Tattoos - A Sure Sign of Youth

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The economy has been in the doldrums for awhile now but one growth industry, as far as I can tell, is the tattoo business.

As someone just barely into the Baby Boomer (age 46 to 64) group, I've never quite understood why one would feel a need to permanently imprint something into their skin. Heck, I must be an old geezer, as 85% of my fellow geezers, according to a 2010 Pew Research Center study, "Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next," have never had a tattoo on their bodies.

On the other hand, in Pew's January 2010 phone survey of 2,020 adults, fully 38% of 18 to 29 year old "Millennials" have tattoos. Wow! And fully 50% of tattooed Millennials have 2 to 5 tattoos and 18% have 6 or more! We're talking a major growth industry here.

The Pew Report also indicated those Millennials not attending college were much more likely (47%) than Millennial college attendees (30%) to have tattoos. And Democratic/Independent leaning Millennials are more likely than Republican Millennials to have tattoos (44% vs 31%).

Gen Xers (ages 30 to 45) have a 32% tattoo rate, while only 6% of the age 65+ "Silents" group (not exactly sure where they get that name from) have tattoos.

Yes indeed, the tattoo industry has indeed been a growth industry over the years. According to the website vanishingtattoo.com, in 1936 Life Magazine indicated 6% of Americans had tattoos, whereas a 2003 Harris poll determined that grew to 16%. Heck, when us Baby Boomers hit the dust, that rate could grow to 35%, 40% or more!

So if you are an old dude like me and you'd like to feel young, consider getting a tattoo. As for me, I'm seeking ways to take advantage of this situation...I wonder just how many of those Millennials will regret some of those tattoos. Perhaps the tattoo REMOVAL industry will be the next big investment opportunity!

Start Fall Out Right With This Fire Roasted Salt & Pepper Corn Recipe

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Here's the latest recipe from chef Jill Fisher! Jill, a licensed Personal Chef, teaches cooking classes at Conejo Valley Adult School and Williams Sonoma in Thousand Oaks and has written articles for local food magazines such as 805 Living. In December 2009, Jill and her friend released their cookbook "i found my sanity in...My Best Friend's Kitchen."

CLICK HERE for Jill's other recipes published in Conejo Valley Guide!

“Happy Fall ya’all! “  That is what they are saying in the South right about now.  However, as I look outside my window and see the thermometer creep towards 80 degrees at 8:00 in the morning, it reminds me that Southern California really doesn’t get to experience Fall.  We don’t get much of the “crisp” in the air – it is more like the roar of the Santa Ana winds.  We don’t pull out our sweater collection – rather we switch to Fall colored tank tops.  Not a whole lot of hayrides going on in the 100 degree heat but the beach has never been so lovely.  And we definitely are not ready to start in on the Fall comfort food cycle.

But on the bright side, we as Southern Californians are blessed with a different kind of Fall – it is an extension of summer.  Our calendar is just a bit tilted – summer didn’t exactly arrive when it was supposed to so Fall collides into Winter. But because of that, we still get to enjoy the backyard bliss of grilling and the accessibility of fantastic produce from our local Farmer’s Markets. 

To try and subtly show myself and my family it is indeed Fall regardless of the current weather situation, I start to put out Fall-like decorations slowly to temper the process - a bowl of

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"Sandwiches to the Rescue" - A Firefighting Vignette from Gail Small

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A timely vignette from Gail Small, co-author of "Joyful Volunteering: Making a Difference." With the record heat and fire dangers (including a fire that has burned through the night in Thousand Oaks), Gail shares this positive story to look at the positive and applaud our firefighters for all that they do. 

Sandwiches to the Rescue

It was the fall of 1993 when the skies of Newbury Park, California, and surrounding areas became dark billowing clouds of gray. In the near distance, we could see the raging flames and other effects of the out-of control Malibu fire. The smell became stronger, and the haze in the air increased. No one could play outside because of the awful air quality.

As a teacher, I had to decide what to do with my students on those fiery days. What was I to do? I sent home a letter to parents and asked them to send supplies for making lunches, although I actually was hoping I would receive magic ingredients and a solution to my dilemma. The minutes, hours, and days needed something different and unique, and my basic idea was pretty simple: we would make sandwiches and fun food, hoping that the smell of cooking would sweeten our days and that our worries about what was going on outside would be gone from our minds for a little while.

The next day was full of surprises and possibilities! Wonderful ingredients from home pantries made their way into our classroom. We had interesting discussions while we talked about quantity, equivalents and creative cooking. We played music, and our spirits were revived by the comfort of doing something unusual at school.

Sandwiches are ideal for lunch because two pieces of bread can be the home for many a filling. Cheese, butter, and meats and brown, white, and rye breads were combined so that even the fussiest eaters

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30th Anniversary of Channel Islands National Park This Year

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So close, yet a world away, Channel Islands National Park marks its 30th anniversary as a National Park this year, but its isolation and the fact you can't drive to the park means it is one of the least visited parks in the national park system. Late summer and fall are great times to visit the park as temperatures are generally moderate and rain is not likely. 
 
A great location for hiking, camping and kayaking, the eight Channel Islands span 160 miles off the coast of Southern California. There are four northern islands - San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Anacapa, and four southern islands - San Nicolas, Santa Barbara, Santa Catalina and San Clamente. Channel Islands National Park consists of the four northern islands along with Santa Barbara Island.
 
For more travel information on the islands or to book boat transportation to an island, check out Island Packer's website at www.islandpackers.com as the only licensed tour operator to the park. They visit all are five islands with seven destinations available for you to visit in the Channel Islands National Park, leaving out of Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard or Ventura Harbor in Ventura. Island Packers lands at Anacapa Island’s Landing Cove, and two destinations on Santa Cruz Island, Scorpion Anchorage and Prisoners’ Harbor, year round. During certain days of the year with very low tides, Frenchy’s Cove at Anacapa Island can be visited for tidepool exploration. They also offer trips to the more remote islands, referred to as the outer islands due to their increased distance from the mainland, these trips are seasonal. Trips to the outer islands, Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa and San Miguel, are scheduled when ocean conditions on the outer waters are likely to be optimal for traveling. Trips to Santa Barbara Island operate from April to October, landings at San Miguel are scheduled May to October, and on Santa Rosa from April to November.

The islands rose from the ocean millions of years ago and were born of plate tectonics, volcano activity and fluctuating sea levels. During the ice ages the northern four islands were once connected as the polar ice caps expanded. Also during this time, the islands were most accessible to the mainland’s flora and fauna. When the seas rose again it created the islands and isolated them to evolve separately from the mainland as well as one another. The Channel Islands are home to over 2,000 terrestrial plants and animals, of which 145 are found nowhere else in the world. A few good examples include the Island Fox, which appears half the size of a mainland fox and the Silver Lotus Plant, found only on Santa Cruz Island’s highest peaks.
 
Earlier this year, Greg Clure, a local nature photographer, went on a 16 mile weekend backpacking trip across Santa Cruz Island, landing at Prisoners’ Harbor and hiking to Scorpion Anchorage. A few of his images from this trip can be seen below and you can check out all of his images from this trip by visiting his Channel Islands Gallery at www.gregclurephotography.com/channelislands



Some Eggcellent Advice from the CDC Regarding the 2010 Salmonella Outbreak

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CDC is collaborating with public health officials in multiple states, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to investigate a nationwide increase of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) infections.

Between May 1 to August 25, 2010, approximately 1,470 reported illnesses were likely to be associated with this outbreak.  FDA testing, identified Salmonella in egg farm environmental samples.  Epidemiologic investigations conducted by public health officials in 10 states since April, have identified 26 restaurants or event clusters where more than one ill person with the outbreak strain.  Data from the investigations suggest that shell eggs are a likely source of infections in many of these restaurants or event clusters.  Preliminary information indicates that Wright County Egg, in Galt, Iowa was an egg supplier in 15 of these 26 restaurants or event clusters.  To date, no new restaurant or event clusters have been reported to CDC.  A formal traceback was conducted by state partners in California, Colorado, and Minnesota, in collaboration with FDA and CDC, to find a common source of shell eggs. Wright County Egg in Iowa was found as the common source of the shell eggs associated with three of the clusters.  Through additional traceback and FDA investigational findings, Hillandale Farms of Iowa, Inc. was identified as another potential source of contaminated shell eggs contributing to this outbreak.

Advice to Consumers

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are warning consumers not to eat recalled eggs. It is important that consumers avoid eating recalled eggs.  Some recalled eggs may possibly still be in grocery stores, restaurants and consumers’ homes.  If you

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Three Volunteering Vignettes

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Three Volunteering Vignettes

By Gail Small

Who knows what avenue volunteering might take you?  Sarah Glaser volunteered in the kelp forest tank at Birch Aquarium at Scripps. She dove down under to clean the 70,000 gallon kelp forest tank.  Her nemeses were the moray eels who tied themselves up in knots around the vacuum connector. Sarah wondered if one of them would bite her as who knows what might happen when volunteering.  She graduated to wearing a communication mask to speak to audiences during live shows as she retrieved a bucket of food and fed the fish by hand. Something did happen! It was on her last day as a volunteer diver that an audience member named Cullen asked the question. And I quote, “Will you marry me?” This volunteer had a once in a lifetime experience!

Brian in Australia one day had an idea to be a clown to amuse and help others. He created an outfit with colorful funny-looking clothes. And so, the Fatso Fun Show began. He did silly things to bring laughter to others. He could not find bright oversized shoes and thought that not a problem. So he volunteered bringing cheer with his unusual clown shoes homemade from scraps all connected creatively with bright purple paint. One day while volunteering, Brian described to a lady he just met how he made his clown shoes the best that he could. It was months later, just before the holidays, when to his surprise she arrived with what Brian describes as, “the most magnificent pair of multicolored leather clown shoes.” They were blue, red, yellow and green with big black toes and lined with soft blue leather. This woman who seemed to come out of nowhere said, “They are a gift for you. The reward for me is to see and hear your reaction and know

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Ventura County Area School Start/End Dates, Winter Breaks and Spring Breaks 2010-2011

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Summer is nearly done and Labor Day is fast approaching!  We were talking about kids going back to school at work today when we realized that everyone is on different school schedules...from Conejo Valley to Moorpark, Camarillo, Ventura, etc.  Why??  Beats me.  But being the analytical, investigative type of guy that genetics thrust upon me, I did a little research on...WHEN DOES SCHOOL START AROUND HERE!!??

I created this list for informational and amusement purposes only.  Please be sure to double-check school start dates with your local school to be sure!

1ST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR THE 2010-2011 SCHOOL YEAR!

Tuesday, August 17th: Santa Paula Union High School District

Wednesday, August 18th: Oxnard School District (Elementary/Middle Schools)

Wednesday, August 18th: Fillmore Unified School District

Monday, August 23rd: Carpinteria Unified School District

Monday, August 23rd: Saint Bonaventure High School

Tuesday, August 24th: Hueneme School District

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