Read about the TLC employees ... Click here and read Oct 9th entry.
See and hear what our legislators were told about VLT's, Click Here.

Oops - when I originally posted the 11/18/04 story, I erred on the quantity of promotional
pieces printed. The TLC generally prints around 17,000 - one for each retailer.

Nov 18, 2004 - Today the TLC sent out 33 Reduction In Force (RIF) letters. What's interesting is that they've also created about as many new jobs so they really haven't reduced anything. But it sounds like they are cutting back like the other state agencies are having to do. Because I've seen this done before, I surmise that some of the current employees that received an RIF letter probably won't be re-hired in the new positions - a sneaky way of getting rid of those that may have crossed the wrong paths! It'll be interesting to see what the bottom line is after all is said and done.

(Comment Inserted 11/19/04: The TLC has reported that they will save approx $296,000 per year as a result of the job reductions. This means that the average salary is $8,970? :)) Further proof that the TLC plans to create new jobs and will re-hire the vast majority of those that were laid off!)

During the Commissioners meeting Tuesday, a proposed 2005 Business Plan was approved by the Commissioners. Staff told the commissioners that they were projecting Mega Millions sales to be $225 million for FY05. Now what's interesting about the "goal" of $225 million is that the TLC, in their Cost Benefit Analysis to start the game, projected FY05 Mega Million sales to be $399.8 million. WOW - Were they ever OFF target! What bothers me is that no one seems to do anything about the TLC's over-projecting sales - And in this case, legislation was passed based on the monies promised to the state. I guess they can kiss the first goal good-bye.

Don't ya'll ever forget that our legislators took away our rights to comment on this game and called joining a multi state game an "emergency" instead. Someday someone is going to tell me what the "emergency" was - it must be a humdinger to NOT allow the People to have a voice. FYI - It was Representative Ron Wilson and Representative Talmadge Heflin that pushed this bill through for the TLC.

I wanted to comment during the Commission meeting but the meeting went longer than usual. I had other commitments so I had to leave. One of the things I wanted to say was regarding the video tape I received showing the Oct 13 Lotto Texas drawing. This was the drawing where the machine malfunctioned and the TLC withheld all drawing results until after midnight without offering any verbal explanations. Anyway, the tape I received wasn't viable. It was in slow motion - I couldn't distinguish staff's movements. I asked to view the digital tape but was told to make an Open Records request. If what I received is what the TLC would use to "prove" that drawings were on the up and up, well, it's NOT proof at all - in my opinion.

The TLC put out a bid for someone to do another Demographics Study of Texas players. No one responded. Imagine that! Anyway, I was going to suggest that the TLC start their study by analyzing sales by ZIP code. This would tell the Legislators everything they need to know in a nutshell.

I've heard from some very unhappy retailers lately. Both big retailers and small independent retailers. New independent retailers are unhappy about receiving GVT Terminals - GVT Terminals are terminals that only print Quick Picks and validate (pay/confirm) winning tickets. Retailers can't run playslips through this kind of terminal. The retailers are complaining about how slow they are and they don't understand why ALL retailers aren't treated the same. Why do the "big boys" get TWO terminals in their locations - SST's and the usual terminals - they're asking.

Then on the other side of the coin, the big retailers who have the SST's are complaining that their SST's stays down more than they stay operational. The Texas Lottery paid $12.4 million dollars for 1000 SST's and projected that sales would pay for the terminals in the first year. Well, guess what? Sales are horrible for the SST's - I made an Open Records request to obtain the actual figures but I haven't received the data yet. Based on the Cash 5 promotion sales involving SST's ONLY, I'd say that they TLC missed projections again. Also, my reason of deduction regarding lousy SST sales is based on figures provided by Commissioner Clowe at a recent Commission meeting. And ... rumor has it that the TLC is going to buy more SST's - yet - they still haven't installed the first 1000.

The TLC claims that they have carefully positioned the SST's in the stores to prevent minors from purchasing lottery tickets. This is NOT true. Someone should go to the Minyards at Oates and Gus Thomasson in Mesquite. The shut off remote is in the office but the office personnel can not see the terminal. What good is that? I asked the store managers about this and they said it was not their job to police the terminals.

You know that $30 scratch ticket that started Oct 27. Well, the TLC printed 17,000 four-color promotional pieces. Lord only knows how much that cost. Anyway, under "Game Features" on the promotional piece - in a highly visible position, it reads - "Two $40 and two $70 winners in each pack!" Problem is, there are NOT two $40 & $70 winners in each pack. (Oops - when I originally posted this paragraph , I erred on the quantity of promotional pieces printed. The TLC generally prints around 17,000 - one for each retailer.)

The TLC ultimately asked that G-Tech reps pick up these sheets but it's too late. The damage has already been done as the People have already been misled. You see, store clerks read about the new tickets then they relay the info to the players based on what they read.

What really bothers me is that the TLC has a large marketing staff which means there should have been sufficient EYES proofing all type and all artwork. Someone had to sign off on all phases of this job ... someone had to press proof it then someone should have proofed it again before the promotional piece was ever sent out to the public. I found one retailer who had a black and white CORRECTED copy and other retailers who still had the original promotional piece in their stores. This is the kind of error that is beneficial to the TLC so obviously they are in no hurry to get these off the streets.

How much did this mistake cost the People of Texas?

I've got more news but I'm out of time now. More to come ...

Sept 27, 2004 - Another RUMOR ... The TLC is planning to change Cash5 to "computer generated" drawings. They have also chosen to use "pseudo random" which is NOT good as it's not really "random." May I suggest you go to Google then do a search on "pseudo random" so you will understand. What's interesting is that during the commission meetings, staff continues to say "computerized random drawings" but have conveniently left the word "pseudo" out of their descriptions - but this is VERY important.

I will be posting more on this later and we will need to begin our Opposition Campaign very soon.

Sept 16, 2004 - Yes, Lotto Texas sales for the drawing held yesterday, Sept 15, 2004, were the lowest draw sales in the history of the game. My prediction is that it won't be long before the lottery will see Lotto Texas draw sales in the $1.9 million range - after all - they're already seeing $1.1 million draw sales for $10 million MM jackpots and MM sales are declining. Someday the lottery will figure out that to increase sales, they need to have People talking about winning rather than talking about throwing their money away playing the lottery. What's really sad is that the state is losing potential revenues as a direct result of going against the People by giving us unacceptable odds.

Now the lottery is talking about giving us "computerized drawings" so they can "cut costs" which is a bunch of baloney. They won't save anything because instead of buying balls and machines, they use that same money to pay folks to create the "animated computerized drawings" BUT, with computerized drawings, at least the lottery will be able to control what numbers are drawn.

By using a computer to select the numbers, they can have winners when they want to have a winner. Now that's what they REALLY want while claiming they'll have "random" drawings. Hogwash.

They can even lower the odds of the game because the computer will have the ability to KNOW what combinations were NOT purchased and that's what the computer will or can draw.

They talk about tough security but who are they kidding - it only takes one programmer to write the software - what good is security? Oh - maybe they mean against hackers - well, hackers have already broken code on the many "secure" sites and computers around the world - haven't they? Shoot, hackers even got the TLC's web site.

Nuff said - I'll be posting more about this soon and we will have to start our petitions but this time, we will have to take our concerns directly to our legislators and not the Texas Lottery. We already KNOW that the TLC could care less what we think or what we want and we already know that they'll do what they "think" will produce more money for the state. Never mind that ideas implemented in the past was suppose to bring in more money - yet the ideas failed to increase revenues so the state ultimately lost money. Computerized drawings would be just another failing "idea."

Since my posting on 9/9, I've received lots of questions and comments and I've tried to answer your questions by email. One question was pertaining to the consumer protection issue. Ironically, just this past Monday (9/13), I encountered a situation that is a perfect example of misconception or misleading advertising on the part of the TLC so I'm going to share this event with you.

I was in a store (9/13/04) and the G-Tech rep came in for her bi-monthly visit. She went directly to the lottery service booth/stand and proceeded to change out the promotional pieces and replenish the supplies. After she finished I walked over to check it out. Attached to the side of the booth was a sell-in-sheet for scratch game #466, Run the Table and in handwritten BIG red writing it said, "New Game."

As soon as I saw this, I asked her to come talk to me. I explained nicely that I felt this was "misleading advertising" because the game started June 30 - clearly it was not a NEW game and there was only ONE $1 million ticket remaining (There was only 3 to begin with). Her initial response was that she didn't really know when the game started and that she left it there because it was a $25 scratch ticket and they needed to expose it. I told her that I certainly understood needing to promote the game but that the big red words "NEW GAME" was misleading to players. I explained that most players prefer to buy only the new games and because the promotional piece was predominantly visible, it was misleading. In the end, she went to her car and brought in a flyer that read "Have You Bought Your Ticket Today" and used it cover the handwritten "New Game."

Folks I can assure you - this is deceptive advertising - since Run the Table began - there have been 20 new games introduced and they've already sold an est 38% of the total Run the Table tickets. I hardly call this NEW in the eyes of scratch ticket buyers.

To write this story, I just called the Texas Lottery to ask what percentage of Run the Table has been sold to date. The answer they gave me was 33% - then I had to ask, "as of when" - then they said, "as of Sept 4." I refused to accept this answer because on many, many promotional pieces and all over the TLC web site, they tell the People to call the TLC for the most current information. I do not believe that info as of 9/4/04 is current info on 9/16. Do you?

If we had consumer protection, they couldn't mislead us on issues like this without facing serious consequences. This is just one example of many that I can quote so that's why we should demand that we have consumer protection or that the TLC must adhere to consumer protection laws.

Another subject but still related to consumer protection - So ya'll didn't like hearing how the TLC paid jackpot winners more and/or less than what winners were entitled to when they won - huh? Well, neither did I and neither did those winners who didn't receive at least the amount allocated. They are upset to say the least. And it's not because the winners want "more money." It is the principle of this thing and the shock that the state of Texas would cheat them is what bothers them the most. Then the angers been compounded by the fact that the TLC didn't contact them and say, "Hey, we made a mistake when we paid you. We'd like to correct our error." Even credit card companies reimburse you immediately when you accidentally overpay your bill - but not the Texas Lottery.

And I can assure you, it would bother me too if I were in their shoes. There's too many big corporations screwing us, to many scams, to many dishonest business activities, and too much corruption in government. Companies "buy" favors and they "buy" laws and it's us little folks that actually foots the bill. Just look at how many millions has been donated to politicians to pay for their campaign advertising at election time - the companies that donate all of this money simply inflates their prices to consumers to raise political funds. The big firms do this in hopes that if their candidates are elected, they will remember their supporters at legislation time.

Anyway, back to the cheated winners. Here's what some have told me about their feelings regarding being short-changed and their winning experiences concerning the TLC.

One cheated winner, when he found out that he was short-changed, was so upset because when he went to collect his winnings, he said that he felt the TLC treated him badly. He said he felt like a "criminal" because before they would pay him, they did a complete background criminal check and a thorough credit check. He said, "staff was just not nice to me. To learn that they were cheating me while trying to find something on me, really, really makes me mad." He said they made him wait for "hours" while conducting their investigations. He just had to sit in their offices and wait patiently.

Another winner who was shortchanged said one executive staff member was "cold and distant - not friendly or happy at all." The winner said that they concluded that the staff member was upset because "someone actually won so the jackpot couldn't roll." I told him that he probably hit the nail on the head with that conclusion!

Then there's another shortchanged winner who won a bunch of money and he carried his own security with him when he went to Austin to collect. But the TLC refused to let his security personnel in the building with their firearms. Now do understand, his security was licensed by the state of Texas and WERE Police Officers. Police officers in Texas are required to carry firearms while working.

Most of the winners I spoke with really liked Abby Pena. But Abby is no longer there. She was the Winners Liaison.

All winners are grateful for winning, but they still express ill feelings about the "real" amount they win vs what they "thought" they won. This is because of the taxes that they end up having to pay on their winnings. Remember, the state keeps at least half of total sales for themselves, then when someone wins, the federal government comes in to collect their share. When you consider how much profit the states and the federal governments make compared to what is actually returned to players - well, it's disheartening and it makes you wish you were in the lottery business. Oh, but wait a minute, the private sector is NOT allowed to run a lottery. Imagine that! We're suppose to be able to trust our states to be honest and to have integrity ...

Example of "real winnings" - Recently California had a highly publicized $100 million jackpot and there were 3 winners. Well, those who won and selected CVO received $13.5 million after taxes but they'll probably owe more taxes at the end of the year. Those who took annual pay will receive GROSS payments totaling $33.3 million over 26 years (average $1.26 million per year BEFORE taxes) - but - California starts with low payments then graduates each year to higher payments. The winners just got a little check for their first payment and that first check hardly classifies them as "rich." The winner will still pay federal taxes each year of about 40% of their winnings. So the bottom line is, most of the money that lotteries take in, the government keeps. Very little money of what was collected is actually returned to players by lotteries.

People who SEE "$100 Million" advertised THINK they've won $100 million cash. But they haven't.

With regard to the TLC's method of calculating the winners share, our state legislators are involved and interested now because they want to know WHY the TLC would pay any winner more than what was allocated to any prize category for any game - this includes Texas 2 Step. So the TLC is catching it from all ends right now. But one more time, I feel the TLC is stalling using the pretense that they are "auditing." They really don't have anything to audit or investigate - the rule is quiet clear - in my opinion - and the actions of the TLC after getting caught shows that apparently, my interpretation was correct. I say this because they began paying the way I interpreted the rule and then they amended the rule later to cover paying the "investments costs" to cover themselves for false advertising.

Director Greer is using the excuse that there's a new auditor and new executive staff now so there's reason to audit again. But he's failed to acknowledge that legal counsel is the same person who advised the old auditor on what to say in the first audit report. That report confirmed the over-payments and under-payments. The excuse given in the first audit report was that "staff mis-interpreted the rule" and that's why winners were over-paid and under-paid.

My question is, if this is the true, then why didn't the TLC go on and pay the cheated winners what they rightfully won when the TLC realized in 2002 that there was a "staff interpretation problem" regarding prize payments?

If the People had consumer protection, the AG could have acted on this issue back in 2001 when I originally reported it to the TLC. But the People have NO consumer protection because the TLC is a "state agency." The AG stood silent while the TLC continued to get away with misappropriating funds - until now that is.

And just so that you know it - do you know WHY the TLC robbed Peter to pay Paul? Because they advertise jackpots that they don't have the funds to make good on - and they didn't want winners complaining to the press that the amount on the billboards was a lie - after all, that could hurt their "integrity" image that they claim is the single most important aspect of a lottery.

More later.

Sept 9, 2004 - (Edited 9/10/04 - added sales comparison between 1997 & 2004) I know it's been a long time since I've posted any lottery news and for that I'm sorry. There's really been a lot going on and I've just been too busy then too tired to post. I also need to apologize for not answering a ton of email. I just haven't had time. Sorry. Let me try to catch up some.

To address the most recent series of questions regarding my posting the "rumor" - the rumor was that the TLC was finally going to give us our old Lotto Texas game back. Yes, it is still just a rumor BUT it came from a VERY reliable source - one that has NEVER been wrong. I have not tried to confirm the rumor with the TLC - they wouldn't tell me if I did ask so why would I bother to ask them.

I did however get feed back about staff's re-action to seeing my banner about the rumor and that re-action brought a smile to my face.

This past Aug 31, 2004 was the end of the TLC's fiscal year and tomorrow morning at 10 am they are holding a press conference - the purpose of the press conference is to tell the media that things are fantastic at the Texas Lottery - all their plans were successful as FY 04 sales increased by $345 million over FY 03. Now it is true that sales are up by $345 million but it's NOT because they were "successful" in all their endeavors. In fact, they failed miserably and they actually know it but won't say it publicly.

Here's a breakdown of the increases/decreases between FY03 & FY04 that netted the $345 million and the breakdown between FY97 & FY04 follows:

Scratch tickets: Sales increased by $182 million. (The new $20 and $25 tickets brought the increase)

Pick3: Sales increased by $16.5 million

Mega Millions: Added a new game that was suppose to bring in $294,288,579 for fiscal year 2004. It only brought in $189 million - sales was short by <$104,672,168.> Not only were Mega Millions projections way off target, but the costs to implement Mega Millions - advertising, new playslips, point of sales literature, software development, air travel, hotels, meals, phone calls, faxing, etc ate up the profits. Not only were Mega Millions sales a disappointment to the state, but so far Texas has sent at least $59 million of the $189 million out of state to pay jackpot winners. Texas based businesses have lost potential revenues and the state of Texas lost tax income as a result of adding a multi state game. This effects the bottom line too. Texas winners spend money in Texas but that revenue to our communities and the state was lost.

Megaplier - Another new game. Brought in $45 million and projections were close to what was targeted but are declining now so they are already worried.

Lotto Texas: Sales decreased by $48.7 million - the lowest sales in the history of the game yet they were suppose to increase by $153,892,860 because of the matrix change in May 03. To tell you how bad sales were, when you compare the first 141 draws under the new Lotto Texas game to the last 141 draws under the old Lotto Texas game, sales are down by <$132.1 million>. This is a cold hard fact so ask yourself how much did they really lose? See a breakdown of each years sales and more details.

Cash5 - Sales decreased by $18.5 million yet there was a rule change that was intended to increase sales. Rules changes costs lots of money for the state.

Texas 2 Step: Sales decreased by $23.1 million yet there was a rule change that was intended to increase sales.

Inserted 9/10/04 - Now here's a breakdown comparing FY 97 to FY 04. During the Press Conference they are going to say that sales are the 2nd highest in the history of the Texas Lottery. So let's look at that ...

FY 04 figures are not audited and the Instant Tickets, Lotto Texas and Tx 2 Step figures are as of 8/28/04.

In 1997, we only played Lotto Texas, Pick3 (6 draws per week - not 12 draws), and Cash 5 (4 draws per week started 11/25/96 - not 6 draws) and scratch tickets with half or maybe a third as many games. Yet FY 04 sales for scratch tickets, Lotto Texas and Cash 5 are down compared to FY97 but expenses are up tremendously on these games - especially the scatch tickets due to travel to and from the printers and shipping the tickets to the retailers. As for Pick3, its sales have increased every year since its inception and the addition of the Day Draw has had little impact but Pick3 expenses increased. Regarding the increase from 2 to 4 draws for Cash5 back in Nov 96 which was during FY97, that plan failed too. Compare Cash5 sales for each year to see for yourself.

Always remember, just because "gross sales increase" does not necessarily mean the "bottom line" increased and in this case, the state has lost in many ways as a result of their rule changes that players opposed.

This is WHY the rumor exists. This is WHY the TLC is discussing giving us our game back and they are doing so behind closed doors. This much is known. However, keep in mind, I think the TLC would rather go bankrupt than to admit publicly that they failed at anything they did especially since they just love to say how much support they have from focus group studies. They always have excuses and tomorrow during the Press Conference they will say that Lotto Texas sales are down because of Mega Millions which is clearly not true.

Here's proof - There were 26 Lotto Texas draws in FY04 prior to the start of Mega Millions and they sold $97.1 million Lotto Texas tickets compared to $140.8 million Lotto Texas tickets sold in the last 26 draws under the old matrix. Mega Millions had absolutely NOTHING to do with this decrease.

Director Greer is emphatic when he talks about sales - he says "all that matters is the bottom line" - well, the bottom line IS important but what was the REAL bottom line after expenses for Mega Millions & Megaplier's start-up cost and the rule changes to other online games that produced negative results? Director Greer doesn't talk about the costs - he only addresses gross sales figures and compares week to week or year to year.

Certainly sales should have increased from FY03 - after all - they added two new games and started selling $25 scratch tickets.

Next item - about the Sunset review. I did make recommendations and they did include one of my recommendations in the bill. And it was very important. When and IF the bill ever passes, the People will now have consumer protection from the lottery. You see, now the TLC doesn't have to adhere to any consumer laws - they can advertise anything they want - even lies and misconceptions - and get away with it. But, if this bill passes, the TLC can be held accountable from the day it takes effect. Since the TLC only sells products to consumers, it is only right that they have to adhere to the same laws as the private sector.

I had other recommendations but they weren't included in the Sunset Bill. However, I've since learned that there will be other bills that will include my recommendations now. This has come about because the state just learned that the TLC has overpaid Lotto Texas winners by $100 million. This money would have been transferred to the state had the TLC not used it in the manner to which they did so in reality, the state lost $100 million and they aren't happy about it.

To help you understand this - you all know how much I've been complaining about the winners who were shortchanged. They were short-changed because they did not receive all that was in their "prize pool" when they won. The "prize pool" is suppose to be or should be a very specific percentage of sales - after all - the rule says the game is "pari-mutuel" meaning the winners in every prize category splits a set percentage of sales except those who win the "guaranteed" prizes. ($3 and $5 prizes)

The prize monies for each prize "category" are suppose to be kept "separate" and any monies not paid to winners for each prize category is suppose to "carry-over" to the next draw and pay out then. Monies "carried-over" is suppose to result from "rounding down" prizes to whole dollars only.

The only money that was suppose to go into "reserve" was monies not needed to pay the "guaranteed" prizes and 2% of the players share of sales that wasn't even allocated to any of the prize categories. The TLC withholds the 2% "just" in case they need money to pay the "guaranteed" prizes.

The "reserve" money was suppose to decrease and increase as a result of having to pay the "guaranteed" prizes only but the TLC decided, without writing it into the rule, that they were going to start paying jackpot winners the amount they "advertised" instead of a true percentage of sales.

After the TLC got caught, the TLC tried to change the rule so they could pay the "amount advertised" - but if you'll remember - we fought them for 9 months and stopped them. Instead they foolishly wrote that they would pay the greater of the amount in the prize pool OR the amount advertised. (To pay the "amount advertised" means that they will pay however much it would cost to invest to get a return of the amount advertised over 25 years. This is called the "investment cost.") See spreadsheet for complete details.

Well, this rule change and the "un-written" pay procedure cost the state $100 million between Sept 1996 through May 2003.

A breakdown of the different ways the TLC paid winners between Sept. 11, 1996 thru Aug 29, 2001 - There were 182 winning Lotto Texas tickets sold. Of the 182 winning tickets ...

136 received more than the allocated amount of sales which was 32% of total sales or as the rule says, "64% of the prize pool" - the prize pool is 50% of total sales. In fact - the winners received the “investment cost" (the amount needed to make good on the amount advertised.)

19 received the exact amount allocated to the jackpot prize (32% of sales or 64% of the prize pool) BUT ...
One (1) of the 19 wins had two different investment costs related to the win - yet the TLC paid the amount in the prize pool instead of either investment cost figure - one figure was higher, one was lower.
14 of the 19 paid more than the investment cost
4 wins - The investment cost and the amount in the prize pool just happened to be the same. What are the odds of this happening 4 times?

8 were promotional wins

19 winning tickets - consisting of a total of 50 different individuals - received less than the amount in the prize pool which resulted in transferring $2,841,703 to the "reserve fund." These winners received the “investment cost” which was lower than the amount in the prize pool (lower than what was allocated to the prize category).

Now its important for you to know that IF the TLC did take the "reserve money" to pay jackpot winners more than what was allocated to their prize category, well, this money really did belong to the 3 of 6 winners. In a nutshell, it was the 3 of 6 winners who got cheated out of their share of sales and some of the jackpot winners were cheated.

It's equally as important for you to know that ... The TLC never paid a winner less than the amount in the prize pool AFTER I began posting - in March 2000 - how much a winner would receive if he won. The last winner "obviously" cheated was in Feb 2000.

There's only one FAIR & SAFE way to run games of chance like Lotto Texas - every prize category should be allocated a set percentage of sales for winners to divide and that money should be paid out every draw down to the PENNY. But the Texas lottery doesn't do this - they trick you with the "guaranteed" prizes, over allocate the percentage of sales needed to fund those wins, then they have an excuse to have a "reserve fund" and they keep the monies in reserve and eventually it gets transferred to the General Revenue Fund.

Currently, since the new Lotto Texas (5/44) began in May 2003, the TLC has kept $6,374,977 of the players share of sales but they tell you that they return 52% of sales.

Next item - Remember those self service terminals that the TLC hurriedly bought for $12.4 million? Well, they still don't have them all installed yet and the machines stay broke alot. The retailers are very frustrated because when the service rep calls them back about their "broke" machine, they tell the clerk to go see what the error message is. The clerks always have customers waiting, can't go, so their terminals stay down longer. Also, notice that sales haven't increased on the games that they sell. And last but not least, G-Tech sold Texas these machines KNOWING that they were coming out with new technology where the machines can literally sell everything without involving store clerks for lottery sales. That's what Texas should have bought because it would have solved MANY of the retailers problems/complaints. Oh well - say la'v and kiss that $12 million good-bye.

But do know too that the TLC had to spend that $12.4 million before their FY03 year ended or they would have had to give that money to the state. They bought those self service terminals on Aug 29, 2003 - two days before the end of the fiscal year! Is this conniving or what? <big grin>

Well, I'm out of time now so I have to stop writing. This is probably more than you have time to read anyway. More later.