Overnight Guests

After wine tasting on Saturday, Drew, Carmen, Pam and Mike spent the night at our house. Sharon served a nice breakfast of quiche, bacon and fruit. The weather was nice enough that we could eat breakfast on the back deck.

At Heringer Estates Winery

Saturday afternoon, Sharon and I met Drew, Carmen and Carmen's parent [Pam and Mike] at Heringer Estates Winery. Drew and Carmen are getting married there in October. We spent the afternoon wine tasting and picking out the wine for the wedding.

Afterwards, the group headed to our house in Carmichael. Sharon made a great dinner of salmon tacos. Everyone spent the night.

Morgan's Birthday

Sharon and I FaceTimed with Morgan and Lee at lunchtime to wish her Happy Birthday!

John Mulaney: Baby J

Thursday night, Sharon and I watched John Mulaney: Baby J on Netflix. Sharon and Jack saw John Mulaney in person at the Golden One Center in April of 2020.

The special was filmed in Boston. It deals primarily with Mulaney's intervention, subsequent visit to drug rehabilitation and his efforts toward sobriety. Mulaney concluded the special by reading and commenting on sections of a "wide-ranging" interview he gave with GQ while under the influence of cocaine; he said that he did not remember the answers he had given.

All Systems Red

My book for April was All Systems Red by Martha Wells. The book is the first in a series called The Murderbot Diaries. I picked up the book because the fifth book in series was the winner of 2021 Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards!

All Systems Red won the 2018 Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards for the Best Novella. It was also a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller.

The science fiction novella follows the story of Murderbot, a cyborg security unit that has hacked its own governor module and is trying to find its place in the world. The story is set in a future where corporations have colonized the galaxy.

With the emergence of ChatGPT and Bard, artificial intelligence has become a hot topic. This book explores the themes of free will, identity, and belonging for an advanced artificial intelligence. I enjoyed the book enough that I am going to continue to read the series.

Chief Operating Officer, Information Services, Sutter Health

Sutter Health has posted a Information Services Chief Operating Officer. While Jerry Padavano, Patrick Anderson and Stuart James filled this position in the late 2000s and early 2010s, I think that the position has been vacant for the last five years.

Chief Operating Officer, Information Services
Job ID R-26801
Date Posted 04/05/2023
Location Sacramento, California
Schedule/Shift/Weekly Hours Regular/Days/40

Organization: SHSO- Executive Services

Position Overview:
This role supports the Chief Digital Officer (CDO) and Chief Information Officer (CIO) in providing leadership and guidance for critical areas of Information Services administration within Sutter Health. The COO will oversee project and demand management, finance, contracting, business relationship management, strategic planning, and other assigned areas. The position will work with the CIO to improve cost-effectiveness, service quality, and operational effectiveness of the IT department. The COO will provide leadership, direction, and support for the organization and analyze technology trends to plan for the long-term direction of Information Services. Additionally, the COO will act on behalf of the CIO in executive decisions and committees, as assigned or in the CIO's absence.

Job Description:

Education:
Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred or equivalent experience

Experience/Knowledge:

• 10+ years of management experience in the healthcare industry, specifically in multi-facility support.
• 4+ years of project management experience in the healthcare industry.
• Proven experience in leading multidisciplinary teams to implement various hospital information technology solutions.
• Experience in developing and overseeing IS capital and operating budgets.
• Proven experience in negotiating contracts.
• Experience in developing and leading governance models.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Healthcare industry: The COO must have a deep understanding of the healthcare industry, including the regulatory environment, reimbursement models, and emerging trends. This knowledge is essential to ensure that the health system's technology strategy is aligned with the organization's goals and objectives.
• Information technology: The COO should possess extensive knowledge of information technology, including hardware, software, networks, and data management. They should stay abreast of new developments and emerging technologies that may be applicable to the healthcare industry.
• Cybersecurity: The COO should be knowledgeable about cybersecurity threats and risks and have a comprehensive understanding of how to protect health system information systems and data.
• Change management: The COO should possess strong change management skills, including the ability to lead and manage complex organizational changes related to technology implementations, upgrades, and optimizations.
• Leadership: The COO should have excellent leadership skills to lead the IS department and collaborate effectively with other departments in the organization. They should have a vision for how technology can support the organization's mission and be able to communicate that vision effectively.
• Project management: The COO should have strong project management skills to oversee complex IT projects, including project planning, resource allocation, and risk management.
• Interpersonal skills: The COO should be able to communicate effectively with a diverse range of stakeholders, including clinicians, administrators, and vendors. They should be able to listen actively and build strong relationships with key stakeholders.
• Financial management: The COO should have a good understanding of financial management and budgeting to manage the costs associated with technology investments and ensure that IT projects are aligned with the organization's financial goals.
• Regulatory compliance: The COO should have a deep understanding of regulatory compliance requirements, such as HIPAA and other data privacy laws. They must ensure that the organization's technology solutions are compliant with these regulations to avoid potential legal and financial consequences.

Physical Requirements:
Ability to travel throughout Northern California and out of state when required.

Pay Range: $148.14 - $200.42 /Hour

The salary range for this role may vary above or below the posted range as determined by location. This range has not been adjusted for any specific geographic differential applicable by area where the position may be filled. Compensation takes into account several factors including but not limited to a candidate’s experience, education, skills, licensure and certifications, department equity, training and organizational needs. Base pay is just one piece of the total rewards program offered by Sutter Health. Eligible roles also qualify for a comprehensive benefits package.

Apple Watch Ultra

Seven years ago, Sharon bought me an Apple Watch for Father's Day. Although I had never worn a watch before, it quickly become a key part of my life. I am literally never without it.

I upgraded to a Series 3 five years ago, to a Series 5 three years ago and to a Series 7 last February.

I have gotten frustrated with the battery life of the Series 7. Using Golfshot Plus during the Petersen Shootout, the watch died both days about the 14th or 15th hole. I have been using AllTrails while we have been doing the Hadrian Wall training hikes. On the longer hikes, the watch would be dead before we finished the hike.

With the trip to England and Scotland looming, I decided to upgrade my watch to a Ultra. It is advertised as having twice the battery life of a Series 8 Apple watch. I ordered the watch last Thursday morning and had it delivered in the afternoon.

2023 Kings versus Warriors - Playoffs: West 1st Round, Game 7

Sunday morning, Larkin and I met at Foundations for a misoma. Afterwards, we wandered over to the Golden 1 Center for game seven of the first round of the NBA Playoffs: Sacramento Kings versus Golden State Warriors. The Kings led the Warriors by the score of 58 to 56 at halftime. Powered by Stephen Curry, the Warriors pulled away in the third quarter and won by the score of 120 to 100.

Curry erupted for 50 points, the most points scored in a Game 7 in NBA history. His 38 shot attempts were the most he has had in an NBA game and his 22 points in the paint also were a career high. Curry was 20 for 38 from the field, 7 for 18 from three and 3 for 5 from the free throw line.

Domantas Sabonis was the high scorer for the Kings. He had 22 points on 10 for 16 from the field, 0 for 1 from three and 2 for 6 from the free throw line.

De'Aaron Fox struggled. He had 16 points on 5 for 19 from the field, 3 for 10 from three and 3 for 4 from the free throw line.

Larkin and I connected with Drew and Carmen before the game and at halftime. I ran into Bill Evans from work as I was getting a hotdog before the game.

I ended up sitting right next to a loud Warriors fan which marred the experience. I switched seats with Larkin at the end of the third quarter.

The Kings have five wins and three losses in games that I have seen in person during the 2022-2023 NBA season.

Larkins plus Training Hike plus Travel Fair and more

Saturday morning, we headed to Folsom. We dropped a car on Parkshore Drive and Larkin picked us up. We headed to their new house. The Larkins moved to Folsom last November.

After getting a chance to tour the new house, the four of us hiked back to Parkshore Drive along the Willow Creek Trail. I was very impressed with the trail; it didn't feel like you were in the middle of Folsom. We hiked 4.7 miles in just over an hour and a half.



We had dropped the car at the location for the Hands On Travel Vendor Travel Fair. The Larkins introduced us to Shawna Copeland and we have used her for a couple of trips. Although we didn't coordinate with them, the Gainsleys also showed up to the travel fair. Wandering through the fair, I got a couple of ideas for future trips!

From there, Sharon and I headed to Green Acres. We bought a load of plants. We spent the rest of day working on the back deck. We planted the plants, put down a new rug, dragged the summer pillows back from the storage shed and hung some lights along the deck railing. We are working to get the front and back of the house cleaned up for next weekend.

Sharon and Tom's 2023 San Francisco Adventure - Day #2

Sharon and Tom spent the morning wine tasting at Bouchine Vineyards. We have been wine club members there since 2010.

They had lunch in Yountville. Afterwards, they fought their way home in the Friday afternoon traffic. Working in the Napa Valley in 2015 and 2106, I hated this drive on Friday afternoons...

We finished the day watching the Sacramento Kings play the Golden State Warriors in game six of the first round of the NBA playoffs. Leading for most of the game, the Kings won by the score of 118 to 99. Game seven is in Sacramento on Sunday!.

Sharon and Tom's 2023 San Francisco Adventure - Day #1

Sargent and Spain

Churches, coastlines, gardens, royal palaces, dancing — vibrant works by John Singer Sargent (1856 – 1925) immerse you in the rich culture of Spain. This exhibition, in its exclusive West coast stop, is the first to explore the influence of Spanish culture on Sargent’s dynamic visual practice. Celebrated as the society portraitist of his era, Sargent influenced a generation of American painters. His captivation with Spain, which developed over the course of seven visits taken from 1879 to 1912, resulted in a remarkable body of work. The exhibition presents an array of Sargent’s dazzling oils, watercolors, and drawings, along with never-before-exhibited photographs, showcasing Spain’s people, architecture, and magnificent urban and rural landscapes.

Sharon and her brother Tom took off for San Francisco in the morning. They spent the day at the Legion of Honor touring the Sargent and Spain Exhibition. They had lunch at the museum.

They had dinner at The Morris. Dinner included half a smoked duck with root vegetables. Tom texted me "your wife has a super power that scopes out fantastic restaurants." I started saying this was Sharon's super power when we were on the cruise in Greece.

They spen the spent the night at the Lodge at the Presidio. Sharon and I stayed there when we hiked the SF Crosstown trail in 2021.

2023 Kings versus Warriors - Playoffs: West 1st Round, Game 5

Larkin, Drew, Sharon and I went to game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs: Sacramento Kings versus Golden State Warriors. While I went to the game with Larkin, Drew took Sharon to the game. Drew, Sharon and I all got a chicken rice bowls from Ginger Star for dinner. While we were eating on the second floor, Kyle and Kelsey and Van Wong wandered by.

Going 8 for 12 from 3-point range in the first quarter, the Kings ran out to a 10 point lead. The Kings then went 2 for 21 from 3 over the final three quarters. Although they got within 1 point with 5 minutes to play [109-108], the Kings lost the game by the score of 123 to 116.

As you would expect, Stephen Curry was the high scorer for the Warriors. He had 31 points on 12 for 25 from the field, 2 for 10 from three and 5 for 6 from the free throw line.

De'Aaron Fox was the high scorer for the Kings. He had 24 points on 9 for 25 from the field, 3 for 10 from three and 3 for 3 from the free throw line.

At halftime, Larkin and I wandered up to the Sierra Nevada Draught House to connect with Drew and Sharon.

It was very cool to be in the building for game one and game five. Unfortunately, the game five experience was marred a little by a couple of very obnoxious warrior fans sitting around us. While I probably shouldn't have been, I was surprised at the number of Warriors at game five.

The Kings have five wins and two losses in games that I have seen in person during the 2022-2023 NBA season.

Fraunces Tavern

I walked by this historical marker several times while I was in Philadephia for the Army/Navy Game.

Fraunces Tavern
Pennsylvania Historical Marker
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps
This marker is located at 166 South 2nd Street (just West of Dock Street) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The GPS coordinates for this location are 39° 56' 47.1" N 75° 08' 41.5" W.

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


Here stood Fraunces Tavern, established by Samuel Fraunces after moving from New York where he had operated a famous tavern. He served as George Washington's chief cook, 1790-94, while the President lived in Philadelphia.

Twenty Years

Today marks twenty years that I have been writing in this space!

Although I have since added older entires, my first post was Shopping Colleges and Kindergartens.

2023 Petersen Shootout - Day #3

Up early, Larkin and I had breakfast at Katie's Country Kitchen in the hotel. With the Kings playing the Warriors at 12:30 pm in the first round of the Western Conference NBA playoffs, the plan was an early start for home.

Jack, Drew and I rolled from the hotel about 9:10 am. With a ten minute stop in Placerville, we were back in Carmichael by 11:40 am [88 to 89 to 50].

I had a nice time. It was great to have our own foursome with Larkin, Drew and Jack. As I told the boys, the tournament has changed since Larkin and I started going. In the beginning, it felt much more intimate than it does now. There were some really interesting evenings in the suite in the first couple of years. The group has gotten so large that it feels chaotic and disjointed.

Sunday afternoon, Sharon, Drew, Jack and I watched the Kings versus the Warriors. The Warriors won the game by the score of 126 to 125. The seven game series is now tied at 2 to 2.

After the game, Drew and Jack headed back to the bay area.

2023 Petersen Shootout - Day #2

Up fairly early, Larkin and I had breakfast at Katie's Country Kitchen in the hotel. The package for the weekend included a $5.00 food voucher for use at the hotel. It took a while to get the boys up and moving.

Once they were up, We took them to the Genoa Bar. This is billed as Nevada' oldest thirst parlor. We ended up playing two games of pool. I have an interesting history with this bar...

The plan for the day was to play the Sunridge Golf Course. We have played this course twice in the past: 2014 and 2018. Rod started with a closet to the pin contest on the 19th hole. This was followed by a shotgun start at 1:00 pm. The format for the day was a shamble. Borja and his brother-in-law Scott were in the foursome behind us.


Again thanks to Jack's drives, I ended up with a liberally score 91. Last time we played this course as a shamble, I carded a 89. I felt like my putting was very solid on Saturday; I actually birded the first hole that we played.

By the time, we finished playing and got to the hotel it was 6:50 pm. The hosted bar was supposed to open at 7 pm with dinner at 7:45 pm. Getting cleaned up, we didn't get to the banquet room until about 7:15 pm.

With 68 people at the tournament this year, things were more than a little chaotic. They require that every first timer tell a joke; I was surprised at the number of new people. Larkin won $70 for the second place blind foursome.

Larkin and I wandered the casino for a little bit after dinner and visited with Borja. All four of us crashed early.

2023 Petersen Shootout - Day #1

For the eleventh time in fourteen years, Larkin and I played in the Petersen Shootout [2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, 2022]. We missed 2013 when Rod kept moving the date around and it finally landed on a weekend when Sharon, Jack and I were in H@waii. In 2015, Larkin wasn't available. I signed up with Borja as my wingman, but when he canceled at the last minute, I bailed. In 2020, the original dates for the tournament were cancelled due to the pandemic. Rod ended up having a taking a smaller group in late July, but both Larkin and I were uncomfortable with the idea. For the second year in a row, Jack and Drew went with us!

Jack and Drew spent Thursday night at our house. The three of us rolled from Carmichael about 7:30 am. We rolled up to the Toiyabe Golf Club just afer 10 am [80 to 395]. Larkin and I played this course as part of this tournament in 2019.


Jack, Drew, Larkin and I teed off about 10:54 pm. For the first time since Larkin and I have been playing the tournament, it was a shamble on both Friday and Saturday. Jack was crushing the ball off tee. I struggled a little early, but settled down in the later holes and was striking the ball pretty well. Thanks to Jack's tee shots, I ended up with an 89. This is probably the lowest shamble score that I have ever carded.
After golf, we headed to the Carson Valley Inn. We had dinner at the J.T. Basque Restaurant down street from the hotel. Larkin and I ate there in 2018. I had lamb shoulder with the family style meal.

Larkin and I made a quick stop at Rod's suite after dinner. We all ended up crashing fairly early.

Drew and Jack

Drew picked Jack up as he finished work in the city, swung by his apartment to pick up his golf clubs and headed to our house. They rolled into Carmichael just about midnight. Drew, Jack and I are spending a long weekend playing in a golf tournament in Nevada.

Volvo XC60 T8 - Day #1,634

On Monday, with 38,781 miles on the Volvo, I bought a new set of tires. I got a set of Michelin CrossClimate2s; they are an all-weather tire for year round use.

2023 Kings versus Warriors - Playoffs: West 1st Round, Game 2

Jack and Jason went to game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs: Sacramento Kings versus Golden State Warriors. The Kings got the lead in the second quarter and held off several Warriors runs over the course of the game. The Kings won by the score of 112 to 106.

Stephen Curry was the high scorer for the Warriors. He had 28 points on 9 for 21 from the field and 7 for 8 from the free throw line, but only 3 for 13 from three.

De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis both had 24 points for the Kings. Fox was 10 for 23 from the field, 2 for 10 from three and 2 for 2 from the free throw line. Sabonis was 8 for 12 from the field and 8 for 12 from the free throw line; he added nine rebounds.

The Kings shot 23% from three, 9 for 38!

Draymond Green was ejected with seven minutes to play for stomping on Sabonis.

I was shocked that trailing by 6 with 12 seconds to play that the Warriors didn't try to make the end of the game about free throws. That is, immediately fouling the Kings and then trying to make a three pointer after the foul shots.

Jack noted that "I get what it was like to be in the coliseum."

My 2022-2023 game log is here.