If It's Good Times You Want, Don't Go to Old Chicago in Bettendorf, Iowa

We just got back from our annual trip out to the Mississippi River to see the bald eagles. We always stay at the Ramada Motel north of Bettendorf. It has very nice accommodations, is reasonable and a really nice pool area.

Even better, it is next door to an Old Chicago restaurant which had NTN. Now, that's nirvana for folks like Liz and myself who are real NTN, or do you say Buzztime, nuts.

At first, it was a great setup, but the last several years, they didn't have ANY drink specials except a happy hour and one at night where they knock a buck off a pint.

We went there Wednesday night and were shocked to find they charged $3.75 for a domestic pint!! I guess their customers must be independently wealthy to pay that much. And that is just domestic. They specialize in imports and craft beers. I can only imagine what they charge for that.

So, their drinks are rip-off-priced.

But, them, when I went to sign in on my board, it wouldn't let me, with a message that I would have had to have signed in before (which I had). I could play as a guest but not player plus. I tried on all their boards, but the same thing. Liz signed in right away.

The bartender tried to get me in, but when it wouldn't said I should just play as a guest. We have been to over 900 NTN sites across the United States and I never had this happen before.

As if the ripoff prices weren't bad enough, now I am not allowed to play there.

So, after spending out $7.50 for two Miller Lite pints (with at least 2 ounces of foam), we left and went to Buffalo Wild Wings about a mile away and had no problem signing in.

Believe Me, It Will Be a Long, Long Time (AS in Never) Before I Set Foot in There Again. Old Rip-off. --RoadDog


QUOTE: I don't feel old. I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap. --Bob Hope

Need a Loan to See an NBA Game

I am not a big NBA game, only really watching if the Chicago Bulls are fortunate enough to make it to the playoffs, which has been quite rare lately, but not in the 90s.

With all this sorry play, you'd think the team would even perhaps drop ticket prices, but not so in Chicago.

I've only seen perhaps two games and haven't been since the 70s and I was shocked at the prices printed in the Chicago Tribune this week.

Courtside seats are rising from $850 to $950!!! Wow!!!

Main floor went from $225 to $250 and sideline from $120 to $135.

Second level is a bit more reasonable, but not much at $75-85.

300 Level, or the nose-bleed seats are $35 t0 $55.

And, in an act of great compassion, the Bulls have 500 seats at every game that they let go for $10.

I imagine only the commodity and stock traders can afford to go anymore. Definitely not this poor soul.

Then there is the drive and, even better, the PARKING!!

Yet Another Good Reason Not to Waste Time Seeing the NBA. --RoadDog

We Been Gas-Gouged!!!!!

Friday was a jolt to the old eyes as gas prices jumped dramatically around here. Thursday, gas in Fox Lake, Illinois, was anywhere from $2.93 to $3. Friday morning, on my way to meet Kip for breakfast in Grayslake, it had jumped to $3.10.

Round Lake Beach ranged from $3.05 to $3.25!!!! Yesterday, in McHenry, it ranged from $3.15 to $3.20!!!!

I saw that gas had crossed the mythical $100 a barrel mark on Thursday, so it definitely did not take long to show up on our gas pumps.

My own belief is that it should not be more than $2 a gallon. There are too many people, from Big Oil to the traders that are too interested in making an ill-got profit no matter who they have to hurt in order to do so. They are hurting the regular folks of America.

Not only has this greed caused us to pay more at the pump, but, a trip to the local grocery store gets more frightening every time. Food prices are soaring.

Richard Arens Is Not a Nice Man!!!

Yesterday, I saw on Yahoo News that they had traced the $100 a barrel mark to a lone oil trader out for fame as the Man Who Broke the $100 a Barrel Mark. He made the purchase that broke the record when he offered $100,000 for 1000 barrels.

Richard Arens is a one-man oil brokerage firm. For his great accomplishment, he ended up taking a loss of $600, chump change for such a lofty accomplishment. For his great accomplishment, we all ended up paying an extra 10-20 cents. It cost me an extra $1.50 for Arens' great accomplishment. Multiply that $1.50 by perhaps ten million people who got gas Friday (and it was probably a lot more) and you have $10,500,000 that Mr. Arens took out of our pockets. Thanks a lot Mr. Arens.

One can only hope that he had to fill up Friday so perhaps he could have experienced the fruits of his great accomplishment. Remember, Ralphie's father on "A Christmas Story" won a major award. Perhaps, we can come up with a major award for Mr. Arens' major accomplishment.

May the fleas of a thousand camels... --RoadDog

Now I Done Seen it ALL- $55 Bottled Water!!!

Who'd have figured that it would or could come to this. There is a bar in Chappaqua, New York, near NYC and hometown of the Clintons, that sells bottled water for prices from $3 for the common stuff, all the way to $55 for a 3/4 liter of Bling H2O. Yes the Yuppies now truly have their drink. You could save some money and ONLY spend $35 for a liter of 10,000 BC. Such a Deal!!!

Why these brands demand so much money is due to a wine term they call terroir. Don't ask me what it means. I'm not much of a wine drinker and I definitely wouldn't spend even $2 for a bottle of water. Why someone would charge the same amount for water as for a soda, where they actually had to do something with it is beyond me.

Business is so good, they're opening a second one.

Americans spend $15 billion a year on bottled water!! That's shocking. Has anyone ever heard of the tap or drinking fountains. While I was growing up, we'd drink right out of a hose. Nothing like that special taste, but when you were thirsty from playing ball, that was good enough. To my knowledge, no one has ever died by drinking out of a hose. But, I know people who think they'd die if they drink any sort of water other than bottled.

There is a big article in Wikipedia about bottled water. Some interesting things I found were that it should be at 55 degrees, kept out of the sun, and absolutely NO ice. You never know where the ice has been. Hey, until we took a trip through Europe back in 2000, I thought I could only drink iced down water, but did find I could drink it at room temperature on the bus. This was one of the hottest-ever summers on record. I'll never forget the 100 plus degrees it was in Venice the day we visited and the Death March along the River Arno in Florence.

Bottled water can be glacial, spring, well, or purified water. Sales are increasing 7 to 10% a year. In 2004, the US consumed 25.8 billion liters. Profits to the water bottling companies are at $11 billion a year (Hey, how much do they actually spend on the product. I imagine most of the cost is in packaging and delivery.).

Twenty-five percent of the bottled water sold is reprocessed municipal water. Pepsi has gotten into the fray with its Aquafina brand which debuted in Wichita, Kansas, in 1994. Coke's bottled water is Dasani which came out in 1999. One of the first bottled water was Evian mineral water from Lake Geneva, Switzerland. It was brought to the US in 1978.

What really galls me is that they usually sell a bottle of water for the same prices as a bottle of pop.

I know that more than a few members of my family are rarely seen without a bottle of water in their hand. You might even see me with a bottle of water out on the boat. but only because it eliminates the need for a cooler of ice to keep the pop cold. Again, I have learned that I can drink water at room temperature.

Water, Water, Everywhere, but How Much Do I Gotta Pay. --RoadDog