Off on his Jesuit Christian Service Immersion

Up at 3:30 am, we got to the airport at 4:30 am. Jack is traveling to Kansas City for a week with a group of twelve other Jesuit students (including Jason) plus faculty leaders Joe Potulny and Paul LeBoeuf for his Christian Service Immersion.

The group will be spending the week at Jerusalem Farm. This service-retreat is focused around four cornerstones: prayer; community; service, and; simplicity. Service has a emphasis on home repair. This includes the construction or repair of wheel chair ramps, decks, roofs, siding and painting.

We went to a presentation of all of the different immersion options last October. The parent meeting for the Kansas City immersion was held in January.

Breaking Bad: Season 3

Sharon and I finished watching Season 3 of Breaking Bad. We finished Season 1 in September and Season 2 in February.

The third season of Breaking Bad premiered on March 21, 2010 and concluded on June 13, 2010. It consisted of 13 episodes.

This season received seven Emmy Award nominations with two wins. Bryan Cranston won his third consecutive award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Aaron Paul won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series after being nominated the previous year.

I found the second half of the third season more engaging than the first half. We are going to make an attempt to bang out the fourth and fifth seasons before the end of the summer.

California Historical Landmark #915

Working out of St. Helena from January through November of 2015, I have started exploring California Historical Landmarks in Napa, Sonoma and Lake Counties, including: Site of Stone and Kelsey Home [#426], The Battle of Bloody Island [#427], Sulphur Bank Mine [#428], Lower Lake Stone Jail [#429], Stone House [#450], Old Bull Trail Road and St Helena Toll Road [#467], Chiles Grist Mill [#547], Schramsberg [#561], Charles Krug Winery [#563], Site of York's Cabin [#682], Site of Hudson Cabin [#683], Sam Brannan Store [#684], Sam Brannan Cottage [#685], Site of Kelsey House [#686], Beringer Brothers Winery [#814], Old Lake County Courthouse [#897], Petrified Forest [#915] and Litto's Hubcap Ranch [#939]. I visited all seven of the California Historical Landmarks in Lake County and finished visiting all of the Napa landmarks.

Petrified Forest
California State Historical Landmark #915
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This landmark is located at 4100 Petrified Forest Road, 5 miles northwest of Calistoga, California. There are 26 other California State Historical Landmarks in Sonoma County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 33.347 W 122° 38.335.

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



The petrified forest, historically and scientifically significant as the state's only petrified forest dating from the Eocene period, is unique in its size, scope, and variety of petrification. Discovered in 1870, the forest is about a mile long by half a mile wide.

Goose & Gander

Spending the night with me in Napa, Sharon and I had a nice dinner at the Goose & Gander in St. Helena. We split a Radish Salad, Hudson Valley Torchon of Foie Gras, Wild King Salmon and Grilled California Sturgeon "Au Poivre." We had beet cake for dessert!?!

Drew - Milo Greene - Salt Lake City

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

I finished reading The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu and translated by Ken Liu. Orginally published in Chinese in 2008, the book was translated into English and then published in late 2014. It is nominated for both the 2015 Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel.

Apparently, Cixin Lui is the most prolific and popular science fiction writer in the People's Republic of China. Liu is an eight-time winner of the Galaxy Award (the Chinese Hugo) and a winner of the Nebula Award. Prior to becoming a writer, he worked as an engineer in a power plant in Yangquan, Shanxi.

The beginning of the story is set in the Chinese Cultural Revolution that started in 1966. It follows the impact of the Cultural Revolution on scientists and other intellectuals. The book gradually shifts to become the story of an engineer trying to decipher a mystery and then morphs again in a story of first contact with an advanced alien race.

I enjoyed the book. The backdrop of the Chinese Cultural Revolution and Chinese Society gave the book a very different feel than most of the science fiction that I have read. This is the first book of a trilogy. I have pre-order the second volume of the trilogy; the translated version will be published in August.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Lord Huron - Fool For Love

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



Code Expiration: August 18, 2015

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Lonely Planet - An Innocent Abroad

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



Code Expiration: August 18, 2015

Redwood Regional Park Hike Maps

Using data from RunKeeper on my iPhone, I built the following Google Map and Google Earth view of our hike in the Redwood Regional Park on Saturday.

Kingsman: The Secret Service

After hiking in the East Bay at the Redwood Regional Park on Saturday, Sharon, Jack and I watched Kingsman: The Sercet Service.

The film is a 2015 British spy action comedy film based on the comic book The Secret Service, created by Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar. It stars Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Caine.

When Sharon and I were banging out the Oscar nominated films in January and February, I must have seen the trailer for the movie a dozen times.

Sharon described the film as bizarrely amusing...

Redwood Regional Park Hike

Sharon, Jack and I headed to the East Bay for the day. The plan was to hike in the Redwood Regional Park. After a stop for sandwiches in Lafayette, we got to the Skyline Gate Staging Area about 11:30 am. We ended up hiking almost 7.5 miles. We took the West Ridge Trail to the French Creek Trail. We followed the French Creek Trail for three miles. We then took the Chown Trail back up to the West Ridge Trail. We followed the West Ridge Trail past Redwood Bowl and made a quick stop outside the Chabot Space and Science Center before continuing to the car. We were back at the car about 3:15 pm.

There are a number of nice stands of second growth redwoods along the trail. Nevertheless, both Sharon and I were disappointed with the view; we were expecting to get some views of the bay and San Francisco, but never did.

I was also amazed at the number of dogs. As Jack pointed out, on the French Creek Trail, we would see the dogs come around the corner on the trail before we saw the people.

The traffic on the way back to Carmichael was heavy. We didn't get home until about 6:15 pm.

A Google Map and a view in Google Earth of the hike are here.

California Historical Marker #245

Location of the Famous Mussel Slough Tragedy
California State Historical Landmark #245
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
See this location on Google Maps

This landmark is located at 5833 14th Ave, between Everett and Elder Avenues, 1.5 miles southeast of Hardwick, California. There are 2 other California State Historical Landmarks in Kings County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 38° 58.703 W 122° 50.604.

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



Here on May 11, 1880, during a dispute over land titles between settlers and railroad, a fight broke out in which seven men-two deputy U.S. marshals and five ranchers lost their lives. The legal struggle over titles was finally settled by a compromise.

Kings County Landmarks

California State Historical Landmarks
in Kings County
NO. 206 EL ADOBE DE LOS ROBLES RANCHO
*NO. 245 Location of the Famous Mussel Slough Tragedy - [map] - {36.388794,-119.708817}
NO. 270 KINGSTON

List of California Counties

ESPN 30 for 30 Shorts: The Anti-Mascot

Grant land and ESPN Films have released the thirty-third film in their 30 for 30 documentary short series.

30 for 30 Shorts: The Anti-Mascot

The latest film, directed by Colin Hanks, tells the story of how a bad team and an even worse idea were an ugly combination in San Francisco.

You can find The Anti-Mascot on the ESPN web site at http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12876146.

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

Bill Simmons Is Officially Done Working at ESPN

Bill Simmons Is Officially Done Working at ESPN, but Will Get Paid Through September | Vanity Fair

We’ve known for a week and some change that ESPN was not renewing its contract with sports journalist Bill Simmons, but it’s now clear that Simmons will not publish any work or appear on any television programs or podcasts for the duration of his contract.

Jalen and Jacoby acknowledge the departure of Bill Simmons at the beginning of their May 18, 2015 podcast [link to video version of the podcast]

Judge Fred J. Cassibry Square

I wandered by this waymark while we were in New Orleans.

Judge Fred J. Cassibry Square
Louisiana Historical Marker
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This historic place is located at 701 St. Louis Street, New Orleans, in the Parish of Orleans, Louisiana. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 29° 57.378 W 090° 03.974.

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



Fred J. Cassibry (1918-1996), U.S. Navy WWII veteran, served on the New Orleans City Council, Orleans Civil District Court, U.S. District Court, E.D. La., and the Louisiana Economic Development and Gaming Corporation. Throughout his 40 years of public life, Judge Cassibry personified the definition of a dedicated public official. He never forgot he was a servant of the people. Square dedicated by 1999 La. Acts 708.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Rules!

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



Code Expiration: August 11, 2015

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - NYTimes Crossword

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



Code Expiration: August 11, 2015

So What Exactly Doomed Bill Simmons at ESPN?

So What Exactly Doomed Bill Simmons at ESPN? | Vanity Fair

ESPN president John Skipper found himself literally backed into a corner at the Minskoff Theater on Tuesday morning by reporters asking about his abrupt decision last week to set the network’s star columnist and commentator, Bill Simmons, adrift once his current contract expires this fall.

Mad Men - Season Seven

Sharon and I watched the final episode of Mad Men. The seventh and final season of the television drama series Mad Men consists of 14 episodes split into two, seven-episode parts. The first part of season 7 begins in January 1969, several weeks after the Thanksgiving 1968 ending of season 6 and ends in July 1969. The second part of season 7 takes place between April and November 1970.

One of the things that I enjoyed about the first couple of seasons was how it tied the events of the 60's into the arc of the show. Unfortunately, the show somewhat moved away from this in the last couple of seasons.

The show ends with the groundbreaking 1971 "Hilltop" television advertisement for Coca-Cola, created by McCann Erickson. I didn't realize until this week that McCann Erickson was a real ad agency.

Sharon enjoyed the last season and the final episode a lot more than I did. While the quality of the production and the acting remained very good, I felt that the series lost its sense of direction in the last season plus.

After we finished watching the final episode, Sharon watched the pilot. Set in early 1960, it is astonishing how much cigarette smoking there is in the first episode.

All of my Mad Men posts can be found here, including:

[Mad Men - Season Five]
[Mad Men - Season Four]
[Mad Men - Season Three]
[Mad Men - Season Two]
[Mad Men - Season One]