How Reliable is Your Car GPS ?

 

 

The other day a relative drove me to Sky River Casino in Elk Grove, CA. The Casino grand opening was last September and I know it is in Highway 99 about 15 miles south from downtown Sacramento. My relative used her car GPS system. I realized the GPS is routing as thru the back roads instead of the Freeways ( my favorite route to Elk Grove for Pinoy groceries). I have never used a GPS but maps. My personal knowledge is that from My house in Fair Oaks, the fastest route is via Highway 50 to 99 South towards Stockton.    

I realized that it was almost rush hour so the GPS routed us away from the Freeways and thru the back roads with less traffic.  

 

The GPS misguided us to CA 104- five miles farther south from the Sky River Casino on Grant Line Rd and Ca 99.

Google Maps showed me three ways from my House in Fair Oaks to the Casino as follows:

 1. via Bradshaw Rd

Best route now due to traffic conditions

• This route has restricted usage or private roads.

33 min

30.3 miles

2. via US-50 W and CA-99 S

37 min

22.4 miles

3. via Sunrise Blvd and Grant Line Rd

 

If I were driving and not during rush hours, I will choose #2. My Relative chose #3 as directed by her Car GPS. However, instead of driving straight from Grant Line Rd to Ca-99, the GPS lead us to the small town of Wilton. By the time we reached 99 S, we were at the boundary of Elk Grove and Galt( Twin Cities Rd). The GPS directed us 5 miles farther south from our destination. 

 

The detour in the little town of Wilton was pleasant and my first time.   (https://elkgrovehistoricalsociety.com/history-town-of-wilton/

We have a leisurely drive in the rural side roads(Dillard and Arno) with vineyards and farm lands as the back ground. Since it was mid afternoon, the GPS detour was not as bad although we lost about 15 minutes to our destination.   We did drove by the Adkins Family Vineyards at Grant Line Rd.

So how reliable is your car GPS system? The price of GPS ranges from as low as $39 to as High as $700. I would guess that the more expensive the more reliable is the system.  My relative mentioned to me that this was not the first time that her GPS system instructed her about 5 miles away from her destination.

 Here's a summary from Wikipedia on ANS ( Car GPS) for your information.

An automotive navigation system is part of the automobile controls or a third party add-on used to find direction in an automobile. It typically uses a satellite navigation device to get its position data which is then correlated to a position on a road. When directions are needed routing can be calculated. On the fly traffic information (road closures, congestion) can be used to adjust the route.

Dead reckoning using distance data from sensors attached to the drivetrain, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a magnetometer can be used for greater reliability, as GNSS signal loss and/or multipath can occur due to urban canyons or tunnels.

Mathematically, automotive navigation is based on the shortest path problem, within graph theory, which examines how to identify the path that best meets some criteria (shortest, cheapest, fastest, etc.) between two points in a large network.

Meanwhile, I am reposting one of our photos from our Sky River Casino Outing last Wednesday.

A Fun 3-4 hours sojourn at the Sky River Casino in Elk Grove, California

 

A Lucky Trip to the Sky River Casino in Elk Grove, California

Yesterday was a lucky day for me. This was my first outing after five years to an Indian Casino near me.

 

Yuka and I with Parents-in-Law ( Father and Mother of Alex Chilan from Equador) enjoying the Amenities of Sky River Casino in Elk Grove, CA Feb 22, 2023 ( Ash Wednesday) 

It had been almost 5 years that I have enjoyed dining and gambling at the Indian Casinos nearby. For the last 2 decades Macrine ( RIP) and I had budgeted to play and dine in either the Thunder Valley Casino ( Lincoln) or Red Hawk Casino ( Shingle Springs) twice a month as our entertainment.  

Yesterday Yuka drove the 3 of us to Sky River. We stayed for 3 hours. We eat a moist and delicious turkey/bacon/avocado sandwiches. We gambled for 3 hours. The Chilan won $50 dollars. I won $66 dollars after playing in only 10 slot machines.  I was tired but very happy. Yuka said we may do it again in April when the Chilan's returned to Equador. 

Sky River was developed and built for the Wilton Rancheria Tribe. It is located fifteen miles south of downtown Sacramento in Elk Grove. It had a grand opening last September.

Cleverly referred to as “Sac Vegas,” Sky River required years of planning and a reported $500 million to build.

A third of its 300,000 square feet is dedicated to gaming, according to the casino. That includes 2,000 slot machines, eighty table games, and a 12-table poker room.

The property also has plans for seventeen new restaurants and bars and, eventually, a spa and a hotel.

Sky River holds a special significance to local residents. Not only have 2,000 been hired as employees, the casino was built over a formerly abandoned mall complex. The property has been a blight on the landscape for years.

Among the new restaurants are:

• SR Prime Steakhouse — A steaks and seafood joint that offers a top-tier wine collection, whiskies and local craft beer.

• 32 Brews Street — Television-heavy sports bar serving appetizers, entrees, cocktails, spirits, draft beer and California wine.

• Dragon Beaux — Sit-down dining and menu featuring dim sum, Cantonese roast meats and traditional Chinese cooking.

• The Market at Sky River — The casino’s food hall with twelve restaurants, offering everything from hamburgers and spicy chicken to rotisserie meats and sushi.

For more details visit: 

https://24hournation.com/casinos/sky-river-casino/

 For the latest news on the Casino read: 

 https://www.sacbee.com/community/elk-grove/article272539341.html

 

Good Bye Chateau Du Mer Beach House, Marinduque, Philippines

Good Bye Chateau Du Mer Beach House-2023

 

I received news today that our beach house at Chateau Du Mer, Boac, Marinduque burned last week due to electric malfunctioning in broad daylight. By the time the fire squad arrive after the 30 minutes call for help, the house was completely burned and only the foundation survived. There are a lot of pleasant memories ( sleep-overs listening only to the ocean waves, wedding events and other parties) associated with this beach house we built in 1999. 

 

Here are some photos from my album.

For more details on Chateau Du Mer and the beach house visit:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7016570439441689138/7920636480395983472

Good Bye, Chateau Du Mer Beach House-The Nipa Hut 2

 

Three Places Named Santa Cruz that I Know in Planet Earth

There are three places in Planet Earth named Santa Cruz that I know and have visited.

The places are located in Seville, Spain, California, USA and Marinduque, Philippines,

1. Santa Cruz, Seville, Spain

Santa Cruz, is the primary tourist neighborhood of Seville, Spain, and the former Jewish quarter of the medieval city. Santa Cruz is bordered by the Jardines de Murillo, the Real Alcázar, Calle Mateos Gago, and Calle Santa María La Blanca/San José. The neighbourhood is the location of many of Seville's oldest churches and is home to the Cathedral of Seville, including the converted minaret of the old Moorish mosque Giralda. 

The district of Santa Cruz covers the historic and artistic quarter of Seville. Walking through its streets you can see 12th century buildings, like the Royal Citadels, and symbolic buildings, like the cathedral, the General Archive of the Indies, the Hospital of the Venerable and the City Hall.

Macrine and I drove by the area during our one week vacation in Spain in the mid 1990's.

 For more details visit:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz,_Seville 

 

The Beach and Board Walk of Santa Cruz, CA

2. Santa Cruz, California, USA 

Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the largest city and the county seat of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a popular tourist destination, owing to its beaches, surf culture, and historic landmarks.

Santa Cruz was founded by the Spanish in 1791, when Fermín de Lasuén established Mission Santa Cruz. Soon after, a settlement grew up near the mission called Branciforte, which came to be known across Alta California for its lawlessness. With the Mexican secularization of the Californian missions in 1833, the former mission was divided and granted as rancho grants. Following the American Conquest of California, Santa Cruz eventually incorporated as a city in 1866. The creation of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in 1907 solidified the city's status as a seaside resort community, while the establishment of the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1965 led to Santa Cruz's emergence as a college town.

We have visited Santa Cruz area several times when we were residing in Modesto, California from 1969 to 1974.

For details visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz,_California

 

Holy Cross Roman Catholic Cathedral in Santa Cruz

3. Santa Cruz, Marinduque, Philippines

Santa Cruz, officially the Municipality of Santa Cruz (Tagalog: Bayan ng Santa Cruz), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Marinduque, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 54,692 people. 

History: Republic Act No. 204, approved May 28, 1948, converted the sitios of Angas of the barrio of Tagum, Biga of the barrio of Alobo, Kamandungan of the barrio of Lusok, Kilokilo of the barrio of San Antonio, and Makulapnit of the barrio of Devilla to regular and independent barrios. In 1953, the sitio of Baguidbirin was converted into a barrio.

Geography: The municipal jurisdiction also includes the islands of Maniwaya, Mongpong, Salomague, and Santa Cruz (also known as Polo Island), as well as several minor islets.

Barangays

Maniwaya Island

Santa Cruz is politically subdivided into 55 barangays.  In 1957 the sitio of Kalangkang, barrio of Kasily, was converted into a barangay. 

Macrine and I have been to Santa Cruz, MRQ numerous times during our MI, Inc medical missions as well as during our yearly vacation at Chateau Du Mer during the late 1990's up to the late 2010's. Macrine has relatives native to the town and we purchased regularly seafood products from the town.

For details visit:

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz,_Marinduque

Meanwhile enjoy this photo from my album:

My Lighted Bubblegram Memento Photograph

 

 

A Small Place with a Familiar Name-Manila, Arkansas

 Manila,Philippines I am very familiar with having been born and raised in the Philippines during my first 26 years of Life. I went to the University of the Philippines for My Bachelor's degree in Diliman, Quezon City- a suburb of Manila. So Manila Philippines, I consider my second home. If you are a Filipino-American, you probably not have heard of Manila, Arkansas. Here's some information on this small town in Arkansas.   Ma

Manila Museum

 

Manila is located on Buffalo Island, not really an island but a geographical piece of land bordered by the Little River and Big Lake. The history of the town dates to just after the Civil War when John U. Needham came to the Manila area in 1868 to establish a permanent camp for his grazing stock. He selected the highest, driest piece of the land that was in an area that at the time was called the “Great Swamp.” A community, named Cinda after Lucinda, a postmaster’s sister, grew in the area of Needham homestead. In 1901 the community incorporated as a town with the name of Manila after the capitol of the Philippine Islands in honor of Admiral George Dewey’s accomplishments during the Spanish-American War and his decisive victory at the Battle of Manila Bay.

By this time the extensive timber tracts in the area attracted the attention of the railroads companies where substantial profits could be made from shipments of timber to area sawmills and then to northern markets. The town grew rapidly when the Jonesboro, Lake City and Eastern (JLC&E) extended its line to Manila on December 2, 1900. The JLC&E operated four trains daily until 1938, when it sold to the Saint Louis and San Francisco Railroad Company. Passenger and mail service was discontinued in 1948 and from then on the railroad has been used only for freight shipments. The town’s depot was built in 1910 and closed in 1977. Twenty years later a group of volunteers called the Manila Depot Committee, with the support of the city of Manila, had the building renovated to its original state and turned it into a museum housing antique items and memorabilia for future generations to view. In the same year the Manila Depot was placed on the National Historic Register on March 8, 1997.

Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Living in close proximity of the Mississippi River has been both a blessing and a curse for the people of Manila. Thousands of years of flooding made the rich alluvial soil excellent for growing crops; however, the periodic floods can cause great damage to the community. The first levee around Manila was built by 1920 but failed during the devastating Flood of 1927 and again in 1937 flood. The U.S. Corps of Engineers built the present levees around Big Lake in 1938. Big Lake is one of Manila’s biggest attractions. Located just four miles southeast of town on AR-18., The site is home to Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Big Lake Wild Life Management Area. Since its earliest days, the Manila area has been known for its abundance of wild game and fish. An early area industry used the railroad to ship huge quantities of fur, fish, and game to markets outside the state. This practice came to an end when locals such as plantation owner Robert E. Lee Wilson and others who had hunting clubs on Big Lake persuaded U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to designate the area a Federal Game Reserve in 1915. Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge has an interpretive center dedicated to wildlife on the grounds just off the highway.

Manila is home to Arkansas’ smallest state park. Herman Davis State Park honors Private Herman Davis, a native of Manila who is considered one of the top heroes of World War I by distinguishing himself with unusual feats of bravery on more than one occasion. After his death in 1923, Mississippi County raised $5,000 for the monument in Manila, where the city had donated a site. The monument is an imposing twenty-five-foot-tall Barre granite obelisk with a life-sized statue of Davis made from Italian marble resting at its base. The memorial site has off-street parking areas, sidewalks, and park benches and is fully accessible to all visitors.

Source: https://www.greatriverroad.com/manila-ar

Meanwhile enjoy this recent photo of my lighted Bubblegram

 

 

My Frustrations with the Comcast Xfinity Cable Services

 

Last week of December last year, I had problems with my TV receptions. At times it is blurry and black. After a few minutes it will be back to normal. This was especially true with the local Channels. I call the COMCAST Help Desk. The Agent was located in the Philippines and I had a pleasant chat with the Pinay agent. She scheduled a repair man to come to the house in the 2 next days and promised to deduct $8 per day from my bill in the next billing, She said it will be a $40 deduction from my bill. 

The repair man came on the first week of January and diagnosed that the problem was the cable from my house to the Electric Post at the back yard of my neighbor. The repairman suggested I call SMUD ( my electric power provider to cut/trim the tree) that touches the cables. Two days later SMUD came, inspected the post and the tree.  SMUD said they are not responsible for cutting the tree since the electric lines is not touching their lines. Comcast also informed me that they will not pay for the cutting of the tree even if their cable was touching the tree and defective. Eric Miller, the COMCAST repair supervisor informed me that it is my responsibility to ask my neighbor to cut the tree in his backyard. They will not install a new cable unless the tree is trimmed/cut. COMCAST will not pay for maintenance of their cables. This Cable is over 20 years old and need to be replaced according to the repair technician.

The other day, I finally was able to talk to my neighbor. He is just renting the house. So he informed me he will tell his landlord about the problem. As of today, six weeks after I have problems with my phone, TV and Internet services my problem has not been solved. My neighbor who is renting the house informed me that he finally got an answer from his landlord to get an estimate next week. I promise my neighbor I will pay 50% of the expense for cutting the tree that touches the Comcast Cable. Every time there is a wind my TV, Phone and Internet are not functioning properly.

I was seriously thinking of Transferring Services from COMCAST to AT & T. But being a customer of Comcast for over 21 years, I am not sure If I could retain my same phone or E-mails. Moreover, before I transferred to COMCAST I was with AT &T/ and their services also was bad and slow also at that time. I have inquired and talked to AT&T.  Monthly rental from AT &T is $35 cheaper than my current monthly payment for Comcast for the same services.   But, I remember I swear at that time I will not have an AT&T phone, TV and Internet services.

In the meantime, I am waiting my neighbor's call on the tree problem in his backyard.  My problem is intermittent. Sometimes I have good reception and at other times services are off for a few minutes and even hours.    

Meanwhile enjoy these 2 photos of my newly purchase lighted bubblegram.

 

 

Binging on the Seven Seasons of the Award Winning TV Series-Mad Men

Mad Men was listed as one of the Top Ten TV series of all Time, I agree!

The last couple of weeks I have binging on a couple of old award winning TV series. The latest series I am currently watching is Mad Men. In case you are not familiar or has not seen this TV series, here's a summary from Wikipedia.

Mad Men received widespread critical acclaim for its writing, acting, directing, visual style and historical authenticity; it won many awards, including 16 Emmys and five Golden Globes. The show was also the first basic cable series to receive the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, winning the award each year of its first four seasons (2008–2011). It is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time and as part of the early 21st century Golden Age of Television.

Mad Men is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its fictional time frame runs from March 1960 to November 1970.

Mad Men begins at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, and continues at the new firm of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (later named Sterling Cooper & Partners) near the Time-Life Building at 1271 Sixth Avenue. According to the pilot episode, the phrase "Mad men" was a slang term coined in the 1950s by advertisers working on Madison Avenue to refer to themselves, "Mad" being short for "Madison" (in reality, the only documented use of the phrase from that time may have been in the late-1950s writings of James Kelly, an advertising executive and writer).

The series's main character is the charismatic advertising executive Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm), who is initially the talented creative director at Sterling Cooper. He is erratic and mysterious but is widely regarded throughout the advertising world as a genius; some of the most famous advertisement campaigns in history are shown to be his creations. Later, Don becomes a founding partner at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce but begins a struggle as his highly calculated identity falls into a period of decline. The plot of the show tracks the people in his personal and professional lives. As the series progresses, it depicts the changing moods and social mores of the United States throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. 

Personal Note: There were numerous memorable and iconic scenes in the epic novela depicting true historical events and social mores of the 60 and 70's. Two of the scenes depicted in the last 15 minutes of the Season 7 and the final episode that still lingers in my mind was the Esalen Experience and the TV coca cola commercial. The Esalen scenes and depiction reminds me of a closed and beloved relative. 

Here is the list of 10 other TV series similar to Mad Men. I have seen all of them except Fargo, The Wire and Peaky Blinder.

 https://www.cbr.com/best-shows-if-you-miss-mad-men/#fargo

 

 

The Making of My Bubblegram 3D Laser Photo Memento

My Recent Purchase: A Bubblegram, Subsurface Laser Engraving or Vitrography
 

Recently I purchased a 3D Photo Laser Crystal memento from Favouritely.com as advertised in Face ( Photo above). I posted it in my FB page. I received several comments and I become curious how it is made. The following videos and article from Wikipedia is printed here for your information and reading pleasure

A bubblegram (also known as laser crystal, 3D crystal engraving or vitrography) is a solid block of glass or transparent plastic that has been exposed to laser beams to generate three-dimensional designs inside. The image is composed of many small points of fracture or other visible deformations and appears to float inside the block.

 

Description

Each point is created by a laser beam focused to high intensity at that location by a computer-controlled opto-mechanical system. A complex or highly detailed image occupying a 5 cm (2 inch) cubic volume typically requires the creation of tens of thousands of such points.

Bubblegram images may be created by intersecting laser beams in appropriately doped plastic to induce a chemical reaction via heat or photonic excitation, creating bubbles or nodes where the plastic has a different index of refraction.

Glass block bubblegrams of Russian origin entered international commerce as a novelty in the late 1990s, but high prices and the predominantly simple, inartistic subject matter severely limited market penetration. In the early 2000s, a much less expensive, more visually appealing and highly diverse array of Chinese-made bubblegram novelties achieved wide commercial success in the United States, to the extent of becoming a fad: representations of monuments, corporate symbols, religious imagery, mythical creatures and nature scenes appeared in gift shops.

There also exist companies which will take custom photographs of people, convert them to a heightmap, then render that as a bubblegram memento. 

This was the original photo:

 

 Lighted Bubblegram in Plastic Base