32 replies to this topic

[SaulSpeedwell]

It's the first day of first grade. Fifty freshfaced little kids all (theoretically) sharing a room, sharing their toys, respecting the teacher, and saying the Pledge Of Allegiance together.

One of the boys is named "Ricky". He seemed like a nice kid, bigger than most his age, a little weak on his ABCs - but he brought a kickball with him! So far so good.

The next day, Ricky comes in with a shirt that says: "God Bless Ricky".

Day three's t-shirt: "Don't Mess With Ricky".

Day four's t-shirt: "Everything's Bigger at Ricky's House". (He even wears it when he goes to other people's houses!)

Everything Ricky owns seems to have Ricky's name on it. His basketball backboard, his bicycle, his lunchbox!

Ricky frequently spends the morning bragging about how he will win the race around the playground at recess time, but usually he ends up tripping, or starting a shoving match with one or more of the other kids.

Day ten: Somebody from somewhere Ricky has never been says the wrong thing, and suddenly Ricky and his parents are petitoning the principal to allow Ricky to become a firstgrade class unto himself! And he is taking his kickball with him! (Apparently Great Great Grandpa Ricky pulled this stunt back when the first-grade class was barely a dozen kids.)

After a few years of this, the other kids started to make fun of Ricky. Sometimes they would steal his Ricky lunchbox, or make dirty words out of the Ricky sticker on his Ricky bicycle.

Ricky grew up, made it to college, and became a meaningful contributor to society - but he never quite seemed to grasp why the other kids picked on him.

[Jim Drago]

Would that be poor Riccardo in Chile?

[SaulSpeedwell]

In the "You Can't Make This Up" department, I came into work today and found the following business-to-business holiday gift on the conference room table!!!

[MPR22]

http://www.forbes.co.../migration.html

First type in Franklin County Ohio

Then type in Travis County Texas


You just can't make this up.

[SaulSpeedwell]

Indeed. The map app was a little buggy in my browser, but all I saw was that both Franklin County, OH and Travis County, TX brought in 50-60K new people, and 25-29K people left.

47 people making an average of $26K per year left Austin for Columbus ...and 119 people making $33K per year left Columbus for Austin.

Maybe you should tell me what I supposed to conclude, in case I'm missing something

[MPR22]

The map does have a bug so ignore the fact that it says the number of people coming and going in both counties is the same because it is not.


Basic jist is, people are leaving Ohio to become citizens of Texas. It must not be all that bad here or if it is , it must be even worse there.

When Drago comes down for COTA, I am going to show him some land so he can relocate East Street Headquarters to within 3 miles of the track.

[FTodaro]

The map does have a bug so ignore the fact that it says the number of people coming and going in both counties is the same because it is not.


Basic jist is, people are leaving Ohio to become citizens of Texas. It must not be all that bad here or if it is , it must be even worse there.

When Drago comes down for COTA, I am going to show him some land so he can relocate East Street Headquarters to within 3 miles of the track.

We have a large number of republicans here, that are at retirement age!

[Jim Drago]

We have a large number of republicans here, that are at retirement age!

Apparently not enough

[SaulSpeedwell]

It must not be all that bad here or if it is , it must be even worse there.

Ricky's house is nice enough, as long as you aren't stuck in the same room as Ricky?

Even Ricky himself would have to admit that Austin isn't very representative of the rest of Texas? (I might have the biggest Bob Schneider collection outside of RIcky's house and Austin BOTH?)

For one thing, Austin seems to want to be a part of the U.S. more than Texas does???

[Cnj]

Well I'm not entirely sure who this Ricky kid is that Speeds seems to be obsessing about. The whole thing seems a little apocryphal to me.
However speaking of homeboys Ohio turf, I am interested to note that after naming the county for Benny, the first order of business apparently was to build a penitentiary and only then a school. An interesting neighborhood.

Cnj

[Ron Alan]

"apocryphal" KW is going to struggle with that one...ok I had to look it up

[LarryKing]

The number one reason people move from Ohio to the southwest can be summed up; the weather. Ohio winters can be sunny and 50*F in the morning and 20*F and snowing sideways in the afternoon. However, many soon regret their decision to relocate.

Central Ohio has a robust, technology-based economy that continues to attract young, culturally diverse, tolerant professionals. Columbus is blessed with the nation’s 2nd largest pediatric medical center, Nationwide Children’s Hospital; a world renowned research institute, Battelle Memorial Institute; and The Ohio State University is ranked among the nation's best public universities in U.S. News & World Report's 2013 edition of "America's Best Colleges". A large percent of the population are college graduates or hold advanced degrees. Columbus has many firsts, particular in medical education and in the treatment and care of the disabled. Unemployment in central Ohio has dropped to pre-recession levels. Home sales increased by 23% in the past year, the national average is 5%. Directly north of Franklin County is Delaware County, which is consistently near or at the top of the list of fastest growing counties in the U.S.

But these things are just icing on the cake.

What’s the one thing Ohio has that Texas, and the rest of the southwest, will never have?

Water. (Wait a few more years and you’ll see how prophetic that statement is.)

Every visitor from the southwest that I meet says the exact same sentence, “It's so GREEN here!” Ohio has an abundant supply of fresh water, so much so that every year or two the greed-headed developers of the already overtaxed Colorado River basin hatch a plot to divert water from the Ohio Valley to support their desert developments. The latest attempt is a chuckled-headed plan to build a 600 mile pipeline from the Mississippi River to Denver. Yeah, good luck with that. Fortunately, the leadership of the Great State of Ohio have had the wisdom over the last decade to pass legislation that prevents these vultures from raiding the Great Lakes. The late, great Sam Kinison said it best, “You live in a f@cking desert! This is saaaaaaand. Nothing grows in sand. Nothing is ever going to grow in sand. Ahh, ahh, ahhhhhhhh!)

While I have no statistics to support the following, I suspect that with each person that relocates to Texas the collective IQ of Ohio increases.

Moose out.

[MPR22]

While I have no statistics to support the following, I suspect that with each person that relocates to Texas the collective IQ of Ohio increases.

Moose out.


Wow, that sure smaks of the intillectual elite looking down at the proletariate masses.



What’s the one thing Ohio has that Texas, and the rest of the southwest, will never have?

Water. (Wait a few more years and you’ll see how prophetic that statement is.)

Your lack of understanding of Texas Geology and Hydrology is underwhelming, but I am used to you just throwing out any old idea that pops into your head.

The number 1 reason people move from Ohio to Texas is jobs not weather, if you pull up census data from the past decade you see a strong correlation between the economic downturn and the migration patterns of the Rust Belt not just Ohio.



I find it fascinatiing that everywhere I have traveled in the country when I introduce myself as being from Texas I get one of two responses:
1. Oh no, not from Texas....cue groan.
2. Do you ride a horse to work?

Texas is a community of people from all over the country, much like America is a community of people from all over the world. The ethnic diversity is much less homogenous than that of most states. Texas is well known for its friendliness and hospitallity to visitors and migrants. As you probably know the name Texas is derived from Tejas, a Spanish spelling of Taysha the Caddo Indian word for Friend.

It always perplexes me when the state of my origin is derided by others. I enjoy traveling and meeting others and have never left a place in the US saying "I don't ever want to go back".

[Blake Clements]

I enjoy traveling and meeting others and have never left a place in the US saying "I don't ever want to go back".

I have..... Anywhere that has a race track

[Ron Alan]

Central Ohio has a robust, technology-based economy that continues to attract young, culturally diverse, tolerant professionals.

But these things are just icing on the cake.

What’s the one thing Ohio has that Texas, and the rest of the southwest, will never have?

Water. (Wait a few more years and you’ll see how prophetic that statement is.)

Every visitor from the southwest that I meet says the exact same sentence, “It's so GREEN here!” Ohio has an abundant supply of fresh water, so much so that every year or two the greed-headed developers of the already overtaxed Colorado River basin hatch a plot to divert water from the Ohio Valley to support their desert developments. The latest attempt is a chuckled-headed plan to build a 600 mile pipeline from the Mississippi River to Denver.

The first statement is hilarious. "Tolerant", code word for "since you don't think like US, you're in-tolerant"

And the hypocrisy of your not wiling to share with your neighbors in the 2nd statement...come on man, share the wealth!!! Isn't this the whole party platform...take from haves and give to the have-nots? Don't cherry pick...live it or denounce it! Oh wait, you just did

[FTodaro]

Texas is a community of people from all over the country, much like America is a community of people from all over the world. The ethnic diversity is much less homogenous than that of most states. Texas is well known for its friendliness and hospitallity to visitors and migrants. As you probably know the name Texas is derived from Tejas, a Spanish spelling of Taysha the Caddo Indian word for Friend.

It always perplexes me when the state of my origin is derided by others. I enjoy traveling and meeting others and have never left a place in the US saying "I don't ever want to go back".

I lived in Planio Tx about 27 years ago for one year while I was setting up a business for the company I was working for. I loved it. I thought the boys were good Old boys and i really liked the fact that at lunch everyone was riding around in there car with a glass of wine or Bourbon .

From where i grew up having a shot gun on the back window rack was not that far out of place either.

YUUUP

[cam]

With a combination of work and family, I have lived/worked in 12 states within the US, one US territory, and 4 Western European countries. Have spent a great deal of time working in Ohio, for the most part, nice place, great running trails along the old tow paths, and way over taxed. The unions in Ohio seemed to have a death grip on everything. For example, I was not allowed to move my computer from one desk to another. And after one union guy moved my PC with related equipment (keyboard, mouse, monitor) another union guy came in to plug it all in. What would have taken me 10 minutes or less ended up taking a full day and a half. Of the many places I have lived and worked, Texas is my first choice of places to call home.

What’s the one thing Ohio has that Texas, and the rest of the southwest, will never have?

Water. (Wait a few more years and you’ll see how prophetic that statement is.)

Cuyahoga River was so polluted that it caught on fire.


Lake Erie

[Jim Drago]

. I enjoy traveling and meeting others and have never left a place in the US saying "I don't ever want to go back".

obviously you have never been to Topeka

[Michael Novak]

Texas is too **** hot or humid or both and everything is brown....
Ohio people drive to *** slow.... And Michigan--We have all the WATER----your little creeks and ditches are nothing as compared to Michigan water....


All that being said---I can't wait to come down to Austin in March and my favorite racetrack is in OHIO...

[Bench Racer]

I got nothing against good ol Texas other than it's so friken dry over the last several years there is nothing for the Monarch butterflies to eat while the do their annual migration and their numbers are reducing at alarming rates.

Which reminds me, is that (dryness) why the Mexicans migrate from Texas for employment where fruit and vegetables grow.

Moose, maybe to cure the whole deal of the Asian carp migration towards the great lakes via the Chicago river (sewer effluent)the Chicago river could be disconnected from the Mississippi river, implement a tunnel system and direct the sewerage to dry ol Texas. Kill two birds with one stone, efficient I'd say.