Bag of Randomness for Thursday, April 12, 2018

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Tour of the Moon in 4K

Take a virtual tour of the Moon in all-new 4K resolution, thanks to data provided by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. As the visualization moves around the near side, far side, north and south poles, we highlight interesting features, sites, and information gathered on the lunar terrain.

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Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, April 11, 2018

  • Silly me, I forgot to schedule yesterday’s Bag of Randomness to post. So today you get a twofer.
  • Former Dallas Maverick Tyson Chandler peaked into Dirk’s press conference yesterday and snuck in some photos. I love that guy and will forever be grateful how he helped bring a championship to our fair city and a franchise that was the laughing stock of the NBA for so long. The Mavs made such a huge mistake not bringing him back the following year. I remember him getting involved with the community in his short time here and even wearing Rangers gear and tweeting photos of him cheering them on.
  • Here’s an example of how Tyson Chander is a great guy. Check out one of his recent Instagram posts which you can read in its entirety here:
    • So yesterday my Son came home from basketball practice & I asked him how it went, he replied it was ok . I asked him why just ok…He said because I think everyone looks at me & expects me to be a lot better than I am because I’m Tyson Chandler’s Son … I said come on let’s take a ride.
  • Mark Zuckerberg used a booster seat yesterday for his Senate testimony. This high-resolution photo will allow you to view his personal notes.
  • I like the conspiracy storyline that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and all other social media are creations of the CIA as a way to get citizens to voluntarily give up personal information.
  • I recently discovered on mobile YouTube you can double tap on the right side of the screen to go forwards 10 seconds and on the left side of the screen to go backwards 10 seconds.
  • I had an evaluation during my physical therapy session yesterday. The therapist thinks I’m about 70% recovered, though he phrased it more professionally.
  • Andre The Giant
    • Man, I really enjoyed last night’s HBO documentary about him. It was a great trip down memory lane of my days as a young lad found of wrestling. But I found it lacking in certain areas, especially his health. For instance, they only mentioned he had back surgery but didn’t go into detail about it. That’s fascinating stuff to know about for a man that size. There are stories about doctors trying to figure out how to anesthetize him and guaging it by how many beers it takes for him to get drunk. Stuff like that was never hinted at.
    • Hulk Hogan usually thinks of himself as the alpha, but it was interesting listening to him speak in reverence. It was also funny hearing Hogan do impressions of Randy Savage and others. But I do think the documentary did delve into Hulkamania a bit too much.
    • The stories about Andre’s farts, especially the ones of other people being stuck in an elevator with him, were hilarious.
    • On long flights he couldn’t use the lavatory, he was too large. He used a bucket and it was dumped in the lavatory.
    • It appears he drank a lot because he was in physical pain. I was shocked at how physically incapable he was during the filming of The Princess Bride.
  • Web standard brings password-free sign-ins to virtually any site –
    Use your fingerprint reader or camera in a wide variety of browsers.

    • The functionality is useful right now in Mozilla’s Firefox browser, and should come to both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge in the “next few months.”

  • Fifty-five years ago yesterday, JFK signed a proclamation declaring Sir Winston Churchill an honorary citizen of the United States. Even though that booklet looks like a passport, it can’t legally function as one. Other tidbits of an honorary U.S. citizenship:
    • Eight people have been so honored, six posthumously, and two, Sir Winston Churchill and Mother Teresa, during their lifetimes.
    • Honorary citizenship does not carry with it the rights and privileges of ordinary citizenship, and such status does not confer any special entry, travel or immigration benefits upon the honoree or the honoree’s relatives and dependants.
    • On 28 December 1784, the Maryland General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Lafayette and his male heirs “forever shall be…natural born Citizens” of the state.
      • In 1932, descendant René de Chambrun established his American citizenship based on the Maryland resolution, although he was probably ineligible as the inherited citizenship was likely only intended for direct descendants who were heir to Lafayette’s estate and title. The Board of Immigration Appeals ruled in 1955 that “it is possible to argue” that Lafayette and living male heirs became American citizens when the Constitution became effective on 4 March 1789, but that heirs born later were not U.S. citizens.
  • I took BoyGeeding to get a haircut yesterday. I never like how he looks the first week or so after a haircut. But then again, I never liked how I looked the first week or so after a haircut.
  • I didn’t catch the whole conversation, but during an argument, BoyGeeding told his sister, “You gotta learn how to take a tease.”
  • Google Maps Timeline – A record of all your movements logged in Google Maps (if you’ve allowed the app access). My data has been tracked since June 27, 2015, and the first trip it ever tracked was a drive to Klyde Warren Park.
  • Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller put ex-doctor with 2 revoked licenses on rural health panel
    • In Iowa, Rick Ray Redalen’s medical license was first suspended when he was convicted of perjury in a case involving his marriage to his 15-year-old former stepdaughter. The license was later revoked for good for failure to report a malpractice suit, medical board records show.
  • Harvard Business Review – How to Respond When You’re Put on the Spot in a Meeting
  • GIF – Impressive ballerina balancing skills
  • Roofer charged after repossessing roof, police say
  • Why Are There Two Ways To Write A Lowercase ‘g’?
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