Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, September 6, 2017

 

  • According to this article, that picture is from the current mosquito problem in Houston. I also saw a story about how a lot of bats died in the area and that’s one reason for the influx.
  • BoyGeeding likes to point out all the Waffle Houses we pass on the road. But half of them he identifies are actually Wells Fargo buildings.
  • I think Joel Osteen and Clay Cooley are long lost, brothers. Both are a little too happy to be on TV.
  • While researching spinal fusion surgery, I discovered it came to be from treating children with polio in the 1950s.
  • When I was at my neurosurgeon’s office I noticed a signed letter of appreciation from someone in the book I’m reading. It turns out my doctor operated on one of LBJ’s Chiefs of Staff and former Postmaster General, who is still living at the age of ninety-three.
  • I spend way too much time reflecting on the past and worrying about the future. I recently ran across this Lao Tzu quote and it floored me, “If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.
  • A story from Walt Disney’s son-in-law:
    • My father-in-law saw me play in two football games when I was with the Los Angeles Rams. In one of them, I caught a pass and Dick ‘Night Train’ Lane let me have it from the rear. His forearm came across my nose and knocked me unconscious. I woke up in about the third quarter. At the end of the season, Walt came up to me and said, ‘You know, I don’t want to be the father to your children. You’re going to die out there. How about coming to work with me?’ I did and it was a wise decision on my part.”
  • WifeGeeding and I watched part of a Walt Disney documentary on PBS last night. We had a good laugh when she was dosing off and made a comment of how Disney’s polio came back. I raised my eyebrow and asked where did she hear that? She was certain it was just stated in the documentary. Thanks to the magic of the DVR, we figured out he was experiencing pain from an old “polo” injury.
  • The new Nissan Leaf will only have a single pedal and I don’t think it’s going to catch on.
    • The new Leaf can be driven with a single pedal, which Nissan is calling the e-Pedal and describes as “revolutionary.” The e-Pedal handles starting, accelerating, decelerating, and stopping; releasing the pedal applies friction and regenerative brakes that can bring the car to a total stop even on steep inclines.
  • Laurene Powell Jobs is using Ronald Reagan in political ads to attack Trump’s DACA decision
    • The spot uses Ronald Reagan’s farewell address at length as he lauds the country’s diversity.“If there had to be city walls, the walls had doors. And the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here,” Reagan says from the Oval Office, as diverse faces of Americans are shown. “That’s how I saw it, and see it still.”
  • U2 will be on ‘The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon’ on Thursday night. If you are a U2 fan, set your DVRs to run late since the show will air after the first game of the NFL season and then the evening news.
  • In case you were wondering where all the Houston area trash from Hurricane Harvey will go:
    • It’s unclear where all this junk will go (calls to Houston’s Solid Waste Management office were not returned), but the area appears well-equipped to handle it. As Bloomberg BNA notes, the “Houston-Galveston region has 27 landfills, with a total of 34 years of capacity under normal disposal rates.” If local officials take a lesson from the post-Katrina cleanup, they’ll create temporary landfills to conserve space at the facilities equipped to handle more toxic trash. In New Orleans, “sticks and bricks” sites were set up to gather woody demolition debris in areas that did not protect the groundwater as well as landfills.
  • I haven’t followed the Ezekiel Elliott news closely but I’m confused by a lot of things.
    • I keep seeing headlines that his six-game suspension is upheld but he’s playing in Sunday’s game. I thought “upheld” meant “confirm or supported”. So in my mind, if his suspension was upheld, that would mean his suspension is legit and he wouldn’t be playing.
    • Yesterday he was in a U.S. District Court in Sherman, Texas. Sherman? Why the U.S. District Court in Sherman and not somewhere else? I’m guessing because the Cowboys are now located in Frisco and it has something to do with proximity?
    • I thought an arbitrator was involved so I don’t understand where a District Judge comes into play.
    • I’m not condoning anything he did or cheering for the guy, but if I understand correctly, whatever he did was before he was in the NFL, right? It seems odd for the NFL to punish the guy before he became part of the league. I guess the NFL has that authority because of a deal with the players’ union?
    • I’m like Jon Snow, I know nothing.
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5 Responses to Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, September 6, 2017

  1. Ben W. says:

    So the new Nissan Leaf is a go kart?

    You are correct about the meaning of "upheld." An arbitrator has upheld the suspension, meaning it is legit and should be served.

    But the NFLPA filed a temporary restraining order in federal court, and that's where the District Court judge comes into play. A judge can issue injunctive relief (here, a restraining order) if it can be shown that the rules of the NFL/NFLPA collective-bargaining agreement weren't followed in the process of the suspension.

    The judge wants the time to properly analyze and decide the legal issues. To allow that time, he asked the NFL if they would allow Elliott's suspension to begin after Week 1, if the judge decides not to grant the restraining order. Out of deference, they agreed (because Rule No. 1 is "don't piss off the judge"). The judge will make his decision this week, but Elliott will play Sunday regardless. If the judge denies the temporary restraining order, Elliott will start serving the suspension in Week 2 (unless he appeals). If the judge grants it, Elliott won't.

    Why Sherman? Where a lawsuit is filed is dependent on something called "venue." In general terms, a lawsuit should only be brought in a place that has a connection to the parties or events. Here, the NFLPA is claiming venue in the Eastern District of Texas because the Cowboys are headquartered and play in that District, and Elliott is an employee of the Cowboys. Since the NFL conducts business in that District, venue is proper. (It can get complicated – say Elliott lived in Fargo, ND. He couldn't sue the NFL there, because they don't operate there the Cowboys aren't there, and none of the events that give rise to the lawsuit happened there. But if Elliott lived in New York (where NFL HQ is) and the events in question happened there, then filing in the Eastern District of TX could be challenged by the NFL, and they could request a change of venue to NY.)

  2. John Mackovic says:

    I'm a Plano resident and I once got called for jury duty to that courthouse in Sherman.

  3. Bryan says:

    There's something about young kids being obsessed with Waffle House. My 6 year old has never been and always points them out as well. She always asks to go and, while I like their food, I say no because I feel and smell like I've stood over the grill and cooked my own breakfast when I leave there.

    I assume the U2 appearance on Fallon is coinciding with the new single release. I always enjoy their appearances with him. Their appearance on Fallon's first Tonight Show with the roof top performance of Invisible and the acoustic performance of Ordinary Love was extremely memorable. That said, the appearance on Jimmy Kimmel in May with the very candid interview was my favorite talk show appearance. Dang it, I just love the band and dig any time I can see them.

    The Zeke Elliot fiasco is just that. Nobody looks good in this entire mess, especially the NFL. A story I read on The Ringer this morning hit the nail on the head: When was the last time the NFL punished a player for a high profile incident and didn't screw it up?

  4. Bryan says:

    Forgot to mention this in my comment: Some of my coworker, including my boss, went to Victoria at the end of last week to help on a hurricane recovery project and I was told that the mosquitos are crazy. They were swarming everywhere and my boss took a pic of one that was almost the size of his thumbnail. They said that insects in general were displaced and, when they spent a day and a half cutting back fallen trees, every one of them was covered in either fire ants or roaches.

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