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Weekend Random Stuff…

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Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Yes, Carrie Fisher will be in Star Wars: Episode 9. Here’s how
“Mark Hamill will also appear in the new episode, despite Luke Skywalker’s seeming death in Episode 8.”
Mark being it it I am cool with. Don’t know how I feel about Carrie though, kinda creepy…

Thieves targeting cars with keyless ignition
Don’t bother reading the article, it is lame and basically unsourced. Folks are breaking into to cars using a key fob amplifier which I had never heard of so I Googled it. It is an actual thing and they can break in many cars and even steal some of them.
“The attack uses the two devices to extend the effective range of the key fob,” says Jun Li, one of the researchers in the Qihoo group, who call themselves Team Unicorn. “You’re working in your office or shopping in the supermarket, and your car is parked outside. Someone slips near you and then someone else can open up and drive your car. It’s simple.”
Good grief.

After a Year, Equifax Remains Largely Unfazed by Historic Breach
“Despite a breach that exposed the personal data of more than 147 million Americans, the company has yet to face a government-imposed financial punishment.”
Depressing yet unsurprising. I’m sure Equifax is funding lots of political candidates on both sides of the aisle.

TSA is tracking regular travelers like terrorists in secret surveillance program
“Federal air marshals have begun following ordinary US citizens not suspected of a crime or on any terrorist watch list and collecting extensive information about their movements and behavior under a new domestic surveillance program that is drawing criticism from within the agency.”
I could tell you a story from about a dozen years ago when the TSA forced my mom to stand up out of her wheelchair after hip-replacement surgery, and how when I saw it happening my dad and wife had to physically stop me from intervening…

How Silicon Valley Became a Den of Spies
My first guess was because they are greedy, souless, self-important twits who aren’t near as smart as they think they are.
Anywho, the gist of the article is the Chicoms and Russians are stealing everything they can out of Silicon Valley and they are both great at playing they long game, expecially the Chicoms.
Bookmark it. It is a 10 minute read.

Buy One, Get One at P.F. Changs
“Enjoy a free entrée of your choice with purchase of any entrée. Valid for dine-in only through 8/5. One redemption per table.*”
My fav there is the Beef A La Sichuan and the Surf & Turf.
Take off your tinfoil hat, these last 2 articles are purely coincidental…

Happy National Chicken Wing Day! Here’s Where To Get FREE Wings!
I despise those things but I thought I would pass this along.

NASA Brought Hundreds of Kilograms of Moon Rocks to Earth. Scientists Have Not Touched Most of Them
Do you know how many Universities, Colleges, and High Schools would love to get their hands on this stuff? Get off your asses and hand these out to people who can benefit from these things.
Shame on you NASA.

Look Up This Weekend for Closest Mars Views Since 2003
“We are rapidly coming up on the pinnacle of the current Mars apparition, when it arrives at opposition to the sun and its closest point to the Earth. But will the weather cooperate for you to get a good look at Mars at its best?…So, you will have a stretch of five nights, from Friday through Tuesday, to get your very best views.”

This Map Shows What People Hate The Most In Each State
Apparently there is a dating app called Hater that matches people up on what they do not like. There are some weird people out there…

Jerry Jones: Cowboys will require players to stand for anthem, not remain in locker room
Because
Dallas Cowboys quarterback: Anthem protesting ‘takes away from the joy’ of football
“I’d never protest during the anthem, and I don’t think that’s the time or the venue to do so,” he added. “The game of football has always brought me such peace, and I think it does the same for a lot of people.”
Respect to you Dak. (I still hate the Cowboys.)

Tuesday Random Stuff…

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Win10 Updated
IMHO this looks to be a bunch patches for the last borked update. Most of the release notes start with, “Addresses an issue”.

Win10 1803 – July 24, 2018—KB4340917 (OS Build 17134.191)
Win10 1709 – July 24, 2018—KB4338817 (OS Build 16299.579)
Win10 1703 – July 24, 2018—KB4338827 (OS Build 15063.1235)
Win10 1607 – July 24, 2018—KB4338822 (OS Build 14393.2395)

CCleaner 5.45
“Improved”, “Fixed”
“CCleaner now sends a heartbeat every 12 hours which reports up-to-date usage statistics to allow for faster delivery of bug fixes and product improvements”
AFAIK this is only the installed version not the portable version. I watched the portable with Wireshark and it never attempted an network/internet connection.
Download (I use the portable version)

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Russian hackers breached U.S. electric-utility control rooms, feds say
“Hackers working for Russia claimed “hundreds of victims” last year in a giant and long-running campaign that put them inside the control rooms of U.S. electric utilities where they could have caused blackouts, federal officials said. They said the campaign likely is continuing”
Here is a question and I mean this seriously. Why are things like our electric grid accessible from the outside in the first place?

Graphene and the atomic crystals that could see next big breakthrough in tech
“While Van der Waals heterostructures are still in their infancy, impressive new physics and capabilities are already emerging. These include smaller, lighter, more flexible and more efficient versions of solar cells, LEDs, transistors and magnetic memory.”
Interesting stuff.

If a tick bites you, this is what you need to do
Continuing the info I posted Sunday about ticks. Great article.

Waitress body-slams groping customer: ‘No one has the right to put their hands on you’
With video. You go girl!

22% of US population does not speak English at home
“Some 13.5 percent of the U.S. population — 44 million — is foreign born, the highest level ever, and many are not proficient in English, choosing to speak Spanish at home instead.”

Jimmie Tramel: 20 things to know on 40th anniversary of ‘Animal House’
One of my all-time favs.
Some great lines:
Bluto: What? Over? Did you say “over”? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Babs: That boy is a P-I-G pig.
Bluto: See if you can guess what I am now. [puts a scoop of mashed potatoes in his mouth and slams his cheeks with his fists and spits it out] I’m a zit! Get it?? [he smiles]
Bluto: They took the bar! The whole f***ing bar!
Dean Wormer: Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.
Anything “Larry’s evil conscience” said.
Neidermeyer: You’re all worthless and weak! Now drop and give me twenty!
Babs: Greg, honey, is it supposed to be this soft?
Flounder: You guys playing cards?

Americans have 15 “Perfect” Days a Year
Article goes on to list things that put people in a good mood.

TOP 40 MOOD BOOSTERS
Finding money in your pocket you didn’t know you had 58%
Being able to sleep in with no alarm set 55%
Lying in bed listening to rain fall outside 51%
A small gesture of kindness from somebody in your life 49%
Petting a dog 48%
Performing a small gesture of kindness for somebody in your life 47%
Realizing it’s a beautiful, sunny day 46%
Long, hot shower 44%
A meaningful, long hug from somebody you love 42%
Seeing a friend you haven’t seen in a long time 42%
The first sip of coffee of the day 41%
Plopping down on your bed after a long, tiring day 40%
Walking into an air-conditioned building on a hot day 40%
Baked treats (i.e. fresh blueberry pie) 40%
Listening to your favorite album 37%
Watching the sunset or sunrise 37%
Holding hands with someone you love 36%
Getting new clothes 35%
Cuddling your partner before getting up to start your day 34%
Cuddling with your pet after a long day 33%
Waking up to birds chirping 33%
Petting a cat 33%
Cooking your favorite meal 31%
Happening across a smell you enjoy, from cookies to the smell of rain 31%
Exchanging a genuine smile with a stranger 31%
Sunlight on your skin 31%
Getting a new haircut 30%
Finding a good new book to read 29%
Having a pleasant conversation with a total stranger 28%
Meeting a new person you genuinely like 28%
Eating a healthy food that makes you feel good about yourself 28%
Long soak in the tub 27%
Going to the movies 27%
Receiving a bouquet of flowers from someone you care about 25%
Going for a walk alone 25%
A lazy drive to nowhere in particular 25%
Having a nice, long stretch after sitting for awhile 24%
Ordering delivery 24%
Nice glass of beer or wine after a long day 24%
Realizing you’re going to have a good hair day 23%

I currently don’t have a pet, birds chirping first thing in the morning is why BB guns were invented, my idea of healthy food is a bacon cheese burger with onion straws and jalapenos (they count as veggies), cooking…ROTFL, flowers…hops are flowers!, and since I’ve shaved my head I never have a bad hair day.
And, there is something glaringly obvious missing from the list…

TOP 10 MOOD BOOSTING MUSICAL ACTS
The Beatles 32%
The Eagles 26%
Michael Jackson 25%
Queen 23%
Fleetwood Mac 23%
Bruno Mars 22%
Elton John 20%
Elvis Presley 20%
Adele 20%
Whitney Houston 19%

Agree: The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac.
Meh: The Beatles, Elvis
Hell no: everyone else

THE PERFECT DAY, ACCORDING TO RESPONDENTS
Wake up at 8:15 a.m.
The weather is clear skies with a temperature of 74 degrees fahrenheit
Two friends seen
Three hours spent socializing
Two hours spent eating
One hour exercising
Two hours spent reading
Three hours spent watching TV
Four hours spent with family
Three hours spent outside
Four hours of relaxation
Three hours listening to music
In bed at 10:50 p.m.
ENDS

My perfect average day
Wake up at 8:15 a.m.
The weather is clear skies with a temperature of 74 degrees fahrenheit
Eat leftover pizza.
One hour exercising
Lobster roll for lunch.
Three hours spent socializing (to include a beer or two)
Possibly dinner with friends. Seafood or Italian.
Netflix and chill.
In bed at 10:50 p.m.
ENDS

How ’bout you?

Weekend Random Stuff…

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As I mentioned a few weeks back, it is apparent folks are taking much of the summer off. News worthy tech stories are few and far between. That’s probably a good thing.

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Classic Shell Reborn
Looks like someone has taken over the project.

Microsoft dives down a bizarre non-cumulative rabbit hole with July patches
Woody goes off as only he can.

Microsoft: The Kremlin’s hackers are already sniffing, probing around America’s 2018 elections
“Microsoft says it has already uncovered evidence of Russian government-backed hacking gangs attempting to interfere in the 2018 US mid-term elections.”

[H]ardOCP – How Intel Feels about PC Users
“Have you felt like Intel did not give a damn about the enthusiasts PC users for the last five or six years? From lagging IPC to toothpaste TIMs, I think we are seeing a lot expressed here in a single photograph from its 50th anniversary party that is happening as I type this.”

Ticks that carry Lyme disease are spreading fast
“Think you live in a place that’s free from disease-carrying ticks? Don’t be so sure.
Citizen scientists found ticks capable of transmitting Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses in dozens of places across the United States where the pests had never previously been recorded, a new study reports.
All told, disease-carrying ticks were detected in 83 counties where they’d never been found before across 24 states.”
Insect Repellent:
Picaridin:
Use this on people: Sawyer Products Premium Insect Repellent with 20% Picaridin Consumer Reports says the spray is more effective.
Use this on clothing and gear. NOT people.: Sawyer Products Premium Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent
*note: If You Spray Your Clothes With Permethrin, Be Careful Around The Cat
Deet:
Ben’s 30% Deet Tick and Insect Repellent best deal is a 3 pack.
The Most Effective Tick Repellents for Humans (and Dogs), According to Science
Consumer Reports – Best Insect Repellent Buying Guide
CDC: Preventing tick bites

Feds want reimbursement for Gwinnett sheriff’s $70K muscle car
“In a recent letter to Conway, the DOJ characterized the sheriff’s purchase of a Dodge Charger Hellcat — a 707-horsepower muscle car that some have called the fastest sedan ever built — as “extravagant.”
But doggone it. How they supposed to catch that Bandit when he comes roaring past Atlanta again?

Here are some of the movie and TV trailers to come out of San Diego Comic-Con 2018
Right now the only one I’m really interested in is, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, even if much of the cast can’t keep their yaps shut.

Omega-3 no protection against heart attack or strokes, say scientists
Don’t worry, there will be a study soon that claims Omega-3 cures everything.

Doctors Give Patients 11 Seconds To Explain Reason For Visit Before Interrupting
Unfortunately I have had a lot of doctors through the years. I have had the good fortune to have some fantastic doctors. I have also had some that were the most arrogant, condescending people I have ever dealt with. Not surprisingly they were also the least competent.

Health Insurers Are Vacuuming Up Details About You — And It Could Raise Your Rates
“The companies are tracking your race, education level, TV habits, marital status, net worth. They’re collecting what you post on social media, whether you’re behind on your bills, what you order online. Then they feed this information into complicated computer algorithms that spit out predictions about how much your health care could cost them.”

Millennials Most Likely To Post Deceptive Vacation Photos To Make Social Media Followers Jealous
“More than one third (36 percent) of Millennials (ages 18-34) have aimed to deceive their followers by posting social media vacation images that make trips look better than they are, according to the 10th annual 2018 Vacation Confidence Index*, released by Allianz Global Assistance. The study found that 15 percent of Gen X’ers (ages 35 – 54) and five percent of Baby Boomers (ages 55+) have done the same.”
I’m shocked, shocked I tell you!

Francesco Molinari wins The Open after holding off Tiger Woods, Justin Rose & Rory McIlroy
It was a great final round to watch. Good to see Tiger do so well. Rory had a heck of a charge going until the last 3 holes. Congrats to the winner, Francesco Molinari. He is the first Italian to win a major.

UNC Football Coach Larry Fedora Says An Emphasis On Player Safety Will Be The Downfall Of America
I first started reading the article because Red Hat Software (Fedora Linux) is like 1/2 hour away from UNC, which I found hysterical. Then I read good ol’ Larry’s statements:
“I believe the game is under attack right now. I really do. And if we’re not careful, we’re going to lose what the game is all about… I fear that the game will get pushed so far to one extreme that you won’t recognize the game 10 years from now. That’s what I worry about. And I do believe if it gets to that point, that our country goes down, too.”
and
“I don’t think it’s been proven that the game of football causes CTE, but that’s been put out there. We don’t really know yet.”
From wikipedia: “The Tar Heels finished the 2017 season 3–9, 1–7 in ACC play to finish in last place in the Coastal Division.”
You Heels fans need to get a new coach.

China is waging a ‘quiet kind of cold war’ against US, top CIA expert says
“Beijing doesn’t want to go to war, a top CIA expert on Asia said, but the current communist government, under President Xi Jinping, is subtly working on multiple fronts to undermine the U.S. in ways that are different than the more well-publicized activities being employed by Russia.
“I would argue … that what they’re waging against us is fundamentally a cold war — a cold war not like we saw during THE Cold War (between the U.S. and the Soviet Union) but a cold war by definition,” Michael Collins, deputy assistant director of the CIA’s East Asia mission center, said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.”

Friday Random Stuff…

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AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 18.7.1
Download | Release Notes

The Specter Of Spectre
New Spectre-like attack uses speculative execution to overflow buffers
&
New Spectre 1.1 and Spectre 1.2 CPU Flaws Disclosed
It just keeps getting worse and worse.

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Microsoft might move jobs abroad because of U.S. immigration rules
Liars. They just want to keep their cheap(er) foreign labor instead of paying U.S. workers what the job is worth. Businesses have been doing that forever. Coal and steel mines did it. The railroads did it. When they can’t bring enough workers in they ship the work overseas like the auto industry, electronics, tech support…

Samsung phones are most bork-prone as a quarter suffer ‘performance issues’
“‘State of Mobile Device Repair & Security’ report reveals that Samsung’s phones had the highest failure rate among the manufacturers it tracks…Overall, a staggering 27 per cent of Samsung smartphones showing performance issues during Q1”

The World Is Better Than Ever And Continues To Improve. Why Do People Consistently Believe Otherwise?
“Worldwide poverty has dropped dramatically, we are in the Long Peace when it comes to war, the old cycles of famine boom and bust have leveled off, science has made it possible for everyone to live better for longer and spend less on basic necessities. The world continues to improve. Why, then, do polls consistently show that people believe otherwise? The answer may lie in a phenomenon called “prevalence induced concept change.”
Some people aren’t happy unless they are whining about something. There are those who always want to play the poor little underdog. Others just want everyone else to be miserable.

Starbucks Bans Plastic Straws, Winds Up Using More Plastic
“Yet missing from this fanfare was the inconvenient fact that by ditching plastic straws, Starbucks will actually be increasing its plastic use. As it turns out, the new nitro lids that Starbucks is leaning on to replace straws are made up of more plastic than the company’s current lid/straw combination.”

I say bring back Bring back Froot Loops Cereal Straws! It could add a great twist to a Margarita.

This Revolutionary Chainless Concept Could be the World’s Most Efficient Bike
“The design halves the amount of friction generated by the market-leading chain and derailleur setup by eliminating eight different points of contact. The pinion-style system also utilizes 21 low-friction CeramicSpeed bearings that transfer torque seamlessly from the front ring through the drivetrain and onto the 13-speed cog.”

‘Star Wars’: Billy Dee Williams Reprising Role as Lando Calrissian

Tom Petty ‘An American Treasure’ Boxed Set Track List Revealed, New Song Drops
Info: Tom Petty, AN AMERICAN TREASURE. Released: September 28, 2018
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Keep A Little Soul (Official Music Video)

Patch Tuesday

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Windows Updates
Updates available for all supported operating systems. Windows 7 & 8 have bugfixes and security fixes.
Windows 10 Release History
Win10 1803 – July 10, 2018—KB4338819 (OS Build 17134.165)
Win10 1709 – July 10, 2018—KB4338825 (OS Build 16299.547)
Win10 1703 – July 10, 2018—KB4338826 (OS Build 15063.1206)
Win10 1607 – July 10, 2018—KB4338814 (OS Build 14393.2363)

Adobe Reader Updated
APSB18-21 Security updates available for Adobe Acrobat and Reader
Download | Home

Mp3tag v2.89
“Mp3tag is a powerful and easy-to-use tool to edit metadata of audio files.”
Download | Release Info

Weekend Random Stuff…

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Software Updates
Autoruns 13.90
Firefox 61.0.1 – Download EN-US 64-bit | All Firefox Versions | Release Notes
Macrium Reflect v7.1.3317
O&O ShutUp10 1.6.1397
Wise Disk Cleaner 9.7.6 (I use portable version)

Back From Vacation In West Virginia

July 3rd – Stayed at Snowshoe, West Virginia. Did a few runs down the mountain on my mountain bike. Saw a couple of deer here. Apparently they are very used to people. See video below. FYI – No cell signal for 24 hours. Don’t rely of your phone for navigation in this area. Apparently only AT&T works around here and then only in a few spots.
( https://www.snowshoemtn.com/-/media/snowshoe/maps/pdf/snowshoebikeparkmap.ashx )

July 4th – Biked a 25 mile section of Greenbrier River Trail from Cass to Marlington (Google Map). Parked in Marlington. Got breakfast and packed a lunch made by Dirt Bean Cafe. Great food and nice people. Took a shuttle provided by Appalachian Sport up to Cass so we could ride one way. Drove to Adventures on the Gorge in Lansing, WV where we stayed for 2 nights. We stayed in the Sunnyside Suite.
Though much of the ride is shaded it was hot and humid with heat indexes in the upper 90s. The 2 of us drank over 4 liters of water.
I have the CamelBak Adult M.U.L.E. Mil Spec Antidote Hydration Backpack. I removed the bite valve so I can just pour the water into our water bottles.

July 5th – Rafting the Lower New River. No pics this year as I didn’t wanna pay for them. Here is a pic from last year: https://www.tweakhound.com/2017/07/11/patch-tuesday-23/th_nr_wva_2017/

July 6th – Did the Bridge Walk before heading home. You walk the catwalk under the New River Gorge Bridge. Very cool. 876 feet high and people base jump off this thing on Bridge Day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_River_Gorge_Bridge

This deer was at the base of Snowshoe Mountain, West Virginia. The folks there tell me you can feed some of them from your hand.

Friday Random Stuff…

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I lost internet and TV like many people this afternoon. No biggie, I just took a nap 😉 It isn’t like there is a ton of worthwhile tech news out there. Everyone is screwing off enjoying the summer weather, myself included.

Linux Mint 19 “Tara” Cinnamon released!
Busy doing other things right now so it will be a while before I fire this up.

Every Android Device Since 2012 Impacted by RAMpage Vulnerability
Above is a good breakdown. Below is the official page on this.
https://rampageattack.com/

Marketing Firm Exactis Leaked a Personal Info Database With 340 Million Records
“including phone numbers, home addresses, email addresses, and other highly personal characteristics for every name. The categories range from interests and habits to the number, age, and gender of the person’s children.”

Rafting
I decided to go back to West Virginia and raft the New River Gorge again. I had my sites set on the Youghiogheny River but my head about exploded trying to find a decent place to stay up there where you can actually do something at night. Someone needs to set up a resort up there like they have in West Virginia. I’ve stayed at ACE Adventure Resort once and I will be doing Adventures on the Gorge for the second time. Those folks have it down with rafting, ziplining, rock climbing, hiking, horseback riding, and more. They have a bar and a restaurant on site and often live music. They have a full range of camping and more importantly cabins with AC! I’ve done all the “camping” I wanted between Northern Germany in the winter and the Saudi desert in the summer.
I also hope to mountain bike a little up in the mountains. When I say “mountain bike” I mean basically trail riding. I had to give up the hard-core stuff. My ego was writing checks my body couldn’t cash anymore and my wife and friends let me know it.

Tuesday Random Stuff…

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White Water Rafting Advice
I’ve been rafting twice in West Virginia and I’m look for someplace new. Class 4 & 5 preferred. I’ve been looking at maybe the Youghiogheny River and the Wilderness Voyageurs company.
If you have some input on Eastern U.S. white water rafting please reply to this post or contact me.

Windows 10 Updated
Win10 April Update (v1803) has an update. Bunch of fixes:
June 26, 2018—KB4284848 (OS Build 17134.137)
FYI, I went back to build 1709. Too many issues with 1803.

Browser Updates
Chrome 67.0.3396.99 Download | Download standalone(full) | Download standalone 64-bit Windows version(full)
Firefox 61 – Download EN-US 64-bit | All Firefox Versions | Release Notes

Other Software Updates
CCleaner 5.44.6575
Tails 3.8

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Guess Which Place Is The Psychopath Capital of The US, According to Science
1. District of Columbia
2. Connecticut
3. California
4. New Jersey
5 (tie). New York
5 (tie). Wyoming

Creepy Patents Show Facebook’s Relentless Drive to Track Every Detail of Users’ Lives
#DeleteFacebook. It’s not like Zuckerberg needs the money.

Friday Random Stuff…

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LOL At Win10
Keeps trying to reinstall the same driver. I usually prevent Windows from updating drivers. I keep it active on this machine so I can track the wonder that is Windows 10.

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Charles Krauthammer, conservative commentator and Pulitzer Prize winner, dead at 68
A brilliant mind. I enjoyed hearing him speak even when I didn’t agree with him.

Someone Is Stealing Italy’s Most Precious Cheese
My favorite cheese. I can’t get enough. Those thieves are some low-down people but they have good taste.

Seafood tied to more sex and faster conception
Take your date to a seafood restaurant and don’t forget to wrap that rascal.

Brett Favre Speaks Out Strongly In Support Of Legislation That Would End Youth Tackle Football
Like Al Bundy, I played High School football and I was pretty good (Middle Linebacker, Offensive Guard). My third very bad concussion ended my playing days and college hopes. My memory misses large chunks of my high school years. Playing football also wrecked my ankles. I loved, and I mean loved the game. But, if I could go back in time I would not play again. It took too much away from me. Football is a very violent and dangerous game. Bad adults, both parents and coaches, make it even more so. I am not a parent but if I had a kid they would never be allowed to play tackle football.

Pizzas4Patriots
“Our mission is to comfort active service members, first responders and veterans by providing America’s favorite food while they’re far away from home, whether it be fighting on the front lines, providing humanitarian relief, or recovering in a veteran’s facility.”
I donate to these guys every year. It’s just my way of letting those folks know they are appreciated.
https://www.sgtpizza.org/

Y’all have a great weekend and go eat some seafood!