Venturous Randy

This is what I was hoping for. So far I have had Malwarebytes on three computers and have not had any problems. Before, I got hit with some Ransomeware and have at least one of those laptops just sitting now. Randy

My new laptop came with a trial period of McAfee and it will expire on 1/23/17. I do have Malwarebytes Premium installed and McAfee wants $39 a year to stay active. Would there be that much value to keep McAfee active or should I uninstall it. I also installed Free AdRemover and now they are saying after a month, it will cost. It does seem to work pretty good, but is there a better deal? Thanks, Randy

As of this moment, you should be starting the surgery process. I know it will be a long day for Tippy and your family and I pray for their strength to get thru it. I especially pray for your strength and the challenges that you will be going thru today and for your recuperation that we all seek. There is no doubt that with what I know about Tippy and what I have learned about your family, that you have truly been a blessed man. And with that said, we want those blessings to last for a long time more. You have been a great inspiration to all of us in so many ways and we pray that there will be many more days and miles and smiles of you CTFW and we all look forward to many more stories and tales of your and Tippy's adventures. We love you man. Randy and Linda

Since I am getting old, I am miserable with the cold and I am miserable with the heat. But, for a couple of days each year, it is just right. Randy

You have been around here over six years and you have not heard of Vogal? Vogal 1 is the first time I met any of this bunch. I've not been the same since. Randy

Linda and I enjoyed Vogal last time, even though we were in the Miata. We did almost loose our storage bag to a bear I chased up into the woods at about 2am, but I got it back with a few tooth marks. Now, we use a car top carrier we strap onto our Time Out Camper and when we get to a camping spot, we strap it on top of the picnic table along with strapping the cooler on the seat. Also, Vogal is a really nice park and cools off nicely in the evenings, given it is on the shady side of the mountain. Anyway Lewis, we will try to make it if you have it. I know how you feel as I was disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm for Asheville last year, but in the end, we had a really great time and had a lot of really special people show up. Randy

That's the thing about being retired, I have to look at my phone or laptop to see what day it is and that is to see if either of us have any Dr appointments for the week. Other than that, just kind of float along. Randy

Another thing is we have both Comcast and Charter in town, but they don't overlap, so according to which block you live on, you get what is available. Nice way to cut down on competition of pricing, huh? Randy

Yeah, my Comcast just jumped again for Jan to $156 a month. I have a package with about six HBO channels that are absolutely junk. They show the same stupid stuff over and over again. They do have a couple of good soft music channels to sleep by. The problem is there are only about a half dozen channels that I ever watch. Also, since they changed their format, it is not as easy to just use the "favorites" channel. I gave up on that. I also don't have a landline phone package with mine. I am thinking about going with something else because most of what I have is junk. Randy

Beginning to feel old with all the well know celebrities passing this year. Now, William Christopher, who played Father Mulcahy on M.A.S.H has died of lung cancer at 84. RIP Father. Randy

I just went thru the entire year without even starting my bike. I tried to charge the battery, but it would not take a charge, so I gave up. This is the first year in the past 20 that I have not ridden the bike. I am finally coming to the realization that the bike is old, just like I am. Randy

I still wake up around five or six in the morning and will get up. The difference now is instead of taking my nine o'clock nap at my desk at work, I now do it on the couch. Randy

Pretty picture, but it is supposed to be 65 here in NE TN today. I might get the Miata out and put the top down. Randy

In my entire life I have had one event that I think was a migraine headache. It was so painful I wondered if I was having a brain aneurism as my mother died from an brain aneurism when she was 67. I was in my 50's at the time. I took several headache meds that did nothing. I remember it was a bright sunny day and I was in bed trying to cut out ALL light and noise. When it finally eased off, my head was still sore for days. The point I want to make is I do not see how anybody could get by having routine migraines. I truly feel for you and wish you the best. Randy

Hey, the days are now getting longer. Randy

I like being retired. I have to look at my phone to know what day is Friday. Randy

What happened? Randy

I actually got on FB accidentally, by what I thought was a filling out a return form I was working on. I only have a couple friends and a bunch that want to be friends, but after all I got hit with from Linda's friends and with her brothers friends, I never responded to any other friends request. I get requests from people that I have no clue who they are, but they are a friend of a friend. But, I guess I need to go the VentureRider FB page, but I would need some help on getting on there. Randy

This is what I love about east Tennessee. Our weather is much more moderate on both ends. Winters not as cold and summers not as hot. I remember when I went to tech school in March 69 in the AF and was stationed at Chanute AFB in Rantoul IL. As miserable cold and snowy and windy as it was, I thought at least it won't be so hot in the summer. Boy, was I wrong. I just couldn't believe some place could be so cold, especially in March, and be so hot and humid in the summer. The other great thing is if we are having a hot day, five to six thousand feet elevation is an hour away with many great places to play and swimming holes that are VERY cold all summer. At the campground at Mt Pisgah, south of Asheville, on the Blue Ridge Parkway, it is at 5,000 feet and even in August, you better have a good blanket. Also, we have no state income tax and no crocked up vehicle inspection program. Randy

You............pissed at the world? Now that's a new thought. I think we all go through times that our feelings about just everything could be better. Sometimes it is some of the crap we have to deal with and sometimes we probably don't appreciate enough the good things in our life. Linda and I were just having a discussion about how much I have mellowed in my life. There was a time I spent way too much time as an angry man. It seems just about anything just pissed me off. There was a time I almost looked for road rage. Now, I try my best to just let it go and tell myself that the other person will soon or later encounter someone just like them and that will be THEIR problem. I also know that I spent way too much time in a marriage that I should have got out of a long time earlier. But, given the circumstances with my son and his ex, we spent many years of our life raising our two grandkids, much of it 24/7. To a great degree, life is what we make it. I have had some good jobs in my life and have worked for some miserable bosses, which almost all got fired after I left. Could I have done better in my life? Absolutely, and I could have done a lot worse. Sometimes we just need to focus on the good things in our life and realize there are a lot of good things. Randy

Yeah, the day I knew I was old was when I realized my son was a grandfather. Congrats Rooster. Randy

Boy, that brought back a memory from 1972. Hope you get it fixed up Bob. Randy

http://redirect.viglink.com/?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_148134089223513&key=e7a6f005fab2cf9f1521e459be93b2fd&libId=iwinxoor010004jo000DAfnf8aka0&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fforum.miata.net%2Fvb%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D627283&v=1&out=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DB3OjfK0t1XM&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fforum.miata.net%2Fvb%2Fforumdisplay.php%3Ff%3D83%26order%3Ddesc%26page%3D2&title=Been%20getting%20too%20much%20sleep%3F%20Check%20this%20out.%20-%20MX-5%20Miata%20Forum&txt=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DB3OjfK0t1XM

A little bit of a twist on this. Years ago I was on the way home from work and I took a different route which took me by a river. There is a rather remote wooded area where a lot of people gather in the summer and party. As I was going thru that area, there was an older car sitting off the edge of road and two attractive young women were standing by the car. I pulled up and asked if everything was OK as they looked stranded. They needed a ride back to the local university and the two guys they were with had disappeared. Both girls had been drinking and one was pretty drunk. Given that I was in a 240Z Datsun, there was not a lot of room, so the drunk one ended up laying down in the back. We did make it back to their dorm and I went home. That evening there was a story on the local news where two guys had been down at the river and one fell in and the other one evidently jumped in to save him and both drowned. I'm pretty sure both were probably drunk. I called the Sherriff's Office and reported what I had encountered, but never heard any more about it. Randy

When looking at the scope of these fires, it is amazing there is anything left in Gatlinburg. Randy https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1ldafO-_n3nLtN8l7_XJPOCgV_gg&ll=35.71214166939759%2C-83.51224834535895&z=14