Back in the Blog Saddle

I apologize to all for not posting more often. I'll summarize what's been going on the past few months:

1. Major elections - I wasn't involved in any campaigning, but I was addicted to CNN. At one point I was even watching Larry King Live reruns at 2 in the morning. I'm in treatment now, I probably will even be able to skip a few episodes of The Colbert Report this month...
   
2. Financial Crisis - our renovation funding was in an account that was frozen due to a run on the bank, it was a scary situation and shifted the focus of our efforts for a few weeks
   
3. Structural PE II Exam - this 4 question, 8 hour exam required a lot of studying
   
4. Depression - life has its ups and downs, just like any good thrill ride
   
5. My Job - I was able to convince my office that green design and engineering is important; then I had to back it up with actions (currently studying for my LEED AP exam, blech)
6. Drawing Board - Back to it... The design committee (me and wife) decided that we should re-prioritize our design for the icehouse; now it's much better
   

Basically, I had a few internal struggles and then the largest sea change in financial markets this century decided to upend my little renovation project. Then the out-of-left-field mind-fuck that was the Republican VP candidate arrived. I'm sorry (I promised myself I would never discuss politics on this blog) but as an engineer who believes strongly in human intellectual capacity (i.e. logic) and the scientific method (i.e. logic and experience) it was much more scary to hear her speak than to watch the stock market falling. Okay, I'm done with politics now. Back to structural engineering.

I'm an optimistic person, for sure. Thankfully, I live in a country where I have the ability to control my own life. This gives me hope that we can solve all our problems, engineering and otherwise. The uncertainty we currently face is actually an opportunity. It is an opportunity to remember what faith is, to trust each other, and to follow through on the promises that bind us together as families, communities, and amorphous political constructs.

Our best course of action is now to reverse the course that the construction industry has been tracking for almost 100 years. We must remember that our structures are a part of this world - but only for a limited time, even the pyramids must fall. We must remove our ego from the design process and commit ourselves to building a sustainable built environment that will serve the needs of our clients and the public. We're the ones who create the urban landscape, let's make sure it's one we'll enjoy.