Shartnado Posted January 18 Posted January 18 Personally, I would like to implore everyone to stay the fuck away from gambling. I have been able to get away from it and no longer feel any urge to start again but also know very well that I absolutely have to stay away from it, because it is very goddamn addictive. I only have experience in slots but that goes for every other form of gambling available. For this reason I also have a very wary attitude towards investing, while still aggressively saving money at the same time. 2
Curt McGirt Posted January 18 Posted January 18 Gambling has sure made an enormous inroads legally in the last decade or two here in the US, hasn't it? There are casinos (as I call them; they're just slot machine parlors) all over the fucking place now. Go to a truck stop and they'll have five. The only new businesses in my town that show up anymore, when they're not more evidence of gentrification in the forms of condos and overpriced restaurants and bars, are 1. smoke shops, and 2. casinos. That's it. Online gambling is apparently totally legal. I don't know how much money exchanged hands between lobbyists and politicians in the last 20 years, but it was enough to change the entire landscape. The whole country except for maybe Utah could be Vegas (actually, more like the burnt-out husk of Atlantic City) if certain people really wanted it to be and gave it a shot. 2
Contentious C Posted January 19 Posted January 19 In a somewhat related story to my trip, I took all my nice dress shirts with me since I've had so few reasons to wear them. They're all from Charles Tyrwhitt, and I love them to pieces, except I thought I couldn't get the right size anymore. Turned out I just misread the labels for the last, oh, 3 years? No, as it turns out, I don't have 41-inch sleeves; the hint to that should have been the fact that I have long arms but I don't resemble an atavistic caveman throwback. The labels just list inches on one side and centimeters on the other, so 16 inch necks are 41 cm. I'm actually a 16/36, which is long but far from unusual. On the plus side, my confusion led me to look for deals on eBay, and there are a bunch! Maybe I can get some new shirts! 2 3
hammerva Posted January 19 Posted January 19 So how can we deal with already shitty DC Beltway that at certain times can be frustrating/terrifying; how about put a fucking Sphere like in Vegas in the National Harbor so people can stare as it. There are going to be picking up bumpers and broken headlights all over that bridge 2
Contentious C Posted January 19 Posted January 19 Having just been exposed to it, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt: that thing is FUCKING CREEPY. They frequently ran little ads and stuff on it, and some of those are pretty breathtaking to watch, but then other times, it's just a collection of emoji faces. A big yellow head and set of eyes would just come up over the horizon between some buildings, pull a bunch of faces, and then vanish again, and all I could think was, "I don't fucking do drugs! Quit making me think I have been doing drugs!" 3
Curt McGirt Posted January 20 Posted January 20 We could have a national bullet train that can get you from NYC to LA in an hour, but nope here's a giant traffic-inducing outdoors television screen. 4
NikoBaltimore Posted January 20 Posted January 20 We go to National Harbor yearly for Magfest (though missed this year's since it sold out). It can be pretty expensive and is all about that patriotism so it's not surprising they would consider putting a fucking dome. If they use it for stuff related to events like Mag I can see that being fun while there. But I'm good without it.
Technico Support Posted January 20 Posted January 20 (edited) I don't see what the allure of National Harbor is. We checked it out a few years ago...it's just a bunch of shops, restaurants, hotels, outlets nearby, and a ferris wheel? I can get all that, minus the ferris wheel and traffic, much closer to home and cheaper. Edited January 20 by Technico Support
Marcel Posted January 20 Posted January 20 2 hours ago, Technico Support said: I don't see what the allure of National Harbor is. We checked it out a few years ago...it's just a bunch of shops, restaurants, hotels, outlets nearby, and a ferris wheel? I can get all that, minus the ferris wheel and traffic, much closer to home and cheaper. That was all built in support of the MGM Casino, which is the only reason to head out there - either for gambling, the occasional good concert (took my Wife to go see Jill Scott there a couple of years ago), or things like Cirque du Soleil who set up shop around there. 1
dogwelder Posted January 20 Posted January 20 I will say National Harbor is nice during Xmas when they have the annual ice sculpture exhibit/show.
Cobra Commander Posted January 21 Posted January 21 Gonna check for leaks after having a dream where I was on an Arcadeish machine that didn’t allow anybody under 18 or over 40 to play most of the games. Also I was trying to mix a Taylor Swift song with a Taking Back Sunday song on one of the games on the machine. 1
driver Posted January 23 Posted January 23 On 1/18/2026 at 8:40 AM, Curt McGirt said: Gambling has sure made an enormous inroads legally in the last decade or two here in the US, hasn't it? There are casinos (as I call them; they're just slot machine parlors) all over the fucking place now. Go to a truck stop and they'll have five. The only new businesses in my town that show up anymore, when they're not more evidence of gentrification in the forms of condos and overpriced restaurants and bars, are 1. smoke shops, and 2. casinos. That's it. Online gambling is apparently totally legal. I don't know how much money exchanged hands between lobbyists and politicians in the last 20 years, but it was enough to change the entire landscape. The whole country except for maybe Utah could be Vegas (actually, more like the burnt-out husk of Atlantic City) if certain people really wanted it to be and gave it a shot. Not a gambler by any stretch of the imagination. The last time I gambled was at the Four Winds in '13. I put $20 in a nickel slot machine and ten minutes later I had $120 and I called it a day.
driver Posted January 23 Posted January 23 Nothing like having a warehouse lose all of its employees(they didn't have GPS trackers) and getting offered a trip there instead of what was planned. Add a huge ass impending snowstorm on top of that and leaving a day earlier to beat the storm(so you'll be there before the brunt of it hits). Without the storm worries flying out on Sunday the ticket was $750, but flying out on Sat and the ticket is $350. Another thing that gets me is the taxes on rental cars. A week's rental(corporate account) is $189, but after a "facility fee" and Virginia taxes are figured in the total is $281. WTF? If it weren't for the storm BS I'd be doing some sightseeing because the entire area seems to have Civil War memorials every ten feet. The one positive is that I finally get to experience Wawa and Sheetz. And I found out that the Lexington trip is an eight week project(different crews every week) because my employer landed a humongous university and they didn't have the manpower to take care of just that customer(let alone their existing customers), so there is a hiring surge and until they get fully staffed they are "importing" crews from other warehouses to make sure everything is covered. This is one weird job, but I enjoy it to death, but it's weird how much money they'll spend(flights, rentals, hotels) until they can properly staff a warehouse. I'm definitely enjoying the traveling and getting to experience new cities, people, food(a hot brown is a bucket list item for Lexington(that's a food, not a fetish).
Log Posted January 23 Posted January 23 Yo, Hot Brown is a Louisville dish. Real deal is at the Brown Hotel here. If you're able to travel a bit outside of Lexington, try to hit up Wallace Station. It's in the middle of some beautiful horse country with farms all around it. It's just a few minutes outside of Lexington, so not a full day trip or anything.
driver Posted January 24 Posted January 24 Is Wallace Station in Versailles? Richmond was a no go because the shred truck broke down and as it was being towed it slipped off of the tow truck and went across four lanes of traffic before crashing and not hitting any other vehicles(and then add in the weather). So spending the week in Rockford(the original plan).
Log Posted January 24 Posted January 24 4 hours ago, driver said: Is Wallace Station in Versailles? Yessir 1
driver Posted January 28 Posted January 28 Three days into Rockford and in that time I've ridden with a driver and the shred truck repeatedly broke TF down. We limped it back in on Monday. Tuesday was me driving with a helper in an area of NW IL that was used to having their stuff shredded on-site and a couple of hillbillies show up in a box truck(and almost EVERY stop has carts from the local recycling concern(and are used to getting their carts back)), we spent some time cleaning out customer's carts into our own(so that the customers felt comfortable(some did, some didn't)). Wednesday was a 400 box purge( each skid was 40-ish boxes), but turned into a 700 box purge. We sent two trucks(Peterbilt 330/Ford F-550) and three workers, and the client had 3-5 staff helping at any time. It made the day go so much easier. At the end of the day we got treated to WingStop. I grabbed my grub and headed to a Casey's to refuel my rental(and clean the windows/mirrors). That leaves a small Thursday route and a ride home to unwind.
Cobra Commander Posted January 30 Posted January 30 reading the Cow Palace Wikipedia entry.. it's owned by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, well, that makes sense.. and the former name was the "California State Livestock Pavilion" which is a less catchy name than "Cow Palace" 1
driver Posted January 30 Posted January 30 On 1/18/2026 at 8:40 AM, Curt McGirt said: Gambling has sure made an enormous inroads legally in the last decade or two here in the US, hasn't it? There are casinos (as I call them; they're just slot machine parlors) all over the fucking place now. Go to a truck stop and they'll have five. The only new businesses in my town that show up anymore, when they're not more evidence of gentrification in the forms of condos and overpriced restaurants and bars, are 1. smoke shops, and 2. casinos. That's it. Online gambling is apparently totally legal. I don't know how much money exchanged hands between lobbyists and politicians in the last 20 years, but it was enough to change the entire landscape. The whole country except for maybe Utah could be Vegas (actually, more like the burnt-out husk of Atlantic City) if certain people really wanted it to be and gave it a shot. Illinois is freaking lousy with slot shops. 1
Curt McGirt Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Re: Gambling. Here's your new Big Thing... https://www.theguardian.com/society/ng-interactive/2026/jan/30/polymarket-prediction-markets-betting
Cobra Commander Posted January 31 Posted January 31 is there a prediction market to bet on prediction markets? we must get more meta
Shartnado Posted January 31 Posted January 31 5 hours ago, Curt McGirt said: Re: Gambling. Here's your new Big Thing... https://www.theguardian.com/society/ng-interactive/2026/jan/30/polymarket-prediction-markets-betting This is exactly the kind of shit that keeps me away from what people actually consider investing instead of just saving!
Curt McGirt Posted January 31 Posted January 31 "Investing". It's just gambling. Think about that, every time somebody says to you "have you ever thought about investing?", just imagine them saying "have you ever thought about gambling?" and tell them that, see what their reaction is. 1 1
tbarrie Posted January 31 Posted January 31 53 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said: "Investing". It's just gambling. Think about that, every time somebody says to you "have you ever thought about investing?", just imagine them saying "have you ever thought about gambling?" and tell them that, see what their reaction is. It sort of is, but there are forms of investments where the risk is extremely low, and it'll still usually increase faster than interest on a cash account. (I'm talking about real investments, of course. Not this "prediction market" nonsense.) 1
Shartnado Posted January 31 Posted January 31 12 minutes ago, tbarrie said: It sort of is, but there are forms of investments where the risk is extremely low, and it'll still usually increase faster than interest on a cash account. (I'm talking about real investments, of course. Not this "prediction market" nonsense.) This is true. I have about 10% of my current liquidity in a low yield fund and add a very modest sum monthly to it. I am considering moving about a 50% of the rest to a savings account with better yield instead of the regular account where they are at the moment. But that's about as Hardcore I'm willing to go as far as investing goes. 1
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