It is paraffin.

Vahomeowner... What is a normal car person? How does being accurate and correct confuse more than help? In your first response you tried to pass off tips like (quote)"When a engine gets older it might start to use oil, the engine gets looser and the oil gets by the rings. When it starts using oil up the weight of oil." as good information. If anything is going to confuse somebody it's advice like that! Some of what you wrote is just accurate enough to be believable from an uneducated point of view. Sure the higher the second number in an oil weight viscosity, the thicker the oil is, and ambient temperature does play a role in pour point as well. Try this, Take a quart of 10w40, 0w40, 10w30, 5w30, 5w20, and 0w20 each and put them in a freezer for about 6 hours. (-5 to 5f).Then time how long it takes to pour the quart of oil out of each bottle as you take them out of the freezer. Report back on exactly what you find. Repeat the test with the oils at 100f. See if you can really measure a significant difference between the oils. The actual testing is done by having the oil flow through a specifically sized orifice. The first number is often confused as how fast the oil will pour at 0f. It actually has to do with the friction that the oil has at that temperature compared to a straight weight oil. 0w40, 10w40, 20w40 are all 40 weight oil. They have significantly different friction charateristics at 0f. Lastly, don't take offense to the fact that a subject as simple as oil is far more complicated than the "average car person" understands. After 30+ years of fixing cars, I still study this subject all of the time, as well as everything else that has to do with today's cars. The information about the VW camshaft problem is something I just read about in the last three days. Recently I had a car in for an emissions failure, a 2003 Nissan Murano. The failure was catalyst efficiency montior, and variable camshaft timing (VCT) system failure. Essentially, the VCT problem is because of a lack of proper oil change frequency. The engine is sludged up, and the only correct, complete repair is a full teardown, clean and rebuild or else simply replace the en gine. The catalyst problem is the convertor has failed, because of engine missfire related to the camshaft timing control problem. If the guy had listened to real technicians, giving out correct information he would not have been in the situation of having a car just short of being paid off and needing some $6000.00 in repairs! So if it's too complicated for someone to understand how to properlly maintain a car, then they have choices. One is to find a real shop with a good technician and follow the guidence they give. Or they could try and simply run around looking for the "best price" hoping they can find both a bargain, as well as someone that takes auto service seriously enough as a career to invest the time required to truly know all of the details required to get it right. Or of course, they can believe all of the 1/2 truths out there, and simply believe that if a guy has a wrench in his hand he is uneducated, and probably a rip-off. Then they can rely on information they get off of the web, and go about vehicle ownership, just like the guy with the Nissan. BTW, the old pay me now or pay me later commercial? There is a twist. The guy with the Nissan simply traded it in, took a beating on the cars value and dumped all of the negative equity into his new Honda. Hope he is happy with that $600.00 a month payment he should never have needed to make......

No. What I meant is that any good finisher can give you close to an oil look, but not the other way around. Oil will give you that yellow look no matter what you try and do. I think moisture cure urethane can give you a clear natural look, but finding someone who still works with the product may be difficult. Get the look you want. If your GC's flooring people can't provide that, then break the finishing out of the project and find those that can. There is no reason to settle for a floor finishing that is not what you want. Ask your GC's flooring people for samples and if they aren't acceptable, then don't let them do your floors. And don't fall for the claim that oil is superior to waterborne; there is cheap and quality finishes in each category. If you choose waterborne, then be sure to do your homework and insist on an expensive, quality finish.

Here are some trees from the Olivas de Oro ranch. Kevin took this photo because I kept forgetting to take my camera with me. Olive trees need a lot of space, as they drain a lot of nutrients from the soil. There are a few oak trees still interspersed among the olive trees. Annie, there are a lot of places to go for olive oil tasting. I found out that there is a very good olive farm in Ojai, less than an hour from L.A. Ojai is a delightful town with nice restaurants, spas, and beautiful countryside. There are also olive farms in Temecula, where there are vineyards as well. I think Kevin and I will go there soon, as it is an easy day trip - we've been to Ojai several times, but will go back also. Ann, I do think that bread (especially your sourdough) is a very good way to appreciate the olive oil. I especially like the Arbequina Reserve for its fruity flavor, but I also like the Mission Reserve, which was one of my favorites. The Arbequina won a silver award, but I did not know that at the time I bought it. Annie, I look forward to your next visit to California! Lars