Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, January 27, 2016

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  • On the way to DaughterGeeding’s school yesterday morning, I spotted a white Ford Bronco which made me think of the OJ Simpson and Al Cowlings chase and the upcoming mini-series on FX. That got me to thinking that the network should stage a publicity stunt by getting as many white Ford Broncos as they can and drive them through Los Angeles.
  • On last night’s ‘Agent Carter’ there was a hefty nod that Howard Hughes was the inspiration for Howard Stark, with him filming a western, like Hughes did with The Outlaw.
  • ABC is promoting a new miniseries with Richard Dreyfuss as Bernie Madoff. However, every time I see the promo, Dreyfuss looks more like former VP Dick Cheney than Madoff, in my opinion.
  • A mom in Frisco was on the late night CBS11 news complaining she got a ticket for wearing her seatbelt. She had the shoulder strap under her shoulder, beneath her underarm and out of view, and was upset she didn’t get a warning. In the news segment, she said, and this is word-for-word, “Wearing the shoulder strap over me is just super inconvenient.” I’m just going to postulate that she gave the cop some attitude and that’s why she didn’t get away with a warning.  And now would be a good time for my favorite Libertarian reader “John Mackovic” to state she shouldn’t have to wear one in the first place. 😉
  • Now here’s a gripe about CBS11 and that story. When they aired the segment last night, they had video of her only saying “Wearing the shoulder strap over me is just super inconvenient.” But when you read the story on their website, there’s more context, “I had a sick baby and my car was trying to hand her a piece of fruit,” she says. “I had to give it to her I’m still watching and still being safe I don’t ever get tickets but wearing the shoulder strap over me is just super inconvenient.” It’s like CBS11 is trying to use two angles, the jerk cop and the mom with an attitude to emotionally engage the reader. They also followed the story with a viewer poll on either Twitter or Facebook.
  • Dallas dad not guilty for taking tween daughter’s phone – The parents are not in a relationship and the mother felt the property belonged to her, “You can’t take someone’s property, regardless if you’re a parent or not.
  • Circuit City Set To Return This SpringThe fun is expected to begin in June when the company opens its first store, most likely in the Dallas market, and relaunches CircuitCity.com.
  • DeLoreans are goint to be built in Humble, TX
  • All the times and what Bono changed the “Beautiful Day” line of “see China right in front of you” to something else during last year’s tour.
  • If Trump decides to follow through and skip the debate, his absence will dominate the coverage and conversation more than actually being there.
  • I’m very surprised that Trump is getting major endorsements from Evangelical heavyweights like Jerry Falwell Jr., Tony Perkins, and Sarah Palin, and it’s got to have Cruz’s head spinning. Palin endorsed Cruz when he was running for the Senate, and Cruz announced his presidential candidacy at Liberty University, which Falwell heads.
    • Related – The NY Times – Ted Cruz’s Evangelical GambleThe candidate’s strategy to win the White House depends on turning out millions of new religious voters.
  • The Houston Chronicle has an article about what Ted Cruz was like as a high school student and his ambition to be president at such a young age. It looks like he’s achieved every goal he set out for except for the job he’s running for now. As for his high school pics, hey, we all looked goofy. Notable section:
    • By his senior year, Cruz was at the top of his class. He had been class president twice, and he helped write the student body constitution. He was captain of the speech team, president of the drama club, and on the roll of the school’s newspaper, yearbook, key club and magazine. And he put down in writing that he wanted the White House.
  • It is a pretty bridge – Uruguay news – Circular Bridge Built To Slow Down Drivers So That They Would Enjoy The View
  • Imgur – Disney Princess as Hot Dogs
  • Passport Expiring Soon? Renew It Now, State Dept. Says
  • T-shirt data – We washed, dried, measured and weighed 800 of the most popular men’s t-shirts available online.  After compiling the data, we worked with beta testers in NYC to develop an algorithm that could recommend t-shirt brands and sizes for a wide range of body types. We’re still tweaking the math on that algorithm, but in the meantime, we thought we’d share some of the data that has surfaced from our project so far.
  • Forbes boldly declares Austin America’s next boomtown
  • I found some interesting nuggets in this article about what goes on behind the scenes of broadcasting the NFC Championship on Fox. It’s the little quirky stuff that gets my attention.
    • In a pregame meeting days before the actual game, Troy Aikman took a picture of Cam Newton because he was wearing an interesting hat. Aikman seems so straight laced that it’s hard for me to imagine him using his phone to take a picture, or even knowing how to do such a thing.
    • Even more strange is that John Madden sends text messages, which sounds like a Frank Caliendo skit waiting to happen. I like Caliendo, he’s nice and funny, but his Madden bit needs to be retired and it’s nails on a chalkboard to me.
    • Former basketball player and current head coach Derek Fisher is a Cowboys fan.
    • Aikman has impressive cursive writing skills.
    • A quote from the director to his 18 cameramen, “OK, last week was great—the images of the little girl with the football? Sometimes we take that for granted. That shot, it was all over the morning newscasts the next day. Really well done guys.”
    • To keep warm, Erin Andrews wore a self-heating hunting vest. It’s also stated she points things out on the sidelines to the director during games to try to capture any special or interesting moments.
    • Regarding the Arizona/Green Bay game the week prior, Carson Palmer’s nerves were getting the best of him. That may explain his poor play on Sunday.
    • Aikman and Joe Buck fist bump before the start of the broadcast.
    • Buck uses cough drops to keep his voice fresh.
    • They both stand for the entire broadcast. When Aikman speaks, he has a tendency to shift the weight from his left foot to his right foot. Buck rarely stands still, leaning against the table in front of him.
    • During timeouts, both men often grab their phones and text their daughters (they each have two) about schoolwork and what time they’ll land back home.

 

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Lawnmower Drop-n-Shred

Dropping keyboards, mice and other random stuff onto an upside down lawnmower.

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Bag of Randomness for Tuesday, January 26, 2016

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  • Yesterday on BaD Radio, Bob stated he never bought a book as a student at Liberty University as a journalism major. He felt he could just take detailed notes and get by, which he did. I had some friends that were communications majors at Hardin-Simmons and they never had to buy books for their communication classes, but they certainly did for their basics. I need Bob to explain this in more detail, surely he had to borrow books for literature or to work problems assigned in a math book.
  • GIF – Road rage fight in Austin yesterday involving a man with a bat and one with a long pole. Here’s the news story.
  • The Dallas Morning News used to have something in their Religion section called Texas Faith. A reporter, once a week or once a month, would send the same question to church leaders of different faiths and denominations and you got to see their response. It was always interesting to compare the answers from one Christian denomination to another. Sometimes they were about the same, but sometimes they would vary quite a bit. A few times they’d quote the same scripture but had a different take on it.
  • CNN – 7 types of evangelicals — and how they’ll affect the presidential race
  • I know some pastors (I use that term loosely) are more of a motivational speaker than a minister of the Gospel (see, Joel Olsteen), but there’s one thing I do a massive eye roll over (figuratively) when I hear someone talk about why they like their pastor, “He preaches the Bible.” or “He preaches the Word.” Well, duh, he’s supposed to. You know, I like my car mechanic because he uses tools, and I like our fire department because they use water. Just give me something of substance rather than the obvious.
  • Buzzfeed – This Man Created A Museum To Honor His Late Wife And It Will Make You Believe In Love
  • There are several things wrong with this Buzzfeed article – 19 Food Truths Only Texans Would Understand
    • 2. And there’s almost NOTHING better than a perfect brisket slathered in BBQ sauce. – Real BBQ needs no sauce or even a fork to eat it with.
    • 8. Especially if it’s made at a chili cook off and served with a side of cornbread. – The accompanying picture shows beans in Texas chili, there are no beans in Texas chili.
    • 16. You’ve ~dreamed~ about loaded breakfast tacos with sour cream PILED HIGH. – Sour cream on breakfast tacos?!
    • 18. You know that the insanely delectable Big Red is basically made from baby angel tears. – The only beverage mentioned in the article is Big Red and not Dr. Pepper, Texans highly prefer Dr. Pepper over Big Red.
  • A pretty interesting article on the price of Super Bowl tickets and how they are sold in the secondary market.
  • The pastor at First Baptist Dallas sure loves the political spotlight – In Iowa intro, First Baptist Dallas’ Jeffress says he can’t “officially” endorse Trump, however… –  “Although as a pastor I cannot officially endorse a candidate, I want you to know I would not be here this morning if I were not absolutely convinced that Donald Trump would make a great president of the United States. … Most Americans know we are in a mess, and as they look at Donald Trump they believe he is the one leader who can reverse the downward death spiral of this nation we love so dearly.”
  • I had no idea that Jeffress and Kenneth Copeland flew up to New York in September to lay hands on Trump. Video of the laying of hands and prayer is in the article.
  • Back in the day, Jeffress stated, “I believe we should always support a Christian over a non-Christian.” Perhaps I shouldn’t be questioning Trump’s faith.
  • According to the FBI, Amarillo is the fifth most dangerous city in Texas
  • YouTube – Man shoots all sorts of guns at a block of titanium to see what happens. That Barrett .50 looks pretty darn powerful. I’m guessing the guy is an Aggie since there’s a sticker on his truck.
  • ‘X-Files’ thought (spoiler warning) –
    • I don’t care what the critics have written, I’m enjoying what I’m watching and I’m basking in this ray of nostalgia. It’s not a second coming, and it’s not a trip down memory lane either.
    • I love how they use the old intro, there’s no reason to screw with it.
    • Yesterday I mentioned that I wouldn’t have been surprised to see the Lone Gunmen and someone commented that they died. I already knew that, but considering the first episode ended with CSM making an appearance after a missile blew him to bits on the series finale, anything is possible. Normally, I’d roll my eyes when a series brings back a character that’s dead, but I don’t care, I’m enjoying the ride. At least, the cast didn’t wake from a dream and find him showering. That’s an old ‘Dallas’ reference for you young ones.
    • That first episode was strange in that it revealed so many answers, and the series is known more for providing more questions than answers.
    • I hear the writers and cast are, in some ways, poking fun at themselves, which shows occasionally in the script and dialog.
    • The show is known for two types of episodes, the mythology episodes that was part of the overall story arc, and the offshoot monster-of-the-week shows that could pretty much stand independent.  Since this series revival is only going to last six episodes, I thought it would stick with just the mythology, but that wasn’t the case last night. However, there was a dash or two of the mythology thrown in. Unlike most fans of the series, I preferred the monster-of-the-week variety.
    • Dana Scully – There’s no character I’ve had a crush on more than here. , and she still does it for me. Smart. Is. Sexy. Oh, and I love the red hair – and the voice. I wish she could read me a bedtime story every night.
    • With that said, last night’s episode had Sarah, the doctor’s assistant. She only had one line, but it would have been nice to see more from her.
    • I loved last night’s hat-tip to former series writer and ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Better Call Saul’ head man, Vince Gilligan.
    • I think Mulder’s old apartment was used for those two dream sequences with their lost son, William. Speaking of him, I like how he used the Alan Shepard line, “Let’s light this candle!”
    • The original series used to reference Planet of the Apes from time to time, I caught at least two references to the film last night.
    • It’s a small little thing, but it makes me smile when I hear “I made this!” at the end of each episode.
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