Raoul’s 2 Cents. July 31, 2026

What’s in a Name?

I had to fill out a waiver form at the Red Cross before I was allowed to donate my blood. There was a question about my gender. Was I male, female or would I rather not say? If I had the option not to say, then why ask it in the first place? When will we get over this silly interpersonal questioning? I was also asked about my choice of pronouns. I wonder if this inspired Hamlet’s “To be or not to be?” retrospective. These questions opened the rabbit hole to the fascinating world of names.

Do you like your name? Don’t be too hard on your parents if you don’t. Naming a person can be very confusing and challenging. I think first time parents over-think naming their child. They buy books about the history of names and consult hundreds of people who really don’t care what these parents name their kid. If they had a choice, parents don’t usually want a common name. Hate to break it to you, but if you do have a common name, you’re probably not the first kid. You’re just an “after-thought.” (Suck it up, butter cup!) Imagine a crowd of people and you shout a common name and half of the people respond to your call — all of them probably NOT the first born either.

Of course, most kids are named after their parent’s most favorite person in the world. Like Abraham (Lincoln) or (Queen) Elizabeth … good Christian names. But if you’re named after your father or mother, your parents didn’t lack creativity — you were just an “after-thought” as well.

Speaking of creativity, I know of two Chinese parents (last name is Pe) who were a little too creative. They named their son Edgar Allen. Poor kid. In the Philippines, many family members share the same first letters. I know of a family with 10 kids — all their names start with “R.” The parents constantly rattle off several names before they remember the right name.

One of my earliest battles for recognition had to do with my baby name. They called me Peewee. Whoever started it should be tarred and feathered! I heard one reason was because I was too darn cute — tiny eyes, big puffy veined cheeks and a disarming smile. I guess I looked like a pot bellied baby Buddha. But when I grew taller than my parents and they still called me Peewee; well that was pretty humiliating. I remember demanding I be called by my proper name and I refused to be called Junior. Yeah, you guessed it — I wasn’t the first born. I too am an “after thought.”

During the old days, a family’s trade was passed on to the children. The local blacksmith was named Mister Blacksmith. The baker was Mister Baker and all of his kids were destined to be bakers. Even Jesus was known as the carpenter’s son. But I doubt his last name was Carpenter – Jesus H. Carpenter – nah! That doesn’t sound right. And I doubt his brother was named Richard who played the piano and a sister named Karen who sang. In poor countries I think this line of name choice is still being practiced but they may be transitioning due to exogamy (marriages outside the family/lineage). For instance, I have a friend whose father ran a candy factory. No, he wasn’t Willie Wonka and neither was my friend’s name Candy. His name is Shoemaker and he’s a musician. Hard to put his face with his name.

Isn’t it strange that there isn’t a Miss Real Estate? Aren’t you glad there isn’t a Doctor Epidemiologist nor a Professor Microscopist … Oh, but isn’t there a Mister Hannibal the cannibal? And how many McDonalds are out there to remind you of hamburgers?

What if we get rid of pronouns altogether and just address people by their full names … would that simplify this branding problem? The South Koreans do it all the time (at least that’s what I read in the closed captions of their movies) — they always address each other by their full names. It could be worse. How would you like to be a Smith? … a Mister John Smith? If that’s your name, you must feel pretty anonymous: “Hey look it’s John Smith!” And everybody would look around and you’re right in the middle and nobody even sees you.

Random Thoughts
Or how about having one of those incomplete names like Lee. When you meet a potential wife named Norma, she’d have to think twice about how her new name would sound if she marries you. Did you know Bruce Lee’s Dad’s name? I don’t know about you but It’s always been a Mister Lee to me. Did you know that Stephen King named his son Joe? How many lawyer daughters are named Sue? How about Ben Dover or Constance Noring? My friend Bernie was named after a saint … a dog saint … Saint Bernard!

I noticed there aren’t any more Hitlers or Judases. Does Santa Claus have a real first name? And I know of only one Engelbert Humperdink — thank god!

Of course, with the influx of people migrating from different parts of the world, complex names have multiplied tenfold. In Africa there is a tribe that prides itself with the most complex sounding names — full of guttural sounds and clicks. But I bet if you call them “Hey you!” they will still respond to that.

Conclusion
Joking aside, we live with identifiers we call names. The minute we are born, our names separate us from the rest of the world. Each name has the potential for greatness. Each of us is special in God’s eyes. Names celebrate who we are supposed to be, whose family lineage we come from but it’s up to us to make our names inspire the next generation.

TGIF people!

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“Always end the name of your child with a vowel, so that when you yell the name will carry.” — Bill Cosby

“Tigers die and leave their skins; people die and leave their names.” — Japanese Proverb

“I don’t remember anybody’s name. How do you think the “dahling” thing got started?” — Zsa Zsa Gabor

“I’d be stupid not to take into consideration that there are certain things people will not consider me for because my name is Lopez. And I know I can do any kind of role. I don’t want anybody to say, Oh, she can’t pull this off. So those are barriers that you have to overcome.” — Jennifer Lopez

“Nicknames stick to people, and the most ridiculous are the most adhesive.” — Thomas Haliburton

“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” — Proverbs 22:1

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” — Acts 4:12

“Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.” –Genesis 2: 19-20

Memes of the Week

Thanks to Norm, Jennifer, Dan and Art.

I found these:

I collaborated with my friend and jokester,Terry Cassel for these below.

SUBSCRIBE

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Why are Europeans suffering in this heat wave?

While many news stories emphasize Europeans “suffering” during heatwaves, the direct reason most people do not have their AC turned on is a lack of infrastructure, compounded by a web of historic preservation, landlord-tenant, and municipal zoning laws. Contrary to internet rumors, there is no law banning private citizens from turning on their AC at home. Instead, specific regulations make installing, modifying, or affording AC immensely difficult.

1. Urban Aesthetics and Historical Preservation Laws – Across major European cities, strict historic preservation laws legally prevent residents from altering the exteriors of buildings. The Facade Ban: Installing a standard mini-split AC requires mounting a heavy, noisy compressor box onto the outside wall. In cities like Paris, Rome, or Madrid, municipal codes strictly ban attaching these boxes to the front of historic facades to protect the architectural heritage. The Penalty: In countries like Spain, local town halls actively enforce these urban landscape laws, handing out fines up to €3,000 for unauthorized exterior compressors. Residents are legally trapped unless they can afford highly complex, expensive indoor-only venting systems.

2. Renting and Tenant Co-op Restrictions – Unlike the U.S., where window AC units are easily bought and installed by renters, European infrastructure and legal lease agreements stand in the way. Window Compatibility: Most European windows swing inward on a hinge (tilt-and-turn) rather than sliding up and down. It is physically impossible to safely mount a standard cheap window AC unit in them. Co-op/Landlord Vetoes: Over half of the population in major European cities live in rented or multi-family apartment blocks (condominiums). Legally, a tenant cannot drill holes through external walls without landlord and building co-op approval. Co-ops routinely block these requests over concerns about noise pollution vibrating through old stone walls or dripping condensation on sidewalks.

3. Commercial “Operation Thermostat” Mandates – When it comes to public spaces, there are direct laws dictating AC use, which often shock tourists and locals accustomed to freezing indoor temperatures. The 27°C (80°F) Rule: Following the energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine, countries like Spain passed energy-saving decrees and Italy launched “Operation Thermostat”. The Legal Limits: These laws mandate that public buildings, offices, shopping malls, cinemas, and train stations cannot legally lower their AC below 27°C (approx. 80°F). While private homes are exempt, public workers and shoppers must endure relatively warm indoor climates by law. The Legal Limits: These laws mandate that public buildings, offices, shopping malls, cinemas, and train stations cannot legally lower their AC below 27°C (approx. 80°F). While private homes are exempt, public workers and shoppers must endure relatively warm indoor climates by law.

4. Sky-High Utility Costs – For the Europeans who do have AC, the direct barrier to turning it on is the legal structure of European energy markets. Electricity in Europe is heavily taxed and historically much more expensive per kilowatt-hour than in North America. Running a power-hungry AC unit for weeks at a time can easily rack up hundreds of euros in utility bills, forcing lower-income families to leave the units off and suffer through the heat out of financial necessity.

Where are we in terms of alternative energy in terms of technology and global politics? What are failures of the past and future trajectories?

The State of Global Green Energy: Technology, Politics, and Paradoses

The global transition to alternative energy is no longer a futuristic concept—it is an active, multi-trillion-dollar overhaul of global infrastructure. However, the path to a clean energy future is deeply entangled with geopolitical maneuvering, infrastructural limitations, and economic realities.

Where exactly do we stand today? Below is a comprehensive look at the technology, the politics, the failures of the past, and where we are heading.

1. The Global Political Dynamic & Net-Zero Strategy

Western nations, particularly within the European Union, have enacted aggressive environmental laws legally binding them to reach Net-Zero carbon emissions by 2050. However, isolated domestic policies face a harsh mathematical reality: the global atmosphere does not recognize borders. Because Europe produces less than 7% of global greenhouse emissions, its domestic climate laws cannot halt global warming if heavily industrial regions like Asia do not participate.

To solve this, Western powers are shifting from “leading by example” to using economic leverage to force global participation:

• The Carbon Border Tax: Tools like the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) impose heavy tariffs on carbon-intensive imports (like steel, aluminum, and cement) from countries with weaker laws. To avoid losing access to Western markets, manufacturers across Asia are actively building green infrastructure and domestic carbon markets to comply.
• The Cost-Reduction Engine: Western subsidies initially funded the expensive early stages of solar and wind R&D. This high demand drove down the global cost of solar panels by nearly 90% over the last decade, making clean energy the cheapest economic choice for developing nations.

2. Past Failures, Myths, and ROI Reality

The transition has suffered from high-profile setbacks, frequently weaponized by political factions to claim that green energy has a negative Return on Investment (ROI). Looking closely at the data clarifies what actually fails:

The Clean Air Paradox

Strict air quality laws successfully eliminated industrial smog and soot over Europe. Paradoxically, this unmasked global warming. The sulfate particles in smog had previously acted as an accidental umbrella, reflecting sunlight back into space. With the air clean, more direct sunlight reached the ground, intensifying heatwaves and fueling false political claims that environmental laws cause climate change.

The Nuclear Exodus

Following the 2011 Fukushima disaster, countries like Germany made political decisions to completely phase out nuclear power, relying heavily on wind, solar, and natural gas imports. This created massive electricity price volatility during geopolitical conflicts. Conversely, countries that preserved nuclear power as a baseline (like France) maintained lower, highly stable energy prices.

Inefficient vs. Efficient Innovations

• Solar Thermal Failures: California’s famous Ivanpah desert plant used thousands of giant mirrors to bounce sunlight onto a central steam tower. The complex mechanical system proved inefficient and obsolete compared to the massive ROI of traditional photovoltaic solar panels, which continue to expand rapidly.
• Wind Turbine Scaling: Small, “bladeless,” typhoon-proof wind turbines (like those developed in Japan) are brilliant engineering feats for remote island survival, but they fail to power cities. Due to the physics of wind energy, a turbine must stand hundreds of feet tall to capture fast, consistent upper-atmospheric air. One massive utility-scale turbine produces cheaper electricity per kilowatt-hour than thousands of smaller micro-turbines.

3. The Current Infrastructure Bottlenecks

If wind and solar produce incredibly cheap electricity, why do consumer energy bills remain so high? Grids are currently hitting major physical and logistical ceilings:

The Grid Saturation Problem

On breezy, sunny days, wind and solar farms produce more energy than the grid can handle. In places like Palm Springs, California, visitors often notice massive wind turbines standing completely still. They are not broken; grid operators intentionally brake or “feather” them because the state’s solar farms are already oversaturating the grid, and there is nowhere for the excess energy to go.

The Storage Dilemma

To keep those turbines spinning, grids need massive energy storage facilities, which face severe bottlenecks:

• The Seasonal Gap: Lithium-ion batteries excel at saving afternoon solar power for the evening peak, but they cannot store energy for months to cover winter shortfalls.
• The Financial Loop: Lithium batteries degrade over a 10-to-15-year lifecycle, meaning utility companies must factor massive replacement costs into consumer utility bills. Furthermore, grid developers are in a direct bidding war against the automotive EV industry for limited minerals like lithium and cobalt.

4. Future Trajectories: The Closed Loop

The ultimate destination of alternative energy relies on shifting from experimental technologies to long-duration infrastructure and circular economies.

Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES)

Grids are increasingly looking past lithium toward alternative chemistries like sodium-ion or iron-flow batteries, which are drastically cheaper and use abundant earth minerals. Simultaneously, massive Pumped Hydro Storage projects—which pump water up a mountain using cheap midday solar power and release it through turbines at night—are receiving heavy investment despite lengthy regulatory timelines.

The Circular Battery Loop

A common critique is that manufacturing batteries causes severe mining pollution. While the upfront carbon footprint of building a battery is 40% to 60% higher than a fossil fuel engine, a battery “breaks even” within 1 to 2 years of use. Over its lifetime, it saves 60% to 70% of total emissions.

Crucially, fossil fuels represent linear destruction—mined, refined, and permanently burned into atmospheric pollution. Batteries represent a circular asset. Once an electric vehicle battery degrades, it enters a “Second-Life” phase as stationary grid storage for another decade. Finally, under strict new global recycling directives, modern hydrometallurgical facilities break down dead batteries to recover up to 95% of pure lithium, cobalt, and nickel, creating a closed-loop grid that will eventually sustain itself on recycled materials.

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It was 6:00 a.m. June 1, the first day of winter. The evening rain that had moved in off the South Pacific ceased and the sun dawned. I was sleeping in the rain forest near Byron Bay when a choir rose to meet the day and the new season.

The plaintiff song of the Butcherbirds, the squawking of the red bellied Rosella Parrots and cockatoos in the shedding gum trees, the childlike crying of the Green Catbird, cackling of the Bush Turkeys, melodious tunes of black and white magpies, thrushes, and yellow beaked mynahs as they fed on the nectar of the bottle brush were all disturbed by the lunatic cacophony of the plump and amusing Laughing Kookaburras. I woke to winter with a smile.

The strangely formed menagerie of land-bound hoppers, burrowers, birds, eucalyptus munchers and mixed breed creatures were dumb, satisfied to leave the morning air to the high-flying vocalists and unable or unwilling to join the chorus.

I was in New South Wales in the land down under and flora, fauna, time and season were out of joint. Lying on the southeast coast of Australia, the state enjoys a Mediterranean climate (ranging between 40 and 75 degrees in winter), the country’s largest population (7 million of a total 30 million) and fosters sophisticated and alternative lifestyles.

Its capital is Sydney, the oldest and most beautiful city in the country (although Melbournians will dispute this claim, I don’t think they have an argument). Situated on one of the world’s great harbors, its shore is adorned by a massive bridge that gates and spans the seaway entrance and the revolutionary architecture of the Opera House sails onto the water edge, ringed by pristine city buildings and million dollar homes.

Sydney Opera House sails into the harbor.

It was the country’s first colony, established January 26, 1788 when the fleet commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip landed in Sydney Harbour with about 750 convicts and 250 officials and their families to settle and claim the continent for Great Britain.

Following the Revolutionary War the U.S. had rejected British prisoner settlement in the south, so now it was off to the land that Captain Cook had discovered with its unwanted cargo. As in American history, the indigenous population would suffer deeply from this incursion, but that is always the cost of exploration and settlement. The event is commemorated every year as “Australia Day” and celebrated in the blistering heat of January 26, most heavily in the “convict city” of Sydney.

I arrived in Sydney on the countries signature airline, Qantas, which has non-stop direct flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco that take about fifteen hours. You cross the international dateline and lose a day, reason enough to extend your visit.

I booked my tour through Virtuoso, which specially selects hotels, restaurants and attractions for its clients. They have a working relationship with the Australian Tourism Office and receive special amenities and offers, which they pass along to travelers.

Some Virtuoso hotel recommendations in Sydney include the InterContinental, Four Seasons, Park Hyatt and The Observatory. All have great spas, pools and restaurants, but The Observatory has the top Sommelier in Australia, Christian, who matched and explained some beautiful Australian wines with my dinner. The best meal I had was prepared by the two Michelin star chef Hugh Whitehouse at Darley’s Restaurant in Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort and Spa.

In Sydney I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the Opera House and dined in the employee restaurant. English artist/musician Brian Eno had just installed his evening light show, which flashed numerous images on the outside sails of the Opera House, and he filmed the event for future use.

I sped around Sydney Harbour on Sea Sydney Cruises 52-foot motor yacht, had lunch in a quiet bay aboard ship, docked at the enormous Taronga Zoo and met koalas, emus, kangaroos, Tasmanian Devils and most of the other odd creatures that inhabit this lost world of the animal phylum. There are more peculiar and lethal animals in Australia than anywhere else.

Left: Munching Koala Bear at lunch; Right: Curious Emu

Red Kangaroos wander freely throughout the country

The day I arrived in Sydney I had breakfast and lunch in Bondi Beach, the great surfing Mecca, and met two young American women who were waitressing at Nick’s and Trio Café on one-year work visas. It’s a government program for 18-30 year old students to take a “Gap” year from college and experience life in Australia and be able to make a little money (very little, Australians usually don’t tip).

Travelers on a shorter timetable should also know that they need to purchase a three-month visa from the Australian government for $25 before entering the country.

Australians love their coffee and drink it more than tea. Some coffee shop terms to know if you want to succeed as an Australian barista on the work visa program: “Long black” is espresso with water, “flat white” espresso with frothy milk.

For Sydneysiders the wine country means Hunter Valley, a two-hour journey to the north. Grab a copy of the Hunter Valley Wine Country Visitor Guide from the Tourist Center to check out some of the 140 vineyards, primarily producing Shiraz and Semillon. Be wary if you are imbibing in wine country. Australians drive on the left side of the road.

Hunter Valley vineyards in the winter month of June

Some I visited were Audrey Wilkinson, Hungerford Hill, Lindemans, which also has vineyards in the Barossa, McGuigan Cellars, Wyndham Estate, which introduced Shiraz to Australia back in the late 1800s, and my favorite Pepper Tree Estate. On the vineyard grounds are Robert’s Restaurant, The Convent guesthouse and Tower Lodge.

For a glass of beer in wine country visit the Bluetongue Brewery and try their tasting. My favorite beer in Australia was Coopers, nice and hoppy. For local cheese sample across the street at Binnoire Dairy. In the Hunter Valley I stayed on the expansive grounds of Peppers Guest House, on which wild kangaroos also resided and Internet usage was free.

On my journey north to the Hunter Valley, I passed through bush country to visit the World Heritage Site of the Blue Mountains. These intriguing formations gain their color from vapors rising off the eucalyptus forest. There are spectacular views from the lookout ledge, but this is not the best place for an acrophobe, the stone platform plunges straight down over 1,000 feet.

Byron Bay, population 9,000, was my favorite area in New South Wales. The most easterly town in Australia, it lies two hours north of Sydney by plane at the edge of a rain forest. It’s a surfer’s paradise and artist colony. Many of the artist’s workplaces are also shops. Make sure to visit the local glassworks and travel into the hills to meditate and renew at the alternative lifestyle Crystal Castle retreat.

In the 60s and 70s the counterculture cultivated high-test “Mullimbimby Madness” in these hills and there’s a little bit of that culture still around. Lots of lively pubs and restaurants in Byron Bay keep the town rocking. The best restaurant is Dish and Paul Hogan opened the town’s largest bar. On occasion you’ll also see a celebrity like Paul, Gweneth Paltrow, Russell Crowe and Olivia Newton John, who own homes in the area.

I stayed at the Byron at Byron Resort and Spa, built inside the coastal rainforest. They offer several spa treatments and have a lovely pool and restaurant, where I had dinner with the town Mayor and proprietors Lyn and John Parche my final night. This is a spectacular property that you must see and hear, especially as I did, at 6 a.m. when the morning choir begins, no matter the season.

For information on travel accommodations, special events, sightseeing, dining options, bargain hunting, etc., www.australia.com, www.sydney.com and www.virtuoso.com.

Originally posted April, 2017.

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I was lucky but didn’t know it. My high school years were spent at Queen Anne High School, nestled on top of one of Seattle’s seven hills. With views of the Space Needle, Puget Sound, downtown and Mount Rainer. We had a joke, if you could see this volcanic mountain, it meant it was about to rain. But we didn’t care, taking our lofty location for granted.

Mount Rainer was sacred to my family. It was where my parents had their first date, picnic prepared by mom’s mother. This time the joke was on my dad. He had thought that the elegant picnic basket, full of delectables, was made by my mom, later realizing she could barely boil an egg. Today, she can.

Mount Rainier National Park serves as an icon for Western and Central Washingtonians. The park is about 65 miles southeast of the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area and 65 miles west of Yakima in the Cascade Range.

It’s an active volcano, strewn with glaciers, wildflowers, wildlife and well-designed hiking trails, ideal for seniors and children.

Mount Rainier National Park covers about 236,381.9 acres. This area includes all of Mount Rainier, a 14,410 foot stratovolcano (a tall, steep-sided composite volcanic cone built by alternating layers of hardened lava, ash, and rocks), along with surrounding valleys, waterfalls, subalpine meadows, and over 91,000 acres of old growth forests. Ninety seven percent of the park is designated as wilderness under the National Wilderness Preservation System.

The park spans a dramatic elevation range from roughly 1,600-1,700 feet at its lowest points to the summit of Mount Rainier, and it is home to more than 25 named glaciers, the largest glacier system in the contiguous United States.

Around 10,000 climbers come from around the world each year to attempt the summit.

Paradise, at 5,420 feet elevation, is my favorite. In August it is blessed with wildflowers, huckleberries and blueberries. Mount Rainier National Park was recognized by the United States Congress. This made it the fifth national park in the United States. The park was created to protect and preserve Mount Rainier, once again the tallest volcano in the contiguous U.S. outside Alaska, along with its natural and cultural resources.

Mount Rainier National Park was established by an act of Congress signed into law on March 2, 1899, by President William McKinley. While
McKinley signed the bill, the park’s creation was the result of sustained local advocacy in Washington state. Efforts began in 1893 when state lawmakers introduced multiple bills in successive
congressional sessions to set aside the area. The campaign drew support from local mountaineering clubs, newspaper editors, University of Washington faculty, and conservationists like John
Muir, who praised the region’s natural beauty.

Mount Rainier National Park is open all year, 24 hours a day. Visitation is at its peak in July and August, when the weather is warm and dry and the wildflowers are blooming. If you are planning a summer trip to Mount Rainier, consider visiting mid-week, which is generally less crowded..

For further information, visit Mount Rainier National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

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It was 2 a.m. my last night in Baja. Standing on the veranda of my hotel room on Rosarito Beach, the full moon illuminated the slate gray ocean and a phosphorescent white glow in the foaming waves as they ebbed and receded from the shore.

Millions of years ago these salt waters covered the peninsula, layering in shell that would become limestone. When the tectonic plates rose and forced the waters back they cracked the granite that lined the earth’s crust into boulders, which later mixed with the illuvial soils of clay, sand, and other minerals to form the land that would so influence the vineyards.

I last visited the Baja Peninsula in 1986, about the time that the first modern plantings of vines were occurring in the northern valleys. Now about 70 mostly small family run wineries dot the landscapes in the Valle de Guadalupe, Santo Tomás, Vicente, San Antonio de las Minas and Valle de las Palmas regions, where 90 percent of Mexico’s wine is produced within a 100 mile radius and less than a two hour drive from the American border south of San Diego.

Vineyards in the Valle de Guadalupe

The Spanish were the first to plant grapes in the region during the 16th century, primarily to use as sacramental wine. In the 1860s Russian immigrants escaping Czarist persecution started settling in the Valle de Guadalupe and also planted grapes. To this day you can occasionally see a blond or red head descendant in the valley.

The oldest surviving vineyard is Bodega de Santo Tomas, founded in 1888. Aside from its Reserva Unico, It is best known for having joined California’s Wente Vineyard to produce Duetto, a 50-50 Santo Tomas/Wente blend. They also produce exceptional olive oil and last year shocked the Italians when it won first prize at a blind tasting in Milan.

Best known of the Baja wine areas is Valle de Guadalupe. Situated off the coast in a rising plane between Rosarita and Ensenada, most of the vineyards are planted between 1,000 and 1,300 feet elevation, beginning about twelve miles up the incline from the ocean, the wine growing area stretches about 20 miles. Warning to acrophobes, don’t look down when you’re driving along this wine country road.

The stone and boulder strewn land is a reminder that it once dwelt below the sea, and its austere landscape has a major influence on the quality of the wine. The off-shore flow of cool air in the evenings mitigates the warm days and contributes to the development of the grape in similar ways that California coastal vineyards experience, but harvest begins a bit earlier, in August. Thirty-five varieties of wine grapes are cultivated including Italian and Spanish varietals which do well here, especially Tempranilo and Nebbiolo, which is usually the last grape to be harvested.

Nebbiolo Grapes Days Before Harvest in the La Cetto Vineyards

Other grapes which adapt to the warmer climate and make up the largest plantings include Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot, Syrah, Grenache, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier.

In Tecata, the northeast area of the Valle de Guadalupe, lies the second largest vineyard in Mexico, La Cetto (La Khet-toe), with a volume of 800,000 cases a year selling between $7 and $50 depending on the wine. The tasting room receives about 200,000 visitors a year and the wine has won numerous international gold medals. Next door is the La Casa de Dona Lupe vineyard where you can sample local cheese and olives with your wine.

Monte Xanic vineyards

Other outstanding wineries with tasting rooms include Monte Xanic, founded in 1987 by Hans Backhoff and regarded as one of the top produces in the area. Domecq, which used to be known for its Sherry and Brandy, now concentrates on non-fortified wines. Tres Valles, which as the name implies, features bold reds from the Guadalupe, Santo Tomás and San Vicente valleys. The beautiful Hacienda La Lomita and Pijoan wineries produces some nice whites. Many consider that Viñas de Garza produces the finest wines in the area and his Cabernet reflects that in its price of $54. Also try the wines at Casa de Piedra, Vinisterra and Rincón de Guadalupe vineyards. In Ensenada visit Fernando Martain at Cavas Valmar, one of the pioneers of the modern Baja wine region.

My favorite winemaker, Monica Palafox of Palafox winery, delivers across the board, from whites to reds. Located in Valle de la Grulla, south of Ensenada and abutting the Santo Tomás Valley, you need to make a reservation to taste, www.aldopalafox.com.

Other Vineyards with tasting rooms include Baron Balche, Bibayoff, Sol de Media Noche, Vinas de Liceaga and Vinos Fuentes.

Monica Palafox and my favorite wine in Baja

In August, 2012, Mexican President Felipe Calderón dedicated the new wine museum in the Valle de Guadalupe, built with $5.3 million in state and federal funds, and announced the establishment of a $3.8-million fund aimed at supporting Mexico’s wine industry. Its facilities highlight the history and tradition of wine-making in the region through interactive displays.

Wine museum

Many of those working in the Mexican wine industry have trained in California, Oregon and Washington, especially the field workers, and many of the wine makers have experience in Europe as well as the Western United States. Whether the Mexican wines will ever rival those remains to be seen, but there is a lot of optimism and European and American wineries are sharing in the interest as well.

America laws restrict the amount of alcohol that can be brought across the border to one liter, which is one of the reasons that only about 20 percent of tasting room guests are from outside of Mexico. The other is that Mexicans are developing a taste for wine and an appreciation of the vineyards in Baja.

When You Go:

Glamping

Until recently, Baja wines had little to no commercial presence in the United States because of the small production and low importer interest. However the wines mentioned here can be purchased directly from the vineyards or from the San Diego firm winesfrombaja.com.

Some of the larger vineyards have tasting rooms open daily to the public, but for many others you need to make reservations. Brochures available through the Baja Tourist Office provide contact information. English is spoken at all the tasting rooms.

The peso is worth about 80 cents to the dollar and in Baja you get more for your money if you deal in dollars and don’t convert to pesos.

There are a number of housing and dining options. In wine country I did some “glamping” at Cuarto Cuartos vineyards, elegant cabanas set in the middle of an expansive vineyard with magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean from the hilltops on the property. In Rosarito I stayed at the New Port Beach Hotel, where the water laps against the shore, day and night.

When dinning in Rosarito try the obligatory lobster dinner at Puerto Nuevo restaurant and enjoy a Mexican breakfast at the eccentric El Nido. In the Valle de Guadalupe enjoy the local cuisine at Meson Leonardo and be sure to try the apple pie. In Ensenada, try the upscale oceanside dinning at Belio and Nigori Sushi for a change of pace.

Whenever you’re in Ensenada you must visit the historic watering hole Hussong’s for margaritas and mariachis. Founded in 1892 by German immigrant John Hussong, it is the oldest cantina in Mexico.

Port of Ensenada

For brochures, the Ruta del Vino map, tasting room reservations, housing, restaurant information and lists of events and festivals, contact the Baja Tourist Office.

This article originally published in April 2017.

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When in doubt, as the sports adage goes, PUNT!

In the kitchen, scratching my head and wondering what to prepare for dinner, I usually PUNT! and rely on my favorite homemade remedy, PIZZA.

No muss, no fuss. Just plain and simple pre-packaged, store-bought ingredients from my Italian supermarket thrown together like scattered landscape in the tornado’s path, and, Voila! — a mouth-watering, quick-and-easy dinner for the guy, or gal, who has absolutely no clue around the kitchen; or, like me, both clueless and, admittedly, just plain lazy. Sure, I could easily walk down the street, turn right at the corner and order a professionally prepared wood-fired pie to take back home, or simply pop a frozen one in the microwave. But what’s the fun in that?

Honestly, I hate more than anything the cleanup that follows a big galley production, so with this simple recipe I limit the dirty dishes and can wipe up while my casual culinary work of art bubbles away in the oven.

Since I’ve become a frequent visitor to Rome – usually one trip a month – I’ve come to enjoy pizza bianca, literally white pizza sans the base tomato sauce. Instead, when I want tomatoes I use pomodorini (cherry tomatoes), cut in half or left whole, and dot them around on top. In addition to white pizza, I’ve also totally converted over to the thin and crispy alla Romana style that so many Romans enjoy. Forget all the thick, soft, deep-dish types of pies that leave your plate full of Lincoln logs when you’re done, I’ll take my pizza thinner than a runway model any old day.

No arduous kneading of dough, my homemade versions are made with Italian flatbread, Piadina Romagnola from the Emilia-Romagna region. These flatbreads measure about the size of a standard pizzeria pie, but without any crust whatsoever. And, sacrilegious as it may sound, I do not use Mozzarella on my homemade pizza. Instead, I spread on a nice thick layer of Stracchino cheese as my base and build from there.

To demonstrate, I’ll explain the steps involved in bringing my Lazy Person’s Pesto Based Flatbread Pizza – topped with tomatoes, black olives and salami – to the table.

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Lazy Person’s Pesto Based Flatbread Pizza

Ingredients (per person):

• Parchment baking paper or aluminum foil
• 1 Piadina Romagnola (or similar large flatbread)
• 60 grams (2.10 oz.) of Stracchino cheese (or Crescenza or Robiola)
• 45 grams (3 tablespoons) of Pesto Genovese with garlic
• 1.25 grams (1/4 teaspoon) of crushed/ground red pepper (more or less depending upon your threshold for heat)
• 4 thin slices of Salame Milanese (Milano style salami)
• 14-16 small or 1 dozen medium sized Datterino cherry tomatoes
• 14-16 oven baked whole Moroccan style black olives
• 15-20 grams (3-4 teaspoons) of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Prep time: 10-minutes
Cooking time: 15-minutes

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Step-1: Pre-heat over to 200C (390-400F)

(While the oven pre heats)

Step-2: Cover your oven tray with parchment baking paper or aluminum foil

Step-3: Place the Piadina on the paper/foil

Step-4: Stracchino cheese – Spread the cheese all around the piadina

Step-5: Pesto Genovese – Spread the pesto over the top of the cheese

Step-6: (Optional) Sprinkle Red Pepper on top

Step-7: Salame Milanese – Place slices, evenly spaced, on top

Step-8: Cherry Tomatoes – Cut in half or placed whole (depending on size)

Step-9: Black Olives – Place whole olives around and in between the tomatoes

Step-10: Parmigiano-Reggiano – sprinkle the cheese until the pie is fully covered like Monte Bianco in winter

Step-11: Place the Flatbread Pizza in the oven, wait 15-minutes, then remove

Step-12: Plate the Pizza and serve with your favorite Mixed Green Salad

Wine Pairing: Savardo Pinot Nero Superiore (DOC) – Cantina Beato Bartolomeo – Breganze, IT – A balanced and elegantly refined dry, full-bodied medium-to-deep ruby red Pinot. Fruity to the nose with hints of spice.

Feel free to vary the ingredients to satisfy your tastebuds. Substitute cooked ham for the salami; drop the pesto and spread black olive pate’ instead; use red, yellow and orange bell pepper slices vice the tomatoes; use French Brie cheese in place of the Parmigiano-Reggiano; or, top off whatever it is you’ve created with a good helping of Arugula (Rocket) leaves. The combinations are endless.

The next time you find yourself in the kitchen scratching your head wondering what to prepare for dinner as the “game” clock winds down, don’t sweat it. Just do what I do, PUNT!, then make a homemade flatbread pizza. Do let me know how your creation turns out.

Article was originally published in 2017.

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Raoul’s 2 Cents, July 24, 2026

Last week I shared how I banged my head when the chair I attempted to step on slipped due to the puddle of water on the floor. People encouraged me to get a head scan to make sure there was no internal bleeding but the pain subsided after a few days and I didn’t think it was necessary. But my aunt reminded me that my great great grandfather fell off his horse and hit his head. He neglected going to the doctor and in a short while he became completely blind. That was the scare I needed so I did go for a checkup. The doctor doesn’t think I need it but I’m scheduled for a CT Head scan (whatever that is) early next month.

I wondered about people I know who were hit in their heads and I realized that every single one of them had one thing in common — they became smarter! I have a theory — a Big Bang Theory … a Big Bang in the HEAD Theory! We are all aware of the untapped mysteries of the brain. We’ve been told that we underutilize the power of the brain. I think if we get hit in just the right spot in the head, we can unleash that power.

CASE 1:
Rodney was one of my best friends in my college years. He was one of the smartest people I know. He wrote poems and plays, composed music with his guitar, indulged in very deep conversations and organized many social activities. He confessed he wasn’t that smart until he was hit by a baseball bat. He said he was a mediocre student watching a game when a batter swung and released his bat which hit him on the head … knocked him out cold. When he woke up, he said that’s when he became smart. I believe he became the valedictorian of his high school. He became a lawyer and defended the poor.

CASE 2:
My brother tried to stand on top of a basketball. (Yup! Not very smart yet.) The ball rolled out underneath him. He cracked his skull. He became very introspective. He began to hang out with the smart kids in class. He too became a lawyer and an environmental scientist for the EPA in Washington, DC.. Before his untimely death, he was building a complex ecosystem in Ecuador, at the edge of the Amazon jungle.

CASE 3:
My sister fell down the stairs, hit her head. Guess what? She became smart. She’s very good in math. She’s the one our family runs to for legal paperwork.

I guess cracking one’s head is like being bitten by a radioactive spider. It jars those dormant brain cells into action. I can imagine the hospital room when I go for my CT Head scan next month. The doctors and scientists will gather around me:

“Poor old man cracked his skull … gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world’s smartest man. Raoul Pascual will be that man! Better than he was before. Better… smarter… intellectually boring … but smarter!”

“Okay, hold him steady while I get my baseball bat …”

TGIF people!

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“Girls have an unfair advantage over men: if they can’t get what they want by being smart, they can get it by being dumb.”—Yul Brynner

“In grade school, I was smart, but I didn’t have any friends. In high school, I quit being smart and started having friends.” — David Spade

“Never confuse education with intelligence. You can have a bachelor’s degree and still be an idiot!”— Anonymous

“Sometimes you just have to play the role of the fool to fool the fool who thinks they are fooling you.” — Anonymous

“Half of being smart is knowing what you are dumb about.” — Solomon Short

“None of us is as smart as all of us.” —Ken Blachard

“I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” — Psalm 9:1

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” — Proverbs 1:7

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” — James 1:5

Thanks to James, Dan, Barbara and Jonathan for these

MEMES of the Week

I found these:

I collaborated with my friend and jokester,Terry Cassel for these below.

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It was not an ordinary rocking chair. This one was upholstered like a sofa, only narrower in width – more like it might be called an overstuffed rocking chair.

It was my dad’s favorite chair. He placed it near the radio that he loved even more than the chair. He adored Fibber McGee and Molly, George Burns and Gracie Allen, the Jack Benny Show, One Man’s Family, and many others. He loved to laugh at the comedies and liked it even more if we laughed with him – we could always put off our homework. He was glued to that chair during USC’s football games. He followed them with a chart of the playing field that he marked. He had made a special board that exactly fit the arms of the chair and his girth so that he could place his chart there.

The radio was a small Philco, done in the gothic style, like a small, rounded church without a steeple. We had had it for about six years, and I had listened to my first radio programs on it: Whoa Bill and Orphan Annie.

After my dad came home each night, carrying his black lunchbox and giving a heartfelt greeting to the family, he gradually settled into his rocking chair to read the Herald Examiner. Being mildly conservative, he liked that newspaper, and it was delivered every afternoon to our doorstep by a reliable paperboy.

Sometimes, when my mother was out in the kitchen washing or drying the dishes, my dad would call to her and ask her to listen to it with him and enjoy the program. She came in reluctantly, carrying a drying towel. He opened his arms wide, grinning, beckoning her to sit with him. She sat on his lap, his arms around her, and they enjoyed the program, laughing together. I thought it was funny that my mother nestled on my dad’s lap. At the same time, I was happy about it because it was a rather comical expression of love.

When my sister and I were very young, we playfully attacked my father in his chair. While we tried to climb into his lap, he pushed us back. It was all very friendly and lighthearted. I would almost make it past his knees then he’d shove me down and turn me upside down. I was heading for the floor and my sister was making headway toward his lap. The struggle went on. We were all laughing, including my mother who was watching. I was surprised at the indomitable strength of my father’s arms and hands. We were a giggling mixture of arms and legs, chaotic motion and a little sweat. Finally, he said “I think we better stop now; I want to read my paper.” Exhausted ourselves, we stopped.

I was fond of that old chair too. When I was by myself, I often rocked in it, enjoying its rhythmic motion. At other times, I wanted to test the chair’s capabilities. I wondered how fast I could get it to rock. I was on a horse galloping over imaginary plains. Then it happened. It was one vigorous rock too many. Over I went, backward. The back if the chair hit the floor and so did I! The heavy cushion came loose and fell across my face. I inhaled the musty smell of it. I was alone, and there was no one to help me. As I recall, I struggled out of the situation, crawled over the floor and was safely out of the predicament. With some effort, I righted the heavy chair and replaced the cushion. As all kids eventually do, I had gone too far.

In my imagination, I still see that old rocking chair, its bulk and its dull indescribable pattern. I think about its comfort, and picture my dad sitting there.

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Shaken and Stirred

Grumpy Grampy climbed up—on a chair,
Grumpy Grampy slipped down and fell there.
All the good doctors and chiropractors Said,
“Grampy, remember—you’re not a spring chicken anymore.”

Early this morning the smoke alarm went off. In my dreamy state I fumbled in the dark and picked up a chair so I could reach the alarm to turn it off. I didn’t know there was a puddle of water on the floor and, halfway up the chair, my weight caused the chair to slip underneath me. I hit my head on the wall and landed on my back and my right wrist. I eventually turned off the alarm but my body was mangled and sore. The last time I felt that kind of concussion was when I was a kid. Going back to sleep was difficult because I had to contort my body every which way to a position that gave the least pain.

TAKING THINGS FOR GRANTED
As I lay on the bed with the unfamiliar pain, I thought about the draft I wrote earlier for today’s TGIF edition. It was ironic because in my draft I was bragging about my good health. Old as I am, I mentioned that I didn’t have any of the pain that usually comes with people my age. I guess this was God slapping me in the face for my arrogance.

How many things do we take for granted? The roof over our heads, our cars, our food, our friends, peace and order, etc. How desensitized have we become to recognize our blessings only when they are taken away from us?

I thought about my friends who have recently lost their partners, friends who are dealing with health issues, financial problems … was God also reminding them to be thankful too? This fall made me more compassionate of their plight.

I’ve got ice on my back and on my wrist as I type this. Please excuse this brief message.

TGIF people!

(BTW, I’m trying out this new email program. The other one kept putting my emails in the Spam folder. Hopefully, this will solve that problem. Appreciate your patience.)

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

I woke up. I have clothes to wear. I have running water. I have food to eat. Life is good. I am thankful. — Anonymous

If you can’t be content with what you have received, be thankful for what you have escaped. — Anonymous

We hope that, when the insects take over the world, they will remember with gratitude how we took them along on all our picnics. — William Vaughn

The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank. — Dante Gabriel Rossetti

I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. — Psalm 9:1

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. — Colossians 2:7

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. — James 1:17

MEMES of the Week

Thanks to Art, Norm, Barbara and Jonathan for these memes.

I found these:

My good friend Terry Cassel and I worked on these cartoons.

The post Smart Move appeared first on Traveling Boy.

ANSWER: Home to Washington State University, residents and visitors alike enjoy a ‘room to breathe’ lifestyle with plenty of athletics, arts and culture that a university provides. Top name concert, theater, and PAC 12 athletics set a sophisticated atmosphere in an otherwise small town. Brilliant blue skies and rolling Palouse hills beckon you to experience the outdoors with golf, hiking and biking over 35 miles of paved trails, rock climbing basalt formations, and photographing the unique topography. Fabulous eateries, farm grown products and a love for good local beer and wine make dining out a pleasure and provide the basis for The National Lentil Festival and other events.

QUESTION 2: What’s one thing the public probably does NOT know about Pullman?

ANSWER: Why is this town laid out so funny? Downtown Pullman has the unique distinction of being surrounded by four hills, three rivers and two railroads. The present Grand Avenue was originally a wagon road north to Palouse. The common grid pattern was not an option due to the topography of Pullman. A rock bluff prevented east-west streets from continuing eastward, the river prohibited north-south streets from continuing northward and a steep hill discouraged streets from continuing westward. This organic layout resembles a four-leaf clover and confuses many who try to navigate Pullman.

QUESTION 3: What has Pullman contributed to the world?

ANSWER: A community blessed with an abundance of intellectual capital from the researchers at WSU and access to a highly educated workforce, Pullman has created a high tech industry in the center of the wheat fields. There are nearly 40 businesses making names for themselves in the global marketplace. One of these is Decagon Devices, recruited to design the soil probe and environmental sensors that were on NASA’s Phoenix spacecraft, which landed on Mars on May 25, 2008.

For further information about Pullman, click-on: http://www.pullmanchamber.com/

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