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Friday Random Stuff…

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I can see by the number of clicks in Monday’s news that folks are interested using other DNS servers. I’m working on an article. Look for it next week.

Windows 10 Wi-Fi Drivers for Intel Wireless Adapters
Download & Info

Intel Graphics Driver for Windows 7 – 32-bit only
Purpose:
This is a security release and only supports Windows 7 32-bit for 6th Generation processors. 64-bit will not be made available.
On 6th Generation Intel Core and Intel Mobile Xeon processors and related Pentium/Celeron:
Microsoft Windows 7, 32-bit
Download & Info

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

Microsoft – Keep your devices and data safe using these simple security best practices
Beware of phishing scams – Always have a backup – Be careful when using insecure Wi-Fi networks – Don’t rely on passwords alone – Keep software current – Use privacy screens to stop “shoulder surfing.”
No arguments here.

Here’s the most common mistake people make that compromises their online security
The most common poor security practice was reusing the same password for multiple websites: 82% of people admitted to doing exactly that.
Fortunately passwords are dying.

US Senators ask DHS to look into US government workers using foreign VPNs
Two US senators have asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to look into the possible dangers of US government workers using VPN apps that are owned by foreign companies and which redirect sensitive government-related traffic through servers located in other countries –namely China and Russia.
Here’s a thought. A VPN for the government run by the government…

Google Researchers Say Hackers Exploited Two Zero-Day Vulnerabilities Patched in Apple’s iOS 12.1.4 Update
Two vulnerabilities that Apple patched in its latest iOS 12.1.4 update were successfully exploited by hackers before they were known to Apple, according to a top Google security engineer.
That isn’t possible. Everyone knows everything Apple is secure.

Netflix paid NOTHING in federal or state taxes in 2018 despite posting record profits of $845million – and even got a $22million rebate
‘With a record number of subscribers, the company’s profit last year equaled its haul in the previous four years put together. When hugely profitable corporations avoid tax, that means smaller businesses and working families must make up the difference.’
Flat tax on everyone and everything. No deductions.

AMD, Nvidia Have Launched the Least-Appealing GPU Upgrades in History
Yesterday, AMD launched the Radeon VII, the first 7nm GPU. The card is intended to compete with Nvidia’s RTX family of Turing-class GPUs, and it does, broadly matching the RTX 2080. It also matches the RTX 2080 on price, at $700…But as things stand today, the consumer GPU market feels stuck in an unwelcome position where the only generational performance improvements available are reserved to those who can afford to jump at least a price bracket for their next GPU. Historically, there’s never been a need to do that. Hopefully, there still isn’t.
Yup. Overpriced and underwhelming.

Jeff Bezos just confirmed what we all knew: Nudes are no big deal
That headline (and article) is ignorant. It is a big deal. If you don’t think so there is something wrong with you.
I don’t understand the whole nude selfie thing. I mean, you understand that those things never stay private right? And dudes, most women don’t want to see pics of your junk anyway.

Thursday Random Stuff…

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Google Chrome Updated
Chrome 72.0.3626.96 for Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux is out. Bugfixes.
Download for PC

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

Why the future of life insurance may depend on your online presence – iVerge
In reality, it has long been the case that what you pay for life insurance could at least be affected by your next Instagram post. It is already legal, and increasingly common, for life insurers to use so-called “nontraditional” sources of public data — including credit scores, court documents, and motor vehicle records — to inform insurance underwriting decisions, though few use actual social media data.
You can’t look at what doesn’t exist…

New Gun Bill Would Require Buyers To Reveal Social Media History
That’s why Didech is proposing gun buyers reveal their public social media accounts to Illinois police before they’re approved for a firearm license.
Really? You want to sanction the government spying on your InstaTwitMyFaceTgram posts?

As Magnetic North Pole Zooms Toward Siberia, Scientists Update World Magnetic Model
North is on the move, and that’s a problem for your smartphone’s maps.
Earth’s geographic north pole is fixed. But the planet’s magnetic north pole — the north that your compass points toward — wanders in the direction of Siberia at a rate of more than 34 miles per year.

Charges Against Chinese Hackers Are Now Common. Why Don’t They Deter Cyberattacks?
the Justice Department has unveiled one China-related hacking indictment after another, including cases against at least a dozen individuals and companies last year alone…”It does not seem to have stopped the Chinese and it certainly doesn’t seem to have imposed any cost on them to get them to the point where they think it’s not worth the attacks,” said Adam Segal, the director of the digital and cyberspace policy program at the Council on Foreign Relations.
American officials say China’s relentless effort to steal American business secrets is part of what they describe as Beijing’s drive to leapfrog the United States as the world’s preeminent economic and military power.
U.S. officials say China’s targets include the fields of aerospace, biotechnology, telecommunications, medical equipment and oil and gas exploration. Those match the business sectors tabbed for strategic development in China’s official government policy called “Made in China 2025.”

A-10 Brrrrrrrt Warthog Thunderbolt II Photos Gun Firing : theCHIVE
Cool pics of one of the worlds greatest ground combat weapons. True story…
I was stationed at Kriegsfeld Army Depot in Germany. It was a “special weapons” facility. We MPs that guarded the weapons were called “Towers Rats” (pic below). Every so often the A-10s from Sembach Air Base would come buzzing around the site. One day I climbed on top of my tower and as the A10 approached I dropped my BDU pants and mooned the pilot. He did a quick loop and buzzed my tower so close it shook for 30 seconds. Still makes me chuckle…
Kregsfeld Army Depot pics

Monday Randon Stuff…

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AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.2.1 Optional (04FEB2019)
Support For: APEX Legend, The Division 2 Private Beta, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
Download | Release Notes

Nvidia Geforce Game Ready WHQL Driver 418.81
Includes support for new GeForce RTX laptops, and delivers the optimum performance in Futuremark’s 3DMark Port Royal benchmark, which has just added a new feature test for NVIDIA Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS).
Download | Release Notes

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

Super Bore
Didn’t care about it much, didn’t watch it much. What I did see was boring. I did manage to win a betting pool. I had Rams 3 Pats 0 and it hit in the 2nd quarter.
Super Bowl Ratings Hit 10-Year Low In Historic NFL Game & Patriots’ Win

Fitness Watches
I give up. All I wanted was a watch that accurately measures cardio and calories burned across all my activities. Especially and including weightlifting. I don’t need a coach, or workout advice. I don’t want to input my reps. I could live with a external monitor of some kind tied to the watch but not an arm or chest band. AFAIK the device I want doesn’t exist.

DNS Issues
News spread of Windows users being unable to access Windows Update. Apparently it was a DNS issue. I don’t use my ISPs DNS (Comcast).
I use OpenDNS (208.67.222.222 208.67.220.220) at my router. Google DNS is another popular option. Good guide here:
https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/using

New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking
Today, the Norwegian Consumer Council has filed a complaint against Google. Based on new research Google is accused of using deceptive design and misleading information, which results in users accepting to be constantly tracked.
Not news to most of us.

Are There Fake Chickens Out There?
I went to Arby’s yesterday because, you know, “They have the meats.” I saw the sign below. Apparently Arby’s thinks there are fake chickens running wild and ending up in stores. I went Googling as I’m wont to do when I smell BS. I came up with this from Consumer Reports:
Natural: CR dubbed this one “the most misleading label” of the bunch, as more than half of the survey respondents said they believed “natural” meant the chickens didn’t receive antibiotics or chow down on feed containing GMOs. 42% of respondents said they thought the term meant the chickens were raised outdoors, while 1-in-3 said they thought it meant the same as “organic.” The only substantial requirement for “natural” chicken breasts is that they contain no artificial ingredients, but even then there is no process to verify this claim.

Friday Random Stuff…

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My Super Bowl prediction: Patriots 35 – Rams 31

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

Windows setup error messages will soon be much less useless
Instead of vague references to the knowledge base, they’ll actually help fix problems.
Oh sure, just like the Microsoft support forums it will always tell you to run scf /scannow.

Could Chinese Telecom Giant Huawei Put U.S. Cyber-Security At Risk?
There’s good news about the future of the Internet. A new 5G network is being created now, which will not only offer faster downloading on cell phones. It will provide the kind of connectivity we need in the era of the Internet of Things – driverless cars, Internet-connected medical devices, smart TVs and virtual assistants. But there are dangers that could be lurking in the equipment needed to build the new network. The Chinese telecommunications equipment giant Huawei is dominating the creation of 5G networks around the world. For years, classified intelligence reports from the U.S. have warned that China would one day use Huawei to penetrate American networks for cyber-espionage or cyberattacks…My guest David Sanger is the author of a book about cyberwar and cyber-sabotage called “The Perfect Weapon.” He’s a national security correspondent for The New York Times.
I caught part of this NPR report yesterday. I downloaded the podcast and listened to it on the treadmill this morning. Excellent stuff.
Article/Transcript | Podcast (mp3)

Privacy battle brews over home security cameras
What’s not to love? Invading people’s privacy – and Big Brother at our doorstep. It’s up to us to set the rules to avoid Big Doorbell.
We’re on a slippery slope…

Expensive internet driving up Virginians’ utility bills, according to study
Virginia is No. 3 for the highest internet bills, according to analysis done by Move.org. The analysis found that Virginians are forking over $75 per month for 60 megabyte/second internet access. The only states paying more are Alaska and Rhode Island.
The problem, IMHO, is the lack of competition. In most of the state you’ve only 1 cable/internet provider.
For me Comcast is it. My cable + internet bill is $192.22 per month.

Weekend Music Videos – ENTER SANDMAN

Enter Sandman- Dave Grohl ambushes Zac Brown Band Pandora Live 2019

Metallica: Enter Sandman Live & Acoustic (AWMH Helping Hands Concert – November 3, 2018)

Metallica – Enter Sandman [Official Music Video]

Wednesday Random Stuff…

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Software Updates
O&O ShutUp10 1.6.1401 (very minor update)
Tails 3.12
Tor Browser 8.0.5

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

Facebook pays teens to install VPN that spies on them
Desperate for data on its competitors, Facebook has been secretly paying people to install a “Facebook Research” VPN that lets the company suck in all of a user’s phone and web activity, similar to Facebook’s Onavo Protect app that Apple banned in June and that was removed in August. Facebook sidesteps the App Store and rewards teenagers and adults to download the Research app and give it root access to network traffic in what may be a violation of Apple policy so the social network can decrypt and analyze their phone activity, a TechCrunch investigation confirms.
#DeleteFacebook

Sam Adams creates Patriots beer called ‘Too Old, Too Slow, Still Here’ ahead of Super Bowl 2019

Eton Emergency Weather Radio
The Ultimate Outdoor Radio with Bluetooth, 2000 mAh Rechargeable Battery,
USB Port for Smartphone Charging, High Efficiency Solar Panel Charging and LED Flashlight
Was: $68.00
Deal of the Day: $39.99 TODAY ONLY
You Save: $28.01 (41%)
Expired

Tuesday Random Stuff…

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No, No, No!
Frack. Back in August there was a Microsoft blog post that said Disk Cleanup was being depreciated. Sites around the internet then claimed Disk Cleanup was being removed. Now there is a company saying the same thing when talking up their own program.
Here is what I wrote on October 1:
Storage sense (which I don’t use) now has the option to do a disk cleanup. That reminds me…
As the above link stated, “The Disk Cleanup experience (“cleanmgr.exe”) is being deprecated.” Some sites took that and acted like the sky was falling. Either they have no command of the English language or they stopped reading right there. The very next sentence reads, “We’re retaining the Disk Cleanup tool for compatibility reasons.”
Relax, Disk Cleanup isn’t going anywhere.

Google Chrome 72.0.3626.81
“contains a number of fixes and improvements…This update includes 58 security fixes.”
Download | Download standalone(full) | Download standalone 64-bit Windows version(full)

Firefox 65
Download (all) | Download 32-bit EN-US | Download 64-bit EN-US
Release Notes | What’s New
Now has “enhanced tracking protection”. By default it is only enabled in new Private Windows. MORE INFO HERE

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

After Hearing U.S. Veteran Had No Family, Huge Crowd Attends His Funeral In Texas
Scores of people turned up for Joseph Walker’s funeral Monday in Texas — not because they knew him, but because they knew the Vietnam-era veteran was at risk of being buried without anyone in attendance.
Walker served in the U.S. Air Force, and he died of natural causes in November at the age of 72. When the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery announced funeral plans for him last week, the facility said it didn’t expect anyone other than staff members to be present.
Then the word went out via TV, radio, and social media. People responded. Hundreds of people. I’m not ashamed to admit this got me choked up. Well done Texans.

The Pentagon compiled research into invisibility cloaking, wormholes, and warp drive
A document released this month revealed a secretive multimillion-dollar Department of Defense program from the late 2000s compiled research into invisibility cloaks, warp drive, and many other areas of fringe space science as part of a now-defunct program aimed at detecting and potentially explaining strange sightings in the Earth’s atmosphere…Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) spearheaded the initiative.
Man, the whole thing screams cover up. Any sane person could see Harry Reid was an alien.

Best Places For Beer By Subregion
Jan 23, 2019
A summary of the very best beer retailers in the states, provinces and counties as judged by the worldwide beer enthusiasts at RateBeer and calculated from their many reviews.

NETGEAR 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Unmanaged Switch
List Price: $39.99
With Deal: $17.99
You Save: $22.00 (55%)

Monday Random Stuff…

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Samsung NVM Express Driver 3.1
Windows 10 RS5 compatibility fix
The driver supports the Samsung NVMe SSD 970 PRO, 970 EVO, 970 EVO Plus, 960 PRO, 960 EVO and 950 PRO.
The driver supports Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
Release Notes (In Installation Guide)
FYI –  RS5 is Win10 build 1809 or “October 2018 Update”. It would kill you guys at Samsung to use the common build number or name?
Download
For the next days or weeks you will likely get a “We apologize for your inconvenience Please try again within 24 hours” notice because whoever is in charge over there obviously has trouble doing their job. So I’m gonna throw it up here for a while:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/xx61mg11i6rkb85/Samsung_NVM_Express_Driver_3.1.zip/file

Software Downloads
Notepad++ 7.6.3
VirtualBox 6.0.4

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

Intel Core i9-9900KF Listed at U.S. Retailers – [H]ardOCP
Twitter user and dataminer momomo_us just spotted an Intel Core i9-9900KF listed at B&H Photo and Video, and a quick search on Google shows that NextWarehouse and NeutronUSA have the processor up for sale too. Unfortunately, B&H has the i9-9900KF priced at $582.50, which is significantly higher than the ~$530 street price regular 9900Ks are going for right now.

Polar vortex to bring prolonged, life-threatening cold outbreak to midwestern US this week
The coldest weather in years will put millions of people and animals throughout the midwestern United States at risk for hypothermia and frostbite to occur in minutes during the final days of January.
Forecasted low at my house in Virginia is expected to bottom out around 12°F (-11.11°C) on Wednesday night. Then by next Monday we will be back up to 61°F (16.11°C).
Stay safe y’all. Find someone to share body heat with.

Best Buy security guard fired after tackling man who allegedly struck California cop, tried to flee
A Best Buy security guard who tackled a man wanted on a felony warrant — and who had allegedly just hit a cop — was reportedly fired for his good deed because it ran counter to corporate policy.
Screw Best Buy. They probably won’t be around much longer anyway. I hope this guys gets hired by a good security company.

Weekend Random Stuff…

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Belarc Advisor 9 Released
This is the Granddaddy of system info tools. I don’t generally recommend this to most folks anymore:
– Way more info than the average person needs or knows what to do with.
– There is no reason an app like this needs to be installed. Portable please.
– Trying to up-sell “Enterprise version”
– Are they still using the same installer from Windows 98?
Alternatives: Speccy (portable), HWinfo (portable), Nirsoft ProduKey (zip)

MP3tag 2.93
Download | Changelog
Thanks Calvin!

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

Upcoming Version of Google Chrome Will Make It Harder to Block Ads
&
Chrome API update will kill a bunch of other extensions, not just ad blockers
Huh. An ad company using it’s monopoly to control what ads you see. Who would’ve thought?

Should Young Americans Be Required To Do Public Service? Federal Panel Says Maybe
Should the U.S. require its citizens to perform public service? Should its young women register for the draft?
A federal panel says it is working on answers to those questions — and is considering how the nation could implement a universal service program and whether it should be mandatory or optional.
Panel says “maybe”, Eric says, “You’re damn right they should”. Military, Peace Corps, Public works…Everyone. Period. No deferments for any reason.

Veteran who lost leg in Afghanistan helps Colin Powell change flat tire
General Colin Powell shared a touching story and photos on Facebook Thursday, thanking a veteran for helping him change his tire.

Wednesday Morning Random Stuff…

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Win10 1809 Updated
19 “addresses an issue” and 1 driver, for a tape drive. I swear I didn’t know tape drives were still use in but I reckon they are.
January 22, 2019—KB4476976 (OS Build 17763.292)

The Samsung 970 EVO Plus (250GB, 1TB) NVMe SSD Review: 96-Layer 3D NAND
With Samsung launching the 970 EVO Plus at the same prices as the 970 EVO, they’re taking one of the fastest TLC drives and making it a slightly better deal…For most purposes, the 970 EVO Plus can now be regarded as Samsung’s flagship consumer SSD, and it deserves that title.
https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/consumer/970evoplus/
Not showing up at Amazon, Microcenter, Frys, or Best Buy (as of this writing).

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

Google Maps will now display speed limits for its Android and iOS apps
displays the posted speed limit on roads in the corner of the app, and also introduces an icon to denote the location of speed cameras
Thats good news. For the past few years I’ve bounced back and forth between Google Maps and Waze. Waze is great for getting you out of a fix and for letting your know where “emergency vehicles” are. However it’s directions have gotten weirder over time.

Tim Cook pretends to care about privacy in Time op-ed
If Tim Cook and Apple really cared about privacy, they wouldn’t have thrown 1.2 billion Chinese under the bus by handing over iCloud data to the Chinese government, and by sheepishly refusing to even mention “China” when it comes to Apple’s thin veneer of “privacy first”.
Apple’s complete cooperation with the Chinese government makes it very clear that Apple is all too eager to roll over and disregard its privacy chest-thumping the second their own bottom line is at risk. And lest we forget – China is a totalitarian, repressive regime that doesn’t shy away from torture and concentration camps.

Geolocation Data Could Get Privacy Protection Under New ADD Act
The bill uses as its framework the Privacy Act of 1974, which governs how federal agencies handle and protect records about individuals. Under the 1974 Act the government cannot (with some exceptions) share data about someone without their prior permission and must allow a person to see, get a copy of and correct records about themselves. The government can be sued for violating the Act.

Gap between rich and poor growing, fuelling global anger
A new billionaire was created every two days last year, just as the poorest half of the world’s population saw their wealth decline by 11 percent
World’s 26 richest people own as much as poorest 50%
The growing concentration of the world’s wealth has been highlighted by a report showing that the 26 richest billionaires own as many assets as the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of the planet’s population.
Make No Mistake, Davos, the Fat Cat Backlash Is Coming
There has always been a whiff of hypocrisy at Davos, where elites expand their carbon footprint, eat $43 hot dogs and throw lavish parties in the name of making the world a better place. “Fat cats in the snow,” the regular attendee Bono once called it (and he should know). But given the rapid advances of populist politics, it’s remarkable that in 2019, those felines are looking better-fed than ever. The past decade and a half has seen U.S. corporate profits outgrow employee compensation at an unprecedented pace, according to the St. Louis Fed. A Bloomberg News analysis of the fortunes of a dozen Davos attendees found that they soared by a combined $175 billion since 2009.

***Aspirin lowers heart attack risk but raises risk of dangerous bleeding
Big warnings floating around this week over this news. Be sure to actually read what the article/study says and talk to your doctor before buying into these hyped up articles. Doctors have long recommended low-dose aspirin to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Bayer, Walgreens, CVS, Equate, Kirkland, St. Joseph and a host of other brands of  low dose aspirin are 81mg. The study claims increased risk but they measured doses as large as high as 500mg.
Doctors today typically don’t prescribe doses higher than 100 mg.
Still, the results reinforce the need for doctors and patients to have a thoughtful discussion of the benefits and harms of aspirin for primary prevention of heart attacks and strokes, Dr. Michael Gaziano of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston writes in an accompanying editorial.
The study page (account needed for full access, sorry fellow peons):
Association of Aspirin Use for Primary Prevention With Cardiovascular Events and Bleeding Events

Saints Fans Are Suing The NFL Over A Blown Call And It’s The Legal Equivalent Of A Hail Mary
&
Second Saints fan lawsuit names NFL, individual refs over pivotal ‘no-call’ in NFC title game
There was one BS call after another this season. There were missed calls everywhere too. The NFL has become a farce. But, these lawsuits will fail.

Weekend Random Stuff…

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Intel Graphics Driver for Windows 10
aka “DCH Drivers” Version: DCH 25.20.100.6519 Date: 1/17/2019
HIGHLIGHTS:
– New Intel® Audio Driver (10.26.00.05)
– Windows* ML Optimization
– Better support for Windows* 10 Ambient light sensor framework
– Power and performance improvements
Download | Release Notes

Intel Wireless Bluetooth Driver
Version: 20.110.0 Date: 1/18/2019
Bugfixes and “General stability improvements and optimizations.”
Windows 7 | Windows 8.1 | Windows 10 | Release Notes

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

Anandtech – The Western Digital WD Black SN750 SSD Review
the third generation WD Black SSD is here, with the model number SN750 to avoid confusion with its predecessors…Performance has been improved slightly across most of the major metrics, but none of the improvements are anything huge…By 2018 standards, the new WD Black is still a very competitive high-end NVMe SSD…The WD Black SN750 will be hitting the market most closely priced to the Samsung 970 EVO. In those conditions, the SN750 will be the obvious choice for laptop usage due to its great power efficiency. For desktop usage, the Samsung 970 EVO may be the slightly better performer overall

The Tech Report System Guide: January 2019 edition
This is where the TR staff picks out the créme de la créme of hardware components fit for the most price-effective builds around. We’ve tried to create builds across a wide range of price points with parts that provide the best performance possible for the money. However, we don’t just ferret out the cheapest components possible or compromise configurations to hit arbitrary price points. Indeed, these are the systems we’d build for ourselves, given the money.
These guys do a great job with their system guides. Recommended.

CEO Satya Nadella says that Microsoft is embracing Amazon’s Alexa instead of fighting it
Full article translation: ‘Cortana sucks and we surrender.’

Verizon will give subscribers free access to anti-robocall tools
starting in March, subscribers with compatible smartphones (including iPhone and Android devices) will be able fend off unwanted robocalls without having to pay extra. Verizon says it will release more info on how to sign up for the free tools near their launch date…The company also says that it has committed to supporting the new STIR/SHAKEN technology that can authenticate a call’s origin and can alert subscribers if it’s a spoofed call. As you know, robocallers use spoofing to mask their real numbers to, say, make it appear as if the call is coming from the recipient’s location. That increases the chances of the recipient picking up the phone and falling prey to their schemes.
Until December I had been using Extreme Call Blocker but it stopped working. Currently I am using Calls Blacklist PRO.

Straight To Hell
A local musician reminded me of one of an old song I like called Straight To Hell by Drivin N Cryin. It’s great sing along bar song.
Hootie err… Darius Rucker covered the song very well.
(If the videos don’t play you may need to adjust Ublock / Adblock / Privacy Badger settings.)

Drivin N Cryin – Straight To Hell [Explicit]
Darius Rucker – Straight To Hell (Full Length Version) [feat. Jason Aldean & Luke Bryan & Charles Kelley] [Explicit]

Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ – Straight To Hell (with lyrics)

Darius Rucker – Straight To Hell ft. Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Charles Kelley