Mars,Rover,Perseverance,Lands,Pictures Already, WOW! Nominal again.

I like it here, thank you very much. And thanks to NASA for the uses of this image. Usually, I don't use the NASA shots because so many already do, but on occasions such as this, I will reclaim a bit of my tax penny.

 

 It's been a long time since I sat on our living room floor and watched the beginning of the NASA era of launching things, then animals then humans into space. It was the last frontier, but as we have long sense discovered , in the new frontier, a new frontier is developing.In those days, Gene Kranz was a friend of my father. He was mission director during Gemini and Apollo programs. He was also in charge of the first lunar landing. He also served as NASA's second Chief Flight Director. In West Toledo, Gene was the man.

I can still remember the most gut wrenching anticipation I have ever experienced. My wife and I were in a new Volkswagen Beetle on I-71. As we crossed the Ohio River from Kentucky into Ohio, coming across our car radio, was the spine chilling words: "Houston, Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed." Later that July day in 1969, Neal Armstrong, was confirmed to have made that transmission. Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin's landing on the moon was historic with Armstrong and Michael Collins, who stayed in orbit doing experiments and taking pictures. while Armstrong, then later, Aldrin were on the moon. I remember thinking at the time, he's (Collins)  up there all alone. And he was. Especially when his orbit was on the back side of the moon and the rest of the crew was down below miles away. That, to me, would be something that would take me a lot of time to wrap my brain around. 

This afternoon listening ( and watching NASA tv ) as Perseverance clicked off the various stages to landing at Jezero Crater on Mars, went like clockwork. Remembering we still have one of the twin set of rovers from the last mission still working to make important research about the Red Planet.  

As I have gotten older and software has allowed equipment like the rover to do as much research if not more, than humans, my favor falls on this kind of mission over using humans.Sending humans to the moon is one thing, sending them to places that are months of travel just to get there and months to get back, to me, does not respect human life with our ability to keep up medically or other things, like some one dying unexpectedly when you are months from home base. But, there are those that would disagree. 

Nice Job NASA guys. Nice Job.

Texas Grid Failure Becomes (planned?) a Political Hot Potato

 Yep. Start with the Chairman of ERCOT Board that doesn't even live in Texas not to mention 4 others. Add a Governor that is seeking reelection, stir in the lies about the wind farms in west Texas, sprinkle and a dash of passing the buck and voilà. The results are as expected with government and private partnerships as one could imagine.

When the same players are seen appearing time and time again in the mix of things tagged for such events, one begins to wonder not only why, but why? That's the old reasoning lesson taught in junior high of  "I wonder what I wonder when I wonder it." In short, it is when a red flag goes off in the brain. And with the recent power grid implosion at ERCOT  (Electric Reliability Council of Texas:a lot of red flags started popping up.( https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/16/ercot-board-under-fire-texas-five-out-state-members/6768919002/).The Austin American Statesmen article is certainly one point of view and  a signal of red flags.From a political sidebar, ironically, Trumps' Jersey Casino Hotel went out with an implosion at the same time the power grid was failing in Texas. Trump raised a lot of money in Texas for the Republican Party. (https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/16/texas-gov-abbott-calls-ercot-reform-emergency-item-amid-blackouts/6765855002/)

Still, with at least 5 of ERCOT board members not only not living in Texas, with one living in the Toronto area, Texan's should be mad as heck at ERCOT, TXU Energy, Florida Power and Light, General Motors.NRG and Luminate Energy

Elections do roll around soon. Cold has a way of coming back to your memory at election time with your memory of  loss, discomfort and pain.

One Down; One to Go

Tuesday I rode the bus to the train station and immediately caught the Red Line into downtown at the Pearl/Arts Station. Within just a few minutes  the Green Line was coming into the station. I boarded the Green Line heading to Deep Ellum; Baylor Station; then Fair Park. After getting off my ride, I started my walk toward the Tower Building, the area where Big Tex greets visitors to the State Fair. There, I was meet with a great guy that was a volunteer and he took to the sign in area. Then, he took me to the Tower Building where inside, the heat felt pretty good. The white chairs lined up were all part of the scheme. There, in orientation, handouts with our next vaccination cards were given, temps were taken and then, we were directed  to our table (individual set ups) where I got my shot and was then walked out the door to one of the other multi-purpose buildings across the Fair Park streets where we were taken to the area where we waited for 15 minutes or 30 minutes depending on the reaction to the shot,if any. After my30 minute wait, I was free to go. It was a smooth as silk operation. Out side where  the cars were causing all the confussion, I waved at them. 

I could only concluded that these people were so locked into the daily habits with their cars and their SUVS .Oh, yeah,their 20oz smoothies, Starbucks and Diet Cokes, that they would rather sit in a line for 3-hours and complain than to show up with your appointment on your phone and when they saw your QR code,your appointment wasn't a factor anymore.All the data was in the QR and life suddenly moved much faster and more efficiently. It was totally painless, including the shot. The wait area had massive restrooms, not most park style potties, and with the social distance spacing, it was relaxing. 

The shot was not sore until about bedtime. There was a tad bit of soreness arriving but nothing like some have complained about. Lactic Acid is the same thing that causes rigor mortis. It it takes 3 hours to arrive as soreness, it stays for three hours and takes another 3 hours to leave the body.   By the time I woke I had no soreness with the Moderna vaccine. 

There was almost an instant lifting of  the penned up stress that had built up wanting to get the shot and having a hard time getting signed up. Being persistent paid off as it usually does. Don't give up the ship. 

 Now I've been waiting for a good snowfall. With the extreme cold going out won't be in the cards as cold and heart conditions don't go together. Oh well.

 

Maybe I might be the last to get their shot.

 I saw a T-shirt today that read: "The Virus Hunters".  It should have read, "The Covid19  Vaccine Hunters". It seems there are more of those today than the former. Which brings up the fact that there are some obvious holes in the system. I'm finding that out, after having put my car up for sale and riding buses and trains, if I don't walk. In short, 98% of the people getting their shots are those who drive to the Mega Centers (carbon footprint and all). I have been told several times not to come as a walk up because I would just be in the way. I have gone to as many hunting parties as anyone out there. The bottom line is that I still don't have an appointment. I have a preregistration confirmation, but the next sentence says," that is no guarantee that you have an appointment". It does seem to me that the old song, "Every Which Way But Loose", appears to be what I am seeing. It takes a lot of patience and I have a semi-full of patience; always have; always will. Patience is even more an asset today than at any other time, I believe. So, I continue to search every available opening. Who knows, I might have to take a flight to Denver to get my shot. And that raises the question of whether the woman that drove to Texas Motor Speedway from Colorado, is spending the next two weeks in Texas so she can get her second shot They are tagged to be taken at the same place you got the first shot. Or,did she drive home to Colorado and then will come back for the second one. Now, to add insult to injury AT&T stadium is being prepared to be turned into another Mega Center. The difference is that AT&T will be have both a walk up clinic and a drive up. The first I've seen or hear about. Most have advertised no walk ups.  The problem with that is AT&T has no public transportation to the stadium. Not even any shuttles. I live thirty miles from AT&T stadium. 

Shortly after completing the first part of this post, A great big deception jumped out at me on the news at 10 last night.

I had been mislead about Fair Park Mega Center from the start. It had been advertised as drive up. Well that is a half truth, not the full truth. The drive up drove  (pardon the pun) a lot of people like me to believe that you could not get a shot as a walk up. When in fact, what actually was happening was that people were being directed to a specific parking lot and then they walked to the building that was set up to give the shots. What really made me mad was that it ended at closing yesterday. Monday, it opens as a (get this; a drive thru) on  Monday. Judge Jenkins, all the faith that I have had in you has now been poured down the tubes. The way people are being treated that don't have cars now, is a disgrace, if not discriminatory.

I hate to say it but here it is: this whole thing is being run for political reasons. Those with the most power be it city or county are out just playing the "Vote for me"  game at the expense of the people who need the shots,Those that are eligible to have it and are being turned away for not having a car. It really is a slap in the face to senior citizens. I've always been one for the underdog, and I can spot it generally in a heart beat. But in this case, there is so much underlying confusion, people are fighting a double war. 

Normally, I might be a little vocal about a topic here and there, but I have watched this from the beginning with special care and need. What I have seen is that the US was not prepared for the administering of vaccinations as a whole and the local communities were not at all ready. I've seen Ft. Worth, Dallas, Denton, Plano and now Arlington in the mix and the difference between the groups does not even look like one and the same. 

The first time I left this county on a business trip and came back home, I saw, at the airport's Immigration  Check Points just how spoiled the people in the US really are. It was like someone turned on a giant flood light. I've been keenly aware of that situation every since. I fully understand how people have suffered from Hurricanes, Fires, Floods, Landslides and all sorts of natural disasters where FEMA, the American Red Cross, Save the Children, The Salvation Army and Texas Baptist Men, all disaster relief organizations, have all stepped in to help our country's citizens. Here we are in one of the biggest and more costly pandemics we have ever seen and there is no unified organization. Oh, it's medical, that requires medical personal. I won't even touch on the waste of vaccines that has gone on. And web pages are the absolute worse for misleading info from the big drug companies. I spent about an hour on each of the CVS,Walgreen, Kroger Pharmacies looking for info then went to the Local New outlets only to find their info is nothing more than a patch work of the pharmacies and the news outlets. The city's 211 and county website for Dallas County was even frustrating for me let alone those that don't have the education that I have or have no computers or any computer skills. It's not their fault, but the fault lies with the agencies failures to recognize the bottom line problem that the population face each and every day what every their cause or reasoning. 

Is any of this a new generational fight for power? You bet your sweet bippy it is. And what I'm. seeing is not what our forefathers had in mind. That's right, they didn't have any of this in mind because since the 1970s the politics have changed in this county and few people paid any notice that it was changing at all. So, now, several generations later, we have a situation that has been compounded by time and displaced attention to details.

While I still feel that this is the greatest country on the face of the earth, values have changed so much today that we better be getting our act back on target of what we were during during WWI and WWII. The army could vaccinate thousands standing in lines. Now we have to drive in our SUVs to get our shots because we don't want to get off our spoiled rear ends. 

I have said my fill. There will be those that disagree. There will be those that are now mad. There will be those that will pray for me. Dear Hearts, I've been praying for you too!. Since day one.

Things I Have Heard People Say

 Language is such an art, yet while some of mine is decaying, what I heard recently, whether it is scripted or not, seems to be even worse than my aging decaying language art skill. I keep a pad at the computer which is also close to my AM FM Receiver and TV. My desk is a solid oak pedestal architectural desk with three foot long file drawer and top drawer on the right side. My desk chair and computer sits right dab dead center at 3 feet either side. It has log books, image directories and added shelves and pigeon holes here and there. Yet, I know where everything is and can reach for it on either side.  

A commercial for underwear: The Butt Checkers. Sounds like another Steven King Novel.

                                                                              zoo notic

infections and injections

From a preacher in a visiting pulpit on a pod cast: "Mist in the pulpit is  fog in the congregation," Dr. Tony Evans

He's got socks older than me.

Send me the pillow you dream on. [no thanks]

From an episode of "Blue Bloods" at the infamous weekly meal for the family.: "sort that out and we'll talk about it."

A Qantas 747 jet. "Cheddar Believe It."

Erin Rogers, Green Bay Quarterback,:" My future is a glorious mystery."

Frank Zappa quote on facebook."  A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open."

         A "Bill Whitehead",reply to Frank Zappa." An open mind is really a mark of foolishness like an open mouth,"

I think I will ride with Frank Zappa on that one.

A Low Level Jet Overhead for all week for "everything"

 Yesterday was 68°F. The next five days will be 55ish  with chances of rain each day through Saturday. It  is mid-winter already under Meteorological winter (the months of December, January and February. unlike the astronomical seasons that begin with the earths circulation  around the sun by a specific date, which can change from the 20-22th . Three weeks isn't gonna make any big difference in the seasons so I enjoy the use of the December 1 to Feb 28-29 as winter. Meteorological spring is March, April, and May. Meteorological summer is June, July, and August. Meteorological fall is September, October, and November. it is just much easier than trying to remember the exact date of the current year. I don't carry my Farmer's Almanac around in my hip pocket like the farmers once did. And one of my grandfathers was a farmer. I have picket cotton on his farm as a 12-year old. My bag weighed in at 26 pounds. I remember that day after all those years as I remember walking the 5 miles into town from my grandfather's farm because I wanted to be independent and strong willed. Those were iconic moments growing up that I cherish to this day. My determination and will power were developed because my parents and grandparents were in harmony and were not helicopter-parents like so many today. Times are different today, I realize, but that's from a parents perspective. It's certainly not from the kids point of views. The difference is, my parents had trust in me, they taught me well, and I had a support group of peers and peers parents that had rules to abide by and uphold. 

Having said that, I see today some of the things that made a difference in my life growing up and I am so thankful to have had parents, grandparents and a church based upbringing.  So much of that is missing from today's youth.  I have been following the almost daily reports in the news of what I call the Golden Triangle years of well know kids, sports figures etc., in that 24-25-26 year range. Just another one today with Harry Brant, son of super model Stephanie Seymour and Billionaire Peter Brant. It was reported that he died from an overdose. He had been a model for Italian Vogue and had started a cosmetic line with his brother. He had also worked for his father's "interview" business as a writer. In other words, he had the world by the tail. Any loss of life is painful. I lost a son at 27 who had done everything by the book and right every step of the way. That pain grows, it doesn't lessen. It's just dulled a bit as time passes, but never goes away.

Of late, I have been paying keen attention of weather systems. The typical January Arctic Chill just hasn't been around so far this year. Like I mentioned earlier, we were 68°F yesterday. Our average is 55. But, today, the daily average high's officially change as the sun moves slowly northward again.  What I am saying is that I have been watching the wind patterns this year more than normal. My house is only cold when we get a Northwest Wind. I have  been considering having a storm door installed. One, I can  keep the door open in our lovely Springs and Falls and cut down on the electricity to run my heat bills during December and January. I've got an on-going battle going on with TXU Energy anyway. This year when it has gotten a bit chilly inside, instead of kicking up the heat a degree or two, I put on an extra light weight jacket and turn the knob down a degree, not up. Works well for me! I love reading the notes on my energy dashboard where TXU says: "Congratulations! your energy use for January is 39% less that other homes like your. Meteorological spring is March, April, and May. Meteorological summer is June, July, and August. Meteorological fall is September, October, and November.s." It puts a smile on my face.Call me a tree hugging nature lover, or an energy neutral person, I don't mind. I never have minded doing work one. What I do mind is having to do work twice because of someone else that didn't do their job correctly the first time. Hey Walmart---answer your phones!! You cost me my spot in delivery yesterday!

March 1 begins Meteorological  Spring and I have seen green buds on the trees open by that date. Which is right on target. In the Great Lakes, I could always count on seeing those buds and red buds flowering by income tax day, April 15th. That's 45 days to travel 1200 miles northward. Mother nature is a great calculator. So based on her perfection, I have already been on a bud discovery mission to find areas of the woodlands that have more than normal swollen buds just waiting for that first day of 70-75°F days to pop open those buds into greenery and flowers by March 1. It is closer than we think. One must observe and note their observations to be fully in tune with nature. Just as the colors in leaves in the fall in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan move south 20 miles per day, in the springtime, it works exactly the same going the other way south to north. 

So, tomorrow, I guess that I can watch the shindig going on at the Capital. It will be one for the history books for sure. I like history. I've seen my share of it. From JFK's speech on the steps of the Capital when he said," Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You... " to Watching Oswald shot on live TV to men landing on the moon, the Civil Rights Movement, 911,the first African American President, Obama and much, much more  up to the events of tomorrow with the swearing in of the first African-Asian Vice President and woman. January 20, 1961 to January 20, 2021, an astonishing 60 years of time and hundreds of books written about it all. I would not have missed a minute!

Pull Up A Chair and Sit A Spell, I've got another story to tell.

 The best day of the week to be outside and spend a fair amount of time with my doctor. But, that was not the beginning, nor the end of this tale. It turned out to be the worse day that I have had riding the bus. Looking through the telescope of the rest of the day, pictures were excellent. But back to this tale. 

The night prior to my trip, I had spent on the computer planning the trip out so that I would have more time for photography than waiting for a bus or train. Armed with that information I went to bed and had a wonderful night of sleep. When I awoke, I hit the shower, dressed and checked my backpack to make sure it was in order, drank a cup of coffee and had an English Muffin but I grabbed the heavy coat. The temps were  in the upper 30s° F but were headed for the mid 60's. I took the garbage out and walked to the bus stop. I was a bit early by half and hour but I didn't want to miss this bus as the rest of the day relied on it. Not to be. First, the bus was 6 minutes late. Second, the driver, already being that late, flew past my stop as if he had a big teeth dog on his rear end. This was unbelievable. I have been noticing the running of red lights, had breaking and turns for a while, but that goes with the territory from time to time. This was not the time. If I had missed my doctors appointment, I would be charged as a no-show. Plus, it was darn chilly. With phone still in hand, I dialed DART for me and was glad to let the others throughout the system that had been flat out ignored to save the driver from getting a report because of his lateness ride on my back. It's one of those things that just compounds and compounds until someone puts a stop to it. (pardon that pun). 

Now, I pondered what to do next, take one of the next available buses that puts me farther from where I needed to be to catch my 360 to the doctors.Or, just cool the jets a minute and wait to see it the next would be on time ,or if I would have to wait the entire hour to get back on schedule. So, I waited. Along came the bus on the half-hour. I boarded, and  the very next stop the driver was flying through the intersection and slammed on the air breaks missing the bus shelter the length of the bus. But, he did pick up his passenger, not like his route fore runner that left me standing at my stop.

Now, catching the 360 would put me at the hospital and my doctor's office on time. Not by much, but on time. I had built in to that schedule my lunch at the taco place in the hospital atrium. I had previously enjoyed a great lunch there and I had planned that to be the same for my trip yesterday. I had also planned to walk down onto the White Rock Creek Trail both before and after my appointment for a discovery mission on spring buds. 

On seeing the doctor, the report was not as good as I had hoped.  While the past surgeries had been successful, because of the nature of them, My doctor had called in consultants into the OR rather than bringing me out of my deep sleep to ask permission for other procedures. That was the nature of the appointment yesterday. The complications and the complexity of the surgeries have not responded  totally as hoped for and the doctor after my exam and discussion, placed a call to the doctor that had been consulted during my operations. They are of two different specialties and work very well together. 

The second doctor called my doctor back and when he had described the situation to the doctor, the second doctor will set up an appointment and have me come there for a second follow up. They are going to work out a plan to put me back in perfect harmony again. So, upon leaving the doctor, I walked across the street, down the embankment to the trail and got my camera out. I needed to defog my brain at that point. After getting my near hour of shooting, I packed my camera and walked back up the embankment and crossed the street again to my stop. Along came my bus. I boarded, took my favorite seat and enjoyed the ride to the train station where I would catch my 463 bus home.

Pulling into the 360 stop position at the train station, down at the far end was my 463 waiting. I can't run, but I can walk pretty darn fast. Just when I was near 5 or 6 feet from the end of the bus, the driver closed the door and jack rabbited out on the side street. I had been waving to him, yelled a couple of "Hey" but by DART's on rules, once the bus leaves the stop they cannot take on passengers. I understand  that, but as I have seen before and saw again later that same day, drivers can pull the circle and come back around and pick up a passenger(s) from a late arriving bus or train. But, of course, this dude used that rule to his own advantage. That was the wrong button to push. Again with my phone in my hand, I did not hesitate to punch that speed dial for DART. And, yes, I filled another complaint on the 463 staff of drivers. DART can sort it out. They have cameras on the buses and at the rail stations and, that was the second time for the 463 this day (yesterday).

My pass that I had purchased before leaving the house was what DART calls their Mid Day pass. It cost more than the reduced Senior Rate for a Morning Pass or an Afternoon Pass. I usually take the Afternoon Pass because it runs from noon until 3 am the following day. The morning runs from 3 am through noon. So, I had to take the Mid day from 9:30 until 2:30 pass. My doctor's appointment was for 1:30 and any way I looked at it, I would need to buy a Senior Rate Afternoon Pass but that's okay too. I had expected that. So, the 571 pulls in and it goes to the Downtown Garland Rail and Transit Center. I could take a leisure ride there and catch the 463 coming back this way. A little father, A little longer, A little more money. But I felt good about that  for some reason, I was meant to be on that 571 that day. Then I looked at my digital ticket that had 20 minutes left and seemed to be stuck on 20 minutes. So, pulling out of the station, I noticed immediately, the movement had been slowed. It just felt better. It just felt right. I was interested at that point to observe this driver and along this route. Nothing that I had been experiencing on the 463 since the Schedule Changes on October 19th was on this route. Interesting, I thought. Not, Interesting. Something else was up. We finally get to the rail and transit center and low and behold, there sat the 463. I pull up my ticket and it says 20 minutes. I got off the 571 walked across the platform and stepped onto the 463. In some thought about the 20 minutes, even though I had paid more for the ticket than my Senior rate, this ticket was taking into account the problems created by the two 463 drivers during the day.

When the 463 pulled out of the station, there was no jerking, whirling or any of that. And, something else, the route to the old Baylor Scott and White Hospital and The new VA clinic and the Behavioral Unit that still functions, had been eliminated. I had seen a note on the web site but didn't read it because I wasn't going that way. But now the know why I did go that way, don't we? Now, not only is the situation interesting, but it is curiously much more interesting. Actually, the third bus, 360 prior to the 463 runaway, the enjoyable 571 and now the 463 again acting like a mature pup that would rather lay on the porch with his head in his paws than run and jump because he could. The entire trip was like the 571 and most noticeably to me if not others. Maybe the phone calls had done their job. I hope that someone else was helped during the day because of my experience. That's the point.