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February 8, 2026

Mt. Rigi Kulm: Enjoying a symphony of mist and mountain

train
Mt. Rigi Kulm, known affectionately as the "Queen of the Mountains," is more than just a geographic landmark in central Switzerland; it is a sanctuary where the earthly and the ethereal exist in perfect accord. To visit Rigi is to step into a realm that...

Lessons I’ve learned from ‘How Big Things Get Done’

book cover
I did not inherit my father’s handyperson skills, although I remember observing him install central air conditioning and successfully accomplishing other large projects at our house in Kings Point, New York. Perhaps seeing a booklet lying around his workroom describing how to build a...

Never criticize your boss

Image by DanaTentis from Pixabay
Contributor Jeffrey P. Blum is a family law mediator. Robert Greene’s book “The 48 Laws of Power” instructs us to never criticize our boss. Avoiding criticizing your boss is important for maintaining your position and gaining favor. Criticisms can be perceived as a challenge to...

Channeling Twain pt. 2: Voyaging beyond the 101

Model T Ford
I’m still reading the biography of Mark Twain by Ron Chernow. The book is more than 1,000 pages long, so cut me some slack. My last column channeled Twain’s propensity to write fake news stories when he was a journalist. Prior to picking up Chernow’s...

Guest View: ​​Dissolving the SOS in Los Gatos

Jeffrey Blum
The acronym “SOS” stands for save our ship. It can also stand for sorting, othering, and siloing, which is how the acronym is used in “I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times,” written by...

Community, not theory, should be at the heart of Town’s planning

woman playing a chess game
Urban planning thrives on informed decision-making. However, the increasing influence of game theory—a branch of mathematics that studies strategic interactions—can be a recipe for disaster in the messy world of governance. While game theory offers insights in some areas, relying largely on its models...

Making the seniors road map work

senior reads map
Around spring 1970, I took my first cross country road trip with my college friend, Cliff, who later became a doctor and then the surgeon general of New Jersey. We began our journey at our college, Rutgers University. We sang Bob Dylan songs and...

Everybody needs a lifeline in the blood bank

giving blood
For two years, I’ve organized blood drives, transforming St. Luke’s Church in Los Gatos into a hub of hope, in partnership with the American Red Cross and our dedicated Rotary Clubs.  What began as a logistical dance of appointments and volunteers has become a visceral...

Suzuki: No, game theory hasn’t infected Town planning

Los Gatos officials
This article serves as a refutation of Jeffrey Blum’s article, “Community, not theory, should be at the heart of Town’s Planning,” which ran in last week’s edition.  Jeffrey Suzuki is a former Planning Commissioner, the current Vice Chair of the Complete Streets and Transportation Commission,...

Utility: Just the ‘hard water’ facts

Lake Elsman spillway
In nature, water always contains dissolved minerals and nutrients. Water “hardness” is determined by the concentrations of minerals present in a particular water source—specifically calcium and magnesium. Simply put, hard water is mineral water that comes from your tap.  Water containing high amounts of calcium...

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