Day 2: Lots of Driving & Heavy Industry

Day 2 has come to a close.

It started out pretty well. We pulled out of Winslow and headed East on 40, making our way across Northern Arizona.

Our first point of interest: we passed the Cholla Power Plant.  There were huge piles of coal laying around (just visible on the left in the picture) so I assume it is a coal fired power plant.

It made me think of how great it is that someone figured out how to burn coal to generate electricity in the first place, and how great it is that our lives are extended by decades as a result of what we can do with it: power hospitals, power our refrigerators so we have fresh, wholesome food at home 24/7, power the factories where they make the refrigerators, keep lights on in peoples homes so kids can do their homework after dark, basically allow us to do anything after dark, basically power our entire civilization. 

It sure beats the pre-industrial alternative: death by age 40.  Ayn Rand was right on when she said to go hug your nearest smoke stack.  I didn't hug these, but I saluted as I drove by.

Then we had some really great rocky landscapes for a while:

At one point I was driving along side a freight train...

...and I was surprised that I was going faster than the train.

And then, I saw another smoke stack, way off to the left, behind the next row of rock formations. 

I don't know what it was exactly, but there was a branch line of the railroad leading over to it.  Here you can see where the railroad line crosses through the line of rocky hills between the smokestack and the building.  That whole section of the drive was very Atlas Shrugged:

Eventually I made it into New Mexico and stopped at Albuquerque for coffee, gas and a break for the dogs.  There was a nice little grassy area next to the Starbucks where we got some fresh air and stretched our legs (all 10 of them!)  Then it was onward through the rest of New Mexico.  It was a lovely drive:

There is a little town called Tucumcari, NM that I have driven through before, and I took the Business Loop through the town when we got there.  Slightly off the main road was this, which I had not noticed before:

It's a quonset hut next to a grain elevator!  I thought that was pretty great.  Both of them such purely functional structures, with wonderful form/function synthesis, right there together.  *sigh*

I also saw my first horizontal stop light in ages.  I know it's not the first time I've seen one, but the first in a really, really long time.

Then it was flat for a while.  We crossed into Texas at some point.  The pavement in Texas was superb.  Smoothest roads I've driven on in a long time.

I'm not sure if it started in New Mexico or Texas, but there was a barrage of grain elevators and large agricultural structures, and I took as many pictures as I could.

Yikes!  I'm glad I wasn't on that project team!

Then, as we approached Amarillo, just when it was time to get out and give the dogs some exercise, we hit (most unexpectedly) upon this:

So we stopped.  I'd seen pictures of the Cadillacs sticking out of the ground.  They're right out in the middle of a field, with cows all around and everything.  You can just walk right in.

But as you approach, you start smelling spray paint, and see the ground littered with spray paint cans, and you realize that the whole thing is just a bunch of overweight slobs spraying their names on the cars and throwing the cans around on the ground.  It was pretty disgusting.

Todd left his mark:

But then it got EXTREMELY interesting, for Paul and Todd:

You can't see it, but Todd was Quivering. All. Over.  It's going to be interesting when we get to the farm and they see their first horses.

On Atlas Shrugged, Mind-body Integration, and Why I Dislike my House

SPOILER ALERT!  THE FOLLOWING BLOG POST CONTAINS ATLAS SHRUGGED PLOT SPOILERS.

But, I won't discuss anything beyond Chapter 8, so if you're in the reading group and a first-time Atlas Shrugged reader, you won't hear anything about later chapters, so read on!  If you haven't read it but plan to, you might give this post a miss, but I'm not really revealing all that much, and we're only on about page 260 of 1000+ so take that for what you will.  Anyway, let's get on with it.

Last night was Atlas Shrugged night.  Every Tuesday I have been going to a great little wine bar in Pasadena to discuss Atlas Shrugged, chapter by chapter, with a really great bunch of folks from this MeetUp group.  Chapter 8, The John Galt Line, is a really wonderful chapter where you see Dagny Taggart building the John Galt (railroad) Line out in the mountains of Colorado.  Hank Rearden figures heavily in the chapter as well, since it's his Rearden Metal that's being used for the rail and a major bridge on the railroad they're building.

In essence, you see time and again how they put their minds to solving the problems that face them, and then apply their skills to execute the solutions.  Then they triumphantly open the line, ride the first train to Wyatt Junction amid great fanfare, and have a hot (and I mean HOT), romantic (like only Ayn Rand can write) night together at Ellis Wyatt's place.

One of the other people in our group made an interesting comment towards the end of the evening: how one of the themes of the chapter is mind-body integration.  As we discussed that, it suddenly occurred to me precisely why I am so unhappy with the house I live in, here in L.A. 

It's a nice enough house, and downright cute by many peoples' standards.  It was built in the early 1920s and has lots of original features: lovely fireplace, window seat, glass front bookshelves, even a built-in buffet in the dining room with a beveled mirror and glass doors.  It has 2 bedrooms, a sunroom, 1 1/2 baths, and nearly all the woodwork is either in its original finish or stripped and restored.

I used to live next door, but I sold that house in 2006 (timed it perfectly!) and used most of my proceeds to pay down this house and make some improvements here and there.  But, I have had seller's remorse pretty much ever since. 

That house was built at almost the same time and has the same exact fireplace mine has; it has a big open living/dining room, and a much more efficient floor plan.  Even though it is smaller than this house, it feels much more spacious inside.  It is also set up higher and has way better daylight inside.

My current house always seems dark inside to me, and the rooms (especially downstairs) are divided up awkwardly.  It is hard to furnish, although a piano can make many houses hard to furnish.  It has a lot of nice features, but it has poor light, poor connection to the outdoors, and the floor plan is really awkward, I think.  Awkward floor plans are a huge pet peeve of this architect, btw.

Here's why the comment about mind-body integration resonated with me so strongly:  I've been working very hard, for years now, to integrate my life into a complete whole, a multifaceted single unit, where each part supports the and enhances the other parts, as I work to achieve my goals and dreams. 

This house undercuts a major part of that effort.  For all its cool features and charm, it is fundamentally at odds with the type of backdrop I need to live my best life.  Thus, I am constantly expending energy trying to counter-act it, or working to overcome it, without really identifying the problem (except to bemoan that I sold the wrong house, which is water under the bridge at this point, and a further waste of energy and time to contemplate for even one second.)

What a revelation!

Exploring Atlas Shrugged

I am re-reading Ayn Rand's epic novel Atlas Shrugged.  I first read it about 10 years ago and its ideas had a profound impact on my world view.

About 5 years ago, I started rereading it, but got bogged down and didn't finish it.  I should point out that I am not a voracious reader.  I would usually rather be doing something hands-on, such as welding, playing a Beethoven sonata, or knitting.  Lately, I have been trying to make an effort to read more, as it is an excellent way to learn new things and broaden one's horizons.

Earlier this spring, I started rereading Atlas again, after I discovered Diana Hsieh's excellent webiste: Explore Atlas Shrugged.  She has a whole series of discussion questions and podcasts on the novel.  Then, a couple of weeks ago, I discovered a Meetup Group in Pasadena that is discussing the book.  The group meets on Tuesday nights and is also using the Explore Atlas Shrugged discussion questions.  Since they were about to meet and discuss chapter 3, and I was only on chapter 6 myself, I RSVP'd and went.

The group meets at a wine bar, which is an excellent place for hanging out and discussing a great novel.  There were about a half dozen of us.  Most are re-readers but there was one person who is reading it for the first time.  I hadn't reviewed chapter 3 prior to the meetup, ( I had a job interview come up somewhat suddenly, and preparing for it had to take priority,) and nearly revealed a plot point by accident, but I caught myself just in time.

I think it would be more interesting if there were more first-time readers in the group.  To that end, I lent a friend an extra copy of the book.  He may join us, although he can't make it this week.

Tonight we are meeting to discuss Chapter 4.  I am going to make sure I skim the chapter again so that I can participate a more fully.  As part of the discussion each week, we go around the table and each person gets to read their favorite passage or quote, and explain why they liked it.  It's neat to see what people's favorite quotes are, I'm looking forward to that part in particular.

Stay tuned for more discussion of the discussion of Exploring Atlas Shrugged!