California is, unfortunately, due for yet another dry year as La Niña conditions continue unabated into the summer of 2022. The El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern – a measure of average water temperatures in the south-central Pacific ocean – can help determine general weather conditions for the following year for the continents surrounding the world’s […]
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This post is one borne of frustration and despair in equal parts. If you’ve ever had the uniquely infuriating experience of being a first time home owner, I think you’ll be able to relate After years of scrounging and saving in an 800 square foot two bedroom, 1.5 bath condo, my wife and I were […]
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If you’re a homeowner, you’ve no doubt had a miserable experience with a contractor at least once in your life. Whether you were just trying to get a part of your home touched up or you’ve had major work done on your house, it seems like most contractors have an inborn ability to muck up […]
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Being a trucker is a tough job, not only for your body but for your mind. Running a 40 hour loop from California to Wyoming and back to make deadlines, only getting up out of your seat during rest stops to take care of business and get more coffee – those are the circumstances many […]
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As the La Niña conditions continue in the Pacific states for the second consecutive year, we’re unfortunately set for yet another sparse rainy season here in southern California. For us, that means much less rain, and more dry, sunny winter days with depleting reservoirs and a severely reduced snowpack. Practically, that means that we’re going […]
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When I was a kid, one of the weekly chores I had to do was take out the garbage cans the night before collection days. Our house had a little alley in the back that led to our gate, bordered on one side by the house and the other by a brick wall and a […]
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Divorce is a tough thing to go through no matter what stage of life you’re in, how old you are, or how difficult your relationship has been. Whatever the case may be, you have built a life with the other person and separating from them can be as damaging and painful as separating from a […]
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When I was a young kid growing up in Orange County, I used to spend a lot of time helping my parents with the gardening in the back yard. I was in charge of all the mundane or arduous tasks my parents didn’t feel like doing – watering the plants, spreading fertilizers, digging up weeds, […]
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The Japanese have an interesting concept called ‘shokunin’, which is directly translatable to English as ‘craftsman’ or ‘artisan’. The literal translation doesn’t tell the full story, however – shokunin means not only having the technical skills in the craft, but also implies an attitude and social consciousness, where the shokunin has a social obligation to […]
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We’ve reached over 4 million acres of land burned by out of control California wild fires so far in 2020, and fire season isn’t even close to being over. It’s become abundantly clear that the state is getting drier and warmer, and if something isn’t done, we’ll be choking on smoke for the better part […]
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