Scattershooting / Possible Winter Weather Could Change Vacation Plans

Welcome, masses, one and all! It's another round of Scattershooting, where I go here and there with one thought after another. While many of you are either pondering spring plans or getting a shovel out and digging through the snow, Ol' Case will spend his opening subject trying to figure out the National Weather Service.

Or attempting a game of chess....

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For better or worse (and, for now, we'll choose the latter), Punxsutawney Phil saw his danged shadow the other day. You know what that means. And the pity of it is, he may be right this time. Six more weeks of (expletive) winter. And this coming weekend, we'll all be feeling it. While some of you might be chucking your blankets into the fireplace fires, Ol' Case has to deal with a National Weather Service that's just trying to be right about a tricky prediction. A major Arctic cold front is expected to move through the country and hit Texas by the start of the weekend. It could turn into a prolonged event, as many will see the coldest temperatures of this winter. Here in North Texas, we might see temps even lower than what we saw in December or January. The big question now is, will there be significant precipitation which may cause ice?? We're actually due for an ice event, and we haven't had ice in about four or five years, so, yes, we are due.

This was to be a mild winter in North Texas, right? And I guess I'm Little Red Riding Hood.

Concern arises over another matter. You see, I'm supposed to hit the road Monday morning for a road trip to East Texas and the Ark-La-Tex. That part could be jeopardized (at least, on Monday) if small amounts of snow fall or if lows are such that any precip might freeze over. Yes, the NWS can be known to overhype key weather events, BUT......., what if they end up right this time? I am slated to be on the road Monday through Friday of next week, so this writer may have to make a Plan B for his trip. In the Texas Hill Country, they, too, are expecting some cold temperatures, but no precipitation. Don't be surprised if my Plan B gets me away from East Texas and into Central Texas instead. Watching things carefully. It never hurts to plan.

Lots of things can still happen. Then again, lots of those same things might not.

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Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a commanding 31-9 Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. All it took was the tandem of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to make big things happen. Seems like old times as the former New England Patriot teammates connected for two touchdowns.

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The Dallas-Fort Worth area is getting a little taste of San Antonio. It's been announced that Las Palapas is expanding into the D/FW market. They have eight locations in San Antonio serving Tex-Mex and Mexican food. It will be interesting to see how this institution will be received in North Texas, what with Alamo Cafe enjoying moderate runs in Dallas and Mesquite in the 1980s and '90s. Austin's Matt Martinez had his chains in the Metroplex for a few years, but they haven't achieved the same success as his South Austin eatery has. So, this is hit or miss.

Las Palapas will launch its first North Texas location in Keller. We'll find out over time if this location is a home run.

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Okay, Disney, let me see if I got this: You guys are opening up your California Adventure Park............but are not allowing rides to operate?? Huh???!!!!

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyl...-entertainment

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Obituaries include the following:

Dustin Diamond, 44, who was best-known for his role as Screech Powers in the NBC-TV series "Saved By The Bell", which I actually used to get addicted to in my younger years. Diamond had battled cancer in recent days.

Christopher Plummer, age 91, perhaps the greatest Thespian ever to come out of Canada, and had movie memories made in "The Sound of Music", "The Fall of the Roman Empire", "Waterloo", and "The Man Who Would Be King". An absolute fine actor.

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Joe Biden got booed at this year's Super Bowl.

Good.

The most fraudulent president in history is damned sure not the most popular like the Democrats like to think he is. Meanwhile, real President Donald Trump's popularity is soaring even more by way of these ridiculously fake "second" Democrat impeachment scams they're throwing at us. What a waste of time. Those leftist phonies never learn. They never do.

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Did you get to check out a huge sinkhole recently? They flashed a picture, online, of the aftermath of torrential rains on California Highway 1 near Big Sur. It was a huge sinkhole as part of the highway was washed away into the nearby Pacific Ocean. Obviously, that stretch was recently shut down for twenty miles on either side of said sinkhole.

Glad I'm not taking a trip out there. I'd be terrified of those isolated narrow roads where the topography is just too treacherous.

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I just thought of a great idea of a magazine for the MAGA movement. Hard to believe no one else has come up with this. How about we start this new thing called MAGAzine?

That's right. MAGAzine.

Just let that sink in. I think it would be a huge hit with readers. MAGAzine. Any and all things MAGA.

MAGAzine.

You lactate on that a while....

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Radio aficionados might not make a big deal out of playlists or websites, but there are too many things wrong with KOKE-FM's (98.5 and 99.3) website. It's their Recently Played song list that sometimes drives me crazy. You would think that disk jockeys could at least get names of singers and songs spelled correctly to put on the best possible presentation for a radio station website. Part of having a bona fide country format (or any music format) is understanding your artist and the songs they sing. Spelling is everything, y'all. If you can't get your conveyances correct, then chances are, you won't have a good product, either.

At least, the station plays the songs....

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Valentine's Day is almost here, sports fans. Got something for your significant other? Not yet? Shame on you.

Well, don't despair. The following link has ideas for your valentine, post-COVID.

https://nymag.com/strategist/article...deas-2021.html

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Construction continues at the north end of D/FW International Airport at the convergence of State Highway 121, Interstate 635, and FM Road 2499. From the looks of things, the project appears to be ahead of schedule. The original completion date for this deferred D/FW Connector undertaking was 2022. It would not surprise me at all if this were to get done by fall of 2021. Just some widening of the roads, new bridges, and reconfigurations.

And it is looking reeeeeeal gooooooood!

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I mentioned radio earlier. Rush Limbaugh has been absent from his talk show for about a week now, and this was unexpected. Now, of course, he's got terminal Stage 4 cancer, so, absences are going to be more common. It's just concerning about the frequency of those unexplained absences. Hopefully, he will return to the airwaves this week, but next week --- Guess what? --- is expected to be another treatment week, which means he'll have to miss a few days.

Folks, nobody is guaranteed tomorrow. Rush has had a hell of a life doing what he's done. It's only a matter of time before we may have to deal with wondering if his last show really was his last show. I hope not, but then, life happens.

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Baseball is around the corner. Your writer is thinking about making baseball predictions for the coming season. The big hope here is for most of a full season to get played now that the COVID vaccines are out and Pokey is inoculating as many as possible.

Pitchers and catchers are on the verge of heading to Florida and Arizona. Can't wait until they play ball!

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It's increasingly getting more difficult for seniors to receive the COVID vaccine. Here's the following link: https://www.newsmax.com/health/headl...04/id/1008670/

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Time to bring this Scattershooting session to another halt, peeps. Stay warm and bundle up if you must during this Arctic blast. Think springlike thoughts. Just stay away from the ice maker in your fridge.

And there you are.