For the last year or so I have had a subscription with the service blinkist which provides summary’s of popular non fiction books, with a focus on business and self improvement literature. I thought it would be an effective way to screen books to decide … “Blinkist, Summaries, and Personal Experience”
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You can get commercial information from NapaValley.COM. For years, I found The Best of the Wine Country to be a useful guidebook to the area, but it’s out of date now. Wine Wine is the first order of business. There are more than 400 wineries in the Napa … “Wine Country”
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San Francisco is a beautiful, world class city. There are numerous museums, places of nature beautiful, great food, and well known tourist spots. You could easily spend several weeks exploring San Francisco and only scratch the surface. The SF City Pass can be a good … “San Francisco”
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I would recommend taking two days to explore the area around Monterey. If you had a lot of time you could make it a four day leg and continue down Route 1 to Hearst Castle / San Simeon, Morro Bay, San Louis Obispo, and then … “Monterey Penisula & Big Sur”
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The Monta Loma (MLN) neighborhood was constructed in the 1950s as affordable housing in a “California Modern” style by three different developers. It’s on the northern end of Mountain View, adjacent to Palo Alto, and Los Altos. The neighborhood is bordered by the roads San … “Monta Loma Neighborhood and the Mid-Penisula”
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I am so grateful that I live in an era that can correct many issues related to poor vision!! It’s easy to take glasses for granted, but for thousands of years, people born with poor eyesight had to find ways to muddle through life, never … “Eyeglasses”
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Items that I removed from my personal gear list because we have them for the general family. This list is incomplete. Will be updated later. Electronics Roon software isn’t really an item, but it effected many of my decisions related to audio playback. Roon integrates my … “Family Gear 2019”
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Weight of Glory is a sermon delivered by C.S. Lewis in the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford. The sermon was first published in THEOLOGY, November, 1941, and by the S.P.C.K, 1942. This and several other pieces by Lewis were combined in the book also called The … “Weight of Glory”
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In the next couple of years I plan to walk the Camino de Santiago. The following are notes I pulled together for myself which might be useful to others who are considering walking The Way of Saint James. I am considering integrating this pilgrimage with the 30 … “Camino de Santiago”
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In 2001 I created a list I called “Books that Changed Me.” Alas, the title of that list should have been “Books I Recommend“. While I believe the books in that list are worth reading, I can’t honestly say most of them have changed me. This list … “Books that Really Changed Me”
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Not a week goes by when Jackie and I don’t have a serious argument…. and I am so thankful for this because our arguments grow our understanding and character. The root of our arguments is often that we see the world from different perspectives. As … “The Joy of a Good Argument”
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One of the best things you can do for your health and wellness is spend some time outdoors among trees and other sources of natural beauty. USDA&USFS jointly published Health and Wellness Benefits of Spending Time in Nature cites a number of studies which have shown time … “Get Outdoors”
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Today there is a wide range of ultralight shelters including traditionally designed tents using exotic materials to move them into the ultralight weight classification. Many of the ultralight shelter designs came from people’s experiences on long thru hikes combined with a desire to find the … “Tarp-tents and Other Ultralight Shelters”
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“How many IT staff does an organization need?” is a commonly asked and difficult to answer question. There is no magic ratio. There is no ideal staffing level. The appropriate number of a staff depends on what the IT organization is responsible for and the … “Estimating IT Staffing”
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I tend to prefer mildly spicy food with complex combinations of tastes. Southwest, Mexican, Indian, Thai, Fusion, Californian, and especially Pacific Rim. I can enjoy classic French and Vietnamese, but the subtlety is sometimes lost on me. Great meals involve more than food. It also … “Great Meals”
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Today I was deeply sadden by the news that Doug Goins had succumbed to his three year struggle with cancer. Like many people, and especially Candy, I will miss him, and look forward to seeing him in the next life. As I pedaled my way … “A Tribute to Doug”
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I just finish my second, one year long shopping diet. During the shopping diet I attempted to purchase nothing but food, household consumables like cleaning supplies, and items that wore out like the tires for my bike, light bulbs for the house, or toner for … “Retro on from my Shopping Diet”
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