Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, March 6, 2024

  • Austin, especially its skyline, has changed a lot since 2014.
  • I remember toying with the idea of going to law school as I was about to graduate from college. It was all because a friend told me she had no idea what she was going to do. On a whim, she took the LSAT without studying, scored well, and got accepted to that Baptist law school in Waco, all in the span of four months. Looking back at this, I wonder how much of that was true. But I remember thinking about how much time lawyers spend looking up all sorts of reference material, past court cases, and the vastness of law libraries.
    • At that time, I’d only been exposed to the internet for two years but kept thinking about its potential, especially in the legal profession looking up old court cases. It didn’t occur to me how readily available that information would be online. I thought every lawyer in the future would have a collection of CDs similar to the year-old Encarta encyclopedia I owned. High-speed internet for every student was how fast their dial-up modem could go. I don’t think any of my friends could afford a 56Kbp modem. The thought of how long it would take to transpose or scan the most common law reference materials and make them available on CD or online made me wonder what year would be best to enter law school.
      • Here’s a tidbit about the word “modem,” it’s made of up the words modulator demodulator.
      • As for Encarta, I found it ironic that the first source I found for my answer was an entry on Enclyopedia Britanica’s website:
        • Microsoft discontinued Encarta, which then consisted of more than 60,000 articles, at the end of 2009. Only the free Encarta dictionary remained online.
  • In college, I only had to cite an online source one single time. It was for my final writing assignment as an undergrad, an email reply from my congressman. Does anyone remember Democrat Charlie Stenholm? At the time, our Little Brown Handbook writing guides didn’t even have any entries for how to cite anything digital. The last I heard of Stenholm was when he was representing a local horse meat company.
  • Library cuts and teachers quitting: Texas’s takeover of Houston schools – Staff call for removal of state-appointed superintendent amid 600 teachers resigning and implementation of rigid curriculum
  • An Oklahoma judge who sent more than 500 texts during a murder trial resigns
    • An Oklahoma judge agreed to step down Friday after she was caught sending hundreds of texts from the bench while overseeing a murder trial in the killing of a 2-year-old boy, including messages that mocked prosecutors and were sprinkled with emojis.
  • Shirtless US Senate candidate submerges himself in Wisconsin lake, issues challenge to opponent
    • A shirtless candidate for U.S. Senate broke through the ice of a Madison lake Thursday hoping to pour cold water on any notion that he’s a soft Californian, not a hardy Wisconsinite.
  • What’s old is new again – Elon Musk loses world’s richest person title to Jeff Bezos
  • Pittsburgh Area Naturalists are hosting another Balls Out bowling event, where you can bowl in the nude.
  • Minnesota: Woman accused of swapping places with twin sister after fatal crash kills two children – A woman swapped places with her twin sister after she killed two children by crashing into a horse-drawn carriage, police have alleged.
  • These two videos caught my attention, but I’m sure one of them is staged. A bit of a language warning in the first video. Do I qualify as a “real man” like this guy? I was married to a woman who was literally half-blind. Maybe I’m just half the man that guy is. That’s it, I’m a half-white-half-Asian half-man.https://twitter.com/divyakumaari/status/1765089103522189631
  • Yes, I know, U2 is no longer performing at Sphere, but I can’t stop thinking about how great of a concert experience it was and sharing it with the U2 community on TwitterX. Hey, Jon Stewart even mentioned he couldn’t stop thinking about it during an interview he was conducting on Monday, and The Onion had this article.
    https://twitter.com/nversel/status/1764885146736476183Sphere Refuses To Release U2 Despite Band Fulfilling Terms Of Residency
    It turns out Bram played it smart. Yesterday he wrote a letter to the fans. He said he chose not to get on the interest and ready anything about him or the band until after all is said is done.

    The other day I mentioned how fans campaigned for 40 to be played, and I wrote about its significance. Devoted and keen-eyed fans spotted something very special at the end. Larry, the founder of the band, is the last to play and the last to leave the stage when 40 is the last song played. It’s his moment. It’s very poignant, and I think it’s one way the other three members and all the fans thank Larry for starting the band. Well, as you know, Larry was unable to play with the band because of neck surgery. Bono and Adam have already left the stage. The Edge looks at Bram, who Larry is a mentor and picked as his replacement. It seems like Edge is hinting to Bram that he’s about to stop playing an leave, and it’s ok that he is last to play and leave the stage. Bram says no way. He made sure Edge kept playing the bass*. Bram got up so the moment could stay Larry’s forever. You can see that moment here in this 22-second clip. Notice the eye contact and Bram shaking his head. Thanks for allowing me to share with you something that may mean little to you but a whole lot to me.

    When I turned 40, my spouse gave me a canvas print of the words of the song. During and post-divorce, I came close to burning it (not out of hatred, but something else symbolic), selling it, or giving it away. Right now, at this very moment, I’m glad I kept it. But should I love again and my wife is uncomfortable with me keeping it, away it goes.
    *Yes, I know Adam primarily plays the bass, but…

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