Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Now the home air-conditioner is on the blink. My first thought isn't "I'm going to be uncomfortable tonight" but instead involves dollar signs. 
• The UIL went 100% on the offensive after the relay-team-disqualified-for-religious-gesture incident issuing this press release which had this quote from the offending kid: "I do not feel my religious rights or freedoms were violated." Greg Abbott, what say you? 
• Bangladesh death update: Over 800.
• "Looking Past Sex Scandal, South Carolina Returns Ex-Governor to Congress."  I don't think it was a matter of forgiveness, I think it was a matter of people not caring. 
• A Toronto pitcher almost got killed by a line drive last night. 
• It's Benghazi Day in Congress. And there will be nothing new.
• From the Update: "The Wise Soil and Water Conservation District was honored as the Outstanding Conservation District last night at the Area V Conservation Awards Banquet in Stephenville." They ought to give out awards for having to sit through something called the Area V Conservation Awards Banquet.
• I caught a little bit of a CNN interview with Amanda Knox last night. The interviewer was really challenging her on how propensity to take a long pause before each answer. And then she took a long pause before she answered him. "I'm a writer," she said. 
• The 14 Year Old In The House has become the 15 Year Old In The House. Time moves shockingly fast. 
• Mark Cuban writes about saving umbilical cord blood. Once again, trying to demonstrate he's the smartest man in the room. 
• When I was in my 20s I didn't believe in the Stockholm Syndrome. I absolutely believe in the concept now.
• I've heard a lot of people saying the kidnappers in Ohio should receive the death penalty. If all they did was commit a horrendous kidnapping, that can't happen. (Although there is some evidence of a possible murder beginning to surface.)

A Different Kind Of Pick Me Up

From Youtube on May 6, 2013: Matt Kemp is such a great person. He came over after the game and made one of my best friends night :) he's fighting a tough battle and this was sucha great gift by Matt Kemp ! I'll never forget this.

That's the only description we've got. 

Hey, I dog professional athletes all the time. But here's an act of kindness that wasn't done for the cameras. 

Wise County and The Internet -- Not Getting Along

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• The story of the three young girls kidnapped about a decade ago but discovered yesterday in Cleveland is beyond bizarre.
• And the Internet is about to make neighbor Charles Ramsey a star. “I knew something was wrong when a little, pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms. Something is wrong here. Dead giveaway.”
• Hey, instead of telling me to go look somebody up in the "public record", why don't you do it and send me the link. Ain't nobody got time for that.
• Bangladesh death toll from the building collapse is now over 700.
• I saw Adam Carolla on Fox News last night. When did he become a curmudgeon?
• And Fox News has become the Benghazi Channel. 
• I'm not sure what is more disturbing: Waking up before midnight to find Mrs. LL gone or the fact that the 14 Year Old In The House was up to tell me that she had to run to Walmart for emergency school supplies. 
• From the email bag: "Don't know if its post worthy, but one of my videos made it on the Outdoor Channel and is going to be on tonight at 10:30pm (towards end of segment) - Marc & Todd's Crazy Clips.  They even displayed my web address on the video. All details at www.The HuntingGame.us The video is a prank of an exploding Goat... Sounds bad, but the goat was already dead!"
• My Internet in Decatur is really messed up this morning. 
• That 14 year old that ran off with the twenty-something but was located in Mexico was on the news last night explaining the situation. The ol' "I feared for my life" bit doesn't seem plausible in this case. 
• The Senate passed legislation regarding the collection of sales tax on Internet sales. For the life of me, I've never understood the "$0.00" on the sales tax line during a web purchase. 

Feel His Pain

"Two Chips" / An Animated Short from Adam Patch on Vimeo.

If there's ever been a PSA for not drinking and joking, it's this video Adam Patch's wife got a little too tipsy one night and turned, like most do, into a stand-up comedian. Her subject of choice? Tortilla-chip bullying. 

Fort Worth Has A Drive In Theater?

Link.

Get Me This Baby Duck Who Is Falling Asleep!

Gun Rights Advocate vs. The Police. Who Ya Got?

I've mentioned it before, Texas has bizarre guns laws. You can carry an AR-15 down the street. Nothing illegal about it.

Background from this incident in Temple, Texas.

Holy Moly

Man, this is violent. (Traffic stop begins around 1:00 )

The terrifying moment that a crazed Ohio driver unleashed 37 rounds from an AK-47 was caught on a police cruiser’s dashboard camera. But whatever caused 42-year-old James Gilkerson to spray bullets at cops during a March 10 traffic stop remains a mystery, Middlefield police said Friday. Gilkerson was killed during the exchange of gunfire. More.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I've never been in a Costco, but one is coming at 287 and I-35.
• My blinker won't automatically shut off once I make a turn. That's a beating. 
• Another twenty-something with a teenager over the weekend, but this one prompts an Amber Alert. 
• The mother of Mrs. LL's ex-husband died over the weekend. Despite my fears, she never met me without having open arms and a smile. Gem of a lady. 
• It's really my first experience with kids around and the concept of death. I'm learning more than I'm teaching. 
• I think Mrs. LL is obsessed with The Good Wife. From what I've seen, it's a toned down Ally McBeal. And, like most lawyer shows, a case goes from initial meeting to trial in a blink of an eye.
• My point of the Joel Osteen post below was that I question his cause and effect analysis. 
• The guy whose legs being blows away which was famously captured by a photographer opened a hockey game this weekend.
• Greg Williams' blog is more scorched earth than I thought it would be.  
• The Bangladesh death count from the building collapse is now at 622.
• I've watched Caddyshack a million times but it still makes me laugh. (It was on one of the cable channels this weekend.)
• The Family Cat loves making a bee line for the bathroom whenever the door is open. She likes to sit in the sink. So goofy. 
• The clouds yesterday afternoon were like the opening of The Simpsons. 
• From the You've-Got-To-Be-Kidding-Me Department: .The founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation, Nancy Brinker, "made $684,717 in fiscal 2012, a 64 percent jump from her $417,000 salary from" the year before. The next time you think about paying an entry fee for one of those races, remember that. 

Random Observation About Joel Osteen

From a moment ago after  I turned on the television:


After a couple of examples of thanking God for every day things . . . "Driving into to work. Thanking Him for a safe trip. That's acknowledging God. Before you go into a restaurant, under your breath, 'God help us to have a good dinner and bless this time together'. When God sees you showing your dependency on him like that -- relying on Him in your everyday life -- that's what will cause Him to make your life easier."

Citation needed?

Above The Fold

Gov. Perry Spoke At The NRA Convention In Houston Today

This was his intro video: Shooting an AR-15 while Ted Nugent's Stranglehold played.

I'm insane now.

Edit: Twenty targets you can buy at the convention. The NRA hates zombies.

Water Polo Bad Boy Taking You Into The Weekend

The 'ol hand on hip, forearm to the chest move. That guy is smooth as butter.

We're Gonna Blow!

Dallas Morning News story.

And Another: Houston

And 2013 gets back in the race with a huge hay-maker!

(Thanks emailer.)

No One Has A Video Of This?

It's in Texas. (Story.)

Bud Kennedy says it's all about the celebration rules of the UIL and has nothing to do with the religious aspect of what the kid did.

Let's turn to our Attorney General who has time to review this shocking development:

Disgraceful: Winning track team disqualified for praising God khou.com/sports/Act-of-… #txlege #tcot #txgop #TGD #faith
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 2, 2013

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The new Puppy In The House is fawned over so much I expect her to stand up and announce, "I am Kim Jong-un!"
• Ted Cruz for President rumors over the last couple of days? If he does, it will be the biggest wake up call ever for the Far Right. He'd get crushed on the national stage. 
• Do guys wear cologne? That just seems like a very 1980s concept. 
• Dennis Prager rant of the day: Yesterday he spent 30 minutes telling his audience, very authoritatively by the way, that referring to your son as "buddy" undermines the parent's authority because the term signifies equality.  (I know my Prager rants are a very inside issue with me, but I love the passion of his defenders on here.)
• If a horse could ever be a "Hey, Now."
• Lost in the news of the FDA allowing the Morning After Pill to be sold over the counter to those 15 and above: The FDA did so because a court ruling made them do so, and the Justice Department announced it would appeal the ruling. 
• Breaking this morning: The unemployment rate fell to 7.5%. Obama will always have his critics, but the economy will always have a check mark in his favor. 
• Notice that I didn't say one negative thing about George W while his library was being opened?
• Amanda Bynes is crazy. 
• I've always been jazzed by Natalie Portman. The other morning as I was getting ready for work, Ms. LL was almost giggly as she had stumbled upon a very racy scene of her's from Closer on the TV.  Once I realized it was on, I got to fire off the line, "Ain't nobody got time for that!"
• [Sidenote: Is "her's"  proper in that sentence? It is possessive, right? And is it clear that "her's" refers to Portman and not Mrs. LL?]
• A tweet by Fox 4's Good Day this morning: "Go home winter weather . . . . you're drunk (again)."
• I'm a huge fan of gMail and have been for a decade. The filtering and labeling functions are fantastic and it might be the greatest spam blocker ever. I just checked my Spam folder and had 22 emails in it gathered from the last 30 minutes. 
• If you travel to Fort Worth on 287 and look to your right once you get past Rhome, you can see a HUGE power line being erected for about 10 miles. What an eyesore. 
• I had a lawyer ask me why I didn't sell ads on here. I told him I'd thought about it, but didn't want to go through the hassle. "It might be more profitable than being a lawyer," he said. 
• A flipped over to the Rangers game last night to see fans freezing in the stands with their puppy dogs on Dog Night. How miserable. 
• Greg "The Hammer" Williams is launching "Greggo's Gigantic Blog and Cafe" at noon today and, based upon his twitter feed, this could be very Wheels Off.