Random Threads

I lived in the Mt. Shasta area, and neighboring towns at various times in my life since 1977.  Before I went there, I had a vivid dream about a woman and a mountain. The next day I was invited to lunch at a friend's place and an Israeli kibutznik was there. After a few hours conversation, he mentioned he was thinking of going up to Mt. Shasta, because there was a woman who wrote an esoteric book, and he wanted to meet her. (This is a whole other story though) I immediately offered to pay for the entire trip, if we left the very next day! He agreed!  Thus began my love affair with that area. The pristine evergreen forests, interspersed with Aspens that turned gold in the fall, wild blackberries covered in raindrops, wild sweet pea flowers blooming in all their pink splendor. I left West Hollywood the next year, with what would fit in my car, moved there, and never looked back. Every year that I lived there, there was an annual fireworks display by Lake Siskiyou in the tow...

Our daughter is now going to the local public school since we live almost 2 hours round trip to city center, which is where the private school she last attended was. Now she gets to ride in her daddy's e-Trike which he developed as a R & D research project with former Mayor Edward Hagedorn. It's still going strong and now we use it to take our daughter and her friends to school everyday. We only live 5 minutes by etrike away from her school. Several of the her friends ride with her everyday and we pick up more kids as we go. It makes 3 round trips per day, as Alysha likes to come home for lunch since we live so close. Our number one assistant Jhun, taking our daughter and her friends to school. This trike prototype was built by local a Palawan  body shop owned by William Russel.  We used some of his mechanics and ours.  Dave Dewbre designed the mechanical system and helped Russel with the design based on the roads here and passenger capacity of the 5000 watt...

Taken in January 2014 It's hard to believe that I'm going to be 66 this year. Now I know why people always say, "it's just a number".  The mind doesn't feel age, except in wisdom gained through life's experiences, if you have strived for it. The body, on the other hand, is feeling it. Not that I ever had a strong body to begin with. Mom, Helen Limjoco when she had breast cancer and was using only natural therapies. She looked great! When I was just an infant, mom said I had a bad case of chickenpox, and nothing my grandfather, a physician, administered would help. They finally called in an "albolario", as they are called here in the Philippines, at least where I'm from. She was a natural herbal healer. She simply boiled some gauva leaves and had them bathe me in the guava water until I showed signs of improvement. Which apparently I did soon after the treatment. My proclivity towards more natural forms of healing have persiste...

I live in Palawan and I love it here. I can't remember when I have been happier and more content. I love the greenery around me (I don't live at city center). The wildlife here is like no other. Where we live is where we want to be, and I for one will end my days right here on this green slice of personal heaven. This is Bindi the masked Asian palm civet that was brought to us to rescue. She was 3 days old; deaf and blind like a kitten for a few weeks. The first baby wild animal was brought to me last year on Nov. 1, 2012, was a masked Asian palm civet aka musang locally. She was just 2 or 3 days old we estimated.  Like a cat (although civets are not related to cats), they born deaf and blind. She was so tiny and helpless. I had to research online what and how often to feed her. The first night Bindi the musang was brought to us. Not much larger than my cell phone. Eyes and ears still closed until 2 weeks later. She cried like a baby with a high pitched screec...

My story about Dave Dewbre's etrike project in Palawan was featured in C! Magazine's May 2013 Issue. I document his adventure in research and development in electric tricycles. Charley Boorman , celebrity biker host of Freedom Rider's Asia dropped in to check out the e-trikes and had a good time driving one around Luzviminda. The magazine feature talks about the evolution of the different models Dave has developed and he talks about the problems people are having with after sales service and parts. A very big issue in this new field. I also talk about how then Mayor Edward Hagedorn was the first person to convert a regular gas trike to electric back in 2008 with the help of Rolly Conception and how Dave became involved with him in developing the successive prototypes. On this page top photo is Dave with one of his 3000 watt electric motorcycles and his eT4 tricycle taxi prototype,  driving the half moon shaped eT3 etrike prototype is Mayor Edward Hagedorn ...

When Dave decided to buy a banca (a motorized canoe with outriggers), I was thrilled. We live on a small peninsula surrounded by mangroves, the South China Sea and Puerto Princesa Bay. I've read that both spinner and bottle nose dolphins ply these waters. These, I believe are spinner dolphins. Spinner dolphins can be found in schools of up to 200 individuals!  They like to feed at night on fish and squid and I read they like to do most of their jumping and spinning at night as well. I guess we were lucky to see them during the day. A spinner dolphin doing it's thing!! A lot of tourists come to Puerto Princesa, Palawan for the Underground River , I'll take dolphin watching over it any day...although I have seen the Underground River three times now!! Shot taken with a GoPro Hero cam in a waterproof case from above the water from the front of the bangka Spinner dolphins are considered small and weigh up to 79 Kilograms. Shot with a GoPro Hero2 cam, mo...

When I first put up this  blog in 2008 , our daughter  Alysha  was only a year old and wasn't talking yet. I was 59. I was wishing she could talk so that I could communicate with her. She is now 6, (going on 30).  I have to say, it's so much better now that she can tell me what she wants. It was never my ambition to be a mother, and since the Universe contrived a  situation which removed my ability to conceive , I simply accepted it. In fact, I felt I had so much to work out on in my  youth, that it would have been selfish and detrimental to myself and my child to have had one. Me and Alysha on our farm in July of 2012 taken by Dave Dewbre Now that I am going on 64, I have mortality issues. I worry I won't be around long enough to fully teach her all that I want her to know about our world, other people and life itself.  I know that is counterproductive, and I do indeed try to live one day at a time and make the most of it. But once in awhile...