Bag of Randomness for Monday, February 19, 2024

  • For some reason, Bill Bixby was trending on TwitterX last night. The platform is notoriously bad at helping you find out why anything is trending. I searched for about ten minutes and had no luck, though a Google search told me he last trended on the platform on December 15, 2023.
  • A few weeks ago Jody Dean mentioned he knew some coffee drinkers who swore that adding just a few grains of salt would take away the bitterness. Curious, I gave it a try, and lo and behold, this is now how I drink my coffee. I’m just talking about five-ish grains.
  • I’ve been on a Charles Bronson kick as of late. Not his movies, but interviews, stories, and biographies about him. One of the best stories comes from Kurt Russell, who was in a film with him when he was 12 years old.
    • Russell found out it was Bronon’s birthday and gave him a gift, a radio-controlled plane. Bronson took the gift and left without a word, leaving Russell worried he had upset him. Later, Bronson asked someone to send Russell to his dressing room and quietly said he had never received a birthday gift before. The thing is, Bronson grew up very poor, with fourteen siblings, and worked in mines from a young age, never completing school or experiencing much kindness. Bronson was touched by Russell’s gesture. He later gifted Russell some sort of special custom-made or top-of-the-line skateboard for his birthday.
    • Bronson noticed Russell was no longer skateboarding and asked him about it. He said some studio executive told him not to. So, Bronson, with Russell, walked into the head of the studio’s office and told him that he and Russell were going to skateboard around the lot, and both did.
  • Tennessee lawmakers have brewed a plot to cut off DUI numbers by banning the sale of cold beer. They are going off the idea that consumers will be less likely to drink beer in their vehicles if it’s warm.
  • Just a random tip if you want to see what’s on the adjacent tab in your web browser and don’t want to take your hands off the keyboard, all you have to do is hold down the Ctrl and Tab keys. If you really want to have some fun, experiment with holding down the Ctrl key with a number key and you’ll land on the corresponding tab.
  • Are you having trouble keeping up with all the cases against former President Trump? The Atlantic has you covered:
    • The Cases Against Trump: A GuideFraud. Hush money. Election subversion. Mar-a-Lago documents. One place to keep track of the presidential candidate’s legal troubles.
  • I’m usually a fan of the Lincoln Project. They recently created a new ad using AI to make Trump’s father talk about how he is disappointed in his son. That made me uncomfortable.
  • Marine in Fort Worth accused of sexually assaulting recruit, then writing book about it
  • I haven’t really posted or written much about migrants and Texas’ southern border. But here are some random thoughts:
    • Most of the attention and coverage of Governor Abbott’s Operation Loan Star occurs at Eagle Pass, TX. I bet the local economy is booming. All the soldiers, various forms of law enforcement, politicians, and media have to stay and get their food somewhere. So, I’m guessing local hotels and restaurants have increased margins.
    • Sometimes I hear the team “razor wire” and at other times “Conertina wire.” So, I was wondering what’s the difference between the two:
      • Concertina wire is a type of barbed wire or razor wire that is formed into large coils that can be expanded. Concertina wire is similar to razor wire, but concertina wire has flat, razor-sharp protrusions on both sides, instead of the twisted barbs found on barbed wire
      • Why is the term “concertina” being used? I’ll be honest because I see it capitalized a lot, I thought it came from the inventor’s name. That doesn’t appear to be the case. A concertina is similar to an accordion. What’s the difference between the two musical instruments? Concertinas have buttons on both ends, while accordions have buttons on the front. Concertina buttons move in the same direction as the bellows, while accordion buttons move perpendicular to the bellows.
    • “Follow the money” – I don’t want to spend time researching it and this is nothing but speculation on my part to entertain myself, but I’m curious about whom the State of Texas is purchasing all the Concertina wire and buoy barriers in the Rio Grande. From Texas-based suppliers and manufacturers? What are the political affiliations of the owners of these businesses?
      • Typing “Rio Grande River” is a bit redundant since “Rio” means “river” in Spanish.
      • Concertina wire is a prominent part of the logo used for Operation Lone Star.
    • The wire isn’t the only danger to migrants — several have drowned in the Rio Grande, which is known for its deceptively strong currents, especially after heavy rainfall. It’s also home to long lengths of buoy barrier
  • So cool, didn’t even sweat it.

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Bag of Randomness for Friday, February 16, 2024

  • I’ve noticed and been reading about how Elon Musk has updated the TwitterX algorithms to include more posts in our feeds that are opposite our political ideology. The goal is to entice users to engage and leave more comments. I’ve been surprised at some of the stuff I would rather not be exposed to. I’m not saying I don’t want to hear or learn from the other side, it’s the extremism and baiting that concerns me.
  • That’s a bold move, Cotton – Marine in Fort Worth accused of sexually assaulting recruit, then writing a book about it
  • DaughterGeeding caught an infield popup fly yesterday evening.
  • Fox4 had an interview with the woman who was abducted and forced to drive to the border. Of all the things that stood out, “purple pancakes” caught my attention the most. It made me think about how I wanted to do the same with my family, but it was one of those things I never got around to. The closest I’ve come to doing something like this was with a friend in college. There was an episode of Mad About You in which they used a code word to help each other get out of conversations they got stuck in. Our code word was “onomatopoeia.” It worked well for the most part, though sometimes it would raise an eyebrow. “Ah, you bought a new lawn mower, sweet. Hey Rob, isn’t “mower” an onomatopoeia?”
  • A few things went through my mind when I first saw this. At first, I thought the Longhorns were announcing an agreement between them and Reebok. Also, I like how it glows and goes on and off, it must represent our power grid quite well.

 

 

 

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Bag of Randomness for Thursday, February 15, 2024

  • We romanticize the past too much. Sometimes I hear older conservative women tell me they miss the good ol’ days. Outwardly, I half-smile and nod my head. Inside, I wonder if they want to go back to a time in which spousal abuse was permissible and glorified on television on those good old shows a whole family could watch together.
  • Sometimes it’s best to not reply to a particular email until the next day. Sometimes it’s best not to reply. Sometimes you just have to say the hell with it and burn bridges.
  • In that last bullet, I debated on whether or not to use a comma and quotations with the last three words.
  • It just dawned on me that I don’t always need to explain or justify myself.
  • I found this on LiberallyLean’s blog and can’t believe this story hasn’t gotten any national coverage. An acorn falls on a cop’s car. He misinterpreted it as a gunshot and thought he was hit. He then rolls on the ground and fires his gun several times at nothing. No need to watch the entire video, just the first 25 seconds, make sure to have your volume. Here’s the link to TwitterX in case it fails to embed.

  • This tweet poll and its thread caught my attention. Some folks commented on the absurdity of the poll, and the author responded even if that’s the case, can you back it up and cite your sources. I mean, if you are going to say the Bible does or does not support something, you ought to be able to back it up with biblical reasoning. Especially in an election year. I also thought the I Love Lucy angle was interesting and did a little research. It happened four times and this guy on YouTube broke them down.
  • Huh, I used “ought” in that last bullet. I have not said, read, or heard that word in a long time.
  • I’ve always wanted to try my hand at being a football or basketball play-by-play announcer, and I think I’d be good at it. That’s why I keep up with news about people in these positions and everything that goes into their jobs. I was thrilled to find this recording, and I’m grateful to the person who put it all together.”

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Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, February 14, 2024

  • Sometimes I look at food and wonder how humans ever thought this was edible or could be prepared in such a way to taste good.
  • I’m not sure if my old friend Brent reads this blog anymore, but his wedding came up in conversation yesterday. It was the most unique wedding I ever attended. The preacher actually made the bride walk up and down the aisle twice. I wrote about it back in September 2011. I wrote with more enthusiasm back then, hopefully I can do so once again.
  • Okay, it’s time for the Kelce brothers to go hibernate and leave the public eye until the next football season. However, I did hear Jason talk about how his brother had to move out of his house because of all the Swifties peeking and knocking on his windows. I haven’t really thought about it, but Travis has certainly made a lot of sacrifices to be in this romantic relationship. Sure, he was already a celebrity, but this sort of celebrity is much more than what he even bargained for.
  • Dolph Lundgren, who is fighting a form of kidney cancer, and his wife recently became U.S. citizens. He’s 66 and his wife is 27.
  • I saved this one question for the last bullet because I have a feeling it’s what you will remember most about this post and something you’ll contemplate all day.
    • If you spoke to your friends the way you spoke to yourself, would they hang around?
  • Here’s the four-minute version of the Ben Affleck Dunkin commercial. My favorite part is when he’s talking to a social media influencer who doesn’t know who he is and he says, “I’m kind of a influencer of sorts. I do some acting and writing and directing of movies which are a long-form of entertainment that was popular in the 20th century.”
  • On my way home from trivia night I heard a radio personality state that the Canadian broadcast of the Super Bowl is different than how it’s broadcast in the U.S. I did a quick search and found this:
    • Canadian broadcasts only feature Canadian commercials. This is due to a 2019 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that aims to protect Canadian broadcasters and keep advertising dollars in Canada.
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