Free Online Tool Makes It Simple to Make Any Page Print Friendly

It was a request from CVG reader Eileen posed that prompted me to find something pretty simply, useful and cool, not to mention free.

Eileen asked how could she save the comprehensive guide to finding family bike paths in and around Ventura County article to a pdf file so that she could print it out and bring it with her.

My first thought of course was, this website is very mobile friendly, so if you have a smartphone, just click the article and you'll have what you need in the palm of your hand. No trees consumed. But, hey, I see the benefits of printing out documents too. Not to mention, as recently as 2015, 32% of adults in the U.S. did not own a smartphone.

Problem is, that print feature does not currently exist on this environmentally conscious website. So what is one to do?

I discovered a simple and very easy solution. Simply click the URL of the page you would like to print to pdf and paste it into to the box at www.printfriendly.com. Within seconds, the article can be printed in a nice format directly to your printer, printed to a pdf file or emailed to someone.

Additionally, you can change the size of the text of the article (although the header text size stays the same) and you can change the size of the images in the article or even remove them.

You can also click any highlighted text links, full sentences or images in the converted article to literally remove it. This could come in handy if something is converted that you don't want in your printable version.

Very impressive and very simple to use. Simple is the key. I like simple and easy. And free. 

SCORE Ventura County Helps Over 1,000 Local Entrepreneurs Each Year

The Ventura County Chapter of SCORE is a 501(c)3 non-profitorganization that was founded in 1971. SCORE was founded as an organization in 1964. The organization’s 11,000 volunteers operate out of over 320 chapters through the country.

The acronym SCORE stands for Service Corps of Retired Executives. SCORE Ventura County counselors are an active group of over 60 volunteers who are retired successful business owners and managers who enjoy helping established and potential business owners achieve success.

SCORE Ventura County provides FREE individualized counseling in partnership with Chamber of Commerce offices in Camarillo, Malibu, Moorpark, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Greater Ventura County and Oxnard. Appointments can be made online at ventura.score.org/mentors.

SCORE Ventura County also provides workshops, some free and most for a small charge, for local entrepreneurs. Visit this link for upcoming events ventura.score.org/localworkshops.

In addition, the chapter is active in many other community projects such as Hispanic Programs Group, Boots2Business training for our military, collaboration with technical assistance partners at the SBA as well as working with local educational institutions.

There are many other useful resources on the SCORE Ventura County website at ventura.score.org. Call SCORE Ventura County at 805.204.6022 or visit their website for more information.

Tips For Using Public Wi-Fi Networks From the Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission notes that wi-fi hotspots in public places like coffee shops, libraries, universities and so on, while convenient, are often unsecured, which means the information you send when you're logged in to these hotspots can be seen by others.

Short of simply not using public wi-fi hotspots, there are things you can do to protect yourself.

1. Try to confine your use of unsecured public wi-fi hotspots to web browsing rather than logging in to websites and apps that require personal information.

2. If you do need to sign in to websites using login and password information, try to only use sites that are encrypted, or that basically scramble the information submitted so that others can't see it. How do you know if it is encrypted? If there is an "s" after http at the beginning of the web address, that means it's secure. But make sure the https shows up on every page you visit, not just the page you sign in.

The good news is that many sites requiring login are consistently using https these days, like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, not to mention banking and financial sites. You may notice when you go to a site like Amazon.com, initially you'll see www.Amazon.com in the browser, but a secure web address once you click the sign in page.

As you can see, Yahoo mail uses https

3. The FTC notes that mobile apps don't have a visible indicator like https and that many mobile apps don't properly encrypt information. So if you have that $100 birthday check form Aunt Hattie and want to deposit it to your Chase account using your mobile app while enjoying your Frappuccino at Starbucks, use your phone's 4G or 3G data network, not the free wi-fi.

The Federal Trade Commission has more useful tips for using public wi-fi hotspots at www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0014-tips-using-public-wi-fi-networks.

County of Ventura's VC SafeDiner App Provides Convenient Access to Inspection Results

Ventura County Environmental Health launched the VC SafeDiner app for Apple and Android devices in early 2015.

VC SafeDiner is a quick and easy way to view the latest inspection results for food facilities in Ventura County. The app allows you to search by name, address or city; and also provides a map feature allowing you to view food facilities within a radius of your current location. Full inspection results for the last year are displayed, including recorded violations and inspector comments. 

I've tried it and it works great, replicating the searchable database on the County website at www.decadeonline.com/main.phtml?agency=VEN.

How Long Do We Have Before Halloween Candy Goes Bad?

On Halloween day, my youngest son asked me what he should do with his old Halloween candy. I said, what do you mean? You haven't gone trick-or-treating yet. He tells me he still has candy left over from last year in his closet.

After my initial surprise, I told him to show me the candy. He opened the closet door and pulled out last year's Halloween trick-or-treat bag, which was full of individual plastic sandwich bags full of Snickers, Twix, Butterfingers, M&Ms, Whoppers and so on.

I have to admit, my initial inclination was to consume them (no, I didn't), then I had a passing thought to re-give them out to trick-or-treaters (of course I would not do that).

My son told me we should throw them away because they were old. But I hate throwing stuff away that's still good, so I decided to keep the candy and take a closer look at their "best before" dates.

So what exactly is a "best before" date? There is no mention of it on the Snickers or Mars websites, but the Hershey website indicates this is the last date a product can be expected to be at its "peak freshness." Hershey goes on to indicate that most candy products maintain their best flavor for up to 12 months after they are made and that there may be flavor loss or texture changes past the "best before" date.

But there is no mention of "thou shall not eat candy past the best before date." So it begged the question, are these dates required by law?

The USDA confirms that "Best if Used By (or Before)" dates are not required by federal law (with the exception of infant formula) and indeed relate to best flavor or quality, not safety. So...yes, it's generally OK to eat candy (and other foods), past that date.

My son, who is not a Snickers fan, thankfully (for me, indeed a Snickers fan) scored a full sized Snickers bar last Halloween as well as this Halloween. I devoured last year's Snickers bar, with a "best before" date of May 2015, a full 5 months after said date. It was not bad. Not quite as good as this year's Snickers bar, but quite edible. 

Full size Snickers bars received by son this Halloween and last halloween display "Best Before" Dates

He also gave me numerous Snickers "fun size" bars from last year's Halloween stash. These ones for some reason have no dates on them. The quality was slightly lower. I might not eat them now, but perhaps would save them as a pick-me-up in the event of a zombie apocalypse.

On to Nestle Crunch bars. According to nestlecrunch.com, the recommended shelf life of a Nestle Crunch 1.55 oz bar is 15 months. I see no such date on the mini size bars.

The Reese's Peanut Butter Cup made by Hershey does show a date, though given their popularity in this household is usually a moot point as they are usually consumed within hours, if not minutes.

According to StillTasty.com "Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide," you can generally keep chocolate covered candy bars in the pantry, refrigerator or freezer for 10 to 12 months. And the site reiterates that such storage times are for best quality only - in most cases, it will still be safe to consume your candy if it has been stored properly.

On that note, I better run off and eat a salad or something to counteract all the candy I just ate.

Camarillo Water-Wise Gardening Website a Great Resource for All Local Residents

The City of Camarillo sponsors an excellent website, Camarillo Water-Wise Gardening, as a resource for local residents looking to create water-wise, drought tolerant landscaping for its residents. But the site is free of charge and available to anyone looking for information.

The site has information about how to design and install a water-wise garden, irrigation methods and equipment that will help you to water your landscape more efficiently, and suggestions on how to easily and effectively maintain your garden.

The Garden Tours section of the site contains hundreds of photos from 24 different gardens. If there is a particular plant you'd like more information about, simply click the box and the next screen will have detailed information, including plant name, size, color(s), sun/water requirements and more. Click the "Add" button and the plant will be added to your "List." You can also click the Add button on any of the garden photos to be added to your List (described more below).

The Plants section includes plants categorized by Low Maintenance Trees, Low Maintenance Shrubs, Vines, Ground Covers, Low Water Perennials and Ornamental Grasses/Clumping Plants.  Again, there are literally hundred of photos in this section of the site. Click an item of interest and add it to your List.

The "My List" section of the site contains the various photos you clicked in other sections of the site. Click one of the report formats and you'll see a printable report you can bring on your next trip to the nursery.

The Garden Resources section of the site has extensive information about how to design a garden, including design principles, a questionnaire, creating the design, drainage, plant design, installation and working with professionals. The irrigation section discusses plant water needs, smart controllers, irrigation systems and eliminating overspray and runoff. The maintenance section covers mulch, irrigation maintenance and other tips.

Overall, this is remarkably useful, informative and easy to use website! Check it out at www.camarillogardening.com.

Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Followers Share How They Are Saving Water

Governor Jerry Brown issued mandatory statewide water restrictions with a mandatory 25% reduction in water use through February 2016. This 25% reduction is a statewide, aggregate goal, not a specific goal directed at individual residences. That said, we all need to do what we can to cut back water use.

In a recent drawing on the CVG Facebook page, local residents were asked what they are doing to cut back on use of water. Here's what they said:

• No more car washes

• Watering lawn less

• Put in artificial grass*, flush toilets less, take shorter showers

• Shorter showers and gave up flower bed

• Water lawn once a week instead of twice a week

• Stopped watering lawn...planning to change the landscape

• Turn the water off when brushing and washing

• Bricks in the toilet tank to reduce water per flush

• Took out the grass

• Rain barrel system

• Shorter showers was mentioned numerous times

• Washing more clothes in bigger loads

• Put buckets out when it rains

• Rarely wash the car

• Using water saving shower heads

• Showering together (hmmm)

• Shower timers

• Showers instead of baths

• Take baths every other day instead of every day

• Soaking and washing dishes with half-filled sink instead of running water

• "If it's yellow, let it mellow...etc."

• Got rid of lawn and installed drip system

• Fixed all leaking faucets

• Buckets in showers to collect water as it warms up to use outside

California American Water provides low flow shower heads like this one as, well as faucet aerators and other conservation supplies to customers.

There are a variety of water conservation rebates available for Southern California residents under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Water District.  Visit socalwatersmart.com for more information. In addition to turf replacement rebates (which due to huge demand, as of May 12th stopped taking applications...but they they indicate checking back May 26th for possible new funding, terms and conditions), rebates are available for items like properly implemented rain barrels, high-efficiency clothes washers and toilets, weather-based irrigation controllers and rotating sprinkler nozzles.

* Artificial grass: California American Water explains why artificial turf is not included in turf exhange programs. Artificial turf is not a living landscape and does not increase biodiversity of plant, animal and insect populations, provide habitat for local fauna, foster healthy soils, cool surrounding air temperatures (artificial turf can get significantly hotter than surrounding air temperatures) or sequester carbon or produce oxygen like living plant material can. Artificial turf is not water free. It must be watered periodically for cleaning and may require chemicals periodically. And because artificial turf can get very hot in direct sunlight, water may be needed to cool it for comfortable use.