Uncategorized – Page 11

22 10, 2008

Why I’m doing my addition now

By Steve McKee|2008-10-22T22:17:18+00:00October 22nd, 2008|Random observations, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Why I’m doing my addition now

Well, it’s pretty obvious the party’s over. And by party I mean the fourteen year long wave of economic good times. (As Woody Allen might have said it: If only we had known we were supposed to be happy during those years.) And by economic good times I mean the robust professional life that those of us who make our living with houses got to enjoy by either selling, building or designing houses. So everybody now seems suddenly content to sit on their hands, forget their dreams. In this world of multiple networks and twenty-four hour news coverage this sort [...]

17 09, 2008

Mont St Michel – must see

By Steve McKee|2008-09-17T22:18:33+00:00September 17th, 2008|My favorite columns, Travel Tales, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Mont St Michel – must see

Going in, I had a vague notion that Mont Saint-Michel was unique. Still, I didn’t expect it to be as fabulous as it was, so rich and dense with architectural interest and layers of history. About an hour into our exploration I believe I spontaneously blathered to Melody something like “This is the coolest place on earth. Ever!” And my twelve year old son, when later asked if he liked it, said simply “What’s not to like?” So there you have it; all age groups give the place thumbs up. Mont Saint-Michel (pronounced “mohn sahn mee shell”) is a thousand [...]

20 08, 2008

Americans in Paris

By Steve McKee|2008-08-20T22:19:32+00:00August 20th, 2008|Travel Tales, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Americans in Paris

Forget the fourteen hour flights and the jetlag with the associated zombie naps. Forget the crummy value of the US dollar (improving lately, though.) Life is short and the siren song of Europe beckons. Melody and I invited our two kids (age 16 and 12) to come on our trip to France. I’m happy to report that we all got along pretty well in our funky French rental car. The trip was fun, it was expensive, at times it was downright beautiful. Plus I get a column out of it. When on foot, take interesting looking detours A favorite moment [...]

30 07, 2008

Front porch city

By Steve McKee|2008-07-30T22:21:05+00:00July 30th, 2008|Benicia, Thinking like an architect, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Front porch city

If you are like most people, you like a good front porch. A really good one may even stir you up in a good sort of way, even give you a “warm fuzzy” somewhere deep inside, right where you live. Anybody else remember Daryl Hannah’s room-like front porch from “Roxanne?” Whew, that’s good stuff. In Benicia we have our share of good ones. It’s mostly due to the fact that so many downtown houses were built in an era before watching TV made it more likely we would just stay inside. Despite this and other modern influences, Benicia is still [...]

30 05, 2008

On turning fifty, crescent moons, and Frank Lloyd Wright

By Steve McKee|2008-05-30T22:22:15+00:00May 30th, 2008|My favorite columns, Uncategorized|Comments Off on On turning fifty, crescent moons, and Frank Lloyd Wright

I have recently come to grow very fond of a mood that exists in my neighborhood after darkness comes and things grow still. The streets are empty of movement in all directions as far as I can see and the night is mine, at least in this corner of the world. With me is my canine companion Zoe, the mellowest eighty pounds of dog you’ll ever meet, pursuing her usual agenda of sniffing the edges of the sidewalk and selected bushes. The “sniffing place” is what we call our favorite bit of street-side over on West Tenth. With the tall [...]

22 04, 2008

Building green, getting real

By Steve McKee|2008-04-22T22:22:54+00:00April 22nd, 2008|Before you begin, Elements of Design, Thinking like an architect, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Building green, getting real

To build green is to create a structure that is designed and built and operated in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. This includes the use of energy efficiencies in every way, lowering water consumption and selecting building materials for durability and performance and also providing for healthy indoor air quality. Just about every article I’ve read about green building discusses this subject in big general statements like the above paragraph, and when I’m finished reading I usually feel no closer to being able to do anything real about it. It would be very easy for me to write my own [...]