I had some time tonight and was fooling around and decided to play around with the odds of picking a Pick 3 Lottery number. I wanted to see if there was some kind of system that I could devise that would make it profitable to play.  On the pick 3 lottery there are 333 box combinations and with a $1 box bet it pays $167.  There are a 120 single number combinations (123) that come up almost 70% of the time and the remaining double (122) and triple numbers (222) account for over 30% of the time.

At first glance I thought that I could play just the single numbers with a $1 box $120 x 1 = $120 investment. If it hit I would win $167 or $47 net profit. Not a bad profit for a $120 investment. The problem is when you lose. You lose $120 not $47. It would take you almost 4 more wins to recuperate that loss. Furthermore what if you lost 2 or more times in a row?

After searching the internet for a proven system, they all seem to come back to the one I listed above in some fashion or another. My conclusion is that the Lottery is not gambling but rather you are making a donation to the Lottery. You would win frequently but your loses would end up being greater than your wins. My advice - Don’t Play It. There is no such thing as a system and you can’t win systematically enough to justify the risk to dollars.

I didn’t go to the gym today but rather worked my butt off in the yard. First, I mowed the yard (45 minutes) second, I tried to start a roto-tiller (10 minutes), third, I planted some petunias and worked around the yard (1 hour). Now if I didn’t burn calories today then nothing will do it.

I might take a shower and still go to the gym this evening but right now I am beat. I did show a loss this morning to 276.6 when is down from my high of 278.8 just two days ago. PS. I found my Ipod Shuffle about 10 minutes ago so I guess the kids will get the new one.

Weight: 276.6 lbs

I like to take my Ipod Shuffle to the gym when I work out on the elliptical machine. My problem is that it is so small that I can’t find it. I guess I will have to go to the gym tomorrow without it and go 30 minutes of watching television with no sound. I usually download the “Motivation To Move” podcast which does what it says and keeps me motivated.

BTW: I just purchased a silver refurbished Ipod shuffle tonight and if I find my blue Ipod then I guess I can give one to the kids. Until then I am watching the mailbox for my new Ipod.