Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs Around Ventura County

The Five Man Electrical Band said it best in their 1970 song "Sign" - Sign, sign, everywhere a sign; Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind; Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign. Some signs provide more comic relief than others around Ventura County.

The Community Pool at Samuelson Aquatics Center is a pristine, 82 degree heated community pool at Cal Lutheran University that is located adjacent to the George "Sparky" Anderson Field & Ullman Stadium. As a result, flying baseballs can be an issue for poolgoers who dare to swim during CLU home games!

Dos Vientos Community Park in Newbury Park is popular with local soccer, baseball and other sports teams. The sign below indicates that perhaps too many local sports enthusiasts were using the walls of the snack bar/restroom facility at the park in their ball playing endeavors.

According to City of Oxnard Ordinance 2708, section 7-86(A), "It shall be unlawful for any person to have in his or her possession any adhesive sticker, etching tool, indelible marker, paint stick, or graffiti stick while in or upon any public facility, park, playground, swimming pool, beach, recreational facility, or other public building owned or operated by the city where signs forbidding such possession without valid authorization are displayed in a reasonable location or locations." So watch your stickers in public facilities in Oxnard! It is unlawful to have one in your possession!

Burger King Introduces SATISFRIES™ Reduced Fat, Reduced Calorie French Fries

Image courtesy of Burger KingYesterday, Burger King introduced a new french fry called SATISFRIES™ that have "40% less fat and 30% fewer calories than the leading French fries." Although I'm not a big fast food consumer, this caught my attention!

What do they consider "the leading French fry?" That would be McDonald's. I found that to be slightly odd that they are using the competition as the reference point rather than their own fries. But that's ok. I'll go with it.

Burger King claims that 70 grams of SATISFRIES™ has 6.3 grams of fat as compared to 11.2 grams of fat in 70 grams of McDonald's fries. Similarly, there are 150.5 calories in 70 grams of SATISFRIES™ as compared to 226.8 calories in 70 grams of McDonald's fries.

How do they do it make a French fry with less fat? According to Burger King,"Just like most French fry recipes, SATISFRIES™ are made with thinly battered real whole potatoes. The difference is that the SATISFRIES™ recipe ensures that the French fries absorb less oil – only enough to keep each great tasting crinkle crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside." Basically a new batter that keeps more oil from saturating inside the fry. Interesting concept.

Burger King is asking folks to post their own S pictures on Instagram, some of which are shown at www.bk.com/en/us/satisfries.html.

How do SATISFRIES™ compare to Burger King's own French fries? A small order of SATISFRIES™ is 270 calories, 70 calories, or about 20% less calories than in its standard fries. A small order of SATISFRIES™ has 11 grams of fat as compared to 15 grams in its standard fries, or about 27% less fat.

So let's see how this adds up. If God forbid you normally eat one small order of Burger King French fries each week, with the exception of say Christmas week and Thankgiving week, and decide to switch to the new SATISFRIES™, over the course of a year you would eat 3,500 less calories. According to www.howmanycaloriesinapound.com, there are 3,500 calories in one pound. So switching to SATISFRIES™ equals 1 less pound of body weight in a year. If you're looking to lose weight, perhaps a better approach would be to swap out your fries for the apple slices that Burger King offers up.

Visit www.bk.com for more information.

Evolution of Bench at Upper Sycamore Canyon Overlook at Rancho Sierra Vista

The Springs Fire started the morning of May 2nd along the 101 freeway on the Conejo Grade and burned over 28,000 acres through portions of Camarillo, Newbury Park and the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Aea until it was fully contained the following week.

Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa and other trails in Pt Mugu State Park were re-opened in mid to late May. It will take time for the vegetation to grow back and for structures that were burned to be rebuilt. One such structure is the bench overlooking Upper Sycamore Canyon. The bench was burnt severely and was rendered unusable. However, lo and behold, the bench has been replaced! Happy trails!

The healthy, new bench overlooking Upper Sycamore Canyon in September 2013

Bench overlooking Upper Sycamore Canyon in August of 2013.

The not-so-healthy looking bench overlooking Upper Sycamore Canyon after the fire.View from the new and improved bench at Upper Sycamore Canyon Overlook in Sept 2013

Bench at Upper Sycamore Canyon Overlook on May 14, 2013Bench at Upper Sycamore Canyon Overlook prior to Springs Fire on February 10, 2013

All sorts of benches in and around the Conejo Valley

Touching Story of 96 Year Old Fred Stobaugh and the Song He Wrote For Wife Lorraine

Grab the tissues. Here's a touching story of a man named Fred, 96 years old, who responded to a singer/songwriter contest with lyrics to a song to his wife, Lorraine. Although his entry was not accepted because his lyrics were not sung by him, his lyrics are brought to life. Watch the video to see what happens, and his reaction.

Wildlife Out and About in Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa Post-Springs Fire

The National Park Service estimated that some 70% of the 1,170 acre Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa area in Newbury Park was impacted by the Springs Fire this past May. The impact on wildlife was staggering. With so much of the landscape charred, wildlife is frequently seen foraging around for food...deer, coyotes, rabbits, etc. More on Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa and the Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center (thankfully not impacted by the fire due to the efforts of firefighters) at THIS LINK.

Where's the bunny? (Click image for link to larger image in Pinterest)

Where's the coyote? (Click image for link to larger image in Pinterest)

No problems spotting this beautiful King Snake crossing the trail.

And below are some deer caught foraging for food next to the Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center on a recent morning.

The Despicablimp Was Seen Flying Through the Conejo Valley Today

There was an unusual looking blimp flying through the skies of the Conejo Valley and other parts of Ventura County this afternoon. Darts Promoter L. David Irete captured the excitement at 3:45 p.m. as it approached the Conejo Grade.

With a little research, we learned this was the Despicablimp...on a nationwide publicity tour for the opening of Despicable Me 2 on July 3rd. Pretty clever publicity stunt...certainly got me writing about it! Learn more at www.despicablimp.com. How about a closer look:

Learn more about the making of the Despicablimp from Steve Carrell in this short video.

My Vote For Cutest Video: Micah, the Baby Who Laughs Hysterically at Ripping Paper

This video was published in January 2011 and as of May 2013 has nearly 60 million views on YouTube (88.6 million views as of December 2016). There's a good reason for that. Micah, the baby who laughs hysterically at paper ripped in front of him, is extraordinarily cute. Posted here to bring a smile to your face today.