Virtually Biking Across America - Day 70

On day 70, I rode 24.4 miles across Nebraska. Starting in Lexington near the corner of Highway 30 and East 3rd Street, I rode east on Highway 30 to Elm Creek. Turning south on Highway 183, I stopped at a old Pony Express Trail marker placed by Phelps County, Nebraska [+40° 38' 53.94", -99° 22' 49.08"].

There are lots of grain elevators along the road in this part of the world…

The trip log for Virtually Biking Across America is here.

2013 Fall Dinner Party Menu

New Wave Luau
Exploring Recipes from the Pacific Rim

October 26, 2013

◊

Coconut Shrimp
~~~
Mai Tais

◊

Ahi Poke Shooters
with Avocado

◊

Kuala Pig Caesar Salad
In Crispy Cheese Baskets
With Tomato-Chile Pepper Vinaigrette
And Anchovy Dressing
~~~
Mailly Champagne
Grande Cru

◊

Macadamia Nut Crusted Opah
With Mango Pineapple Salsa
Steamed Rice
Snap Peas
~~~
Soave 2012
Tanellni

◊

Grilled Szechwan Style
Baby Back Ribs
~~~
Renwood 2008
Grandpère Zinfandel

◊

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
~~~
Choice of
Bouchaine D’Or Chardonnay
Or
Jessup Cellars 2005 Zinfindel Port

◊

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Elvis Costello and The Roots - Sugar Won't Work

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!



Code Expiration: January 21, 2013

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Arcade Fire - Reflektor

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!



Code Expiration: January 21, 2013

Jesuit Fall Ball Cardinals versus Rio Americano

Jack played his ninth game for the Jesuit Fall Ball Cardinals against Rio Americano on Saturday morning. I didn't see the game; I hate it when Jack plays and I am not there. Although I was supposed to be helping Sharon get ready for the fall dinner party, after dropping Jack at the game, I spent the morning getting my car towed to the dealer…

Leading off, Jack was 1 for 3 with a run scored. He was nonplused about the fact that there were no umpires. Instead, the coaches were calling balls and strikes from behind the pitcher. Each coach was calling balls and strikes for his pitchers. Jack was not happy with the calls… In his first at-bat, he struck out looking. Jack hit a line drive into left field in his second plate appearance. He eventually came around to score. In his third at-bat, Jack struck out swinging.

Jack played right field. He did not have a put-out or an assist.

This was another of those 14 inning doubleheaders. Jack just played the first seven innings. He said that they won and that Rio got only a couple of hits.

The Jesuit Fall Ball schedule is here.

This was the last fall ball game. I couldn't be happier with how the fall season has gone. Jack has gotten a chance to get to know the varsity coaches and they have gotten a chance to get to know him. Additionally, he had a solid fall at the plate and in the field. Based on how the coach grades the at-bats [-1, 0 or 1], he was one of the top two hitters. Based on my rough calculations, Jack had a .407 batting average and a .484 on base percentage. He had a hit in 8 of the 9 games. The only game that he didn't get a hit was the game against Laguna Creek when Josh pitched. Jack did reach base on a walk in that game.

2013 St Francis Homecoming

While Sharon and I were hosting our annual fall dinner party, Jack was off to the St. Francis Homecoming. I dropped Jack in the afternoon at the Laskins. The group included David and Emma, Eric and Bridgett, Rhys and Ethan and Jack and Francis. They had burgers at one of the girl's home before heading to the dance.

2013 Fall Dinner Party

Sharon and I have made it a tradition to host a fall dinner party [2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003]. This year, the group included the Gainsleys, Sanborns, Larkins, Renterias and Janie. This is the first time that we have included the Renterias.

It was a very busy day. Jack played baseball in the morning and then went to the St. Francis Homecoming in the evening.

The theme of this year's dinner revolved around our trip to H@waii. It may have been the most we have ever incorporated a theme. We gave people leis when they showed up, the Sanborns made Mai Tais, there were tropical flowers on the table and Hawaiian music was playing. Sharon served an excellent Pacfic Rim based dinner. For the first time, we served fish as a main course. The menu is here.



It has become a tradition to finish the night with Dinner for One and three SNL Justin Timberlake videos. This year we also watched What Does the Fox Say and a couple of youtube videos from the Petersen Shootout.

It was about 11:20 pm when Sharon and I walked the Larkins and Gainsleys to the front gate to catch a cab.

ESPN Films - Nine for IX - The Diplomat

In August, Sharon, Jack and I watched The Diplomat. This is the sixth film in a new series from ESPN films. Called Nine for IX (as in Title IX), the series includes films about women made by women. With everything going in at work and home, I have gotten behind in writing about the Nine for IX films and watching the new 30 for 30 films that came out in October.

At the height of the Cold War, Katarina Witt became one of East Germany's most famous athletes. Witt dominated figure skating by winning six European titles (1983-88), four world championships (1984-85, 1987-88) and back-to-back Olympic gold medals (1984 and 1988).

Rare for East German athletes, Witt started a professional career in 1988. She spent three years on tour in the United States with Brian Boitano. Later, she continued at Holiday on Ice in the United States and in western Europe. She also became an actress in the film Carmen on Ice (1989), which expanded upon her gold medal free program in Calgary. In 1990, she received an Emmy Award for her role in this film.

While the film explores Witt career, it is as much about her relationship and status with the East German government. She grew up, trained and competed in a very centrally controlled nation state.  While she struggled to maintain some control over her career, the East German government struggled to maintain control over Witt and keep her as the face of the country.  Following the dissolution of East Germany, Stasi files were found to show that the secret police had worked hard to keep Witt from defecting by giving her cars, accommodations, and permitted travel. Witt found that the secret police had more 3,000 pages on her life from the age of eight.

This is solid a documentary, but not one of my favorites.

The Diplomat is available on iTunes.

Jesuit Fall Ball Cardinals versus Laguna Creek

Jack played his eighth game for the Jesuit Fall Ball Cardinals against Laguna Creek. This is the third time that the Jack has played against Laguna Creek this fall. The Cardinals got beat up pretty bad in the first game that Jack played, but returned the favor in the second game.

Two of Jack's teammates from the Outlaws and Gunners--Niko and Josh--played for Laguna Creek. Niko was the starting pitcher and then played centerfield. Leading off, Niko was 1 for 2 with a single and a walk. Josh had one at-bat, but didn't play in the field.

Jack is batting with Niko pitching in the picture to the right.

Leading off for the Cardinals, Jack was 1 for 3 with a double and a run scored. In his first at-bat, Jack ran the count to 3 and 2. He fouled off two pitches and then crushed a fly ball over the right fielder's head for a double. Jack went to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a single up the middle. He fell behind 0 and 2 in his second plate appearance. Jack fouled off two more pitches and then protecting the plate flipped a pitch into right center for an out. The runner on second tagged and advanced to third. In his third at-bat, he hit a 1 and 1 pitch for a fly ball down the first base line for an out.

In the field, Jack played centerfield for the whole game. This was unusual for fall ball. Typically, they have had the outfielders rotating every inning. He had one put-out on a fly ball to centerfield.

Behind strong pitching from Marco [who played with Jack on the Walbeck team] and Cosca, Jesuit defeated Laguna Creek by the score of 3 to 1.

The Jesuit Fall Ball schedule is here.

New York Bike Ride

While we were in New York, we rented bikes and rode around Central Park with side trips to the Pastrami Queen Deli and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Using data from the Runkeeper app on my iPhone, I generated this view of the ride in Google Earth.

Fantasy Life by Matthew Berry

I finished reading Fantasy Life: The Outrageous, Uplifting, and Heartbreaking World of Fantasy Sports from the Guy Who's Lived It by Matthew Berry on the plane on the way back from New York. I brought the book after hearing Berry talk about the book on a podcast with Bill Simmons.

The book is really two interwoven pieces. First, it has lots and lots of stories about fantasy sports and the things that happen in fantasy sports leagues. The stories run the gamut from wacky to heart warming. Berry has collected these stories over the years both from personal experience and from readers of his columns.

Second, Matthew chronicles his journey from a fourteen-year-old fantasy player to the face of fantasy sports for the largest sports media company in the world. He interweaves the fantasy stories with the story of his own life. Berry uses the fantasy sports stories to illustrate his emotions and life lessons.

There was a period in the early 2000s that I was playing regularly playing a number of fantasy sports games on the ESPN web site. I can remember having Drew and Morgan help me with one draft... It started to get too time consuming and I dropped out completely.

The book was a mildly entertaining diversion after fighting my way through the third volume of the Life of Picasso. Nevertheless, unless you have some passion for fantasy sports, I don't recommend it.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!



Code Expiration: January 14, 2013

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Mosaicam

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!



Code Expiration: January 14, 2013

Lunch with Morgan and Beau

On Sunday while we were in New York, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge with the Gainsleys and met Morgan and Beau for lunch at Grimaldi's.

Ruth Chris Italian Wine Dinner

Tom, Becky, Janie, Leslie, Sharon and I went to the Ruth Chris Italian Wine Dinner. We had gone to the Lagunitas Beer Dinner at Ruth Chris in July. In one of those small world stories, the rep for the importer [Adam Nevins] used to work for Breyton's dad.

Jesuit Fall Ball versus De La Salle

Jack played his sixth and seventh game for the Jesuit Fall Ball Cardinals against De La Salle. Jack played a double header against De La Salle during the freshman spring season. Although it was billed as a doubleheader, they played the straight through for 14 innings with a couple of player changes in the ninth inning. Jack played 14 straight innings without a break!

Leading off in both games, Jack was 2 for 7 with a stolen base, run scored and a RBI. Essentially, he was 1 for 4 in the first game and 1 for 3 in the second game. In his first at-bat, Jack looked at two called strikes, fouled off a pitch and then hit a single up the middle. He stole second, went to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a fielder's choice. Jack was lucky; on a ball grounded to the left side and Jack breaking for the plate, the catcher couldn't handle the throw from the third baseman. Jack grounded a 3 and 1 pitch up the middle in his second plate appearance. He drove in a run and was thrown out at first. In his third plate appearance, Jack chopped a 1 and 0 pitch down the third base line and was thrown out at first. Jack hit a 1 and 0 pitch for a long fly ball to centerfield for out in his fourth plate appearance. In his fifth at-bat, he hit a 2 and 0 pitch for line drive right at the centerfielder for an out. Jack hit a 1 and 1 pitch for a blooper behind first base in sixth plate appearance. The first baseman made a nice catch going backwards. In his seventh at-bat, he hit a 1 and 1 pitch through the left side for a single. He moved to second on a walk, to third on a sacrifice bunt, but ended the inning there when Bryce struck out and Alex flied out to center.

In the field, Jack rotated between all three outfield positions. He had two put-outs. In right field, Jack made a nice running catch on a foul ball hit down the first base line. In left field, he made a great play. On a ball that was crushed over his head, Jack made a fantastic running catch. He got a great jump on the ball, but I was surprised he was able to haul it in! Jack also had an amazing effort on a ball hit foul down the first base line. He was short on a diving attempt, but I couldn't believe how much ground he covered.

I had the score 9 to 4 for the fourteen innings. The Cardinals won the first seven innings by the score of 5 to 2 and then took the second seven innings by the score of 4 to 2.

The Jesuit Fall Ball schedule is here.

I continue to be extremely pleased with how fall ball has gotten. Jack looks very comfortable in the group of mostly juniors and seniors. He has gotten a chance to get to know the varsity coaches. More importantly, I haven't seen Jack look overmatched at the plate against any of the pitching.

In a footnote to how much Jack has started to focus on baseball, he asked me to set up the tee and the net in the garage after dinner. After spending more than six hours on the diamond playing today, Jack went into the garage and hit off the tee for over an hour...

Jesuit Fall Ball Cardinals versus Laguna Creek

Jack played in his fifth game for the Jesuit Fall Ball Cardinals on Thursday night. They played against Laguna Creek at Jesuit High School. Laguna Creek beat up Jesuit in an earlier fall ball game, but this was a much different Jesuit squad! Unlike the team that Laguna Creek faced earlier, this team was mostly seniors with a couple of juniors and Jack as the only sophomore. Niko was playing for Laguna Creek; he is catching in the picture.

Leading off, Jack had a great game. He was 4 for 4 with two walks, two RBIs and a run scored. They have some interesting rules in fall ball. Jack essentially had four plates appearances in the bottom of the first inning. In his first at-bat, he walked. They had someone run for him. Jack then walked again. They had someone else run for him. The coaches then asked him to bunt. Jack bunted down the third base line for a single. Having someone run for him, they coaches brought him back to the on deck circle. In his fourth plate appearance in the bottom of the first, Jack hit a long fly ball to the warning track in right field to drive in a run. I got to the game in the third inning. Jack hit a 2 and 1 pitch for a line drive to right field in his fifth plate appearance to drive in a run. He went to second on the throw to plate and scored on a hit by the next batter. I loved Jack's sixth at-bat. With a count of 1 and 2, he reached out and poked a low outside pitch down the first line for a single.

In the field, Jack rotated between right, left and center fields. He had no assists and no put-outs.

When I asked Jack the score after the game, he said that it was a lot to zero. Laguna Creek only managed two hits: a lead-off single by Niko and a fly ball to the right field warning track over Jack's head late in the game. When I expressed surprise at the score, Jack said "well, they didn't have Josh pitching."

When I got to the game, Marco [a junior] was pitching for Jesuit. He looked very good. Jack played with Marco on the Walbeck team over the summer.

After the game, Coach P showed the team video of two at-bats. One of the at-bats that he showed was Jack's next to last plate appearance. Telling the story in the car, Jack said "all those lessons paid off."

The Jesuit Fall Ball schedule is here.

Connie Marie (Hammond) Hausman

Post by Mark Heringer.

Virtually Biking Across America - Day 69

On day 69, I rode 25.1 miles across Nebraska. Starting in Gothenburg from the Gothenburg Pony Express station in Ehmen Park, I jumped back on the Lincoln Highway and rode east. I passed through Cozad and finished the ride in Lexington near the corner of Highway 30 and East 3rd Street.

In the first half to the ride, there were some interesting cloud formations in Google Streetview as I rode along Highway 30. In the last few rides, I have actually been using Streetview on my iPhone set on the handlebars of the bike, rather than setting up the laptop.

The trip log for Virtually Biking Across America is here.

Anthony Vito Gentile Jr.

Jack, Sharon and I went to the rosary service for Anthony this evening. Anthony's son was a classmate of Jack's at SEAS.

Born November 6, 1971 in Sacramento, CA and entered God's heavenly gates October 7, 2013. Beloved husband of 21 years to Patty, loving father to his children Naomi, Anthony and Vincent, whom he loved dearly and devoted his life to. Also survived by his parents Pamela and Anthony Gentile Sr., mother-in-law Herminia Almendarez, grandfather Joseph Perry, his siblings Nicole, Joseph, Denise, Teresa, Pamela and Michael, future son-in-law, brother-in laws, sister-in-laws, and many nephews, nieces and friends.

Anthony grew up in Sacramento, CA and graduated from C.K. McClatchy High School in 1989. He was a dedicated peace officer with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for 17 years. He spent his career at Folsom State Prison, Mule Creek State Prison and California Health Care Facility, Stockton where he was a Lieutenant. He was also a devout Catholic and 3rd Degree Knight of Columbus.

Tony was happiest when he was spending time with his family. He shared his passion for the Oakland Raiders, the New York Yankees and his Harley with everyone that knew him. He was highly respected by many and the young men in his family looked to him for guidance. His love, smile and sense of humor brought joy to everyone that knew him and he will be deeply missed.

Rosary will be held Tuesday, October 15, 2013 at 6 p.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church 9961 Elk Grove-Florin Road, Elk Grove, CA 95624. Funeral will be held Wednesday, October 16, 2013 at 9:30 am at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament 1017 11th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Donations for Tony's sons can be made to the Anthony Vito Gentile Jr. Memorial Fund which has been established at American River Bank.