Friday, January 30, 2026

Briefly.

Old age is a thing… last night I was in bed for 10 minutes when I heard the pizza guy cough. Then I remembered I came to my room to get my wallet.

Trivia #1: What are pyroclasts?
Trivia #2: From 1987 through 1993, the San Francisco 49ers had 5 Offensive Players of the Year (4 different players). Name them and, which one won it twice?
Trivia #3: Following Washington’s 38-9 loss to the Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII, the NFC won how many consecutive Super Bowls? – 1, 7, 11. 13. 15. 19, 34

The word “queue” is ironic. It’s just a ‘Q’ with a bunch of silent letters waiting in line.

On this date: January 30, 1018, The Holy Roman Empire and Poland conclude the Peace of Bautzen
January 30, 1487, Bell chimes invented
January 30, 1698, English pirate William Kidd takes his greatest prize, the Indian merchant ship Quedagh Merchant, upsetting English trade and causing a global manhunt
January 30, 1835, Richard Lawrence misfires at President Andrew Jackson in Washington, D.C. in 1st attempted assassination of a US President (A real marksman, that Lawrence!)
January 30, 1933, “Lone Ranger” begins a 21-year run on ABC radio
January 30, 1948, Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated in the garden of the New Delhi home he is visiting by Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse
January 30, 1952, American mathematician D.H. Lehmer and computer programmer R. M. Robinson verify 2^521-1 and 2^607-1 as Mersenne-prime numbers, using U.S. National Bureau of Standards Western Automatic Computer (SWAC) at the Institute for Numerical Analysis at the University of California, Los Angeles – Wait… what?
January 30, 1962, 2 members of Flying Wallendas’ high-wire act killed when their 7-person pyramid collapsed during a performance in Detroit – DOH!
January 30, 1962, Laughter epidemic begins at a girls’ mission school in Kashasha, Tanganyika, goes on to affect 14 schools and over 1000 people
January 30, 1972, Bloody Sunday: 27 unarmed civilians are shot (14 are killed) by the British Army during a civil rights march in Derry, Northern Ireland; the highest death toll from a single shooting incident during ‘The Troubles’
January 30, 1975, Erno Rubik applies for a patent for his “Magic Cube” invention, later to be known as a Rubik’s cube

Busy day January 30, I know. I got carried away.

Colorectal cancer is now officially the leading cause of cancer-related death among men and women 50 and younger, a significant increase from the 1990’s, when it was the fifth deadliest. As a friend of mine, and some of yours, once preached, “Get your butt checked!”

Go away: Tony Romo, NFL color analyst. Your time has passed.

Stop complaining: Just stop. We live in New England… You know who you are.

Headline of the week: PETA proposes a “reveal cake” for Groundhog Day in place of Punxsutawney Phil.

Don’t be that guy. Don’t live in New England and complain about the cold weather all winter long.

Useless information supposed to fire my imagination: Drake Maye has a sore shoulder 11 days before the Super Bowl.

Article I’ll skip: Timberwolves players release statement addressing ‘recent tragic events’ involving ICE in Minneapolis – Ya, with everything going on out there I want to know what NBA players have to say.

They said it: Jack Nicklaus turned 86 on January 21. Gary Player penned a short but emotional note to honor his rival and friend. “The gift of friendship with your greatest rival, Happy Birthday Jack. The greatest gentleman the game has ever known.”

Speaking of golf, since its creation in 2021, LIV Golf Ltd. has accumulated losses exceeding $1.1 billion. However, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil says they’ve added half a billion dollars in sponsorship in the last 10 months, and that’s nowhere near where they’ll be in a year from now. My thought, with players jumping ship and returning to the PGA, will LIV continue to get those massive sponsorships???

Speaking of golf (in January… with temperatures up north continually in the teens and twenties), PGA tour pros log roughly 90 airborne hours and 37,000 miles versus LIV’s 218.5 hours and 102,105 miles every season.

Winning the lottery, you’re doing it wrong. John Eric Spiby, 80, who used his 2010 lottery winnings to run a drug empire from his cottage alongside his son and two accomplices, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in England after an investigation uncovered counterfeit pills worth up to $400 million. His son, John Colin Spiby, 37, was sentenced to nine years.

Lesser-known Knights of the Round Table. The knight who overcame obstacles: Sir Mount

This week’s sign of the apocalypse: Lake-effect snow will be less robust as some lakes are freezing over, such as Lake Erie, and cutting off the moisture supply for the snow bands heavier snow squalls. (How’s that global warming going?)

You’re not a parent until you’ve secretly wished your child’s sports team does bad in a tournament so you can go home early.

Trivia #1 answer: What are pyroclasts? – Rock fragments, crystals, or volcanic glass ejected during explosive volcanic eruptions.
Trivia #2 answer: From 1987 through 1993, the San Francisco 49ers had 5 Offensive Players of the Year (4 different players). Name them and, which one won it twice? – Jerry Rice (1987, 1993), Roger Craig (1988), Joe Montana (1989), Steve Young (1992)
Trivia #3 answer: Following Washington’s 38-9 loss to the Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII, the NFC won how many consecutive Super Bowls? – 1, 7, 11, 13, 15, 19, 34 – They then won 13 consecutive Super Bowls

There are no atheists in foxholes.

Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.

Be careful out there. (It’s a jungle!)

Happy National Fun at Work Day! – (Unless, of course, your job sucks)

I wonder if my recorded call has ever been used for training or quality purposes.

Come on downtown this afternoon as I’ll be serving ‘em up! It’s not too early to talk too much about the Super Bowl.

Less than 8 weeks until St. Patrick’s Day. Cheers!

Friday, December 19, 2025

Briefly.

And just like that, Christmas is upon us. This time next week, it will be over with. Merry, Merry to you and yours.

I am no longer allowed to go caroling at the psych hospital. I guess “Do You Hear What I Hear” was a bad song choice.

Trivia #1: What country started the Christmas tree tradition? – The United States, Germany, France, Italy, Jordan, Ireland, Denmark, Lowell
Trivia #2: What is the first rule in the Code of Elves in the movie ‘Elf?’ – There’s room for everyone on the nice list; Pour plenty of whiskey in your eggnog; The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear; Don’t eat yellow snow; Treat every day like Christmas
Trivia #3: What country is known for lighting advent candles each Sunday of December? – The United States, Germany, France, Italy, Jordan, Ireland, Denmark, Lowell
Trivia #4: What is the Grinch’s dog’s name? – Rex, Rufus, Rock, Fido, Fifi, Doug, Frank, Max
Trivia #5:  In the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” how many presents are given in total? – None, 78, 144, 256, 364, 962

On this date: December 19, 324, Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor.
December 19, 1686, Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe’s fictional character, leaves his island after 28 years of being marooned (according to the famous novel)
December 19, 1843, “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens is published, 6,000 copies sold
December 19, 1904, Dawson City hockey team begins 9 day walk to get a boat to Seattle to catch a train to Ottawa to play in Stanley Cup on Jan 13 1905
December 19, 1918, Robert Ripley begins his “Believe It or Not” column (NY Globe)
December 19, 1958, First radio broadcast from space, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends a Christmas message “to all mankind, America’s wish for peace on Earth and goodwill to men everywhere”
December 19, 1971, CBS airs “Homecoming A Christmas Story” as a TV movie that evolves into long running series “The Waltons”
December 19, 2001, A record high barometric pressure of 1085.6 hPa (32.06 inHg) is recorded at Tosontsengel, Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia.
December 19, 2016, At least 48 people die after drinking bath lotion in Irkutsk, Siberia, thinking it contained alcohol

Useless information supposed to fire my imagination: December 19, 2001, a record high barometric pressure of 1085.6 hPa (32.06 inHg) is recorded at Tosontsengel, Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia.

The best part of writing this on Friday is that the Patriots loss to the Bills is behind us. We’re on to Baltimore.

Stop complaining… Unless you’re a Chiefs’ fan – hahaha!

Stop complaining, part deux: A massive coast-to-coast storm is charging across the country, packing hurricane-force wind gusts and will impact more than 30 states by the end of the week. This comes as more people hit the roads and head to airports, with the holidays quickly approaching. This powerful storm is approaching the Midwest after powerful wind gusts left hundreds of thousands of customers without power across the Pacific Northwest, Northern Plains and the Rockies.  

Go away: Brian Walshe

Don’t be that guy. Whether you like the gift or not, at least look as though you appreciate it.

He sees you when you’re drinking...

Article I’ll skip: Detransitioner Chloe Cole shares complications after gender procedures

Lesser-known Knights of the Round Table. The knight too big to sit at the table: Sir Round

If you didn’t get a Christmas card from us, don’t feel slighted. This is at least the second year in a row we haven’t sent them out. We still love you dearly tough.

Good news: It’s Christmas time!

My biggest fear is being trapped in a small room with Santa. I have Claustrophobia.

Trivia #1 answer: What country started the Christmas tree tradition? – The United States, Germany, France, Italy, Jordan, Ireland, Denmark, Lowell – The answer is Germany
Trivia #2 answer: What is the first rule in the Code of Elves in the movie ‘Elf?’ – There’s room for everyone on the nice list; Pour plenty of whiskey in your eggnog; The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear; Don’t eat yellow snow; Treat every day like Christmas – ‘Treat every day like Christmas’
Trivia #3 answer: What country is known for lighting advent candles each Sunday of December? – The United States, Germany, France, Italy, Jordan, Ireland, Denmark, Lowell – The answer is Germany
Trivia #4 answer: What is the Grinch’s dog’s name? – Rex, Rufus, Rock, Fido, Fifi, Doug, Frank, Max – It is ‘Max’
Trivia #5 answer: In the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” how many presents are given in total? – None, 78, 144, 256, 364, 962 – There are 364 presents, one for nearly every day of the year! This is because each verse adds all the previous presents together. 

Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.

Be careful out there. (It’s a jungle!)

Happy National Hard Candy Day!

Life’s too short to be miserable. Remember, it’s Christmas time.

Christmas bonus! (Sorry, no cash bonus here…)

If you know me, you know of my often sick, twisted, sometimes off-color sense of humor. If you don’t, then please excuse this.