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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!

Thursday Random Stuff…

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Sign of the coming apocalypse? It’s National Selfie Day. Narcissists need their own day too.

For the record I have only ever taken one “selfie”. Back in 2004 I wrote and article for Linux World Magazine called Taking the Linux+ Exam. They wanted a head shot to go with the the article. I don’t take pictures of myself and I am usually the one behind the camera. The newest one I had was 10 years old, literally. I’m home alone so I set up my digital camera on a timer and ran across the room to sit for the pic. After several attempts I got it right. The mag is long since gone. Internet Wayback here, article is on page 14.

Win10 Updates
Looks like a bunch of bugfixes.
Nothing for the latest version of Win10.
1083 (April 2018 Update) n/a
1709 (Fall Creators Update) June 21, 2018—KB4284822 (OS Build 16299.522)
1703 (Creators Update) June 21, 2018—KB4284830 (OS Build 15063.1182)
1607 (Anniversary Update) June 21, 2018—KB4284833 (OS Build 14393.2339)

New Intel RST Drivers
The latest on Intel’s site is version 16.0.2.1086. I regularly check my mobo downloads page and they have version 16.5.0.1027. The driver xml file indicates it is Windows 8 and up.

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

High Court: Online shoppers can be forced to pay sales tax
Folks are whining about this. Here’s an idea. Reduce or eliminate the sales tax.
Related: Norquist Statement on South Dakota v. Wayfair
“Today the Supreme Court said ‘yes—you can be taxed by politicians you do not elect and who act knowing you are powerless to object.’

Google kills revenge porn bill
“It’s a disgrace how weak our lawmakers look for bowing down to these tech corporate overlords.”
Yet these same companies kiss the ChiComs butts.

Our Views: Pit bulls deserve their bad reputation
“Pit bulls account for the vast majority of fatal dog attacks, causing 71 percent of fatalities between 2011 and 2017”
See also: DogsBite.org

Wednesday Random Stuff…

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I was gonna say something about we made it through mid-week.
Then I thought about hump day.
Then I thought about the hump day camel.
And now I can’t get that stupid camel out of my mind.

You’re welcome.

This one might make you feel better.

Software Releases
Acronis True Image 2018 Update 4 (build 12510)
Rufus 3.1
YUMI 2.0.5.7

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

Consumer Group Claims Win10 Problems ‘Widespread’
The 12 year old me wants to say, “No Sh** Sherlock. You’ve just deduced this?”

Is Microsoft already killing off Windows 7?
Several of the people at Computerworld are rightfully hard on Microsoft. IMHO Microsoft started actively trying to kill off Windows 7 with the GWX fiasco.

Star Trek reboot with Patrick Stewart as Picard tipped at CBS
Yesssssssssss!

Amazon’s Alexa will now butler at Marriott hotels
You put that crap in my room and I will put it in the microwave. On high.

This AI program could beat you in an argument—but it doesn’t know what it’s saying
I would like to put this thing up against some of my old girlfriends. You have to be able to get a word in now and then to win an argument.

Ryanair Wants to Ban Morning Drinking in Airports
Ryanair is an Irish budget airline.
I am 1/4 Irish and lover of Irish beer and whiskey, (see, stereotypes become stereotypes for a reason).
Trying to deny an Irishman a proper pint at any time of day is the most un-Irish thing I’ve ever heard of. Next they’ll be calling for a ban on fighting, football, and having a go at the lasses. Glad my Daideo isn’t around for these shenanigans!

Monday Random Stuff…

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Hiren’s BootCD PE
I saw this this morning and A.G. sent word he heard about it too. It seems some fans/followers of the original Hiren’s BootCD decided to take it upon themselves and bring the thing into the modern age. Along with more recent drivers this Win10 x64 based PE boot disk has UEFI support. There are a whole host of useful system tools. I fired it up in a VM and it looks good to go.
“Hiren’s BootCD PE does not contain any malicious software and it does not contain any prited software. It is 100% safe, free and legal to use.”
See the DOWNLOAD PAGE for links and a list of all included programs.
They have a tool to help you put this on a flash drive if you desire: https://www.hirensbootcd.org/usb-booting/
I will be adding this to my My Rescue Flash Drive.

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

Trump Signs Space-Traffic Policy, Calls for Space Force
“He then directed the Department of Defense and the Pentagon to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces.”

Pentagon greenlights Cyber Command to go on offensive: report
The best defense is a good offense.

Four in 10 people have deleted a social media account in the past year due to privacy worries, study says
Hell yeah! #DeleteFacebook

Should bicycle helmets be mandatory?
It took me a long time to get used to the idea let alone wear one. IMHO they should be mandatory.

This Dutch town uses high-tech streetlights to keep its bats happy
Happy wife, happy life.

Weekend Random Stuff…

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It’s been a boring week out there in tech news land.
Some minor software updates:
AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 18.6.1 Optional Drivers
Samsung Magician SSD Software 5.2.1 (Thanks A.G.)

Stuff I bookmarked this week. Some off topic, some not:

Next generation Humvee debuts as NXT 360 with armor and autonomous compatibility

Pretty tough looking vehicle.
I was in the Army when we switched from the M151 A2 (Jeep) to HMMWV. I logged a lot of miles and sleep time in the first generation of the Hummer.
Here are a couple of my HMMWVs.
The one on the left was my first one pictured with my 60 Gunner along about 1986 or 1987 (West Germany).
The one on the right is me in Desert Storm in 1991.

Hackers can summon Cortana to break into Windows 10 PCs
Good to see someone found Cortana useful.

Facebook is tracking you in ways you never knew — here’s the crazy amount of data it sucks up
#DeleteFacebook

IQ scores have been falling for decades, and a new study blames schools and nutrition
Scores started falling in 1975. That was the year Pet Rocks were created and Captain & Tennille’s, “Love Will Keep Us Together” was the #1 song. Coincidence? I think not.

Patch Tuesday

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Got Windows? You got updates. MS Office too. See the end of this post for full breakdown. Among many other things these Windows Updates contain more Spectre fixes.
Win10 1803 – June 12, 2018—KB4284835 (OS Build 17134.112)
Win10 1709 – June 12, 2018—KB4284819 (OS Build 16299.492)
Win10 1703 – June 12, 2018—KB4284874 (OS Build 15063.1155)
Win10 1607 – June 12, 2018—KB4284880 (OS Build 14393.2312)

All flash plugins were patched last week. I’m not gonna track this security nightmare anymore. Do yourself a favor and uninstall it. I have it installed on like one of 7 computers and I don’t even remember why it is installed on that.

Chrome Updated
“The stable channel has been updated to 67.0.3396.87 for Windows, Mac, and Linux…This update includes 1 security fix”
Download
Download standalone(full)
Download standalone 64-bit Windows version(full)

[Read more…] about Patch Tuesday

Thursday Morning Random Stuff…

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Firefox Updated
EN-US 64-bit
All Firefox Versions
Release Notes

Chrome 67.0.3396.79
Download
Download standalone(full)
Download standalone 64-bit Windows version(full)

New GPU Drivers
AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 18.5.2 Optional
Nvidia Geforce Game Ready 398.11 WHQL Drivers

Off Topic
Stuff I’ve bookmarked.

Everything You Know About Surviving Rip Currents Is Wrong
Huh. Glad I read that!

Miss America is scrapping its swimsuit competition
Never watched more than a few minutes of a pageant. I find the whole thing annoying.

Facebook confirms data-sharing agreements with Chinese firms
#DeleteFacebook
Dem lawmaker: ‘Looks like Zuckerberg lied to Congress’
No. Really. #DeleteFacebook

More than half of U.S. households have ditched landline phones
I would have thought it would be more than that. A dozen years ago I came home and checked the messages on my answering machine. I looked at my cell phone and then back at the answering machine. “Why am I paying for this?” I thought. Haven’t had a landline since.

Max Scherzer becomes fifth ever with two career immaculate innings
Oh Detroit. What could have been. Some former Tigers pitchers still playing:
Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, David Price, Rick Porcello…

Arnold, “Milk is for babies. When you grow up you have to drink beer.”
One of my favorite quotes. Ever.