So my blog has been having major issues. I've had both pop-ups and comment spam.

Hopefully using word verification will help get rid of the comment spam, and I assume most of you are using either a pop-up blocker or the Mozilla web browser.

But still, does anyone know how to get rid of these pop-ups?

Dodgers owner, Frank McCourt, when he hired Paul DePodesta in February 2004:

"...it also fits with a desire to recreate the feeling of stability and continuity that the Dodgers have had over the years. We are bringing in a young man and making a five-year commitment. We are looking for stability because it goes hand-in-hand with success."

Right...

For those who haven't seen it yet, here are some pictures of KCPC at 50 Northridge:

KCPC Main Sanctuary


View From 50 Northridge


So I admit you'll get that view about once a year. Still, that's pretty sweet.

The following is such a common misconception that I actually believed it for awhile (even though it's my job to know this!)

Keep old lines of credit open
Closing old accounts shortens your credit history and lowers your score. Lenders also take into account the average age of your accounts, so an older account can help balance newer credit. Source: SmartMoney.com

Closing an old account DOES NOT shorten your credit history. The length of time you've had credit is not affected by whether your oldest account is open or closed.

And while an older account may help balance newer credit, it does not matter whether that account is open or closed.

However, it is true that closing an old account could lower your credit score a few points by increasing the balance to credit limit ratio on your open accounts.

But I would close an old account anyway, because it's a hassle to monitor a credit card account you never use. Here are some of the things you need to keep in mind if you keep the old account open:

1) If the account is open, it's possible for someone to use your credit card fraudulently.

2) You are more likely to forget to make a credit card payment for a card you think you never use, and thus severely hurt your credit score.

3) You need to make sure to update your mailing address for this account every time you move. (You need to know if you're being billed for some reason, and this also helps avoid fraud.)

Here are the shoulder exercises I'm currently doing for my shoulder problems:

Thera-Band Shoulder Extension (Starting at 45°)
Begin with one end of the band securely attached. Grasp the other end of the band with slight tension, with your arm forward to about 45°. Extend your arm backward, keeping your elbow straight. Hold and slowly return.



Thera-Band Shoulder Scapular Retraction (at 0°)
Grasp the band between your hands with slight tension. Keep our elbows bent 90° and pinch your shoulder blades together. Hold & slowly return.



Thera-Band Shoulder External Rotation at 0° (starting at 45)
Begin with one end of the band securely attached. Grasp the other end of the band with slight tension. Start with your elbow by your side, in approximately 45° of internal rotation and pull the band outward, keeping your elbow bent at 90°. Hold and slowly return.



Thera-Band Shoulder Internal Rotation at 0° (starting at 45)
Begin with one end of the band securely attached. Grasp the other end of the band with slight tension. Start with your elbow by your side, in approximately 45° of external rotation and pull the band inward, keeping your elbow bent at 90°. Hold and slowly return.

More random notes:

-What worse?

Losing to Oregon State at home despite the fact they were handing the game to us on a platter?

Or having the Angel offense be so bad that the White Sox bullpen threw a total of 7 pitches in the 5 game ALCS? Ozzie Guillen's job was so difficult he could've turned his lineup card in at the beginning of each game and then took a nap for the next 3 hours.

-My shoulder issues continue...

I dislocated my shoulder in my sleep last week. And if I thought it was just a bad dream, it happened again 2 nights later. The second time I actually had to sit up and actually make sure my shoulder went back into the socket...

Just in case you haven't seen it, here's the controversial play in last night's Angels-White Sox game:

See the video for "Pierzynski's K in ninth"

Regardless of whether the home plate umpire made the right call (he didn't), he can't gesture that the batter is out and then change his mind later.

Dan The Man does a great job of breaking this down further.

Of course, this wasn't the only reason the Angels lost. It just feels that way.

But now the hard part for the Angels will be getting over this. That's easier said than done, but manager Mike Scioscia has done a good job of taking the focus away from the controversy...

Seeing the Yankees lose always brings a smile to my face.



And when it's the Angels knocking them out of the first round for the 2nd time in 4 years, then it's even sweeter...

Random notes from this past week:

-Finally starting to get settled into our apartment in SF. I got a warm welcome to the city by getting a parking ticket the first week in...

-Went to the SF small group for the first time. Since I already know most of the people in the group, I feel pretty comfortable in it...

-Went biking across Golden Gate Bridge with Allen, Sammy Sohn, and a couple others. But there were Fleet Week activities going on, so Fisherman's Wharf was even more crowded than it gets during the 4th of July fireworks.

-Not a great sports weekend for me. I'm still trying to forget about the loss to UCLA, and then the Angels lost tonight. It all comes down to game 5 tomorrow...

So my baseball bets didn't turn out so well this year. If I made the bets I wanted, I would've lost 14% on my investment...

Team	Investment	Wager	Vegas	Actual	Odds	Return
LAA	31.77	Under	92	95	1.77	0.00
BOS	28.87	Win AL East		0 GB	3.00	0.00
OAK	28.79	Win AL West		7 GB	4.40	0.00
SD	19.67	Under	86	82	2.10	41.31
NYY	16.61	Under	101	95	1.77	29.39
TB	12.86	Under	71	67	1.77	22.75
CHW	12.73	Under	82	99	1.95	0.00
WAS	12.45	Over	71	81	1.83	22.82
PHI	12.24	Over	85	88	1.91	23.36
TOR	11.66	Over	71	80	1.87	21.79
PHI	11.73	Win NL East		2 GB	6.50	0.00
HOU	10.69	Under	82	89	1.91	0.00
NYM	10.69	Under	84	83	1.91	20.41
OAK	9.24	Over	82	88	1.77	16.36
S Green	10.00	Under	31 HR	22	1.80	18.00
D Jeter	10.00	Under	191 Hits	202	1.80	0.00
Overall	250.00					216.20
						-14%

A few lessons to learn from this experiment:

1) You just can't outsmart the Vegas sportsbooks.

2) There's a lot of variance in sportsbetting. Even though my bets were based on the results of 162 games for 12 different teams, the profitability of this investment came down to baseball's tiebreaker rules. Had the Red Sox won the tiebreaker to win the AL East championship, this investment would've returned a 21% profit.

3) Don't put all your eggs in one basket-- or even three. My top 3 investments were all losers, but 6 of my next 7 were winners.

4) I should stick to betting on season win totals-- I would've made a 20% profit had I done so. Picking division winners appears to be less profitable because there's a good chance that at least one other team in the division will play better than I expect...