That big fireball in the sky is the sun. The Sylmar fire is about 5 miles behind me, but the smoke made for some dramatic shots. The helicopter is heading to the staging area in Porter Ranch to pick up water for another drop.

Since there's no playing outside when the air is so unhealthy, the kids wanted to rent movies from Blockbuster. Here, the smoke in the atmosphere gives us a nice martian sunset.

Yet another fire in L.A. For the first time, the police rolled thru our neighborhood. We're under a voluntary evacuation. Kids are dressed. Cars are packed and in the driveway. Power went out once, but is back.

The winds hit 75mph last night and the fire could not be stopped. Most homes destroyed in a Los Angeles fire in over a decade.

All the photos are untouched. The yellow tint comes from the smoke and ash in the atmosphere, not a filter.

I've always wanted a Corvette, and they have only been getting better looking and faster these last years. Too expensive in this economy you say? Here's what you do...

Kids, see what happens when you eat too much candy? Katherine presents her very own barfing pumpkin. Can't wait to see it at night.

You've heard about the traffic avoidance and the outdoor office, but what other advantages are there to working from home?

Answering the door when the local real estate guy comes knocking door-to-door.

Why is this an advantage? Cause it just so happens my local real estate guy goes door-to-door on a Segway. And today, he asked if I wanted to ride it. Of course I said yes, and it was sooo much fun. It's faster and turns quicker than you would think. But it doesn't take long at all to get used to it.

Door-to-door sales doesn't have to be such a drag.

WFH (Working from Home) - is there anything it can't do? Two freeways shutdown due to fire? Not a problem if your commute involves walking down a flight of stairs from your bedroom to your home office. And yes, my commute would have been affected by the fires.

It's October, which means the dry winds are back in Los Angeles. And with dry winds come fire. Taken from my front yard, these are smoke clouds from the Porter Ranch fire, burning in the hills above. The wind blows from right to left in this photo.

Henry at 16 weeks.

A word cloud from the Vice Presidential debate on October 2, 2008 with Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden. Palin's words are red, Biden's are blue and words in common are shades of purple. The word order is random, so generate your own word cloud to find hidden meanings and conspiracies.

Incoming - muddy puppy at 12 O'Clock. You better hope you don't have your dress slacks on.