Your Bag of Nothing for Wednesday, November 6, 2024

  • For to whom much is given, of him much shall be required. And from him to whom much was entrusted, much will be asked. – Luke 12:48
  • Well, I was spot on about the very first thing I wrote about yesterday, “My gut tells me all the networks will project a winner late tonight, it won’t even go into early morning.“
  • I’m glad I set my heart and mind not to get too emotionally invested or attached to the presidential race. Sure, I paid a lot of attention to it and have my own opinions and convictions, but I learned a lot of lessons the night of his first surprise victory. And through my divorce, I learned a lot about setting and managing expectations of others and myself. As I’ve written before, acceptance is the answer to all my problems. That doesn’t mean quitting, or I don’t stand up for what’s right, let people walk all over me, or not defend myself. Yeah, I’m disappointed in the results and concerned for the future, but the process is the process, and I accept the results. I’m also impressed and amazed at a man who continues to win and come out on top despite all the odds, pundits, and experts. What an amazing life he has lived, and what an extraordinary story that continues to be written. And there’s something to be said about resiliency, believing in yourself, and what’s in your heart. I can’t deny greatness, even if I struggle with its definition or true meaning. He is truly a remarkable American.
  • Frank Sinatra’s classic I Did It My Way fits no man better.
  • Knowing that most of your morals and values, at least from a political perspective, aren’t represented in any form of your state or country’s government is a lot to contemplate and process. It makes one reevaluate the meaning of morals, values, integrity, and character. It’s time for a gut check on personal conviction. When you have conviction in yourself above everything else, you don’t need to be “right,” and being “wrong” won’t destroy you. You won’t dwell on your mistakes or “failures” because the conviction comes from your character and belief in yourself.
  • One of my biggest concerns is the rule of law and abuse of power. Will it be respected or abused, and how will it change? It will change, but to what degree? Many will try to play down those concerns, saying there’s nothing to worry about because our government was created with checks and balances for all three levels of government. But that’s the concern for many of us. We felt there was significant abuse or at least a lack of respect for those checks and balances and are concerned that people who will be placed in positions of power will circumvent those checks and balances, which have held us steadfast for the last 245 years.
  • From a Christian perspective, when you are unsure of the future and fear upcoming change, you know there is only one constant: Jesus Christ. With that in mind:
  • It’s incredible how half the country is overwhelmed with joy and optimism about the future, and the other half feels completely different. Moreover, I’m trying to imagine what non-Americans think about how our voting choices affect them.
  • Life is something else, isn’t it? Truth is definitely stranger than fiction. The outcome of who we, citizens of the United States, put in the Executive and Legislative branches means vastly different things for the future of the people of Ukraine, Israel, Russia, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and potential immigrants. I suppose it also matters to many citizens, like our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico.
  • Well, at least we have an idea of what to expect as we’ve experienced four years under his rule. Buckle up.
  • Man, my life sure has changed in ways I could never have imagined five years ago.
  • Thanksgiving Miracle? Butterball Unveils Turkey You Can Roast Straight From Frozen
    • With Thanksgiving just around the corner, Butterball is shaking up holiday prep with the launch of their new Cook from Frozen Premium Whole Turkey. Designed to go straight from the freezer to the oven, this first-of-its-kind turkey eliminates the need for thawing or extra prep, giving hosts more time to enjoy the holiday with loved ones.The Cook from Frozen turkey simplifies things for both first-time and seasoned cooks alike, offering a no-prep, no-stress, no-mess solution for Thanksgiving dinner. Butterball’s turkey is brined with a special formula that ensures it stays juicy and flavorful throughout roasting—no need for basting, brining, or seasoning. It even skips the hassle of removing necks or giblets.

The Rising Sun Chair was Geroge Washington’s seat during the Constitutional Convention (1787) held at the Pennsylvania state house (now Independence Hall ) in Philadelphia. The chair was named following an observation made by Benjamin Franklin while watching the signing of the Constitution. Franklin remarked to those near him:
I have often and often in the course of the Session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that behind the President without being able to tell whether the sun was rising or setting…

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Your Bag of Nothing for Tuesday, November 5, 2024

  • It’s election day. Lord, help us. My gut tells me all the networks will project a winner late tonight, it won’t even go into early morning. However, there will be disputes that will linger for days.
  • I wonder what it’s like for candidates to wake up on election day. Do they get to sleep in, considering it will be a long night, and do they sleep better than most nights knowing there’s nothing more they can do?
  • Police and National Guard units prep for Election Day violence
  • It’s interesting that V.P. Harris will certify the election results, win or lose. That’s been true for any VP who was their party’s representative (Adams, Jefferson, Nixon, Bush Sr, Gore), but it’s still interesting, nonetheless, to be in that position of certifying if you are going to be the leader of the free world or not.
  • I’m a proud customer of YouTube TV. I love how they will set up two to four sporting events on one screen and allow you to select the audio. It would be really cool if tonight that offered that with FOX News and MsNBC side by side. Actually, you can. And, it should make viewing fun tonight if you are a newsjunkie like myself. It’s one of the very few times I will watch either of those two channels.
  • Here’s a great idea. All “I Voted” stickers should have a QR barcode. Once you scan it, all political commercials are removed from anything you watch on television.
  • I had an unfortunate (well, I guess they are never fortunate) drain blockage that was bad and the property manager had to send a plumber. The day after it was fixed, I received this message from the rental company:The plumber noted that the blockage was due largely in part due to baby wipes and feminine hygiene products that was causing the blockage. PLEASE ensure that only normal toilet paper is utilized when flushing. Future evidence of such items causing a blockage will result in the charge being passed along to the tenant. This time we will not charge.This is very strange because baby wipes, flushable wipes, and feminine hygiene products don’t come through the door of the house. Yes, I have a daughter, but she never stays the night, and her rare visits are so short she never uses the restroom (though I hope that changes). It’s been that way for over a year. Actually, I have no women visitors, and I’ve never seen those other products in the house. Other than me, it’s only my son who lives in the house every other week, and we only use toilet paper. I guess all I can do if this happens again is to ask the plumber to show me the blockage so I can document it.
  • This tweet got my attention last night:CNN’s Dana Bash: “I’m being told that Megyn Kelly just announced that she’s gonna be speaking at Donald Trump’s last rally. Megyn Kelly of ‘blood coming out of her whatever’ fame. That’s an interesting turn of events.”
  • Trump is big on tariffs. Most people know the basic definition that it’s a tax on imported goods. What many shockingly don’t know, and I was one of them until earlier this year is that U.S. corporations pay those taxes, not companies of foreign businesses. All that came to mind when I saw this headline and realized that China is no dummy – Chinese solar manufacturers shift operations to bypass US tariffs
    • Chinese solar panel manufacturers have a strategy for circumventing U.S. trade restrictions, responding to new tariffs by relocating production facilities to countries less affected by American policies. This shift has impacted the solar industry in Southeast Asia, following the U.S. Commerce Department’s implementation of duties reaching as high as nearly 300% that are targeted at Chinese-owned factories in the region.
  • It’s uncomfortable when women from my former wife’s hometown contact me on a dating app. And for a small city just west of Tyler, it happens more than you’d think.
  • The Florida Gators and the Texas Longhorns will play each other in football this weekend. In 1965, Gatorade was invented on the University of Florida campus, which is why it’s called “Gator-ade.” But the research team leader was Dr. Robert Cade, a 1950 University of Texas graduate. As the school says, “What starts here . . . changes the world.”
  • I hope our lawmakers can iron out some wrinkles in the law that obviously need addressing – Texas Teen Suffering Miscarriage Dies Days After Baby Shower Due to Abortion Ban as Mom Begs Doctors to ‘Do Something’
  • He hasn’t converted, but it’s still interesting – Once an Atheist Hero, Elon Musk Now Says He Believes in the Teachings of Christ
    • “Jesus taught love, kindness and forgiveness,” he wrote in a late 2022 tweet. “I used to think that turning the other cheek was weak and foolish, but I was the fool for not appreciating its profound wisdom.”
  • Check out how amazing this play is, that’s why you gotta give it your all until the whistle blows.

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Your Bag of Nothing for Monday, November 4, 2024

  • I’m sorry for the lack of posts last week.
  • I voted on Friday. I was in and out in about ten minutes. Electronic voting is no longer an option. There wasn’t an option to do single-party voting, which I miss. I was instructed to turn off my phone and put it away. The longest part of the whole process was filling in the roughly square centimeter box next to the candidate I was voting for. It’s kinda like a Scan Tron we used in high school, but the boxes are much larger. They always give you a ballpoint pen to do this, and it takes forever. I wish a pencil could be used, but I’m sure they want the ink because it’s permanent, and there’s no question of who you voted for. But, could they at least give us a felt-tip pen to fill those things in faster?
  • Tuesday can’t get here fast enough. I can only hear Collin Allred tell me he played football at Baylor so many times.
  • Channel surfing on November 1, I noticed three separate channels aired nothing but Christmas movies.
  • I saw SMU is now ranked 13th in the AP. I never thought I’d see the day.
  • In 1889, Ingersoll Lockwood wrote short adventures about a boy who could time travel named Baron Trump. Baron Trump lived in NYC in a palace on 5th Ave. His mentor was a man referred to as “The Don.” Lockwood also wrote a dystopian novel called “The Last President.” It’s about a populist leader who is elected President and kicks off the destruction of the US.
  • In this Lin-Manuel Mirando interview, he says that if he were forced to play Hamilton again at a moment’s notice, he’d remember about 70% of the lyrics.
  • In an Instagram post Friday night, Chappell Roan shared a throwback Twitter post from 2011, when she still went by her birthname, Kayleigh Amstutz.Here she is playing The Pink Pony Club in front of a small crowd before she was famous just trying to get people interested in her music. I don’t know much about the girl, but I’m just really happy for her that she got to play that song she wrote before hitting it big on SNL.

    And, she killed it. I loved the “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” she adlibbed at the end to make her dream of yelling that iconic phrase from that stage come true.

  • If you are an SNL fan, this Vogue article on the woman who runs the wig department will interest you.
  • I have a new favorite quarterback to watch in college football. Walter Payton had this reputation for not running out of bounds and taking a hit to pick up additional yards. The game has softened up to protect quarterbacks, who are always taught to slide and protect their bodies. This guy says screw all that and runs over an Aggie defender who now may never get drafted because of the embarrassment the quarterback just put him through.

  • It’s getting ugly out there – Teenager wearing Trump shirt charged with punching Harris supporter, 70
    • A 17-year-old boy — wearing a T-shirt featuring an image of Trump raising his middle finger in front of an American flag background — punched the Harris supporter, knocking her off her feet, according to police and the woman, Stuart resident Kathleen Tomasko.
  • This is disappointing.

  • For their age, these are some great throws and great catches.

  • Idiot coaching.

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Your Bag of Nothing for Tuesday, October 29, 2024

  • I thought I knew a lot about Benjamin Franklin, but it wasn’t until yesterday that I learned he was the Governor of Pennsylvania from 1785 to 1788.
  • As a 49-year-old man, I shouldn’t care what others think or seek approval from anyone, but I still do. For instance, I wrote about my confirmation experience yesterday. The week before, I emailed my closest and oldest friends about it. I told them I didn’t expect them to be able to make it, but I wanted them to know about it. We have gotten better at keeping in touch and sharing what’s going on in our lives. Of the five, one attended, and that meant a whole lot. Two replied, but it wasn’t a ringing endorsement. Two are SBC pastors; one went to seminary. I didn’t need their approval, but I hoped to have their blessing. There is a bit of a history to all this. I’ve always felt judged or felt they were concerned when I brought up things not directly Evangelical Christian related or endorsed, like my love of U2. In high school, when Billy Joel’s River of Dreams was released, I mentioned how I liked the religious imagery and how I connected with it. My youth director then told me I need to be careful what I listen to especially since Billy Joel is Catholic. I think my step into the Episcopal church is Catholic Splenda to them.
  • I can’t catch a break. I wanted to buy a replacement television for my bedroom. My goal was at least 40″ and no more than $100. After a few weeks, I spotted a 43″ on Woot, but it lacked a remote. That would work since it will just be in the bedroom, and I don’t mind using my phone. The TV arrived last week, but I just unpacked it, and sure enough, there’s a bloody remote. Remember, Woot stated it would not include one. So, now, because I’m ethically bound, I have to pack the television and remote back up and send it back and ask them to send me another TV without a remote. Like I said, I can’t catch a break. Or, I guess I could just keep it and consider the included remote as a small win, but I’m not sure if I could live with myself.
  • Why? Kids aren’t even old enough to vote.
  • Ain’t no way you will ever get me to use the Hussaini Hanging Bridge Pakistan.

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