29 Years

Celebrating twenty-nine years of being married to this stunning woman!

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy: A Monk and Robot Book

My second book for October was A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers. This is the second book in Chambers' Monk and Robot series; I read the first book in June. I also previously read her first four books: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet [July 2017], A Closed and Common Orbit [April 2018] and The Record of a Spaceborn Few [January 2019] and The Galaxy, and the Ground Within [September 2021].

The book continues the journey of Sibling Dex, a restless tea monk, and Splendid Speckled Mosscap, the first robot to return to human civilization after centuries in the wild. The pair travel across the moon of Panga to human settlements, where Mosscap attempts to answer its core question: "What do people need?" Through philosophical conversations with various communities, Dex helps Mosscap learn about the complexities of human wants and needs in their post-scarcity, solarpunk society. Ultimately, the two friends realize that true fulfillment might not be a grand, fixed purpose, but the simple comfort of being together while searching for the answer.

The series is an example of the solarpunk genre, presenting an optimistic vision of a future where humans have overcome consumerism and environmental catastrophe to live in harmony with nature and with each other. The world of Panga is presented as kind, gentle, and cooperative, though not without its own quiet struggles.

I am lukewarm about this book. While I appreciate what the author is trying to do, I found the story pretty pedestrian. It will be interesting to see where the storyline goes in the next book in the series...

Out of Africa

Saturday night, Sharon and I watched Out of Africa as a rental on the Apple TV. With the intersection of our trip to Africa and Robert Redford's recent death, we have been talking about the movie for some time.

Out of Africa is a 1985 epic romantic drama film directed and produced by Sydney Pollack. The film is based loosely on the 1937 autobiographical book Out of Africa written by Isak Dinesen (the pseudonym of Danish author Karen Blixen) with additional material from Dinesen's 1960 book Shadows on the Grass and other sources. The film stars Meryl Streep, Robert Redford and Klaus Maria Brandauer.

Danish author Karen Blixen (Streep) moves to British East Africa in 1913. Her marriage of convenience to Baron Bror Blixen (Brandauer) quickly falls apart leaving her to run a failing coffee plantation on her own. She begins a passionate but complicated romance with the independent big-game hunter Denys Finch Hatton (Redford), who values his freedom above all else. After losing the farm and Denys in a tragic accidents, Karen reluctantly returns to Denmark, where she channels her bittersweet memories into her famous writings.

Out of Africa won seven Academy Awards at the 58th ceremony (1986), including: Best Picture (Sydney Pollack, Producer); Best Director (Sydney Pollack); Best Adapted Screenplay (Kurt Luedtke); Best Cinematography (David Watkin); Best Original Score (John Barry); Best Art Direction (Stephen B. Grimes), and; Best Sound (Chris Jenkins, Gary Alexander, Larry Stensvold, and Peter Handford). Streep was also nominated for Best Actress.

When it was over, Sharon said "that was quite good." Although I am sure that I saw the movie forty years ago, I didn't remember much of the plot. With a run time of two hours and forty minutes, I found the movie slow in spots, particularly towards the end. The cinematography is wonderful; I particularly enjoyed the shots of the animals and the bush. Filmed in Kenya, the bush was much greener than what we saw in South Africa and Zambia.

Grey Duiker

After seeing a number of grey duikers running away us at the Makanyi, I finally got a picture of one during the evening game drive on day fourteen at the Leopards Hills Private Game Reserve. I am going to eventually build a list of all the animals that we saw.

Throwback Thursday - Heavenly Valley - 1998

Kitchen Remodel - Before and After

                    Before                                    After 

Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown

My book for October was Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown. This is the sixth installment of the Robert Langdon series, following Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, Inferno and Origin. I also read his two earlier books: Digital Fortess in June of 2004 and Deception Point in November of 2004.

In Dan Brown's book The Lost Symbol, Brown introduced the character Katherine and the subject of noetics. At time I said, I didn't think that he did a very good job integrating the subject into the novel. Brown brings back Katherine and dives into the subject with a mishmash of nonlocal conscious, human to machine interfaces, multiple personalities and epilepsy.

Two random comments. This is the second book in a row where epilepsy played a major role. Additionally, I think the idea of nanobots for human to machine interfaces a lot more than serious brain surgery...

Like all of the Dan Brown books, the story does a great job of exploring the location. Prague serves as the backdrop for the story. It paints a wonderful picture of the city. Neither Sharon or I have been there. Tom was there in April. With a potential trip to Paris to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary in 2026, Sharon suggested that we take a side trip to Prague.

Although I am still not sure how I feel about some of the "science' in the book, I enjoyed it. I give it a "B+." Holly had suggested that we read this book for another book club dinner. If we do, it will be an interesting discussion.

The Loco Scheme - Dick Heringer at UC Davis

As I have mentioned, I didn't know much about the parents when they were in college. The one thing that I did know was that something happended to my dad while he was playing football. There were mutterings, but never really a discussion or any real information. As I discuss in a section of my upcoming book, this event had a cascading impact on my life.

California Aggie, Volume 52, Number 7, 29 October 1953

THE LOCO SCHEME

All-University Weekend—That's what’s keeping the world going around for most at this stage of the game.
   There’s going to be a helluva football spectacle that day in the Los Angeles Colisseum. I predict (my head is now at the block) the Cal Aggies will beat Santa Barbara, and in the minor game of the day I expect to see the Bruins defeat the Bears.
   On the local scene the Aggies have suffered a setback. Star guard Richard Heringer has been hospitalized because of a brain concussion suffered in the Nevada game. Hope you get back soon, Dick. We need you.
   On the interfraternity side, in basketball we find somewhat the same story, with Kappa Sigma on top with three wins and no losses, followed by a secondplace tie between the AGR’s and SAE’s, with a two-and-one count.

  STANDINGS: 
  Team       W L 
  Kappa Sigs 3 0 
  AGR        2 1 
  SAE        2 1 
  Delta Sig  1 2 
  Sigma Nu   1 2 
  Theta Xi   1 1 
  Calpha     0 2 
  Phi Sig .  0 2

   Sports are breaking out all over the place. Coach Woody Wilson announced that Intramural tennis will Start next week. Anyone is eligible who doesn’t hold a Varsity Letter in tennis. Signups open this week.    Monday, Nov. 2, is the time for all aspirants for the Varsity and Jr. Varsity Basketball teams to meet in Room 119 of the gym. Time, 4 p.m.—Coach Stromgren announced today.

Dick Heringer and Joyce Abbott at UC Davis

Snipes Wedding Weekend - Day #4

The Wallens headed back to Bremerton on Monday morning.

Snipes Wedding Weekend - Day #3

Julie, Tomasin, Jill, Wallen, Sharon and I had brunch at Casa East Sac [belgium waffles].

The six of us spent the late afternoon and evening for Park Winters celebrating Keith and Lizette's wedding.

Snipes Wedding Weekend - Day #2

The day included:

• a nice breakfast of quiche and fruit on the deck;
• facetiming with Drew and Carmen;
• A 3.25 mile hike through Effie Yeaw Nature Center and around Ancil Hoffman Park;
• watching some of the New York Yankees versus Toronto Blue Jays MLB play off game (Blue Jays 10, Yankess 1);
• some sandwiches from Jersey Mike's;
• the Night Before party in the Snipes' backyard in Davis, and;
• watching the end of the Seattle Mariners play off loss to the Detroit Tigers (Tigers 3, Mariners 2 in 10 innings).

Jill, John, Sharon and I took off for the Night Before Party about 3 pm and got to Davis about 3:45 pm. The party was scheduled from 4 pm to 8 pm. With 100 people invited to the wedding on Sunday, 92 people had RSVP'ed for the evening. The Tomasins rolled up just before 5 pm. There was a very nice buffet dinner from Taqueria Guadalajara.

Snipes Wedding Weekend - Day #1

With Keith and Lizette getting married on Sunday, Wallen and Jill are in town. They flew in on Friday morning and spent the afternoon helping the Snipes set up for an expanded rehearsal dinner in their backyard on Saturday.

Fighting the Friday afternoon traffic over the causeway, the Wallens rolled up to our house in Carmichael about 4:15 pm. They are spending the weekend with us. They actually haven't stay here overnight since Hunter's 60th in 2013...

The four of us spent some time catching up on the deck. Sharon made a great dinner of Peruvian chicken, rice and green beans on Sunday night.

It was really nice to have a leisurely opportunity to catch up just the four of us.

Wallen and I finished the night walking Tiber to the end of the lane and back. We all crashed about 10:30 pm.

Clem

Tongabezi Lodge

On our trip to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia, we spent three nights at the Tongabezi Lodge. As I already said in my musings blog entry, I doubt that we will ever go back to Zambi, but I really enjoyed the Tongabezi Lodge.

During the trip, Tom pointed out that the Tongabezi Lodge is featured in the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz. Sharon gave me the book for Christmas more than twenty years ago.

While the book focuses on places and attractions, it often includes specific, noteworthy accommodations as part of a destination's entry. Tongabezi is included in the section dedicated to Victoria Falls/Livingstone, Zambia, and is highlighted as one of the quintessential places to stay in the region, known for its unique riverfront location and luxurious, romantic setting.

Nick Sogard

There are several people that Jack played baseball with and against that are still trying to make it in the game. This includes Alex Isola, Nick Sogard, Dylan Carlson and Darren Baker.

Jack played with Nick Sogard on the Jesuit teams.

Over the last two years, Sogard has been up and down between the Boston Red Sox and their AAA affilate in Worchester. Playing second baseball on Tuesday night, Sogard was 2 for 4 with a run scored and strike out in the Red Sox victory over the Yankees in the first game of the MLB AL Wild Card series.

In the seventh inning, Nick Sogard grounded a double into right-center and hustled to second when Judge didn't sprint to pick up the ball. Yoshida lined the next pitch, a fastball at the letters, to center to score Sogard for a 2-1 lead.

Register Batting

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2017	19	Loyola Marymount	WCC	NCAA		34	104	83	13	22	3	1	0	10	4	1	13	17	.265	.386	.325	.711
2017	19	Shelter Island	HCBL	Smr		10	36	33	5	8	0	0	0	4	2	1	3	4	.242	.306	.242	.548
2018	20	Loyola Marymount	WCC	NCAA		53	238	185	31	60	5	1	2	21	11	3	30	26	.324	.438	.395	.832
2018	20	Duluth	NWDS	Smr		57	269	217	49	64	4	1	0	37	16	5	46	26	.295	.420	.323	.743
2019	21	Loyola Marymount	WCC	NCAA		59	279	229	39	71	8	0	0	19	30	3	38	44	.310	.418	.345	.763
2019	21	Hudson Valley	NYPL	A-	TBR	63	262	214	36	62	5	0	0	21	20	6	39	43	.290	.405	.313	.718
2021	23	2 Teams	2 Lgs	A+-AA	BOS	80	338	297	52	82	12	2	13	42	8	4	32	59	.276	.346	.461	.807
2021	23	Portland	AANE	AA	BOS	18	63	57	8	15	0	1	0	2	1	1	5	11	.263	.333	.298	.632
2021	23	Greenville	HAE	A+	BOS	62	275	240	44	67	12	1	13	40	7	3	27	48	.279	.349	.500	.849
2022	24	2 Teams	2 Lgs	AAA-AA	BOS	125	472	401	59	102	22	2	4	43	18	4	61	88	.254	.359	.349	.708
2022	24	Worcester	IL	AAA	BOS	65	237	201	26	52	13	1	0	21	9	1	30	45	.259	.356	.333	.689
2022	24	Portland	EL	AA	BOS	60	235	200	33	50	9	1	4	22	9	3	31	43	.250	.362	.365	.727
2022-23	24	Toros	DOWL	FgW		8	30	28	2	7	0	0	0	2	2	0	1	9	.250	.300	.250	.550
2023	25	Worcester	IL	AAA	BOS	112	460	391	74	104	20	4	7	47	17	7	63	79	.266	.370	.391	.762
2024	26	Worcester	IL	AAA	BOS	96	440	368	69	104	19	1	13	59	10	6	64	90	.283	.390	.446	.835
2024	26	BOS	AL	Maj	BOS	31	86	77	13	21	4	0	0	8	3	0	7	25	.273	.326	.325	.650
2025	27	Worcester	IL	AAA	BOS	91	409	340	64	94	22	0	5	28	16	4	64	73	.276	.393	.385	.778
2025	27	BOS	AL	Maj	BOS	30	104	96	13	25	8	0	0	9	2	1	5	24	.260	.317	.344	.661

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/1/2025.

Piatti

Sharon and I met Donna and Kevin at Piatti for dinner. We had a nice evening reliving the Africa trip. Kevin said that his high point was the second encounter with the wild dogs. While we had lots of amazing encounters, I was particularly enchanted by the cheetahs. Donna and Sharon highlighted the first afternoon with the lions.

Sharon and I split a Caesar [romaine, garlic-anchovy dressing, bread crumbs, cured egg yolk, grana]. We both had Spaghetti [prawns, garlic, preserved lemon, peperonata, arugula, white wine, butter] for the entree.

Annual Rebecca L. Frame Memorial Invitational Scottish Rules Bocce Ball Tournament

Sharon and I spent the afternoon at the thirteenth not-so-annual Rebecca L. Frame Memorial Invitational Scottish Rules Bocce Ball Tournament at Tom's house. The group included: Tom, Eric, Kevin, Leah, Lydia and Amelia, Terry and Steve, Mary, Arthur Kenton Stanley Myers and his wife Pat, Jim, Sharon and I.

Sharon, Eric, Kevin and Jim were in the finals. Jim prevailed as the winner.

A few musings on the trip to South Africa, Zimbabwe & Zambia

Struggling to find the words to describe the trip, I heard Sharon tell someone that it was phenomenal. It really was a once in a lifetime trip. At one point, Sharon ranked it as the best trip that we have ever taken.

One of the things that made it so amazing was the itinerary by Rothschild Safaris. We used Rothschild because Holly and Van had done two trips with them: one with Van and Stacey, and; another with Van and Holly. I can't say enough good about Rothschild. Everything was top shelf: the acommodations; the guides; the transfers, and; the airport greeters. Although we moved around quite a bit over the three weeks, the trip went extremely smoothly. As Donna said, the airport greeters at Capetown and Johannesburg were the bomb. Although we have had better individual meals, the food for the whole trip was very good.

The service everywhere was also very good. With high unemployment rates in several of the countries and tourism an important part of the economy, they throw people at service.

The prices were very reasonable in South Africa. We were surprised that dinners weren't more expensive. In contrast, in Zambia, everything was pricey.

Taken in total, the games drives at the two Safari Lodges were unbelievable. [Note to self], I need to build an index of all of the animals that we saw. As I said over the course of the trip, I am amazed that the predators are so comfortable with the jeeps. We got a chance to see lions, leopards, cheetahs and wild dogs up close and personal.

Before the trip, Drew asked me what I was looking forward to the most on the trip. I said the Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve. It was supposed to be the most luxurious of the two game lodges. As it turned out, I enjoyed the Makanyi Private Game Lodge more. I liked the acommodations, the food and the guide at Makanyi more than at Leopard Hills. Nevertheless, we had some remarkable experiences at Leopard Hills, including: cheetahs; the vultures on the cheetahs' kill; a large group of elephants drinking at the watering hole outside our room; Sharon's encounter with an elephant; and lots of leopards. Leopard Hills also included the Sands River; the terrain was very different from Makanyi. When we were with the guide at Makanyi, we felt like we were with Indiana Jones. The Leopard Hills guide was more of a college professor. I wouldn't hesistate to recommend either lodge.

While we won't ever go back to Zambi, I really enjoyed the Tongabezi Lodge.

When we were at the Tongabezi, we ran into the Nicci Bonella, the Group General Manager for Green Safaris, on an inspection tour of their lodges. Having a drink with her on the second night, I asked her where she would go back to in Africa. Somewhat surprisingly, she said Fundu Lagoon on Pemba Island. While I don't think that we will ever get there, I have added it to my places to travel. She also talked favorably about Lake Malawi.

Interestingly, on our last night, we ended up talking to a travel agent, Sandra Schonbachler from Anderson Expeditions. Originally from Switzerland, she came to Africa and fell in love with countries. Sandra was checking out the Tongabezi for clients. She also mentioned Lake Malawi as a destination. Although I don't think that we will get there either, I added to my places to travel.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

Friday night, Sharon and I saw Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale at the Century Arden 14 and XD Theater. This is a sequel to the 2019 and 2022 Downton Abbey films; we watched the first movie in February of 2021 and the second film in June of 2022. All three films are based on the television series. We watched the series over a six month period in 2020 and 2021: season one August 2020, season two early September 2020, season three late September 2020, season four October 2020 at Sea Ranch, season five December 2020 and season six January 2021.

Set in 1930, the film centers on the Crawley family facing financial jeopardy and social disgrace after Lady Mary's high-profile divorce and the reveal that Cora's brother squandered a large inheritance. A crisis ensues when a supposed financial advisor who helped Harold recoup losses is revealed to be a con artist attempting to blackmail Lady Mary over a tryst. Ultimately, the Crawleys successfully thwart the blackmailer and embrace the future, with Lord Grantham formally handing the reins of the estate to Lady Mary as he and Cora prepare to move to the Dower House.

The film is billed as the final film in the Downton Abbey franchise. Sharon pushed to see the movie in the theater. During dinner at Original Pete's afterwards, she was somewhat lukewarm on the film. I think I may have liked it slightly more than she did. I only recommend it as a bookend if you have watched the series and the other two movies.

At Ancil Hoffman

Thursday afternoon, Sharon and I played nine holes at Ancil Hoffman Golf Course with Jim and Debbie. We teed off at 2:44 pm.

It has been exactly a month since we played golf with Holly and Van at Wildhawk. I went over before lunch and hit a bucket of balls. Working on keeping my right elbow against my body, I felt pretty uneven on the range.

I started a little rough. It took me two shots to get out of the bunker on the 1st hole. I started to settle down and feel like I was making solid contact. I bogeyed five of the last six holes. I had long par putt opportunities on the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th.

I ended up scoring a liberal 52. I used a galley loss on the 3rd hole. I love the red balls I am playing, but with the fall leaves starting to drop finding them can be an adventure. Walking the course, I enjoyed the afternoon.

Gridley Union High School Class of 1975 50 Year Reunion

Flying back from South Africa on Saturday, I missed my 50 Year High School Reunion. Sharon and I went to my 40th Reunion. Thirty years ago, Sharon and I also went to my 20th Reunion together!

First row seated, left to right:
George Oropeza, Judy Johnson Pruett, Joyce Helmers Skaggs, Cindy January Anderson, Pete Tamez, Debbie Austin Shackleford, Lynn Barrow Leishman, Connie Winters Shirley, David Rush.

2nd Row:
Jon Schneider, Liz Wilson Robinson, Vivian Chavez Johnson, Margaret Dena Evans, Michele Ethington Dewsnup, Candace Gregory, Valorie Ford, Tonia Brown, Billie Carlin Paul, Teresa West Prettol, Bill Waller, Patti Yeager, Larry Golden, Kathy Russell Campbell

Back Row:
Bart Johnson, Gary Olson, Mike Squires, Mike Hughes, Bob Breeding, Stan Capps, Suzette Bushman Meik, Gerry Shirley, Steve Lockhart, Mukhtar Khan, Robert McDowell, Curtis Quist, Rusty Stohlman