Cowtown Chronicles

David Bohl at Slow Down Fast posted recently about the “F List,” sort of a DIY effort to increase awareness of blogs that you think aren’t getting their due. I realize that writing a personal blog in and about Fort Worth means that I’m not likely to ever get national attention, but I figured what the heck, it couldn’t hurt!

By the way, I visited several of the sites that David added to the list, and they’re excellent!

The F List is a great way to recognize those bloggers that have so far been overlooked by the blogging community.

If you’d like to participate, here are the instructions:

1. Create a new post on your blog.
2. Cut and paste the complete list below.
3. Add any blogs you think aren’t getting their due (as many as you’d like).
4. Add these same instructions in your post.
5. Visit the blogs on the list.
6. Watch the list grow.

Here are the originators of the F List:

Make It Great! http://makeitgreat.typepad.com/makeitgreat/
Angela Maiers http://www.angelamaiers.com/2007/12/an-f-listers-re.html
Mack Collier http://moblogsmoproblems.blogspot.com/2006/12/revenge-of-z-lister.html

Here are the 10 originals on the F List:

http://littlemissteacher.blogspot.com/
http://insideschools.blogspot.com/
http://www.toddseal.com/rodin/2007/12/in-my-backyard-please/
http://www.leadertalk.org/
http://www.carla.umn.edu/speechacts/sp_pragmatics/home.html
http://www.slowdownfast.com/blog
http://www.inspirepossibility.com/blog
http://coconutheadsets.com/
http://middlezonemusings.com/
http://www.theideadude.com/
http://sharecompassion.blogspot.com/

Here are David’s additions to the F List:

• The WorkLife Monitorhttp://www.worklifemonitor.com/the_chaos_monitor
• Digital Solid http://www.digitalsolid.com/
• Blogfeeder http://wordfeeder.typepad.com/blog/
• The Urban Monk http://www.urbanmonk.net/
• The Evolution of Dad Project http://evolutionofdad.blogspot.com/
• The Next 45 Years http://www.thenext45years.com/
• How to Have Great Self-Confidence http://confident1.com/
• Equally Shared Parentinghttp://equallysharedparenting.com/blogger.html
  

And here are my additions to the F List:

• West and Clear http://westandclear.com
• The Caravan of Dreams http://thecaravanofdreams.blogspot.com
• Panther City Bicycles Blog http://panthercitybicycles.blogspot.com
• FortWorthology http://www.fortworthology.com
• Pete Geniella Photography http://petegeniella.com
• The Fine Line http://finelinelive.com
• 100khouse http://100khouse.com
• The Story of Stuff http://www.storyofstuff.com
• Location Independent Living http://locationindependent.com
• Austin ModHouse http://austinmodhouse.com
• think like a woman. act like a man. http://rubyredslipper.blogspot.com
• The Blog From Another Dimension http://www.blogd.com
• The Simple Dollar http://www.thesimpledollar.com
• akook!com http://www.akook.com
• Beautiful Confusion http://bconfusion.blogspot.com

(If you decide to participate yourself after reading this, please don’t forget to add me to the list!)

blog

It’s funny how when I finally get up the initiative to write something, the first blotch of digital ink I spill comes off pretty negative. Let’s just say that the holidays kind of get me down. Not really because I don’t like them, I generally do; I just don’t like them for the same reasons that most people do.

I prefer my holidays without the usual pressures to to keep up with other’s expectations.

I’ve lived by one philosophy during my adult life, and that’s that I don’t think anyone needs to “should.” What I mean is that no one should (there’s that word) do anything because it’s expected of them. Things are a lot more fun and fulfilling when you do them because you WANT to, not because you feel obligated to. As you might guess, there’s not a lot of room in that philosophy for the holiday activities that have become stand-up comedy fodder. Things like dealing with family gatherings that turn into shout-fests, buying enough gifts to put yourself in debt until your kids graduate college, and driving 6 hours for 3 hours with family members you only sort of know obviously aren’t really things that fall within my philosophy.

I live in the real world, so I know that this philosophy is unrealistic for all but the most reclusive people. Taxes have to be paid, yards need to be raked, and family members need to be placated. I mention this philosophy only as an encouragement for you to give it a try the next time you’re presented with a choice between suffering through whatever hell someone else expects you to for their own enjoyment and doing something that YOU prefer to do.

Let me know how it turns out for you in the comments!

personal, philosophy

If it weren’t for Jenna’s family, Christmas wouldn’t be a big deal around our house. As it is, it’s still not a HUGE deal for us or them. I’m sure it would be different if we had kids of our own, but since we don’t, we get to share in the joy of our nieces and nephews (just the nieces this year) and their glee at their bounteous haul.

As you are no doubt aware, I have um… “issues” with our consumption driven economy. It’s hard to find the joy that we’re supposed to have in Christmas when it all seems to be focused around who gave whom what, or whether so-and-so got a larger number of presents than me/her/him. Stories about retailers gouging desperate parents who feel like their children won’t love them if they don’t get the latest toy demonstrate that the Rockwellian Christmases our mothers drove them selves batty trying to create are long gone.

This will likely sound snarky, but I have to say that the worst part of our weekend was Christmas morning. During the hour while presents were being opened, it really felt like the sort of magical family feeling we’d created together over the last couple of days had given over to the crass materialistic orgy that Christmas has become. Please, don’t get me wrong. I love Jenna and her family (more than my own in some cases), but I think we’re doing our (collective) kids a disservice by letting them focus so much on the material aspects of things.

It’s interesting how people say that Christmas is about family, but how many families do you know that wouldn’t feel like they’d had Christmas if the gift getting aspect were taken out?

That was the only sour note the whole weekend, and I’m probably making it sound a lot worse than it was. I had a great time visiting East Texas, and I can’t wait to go again next year! (If I’m still invited.)

But it turns out that my loathing of making left turns is good for the environment AND more efficient.

w00t! Pete turning right FTW!

This is the second of my series of posts on the changes I’ll be making in my financial life. The first discussed setting specific goals and making sure that you’re in harmony with your significant others about what you want to achieve. This post will discuss the next step, coming to grips with the situation.

The Reckoning

In a lot of these “we got out of debt!” stories, people will say how the debt snuck up on them, as if their brains and their bank accounts had never met. That’s not the case with MY debt (and I say MY debt, because I’m the spendy one). I spent us into declaring bankruptcy 4 years ago because I couldn’t tell myself NO when the question was “can I have…”. I figured that I had a good job, with tons of upside to my earning potential, so I might as well enjoy myself. I was in denial about the total amount of debt that I’d piled up, but I was fully aware that I was spending money I didn’t have while I was doing it. Like so many others, I did the math and the numbers told me that if I was able to make the credit card payments, then I must be able to afford whatever it is I’m considering buying.

I think it’s pretty obvious that this line of thinking got me into some serious financial trouble. Before the bankruptcy, we had nearly $60,000 in debt, both secured and unsecured. (And no mortgage!) Afterwards, we just had our cars and one credit card which we affirmed during the process so we would have something for “emergencies.” But when you’re living paycheck to paycheck and can’t control your spending impulses, EVERYTHING is an emergency, and we weren’t able to make any headway on paying down our debt.

(more…)

Well, here’s your chance! Read more about it on Adam’s blog…

I was copied on this e-mail today from Suzette to the mayor, city council, and a WHOLE BUNCH of other people up and down the legislative chain of command.

Great job, Suzette! Fort Worth needs more people like you!

Mayor & City Council -

As promised, attached are pictures that were taken here in Cowtown about two weeks ago. Most were taken from District 5, a few were taken in the Como area. As I said previously, it is abusive and cruel to chain a dog. Dogs are social beings by nature, they need interaction with other living animals which includes humans. Most of all they NEED to be able to move, run and play. Dogs have much the same needs as humans - food, water, exercise, love and attention.

The State of Texas just passed a law that states you cannot chain a dog between the hours of 10pm - 6am. Who is going to be enforcing the law at those hours? The City of Austin and The City of Irving has recently passed a chain ban which states that one cannot tether a dog that is UNattended. Unattended being a key word and one that has flexibility when looking at the law. In other words, if someone gardening in their front yard tethers their dog beside them while they garden, that could be considered an ATTENDED tethered dog. However, in these pictures there was no one in site and most could not move more than 2-4 feet. Most look depressed and sad because they are being enslaved to a tether. They can’t move, a few couldn’t even stand up!! (blonde dog tied to yellow children’s play toy).

Please FREE these dogs from their enslavement. It is 2007. Now is the time. Just like it was time back in the day to ban bearbaiting. This is cruelty to dogs. I hope that Fort Worth will ban unattended tethered dogs and allow the enforcement thereof. Their is responsibilty to be accepted when one chooses to own a dog.

A couple of the pictures show dogs running the streets loose which will perpetuate the problem as pregnancy occurs - no pictures show the many dead dogs that were loose and running the streets - no pictures show the many starving and dehydrated dogs that are enslaved to a small pen or short tether hidden in the backyards of this City.

Your urgent attention and follow through with this matter is requested.

Most sincerely, Suzette Watkins

She attached the following pictures to give an idea of what life is like for these dogs who are neglected and often under fed and abused.

This dog is tied so tightly to the playset that it can’t even stand up. And if it can’t stand up, then it certainly can’t reach that (probably empty) bowl of water and food near it.

This sort of cruelty is happening in your backyard, people! In fact it’s happening in MY backyard. I’m going over there the next time there’s a major storm and that dog is left outside, or it’s below 50 degrees and still out there at night.

The Story of Stuff is a great web video that perfectly explains the process of how our STUFF gets made, and how our out-of-control obsession with STUFF is purely artificial and is destroying our lives, societies, and planet.

Please, make a little time (the video is 20 minutes, but doesn’t feel like it), watch the video, and poke around on the site for more information about how you can help.

The actual raid happened in April, and some of these folks are just now going to trial, but take a gander at this and tell me how you feel.

Let’s do a little political math now:

Your “typical” VFW member in Texas is probably middle class, a veteran or veteran’s wife, and pretty conservative. I’m purely assuming here, but I’ll go ahead and say it: I’ll bet over half of the membership and participants in that tournament vote Republican. Yet, by voting Republican, they’re voting for people who want to legislate their morals and shut down these poker tournaments. Tournaments which kept their VFW open, gave them something to do (in addition to raising funds for other charities, including the police department), and a community to participate in.

Fortunately for the folks in power, Republicans in Texas only want to legislate we common folk’s morals. It’s okay for the State to create, promote, and run a gambling operation (which has WAY worse odds than poker, BTW, as well as having a much worse effect on poor people), but they say gambling is immoral and a blight on our society when someone else profits.

Didn’t they used to burn hypocrites or something like that? It’s exactly this kind of hypocrisy that we’ll continue to get if we continue to allow religion of ANY KIND into our political sphere. Keep the church out of the government and the government out of the church, and everyone will be better off.