Weld County High School

 Tuesday was an away game, up in Weld County, which is quite a drive. Tia and I made our way up there with Kyle to watch Kendall's team get (hopefully) revenge. They didn't play well when in the home match  and lost.

We watched a close, long, match from the C team before Kendall got out there. The first game was a wreck, with our team unable or receive passes or hit the ball over. Kendall struggled on some serves and came out near the end, but the game wasn't close. Something like 25-12 to end things.

The second match was better. More energy, and better play. Didn't see many hard hits from Kendall, but she pushed one over nicely here.

There was also a great block from Kendall. I was behind, and she really got up and front, stuffing the ball down. That was exciting.

 

The team went on to win and set up a third. They were ahead, and playing well, but then gave things away. Too many mistakes, 4 bad serves (none Kendall) and some mistakes and it was close, 13-13 before EHS blew a couple points.

 

 Disappointing, but always fun to see Kendall play.

The Last Meet

I was gone, but Tia got some pictures. Delaney warming up with the team.

 Finishing the run, working hard. It wasn't a great meet for him, and he was disappointed, but he's OK now and on to the post cross country life.

Wales

My first time in Wales. After a day in Bristol, seeing some friends, meeting a few new people, and presenting at the SQL Relay in Bristol, we packed into a van and drove to Cardiff, where we'll present tomorrow. It's the midpoint of my trip, and I'm bagging up laundry to try and get clothes clean for the rest of the week.

Yesterday was long, and tiring, but I felt better today. However the presentation didn't go great, so I've got a few things to fix tonight before I go on in the morning.

Looking forward to part of tomorrow off, though I'll certainly need to do some work tomorrow afternoon.

2015 Book #71 - Split Second

A sci-fi, time travel book that was recommended to me. Split Second really turns some things around. When a physicist is killed after being kidnapped, his wife escapes and wants to understand why. She hires a PI, a former Green Beret, and learns that her husband discovered how to send matter back in time 45 microseconds.

What use is that? Read the book and find out, because it turns into something I never expected. It's very useful, for a couple reasons, but it's also something that I hadn't considered in terms of time travel before.

The book is wild, way to exaggerated, but a fun, light read.

2015 Book #70 - The Hard Way

The Hard Way was one of the first Reacher novels I read, and I really enjoyed it. It's a ride, one that has you confused most of the way through the book. Even while re-reading it, I really enjoyed it.

We see Reacher's savantism with time, and how he gets involved in a kidnapping that leads him from New York to the English countryside. Worth the read.

Growing Up

 Kendall getting ready for homecoming last night. I missed it, which I'm sorry for, but I did see some pix.

Delaney went as well, and he looked great.

Kendall is quite a beautiful girl

2015 Book #69 - One Shot

I've read this one a few times, and once I started, I was hoping to find time to watch the movie again. One Shot is a sniper story, where someone kills 5 people one day in a midwestern town. They police use forensics and track down the killer quickly, who is a former sniper. He doesn't say much other than "Find Jack Reacher" before he's beaten in jail and put in a coma.

Reacher sees this on the news and heads to the city, intent on something. The book leads us early to think he's going to help, but we find out the sniper did this in the Army and Reacher told him he'd bury him if it ever happened again.

However when someone tries to run Reacher off and hurt him, he's not willing to leave, and slowly unravels the mystery. A good book, and while not one of the best, it also made a good movie.

2015 Book #68 - The Enemy

The Enemy is one of my favorites. We go back in time, with Reacher in the Army. He's newly assigned to a base in North Carolina, where a General dies of a heart attack. There is a new head of the 110th in DC that wants him to cover things up and close down the investigation. As he digs in, he finds it's not what it seems.

This is one of the better plots, well written, keeping us in the dark as Reacher wanders around trying to find out what happened. His travels move around the East Coast, and even to Europe twice. Once when his Mother is dying and asks him to go, and once again chasing the tank commanders in Germany, which seem to be linked to his murder.

It's a great read.

Busy and Tired

A long class on Friday, where I caught up helping out and didn't get much work done. Then a late night, meeting old friends before a long day yesterday at SQL Saturday Orlando. I haven't been back in years, so it was good to go and see people, but it was a really long day.

Then an hour trying to get things FedEx'd back to the UK, which was almost silly since I'm flying there today. Now at the airport to begin a long journey.

Tough Loss

Tuesday was the last school for Kendall's team to play in our league. They started their second set of matches on Thur, but I missed last night as I was out of town. That's no good, as she got into a few of the varsity sets which is so cool. Freshman Kendall, only freshman on JV, got to play in her second (or third) varsity game.

Tuesday was Fort Morgan, undefeated at the varsity level (like Elizabeth) and a good showdown. We were hoping things would be competitive. The first point was a long rally, 3 or 4 times on each side, with good sets, hits, and passes. Kendall's team lost the point and things got worse. 

Fort Morgan was good at picking up hits, and they passed well. Our team didn't. I tracked passes and almost none were in the set zone, so Kendall was running all over. The kids stopped hitting and tipped a lot. Really on both sides with our blockers, but EHS struggled to pick up the passes.

They lost, none of the games close. Everyone got tight, including Kendall, and they pulled her briefly in the second set. She was out for 6 or so points before she went back in to finish things off.

It was a tough game, and Kendall was a bit down, but  we tried to give her ideas and tips to make Thur better. Hopefully things get better in the next few weeks.

Concert Kid

First orchestra concert of me of the year.

Only two songs, but they sounded great. I'll load video when I can. Delaney looked great. He's really a handsome young man.

 Afterwards a celebration with some dinner at 8:00 at night.

2015 Book #67 - Persuader

I remember Persuader well as a plot, but not the details. In this one Reacher is outside a college, pretending to load books in a van. He sees an attempted kidnapping of a kid, the bodyguards blown up in their car with a grenade as the kidnappers try to escape. He steps out and stops them, but kills a cop in the process.

The kid and Reacher escape, and the kid convinces Reacher to take him home, up in Maine, to their house, which is a compound on the water. Apparently the kid was kidnapped years ago and the father got him back, but keeps him protected.

It's a bit shocking, but the story unwinds. Reacher saw a man he thought he'd killed in the Army. A man that was supposed to be arrested, but killed two MPs. The story flashes back here and there, letting us see some of Reacher, the MP. Meanwhile, he's partnered with the DEA, trying to find out what is happening and tracking a missing agent. The whole thing is off the books.

It's a wild ride, just a few days, but quite a series of adventures, where we never really know what's going on for most of the book. However there is a dramatic finish near the end, but the book then just winds down.

2016 Book #66 - Without Fail

Continuing to work my way through the early Jack Reacher series, which I have in paper, but not electronically. I grabbed this one after starting it again in paper.

Without Fail is almost a complete opposite to Running Blind. In this one Joe Reacher's former girlfriend finds Reacher and offers him a job. Check the Vice President-Elect's security. We know about an attempt on his life, but the Secret Service doesn't. However they've been getting threatening letters, including one in a director's office. They're worried.

Reacher recruits Neagley, which makes this one of my favorites. I loved her in Bad Luck and Trouble, and I wish she were in more books. In this one she helps him penetrate the Vice President's security and then continues on as they investigate.

It's a wild ride around the Secret Service, and as in many of the books, we are led in a direction different from what's happening. However it's a great read and quite exciting.

Hidden Mesa Equestrian Ramp

We're moving forward. Delaney has set up his page to raise money for his Eagle project: building an Equestrian Horse ramp.

We'll see how this goes, but it is exciting to get him moving on this.

Royal Gorge

Probably the last cross country meet I'll ever see Delaney run. 

It was a long, two hour drive, but I'm glad I went