Recently in neighbors Category
If you haven't seen Kaila's blog of photos of bugs and birds around our place, it's worth a look. Free sample:
Our local Damian Priour, already selected as 2008 Texas State 3-D Artist, has initiated the Texas Chair Project. He's sending out 100 little 8x8x8 inch chair sculptures to artists around Texas. (These are some seriously cool chairs). The artists send back their own chair creations. Austin Museum of Art will exhibit them.
A giant storm came through this morning. On the radio I heard of a tornado in Bee Cave! I got out with the DV cam between two downpours. There's tons of water crashing everywhere. Video below:
A few links to outdoor lighting. The main principle is simple, don't use lighting when it's not necessary, let the light go only where it is needed, generally down and certainly out or your neighbors eyes. It's a little harder to do in practice. For instance our workshop has a clerestory and there are no interior walls so turning on a single interior light illuminates all 75 feet of clerestory.
Idaho Wood
http://www.idahowood.com/darkskies.htm
Starry Nights
http://store.starrynightlights.com/index.html
On sale:
http://store.starrynightlights.com/gb-1000.html
ludicrously overlit
http://www.kwastronomy.com/Local_Bad_Lighting.htm
Overseas:
http://www.astro.cz/darksky/
Wind blew down an electric line at Shields Ranch today, starting a brushfire covering about 35 acres (according to the KXAN guy I spoke with at the scene and confirmed by Bob Ayres of the ranch.).
No injuries. But as it happened late in the afternoon, every news station in Austin had a "Live at 5" report from the scene. My guess is, the same event happening at 1 p.m. would have not have drawn the camera crews.
See the story and video. Be sure to check out the "Raw Video" there... it's from the KXAN tower in Westlake Hills I think, so that gives you an idea how massive the smoke was.
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It's impossible to believe the Gang of Eight, a.k.a. LTISD Board, will be able to overcome the profoundly negative reaction. In today's Austin American Statesman article, not one of the Gang was available for a quote. The sum total of statements from the district was:
A spokeswoman for the school district said it has not yet pursued a court order to gain access to the property and hopes to avoid it. The district is considering other sites but would not disclose them.
Do you sense a little backpedalling? The district darn well better be considering other sites -- and it better be planning to buy them on the open market. There are plenty of willing sellers.
It's odd the Lake Travis Republican, property-rights-friendly community would seek to condemn the Grumbles family property to build a school bus barn and sports complex. Maybe they're undergoing a cultural revolution. "Takings" are OK, after all, if the community needs to park their kids on your property.
Jueri suggested a nice alternative location the Gang of Eight should consider:
We know why they didn't consider that proposal. The Grumbles aren't developing their land, they're just living on it. Ag-exempt, I'm guessing. It's not producing tax revenue. And since it's not on the market, it doesn't have a provable value, as Falconhead would. (As if it's even conceivable the board would condemn a thriving golf club). So the Gang of Eight sees an opportunity to "purchase" this land at a steal of a price, and they won't have to fight a corporation, just a patsy individual family.
The ice storm of '07 hit 78620 last week. We don't get much of that around here. As long as the power doesn't go out, and it doesn't last too long, most of us kind of like staying home from work for a few days, building a fire, and taking walks in the crunchy quietness.
A few images from around our place:
For larger images, click on "Continue reading...".
Southwest Travis County Roadway Planning Reimer-Peacock Road Neighborhood Meeting On Road Design
Travis County has begun the planning process for Reimer-Peacock Road. The road is planned to connect SH-71 (near Bob Wire Road) and Hamilton Pool Road (west of County Road 12).
C. Faulkner Engineering has been hired to design the roadway and to solicit public input on the work. The engineers have prepared alternate roadway alignments and design criteria.
The neighborhood meeting will be held at the following time and location:
Date: January 18, 2007
Time: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location: Bee Cave City Hall
13333-A SH-71 West
Bee Cave, 78738
For more information contact Hank Smith at 495-9470 or Steve Manilla with the county's Transportation and Natural Resources Department at 854-9383.
You know, every time I hear the word "Stakeholder" my stomach goes into a little knot. Why is that? I sort of automatically relate it to RAND Corporations "Mohawk Valley Formula". Oh, it's not the same thing and this isn't the 1930's, science has evolved.
I witnessed it's use during the HP waterline meetings during which something like a thousand people spoke or other wise 'voted' against the waterline and mainly 3 developers... err ranchers, voted for it. Somehow this resulted in the building of the waterline and of course the development that normally follows.
I saw the 'ballot' stuffing suits appear at LCRA meetings to register to speak for the waterline but disappear shortly after causing the slovenly American Statesman "journalist" to conclude that, "wow look at all the folks that are for the water line".
I have to wonder just how this particular model of consensus building came about. Where is it written? And to be honest, I'm not particularly interested in watered down agenda driven 'consensus'.
Does anyone know anything about it?
