Morgan has added five new songs to her Morgan Heringer Quartet MySpace page. The songs include dream song for kaila, moon river, morning, gardens and lullaby of birdland.Thursday, January 31, 2008
New Songs from Morgan
Morgan has added five new songs to her Morgan Heringer Quartet MySpace page. The songs include dream song for kaila, moon river, morning, gardens and lullaby of birdland.
my life in a suitcase: January 2008
The drummer in Drew's Band also keep a journal during their West Coast tour. The weblog includes a number of pictures. It can be found here!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Song for 1971
When I was in 7th and 8th grade, the school held dances once a month on Friday nights. Interestingly, while I have some sharp memories of the dances, I do not have clear memories of the music that was played. Although recorded several years earlier, one song that I have always roughly associated with this period is Hey Jude by the Beatles.
The song for 1971 is Hey Jude.
You can find the work in progress Soundtrack for My Life here!
What is this?
The song for 1971 is Hey Jude.
You can find the work in progress Soundtrack for My Life here!
What is this?
Dimes Don't Rust
Drew kept a journal on the recent West Coast tour. He posted the entries to Myspace, Facebook and his Blogspot weblog. You can find the weblog here!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
California Historical Landmark #878
California State Historical Landmark #878
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps
This landmark is located at 1333 3rd Street between Randolph and Franklin Streets in Napa, California. There are 16 other California State Historical Landmarks in Napa County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 17.794 W 122° 17.213.
You can log your site to this site at waymarking.com!
Designed by pioneer architects R. H. Daley and Theodore Eisen, this church is an outstanding example of late Victorian Gothic architectural styling. It is the best surviving example in this region of the early works associated with Eisen, who later became an important Southern California architect. The church has been in continuous use since its construction in 1874, longest pastorates were those of Richard Wylie and Erwin Bollinger.
Monday, January 28, 2008
NBA Power Rankings 2007-2008 Week 13
The Sacramento Kings remained at 17th in Marc Stein's weekly NBA Power Rankings. Their chances of making the play-offs are very small. John Hollinger's NBA Playoff Odds put the Kings chances of making the play-offs at 1.7%. As a result, I am predicting that the Kings will trade Artest before the trade deadline in late February. Artest has already indicated that he plans to opt out of contract after this season.
ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association - With Kevin Martin healed, Brad Miller rejuvenated, Salmons and Garcia improving and a free-agent find like Udrih, Sacto might have more of a core than anyone expected . . . before we even get to Bibby and Artest.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
2008 Cub Scout Pinewood Derby
Jack and I left the house a little after 10:00 a.m. to help set-up for his cub scout pack's annual pinewood derby. It took us a little over 2 1/2 hours to put the track together, set-up the room and get the computer connected and working.
In addition to this year's car, we brought the cars from the last two years to help test the track and the electronics. As we were testing, it appeared that last year's car was faster than this year's car. Jack was not pleased.
Jack ended up winning his den. The margin of victory was very small: a total of 37 thousandths of a second in four races! The quality of the cars has increased substantially over the last couple of years.
Last year, Jack had the fastest car in the pack. This year, his car finished third overall in the pack.
The difference between last year's and this year's cars is interesting. This year's car had a much lower profile than last year's. As a result of the lower profile, we could not get as much weight over the rear axle and the center of gravity was probably a 1/4 of an inch farther forward. It appears that getting the center of gravity farther back is more important than an aerodynamic shape.
By the time, we tore everything down and cleaned up the hall it was almost 5:00 p.m. It was a long day.
In addition to this year's car, we brought the cars from the last two years to help test the track and the electronics. As we were testing, it appeared that last year's car was faster than this year's car. Jack was not pleased.
Jack ended up winning his den. The margin of victory was very small: a total of 37 thousandths of a second in four races! The quality of the cars has increased substantially over the last couple of years.
Last year, Jack had the fastest car in the pack. This year, his car finished third overall in the pack.
The difference between last year's and this year's cars is interesting. This year's car had a much lower profile than last year's. As a result of the lower profile, we could not get as much weight over the rear axle and the center of gravity was probably a 1/4 of an inch farther forward. It appears that getting the center of gravity farther back is more important than an aerodynamic shape.
By the time, we tore everything down and cleaned up the hall it was almost 5:00 p.m. It was a long day.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
2008 Little Dribblers Basketball Game 3
Jack played in his third Little Dribbler's Basketball game of the 2008 season. They played against St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School in Sacramento. This was their first home game of the year. Over the last couple of years, I have fallen into the role of being the referee for Jack's home games. In the past, there were usually two referees, but I was the only one for today's game.
Although there is no official score keeper, Jack said that the score was 54 to 22. The other team only had six players, while Jack's team had 13 kids. After about half an hour, the other team was getting pretty winded. In contrast, Jack's team would run five new players out every 5 minutes.
Jack had 10 points and a couple of nice assists. Most of his points were on driving lay-outs through the defense. His team continues to be very good with the fastbreak. As soon as someone rebounds the ball, they are all off and running. Whoever rebounds the ball is looking down court and making the long pass.
Although there is no official score keeper, Jack said that the score was 54 to 22. The other team only had six players, while Jack's team had 13 kids. After about half an hour, the other team was getting pretty winded. In contrast, Jack's team would run five new players out every 5 minutes.
Jack had 10 points and a couple of nice assists. Most of his points were on driving lay-outs through the defense. His team continues to be very good with the fastbreak. As soon as someone rebounds the ball, they are all off and running. Whoever rebounds the ball is looking down court and making the long pass.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Fire Marshal
Whenever you hear the words Fire Marshal, you know that you are in for an entertaining evening.
Winding down their west coast tour, Drew played at Luna's Cafe in Sacramento on Friday night. I got there about 7:30 p.m. At that point, it was literally just me, Drew and his band. I hung out while they set up. Several of the band members were lamenting the end of their month on the road; they don't want to go back to school. They would rather just keep touring!
Luna's Cafe is a small venue. When I got there, I staked out a spot next to the bar which included a couple of bar stools and a table with a couple of chairs. It was, as Brun would describe it later, a defensible space.
Starting about 8:00 p.m., a steady stream of people started to show up and fill the Cafe. Just as I was about to give up the bar stools and concentrate on trying to hold the table, Brun and Kim showed up. By 9:00 p.m., the place was packed and they were turning people away at the door. There were probably somewhere between 75 and 100 people stuffed into the venue.
Thomas Cunningham played for about 30 minutes before Drew and his band went on stage. Sharon and Janie showed up about 10 minutes after Drew started.
Even though I had already paid the cover for Sharon and Janie, they were not letting anymore people in the door. They kept saying that there were already too many people and that the fire marshal was going to show up. I turned my back to the door for a couple of minutes and somehow Sharon was able to bully her way into the cafe. I am still not sure how she did it. An older guy behind the bar (the owner?) apologized to her a couple of times for hassle as he repeated the phrase "fire marshal."
Drew et. al. played for about an hour and twenty minutes. I always enjoy seeing Drew play live. Depending on who he has with him, there are a lot of different arrangments for most of his material. Drew can play a lot of the songs with just him and a guitar. At the other end of the spectrum, I have seen him on stage with seven or eight people, including a sax, a keyboard and Morgan singing a female vocal back-up. On this evening, they took very good advantage of the sax.
Drew, Kellen (bass) and Jason (sax) played together in a competitive jazz band in high school. At the times, you can see this influence. They will go off in some direction and starting jamming.
Although the set did not include one of my favorites, I enjoyed the evening immensely.
Winding down their west coast tour, Drew played at Luna's Cafe in Sacramento on Friday night. I got there about 7:30 p.m. At that point, it was literally just me, Drew and his band. I hung out while they set up. Several of the band members were lamenting the end of their month on the road; they don't want to go back to school. They would rather just keep touring!
Luna's Cafe is a small venue. When I got there, I staked out a spot next to the bar which included a couple of bar stools and a table with a couple of chairs. It was, as Brun would describe it later, a defensible space.
Starting about 8:00 p.m., a steady stream of people started to show up and fill the Cafe. Just as I was about to give up the bar stools and concentrate on trying to hold the table, Brun and Kim showed up. By 9:00 p.m., the place was packed and they were turning people away at the door. There were probably somewhere between 75 and 100 people stuffed into the venue.
Thomas Cunningham played for about 30 minutes before Drew and his band went on stage. Sharon and Janie showed up about 10 minutes after Drew started.
Even though I had already paid the cover for Sharon and Janie, they were not letting anymore people in the door. They kept saying that there were already too many people and that the fire marshal was going to show up. I turned my back to the door for a couple of minutes and somehow Sharon was able to bully her way into the cafe. I am still not sure how she did it. An older guy behind the bar (the owner?) apologized to her a couple of times for hassle as he repeated the phrase "fire marshal."
Drew et. al. played for about an hour and twenty minutes. I always enjoy seeing Drew play live. Depending on who he has with him, there are a lot of different arrangments for most of his material. Drew can play a lot of the songs with just him and a guitar. At the other end of the spectrum, I have seen him on stage with seven or eight people, including a sax, a keyboard and Morgan singing a female vocal back-up. On this evening, they took very good advantage of the sax.
Drew, Kellen (bass) and Jason (sax) played together in a competitive jazz band in high school. At the times, you can see this influence. They will go off in some direction and starting jamming.
Although the set did not include one of my favorites, I enjoyed the evening immensely.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
California Historical Landmark #511
California State Historical Landmark #511
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps
This landmark is located in the John Muir National Historic Site, 4202 Alhambra Avenue, Martinez, California. There are 14 other California State Historical Landmarks in Contra Costa County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 37° 59.526 W 122° 07.855.
You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.
In 1849, Vicente Martinez built a two-story adobe ranch house on his portion of the Rancho Pinole. This land was inherited from his father, Don Ignacio Martinez, a Spanish Office who became comandante of the San Francisco Presidio and later Alcalde of San Francisco. In 1966, the National Park Service acquired the adobe and it now open to the public.
Vicente Martinez was born in Santa Barbara on August 18, 1818. The second son of Don Ygnagio and Martina de Arellano Martinez who were married in the Presidio Chapel at Santa Barbara in 1802. Don Ygangio Martinez was a Spanish Officer at San Diego and Santa Barbara from 1768 to 1818 and became comandante of the Presidio of San Francisco from 1822 to 1831 and in 1837 was the third mayor of San Francisco. Rancho Pinole was granted to him in 1828 and he moved his family there in 1836. Naming his home Nuestra Senora de la Merced being among the earliest settlers of the Contra Costa. The town of Martinez was named for him. Upon retiring from military service on September 30, 1831, he moved his family to the Pueblo de San de San Jose Guadalupe. At Don Ygnacio's death on June 18, 1848, Vicente Martinez inherited this portion of Rancho Pinole and built this adobe in 1848. He sold the adobe on October 8, 1858 to Edward Franklin for whom Franklin Canyon was named. Dr. John T. Strentzel father-in-law of John Muir, California Naturalist, bought this property from Edward Franklin in 1875. Plaque dedicated April 17, 1956. Contra Costa County Historical Society. California State Registration No. 511.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Celebrating Sharon's birthday!
One of Sharon's passions is food. For breakfast on her birthday, I successfully made her a frittata from one of the South Beach Cookbooks.
For dinner, we went to Ella's. This is a new restaurant downtown by the family behind The Kitchen and Selland's Market Café. Dinner included some great oysters on the half shell, a small plate of meatballs for Jack, a Belgian endive and Lola Rossa lettuce salad, brussels sprouts, Pappardelle pasta and crispy skin duck breast.
The food and the service were great. The money quote from Sharon: "this is a WOW dinner." As we left, she was already trying to figure out how to come back with Janie before Drew's show on Friday.
We finished the night at home with some carrot cake from Ettores and presents.
For dinner, we went to Ella's. This is a new restaurant downtown by the family behind The Kitchen and Selland's Market Café. Dinner included some great oysters on the half shell, a small plate of meatballs for Jack, a Belgian endive and Lola Rossa lettuce salad, brussels sprouts, Pappardelle pasta and crispy skin duck breast.
The food and the service were great. The money quote from Sharon: "this is a WOW dinner." As we left, she was already trying to figure out how to come back with Janie before Drew's show on Friday.
We finished the night at home with some carrot cake from Ettores and presents.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Kings rout Nets
Sharon and Tim went to the Sacramento Kings versus Jersey Net basketball game. With Bibby, Martin and Artest starting together for the first time this season, the Kings routed the Nets by the score of 128 to 94.
The Kings set season highs in points, assists (30), field goals (46 of 80), shooting percentage (57.5), three-point percentage (62.5) and margin of victory.
Even with everyone healthy, I think they have dug themselves too deep a hole to make the play-offs. To get the 8th seed in the Western Conference this year, you are going to need at least 46 wins. In order to accomplish this, the Kings would have to go 28 and 14 over the second half of the season.
Based on John Hollinger's NBA Playoff Odds, the Sacramento Kings have a 6.4% chance of making the play-offs at this point.
The Kings set season highs in points, assists (30), field goals (46 of 80), shooting percentage (57.5), three-point percentage (62.5) and margin of victory.
Even with everyone healthy, I think they have dug themselves too deep a hole to make the play-offs. To get the 8th seed in the Western Conference this year, you are going to need at least 46 wins. In order to accomplish this, the Kings would have to go 28 and 14 over the second half of the season.
Based on John Hollinger's NBA Playoff Odds, the Sacramento Kings have a 6.4% chance of making the play-offs at this point.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Song for 1970
While I was in junior high, I attended a church summer camp called Presbyterian Pines. As I can best remember, it was located somewhere north and west of Nevada City. The camp closed in 1971; I can remember someone saying that they could not afford the insurance.
I have a clear memory of standing in the kitchen washing dishes at the camp singing Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head. The version by B. J. Thomas was number one in the United States in January 1970. The song is often associated with the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid which features the song in a key scene.
The song for 1970 is B. J. Thomas' Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.
You can find the work in progress Soundtrack for My Life here!
What is this?
I have a clear memory of standing in the kitchen washing dishes at the camp singing Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head. The version by B. J. Thomas was number one in the United States in January 1970. The song is often associated with the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid which features the song in a key scene.
The song for 1970 is B. J. Thomas' Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.
You can find the work in progress Soundtrack for My Life here!
What is this?
NBA Power Rankings 2007-2008 Week 12
The Sacramento Kings have won five of their last seven games and two out of three on the road. They climb to 17th in Marc Stein's weekly NBA power rankings. This ties their highest ranking of the season in week 8.
ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association
ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association
We see it every season and the Kings are this season's nominee: One scrappy team out West that can torture itself with this less-than-comforting thought: ''We'd be a playoff team for sure if we were in the East.''
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