BagOfNothing.com

• I have for sure have only eaten Taco Bell less than ten times in my life, but have eaten it twice in the past week.
• Harrison Ford was 35-years-old when he first appeared on screen as Han Solo.
• Yesterday, LiberallyLean wrote about living the good life and buying some recommended luxury towels from WireCutter. That has been an interesting adjustment to life for me, being able to go from saving enough money for retirement and my children’s college education each month and having a little disposable income to no longer being able to save adequately for those things. It was about a year before my ex left me, I felt comfortable enough to splurge a little on things I normally wouldn’t, stuff like nicer bath towels and higher-end wool socks. I used to spend a lot of my free time on sites like WireCutter and Kinja Deals to see what I could buy for my spouse, the kids, and side project, or tools to help me with DIY stuff. So, when my wife left, that meant one of my enjoyable time-wasting routines were no more. There’s no sense or me to look and tempt myself if I can’t purchase and enjoy it. And, now that I’m no longer living in a house I’m purchasing, I’m a hesitant to buy anything because it will just add to more stuff I will eventually have to move. Heck, I’m still having trouble decorating my place.
• Somewhat related, I was in Target the other day. As I passed the women’s clothing section, I spotted several things I would have bought for my spouse just to surprise her because I thought it would nice on her and it’s one way that I liked to express my love and affection. I do similar stuff like this with my friends, but to a much lesser extent. But, it’s still a hard transition. It kinda reminded me of when my mother died around Thanksgiving and instinctively looked for pajama’s to buy her for Christmas because that’s what I always did.
• I remember about a year before my ex left me, she wondered why we couldn’t have nice stuff. I’m not sure what this was coming from, her friends, Facebook, or something else. It was hard knowing if she was ever satisfied with our lifestyle. But during that year, we remodeled the kitchen, got new floors, and remodeled the upstairs bathroom for the kids. We demolished the fireplace to remodel it. Then she left without warning.
• The Used Car To Avoid Buying Right Now In Every State – Cars with the Greatest Price Hikes in Each State – If you live in Texas, avoid the Volvo XC60
• Emilio Delgado Dies: Longtime ‘Sesame Street’ Fix-It Shop Owner Luis Was 81
• The Best Work-From-Home Cities for 2022
  • Layton, Utah, was ranked the best WFH location in the US because of the affordable prices (like housing and broadband) and benefits that came along with its location.
  • Barbourville (KY) had the least expensive housing market with prices around $94K, followed by Pittsburg, KS, ($97K), Bath, NY, ($131K), Van Burn, AR, ($136K) and Etna, PA ($149K).
  • Options near costly cities worth considering, according to PC Mag, were: Milwaukie (OR), Keyport (NJ), Wrightwood (CA), Tacoma (WA) and Stony Point (NY).
• Something for fellow P1s of The Ticket – Bart Reagor sentenced to 14 years in prison
  • Bart Reagor has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for lying to the International Bank of Commerce about a $10 million working capital loan for his dealership, Reagor-Dykes Auto Group. He was ordered to pay full restitution, more than $9 million, but no fines.On exiting the courthouse, Reagor praised the judge, but confirmed that he would immediately file an appeal.

    “I just wanted to say that the judge was very fair. He did a good job, and our family is just looking forward to the appeal. I know I’m innocent and we’re going to win the appeal,” Reagor said.

• I like the El Camino reference.

We're just getting warmed up.

The final season of #BetterCallSaul premieres April 18 on AMC and AMC+. pic.twitter.com/Qxj6uqnPjQ

— Better Call Saul (@BetterCallSaul) March 10, 2022

• Woman sues Jerry Jones, alleges Dallas Cowboys owner paid her mother to conceal that he was her biological father
  • This news surprised no one. Not even Gene. We all suspected something like this with Jerry Jones since the day we first saw him. We all just didn’t know how much this sort of thing has happened with Jerry and Jerry Jr. Remember, Junior is rumored to be the father of Janine Turner’s child.
  • Other than not being totally surprised by this news, the next thing everyone wanted was to see a photo of this woman and compare her to pre-plastic surgery Jerry.
  • The question is this news in relation to Rich Dalrymple’s firing? One thing is for sure, if the Cowboys still employed him, this story wouldn’t have seen the light of day.
  • It’s possible Jones forced Dalrymple into retirement. To get back at Jones, Dalrymple leaked this “small” story to get even with Jones, but more so, to let him know there are bigger skeletons he can pull out of Jones’ closet.
• I peaked at my blog’s analytics. I think I’ve recaptured about 70% of my audience. Thank you for sticking around. Here are some high-level metrics:
  • Most of my audience obviously comes from Texas, but the top ten states in order of largest to smallest are Virginia/DC, Oklahoma, Colorado, California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Florida, North Carolina.
  • The largest region outside of the U.S. that make up my audience are Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta.
  • 26% of my audience are from the DFW area. 3.64% of my audience are from the Decatur area. The two largest audience segments outside of Texas are an area between Tulsa and Kansas City at 2.56% and D.C. at 2.64%.
  • 57.02% visit this blog by desktop or laptop (I’m guess you’re at work). 40.19% visit by phone and 2.79% by tablet.
• An assistant principal in Mississippi was fired last week after reading the children’s book “I Need a New Butt!” to a class of second-grade students
• WWII vet, 99, becomes children’s book author after buying his first computer

https://twitter.com/deangloster/status/1501149968358281217?t=IN-hRutlVqIeTtavHyA6Vw&s=09

https://twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1500272897075654661

• I saw my neurosurgeon for a post-op checkup yesterday. He said I’ve recovered and healed better than expected. As long as I use common sense, I may resume regular activities. But some activities, like jumping on the trampoline with the children, should be held off for several more months. However, there was a bit of concern regarding an area near the fusion he performed a little over three years ago. Eventually, I’ll need a day procedure to clean up the facet area to relieve the pain I’m suffering from some advanced arthritis. Thankfully, it would be an outpatient procedure and the recovery will be much easier than a fusion. I asked if this is something if I could grit through for the rest of my life and he said no. I followed up asking if I’d need to have the procedure in about ten years, and he said sooner than that. So, I said five, and again he said less than that. It felt like I was in an episode of The $10,000 Pyramid. He said anywhere between later this year and three years.
• With yesterday’s post-op visit, I think I’m at a place in which I feel comfortable rebuilding my life physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. Of course, I’m not out of the woods just yet. But all through this painful experience I felt like I was building a house of cards, and right when I was about to complete the mid tier, it would all come crashing down. So many times when I spoke with other dirvorced men, they would counsel me and say I’m not even through the worst part of it yet. There was so much I had to wait for to pass and I’m leaving a lot out: the custodial trial, the psych exam, completing anger management and parallel parenting classes, mediation, selling the house, moving, paying legal bills and giving her half of my retirement and then some, all of the “firsts”, as well as surgery and recovery. No longer do I have to accept or rationalize the behavior of a negligent and unfaithful wife or put up with her toxic relatives. I’m free (for the most part).
• What do I mean by toxic? Well, the last conversation I had with my then father-in-law, he told his half-Asian son-in-law that the black man would always be a burden of the white man, but white women were bleeding the black out of the black man, so that was making things better. No joke, that really happened, I swear on a stack of bibles. I can still recall the man driving me around his small East Texas town and pointing out the “N-church” where they cook real good food. I remember confiding in my wife about this, and all she was able to do was give me a head nod. I also remember the time I was around her brother who asked, “When was the last time you saw a tall China-man?” Then, there was the time he embarrassed me on a golf course. I waited until we got back to the house and it was just me and him, apart from everyone else. I politely asked him why he did what he did. He wouldn’t answer or even look at me in the face. He just turned his back and walked away. His mother’s excuse was that he just doesn’t like confrontation. I don’t think that excuses the action of an adult and her judgement of her children were always clouded. And, there was the first time my ex told her mother about me and revealed I was half-Asian. She responded with, “How Asian does he look?” I’m just sorry the quarter-Asian children I’m extremely proud of will continue to be around these folks. I was always walking on eggshells with these people. Hopefully, my ex will refrain from saying she “Jew(ed) someone down” when she bargained a good deal, at least in front of the kids.
• Nothing I said above is a lie or an exaggeration.
• I hate the idea because of my ex filing for divorce, I broke a covenant with God. But one man counseled me that I never broke the covenant, she did, and all I did was make a legal agreement with the state of Texas. I agree, but disagree, but agree enough that I find comfort in it.
• I informed the mother of my daughter I no longer have confidence in the ability of the child counselor she chose to provide the mental health care our daughter needs. Should anything happen, I will find her negligent. There’s someone else I feel is more capable and I’m much more comfortable with.
• I may take off from blogging next week. Last year, I didn’t have my children for spring break as my ex was alienating them from me. This year, I have a binding legal agreement which says I can take them anywhere in the country. It’s time to get out and do some fun and memorable stuff. Working from home and no longer being part of a family full time has taken a toll.
• My electric car my not have the range I desire but at least I don’t have to pay for gas.
• Family of former US Marine detained in Russia speaks with Biden after his Texas stop
  • I didn’t expect this family to get a meeting with the president and was pleasantly surprised and thought it was cool of him to actually all the family. Following it by sending them a rosary was also a nice touch.
• New York City man rescued twice in 2 days on Arizona hikes
• Central Florida Teacher Charged for Allegedly Biting Students Over Jar of Pickles
• The game used to be faster and much more enjoyable to watch.

If a pitch clock gets us closer to this type of catch & pitch, I’m all for it. Drysdale doesn’t waste time & Killebrew stays in the box. pic.twitter.com/oaOI5Q5b2m

— Stirrups Now! (@uniformcritic) March 7, 2022

• Every April 15, MLB players wear the number 42 to honor Jackie Robinson’s debut to Major League Baseball. We all know that Commissioner Bud Selig retired the number from all of baseball in 1997, but I forgot Ken Griffey Jr.’s role in starting the tradition.
  • Griffey was the first player to come up with the idea of wearing No. 42 on April 15. Interestingly, he implemented it twice.To trace the first time he broached the idea, we have to go all the way back to April 15, 1997, the 50th anniversary of Robinson’s Major League debut, and the day Selig retired his number. Griffey, who was playing for the Mariners at the time, asked that his uniform number be flip-flopped, switching from No. 24 to 42.Fast forward 10 years, and Griffey again wanted to wear No. 42 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Robinson’s debut. But this time, since the number was retired, he had to ask permission.So he called Selig at home.“I said, ‘Would it be possible if I wore 42 on Jackie Robinson Day?'” Griffey recalled during a recent interview with Harold Reynolds on MLB Network. “We had a 10-minute conversation. [Selig] said, ‘Is it OK if I call Rachel [Robinson, Jackie’s wife] and ask if it’s OK?'”

    Selig called Griffey back the next day and granted the request, but added he would like to extend the offer to wear No. 42 to anyone who wanted to.

    “I said, ‘The more, the merrier,'” Griffey said.

• Rachel Robinson is still alive. She will turn 100 on July 19 unless she pulls a Betty White.
• I watched an episode of America in Color on the Smithsonian Channel. Jackie Kennedy’s first public appearance since her miscarriage was the infamous Dallas trip. I also noticed JFK flew from the White House on a helicopter that had “ARMY” on the side. That got me wondering when did the Marines take over for the Army, because we’re all familiar seeing Marine One transport the president. Well, according to Wikipedia, the Army and Marines shared that responsibility until 1976.
• An under-reported story is happening near New Orleans. Unidentified snipers are shooting motorists on I10 since 2020. For comparison sake, the DC sniper happened during 22 days in October of 2002 with ten people killed and three critically wounded.

  • On Valentine’s Day, The New Orleans Police Department found a man shot multiple times in a vehicle on the Pontchartrain Expressway near the I-10 Slidell exit. Wednesday, Feb. 2, around 11 p.m., an unidentified sniper shot 24-year-old Christian Honore as he drove westbound on Interstate 10, causing him to crash his vehicle near Louisa Street.

    WDSU, Channel 6 in New Orleans, said after the Valentine’s Day shooting, officers told a reporter they had responded to dozens of interstate shootings so far in 2022.

    Shootings which Police Superintendent Shaun D. Ferguson initially called unrelated gang-on-gang and road-rage activity today count police officers, honeymoon couples and school children among the victims.

    In 2020, New Orleans saw an average of two interstate shootings per month, and on January 12, a news release from the New Orleans Police Department detailed more than 30 interstate shootings in the Crescent City in 2021.

    Six days later, they added four more victims to their list.

• I started doing my taxes yesterday, another big reminder that my marriage was a failure. Unfortunately, I can’t claim either child as a dependant, which I think is ridiculous considering I have to pay child support.
• My daughter told me it really bothered her when her mother cut me out of one of the family pictures and displayed the photo. I just told her everybody has their way of dealing with certain things.
• Some folks probably don’t understand why I’m opening up so much. I ran across this Maya Angelou quote yesterday which might shed a little light, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
• Ukrainian couple fighting against Russian invasion marry on the front line
  

the best interruption of a live shot I’ve ever had on @MSNBC pic.twitter.com/nGy4JQJuSU

— Ellison Barber (@ellisonbarber) March 6, 2022