Where (Not) to Smoke in Thousand Oaks, Calabasas and Moorpark

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Most of you have heard about last week's Moorpark City Council vote last week to prohibit smoking in most public places.  The new law, which becomes effective in August, is summarized below along with other state and local bans.  There are no federal smoking bans, though roughly 70% of the country has some type of workplace smoking ban (inversely, 30% of the U.S. population can still smoke at work).

State of California

Smoking in enclosed workplaces and within 20 feet thereof has been banned in California since January 1995.  The law also applies to restaurants and bars.  The law has certain exceptions, such as workplaces with up to 5 employees (assuming no minors and all employees consent), up to 65% of hotel rooms, etc.  Since 1/1/08, smoking in a car with a minor has been illegal in California.  Since 1/1/02, it has been illegal to smoke within 25 feet of a public playground (unless you are smoking on a public sidewalk within 25 feet of the playground, in which case it is perfectly legal).

City of Calabasas

The City of Calabasas smoking ban has been in place since 3/16/06 and outlaws pretty much all public places, both inside and outside...streets, sidewalks, parks, restaurants, stores, you name it. You are allowed to smoke in your home and in designated smoking areas.  You are also allowed to smoke in any outdoor area in which no non-smoker is within reasonable distance and due to the time of day you

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Mama Don't Take My Kodachrome Away!

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This past Monday, 6/22/09, Eastman Kodak announced it is discontinuing Kodachrome, the film it has manufactured since 1935. Kodachrome is now yet another relic of the past, like VHS tapes, 8-track tapes, cassette tapes, GM, analog TV and unsliced bread. But the film certainly has its place in history, including its use in this well known 1985 Steve McCurry photo of a young Afghan girl.

While Kodachrome will soon be gone, it will forever be memorialized by Paul Simon's 1973 song named after the 35mm film that peaked at #2 on the Billboard charts. I love this song.

When I think back
On all the crap I learned in high school
It's a wonder
I can think at all

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Celebrate Father's Day With This Easy Whiskey BBQ Flank Steak Recipe

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Whiskey BBQ Flank Steak with Grilled Tomato Relish

Here is an easy BBQ recipe for Father’s Day! Light up those grills and serve up a delicious meal for Dad. Just add some grilled baked potatoes or corn from your local Farmer’s Market and a beautiful green salad or fresh fruit and you have a delightful meal to celebrate the Dad in your life.

For the steak:

1 flank steak (~ 2 lbs)

½ cup salad oil

½ cup tomato juice

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup brown sugar

3 garlic cloves, crushed

½ tsp pepper

1 GENEROUS dash of Jack Daniels

Using a sharp knife, score the steak on each side in a diamond pattern and place in a shallow glass pan.

Combine the marinade ingredients. Pour over steak. Cover and refrigerate overnight, turning once. Let stand at room temperature for an hour before grilling.

Light the grill. Brush the rack lightly with oil. Remove meat from marinade and grill about 4 inches from heat until rare, about 3 minutes per side. DO NOT OVERCOOK! Carve the steak crosswise on a slight angle into ¼” slices.

Grilled Tomato Relish

4 tomatoes, halved

4 Tbsp olive oil

1 sweet onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

Salt & pepper

Place tomatoes on a medium heated grill, cut side up, and brush lightly with olive oil – 1 to 2 Tbsp. After about 3 minutes (when bottoms are brown), turn them over and continue to cook about 3-5 minutes (until soft). Remove tomatoes from grill and allow to cool until able to handle.

Combine 2 Tbsp olive oil, onions and garlic in a sauté pan. Cook until onions are soft. Stir in basil. Add the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Should resemble a chunky salsa. Serve with steak.

Jill Fisher, a good friend of mine going waaayyyyy back to high school, has a B.S. in Food Science and Nutrition and is a licensed Personal Chef. She teaches cooking classes at Conejo Valley Adult School and Williams Sonoma in Thousand Oaks. Jill has also written articles for local food magazines such as 805 Living. To contact Jill, let us know!

Time Lapsed Video of a Guy Who Walked 2900 Miles Across China

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This guy, Christoph Rehage, walked 2900 miles in one year across China, from Beijing to Ürümqi, and took pictures of himself along the way.  Personally I think I could have done this in 4 months...but getting past that this time lapsed video of Rehage's face is quite amusing and I love the music.  For more information about his journey (he originally planned to walk from Beijing to his hometown in Northwest Germany), visit www.thelongestway.com.

Twitter Continues to Grow and Grow in Popularity! Jump on the Twitter Bandwagon!

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THIS WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED IN JANUARY...but I'm updating this post due to the unbelievable popularity Twitter continues to have. Twitter is a PHENOMENON. The interesting thing about Twitter is that you can "follow" people you don't know, including a growing list of celebraties (including me of course at www.twitter.com/ConejoJoe. To some this is an incredible waste of time but to others this is interesting and fun (I'm somewhere in the middle). Here's just a small sampling of celebrity Twitterers along with their current followers...will be fun to see these stats a year from now):

http://twitter.com/PeteCarroll (22K followers as of 5/30/09)

http://twitter.com/adamsandler (102K followers)

http://twitter.com/kimkardashian (916K followers)

http://twitter.com/serenajwilliams (236K followers)

http://twitter.com/RyanSeacrest (1.1 million followers)

http://twitter.com/mileycyrus (704K followers)

http://twitter.com/jtimberlake (193K followers)

http://twitter.com/TheEllenShow (1.7M followers..wow!)

http://twitter.com/aplusk (Ashton Kucher...nearly 2M followers)

http://twitter.com/SarahKSilverman (110K followers)

http://twitter.com/mrskutcher (Demi Moore - 1M followers)

http://twitter.com/NotTinaFey (Tina Fey, I think 385K followers)

http://twitter.com/Oprah (1.2 million followers)

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Grand Re-Opening of Lupe's Mexican Restaurant in Thousand Oaks is June 15th!

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Today as we were walking out of Leslie's Pool Supplies next door to Lupe's on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, it dawned on me that hey, maybe they are ready to open again!  Sure enough, the sign said Lupe's, a Thousand Oaks landmark since 1947, will once again open for business TOMORROW, June 15th!  Workers were inside preparing for the grand re-opening.

The restaurant was beautiful inside and out.  It has been expanded from a cramped and dark 1500 sq ft to a beautiful, open, bright and airy 3,100 sq ft, including 649 sq ft new dining addition and a 498 sq ft outdoor patio area.  The front of Lupe's is new and improved with a fountain and enclosed courtyard.  Lupe's has been completely revamped and reinvigorated!  But the beauty of it is that it still has some look, feel and charm of the Lupe's we've known the past 60 years! Call 805.495.3573 for more information.