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.