Throwback Thursday - Marysville - 1958

Drew found this picture at his mom's house. From 1958 to 1960, we lived in a house in Marysville in a neighborhood east of the high school. Growing up, we had a pair of springer spaniels: Rex and Sam. Rex lived to be about twelve years old. I love this picture of him as a puppy.

Starting a journal for the trip to 91 Rugby World Cup

Cleaning out the den over the last couple of weeks, I came across a couple of artifacts that I am going to post. One of those is the program and itinerary for the 91 Rugby World Cup trip to Ireland, Wales and England. I am going to build a short journal from that trip using the itinerary, a few random notes and a couple of really bad pictures. I have no recollection of what I took as a camera, but the pictures are almost useless. The entry for day one is here.

Jack is back!

In the middle of this coronavirus mess, I picked Jack up at the airport. After spending a week with his girlfriend's family in Miami, he flew home. Jack was originally scheduled to fly from Miami to St. Paul and then to Sacramento on Delta. At the last minute, the flight from St. Paul to Sacramento was cancelled. He was able to switch to a Delta flight from Miami to Charlotte and then to Sacramento. The flights were about a third full...

The Guest and The Host - Live from Beachwood Canyon

Shelter in Place - Day 17

I started working from home two weeks ago Friday. Sharon started to work from home the following week. I have taken over the den upstairs, while Sharon is spread out on the dining room table downstairs.

The den has been a dumpster fire. We dragged a ton of stuff into the room when we moved from Marina Point eight years ago. We actually had two separate rooms set up as offices in the old house. Over the last two weekends, we have cleaned out the room. It is now a much more comfortable and useable space.

Her

Saturday night, Sharon and I watched Her on the AppleTv. It was the only movie nominated for best picture at the 2014 Oscars that we hadn't seen yet. At the 86th Academy Awards, Her actually received five nominations, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. It won the Oscar for original screenplay.

Her is a 2013 American science-fiction romantic drama film written, directed, and produced by Spike Jonze. It marks Jonze's solo screenwriting debut. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde, and Chris Pratt.

The film follows Theodore Twombly (Phoenix). He develops a relationship with Samantha (Johansson). Samantha is an artificially intelligent virtual assistant personified through a female voice. The role of Samantha was recast in post-production, with Samantha Morton being replaced with Johansson. Additional scenes were filmed in August 2013 following the casting change.

It is not a bad movie; I give it a lukewarm thumbs up. Sharon commented during and after the film that it felt long. I agree that it dragged a little in a couple of spots. I think the point was that they were showing the developing relationship between the main characters.

Calvin Coolidge @ The National Portrait Gallery

On our East Coast trip last summer, we visited the National Portrait Gallery. I have an ongoing project to read books about all of the presidents. I love this Coolidge quote!

Throwback Thursday - Puerto Vallarta - December 1992

2014 Oscar Nominations

Best Picture:
   ✔ 12 Years a Slave - winner
   ✔ American Hustle
   ✔ Captain Phillips
   ✔ Dallas Buyers Club
   ✔ Gravity
   ✔ Her
   ✔ Nebraska
   ✔ Philomena
   ✔ The Wolf of Wall Street


Lead Actor:
   ✔ Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club - winner
   ✔ Christian Bale – American Hustle
   ✔ Bruce Dern – Nebraska
   ✔ Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street
   ✔ Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave


Lead Actress:
   ✔ Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine - winner
   ✔ Amy Adams – American Hustle
   ✔ Sandra Bullock – Gravity
   ✔ Judi Dench – Philomena
    Meryl Streep – August: Osage County

Supporting Actor:
   ✔ Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club - winner
   ✔ Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips
   ✔ Bradley Cooper – American Hustle
   ✔ Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave
   ✔ Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street


Supporting Actress:
   ✔ Lupita Nyong'o – 12 Years a Slave - winner
   ✔ Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine
   ✔ Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle
   ✔ Julia Roberts – August: Osage County
   ✔ June Squibb – Nebraska


Best Adapted Screenplay
   ✔ 12 Years a Slave - winner
    Before Midnight
   ✔ Captain Phillips
   ✔ Philomena
   ✔ The Wolf of Wall Street


Original screenplay
   ✔ Her - winner
   ✔ American Hustle
   ✔ Blue Jasmine
   ✔ Dallas Buyers Club
   ✔ Nebraska


The 2020 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2019 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2018 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2017 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2016 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2015 Oscar nominations are here.

The 2014 Oscar nominations are here.

The Sea Ranch Chapel

The Sea Ranch Chapel
Marker 34B-41
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps
This site is located at 40033 Highway 1, Sea Ranch, California. The Sea Ranch Archives Committee has identified twenty-six historic sites scattered about The Sea Ranch. They have constructed trail markers with information explaining the significance of each place. They were placed as part of The Sea Ranch 50th anniversary being celebrated from Memorial Day 2014 to Memorial Day 2015. The GPS coordinates for this location are 38° 44' 00.1" N 123° 28' 38.3" W.

This nondenominational chapel was created to honor Kirk Ditzler, who regarded art as the intermediary between the physical and spiritual worlds. To realize his design, artist James Hubbell assembled a team of local artisans and craftsmen, led by contractor Thamby Kumara, who specialized in hand-built structures. It was crafted from a model and sketches rather than construction plans. Rough boulders anchor the building to the eart. The roof form was inspired by the shell of a sea snail. A sculpture i nthe landscape, the chapel stands as a curvilinear counterpoint to the right angles of most Sea Ranch architecture.

Jack's 2017 Spring Semester Classes

ACCT 101 08 Accounting I

This course is an introduction to financial accounting. Financial accounting is the process through which an organization reports financial information to interested parties. In other words, it is the language of business. The information is used for decision-making purposes by managers, investors, bankers, labor unions, suppliers, etc. In this class, you will learn how to prepare, analyze and use financial accounting information.

OPIM 173 02 Business Statistics

This course introduces the basic concepts of Statistics and their application in managerial decision-making. In the first part of the course, we consider the steps of data collection, preliminary data analysis (numerical and graphical), probability and uncertainty, statistical inference. In the second part of the course, we examine statistical model building for the purposes of understanding variability and making forecasts. A detailed development of multiple regression analysis is complemented by some study of time series analysis. The objective is to demonstrate the effectiveness of statistical modeling in guiding managerial decision-making. The statistical analysis of large data sets is an integral part of modern business practice. Accordingly, both spreadsheets and statistical software will be used throughout the course.

STRT 255 01 Moral Foundations of Market Soc

Are markets good or bad? How free should markets be? What good are economic and commercial liberties, and how strong should those liberties be? Is capitalism an impediment to social justice, or could capitalism be a way of achieving social justice? Is it possible for a society to be free, prosperous, and fair? Is market society cooperative and peaceful or competitive and exploitative? Do markets promote or undermine community and virtue?

This course is meant to introduce you to moral and political philosophy by focusing on a particular set of questions about capitalism, market institutions, and the ethics of wealth creation. We will start by asking what moral reasoning is, examine some common moral and political theories, and ask what counts as a sound ethical reasoning and what it takes to justify moral beliefs.

We will evaluate the institutions of the market using the tools of ethics, political philosophy, economics, history, and political science. We will investigate issues concerning the nature of money and prices, the role of the division of labor, business ethics, commerce and entrepreneurship, overconsumption and overpopulation, exploitation and alienation, the relationship between wealth and happiness, the motivations of market actors, the rule of law, liberty and market society, rent-seeking and corporate welfare, and more. We will read and discuss evaluations of markets from multiple ideological perspectives: socialist, communitarian, left-liberal, classical liberal, libertarian, and conservative.

ARTH 140 01 Modern Art

This course provides a broad survey of modern European and American art, with a focus on the development of abstraction. We will examine the major art movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, while remaining ever attentive to the question of what is modern art. Artistic developments will be understand in relation to historical factors, such as the impact of revolution and war, the changing status of women, and the rise of the modern metropolis. Together we will read seminal art theoretical texts which grapple with the nature of modernity, the role of the arts in the modern period, and the rise of the modern art museum

HIST 339 01 Eternal City:A History of Rome

This seminar class focuses on the history of the city of Rome, from its foundation in ancient times through its contemporary role as the capital of Italy. Each week we will focus on a different period, and examine the history of the city, in terms of both the life of its population and the development of city buildings, neighborhoods, and structures. We will discuss political, economic, social, cultural, religious, intellectual, and other changes, with a special focus on the architecture and urban structures of the physical city itself. Rome is a place, but it is also an idea. Therefore, though the history of the city and its people will be our main focus, we will also discuss the image of Rome, the perception of the city by outsiders, its broader role in European and western culture, and the legacy of its history as the seat of antiquity’s greatest empire, the main center of western Christianity and of global Catholicism, and the capital of a modern European nation state. Please note however that this class will not offer an overall history of antiquity, of the papacy, or of the Christian church in general (or of modern Italy per se). The course aims thus to allow for a close analysis of specific themes and topics and of how they developed over a significant span of time. The course also has a methodological aim: to introduce students to the advanced use of primary sources and to further their understanding of historical thinking and analysis. Both class discussion and writing assignments will push students to hone their critical reading, writing, and analytical skills. In particular, we will try to understand how to read textual, visual, and other sources with an awareness of historical context and with attention to the specifics of genre, authorship, and audience

Fall 2016 Semester
Spring 2017 Semester
Fall 2017 Semester
Spring 2018 Semester
Fall 2018 Semester
Spring 2019 Semester
Fall 2019 Semester
Spring 2020 Semester

Shelter in Place - Day 10

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Shelter-In-Place : Day 11

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Wine Country

Looking for a comedy, Sharon and I ended up watching Wine Country on Netflix on Saturday night. It is a 2019 American comedy film produced and directed by Amy Poehler. It is Poehler's feature directorial debut.

Poehler stars alongside Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, Paula Pell, Emily Spivey, Jason Schwartzman and Tina Fey. The plot follows a group of middle-aged women who go on a wine tasting tour in California.

I don't recommend the movie, but there is some beautiful scenery of Napa. Parts of the movie were filmed at three Napa Valley wineries: Artesa in the Carneros region; Baldacci Family Vineyards, and; Quintessa Vineyards.

[Note to self], I was really impressed with the views at the Artesa Winery. Sharon and Liz tasted there in 2004.

To Miami

Up at 5:30 am, Sharon, Jack and I headed to the airport about 6:30 am. Jack caught a 8:15 am American flight to Dallas. With an hour layover, he changed planes and took another American flight to Miami. After some heated debate, He is spending the week with his girlfriend's family.

Five Months Old

Volvo XC60 T8 - Day 508

I have driven 17,614 miles in the last 16 3/4 months. I am averaging about 1,054 miles a month. I continue to be very happy with vehicle, particularly since I replaced my iPhone and can use CarPlay again.

With a trip to Santa Cruz and the Carmel Valley mostly on gas, I only got 39 miles per gallon on the last tank of gas. This is actually higher than last July when I was working out of Marysville.

March 1

Golf Course

Golf Course
Marker 35A & 35D-45
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps
This site is located next to the Pro Shop at the Sea Ranch Links Golf Course. The Sea Ranch Archives Committee has identified twenty-six historic sites scattered about The Sea Ranch. They have constructed trail markers with information explaining the significance of each place. They were placed as part of The Sea Ranch 50th anniversary being celebrated from Memorial Day 2014 to Memorial Day 2015. The GPS coordinates for this location are 38° 45' 11.7" N 123° 30' 58.0" W.

The Sea Ranch Golf Course was built in two phases. The first nine holes were designed in the Scottish "links" style - often featured in the British Open - which fully exploits the windy, sandy, relatively treeless seaside environment, with its stunning viewsheds, natural waterways and rolling landforms. The second nine holes were more conventionally designed. The course is privately owned. Golf Course Architect, Robert Muir Graves; First Phase 1974; Second Phase 1995

Apple Watch Series 5

Four years ago, Sharon bought me an Apple Watch for Father's Day. Although I had never worn a watch before, it quickly become a key part of my life. I am literally never without it.

I upgraded to a Series 3 two years ago. With the Apple retail stores and the supply chain starting to get disrupted, I decided to upgrade and ordered a series 5 watch on Saturday. I arrived today.

Saturday Night Live - Season 1 - Episode 1

I am reading James Miller's Live From New York: An Uncensored History Of Saturday Night Live. I previously read his oral history of ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN.

Getting to the section where the first episode airs, I decided to buy the first season. I watched the first episode on the AppleTV running on the treadmill on Sunday afternoon.

October 11, 1975

• Billy Preston performs "Nothing from Nothing"and "Fancy Lady".
• Janis Ian performs "At Seventeen" and "In the Winter".
• The cold open features John Belushi as a foreign man learning English being taught by writer Michael O'Donoghue. Following this sketch, Chevy Chase appeared with a headset on and bellows the first "Live From New York, It's Saturday Night!"
• As host, George Carlin performs stand-up, introduced the musical guests and conducted the goodnight segment. Carlin performed three monologues, including "Baseball-Football".
• Andy Kaufman appears in a segment consisting of him playing the Mighty Mouse theme on a record player.
• Valri Bromfield makes a guest appearance. Jacqueline Carlin appeared as the mother in the "New Dad Insurance" sketch and as the woman with a book in the "Academy of Better Careers" sketch. Wendy Craig appeared as the salesman in the "Academy of Better Careers" sketch. Richard Belzer (the show's warm-up comedian), writer Tom Davis and talent coordinator Neil Levy appear as jurors in the "Courtroom" sketch.
• Sketches include the Bees; the Albert Brooks film, "The Impossible Truth"; "Trojan Horse Home Security"; "Triple-Trac"; and The Land of Gorch, with Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Rhonda Hansome, and Alice Tweedy.
• Paul Simon appears to promote his appearance as host the following week.
• Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Michael O'Donoghue, and Gilda Radner's first episode as cast members
• George Coe's only episode as a cast member.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

We had an early small St. Patrick's Day celebration. Sharon's brother Tom came over for dinner and Sharon made a great meal of corned beef and cabbage. Before dinner, we played a couple of rounds of the board game Locale.

Bombshell

Saturday night, Sharon, Jack and I watched Bombshell. This is part of our continuing effort to see all of the Oscar nominated films. At the 92nd Academy Awards, it earned three nominations: Best Actress (Charlize Theron), Best Supporting Actress (Margot Robbie), and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. It won the latter.

In addition to starring roles for Theron as Megyn Kelly, Robbie and Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson, the film features John Lithgow as Roger Ailes, Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, Malcolm McDowell, and Allison Janney. The movie is based upon the accounts of the women at Fox News who set out to expose CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment.

Both Sharon and I liked the film more than we thought that we would. When it ended, Sharon said "that was good; I am surprised that it wasn't nominated for best picture." The movie is definitely worth looking for and watching. I think that we were both surprised how much the movie was wrapped up in Trump's run for the presidency in 2016.

Work From Home

Starting about February 28, the focus on business continuity in the face of the coronavirus grew steadily. It exploded on Wednesday, March 11 with the decision to shut down the Roseville building and move 1,300 employees to a work from home strategy.