lots of good things about lubbock, believe it or not. first, the weather: it's sunny, and blue, and warm, with a gentle wind and clear skies most of the time. mornings are dry and cool, evenings are dry and cool, and i like being outside even in the middle of the day when the sun just kind of dries me out and makes me feel fresh. i like it; it's different. the steady breeze brings new stuff. second, you can find cool people all over the place, though basically it's a city, and there are plenty of the other kind. sometimes we come home and review the things we hear, some of which are unusual, but hey, i consider that a bonus. i have lots of things to find out about lubbock - about the quakers who settled the county at one point (and lived in what is now a ghost town called estacado)...about the Dixie Chicks, Buddy Holly, Mac Davis, the Flatlanders, Shelby Knox, some of the towns' native sons & daughters. Keeps you getting out there and talking to people. i can tell people are into music and i like that, but i haven't found much in the way of people to play with. as i go around in my day, i invent words: texaphone (one who speaks texan), texaphile (one who likes texas), texish (applies to all manner of things). people are friendly. good things happen; when i'm in a good mood, i get lots of good pictures and enjoy talking to people. my pictures all show lubbock in the rearview mirror, though some are just lubbock, no mirror. i'm slow in uploading them though; my own computer isn't handling the internet at the moment. when i get organized, watch out. "xeriscape" is the word for these grasses that don't require water. i call it "zeroscape" because it lives fine on zero water. people cherish and measure inches of rain here. i need a picture of that too. they leave old buildings up here because there's lots of space, so, even though the whole area is only a hundred or so years old, every building anyone built is out there somewhere with a funky sign, lots of good documenting. i'll get it up here as soon as possible. my new jobs are interesting but, for the moment, i'm putting way too much into them. more later