KarateKen

14 minutes ago, sensei8 said:

I love how city authorities will ban the shooting off of fireworks unless you’ve permission from the state/city but there’s no ban from selling fireworks.

Every single year as I drive through the city streets around where I live, I can see the aftermath of fireworks debris everywhere and fireworks boxes piled in front of of many houses for the trash man to pick up. When I lived in Houston, fireworks were set off from MY FRONT PORCH by my neighbors.

There’s a huge fine and/or punishment for shooting off fireworks. There’s even a phone number to call to report illegal fireworks displays. Problem with that is there’s never enough LEO’s to handle those calls.

 

I saw the cops break up some fireworks being shot off just down the block from where I live, I agree, it is rare because the police can't stop everyone and may police stations are facing a shortage already. 

On 7/5/2025 at 9:15 AM, Nidan Melbourne said:

Chronic Truamatic Encephalopathy or CTE for short; which is a Progressive Neurodegenerative Disease. Which can have the following symptoms: 

• Memory Loss
• Confusion
• Mood Changes (Anxiety, Depression, Aggression included)
• Impaired Judgement
• Impulsivity 
• Behavioural Changes 

 

 

Sounds like a typical Saturday night during my drinking years.

Kidding aside though, I might have gotten a concussion during my first TKD tournament after a kick to the face left me seeing stars for a few days.  Did not get KOed or go out, but enough to where I likely suffered some damage. 

From what I understand about concussions, and I am no expert or close to it, once you have the first one, you are at higher risk for more of them later on, and one plus one does not equal two, it is more like three or four, the damage sort of compounds the more of them you have.  People do not usually see the results of that damage until later in life, meaning that the behaviors you listed do not show up as much when you are young, it shows up big time when you are older.  

Good on you for donating your body to science, it could help a lot of people who come after you. 

13 hours ago, Nidan Melbourne said:

Going to add, as by chance I ran into a few classmates from my university days (who went onto doing their Masters) and asked them about it. They did express concern surrounding risk of damage in the long run. Especially where some videos demonstrated a "change" in the persons appearance after a slap occurring. 

Outside of Brain Damage (Structural, Nerves, Circulatory etc), I wonder about: 

• Damage to Entire Skull 
• Damage to Facial Nerves
• Flow of Cerebrospinal Fluid to Spine (and vice-versa)
• Damage to Spine (likelihood of complete paralysis)

Brain Scans and on the slightly morbid side what the damage looks like on a Brain Autopsy? Like what has been occurring on the small percentage of NFL Athletes who have passed away and have donated their bodies to research. 

 

Mike Webster (50) Junior Seau (43) and Aaron Hernandez (27) all were found to have brain injuries when they died, with the Webster case being what lead to the CTE search of the NFL, and eventually a lawsuit and a change in the rules for player safety.  Both Seau and Hernandez committed suicide, questions remain about how the brain injuries impacted their decision making, especially Seau's decision to take his own life and Hernandez's decision to take others.  

I did not think about the other aspects, such as damage to facial nerves, those are fair to bring up.  

Diddy found guilty on two of the five counts, found not guilty on count 1, which was the most serious.  Sentencing is scheduled for early October.  He might get some prison time, but he won't be given a life sentence, max would be 20 years.  He was denied bail and will have to sit in jail until the sentencing which will likely count as time served.  He is also facing dozens of civil lawsuits. 

22 hours ago, sensei8 said:

Happy 4th of July; be safe.

We don’t buy fireworks but we’ll watch fireworks either in person or on tv: we’re going to watch the Macy 4th of July Fireworks show tonight on NBC.

We looked at getting some fireworks and they were very expensive!  So it was another year of being a watcher, and not a doer.  We had a few last year and I remember thinking it was too expensive for what we got out of it.  Thankfully lots of people disagree 

For those here who celebrate, have a safe and happy holiday weekend!  

I'm off the magnesium and back to melatonin.  I've been sleeping great the last week and a half, and better overall for the past three weeks.  There is no replacement for good sleep.  

Just saw that Karate Kid Legends is expected to stream on Netflix in late September.  Looks like it will be a while before I see it. 

Toronto has traded forward Mitch Marner to the Golden Knights, who gave up Nicolas Roy in return.  Marner has 102 points last season and is considered one of the better forwards in the league. Marner has an 8-year contract for 96 million. Biggest trade of the offseason so far. 

3 hours ago, Patrick said:

https://deadline.com/2025/06/cobra-kai-creators-hilary-swank-return-final-season-1236445291/

Thought this was interesting, about how the Cobra Kai creators tried to get Hilary Swank for the last season.

Thanks for posting.  I was curious as to why she was not part of season 6.  

Do we have any members here from the Great White North?  If so, Happy Canada Day.  

I've been to Canda many times and it is a great place to visit, so many memories of being in Winnipeg, Toronto, and Montreal.  

Have a great July 1. 

12 hours ago, sensei8 said:

I suppose that people are interested/curious about Power Slap like people that are interested/curious about a car crash; just have to see the crash as ones driving by.

Maybe car crashing is a future sport.  Now they have these self-driving cars, maybe there will be a competition to see whose car has less damage when AI has them smash into each other.  You can get the damage and the fires of a car crash without anyone being hurt.  Is this where sports will be ten years from now? Wouldn't surprise me.  

What about a flashlight?  Especially at night, you could shine it in their eyes, blind them for a moment, then kick them in the groin and run off. 

Or choke them out, whatever works. 

Haven't seen it yet.  I think it will be on streaming soon, I will watch it then.  Looking forward to this one. 

12 hours ago, sensei8 said:

A’s broke ground last Monday at the old Tropicana Hoeel and Casino site here in Las Vegas, NV.

This $1.75 billion stadium…”will hold a capacity of 33,000 fans, featuring the closest seats to home plate and the smallest foul territory of any MLB ballpark. The building will be fully enclosed by a roof that will attenuate direct sunlight glare while welcoming indirect natural light through northern oriented clerestory windows. From home plate, the see-through dome will offer views of the Las Vegas Strip, with the New York-New York Hotel & Casino and MGM Grand in clear sight beyond the outfield.”

I suppose that the A’s deserve a big upgrade. I just hope that the A’s, with their 123 year old franchise will be worthy of their fans, Las Vegas, and standings.

Speaking of standings, at the time of this post, the A’s find themselves in last place in the AL West with a record of 34-51.

It’ll be, the A’s new stadium, something to see when it opens in 2027. 

 

They have the worst owner in sports.  Good luck.  

12 hours ago, sensei8 said:

Craziest thing I’ve ever seen. I wonder just how damaging is inflicted because they’re not just whistling Dixie. That’s if we’re talking about the same thing.

I'm guessing there will be a lot of brain damage.  I'm also guessing whoever came up with the idea had some brain damage.  I personally have no use for it, but there are a lot of people who are paying attention to it. 

Alice Cooper Golf Monster by Alice Cooper

It's his memoir. 

What are your thoughts?

On 6/25/2025 at 6:36 AM, Zaine said:

Good question. I always struggle with that. Just roll a die?

It is easier when it is two, just flip a coin, but for three rolling the dice sounds like a plan.  If the dice come up as 1 or 2, read book A, 3 or 4, book B, 5 or 6, book C.  

Sounds good to me! 

Looks like the big media story in the NFL offseason continues to be Browns QB Shedeur Sanders.  He has been pulled over twice for speeding, going over 100mph in a 60mph zone, and now he missed the team's rookie outing, the only rookie on the Browns to do so.  The word "entitled" comes to my mind when I see the behavior of Sanders. 

QB news for the Browns does not get much better, their big gamble on Deshawn Watson continues to haunt the team.  His 2024 injury is likely to keep him out of most of the 2025 season, possibly all of it.  Looks like the Browns are going to be stuck with that huge contract because they won't be able to trade a guy who has a major injury, off the field problems, and has underperformed on the field.  Nobody is going to take on all that money so even if they can trade him the Browns will have to eat most, if not all, of the contract.  One of the dumbest trades and contracts in NFL history.  

A busy news day in the NHL, and the draft is coming up this weekend. 

The NHL has announced that they will extend the regular season by two games, going from 82 to 84, starting in the 2026-27 season.  This will lead to the regular season starting the final week of September instead of the first week of October.  It will limit each team to four preseason games.  

The league has made a new rule about contracts, cutting the maximum length of a contract from eight years down to seven. They also have closed the Long-Term Injury Reserve (LTIR) loophole that teams were using to bend the salary cap.  This also comes with a playoff salary cap so teams can no longer circumvent the cap rules. 

Several trades, the most notable being that the Oilers have sent veteran Evander Kane to the Canucks for a 4th round pick in 2025.  This will free up over 17 million dollars of cap space for the Oilers.  Kane has a history of suspensions and fines, including for violations of the league's Covid rules, but he will bring a toughness to the team, and he can still make some plays. 

Going to start a new book tonight, just a question of which one.  When you want to read several books all at once, how do you decide what book to read next?

On 6/18/2025 at 7:14 AM, sensei8 said:

Panthers defeat Oilers for back to back Stanley Cup Title. I’m only glad the Panthers beat the Oilers because the Oilers beat my Knights!!

Fair enough.  I am not a fan of either team, but I was happy when Nate Schmidt won.  He was an undrafted player from St. Cloud, MN, who played at the University of Minnesota.  He has been in the league for over a decade, and this was his first time winning the Cup, considered one of the nicer guys in the NHL.  

Panthers take game five and are one win away from being back-to-back Cup champions, which they can do Tuesday night on their home ice. 

Been watching some interviews with Alice Cooper and his journey through being sober for over 35 years.  I'm finding that inspiring.  I was lucky enough to meet him back in 2006, very polite, well spoken, down to earth, person.  In a world where so many rich and famous people act entitled and selfish, it was nice to meet someone who was not like that at all, despite being much more famous than many people who do behave in those unfortunate ways.  Cooper was one of my favorites as a kid and part of how I got into rock and roll, and now decades later he is inspiring me in other ways.  

Edit: 

PS - happy Friday the 13th