End of Ordinary Time

Over the last twenty-nine years, Sharon and I have lived into a rhythm of decorating the house. Beginning Labor Day, Sharon starts to decorate the house with fall decorations. Orginally, this was driven by the fall dinner party, but it has taken on a life of its own.

At Thanksgiving, we switch the house to Christmas decorations. We have an enormous amount of Christmas decorations.

In recent years, Sharon has started to accumulate more Valentines Day decorations that she puts up after we take down the Christmas decorations. After Valentines Day, the house transitions to Easter.

After we take the Easter decorations down, we have started calling it "Ordinary Time." This lasts about four months from Easter to Labor Day. In truth, Sharon has start to accumulate more and more summer decorations.

Faced with an unusually hectic September and October, I started pulling the fall boxes out of the storage shed this morning. The fall dinner party is currently scheduled for October 25.

Neighborhood Afternoon Movie

Friday afternoon, Sharon went to Michelle's house for an afternoon movie. The group included Michele, Debbie and Sharon. They watched The Last Stop in Yuma County. Sharon enjoyed the movie and said that she would rewatch it!

And Just Like That... - Season Three

Sharon and I finished watching season three of And Just Like That... We finished watching season one in November of 2024. and season two in December of 2024.

And Just Like That... is an American comedy drama television series developed by Michael Patrick King for Max. It is a revival and a sequel of the HBO television series Sex and the City created by Darren Star, which is based on Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name.

Although the first season was billed as a one-off miniseries, the third season premiered on on May 29, 2025. The final episode of the series aired on August 14, 2025. It was announced on August 1, 2025, that the third season of "And Just Like That..." would be the show's last. The news was shared by showrunner Michael Patrick King, who said that while writing the final episode, it became clear to him that it would be a "wonderful place to stop."

In its final season, the series explores new paths for its core characters. Carrie navigates her complex relationship with Aidan while writing a historical romance novel, Miranda moves on from her romance with Che and explores her identity with new connections, and Charlotte deals with a personal family crisis. Meanwhile, Seema and Lisa get more developed storylines of their own, as they face professional and personal challenges. The season brings an end to the series while tying up loose ends and providing a sense of closure for the characters.

I found season three very uneven. I said that I found the ending of season two odd and unsatisfying. I feel the same about the ending of season three. I didn't find the final episode of season three to be a "wonderful place to stop."

2025 River Cats versus Chihuahuas

I met Snipes, Tomasin, Mikey and Mikey’s friend Mike at the Yard House in DOCO for an early dinner [Poke Salad]. Afterwards, we walked to Sutter Health Park to see the Sacramento River Cats verus El Paso Chihuahuas AAA Baseball Game.

With the score tied 4 to 4 in the bottom of the seventh, Bryce Eldridge hit a two-run homer to right. The River Cats went on to win the game by the score of 6 to 5. Sean Hjelle (4-1) pitched the last 2 2/3s innings and got the win.

I was shocked at how few people there were at the game. As we walked over the Tower Bridge and up to the east entrance of the park, there was no one. The box score said that the attendance was 2,341. There couldn't have been more than 500 people in the park!

Golftec

I had a Golftec lesson on Thursday morning. After a rough outing on Wednesday, I was very discouraged to spend some time looking at my swing. The videos of my swing still look horrible. I haven't made much progress in the last two years. I am almost done with the package of lessons that I bought from Golftec. Over the next couple of months, I am going to try some different approaches to improving my game...

At Ancil Hoffman

Donna, Kevin, Sharon and I played golf at Ancil Hoffman. We had an 11:48 am tee time.

Sharon played very well. She had three birdies, including the par three ninth, the par three fourteenth up to the elevated green and the fifteenth! She also had a par on another hole. She shot a 97.

I didn't play so well. After a lesson and four days at the driving range in the last week, I felt like I was making some progress on my swing. I started how horribly on the first hole and could never really get settled down. On the par three 5th, the par four 6th and par five 7th, I had solid shots to put myself next to the green, but then made an absolute mess around the green.

I have been trying to put the Game Is Not A Game of Perfect principles into play, but I failed. I got very frustrated on the back nine... I am not posting my scorecard.

After a dip in the pool, the four of us finished the day with dinner at Matteos. Sharon and I shared a special peach pizza and a lamb burger.

Glided Age - Season Three

Sharon and I finished watching season three of the Glided Age on HBO. We finished watching season one in April of 2022 and season two in January of 2024.

The Gilded Age is a historical drama series created and written by Julian Fellowes. It is set in the United States during the boom years of the 1880s in New York City. In American history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1870 to 1900.

The second season premiered on June 22, 2025. In July 2025, the series was renewed for a fourth season.

Season three of The Gilded Age continues to follow the societal clashes between old and new money in 1880s New York City. The series delves into the ongoing rivalry between the established Van Rhijn family and the ambitious Russell family as they navigate the city's complex social hierarchy. Key plot points include Bertha Russell's relentless quest for social dominance and Marian Brook's journey to find her place in this new world.

Sharon and I both enjoyed season three. After some rough stretches in season two, the show has got better and better. Over the course of the three seasons, the storylines have shifted away from the staff that made up so much of Fellowes' Downton Abbey towards the main characters.

Interestingly, I am reading Mark Twain by Ron Chernow. Twain coined the term the Glided Age. Key parts of the story of his life are very much entwined with the Glided Age.

Fraternities and Halls - Joyce Abbott at UC Davis

This article is interesting because it shows that my parents met a lot earlier than I would have thought. It is the beginning of my dad's sophomore year in college.

California Aggie, Volume 50, Number 10, 20 November 1952

Fraternities and Halls

CALPHA
   We hope everybody enjoyed our open house. If there are any complaints, please see Gut and Sandy. SAE! take care of our trophy! We wish to thank East Hall for taking us to our date dinner. We thought it was ginger, peachy, keen too. We want everybody to know the Calpha’s have joined the W. C. T. U. (Wenches can’t tempt us).

"Off campus girls are cute
and off campus girls are sly,
But you off campus girls aint got it.
So crawl back to your stye!
From under the table.

   Elwin Veerkamp from Placerville has joined the ranks of Calpha.
   Our recent date dinner was the greatest. Our guests include Dr. and Mrs. Reiber, Dr. and Mrs. Houston, Cynthia Lievers, Lynn Hamberger, Joyce Abbott, Vivianne Eloga, Nancy Cook, Gretchen Hagler, Marilyn Slater, Torry (we hope we spell it right) Huey, Gwen Harper, Susie, Herran, Francis Bonino, Kay Hansen, Betty Avila, Lynn Usrey.

Dick Heringer and Joyce Abbott at UC Davis

With Phil and Marlene

Sharon went to happy hour at Ruth Chris in the Galleria for dinner with Phil and Marlene.

Oura Ring 4

Since Christmas of 2022, I have been wearing an Oura. It is a sleek, wearable health tracker designed to monitor sleep, recovery, and daily activity through advanced sensors built into a small ring. It provides detailed insights on sleep stages, heart rate, body temperature, and readiness scores to help optimize health and performance.

Over the last couple of months, the battery has deteriorated to point that I had to charge it every two and a half days. It was starting to be a hassle to keep it charged. With a three week trip looming in September, I decided to upgrade to a Oura Ring 4 last weekend. I got eight days out of the first charge.

I have been posting the six month anniversary data from the ring, but that is really only the tip of the iceberg of the data in the app. At some point, I will post a more detailed view.

Happy Gilmore 2

Saturday night, Sharon and I watched Happy Gilmore 2 on Netflix. We watched Happy Gilmore two weeks ago.

Happy Gilmore 2 is a 2025 sports comedy film serving as a sequel to Happy Gilmore (1996). It stars Adam Sandler. It was written and produced by Sandler and Tim Herlihy, and directed by Kyle Newacheck. Sandler, Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald, and Ben Stiller reprise their roles from the original film, while Benny Safdie and Bad Bunny star in new roles.

The film follows Happy Gilmore (Sandler), now an older family man, as he returns to the golf course to earn money to pay for his daughter's ballet school. He must face a new generation of golfers and a modern, high-tech sport, all while trying to reignite the passion and talent he once had.

Filled with a mix of nostalgia-rich callbacks, cameos from both returning characters and celebrities and pro golfers, the film blends slapstick humor with heartfelt family themes. Sharon and I both enjoyed the sequel more than than the original. I particularly enjoyed all of the cameos of the pro golfers, including John Daly as a a hermit who lives in Happy's garage. The playoffs at the end reminded me just a little of TGL golf!

To Napa

Sharon and Terra spent the day in Napa. They wined tasted at Donum, had lunch at Bistro Jeanty in Yountville and shopped at CAbi.

Touchbase with Wallen

Friday morning, I called Wallen. We spent about twenty minutes catching up. While I am going to miss the Davis Mafia reunion in September, he and Jill are going to stay with us for Keith's wedding in Ocxtober.

The River of Doubt [reread]

My book for August was The River of Doubt by Candice Millard. I originally read the book in January of 2006. I have recommended the book to people for years. Talking to Holly and Van in last couple of months, Holly suggested that we all read the book and talk about it over dinner.

This was the first of four books written by Candice Millard. I read the River of Doubt in January of 2006, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President in March of 2013, Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill in September of 2019 and River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile in July of 2022.

In the book, Theodore Roosevelt, fresh off his losing third party campaign for president, embarked on an expedition to chart an unmapped tributary of the Amazon River in 1913. Accompanied by his son Kermit and renowned explorer Candido Rondon, the group faced a perilous journey down the "River of Doubt." They battled treacherous rapids, starvation, disease, and the constant threat of attack from indigenous tribes. Despite facing near-death experiences and immense physical hardship, Roosevelt and his team persevered. The expedition was a testament to his indomitable spirit and added a new, significant chapter to the history of exploration.

I enjoyed rereading the book. I recommend it!

We had dinner at Holly and Van's house last week to discuss the book.

lunch with someone that I worked with...

I had lunch with someone that I worked with at Adven/tist Heal/th. We talked about the recently announced restructuring and outsourcing. I have a number of observations and thoughts that I may organize into a future post.

Golftec

I had a Golftec lesson on Wednesday morning. I am making better contact. Warming with six or seven balls with a staggered stance, I am making progress at getting my right hip moving backwards on the back swing. We focused today on dropping my left shoulder as I start the swing forward.

2025 Athletics versus Rays - Date Night

Sharon and I went to the Athletics versus Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball game at Sutter Health Park. I bought the tickets for a date night. For $53, I was able to buy two nice aisle seats [section 117, row 17, seats 1 and 2]. We got pastrami hog dogs for dinner!?!

Jacob Lopez struck out nine in seven shutout innings. Colby Thomas and Lawrence Butler each drove in a pair of runs. The Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-0 on Tuesday night. The Athletics posted their MLB-leading eighth shutout of the season.

The attendance was listed as 8,305. Sutter Health Park has a total capacity of 14,014. This includes 10,624 permanent seats and additional lawn seating.

Ancil Hoffman driving range and lunch with Larkin

With the Larkins back from their Viking Homelands cruise on Friday, Larkin and I got together at Ancil Hoffman to catch up. We each hit a bucket of balls on the driving range and then had lunch at the Main Event Bar & Grill.

Calpha - Dick Heringer at UC Davis

Calpha was a college fraternity. More specifically, it was the "Calpha Agricultural Fraternity" founded at the University Farm, which is now UC Davis, in 1912.

It was one of the original eight fraternities at the university. In 1954, it became the California Epsilon Chapter of the national fraternity, Phi Delta Theta.

California Aggie, Volume 49, Number 20, 6 March 1952

CALPHA

   The following members were recently initiated into Calpha: Dolph Fiorina, Howard Johnson and Bill Usrey.
   New pledges of Calpha are: Steve Diaz, Ralph Gomma, Dick Kirkendall, Dave Ramos, John Stokenbury, Dick Heringer and Bert Janis.
   Thanks to the SSDD (Salvation Society for Debaucherous Dogs), our mangy little hound, Yolo, staggered in Saturday at high noon.
   Attention, members of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity—Yolo is no fighter, he’s a lover.
   By the way, we’re having a big party this Saturday night for our pledges. There will be no “synthetic moonbeams scintillate ing from the chandeliers” . . . we’re just going to have a big ol’ Calpha Ball.
   Congratulations, SAE good open house.

Dick Heringer and Joyce Abbott at UC Davis

Adventist Health restructures back-office services

From March of 2014 until August of 2023, I worked for Adventist Health. For the last seven years, I was the Chief Technology Officer.

Adventist Health is launching a multiphase restructuring plan after reporting a $224 million loss from operations in 2024. As part of the restructuring, the company is outsourcing many roles. My technical stack is one of them. In my 45 year career, I was involved in six different outsourcing deals. With a big bang EPIC go-live planned for September of 2026, I will be interested in following the progress of these new arrangements from afar.

Adventist Health restructures back-office services, 750 workers affected
Becker's Hospital Review, August 7, 2025

Adventist Health launched a series of initiatives Aug. 6 aimed at achieving financial sustainability, including outsourcing select business functions to vendor partners.

In a news release shared with Becker’s, officials with the Roseville, Calif.-based health system said the organization is partnering with vendors to support services within its IT, finance, human resources, talent acquisition, supply chain and accounts payable functions.

The initiative aims to “improve efficiency, enable scalable growth and reduce costs, while allowing Adventist Health to retain full management responsibility,” according to the news release. The organization also plans to accelerate the use of AI and other technologies.

Adventist Health officials said the change affects approximately 750 employees, some of whom will take on new roles with the health system or its vendor partners.

The health system also said it is implementing a return-to-office model for its corporate workforce, beginning January 2026.

Under this initiative — which health system officials said is aimed at innovation, collaboration and efficiency — most corporate-level team members will be required to work in person at the organization’s Roseville headquarters. Adventist Health expects about 800 employees to be working from its corporate offices beginning next year.

Employees at the health system’s care sites will remain in person at their community-based locations, officials said.

“Our financial health is directly tied to our ability to deliver the exceptional care our patients depend on in the communities where they live and work. While changes like these bring a significant impact to our workforce, they are a necessary response to the challenges facing our organization and industry,” President and CEO Kerry Heinrich said in the release. “Through these strategic initiatives, we will position ourselves as a trusted healthcare partner for generations to come, delivering compassionate, cost-effective care through deep expertise, a modern infrastructure and a more connected workforce.”

Adventist Health serves more than 100 communities across the West Coast and Hawaii through over 440 care sites, including 27 acute care facilities, and has a team of more than 38,000 employees, physicians, medical staff and volunteers.

Lunch with Tomasin

I spent the day winding my way to Windsor and back to have lunch with Tomasin. On the way there, the traffic in West Sacramento was horrible!

Tomasin and I had a lazy lunch at El Gallo Negro (chicken enchiladas) and caught up. I haven't had a chance to see the Tomasins since their Viking river cruise in May.

After lunch, we stopped briefly at Dino's garage. Back at their house, I spent some time visiting with Julie before starting for home.

Book Club Dinner at the Wongs

For years, one of the books that I recommend to people is The River of Doubt. It is an amazing story of Theodore Roosevelt's journey down an uncharted river in the Amazon.

When I recommended it to Holly earlier this year, she proposed that we all read the book and get together for a book club dinner. Both Sharon and I reread the book. We got together at Holly and Van's on Thursday night for dinner (halibut) and to talk about the book.

At the end of the evening, it was proposed that we do it again with Dan Brown's upcoming book Secret of Secrets. It is scheduled to be released on September 9.

Overnight Adventure with Lee - Day #2

Lee, Sharon and I spent the morning at the California State Railroad Museum. We had a late lunch at Joe's Crab Shack.

Overnight Adventure with Lee - Day #1

I picked Lee up in Pollack Pines on Tuesday afternoon. The rest of the day included: walking Tiber; swimming in the pool; taking a dip in the hot tub; playing with the Thomas trains; a pasta dinner; a bath; an episode of Big Beasts about Polar Bears, and; a story at bedtime-The Curious Fish.

Two Years of Retirement

Two years ago today, we were at Lake Almanor. It marked my official retirement.

While there has been some challenges, I am really enjoying retirement. My original retirement manifesto is here. While it is still very apt, I intend to update it over the next month.

The one thing that has surprised me is the lack of a regular routine. I thought that we would live into a more regular daily and weekly routine. We haven't. Every day seems to have a different rhythm.

I am pleased to report that I have actually started to make steady progress on my book about 1991. I have been working on it consistently over the last couple of months.

Conversely, I am still not satisfied with the progress that I have made in getting more consistent at golf.

Aggie Nine to Play Alumni - Dick Heringer at UC Davis

This article shocked me. Growing up, my dad never expressed any interest in baseball. He didn't ever talk about baseball. He didn't follow a team.

California Aggie, Volume 51, Number 3, 26 February 1953

Aggie Nine to Play Alumni

   Baseball for 1953 will be officially opened this Saturday, February 28, when the Aggie nine meets the Alumni squad on the local diamond. Game time is at 2:30 p.m.
   The Aggies, severely handicappd by a lack of experienced ball players, will field a team composed mostly of freshmen and sophomores with a few "vets” of last year’s campaign returning to their old positions. Competition is keen for most positions, especially the outfield, and Saturday’s game may play a large part in determining who will compose the starting nine in future league games.
   The Alumni, coached by Bob Forbs, will field a strong team composed of ex-Aggie ball players who date back, quite probably, as far as the year one. Notable among probable Alumni starters will be Lou Nova, John Nedderman, Mike Burns, and Bob Connally.
   The Varsity’s starting lineup for the contest will not be announced until game time but the following will quite probably see much action: Outfield: Elvin Veerkamp, Jim Oakam, Dick Heringer, Rich Sheperd, and Gordon Blaine. Infield: Dwight Barker, Rich Ortega, Stan Cebull, Bill Bizzinni, Howard Harrison, John Smith, and John Wilson.

Dick Heringer and Joyce Abbott at UC Davis

Happy Gilmore

Friday night, Sharon and I watched Happy Gilmore. I had never seen the movie.

Happy Gilmore is a 1996 sports comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and produced by Robert Simonds. It stars Adam Sandler in the title role, with Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen, and Carl Weathers.

Happy Gilmore (Sandler), a hockey player with a bad temper but a powerful slapshot, dreams of making it to the big leagues. When his grandmother's home is about to be foreclosed on, he discovers his unique talent for driving a golf ball incredible distances. He joins the professional golf tour, much to the dismay of the sport's traditionalists and the top golfer, Shooter McGavin (McDonald). Happy's unorthodox style and comedic antics earn him a legion of fans, but he struggles to control his temper. In a final showdown with Shooter, Happy must prove he has what it takes to win the tournament and save his grandmother's house.

I was motivated to watch the movie by the publicity surrounding the release of Happy Gilmore 2. It is entertaining; Sharon and I laughed a few more times than I expected. We will watch the sequel in the near future.

Dinner with Holly

Sharon had dinner (fish tacos) with Holly at Shangri-la.

Although I have never watched the show before, I watched episode one of season 27 of South Park titled "Sermon on the 'Mount.

Lunch with Snipes

I had lunch [beer batterd tacos] with Snipes at the Yard House at DOCO.

Thursday night, I had a call with Nooter. I talked to Tomasin on Friday morning; I need to figure out a date to connect with him. I traded calls with Wallen on Friday morning; I need to schedule a longer call with him next week.

Drew facetimed from the Wallens on Friday night. He and Carmen are in Seattle on a babymoon for a few days.