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Everyday Theories: Occam's Razor

For my own reference, and yours, I’ve thought of using AI (Gemini and Claude/aka Anthropic AI) to draft a daily explanation of common theories that influence our day-to-day lives. I’ve selected 35 theories based on their popularity in everyday conversations (you’ve likely heard of Murphy’s Law or the Pareto Principle), their broad applicability across multiple domains from business to personal…

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Books of 2024

I just realized I didn't write a single blog post in 2024. It was a busy year for me. Here's a short summary of books I read in 2024.

I just realized I didn’t write a single blog post in 2024. It was a busy year for me. Here’s a short summary of books I read in 2024. Would recommend Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty. Still one of my favorite authors, and I feel like her concepts are getting more creative. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. Enjoyable fiction. Rising Strong as a Spiritual Practice by Brené Brown. A little bit…

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Books of 2023

The books I read in 2023. What did you read, and what do you recommend?

Anticipating that this year would be busy with each of our kids growing and demanding more time for engagement and anticipating that work would be busy in a year of transition, I figured I’d lower my reading expectations for the time that I would spend reading. Instead of shooting for 30 books as in the past few years, which at times had felt rushed, I lowered it to 25. I was pleased to finish…

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Summer Book Update

This has been a great year of books for me; both fiction and nonfiction. The lowest Goodreads rating of the books I've read was 3.76.

This has been a great year of books for me; both fiction and nonfiction. I’ve read 14 books (my goal is 25) and enjoyed most of them. It’s important to note that this list’s lowest Goodreads rating was 3.76 for Klara and the Sun; the rest ranked higher. Fabulous – would highly recommend! Finding Me by Viola Davis. Amazing narrative from a wise and, powerful voice. Soul-crushing at times. Four…

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Caught in a storm (and 20 books later...)

The end of 2022 and start of 2023 have taken me up by storm and during said storm I've read a ton of books.

By the end of each year, I tend to write a blog post about the books I have read, the lessons I have learned, and at the very least about my favorite books. The end of 2022 was so busy with the holidays – and of course, our firstborn has a Dec 26th birthday! To add insult to injury I barely got to do a year-end review or write New Year’s Resolutions because I stumbled into the year to a January…

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Heath Ranch Park Fountain (at Carpinteria, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpI9xYuP9pL/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving 🍁 (at Carpinteria, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClWZy1KJXth/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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How I got my blue bike

How I got my blue bike

The bike I have had the longest is a Fila mountain bike. Don’t know the size but it’s blue and it fits me perfectly and I’m only 5’2. I don’t know the mileage that I’ve put on it but I know it’s a lot. When I was younger my dad worked at the recycling center in Santa Barbara and multinational companies would occasionally have loyalty promotions – Marlboro paved the way for Pepsi with this type of…

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Be patient with parents out this week.

Be patient with parents out this week.

This past weekend I began quipping about every misplaced toy, dish, and item in my house. I have never been a neat freak and when I had kids I made it a point to be less frustrated by the clutter because it would drive me crazy to be uptight about it all the time, and in turn, I would drive everyone in my home crazy. This past weekend I was overwhelmed by it all; the disorganized unclean fridge,…

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The fifteen books I have read in 2022.

The fifteen books I have read in 2022.

I feel like I’m moving slowly through the reading of my books. I’ve enjoyed most of them and would recommend a good number of my first pile of 15. Here are my very brief thoughts on the books I have read. Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits by Reese Witherspoon. This was an enjoyable super quick read. She is charming and no-nonsense.…

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#Repost @luccantikids with @make_repost ・・・ Enter to win Luccanti merchandise! Complete 6 of 9 fun activities from 6/15 - 9/15. Use the hashtag #Luccanti to enter. Follow us on Insta @luccantikids Like us on Facebook (Luccantikids) & on Twitter @luccantikids Summer is more fun with friends - tag them! (at Carpinteria, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce1o8EsPs32/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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You've got the music in you.

You’ve got the music in you.

My husband was excited about the halftime show of this past Superbowl with Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Snoop Dog and surprise, 50 Cent! Honestly, I sometimes fall out of the trending topics because I just get busy. Until the week leading up to it, I didn’t even realize it was Superbowl weekend, let alone what the halftime show would be. I teased my husband because the halftime performers…

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Public Policy Magic Lamp - My 3 wishes

Public Policy Magic Lamp – My 3 wishes

If I had a magic lamp, I wish everyone in our country had free access to Early Child Care, Social Workers and (Case Managers), and Licensed Therapists. Child Care – Quality Early Education Regardless of your income bracket, if you have young kids you feel the pain of the ‘daycare dilemma’. Daycare or childcare, including preschool, is extremely expensive – up to and past the cost of each…

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January: A little self-grace goes a long way.

January: A little self-grace goes a long way.

I used to be pretty rigid with myself and by comparison, now that I feel like I’m treading water – I’m trying to be far more graceful with myself. Marcus Aurelius said: “Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself.” I’ve always been a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. In previous years I have had mixed successes and failures with them. Rather than having very large New Year’s resolutions,…

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Thoughts about Coffee

There are so many types of coffee and so many accouterments for it. I’m no coffee snob, and yet after writing this post I may reevaluate this statement. However, I first tried coffee as a child. ‘Cafe con Leche’ is a scoop of Nescafe or some instant coffee in a whole cup of milk just to taste it and gain a taste for it. In this light version I found it to be fine – not great, not bad, just…

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The last 13 books I read in 2021

The last 13 books I read in 2021: science, stoicism, and several bios.

In 2021 I had set out to read 35 books and only read 29. Of the 29 books though, I’m glad to say that I enjoyed most of them. In 2022 I have set a book goal of 30 and I’m hoping it will be as an enjoyable year of books as last year. Here are my thoughts on the last 13 books I read in 2021. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson Some concepts are too detailed but it’s a good…

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Amateur Photography Holiday Sessions

Amateur Photography Holiday Sessions

Anyone that knows me well will tell you how much I value family pictures and pictures in general. Life is unpredictable. Life is the same thing day in and day out until it’s completely different. Friday nights used to be picking a movie at Blockbuster, baking brownies with friends, and falling asleep before the movie ended, then it became nights at the coffee shop studying or chatting and now…