?

I am proudly behind the times when it comes to Pokemon games. I started playing Platinum and SS right around the time BW was released, and now I'm looking at moving up to BW once X & Y come out in the fall.

That said, I don't know which games to play. Some people have told me "play one, they're both basically the same", while others say "no, they're different and you should play both."

What are your recommendations? Is it worth it to play both BW and BW2, or should I only play one? Also, which version (Black or White) in each of the sets is better?

Hi everyone,

In a couple of weeks, I have the pleasure of a 7-hour layover in LAX. I'm going between a SkyWest flight arriving at 6:30 pm and a Cathay Pacific departure at 1:15 the next morning.

Any suggestions for things to do near LAX or in TBIT? For example, I've got my eyes on the nearby In-n-Out.

Hi everyone!

I'm flying from San Francisco to China over the summer (San Francisco to Chengdu July 2 or 3, Beijing to San Francisco August 10 or 11), and the two major options are:

Cathay Pacific for $1534 RT

Asiana Airlines for $1900 RT

I would book Cathay in a heartbeat, except that I've heard horror stories about their reclining shell seats. If I'm on a 14-hour flight from San Francisco, I'm not too keen on the back pain, numb butt, etc. Is it really that bad? Is it worth the extra $350 to fly Asiana and their real reclining seats?

Hi everyone!

This summer, I have the fortune of studying abroad in China. I'm in the payment process right now, and I need to make a decision to go to Xi'an or not.

The study abroad program is one that travels all over China. We'll be spending time in Chengdu, Hong Kong, Ningbo, and Beijing. During one of the weekends in Ningbo, we have an excursion to either Shanghai (free) or Xi'an ($500 extra).

I have no idea if Xi'an is worth the extra money. I would love the opportunity to visit another area of China - I've been a huge travel buff since I was young, and I never get the opportunity to travel to China. In your opinion, is Xi'an worth the extra $500, energy to travel there from Ningbo (the program is very intense and exhausting), and bypassing Shanghai?

Thanks for your input! I really appreciate it.

Hi all,

I was recently given the duty of running concessions at our local concert hall. After digging through the back of the storage closet, I found the remains of an industrial-sized coffee and hot chocolate operation we used to run:

- 10 stainless steel coffee percolators/urns (similar to these guys: http://www.cw-usa.com/equipment-commercial-urnbrew...

- Old tins of coffee with expiration dates in 2008 and 2010

- Thousands of sugar packets and artificial sweetener packets

- A 5000-pack of stir sticks

- A couple of unopened containers of hot chocolate powder, presumably 2-3 years old

We don't sell coffee any more because of state regulations regarding "food preparation", so I need to get rid of everything. I figure the coffee and the artificial sweeteners are garbage, but is the hot chocolate powder still good to consume? Also, anybody have a good idea for using or getting rid of the sugar packets and stir sticks? (I come from a waste-not-want-not family on the West Coast, so I have a strong aversion to simply throwing everything away.)