All the games that advertise this usually are complete scams. Another game I play is called MyVEGAS slots where you actually do earn loyalty points by playing, and can redeem vacations and free credits at casinos in Las Vegas. However I am looking for something that is more practical. It can even be just walmart gift cards or anything really, just not Las Vegas vacations or cruises for free.
TYIA

That reminds me of a story.
After that last one, I thought you might all enjoy a short follow up.
After Al, Chuck, Leo, returned to their other lives back in the world, they kept getting requests from various Agencies and Bureaus for more mine closure data, mostly focusing upon lines of documentation. The various Bureaus desired monographs, road guides, technical reports, and most importantly, detailed step-by-step “How To” manuals.
My guys, now my fully credentialed doctored colleagues, were predictably reticent to write up “How To” manuals for something that was obviously not of their authorship nor inception.
“Fuckin’-A, Rock,” Leo tells me in a phone call, “They want me to fuckin’ basically claim-jump you writing up mine closing procedures. What’s with these goatfuckers? They figured they paid you enough and are now trying to run a goddamned end around? Collective shitheels. No fucking way I’d even think of crossing, even accidently, the Motherfuckin’ Pro from Dover.”
I replied that I had no idea, as after the initial contacts after the field season, I had heard precisely dick from any of the bureaus. Which is fine, as I’m busier than a one-armed paperhanger in a windstorm getting ready to shift the family some 12,700 kilometers east.
I thanked Leo for the intel and told him not to worry, it’s just bureaucracy misfiring at its finest.
“Fuckin’-A, Bubba,” replies Leo as he hangs up.
It suddenly goes all dusty in my office. “I’ve trained that boy well,” I sniff and chuckle heartily.
A short while later, Al wrote me that he’s been contacted by the Bureau/Agency and they are desirous that he lead a field trip with a gaggle of professors from various universities. They are also not all geologists, but Environmental Scientists, Hydrologists, something called an “Environmental Engineer,” and other forms of societal detritus.
He tells me that they wanted him to lead a group of these characters out into the desert for a couple of weeks and show them the mine closure procedures which he developed.
He was most adamant in assuring me that they contacted him, and that the terminology was also theirs. He was already otherwise engaged, so he naturally had to decline. However, he made it abundantly clear that he would never even entertain such a notion like the one they had posited.
I wrote him back, as he was down in Patagonia doing something more or less interesting and/or exciting, thanking him for the information and wishing him well on his expedition. Since he was in the field, I also included a couple of the recipes we enjoyed back in the Nevada desert.
He later tells me that the Gauchos he was working with down there have never heard of Pineapple Upside Down Cake and they absolutely were delighted by it. Come to find out, they also like potato juice and citrus drinks as well.
“Good ol’ Dr. Good-deed. Aide to all men.” I pondered.
I talked with Esme about all this and she was of the opinion that either they knew I was headed east or they wanted me to have some time off. I had been doing a lot of ad hoc work for both Agencies and Bureaus over the last few years.
“Of course,” I replied, “Never ascribe to malice what can best be defined by governmental bureaucracy and officiousness.”
So, time puttered on.
We were holding weekly ‘GROJ (Get Rid Of Junk) sales’ on our weekends. Since everything electrical we possessed was 120 VAC, and the rest of the world, it seems, is 220 VAC, I had to part with all my antiquated electronics. My Fisher Studio-Standard stereo system, Akai reel-to-reel 16-track tape machines, EMI TG12345 MK IV recording console, and Harmon-Kardon turntables and amplifiers.
It was painful. However, I rationalized, if I were to stick them in storage for a decade or two, I’d have re-paid for them via rental fees a couple or three times over. Plus, and all that sitting unused in a storage locker certainly wouldn’t be good for these vintage electronical gizmos.
Still, it was a painful time to pack them into the back of someone else’s vehicle.
I had to take all my firearms to my Brother-in-Law for safekeeping. Since he’s in Kentucky, he was both happy to accept and vowed to give them regular workouts. Even though he’s some form or another of mechanical engineer, I guess I could trust him.
One day, the home phone rings. It’s Chuck and he’s livid.
“Rock!” he hollers, “You know what those chapped bastards at the Bureau want from me? They want me to step in on your turf, and take a clan of idiot pseudo-geologists out in the field for a couple of weeks and train them in mine closing. Can you fucking believe that?”
“Chuck,,” I say, “Whoa. Cool down. Leo and Al report the same, so it just looks like you were next on the list. So, going to take them up on their offer?”
“Don’t make me laugh, Doc!” Chuck asks, “First: I’m busy. Second: I wouldn’t have the foggiest idea how to handle logistics, camping, explosives, and all that other bureaucratic horseshit you somehow put up with. Third: I really don’t want a midnight visit from you and your bag of tricks because I’ve pissed you off by taking credit for what’s rightfully yours.”
“What is the fucking deal?” I ask Chuck, “I’m not like that at all. Everyone thinks I’m going go out and frag them because the Bureau asks them to do a job I did previously. Damn, I’m the most laid-back, gregarious, and even-tempered person on the planet; and I’ll mutilate the miserable manky motherfucker that says I’m not.”
Chuck laughs nervously.
“Hyperbole aside,” I continue, “It’s just that they know I’m headed out to the Middle East and don’t want to bother me right now; I suppose.”
“Umm, Rock,” Chuck clears his thought, and gulps, “That’s not the reason they told me.”
“Is that a fact?” I ask, “What did they give as a reason?”
“Now, Rock, don’t take this wrong. This is Bureau-speak, not me,” Chuck wants to make the point vodka-clear, “But they felt you were the wrong person to lead this group of ‘scholars’. They were concerned with your…”
Hesitation.
“Spill it, Chuck,” I say.
“Demeanor,” Chuck says, “Your conduct, your deportment, your behavior…”
“I see someone got a Thesaurus for Christmas,” I said.
“Rock, that’s them, not me,” Chuck continues, “They said you are too ‘wild and wooly’ to conduct this field expedition of ‘noted scholars’.”
“Is that a fact?” I ask, rhetorically.
“Just reporting to you what they told me, Bossman.” Chuck offers.
“I appreciate it, Chuck. Thanks.” I reply, “Don’t sweat it. I’ll take it from here.”
You could hear an audible expression of relief when we broke connection.
After a couple of cocktails, I had simmered down a bit. Esme says that I need to call my Agency buddies and get the lowdown on the situation, as they’ll know what’s going on.
For once, Esme is also very, very pissed off about the whole situation. Mama Bear’s claws were getting sharpened.
“You are gone for months,” Es exclaims, “Train a bunch of greenhorns, exceed project requirements by over 200%, supply crucial scientific data on forensic activities, and take out a disaster they didn’t even know existed in that mine with the locker full of explosives!”
“Yeah,” I reply, “Does seem a wee bit unappreciative.”
“And then they pull this kind of shit!,” Es yells further, “Those ungrateful bastards. Fuck ‘em. Let them stew in their own futility. They call and you tell them to get stuffed. After all you did for them…”
“Now, now, Dearest,” say, “Let me call Rack and Ruin. If anyone has the skinny on all this, they’ll have all the latest dope.”
“Bastards!,” Es cries, “You damn near get killed several times over and this is their thanks?”
“Yeah, I know, Darling,” I say, “Does seems a bit ungrateful and duplicitous.”
Esme hands me the phone.
“Phone. Call. Now.” She orders.
Looks like I just got my marchin’ orders.
“Yes, my love,” I reply. Even I know when I’m out-matched.
RING RING RING
Agent Rack answers and we go through the usual pleasantries…
“What the flying fuck you mean ‘I’m too dangerous’?” I question Agent Rack.
“Well, Doctor,” Rack tries to explain, “Your ‘cavalier’ attitude towards explosives. More of your ‘relationship’ with them. Not showing the proper deference…”
“WHAT?,” I roar, “Ask anyone that has worked with me in the field! ‘Safety first, last, and foremost’. Just that I don’t fret and quail around explosives like a bunch of phonophobic, jumped-up, wet-pantied shuddering schoolgirls, when I have to demolish something, doesn’t mean I’m anything other than a goddamned consummate professional.”
“Plus, Doctor, ” Rack continues, “It’s not the 1880’s any longer. A Stetson? A sidearm? A .454 Casull Magnum at that…”
“You have got to be yanking my crank here, Rack.” I angrily reply, as I really hate it when someone calls me Doctor like that, “The hat keeps the sun off my head so I don’t get addled like those fuckers you’re talking with at the Bureau. The sidearm is for safety. Oh, yes; there’s that word again. It’s a fucking tool, just like my Estwing hammers or my galvanometer.”
“Can’t kill anyone with a galvanometer,” Rack replies.
“But I could with a hammer, myriad ways” I reply, “And give me five minutes, I’d figure out a way to ‘extract’ someone with a galvanometer...”
“Doctor, do let me let you talk with Agent Ruin; I’m needed elsewhere,,” he tells me.
Agent Ruin takes the phone. It’s the old Agency Two-Step.
“Doctor is distraught,” he observes.
“No, ‘Doctor’ is just plain damned mad.” I reply, “They contract me for a job that has never been attempted before and I complete it beyond their wildest expectations! This is my recompense?”
“Well, Doctor,” Ruin continues, “I’m sure it’s strictly a business decision. It’s obviously nothing personal.”
“It sure as fuck sounds personal,” I gripe back, as now I’ve gone from annoyed to genuinely pissed off, “I’m surprised they didn’t say something derogatory about my Hawaiian shirts.”
“Oh, they did,” Agent Ruin lets slip.
“Oh? OK, Fine. That’s is then,” I reply, “The joyfulness of this whole experience has left the building. Tell them to strike me from their fucking list. I’m done with them. I wash my hands of them. I’m off east anyways. Fuck that bunch of paper-pushing, deskbound, pencil-necked dickheads. Fuck them. Fuck them solid. Fuck them ‘till they bleed.”
“Strong message to follow,” I add.
“Doctor,” Agent Ruin reminds me, “Do I need to remind you that all our conversations are recorded?”
“Oh, fuck no. I know that. So fucking what?” I growl, “Like I’m going to get tossed in Guantanamo for expressing a personal opinion? I can still do that in this fine country. Or has the First Amendment been repealed in my absence?”
“Doctor, you’re obviously agitated,’ Ruin adds, “Perhaps we’ll talk again later when you’ve calmed down before you head to the Middle East.”
“Yeah, about that,” I reply, “You shady characters can cross me off your fucking list as well. You’ve done nothing for me on this latest concern. Nothing! You couldn’t even give me the courtesy of a motherfucking heads-up. Guess that tells me all I need to know about the future of our relationship. Goodbye, Agent Ruin. Give Agent Rack my ‘Da Svidonya. I won’t be answering your calls any longer.
“Doctor, I, um, wait…”Agent Ruin sputters.
I continue: “And as long as I’m at it, tell that other Bureau to go hang as well. They want more data or shit from me, tell them to go find it elsewhere. And also tell them good luck with that. The three experts that exist in the world apart from me already told them to get bent. At least they possess loyalty and a dollop of comradeship. I’ll be shipping your phone and other items back via parcel post. Hasta la vista, Herr Ruin. Have a day.”
CLICK-KER -FUCKING-SMASH! I hang up in the rudest way possible.
“Clapped-out assholes,” I muse. “All those years of working together. All those years of building relationships around the world. It’s all kyboshed over a fucking Hawaiian shirt. I guess it was inevitable. Either I became too specialized or evolved myself out of being useful to them. Ah, well, their loss. Can’t be helped…”
I take a healthy swig right from the prime vodka bottle. OK, several.
“FUCKERS!” I scream at the wood-paneled ceiling, shaking my fist in vehement rage at the clouds coolly cruising by outside my window.
Esme doesn’t come running. She doesn’t have to. She knows the score.
I ship the Agency’s toys back to them with a terse note: “Thanks for all the nothing. Here’s your shit back. Dr. Rocknocker. PS: Get stuffed.”
Not my best effort, I’ll agree. However, I was really pissed at that point.
Now I have the time to devote solely to relocating my family and I overseas. Gad, there’s so much crap one must go through. What to sell, what goes in storage, what to trash, what to give away…the lists are endless.
First to go are all my power tools. Fuckbuckets. It took me decades to amass that collection. I got a good price, sure, but now I’m more or less without a hobby. We decide to put all Esme’s lapidary equipment in storage. It’s too specialized to generate much interest, much less a decent price. Besides, they won’t rot in our absence.
I can ship my fishing gear and golf clubs overseas. They’re American, but at least not 120 VAC.
Our house goes on the market and we have to get it spiffed to within an inch of its life. Got to have that ‘curb appeal’. Good, let someone else do it, I’m busy. More unexpected expense.
I give our house contractors out in New Mexico their marching orders. It’s going slow and will be a seasonal thing, but they guarantee me the house will be ready by next summer if they can source the slabs of Baraboo Quartzite I want. Splendid, that’s something I don’t have to follow up on every day.
Then there’s our aquarium. 250 gallons of treated Houston water, loaded with native Texan fish and a couple of cranky Jack Dempseys. All the gear, filters, pumps, water polishers, heaters, treaters, all of it. Has to go.
My ex-Utah Mormon drinking buddy down the road expresses interest. I basically let him have it gratis on the one condition he takes everything, fish included. He has to keep the fish alive and happy their entire lives. I’ve raised some from minnows and have grown attached to a couple of the gaspergou and a certain smallmouth bass with those big brown eyes…
Digger, my stalwart mechanic, is going to purchase my truck. It’s a bittersweet parting, but at least I know it’ll have a great home. Digger is going to use it as both his personal truck and his company’s hot-shot vehicle for pick-up and delivery of everything from batteries to full drivetrains. I know the vehicle will be in good hands.
Our Land Rover is up for grabs. Few are interested, though; buyer’s market. It’s a couple of years old and has lots of miles, due to Houston being so stupid-big. I order an extra-large bottle of AstroGlide as I know I’m going to be taking it up the ass on this one…
Finally, our pets.
Reluctantly, I’ve agreed to take the cat. It’s a stupid little feline that I figure we can just toss in a suitcase and drag it with us overseas. No, I guess we’ll get a cat-carrier and figure it out with the airlines.
Then there’s Lady. 135 kilos of dopey puppy. She’s getting up in years, as well, especially for a giant breed. Luckily, overseas we’ll be living on a Western compound. So if we go through all the rigmarole of quarantine, getting her a ‘pet passport’, and shipping via a specialist service, Lady can bark at the tenets of pre-Islam (dogs really aren’t haram), and actually join us in our new home.
This is going to cost a fortune, but I don’t care. She’s an integral part of the family, she is going to join us.
I find a Pet Relocation Service and begin the masses of insane paperwork. It’s an ‘all-in’ service, basically door-to-door. But do not be deluded, they charge every micrometer of the way.
Vaccinations, chipping (she already was fitted with an RFID chip), booking, boarding, securing vet services, obtaining health certificates, securing import permits, dealing with all issues related to customs clearance, interacting with foreign agents, supplying IATA approved crates, and obtaining Municipality tags registration for new arrivals.
Gonna cost me a couple-three-four kilobucks. Worth every penny.
Esme, the kids and I are working on beginning packing, tossing this, wrapping that, sentimentalizing over the other thing when we get a ring at the door.
It’s a bonded courier. He has a package for me.
It’s of the size that would contain about 6-months’ worth of Playboy magazines, and has no external address. I sign for the thing and walk back to the kitchen.
“What you got there, Rock?” Es asks.
“Not sure,” I reply, “But it came via bonded courier.”
“Well, open it,” Es smiles. She loves surprises.
I do so and it’s a series of articles, re-prints, and other information regarding Nevada, mine closures, and the Mine Closure Act. There’s also a number of newspaper and magazine clippings that had been photo-copied into a dozen-page document. All of them, write-ups and reviews from different newspapers, house organs, and journals citing my work with the guys out in the field.
I open it further and there’s a personal note from Dr. Sam Muleshoe, and a certified check, made out in my name.
Seems I was correct. After exhausting their leads with Al, Leo, and Chuck, they have spent near a month trying to find someone to take over the project. “To fill my shoes,” as Dr. Sam Muleshoe notes.
They came up totally empty.
“Told ya’ so.” I gloated. Esme smiles a wide schadenfreude-fueled smile.
I look at the check. It’s plenty healthy, but not superhero strength.
I show Es and she laughs out loud.
“So,” Es whoops, “They think they can get back in your good graces by buying you off? Hah! Fat chance,” she says and regards the check, “Hell. They’re not even close.”
I agree with Esme passionately.
I write a quick, hand-scribbled note to Dr. Muleshoe, thanking him for the information. I give several options, some admittedly anatomically impossible, regarding what he can do with the check and the Bureau’s offer.
I wrap it back up with duct-tape, call the courier service, and return it to Reno, COD.
A couple of days later, I receive a phone call. Surprise, surprise, it’s from Reno.
“Rock, it’s Reno!,” Es tells me.
I shake my head “no!” slicing my hand through the air in the head-chop mime.
“Tell him I’ve gone bush in darkest Outer Albania and you have no idea when I’ll be back,” I say.
Esme looks a bit sheepish, as we can hear the phone remark: “I can hear you, you know.”
“Fuckbuckets,” I think, “OK, hand me the rap-rod.”
“Yeah?” I growl, very grizzly-like into the infernal communication device.
“Hello, Rock. This is Sam Muleshoe,” the phone reports.
“Damn,” I exclaim, “I guess you characters can’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Which word fucking confused you?”
“Rock, what’s the god damned deal?,” Sam asks innocently, “Why all the bloody hostility?”
“Oh, double-fuck me!” I say metaphorically, “Don’t act like you don’t know. Try and snake the latest field mine closing job out from under me and try to snag my guys. Then, when that fails, give some sort of bullshit report to Rack and Ruin. You think I’m ‘too cavalier’, too “wild and wooly’, and think I’m some goddamned 19th-century throwback that loves horrible Hawaiian shirts…”
“Doc?,” Sam asks, “Are you currently fucking drunk? What the actual fuck are you rabbeting on about?”
“Sam, I’m stone-cold fucking sober,” I reply, “Yeah. I know, that’s a first. But listen here Scooter. You must have balls of brass trying to sweet-talk me into running another field course after all you did…”
“Rock,” Sam pleads, “Please, believe me, I have no idea what you’re on about. Can we talk and maybe figure this thing out?”
“No!,” I holler, “I’m done talking with the likes of your Bureau. Nothing you can do or say to rebuild the bridges they’ve burned with me.”
“OK,” he says, “Doct…, err, Rock, buddy. Calm your tits. Give me the Reader’s Digest version. I’ll look into it, because I have absolutely no idea what this is all about. This really sounds serious, with fuck-up overtones. Trust me, I’m serious as the last cold can of beer on a field trip.”
“Marvelous.” I say, “I guess I owe you that much. Professional courtesy. At least one of us has the grit to employ some.”
So, I run through the tale of the travails of Al, Chuck, and Leo. Then my little difference of opinion with Agents Rack, Ruin, and the Agency. Plus my severing of ties with both that Agency out on the east coast and the Bureaus in the great American Southwest.
“Doctor,” Sam says intently, “I know it’s going to be difficult, but I swear on a box of your finest cigars with a vodka chaser that I didn’t know anything about all this nor did it come from this office. Por favor señor, let me do some digging. I’ll be back in touch.”
“Sam,” I say, thinking over the situation, “Yeah…I must apologize for my previous outbursts. I should have known you’re not behind this idiocy. Yeah, go do some fossicking. Let me know what you dig up. Again, sorry. I was a bit…animated.”
“Rock,” Sam chuckles, “Do you think that I’d dare anger someone like you? You must think I’ve got a serious case of cranial lithification to cheese-off the Motherfucking Pro from Dover!”
At this point, I knew that Sam was also only collateral damage; he too was caught in the crossfire. Ground zero for the original attacks lie elsewhere within the Bureau.
Esme and I go back to preparing for our trip coming up in 2 months. But Jesus Q. Christwagons, there’s so much to do. Everything you own; it gets packed, stored, or trashed.
It’s the decisions that get so tiring. Keep. Toss. Sell. Burn. Leave on someone’s doorstep.
I propose to Es that we just do the basic necessities. Then we hire some firm to finish up for us. It’d be worth the cost since just think what we’d be saving on aspirin and Ace Bandages.
Esme readily backs the idea that we should turn the job over to someone else. Plus in the interim, we can take a trip back home to Baja Canada so the kids could visit their grandparents, we visit our family, and all of us could cool out a bit before the big trip east.
I need to drop by Big Ray’s Tap for a few hours/days anyways.
Old commitments.
We’d go the beginning of our last month here in the States, spend a couple of weeks visiting family at home, leave the kids with the grandparents to get spoiled rotten. Es and I would return to Houston to finalize everything.
Then Es and I would fly from Houston to that damn sprawling annoyance of an airport on the big lake in Illinoise. The family would meet us there, handover the kids, and we’d all haul ass eastwards to the Middle East.
I readily agreed. Anything has to be better than dealing with this crapola.
Lady and the stupid cat would go to the pet schleppers a little early. Sure, it’d cost a few more dinars, but that’s one big headache sorted.
So, late one afternoon, I’m sitting in my office, trying to figure out exactly what reference works I couldn’t live without.
Compton’s? Save. Field Guide to Fungus? Toss. No, wait a minute. Could prove useful.
That’s why this is taking forever.
The phone rings.
It’s Sam.
“Hello, Sam,” I say, “What news?”
“Goddamn it all to fucking hell and back,” Sam roars.
“That’s a unique greeting,” I reply.
“I finally drilled down to the bottom of all this horseshit.,” Sam replies, “And it’s a real bowl of fuck all the way south.”
“I’m listening,” I say, “Actually, Sam, hold on. I need a drink. Moment.”
I give Es the high sign, note it’s Sam on the phone, and that I’ll be in my office if she hears any screaming.
I amp up my drink and return to my office, closing the door behind me.
Lady is here, waiting to keep my feet warm.
“OK Sam, your nickel,” I say, “What’s the scoop?”
“Would you believe?,” he begins, “That all batshittery this came from accounting and bookkeeping?”
“Well,” I reply, “I’ll have to admit that I’m not overly surprised.”
“Yeah,” Sam continues, “I was off on holiday. My first two weeks off after 5 years. My very temporary replacement received a memo from the head of the Bureau that there was great interest in you leading a shortened version of your last trip to demonstrate to a bunch of different university PhDs in the care and feeding of abandoned mines. Seems the Bureau Chief was very impressed with what you and your team accomplished.”
“OK,” I reply, “With you so far. So, where did things get wrapped around a tractor’s nuts?”
“Right,” he replies, “Here’s where things first went off the rails. Whoever vetted the list of potential attendees sorted the list alphabetically, not by field of expertise. Of course, the obvious first choice would be for geologists; especially those with mining, field, and blasting experience.”
“Ah,” I replied, “No wonder it was such a miscellaneous bunch of baloney-loaf whole-grain enviro-types that Al had mentioned.”
“Yep,” Sam agreed, “But before anyone with any brains got sight of that list, some fucknuts in the Bureau’s University Liaison department sent out invitations.”
“Invitations?” I asked, “To what?”
“That’s just the thing,” Sam continued, “They sent out invites to a program that didn’t yet exist, run by someone who had yet to be contacted, much less secured.”
“Oh, hey! That’s some good work you guys do down there.” I snort.
“Indeed,” Sam agrees, “So once that hit the mail, we started getting back replies and acceptances.”
“And there was no project, no leader, no logistics…?” I asked.
“No shit,” Sam scoffs. “So, what did these idiots here do? Contact the attendees and explain the problem. Take a little flack, but get it sorted out then try again?”
“Let me guess,” I said, “No?”
“Nope,” Sam sighs, “By that time, it was in the works and in the hands of accountants.”
“Oh, fuck,” I commiserated. “I feel your pain.”
“Yeah,” Sam continues, “They see that you’re the hookin’ bull on the last one and they dig into your contract. They figure, ‘Whoa, he’s way too expensive, just look at these expense accounts’, so they do an end-around and contact your colleagues.”
“Al, Chuck, and Leo. They’re damn good guys,” I said, “Fine field scientists, all. But I don’t think any of them have the moxie or experience yet to run a whole field course.”
“These accounting shitheads never bothered to find out,” Sam groans, “It was all ‘bottom line’, so you got caught in the squeeze.”
“OK,” I reply, “I see how that happened, but what about all the shit about me being a 19th-century throwback, that I’m unsafe, wear horrible Hawaiian shirts, and all that shit?”
“Comedy of bloody errors,” Sam says, “Actually, the Bureau Chief likes your fashion sense; you should see some of his shirts. But your slime campaign was based on unreliable evidence, tall tales, folklore, and outright fabrications. It was easy to pimp someone with a personality like yours, it’s been said. Someone was trying desperately to cover his ass. However, we have identified the perpetrator.”
“Next time I’m in Reno,” I said, “I’ll pay him a friendly little visit and arrange his transport to Neptune. One way. Y’know, it’d be easy for someone with a ‘personality like mine’.”
“Ah, yeah. He won’t be here,” Sam says, “In fact, we don’t know where the hell he went. He was immediately sacked, as were a couple of the more boneheaded accountants.”
“That’s redundant,” I smirk, “They really don’t want to talk with or see me anytime soon.”
“Right, then Rock,” Sam says, “We green again?”
“Yeah, Sam,” I reply, “Sure. Green as a New Saigon. But you’ve got to call Rack and Ruin for me. You have to let them know how this whole clusterfuck came to be. We had some words a while back.”
“Oh, yeah,” Sam remembers, “I talked with them the other day. They said they’ll be in Houston in a couple of days.”
“Cor! Just what I fucking need right now,” I lament. “Ah, it is what it is.”
“OK, Rock. Now, back to reality. You interested?” Sam asks.
“Send me a JD (job description) and the project particulars. The price of poker’s really going up this time, Sam. Stratospheric. Sorry, it’s all just business.” I relate.
“Yeah…,” Sam sighs, “I figure we’ll really owe you if you can drag our ass out of the campfire on this one.”
“You have no idea,” I chuckle. We exchange farewells and ring off.
Now I have some talking to do with my significant other.
Since we were all set to go back to Baja Canada, I could use those two weeks to go to Nevada, if necessary. I can be back in Houston with Es for the last two weeks before we’re slated to travel, and we can sort out the house.
“This won’t be an easy sell,” I muse, before chatting with my darling, brilliant, and ever-so-forgiving partner.
“I’ll need a drink first”, I declare.
Esme notes that it would be nice to have a little spare cash with us when we move overseas.
You could have dropped me with a Claymore. Es never fails to flummox me.
So, provisional OK from the powers that be. Now all I have to do is wait on Sam’s prospectus.
The next day, the doorbell rings. It’s Agents Rack and Ruin.
One is holding a box of very expensive cigars, and one is holding a bottle of very expensive bourbon.
I turn to Es and remark, “Look here, darlin’. Geeks bearing gifts.”
“Hello, Doctor,” Rack says, bristling, “We need to talk. “
“Why?” I ask, “I do seem to recall that I’m no longer associated with you people any longer.”
“Doctor,” Agent Ruin cocks his head contritely, bowing ever so slightly, “May we please have a moment of your time?”
I look to Es. She shrugs her shoulders. Luckily I’m partial to Es’ opinion. I am also partial to good bourbon and cigars, especially when someone else is paying for them. So I shrug my shoulders as well and tell them to make entry.
“My office, “ I say, “You know the way. Mind the boxes.”
Once in my office, the Agents stack their offerings and go on in great detail, basically collaborating Sam’s story. I remain steadfast and stony as the Harney Peak Granite of Mr. Rushmore fame. I’m not giving anything away any longer.
“Well, Doctor,” Agent Ruin finalizes, “That’s the story, warts and all.”
“Yep, it is pretty warty,” I agree, “So?”
“We would like to rekindle our relationship,” Agent Rack reports, “These are for starters.”
He hands me the cigars and booze; plus another box.
“Thanks,” I say, “But just because I accept your peace offerings, that doesn’t mean we’re going to turn back the clock.”
“What are you suggesting?” Agent Ruin asks.
“No more consulting,” I reply, “I want in. The ‘Full Monty’, as it were. If I’m going overseas and work for some twitchy Middle Eastern sandpit’s national oil company, I want perks, tabs, and my ass duly covered.”
“Work two full-time jobs simultaneously?” Agent Rack asks.
“However you want to structure it,” I say, “No more consulting. From here on out, you want me, you’re making me a full-fledged full-timer.”
Agents Rack and Ruin look at each other, enquiringly.
“Doctor,” Agent Rack replies, “We are prepared to offer you an ad hoc Agency appointment. You will be fully attached but you will be also doing your full-time job in the other country.”
“I’m listening. Tell me more,” I ask, “What exactly are you offering?”
“Full access to all pertinent information,” Agent Ruin continues, “Full entrée to appropriate facilities and, um, assets. Security for you and your family in case of, well, shall; we say, ‘difficulties’. Monthly minimum payment of [$$$] to any non-US bank of your choice. Extra duties would be duly compensated. Top clearances. An enhanced potential payment package, bonus possibilities, and full benefits for you.”
“Full benefits for me and my family,” I say, “Or there’s the door. Non-negotiable” I point out.
“Very well. That had been anticipated.” Agent Rack replies.
“Gentlemen,” I say, “Let us shake on what I hope turns out to be a beautiful relationship.”
We shake hands and I sign my life away. I’m really in it now, up to my neck. I have to learn to shut up more and just listen.
“Now, gents,” I say, “In order to seal the deal, let us break out the drinking stuff you’ve brought along. We will also smoke together so that we will know there will be no lies or deceit between us.”
“Also anticipated, Doctor,” both agents agree.
My ‘new’ old colleagues prepare to leave a while later, after a cigar, and far too much of what was a full bottle of expensive gift booze. They always get you in the end.
Contained within the other small box were my new Agency credentials, updated version satellite phone, secure codes, and a nifty new Swiss Army Knife, with a built-in cigar cutter.
With renewed dedication and expectations all ‘round, Agents Rack and Ruin take their leave.
They hope to be able to meet me and the family, remember, they are Uncles Rack and Ruin, overseas one day in the not too distant future. My information, further updated cards, registration, and all that official business guff will come to the specific Middle Eastern country’s US Embassy for me once we arrive and get settled.
“Marvelous,” I muse.
I receive an Email from Dr. Muleshoe explaining what we talked about and his hopes for my stickhandling a ‘quick’ 2-week field excursion for the approximately 15 Ph.D. types from around North America. Seems there’s a couple of Canadians and one Mexican professor that expressed desires to join. They had actually forwarded funds to be included in our number.
Sam suggests I drive out in my truck and proceed as per the last trip. Get the trailer, fill it with noisemakers, and the Bureau would sort out transportation and lodging for the attendees. Seems some want to camp, like real geologists, and some want to lodge in hotels, like real non-geologists.
I write Sam back:
First item: this is a 2-week sojourn into the desert. It’s a field meeting, emphasis on the field, not a tour of Nevada’s many fine hotels, resorts, and casinos.
Item two: I no longer possess my truck. The Bureau will provide me with the appropriate vehicular equivalent. No passengers, this will be the Camp Chief truck from the onset. Besides, I am the only one licensed to drive the vehicle when coupled to an explosives-laden trailer.
Item three: I will be flown to and from Reno from Houston. No buses, trains, or automobiles. It’s business class or zilch.
Item the fourth: the Bureau will source the necessary support logisticians to provide food, drink, and toilet paper for the 16 professionals while we are in the field. They will also need to provide cooks, dishwashers, camp tidiers, and the like as I don’t have time to deal with 15 potentially field-fresh, whiny waterhead PhDs.
Item the fifth: The Bureau will provide for all pre- and post-trip handling of participants. They can handle hotel rooms for the early arrivers or late-stayers. They can manage arrivals, registration, signing of necessary documents, and assuring vaccination records are up to snuff, waivers are signed, etc. They will also handle the transportation of participants to/from and during the field project, when and where necessary.
Item the sixth: I include a new version of my contract. Force Majeure, ‘Take or Pay’ clause. Door to door coverage. Plus my, ahem, augmented day rate. Absolutely non-negotiable.
Item seven: I have final say over what is done in the field. I am in command, the boss, the head cheese, the head honcho, and I require absolute discipline, especially where explosives are concerned. “My way or the highway” will be the theme of the trip. Gain, non-negotiable.
To be continued.

Hello there, nice to meet you. I would consider myself to be a rather lonely individual. Despite me not liking large crowds or any gatherings, I do still have a wish for human interaction, just on a more personal level. The ideal I could describe as having just one person in your life that you could share moments with.
I believe in certain values in a relationship such as loyalty, mutual support and understanding. I also believe that for two people to feel a strong connection with one another they must share certain ideas and worldviews. In other words, I do not believe in the concept of searching for someone strongly opposite to oneself.
Optimally the the two individuals would also have somewhat similar interests, though that's not essential.
With that out of the way, here are some things about me:
- I speak three languages, I'm planning to finish learning one of them within a year or so and start a fourth one
- My main hobby is learning about and discussing history, mostly from the early modern period to the end of the 20th century
- Besides history I also enjoy looking into politics, though usually geopolitics rather than contemporary internal events. Speaking of politics, this is something that I would consider an important point. Not to get to deep into it in this post but I am not interested in talking with anyone who follows any form of socialist thought
- As mentioned above, I prefer the company of one person or, at most, a small group of people. This notwithstanding I am actually a really talkative person. If I have the time for it, I could easily do several hour long calls every day. Something to add here as well, I consider voice chats to be a requirement. Text chatting for me is just something to do in between calls, nothing more.
- I am starting to work out again after a decent brake and I have big goals in this field. Before the virus outbreak, I would go on nightly walks. It's a great feeling, standing out in the field with the full moon and stars illuminating the warm Summer night, seeing the light reflection in the river and hearing the insects. Then, as you walk through the lightly wooded area hear something brake the branches to your side, startled, grab the nearest branch and hold in front of you in anticipation. All for nothing to happen in the end. Great summer times, if the virus situation permits, I will definitely do that again.
- Speaking of exercise, I am actually slightly bellows average on weight, so a part of my training would be to gain it. In other words, I am definitely not obese and I have no interest in people who are, simply because I cannot feel any physical attraction for that. This also applies even, if it so happens, that your word to describe your obesity is something like ''chubby'' or '' plus sized''
- Another point relating to physical well being, is that I do not drink or smoke, never have actually. It's a must for me that you don't either
- Since I want a loyal and trustful relationship, it goes without saying that monogamy is a must, this is something which I can't give even one metaphorical inch on
- When it comes to media, my tastes are pretty varied
- Music wise, I enjoy many genres and also many songs and pieces from genres which I usually do not care too much about. Some of my favorites genres would be J-pop (both modern anime opening kind and also the 80s city pop), Eurobeat, Synthwave (multiple variations of), Doomer music (though actually the ones which I do not perceive as being that depressive) and military marches. Something that I wanted to do for a long time is to cruise around the city at night with someone, listening to 4 A.M. or Plastic Love
- I have watched, a lot of anime series. I could definitely discuss a lot in this regard. Some favorites would be Psycho Pass, Fate;Zero, Code Geass, Death Note, Higurashi, Berserk (though only the manga)
- Besides anime I also watched a decent amount of movies and TV series, some really good ones would be (Movies:) Fight Club, Goodfellas and Casino (same movie really), A Beautiful Mind (Series:) Generation Kill, Rome, Breaking Bad, Sopranos
- My variety in games has decreased over the years, nowadays I mostly just play EU IV and HOI IV, with some action games and RPGs in between. I always enjoy some good co-op though.
- I used to read quite a lot of books, I even have a few full shelves of them but since then I switched to reading articles online. There are still a few good works that I wish to read but need to make time for first
​
That's probably enough for an introduction, I usually like to be thorough in these sort of things but this is probably my longest one. Just a few more technical details. I use Discord to talk with people on the internet, Reddit is just a place to meet them. I am from Europe so only European timezones are compatible. Both Reddit PMs and the chat are fine but I do prefer PMs. Lastly, I ask that you write a decent amount of information about yourself in your message just so that we have enough to go on. Thanks for reading all the way through and... I hope to hear from you soon.

​
Hello there, nice to meet you. I would consider myself to be a rather lonely individual. Despite me not liking large crowds or any gatherings, I do still have a wish for human interaction, just on a more personal level. The ideal I could describe as having just one person in your life that you could share moments with.
I believe in certain values in a relationship such as loyalty, mutual support and understanding. I also believe that for two people to feel a strong connection with one another they must share certain ideas and worldviews. In other words, I do not believe in the concept of searching for someone strongly opposite to oneself.
Optimally the the two individuals would also have somewhat similar interests, though that's not essential.
With that out of the way, here are some things about me:
- I speak three languages, I'm planning to finish learning one of them within a year or so and start a fourth one
- My main hobby is learning about and discussing history, mostly from the early modern period to the end of the 20th century
- Besides history I also enjoy looking into politics, though usually geopolitics rather than contemporary internal events. Speaking of politics, this is something that I would consider an important point. Not to get to deep into it in this post but I am not interested in talking with anyone who follows any form of socialist thought
- As mentioned above, I prefer the company of one person or, at most, a small group of people. This notwithstanding I am actually a really talkative person. If I have the time for it, I could easily do several hour long calls every day. Something to add here as well, I consider voice chats to be a requirement. Text chatting for me is just something to do in between calls, nothing more.
- I am starting to work out again after a decent brake and I have big goals in this field. Before the virus outbreak, I would go on nightly walks. It's a great feeling, standing out in the field with the full moon and stars illuminating the warm Summer night, seeing the light reflection in the river and hearing the insects. Then, as you walk through the lightly wooded area hear something brake the branches to your side, startled, grab the nearest branch and hold in front of you in anticipation. All for nothing to happen in the end. Great summer times, if the virus situation permits, I will definitely do that again.
- Speaking of exercise, I am actually slightly bellows average on weight, so a part of my training would be to gain it. In other words, I am definitely not obese and I have no interest in people who are, simply because I cannot feel any physical attraction for that. This also applies even, if it so happens, that your word to describe your obesity is something like ''chubby'' or '' plus sized''
- Another point relating to physical well being, is that I do not drink or smoke, never have actually. It's a must for me that you don't either
- Since I want a loyal and trustful relationship, it goes without saying that monogamy is a must, this is something which I can't give even one metaphorical inch on
- When it comes to media, my tastes are pretty varied
- Music wise, I enjoy many genres and also many songs and pieces from genres which I usually do not care too much about. Some of my favorites genres would be J-pop (both modern anime opening kind and also the 80s city pop), Eurobeat, Synthwave (multiple variations of), Doomer music (though actually the ones which I do not perceive as being that depressive) and military marches. Something that I wanted to do for a long time is to cruise around the city at night with someone, listening to 4 A.M. or Plastic Love
- I have watched, a lot of anime series. I could definitely discuss a lot in this regard. Some favorites would be Psycho Pass, Fate;Zero, Code Geass, Death Note, Higurashi, Berserk (though only the manga)
- Besides anime I also watched a decent amount of movies and TV series, some really good ones would be (Movies:) Fight Club, Goodfellas and Casino (same movie really), A Beautiful Mind (Series:) Generation Kill, Rome, Breaking Bad, Sopranos
- My variety in games has decreased over the years, nowadays I mostly just play EU IV and HOI IV, with some action games and RPGs in between. I always enjoy some good co-op though.
- I used to read quite a lot of books, I even have a few full shelves of them but since then I switched to reading articles online. There are still a few good works that I wish to read but need to make time for first
That's probably enough for an introduction, I usually like to be thorough in these sort of things but this is probably my longest one. Just a few more technical details. I use Discord to talk with people on the internet, Reddit is just a place to meet them. I am from Europe so European timezones are preferable but if you believe that we share enough in common and want to try talking, feel free to message me even if you are outside of it. Both Reddit PMs and the chat are fine but I do prefer PMs. Lastly, I ask that you write a decent amount of information about yourself in your message just so that we have enough to go on. Thanks for reading all the way through and... I hope to hear from you soon.

Hello there, nice to meet you. I would consider myself to be a rather lonely individual. Despite me not liking large crowds or any gatherings, I do still have a wish for human interaction, just on a more personal level. The ideal I could describe as having just one person in your life that you could share moments with.
I believe in certain values in a relationship such as loyalty, mutual support and understanding. I also believe that for two people to feel a strong connection with one another they must share certain ideas and worldviews. In other words, I do not believe in the concept of searching for someone strongly opposite to oneself.
Optimally the the two individuals would also have somewhat similar interests, though that's not essential.
With that out of the way, here are some things about me:

• I speak three languages, I'm planning to finish learning one of them within a year or so and start a fourth one
  
• My main hobby is learning about and discussing history, mostly from the early modern period to the end of the 20th century
  
• Besides history I also enjoy looking into politics, though usually geopolitics rather than contemporary internal events. Speaking of politics, this is something that I would consider an important point. Not to get to deep into it in this post but I am not interested in talking with anyone who follows any form of socialist thought
  
• As mentioned above, I prefer the company of one person or, at most, a small group of people. This notwithstanding I am actually a really talkative person. If I have the time for it, I could easily do several hour long calls every day. Something to add here as well, I consider voice chats to be a requirement. Text chatting for me is just something to do in between calls, nothing more.
  
• I am starting to work out again after a decent brake and I have big goals in this field. Before the virus outbreak, I would go on nightly walks. It's a great feeling, standing out in the field with the full moon and stars illuminating the warm Summer night, seeing the light reflection in the river and hearing the insects. Then, as you walk through the lightly wooded area hear something brake the branches to your side, startled, grab the nearest branch and hold in front of you in anticipation. All for nothing to happen in the end. Great summer times, if the virus situation permits, I will definitely do that again.
  
• Speaking of exercise, I am actually slightly bellows average on weight, so a part of my training would be to gain it. In other words, I am definitely not obese and I have no interest in people who are, simply because I cannot feel any physical attraction for that. This also applies even, if it so happens, that your word to describe your obesity is something like ''chubby'' or '' plus sized''
  
• Another point relating to physical well being, is that I do not drink or smoke, never have actually. It's a must for me that you don't either
  
• Since I want a loyal and trustful relationship, it goes without saying that monogamy is a must, this is something which I can't give even one metaphorical inch on
  
• When it comes to media, my tastes are pretty varied
  
• Music wise, I enjoy many genres and also many songs and pieces from genres which I usually do not care too much about. Some of my favorites genres would be J-pop (both modern anime opening kind and also the 80s city pop), Eurobeat, Synthwave (multiple variations of), Doomer music (though actually the ones which I do not perceive as being that depressive) and military marches. Something that I wanted to do for a long time is to cruise around the city at night with someone, listening to 4 A.M. or Plastic Love
  
• I have watched, a lot of anime series. I could definitely discuss a lot in this regard. Some favorites would be Psycho Pass, Fate;Zero, Code Geass, Death Note, Higurashi, Berserk (though only the manga)
  
• Besides anime I also watched a decent amount of movies and TV series, some really good ones would be (Movies:) Fight Club, Goodfellas and Casino (same movie really), A Beautiful Mind (Series:) Generation Kill, Rome, Breaking Bad, Sopranos
  
• My variety in games has decreased over the years, nowadays I mostly just play EU IV and HOI IV, with some action games and RPGs in between. I always enjoy some good co-op though.
  
• I used to read quite a lot of books, I even have a few full shelves of them but since then I switched to reading articles online. There are still a few good works that I wish to read but need to make time for first
  

That's probably enough for an introduction, I usually like to be thorough in these sort of things but this is probably my longest one. Just a few more technical details. I use Discord to talk with people on the internet, Reddit is just a place to meet them. I am from Europe so only European timezones are compatible. Both Reddit PMs and the chat are fine but I do prefer PMs. Lastly, I ask that you write a decent amount of information about yourself in your message just so that we have enough to go on. Thanks for reading all the way through and... I hope to hear from you soon.

Hi everyone,
I recently surpassed 130k loyalty points on MyVEGAS slots (hell yeah!). I now have just about enough for a really solid reward redemption. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience redeeming the complimentary MSC cruises prize, and what the experience was like/what it actually payed for. If you have any input I’d love to hear it!
Also, is there something more worthwhile to spend points on in the casinos? I’m really open to suggestions.

Because of the bridge, there is a limit to the size of cruise ship that can come into Baltimore. I thought that might make for the fairest possible comparison between two ships across different lines. Please keep in mind that while I have attempted to be as comprehensive and unbiased as possible, this is from my perspective. As a result, some items (e.g. youth program) I reviewed may have no relevance to you while other items (all-inclusive drink package) I didn't review at all may be extremely important to you.
Many times where I say "on the Pride/Grandeur", the statement is true across the entire Carnival/Royal line but I have stuck with this usage specifically because I do not know enough to know which is specific just to the ship and which isn't.
About Me: I am in my early 40's and cruise with my wife and two daughters (ages 10 and 12). I primarily cruise Carnival because of the cost to value factor but we have no brand loyalty and all three cruises booked in 2018 are on 3 different lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian). Besides cost, I choose cruises based on itineraries as I like to go to at least one new place each time I cruise which is hard to do without also leaving from new ports each time.
Ship Factoids

• Completed: Pride = 2001, Grandeur = 1996
• Last Upgraded: Pride = 2014, Grandeur = 2017
• State rooms: Pride = 1062, Grandeur = 1142
• Passengers: Pride = 2124, Grandeur = 2446

Cruise Cost
I'm a deal hunter and, in both cases, the cruise was booked at least 9 months in advance and the price was monitored daily for price drops. The prices below are per person per day keeping in mind a family of 4 sharing a single interior cabin.

• Cruise Fare Including Taxes/Fees: Pride = $58.54, Grandeur = $66.13
• Daily Gratuities: Pride = $12.95, Grandeur = $14.50
• Add-on Gratuity: Pride = 15%, Grandeur = 18%

I will cover the cost of specific items like room service separately. The add-on gratuity is here because I didn't really have anywhere else to fit it but if you order a drink at a show or eat in the specialty dining, this reflects what will be tacked on to the bill automatically on the respective ships.
The $9.14 a day difference may not seem like much but for a family of 4 over a week adds up to $255.92
Cabin Size/Amenities
An interior cabin for 4 passengers was compared. The Carnival Pride is a slightly larger ship but has fewer cabins and can accommodate fewer passengers. This was very apparent in the size of the cabin as it seemed luxuriously spacious in comparison to the Grandeur. The Pride has a mini-fridge where as the Grandeur does not. The Grandeur has a flat screen TV on an adjustable wall mount while the Pride still has a big old CRT TV. You can find the average square footage by searching online but I don't think it will really help to appreciate just how tiny the Grandeur rooms were in comparison.
Internet
Internet at sea sucks which is nowhere more apparent than on the Carnival Pride. That being said, the cost for their value plan when booked in advance is $4 per day. On the Grandeur, the price was $15.95 per day. At that price, surely it was going to be blazing fast in comparison right? WRONG I only got a 24 hour pass and after the first hour, I went to customer service to cancel and get a refund. I talked to several people who said the same thing (no coverage in the cabin, only works when everyone else is asleep, etc.) but I also talked to someone who said he was video chatting on a daily basis so I will just leave this with a caveat emptor
Technology
The Carnival Pride has the Carnival Hub App which is a game changer. This free phone app gives you access to your stateroom charges, deck plans, activity guide, menus, etc. An optional capability for a one time fee of $5 for the entire cruise, allows you to chat with other guests on the ship. With younger children, this was huge. And because it was only local communication (no satellite uplink required), it was fast and reliable. Apparently RC has a similar app but it isn't available on the Grandeur.
The Grandeur has touch screen displays at the stairs on each deck which allows you to get an activity guide, see today's menu as well as map out how to get to something on the ship. This was really cool and the Pride didn't have this though it was available from the Hub App.
The Carnival Pride had a number of kiosks through-out the ship where you could check your room charges as well as on the TV in your room and the Hub App but the Grandeur had none of these - you had to go to Guest Services and get a print out each time (what a waste of paper).
The Grandeur had self-service soda machines for people who purchased the soda package but the Pride does not.
Gift Cards
This may seem like an odd thing to review but as I mentioned before, I am a value shopper and can get gift cards for at least 10% off which is a significant savings. Online and on the Pride, I could use a gift card to pay for anything (cruise fare, taxes, gratuities, excursions, etc.) and the process was easy - just enter the gift card information. The Grandeur was excruciating painful in comparison. When the gift certificates arrived in the mail, I discovered that I had to hand write information and then mail them back to Royal and that it could only be applied towards the base cruise fare. Once received, Royal then marked my account as being handled by a travel agent (I'm not making this up) which meant I could no longer have full control of my account online and had to call and explain each time any time I wanted to make a change.
Bring Your Own WateJuice/Soda
I'm not covering alcohol but I believe both ships allow each adult guest over the age of 21 to bring on a certain size bottle of wine/champagne.
Carnival Pride's official policy is that each guest, regardless of age is allowed to bring 12 cans/cartons of juice/soda/sparkling water. These must be placed in your carry-on luggage. Bottles (plastic/glass) are specifically prohibited.
The Grandeur's official policy is that no outside drinks are allowed aside from the alcohol allowance mentioned previously. In practice, they seem to look the other way for bottled water.
Effectively, you can bring bottled water on the Grandeur but not the Pride. You can bring 12 cans/cartons per person of juice/soda on the Pride but not the Grandeur.
Both ships make medically necessary allowances (you can bring on distilled water for a CPAP machine for instance).
Food/Dining
We always get "early dining" but both ships offered 3 options (early, late, my-time). The only difference to note was that early dining is 6 PM on the Pride but is 5:30 PM on the Grandeur.
The quality of the food in the main dining was great on both ships. The service in main dining is also excellent on both ships. The only difference between the two was the options offered. On the Pride, there is a section for "rare finds" where you might get to try something that you might not otherwise have such as frog legs or rabbit. On the Pride, there is also a section for "local" which is representative of whichever port you just departed from (Caribbean jerked chicken for instance). The Grandeur didn't have these on the menu and by the end of the cruise, the offerings seemed repetitive.
The buffet dining is a different story all together. The Windjammer on the Grandeur is tiny in comparison to the Pride's Lido. This was problematic for two reasons. First, seating. Second, offerings. The Pride has a ton of places where you can tell someone what you want and how you want it and they will make it for you (Blue Iguana for tacos/burritos/fajitas, Guy's Burger's for hamburgers, The Deli for hot/cold sandwiches, the Pizza Pirate for pizza, etc.) as well as a number of cuisine specific self-serve (my wife loves the Asian food from Chopsticks). On the Grandeur, I didn't really see any made-to-order food options in the Windjammer except for breakfast at the omelet making station which the Pride also has.
While I have tried a number of specialty dining options on a number of ships/lines, the only equivalent specialty dining that I experienced on both ships was the sushi restaurants (Pride = Bonsai, Grandeur = Izumi). Both were excellent. I think the Grandeur had the edge in terms of range of offering but the Pride had two options that I thought were unique. First, there is a "boat for two" for $22 which comes out on a literal boat and was too much for my wife and I to finish. Second, they had a "surprise and delight" feature (again, $22 for two) which was the chef's choice. Again, I think the Grandeur had a wider selection of options but the a la carte pricing was a bit more.
EDIT: My wife just informed me of one other difference which I was unaware of as I skipped the second formal night on the Grandeur. On the Pride, when they had lobster and filet mignon on the menu, she was allowed to order as many as she wanted. On the Grandeur, she was told only one lobster tail per guest. Because I didn't come to dinner that night, she ordered one for me and then ate two.
Excursions
Since this is a highly personal choice, it is hard to provide any meaningful comparison but there are two things worth pointing out. On the Pride, excursion prices are fairly stable and you likely will not see any discounts unless you follow John Heald and find one of the rare promo codes. On the Grandeur, the prices seemed to change all the time and every week I was getting an email offering a certain percentage off different excursions. I'm not sure either is superior but as they are different, I wanted to point them out. The second thing I wanted to mention I struggled if I should include or not as it has more to do with itinerary. The Pride tends to arrive at port early in the morning and depart around early dining giving you quite awhile to book whatever excursion you want. The Grandeur had weird arrival/departure times which made excursions more difficult to plan. Nassau for instance (Pride 8AM - 5PM, Grandeur 1PM - 11:59PM).
Entertainment
Kids: I couldn't keep my youngest daughter out of the youth program on either ship so I would say they are equivalent. Both ships have an arcade as well as age designated areas and lots of things for the kids to do. That is where the equivalency ends as Carnival wins this category hands down. On the Grandeur, kids are not allowed in the first row of shows and in the first 3 rows must be accompanied by an adult. On the Pride, every comedian must have a family friendly show in addition to the adult only show. The Pride has two water slides and a Splash Zone. The Grandeur has a rock climbing wall. The Pride has a ton of family targeted entertainment such as Hasbro The Game show where as the Grandeur seemed to tolerate those under 16. The Pride had events such as the Dr. Seuss breakfast ($5 per person) and Build-A-Bear where as I don't remember a single thing like that on the Grandeur.
Adults/General: The Grandeur only had 1 location where it put on shows (The Palladium) which is a two deck theater. On the Pride, there were two locations - the Butterfly lounge which doubled as the Punchliner Comedy Club and the Taj Mahal which is a three deck theater. The Grandeur did shows with a live band which it called an orchestra. The downside to this was they took up a lot of space which limited the size of the performance of whatever act was performing. On the Pride, they put on shows that use moving floors, backdrops with projected scenes as well, pyrotechnics as well as raised/lowered floors. None of that was possible on the Grandeur. On the Grandeur, there only ever seemed to be a single show that was repeated twice to accommodate differences in dining times. On the Pride, there seemed to be multiple different shows every night where the one in the main theater was repeated. For instance, there might have been three comedy routines in the Punchliner (1 family friendly by the first comedian, a later adult only by a second comedian and then the last show would be another adult only by the same comedian as the family friendly). That same night, they might have a magician in the main Taj Majal theater perform the same act twice.
Laundry
On the Grandeur, you need to check towels in/out using your sea pass card where there is a $25 charge for any towel not returned. These are roughly the same size as the bath towels - just colored blue. On the Pride, 4 towels are in your state room (more available upon request) and are giant beach towels. The cost if one is lost is $22. Oddly enough, you may also buy a brand new one for $22 if you want one to keep (they are nice towels).
The Pride has self-service launderettes on nearly every deck. The price recently went up to $3.25 to wash and $3.25 to dry for a total of $6.50 to do a load of laundry ($8 if you also need to buy detergent but we bring our own pods). The Grandeur doesn't offer any self-service laundry and charges $34.99 to do a small bag of laundry.
Room Service
Continental breakfast is free on both the Pride and the Grandeur. The only notable difference is the hours (Pride = 5AM-10AM, Grandeur = 6AM-11AM).
Room service is $7.95 + 18% gratuity on the Grandeur. It is more complicated on the Pride due to recent changes. The Pride stopped offering complimentary room service 24 hours a day but expanded the menu. From 6 AM until 10 PM, there are still complimentary room service items available but it now offers several other items during this time that range from $2 to $6. From 10 PM until 6 AM, an expanded menu is available with items ranging from $2 to $6.
Miscellaneous
I like beer - different styles of beer. The Pride doesn't have a lot of craft beer options. The Grandeur didn't have any. I ended up drinking Newcastle the entire Grandeur trip. On the Pride, I at least had a handful of options.
The Pride does not change the clock to match local times when in port but the Grandeur does. I watched both systems cause problems with other guests and do not feel one is superior to another. The important thing to remember is that even though you are on "island time", you must remain vigilant if you are supposed to be in a certain place at a certain time.
Trivia on the Pride is on the honor system (self-scoring) where as you are instructed to swap sheets on the Grandeur. The Pride gives out "ships on a stick" and sometimes medals as prizes where the Grandeur gives out a wide range of items (pens, highlighters, key chains, carabiner, etc.).
Both ships have a section of the casino marked as non-smoking. Until the Grandeur, I thought that was like saying you have a non-peeing section in the pool. I was so surprised on the Grandeur of the lack of smoke smell that I actually played black-jack several times. This was not the case on the Pride where I would actually go up a deck just to avoid walking through it.
On the Grandeur, while in port, my daughter couldn't sign herself in/out of the youth program despite my authorization that she could do so. I can't remember if this was also the case on the Pride. I think we may have only noticed this again because of the weird port arrival/departure times.
The Pride had a dedicated "game" room, library and chapel. If the Grandeur had these things, I didn't find them but they did have a bookcase that served as their library.
The Pride has bathrobes available upon request for any category cabin and any loyalty level guest. The Grandeur only has bathrobes available for higher level cabin categories/loyalty levels.
I have only cruised on the Grandeur once but towel animals didn't seem to be important. On the Pride, we had a new animal every single night in our room but on the Grandeur it seemed to be once every few nights. On the Pride, one morning the entire Lido deck was covered in towel animals - in extremely creative ways. Nothing like it happened on the Grandeur. This may not seem like much but the kids were kind of let down.
This really isn't about the ships so I hesitated to add it but I feel it is an important distinction. Royal's website is a hot mess compared to Carnival's.
Closing Thoughts
While the Pride provides much better value dollar for dollar, we had a great time on both ships and would go on either again for the right price/itinerary.
If I didn't cover something that you want to know about, please ask. Both ship's have "The Quest" for instance which I didn't cover but would be happy to discuss if someone wants to know more.

The results are in for match 21! The winner is…
Amaki Castillo and Otraz Ivanov, with a score of 53 to Jaded Justice’s 51!

Category	Winner	Point Totals	Comments
Popularity	Jaded Justice	18-22	Feels nice not having to use the low vote clause on a 2v2 for the first time since early in the round. It was a close match here!
Quality	Babylon by Bus	18-16	Reasoning.
JoJolity	Babylon by Bus	17-13	Reasoning.

With that, Babylon by Bus is the second team to have completely finished their round 1 matches, ultimately finishing up with more wins than losses. Speaking of final matches, the Philosophers of the Hardy Diamond’s inflation expert and Bikini Bottom’s hermit crab are still duking it out on a fishing boat, if you wished to show your support to either team!
This one, meanwhile, is the last match this round for the Good Vibrations and Cosmic Fire, two teams who have had their ups and downs all tourney long.
Scenario:
Late one night, two birds were released from Chelsea Bridge prison. They were headed on a long and hard trip to two different bases. After many grueling days, they made it to their destination. The dove “Edge of Seventeen” arrived in Cosmic Fire’s base, and the crow “My Wave” arrived at the Good Vibrations’ base
Attached to them were a letter. “I am a Kangol/Borsalino, a prisoner in the Chelsea Bridge Prison. Meet me.”
From these tips, Cosmic Fire and Good Vibrations knew where they’d have to send their final members. Prison.
Tyler was rather unwilling to go through with having a criminal record. However, eventually he settled on the crime of credit card theft. He was caught red-handed by the police, at which point he attempted to evade arrest in order to add to his punishment. He was eventually shot with a tranquilizing dart and arrested.
The Chloes were even more difficult than Tyler to throw into jail. Not only did all three of them not really want to commit crime, but they all looked like children, making it easy for them to get away with the few crimes they were willing to commit. Eventually, however, they hatched an ingenious plan.
They were instructed to stack on top of each other. Jay stood on the bottom, Kay stood on top, and Elle was in the middle. Mute placed an enlarged trench coat on them, covering up Elle and Jay. Together, they formed the adult “Chloe Zed,” a crime girl.
Chloe Zed committed the grave crime of triple identity theft, with three little girls as her poor victims. For that grave crime, she was arrested. Like Tyler, she was shot with a tranq dart during the arrest (thrice), causing the three Chloes to miss whatever happened between arrest and imprisonment.
Chloe Jay and Tyler Bonnie both woke up in a groggy haze. They attempted to move their hand...but found themselves unable to move it. A loud voice alerted them to a large presence in their room.
“I am Kangol/Borsalino” they said, in near unison, “I am the one who summoned you. I am incomplete. Make me whole again by killing Borsalino/Kangol.”
Tyler was confused about the whole thing. “What do you mean, make you whole?”
Kangol shook his head. “It’s a long and complicated story.”
Jay had a different question. “Where are my sisters?”
Borsalino pointed at the cell next to them. “They are locked up safely in the cell next door”
After that, they both had the same question. “How do we get out?”
“You have this thing called…a stand, right? You figure it out”
Location: A minimum-security prison in Ireland, a map of which is available here. One square represents 2x2 meters. The players start in cells opposite of each other. The guards are absent (as are their arms), though supplies can be found in appropriate places, like utensils in the mess hall.
Tyler and Chloe Jay are both individually connected by an unbreakable 2-meter long chain to a 110 kg man, named Kangol and Borsalino respectively. These men have a 4 in strength and durability, and a 3 in speed. Their skills are throwing (4) and loyalty (5).
In a cell nearby Chloe and Borsalino are Kay and Elle, not chained together or anything. Jay is the one who has ‘Hey Soul Sister’ at the start of the match.
These guys will do anything you say, and will punch anyone else who comes close in the face. They cannot see stands.
`Fitness Room: 3 Treadmills, dumbbells of various weights, a few Yoga mats, water cooler, jump ropes.
Rec Room: A shelf of a few-dozen books, a few tables with 8 total 1990’s era computers with a ridiculously slow internet connection, two large CRT televisions with basic cable.
Mess hall: Many many cafeteria tables, a divider between the main floor and the serving area, serving area has food slop of dubious quality, a large amount of trays, silo cups, and plastic spoons.
Warden’s office: an oak-wood desk, many many files on shelves, a slightly uncomfortable wooden chair facing the desk, a comfortable office chair behind the desk, a stun gun in one of the drawers for self-defense, an cheap painting (about half a meter by half a meter), a few ceramic vases.
Field: A few basketballs in a bin near the middle, a barbed wire fence around the perimeter.`
Goal: Assassinate the other player’s buddy. Going after the other player is incidental.

Team	Combatant	JoJolity
Cosmic Fire	Chloe Jay, Chloe Kay, and Chloe Elle	"where was this again? What part of the prison is this?"- There’s three of you and a whole prison to work with! Get some mileage out of the utilization of as many of the areas of the prison as you can!
Good Vibrations	Tyler Bonnie	"Silver Chariot: Armor Off!" - Make interesting usage of [Hero] while it's worn by various different people; don't just hog it to yourself the entire time!

*Additional Information: As stated above, even though the two men are technically a stand user, they cannot see stands. Also, murder is generally frowned upon in jails, don’t get caught.
Spectators are always welcome to privately message one of the judges and request an invitation to the tourney’s official discord server to discuss a wide variety of things, as well as be among the first to know about any tourney developments.

Match Number	Player Count	Objective/Deathmatch	PlayeTeam 1	PlayeTeam 2	Stage Description	Date
Match 1	1v1	Deathmatch	Clarence Creedwater	Felix Arrowsmith	Just make sure the ice doesn’t crack beneath you…	Jan. 4th
Match 2	1v1	Objective	Lucil Caravan	Buffalo Soldier	There’s a fox on the run… And you’ve got to catch it!	Jan. 6th
Match 3	2v2	Deathmatch	Blake Falstaff, Mr. Moon, and Bas Haze	Marco F. Caine and Geoff Wetton	Visibility is low, and it’s cold as hell… This is the tundra, I guess.	Jan. 8th
Match 4	1v1	Objective	Blue Monday	‘Crowbar’ Jackson	$500, three hours, and an underground casino. Get as rich as you can!	Jan. 10th
Match 5	1v1	Deathmatch	‘Lazarus’	Judas Saxon	This coaster is pretty rickety… Hopefully it’ll last the fight!	Jan. 12th
Match 6	2v2	Objective	Simon ‘Jack’ Rodgers and Basilio Goltero Santos	Sarah ‘Stratovarius’ Williams and Kent Jerrod Moore	You have to stop your train from crashing! Wait, there are robbers too?!	Jan. 14th
Match 7	1v1	Deathmatch	Dragomir Mrovich	Stephen ‘Steppy’ Morris	Bumper cars are lonely with two people… But they’re perfect with just one!	Jan. 16th
Match 8	2v1	Boss Match	Tsao Xu	Dr. Jekyll	A homeless army, and their loathsome king...	Jan. 18th
Match 9	2v2	Deathmatch	Nick Mason and Eleanor Rigby	‘Mute’ (River Eiselidge) and Baron Mordechai	A nice pleasant cruise… Except for two small problems…!	Jan. 20th
Match 10	1v1	Deathmatch	‘Monster’	Seido Shuto	There should be a base up in these mountains… But there shouldn’t be another climber! Time to fix that.	Jan. 22nd
Match 11	1v1	Objective	Rory Raccoon	Grace Vincent	Two intruders, waging a quiet war in a top secret base.	Jan. 24th
Match 12	2v2	Deathmatch	Stu Steel E. and Fabian Gibson	John ‘Jaco’ Pastorius and Michael McClane	Hopefully there’ll be something to find on this island… Besides the shipwreck survivors, I mean.	Jan. 26th
Match 13	1v1	Objective	Anna Rose	Ken Nard	… It’s time to slam now!	Jan. 28th
Match 14	1v1	Deathmatch	Bremen	Mary Ann	You don’t have to be faster than the swarm… You only have to be faster than the other guy!	Jan. 30th
Match 15	2v2	Objective	MAKS_13 and Manny Elflad	Bond Jovi and Crispin Freeman	A Stand-Using robber has set a bomb in the mall! Make sure it doesn’t go off.	Feb. 1st
Match 16	2v1	Boss Match	Gregor Yuvecksky	Lance	Fight for your life in an abandoned cathedral!	Feb. 3rd
Match 17	1v1	Deathmatch	Henry Jenkins	Akiyoshi ‘Aki’ Yamamato	The ground far beneath you, the wind in your hair… There’s nothing quite like bungee jumping.	Feb. 5th
Match 18	2v2	Objective	Thela Hun Ginjeet and Soichi Utsumi)	Roger Waters and Donatello Blackwell	‘Row’ as in ‘rowboats’, obviously. What did you think I meant?	Feb. 7th
Match 19	1v1	Objective	Damon Aurel	Ivan Abaduboi	A rural English town hit with a nasty… Rainstorm?!	Feb. 9th
Match 20	1v1	Deathmatch	Jim Ledbetter	Johnny Leever	Two truck drivers racing down the highway, while the stowaways have a battle of their own!	Feb. 11th
Match 21	2v2	Objective	Miras Atrium and Henry Walshman	Amaki Castillo and Ortaz Ivanov	An erupting volcano, and a straight path down… Time to run!	Feb. 13th
Match 22	1v1	Deathmatch	Furo Raida	Daniel Cali	Two foes duke it out on a fishing boat, assaulted by the weather!	Feb. 15th
Match 23	1v1	Objective	Tyler Bonnie	Chloe Jay, Chloe Kay, and Chloe Elle	Don’t worry, buddy. Prisoners stick together. I’ll protect you, no matter what!	Feb. 17th
Match 24	2v2	Deathmatch	Russ Teneo and Jules Langlias	Henry Muller and Qiao Si Zhou	Four Stand Users, two cars, and an empty highway...	Feb. 19th

PRELIMINARY
Betting can be termed as the action of gambling with money or one’s property on an outcome they have no control over like a race, a game or an unpredictable event that is yet to happen while gambling can be termed as playing a game of chance (50% chances of either winning or losing) with money while hoping for a desired result or taking a risky action with hopes for a positive result. Betting or gambling is done all over the world, for example casinos but mostly in sports. Today, we see individuals placing a bet hoping and praying for the football team they chose to win. Everyone who places a bet do so with the mindset of winning, but that isn’t the outcome on most occasions which often leads to anger, depression and sometimes aggressive behaviors. The betting industry is faced with diverse complexities which are more in favor of the service providers than those who place bets. There are issues of transparency, lack of proper service or network, trust, and the manipulation of top betters amongst other challenges. The use of blockchain technology for betting is very essential, it provides a unified, safe and transparent betting experience for bet lovers and not to forget betting helps unite people from a different tribe, ethnicity, religion, race, country together when doing what they love. I would love to introduce you to BETBOX platform (decentralized, transparent, trustworthy, secured and above all fun to use) where you don’t only do what only do what you love best but also receive reward for doing what you love. I’m going take on a cruise on how BETBOX platform works and the major things you need to know about BETBOX ECOSYSEM.
INTRODUCING BETBOX ECOSYSTEM
BETBOX network is a decentralized, transparent, and P2P (peer to peer) betting platform with the core mission of exterminating present challenges faced by bet lovers while providing a safe, seamless and comfortable platform to bet. There are numerous advantages of choosing BETBOX over traditional betting arsenals, BETBOX offers a simple and fair betting platform, giving incentives to users, blockchain technology decentralized betting, security of funds of users, trust and transparency. The BETBOX mobile application will be available for download and installation for Android (google play), iOS (apple) users, and web (desktop) users which are all in English language but more languages will be introduced in the nearest future. On BETBOX ecosystem winners of a particular bet do not only get rewarded, losers who concede to defeat will be incentivized, they are not abandoned like traditional betting providers this will be discussed below. OX tokens holders will be rewarded for participating in specific tasks which includes voting, fairness, contributing to the network, and performing actions for their loyalty and adding value to BETBOX.
★ VOTING REWARDS: Members of BETBOX network who participate in voting for finding a consensus will be rewarded with Ethereum, amount received by a community member depends on the reaction time, amount of Ethereum staked, and the number of participants involved in that particular bet. Rewards will be sent out automatically to those who participated through BETBOX smart contracts. Winners of the voting reward on BETBOX network are those who will be incentivized with 4% of the total amount of Ethereum staked initially.
★ FAIRNESS REWARDS: Fairness reward category is for those community members who placed their bet but didn’t win, they will be incentivized for their honesty and for their ability to concede to defeat which will also be distributed automatically through BETBOX smart contract, it will be primarily set to 4% of the total Ethereum staked.
★ CONTRIBUTING TO THE NETWORK: Those active members whom are constantly contributing to the success of the BETBOX network will be rewarded for their hard work and diligence.
★ PERFORMING ACTIONS: BETBOX network will incentivize community members who add their own ideas for the betterment of BETBOX. A development fund will be made available for the tenacity of rewarding the commitment of certain users of BETBOX platform. Community members who give their expertise and knowledge for the core purpose of the continuous growth and expansion of BETBOX ecosystem will be incentivized with OX tokens.
BETBOX TOKEN (OX)
OX is the acronym for BETBOX token, this native cryptocurrency created by the BETBOX ecosystem will fuel the network. It will be used as standard mode of payment when placing bets, staking, voting and for other payments on the ecosystem. OX is an erc-20 compatible token created on the Ethereum smart contract because of its reliability, availability, transparency, and security. To ensure the preservation of OX tokens BETBOX network may burn OX and reward holders with Ethereum in the buyback and burn phase each quarter of the year.
ADVANTAGES OF USING BETBOX PLATFORM
★Bets can be placed by the public or by friends ★ Users can set up crazy challenges and get rewarded with 10% of the jackpot as a reward ★ Everyone can predict if you can hold your word with a bet on you or against you ★ Live feed functionality make you see what is happening at any point in time ★Security of user’s wallet with the latest security functionality
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF BETBOX NETWORK
★ Individual bets: This category consists of 3 sub categories which include:
Private peer to peer: Offer the opportunity for community members bet against their friends on a peer to peer basis with individual set up of the bet and private outcome consensus.
Private group: Offer the opportunity for community members to bet against many friends at the same time with individual set up of the bet and private outcome consensus.
Public: Offer the opportunity for community members to generate universal bets with individual set up of the bet and public outcome consensus.
★ Shoot out (peer to peer – 50/50 game chance) ★ Russian roulette (peer to peer – high stake game chance) ★ Addict (jackpot) ★ Challenge (dApp) ★ Crypto rally (erc-712 + interaction) ★ Rich me (social lottery) ★ Further innovative features and (dApp)
TOKEN INFORMATION
TOKEN NAME: OX TICKER: OX NETWORK: ERC-20 COMPATIBLE (ETHEREUM) TOTAL ISSUED SUPPLY: 100 MILLION OX TOTAL SUPPLY: NIL PRICE PER TOKEN: 0.00004 ETH PER ONE MARKETCAP AFTER TGE: 40,000 ETH ICO HARDCAP: 32,000
TOKEN ALLOCATION
TOTAL TOKEN MINTED: 100 MILLION OX PUBLIC SALE: 80 MILLION OX BOUNTY: 8 MILLION OX RESERVE: 12 MILLION 0X
FUNDS ALLOCATION
RESERVE: 15% ECOSYSTEM: 35% BRANDING& MARKETING: 50%
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR NEWS & UPDATES
★ WEBSITE: https://betbox.app/
★ LITEPAPER: https://betbox.app/required/lightpaper-v1-betbox-decentralized-betting-app.pdf
★ MAIL: https://mailto:[email protected]/
★ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/@betbox_OX
★ TELEGRAM: https://t.me/betboxGlobal
★ MEDIUM: https://medium.com/betbox-ox
★ GITHUB: https://github.com/betbox
★ BITCOINTALK: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5026661.0
ARTICLE WRITTEN BY TIVERE AKPORODE
★ BOUNTY0X PROFILE: TIVERE

PRELIMINARY
Betting can be termed as the action of gambling with money or one’s property on an outcome they have no control over like a race, a game or an unpredictable event that is yet to happen while gambling can be termed as playing a game of chance (50% chances of either winning or losing) with money while hoping for a desired result or taking a risky action with hopes for a positive result. Betting or gambling is done all over the world, for example casinos but mostly in sports. Today, we see individuals placing a bet hoping and praying for the football team they chose to win. Everyone who places a bet do so with the mindset of winning, but that isn’t the outcome on most occasions which often leads to anger, depression and sometimes aggressive behaviors. The betting industry is faced with diverse complexities which are more in favor of the service providers than those who place bets. There are issues of transparency, lack of proper service or network, trust, and the manipulation of top betters amongst other challenges. The use of blockchain technology for betting is very essential, it provides a unified, safe and transparent betting experience for bet lovers and not to forget betting helps unite people from a different tribe, ethnicity, religion, race, country together when doing what they love. I would love to introduce you to BETBOX platform (decentralized, transparent, trustworthy, secured and above all fun to use) where you don’t only do what only do what you love best but also receive reward for doing what you love. I’m going take on a cruise on how BETBOX platform works and the major things you need to know about BETBOX ECOSYSEM.

INTRODUCING BETBOX ECOSYSTEM
BETBOX network is a decentralized, transparent, and P2P (peer to peer) betting platform with the core mission of exterminating present challenges faced by bet lovers while providing a safe, seamless and comfortable platform to bet. There are numerous advantages of choosing BETBOX over traditional betting arsenals, BETBOX offers a simple and fair betting platform, giving incentives to users, blockchain technology decentralized betting, security of funds of users, trust and transparency. The BETBOX mobile application will be available for download and installation for Android (google play), iOS (apple) users, and web (desktop) users which are all in English language but more languages will be introduced in the nearest future. On BETBOX ecosystem winners of a particular bet do not only get rewarded, losers who concede to defeat will be incentivized, they are not abandoned like traditional betting providers this will be discussed below. OX tokens holders will be rewarded for participating in specific tasks which includes voting, fairness, contributing to the network, and performing actions for their loyalty and adding value to BETBOX.
★ VOTING REWARDS: Members of BETBOX network who participate in voting for finding a consensus will be rewarded with Ethereum, amount received by a community member depends on the reaction time, amount of Ethereum staked, and the number of participants involved in that particular bet. Rewards will be sent out automatically to those who participated through BETBOX smart contracts. Winners of the voting reward on BETBOX network are those who will be incentivized with 4% of the total amount of Ethereum staked initially.
★ FAIRNESS REWARDS: Fairness reward category is for those community members who placed their bet but didn’t win, they will be incentivized for their honesty and for their ability to concede to defeat which will also be distributed automatically through BETBOX smart contract, it will be primarily set to 4% of the total Ethereum staked.
★ CONTRIBUTING TO THE NETWORK: Those active members whom are constantly contributing to the success of the BETBOX network will be rewarded for their hard work and diligence.
★ PERFORMING ACTIONS: BETBOX network will incentivize community members who add their own ideas for the betterment of BETBOX. A development fund will be made available for the tenacity of rewarding the commitment of certain users of BETBOX platform. Community members who give their expertise and knowledge for the core purpose of the continuous growth and expansion of BETBOX ecosystem will be incentivized with OX tokens.

BETBOX TOKEN (OX)
OX is the acronym for BETBOX token, this native cryptocurrency created by the BETBOX ecosystem will fuel the network. It will be used as standard mode of payment when placing bets, staking, voting and for other payments on the ecosystem. OX is an erc-20 compatible token created on the Ethereum smart contract because of its reliability, availability, transparency, and security. To ensure the preservation of OX tokens BETBOX network may burn OX and reward holders with Ethereum in the buyback and burn phase each quarter of the year.
ADVANTAGES OF USING BETBOX PLATFORM
★Bets can be placed by the public or by friends ★ Users can set up crazy challenges and get rewarded with 10% of the jackpot as a reward ★ Everyone can predict if you can hold your word with a bet on you or against you ★ Live feed functionality make you see what is happening at any point in time ★Security of user’s wallet with the latest security functionality
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF BETBOX NETWORK
★ Individual bets: This category consists of 3 sub categories which include:
Private peer to peer: Offer the opportunity for community members bet against their friends on a peer to peer basis with individual set up of the bet and private outcome consensus.
Private group: Offer the opportunity for community members to bet against many friends at the same time with individual set up of the bet and private outcome consensus.
Public: Offer the opportunity for community members to generate universal bets with individual set up of the bet and public outcome consensus.
★ Shoot out (peer to peer – 50/50 game chance) ★ Russian roulette (peer to peer – high stake game chance) ★ Addict (jackpot) ★ Challenge (dApp) ★ Crypto rally (erc-712 + interaction) ★ Rich me (social lottery) ★ Further innovative features and (dApp)
TOKEN INFORMATION
TOKEN NAME: OX TICKER: OX NETWORK: ERC-20 COMPATIBLE (ETHEREUM) TOTAL ISSUED SUPPLY: 100 MILLION OX TOTAL SUPPLY: NIL PRICE PER TOKEN: 0.00004 ETH PER ONE MARKETCAP AFTER TGE: 40,000 ETH ICO HARDCAP: 32,000
TOKEN ALLOCATION
TOTAL TOKEN MINTED: 100 MILLION OX PUBLIC SALE: 80 MILLION OX BOUNTY: 8 MILLION OX RESERVE: 12 MILLION 0X
FUNDS ALLOCATION
RESERVE: 15% ECOSYSTEM: 35% BRANDING& MARKETING: 50%
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR NEWS & UPDATES
★ WEBSITE ★ LITEPAPER ★ MAIL ★ TWITTER ★ TELEGRAM ★ MEDIUM ★ GITHUB ★ BITCOINTALK
ARTICLE WRITTEN BY TIVERE AKPORODE
★ BOUNTY0X PROFILE: TIVERE