The Goat Pen

Mick and I feel the same.

Stu has done enough lamenting throughout his whole life that whatever twinge of regret he feels in that regard as he is consumed by Death's maw will be but a spit in the sea...

Do whatever the fuck Keith Richards is doing. Jesus Christ, that man has cockroach DNA in him or something.

William S. Burroughs thought that when he did heroin, he didn't age. Time just stopped, basically. He lived well into his 80's and I believe he was a heavy smoker. Just like Keith...

Just goes to show you...people think some stupid shit, especially when they're on drugs.

But what's your excuse, Pinhead?

The company I keep brings me down.

Heh

in yet another way technology is altering our lives (and driven by Millineals to some degree) casinos recognize they are losing out on a vital demographic while watching their bread and butter die off.

Elderly people have been content for decades to sit in front of slots and feed them coins in the hope of a payoff, but with multiple generations of adults having grown up with computer games, Casinos now see that they are less likely to enjoy a game of chance and would prefer a game of skill.

A company called Gamblet is now developing games of skill, for example a game similar to the old "Asteroids" game where the better you do at the game, the more money you win.

Casinos are trying to figure out a new model where someone who is good at a particular game could walk out with potentially thousands of dollars in winnings while attracting hundreds of other players who just enjoy the gaming experience.

Nevada gaming is now open to the idea of a games of skills being regulated.

I guess the assumption is that as players become more skilled at playing the game, either the payout will the drop, the game challenge will increase or another game will be introduced to balance out the field.

This approach may be troublesome however because electronic games of skill for money don't have to be limited to within the confines of the casino walls. The experience a player had sitting in front a screen at a casino can be easily replicated online.

Anyways, I thought it was interesting to see the direction of where this may be going.

I don't gamble very often - maybe once a year - and I am content to feed $20 into a slot machine and be done with it. In the off chance I win a significant amount (like $60) then I quit, cash out and go blow it on steak dinner or something.

The casino's want the guys that sit on the couch for hours playing a game.

Well, maybe it's not totally related but my nephew will spend hours watching a broadcast of other players playing some game. Apparently, there is a decent amount of coin to be made if you win the whole thing (like, in the million + range). I don't know what they are playing because I only called it "Nerd Superbowl."

any of you guys have termite protection on your home with some termite company - like where you pay a couple of hundred a year and they come out once a year, inspect and then cover you against termite damage?

The MIF does...

I was just wondering how many people had it.

when I first moved into my house I had one that carried over from the previous owner and the guys showed up once a year, spent about 10 minutes at the house and gave me a clean bill of slate, and then charged me $180 and had some wording that said I covered..

After 5 years of them never finding anything I dropped it. Now that I've dropped premium cable, I've resorted to watching these house flipper shows and maybe 1 out of 10 has serious termite damage which costs anywhere between 800 and 5k to fix.

Terminix sent me some deal where I pay $23 a month and they pretty much do the same thing the $180 a month guys did 8 years ago

I have a walk out basement and about 70% of my basement is exposed so I really wonder if I'd ever get termites.

One treatment is usually around 800. We had to do it as part of our closing on the house we rehabed.

Mine is 300 a year. Sentracon (sp?). He comes out once a year and recharges the little stations and does an inspection.

They dug a trench around my house and put some anti-termite chemical in the ground and told me it would last for 10 years.

I had a dome built over my house to hold in the mist cloud. I can't live in my house for the next 6 months but after that I have a 5 year guarantee before they have to do it again.

Saint wrote:They dug a trench around my house and put some anti-termite chemical in the ground and told me it would last for 10 years.

That was an attempt (futility be damned), paid for by your neighbors and various other town citizenry, myself included, to keep you from leaving the property...

Has it been 10 years?

coming up on the 4th anniv. of our move-in. There''s a hole in the roof so maybe the little fuckers decided to parachute in.