Deep Thoughts

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I wanted to share a comment from one of my students today.  At the end of the assignment today I asked them to tell me what they thought one of the quotes on the board meant. 

One student picked this quote:

"The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm." Swedish Proverb

My student wrote:

"I think the Swedish proverb means that you should always try to help yourself, unless you have no hands."

McCourt Fails to Make Sense

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Today was not a good day to be a Dodger fan.  Today the Dodgers decided not to offer salary arbitration for arguably their best starter (Randy Wolf) last year and to their All-Star/Gold Glove winning second baseman (Orlando Hudson).  Both players will be looking for multi-year deals and would have brought the Dodgers draft picks if they sign with other ballclubs.  But instead, McCourt feared that they would accept arbitration, which means they would have agreed to take a one year deal and would be in line for a raise.

The Dodgers reduced their payroll by $20 million last year (not counting the savings from Manny's suspension).  They are looking at reducing their payroll AGAIN this year.

Does this mean they will be lowering ticket prices?  Nope, they aren't even keeping tickets at the same price, but will increase some ticket prices.  How about parking?  I haven't heard the plan there, but it cost $15 last year, which is ridiculous. 

If it gets more expensive for parking and tickets and whatever else they add, then I say let's do what T.J. Simers suggests in staying home and watching the Dodgers on TV.  This way I save time and money AND give tribute to Vin Scully, who just might be done after next season.

McCourt, Dodger fans are paying attention to what you are doing, or should I say what you are NOT doing.  I hope that there is more to your plan.  You say it is business as usual for the Dodgers, nothing affecting the club due to your divorce.  Well, I sure hope you have something up your sleeve.  If not, then I say SELL THE TEAM!

Best Christmas Movies

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There are a lot of Christmas movies out there, but to me two movies standout...Christmas Vacation and The Christmas Story.  So many lines in those movies that have lasted the test of time.

If for some reason you have not seen these movies within a year or two, do yourself a favor and rent them, check that, BUY them and make them a holiday tradition.

Here are the trailers for these movies:

Christmas Vacation (1989)



The Christmas Story (1983)

Bakersfield vs. Pasadena

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I was born and raised in Pasadena, CA.  I still have many friends and family that live in Pasadena or surrounding cities.  When we moved to Bakersfield (October 2007) many people said, "Bakersfield! Why Bakersfield?"  There were many reasons to move to Bakersfield, one big one being we were living in Victorville (Victimville, Victorhell, Hicktorville, etc).

So I thought I would share some info for those of you who haven't been to Bakersfield in a while.  To give you a little perspective, I'm comparing the stats versus Pasadena.

(Bakersfield/Pasadena: click on link for stats/photos/graphs)
Population: 321,078 to 143,080 (as of July 2008)

Median Age: 30.1 to 34.5

Estimated median household income in 2007: $51,664 to $66,465


Estimated median house/condo value in 2007: $300,500 to $705,100


Top 5 Races: White (51.1%), Hispanic (32.5%), Other (18.7%), Black (9.2%), Two+ Races (4.4%)
                     White (39.1%), Hispanic (33.4%), Other (16.0%), Black (14.4%), Two+ Races (5.4%)

2008 Cost of Living Index:  93.1 to 162.8 (US average is 100)


Foreign Born Residences:  13.6% to 32.3%

Registered Sex Offenders: 1035 to 115

Major Crimes: (per 100,000 for 2007)
Murder: 4.7/7.6
Rape:  12.9/22.7
Robberies: 197.3/208.2
Arson: 28.5/15.8
Burglaries: 1109.7/566.8

2004 Presidential Election Results: (Kern County/LA County)

Kern County

(LA County)

My TiVo List

Here are the shows that I watch:

Survivor-CBS

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This is the show that I’ve watched the longest.  I haven’t seen all the seasons; I think I missed two or three seasons.  This is a great reality show in my opinion.  This season has been great.

Lost-ABC  

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Talk about a confusing, frustrating show, yet so good.  Rebecca and I watched old episodes via DVD to get caught up, and now know why there were two polar bears on a tropical island.  The final season starts in January.  I hate that it doesn’t start in the fall like most other shows.

24-FOX

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Once again, hate the show because it starts in January, but outside of that, LOVE this show.  Jack Bauer is the man.  Great concept of a show, one day in the life of the USA in crisis, only to be saved by Jack Bauer time and time again.

Biggest Loser-NBC

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Starting watching this show a few years ago, usually while eating my dessert (usually ice cream).  Amazing to see what people can do when they get top of the line training and their only job is to work out.

SVU-NBC

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This show makes the list, but is a low priority.  We usually watch it on days we have nothing new to view.

The Office-NBC  

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For YEARS, my mom asked us, “Do you watch The Office?”  Well, I should have listened to my mom a long time ago.  Thursday night was a full night and we already had two shows during that time slot.  But when Grissom left CSI, that opened up a time slot for The Office.  Last summer Beck and I caught up watching reruns on TBS (very funny).  This is one of our favorites.

Grey’s Anatomy-ABC

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This show has many characters that I don’t particularly like, but it’s generally entertaining.  So much drama on this show.

The Closer-TBS

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We started watching this because it was the only thing new that ran during the summer.  After watching the first show, we had our doubts.  But we gave it a few more tries, and now we love it.  Glad we stuck with it.

American Idol-FOX

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I usually stop watching faithfully once the bozos leave.  Now that the biggest bozo left (Paula), maybe I’ll watch a little more (she killed me!)   I love Simon and his way of doing things.

World Series Of Poker-ESPN

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Always fun to watch the worlds best players go up against a huge field of guys like you and me.  $8.5 million to the winner this year, all of 21 years of age.  It’s all down hill from there buddy.
These shows help me get through the dog days of no baseball.  Only 81 days until pitchers and catchers report!

Dodger Report

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This is the guy the Dodgers need to get.  Unfortunately, McCourt will not pony up and make it happen.  Instead the Angels have a better shot to land him.  I love the Dodgers greatly, but if the Angels get Doc Halladay, then the cries for a new owner will get louder.

Dodgers need to do something...and I'm very interested in what that something will look like.

Go Blue!

Frank(ly), We Have a Problem

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I have a gripe, and I thought what's a better place to do it but on my blog.

Baseball free agency is here and once again we are seeing that the Los Angeles Dodgers of Brooklyn are shrinking into a small market team.  When baseball writers are mentioning "Big Market, Big Payroll teams" and the list does not include the Dodgers...we've got a problem.

The Dodgers' payroll last year was a hair over $100 million last year (not counting the discount they received by Manny getting busted for 50 games.)  That puts them #9, behind Houston, Philadelphia, and Detroit.  That puts them just above Seattle and Atlanta.

The Dodgers need to be a big boy club.  They are in a huge market, have the largest stadium (capacity-wise), and had the highest attendance in all of MLB in 2009.

Yet they run their team like a 2nd tier club.

Sure they have spent money in the past on big contracts (Manny, Schmidt, Kevin Brown), but I can't remember them being a Top 5 team in payroll.  What pisses me off is that the Angels are considered a big boy club and the Dodgers are not.

Frank McCourt has a rep of being cheap.  He doesn't want to be a big payroll guy.  Well, get out of LA.  Use your divorce as an excuse.

Step up, or step down.  Use some of the billion dollar worth you have and invest wisely.  You have a city that supports your team.  Step up.