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has written 10 articles for the OB Rag!

Sustainability 101: The Rebirth of Riding Wood: An Interview with Larry O’Brien and Mike Shourds

December 30, 2020 by Terrie Leigh Relf
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Originally posted August 2012

Nothing says OB more than surf, sweet boards, and social consciousness! In the following interview, OBcean Larry O’Brien, vintage body board collector, cave explorer, and aspiring eccentric shares one of his many passions: Creating boards from found wood and other materials.

Coronadoian “Paipo Mike” Shourds, builder of wooden body boards and recycled junk bikes since 1960, is also a collector and all-around creative person.

Terrie Leigh Relf: What inspired you to create your body boards?

Larry O’Brien: Back when I was in junior high school, carpentry was something taught in school, and sex was something you learned …

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When Should Passengers Intervene on the Bus?

November 29, 2012 by Terrie Leigh Relf
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Sustainability 101: When Should Passengers Intervene on the Bus?

Picture this: You’re on the bus and you see a mother with three beautiful school-age children and one adorable toddler in a stroller. The children are well-behaved, the toddler is babbling excitedly, and the mother is yelling at the children, especially the toddler, even covering his mouth, threatening to slap his face if he doesn’t sit still and be quiet.

What would you do?

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Put the “Public” Back in Public Transportation

October 29, 2012 by Terrie Leigh Relf
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Sustainability 101: Put the Public Back in Public Transportation – Part 1

With this first introductory segment on public transportation, I wanted to raise just a few points. The next segment will feature a few anecdotes I’ve been collecting. I hope that you, dear reader, will also chime in so I can include your experiences as well.

For those of you who know me, I don’t drive, and have never had a license. I am therefore dependent upon my feet, public transportation, and the goodness of others to get where I need to go. Since I live in OB, I can walk most places, but when I leave this walker’s paradise, I mostly rely on the bus and trolley.

Other riders have their reasons for using public transportation, such as the following:

  • Limited parking where they work or attend school
  • The cost of parking garages and lots
  • To avoid ever getting a parking ticket
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Sustainability 101: CALPIRG Knockin’ on My Door

August 15, 2011 by Terrie Leigh Relf
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The other night, after dark, there was a knock on my door. I thought it was a friend, but lo and behold, a young woman with a clipboard. I thought, no, not another person with a clipboard asking for donations or to buy a subscription to the UT.

I admit I may have been a bit brusque with my usual “I’m sorry, I’m not interested in buying anything… ” and she said, “I’m not selling anything,” or something to that effect. I then informed her that I wasn’t able to make any donations. I don’t remember what she said after that, but within the next moment or two she said she was from CALPIRG.

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Sustainability 101: Time, one of our greatest resources

August 4, 2011 by Terrie Leigh Relf
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It’s Sunday, and you’re in line at Jungle Java in Ocean Beach, and can’t decide whether to have one of those bliss-filled vanilla lattes or a cup of ah-choo tea.

Or maybe you’re standing in front of your closet on Monday morning, running late for work, and you don’t know whether to dress up or down, as you know you’re going to be shredding files.

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Attention Bouncers and Bar Staff! Free Introductory Integrated Threat Response Security Tactics Seminar

July 28, 2011 by Terrie Leigh Relf
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This Saturday at The Vault

On Saturday, July 30th, from 10:00 a.m. until noon, Jack Gialanella, a licensed and certified Senior Full Instructor in Rapid Assault Tactics, will be teaching a free seminar geared toward bouncers and bar staff. The seminar will take place at the Vault Combat Academy Mixed Martial Art Training and Fitness gym, located inside the Ocean Beach Surf and Skate Shop, at 4976 Newport Ave. in Ocean Beach.

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Sustainability 101: Repurposing & Upcycling

July 26, 2011 by Terrie Leigh Relf
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Recently, I heard the term, upcycling, and was curious what it meant. I also wanted to determine whether, or if, it differed from repurposing.

It seems that these two concepts are basically synonymous. Repurposing may be as simple as cutting off the top of a plastic milk jug to make a planter for burgeoning aloe plants, or filling old wooden barrels with dirt and compost to plant tomatoes, onions, and squash. Upcycling may be just as simple in that it takes products that may not be as easily recycled and utilizes them to make new products. These include wine cork bulletin boards as well as juice pouch purses.

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Sustainability 101: Keep it Flowing

April 25, 2011 by Terrie Leigh Relf
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by Terrie Leigh Relf

While the title above may sound a bit clichéd, as does the proverbial “pay it forward”, etc. it is still a practice upon which cultures are created, sustained, disrupted, and otherwise meet their demise. When pondering this behavior, I often ask myself about various cultural practices—both simple and complex—and how they shape my daily life.

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Ocean Beach Sustainability 101: Reduce, Recycle, Re-use, Repurpose—and Repeat!

January 25, 2011 by Terrie Leigh Relf
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by Terrie Leigh Relf While the mantra of ‘reduce, recycle, re-use, repurpose’ may be familiar, individual experience varies. Yes, it is important to dispose of your glass and plastic bottles, as well as other obvious recyclables, in the blue bins. Yes, creating a home-based compost bin is also an excellent practice. . .and yes, donating your […]

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What Happened to Marisco’s Taco Truck?

September 11, 2010 by Terrie Leigh Relf
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By Terrie Leigh Relf / Special to the OB Rag

Marisco’s German Taco Truck was a neighborhood presence from mid-March to mid-August of this year. Parked next to the Pirate Cove café in the Apple Tree Market’s parking lot on Cable and Santa Monica, they offered a delicious variety of Mexican-style seafood. Their $1.00 fish tacos and samples of spicy seafood soup were quite enticing, and nearly every time I passed by, there was a line of dedicated patrons.

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