No. Most of the tourism is Western Europeans on vacation. That has been their main target and that's why they've designed many aspects of their rebirth around a modernized version of European locations (however poorly the end result was) to attract those people.

No. Most of the tourism is Western Europeans on vacation. That has been their main target and that's why they've designed many aspects of their rebirth around a modernized version of European locations (however poorly the end result was) to attract those people.

 

Interesting.  I always thought they were more like Phenix City than Miami.

I went to school with someone who has lived her entire life in Dubai and apparently it's a huge point of contention in their culture. In general a lot of Western values are looked down upon yet they desire Western money. Apparently that is a huge portion of the reason for the more lenient laws when compared to surrounding nations. As that money has found its way into Dubai so has their economy adjusted accordingly which has resulted in a city that takes very little pride or care in its history. The historical portion of Dubai is almost never referenced nor is it a place people go unless you live there. It's definitely a tale of two worlds.

Wildlife nerds -> This has been called: "the birders' version of synchronized swimming."

https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video/CUHk6AeWUAAxi7V.mp4

I used to enjoy getting sh!tfaced, but not like this!!

 

A deadly bug that bites your face while you sleep and defecates in the bite is now in #Ohio. http://s.cleveland.com/a3ZnUHj

Sorry if this had already been posted ages ago (or what the appropriate thread would be), but this is funny!

That map is hilarious and unfortunately it's pretty spot-on. I really wish it weren't but it is what it is.

 

I want to be offended by this map, I really do (I just moved to Cleveland a couple months ago) but I realize this is a map of broad generalizations and when you look at the big picture, it's pretty accurate.

Totally accurate map. Love it, and did post it on social media ages ago.

 

The map originated on Imgur, which is a San Francisco start-up created by Ohio University grads. :wink:

West Virginians hate comparisons to Portsmouth and Ironton.

Some interesting tidbits here.

 

The Rocky Movies ​Still Get Philadelphia

 

From the 1976 original to 2015’s Creed, the films have truthfully depicted the city’s intractable poverty.

 

By Jake Blumgart

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/metropolis/2015/12/creed_like_every_rocky_movie_is_remarkably_clear_eyed_about_poverty_in_philadelphia.html

I believe the official urbanohio clock is behind by about 15 minutes. No?

 

West Virginians hate comparisons to Portsmouth and Ironton.

 

Yeah. Why have aspirations?

That may be the greatest ornament ever.

even funnier -- i thought that was some etsy/fanboy one off, but it turns out its an official hallmark gift ornament $59.95 on ebay.

Why is the shake machine at White Castle "down" about 1/3 of the time?  Are they out of ingredients or is the machine itself suffering a breakdown? 

^I've heard from people that service those things that the regular employees at a lot of chains don't stay on top on the upkeep they are supposed do to them. Then when the tech shows up the machines are a disaster.

What is involved?  I have one of those Webber paint and stain sprayers and after you clean it the first time you can easily do it in under 10 minutes thereafter. 

 

The utility of paint sprayers might merit its own thread.  You can stain 100 feet of privacy fence in like 30 minutes with that thing.  It's at least 5X faster than using a roller and brush. 

I think it's just a bunch of cleaning with the shake machines. People think it's gross 'cause it's dairy.

Pro tip: order a vanilla shake at White Castle. Consume about half of it. Then sneak over to the soda fountain and fill the remainder of the cup with Big Red.

Pro tip: order a vanilla shake at White Castle. Consume about half of it. Then sneak over to the soda fountain and fill the remainder of the cup with Big Red.

 

Whoa.

Why is the shake machine at White Castle "down" about 1/3 of the time?  Are they out of ingredients or is the machine itself suffering a breakdown? 

 

I go through this all the time when I try to order them at McDonalds. I definitely understand your frustration, LOL. I've worked at a lot of restaurants but never one with a milk-shake machine--however, I know that as a manager, I would make sure as much cleaning got done as early as possible so that we all could get the hell out of there sooner (and I wouldn't have to report as many labor hours used on my shift by cutting some corners, even at the expensive of a prospective sale.)  I'm thinking they probably break down and clean the machine early each night before they're even closed, just to get it out of the way since they probably don't get as much business late at night or perhaps milkshakes are an extremely low selling item to where they can easily lie to the occasional customer about how the machine is broke, if said customer inquires about it. Making milkshakes after the machine is cleaned, means more cleaning just to cater to one customer. That's just my theory. I personally only want milkshakes or ice cream at about 12-1am because it's like comfort food. It relaxes me and makes me sleepy. It sucks that it's so hard to find good ice cream late at night.

 

Does this happen to you during the day or does it tend to happen at night somewhat close to "close"?

 

If it's an issue of being broken because no one is willing to clean it regularly, that speaks volumes about their operations standards and I wouldn't really trust them to handle any of my food. I'm still ServSafe certified. I know there's specific ServSafe tests that include caring for milkshake machines if it applies to your restaurant, so it's obviously something the health department would look at as well. I hate knowing so much about restaurant operations standards, it ends up ruining almost every experience I have, eating out.

What are you guys doing trying to get milkshakes at White Castle when so many UDFs are open 24 hours?

UDFS are a lot sketchier in Columbus than they are in Cincinnati

UDFS are a lot sketchier in Columbus than they are in Cincinnati

 

That is very true.

What are you guys doing trying to get milkshakes at White Castle when so many UDFs are open 24 hours?

 

I've only seen one so far in the Cleveland area :( I think it's in Cleveland Heights. I really miss those fuel points. I've gotten up to a dollar off a gallon just because of all the milkshakes I would buy!

For some reason we had CCTV (Chinese news, English language) on on of the TVs in the bar.  In one segment they had scrolling images of skyscrapers for the background.  A couple before Petronas was Chrysler, before that Key Tower.

UDFS are a lot sketchier in Columbus than they are in Cincinnati

 

The Northside UDF and the Highland Ave./MLK are each a little questionable.  It's a completely different scene at those two as compared to what exists at the Clifton Ave. UDF, which is located roughly between the two. 

 

David, I believe that all White Castles are 24-hour operations in the Cincinnati area.  I have encountered out-of-order shake machines at the Rt 42, Northside, Central Parkway, Reading (in Reading), and Reading Rd. (Avondale) locations. 

 

 

UDFS are a lot sketchier in Columbus than they are in Cincinnati

 

What is the Short North UDF looking like these days?  Have they spiffed it up at all?  7-8 years ago it was an impressively derelict operation in the middle of that area's nascent yuppie commerce. 

 

As of September:

 

UDFS are a lot sketchier in Columbus than they are in Cincinnati

 

The Northside UDF and the Highland Ave./MLK are each a little questionable.  It's a completely different scene at those two as compared to what exists at the Clifton Ave. UDF, which is located roughly between the two. 

 

David, I believe that all White Castles are 24-hour operations in the Cincinnati area.  I have encountered out-of-order shake machines at the Rt 42, Northside, Central Parkway, Reading (in Reading), and Reading Rd. (Avondale) locations. 

 

 

 

It is funny how UDF is completely hit or miss. Overall it is my favorite convenience store and I always thought the classical music blasting outside to deter thugs from loitering is incredibly innovative. I guess for me it just has amenities that you can't find anywhere else. Frozen skyline chili, for example and of course the really good milk shakes. I don't think the sketchiness has to do with the city it's in though. Columbus does have some really nice UDFs and Cincinnati certainly has a few sh!thole UDFs. I really like the one at Hudson and Indianola in Columbus, where I used to live. It's a location that's only a few years old. It's pretty generic but I like that it's really clean. All UDFs carry the staple Cincinnati brands, no matter where the UDF is. They always have the Busken Bakery cookies. I think the best UDF and probably what I would think of as the "flagship" UDF is the one in Mt. Adams. When I went back to Cincy with my girlfriend, we went there after going to Longworth's and she was blown away by that UDF location. She's from Cleveland and has only seen some of the Columbus locations. She couldn't believe that they had an outdoor patio, along with a nice wine and book collection in there.

UDFS are a lot sketchier in Columbus than they are in Cincinnati

 

What is the Short North UDF looking like these days?  Have they spiffed it up at all?  7-8 years ago it was an impressively derelict operation in the middle of that area's nascent yuppie commerce. 

 

 

It was always so dimly lit at night...like you definitely shouldn't be in there.

Hyde Park UDF is really nice. I remember buying dip in there and the staff always commenting on my unusual purchase. They always had to fish my brand out of a closet.

As of September:

 

That side street is sketchy too

Do you guys have any ideas for inexpensive gifts that represent our culture for a European family with teenage boys? Anything that represents American culture but also anything with Ohio flavor would be ideal. The kids like basketball and of course know of Cleveland because of LeBron so I thought of some Cavs hats and maybe some candy buckeyes for the whole family.

Do you guys have any ideas for inexpensive gifts that represent our culture for a European family with teenage boys? Anything that represents American culture but also anything with Ohio flavor would be ideal. The kids like basketball and of course know of Cleveland because of LeBron so I thought of some Cavs hats and maybe some candy buckeyes for the whole family.

Cleveland made and branded Cloting.  The CAVS are more an NBA thing.

There is great mustard here.

Something from the Westside Market

Something from one of the Museums or Gardens

Something from RTA

So does anyone else think think the Affluenza kid is banging his mom?

So does anyone else think think the Affluenza kid is banging his mom?

 

On a related note, on New Year's Eve I was listening to WNKU 88.9FM and at the stroke(!) of midnight somebody hacked into the station's computer and played about a minute of moaning.  It was totally hilarious...reminded me of living in the dorms when someone would hook their VCR up to their stereo and play a porn soundtrack out into the courtyard at 3am.  I checked their facebook and twitter pages and there was no mention of it, which sadly illustrates that I was one of about 12 people listening to the station at that moment!

 

Nick Bailey ‏@NickKFAN  5h5 hours ago

 

Powerball = $800 million

US Population = 330 mil

Everyone gets $2.4 mil... Problems solved

That's not how math works.

That's not how math works.

 

That math still works about as often as winning the Powerball!

^Yeah, it only works out 1 in 292 million times less than your odds of winning the Powerball.

Nick Bailey ‏@NickKFAN  5h5 hours ago

 

Powerball = $800 million

US Population = 330 mil

Everyone gets $2.4 mil... Problems solved

 

What's the mathematical equivalent of illiteracy?  :smh:

 

"Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe, and not make messes in the house."

 

-Lazarus Long

I will request that the lottery commission pay me in Swiss Francs. 

I'm looking to buy a Dell computer and was shocked to see you can make purchases on their site with Bitcoin.  I'm a little frustrated that I can't pay for the PC with belly button lint too *wink*.

I'm looking to buy a Dell computer and was shocked to see you can make purchases on their site with Bitcoin.  I'm a little frustrated that I can't pay for the PC with belly button lint too *wink*.

 

I'd be shocked if you couldn't.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/01/powerball-ticket-all-combinations/423930/

 

There are 292.2 Million combinations for Powerball tickets. The cash payout after taxes for all of your winnings (jackpot and lesser amounts) is $1,023,468,825. Assuming you buy every ticket combination at $2 a piece, you would spend $584.4 Million to make $1.023 Billion. A net profit of $439,066,149.

 

But if anyone else wins the jackpot, you are screwed.

Can anyone help me out? Is there any way to have a business' facebook account deactivated? The person who was in charge of it is no longer with the company and no one can get ahold of her to get the email and password. I'm making a new facebook page that I plan to update regularly but the old one still existing is going to cause a lot of confusion and I'd rather get the old one taken down first before I start the new one. All I'm seeing online is people with the same problem with no one offering any solutions. I wish I knew how to hack the account. Is that something the Facebook team would even respond to and handle? I'd imagine that they need to verify consent from the business owner. I'm not sure how this all works. I just started looking into it this morning but it's not looking good at all :(

 

I just hit "report page" and explain that it's no longer the official page? Facebook's customer service is notoriously bad.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/01/powerball-ticket-all-combinations/423930/

 

There are 292.2 Million combinations for Powerball tickets. The cash payout after taxes for all of your winnings (jackpot and lesser amounts) is $1,023,468,825. Assuming you buy every ticket combination at $2 a piece, you would spend $584.4 Million to make $1.023 Billion. A net profit of $439,066,149.

 

But if anyone else wins the jackpot, you are screwed.

 

Ha. That's highly fascinating. ...and I was p!ssed just having to stand in line behind a woman buying $60 worth of non-auto tickets. If the physical laws of time and space allowed Warren Buffet to do that and I got stuck behind him in line, he'd probably be a dead man before he had a chance to finish playing.

 

Can you buy lottery tickets online? The only way you could buy every ticket combination in time is if you wrote software that could somehow automatically buy tickets for every combination. If that's not already considered racketeering, I'm sure it would be quickly. The only thing people hate more than hoodrat trash winning the lottery, is a rich bastard winning. Hell, even when I heard that a winning ticket was bought in Chino Hills, I said "that better be someone's butler."

 

That reminds me. Am I the only one who thinks there ought to be a law that retail establishments who are authorized lottery ticket peddlers are required to have two separate lines, two cashiers and two cash drawers running at any given time? Your gambling addiction is a horrible burden on everyone standing behind you with "sh!t to do" and "places to be." As a matter of fact, why stop there? Lets have a mandatory "BS" and "Non-BS" line at every grocery store and gas station. The B.S. line is for lolligaggers who:

 

a. Refuse to leave the line until they've scratched off their lottery tickets (because if they win, God forbid they stand in line again to collect their winnings buy more tickets.

 

b. People who buy $500 worth of groceries with their EBT card, are devastated and even exasperated when they find out they owe $6.99 and need the cashier to explain to them what went horribly wrong (that their hot, steamy, rotisserie chicken is actually considered "prepared" food and therefore not covered by EBT) which results in sifting though dozens of already-bagged items to find said culprit to put it back.

 

c. Guys who plan to talk to the hot cashier much longer than needed. Although, luckily, those cashier's usually have mastered the art of shutting that down quickly. All else equal, I always go for the line with the ugliest cashier, for this reason.

 

d. People who need to ask "How much would this be with that.  Or that with this" "Okay, put that back, now how much is this, this and that?" "I'm working with $17 and 88 cents."

 

e. Idiots (at CVS, mostly) who are too lazy to read their receipt so they ask the cashier their number of rewards/points for their transaction. Or notice that they didn't get points they were entitled to for something due to a POS error and have to get it adjusted.

 

f. Dumb@sses who think that they're entitled to a sale price because the item they pulled off the shelf happened to be sitting right on top of the sign that clearly has a description for another nearby item, resulting in unnecessary price checks.

 

Your loyalty card will contain your 1-5 star rating (given by cashier who has read the chapter in the handbook about identifying the many forms of B.S.) and rates you on your level of dumb@ssery. If you dip below 3 stars, the computers in the non-B.S. lines will not even process your sale, or at least wont give you any of the discounts. Kiosks will be available at the front entrance for your convenience, where you can scan you card and check your current register-tier status.

 

Can you imagine how much time this would save the human race?

 

 

I digress  :yap:

a. Refuse to leave the line until they've scratched off their lottery tickets (because if they win, God forbid they stand in line again to collect their winnings buy more tickets.

 

This.  Loudly.

 

I've been known to observe out loud that the casino is over on Rt. 8.  In extreme cases I have left my stuff on the counter and departed.