Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Ok, I'm partially back today. I was on vacation for the last week (I didn't take one this summer #FirstWorldProblems) but I'll be back full throttle tomorrow. I've been "off the grid" about as much as possible, and I loved it. 
• Above: "Lane Zorich dances with a hoola hoop during the Lights All Night Festival at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, TX, on Dec. 27, 2013." Talk about full throttle. 
• Yeah, yeah, I watched the Baylor game last night. A team that looked fat and happy which might be the most dangerous thing that can happen to any group or person. (Sidenotes: (1) A Baylor running back was unhappy with his playing time via Twitter within minutes after the game, (2) Did the Briles-to-UT rumors fire back up while I was gone?, and (3) Hey, I'll still take 11 wins with victories over Texas, Oklahoma, TCU and Texas Tech.)
• An AP photographer died on the field of the Georgia Dome after the Aggie's bowl win. Wow.
• Customs at DFW Airport has become weird. Probably 75% of the employees have been replaced with an automated check-out where returning passengers obtain a "ticket" after scanning their passports and taking a photo of themselves (a selfie?) at a kiosk. Then everyone gets back in line to pass by a guy who examines the ticket and the passport.  A terrorists could easily scam the guy. Trying to scam the scanner would take a genius. 
• On this vacation I decided to honestly tell people I was a criminal defense attorney if anyone asked me what I did. I don't think I'll ever do that again. (How people do not understand our function in 2014 is beyond maddening.) 
• In the middle of the week I had my vivid back-in-school-not-having-studied-for-finals dream. What a beating. 
• I snorkeled and saw a stingray. And then I thought of Steve Irwin.
• I also visited with a couple from Canada who raved about their health care system and were of the opinion it was the American insurance companies that are trying to derail Obamacare. (I was thinking of some of my dear readers during the entire conversation.) And I promise, they were passionate about what they were saying.  
• I see that a Dallas judge got in trouble. 
• The Today Show is now doing a Fox 4 Clarice Tinsley type of bit where they read social media. Good grief. 
• I wrote three chapters of a book once based in Wise County. It began with a more-than-familiar conversation between a deputy and a clerk at Dairy Queen which gets interrupted when the deputy gets a call: A woman has been found dead in her car on FM 1810 with a small boy wandering nearby. (It's was loosely based on an actual Jack County case.)
• If Mrs. LL doesn't get the Family Pup within an hour of waking up this morning I think she will go crazy. 
• I don't make New Year's resolutions but I should. Along the same lines, I'm not sure if reflecting on the bad times is wasted energy or productive. 
• I care very little about dining and extravagant meals. Simply put, I'm not a fan of food. (Which, upon reflection, is truly a disgusting #FirstWorldProblem when you read that sentence.)
• Hey, it's the second day of the year and Dallas police have already shot and killed someone. (Link not up yet.) Edit: Oh, my!!! The guy killed was a man who reported a burglary at a high rise condo in Uptown and then allegedly fired on the officers.
• The Flower Mound mayor has declared this year the "Year of the Bible." Everyone ok if he declared it the year of the Koran? 
• I wish there was a constant "fan cam" during sporting events shown online or on an alternative channel. All it would do would be to scan the crowd. 
• I ended up accidentally watching one movie over the last few days and it was the gawd awful Adam Sandler flick Bulletproof from 1996 which has an 8% favorable rating on Rotten Tomatoes. (And that's too high.)
• Tenth deaths listed in the Messenger's Update. With some familiar names associated with their towns.