Friday, October 31, 2008

Halloween 2008

I can't remember the last time that it rained on Halloween; it rained tonight.

As it rained harder and harder, Jack and I went out and made a loop around the block, while Sharon manned the door. With the shift in daylight saving time to a week later, all of the kids started later and with the rain they finished earlier. It ended up being a fairly quiet night.



Halloween 2007

Halloween 2006

Halloween 2005

Halloween 2004

Halloween 2003

Halloween 2002

Halloween 2001

Halloween 2000

2008-2009 Kings Season Wins Over/Under

On his October 28 podcast, Bill Simmons said that the Las Vegas over/under line for the number of games that the Kings will win this season is 27.5. Last year, the Kings won 38 games.

For comparison, in the eight seasons from 1986 to 1993, the Kings record averaged 26 wins and 56 losses. During this stretch, they did not make the play-offs and never won more than 29 games in a season. The low point was 23 wins in 1989-1990 season.

In contrast, in the eight seasons from 1998 to 2005, the Sacramento Kings record averaged 52 wins and 30 losses. They made the play-offs eight straight years.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Big Tree

Morgan is playing in a band called Big Tree. Last week, they played during the 2008 CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival.

Big Tree was mentioned in the last two paragraphs of this article:
What Is the Point of CMJ? | The New York Observer

...followed by a most unpretentious group melding sunshiney hippie enthusiasm (sample lyric: 'I can hear the grass grow!') with epic post-rock breakdowns (strangely, it worked)...

...I would never have seen Big Tree (the post-rock hippies)...

Big Tree is finishing up an album. You can find a couple of their songs on their Myspace page at www.myspace.com/bigtreesings.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Chasm City

More than five and a half years ago on a trip to the Philippines, I read Revelation Space, Alastair Reynolds' first novel. At the time, I enjoyed the book enough to buy his second novel, Chasm City. The book has been sitting in my pile of books to read ever since.

Looking for a science fiction book to read, I picked Chasm City up a couple of weeks ago and finished it on the trip to Spokane. I really enjoyed the book. With longer books, I often find myself reaching a point where I am ready to move on to something else. Chasm City kept me engaged and interested through 700 pages. The story line reminded me in some ways of the Bourne Identity. Although the resolution of the climatic scene is odd and the last five pages are a little flat, it is a hard science fiction novel that I would recommend.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Predicting the NBA on a curve

My favorite ESPN columist is Bill Simmons. In his 2008-2009 NBA season preview titled Predicting the NBA on a curve, he notes:
Random awful summer decision that didn't get nearly enough play: The Kings committing $60 million over the next five years to Beno Udrih and Francisco Garcia. Didn't Luke Walton's horrific contract teach everyone not to overpay mediocre players? Did Geoff Petrie really think he would be standing on the championship podium some day telling Stu Scott, 'I knew we were headed for a title the day I decided to pay Udrih, Garcia and Mikki Moore three times what they were worth?'
On a more positive note, Simmons does forecast that the Kings will have 37 wins and 45 losses for the season. This is much more optimistic than John Hollinger's preview which forecasts that the Kings will win only 24 games.

Idaho Highway Historical Marker #348

Treaty Rock
Idaho Highway Historical Marker #348
National Register of Historic Places #1992000420

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps

This landmark is located north of I-90 and northeast of Spokane River falls, Post Falls, Idaho. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 47° 42.860 W 116° 57.080.

You can log your visit to this site at waymarking.com.

 

On June 1, 1871, Frederick Post made a deal with Seltice--a prominent coeur d'Alene Indian leader--to obtain more than 200 acres of Spokane River land to start a mill here.

They recorded this land cession on a prominent rock adjacent to Post Falls. This incription can still be seen from here. Post's sawmill located at an important hydroelectric site now used for a power plant led to development of a townsite at Post Falls.


 

This large, conspicuous rock (located near Post Falls--a major Spokane River power site) contains important examples of ancient Indian rock art. Petroglyphs (carvings) and pictographs (paintings) both are present there. When Frederick W. Post obtained a Coeur d'Alene Indian agreement to allow him to build a power plant and mill there in 1871, he added his name and date to those designs. His inscription did not represent a treaty, and Idaho's Coeur d'Alene people did not even gain a treaty for two more decades. He moved on west to Spokane Falls, but his early development at Post Falls led to a settlement there that grew up around his power and industrial site.


View Larger Map

Kootenai County Idaho Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places
Kootenai County, Idaho

{GPS Coordinates of Site Location}


1992000420 - Treaty Rock - [map] - {47.714333,-116.95133}

Monday, October 27, 2008

On the Gonzaga Campus

geotagged

On the Gonzaga Campus

NBA Power Rankings 2008-2009 Week 0

Marc Stein has dropped the Kings to 28th in his Power Rankings for the start of the 2008-2009 NBA season. This is down from 23th in the Training Camp Edition of the Power Rankings. Only the Grizzlies and Thunder are ranked lower than the Kings!

I am part of a group that shares Kings season tickets. Talking to the other members of the group and a few other people, I don't think people realize how bad the team's record might be this season. It could be historically bad. With a few bad breaks, they could end up with the worst record that they have had since they moved to Sacramento.

ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association
Like the way Adande said it recently: The scrappy Kings will give you everything they've got, but unfortunately that (probably) won't be a whole lot. Especially early, with Brad Miller suspended for the first five games.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

2008 Gonzaga Fall Family Weekend Day 3

Up early, I ran a little over 6 miles through the Riverfront Park and along the Centennial Trail. Sharon took a short run through the Gonzaga Campus.

After a quick breakfast, we got cleaned up and packed up the room. We met the Tom Frames and headed for St. Aloysius for Mass. The President of Gonzaga Unversity, Father Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., gave the homily; he was a powerful and intelligent speaker.

Afterwards, we walked to Kevin's dorm and took a quick tour. Sharon, Jack and I headed to the book store and bought some Gonzaga gear; Jack got a sweatshirt, sweatpants and a beanie. Walking back across campus to the car, Jack turned to Sharon and said "I know where I am going to College!" We also spent some time getting a birthday present for Kevin.

We drove out to the Green Bluff area. This is similar to Apple Hill above Placerville. Unfortunately, by the time we got out there, it was time to head back and met everyone for an early dinner.

We had dinner at Milford's Seafood in Spokane. Sunday was Kevin's 21st birthday! We had a nice dinner and birthday celebration.

After dinner, we headed for the airport and wound our way home. After an uneventful flight, we were home and in bed about 11:30 p.m.

Tom, Becky, Eric and Kevin

 

St. Aloysius - Spokane, WA


St. Aloysius - Spokane, WA, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

2008 Gonzaga Fall Family Weekend Day 2

Sharon, Jack and I were slow getting moving in the morning. Eventually, we caught up with Tom and Becky and had breakfast at the hotel.

The Centennial Trail runs along the Spokane River near the Oxford Suites where we were staying. Additionally, the Riverfront Park, home of the 1974 World's Fair, was close by. Sharon went out for a run. Jack and I gave her a head start and then started out after her. After exploring the Riverfront Park, Jack went back to the hotel with Sharon, while I ran 6.25 miles. I headed east on the Centennial Trail through the Gonzaga Campus and along the Spokane River before doubling back to the hotel.

For lunch, we met Tom, Becky, Kevin and Eric and Sharon's cousin David Bell and his wife Ellen. David is the oldest son of Kathryn Nichols. Kathryn was Sharon's dad's sister. We had lunch at Tomato Street.

Sharon and I decided to head to Coeur d'Alene for the afternoon. I am not sure what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. The old downtown sits along the lake with some striking views to the south and west. I did not realize how big Lake Coeur d'Alene is; it is over 30 miles long. Both Sharon and I thought that this would be an interesting place to come back to in the summer.

We walked along the world's longest floating boardwalk and then took a short hike in the Tubbs Hill Park. Afterwards, we drove through the Fort Sherman historical district and the surrounding neighborhood.

On the way back to Spokane, we stopped briefly at Treaty Rock in Post Falls. This is a Idaho Highway Historical Marker and on the U.S. National Register of Historical Places.

Back at the hotel, we spent some time watching the Notre Dame/Washington and Penn State/Ohio State football game with Tom et al. Eventually, we all walked to the Old Flour Mill and had a very, very late dinner at Clinkerdagger's.

Coeur d'Alene

geotagged


Coeur d'Alene, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Riverfront Park - Spokane, WA


Riverfront Park - Spokane, WA, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Running along the Centennial Trail

geotagged

Friday, October 24, 2008

2008 Gonzaga Fall Family Weekend Day 1

We caught a midmorning flight from Sacramento to Spokane with a quick stop in Portland. Sharon's nephew Kevin goes to Gonzaga and we are going to spend the weekend at the Gonzaga Fall Family Weekend.

After checking into the hotel, we met Sharon's brother Tom and headed over to the campus to catch up with Kevin, Eric and Becky. Eric and Becky had taken a tour of the campus followed by an admission's interview.

From there, we went to the Autumn Gala in the East Lobby of McCarthey Athletic Center.

We finished the day by going to An Evening with Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood .

Spike at Gonzaga

geotagged


Spike at Gonzaga, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Will Ferrell as Bush endorsing McCain/Palin

In Spokane

geotagged


In Spokane, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Kevin Martin Video

Kevin Martin crossing over Rudy Fernandez to dunk on Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge in a preseason game.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Cory Chisel - Home in the Woods

The list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Cory Chisel - Home in the Woods

California Historical Landmark #872

California's Historic Capitol
California State Historical Landmark #872

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps

This landmark is located east of the intersection of 10th Strett and Capitol Mall, Sacramento, California. There are 57 other California State Historical Landmarks in Sacramento County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 34.610 W 121° 29.680.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.

 

The historic Capitol was designed by architects M. F. Butler and Ruben Clark. Its style is an adaptation of Roman Corinthian architecture. Work began in 1860 and by late 1869 the Capitol was partly occupied. In 1874, construction ended at a cost of $2.45 million. The west wing which once housed all branches of government is now a legislative facility. Its design and construction are tributes to California's pioneer architects, craftsmen, and builders.

The granite slab under the historical marker originally sealed the Capitol's cornerstone time capsule at the northeast corner of the building from 1881 to 1978. It was relocated here in 1982.

 

 

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

California Historical Landmark #869

Site of the First and Second State Capitols
at Sacramento

California State Historical Landmark #869

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps

This landmark is located at the northwest corner of 7th and I Streets, Sacramento, California. There are 57 other California State Historical Landmarks in Sacramento County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 34.957 W 121° 29.825.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.

 

Sacramento's first County Courthouse, formerly located on this site, served as California's State Capitol from January 16, 1852 to May 4, 1852 and from March 1, 1854 to May 15, 1854, when it housed the third and fifth sessions of the State Legislature. Destoryed by fire on July 13, 1854, it was rebuilt in less than six months. The second courthouse served as the capitol from 1855 to 1869 when a transition began to the current statehouse. A third courthouse occupied this site and remained until replaced by the county jail in 1989.

 

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Amy MacDonald - Run

The list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Amy MacDonald - Run

Anniversary Napa Bike Ride Maps

On Monday last week, Sharon and I rode 26 miles through the Napa Valley. I really enjoyed the ride. Using data from my Garmin Forerunner 205, I built the maps and images shown below. Using the embedded Google Map shown below, it is possible to zoom in and out, switch to a satellite or map view and explore the route we rode. Using the satellite view and the highest zoom view, you can see an astonishing level of detail.

Earlier this year, Sharon rode on the Silverado Trail south of the section we rode last week.


View Larger Map



This is a view from Google Earth; it is looking south down the valley.


Tuesday, October 21, 2008

More 2008 Fall Dinner Party Pictures

Larkin took a nice set of pictures on Saturday night. Here are a couple of more from the dinner party that he took.


Sunday, October 19, 2008

2008 Fall Dinner Party Menu

Out of the Wild


Hors d'Oeuvres
~~~
The Remedy



Arugula and Goat Cheese
Salad with Proscuitto, Fig &
Fig Vinaigrette
~~~
Husch Chenin Blanc



Miss Janie’s Fine
Pumpkin Soup
~~~
Etude Carneros Estate Grown
Pinot Noir Rose



Green Apple Sorbet
With Chandon Champagne Floater



Roast Venison with Red Wine and Juniper Berry Sauce,
Mashed Potatoes with Celery Root Mousseline, Braised Greens
~~~
Etude Carneros Estate Grown Pinot Noir



Dinner for One



Pears Pouched in Red Wine
With Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
~~~
St. Supery Moscato


2008 Fall Dinner Party Kitchen Centerpiece

 

Saturday, October 18, 2008

2008 Fall Dinner Party

Sharon and I have made it a tradition to host a fall dinner party [2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003]. This year's group totaled twelve; the biggest group that we have ever done. The guests included the Cunninghams, Gainsleys, Sanborns, Larkins, Janie and Drew.

Sharon's menu included arugula and goat cheese salad, pumpkin soup, roast venison, mashed potatoes and pouched pears. Although different individual dish might have been better in past years, I think that the overall quality and consistency of the meal was the best ever. I was particularly impressed with how well the vension turned out.

We were able to get everyone out of the kitchen and into the backyard both before and after dinner. Sharon put Drew to work playing for a while outside before dinner. Before dessert, we showed Dinner for One; Sharon and I had originally seen this short film on New Year's Eve.

It ended up being a very late night. After everyone left after midnight, Sharon, Janie and I ended up sitting in backyard until after 1:15 a.m.







2008 Flag Football Game #7


Jack played in his sixth game of the 2008 flag football season.

He played wide reciever on offense in the first half. On his team's first offensive play of the game, Jack caught a short pass in the right flat, started towards the middle of the field, then changed direction and outran everyone to the flag for a touchdown. They went on to score five touchdowns in the first half and lead at half time by a score of 32 to 6. Jack caught five passes including a diving circus catch of a ball that was tipped by a defender.

Jack played defense in the second half. He had one interception. This is the sixth straight game that he has had an interception. For the season, he has eight interceptions.

The Gators won by a score of 45 to 12. Their record for the year is 6 wins and 1 loss.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Robert Jordan, Hemingway's Bipartisan Hero

About three years ago, one of my employees asked about books. In response to one of the questions, I listed my top five books. The list included For Whom the Bell Tolls. Both Obama and McCain also listed this book as one of their favorites.

Robert Jordan, Hemingway's Bipartisan Hero : NPR
They're fierce political opponents, but it turns out that the presidential candidates do agree on a literary matter: Each man picks Ernest Hemingway's 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls as a favorite.

Connie Marie (Hammond) Hausman

From Connie Hausman

Ten years ago today, Connie and Lee died in a light plane accident at Shelter Cove on the Northern California Coast.

From December of 1988 to September of 1995, I worked with Connie Hausman at the Western Farm Credit Bank. She was Assistant Vice President in charge of Applications. In this role, she was instrumental in a wholesale overhaul of the Western Farm Credit District's Information Systems environment. We replaced a porfolio of home grown applications with a general accounting and human resource systems from M&D and commercial and real estate accounting systems from Systematics. At same time, we worked to install personal computers, WANs, LANs, windows based electronic mail and PC distributed applications across more than an a 100 offices across seven western states.

She and I had a number of misadventures during this seven year period; two of these stick in my head. While she was pregnant with Tyler, we attended a Software AG conference in San Antonio. After dinner on the Riverwalk, she followed me as I staggered through a number of jazz bars, while I harrangued her about getting married to Lee. On another occasion, I had been working extremely long hours on a commercial loan implementation. I took her with me to Utah to troubleshoot a problem. I did not trust myself to stay awake trying to get to the office and as an executive she was someone I could pull off the implementation team to go along. She spent much of the trip telling me her life story while I tried to keep from falling asleep...

Connie left the Bank in late 1995 when we outsourced the data center operations and mainframe programming to Alltel. We remained friends and got together for lunch on a regular basis. She and her oldest daughter Jody came to our wedding in September of 1996. Connie helped me prepare when I interviewed with the Money Store in 1997; she was already working there as a Director.

First Union bought the Money Store in June of 1998. Over the next couple of months, Connie and I had some conversations about her coming to work with me as the implementation manager. She, Jo Hunt and I had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe in late September about three weeks before the accident. I was recruiting both of them.

Connie was a wonderful and unique soul. She taught me a number of IS lessons that have been instrumental to my success over the last twenty years.

From Connie Hausman

Thursday, October 16, 2008

California Historical Landmark #851

Woodland Opera House
California State Historical Landmark #851

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps

This landmark is located on the West side of 2nd Street between Main Street and Dead Cat Alley, Woodland, California in Yolo County. There are 2 other California State Historical Landmarks in Yolo County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 40.675 W 121° 46.316.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.

 

 

The first opera house to serve the Sacramento Valley was built on this site in 1885. The present structure, built in 1895-96, continues to represent an important center for theatrical arts of that period. Erected by David M. Hershey and incorporating the classic American playhouse interior, it served vast agricultural regions of the Sacramento Valley. Motion picture competition hastened its closing in 1913.

The Yolo County Historical Society purchased the building in 1971 to ensure that it did not fall to the wrecking ball and bulldozer. Declared a state historical park in 1976, the Historical Society gave the property to the State of California in 1980 and in 1981 the restoration began.

Reopened in January of 1989 after a seven-year, $2,000,000 restoration project. For the first time in nearly eight decades, the venerable brick building in the heart of California's Sacramento Valley, began to offer live entertainment on a year-round basis.

California Historical Landmark #1040

First Pacific Coast Salmon Cannery Site
California State Historical Landmark #1040

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps

This landmark is located on the Sacramento River, opposite the foot of K Street, West Sacramento, California in Yolo County. There are 2 other California State Historical Landmarks in Yolo County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 34.950 W 121° 30.540.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.

 

 

 

This is the historic site of the first salmon cannery established on the Pacific Coast. Begun in 1864 by William and George Hume and Andrew Hapgood on a barge moored to the bank, the cannery processed salmon harvested along the rivers-with gill nets and spears-as they migrated up the Sacramento and American rivers. In comparison, most of today's salmon are harvested in the ocean before they begin to migrate back up stream.

Salmon caught in the Sacramento River were canned by the cooker-boiler method, rather than the contemporary salt preservation method of that time. This allowed for wider markets and lower prices.

Hapgood, Hume and Company ran the cannery for 3 years before moving on founding major cannery operations in the Pacific Northwest. In 1882, 20 canneries worked the Sacramento River and San Francisco Bay.

Although nothing of the original operation remained at the time of designation, the site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. A plaque commemorated the site of the First Pacific Coast Salmon Cannery Site. The plaque disappeared and the riverbank's appearance has changed through the site's development as a park by the City of West Sacramento. Consequently, the site's designation as a National Historic Landmark was withdrawn on July 14, 2004 by the Secretary of the Interior.

Subsequently, the site was designated a California Historical Landmark.

After months of fundraising, through the support of the West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce and the City of West Sacramento, the West Sacramento Historical Society is getting closer to purchasing and installing the State Historic Landmark plaque commemorating the salmon cannery. This bronze plaque will be the first state historic landmark in West Sacramento. The site selected will be on the River Walk near the north corner of the ziggurat building.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

California Historical Landmark #864

Gable Mansion
California State Historical Landmark #668

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps

This landmark is located at 659 1st Street, Woodland, California in Yolo County. There are 2 other California State Historical Landmarks in Yolo County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 40.345 W 121° 46.387.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.


The Gable Mansion, an outstanding example of 19th-century Victorian Italianate architecture, is one of the last of its style, size, and proportion in California. This structure was built in 1885 for Amos and Harvey Gable, pioneer Yolo County ranchers.


Yolo County Landmarks

California State Historical Landmarks
in Yolo County

NO. 851 Woodland Opera House - [map] - {38.67791,-121.771936}
NO. 864 Gable Mansion - [map] - {38.67242,-121.77312}
NO. 1040 First Pacific Coast Salmon Cannery Site - [map] - {38.5825,-121.509}

List of California Counties

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Monday, October 13, 2008

Napa Day 2

Up early, Sharon and I had breakfast at the hotel. We had brought our road bikes with us and planned a long bike ride for the morning. From the hotel, we headed across Pope Road to the Silverado Trail. We went south on the Silverado Trail about 7 miles and then went east on the Oakville Cross Road. Once we reached Highway 29, we turned around and retraced our path. Although we hit a little headwind on the way back, the weather was great.

Once we got back to Pope Road, we continued north along the Silverado Trail looking for a winery. Eventually, we ended up at the Duckhorn Winery. We sat on the deck overlooking the vineyard, enjoyed the views and tasted some wine.

Back on our bikes, we headed to the hotel. In total, we covered 26 miles in about 2 hours. This running time included some short stops for water and to enjoy the scenery. Sharon and I have had an opportunity to wander across Italy and France. The scenery in the Napa Valley rivals anything that we have seen in our travels.

Checking out of the hotel about 12:30 p.m., we had a long leisure lunch at Tra Vigne. Starting out of the valley, we stopped at St. Supery Vineyards for one more wine tasting and to buy some wine for the upcoming fall dinner party. We were back in Elk Grove about 4:30 p.m.

On the Oakville Cross Road

geotagged

On the Oakville Cross Road, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Napa Day 1

Sharon and I have made it a tradition to get away for a night or two for our anniversary. Leaving Jack overnight with Drew, we took off for Napa.

After a quick lunch at a deli, we spent the afternoon wine tasting along the Silverado Trail. We made stops at the Black Stallion Winery, Darioush, Robert Sinskey Vineyards and Z D Wines. Sharon is currently a wine club member at Robert Sinskey. Both Sharon and I really enjoyed the Viognier at Darioush and ended up buying a couple of bottles.

We checked in the hotel in St. Helena. We are spending one night at the The Inn at Southbridge. The room was nice (large with very high ceilings), but nothing spectacular.

After getting settled in the room, we wandered down main street. I had forgotten my bike helmet so I ended up finding a cycle shop and getting a cheaper one for tomorrow's ride.

We had late dinner at Redd in Yountville. As she often does, Sharon had lamb, while I had a pork osso boco. We had a bottle of Mary Edwards Pinot Noir with dinner.

At Darioush

geotagged

At Darioush Winery, originally uploaded by heringermr.

2008 Gunners Baseball Tournament #4 Day 2

With Sharon and I heading out of town to celebrate our anniversary, Drew took Jack to day 2 of the weekend's baseball tournament at Kloss Field in the Elk Grove Regioal Park.

In the first game, Jack was 1 for 2 at the plate. In his first at-bat, he hit a double into left field to drive in a run. Jack came around to score. He grounded out to first in his second plate appearance.

In the field, Jack played three innings at third base. He made a couple of good plays, including catching a high pop fly in the sun and fielding a drive that went off of the the diving pitcher and throwing the runner out at third.

The Gunners won by a score of 9 to 0 in four innings.

In the second game, Jack struck out in his first at-bat. He said the pitcher was throwing hard and he hit one very hard but foul. In his second plate appearance, Jack walked, stole second and came home to score on a punt. Jack hit a double off the third baseman's glove in his final at-bat driving in one run. He eventually came around to score.

Jack played third base again. He made a couple of nice plays, including tagging out a runner on a throw from the shortstop Cooper and fielding a grounder and tagging third for the force out.

The Gunners won 11 to 2 in six innings and won the tournament championship.

For the weekend, Jack was 2 for 6 with three strike outs and a walk. He got two RBIs and scored three runs. For the four tournaments that he has played with the Gunners, Jack is 5 for 17 with four walks and six strike outs.

Jack played 15 of the 18 innings in three games this weekend; he missed the first three inning game due to football. Jack has played 50 of the 70 innings in the four tournaments this fall in left field, right field, third base and as DH.

Jack was very happy to have played all three games this weekend at third base. He got a chance last weekend in the consolation game to show that he could play in the infield. The coaches were very complimentary of Jack's play at third base in their comments after the championship game. I have always thought that he could help the team with his glove.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

2008 Gunners Baseball Tournament #4 Day 1

After the football game, Jack and I headed to Kloss Field at Elk Grove Regional Park to catch up with the Gunners Team. We got there in the bottom of the second. The Gunners were playing the Yuba Sutter River Bandits. The Gunners won the game by a score of 15 to 0 in 3 innings.

In the second game, the Gunners played the Tiburon Pirates. Jack started at third base. After going weeks and not really handling the ball much in games, he had two balls hit at him in the top of the first. Jack cleanly fielded the first and threw a one hopper to first. The first baseman was unable to dig out the ball and the runner was safe. The next batter hit a hard liner literally over the bag. Jack was able to knock the ball down; if the ball had gotten by him at least one run would have scored. The Gunners ended up getting out of the inning with runners on second and third.

In three of the next four innings, the Pirates got runners to third base, but the Gunners were able to get out of the inning.

Jack got up twice and struck out both times. The Pirates starting pitcher was strong; he struck out 6 of the first 10 Gunners batters. The first time at bat, Jack ran the count to 3 balls and 2 strikes before going down swinging. The second at bat with the bases loaded and one out, Jack went down swinging on three pitches.

The Gunners ended up winning the game by a score of 6 to 2. They will be seeded #1 tomorrow for the single elimination championship round.

2008 Flag Football Game #6

Jack played in his fifth flag football game of the 2008 season. We missed the game last week while we were at the baseball tournament in Manteca with the Gunners.

It was an odd game. There was a strong north wind blowing. The kids had trouble throwing the ball accurately and there were lots of dropped passes.

Jack played offense and defense in the first half. On offense, he started out playing running back. Jack made a circus catch on a ball throw behind him. He also completed two short passes off a half back option. The offense struggled. Towards the end of the half, they shifted Jack to quarterback; he was 0 for 3. Jack was frustrated that he did not get a chance to run with the ball.

He only played defense in the second half. Jack intercepted one pass in the first half and another in the second half. He also had his hands on one other interception, but uncharacteristically dropped it. Jack has intercepted at least one pass in every game he played this year and has seven interceptions in five games.

The Gators ended up losing by the score of 20 to 0. They won the game last week by a score of 25 to 12. Their record for the season is 5 wins and 1 loss.

Friday, October 10, 2008

5th Grade: Art Lesson B

Sharon spent part of Friday afternoon as the art docent for Jack's class. The lesson covered surrealism and the styles of painters Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte. The class looked at three paintings: Persistence of Memory by Dali and Voice of Space and The Return by Magritte.





For their art project, the kids created a surreal picture using a pumpkin.