What! January 19, 2017
By Lisa Baker • 01-19-17
I swore I would never write about Johnny Manziel again…I lied. It is my job to keep you informed. During Super Bowl week, Manziel will have two autograph sessions where for $99 he will sign any item for you…plus $29 if you want him to write a special inscription up to “four” words. Another $99 will get you a professional photo, but if you’re looking for a bargain, it’s just $50 for a selfie. I would pay not to have to go.
An airlines worker got a free ride from Charlotte, North Carolina to Dulles Airport in Washington after a regional flight took off with him still inside the cargo hold. Oops. It was stated that no baggage handlers were harmed during this exercise.
In Florida, a pit bull named Scarface, turned on its owner who was, get this, trying to dress the dog in a sweater. The lady’s husband and adult son were also injured during the “style show.” Hospitalization and surgery were needed for the woman involved. Some people should not have children or pets. See below.
According to the USDA, the cost of raising a child in a middle class family is about $233,610. That includes housing, transportation, clothing and more. Teens cost a bit more because they eat so much and have more transportation needs. I could have told them that bit of news.
The moon is much older than scientists suspected…4.51 billion years is the newest estimate, thanks to rocks that were collected by the Apollo 14 moon-walkers in 1971. Hmmm. 46 years. Amazing information.
This is good: A Cypress man was pulled over last year for failing to use a turn signal. He had no concerns about letting the officers search his car. The officers found a sock stuffed with kitty litter to absorb moisture. Two field tests showed the substance in the sock was lots of methamphetamine. The man was jailed on $100,000 bond. The case was dismissed recently with the reason as “not a controlled substance.” Another oops.
Alligator snapping turtles are a threatened species in Texas, mainly because of the leftover monofilament fishing line which can wrap around and cause them to drown…I am reminded of a joke. There were two alligator ladies talking to each other. One says to the other, “I love your new purse.” The other alligator lady says, “Thank you, it’s my ex-husband.” Lost in translation…
March 7-26, 2017 Rodeo Entertainment lineup was announced. Aaron Watson, Old Dominion, Chris Stapleton, Alicia Keys, Alan Jackson, The Chainsmokers, Sam Hunt, Meghan Trainor, Thomas Rhett, Luke Bryan, Fifth Harmony, Willie Nelson, Banda El Recorda and Siggno, Florida Georgia Line, ZZ Top, Chris Young, Blink 182, Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley and The Zac Brown Band. Go to rodeohouston.com. SEE OUR AD ON PAGE 10.
HAPPY BIRTHDAYS: Legend Betty White is 95. Singer Rod Stewart is 72. Boxing Hall of Fame entrepreneur George Foreman is 68. Singer Pat Benatar is 64. Singer Naomi Judd is 71. Singer Robert Earl Keen is 61. Singer Mary J. Blige is 46. Actress Kirstie Alley is 66. Radio-TV personality Howard Stern is 63. Entrepreneur Jeff Bezos is 53. Amazon.com. Actress Diane Lane is 52. Dolly Parton is 71. Auto racer A.J. Foyt is 82. Actress Debbie Allen is 67. Actor/playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda is 37. Can’t wait to see what he does in the next 37 years.
The iPhone is 10 years-old. Remember when they unveiled the “phone and computer” all-in-one and we scratched our heads wondering why in the world we would need that when we had the tried and true BlackBerry in our pockets. Now every kid over the age of 7 has an iPhone in their hand and blackberries are just for fruit salad.
Ford is bringing back the Bronco that was discontinued 20 years ago (best known as the O.J. Simpson chase car) and the Ranger truck. Their return is motivated by increasing demand for SUV’s and trucks.
Research shows that many white storks have become addicted to junk food in landfill sites in Spain and Portugal, so they now live year-round in one location and don’t migrate from Europe to Africa for the winter. I wonder how this is effecting the delivery of newborns.
The average American life expectancy is now 78.8 years.
French police arrested 17 people in the October theft of more than $10 million worth of jewelry from Kim Kardashian West, who was tied up and locked in a bathroom in her Paris apartment. The suspects range in age from 23 to 72 and were tracked down through DNA evidence left in the apartment. Stupid thieves.
Buc-ee’s is going to have natural gas-powered micro-grids at 10 stores. Micro-grids will allow the stores to run on separate energy sources during power outages.
Paleontologists at China University of Geosciences discovered a dinosaur tail feather preserved in amber. It was 1.4-inches long and is stated as further proof that dinosaurs were birdlike.
George Washington first said the words in 1789…the simple presidential oath of office as part of the inauguration ceremony. “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Many new Presidents used George Washington’s inaugural bible as they are sworn in. Others used their family bibles. John Quincy Adams used a book of laws. Lyndon Johnson used a Catholic missal. Teddy Roosevelt did not have a book of any kind. Franklin Pierce “affirmed” rather than “swore” his oath because he had a crisis of faith after his son’s death. George W. Bush used his family bible because it was wet outside but had another swearing in after going indoors. Obama chose to use Lincoln’s Bible with Martin Luther King’s Bible underneath. A fake news site says that Trump will be using a carpet sample book. I have always tried to have great respect for the office of the President but you have to admit, that’s pretty funny.
Current law has the Vice President of the United States reciting a different oath: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”
January 20th Inauguration Day. It’s right around the corner.
This is nuts. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is now reporting that one of the best ways to prevent a peanut allergy is to give your kids peanut products starting when they are babies. Old guidelines said to never give children any peanut butter until they were at least three. As the mother of a child with a peanut allergy, this is scary information. There was no discussion about smooth vs. chunky.
After seven years of marriage, HGTV Flip or Flop stars, Tarek and Christina El Moussa will divorce. They say that they will continue to work together.
We gave milkweed seeds to our customers a couple of years ago. The drought has killed all the milkweed so we need to make it available for the Monarch butterflies since that’s the only thing they eat. It’s critical. In my back office garden we continue to have milkweed (almost year round), which leads to the monarch egg stage (takes about 4 days), caterpillar stage (about 2 weeks), chrysalis stage (10 days), and then you have the beautiful adult butterfly which live about 2-6 weeks. SO, plant some milkweed. If you need more information, call Carol Jones at the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory. 979-480-0999. I have a monarch chrysalis on my conference table right now because I didn’t see it attached to some onions I pulled from the garden. More than beautiful, Monarch butterflies contribute to the health of our planet. Do your part.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus announced that after 146 years of performances, they are closing in May. Good-bye to death-defying feats, the flying trapeze, lion tamers, human cannonballs and The Greatest Show on Earth.
The new Naked Chicken Chalupa taco shell is made up of all white meat seasoned fried chicken. I said Taco SHELL. The rest of the taco is lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese and avocado ranch sauce. January 26th. I will have to taste it to understand it. No problem. I love Taco Bell.
A swim meet between Virginia Tech and the University of Kentucky was canceled because of a snow storm so the swimmers decided to have some fun and have a relay…in the snow…in below 20 degree weather. One swimmer said, “Even if I accomplish nothing else in this life, I did something fun.”
Because of tremendous online sales during the holiday season, Macy’s will close about 60 of its 730 stores this year and expects to cut more than 10,000 jobs. Sears said it plans to shut 150 locations including 109 of its Kmart stores. The Limited, founded in 1963, says it has closed all physical stores including 5 in the Houston area, but will continue to operate online.
A study has revealed that the kind of man a woman finds attractive can differ depending on where she is in her cycle. For example: if she is ovulating, she is attracted to men with rugged and masculine features. However, if she is menstruating or menopausal, she tends to be more attracted to a man with duct tape over his mouth and a spear lodged in his chest while he is on fire. No further studies are expected on this subject. Hmmm.
Gene Cernan, an early NASA astronaut who was the last man to set foot on the moon, died at the age of 82.
Steve Forbes brings up some interesting ideas in the November edition of Forbes. He suggests that with the possible collapse of ObamaCare…perhaps we should be allowed to shop nationwide for our insurance…not just state-by-state, have transparency on prices (when you walk in to The Local to eat, they give you a menu with the prices on it…don’t they) and freedom of choice to not pay for un-needed services such as pregnancy for men. That’s a good one. And we shouldn’t be forced to purchase insurance. There is more. Pull it up. It’s a good read.
The next full moon will be February 11th. New moon is January 28th.
A two-pack of the EpiPen allergy treatment can sell for more than $600. CVS is now carrying a generic version that will cost $109.99 for a two-pack.
The Time Jumpers, which is Vince Gill and “Ranger Doug” Green from Riders in the Sky (and some other people that I can’t remember) will be playing at TheGrand.com on February 11th, in Galveston.
Maybe this will get your attention…climate change…the warming waters effect the fish in the United Kingdom (fish and chips), the coffee grown near the equator, the avocados grown in California…
“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.” Dalai Lama
A Mesquite, Texas woman was reunited with her Shih Tzu four years after the dog was taken while the family was at church. The dog was found in Las Vegas because it had been microchipped.
The earth has music for those who listen. William Shakespeare
Massive snow storms in the north, excessive rains in the west…
The doctor says to the patient… “What fits your busy schedule better, exercising one hour a day or being dead 24 hours a day?” hmmm. I should go for a walk now.
