PaceHouse

It's not true!

2010-11-10T17:33:00.000-08:00

I like my name like Chrysanthemum. I like it because I am named after a store. The name of the store is Ethan Allen.

Local gymnasts shine at regular-season finale

2010-11-04T14:27:00.000-07:00

GYMNASTICS: Local gymnasts shine at regular-season finale

12:16 PM
By Submitted Story, Special to the Dispatch





		Louisa Mantilla swept the Level 4 Senior Division at the recent Pumpkin Caper Competition. Teammates Leah Hamilton (right) and Stacy Gaddis (left), who finished second and third on vault and floor exercise, respectively.
		Photo by: Special to The Dispatch

USA Sports, with a team comprised of gymnastics from Gilroy and Hollister, closed out the regular fall competition season with a golden performance at the Great Pumpkin Caper hosted by Performance Athletics of San Luis Obispo.

"I'm really proud of the girls," USA Sports coach Melinda Lawrence said. "They are preparing themselves for postseason competitions. They're ready for the big meets."

USA Sports' Level 4 gymnasts captured the team title in the Great Pumpkin Caper while also dominating the individual awards at the team's final meet of the regular season.

In the senior division (10-year-olds-plus), Louisa Mantilla, of Gilroy, had her best meet of the season, winning all four events (vault 9.15; uneven bars 9.2; balance beam 9.05 and floor exercise 9.25), which also gave her the all-around title 36.45.

Teammate Leah Hamilton, of Hollister, finished with triple silvers (bars 8.75; floor 8.30; and all-around 34.15). She also finished third on beam (8.6). Camryn Irao, of Hollister, finished second on vault (8.825) and Stacy Gaddis, of Gilroy, competed in her first meet and placed third on vault (8.70) and floor (8.225).

In the middle age division (8-year-olds) Sloane Pace, of Gilroy won vault (9.15), placed second on bars (9.2), floor (9.125) and all-around (36.30), and third on beam (8.825). Teammate Simone Yamaoka, of Hollister, placed third on floor (8.8).

The youngest division (under 8-years-old), Sonte Stewart, of Gilroy, led the team with a first-place finish on vault (8.975), and a second on bars (8.95), floor (8.825) and all-around (tie 34.95). Ellie Pickford, also of Gilroy, added a first-place finish with a solid beam performance (8.55).

USA Sports' Level 5 team also did well. Courtney Grow, of Hollister, placed second on floor (8.975) and third in the all-around (32.40). Teammates Catharina Ji and Felicia Markfield, both of Hollister, collected third-place finishes. Ji was third on beam (8.675) and floor (8.75) and Markfield won bronze on floor (7.70).

The Level 6 gymnasts also put a scare in the competition with top finishes. Taylor Lawrence, of Hollister, won all four events and the all-around (vault 8.525; bars 9.2; beam 8.325, floor 8.5 and AA 34.55). Hollister teammate Marissa Opray placed second on vault (8.375) and third on bars (6.35), floor (8.175) and all-around (30.025).

The Level 4 gymnasts, Mantilla, Pace, Stewart and Yamaoka, from USA Sports who will go on to the postseason and compete in the NorCal State Championships scheduled for Dec. 4 and 5 in Rancho Cordova. A 34.00 in the all-around in a USA Gymnastics sanctioned meet qualifies a gymnast for the state meet.

The club's Level 5 gymnasts Aubrey Kaho, of Gilroy, and Kylii Anderson and Sara Dike, both of Hollister, will join teammates Grow, Ji, and Markfield at the NorCal Zone Championships later this month. Lawrence, a Level 6 gymnast, also qualified for the NorCal Zone Championships.

To qualify for the Zone Championships a gymnast must score a 31.00 in the all-around. A minimum score and placement at the Zone meet qualifies the Level 5 and 6 gymnasts for the state competition.

Local gymnasts from USA Sports are off to a high-flying start

2010-10-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.gilroydispatch.com/sports/269318-gymnastics-local-gymnasts-from-usa-sports-are-off-to-a-high-flying-start

GYMNASTICS: Local gymnasts from USA Sports are off to a high-flying start

10:00 AM
By Staff Report





		USA Sports gymnast Sloane Pace was a top performer at the 2010 Stars Challenge earlier this month.

Local gymnasts from USA Sports are off to a high-flying start with two solid meet performances recently.
"The girls are performing exceptionally well for it being so early in the season," USA Sports Coach Melinda Lawrence said in a statement. "They've worked hard all summer and it's paying off. We expect them to just continue improving throughout the season and finish with one of our best years ever."

Most recently, USA Sports' Level 4 team finished third (106.550) at the 2010 Stars Challenge in Union City. In the individual all-around competition, Sloane Pace, of Gilroy, and Simone Yamaoka, of Hollister, finished second (35.95) and third (35.30), respectively. Pace also won top floor (9.125) honors and tied for first on vault (9.25). Yamaoka placed second on uneven bars (9.00).

Also in the same meet, Hollister's Catharina Ji placed third on vault (8.60) in Level 5. Taylor Lawrence, also of Hollister, dominated the Level 6 competition by winning the all around (34.90), uneven bars (9.0) and vault (8.875) competitions, and captured second on balance beam (8.875).

A few weeks earlier at the Princess Meet in Visalia, two gymnasts from USA Sports qualified for the Level 4 NorCal State Championships, scheduled for Dec. 4-5 in Rancho Cordova. A minimum all-around score of 34.50 is required to qualify.

In route to earning their state qualifications, Pace won the all-around title (35.875) and uneven bars (8.85). Teammate Louisa Mantilla, of Gilroy, took third in the all-around (34.50), uneven bars (8.60) and floor exercise (8.70).

Other Princess Meet highlights by the Level 4 team included Simone Yamaoka, of Hollister, winning vault (9.75); Gilroy's Ellie Pickford tying for second on vault (9.35) with teammate Sonte Stewart, also of Gilroy. Pickford also took second on floor exercise (8.85).
Level 5 teammates Courtney Grow and Kylii Anderson, both from Hollister, tied for third in the all-around (32.50). Grow also nabbed second on uneven bars (8.45) and Anderson was third on balance beam (8.35).

Finally, Hollister's Marissa Opray dominated the Level 6 competition, winning the all-around and all four events. With a total score of 30.20, Opray recorded top scores in the vault (8.40), uneven bars (6.80), balance beam (6.85) and floor exercise (8.15). Level 5 and 6 gymnasts must qualify for the state competition through the NorCal Zone Championship in November.

Staff Report
Send news items to editor@garlic.com

A Reward

2010-09-28T22:28:00.001-07:00

Last night, we were having Mexican food, and there were some jalapenos
as a side dish. EJP joked about eating one, so I offered him a dollar
to eat one. He went for it. He liked it, and said it wasn't too spicy
while he downed several cups of milk.

A dollar well spent, I think.

Kip

2010-09-11T14:56:00.000-07:00

Starting earlier this week, SKGP can now do the kip. Today, she did it 17 times! Level 5, here she comes, next season.

Tooth

2010-09-09T07:32:00.000-07:00

In the middle of the night, EJP lost his lower left, second from the front tooth. He didn't swallow it.

Tooth

2010-09-04T11:54:00.001-07:00

SKGP lost her lower right fourth from the front tooth this morning. I would have sworn that EJP would be next to lose a tooth, since he has one that has been very loose for weeks.

SKGP at Princess Critique Gymnastics Meet (Level 4)

2010-09-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

Bike

2010-08-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

After we got home from a free They Might Be Giants concert in San Francisco, and had our dinner of ice cream from Sweet Retreat in San Jose, the kids were out front, and EJP decided he wanted to ride his bike, and with a little help from his sister and mom, he did it. At first, he was getting "starters" from SKGP, then we told him how he could get going himself, he was able to do the whole process from start to crash all by himself. Perhaps it isn't the most graceful biking, but it's a great start.

Hooray!

The Princess Meet

2010-08-15T16:18:00.000-07:00

Gymnastics season has started again, and SKGP has started off strong again.

At the Princess Meet in Visalia yesterday, competing in the Level 4 ages 9+, she scored:

Vault: 9.350 (3rd place)
Bars: 8.850 (1st place)
Beam: 8.525 (2nd pace)
Floor: 9.150 (1st place)
All Around: 35.875 (1st place)

I was unable to attend the meet, but I hear that she looked very good. This was the first meet for most of the Gilroy team, and they did pretty well and learned the actual details of competitive gymnastics.

Updates

2010-07-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

SKGP lost a molar last week, complete with filling.
As of yesterday, SKGP is now 10 years old. EJP turned 7 last month.
Zoe started out at 9 lbs, and is now 27 lbs, and growing.
School begins in 3 weeks.

Gymnastics Camp

2010-07-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

SKGP is back from Nastia Luikin's UCLA Gymnastics Camp, and I think she had a great time. She managed to stay the entire time, even though she had some homesickness. She liked the food. Details have been difficult to extract.

Bet: iPhone 4

2010-07-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

My father made a bet today.

1. He believes within the next several months, Apple will release an iPhone 4 with a changed antenna. That is, there will be a hardware fix.

2. He further believes that Apple will them offer some incentive to current iPhone 4 users to move to this new phone, such as $100 credit.

I could possibly see the first coming true, but very unlikely. If Apple decides to do a cosmetic fix (e.g., some version of duct tape over antenna gap), they could get that out in the next couple months, but that's not really the Apple way.

I think he's out of his mind with his second statement.

On a related note, does anyone know how I can get an iPhone in my hands?

Friday in San Francisco

2010-07-10T12:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the kids and I went to San Francisco to go to the Exploritorium. We parked the car and used Yelp to find a corner store that made sandwiches for lunch. Then, we wandered into the Presidio to find a bathroom, and I remembered that there was a statue of Yoda nearby, which we found. Then we spent several hours playing with the amazing exhibits at the Exploratorium. I hadn't been in over twenty years, and it was still amazing. We did a little bit of driving around the City -- went down curvy Lombard, drove by the TransAmerica building -- and came home, hitting Aqui in San Jose for dinner.

A Frustrated Gymnast

2010-06-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

A series of unfortunate hacks, network edition

2010-06-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

So, if I know my audience, then I'm sure that this article is going to fascinate you all!

I've had a problem getting usable WiFi coverage in my house. This is understandable as my house has lots of walls with lots of metal in them, and my WiFi server is my FreeBSD system with a cheap PCI WiFi adapter in it. I tried adding a bigger antenna and that helped some, but connectivity still sucked in most parts of the house.

A couple months ago, I learned that power-line Ethernet adapters are inexpensive and really work. So, I bought the cheapest set I could find (and I now see that I can get them on eBay significantly cheaper -- with shipping, about $30 each, perhaps $25 if you are patient). One connected to my server-side switch, and the other went into my bedroom. I connected an old WiFi router that I had to that, and set up a second WiFi network there.

This new WiFi network in that part of the house has been great for our iPhones and laptops. Our guest room now has much better coverage (come stay and try it out!). With the Ethernet ports on the switch, I was also able to directly connect my Roku Player to the network, so streaming movies works well.

However, there was a problem. I want the Tivo in the bedroom to talk to my PC to exchange programming. The Tivo Desktop software requires that the systems be on the same subnet. The new router acts as a router, which means it gives out IP addresses from its DHCP server on a different subnet. So, I've been forced to leave the Tivo on the distant WiFi network, which makes for flaky connections and slow transfers.

Yesterday, I read this article, linked from Lifehacker, about turning a router into a switch; the simplicity of this is genius -- I wish I had thought of it. Today, I disabled DHCP on the router, and connected the upstream cable into a LAN port instead of the WAN port, and now the Tivo shows the WiFi connection is at 100% and on the same network as my PC.

Now, all the devices on my network are on one subnet (except my VOIP phones). This should make printing possible from all the computers. I am very happy.

Here's another small project that I should do. I use uTorrent software to download shows selected using the website ShowRSS. That happens automatically, but I have been manually moving the files to another directory for them to be transferred to the Tivo. I've seen a couple different tools that should be able to move files, based on name, to the right directory.

Oh wait, my audience likely doesn't care. Oh well. Hi Mom.

Closet Fail

2010-06-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

RCP's closet collapsed again. Last time I managed to reattach the thingy, but I think this time we're going to have to redo the whole thing. Has anyone tried the Costco closet organization service?

Dog

2010-05-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

We've got a dog!

Mystery Tooth Fairy

2010-05-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

EJP lost his other front tooth. He didn't want the Tooth Fairy to take it before he took it to school to show it off. Then he forgot it there. Days passed. It came home, but didn't make it under the pillow.

The other day, we came home and were told that the Tooth Fairy left the pile of money on the floor. I don't know where the tooth is.

We can't find any adult who knows what happened. Is one of the kids testing us?

Tooth

2010-05-02T19:08:00.001-07:00

EJP's second top front tooth just dropped out in a slice of pizza.

SKGP's Favs

2010-03-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

Last month was the annual father / daughter girl scout dance. There was a questionnaire that we each filled out. Here are SKGP's answers.

What is your favorite food? Pasta with garlic bread
What is your favorite toy / stuffed animal? Webkinz
Who is your best friend? Louisa
Did you ever get sent to the principal and why? No
What do you want to be when you grow up? A second grade teacher
What is your dream car? Red Prius
What is your favorite movie? Annie
What is your favorite music group? Selena Gomez and the Scene
Who is your favorite actor? Selena Gomez
What is your favorite TV show? Wizards of Waverly Place
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Coffee
What musical instruments would you like to play? Piano
Who is your favorite teacher? Ms. Nino and Mr. Hentschke
Who do you have a crush on? Nobody
What is your favorite book? The Little House series
What sports do you want to play? Gymnastics and volleyball
Where is your favorite place to go on vacation? Disneyland
What is your favorite color? Orange
What is your least favorite food? Cooked spinach, coconut soup, fish
What is your favorite pair of shoes? Cork heels

Peanut

2010-03-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

Our rat, Peanut, passed away this weekend. She was a good rat, and we are sad to have lost her. We buried her across the street in the open space.

GUSD Budget Ideas

2010-02-11T11:50:00.000-08:00

The Gilroy Unified School District is $6.3M in the hole (PDF) for next year. The Superintendent put up a web page for the public to offer suggestions, so I did:

* I was shocked and dismayed to see the Teacher's Union suggest that closing Rucker was a viable and valuable way for dealing with the budget crisis. The people of Gilroy voted that Rucker was an asset worthy of modernization with Measure P. Also, as one of the larger pieces of land (12 ac), Rucker has great potential to house students.

* Clearly, increasing student teacher ratios will be a part of the new budget. While we parents wish this wasn't the case, it is a logical cost savings.

* Several of the schools (Rucker and Las Animas, I know) have large garden plots; is it realistic to think we could save on food costs by growing our own healthy food? I'm sure volunteers can be found to help.

* You need to help everyone understand that Measure P expenditures are not part of the normal budget. I can see trouble if the public are confused about how we are building new buildings while eliminating teachers.

* Save electricity: Make sure computer labs (and other PCs) are shut down when not in use.

* Can we minimize our expenditures on landscaping? Drought tolerant plantings need less maintenance. Synthetic turf needs no watering or chemicals.

* Base staff assignments on some quality metric instead of seniority (which nearly guarantees you pay the most for any given position).

* I don't completely understand how the elementary school library system works, but it doesn't seem optimally cost effective to me. Does 2 hours per week for a paid librarian actually make an impact, when teachers build their own in class libraries anyway?

* _If_ there are staff members being paid with no duties in the district (e.g. principals without schools; teachers without classes), these positions should be dealt with. [Listen to This American Life's episode "Human Resources" about New York's Rubber Room: http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=350 ]

* The suggested idea of moving the district office to a rented building and renting out the current one seems optimistic about the fact that there is a lot of vacant space in the area, so rents any rent received would be small.

* Use Measure P funds to dramatically improve energy efficiency throughout the district as quickly as possible. Or more generally, quickly do capital improvements that reduce O&M costs.

* Please don't gut the GATE program at Rucker and the Dual Immersion program at Las Animas (and Rod Kelley) (and any other academic programs like these). These programs are the shining beacons in a struggling academic environment; they give parents something to be proud of, and show the children that there are benefits to being smart and talented and hard working.

* I believe there is some obligation to provide transportation to students, but perhaps charging fees or reducing routes would save money. Perhaps a hub system like public transit (go to station, and bus goes from there to ultimate destination) could reduce costs? [Although I do love that my son's bus stop is right in front of my house.]

* Is milk necessary for school age kids? Perhaps cups for the water fountains is all the beverage they need, since many seem to throw away their drinks anyway.

* A couple weeks ago, I saw a GUSD bus at a tutoring place in Morgan Hill. What is this and is it a program that can be reduced or eliminated?

* What can parents do to help?

* Paper! Teachers use too much paper and are constantly running out. Can we move to a less paper based system? We get 10+ pages a week of homework for my first grader, plus all the in class stuff.

* Does the district recycle cans, bottles, and paper for money? Is composting of food waste a cheaper alternative than trash? (Why did Costco start composting recently?)

* Use open source and free software instead of expensive solutions like Microsoft Office. Google Docs is great! (How much do we spend on LoopNet? Is there a free alternative?)

* In this real estate market, counting on selling or leasing vacant school sites is unlikely. The real estate development company where I work contacted the District early last year about one of the sites and the price quoted was completely unrealistic for current market conditions.

* Does the District have a grant writer? Perhaps there are private, federal, or state grants that can help.

Sorry for my long, rambling, semi-coherent ideas! Good luck.

Craigslist

2010-02-11T11:42:00.000-08:00

I am now the book keeper at work. This means I have had to learn how to use QuickBooks to process bills, write checks, and create reports for the Boss. It also means, I very recently learned, that I have to deal with some tax issues, specifically sending IRS Form 1099s to consultants.

Luckily, I found how to do it in QuickBooks, but you need to have the OFFICIAL form. I went to Staples and found a pack of paperwork. Once I printed a bunch of forms, I realized that I needed two more copies of one of the forms. Staples would have forced me to buy another $25 pack of too much stuff, so I turned to Craigslist.

I posted an ad to the Morgan Hill community. A few hours later a kind person in Oakland replied that they had the form I needed. On Tuesday I sent a self addressed envelope, and the forms arrived today, two days later.

I don't care if this is a boring story; I'm impressed with the speed and generosity that the Internet gives us access to. Thanks, Internet!

A Busy Monday

2009-12-15T15:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday started off normally enough. Wake up too early; fight to get the kids dressed, fed, and out the door. I dropped SKGP off at school, and went in to work.

I completed and mailed the state and federal taxes for the Rucker Home & School Club, wrote some work related checks, and checked some other items off my to do list.

From 3:30 to 5:30, I worked with the Rucker (SKGP's school) Principal and SKGP's teacher, Mr. H, to narrow down the list of architects from 15 to 6 for the Rucker rebuild. Then I went to the gym, relieved Nana from EJP duty. I watched SKGP do some gymnastics, and tried unsuccessfully to help the girls do some kind of bar exercise.

I took EJP home and washed the dishes while RCP made calzones for dinner. During dinner, I got a text message and a voice mail from my VIP (police volunteer) team leader. I ignored that for a bit. The phone rang, and it was someone looking for me to run for my state district's Libertarian Party state senator seat, which I declined.

After I finished eating, I decided that this would be as good a time as any to start actually doing something with the VIPs, so I called my leader back and left him a vmail. Then, I suited up, and drove to where the text said the issue was, arriving a few minutes before 8.

Around 7:35, a truck ran into a bike. I gathered that the guy was hurt pretty bad and might die; there was quite a bit of blood in the street, and his bike was broken in half. While we didn't learn anything last night, the newspaper reports that he's going to be fine.

For the next 3.5 hours, I stood in the cold with a little flashlight with a red plastic cone on the end, waving at cars to keep moving. I chatted with some of the other volunteers, and learned some of the basics of keeping a crime scene clear. I learned some things that I need to add to my kit, like gloves and warmer socks. I lit a flare. I watched the Gilroy PD team do a real survey of the area. It was an interesting, if boring and cold, experience.

I got home a little before midnight.