Bag of Randomness

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  • The gas pump is my enemy or is just a lot smarter than I am.  First off, I always feel like the gas pump handle is a petri dish full of Ebola, herpes, bird flu, and West Nile.  Second, no matter what I do, the auto shut off always kicks in when the tank is still very empty.  I’ve tried taking it out and putting it back in and even when I squeeze the handle myself for the entire fill, the auto shut off kicks in multiple times.  I’ve tried using that locking mechanism where I can just walk away and let it fill, but once again that auto shut off rears its ugly head.
  • My dad got me into the habit of filling up when there is a quarter tank left.  He said if I let it go any lower then I’m setting myself up for a habit of testing the limits of running on empty and getting stranded.
  • I have no sympathy for people who run out of gas but have the means necessary to purchase gas.
  • Here’s an interesting event going on in my city – Adopt, name and release a Texas brown tarantula spiderling at twilight
  • Salsa outsells ketchup, tortillas outsells burger and hot dog buns; sales of tortilla chips trump potato chips
  • Pope to Auction Harley Davidson Motorcycle to Benefit Homeless
  • House Stenographer Dianne Reidy who stole the mic the other day claims she repeatedly awakened by the Holy Spirit and urged to deliver a message on the House floor.
  • A man with the name Sam Houston is running for the Texas AG spot.
  • Barry the Wise County Blogging Lawyer describe Ted Cruz as smart, articulate, entertaining and crazy.  That’s almost perfect, I’d just add Canadian.
  • Stop the pink insanity – Oregon will wear pink helmets this week against Washington State
  • Jerry Jones said the Jay Ratliff extension wasn’t the worst mistake he’s made.  If we are talking about football, I’d say giving two number one picks for Joey Galloway was his worst mistake, or perhaps letting his ego get the best of him and firing Jimmy Johnson.
  • A marketplace for investors to buy and sell interests in professional athletes
  • I don’t see the Nolan Ryan retirement/resignation from the Texas Rangers as a big deal because everyone saw it coming and most credit Jon Daniels for the team’s success.  People around here put him on a pedestal, but I only thought he came and stayed in the area for the money and the organization sucked up to him, hence the statue and street name.  He was a famous name that sold tickets and just played here for five years.
  • Football will still be played a hundred years from now but not as we know it, it will be modified rugby.  It’s the padding, especially the helmet, that encourages the violent hits and life threatening injuries.  When you take away or modify the helmet where players aren’t willing to launch their bodies head first, life threatening injuries will decrease.  I heard Aikman say that decades ago and thought he was nuts, he was just ahead of his time.
  • Buzzfeed is making a big deal out of senate candidate Steve Lonegan brushing his wife’s hand off his shoulder when she attempted to comfort him.
  • DealWell – Find where you can get a free flu shot.
  • I saw an interview in which Sarah Michelle Geller said that Robin Williams sang an Aladdin song in character as the Genie to her son.  Lucky kid.
  • ‘Parks and Rec’ had two Microsoft subliminal ads tied into the show.  Windows 8 was on the office monitors and the audience had to read a tweet from a close up of a Windows phone screen.
  • If there’s a temporary new person at work and that person is followed by a camera, it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out you’re on an episode of ‘Undercover Boss’.  That show is so silly.  A few workers get debt paid off, get to go to college tuition free, or go on a vacation just because they happen to work with a sympathetic undercover boss while others in the same company are SOL and have to put up with a few minor policy changes.
  • I miss George Zimmer telling me he’s going to guarantee that I’m gong to like the way I look.
  • Today back in 1999 was my first day at Fidelity Investments, my first job out of college.
Posted in Personal | 6 Comments

Per TIME, Texas is the future of Amercia

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They say the Lone Star State has four seasons: drought, flood, blizzard and twister. This summer 97% of the state was in a persistent drought; in 2011 the Dallas-Fort Worth area experienced 40 straight days in July and August of temperatures of 100° or higher. The state’s social services are thin. Welfare benefits are skimpy. Roughly a quarter of residents have no health insurance. Many of its schools are less than stellar. Property-crime rates are high. Rates of murder and other violent crimes are hardly sterling either. So why are more Americans moving to Texas than to any other state? Texas is America’s fastest-growing large state, with three of the top five fastest-growing cities in the country: Austin, Dallas and Houston. In 2012 alone, total migration to Texas from the other 49 states in the Union was 106,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Since 2000, 1 million more people have moved to Texas from other states than have left.

To a lot of Americans, Texas feels like the future. And I would argue that more than any other state, Texas looks like the future as well — offering us a glimpse of what’s to come for the country at large in the decades ahead. America is experiencing ever greater economic inequality and the thinning of its middle class; Texas is already one of our most unequal states. America’s safety net is fraying under the weight of ballooning Social Security and Medicare costs; Texas’ safety net was built frayed. Americans are seeking out a cheaper cost of living and a less regulated climate in which to do business; Texas has that in spades. And did we mention there’s no state income tax?

There’s a bumper sticker sometimes seen around the state that proclaims, I WASN’T BORN IN TEXAS, BUT I GOT HERE AS FAST AS I COULD. As the U.S. heads toward Texas, literally and metaphorically, it’s worth understanding why we’re headed there — both to see the pitfalls ahead and to catch a glimpse of the opportunities that await us if we make the journey in an intelligent fashion.

Link (Subscriber Content Only)

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Bag of Randomness

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  • It feels like ‘Modern Family’ has lost its charm.
  • I saw that Movie 43 was streaming on Netflix and gave it a shot as I’m into slapstick and juvenile humor.  The dinner scene with Kate Winslet and Hugh Jackman was over the top hilarious; perverse, but definitely hilarious.
  • Oddly enough, I don’t find any of the Jackass movies and shows appealing but wrenching.
  • I wonder for an American who is in their late eighties and older, what even was most emotional to deal with: Pearl Harbor, the assassination of President Kennedy, Space Shuttle Challenger exploding, or 9/11.  I chose that age because they would have been a young adult at Pearl Harbor and would know that whatever plans they had in life has just changed.
  • I ran across a device called Pressy and was so impressed I bought it.  Basically it’s something Android phone uses plug into the headphone jack and depending on the number and length of presses, it performs a custom command.
  • Recently I discovered the interesting biography of Cincinnatus.  Basically he was a Roman aristocrat and statesman that lost everyone due to the conduct of one of his sons.  Cincinnatus then lived life on a small farm and was twice approached and given the power of a dictator during crises only to give absolute authority back each time.
  • Ouch! – Ted Cruz’s Hometown Paper Retracts Endorsement – To be honest, I thought they were referring to a Calgary newspaper instead of the Houston Chronicle.  They also take a shot a Cornyn and Dewhurst.
  • A politics professor at SMU was interviewed by the local news and stated that because of how current congressional districts are drawn most of this budget/ACA showdown was just a way to show the home folks that their elected representatives stood up for their beliefs in Washington.
  • 23 Incredible, Rarely-Seen Photos From The Disney Archives – Walt’s actual signature isn’t as fancy as it is in all those logos.
  • Jesus Christ Movie ‘Son of God’ Hitting Theaters February 2014
  • A Woman Screams About God And Freemasons After House Votes To End Shutdown
  • I heard a comedian make this joke just the other day – PETA Suggests Washington Redskins Keep Controversial Name, Change Logo to Potato
  • Jim Irsay made a comment that he thought Petyon Manning should have won more Super Bowls as a Colt.  I agree, but I think most of the fault was having a soft coach in Dungy
  • I should probably be on LinkedIn to help me professionally, but there’s something about it that turns me away.
  • I sent Bob Sturm my GNG before training camp and he got around to reading it this week on the air.
  • The TICKET stated Adrian Peterson has seven kids with five women.  I’d find the story more interesting if he had five kids with seven women.
  • Alton Brown has his own line of bow ties.
  • I’m sure being vindicated in court is a good feeling, but for Mark Cuban, not as good as winning an NBA Championship.
  • I’m not sure how I feel about Condoleezza Rice being part of the college football selection committee, but I think most folks overlook her involvement with the Stanford athletic department when she was provost.
  • AMC Orders Arm-Wrestling Reality Show
Posted in Personal | 2 Comments