Catwhoshatinthehat

The regular season is 162 games long. If they don't make the playoffs you can blame it all you want on one game or one series but they had as many chances as every other team to get it done. When the Astros moved back to the AL west in 2013 some people on here were saying the Angels would have the luxury of playing them 19 times a year. Just goes to show you how quickly it can all change and misfortune one year can be a blessing the next when your opponents struggle.

Our office in Irvine has 360 degree views and looking east it's dark and looks like the end of days while the west is quite a bit brighter. Just now you can see the winds picking up and it's starting to rain a bit. Edit - poured for a while and it's still raining. Thankfully I have a short commute.

The title of a Tim Brown article that I've seen some on here mention more than once this season: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/the-angels-are-in-danger-of-wasting-another-season-of-mike-trout-065947417.html If this is a Craig please feel free to delete it as it could have been posted in one of the Trout threads since last night. At the very least the yahoo comments section is always fun.

Every year my promotional offer through TWC expires and they try raising my rates. I call and tell them I want to cancel my service and that Dish/DirecTV/etc. is offering me more for less. I always end up on the newest promotion they have which the last 2 years has been pretty much the same price. If you call and tell them you want to cancel your service like yk said they'll find a way to lower your cost and/or give you more for less.

Do any of you do the daily/weekly leagues like fan duel, draft kings, etc? I'm tempted to do this for fantasy football but just wanted to get any feedback before signing up. Sounds pretty straight forward and I'm only going to do like $2-5 a week but figured I'd ask. Thanks.

I had my other draft and true to form it was the most unpredictable one even though I know the tendencies of some of the owners. I ended up with guys who I didn't think would be there or there was a run on a position and I had to take a guy to fill a need. This was with the 10th pick in a 14 team league and right now there's next to nothing available on the waiver wire: QB - Tannehill WR - OBJ, D. Adams RB - CJ Anderson, A. Abdullah TE - K. Rudolph Flex - S. Johnson K - McManus DEF - GB BN - D. Carr, L. Blount, R. Hill, M. Bryant, K. Stills, J. Thomas I have Blount and Bryant on the bench right now because they're suspended 1 and 4 games respectively. Every year I tell myself I'm not going to end up with a NE RB and for the last 3 years I've failed miserably at sticking to that and end up with a guy who may get 20 touches in a game or less than 5. I didn't even mean to pick J. Thomas but I didn't have anyone queued up and ran out of time while looking at available players. I took OBJ at 19 because I didn't think he'd be there and I had him higher than Cobb/AJ Green who were the next best WR's on the board. I took Adbullah where I thought I might get him but had other guys ahead of him who I thought I'd have a chance at but they were all gone. In a 14 team league looking at all the rosters no one has strong depth at the start of the season and you're counting on some guys to step up but I feel like my draft wasn't as good as last years. I really need either Blount or Adullah to run away with the starting job or get 15-20 touches a game or I'm going to be stuck trying to figure out who to start each week.

We're talking about a league that as of late suspended/penalized arbitrarily even going against their own suspension policy, see Ray Rice. At lunch they had the NFL network on and on the ticker it said one thing the judge considered in his decision was that the NFL didn't notify the defense of all of the evidence they were using against Brady. I'm guessing the NFLPA has issues with the league doing that to any player and possibly violates the agreement the two sides have. Either way the entire thing is a joke dragging it out like this and the NFL is saying they'll appeal. I wonder how much money has been spent on this that could have gone to an actual worthwhile endeavor.

Some of us travel and/or have offices in other parts of the world. I figured a dew swilling hippie teacher like you would be well traveled.

I'd love to see a model like the one they have in Singapore where citizens and permanent residents have an account that's designated for them that both they and their employer pay into. That account is further divided into 4 accounts/buckets that cover retirement, helping with a home purchase and healthcare in later years while the 4th account comes into play after a certain point and combines two of the other accounts to assist with expenses later in life . That said I know it won't happen for a variety of reasons the biggest of which is that we have a pay as you go system. Regardless as someone in their early 30's I don't enjoy paying into a system I count on getting nothing from in retirement but it is what it is. I'd gladly sacrifice what both me and my employer have paid so far along with what my employer will pay in the future just to keep my contribution going forward.

I went with it's what I expected. I figured they were a .500 ball club so I didn't have crazy expectations and quite honestly I haven't for a while because recent Angel teams have seemed pretty lackluster, nonchalant, call it what you will. It's a long season and every team goes through ups and downs and admittedly I don't follow other teams but they just seem to take it to another level. Again that's probably my jaded view of following them but it is what it is. For the last few years I just haven't been getting that invested or interested in a team that doesn't seem to care and more importantly perform for long stretches. I tune in, I root for them and so on but it makes it easier when they under perform because I don't expect much.

More power to Caitlyin Jenner, this kid and all the other transgenders but we're talking about an estimated 0.2-0.3% of the US population. I realize ignoring it doesn't fix the problems these people face but the media constantly forcing it down the American public's throat isn't the solution either. Generally once the hash tags, facebook comments and so on die down people move on to the next popular agenda that makes them feel like they're saving the world. Only this sticks around longer because of a family that constantly whores themselves out for attention.

Why would he step down? I think this is almost a best case scenario for him - he punished Brady/New England like most owners wanted and it takes a judge to step in and overturn his bad decisions which he can't do anything about. I'm sure there's some kind of legal recourse they can take but if the league is smart they'll back off and just let it go away with the season starting.

Years ago we were regulars at the Sunday El Torito brunch at fashion island (been gone for a while now) which was like $17 a person and included all you can drink champagne. That turned into a debacle every time as we'd end up going to Newport after but it was a blast and back then hangovers were harder to come by and cheap champagne didn't give me a bad headache like it does now. For my go to fast food meal I'll steal from Soto. I haven't had the caliente burger but at Tommy's the triple chili cheeseburger combo with chili cheese fries and a diabetes inducing extra large soda. I made it through that once years ago and I'm pretty sure some of that chili still resides in my stomach. These days I just go with the chili cheeseburger combo with chili cheese fries and can barely move after eating that. For quick Chinese food that's a step above panda express, below a sit down restaurant and cheaper than both Lucky Chinese food (cash only) in Fountain Valley can't be beat. A 2 item combo is like $6 but they literally overfill the styrofoam container with your entree choices. You get plenty of rice/chow mein as well but you aren't walking away with a container that weighs well over a pound just because of that.

Plenty of blame to go around and trying to scapegoat any one person is really just a cop out. Arte needs to let his GM do his job, DiPoto made some poor moves personnel wise, Mike really just seems set in his ways and wields too much power and some guys that needed to perform just haven't this year. The Angels have had the most success in the franchises history during his tenure but I think it's time for the one change that's been the only constant for the last 15 years.

I don't think anyone is underestimating Rodgers and whether we're talking fantasy or actual football he's the best QB in the league in my book. There's a difference between making someone look good and replacing a legit #1 receiver which is what Nelson is. Nelson is 6'3, can turn a short pass into a long touchdown, can make ridiculous sideline catches while keeping his feet in bounds when he comes down and opposing teams will stick their best CB on him. Cobb is 5'10 and while he's definitely skilled he thrives in part because teams focus more on Nelson on defense. Adams had a monster game in the playoffs last year as the 3rd receiver but when you step into that #1 or 2 role you're going to get more attention. That's not to say Adams and/or whoever ends up as their 3rd receiver won't have a good year because yes having a QB like Rodgers will help those players but replacing a #1 receiver and making a 3rd or 4th option look good are 2 different things. The biggest difference is come playoffs when you go up against a defense like Seattle because they're going to knock the crap out of your receivers all day long and that's when the #1 receiver and your guy who stepped up in his absence during the regular season becomes apparent. When they beat Pittsburgh in the 2011 super bowl they had injuries but in that game they had Nelson, G. Jennings, J. Jones and D. Driver all playing which was no shortage of weapons even though all of those players were at different points in their careers - Nelson's 1st monster season came the following year, Jennings had his 3rd 1,000 yard season in a row, Driver was 35 and on the downside and Jones was a good 3rd/4th option.

We were there for about a week and when we got there the cabbie told us where we were staying about a mile north of La Rambla was nice because La Rambla is crowded, noisy and a tourist trap. 2 other locals told us the same thing and said when it comes to where you spend your time and where you eat there are much better places to be. We found ourselves around Avenida Diagonal much more (plenty of shopping and food) which was partially due to where we stayed but also because after going to La Rambla once we didn't feel the need to go back. Wherever you are watch your wallet (notices in airport when you arrive telling you this) but If you go to La Rambla you really need to watch your wallet and if you want to stop and look at a map or your phone to see where you are it's recommended you do it somewhere in doors so as not to stand out. I'd recommend going to Familia Sagrada and we just got tickets online that we picked up when we got there instead of going with a tour that cost more. You can get audio guides that will allow you to go at your own pace and by ordering beforehand you avoid the long ticket line. As a photographer you'll love the architecture (Gaudi) and the pictures you'll be able to take there. As I mentioned earlier I'd recommend Sitges just be aware some of the bars or bar areas at night might not be where you want to take kids. To be fair we weren't there at night but there were flyers for parties they had and they do have festivals that would look like something put on in the Castro District. It is a beautiful little town on the Mediterranean and while we were there at the beginning of summer the beach was way laid back and better than anything you'd find in most OC beaches as far as crowds and the laid back vibe go. We did a Freixet tour from Barcelona that took us to Sitges after with a trip to the Bacardi house where they teach you to make a Mojito and it was well worth the $50 or so per person. You could do a train to Sitges which was reasonably priced (think like $10 or less per person each way) and they have 3 stations from Barcelona that will get you there in 45-60 minutes if you want more free time there or to stay a few nights. The PIcasso museum was nice and of course eating Paella is a must when you're there.

Yeah one of the most beautiful women I ever saw was working at a small cafe that we stopped off at right after checking into our hotel. Not until we spent a few more days there did I realize that was just the beginning as there were beautiful women all over.

Germany - Munich, Berlin and a bunch of other small towns. Went during Oktoberfest and even outside of Munich there were a bunch of events going on with small beer gardens, festivals and so on. The smaller places all seem to have a sense of pride and seem to be actual communities where a lot of people know each other. Berlin was fun because of the history seeing the monuments, art/pieces related to the wall, checkpoint Charlie and so on. Netherlands - Amsterdam was fun and it was a trip seeing people smoke out in the open. Gorgeous women. Spain - Barcelona and Sitges. Barcelona was fun but like most big cities to me in a way they all feel somewhat alike. I'm not a big city person and would never live in LA, NY or a place like Barcelona but they're fun to visit. Sitges was way more laid back and I'd recommend it but if you go make sure you know it's a well known tourist/relocation spot for people who live an alternative lifestyle. Nothing wrong with that at all just mentioning it because we went for the day and I imagine at night it may be a bit different based on the bar life. They also have festivals that you may not be expecting so before taking kids there do your research. London - About the only major city I've been to that I truly enjoyed and would consider living in. It's pricey but there's so many places to go and it's a great jumping off point for the rest of Europe. We have an office there and most of the people who are there hop around Europe on the weekends for pretty cheap. Mexico - PV, Cabo, Rosarito and so on. I think most people from CA have been to some parts of Mexico. Went to TJ when we were 18-20 but wouldn't go now because I don't need to. Cabo is fun and pretty laid back and I'd gladly retire somewhere like that some day. US - not real well traveled. Aside from states on this side of the country I've only spent time in NY. I hope to see more of the US later in life as for now I prefer big trips to be overseas.

YEAH JEETS!

The only other WR I was considering there was Megatron who is an even bigger injury concern but I think if he stays healthy he has a huge season. I like OBJ but I'm just skeptical of taking any guy who has been in the league for a short period of time that early. I thought about taking CJ Anderson and will probably take him at 10 in my other league (RB valued higher plus we have a flex so RB depth is better) but he's basically a 2nd year player (7 touches in 2013 as a rookie) and as a Denver fan I'm pretty skeptical of the new system with a 39 year old QB. As much as I think Anderson could have a big year I didn't want both my fantasy teams to depend on him producing as a RB1. I actually acquired Julio in a trade in 2013 in one of my leagues and within a week he was out for the season so I know the risk all too well yet I still traded for him last year in that league.

Where I'm at real estate prices might be up to 2008 levels but they aren't up to 2006 levels which were the highs. I expect prices to come down once the fed starts raising rates and mortgage rates increase but I haven't seen anything that leads me to beleive the same type of subprime lending and securitization is occurring that we saw before the crash, at least not to the same degree.

I'll never forget about 11-12 years ago I was at the gym and I overheard 2 guys talking. One of the guys was an older white guy in his 50's, somehow they started talking about Long Beach and Snoop and the older guy said he lived in the same neighborhood when Snoop was growing up and knew him when he was a kid. The guy laughed and said "Calvin was a bitch growing up and all the kids in the neighborhood knew it. He tried to act hard but when push came to shove he ran away crying." No idea how true it is but I never forgot it because it was funny hearing a white guy in his 50's call out a rapper.

First draft last night, 8 pick in a 10 team league with no flex spot: QB - Wilson RB - Miller, Forsett WR - D. Thomas, J. Jones, G. Tate TE - J. Cameron K - Carpetner DEF - AZ BN - Eli, Spiller, R. Jennings, M. Wallace, M. Colston, Z. Ertz As is the case every year I ended up taking guys I didn't think I would (Forsett 4th round, Wilson 5th) because they fell, the value was there and when it was my turn to pick there wasn't anyone else available that really jumped out at me. In rd 2 I could have had CJ Anderson, Hill, Gronk, OBJ, etc. but I've always been a Julio fan and think if he stays healthy he's going to have a monster year in a contract year.

The hat on the right looks like the artist snuck a penis in there.

I enjoy when unethical and immoral people do something like this and get called out for it. If you really want to cheat what makes someone think it's a good idea to do it through a website using personal information? Reap what you sow. That said I really don't care enough to use the search engines.