Saturday, October 27, 2007

Hooked on phonics won't work for me.

This week I found out that I am dyslexic. I have always thought that I might be but was never tested. Sense I have been taking the Architects registration exam recently I thought it might be a good idea to get tested.

I figured out fairly early in school that if I payed attention in class and took good notes I wouldn't have to study outside of class. I coasted through school with a B average, rarely opening a text book. Apparently there are a lot of people like me. I was not the smartest kid in school, and I wasn't the dumbest either, so I didn't get much attention from teachers, thus my dyslexia went unnoticed.

Unfortunately for me there really isn't much that you can do for dyslexia as an adult. Your brain is already hard wired. If I was a kid there are lots of different programs, remember hooked on phonics. The best I can do is learn a little more about dyslexia and how it effects my ability to process information.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Quote of the day

While having lunch with some coworkers on Friday, we were discussing a difficult job and it was stated that...

"You can't put a band aid on shit."

How true. How true.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Am I a Liberal or Fundamentalist



As I think about myself and my beliefs I find it harder to categorize myself.



I have been thinking more and more about social justice. About how unjust this world can be. About how my actions effect the environment. About how I can help change the things I see in this world. Does this make me a Liberal?

On the other hand as I read the bible, I find myself taking it more and more literally, to actually do the things that I am reading about. Did Jesus really say that we should not worry about how what we will ware and how to feed ourselves? Did he really mean it when he said that with faith we will do even greater things than what he did? Does this make me a Fundamentalist?

Maybe following Jesus transcends our labels of Liberal and Fundamentalist.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Freedom?

I just finished watching Michael Moore's movie Sicko. Wow what a movie.

Between health care and education costs people can't thrive in this country. Many other countries have removed these two burdens from there citizens. Why can't we?

We pour money into our military unchecked and unquestioned, and with nothing to show for it. If we could take a fraction of that money and use it for free health care and education our country would be better off, and all would benefit.

We give up so much for the illusion of freedom.

Sorry for the poorly worded post, I just can't get my head on straight right now.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Cabin Schematic Design

I mentioned a while back that I'm planning on building a cabin in PA next summer.
I have been going back and forth on what I want for some time now, not being able to decide what I really want. Thinking of grand designs and then telling myself that I can't afford that or build it. Then getting mad at myself for settling for to little.

Well for some reason today I finally got a bit of inspiration. I was walking around downtown and checked into the book store to browse a little. My muse was the architecture book section. Here's where I currently stand:

-Passive solar design
-River rock wall foundations, one wall extending up to become a thermal wall
-Exposed tree columns
-One Room Cabin, This is what I have the most trouble with part of me wants something big and part of me wants something small.

Here are some pictures to give you a sense of what I am thinking.












Monday, October 1, 2007

A new way to give

I found an interesting website. DonersChoose.org allows people to give to specific teachers for specific needs. You can locate a school near by and give all or part of the money they need. Check it out. Link