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Hello! It seems so strange to use ChatGPT in an old 1953 Homestead that I have been fixing up. I very much want to give respect and honor to the two WWII veterans that built this home. Without them, I wouldn’t be here. It’s so abstract that here I am creating logos and what not with something like Artificial Intelligence. It would have been so abstract to them, I must suppose. It’s so abstract to me too, and I lived through the creation of the Internet. (Do we still capitalize that the Internet?).

Technology is moving so fast that it is almost impossible to comprehend. I would argue it is in fact beyond our comprehension, but what do I know? I was was a latch-key kid. It wasn’t a bad thing at all, as far as I know. My folks were working and I was trusted enough to not burn the house down and be home by dark. My friends parents were vaguely aware of where I was as well. It’s so strange to me that, from what I can tell, that’s not quite the standard. I think something bad happened, because I was raised in some ways free. God have mercy would I not be back by dark. Times seem so different.

Oh, I had video games, but my brothers and friends had to come over to play. We more preferred the outdoors and building kinda shitty dirtbike tracks and playing sports and, eh, even just causing some simple mischief. I don’t really know what’s going on. I think that has gone away a little bit?

I’m romanticizing, no doubt. Don’t blame me though, I never had kids, though maybe I might have like to. This little ramble does come around to a point. I have a degree in Design from UCLA. I’m not trying to be dramatic over here, but it’s more or less useless. I can use ChatGPT to make logos that would have taken me hours or days in 60 seconds. I am a proficient programmer too. Same idea.

Good luck out there. UBI!

Eat the rich.

It’s alive! What’s that you say? What is “it”? Well, gather ’round the campfire ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and everyone else. I’ll tell yall a little story!

We’re making a backyard day spa and social club! What the heck is that you ask? Ahh… I wish I knew! It’s something like this though – we are to provide a unique Joshua Tree experience based in my back yard and beyond for locals and visitors alike. We are to provide facilities and activities such as ways to cool off or warm up, a hot tub and cold tub, picnic and activity areas, an outdoor art gallery, a wood shop gallery, dog-sitting, camping gear rentals, a garden and nursery, an orchard to relax in, yard games, bar-b-q’s, art classes and so much more! We aren’t launched yet, so I can’t tell all my secrets just yet, and undoubtedly, some things will change around.

The journey started in 2001 when I started the search for a property to call my own in Southern California. I was on an extremely limited budget, just two years out of college. At first I purchased vacant land to build a home on in Lake Arrowhead, but I soon learned it would be MUCH easier (cheaper, lol) to rehabilitate an existing property. I came across this property, just outside Joshua Tree National Park, for sale by owner, and immediately paid the down payment having only seen pictures and the map. I saw it a few days later for the first time, and oh boy, was I in love! I was 24 and a home owner! Never mind the bullet holes, the lack of doors or windows, the piles of pigeon poop, the dilapidated out buildings or any of that.

I moved here in 2013 with my then wife, a bit sooner than we had expected. Minor details, like… oh… no hot water and no kitchen sink, made it quite the adjustment from posh city life in San Diego. No big deal… right? Right? Well, I don’t have a wife anymore, so maybe it was a bigger deal than I had anticipated. Whoopsie. Things have come a long way since then, and life is a bit more modern these days, but it is still a work in progress!

Having run various businesses here in the high desert – such as an artist, a handyman, a pool guy, a landscaper, and a camping gear rental purveyor, I’m on to the next great adventure! To be fair, a careful observer might notice that this isn’t actually a new adventure at all. Rather this crazy experiment that is Rancho de Los Olivos is a culmination of decades of effort and experiences rolling into one. Thanks for coming along on the journey!