Greg and Kelley

Dr. Timothy Roth v. Erin (Fresno Chess Club Simultaneous Exhibition)

Greg Taylor — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:33:00 GMT

Tonight at the Fresno Chess Club, Erin was one of 34 players against Chess Master Dr. Timothy Roth. (I was her second.) We played a decent opening game against Dr. Roth's unconventional Grob's Attack, but we had to resign when it was past our bedtime at 9:45. Dr. Roth said very nice things about our game, and paid us the compliment of a couple of nice pauses over our board. He was very gracious to Erin.

Here's the score:

Dr. Timothy Roth -- Erin and Dad

Fresno, California

(Simultaneous Exhibition)

1.g4 e6 2.Bg2 d5 3.b3 Nf6 4.g5 Nh5 5.h4 Bd6 6.e3 g6 7.Bb2 0-0 8.Nc3 1-0

When we castled in move 7, I wondered whether it was legal to castle when the rook was under attack. (It is not legal if the king is in check or any square over which the king would travel in under attack.) I seemed to recall that it is legal when the rook is under attack, and club president Bob confirmed.

In our chat after the game, Dr. Roth pointed out that the move we needed was putting our dark bishop on the a1-h8 axis.

I have only this blurry camera phone pic, but Dr. Roth's son got some shots with his iPhone and I'll add those here when he emails them.

UPDATE: Two more pictures, courtesy of Dr. Roth and his iPhone.

Erin learning dictation

Greg Taylor — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:38:00 GMT

Rifling through my briefcase last week, Erin found my digital voice recorder. She wanted to learn how to dictate. Here is her first attempt at operating the machine herself. Multiple takes.

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Disneyland for Erin's birthday

Greg Taylor — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:36:00 GMT

For Erin's 5th birthday, she wanted to go back to her old stomping grounds in Orange County. Uncle Seth joined us.

Click for camera phone slideshow.

Five goals

Greg Taylor — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:03:00 GMT

It was the last game of the season, and Erin scored five goals for the Fuego today. Five.

She also demonstrated familiarity and comfort with the First Rule of All Human Conflict, including sports: Put the other man down.

Click for slideshow.

Erin, Sarah, and Adam on Halloween

Greg Taylor — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:57:00 GMT

Erin was a flapper; Adam a sooty fireman; and Sarah a genie.

Here's a sideways video of Erin and Sarah doing a musical number:

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Henness Pass Road

Greg Taylor — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:50:00 GMT

After I finished at a conference in Lake Tahoe on Friday, I picked up Uncle Lenny at the bus station and we drove the Henness Pass Road, an old stage coach route through the mountains of the Tahoe National Forest. We camped at Jackson Meadows Reservoir along the way. It was remarkable to see historical markers noting the impossibly rocky, remote, and mountainous sites of two and three story hotels, long since fallen down, that once served the coach road.

Here is a link to Lenny's pictures; here is a link to the route we took.

Fuego v. Panthers, 11 October 2008

Greg Taylor — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:47:00 GMT

Kelley coached the Fuego to total dominance over the Panthers today. Erin had two goals and two assists to her teammate Christian who punched them in. Sarah cheered, "Go, Erin, go!"

Click for more pictures.

Yosemite

Greg Taylor — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:13:00 GMT

Kelley and Adam and I just got back from a weekend in Yosemite. We stayed two nights in a nice cabin in Wawona, inside the south gate of the park, about 60 miles from our house. (Kelley's mom and dad stayed with Erin and Sarah.)

Friday night we had dinner in the Wawona Hotel. Saturday morning, we drove to Glacier Point for the views of the domes and Yosemite Valley. Perfect weather. Adam enjoyed riding in the back seat of the Jeep with the top down looking at the tall trees. In the afternoon, we explored the Historical Pioneer Village in Wawona, including its very nice covered bridge. Early evening on Saturday, we went to Mariposa Grove to inspect the 500 giant sequoias there. We saw eight mule deer, including two bucks near Wawona Meadow with large, velvety racks. By the time we returned to our cabin in the failing light, all of the sourthern part of the park had lost power. We still managed to make a pretty good dinner on the Webber grill by the light of an oil lamp, a Petzl headlamp, and a large wood fire in the fireplace. Power came on at 10:22.

We had fun. Click the pictures for a few more.

Sunday Drive

Greg Taylor — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 06:05:00 GMT

After dinner Erin and Sarah and I went for a Sunday drive with the top down and blankets on their laps.

Erin said, "Dad, I know these are the foothills." I said, "And how do you know that?" She said, "Because they are not too big."

We got back after the Sun had set and the light was failing. We were gone only for about an hour.

Adam at 3 months

Greg Taylor — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 06:12:00 GMT

Adam is almost three months old. Here he is:

Backyard Camping

Greg Taylor — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 05:16:00 GMT

Erin and Dad slept in a tent in the backyard on Friday night. It was Erin's first night in a tent.

First, we looked at Jupiter's moons:

Then, to sleep:

In the morning, Sarah came out to see how we did. After seeing how cozy Erin looked, Sarah decided to try it out:

It was a big success. Erin is ready to go up to the Sierras before the snow comes.

Kings River Trail with Erin

Greg Taylor — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 07:34:00 GMT

Erin took these most of these pictures with a disposable camera on a trip she and I took earlier this month up the trail alongside the Kings River. The last 8 miles were unpaved.

Click the pictures for more.

Here is where we ended up before we turned around to be back by lunch.

Erin and Sarah on Shaver Lake

Greg Taylor — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 05:07:00 GMT

Last Saturday, Erin, Sarah and I drove the open-top jeep up to Shaver Lake and rented a boat for a picnic on the water. They both had turns driving the boat, and then we ate our lunch in the middle of the lake. Erin took most of these pictures with a disposable camera.

Click above for more.

We then went to the Renaissance Fair (or Faire, if you prefer) in the town of Shaver Lake. No pictures as it was far too depressing.

On the way home we drove down the unpaved and somewhat rough Musick Farm Road a little ways. The girls were clamoring for a "bumpy road," which is one of their favorite Saturday activities. Mine too.

They slept on the way home, heedless of the buffetings of the wind in the back seat of the open truck.

Imperial Fleet Week

Greg Taylor — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:00:00 GMT

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Wood spoon

Greg Taylor — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:13:00 GMT

I seem to remember that when we were kids, mixed in with our regular daily flatware was a single spoon with a slender, tapered, dark hardwood shaft for a handle. And that the spoon was an object of desire and envy among us kids. If you were tasked with setting the table for dinner, you would try to put the wood spoon at the setting that you expected to use. Underhanded methods would be used to secure the spoon for oneself at the upcoming meal.

Am I making this up, or does anyone else remember this?