Category: Professional Wrestling

Weekly Report 10/10/2020

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

Weekly Links

As opposed to writing something every day I’ll be doing a weekly wrap up every Saturday night. This week’s report comes courtesy of my Librebooted ThinkPad T500. The keyboard is a dream to type on and this system actually has 8 GB of DDR2 memory.

This fine machine can still hold up to this day and is currently running Linux Mint 20.

Each section will follow the flow of the magazine itself. The Unix section covering Unix-like operating systems and related technology will be followed by the Overlooked Pop Culture section, which covers a variety of popular things that are often overlooked, misunderstood, or both.

Unix

Even though Apple’s OS X is based on BSD, it still has security vulnerabilities. It turns out the T2 Chip is vulnerable to exploits that would let someone take control of a user’s Mac. This would require physical access to a Mac, so it won’t impact most users.

Maybe Louis Rossman can utilize this exploit for data recovery purposes.

Even with newer hardware, Apple will likely face skepticism regarding its branded silicone, Apple Silicone. At least they still have a foothold in the mobile arena. Their next iPhone is expected to be announced this Tuesday.

In Linux news, Sparky Linux 4.13 was recently released. Based on Debian, they updated the “stable” package repositories, the kernel, Firefox ESR, and more. Speaking of cool Linux news, System76 recently interviewed two individuals from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) about the use of a Lemur Pro for archiving satellite imagery for NASA.

In cloud computing news, Nextcloud’s capabilities are increasing as well. Not only can you collaborate with their tools, you can integrate Microsoft Teams, Slack, Github, and more. It’s a good thing that software is updated from time to time, because legacy software has its limits, which can become dangerous depending on the situation.

The legacy version of Excel has a limit of 65,000 rows, which caused the loss of information pertaining to nearly 16,000 positive COVID-19 tests in the UK.

Overlooked Pop Culture

Pro Wrestling fans may be excited about Halloween Havoc making a comeback this year. The classic WCW Pay Per View event is being adopted by NXT. It has been years since the Halloween themed event has aired, so having spookiness galore may ignite fan enthusiasm.

It isn’t all pumpkins and candy corn.

What may also be scary, albeit to Vince McMahon, is this piece from What Culture about Paige learning about Unionism. This comes in the wake of WWE wanting to take more control over performers’ use of social media platforms, even though said performers are “independent contractors.”

Though the WWE has become creative in offering a form of entertainment to the world in the midst of COVID-19, they aren’t the only option.

The Anime News Network has their Fall 2020 Preview Guide, so anime fans who want more than people in spandex in a squared circle wearing night goggles may be happy. Video games, whether it’s on a console or PC, are among a plethora of entertainment options as well.

Those who prefer building their own gaming PC may want to take note of Patrick Lathan’s article reviewing the Lian Li Lancool 215 Airflow Case. As for console gamers, William D’Angelo of VGChartz has an interesting piece regarding the Xbox Series X and PS5.

On a mental health note, it’s important to understand one thing: Even if one is “being edgy,” it’s never a good idea to show up at someone’s house uninvited and unwelcome.

In conspiracy theory news, QAnon, a joke on 4Chan that got way out of hand, has now caused Facebook to change their policies regarding groups mentioning theories peddled by the fake entity.

The removal of said groups will impact the spreading of certain theories.

John McAfee has been arrested in Spain and faces extradition to the US over tax evasion. Topping off the craziness is the story of a group who got caught attempting to place under citizens’ arrest kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes; that’s all for this week.

While you’re here, would you be willing to become one of our Patrons on Patreon? Doing so will get you access to the magazine for much cheaper than purchasing from the website while allowing us to grow. With enough resources, we’ll be able to have more content available throughout the week. Thank you so much in advance for your time.

Distrowatch Weekly for the Win

Preview of Distrowatch Weekly reviewing LinuxFX.
Distrowatch’s Jesse Smith recently reviewed LinuxFX, otherwise known as WindowsFX

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

This week’s Distrowatch Weekly is now available, and it highlights some new OS releases that use a Linux, *BSD, or POSIX-compliant kernel at its core. They’re a great resource for Linux/BSD-related news.

In this week’s issue, they talk about:

  • LinuxFX, a.k.a. WindowsFX.
  • The Ars article talking about Lenovo going all in by offering Ubuntu-based systems.
  • openSuSE’s Jump Edition
  • The Haiku project contest
  • …and more!

To cap off Monday night, WWE fans will get to witness the aftermath of Roman Reins retaining the Universal Championship. He’s building himself as an effective heel by torturing members of his own family.

Only time will tell if Paul Heyman’s presence will enhance Reins in the future.

RIP Road Warrior Animal

Road Warrior Animal
He was a tag team legend.

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

This week, I learned of the passing of Road Warrior Animal, one half of the legendary tag team known as LOD (Legion of Doom). As 2020 continues towards its conclusion, I fear we will continue to see legends from a variety of industries close the book on their lives due to age, illness, and more.

It hasn’t been an easy year, but thr best way to address his passing is to remember the amazing career he had in the squarred circle.

He held numerous titles alongside his partner Hawk and they wreaked havok wherever they went. The simple mentality of tough powerful people who don’t go without a fight was the hallmark of LOD.

So here’s to Animal, one who was tough enough to not take anyone’s shit while being spiritual at the same time.

Volume 3, Issue 1 Now Available

Cover Issue of the 1st Issue.
Conspiracy theories, a first glance at Linux Mint 20, and Pro Wrestling in the COVID-19 era.

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

The first issue of volume 3 of the magazine is now available free of charge. In this issue, the following topics are covered.

  • Why conspiracy theories go viral.
  • A first look at Linux Mint 20, an operating system that’s an alternative to OS X and Windows
  • Pro Wrestling in the age of COVID-19 by Stephen Kelley.

In the future, we’ll sell individual issues for $5 USD. If you become a patron on Patreon, it’s only $1 USD.

You can also get a free copy if you write for us and get published. With this issue and others in the future, please give away copies for free. Whether you share the file through torrenting or cloud storage links or print it, the more people read it, the better.

For those who want to print, bear in mind that the color scheme is RGB as opposed to CMYK, so inkjet and laser printers instead of commercial printers used for newspapers and traditional magazines.

Baron Corbin Wins the Briefcase

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

Baron Corbin
Corbin has been holding his own as of late.

This year’s Money in the Bank was more compelling than Extreme Rules. The first ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match ended in controversy.

There was even a meme arguing that James Ellsworth should have been the winner of that match.

Of course Naomi retained her Smackdown Women’s Championship. The Uso’s retained their tag titles by intentionally getting themselves counted out. Jinder Mahal also retained his title due to outside intereference.

However, the most interesting ending was when AJ Styles and Shinske Nakamura had one final confrontation at the end of the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Barron Corbin shook the two off the ladder before climbing up and unhooking the briefcase.

The interesting part is the fact that Corbin is a character that is allergic to nonsense.

He is no Hulk Hogan or other wholesome hero. He’s a midwestern, heavy metal, heavy hitter who never apologizes for it. It’s hard to argue with somebody who claims that abs don’t help when you get punched in the face.

A potential match between him and Jinder Mahal could prove to be interesting.

In the meantime, he is being built slowly. As a winner of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, he came out of obscurity and into the limelight. He could very well be the next star to silence entire audiences as he nonchalantly wins the championship when everyone least expects it.

The Assassin VS the Beast

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

WWE Extreme Rules was rather tame and may as well have been called

Samoa Joe
Despite not being in UFC, he has trained with MMA fighters.

Generic Pay Per View Event. Injuries and being concerned about the well being of WWE wrestlers is understandable, but the event didn’t live it up to the name.

Nevertheless, the ending was an appropriate swerve that will hopefully set up a dream match for the ages.

Samoa Joe will be facing Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title, and it should prove to be interesting. Though Joe’s moveset is reminiscent of an MMA/brawling style, Lesnar has actually competed in the UFC and won the heavyweight championship. Though he hasn’t competed in UFC or any other MMA promotion, Joe has trained with MMA fighters and is familiar with multiple forms of martial arts.

Having a dark horse face Lesnar may be a smart business decision.

The contrast in body types and styles could draw a lot of money, and hopefully the match ends in a draw or “unsatisfactory manner” in order for it to be an instant Summer Slam Classic. The match prospect is exciting, but Great Balls of Fire is just another generic sounding Pay Per View.

A bigger stage would be more suitable for these two opponents.

Either way, one can only imagine how Joe’s Muscle Buster and Coquina Clutch can hold up to Lesnar’s Kumara Lock and F-5. Though Lesnar may be the current mayor of Suplex City, the Samoan Submission Machine has been able to pull off some wicked suplexes of his own.

The match is a dream come true, and hopefully magic can happen twice.

Once at Great Balls of Fire and possibly again at Summer Slam!

International Business Picks Up

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

Jinder Mahal
No one can hinder Jinder.

There are times when one possibly sees it coming, but it still comes off as a surprise. After years of seeing the usual suspects hold the WWE Championship, Jinder Mahal now holds the prestigious title.

This proves more than anything that the time has come for new champions to step up to the plate.

It also proves that international business is picking up since WWE has expanded its business reach to India. Kenny Herzog argues in a piece for Rolling Stone that Mahal having the opportunity was good for business. Now he is the champion.

WWE Stock is still holding steady at just under $20 USD per share.

Will this attempt of international expansion increase shareholder value for the company? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, international business has picked up!

Friday Roundup: May 19, 2017

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

As this is being written, the rain has been pounding the pavement in spurts. One moment, it’s a calm flow of droplets. Then comes the rapid torrent.

This week’s roundup has been like that with its various ups and downs.

Unix

With Canonical’s announcement of switching back to GNOME for Ubuntu’s default desktop, the question of how they would go about it remains. OMG Ubuntu sheds some light on this and even links to a survey asking for input.

Developers are considering some tweaks to ease the transition.

There’s some good news for the GNU GPL for the time being. Though it wasn’t meant to be treated as a contract, the license agreement itself appears to be enforceable as one for the time being.

The case revolved around Hancom and its use of Ghostscript without adhering to the GNU Affero General Public License.

To end this portion of our weekly roundup, here’s an interesting story about immigration policies possibly impacting free and open source software development. On the one hand, recent policies could impact the ability of the U.S. to bring in intelligent individuals who can lead the way in innovation.

On the other hand, the idea of promoting from within has been brought up assuming interest in the field of software development exists.

Time will tell the tale on that one.

Overlooked Pop Culture

There’s a reason many are either captivated and/or aggravated by politics. Though campaigns may portray otherwise, things are rarely black and white. Nothing demonstrates this more than with the firing of James Comey by President Trump.

Though there has been suspicion as to the President’s actual motivations, Trevor Aaronson of The intercept reminds readers that Comey himself did some things during his tenure as the head of the FBI that were questionable at best.

The aggravating portion of the political arena is why people seek an escape, even if it’s a virtual arena. An old escape may have a chance at a revival if Billy Corgan has his way after buying the rights to the National Wrestling Alliance.

He will own the rights to the trademarks as well as the NWA Championship belt.

Though the classic name in professional wrestling has waned over the years, the plan is a long term move, so nothing will change right away. Could this WCW 3.0?

Speaking of retro, 8-big video game music has been making a comeback… on vinyl that is! The LA Times has a fascinating piece on how boutique record labels have been combining the two niches together.

That’s all for this week. See you next time.

Friday Roundup: April 21, 2017

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

StarCraft Map Editor in Wine
Though Starcraft currently doesn’t run in Wine, the map editor does.

This week has been an interesting one to say the least. Ubuntu continues to get noticed due to Canonical’s change in direction while other interesting developments in the land of make believe are on the horizon. Still, it’s time to get our nerd on.

Here’s this week’s Friday Roundup.

Unix

Canonical’s announcement of moving back to GNOME and no longer using Unity starting with the next LTS release has had some exploring their options. The conclusion of one blog post is that GNOME 3 can’t replace Unity and that there will definitely be a learning curve for those who aren’t used to it.

Luís de Sousa writes:

The take home message of this exercise is that Unity 7 and Gnome 3 are markedly different desktop environments, designed with different – sometimes almost antagonistic – goals. Gnome 3 is a low visual feedback environment, meant for a small number of workspaces and highly reliant on mouse input. In its turn, Unity 7 is far more open to keyboard interaction, embraces workspaces as a cornerstone of desktop interfacing and overall offers far more modes of interaction and features. Unity 7 comes across as a transparent environment, providing immediate visual feedback on what may be happening with each of the programmes it manages; by contrast Gnome 3 opts to hide many visual cues, preferring a clean desktop, focused entirely on the current foreground programme.

(Bolding added for emphasis)

With the switch to GNOME will come the obvious switch to Wayland as well. X11 is network oriented, while Wayland is focused on individual systems, thus cutting down on overhead and improving graphical performance.

Speaking of Ubuntu, System76 is now starting to move production and design in-house. Phase Three will be long term. Carl Richell writes:

We’re starting with desktops. There’s a lot to learn and the form factor is easiest to work with. Both design and CAD work are well along their way. We’re prototyping with acrylic and moving to metal soon. Our first in-house designed and manufactured desktops will ship next year. Laptops are more complex and will follow much later.

Last but not least by any means, Solus has a new release. In addition to the in house Budgie Desktop, MATE and GNOME editions are available. Their release notes are available here.

Overlooked Pop Culture

Apparently, there may be a mini version of the Nintendo Switch on the horizon, if analysts are correct. If true, one can only speculate what will happen to the DS line of portable consoles in the near future. In a surprising turn of events in WWE, Jinder Mahal has earned a number one contender spot for the WWE Champtionship.

Seeing as how the product is now less predictable, it may become more entertaining. Only time will tell.

In a piece that shows a lack of understanding, NBC is among the latest to pick up the story regarding Alex Jones and his performance artist defense. Jones is currently in a custody battle over his kids.

A note of correction: They claim he pushed that the moon landing was faked. That is not entirely true. There will be a future article regarding Jones and his custody battle to further explain this.

StarCraft fans have cause to celebrate this week as the original has been released for free in lieu of the Remastered Edition. Those who want to run into under Wine may be disappointed as it doesn’t work.

The good news is that the map editor still runs.

So if you’re a Windows or OS X user, you’ll be able to run this classic game and compete with your friends.

Cool Links of the Week

Lemonade is not your traditional renter’s insurance company. They operate to keep costs down and premiums low. Mozilla Thunderbird is also an amazing e-mail client, and they could use your help.

That wraps up this week’s interesting, weird, and cool news. We’ll see you next week.

The Frustration of Injury

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

Finn balor with inverted grays calendar colors.
Unfortunately, The Demon King is out again.

The WWE is often seen as the hallmark of Pro Wrestling careers, but it can also be frustrating and disappointing. If a star with potential doesn’t get a big break, then one who is about to gets injured instead.

Such is the case with Finn Balor.

After coming back from an injury, he apparently suffered a concussion at the hands of Jinder Mahal. This could mean that he’s out of action for even longer before being able to come back.

The reason fans get frustrated with situations like this is due to the fact that potential feuds are passed over due to such circumstances.

It further illustrates the reason why there needs to be more intermediary organizations that are organic so that more training grounds exist. The unfortunate reality of the NWA diminishing is that such training grounds went away.

Though the likes of Jim Cornette and others have tried to re-create these environments, they don’t always last either due to finances or behind the scenes politics.

Though NXT is a great start, that brand only holds those who have already been in the indy promotions and aren’t far from the twilight of their careers. Look at AJ Styles and Bobby Roode as they are practically in their 40’s.

What companies like the WWE need are more home grown talent and in order to accomplish this, they will have to franchise other brands in order to do so.

Otherwise, they’ll keep running into the issue of a diminishing main roster plagued with injuries and frustrated fans.