stuckincincy

What are the odds of at least getting yer dough back in any game in any State's plethora of their games? Substantially less. I've read often that at a gambling casino, the best odds you get is 3 or 4% with blackjack. Gambling is what it is...a few savants, a few crafty souls that beat their odds - but the whole idea of a gambling enterprise is to peel the maximum number of bucks off of the vast majority.

I re-read and see. I missed pedestrian and accept correction. However, given a State's bureaucracy and primacy, I still wonder how a private citizen can pay to construct a bridge over a patch of part of the Interstate Hwy. System, that with serendipity, benefits a particular private organization...one wonders regardless, how an "anonymous" contribution is now public. Who is this guy? Why is he altruistic? Does he have an agenda in his back pocket? Dunno - I smell a rat. Of course I can be wrong.

You are doing well, plenz - glad to hear it!

...by Ray Cooklis, Cincinnati Enquirer. 07/09/08: http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...90312/1019/EDIT

Good post.

I'll add that when food drives come around, like the US Postal Union one - don't forget the personal hygiene products and cleaning products. Shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, hand soap, laundry detergent, windex, polident and the like. Paper, pencils and pens, are always welcome for young and old. 9v batteries for smoke detectors. Purchase them when on sale, using the coupons.

Thanks for the location clarification. Down here, a couple of members of the Cincinnati City Council (Clowncil) have pushed for slots at the horse race tracks. For several years. That moneyed crowd that wants to build OH casinos are their allies. Back when I was a barfly, I mentioned the idea to a fellow barfly, who was a big race bettor. I thought he would like the idea - but to my surprise, he was very much opposed. His objection was that if there were slots at River Downs and the Lebanon trotter tracks, his da*n wife would want to tag along! I felt his pain... I wish they had OTB here like, NYS, or Dial-A-Bet like PA. The worse you can do betting on the ponies is what?...a one-in-12 shot at getting your money back?

Perhaps not... CIN: RB Rudi Johnson. FB Jeremi Johnson. WR Chad Johnson. The recently-departed LB Landon Johnson (good player - they should have kept him). 2005 - 2006 back-up QB Doug Johnson. CIN...one winning season, one play-off game in the last 17 years.

From the article by Mr. Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 07/08/08... ..."When the USGA told Oakmont it would not bring a U.S. Open back to the club until a new bridge was built over the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Druckenmiller agreed to pay for the bridge as long as his donation remained anonymous. Druckenmiller paid between $500,000 and $800,000 for the bridge.". That strikes me as odd. In May, a heavy transport truck carrying an overweight load (legally - permits, escorts) broke away and wiped out 2 vertical support girders of an overpass on the CIN I-275 loop. Repair costs exceed the above figure by a fair amount. I have no direct knowledge, but IMO, putting a new overpass over the Pike or any limited access highway is subject to long study. And again with no specific knowledge about how these things are funded, I'm not aware of a mechanism that accepts private donations for such a public work.

Indeed. The S. Indiana casino's revenue for the 1st half of this year was 1.3 billion. Yes, they hire people and pay taxes...but money does fly out of the area. http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...080063/1076/BIZ I read a year or so in the local paper, that the casinos were pleased that they met a benchmark in the sales biz, a so-called "80/20" rule, meaning that 80% of revenue comes from 20% of their customers. I doubt that 20% are tourists... There's no lack of studies that state that a casino's revenue comes mostly within a 100 mile radius. We likely will have yet another State ballot issue on gambling - the casino interests want to put a gigantic mecca more or less in the middle of the State. There have been previous Issues put to the voter - and defeated (don't ascribe wisdom to the OH voter. They voted for a minimum wage hike with yearly escalation tied to the cost of living index, and another expected Issue this November that will require that any business with 20 or more employees give 7 paid sick days per year, no questions asked. OH is easily in the top five of tax burden - which is why businesses are flying out left and right).

IIRC, when Sam Adams played that 1 year in CIN, he bought some sort of little team. Who knows? Maybe they're some sort of tax haven...

I've never been to a game, and like you, have only watched a play or two on the local tv sports reports. Seems a team shows up in Cincinnati every few years, then disappears. I went to a roller hockey game many years ago - at the Aud. It was a carnival-like atmosphere. Just a night out, having hot dogs, popcorn, and laughs. Cheap fun for a family. My guess is that attending an Arena football game is similar.

Ugh!

That's right. Ambush journalism that started in the early '70's has been the norm ever since. Portraying a public official as a prevaricating sap gets a reporter one of those hundreds of awards they hand out to each other every year.

No surprise there. Pro players, pro sports organizations almost never utter negatives about the competition. The eye to the bottom line, the profits and the paycheck, dictates "One for all, All for one".

Gussie - she did try mightily to exempt pineapple producer American Samoa from a minimum wage hike. Del Monte is headquartered in her district, so I suppose that was just...a...coincidence.

Didn't Nancy and Harry promise the Dawning of a New Age? http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_con...nal_performance

I find the printing trades fascinating, Dante. I used to hoist barroom beers with an older fellow who kept me spellbound when he talked about his experiences, and the technology, in the printing biz.

Wife 'n me keep a bottle of water in the cars when it gets hot here. It certainly heats up, but if something happens and you have to hike, hot water is better than nothing. I suppose one of those low-priced coolers that gets plugged into the lighter socket might be a good idea. I don't know how well they work, though.

The electrostatic units have fallen out of favor - evidently their efficiency drops quickly after cleaning the grids. The HEPA units are better, albeit at a large expense for the filter media. The house I bought several years back had an electrostatic unit - but the power pack eventually failed ($400 repair). The HVAC repairman suggested placing a filter in it instead. I buy the 3M red-wrapped product. It does a good job, noticeably reducing dust collection in the house - costs $10 per, and I replace then every 3 months as recommended.

Do you know an author named Lewis Carroll? He would have fit you in, somehow. I'm logging off soon. Report back tomorrow.

Next deflection attempt, please? That was a weak one...

Nice try. Your M.O. is well established...

When was that? What was the finish? I recall 1947, 1965, and looked up 1971.