NorthCoastJournal_September_2010

September Dinner Meeting

Tuesday September 21, 2010 Rooster Run Golf Club

6:00 PM - $30 with RSVP ($35 at the door)

North Coast Journal CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION

SEE RSVP FLIER INSIDE

CLCA North Coast Chapter www.clcanorthcoastchapter.org SEPTEMBER 2010

Carolyn Higgins Fortune Marketing Co.

Marketing Speaker,

Workshop Facilitator, Group Coach

“7 Simple Truths to Social Media”

Linda J. Novy Linda J. Novy & Associates

Award winning Owner, Business Developer, Coach & Speaker

Strategic Planning For Success

Susie Dowd Markarian Landscape Design

Designer, Instructor,

Sustainable Design Certified

Important Components of a Successful Presentation

How to Successfully Present and Market Yourself to Clients Your Image - Your Bids –Your Social Media Marketing

CLCA North Coast Chapter P.O. Box 1621 Sebastopol, CA 95473

RESPECT THE EARTH… RECYCLE

SEPTEMBER 2010

In this Issue

PAGE 2 ………….…President’s Message PAGE 4……………..CLCA Rocks the Boat PAGE 5….................Greening the Couch or Moving the Potatoes Outside PAGE 6……………..Village Nurseries’ Free Tree Program Helps Beautify Local Schools PAGE 8……………..Cucumber Facts PAGE 10……………The Overspray from Prop 23 PAGE 16……………Cult of Less – Living out of a Hard Drive PAGE 20…………...CLCA Research Funding

This Publication is Printed on Recycled Paper r

North Coast Chapter of the California Landscape Contractors Association

PRESORTED STANDARD

MAIL U.S. POSTAGE

PAID PERMIT #105

NORTHBAY, CA

President’s message by Charlie Thompson Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there. We have tightened up our business practices, gotten re-focused on our precious customers and other high leverage areas. We have been taught (or reminded) what it’s like to have to grind it out to get work and make it profitable…..and do so within our values.

As things start to pick up for many businesses I think about the golden opportunity that presents itself to us…..We have done and learned so much……will we retain what we learned and the practices we implanted or will they be replaced with our old habits and approaches?

As is the case with some of my past messages I will reference a good book that discusses “The Knowing-Doing Gap”. The basic message is that we have tons of knowledge and answers, but we struggle to turn that into “doing”. The recent economic pressures have forced many of us past the knowing-doing gap (nothing like an emergency to drive change). The question is….will we continue the good practices, the extreme adaptability, the appreciation of every good customer, and the other positive behaviors into the future as the economy improves and our business begin to regain the shape that they once had?

The book is basically divided into what causes the Knowing-Doing Gap and what can be done to reduce the gap. Barriers that create the Knowing-Doing Gap

1. When talk substitutes for action 2. When memory is a substitute for thinking 3. When fear prevents acting on knowledge 4. When measurement obstructs good judgment 5. When internal competition turns friends into enemies

Eight guidelines for action

1. Why before how: philosophy is important 2. Knowing comes from doing and teaching others how 3. Action counts more than elegant plans and concepts 4. There is no doing without mistakes. What is the company’s response? 5. Fear fosters knowing-doing gaps, so drive our fear. 2010 President

Beware of false analogies: fight the competition, not each other. Charlie Thompson 6. Measure what matters and what can help turn knowledge into action. 7. What leaders do, how they spend their time and how they allocate resources matters

These elements (and the detail provided in the book and in on-line articles) help create a road map for making sure that you and your people are applying the best of what you know into positive action and sustainable business results.

As with any of these books and/or thoughts…..if they interest you and you want to talk I would be happy to discuss them.

As I enter the 8th month of my term as president of our chapter I am thinking it may be time for some mid-term appreciation. I am very fortunate to have such a great board, many supporters who are not on the board but have been willing to help me, our board and our chapter, and of course extremely fortunate to have Connie for wisdom and support. We all have busy lives supporting our businesses, our families and trying to squeak out a little time for ourselves when possible. So to find time to support me, our chapter and our industry takes an extra level of dedication and commitment for which I am extremely grateful. Best wishes for a strong fourth quarter! Charlie Thompson –

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North Coast Chapter Board Members

Chairman of the Board – Past President Brigid Flagerman

Bertotti Landscaping (415) 720-0065

[email protected]

President Charlie Thompson Cagwin & Dorward

(415) 892-7710 [email protected]

Secretary Ben Kopshever

Sonoma Mountain Landscape (707) 695-2429

[email protected]

Treasurer Lisa Stratton

Cagwin & Dorward (415) 798-1753

[email protected]

Web Guru Michael O’Connell

O’Connell Landscape (707) 462-9729 [email protected]

Associate Member Chair

Russ Clarke Park Ave Turf


Resource Chair Susie Dowd Markarian

Susie Dowd Markarian Design (707) 546-6221

[email protected]

CLT State Committee Liaison Dave Iribarne

City of Petaluma (707) 778-4591

[email protected]

Programs Co-Chairs Owen Mitchell

Mitchell Landscapes (415) 717-6214 [email protected]

Tyler Doherty

Cal West Rentals (707) 694-9108

[email protected]

Legislative Chair Chris Zaim

Akita Landscape (707) 486-2548 [email protected]

Education Co-Chairs Luis Lua

Cagwin & Dorward (415) 720-6624

Will Jenkel Lampson Tractor


Membership Co-Chairs Kevin Kohl

Ewing Irrigation (707) 457-9530 [email protected]

Jeff Hausman

Gardenworks, Inc. (707) 974-5799 jeff@gardenworks-

inc.com

Salvador Ledezma Jr. Gardenworks, Inc


Chapter General Board Members

Jeff Jones

John Deere Landscapes (925) 595-6115

[email protected]

Jason North

North Coast CLCA Executive Director

Journal Editor

Connie Salinas

P.O. Box 1621 Sebastopol, CA 95473

Phone 707-829-5487 Fax 707-829-5487 [email protected]

CLCA 2010 State Officers

PRESIDENT

William Schnetz, CLP Schnetz Landscape, Inc Phone: (760) 591-3453

[email protected]

PRESIDENT-ELECT Robert Wade, CLP,CLIA

Wade Landscape Phone: (949) 494-2130 [email protected]

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Sharon McGuire

Phone: (800) 448-2522, ext. 13 FAX: (916) 446-7692

[email protected]

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CLCA Helps Rock the Boat

The California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) is pleased to announce it has become a sponsor and co-producer for the documentary Rock the Boat, the controversial tale of a group's 51- mile boating expedition down the cemented canals known as the Los Angeles River in 2008. The cement lined walls were originally built by the Army Corps of Engineers to move water away from Los Angeles to prevent flooding. Defying the local authorities and the Army Corps of Engineers, the group went down the river despite opposition, hoping to have the EPA declare it as a navigable river so that it could gain protection under the Clean Water Act. "When we met with the Director Thea Mercouffer earlier this year, we were very excited about the possibilities of what the Los Angeles River could become, not only from a recreational and flood prevention perspective, but also as a significant water source for the area. With California's water crisis, rather than see all the water pushed out to sea, there are lots of ways to harness some of that water for Los Angeles to use" said Chuck Carr, Director of Communications of the California Landscape Contractors Association. "Los Angeles has a current River Revitalization Plan, but most of

us didn't even know they had one until we considered becoming a sponsor. We were pleased to see that they included a lot of positive, sustainable ideas in the master plan including natural filtration of stormwater to help clean water run off before it before it enters the river. River restoration is a great step to help Green LA and a positive step in helping to solve California's water crisis. We think this movie brings attention to what the river is now and what it could be in the future. This river has so much potential! It is very exciting, not only from a water source and conservation perspective, but imagine what it could do for the citizens of Los Angeles. Trees and other plants positively alter the environment, reduce carbon emissions, improve the air quality, protect the land, create oxygen and sustain life. Restoring the Los Angeles River will enhance the lives of all who live in California." The expedition's hopes recently came true. On July 7, the EPA declared the Los Angeles River a navigable river, making it eligible for federal protection and funding under the Clean Water Act. According to the Los Angeles Times article, U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is quoted as saying, "This is a watershed as important as any other. So we are going to build a federal partnership to empower communities like yours. We want the L.A. River to demonstrate how urban waterways across the country can serve as assets in building stronger neighborhoods, attracting new businesses and creating new jobs." The shortage of water is not only a big problem in California but also worldwide. According to the United Nations, nearly two thirds of the world's population is expected to have limited access to water by 2025. As our population continues to increase and our resources shrink, water is becoming one of the most difficult challenges to date and its availability impacts us all. For more information about Rock the Boat or to consider becoming a sponsor check out their website at http://www.RockTheBoatFilm.com/.

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Greening the Couch, or Moving the Potatoes Outside

''Couch potato'' needs no explanation, at least not in the U.S. or in the U.K.

Great Britain's National Trust says research reveals its citizens spend the equivalent of 13 weeks a year on the sofa. The West Midlanders are the most sedentary, spending 50 hours a week on the couch.

In response to these findings, the National Trust has brought the sofa to the outdoors, but not your leather, naugahyde or whatever materials the lounging industry is using these days. No, these sofas, 10 ordinary size and a giant one, have a bases and are covered in turf.

No, it's not a Monty Python skit. The idea, apparently, is to entice people out of the house and away from the boob tube. At least a person has to walk to the outdoor couch before lounging begins, a further distance than between the refrigerator and sofa at home. And who knows, once outside a person might do a bit of gratuitous walking and enjoy the scenery. The normal size sofas require 14 bales of hay to create the basic shape. The teams used a Hessian (coarse woven) mesh to keep the hay from falling apart, then wrapped the hay around and secured the backrest to the front of the sofa.

With the base secure, people sat on them during their lunch hours to soften the hay. Twenty meters of turf in sheets, grown just for this venture, was then wrapped around the hay bases and sowed together by over 500 incisions around corners and sides.

The giant sofa at London's Osterley Park required nearly 100 sq. meters of turf and almost 50 hay bales. It's reported that before any of the team had the chance to enjoy the new sofa, a lone butterfly and ladybird landed on the sofa.

The 10 green ''living rooms'' are scattered about the British countryside and gardens, from Kingston Lacey, Dorset on the southern coast, to Plas Newydd in Wales and Rowallane Garden in Northern Ireland.

Now the question is, what do you call these turf couches? A Greench, a grouch?

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The large couch at Osterley Park, one of the last surviving country estates in London, required about 100 sq. meters of turf and almost 50 hay bales.

Among the 11 sites of the green couches is this one on England's southwest Devon coast. The team also fabricated a grass table to allow a civilized cup of tea while lounging.

Village Nurseries’ Free Tree Program Helps Beautify Local Schools ORANGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--It was a simple equation. Village Nurseries, a specialty grower for landscape professionals, had a surplus of large trees in inventory. Public schools had no money to beautify their campuses. The result was Village

Nurseries’ “Helping Our Local Communities Grow Green” tree giveaway for local schools.

Village Nurseries’ management had been discussing ways to get involved with their local communities. Terri Cook, vice president of human resources and risk management, suggested donating trees to local schools. Cook had become involved with nearby Nohl Canyon Elementary where her daughter attended. She spoke with the school’s principal, Dominique Polchow, who was thrilled with the idea.

Mona Lisa Borad, manager of the Village Nurseries Landscape Center in Orange, took control of the project. Village Nurseries would supply 6- to 12-foot trees in 15-gallon containers, mulch, stakes and snacks for the volunteers. The school was responsible for digging the holes and organizing families to plant the trees.

Steve Williams at the Orange Unified School District office supplied equipment to dig holes at every school involved in the program. When Borad arrived at Nohl Canyon with the trees, everything was prepared. She instructed the volunteers on how to plant and maintain the trees, and the plantings began.

“This was a great opportunity to get families involved with our school,” Principal Polchow decided. “We were very pleased with the turnout. Each family chose an area to plant. And everyone who participated got a free plant coupon plus a discount card good at any Village Nurseries location for a year. It was a wonderful event. The families and students took great pride in beautifying our campus.”

After the success at Nohl Canyon Elementary, Borad and Polchow contacted other schools in the Orange USD, and four more signed on: Jordan Elementary, Imperial Elementary, Canyon Rim Elementary, and McPherson Magnet Elementary. Tustin Memorial Academy signed on as well.

"Our campus needed sprucing up, but in this economy, we must find creative ways to improve our schools," explained Principal Jeanne Bentley of McPherson Magnet Elementary. "Village Nurseries' Grow Green program was ideal. We consider family involvement essential for student success, and through this program, we were able to bring both school and business together to improve our community. And because it was held on a Saturday, parents who work during the week had the opportunity to participate together with their children on campus. Village Nurseries’ Grow Green program was a fun filled family event, and our school looks more beautiful."

Village Nurseries’ initial “Helping Our Local Communities Grow Green” tree giveaway program ended with the school year. However, Borad is now preparing for the 2010-2011 school year and hopes even more schools will get involved.

“The Grow Green program helps Village Nurseries in two ways,” Borad concluded. “It allows us to reduce older stock in our inventory to make room for new trees. And, it demonstrates our commitment to the local communities where we do business. It’s something we can do. It’s something we’re good at. And it’s something our people can be proud of.”

Page 6

Congratulations to Jeff Calhoun of FX Luminaire

and his wife Meghan on their new baby boy, Declan O’Brien Calhoun born on 8-14-10.

CLCA 2010 Convention The Disneyland Resort

November 10–13, 2010

Networking ... Professionalism ... The Trophy Awards ... For more info go to www.clca.org

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Imagine It!

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc. 2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours. 3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the

mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance. 4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area. 5 Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!! 6.. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!! 7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation. 8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water. 9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone! 10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams. 11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath. 12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean. 13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

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WHO KNEW?

CUCUMBERS

The Overspray from Prop 23 August 16, 2010, 9:42 pm • Posted by Craig Miller On Monday, US energy secretary Steven Chu became the latest high-profile voice against California's Proposition 23, the statewide initiative to suspend AB 32, the state's four-year-old climate strategy.

"AB 32 was a good bill and continues to have California in a leadership role in developing clean energy and the efficient use of energy," Chu told reporters at a dedication in Menlo Park. "From the middle 1970s California played that role and it would just be a terrible setback."

Last week the trend was given full voice by Mary Nichols, who, as chair of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), is charged with getting AB 32 fully implemented in the next two years, called Prop 23 a "very serious threat," not just to the core programs of AB 32, but to an array of regulatory programs that support the state's attack on greenhouse gases.

"It would bring the part of it that I have anything to do with to a halt, certainly," Nichols told me in an interview. "Although everybody's ability to do things that reference climate--that reference GHG emissions--would be threatened as a result of this."

"Absolutely not," counters Michael Shaw, who directs legislative activities for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in California. "The measure only deals with AB 32 and does not deal with any of the other (environmental) laws; the Clean Air Act, the CEQA, or the California Water Quality Act. So

all those laws will continue to remain in place and provide the protections to the environment that they’ve always done."

Those specific laws, perhaps (the Clean Air Act, to be sure, as it's a federal law). But what about the matrix of state regulation that was assembled outside of AB 32 to support greenhouse gas reductions, or measures put in place by executive order, such as the state's edict to reach 33% renewable energy by 2020?

Steven Maviglio, a spokesman for the campaign against Prop 23, says the language of the ballot measure is wide open for interpretation.

Continued on next page ..

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"If the proponents wanted to limit the ballot measure just to regulations adopted 'pursuant to' AB 32, it would have been easy to say so, " Maviglio wrote in a recent email. "But they did not do that, instead they chose to apply the ballot measure to all regulations that 'implement' AB 32."

The "scoping plan" for AB 32--essentially the implementation strategy--draws on numerous other laws and regulations to achieve its emissions goals. Maviglio says the ballot measure "would effectively rip out the central nervous system of the state's efforts on greenhouse gas reduction/clean energy/etc...which is the mandatory reporting and related programmatic components that are absolutely necessary to have any sort of comprehensive program."

Last month, in an analysis of all measures set to appear on November's statewide ballot, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst gave this assessment of the scope of Prop 23:

"This proposition would result in the suspension of a number of measures in the Scoping Plan for which regulations either have been adopted or are proposed for adoption. Specifically, this proposition would likely suspend: - The proposed cap-and-trade regulation... - The “low carbon fuel standard” regulation that requires providers of transportation fuel in California (such as refiners and importers) to change the mix of fuels to lower GHG emissions. - The proposed ARB regulation that is intended to require privately and publicly owned utilities and others who sell electricity to obtain at least 33 percent of their supply from “renewable” sources, such as solar or wind power, by 2020. (The current requirement that 20 percent of the electricity obtained by privately owned utilities come from renewable sources by 2010 would not be suspended by this proposition.) - The fee to recover state agency costs of administering AB 32."

But the LAO report went on to say that:

"Many current activities related to addressing climate change and reducing GHG emissions would probably not be suspended by this proposition. That is because certain Scoping Plan regulations implement laws other than AB 32. The regulations that would likely move forward, for example, include:

- New vehicle emission standards for cars and smaller trucks. - A program to encourage homeowners to install solar panels on their roofs. - Land-use policies to promote less reliance on vehicle use. - Building and appliance energy efficiency requirements."

Shaw insists that "Proposition 23 simply deals with one issue at hand and that is the inappropriate timing of imposing new energy and other related taxes on Californians at a time when our economy can't bear that."

The full text of Prop 23 is available as a PDF download from the website of the California Secretary of State.

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Nuance Voice Dictation For Your Phone Nuance, the makers of Dragon Naturally Speaking have a nifty free application for iPhone, Blackberry and other smart phones. The tool allows for voice dictation of emails and messages using your phones speakerphone. It achieves amazing accuracy by sending the the audio to the Nuance servers and then bouncing the text back to your phone. Definitely, worth a look for those who are out in the field and want to send quick messages without typing.

New Photo Galleries – Now on Facebook Check out the chapter’s new Facebook Page and browse the Photo Galleries of this year’s awards. You can comment on and share with others all this year’s award winning gardens.

Notes From Our Webmaster: Michael O’Connell – O’Connell Landscape

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NORTH COAST AUGUST DINNER MEETING WATER PANEL The night’s Water Panel consisted of: (l-r) Carrie Pollard – So. Co. Water Phil Wyatt with Deb Lane Deb Lane – City of Santa Rosa, Moderator – Phil Wyatt – Wyatt Irrigation, Chuck Ludlow – TORO and Tom Noonan – Ewing Irrigation Carrie Pollard & Tom Noonan Tom Kendall – Eagle Sales & Chuck Ludlow - TORO Peter Estournes – Gardenworks, Steve Fred Hanker – Delta Mullany- SRJC & Richard Plaxco – Geared Bluegrass Co, offered For Growing had some great questions? very wise pro-turf points.

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Loads of great Information

Rainwater Harvesting Rebate Low Water Use Gardens

Greywater System Rebate TORO Products

Thanks to everyone on the

panel for sharing their water wisdom with us!!!!

Cult of less: Living out of a hard drive By Matthew Danzico - BBC News, Washington

Many have begun trading in CD, DVD, and book collections for digital music, movies, and e-books. But this trend in digital technology is now influencing some to get rid of nearly all of their physical possessions - from photographs to furniture to homes altogether.

Let's face it - digital files, applications and web services are replacing the need for many of the physical goods that pepper our homes, crowd our desks and fill our closets. From online photo albums to virtual filing cabinets to digital musical instruments, hi-tech replacements are becoming ubiquitous. But as goods continue to make the leap from the bookshelf to the hard drive, some individuals are taking the opportunity to radically change their lifestyles.

'21st-Century minimalist' - Meet Kelly Sutton, a spiky-haired 22-year-old software engineer with thick-rimmed glasses and an empty apartment in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood - a hotbed for New York's young, early adopters of new technology.

Mr. Sutton is the founder of CultofLess.com, a website which has helped him sell or give away his possessions - apart from his laptop, an iPad, an Amazon Kindle, two external hard drives, a "few" articles of clothing and bed sheets for a mattress that was left in his newly rented apartment. This 21st-Century minimalist says he got rid of much of his clutter because he felt the ever-increasing number of available digital goods have provided adequate replacements for his former physical possessions.

"I think cutting down on physical commodities in general might be a trend of my generation - cutting down on physical commodities that can be replaced by digital counterparts will be a fact," said Mr. Sutton. The tech-savvy Los Angeles "transplant" credits his external hard drives and online services like iTunes, Hulu, Flickr, Facebook, Skype and Google Maps for allowing him to lead a minimalist life. "I think the shift to all digital formats in all methods and forms of media consumption is inevitable and coming very quickly," said Mr. Sutton.

And Mr. Sutton may be right. Consumer electronic book sales tripled between 2008 and 2009, while the growth of physical book sales slowed, according to the Association of American Publishers. Meanwhile, compact disc sales have declined by roughly 50% from their 2005 levels worldwide, while global revenue from digital music has nearly quadrupled in the same period, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

Virtual homelessness - Chris Yurista, a DJ from Washington, DC, cites this trend in digital music as one reason he was able to hand over the keys to his basement apartment over a year ago. "It's always nice to have a personal sense of home, but that aside - the internet has replaced my need for an address," the 27-year-old said.

Since boxing up his physical possessions and getting rid of his home, Mr Yurista has taken to the streets with a backpack full of designer clothing, a laptop, an external hard drive, a small piano keyboard and a bicycle - an armful of goods that totals over $3,000 (£1,890) in value.

The American University graduate, who spends much of his time basking in the glow emanating from his Macbook, earns a significant income at his full-time job as a travel agent and believes his new life on the digital grid is less cluttered than his old life on the physical one. "I don't feel a void living the way I'm living because I've figured out a way to use digital technology to my advantage," Mr Yurista explained. Mr Yurista feels by digitizing his life, he no longer has to worry about dusting, organizing and cleaning his possessions. And he says his new intangible goods can continue to live on indefinitely with little maintenance. "Things like records snap and wear down over time. It's upsetting. MP3s don't," he said. Continued on next page………

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The DJ has now replaced his bed with friends' couches, paper bills with online banking, and a record collection containing nearly 2,000 albums with an external hard drive with DJ software and nearly 13,000 MP3s. But Mr Yurista is not the only digital vagabond. Joshua Klein, a New York City-based technology innovation consultant, also set out on the road with his hard drive. He and his wife digitised their possessions, got rid of two-thirds of what they owned and headed to the streets of New York for nine months with their laptops.

But Mr Klein and Mr Yurista both admit there are risks involved. Mr Klein says the lifestyle can become loathsome because "you never know where you will sleep". And Mr Yurista says he frequently worries he may lose his new digital life to a hard drive crash or downed server. "You have to really make sure you have back-ups of your digital goods everywhere," he said.

Data crisis counselor - Data recovery engineer Chris Bross agrees and says if individuals backed up their digital lives "they wouldn't need us when a failure occurs, and they wouldn't be in crisis". As digital possessions shrink the need for physical property, data recovery companies like Drive Savers, DTI Recovery and Eco Data Recovery may become the emergency response teams of the future.

Mr Bross, a Drive Savers employee, believes as individuals grow increasingly dependent on "digital storage technology for holding all these assets that they used to hold more tangibly", data recovery services will become rather like the firefighters of the 21st Century - responders who save your valuables. And like a house fire that rips through a family's prized possessions, when someone loses their digital goods to a computer crash, they can be devastated.

Kelly Chessen, a 36-year-old former suicide hotline counselor with a soothing voice and reassuring personality, is Drive Savers official "data crisis counselor". Part-psychiatrist and part-tech enthusiast, Ms Chessen's role is to try to calm people down when they lose their digital possessions to failed drives. Ms Chessen says some people have gone as far as to threaten suicide over their lost digital possessions and data.

"It's usually indirect threats like, 'I'm not sure what I'm going to do if I can't get the data back,' but sometimes it will be a direct threat such as, 'I may just have to end it if I can't get to the information'," said Ms Chessen. And Ms Chessen says she is receiving an increasing number of calls as the shelf life of our physical possessions draws to a close.

The 'ultimate replacement' - Research Fellow Anders Sandberg, at the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University, warns Ms Chessen may soon be dealing with larger problems than lost photos and video footage. He says our hard drives may one day contain the most important digital replacement of all - digitised replicas of our own brains.

Dr Sandberg believes we could be living on hard drives along with our digital possessions in the not too distant future, which would allow us to shed the trouble of owning a body. The concept is called "mind uploading", and it suggests

that when our bodies age and begin to fail like a worn or snapped record, we may be able to continue living consciously inside a computer as our own virtual substitutes. "It's the idea that we can copy or transfer the information inside the brain into a form that can be run on the computer," said Dr Sandberg. He added: "That would mean that your consciousness or a combination of that would continue in the computer."

Dr Sandberg says although it's just a theory now, researchers and engineers are working on super computers that could one day handle a map of all the networks of neurons and synapses in our brains - and that map could produce human consciousness outside of the body.

He says if a complete map of our brains was uploaded to a computer and a conscious, digital replica of ourselves was created, we could, in theory, continue to live forever on a hard drive along with our MP3s and e-books. When asked, Mr Yurista says mind uploading sounds like a very hard concept to grasp but admits getting rid of one's body and living inside a computer "truly sounds like the ultimate form of minimalism".

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Call or Fax to Connie @ (707) 829-5487

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False Chinch Bugs Invade During the hot summer months, drought or during water restrictions, chinch bugs are very active. As such, controlling them requires repeated pesticide application to save turf grasses. One bag of Talstar granules will cover 5,000 to 10,000 square feet of turf grass. The adult false chinch bug is grayish brown, slender, and about 3 millimeters (1/8th inch) long. The insect resembles the lygus bug. The nymph is gray with a reddish-brown abdomen. Chinch bug legs and antennae are longer and darker than the body. Immature stages lack wings and resemble coffee grounds.

This summer heavy migrations of false chinch bugs were found in Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Kern counties in central California. Homeowners were hit hard as waves of bugs enveloped garden and landscape plants. Homeowners reported that the insect masses resembled ''moving ground.''

Landscape contractors in the area should keep watch for wilting and scorching in one to two-year-old grape vines and trees. ''Aggregations of false chinch bugs can quickly result in plant and tree decline,'' said David Haviland, University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Kern County.

Haviland has fielded numerous phone calls from PCAs and residents across Kern County from Delano to the north, Buttonwillow to the west, and Arvin to the south.

''The problem is bad enough in some Kern County areas that if (landscape contractors) didn't spray they would lose a lot of young trees,'' Haviland said. Major weeds, which serve as preferred hosts for the false chinch bug include London rocket, wild mustard, wild radish and shepherd's purse.

Above average rainfall this spring increased weeds and grasses in areas with natural vegetation. Cool spring and early summer temperatures extended the weed-grass growing season, fueling the false chinch bug buildup.

Immature and adult insects feed on plants through their straw-like proboscis, which probes into the plant tissue to drink plant fluids. Plants are unable to replace lost tissue and fluids.

The time frame from first infestation to scorching and wilting is two to three days.

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Don’t Forget…….

THE NORTH COAST JOURNAL IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE ONLINE EVERY MONTH ON THE CHAPTER WEBSITE If you haven’t received your hardcopy of the journal in the mail and want to find out what is going on with the chapter just go to www.clcanorthcoastchapter.org and access the most recent issue. You can also opt-out of paper journal by e-mailing Connie at [email protected] or by phone (707) 829-5487

CLCA Research Funding The California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) established its Environmental Research Funding Program in 1999 to support scientific research on water conservation and natural resource management issues as they relate to landscape design, installation, and maintenance, as well as to quantify and better understand the environmental benefits of landscaping.

Funds The program currently uses two funds to accomplish its purpose: the CLCA Environmental Research Fund (General Fund) and the CLCA Sacramento Valley Chapter Environmental Research Fund (Special Fund).

The former is made up of contributions from individuals and the association as a whole. The latter was funded by a 2006 contribution from CLCA's Sacramento Valley Chapter. The Landscape Educational Advancement Foundation (LEAF), a 501(3) charitable organization, maintains both funds.

Process for Granting Awards CLCA issues a request for proposals (RFP) for applied research projects on an annual basis. To be placed on the association's mailing list for these announcements or to update contact information, qualified professional researchers at universities, colleges, and other research organizations should send their e-mail address to CLCA Assistant Executive Director Larry Rohlfes at [email protected]. Research contributions are in the form of gifts or grants-in-aid to researchers or organizations conducting research. The program does not pay for university administration overhead. One hundred percent of all contributions must go to the researcher or researching organization.

Research Advisory Committee CLCA's Research Advisory Committee awards the grants. The committee consists of the chair of the Resource Management Committee, the director of resource management, a representative from LEAF, a representative from Sacramento Valley Chapter, and at least two affiliate CLCA members from the academic community. If two affiliate members from the academic community cannot be found among the membership, other individuals from the academic community are appointed. The Research Advisory Committee works independently or with the Resource Management Committee to prioritize researchable issues and to plan the annual RFP process.

How to Contribute to Environmental Research Contributions to the Environmental Research Funding Program can be sent at any time to CLCA at 1491 River Park Drive #100, Sacramento CA 95815-4501. Tax-deductible checks of any amount are very welcome. They should be made out to LEAF Research. CLCA recognizes all environmental research benefactors by listing them in the association's newsletter, The Cutting Edge, once a year.

More Information For more information, contact Larry Rohlfes, CAE, at (916) 830-2780 or [email protected].

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LANDSCAPES UNLIMITED NURSERY

4330 Bodega Avenue, Petaluma, CA 94952 Phone: (707) 778-0136 Fax: (707) 778-0633

Moron Sightings 1) This week, all our office phones went dead and I had to contact the telephone repair people. They promised to be out between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. When I asked if they could give me a smaller time window, the pleasant gentleman asked, "Would you like us to call you before we come?" I replied that I didn't see how he would be able to do that, since our phones weren't working.

2) I was signing the receipt for my credit card purchase when the clerk noticed I had never signed my name on the back of the credit card. She informed me that she couldn't complete the transaction unless the card was signed. When I asked why, she explained that it was necessary to compare the signature I had just signed on the receipt. So I signed the credit card in front of her. She carefully compared the signature to the one I had just signed on the receipt. As luck would have it, they matched.

3) I live in a semi-rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the “Deer Crossing” sign on our road. The reason: Too many deer were being hit by cars and he didn't want them to cross there anymore.

4) I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, "Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?" To which I replied, "If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?" He smiled knowingly and nodded, "That's why we ask!"

5) I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself and for the life of her couldn't understand why her system would not turn on.

6) When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver's side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. "Hey", I announced to the technician, "it's open!" To which he replied, "I know. I already got that side."

7) The stoplight on the corner buzzes when it’s safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an intellectually challenged coworker of mine. She asked if I knew what the buzzer was for. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, "What on earth are blind people doing driving?!"

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NorthCoastJournal_September_2010

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