Life Style & Travel

UNITED STATES—Technology has touched every aspect of modern life. From entertainment and health to wealth, the improvements across the board are marked. However, it’s technology’s impact on the financial sector that’s been most significant in recent decades. Leaving aside the potentially revolutionary qualities of cryptocurrencies, financial technology (fintech) at all levels has reshaped the way we handle our money. The fintech...

UNITED STATES—Visiting a relative in prison is a difficult thing to do in the best circumstances, and it can be made even more stressful and draining if you are not prepared for what is involved. To help you out, here is a look at the main ways to deal with the visitation process in California, and how you can make...

UNITED STATES—It was easy to bury spring bulbs so discourteously in shallow graves last autumn, prior to concern about summer bulbs. None of them got proper funerals. Perhaps cool season annuals obscured their interment sites. No one needed to know they were there. It seemed like a perfect crime, until now. They are back like the undead. After all,...

UNITED STATES—Contrary to what the pleasant weather suggests, it is still winter. Most plants are resisting the temptation to break dormancy prematurely. They must know that the days are still short, regardless of the weather. Most plants are surprisingly proficient with scheduling. Nonetheless, dormant pruning should happen sooner than later. This includes pruning roses. They have been ready for...

UNITED STATES—Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome. I know I’m NOT the only person who has heard that phrase. However, it feels like so many of us indulge in insanity more than I can imagine. We do the same thing over and over hoping for a different outcome. It is like...

UNITED STATES—How often do people actually get something for free in the United States? It rarely happens, but in 2020 and 2021,  I’ve started to see a trend where some retailers have been allowing consumers to keep their item and also get refunded at the same time. I can speak from personal experience this was something that transpired with...

UNITED STATES—Winter seems like an odd time for fruit to ripen. Winter weather is cool enough to inhibit vascular activity in plants. That is why most plants are dormant to some extent through winter. Most familiar fruit trees are deciduous, some defoliate in winter chill. Stone fruits ripened through early summer. Pome fruits ripened through late summer and autumn....

UNITED STATES—Zorba, the ousted detective taken to the land “up there,” stared at the tired turtle in the bed and looked for breathing movement. A greenish cast imbued the wrinkled head, covered by a film of dust. Long charcoal gray hair curled over a soiled pillowcase. No breathing movement was detected. Conclusion: Here they stood before a mummified body. Detective...

UNITED STATES—Pot plants are very different from common potted plants. Potted plants sustain healthy growth within pots or similar containers. They can range from small houseplants to small trees in big tubs out in the elements. Those that do not live for long in a particular pot before outgrowing it can continue to live in increasingly larger pots. They...

UNITED STATES—Winter has the potential to be a slow season for gardening. Simple gardens may not require much dormant pruning. Established gardens may not require much planting. Where winters are cold and perhaps snowy, no one wants to go outside anyway. Those who go out may not be able to accomplish much. Nonetheless, winter is the season for planting...