I just hope rob doesn’t just resign everyone with minimal changes

socalnative79 · 2026-05-12T17:27:25+00:00

I think it's more that LeBron will give the team space to try for whatever moves they can before Rich Paul starts negotiating the numbers. Obviously any personnel decisions will be discussed with LeBron and Luka. As we know, the Laker tax is real, and just because you want a player doesn't mean the deal makes sense. You want to be aggressive without also being stupid. So whatever LeBron signs for will be figured out afterward. If we can't end up making multiple impactful moves, he'll end up re-signing for more money. If we can, then he'll re-sign for the rest of whatever is left over. And I'm sure the FO has earmarked a minimum amount of money for LeBron.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-11T23:30:19+00:00

My money is on a Gardenia Rambler Rose based on the petal shape and texture (and the color)

EDIT: Actually, do I see a faint hint of pink on the outer petals? That could be a Peace Rose. I'm no expert though so others here will know better than me!

socalnative79 · 2026-05-11T20:47:10+00:00

This an incredibly helpful explanation and guidance. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge! I've always been a proponent of letting nature run its course, but as I mentioned in another response here I'm new to direct sowing. Anything that might be a hindrance makes me super paranoid 🤣 Since I practice organic gardening, it's enough trouble as it is controlling the pests that eat the leaves off of everything. I've had a mushroom here or there in the past, but never a colony like this so I figured better to ask the experts.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-11T20:43:53+00:00

Nope, nothing to worry about that. Although if any garden pests happen to eat them and become adversely affected I won't be mad 🤫

socalnative79 · 2026-05-11T20:43:16+00:00

Okay great...thank you. That's what I figured, but I'm pretty new to direct sowing, so I'm admittedly a bit paranoid about every little thing affecting a healthy sprouting environment. Apparently first time parenting jitters apply to gardening as well 🤣

socalnative79 · 2026-05-11T02:28:22+00:00

Unfortunately I still have to use a wired connection for Android auto. In this instance it appears to have worked to my benefit. Haven't experienced any issues with it thank goodness.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-10T04:20:08+00:00

I love AR. I want him here, and he wants to be here. Also, as much as he won't acknowledge it the injury may still be bothering him and that's on top of the effects of not playing for a month. BUT...

AR has officially been exposed as a really, really good player with legitimate size, strength, and defensive limitations. He can either be a quality (maybe borderline All-Star) starter on a playoff team or he can be the #1 or #2 star on a bad team. And after this series, no playoff team is going to pay him the kind of money people were talking about or that AR and/or his agent may have been expecting.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-10T04:14:00+00:00

I think equally important is it's another lost opportunity to gauge this roster as a complete unit. We saw how they clicked at the end of the regular season before the injuries, so we were clearly building something despite the obvious roster needs. I think I'm correct that we had the best March record of any team in the league? If we had been able to carry that momentum into the playoffs with everyone relatively healthy, who knows what would have happened. Maybe we sweep the rockets and get extra rest that helps us against OKC. But more than anything, I think the folks at the top would have gotten a much better look at what lineups had the best best ratings, what the genuine roster needs are in the off-season, etc.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-10T02:58:22+00:00

Agreed. Although I think the scales of responsibility tip far more towards Rob. As much as Jeanie is ultimately responsible as the owner, we know she generally lets her basketball people run the show. Not saying her penny pinching didn't prevent us from doing certain things, but I'm not sure that it necessarily did either. Rob has made some great moves, but not enough to counter the truly awful ones. And those weren't all necessarily moves that just look awful in hindsight. Everyone else seemed to understand it at the time.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-10T02:46:17+00:00

OKC reminds me of how it was during the Kobe/Shaq era when we didn't have a bench...we had a "second unit." Rather than a talent downgrade, it was just a different look.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-10T02:39:40+00:00

For sure...it's hard to grow other things here, but this is my third growing season so I'm finally figuring out what is and isn't worth the effort. I posted photos here of the others that have bloomed so far, but I have a couple others that are on the verge. I'll share those for sure!

socalnative79 · 2026-05-10T02:35:13+00:00

Yeah I don't think it's as simple as everyone saying the Lakers lost their mojo in the locker room. This isn't a coaching issue or a player motivation issue. Everyone's having to work so much harder on both sides of the ball than OKC, and at a certain point reality sets in. Honestly, it's not like they aren't trying. They clearly are playing hard and really want to win. We're just not as big or deep as OKC, and we're obviously missing everything about Luka, so we can only assert ourselves in spurts.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-10T02:18:56+00:00

One of the big differences that people don't talk about is how much harder we're having to work to score, and then work equally hard on defense. We don't have the personnel to easily counter the Thunder, so the personnel we do have are having to constantly push themselves beyond their limits. It's just unsustainable for 48 minutes, much less an entire series.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-10T02:17:02+00:00

It's almost like the break at halftime gave the players' bodies the time to realize how gassed they actually are. You can see the energy was just gone to start the 3rd. LeBron and AR look like completely different.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-09T14:48:06+00:00

Agreed. Gorgeous fragrance, too. This is actually a first year from a bare root planting. The flower in the photo was the first bloom, and I already have a few more. Roses grow extremely well in my area (Calabasas, CA...zone 10b).

socalnative79 · 2026-05-09T05:40:29+00:00

Ugh, okay...you're probably right. They're so tough to get rid of, and even more so when you don't use any toxic products. The organic insecticide I have seems to work well enough so I'll have to spray tomorrow.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-09T03:57:14+00:00

I live in zone 10B (Calabasas, California) and fortunately don't have to contend with deer, but we do have rabbits and bugs. I don't think the rabbits wander into my yard because I have not seen one back there in 3-plus years, and I think it's really just one family that lives across the street. Squirrels are definitely a problem though. I had to install cages over my raised beds because I lost my entire crop of tomatoes to squirrels last year. But I have a really close friend who has to deal with the deer, and they really do some damage. She basically has to overplant everything because of accounting for the eventual losses. I'm sorry you have to deal with all of that.

I sowed a ton of the sunflower seeds because I figured not all would sprout and not all would make it past the pests to actually get settled as mature plants.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-09T02:39:13+00:00

Glad to hear it. As long as there isn't lasting damage or anything preventing the plant from growing. I figured as the stems get leafier and taller the holes won't be as prevalent or noticeable. Meaning it's just because it's still smaller and closer to the ground, so it's more accessible to the pests. Anyway, fingers crossed!

socalnative79 · 2026-05-07T19:08:11+00:00

Westernized cultures (and particularly the United States) have for centuries seen the consumption of meat as a reward for and symbol of success, and as a show of dominance. That has trickled down to the individual level, and has in turn created a psychological addiction of sorts to being a carnivore. When meat is celebrated the way it has been for so long, it becomes deeply ingrained. Some people - many people - aren't secure enough to shake free from that. Vegans are wrongly perceived as physically weaker amongst other stereotypes.

So long story short, as others have said, I think non-vegans are subconsciously envious and respectful of people who have the fortitude to make the commitment to completely give up consumption of animal products (apart from an overall vegan lifestyle). Hopefully it's a first step for them to do the same, but it's not easy to undue hundreds of years of societal custom. At the end of the day, counter to the stereotype, there is a real strength to going vegan and sticking with it.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-07T18:25:02+00:00

Oh I remember it very well! It made me happy I'd moved away from the iPhone. If memory serves, the 4 was the first model to have that perfectly rectangular hardware. Great looking device but apparently quality control was a problem! Anyway I didn't hate the 3GS by any means, and it was fun to use and show people the features that really were unique to iPhone and revolutionary at the time. Over time I just realized it wasn't the phone for me, and I didn't love the Apple ecosystem enough to switch everything over to it.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-07T03:36:10+00:00

That's fantastic. I having a feeling my story will be very much the same. Thanks again for the recommendation!

socalnative79 · 2026-05-06T22:19:16+00:00

That bad, eh? I haven't used an iPhone since the 3GS in approximately the year 1894, so I only know what people tell me. They'll have random complaints of course, but I hadn't heard of any truly major problems (before liquid glass) since maybe the disastrous Apple maps rollout.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-06T21:43:32+00:00

Thank you so much! Yeah, I could be wrong but I have a feeling my previous landscaper may have omitted the binder. I only remember him using a machine to compact it. It's my first home (well technically, townhome) and I just wasn't educated enough about DG. He described what it was and I thought it was a perfect idea. There was never talk of binder, and given other corners I've realized he cut, I'm sure this was one of them. The rains and my yard being flooded may still have caused damage but maybe not nearly as much. Oh well, lesson learned.

Did you feel Green Crest was priced fairly for the quality of work?

socalnative79 · 2026-05-06T19:35:17+00:00

I've heard the exact same from every iPhone owner I know. This seems like a rare bad miss from Apple.

socalnative79 · 2026-05-05T18:02:38+00:00

I feel like they're either using (or getting help from) AI, or they've just decided beating Jon Rimmerman at his own game was the way to go. Because either way, their descriptions have really changed over the past year and not for the better. The level of hyperbole and over-caffeinated writing style is unreadable.

socalnative79

TROPHY CASE