the world is a parking lot

Sharon and I spent the lion's share of day driving to San Francisco and back to pick up Jack for the Father's Day weekend. Leaving at 12:40 pm, it took two hours and twenty minutes to get into the city.

Meeting Jack at his aparment, we slogged our way home through the traffic. With one stop in Vacaville, it took three and a half hours to cover 99 miles and get home. We were back in Carmichael after 6:30 pm.

While we were driving, I texted Drew that we need a Guest and the Host song titled "The World is a Parking Lot."

Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire

In May, I finished reading Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire by Caroline Finkel. During our trips to the Turkey, Eygpt and the Balkans, I was fascinated by the breath of the Ottoman Empire. I went looking for a book about the history of the empire.

The Book is a comprehensive account of one of the world's longest-lasting empires. The book traces the Ottoman Empire's trajectory from its nomadic origins in the late 13th century (1299) to its dissolution in the early 20th century (1922). The "dream" in the title refers to a foundational myth of Osman I, the empire's founder, who reportedly had a vision of a tree growing from his navel, symbolizing the vast and enduring empire his descendants would establish.

The book is structured chronologically, moving through key periods and events. Finkel explores the empire's rapid expansion under powerful sultans like Mehmed the Conqueror and Suleiman the Magnificent, detailing their military strategies and political innovations. She also delves into the complexities of Ottoman society, examining the roles of the diverse populations within its borders, including Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Finkel discusses the challenges posed by internal rebellions, external pressures from European powers, and the gradual erosion of central authority. The book culminates with the empire's final struggles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, leading to its collapse after World War I and the rise of modern Turkey.

Just a few key points from the book include:

• The Ottoman Empire conquered Egypt in 1517. Egypt, along with the Levant and the Hejaz (which included the holy cities of Mecca and Medina), were incorporated into the Ottoman Empire as provinces. This significantly shifted the Ottoman Empire's focus and solidified its position as the leading power in the Islamic world.
• The Ottoman Empire was never able to conquer all of Iran and incorporate it into their empire, despite numerous attempts and prolonged wars. The rivalry between the Ottoman Empire (predominantly Sunni Muslim) and the Safavid Empire of Persia (predominantly Shia Muslim) was one of the most enduring geopolitical struggles in Islamic history, spanning centuries.
• In 1529 and 1683, the Ottoman army reached Vienna, but both times the seige failed.
• In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire clashed repeatedly for control of Crimea, a strategically vital peninsula on the Black Sea. This rivalry was a key part of the larger Russo-Turkish Wars.
• The Janissaries were the most famous and impactful of the Ottoman army's factions. Originally an elite infantry corps formed from Christian boys levied through the devshirme system, they were initially fiercely loyal and highly effective. However, over time, their power grew immense, and their discipline and loyalty began to wane. The Janissaries were responsible for overthrowing and murdering several sultans.
• In my ignorance, I didn't realize Jerusalem's significance as a holy city in Islam. At the site of the Temple Mount (where the Dome of the Rock now stands), Muhammad is said to have led a prayer with all the previous prophets, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. From Jerusalem, Muhammad ascended through the seven levels of heaven.

The book is a load. It is a dizzying pile of names and places. While I am glad that I fought my way through it, I don't recommend it.

A footnote, I am very disappointed in myself over the last several months. Dating back to 1991, I have kept a list of the books that I have read. My goal has always been one book a month. I have done a great job accomplishing that goal. I lost momentum this year. My routine for years has been finding someplace quiet to hide and read at lunch. When I retired, I continued that routine; I would eat lunch in the kitchen and read. The kitchen remodel destoryed that rhythm.

Dinner with Holly and Van

Tuesday night, we had Holly and Van over for dinner. Sharon made a great dinner of Peruvian Chicken, Rice and Italian flat beans.

We spent the evening catching up and talking about our trips. Holly and Van spent four weeks in April and May on two Overseas Adventure Travel trips, including Northern Spain & Portugal: Pilgrimage into the Past and The Azores & Madeira: Portugal's Unspoiled Archipelagos.

249 Jem Road, Oroville, CA

My sister Sharon pointed out that our childhood home is for sale. In 1961, we lived in a mobile home on the property while the house was being built. I can remember playing in the house while it was being built. The house was finished in 1962.

The inside of the house has been updated a lot in the last forty years. There are some major outside changes around the property. The was a giant oak tree in the left front of the house. The driveway in front of the house was added. There was a major irrigation ditch on the east side of the property which has been filled in.

When I was growing up, the house sat in the middle of 2,300 acres of prunes, peaches and pears. The farm was bordered on the east by Highway 70, on the west by the Feather River and on the south by Honcut Creek. There was a dairy to the north.

I have a section in my book about 1991 that talks about what it was like to be raised there.

looking east towards Highway 70 looking west towards the Feather River

Hacks - Season Four

Friday night, Sharon and I finished watching season four of Hacks. In February, we finished binge watching the first three seasons.

The series was created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky. The three creators host an interesting segment after each episode discussing the episode. Hacks stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder (daughter of original Saturday Night Live cast member Laraine Newman).

In May 2024, the series was renewed for a fourth season. It premiered on April 10, 2025. In May 2025, the series was renewed for a fifth season.

Season four follows Deborah Vance (Smart) and Ava Daniels (Einbinder) as they navigate the challenges of getting Deborah's late-night talk show off the ground, leaving her stand-up career behind. The season further explores their complex, often tumultuous, mentor-mentee relationship amidst the high-pressure world of television.

Both Sharon and I really enjoyed the show. I recommend it. We were particularly intrigued by Singapore. Much of the last episode of season four is filmed at a number of interesting locations in Singapore, including the Fullerton Hotel, Gardens by the Bay, Resorts World Sentosa, the Clifford Pier and Victoria Theatre.

Your Friends & Neighbors

Thursday night when we got home from the Wyoming Road trip, we watched the last episode of season one of Your Friends & Neighbors. The series premiered on April 11, 2025, with its first two episodes. It has been renewed for a second season.

Your Friends & Neighbors is an American dark comedy crime drama television series from Jonathan Tropper for Apple TV+. It stars Jon Hamm, Amanda Peet, Olivia Munn, Mark Tallman, Hoon Lee, Lena Hall, and Aimee Carrero.

Jon Hamm stars as Andrew "Coop" Cooper, a wealthy hedge fund manager who loses his high-powered job and faces a messy divorce. To maintain his extravagant lifestyle and avoid public shame, Coop begins secretly robbing the homes of his affluent neighbors in Westmont Village. As he delves deeper into this criminal enterprise, he uncovers a web of dark secrets and illicit affairs hidden behind the polished facades of his community. What starts as a desperate measure to stay afloat quickly escalates, entangling him in increasingly dangerous and complex situations.

Although the plot is a little unusual, I really enjoyed Jon Hamm's performance. In recent years, I have enjoyed watching Hamm in Landman and The Morning Show. I enjoyed Your Friends & Neighbors and recommend it.

Kitchen Remodel - Day #128

When we left for Wyoming last Wednesday, the painters started painting. In the wake of the kitchen and laundry room remodel, we had the kitchen, garden room, entry way, downstairs hall, laundry room and upstairs hall repainted.

They finished painting today and cleaned up. For once during this project, the timing was great. We were gone for almost all of the work!

We are starting to get everything put away. We are finally getting rid of the last of the boxes that have been stacked around the house over the last four plus months. There are also a number of things that have be rehung on the walls.

When everything is put back together, I am going to do a final set of side by side before and after pictures.

2025 Wyoming Roadtrip - Day #9 - Home!

Although the Hampton Inn was probably nicer than the Marriot Townplace Suites in Elko where we stayed on the way out, Sharon and I both had a restless night's sleep. We finally got up before 5 am. I did a five minute Peloton Core workout.

Packing up the room, loading the car and checking out, we were on the road at 6:12 am. I drove 45 minutes to Elko. We stopped and got a light breakfast at Starbucks on the west side of town.

Sharon drove from there to the Valmy Rest Stop (an hour and 15 minutes).

I drove from the rest area to Lovelock (an hour and 35 minutes).

Sharon drove from Lovelock to the Mustang exit east of Sparks (an hour and 20 minutes). We filled up the car at a Chevron station.

I drove from there to old town Truckee (35 minutes). We had lunch at Moody's Bistro. I had an Ahi salad.

I drove from Truckee to the Pedrick Road exit (an hour and 15 minutes).

Sharon drove home from there. We were home just after 3 pm.

Both travel days coming home seemed faster than the travel days going to Jackson.

It was a great trip. We have talked about doing some roadtrips in the South and along the East Coast in the future.

2025 Wyoming Roadtrip - Day #8 - to Wells, Nevada

Up early, I did a 30 minute low impact ride on the Peloton bike in the Snow King's fitness room. I had a little bit of a struggle getting logged into the bike and connecting my bluetooth headphones. After the bike ride, I did a 10 minute upper body workout.

Packing up the room, loading the car and checking out, Sharon and I met Cindy and Larkin at Nora's Fish Creek Inn in Wilson for a late breakfast. We both had huevos rancheros.

From there, we started for Wells. I drove the first leg from Wilson through Apline to Swan Valley (1 1/2 hours). Sharon drove from Swan Valley to a rest area on I15 called the Hell's Half Acre (1 hour and 10 minutes). Taking a break, we walked the interpretive trail off the rest area.


With a stop for gas in American Falls, I drove from the rest area to Twin Falls (2 hours). We switched again; Sharon drove to Jackpot. Trying to figure out where to have dinner along the way, we settled on the Desert Room in the Cactus Petes Casino in Jackpot. With the time change at the Idaho/Nevada border, we got to Jackpot about 5:30 pm. Sharon had fish and chips, while I had a club sandwich.

The clientele and servers in the restaurant kicked off an extended social political discussion that continued over the next day.

I drove the last hour into Wells, Nevada. We got there about 7:30 pm. We are spending one night at the Hampton Inn. I think that it is the first time that I ever checked into a major chain hotel that had paper signs everywhere saying that they were sold out for the night and there was no vacancy.

Watching the Big Bany Theory, Sharon and I crashed about 9 pm (10 pm Wyoming time).

2025 Wyoming Roadtrip - Day #7 - Exploring Jackson

Up early, I went down to the fitness center and did a ten minute Peloton core workout.

After a number of aggressive days, the plan for day was a more relaxed exploration of Jackson. Sharon and I walked downtown. We had breakfast at Cafe Genevieve (two egg breakfast and avocado toast).

Afterwards, Sharon and I wandered the downtown. Sharon shopped. I particularly enjoyed walking through the Thomas Mangelsen’s gallery. I eventually went back to the hotel and ran for 35 minutes on the treadmill.

We spent the afternoon with Cindy and Larkin at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. We had a light lunch at the Palates Restaurant in the museum (Game Stew and Beet Salad). Sharon and I were both surprised by the museum. It has a nice collection.

The Museum's outdoor Sculpture Trail is substantial. The museum is currently hosting a significant exhibition called "The Great Elephant Migration." It's an outdoor art installation featuring 30 life-size elephant sculptures on the Museum's Sculpture Trail.


The four of us finished the day with a leisurely dinner at the Gun Barrel Steak & Game House. The food was surprisingly good. Sharon and I split a CAESAR [Whole romaine hearts, parmesan cheese, crumbled croutons, housemade Caesar dressing]. All of us had ELK LOIN [mesquite grilled, served sliced with a red wine & huckleberry reduction] as an entree.

By the time Sharon and I got back to the Snow King and crashed, it was almost 11 pm.

2025 Wyoming Roadtrip - Day #6 - Yellowstone National Park

After some debate on Saturday, we ended up booking a tour of Yellowstone National Park through Viator rather than trying to do a driving tour on our own like we did in Grand Teton National Pak. Yellowstone Day Tours picked us up at 6:30 am at the Snow King Resort. The tour guide's name was Dan. There were two other couples, including one with their twelve year old grandson.

I enjoyed the day. I particularly enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to do any of the driving!

Over the course of the day, we saw a great selection of animals, including black beers, grizzly bears, a moose, a red fox, a Great Horned Owl with her chicks and lots of bison. Somehow I didn't get any pictures of the bison...


We stopped at Lower Falls and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

We stopped at all five of the major hydrothermal features in Yellowstone, including:

Fumaroles;

Travertine Terraces;

Hot Springs;

Mudpots, and;

Geysers (Old Faithful).

It was a long day. We covered all of the upper and lower loops, including a side trip to the Butte Lake Overlook to see the grizzlies. It was 8:30 pm by the time we got back to the hotel. 14 hours door to door! Sharon noted that we have never done an excursion this long on any of our overseas trips...

Sharon and I ended the day with a late dinner at the Hayden Post with Bison Burgers.

2025 Wyoming Roadtrip - Day #5 - Jenny Lake Loop Trail

The Larkins picked us up at the Snow King Resort at 8:15 am. We headed to the grocery store at Dornans. We bought sandwiches for lunch at the Deli.

From there, we headed to the Jenny Lake Visitors Center. The plan for the day was to hike the Jenny Lake Loop Trail. We were on the trail before 9:30 am heading counter clockwise. It was very peaceful for the first hour and a half.

As we got closer to the String Lake trailhead, we started to see more and more people. There were a lot of people on the trail on the west side of lake. When we got to the boat dock on the southwest corner of the lake, the area was a litte overrun with people. People were taking the boat across the lake and then hiking to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point.

We stopped and had lunch about half a mile beyond the boat dock.

I was surprised at the number of people going the other way as we hiked the last two miles around to the Visitor Center. A lot of people seemed inappropriately dressed and didn't seem to be carrying much water.

When we got back to the Visitor Center, we grabbed a couple of beers at the grocery store near the visitor center. We relaxed on a bench outside the store.

In total, we hiked more than eight miles in about four hours and forty-five minutes. It was almost 4 pm by the time the Larkins dropped us off back at the Snow King.


When we got back to the room, it hadn't been cleaned. Sharon harrangued them and someone showed up shortly to clean the room and change the towels.

Sharon and I finished the night with dinner at the Blue Lion. It was a big disappointment. For a starter, we split GNUDI [Housemade ricotta pillows, Parmigiano Reggiano, sage, balsamic, hazelnuts, brown butter]. For entrees, Sharon had TROUT EN PAPILLOTE [Idaho Trout, Sweet Peppers, Fennel and Orange Salad, White Wine], while I had ELK BOLOGNESE [Cavatelli Pasta, San Marzano Tomatoes, Ground Elk, Olive Oil, Parmesan].

Sharon's trout was not good. I ended up giving her most of my bolognese and eating the trout. To top it off, the service was very bad.

We were told during our Yellowstohe tour the next day that the restaurant had recently changed hands and had gone downhill. I don't recommend it...

With an early start planned for Monday, we crashed before 10 pm.