BagOfNothing.com

• After years of toying with the garage door and having it serviced more than I’d like to admit, I finally just bought a brand new one and had it installed. I went the Craig’s List route and saved about two-hundred bucks I think. The guy that worked on it was so nice and polite I even tipped him, and I haven’t seen someone so thankful in a long time.
• For the second time in my life, I decided to shave my head with a razor. It brings out the half-Asian in me more so than usual.
  • Here are four things I think every man needs to do at least once in his life:
    • Shave his head. Maybe not with a razor, but a buzzcut without a guard.
    • Let the hair grow out at least six months without a haircut or trim.
    • Grow a beard for at least half a year.
    • I forgot the fourth.
• The Olympics reminds me of all the times I failed to commit to something. Age, experience, and perspective will do that do you. But it really makes me appreciate what medal winners have to do. Seriously, we may see only one minute of glory in their life, but to get to that moment, you’re looking at dedication which required going to bed early, waking up early, turning down social engagements to make early practice, diet and nutrition, doing what needs to be done when you are drained and have no motivation, injury and rehab, and on and on and on….for years.
• It was so neat seeing NBA players from the men’s national team in the audience cheering on Michael Phelps. Not only does it feel like the tables have turned, that they aren’t in the spotlight, but it’s neat seeing professional athletes admire greatness and be a part of history. Phelps is that rare athlete that can have a laser-like focus and turn it up to an eleven, much like Jordan, but different.
• I think every summer Olympics from here to eternity, you’ll hear the name Nadia Comaneci dropped at least once during gymnastics. I think it will now be the same with Michael Phelps, and no one will remember the name Mark Spitz.
  • I can’t find the exact quote, and I’m going to botch it a bit, but he really impressed me at one press conference when his career first took off when he said, “I”m not looking to be the next Mark Spitz, I’m looking to be Michael Phelps.”
  • I wonder if anyone calls him Mike.
• Wasn’t a fan of NBC’s commentators for swimming yesterday. One guy did everything he could do to try to jinx Phelps, so much so I thought Phelps was going to pull up with a cramp. He also said Phelps was exhausted after his last race for the night. Well, duh, you’re supposed to leave it all out there and give it all you got. Also, one of the announcers for gymnastics sounds exactly like Lester Holt and it throws me everytime.
• I’ve never known anyone or their child who has competed in diving and have no idea even if that’s an option around these here part, yet one recently one a medal.
• It’s funny how most of us will watch something like gymnastics and critique it yet have no idea what’s really good or bad. But I guess you know when you see it.
• Since so many flags of all the nations are manufactured in China, I wonder if the Chinese delegation just brings it with them.
• I thought Scott Pelley took a small jab at NBC last night with this statement during the ‘CBS Evening News’:
  • “Fair warning. We are about to report an Olympic result because it is news. It’s not our fault that the TV coverage is delayed. Here it is…”
  • Pelley and his wife recently bought a flatiron condo. I have no idea what a flatiron condo was.
• The Cowboys have been in a downward decline of morality for years, and it looked much worst yesterday when Art Briles visited their training camp. I think Stephen Jones is trying to do some sort of power pose.
• I thought I could find some stuff on Men’s Fitness’ website on blood pressure, but nope.
• The guys on The TICKET were joking around and one of them playfully stated that the anticipation of the holidays, or an event, is better than the holiday or event itself. I thought about that for a good five minutes and agree for the most part. It’s not always about the destination, but the journey.
• Popular Mechanics – Texas Is Drowning in Wind Energy – Yes, you can have too much of a good thing.
• Today’s dose of ‘MURICA! (I guess)
  
• And yet she’s the one that spent time in prison – Martha Stewart, Snoop Dogg to Host Weekly ‘Dinner Party’ Show on VH1
• I’m not sure I stated this yet, but Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ is a phenomenal mini-series. Non-spoiler thoughts will be posted soon. For those of you that do watch, when I’m mad at WifeGeeding, I now refer to her as a mouth-breather.
• I used to work at the huge Fidelity Investments campus in Westlake. TD Ameritrade was just down the road in a very sizable building. So this news was a bit surprising to me – Schwab campus in Westlake will bring 1,200 jobs to North Texas
  • The Charles Schwab Corp. will build a $100 million, 500,000-square-foot regional campus in Westlake that ultimately will bring 1,200 jobs to North Texas within10 years.
  • If memory serves me correct, Fidelity gets a tax break by having cattle on their land.
• I bet a lot of folks thought this was an easy no-brainer decision for Truman to make.

President Truman writes to Senator Richard Russell today 1945 about his plans for ending war against Japan: pic.twitter.com/svuCEQey8c

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) August 9, 2016

• Finished watching Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ and I can’t say enough good things about it. Spoiler-free thoughts to come at a later posting.
• While watching the Olympics last night, I noticed when a swimmer completes the race and hits the wall, the time will automatically display and an OR or WR will appear if an Olympic or world record is broken. Oddly, I think about the programming or coding that goes behind that display, especially the if statement and multiple conditions depending on the time and what record or records are broken.
• A Russian swimmer was actually booed by the crowd yesterday, something to do with performance-enhancing drugs in the past. But man, she was attractive. More importantly, Lilly King showed her who was boss, more on that in a link provided later.
• At some point, a swimming or sprint time has to become so short that it’s unbreakable, right? Diet, nutrition, supplementation, exercise, training, clothing, running surface, technology – there’s got to be a point in which all that can be done is done, no?
• On Norm’s show yesterday, his guest was Larry Wansley, the Dallas Cowboys director of security.
  • Here’s an old article about him from when he was hired by Tex Schramm back in 1983 – Ex-FBI agent Larry Wansley says he’ll help Dallas Cowboys…
  • I remember watching a Monday night game with my dad when Tom Landry received a death threat and was escorted off the field (video – article). I’ve had a hard time finding details about the event for the longest time, but he provided a few, though some of his details don’t match up with the articles I found online:
    • When Landry was informed, he handed his headset and clipboard to a wide-eyed Danny White and told him to take over. Funny thing, but when I think of Tom Landry, I never think of him with a headset. Here’s an article about him first starting to wear it. Oddly enough, it’s the same year/season this story takes place, 1986.
    • Landry was asked to call plays from either the locker room or press box, but stated he trusted the security and that he needed to be out there with his men. He was given a flak jacket (per the article) and wore that underneath his clothing.
    • If I heard Wansley’s story correct, he told players about the incident and that they all should help form a line behind Landry to help protect him. A lot of them replied with a “shhhhesh!” and you didn’t see any stand close to their coach. However, video doesn’t really support that statement.
  • That was Jim Everett’s rookie year and he threw for 418 yards that game. Steve Pelluer was the Cowboys QB, he threw for 173 yards, no touchdowns, and two picks. White was injured and in street clothes. Cowboys kicker and childer molester, Rafael Septien, made a 48-yard field goal.  More game stats here.
  • Interestingly enough, the Cowboys will be playing the Rams this year for each team’s first preseason game. Tex Schram was once employed by the LA Rams.
  • In an episode of The Simpsons, Homer buys Landry’s trademark fedora in an effort to improve his leadership qualities. Here’s a clip. More on that episdode here.
    
• Disney builds stone wall at lake where alligator killed boy
• Swedish church to use drones to drop thousands of electronic Bibles in ISIS-controlled Iraq
• The new season of HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ starts tonight starring the LA Rams.
• Baptist pastor in Alabama said he lost his job because he invited black children to VBS. The deaconship says it’s because the pastor didn’t do a good job with visitation.
• More and more women are now dying in childbirth, but only in America
  • They think maternal deaths are rising because of the rising toll of chronic diseases. Thirty years ago, women died in the delivery room because of hemorrhages and pregnancy-induced blood pressure spikes. Now they are much more likely to die because of preexisting chronic conditions like heart disease or diabetes.
• My interest in sports is slowly dissipating, but I still like to scan Peter King’s MMQB. Items of interest:
  • The Carolina Panthers invited a high school football team to practice with them. That, it pretty darn cool, and an experience those kids will never forget.
  • I had no idea the Hall of Fame Game was canceled, and it was all because of the paint on the turf which created patches both slick and rock-hard. This was disappointing to ESPN because it was not only going to signify the official start of this NFL season with preseason play, but ESPN was going to debut their new pregame crew and announcing team. The game is usually on NBC, but I’m guessing ESPN got the rights because of the Olympics.
  • The turf at the stadium, which is mainly used for high school games and next t the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was so bad last year that Steelers kicker (and former Cowboy) Shaun Suisham suffered a career-ending ACL injury.
  • The “new” turf at the stadium was installed in the summer. It was the surface used in the Superdome for the 2016 Sugar Bowl. That makes me wonder how often are new fields for certain events are recycled, perhaps purchased by high schools and small colleges.
  • As corny as it might be, I liked the new tradition of the Hall of Fame Game. Before it starts, both teams line up midfield as each new Hall of Famer is introduced. It’s a great symbolic gesture of honoring the past and welcoming in the new. It must be an overwhelming experience for some free agent just fighting for a spot on special teams.
• Peter King was a huge influence for this blog. It’s his “Ten Things I Think I Think” that got me started posting my random thoughts and links. And it was his format of numbered and alphabetical lists in “Ten Things” that got me using the bullet point format. It’s easy to read, and if you hit a topic you don’t care for, it’s easy to skip over to the next bullet point.
• I always this looked distinguished and cool – Navy says goodbye to aquaflage, hello to camouflage uniforms
• Florida tourism has to be hurting with all this Zika talk.
• Buzzfeed Olympic stuff
  • Lilly King Just Wagged Her Finger, Won A Gold Medal, And Now Everyone Is Obsessed
  • This Is The Most Awkward Moment Of The Olympics So Far
  • 24 Photos Of Olympians Achieving Their Dreams That Will Make You Emotional