4/9     Do people actually watch The George Lopez Show? Is it played
        in Northern Cal? It is not very funny.

4/10    I tried the no shampoo on hair thing and it just doesn't work out.
        Without shampoo, I can't go on a day without my head iching
        crazy. With shampoo, I can't go on 2 days. I can't stand the
        itch. I have no idea how pre-shampoo human beings survived.
        Oh well, screw the environment. Back to using shampoo.
        \_ It is not really for the environment, more for your hair and
           scalp. But if it doesn't work for you, it doesn't work.
        \_ My hair becomes kind of dirty looking after a couple days.
           Maybe this is like growing a beard.  It will itch at first
           but if you give it enough time it will become natural?
           I guess ancient humans all went around with greasy looking
           hair.  Then again modern humans put artificial grease in
           their hair.
           \_ do bearded men not usually wash their beard?  -clean shave guy
              \_ Of course not. They don't want to wash out the food particles;
                 they'd be out of a conveniently-located snack.

4/10    Is it common for a judge in a family court situation to tell
        the attorneys or both sides how he wants to see the situation
        resolved, and inform them that if the parties don't agree to that
        resolution in open court that it will not go well for party
        not toeing his perffered line?  This seems a little strange
        to me. It also leaves no record of the outside influence for
        the future which is disturbing. --jwm
        \_ Sounds odd to me, but I don't knoe anything about a family court.
           Is this in reference to some current event, or is it personal?
           \_ It's something I encountered.  Apparently this is the second
              time it's happened. It's my GF's case, and I wasn't there
              the first time around.
        \_ Judges have a lot of authority for a reason. If you don't want
           to go with his proposed settlement, you might want to try and
           get judges changed, but you are not likely to be successful.
           What does your lawyer say?
           \_ Laywer seems unphased by it, and said that's how it is. She
              drops her counter-claim, or basically we'll lose. The judge
              is threaten to decide against the side that chooses to litigate.
              It wouldn't seem as weird if it happened in open court,
              were it would be on the record, but it wasn't it, it was
              done in a backroom, with only the lawyers present.  It just
              seemed shady to me. Seems that only courses are to aquiese, or
              litagate lose, and appeal. The secnd is not a good option as
              it's very expensive, and there's not way to prove that the
              loss the first time was the result of judical bias.  Maybe
              this is standard and customary, but it just feels like it's
              unethical if not outright illegal.
        \_ Isn't this the whole point of having a judge?
        \_ This is pretty normal in most civil cases.
           \_ That's good to know. I'm not unhappy about the result, but
              it seemed a little strange since it was backroom deal,
              and kept off the record. Just seemed like someome was
              hiding something.
              \_ From what I've seen, Judges have a good sense of what
                 a reasonable settlement is and try pretty hard to get
                 the parties to settle.  While I haven't been to a pre-
                 trial conf. yet, I'm told that in marginal cases the
                 Judge will often tell a party that he/she/it is going
                 to lose and should just settle and that parties who
                 don't take the Judge's advice often end up regretting
                 their loss even more b/c of the additional expense and
                 burden of trial.
        \_ I am a little surprised at the discretion judge have in some cases
           beyond the "pay money" "go to jail" "take a class" "specific
        \_ I am a little surprised at the discretion judges have in some cases
           beyond "pay money" "go to jail" "take a class" "specific
           compliance with the contract" standard forms of "community service"
            ... e.g. cases where the judge said "you can either go to jail or
            wear a sign saying ..." or do some other humiliating/shaming thing.
                 to lose and should just settle.
        \- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/us/28judges.html?pagewanted=all

4/10    Dang, why did I listen to the "sell GS at $100" guy on the motd?
        \_ Because you're an idiot?
           Did you also listen to "short GOOG at $100" guy?
        \_ It was a trade. I made a ton on it. So did you. Buy and hold
           would have you in at 200. I bought GS at below the IPO price,
           almost 10 years later. Don't lament good trades. BTW, did you
           buy GOOG under 300?
           \_ True, I did make money on it, and it might be the only thing
              that I made money on last year.
              that I made money on last year. I kept buying GOOG all the way
              down, my average is about 350.

4/10    Is there a good soup noodle place (like Din Tai Fun) in the Bay Area?
        I went to HC Dumpling today, which had pretty good soup noodles, but
        it paled in comparison to the SGV.
        \_ Corrected: I meant to ask for a soup dumpling (XLB) place! -op
           \- yes, i have modeled you brain.
              some what amusingly, i went from San Francisco to a famous
              XLB place in the middle of chinatown in singapore, and when
              i got there, it turned out they were closed (on Wednesday?!).
           \- yes, i have modelled you brain.
        \_ what do you mean by 'good soup noodle' ?    Theres a good vietnamese
           noodle place in milpitas area -- Pho Kim Long.  -ERic
           \_ Vietnamese place in the ranch 99 area in El Cerrito
                \_ That place is called Saigon II and its is pretty good.
           \_ Heheheh hehehe, he said fuk-him-long. -Beavis
                \_ I've seen a chain called Pho King too.
        \_ Hy Kai Mi Gia in the TL.
        \_ Pho Tan Hoa in SF is good.  The various TK noodle Houses are good
           too.
           \_ Did you know that TK Noodles is now different than TK Noodle
              House? The brothers got into a fight and split their chains
              both with the word TK Noodle in them. Also, TK Noodle is so
              dot-com-ish, as retro as Boba Tea. Din Tai Fun is hip today,
              kind of how Boba Tea was back in the 90s.
              \_ http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/11.14.96/noodles-9646.html
              \_  Tung Kee vs. New Tung Kee: http://www.csua.org/u/nyv
                  \_ I did, but I also knew the son who lived above the place
                     on Williams -!pp
        \- If you are talking about thin skin XLB, YANK SING is the standard
           for SF, but it is really quite expensive for DEEM SUM. For cheeper
           there are a couple of options but not totally a stardard ...
           Shanghai Dumpling King isnt bad. I thought a DTF branch was
           going to open up in the Bay Area ... maybe in South Bay?
           [assume you mean soup *dumpling* ... that is what DTF is known for]
           There is also a decent shen jian bao place in a south bay
           strip mall near the lawrence Fry's Costco etc.
           \_ Yes, that's exactly what I was talking about. Yank Sing is
              exactly what I was looking for, but maybe somewhere a little less
              pricey. SDK (dumpling king) is on my list of places to try. Do
              you know the name of the place near Costco? I'll check it out...
              \- The place near Costco is something like SHANGHAI FLAVOR SHOP.
                 There special item there is the SHEN JIAN BAO. There is also
                 FU LAM MUM near the Mtn View train station ... not top flight
                 DEEM SUM but ok. Are you really looking in "the bay area" or
                 are you really looking in the south bay. There are also
                 supposed to be some good Sichian and other Chinese sub-genre
                 places in Milpetas/Fleemont but I havent been to them.
                 \_ SF would be preferable but I work in the South Bay so that
                    can work too. I'll see if I can check out Fu Lam Mum. How
                    does Ton Kiang compare to Yank Sing?
                    \- for XLB, YANK SING is the standard. for other DEEM SUM,
                       there are other options ... TON KIANG, the places in
                    \- for XLB, Yank Sing is the standard. for other DEEM SUM,
                       there are other options ... ton kiang, the places in
                       milbrae etc. BTW TPNTTK [aka "The Place Next To Ton
                       Kiang"] has some good stuff at good prices and there
                       are fewer WHITE PEOPLE waiting in line. However I think
                       are fewer White People waiting in line. However I think
                       they may have had an ownership or chef change so some
                       of the items like GIANT 60CENT FRIED OYSTERS may no
                       of the items like Giant 60cent Fried Oysters may no
                       longer be available. if you are in the sunset, here are
                       my greater china recommendations: TPNTTK, SHAGHAI
                       DUMPLING KING, SUPER PANDA KITCHEN, SPICES, ultra cheep
                       DA CAFE late night menu, possibly CREATIONS DESSERT.
                       my greater china recommendations: TPNTTK, Shaghai
                       Dumpling King, Super Panda Kitchen, Spices, ultra cheep
                       DA Cafe late night menu, possibly Creations Dessert.
                       TK is controversial ... i wouldnt veto it, but i wouldnt
                       pick it. you might also try the GIANT $1 PORK BUN at
                       CITY BAKERY at 20th and Noriega. if you commute down
                       the penisula, you can also analyze EVERYDAY BEIJING
                       FISH DUMPLINGS and SUNNY SHANGHAI XLB.
                    does Tom Kiang compare to Yank Sing?
                       pick it. you might also try the Giant $1 Pork Bun at
                       CITY BAKERY at 20th and Noriega.
                        \_ Awesome thanks! --psb #1 fan
                        \_ TPNTTK is called Golden River.
        \_ Went to DTF on Saturday. Showed up at 10:30 and didn't have to
           wait in line at all. Craziness. Someone mentioned that they opened
           up another shop down the street. It was as good as I remember it...
           -op

4/10    Funny to watch the GOP come down with Barackaphobia:
        http://tinyurl.com/cnsqn9
        Obama == Facism == Socialism