• To kick off the school year, our church has a small annual event called “Blessing of the Backpacks” during Sunday service. Normally, they just ask all the kids to come up at the same time, but this year, they asked them to come down as they called out different grade levels, which I thought was cool because it gave me a chance to what grade each child was in. I did get a kick out of one child, who is home-schooled, debating with her mother about what grade she’s actually in.
• One reason I love storing my photos on Google Photos is that it will randomly surprise me with a collage, GIF, movie, or something else it makes all on its own. On Friday, it spit this out. I remember taking that picture on the left. We just wanted to take a picture of DaughterGeeding for her first day of preschool, but BoyGeeding was sad he wasn’t going to be in the picture. So, we took a picture of him along with his sister and then snapped a solo one of DaughterGeeding with her sign.
  
• A loyal reader was nice enough to share an article about a Denton high school football player who visited WifeGeeding’s ocularist, the man who made her glass-eye. To our surprise, WifeGeeding’s eye surgeon is also mentioned in the article.
  • Randy Trawnik stood out as one of the top specialists in the country, thanks in large part to his own experience overcoming a similar traumatic injury. Trawnik lost his eye at age 17 and later dedicated his life to creating prosthetic eyes that are an exact match to the original. “Physical looks are important to young people,” Cody Schroeder said. “He’s worked with babies, children and celebrities. To know he actually experienced this situation and has a profession that depends on his eyesight — and he has single [monocular] vision — made us feel very comfortable that he was going to walk through this process with us step by step.”
• One quick story about her ocularist. He was making WifeGeeding a new prosthetic eye about a decade ago and he showed me a piece of red yarn. He told me that a lot of the eye will be painted but he uses that yarn to make the blood vessels. He went on to tell me that he happened to pick up the yarn about 15 years prior visiting a random store with his wife while on vacation. The yarn caught his attention and he noticed if he tore it apart in tiny threads it would give a three-dimensional effect paint couldn’t replicate. The color, texture, and workability was something he hasn’t been able to find since.
• Speaking of eye-related stuff, I’m surprised with Troy Aikman’s wealth and resources, he’s asking Twitter for medical advice.
  
• Texas Monthly – San Antonio Judge Threatens to Make Feuding Lawyers Kiss in Front of the Alamo
• The Flower Mound high school dress code video made national news. I like how the principal owed up to making a mistake and taking ownership. However, my biggest question is, in today’s technically advanced world, why was the video filmed in ultra-low-definition?
• Former CIA director Robert Gates and Admiral William McRaven both signed letters to President Trump criticizing him of revoking John Brennan’s security clearance. Gates was the President of Texas A&M University. McRaven was Chancellor of University of Texas Systems. Aggie and Longhorn united in a common cause.
• Vets group seeks to hold 5K race after Trump cancels military parade: ‘One K for each of Trump’s military deferments‘
• GIF – I love the way this Batman gets out of his Batmobile after being pulled over by Canadian police.
• All expecting babies between October and January – Baby boom at Arizona hospital with 16 pregnant nurses
  • Nurse Jolene Garrow joked, “We all formulated this plan to have the holidays off!”
• Mormons don’t want you calling them Mormons anymore
  • From now on, it prefers that people use the church’s full name, and when a shortened reference is needed, to just use “the Church” or “Church of Jesus Christ.”
• What Went Wrong With IBM’s Watson – The A.I. project was supposed to change the state of cancer treatment. Here’s what happened instead.
• Vitamin D, the Sunshine Supplement, Has Shadowy Money Behind It – The doctor most responsible for creating a billion-dollar juggernaut has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the vitamin D industry.
• Disney World started their Halloween festivities over the weekend, two weeks earlier than last year. Hey Mickey, let’s at least get out of August first.
• I’m not opposed to male cheerleaders in the NFL, but I didn’t think they would be performing the exact same routines, so it’s going to take some getting used to. At least give the man some pompoms.

Check out the debut of Jesse Hernandez as a member of the Saintsations before the start of Friday's game in the Superdome. pic.twitter.com/EC85gD5xV2

— SaintsNOW (@SaintsNOW) August 18, 2018

• This short video makes you do a double-take and then laugh.

https://twitter.com/ClintFalin/status/1030913596715356160?s=09