I’ve been a huge fan of HBO’s Hacks. I’m a sucker for anything when it comes to the art of stand-up, and Jean Smart is a brilliant actress. Last night was the series finale. It was heavy, and I think best described as a long goodbye.

I’m about 75% sure I visited this cemetery when I returned my mother’s remains to Vietnam in the spring of 2006. It was a long trip driving north from Mỹ Tho, and this place wasn’t far from the beach where we scattered my mother’s ashes. During the trip, I distinctly remember one sign for “Vietnam’s Only Golf Course.” A quick Google search tells me there are now 65-70 operational golf courses in Vietnam.

You can read the article here. While I want to respect the dead, y’all know I’ve never been one for burials or preserving a dead body. Really, who visits the grave of anyone beyond a grandparent? But I do get an uneasy feeling of bothering the dead, and would feel weird living on land that used to be a cemetery. But that may be traced to a movie I saw as a kid about a neighborhood that was built on a slave cemetery: Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive.

EDIT: Oh, what do you know, the entire movie is on YouTube, and it stars Patty Duke. The scene that freaked me out was a child can be watched here (41:07 – 42:03), I even have it queued up for ya. It’s a nothing-burger, but as a kid, it freaked me out. The woman who played Happy Gilmore’s mom is in it.

Corporations Can Vote in Some Delaware Elections, Judge Says

Wisconsin news:

Son allegedly plotted to kill his mother — but only after a final stop at Dairy Queen – The 27-year-old told cops he had thought about killing his mother because she had been ‘mean to him’

Charges dismissed for Florida woman without right hand cited for holding phone while driving

Iowa man received survivor benefits as a teen after dad’s death; the government wants it back decades later – Christopher Storm received roughly $500 a month in survivor benefits as a teenager after his father died. Now the government says he owes almost $8,000.

Yesterday, the Musers discussed FIFA, the NFL, the use of natural-grass fields, and the priority on player safety. I was led to see what percentage of Texas high school football fields use synthetic turf vs. grass. After all, wouldn’t we want to do what’s best to protect our children?

Sources vary slightly, but I found approximately 48% of Texas high school football stadiums feature natural grass. The remaining 52% have transitioned to artificial synthetic turf.

While attending a game in the small town of Santo, I asked a fellow parent how the school board and community could justify the cost of their fancy-looking turf field. According to him, it came down to not having to water or maintain the field during the summer and early fall. Basically, drought conditions and water restrictions led them to install the fake stuff. Of course, Idiocracy solved this problem by watering fields with Gatorade.

As for safety, I did find this interesting 2024 UT Southwestern article: Natural grass may pose greater risk for football concussions – Young players suffering head-to-ground impact on grass have more – and worse – symptoms than those on artificial turf, UT Southwestern study finds.

San Antonio Express News: Texas’ curriculum overhaul would add Christian history lessons and Bible readings across all grades

I’m not familiar with this group.

Second graders and high schoolers would learn about the so-called Black Robe Regiment, which the board proposal describes as a group of colonial pastors who preached about freedom and served in the revolutionary forces.

The term appears to have been popularized by David Barton, an evangelical activist and former vice chair of the Texas Republican Party who served as an advisor on the board’s social studies overhaul. It has been primarily used in some modern-day evangelical circles as a rallying cry for pastors to become politically involved.

Ken Paxton went to Baylor. Figures. He earned both a B.A. in psychology (1985) and an MBA (1986) from there, and served as student body president.  The apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree. I can never get past the Dave Bliss, Art Briles, Ian McCaw, and Ken Starr stuff (Starr also served on Jeffrey Epstein’s legal defense team, helped secure Epstein’s controversial 2008 non-prosecution agreement, and even had him on campus in 2012 and referred to him as a prince), especially when it comes to a Christian university. And I used to be such an admirer of that institution, but it turned evil with two big scandals within 20 years. Two other notables are Robert Jeffress and Louie Gohmert. Paxton later earned a law degree from the University of Virginia.

Somewhat related, this October 2025 Texas Monthly article has stuck with me: The Secret Society That Has Driven Baylor Administrators Crazy for Almost a Century – Over a few days last fall, I learned how the profane group known as the NoZe Brotherhood has thrived at such a pious institution.

In particular, this part:

During the football team’s sexual assault scandal a decade back, the brotherhood tied a rug to the back of a pickup, and the brethren, carrying brooms, swept things under it. This did not go over well with the pearl-clutching set at America’s largest Baptist college. “That outraged people,” said Robert Darden, an emeritus journalism professor at the school. “But that’s the point.”

Texas’ discipline push sends kids to ‘jail-like’ campuses – Lawmakers increasingly view disciplinary alternative programs as a solution to behavior problems. Critics say they harm students.

CDC seeks employee volunteers for Ebola screening after staff cuts

DFW Airport has the longest walk to the farthest gate, report says

A new report from KURU Footwear in 2026 identified Dallas/Fort Worth Airport as having the longest walk to its farthest gate at 1.50 miles. Conversely, Trenton–Mercer Airport was found to have the shortest walk, measuring just 0.03 miles.