Latest Work of Chuck Trunks Entitled "Twurfer Dude"

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Chuck Trunks is a Camarillo artist who prefers to spend time on his art rather than on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and all the other social networks out there. He's not the kind of guy messing around with an iPhone in his spare time. But he does recognize many of us are that way, including "Twurfer Dude" below, who is obsessed with surfing and tweeting.

For more of Chuck's work on Conejo Valley Guide, click here.

Here are some local surf classes and activities for those looking to emulate Twurfer Dude:

Ventura Surf School

Surfclass.com (Ventura)

Surfing L.A. Surf School (Malibu, Ventura)

Rent a "Surf Bike" at Ventura Boat Rentals

Ventura Surf Club

Malibu Makos Surf Club

Ventura Makos Surf Club

Over 120 Local Summer Camps (some with surfing!)

Or just cool off in a local community pool!

Calling Local Artists! Display Your Art in a Conejo Valley Guide Header!

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Conejo Valley Guide was established 2 years ago as a way to give back to the local community. I was never able to quickly find new things to do with the kids and found it frustrating asking friends, looking through dozens and dozens of websites, newspapers, flyers, etc.  That's why we now have Conejo Valley Guide, Ventura County's most comprehensive resource for not just events, but activities, groups, clubs, sports and other fun things to do. My way of giving back to those in the same predicament as me.

So my artist friend Chuck Trunks, had a great idea. How about inviting local artists to display their rendition of the Conejo Valley Guide website header.  He volunteered to put together his own version of the header, which I think is thoroughly cool!

If you are an artist located in Ventura County and surrounding areas, CONTACT ME for details. I'd love to temporarily display your talent on this website and what better way to do it than on the top header of the site!

Camarillo Passes More Restrictive Smoking Regulations Effective May 28th

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On April 28th, the City of Camarillo adopted a new Ordinance 1053 that extends smoking restrictions in the city, joining other local cities of Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Calabasas in an effort to clear the air for non-smokers.

Here are some of the restrictions. Visit the City of Camarillo website for more information about the new law.

Public Places: Wherever the public is permitted or invited, indoors or outdoors, including streets and sidewalks if: 1) they are designated “No Smoking” by City Council Resolution, 2) they are part of a public event, or 3) they are within 25 feet of a no-smoking area.

Dining Areas: Any location, including streets and sidewalks, established for and used by the general public for the consumption of food or drink. This includes bar and restaurant patios, sidewalk cafes, food booths at public events, etc.

Recreation Areas: Any area open to the public for recreational purposes, whether publicly or privately owned and regardless of any fee requirement. This includes all parks, playgro

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Don't Get Ripped Off! 5 Helpful Travel Tips From Our Recent Trip to Tahoe

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During Spring Break we decided to take a 3 day excursion to Lake Tahoe to play and ski in the snow.  We stayed and played at Northstar in North Lake Tahoe and had a blast!

There were four of us; 2 adults, 2 kids. We decided to fly from LAX to Reno as a test to see how our 4 year old would behave on his first flight.  Overall, it went o.k. (though don't ask the guy who sat in front of him). We learned a lot on this very first trip involving more than just driving our car somewhere.  Let me summarize what we learned:

Don't Stuff Too Much Into a Big Suitcase

We have two BIG suitcases and the rest are small enough to be carry-ons. My wife refused to use the 2nd big suitcase because it was "dirty." I said no problem, I'll take MY stuff out of the big suitcase and repack it into the allegedly dirty bag. She refused and instead made me stuff everyone's ski clothes into the one big bag...I had sit on the suitcase to zip it up.

Sure enough...the bag weighed 56 lbs and Southwest charged us an extra $50 EACH WAY for the bag because it weighed more than 50 lbs. It made no difference that the 4 other bags weighed 10 to 20 lbs.  They don't take an average as I so begged them to do. I was pissed. But...cha ching...had no choice but to fork over the $$.

Don't Buy Auto Rental Insurance if You Don't Need It

I did not make the mistake of purchasing the $10/day Loss Damage Waiver from Hertz as I'm covered by my own personal auto insurance AND my American Express card offers this coverage for free. So don't waste money on this insurance if you don't need it.  Do your homework and don't throw away $$.

Don't Wait to Fill Up the Gas Tank on Your Rental Car

So we checked out of our hotel and drove back to Reno. I thought it would be fun to stop by the Circus Circus so the kids could play some games in

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Anyone Else Notice the Penny is Looking Different These Days?

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I was at Costco grabbing a bargain (and quite nutritious) lunch of a hot dog and Coke and noticed that the shiny pennies I received in change looked different. Sure enough, these brand spanking new 2010 pennies had a redesign on the back.

The Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 among other things authorized a redesign of the back of the penny in 2010 to reflect Abraham Lincoln's preservation of the U.S. as a single and united country. So the backside of the penny now displays a shield with 13 vertical stripes representing the 13 original states in union. The familiar E PLURIBUS UNUM is retained to indicate "out of many, one."

These new pennies are composed of 2.5% copper and 97.5% zinc, roughly the same composition they have had since 1982.  Prior to that they has been 95% copper and 5% tin/zine since 1909. Apparently the pre-1982 95% copper pennies are worth more than 2 cents each due to their copper value. However, don't even think about it...since 2006 there have been laws that criminalize melting pennies/nickels for their content,

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Local Ojai Resident Son/Father Team Up to Publish "The Promise Doctrine"

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Craig Womack / Jason WomackJason Womack is a local Ojai resident known for traveling around the world training people how to master workplace performance (in fact, a previous employer of mine hired Jason to train our management team and to teach productivity at a large conference). Craig Womack has nearly 40 years of executive experience in the consumer product industry. This father and son team combined forces to publish "The Promise Doctrine," an easy to read guidebook help us keep our commitments!  I asked them 10 questions about the book and Craig provided me these answers.  For more information and to buy the book, check out www.thepromisedoctrine.com.

1. Tell me what The Promise Doctrine is about in 1 sentence.
The Promise Doctrine is a guidebook and system that readers can use to choose, manage, and accomplish what they are truly committed to, in life and at work.

2. Why did you decide to write The Promise Doctrine?
We came up with the idea for The Promise Doctrine as we listened to our peers, employees, friends, and family discuss how “hard it is, to do it all.”  

3. What prompted you to team up with your dad in writing the book?
When we took on this project, a writing collaboration between father and son, we knew that we wanted to explore the dynamics of promise keeping. Publishing our book was the best way we knew of to share the importance of promise keeping with the world. First, we see each other as equals, with distinct strengths to share and learn from. Together, we were able to merge our backgrounds in business and in education, and bridge a generational gap that drives most people crazy. We did this through honest communication, regular check ins and meaningful acknowledgment of milestones along the way. These are principles we share and have lived by in our executive and teaching lives.

4. Is the book geared towards certain people or ages in particular? In other words, who should read this book!?
Our enthusiastic answer is: “EVERYONE should read this book”. We geared the book towards four broad target audiences:

  • Results driven individuals and leaders who realize the power of a promise made and a promise kept
  • Executives who lead successful companies
  • Leaders and teachers who promote sustainable communities
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