Penn State Arrives at the Cotton Bowl and Fair Park

Today was a perfect "indian summer" day  at Fair Park. There are three museums leaving Fair Park in the coming year, give or take a month or two for the most part. The Women's Museum is closed. The Science and Nature will be moving into their new home at Lamar and Woodall Rodgers in the Ross Peroit Science Center. The added space will be a plus.. And, the fantastic collection of  trains will move to their new home in Frisco,Texas, just up Central Expressway 20 miles or so. Still, there is much at Fair Park to enjoy with Texas Discovery Gardens, Music Hall,the home to Summer Stock; the African-American Museum;Cotton Bowl;Hall of State and a host of other lesser known such as the Antique Automobile Museum. I wanted to make sure that I had plenty of stock so when the time comes, there will be stock of what was once there at Fair Park as much as what is there currently
As I rounded the corner in front of the Music Hall, there was the Penn State Football Equipment semi-tractor-trailer being tailed by an envoy of white cars. So, I walked over to the Cotton Bowl. Here's what I found.

Arriving on the grounds of  the Cotton Bowl at  Fair Park

Good ole man power unloads this truck.

Row,Row,Rowing Out the End of 2011

A rowing club member returns from  a workout.

The number of Rowing Club participants in the Dallas area grows more each and every year. A fantastic sport in its own right, the physical workout is an added bonus.

Christmas Outside at the New Convention Center Hotel

Dallas' new convention center hotel, a 1001-room complex managed by the Omni chain, opened ahead of schedule this past November. It has quickly become a hot-spot for celebs in town for what ever reason. It has also become a hot spot for photo ops at the holidays. White the decoration's twin is on display on 6th Avenue in New York, people in Dallas can still say everything is bigger in Texas.

"Buy Texas" made simple for the Holidays

Going to the Dallas Farmers Market has always been a fun trip. Fresh flowers for the yard and pots, a great Chicago-Style Bistro sandwich, fresh and tasty chocolate fudge, ice cream or an outdoor patio restaurant always makes the trip exciting, But the part that I enjoy the most is seeing and talking with an old friend I meet nearly ten years ago in booth 101 on the corner of shed No.1 and the pedestrian walk. Today, I got to meet a new member of the family and talk with an old friend. That old friend is Jerrell Graham, of R.L. Graham & Sons Produce. The Graham family is well noted for their fresh fruits and melons. They Custom Pack Fruit Baskets. They are also know for their paper shell pecans and fresh berries in season.

So, here is a display of their holiday fruit baskets. The "Buy Texas"campaign to help the local economy was never so easy. Drive down to Shed No. 1 at the Dallas Farmers Market and pick up a fruit basket from the Grahams and support the local economy at the same time. They are open 6 days a week and close on Wednesdays. You will be glad that you did and the Grahams will be glad that you did and "Buy Texas" will be glad that you did. Now, where else can you be so glad that you did??

Making Train Watching More Interesting

MSDS placard UN2078  (Toluene diisocyanate)
White indicates an inhalation hazard or poison
2078 identifies the chemical Toluene diisocyanate
and the 6 in the lower triangle indicates poison/toxic solids and liquids,infectious materials



The placard is at eye level just before the front wheels. It must be posted on all four sides one time.


How many times have you been sitting at a rail crossing as an ever-so-slowly train creeps by.  You  found yourself and your mind somewhere between  Uranus or Jupiter and the deep dark voids of space while you waited for the crossing gates to go up. Well, there is a better way to remain sane, educate yourself and be better informed about the transportation industry; chemicals used to created the goods we use,or sometimes eat, and keep our self and family more safe.

A few months ago, there was a fire in a Waxahachie,Texas firm that mixed compounds for the manufacturing industry. While watching the aerial view from a Dallas television station, suddenly, one could see liquid running out of one side of the building down toward a fire truck. Within seconds, flames followed the liquid and it was a mad scramble for the firemen to get off and out of the truck before it was totally engulfed in fire and eventually,totally lost. As in most situations such as this, fire departments have MSDS or Material Safety Data Sheets on hand. During the reporting of the story, it became rather amusing for me to note that the reporters knew very little about MSDS sheets, if they knew what MSDS sheets were at all. In other words, here is a major story and while you can't know everything about everything.....you should be at lease informed in the basics of industry in the area where you work and live. In this case a rail spur to the plant passed between the plant and an elementary school (which was evacuated eventually). On that spur was parked nearly a dozen tank cars of chemicals used inside that plant with fire burning ever more close to the cars.

Yesterday,while waiting for a slow moving and very long train, this post began to take shape. My camera was on the passenger seat of the car, as it always is when I leave the house. This particular train was going to the only siding that I know that can park such a long train all in one piece until it is broken up and reassembled.later. So, I headed in that direction. Sure enough. There sat the train on a two mile lone siding.

Hazardous Material Placards are required to be on all four sides of a tank car, covered hopper,gondola,box or inter modal container by the Department of Transportation. Placards are Red,green,yellow,blue,white,black and white,red and white,red and white dangerous,orange,white and black stripe. Each differently colored placard identifies the cargo (i.e., red -flammable;green,non-flammable;yellow,oxidizer;blue,dangerous when wet;white,inhalation hazard and poison;black and white,corrosive (acid and caustic);red and white,flammable solid or spontaneous combustible;white and yellow,RADIO ACTIVE  or radiation ;orange,Explosives;white and black strip,Misc. Hazards).

So, watch for the placards as trains go by,note a number or color and when you get home, check it out with the DOT ERG or Department of Transportation Emergency Guidebook, which you can download on the web. You will be amazed, or  minimally amused, at what hazardous chemicals are in your own backyard.  And, if you are one of the young reporters at a major market television station, take one of those Saturday afternoons that isn't to good weather wise and go look around your town where the closest Starbucks is six miles in the other direction. You might get picked up by the networks more quickly than your co-worker. Look at Bob Orr, from WCMH in Columbus,Ohio. His knowledge of the prison system landed him a full time network reporter job for the big CBS eye because he knew what he was talking about when the big story broke!
This posting is heading toward a project for the winter months. The project will be to identify and post as many chemical hazards in the Dallas area as possible. Now, all I have to do is talk my editors into publishing all the placards that I photograph over the winter months. 

Final Edit but No Less Important than the First Edit

A Very Big Boot!



 An Equestrian Unit.




Spotted by a Jedi !



Hope You are Highly Satisfied.....and by the way, I wasn't.

The local Kroger's that takes my money and gives me food in exchange has gotten off track lately. When retailers are stressing how important the customer experience is to their bottom line, sorry to say, some just do not get the meaning of experience or bottom line, or both.

On a little street named East Pearl in old Cincinnati, Ohio, No. 66 E. Pearl Street, to be exact, Barney Kroger opened his first grocery and bakery. The year was 1883. The little company has grown a bit since then. By Kroger's own date line, they name 1946 as the beginning of their modern era. Surprisingly, I was a living creature on this planet and I walked into a Kroger's for my very first shopping experience  in their stores in 1952. So, I have shopped at Kroger's for a few years--more like a few decades! But, I have not had a problem at Kroger's ever, until two weeks ago and the occurrence of that same problem today.

So, I have been giving Mr. Kroger's name sake my money for far to long and the store allows me to take home that value in food stuff. It's a good arrangement. I've not objected one way or another and the store ,likewise. But, debating for several minutes if I was being to over-reactive or just being a crusty old man who waited a long time to be able to scream out: "Get off my grass." "Stay out of my yard." "No,you can't have your ball back."  I decided that it was the crusty old man part and said to the checkout supervisor that,"No, I will check out here." That I was,"..... tired of being run all over the front end of the store when I am already  tired, already had my walk for the day and just wanted to go home and relax".What stirred my emotional well and got my veins inflated was when she walked away from me shaking her head. I called out to her, don't be shaking your head at me.She rolled her eyes and laughed. I was not amused in the least and to have my cashier tell my checkout girl that she can't talk to customers.....well, that's the moment that I decided that I would contact Kroger's Corporate office.Before that thought had been completed I spotted a new sign that had gone up since my earlier view a few days prior. So, I got my cell phone out snaped this shot and went on out in the cold to stay my purchases in the car. At home, I pulled up the Kroger web site and clicked on the "contact us" button.

Since 2005, I've only highlighted  Corporate America on three featured blogs that were of this nature. Two of the three have been this year !

Many years ago I listened to David Roderick, CEO of US Steel, in a speech, declare that we were not turning out middle and upper management of any significance. Since that point in time, observing what was meant in that speech have earmarked many examples of that very tenant. It hasn't gotten much better and continues to be bathed in corruption and deadly sins of old Corporate America. It's time more people start to speak out. It is the very essence of the Occupy movement! 

Wind Is Not This Girl's Best Friend

Showtime!

A Private Moment



The Wind Arrives



Getting ready for the show

Miss Texas,Kendall Morris, rode in the annual Children's Hospital Parade in downtown Dallas,Texas,Saturday,December 3,2011.

The Children's Hospital Holiday Parade



Dallas,Texas,Saturday,December 3, 2011: Crowds line up for the Children's Hospital Holiday Parade.



A Natural Gas Well,part of the Barnett Shale Field

Barnett Shale Field natural gas well near DFW airport.

Pigeons on a Limb ,a Flotilla of Ducks and a Pelican Directing His Choir.

Pigeons

Flotilla of Ducks



Pelican Directing His Choir
on a Bog.



$130 M Project With Unexpected Sunlight Takes Shape

Sunliight beemed on the old Sanctuary when the dust settled



The new buildings take shape on the downtown campus.

There are several churches in the heart of downtown Dallas but none more 'in the heart" than First Baptist.
It is surrounded by only the width of a street by 30,40,50 and 60 story buildings. Needless to say, deep shadows covered the original church building for decades.Less than a year ago, First Baptist announced that they were building a One Hundred Thirty Million Dollar campus and that the old buildings that they were now in service by the church would be demolished  by Alfred Nobel's nobel invention (except for the original Sanctuary).
The day of the demolition crowds gathered in nearby buildings to watch. When the dust settled, sunlight, not seen in decades was shinning on the old sanctuary. Everyone was in awe.

The image of the old Sanctuary where the crane is located  was so close to one of the buildings that it was left to be torn down manually after the demolition and in the image shows that it is now gone.

The image of the semi circle is part of the new construction and ties into all the remaining buildings that are in use by the church. When complete it will add  to the overall beautification of the city of Dallas and shows the church's commitment to the downtown area for years to come. So many churches move out of the downtown area in cities throughout the US, but those that choose to stay show many tens of thousands more what true leadership looks like.


The view of the neighborhood a block south of the church.



Monarch Butterfly and a House made of Pumpkins

These come from a few days ago. Jusrt getting  the time to load them up for editing has been pressed during the Thanksgiving Holiday. But, finally, here they are.

Nature's Coloring Book Is About Full For This Season

With the rain and winds last evening and over night,about 60 percent of the leaves are now down. Rain is again forecast for the weekend. So, here are a few more pages before the book closes.

Feeling the Beat

I could have listened to the sound all afternoon! At one point, I was watching the leaves fall from a tree and their motion was in sync with the rhythmic beat. Then, I go this shot.

Nature's Coloring Book

Beautiful afternoon.Beautiful fall colors.

PREVIOUS POST UPDATE:
The General Aviation US Postage stamp was approved and is now available in sheets of 20 from the store tab. Meanwhile, some beaudiful mums and fall colors in the leaves at the lake.

General Aviation

General Aviation has its ups and downs. [ (C) dallaspaparazzo.com ] [R] All puns aside, general aviation is a great business. So, I have designed a few business products for general aviation use. They will soon appear in the store section. If you are a fixed base operatror,manage a flight school or operate a general aviation service and would like to know more, email the blog. There is an actual US Postage stamp in the works on the Zazzle brand for general aviation. If it gets approved, we'll let everone know.

Cottonwood Creek at the High 5

Once again, orange cones fill the lanes of the High 5 as the LBJ 635 project is well underway for the next four years. Traffic is not only bad, it's worse than bad! Today, as the 55 foot holiday tree was completed at the Galeria, anyone trying to wrap their brain around how that is going to play out this season might as well stop at your watering hole and forget about it until the early days of 2012. Because..... you are going to have about four more holdiay seasons before 635 is done with the upgrades and expansion.

So, put a piece of rawhide between your teeth and chew. Hopefully, it will be over a year ahead of time like the High 5.

A Few Fall Colors and the Finished Cruciform

The addition to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's cruciform is now finished and looks absolutely amazing. The fall colors are this afternoon  before the 60 mile per hour winds and rain hits them later this evening. The rainbow was a big surprise as the few sprinkles didn't add up for much. The heavy rain is due later tonight and tomorrow morning.

Dallas Market Hall Becomes the Blog Grinch of the SEASON !

Dear Readers, Bill Winsor and the Team , Occupy Wall Street and Satellites.

This space was planned to have a picture of the Salvation Army's big and beautiful "Angle Tree".The "sample" show at the Dallas Market Center aka Market Center Management Co.Ltd.; Crow Holdings which manage the property and investments of Harlan Crow and the Trammel Crow Family, has a much larger tree than the area malls Angle trees.
 Today, a call was placed  to Dallas Market Center in a courtesy jester  to ask if cameras would be allowed at the sample show. The person on the other end of the line could not answer the question, so she offered to put me on hold OR call me back while she checked. Moments later, she returned to relay that she would be transferring the call to [M] ( I won't list "M's" name,though I would like to state that here). M came on the line waiting while the nature of the call was being restated to her. She ask a few questions and when she learned that this was an event blog the sound of keys were heard as she announced  into the phone that she was "Googling the blog. Then she stated that she could not find the blog in Google.( For the record, if you type it in correctly, two full pages comes up with the blog, and details of some articles etc.,etc.). But, M couldn't find it when she Googled.

The bottom line is that I could come to the sample show but she, [M],didn't want me taking pictures.

So, rather than become what M was becoming, we parted ways on the phone .

The big people(1%) can come take pictures but the llttle guy (99%) still gets shut out in 2011.

The Grinch this year is Ms. "M" at Dallas Market Center's  Sample Show

Sailing,Sailing (On an Autumn Afternoon)

The air was as crisp as it has been since May and a welcomed relief after such a hot summer. The wind made for a great sailing day with gust to 35 knots.

The President's Planes and Cars Come to Town

The Presidential Motorcade on it's return to Love Field.

The Marine Corp transport from Charleston Air Force Base that transports the limos and support equipment.

Air Force One departs Dallas' Love Field  for St. Louis.

It's always a thrill and an honor to photograph the symbols of the free world. Here are a few images from Tuesday, October 4, 2011 when President Obama came to town.

Stairway to Heaven?

The new Orange Line's Urban Station in Las Colinas comes closer to completion. This is the stairs from the platform up to the second level where the old Las Colinas Monorail system can be accessed.Beyond this station is the Irving Convention Center. It will be be termination point until the Beltline/DFW segment is completed in a couple of years.

How Did They Get Here?

 The green parots that hang out at White Rock Lake are familiar to lake goers.