Bag of Randomness for Thursday, August 18, 2022

  • Several weeks ago I bought a laser engraver. Above is a sample of some of my latest work. The Batman artwork is just a white ceramic tile painted black, but I used the laser to do the etching. Below is a pair of earrings I made using the laser to cut into some basal wood. There are a lot of little imperfections in both, but I’m just starting out. The bottom Batman tile was one I did last week, except I did it in white. It’s way too light in color, so I needed to slow down my laser and increase the power to make the marking more visible. I’m thinking of starting a small side business doing this stuff. Maybe I’ll call it BagOfNothing Graphics or Bag of Nothing Inc. I’ve also used my laser to etch my kid’s names into their pencils and the names of my dogs into their new flea collars.
  • I’ve gained almost all the weight I lost back. It’s both a good and a bad thing.
  • I take paying child support very seriously. I always pay at least a week in advance. But I hate the way Texas makes former spouses go about it. We have to log into the AG’s website and go through some protocols that make you feel like you’re a criminal and being punished. If my ex and I would have made arrangements outside of the court, I would have paid her more monthly instead of us having to deplete our savings on lawyers.
  • I also pay my rent a full week earlier than needed.
  • I’ve noticed teens these days love to wear jackets and hoodies even when it’s extremely hot outside.
  • Texas schools use new law to fill campuses with ‘In God We Trust’ signs
    • As kids return to school, a new Texas law that was co-authored by Houston State Rep. Tom Oliverson is allowing groups to place “In God We Trust” signs on multiple campuses. The law states that the signs must be displayed in public schools if they’re donated privately to the school district, Houston station KHOU reported.
  • Texas dad catches alligator before driving daughter to first day of school
  • Six Flags CEO says parks have become ‘cheap day care center for teenagers,’ company looking to attract more ‘affluent’ customers
    • In the call, CEO and President Selim A. Bassoul said the company has offered too many discounts and that “the philosophy of filling our parks was not the right strategy.” According to Bassoul, the strategy involves attracting customers who are willing to spend more money inside the parks. “It was a cheap day care center for teenagers during breaks and the summers,” Bassoul said. “… we had to start going after customers who wanted families, young adults who are willing to come and spend the money in our parks.”
  • Back to school ad shows Texas child wearing body armor for first day back – This latest viral ad is the third released by women-led PAC Mothers Against Greg Abbott.

  • Gotta hand it to her

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Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, August 17, 2022

  • This blog is best viewed using Netscape Navigator.
  • One of last night’s trivia team names was Olivia Newton Gone.
  • McGriddles have been out since 2003. I’ve always refused to order one because it seemed to be everything wrong with America. This is how the sausage, egg, and cheese version is described on their website, “Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles feature soft, warm griddle cakes—with the sweet taste of maple—that hold a fluffy folded egg, savory sausage, and melty American cheese“. Well, yesterday after my doctor’s appointment, I ordered an Egg McMuffin, but instead a McGriddle was in my bag. What the heck, I gave it a try, and it was glorious. I couldn’t even finish all of it because it would have just felt wrong. Heck, I think I experienced the seven deadly sins upon first bite. I doubt I’d ever order one again,
  • Longtime Dallas Cowboys radio announcer Brad Sham turned 74 yesterday. America recently lost Vin Scully. There’s no telling how much longer Sham will be with the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network. He seems to be in good health and enjoys doing the good, but I’m just saying we should appreciate what we have while we still can.
  • In this article about 38-year-old L.A. Rams Super Bowl winning coach Sean McVay, it states his alma mater, Miami University in Ohio, will announce that it’s going to build a statue of him. First off, I always get a kick about an announcement about a future announcement. Just go ahead and make the announcement. There’s no need for a pre-announcement or warm-up announcement. Second, here we go again with statues. Nowadays, there are too many life-size or larger statues of people, who in this reporter’s eyes, shouldn’t get until later in life. A statue should be reserved for someone who’s in or about to retire, or their achievement happened a significant amount of time ago. It’s silly Heisman Trophy winners are getting life-size statues within a handful of years of winning the trophy. Here’s an example of an organization doing something too soon. Tampa Bay not only made a life-size statue of John Gruden, but put him in their ring of honor At the time, he was the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl (McVay took that honor last year) and won the organization their first championship. Gruden got run out of coaching after the NFL revealed he made racist, misogynistic, and homophobic slurs. Tampa Bay removed him from their ring of honor, but I can’t find anything about the statue, which is/was inside their team headquarters.
  • Gillespie County loses all elections department staff
  • Texas teachers top the nation for out-of-pocket spending, new report shows

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Bag of Randomness for Tuesday, August 16, 2022

  • I recall an old Johnny Carson joke about the fatwa on Salman Rushdie. Something about him having the unfortunate last name, Rush-die.
  • Alfred Hitchcock Refused To Meet Steven Spielberg When He Was Alive
    • But this failure to get together was not from want of trying on Spielberg’s behalf. In his audio book Tales of Hollywood, storyteller Stephen Schochet explains that Hitchcock’s morning routine was once “upset by an uninvited young man hovering around the movie set” of his last film Family Plot’, released in 1976. The infamous director of Psycho and The Birds” is said to have called a crew member to have the trespasser removed. According to Schochet, that intruder was Spielberg, buoyed by the success of Jaws and anxious to meet his idol.Throughout his later life, Hitchcock repeatedly refused to meet Spielberg. The reason for his reluctance was only revealed when American actor Bruce Dern, who appeared in two of Hitchcock’s films including psychological thriller Marnie, released his autobiography. Dern says that he tried to convince Hitchcock to finally introduce himself to Spielberg: “I said, ‘You’re his idol. He just [wants] to sit at your feet for five minutes and chat with you’,” but Hitchcock refused, writes Dern. “He said, ‘Isn’t that the boy who made the fish movie?… I could never sit down and talk to him… because I look at him and feel like such a whore’.”
  • Maybe it’s because I’m from this area, but I was surprised to know some people thought Half-Priced Books started in Austin. Either way, she turns 50.
  • In keeping with the squirrel theme this week (I bet Texas squirrels make fun of NYC squirrels who complain about the heat just like us human Texans) – City tells New Yorkers: don’t panic about ‘splooting’ squirrels – Yes, it’s a real word. Here’s the science (and etymology) behind
    • This week, with temperatures reaching 95F (35C), the city’s parks department urged residents not to worry about the health of squirrels seen sprawling on the ground, legs extended behind them like a person whose arms gave out halfway through a yoga class. “On hot days, squirrels keep cool by splooting (stretching out) on cool surfaces to reduce body heat,” the department tweeted.
  • Primary care doctors would need more than 24 hours in a day to provide recommended care – If they followed national recommendation guidelines for preventive care, chronic disease care and acute care, it would take a primary care physician 26.7 hours per day to see an average number of patients, a new study finds.
  • The windshield wipers on this RV fascinate me.
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Bag of Randomness for Monday, August 15, 2022

  • Yesterday was the blessing of the backpacks at our church. Parents were asked to walk with their children to the front of the church. I chose to stay seated, even though I wanted to go up and stand next to my son and daughter. But I feared my ex may claim I’m not being respectful of her space and boundaries.
  • Today would have been my mother’s 75th birthday. When she died, she didn’t have a single gray or white strand of hair. Today is also the birthday of this blog. She turns 17.
  • It’s hatch chili pepper season. I forgot how spicey those things can get, even in a bowl of queso.
  • I didn’t know Emmitt Smith and his wife divorced a little while back.
  • In Utah, no child support, no hunting or fishing
  • Texas congressman swears off ‘eating a whole plate of dog penis’ again 
    • Jackson explained that he first tried the dish in South Korea, so he could potentially be referring to “Gaebul,” the word for a phallic-shaped fish eaten in South Korea that translates to “penis fish,” according to Travel Food Atlas.

  • https://twitter.com/TheFigen/status/1558793513122275329

  • I spoke to a few friends about the following Mark Rober squirrel YouTube video. If you aren’t familiar with Rober, he quit his job at NASA to make YouTube videos like this full time. He’s done well, as a matter of fact, he guest-hosted for Jimmy Kimmel last week. 

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