Kings Tumble and March Madness Continues

Today was a rather quite day. I talked to my friend, Robert, this morning and after breakfast I did a few things around the house. I went to the grocery and took my neighborhood walk earlier than usual, because I wanted to get back in time to see the Kings/Clippers game. This was a significant game for determining the team that will win the eighth and last playoff spot and it appeared that the Clippers wanted it more than the Kings. The Kings were the home team tonight, but you'd never know it. They just couldn't get the job done. It's been that way all season. I seriously doubt that they can make the playoffs now. Maybe next year!

Tomorrow starts the NCAA final four playoffs. I've decided to root for Georgetown - the underdog. They'll have a tough time against Ohio State and they'll need the extra support. Most everyone around here is favoring UCLA - the California team. Many fans remember the John Wooden days. However, they also face quite a challenge as they are going up against Florida. Whatever the outcome, Monday night will present a final game that shouldn't be missed, if you like to watch college basketball. All of this should make for a fun weekend.

Office Depot Deal

Nancy and I went to Costco and to Office Depot today. Office Depot had a sale on SD cards - the type that I use for my Samsung mini camcorder. With a mail in rebate you can get 1.0 GB of memory for six dollars. They only had one card left at the store I went to, but that is all I need at this time.

I've been wanting to make a quick video, for posting to the blog, of the new master bedroom clock. It plays six songs and has a rather different look to it. Since I got the new SD card today, I figured I might as well film the clock scene. The lighting was poor when I shot the video, but you can at least get an idea of how the clock looks and sounds. Take a look:

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=SMOV0001.flv

Salmon Day

Wednesday is usually a good day, food wise, as it is the day I shop for salmon. Based on last week's purchase and today's repeat experience - I'm proclaiming Raley's the winner when it comes to offering the best fresh salmon. I talked at length with the butcher at Raley's, in Elk Grove, and he explained in detail where they purchase their fresh fish and the best time to procure their freshest cuts. I still plan to continue my research, to seek out various types of fish that are easy to prepare and succulent to the taste, but it's good to know that I have already found one store that meets my criteria.

It was rather windy today, but I managed to squeeze in my 2.5 mile walk/jog. Not too many people out, probably because of the wind. After my walk I contacted the guys in the Friday Night Movie group and we set a date for our next viewing. It's been confirmed - it will be on Friday, April the 13th. Hope that date won't jinx the event! We're still deciding on the movie. There were a couple of suggestions - The Departed and Casino Royale. Mr. Beales added another title, which I'll need to go back to a previous email he sent, to get the title. But there are lots of new movies on DVD since our last viewing, so we may have trouble narrowing it down.

Dinner at Fins

Today Tom and I got together for an outing to Fins. Fins is a restaurant that has really great fresh fish. We always ask the proprietor what he recommends for that day and so far we've been pleased with his suggestions. Halibut was the suggestion for our meal today. The meal comes with coleslaw and rice, or you can have vegetables (Tom's preference) and a garden salad for an extra charge. The portions are generous and the quality is very good. We really enjoy eating there. To top it all off we had a discount coupon from the Sacramento Bee, so the cost was very reasonable. Fins - a great place to eat fresh fish.

After dinner we ventured over to the new Costco store, to check out their 60 inch Vizio Plasma HD TV that is currently on sale. With a three hundred dollar discount it is selling for $2,600. That is a low price for that size screen. CNET and other online reviewers have not rated it as high as other Vizio models, but the picture looked pretty good to Tom and me. Tom has two Vizio HD sets and the picture on both TVs is exceptionally good in the HD mode. This one looks like it should be able to produce a similar quality picture in the home. It's always hard to tell in a well lit store like Costco. So, I'm not sure what to make of the CNET review. When the time comes for me to make a purchase of that type of HD TV (60 inch or larger) I think I would be inclined to get a slightly larger screen then the 60 inch models. Size wise, we saw a 63 inch Phillips model that looked interesting. The prices will have to drop considerably on large screen HD sets before I'll be in the market, however.

We also spent some time at the new Wal Mart Super store (next to Costco). Mainly we checked out their prices on groceries. I can now understand why other grocery chains are concerned when Wal Mart comes into their territory, Wal Mart prices are considerably lower on many products and they really do meet a need for "one stop" shopping. However, they do make it tough to compete, as they have tremendous buying power.

When we returned to Tom's place we checked out some new software that Tom had purchased and then did instant messaging with his girlfriend Wendy. Wendy lives in Chengdu, China. Tom will be making a return visit to see Wendy in a few days. I chatted with Wendy for several minutes. Her English is really coming along quite well. It's amazing to instantly converse with someone on the other side of the planet. Today's technology is truly amazing.

It was a fun outing today. I noticed that the movie American Beauty was on TNT while I was over at Tom's, so I decided to watch some of it when it was repeated after I returned home. I saw the movie when it first came out, but I have forgotten a lot of it. I saved it to the hard drive and will try to finish watching it this week. Annette Benning and Kevin Spacey both give outstanding performances. I think I will enjoy seeing it again. Unfortunately, that is not something I can say about too many movies - so the exceptions are appreciated.

Photo Updates

Rainy day in Elk Grove. A stay at home kind of day. I did manage to take a couple of pictures of some new items recently added to our master bedroom project. We added a new clock to the blue wall. It plays music on the hour and has a night scene that does a pendulum type of motion. We've also found some knick knacks to go atop the dresser. I've ordered the new shutters, but it will be another couple of weeks before they are delivered. I've posted one of the master bedroom pictures to the right and the other one below.

Video Posting

I did a little downloading today of some videos that I took while at CES (Las Vegas) this year. Below is a short clip of Asimo - the robot from Honda. Yes, Honda has been into robotics for some time now and Asimo is their showcase model. I got close enough to the stage where Asiom was performing to capture this footage. Asimo is kicking a ball - not a simple task for a robot, or for some humans, for that matter. I'll post more footage, from CES, as I complete my video editing. It's a time consuming process, but rather fun when you are in the mood.

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=SMOV0065.flv

Pics and Videos

Today I watched a little golf (Tiger is still on top of the leader board) and some of the NCAA action. Ohio State played so well today that it's hard not to like them in the final four. I didn't see the UCLA game, but based on the outcome, it looks as though they had an excellent game as well. Things are starting to get very interesting.

This afternoon Nancy and I went to Sae Jong's for dinner. Sae Jong's is the Korean restaurant that our theatre group often likes to visit after attending the B Street Theatre. As usual, we had an excellent and very reasonably priced meal. After dinner we went to J C Penny's in Sunrise Mall. It has been years since I have been to Sunrise Mall and it was kind of nostalgic to return. When Nancy and I lived in Rancho Cordova we use to go to Sunrise fairly often, but we've lived in the Elk Grove area for twenty years now and it's just not close enough, nor large enough, as the shopping malls nearer to where we live. However, J C Penny's had a sale going on in their furniture and housewares departments and since we no longer have a Penny's in our area - we headed over to Sunrise. I'm glad that we did. I found a couple of really neat items. I'll try to post pictures of these purchases to my blog - in a day or so.

Tonight I finished printing Beju and Roxie's photos. They came out good. I hope to see Karen before too long, so I can give her the framed prints. As soon as I frame my copies, I'll put them on the "Dog Wall of Fame".

I've downloaded a short clip that I made with my "mini" camcorder while attending the Dengue Fever concert in San Francisco a few weeks back. This footage shows a group that I think goes by the name "Sutro". I'll have to check on that, my memory might not be accurate regarding their name, but I do remember that they were one of two groups that played prior to Dengue Fever coming to the stage. I thought they sounded pretty good. The link to the video is below:

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=SMOV0083.flv