Bag of Randomness for Friday, January, 27, 2017

  • DaughterGeeding didn’t finish her choirs before the start of ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ and we told her she couldn’t watch it until she finished all of them. I’ve never seen any person so devastated by not being able to watch ‘Diff’rent Strokes’. She “pleaded” that it was a “to be continued” episode from last night and she wanted to see how it turned out. I asked what was last night’s episode about, and she said, “I don’t know, I can’t remember, but it’s to be continued and I need to see what happens.”
  • A license plate caught my attention yesterday, and it didn’t appear to be a vanity plate. I’m leaving out the last few digits, but it was JFK 63–.
  • I was really disappointed in CBS11’s coverage of the Addison art teacher who shot a water gun at an image of President Donald Trump in the classroom. It was a stupid move on her part and shouldn’t have been done. However, CBS11 provided her name, which was appropriate, but what wasn’t appropriate was filming the front of her house with the street number clearly displayed. Anyone wanting to do harm to her or her family, and there are a lot of zealots out there, could easily harm her or her family. In less than three minutes I was able to find her house by looking at a local county appraisal website.
  • I’ve noticed the late Kidd Kraddick’s daughter has been doing commercials on radio and television.
  • There’s always that strange bit of awkward adjustment the country has when a new president starts his duties. The public is getting used to hearing “President” in front of the person’s name and wonder when he’ll have a good handle on things or fully adjusted. For me and this new president, I feel it’s going to take longer than usual.
  • About a year ago I started reading a book about presidents’ relationships with other presidents and how the acting president will often seek council from past presidents. I got sidetracked and forgot about it but started reading it again this week thanks to a reminder from a loyal reader. President Trump is so unique I’m curious to know if the following passages apply to him like it did the others
  • In much the same way about how an acting president will seek the counsel of former presidents, I wonder if Speaker Ryan has sought John Boehner’s counsel.
  • The new White House press secretary is not having a great first week –  Trump Press Secretary Sean Spicer may have just tweeted his password
  • Tweets that caught my attention yesterday:
    • @LindseyGrahamSC – Simply put, any policy proposal which drives up costs of Corona, tequila, or margaritas is a big-time bad idea. Mucho Sad. (2)
    • @RichOToole – How in the world could they build a wall between Texas and Mexico.. In 15 years they still haven’t finished I-35 between Austin and Waco.
  • I realize just a few days ago I stated it’s apples to oranges comparing what goes on in politics. However, it was my understanding Republicans were very fiscally conservative and don’t want to spend funds on things unless those funds are already accounted for. So I’m surprised they are willing to go ahead and front the spending on the proposed border wall with Mexico.
  • I also get a kick out of the author’s name – O. Kay Henderson
  • The story itself is great marketing – Kraft Heinz to give all of their salaried employees the day after the Super Bowl off instead of buying multi-million-dollar game ad
  • Boeing’s New Spacesuit May Look Stylish as Hell, But It’s All Business
  • I get annoyed when the news does a story on a person who pays a tax or a fine or whatever by wheeling in pennies just to prove a point. It’s been done and covered so many times there’s no point. And maybe it’s because I’ve worked as a person who has had to count cash and coinage, but the only person who “gets the message” is the employee having to process all coinage.
  • I don’t read a lot about grand jury testimonies, but this is the funniest story about one  I’ve read which includes a professional sports team. Basically, the Yankees got in a brawl at the Copacabana nightclub when a drunk bowling team heckled Sammy Davis Jr. with racial slurs.
    • “Well,” asked a grand juror, “did you see a gentleman lying unconscious on the floor near the Copa entrance?
      “Yes I did,” Mantle answers.
      “All right. do you have an opinion as to how this could have happened?”
      Mantle thought about the question and then, with a serious look on his face, said “I think Roy Rogers rode through the Copa, and Trigger kicked the man in the head” The Grand Jury broke out laughing, and an hour later the district attorney threw out the case for insufficient evidence.
  • GIF – Man sneaks up and scares a tiger
  • Here’s a movie scene I think about often, mainly because I wonder about people’s perception of my intentions. It should be cued to the relevant part.

Posted in Personal | 3 Comments

Bag of Randomness for Thursday, January 26, 2017

  • I worked with a man who lost a leg to cancer. When asked if he ever gets discounts on shoes, he said sometimes he gets lucky when a store has mismatched or irregular pairs. But for the most part, he has to buy a pair of shoes at sale price and will one use one of them.
    • One time he asked if I could come over to his house to help him move a recliner upstairs. To my surprise, he helped me move it and hopped and balanced on his one leg as we carried it up stairs.
  • If you haven’t watched the latest “Bad Lip Reading” and need some comic relief, check out the post below.
  • Mary Tyler Moore died, and while I had nothing against her, I wasn’t really a fan. When I heard about her death, I could only recall one thing I’ve ever seen her in, an episode of the Tea Leoni comedy ‘The Naked Truth’. I then scrolled own her IMDB page and realized I’ve heard a lot of stuff she’s been in, but have never watched any of them, even her more popular stuff like ‘Rhoda’, ‘Mary Tyler Moore’, and Ordinary People.
    • Her death was the lead story on the ‘CBS Evening News’. They end each newscast with a look at a city skyline, they chose Minneapolis last night. I know enough that was the setting of her show.
    • In this clip (towards the end), David Letterman and Michael Keaton talk about how Mary Tyler Moore helped give them a start in their careers. Of all things, they were backup singers and dancers.
  • Our neighbors from Mexico invited our family to their casa for their six-year-old daughter’s birthday party. I’ve been to kids birthday parties with a pinata before, but this was the first I’ve been to in which everyone (sans Geedings) were of Mexican heritage. Usually, when the pinata pops and the candy falls, I’m used to seeing the kids, after a small bit of persuasion, hurry to the candy with just a little bit of fanfare. But since the pinata was part of all the kids’ culture at this party, it wasn’t their first rodeo.  I kid you not, it was like watching the news on Black Friday with adults running over each other as soon as store doors open, except it was children. It was quite the site.
  • One of my virtual reality apps on my phone notified me of an NBA game I could watch live, which I thought was pretty cool. I didn’t have time to watch the game but did access the app to watch highlights of different NBA games and it was better than expected. You watch as if you are a ticket holder from under the goal, and then later it will switch you to court side seats as if you are Jack Nicholson or Spike Lee at a Lakers or Knicks game.
  • I noticed DaughterGeeding was taking longer than usual to finish her homework. It turns out she was finished, but she said she wanted to write a new Star Wars script.
    “But. I am, I am Princess Leia. I have hidden myself among the Earth people. Wanting to battle and tell you Luke, ah, I heard something.”
  • Something every Texan may have known but me:
    • As of November 1, 2016, the State of Texas will no longer automatically replace your plates after 7 years. However, you may still apply at your county tax office for replacement plates if the license plate needs to be replaced for cosmetic or readability reasons.
  • House prices on Zillow always seem inflated.
  • If you are the sensitive type or easily offended, then don’t click on Today’s dose of ‘MURICA!. But I will tell you that it’s just a GIF of two men shooting weapons.
  • Gmail will soon block JavaScript file attachments to reduce malicious attacks
  • Elon Musk: ‘Without tunnels, we will all be in traffic hell forever’
    • I don’t know a lot about tunnels, but I wonder how much flooding would be an issue and if the clay soil in Texas would cause any maintenance issues.
  • The Joshua Trick: How (U2) Fans Are Getting Squeezed by Ticket Sellers – The resale market for the band’s latest tour, celebrating 30 years of ‘The Joshua Tree,’ is just one more example of a broken system that hurts passionate fans the most
  • This Irish Wolfhound has the Guinness World Record for “longest tail on a dog.” – 30.2 inches (or 2 feet and 6.2 inches)
  • India just banned all forms of disposable plastic in its capital
  • GIF – One of my all-time favorite Johnny Carson moments, and I remember watching it the day it aired. I loved how he and Letterman would invite non-celebrities on the show.
  • I had a concussion a week before Thanksgiving and had to wear special glasses to look at a computer monitor so it wouldn’t cause any pain. The light was killing me. Just this week I no longer need to wear the glasses, things are basically back to normal.
  • I never thought this would catch on – 3D TV is dead – The last two TV-makers to build 3D functionality into their sets, LG and Sony, will not build any new sets this year that can show 3D movies and TV shows, CNET reports.
Posted in Personal | 4 Comments