Friday, November 30, 2018

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Sharon and her brother Tom went to see a matinee show of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at Golden 1 Center. She got tickets for suite 18 from her work. This was the first time that Tom had been to the new arena.

Sharon was lukewarm about the experience. Having watched the commercials for years, I thought that it was primarily Christmas music program, but researching the band, I realized it is really more of a rock band... I am going to sample some of their music in iTunes.

Thursday, November 29, 2018

2018 Kings versus Clippers

2018 Kings versus Clippers

Snipes and I went to the Sacramento Kings versus Los Angeles Clippers NBA game. We met before the game in the Sierra Nevada bar in the arena. This was a rare ESPN televised game with a 7:30 pm start time.

The Los Angeles Clippers built and blew several big leads. Trailing by 20 points in the first quarter, the Kings cut the lead to 4 points with 6:32 in the fourth quarter. The Clippers answered with an eleven point run and won the game by the score of 133 to 121.

Borden Bogdanovic was the leading scorer for the Kings. In 35 minutes, he had 26 points on 8 for 20 from the field, 3 for 6 from three and 7 for 8 from the free throw line. Buddy Hield had an off shooting night. He had 10 points on 4 for 13 from the field and 0 for 7 from three.

The Clippers leading scorer was Tobias Harris. He had 28 points on 11 for 17 from the field, 3 for 5 from three and 3 for 3 from the free throw line.

The Western Conference leading Clippers shot the lights out. They were 56% from the field and 43% from three.

The Sanborns were at the game. Wandering up the aisle, Phil stopped and talked for a few minutes.

The Kings are now have 2 wins and 1 loss in games that I have seen in the 2018-2019 season.

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Jack back to School

Up at 4:40 am, we left the house at 5:40 am to take Jack to the airport. The airport wasn't as busy as I feared.

Jack caught a 8:10 am United flight nonstop to Dulles. He was on the ground and at the gate at 4:20 pm Eastern time.

Catching an Uber at 5:18 pm, Jack was back on campus before 6:00 pm. The Uber ride was only 36 minutes!

It was great to have Jack home for a few days. He will be back for a longer Christmas break in about a month.

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Decorating the House for Christmas

Parts of Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday were spent taking down the fall decorations and decorating the house for Christmas. Fighting a cold and raining hard Friday afternoon, I got a slow start. I spent of the loin share of the weekend moving boxes back and forth from the storage shed, putting up the outside lights and starting to get things organized inside.

A couple of hours on Sunday were focused on "supervising" someone putting lights up on the top of the front of the house. It took longer than humanly possible...

I love the house at Christmas, but this year seems like a death march. We finished the weekend with a lot more to do inside and the garage in disarray. We still need to get a tree.

Friday, November 23, 2018

Sharon, Liz and Laura

Although it has been somewhat hit and miss, a group of Sharon's high school friends traditionally get together on the Friday night after Thanksgiving. This included 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017. At some point in the late 90's, they switched from the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Sharon, Liz and Laura went to dinner at Lemon Grass.

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Thanksgiving 2018

2018 Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving 2018After running the Run to Feed the Hungry, Sharon made a couple of pumpkin pies. We took off for Sharon's brother Tom's house about 1:30 pm.

At seventeen, it was a big group this year, including: Tom, Jim Dunn, Tim, Kathy, Erin, Cromac, Kevin, Leah, Lydia, Amelia, Leah parent's Terri and Steve, a friend of Leah's and her daughter, Sharon, Jack and I. Eric and Ashley went to Ashley's grandparents in Sonora, while Eileen and Will were dealing with a pet emergency. Tom set up two long tables in the living room. Although he said that he did it at Easter, this is the first time I have seen him serve dinner this way.

Much to my chagrin, we watched the Dallas Cowboys beat the Washington Redskins by the score of 31 to 23.

2018 Thanksgiving

2018 Run to Feed the Hungry

2018 Run to Feed the Hungry

For the fourteen time in the last fifteen years [2017, 2016, 2015, 20142013, 20122011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006, 2005 and 2004], Jack and I ran the Run to Feed the Hungry.  We entered in 2007, but I was feeling under the weather and we decided not to run before heading to San Francisco for Thanksgiving. Sharon also missed two years ago when she was feeling under the weather.

For the seventh year in a row, we parked off University Avenue. For the third year, I parked closer to the H Street bridge rather than the Guy West Bridge.

I have come to view this run as a referendum on my fitness. Although I was fighting a little bit of a cold, I was pleased with this year's results.

My official chip time for the 10k was 58:58 with a 9:30 pace. I was 28:44 at the 5k with a pace of 9:15. My Runkeeper splits by mile were: 1 - 9:11; 2 - 9:01; 3 - 9:28; 4 - 9:36; 5 - 9:45; 6 - 9:50, and; last quarter mile - 9:41.

This was my fastest time since 2014. In 2015, I ran 1:00:21. I was embarrassed by my 1:03:57 in 2016 and turned a 59:10 in 2017. The secret to beating last year's time was a strong first mile.

Jack walked the 5k with Emma, Cara and Jason. Sharon ran the 10k, but cut the corner at McKinley Park. The three of us drove together so Sharon and I had to wait for Jack to finish the 5k.

2018 Run to Feed the Hungry

A footnote. Looking back over the years, my 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 times were all set running with Jack at what was probably the peak of his conditioning. It was a unique motivation. It would be interesting to see what pace I could carrying now if I was similarly challenged...

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Mikuni

Sharon, Jack and I finished the day with an early dinner at Mikunis on Hazel. We were able to drive there and back in the Volvo without using any gas! A longer post on the Volvo is coming.

Back at the house, we watched the second half of the Sacramento Kings versus Utah Jazz NBA game. The Kings held on to win by the score of 119 to 110. I am enjoying this version of the Kings.

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Monday, November 19, 2018

Jack is Back!

Jack is Back!Jack took an Uber from campus to Dulles Airport. I was shocked that it only took him 31 minutes to get to the airport. The last time that Sharon and I came into the Dulles it took us 72 minutes to get from the airport to the campus.

He caught a 5:20 pm nonstop United flight from Dulles to Sacramento. Jack was on the ground in Sacramento just before 8:00 pm, 20 minutes early.

Sharon and I picked him up. I was disappointed to see a pair of Teslas parked in the charging stations in the parking garage.

More on the new car soon...

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Back from South Shore Lake Tahoe

We got a slow start to the morning. Eventually, we packed up the room and checked out. We headed back to Edgewood Tahoe for brunch. Sharon really wanted to see the place in the light. We had breakfast at the Bistro. Sharon had huevos rancheros, while I had pancakes. The service was very slow. Apparently lots of people had the same idea of getting out of the smoke in the valley.

At Edgewood Tahoe

After breakfast, we walked around the property and out to the lake. Voted the #1 resort in America by Travel and Leisure Magazine, we will definitely come back.

We talked about stopping and hiking at Echo Summit, but decided just to keep going to beat the traffic home. We were back in Carmichael about 12:30 pm.

It was a nice little getaway. I would really like to go back and hike some of the trails off the Tahoe Rim Trail.

Saturday, November 17, 2018

To South Shore Lake Tahoe

Hiking the Van Sickle Bi-state Park

With the air very unhealthy in the valley due to the Camp Fire, Sharon and I decided to get out of town for the weekend. Dropping Tiber at the kennel, we headed out of town before 10 am. We were in South Shore at the hotel just after noon. We are staying one night at the Marriott Grand Residence Club. Jack and I stayed here one night in 2005 when we were tracing the Pony Express Trail. The room was actually ready when we got there.

After dropping our stuff in the room, we headed out to find somewhere for lunch. The area was a mad house. Eventually, we decided to take the tram up to Heavenly. We stopped at the observation deck. Unfortunately, the view wasn't as spectacular as it could have been due to the smoke.

We continued up the tram to the top. We had planned to have lunch there. It turns out that Tamarack Lodge only has a cafeteria; this was not quite what Sharon had in mind. I was surprised at the number of people skiing.Van Sickle Bi-state Park Hike

Heading back down, we tried to find somewhere to eat. Everywhere had an hour wait for a table. We finally found a Hawaiian restaurant--Kalani's--off the beat path that wasn't packed. We sat at the bar and split a Kalua Pork Quesadilla, the Lobster Bisque and a Heavenly Salad. Sharon would later describe the food as horrible.

After lunch, we hiked up through the Van Sickle Bi-State Park. We followed the Barn Trail up to the Cal/Nev Loop Trail. We covered just over three miles. I really enjoyed the hike. I wish that we had got started earlier in the day. We got back to the hotel just as it was getting dark.

We finished the day with dinner at the Bistro at the Edgewood. We split a Baby Gem salad. For entrees, Sharon had GRILLED WILD ISLES SALMON [SUSTAINABLY OCEAN FARMED SHETLAND ISLANDS SALMON FILLET, WHOLE GRAIN MUSTARD-MAPLE SAUCE, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, BACON SWEET POTATO HASH], while I had BRAISED SHORT RIB [LOW AND SLOW BEEF BRAISED RIB, BUTTERED POTATOES, ROASTED CARROTS, NATURAL JUS]. The food was solid, but not great.

Sharon was very impressed with the lodge. We talked about coming back, staying here and playing golf with the Sanborns or the Gainsleys.

Friday, November 16, 2018

2004-2005 Kings Season

During the 2004-2005 Sacramento Kings season, the Kings
were 10 and 4 in games which I saw in person, including:

PRESEASON

10/29/2004: Suns-124, Kings-96 - Jack

REGULAR SEASON

11/09/2004: Kings-108, Raptors-92 - Larkin
11/23/2004: Kings-102, Rockets-96 - Sharon with Mary Maloney and Tim
12/03/2004: Kings-113, Pacers-87 - Sharon with Tim
12/07/2004: Kings-109, Bobcats-92 - Larkin
12/23/2004: Heat-109, Kings-107 - Sharon, Jack and Larkin
12/26/2004: Warriors-98, Kings-94 - Sharon, Jack and Tim
01/03/2005: Kings-86, Spurs-81 - Jack
01/11/2005: Kings-109, Nuggets-100 - Larkin
01/25/2005: Kings-113, Nets-93 - Sharon with Tim
02/04/2005: Kings-116, Knicks-115 - Davis Mafia
02/08/2005: Suns-125, Kings-123 - Sharon with Tim
03/08/2005: Kings-85, Grizzlies-82 - Sharon with Liz
03/15/2005: Kings-105, Magic-94 - Jack
03/24/2005: Kings-118, 76ers-109 - Sharon, Randy and Jayne Wong
03/28/2005: Kings-109, Mavs-101 - Larkin and Sherry
04/03/2005: Timberwolves-112, Kings-100 - Sharon with Liz
04/20/2005: Kings-132, Suns-107 - Larkin

PLAYOFFS

04/29/2005: Kings-116, Sonics-104 - Gasper and Hummel
05/01/2005: San Antonio Spurs-105, Sacramento Kings-83 - Sharon, Jack, Muncaster, Larkin and Cindy



2023-2024 Season [3-2]
2022-2023 Season [5-3]
2021-2022 Season [1-5]
2020-2021 Season [1-0]
2019-2020 Season [1-4]
2018-2019 Season [7-4]
2017-2018 Season [5-2]
2016-2107 Season [5-3]
2015-2016 Season [2-2]
2014-2015 Season [1-4]
2013-2014 season [3-2]
2012-2013 Season [1-0]
2011-2012 Season [3-2]
2010-2011 Season [3-6]
2009-2010 Season [4-7]
2008-2009 Season [2-7]
2007-2008 Season [7-7]
2006-2007 Season [5-9]
2005-2006 Season [8-8]
2004-2005 Season [10-4]
2003-2004 season [12-3]

Thursday, November 15, 2018

CIO/CTO Roundtable

On Thursday evening, I attended a local CIO/CTO Roundtable at Paul Martin's American Grill organized by Dave Sanders. The event was hosted by Abhi Agarwal, CEO of Consummate Technologies.

The guest speaker was Joe Collingwood. He talked about increasing regulations that CIO’s need to be aware of and be prepared to address in the coming years. Topics included: an overview of GDPR and the CCPA; the differences between the two; what to look out for with GDPR; how CCPA is likely to change; consumer rights in terms of policy, process and potential impact on IT; and finally some lessons learned from GDPR.

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Mary's Rock Trail Hike

I generated this map of our short hike on the Mary's Rock Trail on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia. We hiked part of the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire and Connecticut last fall.

Monday, November 12, 2018

California Historical Landmark #183

With my job change in the fall of 2016, I haven't been traveling quite as much. Taking advantage of Sharon and Janie being in Wichita, I decided to spend the afternoon tracking down a number of historical markers. I ended up visiting eight markers, including: First Tehama County Courthouse [#183]; Hooker Oak [#313]; Old Suspension Bridge [#314]; Tidwell's Bar [#330]; Last Yahi Indian [#809]; Posted Water Notice Site [#831]; Chico Forestry Station and Nursery [#840.2], and; Mother Orange Tree of Butte County [#1043].

First Tehama County Courthouse
California State Historical Landmark #183

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

This landmark is located 75 feet east of the intersection of 2nd and D Streets, Tehama, California. There is three other California State Historical Landmarks in Tehama County. The GPS coordinates for this location are 40° 01' 35.0" N 122° 07' 16.9" W.

California Historical Landmark #183

Tehama County's Board of Supervisors and other county officials first met in rented rooms in the Union Hotel, later called Heider House. The county seat remained here from May 1856 to March 1857, when it was moved to Red Bluff. The Heider House was destroyed by fire in 1908. This property is part of original land grant to Robert Hasty Thomes, 1844.

California Historical Landmark #183

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Camp Fire

I spent Saturday on a series of conference calls coordinating the relocation of some hardware from the hospital data center in Paradise to Roseville enterprise data center. I spent a long Saturday night at work with team racking, cabling, configuring and restarting a pickup truck load of hardware from Paradise.

Friday, November 09, 2018

2018 Kings versus Timberwolves

2018 Kings versus Timberwolves

Larkin, Cindy, Sharon and I went to the Sacramento Kings versus Minnesota Timberwolves NBA game. We met at Il Fornaio for dinner before the game. I had a risotto dish with beef off the regional menu.

When we got your seats, the Timberwolves were leading by the score of 9 to 1. The Kings went on to miss 11 of their first 14 shots. Playing fast, the Kings turned it around and lead most of the second half by double digits. They almost blew it at the end, but held on to win by the score of 121 to 110.

Willie Cauley-Stein was the leading scorer for the Kings. In 29 minutes, he had 25 points on 11 for 16 from the field, 1 for 1 from three and 2 for 4 from the free throw line. Cauley-Stein had 5 rebounds.

All five of the Kings starters (Fox, Bjelica, Shumpert and Hield) scored 14 points or more. I was confused about the rotation, but Kings coach Dave Joerger may have been trying to get things going after the slow shooting start.

Karl Anthony Towns was the leading scorer for the Timberwolves. He had 39 points on 15 for 27 from the field, 2 for 5 from three and 7 for 7 from the free throw line. Towns had 19 rebounds, including 9 offensive rebounds!?!

I was shocked at how big Jimmy Bulter looks. He is listed at 6' 8" and 232 pounds. I am not sure that I have ever seen him play in person before... [He was traded to the 76ers the next day.]

The four of us were in row B, seats 11, 12, 13 and 14 in section 108. We connected with Snipes and Hunter at halftime.

The Kings now have two wins and no losses in games that I have seen in person during the 2018-2019 season. My goal continues to be to see at last one game a month.

2018 Kings versus TImberwolves

Thursday, November 08, 2018

Neighborhood Book Club

Sharon is part of a neighbor book club that meets about every two months. Thursday night, they met at our house to discuss Origin by Dan Brown. Sharon selected the book.

Using Jack's projector, a screen that Debi brought and a web site called Dan Brown Origin Visual Companion, they discussed the book by walking through the places, works of art and symbols that Dan Brown describes in the novel. Other than Sharon, no one else in the group had been to Barcelona.

Sunday, November 04, 2018

A Star is Born

Late Sunday afternoon, Sharon and I went to see A Star is Born at the Century Arden 14. We are kicking off our annual pilgrimage to see all of the Oscar nominated films. All of the early lists of potential Best Picture nominees that I have seen so far have included this film.

Directed by Bradley Cooper in his directorial debut, it is remake of the 1937 film of the same name. It stars Cooper, Lady Gaga, Andrew Dice Clay, Dave Chappelle, and Sam Elliott. The story follows a hard-drinking musician (Cooper) who discovers and falls in love with a young singer (Gaga).

It marks the fourth remake of the original 1937 film including a 1954 musical, the 1976 rock musical and a 2013 Bollywood romance film. I have never seen he 1976 version with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.

Sharon loved the movie and gave it a "10." She is a big Bradley Cooper fan. I also enjoyed the film, although not as much as Sharon... I was surprised by the quality of the music and realism of the concert scenes. The performances by Cooper and Lady Gaga are very good. I will be shocked if the movie is not nominated for Best Picture.

Saturday, November 03, 2018

CarMax

One of the sales people that we worked with at Niello last weekend mentioned that he sold his truck to CarMax. On Monday, Sharon drove the Lexus RX400h and took it to CarMax at lunch. I met her there. They gave us a quote to buy the car. At that point, we realized that there was still a lien on the car with the DMV. After scrambling over the course of the week to get some updated paperwork from the lender, Sharon found the pink slip that they sent us in 2013.

I took the car back to CarMax early Saturday morning. In a very quick transaction, CarMax gave us a check for three times what the dealer had offered to give us in trade.

I had some mixed emotions. I drove that car for 10 1/2 years and 230,000 miles. As I have said before, it has been the most reliable vehicle I ever owned...

Friday, November 02, 2018

Celebrating Janie's Birthday

Sharon took Janie to dinner for her birthday. They met at Allora.

They split a salad and raviolo [LOBSTER, PANCETTA, WILD MUSHROOM, PUMPKIN, BLOOMSDALE SPINACH]. For entrees, Sharon had black cod [OXTAIL-ONION MARMALADE, POTATO GNOCCHI, PARSNIP, CIPOLLINI, OXTAIL BRODO], while Janie had Niman Ranch pork cheeks [RYE SPATULA, PERSIMMON CHUTNEY, LACINATO KALE].

Thursday, November 01, 2018

Throwback Thursday - Virginia Beach - March 1988

Sunday after the Georgetown Family Weekend, Sharon and I had dinner with Barb and Rob Nooter and spent the night. Barb pulled out one of their wedding albums. Hunter, Tomasin and I were groomsmen in their wedding more than thirty years ago.