BagOfNothing.com

• Nice timing – Yesterday, the observatory in Flagstaff, AZ I took the kids to last week was mentioned in DaughterGeeding’s science class.
• This divorce has taken a toll on our children’s innocence and adolescence. I wish there was a better way I could co-parent with their mother, but she’s more into the state pushed brand of parallel parenting in which parents never cross paths on anything. It’s like that Geico commercial, it’s all about “Staying in your lane, bro.”
• How to Tell Which Emails Quietly Track You
  • A tracking pixel, embedded somewhere in the email, is how most people monitor whether an email gets opened. Once the tiny, hidden single-pixel image is loaded, it reports back to base. Their use across emails is now up to “endemic” levels according to some experts. Tracking pixels can report the times and dates their associated email was opened, as well as the location of the device used, and the email client involved. That’s a lot of data to feed back to a third-party that you might not know much about.
• This 3D billboard is pretty cool. Here’s what it looks like from other angles. And yes, I agree that we should see a Back to the Future II Jaws reference.

• Laughing Ukrainian men steal Russian tank and go on a joyride across a field
  • This reminded me of the time a man in San Diego stole a tank from the Army National Guard and went on a rampage. Here’s news footage of the 1995 event.
• Dog abandoned at North Carolina animal shelter for being ‘gay’ gets adopted by gay couple
• Woman fights to keep ‘FART’ license plate in North Carolina
• Austin may be weird, but Denton is its own kind of weird.

• Legally, they shouldn’t be invading countries – Legally, Russia can’t just take its Space Station and go home
• A lot of Ukranian flags are being sold. I hope at least a portion of the proceeds from this unexpected uptick in sales are going to Ukrainian humanitarian efforts.
• David Beckham has handed over control of his Instagram account to a Ukrainian doctor working in the city of Kharkiv
• An analysis of 10,000 public school districts that controlled for a host of confounding variables has found that higher teacher pay is associated with better student test scores.
• New Teachers are Earning 11% Less Than They Were 30 Years Ago When Adjusted for Inflation
• Before going to court, I had the highest respect for judges. Now, I’m highly critical and suspect of them. It makes for watching the Supreme Court nomination hearings different for me.
• Maybe it’s the time change or because we are approaching spring, but I went a long time of no one commenting on my profile on a couple of dating apps. But this week has been crazy and I have two dates lined up. One of them is a woman who I’ve been messaging back and forth with for several months, but will meet in person for the first time. She’s a moderate and a big fan of Marvel and Star Wars, so most of our conversations revolve around that fun stuff. She kept asking me to send pictures during my Spring Break trip. This other girl is in her thirties and has the same political beliefs as I do. Both have a daughter. I do miss being part of a family every day.
• Ben Stiller is now the same age (56) that Robert De Niro was in Meet the Parents.

Lower 9 tornado safe places now pic.twitter.com/ySxdBWKOYU

— Jay Gallé (@JayGalle) March 23, 2022

https://twitter.com/ScotPilie_Wx/status/1506447111658868753

• I felt like a stud taking my kids to the batting cages the other morning and having a few series of at-bats for myself. The next morning, I felt like a 94-year-old arthritic man. I think that was the first time I’ve visited the batting cage since my spinal fusion.
• That was an interesting storm that went through Texas yesterday. I can’t recall ever seeing a storm system so slim, long, and cover so much of our state at once. All those transplants from California and Illinois just experienced their first Texas thunder storm and tornado warning. But hey, we freak out when we feel a minor earthquake or get some snow.
• When I took the kids to the Grand Canyon last week for spring break, I planned for the dogs to be boarded. However, even though they were up to date on their rabies shots, the facility required two additional. In a pinch, I called an old neighbor to see if he could help me out. Without hesitation, he said he’d take care of it. I also had a doctor’s appointment yesterday, which left me unable to drive myself home, and he was kind enough to drive through that crazy storm to pick me up and take me home. I tried to give him a hundred dollars for each day he watched the dogs. He drove across town three times a day to let them out and feed them, and he paid me something similar went he and his family went on vacation years ago to care after his black lab. As much as I tried, he refused to take the money, saying it just felt good to know he was just able to do a nice thing and help a friend out.
• I recently read a pleasant story about Lou Gehrig’s wife nursing him as his youthful body succumbed to that devastating disease later named after him. It made me think of an older couple at my church. The wife is suffering from a debilitating disease, yet her husband is always by her side. Both instances reminded me of a conversation I once had with my ex in which I told her that should something like that happen to me, I have a feeling she’d be so overwhelmed she leave me. She was aghast. I guess I was more right than I thought. She wouldn’t even go to a single marital counseling session to keep our family together. Well, she certainly wouldn’t have the fortitude to care for an ailing spouse. I suppose I dodged a bullet, especially if I end up withering away from a debilitating disease. The fear of going at it alone is outweighs the fear of her possibly leaving when the going gets rough.
• I’m still surprised about ESPN’s John Clayton’s death.
• Maybe it was snowing, and he needed to get to Cancun, but I didn’t know as passengers, senators get special treatment – Police ‘asked to assist’ after Cruz clashes with Montana airport staff
  • “One of our Public Safety Officers was in the ticket lobby and was asked to assist with a frustrated passenger at the United ticket counter (which is not unusual),” Humphrey told Daily Mail. “Once travel options were explained to the passenger, he was rebooked and departed Bozeman later that evening. Our PSO didn’t realize he was dealing with Senator Ted Cruz until after the fact.”
• According to Bloomberg’s Steven Dennis, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who has been in political office since 1959, will be 89 on Election Day this year and is seeking another 6-year term. Fun fact: Grassley has been in political office for more than a quarter of the time since the Declaration of Independence.
• Jim Caviezel Emulates ‘Braveheart’ Speech to Cheering Crowd at QAnon Convention
• It sounds like Sarah Palin may run for public office again. I always get a kick out of my Alaskan friend, who always spells the former governor’s name “Sara”. She says Palin doesn’t deserve her whole name spelled out because she didn’t serve her whole term by stepping down early.
• I thought this show has been off the year for decades – ‘Maury’ To End After Three Decades: NBCUniversal Confirms Host’s “Bittersweet” Retirement

Omg… just going thru my video. This is a story about a red truck and a tornado…. I CANNOT believe they drove away like that. #txwx #tornado pic.twitter.com/8h0nD88xFv

— Brian Emfinger (@brianemfinger) March 22, 2022

• Few things in life are more rewarding than being a father and spending time with your children. I had an absolute blast with my children during spring break. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the time I had with them, but dropping them off at their mother’s doesn’t get easier. I cry on the drive home every single time.
• One time, when I dropped the kids off, I cried. As I drove off, I saw my ex wave me down. As she approached my vehicle, she noticed the tears in my eyes and asked, “Were you crying? In front of the children?” She does not know what it feels like to have your kids taken away with all communication cut off for four straight nights, not knowing the next time you will get to hear or see them.
• Thankfully, my kids share my DNA. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t have a spine.
• I’ve lost confidence in the counselor my ex selected for our children, so I’ve arranged for our daughter to see another one I feel more comfortable with during my possession period, and at my daughter’s urging. Per the divorce decree, all I have to do is inform the other party within two hours of scheduling an appointment. The ex stated she wanted to meet with the counselor before the first appointment, so I notified her ahead of the appointment. She didn’t have time to show up for the appointment and meet with the counselor. It was more important for her to attend one of her nephew’s meaningless out-of-town baseball games and a Baylor women’s basketball game than meeting with her daughter’s new mental health profession. Mom of the year, I tell ya. Glad to see how she prioritizes her nephew over her own daughter, who has expressed thoughts of harming herself.
• During my son’s stay, he only brought two pairs of socks. I asked him why he only brought two pair. He said that’s all he had, and he just wears them several days in a row. I asked my daughter if she knew anything about this, and said it’s been that way for a while and their mother knows there’s a sock shortage. So, I made sure to buy my boy a couple of packages of new socks over spring break. Despite knowing her son only has two pair of socks to wear for some time now, she walked into a Golden Goose shoe store when she was away and couldn’t meet with her daughter’s new counselor. This is the same mother who wouldn’t buy her daughter sliding shorts or batting gloves. At least I know how she spends the child support. She’s oblivious to the lack of care and compassion she displays.
• I did not know Baylor was eliminated from the NCAA tournament until a few days after their loss, as I have my Twitter feed to block all things “Baylor” related.
• The Toyota Highlander I rented to drive to Arizona had an interesting feature. It would scan for speed limit signs and display the speed limit next to the speedometer. Also, you could set the cruise control to obey the speed limit.
• I easily tire from the time-change debate. But it was interesting driving last Saturday night to another time zone, and then to Arizona, which doesn’t follow Daylight Savings Time. If it wasn’t for my mobile phone carrier automatically updating the correct time, I wouldn’t be on time for anything.
• I’m not sure I’m on board with this – U2 Scripted Series From J.J. Abrams in the Works at Netflix (Exclusive) – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ writer Anthony McCarten will pen the script for the series, which is currently in development at the streamer.
• This happened back in 2017, but last night was the first I’ve seen it. All you need to do is watch first 26-seconds. It’s an amazing finish, but be sure to watch at least to the 26-second mark.