GobbleDog

True - in 2024, Russia advanced 25 miles. At a cost of 500,000 casualties, or about 1,400 per day. If they can sustain that rate, they'll conquer all of Ukraine in about 100 years. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60506682

Clicked thinking... I wonder who he signed with. Obviously noone. Now that I think about it - what team would sign him? Certainly no good team. And Rodgers won't play for a bottom dweller... so somewhere in the middle who needs a QB. Looking through the teams... Seahawks or maybe Rams if they don't resign Stafford.?. Look like possible candidates.

I don't think so. Ukraine has given the "once feared Russian army" a hell of a fight for 3 years now with out-dated weapons and range restrictions. More than held them at bay - they're nearing a million casualties and now using horses, donkeys, Chinese golf cars. With more/better weapons and pushing Russia's economy to near total collapse... that should do it. Most importantly make it perfectly clear to Putin and all Russians - we won't rest till Ukraine wins. Remove all hope. That said if I was your President - there'd already be US troops fighting in Ukraine right now. Vote for Gobble.

Trump has talked of easing Russian sanctions... ridiculous. Maximized. Countries buying Russian oil/gas (particularly India) need heavy diplomatic pressure exerted. Same for those helping to evade sanctions - China and Armenia. Confiscate the $300 billion in Russian foreign holdings to be used for Ukraine's defense. Provide more and better weapons - remove all restrictions on where they can be targeted. European countries will follow suit. Most importantly make it known - "We will not rest until Ukraine wins the war." Not the Ukraine just can't lose jargon Biden peddled. Had those things happened in the first year of the war... it'd be long over with Putin dead or in prison right now. That's what should happen, but probably not realistic with Trump... though who knows what the mineral deal included. I'll give him credit for one thing - in spite of every disgusting thing he's done regarding Ukraine so far, he's gotten Europe to get off their lazy asses to actually spend on defense. NATO turned them into bums... "why should we spend money, the US will always save us." Unfortunately Trump made the US look like unreliable Putin loving donkey's while doing it, but whatever.

Hopefully Ukraine got some security guarantees in exchange. Who knows what terms are, but Trump's initial offer was absurd demanding $500 billion, as repayment for $100 billion which was granted to Ukraine in the form of outdated weapons/artillery, which the US was going to restock anyway, and Ukraine gets nothing in return. Especially given Ukraine is fighting for its life against a common enemy. I will say I recently saw a report that Ukraine had actually offered a mineral deal to the US long before Trump took office that never came to fruition. So, if that's true I guess Ukraine was willing to negotiate with it. Just doesn't feel right... let's help Ukraine win first and then talk business. Trump is a slimeball.

Every time I hear it I picture old white executives sitting around spitballing "I wonder what jingle could we make that would hit our target demographic? Wait I know - a rapping jingle sung by a brother!" They'll love it.

Pushing/pulling was illegal for decades until the early 2000's, when the pushing part was removed. The logic - refs were throwing flags indiscriminately because they couldn't always tell for sure who was pushing who. After it was removed, nobody really noticed ... until the Eagles suddenly found a way to exploit it and had the personnel to do it. If they make pushing illegal again, they'll have the same problem they used to. At this point, I say leave it be. Defenses will eventually figure out a way to stop it - like they always do. And it's not that big of deal - "it ain't football"... meh, looks like football to me. And I'm certainly no Philly fan.

I also used to be perplexed how Starbucks could charge so much for coffee.... then last year my wife took the 13 yo kid and her friends somewhere and stopped by a Starbucks drive-thru, got them all coffees or whatever and went on to wherever. She said "all the girls walked around with their Starbuck cups proud as could be." Never would've occurred to me, but apparently that branding is huge - even with kids. Now I get it... it's just a status thing that young folks are willing to pay for. Lucky I wasn't driving... they would've gotten cheapo McDonalds.

Sending in Korean troops, importing Korean artillery shells, and they've been using donkeys in recent months to carry supplies. There's also numerous videos of Russia sending old men and wounded soldiers on crutches to the front lines. The Russian army is clearly having issues and ya have to wonder how much longer they can go on. They're nearing 1 million causalities. Obviously Putin has been gambling on Trump coming to the rescue. And sadly, it seems that gamble might pay off.

I've never been so disgusted by my President... and I despised Obama - considered him the worst President in my lifetime. Not anymore.

It’s that time of year so let’s hear some bold predictions before everyone drafts and boldly predicts all their players will be superstars. A little reasoning would be nice, but hey whatever ya got. Raiders & Bucs finish with a combined total of 7 wins. Ya don’t sign Garoppolo and Mayfield unless you’re serious about full tank mode. Nico Collins (Wr 53) finishes top 25. Cooks left town and 3rd year Collins steps up with a massively upgraded team. Justin Herbert will break Manning’s single season passing record of 5,477 yds. After playing with broken ribs, bruised sternum and torn labrum (still passing 4,700+) Herbert is finally healthy. The old dink and dunk OC is gone replaced by high-flying Kellen Moore. George Pickens scores more fantasy points than Dionte Johnson. Though both unreliable due to pathetic Qb. Diontae just isn’t a #1 Wr. Sam Howell (Qb 29) finishes top 15. Josh-Allen-Lite is flying under everyone’s radar, but won’t be after this year. Miami Dolphins replicate ’72 Dolphins by going undefeated. 2023 is forever known as Year of the Fish. What yall got?

Fine add a sensor. But without sensors in their knees or butts I'm not sure how much it helps. "We know the ball went this far! But we have no idea whether he was down before that or if the whistle was blown."

Wife is at a Chicago concert right now. Before leaving she said "I'm going to the Chicago concert! What are their hit songs?" Me: Well known band, who probably has some hits... but damned if I can name any.

In recent years, nearly 70% of people who "attempt" to summit succeed. The youngest / oldest to do it... 15 and 80. With modern gear, oxygen, and sherpa's toting everything.... the greatest challenge is having enough cash. With good weather, Stephen Hawking could make it.

Don't know about the rest of the country, but the deer population in Florida/Alabama/Georgia has gotten out of control IMO. Scary driving down two-lane roads at night. Herds of them everywhere. I don't know what the bag limit is, but it needs to be raised. For that matter, they could completely lift the ban on killing gators. Way too many. Every river, lake, and retention pond has 'em, though they rarely hurt people. Just scary walking with kids or dogs around a shoreline.

I was 6 when Star Wars came out - perfect demographic. Loved it, had all the toys and cards. Empire was the best. Couldn't wait to see the next one after Jedi, but they went on a 20 years hiatus. By the time it finally came back, I'd grown up and didn't care anymore, but out of curiosity I watched whatever the 4th one was... yeah, gay Jar Jar. Years later while channel surfing I came across another new Star Wars... it was Yoda in a sword fight.... bouncing around like a ping pong ball. Looked ridiculous. Sadly, Star Wars is dead to me. Don't like the CGI, which definitely makes the effects bigger, but it's basically a glorified cartoon. I was more impressed when they had to make models, explosions, puppets, etc. look real.

Windows only apparently. Not surprised given the detail and number crunching the puter has to do. Doesn't require the greatest gpu, but eats RAM. The game doesn't officially call itself "Das Boot" after the famous movie, but it's clearly trying to mimic it. And does a great job.

The UBoat game I mentioned went on sale a couple weeks ago... from $30 to $9.... had to buy it. Thoughts.... HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL greatest money I've ever spent. It's Uboat simulation, but with impressive graphics. Find shipping boats with a hydrophone, estimate course, sail ahead to get a peak - identify boat type, and speed... calculate a torpedo solution. FIRE~!~!~! Oh the satisfaction when ya blow sh*t up. I have a crew of officers / sailors to manage... at least, those who live through the missions. The learning curve is pretty high, especially if ya set the difficult settings high like I did. Took a bunch of Youtube videos to get any of my torpedoes to finally hit. Then there's dealing with the enemy destroyers, corvettes, and airplanes who like to drop depth charges on ya. Lots of missions - sinking ships, delivering spies, finding lost uboats, etc. I've been playing for two weeks, but feel like I'm just getting started. It's still only 1940 and Germany just conquered France, which means I have a new port to leave from. Several more years under Hitler's service. Got a lot of killing to do in the meantime. Highly recommend.

Russia did about about-face with the Syrian rebels. For the past decade they were referred to as "Western supported terrorists" - today they're an "armed opposition." No longer terrorists. Russia even raised their flag at the Syrian embassy in Moscow. Apparently Russia has military bases there they want to keep, but they've been using them to bomb the rebels for the past ten years so you'd think the new leaders would want them out.

So far ... the rebel leader al-Sharaa has been doing/saying all the right things such as allowing international media in, talking about protecting rights of minorities, and even sent a representative to the Alawite area to assure no retribution. Hopefully it lasts, but who knows. Experts point out the recent track record of Middle East countries after removing dictators hasn't worked out well. Egypt, Lybia, Yemen, Iraq... either became more oppressive, partially run by terrorists, or just flat out dysfunctional.

I'd forgotten about the Syrian Civil War... it'd been dormant for 6+ years. All of a sudden rebels are taking over major cities. The US was supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces, but at this point Al Qaeda has joined in among others. Maybe that explains the renewed success, but jeesh... removing al-Assad just to have those terrorists in charge.

I rarely buy new games, but when I do I play it for years.... still play Battlefield 1 released in 2016. And Crusader Kings III which is pretty old. In any case, recently found a new game that I'm very interested in.... UBOAT, released August 2024. Only $30. Videos look pretty cool.

Not exactly a "stocking stuffer", but in-laws bought me a Jackery 300 couple years back. LOVE IT. Basically a silent generator without gas. Runs a tv for 3-4 hours - perfect for tailgating. Later bought a solar panel so it can run all day. Price down to $150 now, was $300 couple years ago. Decided to give my nephew my old 300 and upgrade to the Jackery 1000 ($400). Three times as powerful. Can run a kitchen refrigerator for a day or so. I have the powah! https://www.amazon.com/Jackery-Portable-Explorer-Generator-Emergency/dp/B083KBKJ8Q

Sounds like Putin knows negotiations will begin after Trump is Prez and wants to land grab as much as possible... regardless of human life.

Forced to listen to a greatest hits album every day the rest of my life.... Beatles - I Want to Hold Your Hand, Twist & Shout, Hard Day's Night, 8 Days a Week, etc. Stones - Start Me Up, Beast of Burden, Miss You, Waiting on a Friend, Brown Sugar, etc. Yeah, I'm going Stones. Those oldies by the Beetles would get tiresome day 1.