Bag of Randomness for Tuesday, January 29, 2019

  • The story behind the photo –
    • Looking at the design of the empty windows, an idea struck me: put a woman wearing colourful clothes in each of the openings. I sent over someone from my staff to talk to the demolition supervisor. He agreed to let us go ahead – provided we used his wife in the photograph. We could shoot the next day during their lunch hour, he said. After that, the building would be gone.
    • I also found this note on the interview insightful as I didn’t know the first floor is referenced differently across the pond.
      • The references to floors in this article are in US English; in the photograph, Ormond’s wife was on what would usually be known as the first floor in British English, and the supervisor’s wife on the second floor.
  • The Equator passes through 13 countries. The Greenwich Prime Meridian goes through 8 countries. Why was Greenwich chosen as the center of the world’s time? A few reasons, but mainly because it would be advantageous to the largest number of people.
  • The average tenure for a White House press secretary is about 2.9 years. I expect the current occupant to last longer since she seems to love her job and doesn’t hold daily briefings like most of her predecessors, and they are nowhere as long. Her last time at the podium was 41 days ago, and President Trump has encouraged her not to be bothered having them, at least he tweeted so. My brief research shows she has served as press secretary for 551 days after her promotion from being the deputy press secretary.
  • The one-year anniversary of my back surgery was nine days ago. Yesterday, I received a $350 check in the mail from the hospital for an overcharge. I’m not complaining about getting a surprise check, it’s just odd it took so long for them to notice the over-charge. I tried to keep track of the charges myself but it got pretty complicated when you try to track who all was billed separately: the surgeon, endocrinologist, anesthesiologist, hospital, and the lab. It’s all a headache, and my heart goes out to those who have to deal with this sort of thing because of a chronic or drastic condition.
  • Texas lawmaker wants pricey cars exempt from front plate rule
    • But in requiring two plates, we’re only unique in our neck of the nation. None of our neighboring states requires front license plates. But we’re among 31 states that do.
    • I always thought the plates looked out of place on something like a Corvette, but don’t think they should be exempt.
  • I loved this ’60 Minutes’ story on how an old man in retirement used “basic arithmetic” to crack the code on certain state lottery games – “$26 million winning various state lottery games dozens of times.” And in case they were ever audited, they kept every losing lottery ticket – $18 million worth and built a shed to store them all in big plastic totes.
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Bag of Randomness for Monday, January 28, 2019

  • DaughterGeeding is going through a small little health issue, nothing concerning, but the eight-year-old did need to have her blood drawn. She was a trooper as the nurse tried twice but couldn’t get a draw, who called in her supervisor who also couldn’t get a draw after two attempts. The supervisor then called in the owners of the pediatric practice, a husband and wife team of doctors. They couldn’t get a draw after several attempts. Despite all those failed attempts, DaughterGeeding didn’t cry or wince once. The problem is despite being well hydrated, she has tiny veins which get even tinier because they constrict. One of the doctors said even though she’s not being emotional or showing physical distress like crying, she internalizes her stress which results in her veins constricting as the needle is struck.
  • I overheard a conversation debating who had a better gait, John Wayne or Robert Mitchum.
  • I’m loving Marershala Ali’s performance in this season of HBO’s ‘True Detective’. I first noticed his work on Netflix’s ‘House of Cards’ and recall reading an article on his preparation for a role. He creates a soundtrack for his character and listens to it over and over again. I’d love to know the songs he included in the soundtrack for his ‘True Detective’ character considering his role covers four decades. Stephen Dorff also does a good job with his role, his comedic timing was a surprise.
  • Speaking of the new season of ‘True Detective’, and I don’t think this is a spoiler, but after watching that first episode, I was surprised there wasn’t an ounce of racism implied, especially considering the time and location. However, that quickly changes in the following episodes. If HBO would have dropped the series all at one time, like Netflix, I would have binged them in one day or night easily.
  • The kids were baptized yesterday. After the service, a lifelong member in the church’s denomination kindly asked why we decided to have the kids baptized now rather than as infants. I thought it was an insightful question which made me thankful I spent time in more than one denomination. Some folks feel real strong about infant baptism, others for only those who are in an age of discernment or past the age of innocence. Both feel justified in their beliefs through scriptural interpretation, study, prayer, and conviction. I’m not going to judge one way or another, and I don’t think this church member was being that way, he was genuinely curious. Jovially, I told him as “recovering baptists” old habits die hard, and further explained it wasn’t WifeGeeding and me deciding to have them baptized as it was our kids asking about it and us providing our blessing and support once we had a deeper conversation about it as a family and another with the pastor. It was important for us that they were choosing to be baptized not because it would make anyone happy or think it was a free pass to get in upstairs or that it changes them in some magical way, or that they will now be allowed to partake of communion. We wanted them to do so because they understood it was a sacrament and a symbolic act of their personal faith. I’m sure some of you think this is poor Christian parenting and an odd way to reason things. I’m not going to defend it, but it’s how we honestly approached it. I’ll post a few pics later this week because I selfishly think they looked adorable.
  • This Is What Happens When You Try to Sue Your Boss – Millions of American workers sign away legal rights without knowing what they’re in for: Arbitration Hell.
  • I love how Wade Phillips is honoring his father on the way to his second Super Bowl. I can’t believe he kept the jacket after all these years.

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Bag of Randomness for Friday, January 25, 2019

  • I’m not sure the last time I’ve seen President Trump wear a non-white dress shirt. Maybe he’s worn a light blue dress shirt and I just confused it for a white shirt. That’s not a criticism, just an observation.
  • Republican Senator Joni Ernst Says She Was Raped in College
    • I have no comments about the article other than to say it states her ex-husband’s name is Gail and I can’t recall any males named Gail other than football great Gale Sayers and the fictional character Gale Boetticher in “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul”.
  • While I’m not a fan of Senator Ted Cruz, I hope he continues to keep the beard.
  • 2018 Top Dallas Nightclubs & Bars by Liquor Sales
  • Weezer released a surprise album in which they cover a lot of “classic” songs. Their version of “Africa” has been enjoyable and fun, and after listening to these samples, I’m sold.
  • Christmas is pretty far back in the rearview mirror, but I noticed Fellowship Church in Grapevine toned down the outdoor decorations quite a bit.
  • The kids will be baptized this Sunday. I really appreciated our pastor stopping by the house to have a chat with them, speaking about the tradition and symbolism of the sacrament but also explaining how it is not a qualification or something which makes them extra special (sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun).
  • In my last post, I made a comment about Texas accents. That has since reminded me about this clip of Fred Armisen discussing and performing Houston, Austin, Dallas, Corpus Christi, and Amarillo accents. The video below should be qued for you.
Posted in Personal | 4 Comments