20thStDad

Elimination of the meter readers is an excellent reason to tout these new meters, I never said otherwise. As far as convoluted calculations, subtracting one 5-digit number from another never bothered me. It is very convenient to see the information online rather than having to go outside or downstairs, I still just don't get anyone gaining great knowledge on how to reduce their bill beyond what is obvious.

I like digital stuff and data more than the average person, but come on, you don't need this to figure out how to lower your electric bill. I think it's interesting to see the daily trends and I like to have fun with graphs. That's about all I get from it. If my bill is too high, I know what to turn off. I used to check my analog meter several times per month and even that way it's easy to estimate what your usage and bill is going to be. If you turn &^#%$ off, your bill will be lower. There's the intelligence you are seeking.

Thanks everyone, this does help. But, the prices we're finding hurt! We have some time to look, so we'll keep searching.

Big Mamou is ok now and again, but I secon Calliope's. Better food, more of it, and for less $. Mardi Gras Grill is also good stuff. Cajun comes in many different forms, all of it can be good.

The Passat is looking kind of Camry. It was always a bit different but seems to be losing that.

Does any action have to be taken by the opposition for this ordinance to be thrown out by some judge? I think this is an easy case of the city going well outside its power and undertaking a very unfair process. If it ever falls to a judge I can't imagine them taking long to overturn it.

Whatever, LSU eliminated A&M (and any hopes of a decent big 12 bowl performance) yesterday. I tanked the pick em on purpose for superstitious reasons!

Hold on now...might have been doing some whiskey math there. If Kentucky, Nevada, and Auburn win, I think I win.

LSU at 32...jus' sayin'. Bunch of big 12 aggie homers...actually 3 out of 5 picked LSU, but whatever. I can't win the pick em, but this win feels nice.

I've seen a dense bamboo planting as a barrier, and it's definitely impossible to get past with 6-8 inches between each stalk (right word?). And remember Age of Empires? You can't walk through that junk!

I didn't intend to generalize, I was just trying to put a pro-public plug in and remind people that private doesn't necessarily mean better. Also I wanted to defend my LA public alma mater just a bit. I think you really do have to look neighborhood by neighborhood and school by school, there's no general answer that works everywhere.

I don't know what neighborhood you live in, but my Heights could never be described by continuity. It's as random as you could possibly make it.

In LA it's all about neighborhoods, same as pretty much anywhere. I went to a magnet public high school, and I can safely say that the education provided was miles and miles ahead of the private school I attended from 3rd - 8th grade. I also think the exposure to diversity helps a kid, rather than being stuck in a place with too much sameness.

Bamboo forest perimeter, reaches to 25 ft. Might grow slowly, unsure of mature transplant opportunities.

We've done some quick searching for preschool and toddler day care in the area around BW8 and I-10, but so far most are either crazy expensive or have pathetic hours like 3 days/wk from 9-12. Ideally we would want something that spans what a typical school day is. Any recommendations or advice? Thanks in advance!

We tried to drive by around lunch but it's still blocked off.

I would say based on my poor picks thus far I'm not catching anyone. I do look forward to Oregon smoking Auburn in the championship. Wishful thinking maybe, but I hate them.

Many thanks!

Mizzou and Baylor look like pretty big toss-ups for 30 and 32 at this point too. Who can say beforehand? I was happy to lose that 31 on Wisconsin to see the Big 10 go 0-5 today. That's much better than winning the bowl pick em. As for the 32 on LSU, it's my homer pick. I had us at 1, but then said F that, if we're gonna win I want it to be extra sweet, and if we lose I won't care enough to look at the pick em scores that night anyway. I did end up at 137 on the day, not too bad.

I have 168 points just on today's games, so I either drop even further out of it or make my comeback. Why can't games start at 7am? I can only occupy myself so much with smoking this pork butt since 6:30.

If you can swing it, yes definitely get the degree. But so many people couldn't pass college, so why set them up for failure? Promote the jobs they can excel in rather than making them feel like they are failing by not going to college. It's just a more realistic alternative for a large group.

I don't want everyone to go to college. There is still a great need for skilled labor jobs, there has to be some direction in middle and high school to promote such things. Also, like Niche said everyone isn't smart enough to go to college, not even close. We still need people to do those crappy jobs the rest of us don't want to do. There aren't enough high school kids working to do them all, and they can't work the odd hours that some jobs require. I'm talking about unskilled labor here. I think the promotion and encouragement of skilled labor careers is more important than worrying about education for the masses. It should be a more prominent thing that someone is an expert carpenter, mason, electrician, etc., instead of everything non-degree being lumped into "blue collar". Maybe the (average) pay rates will never be equal to white collar work, but you can easily argue that those skilled workers are contributing much more to the world. They probably also make up the vast majority of small business owners in this country. Not every success comes from a college education, tons of people without degrees make way more than I ever will, and I think I'm doing pretty well.

My allergies hit heavy in April then lighter in September, so I can't help you. This time of year I'm free & clear. Could be mold, Christmas trees, or dust mites, all of which I read are at peak annoyance this time of year.

Revive (and update) the graphic! It happens again on January 3rd.

Employment at will. The menu has a pretty big variety of creative burgers, and the one I had was good. Best to try first then judge. Unless it's in BFE like this is...