'Twas a simple day yesterday.  Only went to Din Tai Fung for an early dinner.    Have written about this Taiwanese restaurant many times here .  First one started in Taipei  in 1958, and the 181 restaurants worldwide today are still mostly fast food pick-up places.  However, the one that opened in   New York City   this summer sits 450.  The Seattle chain I went to is huge.  Showed up around 3:30PM and had to wait 15 minutes to get in.  It specializes in Shanghai Soup Dumplings, or Xiao Long Bao. Very large restaurant. Beef and pork noodles, plus pork/shrimp dumplings. Shanghai Soup Dumplings. With Johnny Walker Black and ginger/vinegar sauce. Saw two  great NCAA football games  yesterday: Oregon edged Ohio State. LSU never led until the end, and beat Mississippi in overtime.  I every two years particularly identify with this match because my Chemical Engineering Department is adjacent to  Death Valley .  If...

We yesterday again toured Manhattan, and happened to pass by the Trump hush money trial with Stormy Daniels testifying.  Here is what it looked like outside the court area. A current  summary of the trial.   There are 12 jurors and 6 substitutes.  What if even one juror votes Trump is not guilty?  Then there will be a  hung jury : A hung jury can also have an impact on the parties involved in the trial. For the   defendant , a hung jury may mean that they have not been found   guilty , but it also means that the case could be retried, leading to additional stress and cost. For the   prosecution , a hung jury means that they have failed to secure a   conviction , which can be a blow to their case and reputation. When a hung jury occurs,  it is up to the prosecution to decide if they want to retry the case or drop the charges . It's important to note that   double jeopardy , the principle that prohibits trying a person twice for ...

 The flight from Haneda to Honolulu was uneventful and successful. Flew Hawaiian Air, ate some, drank little, caught some sleep and made it back to 15 Craigside. Very memorable trip.  Took 1630 photos.  Picked some of them to show here.  Not necessarily the best, but representative.  First, goodbye Honolulu.  Flew Hawaiian Air to Narita. After a day in Yokohama we boarded the Diamond Princess on a 9-day cruise around Japan.  Two friends from Honolulu joined us, Wakako and Bob Nakasone.  Ate and drank way too much. I thought I had walked 16,831 steps, but that was read upside-down, and it should have been 13,891.  Anything above 5,000 steps is a decent walking day. Sometimes my drinks matched my shirt color.  We are only allowed 15 alcoholic drinks/day. Dressed up only one night, with an ascot. Toast to Bob and Wakako Nakasone. Then disco dancing later that evening. Baked Alaska is featured on the final night of the cruise. My Blue-Bar Pi...