Bag of Randomness

  • Joe the Plumber is the most famous person in America.  If he isn’t referenced in an SNL skit something is wrong with this country.  But who would win in an arm wresting contest, Joe Six Pack or Joe the Plumber?
  • In case you didn’t get a chance to see the Obama and Joe the Plumber conversation that was such the hot topic of the debate, you can watch it here.
  • I wish I would have heard of Current TV and Twitter’s idea of having live comments come in from viewers during the live debate two debates ago.  It’s still like putting lipstick on a pig, but it made the debate much more interesting to watch.  If they do this four years from now, there’s no way I’m watching the debate on another channel.
  • Bob Schieffer is retiring after the election, he’s the one Texan in Washington that I’m going to miss.
  • Obama haircut.  Link
  • Obama may be leading in the polls, but I wouldn’t be surprised if McCain wins.  Liberals are more vocal so I think they are heard more than Conservatives, and I have a feeling the young registered voters that make up so much of Obama’s base will simply stay in their dorms and play Halo and Madden come election day.
  • Japan holds most of our debt, not China.  Link
  • The Cowboys lead the league in players named Roy Williams.
  • Tony Romo was throwing passes yesterday . . . isn’t that the last thing he should be doing?
  • What TV characters would make in real life.  Link
  • I use to shave everyday, but now it’s every other day.
  • Everytime I hear that Dick Cheney has a heart problem I’m still surprised to know he actually has a heart.
  • I’ve been a part of churches that sponsors those Hell Houses you see every Halloween season.  Basically, it’s a Christian haunted house that shows you how the devil is at play and at the end the message of salvation is presented.  I don’t like the idea of trying to scare people to Christ, at least I think that is the message that is usually communicated, although I guess I can appreciate the effort of evangelizing.
  • From my experience, the people that usually go to a Hell House are already saved, but go to support the event.
  • I remember one Christian friend of mine going through the salvation message at the end because he just wanted to make sure it was presented correctly.  Another friend of mine use to say that guy was part of the Salvation Patrol.
  • One year I overheard several people after the event say they filled out a “I got saved card” to make event organizers feel better for putting so much effort into the event although they didn’t feel it was convincing, or that they made the decision to follow Christ.
  • A lot of those scenes are grossly exaggerated, but as I said, I appreciate the intent.
  • I like the idea of a Fall Festival much better.
  • I have friends that refuse to dress up and take part in any Hallaween party because that would be supporting the Devil’s holiday, but feel comfortable dressing up and going to a church event because that is totally different.
  • I’m tempted to drive to Hot Springs, Arkansas and stay at The Arlington for a weekend getaway.
  • There’s a connection between my hometown and that hotel.
  • That would be about a five hour car drive.  I think I would enjoy seeing all the fall foliage.
  • Or we could fly into Little Rock for about $69 one way and drive an hour.
  • Now that I think about it, I would like to spend a day in Hot Springs, a day in Little Rock, and drive to the mecca that is Graceland.
  • In case you are wondering, I don’t get flight privileges as a contractor.
  • I always get a kick out of typing Arkansas, because it’s just Kansas with Ar in front of it.  Thanks to Wikipedia, I have an explanation for that.
  • The latest NFL stadium rankings.  Link
  • The answer is Beyonce.  Link
  • I got in a long conversation about Presidential salaries which caused me to do all sorts of research.
  • Here is a list of historical salaries of U.S. presidents.  Washington earned $25,000 in 1789, that’s over $300,000 calculated for today.
  • This Senate document will tell you everything you need to know regarding the retired president’s salary.
  • That whole conversation started when we were trying to find out what widowed former first ladies received as a salary.  In short, they get $20,000 (plus mail privileges) if they refuse any other government pension.  That document above will give you the details.  Lady Bird was the last to receive this. Mrs Ford is accepting her husband’s congressional pension that is around $65,000 a year.
  • God and beer fest article.  Link
Posted in Personal | 3 Comments

Twitter and the Debates

It may not be exactly the kind of political analysis you’re used to. But if the first batch of presidential debates bored, terrified or annoyed you, consider a different way to watch Wednesday night’s final square-off between John McCain and Barack Obama: Current TV, a cable channel that’s mostly programmed by its own viewers, is running the debate with wisecracks and witticisms culled instantaneously from Internet chatter.

In perhaps the most radical attempt yet to merge television with the Internet, Current’s “Hack the Debate” scrolls comments from the social-networking site Twitter.com across the screen, about one every five or six seconds, as the candidates debate. The comments – known as “tweets” – range from utterly hilarious to surprisingly insightful to unfathomably stupid.

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Posted in Political | Comments Off on Twitter and the Debates