Bag of Randomness for Friday, September 11, 2015

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  • After the attacks back in 2001, I thought I’d always have a strong emotional attachment to that day, but I’m surprised at how desensitized I now feel.
  • The dog is part of Texas Task Force 1 – Buzzfeed – A Rescue Dog And Her Handler Who Worked At Ground Zero During 9/11 Were Honored With An Amazing Day
  • Buzzfeed – A Rainbow Emerged From The World Trade Center The Day Before The 9/11 Anniversary
  • I was hoping Tom Brady would get injured on the first snap and not be well enough to play again until after game four of the season.
  • Those Luke McCown (backup QB for the Saints) commercials for Verizon’s backup services are pretty funny.
  • Jerry Jones is falling apart – Cowboys owner Jerry Jones undergoes second hip replacement – I’d be willing to pay $50 for an audio/video feed of him in his suite Sunday night for the home opener.  You know he won’t miss the game, you know he’ll be on pain meds, and you know he’ll be drinking his Johnnie Walker Blue.
  • Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal returns fire at Trump via Twitter after Trump stated they never met and won’t because Jindal didn’t qualify for the next debate – @BobbyJindal – @realdonaldtrump We have met. You wrote a check. A fool & his money are soon parted. A fool & his dad’s money are parted sooner.
  • I’m usually not much for opinion pieces, but this piece about Trump and Cruz seemed insightful, “On some level, it must kill Cruz to play understudy to the cartoonish tycoon. But Cruz is a brilliant opportunist, and his courtship of Trump makes sense. If Trump falters in his bid for the nomination — as most still expect — Cruz will be well positioned to secure Trump’s endorsement, and his supporters.”
  • Heavily Armed “Christian Patriot” Militia Vows To Stop Future Arrests Of Kim Davis – I believe this sniper at the Bundy ranch is part of the organization, and I don’t understand how positioning oneself on a shielded sniper’s nest with a rifle aimed at a group of people is legal.
  • That whole situation in Arizona with a sniper shooting at drivers on a highway is unnerving.  Eleven confirmed shootings so far.  It’s a bit reminiscent of that D.C. sniper.
  • For some reason, I just really want to buy this book (GIF).
  • The new LBJ Expressway is available to use.  I’m not a fan of how toll rates change, that they charge a higher rate at peak times.  The NTTA reason it’s a way to control flow and for drivers to choose off-peak hours, but most people don’t have a choice in the schedule they work.  And it’s time for my routine rant about how toll charges should be an item to deduct when it comes times for taxes.
  • 10 Time-Lapse Images Show Dallas’ Dramatic Skyline Changes since 2007
  • Texas State University is 3rd kinkiest college in U.S., dating app says
  • If there was a contest for losing, this guy would come in second place (because he’s so good at losing) – Lone candidate for Iowa school board seat gets no votes
  • French Castles Cheaper to Rent Than San Francisco Apartments
  • DallasNews.com – Photos: Step inside luxurious side of Texas A&M’s new-look Kyle Field
  • This is the best explanation of gerrymandering you will ever see
  • ‘The Tonight Show’ booking Donald Trump reminds me of another NBC moment of panic.  When Katie Couric was going to host a week of ‘Good Morning America’, The ‘Today Show’ booked Sarah Palin for the same time period.
  • CBS11 last night made a big goof before sending it off to Colbert.  They stated his guests were Jeremy Renner and Alison Brie, but the actual guests were Vice President Joe Biden, the CEO of Uber, and Toby Keith.  The news anchor, Doug Dunbar, just read what was in front of him.  Renner and Brie were guest on the show that follows Colbert.
  • Colbert started the interview in a very solemn way, talking to the VP about the recent loss of his son.  And unlike Bill Clinton, who many questioned his sincerity, you can just see and hear the genuine love and emotion coming from Biden talking about his late son.  Colbert, a fellow Catholic, then asked how his faith has played a role in all of this.  Here’s a rough summary of what he said, “My wife gave me this quote, ‘Faith sees best in the dark.’  For me, my religion is an enormous sense of solace, some of it relates to ritual, some of it relates to comfort – of what you’ve done all your life.  I go to mass and I’m able to just be alone. I find the rosary comforting. What my faith has done takes everything from my life, all comforting and good things, culture and theology, it’s just a place you can go.  The faith doesn’t always stick with you, sometimes it leaves me, so I don’t want to come off, as . . .” and then he realized he was rambling a bit and wrapped it up. Sometimes I get annoyed at politicians who wear their faith on their sleeve, but I’ll give Biden a pass on this one as he was asked specifically about it as it relates to all the tragedy in his life.  I think there was a small bit of selfishness (in a good way) of Colbert asking him about faith as it relates to tragedy, since he lost his father and three brothers at the age of ten due to a plane crash.
  • Both Biden and Colbert shared quotes from their mothers:
    • “What’s the use of being Irish if don’t know life is going to break your heart.”
    • “Remember, nobody is better than you, but you’re better than nobody.”
  • The exchange between Biden and Colbert was extremely unique, something I don’t think I’ve ever seen on a late night show.  It was a beautiful balance of poignancy, probing, and just a dash of humor.
  • Biden stated when his son, Beau, was serving in Iraq, he asked for his name tag to be removed and replaced with another name, perhaps “Roberts” because he didn’t want to others to think differently of him because of his name.  I’m sure the press will be following up with that story.
  • I tend to think Joe Biden and George W. Bush are somewhat alike.  Though they both are known for gaffes, they are smarter than people give them credit for, strong in their faith, married women with careers in education, and they both earnestly love their country.
  • Surprise appearances on ‘The Late Show’ last night were Joe Theisman, Franco Harris, Richard Dent, Jim Brown, and Bill Cowher.  “Dent” is a great football name.
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Nationally-ranked American Heritage features 4-foot-5 running back Adam Reed

Adam Reed just wants to be one of the guys on Plantation American Heritage’s nationally ranked football team.

If you watched what happened after last Saturday’s 36-8 romp over Stephenson (Ga.) at the Battle of the Borders Classic in Atlanta, the Patriots’ 4-5, 95-pound, fifth-string running back seems to be fitting in just fine. He had about as many fans wanting to snap pictures with him as his highly recruited teammates.

“I’m a little undersized,” the 17-year-old senior said Tuesday after practice. “But it’s, whatever. I don’t let my size stop me from doing anything.”

It’s one thing to be undersized and playing in a local recreational league or on the junior varsity squad. It’s an entirely different thing to run with the varsity team of the school’s back-to-back Class 5A state championship squad and earn the respect of teammates and coaches.

Full Article

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Bag of Randomness for Thursday, September 10, 2015

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  • Savages scrunch their toilet paper, civilized people fold their toilet paper.
  • “From a major review site that you’ve heard of.”  – I hear that line in a commercial on The TICKET all the time and it sounds so odd it stops me down every time.  There’s probably a reason why they can’t state the name of the review site, but it just sounds funny.
  • I enjoyed listening to former President George W. Bush on The TICKET.  The Hardline guys seemed pretty at ease, but I bet it would have been a lot different if he was actually in studio as opposed to talking to him on the phone.  Heck, Corby actually called him “Buddy” at the end.  I don’t think he meant any disrespect, but he just felt really comfortable talking to the former president.  W did sound really at ease, and listening to him in this setting almost made it feel like a real like conversation and not an interview.  The way he told stories about 9/11 and other events in his presidency was in the same manner of talking to a friend about his fishing trip.
  • Ronda Rousey in ‘Road House’ Remake
  • I wasn’t aware county clerks made that kind of cash – Why Kim Davis makes $80,000 a year as Rowan County Clerk
  • First Baptist Church of Bedford has a “worship pastor” that’s in hot water – Investigators indicted Kyle Adcock on 20 counts of rape and 9 counts of sodomy back in January in Alabama. Investigators said the girl involved was 14 at the time.
  • Stephen Colbert Opens Up About His Devout Christian Faith, Islam, Pope Francis, and More – I almost put an asterisk next to “Christian” as some of my Evangelical friends don’t believe Catholics are Christians.  However, here’s one Colbert quote from the article regarding faith, “Faith ultimately can’t be argued, faith has to be felt. And hopefully you can still feel your faith fully, and let your mind have a logical life of its own, and they do not defy each other, but complement each other, because logic itself, I don’t think, for me, and you know—Aquinas might say differently—logic itself will not lead me to God. And, so, hopefully I can use my mind to make my jokes, and not deny my love for God at the same time.”
  • Thinking back to Colbert’s first show, by having Fallon included on two bits, and the manner in which he did them, it sure was a  “setting the tone” moment, and perhaps the final “passing of the torch” for as we forever leave Leno and Letterman behind.  It’s neat to see two friends get along, even though they are competing.
  • For some reason, part of Gov Jeb Bush’s interview was edited, and this part of him making mock Trump statements is actually funny.
  • Last night, Colbert had a segment that was a recycled version of Bill Maher’s “new rules” bit.  I was also surprised he hasn’t really introduced his band leader to us.  I mean, he’s said his name and pointed to him, but there really hasn’t been any back and forth or some kind of explanation on why he chose him and his background – or anyone else in the band for that matter.
  • Alice Walton is selling her Fort Worth ranch, but I didn’t know she sold the one in/near Mineral Wells a while back to a partnership that included a former SMU running back and Senate candidate – In 2006, she sold a ranch near Mineral Wells that she also called the Rocking W Ranch to a partnership that included ESPN sports broadcaster Craig James
  • State Fair of Texas hacks: 9 ways to snag discount tickets
  • HoustonChronicle.com – Disorder at the border – More state troopers are headed south, where they are already tripping over federal agents
  • ESPN’s tweet about Bill Belichick and his use of social media.
  • The one part that stood out to me the most about yesterday’s Apple event.
  • Another “I spent time in Heaven” movie comes out this weekend and is based on a Plano couple, one of which was a Baptist minister.  It stars Kate Bosworth and teen Darth Vadar.
  • iO9 – Everything We Know About Star Wars’ Post-Return of the Jedi Future
  • New owners for National Geographic –  The 127-year-old nonprofit National Geographic Society has struck a $725 million deal that gives 21st Century Fox a majority stake in National Geographic magazine and other media properties, expanding an existing TV partnership.
  • Billie Holiday is returning to the Apollo Theater as a hologram
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