Bag of Randomness for Friday, November 22, 2019

  • My daughter drew that for me. I’m not going to say she’s weird, but she’s a very unique kid who has a touch of Wednesday Addams in her at times.
  • The government is now funded until December 20 which means I’ll continue to be employed for the time being. If the president and the Senate didn’t approve and sign last night, I wouldn’t be working today.
  • I finally got around to watching the first two episodes of Disney+’s The Mandalorian. It’s great, there’s so much to like about it. Other than the big reveal at the end of the first episode (which has got to sell a plethora of Christmas toys), I’d say the most surprising thing was Nick Nolte’s performance. I had no idea it was him nor did I think he could pull off such a performance.
  • I think the Mandalorian is the Batman of the Star Wars universe. Pablo Pascal does a great job of acting with the disadvantage of never being able to see his face. His body language carries a lot as well as his voice.
  • The music for The Mandalorian is great. I mean, it’s not enjoyable, but it really helps sets the tone and helps carry the story. Also, the storyboard images displayed during the end credits are a great touch. Man, that Jon Favreau is telling a great story. I’m curious how long he’s had the overall concept, and I loved the Indiana Jones hat-tip in the second episode.
  • The special effects are fantastic and I started to wonder how much it must cost to produce such a great series. It turns out Disney is using new technology, some sort of innovative projection system which is going to change the industry, and it even fools people on set. For instance:
    • “It was really funny as we had an executive from The Walt Disney Company come down early in the process because it’s one of those things that is difficult to explain until you walk into the environment to see how it’s working. And he stepped in, and he looked around, and he said, Jon, I thought you weren’t going to build anything. And he had no idea he was standing in a virtual set. That’s how unbelievable it is.”
    • “It means that if you want a big establishing shot in Iceland, and you don’t want to take 700 people, spend four months prepping a set because you only want to do the establishing shot and you can bring everything back to shoot interiors on a stage, that becomes very meaningful on big, huge projects and small projects. So the interesting thing with Mandalorian, the fact that we tested this technology inside of television and not on the big screen was the way we felt that we could take a big risk but not a giant risk.”
  • I would not like to be a congressional staffer who is filmed sitting behind a congress representative for several hours during an impeachment hearing. Knowing I’d be on camera, I don’t think it would be possible for me to act “normal” and wondering if my neck fat is showing, my tie is on crooked, or the glare on my head causing the cameras to go out of focus.
  • Random fashion prediction – In the next decade, capes are going to be in fashion.
  • For fellow P1s of The TICKET, but “long term” isn’t defined  – The Musers Get Long Term Deal With The Ticket
  • Tinnitus: Scale of hearing damage for music industry workers revealed
    • But the results showed that music industry workers were no more likely to develop difficulties hearing in a noisy environment than people working in the finance industry.
      • This surprises me as I would have thought almost all musical industry workers would suffer from tinnitus. I’ve hard of fighter pilots, for example, George W. Bush, have suffered permanent hearing damage. It’s hard for me to believe the likes of Mick Jagger and his crew not be more susceptible to their decades-long exposure.
  • Surgeon On New York-bound Flight Sucks Urine From Blocked Bladder Of Elderly Passenger In Life-saving Procedure
    • The doctors punctured the passenger’s bladder and improvised a makeshift catheter using a plastic tube from a portable oxygen cylinder, a syringe from the plane’s first-aid kit, a plastic straw from a milk carton and some tape.
    • However, Zhang discovered the syringe needle was too thin. He then siphoned out the urine using his mouth, sucking most of the fluid over half an hour and then spitting it out into an empty wine bottle. “It was an emergency situation. I couldn’t figure out another way,” Zhang was quoted as saying. “When I saw that the man could hardly bear the pain any more, my only thought was how to get the urine out of his bladder,” he added.
  • The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show has been canceled.
  • The great American labor paradox: Plentiful jobs, most of them bad
  • How our home delivery habit reshaped the world – The great trick of online retail has been to get us to shop more and think less about how our purchases reach our homes.
  • I gave up everything I enjoy: my day of dopamine fasting
    • The latest Silicon Valley trend is dopamine fasting – having a break from anything pleasurable in order to “reset” your brain chemistry.
  • I like how AccuWeather breaks down their allergy forecasts. It provides the option to see the counts for different types of pollen. But as bad as my allergies have been the past few days, I’m surprised the pollen counts haven’t been higher.
  • JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say.
  • Here’s something for those of you who are fans of prayer, Mr. Rogers, and Tom Hanks. I’ve qued this video up for you. You’ll hear how Mr. Rogers has inspired Hanks, Savannah Guthrie, and her daughter to pray for others every night. It all has to start somewhere. [Insert planting seeds metaphor here.]
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Bag of Randomness for Thursday, November 21, 2019

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Bag of Randomness for Tuesday, November 19, 2019

  • I get a kick at the practicality of my kids. Last night I couldn’t figure out all the racket coming from upstairs, it simply turned out to be my kids making and playing with their own air hockey table. I have a feeling I know what Santa will be dropping off this year.
  • Here’s a video of a guy who made a bowling ball that will steer left and right depending on how you lean.
  • Something which has been under the radar is the potential of another government shutdown which would happen midnight on Thursday. Should this happen, yours truely would most like be affected. I’m curious to know if it’s going to be used as some sort of bargaining chip.
  • With so many television reboots, I’m surprised The Fall Guy hasn’t made a comeback. I once had a Fall Guy metal lunch box that I treasured, third grade I think.

    ‘Cause I’m the unknown stuntman that makes Eastwood look so fine.
  • I made a Julia Sugarbaker reference the other day and not a person in the room had to ask who she was, I guess that gives you an idea of how old the people in the room were.  I’ll be honest, I had no idea Meshack Taylor died (colorectal cancer, 2014), but always thought he had a cool name. It’s nice to see Annie Potts and Jean Smart still at work. Smart is a much better actress than I thought she could be. Delta Burke, from my limited research, has a part in the new Dolly Parton Netflix series.
  • ‘I puked, fouled myself and collapsed – it was great’: Meet the record-breaking ultra marathon runner fuelled by beer and burritos
  • ‘Jeopardy!’s All-Time Top Money Winners To Face Off In Primetime Tourney: Holzhauer, Jennings & Rutter
    • I love how this is going to be on primetime but surprised at the number of games that will and may possibly be played. I’m sure everyone is thinking and hoping Alex Trebek will be healthy enough to host, and a part of me believes one reason this came to be was to give him something to look forward to.
    • Tuesday, Jan. 7 (8-9 PM)
      Wednesday, Jan. 8 (8-9 PM)
      Thursday, Jan. 9 (8-9 PM)
      *Friday, Jan. 10 (8-9 PM)
      *Tuesday, Jan. 14 (8-9 PM)
      * Wednesday, Jan. 15 (8-9 PM)
      * Thursday, Jan. 16 (8-9 PM)
      *If necessary (all times ET)
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