1.24.2020

Random Friday Morning Thoughts



  • Another morning. Another Houston plant explosion. Here's a ring doorbell cam catching it happening. Here's the first pic at dawn:
  • He's all about ratings. You just know that in the back of his head he is thinking, "I don't care what anyone says, I outta go down Pennsylvania Avenue and defend myself in person! That would being in the eyeballs!" And, boy, would it. 
  • Here's a hot opinion: All the panic over the coronavirus is completely overblown. It causes flu-like symptoms but is only a fraction as deadly.  The death toll in China is at 26 for the coronavirus this morning . The last year of data collected by the CDC puts the death toll in the U.S. from the flu at 61,000.
  • Wait, there's more: Of "cases who died" (their words) from coronavirus, "many had significant underlying conditions" according to the World Health Organization's Emergency Committee two days ago.  Yes, there are "cases" of people who died from coronvirus without the underlying condition, but even the common flu killed a healthy 34 year old in Dallas a coupleof days ago.
  • Look out! There's an invasion of Dirty Libs occurring right before our eyes!
  • (I'm a little late on this but . . . . ) After that massive construction project on I-35/287 in North Fort Worth, I think they seriously screwed it up.  In all the myriad of lanes, the non-toll I-35 southbound briefly goes to only two lanes at Western Center creating a massive bottleneck. Live Google traffic provides the proof you need:
    Captured at 8:21 a.m. this morning.
    Here's where the cluster begins. 
  • I can't remember the last time I heard someone say they bought something off eBay. 
  • Someone needs to do a story of all the side businesses Jerry Jones has. They are many, they are big, and they are frequent:
    Last summer

    Last Fall

    Yesterday
  • On some "nostalgia TV" station last night, I stumbled across the Dick Cavett Show where he was interviewing the odd pair of Ann Margaret and Joe Namath. My curiosity piqued when they started talking about a new movie they were starring in together so I had to look it up: A 1970 film called C.C. and Company -- a movie which ended up bombing and being universally panned.  Cavett must have seen it coming. He brought the director up on stage and played a long clip from the film. Afterwards, Cavett asked, "That's the movie? [ Awkward pause.] You guys have a lot riding on this?"    And, as I went down the rabbit hole about the movie, I found this from the review of Gene Siskel: "Ann-Margret has a brief nude scene in which she proves that in addition to having a foul mouth she is fat." Good lord. 
  • The Alvord man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death in Denton County was indicted yesterday.  Side note: That's a heck of a neck tattoo for a 21 year old. And, maybe I'm wrong, I've never associated Alvord with tattoos. 
  • Speaking of I-35, I haven't been through Waco in a while. This looks like a nightmare . . .