To avoid them:

• Be careful on cooler days and evening hours.  That’s when they like to come out to play (or prey).
• They look for shade on hot days, so be cautious of shaded corners in your yard.
• Take a flash light with you when you go outside in the dark.  This could help you avoid black widows too.
• Glance in to your pool before you dive in.  You don’t want any surprises.
• Make sure you don’t have any standing water or dripping garden hoses.  Those rattlesnakes get thirsty too.
• Get rid of piles of junk wood, rocks, etc.  Rodents hide in there and guess what…they are rattle snake food.
• Make sure your garage is sealed up well.  You don’t want any unwanted visitors.
• Dead snakes can still bite.  YES I did not not this. They say they can still have a bite reflex up to an hour after they die, so if you kill one don’t go over and apologize to him.
• Even after they strike, they may strike again.  Get away if you can…no double dipping.

If you are bitten by one:

• Seek medical attention immediately. If you are in SCV go straight to Henry Mayo.  Urgent Care facilities do not have the anti-venom.
• Remove jewelry and restrictive clothing.  You will swell up.
• Immobilize the extremity and keep it at a level slightly below your heart.
• Apply a cold wet cloth to the bite.
• Stay CALM!!!  The faster your heart beats, the faster the venom spreads.

If you discover a snake you can call Animal Care at 661-257-3191 or Rattlesnake Rescuer Hugo Heermann 805-660-3348rescues them and humanly releases them back in to the wild.

I received this information from a real estate agent in the mail.  Usually I throw those solicitations away because we are so upside down on our house, there is no way we could sell for a long time.  This one though was different.  I appreciated the fact the he added this information in his mailer so thank you to Randy Plaice for the info.  Randy is a local agent with Keller Williams and this is his website in case you are looking for an agent.  Here is the original Rattlesnake Info in case you want to print it out.

Thanks again Randy for the info.

This topic is actually near and dear to me.  When we moved in to Tesoro 5 years ago our gardener told me we should get rid of the brush on our hillside because the rats live in there and it brings rattlesnakes.  The day they cleared the brush, they drug it all down on to my lawn and my 11 year old Rottweiler Maddox sat on a rattler that was in that brush and was bit in the hind leg.  We didn’t notice it until the next day because it swelled up HUGE.  He survived the surgery and recovery period, but ultimately died 2 months later.  We will never know if it was related to the bite or just weird timing.  RIP Maddox.

I was really impressed.  It is really nice in there.  It is a blend of Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.  Prices seemed cheaper and they have a better parking lot than Trader Joe’s.  They also have a meat counter with some really awesome looking meat and great pricing.  You will have to go check it out, but wait awhile.

The line goes literally half way through the store.  I waited 30 minutes (I had nothing better to do.) in line.  It is a total zoo, but kudos to the management there.  It was very organized and they even went the extra step and had extra security in the parking lot to keep things moving.

Four bags of groceries $30…($15 in meat) Not too bad.  They have a lot of veggies on sale now.

We all could use something new.  Whether it’s for you or the kids back to school wardrobe.  Here is a great opportunity to get a 30% discount at the Gap, Old Navy and more…

It’s simple…click here and select the charity that you want to receive 5% of your purchase and then you will be given a bar code to print and take to the store.

So here is a rumor I heard about the ranch.  Does anyone know if there is truth to it? What is the deal with a ranch that big with only one animal living on it anyway?

I heard that the original owner (I guess Mr. Smiser) left specific instructions in his will that the mule farm would remain intact until the very last mule died of natural causes.  If that is the truth, then it would make sense why a lone mule sits in waiting for absolutely nothing.

The property has to be one of the last if not the last piece of prime real estate that remains untouched.

So what is the scoop? Has anyone else heard about the mule story?

It’s easy to get out of town, but getting in will totally suck today.

Click to enlarge - updated 5pm

]]> http://www.scvlife.net/city/lanes-closed-interstate-5/feed/ 0 http://www.scvlife.net/general/brighton-handbag-trade/ http://www.scvlife.net/general/brighton-handbag-trade/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:58:26 +0000 Barbara http://www.scvlife.net/general/ [Continue Reading]]]> Ladies…listen up. This offer is only good through August 1, 2010.

Check out Brighton's Facebook Page.

Details about the offer from their Facebook page.

Trade in ANY gently used handbag (it does NOT have to be a Brighton handbag) and you will receive $50 off any Brighton Registered Handbag valued at $151 or more OR $25 off any Brighton Registered Handbag valued at $…150 or less. (This offer excludes straw, mini bags, luggage, Brighton Memories and non-registered fabric handbags.) Your donated handbags will be given to the SCV Assistance League to be sold at “TAKE TWO” in Newhall.

What?? It doesn’t have to be a Brighton bag? Sweet! I am soooo going through my closet now.

A couple things to know about Chick-fil-A

• The 1st 100 people at the grand opening receive a free meal a week for a year! See details here.
• They are closed on Sundays.
• They were the creators of the 1st boneless chicken sandwich.
• They don’t sell burgers. (duh-hence the name)

If anyone happens to go to the grand opening, I would love a picture of the crowd.  Please send it to me.

With summer here, we have more time to relax, and that might involve surfing the web. You might visit your favorite blogs, or use the internet as your electronic newspaper. You might be an avid e-book reader, or interested in virtual music and buy mp3s from companies like Apple or Amazon. You might be watching your favorite sports teams on streaming video online, or maybe you just like browsing YouTube for the latest funny videos. Whatever your fascination is on the Internet, the common denominator is you are using a computer, and that computer is viable to attack.

Lets draw a picture in our minds. Think of your computer like your body, and the software you put on your computer like the food that you eat. You eat food to support your body with vital nutrients that keep your immune system healthy and your body at metabolism. All of this happens without you consciously making any adjustments. So you chose to eat that carrot, all you really focused on was chewing and swallowing. The benefits of that decision were numerous and happened after the fact. Your skin started glowing a healthy radiant color. Your acne cleared up. You felt more energy in the morning.

Software is very similar for the health of a computer. If you choose to put high-quality software on your computer, your computer is going to benefit immensely under the hood from that single decision. In technical terms—it’s going to be using less RAM memory and CPU processing power, it’s going to be updating itself to the latest definitions and updates so that its able to support you to the most recent changes. Your computer will feel faster, less clunky.

Just like we want to avoid fast food because we know what that does to our body, we want to avoid bad programs from unreliable software companies and instead go to the high-quality sources. The good news is that there are a lot of free, quality programs out there. Most people won’t believe that. Most people don’t even take the time to look, they’re suckered into buying something just because it’s on a stand at BestBuy or because it’s called “Spyware Remover 2010”.

A little background about myself if you are wondering. My name is Ryan. I run a computer repair business in Santa Clarita. My website is at www.computerrepairsantaclarita.net. I’ve been using computers since I was 11 years old. I was one of those intelligent, geeky kids. My dad bought me a computer one summer and I got hooked into it, I started reading all sorts of books about computer programming, web design, and the sort. Long story short, I have quite a bit of knowledge to help people with, a lot learned through trial and error and many years of experience, and I want to help people around me because of a love for others.  My expertise is in computers and software, so I feel a need to share that openly with others.

Now I’m going to shift gears into some more practical advice, because I don’t want you to just understand how to keep your computer safe but actually keep your computer safe. I’m going to recommend a small list of programs that I have used personally for years and approve of as the best of their class. Every program I mention is also free, which is what I expect you’re hoping for.

The first necessity for your computer is a strong anti-virus. I’m sure you know what a virus is. That’s what you get when you open the wrong attachment in your email inbox, or view a website that you clicked on from some unknown person. You don’t have to understand what a virus is, you just have to know that it’s bad, and that to get rid of them, the best thing you can have in your arsenal is a strong Anti-virus program. Hands down, the most efficient, effective anti virus I’ve used is by Avira. You can download a free version from MajorGeeks website. Avira is doing a thing now where you can fill out a bunch of forms and buy some products through some affiliate companies to get a “free” version of the Professional software, but the reality is there is not too big of a difference between the free version and the paid version. As long as the virus definitions are updated on both versions equally, real-time scanning is enabled, and you’re able to perform full system scans, that’s about everything you could want an anti-virus to do.

The next step is to get a safe web browser. If you are using Internet Explorer, it’s time to move on. The best choice right now is Mozilla FireFox. Google Chrome is a great browser, it’s extremely fast and lightweight, but it doesn’t support a wide range of Add-ons that Mozilla FireFox does for security purposes. This is because Google is a newer browser and they’ve only recently just started working on making extensions that work well for it. To get FireFox, download it here .

Remember I mentioned FireFox’s superiority is because of……. good, you’re listening…… Add-ons.

Add-ons are exactly what they sound like, additional components that add new features to FireFox. Some examples are—add-ons that can help check your e-mail inbox and report back to you how many new emails you have, add-ons that can help share your favorite bookmarks to social media sites like Facebook or Digg, add-ons that can change the style of your browser in looks and personality (called themes).

Two of them that I am going to have you download are NoScript and Web of Trust.

Cool names, right?

NoScript is like it sounds—it’s an addon that prohibits the running of scripts on websites without your consent. This means websites cant play music or videos or popups without your OK. A lot of times, and especially a few years ago, there were vulnerabilities in web browsers that hackers could transmit viruses to your computer through scripting that executed without your even knowing about it. You’d have viruses in your system folder and you had no idea how they got there. NoScript is the technology that disables that kind of thing. Download it here:

Web of Trust is really cool. It’s a community (you’re going to have to register a username and password to use the add-on) where tons of people rate websites based on their legitimacy and safety. If someone flags a website as bad, immoral, adult, or unsafe, and you try to visit that site, the add-on is going to warn you about the site, with a color-coded display on how bad it is from green to red, user comments about the site, and more. It’s like a sneak-peek into a website before you actually visit it. It’s helped me tremendously. Think of it like a big brother watching over your back or a guard dog or something. Download it here: http://www.mywot.com/downloadaddon/firefox

After installing these four things: First, a high quality free antivirus, Second, a secure web browser with add-on support, and lastly, two addons that enhance that browser for security, you got yourself an arsenal for attacks on your computer. All it takes is a little high-quality diet for your computer to keep it healthy. Get rid of the idea that you can feed your computer crappy software and expect it to perform like an athlete. We are what we eat and computers are what you put on them. Keep that metaphor at the back of your mind.

If you are in need of some professional computer repair in the Santa Clarita Valley, feel free to contact me personally on my website. I have a quick turnaround, and come to you to pick up and drop off. I really hope that this guide serves you well, and that you begin to an elevated computing experience. I want you to be familiar and graceful with technology instead of the stereotypical frustrated and disappointed. There’s no reason for it to be like that.

Thanks, Santa Clarita.

-Ryan

www.computerrepairsantaclarita.net

SCVLife is not affiliated with Ryan Bassett or any of the services he is recommending.  Please contact Ryan directly with any questions through his website.

Fido has to sit out on the patio and must be on a leash, but this is a dog friendly restaurant right down to the snacks.

The Lazy Dog has a great menu.  There is a ton of variety and everything I have tried there is good.  The service is great and they are really good at making you feel welcomed.  If you tell them you’ve never been there they might surprise you with a free flat bread.

Look at the size of this thing.

They have an incredible bar area with TVs everywhere and some really fancy and BIG fishbowl style drinks.  The appetizer selection is decent and my favorite is the small plate Mediterranean Pizza.  I usually get that.  This trip, since I am on a quest to find SCV’s best burger I ordered the Lazy Dog Burger.

Lazy Dog Burger

Yes I know. Look at the size of that thing! Their burgers are big, so sharing is caring about your waist line.

I always order my burgers medium rare and I am happy to report that I got it just how I ordered.

I will say though that this burger is not easy to eat.  It pretty much fell completely apart on me, but then again that is what a fork is for right?

Try Lazy Dog, but if you go on a Friday or Saturday night, expect to wait.  Like any other good restaurant in this town it will be packed.

I consider myself a late comer to this food trend.  I just barely tried Menchies a couple weeks ago.  The idea of putting Cap’n Crunch in my yogurt was not appealing to me at all, but much to my surprise, it’s pretty good.

Unlike traditional ice cream shops, at Menchies you pay by the weight.  The cool thing is that have sample cups available and you can really try all the flavors before you commit to your yogurt invention.

It’s pretty easy. You mix, weigh and pay.

Menchies is located in the Patios area right across from Dink’s Deli.