illinois dmv

4 Kasım 2012 Pazar

Mark's Duck House - Falls Church, VA

To contact us Click HERE
To contact us Click HERE
Ah dim sum. I don't get to have it often because the bf doesn't like small dishes...pshhh! Well that's what friends are for! One of my friends took me to Mark's Duck House - her favorite spot for Sunday dim sum. The restaurant has been around for over 20 years serving Hong Kong-style cuisine. As their name suggests, they are known for their Peking Duck. However, we didn't get a chance to try it.
Located in a shopping center, there is plenty of free parking, but it can get crowded.

This place is smaller than other restaurants that offer dim sum, so it was PACKED! We took a number when we got through the crowd waiting by the door.

They offered many of the same dishes I'm used to seeing as well as some different items. Sorry guys, but I don't have prices for any of these items because they were in Chinese. All dishes are between $2.50 - $7.50 though.

1. Pan-Fried Chives Dumpling - Out of all the dumplings, this was my favorite.
2. Shrimp and Pork Dumpling (Shiu Mai)
3. Shrimp and Pork Dumpling
4. Shrimp Dumpling (Har Gao)

5. Fried Taro Dumpling - One of my favorite dishes when I have dim sum.
6. Shrimp Noodle Crepe - Best noodle crepe I've tried.
7. Lemongrass and Ginger Oyster - Oyster by itself was the size of my palm.
8. Stuffed Crab Claw - I broke my chopstick trying to cut this. It was massive!

Service was very fast with the carts, they constantly filled our water glasses, replaced my broken chopstick and reminded me that I forgot my leftovers. I thought they were great! Food was on point. Now I just need more dim sum buddies!

6184 Arlington Blvd
Falls Church, VA 22044
(703) 532-2125
marksduckhouse.com
Mark's Duck House on Urbanspoon

42. The Unofficial St. Patrick's day in Champaign Urbana

To contact us Click HERE
To contact us Click HERE

If you have been anywhere near the campustown on certain Fridays in March, and come up with a huge throng of greenish looking leprechauns, don't start pinching yourself to see if you are dreaming or not. You have just stumbled into the "Unofficial Saint Patrick's Day" in Chambana.

Here is what UofI wiki has to say about it:

Unofficial Saint Patrick's Day, or commonly known as Unofficial, is a local event on the Urbana-Champaign campus, which aims to replace the celebration of the official Saint Patrick's Day holiday with excessive drinking of alcohol.
Champaign bar owner Scott Cochrane created the event to increase business because the week of spring break on the academic calendar usually includes Saint Patrick's Day, which leads students to celebrate away from the campus.
The event is celebrated usually the weekend before the official Saint Patrick's Day holiday. Bars might open as early as 7 a.m., and students wear T-shirts with slogans such as "Drink 'til you're Irish" or "Irish I were drunk." One T-shirt slogan read: "Tap the keg, forget the class... it's Unofficial, so fill my glass!"

Things are not really as rosey as the above note suggests. On this day, you'll find a lot of underage drinkers, passed out here and there, or coming to class drunk. The police (Champaign, Urbana, County, and of course UofI ones) have a field day ... and nab a lot of underage drinkers.

However, things can often get deadly ... a few years ago, a UofI alumnus died when the motor bike she was riding crashed into a pole on Wright street between Green and Springfield. So, be careful when you are driving through campustown , better avoid going through the area altogether.

There is of course, the "official" Saint Patrick's day, but the drinking frenzy is much less on that one.

Thieves steal truck filters - just for the platinum?

To contact us Click HERE
To contact us Click HERE
It's always easy to close the barn door after the horse has been stolen...

Thursday morning's Northwest Herald reported the theft of 26 diesel engine filters from trucks parked on the Bull Valley Ford parking lot last week-end.

So, let's see. The theft is discovered on Monday morning. Readers hear about it on Thursday morning.

An estimated $100,000 worth of diesel particulate filters were filched. The owner of Bull Valley Ford said the filters weigh about 100 pounds each and that the thieves had to be pros. He was quoted as wondering how thieves could physically steal that many, that quickly.

OK, so how quickly? Did they steal one filter from each of 26 trucks? How long does it take to remove one? What "power tools" were needed? Were the trucks locked? Were engine compartments accessible without unlocking the trucks? What is the physical size of the filter? How large a truck was probably needed to haul those 26 100-lb. filters away? How much platinum can be salvaged from each filter?

Pneumatic tools? They make noise.

The theft is thought to have occurred overnight on Saturday. How did they arrive at that (and not overnight Sunday)? The thefts were discovered, when an employee attempted to start a truck on Monday morning.

The article reported, "Police agencies in southern Wisconsin have recorded similar thefts."

What "southern Wisconsin" police agencies? Were McHenry County truck dealerships or law enforcement agencies alerted?

Even with this major theft, it might not set a record in Woodstock. Each month the Woodstock Police report Stolen Property Value and Recovered Property Value to the City Manager, for forwarding to the City Council.

In the past 4 1/2 years the month with the largest Stolen Property Value was February 2009, when that number hit $152,019. The highest stolen property months since then were October 2010 ($67,939), May 2011 $68,657, and June 2012 ($73,053).

How much property has been stolen in 4 1/2 years? $1,507,343 (an average of $28,987/month).

How much property is recovered? 17%, on the average.

Since April 2008 $255,746 has been recovered (an average of $4,918/month).

"I'm in jail; pay me..."

To contact us Click HERE
To contact us Click HERE
No, "I" am not in jail, but FirstElectricNewspaper.com is reporting this morning that eight inmates of the McHenry County Jail scarfed up $33,000 in unemployment benefits from the Great State of Illinois.

With the massive power of the internet, how does this happen? Did no one suspect that some criminal might be collecting unemployment benefits?

And why wasn't there, before now, an interface between County Jail records and IDES?

Not just for this $33,000 but for the $2,000,000 paid as unemployment benefits to inmates in the state.

Undersheriff Andy Zinke explains it: "there's no mechanism to report it."

Jail records are public information, easily accessible from the internet. IDES could certainly check. How public are IDES records? Are State of Illinois unemployment payment records open to the public?

What if the counties fed the names of inmates weekly to a database, and then IDES made the comparison? A $35,000/year clerk or $100 worth of computer time would find the matches. It doesn't take a super-nerd to figure that out.

The bobber - 50 years of trimming people

To contact us Click HERE
To contact us Click HERE

June 4, 1962

Why do I drive to Wonder Lake for a haircut?

Well, $7.50 has something to do with it. That's Bob Anderson's price for senior citizens. I didn't ask him at what age a man is a "senior citizen", but I'm pretty sure that I've reached it.

Another reason, for others, is Bob's $8.00 price for everybody else.

Yet another reason is Bob's very active work to abolish townships in Illinois. Bob is not afraid to take a stand on an issue and talk about it. He doesn't just cut hair and listen; he'll give you his 2¢ worth. Actually, Bob will give you about a buck's worth.

And he'll give you his opinion on other issues, too. That's Bob.

A photo and plaque on one wall of the barbershop commemorates opening day, June 4, 1962. A little quick math - that's more than 50 years ago. Bob Anderson has been cutting hair for 50 years.

Somebody ought to drop by the barbershop and try to identify the five kids seated, waiting for their haircuts. Wouldn't it be neat to surprise Bob with a visit by all five?

At the shop today one customer presented a certificate for a free haircut that Bob had donated to a fundraiser. The customer tried to pay Bob, even though he had purchased the free haircut, and Bob declined to accept the money. Bob's a man of honor and integrity.

Thanks for trimming so many people so well for so long, Bob. You're Number One!

13 Ekim 2012 Cumartesi

Mark's Duck House - Falls Church, VA

This place is smaller than other restaurants that offer dim sum, so it was PACKED! We took a number when we got through the crowd waiting by the door.

Grandparent support group - Oct. 21

To contact us Click HERE
To contact us Click HERE
A local grandparent support group will hold an open meeting on Sunday, October 21, at 2:00PM at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 932 S. McHenry Ave., Crystal Lake.

Come and meet Dr. Barbara Bellar, who will speak to the group on Healthcare and Family Issues. Free and open to all. She is smart. She is funny. She is a Board Certified Physician, Licensed Attorney specializing in healthcare, Professor at DePaul & Benedictine Universities in Medical Malpractice and Ethics.

If you would like more information about the Grandparents group and program, call Peggy O’Connor at University of Illinois Extension, (815) 338-3737.

I found this, while I was looking for a photo of Dr. Bellar. She is a candidate for the Illinois Senate. Senate District 18 is in the Palos Heights/Worth area. What? A politician who is smart and funny?