simple | sustainable | lifestyle
Well, after five years and a couple of months, we have sold our Wintercreek home and have embarked on our new adventure in downtown Eugene. It’s late right now and I’m tired. But I wanted to get this started and hopefully I’ll be consistent with the updates. Time will tell.
As I recently said on my Facebook page:
“It’s a magical world, Hobbes, old buddy… let’s go exploring!” Calvin
Good night.
Well, my site got hacked and I had to update my theme (Thanks, Greg, for all your work!).
This “new” look is only temporary. I’m looking for a new theme and it will come shortly.
Meanwhile, everything else should still be here. Enjoy!
This view shows the front entrance area with the powder room door and stairway to the upstairs. We carried the galvanized theme inside with the stair handrails and window blinds. White color throughout allows us to use zero VOC paint. Energy-efficient windows and insulation as well as air sealing keep utility bills low.
Nine-foot ceilings add to the spacious feel downstairs. The upper level has eight foot ceilings and two bedrooms. With a total of about 950 square feet, these townhouse apartments have great livability.
We were also recently featured at JetsonGreen’s blog.
For rental information, contact:
Principle Property Management, 4710 Village Plaza Loop, Suite 220, Eugene, Oregon 97401. 541-345-6789.
Or contact Dan Hill at 541-913-0016 or Bill Randall at 541-517-2223. (click on photo for larger image)
Come with me as I take you on a tour of our Greenway Townhouses. Located at 785 River Road in Eugene, Oregon, we built an 11-apartment project on a previously-developed site. As you can see in this photo, each apartment has its own private south-facing courtyard. Durable materials such as galvanized siding and concrete patios add to the low-maintenance exteriors.
Landscaping, once established, will not need irrigation. And all our rainwater from the roofs, the sidewalks and parking lot stays on site in our large rain garden. No storm water goes into the City storm system.
We achieved Earth Advantage Platinum rating and are targeting LEED Gold.
For rental information, contact:
Principle Property Management, 4710 Village Plaza Loop, Suite 220, Eugene, Oregon 97401. 541-345-6789.
Or contact Dan Hill at 541-913-0016 or Bill Randall at 541-517-2223.
Osama bin Laden is alive and living in Palm Springs. It’s true.
It’s been over two months since I posted here. We’ve been very busy at work, for which I am grateful. But as I sit here on this Memorial Day weekend Saturday morning, a few recent Facebook posts have prompted this addition to my blog. This one may be a bit short; we have some errands to do and yard work to get after, weather permitting.
But a recent comment from a friend on a comic I posted on Facebook started me thinking. The comic was about some blatant misrepresentations in politics from “anonymous billionaires who think you’ll believe anything political action committee.” A guy is sitting on the sofa popcorn in lap and beer in hand, watching TV. He gets sucked in to believing that bin Laden is alive and living in Palm Springs.
One of my friends believes there should be a questionnaire or test you need to pass in order to vote; another friend reminded us of Jim Crow laws.
I don’t favor a litmus test in order to vote. However, I really really wish people would educate themselves on the facts related to a candidate or a measure or a proposed law. One of the most valuable things we have here in the US is the freedom to vote and shape our society and our culture.
But if we mindlessly believe what is spoon-fed to us through the media, it will be the loud, the rich and the powerful who continue to really be the ones to shape the direction of this country.
Obama smoked pot in high school is the latest thing put out there. This is not new news. He talked about that before the LAST election and was straight up with it (“I inhaled; that was the point.”). And Mitt Romney’s “dog on the roof” story: have any of you checked out the actual circumstances around it?
A very conservative friend of mine recently called The Conservative Hammer to task for a quote falsely attributed to Abraham Lincoln. I, too, jumped in and the guy behind the CH said he’d correct the quote. Hasn’t happened yet. I have friends who email these “we need to pass this on to 10 of your friends to keep the thread going” comments. I’ve learned that 99.9% of the time, those aren’t true.
So before you blindly believe the latest drivel put out on either side of the aisle, take it upon yourself to educate yourself on what’s really true. Some good websites are Snopes and FactCheck. I’ve found when someone makes a potentially incendiary claim, it usually only takes about 5 or 10 minutes to verify it. So check it out first.
And even when that’s all said and done, you and I may disagree, but at least it will be a valid difference of opinion, not a couple of stupid people who didn’t take the time to check out a story.
I’ve never really been a Woody Allen fan. But I saw the first Woody Allen movie that I liked the other evening. Midnight in Paris was a splendid movie. Entertaining, creative, fresh. Overall, very well done. The main character Gil (played by Owen Wilson), travels through time and meets various famous artists and writers. So what does that have to do with wagging more and barking less?
Gil is dissatisfied with his life. He feels if he could just live in another time, the past, his life would be better. Nostalgia trumps the reality of the here and now. Gil learns that what we do with our present is what matters. And here’s where wagging and barking come into play. Culturally, it seems like we are longing for “the good old days” (whatever and whenever THOSE were) and that today is tragic. The economy is in shambles, unemployment is high, Congress is inept, gas prices are high, etc.
What we fail to see is what’s good in our culture and our lives. As Americans, we are pretty close to being “the 1%” if we look at our lives in a global context. Most of us have a roof over our heads, food on our tables and usually a car in the garage (sometimes two or three). I know some who don’t, but by and large, we as Americans are pretty darned blessed. Even the poorer members of our society are not too bad off compared to many people in the world today.
Yet we focus on what isn’t going right. Or at least what we think isn’t going right. But guess what? The economy really isn’t in shambles, unemployment is improving, Congress will probably always be inept in one form or another and gas prices have been going up and up since I got my first car in 1973 and regular was 29¢ a gallon. When gas hit a staggering 50¢ a gallon (gasp), I bought a more fuel-efficient car. And life goes on. I still have a car. Which puts me in the top 10% of people in the world, since over 90% of the people in the world don’t own a car.
So instead of focusing solely on what’s wrong with our world, maybe we should focus on what’s right with our world and our culture. Because there really is a lot to be grateful for and appreciate. Stop barking and start wagging. It’s good for our health, it’s even suggested in scripture and it makes all of us much more pleasant people.
I’ll occasionally get into a discussion about how much more it costs for compact fluorescent lamps. Or solar. Or electric cars. Or extra insulation in our homes. Or Fair Trade chocolate and coffee (life-essentials). And while it often can become an interesting discussion, it can also become frustrating. Frustrating because we don’t seem to be able to look beyond the immediate at the long-term benefits (or even the long-term costs) of some of these things.
Take, for example, the shoes pictured in this post. These are my shoes. I paid $180 for them. And that made me stop, think, agonize even. To the point I almost didn’t buy them. But they had some features that tipped me beyond the immediate. First, they are made in the USA. And partly because of that, they cost more (overseas slave labor is even cheaper than minimum wage). But they only cost more initially. You see, I bought them in 2005. And for the last six plus years, they have pretty much been my only pair of dress shoes. Which means I wear them every day to work and Sundays to church and to “dress up” events. I also walk a lot. And they’re VERY comfortable.
One of the other benefits to these shoes is the warranty. The heels recently wore down enough (after six years of daily walking) that I took them in for new heels. But because of the warranty, I got all new soles. For $20. Total. The uppers are still in excellent shape (high quality leather, no doubt). So I have shoes that are probably going to last at least another six years. For a total cost of about $200 (plus shoe laces). That will be less than $17 per year for shoes. I could have bought $50 shoes that last a couple of years (been there before) and realistically ended up paying 50% more for my shoes. Do you see where this is going?
Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) generally last between 6 and 15 times as long as an incandescent lamp. They usually cost $3 to $6 each compared to $1 or so for an incandescent. They also put out the same amount of light as a 60 watt lamp with about 11 watts. So over the life of the lamp, while they initially cost a bit less or at worst about the same, because they last longer it’s at least a push. But factor in the savings in electricity and you have some real dollar savings as well as the need for fewer electric generating plants (regardless of whether or not they’re hydro, coal or nuclear). Do you see where this is going?
Extra insulation in our homes and air sealing (a fancy term for caulking the cracks) can reduce our heating and energy bills in our homes by a huge percentage. In fact, only 15% of the cost of a home is the initial cost to build or buy it. Fully 85% of the cost of that home is in the operations and maintenance of that home. Perspective. All-electric cars, depending on the electric costs in your locality, get the equivalent of over 100 mpg (or the equivalent of gas for 75¢ a gallon. Use whichever comparison works for you). So the initial cost is higher, but the operating costs for fuel and maintenance (which is almost nil) far offset that initial investment. Do you see where this is going?
But many people I know have the perspective only of the immediate. And when government tries to help us get past that limited perspective (through regulations on gas mileage for cars, energy codes for homes, light bulb efficiency standards, etc), we lament that our government is becoming socialist and we have Presidential candidates saying that “Let me tell you, President Bachmann will allow you to buy any light bulb you want in the United States of America.” I would only hope Ms. Bachmann could at some point see beyond the immediate if she’s actually tapped to lead our country.
While I love our country and appreciate the Constitutional freedoms we have, I don’t think we should have zero regulation (aka Anarchy, or a few steps beyond Libertarian or Tea Party views). I see the value in things like the speed limits on our roads. And laws against drunk driving. I also see the value in government regulations when we as individuals can’t or won’t choose to see beyond the immediate. When we get absorbed in our selfishness and only look out for ourselves and not our society and culture as a whole, we miss the point.
We have to look beyond the immediate and beyond our own individual self-interests to our entire society. And we have to elect people to represent those values and not the knee-jerk ideas that left to our own, unfettered, unregulated devices, we will always make the right choice. We won’t. If we always took a vote on every decision that needed to be made, most of us would either not vote at all or we’d vote emotion and not intellect. Call me un-American if you want, but I believe we would be far better off electing people to make decisions that benefit all of us, rather than just a few, even if that decision ends up costing me money or time or inconvenience.
When Jesus said “love your neighbor” I think it is safe to say that such actions will sometimes be uncomfortable or inconvenient and will always cost me something.
I’ve been watching the political fray lately and, especially the Republican race for the Presidential nomination. To start out this post, let me say I voted for Obama in 2008. In fact, I left the Republican Party so I could vote for him in my state’s primary and already have decided to vote for him in 2012. So now that I have that out on the table, hopefully those of you who might vehemently disagree with this stance will at least hear me out.
I follow Jesus. I’ve followed his teachings for the majority of my life and am continually trying to learn more about how to live the way Jesus lived and what that means to me, here and now, in a practical, real way. What has prompted this open letter to my evangelical friends is a headline in today’s news that reads “Undecided Iowa Evangelicals Pray For an Answer.” A church pastor said “I’m just really confused, I just don’t know at this point who is the best one to support.”
I suggest considering our incumbent President, Barack Obama.
Obama’s book, “The Audacity of Hope” is a good introduction to the man who is our 44th President. It chronicles his history, family life, struggles and his decision to follow Jesus. That part is clear. That part is what intrigued me back in early 2008. What has also intrigued me (although in a negative way) has been the continual, unrelenting opposition to the man the majority of us chose to lead our country amid a time of unparalleled economic woes. And, I might remind us, woes decades in the making that Obama inherited.
But even more intriguing than all that has been Obama’s steady, consistent holding to his Christian beliefs. Amid all the rumors and lies about doing away with the Day of Prayer or the White House Christmas Tree or even, as one Republican candidate for President recently said in a campaign ad, “his war on religion,” Obama has held steady. His faith in Jesus is still present. He doesn’t wear it on his sleeve, but it’s there.
But what also really bothers me is the thought that in order to truly be a follower of Jesus, you have to subscribe to a set of conservative beliefs of not raising taxes under any circumstances or that abortion and gay marriage are the litmus test of fitness to lead our country. And that is where I completely disagree with my conservative Evangelical Republican friends.
First is the conservative idea that seems to equate small government and low taxes with spiritual correctness. You know, I’m really sorry, but I don’t make that connect. Anywhere. I understand the concept of small government and low taxes. And it’s fine to hold that as a view. I happen to believe differently about that. But in that belief, I have had people question my faith as being somehow messed up because I hold a different view of our government’s role. One person even told me there would be no Democrats in Heaven.
Really?
I have another friend who once said that conservative Republicans have hijacked Christianity. And I’m starting to believe that.
Evangelicalism in it’s original form, dating back to the 1700s has, as its key elements, a personal decision to follow Jesus, a high regard for the authority of the Bible, an emphasis on the death and resurrection of Jesus and an active expression of sharing this gospel, or “good news.”
Noticeably missing from those four key points is any mention of politics (conservative or liberal), abortion or homosexuality. In fact, Jesus made no recorded comments about abortion or homosexuality. Now think for a minute about that and put it in context. Jesus lived in the Roman-occupied area in and around Jerusalem. Roman culture regularly and openly practiced both abortion and homosexuality. So I have to ask if those two beliefs were a litmus test for anything, why didn’t he say anything about them?
Instead, Jesus talked about loving God and loving your neighbor (and your enemy). He talked about caring for the poor and the disadvantaged and the widows and the orphans. The marginalized people in society. And when I get to this point, I get the response that “it isn’t the government’s place to do that, it’s ours.” Maybe. But we aren’t doing it. At least not well enough. Even with all the private philanthropy, faith-based aid and government assistance, there are still people in our country who won’t be able to eat today.
One in nine verses in the New Testament (2,100 verses in the entire Bible) relate to our care for the poor and disadvantaged. If the scriptures are inspired by God, and he gives that much air time to one topic, wouldn’t we want to elect a President who held to those beliefs also?
I do.
I promised to outline some of my opinions in this second part of OWS. So, here they are.
I ended my last post talking about how we spend so much time dismissing others’ opinions, that we don’t listen. Our culture has lost the art of listening. We post diatribes on our Facebook page or letters to the editor or bumper stickers and billboards without really spending time on what that other person was trying to say or listening to responses. We get focused on our own single-minded track that we don’t really have a conversation.
Webster defines conversation as the “oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas.” There are a couple of points I want to make here. First, it’s oral. True conversation doesn’t happen by competing online posts or signs or billboards. It is oral. Oral communication is best achieved face-to-face. In person. Where you can see the facial expressions, the tone of voice, all the nuances of real, true, two-way conversation.
The other point about conversation is it involves opinions and ideas. None of us has the solution nailed. Doesn’t matter what the topic, what the opinion, there’s always another perspective. That’s not to say there aren’t some absolutes in life. Facts. Things like Abraham Lincoln did actually exist and was actually President of the United States. What it means is when it comes to the issues brought up by Occupy (or anyone else, for that matter), there are some valid points. Social equity, fairness, justice, etc. But what I find is many people dismiss the topics without listening. And I wonder if they aren’t listening because the messenger doesn’t look and dress like they do or because the topic maybe hits just a little too close to home. The root word of conversation is from the Latin conversari, which means “to associate with” and is frequentive (repeated or intense action) of convertere “to turn around.”
True conversation involves an exchange of opinions (exchange is multi-directional) in a context of associating with another with the ability to turn around. In other words, as we have a conversation, I might need to change my opinion. I might actually learn something from you. And you from me.
I serve on the Eugene Planning Commission. And I have to say what I appreciate most about the Commissioners is they listen. Our meetings are truly a conversation. And with that interchange of ideas, thoughts, opinions, I believe we have made some very thoughtful decisions. And I think those decisions will ultimately achieve a long-term benefit to our community. I personally met with two City Planning staff yesterday about a topic currently before the Commission with an idea, a thought, that I had that was a bit different from what they presented. And in that conversation, they heard my reasons, I heard theirs and we ended up with an idea, a hybrid, that I believe will address all the concerns that are on the table. But only because we had a conversation and we listened.
The other major point I wanted to make was how so often by NOT engaging in true conversation, we miss the point altogether.
If you regularly follow my posts, you know I follow Jesus. His life, his teachings. And what I found throughout the writings about him is that even people in the first century missed the point and didn’t engage in true conversation. People would ask him his opinion (“Teacher, what about this…?”) and more often than not, Jesus would respond by asking them “What do you think? How do you see it?” Conversation. And even when they would ask questions like “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”, Jesus’ response basically was “Neither. You’re missing the point.”
Back to Occupy. The newspaper this morning reported on the total monetary costs Occupy Eugene has cost the City. And I guarantee the banter now will be about how much money we’re spending on “these homeless hippies destroying the lawn.” And when we do, we will have missed the point.
Eugene’s Mayor, Kitty Piercy, recently communicated “OE supporters see the Washington Jefferson camp as way to not just talk about the inequities in this country but to actually do something about them. They should tell you what they are trying to do and how its going in their own words.” Hmmm. Sounds like our Mayor is encouraging us to listen. To engage in actual conversation.
So who sinned? Occupy Eugene for destroying the lawn? Or the City for not booting them out?
Neither. We’ve missed the point.
