Bag of Randomness for Thursday, June 14, 2018

  • When I first started to attend a Baptist church I was surprised everyone referred to the preacher as Brother John, instead of something more formal, like Pastor John. I’ll be honest, I thought it was similar to how Hulk Hogan referred to everyone as “brother” and thought, oh, so Hulk Hogan must have been Baptist at one point and that’s where he got it.
  • When you see me at the pool or a waterpark, you’d probably think I wore a shirt because I’m trying to hide my belly, but you’d be wrong. I wear a shirt to hide the disgusting looking scar on my back.
  • Every spring the city sends an employee to every house and turn the main water supply to half the pressure in an effort to conserve water, and every spring I tear up my knuckles accessing the main water line in the ground to increase the pressure so my sprinklers will do more than blow a raspberry. This year I thought I’d search Amazon for a water key to save my knuckles. Luckily I found a small twelve-inch version for about ten bucks and thought it was worth the investment. It arrived yesterday but Amazon sent me the thirty-six-inch version instead and now I feel mighty and more powerful than Thor and his hammer. It’s no weenie-man tool, it’s a professional industrial strength apparatus. It’s so massive you’d think someone would have to pass some kind of certification safety course to wield its power. I think I’ll have Luke 12:48 engraved on it, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.”
  • A friend of mine is moving his family from Alabama to Lubbock. The U-Haul he was traveling in with his wife and young daughter broke down on the highway. Thankfully the company sent a replacement truck and crew and moved everything in the replacement trunk. I have no idea if that’s included in the price or if he bought some sort of insurance for that.
  • On Monday morning, all of the In-N-Outs closed because the quality of the buns wasn’t up to their satisfaction. It wasn’t a health or safety issue, they just have high bun standards. Yesterday, Whataburger announced via Twitter that some restaurants will not be offering white buns or Texas Toast, due to a quality issue with a supplier. Now Raising Cain’s has Texas toast issues. What is this, breadgate, carbgate?
  • President Trump usually looks like he’s full of energy but he looked pretty tired walking off Air Force One yesterday, which is totally understandable.
  • This was a popular retweet yesterday:
  • If you are a fan of the ‘Fixer Upper’ show you may find these statistics interesting, as sampling is below – Facts & Analysis About HGTV’s “Fixer Upper”
    • The average purchase price of the selected home hovers at around $173,221 for all five seasons.
    • The average budget for renovation and upgrades over the course of five seasons stands at $111,631.
    • Joanna used shiplap in almost 40% of the projects.
    • Chip and Joanna’s renovation projects almost always comes in on budget and add an average of $26,000 of instant equity to the client’s investment.
  • 2 Women Criticize the Way Texas A&M Handled Their Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Student Athletes
  • ‘Star Wars’: George Lucas Would Have Set Third Trilogy in ‘Microbiotic World’ Linked to Midi-Chlorians
    • Elsewhere in the conversation, Lucas admitted, “Everybody hated it in ‘Phantom Menace’ [when] we started talking about midi-chlorians.” In terms of his storytelling, Lucas regarded individuals as “vehicles for the Whills to travel around in…And the conduit is the midi-chlorians. The midi-chlorians are the ones that communicate with the Whills. The Whills, in a general sense, they are the Force.”
  • Texas Monthly – How Franklin Barbecue Came Back After the Fire – After a tragedy in the pit room in 2017, it didn’t take long for Franklin Barbecue to rebound—or for the lines to start forming again.
  • I saw the intro to the new NBC show ‘Reverie’ and thought it was a modern-day version of ‘Quantum Leak’.
  • U2 held a special concert at Harlem’s Apollo Theater which I hope one day will be made available to watch. The 13-piece Sun Ra Arkestra horn section helped the band play along to ‘Angel of Harlem’, their tribute song to Billie Holiday. They also dedicated the song “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” to Anthony Bourdain.
Posted in Personal | 10 Comments

Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, June 13, 2018

  • I’m having one of those weeks where I feel like I’m a day ahead. Not that I have a lot of accomplished, just that I think today is Thursday and not Wednesday.
  • I think yesterday was the first time I really threw the football with my son. Yes, we’ve tossed the ball around, but this time he was actually catching them and I could catch the majority of balls thrown towards me. I know for sure yesterday was the first time I saw him throw a spiral, which was fun to teach him, btw.
  • President Trump gives himself some wiggle room in that Trump sort of way:
    • “I may be wrong, I may stand before you in six months and say, ‘Hey, I was wrong.’ I don’t know that I’ll ever admit that, but I’ll find some kind of an excuse.”
  • Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sure has a lot of work ahead of him after this summit, as if he didn’t have enough work already. For instance, South Korea was caught off guard when President Trump told Kim Jong-un ‘war games’ with South Korea would cease. Somewhere in Texas, Rex Tillerson is enjoying retirement.
  • Mercedes Schlapp is the White House Director of Strategic Communications. She tweeted this two years ago.
  • This shouldn’t happen when conservatives control the White House, Senate, and the House of Representatives, at least on what they campaign on.
    • The U.S. government had a $147 billion budget deficit in May, an increase of 66 percent from the same month last year as the ledger took a hit from declining revenue and higher spending, according to Treasury Department data released on Tuesday.
  • I’m months behind on this news but Rudy Giuliani is getting a divorced. I remember when he was the presumptive front-runner of the Republican party and discussing having his wife sit in on cabinet meetings, which caused a stir.
  • The kids will be playing basketball this summer and yesterday I received an introductory email from one of their coaches. In his email, he proclaims his love for basketball and provides his basketball resume, of sorts. His two sons are named Michael and Jordan. I’m guessing he’s a fan.
  • I know someone who vacuums her mattress. She has a mattress pad or cover or whatever they are called, but still prefers to vacuum it once a month to remove dead skin cells, allergens, and the like.
  • I bet a lot of people neglect to clean or dust the top of their refrigerators. I bet a lot of people neglect to clean or dust the floor beneath their refrigerators. I bet a lot of people neglect to clean their refrigerators.
  • Until yesterday I didn’t know there was a version of Monopoly for cheaters. Isn’t that just real life? It’s only cheating if you get caught.
  • Dan Paul on The TICKET spoke of his upcoming spinal fusion surgery. His surgeon is going through the stomach, but my surgeon went through my back and stretched or pulled my back muscles to the side.  My surgeon explained going through the front would allow for faster back recovery since the back muscles wouldn’t be touched, but didn’t like the risk of going through the digestive organs. Paul also spoke about how he could totally relate and can see the spiral of painkiller addiction and suicide becoming reality. He spoke the truth. I could totally relate.
  • I’m one of those who enjoys reading about the news business. When it comes to the evening news, I prefer the ‘CBS Evening News” and have committed to them since Charlie Gibson left ABC’s ‘World News Tonight’. I really liked how Scott Pelley would deliver the news, a very no thrills approach, and thought I would have turned to another channel once he was removed from the chair. I don’t think the broadcast is as good as it was, so I’m a bit surprised their ratings have increased by double digits since his departure.
    • And while Glor has eked out some ground – viewership during his tenure on “CBS Evening News” is up 1% compared to the year prior to his launch, and up 10% from Pelley’s final month in mid-2017 – the CBS program remains well behind its direct competitors, ABC’s “World News Tonight” and NBC’s “NBC Nightly News.”
  • Pennsylvania news – Old Taco Bell becoming Arby’s after NEW Taco Bell replaced OLD Arby’s
  • Cool move by the Washington Capitals – Capitals congratulate Golden Knights on season with classy ad in Vegas newspaper
Posted in Personal | 7 Comments

United States – North Korea Singapore Summit Video

This is the English version of the video “trailer” that President Donald J. Trump showed Chairman Kim Jong Un during their historic summit on 6/12/18. This is a rip from the official White House press conference live stream, where they showed the video to reporters before the President took questions.

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Bag of Randomness for Tuesday, June 12, 2018

  • I like this photo still, it looks like they are about to do the waltz with Trump taking the lead. It’s like a new reality show called “Dancing With The Enemy”.
  • I’ve said it before, whether it’s a good thing or bad thing, don’t underestimate President Trump. No one thought he’d win a primary, much less the nomination or the presidency. I don’t know if he can pull off peace in the Korean peninsula, but I’m hopeful. Sure, I don’t agree with his politics nor do I like him personally, but I’d like to see the threat of nuclear war lessened and an improved life for the North Korean people.
  • I’m not much of a lip reader, but from what I could tell, Trump’s first words to Kim Jong-un was, “Well, well, well, Little Rocket Man, you made it here after all.” Followed by, “No way this guy has a smaller waist than me, am I right, folks?”
  • The arrangement of U.S. and North Korean flags is very surreal, I’d even say stunning, and something no one has ever seen. Heck, I doubt there’s ever been a comedy sketch with those flags hanging by each other.
  • If I were Kim Jong-un, as a gesture of good will, I’d return the USS Pueblo, which I doubt President Trump even knows about. But then again, I’m sure most Americans aren’t familiar with it. The USS Pueblo is a U.S. Navy ship which was attacked and captured by North Korea in January 1968.  It’s the only ship of the U.S. Navy still on the commissioned roster currently being held captive, North Korea uses it as a tourist attraction, and it remains the second-oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy, behind USS Constitution, which was launched in 1797. Here’s an interesting tidbit about the sailors who were captured:
  • In case you missed it, CNN did some aggressive reporting last night.
  • The White House has a freelance chef who looks like a bodybuilder and has some of the most muscular and massive arms you’ll ever see. He can bench 700-pounds and has a bit of a Herschel Walker routine.
    • In support of Mission 22, a campaign to combat the estimated 22 veteran suicides each day, Rush decided to do 2,222 push-ups per day.
  • As I Lay Dying singer reunites with his Christian metal band after two-year prison term for hiring hit man to murder his wife
  • Vice-President Pence is no stranger to speaking at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas. He spoke there last month at the NRA Convention and he’ll speak there tomorrow at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. I guess that speaks well of Dallas’ ability to book big meetings. Before his term expires, whenever that is, I bet he’ll speak at First Baptist Dallas.
  • A customer spotted Warren Buffet and Mark Cuban eating at an Omaha Dairy Queen. Worth noting, DQ is a part of Berkshire Hathaway.
Posted in Personal | 12 Comments