Sam Racadio Library & Environmental Learning Center

Today marked the topping off ceremony on the construction in Highland for the Sam Racadio Library and Environmental Learning Center. The weather was ideal, the speeches short, and the event well attended. Everyone attending had the opportunity to sign the final steel beam - a nice touch especially for the nearby elementary students in attendance. The Center is being built with a combination of federal, state, and local funds. Federal funding is coming from the EPA. The building meets the federal standards as a silver level green building. To help ease classroom overcrowding the nearby elementary school will move its library into the Center to create new classroom space while expanding their library collection.

Here are a few photos (first photo, Sam Racadio in foreground; second photo Harriet Fouchier; third photo, me; final photo, children from the nearby elementary school):

Wacky Winter Weather - UPDATE

OK, it's now 8:15 in the morning and it is actually snowing even more. I wouldn't call it a blizzard at this point, but it sure is coming down hard. Of course I am speaking from experience as a ex-pat New Englander. The first photo is taken from across the street from our house and the other is our house; click an image to see a large version (remember: it's not blurry, it's a snow flurry).

Burr - Wacky Winter Weather Hits Highland

It's been a wacky winter weather week in Highland. On Monday and Tuesday we had record breaking heat with high January temperatures in the mid-80's. However, just like the old New England saying, "if you don't like the weather, wait a minute" this morning (Friday) the weather took a surprise turn.

In past years snow was able to fall to just below the 2,000 foot level, but never down to the valley floor. Imagine our surprise upon waking this morning to find SNOW at our house! OK, so it's not enough to shovel, but hey it is snow in Southern California. Here are some pictures.









The first image was taken at about 6:30 am while it was still rather dark outside, the camera's flash caught snowflakes falling. The middle image was taken about 30 minutes later. The final image is of our patio (note the snow is not sticking to the warmer concrete).

New Year's in Sacramento

The end of 2006 gave us an opportunity to spend the weekend visiting our friends, Rick & Eileen Teichert) in Sacramento. After a long drive on Friday we arrived in time to join them for dinner in Sacramento capped by a stop at the Hard Rock Cafe (for yet another collector's beer glass and Martini glass).

New Years Eve day found the family split between skiing at Heavenly Valley and wine tasting in Napa. Spencer went skiing with his uncle Rick while the rest of us pursued more sophisticated interests.

Here are a few photos of the skiing portion of the day.

Spencer hits the slopes.











Rick divides his day skiing between California & Nevada.








Roberta, Ethan, Sig & Eileen preview New Years Eve festivities by sampling sparkling white wines at the Domaine Carneros (by Taittiger) winery along with stops at a few other wineries. FYI, many wineries are closed on New Years Eve day :-(






Evening found all of us in Old Town Sacramento in the City's hospitality tent where we were able to watch fireworks over the river (here's a link to video of the Fireworks).

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(L to R, Brigit Leubbers, Eileen & Rick Teichert, Ethan & Roberta Dellhime)


( Ethan & Roberta)

A Brief Vacation - Part 2

At this time of year the foliage in Vermont should be near its peak, just our luck it wasn't. Temperatures during our stay were warmer than normal, in fact on October 9th the high was 79 degrees (about 15 degrees above normal). The warm temperatures affect leaf coloration; shorter periods of sun light result in lowered chlorophyll production, cold nights cause the leaves to turn red.

Sig was on his own on from Sunday afternoon until Tuesday afternoon while Roberta attended a conference on Legal Issues in Higher Education sponsored by the University of Vermont (UVM). Sig undertook some individual sightseeing, but saved the best to share with Roberta.

Monday evening found us taking a conference hosted sunset cruise on Lake Champlain.



Tuesday afternoon found us at the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory (we returned the next day to buy a couple of bears) and at Dakin Farms sampling local cheeses and jams (and buying maple syrup).

We ended our trip on Wednesday with a visit to the Shelburne Museum. It's a collection of buildings from the Vermont in the 1800's with interpretive displays and guides. The most unusual feature is the land-locked paddle wheel ferry boat Ticonderoga that was moved inland in the 1950's after being retired from service.

A Brief Vacation - Part 1

Roberta and I just finished a brief vacation to New York City and Burlington, Vermont. The trip was partly work related for Roberta (she attended a conference in Burlington) and it it 100% vacation for me.

The weather (by fall standards) was excellent; warm and no rain. On October 6th Roberta and I took a several hour stroll through Central Park before meeting up with Ethan for some clothes shopping. Here are a few pictures from the stroll.










We found one store where their special sale was 3 suits, 3 shirts, and 3 ties for $250 - I got two suit sets and Ethan got the other.

That evening we took Ethan and several of his college friends on a pub crawl to celebrate his 21st birthday. Everyone involved was over 21 (some where way over 21), we stopped at 3 Irish pubs near Grand Central Station, and had a round of beers at each spot. Sig was the "designated walker" making sure no one fell off the sidewalk. Everyone had a great time without getting slammed. Here's a picture from the evening.








The next day we were off to Vermont. I'll post some comments and pictures at another time.

I AM DONE!

It took two years, but I finally finished earning my Master of Science in Information Technology degree from the University of Redlands. Was it worth it? Only time will tell. Would I do it again? Only time will tell. Would I like to earn a PhD? Hmm, it all depends.

For now however it is time to undo two years of neglected yard work and home improvement. There are sprinklers to repair, planter beds to weed and redo, a tree to remove, and crabgrass to fight. Inside the house there's a kitchen to renovate, a family room to repaint, and molding to install. Whew, maybe a PhD would be easier (and quicker to earn)!

Playing Catch Up

Wow, a whole summer went by I somehow I failed to make any new entries! Let me see if I can remember enough to be of interest to anyone.

First, Ethan started and completed his second summer interning for Lockton in downtown Los Angeles. He really enjoyed the job and will work remotely part-time for them during the school. Apparently they liked him too and on his last day at work as an intern they offered him a full-time position for after graduation. Hopefully he will soon make a decision on the offer.

Speaking of Ethan, he and Roberta drove across country to get him back to Seton Hall in time for his senior year. They left on August 23rd doing some site seeing along the way (mineral springs in Glenwood Spring, Colorado, Arabia Steamboat museum in Kansas City, etc.) arriving in New Jersey by August 28th. He is now settled into his apartment (Roberta likens it to a slum) and back in school. Of course he also turned 21 on Labor Day and is now truly an adult.

Spencer attended summer school in July completing two semesters of high school art. As art is a requirement for admission into a University of California institution this takes some pressure off in the mad dash toward college. From August 9th through the 21st Spencer traveled with his soccer club to England for training, competition and touring. He enjoyed the experience, but he’s tight lipped about what happened. Apparently what happens in the UK, stays in the UK. He is now back in high school for his sophomore year and the club fall soccer season began this last weekend. With two games scheduled per weekend until the end of October our free time is next to nil.

While Spencer was away in the UK we entertained our friends from Germany (the Weller’s) We started this visit with an American style backyard Bar-B-Q with plenty of friends, neighbors, and family attending to give them a proper welcome. Day trips to Los Angeles (the Getty Museum, Hollywood Boulevard, etc.), the local mountains, and shopping filled several days. The capstone of the visit was a trip to San Diego and a day trip to Ensenada, Mexico. Too fun! They flew back to Germany the same day Spencer returned so they never got to spend any time with him. Regardless, they’ve invited him to visit them in Germany next summer – what an opportunity for him!

Other than Roberta’s road trip with Ethan we’ve had a fairly uneventful summer. I’m pretty much the reason for the lack of excitement as I am just now finishing my MSIT degree (my last class is on 9/12!). To partly celebrate we are taking trip in early October to New York City for a few days and then off to Burlington, Vermont. In Vermont, Roberta will attend a conference while I make pilgrimages to Ben & Jerry’s.

An Early Summer Update

Sometimes your life gets too busy to share with others. Such was the case recently for me. The usual suspects got in the way, school and work.

Although my University of Redlands MSIT classmates and I participated in Commencement on May 27th, we still are not technically finished with our course work. Commencement during a particularly time demanding course on Security Management, so it is only now that I have time to jot down a few random thoughts.

The class was exceptionally challenging (i.e., hard) with an extensive reading and course work load crammed into six weeks. Fortunately the class is now over and we are all heading into the last few courses. Most of us have two courses left and will be done in twelve weeks (September 14th to be exact, but who's keeping track?). And then we can get our evenings and weekends back.

Ethan is back home from Seton Hall for the summer and working the onld 9 to 5 at Lockton in Los Angeles. It's a good job and one he is considering making into a career after graduation next June. We shall see.

Spencer finished his Freshman year in high school and starts summer school tomorrow. He's taking the equivalent of two semesters of Art. Taking it in the summer not only gives him something to do, but also gives him flexibility in his class schedule over the next few years. Still ahead for him is a trip to England with his club soccer team in August. Ah to be young and have summers off!

Well, that's all I have time for right now. It's time to hit the books for my next class on Change Management. Of course this begs the question of whether we can actually manage change or whether it will just happen anyway. Whoa, that was deep.

Bulldog Consulting

MSIT classmates Carlos Castro, Joe Cremer, Sig Dellhime, and Keith Jackson are the founders of Bulldog Consulting. Bulldog Consulting will develop IT solutions for small businesses.

Their first client is the non-profit Friends of the Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena, California. The impetus of the project is assist them in generating new revenue streams through the development of enhanced website features and the strategic use of a CRM solution.

The engagement with the Friends of the Levitt Pavilion is pro bono work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for earning an MSIT through the University of Redlands.

You can find the beginnings of their website here: www.bulldog-consulting.net.

Whitehead Leadership Society

Just a quick brag note. Sig recently heard from the University of Redlands informing him of his selection in the Whitehead Leadership Society. The Society only chose Sig and two other members of his MSIT cluster for induction. The other two inductees were Joe Cremer and Michael Magro.

The Serious Academic Side

You will notice from the sidebar area that I include links to Wikis associated with courses I am taking at the University of Redlands. Believe it or not the Wikis are free to get and easy to use. I use a Wiki service provided by PBWiki

(as in, “PBwiki makes creating a wiki as easy as making a peanut butter sandwich”).

If you want to learn more about PBWiki check out the PBwiki tour! You can get your own free Wiki at: Get a free wiki at PBwiki.com.

He Shoots, but does he score?

Here is a picture from last Friday's soccer game between Redlands East Valley (Red) and Eisenhower (Green) high schools. Spencer (#18) had an opportunity to play on the field instead of playing as the Goalkeeper. In the photo he attempts a header, but the shot just barely goes over the goal.

Reconnecting with an old friend

The wonders of the Internet have finally allowed us to reconnect with Charles & Squeaky Swenson in Pawley's Island, South Carolina. Thanks to postal address confusion and changing telephone area codes we'd lost contact with them until recently.

What would we have done without the Internet? Some will complain that in the information age we are bombarded by too much information. While that my be true to some degree - do I really need RSS feeds from all the major news services? - there are still many benefits. The greatest one is the ability to find "lost" friends.

Company is Coming

We recently heard from our Welzheim, Germany friends Willy, Brigitte, Tabea, and Almut Weller . They are planning a family vacation to California in August and will spend quite a bit of time with us.

We are eagerly looking forward to their visit and are already making plans for several short sightseeing trips. Trips to Las Vegas and Mexico are definite possiblities. We've got a bit of time to think of some unique attractions for them to see.

In a future post I'll take more about their visit and how we got to know the Weller family.

Where Did the Holidays Go?

It's almost a week into the new year and I must admit I wasn't ready for the old year to end. No, it's not that I had a super year that I never wanted to end, rather there were too many things left unfinished.

We would like to think that due to our Thanksgiving trip to New York City and Connecticut we got behind on our holiday decorating and our Christmas cards. Perhaps that is the reason .... Regardless, the decorations went up (but not for as long as Roberta prefers), most of the outdoor lights were lit (thanks to Spencer's initiative), and now the decorations are down (but waiting to be packed away). The artificial tree is however a different story - it's only 1/3 dismantled since I can't finish with it until the decorations are boxed (at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

So, if I can make one new years resolution (that I hope to keep) it would be that I need to start and finish the Christmas holiday on time this year.

Some More New Pictures

Here's the latest picture of Ethan and Spencer taken just before Christmas this year.






Here's a shot of Spencer in goal clearing the ball in a match between Redlands East Valley High School (REV) JV and Etiwanda High School. Spencer plays for REV.






Ethan, Aunt Pauline, and Spencer give Winchester a Christmas
present.

Recent Photos

Here are a few recent photos. First an obligatory picture of our house:








Roberta, Sig, & Spencer at Cafe Sevilla enjoying tapas (August 2005)







Ethan & his former girlfriend Courtney in NYC (November 2005)

Fall is in the air - sort of

Fall in Southern California is not at all like that of my native New England. Take last week for example. Friday it was nearly 100 degrees out, on Saturday the temperature dropped over 20 degrees, Sunday and Monday it rained.

October rain in Southern California is news! Living in a region where the average annual rainfall is about 14 inches, getting an inch a month before the official start of the rainy season is, well unusual.

Fall is the season I miss most about New England.

My first exposure to Fall in Southern California happened during my Freshman year at USC. October arrived and I kept waiting for the leaves to turn colors and the night air to become refreshingly brisk - the leaves didn't turn and smog decended on LA instead. I finally realized it was Fall when a brown heavy leaf fell from a Magnolia tree hitting the ground with a "thud." In case you've never seen a dead Magnolia leaf think of it this way; it is the color of dirt, large, and sturdy enough to use as a garden trowel.

The leaves on the Liquid Ambers are starting to turn, but it isn't anything to become too excited about. About the time they reach a decent color we'll have a Santa Ana wind, the temperature will rise and the leaves will be gone. So, while I won't have many leaves to rake, the grass (and weeds) continue growing year round. These days the only brisk air I feel is when the air conditioner gets stuck in the "on" position.

Something New

I just added a new Blog.  It an unofficial Blog for the East Hartford High School Class of 1975.  Let me know what you think of it.