Sports highlights: Aussies ruled

I'm not talking about Aussie Rule Football but the 3 winners of 3 races during the past weekend, all Australians! First we saw Cadel Evans edged out Andy Schleck during the time trial stage to win the Tour De France. He was in the third place behind both Schleck brothers but erased the deficit by his exceptional performance during this stage. Then I saw Casey Stoner winning the MotoGP US Grand Prix live at Laguna Seca raceway (near Monterey)! The track was long and it was hard to watch live. I basically hiked back and forth the hilltop to follow the frontrunners but it was great seeing Stoner making two passes to claim victory. Finally, another Aussie, Will Power, won the IndyCar race at Edmonton. Power has always been good on IndyCar's road races but it is still tough for him to bounce back from his poor result at the previous race (also on road course. His rival Dario Franchitti ran into him and ruined his race)

California Audio Show

I took last Friday off to attend this show. Audio equipments always have a special place in my life, all the way back from the days I listened to mono earphone out from a portable cassette player. During my glorious audiophile days in late 90s, I had a turntable, vacuum tube amps setup with a decent pair of speakers. That was the first time I attended a Hifi show, hosted by the biggest name in audio business, the Stereophile magazine, in St. Francis Hotel in downtown San Francisco. That show only comes to SF every few years and I went to another in 2003. This California Audio show is hosted by a lesser known company at a less fancy hotel (Crowne Plaza in Burlingame) but there was no lack of big names. There are a few things I like about hifi show: 1) I get to listen to extremely expensive equipments, 2) the shows usually feature live performances, 3) audiophile-grade CD were being demo-ed and promoted. No exception this time. The usual suspect of outrageously expensive speakers like Wilson Audio and MBL were all there. A pair of Acappala speakers (with horns) went for $80k. On the other hand, I also listened to some very reaonably priced speakers like the small bookshelf Martin Logan ($800 a pair) and Audio Space LS3/5A ($1800/pr) and everything in between, like Anthony Gallo and Sony. The latter was a big surprise. Even though Sony has a good reputation in terms of sound quality for their consumer products, they are only well-known for their CD players among high-end audiophiles. The Sony speakers at the show did its job of making a statement: Sony is capable of playing the high-end game too (just that they don't play it often, especially outside Japan) Another observation I had is that digital file-based media is on the rise. It was non-existent at the 97 show and barely present at the 03 show but it is getting its share (a smaller one) alongside CD and vinyl. Many demo-ed solutions with iPod docks or harddrives for music storage, and iPad as controller. The highlights for me were Blue Coast Record's room and 2 live recording demo sessions. During these sessions, they recorded live musicians playing there and playback the recordings to the audiences right after. It was very educational. And I enjoyed guitarist Greg James' playing a lot.

Musicians of the day: The Great Guitars!

That's the name of the trio of jazz guitarists Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis and Charlie Byrd. Of course, they lived up to the high standard of that name. I enjoyed the DVD of their concert a lot. Guitar Player, the magazine, has made available theirinterview dated back to 1974 from the archive. It was a good read.

Local sports radio newcomer FM95.7

I found this station when I was looking for Oakland A's radio broadcast this season (like the Raiders, these team changes radio station almost every season, which is not the case of their crosstown neighbours, the Giants and 49ers) Surprisingly it's a full-time sports radio station and it's on FM, not an usual combination! And it's growing on me. I used to listen to AM680 or 1050 (when they do not simulcast) a lot but they have lost quite a bit of my time to the newcomer. I enjoy the shows featuring Dan Dibley (formerly 680) and Chris Townsend covering A's. It's always good to have competitions.

Sports highlights: NASCAR at Sonoma

There are a few interesting sport events in the weekend: Super 15 Rugby playoff began its first round, the wildcard round. Those follow NFL would be familiar with this format: top 2 seeds get a bye week with the next 4 seeds playing each other. Both the Crusaders (they are like the recent years' Patriots of NFL) and the Blues advanced. The next weekend will be even more exciting. It was also fun watching the Giants swept the Indians despite their low-scoring offense.
The biggest highlight for me though, is watching NASCAR Sprint Cup race live at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, for the first time in my life :D Here were a few of my observations:
- The most popular driver seems to be Jeff Gordon, who was born in Vallejo, a city nearby. He got a tons of cheer, especially near the end of the race, where he reeled in cars in front of him one-by-one and eventually finished 2nd, after not being that competitive most part of the race.
- The least popular driver is definitely Kyle Busch. He was boo-ed during introduction. And when his car hit Montoya's and sent both spinning right in front of our section (turn 3) late in the race, lots of people cheered :P
- These cars are powerful and required tons of skills to drive. Even for a slight turn (like those described on mapping websites) that seems to be a no-brainer to go through, some lines were better than others. In fact, most drivers picked a particular line, which apparently is a good one.

蘑菇山遊記

前幾天再闖Stevens Creek水塘，今次不環塘，而是一嘗本地著名斜路Montebello Rd（不知為何該路名總令我想起蘑菇，其實portobello才是一種蘑菇的名稱！）感覺上該路比我以前踩過的都要辛苦，因為既長且斜。4.5英里上斜有3英里都很斜！翻查斜路排行榜，原來Montebello排名比大名鼎鼎的Old La Honda要高，卻稍遜於早前上過的Mt Hamilton（雖然我覺得今次上Montebello斜一點，可能Mt Hamilton從另一邊上更斜，或者排名和路的長度有關，從SJ上Mt Hamilton超過11英里）上到一半，往下一望，水塘已小得像面盆；忽然想起曾經爬過我頭的車手應該是時候下山吧，為甚麼沒見到？心中不禁一寒，唯有唱唱歌壯膽，立時想到：
獨自在山坡　高處未算高
命運在冷笑　暗示前無路
浮雲遊身邊　發出警告
我高視闊步

雖知此山頭　猛虎滿佈
膽小非英雄　決不願停步
冷眼對血路　寂寞是命途
明月映山岡　倍覺孤高

Musicians of the day: Stan Killian and David Binney

Both are jazz saxophonists. Killian plays tenor while Binney plays alto. I found this good review on Stan Killian's recent album, Unifed. David Binney plays alto on three of the tracks. While on Rhapsody, I also checked out a CD with David Binney as leader called Cities and Desires from 2006. It's a very interesting concept: each tune is about a different city, including LA, Rome, Montreal, London, Lisbon... etc.

Music of the day: And I Love Her

So, which cover version of this great Beatles' hit am I talking about? It's jazz guitarist Pat Metheny's version from his new album "What's it all about" just released this month. I heard it on the local jazz radio station KCSM this morning. What a surprise! I thought the days of discovering new CDs by listening to "traditional" radio have gone. Aren't we all rely on the new online media/channels/services like iTunes and Pandora? I don't think so. From my experiences, these services tend to recommend stuff I knew already or I'm not interested. For example, after I listened to Katy Perry, I'd get recommendations for Kelly Clarkson and Lady Gaga, who aren't my cup of tea. After I "favourite" Joe Pass, I keep hearing, guess who, Joe Pass! I think "hand picked" recommendation still has its place this day of age. I recently read that Pat Metheny said "A big chunk of early jazz history was largely improvising using chord tones and improvising around the melody. Those are two valuable entry points" I definitely hear a lot of the latter.

Sports highlights: Congrat to Dallas Mavericks, the new NBA Champ

I gotta admit I'm not really a basketball fan but as a sports junkie I do follow NBA news. After all, basketball is probably the second most popular sports in the world (next to football) and US (next to American Football) My favourite NBA team is the Houston Rockets (watched legendary center Hakeem Olajuwon and coach Rudy Tomjanovich winning 2 titles in the 90s) but I'm happy to see the other teams from the great state of Texas winning the title as well (like the Spurs did it 4 times in the past decade) Now the Dallas Mavericks have joined the rank of NBA Champ as well. I guess I'm in the majority rooting for the Mavs because (1) LeBron James is the most hated sports star in US after his move to Miami. This bitter comment he made says it all (see the responses here) and (2) players like Dirk Nowitzki deserves a title (just like David "The Admiral" Robinson did it with the Spurs)

Sports highlights: "green" auto racing!

4 of the races I watched during the past 2 weekends all came down to the drivers who were able to save fuel! First, at Indy 500 we saw all those pre-race favourites ran out of fuel and had to pit. Too bad the rookie JR Hildebrand, who was leading and still had fuel left, was not able to pull off a victory because he crashed on the last corner of the very last lap. Unfortunately, his name will be in the history book forever for one of the biggest choke job ever (Another one was French golfer Jean Van de Velde squandering his 3 shot lead on the last hole at the British Open in 1999.) The race actually started out seeming to be yet another boring race in which Dario Franchitti wins again by taking advantage of Will Power's mistake (who drove off the pit road when one wheel was still not completely on yet.) Power ended up finished higher than Franchitti at Indy and actually improved his lead in the overall season standing. Later on that day we had the NASCAR race, the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte, also decided by fuel strategy. The late race caution never came (everybody was planning to refuel then) Dale Earnhardt Jr almost won it except he ran out of fuel on the last lap and finished 7th. Who could have predicted the next NASCAR race at Kansas also has to do with Dale Jr and fuel? Again, the leaders had to pit and refuel which allowed Brad Keselowski and Dale Jr to come to the front and they finished 1-2. The Nationwide race on the same weekend at Chicagoland was ended similarly except the front runner Carl Edwards ran out of fuel on the last lap and was thus caught up by Justin Allgaier, who also ran out of the fuel later but coasted across the finish line with a victory. I have been rooting for Allgaier this season. He went through some tough times when he lost his ride because his sponsor Verizon was forced out of NASCAR. Of course, the media's focus was Danica Patrick's brief return to NASCAR (this is just one race in between her IndyCar "breaks") BTW, even though I am a fan of hers, the coverage of her leading Indy 500 for a few laps because her team decided to pit last in the cycle was a bit too much.

Movie of the day: Princess and the Frog

We watched this movie at the BlueLight Cinema in Cupertino (ticket costs only $3.75!) I thought it would just be a rehash of the good old version of the story but it turns out to be quite different. Even though it's still full of stereotype and political correctness like your usual Disney movie, I did enjoy it. How could I not like a movie that played a lot of Dixieland jazz as background music? It's too dark for my kid's taste though.

美國人也反高鐵

和香港一樣，在加州力推的高鐵計劃也遇到重重阻力。
這位史丹福史學家指出過去美國政府推行的鐵路計劃，效果欠佳；今次恐怕又會重蹈覆轍。得益者只會是政客及建築商，不會是普羅大眾。他又指政界經常引為模範的中國高鐵，乘客增長率亦遠遜預期。

Music of the day: Chinese classical music

I found this Chinese classical music radio program by accident (got a link to listen to another RTHK program) It seems to be a biweekly broadcasted ~15 minute program. Good for casual fan like me. (Another choice would be the DJ-less stream that is available on Shoutcast)

Sports highlights: NASCAR at Darlington, Lakers swept, Man U defeated Chelsea plus more

The most exciting moment I watched was Regan Smith winning his first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Darlington. The race wasn't much until the final laps, when big crash wiped out Kevin Harvick and teammate Clint Bowyer. Pit strategy came into picture: the leader Carl Edwards and most decided to take 2 new tires while the rest gambled by taking none. Regan Smith was among the latter group and the gamble paid out! He restarted first and maintained his lead over Edwards until he got the checkered flag. It's nice to see one-car team like his beating the big guns from Roush Fenway, Hendrick and Childress.
I didn't watch the game at all but I was really happy to hear that the hated Lakers (well, by most people outside SoCal, especially NoCal people like me) was swept by Dallas Mavericks. It's no fun to see the same team winning over and over again...... unless you are a fan of that team, which, in my case, applies to Man U closing in on another EPL title again, by beating the 2nd place Chelsea 2-1. Go Man U!
This might not be the biggest headline on the Sports section but we have lost a golf legend, Seve Ballesteros, this weekend. He was a well-known great golfer way before I started following golf but he always showed his charisma whenever he's on TV. I remember him captaining the European team to victory in 1997. Another sad piece of news was that cyclist Wouter Weylandt died at Giro d'Italia. May them rest in peace.

Music of the day: Nicole Scherzinger performs Black Dog with Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience

Nicole rocks on this song! (Well, I'm totally biased because she's Lewis Hamilton's gf. Not sure if I will be as positive if it's anyone else)

潭巫排山遊記

古籍有云：「地神倒海，潭巫排山」位於三藩市以北的Mount Tamalpais，據說就是出自這個典故；又有另一說法，指山中水潭旁邊一排排參天紅木，乃係女巫棲身之所，故名。（以上當然本人老作。不過這座山有不少傳說倒是事實，既有睡美人之稱，亦和女巫有關。詳見維基百科）星期天一早五時半起床，六時開車前往北灣Marin縣的Fairfax市，一路交通暢通無阻，途經三藩市，這麼早好像還是第一次！七時半和其他三名車友集合，八時正式出發踩單車！一開始便爬山，頭四里已爬了差不多900呎，跟著輕鬆下山三里，到達Alpine Lake的水壩，風光不俗。不過好戲在後頭！接著十里路要爬1700呎，一段路上上落落七次，遊人稱之為七姊妹（不是老作）。在Tamalpais山頂遠眺三藩市金門橋及海灣，景致更佳！論風景、好玩（及辛苦）程度，比上次上南灣Mount Hamilton Lick Observatory有過之而無不及。

其中一名車友是新相識，踩起車來一點都不似實際年齡（五十幾），他在該地玩山地車(mountain bike)比山地車老祖Gary Fisher還要早！玩公路車(road bike)亦同樣了得，我今次獲益良多。除了單車，此君亦熱愛高爾夫球及滑雪，當然亦甚擅長。其實另外兩位車友亦是興趣多多，樣樣皆精。此行我有些感想：（一）中國人一向認為：「勤有功，嬉無益」「書中自有黃金屋」又曰：「玩物喪志。」今時今日我想不能一成不變地跟從。靠顯赫學歷飛黃騰達之士，固然不少。但條條大路通羅馬，只要有拼勁，就有機會創一番事業。要鍛鍊拼勁，靠體育音樂等「課外活動」又何嘗不可？這幾位車友從小就熱衷於運動，如今皆事業有成，想必有點關係。

（二）本地熱門的單車路線，我都去過不少，包括Los Altos Hills,Portola Valley,Woodside,Hillsborough,Stevens Creek Reservoir,Mt Hamilton,加上今次Marin County一役，發覺這些地方有一個共通點：附近一定是有錢人聚居地！如果說有錢人喜歡踩單車，所以發掘了屋企附近的單車路線，並將之發揚光大，未免說不通；皆因玩單車豐儉由人，昨天路上看到不少租的單車，都不是高價貨色（我的單車更不在話下）另一個解釋，是熱門單車路線多數風景宜人，有山有水，這些地方附近的房子，自然平極有限。

最後想講講早幾天放假另一次單車「旅程」：我心目中由Palo Alto過Dumbarton bridge到Fremont下Milpitas沿237旁小路經Great America到Moffett上Mountain View回Palo Alto的50里大圈算是一個壯舉；尤其想一試踩單車過揼爸藤橋的滋味，即使該路線好評不多。試完之後，的確不想推介給其他車友，因為（一）只得平路（二）要跨過幾條大highway的intersection（三）風十分大。

以下是這兩次的路線圖：

Bay loop over Dumbarton Bridge

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Music of the day: Eliesha Nelson performing complete viola works by Quincy Porter

This album won a Grammy this year (for best engineered album, but the performance itself is also superb. It's music by modern composer that doesn't sound too weird to most. Read the reviews on my link) I learned about this album when I was reading about Grammy reducing its number of awards, including some from the Classical category. This particular award seems to stay but the 2 best solo instrumentalist performance, with or without orchestra, will be combined into one. I guess the consolidation makes sense.
Speaking of viola, the Northern California Viola Society will be hosting a few workshops, at which participants will be playing a new viola piece together. Check out their blog for more details.

春爆遊記

又到一年一度「奉旨」放假的Spring Break，過去連續兩年都回香港，今年因為政府派六千元細節未定，加上剛在聖誕節回過（元氣大傷），所以決定貢獻給本地經濟。
總共拿了四天假，第一天早上帶小朋友去看電影HOP，主角是一隻不願乖乖繼承父業的復活節兔。電影班底據講來自Despicable Me，但情節舖排就遠遜於後者，不過小朋友沒有太計較。下午趁空檔去踩了一轉單車，由於只得四小時空檔，加上半夜要出車，結果選擇了較為簡單的路線：沿相當平直的Foothill南下Stevens Creek水塘，經Mt. Eden繞一圈再北上接回Foothill，水塘路段總算有點斜。
星期三凌晨三時出車，主要目標是聖地牙哥動物園。計劃是星期四一早到該處玩到下午，星期三如何打發？我們選擇了先到LA（正確來說是Arcadia）吃餐好的（鼎泰豐小籠包始終有水準，其餘的牛肉麵及蒸餃不過不失，紅豆rice cake就麻麻地）然後到Malibu（正確來說是Pacific Palisades）參觀Getty Villa。我們在兩年前參觀過LA的Getty Center， 覺得搞得不錯。雖然不是件件頂級珍藏，但建築本身相當有特色及氣派，派發的小冊子亦吸引小朋友探索藝術館各處。Getty Villa其實是Getty Center的前身，建築模仿古羅馬湮沒於火山灰中舊城大宅，所以極具特色，不枉一行。
下午三點半離開Malibu，遇上避無可避的大塞車，七時終於抵達聖地牙哥市中心的酒店。到酒店前經過一堆政府建築（法院及監獄），有點赫人，不過酒店其實也很接近食肆林立的蒲點Gaslamp Quarter，我們快快check-in就到了那裡，幾經辛苦找到一間menu頗為啱小朋友口味的意大利餐廳Operacaffe，結果也頗為啱大朋友口味！
星期四依計劃到動物園，先坐一坐圍園行走的巴士（下次最好坐右邊）了解一下路線，見熊貓無人排隊，決定以牠們作第一站，之後再按小朋友要求看他們有興趣的動物。其實動物園的安排不盡合理，如先看熊貓，基本上看其他動物就要走上走落走不少冤枉路，總算運動個夠吧！晚餐查了一陣網上reviews，選擇了可免費泊車的Joe's Crabshack。那裡是碼頭，景色不錯。我們叫了兩籃蟹，多得差點吃不完！飯後我一人再闖Gaslamp：除了食肆外，還有很多live music bar。我去了Jimmy Love's及Croce's。前者大概比蘭桂坊水準高一點，在後者演出的小號手Gilbert Castellanos及其latin jazz樂隊確係有料，收五元cover charge也值回票價。
最後一天高層指示要去名字相當配合春爆的爆煲園（Balboa Park），我下載了Balboa Park的app，發現其中有不少景點值得一遊。出發之前又再到Gaslamp Quarter的Cafe 21吃個brunch，店主夫婦來自亞塞拜疆，倒沒有期待omelette同pancake有太多西亞風味。餐後順道行行露天商場Horton Plaza然後出車。不得不提聖地牙哥的路牌做得頗差，前一天由動物園回downtown，其實路程極短，但指示奇差，白白浪費了半小時。這次由downtown去Balboa Park（其實動物園是Balboa Park的一部份），又兜了一大段路。
不過見到那個品種繁多、目不暇給的玫瑰園，心情頓覺開朗！欣賞完大自然後，輪到欣賞人工產物，就是博物館那堆建築物，都甚有特色。而在頗熱的天氣下，賣Hawaiian Shave Ice的街邊檔更覺合適。之後參觀了全球最大的室內模型火車展覽館，心境永遠年輕的我和小朋友同樣看得興奮。最後我們去了免費的美術館和植物園（温室），才踏上那長達十小時的歸途（因為途經LA，小不免塞車兩小時。）
照片連結在此。

出奇遊記

出奇是我為加州及內華達州交界的城市Truckee改的中文譯名（靈感抄自香港Chuck E Cheese的中文名）是次旅程亦名副其實地充滿奇趣（請看下文）
我因為這次旅行請了一天假（星期五），預備在下午開車到Truckee；早上有五小時空檔，決定「遠征」嚮往已久的Lick Observatory，該天文台座落於海拔四千英尺的Mount Hamilton。我先開車到半山（海拔二千英尺）的Joseph D. Grant County Park



然後踩11英里單車到山頂。上山的路徑巧合地分為兩段：前段在3.7里開始稍為回落至4.8里，騎者可以回一回氣，後段約6里基本上不停的爬山。我全程來回用了三小時，在正午返回起點，匆匆回家。
一時半終於起程，行680過了Concord才想起全家人人都有帶備厚褸，準備在滑雪場穿著，但我卻忘了，只帶了一件薄風褸。連忙上網找附近的Walmart，打算買件新褸；按地圖指示出Fairfield卻找不到（只見Jelly Bean工廠Jelly Belly，準備下次去參觀），唯有作罷。在Sacremento前後塞車塞了好一陣子，幸好之後無驚無險，找到友人一早預訂了的度假屋。同行的三家朋友其中兩家比我們早出發先到達，已經開始煮美味的晚餐（包括牛扒）飯後一同觀賞十多年前拍下的旅行及派對錄像，看到大家當年的老樣子，好笑得不得了。
第二天（星期六）是今次旅程的戲肉：帶一班小朋友到Squaw Valley滑雪！小朋友一身裝備，專心聽導師指示，努力在雪地上一展身手，實在可貴（師兄指可匹敵一支Hillside Select）。午飯後，又到Tahoe Donner的Recreation Center玩雪(tubing & sledding)，我們幾位大人反反覆覆拉那些tubing坐的大「水泡」（類似救生圈）上坡，總算消耗了不少連日吃下肚的美食。我雖然沒有厚褸，幸好事先pack好一件base layer，一件fleece（這些都是我在冷天氣踩車常穿的），再加一件長袖Tee及薄風褸，總算抵得住雪場出奇地不算太冷的天氣(50至60度華氏）只是沒有冷帽，寒風冷雨撲面不太好受。所以在雪場不少時間躲在Starbucks或入口接待處的長凳，用免費wifi上網，看看Cricket世界盃決賽戰況。晚上當然是繼續享用美食美酒！
第三天沒有安排出外活動，不用趕著七時叫醒全屋起床，幾位大廚慢慢出招炮製brunch：包括腸蛋，鰻魚risotto，焗雞等等，還有牛扒壓軸！飽餐一頓，一時左右大家收拾好（包括心情）離開，回程竟然沒遇上甚麼大塞車，四小時左右就回到家。出奇之旅圓滿結束。

Sports highlights: NASCAR and more NASCAR news

I was out of town this weekend and for some strange reason my DVR didn't record the Martinsville NASCAR Sprint Cup race on Sunday so I missed all those passes that sound exciting near the end of the race: Earnhardt Jr. passed Kyle Busch and then got passed by the eventual winner, Kevin Harvick. I did watch another eventual winner, Johnny Sauters, passing Kyle Busch, in the truck race on Friday, 'coz the place we stayed at has Speed Channel available. Another Kyle Busch related story is even bigger: former F1 champ Kimi Raikonen will be racing with the truck team owned by Busch! He'll be joining another former F1 driver, Nelson Piquet Jr., in that series. What's the motivation for him to race in the States? The money? Or the challenge? Who knows?