Bag of Randomness for Friday, February 17, 2017

  • Confession – I had a wonderful Valentine’s Day evening with my gay college roommate. I had to travel to Washington, D.C. for work and he now resides in our nation’s capital. It’s been seven years since we’ve seen each other. He lives in a house that is over 110 years old. It’s three stories and has a third-floor outdoor porch. He told me those porches were where the slaves or “the help” slept when the houses in the neighborhood were first built.
  • When using Google Maps for navigation, I was surprised to hear it welcome me to each state/district as I entered them – “Welcome to Washington D.C.”, “Welcome to Maryland.” When you live in Texas, you don’t often cross state borders because they are so friggn’ far away.
  • One of the best parts about my stay is that the area has no moutain cedar. Ah, my allergies and sinuses have enjoyed the break.
  • This is my third or fourth trip to D.C. but this time I made sure to eat at the legendary Ben’s Chili Bowl.  Maybe next time I can eat at Freddy’s BBQ Joint.
  • DaughterGeeding was sad about me leaving for a few days. When I arrived at my hotel and unpacked, I found this drawing which touched my heart. It’s GeedingManor, and she drew on the front and back writing the names of everyone in the family, including the dogs and the bunny. I thought this sort of thing only happens in the movies.

    However, when I talked to her later in the evening about it, she made it for her mother when she visited El Paso over six months ago. WifeGeeding never found it, so it’s been sitting undiscovered and forgotten about for a while.
  • I was surprised at how run-down RFK Stadium looks.
  • It’s interesting meeting your coworkers for the first time. Of course, we’ve worked together for a long time and have chatted on the phone, but have never met in person. It’s a bit awkward when you all first meet and try sizing each other up and trying to compare the mental picture you have of each other. I waited for them to introduce themselves as I didn’t want to guess which three white guys are who and which two South Asians ladies are whom (I’m too lazy to look up the who/whom thing so I’m sure I made a mistake here by splitting it 50/50). However, I am a schmoozer and like to turn on the charm. When one of the girls asked if they all were as I imagined, I told her that the men were scruffier but the women were even more beautiful than I imagined.
  • Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson Makes A Cameo In Plano Teenager’s New Space Flick
  • I can envision the Republican-controlled Congress impeaching President Trump in less than two years because they find him hard to work with and defend, and would rather work with Pence and work on getting him elected president.
  • One heck of a quote by our governor:
    • “If the NFL tries to come down on the state of Texas, I might just pass a bill in the state of Texas mandating that all NFL players have to stand and put their hand on their heart when the National Anthem is played.”
  • I guess I’m a little slow, but until reading this article on rebar graphene, I had no idea that “rebar” was short for “reinforcement bar”.
  • ‘I know they are going to die.’ This foster father takes in only terminally ill children
  • Last week Mike Ilitch, owner of the Detroit Tigers and the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings and founder of Little Caesars, died and I didn’t think anything of it. But then yesterday, I saw this on the news and was genuinely touched.
    • Little Caesars founder quietly paid Rosa Parks’ rent for years
      • On Aug. 31, 1994, Parks, then 81, was robbed and assaulted in her home in central Detroit. (Federal Judge Damon) Keith called real estate developer Alfred Taubman, the owner of Riverfront Apartments, about finding a safer home for Parks. Taubman pledged to find the best home available. When Ilitch read about Keith’s plan and Taubman’s promise in the newspaper, he called the judge and said he would pay for Parks’ housing for as long as necessary. (Parks passed away in 2005 at the age of 92). Keith served as the executor of the trust established for Parks’ housing.
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4 Responses to Bag of Randomness for Friday, February 17, 2017

  1. Ben W. says:

    Yet again, our governor, THE FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR OUR STATE, exhibits how poor his understanding is of the Constitution. What an embarrassment.

    • Towski says:

      Came to say this. He'd so clearly lose when this was challenged.

      • Ben W. says:

        And reading LL this morning reminded me that he was a state Supreme Court justice, too. I have to agree with Barry – he knows it's unconstitutional but knows saying an unconstitutional thing will get him votes. I'm not that old, but I'm old enough to remember the Party of Reagan, and I don't recognize what the GOP has become.

        • RPM says:

          My Mom always said if you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all.

          I won't say anything at all about Texas Republicans.

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