I get a lot of email from folks who are inspired by what we do, and like to share their stories.  It probably goes a long way to allowing me to remain contrarian in the face of so much peer pressure to conform (mostly from self-described liberals) - I'm constantly getting quiet reinforcement from folks around the country and in a way, it's my life blood as we take risks, intellectual and business.


"I am an older artist lived in Eugene, Oregon since 1968, went to high school in New Paltz class of 65, dad taught art at SUNY...he build home there...I am a westerner...anytime you want to vacation here and build new west cabins, I'm ready [ha]....I hand built my own tiny one woman cabin on  Oregon coast many years with a handsaw and a hammer, left over materials from a job site...lived there a year and a half, lots of chopped wood, collected rain water [no electric or plumbed water to site] Thank you for your beautiful work! May your homes last a hundred years and more and be passed on to many happy owners. Gotta go look at property here now and find local builder..Then I'll order plans!"

Good for her - right?

Dwell Magazine's Patrick Sisson looks at French designer Jean Prouvé's metal prefab housing types from the late 1930's.


READ ARTICLE HERE

Joybird.com is a favorite site of mine currently.  It's probably one of those situations where everyone cool already knows about it, but just in case they don't...

(Catskill Farms invests in Solar  at the offices - more on that later).

All from The New York Times:

In the U.S., a Turning Point in the Flow of Oil

BY CLIFFORD KRAUSS
Thanks to new techniques, an oil bounty is likely to make the United States a major exporter of oil again. Not everyone is cheering.

Oil’s Comeback Gives U.S. Global Leverage

BY DAVID WALLIS

While increased production has strengthened the country?s hand internationally, not all of its energy diplomacy concerns oil and gas

Warren Buffett’s Big Bet on Renewables in Nevada

BY FELICITY BARRINGER

An expanded market for geothermal, solar and wind electricity in the West has attracted the attention of the likes of Warren E. Buffett.

In Texas, a Fight Over Fracking

BY CLIFFORD KRAUSS

The possible success of a referendum to ban the gas-extraction process called hydraulic fracturing in Denton, Tex., has alarmed oil and gas companies.

As Trains Move Oil Bonanza, Delays Mount for Other Goods and Passengers

BY RON NIXON

Rail lines now move more than a million barrels of oil a day, causing major delays for Amtrak trains and holding up the transport of vital consumer and industrial goods.

Home Heating Costs Likely to Be Cheaper This Winter

BY CLIFFORD KRAUSS

The Energy Department says a warmer season is expected, saving natural gas customers 5 percent on their heating bill and propane customers 34 percent.

Oil Prices Continue Decline, Pressured by Saudi Action to Defend Market Share

BY STANLEY REED

The main international benchmark fell less than 1 percent, and the American equivalent dropped below $90 a barrel during the day, before recovering.

                                                 what better place to read these over the weekend

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