was watching the end of the Stanford vs UNC game yesterday before the Cal game started.
some Indian guy makes a crucial shot at time is running down!
Ryan Agarwal is an American college basketball player for the Stanford Cardinal of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Standing at six feet and six inches, Agarwal plays the small forward position. Agarwal is only one of the four NCAA Division I men's basketball players of Indian heritage.
I had the game on in the stands while the Cal game started. Furd couldn't miss from 3 in the 2nd half. UNC's D isn't as good as Dooks so hopefully we can get some open looks.
i signed up for a Cal book club thru DAGRS (formerly Classics) dept.
Before Christopher Nolan brings The Odyssey to the screen in July 2026, join UC Berkeley Arts & Humanities for a season of events exploring the story that launched a thousand journeys. This spring, we’re reading Daniel Mendelsohn’s acclaimed new 2025 translation in a special virtual alumni book club led by a graduate student from the department of Ancient Greek and Roman Studies and featuring a different faculty expert at each session. Part literary deep dive, part lively conversation
you can join if interested or i can just report back on Odysseus's travels and adventures over the coming months.
Impressive! Somewhere I have some similar "translations" for the Aeneid (very literal translations). Looks like Homer used dactylic hexameter as well! I always liked parsing meters. I don't remember it it was Horace or Catullus I found particularly challenging because he used several different meters.
I suppose there is more than one Cal book club? I joined one that had just finished reading Copperhead and was starting Babel. I like Babel a lot, but the online discussion never really materialized. That was maybe a year ago.
That’s often a problem with book clubs. I was in one at work, but most people didn’t get around to reading the book.
yes reading the book would be a good thing. i think people aspirationally think they will read it but dont.
in my case i have read the Odyssey quite a few times over the years and re-reading generally goes very quickly and is fun. sort of like rewatch movies or a re-run
No 3 and I went to Smokehouse for a burger and chili dog before the Dook game last night. Going to meet up with Jimmy Chitwood before the UNC game. Maybe IBs or Asian Ghetto. Going to assume Top Dog is going to be crowded.
for some reason Burlington is awash w/ Nepali food. got some chili momos and chow mein. there is a one spot just a 2 min walk from the house that doubles as a grocery store for ethnic/regional provisions.
Swamp People season 17 started last week. One of the shows I love to watch because I can turn my brain off. No 3 loves to make fun of me for watching it.
BERKELEY -- The California men's basketball team went toe-to-toe with No. 6 Duke in front of a sellout crowd at Haas Pavilion before the Blue Devils created space in the second half to win tonight's ACC matchup 71-56. A capacity crowd of 11,201 was on hand for the first-ever meeting between the two programs in Berkeley. With its third straight loss, Cal is now 13-5 overall and 1-4 in ACC play. No. 6 Duke improves to 15-1, 5-0.
The South corners were pretty empty so not sure how it was a sellout. Lots of Dook fans.
Dook had a 13-0 run in the 1st half but Cal clawed its way back. Then it was 51-47 and then Dook went on a 20-5 run over the next 7 min. They tightened up the D and we couldn't get anything at all going. Camden fought hard against Boozer but Boozer took over when they went on their 20-5 run. He just got the ball in the key and Camden didn't have the bulk and just got backed all the way down to the basket.
I don't see Boozer doing any one specific thing extremely well. To me he seems like he's just a very well polished, very fundamental freshman. I think he'll be a fine NBA player but maybe not a #1 on an NBA team.
The California women's tennis team begins the New Year with the Cal Winter Invitational, with the Golden Bears hosting the event at the Hellman Tennis Complex and Channing Tennis Courts. Players from Stanford, Cal Poly and Saint Mary's will join the Bears in their annual invitational, which includes singles and doubles tournaments.
Four former Cal football players - Elijah Hicks (Chicago), Jaylinn Hawkins (New England), Jake Tonges (San Francisco) and Craig Woodson (New England) - were on active rosters of winning teams during the NFL's Wild Card Weekend and have moved on to Divisional Playoffs Round this Saturday-Sunday.
The No. 4 California men's swimming & diving team opens up the second half of its 2025-2026 season on the road Friday facing No. 18 USC in Los Angeles at 1 p.m. PT on B1G+.
The Trojans currently hold a 3-3 record in duals and are coming off a pair of wins last week over UC San Diego and UNLV.
I'm a little shocked USC is #18. I would've figured being a big west coast school and having a very good water polo team (at least they were a couple of years ago), that they would have a top 5-8 swimming team.
The No. 7 California women's swimming & diving team begins the second half of its 2025-2026 season with a pair of dual meets in Los Angeles. The Golden Bears will face No. 11 USC on Friday before facing UCLA on Saturday.
California track & field will begin its 2026 indoor season Friday at the Spokane Sports Showcase, heading north to The Podium in Spokane, Washington, to face representatives from eight other collegiate teams, including former conference-mates USC and UCLA.
The meet begins with the women's weight throw at 10:30 a.m. PT and will be streamed on Runnerspace+. Live results will be available on AthleticTiming.
California field hockey alumna Renee Chatas '83 has been inducted into the 2026 USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame, the sport's national governing body announced. Chatas was inducted as an official and joins six others that were part of this year's class and became just the second official to be inducted into the hall of fame.
California men's gymnastics freshman Nathan Underhill has been named the College Gymnastics Association (CGA) Co-Rookie of the Week for his performance last Friday in the Golden Bears' season opener against Stanford, the organization announced Wednesday. Underhill, a native of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, shares the award with Michigan's Eli Osuna.
Baseball history is full of what-ifs. One of those: Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer could have all been teammates with the Detroit Tigers.
My company does, as did my former companies. I think we gave up something else when that happened, though. Like MLK Day became a day off but we didn't get Veteran's Day anymore or something.
I guess our company has the standard ones and then 3 floating holidays to replace the other federal ones that we don't get off. Off the top of my head we get NYD, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, NYE. So I guess 9 holidays including the floating.
I get 14 paid holidays plus 2 floating holidays. 1 floating holiday is really Employee Birthday, the other is in place of Indigenous Peoples' Day, which has become controversial. That floating holiday is now called "Diversity Floating Holiday". I wish the holiday was simply "Floating Holiday". I feel as if inclusion of the word "diversity" serves no one. I do not like this feeling and feel that it is indicative of my perception of a larger malaise in the body politic.
i guess i get all the days off right now since i am not working full time. trying to find something good and juicy to do and happy to take my time in doing so.
there is an electric plane co. here in Burlington, BETA Technologies.
last night at dinner, i met some guy who works at BETA and i was actually going to apply for an AI job there.
the cool thing is.. the guy went to West Point, then switched to the Navy and flew F-18s for 11 yrs!
in other interesting parts of the convo. he grew up outside Tahoe and his aunt/uncle were some sort of Deans at Cal back in the 60s. he overheard something in our convo about Cal which is how we got to talking anyways.
In the past the Kennedy Center had an event and music in the Concert Hall. This year they scheduled a gospel choir at the last minute out in the Grand Hall. Not near the celebration.
Other college
was watching the end of the Stanford vs UNC game yesterday before the Cal game started.
some Indian guy makes a crucial shot at time is running down!
Ryan Agarwal is an American college basketball player for the Stanford Cardinal of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Standing at six feet and six inches, Agarwal plays the small forward position. Agarwal is only one of the four NCAA Division I men's basketball players of Indian heritage.
I had the game on in the stands while the Cal game started. Furd couldn't miss from 3 in the 2nd half. UNC's D isn't as good as Dooks so hopefully we can get some open looks.
Book club
i signed up for a Cal book club thru DAGRS (formerly Classics) dept.
Before Christopher Nolan brings The Odyssey to the screen in July 2026, join UC Berkeley Arts & Humanities for a season of events exploring the story that launched a thousand journeys. This spring, we’re reading Daniel Mendelsohn’s acclaimed new 2025 translation in a special virtual alumni book club led by a graduate student from the department of Ancient Greek and Roman Studies and featuring a different faculty expert at each session. Part literary deep dive, part lively conversation
you can join if interested or i can just report back on Odysseus's travels and adventures over the coming months.
https://click.our.berkeley.edu/?qs=8bb8f272bdec213792aa150487c057f5fea1cb116b15e8e7e2199dd5d8b8084e2b500caac329b06177cbd48e30d25e1e9cefdc4dc2841390
Me too! I'll probably just use Fitzgerald's translation
i read books 1-2 already of this new translation. it is quite good and refreshingly "easy to read"
i have 2 others, Lattimore from my undergrad days, and Wilson, who is the more recently acclaimed one. i think this one os the best of the 3.
there is also "my translation" from undergrad days
https://photos.app.goo.gl/7r4PBkP5yiZ7H7CS7
Impressive! Somewhere I have some similar "translations" for the Aeneid (very literal translations). Looks like Homer used dactylic hexameter as well! I always liked parsing meters. I don't remember it it was Horace or Catullus I found particularly challenging because he used several different meters.
I suppose there is more than one Cal book club? I joined one that had just finished reading Copperhead and was starting Babel. I like Babel a lot, but the online discussion never really materialized. That was maybe a year ago.
That’s often a problem with book clubs. I was in one at work, but most people didn’t get around to reading the book.
yes reading the book would be a good thing. i think people aspirationally think they will read it but dont.
in my case i have read the Odyssey quite a few times over the years and re-reading generally goes very quickly and is fun. sort of like rewatch movies or a re-run
Adventures in AI
someone posted this in another more techie group i am
Cursor for Product Managers
https://www.cursorforpms.com/
i use Cursor as an IDE for coding. this is a little more focused on softer stuff like summaries and writing PRDs. (isnt that what you do HAG?)
i am not going to spend 10-15 hours on it. just getting a glimpse of what i could be doing a little better/faster.
need to spend most of the day learning quantum machine learning for an upcoming interview. a lot less help from AI there.
DBD Food
No 3 and I went to Smokehouse for a burger and chili dog before the Dook game last night. Going to meet up with Jimmy Chitwood before the UNC game. Maybe IBs or Asian Ghetto. Going to assume Top Dog is going to be crowded.
might check out this relatively new Middle Eastern place in town for dinner tonight if i dont end up cooking.
https://wisefoolvt.com/
the Donkey Meal sounds great (only after 1000p)
looks like we are going instead to a local Vietnamese place instead that we have been to before that my wife is craving.
https://pub36.shop/pho-hong-burlington-vt/
kind of a strange website ...
I wonder why after 10 pm? It doesn't seem like it's a special deal.
that's when the donkeys are done w/ their day (maybe?)
for some reason Burlington is awash w/ Nepali food. got some chili momos and chow mein. there is a one spot just a 2 min walk from the house that doubles as a grocery store for ethnic/regional provisions.
That’s very interesting. Maybe Vermont is famous for being a US location for mountain peoples to move to. Like the von Trapps.
this is true. the Von Trapp lodge near Stowe is one of the good ones.
in grad school at IU, Bloomington had a Tibetan restaurant run by some relative of the Dalai Lama. those Tibetan momo's were much better
DBD AV Club
Starfleet Academy. .. new series out on Paramount/CBS.
i'll have to move that to the top of the watchlist
Swamp People season 17 started last week. One of the shows I love to watch because I can turn my brain off. No 3 loves to make fun of me for watching it.
Our Crumbling Democracy
looks like we'll have to postpone the Greenland takeover since we are bisy attacking Iran next ..
Anything to distract from something djt just did, like rest your eyeballs during a photo shoot in the oval office
CAL
[MBB] Sellout Crowd Fills Haas For Cal's First Berkeley Battle With No. 6 Duke
https://calbears.com/news/2026/1/14/mens-basketball-sellout-crowd-fills-haas-for-cals-first-berkeley-battle-with-no-6-duke.aspx
BERKELEY -- The California men's basketball team went toe-to-toe with No. 6 Duke in front of a sellout crowd at Haas Pavilion before the Blue Devils created space in the second half to win tonight's ACC matchup 71-56. A capacity crowd of 11,201 was on hand for the first-ever meeting between the two programs in Berkeley. With its third straight loss, Cal is now 13-5 overall and 1-4 in ACC play. No. 6 Duke improves to 15-1, 5-0.
Lots of stars in attendence. Scottie Pippen, Tosh, Steph Seth and Dell Curry, Jerome Randle, Ken Jeong (Dook medical).
One of the few times Scottie Pippen isn't the best NBA player in the room.
Tosh gave a speech during the first TV timeout. Stayed for maybe the first half and then left.
thats cool. nice to have a good night of Cal sports
The South corners were pretty empty so not sure how it was a sellout. Lots of Dook fans.
Dook had a 13-0 run in the 1st half but Cal clawed its way back. Then it was 51-47 and then Dook went on a 20-5 run over the next 7 min. They tightened up the D and we couldn't get anything at all going. Camden fought hard against Boozer but Boozer took over when they went on their 20-5 run. He just got the ball in the key and Camden didn't have the bulk and just got backed all the way down to the basket.
I don't see Boozer doing any one specific thing extremely well. To me he seems like he's just a very well polished, very fundamental freshman. I think he'll be a fine NBA player but maybe not a #1 on an NBA team.
[WTEN] Bears Open 2026 With Winter Invite
https://calbears.com/news/2026/1/14/womens-tennis-bears-open-2026-with-winter-invite.aspx
The California women's tennis team begins the New Year with the Cal Winter Invitational, with the Golden Bears hosting the event at the Hellman Tennis Complex and Channing Tennis Courts. Players from Stanford, Cal Poly and Saint Mary's will join the Bears in their annual invitational, which includes singles and doubles tournaments.
[FB] 4 Move On To NFL’s Divisional Playoffs Round
https://calbears.com/news/2026/1/14/football-4-move-on-to-nfls-divisional-playoffs-round.aspx
Four former Cal football players - Elijah Hicks (Chicago), Jaylinn Hawkins (New England), Jake Tonges (San Francisco) and Craig Woodson (New England) - were on active rosters of winning teams during the NFL's Wild Card Weekend and have moved on to Divisional Playoffs Round this Saturday-Sunday.
[MSWIM] No. 4 Bears Begin 2026 At No. 18 USC
https://calbears.com/news/2026/1/14/mens-swimming-diving-no-4-bears-begin-2026-at-no-18-usc.aspx
The No. 4 California men's swimming & diving team opens up the second half of its 2025-2026 season on the road Friday facing No. 18 USC in Los Angeles at 1 p.m. PT on B1G+.
The Trojans currently hold a 3-3 record in duals and are coming off a pair of wins last week over UC San Diego and UNLV.
I'm a little shocked USC is #18. I would've figured being a big west coast school and having a very good water polo team (at least they were a couple of years ago), that they would have a top 5-8 swimming team.
[WSWIM] No. 7 Cal Opens 2026 On Road
https://calbears.com/news/2026/1/14/womens-swimming-diving-no-7-cal-opens-2026-on-road.aspx
The No. 7 California women's swimming & diving team begins the second half of its 2025-2026 season with a pair of dual meets in Los Angeles. The Golden Bears will face No. 11 USC on Friday before facing UCLA on Saturday.
[T&F] Bears Open Indoor Season In Spokane
https://calbears.com/news/2026/1/14/track-field-bears-open-indoor-season-in-spokane.aspx
California track & field will begin its 2026 indoor season Friday at the Spokane Sports Showcase, heading north to The Podium in Spokane, Washington, to face representatives from eight other collegiate teams, including former conference-mates USC and UCLA.
The meet begins with the women's weight throw at 10:30 a.m. PT and will be streamed on Runnerspace+. Live results will be available on AthleticTiming.
[MTEN] Men's Tennis Begins Home Competition
https://calbears.com/news/2026/1/14/mens-tennis-begins-home-competition.aspx
[FB] Alum Renee Chatas Named To USA Field Hockey HOF
https://calbears.com/news/2026/1/14/alum-renee-chatas-named-to-usa-field-hockey-hof.aspx
California field hockey alumna Renee Chatas '83 has been inducted into the 2026 USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame, the sport's national governing body announced. Chatas was inducted as an official and joins six others that were part of this year's class and became just the second official to be inducted into the hall of fame.
[MGYM] Underhill Named CGA Co-Rookie Of The Week
https://calbears.com/news/2026/1/14/mens-gymnastics-underhill-named-cga-co-rookie-of-the-week.aspx
California men's gymnastics freshman Nathan Underhill has been named the College Gymnastics Association (CGA) Co-Rookie of the Week for his performance last Friday in the Golden Bears' season opener against Stanford, the organization announced Wednesday. Underhill, a native of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, shares the award with Michigan's Eli Osuna.
PRO
26 days until the Giants pitchers and catchers report.
27 days until the A's pitchers and catchers report.
29 days until the Dodgers pitchers and catchers report. I guess they're getting a few extra days due to the World Series.
Sources: Jonathan Kuminga demanding trade away from Warriors
no surprise since he hasnt been playing much
I think part of why he hasn't been playing is they don't want him to get hurt beore being traded (See Anthony Davis).
interesting ..
Kershaw, Verlander, Scherzer: Who is this generation's true ace?
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47611000/mlb-generation-ultimate-ace-clayton-kershaw-justin-verlander-max-scherzer
Baseball history is full of what-ifs. One of those: Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer could have all been teammates with the Detroit Tigers.
That group, in its prime, would have been an amazing rotation.
Warriors Knicks tonight at 7, but on Prime Video.
Sharks at the Washington Capitals today at 4.
John Harbaugh to the Giants for 5/100ish.
MLK Day
Do any tech companies get the observed MLK day off next Monday? I don't imagine many non-goverment, finance, schools get it off.
My company does, as did my former companies. I think we gave up something else when that happened, though. Like MLK Day became a day off but we didn't get Veteran's Day anymore or something.
I guess our company has the standard ones and then 3 floating holidays to replace the other federal ones that we don't get off. Off the top of my head we get NYD, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, NYE. So I guess 9 holidays including the floating.
I get 14 paid holidays plus 2 floating holidays. 1 floating holiday is really Employee Birthday, the other is in place of Indigenous Peoples' Day, which has become controversial. That floating holiday is now called "Diversity Floating Holiday". I wish the holiday was simply "Floating Holiday". I feel as if inclusion of the word "diversity" serves no one. I do not like this feeling and feel that it is indicative of my perception of a larger malaise in the body politic.
Oh yeah, my old company did that too.
i guess i get all the days off right now since i am not working full time. trying to find something good and juicy to do and happy to take my time in doing so.
there is an electric plane co. here in Burlington, BETA Technologies.
last night at dinner, i met some guy who works at BETA and i was actually going to apply for an AI job there.
the cool thing is.. the guy went to West Point, then switched to the Navy and flew F-18s for 11 yrs!
Electric airplanes was a big thing at NASA Ames at Moffett Field. Maybe it still is, but since I’m retired, I don’t keep up.
Is he conflicted when the Army-Navy game rolls around in December each year?
Inquiring minds want to know!
i imagine he quite is. didnt ask.
in other interesting parts of the convo. he grew up outside Tahoe and his aunt/uncle were some sort of Deans at Cal back in the 60s. he overheard something in our convo about Cal which is how we got to talking anyways.
In the past the Kennedy Center had an event and music in the Concert Hall. This year they scheduled a gospel choir at the last minute out in the Grand Hall. Not near the celebration.