Low testosterone. For men, these words have the same foul odor as “impotence,” “shrinkage” or “Justin Bieber.” The topic is taboo. Throughout civilization testosterone has been prized as the lifeblood of manhood, so a deficit would imply, by definition, that we are somehow less manly.

For the first time in at least a decade, we have good news regarding California’s colleges and universities.

These days, the best reservation in town might not be at a restaurant, but at a chef’s table — in the chef’s private home or yours. Congenial chefs are inviting clients to stir and chop to their heart’s content before sitting down to a meal.

I’ve long believed that just about the worst way to begin a workweek is scheduling an in-office staff meeting. Employees start dreading it by mid-day Sunday. The gatherings usually get off to a late start, drag on and are deemed worthless by most participants.

Enter the breakfast meeting.

Robert Chase, 67, is California’s deputy state architect and the current president of the Central Valley chapter of the American Institute of Architects. In addition to his private-sector work in Boston, New York, Los Angeles and Sacramento, Chase has also served as the chief building officer for both the city and county of Sacramento.

Bruce Monighan knows a few things about building something out of nothing. Facing the option of unemployment or bootstrapping, the local architect started his Sacramento-based firm Monighandesign from scratch in 1982. By the early 2000s, Monighandesign was completing between 50 and 60 public and private projects annually in markets across the country and looked to expand in 2007.

Michael and Susan Pope had witnessed enough of parenthood to give them second thoughts about having children of their own. After seeing friends vanish into an abyss of diaper bags, sleepless nights, stress, arguments and the apparent loss of every conceivable freedom, they had plenty of reasons to reconsider.

It’s the last stop during your in-house interview, and you’re knackered. As you wait for human resources to arrive, you’re adding up the things you should have done differently that day. As the HR rep enters the room and sits down, you still have time to make one more mistake, and it could be the biggest of the day. She starts naming the perks awarded to everyone from janitor to CEO, such as paid holidays, sick leave and a bathroom with free toilet paper. Then, she throws out the number you’ve been waiting for: a starting salary. Do you accept the offer or start negotiations?

When the pain began, Kevin assumed it was indigestion. He would occasionally experience bowel irregularity but would return to work anyway, fixing hot rods at a body shop in Carmichael. The 53-year-old didn’t grow alarmed until after about eight months, when he noticed a protrusion emitting from the side of his groin like a blister.

Since filing for bankruptcy last year, Stockton hasn’t seen any immediate improvement. The city ended the year with 71 murders, a steady climb from only 26 in 2009. The rise has been attributed to a shrinking police force after the city slashed the department’s budget.