Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, May 22, 2024

  • I enjoy etymology, the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history. I even subscribe to the podcast/show A Way with Words. I encourage you to give it a try for at least ten minutes. I mention that because the Gettysburg Address was referenced in a Far Side comic, and I always wondered why “score” meant twenty. The term “score,” meaning 20 years, has an interesting origin. It traces back to Old Norse and Old English terms: “skor” (meaning notch or incision in rock) and “scoru” (meaning “twenty”). Shepherds would count their sheep by making notches in a stick for every 20 sheep, which led to the association of “a score” with twenty. Now, I’m wondering why the shepherds didn’t make a notch for five or ten; what made 20 so great?
  • Thinking like a Vulcan, that is, thinking more logically and scientifically than emotionally or spiritually, I considered the concept of marriage—something reasonable for those trying to find some wisdom after a failed one. In particular, the modern marriage. From a spiritual standpoint, I support marriage as a lifelong commitment. But from a legal or societal standpoint, I’ve been exploring the idea that a marriage should be renewable five-year contracts. The divorce rate continues to linger around 50%, and I’ve noticed a lot of people who have been married for around 20 years (give or take five) are getting divorced. Divorces are expensive and emotionally draining for a family. Hear me out.Traditional marriage is a blending of church and state. I don’t want to touch the church standpoint, just the legal standpoint. In my proposal, a married couple can choose not to renew their marriage contract after five years. So, from a legal standpoint, they are no longer married. From a religious standpoint, they would still be married. I know some Catholics do something similar. They believe divorce is a sin or not even an option, so they never get a divorce, but the couple no longer loves or lives with each other.So, what are the benefits of doing it this way? With a fixed-term commitment, couples feel less pressure to stay together “forever,” allowing them to focus more on the present and nurturing their relationship without fearing a lifelong obligation. It also provides a built-in opportunity for couples to reassess their relationship regularly. This periodic review can encourage open communication, mutual goal-setting, and proactive problem-solving, potentially strengthening the relationship. Ending a marriage after a contract term expires would be less contentious and legally complicated than traditional divorce proceedings. Contracts provide clear terms regarding finances, property, and other important aspects, reducing conflicts and misunderstandings. Life circumstances change (career shifts, relocations, family dynamics), and a renewable contract allows couples to adapt their commitments to their evolving needs and goals. Lastly, a new industry would be created: the five-year marriage renewal party planner. It would be like a gender reveal party, a great excuse to get together.
  • One thing led to another and I started to research Charles Lindbergh’s plane, The Spirit of Saint Lewis. I have a vivid memory of watching that Jimmy Stewart movie with my father. It amazed me that there was no windshield or any way to see straight ahead, and all the measures he took to reduce weight, like cutting the borders off on a paper map. Here’s one thing I didn’t know. A small swastika was painted on the inside of the propeller spinner, along with the names of all the employees who designed and built it. It was meant as a message of good luck before Lindbergh’s solo Atlantic crossing, as the symbol, when it faces left, was often used as a popular good luck charm with early aviators. That reminds me of a time in high school when I was in the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells with the grandchild of one of the owners. He showed me a bathroom that had swastika tiles, which were put there before Hitler became popular. And yes, I know there’s a connection between Lindbergh and Hitler, and if Lindbergh were alive today would be campaigning to re-elect the 45th president.
  • Tiny plastic shards found in human testicles, study says
  • Road trips are forever changed.

  • Baby races are always fun to watch; you never know what will happen.

 

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Bag of Randomness for Tuesday, May 21, 2024

  • Isn’t this amazing in terms of timing and occurrence? Talk about being at and filming at the right place at the right time. The odds of recreating this are literally astronomical. Did Kal-El just crash land on a farm? You can read more about it at Space.com.

  • I’ve been saying or thinking it wrong all my life. It’s “piqued my interest” and not “peaked my interest.”  The verb “to pique” means to arouse or stimulate. “Peak” is a high point, like the top of a mountain, and “peek” means to take a quick look. To pique one’s interest means that his/her interest in a topic or something has been increased, raised to the maximum.
  • Johnson City, TN, is closer to Ontario, Canada, than it is to Memphis, TN.
  • Gov. Kristi Noem’s book contains more factual errors
    • Just for the heck of it, I’d like to see Sarah Palin and Kristi Noem debate. Over what, I’m not sure, and I don’t really care. I just want to see the results from the fact-checkers to see how much information they got wrong. 
  • I’m not sure how I feel about this. Aesthetically, no, but I can see them being very functional.

  • What a horrible call. Male or female, that’s trash commentating. The ball was gone the moment it left the bat. It’s not that women can’t do commentary, it’s just that this one woman can’t. No way she should deserve a mulligan.

Posted in Personal | Comments Off on Bag of Randomness for Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Bag of Randomness for Monday, May 20, 2024

  • If we really care about our country, want voters well informed, and want to hold our presidential candidates accountable during the debates, then join me in demanding Samuel L. Jackson moderate the debates.
  • Man, how about Dallas sports?! The city had a drone show to celebrate.
    • 12:58 am CT – the Dallas Stars defeat the Avalanche in overtime, 2-1, to clinch their berth in the Western Conference Final
    • 9:40 pm CT – the Dallas Mavericks defeat the Thunder, 117-116, to clinch their berth in the Western Conference Finals
    • Same day. Separated by 20 hours and 42 minutes. Both are going to their respective sports’ conference championship round. Insane.
    • I’m glad there will be no overlapping games in the same time slot like the last series.
      • 5/22 Mavs Game 1
        5/23 Stars Game 1
        5/24 Mavs Game 2
        5/25 Stars Game 2
        5/26 Mavs Game 3
        5/27 Stars Game 3
        5/28 Mavs Game 4
        5/29 Stars Game 4
        5/30 Mavs Game 5
        5/31 Stars Game 5
        6/01 Mavs Game 6
        6/02 Stars Game 6
        6/03 Mavs Game 7
        6/04 Stars Game 7
    • @Rangers
      WON THE WORLD SERIES

      @DallasStars
      ARE IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL

      @dallasmavs
      ARE IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL

  • A kind and loyal reader pointed out my embarrassing typo on Friday. I’m not sure how many of you laughed, but it gave me a good one. Basically, I misspelled “gentle” and spell-check provided these first two choices in this particular order: “genital” and “gentle.” As you guessed, I mistakenly chose the former.
  • I’ve always been a big fan of Texas Country Reporter. Heck, I remember when it was called Four Country Reporter. Now, there will be a new host as the original host and his wife step aside.
  • Former President Trump was in town recently, and Tony Romo played golf with him. Many are surprised, but I remember him attending Trump’s inauguration. Heck, he even met up with John Elway at the event. How do people forget stuff like this?

  •  

  • There’s been a lot of fear of what AI can do and what it can lead us to believe. Most of the concern has been being able to authenticate an image or video in the future. But I never looked at the converse way of thinking. For instance, I’m sure we’ve all seen this iconic bison skull pile photo at some point. Most of us have seen it during a time when we knew no such photo could be manipulated.
  • Recently, I came across these comments regarding the iconic photo. It never occurred to me that people of today would falsely label real authentic photos as products of AI.
  • I couldn’t get a tweet to embed recently, and as I looked for a resolution, I noticed this support page hasn’t been updated, as it still refers to the platform as Twitter.
  • This story has stuck with me:
    • Greenfield parents say their 10-year-old killed himself after relentless bullying – The parents of Sammy Teusch said they contacted their son’s school 20 times about bullying.
    • I have one large and strong friend who still insists the best thing to do is punch the person bullying you in the nose because it worked for him, and a high school coach praised his efforts.
    • I took a few minutes to search the internet to find out how the child killed himself. To me, I think it’s relevant and can be helpful to other parents looking for possible signs of potential self-harm.
    • I found a GoFundMe page. I’m surprised that none of the articles provided a link to it. I think it’s worth including because I wondered if the one I found was legit. I also want to understand how GoFundMe works, everything from verifying to how operational costs are paid for. Years ago, a friend sent me a link so I could donate to a cause and it gave me the option of paying the operational cost of the transaction, which I thought was cool.
  • Dallas will have some “interesting women” here this summer.
  • This is some amazing video:

Posted in Personal | Comments Off on Bag of Randomness for Monday, May 20, 2024

Bag of Randomness for Friday, May 17, 2024

  • DaughterGeeding and I used to watch Young Sheldon together. We haven’t been able to watch it together for various reasons this year. I didn’t watch a single episode until last night, and that’s just because it dealt with his father’s death and was the series (not season, but series) finale. His father died of a heart attack, and Sheldon was about to move to California for college. Of course, I couldn’t help but think of my father, who went into cardiac arrest three days before I graduated high school. Now that I think about it, that event happened 30 years ago this month. And thanks to a pacemaker, I got four borrowed years. Sheldon had no such luck.One scene kept replaying in Sheldon’s head. He ate breakfast at the kitchen table as his dad said goodbye to the family and drove off to work. Sheldon regrets not saying anything to him as he walks out the back door, and as the scene replays, he keeps changing the outcome to something kinder and more wholesome, stuff he regrets he didn’t say or do. That kinda happened to me. Dad and I got into a big argument. I left mad, straight to Bryan Ringo’s house (I think) for a graduation party. When the party ended, many of us decided to continue to party at my house. When I arrived, there was an ambulance in the front yard. After that moment, I always ensured my last words to anyone I’m close to is, “I love you.”Another thing I could relate to was Sheldon taking one last walk around the house before packing everything up. He wanted to remember it just as it was so that he could reminisce as an adult. I remember doing that with my childhood home, the only house I ever lived in. Lastly, I connected with the theme of trying to enjoy all the time you can with someone because you never know when it will end. You think your parents will be around forever when you are young, like Sheldon and I were. From that moment, the only commodity I valued was time. The dollar wasn’t my currency, time was, it was the most valuable thing to me. And that’s one reason why I took the divorce so hard. Many will argue I couldn’t get over the person I was married to, but that’s not it at all. The thing I grieved most was the loss of the family unit, the time together, and all the memories I thought that was going to be made for them to cherish fell through my fingers. With the loss of time comes the loss of opportunities to influence your kids, especially if you have a vindictive spouse that alienates them from you.
  • I’ve heard stories from several Cowboys players who played with Roger Staubach about how supportive of a friend he is. For instance, some of them literally had their day in court. I remember three for sure,  Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, Drew Pearson, and Harvey Martin. They all said that Staubach was the only one who ever showed up, and for some of them, their day in court was after their playing days and haven’t talked to the man in years. That really left an impression on me, and I try to be that friend. It’s one reason I was in a Denton County courtroom earlier this month as my friend Tony and his ex-spouse needed to settle a custody battle. Thankfully, the judge not only ruled in his favor but gave him more than he and his attorney requested, though he had to concede on one little issue, he was perfectly fine with and offered before. It was certainly an embarrassing defeat for his ex-spouse. We were talking about the hearing recently and his time on the stand. His ex-spouse’s attorney’s first question was, “You remain depressed to this day because you can’t get over your spouse leaving you?” His reaction and answer surprised me, so I asked him about it. His answer started with spontaneous laughter. He had to retain composure quickly, and then he said that wasn’t the case at all, and he’s been over her and their relationship for quite some time. I inquired about the laughter, and he said it surprised him that it happened. He didn’t mean to laugh and certainly didn’t want to show disrespect to the judge; it wasn’t planned, and he never expected that particular question, but that was his natural response. He spoke to his counselor about it, and they both agreed it marked a major milestone in his battle over grief from divorce and loss of family. His subconscious was speaking; it was his authentic self coming out like it was some proclamation to the world that any claim she made about him being unable to move on was ludicrous. Upon reflection, he said that was a moment of vindication and showed growth he was unaware he made.
  • Incredulous – Traffic study halted after screenshots leaked of memo sent out by megachurch (Lakepointe) staff urging members to help manipulate the results
    • “They asked lifegroup leaders to share with their classrooms and their other members to sign up to drive around 10 laps during a one-hour time period for five days from May 14-19,” said Amanda Cunningham, who stopped being a member of the church in March. She shared screenshots with WFAA of the scheme. “It laid out a plan to create false traffic patterns and mislead the city,” Cunningham said.
  • Congresswoman Boebert’s son was in court last week. Although she didn’t attend to support him, she did make it to a New York courthouse to support the previous president.
  • Out of curiosity, I looked up the name for the menu that appears when you perform a right-click. It’s called a context menu.
  • Dutch woman, 29, granted euthanasia approval on grounds of mental suffering
    • On the appointed day, the medical team will come to Ter Beek’s house. “They’ll start by giving me a sedative, and won’t give me the drugs that stop my heart until I’m in a coma. For me, it will be like falling asleep. My partner will be there, but I’ve told him it’s OK if he needs to leave the room before the moment of death,” she said.
    • In a few decades, if not sooner, our politicians in the U.S. will be debating this topic. This one is unique; I grant you that because it’s mental suffering. But in the case of former President Jimmy Carter, who has been in hospice for the last year and a half, shouldn’t someone at that age and state of health have the choice of ending their suffering?
      • Speaking of which, I pray he goes before the end of the year. I believe there’s a good chance Trump will be reelected, and I don’t feel he’d handle Carter’s death (and a grieving nation) as gentle and dignified as Biden would.
  • Everyone grieves the loss of a parent in their own special way. Some people want to be alone, others want to be with family. Then you have those who have to immediate post a TikTok video about it.
    https://twitter.com/MadisonKittay/status/1791130558124155060

Posted in Personal | Comments Off on Bag of Randomness for Friday, May 17, 2024