2006 Service Awards Banquet

Sharon and I went to the Sutter Health Support Services 2006 Service Awards Banquet at the Grand Sheraton. As part of the program, I got up and presented one service award for 15 years of service [Gregson].

We sat with the Gainsley's and the Larkin's during dinner. After the awards program was over, the three couples adjourned to the lounge. We had a great evening; it was almost midnight by the time we got home.

Wolf Den Meeting #6

Jack and I attended the March meeting of Jack's Cub Scout Wolf Den. The boys worked on a number of requirements for their wolf patch, including: pointing out and naming seven tools [requirement 5a]; showing how to use a hammer [requirement 5d]; and making something useful [requirement 5e]. They made stilts!

Wolf Den Meeting #6 pic 1

 

Wolf Den Meeting #6 pic 2

 

Wolf Den Meeting #6 pic 3

 

Moblog Jack and Drew

To Tahoe City

Sharon and Liz took off for Tahoe City. They are planning to stay overnight and ski at Homewood tomorrow.

Cozmic Cafe Show pic #4

From the stage at Drew's show on Saturday night

Cozmic Cafe Show pic #3

  

Cozmic Cafe Show pic #2

 

Cozmic Cafe Show pic #1

 

2006 Kings versus Wizards

Larkin and I went to the Sacramento Kings versus the Washington Wizards basketball game. Looking unfocused and out of sync, the Kings lost 97 to 84. This was the Wizards first win in Sacramento since 1996.

Ron Artest had another atrocious shooting performance, going 4-for-18 (22%) to drop to 10-for-50 (20%) in his last three games. As a team, he Kings shot 14 for 23 (61%) from the free throw and 4 for 17 (24%) from three point range.

The Kings were called for four technicals fouls: one on Bibby, one on Wells and two on Kenny Thomas. Thomas got his second technical on a flagrant foul and was ejected from the game.

It is painful to watch the Kings on offense at this point. They are not sharing or moving the ball. Everyone is standing around watching someone else play one on five.

Moblog Kings versus Wizards

My Life 2002

In 2002, Jack, Morgan, Sharon and I spent a few days staying at the Disneyland Hotel and going to Disneyland and California Adventure.

2002

click on the picture for a larger copy!


All of the My Life Photos can be found here.

Morgan's Spring Break

Morgan spent her spring break traversing California. She flew into Irvine and spent some time with Drew. From there, she had an adventure [a missed flight, a canceled flight and a bus ride] traveling Carmel to visit her grandmother. After a some time in Merced with her mother, she ended up in Placerville for Saturday night's show. I picked her up Sunday afternoon. She spent the afternoon with us and had dinner. I took her to the airport very late Sunday night and she caught a red eye back to New York and Sarah Lawrence.

USS Pampanito

Saturday afternoon, Jack and I took off for San Francisco. His Cub Scout Pack had made arrangements for the group to stay overnight on the USS Pampanito, a World War II submarine. The submarine is a floating museum moored at Pier 45.

After we got there, the group got a tour of the pier, including a number of WWII torpedoes and a mini-sub. We then did an audio tour of the submarine.

We loaded our gear into the submarine and then did a safety drill. After the safety drill, they turned the submarine over to us. The kids explored the sub, played board games, ate sandwiches and watched submarine movies until almost midnight.

One of the requirements was that an adult be awake and standing watch at all times. I got the 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. time slot. The dad of one of Jack's classmates and I walked the boat and talked in the galley for an hour. I actually tried to wake Jack up for part of the shift, but was unable to stir him.

The crew size for one of these boats was 80 men. We had 10 adults and 11 kids and it felt like we were on top of each other. It is difficult for me to imagine 80 men living and working inside this small space.

After a short night's sleep, we got up and had a light breakfast. We cleaned up the submarine, took some pictures and headed for home.

On the way home, Jack said "this was the best trip ever!"

Last June, I toured the USS Torsk in Baltimore's inner harbor. Walking down into both submarines, the smell of diesel was very strong. When we got home from the trip, all of clothes smelled like diesel.

USS Pampanito pic #4

 

USS Pampanito pic #3

 

USS Pampanito pic #2

 

USS Pampanito pic #1

 

Moblog USS Pampantio

To the Cozmic Cafe

Sharon had tried to organize a large group to go with her to see Drew and Morgan perform at the Cozmic Cafe. It ended up being just her and Janie. They had a great time. Although due to the venue, Sharon felt like the quality of the sound was not as good as the December show.

Painting the Family Room

In the last five years, Sharon and I did all of the interior painting that we had done. On Saturday, we had two guys come in and paint the family room. In less than a day, they painted what probably would have taken me almost two full weekends to accomplish.

Updated 2001 Picture

I went back to the original scanned copies of the pictures for 2001 and put together a better quality image.

Islands Restaurants

We went to dinner at Islands Restaurant in Elk Grove on Friday night. This restaurant joins the list of places to which we will not be hurry back. I was very unimpressed with the food and the beer and wine selection.

2nd Grade: Art Lesson F

Sharon spent part of the afternoon as the art docent for Jack's class. The lesson looked at three abstract paintings done in the cubism style: People and Dog in Sun by Joan Miro; Head of Man by Paul Klee; and Three Musicians by Pablo Picasso.




For their art project, the kids made a Picasso style abstract face.

Drew at Cozmic Cafe

Drew is appearing Saturday night, March 25th at the Cozmic Cafe at 594 Main Street in Placerville. He will be playing from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. and there is a $5 cover.

You can also check out his myspace page for new songs and videos at:

http://www.myspace.com/andrewheringer

Drew also has a home page at:

http://www.andrewheringer.com/

ajaxWrite

ajaxWrite - The look, feel, and functionality of Microsoft Word, in a completely web-based AJAX platform.

digg story

Men Just Defective Women?

From the Dilbert Blog, are Men Just Defective Women?

Baseball Practice

I took Jack to baseball practice. The enthusiasm for baseball that he brought back from Spring Training has continued unabated. Every chance we let him at home, he has been playing MLB 2006: The Show on the Playstation.

Roma Pizzeria

Sharon and Liz got together for dinner at Roma Pizzeria.

California Historical Landmark #751

First U.S. Naval Station in the Pacific
California State Historical Landmark #751
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps
This landmark is located at the entrance to Mare island Naval Shipyard, main gate, on the southwest corner of Tennessee Street and Mare Island Way, Vallejo, California. There are 13 other California State Historical Landmarks in Solano County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 06.584 W 122° 15.845.

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



Mare Island Navy Yard was established September 16, 1854 by Commander David G. Farragut, U.S.N., on a site selected in 1852 by a commission headed by Commodore John D. Sloat, U.S.N. Mare Island had the Navy's first shipyard, ammunition depot, hospital, Marine barracks, cemetery, chapel, and radio station in the Pacific.

My Life 2001

In 2001, Jack, Drew, Sharon and I spent a week in and around Cancun. We spent one day at the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza. We spent another day at Tulum; One of my favorite pictures from the trip was taken at Tulum.

2001

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All of the My Life Photos can be found here.

Cub Scout's to Mt. Diablo

Sharon and Jack went with the Cub Scout den on a trip to Mt. Diablo. They drove to the observation deck at the top, hiked about a mile on a trail around the summit and then had a barbecue at a campsite. Sharon described the view as spectacular.

 

Mt. Diablo Hike Aerial

click on the map to see a larger copy!

Mt. Diablo Hike Topo

click on the map to see a larger copy!

 

to Dinner at Biba's

Jack had a two plus hour baseball practice in the morning. In the afternoon, he went to a birthday party for a classmate at the Adventure Zone, while Sharon took food to her parents.

With the hectic schedule of the last few weeks, Sharon and I decided to get a babysitter and go on a date. We went for a late dinner at Biba's. We had a nice dinner and a chance to talk and catch up. Sharon had lamb, while I had osso buco.

Moblog Baseball Practice

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Sharon made a great Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner for St. Patrick's day!

SEAs Rivercats Field Trip

Sharon went with Jack's class on a field trip to Raley Field. She said that it was the best field trip that she has been on with the class. They got to tour the stadium, the suites, the dug-out and the visitors locker room and see a couple of videos.

Sharon raved about the person that ran the tour. He was a great motivation speaker for the kids. Additionally, he was very skilled at handling the kids and keeping their attention.

March 2006 Pack Meeting

Jack and I went to the March Cub Scout Pack meeting. As an activity, the kids worked on their community service belt loop, including making a poster and a chore list.

 

Spring Training 2006 Photos

I have posted a photo album of pictures from the spring training trip.

Baseball Practice

I took Jack to baseball practice. This is his fourth season playing organized baseball.

2006 Kings versus Lakers

Sharon and her brother Tim went to the Sacramento Kings versus Los Angeles Lakers game. With Artest and Bonzi Wells doing a great job of guarding Kobe, the Kings pulled away from the Lakers to win by a score of 114 to 98.

This win moves the Kings into seventh place in the play-off standings. One of the odd things that the Kings have started doing is have Artest bring the ball up even when Bibby is in the game. When the defense double teams Artest, he passes to a wide open Bibby. Bibby had 29 points, including 3 three pointers in the fourth quarter.

My Life 2000

This is the Christmas Card picture from 2000.

2000

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All of the My Life Photos can be found here.

2006 Kings versus Mavs

Jack and I went to the Sacramento Kings versus Dallas Mavericks game. This was a very entertaining game with the Kings winning by a score of 85 to 80. The game was close during the second half with the Kings leading, but the Mavs tying the score on several occasions.

The win pushed the Kings into the eighth play-off position in the Western Conference and marked the first time that their record has been over .500 since the beginning of the season.

Through most of the second half, Artest covered Nowitzki. Nowitzki ended up with 24 points, but was unable to take over the game like he did in December when we saw the Mavs beat the Kings.

Moblog Kings versus Mavs

2006 SEAs Dinner (Long, Wild and Busy Day)

This was another one of those days where everything seems to fall on the same day. With Sharon out of town at the retreat, Jack had a morning baseball practice.

We rushed home to clean up and then took off for Jack's Rite of Reconciliation Retreat. The retreat was over three hours long. The first hour included skits and songs by the kids. The second hour was spent working with the kids on an activity in the classroom. The third hour was spent back in the church with the kids doing their Rite of Reconciliation. Afterwards, there was a reception. Jack and I got cupcakes on the way to baseball practice for the reception.

Heading back home, I ran on the treadmill and watched Cal battle UCLA for the Pac-10 championship.

After I got cleaned up, I headed to the silent auction, dinner and live auction for SEAs, Jack's school. I sat with the Cunninghams and the Santanas. I had a great time. At this point, I know a number of these families pretty well. We see them at the school, in church, at cub scouts and during the kids sports. I liken it to a small town where you know a lot of people and recognize almost everyone. I ended up winning a live auction for a ride to school for Jack and a friend in a police car. I got home about 11:30 p.m. dog tired from a long, wild and busy day.

Moblog SEAS Dinner/Auction

Moblog Baseball Practice

  

El Retiro San Inigo 2006

Nine of the last ten years, Sharon has spent a weekend this time of year at El Retiro San Inigo, the Jesuit Retreat House of Los Altos. She attends a silent retreat for members of the legal profession; this year's session is titled "A Profession for All Seasons."

In 2004, Sharon went by herself. Last year, Liz went down with her. This year, Sharon and Janie are going to the retreat.

What Google's acquisition means

What Google's acquisition of Writely means

Google/Writely a done deal.

Twice over the last three months (12/21/2005 and 01/12/2006 , I have blogged about Writely, a very cool web based word processor. Writely has been purchased by Google. Unfortunately, as part of the process, Writely has stopped taking new accounts while they convert to the Google software architecture.

Google Blog | Writely Blog | digg story

Australia and New Zealand

Donna and Kevin spent almost three weeks in February in Australia and New Zealand, including Sidney and diving on the Great Barrier Reef. All of these places are on my list to travel to someday.