Inspiration

Inspiration
Move me brightly
Light the song with sense and color
Hold away despair
More than this I will not ask
Faced with mysteries dark and vast
Statements just seem vain at last
Some rise
Some fall
Some climb
To get to terrapin

Counting stars by candlelight
All are dim but one is bright
The spiral light of Venus
Rising first and shining best
Oh, from the northwest corner
Of a brand new crescent moon
Crickets and cicadas sing
A rare and different tune
Terrapin station
In the shadow of the moon
Terrapin station
And I know we'll be there soon


Walking across Irving yesterday, this song sang itself loudly in my head. It was beautiful. It had been a while. So I thought I'd share it with those of you who will hear it when reading these words.

Earthquake-proof house

A cursory Google search says it can't truly be done. But I think they must be speaking from a cost-of-mass-produced-housing perspective. If one had the money, couldn't a series of impermeable steel boxes be welded together strongly enough to withstand major earthquakes? At least that would be my inclination. Engineers seem to go for bendy or bouncy solutions like springs and foam. Maybe those are better. But I would sleep reallllly well in a welded steel box with everything tied and taped down inside.

I think.