Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The Lost Symbol

I finished reading Dan Brown's new book The Lost Symbol. Although it is been a while, I read all four of his other books. I have three general observations about The Lost Symbol.

First, having read all 22 of John Grisham's books over the years, one of the things that I felt about Grisham's legal fiction was that it become more and more like movie treatments rather than novels. The Lost Symbol seems to suffer from the same problem. The book reads like it was written to be made into a movie. The book's prose does not seem as rich as Angels and Demons.

Second, Brown's first three novels all wove science into the storyline: palaeontology in Deception Point, computers in Digital Fortess and anti-matter in Angels and Demons. After moving away from this plot vehicle in The Da Vinci Code, Brown brings it back in The Lost Symbol by introducing the subject of noetics. I don't think that he did a very good job integrating the subject into the novel. I kept expecting him to use as a plot point, but he never really does. I am not completely sure, but it also seems like there is one chapter of the book where they go off on a tangent and talk a little about Katherine's research that is straight out of one of Robert Sawyer's novels.

Finally, one of my criticisms of Dan Brown's first book Deception Point was there were just too many outlandish plot twists. I think that The Lost Symbol suffers a little from this same problem. The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons seem to do a better job of moving the story along without it seeming quite so over the top.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book as mindless entertainment. It definitely peaked my interest to get back to Washington D.C. and see the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument and the Masonic Temple. It is not a good as Angels and Demons or even The Da Vinci Code. Although I usually don't rate books this way, I would give it three of five stars.

It will be interesting to see where Dan Brown's career as an author goes from here. The Da Vinci code was published in March of 2003. Will it take him 6 1/2 years to publish another so so book?

NBA Power Rankings 2009-2010 Preseason

The Sacramento Kings open training camp ranked as the worst team in the league in Marc Stein's power rankings of NBA teams.

NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association - ESPN
The consensus worst team didn't draft our beloved Rubio. But the Kings did draft our beloved Casspi, which leads to this teaser: Will there be more wins or Omri mentions in 24 weeks of regular-season rankings?

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Sacramento Kings: John Hollinger's 2009-10 NBA Forecast

Sacramento Kings: John Hollinger's 2009-10 NBA forecast
Tyreke Evans brings some hope to Sac-Town, but the Kings are still a long ways away

OUTLOOK

The Kings probably won't be quite as bad as they were a year ago. Up front, Thompson and Hawes should be a year bigger and stronger... Martin should be healthier than he was a year ago, and along with Evans gives the Kings a pair of go-to scorers... Udrih and Garcia can produce satisfactory results in bench roles that are more in line with their skills...

Westphal should be worth a few wins as well, as he'll let the kids work through their mistakes and develop through game experience...

Nonetheless, it's a long way back from where the Kings are right now. It took several years of mismanagement to reach this lowly point, and they aren't gong to climb out overnight. As the season begins, they're the odds-on favorite to finish with the league's worst record.


Prediction: 22-60, 5th in Pacific Division, 15th in Western Conference

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - The Mumlers - Tangled Up With You

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
@Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - The Mumlers - Tangled Up With You #fb

Monday, September 28, 2009

Jack fouling a couple off the pitching machine

After the kids were done with the pitching machine on Sunday morning, I turned the speed up and Coach Scott took a few swings. Jack stepped back in the batter's box after Coach Scott and fouled off a couple of faster pitches...

Jack fouling off a couple against the Pitching Machine from heringermr on Vimeo.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Davis Ranch

After the flag football game on Saturday, we made our annual pilgrimage to Davis Ranch to get fall decorations. With temperatures above 100 degrees, we skipped the corn maize this year. Sharon was very disappointed that they did not have any okra plants this year; she typically gets one or two to decorate the front porch.





Saturday, September 26, 2009

2009 Flag Football Game #3


Jack played in his third game of the 2009 flag football season. We missed the game last weekend when Jack played baseball with the Outlaws in Woodland. The Quick Silver played against the Titans. With a 1 p.m. start time, the temperature was above 100 degrees.

With only 7 players, Jack played a lot more than normal. On offense, Jack played center most of the game. He caught five passes for two touchdowns and about 125 yards of offense. Catching one of the passes coming across the middle at midfield, Jack angled towards the sideline. When he got within about 2 or 3 yards of the sideline about the 30 yard line, he cut back and streaked towards the end zone flag on the other side of the field for a touchdown. The other touchdown was a short pass with all the other receivers going one way and Jack going the other.

On the last play of the game, Jack was open in the flat. His normally sure hands failed him and he dropped an easy pass that hit him in the chest.

Neither of the coaches were there. The team was coached by one of the CSD staff people for the afternoon.

The Quick Silver lost the game by a score of 13 to 12. Their record in the games that Jack has played this year is 1 win and 2 losses.

With the 100 degree plus weather and all of the running he did, Jack was physically and emotionally fried by the end of the game.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

California Historical Landmark #347

Knight's Ferry
California State Historical Landmark #347

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

There are two separate markers for Knight's Ferry located on Highway 120. The GPS coordinates for the Western marker are N 37° 48.517' W 120° 39.952'. The GPS coordinates for the Eastern marker are N 37° 49.060' W 120° 39.179'. There are 4 other California State Historical Landmarks in Stanislaus County.

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

Eastern Marker

Once called Dentville, this picturesque mining center and trading post was founded in 1849. An early ferry carried Argonauts on their way to the southern mines. The rare wooden covered bridge, reportedly designed by U. S. Grant, brother-in-law of the Dent brothers, and the old flour mill were built there in 1854. The town served as the county seat from 1862 to 1872.



Western Marker



William Knight emigrated to California with the Workman-Rowland Party, in 1841, and established a ferry operation north of Sacramento two years later. In 1848, he started the first ferry crossing of the Stanislaus River, providing prospectors access to the rich claims to be found along the river. Killed in a gunfight a year later, his operations were taken over by the Dent brothers, who built a covered bridge, sawmill and gristmill. both were rebuilt and can be seen today., the Dent house, iron jail house , Masonic Hall and general store (the oldest continously operated store in the state) are among the gold rush period structures that can be seen in town.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Looking for something short to read until the new Dan Brown book came out, I picked up The Tales of Beedle the Bard off my stack of books. Having read all of the Harry Potter books over the years, I bought the book when it was released a year ago. Jack read it and I just stuck it back in the stack.

In the context of the Harry Potter universe, the book is worth reading. As the IS CFO said a number of years ago when we were talking the books, J.K. Rowlings has done a masterful job of building and populating an alternative universe. This book adds to the breadth and depth of this universe.

My only complaint is the brevity of the book. It almost does not seem like enough material for a stand alone book.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Jack at the Woodland Sports Complex

photo by Darren Dugay
Jack at bat at the Woodland Sports Complex

Outlaw 11U Fall 2009 Pitching Statistics

As of September 21, 2009
.
                       IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HBP  PC-ST   ERA
1-James
  Warriors    20-Sep   3     2    0    0    0    4    0   48-31
  Hard 90     19-Sep  1/3    1    0    0    1    0    0    16-7
  Blue Devils 6-Sep    2     2    4    3    3    1    2   33-20
  Demons      5-Sep    1     2    2    2    1    1    0   27-12
              Total  6 1/3   7    6    5    5    6    2   124-70  4.74

2-Matt
  Warriors    20-Sep   1     1    0    0    0    0    0    12-7
              Total    1     1    0    0    0    0    0    12-7   0.00

3-Josh
  Hard 90     20-Sep 1 1/3   6    5    5    2    0    0   34-19
  Amigos      5-Sep  1 2/3   7    8    4    1    1    0   37-20
  River Bandi 5-Sep    1     0    1    1    3    1    0   26-10
              Total    4    13   14   10    6    2    0   97-49  15.00

4 - AD
  Warriors    20-Sep   2     1    2    2    2    1    0   34-18
  River Bandi 5-Sep    2     2    1    1    1    0    0   37-23
              Total    4     3    3    3    3    1    0   71-41   4.50

6 - Keaton
  Hard 90     20-Sep   3     4    7    7    5    0    0   61-34
  Demons      5-Sep    2     0    0    0    0    1    0   16-14
              Total    5     4    7    7    5    1    0   76-48   8.40

7 - Pat
  Bulldogs    19-Sep   2     0    3    3    3    2    0   39-19
  Hard 90     19-Sep   1     2    2    1    1    0    0   19-12
  River Bandi 5-Sep    1     0    0    0    0    0    0    11-6
              Total    4     2    5    4    4    2    0   69-37   6.00

9 - Niko
  Blue Devils 6-Sep    0     2    5    4    2    0    0   24-11
              Total    0     2    5    4    2    0    0   24-11    NA

10 - Jordan
  Amigos      5-Sep    2     5    2    2    0    3    0   48-31
              Total    2     5    2    2    0    3    0   48-31   6.00

23 - Breyton
  Hard 90     19-Sep 1 1/3   7    9    7    2    2    1   46-24
              Total  1 1/3   7    9    7    2    2    1   46-24  31.51

33 - Jack
  Amigos      5-Sep   1/3    1    0    0    0    1    0    11-6
              Total   1/3    1    0    0    0    1    0    11-6   0.00

55 - Jeremy
  Bulldogs    19-Sep   2     3    3    2    1    4    0   56-33
  Blue Devils 6-Sep    2     0    0    0    0    1    0   23-13
  Demons      5-Sep    1     0    1    1    2    2    0   23-12
              Total    5     3    4    3    3    7    0   102-58  3.60


    Team      Total    33   41   46   38   28   23    2  680-382  6.91

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
@Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You

Monday, September 21, 2009

Outlaws 11U Fall 2009 Batting Statistics

As of September 21, 2009

     NAME  GP AB  R  H RBI BB SO SF HBP 2  3 HR TB    BA   OBP   SLG   OPS
 1  James   6  5  3  0  1   5  3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0.000 0.500 0.000 0.500
 2  Matt    7 10  2  1  2   2  3  0  0  0  0  0  1  0.100 0.250 0.100 0.350
 3  Josh    8 13  5  1  2   5  2  0  0  0  0  0  1  0.077 0.333 0.077 0.410
 4  AD      6 10  8  3  2   6  2  0  0  1  0  0  4  0.300 0.563 0.400 0.963
 5  Cooper  7 12 10  3  5   8  2  0  0  1  0  0  4  0.250 0.550 0.333 0.883
 6  Keaton  8 15  5  4  4   5  1  0  0  1  0  0  5  0.267 0.450 0.333 0.783
 7  Pat     5  9  2  4  2   1  3  0  0  1  1  0  7  0.444 0.500 0.778 1.278
 8  Niko    8 11  3  0  1   5  3  1  1  0  0  0  0  0.000 0.333 0.000 0.333
 10 Jordan  6  9  4  0  0   1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0.000 0.100 0.000 0.100
 21 DeAndre 7  5  6  2  1   7  1  0  0  0  0  0  2  0.400 0.750 0.400 1.150
 22 Trevor  6 10  1  2  0   0  4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0.200 0.200 0.200 0.400
 23 Breyton 4  7  2  1  1   0  1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0.143 0.143 0.143 0.286
 33 Jack    8 11  4  2  4   8  4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0.182 0.526 0.182 0.708
 55 Jeremy  5 10  2  1  4   0  1  2  1  0  0  0  1  0.100 0.154 0.100 0.254

             137 57 24 29  53 31  3  2  4  1  0 30  0.175 0.405 0.219 0.624

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Jack at bat against the Warriors

Jack at bat against the Warriors

2009 Outlaws Baseball Tournament #2 Day 2

Back at the Woodland Sports Complex for a second day, the Outlaws were seeded fourth and played the North Bay Warriors in a 10:00 a.m. game.

Penciled in to start at third, Jack said his arm was sore during the warm-ups. The coach switched the line-up around and moved him to designated hitter. I don't know if it was the new bat or his sore arm, but he looked very out of sync at the plate on Sunday.

In his first at-bat against the Warriors, he struck out on three straight pitches. He walked on four straight pitches in his second plate appearance. When the pitcher tried to throw to first to pick him off, the ball got away from the first baseman and Jack went all the way to third. He scored on a ground out by Josh.

He played four innings at designated hitter with Jordan replacing him in the fifth inning.

The Outlaws beat the Warriors by a score of 9 to 2.

The Outlaws then had to play Hard 90 again at 2:20 p.m.

Jack stayed as the designated hitter in the line-up. In his first at-bat, Jack struck out swinging on five pitches. Jack walked on five pitches in his second plate appearance. He stole second. On a infield single by Josh, the shortstop threw the ball away and Jack tried to go from second to home. He was out at the plate on a very close call.

With the game tied 2 to 2 in the top of the third, the bottom fell out. The Outlaws gave up five runs. The Outlaws ended up losing the game by a score of 12 to 3.

I think that the Outlaws were clearly the second best team in the tournament. The Bulldogs that they beat on Saturday ended up playing Hard 90 in the championship game of the tournament.

Outlaws 11U versus Hard 90 11U Box Score

September 20, 2009 - Outlaws against Hard 90

                  1    2    3    4    5    6    R    H    E
     Outlaws      0    0    2    1    0    -    3   10    0
     Hard 90      2    0    5    1    4    -   12    3    2


  #  Hitter      POS  AB    R    H   RBI  BB   SO    #P    AVG    OBP
  5  Cooper       4    1    1    0    0    2    0    13   0.250  0.550
  4  AD          7/6   2    0    1    0    1    0     8   0.300  0.563
  7  Pat          8    2    0    0    0    0    1    12   0.444  0.500
 21     DeAndre   8    1    0    0    0    0    0     3   0.400  0.750
 55  Jeremy      6/5   2    0    0    0    0    0     8   0.100  0.154
 33  Jack        10    1    0    0    0    1    1    11   0.182  0.526
  3  Josh        5/1   1    1    1    0    1    0     8   0.077  0.333
  6  Keaton      1/3   2    0    1    0    0    1     7   0.267  0.450
  8  Breyton     3/7   2    0    0    0    0    1     4   0.143  0.143
 23  Niko         9    2    0    0    0    0    0    11   0.000  0.333
  2  Trevor       2    2    1    0    0    0    0     8   0.200  0.200

                      18    3    3    0    5    4    93

Trevor reached base on an error by the third baseman, while Niko reached
on an error by the pitcher.


     Pitcher     IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HBP PC-ST   ERA
  6  Keaton       3    4    7    7    5    0    0  61/34    8.40
  3  Josh       1 1/3  6    5    5    2    0    0  34/19   15.00

                4 1/3 10   12   12    7    0    0  94-56

Outlaws 11U versus Warriors 11U Box Score

September 20, 2009 - Outlaws against Warriors

                  1    2    3    4    5    6    R    H    E
     Warriors     0    2    0    0    0    0    2    4    4
     Outlaws      2    5    1    1    0    x    9    4    1


  #  Hitter      POS  AB    R    H   RBI  BB   SO    #P    AVG    OBP
  5  Cooper       4    3    2    1    0    0    0    13   0.273  0.529
  4  AD         1/6/2  2    3    1    2    1    0    14   0.250  0.500
  7  Pat          8    2    0    1    2    0    0     3   0.571  0.625
 21     DeAndre   8    0    0    0    0    1    0     7   0.500  0.818
 55  Jeremy     2/5/6  2    0    0    1    0    0     8   0.125  0.182
 33  Jack        10    1    1    0    0    1    1     7   0.200  0.529
 10     Jordan   10    1    0    0    0    0    0     3   0.000  0.100
  3  Josh       5/2/5  2    1    0    1    1    0     9   0.000  0.250
  6  Keaton       3    3    0    1    0    0    0    14   0.214  0.421
  8  Niko         6    0    1    0    0    1    0     5   0.000  0.375
  1     James    1/7   1    0    0    0    1    1     8   0.000  0.500
 23  Breyton     9/7   2    1    0    1    0    0     9   0.200  0.200
  9     RJ        9    0    0    0    0    0    0     0   0.000  0.000
  2  Matt         7    2    0    0    0    0    1     7   0.100  0.250

                      21    9    4    7    6    3   107

AD and Jeremy reached base on errors by the first baseman.  Breyton
reached base twice on errors by the shortstop and second baseman.


     Pitcher     IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HBP PC-ST   ERA
  4  AD           2    1    2    2    2    1    0  34-18    4.50
  1  James        3    2    0    0    0    4    0  48-31    4.74
  2  Matthew      1    1    0    0    0    0    0   12-7    0.00

                  6    4    2    2    2    5    0  94-56

Saturday, September 19, 2009

After the second game on Saturday

After the second game on Saturday

2009 Outlaws Baseball Tournament #2 Day 1

We spent the day at the Woodland Sports Complex. This is a new facility south of the County Fair Mall on East Street with all turf fields.

The Outlaws played the Hard 90 from Roseville in the first game. Hard 90 is a serious baseball academy. The Gunners faced Hard 90 three times last fall, losing 11 to 2 on October 4, 2008 8 to 2 on November 2, 2008 and 9 to 4 on November 16, 2008.

On Friday night, we bought Jack a new heavier bat which he insisted on using; I think that it screwed him up for the whole weekend... At the plate, Jack was 0 for 1 with a strike out and a walk. In his first at-bat with the new bat, Jack struck out on five pitches. He walked on six pitches in his second plate appearance.

In the field, Jack played two innings at third base and two innings in left field. In the first inning, he caught a high pop up on the left side in spite of the fact that the shortstop (AD) banged into him. Jack also had one go just off his glove down the third base line. In the third inning, Jack fielded a single into left field and made a nice throw to Jordan at third to get Hard 90's pitch runner Darren Baker out.

The Outlaws' pitching got hammered in the first two innings and they lost by a score of 11 to 3 in four innings.

After losing to Hard 90, the Outlaws turned right around and played the Bulldogs in the second game.

At the plate, Jack was 0 for 2 with two RBIs and a walk. In his first at-bat with the bases loaded and one out, Jack hit a 0 and 1 pitch high into right center. The right fielder misjudged the ball and two runs scored. Jack walked on four pitches in his second plate appearance. In his third plate appearance, he drove a 1 and 1 pitch hard up the middle. The shortstop made a nice stop ranging to his left and threw Jack out at first.

Jack played four uneventful innings in the field, three innings in center field and one inning at third.

The Outlaws beat the Bulldogs by a score of 10 to 6 in four innings.

The Outlaws ended the day with one win and one loss. Based on the records and number of runs allowed, the teams will be seated into a single elimination format on Sunday.

Sharon, Jack and I finished the day having some bad Mexican food at Jody's in Woodland..

Outlaws 11U versus Bulldogs 11U Box Score

September 19, 2009 - Outlaws against Bulldogs

                  1    2    3    4    5    6    R    H      E
     Bulldogs     0    3    3    0    -    -    6    3      4
     Outlaws      2    4    2    2    -    -   10    5      1


  #  Hitter      POS  AB    R    H   RBI  BB   SO    #P    AVG    OBP
  5  Cooper      10    2    2    1    2    1    0     9   0.250  0.571
  6  Keaton       3    2    1    0    0    1    0    14   0.182  0.438
  7  Pat         1/8   2    2    1    0    1    1    13   0.600  0.667
 21  DeAndre      8    0    0    0    0    1    0     5   0.500  0.800
 55     Jeremy    1    2    1    0    2    0    0     9   0.167  0.250
 33  Jack        7/5   2    0    0    2    1    0     9   0.222  0.533
  8  Niko         6    2    0    0    1    0    2    12   0.000  0.333
 22  Trevor       2    3    0    1    0    0    1    15   0.250  0.250
  1  James        9    0    1    0    0    1    0     7   0.500  0.778
  4     AD        9    1    1    1    0    0    0     4   0.167  0.500
 10  Jordan       5    0    1    0    0    1    0     4   0.000  0.111
  3     Josh      7    1    0    0    0    0    0     3   0.000  0.231
  2  Matt         4    1    0    0    0    0    0     6   0.125  0.300
 23     Breyton   4    1    1    1    0    0    0     2   0.333  0.333

                      19   10    5    7    7    4   112

Cooper and Jeremey reached base on errors by the shortstop.  Jeremy also
reached base on an error by the second baseman.  Jack hit a high fly
into right center that was scored as an error on the center fielder.


     Pitcher     IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HBP PC-ST   ERA
  7  Pat          2    0    3    3    3    2    0  39-19    6.00
 55  Jeremy       2    3    3    2    1    4    0  56-33    3.00

                  4    3    6    5    4    6    0  95-52

Outlaws 11U versus Hard 90 11U Box Score

September 19, 2009 - Outlaws against Hard 90

                  1    2    3    4    5    6    R     H     E
     Outlaws      0    0    3    0    -    -    3     2     4
     Hard 90      5    4    2    X    -    -   11    10     0


  #  Hitter      POS  AB    R    H   RBI  BB   SO    #P    AVG    OBP
  4  AD           6    2    0    0    0    0    0     7   0.000  0.444
  6  Keaton      7/3   1    1    0    0    1    0     7   0.222  0.462
  8  Pat         8/1   2    0    2    0    0    0     3   0.667  0.667
 33  Jack        5/8   1    0    0    0    1    1    11   0.286  0.583
 33  Breyton     1/9   2    0    0    0    0    0     3   0.000  0.000
  3  Josh        3/2   1    0    0    0    1    0     9   0.000  0.250
  8  Niko         2    1    0    0    0    0    1     1   0.000  0.417
 10     Jordan    5    1    0    0    0    0    0     1   0.000  0.000
 21  DeAndre     10    0    1    0    0    2    0    12   0.500  0.778
  1  James       9/7   0    1    0    0    2    0    10   0.000  0.500
  2  Matt         4    2    0    0    0    0    1     9   0.143  0.333

                      13    3    2    0    7    3    73


     Pitcher     IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HBP PC-ST   ERA
 23  Breyton    1 1/3  7    9    7    2    2    1  46-24   31.51
  3  James       1/3   1    0    0    1    0    0   16-7    9.00
  7  Pat          1    2    2    1    1    0    0  19-12    3.00

                  3   10   11    8    4    2    1  81-43

Thursday, September 17, 2009

California Historical Landmark #780-8

First Transcontinental Railroad
Western Base of the Sierra Nevada

California State Historical Landmark #780-8

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

This landmark is located at the Haggin Oaks Municipal Golf Course, 3645 Fulton Avenue, Sacramento, California. The plaque is near the first tee of the Arcade Creek Golf Course. There are 57 other California State Historical Landmarks in Sacramento County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 38.050 W 121° 24.170.

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

California Historial Landmark #780-8

On January 12, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln decreed that the western base of the Sierra Nevada began where the Central Pacific Railroad crossed Arcade Creek. The hardships of railroad construction through mountains resulted in increased government subsidies that gave the company impetus to finish the transcontinental railroad.

California Historical Landmark #780-8

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Tularosa

I finished reading Tularosa by Michael McGarrity last week. At a graduation party for Sharon's nieces, Tom, Jim and I started talking about books. When I mentioned that I had just finished reading a mystery by Hillerman, they recommended Michael McGarrity's books. Based on their suggestion, I ordered the first of his books.

McGarrity's western crime-suspense novels take place in modern New Mexico, with law enforcement officer Kevin Kerney as the protagonist. Tularosa is set in the Tularosa Basin, on the White Sands Missile base and in Juárez, Mexico.

After laboring through the Picasso biography, the book was a nice light change of pace. Nevertheless, I give it a lukewarm thumbs up. I did not find it as good as Dance Hall of the Dead. Although I am tempted to read one of McGarrity's books actually set in Santa Fe (We visited there in 2007), I am ambivalent about reading any more of this series.

Jack working on the mound

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

A View to a Kill

Sharon, Jack and I watched A View to a Kill during the Labor Day Weekend. Released in 1985, it is the fourteenth film of the James Bond series, and the seventh and last to star Roger Moore. Although the title is adapted from Ian Fleming's short story "From a View to a Kill", the film is the third Bond film after The Spy Who Loved Me and Octopussy to have an entirely original screenplay.

Bond investigates a high-tech firm, Zorin Industries, and uncovers a plot to corner the market on microchips by manufacturing an earthquake that would drown Silicon Valley (and all of Zorin's competition).

In addition to Roger Moore as James Bond, the film stars Christopher Walken as Max Zorin, Grace Jones as May Day (Zorin's lover and chief henchwoman), Tanya Roberts as Stacey Sutton (granddaughter of an oil tycoon whose company is taken over by Zorin) and Patrick Macnee (from the Avengers!) as Sir Godfrey Tibbett.

This was last film to star Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny. She played the role in fourteen films, from Dr. No (1962) until her final performance of the character in A View to a Kill (1985).

Much of the first half of the film was shot at Château de Chantilly in France. It is kind of an interesting location and I might add it to my places to try and visit someday.

I had not seen this Bond movie before and was looking forward to it. I enjoyed Christopher Walken in the film, but overall was very disappointed. Sharon and I had a spirited debate afterward about which of the Roger Moore films was the worst. She could not decide which one was worse between Live and Let Die, Moonraker and A View to a Kill. In general, I think that I enjoyed the Sean Connery films a lot more than the Roger Moore films.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - David Gray - Fugitive

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
@Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - David Gray - Fugitive

Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol

I started reading Dan Brown's new book The Lost Symbol! This is his first book since The Da Vince Code was published in March of 2003.

Monday, September 14, 2009

2009 Management Symposium

I spent the day at our Management Symposium. The two day annual event includes about 1,000 managers each day from across the system.

After an opening session by the CEO titled Destination 2012 : Choose to Lead - Pat Unplugged, I attended three break-outs sessions. These included: Embrace the Social Media Revolution-Know and Influence Your Customers' Tweets, Posts and Yelps; Take the Challenge out of Change; and Riding the Boomer Wave - Medicare Affordability Initiative.

The meeting closed with movitation speaker Steve Bedwell.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Star Trek: Nemesis

Searching in iTunes for a movie to watch while running on the treadmill, I started looking for the latest Star Trek film. It is not out yet, but I stumbled across Star Trek: Nemesis. I realized that I had never seen this movie and frankly do not even remember it being in the theater. I downloaded it and watched it on the Apple TV.

I continue to be very happy with how well the Apple TV works and fits into the iTunes ecosystem. I got it more than two and a half years and I am surprised that it does not get more positive reviews. As I have said before, it is an example of how things should work.

Bunting Practice

Saturday, September 12, 2009

2009 Flag Football Game #2

Jack played in his second flag football game of the 2009 season. It was cold and windy. With lightning and thunderstorms in the morning, they actually canceled the early games.

With two weeks since the last game and only one practice, the team looked very out of sync from the beginning of game. Jack played defense in the first quarter. They used him about half the time as the pass rusher. The Quick Silver's offense unit scored one touchdown in the first quarter to lead 6 to 0.

In the second quarter, he played wide receiver on offense. Jack's group only ran about six offense plays and Jack never got the ball thrown to him.

After playing defense in the third quarter, Jack played quarterback for six plays in the fourth quarter. Although several of the passes were pretty well thrown, he was 0 for 4.

For the other team, Joe from Jack's school threw three long touchdown passes against the other defensive unit.

The Quick Silver lost the game by a score of 19 to 6. Their record for the season is 1 win and 1 losses.

In the past, Jack has gotten very frustrated when they failed to get the ball to him. In a sign of some maturity, he was actually pretty philosophical about the loss after the game.

Friday, September 11, 2009

2009 River Cats versus Rainiers

We went to the River Cats game with a group of families from the Outlaws, Jack's tournament baseball team. This was Game 3 of the PCL Pacific Conference Championship Series. The winner of this series will advance to play the Memphis RedBirds, who finished off a three-game sweep of the Albuquerque Isotopes on Friday night in the American Conference Championship Series.

The River Cats rode a 15-hit outburst to a 13-2 victory over the Tacoma Rainiers to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five first-round playoff series. Former San Francisco Giant right-hander Jerome Williams struck out eight, allowed seven hits and only one run over 7.0 innings.

At William Land Park Golf Course

Sharon, Deborah and Marlene played golf at the 9 hole William Land Park course in the morning. Although she has not played in while, Sharon was very happy with how she played [except for a couple of three putts...]

Established in 1924, this is the oldest golf course in Sacramento.



Thursday, September 10, 2009

2009 Back to School Night

Sharon and I went to the 11th annual Back to School Night at his school. The general session included a welcome by the priest and the principal, short speeches by the chairs of the school board, the parent association and the auction committee and an introduction of all the staff and teachers.

Afterwards, we listened to a robin round presentation of the curriculum. Jack is now in middle school and has different teachers for different subjects. We finished by wandering into his classroom, talking to his home room teacher and checking out his desk.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Outlaws 11U Fall 2009 Pitching Statistics

As of September 7, 2009
.
                   IP     H     R    ER    BB    SO   HBP    PC-ST    ERA
           6-Sep    2     2     4     3     3     1     2    33-20
           5-Sep    1     2     2     2     1     1     0    27-12
 1-James   Total    3     4     6     5     4     2     2    60-32   10.00


                   IP     H     R    ER    BB    SO   HBP    PC-ST    ERA
           5-Sep  1 2/3   7     8     4     1     1     0    37-20
           5-Sep    1     0     1     1     3     1     0    26-10
  3-Josh   Total  2 2/3   7     9     5     4     2     0    63-30   11.24


                    IP     H     R    ER    BB    SO   HBP   PC-ST    ERA
           5-Sep     2     2     1     1     1     0     0   37-23
   4-AD    Total     2     2     1     1     1     0     0   37-23   3.00


                   IP     H     R    ER    BB    SO   HBP    PC-ST    ERA
           5-Sep    2     0     0     0     0     1     0    16-14
 6-Keaton  Total    2     0     0     0     0     1     0    16-14    0.00


                   IP     H     R    ER    BB    SO   HBP    PC-ST    ERA
           5-Sep    1     0     0     0     0     0     0     11-6
  7-Pat    Total    1     0     0     0     0     0     0     11-6    0.00


                   IP     H     R    ER    BB    SO   HBP    PC-ST    ERA
           6-Sep    0     2     5     4     2     0     0    24-11
  9-Niko   Total    0     2     5     4     2     0     0    24-11     NA


                   IP     H     R    ER    BB    SO   HBP    PC-ST    ERA
           5-Sep    2     5     2     2     0     3     0    48-31
10-Jordan  Total    2     5     2     2     0     3     0    48-31    6.00


                   IP     H     R    ER    BB    SO   HBP    PC-ST    ERA
           5-Sep   1/3    1     0     0     0     1     0     11-6
 33- Jack  Total   1/3    1     0     0     0     1     0     11-6    0.00


                   IP     H     R    ER    BB    SO   HBP    PC-ST    ERA
           6-Sep    2     0     0     0     0     1     0    23-13
           5-Sep    1     0     1     1     2     2     0    23-12
55-Jeremy  Total    3     0     1     1     2     3     0    46-25    2.00


  Team     Total    16    21    24    18    13    12    2   316-178   6.75

California Historical Landmark #415

The Willms Ranch
California State Historical Landmark #415

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

This landmark is located On Willms Road, 1.3 miles south of State Highway 120, 1.9 miles south of Knights Ferry, California. There are 4 other California State Historical Landmarks in Stanislaus County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 37° 48.040 W 120° 38.740.

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

California Historical Landmark #415

Arriving in California October 12, 1849, John R. Willms and John H. Kappelmann engaged in the hotel and butcher businesses in Buena Vista, in what is now Stanislaus County. They bought up mining claims and settler's claims until, by 1852, they had a tract of 3,600 acres. The 'KW' brand was the first in Tuolumne County in 1852. After the death of Kappelmann, Willms carried on alone, and the ranch has been owned by the Willms family ever since.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Outlaw 11U Fall 2009 Batting Statistics

As of September 7, 2009
.
    NAME  GP AB  R  H RBI BB SO HBP 2B 3B HR TB SB  BA   OBP   SLG   OPS
1  James   4  4  2  0  1   2  2  0   0  0  0  0  0 0.000 0.333 0.000 0.333
2  Matt    4  5  2  1  2   2  1  0   0  0  0  1  0 0.200 0.429 0.200 0.629
3  Josh    4  8  3  0  1   2  2  0   0  0  0  0  0 0.000 0.200 0.000 0.200
4  AD      2  3  4  0  0   4  2  0   0  0  0  0  0 0.000 0.571 0.000 0.571
5  Cooper  4  6  5  1  3   5  2  0   1  0  0  2  1 0.167 0.545 0.333 0.879
6  Keaton  4  8  3  2  4   3  0  0   1  0  0  3  0 0.250 0.455 0.375 0.830
7  Pat     1  1  0  0  0   0  1  0   0  0  0  0  0 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
8  Niko    4  6  2  0  0   4  0  1   0  0  0  0  0 0.000 0.455 0.000 0.455
10 Jordan  3  7  3  0  0   0  1  0   0  0  0  0  0 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
21 DeAndre 3  4  5  2  1   3  1  0   0  0  0  2  0 0.500 0.714 0.500 1.214
22 Trevor  4  5  0  1  0   0  3  0   0  0  0  1  0 0.200 0.200 0.200 0.400
33 Jack    4  6  3  2  2   4  1  0   0  0  0  2  0 0.333 0.600 0.333 0.933
55 Jeremy  2  4  1  1  1   0  1  1   0  0  0  1  0 0.250 0.333 0.250 0.583

             67 33 10 15  29 17  2   2  0  0 12  1 0.149 0.414 0.179 0.593

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - One eskimO - Kandi

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
@Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - One eskimO - Kandi #potw #fb

Monday, September 07, 2009

American River Trail Bike Ride

Sharon, Jack and I took our bikes to Discovery Park for a ride along the American River Trail. We rode a little more than 5 miles to a spot directly behind Cal Expo. At this point, Jack was ready to turn around. I told Sharon and Jack that I was going to ride up a little further and then turn around and catch up with them. Sharon told me that as soon as I took off Jack said "Let's race him back to the car." I ended up riding up to the six mile mark before turning around. I pushed it hard all the way back, but could not catch them. They were just pulling up to the car when I rounded the last corner.

Using the GPS off of Jack's bike, I generated these maps:




View Larger Map

On the American River Bike Trail

Sunday, September 06, 2009

2009 Outlaws Baseball Tournament #1 Day 2

By the time we got home on Saturday night, it was after 10 p.m. The Sunday morning game was scheduled for 8:00 a.m. I got Jack up about 5:50 a.m. and we left the house about 6:30 a.m.

The Outlaws played the Blue Devils with a start time of 8:01 a.m. In the field, Jack played four uneventful innings at third base. In his first at-bat in the second inning, Jack walked on six pitches. The inning ended with him at second base. In the fourth inning, Jack hit a 1 and 1 pitch down the first base line which the first baseman fielded cleanly for the last out of the game. Jack pointed out afterwards that if the first baseman had not been holding Jeremy on the bag that it probably would have been a hit...

The Outlaws gave up 8 runs in the first inning and lost control of the game. The boys were definitely hanging their heads. They ended up losing the game by the score of 9 to 0. Jack's walk and Jeremy hit by a pitch were the only Outlaws' base runners of the game; they had no hits.

The Outlaws ended up the tournament with 2 wins and 2 losses. Out of the nine teams in pool play, four teams went 3 and 1 (Blue Devils, Star City, Brown Sox and Amigos), two teams were 2 and 2 (Outlaws and Stix), two were 1 and 3 (Demons and Rivercats) and one was 0 and 4 (River Bandits). The Outlaws effectively finished sixth out of the nine teams. Only 4 teams advanced to the single elimination round.

The Amigos beat the Brown Sox in the Championship game.

This is the first of six tournaments that the Outlaws are scheduled to play over the next three months. The next tournament is scheduled in two weeks in Woodland against what are supposed to be tougher teams. It will be interesting to see how the Outlaws do!

Outlaws 11U versus Blue Devils 11U Box Score

September 6, 2009 - Outlaws against Blue Devils

                  1    2    3    4    5    6    R    H    E
     Outlaws      0    0    0    0    -    -    0    0    3
     Blue Devils  8    1    0    0    -    -    9    4    0


  #  Hitter      POS  AB    R    H   RBI  BB   SO   #P    AVG    OBP
  5  Cooper       6    2    0    0    0    0    1   11   0.167  0.545
  6  Keaton      8/3   2    0    0    0    0    0    8   0.250  0.455
  8  Niko        1/7   2    0    0    0    0    0    7   0.000  0.455
 55  Jeremy      2/1   1    0    0    0    0    0    4   0.250  0.333
 33  Jack         5    1    0    0    0    1    0    9   0.333  0.600
  3  Josh        3/2   1    0    0    0    0    0    3   0.000  0.200
  1  James       7/1   1    0    0    0    0    0    1   0.000  0.333
 22  Trevor       9    1    0    0    0    0    0    3   0.200  0.200
  2  Matt         4    1    0    0    0    0    0    2   0.200  0.429

                      12    0    0    0    1    1   48

Jeremy was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning.

     Pitcher     IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HBP PC-ST   ERA
  8  Niko         0    2    5    4    2    0    0  24-11    N.A.
  3  James        2    2    4    3    3    1    2  33-20   10.00
 55  Jeremy       2    0    0    0    0    1    0  23-13    2.00

                  4    4    9    7    5    2    2

Saturday, September 05, 2009

2009 Outlaws Baseball Tournament #1 Day 1

This was a very long day at the ballpark; we ended up being there almost 10 1/2 hours.

The Outlaws played the Demons in the first game at 12:15 p.m. In the field, Jack played two innings at third base. In the second inning, he handled a routine grounder and made a nice throw to first for the out. At the plate in the first inning, Jack hit a hard chopper to shortstop's right that he failed to handle cleanly. Cooper scored from third and Jack was safe at first. Jack walked on five pitches in second plate appearance in the third inning. Advancing on wild pitches, he eventually came around to score.

Primarily on the strength of 13 bases on balls, the Outlaws beat the Demons by a score of 15 to 3 in four innings.

The Outlaws played the River Bandits in the second game. Originally scheduled to start at 4:40 p.m., the game did not get underway until 5:18 p.m. In the field, Jack played two innings in center field and two innings at third base. In the third inning, he ranged far to his left in front of Cooper for grounder and made a nice throw on the run for the out at first base.

At the plate in the first inning, Jack walked on 6 pitches. He eventually came around to score. In the second inning, Jack ran the count to 3 and 2 and struck out swinging on a low inside pitch. In his third plate appearance in the fourth inning, he drove a grounder through the right side for single and a RBI.

Again, primarily on the strength of walks (10 total for the game), the Outlaws beat the River Bandits by a score of 14 to 2 in four innings.

The boys walked straight from that game to play their third game of the day against the Amigos. This was the first game of the day for the Amigos! The game got started at 7:20 p.m. Jack played two innings in left field and 1 2/3 innings at third base. He did not handle a ball.

Jack came in the fourth inning with two outs and pitched to two batters. He walked the first batter on sixth pitches and then struck out the second batter swinging on five pitches.

At bat in the second inning with the count at 2 and 1, Jack hit a hard chopper to the right side of the infield. The ball got past the pitcher. With Jack really hustling up the line and the pitcher and the second baseman trying to run down the ball, the throw by the second baseman was late and a little offline. Jack was safe at first. He eventually came around to score the first Outlaw's run of the game.

I now the official scorer for the team. I have gone back and forth about scoring this a hit versus an error; I ended up scoring it as a hit. At this level of play, my rule of thumb is that if it is routine hit to a player and mishandled, it is an error. If it is a difficult play to make, I am giving the batter a hit.

In his second plate appearance in the third inning with a 3 and 2, he fouled off a pitch and then drove one down the first base line that the first baseman handled cleanly for an out. Running the count to 3 and 2, Jack walked in this third at-bat in the fifth inning.

Leading 3 to 2 in the top of the fourth, the Outlaws gave up 8 runs in the bottom of the fourth and ended up losing by the score of 10 to 4 in five innings. The Outlaws only got two hits in the game. By the time, the game was over it was 9:15 p.m.

The Outlaws finished the day with 2 wins and 1 loss. There are nine teams in the tournament. Only four teams will advance out of the pool play to the play-offs.

The Outlaws have to be back tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. for an 8:00 a.m. game!

Outlaws after the third game


Outlaws after the third game, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Outlaws 11U versus Amigos 11U Box Score

September 5, 2009 - Outlaws against Amigos

                  1    2    3    4    5    6    R     H    E
     Outlaws      0    1    0    2    1    -    4     2    1
     Amigos       2    0    0    8    x    -   10    13    2


  #  Hitter      POS  AB    R    H   RBI  BB   SO    #P    AVG    OBP
  4  AD           6    2    1    0    0    1    1    11   0.000  0.571
  6  Keaton       3    3    0    0    0    0    0     9   0.333  0.556
  8  Niko        8/2   2    0    0    0    0    0     6   0.000  0.556
  1     James     8    1    0    0    0    0    1     3   0.000  0.400
 33  Jack       7/5/1  2    1    1    0    1    0    17   0.400  0.625
 21  DeAndre     5/8   0    1    0    0    3    0    15   0.500  0.714
  3  Josh       2/1/5  3    1    0    1    0    0     6   0.000  0.222
 10  Jordan      1/9   2    0    0    0    0    1     8   0.000  0.000
 22  Trevor      9/7   2    0    0    0    0    2     7   0.250  0.250
  2  Matt         4    1    0    1    0    0    0     2   0.250  0.500
  5     Cooper    4    1    0    0    0    0    0     1   0.250  0.667

                      19    4    2    1    5    5    85

Josh recieved base twice on errors by the shortstop and the pitcher.


     Pitcher     IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HBP PC-ST    ERA
 10  Jordan       2    5    2    2    0    3    0  48-31    6.00
  3  Josh       1 2/3  7    8    4    1    1    0  37-20   10.00
 33  Jack        1/3   1    0    0    0    1    0  11- 6    0.00

                  4   13   10    6    2    5    0  96-57

Outlaws 11U versus River Bandits 11U Box Score

September 5, 2009 - Outlaws against River Bandits

                   1    2    3    4    5    6    R    H    E
     Outlaws       4    5    1    4    -    -   14    4    1
     River Bandits 0    1    0    1    -    -    2    2    4


  #  Hitter      POS  AB    R    H   RBI  BB   SO    #P    AVG    OBP
  5  Cooper       6    2    2    1    2    2    1    19   0.333  0.750
  4  AD          7/4   1    3    0    0    3    1    21   0.000  0.750
  6  Keaton       3    1    1    0    0    1    0     8   0.667  0.833
  1     James     7    0    1    0    0    1    0     5   0.000  0.500
  7  Pat          1    1    0    0    0    0    1     4   0.000  0.000
 21     DeAndre   8    2    2    1    0    0    0    10   0.500  0.500
 33  Jack        8/3   2    1    1    1    1    1    15   0.333  0.600
  3  Josh       2/1/3  3    0    0    0    0    2    11   0.000  0.333
 10  Jordan      5/9   3    2    0    0    0    0     8   0.000  0.000
  8  Niko        9/8   1    1    0    0    2    0    12   0.000  0.714
  2  Matt         4    2    1    0    1    0    0     7   0.000  0.400
 22    Trevor     7    1    0    1    0    0    0     1   0.500  0.500

                      19   14    4    4   10    6   121

Jordan reached base twice on errors by second base and shortstop.  
DeAndre and Matt received base on errors by third base.

     Pitcher     IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HBP PC-ST   ERA
  7  Pat          1    0    0    0    0    0    0   11-6    0.00
  3  Josh         1    0    1    1    3    1    0  26-10    6.00
  4  AD           2    2    1    1    1    0    0  37-23    3.00

                  4    2    2    2    4    1    0  74-39

Outlaws 11U versus Demons 11U Box Score

September 5, 2009 - Outlaws against Demons

             1    2    3    4    5    6     R  H  E
Outlaws      2    0    8    5    -    -    15  4  2
Demons       0    0    2    1    -    -     3  2  3


#  Hitter      POS  AB    R    H   RBI  BB   SO    #P    AVG    OBP
5  Cooper     6/8/6  1    3    0    1    3    0    15   0.000  0.750
6  Keaton      1/3   2    2    2    4    2    0    17   1.000  1.000
8  Niko         8    1    1    0    0    2    0    14   0.000  0.750
55  Jermey     2/1   3    1    1    1    0    1    16   0.333  0.250
33  Jack        5    1    1    0    1    1    0     7   0.000  0.500
10    Jordan    5    2    1    0    0    0    0     6   0.000  0.000
3  Josh        3/2   1    2    0    0    2    0    10   0.000  0.667
1  James        7    2    1    0    1    1    1     8   0.000  0.333
22  Trevor      9    1    0    0    0    0    1     5   0.000  0.000
21    DeAndre   9    2    2    1    1    0    1    11   0.500  0.500
2  Matt         4    1    1    0    1    2    1    16   0.000  0.667

                    17   15    4   10   13    5   125

Jack and Jordan reached base on errors by the shortstop, while Jermey
reached base on an error by the second baseman.  DeAndre struck out
and was safe at first on a dropped third strike.


Pitcher     IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HBP PC-ST    ERA
6  Keaton    2    0    0    0    0    1    0  16-14    0.00
1  James     1    2    2    1    1    1    0  27-12    6.00
3  Jeremy    1    0    1    1    2    2    0  23-12    6.00

             4    2    3    2    3    4    0  66-38 

Thursday, September 03, 2009

A Life of Picasso: The Prodigy, 1881-1906

In late August, I finished reading A Life of Picasso: The Prodigy. I originally bought the book because I saw it on a list of the New York Times Notable Books of 2007. It has been sitting in my pile of books for more than a year and a half.

One of Sharon's passions is art and art history. She has dragged me through a lot of museums. I have always been fascinated by Picasso. Unlike some artists, his style changed significantly over the course of his long life. I have often looked at a painting and been surprised that it was painted by Picasso. I was particularly struck by this after spending the day wandering through the Philadelphia Museum of Art in June. By the end of the day, I decided that I was going to read this book next.

Part of a planned four volume set, this book covers the first 25 years of Picasso's life. From a young child, Picasso was trained as a artist. His father was a mediocre painter and an art teacher. Leaving home at 16, he bounced back and forth between Spain, primarily Barcelona, and Paris. His youth is filled with a amazing amount of poverty and women, both prostitutes and mistresses, as well as some drugs.

One of the reasons that I enjoyed the books was that it included over 900 illustrations of paintings, sketches and photos; almost every page included an illustration. It helped to be able to see Picasso's paintings and sketches and the paintings of other artists as they were being discussed in the book. One drawback is that the illustrations are in black and white. At some point, I realized that I needed to see some of the paintings in color to be able to appreciate them. I also had a hard time keeping track of all of the names of the people who appeared in his life in the book.

I enjoyed the book enough that I will probably attack the next volume sometime in the next two years.

After reading the book, there are several paintings that I would like to see in person. These include:

La Vie (1903) - The Cleveland Museum of Art


The Old Guitarist (1903) - The Art Institute of Chicago


The Saltimbanques (1905) - Nation Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.


Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) - The Museum of Modern Art - New York

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

NBA Summer Forecast: West standings - ESPN

Fifty-three panelists from across ESPN predicted the number of wins and losses for each NBA team in the coming season. They predicted that the Sacramento Kings will again finish last in the Western Conference with a record of 21 wins and 65 losses, only slightly better than last year's record of 17 wins and 65 losses.

NBA Summer Forecast: West standings - ESPN
The Kings take the honors as the NBA's worst team, both in last season's standings and this season's projections. Reasons for optimism include a return to health for Kevin Martin and the arrival of Tyreke Evans, but even that is a bit troubling, as they might end up playing the same position. Expect another long year in Sac-Town.

Copperopolis Armory

Copperopolis Armory
National Register of Historic Places #1997001588

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

This marker is located at 695 Main Street, Copperopolis, California. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 37° 58.550 W 120° 38.150.

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

Copperopolis Armory
Copperopolis Armory

Cooperopolis Armory, built by public subscription in 1866 for 8,000 dollars, was used by the Union Guard for enlisting and training troops. In 1868 it was sold to the Copperopolis Armory Hall Association for 800 dollars in gold and was used for Congregational and Methodist Church services, public meetings, balls and rallies.

The property was purchased by the Mineral Lodge, I.O.O.F. in 1874 and used as a lodge until 1903. Copperopolis Community Center purchased the armory in 1948.

Placed on the National Register of Historical Places December 30, 1997.

Dedicated through the efforts of Charles and Rhoda Stone.

Presented by N.D.G.W., Princess Parlor No. 84
June 28, 1998