Bulletin Board

We got quite a bit of e-mail about the Feb. 8 e-Review column on Web sites on surfing. Here are some of the reader responses: Why is it that every time I turn around someone is trying to persuade yet more people to get in the water? If you were really into surfing, you wouldn't sell it out like the rest of the idiots who want someone to talk to while they sit in the lineup. Write about something else. And keep a low profile for a few weeks. I'm sure someone up there will be happy to teach you a lesson for the rest of us who appreciate surfing for solitude and soulful reasons.

Kobe Bryant has started putting together his bulletin-board material for his recovery as he works his way back from Saturday's surgery to repair a torn Achilles' tendon. On Sunday morning, Bryant tweeted an Instagram of the front page of The Times, showing the headline "Injury clouds the future for Bryant, Lakers. " Bryant's response: "I'm keeping track of all the doubters and haters. "   This is what my friend/agent sends me this am. Shiesh! #kobe #motivationsunday I'm keeping track of… instagram.com/p/YF9wLsxNua/ - Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant)

The city of Los Angeles has already been wired onto the information highway. La.eats, a news group on the Internet, covers local restaurants and dining in the Los Angeles area. Angelenos enthusiastically share the names of their favorite restaurants. Care for some prime rib? Several people recommend Lawry's on La Cienega, or Tam o' Shanter in Los Feliz.

Many will see Tiger Woods' victory Monday as a day of belaboring the obvious. He had a six-shot lead to start the day, only 11 holes left and a golf course that would give up birdies to his challengers as easily as Manti Te'o finds girlfriends. Others will see it as a resurrection. Is Woods really back? Ever since Michael Jordan made it fashionable to be back, that question has been posed for every major athlete who seemed to lose his or her way. Woods hasn't won a major since the U.S. Open in 2008.

Is the freewheeling world of computer bulletin boards threatened by the seizure of some systems by investigators seeking evidence of criminal activity? Mitch Kapor, founder and former head of Lotus Development Corp., believes that it is, and he carried that message a few days ago to members of the High Technology Crime Investigation Assn. meeting in Newport Beach.

As the global village gets smaller, our own little piece of it seems to get bigger. We leave our sprawling suburban tracts and merge with traffic on multiple ribbons of four-lane highways. It's down the off-ramp to drop the children at school, then back up the on-ramp to join thousands of others lurching along to some other neighborhood where we will toil or shop. So how do we achieve a sense of community when we spend so little time at home?

Residents with cable television can now view "Community Bulletin Board" on Channel 27. The board will run repeated printed messages on all coming events and special city programs, its nonprofit service agencies, Santa Monica College and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Qualified people wishing the use the bulletin board may contact the city manager's office at 458-8301.

Phoenix Media Group Ltd. has been delisted from the OTC Bulletin Board. The company's stock will be traded on the pink sheets pending the resolution of issues with the bulletin board. The company said it has completed all filing requirements and has fully responded to the first series of comments from the Securities and Exchange Commission, and intends to address all additional comments with extreme diligence in an effort to be quickly reinstated on the bulletin board.

The Police Department has gone high-tech to help residents stay aware of crime and send tips on cases. Residents with a computer and modem can access the Foot Beat computer bulletin board to offer anonymous tips on crimes and receive information about crime trends, safety precautions and Neighborhood Watch groups. Also offered are disaster preparedness tips and recruiting updates for the department's senior volunteer force and Police Explorers youth group.

Shares in the Nasdaq Stock Market didn't get much of a reception Monday on their first day of unofficial trading in public markets. Nasdaq opened and closed at $15 on the over-the-counter Bulletin Board. Volume reached 1,300 shares, a sliver of the 34 million shares eligible for trading. Monday marked the first day that investors who acquired shares of Nasdaq in two private placements, in 2000 and 2001, were allowed to sell a portion of those shares.

The Lakers didn't talk to reporters before getting on their charter flight Wednesday, probably the wisest decision they made in the first round. It meant no more inflammatory quotes in a first-round series that could suddenly combust. The Lakers hold a 3-2 series lead over the Denver Nuggets, though that could change almost as quickly as a JaVale McGee alley-oop dunk or Ty Lawson fastbreak layup. It's understandable if they are less sure of themselves than Oklahoma City or San Antonio.

Dear Andrew Bynum, I know you're going to tune this out. You'd prefer getting your “Zen On” as you do when you stay out of team huddles. You'd choose listening to Jay-Z blaring on your Beats By Dr. Dre headphones the same way you've done countless times this season in the locker room. You'd rather drive down the 405 in your Porsche 911, hoping this one time the police don't issue you a speeding ticket. But this is getting out of hand, and is far more egregious than some of the immature acts you've already pulled.

As a travel writer, I'm always looking for new tools I can use to help plan my trips. Lately, there's been lots of talk about a social media site called Pinterest, a free online photo bulletin board that's popular with designers, foodies and crafts people. But could you use it to plan trips? Well, yes. It turns out that the travel industry, as well as individual travelers, are starting to use this visual social platform with interesting results. The photos make it easy for a traveler to quickly scan a destination's food, architecture or historic sites.

The Justice Department has charged 72 suspected members of an online child pornography ring that encouraged its members to engage in sexual acts with children 12 and under and submit gruesome, violent material to build a massive private database of images and videos on the Internet. The crackdown is the result of a joint effort by the departments of Justice and Homeland Security launched in December 2009 to target about 500 people in 13 countries on five continents for their suspected participation in "Dreamboard," a members-only online bulletin board that was created to encourage the sharing of graphic images and videos.

Dear Amy: Recently on Facebook I posted a nice note on the "walls" of my family members. It was a note that was sent to me from a friend -- indicating that I was an angel. Amy, I sent this to more than 30 family members! A few of them responded and said the posting was nice, but the rest asked if I was doing OK. To me, it seems like they're asking if I'm mentally unstable and I find that to be very harsh and mean. It's very upsetting. Please shed some light on this.

Question: Some shenanigans appear to be going on at my homeowners association. A group of owners were inadvertently locked out of our clubhouse because management changed the key but didn't share it with us. The association's manager called me to apologize and told me to come to the clubhouse and get a new key as he was meeting with the board in executive session to go over our financials. Owners had no notice of this "executive session," and it was not called from a regular noticed board meeting.

The National Assn. of Securities Dealers said it plans to list limited partnerships on its electronic bulletin board to increase the amount of price information available on these thinly traded investments. The OTC Bulletin Board, which is owned and operated by a subsidiary of the NASD, is designed to give price information on stocks too small or illiquid to trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market or any U.S. exchange.

The city-run Calabasas Channel has been recognized for excellence in governmental programming for the best community bulletin board in Southern California and Nevada by the National Assn. of Television Officers and Advisors. Last year, the city's cable channel, CTV, spiced up its service--which lists city information and events--with graphics, trivia, quotes and unusual facts.

In one month, the NFL will open the 2009 season. And NBC will be throwing in the towel. To be specific, when Pittsburgh plays host to Tennessee on Sept. 10, it's a safe bet the network will cue up footage of a memorable moment from last season -- when, in the closing minutes of a Week 16 victory over the Steelers, the Titans' LenDale White and Keith Bulluck stomped a Terrible Towel into the turf. It was disrespectful, unprofessional, immature . . . And box-office gold.

Talk isn't always cheap; sometimes it can be quite costly. Just ask USC players, who parlayed what they felt were disrespectful comments into a 72-63 upset over then-No. 4 UCLA last month at Pauley Pavilion. The Trojans were miffed that Bruins forward Josh Shipp had said in the days before the game that UCLA players embodied the team concept while USC players were more likely to chase scoring titles. Freshman guard O.J.