Marriage in California

Due to COVID, a marriage ceremony may be performed virtually so long as both parties to be married, the officiant, and the two witnesses are in California. (A Confidential Marriage License does not require witnesses.) Two people in an SRDP (State Registered Domestic Partnership) may get married (to each other). San Francisco requires a weekday…

Feeding Cats

Number 1 tip for feline weight management: switch to a raw fur/feathers diet (or at least a grain-free, high quality canned food). Cats are obligate carnivores with bodies evolved to process small animals such as rats, rabbits, and birds (e.g. chicken) – including the (raw) bones and organs. A grind of whole (flesh, bones, and…

Global

Europe Asia United States Mexico Eastern monarch butterflies overwinter in the Sierra Chincua butterfly sanctuary in Angangueo, Michoacan state, Mexico. Around 2003, CNP and PEG traveled to Mexico City where PEG met with the local IBM Hosting folks (with Mike Dorosh) and stayed at the Hotel Presidente Inter-Continental on Paseo de la Reforma for a…

Spain and Portugal

Spain Barcelona Toledo Madrid Valencia Rioja Seville (Xmas) Islands The Balearic Islands, Ibiza, Mallorca (Majorca), and Menorca; are off the east coast of Spain, due east of Valencia (and north of Algiers). The Canary Islands, including Tenerife, are of the coast of Morocco. Good for winter stargazing. Portugal Porto Lisbon Misc Food Shopping Reference Global…

France

Paris Pantheon – Josephine Baker. Musee d’Orsay. Eiffel Tower. Trip Advisor on beating the summer crowds. Seine river tour.

House Repairs

Should I renovate? Fit windows with heat-shrink film or weatherstripping. Improve insulation. Foundation Leaks Basements with a concrete slab foundation and a high water table will often leak along the cove joints of the horizontal slab (which is poured first) and the vertical foundation walls (due to hydrostatic pressure). Reasons for the seepage. U of…

Ottoman Empire

Includes modern-day Turkey, Syria, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Crete, Cyprus, Greece, Iraq, Ethiopia, Romania, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Crimea, Qatar, and Serbia. Salt Jordan Also called Al-Salt or Saltus, in west-central Jordan. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2021. Backpack Adventures CS Monitor Tripadvisor Constantinople Aka Istanbul.