It might be a personal revelation

A couple weeks ago I was scrolling through Twitter on my phone.

Scrolling.

Scrolling.

Scrolling.

I read a couple tweets of somebody “quote tweeting” another account. You probably know exactly what it looks like. Somebody with a blue check-mark is acting like they just dropped the mic on the other person. They made them look bad. Or stupid. Or ignorant. Or whatever pejorative you would like to use.

Then I read the replies and there were more, usually non-blue check-marks, doing the same thing.

It put me in a bad mood. I asked myself, “why do I even look at this?” My brain didn’t give me a sufficient answer. So I deleted the app from my phone. I also no longer allowed myself to take time to check social media at work. The plan was to check twitter when I got home on my laptop and see what crap upset people that day.

What I have learned since that fateful day has been surprising and somewhat disappointing. When I merely check twitter after getting home from work I have almost no interest to keep scrolling and scrolling and scrolling. I have spent probably less than five minutes on my laptop looking at twitter.

Which gives me this thought. Twitter is like a bad story. Stick with me here.

If you wake up in the morning and check through twitter you learn what happened overnight or what stories appear to still matter from the day before. There are immediate reactions. Then as you check throughout the day the stories appear to change. The initial report has been clarified by the blue-check people. Or you get to learn how that report was misguided, incorrect or has some bias. We obviously would not know that if it wasn’t for those twitter users.

Several hours later you check on twitter and still things have changed. Or people have moved on to something different. I remember being told that law makers do what they are supposed to do which is make laws. It is literally in their name. Well, twitter users tweet. It is what they have to do. So. They. Keep. Tweeting.

As the sun goes down there are more people tweeting because they are probably home from work or are relaxing in front of the television. Is there a game going on? Better tweet about it. Did Trump just have a news conference? Better tweet about it. Did Elon Musk smoke pot with Joe Rogan? Better tweet about it.

So the story goes. If you have been checking twitter all day then you started in the morning. You learned about what is important and you watched it change throughout the day until it peaks at night. Then everything slows down (if you are up late enough) and that days’ twitter story was told.

It is a story of people taking shots at each other all day long. Trying to make other people feel like crap. Bravo. It is a terrible story or maybe a bad movie. The plot line changes throughout the day until it crescendos at the end.

Like a bad movie, you know what you are watching is not the highest of quality but you enjoy it anyways. That is what it is like checking twitter throughout the day.

What if you have never seen Freddy vs. Jason and you start right at the point where Freddy is brought into the non-dream world and he has to battle Jason? I think many would watch for a bit but then find something else to do because it is so ridiculous.

That’s twitter for me.

Tent Camping

I told my kids that if they could spend the night in a Tent in our yard that we would take them actual Tent Camping. After the state parks opened up tent camping last weekend (though it is limited) we took a shot at camping at Memphis Lakes.

I had tent camped a little when I was growing up but my experience is relatively small. So we are taking baby steps before we actually go somewhere legit to tent camp.

On Saturday morning I heard that there were chances of hail Saturday night and Sunday morning. So we decided to go and set up the tent and then just head home when it was time for bed. That is what we did.

We learned a lot but what I did not expect was that the tent camping experience at least at Memphis Lakes felt a lot like “camping” in an RV. There were large groups 20 feet to our left and 20 feet to our right. It was just not what I thought of when I think of camping. The place was packed. It was Memorial Day Weekend so that might have been a big part of it.

Maybe I am misguided. Maybe I went to the wrong place.

When I think of tent camping I think of being relatively isolated from “society.” That is not what happened. In the end, we did learn several things and all we can do is try it again.

If anybody has any tips whether it is in the actual logistics, location, supplies, tents or whatever you feel like you would be willing to share then I would love to hear them.

This week I have been looking into camping at Badlands National Park at some point. It appears that has a better chance of being what I pictured when it comes to tent camping.

Sports! Sports! Sports!

Why the NBA Could (and Should) Look More Like the World Cup - The Ringer
The league is considering several formats for its restart, but the best approach is to work in groups

Five Ways Pandemic-Era Sports on TV Could Be Better Than Ever - The Ringer
The COVID-19 crisis has grounded sports producers for two months, offering them a rare chance to stop and think about what we see. They have some wild ideas that just might reshape the way we watch games on TV.

Husker commit Yager felt the love – even from a distance
You could sit there in this oddball time collecting all the pleasantries from college recruiters, sifting through text messages from distant area codes, and the fancy social media edits schools send out. You could do that.

What's the renewal rate been for Husker football tickets?
While the COVID-19 concerns put a haze over exactly how college football will be conducted here and everywhere, a Husker athletic department spokesperson said renewal rate for Nebraska football season tickets this year is "well over 90 percent."

Expectations are High for Dicaprio Bootle's Senior Season | Hail Varsity
Chris Jones has high expectations for Dicaprio Bootle. He always has. Those expecations are what prompted a “Twitter war” in 2018, but it’s all in good fun. Jones just wants Bootle to be great.

The 3-2-1: Nebraska has stayed one step ahead of COVID-19
Nebraska has been one step ahead of the COVID-19 situation in terms of preparing for the months ahead. We discuss that and remember the life of former Husker Jaivorio Burkes in this week's 3-2-1 column.

NU nutrition director Ellis confident in plan as athletes return, calls for 'citizenship and empathy' | Football | journalstar.com
Dave Ellis and his staff have, like a lot of people, lived in a state of constant change and unknown for the past 10-plus weeks.

Ellis, Nebraska's performance nutrition director, doesn't expect that to change anytime soon.

Steven M. Sipple: Ex-Husker leaves us too soon; Adrian 'drafted'; and get this: a relaxed Bo | Column | journalstar.com
Things I know, and things I think I know:

If Jaivorio Burkes walked into a room, you tended to notice right away — and not just because he stood 6-foot-5 and weighed 325 pounds.

Minor League Baseball cuts hundreds of players amid pandemic, sources say
With the minor league baseball season nearly certain to be canceled, hundreds of players were cut from their teams, with hundreds of more cuts expected, sources told ESPN.

“STICK TO SPORTS!” Nah.

Former 5 Star Quarterback. This is awesome.

Need a Lockdown Lift? Meet the Kettlebell Guy of New York City - WSJ ($)
I first heard about The Kettlebell Guy of New York City on the internet, of course. Apparently, The Kettlebell Guy had kettlebells. He had dumbbells, too. And he delivered. It sounded magical, like hearing somebody was driving around with a truck full of baby unicorns and Pappy Van Winkle bourbon.

From homeless refugee to chess prodigy, 9-year-old dreams of becoming youngest grandmaster
Tani Adewumi and his family fled Nigeria and Boko Haram before settling in a New York City homeless shelter. They never could have guessed that chess would open doors -- for their family and others -- in the United States.

Meet the dad who’s teaching basic skills on YouTube for kids without a father figure
Rob Kenney’s dad abandoned him and his seven siblings when he was just 14 years old. At a time when he was on the path to young adulthood, he had no father to guide him on the way. In an interview with Shattered Magazine, Kenney not only explains his heartbreaking experience as a young boy, but how seeking out God when his own marriage was in difficulty enabled him to forgive his dad just before his dad died in his 80s.

The Best Things I Saw On the Internet This Week

Have a safe weekend ya’ll!