Wednesday Wonderings

More random thoughts on our state of dis-union.

• Ya think the Pope will do a Farewell Tour?
• Maybe it's just a contract gambit.
• I read recently that technogeeky researchers had come up with an invisible cellphone.
• WTH?
• I have enough trouble finding where I've left mine.  I don't need an invisible one.
• Apparently the glass display is invisible, until a current is run through its matrix, or somesuch.
• Gotta love the irony of the ringleader of the Amish hair and beard cutting gang having the name...Sam Mullet?
• License seen today on a PT Cruiser: PRTHD
• Speaking of which, I see that the Man from Margaritaville is coming to Frisco this Spring, joined by Jackson Browne.
• Is this the JB² tour?
• Uncle Ted at the SOTU:

• I stopped at a convenience store in a not-so-great part of town last week, noticing a portable table set up on the sidewalk, attended by a couple of people with laptop computers - I figured they were doing income tax returns.  Inside, a [white or hispanic] woman was talking about "if you got low income disability..." - the exact same spiel as the 'Obama phone' YouTube woman.
• When I left, I noticed the banner on the table - sure enough, they were signing up people for free phones.
• The Christian Science Monitor online has a quiz: "How much do you know about the 2nd Amendment?"  Before the app bombed out, I was 5/5.
• I haven't heard if they've apprehended the convict escapee yet.
• What, me worry?  Nah...:

I didn't change into comfortable clothes after work today.

• Brought home the venison sausage from my co-worker today.  
• Mmm!

Ripped [off] From the Headlines

Because your day's just not complete until you know what The Donald has to say about today's top stories, is it?

Perusing the teletype today, the editors at S116 direct the Dear Reader to the following:

• A researcher at the University of Central Missouri, Curtis Cooper, has found the longest known prime number, at 17,425,170 digits - surpassing a 2008 record by some 4.5 million digits.
• Coincidentally, I spent quite a bit of last week looking for that prime number also.  (I thought maybe it was in my garage - who knows?  Heck, it's possible Jimmy Hoffa's out there.)

• Guess ya gotta know where to look.
• I'm no mathemagician, but I had a 750 Math SAT - about a hundred years ago.
• Recently, I've been reading Yahoo news on my phone at night, before I fall asleep.  They feature comments after each story.
• The Yahoo commenters manage to achieve the seemingly impossible: They make the Circus Blog commenters look intelligent.
• I interrupted my brilliant news analysis to watch the SOTU.  Ron Kirk seemed to be featured prominently at the entrance to the chamber, and Stuart Smalley was shown frequently (at least on ABC's coverage).  
• I never did see Ted (Cruz or Nugent).  
• A coworker whose wireless telegraph picks up the Facebook - we'll call her Reporter #1 - received word via that channel that a former co-worker of ours who had stopped at a Southlake park to answer the call of nature got a rude surprise today.
• Seems he was sequestered within the claustrophobe zone, when he heard footsteps and someone started rattling on his stall door.
• At first fearing it might be Senator Larry Craig, his apprehension intensified when the new arrival pointed a gun from under the stall wall and ordered him to "Come out, you *so and so*!"
• Seems some enthusiastic members of Southlake's finest thought they had cornered the Florida escapee convict. 
• All's well that ends well, one supposes.
• I received a Pony Express dispatch this evening from my town's Marshal service, advising residents to be cautious after dark, as said bad dude has not yet been located.
• I reckon I'll be fine, thanks:

• A friend informs me that iTunes is having a sale on Classic Rock albums.  What I don't understand is how they get the vinyl to come through the wires.
• But, hey - I'm just a cave man!¹
• The Texas Legislature is again considering an open carry option for CHL holders. While many prefer not to carry openly, I think it would be nice to have the option, and would mitigate the burden of full concealment that now exists.
• Plus, I can't say that sometime, somewhere, I might not be tempted, just once, to strap on the ol' hogleg and ammo belt, and spurs and stuff.  Just because.
• The ozone hole has shrunken to a record low.
• I had planned to look for it this next weekend.
• I was watching one of the UHF station's news/commentary earlier this evening, featuring Tracy, Troy, and Jeff Brady. I forget which station has hired Jane McGarry.
• Word reaches the editorial desk that Todd the Dog Blogger Pastor is considering running for Pope.
• I would support that - I think it would be an historic event to have a Baptist Pontiff.
• And the beanie would also help keep his head warm in the winter months. I don't recommend wearing the pointy hat dove hunting, though.
• There's a kind of fun travelogue with Billy Connolly about Route 66 that was on KERA last night:

• Does anyone besides me remember the local TV news with Ray Walker and Judy Jordan?
• Possibly this story² has circulated in this area previously, but I missed it: A father in Alvin, near Houston, allegedly shoots drunk driver who killed his two sons.  The father has apparently been indicted for murder.
• I think, though, this could be a deterrent to drunk driving.
• Probably wouldn't be too popular with drunk driving defense lawyers.
• Oh, and my Verbal SAT was 670, in case you were wondering.
• A colleague at work, who doesn't hunt, was gifted with some venison sausage, professionally processed.  He accepted it, not wanting to offend the giver, but asked me if I would like it, as he says he's not comfortable with eating deer meat.
• Hey, I got no problem with that...

¹ h/t to the memory of Phil Hartman's Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer

² h/t from Lagniappe's Lair

Saturday Night Sappy Song

On this pre-Valentine's Day weekend:



From the movie The Alamo King.

Surf's Up!

Ever see a pastor on a windboard in church?  Well, here's one:

YOLO - Part 3: Follow the Leader from Keystone Church on Vimeo.

Are ya livin' or are ya dyin'?

Tune in to YOLO!, and learn about abundant LIFE in Christ:

YOLO - Part 2: LIVING or DYING from Keystone Church on Vimeo.

Check out Keystone's new series, Once Upon a Time, beginning February 9-10.  Featuring a unicorn for the kids (borrowed from Dew?).

Gone too soon

Over on the Circus Blog, someone commented that the host failed to note the 30th anniversary of the passing of Karen Carpenter, so I'll oblige:

Slipping the surly bonds of Earth...

If you've noticed the sidebar of esteemed bloggers the past couple of days, you've seen the tributes by Murphy's Law and Brigid to retired Air Force Maj. Ed Rasimus, Vietnam Veteran air combat pilot, author of several books on the subject, flight instructor, software reviewer, college professor, and blogger (Thunder Tales).  This past Wednesday, 'Raz' overcame the forces of gravity and drag, and now dances on laughter-silvered wings.¹

I met Maj. Rasimus only once, briefly, in November 2011, when he was scheduled to speak to a group of aviation writers at the Fort Worth Public Library.  Reading that he'd be nearby, my Daughter and I detoured our plans that day to take a few moments to meet him, as at that time I'd been reading his blog for a quite awhile.  He was gracious enough to honor a request for a photograph.

Thunder Tales was one of my favorite reads.  He had great insight - one supposes that facing down SAMs and MiGs over 250 times and living to write about it sharpens the senses - and a dry humor.  In the comments section of his blogposts, he didn't suffer fools gladly, but he maintained a level of decorum and civil discourse rather than devolving into mudslinging, name-calling melees.

Occasionally, he would include excerpts from his books - always a great read.  He was a keen observer and commenter on political matters, as well as society in general.   I hope that his students understood their good fortune in having a true warrior who'd been 'at the tip of the spear' of foreign policy.  A few months ago, he wrote that he was considering writing another book.  I know we all hoped and prayed he'd be able to see another project through, but Life had its own plans.

I'm grateful to Maj. Rasimus for his service to our country, his fierce dedication to its principles, his warrior spirit, and his mission to educate others - young and old - about the duties of citizenship.

God bless you, Sir - may you have clear skies ahead...topping the wind-swept heights with easy grace!¹


¹ Abridged from High Flight - John Gillespie Magee, Jr.