A typical Texas Fall Sunset. Photographed by a colleague of mine with a smart phone.
Showing posts with label North Texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North Texas. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
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...
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Devastation in Oklahoma
As the details emerge in news channels and other media the devastation in Oklahoma becomes apparent. The thunderstorm has caused more devastation at Oklahoma than the one in Hood County, TX last fortnight. According to a newsreport on Weather the death toll of yesterday's events is about 24 as reported by the state's medical examiner.
Hundreds have been injured and more left homeless as the thunderstorm with winds upto 60mph plowed through Moore, OK and surrounding counties. One TV report even suggested that the thunder storm traveled as far as Kansas and wrecked havoc there. A weather bureau warning I heard on the radio last night said that there would be heavy rains with golf ball sized hail in north Texas area. Luckily there was no storm hitting us in Denton, TX.
To me this sounds like the scenario in India where every year during the monsoon floods occur and cause widespread death and destruction. Of course India is a poor third world nation with corrupt establishment and politicians so preparation for such calamities doesn't happen. But in America the world's richest and most powerful nation this kind of tragedies taking lives, is totally not acceptable. I sure hope that further calamities of such kind will be prevented.
I know that weather can't be controlled but people's response to the weather changes can be. When there is a thunderstorm warning, people can be evacuated. America is a large nation with a relatively small population. There is enough space to resettle these people for a short time so that they are alive and can safely return home once the severe weather passes.
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