Bag of Randomness for Friday, October 18, 2019

  • That photo President Trump recently tweeted of his meeting with Speaker Pelosi captivated me. It’s worth looking at a high-resolution version to check out some of the details. Look around at all the faces in the room, compare them individually and then the entire right side and the entire left side. Look at the general’s face and body language, controlled, measured, resolute and nonpartisan. Notice how almost everyone on the right is looking down as if they are in discomfort, then observe those around Pelosi who appear engaged and attentive. At first, I didn’t notice Trump’s facial expression and how he is sitting a little further back from the table than everyone else. I also think it’s interesting how we talk about left vs right politics and in this very case that’s exactly what we have, though not everyone on the left are Democrats. For instance, Liz Cheney is sitting on the left. This leads to another aspect, of the 18 or so people at the table, all are white and only two are female. Thankfully there was some civility, everyone was using a coaster. The Secretary of Defense (Mark Esper) is sitting to Trump’s left, depending on how you look at it, his glass of water is either half full or half empty.
  • The most shocking thing coming out of the White House yesterday was the president’s kind and thoughtful tweet about the passing of Congressman Elijah Cummings.
  • I was hired at Fidelity Investments 20 years ago today, it was my first “big time” job out of college. The date has stuck with me because during orientation it was strongly suggested to remember your hire date as you will need it to fill out any employee-related form for the entirety of your Fidelity tenure.
  • “Who you are is not who you are doomed to be.”
  • “Cluckingham Palace,” the 18,327-square-foot Bo Pilgrim estate in Pittsburg, Texas is for sale. It’s much nicer  and extravagant than I expected. His commercials cracked me up as a kid. And, as you might expect:
    • There are chickens and roosters everywhere, from the kitchen tiles to the laundry room wet hanging rod. They were in the carpets, the filigrees, chiseled into the elaborate ceiling molding trim.
  • Have you ever wanted to be as fit as a Starfleet officer? If so, I have an upcoming fitness guide for you – Star Trek: Body by Starfleet A Fitness Guide. Get a better idea of the regimen with this video.
  • On the third of October, it was reported Energy Secretary Rick Perry was expected to announce his resignation by the end of November. Perry’s office denied it and proclaimed, “One day the media will be right.” Yesterday it was announced he will indeed be resigning before the end of the year.
  • Congratulations on Bob and Dan broadcasting 5,000 shows together.
  • As if Dallas doesn’t have to deal with the stigma of a presidential assassination and conspiracy theories already:

  • Maybe they could have put them in a big pile with a “Free Chairs” sign above it for the exiting crowd.

 

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Bag of Randomness for Thursday, October 17, 2019

  • Somewhere in Wisconsin is a very relaxed Paul Ryan. I picture him taking up the hobby of butter carving in his off time.
  • I hear the Aurora Borealis isn’t as spectacular in person because the human eye can’t pick up the awesome details a camera can.
  • I’ve never used Yelp to review or form an opinion about anything.
  • It’s a tough time for us allergy and sinus sufferers. I’m sure all of you are taking an antihistamine and allergy spray. Some of you may be so congested you started using nasal decongestant sprays like Afrin. If you are trying to avoid stuff like Afrin, I’ve read favorable things about using xylitol as a nose spray or nasal rinse. I’m using XLEAR and was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked, but be warned, it will sting pretty sharply at first. If you are suffering from sinus congestion I think this is the best natural thing to try.
  • This family in Iowa just ran into a massive case of bad luck –
    • Nick Lestina and his family of seven were getting ready to put their house on the market until their basement was flooded with animal blood. Their basement was filled with nearly five inches of animal blood, fat and bones as a result of drainage from a meat locker next door. For the last 10 years, the family has lived next to Dahl’s Meat Locker, but have never had any problems until recently.
  • President Trump’s letter to Turkey’s president was something else, especially how he stuck the landing, “Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool! I will call you later.” I can imagine one of his aides or speechwriters, some impressive Ivy League intellect with phenomenal writing credentials, spending a few hours working on a flawless and articulate first draft only to do the sad Charlie Brown walk back to his or her desk four or five times as Trump keeps rejecting them.
  • This guy uses deep fakes as he does celebrity impressions.  Soon, there’s gonna be a deep fake of President Trump which will freak all of us out, it’s inevitable. If not him, then the next president for sure.

     

  • Back in April, I wrote, “If you are a married contestant on Wheel of Fortune I guess you are obligated to mention your spouse and/or family and describe them in overtly affectionate tones.” The contrived affection annoys the heck out of me, so I was appreciative of this contestant who shook things up a bit. The guy’s name is Blair, the second-best date I ever had was with a Blair, who was female. Well, maybe that one is tied for second, I had a great date with a Kim.
    https://youtu.be/6jhmBapga-A
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Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, October 16, 2019

  • I’m sure we all have certain words we never feel comfortable spelling, that every time you write or type it out you have to double-check it. “Wednesday” is one of my words.
  • No Content Spoilers – One of my favorite parts of the new Netflix ‘Breaking Bad’ movie El Camino was seeing eighty-eight-year-old Marla Gibbs. It’s not to see her career peak back up as of late.
  • Whiling lying in bed the other day, the ceiling air register almost directly above me caught my attention so I took a closer look. To my surprise, mold has grown on it. The allergy test I took years ago showed I’m highly allergic to it, so I’m curious how bad this may have affected me and for how long. I suppose I could have simply cleaned the air register but decided to replace it, but I’m not sure if I need to replace or do anything to the vent itself (pic1, pic2). A friend who works around this sort of stuff didn’t think it was worth worrying about but I thought I’d throw it out here and get your thoughts.
    • Again, I make buying things complicated. As I searched for a replacement air register, I found there where three material options – stainless steel, aluminum, and plastic. One forum stated stainless steel has the potential to rust, unlike the other materials. So, not only did I dither longer than I wanted over those options, I then had to consider the airflow design options.
    • I decided to check the other nearby ceiling air registers. The one I mentioned above is located a few feet away from the master bath and the only one in our bedroom. To my surprise, the one in the bathroom, where much more moisture exists, didn’t have any mold on it.
    • Conspiracy theory: WifeGeeding is immune to all molds and planted it there in an effort to slowly kill me and collect on insurance.
  • For the first time in my life, I chipped a tooth. The cost of my dental visit and procedure were less than I imagined. Without insurance, it was $85, $35 with insurance. Offhand, I would have expected it to cost over a hundred. The work was pretty minimum, though, no anesthesia was needed and he basically polished the tooth.
  • Google’s Daydream VR experiment is over – Its latest phones don’t support the platform and it’s discontinuing Daydream View headsets.
  • Dutch family ‘waiting for end of time’ discovered in basement
    • A family who spent nine years in a basement “waiting for the end of time” have been discovered by police in the Netherlands after one of them turned up at a local pub, reports say.
  • I don’t feel like this is a particularly well-written article, the first half lacks a particular depth, but the stuff aboutU2 unsurprisingly stood out to me.
    • Why Christian music’s biggest stars refuse to change their tune for the Trump era
      • There is another, less ethereal reason why CCM artists stay away from politics — loss of income. White evangelicals are Trump’s most steadfast supporters. They are also some of the biggest fans of CCM, and they wield economic clout. Steady work for any musician is precarious, especially in a niche genre like Christian or gospel music. If a Christian musician wants to get a steady paycheck there’s usually only one type of megachurch that has the resources to hire them as a full-time worship leader, Keen says. “It’s going to be fundamentalist, Bible-believing churches,” he says.
      • Some CCM artists cite another example as proof that a Christian band can take on hot-button political issues and thrive: U2. It may surprise casual listeners, but some of the most stirring and thought-provoking Christian contemporary music doesn’t come from the CCM genre. It comes from four men from Dublin, Ireland. U2’s confessional music about Christian faith has long been filled with righteous anger inspired by current events.
      • But Bono isn’t a CCM fan. He has called the music risk-averse and predictable and said he prefers another collection of inspirational music: the psalms in the Bible. He says they’re filled with laughter, tears, rage and doubt.

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Bag of Randomness for Monday, October 14, 2019

    • I was asked to run the scoreboard at BoyGeeding’s game which afforded me a seat directly behind home plate. That’s him playing catcher. I think the shortstop was playing air guitar.
    • A bacon-wrapped whole gator at a LSU tailgate.
    • Nathaniel Hawthorne — “I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.”
      • Apparently, Hawthorne wasn’t allergic to ragweed.
    • CNN had an article about a girl daying after being flung from a ride at a New Jersey festival and linked to the amusement ride company’s website which I decided to check out. I never thought about buying a used amusement ride but now I have an idea about cost and factors which will go into that decision, like the age and rider count.
    • The reflections in a pop star’s eyes told a selfie stalker exactly how to find her
      • In September, a Japanese man was arrested for reportedly stalking a pop star and attacking and groping her at her home, according to Japanese news organization NHK. Allegedly, this man found the woman’s home by studying photos she posted on social media, observing a train station reflected in her eyes, finding that train station using Google Street View, waiting for her at the train station, and following her home.
    • Skunk vs Bear

      little skunk vs big bear

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