Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Back into Nebraska! - Virtually Biking Across America - Day 63


On day 63, I rode 20.0 miles. Starting in the Northeast corner of Colorado at the Overland City Pony Express Station [40° 59' 8.52", 102° 15' 48.83"], I rode northeast on Highway 138. I crossed back into Nebraska and jumped on Interstate 80 heading east. I finished the ride on Interstate 80 about one mile southwest of the town of Brule.

It was a very fast downhill ride. I averaged 21.8 miles per hour.

The trip log for Virtually Biking Across America is here.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

ESPN Films 30 for 30 Shorts: Tommy and Frank

Grantland and ESPN Films have released the tenth film in their 30 for 30 documentary short series.

30 for 30 Shorts: Tommy and Frank

The latest film is Tommy and Frank, by award-winning writer and director Richie Keen. In 1974, lefty pitcher Tommy John had 124 major league wins under his belt, and at 31 years old his career seemed far from over. But a nagging pain in his pitching arm sent him to the bench for what many thought would be forever. Refusing to accept that, John met with Dr. Frank Jobe, an unassuming orthopedic surgeon who, with some encouragement from his patient, conceived and performed a revolutionary elbow operation called ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction — or, as it's better known today, Tommy John surgery. This film follows not only the success of John's post-surgery career, but the close relationship he has kept with Dr. Jobe. Both men will be honored at the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27 for their contributions to the game.


You can find Tommy and Frank on the ESPN web site at http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=9518611.

More about the film at: http://espn.go.com/30for30/film?page=tommyandfrank

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Fast Camera

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!

Starbucks

Code Expiration: October 22, 2013

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Weber's On the Grill

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Weber's On the Grill

Code Expiration: October 22, 2013

Monday, July 29, 2013

Walbeck Baseball Academy Elite versus Granite Bay


The Walbeck Baseball Academy Elite 15u team traveled to Marysville to play Granite Bay in a double header at Appeal Democrat Field. Sam, one of Jack's teammates from Jesuit this spring, was playing for Granite Bay. This is the fifth game that Jack has played at Appeal Democrat Field. While he has had some very successful tournaments and game this summer, Jack has not done well at bat in this stadium. I am not sure what to make of this...

Leading off in the first game of the doubleheader, Jack was 0 for 2. In his first at-bat, Jack grounded a 2 and 2 pitch to the shortstop for an out. He grounded the first pitch to the shortstop for out in his second plate appearance.

Jack played right field. He had one put-out on a fly ball.

Behind a strong pitching performance by Marco, the Elite beat Granite Bay by the score of 2 to 0 in the first game of the double header. The Elite got 2 runs on four hits, while Granite Bay managed only 2 hits off of Marco.

After a short break, the boys turned around and played a second game at Appeal Democrat Field.

Leading off, Jack was 0 for 2 with a walk, reached on an error, a sacrifice fly and a RBI. In the his first at-bat in the top of the first, Jack grounded the seventh pitch to the third baseman. The third baseman couldn't handle the ball cleanly and Jack was safe at first. He stole second, but ended the inning there when Alex D lined out, Alex I flied out and Aaron struck out. Jack walked on four pitches in his second plate appearance. He ended the inning there when Alex D flied out. In his third at-bat with the bases loaded and no outs, Jack hit a 1 and 2 pitch for a sacrifice fly to right field and a RBI. With one out and the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, Jack struck out looking at three straight pitches!

Jack played right field. He had two put-outs and an assist. Making a catch in right field, Jack doubled a runner off second base for an assist.

The Elite gave up 6 runs in the bottom of the first inning. Although they tried to get back into the game, it was just too big a hill to climb. They lost by the score of 12 to 8.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

2013 Sugarloaf Fine Arts Camp [was: Drew]


On his way back from spending a few days working at the Sugarloaf Fine Arts Camp, Drew stopped by. It was great to have a chance to see him. Drew, Jack, Sharon and I had a mexican dinner at Rey Aztec. I also got a chance to hear some new music: a potential Milo Greene song for the next album [Don't Wait], some work in progress for next album and a song that Drew recorded with a couple of other guys in Nashville. Milo Greene will not be touring as much in the next six months as they work on the next album.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Walbeck Baseball Academy College Game Day


The Walbeck Elite 15u traveled to Yuba City High School to play the Golden Spikes 15u team in a wood bat game. While Jack has against the Golden Spikes before, I believe that was the 14u team. Working most of the morning of a go-live at work, I showed up late. The Roesslers took Jack to the game.

Leading off, Jack was 1 for 2 with a single and a walk. In his first at-bat, Jack walked on six pitches. He was out at second on Alex's fielder's choice to the right field. Jack hit a 1 and 0 pitch for a line drive to left field in his second plate appearance. He went to third on Alex's double to right field, but ended the inning there. In his third at-bat, Jack popped a 2 and 2 pitch up to the first baseman for an out.

In field, Jack played five innings in right field. He had no put-outs or assists.

The Walbeck Elite beat up on Golden Spikes. Scoring 4 runs in the fourth and 4 runs in the fifth, the Elite won the game by the score of 10 to 0.

After grabbing a quick lunch at subway, Jack and I headed to Appeal-Democrat Park. The Walbeck Elite 15u played a game against the Walbeck Titans 17u team. Actually, they mixed up the teams so that there were some 15Us and 17Us on each team.

At the plate, Jack was 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. In his first at-bat, Jack struck out swinging on a 1 and 2 outside pitch trying to protect the plate. Trying to lay down a bunt, he popped up the first pitch to the pitcher for an out in his second plate appearance. Jack was very upset with himself on this play. The third baseman was back and he felt that if he got the bunt down he would have been an easy single. In his third at-bat, Jack ran the count to full and drew the walk. He stole second, went to third on an infield error and scored on Aaron's single to right. Jack ground a 0 and 2 pitch to the second baseball and was threw out at first in his fourth plate appearance. After the game, he said that he had trouble seeing the ball in the last at-bat.

All of the pitchers that Jack faced were from the 17u team. Nevertheless, he was not happy with his performance at the plate.

In field, Jack played eight innings in right field. He had one put-out on a hard fly ball hit to the warning track.

Jack's team led by the score of 3 to 0 in the top of the eighth. They gave up 5 runs in top of the eighth and lost the game by the score of 5 to 3.

After the game, the team and parents listened to a series of talks by the Gold Sox players and coach about playing baseball in college. There was then a team party at the Peach Tree Country Club. Upset with his play at the plate in the second game, Jack balked at going. He ended up have a great time playing ping pong and swimming in the pool.

Friday, July 26, 2013

California Historical Landmark 780-6

First Transcontinental Railroad-Truckee
California State Historical Landmark #780-6

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

This site is located behind the Southern Pacific Depot, 70 Donner Pass Road, Truckee, California. There are 20 other California State Historical Landmarks in Nevada County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 39° 19.649 W 120° 11.132.

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

IMG_4440-001

While construction on Sierra tunnels delayed Central Pacific, advance forces at Truckee began building 40 miles of track east and west of Truckee, moving supplies by wagon and sled, and Summit Tunnel was opened in December 1867. The line reached Truckee April 3, 1868, the Sierra was conquered. Rails reached Reno June 19, and construction advanced eastward toward the meeting with Union Pacific at the rate of one mile daily. On May 10, 1869, the rails met at Promontory (Utah) to complete the first transcontinental railroad.

California Historical Landmark 780-6

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

DeMarini Top 96 Showcase Day 2

Jack went back to the UC Davis Dobbins Baseball Complex for a second day of DeMarini Top 96 Showcase. The format for the second day was a stimulated game. With a set of odd rules, they played a two hour game. Jack played in all of the outfield positions, plus third and second. He got a couple of pop-ups at third and made a nice catch on a line drive at second.

Overall, Jack was very positive about his experience over the two days. He felt like he got some really good work on his footwork in the outfield and some good analysis of his swing.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

DeMarini Top 96 Showcase Day 1


Jack spent a long day at the Dobbins Baseball Complex at the UC Davis participating in the DeMarini Top 96 Showcase. The schedule included clinics on hitting, outfield mechanics and third base play.

Each of the boys was also evaluated by a college coach. In Jack's case, it was David Carter from Utah Valley University. They used the following scale: 5-exceptional; 4-above avg; 3-avg HS; 2-below avg HS; and 1-needs improvement.

In hitting, Jack rated 4 on balance, 3.5 bat speed, 3 on power and 4 on swing path. In fielding, he rated 3 on footwork, 3 fielding, 2.5 exchange, 2.5 arm strength and 3.5 on accuracy.

They timed the boys over 60 yards. Jack's time was 7.4 seconds. This is rated as average high school. College level times are 6.8 to 7.1 seconds. Jack said that one of the boys ran a 6.7.

Most of the boys participating in the showcase were entering their junior or senior years in high school. Jack will only be a sophomore next year.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Cyto

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!

Starbucks

Code Expiration: October 15, 2013

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Cut the Rope: Experiments

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!

Starbucks

Code Expiration: October 15, 2013

Sunday, July 21, 2013

2013 All World Sports World Series Day 5


Packing up and checking out of the Grand Sierra, we headed back to the Golden Eagle Recreational Park. After three days of pool play, the Elite 15u was seeded second in the 15u elimination round. They had been playing 15u and 16u teams over the last few days.

Just as a side note, Jack is actually a 14u player playing on a 15u team against a number of 16u teams over the last couple of days. This means that a lot of the players that Jack has been playing against could be as much as two years older than him and are probably entering their senior year in high school.

The Elite played the Crimson Braves 15u in the first game of the elimination round at 10:15 am. This is a team from Auburn, Washington and is list as a Freshman Elite team.

Leading off, Jack was 2 for 3. In his first at-bat, he ran the count to 2 and 2 and then lined a pitch into right field for a single. Jack was almost caught off base when Kyle missed the sign for a hit and run and Jack stopped halfway to second. He ended getting forced out on a double play grounder from Kyle.

Jack crushed a high outside 1 and 1 pitch for a hard fly ball into the right field corner. Flying around the bases, he ended up with a triple! As Hank Aaron once said, "the triple is the most exciting play in baseball."

Unfortunately with one out, the Elite were not able to get Jack home from third. Kyle struck out and Alex flied out. As Jack was walking back to the dugout from third at the end of the inning, the home plate umpire told him that it was first triple he had seen during the tournament. The fences are relatively short making it difficult to get all the way to third. In his third at-bat, Jack grounded to the first pitch to the hole on the left side. The shortstop for the Braves was very good. He got to the ball and made a nice throw to first. Although everyone thought that Jack had beaten the throw, the umpire called him out.

In the field, Jack played seven innings in right. He had one put-out with a nice throw. On a fly ball hit to deep right center, Jack threw a bullet to the third baseman to hold the runner at second.

The Braves pitcher was very good. Although I didn't bring my radar gun with me on the trip, it looked like he might have been throwing almost 80 mph. I haven't clocked anyone above 73 this year.

Leading 1 to 0 in the top of the fifth, the Braves finally started to get to the Elite pitchers. The Elite ended up losing the game by the score of 5 to 1 and were eliminated from the tournament.

Heading home, we stopped for lunch at the Bar of America in Truckee. It was about 4:30 pm by the time we rolled up to the house.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

2013 All World Sports World Series Day 4

Jack pitching

I went for an early morning six mile run in the morning along the Truckee River. We left the Grand Sierra about 8:30 am.

It was a long hot day... The temperature reached about 102 degrees in the afternoon.

After playing the first two days of the tournament around Carson City, the games moved to the Golden Eagle Recreation Park for the next two days. The Elite 15u played the BOBA Silverhawks 16u in the first game of the day. The Elite beat the Silverhawks in a Memorial Day Tournament, but the Silverhawks had a very different roster for this tournament.

At the plate, Jack was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored. In his first at-bat, Jack drove a 3 and 2 to the right side. The second baseman made a great diving stop ranging far to his right, but couldn't get back up. Jack was safe at first. The Elite scorekeeper scored it as an error; there is no way that it should have been scored as an error. Jack went to second on Kyle's single down the third baseline and scored on Alex's fly ball single to right. Jack drove the first pitch for a line drive into centerfield in his second plate appearance. He came around to score again. In his third at-bat, Jack hit the first pitch for a hard line drive right at the pitcher. The pitcher made a great catch for an out. Jack grounded the first pitch to the shortstop and was thrown out at first in his fourth plate appearance.

In the field, Jack played seven innings in right field. He had two put-outs and one assist. In the bottom of the first inning, Jack caught a fly ball in short right field and fired the ball home. The runner tagging at third and trying to score was out by ten feet.

The Elite let the game slip away from them and lost by the score of 6 to 5.

After the two hour break, the Elite 15u played the Niles Raw Sluggers 16u in the second game of the day. With the outcome of the game having little impact on the seeding for pool play on Sunday, the coaches played a number of different players.

At the plate, Jack was 0 for 1. Jack struck out swinging on a 3 and 2 pitch.

In the field, Jack pitched an inning for the first time in over a year. I couldn't have been more surprised when he walked out to the mound. Given the heat and a desire to save pitching for Sunday, I think that coaches asked for volunteers. Jack pitched part of the fifth and sixth innings. He threw 29 pitches: 19 balls and 10 strikes. Jack got three ground outs, walked three, was eventually charged with two earned runs and gave up no hits. I thought that he pitched surprisely well.

The game got away from the Elite quickly. The first Elite pitcher walked three pitchers in the first third of an inning. In total, the Elite walked 11 batters. Combined with a couple of errors at shortstop, the Elite ended up losing by the score of 12 to 5.

By the time, we got back to the hotel it was after 5:30 pm. The plan for the night was a group dinner at the Charlie Palmer Steak House at the Grand Sierra. The group included Alex's, Kyle S', Andrew's and Kyle R's parents. I finished the night playing blackjack with a couple of the dads until after midnight.

Jack pitching

Friday, July 19, 2013

2013 All World Sports World Series Day 3


After staying at the Grand Sierra in Reno on Thursday, the Walbeck Elite 15u had to play the NorCal Cardinals 16u at James Lee Park in Indian Hills south of Carson City on Friday morning. Luckily, they have opened the new section of 395 between Reno and Carson City so it was a fairly quick drive. Apparently one of Jack's teammates from Jesuit [Sogart] is on the Cardinals, but missed the game due to summer school.

Entering the game in the fourth inning, Jack had one walk. In his only at-bat, he ran the count full and drew a lead-off walk. Jack stole second and went to third on a passed ball. Unfortunately, even though there were not outs, the Elite couldn't get Jack home!

In the field, Jack played three innings in centerfield. He had no put-outs or assists.

The Elite beat the NorCal Cardinals by the score of 6 to 5.

A large group ended up having lunch at Wasabi in Reno. A number of us, including all of the boys, had all you can eat sushi.

After I dropped Sharon and Jack at the Grand Sierra, I went to a Suds and Duds Laundromat and washed Jack's uniforms for Saturday and Sunday.

After we got back to the Grand Sierra, Jack spent most of the late afternoon and evening running with a group of boys from the team. Sharon and I had a lazy dinner at Briscola. Sharon had spaghetti and meatballs, while I had a pizza.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Kacey Musgraves - Follow Your Arrow

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Kacey Musgraves - Follow Your Arrow

Code Expiration: October 8, 2013

Jack stealing second

Thursday, July 18, 2013

2013 All World Sports World Series Day 2

Spending the night at the Holiday Inn Express in Carson City, we got up and had breakfast at the hotel. The Walbeck Elite 15u played TABU 15u at Governors Field in Carson City in a 10 am. Jack played against a TABU team in twice in 2008 [11/1/2008, 11/15/2008] and once in 2011.

Leading off, Jack was 1 for 2 with a stolen base and a run scored. In his first at-bat, Jack struck out looking on a 1 and 2 pitch. He grounded a 1 and 1 for a slow roller to the left side. Jack beat the throw and was safe at first. He stole second, went to third on Aaron's single and scored on Alex's single.

Playing four innings in centerfield, Jack had one put-out.

Trailing 4 to 2 in the bottom of the fifth, the Elite scored three runs and ended up winning the game by the score of 5 to 2.

After the game, a group of families stopped and had lunch at Red's Old 395 Grill. I had a group dinner there during the Petersen Shootout in 2010.

We headed to Reno after lunch. We will be spending the next three nights at the Grand Sierra Resort. After the crowded hotel room in Maui, we decided to spring for a King Suite. Getting checked in, we crashed in the room for a while. Eventually, Sharon and I headed down to the work-out room. I ran six miles on the treadmill. After getting cleaned up, Sharon and I went down to the pool for a quick drink.

Sharon, Jack and I finished the evening with a late dinner at Rim, a Pan-Asian bistro featuring specialties from China, Japan, Korea and Thailand. Jack enjoyed the sushi!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

2013 All World Sports World Series Day 1

The Walbeck Elite 15U will be playing in the All World Sports World Series starting on Thursday in Nevada. With the first game scheduled for 10 am on Thursday in Carson City, we made a decision to drive up on Wednesday night after work.

Taking off about 5:15 pm, we headed towards South Shore Lake Tahoe. We ended up stopping for dinner at Scusa for dinner in Tahoe City. We would definitely recommend this Italian restaurant and would go there again. Sharon had veal.

We rolled into Carson City about 8:30 pm. Sharon had made a reservation at the Holiday Inn Express. After tomorrow's game, we will be moving to the Grand Sierra in Reno for three nights.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Walbeck Baseball Summer 2013 Game #11

The Walbeck Elite 15U team played Hard 90 at Bella Vista High School. There were three players on the Hard 90 that Jack played with on the Jesuit freshman baseball team: Ryan, Sam and Bryce. Sam also played with the Sacramento Storm on Sunday.

At the plate, Jack was 0 for 3 with a walk. In his first at-bat, he hit a 2 and 0 pitch for a sharp ground ball up the middle. The shortstop (Sam) made a nice play and threw Jack out at first. Facing Ryan, Jack walked on five pitches in his second plate appearance. He went to second on Matt's single and was tagged out on Chris' fielder's choice. In his third at-bat, Jack popped a 2 and 2 pitch up to the second baseman for an out. He hit a 0 and 2 pitch for a soft fly ball to the first baseman for an out in his fourth plate appearance. When Jack hit it, I initially thought that it would drop for a single.

Jack was the designated hitter and did not appear in the field.

The Elite scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth and six runs in the bottom of the fifth. They won the game by the score of 14 to 5.

The Elite will be playing in the All World Sports World Series in Nevada on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Kacey Musgraves - Follow Your Arrow

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!

This pick of the week card may be harder to find. When I stopped at my usual Starbucks on Tuesday morning, they had a letter from the corporate office directing them not to distribute these cards. The artist's name is misspelled.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Kacey Musgraves - Follow Your Arrow

Code Expiration: October 8, 2013

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Gregory Alan Isakov - Living Proof

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Gregory Alan Isakov - Living Proof

Code Expiration: October 8, 2013

Monday, July 15, 2013

Hunter Birthday Bash


After leaving Jack's baseball game on Saturday afternoon, Wallen and I headed back to the house to get cleaned up. I had a limo pick us up [Wallen, Jill, Sharon and I] about 5 p.m. We made a quick stop in Carmichael to pick up Geselbracht and Barb at Denny's and then headed to Hunters. We had a great time at Hunter's birthday bash. By the limo got us back to the house, it was after midnight.



Sunday, July 14, 2013

2013 RCTB World Series Warm-up Day 2


After the pool play the Walbeck Elite 15U were seeded first. They played the Reno A's in the semi-final game. The Elite had beaten the A's on Saturday by the score of 5 to 4.

Leading off, Jack was 2 for 3 with a walk, a fielder's choice, 3 runs scored and 5 stolen bases. In his first at-bat, he hit a 1 and 1 pitch at a line drive into right center and a single. He stole second, but was doubled off second on Kyle's line drive to the second baseman. Jack walked on five pitches in his second plate appearance. He stole second, stole third and scored on Kyle's single. In his third at-bat, Jack hit a 1 and 0 pitch up the middle. The shortstop forced out the runner at second, but Jack beat the relay and was safe at first with a fielder's choice. He stole second, went to third on an error and scored on Kyle's triple. Jack grounded the first pitch through the right side for a single in his fourth plate appearance. He stole second, went to third on Nick's fielder's choice and scored on Aaron's walk.

In the field, Jack played centerfield. He did not have a put-out or an assist. He handled one line drive up the middle.

The Elite drubbed the A's and won the game by the score of 8 to 0.

The Elite played the Sacramento Valley Storm in the championship game of the tournament. They lost to the Storm in the Memorial Day Tournament.

Leading off, Jack was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored. In his first at-bat, Jack walked on four pitches. He scored on Kyle's triple. Coming up a second time in the bottom of the first, Jack grounded the first pitch to the second baseman for an out. In his third at-bat, Jack lined a 1 and 0 pitch into centerfield for a single. He went to second on an error by the pitcher, to third on Nick's ground out and scored on Aaron's single. Jack grounded the first pitch to the first baseman for an out in his fourth plate appearance.

In the field, Jack played centerfield. He had one put-out.

With the game tied 6 to 6 in the top of the sixth, the Elite pitchers walked the first three batters in the inning. They ended up giving up five runs before they could get out of the inning and lost the game by the score of 11 to 6 to finish second in the 2013 RCTB World Series Warm-up Tournament.

The Storm pitcher threw seven innings and 115 pitches. Apparently, the kid also threw a complete game on Saturday and one inning in a game earlier on Sunday. He probably threw more than 225 pitches in the two days. This seems criminal...

The Walbeck Elite 15U will be playing in the All World Sports World Series in Nevada starting on Thursday.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

2013 RCTB World Series Warm-up Day 1

The Walbeck Elite 15U team played in the River City Travel Ball 2013 World Series Warm-up tournament at the Woodland Sports Complex. In the first game of the pool, they played the Elk Grove Titans. Jack scrimmaged against this team once last year when he was playing with the Outlaws. In town for Hunter's birthday party, Wallen went to the game with me.

Leading off, Jack was 2 for 4 with 2 stolen bases and 2 runs scored. In his first at-bat, he hit a 1 and 2 pitch for a hard grounder up the middle and a single. Jack stole second, went to third on Alex's fielder's choice and scored on a fielder's choice on Aaron's bunt. The catcher fielded the bunt and tried to reach back and tag Jack as he was racing home. Jack grounded a 1 and 1 pitch through the right side for a single in his second plate appearance. He stole second and went to third on Alex's fielder's choice, but ended the inning there. In his third at-bat, Jack popped a 1 and 1 pitch to the second baseman for an out. Jack grounded the first pitch to the right side for a fielder's choice. Drew was out at second, but Jack beat the throw to first. He went to third on Kyle's double and scored on Aaron's single.

In the field, Jack played centerfield. He had no put-outs or assists.

With the score tied 1 to 1 in the fourth, the Walbeck Elite scored 6 runs in the fourth and 6 runs in the fifth. They won the game by the score of 13 to 1.

The Walbeck Elite played the Reno A's in the second pool game. Wallen and I left towards the end of the first game to head to Hunter's birthday party. I hate it when Jack plays and I am not watching.

Leading off, Jack was 1 for 2 with 2 walks, 3 stolen bases and 3 runs scored. In his first at-bat, Jack lined a 0 and 2 pitch into centerfield for an out. Jack grounded a 3 and 2 pitch through the left side for a single in his second plate appearance. He stole second, went to third on a passed ball and scored on Kyle's single.

With the Elite trailing 4 to 3 in the bottom of the fifth, Jack had a great at-bat. The sequence for the twelve pitch at bat was: Strike looking, Strike looking, Foul, Ball, Ball, Ball, Foul, Foul, Foul, Foul, Foul, Ball! Jack stole second, went to third on a passed ball and scored on Aaron's ground out to second.

In his fourth at-bat in the bottom of the seventh and the scored tied 4 to 4, Jack walked on seven pitches. He stole second, went to third on Nick's single and scored the winning run on Aaron's single.

In the field, Jack played centerfield. He was charged with one error. Talking to him later, he said that he lost the ball in twilight background between the setting sun and the lights.

Getting on base three times, Jack scored three of the five runs that the Walbeck team scored. The Elite beat the Reno A's by the score of 5 to 4.

The Walbeck Elite ended the day seeded first for the single elimination games on Sunday.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Pre-Hunter Birthday Party Dinner

With Hunter's birthday planned for Saturday night, a number of people are converging on Sacramento for the weekend. The Wallens flew in from Seattle on Friday afternoon. They will be staying with us on Friday and Saturday night. Geselbracht and Barb have been traveling down the coast over Canada in the last week. They drove in on Friday from Reno and will be spending the next couple of days with Denny.

Sharon and I had the Wallens and Geselbrachts over for dinner on Friday night to kick off the weekend. Chabrier was also planning to come, but apparently decided to accept a better offer at the last minute... We had a nice dinner of barbecued steaks, baked potatoes and green beans.

We had a great visit. It was almost midnight by the time we shut everything down and got to bed.

Starbucks Sounds of Summer

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!

Starbucks Sounds of Summer

Code Expiration: July 27, 2013

Wanna Feel It by The Olms
It All Feels Right by Washed Out
Cayucos by Cayucas
How the Ranks Was Won by Brazos
Learned My Lessons by Jenny O.
Beautiful Day by Marie and the redCat
Such Great Heights by The Postal Service
Ride On / Right On by Phosphorescent

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Walbeck Baseball Summer 2013 Game #6


The Walbeck Elite 15U team played the Sacramento Valley Longhorns at Bella Vista High School. I am not sure where this team is from. I originally thought that it was the ELk Grove Longhorns, but this was clearly wrong.

At the plate, Jack was 1 for 2 with 2 RBIs and a strike-out. Coming into the game in the bottom of the fourth with bases loaded, he hit a 0 and 2 pitch for double into right center. Jack drove in Pyles and Iwasa for two RBIs. He went to third on a passed ball, but ended the inning there when Gross struck out and Clarke flied out. Jack struck out swinging on a 1 and 2 pitch in the bottom of the sixth.

In the field, Jack played three innings in centerfield. He had one put-out.

In a two hour and 35 minute seven inning game, the Elite beat the Longhorns by the score of 14 to 9. The Elite used five pitcher that throw 185 pitches!?!

Walbeck Elite 15U best Sac Valley Longhorns in shootout, 14-9

Walbeck Elite 15U best Sac Valley Longhorns in shootout, 14-9

Walbeck Elite 15U and Sac Valley Longhorns lit up the scoreboard on Wednesday as they combined for 23 runs. In the end, Walbeck Elite 15U won the offensive battle 14-9 in seven innings.
There were 19 hits, including three extra base hits in the game.
Ryan Ingersoll racked up two RBIs on two hits for Walbeck Elite 15U. He singled in the second and third innings.
Marco Petrucci handled Sac Valley Longhorns' lineup with ease, racking up five strikeouts. Marco allowed no earned runs on four hits and no walks over four innings.
Four relief pitchers made sure the win didn't fall through the cracks for Walbeck Elite 15U. Matthew Freeman faced seven batters in relief, while Drew Gross managed to record one out to aid the victory.
Walbeck Elite 15U didn't relinquish the lead after scoring one run in the first inning when it scored on a sacrifice fly by Aaron Lee.
Walbeck Elite 15U tacked on another seven runs in the second. Ryan's single got things going, scoring Chase Pyles. That was followed up by Addison Lueras's single, bringing home Nick Iwasa.
After a quick strike from Sac Valley Longhorns, Walbeck Elite 15U responded with one run in the third. Walbeck Elite 15U scored on an RBI single by Addison.
Walbeck Elite 15U added four more runs in the bottom of the fourth. A bases loaded walk scored Alex Isola to get Walbeck Elite 15U on the board in the inning. That was followed up by Jack Heringer's double, scoring Nick and Chase.
Five runs in the top of the fifth helped Sac Valley Longhorns close its deficit to 13-6. , a walk by Drew, a bases loaded walk by Kyle Smith, an RBI single by Trent, and a walk by Owen gave Sac Valley Longhorns life. Hank struck out to end the Sac Valley Longhorns threat.
After pushing across three runs in the top of the seventh, Sac Valley Longhorns faced just a 14-9 deficit. A walk by Marcil, a walk by Calib, and a bases loaded walk fueled Sac Valley Longhorns' comeback. Finally, Aaron got Dominic to strike out to end the game.
"Powered by Narrative Science and GameChanger Media. Copyright 2013. All rights reserved." Any reuse or republication of this story must include the preceding attribution.

Tuesday, July 09, 2013

California Historical Landmark #298

Empire Mine
California State Historical Landmark #298

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This site is located at the Empire Mine State Historic Park, 10791 Empire Street, 1.2 miles east of Grass Valley, California. There are 20 other California State Historical Landmarks in Nevada County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 39° 12.423 W 121° 02.807.

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

IMG_3509

The Empire Mine was originally located by George D. Roberts in October 1850. In the spring of 1854, the Empire Mining Company was incorporated and in 1865 new works, including a 30-stamp mill, were erected. In 1869 Wm. B. Bourn, Sr. purchased the Empire, when he died, Wm. B. Bourn, Jr. took over its management. The Empire was in constant operation from 1850 to the late 1950s.

California Historical Landmark #298

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Hundreds

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks

Code Expiration: October 1, 2013

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Sky Guide

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!

Starbucks

Code Expiration: October 1, 2013

Monday, July 08, 2013

Walbeck Baseball Summer 2013 Game #5

After beating Yuba City by the score of 11 to 4 in the first game of a double header, the Walbeck Elite 15U turned right around and played the second game of a double header.

At the plate, Jack was 1 for 2 with a walk and a run scored.  In his first at-bat in the bottom of the first, he walked on six pitches.  Jack was still on first when the inning ended.  Jack drove a 1 and 2 pitch through the left side in his second plate appearance.  The scorer for Elite scored it as an error, but Jack swears that it should have been scored as a single...  He went to second on a passed ball, went to third on Ingersoll's single and scored on Dailey's double.  In his third at-bat, Jack lined the first pitch into right field right at the fielder for an out.

In the field, Jack played seven innings in right field. He had one put-out.

Walbeck Elite 15U tops Yuba City in back-and-forth affair, 8-4

Walbeck Elite 15U tops Yuba City in back-and-forth affair, 8-4

Walbeck Elite 15U took the last of six lead changes in a back-and-forth affair against Yuba City, securing a 8-4 victory on Monday at Marysville.
Walbeck Elite 15U finally managed to grab the lead after a strong fourth inning. Walbeck Elite 15U went up for good on a two-run double by Alex Dailey off #4, plating Jack Heringer and Ryan Ingersoll.
Matthew Clarke put himself in scoring position with two extra-base hits for Walbeck Elite 15U. He doubled in the third and fifth innings.
Nick Iwasa looked sharp on the mound. Nick held Yuba City hitless over 1 1/3 innings, allowed no earned runs, walked none and struck out three.
The bottom of the first saw Walbeck Elite 15U take an early lead, 1-0. A single by Aaron Lee, bringing home Nick started the inning off.
Yuba City got one-run rallies in the fourth inning and the seventh. In the fourth, Yuba City scored on a sacrifice fly by #36, scoring #39.
Walbeck Elite 15U built upon its lead with two runs in the fifth. A double by Matthew Clarke ignited the offense,, bringing home Kyle Roessler.
One run in the top of the seventh helped Yuba City close its deficit to 8-4. A single by PlayerD fueled Yuba City's comeback. Matthew Clarke ended the game by getting #38 to strike out.
"Powered by Narrative Science and GameChanger Media. Copyright 2013. All rights reserved." Any reuse or republication of this story must include the preceding attribution.

Walbeck Baseball Summer 2013 Game #4

The Walbeck Elite 15U played Yuba City in the first game of a double header at Appeal Democrat Field in Marysville. I hate it when Jack plays and I am not there watching. Jack played right field and batted seventh.

At the plate, Jack was 0 for 1 with two walks and two runs scored. In his first at-bat, he walked on four straight balls. Jack advanced to second on Pyles' single to center, to third on Ingersoll's walk and scored on Gross' fielder's choice. He struck out swinging on a 2 and 2 pitch in his second plate appearance. Jack walked on five pitches to lead off the bottom of the sixth. He went to second on Pyles' single to left, to third on Ingersoll's ground out and scored on an error on Clarke's grounder to the first baseman.

In the field, Jack played six innings in right field. He had one put-out.

Walbeck Elite 15U uses big first inning to beat Yuba City, 11-4

Walbeck Elite 15U uses big first inning to beat Yuba City, 11-4

Walbeck Elite 15U blew out Yuba City 11-4 on Monday at Appeal-Democrat Park - Marysville after pouring on six runs in the first inning.
Nick Iwasa had a busy day at the plate, collecting two extra-base hits. He doubled in the second and fifth innings.
Walbeck Elite 15U added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth. The inning got off to a hot start when Aaron Lee doubled, scoring Nick and Alex Isola. That was followed up by Kyle Roessler's single, bringing home Aaron.
"Powered by Narrative Science and GameChanger Media. Copyright 2013. All rights reserved." Any reuse or republication of this story must include the preceding attribution.

Sunday, July 07, 2013

2013 Outlaws Baseball Tournament #2 Day #2


Jack played baseball with the Outlaws baseball team for the first time in almost six months. He played with the Outlaws in the second day of the USSSA Mid-Summer Classic. For the bracket after pool play, the Outlaws were seeded third out of nine teams and played the second seeded Lamorinda 14U. The game was played at Billy Hebert Staduim in Stockton. This is the old Stockton Ports minor league stadium and is a very nice venue. It is the first time that Jack has played here.

Josh, Jeremy, Breyton and Cooper were all playing for the Outlaws. Jack has played with this group over the last five years. From the core group that started together in 2009, only Trevor was missing.

Given our vacation in early June and his abdominal strain, this is only the second game that he has played in the last six weeks. This is going to change markedly over the next two weeks; the Walbeck team will be playing 10 to 14 games over the next two weeks.

Jack led off and played centerfield.

At the plate, Jack was 0 for 3. Unfortunately, the home plate umpire had a very wide strike zone. Given Jack's tendency to be selective at the plate, he got himself in trouble quickly. In his first at-bat, Jack struck out looking on a 1 and 2 pitch very low and outside. Jack hit a 1 and 2 pitch for a towering fly ball to right field for an out in his second plate appearance. In his third at-bat, Jack struck out swinging trying to protect the plate on a 1 and 2 pitch that high and outside.

In the field, Jack played six innings in centerfield. He had four put-outs. Jack made a couple of nice catches. Covering a lot of ground, he made a sliding catch on a fly ball in shallow left center and went a long ways to make a catch on a hard hit ball to deep left center.

The Outlaws never got their bats going. Giving up a 5 run second inning on a couple of walks and 3DK, the Outlaws lost the game to Lamorida by the score of 8 to 0 and were eliminated from the tournament. Lamorida went on to win the tournament by beating Athletic Edge 14U by the score of 8 to 0.

There will be lots of baseball posts over the next three weeks!

Saturday, July 06, 2013

Colorado! - Virtually Biking Across America - Day 62


On day 62, I rode 24.6 miles across Nebraska and into the northeastern corner of Colorado. Starting in Lodgepole, I followed Highway 385 into Julesburg, Colorado. I finished the ride at the Overland City Pony Express Station [40° 59' 8.52", 102° 15' 48.83"].

I never realized that the Pony Express went through the corner of the state of Colorado. I will be back in Nebraska the next time I ride.

The trip log for Virtually Biking Across America is here.

Friday, July 05, 2013

ESPN Films - Nine for IX - Venus Vs

I watched Venus Vs. I actually watched it twice: once when it aired on Tuesday night and again with Sharon and Jack on Wednesday night. This is the first film in a new series from ESPN films. Called Nine for IX (as in Title IX), the series includes films about women made by women.

The film looks at Venus' career and her fight for equal pay at Wimbledon. The documentary has some great footage of Venus as a kid. I didn't realize that she and her sister were raised in Compton. Whenever I hear a reference to Compton, I think about Straight Outta Compton and the images from the 30 for 30 film Straight Out L.A.

I particularly enjoyed the part of the film that examined the rise of Venus' career. There is some remarkable footage of her playing against Lindsey Davenport in the Wimbledon finals. While Venus is 6' 1", Davenport is almost 6' 3".

I thought the interviews talking about the equal pay for men and women got a tad bit repetitious. Nevertheless, there is a very powerful segment of video from the English Parliament in the middle of the film.

I don't follow tennis. I didn't realize how successful Venus had been at Wimbledon; five of her seven Grand Slam championships came there. I enjoyed the film and recommend it.

Venus Vs is available on iTunes.

Thursday, July 04, 2013

2013 Fourth of July

Sharon, Jack and I spent at the evening celebrating the Fourth of July at Tom's house (Sharon's brother). We swam in the pool, played bocce ball, barbecued hot dogs and finished the night with fireworks.

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Saturn's Children by Charles Stross

I finished reading Saturn's Children by Charles Stross. This is the third of Stross' books that I have read in the last year. The other two were Rule 34 and Halting State. Before we left for Hawaii, I downloaded the book to my iPad and iPhone just in case I finished the books that I was carrying and needed something else to read.

After reading three ebooks in 2012, this is the first ebook that I have read in almost year. I read most of the book in the kindle app on my iPad. While it seems like a poor form factor for reading, I liked having the book in Kindle on my iPhone so I could read when I was sitting somewhere and killing time. I still love paper books...

Set a couple hundred years in the future, humans have died off and the solar system in populated by the robots that they created. The robots come in all shapes and sizes. The story is told from the perspective of a robot that was originally created to be a human concubine. At its heart, the book is a spy and espionage tale.

There are two aspects of the book that I found interesting. First, the story provides a tour of the solar system. It moves from Venus to Mars to Mercury to one of the moons of Jupiter to the Kuiper Belt. The descriptions of the environment of each stop and how they are settled is compelling.

Second, the book suggests an odd method for creating intelligent robots. It suggests that the only way humans could figure out how to create artificial intelligence was to duplicate the structure of the brain electronically and then raise the robots like children. Once they had raised and trained the "children," they could copy the template and duplicate it in other robots.

While it has a couple of thought-provoking ideas, the pacing of the plot and the resolution of the book leave something to be desired. About 80% through the book, I was losing interest although it picked up a bit towards the end. The story is billed as a throwback novel in homage to Asimov and Heinlein. I was frankly surprised that it was nominated for the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Novel. At best, I give the book a B- and suggest that there are better books in which to invest your time.

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

currency of the dystopian future

While this tweet is probably meaningless to most people, it struck me as very funny. Over the last five years, I have wandered into a Starbucks somewhere every week and looked for the Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week cards. I would usually grab a few of them at a time. The result has been a playlist list of 266 songs on my phone as well as a couple of dozen apps, books and videos. It has also resulted in large piles of the cards on the mess that is my desk. Looking at the mound of Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week cards on my desk and thinking that they would be the currency of the dystopian future made me smile.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - FlightTrack Pro

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks

Code Expiration: September 24, 2013

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Whirly Word

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - 7/2/2013 - Digital Download - Whirly Word

Code Expiration: September 24, 2013

Monday, July 01, 2013

2013 NBA draft results: Chad Ford Draft Grades

Chad Ford gives the Sacramento Kings an 'A-' grade for their picks in the 2013 NBA draft!
Draft grades: 30 team evaluations

SACRAMENTO KINGS | GRADE: A-

Round 1: Ben McLemore (7)

Round 2: Ray McCallum (36)

Analysis: Kings GM Pete D'Alessandro has been on the job just nine days, but things are already looking up. Having McLemore, one of the two or three top talents in the draft, slide all the way to No. 7 was a godsend. The Kings wanted athleticism and shooting at the 2, and McLemore is a great fit. He has the chance, with hard work and greater confidence, to be the best player in the draft.

McCallum is a solid, no-frills point guard who might earn a lot more minutes if the Kings decide to clean house this summer.