Monthly Archives: April 2009

Architectural Geekery, Part I

Architecture is like beauty; its worth is commonly in the eye of the beholder.  What may be an architectural treasure to one person may be a derelict ruin to another.  Even two architects can disagree on whether or not a particular building or style is appealing.  My advisor in grad school, for example, once half-joked that we needed to demolish everything built in the 1970s before it turned 50 years old and we’d have to work to save it.  Can’t say I disagree with that sentiment… ok, maybe there’s one or two buildings worth saving from the Decade of Disco.  I kid, it’s more like a handful.

Anyway, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a powerful advocacy group dedicated to saving our nation’s built heritage, released their annual list of the top endangered places in the United States.  Looking at the list, all of these places are worthy of saving in my mind for one reason or another, and no doubt they probably will be.  The Trust is pretty powerful, and when they throw their weight behind a property at this magnitude, chances are it will be saved.  In the decade or so they’ve been producing this list, I think only four named properties have met a grisly end.  The rest were either saved or continue to exist at some level of limbo.

You’ll notice several recently historic buildings on this list.  We’re talking things built in the 1950s, mainly, although the 60s are on the edge of that magical 50-year mark (in the United States, federal law defines “historic-age” as 50 years or more).  Many people don’t appreciate 1950s architecture, but I’m not one of them.  I love it, I think it’s swell.  A recent survey report I authored argued that several 1950s Ranch houses were worthy of recognition.  The state reviewer at TxDOT looked at me like I was crazy.  “They’re classic examples!” I tried to argue, but he just shook his head and started rattling off a variety of reasons why they were not special.

Number one, of course, is that Ranch houses are everywhere.  He’s right, of couse, they are everywhere.  You can’t throw a rock in a mid-century neighborhood and not hit one.  Most are rather sub-par specimens of mid-century architecture, too.  Thinking about these particular Ranch houses, I realized he was correct.  They weren’t all that special, so I gave in.  They were not really in danger from the project anyway.

It did get me to thinking, though.  One decade’s crap is a future decade’s treasures.  Early twentieth century homes were destroyed by the hundreds in the 1930s through the 1960s, because they were old and busted, not the new hotness.   Such urban renewal was one reason the preservation laws we have today exist.  Now we look at that lone surviving 100 year old house on a street and try to imagine what the entire neighborhood must have looked like back then, when they were everywhere.  It’s good we have places like the Trust to help promote the worth of more recently historic buildings, but sometimes I wonder if it’s enough.  Will people 50 years from now do the same with a lone Ranch house from a 1950s-era neighborhood once filled with them?

I Love Honest Reporting

I hate when national reporters smooth a quote for print. SI.com and ESPN.com both used the sanitized AP version of San Antonio Spur’s coach Gregg Popovich’s quote about the beatdown they received from the Mavs last night. Not the Statesman, however. The Statesman went with full verbal honestyin printing this from Popovich:

“They kicked our ass every which way but loose,” Popovich said. “Their energy and aggressiveness was great.”

Not bum, rear, butts–or whatever other safety word would pop to mind. And frankly, asses is what Popovich meant, and it’s the word that most exactly fits the Spurs miserable showing. Kudos to the Statesman for sticking to the truth of the matter. That’s some honest reporting.

Taking Your Kids to Work Day

So, I work at home 80% of the time. This is useful because it allows me to work for six or so different places, which would be logistically impossible in any other format. That and I sometimes don’t have to shave until 3pm. And when I get fed up, I get to go to the garage to lift wieghts and not worry about being stinky when I return to my desk/cubicle/conference room. So, I like the fringe benefits.

I do worry about how the arrangement affects what my kids see. I’m a bit of a night owl, so sometimes I put in a ton of hours after they’re in bed. That can send mixed signals on how much Dad actually works. Given that I’m a strong lead by example of practice type, this does bother me now and then. 

It also makes for some interesting conversations about, “So what does your dad do?”

“Um, he spends lots of time on the computer and complains about driving 2 hours to San Marcos once or twice a week.”

So yesterday Texas State’s English Department had their annual award ceremony. This happened to overlap with Take Your Child to Work Day. Since Texas State is the only employeer I currently work for within the same state as our home (at leats until I also start working for the University of Texas in August), it was a nice opportunity to show the kids that I actually do a little bit more than “play” on the computer.

To fully embrace the opportunity, my wife and I took all three kids down to the English Dept awards, where I was receiving the 2008-09 Outstanding Grad Student award for the English Dept. Not really related to my job at all, but it was happening at the place where the kids associate with my working. On a personal level, it was also something I wanted the family to experience because it represented a big moment for the MA in Technical Communication program at Texas State. Not only was it our programs ten-year anniversary, but we swept the Department’s graduate student awards, and it was our program’s first time to receive the Outstanding Graduate Student award.

Anyway, the most rewarding aspect was that when I went up to accept the award my son started gravitating toward me from the assembled audience. I finally waved him on over to the podium and his younger sister immeditaely joined him at my signal. My wife and our near-teen daughter joined at the urging of the crowd, and everyone received a healthy round of applause.

All in all, it was a good day “at the office.”

Don’t fsck with geeks

Sadly, the person posting this is not me.  This is a quote from one of the guys I play TF2 with.  Also someone who is a fsckin’ awesome geek.

“I once knew a family who were abusive to their kids. Calls to the department of social services did nothing. They also ran a bulletin board system that provided pirated software.

Imagine his surprise when somehow someone got access to his board, created an administration account, and provided that account to the FBI and the SPA.

You can’t raise your kids from prison.”

HELL yeah.

Science vs. Religion: The Moon

I live in Texas, I know these people are out there, surrounding me, just waiting for the chance to bash my atheistic brains in… But come on!

The Waco Tribune covered a guest lecture gig that Bill Nye the Science Guy did in Waco in 2006. He talked about life on Mars, Global Climate Change (Global Warming is an inaccurate term and gives fodder to idiots complaining of snow in Spring) and Energy Consumption.

But when he referenced a Bible verse and explained how the Moon reflects light and isn’t a source of light to listeners (mostly children) at McLennan Community College, they booed him. What the hell? Who knew there was a group of Flat Earthers living in Waco? Why haven’t they been stamped out like the stupidity-pestilence they are? The Tribune recently reposted the article on their site, so it’s starting to make the internet rounds. Check out this choice bit:

The Emmy-winning scientist angered a few audience members when he criticized literal interpretation of the biblical verse Genesis 1:16, which reads: “God made two great lights – the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.”

He pointed out that the sun, the “greater light,” is but one of countless stars and that the “lesser light” is the moon, which really is not a light at all, rather a reflector of light.

A number of audience members left the room at that point, visibly angered by what some perceived as irreverence.

“We believe in a God!” exclaimed one woman as she left the room with three young children.

Nye is a geek’s geek. He made science fun for kids for years and let’s face it – he’s cooler than Mr. Wizard ever was.

I secretly enjoy Pride & Prejudice.

There. I’ve been outed.

I was never exposed to Austen as a child. My first real introduction to Pride & Prejudice was through a girl I had something of a crush on; her sister informed me it was her favorite movie, and I purchased the BBC mini-series DVD set for her as a present. This act is probably directly related to our now being married, so I suppose I owe something akin to gratitude to the work. My wife, like countless others I’ve since met, loves Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy. Bridget Jones’s Diary would not have made sense at all had I not known about this particular fascination that many people seem to have.

I suppose she enjoys Jennifer Ehle’s Elizabeth Bennett as well, but I must say that I’ve heard about her less. ^_-

At any rate, the work has grown on me. I’ve seen the BBC version many times (albeit never at my own behest), as well as the newer movie and the original 1940 version, which has its own charms. I even went so far as to read the book. ^_^ Recently, though, the magic of the public domain has caused another book to be written. Credited to Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, it proclaims itself: The Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! Pride and Prejudice and Zombies arrived at my door yesterday, so I’ll let everyone know how it holds up soon.

‘Ware the anger of video game widows

Dee made a post about a woman named Jillian R, a “Phoenix Early Childhood Parenting Examiner” (citizen reporter, in other words) who posted what amounted to a rant on video game players and how they ignore families.  My first impression was this is a woman who has dealt with being a “video game widow” in the past, and she has a very large axe to grind because of it.  A video game widow, as the name suggests, is someone who has become ignored by their Significant Other due to the latter always playing video games.  Internet widows are a related flavor.  While Jillian R tries to lend some legitimacy to her post by mentioning “research” that will appear in forthcoming articles, this first post is really nothing but an internet rant.

Her basic argument – that video games take away from family time – has been applied to practically every hobby of the past 50 years.  Golf, cars, crafts – you name it, someone has been a hobby widow of it at some point.  The argument is not without merit, as there are some people who do completely ignore other responsibilities in pursuit of their interests, but it’s not isolated to video games nor is it the inevitable outcome as she tries to argue.  Case in point: I know several families who make playing video games a part of their family life.  They all play together, have fun, and strengthen family bonds.  I also know several people who may not play with their families but are nonetheless in healthy, happy, long-term relationships.  I’m just one person; multiply that by the number of gamers out there, and you can’t claim that video games destroy families.

The rest of her arguments are just plain juvenile.  The money thing?  How much does a family outing to the movies cost these days for a family of four?  Let’s see… assume $9 tix for the parents and $6 for the kids, plus candy and sodas for everyone, you’re looking at $50-$60 for two hours of entertainment, about the price of the average new release video game.  The difference is the game will last you ten hours minimum, and likely more.  Plus, if it’s a game for the family, you can all talk while playing.

How about the “sex appeal” of male gamers?  I don’t know about her, but most people I know don’t pass judgment on the worthiness of a mate based on a single attribute.   The gamers I know run the whole spectrum of individuals – male and female, husky and thin, short and tall, passive and aggressive, liberal and conservative, pale and tanned.  They play sports, shop, pet their cats, feed their kids, and weed their gardens.   Does having a green thumb make you “unsexy”?  To put a personal note on it, my girlfriend does not like video games in general, but that has not impacted our 3.5 year relationship.  She also recognizes it for what it is – a hobby, and something that her own daughters enjoy.  It’s something we even do – gasp! – together, and she and I both enjoy watching her 10 and 7 year old play Guitar Hero; laughing, smiling, and having a good time.

The short of it is that people like Jillian R are the reason this blog exists.  Too many of them have some bizarre, biased view of geeks as pale, fat, mouthbreathing, socially inept soda suckers who spend all their time in their mom’s basement.  While I’m sure there are some who fit this stereotype, the great majority do not.  By painting video gamers with the broad brush of family haters, she does nothing but show the world her own insecurities and past pain with someone who did ignore her.

Crazy Texas Laws

Because I’m a politics geek, and because I live in Texas, and because Texas has some weird-ass laws, here’s a list of some of the crazier ones. There are many many more out there.

Now, you need to remember that these aren’t enforced for the most part… BUT THEY CAN BE.

  • In Austin, it’s illegal to carry wire cutters.
  • In Dallas, it’s illegal to possess realistic dildos.
  • The Encyclopedia Britannica is banned in Texas because it contains a formula for making beer at home.
  • It is illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing in public.
  • In Galveston, it’s illegal to drive a car down Broadway before noon on Sundays.
  • Also in Galveston, any person who sits on a sidewalk may be fined up to $500.
  • In Mesquite, it’s illegal for children to have unusual haircuts.
  • In Temple, cattle thieves may be hanged on the spot.
  • You must acknowledge a supreme being before being able to hold public office.
  • In Kingsville, there is a law against two pigs having sex on the city’s airport property.
  • It’s illegal to curse in front of, or indecently expose oneself to, a corpse.
  • To have a valid ceremonial marriage, all you need is reasonable authority and at least one person acting in good faith.