Bulletin boards have the facts

- A sunrise in Scurry County -

I've found that going around to county courthouses and reading the notices on the bulletin boards is a quick and easy way to get a factual and interesting view of what's going on in an area. A lot of information can be gleaned in a fifteen minute stop.

I went by the Mitchell County Courthouse this week and found the agenda for the county appraisal meeting, a block of lots up for sale at Colorado City Lake, a nice office job opening, and a will probation notice for someone I do business with. What a quiet and non-invasive way to get news.

That being said, another way to quietly get news is to scour the internet, especially when you have oodles of time to plunge down rabbitholes, like I do. Here are some things I've found today:

Fisher County Tax Sales Dec. 4

Trustee Sale for 109 W. McArthur, Rotan, Dec. 5

Sweetwater properties for bid

The Sweetwater properties link is part of a website for the Texas Communities Group. It has many areas in Texas where you can buy little lots for little money. I found this page while perusing the Nolan County Appraisal District  site.

Back to actually, physically, finding information about properties: going down to the local appraisal or tax offices and getting a paper record usually nets more information. Sometimes the people I come across have a tidbit or two of news that will be useful or interesting. Ambiance is not overrated and is hard to come by in cyberspace.

Crazy about links

It's a cold and windy day, with lots of time to while away, so I thought I'd share some links I like to use. I'm a sucker for a database.

Texas Unclaimed Property
Texas Crime Records
(List of multiple links)
Texas Criminal History Search
(Small fee for search, less than $5)
Tx DPS Sex Offender Registry
Texas Criminal Dept of Justice Offender Search
Tx Board of Nursing License Verification
Tx Board of Nursing LVN Verification
Tx Board of Nursing RN Verification
Tx Dept of Aging & Disability, Nurse Aide Employability Status
(Employee Misconduct Registry, also includes Medication Aides and other employees at DADS regulated facilities)
Tx Health & Human Services Licensing, Credentialing and Regulation
(Check if Child Daycare or Nursing Homes are licensed, other links)
Tx Comptroller Taxable Entity Search
Texas Sales Taxpayer Search

Fishin' 'n' frackin'

- Sandhill Cranes -

Going down a rabbit hole this week, I discovered that the first Zebco reel was invented by a Rotan man, one R. D. Hull. How this tidbit escaped my dad's encyclopedia of tales, I don't know.

According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, Hull approached Zero Hour Bomb Company in Tulsa with his invention, and they helped him manufacture and market the reel. The company produced electric bombs used in oil field fracturing at the time, in 1949.

I find it interesting when I run across things purported as new that are actually old. I thought all this fracking business was a recent venture, but Zero Hour started in 1932.  Looking back at other articles, fracking seems to have originated in the 1860's, although the materials used to accomplish the fracturing have changed vastly from the first days.

Back to the reel, I have to say that it is an object that has been ubiquitous throughout my life. I have fond memories of fishing off a dock at Lake Sweetwater and taking the kids fishing on local creeks, using simple and cheap Zebcos.

Here's an informational article from the American Oil & Gas Historical Society. There is a misspelled word in there, which usually puts me off, but it's a coherent and well-written documentation of the history of this particular reel, as well as fracking. Make it a game and find the gaff!

This link is just some fun, an article about a house that Hull had built in the shape of a fishing reel.

The photo today is of the incoming migration of Sandhill Cranes that inundate the Mitchell County area each fall. I have a video, but it won't load on here. I only wanted to post it because of the audio. The cranes make a lot of racket with their singing.

I'm wondering-

- questions -

Sometimes I think Google is broken. Sometimes it gives so many answers, I'm overwhelmed. Just one of many love/hate relationships that I'm involved in. Include in that group my cell phone, phone company, and television.

How do people have a good relationship with a doctor? And why do I have to pay the same for a nurse practitioner as a doctor? And it seems like a doctor is only good in an extreme circumstance, such as strep throat or gangrene.

I finally have a good dentist and I am grateful for that. That's a straight up situation. Pull this tooth, it hurts or it's falling out.

Why do magazines think they are my benevolent benefactor? Why do writers think they need to pander to me? Just give me the info, don't tell how to feel or try to lay a guilt trip on me. Work is the same way. Oh, thank you, I was not aware that I shouldn't wear a full wool suit or mukluks and a parka when the temperature is 112 Fahrenheit outside. What would I, a fully-grown person who manages my own life, know what to do without such handy tips?

Why isn't there a place to read a report about what is being sprayed and where by crop-dusters? Why doesn't anyone talk about what goes on at the county appraisal meetings? Why and how do people take over property that isn't theirs and they don't pay taxes on? Why do vehicles seem to be made to where my hand almost fits into a space to turn a screw, but not quite? What is the infatuation with people who have terrible morals and slatternly ways on television? Why does Samantha Bee have her own show? Do people really watch these shows or do the networks just use them as some kind of bad investment write-off? Why are nursing homes so bad but people act like they're fine? Why won't people use their blinkers?

I've become a grumpy old codger. My father would be proud.

Noises in the night

- Tigger? -

The other night, I could hear a pervasive, but almost imperceptive, rumble. I had a stopped up ear, so I couldn't tell if the sound was inside or outside of my head. After a few hours,with the sense that I could feel the sound as well as hear it, I decided to go find the source. I was thinking that fracking must be going on somewhere in the vicinity. It had already gotten dark, so I tried to follow the lights on the horizon, as the sound seemed to be everywhere.

I could have driven all night, because it was a circumstance of take your pick. There's drilling going on everywhere, but it's not so noticeable during the day. Not in Hobbs proper, but along US 180, south of Camp Springs. I've been driving right by the pictured lease and not noticing it. I drive long distances to everywhere, and I tend to automatic pilot from point A to point B.

The location on the Rail Road Commission map indicates this might be Tigger, but I'm not quite sure how to read the legend on the map. The permitted site is across the road from the well. I don't know the rules.