Bag of Randomness for Thursday, July 9, 2015

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  • I saw my orthopedic yesterday and it turns out my knee is suffering from wear of cartilage (osteoarthritis) and my knee cap moves a bit off-kilter as it tracks to the outside; or, as he puts it, patellofemoral pain syndrome.  He wants me to strengthen the vastus medialis oblique muscle, with the best exercise being cycling.  I was impressed with how he wanted to work with me and my deductible, which starts over at the end of the month.  Originally he wanted to give me a shot of Supartz, which is made of rooster combs, but I’d have to come in once a week for about five or six weeks, at $400 a pop.  Instead, he gave me an injection of Synvise One which is just a one-time injection.  And if case you are wondering, a shot directly underneath the knee cap didn’t hurt one iota.  But he did have to use some sort of x-ray type of machine to maneuver the need to the proper place, which was kinda neat.
  • I mentioned yesterday that on his website, there’s an Icky Woods endorsement, who use to play for the Cincinnati Bangles.  Well, it didn’t occur to me, but his last name is Schott, just like the former infamous owner of the Cincinnati Reds.  So I wondered if there was some sort of Cincinnati connection going on.  Marge Schott didn’t have any kids, do he may not be a direct descendent, but I’d bet he’s related some way.
  • My father was a native of Cincinnati and I can remember watching that 1990 World Series as if it was yesterday with him.  That was a fun team managed by Lou Piniella with some great players like Eric Davis, Chris Sabo, Barry Larkin, Rob Dibble, Randy Myers, Jose Rio, Todd Benziger, Luis Quiñones, and Paul O’Neill.
  • With today’s technology, I don’t know why we still need to hand write the same information, like name and address, on numerous forms when visiting a new doctor.  The patient should be able to electronically fill out a name/address/phone one time, and that information autofill those fields on all forms.
  • One of my loyal readers, a lawyer for what it’s worth, posted a piece on his blog about what it was like living in Tyler five years after desegregation.  I found it pretty insightful.
  • At the U2 concert in Toronto, Bono helped out with a marriage proposal.  I like what the woman had to say, ““Every marriage should begin with an Irish blessing.”
  • “That’s the whitest white part of the eye I’ve ever seen.”
  • When I was a kid, I got the biggest kick out of seeing those stuffed Garfields suctioned cupped to the window of a car.  You can still buy them today for only ten bucks.
  • Report: George W. Bush charged $100,000 to speak at 2012 charity fundraiser for wounded veterans – I guess some will feel it’s inappropriate to send people to war and then charge to speak at an event to raise money for the wounded, but I guess one should also put this in perspective – According to the charity’s yearly reports to the IRS, it raised about $2,450,000, after expenses, from the 2012 gala where President Bush spoke, ABC News reported. The report said the following year, the gala netted the charity substantially less, about $1,000,000. Speaking and traveling fees for the former President were paid by the charity, but the amount was underwritten by a private donor, the charity’s lawyer told ABC News.
  • A funny and quirky short film about a one-minute time machine, but there are a few f-bombs.
  • Why Lamborghini Trashed the Manual Transmission – Basically, there was no demand.
  • If you live around Dallas and enjoy very large water slides – The Urban Slide – This is a family-friendly 1,000-FT slip-n-slide event which will include food, cool gear, and music! 
  • Blue Bell planning a trial run at its Alabama ice cream plant – But you should still plan on having a Blue Bell-less summer.
  • I love the Mavs, but the whole DeAndre Jordan emoji drama yesterday was quite entertaining, and I liked how Tony Romo and Whataburger even got into the act.
  • Why couldn’t it be the former Rangers pitcher with the same name – Father of Buccaneers’ C.J. Wilson says son lost 2 fingers in fireworks mishap
  • The price of diplomacy – Twizzlers, string cheese, and mixed nuts (in large quantities) fuel Iran nuclear negotiators – The US negotiating team here over the past five weeks has gone through 10 pounds of Twizzlers (strawberry flavored), 20 pounds of string cheese, 30 pounds of mixed nuts and dried fruit, and more than 200 Rice Krispies Treats.
  • Nike Has Their Own Air Force And Futuristic Air Base
  • Listen to the incredible sound of a supercar accelerating past a world record
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‘Game of Thrones’ This and That

So, Who’s Winning the Game of Thrones?

We know that in the game of thrones, you win or you die. And we know who’s dead. So…who’s winning? We’ve put together a comprehensive video tracking all five seasons of HBO’s grimly set jawline spectacular Game of Thrones, so that you can quickly and easily know who’s winning, and who’s dying.

Man, this video cleared a whole lot of stuff for me, I got a tad lost in the massive and complex storyline and this pieced a lot of it together.

The Evolution of Game of Thrones’ Effects With VFX Boss Joe Bauer

When you get a chance to talk to Game of Thrones’ VFX supervisor Joe Bauer, you don’t ask him about the weather. So we didn’t—instead, we asked him to discuss the greatest FX scenes over the show’s five seasons in this exclusive io9 video, and the show’s ever-evolving with practical effects and digital wizardry.

 

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Lance Armstrong Trolls the Tour de France

Lance Armstrong is back in the saddle at the Tour de France, trolling one of the world’s most prestigious athletic events and spitting in the face of his lifetime ban. Unable to actually compete, he’s instead riding several stages of the race the day before the actual race does in a thinly veiled f-you to honest athletes, cycling’s governing body, and the legion of heart broken fans he betrayed, all in his all-too-familiar role as the good guy trying to raise money for cancer.

Source: Lance Armstrong Trolls the Tour de France

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