopefully get more words onto the screen. I could talk about dinner, I suppose: I made a killer macaroni and cheese the other night, with several odds and ends of bits of cheese that were turning colors in the fridge. I had some home-made garlic and rosemary croutons as well, and I rough chopped them up and sprinkled them over the mac and cheese before it went into the oven and it added another layer of yummy, crunchy flavor.
I am also the queen of the fruit smoothies. You can't leave fruit out for longer than a day and a half, or it starts to go bad, so random fruits get tossed into the blender with some greek yogurt, a couple of ice cubes and a glug or two of orange juice. I must say, it is like drinking a really great milk shake but with almost no fat, some good protein from the yogurt and tons of fruit. That's pretty much my lunch every day. So, so good.
Blah, blah, blah. That's all I've got right now.
And with all that excitement during my oh-so-busy day, there just isn't enough time to create some amusing musing about my sojourn here in TX. Well, no, there is time, but the will to do so has vanished.
I will try to be better, try to write even if I don't have anything to say (like today!) and hopefully get more words onto the screen. I could talk about dinner, I suppose: I made a killer macaroni and cheese the other night, with several odds and ends of bits of cheese that were turning colors in the fridge. I had some home-made garlic and rosemary croutons as well, and I rough chopped them up and sprinkled them over the mac and cheese before it went into the oven and it added another layer of yummy, crunchy flavor.
I am also the queen of the fruit smoothies. You can't leave fruit out for longer than a day and a half, or it starts to go bad, so random fruits get tossed into the blender with some greek yogurt, a couple of ice cubes and a glug or two of orange juice. I must say, it is like drinking a really great milk shake but with almost no fat, some good protein from the yogurt and tons of fruit. That's pretty much my lunch every day. So, so good.
Blah, blah, blah. That's all I've got right now.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Book
I am reading a book called "The Big Thirst" by Charles Fishman. It is about water. Sounds boring, but the first 100 pages are quite good. The first several pages grip you with astounding statistics and then he talks about the evolution of water and it's role in everything from our blood to the manufacturing of microchips. There is a great chapter on Las Vegas and how they manage their water resources much better than almost any other city in the US which is especially remarkable because LV is in a desert and gets less than 6 inches of rain a year, average.
While I am interested now, who knows how interested I will be in another 100 pages, but so far, so good. Sometimes it's refreshing to read something that is factual instead of something from an author's imagination. And one learns new things at the same time! What a concept.
It is 6:20 pm here in Grand Prairie and the temperature is 105 degrees. Grand Prairie was in the news this past weekend because of a shooting at a roller rink, a sad and terrible way to gain notoriety. Six people were shot, one gunman who killed himself after killing them. Tragedy is impervious to location, isn't it?
.
While I am interested now, who knows how interested I will be in another 100 pages, but so far, so good. Sometimes it's refreshing to read something that is factual instead of something from an author's imagination. And one learns new things at the same time! What a concept.
It is 6:20 pm here in Grand Prairie and the temperature is 105 degrees. Grand Prairie was in the news this past weekend because of a shooting at a roller rink, a sad and terrible way to gain notoriety. Six people were shot, one gunman who killed himself after killing them. Tragedy is impervious to location, isn't it?
.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Many topics from here in TX
Grab a glass of wine or a cup of coffee, lots of things covered here in this blog.
Books: if you aren't familiar with Dennis Lehane's books and if you are a fan of the private investigator genre, you should check him out. (The library is your friend here, no need to buy them.) Well-written, fast, snappy dialogue. Not great literature but fleshed-out stories, a couple of well-defined characters, mostly set in Boston, smart and always engaging. I am reading other books as well, but not finding anything that I totally enamoured of, but if I do, you will read about it. (Suggestions welcome.) The library here, while seemingly large, doesn't buy a lot of new books unless they are widely reviewed. However, while browsing the stacks of fiction I noticed that many of the books have a label on their spine reading "Christian Fiction." Hmm, I must check out one of those. NOT.
Produce: today I finally found a good tomato; it seems the heat here has ruined most of the crop. They look good, all red and plump, but are hard and unripe inside. Today's find was a yellow tomato that was actually ripe and sweet. Sadly, the 'farmers market' here is more more like a farmers roadside stand. And not even that. Summer squash abounds, along with green string beans, melons, onions, sometimes berries and the best peaches I have eaten, grown in Texas. Not much more, unless you want one of the Fried Pies offered by the Mormons. I still long for a juicy, intense heirloom tomato that you can slice thick, put on a slice of good bread with a smear of mayo, some salt, and eat it standing over the sink as it leaks its amazing juice into the bread and all over your fingers. Haven't found that yet. Will continue to look.
TV: just finished watching the first season of the FX show "Justified" with Timothy Oliphant. With him, nothing more needs to be said except "hot" and "cute." Very much so. The series is in its third season, I think, but I missed most of it so am catching up with Netflix. Takes place in Kentucky, he is a US Marshall (which is different than being a cop or a FBI guy) and the sleaziness of the south truly comes out. Now, I'm not saying the south is sleazy, but there is that gritty, unsavory element and the show does not pretty it up. Lots of guns, some shooting and some blood, but it has that lazy, hot, southern quality about it that I like. It's sort of twisted at times, again another plus. And hey, you just can't stop looking at Oliphant. (There are hot chicks in it too, just so you know and if you like that sort of thing. And really, who doesn't?)
Heat: I hate to run on and on about the heat but here's one thing that you don't know until you live in it. It's fine to think that you go from AC in the house to AC in the car to AC in the market or movie theater or whatever. All that is fine. What you don't realize is that if you are out of your car for more than 30 minutes, it heats up inside to temperatures in the 140-150 degree range. That's really hot. You turn the AC on and it does nothing for about 10 minutes because everything in that car is hot, every surface, and it takes a long time for that cold (read cool) air to actually make a difference in a fire box like that. So by the time you get home you are sweating through your shirt because the car is so hot and the AC is struggling greatly to cool things down but is defeated by the elements.
Cold showers: because the air and the ground are so hot all the time (night-time low is around 80, and that's not til about 3:00 am) the water that comes out of the shower head is also almost hot. You get about one minute of cold water, probably the water circling through the pipes in the house, and then it goes tepid. This is so disappointing! Because I am out several times during the day, sometimes actually out in the hotness, sometimes coming back from the YMCA, always sweating, I need that cold shower more than once a day. Not having it makes me cranky. But at least it saves water siince I am in and out quickly, and since there is a major drought here, that is not a bad thing. But still......
YMCA: yes, I joined because they have a gym and because I am so bored. It gives my day another dimension, that of fostering Christian values. Oh, wait, that's really not what I meant, that's just what it says on the walls, which I read while working the weight machines. The other dimension for me is just getting to do something else other than read and talk to the dogs and nap. The local Y is about two miles from here and if I go around 1:00 it is fairly empty, so not too many people watch me as I go from Nautilus to Nautilus and puzzle over how to move the seat or the fulcrum and not too many people giggle at my lame attempts to pump iron. But hey, it's something to do and wasn't all that expensive. But please, don't imagine that I will come back to California all toned and buffed. We all know that ain't gonna happen. The best I am hoping for is that I come back a little more fit physically and sane and reasonably sober, and my almost daily short work-outs are a way to help that happen. And by "reasonably sober" I mean I haven't had to join AA yet. But sometimes it seems not out of the equation. (kidding. sort of.)
Dogs: just one word about them: smart. I often take them out around 2:00 in the afternoon (they get an hour long walk from 6:30 to 7:30 in the morning) for a little romp on the grassy knoll in back of us so they can pee and stretch their legs, which they don't care to do in the backyard. Yesterday they ran around for about 8 minutes and then parked themselves under a tree, in the shade, and wouldn't move. I had to put leashes on both of them and gently coax them to the car. They know it's too hot and they know when to stop. When we first get to the grassy area, they hop out of the car like kids on a field trip but they know when they are too hot and they stop moving. I admire their awareness of their own internal thermometer.
Drinks: I make a really good, tart, on-the-rocks margarita but tonight I am having a whiskey sour. I know, TMI.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading along and I am sure there will be more salient topics for the next blog. Or not.
Oddly, there are herons or cranes (whichever) in the little lake (pond) near us and in the Joe Pool Lake behind us.
.
Books: if you aren't familiar with Dennis Lehane's books and if you are a fan of the private investigator genre, you should check him out. (The library is your friend here, no need to buy them.) Well-written, fast, snappy dialogue. Not great literature but fleshed-out stories, a couple of well-defined characters, mostly set in Boston, smart and always engaging. I am reading other books as well, but not finding anything that I totally enamoured of, but if I do, you will read about it. (Suggestions welcome.) The library here, while seemingly large, doesn't buy a lot of new books unless they are widely reviewed. However, while browsing the stacks of fiction I noticed that many of the books have a label on their spine reading "Christian Fiction." Hmm, I must check out one of those. NOT.
Produce: today I finally found a good tomato; it seems the heat here has ruined most of the crop. They look good, all red and plump, but are hard and unripe inside. Today's find was a yellow tomato that was actually ripe and sweet. Sadly, the 'farmers market' here is more more like a farmers roadside stand. And not even that. Summer squash abounds, along with green string beans, melons, onions, sometimes berries and the best peaches I have eaten, grown in Texas. Not much more, unless you want one of the Fried Pies offered by the Mormons. I still long for a juicy, intense heirloom tomato that you can slice thick, put on a slice of good bread with a smear of mayo, some salt, and eat it standing over the sink as it leaks its amazing juice into the bread and all over your fingers. Haven't found that yet. Will continue to look.
TV: just finished watching the first season of the FX show "Justified" with Timothy Oliphant. With him, nothing more needs to be said except "hot" and "cute." Very much so. The series is in its third season, I think, but I missed most of it so am catching up with Netflix. Takes place in Kentucky, he is a US Marshall (which is different than being a cop or a FBI guy) and the sleaziness of the south truly comes out. Now, I'm not saying the south is sleazy, but there is that gritty, unsavory element and the show does not pretty it up. Lots of guns, some shooting and some blood, but it has that lazy, hot, southern quality about it that I like. It's sort of twisted at times, again another plus. And hey, you just can't stop looking at Oliphant. (There are hot chicks in it too, just so you know and if you like that sort of thing. And really, who doesn't?)
Heat: I hate to run on and on about the heat but here's one thing that you don't know until you live in it. It's fine to think that you go from AC in the house to AC in the car to AC in the market or movie theater or whatever. All that is fine. What you don't realize is that if you are out of your car for more than 30 minutes, it heats up inside to temperatures in the 140-150 degree range. That's really hot. You turn the AC on and it does nothing for about 10 minutes because everything in that car is hot, every surface, and it takes a long time for that cold (read cool) air to actually make a difference in a fire box like that. So by the time you get home you are sweating through your shirt because the car is so hot and the AC is struggling greatly to cool things down but is defeated by the elements.
Cold showers: because the air and the ground are so hot all the time (night-time low is around 80, and that's not til about 3:00 am) the water that comes out of the shower head is also almost hot. You get about one minute of cold water, probably the water circling through the pipes in the house, and then it goes tepid. This is so disappointing! Because I am out several times during the day, sometimes actually out in the hotness, sometimes coming back from the YMCA, always sweating, I need that cold shower more than once a day. Not having it makes me cranky. But at least it saves water siince I am in and out quickly, and since there is a major drought here, that is not a bad thing. But still......
YMCA: yes, I joined because they have a gym and because I am so bored. It gives my day another dimension, that of fostering Christian values. Oh, wait, that's really not what I meant, that's just what it says on the walls, which I read while working the weight machines. The other dimension for me is just getting to do something else other than read and talk to the dogs and nap. The local Y is about two miles from here and if I go around 1:00 it is fairly empty, so not too many people watch me as I go from Nautilus to Nautilus and puzzle over how to move the seat or the fulcrum and not too many people giggle at my lame attempts to pump iron. But hey, it's something to do and wasn't all that expensive. But please, don't imagine that I will come back to California all toned and buffed. We all know that ain't gonna happen. The best I am hoping for is that I come back a little more fit physically and sane and reasonably sober, and my almost daily short work-outs are a way to help that happen. And by "reasonably sober" I mean I haven't had to join AA yet. But sometimes it seems not out of the equation. (kidding. sort of.)
Dogs: just one word about them: smart. I often take them out around 2:00 in the afternoon (they get an hour long walk from 6:30 to 7:30 in the morning) for a little romp on the grassy knoll in back of us so they can pee and stretch their legs, which they don't care to do in the backyard. Yesterday they ran around for about 8 minutes and then parked themselves under a tree, in the shade, and wouldn't move. I had to put leashes on both of them and gently coax them to the car. They know it's too hot and they know when to stop. When we first get to the grassy area, they hop out of the car like kids on a field trip but they know when they are too hot and they stop moving. I admire their awareness of their own internal thermometer.
Drinks: I make a really good, tart, on-the-rocks margarita but tonight I am having a whiskey sour. I know, TMI.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading along and I am sure there will be more salient topics for the next blog. Or not.
Oddly, there are herons or cranes (whichever) in the little lake (pond) near us and in the Joe Pool Lake behind us.
.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
A movie review and a recipe
OK, first the recipe. This is delicious, easy, cheap and pretty fat-free. And it has stuff you probably have in your pantry. Here in Tex Ass, where it is important to have cold things to munch on already in the fridge, this concoction acts as dinner sometimes, spread on a cracker or dipped with pita chips. Essentially it's like hummus but better in some ways. Let's call it White Bean and Roasted Pepper Dip.
1 can white beans (cannellini), drained
1 cup (or thereabouts) roasted, skinned red pepper, either from a jar (rinsed) or from a real red pepper that you have roasted
3 ounces softened cream cheese (fat-free or reduced fat is fine), or about a third cup, you could probably use greek yogurt as well
juice of a half lemon
1 garlic clove, rough chopped
Salt and Pepper
Put all the ingredients in the food processor and whiz it til smooth. Refrigerate for at least an hour so the flavors blend, but it is even better the next day. Keeps for several days, covered in the fridge. I know it sounds sort of boring, but it isn't, and it's a lovely color and it tastes delicious, and how cheap and easy is it! I made mine in the blender, worked fine, just had to scrape the sides down a time or two.
Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. You should probably see Part 1 first, but even if you haven't you will still appreciate this one. It's quite good, the effects are often excellent and the color palate is dark, gloomy, portending evil. I like that sort of thing. (And yes, I sometimes like light and airy and pastels, too, but really, not so often.) Harry and his friends do what they are all supposed to do so there's some satisfaction in the resolution of the story. There are some twists and surprises, of course. And to tell you the truth (no spoiler here, don't worry) it could have ended about 10 minutes earlier and the last scene omitted and I would have been a tiny bit happier. See it on a big screen. We did not opt for the 3-D showing, not being big fans, and I don't think we missed out on anything because of that.
OK, that's it for this morning.
1 can white beans (cannellini), drained
1 cup (or thereabouts) roasted, skinned red pepper, either from a jar (rinsed) or from a real red pepper that you have roasted
3 ounces softened cream cheese (fat-free or reduced fat is fine), or about a third cup, you could probably use greek yogurt as well
juice of a half lemon
1 garlic clove, rough chopped
Salt and Pepper
Put all the ingredients in the food processor and whiz it til smooth. Refrigerate for at least an hour so the flavors blend, but it is even better the next day. Keeps for several days, covered in the fridge. I know it sounds sort of boring, but it isn't, and it's a lovely color and it tastes delicious, and how cheap and easy is it! I made mine in the blender, worked fine, just had to scrape the sides down a time or two.
Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. You should probably see Part 1 first, but even if you haven't you will still appreciate this one. It's quite good, the effects are often excellent and the color palate is dark, gloomy, portending evil. I like that sort of thing. (And yes, I sometimes like light and airy and pastels, too, but really, not so often.) Harry and his friends do what they are all supposed to do so there's some satisfaction in the resolution of the story. There are some twists and surprises, of course. And to tell you the truth (no spoiler here, don't worry) it could have ended about 10 minutes earlier and the last scene omitted and I would have been a tiny bit happier. See it on a big screen. We did not opt for the 3-D showing, not being big fans, and I don't think we missed out on anything because of that.
OK, that's it for this morning.
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