Update from Chengdu

Tom arrived in Chengdu, China a few days ago. He and Wendy have several outings planned during his four week stay. I've recently received the first pictures of their bus trip to a river location that offers tourist the opportunity to float down the river in a bamboo boat. The area looked very scenic from the pictures. Lunch on the river adds to the unique experience and provides the traveler with a change of pace from the busy city of Chengdu. We will be keeping an eye out for more pictures from Tom as he gets an in depth view of China and all that it has to offer. You can see Tom and Wendy's picture to the right of the blog page. Thanks, Tom!

The Rat Pack

I've been looking for an appropriate picture to go on the wall along side my tread mill. I finally found one. Not only does it show some of my favorite crooners from the "Rat Pack" era, but it helps to remind me of why I need to keep my cardiovascular system in shape. Actually, Frank and the boys probably could care less and even appear to be laughing at me. That's alright, you have to maintain your sense of humor if you have any hope of sticking to a weekly exercise schedule. So, the picture should help. I've posted a photo to the right of the blog page and also at the bottom.

Delicious Meal at Ruth Chris

Some meals are more special than others. For me, a visit to Ruth Chris Steak House is always special. Tonight, my friend, Dave Beales, took Nancy and me to the Pavilions Ruth Chris Steak House for our birthday diner. I was certainly looking forward to the meal, as I knew from my previous experience with dinners at Ruth Chris that it would be delicious - and of course it was. We started with a loaf of hot bread, an appetizer of jumbo shrimp and afterwards crispy lettuce wedge salads. Each menu item was exceptionally fresh and perfectly prepared. Our entrees consisted of steaks (fillet for me and New York for Dave) and chicken (Nancy chose the free range chicken). We added a side of mushrooms and baked potato to our meals. Again, each entire was carefully prepared and served on a sizzling plate - hot, hot, hot! We cap stoned the meal with chocolate cake and bread pudding for our desserts. That's what I call a meal! Thanks Dave, it was a great evening and a wonderful birthday celebration! Can't wait until next year.

After the meal we took a stroll through the Pavilions, where we checked out some of the shops and visited the Borders Book store. I've posted the pictures that were taken of tonight's outing to the right of the blog page.

On Monday we will be going to Cattleman's restaurant in Dixon - for Nancy's birthday celebration. It will be interesting to see how it compares with Ruth Chris.

Larry King Show

Nancy and I both like the Larry King show. He usually has interesting guests. Tonight he had Paul and Ringo (Beatles) along with Yoko - and George Harrison's wife, Olivia. The show focused on the "Love" Cirque show, which has been playing in Vegas for a year now. My friend Tom and I saw the show when we were in Vegas last January - when we went to CES.

It was interesting to learn how the "Love" show was created and to also get the reactions of guest members regarding their take on the show. I enjoyed the production when I saw it, although we were seated a little too close to the stage. It was rather loud - for my"old" ears (never thought that I would say that).

Cirque is really big right now. The creator of the productions said that there were thirteen shows going on at this time. Wow - that's a lot of Cirque.

Changing Hallway Appearance

We haven't really done very much to our upstairs hallway during the eighteen plus years that we've lived in this house. So we felt it was time. I like a lot of color - and abstracts often have bold colors. We found a modern art painting that we both liked and after some searching we also have the table and accessories to go with it. The look is distinctive, especially from the bottom of the stairs. You definitely tend to take a glance as you pass by, because of the striking colors. That was the intended outcome - so we are satisfied with our choices. Now we need to finish the exercise room. We're working on that. We've made some interesting selections for that room as well. I'll be posting a picture of the exercise room soon. As for the hallway picture, it is shown to the right of the blog page.

62nd Birthday

Well, looks like I'll make it to sixty two. I think I was born around 4 am - so I've got a couple of hours to go before it's official. I found a picture of me to scan and post. When I saw it, I was reminded of just how long ago it has been since I've worn a suit. I use to wear a suit every workday- regardless of the weather. When it gets to a hundred and ten degrees in Sacramento, a suit can be uncomfortable - particularly when you have to go in and out of the heat all day to visit students at job sites.

I've only worn a suit once since my retirement. I don't really miss that part of the job - wearing a suit. Now that I don't have to, I think I'll try one of my work suits on today and see how it fits. It should be fine. That's a good birthday gesture. Acknowledging the past, but moving on. Now it's jeans and tennis shoes most days. Much more comfortable in warm weather.

I guess that I feel my age - and look my age. As long as I can stay mobile, I should be OK. I plan on having an active day, but I'll pace myself - energy wise - as I usually do each day. Things can take a little longer to get done when you take lots of breaks, but that's the best way for me.

Nancy's birthday is in a week. We don't do much celebrating on our birthdays. We usually keep it pretty simple. Nancy's birthday is a little more significant this time. She turns seventy this year. So, we do have something special planned. More on that later.

Tomorrow Makes Two Months

After tomorrow's exercise, two months will have past since I started using my treadmill. I've kept records of every workout. It is interesting to see the progression over that period of time. As I look at the log of my workouts, this is what comes to mind:

1. What I thought was initially a reasonable goal to pursue - in regards to top speed, total miles and length of time to exercise - was actually too low. It takes awhile to know your capabilities regarding the goals you want to set for each session, but as your body adjusts to the new routine, it gets easier. This may seem obvious, but I was pretty naive as to what I needed to do to shed ten to fifteen pounds - and keep the weight from coming back.

2. Exercise alone will not take off excess weight. You have to be just as deliberate about the number of calories that you consume each day, as you do about staying committed to an exercise routine. Trying to stay within a reasonable range of calorie intake can be even more difficult than the rigor it takes to stick to the exercising. I say "rigor". because a lot of people, myself included, do not relish the thought of exercising five days a week. It's very easy to find a reason not to do the scheduled workout.

3. If you burn off three to four hundred calories from exercising and cut a couple of hundred calories from your usual daily food intake, you can safely lose about one and a half to two pounds a week. This was what I was told by my doctor and my logs support that finding. Ultimately you reach a balance between the exercising and the kind of food that you eat, and you stay within a few pounds of your ideal weight. You will also have to like the lifestyle that goes with that reality or at some point you will get bored with the whole routine.

4. To make it all work you have to find a way to internalize the routine and make it a part of your lifestyle. I've only been doing the treadmill exercises for two months, so I'm no expert on this topic. But I am convinced that if I go back to my past habits, I will gain back the weight and the problems that are associated with carrying the extra weight. The bottom line - a big part of all of this is psychological - you have to figure out how to live with the routine - which is not a particularly easy thing to do if you are not a naturally health conscious person.

5. Keep in mind that I am not doing any "Iron Man" stuff, just working out on the treadmill for an hour a day - five days a week. For me, that's enough - at least at this point in time.

So, given those realities... I will start my third month of exercises and hope that I don't fall off the wagon. No guaranties, but so far the odds are in my favor that I will complete my third month successfully and maybe even reach some new goals. We'll see!

Another Great Idea!

My friend Tim, who lives in Tampa, sent me the photo you see to the right of the blog page.I'm not sure just how far along he is with training his own pets for kitchen duty, but based on the picture - and since he has three dogs - the potential for something really special is quite possible . Such as... One could cook, one could serve and another could clean up after the meal. Another great idea!

Old Photos

I'm still scanning the old pictures that I've had tucked away, seemingly forever. It's mainly so that I have a copy, in case they should fade away at some point. Most of the photos have held up very well, considering as how they go back some fifty plus years. The one posted today, at the bottom of the blog site, was taken over fifty years ago. It is a picture of my sixth grade class at Shawnee Elementary School, in Louisville Kentucky. Mr Harmon was our teacher and I really learned a lot that year. He was a good teacher. The class was small, only twenty students. I became good friends with many of the students from that year and some of those friendships lasted into college - and beyond. Yes, sixth grade was a memorable year for me, so I'm glad that our class picture has been preserved. However, It's still a little difficult for me to grasp the fact that it has been over half a decade since it was taken.

Go to 11

One of my favorite scenes is from Spinal Tap. You Tube has the scene and I still laugh when ever I watch it. Check it out and see if you also start to chuckle. There is a certain logic to it, that almost makes sense - right!

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

Dinner at Bennies

This afternoon Tom and I got together for a meal and afterwards for a run over to the Best Buy store located in the Sunrise Mall area. We had our usual Rocky's Choice (steak and chicken) dinner. The onion soup really hit the spot today. The meal also includes a salad, rice, vegetables and ice cream for dessert. Delicious!!! Coincidentally, we just recently made some interesting discoveries about sugar and just how it works in the body. A class on diabetes gets your attention. Of course, you need sugar for energy (the body, when working right, converts it to insulin via the pancreas), but you should ingest sugar in moderation, to avoid certain health problems. The biggest problem is that it now seems to be in almost everything - and often in large quantities. And it's not always obvious from the way the ingredients are listed for some products, that the product contains sugar - aka, high fructose syrup. According to several studies, it's suggested that a person should not consume more than twelve teaspoons (48 grams) of sugar per day. Even knowing all that, we decided to enjoy our ice cream (it probably had 48 grams or more of sugar) and get back on track with sensible eating habits tomorrow. Got to let your hair down sometimes - right!!!

The other discovery we made was while we were at Best Buy. Blue Ray players are dropping in price. Sony now has one for $499. Still not cheap, but the price is much better than when they were first introduced. News reports indicate that Blockbuster is going to focus on Blue Ray rentals and fore go renting HD disks in most of their stores. They're claiming that audits show that seventy per cent of their high definition rentals are Blue Ray. Maybe Sony is going to win the battle of the competing HD players. As you recall, they lost the Beta - VHS dual.

Tom made a clip of the cook twirling/flipping cookware at our Bennies meal. You can see the video below:

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=Bennhana61907FlippingUtensils.flv

Update on Sagan's book - The Demon-Haunted World

I am about two thirds through my reading of The Demon Haunted World. The book is written so that someone who is a novice to scientific inquiry, such as myself, can comprehend the concepts that Sagan espouses - but Sagan, on occasion, provides some insight as to how a scientific approach to obtaining facts is different from other methods. For example, the below passage should help shed some light on the complexities of learning about quantum mechanics - an essential scientific tool.

"Imagine you seriously want to understand what quantum mechanics is about. There is a mathematical underpinning that you must first acquire, mastery of each mathematical subdiscipline leading you to the threshold of the next. In turn you must learn arithmetic, Euclidean geometry, high school algebra, differential equations, vector calculus, certain special functions of mathematical physics, matrix algebra, and group theory. For most physics students, this might occupy them from, say, third grade to early graduate school - roughly 15 years. Such a course of study does not actually involve learning any quantum mechanics, but merely establishing the mathematical framework required to approach it deeply."

Passages like the one above are real eye openers as to just how much work an individual must undertake to have an academic background in science. By doing so, it is likely that the person would have a much better grasp of the topics Sagan addresses in this book. But because of the effort needed to acquire such knowledge, it is also not surprising as to why so many shortcuts to the "truth" have been devised by those who prefer to skip to the chase -and fore go the hard work needed to ferret out facts via scientific methods. This book makes a strong case for ignoring the soothsayers and anchoring one's beliefs to science - rather than astrology, religion or the revelations of the increasingly popular psychics.

Car Magazines

I get lots of car magazines. To my way of thinking, it would be difficult to have too many subscriptions to periodicals that deal with automobiles. I always find something interesting in every issue. I particularly like AutoWeek, because as you can tell from the name, it arrives on a weekly basis. I don't read much about the racing news, but I like when they cover an "offbeat" vehicle that isn't likely to get much advertising - except from the car mags. The Morgan is just such a car. I've scanned an article about the new Morgan from a recent AutoWeek magazine, so you can see what I mean. The Morgan is definitely not a mainstream vehicle, but I find it rather interesting, nevertheless. I really like the color of this one. A Morgan would be a fun car to own, if you didn't mind forking over the big bucks. Jay Leno would probably like the Morgan! See what you think of the car. Remember, I didn't say that it is practical - but rather interesting and unique. The scanned article is at the bottom of the blog page.

More On Jersey Boys

As mentioned in yesterday's blog post, I felt that the casting for Jersey Boys was exceptional. Most of the cast members have a physical resemblance to their character, in addition to sounding very much like the original Four Seasons. A couple of the actors could easily have recording contracts, if that were the direction they wanted to go career wise. I would be willing to bet that they could do as well as anyone who has been on "American Idol". What really sets this cast apart from other actors in stage (musical) performances that I have seen is their overall talent. This cast is the whole package - music and acting - with equal ability to deliver on both. You can see the physical resemblance of the Jersey Boys, to the Four Seasons, in the blog pictures to the right of the page.

Trip to San Francisco

We had an interesting time in San Francisco, yesterday. While the temperature was a hundred and two degrees in Sacramento, it was only in the mid seventies in San Francisco. Much more comfortable. Nancy and I both enjoyed the Jersey Boys. The casting was flawless and the performance was truly exceptional. I didn't know much about The Four Seasons before seeing the show, but now I realize what a struggle it was for them to make it to the top of the charts. As mentioned, the casting was particularly good in this production, but choosing Jarrod Spector to play Frankie Valli was a stroke of genius. Spector is so realistic in the roll that you really feel that it's Frankie Valli on stage. His voice sounds just like Valli's - which is obviously not a simple feat to pull off. Great show - Jersey Boys!!!

We did encounter some bad news as we ventured around downtown San Francisco. Tad's, my favorite steak house in the city, the place I have frequented for forty years, is no longer open. In fact, the inside of the building has been gutted to supposedly make room for the "New and Improved" Tad's. I don't know how that might be possible, it was perfect before the remodel. I know that things must change - and improve - but this is a bitter pill to swallow. I'm already mourning the loss of the "old" Tad's. Goodbye, old friend. I'll try to remain optimistic about your new look, while knowing full well that it can never be the same. Very sad, to lose Tad's, a San Francisco landmark.

Dog Wall of Fame

We had a new visitor to our house today. Her caretaker brought her by - which made for a total of five dogs visiting at the same time, all of them looking for a little shade near the tree in our front lawn. No wonder... the temperature hit a hundred degrees in Sacramento today. It made for a hot time to be out walking, both for the caretakers and their pets. The new dog, a girl, is named Tyla. You can see her to the right of the blog page. I'll soon be putting her picture on the "Dog Wall of Fame" - in our garage. She is a very sweet dog and extremely well mannered. Taking her picture was easy, she was very calm while she sat on our front steps and posed for her photo session. Wiggy, and that rascal Eddy (the Westies), arrived earlier and Roxie and Bejue joined in a little later. Nice to see all the pets happy - and healthy!

Marketing and Advertising

Having taught Marketing/Retail Sales for some thirty years, I have an innate curiosity about many business topics - particularly advertising. Today's scan, located at the bottom of the blog page, shows and advertisement that recently got my attention. The composition of the ad has so much going for it, to my way of thinking, that if I had a dog - I'd probably want to run out and buy some Super Chews for her/him. I'd be even more motivated to do so, if my pet was destroying my shoes on a daily basis. Effective advertising -from Pedigree!

More Auto Show Pictures

I've posted a couple more pictures from the "Over the Hill Gang" auto show. Both cars have a very distinctive appearance and they really stand out from the crowd. I overheard that the show had around two hundred and seventy five entries. Very impressive!

Kaiser Dragon Pictures

As mentioned, I was at the "Over the Hill Gang" auto show last Saturday. While in attendance, I captured several pictures of autos that are really interesting. One such vehicle is the 1953 Kaiser Dragon. I like most all Kaiser/Frazer vehicles, but I particularly like the Dragon. I've only ridden in a Kaiser once, that I can recall, and even though I was probably only around eight or nine years old, the car made a lasting impression on me. I've posted, at the bottom of the blog page and on the right hand side of the page, some pictures of a 1953 Kaiser Dragon. I did not get a chance to talk to the owner, but I hope to the next time that I attend a show.

Daylor Picnic - Auto Show

We had a good time today at the Daylor High School annual picnic. The weather was just about perfect. We had our lunch and spent some time with friends. Actually, it was a little loud, because of the "hip hop" music that tended to drown out our conversations. The "Over the Hill Gang" members were displaying their cars in the park today. The group is mainly comprised of "Boomers" who like to get together with their buddies, primarily so they can share stories about their pride and joy possessions - old cars. They do have some really interesting vehicles! I've posted a couple of my favorites to the blog page. I'll post a couple more tomorrow.

Tasty Dessert

I'm always on the lookout for desserts that are not too high in calories, fat and/or carbohydrates. It's not easy to find desserts that taste good - and still have nutritional numbers that aren't off the health charts. Most of the good stuff have very bad stats, nutritionally. However, the WeightWatchers Strawberry Shortcake is a nice alternative to the real thing. The numbers are not real horrific (170 calories and 6g of fat), the portion is reasonable, and the taste is better than you might expect. It won't taste as good as you can make fresh, but it's quicker to prepare and available year round. So...if you have a sweet tooth that just won't go away - like I often do - try one of the Smart Ones desserts from WeighWatchers. The Strawberry Shortcake is my favorite, but they also have a chocolate eclair that is worth trying.

Kristi's High School Graduation

This evening, Nancy and I attended our granddaughter's graduation. It brought back a lot of memories of when I was involved with our yearly ROP graduation. This one was much smaller - only sixty graduates. When I was teaching for the SCOE ROP, there were years where we would have as many as two thousand graduates.

All of the students - and their parents - were well behaved at tonight's graduation. I took some pictures and posted them to the blog site. As you will see, even baby Brandon got to graduate. Now he can just skip all of that elementary, middle and high school stuff and head right off to college. Of course... he'll have to learn to walk and talk first! The graduation pictures are to the right of the blog page and also at the bottom.

Flowers Everywhere!

The flowers are really in bloom of late. That's what makes the yard work worthwhile. We really like having cut flowers around the house. This (see blog picture to the right) is our first vase of roses in some time. The wind has been taking its toll on many of our plants. If it doesn't get too hot, June should be a good month for flowers. I've still got some more planting to do, but I don't know if I can get to it before next week. Tomorrow we will be attending Kristy's high school graduation in Fairfield and on Saturday we're going to be with Paul Carter for the Daylor High School annual picnic. We are looking forward to both events.

Yard Work

Today was pretty much devoted to matters pertaining to the lawn. Reuben came by to do the weekly mowing and afterwards we went through the entire sprinkler system to check each sprinkler head to determine if any needs replacing. We are going to replace, or repair, six heads. Reuben will be coming back next Tuesday to complete the job. During the interim I plan to get some additional plants to replace the ones that didn't survive the winter months. We should have the yard looking decent by my birthday - about three weeks away.

Good Candy Treat

The grand kids discovered one of our favorite Friday Night at the Movies snacks this weekend. It's Mike and Ike's fruit candies. They're real tasty little treats that have just the right amount of sugar to provide a not too sweet taste. I'm not sure if they are available everywhere, but in Elk Grove they are available at Raley's. I find them on sale once in awhile, at a cost of a dollar a box. If you like fruit candies, that aren't real sour and not too sweet, you will most likely enjoy Mike and Ikes. And if our grand kids are any indication, they appeal to all ages. The Mike and Ike box is shown to the right of the blog.

Scan of Laguna House

I found a picture that I decided to scan, mainly because I have very few pictures of our first house in the Elk Grove/Laguna area. We bought the house when Laguna was first being developed, much to the dismay of the residents of what use to be a relatively rural city - Elk Grove. Laguna changed the landscape of Elk Grove in an irretrievable way.

We only lived in our Laguna house for about two years. There were quite a few upgrades made to the exterior of the house during that short time. That is probably why it sold quickly and also why my wife, Nancy, was hesitant to move. I kind of had to talk her into the house where we now reside. She was just getting acclimated to Laguna, from our former residence in Rancho Cordova. The picture brings back those memories and provides a kind of visual precursor to what we eventually did regarding upgrades to our current home. The requisite basketball court was at the Laguna home, as was the wood patio cover. We had a large lot - big enough to put a small shed next to the basketball court. We did likewise at our Camden Passage home. The landscaping, front and back, was completed - something that never got finished (over a nine year span) at the house in Rancho.

I liked the Laguna house, but it was a timely move eighteen years ago when we left Laguna and moved to Elk Grove. It didn't take long for Nancy to adjust to the new location. Actually, this may be the last home we ever own. I won't say that we would never move, but it's not in the cards any time soon. I'd probably be the one having a difficult time adjusting this time. I like our house and I enjoy living in the Elk Grove area. The picture of our house in Laguna is at the bottom of the blog page.

Project Day

The grand kids came over today. We got a lot done. Kenneth painted the backyard patio and Brandon cleaned the patio furniture and the tile floor in the "little house" next to our basketball court. Kristy did the gardening (weed pulling and flower planting) and also helped Brandon with painting the wrought iron benches in front of the house. The kids are all really hard workers. They stayed on task and finished pretty much everything that was on our list of things to do. Nancy took care of Baby Brandon, he was a good boy - really no trouble at all, and all this help freed me up so I could clean out the exercise room and wash Nancy's car. Nancy and her sister are going to Lincoln tomorrow - to visit their niece Lana. So... I wanted her to have a clean car to drive to Lincoln. The Buick is a jazzy looking car when it's been detailed. We both like the LaCrosse. First Buick we've ever owned. Lana is moving to Florida in the near future. Nancy and Gloria probably won't see Lana for awhile. She'll be coming back to California for visits, but not all that often.

I did manage to slip off to Aaron Brothers Art Mart while all of this activity was going on. I decided to purchase some discounted pictures to hang in the master bathroom. I found three that will work real well. I also found a frame for a Thomas Kinkade puzzle that Nancy assembled some time ago. It's been in need of a suitable frame for mounting and I found a reasonably priced one while I was at Aaron Brothers.

All and all, a very productive day. My exercising didn't set any speed records tonight, but it still got done. Glad tomorrow is Sunday. A good day to take it easy.

Microsoft Vista - Neat Add-Ons

Tom jogged my memory the other night, when we went to Fins - it was in regards to the versatility of Microsoft Media Center and Vista. I had forgotten part of the demonstration that we saw at CES in January. It was the part where Microsoft explained the revisions to the Media Center application, now an integral part of Vista. Media Center first appeared in the later versions of Microsoft XP. As you will see from the information that Tom copied - and gave to me the other night, the new Media Center is a pretty cool application. My friend Dave Beales has also looked into this program and after doing so made mention of the importance of having a top notch graphics card for your computer, if you want to take full advantage of all the new features of Vista. It will raise the cost of a new Vista machine considerably, but why would you want to go only half way? I don't want to spend a whole lot more for a new Vista computer, than what it cost to upgrade to XP, but I also don't want to miss out on the state of the art programs that are now a part of Vista. Hopefully the prices will start to drop for the high end machines, both desktops and laptops, and we'll all be happy.

The scan of the information about Media Center is at the bottom of the blog page. You will most likely need to copy it - and blow it up - to easily read the text, but it's worth the effort in order to learn more about the new Media Center - if you don't already know.

Studio Sixty - No More

Studio Sixty is not being renewed for the fall season. That's too bad. I think it is a really well written show. Many of the same people involved in the making of the West Wing are also participants in Studio Sixty. West Wing was one of my favorites. I guess the ratings are not as high as the network had hoped for. The final episodes have been eluding to the cancellation. It's actually a show within a show. Oh well, guess it will open up a slot for another hour of Law and Order - or another one of those reality TV programs. Hope not!