BagOfNothing.com

Atlanta, that was impressive.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=X_JxpTuG85M&si=whlqK5zZ3cbVpaiE

Longtime readers know I have an odd aversion to gasoline pump handles, thinking they are covered in more germs than other things we touch. It’s a small reason why I continue to buy electric cars. Well, while reading one of my daily comics, Ripley’s Believe It or Not backs up my claim.

Another of my daily comics made me laugh.

I’ll give RFK some credit; more food manufacturers are removing artificial food dyes. I don’t think this would be happening if he weren’t serving as the current Secretary of Health and Human Services. But I still think he’s a dangerous nut we have in leadership.

Google Gemini crumbles in the face of Atari Chess challenge — admits it would ‘struggle immensely’ against 1.19 MHz machine, says canceling the match most sensible course of action

It was surprising to read yesterday that The Daily Show has recorded its highest quarterly ratings in a decade. Considering the current quarter doesn’t include the drama of the 2024 election season, and it’s after Donald Trump’s second inauguration, people are still tuning in. I’ve been a loyal viewer since Stewart’s return and am glad I’ve given the other show hosts a chance. His most recent guest was Kyla Scanlon, a young (28) up-and-coming economist promoting her first book,  In This Economy? How Money & Markets Really Work. You don’t see many economists sporting large, visible tattoos. But I’m sure a lot of people will automatically not take her seriously, being so young, pretty, and being a triple major (financial management, economics, and business data analytics) out of Western Kentucky University. However, she has a gift for making complex things easier to understand.

LiberallyLean linked to a tweet from a Wise County judge sharing he was elected to be President of the National Association of Counties, representing 3,069 counties across America.

You know the way my mind works. Now I need to know how many total counties there are in the 50 states. So, I turned to Google’s Gemini, and here’s what it said.

I once Heimliched a koala.

Believe it or not, but a variation of that sentence used to be my default password to lot of stuff. Where did that come from? Tom Cruise once did a Letterman Top Ten list, and I think it was number five. Also on that list, and I give Cruise credit for reading it and being a good sport for as much heat as he takes for Scientology and mental health, was, “I believe all emotional and psychological disorders can be cured with Vicks VapoRub.”

I only had one job lead last week despite submitting over 50 applications. This employer had me take an assessment test that supposedly measured how I go about solving a problem and what type of chemistry I might bring to a team. It was comprised of four sections, each timed for ten minutes. I can’t remember what I scored on all sections, just three of them. One said I scored in the top two percentile, the other the top six, and the other the top twenty-fourth. Let’s just say, anytime I have had to take a test to advance my career, I never performed well enough to advance. That’s one reason why I never became an officer in the military despite a college degree, and why I never became a stockbroker despite majoring in finance and earning an MBA. That proved true once again with this test, as they were no longer interested in me as a candidate after taking their assessment test.

The music minister at my current church is well accomplished. He has a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting and Organ Performance from the University of North Texas, and 30+ years of experience successfully conducting choirs and directing music programs both in schools and churches in DFW and Boston. He has participated in national and international performance and service tours, including the United States, England, Ireland, China, Australia, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, and the Virgin Islands. He’s in his 50s and was concerned he was having some heart issues, so his cardiologist scheduled him to take an exercise stress test last week. During the test, he had a massive heart attack. He’s since been in the ICU and isn’t expected to recover. I don’t know much about the details other than that, and his mother just got into town.

I had lunch recently with a woman from one of the dating apps I’ve been messaging recently. As I’m sure most people do, I did a little background checking before the date, to be on the safe side. I’m sure most folks aren’t aware how easy it is to find information about them regarding the way they phrase certain things on their profile. Most of the time, I can either find their LinkedIn or Facebook profile. During lunch, this woman shared two things that didn’t match up with things she had on those profiles. But then again, I should give her the benefit of the doubt; maybe she simply forgot the number of kids she really has.

This weekend was full of watching movies. It started with the new Superman, which BoyGeeding and I enjoyed. I used to have high and certain expectations when it comes to movies like these, but now, I just want to be entertained and appreciate that particular director’s concept of the character. There will never be another Christopher Reeve, and Zack Snyder had his particular grittier take, so you work with the hand you are dealt. This frame of thinking all started when the fourth Indiana Jones came out, and I realized nothing was going to beat what was solidified in my childhood, so it was best I change my approach and expectations.

I saw that the Anthony Hopkins Hitchcock film with Helen Mirren and Scarlett Johansson was about to leave Netflix, so I fit that in. It was better than expected, and I’d recommend it.

I have a friend who’s interested in sovereign citizen YouTube videos. If you are unfamiliar with the sovereign citizens movement, they might most likely take the stance that they don’t have to pay certain taxes or follow some government rules because they believe those laws don’t apply to them personally. Members often hold the view that they can “opt out” of some or all aspects of government authority, especially regarding taxes, licenses, and the legal system. There’s a new movie called Sovereign that he wanted to see, based on real events, and it was only showing in one local theater. In the movie, Nick Offerman stars as Jerry Kane, a debt eliminator and Sovereign Citizen speaker who is teaching his son, Joseph (Jacob Tremblay), how the movement operates. The film’s core focus is on their dynamic, and the events leading up to a tragic standoff that puts them in conflict with police chief John Bouchart (Dennis Quaid). While it’s not a feel-good movie, it’s a damn good movie.

Other than the first ten minutes, I watched Brandon Lee’s The Crow for the first time. Why has it taken me so long? My mom forbade me from ever watching it. Why? Because as soon as my father finished watching that movie in May 1994, he went to get a drink of water in the kitchen and fell to the floor because his heart stopped beating. That was three days before my high school graduation. He had a pacemaker put in, and I got four borrowed years. Granted, it was playing in the background as I was applying for jobs, so I wasn’t really watching it with any intent or attention; it just happened to be on. It’s a film already soaked in death and grief, so it’s no wonder that my mom stamped it as cursed. To her, it was like that movie conjured something. She was trying to protect me in her own scared, wounded way. There’s a part of me that feels I dishonored her by watching it after all these years. I shared that with a friend, and he said he didn’t think I dishonored her. If anything, he said, watching it now was a quiet, brave kind of closure. I didn’t light candles and chant in Latin or anything, I just turned to a movie I’ve been avoiding my whole adult life, and he thought that was huge.

After every presidential election, there’s usually one book the following year the comes out about the election that stands out above the rest. This year’s book is 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America. I’ve downloaded a sample onto my Kindle and I’m really enjoying it. As a lover of presidential history, I have a real appreciation for this stuff, and I’m very picky about the authors I choose to read. Speaking of which, I saw that David Gergen died. Gergen worked in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. He wrote a book about his experiences that I really enjoyed. There were two photos in the book that stood out, and I wish I could find them. He’s at the center of each surrounded by four U.S. presidents. That’s gotta be rare, for a person to have a picture with two different sets of four U.S. presidents. No one else but him and those men. I’d say pretty rare, and pretty impressive. I really enjoyed reading about his perspective on working for presidents of both political parties. Talk about some insight. I can’t remember, but I think I actually wrote him a letter after reading the book to see if he would answer a question I had. I’ve done it with other authors, though usually with an email, and a few times I’ve been lucky enough that they have replied.

I found a new discount website for tech stuff: www.plug.tech.com. They were selling a first-generation Google Pixel watch for $39, not bad for a watch that debuted on October 13, 2022, for $329.99. I’m a longtime Google Fi subscriber and a loyal user of the Pixel phone. Granted, I don’t need a new watch, but for $40, I figured, why not? Maybe it will encourage me to be more active. So, I pulled the trigger and became a new customer of Plug.tech. So, I thought it was a little funny that just before they sent me a confirmation email of my purchase, there was an email from them saying they missed me.

So, I thought I’d share the discount code in case any of you find something you like. And no, I’m not getting any special kickback or incentive for sharing this with you.

I'd love to have a copy of that book, even if it is a reprint. 
But I'd rather have a new job of all things.

It was a pleasant surprise to see the Mom Game podcast on local television. I’m not sure how long Julie Dobbs and Emily Jones (both local sports personalities) have been on TV, but last night they had Troy Aikman on the show, via the phone. Come on, Troy, you couldn’t do a Zoom call to help the girls out? I’m kidding, that really doesn’t annoy me. Aikman talked about how he would and always will open the door for his daughters, and how one daughter used to make a game of who could open the door first for the other when she was younger. Aikman shared a moment when he told his little girl that it may be a game now, but it doesn’t matter how old you get, I will always open the door for you. He also added that if any guy wouldn’t be willing to hold the door open for her, then he isn’t worth her time. I thought he had some good stuff to share, especially about being a divorced father of daughters. Hey, I can certainly relate. Divorce keeps my daughter away from me more than I would like, and I often worry that I don’t get to spend enough “regular time” around her to share some fatherly wisdom.

I literally cannot remember a time when Clarice Tinsley has not been broadcasting the news on KDFW. I still remember being impressed when the station held a special 25-year celebration for her, thinking how close I was to that number in age and how that was an enormous amount of time. Now, as I approach 50 (next month) and she celebrates her 46th year at the station, I laugh at my young adult self for thinking 25 years was a grandious amount of time. The perception of time is a lot different after you’ve lived enough life to actually have some “real” perspective to look back on. Sure, it’s a significant amount of time, but I wasn’t able to comprehend or appreciate time until I realized how I have more days behind me than in front of me. And I often think about my father, how he already spent 28 years in the military and didn’t have his first child until half a decade later. He had an entire life before he knew me, and all I knew of him was the last third of his life.

It’s the 50th anniversary of Jaws. It still amazes me that the film premiered in Dallas, of all places, because the Medallion Theater was a good luck theater for 29-year-old Stephen Spielberg. He was pacing at the back of the theater at the time, trying to interpret the audience’s reactions. Two years later, he came back to the Medallion to hold the first test run showing of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But I mention all that just to say that despite hearing this fact multiple times, it finally registered with me. Jaws was the very first summer blockbuster film. And, it all started in Dallas. Crazy, huh?

• How Dallas JAWS test screening changed the film (and cinema) forever
• The night ‘Jaws’ premiered in Dallas, with Spielberg nervously watching in the audience. The Medallion Theatre at 125 Medallion Center, Dallas, was chosen to be the site of the first public screening of “Jaws.”

Random advice I read in a newsletter I thought worthy to share:

If you’re trying to retain new knowledge, create space for insight. This might mean stepping away from the probleIt’m, walking outside, getting sleep, or doing something unrelated so your subconscious can connect the dots.

When the solution finally hits, you’ll not only solve the problem, you’ll remember it longer, too, and be able to apply those lessons to other problems you want to solve.

It’s not even just insight, but there have been plenty of times I just wanted to complete or wrap something up and couldn’t figure it out or get things right, and stayed stuck there in frustration. But over the years, I’ve learned sometimes I just need to step away for ten minutes or even go do something else or sleep on it, and when I return, I’m shocked at how quickly I was able to wrap it all up because all I did was take a break and get a fresh perspective.

It’s a darn shame about all the flooding in Central Texas, especially all the missing children. The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes. Amazing. When asked about the weather forecast, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tried to get in front of the news and blasted the outdated technology behind the government’s weather alert system, “We needed to renew this ancient system that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years, and that is the reforms that are ongoing there.”

What she and the administration won’t tell you is that the staff and resources were adequate until the new Trump Administration and DOGE took an axe to the National Weather Service to fight what they consider the false climate change narrative.

Texas officials were also quick to pounce on the NWS.

You’re going to see a lot more stuff like this creep into the news in different forms. Eventually, something regarding food and water is going to be overlooked for the same reasons, as will many medical and healthcare issues.

Dallas renames lakes along the Trinity River to honor Native American tribes

He proposes to his visually impaired girlfriend using the Braille alphabet! pic.twitter.com/yy9yptts3w

— This Account Makes You Happy (@FeelYouHappy) June 23, 2025

• Shaq was recently interviewed about his favorite places in the Metroplex. His favorite restaurant is the same as mine, Babe’s.
• The average weight for women in the United States is about 170 pounds, and the average height is 5 feet 3 inches.
• I wonder when digital IDs like state driver’s licenses will become commonplace. To be honest, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened. This article refers to them as a  “Mobile Driver’s License.” While the name makes sense, if you think about it for a moment, it’s kinda funny. It almost sounds redundant, because you need a driver’s license to operate a “mobile” vehicle, so they already are a mobile driver’s license, but they mean in this text as being on your mobile phone, or digital device. Almost a fifth of our states allow them; they are:
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Iowa
  • Maryland
  • New Mexico
  • Ohio
  • Puerto Rico
• Meet the Oregon lawyer who dresses like it’s 1893
  
  I know you are wondering if she shows up to court like Mary Poppins. Nope, the 27-year-old attorney is smart enough to know boundaries. You know, I often try to save you a click by providing the one or two main things in an article. I’ve wondered if any of you’ve noticed or appreciate it.
• I always thought “alumnus” or “alumni” or their variations meant someone who had technically graduated from a particular school or university, not just attended. But, I guess I’m wrong. It means either.
  
  
  
  This all came about because I heard someone, a non-alumnus of the University of Texas, mention that Jon Hamm was a UT alumnus. He attended, but never graduated. So, I guess he is, technically.
  
  
  
  That reminded me of the time I wrote about Marina Oswald and the University of Michigan’s website referring to her, Lee Harvey Oswald’s widow, JFK’s assassin, something most institutions would shy away from, as an “alumna of Michigan.”
  
  
  
  Depending on how you look at things, I might be a University of Texas alum. But I tread lightly because I don’t want to be a poser or steal any valor. I don’t want to be all hat and no cattle, but I earned a business certificate from the university, taking several classes on the Austin campus. So, I still think it’s a stretch.
  
  How did all of this come about? This recent article, and yes, it out ranks the greatness that is Rice: UT Austin crowned best university in Texas, leads in global ranks – When narrowing it down to U.S. higher ed facilities, UT-Austin rounded out the Top 20 — the only Texas school among the nation’s most elite universities.
  
  
  
  It must be embarrassing for Baylor folk to see their school ranked lower than UT Dallas, the University of North Texas, UT Arlington, and UT San Antonio.
• The safest driving city in the U.S. is in Texas, according to report – Allstate analyzed data related to auto insurance claims in the 200 most-populated U.S. cities to create the 2025 America’s Best Drivers Report.