Why Posting Your Birthday on Facebook is Not Such a Good Idea

You have 250 Facebook friends ranging from close family members, childhood playmates, high school classmates, frat house buddies, workplace acquaintances and other random people. Some you know well, others not so much. 

Never before have birthdays been so exciting. In your Facebook notifications settings, you can be prompted as to your friends' birthdays automatically. Or if you click your Friends section and click Birthdays, you can see "Friends with Upcoming Birthdays."  It's fun to see 97 people write "Happy Birthday!" on your wall on your birthday!

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But think about it. Do you really want your birth date, a key component of your personal information that can be used for identity theft, openly displayed on your Facebook page?

At lunch today, a friend told me that someone was able to find out his political party, but he didn't know how that happened.

In many counties, voter records are maintained online. Ventura County in fact makes it really easy to find out if you are a registered voter, when you registered and your political affiliation. All they ask for is your first and last name and your birth date. The Voter Eligibility Search is at recorder.countyofventura.org/elections/voter-lookups/am-i-a-registered-voter/#VoterEligibilitySearch.

This friend just so happens to show his birthday on his personal Facebook page. Just month and day, no year. While I didn't know what year he was born in, it took me only two guesses to log in to his voting record. This would not have been so easy had it not been for his posting his birth date to Facebook.

So unless you are interested in making it that much easier to have your identity stolen or personal information discovered, it's probably not a good idea to post your birthday to Facebook. Your real friends will remember your birthday. They either have it memorized or written down somewhere. Or maybe you can give them a hint.

There's a way to restrict access to your birthday on your Facebook page by going to "Contact and Basic Info" => "Basic Information" and clicking the lock icon next to your birthday. You can select Public, Friends, "Only Me" or Custom. "Only Me" is my option of choice. But of course my birthday comes and goes and I don't receive the Facebook-prompted birthday wishes that my friends receive.

Finding one's voter registration status in Los Angeles County at www.lavote.net/vrstatus requires slightly more work than in Ventura County. You need Last Name, Birthdate, House Number and Zip Code. 

More information about how to recover from identity theft

How to place a credit a "security freeze" on your credit file

Compilation of Conejo Valley Scenes Before and After the 2017 Rains

Here is an updated compilation of scenes around the Conejo Valley from before and after the 2017 winter rainstorms.  More on local hikes and trails throughout Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Newbury Park and Greater Ventura County at THIS LINK.

Here are the scenes in this compilation:

• Dos Vientos towards Boney Peak
• Mountclef Ridge above Wildwood Park
• Picnic table near Hawk Canyon Trail
• Wendy Trail behind Satwiwa Center at Rancho Sierra Vista
• Boney Peak from Rancho Sierra Vista
• Wildwood Park towards Lizard Rock
• Los Robles Trail towards central Thousand Oaks
• Angel Vista Peak towards Newbury Park
• Dos Vientos from Potrero Ridge Trail
• Olympia Farms in Rancho Potrero
• Western Plateau towards Oxnard Plain
• On horseback in Rancho Potrero
• Hawk Canyon/Western Plateau Trail Sign
• Mountclef Ridge from Tarantula Hill
• Tarantula Hill from Los Robles Trail East
• Hidden Valley Overlook in Rancho Sierra Vista
• Autumn Ridge Trail in Lang Ranch Open Space
• Los Robles Trail looking east
• Lone Oak in Rancho Sierra Vista

Green Meadows and Hills and Wildflowers on Display in La Jolla Valley, Point Mugu State Park

The La Jolla Valley Natural Preserve is located in Point Mugu State Park, in the west end of the Santa Monica Mountains. The La Jolla Valley was acquired by the State of California in 1966 and was established as a Natural Preserve in 1972.

The area can be accessed via the .7 mile, but very steep Chumash Trail in Point Mugu (strenuous but the quickest approach), via the La Jolla Canyon Trail (which has been closed since January 2015 due to mudslides), or in a roundabout way, via the Ray Miller Trail. Or you can hike there from Rancho Sierra Vista in Newbury Park, which would be something in the neighborhood of 6 to 8 miles, depending on route.

In any case, the area is spectacularly beautiful right now in March 2017 after the winter rainstorms. If you are looking for peace and quiet, green hills and wildflowers, this is the place for you right now.

Spring Flowers and Green Hills at Charmlee Wilderness Park in Malibu

View of Zuma Beach to Point Dume State Beach from Charmlee Wilderness Park.

Charmlee Wilderness Park, a 532 acre park at 2577 Encinal Canyon Road in Malibu, is a "must visit" for anyone who lives in the local area. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, its eight miles of trails dispersed through 532 acres of land provide unbelievable spectacular views of Zuma Beach to Point Dume in particular.

The Park is also blossoming with wildflowers and is green as can be in March 2017 after our significant winter rainstorms.

Park hours are 8 a.m. to sunset and the nature center is open on weekends from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (or dark, whichever comes first). Parking is $4.

Green envelopes the trains here in early March 2017.

From Charmlee, I noticed this beautiful flower display on a hilltop home and had to take a pic and post it to Instagram. Little did I know that this is apparently Caitlyn Jenner's hilltop home.

Wildflowers in Full Bloom at the Ray Miller Trail in La Jolla Canyon, Point Mugu State Park

Note: This was posted in March 2017. We stopped by in 2018 and 2019 and there was not an abundance of flowers on the trail these years.

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We knew this was coming. A sea of orange and purple wildflowers in La Jolla Canyon at Pt. Mugu State Park in northwest of Malibu. It may take you about a half an hour to get there from Thousand Oaks, but it is well worth stopping by the Ray Miller Trail in La Jolla Canyon to catch a glimpse of these colors. More on the Ray Miller Trail at THIS LINK. Directions from Thousand Oaks at THIS LINK.

Another Look at the Conejo Valley Before and After the Rainstorms of 2017

Last week's highlights of scenes around the Conejo Valley before and after the winter rains of 2017 were so popular that I went back to the photo archives to find more photo duos to share. The temperatures are starting to heat up, so we have to enjoy this green while we can!

OVER 50 LOCAL AREA TRAILS AND HIKES

Rancho Sierra Vista, behind the Satwiwa Native American Culture Center.

Rancho Sierra Vista after the rainstorms of 2017.

Nearly 50 things to do in Thousand Oaks

A view towards Newbury Park from the Rosewood Trail / Angel Vista Peak.

Rosewood Trail./ Angel Vista Peak views after the rainstorms.

View of Mountclef Ridge from Tarantula Hill.

A greener view of Mountclef Ridge after the rains.

The former Olympia Farms property in the Rancho Potrero Open Space in Newbury Park.

Greener times in the Olympia Farms area.

Los Robles Trail looking east from "Space Mountain."

Fueled by months of steady rain, it is looking green here in the Los Robles Trail System.

View of Boney Mountain Range from Rancho Potrero Open Space last fall.

Green foreground after the rains in Rancho Potrero looking at Boney Mountain.

Wildflowers in Bloom in the Conejo Open Space

We are already seeing these beautiful orange poppies blooming throughout the open space surrounding the Conejo Valley after two months of steady rains. Here is a patch of them in the North Ranch Open Space, west of Lindero Canyon Road up in the hills. 

These yellow wildflowers appear off of the Westlake Vista Trail adjacent to the Las Virgenes Reservoir each year in the March time frame.

Great hikes and trails in and around Ventura County