this is shaping up to be a great faire that will run in the spring. Its just off 290.. only about an hour or an hour and a half longer drive for you guys then TRF. Ive been seeing the entrace to it on my way to Plantersville for the past few weekends. I finally looked it up. HUGE focus on camping.. showers.. flushie bathrooms.. stages... fire circle.. even an entrance to the pub directly from the camp. opens in spring 2010! Feb. 27th i think.   check it out! 'http://www.sherwoodforestfaire.com'>www.sherwoodforestfaire.com   There is also a forum devoted to it on the renfest forums site 'http://www.renaissancefestival.com/forums/index.php?board=85.0'>http://www.renaissancefestival.com/forums/index.php?board=85.0    

It says that the website ('http://www.renradio.org'>www.renradio.org) brings the music and sounds of the faire hime, and offers themed music days (pirates, Celtic, filk, etc.), talk shows, special events and weekly news and information. I haven't had a chance to listen to it, but the concept is interesting.

Here is the links: http://hexayurt.com/ http://www.appropedia.org/Hexayurt_schematics Yes, open-hardware! With a little ingenuity, it could be made to look like a basic little period hut out in the woods - the inside need not be incredibly period. Now I just need to find another job so I can buy sheets of OSB or plywood (though I hear some just use sheets of insulation at Burning Man. That'd be a bit fragile if a drunk fell into the wall.)

Be anyone following the news today, the nutjob that dive-bombed an Austin building this morning has not endangered my family, nor anyone I know. For an interesting chronicle of a nut-job failure storey, details here: Poor luck in life, followed by an IRS audit and being told he owed thousands in taxes. Wiped out his retirement fund to pay it, blamed IRS. Fought with wife last night, she took her daughter (his stepdaughter) and spent the night in a hotel. Probably for the best. Nutjob posts a 'manifesto' online blaming the fedgov and the IRS for every ill since the dawn of time. Also filed an FAA flight plan. He left some possibly explosive stuff in his hanger when he took off, may have packed his little plane and not had room for more. (Engineers go nuts in interesting ways.) Something went boom at his house this morning, he was already in the air. House was in flames when wife got there, she and her daughter are now homeless. Did he miss the timing, or did her leaving mean there weren't two bodies crisping when it happened? We may never know. Nutter then proceeds to dive-bomb a building used as a field office by the IRS. By happy circumstance, it were half empty, and they saw him coming. Impact at the building was at a break room that should have been empty at the time. All but one person accounted for, 2 sent to ER (one for smoke inhalation and the other for burns, he has been sent to the burn unit in San Antonio.) At this point, the firefighters are down to 'spot' fires in the building, and searching (floor by floor, room by room) for the one person not accounted for. There is some hope that he simply wasn't in. Cost to the city of Austin for rolling out a very professional and well-done response - immense. Damage to his wife and stepdaughter - beyond imagining. Actual damage to the IRS, 2 persons hospitalized and expecting full recovery. A building that will be paid for by the insurance - driving up insurance rates, but not really hurting the IRS. NUTJOB FAILURE, COMPLETE! If ye must go nuts, do it memorably, do it well, become something of a folk hero, keep people talking about you. This guy will be forgotten like last week's trash, while his wife blames herself for not calling the police, and a little girl needs a lifetime of counseling.

Too soon to start talking about it? (...and can anyone tell I'm bored out of my mind and trying to find things to do?)