All posts by Rob

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FB Restored!

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2 weeks ago my Facebook account was hacked and I lost all access. FB offers NO customer support for individuals. There are help pages that don’t (help). After extensive research, it seemed the only way people were successfully getting accounts restored was through the intervention of State Attorney General offices. So, after a week of no success on my own, I submitted a request through the CT State AG website with the details. The next morning I received a reply from an intern requesting some additional details, which I provided. I did have to establish a new email address not associated with a previous account. This afternoon, I received an email that FB had taken action on my account. I tried to login and I was able to successfully restore access. All the previous hacker email addresses had been removed and it looks like my account was actually locked out by FB the whole time as there are no suspicious posts or messages.

If you use FB as your business site, I SERIOUSLY recommend you rethink that practice. One thing I learned is people have way too much trust in FB to help them. FB only cares about the ad revenues and even those sites get abysmal support. I have added 2 factor authentication through an app as a requirement so a hacked email account doesn’t give up an access code again.

If you are reading this on FB and aren’t sure it’s me, contact me through my cell (number is on our website).

Uncategorized

FB Hacked!

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Last night, my (Rob’s) Facebook account was hacked. When I got up this morning, I had multiple email notifications about changes to my account. I had 2 different email addresses and a phone associated with the account. It looks like 1 email may have been compromised first and from there, the hackers loaded a email address, changed passwords, and removed all of my email and phone info. Of course, I clicked on all the “this wasn’t me” notices in my email.

This type of issue is one reason we maintain a family website and don’t just rely on social media for our communication. Facebook doesn’t have a helpdesk you can call or even chat with for personal profile issues. I don’t know if this will ever get fixed or not. I have found a ridiculous number of posts all over the internet that indicate people working on this type of problem for months.

For now, if you need to reach me, contact me via email or on my cell. I was able to make a post from my FB account on my cell phone and it was immediately replied to by a lot of people I don’t actually know. Don’t trust any of the comments on that post.

goats

North Country Showcase 2024

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Sawfish Lamanchas attended the North Country Showcase 2024 ADGA show at the Deerfield NH Fairgrounds. Temperatures were over 90F in CT when we hit the road on Friday afternoon. We hit a little traffic on the way there but the goats traveled fine and in under 3 hours were arrived to temperatures in the mid 70s. We had coordinated with our friends at Blue Hill Too and arrived all at the same time to camp next to each other. It didn’t take long to get the pens set up and covered with a canopy, tack area set, and travel trailer rigged out. It was nice to be ready to eat dinner at 6 and not be stressed through the evening. We took 5 milkers, 2 dry yearlings, and 6 kids for a total of 13 goats.

Trailer and pen setup
Milking parlor
Baby goat pens
Blue Hill Too’s pens with floppy ears

This show was a “6 ring show” which means we showed the goats under 3 judges Saturday (Ed Cavanaugh, Anna Thompson Hajdik, and Emily Thompson) followed by 3 different judges on Sunday (Barb Norcross, Todd Biddle, and Joanne Karohl). There were over 400 goats there and it was great to see the quality from New England.

We had a great weekend, but I’ll spare the expense and say CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina’s 2x Champion, 1x Reserve, and 1x Best of Breed was the highlight of the event.

CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina

Sawfish AS Porsche is Amanda’s milking yearling and the first udder we have freshened from E.B. Farms LL Regal. We are definitely pleased with the improvements we see over her dam, Sawfish Camellia. Tulsi and Jasmine were also in attendance. Tulsi is such a sweet, chill goat.

E.B. Farms Sunstone Tulsi
Sawfish AS Porsche
Sawfish AS Porsche
Sawfish Jasmine

Chili and her daughter Kipu are Recorded Grade due to a DNA exclusion. We were pleased with Chili’s placings throughout the weekend and look forward to her continuing to mature.

Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili
Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili
Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili

This year’s kid crop placed about as we expected. We didn’t come away with any big wins, but we got valuable feedback on the strengths of various bloodlines relative to others in the area. Unfortunately, we were too busy shuffling goats to get a lot of junior pictures.

Baby goats learning how to stand on a show string
Baby goats learning how to stand on a show string
Sawfish QS Malta
Sawfish QS Bali
Sawfish Tahiti
Sawfish AS Tesla
Sawfish QS Ferrari

Overall, we learned a lot and were very pleased to see Carolina get the wins we knew she was capable of.

CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina
CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina’s ribbons for the weekend
kids

8th Grade Awards

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The school year is coming to an end and with the transition to high school looming, 8th graders have a stacked schedule. We have already been to the last middle school band concert and field trips abound. Tonight was 8th Grade Awards night at Griswold Middle School and Amanda cleaned up. We didn’t keep exact count of everyone, but we are pretty sure that her 8 awards was the highest for an individual. She received:

Griswold Players Art Award for outstanding achievement in the arts

Sharon Kivlin Memorial Award for demonstrating a strong interest and achievement in Science while exhibiting positive attitude and work ethic

CT Association of Schools Scholar Leader (see Celebrating Amanda) for outstanding scholarship and leadership

Griswold Administration Association Award for highest grade point average in 4 subjects: Geometry (taken at the high school), Social Studies, Language Arts, and Science

Griswold Administration Association & Faculty Book Award for the two students with the highest overall grade point average

When she opened all the envelops, she found 6 books (only 1 she had already read) and checks totaling $115! I think she was happier about the books but plans to spend the money on more books.

kids

Celebrating Amanda!

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Our baby turned 14 on Saturday! Quinn took Amanda and two friends to the Providence Mall to go shopping, eat food, and play at Dave and Buster’s. We weren’t invited. In addition to a bunch of clothes, Amanda wanted a new tack set for JJ in her pink and purple colors.

On Monday evening, we attended the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) Scholar Leader Banquet. Amanda was one of two students from Griswold Middle School chosen for this award. The GMS Principal explained he allows the teachers to make the selection of awardees each year. The award is bestowed based on scholarship, leadership, and community involvement. The event was held at the Aqua Turf Club and included a formal dinner. Each student got to choose a teacher to attend with them and Amanda chose her 7th grade Language Arts teacher.

Amanda will be attending the Marine Science Magnet High School in the Fall.

goats

Nutmeg Classic 2024

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Last weekend was our first goat show of the year and the only ADGA sanctioned show in CT. The Connecticut Dairy Goat Association 2-ring Nutmeg Classic is held in Somers, CT and we took 8 goats. Quinn and Amanda did all the clipping to get the goats ready. Since the temperatures in CT this time of year can still be rather cool in the evenings, we opted to only use a 1/2″ guard to leave a longer coat to avoid dealing with blankets for the goats. For showmanship, the judge commented that the longer coat impacted placing for both Quinn and Amanda. Maybe next year we will do a shorter clip for the May show. The judges were Todd Biddle in Ring 1 and Aprit Hitch in Ring 2.

Both Quinn and Amanda used new goats for showmanship this year. Amanda chose E.B. Farms Sunstone Tulsi and Quinn used Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili. They clipped udders at the show on Saturday morning. Amanda placed 5th of 13 and Quinn was 2nd of 3.

Amanda clipping Tulsi’s udder
Quinn clipping Chili’s udder
Intermediate Showmanship lineup

For the breed classes, Chili is a recorded grade due to a DNA exclusion in her pedigree after we bought her. Unfortunately, there were not many Recorded Grade at the show, but she still won Sr. Champion, Best Recorded Grade, and Best Udder in both rings.

Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili
Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili
Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili

Tulsi was the only Lamancha milker we took. As a 2yo, 2nd freshener, she placed 8 of 9 in Ring 1 and 5 of 9 in Ring 2. While she isn’t as big as some of the others in our herd, her udder has great texture and capacity.

E.B. Farms Sunstone Tulsi
E.B. Farms Sunstone Tulsi

For the Junior Doe Show, we took 2 dry yearlings and 4 kids under 3 months old. Sawfish Kipu (recorded grade) is Chili’s daughter and was 2 of 2 in both rings. In the Lamancha under 3 month class there were 9 entries for both rings. Sawfish Chrysi was 2nd Ring 1, 1st Ring 2; Sawfish QS Bali was 6th Ring 1, 3rd Ring 2; and Sawfish Tahiti was 9th Ring 1, 4th Ring 2. For the yearlings, there were 11 entries in both rings. Sawfish QS Ferrari was 11th Ring 1, 6th Ring 2 and Sawfish AS Tesla was 3rd Ring 1, 5th Ring 2.

Baby goats tanking up before the show
Sawfish QS Ferrari
Sawfish AS Tesla

Overall, we had a good first show. In particular, we were very pleased with how Tesla looks in the ring and think she is going to continue to do better as she matures.

horse, running

Sometimes plans change

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Back in January, I posted about the Border Patrol Challenge and my running goals for 2024. In February, I got thrown from Gamble and had some down time due to the resulting bruising. I am happy report that I was able to recover and complete all 20 Border Patrol Challenge Trails for a total of 184 miles. Rusty completed 19 of the trails (I didn’t let him do the 26 miler).

Rusty making sure I don’t miss the trail marking
Running the 26 mile loop with Ian

During my CT scans in February, the doctors had noted bilateral inguinal hernias but told me not to do anything unless it became a problem . The weekend after I finished the last trail, I was running a local-ish 16 mile trail race when some pain developed – it became a problem. Since that race, I haven’t been running at all. I had to withdraw from the Traprock 50k and I’m now scheduled for surgery in June. I have been advised not to run until 4-6 weeks after my surgery, so sometime in July. That means the Twisted Branch 100k won’t happen either and I’m not going to get my 1000 miles in 2024. It’s disappointing but at least the issue isn’t more severe.

Gamble went to see Geoff Goodson for at least 3 months of training. It was definitely the right decision and Geoff is making some great progress and they are over in Salem so it’s close enough for me to stop by after work occasionally.

We have been doing a lot of projects around the farm, but we are trying to make time for relaxing occasionally. I put 4 shoes on Fiona for the first time and she was surprisingly chill about it. So this afternoon we took the mares out: Anna on Amira, Amanda on JJ, and I rode Fiona.

We will be putting some miles on the mares because they need wet saddle pads to build confidence and stamina. It’s likely to be a light year for our endurance riding but heavier goat shows. The goat status is a whole other post…

food

Shop local

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Dinner tonight is 5lbs of ribeye steak purchased from Herz Homestead as part.of a half steer. We have been buying beef from Heidi and Adam for a few years now. In comparison, the cheapest ribeyes at Walmart were $16/lb so this would be at least $80 worth of meat. I’m not saying the overall price was cheaper, but we like supporting local friends in their farming endeavors and this is definitely better than the cheapest meat at Walmart.

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