Food blogger sends some love to Pyrenees Cafe and Saloon, a dangerous new outbreak in crime locally and some really good form at Mossman's

* … CRIME: What would you do if someone started pounding on your door in the middle of the

night? If you said call 911, you are right. Across town people are reporting an alarming crime trend in which someone starts pounding on your door screaming that his life is in danger.  If the door is opened, two or three young men force their way inside and rob you blind. Wisely, the people who this happened to called 911 and allowed the police to deal with it. So unless you have your pit bull on a leash or a Glock in your back pocket, be safe and don't open the door.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Taking shots of Tequila is just another way of saying, 'I like where I wake up to always be a surprise.'"

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: A restaurant posts this sign inside: "We Do Not Have WiFi. Talk to Each Other. Pretend it's 1995."

 * ... FOODIE: It's always nice when folks from out of town discover the uniqueness of our Basque heritage, particularly when it comes to the eateries on the east side of town. That's the kind of love Pyrenees Cafe received when a blogger from Cook's Country came to town to devote his blog to the wonders of Basque food. He sampled it all: from the setup menu of soup and salad to the pickled tongue followed by garlic fried chicken. From the blog: "The Pyrenees Café has changed hands many times since it first opened in 1899, but in recent years, after a period that featured more rival factions, shifting alliances, and hostile takeovers than your standard episode of Game of Thrones, former waitress Julie Crawford and her husband Rod were the ones left standing in charge of this Bakersfield landmark. Since September 2014, they’ve been serving up their take on classic Basque fare, along with some new favorites that devotees claim are too good to miss."

 * ... GOOD FORM: Kelly Giblin sent this shout out to the folks over at Mossman's, which was her mother and father-in-law's favorite restaurant. "Following dad’s death, we began taking mom there for breakfast to keep up an important tradition for her. Our first visit after dad’s death made it clear why they loved it so much. When we walked in, we were immediately surrounded by the entire staff who cried, laughed and shared their memories of dad with us. Since then, we have looked forward to our breakfasts, especially visiting with our adorable waitress Amanda, as well as Mandy, Gayla and Dorette. Without fail, we are always greeted with hugs and laughter. Yesterday was Valentine’s Day and it was extremely busy but as always, Amanda took the time to visit with us, share pictures of her family, and then as a Valentine’s gift (and with a sly wink) she told us that our bill had been taken care of. Holidays like that can be a difficult time for mom since dad died, but thanks to Amanda and Mossman’s it was a wonderful day! These are the kind of people and places that make Bakersfield so great!

 * ... KUDOS: Hats off to Cami Privett, a 2011 graduate of Frontier High School who went on to UC Irvine on a soccer scholarship. Privett recently signed a contract with the Houston Dash soccer team, joining the squad after playing for a club in Norway.

 * ... ASSISTANCE LEAGUE: Hats off to the Assistance League of Bakersfield that is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its Operation School Bell. This program has clothed more than 135,000 Bakersfield children and thousands more have benefited from the work these volunteers perform every day.

This comes under the 'you're really not going to believe this' department but the student government at UC Irvine bans Old Glory from its office space lest someone be offended

 * … OLD GLORY: I had to read the story twice out of disbelief but there it was: students at the University of California, Irvine, voted to ban the American flag from a student governmenet office

because it might offend someone. That's right, the Associated Students of University of California, Irvine (ASUCI) voted to remove all flags – including Old Glory – for fear it could be offensive. And check this out: part of the student government resolution noted that “the American flag has been flown in instances of colonialism and imperialism” and its display “does not express only selective aspects of its symbolism but the entire spectrum of its interpretation.” Huh? Thankfully, the student executive council voted to rescind that resolution after the flap became public, but it heads back to another vote with the broader student government association.

* … LITTER: They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I suppose we should be happy that a city in Louisiana ripped off the anti-litter awareness slogan and logo that was developed here in Bakersfield. The slogan (Litter, it's beneath us) was the brainchild of Californian editor Robert Price and the logo was designed by Californian graphic artist Glenn Hammett. It has now shown up in Shreveport as part of its Great American Cleanup.

 * … BAD FORM: My friend Bryan Kelley was driving west on Highway 178 recently and found himself behind a raised pickup truck. "I spot a two seat convertible coming up behind me in the left lane going three shades of grey over the speed limit. The diver is  a young woman with her hair tied up on top of her head. She drives past me and the driver of the pick-up flicks his cigarette out the window. It flies through the air and lands in her hair. Oblivious, she keeps up her speed and passes the pick-up and is gone. I see her again at the Chevron station at the foot of the 178… she is outside of her car… she found the cigarette. I am sure that if I stopped I could have added a few new words to my vocabulary."

 * … SPOTTED: On a friend's Facebook page was this post: "At the Starbucks drive-thru this morning at 5 a.m. I waived a Range Rover through in front of me because we hit the entrance at the same time from different angles. The Range Rover paid for my drink for me. Thanks for making my morning nice person. The person who stole my three flats of flowers from my yard last night… Boo, you won't ruin my day."

 * … WEST: Congratulations to Rachol West, a sophomore forward on the San Jose State University women's basketball team who was named player of the week for the Mountain West Conference. The Garces Memorial High graduate is the younger sister of Nikki West, who was player of the year with the CSUB Road runners a few years back. She ranks second on the team in 3-pointers (36) and is the leading shooter from distance (.343).

 * … WATER: Gene Bonas is a retired Navy submariner and friend and he shared this note about water conservation: "I timed how long it took to get hot water from the east side of my house where the hot water tank is to the west side where our master bath is. It took two minutes to get hot water to the sink and another 15 seconds to get hot water to the shower. That's a lot of wasted water. Maybe it's time to grow a beard and shower every second or third day. I've already adjusted lawn watering, and I didn't sow rye grass this year. I bet a few of your readers can come up with creative suggestions on cutting back water use in and around the house. I guess I'm an old timer because I can remember back to the 1940s and 1950s when we had plenty of that stuff called rain!"