I Think, Therefore I Am?

Just a test, only a test...  is it really like riding a bike?  I wonder...  Do I remember how?  I think this is better... now for a picture. 

The placement is right in the middle.  This is from a recent trip I just returned from.  I think I'll tell you all about it a little bit later, as well as catch you up on a few things.  It's been awhile.

Traversing Texas With Princess Annie And Her Dog Shellby

It's been a while, and I must admit that the look of Blogger has somewhat changed, but I think I am able to navigate this wreck of blog to some degree, fairly accurately.

Speaking of navigating, Princess Annie and I will be headed to some of the great State Parks of Texas, Sunday.  Over the humpy hills, through the towering trees and across the randy rivers we will make our way to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.

Our first stop is Llano River State Park.  Annie and I secured a camp site for our tent that includes running water and an electrical outlet.  Just because I will be "roughing" it does not mean I have to go without freshly brewed coffee!

The most challenging part of our trip, in my opinion, is the traveling with a dog part.  You are not allowed to leave your pet unattended at the camp site, which in essence means that Shellby must do all the activities that we have planned, such as tubing, canoeing, ghost hunting, wild life viewing and fishing.

My buddy Durango is coming along.  He is an expert camper and traveler and we are excited that he will be tagging along! 

Range Resources Blunders

Ooops...how sneaky of me. Did I lead you to believe that RANGE RESOURCES had actually apologized for the spill? Here's what they really said:

Waller said he believes residents overreacted to the spill out of anger over recent air quality tests that found elevated levels of benzene and other harmful chemicals during several stages of the drilling process at the first Rayzor Ranch well.

Waller said the tests, performed for neighbors by Flower Mound-based Wolf Eagle Environmental, were inaccurate and unscientific.

The Railroad Commission “did call by phone, and we did explain to them what the situation was, and they understood the political issues that were going on for all those people to call,” Waller, of Range, said. “But there’s nothing we can do about it except try to deal with the public there.”

Range Resources

"Although there are some temporary inconveniences associated with the drilling process, our industry is one of the most technologically advanced and well regulated industries in the world. As a result, we take great care to preserve and protect the environment"

AND THEN:


Range Resources is terribly sorry for the poor judgment of our contractor Pioneer Drilling Company and the foreman has been warned that taking shortcuts of any kind is not an acceptable practice.

Awww...How quaint, they apologized.

Truth?

This morning as I sipped coffee and watched the morning news, the anchor woman stated that a study completed by the University of Texas's Energy Institute found that no link exists between hydraulic fracturing and ground water contamination. I found this statement hard to swallow.

Upon further reading of other sources this is what has been revealed:

First of all, these are ONLY the preliminary findings and the report will not be completed and released until the early part of 2012.

Second, the word used was "SUGGEST" the report suggests... doesn't that mean to imply? To seduce? To influence? To hypothesize?

Third, the preliminary findings state that when there is ground water contamination that we should look at the surface processes, such as "poor casing" and "shoddy cement jobs". Okay, so we do admit there is GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION.

And the All Mighty Groat, the lead UT geology professor on the study, said this...

"The violations that we've seen are of no, minor or small impact," Groat said. "The impact on groundwater, the impact on the surface is not of anything substantial, certainly not compared to coal mines or metal mines."

Whew...I feel so much better. Heck, it's better than a coal mine (ha ha ha...snort). Kind of reminds me of that silly thing that some presidential wanna be just said recently..."I just don't know the third thing that I'd do away with." Senseless babble.

The Big Machine

So, if we're part of a big machine that's governed by let's say, certain laws that never change, then it would be a safe or an ignorant assumption to say that most of our choices are predestined. That we have no other way to react or respond, but within those laws. Now, there exists certain particles, or maybe atoms, that are unpredictable, that act randomly and we are unable to determine their course. That part is true, from what I understand, that there are certain elements that swerve, that do not have a particular course.

Let's then assume that we are made of these particles. Some are fixed and adhere to the governing laws, then we are also composed of these particles that act randomly. Let's also say that some of us are mainly composed of the fixed particles and have very few of the unpredictable particles. Therefore, we could say that the majority of us are predictable and follow a rather predetermined course. We react within the normal range of actions.

Then there's a group of people that are composed of the more unpredictable particles and have very few of the more stable law adhering particles. These people do not react in the "normal" range of actions. They tend to be unpredictable and not follow the governing laws.

I wonder if it's that simple? That no matter what you instill in someone, that they have a genetic make up to either be predictable law adhering particles or they have the genetic make up to be unpredictable unlawful particles. What if it's really all in the genes?

The Walking Dead, Yes, I'm Hooked

Normally I don't do a whole lot of television watching, until recently that is. I can't help myself, seeing that I'm a morbid zombie loving undead watching sorta person, the air waves, or is that radio? have been filled with shows that I just can't get enough of.

I started watching the Walking Dead last season and was immediately taken with the believable characters and wonderful story line and subplots. It's a feast for TV viewers, not to mention that when the Zombies get a chance to feast, they chow down!

Another show that I happened upon is American Horror Story. Zowie! That show is hot, disturbing, hot, wicked, hot... well, you get the point. Basically, from what I have gathered so far is there is this house with a murderous history with an evil presence lurking. And the dead? Oh, yes, the dead not only walk among the living they leave a few more corpses behind!

Switching genres from horror to historical fiction, I viewed the season premiere of AMC's Hell On Wheels. Intense! Being a novice history buff, I rather fancy time period pieces and heroines in distress. I'm looking forward to this coming Sunday's lineup.

So, with now three hours of TV watching a week, I find myself being strapped for time. I spend about 8 hours a week at the gym, 50 hours a week at work, 7 - 10 hours a week cleaning, 6 - 8 hours a week preparing and doing an internet radio show, about 35 hours a week sleeping...exactly how many hours are in a week?

My Buddy Durango Turning 47 Today

Happy Birthday Mr. Durango! I sure am glad you decided to transplant your incredible self to Texas. I've been lax in keeping up with my friends as of late or I would have sent you a little something from the desert, but seeing that Fort Worth is on day 41 of drought and heat above 100, I'm thinking that your landscape is starting to resemble my own.

Instead, I'll post for you one of my favorite songs.

The New York Times Joe Niocera Is In Pickens Back Pocket

Okay, for those of you who love the idea of oil and gas drilling...you know, the Drill Baby, Drill, shrill...please do not read this.

For the rest of you, please read on.

I read a rather disturbing reply by Joe Nocera regarding comments made on his previous opinion in The New York Times. Well, at first I thought that he was just uneducated on the matter of natural gas fracking...but it turns out that he is Picken's lackey. Please tell me you have not forgotten T. Boone Pickens.

What caught my eye about Nocera's opinion was this line:

In Texas and Oklahoma, it has been used for decades, with nobody complaining much about environmental degradation.

Really? NOBODY has complained MUCH? Well, I know for damn certain I have complained A LOT and I live in Texas.

Then, Mr. Informative lists the three main reasons and quickly dispels them without an ounce of back up or provided research.

fracking supposedly allows gas and dangerous chemicals to seep into the water supply. This is pretty implausible.

Well, if I remember correctly I just read an article about an EPA study concluding that fracking has contaminated drinking water. And you know what else? THE NEW YORK TIMES also reported on the same story! Hey, Joe? Do ya not read anything else besides your own bloated arrogant opinions?

The second problem is the disposal of the chemical waste.

Yeah, no kidding. This is a problem and no, Joe, they do not all bury it under the ground in spill proof containers, there are reports of it being dumped late at night off of county roads or kept in big open pits lined with plastic.

natural gas is dirtier than coal.

He quickly dismisses this as a biased opinion. What I find rather ironic (or maybe moronic) is that at the end of the article he then admits that there are problems with natural gas drilling and fracking the Shale, but that with best drilling practices and with strong state regulation (bahahaha, snort, choke...ouch) we, America (covers heart and sheds a tear) can finally end our dependence on foreign oil...and his cliched rhetoric doesn't stop there...

while diminishing the strategic importance of the Middle East, where American soldiers continue to die.

Of course, I wanted to leave my comment on his article, but due to the outpouring of outrage about his uniformed ignorant rant...he is no longer accepting comments.

Being Selfless

Have you ever made a decision? I mean a real life changing decision? One that you had thought about for several weeks, maybe even a month and you thought you were doing the right thing, but then after the decision, you felt worse than before?

Can you ever go back? Do hurtful things that are said can ever really be forgiven? Or do the words build and build until there's a protective wall that just stays there. I read a quote today:

"Be selfless today if it's going to be for the betterment of someone else's life. U and they will be better off for your sacrifice."

I had planned on trying to reverse my decision today. Go back and undo it, if it could. But after reading that quote, maybe the decision was what was better for the other person. Dang...being a human is so hard sometimes...

Summer Vacation Coming To An End

Like my good buddy, Durango, posted about an hour ago, it's going to be another hot day here in West Texas. The boys are practicing for football, my youngest will have a guest for the weekend and we are planning on staying around the house and maybe doing a little swimming up at the school pool.

I always get semi depressed at this time of the year. School is about to start, and although I love my occupation, I love the time off just as much. This is the first time of my teaching career that I'm not totally dreading getting back into the classroom. That lack of dread has everything to do with the district I am now employed with.

It will be slightly different this year, because my principal is now at the elementary, and the elementary principal is now at the junior high, my campus. Why was this change made? From what I gather, it's because the junior high campus has it's act together. Well, at least, that's what they tell us.

This is my son's last year in high school and my daughter's last year in elementary. We have a few more things planned before school gets underway, Summer Mummers and the Midnight Cellar Dweller Movie. And before that, I am making a solo trip to Louisiana to pick up a 1965 Ford Mustang.

Some interesting news has been coming down the pike about a correlation between fracking and ground water contamination. The article is easy to read, but just don't stop there...the comments are priceless.

You And Me And The Stock Market

Okay, I don't know a whole lot about the stock market, but from history classes and news articles and of course from the movie, Wallstreet, I have a basic understanding. This is my understanding, that the majority of the money we "see" in the stock market is soft money. Oh, I know...soft money means a type of political contribution that can't be regulated because it, ahem..."builds" the party. So, why am I using that term with the stock market?

The stock market contains whimsical money that builds the nations' economy. Sometimes it has a really awesome building effect while at other times it has an extremely damaging effect. Like it's having today, with a 400 point drop...people, according to one news source...are already throwing in the towel and moving their money to safer areas, such as bonds.

And then we have been having this whole debt debate thing going on over in Congress for quite some time. Shut it down, start it up, compromise... whatever. I know what's really going on, and knew it before I read Robert Bowden's article, but I'll let him say it for me:

"Instead of trying to reach consensus, political leaders are posturing for their re-election and increasing book sales."

I know what you, the average ordinary non stock market guru is saying..."this is not going to affect me in the least. I will wake up and do what I do, go to work, get paid and pay the bills." I think that's a HUGE misconception, because it will eventually affect YOU! If you remembered correctly, I posted a nice little proposal for a flat tax. I got some positive feedback, so I started emailing my plan to all my elected representatives...so far, no takers.

But here are a few things that all of the above will have to do with the average person:

1. Higher interest rates, less loans
2. Delayed Government checks, except for Congress (there's a law that protects them)
3. Government offices will be closed and some employees on leave
4. Finally, with access to capital(money) being limited; layoffs are on the horizon and costs/prices will increase

What are we going to do? I don't know yet. I have to give this some thought, but I'll be sure to let ya know what I come up with.

Titillate Your Senses In The Tall City

Do you remember the cult classic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Some of us not only remember it, we lived it! Persons that did not participate in a midnight showing probably are a little clueless of what it means to attend an active viewing of the The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The audience members not only watched the movie, but they usually did so in costume and had every line of the movie well memorized. Props, dancing and crowd participation is what makes the Rocky Horror Picture Show experience truly fun. Of course, it does help if you have a sense of humor and are not offended by transsexuals or crude behavior. There is a guide for Rocky Horror Virgins which could be extremely useful in preparing you for your first time.

Since I now have you thinking about this unique movie type experience and I have your mind primed, pumped and ready, I'm about to drop something just as amazing and interesting on you.

Let's say, that you could see one of your favorite movies of the past, could be something like, Blue Velvet, High Plains Drifter, Heavy Metal or even Evil Dead. And not only could you see it again, but you could view it on the big screen, with surround sound and buttered popcorn for a very low price. Interested?

Coming soon, right here in The Tall City, The Cellar with Bogart and Brando, in conjunction with Basin Bands will be bringing you the Cellar Dweller Midnight Movie. It's not just a movie...contests, discount cards, giveaways, live bands, concessions...and so much more. Titillate your senses in the Tall City!

Here's a sneak preview of what is soon to come!

A Round Up For Express Energy

I'm not quite sure what Express Energy has been up to lately, but for the past several weeks I have had a lot of traffic searching for information on Express Energy. At one time, Express Energy was siphoning water from the Trinity River, without permits and when my good buddy, Durango, tried to take a few photos...they got really nasty.

So, let me ask...are you searching for information about Express Energy, because they're up to no good again? OR are you from Express Energy checking out your google rating?

I'll make it easy, I did a quick search on my blog and put all the information that I have about Express Energy right here.

That's Why They Call It The Blues

When you grow up in the Deep South, as I did, you become accustomed to a few things, such as great Jazz and Blues music, smiling politely and saying yes ma'am, and this little bug called the craw fish. Being away from the South, for nearly two decades, leaves this Southern girl feeling a bit discontented at times. This discontentment brews and manifests itself into a longing to get a taste of my childhood on occasion. The perfect opportunity for satisfying this yearning came in the form of the Tall City Blues Festival of Midland.

Jesse, Annie and myself arrived at the festival gates around noon on Saturday and were greeted to a beautiful cloudy cover, with the sound of a soulful crooner and a cooling breeze. Within the breeze, music swayed like effervescent bubbles, infused with the smell of spicy craw fish. I knew at this point in time, I was exactly where I needed to be.


The three of us, with our four pounds of craw fish and iced tea, meandered to a spot on the cement under the trees. While sucking the heads and chomping the tails, we listened to a peppy little tune called Slow Down Sugar by John Lisi and The Delta Funk. I noticed a man, dancing away, and well, I wasn't the only one, because John Lisi called out to him, "This music makes you want to jump right out of your flip flops!"

For some of us, The Blues remind us of home, for others, it can bring on a certain melancholy, while for a few it may elicit feelings of love and passion. Whatever it brings forth in you, that's what the Tall City Blues Festival was all about, bringing people together to appreciate The Blues.

Fly Away LIttle Birdie

Do you ever take inventory of your life and look back a year, two years and wonder have you actually moved forward? I suppose if you did not plan to move forward, but only to maintain, then that question would not apply to you.

Let me take a walk down memory lane for a minute or two, please indulge me. Two years ago, 2009, I was working for TYC in Pyote, was twenty pounds heavier, in much more debt, finally coming to the realization that my marriage of eight years disintegrated; depressed, floundering, just maintaining.

2010, I found more pleasurable employment within a school district that is closer to home. I resolved to lose those unwanted twenty pounds and did. I cut up my credit cards and started paying off debt, over fifteen thousand to date. Made peace with my failed marriage and filed for divorce; hopeful, determined, gaining ground.

Here I am though, halfway through 2011 and I find myself floundering once again. No, I'm okay with debt, still gaining ground. And no, I'm not gaining weight again, still exercising and eating healthy. Not even giving the failed marriage a second thought, I survived and have put it behind me. So, why am I feeling...a bit discontent?

I think it's the ideology and dogma of others that has infiltrated my otherwise peaceful forward moving life. I can not for the life of me, convince my son to finish his entire senior year here in Wink. He's discontent. I understand discontent and finally, today, I decided that I am no longer going to fight it. I gave him my blessings and wished him well. So, I am preparing for having my son, after his 18th birthday, move to Midland to live with his new friends. Good luck my dear one, I love you and wish only the best for you.

Raise Your Hand For 5% No Exemptions Necessary

It's really simple, we can begin to lower the debt by getting rid of a bloated and overindulgent tax system. Why is it that we have all these rules? Why can we not have a simple flat tax rate for everyone, regardless of how many dependents they have; how much they donate to charity, or how much interest they pay on certain loans?

If you made $100,000 annually, would it not be extremely simple to know, that no matter what happened that year, you would pay a flat tax? The amount of the rate is still debatable. See, Congress would still have something to argue and complain about.

Don't corporations hire lawyers and accountants to figure out which loop holes benefit them the most? Does not the government have well over 115,000 employees on the full time payroll to process and collect taxes? Tons of people E-file, which I think is fantastic, that's not the problem. The problem is enforcing all the rules. Spending countless hours to ensure you got all your tax breaks. Please, give me a break...pass a flat tax and get rid of the loop holes and deductions!

Back to the rate, let's say that it's 5% across the board. So, if you make $120,000 (like a friend of mine does in Lewisville) then your tax payment would be $6,000. I bet he'd like that, because now his tax payment is $40,000. He's single, no children and owns his own home...no breaks.

I have another friend that makes $1,200,000...which is a considerable sum. He's a small business owner. Under my plan, he would pay $60,000, which is a fantastic break for him since he now pays well over $250,000 in taxes under our inflated ridiculous tax code.

The way I see it, middle America and small business owners finally get a break, big corporations have to pay their fair share, government spending is cut and millions of trees would be spared. I figure it's a win-win for everyone!

Oh, I know what you're thinking...Corporate America would pack up and leave. Let them. I would love to see a come back of the mom and pop businesses. Customer service would increase exponentially, automated systems would go bye-bye (and good riddance!), and people would act more like...well, people. Let's take our humanity back!

Am I being unreasonable? Is there something I'm missing? If I am...I'd like to know. Educate me on this matter, because I can't figure out why it would not work.

Escape From Houston

It's been quite the summer, and it's not entirely over yet. I made some small trips around Texas and New Mexico, remodeled the kids' rooms and started the Insanity workout. Both my children took solo trips, Princess Annie to Denver for a couple of weeks and Justin to New Orleans for a few weeks.

Justin's return trip from New Orleans was muddled at best. Somehow he managed to procure a ticket to the Warped Tour in Houston, which meant that his flight home would be from Houston, not Dallas.

Jesse booked Justin a trip to Houston from New Orleans via Grey Hound. It was Justin's first bus ride, seven hours of pure bliss. I think everyone should experience bus travel at least once in their life time.

After arriving in Houston, the experience becomes convoluted. Any and all plans to meet up with his "friend" and her mom were nixed. In my personal opinion, I'm thinking that there never was a "friend" and mom, but that's a different story altogether.

So, let me bring you in where I was brought in. A call comes in from Justin at about one AM, telling me that the worst has happened and then...I lost his call. For a mother, the "worst" entails a ton of horrible things that I'll not hash up at this particular point in time.

All I could gather from the call was that he was stranded in Houston, after spending his last fifty dollars on a taxi to the wrong airport and now he was trying to use the Metro Bus to get across town to Intercontinental.

Since I don't know your name, and my only way of getting this to you is via the internet...thank you, big nice man, that stayed with Justin and guided him through the streets of downtown Houston.

Justin did find his way to the correct airport and to an outlet in the terminal in which he could plug in his phone and call. As he related the story, fatigued, weary, relieved, stressed...I realized that we were fortunate.

Justin experienced the worst and best in people that night. He also found a sense of composure that enabled him to use resources he had never tapped before. He may have lost his luggage that night and all his earthly possessions, but he found so much more.

The Queen Of Wink Is Missing

Yikes! It has come to my attention that the Queen of Wink has vanished! Wait, hold on a minute...I am the Queen of Wink!

A few days ago, I became utterly disgusted with Facebook. Not so much the social networking vehicle itself, but just the whole convoluted pretentious idea of the Facebook way of life.

Like Durango stated in his blogging of the missing Queen of Wink, I am an avid user of Facebook. Being an avid user, does take an enormant amount of time. (I realize that enormant isn't really a word, but it should be)

Seeing that I have an enormant amount of painting, cleaning and reorganizing to do and only an innormant (again, yes, I know) amount of time to complete these tasks before the kiddos get back from visiting their sperm donors, I've decided to take a much needed hiatus from Facebook.

I am a person, that will admittedly admit, that I have a very addictive personality. If there's junk food in the house...I'm going to eat it. If there's alcohol in the house...I'm going to drink it. And...if there's an avenue to being non productive, let's say by spending enormant amounts of time on Facebook...well, by golly, I'm going to waste that time on Facebook.

The only obvious path of least resistance is to "put away" Facebook for a little while so that I can focus all my energy on more important things. Such as playing Scrabble on Pogo.com and...uh, I mean...of course, remodeling the bedrooms.

My Little Princess

"I hope when you read this, it kindles your heart and puts a smile on your face." That's what Sarah writes in a letter to her father from the movie, A Little Princess. It happens to be, A Little Princess, that is, one of my most favorite movies of all time. I enjoyed Shirley Temple's performance, but I relish the remake from the 90s.




I guess you're wondering why it is that your hard earned tax dollars are paying for me, a reading teacher, to show this movie to my students in class. That I'm not using my time wisely, and not teaching up until the very last second of the school year. You can be relieved that the movie does tie in nicely with our end of the year projects over India and that the things that the students have been reading about will now have visuals.

Speaking of end of the year projects, my students presented their findings on Monday. For the most part, the presentations were enjoyable and quite entertaining. I also could assess right away whether learning took place. You'll be happy to know that a whole lotta learning took place.

My gifted and talented class were tasked with creating an invention or improving an already created product. Here are some of the inventions that were presented: A Fancy Ball, which can be 6 different balls in one! The Master Mind! Never peel an orange again and have sticky fingers! An I Spy Rock Star Comic, featuring Gene Simmons from KISS and Marilyn Manson. I don't imagine fortunes will be made, but we had an entertaining afternoon dreaming about the possibilites.

Very few of my students had even heard of The Little Princess, but one surely did and grinned a huge smile while saying that she loves the movie. My favorite parts of the movie are those that include Levinia, the two faced horrible bully and the man from India, Rajah. Although, completely different characters in mannerisms, they both bring something that we all need. A little bit of pain and meaness inorder for us to truly understand and appreciate a little bit of joy and kindness.