Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Dave's Thoughts of the Week: October 31st

Happy Halloween everyone!

There's a guy I know on themikefrancesa.com, actually several, that I miss right now.   I imagine many of them are still without power out East, and it might be a while before they return to posting.  One in particular is the man they call "Brad Benson's Ad (not auto) Agency."   He's such a riot to read on the various threads.  His re-enactment posts, for instance, imitations of me if you can imagine that, and Joe Benigno imitations, are hilarious.  I also miss the guy known as Say Hello to Ottis, and The Captain aka "Gerry in Piscataway."  My goodness, there's a really nice dude known as "inderebuilding" who has daily updates on his tasty cuisine.    How about the man they call "Oomer" who is never without an sound byte or a funny smackdown on the Chicago Bulls?   There are a number of guys out there, and although you'd think "it's just a message board," they're my friends.  Friends as true as the guy I know down the street.   Be well everyone out there!   Hope to see you back soon.

Colin Cowherd just got pwned by a ten year old girl!  I am amused!!

Did the Lakers know the NBA started last night?  ...kidding!   This wound up being the first full game for all five starters: Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace, and Steve Nash.  Predictably, spacing and flow was non-existent.   Nonetheless, it's way too early to make much of this opening night loss.  There's plenty of time.  What I'm hoping for, down the road, is that Mike Brown stops micro-managing offense and lets Steve Nash run all the plays.  JUST LET HIM PLAY.

It's not 2000, it's 2012, Brownie.

I used to celebrate Halloween Night at my Grandmother's house with my family and aunts and uncles.   It was a lot of fun.   Trick or Treating was fun too.   Then I grew up.   Halloween as an adult isn't the same.   You get some candy, or at worst, you can buy your own, but the trick or treating isn't really sensible as an adult.  I now live about an hour away from my family, so most years I just stay home.  Tonight, for example, I'm doing the podcast.

The best adult Halloweens I had were in Santa Barbara... oh my goodness, would you believe the number of scantily dressed nurses on the street?   You're not sick, but you're not well; you're so hot 'cause you're in hell.   Good times, folks.  That was just State Street!   Isla Vista was a REAL scene.

Speaking of Brownie... sigh.... no Kings hockey.   aka "the only reason Fox Sports Net still exists."  Sigh again... still no TWC Sportsnet.  I can't even watch the Lakers lose when they're not on TNT.

This week in food:  better!  Still not spectacular.   I had no time to shop for groceries and it's so late in the week I was forced to get takeout breakfast and try to ride that the rest of the day.  Then I forgot to get my free "steal a base" taco at Taco Bell, oiiiiiiiiii....

With every day I get the feeling that Oregon is going to get hosed more and more.   Oregon wins each game by tons of points and yet they can't get higher than fourth.   What would Oregon have to do to crack the top 2?   If they were to beat USC by over 20, does that help?   Considering how weak SC is lately, I can't say.   Personally I hope USC wins.  Besides, an SC win would at least end the debate with Oregon.   Oregon has been playing weak competition, I won't lie about that.  A one-loss Oregon team has zero percent chance of making the BCS game.  End of story.

The teams left over?   I'll go over that on the podcast but 'Bama has LSU this weekend.  Bama is #1.   Kansas State is #2 -- they face Oklahoma State.  Notre Dame is #3, and up next for them is Pitt.  WOW... big College Weekend coming up to say the least!  More to come on this topic on "Dave in the City" tonight at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/daveinthecity .

Here's another Big Bang Theory update:   Season 6 is really hitting its stride.  Loving every bit of it so far.  The funny thing about this year, there's no established heel.   Priya was the heel for a season.   In the very beginning you had guys like Kripke and Leslie Winkle.   What's a show without an enemy?   Hopefully the heel will emerge later on.

Tomorrow, our staff is going to a place called Versailles.  It serves Cuban Food.  First of all, who uses a FRENCH name for a Cuban restaurant?  Secondly the last thing I'm in the mood for is Cuban food.   I'm telling you, our manager is using these staff lunches as a convenient outlet to explore his willy nilly dining curiosities without paying for it.   Not a fan of these experimental lunches.   I'd rather choose a place that we know is good.  I didn't bother to offer a suggestion even though I was offered one.  Here's why: even if I made a suggestion, the suggestion would be rebuked so that the Manager can continue his food critic "second career" on company dime.

Some of our staff lunches have been real misses too.  Total bombs.   Grease upon grease.  I won't divulge the names to protect the innocent.

Welp!  That's all the time I have.  Enjoy Halloween everyone!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 30th

I'm still thinking of all the people out on Long Island, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, among other places, who were hit by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Sandy yesterday.   Millions of people are without power, flooding is pretty bad, and about a dozen people in the area already have already died.  It's a rough scene out there, my heart is with you, East Coast.

Onward...

Did the Cardinals know there was a Monday Night Football game last night?   My goodness!

I thought of this two minutes ago:  what would have happened if the World Series continued into Game 5?   Last night would have been Game 5 and my feeling is it would have been watched by even fewer people than already were not watching the series.  As it was, the World Series, I heard, got a record low for TV ratings.  It was a very lifeless series, I can't say I'm surprised.  Anyway, the reason I said this was because quite a few people were tuned into local and national coverage of Hurricane Sandy on the various networks.  DIRECTV had a special channel, channel 325, that bounced around all kinds of local stations out East:  New York stations, Hartford, Philadelphia, etc.   My buddy said it was like "the Red Zone Channel for Hurricanes."  If there was a World Series game on that night, it would have been pre-empted by most of those stations.

I was talking with another friend last night about Calculus.  I took Calculus once, and made it all the way to Calculus III in college.    Calculus is HARD!  I don't care how smart you are.   Nobody, and I mean nobody takes Calculus and says "Oh man that Calculus, I don't know what everyone is talking about, this is a breeze!"  

Now I've forgotten exactly everything I learned about Calculus.   I'm hopeless.

Who is Rob Delaney?  Whoever he is, can people stop retweeting his nonsense on the twitter?   Whatever he does, he's not very funny or useful.  ...humble opinion.

NBA opening night tonight!   Lakers!   ...for one game.  Then tomorrow, I'll be shut out due to lack of TWC Sportsnet.  However, I have tonight, on TNT.  No Kobe, no problem.  

NBA Finals Predictions?  I suppose Spurs vs Heat.   There ya go.   The NBA is the most predictable league in sports.  I DARE ANY of the other teams to debunk that.   It will be Spurs/Heat, or maybe Lakers/Heat, and the rest of the season will just be a chance to look out for sick slam dunks.

I am now in the market for a used Audio Rack or TV Stand.  I can't just get *any* stand.   Some flimsy particle board stand will not absorb movement or weight at all.  I need something sturdy.  However, even at that, I know you can get these kind of tables/racks for cheap.   Craigslist will be my homie.

Big Bang Theory comment:  When you do a show featuring Nerds and Science and Fantasy, it provides opportunities to go into wild tangents.  With this show there have been big hits and big misses.  I have to say, the Howard Wolowitz astronaut story-arc fell flat for me.   It was entirely believable, but it must have been a better idea on paper.   Some of the "nerd on a spaceship" memes you could see a mile away.  It just wasn't my thing.  It's good that Wolowitz made it back after episode 3 this year.  They needed to bury that story quickly.

Actually my favorite moment from the entire storyline was from when he got back to the airport.   Bernadette, his wife, yelled out "Howie!" and then next to Wolowitz was Howie Mandel with paparazzi in front of him.   I laughed so freaking hard, my friends.   Excellent usage of a quick cameo.

This is where Big Bang Theory really wins.  The producers of that show are sharp!  When they know something isn't working they'll dump the crap out of it on the spot.   Remember when Leonard had that relationship with that one lady... I forgot her name or what she did, I think she was a doctor, you know, the girl from "Less than Perfect."  She wasn't funny at all!  The uppers had planned her out for a long term story arc but it bombed so badly she was out after 2 shows.  No explanation provided -- none needed.  To this day one of the best moves the show ever made.  

Imagine if you found out your mom was having an affair with your dentist?   Eerie, huh?

The tater tots are better, thanks for asking.  Be safe East Coast!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 29th

It's hard not to think about millions of people in the Tri-State area about to get hammered by Hurricane Sandy.  I feel just terrible.   It looks like all of NYC and CT/NJ are going to get flooded up to the gills.  May you all be safe.   I'll carry on for the moment...

The Giants won the World Series in a sweep last night.   First of all, congratulations to the Giants for an incredible postseason run.   However, if I may, as a Dodger fan this has to be the lowest of the low one could be as Dodger fans go.  The Dodgers should learn a lesson from the modern day Giants.  You don't build a championship by overpaying for big names.  PERIOD.  The way to a championship is 1. Good Pitching 2. Good Attitude and 3. Consistent hitting.  Building an offense around a home run does nothing.  In fact, it's a hinderance in the playoffs, as Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera will be happy to tell you.  Both of those goofs were a shut down for most of the Postseason.

The Dodgers are now sitting on 25 years without a World Series *appearance* and the Giants have just won two titles in three years.   They haven't even come close!  Two NLCS appearances and two blowout losses in those two series.  The biggest problem with the Dodgers is that they don't look like they have a plan at all.  "Oh!  Look who's on the market!  Let's go after him..."  How about thinking about how the man works within the context of the lineup first?   Baseball people are not running our franchise.  Entertainment people are, in my humble opinion.

Lastly with the Dodgers, I'll say this:  The Dodgers are the most overrated franchise in all of sports.   They haven't done squat for a quarter decade, when you get down to it.  How are they still revered as one of the iconic franchises?

Anyway, going back to the Giants:  I was talking to friends about this and it seems like this is the best 5 year period in modern Giants baseball history.   Can anyone remember a 5 year period when the Giants were more successful, had more playoff runs, and as many World Series?  The years in between were near-misses.  The two years before the World Series season, Tim Lincecum won the Cy Young award. It's been pure magic for San Francisco, and for their fans, they have earned it.  They suffer enough with the Giants.  It's about time!

Unfortunately I won't have much to offer with football thoughts.  I was entertaining family for the entire weekend, including Friday.  I missed the entire NFL schedule save for a few plays here and there.   I did a little better with College Football, and saw some chunks of various games.  My college football thoughts:


  • First of all, how about a hand for Notre Dame?  I challenged them all season to prove me wrong and they've done it every time.   Oklahoma has to be the tipping point.  That defense AT Norman was off the charts good.  30-13.  It pretty much said it all.   Really, 7 of those points were from a momentary lapse of judgement.   It was a total shut-down for the Sooners.  Doing that sort of thing at South Bend is good enough, but on the road, it's outstanding.    It's been a tough schedule, brutal even for the Irish, and they have come out way ahead so far.  Now the obvious worry for Irish fans is the let-down game.  OHHH THAT'S RIGHT BABY... you are now the hunter not the hunted.    Get ready for a taste of what I go through with SC... letdown games, lackluster losses, all of that.   Think Wake Forest is a cakewalk?  Think again!   We'll see what happens.
  • Called it -- DID I CALL IT?  USC at Arizona.  Loss.   The funny thing is, the Trojans really did outplay Arizona for most of the game.  It seemed like they were in the red zone every other possession.  Yet, the penalties, and terrible defense killed them.  The Turnovers killed them.   This is what USC is:  a tease.  They have talented players, but they don't know how to PLAY.   That's on Lane Kiffin.   It's going to be years before they become a top level team again.   It might not even be because of lack of talent.   Bear in mind, some of the best USC players to thrive in the pros came from one of the all-time worst coaching regimes:  Carson Palmer and Troy Polamalu were both Paul Hackett-era players.  Talent does not equal wins, and that's basically been my problem with SC since Kiffin took control.   Offense has never been the problem either.  They just have no command for winning games, especially close games.   Clock management is a joke too: who fails to spike the ball with only 20 seconds left in regulation after a first down completion up the middle?  WHO?  Kiffin and Barkley that's who.   The Trojans didn't beat anybody!!   Did they beat one big-time team all season?  It's just as well.  A lot of folks were blind-sided by this loss but to be honest, I knew better.  I just hope USC can at least beat Oregon to save face.  Notre Dame is going to be the mother of all embarrassing losses later on.
  • See ya later, Florida -- People were very skeptical of the Gators when they rose up the charts like a song about teenage crushes.  I was on board with that too.  It was hard to put confidence on a team that can barely muster a first down once every five tries.   Fittingly, it was another underperforming program that unseated the Gators, that program being the Georgia Bulldogs.  Aaron Murray is still a goofball, though.  
Last night in sports was pretty brutal.  When I got home, I didn't really have the heart to do much of anything, but there was ONE item nagging at my mind.  A bedroom stereo system!

I found my Harman / Kardon Vintage 430 Stereo Receiver in storage at my Mom's house this weekend, so I took it home, knowing it still worked.  Then I moved in my primary speakers, the turntable, and dug out the SACD 5 disc changer.   Putting it all together it was a dream.  The system sounds amazing!  Here's a couple of photos.





This kept me up to 1am last night, but it was worth it.  My swimming schedule took a dive (so to speak) since I got so excited about building these stereo systems.   I will need to get a stand for it though, but I bet  I can find a cheap TV stand/audio rack.

Programming note:  I'm not planning a "Dave in the City" Monday Night podcast tonight.  I intend to be at friend's house tonight for Monday Night Football, so I won't make it back in time to do a show.  Hopefully we'll be back at it on Wednesday.

Friday, October 26, 2012

It's settled down back at the ranch...

Whew!

I was off to a very rough start this morning and may have produced one of the darkest blog posts in recent history.   I hope I haven't scared off my subscriber base with that.

I like to keep it positive whenever I can.   Fortunately, the storm has passed and I think we'll be okay the rest of the day.  I had some football thoughts to share for the NFL schedule.

Giants/Cowboys:   Man.   I don't know where to go with this.  Tentatively I'm picking the Cowboys.  I can't trust either of these teams this week.  I know the Giants are a good football team.  They're very good.  They have an amazing pass rush, better defense downfield, a good set of receivers, and a quarterback with touchdown potential.  Yet, the Giants always seem to let its fans down right when they start to pick up some momentum.  With the G-Men only favored by 2, all they need is an outright win to cover.  Imagine if they won by one point?!  Oh my goodness!  I would laugh so hard.

I would also say, "Don't sleep on Patriots/Rams."  This one will be played in London and I have a funny feeling the Rams will stay in it until the very end.   Much excitement will be in store, perhaps, in the U.K.

Sergio Romo is a good dude.  He grew up a Dodgers fan!  That's all right with me.  He had the misfortune of being drafted by the wrong team, but that's not his fault.  He also has the coolest socks.  They're popular!   People in SF are buying the socks in droves.  Now, he closes out the big games for the San Francisco Giants.

There's a lady I follow on twitter, Olympian, Florida Gator, and backstroker Elizabeth Beisel.  She's a riot to follow on the twitter feed.   Apparently she's about to battle S. Carolina in a swim meet this weekend.  The funny thing is, her team just faced Georgia the other day, maybe yesterday.  I had no idea you could do 2 swim meets in the same week.  That seems grueling!  or, perhaps, I was mis judging the timing of her tweets and the Georgia meet was a week ago.  I don't have time to check.   Seriously though, check her out on twitter, @ebeisel34 .

I have a confession to make:  I didn't swim this week.  I mean, not at all.  I feel/felt so lazy all week.  It's a cryin' shame.  I have no excuse for this.  I feel terrible, but I should add, I also feel well rested.

Just because I missed swim doesn't mean I missed my sprints.  GEEZ, this morning, the bus to work just passed my intersection and I had to dart clear down the street to the next stop.  Fortuantely the bus stopped at a red light on the way and I miraculously caught up.  Then I boarded the bus.  The bus driver quipped "that was quite a sprint!".   I was beat!   I laid out onto the seat and my butt was SO sore.  You wouldn't believe it.  It was as if each cheek was gripped on by a vise.  

Ah, I feel much better.  THIS is the blog post I wanted to write all along, and I'm glad I had the chance to do it.  Have a good, nay, better weekend everyone.

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 26th

The bad week in food continues....

Last week for dinner... I was out of motivation and options, and for the most part, money.   What'd I do?  I broke out the Progresso Chicken Noodle soup.  It was pretty good!  But it was still just a can of soup.   I added some Triscuits.   Sigh.  I hope it improves next week.

Be safe out there, Northeast.  It sounds like Hurricane Sandy is going to be brutal.  I did not realize it was life threatening, but I'm such a bonehead I clearly didn't consider how powerful hurricanes were in the past.   Hurrican Andrew, for instance, was devastating.  I hope it's not as bad.  More importantly, I hope everyone is ok.

Now people will read the above paragraph and run for their lives.  I can't win.

TODAY is not off to a good start.  I alternate offices on certain days.   Then someone moans about a printer problem or some other issue that requires my presence.  It's always on the day I'm at the OTHER office.  Terribly frustrating.  Today I had enough.  I wrote back and explained my position.  I can't keep running between offices.  People need to understand my schedule.

This weekend is going to be frustrating.  Nothing is breaking my way lately.   No Kings Hockey, the Lakers are beat up, the Giants are two wins away from a World Series, USC is about to get upset in Arizona.  NOW, I am heading out of town again to meet family.  This time, some of our family is visiting from Mexico.  That means we will spend the entire weekend entertaining them.  No football, no free time, no bed at my parents' house.  I'll be happy to meet my family.  However, it means I'll have very limited access to football games and the internet. 

At some point I'm going to just explode.    Hopefully not in a violent way.   Have any of you had these kind of weeks?   It's inevitable.  When it happens, it's tough to go on, but the key is to keep trying.

I can't really think of anything else at the moment.  I hope your weekend is good everyone.  Be safe.  I'm sorry for the dark tone of today's post.  It's been that kind of morning.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 25th


October is easily the most exciting month in sports in most years.  This year, it's a little different.  The primary problem is twofold:  No NHL hockey to bridge the gaps between big NFL/MLB games, and too many blowouts in the postseason.

The Giants' postseason so far has been very weird.   When they win, the games are unfathomably decisive 4, 5, maybe even 6 run victories.   They finished an NLCS Comeback where they also held the Cardinals to a single run while scoring about 18 in a three game span.   The Giants are a strange team to figure out.

Last night, it looked like Justin Verlander, Tigers Starter, had them.  Instead, the Giants beat him around like a rag doll, and the biggest offender was the pudgy one, Pablo Sandoval.  Can you believe Sandoval hit three home runs last night in a pitchers park in the middle of October?   A historic night for a good kid... a fat kid, but a good one.

Yuck... the Giants are ahead in the series 1-0.   The Tigers will be back, but you can see many reasons to worry if you're  a Tigers fan.  I will say no more as many folks have money and emotions invested in the Giants.

I'll be up front: if I wasn't a Dodgers fan I'd rather enjoy the Giants and their roster.  This is a fun baseball team to watch.  They're a bunch of good guys and basically no big egos.   Everything they do, and the way they play, grinding out at bats, taking the extra base, playing good defense, is exactly what we stand for in the National League.  Seriously the *only* thing that makes me root against them is that they happen to be a division rival.

Speaking of BOTH the Dodgers and Giants, last night's Survivor has been a triumph for former MLB player Jeff Kent.   I have no idea where it came from, but he has been a genial, helpful, team player on the Survivor TV show.   Anyone who's familiar with his clubhouse antics and sour demeanor over the years would be surprised to see this.  Maybe Kent kept all his attitude confined to the baseball field.   In any case, it's terrific.   I won't spoil the episode, but the person voted off the island last night completely deserved it.  Perhaps the circumstances to how it came about were shady but is anyone surprised?  They shouldn't be.    I had that pegged half way through the hour.

At last a good meal last night.  The Chorizo and Cheese Burrito was terrific.   I got it from Tacos Por Favor, and one other item that I *love* there is their salsa.  They only have two types of salsa:  a green roasted salsa and a red roasted salsa.   The flavor and texture of both is off the charts.  My mistake was taking too little salsa home with me.  I had half a bag of chips left over when I finished the salsa.

I came this close to getting frozen yogurt but I changed my mind and settled for soft drinks.   It got very windy here in L.A.   This is usually what happens in the fall, but it was a trip to finally see it for the first time.

Don't you love going to bed, then waking up in the morning with the cold air but the warm covers around you?  The context of warm bed against cold weather is something I live for.   Then, there are those rare mornings where you don't have to go to work afterward.   I love it.

It's been a long, drab week, but I'm glad it's coming close to an end.   

I had been on an unintentional SongPop hiatus, but I am BACK.. baby!

That's all I have.  I'm out of time.  Catch you all soon.

Dave's LOCKS of the Week: NFL Week 8, NCAA Week 9

2-2 last week, 3-1 the week before.  Let's do it!

Dave's (bang!)
LOCKS (bong)
of the Week (dink)

I couldn't wait until Friday to do this.   I'm going right after is this time and mark my words, I see this happening:  Arizona beats USC this weekend.  So clearly, my choice is Wildcats +6.5.   The Cats are pesky at home, and they have played SC tough for at least a decade.   The game is at Tuscon, AZ.   SC is going to be rusty after playing so much garbage time against Colorado the week before.  I also think the Trojans' defense can be had.  Syracuse nearly had them.  Utah had them early on.  Stanford was a different case of the Cardinal shutting the Trojan offense down completely.  Nonetheless, it seems like the SC secondary is vulnerable to me.  I'll keep hearing excuses about injuries until the cows come home.  Let's face it, it borderline sucks.  It's getting better (hard to get much worse than a year ago), but if the Cats stretch the field, which they did against Stanford, they'll have a shot.  I'll give 'em more than a shot, I'll give them the outright victory.

In fact, I'm taking this a step further:  if SC wins this game *and* the Oregon game next week, I'm changing my Facebook profile photo and tmf.com avatar to a photo of Jon Heyman for a week.   Heard it here first.   Arizona +6.5

Next we go to Norman, OK for a game I *love*.   Notre Dame at Oklahoma.   We went over this one on the podcast last night with Mike in North NJ, and our consensus is that the Irish have the speed and physicality to keep the Sooners in check for most of the game.  With Notre Dame getting a whopping +11, I feel like the Irish will keep it closer than that.  I don't think they win, but I will go Notre Dame +11 on the road.

One more college pick -- I learned my lesson picking more than one NFL game at a time, and we go... to Manhattan KS.   K-State has an interesting one against fellow Big 12 Team Texas Tech.   Here's the thing with Texas Tech:  they just came off a tiring 56-53 multiple overtime win at TCU and their defense is a joke.   Kansas State, meanwhile, shut down another big offense in West Virginia on the road.  Colin Klein has been regarded as a terrific quarterback.   It adds up to another huge win for Kansas State.   I'll take the Wildcats -7.  This one has serious potential for a push, but no matter.

Finally we enter the roulette wheel known as the NFL.   Let me first have a soapbox moment:  NFL betting to me seems like a sucker bet.  Most of the point spreads are laughable.  You barely see any lines that exceed 7 points.   True to form, most games play out that way even if you were to think, for instance, that the Rams would be easily blown out despite getting 4, and yet, the Packers weren't able to put away St. Louis until the very end.  With that in mind we seek out our one diamond in the rough.

We might get that diamond on Monday Night:  I've always noticed that the Cardinals and 49ers play each other closely.   It's a divisional game, no less, and the Cardinals were off to a good start.  As it stands, the Cards are a .500 team, but getting +6.5 at home is little extreme.   I might have seen +4 or +3, but 6!   Considering that the 49ers can't easily score touchdowns lately, I'm going to happily take Arizona and the points.   SF figures to win, but it will be within a touchdown, IMHO.  Arizona +6.5

To review: Arizona (Wildcats) +6.5, Notre Dame +11, Kansas State (Wildcats) -7, Arizona (Cardinals) +6.5.  Enjoy all the games!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 24th

One of these days a big prediction has to go right.  I am great with Super Bowl predictions, so maybe it can carry over to the World Series too.

Even so, here's a prediction I hope DOESN'T go right.   For the 2012 World Series, I like the Giants in 6.  I've seen enough of both teams and the Giants have a superior bullpen, more consistent hitting if you can believe that, and honestly, a better manager.   I like Jim Leyland overall with the Tigers, but Bochy is incredible at making the right move at the right time.   Remember the key here is "more consistent" hitting, not "better."  There's no doubt that the Tigers have better batters and more big-time players, but any one of those Tigers hitters is more liable to go into a dry spell.  We'll see what happens, germs.

This really *hasn't* been a good week in food.   My trusty roast beef lunch sandwich has been reliable. Aside from that, it's been mostly leftovers.  More linguine with the Turkey Italian Sausage.  I'll say this much:  turkey sausage came through in a big spot.  I had no clue how good it would taste but I'm a fan.   It's less greasy, but it still has the essence of that Italian Sausage taste.

The loser with that meal was the Barilla Garlic and Mushroom sauce.   It tasted like tomato soup; wasn't my scene.   Instead I will go back to the Marinara, which is much better.

I'm desperate enough for a good meal that I might consider going back to the Pavilions and wait on a new batch of fried chicken.  We'll see what happens.

I don't see the appeal of 5 disc CD Changers.   I can't come up with five discs I want to listen to at once on a given day.  Usually I determine about two or three albums I want to try for the night, so to have to open that humongous tray to load them all at once, then press some button to switch between them is a little odd.   Remember, the tray won't open all the way out, so you can only load like 2 at a time then press some button to rotate the carousel.   After the day is done, I can't guarantee I want to go back to the same group of discs tomorrow.  The funny thing is, 5 Disc CD Changers are now obsolete.  I don't know if they sell 'em anymore.  I remember at one time they had a 99 disc CD changer!  It worked like a jukebox.  Now that's crazy.  Some joker could break into your house and steal most of your CD collection in one shot.  With MP3s and streaming audio, most of these CD changers have little value in society.

Consider this sequence:  my buddy Jacob posted that he was drinking Dr. Pepper.  Later that evening, I was watching an old SCTV episode on DVD that had a Dr. Pepper commercial spoof in it.   I learned, one day, about the "I'm a pepper, you're a pepper, be a pepper, etc etc wouldn't you want to be a pepper too?" commercials.   In any case, Dr. Pepper was the clear theme of the night!

Those commercials were really hokey.   Early 80's commercials.  What were people thinking in 1981?  Mini choruses would break out into songs about tools and auto parts, broadway style.

Clearly I'm out of ideas... I'll try better next time.  Farewell for now!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 23rd

If there is anyone, even one person, in America who agrees with R.J. Bell and his Vegas group about the Bengals here, I'd like to hear your argument.  Listen to this clip at the 5:55 mark:

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=8524624

The Bengals are the SIXTH best NFL team by statistics?!?!?   Didn't look like that to me!   Have at it... I welcome your thoughts.

Onward...

I want to make a Battleship joke here, but I can't.   Carry on.

All right, let's talk about Fried Chicken.   On Thursday last week, I went to a grocery store in Santa Monica called Pavilions.   It's a companion store to the Vons stores in our area, and all of them are run by Safeway.   I went and asked for two pieces of fried chicken expecting it to be dry and tasteless.  Instead, it was the best friggin fried chicken I've had all month!   What sold it to me was the crust or skin.  COULD NOT BELIEVE IT.  So flaky and tasty it was.   The chicken wasn't perfect but it was palatable.  I chose the chicken breast and wing.  Seriously, folks, I was floored.

I went pondering... how was this fried chicken so good?   Then, last night, I went down to a different Pavilions, over on Wilshire, closer to my home.   I looked at the chicken and I knew it... I was getting the dried out, end of the cycle, chicken that had been sitting for a while.  I went for a piece anyway, just to be sure, and predictably it was dry, tasteless, and non-magical.   It was the same brand of chicken, same brand of store, same ingredients.  The difference:  preparation.   It then hit me that getting the chicken at the start of a cycle makes a huge impact on its taste.  I mean, I always thought it would be less of a problem because it was fried chicken but not so.   From now on I have to check with the Deli to see if they'll start up a new batch.  

Overall it was a disappointing night for food.   The highlight was a leftover donut from Sunday.  Even that wasn't so great because it was stale and dry by then.   Donuts really don't have a very long life-span.   Donuts and Taco Bell tacos... those babies can only keep for about 10 hours, maybe less.

No sports tonight... just as well, I need to catch up on sleep.

What is taking so long for DIRECTV to get the Time Warner Sportsnet Channel?   The Lakers negotiated this new channel with Time Warner Cable, and yet, so far it seems like only Time Warner Cable subscribers get it.   I'm not worried about missing the entire season, but I'd like to get a feel for the new channel by next week.  Opening night is only a few days away!  Time Warner:  get with the program.

I worry a little about my coffee addiction.   Yesterday I didn't have any coffee, but that was the first day without coffee in at least a week, maybe a month.   My morning felt weird without the coffee.   I think the addiction is to the ritual as much as it is to the caffeine.

I don't want to post any spoilers, but I will say that this season's Survivor has been a great time!   Of all the people who joined the show, Jeff Kent, the former MLB second baseman, has been tremendous.  He relishes the relative anonymity on the show so far, and he's been a terrific team player.  You heard me:  JEFF KENT as a team player.   Impossible?  Not on TV's "Survivor."

I'm still shell-shocked at the Giants in the World Series.  I can see them beating the Tigers too.  Oy vey.  

Football LOCKS went 2-2 this week, no thanks to Ohio State.  Nonetheless, most of October has been without a losing week, do the dance!

That's all for the moment.   Have a good Tuesday, y'all.

Giants defy the odds yet again...

The San Francisco Giants this year are all about convention.  Down 3-1 in the NLCS?  No problem!  The Giants came back and kicked the tar out of the Cardinals.  The Cardinals scored a total of ONE run in the final three games of the LCS.  Finally, on a very rainy night in San Francisco, the Giants won the N.L. Pennant.

To the Giants: Congratulations!  Well played.  

Monday, October 22, 2012

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 22nd


Good morning fellow readers!

As promised on Facebook, here's a look at the newest member of the Dave Office Stereo System: the NHT SuperOne XU series speakers.   Can you believe I found this for just $10 at Goodwill?  It normally goes for around 200 bucks.



Just to make sure they weren't busted, I tested them out at home and everything sounds great.   Next, I have to determine what to use as a CD player.   It turns out I have this 5 disc DVD/CD/SACD carousel collecting dust at home.   Possible candidate but we'll see.  I want to use something simpler.  Here's the stereo system as it stands at the moment:


First of all, yes, I know, ha ha, I have a lot of Mac Stuff.  Those are former Faculty machines, and our faculty persons love Apple products.  The speakers are a little big, but they do sound tremendous.   I may have to clean out the pots (aka potiemeters) so that it doesn't cut out the sound or make turning up the volume scratchy.   The tuner wheel needs some WD40.  Little things like that will be in the making when I have the time.  This is the most fun I've had in months.   For now, I have a little RCA to 1/8" wire to connect to a laptop.  I'd like to try running Spotify or Pandora through this system.

As a result of this ongoing project, my attention to sports has been more diminished than usual.  I did however pay a good amount of attention to College Football this weekend.  It's as simple as this:  the Big Ten doesn't belong in the FBS.  If Ohio State can't put away a miserable team like Purdue *at home*,  there's really no hope for this conference.   Alabama looks tremendous, as usual.  SCAR got schooled by Florida.  Yet, the jury is still out on the Gators.   Most of their points came off turnovers and their total overall offense was only about 200 yards.  Not very impressive.

NFL wise, I have to be honest, not much impressed me this weekend.  Houston was pretty good against the imploding Baltimore Ravens.  The Giants and Redskins had a good game, in fact, a fun game, but the Giants once again were outplayed for most of the game and yet let takeaways and one big break to Victor Cruz award them a win.   Robert Griffin III is awesome.  Did you see him allude Jason Pierre-Paul to make a completion for first down with only minutes to go?  This gives me a feeling that Giants/Redskins games could be really good games to watch down the road.  

I don't know what to make of Jets/NE.  No idea.   In fact, there are many people out there who know more than I do about either the Jets or Patriots.  I'll leave it to them to explain what happened.   How did the Patriots come that close to losing?  

Steelers:  they're still not that good.   The Bungles gave them the game.  When pudgy Jonathan Dwyer runs all over the field it shows that Cincinnati missed something.  They missed a lot of things... play calls, replay challenges, coverages, SOMEONE to cover the middle of a running play.  I likewise don't know where all the love for Andy Dalton comes from.  I see him play... he's all right, but it's not like I'm going to give up draft picks for him.  Good, not great.

Speaking of "Dwyer," anyone remember that former Rams player Fred Dryer?   I couldn't tell you what he did in the NFL, but on TV he was the MAN...  HUNTER.   Good show...more than a little violent, in an era before violent shows like CSI were commonplace.   He could have been a good ref too, he was so good with those coin flips.

One last thing on the Bungles, on Herd's show (The Herd with Colin Cowherd), they reported that Vegas ranked the Bungles as the 6th best NFL team.  I'm sorry, but I don't know how many statistical categories you use, this team sucks.   I would welcome any rebuttals to the contrary.   As of now, they look like a sloppy, defensively decent, but otherwise pedestrian NFL team.  That's not a "6th best in the NFL" team to me.  If they're 6th, then the Cardinals should be 5th, and I think we all know the book on them.

That's all I have.  No food updates.  No ice cream updates.   Catch you all tomorrow!



NLCS: Game 7

Can you believe there's an NLCS Game 7?????

Well, here we are!   It should be a good game tonight.  That's all I have.  I do not want to reverse jinx the Giants into the World Series.  May the best team win!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

NLCS: Game 6

How about it, folks?  Did you all see this going to a Game 6?

I'm surprised... I did not think Zito had 7 inning in him.  I did not think the Giants' offense had it in them.  Yet, here we are.  What's the prediction for Game 6?

Cardinals.  I like the Cardinals.  It would be thrilling to think about another big comeback for the Giants and three straight wins yet again.  However, the Cardinals and manager Mike Metheny have their heads on straight and play smarter baseball.  Chris Carpenter should also have a marked advantage over Ryan Vogelsong.   The primary reason is because Carpenter has ace potential.  Vogelson has implosion potential.

Nonetheless, the Giants won't get blown out and it's going to be a thrilling game.   I just think that game will go to St. Louis.   But... that's why they play the games.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 19th

First of all, I recommend checking out this week's LOCKS of the Week.  They were posted yesterday so I could jump on the San Francisco game.

HOW ABOUT that 49ers game???   Can you imagine Harbaugh declining extra points from a safety for the sake of saving a free kick and, I would imagine, a potential injury.  That seems an unusual reason to decline points.   More importantly, the move saved my Seahawks +8 or +8.5 LOCK depending on where you looked.  Do the dance!

The 49ers and Seahawks are going to go at it for the rest of the year, I gather.  Both of these teams have pretty damn good defenses, and the 13-6 score was very predictable.  I look forward to the rematch at CenturyLink Field.

Now WHAT is this about LeBron James potentially coming to L.A.?  Check out the recap from Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver:  http://nba.si.com/2012/10/19/heat-f-lebron-james-im-not-going-to-worry-about-lakers-rumors/

It's fun to think about, but first of all, we are at least a year or two away from this happening.  Secondly, it's outrageous to think that LeBron would just up and leave Miami after having a good thing AND his coveted championship there.  What would make him leave?  Los Angeles and Miami are both warm weather cities.   The Heat seem to have a much better, younger overall roster, and now all of their core players know how to play with each other.

The Lakers are great at poaching stars, apparently, but they can't poach *everybody.*   Perhaps we can revisit this rumor two years from now.

I also can't wait for the College Football schedule this weekend.  It's amazing.   Florida/SCAR alone is going to make my weekend.   There's also West Vriginia/Kansas State.    I even like Stanford at Cal A.K.A. "The Big Game."  It's a big weekend, folks.

With each week, I find myself more interested in College Football than NFL Football.  One reason is because of the sheer dominance of some of these teams.  Another reason is the passion that goes into these games.   I think it's important to have the regular season count.   It's much more exciting week-to-week than having a league where only two teams in an entire conference are above .500, and where you can just sneak into the playoffs with a 9-7 record.   In it's own way, it makes the games equally as important, but I think part of my thing with College is that you learn about teams and games and coaches.  In the NFL, we pretty much know everyone by now.   I love both sports but this year college football has me on the edge of my seat.

Another fascinating plot-line with College Football is the newcomers.  Notre Dame hasn't been in the Top Ten for a while (it might have been only a year or two but we didn't take them seriously then).   Kansas State hasn't been a top 5 team in years.  USC is finally bowl eligible.  Florida is back at it, after having gone about three years without serious BCS contention.  I love all of it!

This year, I'm waiting for that underdog story a la Boise State.  A smaller, unhearalded program that starts to run the table and make a run for the top of the BCS.  I haven't seen it so far, but perhaps that team is coming.

That's all for now.    Congratulations to both the Detroit Tigers and, soon, the St. Louis Cardinals for advancing to the World Series.   The Tigers earned it, even though they caught the Yankees at just the right time.

Enjoy all the games this weekend!  Back on Monday.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Dave's LOCKS of the Week: NFL Week 7, NCAA Week 8


A very hard to predict edition coming up on this edition of

Dave's (slam!)
LOCKS (zing!)
of the Week (conk)

The Top 25 schedule is so impossible to predict in College Football.  The only picks I will make this week is my selection of Colorado +40.5 at USC.   SC has earned its reputation as "unable to win against the spread."  So far this season, they're 1-5 against the spread, with the lone "win" against Cal at home.   Colorado is easily the worst team in the Pac 12, and frankly, among the worst teams in the FBS.  Nonetheless, I get the feeling that if USC goes on a roll with Barkley, Lee, Woods, and company, they'll likely rest starters as they did against Hawaii and Utah in those respective games.  That should slow down the pace enough to allow the Buffaloes to cover.  It's not a TRUE lock, but the odds are on our side.  Colorado +40.5 at USC.

Next!  Another study on the Big Ten as we try to fathom the enigma that is Ohio State.  Ohio State at home does a marvelous job nearly doubling up Nebraska on National TV.  However, the week after, they struggle to put away lowly Indiana and scrap by with the final score 52-49.   This week, the Buckeyes host Purdue in a game one would think they'd take care of easily.   I can't trust the Buckeyes.  Yet, I'm going to go with Ohio State convincingly, -18.5.   What helps is that Ohio State has *already* had their letdown game, and that they seem to be heating up offensively.  Quarterback Braxton Miller has been impressive at times and last week was no exception with 360 yards of total offense.   Somehow I have a sneaky feeling this won't hit but I'll ride the wave and go with convention:  Ohio State -18.5.

Lastly, we go to two NFL picks.  First, here's a pick I had to make "at the buzzer," I am big and I mean BIG on Seattle to cover +8.5 at San Francisco.  The hell with what bookmaker says at 4:25pm , I got 8.5 this morning and I'll stick to it.    Somehow, I think a mobile quarterback could pose some challenges for even an active defense like that of San Francisco.   In addition, the offense is taking some more hits for the Niners as WR Mario Manningham was ruled inactive for the game.   The 49ers will play yet another tough physical defense at home.  It's a big game and a divisional showdown no less, so I think the 'Hawks will make it *very* interesting.  Seattle +8.5.

Finally, we'll go to St. Louis and go Packers -5.  The Pack is getting the break of a lifetime giving ONLY 5 on the road against a team that could not score to save its life.  If the Rams' games against teams like Arizona were any indication, they have major issues at quarterback and Danny Amendola is out for about three more weeks due to shoulder trouble.  Amendola was far and away their leading receiver and without him, the Rams figure to struggle offensively.   I'm also not very impressed with Steven Jackson.  The man is always hurt and I can't imagine that he'll hurt Green Bay despite the Packers' very weak run defense (110 yards allowed a game!).   Green Bay -5 at St. Louis.

To review, LOCKS this week are Seattle +8.5, Colorado +40.5, Ohio State -18.5, and Green Bay -5.  Enjoy the week of football, everyone!

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 18th

Hidee ho!

Last night I had a sickness scare as I was doing the podcast.  I didn't feel that well last night, but this morning I feel pretty good.  I'm glad to know it was just a false alarm.

You know you're losing weight when even your speedo starts to sag on you.   HAHA!   I went nuts training in that last week for the swim meet, then during the meet I swam a ton... couple that with the diet I was on at the time... wow.   Everything feels looser now.

I don't think this will last very long:  I'm bound to increase my own appetite.  To think of me planning out big meals after bashing Pablo Sandoval last night for his weight.   Still, I keep it very simple with my own meals.  Breakfast is usually an apple, coffee, and some form of bread, usually just the apple.  Lunch is a sandwich with 2-3 slices of meat.   Dinner is either pasta, chicken, or something else.  I don't often eat snacks between meals, with dinner as my only exception.   I have ice cream or frozen yogurt once a week.  I haven't eaten a candy bar in at least a month.  I never buy candy regularly.   My snacks are either Triscuits, fruit, V8 splash juice, Gatorade, and sometimes soda.  Then on weekends, I "go crazy."

About a decade ago, I was pushing 190 on the scale, and I was as fat as I'd ever been.  I had to completely change my lifestyle to lose weight to become respectable.  It was really hard... emotional, very tough.  I went on a very strict 1500 calorie a day diet using the Weight Watchers points system: 50 calories = 1 point.  See, don't waste your money enrolling in WW for real because all they did was provide mathematics.   I don't recall exercising more during that phase, but even that alone, which again was extremely hard, got me back on track.  Later, I got a part time job as a warehouse clerk at the local Good Guys electronics store.  Since that involved moving big boxes around, that got me some more exercise.  Eventually I went down to 156!   Again, that didn't last too long, but for most of college I wound up in the 160s.  Weight loss is possible, but it's a commitment.

I haven't thought to weigh myself today, but I could imagine some muscle weight was added since I started swimming.  I love it!   Swimming is the best choice I've made.   The dues are expensive for my swim program but the residual benefits are golden.

Wow!  So I hear the ALCS game last night was postponed due to rain.    My goodness... just when you thought the ban on Yankee comments was over!

Actually, can I go back to the weight topic for a moment?   I haven't stayed in the 160s all those years... it's gone up, usually to the 170s from time to time.  However, when I went on my trip to New York City, I wanted to eat so many things up there I got SO fat... I was eating 5 meals a day, no lie.  Big meals like pastrami sandwiches, pizza, kebabs, donuts, you name it.  The only thing I didn't eat out there was the steak dinner, but geez, I think I covered everything else.   My narrow jeans were stretching to the limit.   I thought of that as I put on the same narrow jeans this week... there was some give down the pantline and I laughed thinking how much I bulged those things in May.

I have a non-work related office project underway, and all I need right now is an adapter and some WD-40.   Upstairs at the Philosophy Department, an old Harman Kardon 230e stereo receiver was being left for dead in the discard pile.   Those old school audio components are of pretty good quality so I took it down to my office.   I *love* the tuning band that glows green when you turn it on.  Check it out:

  

So!  I began a project to revive its use at my UCLA office.   Instead of getting full speakers, I went and got a pair of unopened Multimedia Dell speakers and positioned them on either side of the receiver on my shelf.   All I need now is a 1/4" to 1/8" headphone jack adapter to plug in the speakers.

The WD40 is needed in order to loosen up the rotating tuner dial.   The way these 70's receivers work is that you spin the dial and let it roll to get from, say, 107.3 FM down to 91.5 FM.  If it works properly you can just give it a good nudge to span most of the dial, but it's sticky right now.

Obviously the whole concept evokes images of YES Network's Chris Shearn, but it would be a tremendous sounding quality system if I got it going.  Plus, the HK 230e has a phono input which allows for me to add a turntable.  An audiophile level system in the office for barely a few pennies.  I look forward to adding to this project.

Eventually I could move to full speakers if I can assure good sound out of the receiver.  I might even bring my smaller Monitor Audio Bronze 1 studio quality monitor speakers.   We'll see what develops.

Tonight in sports:  Two huge west coast games, actually three!


  • Giants/Cardinals -- I don't know.   It'd be interesting to see the Giants make a comeback here but the more I see from this series, the more I feel the party's over for the Giants.   Zito vs Wainright?  Thanks for playing, SF.
  • Seahawks/49ers -- No idea how this plays out.  It would be foolish to offer an official prediction. Convention would be to take the Niners due to their great home record and amazing work against the run.  However, not only is this a divisional game, but the 49ers got blown away by the Giants on their home field last Sunday.  So, who knows?
  • Oregon/Arizona St. -- We brought this up on the podcast last night.   This is the first game for Oregon played outside of their home region of the Pacific Northwest.   The Ducks really need to, for their own sake, dominate this game and win by at least 20.  If they win by less, their credibility will be severely taken into question.  The term "soft team" will attach to the Ducksies, and I don't know if they will wrest of it all year.  Tempe, AZ will be rockin!   
That's all from here... hopefully viewers across the nation will get their full episode of X-Factor on Fox.  Based on what know, I think it's getting better ratings than the NLCS.  Ah well.  'Til tomorrow!

Correction:  This one isn't really my fault, but Bruce Bochy, Giants Manager, switched Zito out for Tim Lincecum tonight for NLCS Game 4.   The matchup is now Lincecum vs Wainright.  I still like STL's chances.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Viruses and Ice Cream

Fortunately, we've patched up the offending computer downstairs that had the virus.  In defense of the person who contracted the infection:  he actually TRIED to close the box and the pop up was pesky, it was so pesky, and it wouldn't go away.  Even moving the pop up to the side made the box jump back to where it was.  Now that's creepy!

Most computer users are going to have a difficult time not giving in and clicking "continue" or "go ahead" within the popup.  I feel for the fella in question.

Viruses are a crazy game.

Ice Cream:  Can it be fresh?  I'd say so!   The quality of the milk can be either really good, really creamy, or plain standard.   The best ice creameries use the best milk... milk without hormones and other additives.  Then, the ice cream is churned and manufactured on the spot.   Then it's mixed in with even more fresh ingredients.  For instance, higher quality chocolate, freshly crushed vanilla beans, and so on.  All of these factors make a difference in making a fresher ice cream.  So by "fresh" ice cream, which otherwise is frozen, we mean that ingredients that go into the ice cream are fresher.

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 17th

A few quickies today...

Ever see those ads that say "find local singles in your area" or something like that?   Why settle for singles?  I'd go for the doubles.

Twitter becomes a nightmare during these Presidential Debates.  The worst offenders are entertainers: actors, actresses, and musicians.   I don't know how their ability to entertain millions of people suddenly justifies their credibility as a political pundit.  Very lame.

Ice cream!  Wasn't having a good day, but there's this place on 26th near San Vicente in Brentwood that has the best ice cream in the area.  REALLY good -- you can tell how fresh it is when you eat it.  I didn't take any chances and got the vanilla ice cream in the chocolate waffle cone.  It's not chocolate *coated*, but instead a chocolate waffle spun into a cone.   Expensive though: $5.25 with tip.

Giants/Cardinals.  It's a make or break game... so what do we do?  Bury it in the middle of the afternoon while everyone is at work!  #heehee

Tonight I'll try my shot at a California Burrito, but the bar is set pretty low.  A California burrito is just a burrito with fries and guacamole instead of rice and beans.  We'll see what happens.

Why can't people be smarter with computers?   You see a pop up that says "your computer might be infected" and the window does not also say "McAffee or Sophos" and it looks like an internet pop up ad... DONT CLICK ON THE FRIGGIN WINDOW.    It's amazing how many people not only at my job but everywhere think that's a legitimate antivirus warning and then DESTROY their computer with infections.  It is maddening.

That's all from here... I will now spend the rest of my day attempting to repair the aforementioned virus ridden machine.  Til tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

San Francisco is spared...

Hiya folks...

It appears the ticket arrangements for the Giants game fell through and, thus, I'll be staying here in LA this weekend.   I'm saddened that it couldn't work out, but to be fair, it seemed like a long shot anyway.

Very well... on to the next one.

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 16th

We must not speak of that trainwreck that is the San Diego Chargers...

Giants bucked the prediction and won last night 7-1.  It's about time they won a home game and they played great!  The Scutaro injury could be overblown, but that remains to be seen.   I missed the play with Holliday, I'm not sure what his involvement was... unless HE was the guy that dug into Scutaro.  I was bouncing back and forth between this game and the football game, so it got a little hectic.

The price of gas in my neighborhood finally went down.... two cents!  Oi.

I'm announcing a new campaign for the Winter and Spring swim meets coming up:  I want to swim a 50 yard short course freestyle in less than 38 seconds.  My first attempt at this race in 2011 was a good effort, and I finished in 39 seconds.   This year, in February, I finished in 38.06 seconds.   This is going to be a fun challenge!   I will dub the campaign #break38 .  Spread the word!

What's interesting is that if I do such a program, I would need to schedule my events a little differently than usual.  A freestyle intensive program this time around will most likely be the call.  What that means is that I'd like to try one more swim meet this fall to get in a couple of IM events.  Once the spring hits, I'll try to set it up so that the 50 or 100 yard freestyle events are first and then swim any remaining IM events on the schedule.

There's a thing I do with coffee sometimes that approximates a mocha.  The reason I don't just order a mocha at the coffee shop is two fold:  1.  They put too much sugar in it.  2. It costs almost twice as much as a regular coffee.  Well!  When you go over to the cream and sugar station, you get the milk, the sugar, AND the powdered chocolate.  Then, it's possible to mix a custom mocha to taste.  It is terrific!

There's an outside chance I go to San Francisco this weekend, and that chance depends on the Giants.  If the Giants can extend the series to 6 games in baseball's NLCS, a friend and I will be able to travel up to SF for the game and potentially, and I don't want to jinx anything, but potentially there may be free tickets in effect.  I'm not at liberty to divulge the means for how that comes to be, but the point is, if I have a chance to see an NL playoff game (even between two teams I usually don't root for), it would be awesome!

It's a long way from happening, and either the Giants or the Cardinals would have to work their way into a 6 game series first.  I should mention that I like the Giants to win Game 3 on the strength of Matt Cain.  He's not at his best, but I'd give him at least a shot!  Even on the road, doncha think?

I mentioned on tmf.com that it freaks me out how closely Al Michaels lives from my apartment.  Now to add another dimension to this, there are rumblings that his favorite restaurant is literally around the corner and down the street from where I live.   I mean it's just coincidence, and I never factored celebrity houses into where I chose to live, but this is getting trippy now.

And you know what's so wild about all of that?  Al Michaels lives, shops, and eats this close to me and yet I've never seen him!  Not once!   That's probably for the best... who knows what hell I would cast on him by simply saying hello and shaking his hand.   I don't think any person who meets me can avoid  a jinx in some way, shape, or form.

Even people who don't even know me get destroyed.  I never told this story, but last April, when I volunteered to log the times of swimming races at our UCLA Spring Meet, I was working a lane trying to write down the times of swim events using a stop watch.  A partner has his or her own stop watch and also stops it when the swimmer finishes the race.  Then we use these jeopardy style buzzers known as pickles to stop the clock.  All was going well UNTIL, one guy rushed over to the lane after I was chatting up some other lady (I forget who it was, there was a lot going on) and he asks "Is this heat 7?" and the problem is that the scoreboard up top usually doesn't display the current heat until the race is well underway.  That's how I remembered it, but then I wasn't sure so I just went what it said "Heat 6" and said "yea I think it's still heat 6".  So he's like "ok whew I'll calm down."  Then the race starts and theres no guy in our lane!  He was supposed to swim the heat!

The next heat sets up, you get all these guys excited about it coming in and that other dude, realizing he missed the swim, runs over to the judges to complain and suddenly a whole cluster of things happened. The officials had to stop the meet... and completely re-seed everybody in the next heat or so.   People had to switch lanes all over the place.   It was a mess.  Then everybody was messed up... the Heat 8 guys were messed up, the Heat 7 dude was messed up, but it was a very nice thing that the judges managed to get him back in.  I didn't even know you could appeal that.  Usually if you miss your heat, adios!  Man...  I hope everyone forgot about that... I still feel bad for not keeping track of all the heat numbers.

Tonight... it's a new "New Girl" on Fox!  Or is it?  I have no idea, I'll be watching something else.  Unfortunately, I'm still banned from making Yankees-related comments.

Until next time, farewell!

Edit:  Oh Good Lord...  I forgot tonight was the next Presidential Debate!   "New Girl" will need to take a back seat... for a while.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 15th

Before I get into anything... how about THE MOST EPIC TEN SECONDS OF NFL this season?



That was on NFL  Network's Red Zone channel. DIRECTV's Red Zone channel, the one that I watched, had 5% of the excitement of that because they stuck with that Cardinals field goal attempt the whole way.   That was an atrocious job by DIRECTV.    Why didn't they at least do a dual screen with that and the Seahawks game?   Awful.   They usually do a great job but not yesterday.

LOCKS of the Week went 2-1-1.  Geez... LSU can't get out of its own way even in the wins!  Who wins by only 2 points at home in a statement game?  LSU does... they love screwing with its fans.  And how about Stanford getting across the goal line only for it not to count.   Looks like the Fighting Irish are back in more ways than one: the favorable officiating is back too!  Aside from those two slip-ups, it was a perfect week, haha.  Last week I believe LOCKS went 3-1.  I don't know what got into me.

I competed in the UCLA Bruin Masters home swim meet yesterday and really liked my effort!   I got a personal best 43.03 seconds, bear in mind I'm still a novice after 1.5 years of competitive swimming, in doing the 50m freestyle.  I also tried my first ever 100m fly, and finished it in 2:20.51.  Prior to that, I tried a 200m IM, and DQ'd on account of my illegal pull, but would have finished it in 4:18.63.   My final individual event was the 50m butterfly, and by then I was running on fumes.  I finished in 59.84 seconds, which was a good one second slower than my swim a year ago, but I was very happy to finish under a minute.  I noticed my turn at the wall was off too... I really have to explode off that thing, but I was still satisfied.   For those events I got 2nd place in both the 1-fly and the 50-fly.  Pretty sweet.

Then, afterward, I came home and ordered a 17" white pizza from Lamonica's.  Pretty good pizza, but the crust was a bit off its game.   I could tell they were busy because the composition looked a tad rushed.  The crust was not as crispy... there was a dough bubble in the pizza that usually gets popped during baking.  Otherwise, the pizza was tremendous!  Great deal too for $11.37 or so out the door (plus tip).

Giants... well here we go again, all of the media exalting the praise of the Giants after another big game that they did NOT expect for them to win.   Giants fans, I hope you enjoy this win to the fullest because you can bet that let-down game will follow.  It's weird that some people would talk about how dependable Eli Manning is because let's face it, he's equally as prone to turning the ball over as any other QB would be.  Most years he finishes with a few more TD passes than interceptions.  For instance, two years ago he had 31 TD's and 25 interceptions.    With that said, I thought the Giants played WONDERFULLY yesterday.  I think many of us knew all along their defense would come to play and the real question was how would SF react.  Unfortunately the Niners looked shell-shocked.  Or "ogg-shocked," depending on your point of view.  Even for Alex Smith, he had an uncharacteristic 3 interceptions, the most from his arm in 3 years.   It's also interesting that the Giants got 13 points off those turnovers and scored a total of 26.  Half of the Giants points were off those turnovers -- so imagine what would have happened if SF kept the ball on all those possessions.  They NEVER LEARN!  The 49ers, even going back to the NFC Championship preview, I begged, PLEADED of them to not turn the ball over and they'd have more than a chance against NYG.   But no!  They continue to find ways to give it away.   The game would have been much closer had SF just been smarter about the game.

To be fair to New York, one reason this happens is because the Niners can't run the ball against them.  For that you have to give a ton of credit to the Giants' linebackers and linemen.  Fellas like Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, and Mathieas Kiwanuka.  The Giants have a great defense.  My question with NYG was always their ability to move the ball.  It seems like their passing attack is solid, so it then comes down to running plays.   Yesterday the rushing attack was phenomenal.   Ahmad Bradshaw had a monster 116 yards and a touchdown.  I don't think that's going to happen for Bradshaw every game.  That will be the challenge for the Giants the rest of the season:  how to sustain a good running attack to keep defenses honest and sustain consistent offense.   As we all know by now, the one thing the Giants ain't is consistent.  We'll see what happens with them going on.

Niners:  no reason to panic, but I doubt anyone is.   Interestingly enough they've got a game against the Seahawks on Thrusday!  Wow!!

The Packers had a great game at Houston.  Not surprising... that's the NFL for ya.  I still think Houston's defense is pretty good but let's face it, how are they going to adjust to life without Brian Cushing so quickly?  Couple that with the Packers being fired up getting punked by Indy and it was a recipe for a problem in Houston.   Hope Mission Control is not in flames this morning!

I do have baseball thoughts but I think I'm still banned from making Yankees comments.  Just as well.  One exception though:  I feel bad for Derek Jeter.  That looked so painful to see him carried off the field.

Cardinals/Giants:  MAN...  the Cardinals bullpen is even better than I thought!  After nearly choking the lead, that bullpen rescued starter Lance Lynn with something like 5 scoreless innings.  Now that's a bullpen!  Final score:  Cardinals 6, Giants 4.   Cannot wait for Game 2.... oh wow, tonight!

That's a good thing, and I'll explain why right here...


At least we HAVE an MNF game...  It means that the Chargers, who are at home to play the Broncos were once again in danger of having a non-sellout.  Even with the new rule cheapskate Spanos decided to stay with the old policy and was willing to let the NFL blackout the game on TV... but somehow the Chargers got bailed out so there WILL be an NFL game tonight in San Diego.

This actually affects all of us in Southern California because we are all considered a Chargers market.  Had the Chargers failed to sell out, half of the state would be completely hosed.  We all would have had a blackout on ESPN and would have no football to watch tonight.  Can you imagine how pathetic this is?  The Chargers really need to move.   --or be contracted, one of those.  It's such a joke.  I feel bad for loyal Chargers fans, for which there are many, but whatever the case is, the stadium or the market or both cannot support that team anymore.  Maybe they're fed up with Norv.  Maybe they're fed up with the GM.   I can't say.   It's a joke.

That's all for now!  Hope you didn't mind the lengthy column today, but October is truly one of the best sports months of the year.  I have another 19 paragraph blog post in me to write about "October", but another time, folks.  'Til tomorrow!

PS: Cardinals win Game 2, you watch.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Dave's LOCKS of the Week: NFL Wk. 6, NCAA Wk. 7

Here we go for a Columbus Weekend

Dave's (blam!)
LOCKS (splash)
of the Week (conk)

We'll start with College.  There are LOCKS, and then there are absolute layups.   USC at Washington, who are undefeated at home so far (this year they're at CenturyLink Field), will be an easy cover for the Huskies.  Local radio has tried to downplay the Sarkesian angle but this is one coach that has the Trojans figured out.   Let's face it:  USC has not played that differently with their scheme from where they were in the Pete Carroll era.  And the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Once again, the Trojans cannot cover the point spread in any game this year except maybe one.  Once again they had a let-down game against an inferior opponent in a big prime time game on the road (Stanford).  Once again, the Trojans are going to have a good season but bumble what could have been a great one.  Washington should give them a competitive game and should be an easy 12.5 point cover.   Bear in mind, Washington BEAT Stanford at CenturyLink. Washington +12.5 at home.

Next, I love, and I mean LOVE LSU for the outright victory, but officially we'll select the Tigers to cover at Baton Rouge.  The line is a paltry -3.5 and they'll face a very good South Carolina Gamecocks team.  I'm a big fan of the Gamecocks, but while that's true, LSU will have something to prove after losing at Florida the week before.  It would be *unfathomable* to see the Tigers lose two games in a row.  It has been a while since that happened.  In fact, LSU has not lost back to back games since the 2008 season, and that was at the very end of the year against Ole Miss and Arkansas.  Both teams have tremendous defensive talent and the game will be tight.  That extra half point could ruin it, but nonetheless, I'll go Tigers.  LSU -3.5 at home.

Onward to South Bend, where the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are facing the Stanford Cardinal.  I liked what I saw from Golson last week, and their defense continues to be terrific, but I also like Stanford's physical O-line and D-line.  Nunes, their quarterback, is not a good QB.  Even so, I think Stanford can run the ball well and hope to crack into the tough Irish defense.   I don't think Stanford will win per se, but I love the Cardinal to cover +7 on the road.   This is easily the most physical team Notre Dame has played yet, and I am interseted to know whether they're up to the challenge.   Stanford +7.

Lastly to the NFL we go.  A huge game awaits both the Giants and the 49ers at Candlestick.   I can't for the life of me determine why the Niners got a whopping 6.5 points at home against the Giants.  6 1/2 points!!!  I know the Giants are touch and go and a bit overrated, but you can't give the Giants that many points on the road.  I HAVE TO, as a civic duty, take the points and go Giants +6.5.  The G-Men know the formula:  maintain possessions, put the pressure on Alex Smith to throw the ball down field, and try to play smart football.  If the Giants can limit their turnovers and force the Niners to stretch the field, which they're miserable at, I think NYG wins it.  CERTAINLY I think they can keep it close.  Giants +6.5

Enjoy all the games!  Here are the LOCKS again:  Washington +12.5, LSU -3.5, Stanford +7, Giants +6.5.

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 12th

First of all, a Happy Birthday to my little niece!  She turns 3.  I don't think she likes football, but it's not too late to convert.  She loves Minnie Mouse though.

LOCKS of the Week are coming up.  I really blew it by not doing LOCKS yesterday because I saw Tennessee was getting 6 at home vs the Steelers and in my mind it was a layup.  Part of that is my bias against the Steelers old saggy defense, but nonetheless... that was a big point spread for a team that has been a joke on the road all season.  Pit is now 0-3 on the road.  I'm not surprised -- this team can't play defense.

My feeling was the corners and safeties were either too old or two raw.   I think they used Ryan Mundy at Safety to replace him.  Lamarr Woodley was out as well.  Betweeen the injuries and the age, it was clear that pretty much any team with a good QB could exploit the  middle of the field, and the edges, on 3rd down.  Even 3rd and long plays were pretty helpless last night.

I'm honestly suprised the Steelers were in it as long as they were.   It came down to a 52 yard field goal attempt for Kicker Shaun Suisham.  If you're familiar with Suisham, he is essentially worthless from any distance 50 yards or longer.  It was as good as trying to play the hard 8's in craps... pretty much a prop bet at that point.

The Steelers are a miserable team.  It's funny because they're a good offensive team but when your defense is *this* bad, one might figure it's better to cut bait and just play out the season.   I'm not asking Pit to lose games on purpose but, it wouldn't be the end of the world if they finished with a bad record.   Bad record = good draft pick and it's about time for Pit to address their secondary.

For years I moaned about offensive line problems.  It seems that this is now a little better with Pouncey and DeCastro and Colon.  Now to address a defense that has been around a while, perhaps too long.  Linemen and linebackers are solid.  FIX THAT SECONDARY.

Thrilling day in baseball yesterday and with it all came the Giants HUGE Game 5 win at Cincinnati.  I don't even know what to say anymore.  Not only are the Giants the most resilient team I know in the modern age, but the Reds are the complete opposite of that, and I'm going to put a lot of that on Dusty Baker and Walt Jocketty.   First of all... there is no way you can ever trust Jonathan Broxton in any playoff situation.  I don't care if it's the 6th inning, 7th inning or 4th inning.  He sucks!   To acquire him having known his bad performances in recent years in the playoffs is a joke.  I know that Broxton wasn't responsible for losing all three games, but everything turned in that 8th inning on Tuesday.  Now to Dusty Baker... what kind of a moron sends two runners with Hannigan at the plate, liable to strike out needing every run you can get?  You **NEVER** should get the first out at 3rd base!  Common baseball adage!!  NEVER, EVER, EVER!   There's a reason some of the biggest MLB chokes of all time came at the hands of the same manager.

Remember Bartman?  Remember the Ortiz Game ball in the '02 World Series that blew up in their face?   Remember hitting the pitcher against the Mets in 2000?   All of that was Dusty Baker.  I don't even know what more to say about that.  The results speak for themselves.   The Reds were in my opinion the most talented team in the NL playoffs.   Now they don't even get to have a chance at a World Series.  It's a disgrace.

Game 5 of the Yankees series:  I mean, National Media can we give it a rest?  On and on about the lineup and A-Rod and pinch hitting.  I know it was a big story but we're acting like the Yankees are going to be the greatest underdog story of the year.  They really aren't and quite frankly if they were as good as they're hyped to be, they should have put this series away by now.  I honestly don't think the Orioles are that good.

The game itself should be terrific, however, and lots of drama is to follow.  May the better team win.  Not "best"... better.

There's also a big college football schedule this weekend, and I look forward to that.  I won't have time to discuss it all, but I have a feeling LSU is going to beat South Carolina.  I really do.  They're not only at home, but they're trying to make up for the loss at Florida.

Not much to discuss with food, but I wonder if at some point I'll have the good fortune at going to Just BBQ in Ventura.  I'll be visiting family nearby this weekend, and Just BBQ does the tri tip sandwich RIGHT.  They've done it right for nearly 20 years.   I cannot BELIEVE nobody in L.A. can make a tri tip sandwich as good as they do in Ventura/Santa Barbara/Santa Maria.  It really isn't that hard!   1. Get the tri tip.  2. Roast the tri tip on a giant grill, medium rare. 3. Add garlic toast for the bun.  4. Add good BBQ sauce.  And yet, time and time again they do something messed up.  Add sesame seeds to the garlic toast (really?!).   Overcook the meat...   Use a mediocre sauce.  Add toppings that dont need to be there.   Wood Ranch comes closest but again, that strange honey glaze sauce doesn't do it for me.  It's good but it doesn't feel *right.*   Furthermore, Wood Ranch doesn't put enough meat in the sandwich, and likewise, they overcook the meat.

Someday, L.A. will get it... just like Doc Rivers....

Farewell to Beano Cook.  I am going to miss that old curmudgeon.  I do think it's funny that Notre Dame is having its best season in 20 years on the year of his death.  I don't like Notre Dame, but if they can have a great year for Beano, that'd be all right with me.  He was a riot to listen to on ESPN Radio.  Steeler fan too!

Lastly, we bid farewell to the old Wendy's Restaurant logo.  It lasted quite a while, but now it will be replaced by another soft, reader's digest worthy cursive like font.  Meh.  I see enough of these simplistic logos out there.

That's all from here.  LOCKS are coming up later today (probably in the afternoon).

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 11th

The Yankees are surely like little pests.    They're so pesky.  It's like the guy who is "crafty" which means he doesn't really pitch very well, he can't pitch that well, but he's CRAFTY!

Ok, I have no idea what the Yankees really are, but they made a brilliant move last night pinch hitting Ibanez for A-Rod.  HALLELUJAH!  IT'S ABOUT TIME GIRARDI MADE A GOOD MOVE.

And it worked!   Ibanez got HR number 1, ninth inning.  Ibanez got HR number 2, 12th inning.  Yankees, win the Yankees win, etc, blah blah, we've been here before.   The Yanks really should have put this series a way a long time ago.  I watch the Orioles more and more and see that they still aren't ready for the playoffs.   Now they are going to turn to Joe Saunders to save their series.  Good luck!

Giants... wow.  I gotta give it to the Giants: they looked spent and then they came back and put the Reds into a panic.   It takes some serious heart, and serious pitching, to make that happen, and the Giants brought all of it.   Joaquin Arias was a great sparkplug in the latter innings of both games 3 and 4.  Now, we'll see the big finish at 10am Pacific.   Go Reds!

I was speaking to my buddy Kevin on the Cape on the podcast last night about the Chorizo and Cheese burrito I had last night.  It is seriously quite tremendous!   I got it at a place called "Tacos Por Favor".   Wonderful place, good people, and cheaper prices.  The best thing is that it's right by my house near Bundy on Olympic Blvd.

Clearly, all of this rhubarb is probably terrible planning for a swim meet this weekend.   I promised myself to eat healthy and effectively blew my promise.  Blast... ah well.  That chorizo and cheese was worth it!

I'm in a pickle!   I'm leaving tomorrow night to celebrate my niece's 3rd birthday at my Family's house in Oxnard.  It's an hour away from where I live in LA.   However, that means I can't really prepare a meal since I'll be gone for the next two days.  Leftovers would be wasted.   I'll need a cheap meal again tonight.  I'm thinking that Del Taco will be my rescue.   Otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do.   All I have in the fridge is one 4 day old chicken drumstick and some fruit.

Another quadruple header for baseball today, and the A's might be able to come all the way back and win Game 5 later tonight.   It's incredible, really.  How'd they wind up coming back in that game last night?   To be honest, Valverde set the table with his HORRENDOUS outing.  He had nothing, zilch, zero!   So much for that Tigers bullpen, hey?  But I'll tell you, I *still* think the Tigers bullpen is pretty good.   Not only that, but who's to say they won't win game 5?   I don't think the Tigers were all that upset with last night.  They know they're the aggressor in most of these games.   It's pretty close for Detroit, and they still have a ton of talent, especially offensively.

I wish I had more, but I will offer LOCKS of the week later on.  'Til then!

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 10th

We've got a quadruple header in baseball today!  How great is this?  It all starts at 10am with Cardinals/Nationals.   Then, we have Giants/Reds, Orioles/Yankees, and Tigers/A's.

Two things about these Division Series.  First of all, is there any doubt the Giants can come back in this series now?   While the Reds dominated on the road, they seemed equally as vulnerable at home with a chance to close it out.  To be that close to a win and then throw out that gas-bag Broxton to blow it might plant the seed of doubt in the Reds.  It wouldn't surprise me if Cincy lost today with fill-in starter Mike Leake.  LEAKE!!!  He didn't even make the postseason roster and now, because of Cueto's injury, he has been placed into a closeout game.  The only thing that saves the Reds is that Barry Zito will pitch for the Giants.  Man... that could be a brutal game... lots of runs.

The second thing is that with the A's at home, where most of their magic happens, I had this feeling the whole series that they could force a game 5.   I don't think the A's got rattled at all in Games 1 and 2 at Detroit, and each of those games were pretty close anyway.  We'll find out for sure tonight.

 It feels good to be well rested.  Went to bed fairly early (before 10:30pm) and got up about 6:15am.   That's not a LOT of sleep but much better than normal.

It's funny, but there's not much else on my mind.  I have been watching some old TV promos on youtube lately to get a feel for how the masters did it in their day.   Some of the promos were for some MISERABLE shows, like, programs that didn't even last a year.  The best announcers could make even the worst shows exciting.

You know what's weird?    I was watching one such great, Ernie Anderson (R.I.P.), cut a promo during a behind the scenes video and when he records the promo, he has to use the promo copy and work it around an ALREADY set up video montage with the actualities (i.e. sound bites from the shows promoted).  I never realized it was set up that way.  I mean, in animation, usually you record the voices FIRST and then work in the sound bites and music around that.   To have to do it in reverse must be frustrating.  Surely enough, this promo got the better of ol' Ernie (NSFW):



To be fair, I bet he moaned and groaned like this when he did every promo!

Last point -- how bad were those shows on ABC back then?   Some show with John Ritter as a cheap knockoff of "Amen?"  Roseanne (if you like whining this was the place to be)?  Who's the Boss when it was past its prime?

Tonight, some good television (for some of us)... Survivor!   Who survives?   See what I did there?

I still have to catch up with last week's episode!  Did Angie make it?  Did Jeff Kent hang tough?  I'll find out soon enough.  Til next time.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 9th

I'm out of it today.    This is a good time to get waffles or something, but I'm only hungry enough to eat a Granny Smith Green apple.

It's tough to find the right apples out there.   Most of the time when you're at the store, it's possible to get the soggy mushy apples.  Red Delicious apples are the worst offender.   When you get the best apples... crisp and juicy, not bitter, it's a wonderful fruit.  Yet, it seems to happen infrequently enough that I avoid apples most of the year.   In a time like this, the last three months of the year, where Grapes and Peaches and Strawberries go out of season, apples and oranges become your go-to fruits.  

I didn't have time to write about it on Monday, but on Saturday night (this gives you an idea how lame my life is) I wanted to get a jump on grocery shopping at midnight.   I can't even remember what I was doing beforehand OH!  Yes, I was in K-Town for the El Flamin Taco Truck, which was, by the way, very good.

And then on the way home, I thought about getting groceries so I wouldn't have to wake up that early tomorrow morning.  PLUS, I knew that the Ralphs deli would not open until 11am which couldn't work for my schedule with the NFL games on.   I was stuck -- where was I going to get my sandwich meat and cheese?   Then I remembered Izzy's Deli on Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica.   It's a 24 hour deli, so I went for some roast beef and cheddar and boy did they deliver.   Not only did they hook it up in the wee hours, but the  quality of this stuff was wonderful.  Then, I went back to Ralphs for the other groceries and returned home.

I'm not going to do that again, but Izzys was just the best that night.  In fact, now I feel bad for not tipping the meat slicer.  I'm not sure what the convention is for standalone delis, but tipping a dollar wouldn't have killed me.  Next time out I'll remember to tip two dollars.

On a semi-related note:  Why in the heck is Roast Beef so expensive?  In many places it goes for 12-14 dollars a pound.   It's delicious meat, but it's nearly 5 dollars more than comparable ham and turkey.  Go figure.

On yet another semi related note: my plea for beef was answered last night after the podcast with that same roast beef which was still in my fridge.   Took a slice, then took a slice of cheddar, no bread.   It was wonderful.

Sports... Jets hung in there last night, and they should get tons of credit for that.    Not much else to say, although it was obvious Houston did not have its A-game last night.

Baseball...   I hope the Reds can put away the Giants today at Great American Ballpark.   I don't think it happens though -- the Giants have too much heart so I think they'll make it interesting.

That's all I have.  Catch you all later on..

Monday, October 8, 2012

Dave's Thoughts of the Day: October 8th

Long, long day, everyone.  I spend the first 90 minutes of the day moving  a whole storage closet worth of old junk computers and parts, printers, old monitors, etc to the Main HQ office for E-Waste.   This was actually phase TWO of the E-Waste.  Phase 1 took about 2 hours on Friday, and thankfully it hasn't been too busy in the meanwhile.

For that reason, we begin our Thoughts of the Day later than usual.  Hope all is well.

I have nothing bad to say about the Yankees.   They had a clutch performance, the go-ahead HR by Russell Martin, good pitching from CC Sabathia, and timely hitting.   It's everything I thought they couldn't do in the playoffs.  Color me corrected.  Game 2 is tonight.

I was really disappointed in my lunch choice yesterday and it set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.  I got the grocery store chicken again but I did not get a fresh batch.  I should have just gone for it and gotten pizza or McDonald's or something.   The un-fresh chicken was a little dry, a little tasteless, and just one day long disappointment.

Let's face it, most of the NFL games yesterday were a big bore.   The two games that were exciting were the GB/Indy game and then later, the SD/NO game at night.   I knew the Saints would win here.  They were due.  Too many close games going the other way, and with the talent they had, and with it being at home against San Diego, they were bound for a win.   So it has happened.  Now as for the rest of the season, I have no idea what the Saints will do.  Probably lose.

That's just as well: the Saints are becoming the most hated team in the NFL.

The Giants' horrendous series against the Reds so far: The Giants were embarrassed enough, there's no point in piling on.

I like how I wrote the other day "Drew Brees is great because he spreads the ball around," then I saw Marques Colston get all the big catches last night in the game.

I've got NCAA thoughts but they're so long and wordy I won't have time to write them.  I'll say this much: Georgia got exposed on Saturday.  I don't think it's Aaron Murray's fault really... I just think the Bulldogs as a whole were in over their heads.   SCAR ftw.  That is "South Carolina" football for the laymen.

Rutgers... their defense is terrific.  What else can I say?

LSU -- typical.

Washington State at Oregon State.  DID I CALL THAT??  I knew Oregon State would struggle to score and surely enough, the final score was 19-6.  The Beavers still won but it was much closer than others might thin k.

Oregon -- I'm waiting for them to play a physical team, but so far they've been tremendous!

Florida State -- wow.  Really??

Notre Dame -- Best ND defense in at least a decade.  Great win.

UCLA -- can't even beat the struggling CAL!  For shame!

'Bama -- much needed week off.   They could have been clipped too the way things were going.

Florida -- improving every week.  Huge win.

Nebraska -- a joke.  Never count on them to win a big game.

---

Jets at Texans.   ........well, it is the Texans.  And similar to a lot of teams in the NFL, it's right when you start to get comfortable with a front running team that they play a let-down game.  This could be that game.  Kubiak is an awful coach.  Here's the thing... the Texans have had some blowout wins on their way to their current 4-0 record.  What is going to happen when their opponent hangs around in a game?  If the Jets keep it close, watch for some "excitement" with the Texans.

--I'm just sayin'!

That's all I have for now.  Enjoy the Monday Night game tonight.

CORRECTION:  The game is at the Jets, so it's Texans at Jets tonight, rather than the other way around.  As it stands, the Jets are 9.5 point underdogs at HOME.  That's incredible.