As I left Silicon Valley for several weeks and the holidays in Los Angeles, I could not help but notice one of the local trees reaching the sky with its branches spread wide while boasting a range of reds and yellows.

The glimmering computer screens may look cool at night, but this picture was taken at an indoor shopping mall before the store opened. Apple can do better.

The lesson that Steve Jobs taught many people, including me, is that if you believe in your inner creativity, refuse to be distracted by what the naysayers dart at you, and keep to your vision, your hard work will reap incredible results in the end.

A disturbed individual briefly shattered this idyllic scene with his rampage on Wednesday morning. Three hard working people were lost, many more injured, and countless loved ones are now suffering through an heinous tragedy. Our thoughts are with their families and loved ones.

In my latest article in The Guardian, I argue it will take both the scale of large companies and grassroots activism to transform our cities and make our living and work spaces healthier and safer.

I may have left my garden in Los Angeles behind, but a new one has begun in a Silicon Valley town, Cupertino, once known for apricots and prunes.

You would not intuitively place Starbucks and mid-century architecture in the same sentence, but occasionally the coffee giant genuinely blends in well within neighborhoods outside of its Seattle base.

Joseph Eichler and his homes still strut and thrive throughout California, and that is true in Silicon Valley. Among the 11,000 or so homes built that carry his design, Eichler homes, or “Eichlers,” are still in demand by Silicon Valley homeowners.

In the Cupertino High School parking lot lies a solar panel array that turns the 53-year-old school into a small energy hub.

If Steve Jobs and the city of Cupertino can agree, Apple Inc. will build a new futuristic Silicon Valley campus and move into the new digs in 2015.