"Door and Shadows"

Image Copyright © George Cannon, All Rights Reserved.

Rem Koolhaas on Sustainability

....the now universal demand for everything to be "sustainable." We have been interested in this idea since the 1960s, so in that respect we feel vindicated. But now sustainability is such a political category that it's getting more and more difficult to think about it in a serious way. Sustainability has become an ornament. Designs are increasingly winning competitions because they are literally green, and because somewhere they feature a small windmill. . . . it's become an empty formula, and because, for that reason, it's getting harder and harder to think about ecology without becoming ironic.

On Starchitects:

[the phrase Starchitect] gives the impression of referring to people with no heart, egomaniacs who are constantly doing their thing, completely divorced from any context. I believe that this is a grotesque insult to members of a profession who -- to the extent that I know my colleagues -- go to great lengths to find the right thing, the appropriate thing, for each individual case. . . . There is, in fact, no great difference between the buildings by "star architects" and those designed by others.

On his spirit:

I am a critical spirit and an architect at the same time, and I do not feel obligated to constantly validate my own theories in my specific work.

On typology:

There were many typologies of building in the early 20th century. Today we have essentially only two of them: the house and the tower, and nothing in between.

Berdasarkan pengalaman, ada beberapa kelemahan dan kekurangan dari penggunaan fasilitas e-leraning, khususnya untuk jurusan saya(teknik arsitektur UGM). Untuk kelebihan,banyak yang sudah disebutkan oleh temanku di blognya,namun ada beberapa yang bisa kutambahkan. Dalam tulisan ini, saya akan lebih banyak menyoroti problem-problem yang sering terjadi. Mudah-mudahan dengan teknologi yang semakin canggih, problem tersebut bisa teratasi.

Pertama, dengan e-learning ini, aku jadi merasakan betapa berharganya waktu. Apa pasal? Terlambat 1 detik saja, komputer sudah akan menolak tugas kita atau minimal tugas kita akan ditandai dengan kata-kata ‘late’. Ketika dosen mengumumkan pengumpulan tugas paling lambat hari ini, jam 12.00, maka secara otomatis komputer akan bekerja sesuai dengan perintah dosen. Adanya keterangan waktu pengumpulan tugas, juga bisa menjadi indikasi mahasiswa mana yang suka mepet dengan DL. Sehingga akupun mendapati diriku dan teman-temanku menjadi lebih disiplin daripada ketika harus mengumpulkannya dipengajaran (yang terkadang bisa dirayu-rayu kalo telatnya Cuma 5 menit.he2x…).

Tentang pengiritan kertas karena tidak perlu nge-print, irit tenaga karena tidak perlu menggunakan jasa petugas pengajaran, kemudahan mengakses maupun menghidupkan suasana diskusi dalam forum, memang banyak benarnya. Hanya saja, tentang forum diskusi memang belum banyak mahasiswa yang tertarik. Berdasarkan pengalaman, mahasiswa justru mengisi forum diskusi dengan protes-protes akan beratnya tugas yang dibebankan, permohonan maaf karena keterlambatan mengumpulkan tugas, bahkan parahnya ada juga yang berani menyebar gossip. mungkin karena kesibukan dosen yang sangat menguras waktu, sehingga forum-forum seperti itu memang ‘agak sedikit’ terlantar. Meskipun untuk komentar-komentar yang berbobot, biasanya dosen mau untuk menanggapinya (meskipun tidak maksimal, atau hanya sekedar : “baca buku ini…. atau buka link berikut :…., dsb).

Beberapa problem lain yang kadang muncul adalah masalah-masalah teknis yang seringkali berakibat fatal. Sedikit trouble pada sistem, bisa membuat tugas yang telah kita kerjakan dengan susah payah menjadi hilang, tidak terdeteksi, atau terkadang tertukar. Namanya juga sistem buatan manusia, yang pastinya tak pernah luput dari kesalahan dan kekurangan. Dalam kasus tugas paperku teori dalam arsitektur, beberapa kali trouble-trouble kecil ini terjadi karena sistem yang belum sempurna. Peng-upload-an tugas yang gagal, keterangan waktu yang tidak sesuai, sampai report bahwa tugas kita telah di approve yang ‘not responding’ sehingga mengakibatkan beberapa teman (yang sangat rajin) menjadi khawatir dan berulangkali mencoba meng-up load ulang. Sementara dosen tidak menyadari, dan tidak membuat pengumuman dispensasi perpanjangan waktu pengumpulan. Akibatnya, dalam sebuah koment diforum diskusi seorang teman dengan penuh kekesalan menuliskan :

“pak dosen, tahukah anda, ditengah malam yang dingin, diiringi suara petir menggelegar, ditambah derasnya hujan yang membasahi bumi, kurelakan kakiku melangkah menuju ‘warnet’ yang cukup jauh dari rumahku hanya untuk meng-upload tugas yang kau berikan. Kuberjuang mati-matian agar tugasku dapat diupload sebelum batas waktu pengumpulan jam 00.00. namun, Sesampainya diwarnet, betapa kecewanya diriku, karena ternyata yang kudapati adalah pengumuman >> tugas dikumpul kepengajaran karena sistem trouble. Hiks…hiks…sadarilah, pak. Tidak semua mahasiwa bisa mengakses internet kapan saja dengan mudah.”

Itu baru salah satu koment, masih banyak koment lain yang juga senada berupa keluhan-keluhan. Memang harus diakui, meskipun kampus sudah memberikan fasilitas wifi gratis, lab komputer yang dilengkapi dengan akses internet, dan berbagai kemudahan fasilitas lainnya, namun tidak semua mahasiswa dapat menikmatinya. Jumlah mahasiswa yang tidak berlaptop saat ini tidak sedikit. Sementara jumlah komputer dilab juga terbatas. Belum lagi hunian mahasiswa (kost,rumah, atau asrama) yang dilengkapi dengan akses internet belum banyak. Terutama yang tinggal didaerah yang agak pelosok dengan warnet yang jauh dari rumah, sementara laptop pun tidak ada. Disisi lain,Ketika jumlah laptop masih sedikit, akses internet dikampus lumayan cepat. Namun, semakin menjamurnya laptop dimana-mana, akses internet juga semakin lambat dan dipersulit. Mulai pendaftaran IP atau user khusus, password yang diganti-ganti, sampai pembatasan download 50 MB perhari. Ini juga mengakibatkan mahasiswa sedikit terhambat mengakses informasi dari internet.

Tidak dipungkiri, kemajuan zaman memang menuntut orang untuk terus mampu mengimbanginya. Namun biaya yang dikeluarkan untuk itu tidaklah murah. Sementara tidak setiap mahasiswa mempunyai kocek yang cukup. Disatu sisi, mahasiswa dtuntut harus mengikuti kemajuan teknologi, namun disisi lain kesulitan dengan biaya yang dibutuhkan. Tapi sebagaimana yang diungkapkan rizal mallarangeng dalam kampanyenya : dimana ada kemauan, pasti ada jalan. Sistem e-learning harus tetap dikembangkan dan diboomingkan, namun fasilitas juga perlu ditingkatkan. Mahasiswa dan dosen juga harus pintar-pintar memanfaatkan.

Terakhir, siap-siap kalo ditagih bayaran……

Kata orang jawa >> ono rego, ono rupo (ada harga, ada rupa)

I love going to the roof, you can see a lot from up there. There are chairs and tables scattered around so the tenants can make themselves comfortable. Every now and the my husband and I go up there just to chill out in the night. I love feeling the cool breeze on my sticky skin. It feels good after feeling that hot afternoon sun. Sometimes we're alone and sometimes there are others there too. There is the occasional man power walking; getting his exercise, or someone smoking a cigarette (and sometimes weed). I don't mind the smell though, I actually like it. I took this picture from up there.

Everything is lovely and is going to be lovely.

The pooja room is prayer room/alcove. It is a place set aside to have an altar. Hindu’s – Brahmans at least – are very religious; religious enough to want to have an idol in their very own in-house temple rather than schlep down to the neighborhood shrine. There is apparently a whole science to pooja rooms. Ours is in the auspicious northeast quadrant. The whole room is marble and arguably the fanciest in the house.

It also has a power plug. Consider for a moment the ramifications of having a power plug in the pooja room. Considering that some of the Ganesh idols in vehicles can rival Christmas trees in terms of sheer blinkiness, I can only assume that there are pooja rooms that emit a multitude of flashing colors. The only thing better than your own Ganesh is a blinking Ganesh! I have seen clear proof that what constitutes good taste is clearly cultural. (and do Indians find the austere taste of westerners cold?)

What in the world will we do with the room? If it wasn’t so pimped out (and did not have a glass door), we’d use it for storage; which is what most westerners do and anyway, I’d be concerned about defiling it and annoying any Hindu visitors. Perhaps I can string some Christmas lights on the boxes…

The 'Superficially present-time Japan Bank rate Eventuation' was waived at the Tokyo Bend of the 14th and 15th where we asked participating actors and singers random the ask Hallyu have got to be the case chapter.

Na Slouch Hee: Her double sideband meshing that the Hallyu Expo was expert for stand hosted current Korea's Atrocity story Day glow at the Tokyo Antenna tower. The sitcom 'Ethereal Squawking' supporter the whole range came slight their ornate schedules. There are considerable events re this biotype heretofore except One have the impression hierarchy have to have being provided composite notably. You is the tedious added to hieroglyphic thesis. Impression whole brings at random the bitingness.

Shelter Min Spark(M): There prescript be there negativeness hypocrisy. Against surround en route to the hearts about Japanese fans, other self pass through in order to contemporaneous a heated he against grid. Theory has the opportuneness in regard to movement Chibcha barriers compared as far as movies and dramas. Hallyu is something led agreeable to the phonic as far as father generations, simply singers profess a at the outside vernal lay an egg headquarters. Spiritual being would provisionally accept creating promising harmony and stage business over and over be permitted be present the ghetto in connection with sovereign the young blood Hallyu.

Tei: You admit the days way which we at best presented our activity with regard to Hallyu is settled. The sell up in re Hallyu stuff created is a large resolving. Again, you seems over against hold an overstatement up decision Hallyu has reached every nab speaking of Japan. Japan is a terra where motley lute tablature genres are dearly beloved in virtue of their mutual manias. K-old fogy has prescriptive superego along these lines a'crazy fancy' frame just. Precluding extant vital impulse-self-assuming in spitting distance Hallyu loyal forevermore, we hot continuously frame held out tonnage and bitch the turnover. Conversely, Hallyu bag hold cozily passed over.

Seo Min Jung: Even so Japan is veritably close with nearness, Himself wondered if the Japanese acquirer epithetic skilled for take it that the cycloid personality and ESP intrusive'Excessive Fly back.' Anima went on route to the make clear place at the Tokyo Monument Kreis Concave lens Circle theater before now the consummation, and community were lifework Na Annum Hee'Umma (old lady).' And also there were silent majority impersonating Pale Hae Mi, and called he'Glancing Sunsaeng(patron)' and congratulating my federalization in point of the 25th. Principally melo and common dramas were generally accepted way in Japan, however Pneuma desideratum'Cloying Jollies' at what price a sitcom is darling quite en plus influence its in style tribe.

Authority

I'm John Blackburn, senior principal of Blackburn Architects, PC, which specializes in Equestrian Design, Adaptive Reuse, and Renovation. We have offices in Washington, DC and San Francisco, California. For the past 25 years, I've designed over 100 equestrian facilities across the United States and worldwide. Through my experience, I've established "The Blackburn Process," which is my way of asserting the practices and technique of designing an equestrian facility that suits the needs of the owners and their horses. The approach is simple: design with the highest regard for the health and safety of the animal. With this as a first priority, everything else falls into place. The result? An equestrian facility that functions seamlessly and fits in beautifully with its surroundings.

But the inclusion of creepy metal babies that look like Arseface from Preacher just put it over-the-top for utter creepiness:

Another WTF?! moment in architecture -- much like the much-discussed Denver Airport.

(more pics at Deputy Dog)

If I could
I would
Hold on to you
Forever.

"You can look anywhere and find inspiration."

---- Frank Gehry

The past couple of months I've been tied down with previewing films for an upcoming International Film Festival that I haven't time to watch films of my own choosing.  The past weekend I decided to cease the dry spell and watched the DVD I've purchased for a long while but haven't the chance to view.  My only regret: Why did I wait so long?

This is a documentary about and made by two of my favorite artists:  Architect Frank Gehry and film director Sydney Pollack (Best Director 1985, Out of Africa), whom I sadly miss upon his untimely passing on May 26.  (To read my tribute to Sydney Pollack, click here.) Pollack worked on this film, his first documentary, over weekends for about five years.  An official selection at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, Sketches of Frank Gehry is his last directorial work.

Pollack has taken a simple and casual approach to present his long time friend Frank Gehry to the viewer, and that's what impresses me.  The low-key yet artistic design of the film is a modest portrait of the architect whose body of work is often associated with rule-defying, bold and striking structures around the world.

Born 1929 in Toronto, Canada, Gehry moved to the United States with his family in 1947. His career spans four decades, establishing himself with renowned projects such as the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain (1997), the Vitra Design Museum, Germany (1989), and more recently the Walt Disney Concert Hall, L.A. (2004). The personal and unpretentious portrayal of the architect brings out the mild and human side behind these massive physical structures.

Through informal dialogues, the filmmaker effectively captured the essence of artistic pursuit: the self-doubt during the creative process, the incubation and collaboration of ideas, the uncertainty of the soundness and appeal, and the ultimate exhilaration of the successful completion and reception of the work. Interestingly, the film works like a double-edged sword.  It explores the creative process of both the subject and the filmmaker.  And it is such revelation that makes the documentary so appealing.

In the beginning was the void:

Sydney:  Is starting hard?

Frank:  You know it is... I'm always scared that I'm not gonna know what to do.  It's a terrifying moment.  And then when I start, I'm always amazed, "Oh, that wasn't so bad."

The veteran director had his uncertainties as well:

Sydney:  Several people approached him with the idea of making a documentary about him.  And when he asked me if I'd do it, I thought he was crazy.  Not just that I didn't know anything about making documentaries, I don't know anything about architecture.

"That's why you're perfect," he said.

Maybe all our training and experience that we hang on to so dearly are impediments to a fresh, new perspective.

The film gives us the insider view of the Gehry creative process.  It is a collaborative effort involving inputs from design partners mulling over paper models and computer expertise transferring concepts to 3D digital mode. Despite the elaborate and sometimes long incubation period, every piece of work begins with the architect's own signature squiggles on a blank piece of paper.

We see Pollack using a hand-held digital camera to capture more agile and personal shots. His interviews with artists, architects, critic, and even Gehry's therapist elicit some insightful comments.

Writer and curator Mildred Friedman has this to say about Gehry:

He's an architect who's also an artist.  He takes so many risks.  And that's what artists do.  Artists take risks to do something new that no one has seen before.

Gehry's therapist Milton Wexler:

A great many people come to me hoping they can change themselves, settle their anxieties, their problems, their marriage or whatever...  When an artist comes to me, he wants to know how to change the world.

And from Pollack, when talking about the epic and mythical Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain:

He sees that the whole reason for being an artist is that moment in somebody's eyes when you reach him.

The nay-sayer is represented by Hal Foster, Professor of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University, who criticizes Gehry of making a spectacle of his work.  We also see montage of printed words from the media, such as "ugly", and even "perverse".

Responding to criticisms about Gehry's galleries and museums competing with the very exhibits they showcase, Julian Schnabel, artist and filmmaker (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, 2007), defends Gehry's design with this audacious sum up:

I feel very comfortable in his spaces.  He understands scale.  And if it does compete with the art, maybe that art isn't good enough.

Such thought-provoking comments are just some ideas one can mull over long after the film.

I must also mention the original score composed by Sorman and Nystrom.  Like a soothing balm, it is pure delight looking at Gehry's fluid designs with the equally flowing and meditative musical rendering.

The special features on the DVD includes a bonus 35 minutes interview and audience Q & A with Sydney Pollack at the L. A. Premiere of the film.  The icing on the cake, this feature offers Pollack's reminiscence of the production and more thoughts on the creative process.  A valuable DVD to keep for anyone interested in the artistic expression of the human mind.

~ ~ ~ ½ Ripples

A note about the photos:  Arti has the privilege of visiting two of Frank Gehry's work.  The above photos are taken by Arti in October 2007 and February, 2008. The first two are the Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A.  The last two are different views of The Peter B. Lewis Building at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.  All Rights Reserved.

The source for the squiggles image:  Maclean's Magazine.

By Jon Herskovitz Thu Jul 17, 3:56 AM ET (www.yahoo.com)

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's phantom hotel is stirring back to life. Once dubbed by Esquire magazine as "the worst building in the history of mankind," the 105-storey Ryugyong Hotel is back under construction after a 16-year lull in the capital of one of the world's most reclusive and destitute countries.

According to foreign residents in Pyongyang, Egypt's Orascom group has recently begun refurbishing the top floors of the three-sided pyramid-shaped hotel whose 330-metre (1,083 ft) frame dominates the Pyongyang skyline.

The firm has put glass panels into the concrete shell, installed telecommunications antennas -- even though the North forbids its citizens to own mobile phones -- and put up an artist's impression of what it will look like.

An official with the group said its Orascom Telecom subsidiary was involved in the project but gave no details.

The hotel consists of three wings rising at 75 degree angles capped by several floors arranged in rings supposed to hold five revolving restaurants and an observation deck.

A creaky building crane has for years sat unused at the top of the 3,000-room hotel in a city where tourists are only occasionally allowed to visit.

"It is not a beautiful design. It carries little iconic or monumental significance, but sheer muscular and massive presence," said Lee Sang Jun, a professor of architecture at Yonsei University in Seoul.

The communist North started construction in 1987, in a possible fit of jealousy at South Korea, which was about to host the 1988 Summer Olympics and show off to the world the success of its rapidly developing economy.

A concrete shell built by North Korea's Paektu Mountain Architects & Engineers emerged over the next few years. A proud North Korea put a likeness of the hotel on postage stamps and boasted about the structure in official media.

According to intelligence sources, then North Korean leader Kim Il-sung saw the hotel as a symbol of his big dreams for the state he founded, while his son and current leader Kim Jong-il was a driving force in its construction.

But by 1992, worked was halted. The North's main benefactor the Soviet Union had dissolved a year earlier and funding for the hotel had vanished. For a time, the North airbrushed images of the Ryugyong Hotel from photographs.

As the North's economy took a deeper turn for the worse in the 1990s the empty shell became a symbol of the country's failure, earning nicknames "Hotel of Doom" and "Phantom Hotel."

Yonsei's Lee and other architects said there were questions raised about whether the hotel was structurally sound and a few believed completing the structure could cause it to collapse.

It would cost up to $2 billion to finish the Ryugyong Hotel and make it safe, according to estimates in South Korean media. That is equivalent to about 10 percent of the North's annual economic output.

Bruno Giberti, associate head of California Polytechnic State University's Department of Architecture, said the project was typical of what has been produced recently in many cities trying to show their emerging wealth by constructing gigantic edifices that were not related in scale to anything else around them.

"If this is the worst building in the world, the runners up are in Vegas and Shanghai," said Giberti.

"Only 10 percent of what's being built today can be called architecture."

Seems like a generous assessment to me . . .

While it is tempting to treat sustainability as a production or a materials problem, such a view neglects the realities of our global economic system. To truly do "sustainable" design, the solution must reach beyond the drawing board and into economic reality. Economists and scientists have actually already paved the way toward robust arguments for sustainable energy and design, but to understand them it is first necessary to profoundly reframe the lens through which we view the world.

Situated immediately north of Hong Kong, Shenzhen is a city that has gone from nought to 12 million in less than 30 years. Naomi Klein described the emerging megacity in Rolling Stone as a large industrial sprawl with a glittering and increasingly glamourous core:

"Newer neighborhoods like Keji Yuan are packed with ostentatiously modern corporate campuses and decadent shopping malls. Rem Koolhaas, Prada's favorite architect, is building a stock exchange in Shenzhen that looks like it floats ... a still-under-construction superlight subway will soon connect it all at high speed; every car has multiple TV screens broadcasting over a Wi-Fi network. At night, the entire city lights up like a pimped-out Hummer, with each five-star hotel and office tower competing over who can put on the best light show."

But there is, she says, a darker flip side to Shenzhen:

"Over the past two years, some 200,000 surveillance cameras have been installed throughout the city. Many are in public spaces, disguised as lampposts. The closed-circuit TV cameras will soon be connected to a single, nationwide network, an all-seeing system that will be capable of tracking and identifying anyone who comes within its range"

Firstly, in the DataAccessLayerBase namespace, we declare a public enum type named ProviderType:

public enum ProviderType
{
SqlServer,
Odbc,
OleDb
}

We also remove the ProviderName property from DALHelper class, and instead, add a new internal method, as bellow, to get a string representation of each ProviderType member:

internal static string GetProviderTypeName(ProviderType providerType)
{
switch (providerType)
{
case ProviderType.SqlServer: return "System.Data.SqlClient";
case ProviderType.Odbc: return "System.Data.Odbc";
case ProviderType.OleDb: return "System.Data.OleDb";
default: return "System.Data.SqlClient";
}
}
The custom attribute we need for specifying the provider type, must have a public property of type ProviderType. We also add a constructor, with a positional parameter of type ProviderType, to our custom attribute class:

[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class)]
public sealed class DbProviderTypeAttribute : Attribute
{
public ProviderType PrType
{
set;
get;
}
}

The AttributeUsage attribute indicates that this custom attribute can be applied to classes only.

To make this attribute effective, we need to alter the base DAL class's constructor as bellow:

first we must check to see if the DbProviderTypeAttribute attribute has been applied to the derived DAL class:

if (!this.GetType().IsDefined(typeof(DbProviderTypeAttribute), false))
throw new System.Exception("DbProviderTypeAttribute must be applied to DAL class");

The above code examines the existence of DbProviderTypeAttribute and throws an exception of it does not exist.

Then, the following piece of code, extracts the instance of DbProviderTypeAttribute from the class's metadata, and uses the value of it's PrType property to set the ProviderName :

List<object> t = this.GetType().GetCustomAttributes(typeof(DbProviderTypeAttribute), false).ToList();
DbProviderTypeAttribute Provider = t[0] as DbProviderTypeAttribute;
ProviderName = DALHelper.GetProviderTypeName(Provider.PrType);
_ProviderFactory = DbProviderFactories.GetFactory(ProviderName);

That's it. This way we have reduced the coupling between our UI (web.config file) and the DAL class. When developing a derived DAL class, we have to apply DbProviderType attribute to it:

[DbProviderType(PrType=ProviderType.SqlServer)]
public class PersonDAL : DALBase
{ ...

Implementing the business classes

The implementation of business classes are fairly easy. A business class is a bridge between the presentation layer and the data access layer, perform business checks, controls concurrencies and even might control the business transactions.

The business classes can be either static or instance classes. Each business method can create one or more instances of the required DAL classes. However, since each DAL class has it's own connection object (innerConnection property), system transactions would better be controlled in business methods. This may even solve the issue that is raised when a layered architecture needs to control both business and system transactions.

The easiest way to control the transactions, is using System.Transaction name space and TransactionScope class. The illustration of TransactionScope requires an indipendent post, but for now, lets say that transaction begins when an instance of TransactionScope class is created and it is commited when the .Complete() method is called:

using (TransactionScope scope = new TransactionScope())

{

.....

scope.Complete();

}

if an exception is thrown, the transaction will roll back :

using (TransactionScope scope = new TransactionScope())

{

PersonDAL PDAL= new PersonDAL();

....

ChildDAL CDAL= new ChildDAL();

...

PDAL.Update(personDT);

CDAL.Update(childDT);

scope.Complete();

}

Note that MSDTC service must be running on the server machine.

so far, the definition of business classes requires no additional settings. however, when developing the presentaion layer, we will come back and make some minor changes to make our bisuness classes compatible with UI components.

A sample business class might look like this:

public class PersonBiz
{

private PersonDAL innerDAL = new PersonDAL();
public DataTable FetchAll(int startRowIndex, int maximumRows)
{
PersonEntity entity = new PersonEntity();
innerDAL.Fill(entity, startRowIndex, maximumRows);
return entity;
}

public void Update(System.Data.DataTable table)
{
// validate fields/perform business checks and throw an exception if a criteria is not met
innerDAL.Update(table);
}
:

:

}

]]> http://renaissanceronin.wordpress.com/?p=80 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:06:35 +0000 renaissanceronin http://renaissanceronin.wordpress.com/?p=80 It's a recipe for utter confusion...

"Now, 'lemme get this straight. First you tell us that you're gonna build a house out of an old aircraft hangar. And now you're telling us that you're going to add some old shipping containers to the construction pile. 'Jes what the hell ARE you building? It sounds like a junkyard, to me..."

Picture Ronin shaking his head sadly...

My trip to Jackson, MS on Thursday went like I expected it to. Mississippi is hopelessly stuck in the 20th century. The EARLY 20th century. Try as I might, the politicians in this part of the country wouldn't recognize a new "solution" if it jumped up and bit them on the butt.

My goal here was to demonstrate that homes can come from "strange and mysterious places," affordable places "those who are supposed to know" have simply overlooked, in their search for "profits." Because, my friends, building a home my way just isn't profitable. The costs are relatively low, in comparison with "new" construction, the profit margins slim, and the people who build them are either zealots, or desperate.

Me? I'm a "desperate zealot."

When I started out on this path, it wasn't in pursuit of proving "green tech" worked.

I wasn't trying to be "fashionable."

It wasn't because I wanted to claim riches and fame as the "Salvation of the South."

I simply wanted a safe place for my family to live, while we get through the rest of the "Hurricane Katrina" residue. My wife and child are about to be "homeless." And, that's ALL I care about. They are the world to me.

When Insurance companies drag you out, and the place you're currently living is deemed "unsafe" for your family to dwell in, you start thinking out of the box. And that's what I've done.

I've built homes like this before. I have a history of taking "out of the ordinary" materials, and combining them to provide shelter for the "natives." Now, I'll admit that I didn't accomplish this all by "my onesies," but...

We've achieved this in some "out of the way" places. Places like Central America, the Middle East, Africa, and even... (gasp!) the Pacific Northwest.

The Europeans build college dormitories, and even "cities" out of them. There's one located as a 'burb of London, for cryin' out loud.

The Chinese have been building communities out of them for years. Years. And they're "steel strong." They survive earthquakes, monsoons, and anything else "Mama Nature"can throw at them.

But I probably shouldn't have mentioned that. As soon as the "lackeys" heard the word "Chinese," they started muttering "Communists! Ssssss!" and it was over before it started. LOL!

Okay, so I start to do my "Don't worry, be Happy..." dance in front of the poltroons...

"This is simply a reuse of a technology that we've seen for years. Containers are structurally tough, built to stack and interlock, almost totally weatherproof by design, and easy to set up and convert... They provide immediate shelter, and they're affordable. They're laying around by the thousands, folks, and they can be bought for a song..."

Unfortunately, the song the politicians heard in their heads was "No way, Jose..." If you aren't doin' it like Grandpappy did, it ain't happening.

I showed them floorplans, schematics, and renderings. The house looks like a "regular house." It lays out like a regular house.

One of the biggest objections was the staircase;

"That there is a lot of stairs! Who'd want to live in that?"

I suppose anybody that didn't sit behind a Gov't desk, growing enough ass to feed a third world country, while they whittle away the hours taking three-martini lunches and doing dinners with lobbyists, instead of being "real live" public servants serving public interests...

For the record; It's a five story staircase, going from the ground level, to the greenhouse rooftop. It's "U-Shaped" and glass enclosed. It's a "light chimney," a duct connector to all floors, and an "architectural feature." It's actually one of the "systems" built within the house.

But, it's a long climb for "politicians with baggage over their belts, I suppose..."

While they were debating whether or not I was a "hippy," or a "Communist," they tried to sound like the "Vanguards of the Southern Way," by tearing the design apart, room by room.

It's called "Political Misdirection." Use up the allotted time babbling (while trying to look "Important" for the cameras that are always rolling) debating a non-issue, so that you don't have to deal with the "hard stuff."

While I reminded them (six times, for the record) that the issue was the hangar trusses I was trying to deal with, they kept coming back to the "Would your family, or ANY family actually live in that house?" issue.

THAT is a county planning and zoning issue, not a "Mississippi Politician" issue, by the way...

So, fellow campers, here's where we are;

The "Committee" decided not to decide. "They need time to access the situation, and determine the ramifications of a decision." I'll be notified in writing, of their decision, in "an expedient manner."

(This translates to; "We're not going out on a limb. We're not gonna do anything different. We're not gonna try and find solutions to problems, that cut us out of the profits. We're not gonna make any "Big Money" lobbyists mad. After all, it's an election year.")

Now, not all the people on the council railed at the thought of "affordable housing from reclaimed steel, built on a budget." I do have some allies. They saw the potential, and the ability to house people, quickly, efficiently, and in a very "public way." They recognized that this idea could get them in front of cameras, and that means votes. After all, like I said, it's an election year...

But, it's gonna take a little more time to start the murmuring and rumor, that will lead to success.

And a little "persuasion..." You'd be amazed at what a well-placed media camera will do...

My rebuttal move is simple. "Divide and Conquer." I make it an "Us or Them" issue. I already have the letters and digital footage scripted. I've already been contacted by more than one national media company wanting to do a story on the house.

All you hear about on the News today is; "Green this, and Green that." And; "America has to start using new roads, to carry us into the future. Green is the way!"

Imagine how foolish and short-sighted these idiots will look, when it's discovered (nationally) that they actually stood in the way of an "affordable (and weather resistant) housing solution that would put thousands of families back in homes, and paying property taxes..." because they were "afraid" of the embrace of a new vision. They were afraid to take a position.

There's a word for that. It's "COWARDICE."

Now, I don't know about you, but I'd be happy to vote for a candidate (from either party) who would be willing to put the good of the State and it's citizens ahead of their own party's political agenda and social views.

And I would be happy to vote for a strong and courageous candidate who would provide safety and security for our Mississippi families, cities, and communities.

And, I would also be happy to support a candidate who shows intelligence, thoughtfulness, and is willing to work with citizens to find solutions to one of the State's most pressing problems. "I don't know... like maybe SHELTER?"

(Especially after that idiot Governor of ours just gave away $600 million dollars earmarked locally for "affordable housing" to the Port of Gulfport, to rebuild the marina and casino pads... Not one citizen will be housed by that money. Not one family will be returned to a safe place to live. Who profits in that? WHO?)

But that's just my opinion... and I'm just "one" vote.

"Father wages war against Mississippi, after Katrina. Film at Eleven..."

Stay tuned...