I took a short video of the sounds of the bullfrogs at Frog Pond.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
2005 Baseball Game #15
Jack played in his fifteenth baseball game of the season. He was two for two from the plate. He had one of the most interesting base running plays of the year. In the hit shown below, Jack poked the ball into right center. He took a wide turn around first [unfortunately, I stopped the video camera at that point] and danced back and forth. He was daring the outfielder to throw. When the outfielder threw it to first, Jack sprinted to second.
| Launch in external player |
Monday, May 30, 2005
Memorial Day
We finished up the Memorial Day weekend spending the afternoon and evening with one of the families from Jack's baseball team.
The boys had a great time hanging out in the pool and hitting whiffle golf balls. We had a wonderful time and a great dinner.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Frogpond Trail
Sharon, Jack and I went to the Cache Creek Canyon Regional Park and hiked the Frog Pond Trail. We covered about 5.25 miles. A number of the pictures from the hike are mapped at Geobloggers.com.
click on the pictures to see a larger copy!
On the way back, we stopped at Cache Creek Casino and Resort for dinner.
On the way back, we stopped at Cache Creek Casino and Resort for dinner.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Morgan's High School Graduation!
Sharon, Jack and I went to Morgan's graduation from from Union Mine School this evening. I am very proud of her accomplishments!
click on the pictures to see a larger copy!
Pictures from Drew's High School Graduation
Friday, May 27, 2005
Sharon's Busy Day
Sharon took off early to start the day working at T0wer Records. She has done contract work for them off and on since December of 2003.
Just after noon, she headed to Jack's school to serve as the art docent for his class. She and another parent taught Lesson H which discussed how artists use simple objects, such as flowers in vases, for still life painting.
The kids learned about two artists and their paintings: Carnations and Clematis by Edouard Manet [shown below]; and Sunflowers II and Vase of Flowers by Vincent Van Gogh.
For their art project, the class created a still life "stained glass" picture of a vase of flowers.
After Sharon finished up with the art class, she headed over to the church and spent the rest of the afternoon serving as a wedding coordinator for a wedding.
We finished up the day by going out to dinner at Red Robin.
Just after noon, she headed to Jack's school to serve as the art docent for his class. She and another parent taught Lesson H which discussed how artists use simple objects, such as flowers in vases, for still life painting.
The kids learned about two artists and their paintings: Carnations and Clematis by Edouard Manet [shown below]; and Sunflowers II and Vase of Flowers by Vincent Van Gogh.
For their art project, the class created a still life "stained glass" picture of a vase of flowers.
After Sharon finished up with the art class, she headed over to the church and spent the rest of the afternoon serving as a wedding coordinator for a wedding.
We finished up the day by going out to dinner at Red Robin.
Pair of Kings likely to leave
Pair of Kings likely to leave - sacbee.com: Songaila, Mobley plan to opt out of contracts.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
2005 Baseball Game #14
Jack played in his fourteenth baseball game of the season. He pitched the second inning. He struck out one batter and threw another batter out at first. Jack was two for two at-bat. He laced a strong hit passed the right fielder in the second inning and beat out a sharp infield grounder in the fifth inning. In the fifth, Jack scored from first on a strong hit down the left field line by Cole.
Cub Scout Pack Meeting plus
Jack and I left his baseball game a little early to head to the last Cub Scout Pack Meeting of the year. This turned out to be a little bit of a fiasco. The gym that the pack uses was locked and we were not able to get in. They held a short meeting in the parking lot.
In her role as a wedding coordinator for the church, Sharon spent the evening working a wedding rehearsal.
In her role as a wedding coordinator for the church, Sharon spent the evening working a wedding rehearsal.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Sacramento Kings Payroll
| Player | Annual Salary | Contract Thru |
| Miller, Brad | $7,875,000 | 2009-10 |
| Bibby, Mike | $10,500,000 | 2008-9 |
| Skinner, Brian | $4,500,000 | 2007-08 (t) |
| Martin, Kevin | $872,046 | 2007-08 (t) |
| Thomas, Kenny | $6,000,000 | 2007-08 (p) |
| Stojakovic, Peja | $6,875,000 | 2006-07 |
| Williamson, Corliss | $5,500,000 | 2006-07 |
| Mobley, Cuttino | $5,884,500 | 2005-06 (p) |
| Songaila, Darius | $1,600,000 | 2005-06 (p) |
| Ostertag, Gregg | $4,000,000 | 2005-06 |
| Jackson, Bobby | $3,150,000 | 2004-05 (t) |
| House, Eddie | $745,046 | 2004-05 |
| Evans, Maurice | $620,046 | 2004-05 |
| Daniels, Erik | $385,277 | 2004-05 |
(p) player option
(t) team option
Source: USATODAY.com - Basketball Salaries Database
Sharon and Liz in SFO
Sharon met Liz at the San Francisco Airport and the two of them spent the night at a Ramada Hotel on Market Street.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Whitney Oaks May 2005
Rudy Jugoz organized a small "golf tournament" for IT staff with the outgoing Sutter Health CEO at Whitney Oaks. We held a similar event with the CEO in November of 2003. I played in a foursome with Rudy, Lew Gasper and John Muncaster.
Last time I played this course, I knew I was in trouble from the minute I stepped on the driving range. I played much better this time. I had a 56 on the front nine and 52 on the back back for a 108. I hit thirteen of the fairways off the tee, sank a 34 foot putt on 16 and hit a 130 yard eight iron to within 6 inches of the pin on 18. Given how little I play, I felt very good about the day.
Last time I played this course, I knew I was in trouble from the minute I stepped on the driving range. I played much better this time. I had a 56 on the front nine and 52 on the back back for a 108. I hit thirteen of the fairways off the tee, sank a 34 foot putt on 16 and hit a 130 yard eight iron to within 6 inches of the pin on 18. Given how little I play, I felt very good about the day.
Monday, May 23, 2005
Moblog Signs 5-23-2005
This is one of the signs along my lunch-time running route. I have yet to see any burrowing owls.
click on the photo to see it mapped at Geobloggers!
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Kaiser Chiefs
Driving home from work on Friday night, I listened to an All Things Considered segment on NPR titled Finding 'Employment' With the Kaiser Chiefs. Saturday morning, I listened to some samples of the album on Itunes and then purchased and downloaded the album while I was doing some electronic bill paying. I loaded it to my iPod and listened to some of the album while running.
As I have said before, I believe that brick and mortar record stores are going to have an increasingly difficult times competing with this type of technology.
As I have said before, I believe that brick and mortar record stores are going to have an increasingly difficult times competing with this type of technology.
Inflection Point
There is an interesting article on the PBS site entitled Inflection Point. While I am not sure that I agree with the first inflection point in the article, Microsoft taking over the hardware business. I find the other two points very interesting. First, although I am not sure where, I do think that all of the services Google is rolling out are leading somewhere. As a case in point, for the first time ever, I have switched my browser's home page from the default MSN to Google.
Second, the article says:
I am still not convinced that I want a subscription model. I do not think that it matches my buying habits. I tend to buy a song here and an album there. I don't want to be committed to a monthly charge. I also do not understand why the record companies prefer a subscription model.
Second, the article says:
It [Yahoo] is trying to kill the iTunes pay-per-title pricing model, replacing it with the subscription model that has emerged as preferred by the record companies. And at $6.99 Yahoo's move has to worry Apple.
I am still not convinced that I want a subscription model. I do not think that it matches my buying habits. I tend to buy a song here and an album there. I don't want to be committed to a monthly charge. I also do not understand why the record companies prefer a subscription model.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
49 years and counting
With Jack staying overnight at Anton's house, a friend from Cottage Kids, Sharon and I went with her brother Tom, her Dad, her brother Tim and his wife Kathy, Jim and two other couples to 49 Years and Counting at St. Mary School. Sharon and both of her brothers went to grammar school there. This was a fund raiser for the school's fine arts program.
2005 Baseball Game #13
Jack played his thirteenth single A baseball game of the season. With an early morning start, the kids seemed to be sleep walking through a slow motion game. None of the pitchers could get the ball anywhere near the plate. Additionally, for the second straight game, Jack's team was not swinging their bats very well. Jack went 1 for 2 with a sharp infield single.
Friday, May 20, 2005
Second Season of West Wing
Sharon and I finished watching the second season of West Wing on DVD. The last scene of the season finale has always been one of my favorites. The scene is set to a Dire Straits song called Brothers in Arms that I listened to for more than twenty years while I run.
Children's Theatre
Sharon went with Jack's first grade class to see Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day at the Children's Theatre of California.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
2005 Baseball Game #12
Jack played in his twelfth baseball game of the season. He pitched one inning. His control was not as good as his first outing. He got on base twice with two sharp infield hits.
More than any other one this year, this game felt like it dragged on and on. The kids pitched to each other the whole game and all of the pitchers struggled with their control. On the other side, none of the kids were swinging the bat. As result, most of the at-bats stretched to the maximum number of possible pitches.
More than any other one this year, this game felt like it dragged on and on. The kids pitched to each other the whole game and all of the pitchers struggled with their control. On the other side, none of the kids were swinging the bat. As result, most of the at-bats stretched to the maximum number of possible pitches.
Geoblogging 5-18-2005
I mapped a couple of the pictures that I took yesterday at the golf course and on the way back at Geobloggers.com.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Saddle Creek Resort
Rudy Jugoz and I played in the 3rd Annual Modesto Hospital Foundation Golf Classic at Saddle Creek Resort near Cooperopolis. The foursome included Sutter's general counsel and the senior executive in charge of risk management. Originally, my boss was going to play, but at the last moment he had a conflict and I recruited Rudy.
I have not played since last September. Nevertheless, I had a great time. The format was a little different. Rather than a traditional scramble, you played best ball on the drive and then played your own ball from the spot of the best drive.
I have not played since last September. Nevertheless, I had a great time. The format was a little different. Rather than a traditional scramble, you played best ball on the drive and then played your own ball from the spot of the best drive.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
May 1, 2005 CIO Magazine
There are a couple of articles in the May 1, 2005 edition of CIO Magazine about my boss:
Monday, May 16, 2005
Sunday, May 15, 2005
End of an Epoch
In the two plus years which I have been writing in this blog, it has always been very politically correct. The blog has been mostly about things that I am interested in or what we are doing. I am deviating from those themes today. Frankly, I am not sure how long the following tirade will stayed posted; I may decide to take it down and burn it electronically in the next week.
Today marks the end of an epoch. I made my last child support payment to my ex-wife. I feel like I have been making these payments for an eon. In reality, it has been almost 14 years.
When my ex-wife has a net worth of more than $3 million, it is hard for me to understand how the legal system has required me to make payments to her for all these years. This is a person that essentially has not worked in more than ten years and supported herself from her assets.
I have reached this point unhappy with my relationships with Drew and Morgan. While I feel like I did a pretty good job being engaged in their lives through the 1990's, the last four years have been somewhat of a train wreck. Jack's birth, the move to Elk Grove and some personal struggles resulted in me being less focused on the big kids during some important times in their lives. I am going to pay a heavy price for this for a long time to come.
While I accept a great deal of personal responsibility for state of affairs with the big kids, my ex-wife owns a piece. I talk often to the people who work for me about good faith efforts. This includes being honest with people, making your best effort and not saying one thing and doing another. When you look in the dictionary under bad faith efforts, you will find a picture of my ex-wife. She has done everything she could to make sharing the kids a struggle of biblical proportions. Everything has always been about her. My ex-wife has never considered what might be in the best interests of Drew or Morgan; only what is in her best interest. She is without a doubt the most selfish and self-centered person I have ever known.
I worry about how my ex-wife's view of the world has impacted Drew and Morgan. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and believes that the world owes her. For most of us in the real world, it takes a lot of perseverance to keep our heads above water. My ex-wife has never demonstrated any persistence at anything.
I also worry about the impact on Drew and Morgan of the several dozen (3 dozen?) boyfriends that she has dragged through their lives. I am afraid that they will be very cynical about relationships.
In the immortal words of an eleven year old when I asked whether the guy I had just met was their mom's new boyfriend or some dude, "Dad, they are all just some dude..."
My ex-wife's plans to marry each of the last three boyfriends, including buying property with one of them, are astonishing! The havoc resulting from the real property purchase is unbelievable. This is one of Drew and Morgan's role models for how relationships work?
Having ranted about all of this, I am not someone who agonizes about the past. I focus on the different roads that can be chosen going forward. As this period of history passes, I recognize that there are likely to be different struggles in the coming age, but damn does it feel good to know that I do not have to write her another check!
Today marks the end of an epoch. I made my last child support payment to my ex-wife. I feel like I have been making these payments for an eon. In reality, it has been almost 14 years.
When my ex-wife has a net worth of more than $3 million, it is hard for me to understand how the legal system has required me to make payments to her for all these years. This is a person that essentially has not worked in more than ten years and supported herself from her assets.
I have reached this point unhappy with my relationships with Drew and Morgan. While I feel like I did a pretty good job being engaged in their lives through the 1990's, the last four years have been somewhat of a train wreck. Jack's birth, the move to Elk Grove and some personal struggles resulted in me being less focused on the big kids during some important times in their lives. I am going to pay a heavy price for this for a long time to come.
While I accept a great deal of personal responsibility for state of affairs with the big kids, my ex-wife owns a piece. I talk often to the people who work for me about good faith efforts. This includes being honest with people, making your best effort and not saying one thing and doing another. When you look in the dictionary under bad faith efforts, you will find a picture of my ex-wife. She has done everything she could to make sharing the kids a struggle of biblical proportions. Everything has always been about her. My ex-wife has never considered what might be in the best interests of Drew or Morgan; only what is in her best interest. She is without a doubt the most selfish and self-centered person I have ever known.
I worry about how my ex-wife's view of the world has impacted Drew and Morgan. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and believes that the world owes her. For most of us in the real world, it takes a lot of perseverance to keep our heads above water. My ex-wife has never demonstrated any persistence at anything.
I also worry about the impact on Drew and Morgan of the several dozen (3 dozen?) boyfriends that she has dragged through their lives. I am afraid that they will be very cynical about relationships.
In the immortal words of an eleven year old when I asked whether the guy I had just met was their mom's new boyfriend or some dude, "Dad, they are all just some dude..."
My ex-wife's plans to marry each of the last three boyfriends, including buying property with one of them, are astonishing! The havoc resulting from the real property purchase is unbelievable. This is one of Drew and Morgan's role models for how relationships work?
Having ranted about all of this, I am not someone who agonizes about the past. I focus on the different roads that can be chosen going forward. As this period of history passes, I recognize that there are likely to be different struggles in the coming age, but damn does it feel good to know that I do not have to write her another check!
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Walk on the Wild Side
We started the day by going to the Walk on the Wildside. We took self-guided tours in the riparian forest and the wetlands.
See this photo at Geobloggers!
2005 Baseball Game #11
Cutting our walking tour of the Wetlands short, we hurried to get Jack to his eleventh baseball game of the season. He got on base in all three at-bats with two solid hits and getting hit by a pitch.
Dinner at the Bell's
After Jack's baseball game, Sharon headed to Roseville for a massage and I ran on the treadmill.
We then met up at Sherry and Matt Bell's for a short visit. Jack swam in their pool, while the rest of us hung out in the backyard. Sherry and Matt served a great Chinese Chicken Salad and potsticker dinner.
Cutting our visit short, we rushed to Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills to catch Morgan performing in The Wiz! It was a great show. By the time, we got home and got everyone to bed it was after midnight.
We then met up at Sherry and Matt Bell's for a short visit. Jack swam in their pool, while the rest of us hung out in the backyard. Sherry and Matt served a great Chinese Chicken Salad and potsticker dinner.
Cutting our visit short, we rushed to Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills to catch Morgan performing in The Wiz! It was a great show. By the time, we got home and got everyone to bed it was after midnight.
Friday, May 13, 2005
Series of Unfortunate Events
We got Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events to watch with Jack. He wanted nothing to do with it so we ended up watching it ourselves. It is not a movie that I would recommend. Sharon comments were harsher; she felt like it was just a vehicle for Jim Carry's hamming.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
2005 Baseball Game #10
Jack played in his tenth baseball game of the season. He probably played his best game of the year so far. Jack pitched the second inning; he did a great job of getting the ball over the plate and struck out all three batters. Jack went three for three at the plate and scored twice.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Marble Slab Creamery
Morgan started a job working at Marble Slab Creamery. I stopped by to deliver her birthday present and have some ice cream.
Blogger has added some features that allow me to post pictures and text directly from my phone.
Blogger has added some features that allow me to post pictures and text directly from my phone.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
South down the Valley and back
I spent the morning in Modesto at steering committee for our outpatient electronic medical record and the afternoon in downtown Sacramento for a digital hospital of the future presentation by Dr. Mark Blatt from Intel.
Although there is not much interesting along Highway 99, I added a couple of more pictures to the Geobloggers site. At the Mossdale Crossing site last week, I stopped and read the California State Historical Markers. This started me thinking; as I wander back and forth across the countryside I may start looking for and mapping some of these sites.
Although there is not much interesting along Highway 99, I added a couple of more pictures to the Geobloggers site. At the Mossdale Crossing site last week, I stopped and read the California State Historical Markers. This started me thinking; as I wander back and forth across the countryside I may start looking for and mapping some of these sites.
Monday, May 09, 2005
Morgan in the Wiz
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Mother's Day 2005
I made Sharon breakfast when she got back from the spin class at the club. After Mass, Sharon went to her parents to take them food for the week, fix them dinner and spend some time with her mother. She finished up the afternoon shopping. She wanted to go out for dinner for Mother's day so we met her at Scott's Seafood Bar and Grill.
For Mother's Day, Sharon got a Murano Glass bracelet, a couple of DVDs and a paperweight and a paper flower that Jack made in class.
For Mother's Day, Sharon got a Murano Glass bracelet, a couple of DVDs and a paperweight and a paper flower that Jack made in class.
Saturday, May 07, 2005
2005 Baseball Game #9
Jack played in his ninth baseball game of the season. They played a fast six inning game. Jack only got up once. He had the hardest hit ball of the game, but right at someone in shallow left field who made a nice catch. He made a nice play on a grounder hit to him at first and tagged out the runner. The game ended in a scoreless tie.
Shuffle grabs 58% of market
Shuffle grabs 58% of flash player market: I ordered a 1 GB iPod Shuffle the day they were announced. I also got the armband. It is a perfect combination to wear while running.
Friday, May 06, 2005
Cub Scout Den Meeting
We hosted the Cub Scout Den Meeting. The kids did den activity 5d; with a crayon or colored pencil and a piece of paper, they made a leaf rubbing. We used the leaf rubbings to make mother's day cards.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Geoblogging 5-5-05
I spent the day winding my way to the Casto Valley and back for a TAG Meeting; this is a meeting of the IT Directors of all the facilities. I took a few pictures as I wound my way home. I am using the GPS features of my Nextel Blackberry 7520 to get the latitude and longitude of the location of each picture. You can click on the picture to see a Google Map of where it was taken!
2005 Baseball Game #8
Jack played in his eighth baseball game of the season. He went one for two: beating out a sharp infield single and striking out. It is fun to watch the kids pitch. Even after only one game, some of the kids are starting to pitch pretty well.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Geoblogging 05-04-2005
Geoblogging my way across the countryside. Click on the link below and then on the the small geotagged link under the picture to go to the Google Map!
I had a late afternoon meeting in San Francisco with a customer to work on a service desk SLA. With the heavy rain, the freeways were clogged and it took me more than 3 hours to wind my way home.
I had a late afternoon meeting in San Francisco with a customer to work on a service desk SLA. With the heavy rain, the freeways were clogged and it took me more than 3 hours to wind my way home.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Geobloggers
I stumbled across a very cool web site called Geobloggers that combines flickr and google maps using tags indicating the latitude and longitude. I switched to flickr as my primary moblog a couple of months ago.
Running with my Garmin Forerunner 201 at lunch, I took my camera phone. At the halfway point, I stopped and took some pictures and marked my location on the Garmin.
Links to the pictures are included below. By clicking on the link for a picture and then clicking on the small link labeled geotagged under the picture, you will get a google map of the location of the picture. You can use the controls on the google map to zoom in and out and see a satellite view!
Basketball Social
Jack and I went to the Little Dribblers Basketball Social. The kids got an award during a short presentation and then had ice cream.
Monday, May 02, 2005
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