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Darn, that was going to be my joke! But you got here first.

See, I was going to use this quote:
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and say something about the white hood.

Great minds, I guess.

Stopped by tonight. Delicious and very filling. I think she's just getting going and still trying to get organized, but I think it's a great addition to the neighborhood. Gosh, what a change from Soul Flavors just down the block - twice the food for (less than?) half the price.

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Yes, there was a little menu of prices both outside the door and on the wall inside. Most of the food ran about $5-7, if I remember right.

I had a big combination platter - kraut, kielbasa, stuffed cabbage and 3 pirogies for $7.50. (That was the most expensive thing on the menu, I think. Livin' large.)

They also had a cooler with some foods packed to go. I.e., you could stop in and pick up a little container of stuffed cabbage and then have an easy-to-reheat dinner when you get home.

There were also daily specials. Today was potato dumplings. And it looked like they kept refilling the trays with different foods. I really wanted to try everything. Eventually.

Just bumping this as a reminder that this is tonight.

Will we all be out there in the snow?

Agreed. I notice it more on bad weather days, I guess they have to go in lower to get their shot. Some mornings I wake up and here the 'copters and I think "Must be raining or foggy." Early this morning there was some fog, so that might explain it.

I walked by there a weekend or 2 ago, and noticed that funeral home was looking really run down, maybe this explains it.

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That's a good idea. I'm only admitted in NY and NJ, so I can really only answer as to what the law would be if this happened in either of those states. I was curious too, so I asked my boyfriend who is in-house counsel, specializing in workers comp, for the largest insurance carrier in NY state. But it would be good to know what your friend says.

Quote: I'm not sure if a lawyer told you that, and I'm not sure what the laws are in San Jose, but no, that's probably not correct. Foreseeability is irrelevant. If an employee is an injured, while performing their work duties AND the injury arose out of them performing their work duties, their injuries are covered by worker's comp, there's no need for a lawsuit.

(The risk that the company was taking wasn't a lawsuit, but was the risk that their worker's comp insurance rates would go up because the employees are in a more dangerous situation. Just like your car insurance rates go up when you move to Jersey City from the suburbs.)

Aside from insurance rates, it does not matter what steps were taken by the employer to make the job safer because worker's compensation law creates a duty in the employer to cover employees for on-the-job injuries regardless of who is at fault.

I'm not sure, but it might be that you're just disagreeing with me over the use/definition of "negligence." The legal definition includes foreseeable risk, it doesn't mean accidental, which might be a layman definition.

An example might be something like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fires in NYC. That was the same kind of negligence or worse - blocking of doors and fire exits to keep the workers working. (This is "negligence" even though what the employers did wasn't accidental - they certainly could have foreseen that locking fire exits would be a fire hazard.) Today, the injuries and even the deaths that ensued would be covered by worker's comp and employees would not have the choice of suing the Factory.

So, that's the tradeoff of workers comp. Injured workers don't have to "take the chance" of going through a lawsuit where they might win, they might lose, they might never find a lawyer to take their case, they might not be awarded enough money to cover their injuries. Instead they are guaranteed to have their injuries covered by worker's comp.

Why would employers agree to this? Because the other side of the tradeoff is that they're protected from lawsuits by agreeing to provide workers comp to injured workers.

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You're right that Worker's comp laws protect employers from suits, but "negligence" doesn't change that - if you think about it, workers comp injuries are almost always a result of negligence.

The only remaining suit, I believe, would stem from an intentional tort (i.e. your employer paid some guy to mug in you in the parking lot). Which I don't think is what happened here.

So there's probably no law suit to be had here, against Game Stop at least. (Suing the mall might be a possibility though...)

There is something in NJ called an expungement, it allows you to get a criminal conviction or a criminal arrest cleared from your record after a certain period of good behavior. Once your case has been expunged, it also allows you to legally (and "honestly") answer "no" if asked if you've ever been arrested.

Not every type of conviction is eligible, and the length of the waiting period varies. It really depends what the person's "mistake" was. If it was a first time small-amount drug arrest, there's a good chance the case gets downgraded, or he'll go through something like PTI or Conditional Discharge, which is a period of probation after which the case gets dismissed. 6 months after that dismissal, the case is eligible for expungement. Assuming this person has not had any further arrests.

However, if the case involved a lot of drugs ("possession with intent"), or a sale to drugs, it might not be eligible. On the other hand, if the person was 21 or under they might be eligible after a year (the "young drug offender" exception.) It really depends on what the person ultimately pled guilty to, or was found guilty of. Some types of convictions require a 10 year waiting period without any further arrests.

For the most part, violent crimes, sex crimes, etc. are not expungible, but, again, it depends what you ultimately pled guilty to. In NY, convictions can never be expunged.

Here's the NJ laws, if you're interested in reading them (I don't know the owner of this website to know that it's fully accurate/updated.): http://www.njexpungements.com/law.php

I think that you should try getting in touch with Lou Manzo's office. I remember hearing a few months or a year back that he was trying to expand the expungement laws to include more drug crimes. http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/manzo.asp

Finally, this isn't legal advice. (This is free, legal advice isn't.) If you think that the person/people you're trying to help might be eligible for an expungement, you should contact a lawyer who does this type of work, and ask him or her about it.

But it's probably better not to waste your time on a petition if there's already a law on the books that does what you're trying to accomplish, or a legislator already working on the same issues.

This is exactly why I don't eat vegetables. Too risky.

I hereby withdraw my defense of Brownstone. I will admit, when I first read these posts about Brownstone saying "too bad, don't come back" or whatever, I thought "Nah... you must have been really difficult customers or done something." (I mean, who would believe that a restaurant would treat their customers that badly?)

So, here's my story:

I go to Brownstone maybe once a month. I've brought numerous other friends there. I think I've always been a good customer, tipped well, etc. And, like the previous poster, I've suffered silently through bad service thinking "Well, they're very busy..."

This morning, I went with a few friends (4 people in our party total). The waiter spilled a hot coffee on my friend's lap. The waiter kind of awkwardly stood around, he kind of apologized maybe, he mostly just looked stunned like he wasn't sure what he should do. He did mention "taking care of it."

I thought that maybe they would take care of something on the bill - the friend's meal, or even if they were really cheap, her drink at least.

But, no, we got the bill, and were charged fully for everything. By this time, my friend's lap had dried for the most part, there wasn't a big obvious spot. My friend, the coffee victim, tried speaking to the owner's daughter, but her only response was "Do you want me to call an ambulance?" When my friend responded that she didn't need an ambulance, she walked away.

Thinking he could maybe diffuse/resolve the situation, my boyfriend went and tried to discuss it again. At this point, it wasn't so much about the money, it was about the way they handled it. It was as if my friend had somehow deserved the coffee spilled on her... or made it up. (If that's what they believed, they could have asked the waiter who spilled the coffee.)

She very sarcastically offered my boyfriend the diner's insurance information. And then she said, "Fine, I'll take it off the bill, but never come back in here again."

We payed the bill in full and left. I would never go back anyway.

I guess maybe they figure that, because they always have a line out the door, they have no reason to treat customers with decency.

But, I for one (and my friends) don't have to stand in that line, or take that kind of treatment again.

Good dermatologist in Soho:

Dr. Elias Michael
http://www.sohodhg.com/doctors.html


Not sure what his prices are, my insurance covers it. A lot of my co-workers also recommend him. He's really nice, and his staff is helpful. Might be worth a phone call even if you don't have insurance just to see what an exam will cost you.

by JC_Resident on 2007/12/2 5:36:28"
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I'm just wondering if you meant the price is high for excellent food (as in overpriced) or if you meant the prices are high, period, but the food is excellent so it's worth it?

I mean, I've been to restaurants that I would proclaim are "expensive" as in only-worth-it-for-a-special-occasion, but the food is worth it, so it's a "high priced but worth it" restaurant.

Or, did you think it was overpriced?

I've had ADT at 2 different residences and always been happy with their service. Overall, I'd say that I sleep better knowing I've got ADT, and luckily we've never really had to "use it." (Meaning, we use it, but we've never had an emergency.) Knock on wood.

It also works well when we're away on vacation. It's simple enough to use that we can have a friend check on our place, and let ADT know to use that friend as a contact person.

Peace of mind is pretty priceless.

I just saw this and was about to post it too. How unbelievable.

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I walked by this morning and heard some fire official type saying they weren't sure whether the building could remain standing. Therefore, they probably have to raze it for safety's sake.

As for who is in charge of getting rid of these people, I don't know. I called the police non-emergency number when they were having a small-compared-to-this fire and was told that if it wasn't my house on fire, there was nothing they could do.

So, you know, let the m-f- burn. J.C. is so messed up.

I agree with whoever mentioned squatters earlier.

If you walk down the Christopher Columbus side of that building, there is always assorted homeless junk strewn about. Earlier this week, some of it was burned. I remember seeing a lot of ash, and a burnt mattress or cushions of some sort. So, why wouldn't they keep doing it later in the week, when it's colder out?

Only the fire department can determine the point of origin or cause of this fire, but I wouldn't be so quick to point the blame at the building owners/developers, when it seems that there is another group (those few homeless people) setting fires in that area somewhat regularly.

So, Sal, just because you don't want homeless people peeing on your stoop, that means you want them to starve? You didn't read the post that said, "It is not just the homeless that get there food there,a lot of borderline families depend on their help." If I don't want to watch the homeless guy poo-ing behind my house, that means I want these "borderline families" to starve?

Yup, funny.

And it's true that it's sad that people remember the homeless during the holidays, and don't donate/volunteer the rest of the year, but I still believe it's better that some people donate some of the time, rather than none of the time.

Thanks for the info. I know people have inquired here before about places to donate/volunteer, especially around the holidays.

Would you mind posting address or location info when you get a minute?

Thanks again!

The news story doesn't say anything about the cause being suspicious, but the caption to the photo reads, "Both suspects are now in custody. It does not appear any students were ever in jeopardy."

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=5759304#

Is that just a mistake?

Also, be careful of them renewing you for 11 months only.

For example, I moved to JC in September a few years ago.

The next year, I got a renewal application in August, so I sent it in by the end of August (I was worried about forgetting.) My new sticker said August.

The next year, I waited until August to mail in my sticker so that I would get another August, not a July. And guess what, I got July anyway.

That sticker should be good for a year, not 11 months. Any way to rip you off. You think about it, after 12 years, they'll have made another $15 or whatever off you. (And 12 years from now it'll be more than $15, I guarantee that.)

I remember driving down the shore once, and seeing someone had a big piece of plywood on their front lawn, with a spray painted sign that said "To the asshole who stole my trashcans: might as well take the lids too." And 2 lids sitting on the ground under the sign.

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I don't think so. My boyfriend and I go there for brunch about once a month. Since I always feel kind of conflicted about whether to order breakfast food or lunch food at brunch, usually one of us will order a breakfast food (pancakes or french toast) and the other one of us will order a burger or sandwich. Then we usually cut our food in half and switch plates. Never got a charge.

So, I don't know how the rule DOES work, but it doesn't seem like it'd apply in this situation.

More info, if anyone is still interested. (I'd love to see this trend takeoff.)

Goats on a Hot Green Roof

Also, St. Matthew's on Wayne between Barrow and Erie St. They accept non-perishable items only, not sure if G.V.V. has the capabilities to store perishable items.

The only problem that we had was that we put it out on our fire escape, and the fire inspector said we had to move it when he came for our regular inspection.

BBQs in the backyard should be ok as long as they're not blocking a fire exit or something.

The ad says "PICTURES YOU SEE ARE OF AN APARTMENT WE JUST COMPLETED AND RENTED PRE-CONSTRUCTION AND THEY LOVED THE RESULTS. ACT QUICK IT WILL RENT FAST, GREAT AREA, CLOSE TO EVERYTHING."

(Why do people not realize all caps makes things harder to read?)

So, I guess it's like a model apartment? 2 of them have the same outdoor shot, so they might be in the same building.

Or it's like how Tom is everyone's friend on myspace?

Me, I'm still looking for the perfect apartment with an S&M dungeon in the basement...

Got Sawadee delivery the other night. Fast, hot, nice portion sizes.

I got spicy lemongrass chicken, which came with white rice. It was good, and quite spicy. (A change from many places that mark their items as "spicy" but then they aren't very spicy - to me at least.) My boyfriend got something called fried pineapple rice with chicken. Which was sweet and delicious. We both really liked that.

I think the 2 entrees were $21 total. And we got enough for leftovers for lunch the next day.

They said delivery would be a half-hour and it came pretty much exactly 30 minutes later. And the food was steaming hot, which was good.

We liked it. We will definitely order from them again. (And try eating in the restaurant, someday.)

If you're willing to go the city, Dr. Sally Haddock at St. Mark's Vet Hospital is probably one of the best bird vets in the country.

http://www.stmarksvet.com/inside/vets/dr_haddock.html

Good luck with your bird.

No, it's not Soup Swap season yet... But there is a Soup Swap announcement:

The people who run the National Soup Swap blog (soupswap.com) sent me an email that was a pre-call for recipes for a Soup Swap Cookbook they're going to put together. The cookbook will specifically feature soups that can be cooked in big batches for the purposes of swapping.

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They'll also be looking for kitchen testers ( ) and interesting soup stories (a la "the telling of the soup").

So, I just wanted to give everyone the heads up. There are a few of you who have recipes I'd love to see in the book! So, dig out your soup recipes (or write them down if you never did), and when we get the official word, you'll be ready!