Dave's Thoughts of the Day: December 6th

Hope everyone's doing well for a Thursday.

I'll tell ya, this week has gone very quickly.   I'm mentally prepping myself for a small move for my sister's new apartment.   My sister got a new apartment in our home town of Oxnard, CA.  The rest of the family, some friends of theirs, and I will be moving things into the apartment.   She won't have a ton of new furniture, but she did have a couple of dressers in effect.  Oh those pesky dressers!

Did you all know I don't have a dresser in my apartment?  I have a good amount of closet space so I just use that instead, plus there are some shelves within some of the closets.   It's an unusual thing because almost everyone has dressers but I've long tried to avoid them.  Moving a dresser is a pain in the rear, so I like that there's one less thing to worry about whenever I move.

Once I get a house, I'll have no choice but to get a dresser, but for now, do the dance!

Congratulations to Kobe for getting 30,000 points.   Not surprisingly, ESPN ran with this and did the "5 greatest players" schtick.  I will say this: as Lakers go, I still have to put Magic Johnson as the greatest Laker of all time.   Kobe has had a great career, but Magic Johnson literally revived the NBA along with Larry Bird.  Magic also electrified crowds night after night, and he made his team mates better.  The NBA itself was tougher and deeper in the 80's, I think, and to go out to the old Boston Garden and take down the Celtics in the Finals is one of the all time great feats.   Kobe *never* had any atmosphere that matched the old Boston Garden in the 1980's.  Maybe Madison Square Garden.   By the time he came into the league the Bulls moved from Chicago Stadium to the anti-septic United Center.  The best I could come up with was when the Lakers, WITH Shaq by the way, used to get tossed around at the Delta Center against the Utah Jazz.  Now that was a tough place, hell, IS a tough place to play!   Yet, it's still not Old Boston Garden.

You wouldn't think that a Chorizo and Cheese Burrito and a hot chocolate would have anything in common, but last night before the podcast those things went together so well.  One of the best combos I've had in a long time!

Heisman Watch:  I *want* Johnny Manziel to win.   I *think* Manti T'eo is the odds on favorite to win.  I *suspect* Colin Klein will win the award for real.   The voters would never let a freshman win the Heisman (dumb, but true, I know).   T'eo has the name brand value but he plays defense.  Thus, Klein will win by default.  Heck even T'eo would be winning by default since the field wasn't that great this year.

Imagine if the Chargers beat the Steelers this weekend?  Wouldn't surprise me.

Pretty soon it will be my Dad's birthday.  I'm so proud of him, and what he's done.  He's a great father to me, and a funny guy.  I dare you to talk to him for a while and not laugh once.  He's a character!

One thing I wanted to do, over my lifetime, was go to Disneyland on my own and explore for myself.   It's the most random thing ever.   Today, I don't think it's possible.   Primarily, I can't do it because Disneyland tickets are so damn expensive!   I think the discounted price is about 75 bones.  That's way too much to pay to see a few Mickey Mouses and this land and that land.

There are many more great attractions you can see for less than 75 bucks.   Take the Warner Brothers V.I.P. Studio Tour for 50 bucks.  It's entirely worth it, and a unique experience.  You really get into the teeth of the studio, into the back lot, you get to go inside one of the sound stages, and check out some awesome props.  

Universal Studios is about 60 bucks or so.  Vastly enjoyable.    Good rides, less crowds, the famous Universal Tram Tour with all its little familiar quirks (the fake Jaws, King Kong, the courthouse from Back to the Future), plus some new twists.    The food at Universal is remarkably good, you wouldn't believe it.  I also enjoy the stage shows... the people on these stage shows are pros, as they should be at a movie studio.

Even a Lakers game costs less than 75 bucks.  If you hold out for a mid-week game, or look for a lesser opponent you can get an upper deck seat for much less than 75.   It's way up there in altitude, but the Laker experience is not one to forget.

Even the Dodger Stadium Tour is worth a good 50 bucks, but they only charge FIFTEEN for a guided tour.  Any tourist would find this tour with their while if there was time for it.  I believe the tour runs about an hour.

That's all for now.  We'll do it again tomorrow!  --'til then..