Bag of Randomness
Wednesday, November 12, 2025


BoyGeeding had a chess tournament this weekend. Since these are an all-day thing, I always bring my laptop. Most schools limit visitors’ access to their Wi-Fi, which keeps me from using some of my most visited websites, like ChatGPT, or checking my email. Part of the fun is finding ways to bypass their firewall. Sometimes it’s as easy as using my own VPN, but sometimes their networks even block it, so I have to get really creative, changing DNS or TCP settings.


Yup, still unemployed. I made it through the second round of interviews with JPMorgan Chase and left thinking I’d nailed it. But I was just told I won’t be going to the third round. I thought the same thing with Caterpillar, PNC, and Fidelity, but I just can’t convince them I’m the best person for the job.


If you are a fellow YouTube TV subscriber, you’ll have to admit this is stupid: YouTube TV customers must affirmatively claim their $20 Disney credit

It is — and I say this with full appreciation of the fact that YouTube and its parent company, Google, and its parent company, Alphabet, are a multi-trillion-dollar conglomerate — bullshit. They’re adding an obstacle knowing that some people won’t realize that the credit has to be claimed, won’t know how to do it, won’t have the time to do it, or will forget to do it.

And so we beg each of you to GO DO IT. NOW. Here’s the link. Go get your money.

It is your money. They charged you for something they didn’t deliver. It’s not a gift. They’re doing the right thing by giving you a partial refund.

Actually, the right thing to do would be to apply an automatic credit. But every customer who forgets to do it is $20 in found money for Google. That’s how they’re viewing it. Don’t let it happen.

GO GET YOUR MONEY. NOW.

I just did it. It’s easy. But they’re counting on people not doing it.


With the death of Marshawn Kneeland, I can’t help but think about how this has been affecting Dak Prescott since his platform is suicide prevention, as his brother died by suicide. Not to mention, he’s the face of the franchise (player-wise). So many people are wondering why Marshawn Kneeland didn’t reach out. Remember, I told you the story of someone close to me who reached out for help, but his wife manipulated the moment to convince a judge to keep their children away from him. The one person he confided in and trusted the most was the one who only harmed him. An unexpected and complete surprise. So yeah, people in need are scared to ask for help because they know that when they do, others sometimes see it as a sign of weakness and will take advantage to destroy you and make your life worse.


April 1948 was a heck of a month for deaths – FRD April 12, Mousilinni April 28, and Hitler April 30.


Pope Leo has revealed the films that are “most significant” to him: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) by Frank Capra; The Sound of Music (1965) by Robert Wise; Ordinary People (1980) by Robert Redford; and Life Is Beautiful (1997) by Roberto Benigni.


Netflix has announced that a sequel to A Different World is officially in the works. The new series centers on Tony-winning “Hell’s Kitchen” star Maleah Joi Moon in the role of Deborah Wayne, the “free-spirited, well-intentioned, yet rebellious youngest child” of Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) from the original “A Different World.

That show was the first time I got to see the great Marissa Tomei. And who didn’t think those flip-up glasses were the coolest?


In March 2024, a study claimed that drinking just 1 to 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar a day helped young adults with overweight and obesity lose a “significant” amount of weight, without major lifestyle changes. The headlines exploded. Influencers swore by it. Even some doctors shared it as a “simple, science-backed” fix.

But this year, the same journal officially retracted the study after finding serious errors in the weight-loss claims about apple cider vinegar and concluding that its results were unreliable.

I’m sure I’ve told you this story before. About 15 years ago, I heard about the health benefits of apple cider vinegar. Despite the taste, I’d add several teaspoons to my water bottle and make the best of it. Months later, my allergist ordered a blood test to determine which foods I’m allergic to. Welp, it turns out I was highly allergic to fermented foods.


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Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Bag of Randomness
Monday, November 3, 2025


A friend of mine will be turning 50 this week, but his wife threw him a surprise birthday party that I attended. He’s lost over 100 pounds over the last year and a half. No one is a bigger Star Wars fanatic, and all his Star Wars t-shirts are too baggy on him. So, his wife asked everyone to gift him a large men’s Star Wars shirt, hoping he would be gifted 50 in total. Gosh, that’s sweet.


I absolutely love how Jeep leaned into this article written about them without exactly embracing it.


Believe it or not, Orson Welles’ ashes are buried in an old well.

Wellsnet.com


That was a crazy World Series game seven to watch. My heart goes out to Blue Jay fans.


Interesting, the Longhorns didn’t play one game in Austin in all of October; their last game in Austin was September 20. I just kinda assumed all teams would play at least one game in their home stadium over the course of a whole month.



Here’s Mikey Gow’s Wikipedia page. This is how he learned to throw with both arms.

At age 9, an injury prevented Gow from using his right arm for almost a year. His mother suggested that he try throwing with his left arm. He developed the use of his left arm but he claims that his right arm is stronger and more fluid.

Speaking of quarterbacks, I researched Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia. I was surprised to learn he’s 26 and playing in his sixth season of college football. I understand there’s a COVID exception rule, but that just doesn’t seem right.


A collection of Halloween stuff that caught my attention.

We have progressed from data collection to data analysis.

[image or embed]

— Jess Calarco (@jessicacalarco.com) October 31, 2025 at 7:31 PM

Nice idea to break the monotony of office work.

Remember them from Sesame Street?

I love it when a community comes together.


Football in November, per classic NFL Films.


Football field art, in case you were wondering how it was done.

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Monday, November 3, 2025

Bag of Randomness
Halloween 2025


Today is Halloween. So, I guess it’s officially Christmas at midnight? Sometimes it’s hard to tell it’s Thanksgiving with all the Christmas commercials.


If you only knew the contempt I had when someone put a popcorn ball in my trick-or-treat bag.


If you’re a kid of the Eighties, I’d recommend the Colin Hanks documentary John Candy: I Like MeGosh, that’s a great title. But I never heard this detail about his death until the documentary, but it’s mentioned in this article as well. Definitely a much better way to be found dead than what’s rumored about David Carradine.


I’m really not liking this Skydance Media merger. Stephen Colbert is a part of my nightly routine, and his show is being taken off the air. And ever since Bari Weiss was tapped to be the CBS News editor-in-chief, they have been ousting some of my favorite correspondents. I’ve been a big fan of the revamped CBS Evening News, especially with John Dickerson. But he will be exiting the network at the end of the year. I also adore the lovely Michelle Miller, but she has been shown the door. Her partner, Dana Jacobson, was also booted, and word has it that Gayle King (whom I’ve always been lukewarm for) will be gone next year. CBS Sunday Morning  and 60 Minutes are Sunday bookmarks for me, and I’m scared they will be revamped. If Scott Pelley and Bill Whitataker leave, I know for sure the news division is done for.


Camouflaging cars and swapping license plates: How agents make immigration arrests


The secret lab where America tests its nuclear weapons

In the middle of a dry lakebed northwest of Las Vegas sits a lone section of a bridge, its steel girders bent like spaghetti. Nearby are other oddities — a massive bank vault with no bank for miles; the entrance of an underground parking garage with no lower levels; and domes of rebar and concrete that have been ripped open, leaving their insides exposed to the desert sky.


Great couple’s costume if you know a bit of baseball history.


Dallas Cowboys talk on an NBA set. I didn’t know Shaq was a fan, but Chuck ain’t wrong.


Personally, I think this is better than The Great Pumpkin.

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Halloween 2025