Halloween 2008

I can't remember the last time that it rained on Halloween; it rained tonight.

As it rained harder and harder, Jack and I went out and made a loop around the block, while Sharon manned the door. With the shift in daylight saving time to a week later, all of the kids started later and with the rain they finished earlier. It ended up being a fairly quiet night.

Halloween 2007

Halloween 2006

Halloween 2005

Halloween 2004

Halloween 2003

Halloween 2002

Halloween 2001

Halloween 2000

2008-2009 Kings Season Wins Over/Under

On his October 28 podcast, Bill Simmons said that the Las Vegas over/under line for the number of games that the Kings will win this season is 27.5. Last year, the Kings won 38 games.

For comparison, in the eight seasons from 1986 to 1993, the Kings record averaged 26 wins and 56 losses. During this stretch, they did not make the play-offs and never won more than 29 games in a season. The low point was 23 wins in 1989-1990 season.

In contrast, in the eight seasons from 1998 to 2005, the Sacramento Kings record averaged 52 wins and 30 losses. They made the play-offs eight straight years.

Big Tree

Morgan is playing in a band called Big Tree. Last week, they played during the 2008 CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival.

Big Tree was mentioned in the last two paragraphs of this article:

What Is the Point of CMJ? | The New York Observer

...followed by a most unpretentious group melding sunshiney hippie enthusiasm (sample lyric: 'I can hear the grass grow!') with epic post-rock breakdowns (strangely, it worked)...

...I would never have seen Big Tree (the post-rock hippies)...

Big Tree is finishing up an album. You can find a couple of their songs on their Myspace page at www.myspace.com/bigtreesings.

Chasm City

More than five and a half years ago on a trip to the Philippines, I read Revelation Space, Alastair Reynolds' first novel. At the time, I enjoyed the book enough to buy his second novel, Chasm City. The book has been sitting in my pile of books to read ever since.

Looking for a science fiction book to read, I picked Chasm City up a couple of weeks ago and finished it on the trip to Spokane. I really enjoyed the book. With longer books, I often find myself reaching a point where I am ready to move on to something else. Chasm City kept me engaged and interested through 700 pages. The story line reminded me in some ways of the Bourne Identity. Although the resolution of the climatic scene is odd and the last five pages are a little flat, it is a hard science fiction novel that I would recommend.

Predicting the NBA on a curve

My favorite ESPN columist is Bill Simmons. In his 2008-2009 NBA season preview titled Predicting the NBA on a curve, he notes:

Random awful summer decision that didn't get nearly enough play: The Kings committing $60 million over the next five years to Beno Udrih and Francisco Garcia. Didn't Luke Walton's horrific contract teach everyone not to overpay mediocre players? Did Geoff Petrie really think he would be standing on the championship podium some day telling Stu Scott, 'I knew we were headed for a title the day I decided to pay Udrih, Garcia and Mikki Moore three times what they were worth?'

On a more positive note, Simmons does forecast that the Kings will have 37 wins and 45 losses for the season. This is much more optimistic than John Hollinger's preview which forecasts that the Kings will win only 24 games.

Idaho Highway Historical Marker #348

Treaty Rock
Idaho Highway Historical Marker #348
National Register of Historic Places #1992000420
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
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This landmark is located north of I-90 and northeast of Spokane River falls, Post Falls, Idaho. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 47° 42.860 W 116° 57.080.

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

 

On June 1, 1871, Frederick Post made a deal with Seltice--a prominent coeur d'Alene Indian leader--to obtain more than 200 acres of Spokane River land to start a mill here.

They recorded this land cession on a prominent rock adjacent to Post Falls. This incription can still be seen from here. Post's sawmill located at an important hydroelectric site now used for a power plant led to development of a townsite at Post Falls.

 

This large, conspicuous rock (located near Post Falls--a major Spokane River power site) contains important examples of ancient Indian rock art. Petroglyphs (carvings) and pictographs (paintings) both are present there. When Frederick W. Post obtained a Coeur d'Alene Indian agreement to allow him to build a power plant and mill there in 1871, he added his name and date to those designs. His inscription did not represent a treaty, and Idaho's Coeur d'Alene people did not even gain a treaty for two more decades. He moved on west to Spokane Falls, but his early development at Post Falls led to a settlement there that grew up around his power and industrial site.


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Kootenai County Idaho Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places
Kootenai County, Idaho
{GPS Coordinates of Site Location}

1992000420 - Treaty Rock - [map] - {47.714333,-116.95133}

On the Gonzaga Campus

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NBA Power Rankings 2008-2009 Week 0

Marc Stein has dropped the Kings to 28th in his Power Rankings for the start of the 2008-2009 NBA season. This is down from 23th in the Training Camp Edition of the Power Rankings. Only the Grizzlies and Thunder are ranked lower than the Kings!

I am part of a group that shares Kings season tickets. Talking to the other members of the group and a few other people, I don't think people realize how bad the team's record might be this season. It could be historically bad. With a few bad breaks, they could end up with the worst record that they have had since they moved to Sacramento.

ESPN - NBA Basketball Power Rankings - National Basketball Association

Like the way Adande said it recently: The scrappy Kings will give you everything they've got, but unfortunately that (probably) won't be a whole lot. Especially early, with Brad Miller suspended for the first five games.

2008 Gonzaga Fall Family Weekend Day 3

Up early, I ran a little over 6 miles through the Riverfront Park and along the Centennial Trail. Sharon took a short run through the Gonzaga Campus.

After a quick breakfast, we got cleaned up and packed up the room. We met the Tom Frames and headed for St. Aloysius for Mass. The President of Gonzaga Unversity, Father Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., gave the homily; he was a powerful and intelligent speaker.

Afterwards, we walked to Kevin's dorm and took a quick tour. Sharon, Jack and I headed to the book store and bought some Gonzaga gear; Jack got a sweatshirt, sweatpants and a beanie. Walking back across campus to the car, Jack turned to Sharon and said "I know where I am going to College!" We also spent some time getting a birthday present for Kevin.

We drove out to the Green Bluff area. This is similar to Apple Hill above Placerville. Unfortunately, by the time we got out there, it was time to head back and met everyone for an early dinner.

We had dinner at Milford's Seafood in Spokane. Sunday was Kevin's 21st birthday! We had a nice dinner and birthday celebration.

After dinner, we headed for the airport and wound our way home. After an uneventful flight, we were home and in bed about 11:30 p.m.

Tom, Becky, Eric and Kevin

 

St. Aloysius - Spokane, WA

St. Aloysius - Spokane, WA, originally uploaded by heringermr.

2008 Gonzaga Fall Family Weekend Day 2

Sharon, Jack and I were slow getting moving in the morning. Eventually, we caught up with Tom and Becky and had breakfast at the hotel.

The Centennial Trail runs along the Spokane River near the Oxford Suites where we were staying. Additionally, the Riverfront Park, home of the 1974 World's Fair, was close by. Sharon went out for a run. Jack and I gave her a head start and then started out after her. After exploring the Riverfront Park, Jack went back to the hotel with Sharon, while I ran 6.25 miles. I headed east on the Centennial Trail through the Gonzaga Campus and along the Spokane River before doubling back to the hotel.

For lunch, we met Tom, Becky, Kevin and Eric and Sharon's cousin David Bell and his wife Ellen. David is the oldest son of Kathryn Nichols. Kathryn was Sharon's dad's sister. We had lunch at Tomato Street.

Sharon and I decided to head to Coeur d'Alene for the afternoon. I am not sure what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. The old downtown sits along the lake with some striking views to the south and west. I did not realize how big Lake Coeur d'Alene is; it is over 30 miles long. Both Sharon and I thought that this would be an interesting place to come back to in the summer.

We walked along the world's longest floating boardwalk and then took a short hike in the Tubbs Hill Park. Afterwards, we drove through the Fort Sherman historical district and the surrounding neighborhood.

On the way back to Spokane, we stopped briefly at Treaty Rock in Post Falls. This is a Idaho Highway Historical Marker and on the U.S. National Register of Historical Places.

Back at the hotel, we spent some time watching the Notre Dame/Washington and Penn State/Ohio State football game with Tom et al. Eventually, we all walked to the Old Flour Mill and had a very, very late dinner at Clinkerdagger's.

Coeur d'Alene

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Coeur d'Alene, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Riverfront Park - Spokane, WA

Riverfront Park - Spokane, WA, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Running along the Centennial Trail

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Running along the Centennial Trail, originally uploaded by heringermr.

2008 Gonzaga Fall Family Weekend Day 1

We caught a midmorning flight from Sacramento to Spokane with a quick stop in Portland. Sharon's nephew Kevin goes to Gonzaga and we are going to spend the weekend at the Gonzaga Fall Family Weekend.

After checking into the hotel, we met Sharon's brother Tom and headed over to the campus to catch up with Kevin, Eric and Becky. Eric and Becky had taken a tour of the campus followed by an admission's interview.

From there, we went to the Autumn Gala in the East Lobby of McCarthey Athletic Center.

We finished the day by going to An Evening with Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood .

Spike at Gonzaga

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Spike at Gonzaga, originally uploaded by heringermr.

Will Ferrell as Bush endorsing McCain/Palin

In Spokane

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In Spokane, originally uploaded by heringermr.