Saw an on-line article that talked about foods good for you and those that are not so I thought why not plan a daily menu around these foods. The main problem was trying to match up items that made sense for the meals.
Breakfast: Low fat yogurt sprinkled with nuts and blueberries mixed in along with a cup of coffee. This will give a boost to short-term memory (coffee), benefit long-term memory (blueberries), and provide a calming effect (low-fat yogurt and nuts) for the commute.
Lunch: High-protein salad with vinaigrette sprinkled with ground flaxseed and a mug of peppermint tea. The salad with diced chicken will provide needed mid-day energy, and the flaxseed will sharpen your senses while the tea boosts your concentration level.
Dinner: Salmon with spinach salad. The salmon helps to speed up your thought processing, while the spinach promotes a good mood and grins. Yes, these were the actual words in the article.
Avoid the following or at the least moderate: energy drinks, too much coffee, unripe/unready fruits, full fat ice cream, pancakes, bagels, soda, candy, white chocolate and alcohol.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Friday, May 08, 2009
Air Force One Brouhaha
Here's one of the photos taken recently of Air Force One that has caused much trouble for the White House. It seems that if they really wanted to they could have saved a lot of trouble by "photoshopping" the plane into the picture. Nice picture though.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Would You Pay a Toll?
One of new newer concepts in Bay Area transportation is something called an Express Lane. An Express Lane is a carpool lane that also can be used by toll paying solo drivers. The video below by the Alameda Congestion Management Agency is for an express lane under construction on I-680 in Alameda and Santa Clara counties. VTA, where I work, has about a 20 percent stake in this project.
Following this project are four other Bay Area projects with similar designs. There's another that is under construction along I-580, a major artery to the Central Valley of California. We're managing the other three projects that are in Santa Clara County and are under various stages of design.
These projects offer the ability to use capacity on existing freeways without widening of freeways and at the same time allow for the generation of sorely needed revenue to pay for roadway maintenance and operations, and improvements. We'll see how these projects pan out.
Other areas like San Diego, Minneapolis, Miami, and Seattle have already constructed express lanes. Other areas like Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. have projects under development.
Following this project are four other Bay Area projects with similar designs. There's another that is under construction along I-580, a major artery to the Central Valley of California. We're managing the other three projects that are in Santa Clara County and are under various stages of design.
These projects offer the ability to use capacity on existing freeways without widening of freeways and at the same time allow for the generation of sorely needed revenue to pay for roadway maintenance and operations, and improvements. We'll see how these projects pan out.
Other areas like San Diego, Minneapolis, Miami, and Seattle have already constructed express lanes. Other areas like Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. have projects under development.
Parking in SF
The first car that we bought together was a VW Golf. One of the reasons was to make finding parking in San Francisco easier. We don't go into the City as much now so we do fine in our mini-van.
However, for those of you still battling for parking spaces in the City, check out the following web site: findingthesweetspot.com.
This also brings to mind a former co-worker. He had the most amazing parking karma. We would go to eat lunch in the busiest of places right in the thick of lunch hour on a Friday. This was in the Silicon Valley in the midst of the technology boom. Places like Ranch 99 in Milpitas. Never fail, if we were with Jeff, we would always find a parking space. It was amazing.
However, for those of you still battling for parking spaces in the City, check out the following web site: findingthesweetspot.com.
This also brings to mind a former co-worker. He had the most amazing parking karma. We would go to eat lunch in the busiest of places right in the thick of lunch hour on a Friday. This was in the Silicon Valley in the midst of the technology boom. Places like Ranch 99 in Milpitas. Never fail, if we were with Jeff, we would always find a parking space. It was amazing.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Spring Break 2009
Here is a slide show of our recent trip to Southern California. The main stop was Disneyland. This was the second time to the happiest place on earth for our kids. All the kids got to enjoy the thrill of the "big kid" rides, especially true for Naomi. Ryan even took in Splash Mountain with an enthusiastic, "That was awesome!" He got soaked and was very proud of it.
After Disneyland, we spent part of an afternoon at the George C. Page Museum in La Brea (aka the La Brea Tar Pits). They've unearthed an amazing number of animals from the tar pits.
We wound up the trip by unwinding in San Diego. Got to visit more family (Dorothy's niece lives in SD). We really basically spent most of the day at the beach in La Jolla.
On the drive back we stopped off at Disneytown to do a little last minute shopping.
After Disneyland, we spent part of an afternoon at the George C. Page Museum in La Brea (aka the La Brea Tar Pits). They've unearthed an amazing number of animals from the tar pits.
We wound up the trip by unwinding in San Diego. Got to visit more family (Dorothy's niece lives in SD). We really basically spent most of the day at the beach in La Jolla.
On the drive back we stopped off at Disneytown to do a little last minute shopping.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Parody of Government
There's a new show called "Parks and Recreation" that parodies government. It plays on stereotypes of government in action. We'll have to see if it catches on.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
in over our heads, but we must go on...
That's how it feels sometimes. It was one of those days today in the Bay Area where a memorial service was held for the four Oakland police officers that were killed last weekend. Traffic came to a stop on area freeways as ramps were blocked off to aid traffic to and from Oracle Arena. It was an amazing sight to see one-half of Interstate 880 jammed full of cars and the other direction of the freeway entirely empty as if an evacuation ahead of a hurricane was in progress.
I was able to watch a little of the local news coverage leading up to the memorial service and part of the memorial service too because I had the day off from work today (yesterday now as I write this). My two sons saw parts of the coverage too. They were curious about the service and why it was on television.
Ryan: That's a lot of police.
Me: Yeah, there's something 20,000 people at the memorial service (and later I read that there were another 10,000 people watching the service on the giant screen in the Coliseum where the A's play).
Ryan: What happened to them? Where are they now?
Me: Those are the police officers that were shot last week.
Ryan: Are they okay now?
Me: They were shot by a man who didn't want to go back to jail. They died and this is their funeral.
Ryan: Were these police the strongest ones?
Me: They were very brave, but that's what police do. They are here to protect regular people like us.
Ryan: But were they the strongest ones?
Me: What do you mean?
Ryan: They must've been the strongest ones because of what they did.
Me: Yes, police have to be strong, but maybe you mean brave. You know, being able to do something even though you know that it might be hard.
Ryan: Yeah, I think they were brave.
Later, when pictures of all of the slain officers appeared, I explained that one of the officers shared something in common with them: a Japanese last name, Sakai.
During the memorial service, the tribute song that they played for Dan Sakai was one from The Fray. I hadn't heard the song in quite some time, but I remembered that it was used as the sound track for a slide show tribute to 9-11. That was eight years ago. Below is a video clip of The Fray performing the song.
I was able to watch a little of the local news coverage leading up to the memorial service and part of the memorial service too because I had the day off from work today (yesterday now as I write this). My two sons saw parts of the coverage too. They were curious about the service and why it was on television.
Ryan: That's a lot of police.
Me: Yeah, there's something 20,000 people at the memorial service (and later I read that there were another 10,000 people watching the service on the giant screen in the Coliseum where the A's play).
Ryan: What happened to them? Where are they now?
Me: Those are the police officers that were shot last week.
Ryan: Are they okay now?
Me: They were shot by a man who didn't want to go back to jail. They died and this is their funeral.
Ryan: Were these police the strongest ones?
Me: They were very brave, but that's what police do. They are here to protect regular people like us.
Ryan: But were they the strongest ones?
Me: What do you mean?
Ryan: They must've been the strongest ones because of what they did.
Me: Yes, police have to be strong, but maybe you mean brave. You know, being able to do something even though you know that it might be hard.
Ryan: Yeah, I think they were brave.
Later, when pictures of all of the slain officers appeared, I explained that one of the officers shared something in common with them: a Japanese last name, Sakai.
During the memorial service, the tribute song that they played for Dan Sakai was one from The Fray. I hadn't heard the song in quite some time, but I remembered that it was used as the sound track for a slide show tribute to 9-11. That was eight years ago. Below is a video clip of The Fray performing the song.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Deeohgee
Naomi: Ms. Colon told me about someone who named their dog, Deeohgee.
Me: That's a good one.
Naomi: You get it? D-O-G!
Me: That's a good one.
Naomi: You get it? D-O-G!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Greed and Fear
Jon Stewart veered from use usual "fake" journalism this week when he interviewed Jim Cramer who has own financial advise show on CNBC. Stewart exposed Cramer to be more Kramer-esque from Seinfeld fame. Cramer kept referring to the Wall Street "shenanigans" during the interview, and Stewart kept providing evidence of these shenanigans by playing videos of Cramer up to no good.
To quote one of the comments on the Comedy Central web site: it's ridiculous it takes you (Jon Stewart) to hold these people accountable.
Now let's contrast this with a speech by Larry Summers, Obama's top economic advisor. Summers talks a lot about breaking the cycle of greed and excess of fear. The following are some of the themes that Summers discusses without a lot of detail:
"Our single most important priority it bringing about economic recovery" - But so far one of the most visible methods for doing this is through the economic stimulus bill which has a lot to be desired and is fraught with a "me-first" mentality as policy makers flock to Washington to make their pitch for a piece of the pie.
"Not driven by financial excess" - But we have the Madoffs of the world having profited on behalf of their families at the expense of the masses. Yes, he's going to jail for a long time, but there is still that feeling that we have been hoodwinked.
"Raise incomes for middle class families" - But how is this going to help a middle class that at this point feels that they will have to keep working until the very end? I think that most of us would gladly trade the ability to earn more moving forward for the ability to see more of those who have gained financially through dubious means to pay for their actions.
"Our problems were not made in a day, a month or a year" - But what has been done to make sure that this will not happen again? Will there be penalties for the Jim Cramers of the world for not reforming?
At this point, Jon Stewart has done a better job articulating the feelings of most Americans than anyone else in the public sphere to date. This is really a sorry state of affairs.
To quote one of the comments on the Comedy Central web site: it's ridiculous it takes you (Jon Stewart) to hold these people accountable.
Now let's contrast this with a speech by Larry Summers, Obama's top economic advisor. Summers talks a lot about breaking the cycle of greed and excess of fear. The following are some of the themes that Summers discusses without a lot of detail:
"Our single most important priority it bringing about economic recovery" - But so far one of the most visible methods for doing this is through the economic stimulus bill which has a lot to be desired and is fraught with a "me-first" mentality as policy makers flock to Washington to make their pitch for a piece of the pie.
"Not driven by financial excess" - But we have the Madoffs of the world having profited on behalf of their families at the expense of the masses. Yes, he's going to jail for a long time, but there is still that feeling that we have been hoodwinked.
"Raise incomes for middle class families" - But how is this going to help a middle class that at this point feels that they will have to keep working until the very end? I think that most of us would gladly trade the ability to earn more moving forward for the ability to see more of those who have gained financially through dubious means to pay for their actions.
"Our problems were not made in a day, a month or a year" - But what has been done to make sure that this will not happen again? Will there be penalties for the Jim Cramers of the world for not reforming?
At this point, Jon Stewart has done a better job articulating the feelings of most Americans than anyone else in the public sphere to date. This is really a sorry state of affairs.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Trying to do the Right Thing
I came across an interesting article today about Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BI) in Boston. They are going through difficult times just like almost everyone else. Having hired over a quarter of their current staff in the last 6 years, the chances of some of these people losing their jobs is a real possibility. Another thought that crossed my mind was if it was wise to hire that many people in such a short period of time, but without knowing the details it's difficult to say much more about this.
At BI, they've come up with an alternative to layoffs. The hospital has come together as a community in an attempt to make it so no one has to leave. Paul Levy, the President and CEO of BI, threw out an idea. What he said was, "I'd like to do what we can to protect the lower-wage earners...if we protect these workers, it means the rest of us will have to make a bigger sacrifice. It means that others will have to give up more of their salary or benefits."
This idea has been embraced by the hospital staff and has grown to the hospital staff coming up with their own ideas. Some staff have agreed to forego a planned salary increase. Another suggested working less. The State of California has implemented the working less strategy, but with less grace.
I wonder if what is being done at BI could be applied in a more widespread manner?
At BI, they've come up with an alternative to layoffs. The hospital has come together as a community in an attempt to make it so no one has to leave. Paul Levy, the President and CEO of BI, threw out an idea. What he said was, "I'd like to do what we can to protect the lower-wage earners...if we protect these workers, it means the rest of us will have to make a bigger sacrifice. It means that others will have to give up more of their salary or benefits."
This idea has been embraced by the hospital staff and has grown to the hospital staff coming up with their own ideas. Some staff have agreed to forego a planned salary increase. Another suggested working less. The State of California has implemented the working less strategy, but with less grace.
I wonder if what is being done at BI could be applied in a more widespread manner?
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
David and Christina Star on Evening News!
It's not too often that one gets to see a local news story featuring co-workers and friends. Last night was an exception.
The video clip below features David and Christina from out office explaining one of our projects. The footage of these two was taken at a public meeting held at Mountain View City Hall where the public was invited to provide input on the project.
I arrived when Lloyd LaCuesta and the cameraman were packing up to leave. I was told that they asked for suggestions for their on-site footage. The In-N-Out Burger near the Charleston Road on-ramp was the near unanimous suggestion based on proximity to the freeway and the existing safe refuge in the parking lot ... and oh, yes, In-N-Out Burger serves up decent burgers.
http://www.ktvu.com/video/18893851/
The video clip below features David and Christina from out office explaining one of our projects. The footage of these two was taken at a public meeting held at Mountain View City Hall where the public was invited to provide input on the project.
I arrived when Lloyd LaCuesta and the cameraman were packing up to leave. I was told that they asked for suggestions for their on-site footage. The In-N-Out Burger near the Charleston Road on-ramp was the near unanimous suggestion based on proximity to the freeway and the existing safe refuge in the parking lot ... and oh, yes, In-N-Out Burger serves up decent burgers.
http://www.ktvu.com/video/18893851/
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
No, I Don't Want Quesadilla
Mom: How about if I make quesadillas instead tonight.
Ryan: No, I don't want quesadillas (earlier he was told that we would have pizza).
Mom: I could make Spanish rice too (knowing that Ryan is a fan of Spanish rice). I don't really want to go out again.
Ryan: I don't mind if you go to Rocco's (to pick up the pizza).
Ryan: No, I don't want quesadillas (earlier he was told that we would have pizza).
Mom: I could make Spanish rice too (knowing that Ryan is a fan of Spanish rice). I don't really want to go out again.
Ryan: I don't mind if you go to Rocco's (to pick up the pizza).
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Bailout Baloney
We are just sick and tired of reading and hearing more about the bailout of the banking industry. No more!!
And guess what we get? We get to see them "testifying" for more than six hours in front of Congress. This brought back memories of the cigarette industry "testifying." And the baseball industry represented by their players "testifying" about the use of steroids. Why do they call this "testifying?" It should be called "confessing."
There is one question for which I cannot find an answer: just to whom do these banks owe money so that they need a bailout from government? One answer given by a friend recently was that they money to other banks. If this is the case, then the amounts that they owe each other should be written off.
So while you cannot usually get relief on a mortgage gone bad until you are underwater and in deep trouble, these same banks who actually still have money want to get bailed out before they go underwater. Something doesn't compute here.
And guess what we get? We get to see them "testifying" for more than six hours in front of Congress. This brought back memories of the cigarette industry "testifying." And the baseball industry represented by their players "testifying" about the use of steroids. Why do they call this "testifying?" It should be called "confessing."
There is one question for which I cannot find an answer: just to whom do these banks owe money so that they need a bailout from government? One answer given by a friend recently was that they money to other banks. If this is the case, then the amounts that they owe each other should be written off.
So while you cannot usually get relief on a mortgage gone bad until you are underwater and in deep trouble, these same banks who actually still have money want to get bailed out before they go underwater. Something doesn't compute here.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Chinese New Year's Resolutions - Sports Edition
These are resolutions that should be made by the following sports personalities and institutions:
College Football: Scrap the BCS and implement a play-off system to decide a national championship, and determine awards after the ENTIRE season is over (including the bowl season) - if postseason stats count for records shouldn't they be considered for the purposes of determining awards too?
David Stern: Retire after his overseeing of the debacle that was the relocating of the Sonics to Oklahoma City - he's lost considerable credibility in some corners.
College Basketball: Implement the No Charge Zone under the basket just like the NBA has (there are too many charging calls still called in ticky-tack conferences ... cough pac-10 ... on players going to the basket when the defender is immediately under the cylinder ... don't know what defending is going on this situation ... isn't this like having the goalie in soccer defending while standing in the goal?).
NFL: Hire professional full-time game officials ... I think we've seen too many officials missing calls because their bi-focals had fogged up.
Al Davis: Trade in his silver and black Raiders jump suit for attire suitable for retirement to a golf course in Arizona ... he has lost all relevance in the NFL and the die-hard Raider fans deserve better.
Bud Selig: Return all money made on the backs of players like Mark McGuire, Slammin' Sammy, Clemens, et al. The players are carrying a much larger share of the burden than they deserve for the steroid saga (not that they weren't without fault either). Given the magnitude of its use, it's hard to believe that others inside baseball including the owners, MLB baseball management and media did not know more than what they are saying they knew about the whole deal ... and also retire.
MLB: Reorganize MLB into two divisions ... one division would have all teams with a payroll above $100 million and the other would have all the other lower payroll teams, with the winners of the two divisions squaring off against one another in the World Series (add teams from other continents to these divisions to make the World Series a true global championship) - this would be a David versus Goliath event with wide-ranging appeal.
Gung Hay Fat Choy!
College Football: Scrap the BCS and implement a play-off system to decide a national championship, and determine awards after the ENTIRE season is over (including the bowl season) - if postseason stats count for records shouldn't they be considered for the purposes of determining awards too?
David Stern: Retire after his overseeing of the debacle that was the relocating of the Sonics to Oklahoma City - he's lost considerable credibility in some corners.
College Basketball: Implement the No Charge Zone under the basket just like the NBA has (there are too many charging calls still called in ticky-tack conferences ... cough pac-10 ... on players going to the basket when the defender is immediately under the cylinder ... don't know what defending is going on this situation ... isn't this like having the goalie in soccer defending while standing in the goal?).
NFL: Hire professional full-time game officials ... I think we've seen too many officials missing calls because their bi-focals had fogged up.
Al Davis: Trade in his silver and black Raiders jump suit for attire suitable for retirement to a golf course in Arizona ... he has lost all relevance in the NFL and the die-hard Raider fans deserve better.
Bud Selig: Return all money made on the backs of players like Mark McGuire, Slammin' Sammy, Clemens, et al. The players are carrying a much larger share of the burden than they deserve for the steroid saga (not that they weren't without fault either). Given the magnitude of its use, it's hard to believe that others inside baseball including the owners, MLB baseball management and media did not know more than what they are saying they knew about the whole deal ... and also retire.
MLB: Reorganize MLB into two divisions ... one division would have all teams with a payroll above $100 million and the other would have all the other lower payroll teams, with the winners of the two divisions squaring off against one another in the World Series (add teams from other continents to these divisions to make the World Series a true global championship) - this would be a David versus Goliath event with wide-ranging appeal.
Gung Hay Fat Choy!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Our White Christmas
We did have a very white Christmas for a change. Here's the video that shows just how white. Enjoy!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
And Here's the Evidence!
Of the thievery, that is.
The following video clips are courtesy of PRD74 on YouTube and also The Bear Will Not Quit blog. These clips show the last minute of regulation and also the last minute of each overtime period of the Bears' triple overtime thriller against the Huskies. Watching the videos makes one realize the improbability of the Bears' victory. The Bears were down 4 with about 12 seconds left in the second overtime. Most teams do not get out of that sort of hole, especially on the road after playing the whole game from behind.
End of Regulation (starting with UW 30-second timeout with one minute left in the game and the Bears down 55-58):
First Overtime (right after a basket by Jon Brockman put the Huskies up 64-61 at the 2:42 mark):
Second Overtime (coming out of TV timeout at 1:14 with UW up 72-68):
The Coup De Grace Stanza (coming out of a Bears timeout with 1:01 remaining and the score knotted at 83 after a Bears basket by Theo Robertson):
This game was one for the ages, especially if you're a Cal Bears fan.
The following video clips are courtesy of PRD74 on YouTube and also The Bear Will Not Quit blog. These clips show the last minute of regulation and also the last minute of each overtime period of the Bears' triple overtime thriller against the Huskies. Watching the videos makes one realize the improbability of the Bears' victory. The Bears were down 4 with about 12 seconds left in the second overtime. Most teams do not get out of that sort of hole, especially on the road after playing the whole game from behind.
End of Regulation (starting with UW 30-second timeout with one minute left in the game and the Bears down 55-58):
First Overtime (right after a basket by Jon Brockman put the Huskies up 64-61 at the 2:42 mark):
Second Overtime (coming out of TV timeout at 1:14 with UW up 72-68):
The Coup De Grace Stanza (coming out of a Bears timeout with 1:01 remaining and the score knotted at 83 after a Bears basket by Theo Robertson):
This game was one for the ages, especially if you're a Cal Bears fan.
Thievery by the Bears in Triple Overtime!
Roxy Bernstein's (Cal radio announcer) question and comment to Theo Robertson on the post game show after the Bears' thrilling triple OT 88-85 victory over the Huskies were greeted with a hearty laugh by Theo. The question was if the Bears were looking forward to flying home and getting some rest before their next tilt down on the Farm. The follow up tongue-in-cheek comment by Roxy was that the Bears likely could fly home without a plane.
This was the Bears' equivalent of Larry Mize chipping in from 140 feet at the Masters in 1987 to steal one from a shocked Greg Norman. The Bears won a game they really had no business winning. After all, their only leads of the game were at 1-0 and at 86-85. Even in the three OTs, the Bears consistently played from behind, never gaining a lead until the end of the third overtime.
This was reminiscent of the Bears January 8, 2000 double overtime game against the Sun Devils, but that time it was Eddie House who literally brought down the "house" to will the Sun Devils to a victory by scoring 61 points before a large contingent of family and friends. Although that game was more of a back-and-forth game, the Bears had control of the game at the end of both regulation and the second overtime, but would go onto lose 108-111. I was there to witness this firsthand at Harmon Gym, and must admit that it feels much better to be on the winning side of such a game.
Early on, the Bears played like a team looking for a split on the road so they could say "we accomplished what we wanted, you really can't ask for more than a split when you're on the road in the Pac-10." Theo had an uncharacteristic three turnovers before the game was seven minutes old. Even the refs seemed to be working against the Bears, leading the Cal announcers to exclaim after a Bears' basket: Harper Kamp (Bears forward) should get a rebound and an assist on that play ... also should have a saddle on given how much the Huskies are riding his back. The game was not one for the faint of heart, with a lot of banging and physical play.
The play continued with the Bears seeming to weather the storm. Although the Bears would fall behind 17-27, they would go onto pull within 28-32 by halftime. Not an insurmountable lead, one that the Bears would gladly take given their performance in the first half.
The second half started well enough. The Bears pulled to a tie at 41 on two Patrick Christopher (Cal guard) free throws, but then the Huskies would go on an 11-0 run fueled by 4 points, an assist and a rebound by Justin Holiday.
However, the Bears would go onto hold the Huskies to 1 field goal and 4 made free throws out of 8 attempts over the last 9 plus minutes of the game. Meanwhile, led by Jerome Randle's (Cal guard) 9 points in the last 7 minutes of the game, the Bears would storm back to tie the game at 58 on Jerome's hesitation-pump fake pull up three with 44 second left in the game. The last seconds were frenetic, but neither team would score.
The game for the Huskies in the overtime would turn into the Justin Dentmon show. This was really due to two reasons as pointed out by the Cal radio team. Jon Brockman (Husky forward) could not be the first option as the go-to guy because of his inability to make free throws. Any play into him with the game on the line would likely result in a foul by the Bears to make Brockman earn his points from the line. The other reason was Jorge Gutierrez (Cal freshman guard; first Montgomery recruit). Jorge was the blanket on Isaiah Thomas (not the Detroit Piston, but freshman guard from Tacoma) that shut him down. Although Thomas would go onto amass 22 points for the game, the Huskies did not key off Thomas either when the game was in doubt because of Jorge's defense on the speedy freshman Husky. Jorge logged 36 minutes for the game. By far, this was his most extensive playing time to date. He played all but 17 seconds of the three overtimes. In the three overtimes, the Huskies' Thomas had this line going against Jorge for the most part:
No made FGs on only 2 attempts, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 turnover and 2 for 2 on free throws. Basically, Thomas was turned into an observer by the Bears' own young cub Jorge.
To top this off, Jorge was called onto run the offense in the third overtime when Jerome fouled out only 17 seconds into the stanza on a offensive foul nearly 30 feet away from the basket. For the remainder of the third overtime, the Bears had a line-up featuring for the most part an all freshman backcourt of Jorge and D.J. (freshman guard Seeley from Modesto), with D.J. earning playing time on the basis of his performance earlier in the game including making a three-point play on a put-back with only 1.3 seconds left in the second OT to force the decisive third OT. Let's just say that D.J. displayed his nose for the ball on the play, making a play more likely from a senior. Let's call it his "senior" moment.
After Jerome fouled out in the third overtime, it was apparent that Theo and Patrick took it upon themselves to assume the offensive responsibilities that culminated in Theo making the go ahead 3-point play and Patrick hitting the clinching free throws with the Cal team on their feet celebrating their thievery.
Patrick also deserves major kudos for his work on the defensive end. He played all of the overtimes and the final 3:51 of regulation with 4 fouls. He was able to do this even though the Huskies time and again tried to get the fifth foul on him by posting the taller Pondexter (not Dexter, but Quincy; Husky forward) on him, giving up on Brockman and Thomas as scoring options. This was to no avail.
And when the Bears needed defense after their first lead in overtime at 86-85, and everyone in the house knew who was going to take the shot for the Huskies, coming out of the timeout guess who was assigned to Dentmon? Patrick. He did not disappoint the few long suffering Old Blues in attendance and those like me listening only on radio due to the lack of coverage in places like the East Bay area beyond the Caldecott Tunnel (this due to Comcast's playing of the game on Comcast SportsNet California instead of the more widely available Comcast SportsNet Bay Area carried even by their competitors like Astound.net; one has to wonder if this is just Comcast's attempt to get people to switch to their service). Not only would Patrick stop Dentmon, but he would go onto secure the missed shot and hit the clinching free throws.
This game will live on in Old Blues' memories for some time. My friend with whom I share Cal season tickets was on the phone to me during the game to share in the excitement. He predicted in the third overtime when it looked dire for the Bears that they would win. I can't say if this was said in full confidence or more in hope, but I think all Bears fans will agree that this game could possibly be the Cal basketball standard for Joe Kapp's, "The Bear will not quit, the Bear will not die."
This was the Bears' equivalent of Larry Mize chipping in from 140 feet at the Masters in 1987 to steal one from a shocked Greg Norman. The Bears won a game they really had no business winning. After all, their only leads of the game were at 1-0 and at 86-85. Even in the three OTs, the Bears consistently played from behind, never gaining a lead until the end of the third overtime.
This was reminiscent of the Bears January 8, 2000 double overtime game against the Sun Devils, but that time it was Eddie House who literally brought down the "house" to will the Sun Devils to a victory by scoring 61 points before a large contingent of family and friends. Although that game was more of a back-and-forth game, the Bears had control of the game at the end of both regulation and the second overtime, but would go onto lose 108-111. I was there to witness this firsthand at Harmon Gym, and must admit that it feels much better to be on the winning side of such a game.
Early on, the Bears played like a team looking for a split on the road so they could say "we accomplished what we wanted, you really can't ask for more than a split when you're on the road in the Pac-10." Theo had an uncharacteristic three turnovers before the game was seven minutes old. Even the refs seemed to be working against the Bears, leading the Cal announcers to exclaim after a Bears' basket: Harper Kamp (Bears forward) should get a rebound and an assist on that play ... also should have a saddle on given how much the Huskies are riding his back. The game was not one for the faint of heart, with a lot of banging and physical play.
The play continued with the Bears seeming to weather the storm. Although the Bears would fall behind 17-27, they would go onto pull within 28-32 by halftime. Not an insurmountable lead, one that the Bears would gladly take given their performance in the first half.
The second half started well enough. The Bears pulled to a tie at 41 on two Patrick Christopher (Cal guard) free throws, but then the Huskies would go on an 11-0 run fueled by 4 points, an assist and a rebound by Justin Holiday.
However, the Bears would go onto hold the Huskies to 1 field goal and 4 made free throws out of 8 attempts over the last 9 plus minutes of the game. Meanwhile, led by Jerome Randle's (Cal guard) 9 points in the last 7 minutes of the game, the Bears would storm back to tie the game at 58 on Jerome's hesitation-pump fake pull up three with 44 second left in the game. The last seconds were frenetic, but neither team would score.
The game for the Huskies in the overtime would turn into the Justin Dentmon show. This was really due to two reasons as pointed out by the Cal radio team. Jon Brockman (Husky forward) could not be the first option as the go-to guy because of his inability to make free throws. Any play into him with the game on the line would likely result in a foul by the Bears to make Brockman earn his points from the line. The other reason was Jorge Gutierrez (Cal freshman guard; first Montgomery recruit). Jorge was the blanket on Isaiah Thomas (not the Detroit Piston, but freshman guard from Tacoma) that shut him down. Although Thomas would go onto amass 22 points for the game, the Huskies did not key off Thomas either when the game was in doubt because of Jorge's defense on the speedy freshman Husky. Jorge logged 36 minutes for the game. By far, this was his most extensive playing time to date. He played all but 17 seconds of the three overtimes. In the three overtimes, the Huskies' Thomas had this line going against Jorge for the most part:
No made FGs on only 2 attempts, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 turnover and 2 for 2 on free throws. Basically, Thomas was turned into an observer by the Bears' own young cub Jorge.
To top this off, Jorge was called onto run the offense in the third overtime when Jerome fouled out only 17 seconds into the stanza on a offensive foul nearly 30 feet away from the basket. For the remainder of the third overtime, the Bears had a line-up featuring for the most part an all freshman backcourt of Jorge and D.J. (freshman guard Seeley from Modesto), with D.J. earning playing time on the basis of his performance earlier in the game including making a three-point play on a put-back with only 1.3 seconds left in the second OT to force the decisive third OT. Let's just say that D.J. displayed his nose for the ball on the play, making a play more likely from a senior. Let's call it his "senior" moment.
After Jerome fouled out in the third overtime, it was apparent that Theo and Patrick took it upon themselves to assume the offensive responsibilities that culminated in Theo making the go ahead 3-point play and Patrick hitting the clinching free throws with the Cal team on their feet celebrating their thievery.
Patrick also deserves major kudos for his work on the defensive end. He played all of the overtimes and the final 3:51 of regulation with 4 fouls. He was able to do this even though the Huskies time and again tried to get the fifth foul on him by posting the taller Pondexter (not Dexter, but Quincy; Husky forward) on him, giving up on Brockman and Thomas as scoring options. This was to no avail.
And when the Bears needed defense after their first lead in overtime at 86-85, and everyone in the house knew who was going to take the shot for the Huskies, coming out of the timeout guess who was assigned to Dentmon? Patrick. He did not disappoint the few long suffering Old Blues in attendance and those like me listening only on radio due to the lack of coverage in places like the East Bay area beyond the Caldecott Tunnel (this due to Comcast's playing of the game on Comcast SportsNet California instead of the more widely available Comcast SportsNet Bay Area carried even by their competitors like Astound.net; one has to wonder if this is just Comcast's attempt to get people to switch to their service). Not only would Patrick stop Dentmon, but he would go onto secure the missed shot and hit the clinching free throws.
This game will live on in Old Blues' memories for some time. My friend with whom I share Cal season tickets was on the phone to me during the game to share in the excitement. He predicted in the third overtime when it looked dire for the Bears that they would win. I can't say if this was said in full confidence or more in hope, but I think all Bears fans will agree that this game could possibly be the Cal basketball standard for Joe Kapp's, "The Bear will not quit, the Bear will not die."
Friday, January 09, 2009
One Final Dose of Cal Bears Football
...to get through the off season.
It's a good video montage of Best's 311-yard day against the Huskies this year.
Maybe both Cal and Wazzu or is it Wazoo fans will like this...
It's a good video montage of Best's 311-yard day against the Huskies this year.
Maybe both Cal and Wazzu or is it Wazoo fans will like this...
Saturday, January 03, 2009
We Can Fly ! We Can Fly!
After a picture taking session in front of our tree, I told the kids to have fun and do some goofy things and here is the result.
Stats Redux - January 2, 2009
Here's an update on stats first posted in November 2005, and updated on January 2006, June 2006, October 2006, March 2007, November 2007 and August 2008.
Price of Gas: $1.85 per gallon (down from a high of about $4.49 this past summer when crude oil prices pushed past $140 per barrel)
Price of Milk: Down to $3.29 for a gallon at Trader Joe's (from $3.99 in August 2008)
Bridge Toll: $4 as of January 1, 2007 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge (which is $6 cash and $5 FasTrak as of 9/1/08)
Today's High Temperature: 55 degrees F (overnight low of 35) and raining (the last entry in this space in August 2008 shows a low of 56)
Dow Jones Average: 9034.69 close on 1/2/09 (down almost 2300 points since August 2008)
Shopping Days to Christmas: 355 days (http://eclecticesoterica.com/xmas_cnt.html)
Dinner Tonight: Blondie's cheese pizza on the run to Cal basketball game for me; the rest of the family had chicken nuggets, fish sticks, mozzarella cheese sticks, corn casserole, carrots and apple slices
Average Commute Time: under an hour in mornings due to holiday driving conditions (carpooling to restart again this next Monday; two fellow carpoolers work for tech. companies that go into hibernation between Christmas and New Years; new carpooling will have 3-person carpool MWF; 2-person carpools on TuThu)
Cost of Area Homes: the value of homes in immediate area is down to around $500k
Movie Ticket: $10 to see movies in Seattle last week; saw "The Spirit" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Time with My Kids: played card game Golf this evening
Ethan will be 8 in less than 2 weeks.
Price of Gas: $1.85 per gallon (down from a high of about $4.49 this past summer when crude oil prices pushed past $140 per barrel)
Price of Milk: Down to $3.29 for a gallon at Trader Joe's (from $3.99 in August 2008)
Bridge Toll: $4 as of January 1, 2007 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge (which is $6 cash and $5 FasTrak as of 9/1/08)
Today's High Temperature: 55 degrees F (overnight low of 35) and raining (the last entry in this space in August 2008 shows a low of 56)
Dow Jones Average: 9034.69 close on 1/2/09 (down almost 2300 points since August 2008)
Shopping Days to Christmas: 355 days (http://eclecticesoterica.com/xmas_cnt.html)
Dinner Tonight: Blondie's cheese pizza on the run to Cal basketball game for me; the rest of the family had chicken nuggets, fish sticks, mozzarella cheese sticks, corn casserole, carrots and apple slices
Average Commute Time: under an hour in mornings due to holiday driving conditions (carpooling to restart again this next Monday; two fellow carpoolers work for tech. companies that go into hibernation between Christmas and New Years; new carpooling will have 3-person carpool MWF; 2-person carpools on TuThu)
Cost of Area Homes: the value of homes in immediate area is down to around $500k
Movie Ticket: $10 to see movies in Seattle last week; saw "The Spirit" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Time with My Kids: played card game Golf this evening
Ethan will be 8 in less than 2 weeks.
Friday, January 02, 2009
"Stream of Life"
The music that accompanies the Matt Harding video was so mesmerizing and uplifting that we had to go look it up.
The name of the song is "Praan" or "Stream of Life," and was composed by Garry Schyman and performed by Palbasha Siddique. The lyrics were adapted from the poem "Stream of Life" translated by Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. The singer who performs the song apparently lives in the U.S., but has gained some notoriety since the production of the video including competing in the Bangladesh version of "American Idol."
The English translation of the poem goes something like:
The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day,
runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.
It is the same life that shoots in joy,
through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass,
and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.
It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and of death,
in ebb and in flow.
I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life.
And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.
Here's the song set to a video of nature photography.
The name of the song is "Praan" or "Stream of Life," and was composed by Garry Schyman and performed by Palbasha Siddique. The lyrics were adapted from the poem "Stream of Life" translated by Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. The singer who performs the song apparently lives in the U.S., but has gained some notoriety since the production of the video including competing in the Bangladesh version of "American Idol."
The English translation of the poem goes something like:
The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day,
runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.
It is the same life that shoots in joy,
through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass,
and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.
It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and of death,
in ebb and in flow.
I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life.
And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.
Here's the song set to a video of nature photography.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to one and all! First blog of the year. 2008 was a down year for blogging in the Emoto household. Can't really say that this was due to one particular reason. We'll see what 2009 brings.
Perhaps we'll travel more. Definitely cannot travel any less than we did in 2008. We already have a possible trip to Disneyland in the works.
Here's our nomination for the video to inspire us all to travel more and for a more uplifting 2009 in general. Enjoy!
His web site says that he lives in Seattle. Check out his Wikipedia entry for more information about Matt. The Wiki entry states that one of the founders of YouTube claims that Matt's video is his favorite YouTube posted video of all time. Another entry also mentions that "few people are able to watch the video without smiling."
Perhaps we'll travel more. Definitely cannot travel any less than we did in 2008. We already have a possible trip to Disneyland in the works.
Here's our nomination for the video to inspire us all to travel more and for a more uplifting 2009 in general. Enjoy!
His web site says that he lives in Seattle. Check out his Wikipedia entry for more information about Matt. The Wiki entry states that one of the founders of YouTube claims that Matt's video is his favorite YouTube posted video of all time. Another entry also mentions that "few people are able to watch the video without smiling."
Monday, December 15, 2008
Christmas Light Show in Clayton
Another stop on our tour of lights this past weekend was the Clayton Community Church that has a light show at 7 and 8 pm every evening at their downtown office. It was quite a show. It probably went on for about 20 minutes or more. Here's a short clip.
Mr. Christmas
We went to visit Mr. Christmas this past weekend. Mr. Mertz on Olive Drive in Concord, CA is celebrating 30 years of celebrating Christmas in a BIG way. The display includes 50,000 lights that takes 11 weeks to set up. The PG&E bill for the season is estimated to be about $700.
Friday, December 12, 2008
"Fish Out of Water" Move
I'm waiting to see the Cal student section try this at a Cal basketball game this year.
The author of this video clip is non-other than Rod Benson, former Cal Bear basketball player. I got this clip from his on-line column at Yahoo! Sports.
He's currently playing basketball over in Europe. The other person in the clip is a teammate on that French professional team.
The author of this video clip is non-other than Rod Benson, former Cal Bear basketball player. I got this clip from his on-line column at Yahoo! Sports.
He's currently playing basketball over in Europe. The other person in the clip is a teammate on that French professional team.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Plasma or LCD?
Not that we are in the market for a new set, but here's what is the current state of the "Should we buy an LCD or plasma high definition television?" question.
If having a truly cinema-like experience is important, then plasma displays are slightly better. The main issues with plasma sets seem to be image glare on untreated diplays especially in bright rooms. Also, although for most good plasma displays this is a non-issue today, there is a possibility of image retention for some displays.
LCDs on the other hand come in a wider variety of sizes (e.g., plasma displays less than 42 inches are not available) and images are quite comparable to that from a plasma display. The areas where LCDs do have possible weaknesses compared with plasmas are limitations with viewing angle, blacks not being as dark, and motion blur.
The top plasma display makers are Panasonic and Pioneer.
The top LCD display makers are Sony, Samsung and Sharp.
If having a truly cinema-like experience is important, then plasma displays are slightly better. The main issues with plasma sets seem to be image glare on untreated diplays especially in bright rooms. Also, although for most good plasma displays this is a non-issue today, there is a possibility of image retention for some displays.
LCDs on the other hand come in a wider variety of sizes (e.g., plasma displays less than 42 inches are not available) and images are quite comparable to that from a plasma display. The areas where LCDs do have possible weaknesses compared with plasmas are limitations with viewing angle, blacks not being as dark, and motion blur.
The top plasma display makers are Panasonic and Pioneer.
The top LCD display makers are Sony, Samsung and Sharp.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Why Not Bail Out California Too?
As the clamoring for a bailout of the Big Three U.S. automakers reaches a crescendo, it's still unclear if such a bailout is the right course of action. The total bailout could reach into the $30 plus billion range. That's a lot of zeros.
The main reason that seems to be out there for the bailout is an implosion of the Big Three would be bad for the economy, but where's the proof that this would be the case? It obvious that the Big Three are in need of a course correction. Aren't bankruptcies intended to allow companies to find a course correction?
So if we're talking about bailouts, why not a bailout of California? The current estimate of the state's budget deficit is at about $11 billion. Various proposals have contemplated closing this deficit through raising the state sales tax, raising the auto registration fee, imposing a new tax on any oil produced in California, raise the excise tax on alcohol sales, reducing K-12 education funding, reducing college education funding, reduce the amount available for the state's welfare-to-work program, require state employees to take a one-day a month unpaid furlough, reduce the number of paid state holidays by two days, and postponing some mandatory regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Quite sweeping.
If the auto industry is to be bailed out, the concessions by the auto industry must be at least the equivalent of these kinds of cut-backs being contemplated by states such as California.
After all, if California were a country it would have the 8th highest gross domestic product (GDP), about equivalent to that of France's GDP. So one could make an argument that a bailout of a state such as California might be more important to the national economy than the bailout of private companies that surely would be replaced by other private companies.
The main reason that seems to be out there for the bailout is an implosion of the Big Three would be bad for the economy, but where's the proof that this would be the case? It obvious that the Big Three are in need of a course correction. Aren't bankruptcies intended to allow companies to find a course correction?
So if we're talking about bailouts, why not a bailout of California? The current estimate of the state's budget deficit is at about $11 billion. Various proposals have contemplated closing this deficit through raising the state sales tax, raising the auto registration fee, imposing a new tax on any oil produced in California, raise the excise tax on alcohol sales, reducing K-12 education funding, reducing college education funding, reduce the amount available for the state's welfare-to-work program, require state employees to take a one-day a month unpaid furlough, reduce the number of paid state holidays by two days, and postponing some mandatory regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Quite sweeping.
If the auto industry is to be bailed out, the concessions by the auto industry must be at least the equivalent of these kinds of cut-backs being contemplated by states such as California.
After all, if California were a country it would have the 8th highest gross domestic product (GDP), about equivalent to that of France's GDP. So one could make an argument that a bailout of a state such as California might be more important to the national economy than the bailout of private companies that surely would be replaced by other private companies.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Basketball Dribbling Five Year Old
Here's a video of a 5-year old from San Leandro here in the Bay Area who has advanced basketball dribbling skills for her age. She attends something called the Triple Threat Academy. We first saw her as part of a halftime show at a recent Cal men's basketball game. Ryan has expressed an interest in wanting to learn how to dribble a basketball so we had actually inquired into their program. The rates were not too bad, but we haven't signed up.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thanksgiving 2008
We had a nice little Thanksgiving dinner at our place this year. It was a smaller gathering than most years so we were able to get all of the adults a seat at one long table. The kids got their own separate table. The menu included: turkey, ham, stuffing, mash potatoes, corn casserole, bok choy and mushroom, green salad, fruit salad, an appetizer platter, winter melon soup, and rice; and then there was sparkling juice, wine, sodas, apple pie and pumpkin cheesecake. There certainly was enough food and even more for doggie bags for those wanting to take a little home.
Oh, yes, and Ryan got the larger half of the turkey wishbone this year.
Oh, yes, and Ryan got the larger half of the turkey wishbone this year.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Tinkerbell
We've had a guest for the past week in our home. Tinkerbell, the pet guinea pig from Ryan's preschool classroom.
In the photo below, Tinkerbell gets a treat on Thanksgiving Day.
In the photo below, Tinkerbell gets a treat on Thanksgiving Day.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
What in the World Do I Do?
Friends back home have asked me what I do for a living. Sometimes it's not easy to explain.
Check this out though. Here's a link to a newspaper article on freeway improvements that was forwarded to me by a friend:
Fixing I-880: the never-ending story
So now you know that my work involves freeways. So how did someone who grew up in a small Alaskan town with no traffic signals and traffic signs used more for target practice (are they still?) get to work on freeways?
Check this out though. Here's a link to a newspaper article on freeway improvements that was forwarded to me by a friend:
Fixing I-880: the never-ending story
So now you know that my work involves freeways. So how did someone who grew up in a small Alaskan town with no traffic signals and traffic signs used more for target practice (are they still?) get to work on freeways?
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Bears Tribute to Pete Newell
The Bears postgame show with Roxy Bernstein featured stories about Pete Newell who passed away yesterday at the age of 93. Here is a sample:
The first 5 times that Coach Newell coached against John Wooden he went 0-5 against the Wizard of Westwood. UCLA was still not quite the powerhouse that they would become, but nevertheless losing to the south state rival Bruins didn't sit too well with Coach Newell. The story goes that before the Bears' 6th match-up under Newell against the Bruins, one of the Bruins' players provided bulletin board material. Something about the Bears not being able to beat the Bruins. Well, in their next 8 games, the Bears went 8-0 against the Bruins. Pete finished his coaching career with a record of 8-5 against Coach Wooden. How many other coaches can say that they finished their career with a winning record against Wooden?
Did not know that former Bears assistant coach (and now head coach at New Orleans) Joe Pasternack held a special spot with Coach Newell. About 3 weeks ago, Joe traveled out to San Diego for a couple days to visit with Coach Newell before the season started. After Coach Newell's passing, if Joe didn't already know it, he learned just what Pete thought about him. One of Pete's sons called and in their conversation, Joe learned that Pete felt especially close to three coaches: Coach Knight, Coach K, and Joe.
A few years ago during a Bears game against SDSU in San Diego, Pete sat next to Roxy who called the game solo. Pete sitting next to Roxy was not planned. Anyway, Pete spent the game scribbling notes that he would pass onto Roxy (who was next to the Cal bench) to pass onto the Cal coaching staff. The notes were about possible adjustments that Cal could make. The Bears would go on to win the game.
Now onto the game...
The Bears won 87-74. Cliche warning! ...but the game was much closer than indicated by the final score. In fact, the Dons scored 11 straight points in the middle of the second stanza to take a 60-59 lead. Fueled by a Randle 3-pointer that put the Bears back up, the Bears ran away with the game on the strength of a 16-2 run.
It was only fitting that the first game on Newell Court after the passing of one the most respected coaches in college basketball history would be a game between two teams once coached by the Coach. Prior to the game, a tribute to Coach Newell was displayed on the video board followed by a moment of silence.
The game ended quite anticlimactically with the Bears up comfortably. The final box score will only show that the final Bears' basket was a jumper scored by Patrick Christopher. What the box score will not show is how and why the jumper was scored. The Dons were not fouling with the outcome of the game decided, and the Bears were content to wind down the clock. At the end of clock, Randle set up Christopher for a baseline jumper. Nothing remarkable on the surface, but it spoke volumes about Randle's command and control of the game - quite a contrast to how the season unfolded last year.
Oh, by the way, Randle tallied 25 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists with just 2 turnovers.
The Bears are going to need to find some toughness inside. Although they are now 2 for 2 with the rebounding battle, it is a little surprising that this is the case. Perhaps, this is because they have been guilty of giving up rebounds that seem to turn into points. Max Zhang will need to be able to play more minutes, especially against the beefier teams. It seemed that when Max was on the floor, USF was quite aware of his presence and made it a point to not challenge on the inside.
Next Game: 11/20 (Thursday) against the Texas-Pan American Broncos.
The first 5 times that Coach Newell coached against John Wooden he went 0-5 against the Wizard of Westwood. UCLA was still not quite the powerhouse that they would become, but nevertheless losing to the south state rival Bruins didn't sit too well with Coach Newell. The story goes that before the Bears' 6th match-up under Newell against the Bruins, one of the Bruins' players provided bulletin board material. Something about the Bears not being able to beat the Bruins. Well, in their next 8 games, the Bears went 8-0 against the Bruins. Pete finished his coaching career with a record of 8-5 against Coach Wooden. How many other coaches can say that they finished their career with a winning record against Wooden?
Did not know that former Bears assistant coach (and now head coach at New Orleans) Joe Pasternack held a special spot with Coach Newell. About 3 weeks ago, Joe traveled out to San Diego for a couple days to visit with Coach Newell before the season started. After Coach Newell's passing, if Joe didn't already know it, he learned just what Pete thought about him. One of Pete's sons called and in their conversation, Joe learned that Pete felt especially close to three coaches: Coach Knight, Coach K, and Joe.
A few years ago during a Bears game against SDSU in San Diego, Pete sat next to Roxy who called the game solo. Pete sitting next to Roxy was not planned. Anyway, Pete spent the game scribbling notes that he would pass onto Roxy (who was next to the Cal bench) to pass onto the Cal coaching staff. The notes were about possible adjustments that Cal could make. The Bears would go on to win the game.
Now onto the game...
The Bears won 87-74. Cliche warning! ...but the game was much closer than indicated by the final score. In fact, the Dons scored 11 straight points in the middle of the second stanza to take a 60-59 lead. Fueled by a Randle 3-pointer that put the Bears back up, the Bears ran away with the game on the strength of a 16-2 run.
It was only fitting that the first game on Newell Court after the passing of one the most respected coaches in college basketball history would be a game between two teams once coached by the Coach. Prior to the game, a tribute to Coach Newell was displayed on the video board followed by a moment of silence.
The game ended quite anticlimactically with the Bears up comfortably. The final box score will only show that the final Bears' basket was a jumper scored by Patrick Christopher. What the box score will not show is how and why the jumper was scored. The Dons were not fouling with the outcome of the game decided, and the Bears were content to wind down the clock. At the end of clock, Randle set up Christopher for a baseline jumper. Nothing remarkable on the surface, but it spoke volumes about Randle's command and control of the game - quite a contrast to how the season unfolded last year.
Oh, by the way, Randle tallied 25 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists with just 2 turnovers.
The Bears are going to need to find some toughness inside. Although they are now 2 for 2 with the rebounding battle, it is a little surprising that this is the case. Perhaps, this is because they have been guilty of giving up rebounds that seem to turn into points. Max Zhang will need to be able to play more minutes, especially against the beefier teams. It seemed that when Max was on the floor, USF was quite aware of his presence and made it a point to not challenge on the inside.
Next Game: 11/20 (Thursday) against the Texas-Pan American Broncos.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
New King Cove - Cold Bay Roadway
Having flown into King Cove on several occasions, it's understandable why an option to be able to fly into and out from Cold Bay is being sought. However, it does not seem that this is a black-and-white issue.
There have been recent stories on the proposed new roadway in the local papers in Alaska and also in papers here in the Lower 48. It's one of those locals versus outside environmental groups where both sides have valid points for and against the project. The articles have included quotes attributed to: president of National Wildlife Refuge Association (against the project), mayor of the Aleutians East Borough (for the project), and other people of note. The articles have mentioned Shell executives (presumably for the project), Fish and Wildlife Service (for the project), Governor Sarah Palin (for the project), the New York Times (against the project), and others.
So what are the opinions of the local people regarding questions and comments like those below?
1. This is really not about the roadway providing a needed safety valve for medical emergencies. It's about taking one step toward future oil and gas exploration in the area.
2. The hover craft system that is in place is too costly (running a deficit of about $500,000 per year) to operate for much longer.
3. How can the new roadway be a much better option when it could take two or three times longer to drive on the new road than it does to take the hover craft to Cold Bay?
4. The hover craft has limitations like not being able to operate when wind speeds are over 30 mph. Is this limitations of the hover craft really an issue?
5. The new roadway will have detrimental impacts to one of the most valuable wetlands in the world.
6. Locals have traveled the area for years on trails and dirt roads for years without an impact to the local wildlife.
Here's a story from the point of view of project opposers.
Here's story from the point of view of project supporters.
The following is a video from those supporting the project and includes local people that some of you may recognize:
There have been recent stories on the proposed new roadway in the local papers in Alaska and also in papers here in the Lower 48. It's one of those locals versus outside environmental groups where both sides have valid points for and against the project. The articles have included quotes attributed to: president of National Wildlife Refuge Association (against the project), mayor of the Aleutians East Borough (for the project), and other people of note. The articles have mentioned Shell executives (presumably for the project), Fish and Wildlife Service (for the project), Governor Sarah Palin (for the project), the New York Times (against the project), and others.
So what are the opinions of the local people regarding questions and comments like those below?
1. This is really not about the roadway providing a needed safety valve for medical emergencies. It's about taking one step toward future oil and gas exploration in the area.
2. The hover craft system that is in place is too costly (running a deficit of about $500,000 per year) to operate for much longer.
3. How can the new roadway be a much better option when it could take two or three times longer to drive on the new road than it does to take the hover craft to Cold Bay?
4. The hover craft has limitations like not being able to operate when wind speeds are over 30 mph. Is this limitations of the hover craft really an issue?
5. The new roadway will have detrimental impacts to one of the most valuable wetlands in the world.
6. Locals have traveled the area for years on trails and dirt roads for years without an impact to the local wildlife.
Here's a story from the point of view of project opposers.
Here's story from the point of view of project supporters.
The following is a video from those supporting the project and includes local people that some of you may recognize:
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
A Historic Election
In his concession speech although John McCain looked a little tired, it was one of his finer moments of the campaign. His speech sounded much more genuine as compared to his campaign rhetoric down the stretch to the finish line. The results seem to indicate that the race was not so close.
Obama's speech was full of hope, but he's got a difficult task awaiting. Here are some steps that he should take:
1. Prepare and implement a plan to move our country toward energy independence.
2. Remake government so that it can really make a difference in the lives of ordinary people.
3. Set a tone of accountability; be willing to own up to mistakes.
4. Offer John McCain a seat in his Cabinet.
And finally...
Ryan says, "You rock Obama! I knew that you could do it!"
Obama's speech was full of hope, but he's got a difficult task awaiting. Here are some steps that he should take:
1. Prepare and implement a plan to move our country toward energy independence.
2. Remake government so that it can really make a difference in the lives of ordinary people.
3. Set a tone of accountability; be willing to own up to mistakes.
4. Offer John McCain a seat in his Cabinet.
And finally...
Ryan says, "You rock Obama! I knew that you could do it!"
Monday, November 03, 2008
The Voters
Tomorrow's the big day. Then there is what kids have to say about what tomorrow means.
Me: Who's McCain? How about Obama?
Ethan: Yeah, they're those voters.
Me: What do you mean?
Ethan: You know, those people that you vote for.
Me: So are you saying they need us?
Ethan: Yeah, the voters need us to win.
Ryan (in the background): Yahoo! Go Obama! (over and over)
Me: Who's McCain? How about Obama?
Ethan: Yeah, they're those voters.
Me: What do you mean?
Ethan: You know, those people that you vote for.
Me: So are you saying they need us?
Ethan: Yeah, the voters need us to win.
Ryan (in the background): Yahoo! Go Obama! (over and over)
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Halloween 2008
We had a soggy Halloween this year, but this did not deter our kids from making the rounds. Let's see now... Naomi was Sacagawea, Ethan was a clone trooper from the Star Wars stories and Ryan was Mater from the movie Cars.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
California Academy of Sciences
We got a chance to go check out the remodeled California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco that reopened on September 27, 2008. We were able to visit the weekend of October 3 when Obaachan visited.
The message that this is a "green" building is everywhere. Not to nitpick, but we found one way that they could become even greener (get rid of the requirement for kids under 6 who are free to enter to purchase a paper ticket - something about needing this to keep track of the number of visitors). There were a couple of items from the old building: the Pendulum and the seahorse railings. We missed the over-sized Gary Larson "The Far Side" cartoons.
At the end of the day, we asked the kids if they preferred the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Two of the three said that they did prefer the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Maybe it was the fact that we stayed at a hotel on the beach the last time we went to the Aquarium.
The message that this is a "green" building is everywhere. Not to nitpick, but we found one way that they could become even greener (get rid of the requirement for kids under 6 who are free to enter to purchase a paper ticket - something about needing this to keep track of the number of visitors). There were a couple of items from the old building: the Pendulum and the seahorse railings. We missed the over-sized Gary Larson "The Far Side" cartoons.
At the end of the day, we asked the kids if they preferred the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Two of the three said that they did prefer the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Maybe it was the fact that we stayed at a hotel on the beach the last time we went to the Aquarium.
There's No Crying in Cutting Onions
The Food Detectives hosted on the Food Network by Ted Allen (former food and wine specialist on Queer Eye and current judge on Top Chef) had a segment where they investigated methods for tear-free onion slicing and dicing. They tested four methods: a piece of bread between your teeth, cutting onions in water, having a lit candle nearby, and chilling.
A piece of bread is suppose to be able to offset the sulfuric gases emitted from a cut onion by soaking up the gases before they reach your eyes. No dice. Did not work.
Submerging the onion in water while cutting is suppose to be able to dampen the effects. Onions float. The cut pieces end up floating and emitting gases. Again a thumbs down.
The flame from a lit candle is suppose to oxidize the gases, but again this did not work. Perhaps a romantic setting with a thousand candles would work.
A chilled onion is suppose to slow down the release of the impacting enzymes. Eureka, it works! So the next time you are going to cut onions put them in the fridge crisper for about an hour before slicing and dicing.
A piece of bread is suppose to be able to offset the sulfuric gases emitted from a cut onion by soaking up the gases before they reach your eyes. No dice. Did not work.
Submerging the onion in water while cutting is suppose to be able to dampen the effects. Onions float. The cut pieces end up floating and emitting gases. Again a thumbs down.
The flame from a lit candle is suppose to oxidize the gases, but again this did not work. Perhaps a romantic setting with a thousand candles would work.
A chilled onion is suppose to slow down the release of the impacting enzymes. Eureka, it works! So the next time you are going to cut onions put them in the fridge crisper for about an hour before slicing and dicing.
Better to Have Sweet Dreams than "MareNights"
Our Ryan has been fighting his second bout with a cold since the start of the school year.
Last night he woke up not soon after going to sleep because of a nightmare. I asked him this evening if he remembered waking up. The answer was, "No."
This evening when Dorothy was saying good night to him they had this exchange:
Mom: Okay, Ryan, have sweet dreams tonight.
Ryan: Yeah, I don't want to have any mare-nights.
Last night he woke up not soon after going to sleep because of a nightmare. I asked him this evening if he remembered waking up. The answer was, "No."
This evening when Dorothy was saying good night to him they had this exchange:
Mom: Okay, Ryan, have sweet dreams tonight.
Ryan: Yeah, I don't want to have any mare-nights.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Earthquake!
Wow, we just had an earthquake! Sitting here blogging and a quake rattled the house right at 9am. The reports are saying that it was a 4.0 quake about 7 miles south of Concord centered near Danville (that's where Ryan's friend Brooksie lives). I ran over to the bathroom where the kids were washing up and found them huddled with Dorothy in the doorway.
We're all okay, but it was a decent size temblor that lasted for about 15 seconds. It just rolled through peaking twice.
We're all okay, but it was a decent size temblor that lasted for about 15 seconds. It just rolled through peaking twice.
Is Politics Ready for the Internet Age?
The answer is, "Apparently not." See video below.
For some, this hypocrisy does not matter. The only issue that matters for these people is that a candidate is anti-abortion. What the candidate says, and how consistent they are on other matters does not matter one bit, as long as they are anti-abortion.
By the way, Wasilla is not the second largest city in Alaska. It is not even a third of the third most populous city, Juneau, that has a population of just over 30,000. Fairbanks is second with a population of just over 34,000. I don't think that it needs to be mentioned that Anchorage is number one. Here's one link where this information is available: http://www.citypopulation.de/php/usa-alaska.php
For some, this hypocrisy does not matter. The only issue that matters for these people is that a candidate is anti-abortion. What the candidate says, and how consistent they are on other matters does not matter one bit, as long as they are anti-abortion.
By the way, Wasilla is not the second largest city in Alaska. It is not even a third of the third most populous city, Juneau, that has a population of just over 30,000. Fairbanks is second with a population of just over 34,000. I don't think that it needs to be mentioned that Anchorage is number one. Here's one link where this information is available: http://www.citypopulation.de/php/usa-alaska.php
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Last 2008 Summer Mini-Vacation
We took one last trip to Monterey before summer was over. Here are some pictures from the trip. Enjoy!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
The Olympics in Review
Can't say that we watch an overwhelming amount of the Olympics. Too often, we knew the results before the actual telecast. The coverage was not exactly scintillating either. The third strike was the endless parade of commercials.
The following is a recap of the Olympics by number provided by Jay Weiner of The Sporting News:
204: Record number of nations participating.
132: Olympic records set.
87: Nations that won medals.
80: Ratings share in China for the Opening Ceremonies.
43: World records set.
43: Percent of competitors who were women, highest ever.
40: Olympic-bound athletes popped for drug use BEFORE the Games and barred; six caught during the Games . . . so far.
8: Gold medals for U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps.
4: Nations winning their first-ever medals (Afghanistan, Mauritius, Tajikistan and Togo)
3: Gold medals for Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
3: Nations winning their first-ever gold medals (Bahrain, Mongolia and Panama).
2: Batons dropped by U.S. 4x100 relay teams.
The extremely commercial nature of the Games and the competition by nations to be the host nation are somewhat of a turn-off. I don't think that this is what the Greeks had in mind with the Olympics.
What would be more interesting and engender more of a united nations of the world atmosphere would be an Olympics that had the following:
1. All events would be team events
2. Any nation that wants to send athletes would be allowed to do so.
3. Once at the site, the athletes would allowed to sign for events.
4. Teams would be selected for each event by randomly drawing names of signed up athletes to form teams. Each team made up of athletes of various nations would compete against one another.
5. To ensure balance on the teams, the athletes would be given a score based on past performance that could be used for the random draw (e.g., each team would have the same number of top tier athletes).
This would be global athletics.
The following is a recap of the Olympics by number provided by Jay Weiner of The Sporting News:
204: Record number of nations participating.
132: Olympic records set.
87: Nations that won medals.
80: Ratings share in China for the Opening Ceremonies.
43: World records set.
43: Percent of competitors who were women, highest ever.
40: Olympic-bound athletes popped for drug use BEFORE the Games and barred; six caught during the Games . . . so far.
8: Gold medals for U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps.
4: Nations winning their first-ever medals (Afghanistan, Mauritius, Tajikistan and Togo)
3: Gold medals for Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
3: Nations winning their first-ever gold medals (Bahrain, Mongolia and Panama).
2: Batons dropped by U.S. 4x100 relay teams.
The extremely commercial nature of the Games and the competition by nations to be the host nation are somewhat of a turn-off. I don't think that this is what the Greeks had in mind with the Olympics.
What would be more interesting and engender more of a united nations of the world atmosphere would be an Olympics that had the following:
1. All events would be team events
2. Any nation that wants to send athletes would be allowed to do so.
3. Once at the site, the athletes would allowed to sign for events.
4. Teams would be selected for each event by randomly drawing names of signed up athletes to form teams. Each team made up of athletes of various nations would compete against one another.
5. To ensure balance on the teams, the athletes would be given a score based on past performance that could be used for the random draw (e.g., each team would have the same number of top tier athletes).
This would be global athletics.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The Swing
Tired of watching superhuman feats being performed by Michael Phelps and the other Olympians? Here's a cure for you from the Round Mound of Rebound who redefines the phrase "having a hitch in your swing."
Monday, August 11, 2008
It's That Little Man Again
Let's set the time and place: It's prime time on our couch as the Olympics are getting underway. For some reason, it's only Ryan and me watching.
Ryan: Who is that?
Dad: That's Bob Costas (he's reporting from Tiananmem Square)
Ryan: Why is he so small?
It's been said that Costas is not a tall guy. There was one on-line site that listed his height at 5' 7". Other references about him note him being no more than 5' 5". Do they pad heights for reporters like they do for athletes?
He did look small. Was it the expanse of Tiananmem Square? Or was it because of the camera angle (the camera seemed to be pointed down on him)? I thought that the camera angle was kind of strange. Aren't there rules against shooting downward on someone who is already short in stature?
So now when we are watching the Olympics and see Costas, Ryan always says, "There's that little man again!"
Ryan: Who is that?
Dad: That's Bob Costas (he's reporting from Tiananmem Square)
Ryan: Why is he so small?
It's been said that Costas is not a tall guy. There was one on-line site that listed his height at 5' 7". Other references about him note him being no more than 5' 5". Do they pad heights for reporters like they do for athletes?
He did look small. Was it the expanse of Tiananmem Square? Or was it because of the camera angle (the camera seemed to be pointed down on him)? I thought that the camera angle was kind of strange. Aren't there rules against shooting downward on someone who is already short in stature?
So now when we are watching the Olympics and see Costas, Ryan always says, "There's that little man again!"
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
How to Elect the Next President
We can have lots of fun with the next presidential election. No worries about hanging chads, unless we have a guy named Chad who can dunk a basketball and hang from the rim. No worries about hacking into electronic voting systems, unless the hacking is of the basketball variety. No worries about ballot stuffing unless it's another guy named Chad that can dunk.
I present to you the Presidential decathlon. Here are the 10 events:
1. A game of H-O-R-S-E. Obama might have this one in the bag (see video).
2. Be the first to be able to take a jet to mach 1 (maybe a McCain event?)
3. A game of horseshoes (a very American event)
4. Hot dog eating contest (SJSU's Joey Chestnut would be the favorite if he were old enough to run for President)
5. A debate contest using random topics (Nader might be the odds on favorite with this one)
6. A driving test (appropriate for a nation in love with its cars)
7. A cannonball contest (most water on pool deck wins!)
8. An essay on "Why I want to be President" (judges would be top 10 finishers in Scripps National Spelling Bee Contest)
9. Talent contest (judged by Dave Attell and staff from Comedy Central's Gong Show; our next President will have to have a sense of humor)
10. U.S. citizenship test (this would be a timed event; most points for fastest finish)
Most total points is next President; runner-up is Vice President.
I present to you the Presidential decathlon. Here are the 10 events:
1. A game of H-O-R-S-E. Obama might have this one in the bag (see video).
2. Be the first to be able to take a jet to mach 1 (maybe a McCain event?)
3. A game of horseshoes (a very American event)
4. Hot dog eating contest (SJSU's Joey Chestnut would be the favorite if he were old enough to run for President)
5. A debate contest using random topics (Nader might be the odds on favorite with this one)
6. A driving test (appropriate for a nation in love with its cars)
7. A cannonball contest (most water on pool deck wins!)
8. An essay on "Why I want to be President" (judges would be top 10 finishers in Scripps National Spelling Bee Contest)
9. Talent contest (judged by Dave Attell and staff from Comedy Central's Gong Show; our next President will have to have a sense of humor)
10. U.S. citizenship test (this would be a timed event; most points for fastest finish)
Most total points is next President; runner-up is Vice President.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Seahorse Coaches' Performance
One of the highlights of Spirit Week leading up to the League Championships is the coaches' performance. Here's this year's rendition to the sounds of Thriller and Hammer Time.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
2008 Summer Trip - Part V
Alyssa had her surprise guests for her party days earlier in Portland, and so too did Dorothy in Seattle for her birthday party. Betty, Barbara, Alden and Cassie flew in from the Bay Area for the party. They flew standby and weren't able to make it on the plane as originally planned so their arrival was delayed a couple hours.
This worked to my advantage, but caught me off guard as I learned about their delay while pulling into the cell phone lot near the airport. The phone rings and I fumble with my hands-free device (the state of Washington enacted a hands-free calling law similar to the one in California except theirs is a secondary offense) to answer the call. It's Betty.
Me: Oh, hello, Betty.
Betty: We're getting on the plane now. Can't talk much now. We'll see you soon.
Me: Uh, okay. See you soon.
My thoughts: So they're just boarding their plane when they should be landing in Seattle. Must've been delayed for some reason. So this'll give me time to shop for Dorothy's present.
So I spend the next two hours trying to find the digital SLR, a Nikon, that we talked about purchasing. In the end, I buy a different camera, but she's happy with the camera now so that's that.
I'm near the end of signing the papers to purchase the camera including an extended warranty (would not normally do this, but we have had really bad luck with digital cameras), and I realize that I'm running late now to get to the airport. Luckily I am only a few minutes away so I rush off even though there is no call yet. So I call Betty to find that they had just landed. Perfect timing.
After a quick curbside pick up at the airport, we were on the way to my parent's house. At the house, I tell them to go to the front door ahead of me. Dorothy answers the door and sees people that she did not expect to see.
Ryan gets more to the point and says, "Hey, what are you doing here?" before running off. We share the whole story with Dorothy and the kids. It'll be one of those memorable birthday stories that will be told over-and-over for years.
That evening after the party, I drive the surprise party guests to the airport and see them off, making it three trips to the airport in one day.
This worked to my advantage, but caught me off guard as I learned about their delay while pulling into the cell phone lot near the airport. The phone rings and I fumble with my hands-free device (the state of Washington enacted a hands-free calling law similar to the one in California except theirs is a secondary offense) to answer the call. It's Betty.
Me: Oh, hello, Betty.
Betty: We're getting on the plane now. Can't talk much now. We'll see you soon.
Me: Uh, okay. See you soon.
My thoughts: So they're just boarding their plane when they should be landing in Seattle. Must've been delayed for some reason. So this'll give me time to shop for Dorothy's present.
So I spend the next two hours trying to find the digital SLR, a Nikon, that we talked about purchasing. In the end, I buy a different camera, but she's happy with the camera now so that's that.
I'm near the end of signing the papers to purchase the camera including an extended warranty (would not normally do this, but we have had really bad luck with digital cameras), and I realize that I'm running late now to get to the airport. Luckily I am only a few minutes away so I rush off even though there is no call yet. So I call Betty to find that they had just landed. Perfect timing.
After a quick curbside pick up at the airport, we were on the way to my parent's house. At the house, I tell them to go to the front door ahead of me. Dorothy answers the door and sees people that she did not expect to see.
Ryan gets more to the point and says, "Hey, what are you doing here?" before running off. We share the whole story with Dorothy and the kids. It'll be one of those memorable birthday stories that will be told over-and-over for years.
That evening after the party, I drive the surprise party guests to the airport and see them off, making it three trips to the airport in one day.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Stats Redux - August 2, 2008
Here's an update on stats first posted in November 2005, and updated on January 2006, June 2006, October 2006, March 2007, and November 2007.
Price of Gas: $4.19 per gallon (down from a high of about $4.49 earlier this summer when crude oil prices pushed past $140 per barrel; Costco price this week was under $4/gallon)
Price of Milk: Still $3.99 for a gallon at Trader Joe's (unchanged from November 2007)
Bridge Toll: $4 as of January 1, 2007 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge (which is $5 cash and $4 FasTrak with these rates to increase to $6/$5 on 9/1/08)
Today's High Temperature: 88 degrees F (overnight low of 56) and sunny!
Dow Jones Average: 11,326.32 close on 8/1 (down over 1400 points since 11/07)
Shopping Days to Christmas: 144 days (http://eclecticesoterica.com/xmas_cnt.html)
Dinner Tonight: It'll be a meal on the run, due to Swim League Meets ongoing and Naomi's evening class
Average Commute Time: under an hour in mornings due to summer driving conditions (in a 3-person carpool MWF and now a 3-person carpool TuTh; added 1 person to TuThu carpool)
Cost of Area Homes: the median price for Contra Costa County has dropped to below $500k for the first time since 2004
Movie Ticket: recently paid $10
Time with My Kids: good summer days with kids
Naomi just turned 9 and got braces.
Price of Gas: $4.19 per gallon (down from a high of about $4.49 earlier this summer when crude oil prices pushed past $140 per barrel; Costco price this week was under $4/gallon)
Price of Milk: Still $3.99 for a gallon at Trader Joe's (unchanged from November 2007)
Bridge Toll: $4 as of January 1, 2007 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge (which is $5 cash and $4 FasTrak with these rates to increase to $6/$5 on 9/1/08)
Today's High Temperature: 88 degrees F (overnight low of 56) and sunny!
Dow Jones Average: 11,326.32 close on 8/1 (down over 1400 points since 11/07)
Shopping Days to Christmas: 144 days (http://eclecticesoterica.com/xmas_cnt.html)
Dinner Tonight: It'll be a meal on the run, due to Swim League Meets ongoing and Naomi's evening class
Average Commute Time: under an hour in mornings due to summer driving conditions (in a 3-person carpool MWF and now a 3-person carpool TuTh; added 1 person to TuThu carpool)
Cost of Area Homes: the median price for Contra Costa County has dropped to below $500k for the first time since 2004
Movie Ticket: recently paid $10
Time with My Kids: good summer days with kids
Naomi just turned 9 and got braces.
2008 Summer Trip - Part IV
So it was from ice cream in Troutdale to on the road again. We had designs on hitting Best Buy to look into buying that digital SLR for Dorothy, but decided to get going on our trip to Seattle. Lianne joined us, with Ojiichan and Obaachan with Yuki in her car.
We took a break in Centralia for dinner at the Country Cousin Restaurant. Their tag line is "Home of Old Fashioned Pot Roast." It's one of those restaurants that you see and think, "Let's check it out one of these days." It's what I would call a quirky restaurant, with good American food.
The Ballard District of Seattle has a uniquely maritime heritage that can still be seen today. Its most famous landmark is the Ballard Locks. The locks provide a way for boats and fish to make their way between Puget Sound and Lake Union and Lake Washington. One somewhat unknown gem of the Ballard area is its park/beach, Golden Gardens Park, on Puget Sound. We visited both these locations during one day of our Seattle visit.
In between visiting the beach and the Locks, we had lunch at the Totem House (also pictured above) located just down the street from the Locks.
We took a break in Centralia for dinner at the Country Cousin Restaurant. Their tag line is "Home of Old Fashioned Pot Roast." It's one of those restaurants that you see and think, "Let's check it out one of these days." It's what I would call a quirky restaurant, with good American food.
The Ballard District of Seattle has a uniquely maritime heritage that can still be seen today. Its most famous landmark is the Ballard Locks. The locks provide a way for boats and fish to make their way between Puget Sound and Lake Union and Lake Washington. One somewhat unknown gem of the Ballard area is its park/beach, Golden Gardens Park, on Puget Sound. We visited both these locations during one day of our Seattle visit.
In between visiting the beach and the Locks, we had lunch at the Totem House (also pictured above) located just down the street from the Locks.
2008 Summer Trip - Part III
After our early evening of shopping, we phoned the Oregon Emotos. They were out and about, but we got in touch and made arrangements to get to their place in the evening after dinner. Dinner was a quick stop at the Elmer's located near the Woodburn outlet stores. Elmer's is an Oregon institution. They opened in Portland as a breakfast place serving primarily pancakes in 1960.
The next morning we woke up to the arrival of Yuki, Lianne, Ojiichan, and Obaachan to join in the fun to celebrate Alyssa's birthday. Ojiichan had said earlier that he wasn't going to make it so everyone was surprised to see him. So off we went to Meeka Sushi for Alyssa's birthday lunch. Diane's parents were there waiting for us so too was Chuck. He was apparently on his way to eastern Washington for a gig that evening and decided to swing through Portland (never one to pass up good Japanese food).
The food was great just like some of the reviews that we found for the place later on. This was topped off by the traditional singing of Happy Birthday with Ryan adding his own twist as you can see in the video below.
So when will Alyssa be asking for the car keys now?
After lunch we drove out to the Bonneville fish hatchery, where we were able to feed rainbow trout and check out sturgeon. The hatchery is located at Exit 40 east on SR 84.
Spending time with family is always one of the highlights of our trips to the Pacific Northwest. Before leaving for Seattle, we were able to spend a little time with the Lee family (Diane's younger brother and his wife and two kids) from Detroit. Here's a picture that we took of the kids while in downtown Troutdale for an ice cream break.
The next morning we woke up to the arrival of Yuki, Lianne, Ojiichan, and Obaachan to join in the fun to celebrate Alyssa's birthday. Ojiichan had said earlier that he wasn't going to make it so everyone was surprised to see him. So off we went to Meeka Sushi for Alyssa's birthday lunch. Diane's parents were there waiting for us so too was Chuck. He was apparently on his way to eastern Washington for a gig that evening and decided to swing through Portland (never one to pass up good Japanese food).
The food was great just like some of the reviews that we found for the place later on. This was topped off by the traditional singing of Happy Birthday with Ryan adding his own twist as you can see in the video below.
So when will Alyssa be asking for the car keys now?
After lunch we drove out to the Bonneville fish hatchery, where we were able to feed rainbow trout and check out sturgeon. The hatchery is located at Exit 40 east on SR 84.
Spending time with family is always one of the highlights of our trips to the Pacific Northwest. Before leaving for Seattle, we were able to spend a little time with the Lee family (Diane's younger brother and his wife and two kids) from Detroit. Here's a picture that we took of the kids while in downtown Troutdale for an ice cream break.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
2008 June/July Swimming
June and July are busy months for swimmers, leading to league and city meets in early August. Naomi and Ethan continue to enjoy their swimming, each progressing at her and his own pace. Ryan continues with his swim lessons.
Here are some photos from the past month.
Here are some photos from the past month.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
2008 Summer Trip - Part II
With about 300 miles of driving scheduled for the day, we woke the morning of Day 2 with the aim of being on the road by 9am. We are not the most driven traveling group, especially with three kids in the mix. After the usual hotel continental breakfast fare, we were on the road by 930am.
Now, southern Oregon is one of our favorite parts of our trip to Seattle. We have gotten to know Medford, Ashland, Grants Pass, and Roseburg quite well over the years. One of our finds from the 2007 trip was the Grants Pass Pharmacy. It still has one of those old fashion soda fountains that serves phosphates. This was going to be our first stop of Day 2. Although the downtown was not as festive (there were no bear statues), the pharmacy did not disappoint.
After wandering around Eugene for a bit, we decided on World Favors for lunch. It was right next to the Lane County transit station. Although their menu featured mostly pastas, pizza and salads, they did have a few out of the ordinary items like cream puffs on their menu. The place had a college hole-in-the-wall feel to it. When we were leaving, there was a band showing up to set up for live music.
Eugene, self-proclaimed Track Town, U.S.A., was once again hosting the U.S. Olympic track and field trials on the U of O campus. We saw a sign that said that entry to watch the trials was free to the public. Only if we would've had more time and the kids were older, we would've stayed to take a peek. Oh, well, maybe in four years.
As a substitute, we held our own family track trials around a water fountain in downtown Eugene after lunch. See below.
Could've spent more time in Eugene, but we had to shove on. One thing that we all noticed was that there was something in the air in Eugene that caused our allergies to flare up. By the time we left, we were all sneezing.
Our final stop before Gresham was the outlet malls in Woodburn located about 40 miles south of Portland. We had stopped before, but never had much time for shopping. We actually had time to shop this time.
Here are photos from this leg of our trip.
Now, southern Oregon is one of our favorite parts of our trip to Seattle. We have gotten to know Medford, Ashland, Grants Pass, and Roseburg quite well over the years. One of our finds from the 2007 trip was the Grants Pass Pharmacy. It still has one of those old fashion soda fountains that serves phosphates. This was going to be our first stop of Day 2. Although the downtown was not as festive (there were no bear statues), the pharmacy did not disappoint.
After wandering around Eugene for a bit, we decided on World Favors for lunch. It was right next to the Lane County transit station. Although their menu featured mostly pastas, pizza and salads, they did have a few out of the ordinary items like cream puffs on their menu. The place had a college hole-in-the-wall feel to it. When we were leaving, there was a band showing up to set up for live music.
Eugene, self-proclaimed Track Town, U.S.A., was once again hosting the U.S. Olympic track and field trials on the U of O campus. We saw a sign that said that entry to watch the trials was free to the public. Only if we would've had more time and the kids were older, we would've stayed to take a peek. Oh, well, maybe in four years.
As a substitute, we held our own family track trials around a water fountain in downtown Eugene after lunch. See below.
Could've spent more time in Eugene, but we had to shove on. One thing that we all noticed was that there was something in the air in Eugene that caused our allergies to flare up. By the time we left, we were all sneezing.
Our final stop before Gresham was the outlet malls in Woodburn located about 40 miles south of Portland. We had stopped before, but never had much time for shopping. We actually had time to shop this time.
Here are photos from this leg of our trip.
2008 Summer Trip - Part I
Although this year's trip to Seattle was shorter than the norm and there was no scavenger hunt this year, it was memorable just the same.
Our first day of traveling featured the usual bathroom breaks, pit stops for food, and refueling stops. We detoured to the AAA office in Redding (Ext 678 on I-5) to pick up an Oregon/Washington tour book. Our copy was back at home, not so useful there. With the book in hand, we were ready to book a room for the night. We decided on Medford as our stop, but were chagrined to learn that the Windmill Inn was no more. It was now called the Quality Inn and Suites. We were assured that they had maintained many of the same features of the Windmill Inn so we paid for a room.
After about 333 miles of driving from home, we drove past the sign welcoming us to Oregon. Not soon after, we passed through Siskiyou Summit which at an elevation of 4310 feet is the highest point on I-5.
At the Quality Inn, we were greeted by a large banner that said, "Under New Management." The place did still have the decor and feel of the previous Windmill Inn. None of this mattered too much to the kids. Their main interest was the pool. So while they swam, I went out to get a pizza for us. The first stop was the local Costco's to refuel. The price was $4.19 per gallon, about 20 cents less than at other nearby stations. The pizza was from Kaleidoscope Pizzeria and Pub. Later we learned that this was award winning pizza for the Rogue River Valley area and that the owners are transplants from Alaska. With the swimming, the late dinner and baths taking up time, this was only the first of many late nights on this trip.
Our first day of traveling featured the usual bathroom breaks, pit stops for food, and refueling stops. We detoured to the AAA office in Redding (Ext 678 on I-5) to pick up an Oregon/Washington tour book. Our copy was back at home, not so useful there. With the book in hand, we were ready to book a room for the night. We decided on Medford as our stop, but were chagrined to learn that the Windmill Inn was no more. It was now called the Quality Inn and Suites. We were assured that they had maintained many of the same features of the Windmill Inn so we paid for a room.
After about 333 miles of driving from home, we drove past the sign welcoming us to Oregon. Not soon after, we passed through Siskiyou Summit which at an elevation of 4310 feet is the highest point on I-5.
At the Quality Inn, we were greeted by a large banner that said, "Under New Management." The place did still have the decor and feel of the previous Windmill Inn. None of this mattered too much to the kids. Their main interest was the pool. So while they swam, I went out to get a pizza for us. The first stop was the local Costco's to refuel. The price was $4.19 per gallon, about 20 cents less than at other nearby stations. The pizza was from Kaleidoscope Pizzeria and Pub. Later we learned that this was award winning pizza for the Rogue River Valley area and that the owners are transplants from Alaska. With the swimming, the late dinner and baths taking up time, this was only the first of many late nights on this trip.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Ethan's First Camp Out
Ethan got his first taste of camping with his Boy Scout pack over the weekend. It was just an overnight camp out at one of the several campgrounds (three family campgrounds and five group campsites) located at nearby Mt. Diablo State Park.
We stayed at the Wildcat Campsite, a nice tree covered site with very little parking and very little level ground. The very little parking meant that people had to carpool. The very little level ground meant that we didn't wake up in the same spot in the tent where we went to sleep. Ethan went to sleep in the middle of the tent next to me, but woke up in a ball in one of the downhill corners of the tent. The tree covering was a plus though that allowed us to wake up to some people wearing sweatshirts to keep warm even after the sun had arisen. This was in sharp contrast to the valley below that looked like a sea of warmly-glowing golden yellow hills. Even at 7:00am, the hills below already looked blazing.
The boys were kept busy. They had day time activities aimed at allowing them earn belt loops and badges. The older boys helped with dinner. Our den was in charge of the games. Although there wasn't a campfire, there was a fire pit that the boys used to roast marshmallows and make smores. After dinner, the dens got to entertain with skits and singing. The scouts got an astronomy lesson, got a chance to make popcorn making, and take in an evening hike.
The next morning there were some that were up at the first crack of daylight, which was probably a little after 5:00am. Most of the campground was up by 7:00am. A flag ceremony was held at about 8:00am, right around breakfast time. This was followed by a short drive to Rock City for a hike to Sentinel Rock (need to be careful here as there is poison ivy everywhere).
After most of the group had packed up, one of the dads who is an expert tree person helped a couple of the scouts get a chance to go tree climbing in a harness. This same dad is the one hooked up a tree hammock and a tree swing that were both hits with the scouts.
Ethan is ready to go on his next camp out!
We stayed at the Wildcat Campsite, a nice tree covered site with very little parking and very little level ground. The very little parking meant that people had to carpool. The very little level ground meant that we didn't wake up in the same spot in the tent where we went to sleep. Ethan went to sleep in the middle of the tent next to me, but woke up in a ball in one of the downhill corners of the tent. The tree covering was a plus though that allowed us to wake up to some people wearing sweatshirts to keep warm even after the sun had arisen. This was in sharp contrast to the valley below that looked like a sea of warmly-glowing golden yellow hills. Even at 7:00am, the hills below already looked blazing.
The boys were kept busy. They had day time activities aimed at allowing them earn belt loops and badges. The older boys helped with dinner. Our den was in charge of the games. Although there wasn't a campfire, there was a fire pit that the boys used to roast marshmallows and make smores. After dinner, the dens got to entertain with skits and singing. The scouts got an astronomy lesson, got a chance to make popcorn making, and take in an evening hike.
The next morning there were some that were up at the first crack of daylight, which was probably a little after 5:00am. Most of the campground was up by 7:00am. A flag ceremony was held at about 8:00am, right around breakfast time. This was followed by a short drive to Rock City for a hike to Sentinel Rock (need to be careful here as there is poison ivy everywhere).
After most of the group had packed up, one of the dads who is an expert tree person helped a couple of the scouts get a chance to go tree climbing in a harness. This same dad is the one hooked up a tree hammock and a tree swing that were both hits with the scouts.
Ethan is ready to go on his next camp out!
Contra Costa Valley Swim Conference
Win or lose, Naomi and Ethan continue to enjoy swimming. Naomi's in her third year of swim team, while this is Ethan's second year. They've both made good strides since they started swimming with the Seahorses.
The Ygnacio Wood Seahorses are one of seven teams in the Contra Costa Valley Swim Conference (CCVSC). The CCVSC is a recreational swim league made up of two teams from Concord, two from Walnut Creek, and one team each from Pinole, Antioch, and Brentwood. The number of such swim teams in the area is incredible (see the Aquatic Times site).
The kids practice every weekday and have two meets a week until late July when they have their league, City and County championships. Here's a video of Naomi from their latest meet against the Forest Park Flyers. She's in lane 6, the rightmost lane.
The Ygnacio Wood Seahorses are one of seven teams in the Contra Costa Valley Swim Conference (CCVSC). The CCVSC is a recreational swim league made up of two teams from Concord, two from Walnut Creek, and one team each from Pinole, Antioch, and Brentwood. The number of such swim teams in the area is incredible (see the Aquatic Times site).
The kids practice every weekday and have two meets a week until late July when they have their league, City and County championships. Here's a video of Naomi from their latest meet against the Forest Park Flyers. She's in lane 6, the rightmost lane.
Friday, June 20, 2008
One Sea Pony and Two Seahorses
Ryan likes to tell people, "I'm this many," putting up four fingers as in the picture. Another interesting Ryan fact is that he likes to wear blue jeans even on a hot summer day.
This photo was taken just before the team photo was taken.
This photo was taken just before the team photo was taken.
Picture Day!
It was picture day for the swim team today. Imagine trying to shepherd over 125 kids onto risers in the bright sun and telling them that they have to sit still. Sounds like an impossible task, doesn't it?
Here's the team picture of the Ygnacio Wood Seahorses for 2008. Ethan and Naomi are in the picture. Can you find them?
Here's the team picture of the Ygnacio Wood Seahorses for 2008. Ethan and Naomi are in the picture. Can you find them?
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Swim Meet Versus Valley Vista Barracudas
The kids are making progress with their swimming, but most importantly they continue to have great time. Ryan is not swimming yet, but he is their biggest fan. In some of the videos that we have you can hear Ryan cheering on Naomi and Ethan.
Here's a clip of Naomi swimming the backstroke at the meet against Valley Vista. She's starting to get the hang of swimming backwards in a straight line.
Here's a clip of Naomi swimming the backstroke at the meet against Valley Vista. She's starting to get the hang of swimming backwards in a straight line.
Ryan Anderson - NBA Bound
Ryan Anderson, top player for the Cal Bears the last two years running, announced today that he's staying in the NBA draft. No doubt a blow to the Bears, but a result that was not too surprising.
For you Cal fans out there, here are the top ten reasons why Ryan Anderson is moving onto the NBA (play the accompanying video clip for the source for this top ten list):
10. Not only can Ryan shoot, but he can also shoot from the hip!
9. He can dunk! I know that you Cal fans will find this both amusing and amazing.
8. He can go right and left just like Big Bird now!
7. He is a supporter of Rod Benson's "Boom Tho" movement (Benson is a former Cal player who has been entrenched in the D-League, the minor league baseball of the NBA, and is moonlighting as a blogger for Yahoo! Sports through their Ball Don't Lie blogs on NBA basketball).
6. He's ready like spaghetti and in there like swim wear.
5. He is environmentally conscious and recycles.
4. He's like Captain Planet with better footwork (and looks great in tight fitting silks).
3. He can take on Kevin Love one-on-one and defend him outside the arc.
2. He's really 30 years old, not 20 (okay, this was just Benson messing with Ryan).
1. He's a great kid with his head in the right place (he finished up all his class work at Cal this semester, unlike many early entry players who just drop out of school, while auditioning for his next employers in the NBA).
For you Cal fans out there, here are the top ten reasons why Ryan Anderson is moving onto the NBA (play the accompanying video clip for the source for this top ten list):
10. Not only can Ryan shoot, but he can also shoot from the hip!
9. He can dunk! I know that you Cal fans will find this both amusing and amazing.
8. He can go right and left just like Big Bird now!
7. He is a supporter of Rod Benson's "Boom Tho" movement (Benson is a former Cal player who has been entrenched in the D-League, the minor league baseball of the NBA, and is moonlighting as a blogger for Yahoo! Sports through their Ball Don't Lie blogs on NBA basketball).
6. He's ready like spaghetti and in there like swim wear.
5. He is environmentally conscious and recycles.
4. He's like Captain Planet with better footwork (and looks great in tight fitting silks).
3. He can take on Kevin Love one-on-one and defend him outside the arc.
2. He's really 30 years old, not 20 (okay, this was just Benson messing with Ryan).
1. He's a great kid with his head in the right place (he finished up all his class work at Cal this semester, unlike many early entry players who just drop out of school, while auditioning for his next employers in the NBA).
Contract Karma by Fear the Beard
Got this off a site called Fear The Beard that claims to be the East Bay culture blog with a high basketball IQ. I'm not that up on the Warriors, but I think the name of the site is a play on a Warrior slogan. The Beard is a nickname of sorts for Baron Davis, ex-UCLA baller and current leader of the Warriors. It's like saying, "fear the Warriors...they're coming for ya with the Bearded one leading the way!"
Baron is hoping for a contract extension from the Warriors, but it's possible that one might not be forthcoming (they have younger players that could play the same position and he's been injury prone). He still has one year left on his contract for something around $17 million. He could opt out of this contract, but it's unlikely that he would get more than this amount for next season. On the other hand, he could opt out and sign a longer term contract with another club for a higher total amount, but less on an annual basis, but who's counting when you're talking about millions of smackeroos.
The clip below is of Baron trying to do good because he says, "it's better to give than to receive." But the FTB guys know what this is about given the title of the post: Contract Karma.
Baron is hoping for a contract extension from the Warriors, but it's possible that one might not be forthcoming (they have younger players that could play the same position and he's been injury prone). He still has one year left on his contract for something around $17 million. He could opt out of this contract, but it's unlikely that he would get more than this amount for next season. On the other hand, he could opt out and sign a longer term contract with another club for a higher total amount, but less on an annual basis, but who's counting when you're talking about millions of smackeroos.
The clip below is of Baron trying to do good because he says, "it's better to give than to receive." But the FTB guys know what this is about given the title of the post: Contract Karma.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Real Life Unicorn...Sort of
At the Center of Natural Sciences in Prato, Italy (a town near Florence), a single-horned deer has been born. Deers with such a single horn are rare. This deer has a twin that has the normal set of two horns.
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