Aquasana Shower Filter

Just ordered the Aquasana Shower Filter for $67.99 thru http://www.aquasanausa.com/. Someone had recommended the Jonathan Shower Filter to me over the weekend . After doing some research over the net, many have stated that the Jonathan filter is manufactured by Aquasana and essentially the same but with a higher price tag, so I of course ordered the less expensive. Some claim less frizzy hair and softer skin because the filter removes much of the chlorine and other stuff that cause the dryness, etc. Aquasana guarantees softer skin in a week. I shall see. They have a 30 day money back guarantee.

Update: I have been using the filter since Saturday, a total of 4 days. I must say that the filter is actually working. My skin is not dry or as dry as before and oh so soft. On the other hand, I have not noticed less frizz in my hair. i'm going to keep it now.

UCLA Healthcare

Thought my insurance was covering my accupuncture, massage and trigger point session 100%. Just got a bill for $30 each session copayment since it is considered "specialty". Each treatment was charged $95 separately meaning that total for each treament session was approximately $300. At least I'm saving $270. My goodness, healthcare is so expensive. Oh well, it's definitely worth it. I still have 6 sessions left. I'm going to have to get some kind of massager after I'm finished with the treatments.

Noshi Sushi to go

Last night, Noshi to go. Very fresh surprisingly. Lots of not so fresh orders to go before. 2 orders yellowtail and 1 spicy tuna roll. I can't wait to go back. Total bill including tax $12.56.

Neil Young at Nokia Theatre

Saw Neil Young at Nokia Theatre yesterday. Pegi, his wife, opened for him. Good show. Started at 8:20 pm with Pegi on for a half hour. Neil Young came on around 9:15 pm playing solo for an hour. Intermission of about 20 minutes. Concert didn't end until close to midnight. Long show. Fell asleep towards the end. Tuesday night is not a good night to go to a late night show for me.

Bridge Benefit Concert

Bridge School benefit concert was great. Metallica, Regina Spektor, Tegan and Sara, Tom Waits, Jerry Lee Lewis). Little disappointed that Eddie Vedder had canceled (my morning jacket was the substitute), but it was still a very good concert. Stopped in SF for 1 day and stayed at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins (thru hotwire for $150 including tax). Was assigned to a 5th floor room (#522). That was an upgrade from the 2nd floor standard rooms. View was not so great but I guess it was because of the discount i got. Still good price for the hotel. Tried new restaurant opened until 1 am called Nopa, recommended to me by a musician/cab driver. It was delicious. Hamburger was $12, albacore with poached egg appetizer was $10. Of course, I always go to Tadich Grill on California Street and L'osteria Del Forno in North Beach. The cab driver also recommended a good pizza place called Little Star Pizza. Slanted Door Vietnamese Restaurant is good too in the Embarcadero Center.

Intercontinental Mark Hopkins SF

Stayed here for 1 night 10/28-10/29/07. Booked for $150 thru hotwire. Nice looking outside appearance. Standard rooms, which is what you get with most hotwire bookings, were assigned to only the 1st and 2nd floor out of 19 floors. I was able to get the 5th floor which considered an upgrade. Nice room, but not very good view. Parking was $45 plus tax, valet only. I had read that Masonic Building (1 block away) was $30 per day plus tax. I drove there but there was a jazz concert at that time so parking was completely full. I had no other option but to valet. Parking is not coordinated very well with hotel. Hotel never charged me anything. Thank goodness.

Eagles and Dixie Chicks Concert Tonight

Friend invited me at the last minute to go see Eagles with Dixie Chicks tonight at the new Nokia Theatre that just opened last week (next to the Staples Center). I've always wanted to see the Eagles and finally, here's my chance. Yay!

Damn, this is the 2nd concert in a row. This weekend is the bridge show and next week Tuesday and Friday is the Neil Young show.

Update: Concert was great yesterday, although I did enjoy the Dixie Chicks more so.

Jesus and Mary Chain

Saw Jesus and Mary Chain at the Wiltern last night. Good show. Ran into old friend from high school. Got last minute tickets for free + $7 service fee from www. goldstarevents.com. I definitely got my money's worth.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Evan Dando opened for them. Saw a bit of Black Rebel Motorcycle. When I first arrived, I had thought they were Jesus and Mary Chain. They sound so alike.

Friday Night

Hide on Sawtelle for dinner. Sushi was quite good today. Ordered yellowtail belly, uni and albacore. Walked to Papa Beard's for light dessert afterward. Then walked to Nijiya market. Noticed Karaoke right next to Nijiya market. Karaoke Happy hour special before 8 pm was only $5/hour per person. Lots of fun, although my throat hurt afterwards. Front desk woman was not so friendly. She walked us to a room without any direction on how to do. Had to call her back for instructions.

Deborah Kerr Died Today - Sad News

Deborah Kerr died today at the age of 86 in London, England. She had parkinson's disease.

Corn bread pudding - LA Times Recipe Today

Corn bread pudding recipe - looks easy enough
Servings: 6 to 8
Note: Use any high-quality country white bread such as pain rustique; you will need a loaf that weighs about a pound.
3 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) butter, plus additional for buttering the pan
2 ears of fresh sweet corn, kernels removed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
5 eggs
8 cups stale country white bread, crust on, cut or torn into about half-inch pieces
2 cups grated Gruyère cheese
1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, rosemary, thyme, sage and black pepper. Heat over high heat until just before the milk reaches a simmer. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
2. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, whisking occasionally until melted and the solids turn golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the corn and salt and stir over low heat for about 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Whisk in the cooled milk and then stir in the bread, cheese and the corn mixture until well combined. Pour the mixture into the baking dish, pressing down on the bread to make sure it is submerged. Let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes while the bread absorbs the liquid.
4. Bake for 35 minutes, until golden brown, rotating once for even cooking. Serve immediately.

Pinkberry - LA Times Report 10/16/07

A venture capital firm, Maveron, co-founded by Starbucks' chief, Howard Schultz buys a stake in the chain for $27.5 MM. Expansion is planned.

Pinkberry hopes to grow its retail footprint beyond its 28 stores in Southern California and 5 in New York, with funding and expertise from Seattle-based venture-capital firm Maveron.

I must say I didn't like Pinkberry when I first tried it, but now like it and have it occasionally. I am not an addict. It's a little pricey. 1 medium with 2 toppings was $5.36 including tax.

My new tivo machine (dual recorder, 80 hours)

My new tivo with dual tuner is great. It can record 2 analog shows at the same time or 1 analog & 1 digital at the same time. I have analog. You can also be recording a show and watch live tv at the same time. I purchased this 2nd tivo because of the dual tuner and also so i can connect my original tivo to the new one. I wanted to be able to watch my recordings from my 1st tivo on my 2nd tivo. It is possible to network. All you need is a network card ($59.99 at circuit city) for each tivo machine. I set it up fine. However, I was a little disappointed. It didn't do what I thought it was going to do. The 1st tivo machine shows up on your "now playing list". When you select the 1st tivo on your 2nd tivo, it shows all your listings on the 1st tivo. You can't watch it right away; you actually have to transfer the show from the 1st tivo to the 2nd tivo which takes a while (more like real time). You can also transfer many at the same time (the shows sits in a queque). I was going to cancel my original subscription and just use the tivo network to watch on the 2nd tv, rather than having 2 tivo subscriptions, but I like the dual tuner so much that I'm probably going to keep it now and subscribe to both.

I paid $179 + 20 tax for 1 year pre-subscription, but got the tivo for free.

Devendra Banhart and the Spirtual Bonerz

Saw Devendra Banhart at the Orpheum (842 s. broadway at 9th) on Saturday night. Rock-Folk music. 2 hour show. They were great.

Star Sighting at Rocket Video

Saw Rebecca De Mornay today with daughter and unfamiliar man at Rocket Video 1 hour ago. They drove off in a black Lexus SUV (Rx) . Rocket Video employee confirmed it was her. RV Employee also said James Spader was there last week.

Rocket Video on La Brea (1/2 block north of melrose).

Popular lipsticks test positive for lead - CNN Money

61 percent of the brand-name lipsticks tested contained detectable levels of lead, which can be toxic if ingested. One-third of the tested lipsticks exceeded the Food and Drug Administration's limit for lead in candy. FDA has not set a limit for lead in lipstick.
The top brands testing positive for lead:

L'Oréal Colour Riche "True Red,"
L'Oréal Colour Riche "Classic Wine,"
Cover Girl Incredifull Lipcolor "Maximum Red"
Dior Addict "Positive Red"

Accupressure/vacuum jar

Purchased Glass Cupping Jar/vacuum for $3.00 from Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine yesteray in Santa Monica which my UCLA doctor recommended. Never had heard of the school but they teach traditional oriental medicine, so I went to purchase it from the small college library on the 2nd floor. This school also offers treatments for $30 each visit which I have yet to try. They also have a pharmacy that also sell pills/herbs.

1807-B Wilshire Blvd in SM (On Wilshire between 18th and 19th school).

Hours
Monday through Saturday 8 am-6pm
Monday and Wednesday from 6pm to 9pm

310.453.8383 to make appt
http://www.emperors.edu/

Hotwire Hotel Booking Experience

Hotwire booking today for one night in San Francisco from 10/28 to 10/29. Hotwire only lists price, amenities and star rating. You book and then hotwire sends you the hotel information. You can try to guess the hotel based on the amenities and location hints. I checked the hotel listings on http://www.betterbidding.com/ before I booked. Several hotels were listed.

Looked only for 4 star or above (below were the choices):

Union Square West $100 + 22.05 Tax = $122.05 Total (Clift Hotel or Parc 55?)
Union Square East $115+21.97 Tax= $136.97 Total (Westin St. Francis?)
Embarcadero $203+$35.41= $238.41 Total (Hyatt or Omni)
Nob Hill $125+24.4 Tax = $149 Total

I was 99.9% sure that the Nob Hill Hotel was the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins hotel and I was right. I stayed at the Fairmont SF Nob Hill Hotel last year which had spectacular views of the city. The hills are steep from Union Square to Nob Hill, but it was easy taking a taxi cab or cable car.

I chose to use Hotwire rather than Priceline name your own price because priceline's hotel listings were so broad and it was hard to narrow the selection down and figure out what hotel it was. Since there were only a select few Nob Hill Hotels which Hotwire listed separately. Priceline lumped Nob Hill hotels with Union Square West.

You're most likely to get a better price for the same hotel thru priceline. Last year, I booked a USE hotel thru priceline and got the Omni Hotel San Francisco. It was about 7-10 blocks away from Union Square which I wasn't too happy about. List of hotels for previous priceline hotel winners are listed on both http://www.betterbidding.com/ and http://www.bidfortravel.com/. List of hotels for previous hotwire bookings are listed on http://www.bidfortravel.com/.

Article from WSJ today - Analog TV to be phased out

Anyone using analog tv (rabbit ears/analog cable) will be forced to switch to digital tv beginning 2/17/09. Each U.S. household will be eligible for two subsidized digital converter boxes beginning 1/1/09 (which is the size of a vhs videotape; it connects the tv set and an existing antenna to help analog sets decode digital signals) . Before a $40 coupon, each government-approved gadget is expected to retail for $50 to $70.

Apple Airport Express

I had to convert my WPA security to WEP for my tivo to be networked. It was not easy. I have a netgear network adaptor card 54 mbsp, 802.11g and an apple airport express. Went into the airport admin utility for windows and changed the password to "apple" (40 bit) for wep security, which had to be 5 characters. since my network adaptor could not recognize the passphrase "$apple", i had to re-scan and enter the key manually 6170706C65, the actual hex value of the word apple. So complicated. I don't know the hex value language, I just got it off an internet search. Finally worked. Go figure.



I now get 100% signal using WEP. Previously, it was only 75% with WPA.

Audio Terminology

Encoding (convert to MP3)
Decoding (convert MP3 to WAV)
Ripping (convert CD audio to MP3 or WAV)
Burning (convert MP3 or WAV to CD)

Los Abandoned

I've seen a couple of Los Abandoned shows. They decided to part ways and yesterday's show was their last show together, which wasn't their best show. It was at the Tarfest at the La Brea Tarpits. Don't know why they broke up. They were great. Letter from their website below:

Friday, October 5th, 2007:
After 7 years of making music as Los Abandoned, we have made the collective decision to go our separate ways.
We would like to thank our families, friends and fans as well as everyone who worked so hard behind the scenes to make this band a success. Thank you for the memories, for believing in us, and for helping to make our dreams come true.
It really has been a dream-come-true.
We will be playing our last show at the La Brea Tarpits on Sunday, October 7th at 4:30pm as part of Tarfest. It's a free show. We hope you can make it.
Love Always,Los Abandoned

A Taste of China - Friendly Planet Tour

I wasn't sure which one was better, Friendly Planet or Smartours. A friend had took a honeymoon trip to Australia last year thru Smartours. She enjoyed it so much with the tour that she booked another vacation with Smartours to some parts of Asia. She said the hotels were pretty good. The prices definitely seem reasonable and it's so convenient b/c everything is planned for you, including airfare on some tours. I know how much a headache it is to plan a vacation since I've planned many on my own. The prices for Friendly Planet & Smartours (give or take $100) were about the same for the tour I was interested in to China (10 day trip to Beijing (5 nights), Xian (3 nights) and Shanghai (2 nights). I was interested in March 19-28 tour which was priced at $1399 ($300 discount if booked by Nov 2), including airfare from Los Angeles/all transporation, hotel and 12 meals. Additional fees:

Taxes and Fees: $120
China Visa: $130
Optional Travel Insurance: $129
Airfare schedule on Air China

LAX to Beijing: 12:40 am to 5:40 am (next day) 12.40 hours
Shanghai to Beijing: 4:55 pm to 7:30 pm 2.35 hours
Beijing to LAX: 9 pm to 5 pm (same day) 12 hours.

Total: $1779. Still sounds cheap.

Radiohead's New Album "In Rainbows" - Available Wednesday, 10/10

Radiohead's New Album "In Rainbows" - Available Wednesday, 10/10

Album will be only sold thru http://www.radiohead.com/. Available for free download or you can pay whatever price you want. You'll understand the term "it's up to you" once you're in the website. check it out! I just got my confirmation. I didn't pay anything.

Update today, 10/9 - Just got the email below regarding the new radiohead album to be released tomorrow:
THANK YOU FOR ORDERING IN RAINBOWS. THIS IS AN UPDATE.YOUR UNIQUE ACTIVATION CODE(S) WILL BE SENT OUT TOMORROW MORNING (UK TIME). THIS WILL TAKE YOU STRAIGHT TO THE DOWNLOAD AREA.HERE IS SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THE DOWNLOAD:THE ALBUM WILL COME AS A 48.4MB ZIP FILE CONTAINING 10 X 160KBPS DRM FREE MP3s.MOST COMPUTERS NOW HAVE ZIP SOFTWARE AS PART OF THE OPERATING SYSTEM; IF YOUR COMPUTER DOES NOT, YOU NEED TO GET WINZIP OR ZIPIT INSTALLED PRIOR.

Update today, 10/10 - Received the email with activation code link this morning. Had problems this morning - the website link stated that my "activation code" had already been used. Emailed them and they sent me another link that worked fine. Download to winzip file took 2 minutes. Haven't yet been able to listen to album yet.

Update today, 10/15 - Listened to the new album several times. I only liked song #9. I recently read that not many (2400 people) paid anything for the new album on the first day sales. Most people paid between $10-$20 which I thought was surprising. I guess you have to support the band.

Update from tmz on 11/6 - More than six out of 10 people who downloaded the new Radiohead album, "In Rainbows," did so for free. The average price paid from people who decided to pay was about $6. Nearly 1.2 million people downloaded the album - a total of $2.736 mil.

Dinner at Woo Lae Oak

Had dinner with 3 others at Woo Lae Oak last night. Very tasty. Ordered the following.

1 beer - $9
1 bottle of pelligrino - $8
1 iced tea - $2.50
1 order of fried wontons (7 small wontons) - $12
2 orders kalbi - $28 = $56
1 order bulgogi - $24
1 order vegetables to be grilled - $18
1 order Yook Kae Jang (spicy soup with glass noodles and shredded beef) - $12
1 order of lettuce and bean paste (to wrap around grilled meat) - $3.00
Free side orders include (unlimited amounts) small salad, seasoned broccoli and beansprouts and kimchi

Total charge for 4 people yesterday was $144.5 plus tax = $156.42

Wontons were not worth $12. They were good, but not great plus only 7 small wontons? If it were just up to me, i would have just ordered kalbi. Black cod (Un Dae Gu Jo Rim) $28 is delicious, but I stopped ordering that since they raised the prices drastically.

Why female bars on bikes differ from

Drop style (slanted bar) was designed for women so they could get off the bike delicately and easier with their dresses in the 1800's. It became tradition. Jockey straps originally were invented to protect males on the bike.

The Heartbreak Kid Movie

I knew the Farelly Brothers version with Ben Stiller was going to come out on 10/5, so I decided to rent original Heartbreak Kid movie starring Charles Grodin. I had never heard of the movie before. I had seen the previews for the newer verson and it looked really bad. After seeing the original which I truly enjoyed,I came to the conclusion that were some parts that probably could have been funnier. maybe the newer version is funnier? The original had one of those 70's type endings which you'll understand once you watch it. I'm planning on watching the newer version now.

I'm not a big Farelly brothers fan.

Marion Jones - steroid use / now retiring

I've always liked her, but I'm not surprised by this news. She was very fast and looked like she took steroids. She's retiring now, she probably would have retired soon anyway. She's gettting older and probably wouldn't have performed as well either.

I'm not surprised by Floyd Landis' news either. He failed time after time and was still claiming he was innocent. Whatever.

Joan's on Third - Expanded

Just went to Joan's on Third yesterday. Haven't been there since last month. It's now twice the size. Joan's used to be open from 10 am to 8 pm M-Sat, 10 am to 6 pm Sun, but is now open begining at 8 am everyday and now serving breakfast from 8 am to 11 am. I have yet to try the breakfast. There is a bit more room to maneuver around now also, which is nice. It's a nice place to take out food.

Tivo

Ordered another Tivo box yesterday (80 hour dual tuner), but had to subscribe for at least a year. I don't have cable or satellite, so I subscribe thru Tivo directly. I had an 80 hour Tivo last year since 8/1/06 for $83.40. It came with a free 80 hour (not dual) Tivo plus 1 year of service. Tax was an additional $18.15. My 1 year expired last year, so now I am paying $10.95 a month. Once I get my new Tivo, I'm going to cancel my old montly subcription. I'm going to try and network my 2 tivo's together, so I can watch my recorded shows on my second tv, without having to pay a monthly fee for the second tivo. I hear it can be done, but have yet to try. I hope it works.

Tivo had a promotion yesterday. The Tivo dual tuner tivo box was free but I had to subscribe for a year. This tivo box can record 2 analog shows at once or one analog and one digital. I believe I only have analog, so I should have no problem. I decided on a 1 year prepaid subscription of $179, rather than paying $16.95 per month for a year. Tax was $20.62. Total charged was $199.62.

My next purchase will be a slingbox. I saw the slingbox tuner/slingbox av on costco.com for $109. This would be great for someone on the go or frequent traveller since you can watch your recorded tv shows on your computer anywhere as long as you have an internet connected computer. This would be great for me if I watched my recordings at work. Just an idea. I don't travel enough to justify this purchase just yet. I have a laptop, but it is not lightweight so I never carry it around.

Fred Segal Melrose

Everything as of yesterday was 75% (exactly 1 week from Friday since sale started) off at Ron Herman, but 5 items minimum have to be purchased. Spent $218.67 Total.

Theory Black Pencil skirt - $188 original
Blue Tshirt- $80 original
Hype Flowered Black dress - $182 original
Earnest Sewn Jeans - $ 198 original
Seven for all mankind Jeans wideleg jean- $ 160 original

Subtotal $808 original less $606 (75% off) + Sales tax $16.67 = $218.67

I had to go back on Saturday - the girl had forgot to put one of my items in the bag. I got the item and took it home and noticed the alarm was still on. Now I have to go back again.

Last couple of days (1.5 to 2 weeks after sale started) of the sale (Ron Herman Store Melrose), everything is super cheap:

Must buy 5 items/ Most Jeans $19.99
Original Price $49-99.99 is reduced to $9.99
Original Price $100-149.99 is reduced to $19.99
Original Price $150-199.99 is reduced to $29.99
Original Price $200-$249.99 is reduced to $39.99
Original Price $250-299.99 is reduced to $49.99
Anything over is reduced 85% off original price

The Big Idea - Donnie Deutsch

Thursday, 10/4
Magnolia/Buttercup Bakery Founder - Previous background was school psychologist, but had always baked in spare time.

Friday, 10/5
Rock and Republic Jeans creator wanted to make a better designed jean for his girlfriend (didn't like seven brand jean). Had marketing and merchandising company but no jean background.

Amy's Organic - Husband and wife team created frozen organic products 19 years ago. $240 MM annually - flew by private jet to nyc from west coast. Had no cooking experience, only wanted organic, natural food for daughter, Amy, now at Stanford.

Kidville - will begin franchising nationwide - wanted clean, up-to-date environement for children. Wife still has PR firm and runs the business with husband. Kidville offers education, playground, cafe, salon, etc.

Taryn Rose shoes - She was orthopedic surgeon. Couldn't recommend comfortable shoes for patients. Wanted stylish and comfortable shoes and none were at the market. Started business with $200,000 SBA loan. Did market research at Neiman Marcus. Contacted sales person at Barneys which referred her to Italian Tannery and Italian Factory. To sell shoes, she then contacted Nordstroms buyer.

Update Fred Segal Sale Santa Monica

Fred Segal sale started last Friday, 9/28 (all items marked 50% off). Yesterday, I stopped by a Fred Segal store in Santa Monica and one of the stores (next to the cafe) in the larger fred segal building (i don't know the name) had further markdowns. All pants/jeans $60 and all dresses were $60. I couldn't find anything after trying on a ton of stuff, but these markdowns are more than 50%. All pants/jeans I tried on were originally priced from $150-250.

Easy Thousand Island Dressing

Easy Thousand Island Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup catsup
1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon sugar
1 hardboiled egg, mashed with a fork

Waffles

I just purchased a $15 Oster waffle maker (on sale discounted from $20) from Target that I have yet to try. Some recipes I will try soon:

Buttermilk Waffles from Martha Stewart website:
1 stick melted unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, separated, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat waffle iron. Whisk together egg yolks, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. Pour into dry mixed ingredients, and combine. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into batter. Follow waffle iron instructions.

Belgian Waffles from Foodtv website (Emeril's recipe):
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups milk non-stick cooking spray

Preheat the waffle iron. In 1 medium bowl sift and mix dry ingredients. Mix egg yolks and sugar in another bowl. Add the vanilla extract, melted butter, and milk to the eggs and whisk to combine. Combine the wet mixture with the dry mixture. Do not over mix. In third bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Using the rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the waffle batter. Do not over mix! Coat the waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray prior to pouring in batter. Close and cookuntil golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.

LADWP Approves Rate Hikes - Increased rate to begin July 2009

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power board approved rate hikes yesterday for residential and commercial customers that would increase electricity costs about nine-percent and water charges about six-percent by July 2009. According to the "Los Angeles Times," the bi-monthly cost for average residential customers would rise by more than 14-dollars, while monthly bills for medium-sized businesses would increase about a thousand-dollars. The rate hikes approved still must be considered by the City Council's Energy and Environment Committee on October 27th and the City Council on October 31st.

Taylor's Prime Steak - 8th and Ardmore in Koreatown

Had dinner at Taylor's Yesterday. Very Tasty Steak. Meatloaf was not good. Total for 3 people was $104.73.

2 Taylor's Garden Salad $5.90
1 Bean with Smoked Bacon side dish $2.50
1 Kansas Sirloin $20.95 (comes with side of rice, baked potato or mashed potato)
1 New York Steak $22.95 (comes with side of rice, baked potato or mashed potato)
1 Meatloaf $15.95 (didn't taste very good, overwhelming flavor of dried spices)
1 Side of Mushrooms $3.50
1 Creme Brulee $5.75
1 Apple Pie ala mode $6.75
2 7 up's (no free refills) $5.00
1 Iced Tea $2.50
2 coffee's $5.00

Total $104.73

Taylor's Prime Steak on 8th and Ardmore in Koreatown. Has $3 Valet Parking.
213-382-8449 Reservations not necessary, but probably recommended.

Halloween Horror Nights - Universal Studios Hollywood

Prices normally $51, but with Coke Discount:

Oct 5 Fri,6 Sat, 28 Sun, 31 Wed - $29
Oct 12 Fri, 13 Sat, 19 Fri, 26 Sat - $41
Oct 20 Sat, 27 Sat - $46

http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/coke
Coke upc 496580

hmmm, i might go now.

Hours
Oct 5, 28 7pm - 12 am
Oct 6, 12, 31 7 pm - 1 am
Oct 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 - 7pm - 2am

Update: I actually went yesterday, 10/6. It was fun. Lots of teenage kids. I felt old. Parking was a drag and we had to take a shuttle to and from. I should have just said that I was going to watch a movie. I love roller coasters. Mummy ride was a bit scary for me since I did not know what to expect-it was so fast and it goes forward and then backwards at a high speed in the dark- it seemed as if the ride ended in 1 minute-too short to compensate for the 30 minute wait in line. Magic show was a bit of a disappointment. Tram ride was fun. You get off and walk thru the set of psycho and war of the worlds (live actors in costumes try to scare you while you're walking thru). T2 3-d show was ok, but they make you watch a boring 10 minute film before you sit down and watch the actual t2 show. Chainsaw massacre sound was a bit annoying after a while. Haunted house maze was good. There are other attractions that we didn't do. We got there around 7:30 pm and left around 11 pm. We did not have to wait more than 30 minutes. The longest wait was for the mummy ride. It's something to do and was worth the $29 i paid.

Downtown Concierge in Gas Company Building-No longer there

Prices updated on 9/21/07 - Only cash accepted. Call concierge Monica at 213-613-4587
(next to starbucks inside gas company tower building on 5th and Grand)

amc - silver (restricted) $6.50 / gold (unrestricted) $8.00
krikorian $6.50 (unrestricted)
landmark theatres (nuart, nuwilshire, regent, rialto) $7.00 (unrestricted)
mann theatres $7.00 (unrestricted)
pacific theatres $6.00 (restricted) - no expiration date, not valid after 6pm or within 14 days of new movie release
regal cinemas (edwards and united artists) $6.50 (restricted) / $8.00 (unrestricted)

sample adult prices
aquarium of the pacific $15
disneyland or ca adventure $60
disney 1 day park hopper $67 (for both disneyland and ca adventure)
knotts berry farm $25
legoland $42
sea world 2-fer $46 (2 separate visits before expiration date)
six flags magic mountain $28
universal studios $47
knotts scary farm $28-34

Update as of 1/4/08: Concierge at Gas Company is back after closing for a couple of months. they have another location on 3rd and Grand in the Wells Fargo building next to Russells and Robeks Juice. I've actually been buying my Pacific Grove tickets at tix2fun.com (they still sell the old version- no $2 surcharge and $6. I found a code online doing a google search. The newer pacific tickets are $6.50 now and are valid at the grove location but have a $2 surcharge.