Good Food

What’s your favorite fast casual restaurant? I’m not talking about fast food like Mcdonalds. I mean a place where you can be seated without a reservation and a meal for two people will cost about twenty bucks.

I like O’Charleys better than Chilis and Applebys, but the O’Charley’s restaurants are a regional chain and are not in all the same cities that Chilis and Appleby’s will be.

I also like Cracker Barrel a lot, and love the way they will serve you a full country breakfast any time of day or night.

Who You Gonna Call?

Working as a reporter years ago, I covered a lot of courtroom dramas and I can tell you the most important thing I learned from all those days of sitting in court taking notes: do not EVER go to court without the best lawyer you can find.

I saw identical “crimes” presented in the same courtroom to the same judge and honest to GOD, the cases where the defendant represented themselves or waived the right to an attorney ALWAYS got a worse outcome than those who came with a lawyer – even with the exact same excuse, I mean, defense. And in most cases, those with a lawyer had the benefit of back room dealmaking so that all the judge had to do was bless the agreement between the D.A. and the defense attorney. Those without a deal got the shaft after their case was heard.

If I was in trouble in Los Angeles, the best defense attorneys are with the law firm called KEG, “Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin.” These guys are the top in their field, and it’s not just me saying so – check out their standing with Martindale-Hubbell – the best reference for attorneys nationwide. This law firm is in the top 5% in the entire country. The word for that is, “pre-eminent.”

Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyers | Southern California Criminal Attorneys

Alan Eisner

If you just want to read up on legal opinions and their take on legal cases in the news, check out their blog. It is written in plain everyday English and very readable and it’s always on something interesting, like illegal immigrants, privacy rights on text messaging, new internet crime statutes and medical marijuana legislation.

Signage

Had to hunt for an automatic car wash. The gas stations in Arkansas and Oklahoma don’t seem to do car washes like they do in Tennessee and Georgia. Don’t know if they think their car aren’t dirty or if it doesn’t matter that they are dirty. Back East, a clean car is an important personal statement and I like a clean car.

Anyways, found a self service car wash and they had one bay that was an automatic wash for $7. While sitting in the car while the equipment did all the work, I found it interesting that some of the local businesses were enterprising enough to put up signs on the fence.

If you have to sit for a few minutes and be a captive audience, then reading their signs gives you something to do and I think it was pretty smart to put up the signs. I bet they got the idea from the signs along the outfield at the baseball fields.

Technology for Technology

When the chemists or scientists invented the clear plastic film to protect the military’s helicopter blades, I’m sure they had no idea that there would be a new commercial use for the product. As it turns out, this particular film is ideal for covering handheld electronic devices like my new iPhone. The film is clear, scratch proof, flexible, and practically indestructible. This film covers the whole iPhone to protect it from getting scratched, dirty, or even dropped, as the film has a grippy feel that makes the iPhone less likely to slip out of your hand.

I saw this film, called “invisibleSHIELD” on a website and knew that these guys have a hit on their hands. I was looking for 3g iphone cases and found something even better than what I expected. This is much better than a traditional case or cover. And it works on other things, too, like digital cameras, watches, portable DVD players, MP3 players – all kinds of electronics gear that need protection.

Anyone spending several hundred dollars on a handheld device like the iPhone or Blackberry, should spend a few dollars more and get an invisibleSHIELD to protect their electronics investment.

Ice Road Truckers

Tried to get all the honey-do chores done today in time to catch the “Ice Road Truckers” on the History Channel tonight. At 7:00 is a re-broadcast of last week’s season premiere, and then at 8:00 is the new show of the series.

I’m totally hooked on this show. I am fascinated that these men take their lives in their hands to drive trucks over the frozen rivers and frozen ocean in the Arctic. They are modern cowboys with true grit.