BSR

Many aspects of English make it difficult to learn, but I would think one of the toughest is which syllable in a word to emphasize. French is super easy, the last syllable (any exceptions, French speakers?). Spanish is pretty easy. There is a set of rules for emphasis that you learn as a beginner and are easy to master. All exceptions to the rule will simply have an accent over the vowel of the syllable to be emphasized (like énfasis). But English words, no rhyme or reason, as if every word had its own unique rule of pronunciation.

So sorry that happened to you, but so grateful that you posted your trip report. It sounds like SR has changed, a lot, and much for the worse. I have a cousin in Atlanta that I visited a couple of times even though "visiting my cousin" was really just an excuse to go to SR. My cousin is a perfectly nice guy, but we're not really that close. Looks like it might be a while before I visit him again.

One of the most interesting characters I met on the Strip was an elderly Chinese woman who was a card-counter almost her entire adult life. She moved to Las Vegas in 1961 with her two children. Her deadbeat husband had left her, and in those days, getting child support through the legal system was impossible. She couldn't get a regular job in the casinos because she claimed "I have slant eyes." So she figured out how to count cards. Back in those days, "the boys" ran the casinos, not big corporations. Since Las Vegas was more of a small town back then, everybody knew who she was and what she was doing but tolerated it because they knew her situation. She did get banned, all the time and by every casino in town, but back then all she had to do was stay away for a couple of months, and then they'd let her play again, not like today's lifetime bans. By counting cards, she raised two kids, bought a house, and sent the kids to UNLV so that they wouldn't have to end up as card counters. Now the two kids support their mom because she doesn't do much card-counting any more. She's the one who told me that those MIT kids ruined it for everybody else. She told me about her wildest night. She went to the casino with three hundred bucks (remember, this is 1961, so factor in inflation). She had a bad night and ended up losing it all. She kept eight quarters in her purse as emergency money. She played a slot with the quarters and ended up hitting one for a hundred bucks. With that hundred, she went back to the tables, had a rollicking night, and ended up winning $5500! I was born in 1964, but I'm pretty sure $5500 was more than the average annual salary back in 1961.

You see and hear a lot when you live in Las Vegas, especially if you go to the casinos as often as I do. I once met a guy who was, at least for a time, a professional card-counter. He paid his entire way through UC Santa Barbara by playing blackjack. When I said that I thought the MIT guys ruined it for everybody, he said that you could still do it but had to be super careful. He works a day job now and plays blackjack just for fun and for some pocket money. If you're ever in the unenviable position of trying to pawn your watch for gambling money (or money for any other purposes), be advised that if you bring in a brand new Rolex to a pawn shop, they'll probably offer you only 10% of the retail price. Yikes!

I've lived half my life in poker rooms, or so it seems sometimes. All traditional poker rooms in the US are non-smoking. Most rooms, unfortunately, are adjoining the main casino, so a lot of smoke does drift in, but at least you don't have to put up with the guy next to you chain-smoking. I've never been to the other type of card room, where games like pai gow are played.

What's a "card room"? Does that mean a poker room? I can't think of what else it could refer to.

I might have said this before, but it bears repeating in this thread. Las Vegas is fortunate enough to have a Catholic Charities that is very dedicated to helping the homeless. CC has very deep pockets because their fund for the homeless always takes in more in donations every month than they can spend. If you are homeless, CC will do just about anything to help you. They will feed you, they will give you groceries from their well-stocked food bank, they will find you temporary shelter, they'll help you get permanent housing, they'll set you up on job interviews, they'll counsel you on how to handle a job interview, they'll get you nice new clothes for those interviews, they'll pay for a makeover at the barber shop/beauty salon, they'll get you into rehab if you have a substance abuse problem ... in sum, they will move heaven and earth to get you off the streets. The reason they take in more in donations than they spend every month is that they place two conditions on their assistance: 1) you have to get off the drugs/alcohol, and 2) you have to be willing to work. They've found that if a homeless person isn't willing to do those two things, they inevitably end up back on the streets. And in a feature in the local paper, the workers at Catholic Charities said that there are a surprising number of homeless who just aren't willing to work and/or aren't willing to kick their addictions. Ever since I found out about Catholic Charities' work, my view of the homeless, at least here in Las Vegas, has changed. Granted, some of the homeless I come across may not know about Catholic Charities, but whenever a homeless person asks me for money, I direct them to Catholic Charities. I even offer to let them use my phone. By the way, Catholic Charities will pick up a homeless person anywhere in the city and transport them to a temporary shelter. I don't give money to the homeless any more, but I do donate to Catholic Charities, even if its coffers are brimming. Another way that the homeless situation in Las Vegas might be different from that of other cities is the amount that the homeless make panhandling. An article in the local paper featured a husband and wife who each panhandled two hours a day, seven days a week, so 28 hours total per week between the two of them. They tracked how much they took in a year: over $47K! OK, so maybe they're better at the panhandling thing than most homeless people, but they say that such generosity to the homeless is particular to Las Vegas. It's the mentality that if I give this homeless guy a dollar, I'll hit big on the slots tonight or all my football picks will come out. And I swear, you see some people almost falling out of their cars trying to give homeless people money. I doubt such zeal is merely passionate selflessness.

I clicked on this thread thinking it was the first line of a joke. So, three straight guys come to San Francisco. The first one sees ... But no joke, just a warning. And as others mentioned, links to three guys who don't look particularly straight

I'm sorry, I must have missed the rule that you need to win at least an Olympic bronze medal before you're allowed to express an opinion. Patrick Chan, gold medalist in the team event, earned a tech score of 87.67 whereas Yuzuru Hanyu, gold medalist in the men's singles, earned a tech score of 109.55. A score of 87.67 was the 2nd highest tech score in the team event (Kolyada was just a smidge higher at 88.35), yet it would have placed Chan only eighth in the free skate standings in men's singles. Hanyu's score was good enough for only second in the free skate, behind Nathan Chen's jaw-dropping 127.64. Rippon's tech score was 86.20 whereas men's singles bronze medalist Javier Fernandez scored 101.52. Of a maximum eight jumping passes (two can be combinations, one can be a series, the other five must be individual jumps), Rippon did two double axels and zero quads, good for the third highest tech score. Twelve-year-olds can do a double axel. In contrast, Javi did two quads and two triple axels, yet Javi's tech score was only good enough for fourth in the free skate. Chan and Rippon placed ninth and tenth respectively in the overall men's singles standings. The Olympic Committee and the skating federations love the team event because it brings in ratings and money. In a sport with staggering expenses but just a trickle of revenue stream, Canada's gold medal will bring in a lot of money for Skate Canada. In that sense, I begrudgingly support the team event because anything to help with the horrible financial burden of figure skating is a good thing. But come on, the level of skating in the team event is a joke. Three nations fielded legitimate teams; three teams win a medal. Do the math.

I think you're being too harsh. Figure skating is an insanely expensive sport. Skaters not only have a "head coach," like Brian Orser for Hanyu & Fernandez, but also assistant coaches (Tracy Wilson), "specialization" coaches (Javi worked with a different coach specifically to work on his spins, plus with someone from the Ballet Nacional to work on posture & positions), and choreographers (David Wilson). Plus they have to pay a fortune for ice time, travel expenses, equipment, and costumes. Yes, the US Olympic Committee and the US Figure Skating Association do give skaters some money, but apparently it's not much, not nearly enough to cover all those staggering expenses. Yes, American figure skaters are looking to make money, because that's their financial reality. I don't know in-depth the financial situation of skaters from other countries, but I'm willing to bet the Russian Olympic Committee and Skating Federation provide a lot more financial assistance to their skaters than we give to ours.

Down to a hundredth of a point? I agree, that sounds crazy, just too much of a coincidence. At the same time, since the judges set all their GOE and PCS scores independently, with no idea of the other judges' scores, I don't see how any manipulation is possible.

Zoinks! She can do a triple loop with almost no speed going into the jump. That jump combination is like nothing I've ever seen!

Eric, if you're lucky enough to see a pair of thighs like Joey Mantia's all the time, then you live a charmed life. I don't, so Joey makes me go absolutely apeshit.

A question for you or anyone else who has some insight into the internal workings of Swinging Richards: where does all the money go? SRs makes money from cover charges, drink sales, dancer fees, a percentage of VIP privates, and apparently even take a cut of dancers' tips. Just from what they make in alcohol sales, I would think that would be enough revenue to keep a business well in the black. When you add in all their other revenue streams, it has to be an eye-popping sum. So where does all this money go? Are the owners swimming in money like Scrooge McDuck? I can't imagine that's the case because if SRs were that lucrative, people would open up competing venues to get a slice of the pie. Does the city of Atlanta impose all sorts of crazy taxes and fees on a strip club? (that's my guess, but I'd like to hear confirmation) Or does the club incur "unofficial expenses" to maintain good relations with local law enforcement and city government?

I'm totally with you on Massot. Another French figure skater I like is pairs skater Morgan Cipres.

I remember my Catholic schoolboy days when my family would occasionally go out to McDonalds during Lent for Filet O'Fish sandwiches. I thought it was kind of weird going to McDonalds & not ordering hamburgers. Little did I know that McDonalds reports that 25% of Filet O'Fish sandwiches sold in a year are ordered during Lent. Apparently the sandwich was developed back in the 1960s when a franchisee noticed he was losing Catholic customers on Fridays because McDonalds was selling only burgers back then. I hate McD's burgers. They taste weird, can't quite put my finger on it, but it's probably better not to think too much about it. But I do like the Fillet O'Fish. It's a total guilty pleasure.

This video is brilliant I love Italian food in Italy but absolutely despise Italian-American. Back in Boston I always vetoed any suggestions of Italian because almost all Italian restaurants In New England are Italian-American, not authentic Italian. Since most of my friends had never been to Italy and therefore had no idea what the difference was, they thought I was just being a pain. No, Italian-American is awful! Once you've had real Italian, your reaction to Italian-American is like those poor Italianos in the video. Fortunately, there are a couple of excellent authentic Italian restaurants in Las Vegas. They are awfully pricey, however.

Good for him that he got a gig on an American series because Spanish TV/movies don't pay sh*t. He stars in a new series that premieres on Spanish television this Wednesday. I'll be watching it ("La verdad") because it sounds interesting: the granddaughter of Spain's wealthiest banker goes missing as a teenager and reappears nine years later. Who kidnapped her? Where has she been and what has she been doing for the last nine years? But gotta say, I won't tune in for Kortajarena; the guy's really not my type. Interestingly enough, Kortajarena is from Bilbao and speaks Basque, a language spoken by only 750K people in the whole world. I always thought it would be super-cool to speak a language that almost no one else speaks/understands. Put it this way, if he's in a restaurant in LA and speaking Spanish, it's almost certain that someone at a nearby table can eavesdrop on his conversation. But Basque? No way.

I love avocados! Yes, lots of fat, but your system does need some fat, and avocados provide good heart-healthy fat. One of my favorites is avocado ice cream, which has been popular among Filipinos for decades. With the recent avocado craze, avocado ice cream is starting to be a "thing" in foodie circles. I gotta think that putting avocado in ice cream counters whatever health benefits of the avocado. Hey, I never said I ate it for my health; I just love the taste. http://www.flyingfourchette.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Avocado-Ice-Cream-9.jpg

Trust me, I've often wondered what Terry looks like under that tuxedo

I'm pretty sure that Nathan's free skate score is an Olympic record. Nathan placed first in the free skate (long program), almost nine points higher than #2 in the free skate Yuzuru Hanyu (215.08 vs. 206.17). But Nathan ended up only fifth overall because his short program score was a dismal 82.27, which put him in 17th place after the short. Hanyu's short program score was 111.68, and three other skaters each scored more than 100. Nathan was just too far behind to catch up.

I'm just not into boycotting. Don't misunderstand, if you want to boycott a business, more power to ya! It's just not something I get all fired up about. I had Domino's only once. It was surprisingly expensive for what we got, and off the top of my head, it was the worst pizza I've ever had. I'll never patronize Domino's again, because their pizza massively sucks!

Yeah, with a monster 127.64 technical score! Six quads, a couple of hands down on a quad flip, so five clean! Here is the only video I could find. There's an annoying commercial at the beginning, and there's no commentary, but at least you can watch. PS: I love his new hairdo.

This particular reality show was basically a showtune contest. The individual auditioners were put into groups, and the winning group would star in a new West End musical about a fictional boy band. I don't watch much English-language TV any more, but I ended up getting hooked on this show because (of course) some of the contestants were wicked hot. Unfortunately, none of my fave hotties were in the winning group

That's what bothers me most about Rippon. Note the attitudes of the gold and bronze medalists in the men's singles. Yuzuru and Javi both have a salt-of-the-earth humility that makes me love them all the more. Contrast that humility with Rippon's Diva Goddess bearing ... ugh! Yes, Adam's a very good skater. He placed 10th in the men's event (which is exactly where I predicted he would place). If you're the tenth best at something, out of everybody in the whole wide world, that's impressive. But honestly, if gold medalist Hanyu or Nathan Chen, who shattered the Olympic record for the free skate, walked around with Adam's supreme overconfidence, I would be turned off. Coming from the #10 skater, all the more so.