Bag of Randomness for Friday, June 28, 2019

  • It’s been great rewatching the HBO John Adams series with the family, especially after watching the musical Hamilton and listening to the soundtrack all the time. I’m surprised how much Hamilton is referenced in the television series and didn’t pick up on it the first time, he was truly George Washington’s right-hand man and monumentally influential in our country’s founding. It’s one thing to know he was a Founding Father in the general sense, but it’s really neat to piece together history from various sources and see his immense impact.
  • I think it’s one part absurd and one part typical how I can discover a fascinating fact and totally forget about it until I rediscover it. For instance, the John Adams series is over ten years old and I watched it when it first aired. The most recent episode I watched with my family was about Adams’ time as the second President of the United States. As tensions with France were building, Adams requested George Washington come out of retirement to lead and shape a national army. Jefferson scoffed at the idea asserting Washington would only be in command in name only because of his age and he would delegate almost everything to Hamilton.  How crazy is that? I feel like most Americans assumed or were led to believe Washington relinquished power and quietly slipped away to retirement leaving behind all leadership duties and responsibility and becoming an ordinary citizen. Wikipedia’s entry of Washington slightly differs with the man becoming bored in retirement and requesting some military responsibilities.
    • Washington grew restless in retirement, prompted by tensions with France, and he wrote to Secretary of War James McHenry offering to organize President Adams’ army. Adams offered Washington a lieutenant general commission on July 4, 1798 and the position of commander-in-chief of the armies. He accepted, replacing James Wilkinson, and he served as the commanding general from July 13, 1798 until his death 17 months later.
    • Washington delegated the active leadership of the army to Hamilton, a major general. No army invaded the United States during this period, and Washington did not assume a field command.
  • I guess before anyone got Wally Pipped, they got James Wilkinsoned.
  • If any of you live around Decatur and need any HVAC work done, I highly recommend Mann Refrigeration. They saved me about $3,000 by honoring some work they did about nine and a half years ago despite some registration numbers not coming up on the manufacturers end. The warranty for the part in question was covered for ten years, but as I said, they honored their work.
  • This will certainly stir things up – Texas wants to move away from abstinence-only sex ed
    • For more than 20 years, school districts here have emphasized abstinence above all else in sex education. But soon, members of the Texas Board of Education will consider whether to add new topics like “sexual risk reduction methods,” “healthy relationships,” and “anatomy” in grades as early as kindergarten. The recommendations are part of Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath’s Essential Knowledge and Skills review for health education, which included input from health experts. “It is about time that Texas come into the 21st century,” said Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, which has long pushed for changes to the curriculum.
  • There hasn’t been a decent viral Internet video trend in a while. Gone are the days of the mannequin challenge, planking, and the Harlem Shake.
  • A funny Reddit shower thought – “Bread is a slang term for money. Cheese is also a slang term for money. Therefore grilled cheese sandwiches are the ultimate form of wealth.”
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Bag of Randomness for Thursday, June, 27, 2019

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Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, June 26, 2019

 

  • If you’re a Dallas Mavericks or Don Nelson fan, his interview with Bryant Gumble on HBO Sports is a must watch. I knew he’s transformed quite a bit physically, but of all things, I was mesmerized by the sharp V his hairline made.
  • My middle-aged neighbor who recently became a  widower asked me over to help him set up his network printer. To my surprise, the neighbor who is a somewhat-recent widow was also visiting. It was a bit awkward being in the middle of the flirting, I felt like I was put back in my place in high school as the third wheel.
  • Yesterday, it was announced former Dallas Star Guy Carbonneau will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. I thought it was most interesting he was teammates with his son-in-law, Brenden Morrow. They are about 19 years apart in age. I guess the closest thing to that in professional sports would be Ken Griffy Jr. and Sr, who were about 21 years apart in age and played on the same team. However, I forgot they were next to one another in batting order.
  • Texas Monthly magazine bought by oil and gas heiress
  • Alabama car dealership offers customers gun, bible, and flag to celebrate July 4th
  • “I believe no one is self-made. We are fashioned from the generosity of others.”
  • I got a real kick out of yesterday’s shirt of the day on Woot.com – The Original Breakfast Club
  • This video is heartbreaking – Deputies release new photos of abandoned newborn found wrapped in plastic

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Bag of Randomness for Tuesday, June 25, 2019

  • WifeGeeding’s East Texas twang always cracks me up. When we first met, she told me she was from the East Texas town of “Lindell”.  One day I wrote her an email and mentioned the town and she corrected me by stating, “It’s not ‘Lindell’, it’s “LINDALE’!” I told her anyone would make the same mistake by the way she talks. I thought of that recently when we went to that family reunion in Van, TX. She said it was at “Gary Don’s” house. Hmmm, I wondered if his name was spelled “Don” or “Dawn”, so I asked her how does Gary spell his last name. She replied, “S-M-I-T-H, why do you ask?”
  • Philly police: 10 recruits resigned after trying to cheat on open-book test
  • Crush, Texas was a temporary city established in 1896 just so two locomotives could crash into one another at high speed, about 45 mph. This stunt was put together by a man named William Crush and it happened near West, Texas. The crash killed two spectators and seriously injuring at least six others. A photographer lost one eye to a flying bolt but received damages amounting to $10,000 from a lawsuit and a lifetime railroad pass.
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