Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

I will no longer be posting here at Sticksoffire.blogspot.com. Some people may say it is the end of an error. But to those people I say the error has just been redirected. Sticks of Fire has moved to its new home at sticksoffire.com (catchy url, huh?). Please update your links if you want to. Skip the www if you don’t mind.

Some of the valuable (ha!) information has been moved over there already, such as Tampa government info, Tampa area concert venues, and a large and still growing list of Tampa Bay bloggers. Eventually I’d like to move some of the better (my opinion, of course) posts over there too, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so we’ll see.

I’ll take this time to thank Blogger/Blogspot for letting me use their software and space for these fifteen months. This old site will stay up as long as bloggerspot lets it remain. I’ll try to use it as an archive. And maybe to help with Googlebombs. Tampa Blog. Tampa Blog. Tampa Blog. Tampa Blog. Tampa Blog. Tampa Blog. Tampa Blog. Blog of Tampa. Blog of Tampa. Blog of Tampa.

Ok, that’s all I can think of this morning, so I guess now you can just go over there. Find your way by clicking on Tampa Blog.

Think of all the taxes you pay, and compare them to all the benefits you get. If you pay more in taxes than you use, you are an asset (financially, anyway) to the community. But if you use more resources than you pay for, you are a liability. But it’s sometimes very difficult to gauge a value on things we use. Especially those things that are so common, they are not even thought of as having any cost. For instance, the roads you drive on must be maintained. But maintenance is covered by any gas tax that you pay, right? Theoretically, the more you use the roads, the more gas you have to buy, therefore, you pay more taxes. The same goes for some of your property tax. There you pay for water/sewer, garbage pickup, and the like. You may use more or less than the average, but you do use the services. In theory, these examples show where you get what you pay for.

But of course, you pay for other things, too. For instance, the school board gets money from your property tax also. You can find out exactly how much you pay, but if you don’t have children in the school system, does that mean you pay for something you don’t use? Not so fast: If you buy anything, odds are that a graduate of the public school system assisted you with the purchase. Maybe it was the cashier, the cook, or the CEO. So, how did you benefit? Well, if the company had to first train their employees how to read (no snarky jokes here, please), your hamburger would cost a lot more than $1.99. But there is no way to put an exact value on that.

Other services we use have values impossible to calculate, too. Do you jog down Bayshore Blvd? Do your children play in a park? If you have a boat, do you put in at a county- or city-run ramp? Called the police or fire department? There is value in each of those services, but how much?

And some things you have to pay to use, but at a lower actual cost. When you watch Public Access or the Government channels, you paid the cable bill, including government fees. But other local taxes subsidize them. Have you paid admission to the aquarium, art museum or the Lowry Park Zoo? If you take the bus or ride the streetcar, you pay the $1.50 to get on, but those trips are funded partly by government as well.

So how do you stack up? Do you pay more than what you get? I really want to know what you think. I have plenty more to add to the topic, but I’m interested first in your perception. Please reply in the comments below, even if it’s “not sure” or “don’t care.” And feel free to be anonymous or send an email if you like.

Wifey and I went to Jacksonville to see the Bucs play there a couple years ago. Even coming from a small a city as Tampa, we thought Jacksonville had a small-town feel. It is a beautiful city. St. Johns River is absolutely gorgeous, and they were in the process of revitalizing the downtown riverbank. There are all kinds of cool neighborhoods throughout the place. And Jax Beach is a cool area, too. Still, with the upcoming Big Game, columnists are taking their shots:
Tony Kornheiser: Compared to Jacksonville, Tampa is Paris.
Dave Hyde, South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Was Hooterville booked?

I know these columnists have nothing else to write about, and Kornheiser is a jackass, but Wifey and I also questioned Jacksonville’s ability to host a Super Bowl. I wanted to know what a few of the citizens thought. A cab driver had no thoughts at all on the event, shrugging as if it would be just another day. When we left the stadium after a regular season game, it was all but impossible to find a taxicab. There were groups of people wandering around Alltel Stadium, looking for rides. A few innkeepers were excited about the prospect of so many visitors, but wondered if the city had enough room. The dearth of hotel rooms there necessitated bringing in cruise ships, which will dock on the river for use as temporary housing. Most people there didn’t even care about the Jaguars, much less Super Bowl XXXIX. I wish Jacksonville the best of luck next week. We’ll know then if they can handle the crush of people. Florida

There’s been more deaths on the roads of Tampa Bay since my beginning of the year outburst. The latest is the student from Riverview High, who crossed into oncoming traffic. Coincidentally, reading through a sampling of the local blogs, it seems everyone has issues with the traffic around here:

Jen of Crazy Island: All of Tampa Bay drive too slow, or too fast.
Bl0gax: All of Tampa Bay drive like idiots.
r* at SoHoTampa: If I have to drive, all of Tampa Bay should get out of the way.
Jeff of SideSalad: Don’t mind me, I’m just taking pictures.
Little Joe: Tampa Bay sunsets are beautiful, traffic is not.
Infosponge: Traffic sucks, but WalMart sucks worse, so I’ll stay on the road for three extra hours.
Lucky White Girl: All of Tampa Bay threaten and intimidate, but I shall bike in the road anyway.
A New Englander in Floriduh: All of Tampa Bay needs to get a clue on how to drive. In Connecticut, we F*ck the cops and drive fast. traffic

Another high rise development was announced for downtown Tampa today. At Torre Sin Vista, prices will begin at $2 million.

With all the speeders and traffic problems in Tampa Bay, don’t be surprised if you see one of these someday. I’d like to buy one for my neighborhood. Hat tip to Obfuscated Networking. traffic

As you know, Gibsonton is the winter home to many traveling entertainers. The International Independent Showmen’s Association (IISA) headquarters are there just ten miles south of Tampa. They have a huge campus (Gibtown, U.S.A.) off of Riverview Rd. with a private club. But you can’t get in without knowing a member. If you do know a member, convince them to take you during the trade show in February. You can see all the latest carnival rides and midway games. Buy a Gravitron, if you like. Without question, it’s a unique experience. gibsonton

Don Connolly passed away. You might remember him. This guy would buy tiny pieces of property that had gone to auction for delinquent taxes. He would call on those homeowners who owned adjacent land, and offer to sell them the slivers at highly inflated prices. After he was turned down, he’d erect unsightly fences (usually a bright pink with shiny stars) on them, and made those now very irate neighbors aware that they could still purchase the land at highly inflated prices. What a cad. wacky florida

Just ten years ago, the only passenger vessels around here were in Pinellas, and they were gone for only eight hours at a time. Entertainment options on board included casino gambling, unique dining, or a pirate show. Now, Tampa’s port is home to five different cruise ships. Cruises currently departing from Tampa include Royal Caribbean’s Splendour of the Seas, Holland America’s ms Veendam, and Celebrity’s Horizon. Carnival has two: Inspiration and Miracle. They’ll all be here until early April, and destinations include Eastern and Western Bahamas, Mexico, Key West and others.

A side note: More than 33% of cruise passengers stay one night in a hotel here, and they spend about $177 each before leaving on their cruise. tourism