Wednesday, February 29, 2012

California Historical Landmark #72

I wandered by here while we were in San Diego for the USTSA World Series in last July.

Casa De Bandini
California State Historical Landmark #72

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This landmark is located at northeast corner of Mason and Calhoun Streets, Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, San Diego, California. There are 71 other California State Historical Landmarks in San Diego County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 32° 45.276 W 117° 11.795.

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

California Historical Landmark #72

This adobe house was constructed about 1827 by José and Juan Bandini. The single story, thatched-roofed adobe was built on the plaza’s southeast corner. Originally, it had seven rooms, a zaguán or entrance hall, an enclosed courtyard, a corral, and several sheds.

The Casa de Bandini had built-in, adobe-layered cornices and unexposed roof rafters—Spanish Colonial architectural features usually found only in the designs of California’s missions. The rooms had thick adobewalls, ceilings of heavymuslin, and deep-set windows with shutters.

As headquarters of Commodore Robert F. Stockton in 1846, it was the place where Kit Carson and Edward Beale delivered their urgent message of December 9, 1846, calling for reinforcements to be rushed to the aid of General Kearny.

In 1869, ten years after Bandini’s death, Albert Seeley, a stagemaster, converted the old adobe into the L-shaped Greek Revival Cosmopolitan hotel. Funded with money from his wife Emily, Seeley renovated the first story and added a wood-framed second story and balconies.

The second-story balcony featured turned wooden columns and was enclosed with turned baluster railings. The clay tile roof was replaced with a wood-shingle hipped roof.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Cisco Healthcare Video Executive Briefing

I spent the day at a Cisco Healthcare Video Executive Briefing in San Jose. This was held at a different site than previous executive briefings: the old Webex headquarters. The agenda included: Solution & Mobility Demo; Product Roadmap; Intro to Advisory Services; HealthPresence 2.0 & Clinical Work Flows; Healthcare Clinical Demonstrations, and; VPOD Demonstrations. While Cisco is enabling video in a wide range of products and services and has some interesting capabilities, I am just not sure that the demand for video is going to be as high as they think it is. I am not sure that I see video as being as ubiquitous as data and voice services. I am going to try to leverage more the capabilities that we have in place.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Snapseed [app]

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - 02/28/2012 - Snapseed [app]

Snap it. Tweak it. Love it. Share it.

Code Expiration: May 22, 2012

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Sharon Van Etten - We Are Fine

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - 02-28-2012 - [Digital Download] - Sharon Van Etten - We Are Fine

Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter continues to explore new avenues, here in tandem with members of the National, Beirut and Walkmen.

Code Expiration: May 22, 2012

Monday, February 27, 2012

Sunday, February 26, 2012

2012 PAL Varsity Comp Basketball SEAS versus St. Ignatuis


After the Outlaws were eliminated from the baseball tournament, Jack and I headed to Jesuit High School. The SEAS Eagles played the St. Ignatius Tigers in the semi-finals of the PAL year-end basketball tournament. The Eagles have faced the Tigers three other times this season: the semi-finals of the Jesuit Tournament; the finals of the Presentation Tournament and the 3rd place game of the Christian Brothers Tournament. They had lost to them each time.

Jack played 27 minutes of a 28 minute game. He had 8 points on 0 for 3 from two point range, 2 for 3 from three point range and 2 for 2 from the free throw line. Jack made a couple of very nice drives to the basketball, but each time the ball rolled around and out. He added 3 rebounds and 1 steal with two turnovers and a personal foul.

The Eagles trailed from the start. At half-time, St. Ignatuis led by the score of 25 to 15. The Eagles made a nice run at the start of the third quarter. Jack hit a three and SEAS only trailed by 3 with the score at 25 to 22. Unfortunately, they just couldn't make their shots. Excluding Jack and Andy, the rest of the team shot 4 for 24 (16.7%).

St. Ignatuis won the game by the score of 39 to 27. The box score is here. St. Ignatius moves on to the finals on Monday night, while SEAS's season ends.

The SEAS Eagles ended the season with 13 wins and 6 losses for the season. Four of those losses were to St. Ignatius. The game log is here. Of the 20 different teams that the Eagles have played in the last three seasons, the Tigers are the only team that they have never beat.

Jack was more upset after the loss than I have ever seen him after any other loss in any other sport. It is poignant to think that this may be the last time we ever see him play competitive basketball. With high school looming in August, I don't think that he is going to try out for basketball.

2012 Outlaws Baseball Tournament #2 Day #2


Very early Sunday morning, the Outlaws were back at the Woodland Sports Complex to play in the All World Sports Weekend Warrior tournament. Seeded 4th out of 9 teams, they played the 5th seeded Woodland Assassins. This is a newer team that includes a couple of players that the Outlaws have faced playing for other Woodland teams. It was a miserable morning: cold with a stiff wind out of the north.

At the plate, Jack was 0 for 3 with two RBIs and a strike-out. In his first at-bat with Greysen on third and Trevor on second, he grounded a 2 and 0 pitch to the third baseman to drive in Greysen and was thrown out at first. With Trevor at third, Jack grounded a 2 and 0 pitch hard to the right side in his second plate appearance. I was sure that it was through, but the second baseman made a great diving stop and threw Jack out at first. Trevor scored for an RBI. In his final at-bat, Jack struck out looking on a 2 and 2 pitch that was very low and outside. The umpire was calling a very low strike on the outside of the plate.

In the field, Jack started at third base. With no outs in the top of the first, they switched him to shortstop. Jack ended up playing four innings at shortstop; this is more innings that he has played at shortstop since Cal Ripken AAA almost four years ago. He also played an inning at third base and parts of the sixth inning at first and in left field. Jack had one error, one put-out and two assists. He handled two grounders to shortstop and threw the runner out at first. At first, Jack took one throw from the shortstop to record a put-out. In the top of the first, Jack handled a throw from the catcher to tag a runner trying to steal. The throw was high and the runner was called safe. In anger, Jack whipped the ball back to Cooper wide and the runner raced home.

The beginning of the game was a mess. The Outlaws committed three errors [including one by Jack in a fit of frustration] and gave up two runs in the top of the first. They then turned around and scored three runs in the bottom of the first and five runs in the bottom of the second. Committing six errors overall, the Outlaws held on to beat the Assassins by the score of 9 to 6. The box score is here.

The Outlaws turned right around and played the first seeded Sutter Storm in the semi-final game of the tournament. This is a team that the Outlaws have played several times over the last couple of years.

At the plate, Jack was 0 for 3 with a walk and a strike-out. In his first at-bat, he walked on five pitches and stole second, but ended the inning there when Josh struck out. Jack struck out swinging on three pitches in his second plate appearance. It is the first "bad" at-bat that I have seen him have this spring. He popped a 1 and 1 pitch into right field in his third plate appearance. The Storm had several pop-ups drop in front of the Outlaws fielders, but the Storm right fielder was playing in and made a nice catch to get Jack out. In his final at-bat, Jack crushed 1 and 1 pitch to deep center field. I was sure that it was going to be over the center fielder's head. The center fielder made a leaping snow cone catch for the out. At the time, the Outlaws were trailing by the score of 8 to 9. If the fielder does not make the play, it would have been a home run to tie the game.

In the field, Jack played six innings at first base. Jack had one error and six put-outs. He took throws from the shortstop and third baseman and handled a grounder to the right side himself. Jack took his eyes off a ball on a throw from Jordan for an error. With one out and runners on first and second in the sixth inning, the batter hit a grounder to the right side. Trying to get the double play, the Outlaws got the runner at second, but the runner at first beat the relay to Jack at first. The runner going from second to third took a big turn around third. Jack ran straight at him across the diamond. The runner was stuck in no mans land and waited for Jack to throw the ball before committing either to home or back to third. The runner looked like a deer frozen in the headlights of an oncoming car. Jack ended up tagging the runner out himself.

The Outlaws fell behind by the score of 6 to 0 after four innings, but rallied to make it a game. They ended up losing by the score of 8 to 7 and being eliminated from the tournament. The box score is here.

The Outlaws record for the Spring 2012 season is now 4 wins, 3 losses and 1 tie. The game log is here.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

2012 PAL Varsity Comp Basketball SEAS versus Sacred Heart


After two baseball games on Saturday morning, Jack and I took off for Jesuit High School. The SEAS Eagles played Sacred Heart in the second round of the PAL Varsity Comp year-end tournament. The Eagles beat the Panthers a little over a week ago in the last league game of the season. Sacred Heart is the lowest ranked team still in the tournament; they were seeded 11th, while SEAS was seeded 3rd.

Jack struggled with his shot both from the field and the free throw line. Although Jack will swear that it was not due to the baseball games in the morning, I can't help but wonder if that didn't take a little out of him. Jack played 26 minutes of the 28 minute game. He had 7 points on 2 for 6 from two point range, 0 for 2 from three point range and 3 for 10 from the free throw line. With his shot not falling, Jack started driving to the basket and getting fouled. Unfortunately, he missed the front-end of a number of 1 and 1's. Jack added 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals with 4 turnovers and one foul.
The game was very close through the middle of the third quarter. Sacred Heart hit their shots early and ran out to a 7 point lead. SEAS clawed back into the game and led by three at half-time. About two-thirds of the way through the third quarter, SEAS clung to a 2 point lead.

At this point, SEAS took a time-out. As the players turned to come back on the court, I was astonished by the feral look on Jack's face. SEAS immediately ran off several quick baskets and opened up a 9 point led at the end of the third quarter. The Eagles then buried them in the fourth quarter; they outscored Sacred Heart 17 to 2.

SEAS won the game by the score of 61 to 37. The box score is here.

The SEAS Eagles now have 13 wins and 5 losses for the season. The game log is here.

2012 Outlaws Baseball Tournament #2 Day #1


The Outlaws played in the All World Sports Weekend Warrior tournament at the Woodland Sports Complex. They played the Norcal Thunder in the first game of the tournament.

At the plate, Jack was 0 for 2 with a walk. He looks good at the plate and is making contact, but continues to hit it at someone. In his first at-bat, Jack walked on four pitches. He stole second, but ended the inning there when Johnny struck out. Jack grounded a 0 and 1 pitch to the first baseman and was out at first in his second plate appearance. In his third at-bat, he ran the count to full and then popped out to the second baseman. Jack was muttering to himself that he was just under the pitch.

In the field, Jack played seven innings at first base. He had 12 put-outs on throws from the pitcher, second baseman, the shortstop and third baseman. Jack also fielded two grounders to the right side and tagged the runner out at first himself.

In a back and forth game, the Outlaws led by the score of 3 to 2 in the bottom of the seventh. A triple and a passed ball tied the game at 3. The box score is here.

The Outlaws turned around and played the Tribe in the second game. This is not a team that the Outlaws have seen before. It often seems like Jack misses games in the early part of the season where the Outlaws romp. This time he didn't.

At the plate, Jack was 3 for 3 with a double, a triple, two runs scored and four RBIs. In his first at-bat, Jack crushed a 2 and 1 pitch into centerfield for a triple driving in Trevor. He scored on Johnny's ground out. Jack drove a 3 and 2 pitch into right center for a single and two RBIs [Bailey and Cooper] in his second plate appearance. He ended the inning there. In his third at-bat, Jack hit a 1 and 2 pitch down the first base line for a double to drive in Greysen. He went to third on the throw and scored on Johnny's single to right.

In the field, Jack played three innings at first base. He had four put-outs. Two of put-outs were extremely athletic. In the second inning, Jack was pulled off the base up the line by a throw from the shortstop; he cleanly picked the ball and tagged the runner charging up the line in the chest for the out. In the third inning, Jack made a sliding diving catch on a soft pop-up hit foul. I was sure that the ball was not going to stay in his mitt. With the mitt sliding under the ball, the ball popped up and settled back into his mitt for the out. Jack also had a put-out on a throw from the second baseman and on a ground ball hit to him on the right side.

The Outlaws exploded and won the game by the score of 15 to 0. The box score is here.

With a record of 1 win and 1 tie, the Outlaws finished the day seeded fourth out of nine teams. They will face the Woodland Assassins at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday morning.

Friday, February 24, 2012

California Historical Landmark #53

I wandered by here while we were in San Diego for the USTSA World Series in last July.

Casa De Estudillo
California State Historical Landmark #53

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
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This landmark is located at the southeast corner of San Diego Avenue and Mason Street, Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, San Diego, California. There are 71 other California State Historical Landmarks in San Diego County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 32° 45.254 W 117° 11.817.

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

California Historical Landmark #53

Three generations of Don José María Estudillo's family made their home in Casa de Estudillo. Rich in historical background, the casa is often pointed out, erroneously, as Ramona's marriage place.

California Historical Landmark #53

Thursday, February 23, 2012

2012 PAL Varsity Comp Basketball SEAS versus St. Rose

The SEAS Eagles played St. Rose in the first round of the PAL Varsity Comp Basketball Tournament. I don't think that SEAS has played St. Rose since Little Dribblers in 2008. The Eagles are seeded 3rd out of the 16 teams in the tournament, while St. Rose is seeded 14th. The first round games are being played at St. John Evangelist this year.

Jack played 21 minutes of a 28 minute game. He had four points on 1 for 1 from two point range, 0 for 1 from three point range and 2 for 2 from the free throw line. Jack added 7 rebounds and 4 steals with 2 turnovers. He was the leading rebounder for the Eagles.

With Joe on the bench with a high ankle sprain, Jacob started and ran wild. Jacob scored 21 points on 3 for 4 from two point range and 5 for 9 from three point range. The coaches played everyone; the three bench players had between 15 to 20 minutes. Although the Eagles only led by the score of 13 to 7 at the end of the first quarter, the game was never really in doubt.

The Eagles won the game by the score of 49 to 22. The box score is here.

The SEAS Eagles now have 12 wins and 5 losses for the season. The game log is here.

The SEAS Eagles will play the winner of the St. Roberts versus Sacred Heart game at 2:10 p.m. on Saturday afternoon in the second round of the tournament. They were warming up for this game after the Eagles versus St. Rose game. I had expected St. Roberts to win this game easily, but it looks like their best player is out with a broken finger.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Virtually Biking Across America - Day 8

On day eight, I rode 21 miles across Nevada from Dayton to Fort Churchill. I started from the Pony Express marker in Dayton and finished at the Fort Churchill Cemetary. Continuing to follow the route of the Pony Express across Nevada, I took Highway 50 to the Fort Churchill Road and followed the road along the Carson River to Fort Churchill. The route was almost all downhill and very fast.

The trip log for Virtually Biking Across America is here.


Tuesday, February 21, 2012

What Happened to You, Jimmer Fredette?

Several weeks ago, I sent several people the link to an excellent analysis on Grantland.com titled What Happened to You, Jimmer Fredette?

Since then, I have had a chance to see Jimmer play twice in person. While he was in the game, I made a point of focusing on him. Jimmer looked lost, afraid and overmatched on the floor.

I wrote the following post titled Bobby Hurley Redux last fall, but never published it.
Bobby Hurley was selected by the Sacramento Kings as the 7th pick in the 1993 NBA Draft.

Hurley was a point guard for Duke University's men's basketball team from 1989 to 1993. He was a first-team All-American in 1993, went to the Final Four three times, and led the Blue Devils to back-to-back national championships in 1991 and 1992, earning Final Four MVP honors in 1992. Hurley remains the NCAA all-time assists leader with 1076 assists.

As I mentioned before [footnote here], Larkin and I ended up dropping our season tickets after the Kings drafted Hurley. At the time, I was convinced that it was horrible draft pick. Between 1993 and 1997, Hurley played parts of five seasons in Sacramento. It can be argued that the traffic accident in his rookie year changed the course of Hurley's career. Nevertheless, I never thought that he had an NBA body or game.

In this year's draft, the Kings ended up picking Jimmer Fredette. After watching Jimmer against San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference championship game, I am very concerned that Jimmer is Hurley 2.0. I am very worried that Jimmer will not adjust to the speed and athleticism of the NBA game.

Only time will tell...

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Leonard Cohen - Banjo

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Leonard Cohen - Banjo

A selection from Old Ideas, the consummate singer songwriter's first studio album in eight years.

Code Expiration: May 15, 2012

Monday, February 20, 2012

Milo Greene at SXSW

Milo Greene will be appearing in Austin at SXSW on March 17 at the Filter Magazine's Showdown at Cedar Street!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

2012 PAL Varsity Comp Basketball SEAS versus SI

For the third time this season, the SEAS Eagles faced St. Ignatius. This time in the third place game of the Christian Brothers Tournament. SEAS lost to SI in the semi-finals of the Jesuit Tournament and the Championship game of the Presentation Tournament earlier this year.

Jack got a quick foul in the first 45 seconds of the game. The coach then sat him almost the rest of the second quarter. He got another foul early in the second quarter and went back to the bench. As a result, Jack only played 16 minutes of the 28 minute game. The fewest minutes that he has played in any game other than the game against St. Patrick's when he twisted his knee.

Jack scored 6 points on 0 for 1 from two point range and 2 for 2 from three point range. He added 2 rebounds, 2 steals and a block with 2 turnovers and 2 personal fouls. In spite of the limited minutes, Jack ended up tying Andy as the Eagles leading scorer.

This was another hard fought, low scoring game. The Eagles trailed by the score of 11 to 8 at half-time and briefly tied the score at 11 midway through the third quarter on one of Jack's three point shots. Playing on a sore leg, Joe [the Eagles leading scorer] went 1 for 10 from the field and finished with only 2 points.

The game slipped away and the Eagles lost by the score of 34 to 23. The box score is here.

The SEAS Eagles now have 11 wins and 5 losses for the season. The game log is here.

2012 Outlaws Baseball Tournament #1 Day #2

While Jack played basketball on Saturday afternoon, the Outlaws rolled over the Slammers by the score of 11 to 1. As Jack is juggling basketball and baseball this time of year, it always seems he makes the games against the harder teams and misses the easier teams where he would have a chance to pad his stats...

Up very early, Jack and I headed to Manteca for the second of the USSSA President's Day Super NIT Tournament at Big League Dreams. The Outlaws played the Sluggers. This is another team that the Outlaws have seen repeatedly over the last few years.

At the plate, Jack was 0 for 3. In his first at-bat, Jack grounded a 2 and 1 pitch to the second baseman and was thrown out at first. He hit a 1 and 0 pitch for a towering pop fly to the second baseman in his second plate appearance. Jack muttered to himself about how he just got under the pitch for the rest of the weekend. In his last at-bat, he grounded a 3 and 2 pitch to the third baseman and was thrown out at first. Jack's swing looks good. Unlike last spring where he started with lots of strike-outs, Jack is making good contact.

In the field, Jack played seven innings at third base. He had two put-outs and one assists. In the top of the first with the bases loaded and one out, Jack handled a sharp ground ball to the left side. He tagged third for an out and then threw to first to end the inning. Jack also caught a shoe high line drive for the last out of the second inning.

The Outlaws put up a good early fight. After four innings, they were trailing by the score of 1 to 0. They gave a run in the fifh, a run in the sixth and 4 runs in the seventh to lose by the score of 7 to 0. The box score is here.

With Jack heading back to Sacramento for the 3rd place game against St. Ignatius in the Christian Brothers Tournament, the Outlaws beat the East Bay Lookouts by the score of 10 to 5 in the Consolation Game at 4:40 p.m.

The Outlaws record for the Spring 2012 season is now 2 wins and 2 losses. The game log is here.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

2012 PAL Varsity Comp Basketball SEAS versus SJE


The SEAS Eagles faced SJE in the semi-final game of the Christian Brothers Tournament. SEAS got hammered by SJE in the second round of the PAL Basketball playoffs last year and lost to SJE in the semi-finals of the PAL flag football playoffs in both 2010 and 2011. I am tired of playing SJE; as one of the SEAS parents said during the game, the SJE coach is not a member of the Positive Coaching Alliance.

Jack played 27 minutes of the 28 minute game. He scored 2 points on 1 for 2 from two point range and 0 for 2 from three point range. Jack added 5 rebounds and 2 steals with 1 turnover and 3 personal fouls. Jack struggled at forward against SJE's larger front line.

This was a very close, hard fought game. The Eagles led by the score of 14 to 10 at the end of the first quarter. The score was tied 22 to 22 at half-time. SEAS led by the score of 30 to 26 at the end of third quarter and briefly held a 7 point lead with the score 33 to 26 early in the fourth quarter. At this point, the bottom fell out. The Eagles made a couple of turnovers and allowed a couple of easy baskets. SJE scored 10 straight points to lead by the score 36 to 33.

Joe, the Eagles leading scorer, picked up a couple of early fouls and then took a hard fall. Joe ended up only playing 15 minutes of the 28 minute game.

The Eagles lost by the score of 46 to 41. The box score is here.

The SEAS Eagles now have 11 wins and 4 losses for the season. The game log is here.

SEAS will play SI in the third place game on Sunday, while SJE will play OLA in the championship game.

2012 Outlaws Baseball Tournament #1 Day #1

President's Day weekend has been an odd time of year for the last three years. The baseball coaches are chomping at the bit to get back out on the field after a December and January lay-off, while the PAL basketball league is in its final week. Jack has traditionally played both baseball and basketball during the last two weeks of February.

The Outlaws played the Concord Patriots in the first game of the USSSA President's Day Super NIT Tournament at Big League Dreams in Manteca. Although the roster has changed a little with the loss of their best player, the Patriots are a team that the Outlaws have played repeatedly over the last three and a half years in tournaments and in the Northern California Cal Ripken Play-offs.

Jack usually struggles to get going as he literally alternates between baseball and basketball, but this year he looks very solid at the plate. At the plate in the first game of the season, Jack went 1 for 2 with a run scored. In his first plate appearance, he grounded a 1 and 1 pitch to the shortstop and was thrown out at first. Jack lined an 0 and 2 pitch into left field for a base hit in his second at-bat. He went to second on Joe's single to right, to third on Josh's walk and scored on Johnny's sacrifice fly to right.

In the field, Jack played three innings at third and two innings at first. In one of those odd games, he never handled the ball in the field.

With their pitching struggling, the Outlaws lost to the Concord Patriots by the score of 9 to 2. The box score is here.

In December, two of the Outlaws front-line pitchers over the last two and a half years switched to the Elk Grove Longhorns. The team has picked up several new players as replacements. It will be interesting to see if they can help carry the pitching load. If they can't, it is going to be a long spring.

The Outlaws record for the Spring 2012 season is now 0 wins and 1 loss. The game log is here.

Friday, February 17, 2012

2012 PAL Varsity Comp Basketball SEAS versus Sacred Heart


The SEAS Eagles played the Sacred Heart Panthers in the fifth and final league game of the season. The Eagles beat the Panthers in a league game last year and for the championship of the St. Philomene's tournament two years ago. While the season has five or six more games to go, this is the last game that the boys will play in their home gym.

With his knee still a little sore, Jack played 22 minutes of a 28 minute game. He scored 7 points on 2 for 4 from two point range and 1 for 2 from three point range. Jack leads the team in two and three point shooting percentage. He added 5 rebounds and 5 steals.

Going 2 for 18 from three point range in the first half, the Eagles led at half-time by the score of 30 to 17. The lead narrowed to 10 points in the third quarter before the Eagles took off. Their athleticism overwhelmed Sacred Heart and they outscored the Panthers 42 to 14 in the second half. Additionally, the Eagles shot a little better from three point range in the second half, going 5 for 11.

The Eagles beat the Panthers by the score of 72 to 31. This is the most points that the Eagles have scored in a game this season. The box score is here.

The SEAS Eagles now have 11 wins and 3 losses for the season. The game log is here.

SEAS will play SJE in the semi-final game of the Christian Brothers tournament on Saturday afternoon. The PAL Varsity Comp play-offs start the middle of next week.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Dinner with Wallen

With Wallen flying into Northern California to spend the weekend checking on his mom, he met Sharon and I at the new house for a quick tour. Afterwards, the three of us headed to Roxy for dinner. While Sharon had been there to eat with Tommy before, I had never been to the restaurant. Sharon and I both had the halibut special and were very impressed with the meal. Wallen spent the night at Marina Point with us before heading to Redding.

California Historical Landmark #834

I stopped here briefly on my way to the Leadership Symposium.

San Leandro Oyster Beds
California State Historical Landmark #824

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
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This landmark is located in the San Leandro Marina at the south end of North Dike Road, San Leandro, California. There are 35 other California State Historical Landmarks in Alameda County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 37° 41.721 W 122° 11.597.

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

The plaque is missing.


During the 1890s the oyster industry thrived until it became the single most important fishery in the state. Moses Wicks is supposed to have been the first to bring seed oysters around the horn and implant them in the San Leandro beds. The oyster industry in San Francisco Bay was at its height around the turn of the century, it reached a secondary peak by 1911 and then faded away because of polluted conditions of the bay.

California Historical Landmark #824


California Historical Landmark #824

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Virtually Biking Across America - Day 7

On day seven, I rode in Nevada from Genoa to Dayton. I started from the Pony Express marker in Genoa and finished next to the Pony Express marker in Dayton. For the first time, I rode on roads that I have never actually driven before; I have not driven from Carson City to Dayton. Leaving Carson City, Highway 50 climbs; I hit a short section with a 9.5% grade. It then drops sharply into Dayton. After some pretty barren countryside, I was pleasantly surprised by the trees along the river entering Dayton.

The trip log for Virtually Biking Across America is here.


Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Valentine's Day 2012

I wandered home from a two day meeting in the bay area in the late afternoon. Sharon brought home a very nice Valentine's Day dinner for two from Selland's. It included a couple of salmon wellingtons, au gratin potatoes, asparagus, salad and dessert. I don't think that I have ever had salmon wellington. She got a beef wellington for Jack. After dinner, we exchanged gifts; I got her a necklace from erwinpearl.com, while she got me a new toaster oven for the kitchen in the new house.

2012 Leadership Symposium Day 2


I spent a second day at the 2012 Leadership Symposium at the San Francisco Airport Marriot. The featured speaker was Howard Putman, the former CEO of Southwest Airlines.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Dora's Skywriting ABC's

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Dora's Skywriting ABC's

Literacy learning for little explorers!

Code Expiration: May 8, 2012

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Meshell Ndegeocello - Weather

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Meshell Ndegeocello - Weather

The title track to the ninth album from the genre-busting artist exhibits the introspective side of a uniquely versatile performer.

Code Expiration: May 8, 2012

Monday, February 13, 2012

2012 Leadership Symposium Day 1

I spent the day at the 2012 Leadership Symposium at the San Francisco Airport Marriot. The day included presentations by the CEO, COO and the SVP-Strategic Planning.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

2012 PAL Varsity Comp Basketball SEAS versus Holy Spirit


The SEAS Eagles played Holy Spirit in the second round of the Christian Brothers Basketball Tournament. SEAS beat Holy Spirit in a very competitive game in the first league game this year. Cole plays for Holy Spirit. Cole is #15 in the picture above. Cole and Jack have played baseball, flag football and basketball on the same teams and against each other for the last nine years.

With his knee improving, Jack played 22 minutes of the 28 minute game and looked much more mobile than Saturday. He had 8 points on 2 for 3 from two point range, 1 for 6 from three point range and 1 for 3 from the free throw line. Jack added 7 rebounds, one assist and one steal with one turnover and two personal fouls.

The Eagles outscored Holy Spirit in every quarter. They led by 6 points at the end of the first quarter, 9 points at half-time and 14 points at the end of the third quarter. Joe had his best game of the year; he scored 23 points on 5 for 10 from two points range, 4 for 5 from three point range and 1 for 1 from the free throw line. The Eagles went three point crazy. They took 22 three point shots.

SEAS beat Holy Spirit by the score of 54 to 39. The box score is here.

The SEAS Eagles now have 10 wins and 3 losses for the season. The game log is here.

The Eagles will play their last league game against Sacred Heart on Friday and then will play SJE in the semi-finals game of the Christian Brothers Tournament on Saturday.

With basketball winding down over the next two weeks, baseball is ramping up. The Outlaws will play in their first tournament at Big League Dreams in Manteca next week. Jack will be playing in a couple of basketball and several baseball games over the three day weekend!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

2012 Kings versus Suns

Sharon and I went to the Sacramento Kings versus Phoenix Suns basketball game. The Kings trailed from the start and lost to the Suns by the score of 98 to 84.

I frankly did not pay that much attention to the game; it was a date night for Sharon and I. When we got to the game, we wandered all the way around the arena checking out the food. At half-time, we visited with Larkin, Hunter and Snipes in the concourse.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 26 points on 8 for 18 from two point range, 0 for 1 from three point range and 10 for 13 from the free throw line. He added 9 rebounds. Tyreke Evans only had 4 points on 1 for 9 from the floor.

The Suns were led by Jared Dudley. He had 20 points on 8 for 13 from two point range, 3 for 6 from three point range and 1 for 1 from the free throw line. Steve Nash only had 4 points, but added 15 assists.

I did watch Jimmer Fredette closely when he went into the game. He went 0 for 4, including 0 for 3 from three point range. I continue to be concerned that he is not an NBA player. I just don't understand what the Kings were thinking when they traded down to draft him.

The Kings now have 2 wins and 1 loss in games that I have seen in the 2011-2012 season.

2012 PAL Varsity Comp Basketball SEAS versus Holy Rosary

The SEAS Eagles played Holy Rosary in the first round of the Christian Brothers Basketball Tournament. Although in a different division this year, Holy Rosary was in the same division with SEAS the last two years; the Eagles beat them each year in league [2010, 2011] and once last year in the Christian Brothers tournament.

Jack twisted his knee on Friday night. Asking him how he felt, he said that he was about 70%. During the warms-up, I realized that this was optimistic. In spite of a tender knee, Jack ended up playing 21 minutes of the 28 minute game. He had 8 points on 1 for 2 from two point range and 2 for 3 from three point range. Jack added 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals with one personal foul. Jack drifted through most of the game and was clearly playing on one leg.

The Eagles ran away with the game from the opening tip. They outscored Holy Rosary 22 to 0 in the first quarter. As a measure of the difference in athleticism between the two teams, the Eagles had 24 steals against only one turnover. It looked like most of the Holy Rosary players were 7th graders...

SEAS defeated Holy Rosary by the score of 59 to 12. The box score is here. This is the Eagles largest margin of victory so far this year. The PAL league is very odd at this point. There are four or five very competitive teams [SJE, SI, OLA, SEAS and Holy Spirit] and about a dozen very weak teams.

The Eagles now have 9 wins and 3 losses for the season. The game log is here.

The Eagles will have a rematch with Holy Spirit in the second round of the Christian Brothers Basketball Tournament on Sunday.

Jesuit High School Interview

Jack, Sharon and I went to the Jesuit High School interview. This is part of the admission process. We waited about 25 minutes for our interview after we checked in. Watching while we waited, I was fascinated by the differences in how people were dressed, how young some of the boys looked and the variation in the length of the interviews.

Our interview was conducted by a French and Spanish teacher. Jack went first and spent about 10 minutes by himself. Sharon and I joined them and spent another ten minutes. In our part of the interview, we were asked how we viewed Jack's strengths and weaknesses and why we were interested in Jesuit.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Milo Greene at the Blue Lamp


After Jack's basketball game, I headed to the Blue Lamp to see Milo Greene! I had a nice visit with Drew. The surreal thing about the night was there were a number of kids that who we knew in Shingle Springs a long, long time ago. These kids have grown up to look so much like their parents that it was spooky...

I listened to the sets by Family of the Year and Milo Greene before wandering home after midnight.

2012 PAL Varsity Comp Basketball SEAS versus St. Patricks

The SEAS Eagles played St. Patricks in the fourth league game of the year. Cooper [Rod's son] plays for St. Patricks; Jack has played tournament baseball with Cooper on the Gunners and the Outlaws for the last 3 1/2 plus years.

In the first two minutes, Jack took a pass in transition, made the first basket of the game and went down in a heap. I was watching the ball and did not see him land. Jack came down awkwardly on his knee. He sat out the rest of the game with ice on his knee. There does not appear to be any swelling or pain. His knee is just a little stiff.

Jack ended up playing 2 minutes of the 28 minute game. He had two points on 1 for 1 from the field. Jack added 1 steal.

St. Patricks led by the score of 5 to 3 about halfway through the first quarter. At this point, the Eagles' size and depth finally started to take over. St. Patricks did not score another point in the first half and SEAS ran out to a 25 to 5 half-time lead. SEAS went on to win by the score of 47 to 15. The box score is here.

The Eagles now have 8 wins and 3 losses for the season. The game log is here.

The Eagles will play Holy Rosary in the first round of the Christian Brothers basketball tournament on Saturday.

Thursday, February 09, 2012

2012 Kings versus Thunder


Larkin and I went to a very entertaining NBA game: the Sacramento Kings versus the Oklahoma Thunder. The Kings ran out to an 11 to 2 lead at the beginning of the game, led 57 to 55 at half-time and outscored the Thunder 19 to 6 in the final five minutes. Making their free throws down the stretch, The Kings won the game by the score of 106 to 101.

Tyreke Evans was the leading scorer for the Kings with 22 points on 8 for 21 from the field, 0 for 3 from three point range and 6 for 8 from the free throw line. DeMarcus Cousins added 19 points on 7 for 17 from the field and 5 for 6 from the free throw line. Cousins had 9 rebounds.

Russel Westbrook had 33 points for the Thunder on 15 for 26 from the field, 1 for 2 from three point range and 2 for 3 from the free throw line. Kevin Durant contributed 27 points on 9 for 19 from the field, 2 for 5 from three point range and 7 for 9 from the free throw line. Durant's shot looks very smooth. I honestly don't remember him missing 10 shots as I think back on the game. Serge Ibaka fouled out in the last minute, but had 10 blocks for the Thunder.

The Thunder hurt themselves. They had 23 turn-overs and only 13 assists. The Kings had 12 turn-overs and 21 assists. I was impressed with how well the Kings were moving the ball.

Jimmer Fredette played 16 minutes. Focusing on him when he was in the game, I am still not convinced that he is a NBA player. I will have a longer post with some additional thoughts in the next couple of weeks.

With a sell-out crowd of 17,134 mostly dressed in black, it was a very cool atmosphere. The Kings gave everyone glow sticks and black towels. Larkin and I were in seats 1 and 2 in section 102, row U. We ran into a number of people at the game, including Hunter, Snipes, Robbie, Danny and Norma Udell.

The Kings now have 2 wins and 0 losses in games that I have seen in the 2011-2012 season.

As I said, it was a very entertaining game!

2011-2012 Sacramento Kings Season

During the 2011-2012 Sacramento Kings season, the Kings had 3 wins and 2 losses in games which I saw in person, including:

REGULAR SEASON

1/5/2012: Kings-103, Bucks-100 [1-0] - Jack
2/9/2012: Kings-106, Thunder-101 [2-0] - Larkin
2/11/2012: Suns-98, Kings-84 [2-1] - Sharon
3/1/2012: Clippers-108, Kings-100 [2-2] - Sharon and Janie
4/2/2012: Kings-116, Wolves-108 [3-2] - Sharon, Jack and Joe



2023-2024 Season [3-2]
2022-2023 Season [5-3]
2021-2022 Season [1-5]
2020-2021 Season [1-0]
2019-2020 Season [1-4]
2018-2019 Season [7-4]
2017-2018 Season [5-2]
2016-2107 Season [5-3]
2015-2016 Season [2-2]
2014-2015 Season [1-4]
2013-2014 season [3-2]
2012-2013 Season [1-0]
2011-2012 Season [3-2]
2010-2011 Season [3-6]
2009-2010 Season [4-7]
2008-2009 Season [2-7]
2007-2008 Season [7-7]
2006-2007 Season [5-9]
2005-2006 Season [8-8]
2004-2005 Season [10-4]
2003-2004 season [12-3]

St. Paul Cathedral

On Thursday, September 14 while we were in New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup, we spent the morning wandering around downtown Dunedin. We walked by the cathedral as we wandered around The Octagon. Tomasin and Julie are in front of the church in the picture at the bottom.

St. Paul's Cathedral
New Zealand Historic Places Trust #376

This historic place is located on The Octagon, Dunedin, Southern Island, New Zealand. The GPS coordinates for this location are S 45° 52.421 E 170° 30.166.

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

St. Paul's Cathedral

Located in the heart of The Octagon in Dunedin, St. Paul's Cathedral is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin and the seat of the Bishop of Dunedin.

The land for St Paul's Church was donated by the sealer and whaler Johnny Jones of Waikouaiti. The first parish church of St. Paul was built on the site in 1862-1863. It was made of Caversham stone and could accommodate up to 500 people. It was not well constructed. The stone weathered badly and the tall spire was removed after just a few years.

In 1904, William Harrop, a prominent Dunedin businessman died and left the bulk of his estate to fund a new Cathedral. On June 8, 1915, the foundation stone of the new cathedral was laid. Huge foundations, large piers and a tremendous vaulted ceiling, the only one in stone in New Zealand, rose from the ground, forming the new Cathedral’s nave. Finances precluded construction of anything more. There was no money for the crossing or the chancel, as originally intended. In the end, it was resolved that a temporary chancel should be constructed, using material saved from the old St Paul’s. The new Cathedral was consecrated by Bishop Nevill on 12 February 1919.

In the 1950s, it was decided that it wouldn't be possible to complete the Cathedral to its original design. In 1966, the decision was made to build a new chancel. Construction began in earnest in December 1969. The old chancel was stripped and demolished and new columns began to rise from the debris. Construction and clearing up finished on Saturday, July 24, 1971, and the Cathedral reopened the next day.


St. Paul's Cathedral

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Virtually Biking Across America - Day 6

With all of Nevada stretching out virtually in front of me, I had originally planned to do a 50k ride. Beat from a weekend of moving, I settled on an easy 18 mile ride from Woodfords to Genoa, Nevada; this is almost all downhill. I started from the Pony Express marker in Woodfords and ended up near the Pony Express marker in Genoa.

The trip log for Virtually Biking Across America is here.

Monday, February 06, 2012

Saturday, February 04, 2012

Celebrating Donna's birthday


Sharon and I went with Kevin and Donna and seven other couples wine tasting and to dinner in Amador County to celebrate Donna's birthday. The group stopped first at Terra d'Oro. From there, we went to Renwood. The last stop before dinner was at the Borjon Winery. This last stop turned out to be my favorite of the day. We sat on the patio in the sun and the owner [Isy] talked about the winery and the wines. We took a tour of their small facility and they poured a last taste out of one of the tanks.

We finished the day with dinner at the restaurant Taste. Sharon and I both had Borscht and New York steaks.

Kevin and Donna

Friday, February 03, 2012

2012 PAL Varsity Comp Basketball SEAS versus St. Francis


The SEAS Eagles played St. Francis in their third league game of the season. The Eagles have not faced St. Francis in the last two years. Like last week, they were missing a number of players. The starting power forward and two bench players were ineligible.

Jack got two quicks fouls in the first quarter. He ended up sitting for a long stretch at the end of the first quarter and the start of the second quarter. Jack ended up playing 20 minutes of the 28 minute game. He had 7 points on 2 for 3 from two point range, 1 for 3 from three point range and 0 for 2 from the free throw line. Jack added 4 rebounds, an assist and a steal with two turnovers and two fouls.

The Eagles had trouble getting going in the first quarter. At the end of the first period, SEAS was leading by the score of 13 to 7. Leading 19 to 9 at half-time, the Eagles blew the game open in the second half outscoring St. Francis 27 to 4.

SEAS won the game by the score of 46 to 13. This is there widest margin of victory this season. The box score is here.

The Eagles now have 7 wins and 3 losses for the season. The game log is here.

SEAS will play St. Patricks [Coop's team] next Friday night in league and then Holy Rosary in the opening round of the Christian Brothers Tournament on Saturday.


Thursday, February 02, 2012

Auckland Ferry Building

During the first three days [9/8, 9/9 and 9/10] that we were in New Zealand for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, we were in and around the Auckland Ferry Building.

Ferry Building
New Zealand Historic Places Trust #102

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

This historic place is located at 99 Quay Street, Auckland, Northern Island, New Zealand. The GPS coordinates for this location are S 36° 50.585 E 174° 46.015.

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

Auckland Ferry Building

The Ferry Building is one of the most imposing port buildings in New Zealand, and testimony to the importance of water transport in early twentieth-century Auckland. Erected by the Auckland Harbour Board in 1909-1912, this ornate structure was intended to be a focus for the extensive ferry network entering and leaving the city. It was also intended to raise a regular income for the harbour board, as it was designed entirely for lease. Its construction was part of a costly reorganisation of the docks, which included the building of the ferro-cement Queen's Wharf. These works were undertaken by the city in a bid to retain its position as a leading Southern Hemisphere port.

Designed to reflect the aspirations of the project, the imposing facades of the four-storey building were modelled in the Imperial Baroque style. Its prominent central tower was a focus of harbour life having a time ball, later replaced with a clock and siren, to regulate activity on the wharves. The building initially housed the headquarters of the two main ferry operators in the harbour - the Devonport Steam Ferry Company and Takapuna Tramways Ferry Company. Later tenants included trade unions and consulate offices. The construction of the Auckland Harbour Bridge in the 1950s dealt a major blow to maritime activity on the wharves, after which the building deteriorated. It was refurbished in 1986-1988, when its interior was gutted, strengthened and converted to office and retail use.

The Ferry Building is significant as a striking and monumental piece of architecture, whose scale reflects the importance of civic authorities in the early years of the Dominion (1907-1947). It is a powerful reminder of the importance of ferry transport in the early twentieth century, and the role played by the wharves in the social and commercial life of the city, particularly until the 1960s. It is of value as tangible evidence of the dock improvements undertaken in the early 1900s, and as one of the earliest office buildings in Auckland built entirely for lease. It is also significant for having been a familiar landmark for nearly 100 years, instilling a sense of place and identity in the everyday lives of Aucklanders travelling in and out of the city over several generations. The Ferry Building's valuable visual contribution to the city's waterfront is enhanced by its proximity to other historic structures, including those in the surrounding Harbour Historic Area and nearby Quay Street Historic Area.


Auckland Ferry Building

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Locked On by Tom Clancy

In January, I finished reading Locked On by Tom Clancy. This is continuation of Clancy's Jack Ryan novels. It is the fourteenth book set in the same universe and essentially a sequel to Dead or Alive.

I have really struggled to figure out what to say about this book. There are some parts of the story that I enjoyed. There are a number of characters that I have become invested in over the last twenty-eight years since The Hunt for Red October was published and continue to enjoy following.

Unfortunately, there are several chapters in the last part of the book that are completely implausible. I overuse the expression jumping the shark, but there are several chapters at the end of the book where the authors jumped the shark. Other than to say that the story revolves around Pakistan, Dagestan and Russia, I am not going to even try to talk about the plot.

I gave the previous book in the series a "B-" grade. At best, I would give this book a "C" grade; at best... Unless you have read all of Clancy's other Jack Ryan books, I don't recommend the book.

Clearly the end of the book sets up the next book in the series. Given all of the great books in the world, I am struggling with the idea of slugging my way through the next 800 page Clancy novel that is sure to appear in time for Christmas 2012.