First of all, I want to apologize to my podcast audience for the LA Tourist reference on the podcast during "Random Questions." I was trying to illustrate how sketchy Downtown LA is, but it was in bad taste.
Aside from that, what a great podcast we had last night! The podcast is at blogtalkradio.com/daveinthecity and my buddy "A Couple Quickies" was phenomenal. Mike in North NJ was phenomenal! The Junk Man: phenomenal.
I really hope Junkie gets to go to that tmf.com meetup at Mohegan Sun. Imagine how thrilled our colleagues will be to see him?
It might be time to de-scale my Keurig machine. I'm about a year overdue. My coffee is starting to taste like rocks... yes, I think it's about time, haha.
Oh man, crazy story getting up to the office this morning. I'm going up the stairwell in the building and a lady behind me says hello. I thought "who is this attractive cougar saying hi to me?" Then I turned around and it was my new MSO upstairs. Would you believe it??
She's very nice. Very tall too, I believe she's Russian. In all honesty she's not an actual "cougar" but I wasn't paying attention at the time so I thought she was some stranger hitting on me... but no, she's my manager, just doing her duty.
I believe tomorrow will be the day I begin my smog inspection/repair. I'll bring the car into the shop near my apartment and cross my fingers. I'm just waiting for an 800 dollar estimate. I'm telling you, this is going to end the life of my car. I will *not* pay 800 bones to make smog adjustments.
Yesterday, the highlight of my day was getting Oreo cookies. When the highlight of your whole workday is Oreos, that's not a good day.
It was brutal... that afternoon. A huge name in Art was doing a presentation, and I did everything I could to set up the projector and computer properly, and *then* after I left I get a phone call from one of my professors: They don't have a microphone. Oi!!!! That wasn't my fault! Microphones are usually reserved through our Administrative unit and AVS. That was frustrating... you'll have days like that where you do everything right and the project still fails because of an issue out of your control.
What do you do when you have a bad day like that? I've had mechanisms to counteract bad days or depressing moments in the past. The podcast I do each week is honestly a very good mechanism after bad days. Bad *podcasts* however are especially brutal. Those happen extremely rarely but when you're into one, you know. I think we're over a year since the last such podcast, thankfully.
What do you get when every show is a bad show? "Three Wise Men" on TV 34 Montclair.
I gotta say, the apples I got at Ralphs this week are amazing! They're pretty big Red Delicious apples... they have a little lighter taste to them but they are so fresh and juicy. Really good! Not mushy at all. Mad props to Ralphs.
In Los Angeles, TV 34 is KMEX, the Spanish Language station and Univision affiliate. My family, specifically on my Dad's side with the relatives, grew up with that station. It's a little weird though because they outsource seemingly 90% of their programming from Mexico's Televisa TV network. The other 10% is Primer Impacto, Sabado Gigante, Cristina, and I think Despierta America.
They also have/used to have (I haven't checked) this show called "El Gordo y La Flaca." You know what? That show is hilarious! It's an entertainment/gab show featuring, well, a really skinny lady and a *HUGE* man. Then like, half way into the show, some random girl in a thong joins the fat dude in the hot tub. This is every show!
All right folks, now I'm pumped up. In fact the Honda Classic starts today! I got torched pretty well last night by my buddy Mike for not staying up to speed on McIlroy. The dude, meaning McIlroy, needs to get with the program. He has all this talent and then goes into swoons every year. Will you please?? You're too young to be doing this!
A good day's ahead. My sympathies to all the listeners of WFAN and the upcoming Franceser and Sweeny Program. Ouch. Any takers for Felger and Maz? Mason and Ireland?
That's all from here, see you tomorrow!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 27th
I am thoroughly enjoying the response to the Fast Food Bracket Tournament so far. Tons of debate and other complaints, along with some exciting voteable matchups. It's been tons of fun to watch.
We could be on the cusp of a 15-2 upset but it's not the one you thought! Some may have pegged #2 Subway to lose out to their opponent but instead it's #2 Starbucks in the Pizza/Misc. region that's losing to Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza of all places!
More to come from the bracket, and remember, to vote, you can go to themikefrancesa.com and register now. You can find the Fast Food tournament in the "Misc Sports" section.
Indiana is Ranked #1 but not in the Fast Food Bracket but in the NCAA Top 25 poll for basketball. Last night, they lost to a desperate Minnesota team on the road 77-73. It is *unbelievable*.... can you believe Minnesota scored 77 points? Usually they do that in two games.
I knew Indiana was going to lose that #1 sooner or later. College has been that crazy this year. Nobody holds onto number #1 for more than a week or two at a time. Who's Number One now?
Speaking of things hard to believe, can you believe the Miami Heat took two overtimes to put away the woeful Sacramento Kings in Miami? They won anyway -- it takes a great team to win even when not playing one's best.
I'm ashamed to admit I have no exciting events from yesterday to share this morning. I do have to admit, it blew my mind when I realized that Oroweat bread is sold on the East Coast as "Arnold" bread.
There are a lot of companies like that: they use one name to designate their products in one region and a different one to represent companies somewhere else. I don't get it... you can tell it's the exact same things. Is the purpose of this a method for divesting assets? A way to constitute separate companies to prevent a monopoly on paper?
More things I'm ashamed to admit: I actually find dry ramen noodles pretty tasty. It's like eating a form of chips or crackers. It's nuts. I don't eat entire packages of ramen this way, but you take a few loose noodles and pop em in your mouth before cooking and it's delicious.
Today we have a going away party for one of our uppers at work. He asked to do a cookie party so I am happy to provide for the occasion. Everyone is bringing cookies to this thing. My choice: Oreos. Not only tasty, and abundant, but pretty cheap too. I believe our co workers will be pleased.
Most of my peers and I, in all honesty, are relieved that said person is moving on to other things. I think there were only so many office scavenger hunts we could take under his watch. I'm not sure if he was very helpful at all, instead delegating work to others, but no point in going over this now.
I wonder if there's anyone out there that hates Oreos... most people I know either love them or don't care about 'em. I would find that person intriguing. I'd like to ask what one doesn't like about the Oreo?
The Oreo cookie does seem loaded with saturated fat... but even so, I think it's palatable in moderation.
Sunshine's Hydrox cookie actually came *first.* The Oreo was an imitation of **that**. Somehow Oreo became the dominant brand anyway. I bet a lot of grocery shoppers were unaware! I was until I read about it last month.
One other personal note: I have been starting Sharepoint Training on Lynda.com. Lynda is a website offering training and how-tos on every conceivable software solution in America. Most of these are offered in video "courses." I currently am engaged in the "Getting Started with Sharepoint."
I suddenly got a great interest in Sharepoint because I use it already as an end user and really want to learn how to make my own Sharepoint sites. It somehow combines MS Office with SQL Database, Internet Explorer, and even a form of Wordpress to set up workspaces, document repositories, image collections, and web sites. Powerful stuff. I want to create an improved ticketing system, for one thing, but more importantly, it came to my attention that there are jobs that specialize in Sharepoint.
Sharepoint seems much more intuitive than SQL Server ever was. I'd love to be a Sharepoint administrator someday, or a systems analyst.
To do all that with just Sharepoint could be quite enjoyable, challenging, and interesting. The training courses at Lynda so far have been very good. More to come.
Until then, I'll keep doing what I do, with some fun side projects like a 64 entry Fast Food bracket, hee hee.
The increased focus on Sharepoint is probably going to decrease the time and effort I put into following sports, but I'll still stay up to date on all the big sports. For example, the Honda Classic for Golf starts on Thursday and I'll look forward to it.
I also look forward to rest, and it is now time to rest my blogging for the day. Back tomorrow with more. See you soon!
We could be on the cusp of a 15-2 upset but it's not the one you thought! Some may have pegged #2 Subway to lose out to their opponent but instead it's #2 Starbucks in the Pizza/Misc. region that's losing to Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza of all places!
More to come from the bracket, and remember, to vote, you can go to themikefrancesa.com and register now. You can find the Fast Food tournament in the "Misc Sports" section.
Indiana is Ranked #1 but not in the Fast Food Bracket but in the NCAA Top 25 poll for basketball. Last night, they lost to a desperate Minnesota team on the road 77-73. It is *unbelievable*.... can you believe Minnesota scored 77 points? Usually they do that in two games.
I knew Indiana was going to lose that #1 sooner or later. College has been that crazy this year. Nobody holds onto number #1 for more than a week or two at a time. Who's Number One now?
Speaking of things hard to believe, can you believe the Miami Heat took two overtimes to put away the woeful Sacramento Kings in Miami? They won anyway -- it takes a great team to win even when not playing one's best.
I'm ashamed to admit I have no exciting events from yesterday to share this morning. I do have to admit, it blew my mind when I realized that Oroweat bread is sold on the East Coast as "Arnold" bread.
There are a lot of companies like that: they use one name to designate their products in one region and a different one to represent companies somewhere else. I don't get it... you can tell it's the exact same things. Is the purpose of this a method for divesting assets? A way to constitute separate companies to prevent a monopoly on paper?
More things I'm ashamed to admit: I actually find dry ramen noodles pretty tasty. It's like eating a form of chips or crackers. It's nuts. I don't eat entire packages of ramen this way, but you take a few loose noodles and pop em in your mouth before cooking and it's delicious.
Today we have a going away party for one of our uppers at work. He asked to do a cookie party so I am happy to provide for the occasion. Everyone is bringing cookies to this thing. My choice: Oreos. Not only tasty, and abundant, but pretty cheap too. I believe our co workers will be pleased.
Most of my peers and I, in all honesty, are relieved that said person is moving on to other things. I think there were only so many office scavenger hunts we could take under his watch. I'm not sure if he was very helpful at all, instead delegating work to others, but no point in going over this now.
I wonder if there's anyone out there that hates Oreos... most people I know either love them or don't care about 'em. I would find that person intriguing. I'd like to ask what one doesn't like about the Oreo?
The Oreo cookie does seem loaded with saturated fat... but even so, I think it's palatable in moderation.
Sunshine's Hydrox cookie actually came *first.* The Oreo was an imitation of **that**. Somehow Oreo became the dominant brand anyway. I bet a lot of grocery shoppers were unaware! I was until I read about it last month.
One other personal note: I have been starting Sharepoint Training on Lynda.com. Lynda is a website offering training and how-tos on every conceivable software solution in America. Most of these are offered in video "courses." I currently am engaged in the "Getting Started with Sharepoint."
I suddenly got a great interest in Sharepoint because I use it already as an end user and really want to learn how to make my own Sharepoint sites. It somehow combines MS Office with SQL Database, Internet Explorer, and even a form of Wordpress to set up workspaces, document repositories, image collections, and web sites. Powerful stuff. I want to create an improved ticketing system, for one thing, but more importantly, it came to my attention that there are jobs that specialize in Sharepoint.
Sharepoint seems much more intuitive than SQL Server ever was. I'd love to be a Sharepoint administrator someday, or a systems analyst.
To do all that with just Sharepoint could be quite enjoyable, challenging, and interesting. The training courses at Lynda so far have been very good. More to come.
Until then, I'll keep doing what I do, with some fun side projects like a 64 entry Fast Food bracket, hee hee.
The increased focus on Sharepoint is probably going to decrease the time and effort I put into following sports, but I'll still stay up to date on all the big sports. For example, the Honda Classic for Golf starts on Thursday and I'll look forward to it.
I also look forward to rest, and it is now time to rest my blogging for the day. Back tomorrow with more. See you soon!
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 26th
We have our new bracket tournament for 2013. This year we're doing Fast Food Restaurants. Here's a link to the brackets themselves: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3314585/fast-food-restaurants-bracket-2013.htm
The PDF version is here: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3314585/fast-food-restaurants-bracket-2013.pdf
Enjoy! We'll open up voting soon at themikefrancesa.com. Once I have it all set up, voting for each round will close on Saturday of that week.
Onward fellas...
I was watching NFL clips on YouTube last night and by chance I saw the 1986 Monday Night Football opener. Frank Gifford and..... Al Michaels. This was Michaels' first MNF regular season game, and to date he has continued covering the prime time showcase game, both MNF and today's Sunday Night Football. On that night the Giants played the Cowboys at Dallas. Now how crazy would it be if Michaels' final Sunday Night Football game was also Giants at Cowboys?
You'd think the odds for that were long but let's be fair, the Giants play the Cowboys every other week on SNF, so probably not.
Smog Check update: The Smog Test failed yesterday. I'm really worried. I will have to take the car into a Smog Inspection Repair station which, thankfully, is only about three blocks from where my apartment is. However, the odds are pretty good the Catalytic Converter is fried. The *part* for a new Cat Converter is 200 bones. Just the part! If they deem that as a necessary replacement I might throw in the towel and get a new car.
It felt like a funeral last night when I got home. I don't want to leave my 1994 Camry. The Camry and I have been through a lot together... college... Santa Barbara... impromptu trips to San Francisco. Wild times. I never had a pet, but the Camry comes pretty close to an all time great pet. The Camry was loyal, dependable, and always there for me. Pretty much nothing else in life was as good as my car. The test failure was because of the unbelievably high HC levels. I think the average is like 42... (at 15 mph). Max is 84... my car rated HCs at 140 ppm, oi.
If this is the end, farewell Camry. It was a great ride.
Now if you want to talk about something that ran out of gas, that was the Lakers last night in Denver. 119-108 Denver, your final score. It was as predictable a game as I've seen this year. The Lake Show was playing a game on back to back nights. The only reason I bring this up, as I didn't see the game, is because I really pondered putting every dollar I had on Nuggets -7.5. Damn... I would have *nailed* that bet wouldn't I have?
What if I don't have a car for the next two months? This is really getting dicey now: no cable/satellite and no car. This would be less of a problem if I lived in basically *any other metropolitan area in the world other than Los Angeles.* Effectively, places with better public transportation. It's improving but LA still has a long way to go.
By the way, I'm feeling pretty good about the no Satellite deal so far. I looked at my latest credit card statement and it's incredibly lower than usual. Couple that with the increased number of bones in the bank account and we are stylin' my friends.
I want to give an atta boy to everyone who has been keeping up with NFL Combine coverage. Only the NFL... you have a bunch of guys in tight t-shirts running up and down a straight line and this gets ratings. If any other sport tried that, like the NBA draft prospects layup drills show or something, nobody would watch.
Jennifer Lawrence... I think I got the name right... everyone's favorite anyone? She seems like a girl you could find out on the street in any town. That is a *cool* thing my friends. In a sense, the "Happy Gilmour" of acting. I'm rooting for her too fellas.
I think that's all I got. Have a good one everybody!
The PDF version is here: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3314585/fast-food-restaurants-bracket-2013.pdf
Enjoy! We'll open up voting soon at themikefrancesa.com. Once I have it all set up, voting for each round will close on Saturday of that week.
Onward fellas...
I was watching NFL clips on YouTube last night and by chance I saw the 1986 Monday Night Football opener. Frank Gifford and..... Al Michaels. This was Michaels' first MNF regular season game, and to date he has continued covering the prime time showcase game, both MNF and today's Sunday Night Football. On that night the Giants played the Cowboys at Dallas. Now how crazy would it be if Michaels' final Sunday Night Football game was also Giants at Cowboys?
You'd think the odds for that were long but let's be fair, the Giants play the Cowboys every other week on SNF, so probably not.
Smog Check update: The Smog Test failed yesterday. I'm really worried. I will have to take the car into a Smog Inspection Repair station which, thankfully, is only about three blocks from where my apartment is. However, the odds are pretty good the Catalytic Converter is fried. The *part* for a new Cat Converter is 200 bones. Just the part! If they deem that as a necessary replacement I might throw in the towel and get a new car.
It felt like a funeral last night when I got home. I don't want to leave my 1994 Camry. The Camry and I have been through a lot together... college... Santa Barbara... impromptu trips to San Francisco. Wild times. I never had a pet, but the Camry comes pretty close to an all time great pet. The Camry was loyal, dependable, and always there for me. Pretty much nothing else in life was as good as my car. The test failure was because of the unbelievably high HC levels. I think the average is like 42... (at 15 mph). Max is 84... my car rated HCs at 140 ppm, oi.
If this is the end, farewell Camry. It was a great ride.
Now if you want to talk about something that ran out of gas, that was the Lakers last night in Denver. 119-108 Denver, your final score. It was as predictable a game as I've seen this year. The Lake Show was playing a game on back to back nights. The only reason I bring this up, as I didn't see the game, is because I really pondered putting every dollar I had on Nuggets -7.5. Damn... I would have *nailed* that bet wouldn't I have?
What if I don't have a car for the next two months? This is really getting dicey now: no cable/satellite and no car. This would be less of a problem if I lived in basically *any other metropolitan area in the world other than Los Angeles.* Effectively, places with better public transportation. It's improving but LA still has a long way to go.
By the way, I'm feeling pretty good about the no Satellite deal so far. I looked at my latest credit card statement and it's incredibly lower than usual. Couple that with the increased number of bones in the bank account and we are stylin' my friends.
I want to give an atta boy to everyone who has been keeping up with NFL Combine coverage. Only the NFL... you have a bunch of guys in tight t-shirts running up and down a straight line and this gets ratings. If any other sport tried that, like the NBA draft prospects layup drills show or something, nobody would watch.
Jennifer Lawrence... I think I got the name right... everyone's favorite anyone? She seems like a girl you could find out on the street in any town. That is a *cool* thing my friends. In a sense, the "Happy Gilmour" of acting. I'm rooting for her too fellas.
I think that's all I got. Have a good one everybody!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 25th
I could be in huuuuuuuuuuge trouble.
I was loafing on my DMV Car Renewal because I said "I have all the way until the 26th." So I went online last night to pay only to find out they're making me get my smog test *first* before I get to pay the fees online. Oh da pain.
Why did I punt on doing a smog check earlier??? Now I would be forced to either go during lunch time or some other weird business. I had a great chance at it on Saturday morning, and instead I was preoccupied with finding new wiper blades. Dumb.
I did, however, get an oil change, so good news there. I am such a moron. The good news is, my nearest smog check station is really close to my home... barely 3 blocks away.
At least I had a good pizza last night from Lamonicas. Consolation. The only issue is that the crust was not crispy enough, oiiiii...
Seth McRipoff hosting an Oscars Telecast... oi.
Was that harsh? Ok, "ripoff" might be strong, but considering many Family Guy episodes rip off Simpsons' plotlines, it gets close.
Ian Poulter getting done in by wind at the WGC Match Play tournament. Oi.
The Chicago Bulls against the Heat and Thunder on the same weekend. Oi.
Matt Kuchar winning the WGC Match Play tournament? Do the dance! I was so happy for Kooch. Came so close a year ago only to lose to Hunter Mahan. This year, sweet revenge.
Odds of Kooch winning the Honda Classic next week? Very low, assuming he plays. But if he does AND he wins, I'm going to send a chicken to Mike in North Jersey. I'll be pumped up.
Speaking of "chicken" I bet my work colleague is feeling confident about his chicken meal playoffs bet with me after the Lakers came up huge this weekend. Not only fighting off Portland but Dallas too, all working to get that 8th seed along with the Lakers. No negativity this time, LAL showed stones. Howard was beasting these last two games. Even so, it's a little outrageous to expect this for another 10-15 games. Case in point: Denver. The Lakers must be so worn out after back to back emotional wins. Usually in that spot, they get pounced by the Nuggets... and in a back to back situation, it'd be almost impossible... but to the Lake Show, best of luck!
The LA Kings are above .500! Would you believe it? I think they may have a game coming up tonight, but on Wednesday a huge showdown with Detroit at Staples. Could get juicy.
Nothing beats a juicy chicken, and on Saturday night, I was with my family celebrating my Grandparents' 54th wedding anniversary. We were at this Mediterranean restaurant called "Fresco II." Now get this: they have two restaurants named Fresco II... the one in the Marina by Oxnard and their first location in Palmdale. Why are BOTH of these restaurants called "Fresco II?" If they're both Fresco II........... then what happened to Fresco I??
I digress... at Fresco II v. 2.0, which would more sensibly be called Fresco III but I don't make the rules, I got the Greek Chicken... and my goodness was this thing huge. It was listed as half a chicken but it sure felt like the whole thing to me. So juicy, so good, and served with steamed veggies and a delicious garlic mash. That's a plateful of heaven, folks.
'twas a good time, and I'm really happy for my Grandparents. They really have a good level of trust for each other.
Oscar talk? Meh, there are plenty of other blogs for that. I would be a horrendous authority on motion pictures anyway. I saw a grand total of 3 films all of last *year.* Despite that, I'll once again announce the Oscar winners on our next podcast, as we have done every year. Usually I get another guest on to break down the show. Volunteers?
Barbara Streisand ruined whatever enjoyment of the telecast I had last night. I mean who else in the universe can take over a memoriam of dead entertainment figures and turn it into her own personal showcase? It's not often you see someone upstage a DEAD guy like poor Marvin Hamlisch (R.I.P.). Gee whiz.
I think that's all I've got today before Streisand hacks the blog and does some number about Stars being born. You thought other people hijacked the program in their day?!
The South Park people had it right. Dave out. Catch you all tomorrow!
I was loafing on my DMV Car Renewal because I said "I have all the way until the 26th." So I went online last night to pay only to find out they're making me get my smog test *first* before I get to pay the fees online. Oh da pain.
Why did I punt on doing a smog check earlier??? Now I would be forced to either go during lunch time or some other weird business. I had a great chance at it on Saturday morning, and instead I was preoccupied with finding new wiper blades. Dumb.
I did, however, get an oil change, so good news there. I am such a moron. The good news is, my nearest smog check station is really close to my home... barely 3 blocks away.
At least I had a good pizza last night from Lamonicas. Consolation. The only issue is that the crust was not crispy enough, oiiiii...
Seth McRipoff hosting an Oscars Telecast... oi.
Was that harsh? Ok, "ripoff" might be strong, but considering many Family Guy episodes rip off Simpsons' plotlines, it gets close.
Ian Poulter getting done in by wind at the WGC Match Play tournament. Oi.
The Chicago Bulls against the Heat and Thunder on the same weekend. Oi.
Matt Kuchar winning the WGC Match Play tournament? Do the dance! I was so happy for Kooch. Came so close a year ago only to lose to Hunter Mahan. This year, sweet revenge.
Odds of Kooch winning the Honda Classic next week? Very low, assuming he plays. But if he does AND he wins, I'm going to send a chicken to Mike in North Jersey. I'll be pumped up.
Speaking of "chicken" I bet my work colleague is feeling confident about his chicken meal playoffs bet with me after the Lakers came up huge this weekend. Not only fighting off Portland but Dallas too, all working to get that 8th seed along with the Lakers. No negativity this time, LAL showed stones. Howard was beasting these last two games. Even so, it's a little outrageous to expect this for another 10-15 games. Case in point: Denver. The Lakers must be so worn out after back to back emotional wins. Usually in that spot, they get pounced by the Nuggets... and in a back to back situation, it'd be almost impossible... but to the Lake Show, best of luck!
The LA Kings are above .500! Would you believe it? I think they may have a game coming up tonight, but on Wednesday a huge showdown with Detroit at Staples. Could get juicy.
Nothing beats a juicy chicken, and on Saturday night, I was with my family celebrating my Grandparents' 54th wedding anniversary. We were at this Mediterranean restaurant called "Fresco II." Now get this: they have two restaurants named Fresco II... the one in the Marina by Oxnard and their first location in Palmdale. Why are BOTH of these restaurants called "Fresco II?" If they're both Fresco II........... then what happened to Fresco I??
I digress... at Fresco II v. 2.0, which would more sensibly be called Fresco III but I don't make the rules, I got the Greek Chicken... and my goodness was this thing huge. It was listed as half a chicken but it sure felt like the whole thing to me. So juicy, so good, and served with steamed veggies and a delicious garlic mash. That's a plateful of heaven, folks.
'twas a good time, and I'm really happy for my Grandparents. They really have a good level of trust for each other.
Oscar talk? Meh, there are plenty of other blogs for that. I would be a horrendous authority on motion pictures anyway. I saw a grand total of 3 films all of last *year.* Despite that, I'll once again announce the Oscar winners on our next podcast, as we have done every year. Usually I get another guest on to break down the show. Volunteers?
Barbara Streisand ruined whatever enjoyment of the telecast I had last night. I mean who else in the universe can take over a memoriam of dead entertainment figures and turn it into her own personal showcase? It's not often you see someone upstage a DEAD guy like poor Marvin Hamlisch (R.I.P.). Gee whiz.
I think that's all I've got today before Streisand hacks the blog and does some number about Stars being born. You thought other people hijacked the program in their day?!
The South Park people had it right. Dave out. Catch you all tomorrow!
Friday, February 22, 2013
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 22nd
Fellow Lakers fans, can you calm down please? This team is STILL not good enough to make the playoffs.
In fact, I bet my co-worker a fried chicken meal that they would not make the playoffs. If they get in, I'll pay up. It wouldn't be a bad outcome, I suppose, but even if the Lakers made it, what is their ceiling? 2 playoff wins? I'm not sure, fellas.
My buddy Andrew and I are organizing a Spring Training trip in March. Here's an interesting wrinkle: What if the Suns play a home game during the same weekend? I'm going to go in and buy tickets to that if they're in town. The Suns are pretty bad, so prices for the game would be decent. More to come on that one...
I had a wild Happy Hour last night with said buddy Andrew. We really pounded beverages and seafood out there. It got loopy.
Some of that loopiness carried into the podcast last night. I said "I missed the intro I should have been here!" That's not what I was *supposed* to say. I meant to say "Was that the intro? I should have been here!" It's a reference to the Wings song "C Moon."
Junk Man hates Wings... he hates Paul McCartney. I think he likes Buffalo Wings, though.
Can you imagine that Buffalo used to have an NBA team? They were called the Buffalo Braves... with the powder blue unis... it was a bitchin' idea.
That same team today is the Clippers and they moved out here in 1984. In 2013 they got their ass handed to them by the Spurs. I'm telling you, the whole "Lob City" is good for old fun and games but if they don't have the meat and potatoes offense to go with it they will get done in very quickly. I'll be honest: I didn't see the game, but I can only imagine it went like any other game LAC plays against rugged competition.
That yields a big misconception about the "Showtime Lakers" of the 80's. Everyone thinks all they did was run fast breaks up and down the floor, but that was a means to an end. First of all, every fast break was predicated by great defense, good pressure from the likes of Michael Cooper and Byron Scott, and then later on Mychal Thompson and A.C. Green. This isn't unlike what the Heat do today: defense breeds offense. Secondly, at least half of the Lakers' possessions were strict half court sets in which the ball was fed into the post, meaning Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
As long as I'm at it, I need to express how spoiled we all were as basketball fans to see the Lakers execute a fast break so well in those days. 3 on 1's were automatic. Ever see most teams attempt a 3 on 1 today? it's just a joke... either the ball gets fumbled out of bounds or the wing man is so slow to react that it reverts to a transition 3 point shot... or even worse, it reverts to a half court set. That's not what the fast break was meant to do!!
We're celebrating my Grandparents' wedding anniversary this weekend. I'm so blessed to have them both (the ones on my Mom's side) still alive and well. Certainly they are doing well for their age, as they each approach the age of 80.
I also would say that in life, age is relative. To pose an example... John Wooden died at 99, but he was with it until the very very end. He never really gave me the impression that he lost any part of his wit. The man was a true legend. On the other hand, Mike Francesa is still in his 50s and he is about one stage away from being senile. It really makes me think.
Short posting today due to the other items, but hope you have a great weekend!
In fact, I bet my co-worker a fried chicken meal that they would not make the playoffs. If they get in, I'll pay up. It wouldn't be a bad outcome, I suppose, but even if the Lakers made it, what is their ceiling? 2 playoff wins? I'm not sure, fellas.
My buddy Andrew and I are organizing a Spring Training trip in March. Here's an interesting wrinkle: What if the Suns play a home game during the same weekend? I'm going to go in and buy tickets to that if they're in town. The Suns are pretty bad, so prices for the game would be decent. More to come on that one...
I had a wild Happy Hour last night with said buddy Andrew. We really pounded beverages and seafood out there. It got loopy.
Some of that loopiness carried into the podcast last night. I said "I missed the intro I should have been here!" That's not what I was *supposed* to say. I meant to say "Was that the intro? I should have been here!" It's a reference to the Wings song "C Moon."
Junk Man hates Wings... he hates Paul McCartney. I think he likes Buffalo Wings, though.
Can you imagine that Buffalo used to have an NBA team? They were called the Buffalo Braves... with the powder blue unis... it was a bitchin' idea.
That same team today is the Clippers and they moved out here in 1984. In 2013 they got their ass handed to them by the Spurs. I'm telling you, the whole "Lob City" is good for old fun and games but if they don't have the meat and potatoes offense to go with it they will get done in very quickly. I'll be honest: I didn't see the game, but I can only imagine it went like any other game LAC plays against rugged competition.
That yields a big misconception about the "Showtime Lakers" of the 80's. Everyone thinks all they did was run fast breaks up and down the floor, but that was a means to an end. First of all, every fast break was predicated by great defense, good pressure from the likes of Michael Cooper and Byron Scott, and then later on Mychal Thompson and A.C. Green. This isn't unlike what the Heat do today: defense breeds offense. Secondly, at least half of the Lakers' possessions were strict half court sets in which the ball was fed into the post, meaning Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
As long as I'm at it, I need to express how spoiled we all were as basketball fans to see the Lakers execute a fast break so well in those days. 3 on 1's were automatic. Ever see most teams attempt a 3 on 1 today? it's just a joke... either the ball gets fumbled out of bounds or the wing man is so slow to react that it reverts to a transition 3 point shot... or even worse, it reverts to a half court set. That's not what the fast break was meant to do!!
We're celebrating my Grandparents' wedding anniversary this weekend. I'm so blessed to have them both (the ones on my Mom's side) still alive and well. Certainly they are doing well for their age, as they each approach the age of 80.
I also would say that in life, age is relative. To pose an example... John Wooden died at 99, but he was with it until the very very end. He never really gave me the impression that he lost any part of his wit. The man was a true legend. On the other hand, Mike Francesa is still in his 50s and he is about one stage away from being senile. It really makes me think.
Short posting today due to the other items, but hope you have a great weekend!
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 21st
Fellas... Happy Thursday!
Last night on the podcast I brought up my first sporting event, meaning the first one I can remember seeing. I still think it was a Blazers/Lakers game at the Forum.
After the podcast, I tried to look up the game, and I believe I have it: http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198703120LAL.html
My Dad also took some pictures at the game all those years ago and they have a date on them. 1987 was definitely the year and it seems like I remember a "3" and a "12" in there. The only problem: the game *never* went to overtime! I kept insisting that it did, ah well my bad.
Last night's Lakers game was a good win over the Celtics. I agree with the radio broadcasters: if the Lakers couldn't win a game after Kobe's moving tribute to Dr. Buss to start the game, the Lakers may as well have be a bunch of corpses out there!
The Kings won their hockey game too! Do the dance! Finally, the Kings are above .500.
I still can't get over how much Kansas is clinging to their basketball season by a thread. Geez louise, having to go to double-OT to beat Ok. State. Ok. State is pretty good though, I'll give them that.
Do people *really* dress like monkeys in New York City? It wasn't cold nor damp when I was there. I got "Humid" and "sweltering." NY was a good time, either way. NY is the boom... Randy Newman doesn't know what he was talking about.
But I do looooooooooooooooove LA. I don't know... we get kicked around a lot, and two British tourists thought they'd pull a fast one staying at some shady downtown hotel for cheap dollars. They thought wrong, my friends: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/20/us-usa-missingtourist-idUSBRE91I1BY20130220
It's a bad black eye for LA, but you really can't expect a whole lot for 65 bones a night. Hell, for barely 30 bucks more they could have stayed at the Four-Star LAX Sheraton. TripAdvisor **really** failed our good British Friends. Terrible job on their part.
and I don't even want to know how a poor Canadian tourist can go from getting into an elevator to dead inside a water tank at a sketchy hotel.
Fortunately LA is laid out in pockets... because if you were to aggregate all of our neighborhoods into one tabulation, I would rate it as the most dangerous big city in America. Chicago seems to be coming on its heels, though.
Bottom line: be careful. Usually you can tell when you're in a bad part of town. Don't hang around anywhere that looks suspect. I don't even trust Hollywood half the time. Once I'm done with whatever show or event is going on, I'm out! Haha...
I remember when I first went to New York in 2008 and I still had images of old shows and movies I saw based in New York with muggings and thuggery.. I stepped into Manhattan and kept my hands on my pockets as I came up onto the sidewalk.
Eventually I settled down and did OK. The second time I went to NY, last year, I came up onto the sidewalk from Penn and seeing the majesty of Manhattan's buildings was awe-inspiring.
Spicy Hot Dogs... now how good does that sound to you? I've heard of these things called "red hots." Are they hot as in spicy or just merely temperature hot? Is the "Red" in a red hot referring to the color or the concept of it being "Red-Hot" i.e. really warm?
Later in life I learned the concept of a girl who was hot. But she was neither temperature hot nor spicy to the tongue.
A hot girl eating a red hot. Now THAT is a date I would love to try!
Imagine a red-hot that would put you out ice-cold?
Ok I think I'm losing my marbles now... Trade deadline forthcoming... but Howard will have no part of it, oi. Howard had a good game last night, but he's still a joker in my eyes.
Til next time my friends!
Last night on the podcast I brought up my first sporting event, meaning the first one I can remember seeing. I still think it was a Blazers/Lakers game at the Forum.
After the podcast, I tried to look up the game, and I believe I have it: http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198703120LAL.html
My Dad also took some pictures at the game all those years ago and they have a date on them. 1987 was definitely the year and it seems like I remember a "3" and a "12" in there. The only problem: the game *never* went to overtime! I kept insisting that it did, ah well my bad.
Last night's Lakers game was a good win over the Celtics. I agree with the radio broadcasters: if the Lakers couldn't win a game after Kobe's moving tribute to Dr. Buss to start the game, the Lakers may as well have be a bunch of corpses out there!
The Kings won their hockey game too! Do the dance! Finally, the Kings are above .500.
I still can't get over how much Kansas is clinging to their basketball season by a thread. Geez louise, having to go to double-OT to beat Ok. State. Ok. State is pretty good though, I'll give them that.
Do people *really* dress like monkeys in New York City? It wasn't cold nor damp when I was there. I got "Humid" and "sweltering." NY was a good time, either way. NY is the boom... Randy Newman doesn't know what he was talking about.
But I do looooooooooooooooove LA. I don't know... we get kicked around a lot, and two British tourists thought they'd pull a fast one staying at some shady downtown hotel for cheap dollars. They thought wrong, my friends: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/20/us-usa-missingtourist-idUSBRE91I1BY20130220
It's a bad black eye for LA, but you really can't expect a whole lot for 65 bones a night. Hell, for barely 30 bucks more they could have stayed at the Four-Star LAX Sheraton. TripAdvisor **really** failed our good British Friends. Terrible job on their part.
and I don't even want to know how a poor Canadian tourist can go from getting into an elevator to dead inside a water tank at a sketchy hotel.
Fortunately LA is laid out in pockets... because if you were to aggregate all of our neighborhoods into one tabulation, I would rate it as the most dangerous big city in America. Chicago seems to be coming on its heels, though.
Bottom line: be careful. Usually you can tell when you're in a bad part of town. Don't hang around anywhere that looks suspect. I don't even trust Hollywood half the time. Once I'm done with whatever show or event is going on, I'm out! Haha...
I remember when I first went to New York in 2008 and I still had images of old shows and movies I saw based in New York with muggings and thuggery.. I stepped into Manhattan and kept my hands on my pockets as I came up onto the sidewalk.
Eventually I settled down and did OK. The second time I went to NY, last year, I came up onto the sidewalk from Penn and seeing the majesty of Manhattan's buildings was awe-inspiring.
Spicy Hot Dogs... now how good does that sound to you? I've heard of these things called "red hots." Are they hot as in spicy or just merely temperature hot? Is the "Red" in a red hot referring to the color or the concept of it being "Red-Hot" i.e. really warm?
Later in life I learned the concept of a girl who was hot. But she was neither temperature hot nor spicy to the tongue.
A hot girl eating a red hot. Now THAT is a date I would love to try!
Imagine a red-hot that would put you out ice-cold?
Ok I think I'm losing my marbles now... Trade deadline forthcoming... but Howard will have no part of it, oi. Howard had a good game last night, but he's still a joker in my eyes.
Til next time my friends!
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 20th
A late start to this day's blog. Man it is COLD outside! 41 degrees. For us in L.A. that is frigid!
Time to thaw out and get into what's on my mind...
I think Mitch Kupchak is making a mistake. I think everybody knows Dwight Howard is gone this offseason one way or another. Yet, he has boldly announced he won't trade Howard at the trade deadline. What's the alternative here... he walks?! Go figure.
Howard is not about winning, and sadly it took me until this year to figure out that even a winning culture could not convince him to win. You know how lame Howard is from this standpoint? He had to be *convinced* to join the Lakers. Who has to be CONVINCED to join the Lakers??? LeBron would *love* to be on the Lakers if the money was there for him. Shaq gets a huge deal and he goes "where do I sign?" Even jokers like then-Ron Artest were hot to trot. These guys are winners.
Howard is hurt, make no mistake. I won't ignore that or not take it into consideration. However, even at that, he could have a much better attitude about his situation. If you were to go back into the blog archives, it will be clear folks like me were lukewarm on the move. We knew his act, although we could not deny his talent. WELL without the talent really doing much in the Lakers' system now we're left with his antics. It's a shame... but I won't bemoan Howard's jokester mentality... it's simply a bad fit for the team he's on now. So.. I suppose we have him for another three months. Let's see it play out.
What a freaking good game last night in the Big Ten. Indiana and Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller took down Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans last night. It's the first win for Indiana at E. Lansing since 1991. That's a wow. Who knows how long Indiana's run lasts, but either way they had a HUGE win last night.
Ramen noodles again last night. It was a complicated situation yesterday because I had bigger ideas for dinner only to be superseded by an offer to get BBQ Chicken lunch by my work colleagues. It's a chicken delivery place near UCLA that serves Korean Fried Chicken. Often we get the fried chicken strips there. Let me tell you guys: they're very good! The name "BBQ Chicken" doesn't make sense. When I passed by it the first time I thought "I'm not in the mood for barbecue chicken right now, maybe later." BUT, the name "BBQ Chicken" stands for "Best of the Best Quality Chicken" in this case. I know, strange. The chicken however, delicious. They use Olive Oil to fry everything.
I tweeted an odd coincidence last night. The zip code of my alma matter CLU is 91360. The zip code of my first employer, UCSB, is 93106. The coincidence is that both zip codes use the exact same numbers: 0, 1, 3, 6, and 9, although in different sequences. Imagine that?
That paragraph was supposed to set up another coincidence I thought up, but I just forgot it! Oi.
Is Josh Smith a max contract player to you? I swear to Funtime, NBA Players are grossly overpaid.
So are MLB players for that matter. Nobody gets paid more money to do less than fat out of shape baseball players who drink all night and play golf during the day. Give me a break... what a racket.
...I had dreams of being a baseball player once.
Breakfast Burritos... are they a good breakfast? I say yes! The key is the ingredients, but my feeling is that they have to have eggs and some meat. Very basic requirements. I used to think they were supposed to have potatoes in them but not so! That's more of an option. Eggs/Chorizo and Eggs/Bacon are stellar choices.
Apple products lately have been a big fail with QC. With each year there are more bugs and failing parts... perhaps there *is* a price to be paid for all that fancy aesthetic and hipster marketing, ahhhh??
I think that's all I have for the moment. Enjoy your morning everyone!
Time to thaw out and get into what's on my mind...
I think Mitch Kupchak is making a mistake. I think everybody knows Dwight Howard is gone this offseason one way or another. Yet, he has boldly announced he won't trade Howard at the trade deadline. What's the alternative here... he walks?! Go figure.
Howard is not about winning, and sadly it took me until this year to figure out that even a winning culture could not convince him to win. You know how lame Howard is from this standpoint? He had to be *convinced* to join the Lakers. Who has to be CONVINCED to join the Lakers??? LeBron would *love* to be on the Lakers if the money was there for him. Shaq gets a huge deal and he goes "where do I sign?" Even jokers like then-Ron Artest were hot to trot. These guys are winners.
Howard is hurt, make no mistake. I won't ignore that or not take it into consideration. However, even at that, he could have a much better attitude about his situation. If you were to go back into the blog archives, it will be clear folks like me were lukewarm on the move. We knew his act, although we could not deny his talent. WELL without the talent really doing much in the Lakers' system now we're left with his antics. It's a shame... but I won't bemoan Howard's jokester mentality... it's simply a bad fit for the team he's on now. So.. I suppose we have him for another three months. Let's see it play out.
What a freaking good game last night in the Big Ten. Indiana and Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller took down Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans last night. It's the first win for Indiana at E. Lansing since 1991. That's a wow. Who knows how long Indiana's run lasts, but either way they had a HUGE win last night.
Ramen noodles again last night. It was a complicated situation yesterday because I had bigger ideas for dinner only to be superseded by an offer to get BBQ Chicken lunch by my work colleagues. It's a chicken delivery place near UCLA that serves Korean Fried Chicken. Often we get the fried chicken strips there. Let me tell you guys: they're very good! The name "BBQ Chicken" doesn't make sense. When I passed by it the first time I thought "I'm not in the mood for barbecue chicken right now, maybe later." BUT, the name "BBQ Chicken" stands for "Best of the Best Quality Chicken" in this case. I know, strange. The chicken however, delicious. They use Olive Oil to fry everything.
I tweeted an odd coincidence last night. The zip code of my alma matter CLU is 91360. The zip code of my first employer, UCSB, is 93106. The coincidence is that both zip codes use the exact same numbers: 0, 1, 3, 6, and 9, although in different sequences. Imagine that?
That paragraph was supposed to set up another coincidence I thought up, but I just forgot it! Oi.
Is Josh Smith a max contract player to you? I swear to Funtime, NBA Players are grossly overpaid.
So are MLB players for that matter. Nobody gets paid more money to do less than fat out of shape baseball players who drink all night and play golf during the day. Give me a break... what a racket.
...I had dreams of being a baseball player once.
Breakfast Burritos... are they a good breakfast? I say yes! The key is the ingredients, but my feeling is that they have to have eggs and some meat. Very basic requirements. I used to think they were supposed to have potatoes in them but not so! That's more of an option. Eggs/Chorizo and Eggs/Bacon are stellar choices.
Apple products lately have been a big fail with QC. With each year there are more bugs and failing parts... perhaps there *is* a price to be paid for all that fancy aesthetic and hipster marketing, ahhhh??
I think that's all I have for the moment. Enjoy your morning everyone!
Monday, February 18, 2013
Dave's Thoughts of the Day for NON LAKER FANS: February 19th
I need to compose an additional entry for today's Dave-blog so as not to render the blog unreadable. Anyone who was not a Lakers fan would probably be fed up otherwise, haha.
I had a lot to say, and Dr. Buss was just a legend. I'll miss him greatly as has already been said.
Onward...
Philly West was my dinner choice last night. I was more disappointed this time out. Let me explain: I went after the Philly Cheesesteak..... and........ it was the puniest cheesesteak I've seen since going to some ballparks. I mean for goodness sake, are you sure this wasn't a set of cheesesteak sliders? This thing was puny. Odd too, because while it was quite good, it wasn't beefy enough. Secondly, they didn't put enough sauce in it for anyone to notice it had sauce.
Truth be told, I was more satisfied with the burger they served there, probably because it was bigger and juicier too.
Staying with Philly West over in Westwood, I got the lady bartender last night. She seems pretty attractive and all but her fake smile was not doing it for me. On paper she did everything you wanted: got the order right, asked if you needed ketchup/serving materials, said thank you, but that fake smile was a joke! She seemed like you were getting in the way of whatever else she was doing. Somebody put on a Ducks hockey game while I stopped by too which I still can't figure out. Who goes out of their way to watch the Ducks?!
Anyway, the lady in question is the textbook example of "Fake Kindness" in LA. Or is it "real Philly Douchebaggery?" You know? It's probably a little of both. If I see her again I'll ask her, if she can handle being inconvenienced by my business, whether she's from Philly.
I can't recall whether this was brought up before but I did commit to the DVD project this weekend at my parents' house and it went pretty smoothly this time. There's no avoiding the time commitment but the process went well. I'm very satisfied with the completed videos. If you want to, message me and I could perhaps post some examples on YouTube. Nothing fancy, just some good editing, titles and a musical montage at the end.
It finally happened. After trying to figure out Directv's bogus pricing, I cut them off.................. kind of! I called them and asked to cancel, and after a long negotiation I was offered the option of *suspending* the account. I thought -- brilliant! I can finally free myself of the burden of paying 80 bucks a month for 150 channels I don't watch (and five I do watch), but open myself up to restoring service right in time for football season. It's like ducks migrating for the winter. Then they come back and it's right where you left off. The best news of all is that my DVR contents stay in tact. I can go back to the DVR and re-watch any of the big Kings playoff games I left on the DVR, plus two Super Bowl Games. Do the dance!
I'm sad somewhat because this will keep me from following the Lakers, Kings, and Dodgers on a daily basis, but I can make up for most of this with internet streaming and a possible MLB.tv account. Fortunately I'll still get one or two Dodgers games a week on over the air TV. Lakers season is done anyway. The one I'll really miss is the Kings. I may be heading back to the Penalty Box a few times this year.
Calculating the savings, that's 80 dollars a month over six months or 480 bones that will now go into my hands. This is big news indeed, and perhaps an opportunity to finally save some serious money.
I wonder what I can do with all this newly found free time? I had a minor fantasy of moonlighting as an In-N-Out cook, but I don't know if the hours will work for me. Free food, I get to slam some bitchin' hamburgers, and maybe even sneak in a shake. I will gain 50 pounds from that job easily.
If only I was better at piano, I could go around town trying to play the "Story of a Plumber" song and some other hit standards.
I suppose I could get a crack at "holding the sign" guy. I don't want to get that desperate though.
Speaking of signs and restaurants and that thing... I thought of getting sponsors for the Dave podcast. Wendy's would be my favorite choice. I would read live ads for them for *free.* If they paid, I would be all in. They wouldn't even have to offer that much.. maybe 50 bucks a month to help me sponsor the podcast and pay the monthly blogtalkradio fees. I can give them a call soon to see what they can do. Fingers crossed.
Are commercials on a blogtalkradio podcast legal? I haven't deduced this yet, but I hope so.
In case you were wondering, noooo, I would not attempt to be a gigolo. It sounds great: oh I get to be paid to have sex, but it's just weird. I'm sure many here would agree.
One other side job I thought could be fun: P.A. announcer at local games. I don't know if it's a paying job but I'd be more than happy to pitch in.
That's all I have for now. Hope your weekend was great! Catch you soon.
I had a lot to say, and Dr. Buss was just a legend. I'll miss him greatly as has already been said.
Onward...
Philly West was my dinner choice last night. I was more disappointed this time out. Let me explain: I went after the Philly Cheesesteak..... and........ it was the puniest cheesesteak I've seen since going to some ballparks. I mean for goodness sake, are you sure this wasn't a set of cheesesteak sliders? This thing was puny. Odd too, because while it was quite good, it wasn't beefy enough. Secondly, they didn't put enough sauce in it for anyone to notice it had sauce.
Truth be told, I was more satisfied with the burger they served there, probably because it was bigger and juicier too.
Staying with Philly West over in Westwood, I got the lady bartender last night. She seems pretty attractive and all but her fake smile was not doing it for me. On paper she did everything you wanted: got the order right, asked if you needed ketchup/serving materials, said thank you, but that fake smile was a joke! She seemed like you were getting in the way of whatever else she was doing. Somebody put on a Ducks hockey game while I stopped by too which I still can't figure out. Who goes out of their way to watch the Ducks?!
Anyway, the lady in question is the textbook example of "Fake Kindness" in LA. Or is it "real Philly Douchebaggery?" You know? It's probably a little of both. If I see her again I'll ask her, if she can handle being inconvenienced by my business, whether she's from Philly.
I can't recall whether this was brought up before but I did commit to the DVD project this weekend at my parents' house and it went pretty smoothly this time. There's no avoiding the time commitment but the process went well. I'm very satisfied with the completed videos. If you want to, message me and I could perhaps post some examples on YouTube. Nothing fancy, just some good editing, titles and a musical montage at the end.
It finally happened. After trying to figure out Directv's bogus pricing, I cut them off.................. kind of! I called them and asked to cancel, and after a long negotiation I was offered the option of *suspending* the account. I thought -- brilliant! I can finally free myself of the burden of paying 80 bucks a month for 150 channels I don't watch (and five I do watch), but open myself up to restoring service right in time for football season. It's like ducks migrating for the winter. Then they come back and it's right where you left off. The best news of all is that my DVR contents stay in tact. I can go back to the DVR and re-watch any of the big Kings playoff games I left on the DVR, plus two Super Bowl Games. Do the dance!
I'm sad somewhat because this will keep me from following the Lakers, Kings, and Dodgers on a daily basis, but I can make up for most of this with internet streaming and a possible MLB.tv account. Fortunately I'll still get one or two Dodgers games a week on over the air TV. Lakers season is done anyway. The one I'll really miss is the Kings. I may be heading back to the Penalty Box a few times this year.
Calculating the savings, that's 80 dollars a month over six months or 480 bones that will now go into my hands. This is big news indeed, and perhaps an opportunity to finally save some serious money.
I wonder what I can do with all this newly found free time? I had a minor fantasy of moonlighting as an In-N-Out cook, but I don't know if the hours will work for me. Free food, I get to slam some bitchin' hamburgers, and maybe even sneak in a shake. I will gain 50 pounds from that job easily.
If only I was better at piano, I could go around town trying to play the "Story of a Plumber" song and some other hit standards.
I suppose I could get a crack at "holding the sign" guy. I don't want to get that desperate though.
Speaking of signs and restaurants and that thing... I thought of getting sponsors for the Dave podcast. Wendy's would be my favorite choice. I would read live ads for them for *free.* If they paid, I would be all in. They wouldn't even have to offer that much.. maybe 50 bucks a month to help me sponsor the podcast and pay the monthly blogtalkradio fees. I can give them a call soon to see what they can do. Fingers crossed.
Are commercials on a blogtalkradio podcast legal? I haven't deduced this yet, but I hope so.
In case you were wondering, noooo, I would not attempt to be a gigolo. It sounds great: oh I get to be paid to have sex, but it's just weird. I'm sure many here would agree.
One other side job I thought could be fun: P.A. announcer at local games. I don't know if it's a paying job but I'd be more than happy to pitch in.
That's all I have for now. Hope your weekend was great! Catch you soon.
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 19th
I'm still thinking of the legacy Dr. Jerry Buss left all of us here in Los Angeles. Some may find it difficult to cite the "most important" or "most meaningful" championship for either Buss or the Lakers. To me, a little voice inside me points to 1985. I really think that when the Lakers, for the first time, beat the Boston Celtics in an NBA Finals, not to mention the first team to *ever* close out an NBA Finals at the Boston Garden, it signaled the absolute turning point of both franchises.
One really has to put it into perspective, and I was able to do some of this with my Dad's old Beta tapes. Up until 1985, the Celtics were the end-all be all for NBA powerhouses. No one else could conceive of continued success for multiple decades. Leading up to 1985, the Celtics won championships at least twice in every decade going back to the late 50's. '74 and '76. Too many to count in the 60's. '81 and '84. With a hard working, hungry group like Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson, it seemed like America was in for yet another Celtics dynasty.
In those days nobody came close. Even the Lakers' three peat in ancient NBA history was construed an anomaly. No team had even won back-to-back titles at that time since the aforementioned Celtics won their repeat title in 1969. Michael Jordan was just a goofy kid out of North Carolina who could score bunches of points on a pitiful team. The Spurs were still trying to cling to the good ole days of the ABA with George Gervin and scattered success. The Heat didn't even exist. LeBron James was an infant. In 1985, the Celtics had fifteen championships, the Lakers had eight and nobody else came close. Really, the Lakers had three in LA and zero against Boston.
The Lakers had their closest call a year earlier in the 1984 Finals, but what bitter heartbreak to see the Lakers done in by their own mistakes. Could it have been Celtics' trickery or simple destiny... perhaps it was time for LA to once again know their place.
Then, even after the Memorial Day Massacre in Game 1, and a thrilling last second game winner by Dennis Johnson in Game 4, the Lakers made a turn that to this day most Lakers fans will point to as when the Franchise became the true force in the NBA. The Lakers, who at times looked like the better team one year prior, proved it for good in 1985. Not only did they win some of these games against the Celtics, but in some cases they flat out annihilated them.
It took us to Game 6 at the old crumbling Boston Garden, despite flashes of life from the C's, the Lakers put away the Celtics and sent a shot heard 'round the world. For the first time, L.A. had beaten Boston and all of the torment of the 60's, and all of the torture of the "Beat L.A." chant was put to rest.
The exuberance and confidence I saw in that locker room on that fateful June evening were palpable. The Lakers finally got 'em. From that point on, the Lakers won title after title, and it was THEY who became the team of the 80's.
Even watching it go down decades later on an old videotape brought chills to my body. I could feel it even on old magnetic footage that the Lakers had suddenly become the go-to franchise in Los Angeles. By that I mean, it was no longer the Rams or Dodgers or any of the other jokers, but the LAKERS who were the team of record. No team today is identified more with Los Angeles than our fellow Lakers.
It didn't stop there. As the 90's and 2000's rolled on, more big moments followed. A three peat and I bet you know the rest. It's staggering to consider the amount of excellence the Lakers accrued in all of those years. No wonder the rest of the NBA hates the Lakers. It was a Purple and Gold standard that no one could touch for so many years.
I grant you the Bulls were electric and THE team of their decade, but they didn't do squat before or since. The Heat are tremendous, and will continue to be through the 2020's, but I'm eager to see if any one of those franchises could sustain a run where their team made at least one NBA Finals in every decade for eight decades. To date, no other team has, but it would never have happened this way if not for Jerry Buss AND if it were not for that turning point in 1985.
Perhaps, if things broke differently, we could be talking about the Celtics' drive for Title #25. Staggering. The Lakers became their own dynasty in 1985.
One really has to put it into perspective, and I was able to do some of this with my Dad's old Beta tapes. Up until 1985, the Celtics were the end-all be all for NBA powerhouses. No one else could conceive of continued success for multiple decades. Leading up to 1985, the Celtics won championships at least twice in every decade going back to the late 50's. '74 and '76. Too many to count in the 60's. '81 and '84. With a hard working, hungry group like Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson, it seemed like America was in for yet another Celtics dynasty.
In those days nobody came close. Even the Lakers' three peat in ancient NBA history was construed an anomaly. No team had even won back-to-back titles at that time since the aforementioned Celtics won their repeat title in 1969. Michael Jordan was just a goofy kid out of North Carolina who could score bunches of points on a pitiful team. The Spurs were still trying to cling to the good ole days of the ABA with George Gervin and scattered success. The Heat didn't even exist. LeBron James was an infant. In 1985, the Celtics had fifteen championships, the Lakers had eight and nobody else came close. Really, the Lakers had three in LA and zero against Boston.
The Lakers had their closest call a year earlier in the 1984 Finals, but what bitter heartbreak to see the Lakers done in by their own mistakes. Could it have been Celtics' trickery or simple destiny... perhaps it was time for LA to once again know their place.
Then, even after the Memorial Day Massacre in Game 1, and a thrilling last second game winner by Dennis Johnson in Game 4, the Lakers made a turn that to this day most Lakers fans will point to as when the Franchise became the true force in the NBA. The Lakers, who at times looked like the better team one year prior, proved it for good in 1985. Not only did they win some of these games against the Celtics, but in some cases they flat out annihilated them.
It took us to Game 6 at the old crumbling Boston Garden, despite flashes of life from the C's, the Lakers put away the Celtics and sent a shot heard 'round the world. For the first time, L.A. had beaten Boston and all of the torment of the 60's, and all of the torture of the "Beat L.A." chant was put to rest.
The exuberance and confidence I saw in that locker room on that fateful June evening were palpable. The Lakers finally got 'em. From that point on, the Lakers won title after title, and it was THEY who became the team of the 80's.
Even watching it go down decades later on an old videotape brought chills to my body. I could feel it even on old magnetic footage that the Lakers had suddenly become the go-to franchise in Los Angeles. By that I mean, it was no longer the Rams or Dodgers or any of the other jokers, but the LAKERS who were the team of record. No team today is identified more with Los Angeles than our fellow Lakers.
It didn't stop there. As the 90's and 2000's rolled on, more big moments followed. A three peat and I bet you know the rest. It's staggering to consider the amount of excellence the Lakers accrued in all of those years. No wonder the rest of the NBA hates the Lakers. It was a Purple and Gold standard that no one could touch for so many years.
I grant you the Bulls were electric and THE team of their decade, but they didn't do squat before or since. The Heat are tremendous, and will continue to be through the 2020's, but I'm eager to see if any one of those franchises could sustain a run where their team made at least one NBA Finals in every decade for eight decades. To date, no other team has, but it would never have happened this way if not for Jerry Buss AND if it were not for that turning point in 1985.
Perhaps, if things broke differently, we could be talking about the Celtics' drive for Title #25. Staggering. The Lakers became their own dynasty in 1985.
Farewell, Dr. Buss.
Dr. Jerry Buss died early this morning. I still can't believe it ended so quickly. Just a few days ago I saw he was going into the hospital, and I was really worried.
Suddenly, boom, it's over. The greatest owner I've ever known is out like a light. What does Jerry Buss mean for Los Angeles? Confidence, Craft, and Style. Like a Maverick out of the Old West, Dr. Buss came out here by way of Wyoming and purchased parcels of land, only to take up the Lakers, Kings, and the Forum from Jack Kent Cooke.
Cooke meant well and always wanted success, but like no one before him, Jerry took the Lakers to an entirely new level. He went and made the Lakers an event. Laker Girls, the dance troupe, started in the 1980's under his watch. Now every team has a dancing troupe. In fact, even the stodgy Celtics organization caved after several centuries and got a dance team.
People would talk about how Mark Cuban infused a whole culture of sparing no expense in the name of winning. Yet, even Cuban himself admits that Jerry Buss had him beat 30 years ago with his manner of formulating the best team money could buy, and even after the salary cap started, Dr. Buss continued to work within the NBA's parameters to bring the biggest free agents alive.
It's truly remarkable how much Buss meant winning. He didn't just win on the court, but he won in the media, the press, numerous charities and schools throughout the area, and would you believe, at the poker table? Let's be honest: he was a hit with the ladies too!
For Dr. Buss, the math tells the story: Ten championships, playoff appearances in every season except three: 1994, 2005, and this year (yeah, I'm adding it). More than that, his heart was unlike any other owner you can imagine in the NBA. Who else would treat all of their players like they were family, from the guy fighting for the 12th roster spot to their highest played player. Fitting that the Lakers would wear the Royal Forum Blue and Gold, as everyone in that organization were treated like kings.
Remarkably, even despite all of his lavish spending and enormous contracts, the man himself kept a relatively low profile. Most times, when he'd accept one of many championship trophies, the first words out of his mouth were about how much it means for the *city* of Los Angeles. Many, and I mean many, people around the NBA and the sports world regarded Dr. Buss as a warm heart and I have yet to hear anyone say anything... ANYTHING about his personality that would suggest jelousy, vindiction or the like.
He was a family man too. He kept all of his children involved within the Lakers' basketball operations. Fortunately, many earned their stripes, including Jeanie Buss, who continues to be a business superstar with the Lakers and their marketing.
Without Dr. Buss, the Lakers would not be the Worldwide Brand we know today. Without him the Lakers, even with Magic Johnson, could not have had the momentum to win five championships in the 80's, beating the Celtics in the process.
THAT was Chapter One. One might think the changing economics of the NBA might pass him by, but no! No sooner than 1996, did Dr. Buss usher a new era going after *the* biggest free agent of the decade: Shaquille O'Neal. Once again, L.A. was in business.
Even as the emotional ties were disintegrating in the Lakers locker room, Dr. Buss threw in another Hail Mary from 3/4 court -- the hire of Phil Jackson. This became a particularly tough hire in light of the eventual romance between Jackson and his daughter Jeannie. Yet, he carried on with the move in the name of winning. Soon thereafter, the Lakers piled up another five titles over roughly 12 seasons.
Through it all, Buss had *style.* He was never petty or took anything too personally. He wouldn't get into enormous wars with the media. He went about things his own way, for the team and about the team, and those acts alone made him a bigger name without having to announce it.
Grace, intensity, style, warmth, and class. I can't imagine there ever being another Dr. Jerry Buss. Unparalleled success for his Lakers in the NBA. We can only hope that the Lakers and the Buss family can duplicate even *half* this success in the next 30 years. Los Angeles won't ever be the same.
Thank you, Dr. Buss. Farewell.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 15th
It's been a while since I saw anyone play basketball as well as the Heat are playing right now. Speed kills, man, and so does LeBron. Incredible.
I'm not going to be a dope and proclaim them literally invincible. This is a team on a roll but they're not flaw-less. First of all, what happens if you hold them to a half court game? What happens if you just start killing it from outside on the other end? For now, the Heat are on a level of their own!
Anyone see video of the meterorite that fell in Russia last night? Holy cow!! That was eerie... the thing falls and fortunately nobody was seriously hurt but the report is that 500 people were injured in the boonies of Russia. How is this not getting more attention?! That is crazy!
Sending my best to the Buss family. I also saw a headline that Dr. Jerry Buss was admitted to Cedar-Sinai for an unspecified form of cancer. Dr. Buss is getting up there... I hope he comes out all right.
Last night was THE WORST traffic I have seen in a long long time. It might be the worst traffic night of the year. ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS GET A SANDWICH.
I'm still fighting the cold, and I hoped to stop by Bay Cities to get a Godmother Italian Hoagie (Hero). I know Thursday traffic is bad, but this was ridiculous. Usually once you hit west of the 405 freeway it's fine, but no! I'm driving down these streets and not even Colorado and Broadway were free of cars. What the HELL man?
I go and get the sandwich, no problems there, but then spend 40 minutes getting home. It *never* takes 40 minutes to get from Lincoln to Barrington. I mean seriously, what happened?!
I feel bad for all the lovers out there who tried to get home or to restaurants for a Valentine's Day dinner last night. It was impossible. I bet everyone was late. My sympathies to the Westside.
The sliver lining is that the sandwich was amazing. The Godmother is on another level with sandwiches... just as the Heat are on another level with basketball. I always get mine with the spicy peppers.
I'm about to cancel DIRECTV soon. Very soon, in fact. Each night I've tried to record more and more DVR'd games onto my computer. Once that's done it's over. So, last night, to prepare myself for life without cable/satellite: I put on CBS from the Antenna. You know what? The picture quality direct from the TV Station is an order of magnitude better than what you get on Directv or Cable. HD broadcasts are at full bitrate and resolution from the stations themselves.. and watching "Big Bang" was a real treat. I can't rewind it or record it, but it is visually quite stimulating.
I may get Cable soon, but Directv is just too expensive right now. For now I'd like to ride it out with just the internet. I'll be getting MLB.tv as I do every season so I should be all right.
In fact, I realized that I wouldn't even be missing out on the Dodgers that much. Each week they get one game on KCAL 9 and another one on Fox. If I miss the Dodgers enough, I could go to a friends house to watch the game, or to a bar, or just go to Dodger Stadium.
So! I hope you all have plans for the big weekend. Be careful out there, and hope all is well. See you all next week.
I'm not going to be a dope and proclaim them literally invincible. This is a team on a roll but they're not flaw-less. First of all, what happens if you hold them to a half court game? What happens if you just start killing it from outside on the other end? For now, the Heat are on a level of their own!
Anyone see video of the meterorite that fell in Russia last night? Holy cow!! That was eerie... the thing falls and fortunately nobody was seriously hurt but the report is that 500 people were injured in the boonies of Russia. How is this not getting more attention?! That is crazy!
Sending my best to the Buss family. I also saw a headline that Dr. Jerry Buss was admitted to Cedar-Sinai for an unspecified form of cancer. Dr. Buss is getting up there... I hope he comes out all right.
Last night was THE WORST traffic I have seen in a long long time. It might be the worst traffic night of the year. ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS GET A SANDWICH.
I'm still fighting the cold, and I hoped to stop by Bay Cities to get a Godmother Italian Hoagie (Hero). I know Thursday traffic is bad, but this was ridiculous. Usually once you hit west of the 405 freeway it's fine, but no! I'm driving down these streets and not even Colorado and Broadway were free of cars. What the HELL man?
I go and get the sandwich, no problems there, but then spend 40 minutes getting home. It *never* takes 40 minutes to get from Lincoln to Barrington. I mean seriously, what happened?!
I feel bad for all the lovers out there who tried to get home or to restaurants for a Valentine's Day dinner last night. It was impossible. I bet everyone was late. My sympathies to the Westside.
The sliver lining is that the sandwich was amazing. The Godmother is on another level with sandwiches... just as the Heat are on another level with basketball. I always get mine with the spicy peppers.
I'm about to cancel DIRECTV soon. Very soon, in fact. Each night I've tried to record more and more DVR'd games onto my computer. Once that's done it's over. So, last night, to prepare myself for life without cable/satellite: I put on CBS from the Antenna. You know what? The picture quality direct from the TV Station is an order of magnitude better than what you get on Directv or Cable. HD broadcasts are at full bitrate and resolution from the stations themselves.. and watching "Big Bang" was a real treat. I can't rewind it or record it, but it is visually quite stimulating.
I may get Cable soon, but Directv is just too expensive right now. For now I'd like to ride it out with just the internet. I'll be getting MLB.tv as I do every season so I should be all right.
In fact, I realized that I wouldn't even be missing out on the Dodgers that much. Each week they get one game on KCAL 9 and another one on Fox. If I miss the Dodgers enough, I could go to a friends house to watch the game, or to a bar, or just go to Dodger Stadium.
So! I hope you all have plans for the big weekend. Be careful out there, and hope all is well. See you all next week.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 14th
Happy Valentine's Day everyone, hope everyone is well.
Back at work following a sick day and seeing that the roof caved in, I won't have much time to write today. Also good to see ants make your lab desk their home. Oi... I think it started when all those jokers started drilling around the building on Monday. There aren't a lot of ants at the table yet, but hopefully they won't multiply!
Back in Santa Barbara, they used to advertise this heart shaped pizza at Rusty's a local delivery pizza chain. I thought it was a pretty cool idea. I can't say whether I got one... I forgot.
Anything else..? I think that's it.
Enjoy your Valentine's Evening everyone...!
Back at work following a sick day and seeing that the roof caved in, I won't have much time to write today. Also good to see ants make your lab desk their home. Oi... I think it started when all those jokers started drilling around the building on Monday. There aren't a lot of ants at the table yet, but hopefully they won't multiply!
Back in Santa Barbara, they used to advertise this heart shaped pizza at Rusty's a local delivery pizza chain. I thought it was a pretty cool idea. I can't say whether I got one... I forgot.
Anything else..? I think that's it.
Enjoy your Valentine's Evening everyone...!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 13th
I'm writing this entry early in light of my ongoing fight with a cold. Hasn't been a good cold, and I was wiped out most of Tuesday night.
You know it's bad when you're asleep from 4pm til 8. I took some theraflu in the middle which really knocked me out.
I sent a text message to the Junk Man about how the IOC cancelled wrestling from the Olympics and his response was, "Cool. What are they going to replace it with?"
So far, the only people who I have seen outraged by this decision are former wrestlers, for whatever it's worth.
I also said of the Olympics, "If they're going to cancel out a sport, I would happily volunteer Beach Volleyball."
When you get a cold, all you really want to do is lie down. Sometimes you want to eat. I will try to do that as much as possible the rest of the week.
Poor Kentucky Basketball... poor, poor Kentucy. Ok, not really.
Pizza and chicken were my meals yesterday. Good combo but the pizza may have been overkill. I enjoyed it though.
People have been talking about how great the Devils are playing to start the hockey season. Good thing for the Devs that it's a shortened season. Those hot starts are scary though because if a team hits adversity, they'll be so unfamiliar with the losses that they may lead to more losses, but that's just a measure of hypotheticals. No one would truly know what to expect from the Devils once they get punched in the mouth.
I made it official: I will now become an anti-Nationals and anti-Blue Jays fan this season. That seems so very mean, but the overwhelming hype from Buster Olney *alone* for the Nats is annoying. Go back to your milk farm and calm down, would you please?! I rather enjoy Olney's writing but his Nationals tangent got so old, like curds and whey.
As for the Jays... I'm tired of everyone hyping up that team year after year. Now that they finally have he talent to earn that hype I'm waiting to see when the next shoe drops. I'm still not convinced they can actually win a division. It will be their first in 20 years, if it happens.
I remember someone saying once that people would eat curds in a bowl with something. Really, that does not sound appetizing. How would one describe curds? Akin to cheese perhaps? As in, an unprocessed raw cheese without the saltiness? Usually when solid things form within an animal's liquid we consider it mold or junk, but with cows, we decided these are edible products. As Calvin once observed in "Calvin and Hobbes": who was the guy that made the epiphany that we should yak the fluid out of a cow's teat and suck on it? What would have happened to bring a man to that conclusion?
Thankfully it worked out, but it is otherwise very unusual.
I think that's all for now. Short entry today but hope the rest of you are in good spirits. See you all tomorrow.
You know it's bad when you're asleep from 4pm til 8. I took some theraflu in the middle which really knocked me out.
I sent a text message to the Junk Man about how the IOC cancelled wrestling from the Olympics and his response was, "Cool. What are they going to replace it with?"
So far, the only people who I have seen outraged by this decision are former wrestlers, for whatever it's worth.
I also said of the Olympics, "If they're going to cancel out a sport, I would happily volunteer Beach Volleyball."
When you get a cold, all you really want to do is lie down. Sometimes you want to eat. I will try to do that as much as possible the rest of the week.
Poor Kentucky Basketball... poor, poor Kentucy. Ok, not really.
Pizza and chicken were my meals yesterday. Good combo but the pizza may have been overkill. I enjoyed it though.
People have been talking about how great the Devils are playing to start the hockey season. Good thing for the Devs that it's a shortened season. Those hot starts are scary though because if a team hits adversity, they'll be so unfamiliar with the losses that they may lead to more losses, but that's just a measure of hypotheticals. No one would truly know what to expect from the Devils once they get punched in the mouth.
I made it official: I will now become an anti-Nationals and anti-Blue Jays fan this season. That seems so very mean, but the overwhelming hype from Buster Olney *alone* for the Nats is annoying. Go back to your milk farm and calm down, would you please?! I rather enjoy Olney's writing but his Nationals tangent got so old, like curds and whey.
As for the Jays... I'm tired of everyone hyping up that team year after year. Now that they finally have he talent to earn that hype I'm waiting to see when the next shoe drops. I'm still not convinced they can actually win a division. It will be their first in 20 years, if it happens.
I remember someone saying once that people would eat curds in a bowl with something. Really, that does not sound appetizing. How would one describe curds? Akin to cheese perhaps? As in, an unprocessed raw cheese without the saltiness? Usually when solid things form within an animal's liquid we consider it mold or junk, but with cows, we decided these are edible products. As Calvin once observed in "Calvin and Hobbes": who was the guy that made the epiphany that we should yak the fluid out of a cow's teat and suck on it? What would have happened to bring a man to that conclusion?
Thankfully it worked out, but it is otherwise very unusual.
I think that's all for now. Short entry today but hope the rest of you are in good spirits. See you all tomorrow.
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 12th
I have a cold today. I started to feel it last night and just had a bad feeling about it. However, I don't feel bad enough to miss work so I'm at the office. It was a good run. I went multiple months without getting sick this time and there were moments where I anticipated getting a cold and never did.
Up next, I'd like to get through at least this morning and then head home if I need to, pile up some water, and rest. Chicken for dinner would be a good idea.
I have a tradition for sick days. When I have a cold or flu, as long as it's not overtly nasty, I go to John O'Groats' restaurant on Pico Blvd., near the Fox Movie Studios. At John's I get the Chocolate Chip Pancakes, without fail, plus some coffee and sometimes bacon and eggs. They are my favorite Chocolate Chip Pancakes anywhere!
What makes chocolate chip pancakes so good? If you do it well, you get melty gooey goblets buried within luscious pancake batter. These babies are thick and fluffy.. in a sense, like Kate Upton's breasts.
Delicious.
Anyway, some quick observations as I continue to recuperate:
Ramen and Pork Chops are great! You'd be surprised how good that combo is. I got the pork chops without the bone in it, so they may have a different technical title but I'm a big fan.
Pitchers and Catchers report today in baseball. Yay?
Wrestling to be removed from the Olympics. That seems a little off to me, but I'm conflicted. On the one hand, it's a legacy sport and it's been around since the first of the "Modern Games" in 1896. On the other hand I have not watched a single wrestling Olympic match in my life. I wouldn't even know it was going on if we didn't hear occasional news reports about it.
So... I don't know what to think. I should mention that if they're going to put sports like badminton and archery into the Olympics, and if they think recreational sports like Tennis and Golf are good enough for Olympic competition, I don't see why there's not enough room for wrestling.
I spoke about this once before but a "consolation NBA Finals" would at least provide some entertainment while LeBron annihilates the Western Conference Team in the real NBA Finals. Schedule the consolation Finals games during the off days of the regular NBA Finals games. THEN, offer a 2-5 million dollar prize for the winning team. Maybe more, I am not familiar with NBA salaries across the board.
Why are we still talking about Joe Paterno? Bogus.
There's no commercial I hate more than that 5 Hour Energy commercial showcasing some talentless hack meat-head talking about all the inane things he does thanks to his 5 Hour Energy. Then when he shows himself off doing his "debut album" with autotune, that makes me lose it. That's when I want to reach through the TV and strangle him. That's not singing! And you needed 5 Hour Energy to do that trash?
I think it's painfully clear the Clippers are not going to do anything serious in the NBA playoffs this year. They need to learn how to win when the game slows down, and with a coach like Vinny Del Negro, no chance.
I don't know, fellas, how can anyone take a team named the "Clippers" seriously? For years I didn't even know what a "Clipper" was, only to find out it's a quiet harmless sailboat. Hardly an intimidating mascot.
Just think... could we see a day when the Clippers face the New Orleans Pelicans for the Western Conference Championship? First one to win gets the bread pieces!
Happy Mardi Gras today... it sounds like an exciting name but all it means is "Fat Tuesday" in French. The excitement in the process, however, is electric!
--too bad it's followed by the very somber "Ash Wednesday" afterward. Bazinga! Til tomorrow my friends...
Up next, I'd like to get through at least this morning and then head home if I need to, pile up some water, and rest. Chicken for dinner would be a good idea.
I have a tradition for sick days. When I have a cold or flu, as long as it's not overtly nasty, I go to John O'Groats' restaurant on Pico Blvd., near the Fox Movie Studios. At John's I get the Chocolate Chip Pancakes, without fail, plus some coffee and sometimes bacon and eggs. They are my favorite Chocolate Chip Pancakes anywhere!
What makes chocolate chip pancakes so good? If you do it well, you get melty gooey goblets buried within luscious pancake batter. These babies are thick and fluffy.. in a sense, like Kate Upton's breasts.
Delicious.
Anyway, some quick observations as I continue to recuperate:
Ramen and Pork Chops are great! You'd be surprised how good that combo is. I got the pork chops without the bone in it, so they may have a different technical title but I'm a big fan.
Pitchers and Catchers report today in baseball. Yay?
Wrestling to be removed from the Olympics. That seems a little off to me, but I'm conflicted. On the one hand, it's a legacy sport and it's been around since the first of the "Modern Games" in 1896. On the other hand I have not watched a single wrestling Olympic match in my life. I wouldn't even know it was going on if we didn't hear occasional news reports about it.
So... I don't know what to think. I should mention that if they're going to put sports like badminton and archery into the Olympics, and if they think recreational sports like Tennis and Golf are good enough for Olympic competition, I don't see why there's not enough room for wrestling.
I spoke about this once before but a "consolation NBA Finals" would at least provide some entertainment while LeBron annihilates the Western Conference Team in the real NBA Finals. Schedule the consolation Finals games during the off days of the regular NBA Finals games. THEN, offer a 2-5 million dollar prize for the winning team. Maybe more, I am not familiar with NBA salaries across the board.
Why are we still talking about Joe Paterno? Bogus.
There's no commercial I hate more than that 5 Hour Energy commercial showcasing some talentless hack meat-head talking about all the inane things he does thanks to his 5 Hour Energy. Then when he shows himself off doing his "debut album" with autotune, that makes me lose it. That's when I want to reach through the TV and strangle him. That's not singing! And you needed 5 Hour Energy to do that trash?
I think it's painfully clear the Clippers are not going to do anything serious in the NBA playoffs this year. They need to learn how to win when the game slows down, and with a coach like Vinny Del Negro, no chance.
I don't know, fellas, how can anyone take a team named the "Clippers" seriously? For years I didn't even know what a "Clipper" was, only to find out it's a quiet harmless sailboat. Hardly an intimidating mascot.
Just think... could we see a day when the Clippers face the New Orleans Pelicans for the Western Conference Championship? First one to win gets the bread pieces!
Happy Mardi Gras today... it sounds like an exciting name but all it means is "Fat Tuesday" in French. The excitement in the process, however, is electric!
--too bad it's followed by the very somber "Ash Wednesday" afterward. Bazinga! Til tomorrow my friends...
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 11th
Now that was a weekend!
Sunday morning, I set out to swim the 100x swim at Speiker with the Bruin Masters Club. This is where you swim a certain length 100 times on an interval. It does sound daunting but I love the challenge. Some do 100 yards, short course yards. Some do 75. I was assigned the measly 50 yards, but while true, I was given a tight interval of 1:15 (this is tight for my current speed. However it's a good 15 seconds faster than the 1:30 I got two years ago).
I set out to swim with my friend Paul who also swims Lane 8 with me and I gotta tell you, Paul pushed me to keep a fast pace throughout the whole swim. I thought for sure I'd slow down and start eating up more and more of my interval with each swim but he kept gaining on me the whole time and it made me hold about a 1 min swim (within the interval) throughout all 100 of the 50's. I averaged about 1:03 in all 100 swims. I can't believe I held 1:03 over 100 swims.. that is insane, but Paul really delivered the goods today. He said I helped him finish all 100 swims too in that without my doing them all in a row, he might have quit about 3/4 through.
This might be the best example of teamwork in swimming. I'm glad we both were able to elevate our game.
After the swim, our group had a small potluck, and it was well stocked. I'm really glad they provided coffee. Much needed, was the coffee. I didn't eat a whole lot, saving room for the wedding banquet later, so I stuck with a few blue corn tortilla chips, some chili, a cookie, and fruit.
After the potluck, I got home and showered, then prepped to go to my friend's wedding. If you recall I was trying desperately to get a +1 to join me and I made some last ditch texting efforts. It was brutal. All the while the Lakers were putting up a semi-decent game at Miami and I was getting directions to the hotel in Pasadena.
I thought I was hosed... it was all over and both the groom and a poster on TMF.com were going to chew me out.
I went to the wedding and it was a great ceremony. One of my co-workers administered the vows, so to speak. I forget the proper term but he had the "power vested" to award the couple marriage. He did a tremendous job although he was nervous. Not to mention, the whole affair was outdoors in nippy weather in Pasadena. Good times, though.
After the tremendous, and remarkably short, wedding ceremony, and by that I mean 10 minutes tops... that would never happen in a Mexican Wedding... ever, but anyway, after that we headed inside to the lobby where they set up the open bar. Good times my friends good times... BUT!
I look at all the table tags for each of the guests and notice something peculiar. Most folks had their own name set up for a tag and some persons had "[Person] and guest." My tag: Just my name, no guest! YES!!! Would you believe I never marked "+1" in the first place?! I am off the hook! Do the dance!!!!!
With that huge sigh of relief, I went to the open bar and asked for a chardonnay right off the top. Then my friends urged me to get another so I asked for a Jack and Coke.
Now get this: the jokers at this bar at the Westin in Pasadena didn't have Jack Daniels *or* Coke. They had this bogus brand called "Canadian Mist" and Pepsi. Who would make a freaking "Canadian Mist and Pepsi??!" But, I went with it, and it was just as good, so it was fine.
My friends and I then talked with each other and we kept with the drinks, then we were ushered into the ballroom. Food and dessert was a treat! Most of us got the NY Steak which was pretty good. I won't say spectacular but considering the mass production of tonight's dinners I thought the Westin did a great job. Even though they didn't mean to, they wound up cooking most of the steaks at medium, which I *loved.* The night was tremendous... I suppose our party had a good look at "Drunk Dave" but I made sure to hydrate and I was 100% sober by 8:15.
Weddings -- aren't they grand? I tend to enjoy them even more when I don't have an active role in one... i.e. A groomsman, or best man, or something of that nature. You have all the fun, and none of the responsibility!
I'm sure many of you just thought this: What would have happened if I "succeeded" and brought a date to the wedding, only to find out there was no provision for him or her? That would have been a disaster! I suppose in life, some of the best moves are ones you don't make.
I'm happy to report that one of my friends has a blog of his own. Meet John in CT's new blog: http://jdwsports.blogspot.com/
Remember when the Grammys were at Radio City Music Hall in New York instead of Staples Center, and everyone else in the building wasn't forced to go on an 19 day road trip? Those were good days.
Remember when the Lakers didn't get bitch-slapped by the Miami Heat every game? Those were good days.
The most frustrating thing about the Heat game is that the Lakers actually played pretty well for most of the game. Then, once again, the Heat just "turned on the switch" and shut the Lakers out entirely. That's what I hate the most about all this!!!!!! Whenever they want to, the Heat can basically cut the Lakers' balls off and destroy them. I'm so sick of being humiliated by the Heat, but if it's any consolation, the Lakers are hardly alone with this.
I believe when it's all said and done, LeBron James will have a far more prolific career than Kobe Bryant could ever dream of. Consider all that he's done up to now, before he even hit the age of 30. When you consider that the venerable Kevin Garnett just this week got 25,000 points in his late thirties, whereas LeBron got 20,000 points this year at the age of 28. There's really nothing at this point that can really stop him.
He is *not* pretty to watch offensively, one on one, and he gets away with a lot of contact and "traveling," but to say he's not the best player in the NBA is absurd. We all will look with wonder back on these days when LeBron was tops in the NBA. He does it all: scoring, passing, shooting, rebounding, and defense.
For while I felt like Kevin Durant was a better player than LeBron, but to be honest, Durant is a scorer, nothing more. I can't speak to his defense. Thus, I came around to LeBron as the best player in the NBA.
If you thought they saved all the College Basketball excitement for March, think again. How exciting was that 5 overtime game between Louisville and Notre Dame?
SC playing good basketball? Believe it!
Kansas lost three games in a row... it still blows my mind.
That's all from here. Have a good day everyone!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 8th
I feel bad for the Northeast, about to get another storm. I hope everyone is safe this weekend. Be well everyone. For now here's what was on my mind...
Today, I am at a cross-roads.
I'm realizing just how absurd it is to pay nearly 100 dollars a month for TV programming at my home. I grant you there's a number of good channels to watch but I barely watch any of them. I keep up with the local teams, put in some ESPN, and once in a while, NFL/NHL/MLB network.
This is worth 100 bones a month? Directv has really raked me across hot coals for several years now, and before that, Cox Communications had the privilege. I kept Directv all this time to have the chance to get NFL Sunday Ticket. Today, I'm feeling a little different about it.
I don't know what to do. I can't afford to keep the service anymore. I'd save nearly 100 bucks every month, and I want to cut down on expenses somehow.
And yet, it presents a whole series of complications: do I cede my intense following of sports? Am I giving up my authority on sporting events around the globe? Will it compromise the quality of my sports podcast? These are all things I'm very worried about.
My love of sports has presented a tough situation: it's the one thing I love most on TV, yet, it's the most expensive bill I pay every month. Electricity is usually not more than 45 bones... Gas is about 15-20. Things like that.
I can still watch TV using the rabbit ears here in Los Angeles. I won't be completely in the dark. Nonetheless, it would present a new chapter in my life. There might be other ways to get to the biggest sporting events like semi-legal streams or trips to the sports bar.
Speaking of Los Angeles, would you believe Ryan Lochte is in town? I know, dumb question, of course you would! This place was made for dopes like him, but more power to him. Welcome back, Lochte.
I am also happy to report that the Income Tax return is completed! Do the dance! I'm always so relieved to get it done. Thankfully, it went very quickly this year. I don't have a whole lot to account for, which is a blessing in disguise.
Do you have helicopters fly in the area sometimes? We had one last night, not that close by but close enough where you could hear the rotors going like one endless hum. If it's close enough it makes it tough to sleep.
OH but what a thrill it is to have Friday here. Not sure what to do tonight, but even a nothing-night is a good night.
The story behind the making of this G.I. Joe sequel movie is just so odd and complicated. That's Hollywood for ya!
Porto's Bakery in Burbank or Glendale is a winner... and it's so cheap too! I believe I spoke of their fine goods before, but it's worth going back down the road.
The Lakers showed their true colors last night. It was disgusting, but not surprising. This is basically what they are -- awful. I'm glad they got that win at Brooklyn the other night. If anything they got it together for one night. I'm not sure where LA goes from here anyhow.
I'm seriously in a mood for a big bowl of fruit. I took too long to pick some up at the grocery store but I shall be on my way very soon.
I think that's all I got this A.M. enjoy your morning. --and yes, are we all getting hosed too much by our cable/satellite provider? Something to consider going into the weekend. Farewell for now, folks.
Today, I am at a cross-roads.
I'm realizing just how absurd it is to pay nearly 100 dollars a month for TV programming at my home. I grant you there's a number of good channels to watch but I barely watch any of them. I keep up with the local teams, put in some ESPN, and once in a while, NFL/NHL/MLB network.
This is worth 100 bones a month? Directv has really raked me across hot coals for several years now, and before that, Cox Communications had the privilege. I kept Directv all this time to have the chance to get NFL Sunday Ticket. Today, I'm feeling a little different about it.
I don't know what to do. I can't afford to keep the service anymore. I'd save nearly 100 bucks every month, and I want to cut down on expenses somehow.
And yet, it presents a whole series of complications: do I cede my intense following of sports? Am I giving up my authority on sporting events around the globe? Will it compromise the quality of my sports podcast? These are all things I'm very worried about.
My love of sports has presented a tough situation: it's the one thing I love most on TV, yet, it's the most expensive bill I pay every month. Electricity is usually not more than 45 bones... Gas is about 15-20. Things like that.
I can still watch TV using the rabbit ears here in Los Angeles. I won't be completely in the dark. Nonetheless, it would present a new chapter in my life. There might be other ways to get to the biggest sporting events like semi-legal streams or trips to the sports bar.
Speaking of Los Angeles, would you believe Ryan Lochte is in town? I know, dumb question, of course you would! This place was made for dopes like him, but more power to him. Welcome back, Lochte.
I am also happy to report that the Income Tax return is completed! Do the dance! I'm always so relieved to get it done. Thankfully, it went very quickly this year. I don't have a whole lot to account for, which is a blessing in disguise.
Do you have helicopters fly in the area sometimes? We had one last night, not that close by but close enough where you could hear the rotors going like one endless hum. If it's close enough it makes it tough to sleep.
OH but what a thrill it is to have Friday here. Not sure what to do tonight, but even a nothing-night is a good night.
The story behind the making of this G.I. Joe sequel movie is just so odd and complicated. That's Hollywood for ya!
Porto's Bakery in Burbank or Glendale is a winner... and it's so cheap too! I believe I spoke of their fine goods before, but it's worth going back down the road.
The Lakers showed their true colors last night. It was disgusting, but not surprising. This is basically what they are -- awful. I'm glad they got that win at Brooklyn the other night. If anything they got it together for one night. I'm not sure where LA goes from here anyhow.
I'm seriously in a mood for a big bowl of fruit. I took too long to pick some up at the grocery store but I shall be on my way very soon.
I think that's all I got this A.M. enjoy your morning. --and yes, are we all getting hosed too much by our cable/satellite provider? Something to consider going into the weekend. Farewell for now, folks.
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 7th
I knew I forgot something... All morning I was chilling at the office bumping along with my usual routine and I thought the whole time "something's missing." Then I realized it: I forgot to write my blog entry.
Well! Let's talk donuts. I can't let it go... how can any place charge $2.50 for a donut. I even go to gourmet donut places in Los Angeles like Stan's in Westwood Village and they only charge a buck for a regular donut. It doesn't add up. So what if they're bigger? They're still ordinary donuts.
The place I speak of: Doughnut Plant in New York City. I went out there last May for a donut, and it was a good donut to be sure, but it was still just a normal, round donut with the hole in it. Come on now... $2.50? It's a donut! It wasn't even a special donut or a twistie, a filled one, or some kind of pretzel shaped pastry.
I don't know, folks. When it comes to donuts, I can't think of much you can do to make them very expensive. Other than the larger twists/filled/specialty ones. But ordinary ring like donuts... donuts are donuts.
FREE FREE FREEEeeeeeeeeee! TAX ACT.com!! I love this radio commercial for some strange reason.
What would you say is the worst radio commercial you ever heard? To me, so far, I have to give the award to the Kars 4 Kids. Cheaply produced, inane, dreadful, and unconvincing. In fact, they say that K4K is a giant scam anyway.
One of my favorites, well, there are quite a lot, but I used to like the old commercials for Snow Summit out here in California. This guy with a big voice would tease the opening of Snow Summit, and he'd go "Snow Summit is open, Snow Summit is open..."
Sport Chalet commercials are great because of the jingle at the end: "Sport Chaleeeeeeeeeeeet, we'll take you to the limit!" With the power anthem guitar at the end? So good.
More recent commercials I've enjoyed include the "Mavis Discount Tire" commercial. I love that jingle: "Ma-vis... Discount Tire. America's Discount Tire Store!"
One of the most hilarious radio spots ever, which I never *heard* on the radio, was the commercial for Corn Nuts. The chorus would go "Bust a nut, bust a nut, grab a bag of Corn-Nuts and bust a nut!" It was full of hundreds of mastrubating double entendres.. I heard it online once via mp3 that someone sent me. Anyway, here it is:
--Now I wonder if it was a real commercial.
Over the years there are more commercials I can remember being fond of than not liking. Perhaps its the good fortune of living in Southern California where songwriting is a big industry? I pop on WFAN in New York all the time, and the commercials out there are just so bad. Granted, the Mavis commercial is a NY commercial.
Just make sure that whatever you do, do not let anything stick to your colon walls like spackle or paste.
Didn't have much on my mind today but more to come tomorrow. Have a good morning, everyone.
Well! Let's talk donuts. I can't let it go... how can any place charge $2.50 for a donut. I even go to gourmet donut places in Los Angeles like Stan's in Westwood Village and they only charge a buck for a regular donut. It doesn't add up. So what if they're bigger? They're still ordinary donuts.
The place I speak of: Doughnut Plant in New York City. I went out there last May for a donut, and it was a good donut to be sure, but it was still just a normal, round donut with the hole in it. Come on now... $2.50? It's a donut! It wasn't even a special donut or a twistie, a filled one, or some kind of pretzel shaped pastry.
I don't know, folks. When it comes to donuts, I can't think of much you can do to make them very expensive. Other than the larger twists/filled/specialty ones. But ordinary ring like donuts... donuts are donuts.
FREE FREE FREEEeeeeeeeeee! TAX ACT.com!! I love this radio commercial for some strange reason.
What would you say is the worst radio commercial you ever heard? To me, so far, I have to give the award to the Kars 4 Kids. Cheaply produced, inane, dreadful, and unconvincing. In fact, they say that K4K is a giant scam anyway.
One of my favorites, well, there are quite a lot, but I used to like the old commercials for Snow Summit out here in California. This guy with a big voice would tease the opening of Snow Summit, and he'd go "Snow Summit is open, Snow Summit is open..."
Sport Chalet commercials are great because of the jingle at the end: "Sport Chaleeeeeeeeeeeet, we'll take you to the limit!" With the power anthem guitar at the end? So good.
More recent commercials I've enjoyed include the "Mavis Discount Tire" commercial. I love that jingle: "Ma-vis... Discount Tire. America's Discount Tire Store!"
One of the most hilarious radio spots ever, which I never *heard* on the radio, was the commercial for Corn Nuts. The chorus would go "Bust a nut, bust a nut, grab a bag of Corn-Nuts and bust a nut!" It was full of hundreds of mastrubating double entendres.. I heard it online once via mp3 that someone sent me. Anyway, here it is:
--Now I wonder if it was a real commercial.
Over the years there are more commercials I can remember being fond of than not liking. Perhaps its the good fortune of living in Southern California where songwriting is a big industry? I pop on WFAN in New York all the time, and the commercials out there are just so bad. Granted, the Mavis commercial is a NY commercial.
Just make sure that whatever you do, do not let anything stick to your colon walls like spackle or paste.
Didn't have much on my mind today but more to come tomorrow. Have a good morning, everyone.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 6th
Isn't it true that in life, "Less is more?" I should employ that more.
The truth is, I'm fighting a few things in life... basically, I need a little help getting my act together financially. I'm looking for someone to take to a wedding this weekend and I am 0-5. 0-5!!
It's been a long time since I was 0-5 at something. I remember one time in Super Mario Bros where I couldn't get past the first part of a level ten times in a row, but the key was to keep trying. So, let's keep it rolling...
I'm still pretty sad about Huell Howser's passing. He was the Public Television Icon of Los Angeles and hosted "California's Gold," and last night, I had some golden fries and a great burger at Pie 'n' Burger. If you have a good down-home restaurant anywhere in town, Huell Howser probably went there. He was great, and never pretentious.
So, last night, I'm about to leave and pay the bill and I see the PNB staff left a photo of Huell right by the register... it was so touching.
By the way I *love* that clock. Huell is an American original.
The Pie of choice last night: Cherry Pie. It felt right for the time. You know, the Lakers get a huge win at Brooklyn, put in a little momentum, and the obvious move is to go for "the cherry on top." So Cherry pie fit the mood. Good times.
Delays frustrate me. The phone I use now, a DROID X2 from Motorola, is full of them. This is my fault: I shouldn't have cheaped out and gone with such a bare bones model. It has the computer power of a calculator. I mean anything you want to do is not without some kind of delay. Writing a text... the characters lag. Going online, any google search is a big ole delay before I can type anything. I can't even type in my system password to unlock the phone without some sort of delay. It's a joke. Dragging the screen and it lags like sludge. The battery life on it is dismal. I listen to a few things here and there, browse the web for an hour, let it sit at work and by the time I get home it's gasping for air.
I'm still a believer in Android and the DROID series phones, but I need to get a better model. Maybe I'd even go the Samsung route and go with the Galaxy series. I'll be eligible for a new phone in November!
It'd be really great if I somehow put money on a stock by chance and it exploded to be a Top 500 mega-company. The "Apple Story" I call it. If, for example, back in 1976 you put down a quarter on Apple stock and it because enormous. You could even have put a few bucks on Apple shares around 1997 when it was on the brink of elimination, only to see the company explode with the introduction of the iMac and iPod.
My buddy Andrew made a joke once during our last spring training trip. If you want something to succeed, just put an "i" in the name. "iPhone, iPod, iPad... whatever it is, just put an 'i' in front of it." I laughed so hard!
Good news... we're doing it again! Spring Training returns next March. I look forward to seeing some more games, including my own boys, the Dodgers.
The Walking Stick, I think it's called, Casino over in Scottsdale is tremendous. You also get a pretty damn good buffet out there, with some noice views. Highly recommended.
Zipps, I believe is the name, is my favorite sports bar out there. Get their wings... just get them. If you like wings, it's the place to be.
Scottsdale had Five Guys way before anyone in California had Five Guys. I made it a point to eat there even though I already had a huge breakfast that day at the hotel with the Coach. That was tough to eat with no appetite but it was great.
Then I go back to California, and they opened about 50 locations in my area since then. Unbelievable!
...but JIMMY JOHNS, the delivery sandwich place, is still not out here. Hopefully it comes in due time.
If we do go to Arizona again, I gotta remind my buddy to make a stop at Dunkin' Donuts. They aren't in California just yet so it'd be worth getting ahead of the curve with a donut in AZ.
I'm sorry for the way I acted on tmf.com this morning. I was out of line and was being too much of an attention whore. Maybe I do that anyway but I was over the top. Hope all is well. Catch you guys soon...
The truth is, I'm fighting a few things in life... basically, I need a little help getting my act together financially. I'm looking for someone to take to a wedding this weekend and I am 0-5. 0-5!!
It's been a long time since I was 0-5 at something. I remember one time in Super Mario Bros where I couldn't get past the first part of a level ten times in a row, but the key was to keep trying. So, let's keep it rolling...
I'm still pretty sad about Huell Howser's passing. He was the Public Television Icon of Los Angeles and hosted "California's Gold," and last night, I had some golden fries and a great burger at Pie 'n' Burger. If you have a good down-home restaurant anywhere in town, Huell Howser probably went there. He was great, and never pretentious.
So, last night, I'm about to leave and pay the bill and I see the PNB staff left a photo of Huell right by the register... it was so touching.
By the way I *love* that clock. Huell is an American original.
The Pie of choice last night: Cherry Pie. It felt right for the time. You know, the Lakers get a huge win at Brooklyn, put in a little momentum, and the obvious move is to go for "the cherry on top." So Cherry pie fit the mood. Good times.
Delays frustrate me. The phone I use now, a DROID X2 from Motorola, is full of them. This is my fault: I shouldn't have cheaped out and gone with such a bare bones model. It has the computer power of a calculator. I mean anything you want to do is not without some kind of delay. Writing a text... the characters lag. Going online, any google search is a big ole delay before I can type anything. I can't even type in my system password to unlock the phone without some sort of delay. It's a joke. Dragging the screen and it lags like sludge. The battery life on it is dismal. I listen to a few things here and there, browse the web for an hour, let it sit at work and by the time I get home it's gasping for air.
I'm still a believer in Android and the DROID series phones, but I need to get a better model. Maybe I'd even go the Samsung route and go with the Galaxy series. I'll be eligible for a new phone in November!
It'd be really great if I somehow put money on a stock by chance and it exploded to be a Top 500 mega-company. The "Apple Story" I call it. If, for example, back in 1976 you put down a quarter on Apple stock and it because enormous. You could even have put a few bucks on Apple shares around 1997 when it was on the brink of elimination, only to see the company explode with the introduction of the iMac and iPod.
My buddy Andrew made a joke once during our last spring training trip. If you want something to succeed, just put an "i" in the name. "iPhone, iPod, iPad... whatever it is, just put an 'i' in front of it." I laughed so hard!
Good news... we're doing it again! Spring Training returns next March. I look forward to seeing some more games, including my own boys, the Dodgers.
The Walking Stick, I think it's called, Casino over in Scottsdale is tremendous. You also get a pretty damn good buffet out there, with some noice views. Highly recommended.
Zipps, I believe is the name, is my favorite sports bar out there. Get their wings... just get them. If you like wings, it's the place to be.
Scottsdale had Five Guys way before anyone in California had Five Guys. I made it a point to eat there even though I already had a huge breakfast that day at the hotel with the Coach. That was tough to eat with no appetite but it was great.
Then I go back to California, and they opened about 50 locations in my area since then. Unbelievable!
...but JIMMY JOHNS, the delivery sandwich place, is still not out here. Hopefully it comes in due time.
If we do go to Arizona again, I gotta remind my buddy to make a stop at Dunkin' Donuts. They aren't in California just yet so it'd be worth getting ahead of the curve with a donut in AZ.
I'm sorry for the way I acted on tmf.com this morning. I was out of line and was being too much of an attention whore. Maybe I do that anyway but I was over the top. Hope all is well. Catch you guys soon...
Monday, February 4, 2013
Dave's Thoughts of the Day, February 5th
All right friends, here's the story of the Judge Smails themed pontoon boat Super Bowl Party in the sky...
It all started at about 3pm on Sunday afternoon, when the Super Bowl was about to start. My Dad and I and his friends got invited up to the Tower Club in Oxnard, which is on the top floor of Oxnard's tallest building. We only have two buildings:
It's the one on the left!
It was a friend of a friend of a friend who invited us to the party, so we were delighted to join in. Oh man was this place ritzy or what?
Swanky setting... the building was built in 1987, so the whole edifice reminds me of OCP headquarters from "Robocop." To the left of where you see this bar, above, were two giant TV screens, one LCD screen and a huge DLP monitor to the left of that. Here's the kicker, both of them were showing the crappy standard def feed.
I freaked out! I said, we paid MONEY to go up to this fancy bar and they don't even have an HD signal for these TV screens? I nearly ran back to the elevator but then I calmed down and one of my friends there asked for the remote. He was trying to find the channel with the HD version of CBS. Thankfully I remembered the channel numbers on FIOS in Oxnard and told him it was Channel 502. Crisis averted. The same scenario applied for the second screen.
Once that was settled we were good to go, but predictably, nobody in the crowd (aside from people in my Dad's group and I) was under 50. It was odd. People got into it, though, it was just a little... unusual.
To give you an example, normally you go up to the bar and ask for beers and so on. Here, people in tuxedos asked you for drinks. So, all right, I asked for a few Bud Lights. Thankfully they were just two bones each. I heard the cocktails were ridiculous prices, so I passed. I had to drive home anyway so they did me a favor.
Then, like, when you get food at the nice buffet they had, you come back, settle down, eat, and those tuxedo guys take your plate away right afterward. This is a nice feature but I was not used to it. Usually I'd either let it sit on the table a while and then some bus boy would get it or I'd return it to the bar. Posh setting this was.
The other thing that stuck out to me was that when you look out the window, it felt like you were in one of those buildings from "The Jetsons." In all honesty, this was a pretty damn cool bar. Very exclusive place, I hear. I wonder how I'd get in here as a civilian. It's probably not possible.
The spread: prime rib, bbq style for sliders on little french rolls, then beer cooked hot dogs, and chili, wings, giant chipotle bbq beef ribs, and a full nacho bar. For dessert, a compliment of Pecan Pie, cookies, and brownies. This place had great food.
It was a room full of Judge Smailses but the people there were mostly friendly. My Dad asked me to help him select squares for a pool we enrolled in, $5 each for two squares... so I chose a square on the edge and he chose one in the middle. Then they revealed the numbers for my square: Ravens 1 and Niners 6.
I told my Dad "There's no way they're gonna get 1 and 6! Dang that's a bummer." So we watch the first half and, suddenly, the score is Ravens 21, Niners 6. Quarter ends, and the lady at the front is yelling "1 and 6! 1 and 6!" Then like a light bulb went off in my head and we were like "That's our numbers!!" My pop won $125 for that square my friends. It was a good night indeed.
I'm glad I saved this story for today: sports were dead tonight my friends. Instead of sports, I embarked on a few other things. I got a present for my friend's wedding on Sunday. I had an unusual conversation with the lady who helped wrap the present at the Bed Bath and Beyond.
She asked me when the wedding was and I said Sunday. Then out of the blue she asked me "Is it a Jewish Wedding?" The heck? ...it was an Asian wedding if anyone was wondering, but that doesn't make much difference. Then I realized why she asked. Usually church is on Sundays and weddings are on Saturdays. I can see the confusion! So I explained the whole thing to her. The Wedding is not at a Church per se, but instead at the Westin Hotel in Pasadena. Another nice place, very posh. Good stuff.
It took a while for her to wrap the present but we continued to talk about stuff. She was older, already married and with kids. She was in London last April. She thinks everything is too expensive. At any rate, she finished wrapping and I was on my merry way.
Dinner was a tough call tonight. I wanted the burrito from Tacos Por Favor, the chorizo and cheese burrito, but they closed once I left BBB. Instead, I went to McDonalds.
All right so the McDonald's speaker... really difficult to understand what people are saying but it's worse when the person isn't speaking clearly.
Pull up to the window... "would you like to tryignubites?"
Me: "What was that? I'm sorry I didn't hear that."
"You like to tryignabites?"
Me: "One more time?"
"Would you like to tryignabites?"
Me: "Six piece nuggets? No, I want to do the ten piece meal..."
That was confusing... then at the end after I paid the money at the window, she asked somebody else about the ignabites aka the "Fish Filet BITES" Those drive thru speakers are an enigma.
All ended well and I had a nice meal from the McD's. Chicken McNuggets, fries, and the Orange Hi C drink. My favorite!
Why do some drive thrus have only one window and other ones have two? Wendys and Taco Bell have just one -- In N Out and McDonalds have two.
Some of the driving I did last night reminds me why I take the bus to work in LA.
Sad to say, I have returned the digital piano keyboard to Best Buy and got a refund. I realized it would take a really long time and many hours at the keyboard to compose music, so the dream of "Story of a Plumber" will have to be reduced to a poem.
I took for granted how hard it was to play piano. It takes weeks of practice just to get one song right. I was fool to not realize this immediately but I still had fun doodling around with the keyboard for a little while.
Donuts sound good today don't they? I had a great kick out of this moment on Friday... on Friday I told my co worker at the main office "Boy doesn't it feel like a good time for a donut?" Then after a while he said "I'm getting a donut... you kept talking about donuts all the time and now you got me wanting a donut." Hahahahahahaha, I laughed so hard. He comes back with a whole roll of donuts... it was awesome.
I suppose one never underestimates the power of persuasion.
The Northern Trust Open looks great this year. THIS time, after blowing it the previous three years, I'm going to find a way to that thing come hell or highwater. I have no excuse to keep missing this tournament every year with it being less than three miles away from me. I could literally walk to the course from my apartment. I may consider taking a day off to soak it all in.
Man, this particular entry feels very narcissistic. Balance will be key tomorrow to make up for it. Hope you all enjoyed reading. Catch you soon!
It all started at about 3pm on Sunday afternoon, when the Super Bowl was about to start. My Dad and I and his friends got invited up to the Tower Club in Oxnard, which is on the top floor of Oxnard's tallest building. We only have two buildings:
It was a friend of a friend of a friend who invited us to the party, so we were delighted to join in. Oh man was this place ritzy or what?
I freaked out! I said, we paid MONEY to go up to this fancy bar and they don't even have an HD signal for these TV screens? I nearly ran back to the elevator but then I calmed down and one of my friends there asked for the remote. He was trying to find the channel with the HD version of CBS. Thankfully I remembered the channel numbers on FIOS in Oxnard and told him it was Channel 502. Crisis averted. The same scenario applied for the second screen.
Once that was settled we were good to go, but predictably, nobody in the crowd (aside from people in my Dad's group and I) was under 50. It was odd. People got into it, though, it was just a little... unusual.
To give you an example, normally you go up to the bar and ask for beers and so on. Here, people in tuxedos asked you for drinks. So, all right, I asked for a few Bud Lights. Thankfully they were just two bones each. I heard the cocktails were ridiculous prices, so I passed. I had to drive home anyway so they did me a favor.
Then, like, when you get food at the nice buffet they had, you come back, settle down, eat, and those tuxedo guys take your plate away right afterward. This is a nice feature but I was not used to it. Usually I'd either let it sit on the table a while and then some bus boy would get it or I'd return it to the bar. Posh setting this was.
The other thing that stuck out to me was that when you look out the window, it felt like you were in one of those buildings from "The Jetsons." In all honesty, this was a pretty damn cool bar. Very exclusive place, I hear. I wonder how I'd get in here as a civilian. It's probably not possible.
The spread: prime rib, bbq style for sliders on little french rolls, then beer cooked hot dogs, and chili, wings, giant chipotle bbq beef ribs, and a full nacho bar. For dessert, a compliment of Pecan Pie, cookies, and brownies. This place had great food.
It was a room full of Judge Smailses but the people there were mostly friendly. My Dad asked me to help him select squares for a pool we enrolled in, $5 each for two squares... so I chose a square on the edge and he chose one in the middle. Then they revealed the numbers for my square: Ravens 1 and Niners 6.
I told my Dad "There's no way they're gonna get 1 and 6! Dang that's a bummer." So we watch the first half and, suddenly, the score is Ravens 21, Niners 6. Quarter ends, and the lady at the front is yelling "1 and 6! 1 and 6!" Then like a light bulb went off in my head and we were like "That's our numbers!!" My pop won $125 for that square my friends. It was a good night indeed.
I'm glad I saved this story for today: sports were dead tonight my friends. Instead of sports, I embarked on a few other things. I got a present for my friend's wedding on Sunday. I had an unusual conversation with the lady who helped wrap the present at the Bed Bath and Beyond.
She asked me when the wedding was and I said Sunday. Then out of the blue she asked me "Is it a Jewish Wedding?" The heck? ...it was an Asian wedding if anyone was wondering, but that doesn't make much difference. Then I realized why she asked. Usually church is on Sundays and weddings are on Saturdays. I can see the confusion! So I explained the whole thing to her. The Wedding is not at a Church per se, but instead at the Westin Hotel in Pasadena. Another nice place, very posh. Good stuff.
It took a while for her to wrap the present but we continued to talk about stuff. She was older, already married and with kids. She was in London last April. She thinks everything is too expensive. At any rate, she finished wrapping and I was on my merry way.
Dinner was a tough call tonight. I wanted the burrito from Tacos Por Favor, the chorizo and cheese burrito, but they closed once I left BBB. Instead, I went to McDonalds.
All right so the McDonald's speaker... really difficult to understand what people are saying but it's worse when the person isn't speaking clearly.
Pull up to the window... "would you like to tryignubites?"
Me: "What was that? I'm sorry I didn't hear that."
"You like to tryignabites?"
Me: "One more time?"
"Would you like to tryignabites?"
Me: "Six piece nuggets? No, I want to do the ten piece meal..."
That was confusing... then at the end after I paid the money at the window, she asked somebody else about the ignabites aka the "Fish Filet BITES" Those drive thru speakers are an enigma.
All ended well and I had a nice meal from the McD's. Chicken McNuggets, fries, and the Orange Hi C drink. My favorite!
Why do some drive thrus have only one window and other ones have two? Wendys and Taco Bell have just one -- In N Out and McDonalds have two.
Some of the driving I did last night reminds me why I take the bus to work in LA.
Sad to say, I have returned the digital piano keyboard to Best Buy and got a refund. I realized it would take a really long time and many hours at the keyboard to compose music, so the dream of "Story of a Plumber" will have to be reduced to a poem.
I took for granted how hard it was to play piano. It takes weeks of practice just to get one song right. I was fool to not realize this immediately but I still had fun doodling around with the keyboard for a little while.
Donuts sound good today don't they? I had a great kick out of this moment on Friday... on Friday I told my co worker at the main office "Boy doesn't it feel like a good time for a donut?" Then after a while he said "I'm getting a donut... you kept talking about donuts all the time and now you got me wanting a donut." Hahahahahahaha, I laughed so hard. He comes back with a whole roll of donuts... it was awesome.
I suppose one never underestimates the power of persuasion.
The Northern Trust Open looks great this year. THIS time, after blowing it the previous three years, I'm going to find a way to that thing come hell or highwater. I have no excuse to keep missing this tournament every year with it being less than three miles away from me. I could literally walk to the course from my apartment. I may consider taking a day off to soak it all in.
Man, this particular entry feels very narcissistic. Balance will be key tomorrow to make up for it. Hope you all enjoyed reading. Catch you soon!
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 4th
First of all, congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens for winning the Super Bowl this year. I tell you, that was the wildest Super Bowl I've ever seen! First the Ravens embarrass the Niners in the first half, then a pretty damn good Half Time Show with Beyonce and a little bit of Destiny's Child. Then a new record for longest kickoff return (Jacoby Jones), THEN a power outage, then an unbelievable comeback for the 49ers, and lastly a good defensive stand by the Ravens aided by some bonehead coaching decisions by 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh.
Just how we drew it up!
With the win, my Super Bowl Predictions streak now stands at an unprecedented FIVE years. Honestly, I'm shocked. I've never gotten anything right five years in a row: not stocks, not the NBA Finals, not my Oscars Best Picture Prediction, nothing. To get the Super Bowl right for this long is just incredible. I love it... I'm glad to know that I went so long with a correct prediction. I mean this thing is a fluke! You guys know how bad I am with predictions. How does it keep happening?
To be honest, I don't want to write a whole lot about the game because there's nothing I could really write that hasn't been written already. You know what I mean? All I'm going to say is two things:
1. Flacco is now a big time quarterback. I bagged on him for years and he keeps proving me wrong, but this year, above all others, he took it to another level. It reminds me of Eli Manning's ascension to the upper echelon of quarterbacks. If you win the big game and play well during the game, you become a very special brand of QB. End of story.
2. Jim Harbaugh got exposed. I think for many of us who follow the NFL closely we saw this already but on a National Stage it became crystal clear that his hype is just a LITTLE overblown. This isn't to say he sucks, or he's overrated per se..... actually yes this IS to say he's overrated. He is VERY overrated. Every time they get in position to take charge or come back the man bottles up. Look at the play they did on fourth down. A fade??? Really?! Why was it beyond their comprehension to run the ball a couple of times with a whopping two minutes left. How'd they wind up having to use those timeouts and nearly encumber a Delay of Game Penalty? Harbaugh got outcoached by the other Harbaugh.
Now I hope my buddies Andrew and Jacob don't read this... it will either make them cry or they'll slice off my head, oh baby.
Super Bowl Commercials. Every year somebody or a bunch of people claim "THESE COMMERCIALS SUCKED THIS YEAR" or some jazz. You think these commercials suck, you should have seen the commercials back in 2000 for Super Bowl XXXIV. That was the all time worst year of Super Bowl Commercials. Dot Com companies with no clue how to market to average joes falling into money, then financing some of the worst commercials ever. Not just for the Super Bowl, but for all of television. It was awful.
At the end of the day, any sequence of commercials is still a bunch of commercials. The aim is to sell a product. I prefer not to put so much emphasis or expectation on a bunch of dopey ads. In fact, I went to the bathroom to take a leak during several of those commercial breaks.
Macroscopically, I thought the commercials this year were all right. Some highlights, some lowlights, some awkwardness. The Taco Bell old dudes commercial going HAM on college like activities was pretty hilarious. There were a couple others that were good, although I can't remember them all.
I don't recall any specific commercial that was the "worst." It's been a while since we had that racist Panda commercial for some website a few years ago (was that SB XLII?). The Paul Harvey Farmer commercial was kind of meh.
I mean, the whole time I saw it I was going "what is the point of all this?" "What are they selling?" And then at the end they show a Dodge Truck. Then I went "ugggh, ok."
However, I hear it was a huge hit with farmers and Middle America!
If Dodge or Apple tries to make a commercial like that for Tech Persons, I'm all ears.
With the flurry of information going out about the Super Bowl, I'll have to save my "LT meets Judge Smails Pontoon Boat in the Sky Super Bowl Party" story for tomorrow. Just not enough space in this entry to write it all out at once. It was a blast though at the end, but man you talk about hoity toity this was it, LOL. Still, a good time. More on this tomorrow.
Saddest part of this great weekend? No more football afterward. Now we're stuck with BASEBALL and some NBA stuffs. (and I say "BASEBALL" the way George Carlin would say 'baaaaaaaaaaaaseball' in his 'Baseball and Football' routine)
I do believe there will be a trip to Spring Training in effect this year! Baseball should be a good time, and let's hope the Dodgers hold up their end of the bargain.
Drat! I didn't even have time to write about the Color Run by Dodger Stadium! It was wild folks, wild. Imagine a race with no timer, no expectations, and a whole lot of colored powder flying all over the course. My Dad and sister and some friends went to do it, and it was just... odd... but it looked like fun!
The lady who finished first was a beauty. Double entendre there. She did a great job, though! A little kid also finished in only 22 minutes. It's a 5K race, so that is outstanding!
That's all for now. Have a good Monday my friends.
Just how we drew it up!
With the win, my Super Bowl Predictions streak now stands at an unprecedented FIVE years. Honestly, I'm shocked. I've never gotten anything right five years in a row: not stocks, not the NBA Finals, not my Oscars Best Picture Prediction, nothing. To get the Super Bowl right for this long is just incredible. I love it... I'm glad to know that I went so long with a correct prediction. I mean this thing is a fluke! You guys know how bad I am with predictions. How does it keep happening?
To be honest, I don't want to write a whole lot about the game because there's nothing I could really write that hasn't been written already. You know what I mean? All I'm going to say is two things:
1. Flacco is now a big time quarterback. I bagged on him for years and he keeps proving me wrong, but this year, above all others, he took it to another level. It reminds me of Eli Manning's ascension to the upper echelon of quarterbacks. If you win the big game and play well during the game, you become a very special brand of QB. End of story.
2. Jim Harbaugh got exposed. I think for many of us who follow the NFL closely we saw this already but on a National Stage it became crystal clear that his hype is just a LITTLE overblown. This isn't to say he sucks, or he's overrated per se..... actually yes this IS to say he's overrated. He is VERY overrated. Every time they get in position to take charge or come back the man bottles up. Look at the play they did on fourth down. A fade??? Really?! Why was it beyond their comprehension to run the ball a couple of times with a whopping two minutes left. How'd they wind up having to use those timeouts and nearly encumber a Delay of Game Penalty? Harbaugh got outcoached by the other Harbaugh.
Now I hope my buddies Andrew and Jacob don't read this... it will either make them cry or they'll slice off my head, oh baby.
Super Bowl Commercials. Every year somebody or a bunch of people claim "THESE COMMERCIALS SUCKED THIS YEAR" or some jazz. You think these commercials suck, you should have seen the commercials back in 2000 for Super Bowl XXXIV. That was the all time worst year of Super Bowl Commercials. Dot Com companies with no clue how to market to average joes falling into money, then financing some of the worst commercials ever. Not just for the Super Bowl, but for all of television. It was awful.
At the end of the day, any sequence of commercials is still a bunch of commercials. The aim is to sell a product. I prefer not to put so much emphasis or expectation on a bunch of dopey ads. In fact, I went to the bathroom to take a leak during several of those commercial breaks.
Macroscopically, I thought the commercials this year were all right. Some highlights, some lowlights, some awkwardness. The Taco Bell old dudes commercial going HAM on college like activities was pretty hilarious. There were a couple others that were good, although I can't remember them all.
I don't recall any specific commercial that was the "worst." It's been a while since we had that racist Panda commercial for some website a few years ago (was that SB XLII?). The Paul Harvey Farmer commercial was kind of meh.
I mean, the whole time I saw it I was going "what is the point of all this?" "What are they selling?" And then at the end they show a Dodge Truck. Then I went "ugggh, ok."
However, I hear it was a huge hit with farmers and Middle America!
If Dodge or Apple tries to make a commercial like that for Tech Persons, I'm all ears.
With the flurry of information going out about the Super Bowl, I'll have to save my "LT meets Judge Smails Pontoon Boat in the Sky Super Bowl Party" story for tomorrow. Just not enough space in this entry to write it all out at once. It was a blast though at the end, but man you talk about hoity toity this was it, LOL. Still, a good time. More on this tomorrow.
Saddest part of this great weekend? No more football afterward. Now we're stuck with BASEBALL and some NBA stuffs. (and I say "BASEBALL" the way George Carlin would say 'baaaaaaaaaaaaseball' in his 'Baseball and Football' routine)
I do believe there will be a trip to Spring Training in effect this year! Baseball should be a good time, and let's hope the Dodgers hold up their end of the bargain.
Drat! I didn't even have time to write about the Color Run by Dodger Stadium! It was wild folks, wild. Imagine a race with no timer, no expectations, and a whole lot of colored powder flying all over the course. My Dad and sister and some friends went to do it, and it was just... odd... but it looked like fun!
The lady who finished first was a beauty. Double entendre there. She did a great job, though! A little kid also finished in only 22 minutes. It's a 5K race, so that is outstanding!
That's all for now. Have a good Monday my friends.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Dave's Official Super Bowl XLVII Prediction
I have Baltimore winning Super Bowl XLVII 28-21. B-more gets one more. Ravens all the way.
For deets on how I picked it and why, check out our latest Super Bowl Podcast. I made the pick at the 50 min mark of the program: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/daveinthecity/2013/02/02/super-bowl-wk-pt-v-prop-bets-predictions-02-01-13
For deets on how I picked it and why, check out our latest Super Bowl Podcast. I made the pick at the 50 min mark of the program: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/daveinthecity/2013/02/02/super-bowl-wk-pt-v-prop-bets-predictions-02-01-13
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: February 1st
I apologize for the tardiness of todays entry. Nothing huge today but a few quickies:
Here's to a Super Bowl game be full of promise.
May it be freed of bogus officiating
May there be a good halftime show
Let there be a deserving winner, and not one who lucks out.
I hope for the best for all players.
I think that's it. I look forward to the game like I haven't looked forward to a game in quite some time.
I used to, and probably still do, gripe about the Super Bowl being on the same weekend as my Grandmother's birthday. Perhaps that's mean? But my thing is, it's tough to travel to her party and then travel back to wherever I'm seeing the Super Bowl the next day. I'd rather dedicate one weekend to her and the next one to the Super Bowl. The way it's set up now, I can only put half as much dedication into either, but we work it out.
My Grandmother may not have a lot of years left, and every chance we can, it's good to celebrate good moments with her. For that reason, I never let that happenstance bother me much. After all, no matter what, the Super Bowl is just a game. Family is more important.
In the past, they'd try to stage a celebration on the SAME DAY. Now that was brutal. I remember Super Bowl XLIII between Pit and Arizona. My own team was in it, and nobody was watching the game because there was music and relatives and carousing and giant celebrations for my Grandma on my Dad's side in my Aunts House in Palmdale, so the game would be on in the living room, and everyone else would be in the Garage with the loud music and the food and streamers.
I also remember, and I don't recall what point of the game it was, but I think it was the second half, but the family was rolling out the Happy Birthday song and someone came in to grab me to go sing with them. Now imagine how tough a spot this is: your favorite team is putting together a big drive down the field and people want you to come out to sing happy birthday?
I think I still went out there, but then darted back to the TV to watch the rest of the game.
Then, the SAME THING happened the year after when they had the Saints/Colts Super Bowl. This one was particularly frustrating because one of my uncles had a 26 minute birthday video montage to present to everybody. They put it on in the middle of the game! I also remember that they refusesd to put on the game audio for most of the game. It was a mess. Eventually, after I begged and pleaded, the family let us watch the rest of the game unfettered, and I think it was the 4th quarter by then.
Since that day I have made it a point to urge family not to do any kind of birthday parties on the same day as the Super Bowl. If it was my own birthday, I'd ask for the same thing, or to just forget my birthday altogether. Over time we developed a compromise to do the birthday party on Saturday and the Super Bowl Game on Sunday. Thankfully, my relatives are not unsympathetic to NFL Football.
I think it's only fair. Back in the day when I was a kid, my whole family would wake me up at 2am in the morning to watch World Cup games.
Haha, those were crazy times my friends. This year, I think it will be a good weekend. Busy day tomorrow. In fact, my Dad is going to join his friends in a 5K race at Dodger Stadium. How cool is that? We'll get to see him finish and then watch some of the ongoing new stadium construction. Very exciting! Likewise, we'll go to one of my Aunt's houses in L.A. for my Grandmother's birthday. Afterward, I'll return to Oxnard, and join my Pop and friends for a Super Bowl Party on Sunday at the Tower Club, an upscale lounge at the top floor of the Financial Plaza tower in Oxnard. It happens to be the tallest building between Los Angeles and San Francisco if memory serves.
It's a bit of an odd place to watch a Super Bowl. Imagine many groups of Judge Smailses, I guess? That's my impression of the place. Hopefully it won't be as pretentious as I think, but watching the Super Bowl at even Oxnard's most exclusive club is intriguing. Best part is: I won't have to prep any snacks or cook or any of that! Haha...
I hope it's a Super Weekend, and Baltimore and San Francisco have got to hold up their end of the bargain. A dud game would be such a buzzkill but I'm hoping for the best!
Now for the Super Bowl Prediction... all right here we go...
Tune in tonight!! You'll hear it on tonight's "Dave in the City" podcast between 10:50 and 11pm Eastern. Can't wait to bring it to you all. Here's the link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/daveinthecity/2013/02/02/super-bowl-wk-pt-v-prop-bets-predictions-02-01-13
Happy Super Bowl everyone! Hope it's a good weekend for all ofyou.
Here's to a Super Bowl game be full of promise.
May it be freed of bogus officiating
May there be a good halftime show
Let there be a deserving winner, and not one who lucks out.
I hope for the best for all players.
I think that's it. I look forward to the game like I haven't looked forward to a game in quite some time.
I used to, and probably still do, gripe about the Super Bowl being on the same weekend as my Grandmother's birthday. Perhaps that's mean? But my thing is, it's tough to travel to her party and then travel back to wherever I'm seeing the Super Bowl the next day. I'd rather dedicate one weekend to her and the next one to the Super Bowl. The way it's set up now, I can only put half as much dedication into either, but we work it out.
My Grandmother may not have a lot of years left, and every chance we can, it's good to celebrate good moments with her. For that reason, I never let that happenstance bother me much. After all, no matter what, the Super Bowl is just a game. Family is more important.
In the past, they'd try to stage a celebration on the SAME DAY. Now that was brutal. I remember Super Bowl XLIII between Pit and Arizona. My own team was in it, and nobody was watching the game because there was music and relatives and carousing and giant celebrations for my Grandma on my Dad's side in my Aunts House in Palmdale, so the game would be on in the living room, and everyone else would be in the Garage with the loud music and the food and streamers.
I also remember, and I don't recall what point of the game it was, but I think it was the second half, but the family was rolling out the Happy Birthday song and someone came in to grab me to go sing with them. Now imagine how tough a spot this is: your favorite team is putting together a big drive down the field and people want you to come out to sing happy birthday?
I think I still went out there, but then darted back to the TV to watch the rest of the game.
Then, the SAME THING happened the year after when they had the Saints/Colts Super Bowl. This one was particularly frustrating because one of my uncles had a 26 minute birthday video montage to present to everybody. They put it on in the middle of the game! I also remember that they refusesd to put on the game audio for most of the game. It was a mess. Eventually, after I begged and pleaded, the family let us watch the rest of the game unfettered, and I think it was the 4th quarter by then.
Since that day I have made it a point to urge family not to do any kind of birthday parties on the same day as the Super Bowl. If it was my own birthday, I'd ask for the same thing, or to just forget my birthday altogether. Over time we developed a compromise to do the birthday party on Saturday and the Super Bowl Game on Sunday. Thankfully, my relatives are not unsympathetic to NFL Football.
I think it's only fair. Back in the day when I was a kid, my whole family would wake me up at 2am in the morning to watch World Cup games.
Haha, those were crazy times my friends. This year, I think it will be a good weekend. Busy day tomorrow. In fact, my Dad is going to join his friends in a 5K race at Dodger Stadium. How cool is that? We'll get to see him finish and then watch some of the ongoing new stadium construction. Very exciting! Likewise, we'll go to one of my Aunt's houses in L.A. for my Grandmother's birthday. Afterward, I'll return to Oxnard, and join my Pop and friends for a Super Bowl Party on Sunday at the Tower Club, an upscale lounge at the top floor of the Financial Plaza tower in Oxnard. It happens to be the tallest building between Los Angeles and San Francisco if memory serves.
It's a bit of an odd place to watch a Super Bowl. Imagine many groups of Judge Smailses, I guess? That's my impression of the place. Hopefully it won't be as pretentious as I think, but watching the Super Bowl at even Oxnard's most exclusive club is intriguing. Best part is: I won't have to prep any snacks or cook or any of that! Haha...
I hope it's a Super Weekend, and Baltimore and San Francisco have got to hold up their end of the bargain. A dud game would be such a buzzkill but I'm hoping for the best!
Now for the Super Bowl Prediction... all right here we go...
Tune in tonight!! You'll hear it on tonight's "Dave in the City" podcast between 10:50 and 11pm Eastern. Can't wait to bring it to you all. Here's the link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/daveinthecity/2013/02/02/super-bowl-wk-pt-v-prop-bets-predictions-02-01-13
Happy Super Bowl everyone! Hope it's a good weekend for all ofyou.
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