Charliem, In "Casino", there's a scene where Joe Pesci squashes a guy's head in a vice and he names 'Charlie M', and then Joe turns the crank. I'm responding because I wanted to ask, is that you? And, if it is, how did that whole thing go?

Just to make this clear, in fairness to my wife, she had nothing to do with my retirement. She likes going to the track and she did, in fact, pick War Emblem after one quick riff through.

If you have a wife or a significant other, take her to a track where the horses are running (not a simulcast site). The sight of the actual beasts is helpful. The track is fun if you win or lose. Convey this. Dress up a little so she can dress up too. They like that. Women also like greeting cards and they do not like the Three Stooges. That's all I know. If you take the wife, the focus may initially have to be more on her and telling her what is going on, rather than a serious betting day. The figures are actually helpful because, for a newcomer, they can be much clearer than the heiroglyphics of the racing form. Women may actually get this pattern-stuff better than men.

I have to stop posting because I don't have a middle gear, and I have a job. Nothing at all to do with the Mrs.

Steve Plever, a recent subject here, obviously has a reading problem, or he would have seen that I spent as much (maybe more) time here attacking Jerry than I did on Irwin. Irwin apologized. What the hell Plever was doing in there I have no idea. Apparently a man of my enormous complexity is too much for him to grasp. Gotta go. Thanks for all the kind words, but duty calls. HP