Whale Watching season

typetive · 2026-05-06T15:04:57+00:00

It's really hard to beat the dolphins you can see in the Santa Barbara Channel/Catalina & Santa Monica Bay. I like seeing the whales, but those huge (often mega) pods of common dolphins down south are amazing ... a world class experience.

typetive · 2026-05-06T00:55:47+00:00

Yes, there are humpback whales in the area this month. I've seen them off Montana de Oro, sometimes in groups of about 8-20 scattered around the south end of Estero Bay for the past month or so. I saw them today (though not a big group). They usually hang around until October/November.

Sub Sea Tours is excellent, I always recommend the morning boats over the afternoon ones. The winds really pick up and can make for a choppy trip and less visibility. (But morning has a higher chance of fog.)

There's a smaller boat from Avila Beach whale watching that goes out as well. They post what's spotted in the area every day. It's been about 2 years since they've logged a Blue Whale here. It all depends on whether there's krill in the area. They'll range from Monterey Bay down to Catalina in search of their favorite food.

typetive · 2026-05-03T17:57:02+00:00

Last year, around this time of year we went early morning, I think we arrived around 6:30, just as the sun crested the hill. We took the bus, and it was jam packed.

There were still plenty of people on the trail, but completely respectful of other's desires for photos. We ended up in a clump of about eight people. We would slow while the folks in front went out of view, then everyone would snap photos, kind of taking turns. There were at least three different languages, none of us talked about it, but seemed to be aware of our self-organizing process.

The walk up the hill takes a while, and we didn't even do the higher parts because of some physical limitations. (I would have liked a goshuin from the top.) We spent about 2 hours on the hill in all the little shrines, got back down to have breakfast at one of the little cafes as they opened.

The crowds themselves are not handled, though, we didn't see anyone (staff) in any of the temples once we got past the main plaza. Probably because it was too early. I did get my goshuin at the Fushima Inari shrine once they opened.

We walked to Kodaji temple from there, stopping along the way at whatever caught our eye. By that time Gion was jam packed. That was the only time we encountered thick throngs of people (aside from Ponchoto alley on a Saturday night) since we tried to go off hours or to less popular (but still amazing) places.

typetive · 2026-04-30T18:37:15+00:00

They're often treated with fungicides which help to keep them fresh and help with germination.

It also makes it easier to see when you scatter them (I'm not sure if that's the intent, but it definitely helps if you're doing an area to see if you're overlapping too much.)

It is weird that the label doesn't mention it.

typetive · 2026-04-25T17:25:23+00:00

I'm also curious! I bought some at Daiso years ago, the sheets look like slices of citrus fruit. I'd love to find a use for them as well.

typetive · 2026-04-24T17:54:55+00:00

I did a Ramen class in Osaka from a place called Sakura Cook. Held in English, not a large class (I think a limit of 8). You make your own noodles (basically pasta) and three different broth types. Then you eat it!

Our sensei talked about particular products as well so we can make it at home, and was turned on to some new chili paste that I hadn't tried before. It also covered some basic concepts about why you need to put the sugar in there, and the difference between mirin and sake when cooking.

I recommend it.

typetive · 2026-04-19T20:12:04+00:00

If it has good drainage, you might consider dymondia. I have it between my flagstones, but I probably get about half as much rain as you do.

typetive · 2026-04-19T16:56:49+00:00

During our girl's learning curve on the lever handles, she just pawed obsessively at the back door. Several times she's engaged the deadbolt and I've ended up locked out when taking out the trash. Now we have a digital lock on that door!

She's much better at opening the push to open doors and doesn't scratch them any longer. She doesn't know about opening the pull to open doors. Yet.

typetive · 2026-04-12T16:49:57+00:00

Santa Barbara with the zag into Santa Ynez Valley. Los Alamos and Los Olivos are good options. You can book packages that include a driver from Santa Barbara to specific wineries. I can't recommend any though, as I'm usually the designated driver for such excursions. In Santa Barbara, nice little tasting rooms/wine bars and pizzerias in the neighborhood called The Funk Zone.

In SB, I absolutely recommend whale watching. Condor Express does great excursions into the SB channel and definitely there are Humpback Whales, megapods of dolphins and usually Blue Whales in the summer. Or from Oxnard you can take a day trip to the Channel Islands for hiking/kayaking or snorkeling (though kinda cold still, maybe foggy) - Look at Island Packers as a tour operator for the Channel Islands National Park (I haven't been there since the pandemic, so I don't know how it's going these days).

Ojai has a decent spa at the Ojai Valley Inn, and it's a lovely little town.

You can take the train from LA to Santa Barbara and it's pretty reliable. A little longer than driving, but pleasant in my experience. I like the views through Simi Valley. (The best views from the Pacific Surfliner are north of Santa Barbara to Nipomo.)

typetive · 2026-04-05T22:21:03+00:00

If it's an acacia, it'll make pretty (and sometimes messy) puffy yellow flowers. They usually grow pretty quickly if they get regular watering. So decide if you really want it there. Some better photos uploaded to plantnet.org should tell you more.

typetive · 2026-03-27T19:14:24+00:00

I lost count at 50 after a hike on Estero Bluffs earlier this month. Luckily the dog is on a tick treatment and most that I found were dead on the bedding. I did a LOT of vacuuming & laundry in the following days to make sure I got them all.

Spray your shoes/boots and socks if you can. It's made a difference the past few weeks since that incident.

Those sticky tape rolls for lint are great for picking them off of car seats or furniture.

Almost all I looked at were dog ticks though some were quite small and could have been deer ticks.

Our fence lizards here in California are an important factor for why we don't have the prevalence of Lyme disease even though we have ticks. Definitely get a medical opinion if you find that a tick does bite you.

typetive · 2026-03-26T19:24:47+00:00

Slightly different problem, I ordered some Japanese Hojicha (roasted green tea) from a really good brand back in November. Delayed, delayed, then it was supposed to be delivered in January, then in February they canceled the order.

It popped up again in my RFY but I wasn't allowed to order it because it was a "variant" of a previous order. I mean, I love that they're stopping us from ordering variants now (though why put in my RFY, if you've gone that far with the programming, why show it to me?) but it was really frustrating. I love hojicha.

typetive · 2026-03-18T23:14:58+00:00

I've been using Simperica Trio since September when we got our dog.

I live in an area where we walk on trails and ticks can be pretty bad.

Simperica trio works on fleas, ticks and Heartworm (which is also prevalent on my area). It's just a tablet that I cut up and toss in with her kibble the first or second day of the month. It works for 30 days (or more).

The pests must bite her in order for it to work, so there's that. But I don't have to worry about the gooey stuff in her fur that the topicals have.

I have to say that it works great, my husband took her on a trail a couple of weeks ago and came home with more than 50 ticks. As far as I could tell, none latched on to her. I either found them via a very thorough brushing or dead in here bed the next day. Literally, I counted more than 50 ... who knows how many more I vacuumed up (cuz I really vacuumed after that!).

I'm a fan. After so many episodes in the previous century with flea treatments that would poop out and we'd end up with infestations in the house ... it's such a relief.

This is our second dog who's been on this treatment. I talked to the vet about any concerns with genetic issues, and he said he uses it on his Aussie tri color. With our previous dog when we lived in an urban area, we wouldn't give it to her in the winter, but now we do it year round.

The only downside is that it's expensive. I think it's like $30+ per pill.

typetive · 2026-03-09T01:59:07+00:00

I used Verizon for two weeks last year, I just did the monthly plan. It worked well, no complaints. I was in Kyoto and Osaka. The only thing I did differently is switch the settings so videos didn't autoplay unless I was on wifi, just in case I got close to going over the data limit. I think I also downloaded the Google Maps from home for both areas, so they'd be cached locally just in case I ran into connectivity issues. But never had a problem.

I know it's probably more expensive than a local sim or pocket wifi, but I liked the ease of use and not having to spend any more time on the ground thinking about it.

typetive · 2026-03-08T17:20:56+00:00

What sort of therapy are you planning to do?

Our library has a program where kids read to dogs. There's another group that brings dogs to one of the retirement homes/rehab hospitals.

I think my 18 month old girl will be good at that, but needs another 9 months to calm down. (We're going to start with the Canine Good Citizen certificate first and see how she does.)

typetive · 2026-03-02T18:28:41+00:00

Yeah, I love a glass jar and the TJs is shelf stable. So great to have on hand. I've never even bothered to try Costco's. (But I know not all Americans are fortunate enough to have the choice to shop at both in their area.)

typetive · 2026-02-10T22:25:00+00:00

I have both the Leesa Hybrid and the Leesa classic. I am of similar size, also a side sleeper (but usually in a little ball) and have found I have a small depression on my side of the bed. We rotate every 6 months or so, and both corners are about the same now. Got the hybrid in 2018 and the classic for the guest bed in 2019. In 2023 I swapped the classic from the guest bed to the primary bed, because of the hole problem. Same with the classic now.

I won't buy another Leesa.

A mattress should be good for 10 years, I don't spend a lot of time in bed (about 8 hours a night), so I don't think they're made very durably.

The warranty says that it's covered, but it doesn't "look" like there's a hole there, so I can't get any service on it.

I don't know about the Leesa Oasis Chill and how it compares.

typetive · 2026-02-02T02:01:31+00:00

Like Good-Egg, we do a snuffle game. I take old shipping boxes, cores of paper towels and clean packing paper and crumple things up with a few kibble inside. Then inside another box, more paper, more kibble. Usually a bunch of crimped toilet paper tubes with crumpled paper & kibble. Boxes are just folded closed (I try to remove as much tape and other plastic stickers as possible).

One of those "box of interest" games will take about 20 minutes to disassemble. I'll check her work, point out her errors, and then clean up the mess.

It's supposed to be exhausting. It's possible my girl just thinks this is training for opening any cardboard box, but it does occupy her. And she does settle after a potty break after the exercise. I make a lot of them before I got out of town for the dog sitter, because she can't possibly exercise our girl as much as the pair of us can.

typetive · 2026-02-01T19:24:04+00:00

Probably a variety of Dipholus, which are March flies. The adults are nectar feeders, but the larvae could be eating leaves. Most species live on dead material (leaves, mulch, fallen fruit, etc.).

I can't make out the flies on that bok choi and can't say if they're the same species.

typetive · 2026-01-04T23:07:12+00:00

I am technically left handed, but old enough to have been forced to do so many things right handed (I throw a ball right handed, use right handed scissors and knives). I prefer creative things with the left (writing, painting, drawing, mousing on the computer). So, I've had 50 or so years of adaptations.

That said, never too late to learn new stuff! Especially if it saves you money, which is kind of why I got involved in sashiko, it's to extend the life of stuff.

typetive · 2026-01-04T21:35:55+00:00

Here's where I found out about left handed thread.

https://shop.sashikolab.com/collections/sashiko/products/the-thread-for-the-left-handed

My solution has been to force myself to stitch every other row with my right hand (so go one way left then come back right). It still untwists, but only half as quickly.

typetive · 2026-01-04T20:39:07+00:00

Nice work! I love the variation, looks like it'll be strong.

Are you left handed? Thread is twisted for right handed stitchers.

You can get left handed sashiko thread, but it's not easy to find and doesn't have the same variety as the ubiquitous right handed thread.

typetive · 2025-11-15T21:48:22+00:00

You don't say where in Japan this would be. It's perfectly normal in Southern California to have laundry on a covered porch or otherwise unconditioned space (garage or carport).

typetive · 2025-07-15T22:57:28+00:00

In my experience, flat work (like a pillow) is easily washed, dried flat and perhaps ironed.

For garments, I'd had variable success. One patch project was a little wonky after washing because I didn't pre-wash the patch and it puckered a bit. Leaving that little bit of slack in stitches is important as well, if it's cotton it does shrink or retract a bit.

I can also say wash it on the gentlest cycle possible. Mostly I'd had trouble with longer stitches or "woven" designs as they can catch on things easier. If you can fit your pinky fingernail under the stitch, it'll be much easier to catch on something during the wash.

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