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While watching something on PlutoTV, I saw my first Halloween commercial of the year. It was from HomeGoods.

If you know me well, then it’s no surprise I watched the rebooted The Naked Gun this weekend. Thankfully, I watched it with a close friend. In high school and college, we watched the original on VHS several hundred times. I no longer go into these movies with the expectation of whether it’s going to be better or worse than the original. Now, I just like to be entertained and see what they can do with the source material and make it their own. Overall, I’d say it was pretty solid. I was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t raunchy at all.

It’s official, I’m old.

I had a job interview scheduled last Monday that I was really looking forward to, especially since it dealt with my background and the emerging AI field. It was the one in which I had to take a two-and-a-half-hour assessment that I mentioned before. Wearing a nice dress shirt and sport coat, I log into the Microsoft Teams meeting a few minutes early. Surprised the meeting hadn’t started after a few minutes past the scheduled time, I checked my email, where I found this in my Inbox:

OK, no big deal, stuff happens. I replied, saying sure, and I was available the rest of the afternoon or would be happy to reschedule for the next day or a later time in the week. Not hearing back from her on Monday or Tuesday, I followed up with another message to touch base on Wednesday. The rest of the week goes by without me hearing a word. However, on Sunday, I received a message thanking me for taking the time to interview with them, and while I was talented, they decided to go with another applicant.

I struggled to get excited about the other interview I had scheduled last week with a different company because it was with an AI avatar. At first, it asked me some basic questions, and I’d reply as if I were talking to a computerized customer service phone tree. It asked if I had any questions, so I tested the system by asking some non-generic questions and was slightly impressed at the detailed, customized answer. As it started to ask me more challenging and complex questions, I changed my demeanor and spoke to it as if it were a real human. After each question, it would then audibly summarize my answer and then move on to the next question. It was hard to get a feel for how I did overall. I am curious how a hiring manager will get the results of my answers. Will he just listen to an audio recording of what I said, receive a summary created by the AI interviewing tool, or something else?

Someone told me the State of Texas is doing a lot of hiring, so I’m going to explore that.

A USA Today exposé on the Dallas Stars – ‘They control everything’: How the Dallas Stars monopolized Texas youth hockey

Unlike the NFL, NBA and MLB, a handful of NHL teams are intimately involved in running the youth levels of their sports in their regions – perhaps none more than the Stars. In Dallas, the Stars spent decades turning what was once seen as a community good into a lucrative arm of their for-profit enterprise.

This whole Sydney Sweeney “controversy” is stupid. Very, very, stupid. And, I have a feeling Micah Parsons isn’t going anywhere. But if he does, I’m sure he’d prefer to go to Washington to play for his old coach, but I’d like to see him in Buffalo.

Texas lawmakers unveiled a proposed redistricting map this week. The map shifts several districts that are currently held by Democrats.

A guy wanted to adopt a cat, but he wouldn’t leave his brother’s side, so he had to take both of them.pic.twitter.com/Z4YqwB12OI

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 28, 2025

Thirteen-year-old BoyGeeding wanted to cook dinner for us this weekend. He took it seriously, even making his own alfredo sauce instead of opting for a premade version in a jar.

Good point.

I think Willow Bend is the newest mall in the area, opening 24 years ago yesterday. It’s looking pretty barren.

I visited the mall today 8.3.25 and it is not looking too well. There were a lot of vacant spaces. The food court is completely devoid. Probably 75% of level 2 was vacant.
byu/MrTacocaT12345 inDallas

Here’s a summary of the drama that’s going on in The Ticket’s subreddit.

A good friend asked if I could pick him up from a place at six in the morning in Dallas, which was just a 20-minute drive down I-35 for me. I thought nothing of it, but I forgot how aggressive morning commuters can be. Traffic wasn’t congested or anything, but it was as if everyone was driving as if they were 10 minutes late getting to wherever they were going, and all their blinkers had become inoperable.

That’s one way to create a lasting legacy. Unlike flagpoles, a 90,000 square feet $200 million ballroom can’t be uprooted. Naturally, it will forever be referred to as the Trump Ballroom.

Trump is building a new $200 million ballroom at the White House

Honestly, I support this and think it makes sense. This sort of thing is Trump’s bread and butter. Not to mention, he’s right, always having to host an event inside a tent is a bit unbefitting for a president to host large-scale events. The East Wing currently accommodates 200 seated people; this ballroom will have a seated capacity of 650 people.

And the Secret Service will love the idea, as it will make security much easier as opposed to hosting an event away from the White House. What shocks me is that President Trump didn’t make the announcement himself; it’s his sort of thing to be in such a spotlight. And it appears they are going about it the right way, with donors fitting the bill instead of taxpayers.

In a press release, the White House said Trump has held several meetings with members of the White House staff, the National Park Service, the White House Military Office, and the United States Secret Service to discuss design features and planning.

“The President and the Trump White House are “fully committed to working with the appropriate organizations to preserve the special history of the white House, while building a beautiful ballroom that can be enjoyed by future administrations and generations of Americans to come,” White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said.

Construction starts soon, this September. I haven’t found anything about a planned completion date, but surely it will be completed before the president’s term. But then again, who knows when he’s leaving office? It is interesting to imagine the stress and pressure the builder will have to come in on budget and on time.

This headline reads like Godzilla’s next big brawl is about to break out.

Radioactive wasp nest found at site where US once made nuclear bombs

Workers at a site in South Carolina that once made key parts for nuclear bombs in the United States have found a radioactive wasp nest but officials said there is no danger to anyone.

Employees who routinely check radiation levels at the Savannah River Site near Aiken found a wasp nest on July 3 on a post near tanks where liquid nuclear waste is stored, according to a report from the US Department of Energy.

The nest had a radiation level 10 times what is allowed by federal regulations, officials said.

The workers sprayed the nest with insect killer, removed it and disposed of it as radioactive waste. No wasps were found, officials said.

I’m not sure how it came about, but during crosstalk with the Musers yesterday, they wondered when an actor’s voice is dubbed in another language, if it’s always the same actor. Several years ago, on a flight, I watched a wonderful documentary about the 24 voice actors who dubbed George Clooney’s movies in their respective languages, Being George Clooney. Here’s the trailer.

Toy Story 2 almost never happened and was saved after being deleted twice.

Pixar was putting the finishing touches on what would become one of its most beloved films. A slip-up deleted the entire movie from the studio’s servers. To make it worse, the backup system had quietly failed. One employee, working from home while caring for her newborn, happened to have an offline backup on her personal computer, saving the project from total annihilation.

I was enjoying the Happy Gilmore sequel last night when all of a sudden I heard BoyGeeding yell for me, “Dad! Come here!” Immediately, I got up from the couch and headed to his room, where I found he had set out a chair for me, his Xbox booted up to start a new game of Madden, and his arm stretched out to me with a controller in his hand.

I told the boy that I was in the middle of watching a movie and would be back in an hour, and that next time he should schedule time with me to play games with him ahead of time. Heck no, I did no such thing! I smiled, sat down, and said, “Let’s do this, it’s been a while!”

A woman at my church, who I suspect is in her early to mid-seventies, mentioned that her father recently died. He was 102 years old and had been married to her mother for 77 years.

Kinda strange we haven’t had a 100-degree day yet this summer, but that will change this week.

Missionaries using secret audio devices to evangelise Brazil’s isolated peoples

Missionary groups are using audio devices in protected territories of the rainforest to attract and evangelise isolated or recently contacted Indigenous people in the Amazon. A joint investigation by the Guardian and Brazilian newspaper O Globo reveals that solar-powered devices reciting biblical messages in Portuguese and Spanish have appeared among members of the Korubo people in the Javari valley, near the Brazil-Peru border.

50 pounds of dynamite found in an abandoned school bus

Authorities in Alaska had to remove 50 pounds of dynamite found in an old school bus Wednesday, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Anchorage office.

Agents said the dynamite was at least 20 years old and its location near the highway made it unsafe to try to detonate the explosives there.

Great poster for the upcoming Coyote vs ACME movie due out a year from now. Here’s the premise: “After every product made by the Acme Corporation has backfired on Wile E. Coyote in his pursuit of the Road Runner, down-and-out billboard human attorney Kevin Avery represents Coyote in a lawsuit against Acme. ”

Here’s an article about it, along with a courtroom still that cracked me up.

US Sen. John Cornyn calls for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ facility in Texas

Cornyn made the comments in reference to a new immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades that’s surrounded by swamps filled with alligators. The remote location is meant to deter illegal immigration.

Florida officials built the facility in just a few days, using heavy duty tents, trailers and temporary buildings. Right now, it can hold 3,000 people. Florida officials hope to expand it to be able to house 5,000.

Supporters say it’s a cost-effective way to carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

Students build new ‘hybrid drone’ — watch it fly in the air and then seamlessly dive underwater

This is pretty cool and I can see it being used for a lot of search and rescue and military purposes. However, upon researching this, I discovered that the Chinese had already displayed this technology years ago. That kinda took the wind out of my sails.

A couple of articles about members of the political party that prides itself on family values, but are caught doing things that contradict that message.

Texas GOP Rep. Giovanni Capriglione admits affair, denies abortion allegations

A conservative news site published an interview with a woman who alleges a 17-year affair with the Southlake representative, who said this week he wouldn’t seek reelection.

Far-right Oklahoma schools head Ryan Walters had nude women on TV during meeting

An executive session of the Oklahoma State Board of Education was interrupted when images of naked women were seen on a television screen in the office of state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, where the session was held, two board members told The Oklahoman.

Carson said the images caught her eye during the meeting. “And I was like, ‘Those are naked women,’” she said. “And then I was like, ‘No, wait a minute. Those aren’t naked, surely those aren’t naked women. Something is playing a trick on my eye. Maybe they just have on tan body suits. … This is just really bizarre.’

“I saw them just walking across the screen, and I’m like, ‘no.” I’m sorry I even have to use this language, but I’m like, ‘Those are her nipples.’ And then I’m like, ‘That’s pubic hair.’ What in the world am I watching? I didn’t watch a second longer. … I was so disturbed by it, I was like, ‘What is on your TV?’ I was very stern, like I’d been a mother or a classroom teacher. And I said, ‘What am I watching? Turn it off now!’”

Want to Shop According to Your Values? Little Blue Cart Can Help

Kate Marsh Lord and Erin Fangmann came up with a solution: In 2025, they founded Little Blue Cart, a directory that connects customers with progressive, small businesses (and yes, that includes services as well as products)

Marry me.

she totally deserves an oscar

pic.twitter.com/szhewMZcCr

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) July 27, 2025

Great mindset. Too many of us choose not to be free.

He ain’t wrong. pic.twitter.com/5ckDSwbq5V

— Johnny (@j00ny369T) July 19, 2025

I’m not having much success in my job search. Whatever I’ve been doing hasn’t been working, so I overhauled my approach. Although the government reports job growth, my particular field is oversaturated with candidates. At least that’s what others have shared. Luckily, I finally have a real interview scheduled for the first of next week. But before, I have to take an assessment. I struggle with assessments, and this one will take approximately 2.5 hours.

I have to hand it to TMZ; of all media, to respect the wishes of Malcolm-Jamal Warner. You know they have the resources to easily out them.

This article illustrates the extent to which he went to keep his family out of the spotlight.

I’m surprised this story didn’t get much coverage. I made the unfortunate decision to watch the video, which I don’t think is included in the article. That had to hurt, and my heart goes out to everyone who has to clean up that mess, because somebody has to do.

Passengers on board a plane at Milan Bergamo Airport have described the horrifying scenes after a man took his own life by jumping into the jet’s engine.

As Batman and Superman Near the Public Domain, DC Announces a Major Anniversary Event

As many Batman and Superman fans know, along with opportunistic creatives and entrepreneurs, DC Comics is set to lose copyright to two of its most iconic and defining characters. The Man of Steel will enter the public domain in 2034, followed by the Dark Knight in 2035. Other major figures such as Wonder Woman, the Joker, and more are expected to follow shortly after.

Once these characters become public domain, anyone, including companies like Marvel, will be able to use them freely without fear of legal consequences. Rather than worrying about having to share these heroes with the world, DC is choosing to embrace the moment as a celebration.

What may be most exciting about this announcement is that it signals a decade-long anniversary event. Each following year is expected to focus on the next decade in DC’s publishing history. For example, the 2026 booth will showcase 1945 to 1955, the 2027 booth will cover 1955 to 1965, and so on. The celebration is set to conclude in 2034 by highlighting the current era, from 2025 to 2035.

That’s pretty cool of DC to lean into this. Launching this ten-year celebration, they aren’t just counting down the days until it loses exclusive rights to characters. Instead, it is using the opportunity to honor the origins of these heroes and the profound impact they have had on popular culture. And it’s also worth noting that

While these characters will enter the public domain, it’s only the first iteration of the characters. So, that would be the Superman who couldn’t fly but was just “super” strong, run faster than a speeding bullet, and could jump tall buildings in a single bound. And for Batman, it would be the one who wore purple gloves and used a gun. You would not be able to use the modern Batman or Superman.

I don’t know how many times I’ve told myself that Trump couldn’t have said something stupider than before. And to think, we put this guy back in office. Was no other member of the Republican Party better? And if the argument is that he’s hyperbolic, this goes way beyond that context.

Trump’s brags about drug prices are “mathematically impossible”

In a reception with members of Congress on Tuesday, Trump spoke about lowering drug prices for Americans at a time when cuts to programs like Medicaid are on the horizon.

In doing so, Trump promised some truly staggering figures.

“We will have reduced drug prices by 1000%, by 1,100%, 1,200%, 1,300%, 1,400%, 700%, 600%. Not 30% or 40% or 50%. But numbers likes of which you’ve never even dreamed of.”

“We’re gonna get the drug prices down,” Trump said. “Not 30% or 40%, which would be great. Not 50% or 60%. No, we’re gonna get them down 1,000%, 600%, 500%, 1,500%. Numbers that are not even thought to be achievable.”

3 North Texas Suburbs Ranked Among the Wealthiest in United States

I’m sure these are of no surprise to you; however, Highland Park isn’t on the list because it has less than 3,500 roofs.

• Neighboring enclave University Park, however, did make the list as Dallas’ highest-ranked suburb and sixth-wealthiest suburb overall. 
• Following University Park’s placement is Southlake, clinching spot No. 7 on the list. Southlake’s annual household income is on par with University Park’s — $382,520 — and is growing by the year.
• Colleyville, Texas, long the little brother of Southlake, made the list for the first time this year. The average household income sits at $265,831, and as of May of this year, the average home was valued at $923,032.

Hershey to increase candy prices by double digits as cocoa costs rise

The price change will be a “low double-digit increase” and affect products across the company’s confection portfolio, according to a Hershey spokesperson.

“This change is not related to tariffs or trade policies,” the spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News. “It reflects the reality of rising ingredient costs including the unprecedented cost of cocoa.”

Price increases typically take around 90 days to take effect, although the timeframe varies by retailer, the spokesperson added.

What a shame such an article could be put together. I’m not saying the Observer shouldn’t have written this, I’m just sad enough of this stuff happens that such an article can be written about it.

Trouble in the Sanctuary: The Biggest North Texas Church Scandals

It’s such a sad trip down memory lane being reminded of names like Walker Railey and Robert Tilton. But I was surprised my former classmate Matt Chandler made the list.

France has recently garnered attention for its experimental wind energy technologies, which are bladeless and silent. Pilot projects of these vortex generators have been unveiled on the Normandy wind plateau in France, with additional rollouts in rural areas.  The core principle is vortex-induced vibration — a phenomenon that occurs when wind passes by cylindrical structures, causing them to oscillate. These movements are then transformed into usable electricity using alternators.  While innovative, these devices do not match the output of traditional turbines and are best suited for small-scale applications or as a complement to solar energy.

Here are a few articles about it:

• Engineers have unveiled one of the most elegant energy systems on the Normandy wind plateau, a wind turbine without blades
• “They Make No Sound at All”: Bladeless Wind Turbines Get Radical Redesign That Delivers Silent Power With Stunning Efficiency

I don’t pay much attention to the WNBA, but this was pretty sweet.

Napheesa Collier what the hell.One handed catch and finish while being held in traffic, in one swift motion.wowzers…

— Jonah Maves (@hunchojman.bsky.social) 2025-07-23T18:45:03.650Z

This bird is impressive. It’s one thing for him to find a stick and try to use it as a tool, but what puts him on a whole other level is his patience and tenacity in experimenting with different sticks. Incredible.

https://bsky.app/profile/petsunited.bsky.social/post/3lunawxmec22s

Could you imagine an elementary school music teacher doing this in the Eighties? Surely, Ozzy saw this before he passed away, and how heartwarming it must have been for him to see how society had adopted and accepted him over the years.

Every school needs a well funded music program. Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” xylophone-style… pic.twitter.com/5DogLFqsmu

— Melisa (@melisamusl) June 8, 2025