Texas Sunset

A typical Texas Fall Sunset. Photographed by a colleague of mine with a smart phone.

Riding the Train to Dallas

I am starting a new job in Dallas on Monday. Since the distance is far, working nights, and of course the rare convenience of train made me contemplate taking the train to commute. In order to check the feasibility for myself I decided to do a trail run and yesterday I bought a $10 ticket to ride from Denton, TX to Dallas, TX. If I drove in good traffic conditions it takes me about 50 mins and by train it took me about 80 mins, a good 30 mins increase in commute time, plus adding the time to drive back and forth from the train station. There is no real savings in terms of time or money. It would cost me just about the same amount of money to drive. The biggest advantage of riding the train is to offset the stress of driving after working a sleepless 12-hr night shift.

The train interiors don't stink, they are clean, hardly any crowd, seats are pretty comfortable, so it is going to be a pretty decent ride home from work I am hoping. The only disadvantage is that there is no service on weekends. I will still have to drive to work on weekends.

Railway Platform - deserted

Railway Platform - deserted

No smoking, drinking or listening to loud music in the train

View of Lewisville Lake!

I-35 during low traffic time... 

American-born Islamic Terrorist's trail begins

After what seems like an eternity the trail to punish Major Nidal Hassan began yesterday. It is ironical that even after being imprisoned for over 4 years the terrorist in Hassan is still alive and active. According to news reports the alleged terrorist who is defending himself opened his case with the statement declaring that he indeed shot army personnel at Fort Hood.

According to news reports he claimed that he was among the "imperfect Muslims trying to establish a perfect religion". I don't know how he can call it a perfect religion when it doesn't give basic human rights to people who don't believe in the exact same doctrine propagated by its holy book.

A perfect religion ought to promote peace, Islam on the other hand seems to be doing the exact opposite. A perfect religion promotes respect for life, respect for all human beings equally, compassion for less fortunate, nonviolence, etc. I can go on and on about what a perfect religion should be, but that is not the point of this blog post.

Justice for those injured and the families of those killed will be served only Hassan is branded terrorist and punished to the highest extent by law. Of course it is for the judges to decide what to do with a terrorist like him but in my opinion anyone who attempts to harm the people who willingly lay down their lives to protect the nation should be punished to the fullest extent.

I sure hope it happens in this case and soon. I also believe that Justice Delayed amounts to Justice Denied.

Islamic Terrorist Getting Paid in Jail

In 2009 America was rocked by the gruesome act of one of its own. A Muslim army officer - Major Nidal Hassan took up arms and shot active duty military staff in Fort Hood Texas. The rampage ended with the death of at least 13 soldiers and 32 injured to several others. The perpetrator of such heinous act Major Nidal Hassan was of course shot and captured alive and is currently in a high security prison.

It has been several years and he is yet to face trail. I don't know what the military courts are doing. In the meanwhile Major Nidal Hassan has been receiving full pay and perks of his position and has thus far received $278,000. According to a investigative report published on liberal online media NBC the defense department confirmed this. This is like a slap across the face of the families of dead soldiers, the criminal is in jail but we will continue to pay his salary, even though he is not working and has not done anything to deserve the pay. On the contrary he has done everything to receive the highest punishment possible.

On the other hand soldiers who were injured by Major Nidal Hassan are still fighting with the Pentagon to get their rightful combat-related injury compensation. The liberal US military has refused to classify the incident as a "Terrorist Attack", instead it has labelled this as "Workplace violence".

I am totally appalled by this lackadaisical attitude of the military top brass and the federal government.It looks like America is trying to show off their superior customer service skills to heartless Islamic terrorists and win them over. Well there is no winning Islamic terrorists without using bullets. I hope the American Military will take action at least now.

Tornado Kills 6 in North Texas

This is the season of thunderstorms and tornadoes. Every year when the season hits Texas or any other part of America there is widespread devastation and deaths. Even in the most advanced nation, nature reigns supreme. Nobody can stand up to nature and combat devastation.

Motorcycle Funeral Escort Killed

The motorcycle rider who went to this funeral procession didn't expect that it might well become his also. He was leading the procession and a car hit him killing him on the spot. Sad for his family and the funerary members, it seems to be a day of double sorrow. May god give them the strength to tide over the sad times.

Giant African Land Snails Arrive in Houston

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The above video displays a news report about the occurrence of the giant African Land Snails in Houston, TX. The news report reveals who found these animals and the dangers associated with handling the animal but doesn't say how these animals got to America. These animals are land snails so they couldn't have swam their way from Africa to America! Someone must have brought a few of these creatures alive for breeding and possibly to sell their colorful shells, now that many of these are running wild it would be difficult to find them and prevent them from infesting the rest of the country.

Hiking in Lake Ray Roberts State Park

It was an evening well spent on the banks of Lake Ray Roberts in the State Park. Though I walked only about 3.5 miles in the lush green forests of the Lake Ray Roberts State Park the experience was definitely worth while. I am glad I have been buying the Texas State Park Pass every year, this enables me to enter any state park in the state of Texas absolutely free.


Anyway earlier this evening I just decided to go there and take a dip in the cool waters of the lake. Drove down to the state park and found that I was among the handful of visitors there. I decided to walk one of the trails there before hitting the water and so was off on the Randy Bell Scenic Trail which is about 2.7 miles long but since I took several detours to get by the lake waters, I probably walked a good 3.5 - 4 miles.


The trail is moderately hilly and completely paved so it is impossible to trip, fall or lose the way. Moreover being surrounded by thick undergrowth, trees, and grasses there is lot of wildlife sighting opportunities. Today I saw several white tailed deer, which are not scared of humans at all, they continue to graze unperturbed even as people walk along the trail. Even the animals know they are safe in the park, if it were in a different setting, the deer would be shot and eaten.

College Artworks

Yesterday when I attended classes I visited the college art gallery during the break. A mixed media exhibition is going on over there which has some bold looking artworks that perhaps would fit only a gallery and would never grace anyone's home. I wonder what the artist had in mind while creating these works of art. I personally didn't understand the art and there was no explanation signage to help me understand. All I can say is there are a variety of objects used to create something attractive.

Lake Lavon from the highway

Recently I drove over a bridge built across the northern ending part of Lake Lavon. The bridge about a mile long provides scenic views of the lake when it is full. Unfortunately due to drought of the past two years the water levels have dropped significantly. Nevertheless the lake is still very beautiful and offers a soothing ambiance.

Winter clouds!!!

Here in Texas the best days to look at the sky and clouds is during the early winter or fall days. The sun is bright but not blazing down and burning everything in sight. The sky has a fair share of clouds which provides a nice contrast of white against the bright blue skies. Here are some pictures I shot as I drove along the endless highways of Texas.

Wild Flowers and Hiking Trails

Whenever I go hiking the only things in abundance that are noticeable are wild flowers. Like any tourist and wanna be photographer I shoot pictures of these creations of nature and post them on my blog. Here are some examples:

College Artworks

Recently I started an art appreciation class and one of the assignments in school is to go round the campus and document the art works that I can see. Well I went around the campus with my camera and captured the images of what I saw. Some are good, others are well... I will let you decide...

Rock Climbing area in Mineral Wells State Park

Rock climbing in Dallas area means going to a gym and ascending their epoxy resin walls. This can be done throughout the year and through the day. On the other hand real rock climbing is pretty much impossible in the Dallas area or so I thought till I visited Mineral Wells State Park. Here there is a small area in one corner known as the Penitentiary Hollow where there are medium sized rock formations ideal for top-rope climbing. So for people in Dallas who want to do real rock climbing the few months of the year when it is pleasant and not extremely cold or hot Mineral Wells is the answer.

Lake Mineral Wells State Park

Lake Mineral Wells State Park is one of the few areas around Dallas where one can see hills and rocks. This is one of the large lakes that dot the area and not too long ago it was believed that the waters had healing properties and people from all over the country would come here for a bath. The city and its water was so famous that at one time the mineral water originating from here was the most sought after. Anyway now since there is more pollution and modernity has set in nobody visits this area for the special water. This is now a small country town which attracts adventurers for its outdoor activity offerings. The state park offers bicycling, hiking and rock climbing options.

Artificial Waterfalls

In the Prairies and Lakes area of Texas the landscape is flat and houses seem like outcrops. The landscape is quite boring so what do builders do, they create artificial landscaping. If you want a hill they will go and dig up some dirt from somewhere and pile it up to create one. If you want a waterfall they can do that too. I recently saw one such feature at a premium residential neighborhood where they have created an artificial river and a waterfall, here are some pictures:

July 4th Celebrations in Castle Hills

I blogged about the American Independence Day celebrations at Castle Hills, Lewisville yesterday but I wasn't able to upload any pictures of the event. Here are some pictures of the event for your reference.

July 4th celebrations at Castle Hills

Independence Day! (Photo credit: CR Artist)

Yesterday was America's independence day and I visited couple of friends in a nearby city to participate in their community's celebrations. For a small residential community the celebrations were pretty well orchestrated. The center of attraction was a live band belting out hit numbers. There were numerous games for kids to play, bounce houses, and of course lots and lots of eating stuff in the form of food trucks, booths and vendors.

Fireworks #1 (Photo credit: Camera Slayer)

Of course the highlight of the evening was the fireworks display. The fireworks were staged near the commercial strip of community and we got lucky in finding a slightly elevated spot which served as a vantage point for viewing the fireworks. The display started promptly after dusk. In the beginning it was rather slow and staid but soon picked up tempo and started attracting applause from the viewers. It ended as quickly as it started. The good part was that from our location we could view the fireworks of two other communities quite well and as we watched we drew comparisons and the one in Castle hills was not as good as the other one.

Even so I believe the other display we got to see was a city organized event and funded by the government. The one we were attending was a community organized event and there is a definite disparity in funding so I guess it was a pretty good effort despite a rather mellow showing.

A day in the Lake!

Lake Tawakoni at Hideaway Estates (Photo credit: Houstonian)

After many years I got the opportunity to swim in the open waters of the vast Lake Tawakoni. It was one of those rare summer days when the temperature was not too hot and the sun was not blazing town threatening to melt and vaporize our bodies. Along with a few friends we headed out for the Lake Tawakoni State Park sited about 60 miles from Dallas and one of the largest lakes in the state of Texas.

Few things bring me the peace of mind and pleasure like that of a large water body. Just sitting and looking at the vast expanse of azure beauty soothes my mind out of the worst crises and helps me find solutions and think of creative options.

Lake Tawakoni (Photo credit: Houstonian)

Anyway that was not the reason we went to Lake Tawakoni it was a pleasure picnic to enjoy the waters. The weather was just right, not too hot, not cold at all, the water was warm towards the bank and became refreshingly cooler as we waded deeper into the lake. The swimming area has been cordoned off with buoys by the state par authorities so that visitors may not venture out too deep and get drowned. The swimming beach, hiking trails, picnic areas, and boat ramps provide amazing activity options for the entire family.

We spent the whole time in the swimming beach, resting, dipping in water and enjoying the day.

Memories!!!

Memory is such a unique thing for everything with a brain... or a chip or a hard drive. An inanimate object like the computer hard drive doesn't have the choice of what to remember. We as living and autonomous creatures have this choice of storing what we want in our memories.

When we are young and cramming for exams we wish we had more memory. When we forget someone's phone number and trying desperately to remember we beat ourselves up for not noting it down. Even as the modern gadgets are making our memories smaller and smaller we rue the fact that there is so much information to remember while at school.

As we age our memories become weaker and we don't remember as much as we used to in our youth. For some of us this may be a great blessing because it is an opportunity to permanently forget all the bad things that happened to us. For others it may be a curse because we can't seem to remember those wonderful moments of our life.

Wouldn't it be nice if selective memory were possible. Just imagine if like all the physical enhancements are possible by modern medicine, mental or memory tuning were possible? I am pretty sure many of us would want to go in and get certain incidents of our life erased permanently from our memories.