Tioga Pass, CA 9,945 ft. to the top From Tom’s Cascades Sierra Cycling Tour 2011 We have completed 2 full years of writing for the Biking Architect and have reached a Summit. As the primary writer, I have decided I need to put my energies in 2012 into launching my Wise Ears, Professional Listening Services [...]
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Thu, January 12 2012 » Discoveries » No Comments
I did not do the Seattle Marathon (in the pouring rain storm) this year, nor have I done it in the past. But I did do the Turkey Trot in San Jose with 21,000 other folks. 2 of my daughters joined me and we took our canned goods for the Second Harvest Food Bank. I [...]
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Fri, December 9 2011 » Discoveries, Inspiration » No Comments
Necessity is the mother of invention, but without education, integration and understanding people (of the general species) we are not able to comprehend or develop solutions. I had a conversation with an architect this morning who was designing a house for a family in a planned community. He was scratching his head because they wanted [...]
Tags: awareness, creating, education, greed, greening, ingenuity, planners, problem solving, visualization
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Thu, October 20 2011 » Discoveries » No Comments
House plans are some of the most important parts of living. Not only from the idea of building a new house or structure, but also to incorporate changes and meet new needs in your existing structure. As we approach the holiday season, lots of my clients are contacting me for a new set of drawings, [...]
Tags: architect, builders, carbon neutral, decision making, do it yourself projects, energy conservation, future, house plans, lifestyle, model, remodeling
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Thu, October 13 2011 » Discoveries » 1 Comment
By Patricia This is what I have been thinking about while the Biking Architect is off cycling. I have been thinking that the architectural providers need to look closer at water and the earthly relationship to water. I know that there is a worldwide shortage of clean drinking water. I know that we use clean [...]
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Thu, August 18 2011 » Discoveries » 1 Comment
After making 5 trips to the City Planning Department to get all the right paperwork and permits submitted for review and becoming concerned that each person on task wants something different, one can get discouraged and frustrated – even architects. Lots of DIY homeowners try to skip this process altogether – It is better if [...]
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Thu, August 4 2011 » Discoveries » No Comments
I have heard it said that 3 times something comes up in one’s life there should be some response or action taken. Composting Toilets have been part of my life 3 times in the past week. So I thought at the very minimum I would write about this threesome here. My first encounter was at [...]
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Thu, July 28 2011 » Discoveries, Products » No Comments
Our 5 week Mountain Passes trip from Canada to Mexico is just 3 weeks away ( August 15-September 25,2011). My front panniers, which my children gave me for my birthday and Father’s day have arrived, along with another back pannier for my tent and sleeping gear and that made me happy. It will be nice [...]
Tags: armadillo tires, bike tour, cycling, excitement, gear, Mountain Passes, panniers, video rides
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Thu, July 21 2011 » Discoveries » No Comments
Just some other thoughts about our solar panels: March 2011 was a very, very rainy month as has been since the start of 2011, but the stats for my solar panels was so telling – with no snow cover during the month at all we still saved 322 pounds of carbon offset which is similar [...]
Tags: architecture, design, energy consumption, flooding, hot water, rain, snow pack, solar, weather
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Thu, June 30 2011 » Discoveries » No Comments
Bill Sloane took us on a sail boat ride out to Boston Harbor this past week so that I could show our part of Puget Sound – AKA The Salish Sea – to our Danish friends. Although cloudy with almost no wind, it was one of the most relaxing days we have experienced out on [...]
Tags: dolphins, environment, inspiration, oceans, Puget Sound, sailing, Salish Sea, solstice, wisdom
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Thu, June 23 2011 » Discoveries » 2 Comments