Of interest to marathoners (or those who want to run their first one): Shelter Mac wizard Rick Gordon has just finished preparing Jeff Galloway’s revolutionary marathon training book for both the iPad and the Kindle, and I kid you not, it really looks good. It makes the majority of iPad books look dowdy. The graphics, colors, and tables are elegant.
It also works on an iPhone: you can carry your training program in your pocket. Marathoners. click below for more info.
This photo from The Last Men, by Iago Corazza: “Indigenous New Guineans are presented in their full body paint, with extremely striking colors and patterns representing their tribal identity.…fully adorned, fully committed, fully made-up for special occasions, pedal-to-the-metal New Guinea, and the effect is viusually stunning. This is quintessential MAN AS ART …”
–Amazon review by James I. Cole
I discovered this book about a year ago and put it on my calendar for this month, and sure enough, the price dropped. I found a copy on AbeBooks for $15. Also ordered a copy of Man As Art for $6 used from Abe, which is consistently cheaper than Amazon.
“This isn’t your ordinary tree house. Designed by the architecture firm RPA, the Banyan Treehouse is a small home/art studio/getaway overlooking downtown Los Angeles. Made of wood and glass and raised 12 ft. up on steel pillars, it’s nestled into the base of a large pine tree. (And we love the outdoor shower!)”
https://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/green-style/green-style-teeny-tiny-luxury-tree-house-105756
This seems to be a good guide to a variety of instant hot water heaters. For some reason they have not listed Paloma water heaters — we have had one for 25 years and it still works fine. However, it has a pilot light, and many of the new ones don’t. If this one wears out, I’ll get one sans pilot light.
Tankless water heater guide: https://www.tanklesswaterheaterguide.com/
Paloma tankless water heaters: https://www.palomatankless.com/
Today we took off early for the 3-hour drive to Santa Cruz to see, ahem, ahem, our first grandchild, Maceo, age 3 weeks, parents Will (our son) and his wife Aine. I won’t bore you with photos, but he is a beautiful little creature. I didn’t know that having a grandchild would be a such big deal, but it is.
When we got to Santa Cruz we went to Verve Coffee Roasters on 41st, excellent java, serious barista artistry, hip & friendly staff.
Backward and downward:
I’m using my bike to get out in the woods, then parking it and searching for mushrooms (and animal bones). Yesterday found these candy caps. When dried they smell like maple syrup. Also got more of the bobcat bones I’d discovered last week. The bike is so great, with its disc brakes and air shocks.
I started putting pages together a few months ago, getting a feel for what this new book was going to be. I’ve been gathering materials and making contacts over the course of a year. That’s my m.o.: assemble a ton of material, then figure out how to put it together. This includes making physical (folders with photos and print-outs) files, as well as an email mailbox and folder on the Mac for each contributor (containing text and photos). There are over 100 files, and new material coming in almost daily.
Layout: I’ve been doing layout whenever I get the chance (and mood) over the past several months. I do layouts by hand, using a color copy machine. It’s a pre-computer process and although time-consuming, gives the pages a touch of hand-crafting that direct-to-computer ain’t gonna do.
I’ve been going through the folders (in a rolling file cabinet), grabbing ones that are the most exciting, spreading the material out on the layout table, and designing and assembling a 2-page spread at a time. And boy, is it going good! The book’s got a life
It’s such a rich world. Building small (rather than large) gives the builder a chance to do something unique. Not having a lot of money means being creative. Small and simple can be (even if only temporarily) the alternative to the half-million house or condo and mortgage enslavement.
Contributors seem to be aware of the significance of it, and are on the ball (with hi-res photos and text). People are (still) sending us one wonderful thing or another. Lots of women builders. Lots of cob. Lot of road vehicles.
I’ve been thinking about a book like this — the kind you’ll hold in your hands and thumb through the pages — compared to an eBook of any persuasion…”I knew Jack Kennedy, Senator, and you’re no Jack Kennedy…” This ain’t gonna be no stinkin eBook.
The times are obviously right. It reminds me of 1973 when we were assembling Shelter. There’s a spirit of simplicity and self-sufficiency afoot these days. Hell, even the New York Times is on it. I think this will be a major book, as was Shelter, a reflection of the times.
Shameless commerce dept.: we are selling a package of 3 building books — Shelter, HomeWork, and Builders of the Pacific Coast — for a 40% discount. Both of the latter 2 books have lots of buildings directly inspired by Shelter, so there’s a continuity and some history here: https://is.gd/kfiEq
Layering for the cold: Yesterday I managed to get up at 6 AM – needed to get work done on tiny homes book before heading over the hill – dark and cold at that hour. We have very little heat in the production studio, so I wear layers. Silk t-shirt, other layers of various wool shirts*. Gloves with open fingers for typing. Yesterday I had on 7 layers. Lesley came out and draped one of her homemade coats on me. (She dyed and wove the fabric, then made the coat), So I had on 8 layers. Plus my Cowichan warmest-of-hats with ear flaps (from Hill’s Native Art).
*My favorite article of clothing of all time is my Icebreaket Sport 320 shirt, which I wear every cold day (all winter).
Music on the mountain: Took off around 9 for Mill Valley, sun was out, yahoo, powdery blue skies, sun reflecting off water in the lagoon, felt warm, John Lee Hooker singing Chill Out (Things is Gonna Change), perfect. On the road again…
As I drove, I was thinking of the “downturn:” Fact is, we (Americans) were way over-consuming. It couldn’t go on. Plus the money-savvy pricks , with Bush & Co. leading the way, caused a huge transfer of wealth to the few.
“It’s not over til it’s over,
And it’s not over yet…”
by Billy Joe Shaver came on, a great song by a great songwriter/singer. Then Lay Down Sally by Eric Clapton, next Good Old Boy (Gettin Tough) by Steve Earle, and I turned up the volume full blast as I went through the redwood trees with dappled sunlight on the mountain road. Creeks were gushing. Little seasonal waterfalls were streaming, the mountain’s alive…
Running at night: I ran by myself south along the coast from Muir Beach last night. I counted lights of 14 crab boats out there. Best crab season in many years, they’re all over out there, creeping along the ocean bottom. Deep blue black night, here they are once again after all the rains: Orion, the glittering Pleiades, and my boy Taurus. A beautiful night. I’m running lightly, boy, when you don’t care about speed or training for races, it’s a whole different experience. Went down the ridge to a lookout spot, San Francisco across the water, 1000 feet down to the waves. Place of power.
Pic of Mt. Tam yesterday driving into Mill Valley
Oh yeah, I got on my skateboard for the first time in 4 months yesterday. Old brown eyes is back.
In our driveway last week, on their way to Mexico
The Lads cavorting with their respective ladies. I just picked this up from Jay Carroll’s excellent blog, https://www.onetrippass.com/blog/
This led me to John’s Imagine:
