It made me smile.
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Skipping Tracer Bullets Across a Lake
Kinda cool, but I’m not sure that’s proper gun safety.
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Windcatcher: Inflates in seconds with NO power or pumping
Using our revolutionary technology we’ve designed the FASTEST inflating air pad EVER! Perfect for camping, the beach & indoors too.
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Bag of Randomness
- Last Friday someone left a comment calling me Charlie Brown and saying I was a good man. My father use to say that to me all the time, so to the person that left that comment . . . thank you so much, you have no idea how much that meant to me.
- The most recent movie versions of Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man have men from across the pond starring in the lead roles and all use an American accent.
- I caught a little bit of the NBA Finals. At halftime they showed Tim Duncan in the hallway sitting down and icing his knees as his kids were playing with him, which was quite touching.
- There was one time in which ABC was going to commercial showcasing a trip down the Riverwalk and I couldn’t help but notice there’s an Eckerds Pharmacy. I didn’t know any were still in existence.
- Good guy Google - In a bid to eradicate child pornography from the web, it’s creating a global database of child abuse images and will share it with its rivals.
- I made mention that the best man at my wedding lost his life a week prior saving the life of his girlfriend a decade ago on Friday. She observed the significance of the anniversary with some touching words.
- Gordon Keith had a column about Father’s Day which touchingly mentions Michael Irvin kissing his son on the lips. I remember kiss my father on the lips and then getting to the point that I thought it wasn’t manly. One day I switch to just kissing him on the forehead, but I remember working my way up to it wondering if he would notice the change. He never acknowledged the change, but I’m sure he knew it.
- Man stands behind television news reporter and tries to spread the Gospel, well, sorta.
- I know Gov Goodhair signed the ‘Merry Christmas’ bill into law, but I didn’t know he did it by having the cheerleaders from Kountze High School in East Texas stand next to him. They were the ones that were displaying scripture at football games.
- Johnny Manziel tweeted he can’t wait to leave College Station. Really? He doesn’t even have to step on campus to go to class. That guys is so much fun to watch and extremely talented, but I fear he’s bone-headed and his promising future is collapsing before our eyes. I’m surprised Sumlin hasn’t reeled him in and told him to keep a low and huble profile.
- Walt Disney’s old estate is up for sale for about $90 million, at least it comes with a one-eighth-scale steam railroad.
- 91-year-old breaks world bench-press record
- A great idea for a Fresh Prince sequel
- HBO’s ‘Vice’ had a special about a trip to North Korea with Dennis Rodman. Immediately after it aired, the movie Team America started to play on another channel. Nice timing.
- Kate Upton is only about five months older than Miley Cyrus, yet they seem worlds apart.
- I really like eating at Cheddars, but had no idea their original restaurant opened in Arlington.
- This deep dish Chicago style pizza comes from Pizza by Alex in Garland. If there was ever a reason to drive to Garland, maybe this is it. The best deep dish I had in Texas was from the old Flying Tomato in Denton, which is now in Sanger. And it wasn’t until this post that I discovered there’s a Denton Wiki page.
- Blue Lagoon dyed black to deter swimmers
- 21 Brides And Grooms Praying Together Before Their Weddings, without looking at each other, of course.
- The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that a Christian man can sue the state of Oklahoma over the state’s license plate depicting a piece of artwork by a famous Native American.
- Knowing me, I’d get bit by this spider at the most inopportune time.
- The ballpoint pen is now 75-years-old.
- A collection of used staples from an office since the mid 80′s sure can pile up.
- ‘Mad Men’ thoughts:
- Megan has made occasional references to her agent, but we’ve never seen him. I wouldn’t be surprised if we found out that she’s been cheating on Don with him to not only advance in her career, but to also get back at Don for not supporting or being there for her. Now for stretch, what if she didn’t have a miscarriage, but aborted her baby because it wasn’t Don’s?
- There’s an old yellow phone I keep seeing, and I remember having one in our kitchen for the longest time. I think I kept it and it’s in my garage. The one in Don’s kitchen is push button and not rotary, and I wonder if that’s a mistake for the time era.
- Betty, “She wants to go to a boarding school.” Don without missing a beat, “I’ll pay for all of it.”
- Betty sure does spend a lot of time in that kitchen.
- It was funny Don and Megan catching Peggy and Ted at the movies.
- Sally was reading Rosemary’s Baby and now we catch four characters watching the film version. And then Betty had a mention of her friend that stayed in Rosemary Hall. There’s a connection, I just can’t put it together.
- So Ken Cosgrove got shot in the face and is wearing an eye-patch. That’s funny in the Geeding household because the actor’s last name is WifeGeeding’s maiden name, Staton, and she has one eye. Oh, and the Statons are avid hunters, which is how Ken got shot in the face. But in case you are wondering, it’s a different eye than WifeGeeding’s.
- Pete is finally going to use that gun, but it’s funny his secretary knows more about it then him.
- “That’s a dumb idea.” I love how Roger can be so blunt.
- I love Bob Benson, but not in that sort of way. I think he’s in Harry’s old office.
- I don’t understand why Pete wasn’t more hard on Bob and didn’t run him out of the office. I guess it’s because he hired him.
- Don is breaking out of his being so reserved shell, singing at camp with Bobby and now crying like a baby on cue.
- The agency’s new logo is very 70′s looking, it reminds me of the logo from ‘The Price is Right’.
- So Ducky says “I’ve never seen anything like this before” and Peters reply is “I have.” I’m assuming he meant Don Draper since he knows his real name is Dick Whitman.
- Don’s “personal” talk sure was entertaining.
- Betty is turning into the ‘cool mom’ allowing Sally to smoke.
- The show ended with Don crawled up in the fetal position, not sure if that’s connected with Rosemary’s Baby or some other kind of symbolism.
- ‘The Killing’ and ‘Mad Men’ may just be using the same shooting locations.
- A great seven second summary of last night’s episode.
- Per creator Matthew Weiner, no one is going to die this season.
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Australian Chief of Army Message Regarding Unacceptable Behaviour
This is Leadership 101.
I’d follow this man into hell and back.
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Bag of Randomness
- I can remember it like it was yesterday, but today marks an entire decade when I got the biggest shock of my life. I was one week away from getting married and my best man was to drive in from outside Abilene for a weekend visit, but he called and asked if he could cancel so he could go kayaking with his girlfriend and a few others. He felt bad canceling, but I said since he’s going to be here the next week it wasn’t going to be a big deal, and it would give me a chance to spend one last weekend home in Mineral Wells with my widowed mother and teenage sister.
- SisterGeeding and I was watching Catch Me if You
- When I got home I got a phone call from a very close friend, someone in the wedding parting. I tried to tease him that he missed the wedding, but I could tell by his voice that something was wrong. He informed me that he was watching he local news and it stated that my best man, Micah, drowned. Looking back, there was no better person to give me that news then him. That night ended up becoming one of the longest of my life, as did that week.
- I was hysterical and called my fiance, who couldn’t quite understand me and mistook my crying for laughing.
- I finally got in touch with Micah’s mom. She was responsible for my last job in and my first job out of college. The greatest honor of my life was when his mother asked that I speak at his funeral. I had to bury my best friend on a Wednesday, and marry my best friend on a Saturday, and as I’ve said before, I felt like I became a man that week. If you are interested in what I said, a draft of my eulogy is here. There was no replacing him, so at the wedding ceremony I just saved a spot for him at the altar.
- For some reason I could never find it in me to finish that movie, nor have I ever ordered another Mix.
- Sometimes I wonder what would have been if I would have made him live up to his commitment to visit me that weekend instead of saying it was okay for him to go kayaking.
- It was WifeGeeding’s idea during that long week that our first born should be named after Micah, boy or girl. When she was with child I took a day off work to drive to Abilene to ask Micah’s mother in person if it was okay to name our child after her son, and thankfully she said yes.
- I’m sorry if this is dragging on, but not only is it a bit therapeutic for me, it just felt like the right thing to do today. I live my life trying to be just a quarter of the person that Micah was.
- I have a friend that’s at Walt Disney World with the wife and kids, but the wife got so sick they saw a doctor and found out she has strep throat.
- In my work Inbox yesterday were two emails reminding me how to handle Classified and Confidential information. I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.
- I pick up my CPAP machine on Monday. Insurance covers 80%, so my portion will cost me $310. My last sleep study cost about $230.
- A great mouse pad for you ‘Breaking Bad’ fans.
- Pretty cool live visual – Real time Google searches in many languages, you can also customize it to just the U.S. in the lower left corner.
- For the Lego enthusiast funeral director
- Any chance Rupert Murdoch will lose Fox News in the divorce?
- HGTV apologizes after suggesting American flag as ‘festive’ tablecloth
- Wigs off as Britain ends courtroom tradition
- Timelapse of DFW’s Growth over the last 30 years
- Buzz Aldrin is no fan of Tang
- Texas Republican Congressman wanders into LGBT event, enjoys hospitality before realizing he’s in wrong place
- Happy birthday U.S. Army.
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Bag of Randomness
- My doctor’s office called to set an appointment about three months away to see how things will work out with the CPAP, and the first date she offered was Monday September 2. I told her that’s Labor Day and she was curious as how I knew that and that the computer she was using didn’t state that it was a holiday. I thought most folks knew that Labor Day is always the first Monday in September and Thanksgiving is the last Thursday in November.
- Jason Kidd went from player to head coach, I wonder when was the last time that happened in any of the big four sports. I suspect baseball because there use to be player managers, and I wonder who the last player manager was, Pete Rose?
- I bet former VP Dick Cheney is really critical of the NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden but will lay low for a while, because whatever he says negatively about Snowden may come across as support for the current administration.
- Speaking of Snowden and Cheney, it was reported that he’s reading the former VP’s autobiography.
- I guess I’ve seen too many movies like Eagle Eye and Enemy of the State and just assumed the government has always been doing this sort of stuff and just won’t tell the public. Heck, I’m quite sure there’s a lot of stuff that goes on that’s either in the gray ethical area or quite unethical, and the more the enemy knows, the more they can plan around things. I’m one of those that supports sacrificing privacy for safety, so I’ve never really been against the PATRIOT Act. Heck, I worked on a lot of PATRIOT Act projects when it was first implemented which helped pay the mortgage.
- I’m not quite sure what to think of Snowden, but running off to Hong Kong doesn’t seem to be a very brave thing to do. Heck, when Craig James’ kid tattled on Mike Leach and got the beloved coach fired, even he stayed at Texas Tech, which I’m surprised didn’t get him killed.
- Something else to do in the area, and since I live in the county, I’m gonna take cover everytime I see a helicopter – Helicopter Gun Range Opens in North Texas
- First photo: Rob Lowe as JFK
- NPR - MTV Promises To Be About Music For An Entire Half Of A Day
- At least his job required a lot of sitting - Eight-month erection leads to malpractice lawsuit by trucker
- It happens, I suppose – Russian Airliner Makes Seven Trips With Dead Guy Frozen in Wheel Well
- South Carolina is considering a proposal to switch from metal license plates to new electronic license plates as a way to improve highway safety.
- Something useful for those of you that ride a bicycle to work.
- The Dallas Morning News website has a new cleaner look.
- NAVY TO DROP ALL-CAPS COMMUNICATIONS
- A woman who discovered an unexploded World War II bomb in her garden terrified her husband by washing it in the kitchen sink.
- LifeHacker.com trick - Get a Free Vehicle History Report Before You Buy a Car
- This Is What 47,000 Hand-Painted Stars Look Like
- Man reinvented the wheel into an efficient square
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Bag of Randomness
- I had my CPAC sleep study Monday night. Even though they try to make the experience as comfortable as they can, I didn’t find much comfort in a mattress that seemed too soft, knowing a camera was watching me, having close to 20 wires attached all over my body, and sleeping with a CPAC mask for the first time as various amounts of air pressure was adjusted throughout the night. Oh, and the medical technician looked like a young Hannibal Lecter, seriously. It looks like I’ll just need a nasal mask as opposed to one that covers my mouth and nose.
- I guess it will just take some adjustment on my part as I’m use to breathing out of my mouth. With air pressure going through my nose, when I open my mouth, the air pressure is forced out, which makes it uncomfortable to breath through my mouth. But I’m told that ‘normal’ folks only breath through their nose while sleeping and I did when I was actually dozing.
- I was told that Asians are more prone to sleep apnea because of a small their anatomy . . . they have small . . . air passage ways. Too bad this half-Asian didn’t luck out getting the white air passage.
- As a government contractor, all I know is that this NSA whistle blower is going to make me take several more annual ethics training courses, and it seems we take plenty of them already.
- If you are going to throw a Purity Ball, try to avoid the $69 ticket price.
- The CBS Evening News had a segment on one of the women pioneers of the space race. She passed all the tests the original Mercury astronauts, including drinking radioactive water, and I beleive she teaches flying lessons out of local Roanoke, TX.
- John Oliver is doing alright.
- North Texas commuters can swap a gasoline receipt for a week of free transit June 16-22
- Top paid Texas lobbyists – PDF
- All sorts of data - America’s Worst Charities
- Beauty queen with one arm crowned Miss Iowa
- 16-Year-Old Cindy Crawford’s First Magazine Cover
- The best part about living in Alabama
- Breakdancing Jesus mural unveiled in Bristol
- Univ. of Houston professor identified as victim of fatal stiletto stabbing
- Blue Lagoon dyed black to deter swimmers
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DoorBot
DoorBot: the battery operated Wi-Fi video doorbell that connects to your smartphones and tablets.
DoorBot — The Wi-Fi Enabled “Smart” Doorbell from Christie Street on Vimeo.
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Santa Clause Kickstarter Documentary
If you are short for time, I’d recommend just viewing from 0:15 – 2:07
We have documented an entire year in the lives of six real-bearded professional Santa Clauses to find out what the rest of the year is like for a man who perpetually looks like Jolly Saint Nick. In the process, they are shown for who they actually are: flawed, flesh and blood men who feel an overbearing responsibility to protect the integrity of the spotless, untarnished reputation of the “Red Suit.” ‘I Am Santa Claus’ is a documentary that poses a question about a ubiquitous holiday figure that few parents ever ask themselves; “Whose lap is my child sitting on?”
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I’d say they love each other
Random fact about that song, it was written by late Louisiana Governor Jimmie Davis.
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Underground Bicycle Parking Systems in Japan
The interesting stuff starts at the 1:54 mark.
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Bag of Randomness
- We took a roadtrip to Abilene and back on Saturday. For our first lengthy car trip as a family, three hours there and back in one day, I thought it went relatively well.
- With my fellow scholarship board members, we help present a scholarship set up for my dear late friend and the Big Country FCA Coach of the Year award at the annual FCA All Star Classic football game with his mother. It was quite a honor to be a part of this group to honor such a man at such an event. I’m very thankful and grateful his mother lets me be a part of this.
- That friend, who was to be the best man at my wedding, died exactly one week before I got married in a tragic drowning accident saving his girlfriend. I always felt like I became a man that week, burying my best friend on a Wednesday and marrying my best friend on a Saturday. This Friday will be the tenth anniversary of his death. It’s always weird knowing that as my wedding anniversary approaches that it coincides with the death of such a great, great friend.
- The trip to Abilene was a quick trip down memory lane. We arrived to town early, so to kill time we went to my alma mater, Hardin-Simmons. WifeGeeding seemed to love the campus (I have very mixed emotions), and I was curious to see how much may have changed when I visited the two dorm rooms I lived in. It was crazy to see how much hasn’t changed in about 20 years. GirlGeeding seemed quite impressed with the stained glass at Logsdon Chapel.
- Best job I ever had was as an RA in college, which I was from my sophomore to senior year.
- My mother-in-law visited last week and made mention how her pastor predominately used an illustration from Back to the Future in a sermon. She thought it wasn’t the best use of illustration as people her age, mid sixties, haven’t seen the movie. I later talked to WifeGeeding about it and she agrees with her mom, but I think most people her mother’s age has seen the 28-year-old film since it’s not only iconic, but has been aired on cable television a plethora of times and has been available on VHS and DVD. I guess that will be the equivalent to me in 28-years if an iconic movie was released this year and I haven’t seen it. Looking at the top grossing movies of the year, I don’t see anything iconic.
- I loved the Huey Lewis cameo in that movie. I saw an interview with Lewis on CBS Sunday Morning yesterday and he mentioned that his band peak at the right time, as his music was originally bought on vinal, and then rebought on cassette, CD, and mp3. So that’s basically coming up with something once and selling it three times, that’s a good way to make some money.
- WifeGeeding can’t stand it, but an major enjoyment of mine is sitting next to her at church, waiting for that moment when she crosses her legs and lets the shoe dangle just on her toes and off her heal, and then kicking it right off when she least expects it. There’s nothing like getting the one-eyed “go to Hell” look while sitting in church on a Sunday morning.
- It was interesting that the Miami Heat had a 12-year-old girl to sing the National Anthem last night, usually for such a high profile event, some big names are rolled in.
- I was eating in a Choptle the other day and noticed that a man also eating there drinking out of a large drink. I never understood why one would order a larger drink when there are free refills, especially if they are eating at the establishment. I guess some folks just have more disposable income that I.
- I remember a time when fast food places didn’t offer free refills.
- Speaking of free refills, we stopped at a Quik Trip in Weatherford to fill the gas tank on our way back from Abilene. I went inside to purchase a drink and when I took it to the cashier he asked if it was a refill, and I told that it wasn’t. He then said, “No sir, I’m pretty sure that’s a refill,” and then just charged me for a refill. He then said I looked like a man that needed a break. I guess that roadtrip took more out of me than I though, but I was certainly thankful for his generosity.
- I saw a picture of the new turf that’s being put in at Cowboys Stadium, it’s a darker green.
- I like hearing stories of how a low budget film like The Purge, which was made for only $3 million, win number one at the box office with $36.4 million. It proves investing in good script writing is the way to go, substance wins over style. I’d like to think the same goes for preaching.
- Until yesterday, I didn’t know that God is not mentioned in the book of Esther. I’m surprised that I didn’t know that bit of biblical trivia.
- At the grocery store I say someone wearing a “I still hate Laettner” t-shirt. I decided to text a friend about it, but decided not to type but use the voice-to-text feature. Surprisingly the voice-to-text feature was able to recognize “Laettner” with correct spelling and capitalization.
- Something for you fellow Parks and Rec fans - Adam Scott and Amy Poehler re-creating the opening title sequence to Hart to Hart
- There seems to be more than normal amount of lake drowning and accidents this summer, and it just started. So far we haven’t heart much of deaths of children being locked in cars, and hopefully it will stay that way.
- A political book about the Sandy Hook shooting.
- I knew Ernest Hemingway killed himself, but I didn’t know he did it by putting a shotgun in his mouth. His Wikipedia page states the altar boy at his funeral fainted when he saw the open casket. Wow.
- I’ve always been fascinated by that iconic photo of the bus boy kneeling next to a shot RFK, but there are several things I didn’t know about that bus boy and incident until recently.
- His name is Juan Romero, and he delivered food to RFK when he called for food service a few days prior.
- He was shaking RFK’s hand when he was shot.
- At first he thought RFK only hit his head on a shelf.
- He gave RFK his rosary beads as he lay dying.
- Romero reported RFK’s last words were, “is everybody all right?”
- ‘Mad Men’ thoughts:
- Roger starts the show off juggling, yup, that’s symbolism.
- When Peggy met Pete’s mother and she mentioned their child, that was kinda chilling, even if it was just mistaken identity.
- Betty sure can hold a cigarette with attitude.
- “He can’t spend the rest of his life on the run.” Hey Don, you calling the kettle black?
- Pete can also see the look in Peggy’s eye when she flirts with Ted. But Ted looked a bit jealous seeing Pete and Peggy laughing together. But then again, it’s not like they have a child together or anything. Oh, wait.
- Peggy knows everyone better than any other character.
- 18-19 year old kids have no sense of their mortality or that of others, that’s why they make good soldiers. Scary, but true.
- Ted likes facing Don more than the clients, I guess I was slow to put that together.
- “I warned you about the memos, Ted. The more you send, the less they get read.” What’s true back then is still true today, even if it’s in electronic form.
- In case you were wondering who was on the poster hanging above Stan’s bed – Moshe Dayan
- It was funny seeing Peggy trying to woo a favor out of him.
- Maybe I’m looking into things too much, but was the Air National Guard a slight dig at W?
- It must be nice to have Don wright a application letter for you.
- “I have children too”…”I know that’s not why you are doing it.”
- Pete was wearing a double breasted vest, I’ve never seen such a thing with a suit.
- Give me more Bob Benson. And I guess we all know he’s not going to hook up with Joan anytime soon, that is, unless he was just playing that way to a bigger plot. Maybe if Mad Men fans are lucky, we’ll Sal return and find love with him.
- You know, I think Pete was actually considering Bob’s advance.
- I think Sally Draper has a lot of her father’s mannerisms, which mean that child actor is good at what she does.
- That doorman sure is good at his job.
- It was about time Don got caught red handed, and being caught by your daughter has to sting. It was quite interesting to see him have that look of helplessness and despair on is face while he was in the lobby.
- Sally sure does have bad timing walking into the act of affairs of her relatives. First with Roger and her step-mother’s mother, and now with her father.
- “Sylvia sends her gratitude, she’s overwhelmed.”
- “You are the sweetest man.”
- “I don’t know what you think you saw, but I was comforting Mrs. Rosen.” - Gosh, Don really disgusted me when he couldn’t owe up to his actions.
- If I know Sally like I think I know her, she’s going to use this to her advantage.
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1 senator, 2 sons, 4 days, 1 deserted island: Jeff Flake escapes again to the North Pacific
Nearly four years after sneaking away to a deserted island in the North Pacific, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) took a secret four-day trip during the Memorial Day congressional recess to the same region where he fulfilled his lifelong dream of spending a survivalist week alone.
But this time Flake took along his two youngest sons — and didn’t completely disconnect from the office.
Flake and his sons set off from Phoenix last Sunday on what would be a 10,400-mile round-trip journey. They flew first to Hawaii and then eventually to Kwajalein Island, a part of the Marshall Islands where the United States still has a lease for missile testing. From there, father and sons hopped on a friend’s fishing boat and traveled 62 miles to Biggarenn, an unoccupied island that Flake estimated was just 55 to 70 acres in size. The fishing boat left them behind.
“Tens of thousands of coconuts littered the island,” Flake said. “You just had to pick up the ones that were still ripe. We ate coconut and crab and fish.”
The Flakes brought along a lobster trap in hopes of capturing meatier fare, but lost it within the first few hours after it was attacked by a shark. They also carried two pumps to desalinate ocean water, requiring them to spend hours each night pumping for just a few gallons.
“For a dad it was a wonderful thing. No video games around, no television, no distractions, no texting,” Flake recalled. “To just sit there and pump water, that was my favorite time, frankly, on the island. Just talking. Just to have no distractions.”
Flake did, however, bring along a satellite phone — at his wife’s insistence — and aides said Flake received regular updates by phone.
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