Wednesday Quick Hitter #2
We’re getting back to our roots here at howiehottakes.com. For our second ever “Wednesday Quick Hitter”, we are delivering some takes on odd and ends from around the globe. Some are important to many, some are not. I love weird stories so much that I wish I had a little elf just whispering various headlines in my ear all day. Alas, I have to track them down myself. Such is the bloggin’ life…
Welp, it has begun. Elon Musk shoved a computer into someone's brain. “AHHHHHHHH I’M A ROBOT AHHHHHHH.” I first heard of this in like 2020 back when I used to listen to Joe Rogan’s brocast and it still seems like we as a society need to make a pro/con list for this topic. Pro: I’ve heard this brain computer can do wonders in treating and reversing dementia. Lovely, I’m all in on that. But my imagination runs so far in the con list that I feel like I’m in a scary swimming pool that I can’t escape. A con you wonder? Uh, how about the computers and robots taking over our brains and reprogramming us to be singularly focused on exterminating the human race and killing all other natural things like seals and redwood trees. We can’t have that!
Taylor Swift has inspired the “big 3” airlines to organize their flight numbers to reflect cute little things associated with the upcoming Super Bowl. This is the first time I’m hearing of something like this. What a tidy little coincidence the Kelce/Swift relations are for everyone even peripherally associated with the situation. Everyone is getting their hand in the honey pot and, I can’t say I blame them. I have yet to analyze the relationship between Swift and the NFL. But, I do know a few things. I like Taylor Swift’s music, and I hate the Kansas City Chiefs. I’ll leave it at that and continue to roll my eyes at the AA89 direct flight from Kansas City to Las Vegas at 12:30PM on February 9th and 10th.
A bouncy castle in Pakistan has been declared “the largest in the world”. In an era when everyone is looking the best and biggest, I am glad that we have included bouncy castles in the discussion. Congrats to Pakistan! First you had Malala to hang your hat on, and now this!
Farmers in France are furious. And they might be staging the most effective protests in the history of mankind. They are spraying manure on government buildings, they are forking hay in the streets, and they are blocking traffic for miles with tractors. The farmers unions says this is not meant to disrupt the daily life of citizens, but rather to put pressure on the government. We’ve heard that tune before. The farmers are pissed about several things. Including increased foreign imports which spikes unfair competition, government regulations, unfair wages, and rising prices of energy and fertilizer. I stand with the farmers, how about you?
I’m fired up for Usher’s Super Bowl halftime show. I am not a huge Usher fan, but I know that man can dance, and I’m excited to see it. Here are a few Usher fun facts to get you juiced up for the big game. Usher was born in 1978 in Dallas, Texas, he has his own line of fragrances, he owns a share of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and apparently he was a vegan, but only for a little while.
An 88 year old Chinese man named Ying Bingling has been awarded the Guinness World Record for oldest video game vlogger. He has posted over 70 videos on his Bilibili streaming account, and one of the videos has over 2 million views! So swag. Cheers to you Mr. Bingling!
Who knows about TonyPinDC? I do… and this guy is something else. Look him up if you aren’t aware. He might be the most #cringe person on the internet. I consume his content on instagram. The algorithm has chosen me as a member of his viewership, and it is truly so bad that it's good. I can’t look away and I can’t wait for whatever Tony P has in store next. It’s so perfect that this guy is a “consultant” too, the man #delivers. I recently tuned into bits of a podcast he was featured on and I have to make some concessions. The man knows how to talk, he seems like a lovely person, and he has tremendous confidence (perhaps to a fault). When you take the sum of Tony’s parts, we can live with it. But if you really break it down, the man has too much time on his hands. And he could take it easy with the exaggerated Boston accent, we get it. This might be my favorite picture of all time. This is Tony doing some shopping in a pharmacy:
Tony has a few options to avoid this hat/headphone conundrum. Take the hat off, or get airpods. You’re sponsored by DraftKings Tony, treat yourself!
A New Hampshire woman got herself in a sticky situation this week. She apparently fell into a garbage dumpster while taking out the trash, could not extract herself for some reason, and was then transported into a garbage truck where the oblivious operator compressed the trash up to 4 times. 4 times! There are reports of neighbors hearing her screams and Battalion Chief chief said he’d never heard of anything like it. Luckily, the woman is still alive and was transported to a hospital. There is no foul play expected at this time, but if anyone is to blame for this situation, it is the woman herself.
UPS has announced layoffs of about 12,000 employees. They are justifying this by stating that it will save 1 billion dollars in expenditures in an effort to offset lost revenue. Uhhhhhhhh, sorry everybody, but that checks out. I just wish they weren't in this situation in the first place. The lack of revenue is intuitively related to a reduced number of parcels in transit.
A shipwreck has been found off the coast of Newfoundland. Researchers are working to identify the ship but they already believe that it could be from the 1800’s! The shipwreck was discovered near J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park (I need to find out more about Mr. Cheeseman). The researchers believe that the remains of the ship had been buried under sand and other ocean debris before it was unearthed by powerful storms of the last year. I will be monitoring this story and will provide updates as details are revealed.
#flyfishing is trending on twitter. I can’t seem to figure out why, but I’m not mad about it.
I hope you all are having a delightful week. Let me leave you with one thought. If you are trying to win some money in this shoulder gambling season in sports, look no further than Big East basketball. If you see a home underdog in a Big East conference game, and the spread is +3 or less, take the dog. It’s a proven system. For those of you who will say, but Howie, you bet on Villanova the other night vs. Marquette and they lost. Yeah, I know they did. But they weren’t underdogs, they were favored by 1.5 points. The system tricked me, but it won’t trick me again. Stay tuned for a white whale system play coming soon as the calendar turns to February.
With that being said, here is your free money pick of the day for Wednesday, January 31st: Take Georgia +6 at home vs. Alabama. A true home Dawg!
Stay curious.
