Bag of Randomness for Thursday, December 1, 2022

  • I went to a jazz concert last night.
  • When Christians tell me all the answers I need are in the Bible, I like to say that I’m not going to limit God to the Bible, God is bigger than just the Bible and will use other people and resources to teach, guide, and answer me.
  • There was a story years ago about Jimmy Johnson bullying Janis Joplin in high school (yes, they both attended the same high school). I thought he would address that in his book, but I’m almost finished with it and there’s no mention. In a 1992 Sports Illustrated interview, he claimed Joplin “never wore any panties,” adding “from what I understand.”
  • Regarding the Senate race in Georgia, Warnock hasn’t even stated where he stands on the vampires vs. werewolves debate.
    Edit: I’ve been corrected (Thanks, Angie)
  • Like the Pennsylvania Senate race, the celebrity Republican has a state residence problem
  • I’ve always thought rushing the field after a football game was a stupid thing to do. I’m a prude when it comes to crowd control and orderly conduct.
  • Sad headline, and he was only  37 – Musician Jake Flint dies just hours after his wedding
  • Christians now a minority in England and Wales for first time
    • The Office for National Statistics (ONS) results show that 46.2 per cent of the population (27.5 million people) described themselves as ‘Christian’ in 2021. This marks a 13.1 percentage point decrease from 59.3 per cent (33.3 million people) in 2011. The census data also shows that every major religion increased over the ten-year period, except for Christianity.
  • Detractors of former TCU football head coach Gary Patterson are most likely giddy with how the team has performed. With the transfer portal and NIL deals, you can’t even say the turnaround was done with his players.
  • When Christians tell me all the answers I need are in the Bible, I like to say that I’m not going to limit God to the Bible, God is bigger than just the Bible and will use other people and resources to teach, guide, and answer me.
  • Jon Meacham has a new book out on Lincoln, and was interviewed on NPR. He said that Lincoln was serving in the House and was on the House floor when John Quincy Adams died. For those of you who may not know, Adams was served as president and then later served as a congressman.
  • If there was ever a tailored event for me to attend . . . The National Cathedral, Bono, Presidential Historian:
  • I like this photo of Bono at a shindig he had for his book.
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Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, November 30, 2022

  • This could be a repost, but I love this story of Andre Agassi detecting a tell (an inadvertent behavior or mannerism that betrays a player’s true intention) Boris Becker had when they played each other. After losing to Becker in their first three matches, Agassi then won eight straight over Becker. Agassi revealed this to Becker in retirement over a beer.
    • “If he’s serving in the deuce court and he put his tongue in the middle of his lip, he was either serving up the middle or to the body. But if he put it to the side, he was going to serve out wide.”
    • “The hardest part wasn’t returning his serve — it was not letting him know that I knew this,” Agassi said. “I had to resist the temptation of reading his serve for the majority of the match and choose the moment when I was gonna use that information on a given point to execute a shot that would allow me to break the match open.”
  • I suppose hanging on to regret suggest we haven’t learned anything from it.
  • Something I miss about being a married parent is discussing what we were going to buy the kids for Christmas. The banter was fun. Some divorced couples have a relationship in which that can happen, but the boundaries set up in my situation prevents that joy. For the most part, I have to hope what I buy isn’t already bought by their mother or someone in her large family. Oddly, I try not to buy anything on their Christmas list thinking a former in-law will use it as a guide. It’s hard trying to make Christmas warm and rememberable when you dread the whole experience and doing what you can to merely survive the experience. Sheesh, it ain’t even December yet, lol.
  • Danny Balis, formerly of the Ticket, joins The Freak as a host (paywall)
  • Building on the moon: NASA awards Texas company $57 million for lunar construction system
  • This short video is so cool. It’s hard to believe it’s actually real. Our planet looks so pretty.
    https://twitter.com/LMSpace/status/1597584605523365889
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Bag of Randomness for Tuesday, November 29, 2022

  • I think I enjoy reading biographies because I wish I was living a different life.
  • I took advantage of some Wal-Mart ‘Cyber Monday’ deals. There’s no need for my children’s presents to be delivered anytime soon, so I chose the cheapest option, which was free shipping. To my surprise, all my items were delivered to my doorstep before dinner. Wal-Mart delivered everything in less than seven hours of my order. Color me impressed.
  • Several times this year, I mentioned as I look back at things, I felt my ex was gaslighting me. “Gaslighting” is a word that’s not really a part of my vernacular. But my eyebrow raised when I saw this article yesterday –  ‘Gaslighting’ is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2022. I wonder if Merriam-Webster is going to put her profile pic next to the definition.
  • I called Aetna again about the neck brace they wouldn’t pay for. They told the provider it wasn’t “medically necessary” despite having neck surgery. The rep I spoke to stated the provider needed to provide documentation of the surgery performed. I told them that since they already paid for the surgery, they must already have all  documentation. She thought that made sense, and after some back and forth, called the provider and conferenced all parties. I love it when they do that, everyone speaking to each other at the same time to get on the same page. In short, the provider sent me the bill in error.
  • It’s not what it used to be, even my kids say that – San Antonio-based Whataburger opens first restaurant in the Atlanta area, with 50 more planned
    • To be honest, it was never great. It was very, very good. Taquitos were fun to get when it got late at night.
  • I found this tweet yesterday while reading my second favorite blog (hey, I’m all about some self love and ain’t gonna put myself #2), and doubted it was true. Being the investigative journalist that I am, I decided to test it out using “Shanghai” and then “Beijing”. Nothing suspicious or seedy came up in my results. Heck, the first result was a literally FU to the late Chairman Mao on Tiananmen Square.
  • That bullet point may get this blog banned in China. Which makes me think of actor Richard Gere who made Red Square, a film which negatively portrayed the Chinese government. At the time, many people predicted it was career suicide since China was becoming a major contributor to the film industry. Depending on how you look at it, that may have come true. He certainly hasn’t been in any notable films as of late.
  • I hope TCU goes undefeated.
  • I’m wrapping up the Jimmy Johnson book. He dedicates one very long chapter to not making family a priority in life, and the regret he lives with. Here I am thinking how much I’ve made family a priority in life, ever since a social studies class in junior high pointed out the average age of a white male and compared that to the age of my father. All I ever tried was to make family the priority, with how I spent my weekends (I rarely went out as a teen), to the college I chose (Abilene is only two hours away in case of an emergency and weekend visits once a month), to the jobs I selected (I wanted to be with my wife and kids more than anything). Yet, I lost all of them early – Dad, Mom, best friend, brother, sister, and the family unit I helped start. I pray I don’t lose a child. It all makes me wonder if I should have pursued money or put a career first, and focused less on family. Maybe I would have lost all those things, but at least I would have family. As of now, I have neither after putting family first. I guess I should have put myself first at times. There’s nothing like living with regret. I am the common denominator.
  • I’m not as bummed as it seems.
  • https://twitter.com/the_transit_guy/status/1596885142198685697
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Bag of Randomness for Monday, November 28, 2022

  • Whenever I see the Progressive “Turning Into Your Parents” commercial with the line monitor, I’m reminded of playing football and the coach yelling at us to back up and stand behind the line of scrimmage or not to pass the 20-yard barrier near the end zones.
  • Justin Tucker, the kicker for the Baltimore Ravens, had an opportunity to break his own and the league’s record for longest field goal yesterday. Aggies will remember him as the Longhorn kicker who beat them on a game-ending field goal, the last game played in that rivalry.
  • I’m tired of hearing the doctor on the Lume commercial talk about her armpits, under-boob, and butt crack. Her words, not mine.
  • I’m reminiscing about the football era of Breathe Right strips.
  • Talk about a moonshot – China Plans to Build Nuclear-Powered Moon Base Within Six Years
  • Okay, Kroger, we’ve had enough of that sappy holiday commercial you’ve been playing since before Halloween.
  • I enjoy reading books on my Kindle. I like how I can instantly look up definitions or Wiki articles. And, I think it’s easier on the eyes. But, sometimes I’m in that mood in which I just want to read a physical book.
  • Here’s an excerpt of Jimmy Johnson’s new book that Peter King highlighted in his previous article. It’s leads to one of those interesting “what might have been” thoughts.
    • Archie Manning called Johnson before the ’98 draft to ask him to try to work a trade so Peyton would land in Miami. One insurmountable problem, as Johnson writes, was offering Miami’s entire draft to Indianapolis to move up. “We picked 19th,” Johnson said. “People say, well, what would you have done with Dan Marino there? Well, you know, Peyton would’ve been behind Dan. But the way it worked out, Dan missed games every year and so Peyton would’ve been thrown into the lineup.”Added Johnson: “On top of that, Bill Belichick came that close to coming down and being my defensive coordinator. We could’ve had Peyton Manning as our quarterback and Bill Belichick as my defensive coordinator. But he had too much loyalty to Bill Parcells [on the Jets’ staff].”
  • I’m reading that Jimmy Johnson book. I thought I’d come off liking the guy more after reading it, but I don’t think that will be the case. When I read a coach’s book, I sometimes ask myself if I would have like their coaching style if I played for them, or if their coaching style would have been effective on me. Johnson’s coaching style wouldn’t have worked for me, though Parcell’s and Tony Dungy’s would have.
  • ‘It was simply a hug’: House candidate charged with rape after losing election to mother
  • Kentucky third-grader dies after choking on bouncy ball at school, report says – The article should have described what a bouncy ball was, or at least their diameter.
  • If he comes to Dallas, he’s gonna fit in well – Odell Beckham Jr. Taken Off Plane After Losing Consciousness
  • This is a highly controversial list from Rolling StoneThe 100 Greatest TV Theme Songs of All Time
  • The Ancient Japanese Technique That Produces Lumber Without Cutting Trees
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