A guy I know says he took his adult son to No-Name Ballfield the other day for a baseball game, and it cost him $6 to park and $14 for the tickets. He didn't spend any money on food or drinks. He figured there was a limit to how much he should have to cough up while being robbed.
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Along that same line, Datebook has a story today that lists seven entertainment events with free admission prices. No-Name Ballfield obviously isn't one of them.
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People -- well, two or three anyway -- are crediting me for convincing Datebook it should quit using photographs of empty dining rooms when restaurant reviews are published. Today, for instance, two people were shown sitting in an otherwise vacant GoodSons Martini and Panini restaurant. I think the people were the restaurant's two dishwashers posing as customers, but at least it's a start in the right direction.
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I suppose they'll be saying pretty soon that Des Moines isn't a good hockey town.
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From Mark Robinson of Iowa City:
"Hi, Ron.
"There is a new technology on the web called "Deep Web" search. One of the search engines is PIPL.Com. Deep web digs into online data bases and will no doubt be a premium service.
"I went to www.pipl.com and cranked in Murray Wier and that old post I made to your website is linked. This is more info, for free and on the surface than any other personal search engine I've used. I even did a search for his daughter Marcia and a result was Marcia as a relative to Murray.
"On the one hand, it's cool and on the other hand, it's scary. Nothing is private any longer.
"Anyway, I tracked down an old UNI friend of mine who lives in Clive along with his phone number with address. I have used other sites like Bigfoot and 411 in the past, but they always have been old, old, old listings.
"You may already know about this, and there is more to come with regard to the 'Deep Web.'
"Take care, Ron. And, if you look at that photo of you at the Iowa/OSU game in '06, I am seated just 10 rows under the left '25' on the scoreboard. It was a blind date and I had to walk home...four miles.
"I enjoyed every minute of it. The ticket was on her."
Mark Robinson
Iowa City
[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Mark, thanks for referring me to the Deep Web. I'm not sure I want to know that much about someone else, or myself. And cardiologists around the world would be proud of that four-mile walk you took after the Iowa-Ohio State football game. You added maybe added a week or two to your life with that workout].
