Well ... it's that time of the year again (last year this time) ... and "shit happen's" ... ya know(?). First of all ... my sympathy to the 10's of thousand's of tourist's that have been pouring into the Dallas- Fort Worth Metroplex, especially those from the northern cities and state's ... that may have arrived monday as many did, for SuperBowl 45 this weekend Green Bay Packers vs Pittsburgh Steelers ... at a nice 70 degree sunny day ... woke up in the morning and were hammered with over a 50 degree temperature drop in just hour's and a couple inches of solid ice before another few inches of snow on top of that. But this is North Central Texas in month's such as february ... it's weird ... one day can be 75 degree's and sunny skies ... and in hour's ... a 50- 60 degree drop, ice, sleet and snow. I remember year's back ... it was April 1st (20 or so year's ago) ... a co- worker came to work that morning, it was beautiful nice and sunny ... they just relocated to Dallas from Los Angeles, when he got in the door ... I asked him if he brought a coat with him ... he said something like "no ... why?" ... I told him that an ice storm would arrive in a couple hour's ... he laughed, walked away and said something like "Yeah Right Tom ... April Fool's!" ... Oh well ... he sure found out before lunch the reality! :) Summer here can get just as weird ... 95 degree's, dry, hot, ... hour's later .. a sudden temp drop in less than an hour of 20 degree's or more, hammering thunderstorm's, lightning, and hail stone's the size of golf ball's!
Yesterday I was outback on a large parking lot like totally covered in a couple inches of solid ice, having some fun sliding on the ice, and 3 neighbor's asked me if my power kept going out? I told them "Yeah ... everyone's is ..." (they were only 15 minute interval's in my neighborhood in NW Dallas, cause I timed them, and only once per hour) ... anywayz ... they had the "red- ass" (upset) over it, because I told them it was an order issued by ERCOT to conserve energy, since Texas has an individual power grid, and the storm caused failure at a couple plant's or so (I reckon none of them even listened to the news, it was all over the news). Next thing you know ... Texan's statewide were BMB- ing (bitchin, moanin, and bellyaching) because the state simply wanted to do some rolling blackout's as a safety precautionary measure ... as well as asked us to try to conserve our usage. This power grid supplies over 22 million Texas customer's. I thought it was a wise move and had problemo nada with it. To me basically it was no big deal though ... just deal with it, period. Beside's ... it's kinda fun to play on it ... school's were closed, traffic was dead, everybody was hiding inside as if it was going to bite their ass. Geeezzz ...
Anywayz ... a BIG Thank You to our next door neighbor's as well ... Mexico ... who started sending us electric into Texas to help out during the storm. Let's face it Texas ... where would we be without Mexico ... and even all the cheap pharma drug's so many Texan's get annually crossing the border into town's that have mucho pharmacies a couple block's from the border, and plenty of great priced dental clinic's too, just a couple block's from the border check point, where 18 year old Texan's can go get plastered/ drunk legally and party all nite in club's, not to mention those other special treat's from Mexico, etc. Now only because of the cartel's war going on is danger of course, but once that's squared off ... it will be cool again to hop for the weekend! :) MUCHAS GRACIAS! A few vid's below ...
GAME DAY NOTE: I love both these team's as well, and they are both doing well, no trick's or technicalities to get to the bowl ... so I am hoping this game will be as tight as it can be, with both team's showing their best, and no landslide game or cakewalk for either. Last weather forecast I heard look's promising though, should be in at least the upper 40's or so by sunday the 6th here on the Ranch, perhap's even 50 degree's, more snow tomorrow (friday) ... but if we can get to them temp's with a tad sunshine ... it can be a nice day ... maybe even warm enough to open the roof, if too chilly though for team's or fan's ... Jerry (owner) will close the roof of course. But I'm really looking forward to a real kick ass match up! So far alot of folk's I talked to here around town are putting money on Pittsburgh. I cant wait! :)
FRIDAY FEB. 04, 2011 ADDITION: (WFAA News Coverage) Unfortunately my wishful expectation's in the previous paragraph as far as new snow wont become a reality. I wrote there was additional snow expected friday, however, I didnt expect what we are getting at this moment I write this, been coming since midnite, at over an inch per hour (now almost 6:30am) ... on top of all the ice, and no sun soon enough, also the weather forecast took a change as of now, and there is no end in sight the next couple day's, another new snow storm on the way for sunday even now, and lower expected temp's than first forecasted. So it look's like it may be just a total sour week for the tourist's weatherwise. Many of these folk's planned this for month's, many from colder region's from the north and EU, so I feel most sorry for them, because they were almost all expecting nice mild sunny clime's. Texas is so huge that the weather is variable all over the state, this part is nothing like the tropical area's of the south or coast, or even like the desert mountainous region's of the west and southwest. Dallas and Houston for instance are different climate's too. So most likely Jerry will have to close the roof on the stadium, and sadly many folk's will have to spend more time unfortunately indoor's, but there will be mega hospitality and entertainment for ya'll! The rolling black out stuff is finished though, train's and all mass transit should be no problem either. Dallas has no snowplow's, but asked the state to jump in for emergency assistance, Dallas will go all out to accomodate our guest's, rest assured. But what you see in the below video's is "nothing" to what the Metroplex look's like this morning, it's a tad rough (not in the fun sense either), since folk's had this all week now, hundred's of thousand's of driver's, even perhap's a couple million car's at that (there's 6.5 million population in this town), got out in this, this morning, and the whole city and area is a total traffic mess, the freeway's are an unbelievable mess looking at various cam's across the Metroplex, I just shoveled out my daughter and a neighbor, and fixin to check on a few of the elderly neighbor's to assist.
A LOOK AT THE HIGH TECH ADVANTAGE OF COWBOYS STADIUM
1) ESPN'S MITCH MOSS REPORTING FROM DOWNTOWN DALLAS ... THANX TO DUGLESS57
2) ICE COVERED COWBOYS STADIUM AND VICINITY, 6 injuries from falling ice ... THANX TO KXAN
3) WAY TO ENJOY AN ICY DALLAS DAY (Which I was doing yesterday too, in a parking lot that was at least 1.5"- 2" total coverage, no dry spot's) THANX TO STEVENNOVAK
God is trying to tell you Texans something. ;]
ReplyDeleteRita: This is simply just one of them random occurance's that pop up time to time at this time of the year, generally the weather is nice, mild, sunny dry, maybe an average high of 50/ 60 degree's or so, most of the day's I would figure. Unfortunately as I write this friday morning at 6:12am we have been getting hammered with over an inch of new snow per hour since midnite on top of all the ice, so this doesnt look like it will be gone by game day. I'm a very pro business type guy, so my heart here goes out to those tourist's who planned for month's to enjoy a week of sunshine and mild temp's. I have to get out and drive in this, which will slow me down, that I wont be able to drive my usual speed's.
ReplyDeleteThank You for your voice here Rita!
Because of this new storm this morning friday, 02/ 04/ 2011, an additional paragraph was added concerning this.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the game, where ever you are. ;)
ReplyDeleteFunny coincidence: the word verification below is "sporm"
It's a Texas Super Bowl Ice Sporm!
Honestly, I prefer an open stadium for sporting events even if the weather sucks. It makes me feel part of the event and allows some sort of kinship with the players on the field.
ReplyDeleteMy son and I use to attend the games for Columbia's double AA baseball team. They were, and once again are, held in an ancient stadium that has more class than any of the fancy professional sports stadiums I have ever seen.
The best times for me during those games was during the rain delays as everyone tried to huddle underneath the one section that had a roof.
Watched most of the Superbowl, it was a good game I just couldn't figure out who the Dallas folks were going for.
Howdy Bum!
ReplyDeleteWho Dallas folk's were for? I reckon it was kind of split from folk's I seen and talked to. I was suprised, friday I was writing about the new storm, saturday I took the day as R & R, because it got to the mid 50's, sun all day and melted all the ice and snow by afternoon, and there was so much activity in the street's around town from tourist's, celeb's, concert's, etc, as hundred's of flight's were now allowed in, and everything went so well, I only wrote that misery, because of the weather forecast's and the abundance of snow and ice that covered the city 24 hour's before that. By Vegas and local bookie line's, the favourite was Pittsburgh to win, as I wrote earlier I put most my money alway's on "underdog's ... this was one I got lucky on, cause Green Bay won ... the game was tight as I could have hoped for, and the whole thing went off excellent. Even though I am not a fan of the music of "Black Eyed Peas" ... I thought that the visual/ technical effect's of that halftime show was incredible as far as art, never seen a halftime show like that ... or an audience using tech's, with a stadium all WiFi. I never been in the new stadium, but went to several Cowboys game's in the old stadium, of course that had no retractable roof and was only a third the size of this new monster. I like you love those game's in the northern cities too, where they play in the snow and ice, in the old school stadium's.
Thanx for stopping by and your input Bum!