Paulano

Bikes equipped with an electric motor are green alternatives to cars If you don’t know already, tomorrow will be the 40th annual Earth Day.   Hoo-ahh! Easy to Install, Fun to Ride Earth Day is a good time for us each to do a quick self evaluation, to see what changes we can each make to be a little greener. Not quite yet a candidate for eco-Martyrdom, but not a total eco-jerk either, Paulano has been seen riding around Livermore lately on his new electric bike.   By cutting down on car trips... Read Full Story

Caption: Be the coolest one in the Math Department. Click on the picture to get your golden (and silver) ratio Fibonacci Sequence gift items. Kyle has business card cases and much, much more. The Golden Ratio is demonstrated most simply by dividing a line segment into two unequal pieces, a big one and a small one. I f the ratio of the big piece to the small piece is the same as the ratio of the original segment to the big piece, then:  Congratulations! You have demonstrated the golden ratio... Read Full Story

I made a simple High Jump Bar out of PVC pipe for my girls a couple of summers ago. They still pull it out of the garage, re-assemble it, and use it all the time. To enhance their front-yard jumping experience, they put an inexpensive mini-tramp in front of the bar, and a motley collection of mats and mattresses on the other side to serve as a crash pad. Our neighborhood record is 4′5″ by Jake, age 10. When you add the 9 inches of the mini-tramp, the height of the bar he cleared is 5′2″ off... Read Full Story

Want a Chihuahua Nightlight? Click here on the picture! The trailers for the upcoming Disney movie “ Beverly Hills Chihuahua ” are readily available on sites all over the internet… Disney or YouTube just to name a few. My nine year old daughter Kayden thinks they are hilarious…. (ok, so do I). So much so that over the summer, the theme for her birthday party was “ Aztec Chihuahua “. Aztec Chihuahua Birthday Party Decorations Not surprisingly, party favors and party supplies that have an... Read Full Story

Solar Power Magnet Clip is so hot The April 23rd, 2009 edition of the Livermore Independent has an article about the newly installed 18,000 sqaure foot array of solar cells on the rooftop of the Livermore Cinema . The installation is expected to provide about 190,000 Kilowatt Hours of electrical energy to the Theater per year.  This is comparable to the amount of energy needed to supply the yearly needs of 18 average households. Electrical Savings make Every Day seem like Christmas The cells... Read Full Story

After spending 4 days in Washington, DC with my family, I thought I would take a quick moment to recap some of the highlights and lowlights, and offer a few suggestions to those of you who are thinking of making the same trip. Tip 1: Use Reagan National Airport if you can. It is only 7 minutes from the National Mall, and the taxi fare from the airport to the hotel was about $11, not including tip. The airport terminal is really nice, and surprisingly laid back. Tip 2: Stay at a hotel that is... Read Full Story

Earlier this month, my dad toured the Pacific Northwest on his motorcycle . Low points of the trip included a June snow storm in the Rockies , and a South Dakota pheasant that flew straight into the side of my dad’s head. At the time, dad was traveling down I-90 at about 80 miles an hour. I have no idea how fast the pheasant was going. The result of the accident? Dad kept on truckin’ and the bird paid the ultimate price. My dad said he was awfully glad he had more than a bandana on his head... Read Full Story

Time Magazine recently came out with a list of the 50 Best Websites for 2008 . For the most part, I applaud the effort of Time Magazine and the lead website reviewer Anita Hamilton . The list touches on a variety of interests, and in that sense, the list is comprehensive and represents a nice cross-section of web surfers. I went through the interesting exercise of going through all 50, and I took the liberty of reducing Time’s list of 50 down to Paulano’s List of 18 . My two most common... Read Full Story

Memorial Day marks the tradiitonal start of summer , so “Gentlemen, Start your grills.” Your family and guests are expecting some incredible burgers, breasts, chops, tri-tip, ribs, wings, steaks and kebabs. Do not disappoint. I enjoy grilling, but I’ve never made much of a science of it . While some guys live and breathe their copy of the “Barbeque! Bible” , I have to yet to crack mine open. My grill happens to be quite the conversation piece. It’s a 16-year-old 18-inch Weber . My wife and I... Read Full Story

What is a charter school? Charter schools are public schools, supported by public funds. They are open to any child that wishes to attend, and they do not charge tuition. When it comes to spending money, charter schools have greater latitude than other public schools. Thus the programs at charter schools are more likely to meet the needs of the student population it serves . In exchange for this extra freedom, charter schools are held to a higher standard of accountability for producing... Read Full Story