I Guess It Is Crazy

Hey, I don't know what she is legally entitled to but she thinks it is 1/2 of his $18 billion empire that was built during their 26 years of marriage.  As crazy as it sounds, I guess she could be correct.

Story.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• I got an email report from someone I trust who reports that Decatur's "Speedo Man" (he's pictured in the masthead, above) has died.  According to the email:  "He was a good guy with a good sense of humor. He was one other best dozer operators I've ever met. It was uncanny. He could push a pile of dirt or timber 200 yards and not lose an ounce of the dirt pile or there wouldn't be a teaspoon of dirt in the whole ball of timber if pushing timber or brush. He could barely read or write but he could eyeball grades and cut them to within +/- an inch or two. Again, it was uncanny. Inspectors would take their lunch breaks on the site to watch him work." He never EVER drank water- only coffee no matter how hot it was.
• I'm pretty sure that the SMU scientists erected their own seismic equipment within the last week and half at the old Texas Stadium site. Very nice timing considering the last 24 hours of activity. 
• Big news this morning: At least 12 people killed in Paris in a terroristic attack at a satirical magazine. (I clicked on a "graphic footage" link this morning and wish I hadn't.) They were targeting specific individuals including the editor and a cartoonist. There are already collections on the Internet of the paper's most "offensive" covers -- they are obviously in French but there are explanations in the sidebar in that link. 
• Does Salman Rushdie still live in fear after all of these years?
• There is a Wise County inmate who has been mailing out uh, toilet paper, to various county officials over the past week or so. 
• I rarely watch MSNBC, but Rachel Maddow last night had the funniest segment as she ran footage of Joe Biden interacting with the newly sworn Senators and their families.  It truly is like Christmas to him. And it's so tense watching him because he's so wheels off. 
• Every friend I have who has ever used Uber loves it. 
• "DALLAS — A Dallas attorney, Andrew Lee Siegel, faces up to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty in a nearly $1.6 million vodka investment scam." I thought he might be associated with "Sigel's wine of the week" until I discovered is name is spelled differently that the liquor chain. 
• For the Republicans to take over both houses of Congress yesterday, they sure seemed grumpy. 
• I had no idea the very wheels off Kennedale "And Another" teacher was released from prison last month. (Credit: BagofNothing for seeing it.) She had been sentenced to five years in August of 2012, but she probably had accumulated a ton of back time. If I remember correctly, all her "victims" were of legal age but she was prosecuted under the teacher/student "improper relationship" statute.
• I'm late to this story, but the Assistant Dallas DA who got a arrested for DWI has to be a moron for firing off the "Do you know who I am" card. (But he sure looked "fly" in the Channel 8 video.) 

Above The Fold

Another Irving/Dallas Earthquake At Around 3:10 p.m.

This one sounds bigger based upon initial reports.

I'm checking the Liberally Lean seismic equipment.

Developing . . .

DEVELOPING: USGS confirms quake in Dallas area. Magnitude in order of 3.5 (preliminary/unofficial). More to Come. pic.twitter.com/sWVc4aelsb
— WFAA TV (@wfaachannel8) January 6, 2015

Edit: If you read this on Wednesday morning, you're probably aware there were eight more over the next few hours.

Scenes From The New Congress Today

Lithuanian Talent Show Is The Most Tense Thing You'll See All Day. Or week. Or more.

That's A Mess

#BREAKING Photo from scene of crash involving a Dallas fire truck. Cement truck rolled over onto the cab of a truck. pic.twitter.com/H4jBjc4IjD
— Ryan Wood (@RyanWoodDFW) January 6, 2015

Firetruck and cement trick collide. Cement truck falls on pickup.

Now This Is Beginning To Make Sense

	Robert Wilonsky (@RobertWilonsky)
1/6/15, 9:46 AM Chris Christie, Jerry Jones and the Port Authority of NY & NY -- now THAT's an unholy trinity share.d-news.co/KzzKVaM pic.twitter.com/1gZ2fMQCLj

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Barry

Get Me This Dog!

He's a regular Birddog of Alcatraz.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Wise County court docket's for yesterday and today are crazy. 
• Having  a woman get stabbed at a DART station doesn't exactly make one want to use public transportation. (Happened early this morning.) 
• OU offensive coordinator, who led the team to a national championship when he was QB, has been fired this morning.
• The Ticket was talking about Miss America this morning. Didn't Denton County have two back to back winners? Wasn't Phyllis George one of them?
• Power Down words I heard last night; "It's Bachelor marathon evening!"  (Maybe for you Mrs. LL, but I. Am. Out.)
• I've worn a Fitbit for two weeks and still haven't read the instructions.
• A new Congress and a new Texas legislature. Hide yo' wife. Hide yo' kids.
• And the Right Wing trying to promote Rep. Louie Gohmert as House Speaker over John Boehner a huge favor by trying to take him down on Tuesday. That ain't gonna happen. 
• After the controversial call/non-call in the Detroit/Dallas game, I was reminded that the NFL vice president of officiating, Dean Blandino, was on the Cowboys "party bus" with Jerry and Stephen Jones back in August. I had completely forgotten about that.  

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I watched a little of Joel Osteen yesterday. Let me tell you the formula: "You might be having financial troubles. You might have been in a relationship you shouldn't have been in. You might be suffering from some type of addiction. You might have have said something to a family member you shouldn't have." What? You are trying to connect to 99% of your audience? 
• If you are a fan of The Office you understand "That's what she said."  Hey, it's a tired bit and I've retired it. But then, on Saturday,  Mrs. LL made a comment about a burrito she brought home. I pinched my lips together. She saw what was going through my mind and then bombarded me with innuendos. I'm not sure I have laughed so hard in years.
• We are re-watching Breaking Bad and it's better than I remembered. And I thought it was great the first time. 
• I'm convinced that the new Family Pup #2 is mentally challenged. It may be the dumbest animal I've ever seen. Every time you see her, she looks up with this expression of "Who are you?" Hey, pup!!! I'm the one who saved you from traffic!!!!
• It's a weird phenomenon when the Kids In The House start making incredibly witty/funny comments. Hey, don't grow up!!!
• Meathead Rob Lowe is my favorite Rob Lowe.
• Sports: Going for it on 4th down now seems in vogue -- and I'm a huge fan.
• BagOfNothing is revealing more about his sex life this morning. If any of you guys want to form a posse and join me to confront him later today, let me know. He's putting way too much pressure on us. 
• No one seems like they've grown up in, and still lives in, a bubble more than Mike Huckabee.
• Mrs. LL yells at me when she walks in and sees me steaming because I've been watching Fox News. 
• I hate January. 

That Australian Hurdler Chick Taking You Into The Weekend

(It's a little racy. Nothing more than you'd see on Entertainment Tonight, but a little racy.)

I'm Declaring A National Day Of Mourning!

Elly May Clampett has died.

The "Lift Up" Move From Dirty Dancing

I've never wanted to see more of a video in my life. A beautiful setting with a Christmas tree in the background. Then we start with a very weak Dirty Dancing move -- hey, the girl doesn't get close to horizontal -- and then she hits the dance floor with a sound that is borderline haunting.  Follow that up with a little bit of shoe movement and then nothing as she goes into a crucifix position.

Was there a dance floor death in the news I missed? Hey, it's Murder on the Dance Floor!

Could Have Been Mrs. LL and Me During The Baylor Game

But, man, that caption is dead on. She looks up, sees they are on screen, and goes into damage control mode in an instant. It's very Pam-like from The Office.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I'll admit it. That Baylor loss was gut wrenching. I now know what TCU felt like when it gave up 21 to Baylor in the last 10 minutes. How in the world did it happen? Baylor has stolen probably three or four games over the last couple of years so it's hard to complain.
• There's not a dimes worth of difference between TCU, Baylor, and Michigan State. All are better than Florida State. I'm not sure any of them could beat Alabama, Ohio State or Oregon. 
• Putting the two college playoff games on New Year's Day was a fantastic idea. Felt like the old days. 
• Mrs, LL is a fan of Florida State because of the Tomahawk Chop fan sign. (Sign? Isn't there a better word than that?)
• I recorded the second half of the Alabama/Ohio State game last night and decided to go to bed. Mrs. LL was surprised but then we decided to start watching Breaking Bad (for way too long). But I kept away from social media because I wanted to watch game the next morning. When I got up at 6:30 to let the dogs out, Mrs. LL woke up and said, "You're not going to watch the rest of that game are you?" Me: "Probably." Her: "Well, I'm getting up to watch it, too." Promise. We watched the end of the game at 6:35 a.m. this morning. 
• Edit: She fell asleep during the fourth quarter as I'm writing this. (Great game.)
• During the game, a guy named Steve Miller had an interception return for a TD. The PA system then fired up "Take The Money and Run". Genius. 
• After letting the dogs out, I  realized the Christmas lights were still on outside and quickly decided to turn them off for the last time for the season. But the ground was wet. I didn't have my shoes so I made the executive  decision to take my off my socks and walk outside only to see my neighbor staring at me. Hey. Don't judge.
• CNN's New Year's Eve show with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin is borderline insane.
• Back To The Future 2 was based on the year 2015.
• There is a crazy 18 wheeler tanker fire on I-20 this morning. The whole freeway is shut down while the thing blazes away. 
• The new Tarrant County DA tweeted yesterday something to the effect of "We will never be ashamed of following the letter of the law." I've got a bad feeling about the new administration. It's not the law I'm worried about. 
• And there's already something weird going on with the DA's office. Its website is jacked up. And I can't find the twitter account of the office which used to be run by a former Star-Telegram reporter. 
• I rarely get to watch The Today Show any more, but it looks like Al Roker has taken on the annoying characteristics of the shunned Ann Curry. Basically, false sincerity. 
• There's a shocking stat in BagOfNothing this morning. And I do mean shocking. 

Extreme Sports Humor For The Win

Well, Baylor Is Up By 20+, Looks Like We Have A Cotton Bowl Victory !!!!

.... Wait. What happened?

But I am happy to report that the Baylor kicker did not die.

Edit (the next day):  There's always next year . . .