Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Followers Highlight Their Favorite Date Night Eateries

/

Recently we ran a drawing on the Conejo Valley Guide Facebook page where we asked folks to indicate their favorite "date night" restaurant in the Conejo Valley or anywhere in Ventura County. There were nearly 150 entries in the one day drawing and the following restaurants were the top 10 mentions.

Top vote getters in a recent survey for "date night" eatery were Mastro's and The Melting Pot!1st Place: Mastro's Steakhouse and The Melting Pot (tied with 11 votes each)

3rd Place: Holdren's Steakhouse (10 votes)

4th Place: Paul Martin's (9 votes)

5th Place: Wood Ranch BBQ (8 votes)

6th Place: Blue Stove at Nordstrom (7 votes)


7th Place: Lure Fish House (6 votes)

8th Place: Bandits BBQ, Cho Cho San and Café Firenze (5 votes apiece)

Honorable mentions with 2 or more votes include Cheesecake Factory, BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, Ladyface Alehouse, The Grill on the Alley, Buca di Beppo, Outback Steakhouse and PF Changs.

Mastro's was no surprise to me. The Melting Pot had a surprisingly solid showing, with some very strong supporters. Paul Martin's, which opened in Westlake Village in December 2012, also has a very healthy showing of fans. Lure Fish House originated in Camarillo in December 2010 and has expanded into Westlake Village and Ventura. Cafe Firenze in Moorpark made a solid showing too.

Previously we ran a separate drawing asking followers their favorite family restaurants. Check it out at this link.


The Ventura County Food Protection Program Publishes Online Inspection Reports of Over 4,000 Retail Food Facilities

/

The Ventura County Environmental Health Division Food Protection Program (FPP) performs periodic inspections of over 4,000 retail food facilities* in Ventura County that serve or sell food to the public. Inspectors look for things like:

  • Proper training of food handlers
  • Proper maintenance of equipment
  • Food is free of contamination and properly labeled and stored
  • Conditions are safe, clean and sanitary
  • Proper food temperatures

* Retail food facilities include restaurants, markets that serve food, bakeries, mobile food, donut shops, retail stores like Target that serve food, coffee shops, gas stations, produce stands, bars, etc.

The FPP maintains an online, searchable database of food facility inspection reports since January 2004! CLICK HERE to explore. You can find out about all sorts of violations the facility has had in the past, be it vermin infestation, improper equipment sanitation, no soap or paper towels in the restroom, inoperable equipment, improper storage, you name it! All the restaurants I frequent are on the list and all of them have had violations. The good thing is that these inspections keep them on their toes, so I keep eating.

The FPP also publishes an online Food Facilities Closure Report of places where violations are significant enough to shut down the place until they are resolved. Usually the resolution takes place same day or up to 1 or 2 days, though at times as much as weeks depending on the issue. This is even more fun to look at! Some of the noted issues in recent closures have been

Read More

Quicken Loans and Warren Buffett Team Up For the 2014 NCAA March Madness "Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge"

/

According to a post on WarrenBuffet.com, Warren Buffett's holding company Berkshire Hathaway and Quicken Loans have teamed up to offer $1 billion to someone who is able to pick a "perfect" NCAA March Madness bracket. Registration for the Quicken Loans Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge opens up on March 3rd.

What is a perfect bracket? That means picking the correct winner of every single game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament that begins on March 18, 2014. Berkshire Hathaway is ensuring the grand prize. I think they're good for the money, given the company has over $200 billion in net assets (assets less liabilities) as of September 2013.

The chances of winning are 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808, which in words is nine quintillion, two hundred twenty three quadrillion, three hundred seventy-two trillion, thirty-six billion, eight hundred fifty four million, seven hundred seventy-five thousand, eight hundred and eight. This actually gives me some incentive to play POWERBALL, with its much better chances of winning the prize at 1 in 176 billion!

Is this really $1 billion!? Well, kind of. If you take the winnings over 40 years, you'll receive $25 million each year. Or you can take a lump sum of $500 million up front. I think I'd go with that option. Of course, if there are multiple winners, you'll split the proceeds.

Quicken Loans is also giving away $100,000 to the top 20 scoring brackets! They are capping contest entires to the first 10 million registrants, thought they may expand that at their discretion. The contest is open to legal, 21 and older residents of the U.S. and District of Columbia.

Follow the Quicken Loans Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge Facebook page at www.facebook.com/notes/quicken-loans/quicken-loans-billion-dollar-bracket-challenge-short-form-rules/10152185833560489 for details and official rules.

U.S. Mail First-Class Letter Rates to Increase by Three Cents on January 26, 2014

/

The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) announced on Christmas Eve that it was approving a U.S. Postal Service request for a 3 cent increase in first-class mail single letter rates effective January 26, 2014. This will increase the price of stamps from 46 cents to 49 cents, or 6.5% (though I'm puzzled by the PRC press release that indicates an increase of 6.0%, which, if you do the math, is incorrect...maybe they need to hire me and my calculator).

This is a pretty significant increase, well in excess of the Consumer Price Index change that is typically uses to justify rate increases. The reason for this is that they are seeking to offset what they call "exigent" losses during the "Great Recession of 2008-2009." 

I had to look up the word "exigent" as it is not part of my limited vocabulary. According to Merriam Webster online, exigent is defined as "requiring immediate attention or action." OK, I guess I could have figured that out.

The PRC indicates that this increase is "temporary" however as it has determined that 25.3 billion pieces of volume were lost between 2008 and 2011 at a loss of $2.8 billion and that this temporary increase in excess of inflation would be put in place until the lost revenue is made up. This could be a few years.

Previous first-class letter rate increases were 1 cent in January 2013, 1 cent in January 2012 and 2 cents in May 2009.

This next month is probably the best time ever to stock up on "Forever" stamps to be the 6.5% price increase. If you don't use mail much, I suspect this will not have too big of an impact on you. If you do plan to mail a lot of stuff these next few years, it is exigent that you stock up soon.

To Tweet or Not to Tweet? That is the Question for Conejo Valley Residents

/

I have been an active Twitter user under the name @ConejoJoe since November 21, 2008. Twiiter users are also referred to as Twitterers and Tweeters. Are you on Twitter yet? Should you be?

As an active user in both Twitter as well as Facebook (www.facebook.com/ConejoValleyGuide) my observation is that Facebook users are more interactive and engaged. Facebook allows for more organized, easy to follow dialogues among users, while Twitter is geared towards brief interactions. With over 1.1 billion registered users, Facebook has over double the number of users as Twitter.

That said, Twitter can be a great source for breaking news and other items of interest. Whether or not you Tweet, consider creating a Twitter account and following some of these local Twitter accounts (as well as @ConejoJoe but of course):

I've discovered that many people are confused about Twitter and its lingo, so how about a little refresher course for those still considering taking the plunge.

  • Twitter allows users to post short messages up to 140 characters long, called "Tweets."
  • Like Facebook, you don't actually have to sign up with Twitter to read a Tweet. However, if you do sign up and start "following" others, their Tweets will show up on your Twitter home page.
  • Unlike Facebook where only a small fraction of posts from your followers are shown on your wall, all Tweets will be shown on your Twitter page. All Tweets are treated equal.
  • But...not all Tweets are created equal...they range from mindless babble and utterings, information sharing, news, communicating with others, humor, promoting yourself, etc.

Here's an example of an information sharing Tweet about local wedding reception venues in Ventura County with a link back to the posting here on Conejo Valley Guide

  • When you enjoy a Tweet and want to share it with your followers, you can click "Retweet" and it will be shared. Retweet is basically the equivalent of the "Share" feature in
Read More

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs Around Ventura County

/

The Five Man Electrical Band said it best in their 1970 song "Sign" - Sign, sign, everywhere a sign; Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind; Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign. Some signs provide more comic relief than others around Ventura County.

The Community Pool at Samuelson Aquatics Center is a pristine, 82 degree heated community pool at Cal Lutheran University that is located adjacent to the George "Sparky" Anderson Field & Ullman Stadium. As a result, flying baseballs can be an issue for poolgoers who dare to swim during CLU home games!

CLU_Baseballs.jpg

Dos Vientos Community Park in Newbury Park is popular with local soccer, baseball and other sports teams. The sign below indicates that perhaps too many local sports enthusiasts were using the walls of the snack bar/restroom facility at the park in their ball playing endeavors.

NoBallsSign.jpg

According to City of Oxnard Ordinance 2708, section 7-86(A), "It shall be unlawful for any person to have in his or her possession any adhesive sticker, etching tool, indelible marker, paint stick, or graffiti stick while in or upon any public facility, park, playground, swimming pool, beach, recreational facility, or other public building owned or operated by the city where signs forbidding such possession without valid authorization are displayed in a reasonable location or locations." So watch your stickers in public facilities in Oxnard! It is unlawful to have one in your possession!

StickersInOxnard.jpg

26.2 Training Tips for Your First Marathon!

/

NOW is the time to start training for a fall or spring marathon!  There are hundreds to choose from at MarathonGuide.com.

I've run a few marathons myself. 26 of them at last count. So I have about 26.2 thoughts and opinions to impart on training for your first marathon:

1. Don't Procrastinate! The first thing you need to do is get out there and start running. Talking about it is fine, but start making it happen! Today!

2. Start Slow and Go Steady: Don't try to prove something by running 10 miles your first time out. You'll injure yourself! Unless you're already a runner with solid base mileage, start out easy, maybe 10 to 15 miles in 3 to 4 runs per week. Increase weekly mileage no more than 10%.

3. Pick a Marathon Now and Set Your Goals: Always helps to establish a goal to train for. Sign up for a marathon 6 months out now (don't wait) and you'll have the end goal in mind. You'll need the motivation as you train through the warm summer months or colder winter months

4. Buy Decent Shoes and Change Them Often: Running is a very inexpensive in terms of equipment. So don't go cheap on the shoes. Change them often...the lesser of every 300 miles or 3 months. Your limbs and tendons will thank you for that.

5. Ramp up the Mileage: To run your first full marathon, plan to peak your weekly mileage at 30 to 35 miles per week. But once again, get there gradually, not all at once.

6. Rest as Needed: For those of us past the motivation hurdle to train, the next biggest marathon training issue is fending off injuries. Don't be fearful of taking days off when needed. Rest benefits you as much as training.

7. Train With Others: The best thing to motivate one to wake up at 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning for a 20 miler is knowing you'll be letting someone else down.  Click here for some local Ventura County running groups.

8. Share Your Goals: Tell your friends and family about your marathon commitment and your training. You'll need the support system and they'll keep you motivated.

Read More