Bag of Randomness for Monday, May 15, 2017

  • I don’t remember much after my procedure due to the anesthesia, but WifeGeeding said I was adamant about going to Meat U Anywhere for some brisket and breakfast tacos. When we arrived home I went to sleep, but when I woke up I thought I smelled smoked meat on my clothing and was confused. WifeGeeding told me what happened and said, “Who am I to refuse BBQ?”
  • A timer alarm on our Amazon Echo went off Friday evening to WifeGeeding’s and my surprise. It turns out BoyGeeding set it as soon as we arrived home after my procedure. The doctor stated I couldn’t drive for 12 hours, and BoyGeeding set the timer to let me know when I could drive again.
  • I really like how Melissa McCarthy gave a backstage tour of the SNL set, especially allowing the audience to see what it’s like to walk through the door all guest hosts walk through to start the show. One thing which stood out was the words written in Sharpie, “Have fun.”
  • Never did I think Liberty University would invite a sitting president as their commencement speaker who once, in all seriousness, refer to II Corinthians (Second Corinthians) as “Two Corinthians”, on their campus nonetheless. But then again, the president of that university referred to then candidate Trump as “Evangelicals’ dream president.“
  • Melania Trump Says White House Movie Theater Will Now Be Open to Public Tours For First Time
  • The Austin American-StatesmanIf Cornyn gets FBI post, who replaces him? Here are 5 possibilities.
    • Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick; U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul; R-Austin, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush; U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Austin; Eva Guzman, Texas Supreme Court Justice
  • We ate at the Collin Street Bakery in WifeGeeding’s little hometown of Lindale, Texas yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised to see Tesla charging stations. It’s right off I20, so I guess it’s a good place for them. Now, if I only had a Tesla.
  • Craig Miller of 1310 The TICKET sometimes has a segment called “You’re An Ass If…” in which listeners email him about inconsiderate people. I emailed him yesterday about an experience which happened on Saturday.
    • I took my wife and kids (ages five and six) out for an early dinner on Saturday night, and since the patio was in a shaded area and no one else was out there, we decided to dine outside. About ten minutes later a young adult woman also decided to dine on the patio. She was all alone and decided to stream the old NBC drama “ER” on her iPhone at maximum volume for the entirety of her meal just a table away from us. To add to it, small speakers, like that on a mobile phone, operating at a loud volume where you can tell it’s stressing the speaker and the quality is compromised, is like nails on a chalkboard to me.
  • It’s like a dragon from ‘Game of Thrones’ – Shockingly lifelike dinosaur fossil makes public debut
  • I’ve ranted about my dislike about “Undercover Boss” before, about how the undercover executives don’t really implement any real business change and just end up cashing in on emotional stress of a few employees by giving them a promotion, an expense free vacation, or something of the like. However, Friday’s episode was great because it swayed from the concept. Instead of a boss being undercover, they had Darius Rucker of country music and Hootie and the Blowfish, disguised and interacting with street and bar musicians. It was more of a “surprise mentor” show. At one point, he bet a street musician who could earn the most money from passersby at opposite street corners. Rucker felt humbled as a person who played in sold out arenas but easily ignored for his craft on the street and losing the bet.  In the end, he helped three musicians by upgrading their instruments, paying for music education to help fine tune their craft, paying for a record to be recorded, and getting an audition to be set up with a record executive. I’d love to see more of this, where a musician embarks on a journey to find rough and hidden talent in disguise at hole-in- the-wall places but later becomes a mentor to help them get their career started.
  • U2 this and that . . .
    • From what I’ve read and seen about their first concert of this new tour, it’s still grand and there’s use of modern day special effect, but it’s a bit scaled back as if to reflect how things were back in the Eighties.
    • If you are curious as to what the opening song is, that is, the song played before they take the stage, click here.
    • When I bought my tickets I mentioned that tickets aren’t printed, emailed, or at will call, but it’s the purchasing credit card which will act as tickets. It’s one way to discourage scalping, but it caused long lines.
    • Watch the World Premiere of U2’s ‘The Little Things That Give You Away’
    • Buying a ticket means you consent to being photographed and recorded.
    • WifeGeeding’s coolness factor was questioned when she asked me if we were taking DART or driving to the concert. She was thinking it would be held at the American Airlines Center, which has DART service. It will actually be at AT&T Stadium which doesn’t offer any public transportation. I just looked at her funny in a teasing sort of way, and then she said, “Oh, that’s right, it’s at Texas Stadium,” which caused an immediate eye roll from me since it was imploded back in 2010.
  • Conquer Monday like this dog conquered his little problem

    That dog has better problem-solving skills than some of my coworkers

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Bag of Randomness for Friday, May 12, 2017

  • I’m having my steroid epidural this morning. I”m told I should be there no longer than ninety minutes but will be drugged similar to getting a wisdom tooth extracted. There’s no telling if WifeGeeding will record anything crazy I say.
  • I never needed to have my wisdom teeth removed.
  • One thing I always wanted to do but never could no matter how much I tried – whistle loudly by putting my fingers in my mouth. I can regular whistle, but I want to master the super loud finger whistle. Yesterday I decided to give it a try again, watching more YouTube videos I’d like to admit and almost passing out a few times. There’s too much to it, from the placement of the tongue, lip technique, the direction to blow the air, the right amount of moisture, yadda yadda yadda.
  • About my comments comment yesterday. I didn’t mean to sound as if I were complaining, it just seemed a bit quieter.
  • A great bit in this season of ‘Fargo’ is that a character is never recognized by any automatic device, like automatic doors, sinks, or soap dispensers. And knowing that show, you know that’s going to come into play in an unexpected but important way.
  • I’ve been too embarrassed to ever admit this to my friends or even on this blog, which serves as a nice filter or barrier between me and the real world, and I’m not even sure why, but I suffer from dyslexia. It’s something I was only tested for as an adult, and wonder how much it held me back in both education and profession (and with the ladies, my love notes were crap). And you wonder why it’s taking me freaking forever to finish that book I’m reading. But I guess I fear I’m just making excuses or using something which could be perceived as a crutch.
  • The crayon box with a sharpener on the side was a big game changer in elementary school. I think it was only available in the 64 count box, and I spent way too much time deciding on what shades of blue to use for the sky and water.
  • BIG D – The main reason Americans are ditching New York and flocking to cowboy land
  • The Girls’ Soccer Team That Joined a Boys’ League, and Won It
  • The role of the White House Press Secretary and the Deputy Press Secretary are extremely difficult jobs, but one that’s intrigued me over the years. I have no sorrow for anyone who chooses those roles, they are serving their country, at the top of the profession, and the monetary opportunities after their tenure are vast. I always felt the role was primarily to speak to the public through the media hound dogs, but so far I feel like the current folks in those roles are speaking down to the public ever since the start of the new administration.
  • U2’s tour officially starts tonight in Vancouver.
  • Here’s how the Russians might have snuck a recording device into the Oval Office
    • I was more interested in how a device might send out data and how it could be found:
      • Sending out data:
        • Knowing that the device would be found, then, Morris’s would transmit a signal out in as quick a burst as possible. This is meant to prevent White House security from detecting the burst — and then tracking down its point of origin. Morris figured that he’d send out the data after about 12 hours, although it would also be useful to send a burst after only a few hours.
        • There are two options for transmitting out: using a normal cell-tower transmission or using a low-frequency signal that would stand a better chance of passing through the walls of the White House. Nor would the Russians need to park a white van subtly labeled “VLADIMIR’S FLOWERS” on Pennsylvania Avenue to detect the emission. Such a signal could travel a mile, Morris said, allowing them to camp out in a nearby hotel, for example.
      • Finding a bug:
        • “It is an office that does get an extensive sweep by well-trained professionals” — although not necessarily after every meeting. Such a sweep, he said, would include far more than simply holding up some electronic gizmo that would ping if it detected a signal. It would mean looking in every imaginable place — behind electrical outlets, inside cushions — for anything that might be used to spy on Oval Office meetings. “They really disassemble most of the room,” Morris said.
  • One reason I use bullet points is if something isn’t of interest to you, you can easily skip over it. It’s my way of not wasting your time you decided to waste. I prefer you to waste your time in a more effective and efficient manner. For instance, the next and final bullet point for today is about presidential history and the book I’m reading.
  • More interesting nuggets from the book I’m reading about the relationships amongst presidents.
    • As LBJ flew back with the JFK’s body, staff already cleared the Oval Office of all of Kennedy’s things. However, LBJ just couldn’t bring himself to work in Oval Office as of yet and continued to work out of his then current office.
    • During his time in the Senate, LBJ and Speaker Sam Rayburn used to kid with President Eisenhower about how they were all Texans. Ike was born in Dennison, TX.  They all had a good report with each other, and the book states that despite Ike not having a legislative background, he got 83% of his program through a Democratic congress.
    • Ike viewed JFK’s body at 11:15 AM the day after the assassination and then had a two-hour lunch with LBJ. Ike told LBJ that it would be better to be a good president for a year than to try to hold on to it for six. LBJ expressed concerns over Kennedy’s staff, and Ike told him he had to be his own man, let a decent amount of time pass, and then clean house and appoint his own team.
      • LBJ asked for some specific advice for the days ahead, and Ike started to jot down things on a legal pad. He then asked if his old secretary was still around, someone he really trusted, to come in and take dictation. She was, and he asked her to burn her notes and make only two copies, one for himself and one for the new president.
      • Ike told him to call a joint session of Congress and practically dictated the outline of the speech. That he’d come to this office unexpectedly, accepts the decision of the Almighty, assure no revolution in purpose or policy will occur, his mission would be to carry out the “noble objections” by his great predecessor, and vow to work with Congress, business, and labor to do it. It was important that continuity was the underlying message.
      • LBJ emphasized the importance of convincing the country to move forward without hesitation, wavering, or self-doubt because the results could be disastrous.
      • As a token of appreciation, LBJ sent Ike a leather-bound copy of the speech as a Christmas present, complete with Ike’s initials.
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