Monday, December 31, 2007

New Year's Eve 2007

Leaving Jack with his cousins, Sharon and I went with Tommy, Becky, Tim and Kathy to the New Year's Eve Gala at the Sacramento Turn Verein. It was an odd evening. Tommy and Becky are taking German language classes and heard about the party in their class. Most of the people were either older German-Americans or transplanted German nationals. The night included dinner and dancing. Although I grumbled over the course of the evening [especially after several hours of German music], I enjoyed the company.

For me, the highlight of the evening was a short film that they showed just before midnight. Apparently, it has become a tradition in Germany and a number of other European Countries to watch Dinner for One on New Year's Eve. The short embedded below starts after a 2:20 minute introduction in German.

NBA Power Ranking 2007-2008 Week 9

With Artest joining Bibby and Martin on the shelf until at least the middle of January, I am expecting the Kings to continue to fall in Marc Stein's NBA power ranking. The Kings dropped from 17th to 22nd out of 30 teams this week. I expect that they will drop another 3 or 4 places by next week.

ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association - The Kings are a passable 9-10 with Artest in the lineup. But now he might need elbow surgery, while Martin and Bibby remain out. So it's little wonder Sactown just dropped four in a row at Arco after starting 7-3 there.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

California Historical Landmark #157

This is the mission that Jack was assigned for this fourth grade project. We took a short trip to the San Fernando Valley between Christmas and New Year's.

Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana
California State Historical Landmark #157

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

This landmark is located at 15151 San Fernando Mission Blvd, Mission Hills, California. There are 102 other California State Historical Landmarks in Los Angeles County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 34° 16.375 W 118° 27.699.

A list of California missions is here. The missions that I have visited are highlighted in red.

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

Mission San Fernando Rey de España was founded by Father Lasuén in September 8, 1797. A house belonging to Francisco Reyes, on Encino Rancho, furnished temporary shelter for the missionary in charge. An adobe chapel, built and blessed in December 1806, was damaged by the destructive earthquake of 1812 - a new church was completed in 1818.

 

 


 

 

California Historical Landmark #150

Brand Park (Memory Garden)
California State Historical Landmark #150

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

This landmark is located at 15174 San Fernando Mission Blvd, Los Angeles, California. There are 102 other California State Historical Landmarks in Los Angeles County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 34° 16.356 W 118° 27.724.

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

Brand Park, also called Memory Garden, was given to the city for a park November 4, 1920. It is a part of the original land grant of Mission San Fernando de Rey de España, and the colorful and picturesque atmosphere of the early California missions is preserved in Memory Garden.



Los Angeles County Landmarks

California State Historical Landmarks in Los Angeles County
{GPS Coordinates of Site Location}

NO. 127 CASA DE GOVERNOR PÍOPICO
NO. 144 NUESTRA SEÑORA LA REINA DE LOS ANGELES
NO. 145 AVILA ADOBE
NO. 147 BANNING PARK
NO. 150 Brand Park (Memory Garden) - [map] - {34.2726,-118.462067}
NO. 151 CAMPO DE CAHUENGA
NO. 152 DOMÍNGUEZ RANCHHOUSE
NO. 156 LOS ANGELES PLAZA
NO. 157 Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana - [map] - {34.272917,-118.461650}
NO. 158 MISSION SAN GABRIEL ARCÁNGEL
NO. 159 PICO HOUSE (HOTEL)
NO. 160 PLUMMER PARK AND OLDEST HOUSE IN HOLLYWOOD
NO. 161 SITE OF MISSION VIEJA
NO. 167 LA MESA BATTLEFIELD
NO. 168 OAK OF THE GOLDEN DREAM
NO. 169 DRUM BARRACKS
NO. 170 HANCOCK PARK LA BREA
NO. 171 MERCED THEATRE
NO. 172 PIONEER OIL REFINERY
NO. 235 CASA ADOBE DE SAN RAFAEL
NO. 289 FIRST HOME OF POMONA COLLEGE
NO. 301 LUGO ADOBE (SITE OF)
*NO. 302 Old Mill - [map] - {34.119011,-118.1278}
NO. 362 RÓMULO PICO ADOBE (RANCHITO RÓMULO)
NO. 363 CENTINELA SPRINGS
NO. 367 E. J. BALDWIN'S QUEEN ANNE COTTAGE
NO. 368 HUGO REID ADOBE
NO. 372 ADOBE DE PALOMARES
NO. 373 OLD SALT LAKE
NO. 380 SITE OF HOME OF DIEGO SEPÚLVEDA
NO. 381 SITE OF OLD WHALING STATION
NO. 383 SITE OF ADOBE HOME OF JOSÉ DOLORES SUPULVEDA
NO. 384 TIMMS' POINT AND LANDING
NO. 385 RIO SAN GABRIEL BATTLEFIELD
NO. 386 LA CASA DE CARRIÓN
NO. 451 THE ORTEGA-VIGARE ADOBE
NO. 514 POMONA WATER POWERPLANT
NO. 516 WELL, CSO 4 (PICO 4)
NO. 516-2 MENTRYVILLE
NO. 522 SERRA SPRINGS
NO. 531 LUMMIS HOME
NO. 536 ORIGINAL BUILDING OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
NO. 554 CECIL B. DeMILLE STUDIO BARN
NO. 556 RANCHO SAN FRANCISCO
NO. 567 ST. VINCENT'S PLACE
NO. 580 WELL, ALAMITOS 1
NO. 590 LANG
NO. 632 OLD SHORT CUT
NO. 637 CATALINA ADOBE
NO. 646 GRAVE OF GEORGE CARALAMBO, (GREEK GEORGE)
NO. 653 THE CASCADES
NO. 655 PORTOLÁ TRAIL CAMPSITE (I)
NO. 656 BELLA UNION HOTEL SITE
N0. 658 WESTERN HOTEL
NO. 664 HERITAGE HOUSE
NO. 665 PORTOLÁ TRAIL CAMPSITE, 2
NO. 669 GOVERNOR STONEMAN ADOBE, LOS ROBLES
NO. 681 PARADOX HYBRID WALNUT TREE
NO. 688 LYONS STATION STAGECOACH STOP
NO. 689 LOS ENCINOS STATE HISTORIC PARK
NO. 716 GRIFFITH RANCH
NO. 717 THE ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST
NO. 718 SITE OF THE INITIAL UNITED STATES AIR MEET
NO. 730 OLD PLAZA FIREHOUSE
NO. 744 THE MIRROR BUILDING (SITE OF BUTTERFIELD STAGE STATION)
NO. 753 SAN FERNANDO CEMETERY
NO. 789 SITE OF THE LOS ANGELES STAR
NO. 822 FIRST JEWISH SITE IN LOS ANGELES
NO. 840 OLD SANTA MONICA FORESTRY STATION
NO. 871 THE GAMBLE HOUSE
NO. 874 WORKMAN HOME AND FAMILY CEMETERY
NO. 881 SITE OF PORT LOS ANGELES LONG WHARF
NO. 887 PASADENA PLAYHOUSE
NO. 894 S.S. CATALINA
NO. 911 CHATSWORTH CALERA SITE
NO. 912 GLENDORA BOUGAINVILLEA
NO. 919 ST. FRANCIS DAM DISASTER SITE
NO. 920 CASA DE SAN PEDRO
NO. 933 SITE OF LLANO DEL RIO COOPERATIVE COLONY
NO. 934 TEMPORARY DETENTION CAMPS FOR JAPANESE AMERICANS-SANTA ANITA ASSEMBLY CENTER AND POMONA ASSEMBLY CENTER
NO. 939 Twentieth Century Folk Art Environments (Thematic)-OLD TRAPPER'S LODGE
NO. 947 REFORM SCHOOL FOR JUVENILE OFFENDERS (FRED C. NELLES SCHOOL)
NO. 960 LOS ANGELES MEMORIAL COLISEUM
NO. 961 HAROLD LLOYD ESTATE (GREENACRES)
NO. 963 THE MOJAVE ROAD
NO. 965 POINT DUME
NO. 966 ADAMSON HOUSE AT MALIBU LAGOON STATE BEACH
NO. 972 NAVY AND MARINE CORPS RESERVE CENTER
NO. 975 EL MONTE-FIRST SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SETTLEMENT BY IMMIGRANTS FROM UNITED STATES
NO. 978 RANCHO LOS CERRITOS HISTORIC SITE
NO. 984 CASA DE RANCHO SAN ANTONIO (HENRY GAGE MANSION)
NO. 988 PACIFIC ASIA MUSEUM (GRACE NICHOLSON'S TREASURE HOUSE OF ORIENTAL AND WESTERN ART)
NO. 990 CHRISTMAS TREE LANE
NO. 993 WATTS TOWERS OF SIMON RODIA
NO. 997 TUNA CLUB OF AVALON
NO. 1006 BEALE'S CUT STAGECOACH PASS
NO. 1011 FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT TEXTILE BLOCK HOUSES (THEMATIC), ENNIS HOUSE
NO. 1011 FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT TEXTILE BLOCK HOUSE (THEMATIC), FREEMAN HOUSE
NO. 1014 LONG BEACH MARINE STADIUM
NO. 1018 MANHATTAN BEACH STATE PIER
NO. 1021 LIBERTY HILL SITE
NO. 1038 Hay Tree
NO. 1041 Site of the Childhood Home of the Beach Boys

List of California Counties

Saturday, December 29, 2007

The Simpsons Movie

We finished the day watching The Simpsons Movie on DVD.

Back from San Fernando

Up a little after 6 a.m., we were on the road by 6:45 a.m. heading back to Sacramento. Within an hour, we were back in the Central Valley. Along with two dozen other people, we made a stop at a Starbucks just off the Grapevine. We stopped again for gas at Santa Nella. We were back in Sacramento about 12:05 p.m.

After taking more than 7 1/2 hours to get there on Thursday, it took us 5 hours and 20 minutes to get home. Taking out the two short stops, the driving time was about 4 hours and 50 minutes.

Friday, December 28, 2007

French 75 in Burbank

After spending the day running around the San Fernando Valley, we had a late dinner at the French 75. This restaurant was recommended by the Hotel Amarano. Sharon had the fresh fish of the day which was blue nosed sea bass, while I had Filet au Roquefort. It was one of the best meals that we have had in a while. As critical as she is of restaurants, Sharon actually said "there is not one thing [about the dinner] that I can complain about." This is definitely a place where we would go again.

In the San Fernando Valley

After breakfast at the hotel, we headed towards the Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana. I am not sure that I have ever been to one of the 21 missions in California. I was impressed with the site. It is very well restored. The mission has an extensive collection of artifacts spread throughout the different buildings as well as a number of rooms decorated to represent the early 1800s. The Convento at the San Fernando Mission is the largest structure built at any of the missions in California.

We were surprised to find that Bob Hope is buried here. The Bob Hope Memorial Gardens are north of the church on the grounds of the San Fernando Mission.

After some debate, we ended up heading to the Los Angeles Zoo after we finished with the mission. This turned into a very successful afternoon; Jack had a great time. The zoo is touting its new Gorilla exhibit [The Campo Gorilla Reserve] which opened in November. One of the highlights of the afternoon was sitting and watching one of the female gorillas interact with the crowd. It is amazing how much intelligence there is in the eyes of a gorilla. Another highlight was watching the hippos being fed.


We left the zoo in the late afternoon and drove up to the observatory in Griffen Park. There was a huge amount of traffic so we just decided to head back to the hotel.

Jack and I went to the fitness room for a short workout on the treadmill and stationary bikes and a quick dip in the hot tub.

At the Los Angeles Zoo


At the Los Angeles Zoo, originally uploaded by heringermr.

At the Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana

Thursday, December 27, 2007

To San Fernando

With Jack working on a California Mission project for school, I talked Sharon into a short trip to Southern California to visit his assigned mission. He is working on a report and model of San Fernando Rey de Espana.

We left home in the morning and made a stop for lunch at the Harris Ranch Restaurant. I can not remember the last time that I actually drove to Los Angeles. Probably due to the holiday week, there was a lot of traffic. The traffic would speed up and then aburptly come almost to a stop as it bunched up on the two lanes of I-5 behind trucks and slower traffic. I had expected to be able to make great time, but we didn't. With a stop at a rest stop, the lunch stop at Harris Ranch, a gas stop, the traffic on I-5 down the valley and then the traffic coming down into the San Fernando Valley, the trip took about 7 1/2 hours.

We are staying at the Hotel Amarano in Burbank. After getting settled into the room and relaxing for a bit, we took off for the Citywalk at Universal Studios. We wandered around, Sharon did some shopping and ended up having dinner at the Wolfgang Puck Cafe [I had pumpkin ravoli and Sharon had roasted chicken]. Although we have had some great meals at some of other Wolfgang Puck restautrants, the food was nothing special.

We got back to the hotel about 10 p.m. and Jack crashed from all of the late nights of the last week.

Citywalk Universal Studios


Citywalk Universal Studios, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

2007 Kings versus Celtics

Jack and I went to the Sacramento Kings versus Boston Celtics basketball game. The Celtics won by a score of 89 to 69. For a number of reasons, it was a more interesting game than the score might suggest.

We are in the south end zone (Section 121, Row F, Seats 3 and 4). The Celtics were on defense at this end in the first half. I was amazed at how aggresive they were on defense. Not just Garnett, everyone of the Celtics players worked hard on defense. I am not sure that I have seen any other team work as hard on defense at Arco Arena this year. The Kings only scored 29 points in the first half.

The Kings actually led 24 to 20 with 9:00 to go in the second quarter. The Celtics then went on a 33 to 5 run to lead 53 to 29 at halftime. The Celtics were helped in this stretch by the fact that the Kings looked like the Keystone Cops.

Amazingly, the Kings came out in the third quarter and played pretty well. They clawed away at lead. With 11:10 to go in the fourth quarter, the Kings pulled within 5 points; the score was 66 to 61. The Celtics immediately hit two three pointers (House and Posey) to put the lead back to 11 points. From there, the Celtics applied pressure and the Kings scored only 8 more points in the quarter.

I ran into Norma Udell at the back of section 121 and stopped and talked to her briefly.

It was the first sell-out of the year with an announced attendance of 17,317. The arena was definitely full. I bought our tickets on-line about a month ago when the Celtics got off to their hot start.

American League Rookie of the Year Dustin Pedroia watched from courtside and was given a Kings jersey with his name. Pedroia, who grew up in nearby Woodland and plays for the Boston Red Sox, did not wear the jersey.

Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett 

Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce 

Ray Allen
Ray Allen 

Kings versus Celtics


Kings versus Celtics, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas Day 2007

Even after getting to bed at almost 11:00 p.m. the night before, Jack was in our room a little before 5:00 a.m. ready for Christmas morning to start. We got him to go back to bed, but by 6:15 a.m. he could stand it anymore and we all got up. Starting in mid-November, Jack has been saying that he wanted a Wii for Christmas. Santa obliged. More on where Santa got the Wii in a future post.

Jack spent the loin's share of the morning trying out the different games. It was very cute to watch him play tennis on the Wii. We were able to get him outside for a while to enjoy a skateboard from Lee Ann and Dean and a dragonfly copter from his cousins.

Drew joined us for a late dinner. Sharon made a great dinner of prime rib cooked in the rotisserie, roasted potatoes and asparagus. After a couple of late nights, Jack started to fade during dinner. Drew and I ended up sitting and talking until after 11:30 p.m. while he worked on setting up his Christmas gift. I enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with Drew.

Drew setting up his new iPhone!

Monday, December 24, 2007

Christmas Eve 2007

Sharon, Jack and I met her mom, Sharon's brother Tim and her niece Eileen at St. Mary's for Mass. Afterwards, we headed to her parent's house in River Park. Traditionally, Sharon's family gets together for Christmas Eve. This year, the group totaled 13, including both of her brothers' families and Jim Dunn.

We had take-out from Buca di Beppo for dinner. After dinner, we exchanged presents. It is a nice size group. The kids' excitement makes it a very festive and enjoyable evening.

By the time we got home, it was after 10:30 p.m. and Jack was literally bouncing off the walls. He is very excited about Christmas tomorrow.

Out on a bike ride


Out on a bike ride, originally uploaded by heringermr.

NBA Power Rankings 2007-2008 Week 8

After last night's Christmas gift from the Kings to the Nuggets which I had the pleasure of witnessing in person, I am not in the mood to talk about the Kings. Nevertheless, the Kings climbed from 21st to 17th out of the 30 teams in Marc Stein's weekly NBA power rankings.
ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association - Another less-than-flattering advertisement for the Eastern Conference? The Kings were 0-8 on the road when they left for Boston on Dec. 11 and wound up posting a 3-2 trip after Ws in Philly, Jersey and Milwaukee.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

2007 Kings versus Nuggets

Jack and I went to the Sacramento Kings versus Denver Nuggets basketball game. This was probably the most excruciating loss that I can remember seeing. The Nuggets won the game by the score of 106 to 105 on a three pointer at the buzzer. It was first time that Nuggets had a lead in the game.

The Kings ran out to a ten point lead in the first quarter. They stretched the lead to 16 points at half-time. Although they struggled in the third quarter, the Kings still led by 10 points at the end of third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings played well enough to win the game. They got some favorable calls by the refs. Unforunately, they missed four straight free throws in the last 36 seconds, two by Miller and two by Udrih, to leave the door open for the Nuggets. For the game, the Kings went 19 for 31 or 61% from the free throw line. The missed free throws were the reason that they lost the game.

I do not want to think about the game any more than that...

The crowd seemed slightly larger than some of the previous games I have been to this year. The box score shows 15,055, compared to 13,000 for most of the previous game. They also announced that Wednesday game against the Celtics is sold out.

Ice Cream at the Kings game


Ice Cream at the Kings game, originally uploaded by heringermr.

December Webelos #1 Den Meeting


We hosted the December meeting of Jack's webelos den. Six of the eight boys in the den showed up. The boys worked on the first three requirements for their Craftsman activity badge. This included: explaining how to safely handle the tools that they used; constructing two different wooden objects; and making a display stand.

For the two wooden objects, the boys made Christmas tree and star ornaments. For the display stand, they made a stand for displaying the pinewood derby racers.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Christmas Card 2007

click on the picture for a larger copy!


See all of the Christmas Cards since 1997!

A Small Christmas Party

With the house decorated for Christmas, we decided at the last minute to put together a small Christmas party. We invited the Sanborn's and the Cunningham's.

They each have a boy the same age as Jack. The boys disappeared into the bonus room and had a great time.

Friday, December 21, 2007

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

We finished the day going to the movie National Treasure: Book of Secret. The plot is pretty outlandish, but it is enjoyable as long as you are willing to not over think the details. As Ebert notes, just a few of the plot details are a missing page from Booth's diary, a coded message, an extinct language and a book that each U.S. president hands over to his successor. It made me think about some comments I made about of Dan Brown's early books, Deception Point.

2007 SEAS Christmas Program

We went to the SEAS Christmas program in the morning. Jack's class sang O Little Town Of Bethlehem. Without any solos, the program was shorter than previous years.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

December 2007 Cub Scout Pack Meeting

Jack and I went to the December meeting of his Cub Scout Pack. The pack had three activity stations for the kids; the boys made candles and a refrigerator magnet and decorated Christmas cookies. Over the course of the evening, each of the kids got a chance to talk to Santa.

They finished the evening with a christmas ornament exchange. Each of the kids brought a wrapped ornament. Sitting in a circle, they passed the ornaments around while Santa read a story. When Santa read the word right or left, they passed the ornament in that direction. At the end of story, they kept the ornament that they had in their hands.

At the Cub Scout Pack Meeting


At the Cub Scout Pack Meeting, originally uploaded by heringermr.

JibJab 2007 Year in Review

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

This is JibJab's 3rd annual year in review. Here are 2006 and 2005.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Christmas Ornaments

This year will mark the 13th Christmas that Sharon and I have celebrated together. [I know Larkin that is just the tip of the iceberg compared some other people's history.] I have bought Sharon an ornament for the tree every year since that first Christmas. Over the last few years, the Christmas Ornament has sometimes, but not always, been related to the anniversary trip that we take in the fall.

The first Christmas Ornament that I gave Sharon in 1995 is here. I will explain the significance of the sheep someday in a future post...

Out to Dinner


Out to dinner, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

California Historical Landmark #312

John Muir Home
California State Historical Landmark #312

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

This landmark is located in the John Muir National Historic Site, 4202 Alhambra Avenue, Martinez, California. There are 14 other California State Historical Landmarks in Contra Costa County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 37° 59.526 W 122° 07.855.

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


 

 

 

Monday, December 17, 2007

Song for 1981

When I was in high school, I carried a collection of eight track tapes in the Mustang. After college, I carried a pile of cassette tapes in the truck. [I owned a blue GMC short bed pick-up truck from the summer of 1977 until we moved to Elk Grove in 2000.]

One of my favorite cassette tapes was a compilation of Joe Walsh songs. Sometime in the early 80's, it disappeared; I always suspected Nooter of walking off with it.

The song for 1981 is Joe Walsh's Life's Been Good.

You can find the work in progress Soundtrack for My Life here!

What is this?

NBA Power Rankings 2007-2008 Week 7

The Sacramento King's position in Marc Stein's NBA power rankings climbed one spot from 22nd to 21st out of 30 teams.
ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association Although not quite in Indiana/Portland territory, Sacramento continues to surprise. We didn't expect nine wins at this point with Bibby out from the start, Artest's long suspension and Kevin Martin going down.
I watched the first half of the loss to the Wizards on Saturday night while running on the treadmill. Artest really misses Martin. When the ball goes in to Artest in the post, he is getting double and triple teamed; he does not have Martin to kick out to on the wing. Too often, Artest now just tries to muscle through the defense. Before Martin's injury, Artest was shooting 48.3% from the field. Since Martin's injury, Artest is shooting 34.7%. While Miller and Moore are playing better, Artest will continue to kill the offense unless Theus solves this problem.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

New CD now available

From: Andrew Heringer
Subject: New CD now available.

Hello All,

The New CD - It Seems So Long Since Yesterday - is now available online at:

CDBABY
http://cdbaby.com/cd/heringer4
a hard copy is $6.99 and a digital copy is ONLY $3.99
it will be available on itunes in a couple of weeks but it is cheaper at CDbaby, has no DRM (you can share with anyone) and is available now!

hard copies also available for $6 at:
Wild Mountain Books
352 Main Street
Placerville, CA 95667
530.622.4540 store

Want a sample of the new songs first? Go to Myspace
You can download Summer Roof and Love To See You Smile on myspace for FREE.

become an official fan and join the new facebook group!

Here are all the tour dates. If you are able, please come out and support. We would love to see you there. Also, if you know anyone in any of these areas who might be interested in coming out and listening - please forward them these dates! The whole tour is being video documented by Mr. Alex Dita and it might end up on some TV screens nationally (fingers crossed).

12/28/07 - Union Mine Theater - Placerville, CA - 8pm - $6 with Marlana Sheetz and Sage
1/05/08 - Living Room Set - Novato, CA
1/05/08 - The Atrium - Santa Cruz, CA - 9:15 - Free - 21+
1/06/08 - Living Room Set - Fresno, CA
1/10/08 - Anthill Pub - Irvine, CA - 9pm - Free
1/11/08 - Room5 - Hollywood, CA - 11 pm - $6 - 21+
1/12/08 - Linnaea's Cafe - San Luis Obispo, CA 8pm - Free - All Ages
1/13/08 - Living Room Set - Santa Barbara, CA
1/15/08 - Infusion Tea House - Sebastopol, CA - 7pm - Free
1/16/08 - TBA - Eugene, OR
1/17/08 - Buffalo Gap - Portland, OR - 9pm - +21
1/18/08 - The Global Bean - Silverdale, WA - 8 pm - FREE
1/19/08 - Lyon's Den - Bothell, WA - Free
1/20/08 - High Dive, Seattle WA - +21
1/23/08 - Cozmic Pizza - Eugene, OR
1/24/08 - Le Salle's - Chico, CA - 6 pm = +21
1/25/08 - Luna's Cafe - Sacramento, CA 9pm - $6 w/ Justin Farren & Thomas Cunningham
1/26/08 - Living Room Set - Berkeley, CA

2 East Coast Dates Added!

2/08/08 - The Postcrypt CoffeeHouse at Columbia University - NY, NY - 9pm - Free - Very Limited Seating
2/09/08 - Googie's Lounge (Upstairs at The Living Room) - NY, NY - 8:30 pm - Free - 21+

If you have any questions at all - feel free to email me.
Thank you for your continued support
I could not do this alone

-Andrew D. Heringer
myspace.com/andrewheringer

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Cunningham's Christmas Party

We spent part of the evening at the Cunningham's Christmas Party. With Sharon traveling for work tomorrow we made it an early evening.

Decorating Rosemary's House

While I ran some errands, Sharon and Jack went to Rosemary's house. Sharon's two brothers bought their kids and all of the cousins (sans Kevin) made Christmas Cookies and put up Christmas decorations. We are going to celebrate Christmas Eve there. I sent the camera with Sharon but got back an odd assortment of pictures and short videos. Apparently, Jack had the control of the camera for the afternoon.

 

Friday, December 14, 2007

4th Grade: Art Lesson B

Sharon spent part of the morning as the art docent in Jack's class. The lesson examined how artists use color to set the mood. The class talked about the lives of Vincent Van Gogh and El Greco. Three paintings by these artists were used to illustrate the concepts: Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh; The Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night by Van Gogh; and View of Toledo by El Greco.






For their art project, the kids used oil crayons to re-create Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Lassen County Landmarks

California State Historical Landmarks in Lassen County
{GPS Coordinates of Site Location}

*NO. 76 Roop's Fort - [map] - {40.418683,-120.6572}
*NO. 565 Peter Lassen Grave - [map] - {40.351,-120.639817}
*NO. 675 Noble Emigrant Trail, Susanville - [map] - {40.418167,-120.655217}
NO. 677 NOBLE EMIGRANT TRAIL - {40° 18.257 N, 120° 32.012 W}
*NO. 678 Lassen Emigrant Trail - [map] - {40.314380,-121.056180}
NO. 758 FORT JANESVILLE - {40° 18.257 N, 120° 32.012 W}
NO. 763 LASSEN EMIGRANT TRAIL, BIEBER - {41° 07.303 N, 121° 08.285 W}

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

California Historical Landmark #932

I stopped here briefly on my way back from a meeting at Glen Cove. We are definitely going to come back. The regional park looks like it has some great hikes for winter and spring.

Mount Diablo Coal Field
California State Historical Landmark #932

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

This landmark is located in the Black Diamond Mines Regional Park, 3.9 miles south on Somersville Road from Highway 4, Antioch, California. There are 14 other California State Historical Landmarks in Contra Costa County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 37° 57.490 W 121° 51.792.

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


This was the largest coal-mining district in California from 1860 to 1914, with five towns-Nortonville, Somersville, Stewartsville, Judsonville, and West Hartley-near twelve major mines. Today the towns are gone, their buildings moved to other communities after the mines closed - the East Bay Regional Park District is preserving mine openings, tailings, railroad beds, and a pioneer cemetery.


Contra Costa County Landmarks

California State Historical Landmarks in Contra Costa County
{GPS Coordinates of Site Location}

*NO. 312 John Muir Home - [map] - {37.99207,-122.13091}
*NO. 356 Castro Home - [map] - {37.898017,-122.301317}
*NO. 455 Don Fernando Pacheco Adobe - [map] - {37.98943,-122.04103}
NO. 509 JOAQUÍN MORAGA ADOBE
*NO. 511 Vicente Martinez Adobe - [map] - {37.99207,-122.13091}
*NO. 512 Alvarado Adobe - [map] - {37.958767,-122.3405}
*NO. 515 Don Salvio Pacheco Adobe - [map] - {37.976389,-122.0375}
*NO. 722 Site of the Murder of Dr. John Marsh - [map] - {38.005278,-122.087500}
*NO. 731 The Old Homestead - [map] - {38.05495,-122.22114}
*NO. 853 Captian Pedro Fages Trail - [map] - {37.834417,-122.016367}
NO. 905 MOUNT DIABLO
*NO. 932 Mount Diablo Coal Field - [map] - {37.95817,-121.863200}
NO. 951 LIGHT STATIONS OF CALIFORNIA (THEMATIC), EAST BROTHER LIGHT STATION
*NO. 1002-1 Site of the Giant Powder Company - [map] - {37.99195,-122.356267}
*NO. 1032 Richmond Shipyard District - [map] - {37.91793,-122.3725}

List of California Counties

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Song for 1978

During my sophomore year in the dorms at UC Davis, there was an enormous amount of music played constantly across the floor, including Peter Frampton, the Eagles, Steve Miller and Boston. For some reason, one Pablo Cruise song has always stuck in my head from that year. I am frankly not sure what it is about the song, but something about it reminds me of that frenetic year.

The song for 1978 is Pablo Cruise's Zero to Sixty in Five.

You can find the work in progress Soundtrack for My Life here!

What is this?

Monday, December 10, 2007

Free Songs from Drew


Drew has two songs from his new EP titled It Seems So Long Since Yesterday available for download free from his MySpace page. The songs are Summer Roof and Love To See You Smile.

His Facebook and MySpace postings announce:
FREE SONGS

hey y'all,

i wanted bring it to everyones attention that 2 of the songs
from the new album are up for FREE download on the myspace.

Summer Roof & Love To See You Smile
from It Seems So Long Since Yesterday

right now go to:
go to the player
and download them!

think of it as an early
Holiday Present from me.

share it with friends.
tell friends about it.
burn it for friends.

im giving it to you for free
you give to others for free
its simple.

-Andrew

NBA Power Rankings 2007-2008 Week 6

The Sacramento King's position in Marc Stein's NBA power rankings slipped from 19th to 22nd out of the 30 teams. The Kings are the only team in the league without a road win! With Martin out until probably February, I am not optimistic.
ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association: The Kings' impressive list of home upsets is up to four, with Utah joining Detroit, San Antonio and Houston as the latest Arco victim. But there was no celebrating with Kevin Martin joining Bibby on the long-term injury list.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Directv HD DVR

I have been a huge Tivo over the last four and a half years. We have taken this to the point where we had three Tivos in house. We have also been long time Directv subscribers. Sharon bought me a Directv receiver and dish as a Christmas present in 1996.

For our anniversary, I bought Sharon a flat screen for the master bedroom. In order to take advantage of the new screen, I needed to upgrade the receiver to a high definition receiver. This created a dilemma. The current receiver was a combo Directv reciever and Tivo unit. Tivo and Directv had a falling out a number of years ago. As a result, Tivo does not currently make a HD DVR that will work with Directv.

Whatever changes I made, Sharon wanted to still be able to record her soap opera and watch it in the bedroom. Unfortunately, almost all of the feedback that I could find on the current Directv HD DVR was negative. There is lots of feedback on-line about problems with the hardware and complaints about the interface.

To complicate matters more, Directv has launched two new satellites in the last year to support additional HD channels. To access these new channels, you need a new larger satellite dish. In the past, I have installed everything myself. The last time I upgraded, I just went down to Bestbuy and bought a new dish and put it up myself. Given the larger size of the new dish, Directv is not selling them in retail outlets anymore.

With really no other choice, I called Directv and made an appointment to have an installer come out and install the new dish and a HD DVR. The installer came out two weeks ago, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and we set everything up including rewiring all of the other receivers in the house to the new dish. Given the size of the new dish, I am glad that I did not try to put it up myself.

After two weeks, we could not be happier. We have not had any problems with the hardware. Although not as polished as Tivo, the interface for the DVR is solid. Sharon does not adapt to technology changes smoothly, but she has had few struggles getting used to the new interface. The picture quality with the new flat screen and the new Directv receiver is great. I am giddy at the ability to record HD content. It will be interesting to see if we have any problems with the hardware in the coming months.

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Decorating the Chistmas Tree

We spent the late afternoon and early evening decorating the Christmas Tree.

Sharon and I finished the evening watching the first episode of the second season of Alley McBeal on DVD.

From Heringer's Blog

Christmas Tree


Christmas Tree, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Friday, December 07, 2007

2007 Kings versus Clippers

Jack and I went to the Sacramento Kings versus Los Angeles Clippers Basketball game.

Over the last several weeks, the Kings had settled into a starting rotation (Udrih, Martin, Artest, Moore and Miller) and a substitution pattern (Gracia, Salmons and Hawes) that was starting to become more effective. The injury to Martin essentially resets the team back to the beginning of the season with less talent. The Kings have to start all over trying to figure out a starting five and an effective substitution pattern. The injury to Martin is very discouraging.

Facing a Clippers team that had lost seven games in a row, the Kings actually took a 52 to 41 half-time lead. The Kings passed the ball and moved without the ball pretty well in the first half.

The bottom fell out in the second half. The Kings players started standing around and watching the player with the ball. There was no motion in the offense. The Kings were outscored 30 to 18 in the third quarter and 26 to 17 in the fourth quarter. The Kings lost the game by a score of 97 to 87.

Chris Kaman continues to a King killer. He scored 26 points on 9 of 12 from the field and 8 of 10 from the free throw line. Kaman also had 12 rebounds.



Kings versus Clippers


Kings versus Clippers, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

California Historical Landmark #642

I stopped here Tuesday afternoon on the way back from an executive briefing at Cisco. While there may have been vineyards and a winery here when the plaque was placed in 1958, the area is now all homes.

Leland Stanford Winery
California State Historical Landmark #642

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

This landmark is located at the corner of Stanford Avenue and Vineyard Avenue, Fremont, California. There are 35 other California State Historical Landmarks in Alameda County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 37° 30.214 W 121° 54.708.

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

 

 

This winery was founded in 1869 by Leland Stanford -- railroad builder, Governor of California, United States Senator, and founder of Stanford University. The vineyard, planted by his brother Josiah Stanford, helped to prove that wines equal to any in the world could be produced in California. The restored buildings and winery are now occupied and operated by Weibel Champagne Vineyards.

Nativity Scene


Nativity Scene, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Christmas Tree 2007

After a very mediocre dinner at California Cafe in the Arden Fair Mall (Sharon and I both agree that we are not going back), we went Christmas tree shopping at Cal Expo.
Missing in action last year, the large Christmas Tree lot in the Cal Expo west parking lot is back. We have bought a Christmas Tree there four out of the last five years.
They had a nice selection of more than 50 flocked trees in a large tent. After an extended debate between Sharon and Jack over which tree to get, we settled on a tree and headed home.
I have been feeling like we are way behind getting organized for Christmas, but looking back at past years, we have typically gotten our Christmas tree about now.

Christmas Tree Shopping at Cal Expo