BagOfNothing.com

• I use my father’s dresser and the other day WifeGeeding accidentally pulled one of the drawers out. In the far back and long forgotten was this old cigarette carton box. I remember the day Dad quit and I think he was going to do it cold turkey, so I was curious if it was empty, and alas, it was. I told my childhood friend Jimi about it and he said he could remember the day I told him my father was going to quit smoking and we were trying to guess the year. I then remembered this old “contract” I made my father sign it in hopes of weaning him off. My mother signed as a “witness”. If my memory serves me correctly, he smoked one last one and couldn’t even finish it and then was chewing Nicorette like all get out. So by the date of this “contract”, that box is at least 30-years old.
  
• I’ve been wanting a mechanical keyboard and took a chance on a discounted return item on Amazon. It arrived yesterday and I was all giddy hooking it up, but then I had Charlie Brown slump once I realized the “T” key didn’t work. I was tempted to write this entire Bag of Randomness using that keyboard just for kicks.
• While reading my book on presidents and relationships they’ve had with former presidents, I started to wonder what president had the most future presidents born in his administration. I couldn’t find anything online, so I researched it myself. My first guess would have been FDR since he served the longest, but there were zero future presidents born during his time in office. I suppose a depression and a world war would hamper procreation. But without double checking my work, it appears the most future presidents born in a single president’s administration is three, and it’s a tie.
  • Washington – Polk, Buchanan, Tyler
  • Truman – W. Bush, Clinton, Trump
• Before reading the book, I really didn’t know much about Hoover other than he presided before Roosevelt and at the start of the Great Depression. I associated “Hoover” with the vacuum and thought he “sucked”. However, the book has given me an appreciation for him and his life after the presidency, especially how much he helped Truman and the rebuilding efforts after WWII. Heck, Truman sent him on three overseas trips in just one calendar year. Many folks claim Carter might have the best or most influential life after office, but Hoover is a strong argument.
• DaughterGeeding came home from school and tried teaching me a new song she heard on the playground, the “Diarrhea” song. She was amazed and how I could contribute to it.
• DaughterGeeding likes to write and will often write notes so not to forget things she learned earlier in the day. I have to admit this attention getting headline really caught my attention and I had lots of concerns at first. I thought she might be yelling a line from an Anne Frank movie or something from The Sound of Music.
  
• Last night’s ‘Life in Pieces’ had two guest stars from ‘The Office’.
• Last night there was a collegiate track meet at the new Cowboys headquarters and an eleven-year-old homeschooled girl competed – against college students, mind you, and came in third place in her 3,000-meter race.
• Erin Gray was one of my childhood crushes, she’ll be in Irving tomorrow for the Dallas Comic Show. I loved her in both ‘Buck Rogers’ and ‘Silver Spoons’ and was delighted when she guest starred in ‘Magnum, P.I.’.
  • “Here we are, face to face, a couple of silver spoons…“
• You can now watch VR content from the Chrome app
• Teenagers Who Vandalized Historic Black Schoolhouse Are Ordered to Read Books
  • After five teenagers defaced a historic black schoolhouse in Virginia with racist and anti-Semitic graffiti last year, a judge handed down an unusual sentence. She endorsed a prosecutor’s order that they read one book each month for the next 12 months and write a report about it. But not just any books: They must address some of history’s most divisive and tragic periods.
• The great Nick Offerman will be back on ‘This Old House’ this weekend.
• In a bit similar to the pet rock, rock band KISS will now sell you air guitar strings.
• Paris to erect bulletproof wall around Eiffel Tower
  • Temporary fences were installed last June, but these rather unattractive barriers will now become permanent with the placement of a 2.5 meter-high bulletproof glass wall, according to French daily Le Parisien.
• When you read the headline, you don’t picture a redheaded white kid – A 15-year-old (Sorta-maybe) Basketball Prodigy
• Starplex music venue in Dallas may not be named Starplex after all
• 37 days: Corpus Christi finds lessons in mayor’s political implosion
  • Fed up with lingering infrastructure problems, Corpus Christi voters turned to a political novice to run the city. In just over a month, he was gone, leaving behind political limbo — and some lessons.
• Awkward Sean Spicer interview by Breitbart, the reporter is very nervous – Digg
• SI.com – Report: Ex-Baylor president Ken Starr could join Trump administration
  • Former Baylor president Ken Starr has a job waiting for him in the state department, according to a report by Foreign Policy magazine. Starr is reportedly on the shortlist for the position of ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. The post is tasked with the promotion of religious freedoms around the world.
• For my fellow Google Daydream owners – You can now watch VR content from the Chrome app
• Everyone and their dog wrote off the Mavs, but dang they are playing some good ball. Sure, they aren’t going to go deep in the playoffs and they are a long ways away, but they sure are exciting to watch and we need to appreciate Dirk as much as we can. It’s nice to see him still deliver in the clutch.
• Sure, many may think we are living in crazy times with a Trump presidency, but I think when we look at our nation’s legislative history, prohibition or the 18th Amendment actually happened. I’m curious to know what legislative act can top that.
• Rev. Dr. Hart, I just want to say I’m proud of you. Your accomplishment is not for your glory but for His alone, but you already knew that.
• Chris may not know or understand, and he should know who he is, but yesterday he restored my faith in humanity and reminded me of this Reagon quote which is etched on the outside of his tomb.
  

• Two lines in sitcoms from last night that stuck with me:
  • A baby girl always steals her mother’s beauty.
  • It’s fun when your kids get your best qualities, but it’s a kick in the gut when they pick up stuff you hate about yourself.
• A long time ago before a trip I longed planned, I got sick the day before the flight and didn’t enjoy my time away. That’s one reason I don’t like to travel or get anxiety booking something like a concert, I have this fear I’m going to get sick leading up to the event.
• The other day I thanked a customer service representative and she responded with, “It was my extreme pleasure.” Extreme was a little extreme. And in case you are wondering, it wasn’t Chick-fil-A.
• I know Stevie Wonder has already done a carpool karaoke with James Corden, but I think a good marketing opportunity for an autonomous car company would be to do another with him behind the wheel.
• It’s no Nissan Leaf, I tell ya – Tesla Model S breaks acceleration record with Ludicrous Mode
  • In a recent Motor Trend test, the Model S P100D hit 0-60 mph in 2.275507139 seconds using a new Easter egg mode called Ludicrous+. No production car has ever cracked 2.3 seconds during the magazine’s testing, it said.
  • Although the S P100D’s acceleration times are impressive for a stock electric vehicle, Motor Trend said it loses its advantage to other supercars at higher speeds, where horsepower wins out over instant torque. The Ferrari LaFerrari, for example, reaches 70 mph a tenth of a second quicker, while the Porche 918 and McLaren P1 win out at 80 mph.
• The Big 12 should have done something similar to this right after the Pepper Hamilton report was released. It doesn’t take Axel Foley to know something was up when only an oral report was provided. But then again, what can one expect from such a weakly lead conference. Heck, they don’t even live up to the name with 12 teams in their conference.
  • Big 12 to withhold future payments to Baylor – The Big 12 Conference voted to withhold 25% of any future revenue distribution payments to Baylor University, the league announced on Wednesday. The conference says the payments will be held pending the conclusion of a third-party verification review which required the school to change its athletics procedures and to institute governance of Baylor’s athletics programs.
  • I knew the Big 12’s headquarters is done the road from GeedingManor but didn’t know this, from its Wikipedia page – The Big 12 Conference is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization[2] incorporated in Delaware.
• You may not have noticed, but I haven’t made a Trump reference in two days. It’s hard not to, he’s doing so much so fast and he’s all over the news and social media. I feel like he’s into the swing of things, faster than others in recent memory. But I’m curious how he’ll handle the first major incident or tragedy and becomes comforter in chief.
• I wish I had enough self-confidence in myself as the president does in himself.
• Sadly, may who have signed aren’t as well renowned or respected by those in my evangelical circles – 100 evangelical leaders sign ad denouncing Trump’s refugee ban
  • Signees include Pastor Timothy Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, Christian author Ann Voskamp, Bill and Lynne Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church, preacher and author Max Lucado, Pastor Eugene Cho of Quest Church and Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals.
  • While the advertisement is signed by evangelical heavyweights, several evangelical leaders who backed Trump during the campaign are supporting the ban. They include Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition; Franklin Graham of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association; and the Rev. Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas.
• How the first nuclear bomb test is helping scientists learn about the Moon’s formation – Glass from the Trinity test site is helping us figure out the birth of our lunar companion
• We finally have a computer that can survive the surface of Venus – Sulphuric rain is easy; not being cremated by 500°C or crushed by 90 atmospheres is hard.

[gview file=”https://www.bagofnothing.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/all_work_and_no_playpdf.pdf”]