Wowzers...got busy yesterday and found like four pages of postings here when I got back...
I think I've only got one comment...I've been mining for eight years. I've been to the top of the heap and (thanks to Mt. Gox) the bottom. I've mined Antpoo, Slush, and others for enough time to actually gather realistic numbers. I'm here, and I've been here for over a year. I just paid my hosting bill for Labrador, and have coin left. One block, at today's rates, makes a month's hosting charge for all machines. If one is mining BTC because you actually need it to pay your basic bills, you're barking up the wrong tree and will probably lose your sanity just after your bank balance.
I'm a small miner by the pool's standards, but an equal in its operation, enjoying a transparency proven by experience. That is not the norm for mining pools. If you can't accept the inherent value in that principle, or get tweaked over every variance (ie., luck) episode, then you shouldn't be mining.
You'd do better with trying to card count at the Blackjack table.