Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

My second book for January is Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. A film adaptation of the book directed by Steven Spielberg is slated to premiere in March.

Ready Player One is a 2011 science fiction novel by American author Ernest Cline. It is his debut novel. The story is set in a dystopian future (2044) wrecked by an energy crisis. It follows protagonist Wade Watts on his search for an Easter egg in a virtual reality game whose the discovery will lead him to inherit a fortune.

Several years ago, I read a USAToday article predicting three technical trends for the future: big data; self driving cars and virtual reality. This story takes virtual reality to an extreme. The world is so bleak that many people live in a virtual reality known as OASIS.

The book is full of the 1980s pop culture references, mainly from classic video games and movies. While I played a few video arcade games and dabbled with Adventure and Zork in the 1980's, I was never really a video gamer. It has never been a passion.

I enjoyed the book and recommend it. It is a solid "B," maybe even a "B+."

2018 Oscars Nominations

My predictions are shown in red.

BEST PICTURE
   Call Me by Your Name
   Darkest Hour
   Dunkirk
   Get Out
   Lady Bird
   Phantom Thread
   The Post
   The Shape of Water - actual winner!
   Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
   Timothée Chalamet - Call Me by Your Name
   Daniel Day-Lewis - Phantom Thread
   Daniel Kaluuqya - Get Out
   Gary Oldman - Darkest Hour
   Denzel Washington - Roman J. Israel, Esq.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
   Sally Hawking - The Shape of Water
   Frances McDormand - Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
   Margot Robbie - I, Tonya
   Saoirse Ronan - Lady Bird
   Meryl Streep - The Post

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
   Willem DaFoe - The Florida Project
   Woody Harrison - Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
   Richard Jerkins - The Shape of Water
   Christopher Plummer - All the Money in the World
   Sam Rockwell - Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
   Mary J. Blige - Mudbound
   Allison Janney - I, Tonya
   Lesley Manville - Phantom Thread
   Laurie Metcalf - Lady Bird
   Octavia Spencer - The Shape of Water

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
   The Big Sick
   Get Out - winner
   Lady Bird
   The Shape of Water
   Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
More Oscar Nominations

Call Me by Your Name

Late Sunday afternoon, Sharon and I went to see Call Me by Your Name at the Century 16 Greenback. The film is nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Chalamet), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Song ("Mystery of Love") at this year's Oscars.

Call Me by Your Name is a 2017 romantic coming-of-age drama film directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by James Ivory. It is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by André Aciman. Set in Northern Italy in 1983, Call Me by Your Name chronicles the romantic relationship between Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), a 17-year-old living in Italy, and his father's American assistant, Oliver (Armie Hammer). The film also stars Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel, and Victoria Du Bois.

Sharon liked it more than I did. She said that it might be her second favorite of the seven Oscar nominated films that we have seen so far. While I appreciate what they were working to accomplish with the pacing of the film (e.g. the normal progression of a relationship), I found it painfully slow. It seemed longer than its two hours and twelve minutes. It won't win best picture or best actor...

Celebrating Sharon's birthday

Janie took Sharon to dinner at Canon East Sacramento to celebrate her birthday. They split HEARTS OF ROMAINE [fufu persimmons, kohlrabi, black garlic ranch, puffed grains], ROASTED MUSHROOMS [brussel sprouts, cured egg, miso-chestnut dressing, sesame tuile], TOTS [mole madre, pickled onion, cotija] and WHOLE BEER CAN CHICKEN [lemon, honey, herbs]. Sharon said that two of the dishes were good, but two were only so so (the salad and the chicken). She is not sure that she is interested in going back...

After dinner, they headed to the Sawyer Hotel for a drink. They ran into Robbie Hunter in the bar. I drove Sharon to dinner and returned to pick her up. Fortunately, I got downtown just as the Professional Bull Riders Sacramento Invitational was letting out from Golden 1 Arena. People were everywhere and the traffic was a mess!

Mudbound

With the 2018 Oscar nominations announced on Tuesday, we have kicked our drive to watch the nominated films into overdrive. Friday night, we watched Mudbound. The film received four nominations: Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song for Mary J. Blige; Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography [the first woman ever nominated in the category].

Mudbound is a 2017 American period drama film directed by Dee Rees and written by Rees and Virgil Williams.  It is based on the novel of the same name by Hillary Jordan. It stars Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, and Mary J. Blige. The film depicts two World War II veterans – one white, one black – who return to rural Mississippi each to address racism and PTSD in his own way.

Mudbound is a solid movie. It exceeded my expectations. I am frankly surprised that Mary Blige was nominated for supporting actress. Her screen is fairly limited and the performance is nothing special. I was more impressed with Holly Hunter's performance in The Big Sick.

GolfTec

For my birthday, Sharon booked a package of golf lessons for the two of us at GolfTec. We went on Thursday evening for a swing evaluation. Watching my swing in super slow motion was very eye opening. From there, the instructor compared my swing to the pros. Although there are actually a few good things in my swing, he started the process of rebuilding the swing from scratch.

I have always considered myself more of a brute force athlete. As an offensive linemen in football and a prop in rugby, I have always relied more on determination than finesse. It is going to be interesting to see if I can actually incorporate the coaching into building a new golf swing. We will be scheduling some follow-up lessons.

Back from Portland

After meetings at OHSU and the Portland hospital, I took an Uber to the airport. I caught a 2:20 pm Alaskan flight from Portland back to Sacramento. With two seats on either side on aisle, it was a prop plane! I was in the last row on the aisle. This worked out really well because they loaded and unloaded from the front and the back. I was back in Sacramento before 4:00 pm. I fought my through the commute traffic to meet Sharon in Rocklin.

To Tillamook

Up at 4:20 am, I caught a 7:05 am Southwest flight to Portland. Boarding with A36, I was still able to get one of the nice exit rows aisle seats in the new planes. It was one of the few Southwest flights that I have been on lately that wasn't packed; it was only about 1/3 full. Traveling with a group from work (Matt, Jennifer and Brian), we picked up a four wheel drive Yukon at Hertz and headed to Tillamook.

I drove from Portland to Tillamook. We spent the day in meetings at the hospital. I then drove back to Portland. It was an interesting drive in the pouring rain.

I am spending one night at the Portland Residence Inn in the Pearl District. The group finished the night with dinner at the Paragon. I had tomato soup and Chinook Salmon [braised endive, pickled beets, wild mushrooms, celery root puree]. I had a couple of nice glasses of Pinot Noir with dinner [Adelsheim, Willamette '15 and Lemelson, Six Vineyards, Willamette '14]. Sharon and I need to plan a wine tasting trip to Oregon this year!

Celebrating Sharon's Birthday

Sharon took a day off and headed to Napa with her brother Tom. They had a morning tasting at Donum Estate. Sharon is excited that they are constructing a new building just to house a piece of art by the same artist that created the spider at the Guggenheim Bibao. The spider is mentioned in Dan Brown's latest book.

After the tasting, they headed to Oxbow in Napa for lunch. They had oyster po boys at Hog Island Oyster Company.

Sharon and I had burgers and salad from Whole Foods for dinner. We finished the day with an eclair and presents. I got her a red leather Apple Watch Band and a Nokia Go activity tracker.

The Big Sick

Sunday night at Sea Ranch, Sharon and Marlene spent some time looking through the newest movies available on the AppleTV for something to watch. They ended up choosing The Big Sick. The film was chosen by American Film Institute as one of the top 10 films of 2017.

The Big Sick is a 2017 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Showalter and written by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani. It stars Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Adeel Akhtar, and Anupam Kher. Loosely based on the real-life romance between Nanjiani and Gordon, it follows an interracial couple who must deal with cultural differences after Emily (played by Kazan in the film) becomes ill.

The Big Sick is a watchable, entertaining film. Although Holly Hunter's performance was on a lot of lists for a possible Best Support Actress nomination, she didn't receive one. It didn't seem like she was on the screen enough to receive a nomination. The film did receive an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay.

Dunkirk

Sunday night, Sharon and I watched Dunkirk as a HD rental on the AppleTV. I googled a number of sites in the last few weeks trying to find out which films the critics thought would be nominated for an Oscar for best picture. Dunkirk was nominated for a Golden Globe for best drama and seems to be on almost every list as one of the best films from last year.

Dunkirk is a 2017 war film written, directed, and produced by Christopher Nolan that depicts the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II. The film portrays the evacuation from three perspectives: land, sea, and air. It has little dialogue. The director sought instead to create suspense from cinematography and music.

Its ensemble cast includes Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D'Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, and Tom Hardy.

We saw the trailer for Dunkirk repeatedly while we were working our way through the Oscar nominated films last year. The trailer was so in my consciousness that I thought of it when we were in New York City last Easter...

I enjoyed the movie more than I thought I would. It is a really good bookend to the Darkest Hour. [Note to self], I need to find a short book about the actual evacuation. Nevertheless, Dunkirk is not going to win best picture.

The Shape of Water

Late Saturday afternoon, Sharon and I saw The Shape of Water at the Palladio 16 in Folsom. Until the Oscar nominations are announced on January 23, we are guessing which films will be nominated. The Shape of Water is on most lists that I have seen as a possible best picture nominee.

The Shape of Water is a 2017 American fantasy drama film directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor. The film stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer. Set in Baltimore in 1962, the plot follows a mute custodian at a high-security government laboratory who befriends a captured humanoid-amphibian creature.

The American Film Institute selected it as one of the top 10 films of the year. The film won for Best Director and Best Original Score at the 75th Golden Globe Awards, while also receiving nominations for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Actress – Drama (Hawkins), Best Supporting Actress (Spencer), Best Supporting Actor (Jenkins), and Best Screenplay.

Leaving the film, I asked Sharon what she thought. She said that she enjoyed and that it exceeded her expectations. While Sharon enjoyed it more than I did, I found it much more watchable than several of last year's Oscar nominees, such as Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight. I don't believe that it will win best picture over Lady bird or Three Billboards.

Passengers

Saturday night at Sea Ranch, we watched Passengers on the AppleTV. Over the last couple of years, I have brought one of the Oscar nominated films to watch at Sea Ranch. With the Oscars nominations not announced until January 24 and no interest in watching Dunkirk, we ended up watching Passengers.

Passengers is a 2016 American science fiction film directed by Morten Tyldum and written by Jon Spaihts. It stars Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen and Laurence Fishburne. The story depicts two people who are awakened some 90 years too soon from an induced hibernation on a spaceship bound for a new planet.

The film was nominated for Best Original Score and Best Production Design at the 89th Academy Awards.

I enjoyed the movie, but only give it a lukewarm thumbs up... It is solid science fiction film.

Logger Cabins Site

I came across this historical marker while we were hiking to the Sag Pond Trail on Saturday at Sea Ranch.

Logger Cabins Site
1904-1910
Marker 29A-17
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps
This site is located near Sea Ranch Trail Marker #260. The Sea Ranch Archives Committee has identified twenty-six historic sites scattered about The Sea Ranch. They have constructed trail markers with information explaining the significance of each place. They were placed as part of The Sea Ranch 50th anniversary being celebrated from Memorial Day 2014 to Memorial Day 2015. The GPS coordinates for this location are 38° 43' 03.9" N 123° 27' 21.1" W.

Hugal's Ravine was named for the first permanent European settler, who built a house on the ridge above and a grist mill with partner Henry Heeler in this vernal area. The Del Mar logging train terminated at the foot of this ravine on the west side of the highway. Cabins for workers were built on the flat area around this marker.

2018 Kings versus Jazz

I went by myself to the Sacramento Kings versus Utah Jazz NBA basketball game at Golden One Center. I am trying to see at least one game a month this season. I bought a very nice single ticket on the aisle: Section 119, Row A, Seat 7.

The game was close for most of the first half. With 1:49 left in the second quarter, the Kings trailed by 5. The Jazz went on a run and opened the lead to 10 at half time. After the first three and a half minutes of the third quarter, the Jazz had opened the lead to 20 points. Although the Kings made a couple of small runs, they never really got back in the game and lost by the score of 120 to 105.

I spent most of the game focusing on De'Aaron Fox. When he was out, I switched to watching Bogdanovic. It was very fun to watch Fox because he was matched against Rickey Rubio most of the game. After scoring six points in the first quarter, Fox was scoreless for the rest of the game. He fouled out with about two minutes remaining in the game.

On the other hand, Bogdan had 25 points. Playing 39 minutes, he was 9 for 11 from the field, 6 for 6 from three and 1 for 1 from the free throw line.

Wille Cauley-Stein was the Kings high scorer. He had 26 points on 11 for 18 from the field, 0 for 1 from three and 4 for 6 from the free throw line. Cauley-Stein added 10 rebounds.

The Jazz high scorer was rookie Donovan Mitchell. He had 35 points on 14 for 19 from the field, 1 for 4 from three and 5 for 7 from the free throw line. Mitchell had a spectacular a one-handed dunk in the third quarter.

Although I didn't connect with them, the Sanborns were in their seats; Marlene and I exchanged text messages. At half-time, I met up with Snipes. He was at the game with Keith.

The Kings now have 4 wins and 1 loss in games that I have see in person during the 2017-2018 season.

Jack's 2018 Spring Semester Classes

MGMT 201 - Management & Org Behavior

This course is a comprehensive overview of the management process and organizational behavior from a behavioral and social science perspective. Topics include: management across cultures; managing with ethics and social responsibility; fundamentals of organizing; organizational culture and design; leadership; motivation; 1 communication; interpersonal skills; teamwork and group dynamics; goal-setting; alternative work arrangements; power and politics; conflict and negotiation; managing change; and management development. Emphasis is on the analysis and understanding of human behavior in organizations.

FINC 211 - Business Financial Management

This basic course in finance covers the functions of financial managers, financial markets, and financial analysis tools, and corporate financial decision making. It provides an introduction to cost of capital, investment analysis, capital budgeting and the valuation of securities.

MARK 220 - Principles of Marketing

A first course on tools and approaches for making marketing decisions. Marketing is viewed as a broad technology for influencing behavior, beyond functions like selling and advertising. Topics covered include consumer behavior, marketing research, and marketing planning, with emphasis on marketing mix decisions: product strategy, communications, pricing, and distribution. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

OPIM 220 - Management Science

Management Science is the application of quantitative modeling techniques to the managerial decision making process. The course will be taught by example and adopts a practical spreadsheet-based approach to the modeling of a wide variety of business problems from finance, marketing, and operations. The approach taken in this course concentrates on problem solving in an interdisciplinary context that also develops spreadsheet skills.

THEO-102 - Pilgrimage, Travel, and Tourism

“Only thoughts reached while walking have value,” wrote Nietzsche. Religions seem to have a similar view. Pilgrimage has been a wide-spread aspect of most religions, through most historical periods. This course will examine the relation of travel (in its many guises) to religion from pilgrimage to common tourism. Classic and contemporary theories of pilgrimage will provide the backdrop. The majority of the course, however, will focus on the present day and on contexts that are not explicitly religious by reading travel accounts by Henry Miller, Alphonso Lingis, and Jack Gilbert. The point of the course, then, is to examine why travel is so important religiously and how all travel, even tourism, is religiously significant.

Fall 2016 Semester
Spring 2017 Semester
Fall 2017 Semester
Spring 2018 Semester
Fall 2018 Semester
Spring 2019 Semester
Fall 2019 Semester
Spring 2020 Semester

2018 Sea Ranch Day 4

Sharon and I took a walk/run north along the bluffs. At the two mile mark, Sharon turned back and I continued my run. At the Walk On Beach, I decided run across the beach to ladder on the other side. There was a high tide and a surf warning. As I approached the middle of the beach, there was a wide stream. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying close enough attention. I ended up getting hit by the surf up to my knees!

Back at the house, we started packing up. We left the Kyuka House a little before 10:30 am. We dropped the key in Gualala and then made a quick stop at the Sea Ranch Lodge to pick up some pictures that Sharon had bought for her office the day before. We pulled away from the lodge about 11:05 am.

The traffic was fairly light. We got to the Schug Winery about 1:20 pm. We had tried to stop there last year on the way back from Sea Ranch, but they were closed. After the tasting, we grabbed some sandwiches at the Carneros Deli.

Back on the road, we got to Carmichael a little after 4:30 pm. It was a great trip. Although I am not sure where we will find time in the next few months, Sharon and I talked during the weekend about renting a small place for just the two of us for a weekend.

2018 Sea Ranch Day 3

Sharon made eggs, bacon and scones for breakfast. The plan for the day was to play golf at The Sea Ranch Golf Links.

We had a 10:20 am tee time. After hitting a few balls on the range, we teed off about 10:10 am. Compared to last year, the weather and the course were fantastic. I ended up shooting a liberally scored winter rules 100. When I say liberally, I mean it. I took a number of mulligans and moved my ball on lots of occasions. Last February, I shot a 117!

I fell apart on the 11 hole, but overall, I was very happy with the way I played. My putting was very solid. I only three putted one hole. Over the course of the day, Sharon talked about wanting to play in Hawaii when we are there for Becky's wedding in February.

After golf, we headed into town to the store. We got some steaks and potatoes to barbecue for dinner.

Back at the house, the four of us spent some time soaking in the hot tub. Somewhat unusually, this was the only time that Sharon and I got into the hot tub all weekend.

After some debate about what to watch, we finished the night watching The Big Sick on the AppleTV.

2018 Sea Ranch Day 2

This was probably one of the most active days that I have ever had at Sea Ranch!

With Sharon sleeping until almost 8:20 am, I went out for a long run in the morning. I ran 6.5 miles north along the bluffs. The bluffs at Sea Ranch are one of my favorite places in the world to run.

Marlene made a nice breakfast casserole using a recipe that Donna had given her. After breakfast, we decided to hike across Highway 1 into the forest. We hiked up the Hugal Ravine trail to the Sag Pond Trail. We looped back along the Ridge Trail and down the Cluster and White Fir Trails to the road. In total, we covered almost five miles. We have never hiked east of Highway 1 before. There are some additional trails on the that side of the road that we need to explore on future trips.

We passed a couple of sag ponds. They are created by earthquakes along the San Andreas Fault. The fault zone is 1 to 2 miles wide at Sea Ranch, with parallel strands or breaks.

Over the course of the hike, I passed three more Sea Ranch historic markers. These included: Logger Cabins Site; Hugal's Ravine, and; Cattle Ranch Era Beginning 1845.

After a couple of sandwiches for lunch, we decided to take the bikes up to the Sea Ranch Lodge. We sat at the bar and had a couple of adult beverages. I got a chance to watch a little of the Atlanta Falcons versus Minnesota Vikings NFL playoff game. It was a nice eight mile round trip on the bikes. Sharon was very excited to pass the sheep along the way.

Getting cleaned up, the plan for the evening was an early [6:15 pm] dinner at St. Orres. I had rack of boar, Sharon had rack of lamb and the Sanborns both had filets.

Rather than bringing a DVD like I have done in the past, I brought the AppleTV this year. Hooking it up, we ended up finishing the night watching Passengers.

2018 Sea Ranch Day 1

For the fourth time in five years ['17, '16 and '14], we are spending a weekend in January or February at Sea Ranch with the Sanborns. This also marks the fifth time in seven years [2013 and 2011] that we have spent a long weekend at Sea Ranch in the winter.

The Sanborns rolled up to our house in Carmichael a little before 9:00 am. We loaded up Phil's truck and were on the road just before 9:30 am.

When Jack, Sharon and I were in San Francisco last summer, we had a bottle of MacPhail Pinot Noir for dinner. We liked it and I researched where they were located. It turned out that they had a tasting room in Sebastopol. I made a reservation for noon. Their tasting lounge is in an area called the Barlow. We got there about 11:30 am; the traffic was very light. We wandered around the area a little before heading to the tasting room.

We had the tasting room to ourselves. After the tasting, we had some sandwiches for lunch in MacPhail Tasting Lounge Soil Room.

After a quick stop in Bodega Bay for some crab and smoked salmon, we headed north to Sea Ranch. The traffic continued to be very light. We rolled in Gualala just after 3:00 pm. We are staying the next three nights at the Kyuka House. This is one of the two houses that we rented in September of 2016 for the anniversary trip.

Sharon and I went for a two mile walk along the bluffs before dinner. I have always loved sunsets on the ocean at Sea Ranch.

Sharon made chicken cordon bleu and green beans for dinner. After dinner, the Sanborns hit the hot tub. Beat from a long week of traveling with a couple of early mornings, I fell asleep on the couch in the media room and was done for the night...

2018 Microsoft Executive Briefing Day 2

I spent a second day in Redmond at the Microsoft Executive Briefing Center. Our Adventist Health group included Victor, Vince, Dwight, Tim, Kevin (Feather River), Tim (Simi Valley), Heather, Wendell and I. The agenda for the day included: Windows 10 Security Overview; Office 365 Security & Compliance; Microsoft Cloud App Security; Azure Information Protection; IT at Microsoft, and; Enterprise Collaboration at Microsoft.

Whenever I attend briefings, I try to find some nuggets to take away. Over the two days, I had three thoughts. First, there was a hint that Microsoft might be open to a pricing structure that would allow us to build a strategy to move some of our security tools to best of vendor. Second, I was very impressed with the Surface Hub. Although we are planning three in the new building, I have never really looked at the technology before. Finally, Microsoft talked about moving away from password in Windows 10.

I took a group back to the airport in an Uber. I caught a 5:20 pm Southwest flight from Seattle to Sacramento. Boarding with A41, I was still able to get an exit row. The flight was on the ground in Sacramento a little early and I was home just after 7:30 pm.

2018 Microsoft Executive Briefing Day 1

I spent the day with a group from Adventist Health at the Microsoft Executive Briefing center. I visited the Microsoft Briefing Center in 2004 [Day 1, Day 2] and 2008 [Day 1, Day 2]. The agenda included: Empowering Health - Microsoft in Health Overview; Transform the Care Continuum with the Intelligent Cloud; Optimize Your Clinical and Operational Effectiveness; Azure Security & Compliance; Microsoft 365; Demo: Executive Office; and, Enterprise Mobility + Security.

We finished the night with dinner at the Purple Café in Bellevue. I had a very good pan seared steelhead with spanish chorizo, preserved tomatoes, fregola, chermula and fennel-saffron puree.

To Seattle

After taking Jack to the airport early in the morning, I was back again in the afternoon. I caught a 4:20 pm Southwest flight from Sacramento to Seattle. Boarding with A20, I got a very nice aisle seat.

On the ground, I took a Uber SUV with three other people from work to Hyatt Regency in Bellevue. I am spending two nights there.  We will attending a Microsoft Executive Briefing on Wednesday and Thursday.

Jack back to school

Finishing Jack's three week Christmas break, I got up at 3:30 am. I got Jack and Sharon up about 3:50 am. In the pouring rain, Jack and I left the house at about 4:20 am. Although he argued that his bag wasn't more than 50 pounds, it weighed 62.5 pounds!?! Jack caught a 6:10 am United Flight from Sacramento to San Francisco and then a 9:35 am flight from San Francisco to Baltimore.

Catching an Uber, he was back on the Georgetown University campus to start the second half of his sophomore year a little after 7:30 pm eastern time. It took an hour and thirteen minutes from BWI to the Georgetown campus. Jack starts classes tomorrow.

What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton

My book for January is What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The book spends a lot of time exploring the evidence of the Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton organizes the information that has been bouncing around into a formable case.

She also spends a lot of time talking about FBI Director Comey and the use of her email server. Although Clinton admits that in hindsight it was a mistake, I understand why she used the private email server at the time. No one wants to carry multiple mobile devices... I just have a hard time judging how much this impacted how people voted. From my perspective, it is a red herring.

I haven't read a biography of Hillary or Bill. As a result, I found the information about Clinton's life interesting. The information looking inside the campaign was also engaging. Unfortunately, these are both very small parts of the book.

I have two other observations. First, I had forgotten how small Trump's electoral college victory was. It came down to 80,000 votes in three states: Michigan; Pennsylvania, and; Wisconsin. Trump won those states by 0.2, 0.7 and 0.8 percentage points and by 10,704, 46,765 and 22,177 votes. Second, it is amazing to read how much time Clinton's team put into briefing books and policy papers.

The book felt very stream of consciousness. I think that it could have been tighter and better organized. While I enjoyed the Kathy Tur book, this book was a forced march for me. This is not what I needed after Rooster Bar. I give it a "C+" at best. I don't recommend it.

Taking down the Christmas decorations

Sharon and I spent the loin's share of Saturday and Sunday taking down and packing up the Christmas decorations. It took us parts of three days in late November to take down the fall decorations and put up the Christmas decorations.

I was just thankful that it was pouring rain like last year! While I love the house at Christmas, it feels right to take everything down, turn the page on the holiday season and start into the new year.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Continuing to gear up on our annual march to see all of the Oscar nominated films, Sharon and I went to see Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri at the Century Arden 14 and XD theater. Until January 23, we will be guessing at which films are going to get nominations in the major categories. Three Billboards is on almost every list I have seen as a nominee for best picture.

The film stars Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, John Hawkes, and Peter Dinklage. It follows a mother who purchases three billboards to call public attention to her daughter's unsolved murder.

The film was named as one of the top 10 films of the year by the American Film Institute. It received six 2017 Golden Globes nominations: Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, Best Actress – Drama (McDormand), Best Supporting Actor (Rockwell), Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score.

As the film was ending, I kept thinking about last year's Manchester by the Sea. The core of both films is a tragic event. Three Billboards goes to some even darker places. I have seen the film described as a dark comedy, but I didn't see much comedy... As Sharon said afterwards, it is not very uplifting or life affirming. If nominated, it is not going to win best picture. It can see it having a chance in the best supporting actor category.

Adventist Health and Cerner Expand Strategic Partnership

ADVENTIST HEALTH AND CERNER EXPAND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

TO REVOLUTIONIZE CARE FOR PATIENTS, COMMUNITIES

ROSEVILLE, Calif. (Jan. 4, 2018)— Adventist Health announced today an expansion of its partnership with Cerner, a global leader in health care technology. Adventist Health and Cerner have a longstanding strategic alignment and shared goal to further improve the quality of care and the patient experience using technology and more coordinated services.

Through this expansion, Cerner will assume day-to-day management of Adventist Health’s revenue cycle and clinical applications IT staff. The companies will continue innovating together and evolving how care is delivered.

“We continue to make changes in our organization in the relentless pursuit of improvement for our patients and communities,” said Scott Reiner, Adventist Health’s chief executive officer. “This expanded partnership helps to create a seamless experience in a patient’s entire health journey, and positions us to innovate quickly and at scale so that our mission can continue to grow and benefit our communities.”

“We are committed to working together to help Adventist Health advance its care transformation journey,” said Jeff Townsend, executive vice president and chief of staff for Cerner. “This expanded relationship creates a more aligned and embedded partnership where we can accelerate the response to the challenges of today, while innovating to address the opportunities of tomorrow. We also have an opportunity to create an even more dynamic workforce where associates feel empowered to generate new ideas and innovate new ways of doing things.”

For more information about Cerner, visit: www.cerner.com.

For more information about Adventist Health, visit: www.adventisthealth.org.

ABOUT ADVENTIST HEALTH: Adventist Health is a faith-based, nonprofit integrated health system serving more than 75 communities on the West Coast and Hawaii. It’s compassionate and talented team of 33,300 includes more than 24,600 employees; 5,000 medical staff physicians; and 3,700 volunteers working together in pursuit of one mission: living God’s love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope. Founded on Seventh-day Adventist heritage and values, Adventist Health provides care in 19 hospitals, more than 280 clinics (hospital-based, rural health and physician clinics), 13 home care agencies, seven hospice agencies and four joint-venture retirement centers. Through a separate public benefit corporation, Adventist Health seeks to reach more communities and accommodate their specific needs from an affiliated health system. For more information, visit www.adventisthealth.org.

About Cerner: Cerner’s health information technologies connect people, information and systems at more than 25,000 facilities worldwide. Recognized for innovation, Cerner^® solutions assist clinicians in making care decisions and enable organizations to manage the health of populations. The company also offers an integrated clinical and financial system to help health care organizations manage revenue, as well as a wide range of services to support clients’ clinical, financial and operational needs. Cerner’s mission is to contribute to the systemic improvement of health care delivery and the health of communities. Nasdaq: CERN. For more information about Cerner, visit cerner.com.

Mikuni

Jack, Sharon and I went to dinner at Mikuni in Fair Oaks.

William Gibson Quote

"The future is already here.
It's just not very evenly distributed."

William Gibson

The Economist, December 4, 2003

2017 Christmas Lights

New Year's Day 2018

Up until almost 2:00 am and spending the night in the Sanborn's casita, Sharon and I slept fairly late. After a cup of coffee with the Sanborns, Sharon and I headed to her brother's Tom's house. Tom hosted a breakfast potluck [chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, sausage and bagels] for an early 10 am Norte Dame versus LSU game.

Miles Boykin scored on a 55-yard touchdown pass with 1:28 remaining and No. 14 Notre Dame got its first win in a New Year's Day bowl since 1994 with a 21-17 win over No. 16 LSU in the Citrus Bowl.

New Year's Eve 2017

While I have always counted New Year's Eve as my least favorite holiday, we had a nice evening. We went with the Sanborns to a New Year's Eve Celebration at the Catta Cerdera Country Club. It was a very nice dinner, including a first course of braised boneless short ribs over manchego polenta cake, fried leeks and pan jus, a second course of tomato basil, a third course of petite filet mignon & shrimp scampi with au grain potatoes and roasted carrots and a fourth course of grand mariner cake. I need to go on a diet.

We ended up heading back to the Sanborns' house about 11:00 pm. We celebrated the New Year in their hot tub!

Sharon had gotten Phil a birthday cake. We ended having a piece and celebrating Phil's birthday about 1:30 am. By the time we got to bed in their casita, it was almost 2 am... We stayed in their casita once before.

Brun and Kim for dinner

With the house still decorated for Christmas, we had Brun and Kim over for dinner. We had a nice dinner of paleo hamburgers, fries and salad.

Darkest Hour

Starting to gear up on our annual march to see all of the Oscar nominated films, Sharon and I went to see Darkest Hour at the UA Arden. For the next several weeks, we will be guessing at which films are going to get nominations in the major categories.

The Darkest Hour is on some lists for best picture. Additionally, Gary Oldman's portrayal of Churchill tops most lists for best actor. Oldman has already been nominated for the Best Actor – Drama at the upcoming 75th Golden Globe Awards and for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.

Darkest Hour is a 2017 British biographical war drama film. The film stars Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill and follows his early days as Prime Minister. The movie actually covers the period from May 9 to May 28, 1940. The film also stars Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James. Lily James was in Baby Driver.

I enjoyed the film more than Sharon did. I read a FDR book earlier this year. Churchill pops up a number of times in that book. Additionally, the Dunkirk retreat takes place during film. After seeing trailers for Dunkirk repeatedly last year, I need to see that movie as a bookend to this movie.

2017-2018 Kings Season

During the 2017-2018 Sacramento Kings season, the Kings
are 5 and 2 in games which I saw in person, including:

PRESEASON

10/02/2017: Kings-106, Spurs-100 - Larkin

REGULAR SEASON

11/09/2017: Kings-109, 76ers-108 - Larkin

11/22/2017: Kings-113, Lakers-102 - Sharon, Jack

12/27/2017: Kings-109, Cavs-95 - Sharon, Jack, Drew

01/17/2018: Jazz-120, Kings-105 - By Myself

02/05/2018: Kings-104, Bulls-98 - AH IT Team

03/03/2018: Jazz-98, Kings-91 - Jack

03/07/2018: Pelicans-114, Kings-101 - Sharon with Jack

2025-2026 Season [1-1]
2024-2025 Season [5-4]
2023-2024 Season [6-2]
2022-2023 Season [5-3]
2021-2022 Season [1-5]
2020-2021 Season [1-0]
2019-2020 Season [1-4]
2018-2019 Season [7-4]
2017-2018 Season [5-2]
2016-2107 Season [5-3]
2015-2016 Season [2-2]
2014-2015 Season [1-4]
2013-2014 season [3-2]
2012-2013 Season [1-0]
2011-2012 Season [3-2]
2010-2011 Season [3-6]
2009-2010 Season [4-7]
2008-2009 Season [2-7]
2007-2008 Season [7-7]
2006-2007 Season [5-9]
2005-2006 Season [8-8]
2004-2005 Season [10-4]
2003-2004 season [12-3]

2017 Kings versus Cavs

Parking at the Plaza 555 garage across the street from the Golden 1 Center, Jack, Drew, Sharon and I went to dinner at House Kitchen & Bar. Snipes rolled up just as we were finishing dinner.

From there, we went to the Sacramento Kings versus Cleveland Cavaliers NBA basketball game. Opening a lead in the fourth quarter, the Kings won the game by the score of 109 to 95.

We had seats 3, 4, 5 and 6 in row U of section 118. Sitting at the back of the lower deck, I was pleasantly surprised at the view from the seats.

Vince Carter was the Kings leading scorer. He had 24 points on 10 for 12 from the field and 4 for 5 from three. Carter had no free throw attempts?!? I continue to be impressed with Bogdan Bogdanovic; he had 16 points and was 3 for 6 from three.

The Cavs leading scorer was Kevin Love. He had 23 points on 7 for 12 from the field, 3 for 8 from three and 6 for 6 from the free throw line. LeBron James had a triple double: 16 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists.

We visited with Hunter and Snipes in the concourse at halftime.

It was a very enjoyable game and evening. Including preseason, the Kings now have 4 wins and 0 losses in games that I have see in person during the 2017-2018 season.

Christmas Ornament 2017

I have bought Sharon an ornament for the tree every year since the first Christmas we celebrated together.

Like last year, I got her two ornaments this year. I bought her one of the Mount Washington Resort when we were there on our fall trip.

I picked up a second one at the Norman Rockwell Museum.

Christmas Day 2017

With the boys sleeping late, we had a lazy morning. We exchanged gifts. I got Drew an Apple Watch and Santa brought Jack the new iPhone that he has been wanting. At Sharon's suggestion, we got everyone a 23andMe ancestry kit. I am going to be very interested to see all of our results. After presents, we had waffles, eggs and bacon for breakfast.

At noon, Jack, Drew, Sharon and I took Tiber for a leisurely three mile loop around Ancil Hoffman Park. I was surprised by the number of people on the trail.

Continuing our tradition of seeing a movie on Christmas Day, Sharon, Drew Jack and I went to the Century Arden 14 and XD for the 3:45 pm showing of The Last Jedi. Tom was supposed to join us for the movie and then dinner, but was sick. This is the ninth year in a row that we have seen a movie on Christmas Day. Drew and I both enjoyed The Last Jedi, while Sharon was more lukewarm.

After the movie, we headed to Buca di Beppo for dinner. Although we missed having Tom join us, it was nice to have just the four of us. We split a Mixed Green Salad, Spicy Chicken Rigatoni, Eggplant Parmigiana and Bianca Pizza.

When we got back to the house, Drew and I took Tiber for a long walk. We spent some time brainstorming strategies for one of the challenges that I am going to face in 2018.

I really enjoyed having Drew here this year for Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2017

After spending the day getting the house spec'ed up, Drew, Jack and I took off for Mass about 3:10 pm. Tom was already there when we got there. The four of us worked on saving a row. The Rositanis joined us. Sharon rolled up a couple of minutes before Mass started; she had to park in the Bank of America parking lot. Although Eric and Ashley were supposed to join us, they never got there. If possible, it seemed like the church was fuller than previous years. There were a lot of people standing in the back...

For the second year in a row, Father Mike Moynahan gave a unique homily. The priest gathered all of the kids at the front to serve as his counselors to help him tell the story of the birth of Christ.

After Mass, we raced back home. The Christmas Eve group this year was 19, including Sharon's brother Tom, Eric, Eric's girlfriend Ashley, Kevin, Leah, Lydia, Sharon's brother Tim, Kathy, Erin, Erin's boyfriend Cromac, Eileen, Eileen's boyfriend Will, Leah's parents Steve and Teri, Jim Dunn, Jack, Drew, Sharon and I. This ties the record for the number of people that we have hosted for a holiday dinner with Thanksgiving of 2014.

Sharon made a nice dinner of Osso Boco, risotto and green beans. I really enjoyed having a chance to sit with Drew and Jack at one end of the table.

Opening the presents was a little bit of a fiasco. Unlike previous years where we did a round robin, they tried a strategy of giving everyone a present at the same time. We need to rethink this in the future.

Drew

Drew rolled up from SoCal in the middle of the afternoon. We are excited to have him staying with us for a few days!

Christmas Card 2017

See all of the Christmas Cards since 1997!

Back from Kansas City

Up at 4:00 am [2:00 am Pacific time], I caught a 6:40 am Southwest flight from Kansas City to Las Vegas. Boarding with A19, I was able to get one of the nice exit row seats on a newer 737. With a long layover, I had breakfast at the PGA Tour Grill.

I then caught what was supposed to be a 9:50 am Southwest flight from Las Vegas to Sacramento. It boarded about 9:40 am for a scheduled 10:05 am take-off. With A22, I got another exit row on an older 737. I ended up with exit row seats on all four flights this trip Once we boarded, they continued to work on a problem with the floor lighting for the rear exit. It was after 10:30 am before we finally took off. I was back in Sacramento just after noon.

At Cerner

I spent the day in Kansas City at Cerner. The morning agenda included: Innovations Campus Tour; Video Wall Content; Video Wall hardware; Video Conferencing and Live Streaming Technology, and; Cafe Technology. We traveled to the Cerner World Headquarters in the afternoon to talk about the CareAware Smart Room and Hospital Operations Demonstration and Discussion and Remote Hosting Discussion.

To Kansas City

Up at 3:30 am, I caught a 6:20 am Southwest flight from Sacramento to Phoenix. Boarding with A33, I was able to load from the rear of the plane and get one of the nice exit row seats on a newer 737. With a very short layover, I caught a 9:50 am Southwest flight from Phoenix to Kansas City. With A26, I got another exit row on an older 737. I was on the ground in Kansas City about 1:30 pm. I took an Uber to downtown Kansas City. I spending two nights at the Kansas City Downtown Marriott.

After checking in, with Sharon's urging, I took another Uber to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. I spent about two hours wandering through the museum. The museum exceed my expectations. The collection includes a Caravaggio [John the Baptist], an Hieronymus Bosch, several Van Goghs and the largest public collection of Thomas Hart Benton. For years, Sharon had a Thomas Hart Benton poster hanging in the East View and Marina Point houses. There were two special exhibitions: Through the Eyes of Picasso and Dreams of Kings: A Jade Suite for Eternity. The Picasso exhibit was very good.

Jack is Back!

Finishing up his finals in the afternoon, Jack took an Uber to Dulles.

He caught a 5:45 pm nonstop United flight from Dulles to Sacramento. Jack was on the ground in Sacramento just after 8:00 pm.

Sharon and I picked him up. It is great to have him home for Christmas!

Get Out

Saturday night [December 16], Sharon and I watched Get Out as an HD rental on the AppleTV. The film has been chosen by the National Board of Review, the American Film Institute, and Time magazine as one of the top 10 films of 2017. At the 75th Golden Globe Awards, Get Out received two nominations: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor – Comedy or Musical for Daniel Kaluuya.

Get Out is a 2017 horror film written and directed by comedian Jordan Peele. It stars Daniel Kaluuya as Chris, a black man who visits the family of his white girlfriend.  All of the family's servants are black and act strangely. Allison Williams as the girlfriend and Bradley Whitford as the girlfriend's father costar.

Sharon liked the film more than I did; she gave it an "8." With what looks like a weaker field this year, it is going to be interesting to see if Get Out gets an Oscar nomination for best picture. I would probably bet that it doesn't...

mailing the Christmas Cards

Nineteen of the last twenty years, Sharon and I have sent out a Christmas Card. Dissatisfied with the quality of the photos on commercial cards like Shutterfly, I have built my own format and process. Unfortunately, this is a lot more work...

Every year, I promise myself that I will get it done earlier, but it always slips into a last minute rush. This year, I mailed about 70 cards on Sunday afternoon, December 17 and another 30 plus cards on Monday morning, December 18.

2017 Neighborhood Progressive Christmas Party

Sharon and I went to the third annual [2015, 2016] progressive Christmas Party in the Deterring Ranch neighborhood. It was slightly different, less ambitious format than last year. The group included: Greg and Mitchell; Jim and Debi; Rod and Kathy; Dan and Debra; Mike and Jill; Tom and Judy; Glenn, and; Sharon and I.

The party started the evening at Greg and Mitchell's home for heavy hors d'oeuvre. The evening included an ugly ornament exchange. After the ornament exchange, the group moved to Dan and Debra's for dessert.

Christmas Cookies

Sharon, Tom, Eric, Ashley, Erin, Cromac, Leah and Lydia spent the afternoon making Christmas Cookies.

Holiday Dinner

I took Sharon to Ruth Chris for her traditional holiday dinner and gift exchange with Janie. I was surprised how long they were there. I dropped her at 6:30 pm and picked her up at 11:20 pm!

Dinner with the Sanborns, not!

Carpooling, Sharon and I headed to Paul Martin's after work. The plan was to meet the Sanborns for dinner. Unfortunately, it turned out that Sharon got the dates mixed up! We were supposed to meet them for dinner on the 18th rather than the 14th.

We ended up having a leisurely dinner. After a crab cake starter, Sharon had fish tacos and I had blacken pacific redfish.

New Hampshire Historical Marker #45

We rode the Mount Washington Cog Train on day four of our F@ll 2017 New England trip.

Mount Washington Cog Train
New Hampshire Historical Marker #45
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps
This marker is located on Base Station Road, Jackson, New Hampshire. The GPS coordinates for this location are 44° 16' 04.6" N 71° 21' 14.4" W.

Completed in 1869 for $139,500. This unique railroad was built through the genius and enterprise of Herrick and Walter Aiken of Frankin and Sylvester Marsh of Campton. Over three miles long, the average grade to the 6,293 foot summit is one foot in four. Made safe by the toothed wheel and ratchet. It is the second steepest cog railroad in the world and the first of its type.

The Rooster Bar

My book for December is The Rooster Bar by John Grisham. Somewhat unbelievably, this is the 32st book by John Grisham that I have read in the last twenty-five years. I am not sure that this is something that I should be proud of... It is the third of his books that I read this year!?!

I usually tear through a Grisham book as a light read. I labored through The Rooster Bar. It may be my least favorite Grisham book ever.

Grisham says in the Author's Note that the idea for the book came from an article in the September 2014 edition of The Atlantic titled "The Great School Scam." While the story looks at student loans and diploma mill law schools, the plot contains a mishmash of other subjects, including: mental illness; illegal aliens, ICE and deportation; practicing law without a license; a class action lawsuit; a medical malpractice lawsuit; off shore banking, and the African country of Senegal.

The book is a mess. I didn't enjoy it. I don't recommend it...

Jack to Boston

Friday Afternoon [December 8], Jack caught an Uber from Georgetown to BWI airport. He took a 716 pm flight to Boston. Jack spent Friday and Saturday night in Boston.

On Saturday night, he took Charlotte to her sorority formal.

Sunday morning, Jack caught a 11 am flight back to Reagan and then an Uber back to campus. He has finals starting this week and then will be flying back to Sacramento for Christmas break on December 19.

Celebrating Jack Frame's 100th Birthday

Sharon and I went to her brother's Tim's house for a celebration of their father's 100th birthday. Jack Frame passed away in 2006. The group included Tom, Tim, Kathy, Eileen, Sharon and I.

Describing their father, Tim said that "Jack Frame was intelligent, honest, humorous, well liked and a good family man."

I have a photo album of pictures of her dad here.

Dinner with the Renterias

For the second Sunday of Advent, Sharon and I went to Mass at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Clarksburg. I have always wanted to visit this church. I loved the building, but was disappointed in the older priest.

After Mass, we met the Renterias for dinner at the Press Bistro. We had dinner there once before with the Foys when Jack and Bridget went to the Jesuit Jr Prom. Sharon had salmon, while I had the seafood risotto. We ended up sitting and visiting for more than 3 1/2 hours...

Liz for Dinner

Liz came for dinner. Sharon served corn flake chicken. Liz is taking off for three weeks of traveling around California with a New Zealand woman that she met on the Camino.

Vermont State House

We walked to the Vermont State Capitol Building after breakfast on day three of our F@ll 2017 New England trip.

State House
Vermont Roadside Historical Marker
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps
This marker is located at 125 Street Street, Montpelier, Vermont. The GPS coordinates for this location are 44° 15' 41.3" N 72° 34' 51.3" W.

Montpelier became the Capital in 1808, when the first State House was built. Ammi B. Youngs 2nd State House, built in 1838 and destroyed by fire in 1857, was similar to this 3rd structure on the site, completed in 1859.

Hunter and Snipes

I met Snipes and Hunter for a couple of beers and a burger at Broderick Midtown. I had a salad and a Bison Burger. It was great to catch up.

Intellectually, I have always enjoyed Snipes' company a great deal. He definitely raises the average IQ of the group whenever he is around!

Yule made brief cameo appearances just after Hunter got there and again right before I left.

2017 Christmas Tree

In 2015 and 2016, we got Christmas trees at Able's on Sunrise. We were extremely happy with the trees that we got there. When that lot disappeared this year, we weren't sure what to do. Last Friday night on the way to the Gainsley's Christmas Party, we stopped at a lot at Cal Expo and then at Lamb's in Elk Grove. We bought trees at Lamb's from 2009 to 2014. We ended up buying a flocked tree at Lamb's.

I picked up the tree on Saturday morning (December 2). Sharon's nephew Eric came over and helped us get it into the house and up on the stand. We decorated the tree after dinner [December 5].

Sharon is not completely satisfied. Although it is a great looking tree, she thinks it is too small. [Note to self], let her pick out the tree next year!

2017 Jesuit High School Lessons & Carols

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is a service of Christian worship celebrating the birth of Jesus that is traditionally followed at Christmas. The story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus is told in nine short Bible readings from Genesis, the prophetic books and the Gospels, interspersed with the singing of Christmas carols, hymns and choir music.

For the second straight year [2016], Sharon and I went to Lessons & Carols, an evening of prayer and song presented by the Jesuit High School Chamber Singers, the Concert Choir of St. Francis High School and Jesuit Drama at the Chapel of the North American Martyrs. Sharon went by herself in 2015 while I was working in the Napa Valley.

An Adventure plus Frame Family Dinner

With Fair Oaks Boulevard closed due to the California International Marathon, Sharon and I decided to walk to Mass at Our Lady of Assumption for the first Sunday of Advent. It was 5.25 miles round trip. On the way there, we walked up Palm to Fair Oaks to El Camino to Walnut. There were a lot of sections without sidewalks. On the way home, we headed east through a neighborhood. We walked up Fair Oaks against the marathon runners. While their were a lot of runners when we first got on Fair Oaks on the way home, the course was deserted by the time we got to Palm. Just as we got to Palm about 11:10 am, they opened the intersection. We talked about making it an annual tradition.

While Tom and Eric were hiking the Camino, Tom sent a group text saying that he wanted to start a monthly Sunday afternoon family dinner. He has been trying to do it the first Sunday of every month.

Sharon and I headed over to Tom's house about 4:00 pm. With Tim in New Orleans with Brun and Jim Ellis celebrating their birthdays, it was a smaller group [Tom, Eric, Ashley, Leah, Lydia, Sharon and I]. Tom served a lemon themed dinner, including lemon rice, broccoli and salmon.

2017 F@rm Credit West Christmas Party

For the sixth time in the last seven years [2011, 2102, 2013, 2014, 2015], Sharon and I went to the F@rm Credit West Christmas Party. Last year, Sharon was feeling under the weather and we missed the party.

This year, it was held at the Cattlemens in Roseville. Due to the consolidation into their new office, it was a big group. There are fewer people every year that I knew when I worked for F@arm Credit. Intellectually, it was interesting just to cruise in Sharon's wake before dinner. We sat with Holly and Van and Chris Petersen and his wife at dinner.

Gainsley's Christmas Party

Over the years, we have had very little luck in making it to the Gainsley's Christmas Party. In the last few years, it seems like it always fell on the same date as Sharon's work Christmas Party. We finally made it this year.

After stops at Christmas tree lots at Cal Expo and in Elk Grove, we rolled up to their house about 7:30 pm. It is the first time that we have been to their new place. We had a nice evening, including visiting with a couple of people that I worked with at Sutter Health: June and Kendall and their husbands.