It got me thinking...

I have an extremely analytical portion to one of my brains. Just about any time I analyze a situation it makes me want to come up with a more convenient, or a more eco, or a more economical way to handle the situation. Housing is one of those brain candy topics for me. On the whole it allows me to think all I want without doing anybody any harm what so ever.

I think about McMansions a lot.... first off, how stupid!!!! You can find entire developments of people who think that they are better then everybody else. It's amazing!

There are people living in spaces less then a hundred square feet. This boggles my mind as well. I know this one won't catch on though because there just isn't room for a La-z-boy recliner. However it does engage my brain. I wonder if this micro house on a garden plot could be an answer for homeless populations. Cities are often stuck with derelict lots. Around here a city lot often measures 50-60 feet across and around a hundred feet deep. Imagine breaking the lot into ten foot wide strips with a common walk going down the side. The majority of the land would be garden space... enough garden space to raise enough food for a person for a year if you knew how to preserve. It makes me think that it could be an awesome social experiment.

I think about bathtubs, especially for small living. Actually I want to reinvent the bathtub. I don't have any money to do that with, but I can guarantee it would be so cool. I can see it now. I'll have to make the first one out of cardboard.

I also wonder when americans stopped being builders. Our grandparents were house builders. When did building your own house become a bad thing? Probably when Wall St. started making annual projections based on housing starts. Stupid Wall St.

I think about how small can a person live and be comfortable. I suppose comfort is relative. People are different.

I think about how the U.S. kind of got a handle on clear cutting but now great expanses of forests in Canada are being mowed to the ground for our insatiable McMansion appetite. I think about how those with more then a few bucks in their pocket are allowed to burn through resources while others are left wanting. I don't care if you can afford it, do you have the right to more? Because it isn't about you, it's about the earth, it's about others and it's about what is possible. But then sometimes, maybe I just think too much.

louie