Wednesday, March 31, 2021

At Winchester Country Club

I organized a golf outing at the Winchester Country Club. The group included Holly, Van, Kevin, Donna, Larkin, Sam, Sharon and I. I played this course once before with Larkin and Sam in September 2019.

Our tee times were 11:10 am and 11:20 am. The weather was gorgeous. It is a beautiful course.

I scored a very, very liberally scored 105. I actually parred the par 4 fifth and the par 5 eighteenth holes. I had some adventures in putting. I three putted nine of the greens!
I really enjoyed the day. We switched the foursomes around at the seventh and the fourteenth holes. I got a chance to play with everyone, while Sharon didn't play with Kevin and Donna.

We finished the day with an early dinner in the clubhouse. I had a salmon club, while Sharon had a burger.

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Gonzaga versus USC

Running on the treadmill, I watched all of the Gonzaga versus USC Elite Eight NCAA Basketball Tournament Game. Gonzaga was a one seed, while USC was a six seed. Gonzaga is actually the overall number one seed for the tournament.

Both of Sharon's nephews (Kevin and Eric) gradudated from Gonzaga. Sharon went to Kevin's graduation in 2010 and Eric's graduation in 2014. Sharon, Jack and I went to a Gonzaga Fall Family Weekend in 2008.

Running out to a quick lead, the Zags beat Trojans by the score of 85 to 66. The Trojans were never really in the game. USC was 4 for 15 from three.

The high scorer for Gonzaga was Drew Timme. He had 23 points on 10 for 19 from the field, 0 for 1 from three and 3 for 4 from the free throw line. I am not sure that I think that Timme's game will translate to the NBA.

Isaiah Mobley was USC's high scorer. He had 19 points on 7 for 11 from the field, 1 for 3 from three and 4 for 5 from the free throw line. Mobley added 14 rebounds. Although Timme and Mobley are almost exactly the same size, Mobley seems like he has more of an NBA body and game.

This is the second NCAA Tournament game that I have watched all of this year. I watched the first round Georgetown versus Colorado earlier in the month.

Monday, March 29, 2021

Bridgerton - Season One

After seeing Regé-Jean Page host Saturday night live in February, we watched Bridgerton on the AppleTV on Netflix. We banged out the eight episode series in less than two weeks in early March.

Bridgerton is a period drama series created by Chris Van Dusen and produced by Shonda Rhimes. It is based on Julia Quinn's novels set in the competitive world of Regency era London's ton during the season when debutantes are presented at court. Unlike the series of novels, Bridgerton is set in an alternate history with a racially integrated London where people of color are members of the ton, including some with titles granted by the sovereign.

Bridgerton premiered on Netflix on December 25, 2020. With a viewership of 82 million households, it has become the most-watched series on Netflix. In January 2021, the series was renewed for a second season.

Although it is a little soap operaish at times, I enjoyed it and recommend it. Sharon liked it more than I did.

Sunday, March 28, 2021

Dinner with Lee, Morgan and Daniel

Sharon and I had dinner at Morgan's apartment with Morgan, Lee and Daniel. Daniel made a great raman dinner!

Saturday, March 27, 2021

The Father

Continuing our quest to watch all of the Oscar nominated films, Sharon and I watched The Father on Saturday night on the AppleTV. The film earned six nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), and Best Supporting Actress (Olivia Colman). At the 78th Golden Globe Awards, the film received four nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Drama, and at the 74th British Academy Film Awards received six nominations, including Best Film.

The film was co-written and directed by Florian Zeller. It is based on Zeller's 2012 play Le Père. A French-British co-production, the film stars Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss, Imogen Poots, Rufus Sewell and Olivia Williams.

The plot follows an aging man who must deal with his progressing memory loss. It is a devastating portrayal of dementia.

Although I don't think that it will win best picture, this may be my favorite movie of this year's Oscar nominated films that we have seen so far. It is extremely well done. I recommend it.

Watching other people struggle with aging parents, I have repeatedly told myself that I would let the kids do what they thought was best for me. This is probably easier said than done. Nevertheless, it is something that I am going to try and carry as a core value.

Friday, March 26, 2021

Dinner with Renterias

At the end of the day, Sharon and I headed out to Elk Grove for dinner with the Renterias. We had a nice evening catching up in their backyard.

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Stephen Tomasin

Tomasin's nephew

All-Time American List: Stephen Tomasin
Plucked out of almost obscurity into the US national 7s team, Stephen Tomasin may have been a little lucky, but he turned that sliver of good fortune into an impressive career with the Eagles.

Tomasin might not have been elevated quite so quickly if his coach at San Diego State, Matt Hawkins, hadn't also been the coach with the USA team. Tomasin wasn't big or super fast, but what Hawkins saw in him quickly became apparent. He is an excellent athlete, a smart player who continued to learn, and he was, and is, very versatile.

Tomasin is a 7s halfback who can play center, a 7s flyhalf who can play hooker, a short guy who can win lineouts. He taught himself to kick, and is now 6th all-time among USA players on the Sevens World Series (83 conversions to go with his 90 tries). He became faster and showed he can be a breakaway try-scorer. And his work over the ball and his overall defense have always been stellar.

In the truncated 2019-2020 season Tomasin led the USA in tackles with 47, just as he did in 2018-19 with 101. He also led the team in 2016-17, and that number, 156, was good enough for 2nd in the entire World Series.

Add to that the fact that Tomasin has become a leader on the team and often is given captain responsibilities when Madison Hughes isn't available, you've got a player who took every opportunity given to him and improved on it with hard work and intense study.

In 2019 Tomasin was nominated for the World Rugby 7s Player of the Year, and while he didn't win it was a justified nod to a player who often does the unglamorous work, but helps his team win.

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

The Space Between Worlds

My book for February was The Space Between Worlds by by Micaiah Johnson. I stumbled across this book on the NPR list of the best science fiction for 2020.

The plot of the book revolves around the scienific theory that there are multiple parallel universes. In the book, one universe has the technology to travel between the worlds in the multiverse. The main character is a traverser that travels between the parallel universes.

Over the years, I have had several different types of conversations about parallel universes. She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and I talked about how people's lifes could take a different arc in different universes. This is part of the book's plot: the same people living different lives in different worlds.

More recently, Snipes and I have talked about parallel universes. In these conversations, we were discussing the multiverse as a source for a mystical power.

I am always looking for science fiction books that play with interesting ideas. This book meets that test. I enjoyed the book and recommend it.

Sunday, March 21, 2021

Ancil Hoffman with the Coffins

Ancil Hoffman with the Coffins

Teeing off late on Sunday afternoon, Sharon and I played nine holes at Ancil Hoffmans with the Coffins. We played with them once before in the neighborhood golf tournament last year. I really appreciate the fact that Sharon plays golf; it is nice to be able to play with other couples.

I had an interesting round. I hit the ball off the tee extremely well. Additionally, I hit a number of solid short irons and didn't chip or putt too badly. The problem was my second shot in the fairway. When Sharon and I played with the Wongs in February, I struggled off the tee, but was saving myself with some booming fairway wood and hybrid iron shots. These shots were not working on Sunday.

It was a slow round. The backup started at the fourth tee. My app said that it took us two hours and fifty-eight minutes to play nine holes.

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Georgetown versus Colorado

In what seems like a lifetime ago, Jack, Sophia, Sharon and I saw Georgetown play De Paul during Senior Parent Weekend last February. With Georgetown winning the Big East Tournament, making the NCAA Basketball Touranment for the first time since 2015 and snapping the program's longest tournament drought in the modern era, I decided to watch their first round NCAA Tournament Basketball game against Colorado. Georgetown was a twelve seed, while Colorado was seeded fifth in the East Region.

Missing free throws and three pointers (1 for 11), Georgetown fell behind 47 to 23 at halftime. Colorado won the game by the score of 96 to 73.

As a team, Colorado was 16 for 25 (64%) from three! Their leading scorer was Jabari Walker. He had 24 points on 9 for 10 from the field, 1 for 1 from the free throw line and 5 for 5 from three. D'Shawn Schwartz contributed 18 points. He was 6 for 8 from the field, 1 for 2 from the free throw line and 5 for 7 from three.

Qudus Wahab was Georgetown's leading scorer. He had 20 points on 7 for 12 from the field and 6 for 9 from the free throw line. Wahab also had 12 rebounds.

Friday, March 19, 2021

The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Continuing our quest to watch all of the Oscar nominated films, Sharon and I watched The United States vs. Billie Holiday on Friday night on the AppleTV on Hulu. Andra Day's performance in the film is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

This is a biographical film about the singer Billie Holiday. It is based on the book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari. In addition to Andra Day as Billie Holiday, the movie features Trevante Rhodes [Moonlight], Natasha Lyonne and Garrett Hedlund.

Day won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama. The film was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song ("Tigress and Tweed").

Sharon liked the movie more than many of the other ones that we have seen this Oscar season (Nomadland, Mank, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom). I recommend the movie. I was fascinated by Billie Holiday's life story; I knew nothing about her. The movie does seem more than a little long and slow in spots.

Thursday, March 18, 2021

600 Straight Days

I use five different applications as part of my ongoing fitness routines. These include Apple Activity, Peloton, RunKeeper, Pedometer++ and Withings.

I use Pedometer++ as an app to track my steps primarily because it provides a nice complication on my Apple Watch. In the app on the iPhone, it also shows how many days in a row you have reached your goal. I have walked more than 10,000 steps a day every day for the last 600 days!

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Promising Young Woman

On Friday night, Sharon and I watched Promising Young Woman. At the time, we were making some guesses about what movies might be nominated for Oscars. When the Oscar nominations were announced on Monday, this film was nominated for Best Picture, Actress in a leading Role and Original Screenplay.

The film was named one of the ten best films of 2020 by the National Board of Review. It received four nominations at the 78th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Actress. Carey Mulligan won the Golden Globe for best actress in a drama.

I am not going to say much more about the plot other than Carey Mulligan stars as a woman who seeks to avenge the rape of her best friend. Researching potential Oscar films over the last two months, I ended up learning way too much about the plot.

Given how much I knew about the plot, I avoided the film over the last couple of months. Somewhat surprisely to me, it ended up exceeding my expectations. Although Sharon didn't like the plot twist near the end, we both give the film a thumbs up. I don't think that it will win the Best Picture or Best Actress Oscars.

Monday, March 15, 2021

2021 Oscar Nominations

My predictions are in red.

Best Picture
   ✔ The Father
   ✔ Judas and the Black Messiah
   ✔ Mank
   ✔ Minari
   ✔ Nomadland
   ✔ Promising Young Woman
   ✔ Sound of Metal
   ✔ The Trial of the Chicago 7


Actor in a Leading Role
   ✔ Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
   ✔ Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
   ✔ Anthony Hopkins, The Father
   ✔ Gary Oldman, Mank
   ✔ Steven Yeun, Minari


Actress in a Leading Role
   ✔ Viola Davis, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
   ✔ Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holidayf
   Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
   ✔ Frances McDormand, Nomadland
   ✔ Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman


Actor in a Supporting Role
   ✔ Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
   ✔ Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
   ✔ Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami…
   ✔ Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
   ✔ LaKeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah


Actress in a Supporting Role
   Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
   Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
   ✔ Olivia Colman, The Father
   ✔ Amanda Seyfried, Mank
   ✔ Yuh-jung Youn, Minari


Adapted Screenplay
   Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
   ✔ The Father
   ✔ Nomadland
   ✔ One Night in Miami…
   The White Tiger


Original Screenplay
   ✔ Judas and the Black Messiah
   ✔ Minari
   ✔ Promising Young Woman
   ✔ Sound of Metal
   ✔ The Trial of the Chicago 7


Best Documentary Feature
   ✔ My Octopus Teacher - winner
    Collective
    Crip Camp
    The Mole Agent
    Time

More Oscar Nominations

Friday, March 12, 2021

Work from Home - Day 364

One year ago tomorrow, ... [Day 364]

From: Heringer,Mark
Sent
: Friday, March 12, 2021 8:01 AM
Subject: One year ago tomorrow, ... [Day 364]
To: Adventist Health Information Technology Technical Services Enterprise Teams

One year ago tomorrow, we vacated the Roseville Adventist Health building and sent everyone to work at home.

It has been an unusual and stressful year.

As we cross this milestone, I wanted to take a breath and reflect.

In the face of a wide range of challenges, we have accomplished a great deal. Each of you is an important part of that success.

While I have rounded virtually with most of my teams in the last several months, I don’t know when I will get a chance to thank you in person.

Thank you for everything that you have done to make Adventist Health Information Technology successful.

Mark Heringer | Technology Executive | Information Technology

Thursday, March 11, 2021

365 Day Streak

I use five different applications as part of my ongoing fitness routines. These include Apple Activity, Peloton, RunKeeper, Pedometer++ and Withings.

Due to the pandemic, with my Move Goal set at 910 calories in the Apple Activity app on my AppleWatch, I have reached the goal 365 days in a row. That's my longest streak ever. I smashed my record of 155 days that I set just before I went to the Army/Navy game in December of 19. It will be interesting to see how long I can continue the streak. Once it ends, I don't think that I will ever be able to come close to this kind of streak in the future.

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Dave Hare

Cleaning out a file cabinet in the storage shed, I came across a number of pictures and other documents piled with some old legal papers. This included the program from Dave Hare's memorial service more than twenty-nine years ago. A scanned copy is here.

Dave passed away from a brain tumor in 1992.

His memorial service marks a significant turning point in my life. God willing, I hope to write a book or two some day. My thinking about writing has changed over the yeears from one book with alternating chapters to two books. Dave's memorial service is roughly the end of the first book.

A picture of Dave from the My Life Photo series is here.

In 1984, Nooter and I met Dave Hare and Dave's wife Jan at the Concord Pavilion for a Jimmy Buffett concert. As part of stuff that I found, I have a letter that Jan wrote me after the memorial service. I am going to scan and post the note in the next week or so.

Tuesday, March 09, 2021

Majka Pizzeria

Last Thursday night, Sharon and I had curbside takeout from Majka Pizzeria. The pizza included house made sauce with @biancodinapolitomatoes, mozzarella, parmigiano, mizuna @ladyhawkefarm in a meyer lemon citronette. We had a very nice bottle of Arnot-Roberts Gamay Noir 2019.

Monday, March 08, 2021

CBS Presents Oprah with Meghan and Harry

Sunday night, Sharon and I watched "CBS Presents Oprah with Meghan and Harry." Watching the interview, I had three observations. First, I was fascinated at how deliberately Harry answered questions. He would take a second to answer and provide short crisp responses. Harry has spent his life under a microscope...

Second, Harry noting that his father stopped taking his calls made me think of season four of The Crown. The season paints Charles as a spoiled, petulant adult. While The Crown is a fictional drama, Harry's statement re-enforced my impression of Charles as an unsympathetic character.

Finally, both Harry and Meghan were extremely careful about what they said about Queen Elizabeth. They had nothing but positive comments and praise for her and Prince Philip. As a footnote, I really enjoyed the book that I read about Philip's life before he married Elizabeth.

Sunday, March 07, 2021

Catan with Jack and Drew

Jack, Drew and I played Catan on Sunday afternoon. Drew won the first two games, while Jack won the third game.

Saturday, March 06, 2021

Minari

On Saturday night, Sharon and I watched Minari. We are making some guesses about what movies might be nominated for Oscars. This film is on a number of lists as a candidate for best picture.

Minari was named one of the ten best films of 2020 by the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

The movie is written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung. The story is a semi-autobiographical take on Chung's upbringing. The plot follows a family of South Korean immigrants who try to make it in rural America during the 1980s.

When the movie ended, Sharon said that she liked the movie better than any of the other possible best picture candidates that I have "forced her to watch" [Nomadland, Mank, The Trial of the Chicago 7, One Night in Miami, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, News of the World]. Her second favorite is One Night in Miami.

I enjoyed Minari and recommend it. It is interesting that this is the third straight year that we have watched a possible best picture candidate with subtitles. Parasite won best picture last year, while Roma was nominated in 2019.

Friday, March 05, 2021

Dinner with the Gainsleys

We met the Gainsleys for dinner outside at Piatti. I was shocked at the number of tables and space heaters that they had set up outside.

Sharon and I split an antipasta Fritto misto [jumbo prawns, olives, lemon, cauliflower, calabrian chili aïoli]. We both had Cast iron king salmon [cauliflower, nantes carrots, sunchokes, charred lemon and green olive salmoriglio] for an entree. I brought a bottle of Donum 2018 Three Hills Pinot Noir that we got last Sunday.

Monday, March 01, 2021

1,339 miles

In 2020, my training routine changed radically in March when we started working from home. I end up running, hiking and walking 1,339 miles; this is 25.7 miles a week. The difference was I almost doubled my miles on the Peloton bike. I covered 1,606 miles on the bike. The most miles I ever did on the old bike was 1,092 in 2013. Additionally, I did sixty-one Peleton weight classes; I am finally getting into a rhythm that includes a regular strength workout. My goal for 2021 is to double down on the strength classes and add a few more yoga classes. I only did six yoga classes in 2020. One side note, we played golf twelve times last year. This probably more golf than I have played in any year since the early 1980s when Nooter and Wallen were still living in Sacramento.

In 2019, I ran, hiked and walked 1,285 miles. This is fewest miles that I have logged in more than fifteen years. It is a little deceiving; I added 871 miles on the Peloton Bike. This is the most miles I have done on a bike since 2014. I have been trying to focus on a broader range of activities. To this end, I topped the move goal (900 calories) on my apple watch for 155 straight days in the last half to the year. I also did 761 push-ups and weights as part of the Peloton bike work-out 30 times. I am still struggling to incorporate a strength work-out into my regular routine... My goal for 2020 is to run and cycle more miles and do more push-ups and weight work-outs than 2019!

In 2018, I ran 1,605 miles and cycled 91 miles. My goal for the year was to average 30 miles a week. I ended up averaging 30.8 miles per week. It was the most miles that I have run in a year since 2011. In addition to the mileage goal, I focused on my weekly steps total. My goal was 140,000 steps a week. Essentially, I was running 30 plus miles a week and walking 30 plus miles a week. Finally, I finished the year with a string of more than 70 days meeting the move goal on my Apple watch (900 active calories). Combined all of this kept my weight in a nice range for last half of the year. I am switching my goals for 2019. With the purchase of the Peloton bike as a present for our anniversary, I am going to try to do more 1,000 miles on the bike in 2019. I have also started to do push-ups again; my goal is 3,000 push-ups in 2019.

In 2017, I ran 1,510 miles and cycled 131 miles. My physical challenge for the year was running 200 miles in July! My 2017 Run To Feed The Hungry time was the best since 2014. Unlike 2016, I finished the year feeling strong.

In 2016, I ran 1,340 miles and cycled 474 miles. This is the fewest miles that I have run in a year in at least the last eleven years. I struggled the last couple months of 2016. Between the new job, a couple of minor medical procedures, getting sick, settling Jack in Georgetown and a change in my routine from the last two and a half years, I lost a couple notches in my level of fitness. This was highlighted by embarrassing times during the Run to Feed the Hungry. Like the American River 50 in 2007, I looking for a physical challenge in 2017. I am toying with the idea of a 100 to 120 mile hike along a section of the Pacific Coast Trail in Northern California [Boreal Ridge on Highway 80 to Chester on Highway 36].

In 2015, I ran 1,604 miles and cycled 401 miles. My goal was to work out with weighs 52 times this year; I have failed over the last three years at my strength training goal.

In 2014, I ran 1,583 miles and cycled 886 miles. I averaged 30.4 miles running and 17.0 miles cycling every week! My goal was to restart a sit-up, push-up and light routine that I have done in the past. I failed in this goal.

In 2013, I ran 1,521 miles and cycled 1,092 miles. My goal for 2013 was to best both the running and the cycling totals. I accomplished the running goal. Additionally, I was going to try and lift at least 48 times (4 times a month) at Arden Hills. I failed in this goal.

In 2012, my goal was to start cross-training. I ran and hiked 1,441 miles. This included two full weeks off during the trip to Italy in the summer. Additionally, I cycled 1,133 miles. Most of this cycling was done on a stationary bike. I covered 1,016 miles virtually biking across America.

In 2011, I ran 1,763 miles. This seems impossible in a year that I took almost nine weeks of vacation!

In 2010, I ran 1,700 miles. This included two full weeks off during the trip to Spain in the summer.

In 2009, I ran 1,832 miles.

In 2008, I ran more than 1,925 miles!

In 2007, I ran 1,721 miles. This included successfully completing the American River 50.

In 2006, I ran slightly less than 1,680 miles.

In 2005, I ran slightly less than 1,630 miles.

On our trip to Florida in Summer of 2004, I started to play with the idea of running the American River 50 in April of 2007. I committed myself and started to train.