Solar power is becoming more affordable

And South Padre Island is the perfect place to take advantage of the falling price of solar panels.
I was reading online about a company - Sunrun - that takes on the bulk of the up-front costs so you don't have to throw a bunch of money at it all at once.

They offer better deals to communities who band together on this - wouldn't it be awesome if South Padre Island were the first solar-powered town in Texas?

Read more here....

Link

Sand Castle Days Needs some Friends!

If you could have anything you want carved into a huge sand sculpture that is going to be viewed and photographed by thousands of people, what it be?

Your name? Your website URL? You and your sweetie’s name in a big heart? You and your dog’s name in a big heart? A birthday greeting? Will you marry me? Will you divorce me? Happy anniversary! Congraduations!

This is YOUR fantasy. Go ahead, be ... creative.

Now, to make this fantasy a reality, all you have to do is friend Sandcastle Days. Yes, a certain amount of money will have to exchange hands - $250, to be specific. But look what you will get for your dough:

1. The warm fuzzy feeling you get when you do something nice for your community
2. An invitation for you and a guest to the “Meet the Masters” Beach Party on Sat., Oct. 17
3. A 501(c)(3) tax write-off
4. The name/url/message of your choice (within reason!), carved in sand on the Sand Castle Days Graffiti Wall

Of course, no check is too large and if you want to feel REALLY warm and fuzzy you can score a full-fledged logo banner, motel rooms, VIP parking passes, your banner on the Sandcastle Days website and all kinds of other great Sand Castle Days perks. For more info download the sponsor packet or call Laurie at 956-433-9909.

Devils in my Head

Island rockers "Port-O-Call" perform a kickass version of Stephen Stills' "Four and Twenty Years Ago."

6 months on the beach

A quote from today’s Cary Tennis column on Salon.com:
But you know, sometimes when I see someone I would like to help I wish I had a lot of money and a mansion on the beach somewhere far away I could send them to. I would say here, what you need is six months on the beach.
Maybe everybody needs six months on the beach. I wonder if President Obama has thought of that: six months on the beach for every angry Republican. Make them stay there under the trees eating coconuts. See how long their anger lasts. I'll bet they could not keep it up for six months. I don't think they have it in them. It would melt away and then we all could move on.
The question is: Are there enough beaches?

What I wanted to post on the forum, but posted here instead so I wouldn't get censored or smacked down

The SPI forum has become a scary place to visit, and it strikes me that this is just a small manifestation of the greater incivility and lack of empathy for one another’s viewpoints that has overcome our nation.

The ugly words that have been strewn over the internet via the forum are the antitheses of the face we try to show our visitors - that of serenity and tranquility in a beautiful natural setting. Isn’t that what drew us all here? Or has the balance tipped toward the cynics who bought in for no other purpose than to make a fast buck off the dimwitted locals?

I worry about you people. I worry about your rage. Your blood pressure. The wife/husband who has to listen to you rant about these things at the dinner table. The nagging suspicion you surely must have that someday you will wish you had spent more time swimming or fishing or building sandcastles -- and less time cursing your neighbors.

2009 Sandcastle Days sculptor invite

Attention Master Sand Sculptors -

The town of South Padre Island is getting ready to announce the biggest Sand Castle Days ever and we hope you will be a part of it. This year we will invite 8 solo sculptors and 8 two-person teams - yup, that’s 24 master sculptors! to play in the sands of Isla Blanca Park, Oct. 12-19, 2009.

Each participating sculptor will receive a full week of meals and double-occupancy accommodations (either in the park cabanas or in nearby hotels/condos) as well as a $750 artist fee. And of course the chance to win some nice cash prizes:

Solos 
1st - $1500
2nd - $1250
3rd - $1000

DUOS
1st - $3000
2nd - $2500
3rd - $2000


Judging will be peoples choice -- just like last year.

Our sponsor - American Airlines - has generously provided us with 12 roundtrip tickets for use in the US and Canada that include $250 companion tickets. These tickets will be dispersed to our most far-flung sculptors with priority given to two sculptors who are flying from the same airport (a condition for the companion flight.) Sculptors who do not receive tickets will be given $250 towards their flight. As an example: Sculptors Don and Marybeth decide to enter the team contest. They are both flying from -- Tampa, let’s say. They would get a ticket plus $250 which would fully cover both of their flights.

(Note: AA just recently opened up operations right here in Brownsville, hurray!)

What we will need from you asap is an expression of interest, including if you wish to compete in the team or solo categories, who your team mate might be, and which airports everyone would need to fly from. We will be very interested in getting the best sculptors our donated tickets will get us, so let us know if there is a chance you could share a companion ticket with another sculptor.

We will be firming up our roster over the next week or two, so please don’t delay - thanks!

email: spisandy@gmail.com