Father's Day 2013

In the ten plus years that I have been writing in this space, I have only written posts titled "Father's Day" twice. In contrast, there are ten years of Mother's Day posts. Trying to sort out the history, it seems that I have often been away from home or watching Jack play baseball on Father's Day.

After an eight mile run around Ancil Hoffman Park on Sunday, Sharon, Jack and I went to see Star Trek: Into Darkness. At some point, I may start a project to go back and watch all of the Star Trek movies.

After the movie, we had an early dinner at a Mexican restaurant that we had never been to before: El Rosa Blanca.

The Da Vinci Code Redux

After watching Angels & Demons on Friday night, the three of us watched The Da Vinci Code on Saturday night. Sharon and I saw the movie in the theater in 2006.

I got the book for Jack on Wednesday and he finished reading it on Friday!

While I have always felt that Angels & Demons is the best of Dan Brown's books, I would have to agree with Sharon that The Da Vinci Code is probably a better movie than Angels & Demons. They spent more time developing the Langdon character and the overall back story than they do in Angels & Demons.

Jack was less exasperated with the changes from the book to the movie than he was with Angels & Demons.

Angels & Demons Redux

On the way to Hawaii, I started reading the latest Dan Brown book, Inferno. Listening to Sharon and I talk about the Dan Brown books, Jack got interested and bought Angels & Demons to read in the Honolulu Airport.

Over the last two weeks, he devoured Angels & Demons and then The Da Vinci Code.

Friday night, we watched Angels & Demons on the AppleTv. I read the book in 2004. Sharon and I saw the movie in the theaters when it came out in 2009.

Having just read the book, Jack spent most of the movie being exasperated by the changes in the plot.

California Historical Landmark #843

North Star Mine Powerhouse
California State Historical Landmark #843
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This plaque is located at the Mining and Pelton Wheel Museum, South Mill at Allison Ranch Road, Grass Valley, California. There are 20 other California State Historical Landmarks in Nevada County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 39° 12.501 W 121° 04.190.

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

The North Star Powerhouse, built by A. D. Foote in 1895, was the first complete plant of its kind. Compressed air, generated by Pelton water wheels, furnished power for the entire mine operation. The 30-foot Pelton wheel was the largest in the world, and was in continuous use for over 30 years.

Halting State by Charles Stross

I finished reading Halting State by Charles Stross on plane to Hawaii. I bought the book after reading Rule #34 by the same author last year. Halting State is a loose prequel to Rule #34 set in the same world with a couple of the same characters.

One of the things that I liked about Rule #34 is how is it was full of ten-minutes-from-now technology, such as 3D printers. The same is true for Halting State. The plot hinges on anonymized digicash, onion routing, hacker attacks on the core router infrastructure of the internet and hands-free, head-mounted intelligent devices that are worn by users as eyewear. Both of the books envision a world where a technology that sounds very much like Google Glass on steroids is ubiquitous.

At its heart, the book is a police detective story set in the world of the software houses that develop massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG). Set in the People's Republic of Scotland, the main characters investigate a bank robbery carried out by orcs and dragons in the virtual domain of an online gaming company.

One of the odd ideas in the book is that the software houses use smartphones for processing and storage of the multiplayer games. When you think about how much computing horsepower is floating around the world in people's pockets, this is an interesting concept.

The book was one of the finalist for the 2008 Hugo Award. I enjoyed the book and would give it a solid B grade. I liked both of the books enough that I have purchased a third book by the same author which is set in a different world.

Nine for IX Trailer

Starting Tuesday, July 2, ESPN will be premiering a new film series called Nine for IX.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Superman - Action Comics #1

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Code Expiration: September 3, 2013

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - marie & the redCat - Beautiful Day

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Code Expiration: September 3, 2013

Walbeck 4, Yuba City 3

Walbeck Elite 15U take out Yuba City with help from Zach Silvert, 4-3

Zach Silvert went 1-2, sparking Walbeck Elite 15U to a 4-3 victory in seven innings over Yuba City on Monday at Bella Vista High School.

He singled in the first inning.

Yuba City couldn't get anything going so long as Marco Petrucci was on the hill. Petrucci gave up just two hits, allowed no earned runs, walked one and struck out seven during his four innings of work.

Walbeck Elite 15U jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first.  Jack Heringer kicked things off for Walbeck Elite 15U with a single.  A single by Alex Isola then moved Heringer from first to second. Silvert singled, scoring Heringer and Isola. Walbeck Elite 15U then tacked on more runs when Silvert scored on an RBI single by Drew Gross.

Walbeck Elite 15U quickly matched Yuba City's strong inning with a one-run inning of its own in the seventh. Walbeck Elite 15U scored on an error.

"Powered by Narrative Science and GameChanger Media. Copyright 2013. All rights reserved." Any reuse or republication of this story must include the preceding attribution.

ESPN Films 30 for 30 Shorts: Cutthroat

07/24/2014 Update: Grantland and ESPN have taken the older 30 for 30 Shorts down from the web site. They are now showing them on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU as 30 for 30 Shorts.

More about the film at: http://espn.go.com/30for30/film?page=cutthroat

Grantland and ESPN Films have released the ninth film in their 30 for 30 documentary short series.

30 for 30 Shorts: Cutthroat

Clint Malarchuk was famous for being an NHL goalie, but he would go down in hockey history for suffering one of the most gruesome injuries in the history of sports when an opposing player's skate severed his carotid artery. This story covers Malarchuk's miraculous physical recovery from the injury as well as the long and grueling emotional recuperation that took two decades and included an eventual stay in a mental hospital for PTSD treatment. [Warning: This film contains graphic footage of the injury.]

You can find Cutthroat on the ESPN web site at http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=9255400.

Eileen's Graduation Party

After taking Jack to a Walbeck Baseball Academy 15U Elite practice in the morning, the three of us went to Sharon's brother Tim's house for a graduation party for her niece Eileen. We had gone to her graduation from St. Francis just before we headed to Hawaii.

The group included Tom, Becky, Kevin, Tim, Kathy, Eileen, Lou and Nadine, their daughter and her boyfried, Brun, Kim, Sarah, Velta, Jim Dunn, two of Eileen's classmates and their families.

2013 Hawaii - Day Thirteen - To Sacramento

We had a buffet breakfast at the hotel, packed up the room and were headed to the airport about 8:30 am. We caught a 11:19 am flight from Maui to Honolulu. With a two hour layover, we had a bite to eat. We boarded a 1:59 pm flight to Sacramento. With the time change, we landed a little ahead of schedule about 10:05 pm. We were home a little after 11:00 pm.

A couple of notes from the trip. First, Sharon spent the four days that we were on Maui talking about a bar called Blackie's that she had visited with Paul when she was on Maui 25 years ago. There was a building the right shape in the parking lot of a gas station, but she didn't think that it was the right location. As we were heading to the airport, Sharon googled it on her phone. It was the right building. The area around the bar was sold to a developer and closed in 1995.

Second, When we were in Italy last year, I noted how much bigger and stronger Jack has gotten. I got a little bit of a shock on Friday morning. As we were packing up the room, I turned and literally was standing nose to nose with Jack. As you can see in several of the pictures, he is almost as tall as I am...

Third, I wouldn't go back to Maui. It is too developed: too many people and too much traffic. I can see us going back to Kauai someday; the Gainsleys have a condo there. I can also see us going to the big island someday; the Wallens have a condo there. I am done with Maui...

2013 Hawaii - Day Twelve - Lahaina

At one point, we had talked about snorkeling around Black Rock on the beach near the hotel, but ultimately decided to take a much mellower approach to the last full day of the vacation.

Sharon went to yoga, while I did my normal treadmill workout (6 miles and 60 minutes) with a view of the ocean.

After getting cleaned up, we headed into Lahaina to wander around and have lunch. Until permanently moving to Honolulu, Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii. In the 19th century, Lahaina was the center of the global whaling industry with many sailing ships anchored at its waterfront. The town has a number of historical buildings and sites.

Sharon has been reading Michener's Hawaii on the trip. The missionaries in the book landed initially in Lahaina. Sharon wandered through the Badwin House, one of the earliest houses on the islands that was built by the missionaries.

We had a nice lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise. We all had tropical mahi mahi sandwiches.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel, I spent some time lounging around adult pool with an adult beverage and my book. Sharon eventually joined me. We wandered up the beach to check out a restaurant at the Hyatt Regency called Japengo. It was supposed to have a great view of the Lahaina Harbor, the ocean and the sunset. Liking what we saw, we made a reservation for later.

Sharon, Jack and I finished the night walking back to Japengo and having a nice sushi dinner.

2013 Hawaii - Day Eleven - Wailea Emerald Golf Course

Since the beginning of the trip, we have talked about playing golf at least once while we were on Maui. Jack and Sharon looked through the books and eventually settled on the Wailea Emerald Course on South Maui. This was about a 35 minute drive from our hotel.

As an aside, Jack named Maui as "the island of much driving." The hotel was about 45 minutes from the airport. The trip around Hana was a 12 hour all day drive. One of the things that I found odd about the Hawaiian Islands was the speed limits. It seemed like the speed limits were very low everywhere compared to the mainland.

We took off early and got there about 9:00 am for a 10:59 am tee time. Sharon spent some time playing an outfit in the pro shop and buying Jack some golf shoes. From there, we headed to the driving range. Jack struggled from the minute he stepped on the driving range. He has not played in a year. I wouldn't let him play during baseball season.

Unfortunately, Jack got worse once we got on the course. Jack melted down in Wallenesque fashion... Both Sharon and I felt bad for him; he had been looking forward to playing so much.

In spite of Jack's struggles, I had a nice round and really enjoyed the course. Using a nice set of rental clubs, I was consistent off the tee. I shoot a liberally scored 53 on the front nine and a 58 on the back nine. I got a birdie on one of the short par threes on the back nine; I hit a pin high 8 iron to within 9 feet and then sank the putt. Sharon putted extremely well and had a nice round.

It was a fairly quick round. We finished playing in about 4 hours 30 minutes.

After getting cleaned up back at the hotel, Sharon and I had a drink at the bar and got some food to take to Jack in the room. While Jack crashed in the room, Sharon and I went to dinner at Roy's. This turned out to be one of the nicest dinners that we had on the trip. I had scallops and risotto, while Sharon had monchong again.

2013 Hawaii - Day Ten - Road to Hana

Up early, we were out of the hotel room and into the rental car just after 7 am. The plan for the day was to drive to Hana. The road to Hana is without question the most famous drive in all of Hawaii. It is a slow winding road through a lush paradise.

The guidebook suggested that we be through Kahului by 8 am. Over the next four hours, we made a number of stops to explore waterfalls, pools and views. We made a decision to rent a convertible for Maui. It was a great way to experience the road to Hana. We drove down to the ocean on Nahiku Road through the community of Nahiku. We bought some banana bread at a roadside stand. We stopped at Wai'anapanapa Park and explored the black sand beach. We hiked about a mile along the beach and through the lava fields.

We stopped in Hana and had a nice lunch at Travaasa Hana (burger and fish tacos). After lunch, Jack and I explored a red sand beach hidden in a gully below the town.

While lots of people head back the way they came, we had made a decision that we would continue all the way around the island. We stopped at a very nice waterfall along the road and then made a longer stop at the Seven Sacred Pools. We took a quick dip in one of the larger pools. We hiked about a mile round trip to a view of one of the falls farther upstream.

Back in the car, we continued around the island. The road turns pretty rough at this point. It is not paved for about 8 miles. Although it was much drier terrain than the first half of the drive, there were some interesting vistas. Eventually, we got back to a paved two lane road. From there, we had another 1 1/2 hour drive to get back to the hotel. This part was less interesting and I was ready to be done.

By the time we got back to the hotel, it was almost 7:30 pm. We had been gone for more than 12 1/2 hours.

We finished the night with a late dinner near the hotel at the Maui Fish and Pasta Restaurant. I had mahi mahi, Jack had a Kobe burger and Sharon had a light dinner.

2013 Hawaii - Day Nine - Old Liahino Luau

Moving Day... Up about 6 am, we packed up the room and were in the car a little after 7 am heading to airport. We caught a 9:40 flight to Maui. On the ground in Maui, we made a decision to get a convertible for the first time in the trip. More on why in the next couple of days.

We got to the hotel about 12:15 pm. We will be spending the last four days of the trip at the Westin Resort and Spa on Maui. For the first time in the trip, the room was not ready when we got there. They told us that they would call us when the room was ready.

I spent the afternoon in the bar having a couple of beers and watching the Miami Heat destroy the Pacers in the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Finals. Eventually, Sharon got tired of waiting and harangued the front desk for a room. We finally got into our room about 4:30 pm. We will not stay here again.

We had a 5:45 pm reservation for the Old Lahaina Luau. The food was pretty good and I enjoyed the show. The show is viewed as one of the most culturally authentic of any of the luaus in the islands.

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Code Expiration: August 27, 2013

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Natalie Maines - Take It On Faith

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Code Expiration: August 27, 2013

2013 Hawaii - Day Eight - Snorkeling at Tunnels Beach

Finally sleeping a little later, we got coffee and breakfast from a coffee shop in the hotel. We went to 9:00 am Mass at St. Williams in Hanalei.

The plan for the day is to snorkel at Tunnels Beach. This is highlighted as one of the best snorkeling spots on the island. Stopping for some fish tacos at Tropical Taco, we cruised to the end of the road before turning around and parking off of the beach. We were lucky to find a spot fairly close.

Sharon, Jack and I spent a couple of hours snorkeling. It was good, but not fantastic. The area further out where the reef dropped off were particularly interesting, but Sharon and Jack got spooked by the deeper water and the current.

Heading back to the room in the early afternoon, Sharon and I spend some time hanging out at the pool bar. At one point, it started to pour. In general, we have been very lucky on Kauai; we never really got rained on while we were trying to do something. Given the pace of the last few days, it was nice to have a lazier late afternoon.

Getting cleaned up, Sharon and I watched the sunset from the hotel balcony. Unfortunately, we didn't have a plan for dinner. Working with the concierge, we ended up going to the Tavern by Princeville by Roy Yamaguchi. I was not impressed with the food or the atmosphere. It is definitely not somewhere that I would recommend. Jack and I both had the shrimp scampi.

We ended up crashing fairly early. Tomorrow is moving day and we have to get an early start.

2013 Hawaii - Day Seven - Kauai From the Air - Waimea Canyon - Koke'e State Park

Finally, a little later morning... Sleeping a little later, we had the buffet breakfast at the hotel. One of the things that Sharon wanted to do on the trip was see Kauai from the air. Sharon reserved a trip with Blue Hawaiian for 11 am. Leaving the hotel about 930 am, we were at the helicopter's office in Lihue about 10:15 am. We got a preflight briefly and were bused to the airport.

I enjoyed the trip a great deal. You got to see the island from a new perspective. In a 55 minute tour, we went by the waterfall used in the opening sequences of the first Jurassic Park movie, through the Waimea Canyon, along the Na Pali Coast and finished up inside the crater of the tallest peak on Kauai. While both Sharon and I enjoyed the trip, we both liked the Na Pali Coast cruise more.

After the helicopter ride, we headed towards the Waimea Canyon. The canyon is 10 miles long and 3,000 feet deep. Sharon drove and we headed up the Waimea Canyon Road. We stopped at a couple of the view points. The views were spectacular. The Waimea Canyon is called the Grand Canyon of Hawaii.

When we reached Koke'e State Park, we stopped at the lodge and museum and asked about a short hike. We ended up doing a two mile hike on the Berry Flat Trail. During the hike, we ran into two groups of Hawaiians with dogs that had radio collars. I asked what the collars were for and got an obtuse answer. Later, we heard some gun shots. When we were walking back to the car, the Hawaiians passed us in the truck with a large boar in the back!

After we hiked, we continued up the road to the viewpoint where you could see down in the Na Pali Coast. Have I mentioned recently, how much I don't like heights?

We finished the night with dinner at Gaylords on the grounds of historic Kilohana Plantation. We had a nice dinner on the verandah. At one point, it started to pour. I had ahi, while Sharon had pork osso boco and Jack had fried chicken. Sharon was not happy with either her or Jack's meal.

Treading our way back to the hotel on the north side of the island, it was almost midnight by the time we got to bed. It was a long ambitious day.