Engaging in a bit of pedantry this morning
Last night we played trivia, and we were victorious for the second straight night. It was a nice pay-off too. We won in spite of choosing the wrong round to double. Even though we got the right answer, one question is bothering me.
The question was, name two of the five "major" strip hotel/casinos that are located south of Tropicana Avenue, beside the Tropicana Hotel/Casino itself. We put down Luxor and Mandalay Bay, both of which were correct. We also came up with Excalibur and South Point, but couldn't think of a fifth answer. Then when the host read the answers, he said the two we listed, plus Excalibur, and then added the Hooters Hotel/Casino and the Four Seasons.
There is a Four Seasons to the south of Tropicana but it's completely contained within the Mandalay Bay Hotel, and it is only four floors in size. Even if there were 100 rooms per floor (there aren't), that's only 400 rooms. Hooters has just under 700. South Point has nearly 2,200 rooms, plus a spa, 64 lane bowling alley, and a 16 screen movie theater. It's big. It is a little to the south of the rest of the Strip, but it is definitely south of Tropicana.
Conclusion? Either there are only four "major" hotel/casinos to the south of Tropicana, and we should exclude the Four Seasons, or there are five, still excluding the Four Seasons but adding South Point.
In the end, we got the answer right. But it just feels wrong.
* * *
James Gandolfini was one of my favorite actors, as he didn't limit himself in his roles. He stretched it. And I'm not knocking anyone who is saying any of the positive things being said about him, as we mourn his passing. I just note the fact that we as a people don't say negative things about the dead, even when they're people we didn't like. We might have to remain silent, but the negatives usually get buried when someone famous passes away. I have another thought on that topic, but that's best saved for another day.
From "True Romance" to "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone", I never saw a performance by James Gandolfini that I didn't truly enjoy. Often he played a criminal with a thug-like quality. Even when portraying a "gay hitman" in "The Mexican", his ability to intimidate and menace was right there. But he could do so much more. He could do drama, he could do comedy, in fact I can't imagine a role he couldn't play. This isn't a knock on Dwayne Johnson, but a few nights ago I caught about four minutes of "The Tooth Fairy" and I thought about how much better Gandolfini would have been in that role (although he might have been a bit old to be a hockey enforcer).
"Mr. Wonderful" is a decent rom-com and while his role was small, Gandolfini was very good in it. "Surviving Christmas" also put his vast range on display. He was the best part of "The Mighty" as the murderer on parole who kidnaps his son. The film wasn't great but he was.
I will miss him. RIP
* * *
The FBI disclosed it is using drones to conduct surveillance in the U.S. I don't understand the fuss. The drones make watching people and places less manpower intensive. It doesn't give them any major increase in what they can do without the drones.
Maybe you don't understand how 9/11 has changed our lives in terms of how limited our privacy really is when we are out in public. In most major cities, any time you're out of doors, there is a good chance a camera can and does record what you're doing. Traffic cameras, building security cameras and the like blanket where we live. Only inside our homes are we safe from those cameras.
So tell me, what's the difference between using a drone and putting agents outside someone's home? With the cameras and parabolic sound recording equipment that is available, they could record anything and everything someone might do when not behind closed doors and drawn shades.
Again, I don't see the fuss.
* * *
So I dropped the car off for some work this morning, knowing it won't be just the $659 I was quoted. I was right. More like $1,500. Maybe more. But, they were nice enough to give me a voucher for a rental, since I most likely won't get my own car back until some time tomorrow.
Which is fine. Better it be done right than quick, since I can get where I need to go tomorrow with the rental. But the interesting thing was when it came to the collision damage waiver coverage. And please, no lectures about how my insurance covers it and I'd only be on the hook for my deductible. For one day it isn't so bad.
But there were two choices for the CDW. $19 and $11. Being a finance and numbers type, of course I asked what was the difference between the two. The answer was two words. "Roadside Service." Now I pay $49 annually for Triple AAA, so I wasn't going to spend the eight bucks in any event. However, the last time I rented from this company, the roadside service was thrown in for free. I thought about it for a moment. At $8 per day, that's $240 per month. They must make huge profits on that item, since most people don't ever need it. What a racket!
* * *
This Date in History:
On this date in 1214, The University of Oxford received its charter.
On this date in 1605, Tsar Feodor II (16 years old) is assassinated after ruling for only three months.
On this date in 1756, a British garrison is imprisoned in the Black Hole of Calcutta.
On this date in 1782, Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States.
On this date in 1837, Queen Victoria becomes Great Britain's monarch.
On this date in 1840, Samuel Morse receives his patent for the telegraph.
On this date in 1877, Alexander Graham Bell installs the world's first commercial telephone service, in Hamilton, Ontario.
On this date in 1893, Lizzie Borden is acquitted.
On this date in 1940, Italy begins an unsuccessful invasion of France (somehow the phrase "Italian Army" doesn't inspire confidence that they will carry out any mission successfully).
On this date in 1943, the Detroit race riots break out, lasting three days.
On this date in 1948, "Toast of the Town" makes its TV debut. It will later become the Ed Sullivan Show.
On this date in 1972, the 18.5 minute gap in the tape recordings made in President Nixon's office is discovered during the Watergate scandal.
On this date in 1979, ABC News reporter Bill Stewart is murdered by a Nicaraguan soldier. The killing is captured on tape and causes international outrage at the Somoza regime.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Adam Ferguson
Richard Lodge
Errol Flynn
Terence Young
Audie Murphy
Martin Landau
Olympia Dukakis
Danny Aiello
Len Dawson
Stephen Frears
Anne Murray
Candy Clark
Lionel Richie
Bill Simon
John Goodman
Koko B. Ware
Nicole Kidman
Robert Rodriguez
Josh Lucas
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Movie quotes of the day come from "Kick-Ass", which co-starred Christopher Mintz-Plasse as the son of the main villain. He has a larger role in the sequel coming out in the near future:
Dave Lizewski: How do I get a hold of you?
Hit Girl: [sarcastically] You just contact the mayor's office. He has a special signal he shines in the sky; it's in the shape of a giant cock.
#2
Dave Lizewski: Jesus, guys, doesn't it bug you? Like thousand of people wanna be Paris Hilton and nobody wants to be Spiderman.
Marty: Yeah, what's with that? She has like no tits at all.
Todd: Maybe it's the porn tape, he doesn't have a porn tape.
Marty: You guys never saw "One Night In Spiderman"?
#3
Hit Girl: [after Hit-Girl and Kick-Ass have landed on the roof of Mindy's building with the jet-pack] Thanks, Kick-Ass. My daddy... He would have been proud of *both* of us.
Dave Lizewski: [removes his mask] Dave...
[extends his hand]
Dave Lizewski: ... Dave Lizewski.
Hit Girl: [smiles] I know that, dumbass.
[chuckles, then removes her own wig and mask]
Hit Girl: Mindy... Mindy Macready.
[She extends her own hand and they shake as both a formal introduction and recognition of their new partnership]
The question was, name two of the five "major" strip hotel/casinos that are located south of Tropicana Avenue, beside the Tropicana Hotel/Casino itself. We put down Luxor and Mandalay Bay, both of which were correct. We also came up with Excalibur and South Point, but couldn't think of a fifth answer. Then when the host read the answers, he said the two we listed, plus Excalibur, and then added the Hooters Hotel/Casino and the Four Seasons.
There is a Four Seasons to the south of Tropicana but it's completely contained within the Mandalay Bay Hotel, and it is only four floors in size. Even if there were 100 rooms per floor (there aren't), that's only 400 rooms. Hooters has just under 700. South Point has nearly 2,200 rooms, plus a spa, 64 lane bowling alley, and a 16 screen movie theater. It's big. It is a little to the south of the rest of the Strip, but it is definitely south of Tropicana.
Conclusion? Either there are only four "major" hotel/casinos to the south of Tropicana, and we should exclude the Four Seasons, or there are five, still excluding the Four Seasons but adding South Point.
In the end, we got the answer right. But it just feels wrong.
* * *
James Gandolfini was one of my favorite actors, as he didn't limit himself in his roles. He stretched it. And I'm not knocking anyone who is saying any of the positive things being said about him, as we mourn his passing. I just note the fact that we as a people don't say negative things about the dead, even when they're people we didn't like. We might have to remain silent, but the negatives usually get buried when someone famous passes away. I have another thought on that topic, but that's best saved for another day.
From "True Romance" to "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone", I never saw a performance by James Gandolfini that I didn't truly enjoy. Often he played a criminal with a thug-like quality. Even when portraying a "gay hitman" in "The Mexican", his ability to intimidate and menace was right there. But he could do so much more. He could do drama, he could do comedy, in fact I can't imagine a role he couldn't play. This isn't a knock on Dwayne Johnson, but a few nights ago I caught about four minutes of "The Tooth Fairy" and I thought about how much better Gandolfini would have been in that role (although he might have been a bit old to be a hockey enforcer).
"Mr. Wonderful" is a decent rom-com and while his role was small, Gandolfini was very good in it. "Surviving Christmas" also put his vast range on display. He was the best part of "The Mighty" as the murderer on parole who kidnaps his son. The film wasn't great but he was.
I will miss him. RIP
* * *
The FBI disclosed it is using drones to conduct surveillance in the U.S. I don't understand the fuss. The drones make watching people and places less manpower intensive. It doesn't give them any major increase in what they can do without the drones.
Maybe you don't understand how 9/11 has changed our lives in terms of how limited our privacy really is when we are out in public. In most major cities, any time you're out of doors, there is a good chance a camera can and does record what you're doing. Traffic cameras, building security cameras and the like blanket where we live. Only inside our homes are we safe from those cameras.
So tell me, what's the difference between using a drone and putting agents outside someone's home? With the cameras and parabolic sound recording equipment that is available, they could record anything and everything someone might do when not behind closed doors and drawn shades.
Again, I don't see the fuss.
* * *
So I dropped the car off for some work this morning, knowing it won't be just the $659 I was quoted. I was right. More like $1,500. Maybe more. But, they were nice enough to give me a voucher for a rental, since I most likely won't get my own car back until some time tomorrow.
Which is fine. Better it be done right than quick, since I can get where I need to go tomorrow with the rental. But the interesting thing was when it came to the collision damage waiver coverage. And please, no lectures about how my insurance covers it and I'd only be on the hook for my deductible. For one day it isn't so bad.
But there were two choices for the CDW. $19 and $11. Being a finance and numbers type, of course I asked what was the difference between the two. The answer was two words. "Roadside Service." Now I pay $49 annually for Triple AAA, so I wasn't going to spend the eight bucks in any event. However, the last time I rented from this company, the roadside service was thrown in for free. I thought about it for a moment. At $8 per day, that's $240 per month. They must make huge profits on that item, since most people don't ever need it. What a racket!
* * *
This Date in History:
On this date in 1214, The University of Oxford received its charter.
On this date in 1605, Tsar Feodor II (16 years old) is assassinated after ruling for only three months.
On this date in 1756, a British garrison is imprisoned in the Black Hole of Calcutta.
On this date in 1782, Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States.
On this date in 1837, Queen Victoria becomes Great Britain's monarch.
On this date in 1840, Samuel Morse receives his patent for the telegraph.
On this date in 1877, Alexander Graham Bell installs the world's first commercial telephone service, in Hamilton, Ontario.
On this date in 1893, Lizzie Borden is acquitted.
On this date in 1940, Italy begins an unsuccessful invasion of France (somehow the phrase "Italian Army" doesn't inspire confidence that they will carry out any mission successfully).
On this date in 1943, the Detroit race riots break out, lasting three days.
On this date in 1948, "Toast of the Town" makes its TV debut. It will later become the Ed Sullivan Show.
On this date in 1972, the 18.5 minute gap in the tape recordings made in President Nixon's office is discovered during the Watergate scandal.
On this date in 1979, ABC News reporter Bill Stewart is murdered by a Nicaraguan soldier. The killing is captured on tape and causes international outrage at the Somoza regime.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Adam Ferguson
Richard Lodge
Errol Flynn
Terence Young
Audie Murphy
Martin Landau
Olympia Dukakis
Danny Aiello
Len Dawson
Stephen Frears
Anne Murray
Candy Clark
Lionel Richie
Bill Simon
John Goodman
Koko B. Ware
Nicole Kidman
Robert Rodriguez
Josh Lucas
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Movie quotes of the day come from "Kick-Ass", which co-starred Christopher Mintz-Plasse as the son of the main villain. He has a larger role in the sequel coming out in the near future:
Dave Lizewski: How do I get a hold of you?
Hit Girl: [sarcastically] You just contact the mayor's office. He has a special signal he shines in the sky; it's in the shape of a giant cock.
#2
Dave Lizewski: Jesus, guys, doesn't it bug you? Like thousand of people wanna be Paris Hilton and nobody wants to be Spiderman.
Marty: Yeah, what's with that? She has like no tits at all.
Todd: Maybe it's the porn tape, he doesn't have a porn tape.
Marty: You guys never saw "One Night In Spiderman"?
#3
Hit Girl: [after Hit-Girl and Kick-Ass have landed on the roof of Mindy's building with the jet-pack] Thanks, Kick-Ass. My daddy... He would have been proud of *both* of us.
Dave Lizewski: [removes his mask] Dave...
[extends his hand]
Dave Lizewski: ... Dave Lizewski.
Hit Girl: [smiles] I know that, dumbass.
[chuckles, then removes her own wig and mask]
Hit Girl: Mindy... Mindy Macready.
[She extends her own hand and they shake as both a formal introduction and recognition of their new partnership]
posted by me at 11:23 AM
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