Just Say No

Tuesday night we took a trip to LuLu. Nice restaurant. Good food. Well, I guess. I asked to have green olives (which they do have) added to the cheese and tomato pizza I was ordering. Not everyone likes green olives, but they're not all that out of the ordinary on pizza.

The server returned and notified me that the chef said "no".

No.

No, customer, you cannot have green olives on your pizza. Yes, we have them, but no, we won't put them on your pizza.

No.

No.

To the server's credit she returned to the kitchen and spoke with the chef. I did, after a LONG wait, receive my pizza which did, in fact, have green olives on it. I figure the wait was one way (at least) the chef was expressing his displeasure.

I'll be making another trip. To OpenTable.com to edit my profile and remove LuLu as a favorite. I suspect I won't be returning there. I wouldn't want to put them out or anything.

The Art of War

While watching The Contender (yes, I watched that show, didn’t you? each week 5 rounds of non-stop testoooooooooosterone action!) I recall a discussion about the book The Art of War. It sounded similar to another book I had briefly read through.

If you do a Google search you’ll find lots of information on the Internet about this. It’s an ancient book which is still very contemporary – probably because basic human nature hasn’t changed that much.

The other book I was thinking of which is much more recent is The 48 Laws of Power. It, too, is quite fascinating.

And, by the way, Sergio, the winner of The Contender is the one who brought up The Art of War. Did he win by employing the principles in this book? Perhaps. But, I think it was more his knowledge of how his opponents were employing those principles. Smart as he is cute!

A Home To Return To

For the second time in five weeks there was an overnight fire in the neighborhood. This morning's started around 3:00 and is being brought under control now. I can still hear the firemen's outfits chirping on the next block. It sounds like those annoying toys everywhere in Chinatown. Of course, in this case the chirping has a purpose… to allow firefighters to be located in thick smoke. Those toys in Chinatown are just plain annoying.

In this photo you can see Mission Dolores in the smoke. The fire was off to the right across the street.


When I first arrived burning embers were being blown liberally by the wind. Many apartments were evacuated and I saw people rushing out of their homes with belongings.



A number of pets had been quickly awakened from their overnight snoozies to get to safety: dogs, a kitty, a hamster, and a goldfish. And, those are just the ones I saw.















Fortunately, when I got tired and ready for bed I had a home to return to.