I live on Glen Oaks Drive, 200 yards from San Ysidro Creek. On January 9, a torrent of mud and giant boulders tore through my neighborhood and destroyed dozens of homes. Tragically, three of my immediate neighbors lost their lives, and after staying through the week my family and I followed the mandatory evacuation order. […]
(photos courtesy MFPD chief Chip Hickman) Most in Montecito have no idea how close we came to community decimation two weeks before Christmas. At 6 am Saturday, December 16, 2017, sundowner winds of 30 mph, gusting up to 60 mph, drove the Thomas wildfire, the largest in California history, past the firefighter containment lines on […]
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“Hi, Siri.” “What can I help you with?” “How do you say, ‘My name is Ernie…?’” “I don’t. My name is Siri.” “You didn’t let me finish, Siri.” “What can I help you with?” “I need to know how to say my name…” “I found this website with names.” “…In Japanese. We are going to […]
It may be uplifting to think in terms of constant and inevitable progress – but it’s not very realistic. In many ways, our society seems to be stuck, or even sliding backward. As one example, consider this anachronism: in an era of streamlined electronic cyber-finance, we are still accepting as “legal tender” little round pieces […]
To me, the word “Forever” has always had a certain sanctity. There were only two ways in which I commonly heard it used. One was in prayers and hymns, particularly in what Christians refer to as The Lord’s Prayer (though it is not perfectly clear from the title whether “The Lord” is “Our Father,” to […]
In the fall of 1785, a young Scottish farmer was working in one of his fields, when his plow happened to overturn the nest of a field mouse. The victim scampered away – but the perpetrator felt sadly about his inadvertently cruel act – and eventually wrote a poem about it. The poet was Robert […]
Montecito is small in size but famous for its natural beauty and relaxed lifestyle. Whether you hike the Montecito trails, stroll Butterfly Beach, order a cup of coffee or a snack – the community character remains the same – unhurried, laid-back, charming, uniquely engaged, small-town friendly service, and locally owned businesses. The shops and businesses […]
Everything is supposed to depend on how you look at things. Reality is simply what you tell yourself. But you have to be convincing. (The trouble begins when you stop believing your own lies.) A good leader (in my view) ought to do that job for you, e.g., by providing you with inspirational pep-talks – […]
What I wrote a couple issues ago deserves another go-round, so here goes: There are about 1,100 terawatts (TW) combined from internal earth, solar, and adding in some from charged particle heating from the sun captured by the magnetosphere of the earth. Man uses about 14 terawatts of energy. About one third of this is […]
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I’ve always thought it strange that, while there’s no acknowledged “class system,” most Americans firmly believe they belong to the “middle class” – an expression prominent in political rhetoric. One hardly dares ask what the other classes are, because it’s somehow “un-American” even to concede the existence of an upper or lower class. Having grown […]
“There’s no… air… gasp…” “I think… I’m too dizzy… to drive…” “Lucky… we are… parked then…” We were 11,796 feet up at Alpine Visitors Center on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, watching a line of people waiting zombie-like to use the outhouses – the water in the real bathrooms already shut off […]
Nobody ever made up his or her mind to be lucky. Chance and intention are at opposite ends of the spectrum of probability. Yet there are all sorts of superstitions about ways to influence your luck. But even the people who acknowledge the sheer randomness of happenstance rationalize their chances. Otherwise, lotteries would hardly be […]
It is difficult to measure the average temperature of Earth. Measurement technologies have changed dramatically over time. The mean temperature on one part will be significantly higher or lower from one year to the next. Temperature measurements must be as accurate as 1/100th of a degree to compile data that is actually meaningful. A small […]
The truly “endangered species” in America is neither the salt marsh harvest mouse nor the Channel Island fox. Rather, it is the ominous disappearance of small, locally owned businesses – particularly in retail — and the erosion of their positive impact on the character of local communities. The Retail Meltdown In the last few years, […]
