Two bills

You have entered 94,542 Bills worth $267,027
Bills with hits: 7,283 Total hits: 8,281
Hit rate: 7.70% Slugging Percentage: 8.76% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,240.66
Your rank (based on George Score) is #264
(out of 52,148 current users with a George Score. [99.5 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 20 out of 7,751 [99.7]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 3,906,671 miles.
They have averaged 480.2 miles per hit and 189.32 days between each hit.

There are two interesting things of note. One is an overmarked bill I found. (The picture is here and the bill report is here.) I didn’t add any markings of my own because of how many there are already. I’m not sure if I should report it, though. (I still have the original picture with the serial numbers.)

I also got a hit on this bill with an interesting comment. I’m not even going to add any sort of editorial on it. I’m just going to post it and let you decide.

That’s really all for now. I just thought I’d post those two bills.

You have entered 93,774 Bills worth $265,158
Bills with hits: 7,249 Total hits: 8,242
Hit rate: 7.73% Slugging Percentage: 8.79% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,240.07
Your rank (based on George Score) is #260
(out of 52,008 current users with a George Score. [99.5 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 21 out of 7,741 [99.7]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 3,886,558 miles.
They have averaged 480.0 miles per hit and 188.93 days between each hit.

It looks like another Florida county fell. The same bill that got me Wakulla three weeks ago has now gotten me Liberty County. (You can see the bill report here.) This leaves 8 counties. It’s amazing that I had to wait so long for a new county and now, they’re falling pretty quickly.

I also found a bill with this comment. I’m not sure who the kids are. Is the person referring to the markings and the site? Maybe a child dropped the bill and the person felt that they were so irresponsible with their money that they didn’t deserve it back. Maybe they’re just kidding.

Since my last entry, I’ve hit two more bills. One originated in Feasterville-Trevose, PA. The other is from Cleveland, TN. This brings the total up to seven so far this month and 130 bills in all.

I also received a 1957-series silver certificate from a local Publix. You don’t see too many of those around.

Speaking of Publix, one of the employees informed me last week that they may be switching to a new system that may make it harder for them to give out change. I don’t know if it’s that store or all of them or if it’s really going to happen.

This is important because a few days ago, I was told that I’d need a checking account to be able to get change at the Washington Mutual by Aventura Mall. That’s understandable, but that’s the only bank where I can get change past 4:00 Monday through Thursday. Friday’s not a problem since most other banks are open until 6:00.)

I’ve been able to get change at several Publix locations and at the casino, but if Publix isn’t able to give me change, it will affect how I am able to get change. I’ll have to go to banks in the morning to get change. I’ll have to see what happens.

Hits, hits and more hits

You have entered 91,832 Bills worth $260,351
Bills with hits: 7,157 Total hits: 8,133
Hit rate: 7.79% Slugging Percentage: 8.86% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,238.43
Your rank (based on George Score) is #270
(out of 52,171 current users with a George Score. [99.5 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 20 out of 7,721 [99.7]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 3,820,139 miles.
They have averaged 478.1 miles per hit and 188.93 days between each hit.

I’ve hit 128 bills since joining Where’s George. At first, they were few and far between. To give you an idea, it took me over four years to get the first 113. That’s about 2.2 bills hit per month. I hit 10 bills last month and another five so far this month. (Point of origin in reverse order: Staines, United Kingdom; Wattsburg, PA; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Cullman, AL and Appleton, MN.) I don’t know if it’s that more people are becoming active or if it’s just random distribution. Notice that only one is local. One even came from someone based out of the United Kingdom. (Interestingly, I haven’t hit many bills from people I know in the chat room.)

As for hits on my bills, I got one hit on a bill that was supposedly found in an Aventura Casino. There are no casinos in Aventura that I know of. I think the person got it from Gulfstream Park Racetrack and Casino in Hallandale. Part of the property is in Aventura, but the actual building is in Hallandale Beach.

I had a random idea to travel up to Orlando, but I doubt I’ll be doing it any time soon. I need to worry about a job first and I’m not sure that my car could take the long trip. The only reason that I even thought of it was that there are three counties by Gainesville that I need and there are lots of attractions in the Orlando area, but Orlando and Gainesville really aren’t that close. There are a few other trips I’d want to take first.

Rickenbacker Causeway going cashless?

You have entered 91,041 Bills worth $258,494
Bills with hits: 7,109 Total hits: 8,078
Hit rate: 7.81% Slugging Percentage: 8.87% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,237.62
Your rank (based on George Score) is #267
(out of 52,253 current users with a George Score. [99.5 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 17 out of 7,712 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 3,798,487 miles.
They have averaged 479.0 miles per hit and 188.91 days between each hit.

In the continuing saga of cashless toll plazas, I was reading in today’s Miami Herald that there’s a plan to make the Rickenbacker Causeway Toll Plaza cashless. (You can read the article here.) It appears that the favored plan includes a cash lane, but I started thinking how bad a cashless system would be.

For those not familiar with South Florida geography, the Rickenbacker Causeway is the only land access to Key Biscayne. If you want to go to Key Biscayne, you either have to take The Rickenbacker or learn to swim. For the cyclists, a cashless toll plaza would mean that the traffic wouldn’t be regulated and there is no other causeway to and from the island.

I began to think of this from the perspective of the drivers. My first thought was of teenaged drivers. In Florida, you can drive at 16. However, you can’t have a credit or debit card until you’re 18. If someone has their own car at 16 and lives on the island, they have to maintain an account, either with SunPass or C-Pass as their transponder.

From the user agreement, both transponder programs take cash. However, you have to be 18 to enter into an agreement. First, it means that you either can’t leave the island if you’re under 18 or effectively have to get your parents’ permission. Secondly, it means that there’s a way for parents to see when their children come back from the mainland.

Also, there are a lot of people that, for whatever reason, may not want a transponder. I don’t go to Key Biscayne a lot, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t ever. Suppose I’m invited to a party on Key Biscayne. Does that mean that I have to get a transponder just to go there? Suppose I can’t get one in time. I’d either have to turn down every invitation or get one now on the off chance that I will be invited one day.

This isn’t even including the argument that there are several attractions on Key Biscayne. Suppose someone comes in from out of state and wants to go to Crandon Park or Bill Baggs State Recreation Area? There’s also a high school on Key Biscayne. Does this mean that all of the staff and students have to get transponders?

As I said, the favored plan would leave one lane for those paying cash. I really hope that they do. It’s basically all of the issues I had with cashless toll plazas in general, but with the added issue of restricting access to the island. For those that complain, those in charge can’t say that you have the option of taking a different route.

90,000 bills

You have entered 90,944 Bills worth $257,860
Bills with hits: 7,083 Total hits: 8,051
Hit rate: 7.79% Slugging Percentage: 8.85% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,237.27
Your rank (based on George Score) is #268
(out of 51,926 current users with a George Score. [99.5 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 17 out of 7,708 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 3,784,461 miles.
They have averaged 478.8 miles per hit and 189.02 days between each hit.

Well, I finally passed 90,000 bills entered, but I think I may have to rethink my strategy of going to the casino. Part of the problem inherent of gambling is that I’ll more likely lose money than gain it. Even if I go in, put bills in and cash out without gambling, I have to pay gas money there and back. I also risk raising suspicion of the casino management. They may wonder why I’m putting money into their machines, but not playing.

I was thinking of cashing in some quarters tomorrow, but it may be better to not have the cash around to spend. In fact, the cash that I have now is in marked singles. I really don’t like the idea of depositing marked singles. Not that I have a lot of bills in my possession, but I may have to find a way other than the casino to swap out bills so I have unmarked bills to deposit if I need to.

I do have several leads going on jobs. One is at a bank. All I’ve gotten back so far is an automated reply, but that was last week. I‘m hoping that they’ll start calling people in starting Monday. There are a few other jobs that I applied to a while ago, including Sears. I think it’s been long enough that I’m probably not going to get an interview with them. However, I believe Sears keeps applications on file for a few months, so anything’s possible.

I’m even considering writing on Epinions again, even though there was very little income involved. At least it would give me something to do during the day other than watch TV. The days of making serious money on that site are long gone. I really need to find a job and soon.

New Jersey County Bingo

You have entered 89,799 Bills worth $255,543
Bills with hits: 7,049 Total hits: 8,014
Hit rate: 7.85% Slugging Percentage: 8.92% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,236.62
Your rank (based on George Score) is #266
(out of 52,154 current users with a George Score. [99.5 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 19 out of 7,704 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 3,762,615 miles.
They have averaged 478.1 miles per hit and 188.92 days between each hit.

It turns out that I got New Jersey county bingo a few days ago and I didn’t even know it. The last county was Warren County, located in northern half of the state. With Hawaii, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware, I now have five state bingos.

It looks like Massachusetts is the only state where I need one county and that’s Nantucket County. New Hampshire is next with Cheshire and Coos Counties remaining. Those seem to be the only two states that I’m close on.

It looks like by the end of the day today, I'll have entered 90,000 bills.

9 Florida Counties to go

You have entered 89,395 Bills worth $254,513
Bills with hits: 7,035 Total hits: 7,997
Hit rate: 7.87% Slugging Percentage: 8.95% (total hits/total bills)
George Score: 1,236.35
Your rank (based on George Score) is #275
(out of 52,318 current users with a George Score. [99.5 Percentile])
Your State Rank in Florida is: 19 out of 7,701 [99.8]
Your initial entries with hits have traveled a total of 3,753,749 miles.
They have averaged 478.0 miles per hit and 188.77 days between each hit.

I’m down to nine Florida counties that I need for county bingo. The addition of Wakulla County brings me up to 58 of my home state’s 67 counties. The remaining counties are Bradford, Calhoun, Franklin, Gilchrist, Gulf, Jefferson, Liberty, Madison and Union.

I also almost got a three-year sleeper. I guess it’s like they say, though: Close only counts with horse shoes and hand grenades. Still, another four weeks…

I had the opportunity to go to Gulfstream Park Racetrack and Casino today. When spending my bills at the casino, I noticed this on a bill. I looked it up and it seems to be someone not related to Where’s George or currency tracking. I guess that he or one of his fans felt compelled to put his myspace page on a bill.

That’s all for now. At least now, I have a record of when my last Florida County was.