Bag of Randomness for Thursday, September 14, 2017

  • During the first week of school, we noticed it was taking our kids what seemed like forever to get in the car line at the end of the school day. The school has a nice process. A teacher is outside and reads the car tag hanging on the rearview window and talks into a walkie-talkie so another teacher can retrieve a child from the waiting area. Well, it turns out the teacher was calling for “GReeding” and the kids didn’t budge because that isn’t their last name. It wasn’t a defiant thing, just a “well, that’s not my name so I didn’t respond” sort of thing. I chuckled because it’s a common problem which has plagued all Geedings. I simply told the kids they need to be aware sometimes people will make a mistake with a name and if they ever hear anything which sounds close to it, they should check to see if they actually meant Geeding.
  • Teen Sworn In As Council Member In Rowlett
    • That article reminds me of when I was a sophomore in college. A classmate from Arkansas decided he was going to run for a spot on the Abilene City Council and even called a press conference. I remember seeing the television news segment and being a bit awestruck. It was big news around campus, but it was even bigger news the next day when it was revealed that while he met the residency requirement, he didn’t meet the age requirement. He then decided to campaign to change the age requirement in the city charter. I don’t remember if he was successful.
  • I can’t name a lot of 75-year-old women, but I’m just going to proclaim Lesley Stahl the most attractive of them.
  • First Baptist Dallas must have a large advertising budget as they air a lot of television commercials.
  • After the ’30 for 30′ episode on the 1987 NFL strike, the next show was about how the U.S. Marshals set up a sting by luring in fugitives thinking they won Redskins tickets.
  • Cassini’s swan song: 13-year Saturn mission ends Friday – In the early morning hours of September 15, NASA’s 13-year mission exploring Saturn and its moons will come to an end as the spacecraft deliberately dives into Saturn’s atmosphere and plunges itself into the planet.
    • I thought this phrasing was beautifully decadent. It’s like knowing someone died and then waiting for 90-minutes to hear their final words.
      • “The spacecraft’s final signal will be like an echo,” said Earl Maize, Cassini project manager. “It will radiate across the solar system for nearly an hour and a half after Cassini itself has gone.”
  • The town of Mustang, Texas is for sale for $4 million
  • He’s an odd ball – Martin Shkreli, the former pharmaceutical executive who is awaiting sentencing for a fraud conviction, was sent to jail on Wednesday after a federal judge revoked his bail because he had offered $5,000 for a strand of Hillary Clinton’s hair.
  • Yesterday President Trump met with Senator Tim Scott. I don’t write for GQ or anything, but the blue jacket and black pants isn’t a good look.
  • A few more thoughts and tidbits from my book about the relationships amongst presidents:
    • When George H.W. Bush left office, he had a funny email address. The local-part, that is, the part before the @, was FormerLeaderOfTheFreeWorld.
    • This is what George. H.W. Bush wrote in his diary the day he lost re-election.
    • Some of you may recall my rant about presidents saluting uniformed military personnel. But I’m going to put that aside for a moment for all you Reagan fans. When Clinton was president-elect he visited Ronald Reagan who gave him two pieces of advice. The first, go to Camp David often and take in nature and get some alone time. The second, work on the salute. Reagan told him “…the trick was pacing. Soldiers like to bring the hand up slowly as if dripping with honey and then Shake It Off briskly as if it was covered with something less pleasant.” And then there was this tender moment.
  • Reddit has a favorite meteorologist thanks to his professional skills in this video and not because of some bit or mishap. He did an Ask Me Anything the other day and I provided some highlights below. I thought it was some good stuff, like how does a “chief meteorologist” differ from a regular meteorologist. To my surprise, Pete Delkus is even mentioned and there’s some TICKET humor included.
    • What things other than presenting does your job entail? I thought TV meteorologist was just in-and-out kind of job
      • WKRG_AlanSealls – Aside from TV, we have radio and Facebook. As a chief I coordinate all operations of the weather department- scheduling, computer maintenance and updates and purchasing, graphics, training, while working with our sales and promotions and news departments. Then we all have community outreach. I do actually forecast the weather so I’m always trying to study to get the latest.
    • So, if I understand correctly are you actually interpreting raw data to make your own forecast? Or are you presenting a forecast which is made by either computer simulations or a trained analyst? If it is the latter case, are you managing said software and/or analysts or is that an external service which you share with other weather services?
      • KRG_AlanSealls – Good question- I make my own forecast from plotted upper air charts, wind profiles, satellite and radar depictions and then computer model forecasts and numerical output. We share it within WKRG but not outside of the station. I’m trained as all government meteorologists are. I make my own forecast because that makes me comfortable with what I’m saying. It is, however, rarely that far different from what the National Weather Service would say for my area.
    • What is a cool meteorological fact few know?
      • WKRG_AlanSealls – There’s really no new water on Earth. It just cycles and recycles through the ground, oceans, air, and our bodies.
    • I hate that I have to say this, but the following is an honest question. Please, reddit, don’t hate me for asking an honest question. Since this is a perfect opportunity, and a lot of the early discussion was about the word… what was/is your own personal reaction to being called “articulate” as an African-American?
      • WKRG_AlanSealls – I chuckled when I was called articulate since most broadcasters are. It’s possible that some of the people meant I articulated a thought well, more than my presentation was articulate? Either way, I don’t think it was ill-intentioned but some people of all races are surprised when they see or hear someone who is not the stereotype of what they expect. I was raised and trained to be articulate and intelligent. All of my African American friends and family are so it’s nothing unusual to me. I’ve been lucky to grow up, go to school with, and work with a diverse group of people. Everybody holds biases from personal experiences but I start my day as a human being.
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3 Responses to Bag of Randomness for Thursday, September 14, 2017

  1. Mike Honcho says:

    Congrats… I think you finally convinced me to read this book on the former presidents! I've enjoyed your posts about it and I need to read it.

  2. David Bryant says:

    Regarding the FB Dallas ad budget. A close family member helps non-profits with their advertising (no work with FB Dallas). I was very surprised to learn how cheap TV ads really are. I am sure FBD's staff produces the ads and after that it is just a matter of buying the time. As you would guess, certain time slots/shows/stations are more expensive than others. However, if you are willing to allow the station to place your ad anywhere they have a gap (rather than a specific time) it can be very cheap…as in less than $20 per run. It also matters if you are trying to cover Texas, Dallas, North Dallas or an even smaller region (cable providers can be very specific about where they run your ad)

  3. Ben W. says:

    Sure, Lesley Stahl looks good…but she's no Raquel Welch.

    Blue jacket/black pants combo? There may be a few guys who could pull that off. Trump isn't one of them. Kudos to Scott for his strong sock game, though.

    The more I learn about Bush 41, the more I respect him as a man. There are people who hold the office of President who have an incredibly strong moral compass, and he is undoubtedly one.

    It's also fascinating to see how greatly (most) presidents seem to value being a member of such an exclusive club, and how much they value the wisdom learned and advice offered by their predecessors. In the course of our country's entire history, there have been 44 men who have held that position, and they alone can truly understand the pressures and requirements that are faced by a POTUS. Most seem to understand that, and though opinions differ, value the input on how to approach the job.

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