Coin In, Coin Out

In the past year, a local convenience store in town installed two quarter-pusher machines. The lure of trading one quarter for a handful is always an attraction; but the real draw is the possibility of pushing over a $20 bill-- or a phone card. I first tried this machine with the intent of winning a $20 bill. I didn’t get it, so I stayed away from the electronic bandit, until I came back yesterday with a strategy- win in the short term, then get out. While waiting for the train, I tried it, getting ahead by $1.25 before setting for a $.50 win. In the evening, I sought to repeat my success. No luck (or “outlet for skill”) on either of the two machines: I was $3.00 in the hole. So I decided that the machines were rigged for the house, and I would stay away from those quarter-pushers- unless I was the “house”. But what states allow these quarter-pushers, anyway? On many issues, from raw milk, to first-cousin marriage, to lane-splitting by cyclists, you can find an illustrated map demonstrating state laws. No such map exists for the legality of quarter-pushers (coin-in, coin out). I quickly discovered the reason: the legality of such machines is regulated by states, counties, and down to the town level. At one time, they were prevalent in the resort towns on the Mid-Atlantic shore (Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Coney Island, New York). Laws and enforcement have changes. So have the profit motives: States with casinos were most likely to ban common businesses from operating the machines. As a result, some of the more ‘puritan’ states view it more favorably than the pro-gambling states. In more than one case, I read that, even if you have a vending permit for the machine, you could still be running afoul of state law. What did I discover when trying to make a map of my own? The easiest way to determine legality was by reading news articles regarding confiscations of quarter pushers. News articles were most prevalent in Arizona, California, and West Virginia. In many cases, I discovered that the machines flew under the radar, until the local sheriff’s office received a handful of complaints. Because of the localized nature of these laws, the makers and dealers of these machines do not post information (lest they become liable for a customer’s machine being confiscated); instead, asking customers to do their own research. State/ Legality Kansas- Not legal anymore California- No Florida- Iffy; some local sheriffs consider it a game of chance, not skill. Alabama- Not clear-See Code Section 13A-12-76, Bonafide Coin-Operated Amusement Machines. Ohio- Not clear- See Section 2915.01, Gambling Definitions. Wisconsin- Has tolerated establishments operating up to 5 of these machines. Arizona- No Oregon- No Texas- No, but tolerated by some county Sheriffs. Indiana- No South Dakota- No Tennessee- No Missouri- Contradictory laws Minnesota- No West Virginia- Not anymore North Carolina- No Georgia- See Title 48, Section 48-17-1 Virginia- 1992 decision by State ABC allows machines in bars, equipped with both a skill stop and shooter. Did not find a more up-to-date decision. New York- Not allowed in New York City; operating 1-2 machines does not constitute intent of “advancing unlawful gambling) Penal Code, 228.35 So if our local convenience store happens to be running afoul of Nassau County law, at least they won’t be charged with running a gambling ring. In most cases of enforcement, the penalty is simply confiscation of the machines. And, reading online forums, some owners of the machines are willing to play this cat-and-mouse game. Why? The machines are so darn profitable.

The Loan: Think about it.

Yes, it's been 6 weeks since my last post. I am aware of that. In the meanwhile, February came and went, all 28 days. Of much discussion as of late in the USMMA conversation sphere is "The Loan". The travelling salesmen- or, representatives,- from USAA will be on campus this month to give loans. With USAA, it's do-or-don't. Your next opportunity to borrow from this bank is in November. So USMMA Juniors should be giving some thought to their financial side. And why does this matter? USAA and Navy Federal allows a select group of 20-year-olds to borrow $32,000 at a low interest rate. (1.25% at Navy Federal, and 0.75% at USAA). There is a rhyme and reason for this: When Mids and Cadets at the other Service Academies graduate, they incur moving and living expenses for their first "duty station" before their junior officer pay begins. This is where "Career Starter Loan" gets its name. How can the interest rate be so low? Because of the service requirement at four of the Academies, and at USMMA, the maritime employment requirement. Also, graduates entering the armed forces who take the loan are registered for an "allotment deduction", insuring that USAA or Navy Federal gets their payments on time. While USAA has the lower rate, Nsvy Federal allows Mids take the loan on-demand after starting Junior year. You walk in, and identify yourself on a short form. Signature loan; it takes less than a week to clear. Another benefit to some is that Navy Federal has brick-and-mortar locations around the world (Guam, Japan, Bahrain, anyone?), and most Mids use Navy Federal as their primary bank (credit union). For the large strata of students who live between above the Pell Grant cutoff and comfortable living, there are immediate benefits to taking the loan. This includes plane tickets home for major holidays, the ability to purchase a car, and the ability to stop worrying about being short on cash. While plebe year is the most expensive year fee-wise, Senior year is where the expenses add up: Class ring-- an essential for Deck majors to knock on doors when they choose to work shoreside; Ring Dance, and Graduation Weekend*. From anecdotal evidence, a majority of Mids take the loan in order to finance Senior year. High school job money stretches only so far. * Parental generosity maximizes at this point. It usually declines hereafter. That said, there is no stipulation on how a midshipman spends the loan money. I have crafted itineraries that blow $30,000 in a 3-day weekend (Hint: first-class flight to Europe, party there on Saturday Evening; then fly to Bangkok, and do the same on Sunday evening; then fly back to New York, washed-up with empty pockets, a modern-day prodigal son). That scenario aside, I was informed by one Senior to budget at least $150 per week for going out on weekends. I took that advice with a grain of salt. Others take the loan to invest: For the Class of 2014, stocks were a good option; for this year's Junior Class, a safe option is to arbitrage the low-interest loan with higher-paying long-term CD's.

Bob McDonnell's Last Day

On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama did something that no Democratic presidential candidate did in 44 years- carry the state of Virginia. And he carried it by 6 points. Also that day, Mark Warner (D) was elected to the US Senate, replacing the retiring John Warner (R), no family relationship. Two years prior, Jim Webb (D) beat the incumbent Senator George Allen (R), and his infamous "macaca" statement, by less than 1 point. So in 2009, it came to many as a surprise that Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell held a commanding lead in polls leading up to the November 3 election. His baggage was a 1989 thesis from Pat Buchannan's Liberty University, in which he outlined a 15-point plan on how the GOP could pursue a socially conservative agenda through economic legislation. But he was able to downplay the thesis, and the "Bob's for Job's" slogan won out. That night, he won 58% of the vote, supported by the traditional Republican strongholds, the swing counties of DC's outer suburbs, and even Democrat-leaning Fairfax, a diverse county of a million residents. The margin of victory and the depth of the victory, transcending racial and cultural lines, attracted nationwide attention. He immediately became a potential VP pick. In 2011, Republicans gained effective control of the State Senate, giving the GOP control of government in Virginia. With this power came responsibility and liability; and anything that the GOP passed in the 2012 and 2013 sessions became a potential projectile for Democrats to use in the 2013 elections. Bob McDonnell kept on doing well in the polls. Campaigning as "Northern Virginia's Own", he came off as business friendly (tort reform, lower taxes), and concerned about the degradation of the quality of life caused by traffic jams in DC's ever-growing suburbs. I've heard numerous references to McDonnell's "Boy Scout" image. That is, until last year, when the Star Scientific scandal came out. It made for a juicy story involving under-the-table loans and a Rolex watch. Furthermore, there is evidence that McDonnell went to Florida and promoted the enhancement product- doing the job of s salesman- while elected to be leading the State of Virginia. Whether laws were broken will be decided this year by a federal inquiry. For "Main Street" Republicans, the scandal came at the worst time. The Republican Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli,now nominated as candidate for Governor in a fire-breathing party convention, was tied to the scandal. Had the news broke before the Convention, "RINO" (a term the hard right uses to insult centrist Republicans) Bill Bolling might have gotten the nomination, and been able to compete as a "Virginian" against the "Yankee"- Terry McAuliffe with shady business ties. I was a bit surprised that Cucinnelli led now-Governor McAuliffe (D) until his ties to the scandal broke out. Virginians could tolerate Ken's hard-core social views over Terry's revolving-door business practices; but with the scandal, both candidates were in the same boat, and all Ken could stand by was his social views. I watched the news throughout the election season as business groups and independent educational researchers reluctantly endorsed Cucinnelli's plans. I watched as Cucinnelli reached out to minority communities, including the a council of Hispanic business leaders and the Muslim community. This outreach actively countered the claim that the GOP was becoming the "old white man's party". In the end, Virginia didn't want either Cucinelli or McAuliffe; the Libertarian, Robert Sarvis, carried 7% of the vote, McAuliffe 47%, and Cucinelli 45%. E.W. Jackson, the firebreathing minister nominated by the GOP Convention for Lieutenant Governor, flopped by 11 points. Mark Obenshain, running for Attorney General, and the most traditional brand of the Republicans in the race, lost by 163 votes out of 1 million cast, and was the "last Republican standing", as it took a month before he stopped the recount, and conceded to Democrat Mark Herring, now the first Democratic Attorney General in 20 years. Some on the hard right would say Cucinelli closed the gap after doubling down on the Tea Party rhetoric once Obamacare started on Oct. 1. As for nominating by party convention, the state GOP has no intention on changing to a ballot primary. Today, two open State Senate seats will determine control of the State Senate until 2015. These seats are drawing national attention, as it will determine which party has the "mandate" in Virginia. If the Republicans win one of these seats, Governor McAuliffe could appear to be an obstructionist if he repeatedly uses the veto. If Democrats win both seats, the Republican super-majority in the House could appear to be a "hillbilly revival meeting"- as Rep. Peter King once said about Newt Gingrich's Republican Party- impeding "progress". An election has been held on one of those Senate seats, in Norfolk, but this is another close election that is headed to recount. The next election is in Northern Virginia, where a Democrat, a hard-right Republican, and an Independent Republican seek to create a three-way race for the seat last held by a Democrat.

Forty Days Back

Since Blogger's timestamps are based on the Pacific Coast Time, this will pop in as the last post of 2013. Which it is. As for the momentousness of the occasion, tonight is the end of the whirlwind known as the 2nd Trimester at Kings Point. This year, 2nd trimester began the Monday before Thanksgiving with Sea Project turn-in (for land-lubbers, this is turning in 12 credits' worth of work, which midshipmen have hopefully dedicated 40 hours to each credit). I then found out that my classmates and I had our terms on the "Midshipmen Council" extended until Senior Year. This gave us the task of co-coordinating the Winter Ball, held the weekend prior to the end of classes. I had the joy of watching the whole show come together. Raffle prizes were purchased, decorations went up, the DJ set up, and the soft drinks and finger food set out. Festival of Lights, held at the chapel, featured a healthy turnout for the voluntary activity. The Festival consists of a series of Bible readings, blessings, and words of encouragement, interspersed with choral anthems and Christmastide hymns. New this year was the use of the Jewish altar setting for the first half of the Festival. It was the first time I had seen it, and I was glad to have. My goal for any sit-down formal dinner at Kings Point is to leave room for desert. I was looking forward to the yule log ice cream cake, a Christmas-at-KP staple, but was wholly satisfied with the chocolate cake. It was quite warm in the dining hall, and midshipmen were found in shirt-sleeves. Cigar Night, held after the Christmas Dinner, is less de rigeur than in past decades; its key mission is to allow sons- and daughters- to participate in the tradition their fathers partook in. Many of those who did light up a smoke found themselves in a skittish mood after one cigar; a sign of the times. I was fortunate to not have anything to study for Friday, so I lingered around the patio, and engaged in listening to salty sailor exploits. This was recorded on one midshipman's Go Pro camera. I arrived home on Friday the 20th. My brother and I rented a car, and caught the early part of rush hour, since I had a late class. I was bringing home a crate of items that had accumulated over the past two years- on campus and at sea. Namely, though, the contents of this crate were textbooks and graded papers. As is said, the making of an upperclassman is when he or she views Kings Point as "home". Homesickness will predictably reduce the size of the freshman class by 5 members. Most often, a high school girlfriend/boyfriend is involved. That said, Washington, DC is still my home port, and I replenished my gear, including new running shoes and a black tie. I also attended to housekeeping, including organizing and cataloging the music collection which my brother and I wrote- and still continue to write, though at a slower pace than our Choirschool days. Happy New Year for 2014!

Weekend Commuter Rail Service in DC

This weekend, my hometown of DC will join an elite group of cities offering commuter rail service on weekends. (Among the number are New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago). In the past, as in the pre-Amtrak days, the B&O line did run a couple of Saturday trips to and from Harper’s Ferry from Washington, DC as late as the 1970’s. This would’ve been a fun and low-cost day trip; however, Amtrak consolidated the weekend commuter service with the long distance train, which multiplied the price of a ticket. Now, 40 years later, weekend commuter service is coming back on the Penn Line between Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD. Looking at the schedule, the primary intent is to serve Baltimoreans who want to visit DC. Which is a huge complement to us; saying that we are no longer just a 9-to-5, Monday-through-Friday town. The new rail service is one of Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley’s pet projects, on the planning board since 2007. However, there was no funding until this year’s transportation bill. But it was not a post-recession surplus or economic growth that made the money available for this project, and a light rail in Baltimore City—it was a hike in the gas tax. Of course, suburbanites and rural pols were shocked with the audacious plan, but O’Malley represents the inner-city, and Baltimore City is his base of support (in his 2010 re-election, he carried only the City of Baltimore, and DC’s inner suburbs, while losing some 20 other counties in the state). Only in Maryland, it seems, could a city get the state to pay for an urban light rail; or to subsidize rail passengers who intend on spending money in DC. But indeed, I have wanted this new rail service, and will likely visit Baltimore more often because of it. I feel that many fellow Washingtonians share this view. Yet as I will enjoy the view out the panoramic windows of the railroad car, I’ll remember my gas-guzzler-driving high school and college Marylander friends who helped to pay for my ride to Charm City.

The Nerve Center of Atticus Sawatzki's Blog

To write a quick blogpost these days is not typical of me, but I do not want anyone to fear my disappearance from the written world of the internet. I am slightly busy with what we call "Sea Projects", due in a month, and representative of two trimesters of correspondence work at the US Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA). But I have the time to knock out a post. Just have to pull up Blogger and start typing.

 Perusing the instantaneous source of knowledge and brain-numbingness that is the internet, I have come across many dead blogs. Ones with insightful posts, and a sudden end; others, a quick decline, as if a feeling of guilt overcomes the negligent blogger before he or she give up his or her virtual ghost. Others, oh, they have such a great beginning, but only two posts were written before abandonment. And mine should not be one of them, though I seem to spend an awful lot of time between posts these days. So what am I doing today? An impromptu speech; a thank-you to my dedicated readers; and to the spike in readership that occurs when I choose a "hot" keyword for my post. (The most recent spike was written in reaction to my surprise at the "Excessive Profits Board" that President FDR had proposed).

At one time, my blog had founding principles: 1. To shake up the concept of the "news room"- aka citizen reporting 2. Provide a hyper-local news source for my close-knit middle school (St. Thomas Choirschool, NY) and high school (St. Anselm's Abbey School, DC) This was back in 2007, when Facebook had just opened to high school students- and, as high school freshmen, it felt like going to a party without a chaperone. People wanted to read about each other, and they turned to this blog to hear of the day's communal happenings. We also have to remember that smartphones were a novelty at the time, and it was easier to check into my blog (through RSS feed, or by clicking on "Favorites") than it was to enter Facebook, which required a username and password. Communications evolves at a steady pace, and, by Senior year, "everyone" had a smartphone with a Facebook app- and this allowed for 'spontaneous combustion'. In 2007, your status was: "Atticus Sawatzki is (fill in the blank)". In 2011, my graduation year, your status post could consist of that day's personal news. (Ditto with Twitter). Again, people want to read about each other; and Facebook was the medium where you could read about all your friends- daily, including Sundays; a media euphony. The last holdouts gave in and got a Facebook account, giving our class 100% attendance on the internet site. (The number of active users in my high school class has declined some since then).

 So now, my blog had earned the charm of print media. Near-daily posts, loved in 2008, were no longer necessary, since you could read 'all about it' on Facebook. So you could say Mr. Zuckerberg killed that aspect of this blog. So the natural inclination was to write longer and more thoughtful pieces- at a less frequent pace. 2011 was my plebe year at USMMA, and I had learned the message of "don't stick out". So only a few classmates knew about my blog- and YouTube channel. But in fact, there had been two plebe bloggers before me: one in the Class of 2013; she wrote thoughtfully of the emotional context of plebe life and a classmate, Jeff, who entertained the young men of the Academy. Both had the support of a sport's team: Softball and Lacrosse, respectively, and were therefore buffered from peculiar attention. Now the Class of 2014, through a friend, found access to my Youtube channel, which I had set on "Private" mode to avoid the publicity. So then I had to relearn the "Don't Copy my Bloggy" rap to satiate the sophomores. Then they went out to sea, and that was the last of it.

 Essentially, during those four years of high school, I had satisfied the founding principles. But it was also a greater force than my blog-- Facebook- which took the baton, and let me re-purpose this treasured piece of internet real estate called Atticus Sawatzki's Blog. For those of you waiting for my Blog Book- the print edition- I'm working on edits. I'll admit here that I'm a little shy about the cynical tone that resonates through some of those early posts.

Where am I now?

This latest journey started with a taxi ride to the edge of the world- somewhere outside Tampa, Florida. My first impression was a grimy one: the ship, at the time, was unloading coal, with a portion of it coating the ship's deck and the surroundings in general. but the next several cargoes were cleaner, and the unloading operators more precise in their work. The short trips this vessel makes have all been in the Gulf Coast. At first, I thought that she, at 32 years of age, was past her deep-ocean days, (most US foreign-running ships are under 25 years of age, on account of subsidy program rules) , but she plans to go back to the deep blue- next year at the age of 33. in these past two weeks, we have taken her from Tampa to north of New Orleans, to Port Arthur,TX, and back to Florida. We were north of New Orleans, by some 40 miles. It was empty land, asides from a Catholic Church, and the bustle of river barge docks along the Mississippi. Other ports of call have been at vast industrial sites, located out of sight and out of mind from the towns. So this latest port, in Jacksonville, proved to be the greatest surprise. Within walking distance was a Kangaroo gas station and convenience store, as well as two bait shops and Chowder Ted's, a local restaurant. Being familiar with taking a 20 minute taxi ride from port to civilization (in the US or overseas, it's usually 20 minutes), the proximity of land-based trading posts was almost as good as the time I spent last year docked in Baltimore's Inner Harbor ( the Canton neighborhood, which still retains some of the blue-collar feel, despite ongoing gentrification) Having sailed for both the private and public sector, my impression is that MSC- Military Sealift Command- "the haze gray shipping company", chooses the best ports for morale and recreation.Think Saipan or Honolulu. Out there,it was usually a short ride to an Internet cafe, where I could watch youtube videos and blog extensively (as well as watch every development in the 2012 Presidential race- sent in my Ballot from Saipan.) Longer blog posts are more appropriate for writing on a laptop.