San Antonio TEDx talks are now here! http://bit.ly/fjdDaw It was an honor to be chosen as one of the first group of people to give TEDx presentations in San Antonio in October of this year. Todd O’Neill and the entire TEDx San Antonio organizing crew did an absolutely amazing job organizing the event including the pre-event get-togethers, the rehearsal, the event itself, and the post-event party! And now, Todd and company has edited and uploaded the talks on YouTube. What an eclectic mix of presenters and presentations! These are some amazing people. Go to the link and learn some very interesting things and points of view from here in San Antonio. Let me know what you think. It was fun.

I’ve been a big fan of earthen construction for many years, and stacked a few dirt blocks in the past ten years or so, but it wasn’t until about eight weeks ago in early November when I actually got my feet muddy helping some others start building cob walls for a small accessory building in Austin. Gayle Borst and the gang of Design~Build~Live natural building fans had organized the event, and it continues one cob of clay, sand, and straw at a time. The mud was cold and it must be even more cold now for those still working away, but there’s something very basic about feeling mud between the toes and sculpting a building by hand. Who among us hasn’t played in the mud or sand as a child. I was five when my dad decided his worm farm project wasn’t quite working out as well as he thought it would and turned the farm into a fantastic sand box. Thank goodness the worms preferred the yard outside the farm more than the farm itself. If you hear of any workshop event in cob construction, compressed earth block, or adobe near you. I highly recommend you sign up and participate in it. It will make you feel young again. Keep in touch with me or with Design~Build~Live for events and workshops in 2011.