Genny Shawcross Surfaces On A Brazilian Beach Declaring She's In Love, Cornbread At Cocks Game & A Bloody Mary
The future of Vegas seems boring: Hitting on waitresses is about to be history
Video craps. Video blackjack. Video roulette. AI craps dealers. Robot drink waitresses. Robot bartenders (they're coming; yes, I know there are early robots doing work on the Strip).
F-this.
I want to hear from someone who thinks the lack of human interaction coming our way in the future is a good thing. I get why casinos would eliminate women walking around with a tray of drinks. This robot can carry many more waters than Heather can get on her tray. Plus, the robot doesn't need sick days and doesn't start drama with the other drink robots.
That said, I stand by the statement that the future lack of human interaction is going to cost us big time. Elon Musk talks big about repopulating the world. How are we going to repopulate the world when guys blowing through thousands of dollars can't take the robots home after tipping them a few bills?
This is a huge problem.
A year ago, on a Reddit Technology page, a user commented about a trip to Vegas: "I was just out there a few weeks ago and I couldn’t believe how few tables with real people exist. Roulette, craps, baccarat etc all computers and robots now. Funny though, every bar I went to had actual bartenders."
For now.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
I think our local rec ball price went up, but readers tell me it's still a good value
The best message I received was from Martin S., who reminded me that this price is way less than that loser Alyssa Milano is paying this summer.
That put things in perspective.
Yes, that's for both boys.
15 regular-season games. Maybe a couple of rec tournament games. Jersey and hat. Guaranteed practice time.
Have any of you been priced out of youth sports? I'm not looking to rag on you. I'm just like the rest of you wondering where these prices are going and when we'll hit a breaking point.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
The War on NFL Chain Gangs
For those of you who haven't been following along, Screencaps now believes that chain gangs will be history, possibly as soon as the 2025 season, based on what the NFL quietly announced last summer.
The days of bringing out the chains appear to be history.
— Lee D. in Tampa opines:
Never fully understood the vile hatred of the chain gangs. Are the measurements an exact science? No. And neither is where linesmen mark the ball down, either. Don't see folks screaming about getting rid of the zebras.
Far, far more games are decided by pass interference/phantom pass interference, both offensive and defensive interference, holding/phantom holding. How many Thursday night games this past season did we see games turn on blown face mask calls?
Here's the key element very few people seem to understand or factor in: The players and coaches (or folks in the stadium not in luxury boxes) don't have access to the (unofficial) yellow line during the play. There are all kinds of examples of players looking for, reaching out or running towards the sticks. Take the chain gang away, they don't know where the first down is (unless someone has X-ray vision from as far away as the middle of the field looking through a moving crowd to find an 18-inch pylon on the ground in a split second when you have been brow beaten by coaches since the age of five to keep your head up.
Not sure why so many are triggered by the chain gang. Those guys play a vital role for players, coaches and most fans in the stadium. Could the NFL put a chip in the football to determine a first down by a fraction of an inch? Sure. Doesn't replay with officials in the stadium already help decide the close calls, with plenty of video evidence to display at the stadium and on TV?
There are much bigger problems with officiating in the NFL than someone in their recliner in Long Beach being triggered by the chains.
— EgginDawg shares:
Preparing for Snowmaddedon 25 here in the ATL. I’m surprised this topic is just now surfacing…I’ve noticed the same issue in the NCAA! I can’t count on 1 hand the number of times I’ve seen an actual measurement take place in college this year. Typically, the line judge spots the ball- almost exclusively on a yardage line (rarely in-between a line), takes a quick gander, and then moves the chains, FIRST DOWN! Rarely are spots reviewed, measurements even less. Just my observation, but it’s uncanny.
No doubt, this is about speeding the game up so they can have that doofus run out at scheduled breaks with that epic and universally hated electronic 3:30 sign that chaps the ass of those actually at the game. At home, GREAT, time to take a leak and grab a beer from the garage.
Thanks to Disney/ ESPN it’s all about the commercials, they continue to ruin the game.
Breakfast Prices Are Out Of Control: Confirmed
I was at Aldi last night. Eggs were $4.53 a dozen and that was up over 53 cents from the last time I was in the store because I remember the price being in the 3s. Yes, I should've taken a photo last night for historic reasons.
— Rob in Texas tries to help out those who want a breakfast:
I know Whataburger is regional but you can order a la carte. Just need to order taker know before placing the order Scrambled eggs and three slices of bacon is less than four dollars. I have a soda so it pushes $6. Granted it’s fast food and the bacon is microwaved. But if you have some Abuelas in the kitchen, the eggs can be pretty good.
— Jim in San Diego adds:
There are NO good values in restaurants right now, thanks to the current administration pumping trillions of fake dollars into the economy the last three years. Food prices are through the roof, minimum wage got jacked up, and so restaurants are being squeezed.
Sunday mornings after Mass, I usually stop at my Moose Lodge for breakfast. When I first started this six, seven years ago, the meal was $5, through in a $2 tip, and I was in the hole for $7. Still a little pricey for eggs, bacon, English muffin and home fries, but for once a week not too bad.
This week, the huevos rancheros were $15, plus now a $6 tip.
And the thing is, at the Moose, the cook team, the wait staff, the bar tender – we’re all volunteer members. Nobody gets paid for being there, outside tips for the wait staff and bartender. (I’m the food safety officer – meaning I make sure anyone volunteering in the kitchen or behind the bar has a current county food handler’s card.) That price increase is just for the cost of the food and utilities. Our building is paid for, but just keeping the lights on and doors open is getting ridiculously expensive.
As for your young’uns beating you in competition, my second kid was about 8 or 9 when he took me down in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit on the PS2. He was bouncing around yelling and celebrating, and I’m thinking, "Okay, I gotta take this more seriously now," and so we ran it again … and he whipped me again. I was proud of him, albeit I did feel a little old.
How far would you drive for a true Philly cheesesteak?
— Economist Jared P. in Ohio emails:
The distances to the closest McDonald's reminds me of college where once a year I would drive from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia with a group of friends for a cheesesteak. Most years it was just for the cheesesteak and then one year we grew smart and caught a Phillies game as well. The drive was only 140 miles one way but it was on the I-95 the whole way.
Unique memorabilia in your collection
— Troy tells me:
VP from Slippery Rock University and had the great privilege of going to Vegas to see our QB up for the Campbell Trophy (Academic Heisman). He was the only Division II finalist, and while Jalen Milroe won, it was an honor for him and the University.
They also induct the annual Hall of Fame class and it was stacked. The room was packed with dignitaries, and the event was wonderful.
That being said, I thought you would appreciate the Largent jersey I won during the silent auction. Love Largent. Love his hustle. Love his politics. Great night, and just so happened to run into Archie Manning and Phil Fulmer while there.
Great night. Though, the best part was that the Rodeo National Finals were being held in Vegas at the same time. Interesting mix of fans.
Appreciate you and the work you are doing for the fans.
L.A. fires
— Jim in San Diego knows this life very well:
Grew up in tornado country like you, so moving to San Diego at age 17 with my family my concern was earthquakes. In 45+ years here, only quake I felt was Northridge in 1994.
Brush fires have been another story. You saw the photo of that deck at my folks’ house sticking out over the canyon – they were evacuated a couple times over the years, one sister has been evacuated, and we’ve had friends and family come stay with us when they were evacuated.
And my second kid and I were evacuated in 2001 from Mataguay Scout Reservation when arsonists started a fire with bottle rockets outside Boy Scout summer camp.
My wife has our evacuation kit already in place – marriage license, vehicle pink slips, insurance and banking info, passports, etc. – all in a small carryall she can grab if the order comes.
Now, we live in a regular suburban tract a half mile or more from the nearest open space, so our house is not at high risk.
But it’s still harrowing when the entire sky is covered with smoke and the only sunlight coming through is an eerie, dark orange.
About 21 years ago when the Cedar Fire was ravaging San Diego County, I was an editor at the North County Times newspaper. We put the next day’s paper to bed about midnight at our Escondido plant, then got all the reporters and production computers ready to move to our coastal plant in Oceanside should the evacuation order come in. After that was done, I decided to swing east on the way home and see how far down the hill the fire had come toward town. As I was driving out toward Lake Wohlford, I saw firetruck after firetruck coming in off Interstate 15 and heading up the hills toward the fires: The license plates on the firetrucks were from Arizona and Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. And then as I got into the neighborhoods that were at risk but not yet evacuated, I saw the most amazing thing: At 2 a.m., everyone was out in their front yards and driveways to greet and cheer these firefighters who’d driven all day, hundreds of miles to come try to save their homes. They were bringing out sandwiches and coffee and handing them up to the grateful crews as the trucks crawled through the neighborhood. Little kids in their pajamas were standing in their yards waving to the firefighters, who were all waving back.
I lived about 3 miles away, so it wasn’t MY neighborhood (not yet!), but I parked my car in an open curb spot and got out, and started waving, too. Seemed like the least I could do.
And they did stop the fire from getting those homes, that neighborhood. Didn’t save all the homes in the region, of course. Not that year.
We’ve lost a few firefighters the last couple of decades here in San Diego County fighting brush fires. When you drive up into Julian and Romana east of here, you see the stretches of road named after them.
— Steve B. in Grand Junction, CO shares:
I can't comment on the current wildfires, but my dad worked for the Forest Service and was sent out to fight fires all over the west, including many of those big ones around L.A.
He'd be gone a couple of weeks, then would come back home with a nice paycheck, and a backpack full of Skoal cans they'd give out to the firefighters, (this was the late 70's.). We didn't have much money growing up, so every time he got back from a fire, he'd use that overtime/hazzard pay to take us to Disneyland. My brother and I were the only people in America rooting for forest fires.
Kinsey:
Disclaimer: Save the emails. Steve B isn't some heartless asshole like Keith Olbermann. He wasn't rooting for your houses to burn down back when he was a kid.
— John from SD writes:
I didn’t understand how fire containment was measured until roughly four years ago. A local fire department was hosting a bbq lunch for first responders and military personnel. We (military personnel) arrived early, imagine that, and a few of us were hanging out in the station break room with the firefighters. It was during one of the many SoCal fires, they had the local news coverage on, and fire "containment" was brought up by the reporter/interview with the on scene commander.
I asked the FF’s "what exactly does % of containment mean?" FF quickly got up and went to the dry erase board, drew a diagram of a fire, and started to explain. In a nutshell, it’s the amount of hose (control) you have around a fire. Think of it this way, draw a box around a fire, if you have one quadrant of the fire/box under control, you have 25% containment.
So that’s my understanding. Welcome to feedback/corrections from SC’s like Terry in MN who are true heroes out on the front lines.
The L.A. fires hit close to home this week: Exotic Wood Guy Mike fought like hell to save his own house
— Mike in Pasadena is known as the Exotic Wood Guy who travels the world buying exotic wood from all sorts of interesting places. Mike ended up in a battle for his house:
Still here, reading daily. Saw the column this morning and it hit close to home. Even though I signed off my emails "Mike in Pasadena" I technically live in Altadena, Pasadena is more recognizable so therefore we say that.
We evacuated last night, I didn’t think we needed to. We came back this morning to find our neighborhood ablaze. It’s unlike anything I could have imagined.
We were able to save our home, but the houses across the streets (we have a corner lot) were completely ablaze when we pulled up at 6 am today.
We lost a shed that I built last summer for my wife’s very extensive Christmas decoration collection, filled with Christmas items she’s acquired over the years from European Christmas markets, and other places, including my Mother’s antique ornaments.
Mrs Exotic Wood and I fought like Hell to save 2 nearby houses with hoses, and were successful.
The entire town of Altadena has been devastated. It’s unlike anything I have ever seen, and unlike anything I would have ever thought I would be part of.
We are OK, we will be OK, we will rise tomorrow just like the sun does every day. There is no other option.
Screencaps readers who like to use Google Maps
— Lance from Utah says:
I am with Alex from NC and love going to Google Maps to surf around checking stuff out. I also check out stadiums, bars and restaurants. My favorite is going to Blue Golf and looking at the course map while watching the PGA. Here is a link to this weekend's PGA tourney. https://course.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/course/course/waialaecchawaii/holemap.htm?hole=1&next=overview.htm%231
Great way to watch golf on TV.
— Kurt tells me:
I'm totally with Alex in NC. I explore Google maps for fun. I regularly look up locations mentioned on screencaps or news articles. I like to know about the world around me. I consider myself to be very knowledgeable about world geography. That being said, while my kids have never beat me in any athletic event, my oldest can and regularly does best me in map quizzes. He had the countries of the world memorized in alphabetical order when he was 4, he's now 9 and hasn't slowed down a bit. I find myself regularly doing map quizzes in my free time just to keep up. And don't get me started on flags.
— Brent P. in Carmel, IN wants in on this topic:
I just want to say that I am first in the clubhouse, in that I am only 2.1 miles from McDonalds. Count me as the closest to McDonalds for now. Just want to ask how many people looked up Grand Portage MN on google maps. I know I did. I bet the people over at google are wondering why all of sudden at 9:15 Grand Portage heated up on the maps. Anyway, Terry is a natural! I loved his writing style and content, and gorgeous dog. Can’t wait to hear more from him.
Kinsey:
I'm with you, I want to hear more from Terry. I could tell based on his writing style in the original email that Terry has more to tell us and more to share. It's just a matter of digging into what life experiences Terry has to tell from way up on Lake Superior.
— BS in Lake Orion was excited by Terry's report from Grand Portage:
Good morning Joe,
I had to write! You have ingrained yourself so deeply into the people of our country that I had to share an example of your reach. When I read about Terry in Grand Portage Minnesota I had to look on Google Maps (like so many of your readers). Here’s where it gets interesting; I live in Michigan, have kids in Grand Rapids and Grand Haven so the word Grand is in my maps memory. Today the town of Grand Portage showed up as I started to type - before the towns in Michigan! Google knows people are reading Outkick!! Very cool.
PS, I am planning a road trip this summer around Lake Superior. Almost 1900 miles door-to-door from Lake Orion. Maybe a beer with Terry is a good idea.
Thanks for your great work,
On the Associated Press pushing the narrative that global warming causes cold winters and that's why it's going to be cold in Texas
That's exactly what the AP reported this week. "Why more frequent cold blasts could be coming from global warming," the AP headline read.
Of course, they used "could be."
There "could be" all sorts of stuff going on in the world. Good one, AP.
— Keith checks in:
Don't worry there are millions of us who won't bow to the climate clowns. 4 Diesel tractors, 3500 diesel truck, both mowers gas, we'll never bow! I will say if global warming has caused our pastures to freeze and be covered in snow I'll take it, I hate when it's all mud. Before any libs lose their shit and start calling peta, don't worry idiots, they have barn access if they choose to head there. Only in the winter though, wonder if there will still be clowns bitchin they have to stay outside spring, summer, and fall? Trust me I won't give a shit
— Dean in Fond du Lac, WI says:
I worked at a government environmental protection agency for several decades and am now retired from that agency. I used to discuss "global warming" with the lefty true believers, especially those tasked with monitoring air pollution, about this topic. I noticed that the global warming acolytes subtly renamed this topic to be "climate change" years ago as it seemed overnight that this happened and not gradually. I told my co-workers that the reason they changed it to "climate change" was that they could blame ANY weather phenomena on "climate change", whether it be warmer or colder, wetter or drier, more hurricanes or less hurricanes, and more tornados or less tornados. Since we only have less than a century and a half of written weather observations and even less time of really accurate weather records, anything that they say can be taken as gospel by the uninformed.
I have several arguments that the true believers ignore:
- 10,000 years ago, Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest had glaciers covering the land that were a mile high thick. The glaciers eventually melted and created the Great Lakes as well as numerous smaller lakes in Wisconsin. Was it because the indigenous natives living here a the time caused them to melt because of all of the campfires that they created to stay warm put so much CO2 into the atmosphere that it warmed up and melted the glaciers? I never got an answer. Of course, the real answer is that the Sun warms and cools and the glaciers grew because the Sun cooled down and the glaciers melted when the Sun warmed up.
- I remember in the 1970’s, the same type of scientists were bemoaning Global Cooling. I have never gotten a good answer from the true believers why the quick turnaround in the 1980’s. Banning chemicals in aerosol cans at that time is not the full answer as to why it went from global cooling to global warming. But the true believers can then use the term "Climate Change".
- In arguing with the true believers, I asked them how much the Sun contributes to warming and cooling. Crickets…
- Finally, NASA has had monitors on Mars for over a quarter century now due to various spacecraft that they have landed on the Red Planet. Interestingly, Mars has had global warming over that time. Bringing that up to the true believers, I get brushed off. After all, we don’t have anything spewing CO2 the atmosphere on Mars, so the only explanation is that the Sun is warming up.
- Hell, the climate is constantly changing and has throughout the earth’s history. It is never constant. Again, no explanation about that from the true believers.
Disclaimer – I am not a scientist or an environmental engineer. I am a well read IT Professional who analyzes both sides of an argument and try to make informed decisions.
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That's it this Thursday morning with Notre Dame-Penn State on the menu tonight from Miami. Let's get dialed in for football after a week of fires and the death of the chain gangs.
It's cold. It's snowy. But we'll all survive. Let's go have a great day.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com