Random Friday Afternoon Ramblings.....

....Because I'm going to a place with zero internet this weekend......The Eastern Oregon High Desert.

I like the high desert....I despised it when I lived in Colorado, but I suspect that was more to do with how much I despise Denver and the brazenly materialistic ways of its money-grubbing inhabitants than with any Geographic ugliness.....

• AGAIN, RE-discovered why I really should avoid pub quizzes yesterday. Our team, with two extra players, still finished 13th out of 17......sad, really.....

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• I found the name of the trade lobbying organisation that represents the rent-to-own thieves I spoke about at length in an earlier post! Their name? No, I AM NOT making this up: "The Association of Progressive Rental Organizations" LOVE it! Why not refer to Nazis as "Progressive Neighbourhood improvement Specialists" or something like that!

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• Oregon gets awarded the first round playoffs of the NCAA men's basketball tourney for 2008. To obtain that, they had to have the State lottery discontinue state-run betting on NFL Football. Joy, now THEE only game where the state really doesn't hold much of an edge has just been removed from us, the bar owners are ecstatic because this will [theoretically] get more people addicted to video crack (video poker/video slots....available in ANY pub in Oregon), the State will lose a TON of revenue after they remove Sports Action (the name of the NFL betting game), and the FIRST round of the NCAA playoffs ALWAYS brings more flies than fans in attendance UNLESS A COLLEGE FROM WITHIN 100 miles is involved. I mean, in Portland's bracket, if, say, U-Dub (University of Washington), Stanford and Ganzaga Cheeze are in the Portland regional, OK, then, there will be some fans. But REALISTICALLY?? Come on.....A FIRST-ROUND GAME?? Do these idiots in the State Government think that tourists from ALL OVER THE U.S. (like they have been trying to dupe us....ooops, mean, sell us on) are going to come to Portland for a FIRST ROUND NCAA TOURNEY GAME?? Do you really think, if University of Georgia, or University of Miami, or Canisius College in Buffalo make it, and get assigned to play the first round in Portland....do you REALLY think that they are going to draw more than TEN FANS who will travel here to watch these first round games?? Restaurants and hotels are going to see NO significant increase in revenue during the first round of the tourney, and the State will be out MILLIONS lost from canceling Sports Action (NFL betting). Christ on a bike.....

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• So Ken lay died! NOW, who recovers money, if anybody! DOES his fortune go to his estate (his family)? Can a criminal court judge force the estate to turn over assets to Lay's victims? Can an estate be sued in Civil Litigation? Or does his family simply get to keep his wealth?? Should be interesting to see how it all plays out.....

........"heart attack" my ass!!!!

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See ya Monday.....

-E-