I went down to feed the cats in their usual place this morning and the whole area was trashed. I'm talking TRASHED. The trash can had been dragged out into the yard and emptied, the former litter box likewise, a 50 gallon drum which was formerly a rain barrel had been rolled down to the edge of the woods, several logs had been rolled off the woodpile, the edges of the tarp that covers the "feeding station" had been pulled up, their water bowl had been overturned and stomped flat, and the double plastic dish they'd been eating out of was completely destroyed.

Spousal unit, when I told him about it, said he'd awakened about 4:30 to some noise and possible growling but he thought it was across the road or down the hill. Looking at it later today, he said he saw some large tracks that were too big for a bobcat and he thinks we were possibly visited by a bear. That makes me more than a bit nervous but I'm also a little skeptical in that although we're rural, the houses are still kind of close together. Still, bears have been sighted down in town and mast has been plentiful this year. I'm feeding the cats by the front door for awhile until the dang things hibernate.

Gun dealers are marketing weapon parts and ammunition using a right-wing slogan widely understood as code for profanity directed at President Joe Biden.

Palmetto State Armory, which operates a 12,000-square-foot gun store in Columbia, S.C., the state capital, is marketing a “LETSGO-15 Stripped Lower Receiver,” which is a part meant for an AR-15-style assault rifle.

The product description on the company’s website says the fire selector on the weapon part features three modes: “’F@CK!’” (Safe), “’JOE!’” (Fire), “’BIDEN!’” (Full-Auto).”

“Love how PSA is in touch with the current Let’s Go Brandon situation,” says one of the comments below the product description. “More than half of America and other parts of the world are chanting. The current administration is destroying our country.”

The company did not respond to NBC News requests for comment. A spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service, which investigates threats against the president, declined to comment.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/gun-dealers-sell-weapon-parts-ammo-using-anti-biden-slogan-lets-go-bra-rcna4260

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley announced Sunday that he is taking a break from football to focus on his mental health.

"These past few weeks have been very challenging and as much as I'd like to be on the field competing with my teammates, I need to step away from football at this time and focus on my mental wellbeing," Ridley wrote in a tweeted statement. "This will help me be the best version of myself now and in the future."

Ridley, 26, missed Sunday's game, in which the Falcons hosted the Carolina Panthers. The Falcons lost 19-13. He had also missed a game earlier in the month.

But Ridley had attended every practice before Sunday's game and a community event held by the team, ESPN reported. When he spoke with the media on Oct. 21, he mentioned a personal issue but declined to go into detail.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/atlanta-falcons-wide-receiver-calvin-ridley-taking-break-focus-my-n1282846
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Perhaps little Simone has had a bigger inflence than she could have foreseen....

The International Handball Federation has responded to widespread accusations of sexism by changing its rules around women’s uniforms to allow bike shorts and tank tops instead of bikini bottoms and crop tops.

The sport’s global governing body has been the subject of international pressure since July, when the European Handball Federation made headlines for imposing a €1,500 fine on the Norwegian women’s beach handball team for wearing shorts like their male counterparts during the Euro 21 tournament in Bulgaria. At the time, the EHF described the shorts as “improper clothing”.

At some point over the past month the IHF has quietly altered its regulations for beach handball, which now stipulate that “female athletes must wear short tight pants with a close fit”. Male athletes can still wear regular shorts as long as 10cm above the knee “if not too baggy”.

It follows a campaign by Norway-based Australian activist Talitha Stone, whose petition – supported by gender equality organisation Collective Shout – attracted 61,000 signatures

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/nov/01/handball-federation-changes-uniform-rules-after-pressure-over-sexist-bikini-rule
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Read the article. The rules are still sexist.

Went to see my PCP today and was pronounced healthy. She offered me a Covid booster, "We have them" so I said of course. I had been planning on getting my flu shot so I got one in each arm. I also got my usual lab work done. I seem to be in pretty good shape for the shape I'm in! No major complaints except for the usual creaks and crackles when getting started in the morning. I will have to see the hand surgeon at some point about the two fingers that keep locking, but that's small potatoes in the larger scope of things.