Hoka Hey, 2013—Wolakota

Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

H Hey1  Let’s ride!

Wolakota translates as Walk in Peace.

Hoka Hey is a motorcycle challenge   7,000 miles of pure adrenaline.

The toughest ride and the toughest riders for sure.

When:    June 23, 2013

Where:   From the heart of the Seneca Nation  Irving, New York

To be recognized as a Hoka Hey challenger riders ae required to complete the entire 7,000 miles.

Apply HERE.  Entry fee is $1,000

What to see what Hoka Hey is all about??  check out the stories from 2010 and 2011.

Honored Elders Day 2013

Each year the California Governor proclaims the 1st Saturday in June set aside o honor the elders.  Traditionally we honor our native elders, but all cultures recognize the importance of elders, and the work to pass  the values and  traditions that our elders hold for us on to the next generation.

When  Saturday, June 8th

10am to 3pm

Where  Sutters Fort, California State Indian Museum

Sacramento, California

2618 K Street

Honoring Native Elders with luncheon, traditional dance,

music, arts & crafts, and Governor’s recognition.

Free*****and open to the public.  We recognize and honor all of our elders.

Join us!

Download flier

The 2013 Sacramento Bacon Fest

The 2013 Sacramento Bacon Fest is coming up in January.

How can anyone not like bacon?  It legitimately adds the post flavor to a dish than any other single ingredient.  I don’t care….salt, sugar, just nothing ramps the flavor level like good old pork fat!

When:                       January 20th to January 27th, 2013

Where:                     Various Sacramento locations

How can a Bacon Festival last for a whole dang week?  By having a lot of different activities including a Chef’s Challenge, a big Opening Night Party, a Kid’s Challenge, events and dinners and laughably the best activity of the week:   the 2nd Annual Kevin Bacon Tribute Night

Most of the events are free and even those that have a charge are inexpensive enough that most folks can attend.

Do you need more information???

Click Here to send them an email.

2012/2013 Sacramento Kings Season and the NBA

Special logo marking the Kings’ 20th anniversary in Sacramento (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This post will cover the 2012/2013 season of the Sacramento Kings, and the rest of the NBA and maybe even some league issues.

The post covering the summer and the Pre-season of the Sacramento Kings can be found HERE.

The Kings opened their season with a three game road trip and lost every game, looking bad in one of those games.

They returned to Sacramento and won their home opener.  They won their 2nd game at home and are now 2-3 and are now sitting in the middle of their conference while early on the Los Angeles Lakers are shocking their fans by being firmly in last place with only five games played.

In the meantime, the Kings are in the rumor section once again about a possible move.

The rumor?  Well, it is a warmed over one from this summer when the Kings were said to be moving to Virginia Beach.  Everyone denied it and the city held their public meeting about the proposed Virginia Beach Arena without mentioning Sacramento or the Kings.

Since then there have been more rumors including yesterday and todays rumors that the ownership of the Sacramento Kings , the Maloof family, did indeed have meetings with the Virginia Governor about moving their team, the current Sacramento Kings, to Virginia Beach.

“Citing anonymous sources, the Virginian-Pilot newspaper reported Thursday that a representative of the Sacramento Kings met recently with the Virginia governor about the possibility of moving the team to Virginia Beach“

If true, not only were the fans in both cities lied to, but meetings between the Maloofs and Virginia’s Governor not only occurred but occurred around the time that the Maloof’s pulled the plug on a new Arena in Sacramento.  The Maloof’s pulled out of their quasi-agreement with Sacramento saying the financials “didn’t pencil out” but did not make any offer to work things out with the City that has supported them for so many years.

Anyway…check out the article here.

November 11th:
Happy Veteran’s Day!!  The Kings play without DeMarcus Cousins (Center) and Rookie Thomas Robinson (Forward) and the Lakers run right over them!

Both players were out because of league imposed suspensions.

The Players Association is appealing the Cousins’ suspension, saying the 2 game penalty is too severe. ”The immediate goal is to get the suspension lifted” prior to the Kings game on November 14th.  Check the story out HERE.

They have Tyreke Evans on the floor but Evans just has not found his groove on Offense.  He has played very good defense, but like most of the Kings has suffered on the offensive side.

The Kings want Evans to shoot the frigging ball, but too often he is passing,  the opposite problem from his first few years in the league.  The team needs him to contribute more baskets and get to the Free Throw line more often as well.

So now the Lakers with one win move up to a tie for 3rd in the Conference and the Kings drop back down to a spot they know much too well…..last.

Robinson returns for the next game while Cousins is out for one more.

November 20th:

The Kings cannot win a game or attract fans to watch them during their worst start in 20 years..  The Kings are struggling on offense and their new defensive focus.

The fun of a 5-1 pre-season seems long past as the Kings lost heir 4th game in a row early in this 2012/13 season.  They don’t seem like a “family” that most people would want to spend Thanksgiving with, and this holiday dinner could get contentious.

The Kings play the Los Angeles Lakers in their next game so things won’t get easier fas for them.  Gobble Gobble.

DeMarcus Cousins—-December 31st:

I was going to await the New Year, but I just couldn’t…

DeMarcus.  Suspended again, this time by his own Coach for whatever was said to/about Coach in the locker room at halftime.

Fist Coach left him in the locker room after the outburst.  Then Coach suspended him and sent him home.  No one would say exactly what prompted the suspension, except DeMarcus saying he needs o learn to “keep (his) mouth shut”.  I have never seen the Kings so quiet.

But I have rarely seen the social media world so active.  Everyone wants to hate on DeMarcus.  It is so easy.  He makes it even easier.  Big.  Rich.  Young.  Sometimes foolish.  Yes, DMC…sometimes.

The suspension lasted what…..two games?  And then he was back.  No one would say why and no one would say who made the decision except it seemed as if it was definitely not the Coach.  Petrie?  Owners?  He was back with a new Agent….Fegan.  The agen who has helped many NBA players secure a trade when they wanted ou of a current situation.  Was it the agent?.

And today Ailene Voisin’s article in the Bee.  I rarely agree with Voisin.  But sometimes she provides significant depths of insight that most male writers cannot plumb.  Sometimes she surprises me.  rarely does DeMarcus surprise me.  It would surprise me if he learns to keep his mouth shut as he says he wants to do.

“Now that he’s back, what do you do with DeMarcus Cousins? Coddle him? Ignore him? Trade him?

You don’t trade him. You monitor his behavior, maintain certain standards and keep a velvet hammer within reach, but you don’t trade him. The Kings’ front office folks – regardless of whether Geoff Petrie re-signs or retires – need to do their jobs and let Cousins learn how to do his.”

After you read that article and understand the importance of teaching and not trading Cousins understand this:  last night Cousins scored the first triple-double of his career helping the Kings to defeat the Boston Celtics with 12 points, 10 rebounds and ten assists while receiving the game ball from his teammates.  Cousins assisted two of his teammates to reach season highs in points and another (Salmons) to score 23 which seems like it should be a season high (!!!).

Understand this:  the last time a Kings center scored a triple double was 2007 and the last time any Kings player hit those numbers was a Kings guard in 2010.

Cousins has the talent, the body,  the ability, the desire and the youth to achieve triple doubles often and for a few more years.  He expects rebounds and wants assists and baskets come, even on a poo shooting night.

January 5th:

Why do I say don’t trade cousins?  Games like last night show that he is learning.  This would be his senior year in college.  31 points and 20 rebounds against the Raptors.

Yes, the Raptors are a bad team, but the Kings were just as bad and the game was in Toronto.

He added some steals, only 4 fouls and 4 turnovers it was a MONSTER game forr Cousins and the Kings.  Cousins helped to lead the Kings to a victoy that pulled them out of the Pacific Division basement.

Related articles

• Kings reportedly talked with Virginia governor about move (sacbee.com)
• Kings Fans Come Out For Another Season Of NBA Basketball In Sacramento (sacramento.cbslocal.com)
• Sacramento Kings Losing Major Sponsors Weeks Before Season Opener (sacramento.cbslocal.com)
• Sacramento Kings Have A New Arena Name (ksfm.cbslocal.com)
• Kings F Robinson Suspended By NBA For Elbow On Jerebko (detroit.cbslocal.com)
• Sacramento Kings to Run the Triangle Offense (slamonline.com)

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There may not be much that you can do to help the victims of Sandy, but as this photograph shows even the smallest of things can become huge when shared with others who need it. Just a little power to charge your phone can become a lifesaver when needed.

2012 CSUS Hornets Football

English: This is a photo of the sign at the north entrance of Sacramento State University. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Sac State Hornets beat a Big Sky football opponent in 2012, beating Northern Colorado with a strong defensive effort by a score of 28-17.

“Osagie Odiase was a marked man Saturday. He was picked on. Bullied even.

But the Sacramento State junior defensive back didn’t back down. He  made an interception, recovered a fumble, broke up three passes and led the Hornets with a career-high 11 tackles in their home-opening 28-17 victory over Northern Colorado.

“I love it when they throw my way,” Odiase said. “I just have to be resilient out there. But I have to give a lot of credit to my (defensive) line. Their pressure on the quarterback helps me out.”

…Sac State scored one touchdown in each quarter to improve to 2-1.Even though Northern Colorado (1-2) is in the Big Sky Conference, the game was deemed to be nonconference. Both teams had an open date, and the Big Sky allowed the teams to fill it.This is the first time Sac State has been 2-1 without beating a Division II team since 2001. The Hornets beat Saint Mary’sand Idaho State that year but finished 2-9.”

Read more at the link above.

October 1st:

As we start October we find the Hornets are playing good football and won their game September 29th vs Idaho State, 54-31.  Big score!!

The win puts Sac State 1-1 in thei Big Sky Conferrence and 3-2 for the season.

Go Hornets!!!  Next game is October 6th at Southern Utah at noon.

Watch the game on Big Sky video HERE.

October 13th:

In their homecoming game for 2012, the Sac State Hornets defeated Weber State 19 to 14, and add to their great start this season.

The CSUS record is now 5-2, 3-1 Big Sky in their best start since joining the Big Sky Conference.

November 18th:

The CSUS Hornets lost the 2012 Causeway Classic to the UCD Aggies.  The loss left CSUS 4-4 in the Big Sky Conference and out of the football playoff hunt.  The Hornets started the season hot as can be but in the 2nd half lost too many games especially the conference games.

Related articles

• CSUS stuns Colorado (voodoodr06.wordpress.com)
• Northern Colorado Vs.Sacramento State Final Score: Bears Fall To Hornets, 28-17 (denver.sbnation.com)
• Northern Colorado falls to Sacramento State; Hornets now 2-0 vs. state of Colorado (denverpost.com)
• Northern Colorado Vs. Sacramento State: Bears Look For Winning Streak (denver.sbnation.com)

2012 Apple Hill Time in Northern California

Downtown Placerville (Photo credit: www78)

It’s still real warm in northern California, deep into September, but in the morning you can smell it.  Yes, you can smell apples in their crates inside of the barn.

No….I don’t live in a barn.  But I live in California and each year I love to visit Apple Hill near Placerville, also known as Hangtown, in Northern California.

You got to go and if not, you got to take a virtual trip and check it out.  It looks good, it smells good and it tastes damn good!!!

So check out the Association site and see what’s new for 2012.  Grab ourself a map & a guide if you need one.

What’s good there?  Well apples, of course.  Apples, apple pie, apple fritters, candy appled apples, apple juice & cide.

My favorite?  apple cider donuts.  Yum.

Plus BBQ lunches at some farms, train rides and fishing for the kids.  The smells and tastes.  A day out of the city.  Christmas tree tours, winery tours.  Pick ‘em yourself farms.  Teaching the kids where their food comes from.

Petting zoos.

Filling up the car or truck with goodies to take home.  And even more goodies to give to famil, friends, neighbors.  Put in the freezzer.

The Blossom Trail Run at the other end of the season, usuall in April so mark your calendar.

And the Apple Hill Harvest Run, race day this ear is November 4th and the course is 8.5 beautiful miles and includes the Harvest Day 3.5 mile Run/Walk.  Check the links for info and to register.

But back to apple goodness…I am more about eating my way thru Apple Hill.  I don’t even do the wine drinking thru Apple Hill any more, so I eat.

And I look forward to it each and every year.

Related articles

• The Mountain and the Hill (thefrangels.wordpress.com)
• Apple Picking in New York State with Plus Lily (stacyknows.com)
• My New Favorite Thing – Homemade Applesauce (smileandwave.typepad.com)
• 17. Meanderings at Apple Hill (applehillcottage.org)
• Striking Gold On Highway 49 – Travel (motortrend.com)

CSUS stuns Colorado

 

September 8, 2012

SacState football was in full excitement mode for the second straight year as the Hornets beat a Pac-12 foe.  Last year it was Oregon State in a stunner, and this year we had Colorado!

With one second left in the game the Hornets won on a Field Goal b a walk-on kicker.  Wow…

Nice game Sac State.  Now I will have to pay attention as I did last season and I am pulling fo  you to improve last seasons record.  You broke my stone-cold heart last yearr so this will be better for sure.

CSUS lost their first game of the 2012/13 season in a tough game to New Mexico State.

Click thru the photo to read the SacBee article on the game and thru the above link to read about the Hornet’s 2011 season.

Related articles

• Sac State Football Upsets Colorado (tribfox40.wordpress.com)

 

September 1st thru September 3rd, 2012 in Sacramento: What To Do??

en: Old Town Sacramento, shows how Sacramento looked like in the 19th century de: Old Town Sacramento, zeigt, wie Sacramento im 19. Jahrhundert aussah (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This weekend, September 1-3, 2012 you have many choices of things to do in Sacramento!

Greek Food & Culture in the 49th Greek Festival.  I remember when this was small enough to be called the Greek Food Festival, now it is so much more than just food and fills the Sacramento Convention Center.

When:         August 31st, Noon to 11 pm thru September 2nd Noon to 10 pm.

Where:        Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J Street

Cost:           $5 general; $4 for seniors 55 and older; free for children 12 and younger

Info:             www.sacramentogreekfestival.com

Celebrate African Culture

Diverse exhibits of African culture on display in William Land Park.   The second African Cultural Festival will feature dancing, food, art and craft exhibits, and a children’s area.

When:        September 1st, 2nd & 3rd, 9 am to 6 pm

Where:       3800 Land Park Drive

Cost:           $15 general; $8 for groups of 10 or more; free for children 7 and younger

Info:            (916) 222-5868 or www.africanculturalfestival.org

The Show ‘N Shine Car Show

The show will showcase more than autos at Southgate Plaza. There will also be a live DJ, children’s crafts, a rock wall, dancers and more. Portions of the proceeds will benefit the Phoenix Park Magic Johnson Community Empowerment Center for students in grades K-9.

When:            September 2nd, 11 am to 5 pm

Where:            4242 Florin Road

Cost:                Free!

Info:                (916) 422-2525

The Annual Gold Rush Days

The tourist area’s yearly festival turns the clock back to 1850 for 3 full days, with wagon rides, gold panning, mock gunfights and more Old Westactivities.

When:              September 1st & 2nd, 10 am to 7 pm and September 3rd, 10 am to 5 pm

Where:             Old Sacramento

Cost:                 Free!

Info:                 www.sacramentogoldrushdays.com

Check out the Sacramento Bee for more fun things to do in Sacramento this weekend!

Related articles

• 3rd Annual Sacramento Banana Festival! (now100fm.cbslocal.com)
• Greek Festival celebrates 54 years (wdtn.com)
• Enjoy Culture and Art in Downtown Sacramento (apartmentguide.com)

Water Is An Important Political Issue Everywhere:The Battle For The Hetch Hetchy Valley

It is true isn’t it??  Water really is an important political issue everywhere you go and no matter where you live.

Why this post today?  Hetch Hetchy.  Yosemite.  San Fransisco.  Water.

I always traveled a lot.  For business and of course, for pleasure.  What is more fun for you and your family than to travel to new lands or to old familiar places, visiting friends and family, learning new languages and cultures.

When I was young, before I retired and air travel was luxurious, I sometimes would get on a plane Friday night after work, go somewhere and be back at my desk Monday morning.  I had friends in the airline industry and was lucky enough to do some flying for free on Stand-By.

One of the things I enjoyed no matter where I visited was to drive the local communities, get out in the countryside and see how people lived.  And you could not miss seeing what the hot-button political issues were.

And Number 1?  No matter where you were?  Water!

Everywhere there would be signs about local water issues, statewide water issues.

Signs covering each race, Republican or Democrat in the U.S., local parties in Canada or Mexico.  The fences in  the country would often be covered with signs about water.  Water Rights.  The cost of water.  The need to damn a river or a creek.  The desire to remove the turbines.  What politician was o n what side of the issue about water.

Signs covering opponents signs.

And nearly every sign asked for money.  Money to fight the good fight, whether that be Yes to a Dam or No to a reservoir.  They all wanted money.  And they wanted more money.

It was the same everywhere.  Moe water, Access to water.  Farmers needed it more.  Cities needed it more.  Developers needed it more.

My god.

So what started me on this tirade today?

Growing up my Grandmother was always against building dams and reservoirs.  Against sending “our” water to other areas and people.  They always trucked it out in the middle of the night sending it down south to Los Angeles.  And she just knew we needed it more.  And the farmers needed it the most.

Now there is a very significant political issue in California.  A water issue.

Even if you don’t live in California you have heard of the Yosemite Valley.  You may have even visited.  Or want to.

But you may not have heard of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.

So what is the Hetch Hetchy and why is it important in 2012.

Hetch Hetchy is the long-lost geological twin of Yosemite.  Long-lost because California politicians and big businesses dammed the Tuolumne River and flooded the Hetch Hetchy Valley in  1923, after a decision a century ago, creating a reservoir that continues to provide water to the citizens of San Francisco and the surrounding areas even today.

Important today because the current citizens of San Francisco will soon vote on whether or not to “un-flood” the Hetch Hetchy and find new water supplies for the people of San Francisco.

How do you un-do a dam and a reservoir?  Where do you find water for more than a million people in a state that often is big-time thirsty due to droughts.

Understand this:  due to the decision 00 years ago to build the dam and flood the valley, sending the water to San Francisco, the people in the city today have pristine, pure drinking water coming out of their faucets.  I have no idea how much bottled drinking water is sold in San Francisco but I would bet it is much less on average than other California cities.

An unending supply of water for more than one million people, 7 of California’s population, the turbines in the dam provide hydroelectricity to homes and skyscrapers, streetlights & traffic signals, swimming pools, restaurants, and fun spots, and all of this for less than $30,000 per year.

Politics?  Money?  Big business?  City vs country?  Developer vs farmer??

It is all revisiting San Francisco and the State of California today.

“Eventually it will be broadly understood what an abomination a reservoir in a valley like Yosemite Valley really is,” Donald Hodel, the former interior chief, told The Associated Press. “I think it will be hard to quell this idea (of restoration).  It is like ideas of freedom in a totalitarian regime. Once planted they are impossible to repress forever.”

Over the past decade, studies by the state and others have shown it’s possible for San Francisco to continue collecting water from the Tuolumne River further downstream.

But the city never seriously has considered giving up its claim to the valley.

“This is a ridiculous idea,” Mayor Ed Lee said. “It’s a Trojan Horse for those that wish to have our public tricked into believing we have an adequate substitute for the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. We do not. There isn’t any.”

Read more here

I don’t quite understand the current dynamics.  This Bee article above say the Republicans want to return Hetch Hetchy to its’ natural state while Democrats, led by Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein  want to leave it flooded.  That means the Republicans support John Muir and the Sierra Club??

Wut??

I guess times have changed.  I don’t know the thinking of the current Sierra Club.  Perhaps they don’t want to see the natural beauty of the Hetch Hetchy Valley??  Yes, they do!   Read their thoughts right HERE.

 Even with Republican support. Even with Democratic opposition.

David Brower, former Executive Director of the Sierra Club  says in the above article “The Hodel proposal produced the expected panic in San Francisco. Mayor Dianne Feinstein wanted it shredded. Alarmists (and I can tell one when I see one) warned that the alternative to Hetch Hetchy would be the proposed and despised Auburn Dam and Peripheral Canal and other adjustments, the cost of which would probably total six billion dollars. The media reported all this with but a halfhearted attempt to check. A forester told them how long it would take the trees to grow, and a reclamation writer told how long it would take for the lake bed to dry out and be usable. The mayor understandably did not want San Francisco to lose the thirty million dollars a year from the sale of Hetch Hetchy project electricity.At the time I had been advocating that the Sierra Club initiate a second Remove Secretary Watt petition campaign, this time aimed at his successor. And now I was confronted with the need to praise Secretary Hodel for his brilliant suggestion. Here at last, I could assume, he had realized that because he had been wrong he didn’t have to stay wrong.”

 And I have no idea why the Republicans are supporting the effort, they are the folks who flooded it to start with right?  They must smell money somewhere in the deal.  Increased water rates, utility rates and more.

And the other side is afraid that San Francisco will lose their water, certainly their clean drinking water and that water and electricity will cost more.

I guess times have changed.  I think I just heard my old friend John Muir roll over in his grave!  Ronald Reagan’s Cabinet joining his beloved Sierra Club and supporting their causes?  What is it?  Opposite Day??

Do you Twitter?  You can follow @HetchHetchy  and @Sierra_Club and check out all of the Sierra Club Twitter accounts to find your local club.