Bag of Randomness

  • Tis the season . . . It annoys WifeGeeding when the Christmas displays come out too early.  So when she was gone this weekend I decided to put up the tree and decorate the rest of the house.  You only tease the ones you love. 😉
  • I spent most of Saturday afternoon talking to Bible Scholar George, who is also a recovering Baptist.  It’s was great being able to talk about theology at a very deep level for several hours.  He’s also a Republican, so we also had to talk politics.  Even though we differ in opinions, it’s great to talk about things civilly.
  • When I worked at Fidelity (who just announced layoffs btw) I often had to have conference calls with India.  It’s always interesting dealing with another country, because you have to inform each other of upcoming national holidays.  I was reminded of this as I was on a conference call with the friendly Canadians of West Jet just the other day.  We had to let them know about our Thanksgiving, which is on a different day than their Thanksgiving.
  • It’s fun listening to Canadians talk, and I bet they enjoy listening to our southern drawl as well.  They did seem a bit envious of our 70 degree weather.
  • What happens to the McCain-Palin plane after the election.  Link
  • An interesting article on the future and past presidential limos.  Link
  • Everything you ever wanted to know about presidential transitions.  Link
  • BIlly Graham is no longer counseling presidents . . . but will pray for the new guy.  Link This article also mentioned that he’s a registered Democrat.
  • I saw a news story last night where an Arlington, TX man is so upset over the outcome of the election that he is flying a black flag with an upside-down American flag underneath it.  Part of me wants to say get over it, and part of me is delighted he is exercising his first amendment right even though I disagree with the message.  Yea democracy!
  • There was also a story of FBC Dallas’ anti-gay sermon with protesters.  Both sides probably tire of each other, but once again it’s great having free speech.
  • I’m surprised by the amount of emails that are forwarded to me that are so over the top in believability.  They range from a Billy Graham prayer to the bashing of Clinton.  I don’t know why people feel so compelled to forward them to me, and I’m surprised they don’t take the time to see if the message has any validity.  Often I’ll look up the subject matter on Snopes.com and reply back with the link that disputes the message.
  • Speaking of Snopes, I had to look up if RFK was somewhat prophetic saying a black man could be president in the next 40 years.  Link
  • You’ve heard of wedding albums, how about a divorce album?  Link
  • How to remove a McCain bumper sticker, although I’m pretty sure it will work for all bumper stickers.  Link
  • Interesting new YouTube features.  Link
  • Sundays are weird when your football team doesn’t play.
  • There aren’t as many Peyton Manning commercials as there use to be.
  • Brothers don’t shake hands, brothers gotta hug.
  • I wonder how many folks get that last movie quote.
  • I did see a funny Big 10 football coaches commercial that made me laugh.  It’s Joe Pa at the end that cracked me up.  Video You just gotta love an old guy with spirit.
  • Photogallery – Presidential children through the years.  Link
  • Pictures of presidents on their first and last day in office.  Link This stuff always interests me.  I can’t decide if they are at a particular stage in life where the aging process is more noticeable, or if its the stress of the job that causes the rapid aging.  It’s probably a combination of the two.
  • Do they still have World Fairs?  I always hear certain cities of the past hosting them, but I don’t recall hearing of any in my lifetime.  Are they as big as they use to be?
  • My dad has been dead for over ten years now, but every now and then I will catch myself saying one of his old catch phrases.  Recently I said something was as dry as a popcorn fart.
  • The evolution of Al Pacino’s voice.  Link
  • Build your own hover shoes?  YouTube
  • An interesting interactive map comparing the 2004 and 2008 elections.  Link
  • Fire ants create their own lifeboat.  YouTube I’m impressed.
  • Peas are my favorite vegetable.
  • I thought a Spirograph was a fun toy.
Posted in Personal | 5 Comments

Obama Election Night Flickr Set

I’ve kept tabs on Obama’s Flickr page throughout the campaign.  The latest set has some rare and intimate behind the scenes election night pictures.

Link

The one in particular caught my attention.

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Blind pilot guided to land

A pilot who suddenly went blind while flying his plane at 5,500ft (1,676m) was guided in to land by an RAF plane.

A plane was scrambled from the RAF base at Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire to help stricken pilot Jim O’Neill, 65.

He was flying a two-seater Cessna aircraft from Prestwick airport in Scotland to Colchester, Essex, when he suffered a stroke and lost his sight.

The RAF plane flew alongside Mr O’Neill and the pilot shepherded him to the base with instructions over the radio.

Full Article

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Longhorn Cut Because of Obama Slur

A racial slur posted on Facebook by former Texas backup center Buck Burnette led to the player’s dismissal from the team.

Burnette was dismissed Wednesday by coach Mack Brown, who cited an unspecified violation of team rules. Although Burnette’s Facebook page had been deleted Thursday, screen grabs posted on message boards mentioned the slur and showed Burnette’s subsequent apology.

Shortly after Barack Obama was elected president Tuesday night, Burnette wrote on his Facebook status: “All the hunters gather up, we have a [racial epithet] in the White House.”

Screen captures showed this apology from Burnette before his Facebook page was taken down: “Clearly, I have made a mistake and apologized for it and will pay for it. I received it as a text message from an acquaintance and immaturely put it up on facebook [sic] in the light of the election
. Im [sic] not racist and apologize for offending you. I grew up on a ranch in a small town where that was a real thing and I need to grow up. I sincerely am sorry for being ignorant in thinking that it would be ok [sic] to write that publicly and apologize to you in particular. … I have to be more mature than to put the reputation of my team at stake and to spread that kind of hate which I dont [sic] even believe in. Once again, I sincerely apologize.”

Article

This story reminds me of the 18 year old New England Patriots cheerleader that got dismissed from the squad because of her Facebook photos [Article].  I don’t condone either of these actions, but I think these young adults just don’t quite understand the implications of what they may say and do around their inner circle and the power and influence of the Intertubes.

Imagine when they apply for a job, lets say in the near future or even ten years from now and a prospective employer does a simple Google search on their name.  A mistake in their youth may just haunt them for the rest of their life.

I have to admit, not thinking things though and the potential ramifications was a fault of mine when I was their age.

Posted in Political, Pop Culture, Sports, Texas | Comments Off on Longhorn Cut Because of Obama Slur