Thursday, December 25, 2008

Christmas Day 2008

 

 

Although not bouncing off the walls as much as last year, Jack was up about 6:15 a.m. and trying to drag us out of bed. We got him to go back to bed until a little after 7:00 a.m.

We had a nice Christmas morning. Jack got a couple of remote control planes: one from Lee Ann and Dean and one from Santa. His big present this year was a laptop.

Sharon made a great dinner of prime rib cooked in the rotisserie, baked potatoes and green beans.

We finished the night watching Home Alone on FXHD.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Christmas Eve 2008

Sharon, Jack and I went to the children's mass at Good Shepherd. Afterwards we headed to Tom's house to celebrate Christmas Eve.

This year's group included 14 people: Sharon's brother Tom's family [Tom, Becky, Kevin and Eric], her brother Tim's family [Tim, Kathy, Erin and Eileen], her mom [Rosemary], two friends of the family [Jim Dunn and Jim Gale] and us. Becky made minestrone soup and a macaroni casserole for dinner. Sharon's family are big Notre Dame fans. We watched the Notre Dame beat Hawaii by a score of 49 to 21 in the Hawaii Bowl. The Fighting Irish ended their NCAA-record nine-game bowl losing streak. This was their first bowl win in 15 years!

After the game, we exchanged gifts. For some reason, it seemed like there were more gifts exchanged between families this year. Combined wtih watching the end of the football game, it was late by the finished the gift exchange and headed home. It was after 11:30 p.m. by the time we got home and had Jack down for the night.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Nikka Costa - Stuck To You

The list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Nikka Costa - Stuck To You

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

A West Coast Tour for Two Thousand and Nine

music you need to hear

Posted by Andrew Heringer on myspace and facebook

Here are a couple of great bands/artists that you need to hear:

Marlana Sheetz

I produced this album which is Marlana's first record. We went up to a cabin in Shaver Lake this last August and recorded this 6 song EP. I play on it as well as Kellen and Jon. Marlana is a songwriter who is also originally from my hometown of Placerville. My personal favorite is "Mexican Escape". Marlana has a really beautiful pure voice, great melodies and lyrics.

Big Tree

This is my sister's band. You can hear her on backing vocals. They have been described as "Post-Rock Hippies." They just released their first record as well. My favorite tracks are "One Hundred and Four" & "Marshall Field". Great vibe. Great lyrics.

Max Haymer

Max can be heard on the Paradise Sessions on Piano, Rhodes and Hammond B-3. He is the most talented musician I have ever had the opportunity to write, play and record with. We have also been known to play lots of FIFA on Xbox. Max and I met at UC Irvine. This is his debut CD with his Jazz Trio. You might recognize the song "Goodnight" which he and I wrote together. He did a version of the song with his Jazz Trio. Also check out "Pickpocket Witness" - the melody line is ridiculous and Max's playing is spot on.

Links

Many of you know Eric Frank who has played shows with me over the last couple of years and can be heard on all my records. This is his band Links from Los Angeles. They are a dirty bluesy rock group. Curtis Marrero, who played drums on "It Seems So Long Since Yesterday" is the drummer for Links. They have some songs up on their myspace and are looking to record soon in the new year. The favorite track of theirs on the myspace currently is Jack Keroauc.

Simple Citizens

Featuring my buddy Dan Byers on Trumpet - The Simple Citizens are a Funk & Hip-Hop group out of Los Angeles. They have some reggae, latin and jazz in there too at times. Really cool mix of genres. I have yet to see them live but I have heard it is off the hook.

and if you haven't gotten a chance to hear the new Paradise Sessions make sure take a listen : myspace & andrewheringer.com. sign up for the email list at andrewheringer.com and get two free songs.

Hope you can make it out and see us on tour in the next couple of months.

-Andrew

Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church

Jack and I spent the Wednesday before Thanksgiving waymarking historical sites in Western Amador County in the rain. This was the twelfth of twenty-one places that we stopped.

Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church
National Register of Historic Places #1986000385

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
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This historic place is located at 724 North Main, Jackson in the county of Amador, California. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 21.365 W 120° 46.588.

You can log your vist to this site at waymarking.com.



This was the first church in North America of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Jackson was home to a large Serbian population in the early 1890’s, but at that time there was no Serbian church on the continent. To address this situation, His Grace Nikolai of Alaska, the head of the Russian orthodox church of the United States, came to Jackson with Father Dabovich and on February 25, 1894 the Bright ranch parcel was consecrated. The first burial took place in May and the church was dedicated on December 16 of the same year.

After the 1922 Arhonaut mine disaster, 11 of its 47 victims were buried here.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Christmas Card 2008


Although it is hard to read, the sign says "WARNING - Moose Calving Area - Grizzly Bears Hunting - BE ALERT"

See all of the Christmas Cards since 1997!

Kennedy Mine Tailing Wheels

Jack and I spent the Wednesday before Thanksgiving waymarking historical sites in Western Amador County in the rain. This was the thirteenth of twenty-one places that we stopped.

Kennedy Mine Tailing Wheels
National Register of Historic Places #1981000146

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This historic place is located on Jackson Gate Road north of Jackson in the county of Amador, California. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 21.804 W 120° 46.525.

You can log your vist to this site at waymarking.com.



In 1912, the California State Legislature passed an act which compelled mining companies to impound their tailings which had been polluting streams and river or cease operations. The fifty-eight foot diameter Kennedy Tailing Wheels were necessary to accomplish the task of lifting some 850 tons every 24 hours over two hills to an impound dam.

The ore from the Kennedy Mine was crushed in their one hundred-stamp mill on the south slope of Humbug Hill. The residue (tailings) from the mill was finely ground rock particles. The tailings were then mixed with water in the slime plant and allowed to flow downhill by gravity in a one thousand-foot-long flume to the base of Wheel #1.

Wheel No. 1's 208 stationary redwood buckets lifted the material 58 feet and dropped it into a flume which delivered it to the base of wheel No. 2 where the process was repeated. Wheels No. 3 and No. 4 performed the same function to move the material to an impound dam.

Amador County California Historic Places

Amador County
National Register of Historic Places

{GPS Coordinates of Site Location}

1981000146 - Kennedy Mine Tailing Wheels - [map] - {38.3634,-120.77542}
1986000385 - Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church - [map] - {38.35608,-120.77647}

Lois Chiles

Lois Chiles [not my favorite Bond girl]
as Holly Goodhead in Moonraker

NBA Power Rankings 2008-2009 Week 8

Rather than watching the Kings odds of making the play-offs, I am now watching their odds of winning the lottery for the first pick in the draft. According to John Hollinger, the Kings currently have a 14% chance of winning the draft lottery.

The Kings remained at 27th in Marc Stein's weekly power rankings of NBA teams, ahead of only the Wizards, Thunder and Timberwolves.

ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association
How Kings prez Geoff Petrie must wish he had a Geoff Petrie on his roster. All of Roy's crazy scoring in Portland lately dredged up talk of the two 50-point games Petrie had for the Blazers in the 1972-73 season.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Moonraker

Continuing my quest to watch all of the Bond films in order, Sharon, Jack and I watched Moonraker on Friday night. Released in 1979, this is the eleventh spy film of the British James Bond series and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the British secret agent James Bond. The film takes its title from the third novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. The script for the film was significantly from the book to include outer space.

Bond is sent to investigate the mysterious theft of a space shuttle, leading him to Hugo Drax, billionaire owner of the shuttle-manufacturing firm. Along with space scientist Holly Goodhead, who later is identified as a CIA agent also investigating Drax, Bond follows the trail of clues from California to Venice, Italy, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the Amazon rain forest, and finally into outer space in a bid to prevent a genocidal plot to wipe out the world and re-create human existence with a master race.

In addition to Roger Moore as James Bond, the cast includes Michael Lonsdale as Sir Hugo Drax, Lois Chiles as Holly Goodhead and Richard Kiel as Jaws.

Of all the Bond films that we have seen to-date, these are probably my least favorite villain and Bond girl. Michael Lonsdale's biography indicates that he has appeared in over 180 films and television shows, but I thought that his performance was wooden and uninspiring. Lois Chiles performance as the Bond girl left me cold.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Christmas Shopping, Church and Dinner

For the first time in the fourteen years that we have been together, Sharon picked out her own Christmas present. We picked it up this afternoon: a set of All-Clad Copper Core pots and pans.

From there, we took groceries to Sharon's mom and then took her mom to reconciliation and mass at Sacred Heart.

We finished the evening going out to dinner at Piatti's. Although we used to eat there a lot, it has been a long time. They changed the menu about four or five years ago and neither of us think the food has been as good ever since. Sharon had the Pappardelle pasta, while I had the halibut special.

Friday, December 19, 2008

2008 SEAS Christmas Program

From Heringer's Blog

We went to the SEAS Christmas program in the morning. Jack's class sang Silent Night. Jack was buried in the second row in the middle of the group.

California Historical Landmark #29

Jack and I spent the Wednesday before Thanksgiving waymarking historical sites in Western Amador County in the rain. This was the eighteenth of twenty-one places that we stopped.

Volcano
California State Historical Landmark #29

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This landmark is located the intersection of Main and Consolation Streets, Volcano, California in Amador County. There are 24 other California State Historical Landmarks in Amador County. The GPS coordinates for the plaque are N 38° 26.552 W 120° 37.893.

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

 

The spot was discovered in 1848 by Colonel Stevenson's men, who mined Soldiers Gulch in 1849. By 1853 the flats and gulches swarmed with men who named them picturesquely. Hydraulic operations, begun in 1855, brought thousands of fortune seekers to form a town of 17 hotels, a library, a theater, and courts of quick justice. During the Civil War, Volcano's gold served the Union - Volcano Blues smuggled the cannon 'Old Abe' in by hearse to quell rebels.

 

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Lethe

I finished reading Lethe by Tricia Sullivan. I bought this book from Amazon in March of 2002 (more than six years ago!) and it has been sitting in my pile of books to read ever since. I am making a conscious attempt to clear some of the older books out of pile. I was reading novels by several other female science fiction writers about this time and can only assume that there was a pointer to this novel.

Lethe is a post apocalyptic novel set in the second half of the twenty-second century [2160's]. In this case, the worldwide disaster is a war with competing genetics corporations unleashing kill viruses. The corporations were also experimenting with genetically altering humans with a variety of results. The wide ranging plot includes collective intelligence among dolphins, mutant one-eyed humans that provide the labor force, a gateway on the fringe of the solar system to other parts of the universe, an alien planet and the integration of human brains into computer systems.

I generally prefer science fiction that focuses on technology, while this novel focuses more on biology and life sciences. It is a solid book. I enjoyed it, but it is not a book that I personally strongly recommend.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

5th Grade: Art Lesson D

Sharon spent Monday afternoon as the art docent for Jack's class. The lesson compared how different artists portray the Holy Family. They looked at The Holy Family by Nicolas Poussin, The Alba Madonna by Raphael and The Presentation in the Temple by Hans Memling.




For their art project, the class sketched a live model of Mary holding the baby Jesus and painted it using watercolors.

Drew's Car at Pollock Pines


Drew's Car at Pollock Pines, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Dinner with Becky, Jill and Hunter


Sharon, Jack and I met Becky, Jill and Hunter for dinner. We were originally planning to met at the Cosmo Cafe, but it is closed on Mondays. We wandered down the street to Ella's.

Jill and Becky are in Sacramento looking for an apartment for Becky. Becky's company is transferring her to Sacramento in the couple of weeks.

Becky will be working within about 5 miles of where John and Jill lived when they were in Sacramento twenty five years ago.

NBA Power Rankings 2008-2009 Week 7

On the strength of beating the Lakers, the Kings climbed one spot in Marc Stein's weekly power rankings of NBA teams from 28th to 27th, ahead of only the Warriors, Timberwolves and Thunder.

ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association
Don't tell me that all the goodwill Theus generated from the Kings' momentous upset of the Lakers was undone by a one-sided home loss to the Knicks on Saturday night. (I asked you not to tell me that.)
ESPN - Sacramento Kings fire Reggie Theus; Kenny Natt is interim coach

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Lexus RX400h Day 168

Jack and I took the Lexus RX400h in for the 10,000 mile service on Saturday morning. I am on a pace to drive 22,500 miles in the first year. I am averaging 24.9 mpg since I brought the car, down slightly from 25.1 after 3 months. The EPA rating is 24 on the highway and 26 in the city. My calculations show that I have saved roughly $750 in gas over driving the Explorer with an average gas price of $3.41 over the last six months. With gas prices now less than half of this average, the savings will obviously be a lot smaller for the foreseeable future.

I continue to be very satisfied with the vehicle. I was particularly pleased that the we were able to fit a seven foot flocked Christmas Tree inside.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Cunningham's Christmas Party

Sharon and I spent the evening at the Cunningham's Christmas Party. The group included the Sanborn's and the Murphy's.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Big Tree CD Release Party

Morgan's band, Big Tree, is having a CD release party tonight on the Sarah Lawrence Campus. You can find the notice here [requires facebook registration].

Event Info Host: The Teahaus & Big Tree
Type: Music/Arts - Opening
Network: Global
Time and Place Start Time: Thursday, December 11, 2008 at 9:00pm
End Time: Friday, December 12, 2008 at 12:00am
Location: THE TEAHAUS
Street: North Lawn
City/Town: Bronxville, NY
Email: bigtreesings@gmail.com

Come one, come all! Big Tree is so so so excited to finally be done with our album. We would like to share it with you, and are looking forward to packing all our sweaty bodies in a tiny space to dance and jam and listen.

We started this past summer, recording bass and drums at Luke's house, drinking Brooklyn Summer Lagers outside on the porch. Now it's f!@#$%^& cold, but the memory of that lovely hot, humid air remains. We spent hours hot glue gunning 500 recycled cardboard CD cases together. I'm pretty sure we burnt off our fingerprints in the process.

NOW THE CDs ARE READY. Months and months of work and sweat and tears and even a little blood have all led us to this victorious point. Please come celebrate with us.

CDs will be $10 each. Come with some dough! They make great christmas presents ;-)

Samples of their music can be found on myspace at:

http://www.myspace.com/bigtreesings

The band has a web site:

http://www.bigtreesings.com/

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Christmas Tree 2008

 

After Jack's basketball game on Saturday, we went to the Christmas tree lot at Cal Expo. This is the fifth time in sixth years that we have bought a tree there.

We started in 2001 getting flocked trees. I actually like this year's tree more than some of the trees that we have gotten in the past. The flocking looks more like snow on the branches than a tree spray painted white...

California Historical Landmark #41

Jack and I spent the Wednesday before Thanksgiving waymarking historical sites in Western Amador County in the rain. This was the seventeenth of twenty-one places that we stopped.

Big Bar
California State Historical Landmark #41

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This landmark is located on State Highway 49 at county line, 4.0 miles south of Jackson, California in Amador County. There are 24 other California State Historical Landmarks in Amador County. The GPS coordinates for the plaque are N 38° 18.770 W 120° 43.229.

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

 

The Mokelumne River was mined at this point in 1848. Established in 1849, the Whale Boat Ferry operated until the first bridge was built, about 1852.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

She's Suddenly with Deceptive Cadence

California Historical Landmark #39

Jack and I spent the Wednesday before Thanksgiving waymarking historical sites in Western Amador County in the rain. This was the sixteenth of twenty-one places that we stopped.

Butte Store
California State Historical Landmark #39

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This landmark is located on State Highway 49, 2.6 miles south of Jackson, California in Amador County. There are 24 other California State Historical Landmarks in Amador County. The GPS coordinates for the plaque are N 38° 19.539 W 120° 44.107.

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



This is the only structure remaining of Butte City, prosperous mining town of the 1850s. As early as 1854 Xavier Benoist was conducting a store and bakery in this building. Later Ginocchio had a merchandise business here.

The bronze plaque reads:

Constructed by Italian stone mason in 1857. Served pioneer settlers and miners as post office and general store later. Later known as Ginocchios.

Monday, December 08, 2008

SNL: Obama Plays It Cool

California Historical Landmark #118

Jack and I spent the Wednesday before Thanksgiving waymarking historical sites in Western Amador County in the rain. This was the fourteenth of twenty-one places that we stopped.

Jackson Gate
California State Historical Landmark #118

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
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This landmark is located on North Main Street, 1.3 miles northeast of Jackson, California in Amador County. There are 24 other California State Historical Landmarks in Amador County. The GPS coordinates for the plaque are N 38° 22.078 W 120° 46.529.

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


Jackson Gate, on the north fork of Jackson Creek, takes its name from a fissure in a reef of rock that crosses the creek. In 1850 about 500 miners worked here and the first mining ditch in the county was dug here - its water sold for $1 per inch.

NBA Power Rankings 2008-2009 Week 6

According to John Hollinger's NBA Playoff Odds, as of today, the Kings have a 0.3% chance of making this year's play-offs.

The Kings dropped one spot in Marc Stein's weekly power rankings of NBA teams from 27th to 28th, ahead of only the Grizzlies and Thunder.

ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association
The race is on between the Kings and the Grizz, now that Minnesota has sacked Wittman. Which Western Conference straggler can keep its coach employed longer? Sactown or Memphis, who you got?

Sunday, December 07, 2008

2009 PAL JV Rec Basketball Tournament #1 Game #3

DOUBLE OVERTIME!

Jack's basketball team played its third game of the season, the championship game of a three day tournament. They played against St. John Vianney at Holy Cross in West Sacramento.

After yesterday's game, I thought that we had seen the biggest kids that we would face in the tournament. I was wrong. St. John Vianney had an even bigger kid. I looked on the web for the school after the game. St. John has one JV team of 5th and 6th graders. Jack's team is made up of all 5th graders.

Jack started the game and played all of the first quarter. It was a strong starting group, combining Jack with Joe, Connor, Jake and Andy. Nevertheless, they seemed out of sync. Struggling offensively and defensively against the big kid in the middle, the Eagles fell behind 11 to 6.

St. John did not play their largest player for most of the second quarter. On the strength of David's shooting (he had 6 points for the quarter and 8 points for the game), the Eagles pulled ahead 14 to 13 at halftime. Jack went in and played about 2 minutes of second quarter.

Jack started the third quarter with the same group. They just could not get going and had a number of double dribbles and turnovers. The center for St. John scored 6 straight points, while the Eagles could not manage a basket in the whole third quarter. St. John's led by a score of 20 to 13 at the end of three quarters.

St. John's got another basket early in the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to 9 points at 22 to 13. Jack and Joe came back into the game with about 4 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The Eagles finally started to cut into the lead. Jack drove the baseline with about 1:50 left and was fouled; he made both free throws.

The Eagles scored with 2 seconds left in the game to make the score St. John's 24, Eagles 22. The Eagles pressed on the inbound pass. St. John's tried to make a bounce pass along the baseline to get the ball inbounds. Jake stepped in front of the pass and made a lay-up to tie the score at 24 as the clock expired.

They played a three minute overtime. When the Eagles missed four straight foul shots and St. John's made two foul shots, I thought the game was over. Nevertheless, the Eagles tied the score with another basket. With 2 seconds left in the overtime, Jack made an inbound pass 3/4's the length of the court to Jake who turned and put up a shoot that bounced off the back of the iron.

They played a one minute double overtime. The Eagles scored two points in the overtime to win 28 to 26!

It was wild. After yesterday's game, I would not have believed that the Eagles could play a more exciting, closely fought game.

This was not Jack's best game of the tournament. He was 0 for 2 from the field and 2 for 3 from the free throw line for 2 points. Jack had two rebounds, two steals, one block and only one assist. Late in the game, Jack fought the biggest kid on St. John's for a rebound to create a jump ball and win the ball on the possession arrow.


Saturday, December 06, 2008

2009 PAL JV Rec Basketball Tournament #1 Game #2

An absolutely wild game!

Jack's basketball team played its second game of the 2008-2009 season. The Eagles played Holy Cross, the host school for the four day tournament.

Watching the other team warm up, I was surprised to see four kids who were as big or bigger than the Eagles largest player. I realized that I am a little unsure about the rules for this division. Talking to some of the other parents, it appears that both 5 and 6 graders can play in the JV Rec division.

Struggling with the size of the other team, the Eagles fell behind by a score of 8 to 2 at the end of the first quarter. They were having a hard time trying to pass over the larger players on the other team and made a large number of turnovers.

Jack played the second quarter. Leaving him open on the outside, Jack scored 5 points and helped the team pull the score to 12 to 9 at half-time.

Holy Cross scored 6 unanwered points to start the second half and stretched the lead to 18 to 9. About half way through the third quarter, the Eagles started to wear the other team down. Although they were still having trouble with their passing, the Eagles started to box out and get the rebounds. Jack came back into the game about half way through the third quarter.

Jack started the fourth quarter. At this point, Holy Cross was missing their outside shots and not getting the rebounds. The Eagles continued to pull the score closer. Jack took a minute and a half breather about half way through fourth quarter. When Jack came back into the game, the coach went away from the platoons that he has been using and put five of the strongest players on the floor.

Capping a 10 to 0 run, the Eagles went ahead 19 to 18 with just a minute to play. Unfortunately, the Eagles made another bad pass that was stolen. Holy Cross scored to make the score 20 to 19.

The Eagles came down and missed an inside shot, but the ball went out of bounds off of Holy Cross. On the baseline, Jack made a great inbound bounce pass to the power forward who made the basket and was fouled. He made the foul shot to make the score 22 to 20 with 20 seconds remaining. Holy Cross brought the ball up the court, but had it poked away. The remaining time was spent in a mad scramble for the ball as it rolled down the court. At least six kids from both teams had the ball and then promptly lost it. Joe, the Eagles point guard finally came up with the ball and the clock wound down the last couple of seconds. The final score was Eagles 22, Holy Cross 20.

Jack had 7 points on 3 for 7 from the field, five rebounds and 2 assists. He is playing shooting guard in their offense.

The Eagles will play for the tournament championship on Sunday.

California Historical Landmark #865

Jack and I spent the Wednesday before Thanksgiving waymarking historical sites in Western Amador County in the rain. This was the eleventh of twenty-one places that we stopped.

Site of Pioneer Jewish Synagogue
California State Historical Landmark #865

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
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This landmark is located at the southeast corner of Church and Main Streets, Jackson, California in Amador County. There are 24 other California State Historical Landmarks in Amador County. The GPS coordinates for the plaque are N 38° 21.069 W 120° 46.391.

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

 

On September 18, 1857, Congregation B'nai Israel of Jackson dedicated on this site the first synagogue in the Mother Lode. High holy day worship continued until 1869 when the larger Masonic Hall was used to accommodate the congregation. The wooden structure then served as a schoolhouse until 1888. Relocated onto a nearby lot, it became a private dwelling, and was razed in 1948.

 

Friday, December 05, 2008

Christmas Party

Sharon and I went to a Christmas Party at the home of my boss. Totaling about 40 people, the group was comprised of people that I work with and their spouses and significant others. It was a little different experience. At most of the Christmas Parties that Sharon and I have gone to in the last few years, we only know a small part of the group rather than everyone. We both had a great time.

At the end of the evening, they held a white elephant gift exchange. I had taken a copy of Drew's Paradise Sessions CD. Somehow when the dust settled and everyone had a gift, the CD was still under the tree. As we were getting ready to leave, I retrieved it and we gave it to my boss. We ended staying after everyone left and listening to the CD as the caterers cleaned up. By the time we got home it was after midnight.

California Historical Landmark #34

Jack and I spent the Wednesday before Thanksgiving waymarking historical sites in Western Amador County in the rain. This was the tenth of twenty-one places that we stopped.

Pioneer Hall
California State Historical Landmark #34

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This landmark is located 113 Main Street, Jackson, California in Amador County. There are 24 other California State Historical Landmarks in Amador County. The GPS coordinates for the plaque are N 38° 20.944 W 120° 46.469.

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

 

The Order of Native Daughters of the Golden West was organized on these premises, the site of the Pioneer Hall, on September 11, 1886.

 

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Department of Eagles - No One Does It Like You

The list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!
Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Department of Eagles - No One Does It Like You

Thursday, December 04, 2008

2009 PAL JV REC Basketball Tournament #1 Game #1

Jack's basketball team played its first game of the 2008-2009 season. They are playing in a three game tournament at Holy Cross starting tonight and running through Sunday. The Eagles played St. Roberts.

Games in this tournament have four 7 minutes quarters with a running clock, except in the last minute of the game where the clock is stopped for out of bounds and fouls. Jack played the second and fourth quarters. In 14 minutes, he was 5 for 9 from the field for 10 points. Jack had four rebounds, four assists and one steal. He had a number of very nice passes.

Jack's class has 21 boy and 14 girls. Eleven of these boys are on the basketball team. All the boys on this basketball team are athletes and they are all very competitive. Additionally, Jack's team has a good mix of types of players. They have four taller boys that can rebound, they have three or four boys that can handle the ball and have some middle sized kids that are good shooters. Everyone of them can run the floor.

They ran St. Roberts out of the gym. According to Jack, the score was 56 to 5. The scorer stopped putting points on the scoreboard once they got to 32. The game was not even as close as the score. The other team lacked a strong player could dribble the ball and create opportunities for other players.

It is going to be interesting to see how the team responds when they run into a more competitive team.


California Historical Landmark #786

Jack and I spent the Wednesday before Thanksgiving waymarking historical sites in Western Amador County in the rain. This was the ninth of twenty-one places that we stopped.

Argonaut and Kennedy Mines

California State Historical Landmark #786

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
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This landmark is located in the west roadside rest area on State Highway 49 1.6 miles north of Jackson, California in Amador County. There are 24 other California State Historical Landmarks in Amador County. The GPS coordinates for the plaque are N 38° 21.879 W 120° 47.231.

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

 

Argonaut Mine, discovered 1850, and Kennedy Mine, discovered 1856, played dramatic roles in the economic development of California, producing $105,268,760 in gold. Kennedy Mine has a vertical shaft of 5,912 feet, the deepest in the United States. The Argonaut was the scene of the Mother Lode's most tragic mine disaster-on August 27, 1922, 48 miners were trapped in a fire at the 3,500-foot level - few survived. Both mines closed in 1942.

 

2009 Amgen Tour of California Prologue

The 2009 Amgen Tour of California will start with a prologue in Sacramento on Saturday, February 14, 2009. The start time for the first rider is 1:30 p.m. and the estimted finish time is 4:00 p.m. Here is a map of the downtown course:


I saw the Amgen Tour of California is Sacramento in 2007 and in Modesto in 2008

A call from The Office

Driving to Jack's basketball practice after work, Wallen called me in the car from the Office. [hint: south of the border!]

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Most Expensive Colleges Take 3

Morgan is in her senior year at Sarah Lawrence College.

I have previously linked to stories listing the most expensive colleges in America [2004 CNNMoney and 2006 Time Magazine]. In one of my RSS feeds, I recently ran across an October 2008 article on the CampusGrotto site that lists the most expensive colleges for 2008-2009. They have one list for highest tuition and a second list for highest total cost of tuition plus room and board.

Sarah Lawrence College is first on the total cost list with an annual amount of $53,166.

California Historical Landmark #1007

Jack and I spent the Wednesday before Thanksgiving waymarking historical sites in Western Amador County in the rain. This was the seventh of twenty-one places that we stopped.

Knight Foundry
California State Historical Landmark #1007

See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
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This landmark is located at 81 Eureka Street, Sutter Creek, California in Amador County. There are 24 other California State Historical Landmarks in Amador County. The GPS coordinates for the plaque are N 38° 23.602 W 120° 48.019.

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

 

Knight Foundry was established in 1873 to supply heavy equipment and repair facilities to the gold mines and timber industry of the Mother Lode. Samuel N. Knight developed a high speed, cast iron water wheel which was a forerunner of the Pelton Wheel design. Knight Wheels were used in some of the first hydroelectric plants in California, Utah, and Oregon. This site is the last water powered foundry and machine shop in California. A 42-inch Knight Wheel drives the main line shaft, with smaller water motors powering other machines.

 

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

2009 PAL JV Rec Basketball Practice

With practice tonight and tomorrow night, Jack's JV Rec Basketball team will be playing in a tournament Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.


PAL JV Rec Basketball, originally uploaded by heringermr.

California Historical Landmark #322

Jack and I spent the Wednesday before Thanksgiving waymarking historical sites in Western Amador County in the rain. This was the sixth of twenty-one places that we stopped.

Sutter Creek
California State Historical Landmark #322

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This landmark is located at Veteran's Memorial Hall, Main and Badger Streets, Sutter Creek, California in Amador County. There are 24 other California State Historical Landmarks in Amador County. The GPS coordinates for the plaque are N 38° 23.527 W 120° 48.166.

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

This town was named after John A. Sutter, who came to the region in 1846, and was the first to mine the locality in 1848. There was little activity at Sutter Creek until 1851, when quartz gold was discovered. In 1932 the Central Eureka mine, discovered in 1869, had reached the 2,300-foot level. By 1939, it was the best-paying mine at Sutter Creek.

 

General John A. Sutter, Benefactor of the Great State of California who mined here and gave Sutter Creek its name and under whose regime gold was discovered. Also to those pioneer mothers, fathers and miners of the Mother Lode which has produced millions in gold. This rock used in Mother Lode champion hand drilling contests. Tablet placed and decidated by the Native Sons and Native Daughters of the Golden West of Sutter Creek. May 10, 1942

 

Monday, December 01, 2008

The Driver

On January 8, 2008, we saw Alexander Roy on the Late Show with David Letterman. He is the author of The Driver - My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World.

I went through the 1970's fascinated by cars. I read Car and Driver Magazine religiously. During this period, the magazine wrote repeatedly about the Cannonball Run. The Cannonball Run was an unofficial automobile race run four times in the 1970s from New York City to Redondo Beach, a Los Angeles suburb. During the Letterman segment, they talked about this race and it brought back a rush of memories. I was intrigued, ordered the book and add it to my stack of books to read.

I read the book in November. I enjoyed it, but with all of the good books in the world, it is not one that I recommend highly. About 200 pages into the 300 page book, I was ready to be finished; then, the last 100 pages pulled me back into the book. This last section covers Roy's attempts to establish a record for driving from New York to Los Angeles.

Although I am not interested in doing it for speed, the book actually got me thinking about trying to drive one way from Los Angeles to New York or Boston. This is something that I am thinking about adding to my goals for the next ten to fifteen years.

California Historical Landmark #506

Jack and I spent the Wednesday before Thanksgiving waymarking historical sites in Western Amador County in the rain. This was the third of twenty-one places that we stopped.

Methodist Episcopal Church
California State Historical Landmark #506

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

This landmark is located at 150 West Marlette, lone, California in Amador County. There are 24 other California State Historical Landmarks in Amador County. The GPS coordinates for the plaque are N 38° 21.018 W 120° 56.043.

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

 

The cornerstone was laid in 1862 and the church, constructed of locally fired brick, was completed in 1866. Dedicated as the Ione City Centenary Church and later popularly known as the Cathedral of the Mother Lode, this church was the first to serve the people in the area.

 

 

NBA Power Rankings 2008-2009 Week 5

I have come to the conclusion that if you take Kevin Martin off the floor this is the weakest Kings team since they came to Sacramento. Since Martin went down, the Kings are 2 and 10. Conversely, if Martin stays healthy and Hawes, Thompson and Greene get some playing time this year, this could be a fun team to watch next season.

The Kings dropped two spots in Marc Stein's weekly power rankings of NBA teams from 25th to 27th, ahead of only the Grizzlies, Wizards and Thunder.

ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association
As much as it pains me to say this about the team that inked You Know Who, thus doubling Cal State Fullerton's NBA representation, I can't deny that the Kings can be tough on the eyes when Kev Martin can't play.