Category: Commentary/Editorial || By

I'll say this much ... when I whiff, I whiff big. Two recent whiffs deserve a prominent apology.

. . .

Alert Reader Chris took issue with May 21's Almanac, especially with the line: "The odds of getting all three digits in the Daily Number in the right order are 500 to 1, according to the lottery commission."

Notes Chris, "Erm, the odds of getting all three digits in the right order are actually 1,000 to one --- even in Pennsylvania. The payout is 500 to one.

"I wouldn't point this out except you made fun of those hard-working school-board members."

. . .

That's not a small mistake. After all, the Daily Number runs from 000 to 999, and even in Catholic school, they teach that there are 1,000 numbers in that set. (Unless the pope says otherwise.)

I was looking a page on the Pennsylvania Lottery's website titled "Prizes and Odds," which has "500 to 1" next to the Daily Number. It didn't make sense to me, but I ran with it.

As Chris correctly notes, I took it out of the column marked "Payoffs," which means it's not just my math skills that are poor, it's my reading comprehension.

. . .

Finally, several readers emailed privately to chastise me for not naming the four West Mifflin school directors who sent out the shoddy campaign literature.

Writes one, "I was unpleasantly surprised to see you censored the names to protect the guilty in the item on West Mifflin School Board. Tsk-tsk.

"While I can see your desire to stay outta the politics, isn't the job of news types --- dead-tree or electronic --- to tell the Great Unwashed the emperor has no clothes?

"You say you're doing them a favor by not naming names. You're right. But they don't deserve your favors. I'm glad to hear they lost.

"Keep up the (otherwise) great work."

. . .

My emailer was being relatively kind. One commenter called me a coward, but used a mildly vulgar term.

They're right. I had a brain cramp. I should have named the four people who sent out that handbill. I screwed up.

For the record, they were John Donis, Michael Jakubovic, Diana Olasz and Edward Schueler. Donis, Jakubovic and Schueler did not win renomination; Olasz did.