At last--a plan to reduce the surplus...

At last--a plan to reduce the surplus of lawyers!”The law firm of Lewis, D’Amato, Brisbois and Bisgaard,” says a press release sent to The Times, “announces the opening of a law office in Ulan Bator in Mongolia.”

No crime of silence: Linda Brayton of Long Beach noticed, in one newspaper’s crime log, the theft of a leaf blower from an address. Nothing else--just one noisy leaf blower. “I suspect a neighbor is the culprit,” she said, “and I also suspect that the offending leaf blower is resting quietly at the bottom of a recycling bin.”

Words to the wise: Marie Anderson of Norwalk tipped us to “a sign of the times” that she saw on a wall at the Pasadena YWCA, an artwork by Rosalie Ortega.

List of the Day: Assorted curiosities sent our way:

* A newspaper reference to a “flee” collar (Wraydine Mercier).

A store sign that advertises “aquatic fish” (Paul Cate).

* A $2.19 store mattress on sale for $98 (Robert Edelstein).

* A recipe for “pooped” corn (Jason Houston).

A car on sale by a private party for “$2,995, firm. Or best offer” (Gary Hanson).

* A bottle of sleeping pills containing the warning “may cause drowsiness” (Dwight Palmer).

* An ad for a “chester” drawers and a Paul “Bunion” bed (Esther Schuster).

* And an ad for an electronic dictionary and “thesuarus” that “checks and corrects over 80,000 words” (Bill Walker). Make that 79,999, Walker added.

Senor Ratso Rizzo: Kevin McDaniels of Goleta noticed that TV Guide recently relocated an Oscar-winning movie, which featured a memorable performance by Dustin Hoffman, from Manhattan to Mexico City.

Maybe Zsa Zsa was sighted driving in the vicinity: On Robertson Boulevard, travel writer Hank Kovell saw a Beverly Hills police car with a sign on the roof that said:

“Not in Service.”

Jell-O Defense: A North Hollywood man was found guilty of drunk driving Friday by a Van Nuys Municipal Court jury, which rejected his defense that he unknowingly ate Jell-O laced with vodka. The cherry-flavored Jell-O had been laced with eight ounces of vodka. The defendant ate three helpings.

miscelLAny:

The manager of the manuscript department at Superior Galleries in Beverly Hills is named Beverly Hill. She lives in Topanga.