Bag of Randomness for Tuesday, August 28, 2018

  • If you’ve been watching this season of HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ you’ve no doubt been entertained by Bob Wylie, the Browns offensive line coach. His Wikipedia page states, “he has 7 toes on his left foot.”
  •  Taken from Peter King’s new version of MMQB
    • “High schools are already playing in some states. The college football season starts next weekend, before the calendar flips to September; Alabama is ranked No. 1 again. The NFL kicks off a week later; Brady and Belichick are still in Foxboro but watch out for the Rams. We will play. We will watch. We will bet. Because football is big. And flawed. And dangerous. And most of all: Just a sport. Nothing more.” — Sports Illustrated’s Tim Layden, in his excellent essay on America’s over-valuing of football.
  • Hot Sports Opinion – Sporting events involving anyone under the age of 18 should not be televised with the exception of championship games, and maybe playoff games. Youth sports are becoming even more corrupt and all the cash made from it benefits adults more than the kids.
  • “If your attack is going too well, you’re probably walking into an ambush.”
  • Anytime I ask DaughterGeeding if she wants an ice cream cone, she always clarifies that she does as long as there is ice cream in it. I’m not sure why she does this as we never pulled that sort of joke on her.
  • Yesterday, Bob or Dan seemed to wonder why a lot of people needed to clarify themselves on Senator John McCain, “I didn’t always agree with him but I sure did respect and love the man.” That’s easy. In today’s world, everyone is quick to label you a hypocrite unless you provide some context, and even then they’ll focus on the part they want if it reinforces their point.
  • Who’s the greatest orator in Congress today? Love him or loathe him, I think Ted Kennedy was the last great orator in Congress.
  • I recently read an email which was signed “V/r”. I had no idea what it meant, but it looks like it means “Very Respectfully”. Upon learning this, my first thought was, that shorthand doesn’t seem very respectful.
  • For the first time in 50 years, a NASA astronaut candidate has resigned – Robb Kulin is leaving the agency for “personal reasons.”
    • To pass up the opportunity to travel to space is huge, that’s got to be a pretty big reason to turn it down.
  • Deadspin – Report: Baylor Secretly Infiltrated Sexual Assault Survivor Groups
  • It’s hard to concentrate – A neuroscientist explains what tech does to the reading brain
  • What’s in This?: Ranch Dressing – All 20 ingredients in the sauce that tastes good on almost everything, explained (yep, even Calcium Disodium EDTA)
  • The old lady eating pizza with chopsticks caught my attention – American Pie –
    How sharing a Hawaiian pizza from Pizza Hut became a Beijing family tradition
  • There’s just something about watching ‘Better Call Saul’ on Monday nights which calms and relaxes me. It’s not a show for everyone, but it transports me out of this world and is an escape from any distress. What it does is reminds me of the beginning of the ‘Cheers’ song:
    • Making your way in the world today
      Takes everything you got
      Taking a break from all your worries
      It sure would help a lot
      Wouldn’t you like to get away?
Posted in Personal | 3 Comments

The kid made the most of it

However, it’s a bit of a sad story.

The fan, whose father died in a car crash on his way to watch Marseille, was invited to get things underway ahead of the club’s Ligue 1 clash with Rennes.

However, instead of passing the ball, the youngster proceeded to sprint through the visitor’s half before firing the ball into the back of the net.

Posted in Cute, Goofy, Sports | Comments Off on The kid made the most of it

Bag of Randomness for Monday, August 27, 2018

  • Last week I mentioned Admiral William McRaven and former CIA Director John Brennan in a post. I knew McRaven was a graduate of the University of Texas (and later chancellor) but only recently found out Brennan also graduated from there receiving a Master of Arts in government with a concentration in Middle East studies. Brennan is also a Distinguished Non-Resident Scholar at UT, where he also serves as a Senior Advisor to the University’s Intelligence Studies Project.
  • I also mentioned last week that Robert Gates, former President of Texas A&M University, was the Director of the CIA. Man, Aggies and Longhorns are well connected with the CIA.
  • How parents act on their religious beliefs linked to the onset of atheism in their children
    • People tend to become atheists at a younger age when their religious parents talk the talk but don’t walk the walk, according to new research published in the journal Religion, Brain & Behavior. The study provides evidence that exposure to religiously-motivated actions plays an important role in the onset of atheism.
  • Anytime I hear a Rotten Tomatoes score I automatically tune out. I’m not sure what I have against them, it feels like they are over-exposed and over-hyped.
  • Dirk throwing (rather, tweeting) a little shade at Dwyane Wade.
  • Our pastor has been preaching a series on mortality. We recently had a married couple (an oncologist and internist) and a social worker, all members of our church, hold a roundtable discussion of sorts about dealing with death from the “professional perspective”. Yesterday our pastor’s sermon was over hospice and euthanasia. Here’s one thing he stated I think is worth repeating, “I never had one person say, ‘I called hospice too soon!'”
  • On another church-related note about yesterday’s worship service, WifeGeeding was ordained as a deacon.
  • This guy recorded everything he drunk for six months.
  • A recent tweet from Warren Buffet:
Posted in Personal | 7 Comments

Bag of Randomness for Friday, August 24, 2018

  • Because of a typo I made yesterday, I thought I’d provide a link to a blog about cement. I’ve got a blog about nothing, they got a blog full of cement.
  • Cowboys center Travis Frederick has been diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome. Whenever the story is mentioned on the radio or television, I think of JonBenet Ramsey because they sound somewhat similar, at least to me.
  • I only follow a handful of pastors on Twitter, most I know personally. I’ve noticed they mainly tweet scripture or stuff about scripture. I’m also aware they get all sorts of advice and everyone tells them how to do their job. So this is my passive-aggressive attempt to encourage them to include more candid tweets so they can be more relatable. I’m not saying they should use Twitter as a form of stand-up comedy, a political sounding board, or log every detail of their life. I just want to be able to find them relatable, to know they have a personality, that they are human and have a life outside of the church or ministry.
  • Elon Musk recently gave a tour of a Tesla Factory. I thought it was interesting how he spoke about the limitations of robots on the assembly line and the need for human intervention at certain points.
  • Christians are called to be Christ-like. If Jesus was alive today in human form, I’m certain he would drive an automobile, perhaps a Prius, but he would always use his turn-signal properly. In that spirit, be Christ-like in your driving habits, especially if you have a KLTY bumper sticker – drive “safe for the whole family.”
  • I’m not really looking forward to the Top Gun sequel, it will never live up to my expectations. However, it has caught my attention since I found out along with Tom Cruise it will have Val Kilmer, Ed, Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, and Lewis Pullman (son of Bill Pullman. Miles Teller Teller plays the son of Maverick’s late friend and partner Goose, which makes me wonder if they can get Meg Ryan to make a cameo. Cast her now or lose her forever.
  • Texas Gulf Coast exports more oil than it imports for the first time
    • Texas is now on track to produce more oil than either Iran or Iraq. That would make Texas No. 3 in the world if it were a country.
    • Texas is the epicenter of the shale revolution, with soaring production in the oil-rich Permian Basin leading the United States to record output. Rapid technological advances in fracking, the process of unlocking oil and gas deep underground, have dramatically reduced the cost to drill oil in the Permian Basin.
  • GQ – Houston Is the New Capital Of Southern Cool
  • 3D Map of Dallas Tax Revenue
  • Military experts say Iran’s new fighter jet is actually a US plane from the 1970s
  • New Raiders stadium in Las Vegas will include jail and courthouse
  • Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick agrees to a debate — with Geraldo Rivera
    • After refusing to go toe-to-toe with his general election opponent, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick agreed Thursday to debate television personality Geraldo Rivera over immigration and the murder of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts.
Posted in Personal | 10 Comments