C.S. Robadue's Blog, page 4

Strong as an Oak

JANUARY 2023 – There is something so romantic and compelling about timber beam construction. A canopy of sturdy oak branches overhead, protecting you and making you feel like you are nestled safely in a wooded glen, the delightful texture of the exposed beams, a reminder of our connection to the earth and nature. Visited my cousin’s build site this month and got to marvel first-hand at all of the progress that had been made on the house. Had the good fortune of being able to work with him on the designs and to see it come together is fantastic. Transferring the experience of the plans from 2D to 3D was quite remarkable and the space feels even richer and well-crafted than I could have hoped.

Views of the surrounding woods and neighboring pond are fantastic. The view above is from the second floor with the glorious oak timbers in all their glory on display. Windows will be arriving on site in several weeks, making the building watertight and signalling the beginning of the next stage of construction efforts. Having visited the site previously, it is so exciting to see the shapes and forms from my computer coming to life, whereas before I only had my imagination to deliver such views. Enormously proud of my cousin and his family and what they have undertaken, is going to such a wonderful home for them.

With the Spring Semester at University kicking off again I have been reading a number of books recommended to me by my academic advisor. One such titles that I’ve been enjoying is the book ‘Lawns Into Meadows’ by (aptly named) Owen Wormser. A fellow New Englander, Owen’s book is on creating regenerative landscapes that are good for rehabilitating soil and the earth and working with (versus against) nature to create picturesque residential green spaces. So, for example, instead of creating a large lawn of grass and an effective mono-culture on your property, instead create a meadow that provides habitat for flowers, butterflies, and an entire host of other living beings. I am curious to learn more about landscape architecture and design and that will be a big focus of my studies this semester. Having a lawn that doesn’t require mowing is also a pretty cool concept, having spent many a weekend mowing lawns over the years.

Still developing my own taste and design thesis and sensibility for what I like when it comes to landscape design. I’d like to learn a lot more about different species (native and alike) that can be incorporated into the residential built environment to work well with green building designs.

Thanks as always for stopping by, catch you all next time!

~ CS

Northward

DECEMBER 2022 – It took a road trip, but a white Christmas was achieved, haha. Felt like a throwback holiday, traveling North to spend time with extended family. Revived some traditions and all around it was an excellent finale to what has turned out to be a very productive year. Big goals can often feel impossibly far away, but if you continuously keep yourself on the right path, make good decisions day in and day out, you’ll undoubtedly find yourself in a good place when you stop to assess. They say habits become destiny and I think there is some truth in that.

For those keeping score, completed another semester and have vivid delusions of grandeur for the future, haha. More on that in the coming months. Have some cool design and writing (non-book related) projects lined up for the start of the new year, so that should be really engaging and get the creativity kicked into high gear. In the meantime, I’m taking a slice of time off to recharge, visit friends, and build up that bank of ideas (is overflowing at the moment! Not a bad problem to have).

Downtime has proved great for being able to read for fun, picked up the book ‘The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It’ by Will Storr most recently. The title delves into numerous aspects of human psychology that were new to me and expanded other arenas that I only appreciated on an intuitive level. His examples of manifestations of status games that have been adopted by cultures around the world throughout history are as hard hitting as you would expect to make such a historical review, but have lessons that can be learned for modern times. The subject lends itself very well to thought experiments and in the rear view mirror of the historical record it all seems so gut-wrenching and baffling, but I know that tradition is carried on in the current stage of life as pungently as ever.

A cup of tea calls, so I will leave this here, but thank you for stopping by, catch you next time!

~ CS

Benefit Analysis

NOVEMBER 2022 – Taking a really interesting course right now on cost-benefit analysis, has been solid to brush off my math skills for a change and fire up some excel spreadsheets. Sorting out the pros and cons in complex model scenarios often returns surprising results and the impact of compounding and time should never be underestimated. I feel that is often the key to art as well (the time part, not the excel spreadsheet part, haha), in that you need to rely on little incremental progress to finish monumental undertakings. To go from writing your first sentence to a masterpiece like ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ takes an extraordinary work ethic and will to keep going. But over time, you’ll be amazed at what can transpire if you continue making little gains here and there.

The current of your life can feel very still at times (which is not without its charms!) leaving it up to you to make some waves and figure out how to put the wind back in your sails. Compounding works both ways though, as bad habits and poor choices stack too, so don’t let the net present value of your life skew negative due to externalities and slippage. And wish me luck on calculating the net benefit of doubling the state building code requirement for insulation to that of the passive house standard for my project, haha. Quite confident that it will have a positive return on investment, but by how much and how long it will take I’m not really sure.

And as you may have guessed, I borrowed a copy of ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ by Dostoevsky to read, will be a bit of a project, as I intended to read it a tiny bit each day while also continuing to read non-fiction titles and texts and so forth. As Dostoevsky is literature that makes you work to get the reward for sticking with it. And as I’ve said in the past, continue boldly following your charted course in life and committing to those big picture challenges, as good things take time.

That’s it for me at the moment, future me will be back with some more insights next time.

Cheers!

~ CS

Moment of Zen

OCTOBER 2022 – The search for perfection, a perilous journey? A fool’s errand? A noble pursuit? So much of life is spent waiting for perfection. The right time to act, that right circumstance to present itself, the right person to come along, etc. It is essential to not let yourself loose sight of what truly matters. And while I am a strong believer in pursuing truth and endeavoring to always live up to your own highest ideals, it is important not to become lost in our own reflections. As by doing so you can miss out on all the ‘perfection’ that is all around you. To be blinded by the slight of hand of ego and the everyday and not appreciate the beauty of the little things, the simple things. Only to discover, like Katsumoto in ‘The Last Samurai’, the truth, that all of the cherry blossoms are perfect.

Don’t let it be too late, take stock of the goodness all around you, and recognize that it is up to you to embrace the perfection of every moment. As it is there, at your fingertips.

Untangling the complicated nature of our lives is no easy task, nor one for the faint of heart. So go boldly onto that battlefield and arm yourself with the best of intentions.

Switching topics, who are some of your favorite contemporary authors? Is there someone that continues to knock it out of the park with every book they write? Would welcome some suggestions. Haven’t had much free time for enjoying reading lately, which is a total bummer, I gotta say, haha. But have two ideas for directions to take my next story and I would consider that not a bad problem to have! Continue to feed my hunger for knowledge and watch the eternal push/pull of optimism for the state of the world surge and subside by the hour.

Had some apple cake the other day, so autumn is treating me very well, haha. Cheers to you all and thank you for stopping by and catching up!

~ CS

La Vie Douce

SEPTEMBER 2022 – Once again I have overfilled my itinerary for this time of year, but like a memorable eclair, sometimes life… just needs to be appreciated as is. I continue to pursue knowledge, the perfect pasta to sauce ratio, and new PR’s in my fitness regiment. Happily the well-spring of motivation has remained ever-flowing and each day has proven a viable opportunity for growth. Change and worthy goals take time and being able to focus on the little victories that each day has to offer can make even the wildest swings possible. As what Naval Ravikant says is true, life is not a zero-sum game, especially when you can help make life better for others.

Continue to embrace new opportunities, to appreciate all that I have, and recognize that it is such a privilege to be alive and have the capacity to shape the world around you as you see fit. Clarity of vision remains an incredibly valuable skill and being able to recognize that one’s anima needs to be stoked and allowed to flourish is so important. This is something that I’ve sadly neglected doing for a very long time. And while I think it is understandable why one would choose to look inward for many things, it is vital to recognize that there is so much in life that can be missed by doing so. And taking the time, to celebrate, to explore, and welcome in the good along with the challenges is at the heart of connecting with the sense of joy and spirit that makes life ever so sweet.

Thank you to those that have reminded me of this lesson. It was well received.

Learning so much and can’t wait to share what I have absorbed with everyone and switch gears into creative mode next year. But for now it is all about embracing the sensory overload, adapting to the lessons, pushing limits, and continuing to discover the vitality of life on this day, at this time. And whatever you are pursuing, keep going, you’ll get there! Tenacity need not be in short supply.

~ CS

 

A Familiar Trail

AUGUST 2022 – Nearly closing out the summer season, so you know what that means, hiking opportunities inbound! Ventured up to New Hampshire to visit friends and continue the quest for hiking all of the 4,000 ft peaks the state has on offer. Still a long way to go in the quest to conquer all forty-eight of them, but when the chance arose to take on two more, it was all systems go. Which two you ask? Mt. Eisenhower (4,780 ft) and Mt. Pierce (4,310 ft) were climbed by our intrepid team of adventurers! Clearing the treeline on Mt. Eisenhower offered up spectacular views of the rest of the Presidential Range and the Mt. Washington Hotel in the valley below.

Here is the top of Mt. Eisenhower, with Mt. Washington sneaking into the shot in the background. The light up there was really spectacular, always makes me feel like I’m on another planet and the reality of the moment can often prove elusive. Would definitely recommend this pairing of mountain hikes as Mt. Pierce offered up some delightful greenery, waterfalls, and an excellent spot to have lunch and gaze at the hiking still to come.

Completed the work on my green biophilic design project this month from a structural vantage point. The 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house is looking mighty sharp with mathematical harmony taking shape with even numbers galore and the window and door schedule figured out. I built a 3D representation of the building in a 1/4″ to 1′ foot scale out of cardboard that was an immensely satisfying step of the process. Seeing the building in front of you in all its miniature glory helped me solve a few of the exterior challenges that I was having and resulted in some modification to the windows on the Southern exterior of the building. In the coming weeks I’ll be giving a presentation on the design and theories behind it to my professors and classmates, which should be a lot of fun. Designing the foundation, wall, and roof systems was a first for me and required an extensive amount of research as if there is anything you want to get correct on your eco-house it is insulation and waterproofing!

If people are interested I can talk more about my design projects in future posts. Did have someone ask me today if I was writing anything new, so I should have a writing update for you in the not-too-distant future as well. Picked up a Tom Clancy book to read this month, but have hardly made a dent in it yet. Here’s to a great finale to Summer 2022 and I’ll be back at it soon!

~ CS

 

Embracing Your Roots

JULY 2022 – Where did it all begin for you? What’s your earliest memory? When you think of home, what immediately comes to mind? Day in and day out, these aren’t things I spend much time thinking about. But when the world becomes calm, when you are trying to make decisions about the future, maybe there is value in reflecting on your past, to help recognize what you want for the journey ahead. Did the world seem simpler to you five, even ten years ago? I think as we venture out further and further from our roots we awaken to the immense realm of possibility and potential and it can be staggering and vast and full of uncertainty. With that comes excitement and vitality and perhaps it is like they say, that what matters most is what you value the most.

Details will always abound, but if you get the broad strokes right, maybe that limitless potential is easier to tap into? And if you can be true to your values then chances are the outcome of any change, no matter how uncertain the undertaking, will ultimately prove to be good. So let your values be your roots (which will constantly be evolving and strengthening over time if you take care of them) and then open yourself up to possibility, to potential, and trust in that foundation to be able to weather any storm.

Has been a very thought provoking month in my world. Isn’t it funny how one question can lead to another and yet another, and spiral out into infinity? The world remains an uncertain place and as Bruce Lee said, change is the changeless state, so learn to embrace that, to welcome that, and trust in your roots to help keep you afloat through anything.

Keeping at it with my studies and learning new concepts and philosophies of environmental practice as well as building design. Obstacles can lead to innovation and that is often your best friend in the design world, despite it not feeling like it at all at first glance, haha. My green biophilic design project continues on in earnest as I keep fine tuning the layout and plans, really like the direction it is headed. Trying to figure out the exterior ornamentation has been stubbornly difficult, but it is forcing me to dig deep, which as noted, is not a bad thing!

Did manage to read a bit for fun this month as well, finishing ‘iRobot’ by Isaac Asimov. Such a prophetic book I suspect in a lot of ways, published over seventy years ago (1950), it reads remarkably well in the 21st century. And while we haven’t developed robotics anywhere near to the realm of the book (yet), it offers up so many insightful ideas for the challenges entering that universe could broach. And I can’t help but feel that a lot of other science fiction authors have drawn inspiration from this title as it was wild to read some of the chapters and be like, hey that sounds familiar! Asimov’s writing style takes some getting used to (in my view) as it was clearly written as more of an episodic and jumps around a lot, but if you can get into a groove with it, there is a lot to enjoy here.

Back to design work I go, but maybe take some time to ponder what is good in life and the strengths of being you!

Cheers,

~ CS

Nature and the Built Environment

JUNE 2022 – Research phases are a pivotal component of any large scale undertaking. This has certainly proven true as an author and it holds up in the world of academia as well. Been doing A LOT of reading this month and learning the ins and outs of biophilic design, which is essentially the art of incorporating nature into the built environment. To make architecture that is (literally) more green through bringing nature into the project, whether through a living room, living wall, interior courtyard, or at the core level exploring how to emphasize the natural world around the building and allow for the building occupants to connect more closely with it, through the use of large windows for sunlight and views. Biophilic design is being done around the world with standout locations such as Singapore, where they have taken the idea of a ‘garden city’ and evolved it to be a ‘forest city’. Having a closer connection with nature contributes to the health and well-being of the population, supports biodiversity, and can even improve recovery from illness in hospitals.

How to incorporate green (living) elements into architecture, particularly while being budget conscious, is another matter altogether. As moving from the conceptual world to the real world requires a whole new host of challenges to contend with. Easy elements that I’ve already done in my everyday life would be to have house plants and try and live in apartments that have good natural light and close proximity to parks, wooded areas, and nature trails. But for my architectural design work I want to take it much further and design buildings around this idea of incorporating nature, not just plants, but design with the entire range of natural systems in mind. Those being? How sunlight, wind, and water impact the property and can be harnessed by the structure to achieve increased livability and conservation goals. I’ve been generating a list of factors to consider and account for in my latest residential design project. Now to put the conceptual into motion, to the drawing board!

A number of books have come across my desk in the last few weeks as noted, one standout was ‘Biophilic Cities: Integrating Nature into Urban Design and Planning’, very cool title by Timothy Beatley. He goes into great depth about the benefits to humans when they are in touch with nature and about past and present attempts at incorporating the living world into the all too frequently barren, urban world. There is so much potential for adopting practices of establishing greenbelts throughout existing cities, building living roofs to mitigate the heat island effect, establishing more parks for the community to enjoy, and the ideas go on and on. A very cool read for any urban planner as I personally hope to see more of these practices incorporated in the coming decades. Think of how prized water views are or how an urban oasis is almost always a garden. Maybe consider ways in which you could incorporate more living elements to your dwelling and see if it has a net positive impact on your life and sense of personal well-being.

Keep after it in all your pursuits and I’ll catch you all next time!

~ CS

Travels in Time

MAY 2022 – One of my favorite things about writing/reading is that it allows thoughts and ideas to effectively time travel. Curious what… say… Marcus Aurelius was thinking about circa 172 AD? Read his philosophical writings in ‘Meditations’ and you’ll have access to a collection of some of the finest life lessons ever recorded. Knowledge and wisdom of the ages is shared from generation to generation in this beautifully simple, but markedly powerful way. Allowing your creative outputs to outlive you and speak to an audience that is beyond the reaches of your present mortality.

And let us not discount the ability of imagination, creativity, and vision to collide and allow readers to transport themselves back in time through written worlds crafted as both fiction and non-fiction. Where deeds of great heroes can inspire us, or wars are raged, mysteries solved, galaxies explored, and romances begun anew. I often joke that all of my favorite authors are long gone, but their work clearly lives on, and I think that is something that I find personally inspiring. To have the opportunity to contribute something to that grand tradition, is an incredible gift. So don’t let your best thoughts and dreams stay locked away within you, share and pursue the rich fabric of life and let your thoughts too travel through time.

Went on an amazing hike recently and had the good fortune to be able to explore the cave. Reminded me of the show ‘Dark’, which is an awesome German series that if you’ve seen it, you’ll understand the connection here. Have been going for a lot of lengthy walks this month. May in New England never fails to surprise me with its beauty and capacity to provide bug-free wandering through nature, haha. Staying on the subject of ancient wisdom, I’ve been reading ‘A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century: Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life’ by Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein, this husband and wife tandem host a thought provoking podcast and as evolutionary biologists they have a very interesting take on navigating the present day which I found most helpful.

Keep growing, creating, learning, and searching my friends! And until next time, have a brilliant close to Springtime in the Northern Hemisphere.

~ CS

A Good Future

APRIL 2022 – Building a good future, where does one begin? There are certainly plenty of foundational elements that go into crafting things of value. If we are talking about building a residential building, literally the foundation is important, but what about in the arc of your life? Determining what you value can be a quality starting point. Your health, your connections with family and friends, being part of a community, contributing to society and earning a living, pursuing goals larger than yourself, education, faith, having purpose, there are numerous ingredients and your individual formula will vary. But it is very helpful to acknowledge what it is that you want and then consider what steps you need to take to move in that direction.

Life is always moving, evolving, growing, changing, and requires you to be able to be flexible and strong enough to adapt to the demands of the moment. Having rigid thinking and impossible goals is just as likely to lead you nowhere as is having no goals and not thinking, so don’t let your own wants and thoughts cripple you. Putting in effort into everything you do will always serve you well, whether you can immediately see the fruits of your labor or not. The things that we value the most always take the largest amount of effort and work, there is no getting around that. And it is incredibly important to be honest with yourself, to take good care of yourself, and to help make the world around you better.

If you can laugh in the face of failure, re-evaluate your techniques and methods, re-double your efforts and continue working hard, there is always the potential to make things better. Thought experiment for you, try thinking about two things simultaneously… go ahead, take a moment, try. Can you do it? Realizing that we can only hold one thought in our mind at a time, makes it all the more important to make sure that the solitary thoughts that we are holding and telling ourselves are positive. And if you’re interested in meditation like I am, you’ll try and have periods of no thoughts (which is not easy!), where you can let your mind be at peace.

Have been thinking a lot lately (probably should be meditating more, but life gets busy!), largely about work, the courses I’m taking, how to build a better future for the world, and how to live a fulfilling life. With all of that heaviness it can be easy to let slip through your fingers the moments of happiness that are available all around you. Something to ponder at least!

Finished reading ‘1984’ by George Orwell this month, wow does that book hit hard. Feels all too real in the present era and is definitely worth picking up again if it has been a long-time since you last read it. Do they still teach it in schools? I hope so, it is an important work. Looking forward to the summer and having more time for reading and spending time by the water (talk about an instant zen experience!). Would encourage each and every one of you to continue pursuing a good future, to be kind to those close to you, create things of value, and share generously with those you care about.

Until our paths cross again, cheers!

~ CS