City Streets

This worker is preparing to pave a small area of the street in front of my driveway.

 Here a dump truck with asphalt is backing up getting in place to drop the asphalt into the hole.

 It took some of the men with shovels to loosen the asphalt so it would start falling.

 The backhoe operator pulled it up and stationed it in position but the supervisor over the crew waved him off.  I was surprised to see the supervisor actually take a shovel and help his men spread the asphalt. 

Education Cuts

The Texas State government has sent a bill to Rick Perry's desk to cut the budget.  This bill includes the cutting of funds for the education of our children.  It will cause many layoffs and this target is aimed at the Administration positions.  I realize that you have many departments which handle the actions of the school districts.  These positions are there to utilize the needs to be met for complete as well as a safe environment to educate the children. 
I believe that the State could have put 5 to 10 cent tax on the alcohol & cigarette sales.  This could help alleviate the cuts to our State education funds.  Where are their mental attributes when these things are being designed?  I can't believe they couldn't find a better way to handle these budget cuts.

What A Surprise

I got up this morning, put the coffee on, came in and turned on the computer, then opened the window blinds.  This is what I saw, and it was very dis concerning to say the least.  I knew that we would need to get someone up here to clean up the mess.  I was thankful that the tree limb fell where it fell.  Yesterday, my car was parked there, and I moved it.  It barely missed the power lines which connect the house to the power pole out at the street.  We were very lucky.

Rangers

I wonder if we can pull off another victory?  The Rangers play well and then loose badly.  It's a toss up with them just as it was for the Mavericks until recently.  A long hard struggle finally won it for the Mav's, and now our attention turns to the Rangers.  Will they or won't they?  That is the question!

Rave Party

These "Rave" parties are really a big blast catered toward the young people.  I worked in the concessions outside of the main door a few years back and couldn't believe the amount of young people who were attending this affair. 
The Rave typically features music, colorful light shows and dancing that uses musical acts and art installations "to create a feast for the senses."  This year's "Rave was sold out and left hardly any standing room for the attendees. 
A death, the second connected with an Electric Daisy Carnival in less than a year, occurred and several others were hospitalized. Last summer, a 15-year-old girl who attended the festival in Los Angeles died from an overdose of the drug known as Ecstasy.  Some 25 to 30 other people were treated for heat, drug and alcohol-related problems during the Electric Daisy Carnival.

More Fires

Fast moving wild fires are taking their toll on several states.  The dry weather with high winds add a fast fuel to a small smoulder from tossed cigarettes and other items.
The fast-moving Dyer Mill Fire destroyed 30 homes about 80 miles northwest of Houston and scorched 3,600 acres.  The Bearing fire that authorities say is one of the largest in east Texas history, was burning through about 14,000 acres on Sunday.  The Bearing Fire, which started on Friday, was 40 percent contained.  In central Texas, seven mobile homes were lost to the Green Cedar Fire in Kendall County.  The National Weather Service had warned that wind gusts could reach as much as 60 miles an hour in several states in the Southwest.

Tree Lined Street

 

You can find this street in the town of Royse City, TX.  This is the historical district and most of the houses located along this street are very old.  Some have been remodeled and others are in dire need of repair or demolition.  The big tree on the right has mastered many years of weather and tree trimming by the local electric company.  I would figure it to be around 150 to 200 years old, with a large amount of it starting to decay.

MAV'S

Well, they did it and now we have at least one team that made the grade.  It's been awhile since Texas and the DFW areas have had something to shout about.  Hats off the the team that made Texas come back to life.  Good luck to the men in the future and may they have a great year coming up.

OK Mav's........Get Going!

The Heat held on for an 88-86 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night for a 2-1 lead in the NBA finals. Recent history says this is a huge win for the Heat. The Game 3 winner in a tied finals has won the championship all 11 times since the 2-3-2 format began in 1985.  The Heat go into Game 4 on Tuesday night with a chance to do what they did in 2006: win it all on Dallas' floor. They'll need to win that game and the next, on Thursday night.  Nothing came easy for anyone. Shots were contested, bodies collided for every rebound and guys were flying into the stands after loose balls. Fans stood throughout, wearing their blue gimme T-shirts and fired up by videos such as one featuring encouraging words from Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Nolan Ryan and others.  Yet it was the visitors from Miami who walked off celebrating.  Now, what?  Are we Dallas fans going to see the same old stuff, we've seen for years?

Hot!

Oh my, it is so damned hot, here in Dallas, TX and it looks to be around the 100 mark by the evening.  I'm trying to stay cool, but the air conditioning is not keeping up.  It makes me want to go get in my car where I can control a smaller area and it would be much cooler.  I hope this isn't the start of a long hot summer, like we here in Texas have had so many times.

Go Mav's

 

Miami Heat's LeBron James goes for a shot during the second half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday, May 31, 2011, in Miami.  The Mav's were taunted by the Heat's players which gave fire to their actions and brought a win.

Summer

It's officially here and with it comes those hot temperatures that can kill you.  I'm literally mean, kill you.  The 100* weather can cause the elderly, small children and sickly many problems to deal with.  Most of us are blessed with that outstanding air conditioning.  The elderly are on fixed incomes, and therefore it's either food or other conveniences that must suffer.  I can remember my grandmother sleeping in her own sweat with only an oscillating fan to move the hot air inside and an open window for draft of outside wind to cool  their home.  Texas, is in the drought zone as we speak, with a chance for some relief this weekend, only to come back later on next week.  Whew!