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Slow day here.

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Elsewhere in college

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Heh, I've got a friend who is the CFO of manscaped

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Is he or she a Cal alum or otherwise still inclined to donate copious amounts of money to the school and athletics department?

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She's not a Cal alum but maybe I can talk her into it after their IPO/exit event.

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Welcome to Memorial Stadium and Manscaped field. Each of the spaces between the 5 yard lines are Manscaped in different directions.

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or next year's Charity Bowl?

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☑Pea-green.

☑8 headlights.

☑Faux wood paneling.

☑"Honky Lips" tagged on the back panel.

☑Wrapped Aunt Edna still on the roof luggage rack

A replica Griswold family car still roams the streets of America

https://www.facebook.com/lakegeorgefamilytruckster/

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☑ Leash on the back bumper. One of the things I specifically looked for in the pictures

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☑ Equipped with pee soaked picnic basket

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What's your favorite restaurant that is within driving distance?

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I don't particularly love Shanghainese food - it's good for "once a month" and I probably go to Jessi maybe twice a year. But it hits the spot every time.

https://guide.michelin.com/en/shanghai-municipality/shanghai/restaurant/jesse

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Don't have a new favorite yet, but thoroughly looking forward to trying all the middle eastern cuisine in Glendale

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Cúrate. Flagship of seven-time James Beard nominee Katie Button. It's 4.5 hour drive and I once ate there five times in a week. It's the only tapa place I will ever go to. Closer to home, it's Mother & Sons in Durham. Sublime new Italian

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last time i was in town it was still closed. but it is on my list

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House of Prime Rib. My favorite restaurant in the world.

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No

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Their prime rib is quite good, the rest, not so much - I've been there once.

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the salad is good. The sides are trash

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I was seriously underwhelmed by the creamed whatever it was. I'm dropping how many $$ and I get THIS as a side dish?

I enjoyed the Prime Rib, though.

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Between them and Taddish Grill, I liked Taddish Grill better

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Sorry Tangtpt, you're new favorite restaurant is now Macondry. Please drive there instead. I'll let them know that you're coming and that you'll have the usual.

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Umbertos of New Hyde Park.

we used to live within walking distance when we first moved to NYC area.

family style Italian place on Long Island. nothing fancy, but everything classic is amazing. things like spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, the veal parm and the garlic knots.

we always volunteer to drive people to JFK from where we live and find an excuse to stop by for lunch or dinner.

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Menthol

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Marlboro menthol has about 11% market-share in Singapore. Menthol is big in the Chinese community because they falsely perceive it as being good for you given its prevalence as an OTC remedy (eg, Tiger Balm).

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FDA will hear a complaint against methol cigarettes tomorrow. 85% of US methols are smoked by African-Americans. A ban is possible.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/ncna1265209

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Josh Hawley is a Stanford grad. Never forget!

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I look forward to him being consigned to the scrap heap of history, so he'll probably end up being a 5 term president or some such nonsense.

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My in-laws will probably vote for him and disregard his hate of Asians by saying "he's only hating those coming into the country AFTER us!"

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Lessons Learned

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Don't let tenants sub-lease their space unless you vet their sub-lessee. Nearly fatal.

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Very glad you're not dead.

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Me too! Quick reflexes were very helpful.

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Was that the one that did improper venting?

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They were tenants I liked, they said they were going to Clear Lake for four months, but were going to come back. When they told me they already had sub-tenants lined up, and I was young and foolish and let this happen.

Anyway the "people" they found were dreadful, then they decided they weren't coming back. I decided to evict the pair, and a couple days before they were to be out, they pound on my door at 7 AM, and the guy tries to hit me in the head with a hammer when I open the door. I was able to grab his arm to stop him from connecting with my noggin.

The doors open outward, so I couldn't push them back, so I step back a pace and tell them that if come inside, I will kill both of them. I'm dressed in perfect "COPS" attire, nothing but a pair of 501's on, holding a 30" 1 1/2" galvanized pipe. They declined my invitation. My wife is calling OPD, they arrive, and arrest the guy who was still wandering the hallway, carrying his hammer. He did 4 months in Alameda Cnty jail.

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Trim your toe nails. Losing a big toenail is no bueno.

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Distances longer than 15km, I've lost 3 index toenails, but they've all grown back quickly.

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Yeah, I lost some when I first ran marathons. They all grew back but a few are kind of funky but not a problem.

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One grew back all weird and super thick for 6 months but it's now back to normal.

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I lost one years ago from playing intramural basketball when an opposing player landed on my foot and it took months before the nail completely falloff and regrown...not sure trimming my toe nails more regularly would have saved that though.

Then again, I recall my dad had some fungal issues when he was younger from bad personal hygiene with the toe nail.

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FireStarkey alert.

I lost three toe nails, including a big toenail, from soccer.

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I have lost none, however, I have sprained my thumb 5 times and have a permanently crooked ring finger from that sport

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Maybe if you stopped trying to punch the ball into the goal.

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catlike reflexes gonna do what they're gonna do

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Gnarled fist of God

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You only cook bacon naked once . . .

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cooking with raptors!

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hahaha

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This topic cannot be more apropos for me. This past Saturday, I adopted two (count em, two) 11 week old brother and sister puppies (Australian cattle dog and some kind of hound mix). I'm single and live alone. I did some research on raising and training *a* puppy, but not two. The shelter warned me, but I brushed them off and said I was up to the challenge. What transpired was 48 hours of living hell. It is pretty much physically impossible for one normal person alone to properly train and socialize two puppies at the same time. (crate train, leash train, etc.) It's like bailing water on a sinking ship. Any progress you made with one gets destroyed the second you try to tend to the other, and the one you just made progress with gets stressed out and freaks. By Monday, I was run ragged, on barely any sleep, and threw in the towel. I work from home, but had to take the day off to manage what was going on. I returned the boy pup to the shelter that day (they wanted me to do it Tuesday but I pleaded for them to take him that day and they finally agreed, I was that worn down and frustrated with spinning my wheels trying to house train). It was not only for my sanity but both dogs' best interest. The good news is the demand for adopting dogs is still tremendously high and he'll be taken before the week ends. In the short time since banishing the boy on Monday afternoon, I've made HUGE strides with the girl. It's like a breeze, and she's really awesome. "Do not get two puppies at the same time if you live alone. Do not even think about it." is a lesson learned I learned this week. There are no economies of scale when it comes to number of puppies, in any way. It's quite the opposite.

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Something similar with kids.

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@see how your wife reacts when you tell her you want to push one of the kids back up@

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Oy.

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My stepfather learned the hard way that eye-wetting drops and contact lens cleaner look really similar.

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The red cap mistake is one you only make once

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Better than the person who squeezed superglue into her eye, thinking it was eye drops.

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owowowowowowowowowow

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Our Crumbling Democracy

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According to the Cook Political Report, lawmakers considered especially vulnerable to redistricting include Florida Reps. Charlie Crist (D) and Stephanie Murphy (D), Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R), New York Reps. Claudia Tenney (R) and Tom Reed (R), Pennsylvania Reps. Matt Cartwright (D) and Dan Meuser (R), Georgia Reps. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D) and Lucy McBath (D), and California Rep. Mike Garcia (R).

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/550568-lawmakers-brace-for-battles-with-colleagues-as-redistricting-kicks-off?amp

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Talk about a fall from grace....

"Federal investigators in Manhattan executed a search warrant on Wednesday at the Upper East Side apartment of Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who became President Donald J. Trump’s personal lawyer, stepping up a criminal investigation into Mr. Giuliani’s dealings in Ukraine, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

One of the people said the investigators had seized Mr. Giuliani’s electronic devices."

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/28/nyregion/rudy-giuliani-trump-ukraine-warrant.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=New%20York

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Remember Lev and Igor?

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Today in Covid 19

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I'm just back from a walk to the post office and the grocery store. I'm two weeks out from my second shot so don't need to wear a mask wandering the streets. But I noticed almost everyone else was wearing one and not wanting to discourage folks I put mine on, covering only my mouth. Had to wear it of course when in the store.

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Getting my 2nd Pfizer shot at 11:00 am.

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Got it. No ill effects so far. Covid in the rear view mirror hopefully.

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...in two weeks, and remember it's 95% effective, not 100%

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Governor Edwards (R-LA) rolls back mandates - let's private businesses and local governments set site-specific policies. Geaux Rona.

https://www.ksla.com/2021/04/27/gov-edwards-amends-statewide-mask-mandate/

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Pro

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A's, Giants, Dodgers, Warriors, Angels, Padres lose. Astros and Yankees win.

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Not only did the Dubs lose, they went nearly 10 consecutive minutes without scoring in the first half while Dallas went on a 28-0 run.

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I really hope they find a way to move Wiggins...doubtful, but that kid is not a key piece on a championship team...

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i saw most of that 28-0 run and then i turned off the TV

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same here, but switched to the Giants game. Ugh.

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Moderna Shot 1 today. Lets get it. I have a round of golf tonight so hopefully it doesn't kick my ass until Thursday morning where I can take a well deserved day off from college.

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I went to hit with some former co-workers - there's a new driving range that the owners obviously went to Top Golf and tried to replicate it here in Shanghai. However, since doing golf together doesn't quite attract the "outings" crowd, like it would in the US, it's still oriented towards a very rich crowd.

Anyways, I was there, and the word got around that an actual foreigner was hitting, so they sent up an American trained golf coach (she's Chinese, moved to Florida at age 13 to play golf, ended up playing for Applachian State, and then started teaching golf in the US, but had to move back for some family stuff.

She took 3 minutes to watch me hit - gave me two pointers (I was hitting with my weight on my heels and she wanted me to widen my backswing) - and in 10 minutes I got way more consistent. Let's see if the lessons hold - I'm going to try to play this weekend.

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I always have had an issue when driving in the sense of looking up before I actually finish my swing, resulting in a ton of ground ball dribblers that go about 140 yards. I need to pick that up but Im playing with my friend who is on the UT Dallas golf team so maybe he can fix it up for me.

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I' ve watched a bunch of youtube videos and a lot youtube coaches say that's the perception . . . but that's not the actual issue.

I have been able to "solve" my topping issue by standing closer, weakening my grip, and being more balanced.

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