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This is awesome:




Also, in case you were curious:

NSA has Nothing on the Internet!

Lightbeam Firefox add-on

Look, we all know it happens. Every web site you visit collects data on you, and will try to leverage that into ads and getting you to click other websites. Of course, over time this creates a profile on you. For me, I don't really care. For some, this is a pretty big deal. So for the crazies out there who won't drive a GPS-enabled car because the government can track you (I know a couple people like that) Mozilla will become your new best friend!

There is a new Firefox add-on called Lightbeam. It's a free, quick install, and it runs quietly in the background. It monitors your internet use, and shows the different 3rd party sites that are tracking you. It does it in a pretty graphic format too, that is super easy to use. I literally just installed it, and visited 2 sites, Google and Blogger. From that, 31 3rd party sites connected with me. That is absolutely insane!

Look, there is just no way around it. The internet offers literally unlimited options to learn, purchase, explore, entertain, connect to friends or whatever. For the most part it's ALL FREE! If you want this awesome tool, you have to accept that there are people trying to make a buck off you. Keep your passwords safe, use virus/webscan software, and don't visit file stealing sites or porn. You'll be fine.

In the meantime, switch to Firefox (it's the best browser anyway) and install this little add-on. It's very, very interesting.

Ender

I am a total sucker for infographics. When I saw this one which doubles as a movie poster, I immediately had to post it.  

Look, we all love the book, but I have no idea if the story will work as a movie. I have been literally holding my breath in anticipation of this one. The story has the potential to be one of the best sci-fi movies ever. It could also fall flat. I have avoided all reviews, but I see it's tracking at about 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, so there is hope. In a never before momentous event, Ali and I got a sitter and will meet Mom and Dad for dinner and a movie in glorious IMAX on Friday! I would recommend everyone see it soon. If it turns out to be awesome*, I will be forced to immediately post!

*Awesome is defined as me wiping because I "got something in my eye".

Ready for Thanksgiving!

Let all the youngin's know, tractor rides are open for business! Took the cart for a test spin yesterday around the neighborhood. It fit Ali and the girls no problem. I even have 2 bungee cords that can be fastened as makeshift seatbelts.

Still working on a fun course. I was hoping to go through the trails, but the bridges are too narrow for the tractor. It will be plenty fun and bumpy though!

Hell. Yes.

 

Perhaps the single greatest movie/candy tie-in in the history of the world. Not yet available for purchase, but damn it needs to be!

Samsonite, I Was Way Off!

How excited are you about this sequel?  This was one of the few movies ever that I literally watched back to back because it was so good.  Radio?  Who needs a radio?

Butt Slide!

The Reds may blow it and miss the playoffs this year, but 2013 will always have this all-time gem to look back on!!! Of course he was OUT!

We've all done it...

USA! USA! USA!

Here we come Brazil!

The Michigan "Rivalry"

The outcry over the loss of what has suddenly become the most storied rivalry in college football is both disingenuous and laughable.

Mark May:

"I can't have much doubt. I think it's a terrific rivalry. And when GameDay comes to town they know it's a big game, everybody knows it's a big game. Growing up in upstate New York, I used to watch it when I was growing up, when it was on television."

Skip Bayless:

"This is not an historical... Are you kidding me? I mean, I grew up, I couldn't wait for Michigan-Notre Dame, going back to Bubba Smith."

Really Mark? The first time Notre Dame played Michigan in your lifetime was 1978. You were at Pitt and had a game that day against Temple, so I assume you didn't watch it. Skip, you were 26 the first time these teams met in 1978 - and Bubba Smith played for Michigan State!

Without going into too much detail, there is an amazing article that talks about the actual facts behind this rivalry. Jim Lefebvre gives a great summary of this series' history. Here are some highlights:

• 1887: Notre Dame's first football game is a loss to Michigan.
• 1888 - 1909: These schools play 8 more times as college football is born.
• 1909: Notre Dame finally beats Michigan.
• 1910: Notre Dame boards the team bus for the road trip to Ann Arbor for the Michigan game. At Niles, they are turned around, as Fielding Yost cancels the game. How's that for notice!
• 1910-1941: Yost's hatred of Notre Dame, born of that loss and his well-known anti-Catholicism, prevents Notre Dame from playing Michigan, and blackballs them from joining the Big Ten. Don't believe anti-Catholicism was real? Read the linked article above or try this one: Notre Dame Battles the KKK.
• 1942-1943: The series resumes only after Yost retires.
• 1944-1977: Another loooong hiatus as Michigan just can't get over it's ND hatred.
• 1978: The rivalry is renewed and carries on in the modern era.
• 2007: Both schools sign a 20 year extension of the series that runs through 2031.
• 2010: Michigan athletic director David Brandon announced that the deal had never been signed, and that the two schools were playing without a real "contract" right now. He continued to say that their mutual agreement to play allows for either side to pull out of the rivalry with three years notice.
• 2012: Michigan notifies Notre Dame that they will exercise that option and cancels games in 2018-2019 with "plans" to renew after 2020. No reason, except rumored Big Ten expansion to 9 conference games.
• 2012: Notre Dame later notifies Michigan that they will also exercise the same option and cancels games in 2015-2017. This is due to Notre Dame's deal with the ACC.

So you can see that Brady Hokes posturing and ripping Notre Dame for "chickening out"  is ridiculous. He is blatantly ignoring the actual facts and history of this series. Clearly, Michigan has called the shots and continuously crapped on Notre Dame out of hatred, bigotry and spite. The current hiatus that will begin in 2015 is simply due to conference realignment. Had the B1G not added 2 ACC schools, we probably wouldn't have allied with the ACC, and likely would still be playing Michigan every year.

So as we all sit back this Saturday night, drink our Pumking, and watch the Irish kick the living crap out of Michigan, pull this post up on your iPhone and reference the facts every time some yahoo rips ND for cancelling this "storied" rivalry. I'm sure Brent and Herbie will have a field day tearing into Notre Dame.