136 Comments

Commenting on new DBD is paywalled? Not sure if that was intentional.

https://writeforcalifornia.com/p/dbd-03-11-2022-chop

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I just wrapped up hosting a town hall for 7000 people that went completely off the rails, not necessarily in a bad way, but total chaos. I need a drink.

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Damn, you fired 7000 people today over zoom?

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Does it help that I had an extra glass of wine with dinner?

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f2f or via zoom?

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It's on the Zoom platform, but using a full production crew etc. It doesn't look like a regular Zoom.

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I guess f2f since I'm not sure Zoom can handle that many people

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7K! How could that not go off the rails! You deserve a 3 day weekend, not just a drink!

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Morgan-Stanley forecasts the average price for electric vehicles will increase on average over $1 thousand just due to the increase in cost of and decreased availability of nickel needed for the batteries due to events of the last 3 weeks. VW I heard has already had to shut down production of some models due to unavailability of some parts and materials that they were getting from areas now involved in a war. Not good developments, but not surprising.

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*looks at the change in average price of ICE vehicles over the past 5 years* That's all?

In all seriousness, though, that's disappointing. I'm pretty sure my next vehicle will be an EV, but I'm not in a rush to get one. That said, I can quickly change my mind if someone offers an EV equivalent to a hot hatchback.

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Not necessarily "all" at all, that's just for the supply of nickel. I'd expect persisting chip shortages and other component issues to also push the pricepoint even higher than it already is.

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I'm hopping on a plane this evening to NYC to go see some family. Give me a recommendation for a good pizza place as I'll have a bit of me-time on Sunday to wander around Manhattan.

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My youngest daughter lives in Brooklyn. She recommends Roberta's in Bushiwck. Two Boots and Joe's Pizza are great and have multiple locations. Grimaldis in DUMBO is a classic and finally there's Juliana's.

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Roberta's crust recipe is my go-to when I make pizza at home. Delicious.

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Mar 10, 2022·edited Mar 10, 2022

When we’d visit our buddies, Newellbany & I used to take the subway over to Grimaldi's in Brooklyn & then walk across the bridge back to Manhattan…if the weather cooperates.

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Luzzo in the East Village - thin crust

San Matteo Pizzeria in upper east - brick oven also

Prince St Pizza - best slice of pepperoni pizza ever

Emily: West Village - Detroit style, quite good

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Prince Street - high in anti-Asian racism too!

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Houston

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That photo at the top is stunning. Just look at all the space dedicated to parking lots. Is that for real?

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That photo just screams 1970s and I am sure it was real when it was taken. I am sure a lot of that parking has been infield with development.

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It's still a lot of parking lots there - that's downtown near where the Toyota Center is now.

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Always changing planes at IAH but never actually left the airport.

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if you're under 30 and single, one of the most amazing places to party in the universe

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Houston is fun. But, it’s just really hard to get from place to place - very crowded (like L.A). Weather can be oppressive too - very humid. But, I agree, if you are young and well situated, it’s a whole lotta fun. Austin, is/was better. Small, fun, not crowded, young person’s Mecca. But, it’s crowded now too. Hard to move about. Dallas has gotten to be fun now, without the over-crowding, but it’s starting.

And… I will not confirm/nor deny GoldenSD81 claim about the “clubs”, but suffice it to say that Houston did/does not have zoning ordinances. So, on any particular block you could have a high end restaurants, bars, shopping and a ‘club’ all in close proximity…just like Vegas. It resulted in a ‘active’ environment.

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I’ve heard their strip club scene is as good as Vegas or Portland.

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legend has it that Vegas, Houston and Atlanta were the strip meccas one had to visit if you liked that sort of thing

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Yes, I forgot about Atlanta.

You can divide the US into four gentlemen club regions.

Southwest: Vegas

Pacific Northwest: Portland

Southeast: Atlanta

Texas: Houston

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I think Motley Crue sings song about the legend. Maybe Scootie has it on Spotify list.

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Mar 10, 2022Liked by BentPawn

Just check which places Harden went the most. Although I imagine it would be any NBA city he visits.

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Houston Street (HOWstun) is named after William Houston, a Continental Congress delegate from Georgia. Houston - the city in Texas - is named after Sam Houston.

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Huston Street had 324 saves in his Major League career.

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The best Vietnamese & Hmong food in America

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Lots of Vietnamese (half the Asians in Houston are of Vietnamese origin) - but I don't recall a big Hmong population - not like Minneapolis or the East Bay.

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San Diego has a decent Vietnamese population and has some very good Vietnamese restaurants and pho shops.

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You might be right, but the several times I've had pho there, it was only so-so. I did like the Asian-Mexican-American buffets, where you could get huge quantities (of course, it's Texas) of decent Asian food.

Houston Hobby is the only airport where someone yelled at me, Hey are you Vietnamese?

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One of the guys in my wedding party was telling me about the drama at his new workplace in Houston, late 2000. Soon thereafter, they laid him off and demanded his signing bonus back. He told them to go eff themselves. He didn't have to pay it back because it was Enron.

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I lived in Houston for 4 years - and when I moved there I expected to hate it.

And I didn't. One of my favorite placed to live. Anything you could want from a large city, but cost of living of a medium city. Great food, friendly people, awful weather and sprawl. An awful place to visit and amazing place to live. If there were job opportunities in my industry there (again) I would be looking.

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For those of you with families, I'm told by Houston locals that there's nothing to do in the summer but swim (because the weather is too unbearable to do anything else). So apparently they produce some good swimmers. Also I had the impression that the school systems are good, though I haven't verified this.

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It's not THAT bad. I used to play basketball, golf, cycle, and run in the summer. Bellaire High School (Emeka Okafor) is on a short list of best public high schools in the country - I represented Cal for a couple college nights there - and those kids were definitely more study and career focused than I was at a similar age.

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That's great that you represent Cal! Was there a good amount of interest?

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I wouldn't say a huge amount - but kids who came over had a ton of questions. From out of state Cal is as difficult to get into as Ivy+ and just as expensive - so being honest, not a ton to recommend about it - huge class sizes, limited resources. Obviously there are positives, and I'll encourage anyone interested to go, but it's not for everyone.

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How can it have terrible weather and sprawl and be a terrible to visit but an amazing place to live?

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Great food, friendly people, low cost of living, everything you could want from a large city (major sports teams, thriving museum + arts, probably the best food city in the US outside of LA/SF/NY.

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You tend to live in pockets of the town and do not travel about. It rains. It’s hot. But, you get used to it. I think that handling the humidity is better than dealing with constant rain in the Pacific Northwest.

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I'd rather have the rain in the Pacific Northwest, frankly.

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Humidity is not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s not mine and I don’t know how people live in New Orleans. But rain/mist in 45 degree weather where it’s difficult to go outdoors without getting wet is hard on the psyche…for me at least. I can’t do either place. I’d rather have heat.

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because nothing is close to anything else and unless you like swamp conditions, it is unbearable to be outside 6 months+ out of the year during the day. So...kind of a shit place to visit but if you live there you figure out the weather, cost of living vs salaries are best in the US, the food scene is incredible and there is a ton of culture and entertainment available which can be consumed in smaller chunks than the typical visitor would want to take

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I agree. I think all the major towns in Texas have a little of what you described. I even like San Antonio. I could live without visiting El Paso anymore, except if Cal goes to the Sun Bowl.

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I actually really like San Antonio.

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genuinely curious as to why. San Antonio is largely awful with a few sections of "ok". I suppose its a better tourist city than Houston, small pockets of concentrated things to do but overall it is sooooo meh

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true of a lot of US cities to one extent or another, but I'm definitely "Houston curious" when it comes to food

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San Antonio is better, and only a few hours drive east.

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Also San Antonio is to the west of Houston.

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I definitely do not endorse this.

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I'm going to give you a portmanteau that should pique your interest: "Viet-Cajun"

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DBD Test Kitchen

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We made carnitas and cilantro-lime rice the other night. Cooking the pork shoulder was a ~10-hour process so the house smelled glorious all day.

It all nearly went awry at the end when the microwave broke and forced us to find an alternative option for heating the tortillas. How the microwave broke was annoying. The microwave door has a pair of plastic tabs that latch it shut. One of these tabs contacts a button that must be depressed or else the microwave will not operate (to prevent it from running with the door unlatched). That particular tab is the one that broke (how it broke--I have no idea). $15 later, Amazon had a replacement latch delivered to us the next day. Perhaps I need to work on my door-opening technique, because I have never seen this happen before, and this microwave is only 6 years old.

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I'm about to housesit for two nights in a household with no microwave! Also related to your story, the last time I stayed there, I broke the tab of their toaster (but it turns out it was already broken, and they'd taped it back on). I don't think I'll use their toaster this time.

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I think we have our location for an early Pi-Day party!

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you should bring your own microwave

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How did you cook the carnitas? I love making pulled pork in the oven, which for a 5-lb bone-in boston butt takes between 4-6 hours depending on the temperature I want to use. I just brown the seasoned pork in oil on high heat, and put it in the oven. I thought I could use the same technique for carnitas, but it just doesn't seem to work.

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I use the Chevy's cookbook carnitas recipe. It isn't really authentic but fairly easy to prep.

https://www.recipelink.com/msgbrd/board_14/2002/NOV/9187.html

If anyone has a better recipe I'd love to get it.

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I rubbed the pork in spices before putting it in a dutch oven with a mix of onions, jalapenos, and oranges. I had the dutch oven on the stovetop over a very low flame for about 9 hours. Over time, the juices from the pork, oranges, and onions make a bath that envelops the pork. After it's done in the dutch oven, I removed the pork, shredded it and cooked it in batches on a lightly oiled pan at very high heat until it was slightly crisp.

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you dont heat your tortillas on your stove burners?

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I just put a griddle on the stove and put the tortilla on it for like 10 seconds each side. It makes them soft and malleable as long as you don't leave them on too long. I guess the warmer would keep them warm if you're making them as you eat them.

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If we want them soft and malleable, like we did in this case, we use our tortilla warmer (a little pouch that holds in the heat and moisture when they're heated up).

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DBD AV Club

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Season 5 of The Last Kingdom dropped…yes!!!

I am Uhtred, son of Uhtred. Destiny is all!

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Today in Covid 19

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Our Crumbling Democracy

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TFG's answer is a tirade against windmills. The question was "how do see this thing in Ukraine playing out?"

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1501733405423251456

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Of all his tirades, the ones against renewable energy are always the most unhinged. His claim ahead of the 2020 election that Biden would ban windows in new construction was *chef's kiss*

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His toilet and shower flow ones

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AG Garland says he hold them all to account. So... he's saying he's slow, not gutless. We shall see if he's telling the truth.

https://twitter.com/johnson_carrie/status/1501865582123180033

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Pro

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UK government puts Chelsea sale into chaos. No ticket sales allowed. No proceeds to Abramovich. Aren't they effectively seizing Chelsea?

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/breaking-roman-abramovich-chelsea-sanctioned-26431825

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Yes, which they should be since he's sanctioned. My favourite part is that they can spend max 20K on travel for each away game.

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better start calling the discount coach operators and only getting the luxury ones for European games

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Oh, Tony. That's uhhhhhh... 😬

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca295C2vC6B/

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Johnny Grier - first African-American to head-up an NFL referee crew - has passed. Rest In Peace, Johnny.

https://twitter.com/TroyVincentSr/status/1501619447601287172

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He was good.

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Woman sues Jerry Jones. Family resemblance is obvious since she hasn't won a Superbowl since 1996 either.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2022/03/09/woman-sues-dallas-cowboys-owner-jerry-jones-says-he-is-her-father-court-documents-say/

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[Heyman @ MLB Networks] MLB rejects it own idea because it was submitted by players after MLB's deadline, so they canceled another week of game.

https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1501730274044006402

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Heyman now tweeting an agreement.

https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1502016553709146117

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Yep. Passan reported as well.

Opening Day April 7 and they should play a full 162-games, I believe.

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Well, so much for my no baseball until Memorial Day prediction. I’m glad I was wrong.

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Agreed. My June prediction didn’t age well;-)..hahaha

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That's what MLB channel folks are saying. Info is still slowly coming out, but it appears a majority of the union executive board voted against it but the team reps voted overwhelmingly in favor.

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Nine inning doubleheaders and back to regular extra innings - no man on second rule. March 13 report date for spring training.

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Postseason will have 12 teams, similar to the NFL format pre-2002: top two division champs in each league get byes, other teams play 3-game series to advance.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/03/postseason-expands-to-12-teams-first-round-will-be-three-game-series.html

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Excellent. The 7-inning games and new extra innings rules were silly.

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Real extra innings and no man on 2nd...that's even better. Though I think they added the limit on pitchers didn't they, which means we may see more position players pitching with the regular extra innings.

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MLB isn’t playing any games before Memorial Day weekend.

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Nope. June at earliest. Part of me wants to see them cancel the whole year.

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I don’t think they will cancel the whole year because of the success of the Covid shortened season proved a shortened MLB is both viable and profitable.

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That’s why I’m kinda hoping they cancel it all.

The COVID season was the worst thing to happen to baseball.

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Idiots. All of them.

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Other College

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JT Daniels is visiting Oregon State. JFC, if he comes, the Pac-12's QB1 will be 🔥🔥🔥*

* - with some notable exceptions

https://twitter.com/petethamel/status/1501958866984128514?s=21

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Honest question, is JT Daniels any good?

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Not really

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Syracuse's Buddy Boeheim gets suspended one game (ACC playoffs vs. Duke) for this.

https://twitter.com/JTansey90/status/1501610715332988936

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Yes it looked intentional but Grayson Allen only getting an "indefinite suspension" for only 1 game by Coach K and the ACC letting them do that after his 3rd trip means Buddy got screwed.

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I saw some post game comments from Coach B. First he said it was unintentional then argued that Buddy had been hit a couple times and you can't just let that happen. Seemed to contradict himself as he went on.

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Yeah I heard that too.

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Ole Miss player steals home... from first.

https://twitter.com/OleMissBSB/status/1501728147779186689

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That's pretty heads up by the runner.

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Helps to be faster than everyone else....

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And poor base coverage by the defense.

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Mar 10, 2022·edited Mar 10, 2022

The 3B blew the play. He had no business roaming so close to the second base bag. Then the C had to try and make the play at third...by then it was done.

Now you'll see HC's start coaching their first basemen to be prepared to cover home!!

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1B should've gone to cover home as soon as the C ran to 3rd. Although I guess he was looking at the play rather than thinking about where to go next.

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Cal

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Go Bears!!!

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Berkeley NIMBYs make the NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/us/uc-berkeley-student-housing.html

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This Bokovoy guy is really a piece of work.

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Big Give is today. I don't see a Mark Fox buyout fund, but I'll keep looking

https://givingday.berkeley.edu/

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No but they do have a Mark Fox extension fund that you can donate to.

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I would rather give my money to Leland Stanford Junior University.

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I should really file my tax return...

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IRS lost my 2020 return and still missing.

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Trump, is that you?

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Are you sure it's lost? Mine took ten months to process and I just got my refund last month. Refund included the statutory interest.

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I actually don't know what happened. I recently got a letter from IRS saying I didn't file 2020 return. I sent via certified mail so I tracked it, and it says it's still in transit. Last year I had to pay extra tax, and I sent check with the return. That checked was actually cashed in April 2021 so they must have received them. The letter also said that since I do not have any return on file, I will lose the credit (check they cashed) I have on my account. I called IRS and was surprised they actually answer calls. The agent told me to wait 4 months and if they don't have, then re-file. He also told me to file my 2021 return as usual.

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Mar 10, 2022·edited Mar 10, 2022

I would donate to that.

He looks like a petulant child on the sideline.

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I can’t wait for the inevitable extension news.

It will be an interesting thing to watch because I’m not sure Cal mens bball has enough fans left to even care anymore.

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No one really cares as.

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Men's bball loses again. Pls let this be the last time we see Mark Fox on the Cal sideline...

https://twitter.com/CalMBBall/status/1501773280214065152

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