Goodby 07!

The year 2007 is about to end. Nancy and I will see the old year out, and the new year in, by joining some friends for dinner tomorrow evening. This has been our custom for several years now. Our friend, Les Marr, takes care of the reservations and there are usually about a dozen people in attendance. In past year's, after dinner, all of us would go over to another friends house, Dan Sofia, to celebrate New Year's. But Dan has moved from the area and now we just say our "Happy New Year's" to everyone at the restaurant and then leave for home to usher in the new year quietly. In all honesty, I'm not sure everyone in the group actually stays up until midnight. From what I gather, some are already in their pj's and tucked in bed before the Times Square ball reaches it's destination. All of this comes with ageing, I suppose. Nancy and I are not exceptions to the dynamics of ageing, of course, but we'll still be awake at midnight. We're use to staying up late. I've not heard whether or not Dick Clark will be hosting from New York this year. Maybe not. It's been difficult for him the last couple of years.

We're eager for the new year to begin. Two thousand and seven has been great - in fact every year since retirement has been splendid. But there will be lots of interesting things happening in 08 - like the presidential election, CES in Vegas (by the way that's next week), B Street Theatre and of course, several gatherings with the guys for our monthly Friday Night at the Movies. Here's hoping that it's all good and that everyone remains healthy in the coming year. Happy New Year to All!!!

Exercise Routine

I've just started the ninth month of my treadmill exercising. The challenge hasn't changed. It's still that of finding the will power to maintain the five day a week schedule. Energy wise I've gotten use to what it takes to complete the routine. Discipline wise - it is still very challenging. I'm now doing seventy two minutes - and according to the treadmill calculator, I burn around four hundred and eighty five calories and a little over sixty carbs each session. The distance is just a little under four and a half miles. My speed is nothing to talk about, but that isn't really my goal. The objective is to maintain a cardiovascular program that will help me maintain a certain weight and to keep the quarterly lab test numbers where they should be. So far, so good.

San Francisco Zoo

Since Christmas day there has been a considerable amount of coverage given to the recent incident at the San Francisco Zoo. This is understandable in light of the magnitude of such an event. My wife and I, along with our granddaughter, visited the San Francisco Zoo some time back, I think it has been a couple of years now, and I do remember seeing the tiger exhibit during our visit. Actually, it was my first visit to that zoo. As a result of having walked around the very area where the mauling took place, it is a bit surreal trying to comprehend what a person would do if such an animal were on the loose and chasing her or him down. At the time of my visit it certainly was not something that crossed your mind while you were walking the grounds. That now, has changed.

The details of exactly what happened are still unknown, but it is pretty clear that a twelve and a half foot fence is not enough to safely enclose a tiger and still protect the public from its predatory nature. Fortunately, however, it was enough on the day we visited - and for several decades prior to that. One thing is certain though. This situation will cost the zoo a significant amount of money, no matter what the outcome.

This will be an interesting story to follow.

Movie of the Week

The best movie from this week's exercise films was "Rounder". This is a really good role for Matt Damon. If you have an interest in how a professional card player thinks and the methods that are used to psych out opponents - then this is a movie that you will like a lot. The viewer will also gain insight into male bonding and the influence that male friends have over one another.Very entertaining throughout the entire movie. A thumb up from this reviewer.

Happy Holidays from The Singing Christmas Animals

Nancy got a nifty gift when she purchased some Hallmark Christmas cards. Check out the video:

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=Hallmark-SingingChristmasDogs.flv

Christmas at Kristi's and Brandon's House

Nancy and I had Christmas dinner with the grand kids today. Kelly, Nancy's daughter and Kristi's mom, fixed a wonderful meal - turkey, ham, potatoes, dressing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, and I could go on, but you get the idea. We had banana cream, pumpkin and berry pies for dessert. What a feast!

It was Baby Brandon's first Christmas. He had a good time crawling around on the carpet and playing with all the wrappings left from opening the presents. T-Shirts, with his picture, were worn by Kristi, Kelly and Nancy (see blog pictures) at the Christmas gathering.

Kenneth brought his ferret, Digger. He was calm most of the evening and actually napped for awhile (Digger - not Kenneth).

The traffic was heavy going to Fairfield, but not so bad coming back. Kelly made Nancy and me some plates with food from the dinner meal - you know, so we could have second helpings when we got home. We ate it all. We're stuffed - but happy! We've had a great Christmas!

Got to check the paper for tomorrow's big sales. I may have to get up early to seek an after Christmas bargain. We'll see...

Merry Christmas to All

Nancy and I had a very enjoyable, albeit rather quite, Christmas eve. That's how we like it. We watched a Christmas show that I taped several years back (2000) - a Christmas musical performed by the Purdue University Choir. It's the best Christmas musical that we've seen and each year I think we enjoy it a little bit more.

We opened our gifts to one another a little later (see blog pictures) and afterwards we just sat and talked for awhile. We'll be going to Kriste's tomorrow for the annual Christmas dinner in Fairfield. I'll be taking my Sony camera with me, so I'll be posting some Baby Brandon pictures upon our return.

Christmas Decorations

Our Christmas decorating is about over. I'll be adding Christmas lights to the backyard tomorrow, on Christmas Eve. We ran out of blue outdoor lights, so today Nancy had to track some more down at Walgreen's. The interior decorating is done. I've posted a blog picture of our Christmas Village. It looks pretty good this year. Nancy used some different cotton that looks a little more like snow than what was used previously.

Nancy and I will exchange gifts on Christmas Eve. Then the next day we'll be going to Fairfield, for Christmas dinner at Kristie's house. It's Baby Brandon's first Christmas. I'm sure that there will be lots of toys from Santa. I'll post some pictures of Baby Brandon with all of his gifts.

Notable Movie

I've discovered one movie, from the ones that I recently viewed while exercising, that I would consider notable enough to comment on. There's others worth mentioning... but this is the one that comes to mind at this time. It's titled "Laurel Canyon". This movie kept me interested through the majority of the story, primarily because of the music and as the below Internet review indicates - it takes some interesting twists and turns:

Newly graduated psychiatrist Sam and his fiancee Alex move to Los Angeles for Sam's residency, into Sam's mother's house in upscale Laurel Canyon. Only problem is, Sam's mother is still there, supposedly finishing up a record that she's producing for the band of her new boy toy, Ian. She seems more interested in smoking pot and drinking than actually working, though. Alex doesn't mind, but Sam is quite upset. Alex starts off focused on her work (finishing a dissertation on genomics), but is soon distracted by the rock-'n-roll lifestyle going on around her. Meanwhile, Sam is equally distracted by beautiful Israeli intern Sara.

The actors make things believable and the setting reminded me of some happenings commonly associated with the sixties and seventies. I can relate to that.

You might want to check it out, if you like movies of this genre.

Friday Night at the Movies

We had a good gathering at our monthly Friday Night at the Movies. Nancy prepared a great holiday meal (meatloaf) and Dave brought a terrific dessert. It may have been a rum cake, we're not sure... but what ever it was, it was a scrumptious dessert. Tom gave Nancy and me an animated Santa to add to our collection. This one reads a Christmas story aloud.

After dinner we took a tour of our neighborhood Christmas decorations. Some of the houses in our neighborhood went all out this year. When we returned, Tom updated us, via a Photo Story slide show that Wendy prepared, on the goings on in China in relation to Wendy getting a fiancee visa (she got it and will be arriving to join Tom in just a few months - that is really great).

Tonight's movie is titled "Sweet Land". It's an uplifting movie about a German woman who immigrates to America and soon realizes that it will be quite a challenge for her to gain acceptance in a very devout Christian agricultural community. The story takes place right before the great depression and reflects the economic realities of that era along with the anti German undertone that prevailed at the time. The saga proved to be heart warming and the viewer ultimately sees the true ethos of what has always made America so different from any other country.

Everyone seemed to have a good time tonight and our gathering contributed to the continual promotion of friendship that is always the goal of every Friday Night at the Movies meeting - no matter how heated our discussions become. It's the only way I know to build an affinity among people with very diverse backgrounds. Sometimes you have to take some risks when addressing controversial topics. And that is what we try to do at our meetings. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Christmas Carolers

Our neighborhood kids were out caroling tonight. They did a terrific rendition of Jingle Bells. Their parents waited supportively out by our lamppost (notice the blue lights in the lamppost globes shown in the blog picture) while the kids stood at our doorway and energetically entertained Nancy and me with their heart felt Christmas carol. It was great seeing these enthusiastic youth demonstrating the spirit of the holidays and expecting nothing in return. However, we wished we had some Christmas cookies to give to them, but unfortunately at the time we were fresh out.

Nancy and I have finished our Christmas decorating with the exception of still needing to put up a few lights in the backyard. Tomorrow evening we will have the guys over for our monthly Friday Night at the Movies gathering. Nancy has a great meal planned (meatloaf with all the trimmings) and I will be serving may famous chili. More on that later...

PC Users Group Meeting

The "CES Boys" got together for an evening out. We went to the Plaza Hoff Brau for dinner. Afterwards we took a short drive over to the PC Users Group meeting. I didn't hear any complaints about the dinner meal. We all had something different - chicken, turkey, beef... it was filling and reasonably priced.

The PC Users Group Meeting was sparsely attended. It's hard to get people to come to meetings during the holidays. The presentation provided information about the new Microsoft Publisher software. It's a very versatile program and it will now save your documents as a PDF file - you know, just like Apple has been doing for some time now.

The blog picture shows Dave and Tom standing in front of the huge LED lit Christmas tree that is in the lobby of the building where the PC Users Group meetings are held.

Christmas Decorating Continues

As you can see from the latest blog picture, Nancy is still doing her Christmas decorations. The fireplace is done and our Christmas Village should be finished in a couple of days. I've still got to put colored lights in the globes of the front yard lamppost (the weather hasn't been very accommodating of late to complete that task) and I still need to run a few lights around the shrubs in the back yard. After that, we're done!

iPod touch Features

As mentioned on my blog yesterday, I indicated that today I would write a few early observations regarding my new iPod touch. I've read a lot of reviews about "touch", some more favorable than others, but I do have to agree with the reviewers consensus that the screen is, as you would expect, very prone to dust and fingerprints - but it's not all that big a deal - just wipe them off from time to time and move on. After all, it is called the iPod touch...right! You'll see the evidence of this situation, when you view the pictures I posted of my iPod touch to the right and at the bottom of the blog page.

The most important feature of the iPod touch, in my opinion, is it's Wi Fi capability and the Safari browser that controls surfing over the Internet. In a word, it's "great".It is the best browser that I've ever used with a handheld device. There is a slight learning curve to getting use to the keyboard and to "stretching" the web pages to make them larger or smaller, but other than that, it is very intuitive.

The ability to play You Tube videos is a big plus. The one's that I viewed played exceptionally well. I'm a big fan of You Tube, so this was a deal breaker feature for me. I've passed on purchasing other PDA type devices because they could not effectively display videos from You Tube. I also like the synchronization to iTunes and a feature which allows you to use your regular iTunes account to search and purchase videos,pod casts and songs from the Apple iTunes site via Wi Fi. I make purchases from iTunes rather frequently. I don't think that you can do this with the current iPhone. Maybe it will be included with the next generation iPhone that will be announced in January at Mac World. As long as you have access to a Wi Fi connection, you have access to the Internet and since this is a flash player it is almost as full function as a desktop computer. Remember, I said almost. There are attachments and certain java script programs that won't open, but all in all, this is a very versatile device.

In some ways, this little gadget is like a magnet. You'll see it setting on the table and you can't help but think about picking it up to do some quick web surfing (no waiting for Windows to open) or to just run through the menu . The keyboard is good enough to compose emails and the screen displays web pages, photos and videos at a quality that is said to be less than the one on the iPhone (although they have the same size screen), but better than what other similar devices offer.

The fun factor when using the iPod touch is high (that was one of my criteria for making a Christmas purchase) and the quality is better than I expected, especially for the price. I've only had it for one day... but at this point, I give it a thumbs up rating.

Early Christmas Gift

I usually buy myself some sort of an electronic gift for Christmas. By doing so, it rekindles the feeling that I use to get at Christmas when I was a kid growing up in Louisville, Kentucky. There was usually an exciting gift that came with each and every Christmas (except for the year that I got the world globe - which I still have) and the pleasure of receiving such a gift carried over into the new year. I always liked that feeling at this time of year, so just to make sure that it happens - I buy my own special gift. This year, after some product comparisons and some online researching, I decided that I would purchase an iPod touch. The "touch" is a rather unique product and one that fulfills the excitement factor, at least for an electronic gadget, quite well. I made the purchase today, primarily because of a sale that Best Buy had over the weekend. I've just started to check out my new iPod touch, so I'll provide an overview of the product at tomorrow's posting. My initial reaction, after a cursory run through of the Wi Fi capabilities, is that this is one really neat device. More later...

Apple and CES

CES is only about three weeks away. Last year Apple made an impact at Vegas CES, even though Jobs was no where in sight. Apple has their own new product kickoff each year at Mac World in San Francisco. Even with the thousands of electronic products that were at CES, probably the one that garnered the most interest, in regards to making it's 2008 debut, was the iPhone. You couldn't see one at CES, but that didn't curb peoples interest. There was as much buzz about the iPhone as there was about Microsoft's Vista, or any other product on display. Of course Bill Gates makes the initial keynote speech each year at CES, but it would be even more of an event if Stephen Jobs were to also show up (just like in the PC/Mac commercials).

This year Gates has the Service Pack 1 for Vista to speak about, but if Microsoft has any other significant software or hardware products on the horizon for 08, I'm not aware of it. Jobs will be announcing the second generation iPhone to his followers at Mac World. The big news is that the new iPhone will be 3G compatible.

I'm looking forward to checking out peripherals as much as anything at this year's show in Vegas. Archos may have a new an improved device and there will be some other gadgets that could be compelling must have items. There are also some new chips making their debut in o8 and several advances in HD TVs. It should be an interesting show. Can't wait to see it!

Wallpaper for New Computer

I decided to keep my wallpaper consistent for all of my computers. The new HP desktop computer (running Vista Home Premium), that was purchased from Staples a short time ago, now has the same artist as do my other computers. Each computer's wallpaper has a different painting by my favorite American artist - Edward Hopper. You can see a picture of the wallpaper (Nighthawks) that is on the HP to the right and at the bottom of the blog page.

Christmas Hats for All

Hats are in for the holidays. And as you will notice from the pictures to the right and at the bottom of the blog page, everyone is included when it comes to wearing the appropriate head gear - even Maxwell and Horace. Nancy found just the right sizes for them at the Dollar Tree store (not an easy task with Maxwell's ears and Horace's bald head). The hats are a perfect fit for both. Now they are in style for the upcoming holiday festivities. Happy Holidays to all - from our well dressed friends - Maxwell and Horace.

This Week's Movies

The exercise routine should be enhanced this week, with some interesting movies to watch while doing my hour and ten minutes on the treadmill. I'll be viewing:

Namesake

Sweet Land

Waitress

Looking for Kitty

The Score

Last Kiss

Laurel Canyon

I'll provide a short review of any movie from this list that I think is exceptional. I haven't seen Laurel Canyon in it's entirety yet, but so far it is proving to be a very interesting film. I may purchase it from Blockbuster.

Bear Table

Our Christmas Bears are now on display. Nancy placed the last ones on the hallway table this morning. You can see a picture of the bears, to the right of the blog page.

Christmas Tree - Winnie the Pooh

This year, Nancy decided on a Winnie the Pooh theme for our Christmas tree. Our great grandson, Brandon, is a big fan of Pooh...hence, the theme. You can see a picture of this year's tree, located in the living room, to the right of the blog page. We're only decorating one tree this year as Horace Housemen, the butler, now occupies the space formally used by our second tree. As they say, change happens!

Paul Carter's Christmas Gathering - Second Video

Another video, taken at Paul Carter's home during his annual Christmas gathering, can be seen at the link below.

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=PaulCartersChristmasGathering200-1.flv

Paul Carter's Christmas Gathering - Galt Lighting of the Night

Paul had lots of people arrive at his home tonight for the annual Lighting of the Night. He did a superb job of preparing for this gathering. Lots of preparation went into making this an especially memorable event. As always, the food was delicious and plentiful. Paul is a very good chef. His barbecue chicken was excellent and the steaks were juicy and tender - with a great barbecue sauce adding just the right flavor to the meat. Most of the guests brought something for the buffet. The desserts were impressive, many of them homemade. Nancy and I especially liked the almond ring that Paul's sister-in-law prepared (see blog picture to the right and at the bottom). Very creative - and even more delicious than a commercial bakery might make.

We enjoyed chatting with the many folks that we had not seen for some time. And of course, the Christmas parade is always an added bonus for this event. The parade passes right in front of Paul's house. Very convenient! Luckily the weather was more accommodating than usual this year - no rain.

We had a great time at Paul's gathering! Thanks, Mr. Carter, for all your hard work. It certainly was a gala holiday affair. You can see a short video of the Galt Lighting of the Night Parade by clicking on the link below.

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=GaltLightingoftheNightChristmasPara.flv

San Francisco - Christmas Carol

We departed, for what has now become an annual trek to San Francisco, around two o'clock yesterday - to see "A Christmas Carol" at the ACT Theatre near Union Square. The weather was a factor, since it rained heavily for most of the trip, but it actually made it feel more like Christmas. Better than a warm sunny day, for this type of an outing. We walked around Union Square and went into a few stores. While checking out the sites, we found a new restaurant that we really like. We probably passed it a few times during prior visits to San Francisco, but this time we decided to check out the menu that was posted in their window. Nancy zeroed in on the corn beef and cabbage (one of her favorite meals) and I saw that they served large steaks - so it was an easy choice - Johnny Foley's Irish House, here we come! It proved to be a good decision.

The decor in Johnny Foley's is old style San Francisco, meaning it probably looked the same way as it does now, some fifty or more years ago. Being an Irish pub, as well as a restaurant, it had more than a few beer drinkers around the large bar. The restaurant's seating area was almost an afterthought. Nevertheless, the noise wasn't overwhelming, like in many bar restaurants, and the food was top-notch. Nancy enjoyed her corn beef and cabbage and I had a fillet, with a side of mushrooms. The steak was tender, large and cooked to perfection. We capped the meal off with a delicious bread pudding for dessert and vowed that we would return next year for Christmas, if not sooner.

We did swing by the new Tad's during our walk down Powell Street. It has been renovated, but the menu looks the same. The new price for a complete steak meal is $13.49 - a little higher than before the remodel, but still not a bad price for San Francisco. I guess the CES boys and I will have to make a visit before too long.

The performers, all of them and especially the children, were great in "A Christmas Carol". We had very good seats, as I went online early this year to make reservations. The play is a great way to jump start a person into the spirit of Christmas.

The rain was really coming down as we headed home around nine thirty last night. The drive home wasn't too bad, but you had to take precautions. We counted four accidents, as we traveled down a busy I-80 East. People don't want to slow down, even in the heavy rain with low visibility. We just took our time and got home around eleven thirty at night. We were a little tired, from having gotten up early in the morning, so a good night's rest was in order. Got to get ready for a big weekend.This weekend we will be spending time with our friends and enjoying a couple of Christmas buffets. It should be a lot of fun.

The pictures from San Francisco are posted on the right side of the blog page.

Update - Christmas Decorations

Nancy is moving along nicely with the Christmas decorations. Kelly came over today and together Nancy and Kelly decorated the living room tree. It came out looking great - they did a good job. There's still more to do with the tree, so I'm holding off on the pictures, for now. However, you can see the animated Santa table that is finished. The picture is posted to the right. I'm doing some remote wiring, so everything can be started together. The Musical Christmas Carousel is also in place - above the Santa table. I'll show more of these decorations on my blog, after I record the video of the Santa's and the Carousel. It's kind of neat, because you can start all of them by using a remote control. That way you can have music and animation together... if you choose. Cool technology!

Exercise Movies

Below is my list of exercise movies for this week:

Factory Girl

Old Joy

Secret Window

Tape

The Prestige

Time

My favorite movies from last week were Owning Mahowny and 12 and Holding

Updates regarding this week's movies will be made at future blog postings.

Christmas Lights Are Up

Our grand kids came to our house today - to put up the outdoor Christmas lights. They did a good job. We didn't do anything too elaborate this year. We've got some icicles hanging from the roof gutters and some colored lights spread around in various places - shrubs, rose bushes, our big tree, etc. It all looks pretty good. Next comes the indoor Christmas trees and all the interior decorating that we usually do. It will take the rest of the week. We'll probably do a little each day.

It should really start to feel like the Christmas season this week. On Thursday, we drive to San Francisco to see "A Christmas Carol". We finally got a Fas Trak transmitter - so we don't have to go through the Benecia-Martinez and the Bay Bridge toll booths. Actually, Nancy got it for us - at the Costco store in Vacaville. With the new device we can just zip past the toll booths, by using the Fast Track lanes. The transmitter will charge our account. That will save some time.

While we are in San Francisco we plan to check out the new "Tad's" restaurant. I'm really curious about the changes. Tad's had stayed pretty much the same for about fifty years. It will be interesting to see what they have done to the place.

Teriyaki Time

The eventual discovery of a restaurant that has been in one's neighborhood for some time, but for some reason you just never got around to checking out, is kind of a neat thing. Particularly if you also discover that the meal prices are reasonable and for the most part healthy (at least compared to fast food offerings). Oh, and it helps if the meal is also tasty, right! We've recently found such a restaurant and it goes by the name of Teriyaki Time. It has been given and excellent review in the Elk Grove Citizen, actually it's been some time ago, but since we don't subscribe to the Citizen, we missed the review. Probably If we had read the article earlier, we would have ventured over to the restaurant much sooner. Nevertheless, we now enjoy Teriyaki Time's chicken and beef on a regular basis - at least once a week. It is very convenient to home and there is usually only a short wait to get served and to have your takeout packaged and ready to take home. The service is very good.

We have other restaurants in Elk Grove that offer good meals for take out, but none match the price and convenience of our recent discovery of Teriyaki Time. Hopefully, we won't get bored with their meals (that can happen). It's kind of nice to be able to agree on a quick takeout meal, without having to go through the laundry list of options for the dinner meal. I snapped a cellphone picture of the article that was in the Elk Grove Citizen about Teriyaki Time and posted it to the blog. It's too small to read, but I felt like posting it anyway. Good job, Teriyaki Time - and please accept our belated welcome to the neighborhood!

Movie Comments - 12 and Holding

Nancy and I watched and interesting movie tonight. The title is "12 and Holding". Michael Cuesta directs this very unusual and offbeat film about the ordeals of several children who are living in extremely dysfunctional situations. They devise very adult solutions to their dilemmas (both individually and collectively), while they try to find a way out from the complex scenarios that could easily challenge a person twice their age. The child actors are exceptional in their roles and after only a brief time watching the movie the viewer begins to see the young cast members as being much more mature than their chronological age would suggest. This movie is very different and really accentuates the talents of it's youthful cast. Nancy and I liked it very much.

Movie Comments

I haven't seen the entire movie yet, but so far "Owning Mahowny" has proven to be an interesting story. It is actually based on a true story. The performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman is excellent. This movie would most likely appeal to a viewer who is interested in learning about the inner workings of a bank scam that is concocted to support a gambling addiction. The premise behind this movie may be old hat, but the direction and the quality of the acting, combined with an excellent script, makes this a much better than average movie. The movie also provides some insight into the infrastructure of big casinos by showing the various ploys used to keep the high rollers playing. Very intriguing stuff.

Delicious Food at Benihanna

This evening Dave, Tom and I went to Benihanna for a steak and chicken dinner (Rocky's Choice on the menu). Your meal is cooked on the grill, which is right in front of where you sit, so the food is served nice and hot - just the way we like it. Sue, the owner/manager, seated us so that we were the only ones at the grill station, so we had our very own chef (Martinez). They always make us feel special at Benihanna! It just doesn't get any better than that!

Afterwards, we ventured over to Costco for a little Christmas shopping and then we went to Tom's house to see how the Sacramento King's were doing (OK at the half, but not so good by the time the game was over). You can see the pictures of our outing to the right and at the bottom of the blog page. The video from Benihanna is shown on the link below:

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=Benihanna-November282007.flv

Mercury Sable for 2008

I wanted to share my photos of the 2008 Mercury Sable, from the recent Sacramento Auto Show, primarily to show the interior of the car. As you may know, Ford/Mercury has struggled with trying to get consumers to pay more attention to their products, specifically the ones that they sell in this category of vehicles (large sedans). To date, neither the Ford Five Hundred (now called the more familiar name -Taurus) nor the Sable, have been big sellers. That has been the case for the last several years. The numbers being sold are no where near where they were during their heyday of the late eighties and early nineties.

I happen to think that Ford/Mercury/Lincoln still make good products. Competitively, the styling is often dated (that's changing somewhat), but to me, they still have a ways to go. You will notice from the blog pictures that the Sable is somewhat different from any other vehicle in the marketplace, when it comes to interior trim options. I did not see another vehicle with the type of trim that Mercury went with for the Sable. As you can see, the trim is white - as well as the rest of the interior. It is one of those love it or hate it combinations, I suspect - which pretty much sums up how I think most people see the Sable and Taurus models - you either really like it, or you don't. It's different enough so that it got my attention, but there sure is a lot of white in the interior. If nothing else, it's definitely unique! I rather like it.

Weekly Movies

This week marks the start of my eighth month of treadmill exercising. Now that I've added watching movies to my five day a week exercise routine, I've become a frequent visitor to the local Block Buster store. Finding good movies to watch is an ongoing challenge. Sometimes I only watch a short portion of a movie, particularly if it is just too boring or too much of a waste of time (yes, that movie watching premise holds true, even if the viewing is going on while exercising).

Each week I'm hopeful that my selections will prove to be meaningful. Actually it's kind of a crap shoot - until you start up the DVD, you never know for sure. Some recent real stinkers were:

Stealing Sinatra

Consenting Adults

This weeks selections to watch while exercising are:

Perfume - The Story of a Murderer

Crazy Love

12 and Holding

Owning Mahowny

Thank You for Smoking

Some recent movies that I watched and liked are:

The Queen

The Devil Wears Prada

Sicko

Smile

The Weight of Water

The professional movie reviewers won't necessarily agree with all of my selections, but critiquing a movie is a rather subjective endeavor anyway, so you may also not agree with my choices.

Next week I'll post to the blog any new favorites, or stinkers, that I view while exercising.

65 inch LCD HDTV

My friend, Terry, has been doing some research for his future purchase of a large screen LCD HDTV. To date, the largest available, in the United States, is a 65 inch set - manufactured by either Olevia or Sharp. There are plenty of sets that are DLP, Plasma, rear projection and the like - with large screens, but only the mentioned two brands have 65 inch LCD's. It is a different story in Europe and Asia. In fact, you can see many sets available for sale, beyond the 65 inch size, at CES in Vegas; those sets are not for distribution to the US.

Terry and I have been chatting about several products that he might consider. One of the more intriguing HDTV's is the aforementioned 65 inch Olevia that is sold at Costco and Target. The problem is in trying to get any test data on that product. We have not been able to find an Internet review on this five thousand dollar LCD HDTV (yes, it has a hefty price). If any of my blog readers can be of help, please send me an email with a link to a review of the Olevia 65 inch LCD HDTV that Costco carries. Terry needs some actual test data about this product, before deciding what he will purchase. Thanks.

Make Someone Happy

Nancy is still nursing a cold, so I went solo to the B Street Theatre this evening. Buck Busfield has written the theatre's Christmas holiday play for the last several years and he usually does something a little offbeat at this time of year. This year's play, "Make Someone Happy", was probably a little more offbeat than usual. When you have a stripper (in a dance cage, no less) and a nun interacting on stage, it can get a little weirded out... wouldn't you think. But as usual, Buck made it all work and it proved to be one of his better efforts.

I had dinner at Sae Jongs. The owner brought to the table some calamari for me to try, and even though it was a little on the spicy side, I really liked it. The miso soup and sesame chicken was also tasty and I enjoyed my late dinner as the play went a bit longer than usual. Buck got a little long winded in one of the acts.

Tomorrow morning is our Big Breakfast. I hope Nancy is feeling better. It takes two to get everything going just right and to time the meal so that everything comes out on time and hot. We've added biscuits and gravy to the Big Breakfast, along with our usual items - scrambled eggs, pancakes, hash browns, bacon, fruit, juice, coffee, etc. Hey, no sense in doing all that exercising if you don't eat enough to burn off some extra calories now and then. Anyway, it's only once a week, the Big Breakfast, and I look forward to preparing it and - of course - consuming the Sunday feast. However, by adding biscuits and gravy to the menu, I just may have to do a little more treadmill time this week. Oh well, it will be worth it. The meal is delicious!

Black Friday - Lots of Shoppers In Elk Grove

I ventured out a little before 4:00 am this morning, to see what was happening retail wise around the Elk Grove area. Mervyn's parking lot looked the way it might normally appear on a Saturday afternoon. Some of the people waiting in line for a Mervyn's credit voucher, worth ten dollars, had been standing for more than an hour - according to what I heard. There was even a limo in front of the store. I guess that group must have worked in shifts, or something on that order. You'd need to save a lot on your purchases, to make a limo worthwhile! That's a new strategy. One that I had not seen before.

The three hundred and fifty vouchers were given out at Mervyn's in just a couple of minutes. Some people were upset, because there were a few people who walked through the doors after cutting in the line. I didn't see any security near the entrance - just the huddled masses trying to claim their reward for standing out in the cold. It probably could have gotten ugly, but it didn't.

There were considerably more people shopping on Black Friday this year than last - at least in Elk Grove. Elk Grove has grown significantly over the last year and you really sense the the growth when you visit our commercial establishments. Retail outlets have also increased. Next year will bring even more commercial growth to the area. After a decade of planning, our first "mall" will open. That will bring even more shoppers to Elk Grove, along with a lot more traffic. If this Black Friday was any indication, next year should really be something!

I ended up buying a couple of photo items and a flannel shirt jacket. As long as you are not bothered by the crowds, it can be an interesting day to shop. We've still got another big discount day left this year. The day after Christmas. I'll probably venture out on Dec 26th - just to see what's happening and to maybe find a bargain. You'll never know, if you don't venture out!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Each Thanksgiving, over the last several years, Nancy and I have tried a different restaurant for our traditional Thanksgiving meal. This year we decided to have our dinner at the Cyprus Grille. The Cyprus Grille is located in downtown Sacramento, at the Holiday Inn. The restaurant is also near Old Sacramento, a tourist area, where visitors can experience horse drawn carriage rides that traverse cobblestone streets and pass by quaint one-of-a- kind shops and restaurants. The Railroad Museum is another attraction located in Old Sacramento.

Our meal was served buffet style. We were pleased with the food quality -and the service. All the food servers were very attentive and cordial. In addition to turkey, with all the trimmings, there was prime rib and a nice dessert selection. After our meal we ventured through Old Sacramento and then took a meandering path - away from the freeway - back home. After a short nap upon returning home, we watched - "The Devil Wears Prada" - and had a snack.

I've just finished my exercising and showered, so I'm ready to tackle, "Black Friday". It's any one's guess as to how that will turn out. I'll let you know at the next posting. You can see pictures from today's outing to the right and at the bottom of the blog page.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

The Davis family has started the countdown until Christmas. Nancy made a Christmas Calendar for Baby Brandon, see picture to the right and at the bottom of the blog page, but whoever eats all of that See's candy is likely to have a toothache by Christmas day. Nancy has created a nice Christmas memento for Baby Brandon (this is his first Christmas). She explains how the Christmas Calendar works in the short clip posted below. Check it out!

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=ChristmasCalendar07.flv

Box Car

Toyota enlarged the Scion xB for 2008. It will haul more people and cargo and it now looks more secure on the highway as well. I happen to like the updated design, in spite of what has been written about it in recent reviews and forums. Apparently not all the car magazine writers are pleased with Toyota's effort.

This is a niche vehicle that can serve the owner in a number of ways. It could easily be the primary car for a young adult or a second or third vehicle for the older folks. The cool factor is way up there, as Toyota encourages owners to add on aftermarket type equipment that will make the xB unique -by reflecting the owner's taste - and of course, upping the price considerably from the MSRP. There are numerous sound systems to consider and plenty of wheel options. It may not be the greatest highway vehicle, but from what I've read, it handles much better than the original Scion xB. For around town usage it should work fine. Driving it cross country would be another matter altogether. The gas mileage is good and you can configure the seats in ways that will enable the owner to haul lots of stuff.

I've not driven the xB yet, but I'm thinking of taking a test drive when the weather improves. That could be a fun outing!

Classical Music - Andreas Scholl

If you enjoy listening to classical music, you will appreciate the You Tube clip I have posted below. This musical clip features the countertenor, Andrea Scholl. As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I have made a composite CD from several iTunes classical selections and Andrea Scholl is one of the artist on my CD. His music is best appreciated when the listener has a few minutes to relax and reflect on their world view, to meditate - I suppose - would be another way to express the mood. I especially like to listen to classical and choral music during the holidays and the new CD should be a nice addition to my collection. I plan to listen to the entire CD this week, probably on Thanksgiving Day. If you have the time, listen to Andrea Scholl sing J.S. Bach: Mass in B Minor "Agnus Dei" on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdLCcQixNvg

Quiet Day - Several Activities

Today was a tranquil mixed-bag kind of day. There were a variety of things going on, but nothing pressing, or of an urgent nature. The day included the following: our "Big Breakfast", choral music, pool cleaning, the Kings game, HD TV discussion with Terry, ink jet printer cartridge changing, The Devil Wears Prada -and exercising. For a Sunday, it was not atypical. If I had to pick one thing from the list that was the most divergent from the normal kinds of things that happen on a Sunday - it would be the choral music. This evening, I put together an iTunes classical music CD from songs that I had heard earlier in the morning on our local classical music station. After going online and checking the station's programing schedule, I wrote down the name of each song I had heard earlier and afterwards looked them up in iTunes. I found the choral sounds to be somewhat surreal, at least that is how it felt while listening to them this morning, so I want to hear how it sounds on my CD player. I think it will be a pleasant CD to listen to, while I'm doing my morning routine. If I like the sound, in that context, I may listen to it a couple of times each week.

LA Auto Show - Lincoln MKS

The new Lincoln MKS, available in the summer of 2008, is making it's debut at the currently running LA Auto Show. Technologically it is very innovative. In addition to Microsoft's Sync program, it has numerous other interesting features that are not always associated with a car in it's class. The MKS is being billed as a luxury model, but with a starting price of around thirty eight thousand. The web site technology used to demonstrate this vehicle is also very impressive and it shows just how far state of the art web site designing has evolved. You can really get a sense of what the 2009 Lincoln MKS is about by visiting the web site. Check it out!

http://www.lincoln.com/reachhigher/?sReferrer=3646932180002315587256723450416

Friday Night at the Movies

We had a great time at this month's Friday Night at the Movies. Terry couldn't make it (high school reunion), but Tom and Dave were in attendance. Nancy, as always, helped keep things moving in an orderly fashion and as a result we accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. Tom took several pictures and video clips to send to his girl Wendy. Wendy lives in Chengdu, China. Wendy will be visiting California before too long. Tom says that she is looking forward to experiencing a movie night with our group.

As you can see from the picture to the right and at the bottom of the blog page, our Butler, Horace Housemen, also joined the fray. Although easily confused, Dave Beales (on the left) and Horace Housemen are not related. I know, the resemblance is uncanny, but if you look closer it becomes more obvious. For one, Horace is a classy dresser. Secondly, he appears to have considerably more hair than Dave. You will also notice that Horace does have a rat for a friend, Dave, however, does not - oh... wait a minute, now that I think about it, maybe Dave does also. Anyway, the entire group enjoyed the movie "Smile". Tom seemed to really like the show, probably because much of the movie was filmed in China.

We had our dinner meal at the Teriyaki Time restaurant in Elk Grove (delicious) and for dessert we made popcorn half way through the movie. Dave and Tom had already pigged out on the Halloween candy that Nancy gave them, so I imagine the scales will reflect the damage at their next weigh in. Anyway, it was all good and we look forward to our next movie night. That should take place sometime before the Christmas holidays.

Los Angeles Auto show

Each year I am tempted to fly to Los Angeles to see their annual International Auto Show. It is significantly larger than the one we have in Sacramento. So far, it hasn't happened. I just have not gotten around to planning it. The next best thing, I guess, is to see the coverage of the new 2008 vehicles and concept cars that are displayed on the web. Every year, just like at CES in Las Vegas, the web sites covering the show get more and more sophisticated. The technology to depict exhibits of this nature has become so advanced that you really can have an in depth experience, albeit a vicarious one, of what goes on at these international shows. Still, some year soon, I plan to see the Los Angeles Auto Show first hand. When I do, I plan to create a great photo album and movie to preserve what I will have experienced. Until then... you can check out the current show at the below link:

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/autoshows/losangeles/20075/index.html?mktcat=il-shows&kw=2007+los+angeles+auto+show&mktid=ga16937844

Starting To Feel Like Christmas

Nancy and I went shopping at the new Kohl's store tonight. Kohl's had their grand opening today, so they kept the store open until midnight. I'm sure the sales associates loved that. The new Kohl's is just a short distance from the house and it will be a nice addition to the neighborhood. They have some good sales and Kohl's provides seniors with a discount on several days of each month. Practically all of the retail stores in our area have already started, and in some instances finished, decorating for the holidays. With Thanksgiving only a week away, "Black Friday" is right around the corner. I'll have to wait until I see the ads as to whether or not I'll venture out at some crazy hour Friday morning. If the deal is good enough, I just might.

2008 Honda Accord Sedan

The first thing you notice immediately about the 2008 Honda Accord is how much larger the car is than last year's model There is a significant difference. The new Accord dimensions are that of a full size car and this certainly holds true when you enter the driver's seat and sit behind the wheel. This is unlike any Accord that I have ever experienced. It appears to be as large, or larger, than a Camry. Whether this increase in size will appeal to the typical Accord buyer remains to be seen. I can't see Honda returning to a smaller sized Accord, so it looks as though they are betting all their marbles on a size that competes more favourably with the Camry.

I really like the interior. It has a nice Navigation screen and lots of other options to keep pace with all of the new technology that is available for cars in this class. However, the size of this new model really surprised me, even though I was alerted to this change for 08 via the numerous car magazines that I have subscriptions to. I'm still somewhat undecided as to just how well I like the new Accord. I'll wait until I can test drive one to make a final decision. You can see the Accord's interior to the right and at the bottom of the blog page.

Microsoft Sync

While attending the Sacramento Auto Show, I saw a presentation about the new software (Sync) that Microsoft has developed for vehicles and is currently being installed exclusively in select models of 2008 Ford and Lincoln products. The technology uses voice commands for the various programs in Sync. Ford and Microsoft have created an interesting display screen to be used at their exhibits, with touch control, to assist the viewer in learning more about this innovative software. Below is the link to a video I recorded from the display. The video demonstrates how the music component of Sync works by simply speaking voice commands. The operator can select music (by voice) from several devices and then create a music library from which the music can be played by artist, genre, track or even an owner created play list. This is very cool stuff and raises the technology level of Ford and Lincoln products to a new level. Check it out!

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=MicrosoftSyncWithTitles.flv

Not Many On The Road

Today's post shows a picture from the Sacramento Auto Show of a vehicle that has not gained all that much popularity in America. It's a Korean made vehicle - the 2008 Kia Amanti. I've yet to see a 2008 model on the street. When they first arrived, a few years ago, and before the Hyundai Azera was added to the dealer showrooms, they were a more common sight. Since the Azera, which according to the car pundits, is a better choice, Kia has not really done much to make a challenge and has all but forgotten it's marketing plan for the car . The styling has changed a little this year, particularly with the taillights and the rear end of the car, but the look is not to every one's taste and it is now looking somewhat dated - compared to other vehicles in this class. It list (MSRP) for around $32,000 (loaded), but for that money you can choose from quite a number of cars. The interior has also changed somewhat from previous years, but to date, unlike the Azera, you can not get a navigation screen, nor a connector for your iPod or Mp3 player. So, again - compared to several other vehicles - it not only looks dated, but it isn't as well equipped technologically.

On the plus side, it does have a comfy ride (I've driven an earlier model) and a more robust engine than in previous years. And, of course, it has that great ten year/100,000 mile warranty. According to Consumer Report, that is probably a good thing, because you may have more than a few occasions when you just might need to use that long warranty.

To me, it's the kind of vehicle that if you were to find a low mileage used Amanti (they depreciate rapidly), or an extremely discounted new one, it might be on your list of vehicles for consideration. I kind of like the odd styling, and to some extent the interior, but with so many other vehicles in this class, I doubt that I could be swayed - even with a great deal on the price.

Raining In Sacramento

The only time I left the house today was to go to Daphne's - to pick up our dinner (Greek food). Daphne's chicken and steak kabobs are delicious. We've had rain since early this morning. Not real heavy, but steady. Nancy and I had a quite day at home. I watched the Ohio State vs Illinois game. That one was a real nail bite-er. My neighbor Tom has to be very upset, as he is the university's biggest fan and Ohio State is no longer undefeated. Too bad Buckeyes.

I just started processing my Auto Show pictures. Today I posted a picture of a very stylish, but somewhat impractical (at least to my way of thinking), vehicle. It's the Mercedes CLS550. Mercedes describes it as a four door coupe. Coupe normally means only two doors, so... go figure? Anyway, it looks neat, but after checking out the back seat room I don't think anyone over six foot would be very comfortable as a passenger. So, sometimes this car would be a ninety thousand dollar luxury automobile, that would not be very suitable for a long trip, if you have friends who are too tall for the car's back seat. Interesting design! I do like the lines of the car, however.

I've also posted a scanned label from a dessert that I just tried. As I've mentioned previously, it isn't easy finding tasty desserts with decent nutritional data. This one is not bad in that regard, plus it taste good - like ice cream. They have various flavors and it is reasonably priced. I plan to purchase some more.

Auto Show Starts Today

I got up early today - to go to the Sacramento Auto show. The auto show is an annual trek that I make, to see all the new models for the coming year. I usually spend about six hours taking pictures and videos of all the exhibits and this year was no exception. I'll share more pictures and videos after I get a chance to catalogue and edit the media that I shot. My first picture, showing a Chevy Camaro - with a young boy eye balling what he may see as his future wheels - is posted to the right and at the bottom of the blog site.

Video Clips

I decided to check on some video clips that I shot a while back, to see if there were any that I might want to post to the blog. Today's post has a link to a video clip that I took a few months ago, when I visited Louisville, Kentucky. While attending the Kentucky State Fair, I viewed numerous exhibits. This video shows one of the many aquariums that were on display at the fair. I happen to like aquariums, although I don't have one at this time. I've had a couple aquariums over the years, but that's been quite a long time ago. I used my mini Samsung video recorder to record the footage. I haven't edited the sound yet, so you will hear the background noise from the people viewing the exhibit. To see the fish aquarium, click on the link below:

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=FishAquariumWeb.flv

Kroger Comes to Elk Grove

We recently added a new grocery chain to our area. It goes by the name of Food Co, but it appears to be owned by Kroger. At least that is what seems to be the case, in regards to the brand that is being used as their home label. A lot of the products that are being carried by the store have the Kroger label. We don't have a WalMart Super Center in our area, so this is a nice addition - since Food Co is very similar to a Super Center (both in layout and pricing). Having lived in Louisville for a number of years, I am familiar with the Kroger name. I always liked Kroger stores and the one in Elk Grove, even though it goes by a different name, reminds me of the Louisville store. Who says you can't go home again!

Cheeseburger Night

Not all that often, but on occasion, I crave a really big cheeseburger. Tonight was one of those nights. Nancy was off to help with the great grand baby, so it was a good time to light the grill and cook up a big cheeseburger with all the fixings. It's sort of like the Sunday Big Breakfast. Even though it takes Nancy and I about an hour to prepare the meal, it's worth it, because we just haven't found a restaurant than can match the quality of our Big Breakfast. Cheeseburgers are the same. You can get some good ones at our local restaurants, but to do it right - you got to cook it yourself.

The key to getting it just right is the essential ingredients that make for a great cheeseburger. Not too lean of ground beef, sharp cheddar cheese, secret seasonings and condiments - and a great bun. The one I prepared on the grill tonight was about a three quarter pound-er. I meant to take a picture of it, but by the time I placed it on my plate to eat... well, I was so hungry for that delicious treat that I forgot about the picture and just started to chomp away.

I think the little extra time I spent on the treadmill tonight will offset the added calories. But, if not, it was still worth it. That was one great cheeseburger.

Auto Show

The Sacramento International Auto Show starts this week. I'm looking forward to seeing all of the 2008 models. Some vehicles are pretty much just carry overs from 07, but several manufacturers have come out with new models that are suppose to be greatly improved over their predecessors. The Chevrolet Malibu is one such car; so is the Cadillac CTS. It's always different seeing a car at the Sacramento Auto Show, as opposed to just seeing the pictures of that vehicle in an auto magazine. They do such a good job of photographing cars now-a-days that almost all of the vehicles have an appealing look - at least in the magazines. That's not always the case when you get to check out the vehicle up close and personal.

I'm sometimes asked why I have so much interest in seeing cars that I am not likely to ever own - or even be in the market to purchase. That's true for almost any SUV, or say... a convertible - or sports car. Even though I'm not really interested in purchasing such a vehicle, I still like to learn something about them. Why is that the case? That's easy to answer. First off - I'm a bit of a car nut, I suppose. So all types of vehicles interest me. And secondly, since buying a vehicle, at least for me, is the second largest expenditure that I ever make - the first being real estate - I take it seriously. You can't really know what to purchase, if you don't know what is available and how one vehicle compares with another. By going to the auto show it helps to make a person a more informed consumer. Besides, I always have a great time at the auto show. I normally stay for six or seven hours. I also eat dinner there. They usually have a delicious tri-tip sandwich available. Or course, as usual, I'll be taking pictures and perhaps videos as well this year, so I'll be sure to post a few of my favorites to the blog site.

Exercise and Movies

I've found that treadmill exercising, and watching DVDs, really do complement one another quite well. You still feel the workout, but it is much more enjoyable while you are engaged in watching a good movie. The time seems to go much faster. Some movies that I've watched recently are:

The Astronaut Farmer
The War Within
City of Industry
The DaVinci Code
Off The Black

I don't see an entire movie during one session of exercising, because my exercise time is somewhat less than the length of a movie, so I try to finish the DVD the following session. I've added a second DVD player to the system, so I can remotely start up a new movie if the first one finishes before completing my exercise. That way I don't have to leave the treadmill to insert a movie and start the DVD player. So far, so good. To date I haven't fell off the treadmill doing this. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. BlockBuster has been another beneficiary of this plan, as I now rent at least four movies a week. I suppose as long as I can find good rental movies, the exercise routine is not at risk.

Introducing - "The Great Zultan"

When you click on the link below, you will meet the latest addition to our household - "The Great Zultan". Zultan knows all. All you have to do is ask. Zultan will prove invaluable for our Friday Night at the Movies meetings. Oftentimes, we must conclude our sessions without deriving final solutions to our many perplexing problems. Zultan will fix all of that. You will see - just click on the below link... for your visit with - "The Great Zultan".

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=ZultanEditVer2Format_0001.flv

Horace Housemen - Davis Family Butler

Horace Houseman is now on board, to help out when needed. He is a competent butler, who dresses impeccably and speaks in a manner befitting his position in life. Don't be overwhelmed by his stature. Horace stands about six foot two - in his stocking feet. Irregardless of his size and demeanor, for the most part he seems very gentle and rather amicable - so long as he is not provoked. Big mistake to set Horace off! Might I say, from all of us, "Welcome to the family"- Horace.

Halloween Discounted Merchandise

The stores still had some good stuff left over from their Halloween sales. The day after Halloween is when I usually buy our Halloween decorations. I had my eye on a couple of items that the Raleys grocery store carried during the three week window they use to sell Halloween decorations. However, a couple of really neat items were rather pricey, I thought, but they dropped to fifty per cent off today - so I just had to buy them. They should be great additions for next year. I know Mr. Axman will have fun with them. I've still got some assembling to do, so the pictures should get posted tomorrow.

Wow! Lots and Lots of Tricksters!

We may have come close to a record number of Trick - or - Treaters tonight. We even had to use our surplus candy. All and all, there were over two hundred and flirty kids and parents that visited our home tonight. There were some really neat costumes, as well. The kids were well mannered and always thanked us for their treat. Mr. Axman showed up and I think he really scared a few of the little ones. He may have even scared a few of the big ones as well. Baby Brandon and group came over to help out. Baby Brandon, Kristi, Kelly and Brandon went for a short trick- or - treat outing; around the block to some of the homes in the neighborhood. Baby Brandon was dressed as Tigger. This, of course, was his first Halloween.

After the trick - or - treaters subsided, we had a delicious spaghetti dinner that Nancy prepared. Everybody was exceptionally hungry and we really enjoyed the meal. Each year the number of visitors continues to rise, so next year we will be prepared for three hundred kids. We almost ran out of candy this year. The event was a whole lot of fun, as always, and a good time was had by all.

The Halloween pictures are posted to the right and at the bottom of the blog page. The link to a video, showing a few of our Trick - or - Treaters, is located directly below this text. Enjoy!!!

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=TrickorTreat07.flv

Ready for the Trick - or - Treaters

We have a few things left to do, before the arrival of this year's trick-or- treaters. We now have two hundred bags of candy ready (Nancy bagged almost all of the candy). It's hard to know just how much we will need, but based on counts from previous years, we should be in the ball park. As you can see from the blog picture, my buddy Maxwell is on the job again this year. I hope to capture some pictures and video clips of our guests. If so, I will post a few. Happy Halloween to all!

A Halloween Greeting

Today's post is from Mr Axman. Just click on the link below. Have a great Halloween!

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=HalloweenGreetingfromMrAxman07.flv

Halloween Is Near

As you can see from the picture to the right, we have just started to do our Halloween decorating. Nancy and I prepared some candy bags tonight. We are anticipating around two hundred kids to arrive at our door step - if the weather is good. We won't carve the pumpkins until Tuesday night. Our scary guy, the one Nancy made around ten years ago, will go out at the same time. I'll be posting more pictures, as we progress.

Treadmill Exercise - Starting Seventh Month

Today marks the beginning of my seventh month of exercising. In that time, I have went from a two and a half mile distance, to over four miles. It is taking a little over an hour to accomplish that goal. I doubt that I will increase my speed to any great degree during the next quarter, but I may increase the distance. The challenge is still the same; the mental factor (getting into the right mindset). Physically I can handle the workout and it has become less taxing now that I watch a movie while using the treadmill. That has made a huge difference over my former method of just listening to music each workout. That became a little boring. I like the visual stimulation.

There is no question in my mind that there are benefits to following an exercise program. There are also some risks - particularly when using a treadmill. But so far, so good. I'm hopping that my commitment doesn't waver over the next six months. But, as they say, stuff happens. I'll do an update at the next quarter - in January.

CES Badge

I received my CES badge in the mail yesterday. That pretty much completes the folder that I take with me to Las Vegas. I'm flying out of Sacramento a little earlier than I did last year (of course, I'll also have to get up earlier). That will give me more time at the show on the first day. I'll pick up the rental car immediately after arrival, but I won't check into the hotel until late that afternoon. That way I can spend most of the day visiting the various exhibits. I'll have another full day, the next day, to enjoy CES and afterward I plan to have my dinner meal at either the Bellagio, or the MGM Grand. The "Cirque" show (Ka) that I will be seeing is at the MGM, but I really like eating at the Bellagio buffet. They have great crab legs and they have a machine that cracks the crab legs so that you don't have to go through the hassle. All of the food at the Bellagio is excellent and even though it won't be as convenient as eating where the show is located, I'll most likely have my dinner meal there. This year's CES should be a fun event. I'm really looking forward to going!

Outing to Bennies and Fry's

Tom Henry and I had dinner at Bennies today and afterward we ventured over to Fry's in Roseville. I experienced exceptionally good service while at Fry's. Nathanael demonstrated a Logitech web cam (Vista certified) that I was considering and he did such a good job that I decided to stop looking and I just went ahead and made the purchase. I plan to use the web cam with my twenty eight inch Viewsonic monitor. While at Fry's, I took a picture of Tom.You can see the results to the right and at the bottom of the blog page.

SightSpeed 6.0 - Another Skype?

I'm always open to trying new programs that enable me to do video conferencing on my PC. Of course, they need to be reasonably priced (free is good), and they have to work as well as the one I currently use - Skype. I don't actually do video conferencing all that often. Not many of my long distant friends have an interest in setting it up and I see my local friends often enough (face to face) that it is just not a high priority to add video to our phone conversations.

However, I recently came across a free download, called SightSpeed 6.0, that appeared interesting. It caught my attention because it mirrored some of Skype's features, but it also had some exclusive applications as well. If you have an interest in video clips, to email or post to the web i.e. for a blog site or other website - check out SightSpeed and see what you think.

The link below will take you to a video clip that I made using the SightSpeed software:

https://app.sightspeed.com/video/1wqez9g128zs877x7vqryrwa45i23ayh"

Lab Test A-OK

I received my quarterly lab test results, via e-mail, from Kaiser Hospital the other day. They have a good system whereby you do not have to wait for the results to be mailed, you can go online and access your records by using a password. Just as I suspected, some numbers were slightly elevated from the last quarter, but my total cholesterol, along with the other key indicators for good health, were within the range my doctor said they need to be. However, I'll need to pay a little closer attention to my diet, if I want to get the numbers nearer to what they were for my previous reading. So, overall I'm satisfied. One area that I'm working on, my glucose reading, actually went down a bit. It went from 93 to 90. I guess the class that I took regarding the risks of getting diabetes helped. At one time I had a reading of 101 (fasting). I've pretty much stopped eating foods with a high sugar content. Barring some unforeseen event, I should live another quarter. That means keeping up the exercise (treadmill) routine and continuing with my fish and chicken diet. As they say, this getting old is not for sissies!

CES - Not That Far Off

I'm looking forward to going to Vegas and to attending CES in January. It's always really hectic, attending CES - but a lot of fun. It looks like the guys will be going again, except for Tom. He is expecting Wendy to arrive from China around that time.

I just ordered a battery kit for my Canon portable printer. Last year Tom let me borrow his battery - Tom has the same printer. I've been needing to get one for some time now and I finally found a reasonable price - from Amazon. The primary purpose of the portable printer is to print out a South West boarding pass for the return flight. If you go online early (up to twenty four hours prior to your flight) you get better seating. So, with my laptop and portable printer I can print out my pass while I'm at CES. You learn these little tricks, after attending a couple of shows. The advantage of having attended several shows is the information and knowledge that you acquire to avoid the extremely long lines created by the huge number of people who come from all over the world to attend CES.

Big Bang Theory

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I'm enjoying the new sitcom "The Big Bang Theory". However, I'm also watching some more academic oriented shows regarding the Big Bang, specifically the Nova series that addresses the Big Bang and other scientific discoveries - i.e. Black Holes (mind boggling). Since reading Carl Sagan's book on The Demon-Haunted World, my interest in science has increased. Physics and biology are of particular interest to me and I'm looking forward to getting more involved with these subjects. Nova does a good job of presenting extremely complex topics in such a way that a layperson can have some understanding of the subject matter. It can be really fascinating to find out just how much scientific investigation is going on. A lot of resources are devoted to trying to figure out just how "we" got to where "we" are in space and time. I plan to pursue these questions more frequently and to promote their discussion at our Friday Night at the Movies gatherings.

Mid-Season Records - Not So Good

It may not be such a great idea to watch college football on Saturday morning- particularly if you are a fan of Louisville (U of L) or Kentucky (U of K). It can be a downer. I was elated when Kentucky beat LSU last week, but after seeing today's game - not so much. Both teams just have not been as competitive as their fans would have liked. They are both good teams, but you have to be much better than "good", to make it to the top in their divisions. Maybe next year?

More Organizing

I've recently been doing some organizing in my computer room - hence, today's blog picture. It seemed appropriate for what I'm currently focused on - sorting stuff out and tossing things that I no longer use. I took the shot while attending the California State Fair in August.

Halloween Card

Dave always sends us a nice card at Halloween. We especially like the one for this year. Halloween is only a couple of weeks away. We're getting ready for two hundred plus kids to visit our home. It's always a fun time! Thanks for the card, Dave.

You can see Dave's Halloween card to the right and at the bottom of the blog page.

Twelve Hour Fast

I have my quarterly lab work to do tomorrow. So, no cereal for my usual late night snack. That's a bummer, since I just bought some new lightly sugared cereal to try. I like having cereal before going to bed. I need to fast for twelve hours before testing. I'm going to be hungry in the morning, but I'll have to wait until I get back from Kaiser.

I don't really know what to expect regarding this quarter's lab results. I'm not sure that I'm been as rigorous when it comes to my diet. I was pretty stringent the previous quarter. That slip may increase some of the significant numbers (Glucose, HDL, LDL,Triglycerides) that I'm trying to keep in check. Maybe the increased exercise routine will offset my less than perfect dieting. I should know in about a week.

Greek Food Tonight

Daphne's is a good place to eat, when you are in the mood for Greek food. I like their half chicken and their combo meals. Tonight I had a combo. I ordered gyros, along with a chicken and a steak kabob. You also get rice and salad with your order and a few small slices of pita bread as well. It's a tasty meal and with the coupons that they frequently have available, the food is priced reasonably. You can see a picture of their counter, to the right and at the bottom of the blog page.

Grocery Shopping at Raley's

I spotted the Chrysler 300 that you see on the blog page while shopping at Raley's today. Oftentimes when you see a 300 you will also see an expensive set of chrome rims. Chrysler did a good job of designing the car to accommodate larger size wheels. This one is not a Hemi (300C), but the wheels gives it a distinctive look - even though it is not a top of the line model. I like the changes that Chrysler has made to the 300 this year. There are some tweaks to the car that hold true to it's original and unique look, while upgrading some areas that needed attention. Specifically the interior. I've only seen the new 300 from Internet photos and from the company website. However, I think I could spot a new one (2008) - even though it is probably easy to mistake it for the same year as the car in the photo. I expect I'll have a better feel for the 2008 model after I look at it more closely when the auto show comes to town next month. I'm really looking forward to that event.

Sunday Football

After our Sunday breakfast, I usually like to check on the scores for some of the Pro Football games. Today, I suppose I was hoping to find a game to watch that was as exciting as the college game I saw Saturday afternoon. Kentucky beat the number one team in the nation, LSU. Watching the triple overtime game was fun - although it was a real nail biting contest. When it comes to the pros, I rarely watch an entire pro game. A quarter, or maybe a half, is usually enough. Today I saw the last half of the Patriots vs Dallas. Tom Brady is an exceptional quarterback and Randy Moss (81) can also get the job done. The other eighty one, playing for Dallas, is also a great player, but today it was all Pats. Right now, they look unbeatable.

Later in the evening I washed Nancy's car, and while doing so, Karen drove by the house with her dogs - Bejue and Roxie. We chatted for awhile, but by then it was getting dark. It's getting dark by seven o'clock now.

Nancy and I had dinner and afterwards I watched Sixty Minutes and Shark. While doing my treadmill exercise tonight, I started watching the Zodiac on DVD. I've only seen half of it, so I'll hold off on my opinion of the movie until I've seen the ending.

Dinner and the Mall

Tonight Nancy and I had dinner at Vince's in Elk Grove (great steaks) and afterwards we did some shopping at Kohl's and Trader Joe's. On the way home I decided to stop my the Elk Grove Auto Mall to see the new 2008 Honda Accord. I have been reading a lot about it in my car magazines, but it was time to see it up close. I can say that I was impressed while reading the reviews on the Accord and even more so - now that I actually got to take a good look at the exterior and interior of the car. It is an exceptionally nice vehicle. I think Honda will sell a lot of Accords, providing consumers are accepting of the slightly larger dimensions and the somewhat higher base price. It has gone up a few hundred dollars. We are not in the market for a new car, but if we were - I'd certainly consider the Accord. It is the kind of vehicle that makes it so difficult for the domestics to compete. The Accord has become more "domestic" (it is manufactured in America) than the cars the "big" (not really so "big" anymore) three are producing. Ah yes... as Friedman says, it is a very flat world we live in.

Trip to the Grocery

I really wasn't planning to shop for fish, while at Raley's Grocery today. I had already eaten at Fin's once during the week. This time it was going to be chicken and asparagus that was to be my primary reason for grocery shopping. However, when I spotted a "Marlin" in the parking lot, I just had to take a cellphone picture. As you will note from the photograph, our rainy season is off to an early start. I hadn't seen an American Motors Marlin for many years, so I was curious when I came across this one. I would have taken more time to observe, but the rain wasn't all that accommodating. Anyway, I did get a decent shot of it - which just goes to show the importance of having a camera in your cell phone. My LG phone is nothing really special, but it does provide a keepsake photo at times. Without it, I would not have hooked this fish today.

Exercising While Watching Movies

I'm liking this new setup - where I watch a DVD while doing my treadmill exercise. Tonight I started "Wild Hogs". I never finish a movie in one setting, so I'll see the rest of "Wild Hogs" on Saturday (Fridays and Mondays I don't use the treadmill). The DVDs are a good distraction while exercising and it makes the time go by faster - or so it seems. In a couple of weeks I'll be at the six month mark for using my treadmill. Not too bad, since I really didn't know how long I would stick with it once I decided to start an exercise program - back in April. I've keep a log since the first day - to track my progress. As always, it's a day by day thing.