Casinos In Maine

So casinos in Maine. What I came away with from my little exploration into my opinion about the subject is that I really don't know.

I think that casinos are not generally a good idea. But golly they bring in a lot of cash. The way I described it was that it is like shooting yourself in the foot. It's going to hurt. It's going to be messy. It's going to ruin your shoes. But you'll heal. You can clean up the mess. With the money you get you can buy yourself a new pair of shoes and a new suit. But you're going to limp for the rest of your life.

It's going to bring in lot's of money. But there are people who should have the best interest of Maine at heart who say it's not enough. People who look at up to an extra 100 million a year and say it's a bad idea. The people who are backing this financially are not mainers they are mostly Vegas folk. The Tribes certainly are backing it but if they had the cash to make this happen on their own I suspect they would already be using it for something else.

Then one has to ask oneself who would benefit if there weren't casinos in Maine. There is some suggestion that some of the people that work for Casinos No also work for the Scocia Prince, a boat that hosts Gambling out of Portland. LL Bean opposes it. I feel sure that they aren't happy about what it would do to Maine's image which is part of their brand. But it would be tough for them to have a big stopping point in Sanford. Did you know that in order to get to the public restrooms at LL Bean you have to go through the whole store. LL Bean understands the importance geography plays. I wonder how they'd feel if the Casino was North of them rather than South. On the other hand if a casino won't bring more people to LL Bean, second only to Acadia in number of visitors each year, it sure won't bring more people to anywhere else in Maine.

A casino in southern Maine would overnight become the state’s biggest cash business. I think it's interesting though that both sides are using this as a reason why Casinos are good/bad. CasinosNo says that it would corrupt government. The Pro Casino people say it would bring in needed money and jobs.

Couldn't quickly find a pro casino website. That's a tad annoying and doesn't speak well to the importance that the pro casino forces put on Hi tech

Would it be a shot in the arm? A shot in the foot? or bullet to the femoral artery causing a hideous messy death? Beats me.

Wednesday in the Old Port

So I'm on my way to the absolute launch at the Pavilion, I walk by the alehouse on Market St. I heard some Grateful Dead coming from from inside. I thought "Isn't that nice that someone is playing them on the jukebox." Then I realized that it was Wednesday and that A Band Beyond Description played here on Wednesday. My friend Todd plays the bass for them.

I have missed live music. And these guys rock. Mostly Grateful Dead covers artfully played. It would be nice to hear some original tunes but I could listen to them play all night.

The Ratings

The Venue 3.2 It's a dive on Market St where Erik's used to be. They've put up a fence on the stairs so it's a little safer to walk down but you wonder what else it's there for. But they are smart enough to realize that a house band can be essential on a wedsnesday night and they picked a good one. 3 dollar cover not psyched about that but I suspect that that is what the band gets. It's worth the cash though.

food and drinks NA I had just come from a focus group for the Casino Question and they fed me so I wasn't hungry and I gave up alcohol for Holy Week. Yeah I know that giving up things for Lent is more normal but I'm not big into sacrifice.

People 3.5 Saw Todd and someone I recognise as someone I like but even though we've known each other for more than a decade I don't think either of us knows the other's name. They both played very well and it was good to say hi. I did find myself explaining to some lovely lady why it was that I was not drinking which I really do not like to do. One because it doesn't matter why I'm not drinking and because I really don't like trying to yell over a band to make myself heard. Course she could have just been trying to talk to me and couldn't think of anything else to say.

The music 4.3 Some glitches. They understood what it was that they were doing. They obviously enjoyed what they were doing and they did it very well. Tight so that hours of rehersal paid off. Flexible enough to allow an unplanned glitch to turn into an outstanding solo.

Overall 3.9 Great tunes. Worth the three bucks.

April Mesda NetPM

Why is it that it takes me so long to write about the NetPM's. They're great. Always good food and drink and people with a clue. This last one was terrific. It was at the American Cafe in Scarbourough. They can cook! The beer flowed freely, the crab cakes were delish, even the meatloaf was tasty. I was hoping for wings like the last event I went to there. but you can't have everything, I like wings. Probably for the best though watching me eat wings is not always pleasent.

Alex showed up. It's always nice to see her. She does a neat web advent calender for the Christmas season. Mark Ford made an appearence.

Things in IT are right on the edge of something big but not quite there. There is talent. There are ideas. There is money, less than there was, but it's still there. Things are close to coming together. .

Taurus

Try not to get too down on yourself. It isn't you, it's everyone else! As the Stars change their position, you seem to be surrounded by unpleasant people and acts of meaningless antagonism. Stop and think about this -- maybe a shift in your attitude could make all the difference. In either case, don't let what you can't control stop you from going about your day. Getting some alone time to rest and rejuvenate is your best bet this evening.

That was my horoscope today. didn't notice alot of antagonism just not alot of oomph. I went to another Status party tonight. They've done better. Good to see dru and heidi. Ran into steve and jane that was cool. caron reminded me that these are networking things, so i passed out some cards and split. Amanda the paleontologist-model showed up with a boyfriend, she looked good. Met Barney a local actor whose work I like. Can't remember his last name though.

Note the lack of new links. C'mon folks you have something to say put it on the web and let me know about it.