The Story of James Robinson

Hey Rebl,

In the US they don’t make the “kit” as was mentioned, that is why you see the “chemistry class” set-up that they had in M*A*S*H.

And the reason….

It’s illegal to make your own distilled alcohol in the US. It’s called bootlegging. It’s like growing your own pot. You can claim it is for personal use, but the Feds don’t care. They are afraid that you’ll start making your own and put Seagrams out of business.

Beer and Wine are not distilled, so make your little arms go like mad to make it yourself.

If you want to know how to make a still, plans are available on the INTERNET or as simple as going to your LOCAL LIBRARY. The still was considered one of the best inventions of the 19th century.

Good Luck,

James in San Diego

Hey Billy,

No!

Many years ago I got in trouble in grade school for changing the words to the then McDonald’s theme song to:

McDonald’s is your kind of place!

They serve you Rattlesnakes.

They throw them in your face.

Wrapped up in paper plates!

McDonald’s is your kind of place!

So My answer is “Rattlesnakes”!

I’m lovin it!

James in San Diego

Hey Nate,

I am assuming that you stripped it. Clean it off with degreaser.

Try first to use a Vise-Grip. Sometimes you can get the grips on there and it will come off.

Since it’s a metric bolt – Are you sure that it’s not a hex head on the inside?

Last resort – Tap it out! A tap set is under $10 and you’ll have it out in 10 minutes.

Hope I helped,

James in San Diego

Hey Aiz,

A Franchise is when you pay a licensing fee to the main company in order for you to open a branch of the same name. It usually means that they will train you in their ways, give you a list of where to get your products from and a basic pricing structure.

Some franchise agreements are very complex (McDonald’s for example) and some are very minimal (An agreement to sell Vienna Hot Dogs at your hot dog stand but still have the sign outside that says Vienna)

Be Careful before your sign any franchise agreement. Talk with other Franchisees (They should give you a list) and make sure a lawyer you trust reviews EVERYTHING!

Good Luck,

James in San Diego

Hey Blue,

Well, No… If you are getting true carbonated water. If you were in a bar and they served you water from their “Gun” — it would be true carbonated water.

However, If you are getting it from a bottle (probably) then take a look at the ingredient listing. If the words Acid or Sodium are listed then the bottle is artificially carbonated and contains SALT! While that is not fattening, the intake of salt can alter the amount of water that your body retains and will add weight.

FYI,

James in San Diego

McDonald’s or KFC

See no Pizza!

James

Why do non US athletes or non US Olympians, especially the ones whom won their event/s or other 2 medialists?

Yeah Mom,

Beyonce is a partner in a restaurant in Hollywood with several other artists – It’s called Blacksteel.

But relax, like most folks that use their name to partner in a restaurant, the chance of you seeing her there are the same as the chance that she is your long lost daughter.

I manage a group of restaurants here in Southern California that are “owned” by professional ball players. In the 5 years that I have been with them, we have yet to see any of the owners – just their accountants — occasionally.

Hey, Magic Johnson has a group of movie theaters in LA….

James

Hey Good,

Involve an entire industry! For Many years I was involved with a group called Ordinary Miracles. It started as the Bartenders Holiday Fundraiser about 1997. A bunch of us bartenders got together and decided that on One day during the month of December of that year, we would donate 1/2 of our tips for that shift to a fund. The proceeds of that fund would go to several causes. We got free advertising for our event and that first year raised about $26,000 . We continued this for the next few years, eventually adding servers, hairstylists, Coffee shops and other business. In the last few years there were cruises, silent auctions and comedy shows. The last year that I was involved we raised something like $126,000. The project was the brain child of; Nigel Mayer, Mike Phillips with Fernando Lara and Mike Lunsford.

A fundraiser that I started in Long Beach, CA was known as the Bartenders Pub Crawl – It involved Bartenders going from Bar to Bar, Dressed in Thrift Store clothes, begging for Drinks and Tips that would go to a Holiday Charity. It’s later incarnation is the Annual Red Dress Run. The Red Dress Run is now in 35 cities across the USA.

My favorite was a fundraiser in Los Angeles, CA. We were trying to raise funds during the early AIDS crisis. We were able to secure the use of Harold Lloyds old estate in Hollywood. We had received donations of Fine China, Silver serving platters and Chafing dishes from some of Hollywood’s best hotels and caterers. We had volunteer performers and had received many donated items for a silent auction. We had bartenders selling tickets to this event but realized that we had one problem. We weren’t getting donations for food. So we took our own money and went out and bought Hot Dogs, Tortillas, Nacho Cheese, those stupid little cocktail weenies and a ton of other Finger type foods. We snuck booze into the Estate (we weren’t supposed to because we had no booze permit) – and had a GREAT TIME! That first year we raised $38,000. The event was called “An Affair” – it is now the main fundraiser for One, Inc. in Long Beach.

If you want to know of other fundraisers that don’t involve selling things – contact the Old Mission Bay Athletic Club (OMBAC) These are the fine folks that hold the Over The Line tournament in Mission Beach every summer. They have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to non-profits around the San Diego area.

Any fundraiser that you endeavor will only succeed if you are willing to have fun with it! If you don’t have fun, nobody else will.

I have done; Variety Shows, All you can eat buffets, Spaghetti Dinners, Paper Christmas Decorations (Like the Shamrocks that you see during St. Patrick’s Day) and something called the Bobby Bodin Memorial Classic – which was nothing more than a White Elephant Auction. Don’t forget about Charity Softball Games, Fake Ballet (with coaches, principals and awkward males, dressed in a tutu) and backyard carnivals.

Something that I’ve always wanted to try would be a Donate your Vacation Pay. Many people don’t take all of their vacation pay and their employers let them store it up. I wanted to do a “Day for the Dogs” or a “Day for the Kids” as fundraisers for animal shelters or for Children’s causes. It works out well because they person donating the vacation pay would get a receipt for the non-profit.

Whatever you do — Make sure that there is no way that you can profit from the fundraiser! I have seen too many fundraisers that the “Chair” took money for gas, mileage, supplies, or other “Reimbursements” that will doom the “Chair” and cause the fundraiser to flop.

Hope that this helps!

James in San Diego

Hey Stefani,

While you are driving past Car Repair or Engine Rebuilding places and you see the white Snap-On tool trucks, pull over and ask for the Snap-On guy/gal. They carry it on their trucks and are able to do cash sales. If they don’t have any, they will give you a card and make arrangements to send some to you!

Hope that I helped,

James in San Diego

Italian restaurant with real Italian food?

Hey Jowie,

Stay off the Internet!

Even the most innocent programs will probe your computer to see what else you are interested in (Spy-Ware).

So if you stay off the Internet, there won’t be such things!

Problem solved!

James in San Diego

p.s. If you are worried about cost, there are FREE Anti-Virus and Firewall Software on the Internet!