The First Daffodil of Spring that begins tomorrow in the Meteorological Sence

  Meteorological winter begins tomorrow and look what I found today. Right on time. 

I walked over a mile to the stop for the 202 rather than ride my usual 200 to the Red Line Station. By doing this, I got some exercise in on a beautiful last day of (meteorological) winter. Then, I rode one stop short of the Blue Line Station and caught the 200 connection within  a couple of minutes after crossing the street to catch the 200 bus. 

The ride was shot because I got off at a Kroger's. They are having a bit more problems in the Dallas Market than usual. And, I don't do my core shopping there any longer. I picked up a few fill-in items and headed back to the bus stop. Short wait for the inbound bus to make it to the Blue Line Station and start it's route back in my direction toward the Red Line Station. In short, I cut out two train station and reduced it to just two bus rides that were much shorter overall,plus getting in my walk. 

The next five days are headed to the 80s°F mark or a degree bar or two less. It's gonna be nice the rest the entire week. Getting out in the sunshine with the camera will be the goal of the week.

Amtrak's New ALC42 Engines Spotted at Truckee, California Station

Engine numbers 306 and 307 stopped at the station in Truckee, California  Thursday afternoon  on the 24th, being towed from the Siemens Mobility Plant in Sacramento, California, behind the current generation of the old fleet engines 206 and 77. Amtrak's promo shows the new generation mentioned above of number 300 with those bright red chevrons on the rear of the new contract in tow. The dark blue with the numbers up front of the engine makes the new ones easy to spot. 

The contract with Siemens was for 75 engines that are known as the ALC42 Chargers can reach a speed of 125 MPH with the average speed of 66 MPH being normal route speeds. Each new engine cost $6.6 million each. They are powered by Cummins QSK95's with Tier4 emissions that reduce nitrogen oxide by more than 89 % and particulate matter by 95%.  https://www.businessinsider.com/amtraks-new-diesel-electric-siemens-chargers-locomotives-2021-8

So, with Amtrak showing # 300 in their promotional photos, the two engines being towed that passed through Truckee being # 306 and 307, I had seen one other a few weeks back and didn't realize that it was being towed behind the two regular service  engines. So,check out the amazing shots of the promotional engine #300 on an Amtrak search via the link above that will open in a separate window.

The Truckee train is known as #6 California Zephyr that runs daily from Emeryville, outside San Francisco to Chicago. The #5 Zephyr is the same train but is westbound to Emeryville from Chicago.I have ridden the # 5 from Chicago to Denver. Amazing 18 hours and my bucket list includes the Zephyr as it goes through the both the Carson Range and the Sierra Mountains.

If You Build Them, They Are Already Here.

First came the need for 40,000 additional new housing units. And those filled up. Then came the need for 40,000 more and the people were already here. And then...they built more, and more, and even more.Then came the P.G.A. (Professional Golf Association)  HQ with two new courses at the new HQs in the Metroplex. Toyota came, one of the big advertising firms came and then...Buc-ee's to gas-up and feed 'em all.

The big railroads created a north south and east west system for container shipments by rail. Dallas is in the cross hair with an inland port for containers. Called intermodals, meaning containers filled with goods that can be used for shipments using all three forms of transportation to move goods.  Ocean-going vessels then moved to railroads for double stacked per car then loaded directly only a semi truck frame.

The BNSF ships massive amounts of traffic from west to east to north to south connecting Canada, US and Mexico shipments. The  inland port in south Dallas receives containers from rail, stores and ships out by truck to the Gulf for shipments from Asia to the islands in the Caribbean Sea to South America, Iceland and Greenland. Newfoundland and Nova Scotia can also come cross Canada or the US. In short, besides good weather most of the time, Dallas  sits in the perfect spot for most everything in terms of business and living. Especially living as there is no personal income tax. 

Then came the need for even more services like parks, skate board parks, and wider streets than 6-lanes. More restaurants, more entertainment venues, faster trains, more trains, as the Metroplex hits 2.6 million with 1.3 in Dallas itself. 

A Splendid Day All Around.Talking, Touring, Discovering in Downtown Garland and a Worrysome Note sidebar

  There is always something happening in Downtown Garland. To me, it is just one of those quaint places that has an amazing history and while things continue to change and upgrade with the times, part of past history has been saved. Allbeit, by moving it from where it was made. That's okay in as much as it is still being preserved. Not so long ago that history became a hot potato in the political sense. Like most things in that  bin, it usually blows over in time. 

Today, I had a great opportunity to hear a little more history from a young 84 year old lifetime resident. Much of the downtown history I have known. But today, he filled me in where the downtown auto dealers had been located at one time. I did not know that. His friend was also helpful in refreshing some things that I was uncertain about. 

I met a couple of  guys making a video for a business on the south side of the square. One took me down to his shop and said that I could come into the shop anytime and shoot there. It will be fun to go back and after the construction is all done that has one side of the square all torn up. 

Then,  I always play the chines and look at the art on the walls. Some pretty amazing things turn up there. I noticed  a little wooden rise with a couple of tables and chairs that was interesting because of the shadows that they cast in the late winter afternoon sun. While there, I see a lot of  prayer cloths hanging on a back patio of one of the bordering businesses to the air space outside. Long story short I was invited in to the shop after I finished up some shots. I enjoyed my chat with the gentleman that was the husband of one of the women I met inside. When I walked into the shop, one of the two women at the table at the back ask if I was the one outside earlier. They were doing crafts and as we talked, I watched some beaded jewelry being made. The shop: the FROCKSY Vintage Vogue.

 I had ask if they had heard the news today about the at-large black-banded cobra what had escaped from it's cage in Grand Prairie several weeks ago. As of this writing it had not been found. But, the troublesome report came from the arrest warrant of the guy who had the cobra in a makeshift cage where it got loose. It now appears that the cobra at large is a female. The more troublesome news from the report today was the fact that the guy also had a male black-banded in the same house. Now, it is most frightening to me in that no one in the latest report could say that the cobra's had mated or not. 

Seeing a bunch of little black-banded cobras hatching in the wild some 40 miles from my house is  something no one would want near them either. Look what happened to the python population in Florida from someone's dangerous attraction to snakes. Over the years, I have observed many people bring  their little plastic cages to White Rock Lake and release, gold fish, turtles and lizards, etc. People, please don't do things like that.Invasive species disrupt the natural species of the area and that is dangerous, not to mention playing with fire from a black-banded cobra gaining a hold in this area. Just last week there was a report of a snake in an overhead bin of a flight that had to be returned to it's origin. Yes, I know the joke about the snake on a plane. That isn't funny, either. 

So, go to downtown Garland and pay the featured shop a visit. They are nice people. They have a nice shop. They don't play with snakes!! In many ways, they made for an interesting afternoon in Downtown Garland, Texas. Every been to G_A_R_L_A_N_D, Texas. It's a nice place.

 

 

How Do You Walk Your Dog(s)? And Speaking of Walking---That's another matter.

dallaspaparazzo© 2018 all our images unless otherwise noted.

How do you walk your dog(S)?

 

Mud Hen aka American Coot walking on water to get airborne

If you had feet like these, you could  walk on water too.

The feet expands to lessen the tension on the surface, thereby giving them the ability to "walk" on water. 

The Roller Coaster Weather is going to return next week with 80's to 30's between two sunrises and  one sunset. 

There are some signs that Spring probably won't be showing its self by March 1 as in past years, but it needs to be here by March 12th. My new hat fresh from Dublin is sitting in it's box just waiting to be worn officially. I've tried it on and the fit is fantastic. 

I wasn't going to let the Hat out of the Bag but I like my hats!! You got the pun, No?

The HP ( The Scot) vs. the HH.(Bob Cat). I'll take the HH(Bob Cat) over the HP (Scot) anyday.

 Well, the big LVI day has arrived. It's just a matter of hours before we know who takes the throne. That set off a comparison spread sheet on not just who is a great QB but who had the overall fabric that rounds out a great QB that makes his robe out of that fabric fit for a king. 

On a personal note, I live less than 5 miles from where Matt Stafford played his high school football. My college days started on the Main Green at Athens, where I would meet a truck outside Baker's Union that took me to a farm of riding horses there every Wednesday. I could ride horses all afternoon. I got college credit for that too!! Riding in the Hocking Hills is still something I have on my bucket list. I have only been back one time since those days. 

It comes down to a Scot or a Bob Cat in my choice. I have some Scot's blood and I like wildlife. So, my choice is no more or no less what any zoo animal has already picked. I going with the Bob Cat. Oh, and as a side bar. Stafford was Lion but now is a Ram and  Borrow was a Bob Cat and is now a Bengal Tiger. Sticking with the two time cat lover! Don't you see?  Gotta go with Joe.

The Find of the Day Where I Got an Okay Because I Showed Them I Will Credit The Art to Them.

On discovery missions, usually I do discover or uncover or stumble upon something unusual. Seldom is it a hat trick every day. Today was a hat trick. You can visit their shop on Main Street In Richardson by going to Instagram @Created_Art_Co. The splendid personality of the lady that greeted me was warm and inviting to a business that was much like I had created years ago by the name Seaway Specialties  and Stationary. This is a very big Thank You to the crew and owners who's building the header adorns our header image today. I promised her that I would credit the image and showed her that I had an image from the image at the bottom of the buildings first row of blocks. So check out their Instagram account especially if you are planning that big event somewhere down the pike. Their business is very creative from what I saw inside. It kind of brought back some images to mind of my days working to create a place where all those services came together in one location.

I walked half the Central Trail today logging in 2 1/2 miles. Coming from the other way previously, I have walked one section  already, but this is the first where I walked the full length in Richardson. I think I am going to sleep very well tonight. 

 The  weather is not going to be nice tomorrow. Cold Front. Winds, Cold, Rain, High only in the 40s after today's 78°F.  After the walk today, I need a day to recoup. While it will jump back in pre-Spring mode again, Therotically, weather begins to made headway toward Spring every day now.

We have  images of Officer Sherrard's Memorial Cruiser with all the flowers and Teddy Bears and  heart felt messages in this blog's archive. That's the new Police HQ in the background. The David Sherrard Way goes between the fire and the police facilities, ending just before the area where David's car stood. Now, that part is a secure lot for privacy where police need such privacy.

The memorial stands where the old fire station once stood. After construction of the old one was torn down and the new police headquarters were  built in front of the old police station where some remains today. 

Good Bye Kay Bailey Hutchison--Hello $2B Convension Center Fast Choo! Choo!

 Well, at the top of the list is that one of the news stations finally made mention  to one of the side bars for council's vote today for the new convention center. The fact that it will be front and center to the new Bullet Train's proposed station is not out there publicly. We ask that question more than once on this blog about the Bullet Train station that no one was willing to fess up to that fact,until today.

With all things good, there is a downer side and that is the mention of the wealth owners of the valuable land (what land in Texas isn't valuable). Those owners are jumping up and down for development of that land, which makes it time to face up to the fact that the driving force has been in that area for a very long. The development for a good twenty years or more was evident when I ask a developer which way would be the path for Dallas' future development? His reply was on the tip of his tongue and rolled off his tongue instantly with "The Trinity".  At that time I was working to secure a grant from one of the corporate world's Fortune 50 for an entertainment district's planning for it's own growth and redevelopment. The grant was obtained. Now, some twenty years later, I can look back on that task from a CEO looking to be ahead of the curve before anyone knew it was on the planning tables with modest pride. True, it was something that I could add to my resumè, but ended up with health issues that forced my retirement earlier than I had planned. It was during that time that I had a sound knowledge of the Metroplex and what was in the works. I took my lifelong hobby and turned it into a full time job on my terms. Hence, the wagon wheel view to covering the Metroplex with photography that had nothing to do with people but every thing to do with business development growth. Some of my images have sold hundreds of times over and over again. In fact, I had a sale today that was one of those 100 club image sales.

So, DART is going to stay underground with a second downtown subway. The question is what will happen to the long tunnel network in Downtown Dallas? Will they be incorporated in DART's plans or not. What? you didn't know about those relics of  another era? The pieces of the puzzle are dropping like lead weights today with only one councilwoman voting against the council vote today.

Now, CEO's and Boards of Distinctions around the world. Dallas needs an 80-95 story tower downtown. We really do. Like in 'The Field of Dreams"  build it and they will come. After all, that's what council is betting on with the new convention center.  

 

 

The Storm is Over:Things I heard during the storm and the day after.

 Officially, at DFW, we got 1.7 inches of snow on top of 1/2- inch of ice. Doesn't sound like much. I still remember the 14 foot drift in my driveway that took three days to shovel out. But, this is Texas and that is pretty much fine with me. 

Now, I like listening to how others handled the storms. There is a lot of humor that comes from times like these. 

Just today, this is what I heard and saw:

The snow is '' fairly fine" you can't make snowballs out of this stuff. 

The parking lot of Buckee's looks like a ghost town. 

An Oncor lineman was cutting away branches covers with ice away from power lines. His saw froze up.He had to pound it on the lift arm of the truck to get it running again. To that point, it must have been a moment of creative insecurity

All the people rushing to get shovels.What happened to all the shovels they bought last year? 

Drivers on the street and people on their feet. 

The storm behaved itself. 

The trees sap is exploding from the cold and they are splitting down the center. Say away from the trees. 

If Lowe's are out of the styrofoam covers for your outdoor hydrants, use a couple of cups from Whataburger. 

 Six days below freezing during the night and not being above freezing during the day is cabin fever in the making. 

 

The Storm Is About to Bear Down on North Texas.

As advertised, the freeze line grows closer and closer. Temps were in the 50s this morning and are now sitting at 35°F with the Winter Storm Warning set for 6 PM CST. This storm stretches from easter New Mexico to almost Newfoundland, Canada. That's 2500 miles give or take where you start from. My kids that live in the Great Lakes still, are expecting ahout 17-inches of snow today. What a strange, strange winter it has been thus far. The past two days we were in the 70s with yesterday being 73°F. Now, the next five days will be at night 17 to 20 with 2-days being below freezing. By Tuesday, we will be back in the low to mid 50s again. It looks like the freezing rain is going to stay just north of us be sleet and snow is looking to be better combination for us.  Freezing rain brings down power lines and trees. Sleet is a better combo if winter mix. Sleet will not collect on power lines like freezing rain. 

 

 Now, E.R.C.O.T. is saying that they have 15K mega watts of extra power for the storm then threw in to the mix via old Gov that there is no guarantee that we will not loose power again.  The gas people have already served the generation plants with the warning that gas will not be available for power generation again---maybe!  The legislation wrote update laws for E.R.C.O.T. but failed to legislate the gas industry. Amazing. Nothing like getting schooled how to handle guns then shoot yourself in the foot. Don't you see?

 In lieu of all that garbage and added worry about having power again this February after last years mess that caused the death of some 200 plus Texans, it's time for the Gov to stop prosecuting and get out of Dodge so we can get a Gov that will work for the people instead of  riding on the coattails for past work done in Austin.  

By the number of people running for the job it looks like Texans are thinking the same way. Sure Hope so. 

Now, the good news is that the trees are showing swelling buds. Usually here in North Texas we see those swelling buds beginning to show their green around the first week or two of March. Would you look at that. I got my renewal of my voter registration that expired at the end of December. The primary is March 1.  Angles are near when a cardinal appears and I just say one this morning when I went to the mail box.

Quick Post Before the Storm

 The next 5 days are not going to be pretty---especially if we get more freezing rain than sleet. The snow, if any, would be icing on the cake, pardon the pun. 

Got groceries in today, then went out and  got nearly 60 shots besides the one on the post before the storm.  With every thing so uncertain with the weather, uncertain because the storm stretches from west Texas to Maine, that's two thousand miles, folks. 

If you don't have to get out. Don't! I heard one reporter say today that there are no good drivers that can drive highway speed on ice. Who does that anyway? Good ice drivers drive at a crawl, keeping distance between you and other cars and you don't jam on your breaks. Gees. I can't believe the guy said that about driving highway speed on ice. 

North Texas Gas Prices as of today.

The station across the street was 3.15 and 3.45. 

 

 

From White Rock Trail looking toward downtown.

Moisture is streaming northward to fuel the storm.