suggest gratuity on bills

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

I find it interesting that increasing number of restaurants are providing tables of suggest gratuities. Not surprisingly the minimum is 15%. (There is no entry for 10% or 12%, for instance.) Neither is than entry for 17%, which is the minimum acceptable tip for decent service according to the Shitty Tipper Database.

I am glad to see that the figures are based on the pre-tax bill and not the post-tax bill. I'm particularly annoyed by restaurants that charge a 15% gratuity on top of the tax and then present the amount as for the customer's convenience.

BTW, the buffet at India Palace was a really tasty.

I don't quite get this bumper sticker

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

"Plants & animals disappear to make room for your fat ass" is the phrase for this bumper sticker. To be honest, I don't quite get the message bumper sticker is meant to convey in this context. The phrase can't be an anti-car message -- otherwise the "fat ass" could end up being self-referential. Is the sentence an anti-SUV message, in which case the "fat ass" is that of big cars? Maybe the driver is really thin, so possibly fewer plants and animals died for the driver's thin ass.

Anyone help me understand this?

giant bowling pins from the Staff Appreciation Day 2005

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

It was nice to hang around outside during Staff Appreciation afternoon.

At the local Barnes and Noble, I came across a gadget that let customers sample any CD in the store by swiping the barcode reader with the CD of choice. My initial reaction was "cool!"; I was lulled into believing that I can listen to any CD and everything on it. Too good to be true: 30 second clips; not every track was available. The reality made more sense than the fantasy of having a celestial jukebox at the local bookseller. Even though I could listen to more music than before, I was still disappointed that I could not listen to everything that I wanted to.

is 1-800 rent-a-van a real phone number?

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

I called 1-800-rent-a-van to confirm that indeed it is a legitimate phone number for Enterprise.

Ka'ahumanu Church

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

On our honeymoon in Maui, Laura and I visited Ka'ahumanu Church, the church pastored by Lloyd's parents. See it on a map.

chocolate-covered sunflower seeds

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

For a moment, the idea of chocolate-covered sunflower seeds was off-putting -- until I remembered how much I like chocolate-covered peanut cups!

"Why Waste Water on Weeds?"

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

I was delighted by Josh McPaul's message: that God's desire is for the "full harvest", that God wants to extract every possible goodness from creation. The sermon is available online.

nice parallel parking, eh?

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

Driving a car in Berkeley demands that I get pretty good at parallel parking. This morning, I was particularly proud of my parking. (I know that I'm being silly boasting about parking....)

Miyazaki retrospective at the PFA

Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.

I'm grateful that some friends, Laura, and I will be able to see at least one film this coming Sunday in the retrospective.. Tickets have sold out quickly!