Labyrinthine Love

Labyrinths are cool! I walked my first one back in 2007 when I first went to Tejas Witch Camp in Central Texas. Since then I've found others and have even learned to lay out my own. There are several churches around Austin that have their own labyrinths and there is one laid out in bricks in the park near Palmer Auditorium near Downtown Austin. Each one is interesting.
Differing from mazes, a labyrinth has one path, you can't get lost. Most commonly, you start at a beginning, and wind up in the center after making several circuits around and back and forth in the pattern.
Two of the most often followed patterns are the "classical" and the "medieval, or Chartres Cathedral" styles.

Classical Labyrinth

Medieval Pattern

Either can be found in various places. The Classical is one of the most easy to lay out, and contains seven circuits. There are many, many, more patterns out there to explore. A friend of mine in East Austin has one in her yard that is in the shape of a hand, winding in and out of her garden and fruit orchard, outlined by colored wine bottles which she obtained from recyclers.
Labyrinths have many purposes, including fun and meditation. Kids and adults love to walk the pathways, winding back and forth, meeting and passing others again and again. It's a metaphor for life. It's been said, also, that the pathways of the labyrinth follow the paths of the mind. To walk the pattern in a meditative frame of mind, is to relax the mind, to explore the inner workings, to release tension and find meaning.
Many walkers find a peaceful, powerful connection at the center. From the first time I walked that first labyrinth, I sensed power at the turnings as well. In life, as in art, there is power inherent anywhere a change of direction is encountered. At the center is a stillpoint. All turnings have been made, all paths have been walked. Spirit and the sacred are within reach.
Labyrinth design is related to geomancy. The best labyrinths are laid out in relation to points of power located in the earth. In fact, labyrinth patterns can be found in many cultures around the world, dating back to antiquity before any of these cultures had contact with each other. Many of these are located on Ley lines, or points of psychic and/or earth energy.
The subject of Labyrinths is a very large one. They go back to antiquity, and have been adopted by many religions through the centuries.
Find one, walk it. Read more about them. Build one for yourself, or have someone like myself lay one out for you. Enjoy!

Seeing Cycles

If you want to court paranoia, ride a motorcycle on the highway. If you want to guarantee it, ride a bicycle on city streets.
Now, in my experience of riding motorcycles since the 1980's, motorcycles seem to have become a lot more an accepted part of traffic. There are many reasons for this, I think.  The State of Texas mandates safe riding training for all new motorcyclist licenses. Also, more and more auto drivers I talk to have ridden in the past or know someone who does, therefore general awareness is simply up as well. That doesn't mean you won't get run over, but I feel like things are looking up.
Now for the bicycle part. I am hugely in favor of bicycle riding. Other than walking, there is no other form of transportation that I know of that is as energy efficient, healthy, or ecologically friendly as bicycling. I fully applaud those who embrace cycling as their transportation of choice. I feel very good when I see the pedi-cabs plying downtown Austin. (I admit, I'm a bit in awe of the operators who haul around three people at once!) It always reminds me of a documentary I saw on China, showing a pedi cab taking several people from a small village in China on a pretty long trip into the city. There were at least three people on back, the road out of the village was very muddy, and uphill! The man peddling must have had thighs of steel!

Schwinn Typhoon

I still own a bicycle, I've been riding since I was about 7, and I still do sometimes. My first bike was a much too large, and hugely hard to pedal Schwinn. (Fondly known as the Iron Monster! I had to prop it against a tree, climb on, and start downhill with it to keep going. I pretty much had to fall off to stop!) It wasn't the bike, and I've certainly got nothing against Schwinn. My all time favorite was a red 26 inch Schwinn Typhoon cruiser I got when I was 10. I put a lot of miles on that bike. The styling and engineering were perfect for me at the time, considering it was a single speed. I've actually owned two of those over the years. I don't think there is a better cruiser style bicycle made.

In the 1970's I got a used Raleigh 10-speed. I got all my exercise on that, often riding miles after work, even riding in a couple of 20 mile benefit rides. At that time I lived in Austin and then Round Rock, Texas, riding suburban streets. Good place for a light ten-speed like that. When I moved back out to a farm in Liberty Hill, it didn't work so well on gravel roads.

Raleigh Gran Prix: Mine was White!

I still don't live on city streets, and I'm not sure if I'd have the courage it takes to ride there, even with the wonderful new dedicated bike lanes. I live out in the country near McDade, Tx now, my bike is an old, but solid, Murray 18 speed mountain bike. The last few years I've been a bit distracted by other things, including my  Honda Shadow. But, the weather is cooling a bit, and I'll get the old Murray tuned and going again soon.
I'm constantly seeing reports of car/bicycle accidents in the city. I've even had good friends injured in those accidents. (Are you out there, Pam?) I'm sure many of those were cyclists who followed the rules. I wonder about the rest.
Bicyclists (and Motorcyclists) are required by law to follow basically the same rules as motorists. Sure, it makes things flow better when the bicyclists have their own lane, owing to the speed differences, but the rules are still the same for all who share the roadway.
It worries me, though.
These days, every time I venture downtown in Austin, I witness multiple episodes of bicyclists running red lights, turning onto busy streets without stopping, weaving in and out of traffic, and on and on. I don't want to hit any of these riders. Also, I'm very much afraid of what happens when they become another statistic. It seems likely that when they do ultimately get run over by someone, it will be seen by many as just another case of innocent cyclist getting injured by big bad motorists. 
Come on, guys! Most of us motorists are doing our part, following the rules, and watching out for you. How about you doing your part as well and not expecting us to also make allowances for your suicidal behavior! Deal?

I Shutter To Think!

   "Get the Swinger, Polaroid Swinger, Get the Swinger, Polaroid Swinger. It's more than a camera it's almost alive, it's only nineteen dollars and ninety-five. Swing it up, it says yes, take the shot, count it off, zip it off!"

Polaroid Swinger

 Anybody remember that song? Probably the catchiest camera tune ever, witness the fact that I still remember it from the late 1960's.
   I've always enjoyed photography. I haven't often had the money to do it as well as I've wanted to. My first camera was some kind of plastic off -brand 127 film camera in about 1957 or so. (I would have been 7, if you're keeping track.) We couldn't really afford to buy film much, so I was told to only shoot "special" stuff. My grandfather, W.K. Seward, had previously had a hobby of photography, even had his own darkroom set up in an old smokehouse on the property. The equipment had aged a lot by then, but I actually got to use some of it eventually. Somewhere I still have his Kodak, complete with flash.
   That Swinger I mentioned (and pictured) above? I got one just before graduation in 1968. It was black and white. I still have some of those shots I took on my senior trip to New Orleans. You had to coat each print with the fixer chemical with a swiper brush from a black tube. Wherever the coating missed, it faded away. By now, even some of the places I didn't miss have faded. Oh well.

Kodak Brownie 2A

   In my collection I also have an old Brownie 2A box camera.  It was really not much more than a slightly advanced pinhole camera. The Brownies were produced by Kodak in 1900  to afford an affordable outlet for everybody to get hooked on photography and buy film! It was a move of genius and one of the things that "made" Kodak. My model 2A was made about 1910 or so. It used 116 film. I actually shot a couple of rolls with it when I got it, I found some film somewhere. That film is no longer available now, although it is possible to use other sizes with it.  It had no clear lens, only a metal slide with holes in it, the "pinholes". Kind of cool, really. No flash, daylight only.

Realist Stereo 3D

   While I'm on the collection, I also have a Realist 3D camera. It's a 35mm camera with two lenses that produces a double slide to use with a viewer, sort of like the old View Master or even older Stereopticon viewers.  I played around with it a while. It's still usable, in fact, when you can find slide film available. I think there are still places to get the mounts.

 

Argus C3

   I used a number of snapshot cameras over the years. Finally, sometime in the 1970's, I traded for an Argus C3, 35 mm camera from my father. He had a pawn shop at the time, and that gave me access to pursue my photography hobby for awhile. The Argus is an American made rangefinder camera. It performed very well for me for many years. Nothing automatic about it at all. You adjust every setting by hand and learn a lot about what it takes to take a good photo.
   Finally, after several years, I got a bit more serious and traded for a nice 35 mm SLR back at the pawn shop. There was an Exakta in the display case, and I went for it. Still not an automatic camera, but it was an SLR, meaning what you see is actually through the lens so you actually see what you are picturing. The Exakta was made in Germany before and during WWII.

Exakta VXIIa

   For me, it was the right camera at the right time. I was able to do some good photos with it and even competed in the Austin Camera Club now and then with it. I even was able to use a friend's dark room a couple of times. Composing my shots was so much easier with it, since I was actually looking through the lens. It was very dependable, but it was very hard to get an sort of other lenses or such for it. I finally ran into problems with it and had to retire it.
   I next traded up to a Mamiya-Sekor 1000DTL. Another 35mm SLR. This one had a lot going for it, including an inner light meter. Even better, it came with an extra lens, and the lens mount was a bit more standard, being a screw-thread mount common to the Pentax and other cameras. I picked up several different lenses at the pawn shop and I thought I was in heaven! It was actually made in the late 60's, so it was about 20 years old when I picked it up. That didn't matter, though!

Mamiy Sekor 1000DTL

   I took a lot of pictures with the Mamiya Sekor. Finally, about 2000, it developed (so to speak) an electrical problem. I had hopes of finding another one so as to be able to use my lenses and other attachments, however, the other ones I picked up used had much the same problem. A common failing, I suppose, of course, after 40 years I guess those things will show up!
   I actually regressed a bit after that, went through a few 35mm rangefinder snapshot cameras of various types. I was always finding them at garage sales and Goodwill. Most served me well until I took the plunge and went digital.
   My first digital camera was a really cheap one that worked, ummmmmmmmm, okay, I guess. Nothing to brag about. I finally got a Kodak Easy Share C533 a couple of years ago, my first really new camera since that one when I was 7!

Kodak EasyShare C533

I do enjoy digital. I never did get my own dark room, and now I don't need one. I can do all the processing and editing I want to on my computer without absolute darkness and smells. I do, however, plan to save up and get one of the more advanced digitals. Particularly one that takes the 35mm type of lenses.
   I enjoy the heft and feel of those SLR's. I admit, the heavier cameras are steadier in my hands as well. It's much to easy to shake the camera when it's so small and light. Somehow the view on the digital display on the back of the Kodak just doesn't feel right. The camera's viewfinder is often faster and more exact, but the lag time between pressing the button and the picture actually shooting sometimes causes problems. If you're shooting a moving target, you often miss, unless you're foresighted enough to press the shutter a second or so before you actually want the shot. Not easy!
Anyway, if you do email, or blogging, or use the computer much at all, the digital is the way to go.
   However
   I did come across a nice Olympus OM-1 SLR a while back at a Goodwill auction.

Olympus OM-1

I picked it up cheaply. Olympus is a very nice camera, and this one is no exception. Yes, admittedly, it was made back in the 1970's. It's about 40 years old by now. It's a classic already. I've been using it a little lately, though. I think I should, while film is still around! I don't think 35mm is dying soon, at least I hope not. I still have the bug!

Riding around

I haven't had a chance to ride the Shadow the last few days. Seems like every time I started to, one of those passing (small) thunderstorms would start up, or at least threaten. Today, it looked better, and it seemed not quite so hot, so I set out. I needed to go West to McDade and check the post office, but I also had been intending to check out a couple of small ghost towns running back to the East from here. I picked up a fairly good map of Lee County last week at the county clerk's office in Giddings. I rode to McDade, very pleasant ride as usual, got the mail, snagged a fountain Coke at the Valero, and consulted my map. (McDade is actually in Bastrop County on Highway 290, a few miles East of Elgin.)
I could see a series of county roads running back through the boonies leading back toward Moab and Fedor. I took Marlin Street North out of McDade and followed it to Paint Creek Road. Small problem, I passed it up, since it was un-marked by signage. I figured it out, though and back tracked a bit. I followed Paint Creek quite a ways, then a left on Stockade Ranch Rd., and a right on Roberts Road. Good riding till Roberts. From there on the county road was only about one lane wide, and gravel. Pretty soon, possibly around where Roberts crossed into Lee County and became County Road 333, I found several stretches of deep soft sand. The road wasn't much more than two tire tracks through sand. I was truly wishing for a dirt bike at this point, but I kept going, very slowly. Intermittent stretches of gravel and dirt were actually welcome after the sand. 
This kept on till I reached the junction of 333, 331, and 334. This cross roads was my first checkpoint, the community of Moab. Nothing could be seen there except a thicket of trees and fields, although my reading in The Handbook of Texas mentioned two cemeteries. If there were any buildings, I didn't find them. County road 333 became 331 and continued on to the East till it met 309. A right on 309 led me to FM 1624 and the community of Fedor. 
Fedor, at least has a few houses around, a church, and a volunteer fire department. The Handbook of Texas says the community had 86 residents in 2000. A quick turn on 324 and I found the old feed store. 

Fedor Feed Store

My goal reached for today, I headed back North on 1624 to Lexington for fuel and drink, then back home by way of 696 West. It was a very pleasant ride, except for the sand.

The Shadow - My Research Assistant

Work and so on.

Because I've been working on the computer and re-installing some programs, I just spent some time looking back over a bunch of old job files. It's a bit mind boggling. For more than 39 years, I have been a structural/miscellaneous steel detailer and checker in the Austin, Texas area. I have worked in the industry, both in-house and as contract detailer for virtually every fabricator in the area. By location, these fabricators include:


Austin: Alamo Steel & Machine; Tips Iron & Steel; Capitol City Steel; Austin Construction Steel; Cody Builders Supply; Truform Metal Service; Boyce Iron Works; QA Construction; Airco Mechanical; PCW; McCoy’s Welding, Reinforcing Steel & Supply, Setien & Assoc.
Leander: Dennis Steel
Houston: Joists Inc.; Hollywood Steel; Myrex Industries; Milestone Metals.
San Antonio: Rast Iron Works; Crown Steel Inc.; Steel Tex Inc.; L&M Steel Inc.; Pro Erectors & Maintenance; American Welding & Fabrication;
New Braunfels: Fischbeck Welding
Poteet: Atascosa Steel
Round Rock: Advance Metal Systems
Liberty Hill: Lamar Steel & Supply
Hutto: BWT Welding
Hamilton: C&F Steel
Waco: Central Texas Iron Works
McAllen: Palmer Steel
Kyle: Optimum Steel Industries, Construction Metal Products
Evansville, Ind: Schucker’s Iron Works
And numerous others.


I have been detailing steel since 1971, both manually and, since the mid 1980’s, using Autocad. I currently use Autocad 2004. I have also used SSDCP, StruCad, Macrosoft Detail, and Shear97 (drafting programs.)


This most recent construction slump has been pretty bad. It seems to happen, though, every decade or so. At least since the mid 1980's. It will come back up again.

My Resume

Thought it might be to my benefit to re-post this now and then. Job market being what it is.

Thanks for looking!

RESUME

WILLIAM C. (Bill) SEWARD

Cell. (512)468-7835

Email  raincrow_permaculture@yahoo.com

EXPERIENCE

3/08-5/09            Optimum Steel Industries. Steel detailer. Strucad.

10/07-2/08            L&M Steel Inc.  Rebar detailing/estimating. Shear 97.

10/05-10/07            Dennis Steel Inc. Structural/misc steel detailing. Macrosoft Detail, Ssdcp.

12/03-10/05            Reinforcing Steel Supply. Rebar estimating, detailing, drafter. Acad2004, Shear 97.

1/00 – 12/03                 Lamar Steel &Supply.  Rebar Estimating, drafting, counter sales. Autocad 14

4/98  - 1/00             Self‑ employed full time. Contract drafting, computer, other consulting services.

7/97  - 4/98                  Tips Iron &Steel, Inc. Structural/misc. steel detailing and checking.

3/97  -7/97                  Construction Metal Products.  Structural/miscellaneous steel detailing and checking.

10/96 ‑5/97                Capitol City Trade and Technical School.  Drafting/AUTOCAD (12/13) instructor. (Evening)

10/89‑ 8/96               Self‑ employed full time. Contract Structural Steel detailing on Autocad 11. Consulting, Architectural and Engineering drafting by contract.

8/88 ‑ 9/89                Advance Metal Systems  Detailing, Listing and Preparing for fabrication Pre‑engineered Steel Buildings.       

11/86 ‑8/88                Self‑ employed full time.  Structural Steel Detailing, Checking and Estimating; Reinforcing Steel Estimating; General and Architectural Drafting.

6/71‑11/86                Alamo Steel &Machine Company, Austin, TX.  Steel Detailer/Checker,

Chief Draftsman.

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

Certified Permaculture Designer-2009

15 Years experience research on internet.

20 Years experience in Autocad up through Acad2004.

Experience with DCA Structural Steel Detailer (Now Softdesk), SSDCP, Macrosoft Detail.

Trained in CADKEY CAD program and Bausch & Lomb CAD System

Operated NCR Terminal(VAX), personal computer (DOS & Windows), & programmable calculators

Type 30 ‑ 40 wpm.                    

Assistant Chief Draftsman ‑ 9 years                    

Chief Draftsman ‑ 2 years                    

BASIC and COBOL programming knowledge 

Practical knowledge of DOS. and Autolisp.

RELATED SKILLS

Good writing skills and experience. A produced playwright and published journalist.

Proficient in conversational American Sign Language

Dale Carnegie graduate 1974                    

Good mechanical skills                    

Experience training adults. 

Enjoy installing and troubleshooting software.

HONORS AND ORGANIZATIONS

Former member, actor, director Way Off Broadway Comm. Theater.

Liberty Hill Public Library District  Founder, Elected Trustee  (Former)

Past Vice‑President Friends of Round Rock Public Library

Texas Historical Commission Distinguished Service Citation

Boy Scouts of America, 7 years as Leader Trainer.

Travis County Blood Bank (6 Gallon + donor)                   

Scholastic Leadership Roll, ACC 1984 ‑ 1987

Dean's Honor Roll, Central Texas College 1971

Engineering Society, Central Texas College

EDUCATION

Colleges:      

1/09-3/09            Austin Permaculture Guild - Austin. Permaculture Designer Certificate course.

9/78 ‑                    Austin Community College, Austin ‑ 31 sem. hrs.‑

                        General studies including Technical Report Writing, CAD,

                        COBOL, BASIC, Quality Assurance, Creative Writing.

6/68 ‑ 5/71                Central Texas College, Killeen ‑ Associate in

                        Applied Science ‑ Drafting and Design. (90 sem. hrs.

                        total...primarily Tech. Drafting, Electronics Technology

                        and General Academics)     

 

Catching Up

   It's been a good while since I posted here. I've been busy. Avatar has been going well. I just took a new student through an intro, and half of a Resurfacing class, (she'll take the second half soon), as well as helping with other students. We're planning on taking some students to Colorado in a month or so, and definitely planning to take the Wizard's course in Orlando in January.
   My '84 Honda Shadow was down for a few days, and I put some time in fixing that. I've got it going again. I'm enjoying riding around and exploring this part of the county. Some of that is taking pictures and research for my books. I enjoy seeing old cemeteries and small towns. 
   In addition, a few days ago the slave drive on my desktop computer crashed. It is a 120 gig drive, and I had been using it for overflow until it was nearly filled, then it died. It's not too horrible, and I may even be able to get some of it back. My more critical stuff was on my main drive, all my writing and reference stuff stays on a 4 gig flash drive, so I can use it either on my desktop or laptop. So, I still have that safe. It took me a few days to get the desktop back online, re-install a few things that I needed that had been on the second drive, and so on. But, I'm using it now. A friend in Austin thinks maybe he can revive that second drive for me, get my data back. I guess the worst part is all my music, and much of my drafting files were on that drive. 
   Still looking for a paying job. Unemployment insurance has ended, again, although I read that congress is trying to extend it some more. Here's hoping. With construction still at a low, there doesn't seem to be any demand for 60 year old steel detailers. In the year plus since I was laid off, Texas Work Force Commission has come up with exactly one job referral that fit any of my qualifications, and I didn't get it. Oh well. 
   Anyone need a draftsman with background in steel construction, a bit of structural engineering, permaculture, handymanology, farm/auto mechanics and writing skills?
   Actually, I wondered about hiring myself out as a mentor of sorts. A lifetime of "jack of all trades" and so on. I'm not physically up to a lot of the heavier aspects of, say, re-building a farm tractor, or an old car. But I could mentor someone who wanted to. I grew up in a rural garage, I've done most of my own work on cars and tractors, etc. all my life. There's not so much I want to tackle in cars and trucks since they grew computers and such, but most of pre-1980's vintage I can help with. 
   The ideal situation would be a rural intentional community, where I could exchange knowledge and skills for living/working space for Cat Dancing and myself. 
  Actually, through Avatar, it is impossible to get down about any of it. It is more of a "glass half full" situation. 
  Boogie on.