California is a "use-name" state. That means if you want to change your name, you don't have to go to court. All you have to do is go to Social Security and get a change-of-name form, fill it out and get it notarized, then take it back in. When you get your paperwork and new SS card, go to the DMV and change the name on your ID or driver's license. Done. I did it in 1993, and have had my name ever since. It's been perfectly legal on all documents, including bank accounts, etc.

No one in California has to give a reason for changing his name - you can do it for any reason, or no reason at all. Seems to me this guy went through a whole of bother for nothing.

You made me cry, GK. Happy now?

A number of letters here, and not one of them mentions the fact that prostitution carries such danger and potential penalties because of our culture's sick and backward attitude towards sex in general. This is the 21st century, and we STILL think of sexual activity as somehow dirty or shameful, to the extent that a couple of people here are actually discussing the ridiculous notion that any sexual attitude or behavior outside our increasingly shrinking boundaries is somehow indicative of mental illness or physical deficiency. Welcome back to the 19th century! What's next, chastity belts and electroshock therapy for women who dare to like sex or make a living off a perfectly NORMAL physical function?

Why is it that, of all the things our bodies can do, only sex can get your thrown in jail? What in the world is it about sex that gets people so hysterical, that makes people instantly point fingers, vilify, sneer, ruin lives? When are we going to realize that keeping prostitution illegal is what is CAUSING all of these problems, and that legalizing it would not only bring it into the light, it would make possible regulation and oversight that would clean up the business and help the workers, just as with any other industry? When the hell are we going to wake up, GROW UP, and stop treating sex like some nasty habit we only flaunt when we want to be "rebellious" and start acting like adults - logical, rational and level-headed?

I too have serious doubts in this area. I keep hearing about how great CFL's are, for instance, but I find their light ghastly. It's not only an ugly color, but it also gives me a headache. My eyesight has never been good, and it's only in the last ten years or so, with the advent of full-spectrum incandescents that mimic sunlight, that I've finally been able to see really clearly and without problems indoors. So now of course those bulbs get outlawed!

Until somebody develops a really viable full-spectrum replacement for incandescents, I'm going to keep stockpiling them against the day they're no longer available. Efficiency and environmental issues are all well and good, but I really need to be able to SEE well, and since my eyes aren't getting any younger...

Actually, "Che" is not a synonym for "dude". Its meaning is roughly equivalent to our "hey". It's an all-purpose greeting or way of getting someone's attention. Pretty much all Argentinians use it, and that's why Guevara ended up being dubbed "Che" by the people he met in South America outside Argentina. The word that connotes "dude" would be "pibe", which usually follows "che" - thus che pibe! would stand in for hey dude!

It's a really cute word, actually. I've been hearing it used all my life by my (maternal) Argentinian relatives, and I've always found it amusing for some reason, maybe because their accent makes it sound somehow jokey.

And for the last seven years by the egotistically blinkered, and callously venal, and pathetically sycophantic...

This is one of those times when I thank the gods for my father, who imbued me with an absolute disdain for advertising and brand names of any kind. I can't count the number of times I heard him growl at the TV the minute the ads came on. Consequently, my tastes are dictated solely by what I like, not by what anybody else thinks or might think about me as a result.

So when I go shopping, I hardly even look at the brands. If I buy a shirt, it's because I like the fit or the color. If I read a book, it's because I'm interested in what it has to say, and I don't hide it while I'm reading. If I buy a CD, it's because I've sampled the music and liked it, regardless of the genre. I really don't give a shit if anyone else approves. (I didn't stop blasting Middle Eastern music in my car after Sept. 11, 2001, for example.) If I like a certain food, I'm not going to pretend I don't eat it just because other people might draw some stupid judgment about "low-fat" or "carb-based" or whatever conforms or doesn't conform to the idiotic fad-of-the-week.

And Facebook? Oh my god, you've got to be kidding. How anyone could be so thick as to go online and display their personal details like that for every nitwit and blackguard to see and exploit (and then get all shocked when people are things go badly) is beyond me.

Looking around, I feel damn lucky on this subject. So many people seem to base their identities on what others might think. But I seem to remember that, growing up, I was encouraged NOT to care what other people think. That was something called "being an individual", if I recall. Maybe that's gone out of style. Too bad.