0:00:00.999,0:00:07.817
(Applause)

0:00:07.841,0:00:09.014
Thank you very much.

0:00:09.038,0:00:10.976
I have a few pictures,

0:00:11.000,0:00:14.626
and I'll talk a little bit[br]about how I'm able to do what I do.

0:00:15.145,0:00:17.507
All these houses are built

0:00:17.531,0:00:20.380
from between 70 and 80 percent[br]recycled material,

0:00:20.404,0:00:23.555
stuff that was headed to the mulcher,[br]the landfill, the burn pile.

0:00:23.579,0:00:24.976
It was all just gone.

0:00:25.000,0:00:26.976
This is the first house I built.

0:00:27.312,0:00:30.703
This double front door here[br]with the three-light transom,

0:00:30.727,0:00:32.867
that was headed to the landfill.

0:00:32.891,0:00:34.723
Have a little turret there.

0:00:34.747,0:00:37.804
And then these buttons[br]on the corbels here --

0:00:38.820,0:00:39.981
right there --

0:00:40.005,0:00:41.361
those are hickory nuts.

0:00:41.385,0:00:43.492
And these buttons there --

0:00:43.516,0:00:44.843
those are chicken eggs.

0:00:44.867,0:00:46.036
(Laughter)

0:00:46.060,0:00:47.821
Of course, first you have breakfast,

0:00:47.845,0:00:51.760
and then you fill the shell full[br]of Bondo and paint it and nail it up,

0:00:51.784,0:00:55.228
and you have an architectural button[br]in just a fraction of the time.

0:00:55.926,0:00:58.163
This is a look at the inside.

0:00:58.187,0:01:01.452
You can see the three-light transom[br]there with the eyebrow windows.

0:01:01.476,0:01:04.530
Certainly an architectural antique[br]headed to the landfill --

0:01:04.554,0:01:07.152
even the lockset[br]is probably worth 200 dollars.

0:01:07.738,0:01:09.625
Everything in the kitchen was salvaged.

0:01:09.649,0:01:11.646
There's a 1952 O'Keefe & Merritt stove,

0:01:11.670,0:01:13.976
if you like to cook -- cool stove.

0:01:14.582,0:01:16.388
This is going up into the turret.

0:01:16.723,0:01:19.647
I got that staircase for 20 dollars,

0:01:19.671,0:01:21.555
including delivery to my lot.

0:01:22.000,0:01:24.064
(Laughter)

0:01:24.514,0:01:26.816
Then, looking up in the turret,

0:01:26.840,0:01:30.459
you see there are bulges[br]and pokes and sags and so forth.

0:01:30.483,0:01:32.125
Well, if that ruins your life,

0:01:32.149,0:01:33.976
well, then, you shouldn't live there.

0:01:34.000,0:01:35.877
(Laughter)

0:01:35.901,0:01:38.700
This is a laundry chute.

0:01:38.724,0:01:41.139
And this right here is a shoe last --

0:01:41.163,0:01:43.995
those are those cast-iron things[br]you see at antique shops.

0:01:44.019,0:01:45.308
So I had one of those,

0:01:45.332,0:01:49.078
so I made some low-tech gadgetry,[br]where you just stomp on the shoe last,

0:01:49.102,0:01:51.976
and then the door flies open[br]and you throw your laundry down.

0:01:52.000,0:01:55.786
And then if you're smart enough,[br]it goes on a basket on top of the washer.

0:01:55.810,0:01:58.424
If not, it goes into the toilet.

0:01:58.448,0:02:00.497
(Laughter)

0:02:00.521,0:02:02.204
This is a bathtub I made,

0:02:02.228,0:02:04.285
made out of scrap two-by-four.

0:02:04.309,0:02:08.543
Started with the rim, and then glued[br]and nailed it up into a flat,

0:02:08.567,0:02:10.261
corbeled it up and flipped it over,

0:02:10.285,0:02:12.262
then did the two profiles on this side.

0:02:12.286,0:02:13.646
It's a two-person tub.

0:02:14.175,0:02:17.118
After all, it's not just[br]a question of hygiene,

0:02:17.142,0:02:19.634
but there's a possibility[br]of recreation as well.

0:02:19.658,0:02:22.427
(Laughter)

0:02:22.451,0:02:28.318
Then, this faucet here[br]is just a piece of Osage orange.

0:02:28.342,0:02:29.914
It looks a little phallic,

0:02:29.938,0:02:31.639
but after all, it's a bathroom.

0:02:31.663,0:02:34.259
(Laughter)

0:02:34.632,0:02:36.605
This is a house based on a Budweiser can.

0:02:36.629,0:02:38.321
It doesn't look like a can of beer,

0:02:38.345,0:02:40.849
but the design take-offs[br]are absolutely unmistakable:

0:02:40.873,0:02:43.205
the barley hops design[br]worked up into the eaves,

0:02:43.229,0:02:46.977
then the dentil work comes directly[br]off the can's red, white, blue and silver.

0:02:47.001,0:02:49.439
Then, these corbels going[br]down underneath the eaves

0:02:49.463,0:02:51.641
are that little design[br]that comes off the can.

0:02:51.665,0:02:54.284
I just put a can on a copier[br]and kept enlarging it

0:02:54.308,0:02:55.824
until I got the size I want.

0:02:55.848,0:02:58.395
Then, on the can it says,

0:02:58.419,0:03:00.126
"This is the famous Budweiser beer,

0:03:00.150,0:03:02.208
we know of no other beer,[br]blah, blah, blah."

0:03:02.232,0:03:03.525
So we changed that and put,

0:03:03.549,0:03:07.048
"This is the famous Budweiser house.[br]We don't know of any other house ..."

0:03:07.072,0:03:08.224
and so forth and so on.

0:03:08.248,0:03:09.405
This is a deadbolt.

0:03:09.429,0:03:13.171
It's a fence from a 1930s shaper,[br]which is a very angry woodworking machine.

0:03:13.195,0:03:16.171
And they gave me the fence,[br]but they didn't give me the shaper,

0:03:16.195,0:03:17.866
so we made a deadbolt out of it.

0:03:17.890,0:03:20.131
That'll keep bull elephants[br]out, I promise.

0:03:20.155,0:03:21.160
(Laughter)

0:03:21.184,0:03:24.038
And sure enough, we've had[br]no problems with bull elephants.

0:03:24.062,0:03:25.224
(Laughter)

0:03:25.248,0:03:28.161
The shower is intended[br]to simulate a glass of beer.

0:03:28.185,0:03:31.656
We've got bubbles going up there,[br]then suds at the top with lumpy tiles.

0:03:31.680,0:03:34.369
Where do you get lumpy tiles?[br]Well, of course, you don't.

0:03:34.393,0:03:38.094
But I get a lot of toilets, and so you[br]just dispatch a toilet with a hammer,

0:03:38.118,0:03:39.976
and then you have lumpy tiles.

0:03:40.000,0:03:43.523
And then the faucet is a beer tap.

0:03:43.547,0:03:46.273
(Laughter)

0:03:46.297,0:03:50.699
Then, this panel of glass[br]is the same panel of glass

0:03:50.723,0:03:53.570
that occurs in every middle-class[br]front door in America.

0:03:53.594,0:03:56.102
We're getting tired of it.[br]It's kind of clichéd now.

0:03:56.126,0:03:59.551
If you put it in the front door,[br]your design fails.

0:03:59.575,0:04:02.301
So don't put it in the front door;[br]put it somewhere else.

0:04:02.325,0:04:03.851
It's a pretty panel of glass.

0:04:03.875,0:04:05.616
But if you put it in the front door,

0:04:05.640,0:04:08.148
people say, "Oh, you're trying[br]to be like those guys,

0:04:08.172,0:04:09.323
and you didn't make it."

0:04:09.347,0:04:10.502
So don't put it there.

0:04:11.179,0:04:12.976
Then, another bathroom upstairs.

0:04:13.000,0:04:14.237
This light up here

0:04:14.261,0:04:18.036
is the same light that occurs[br]in every middle-class foyer in America.

0:04:18.060,0:04:19.555
Don't put it in the foyer.

0:04:20.000,0:04:22.737
Put it in the shower, or in the closet,

0:04:22.761,0:04:24.121
but not in the foyer.

0:04:25.902,0:04:28.588
Then, somebody gave me[br]a bidet, so it got a bidet.

0:04:28.612,0:04:31.034
(Laughter)

0:04:31.058,0:04:32.686
This little house here,

0:04:32.710,0:04:36.639
those branches there are made[br]out of Bois d'arc or Osage orange.

0:04:36.663,0:04:40.131
These pictures will keep scrolling[br]as I talk a little bit.

0:04:40.155,0:04:42.421
In order to do what I do,

0:04:42.445,0:04:46.200
you have to understand what causes[br]waste in the building industry.

0:04:46.224,0:04:48.857
Our housing has become a commodity,

0:04:48.881,0:04:51.174
and I'll talk a little bit about that.

0:04:51.198,0:04:54.309
But the first cause of waste[br]is probably even buried in our DNA.

0:04:54.333,0:04:56.801
Human beings have a need[br]for maintaining consistency

0:04:56.825,0:04:58.170
of the apperceptive mass.

0:04:58.782,0:04:59.933
What does that mean?

0:04:59.957,0:05:02.239
What it means is,[br]for every perception we have,

0:05:02.263,0:05:04.853
it needs to tally[br]with the one like it before,

0:05:04.877,0:05:08.271
or we don't have continuity,[br]and we become a little bit disoriented.

0:05:08.295,0:05:10.976
So I can show you an object[br]you've never seen before.

0:05:11.000,0:05:12.901
Oh, that's a cell phone.

0:05:13.376,0:05:15.985
But you've never seen this one before.

0:05:16.009,0:05:17.167
What you're doing

0:05:17.191,0:05:20.191
is sizing up the pattern[br]of structural features,

0:05:20.215,0:05:22.779
and then you go through your databanks:

0:05:22.803,0:05:24.625
Cell phone. Oh! That's a cell phone.

0:05:25.559,0:05:27.641
If I took a bite out of it, you'd go,

0:05:27.665,0:05:29.155
"Wait a second.

0:05:29.179,0:05:30.334
(Laughter)

0:05:30.358,0:05:31.707
"That's not a cell phone.

0:05:31.731,0:05:34.631
That's one of those new[br]chocolate cell phones."

0:05:34.655,0:05:36.369
(Laughter)

0:05:36.393,0:05:38.080
You'd have to start a new category,

0:05:38.104,0:05:40.166
right between cell phones and chocolate.

0:05:40.190,0:05:42.001
(Laughter)

0:05:42.025,0:05:43.691
That's how we process information.

0:05:43.715,0:05:45.847
You translate that[br]to the building industry.

0:05:45.871,0:05:48.901
If we have a wall of windowpanes[br]and one pane is cracked, we go,

0:05:48.925,0:05:50.950
"Oh, dear. That's cracked.[br]Let's repair it.

0:05:50.974,0:05:53.610
Let's take it out and throw it away[br]so nobody can use it

0:05:53.634,0:05:54.794
and put a new one in."

0:05:54.818,0:05:57.040
Because that's what you do[br]with a cracked pane.

0:05:57.064,0:05:59.524
Never mind that it doesn't[br]affect our lives at all.

0:05:59.548,0:06:03.951
It only rattles that expected pattern[br]and unity of structural features.

0:06:04.356,0:06:06.784
However, if we took a small hammer,

0:06:06.808,0:06:09.374
and we added cracks[br]to all the other windows --

0:06:09.398,0:06:11.399
(Laughter)

0:06:11.423,0:06:12.637
then we have a pattern.

0:06:12.661,0:06:15.728
Because Gestalt psychology[br]emphasizes recognition of pattern

0:06:15.752,0:06:17.783
over parts that comprise a pattern.

0:06:17.807,0:06:19.586
We'll go, "Ooh, that's nice."

0:06:19.610,0:06:22.756
So, that serves me every day.

0:06:22.780,0:06:24.526
Repetition creates pattern.

0:06:24.550,0:06:26.349
If I have 100 of these, 100 of those,

0:06:26.373,0:06:28.647
it makes no difference[br]what these and those are.

0:06:28.671,0:06:31.593
If I can repeat anything,[br]I have the possibility of a pattern,

0:06:31.617,0:06:34.540
from hickory nuts and chicken eggs,[br]shards of glass, branches.

0:06:34.564,0:06:36.078
It doesn't make any difference.

0:06:36.102,0:06:38.630
That causes a lot of waste[br]in the building industry.

0:06:38.654,0:06:39.805
The second cause is,

0:06:39.829,0:06:41.730
Friedrich Nietzsche, along about 1885,

0:06:41.754,0:06:44.061
wrote a book titled[br]"The Birth of Tragedy."

0:06:44.085,0:06:45.241
And in there,

0:06:45.693,0:06:48.707
he said cultures tend to swing[br]between one of two perspectives:

0:06:48.731,0:06:51.951
on the one hand,[br]we have an Apollonian perspective,

0:06:51.975,0:06:55.754
which is very crisp and premeditated[br]and intellectualized

0:06:55.778,0:06:57.474
and perfect.

0:06:58.481,0:07:01.693
On the other end of the spectrum,[br]we have a Dionysian perspective,

0:07:01.717,0:07:04.100
which is more given[br]to the passions and intuition,

0:07:04.124,0:07:06.903
tolerant of organic texture[br]and human gesture.

0:07:06.927,0:07:12.246
So the way the Apollonian personality[br]takes a picture or hangs a picture is,

0:07:12.270,0:07:14.146
they'll get out a transit

0:07:14.170,0:07:15.822
and a laser level

0:07:15.846,0:07:17.016
and a micrometer.

0:07:17.550,0:07:19.820
"OK, honey. A thousandth[br]of an inch to the left.

0:07:19.844,0:07:22.227
That's where we want[br]the picture. Right. Perfect!"

0:07:22.251,0:07:24.546
Predicated on plumb level,[br]square and centered.

0:07:24.882,0:07:28.025
The Dionysian personality[br]takes the picture and goes:

0:07:28.780,0:07:33.847
(Laughter)

0:07:33.871,0:07:35.149
That's the difference.

0:07:35.840,0:07:37.601
I feature blemish.

0:07:37.625,0:07:39.681
I feature organic process.

0:07:39.705,0:07:41.060
Dead center John Dewey.

0:07:41.616,0:07:45.860
Apollonian mindset[br]creates mountains of waste.

0:07:45.884,0:07:47.526
If something isn't perfect,

0:07:47.550,0:07:50.380
if it doesn't line up[br]with that premeditated model?

0:07:50.404,0:07:51.555
Dumpster.

0:07:51.579,0:07:52.843
"Oops. Scratch. Dumpster."

0:07:52.867,0:07:55.494
"Oops" this, "oops" that.[br]Landfill, landfill, landfill.

0:07:55.518,0:07:58.031
The third thing is arguably --

0:07:58.649,0:08:01.102
The Industrial Revolution[br]started in the Renaissance

0:08:01.126,0:08:02.380
with the rise of humanism,

0:08:02.404,0:08:05.369
then got a little jump start[br]along about the French Revolution.

0:08:05.393,0:08:08.021
By the middle of the 19th century,[br]it's in full flower.

0:08:08.045,0:08:10.652
And we have dumaflaches and gizmos

0:08:10.676,0:08:13.921
and contraptions that will do anything

0:08:13.945,0:08:15.785
that we, up to that point,

0:08:15.809,0:08:17.560
had to do by hand.

0:08:17.584,0:08:19.659
So now we have standardized materials.

0:08:19.683,0:08:22.541
Well, trees don't grow[br]two inches by four inches,

0:08:22.565,0:08:24.247
eight, ten and twelve feet tall.

0:08:24.271,0:08:25.296
(Laughter)

0:08:25.320,0:08:26.743
We create mountains of waste.

0:08:26.767,0:08:30.308
And they're doing a pretty good job[br]there in the forest,

0:08:30.332,0:08:32.824
working all the byproduct[br]of their industry --

0:08:32.848,0:08:35.610
with OSB and particle board[br]and so forth and so on --

0:08:35.634,0:08:37.429
but it does no good

0:08:37.453,0:08:40.526
to be responsible at the point[br]of harvest in the forest

0:08:40.550,0:08:43.909
if consumers are wasting the harvest[br]at the point of consumption.

0:08:43.933,0:08:45.424
And that's what's happening.

0:08:45.814,0:08:47.526
And so if something isn't standard,

0:08:47.550,0:08:50.483
"Oops, dumpster." "Oops" this.[br]"Oops, warped."

0:08:50.507,0:08:52.736
If you buy a two-by-four[br]and it's not straight,

0:08:52.760,0:08:54.020
you can take it back.

0:08:54.044,0:08:56.655
"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir.[br]We'll get you a straight one."

0:08:56.679,0:08:59.971
Well, I feature all those warped things

0:08:59.995,0:09:01.810
because repetition creates pattern,

0:09:01.834,0:09:03.839
and it's from a Dionysian perspective.

0:09:03.863,0:09:05.145
The fourth thing

0:09:05.169,0:09:08.895
is labor is disproportionately[br]more expensive than materials.

0:09:08.919,0:09:10.409
Well, that's just a myth.

0:09:10.433,0:09:11.595
And there's a story:

0:09:11.619,0:09:15.178
Jim Tulles, one of the guys I trained --[br]I said, "Jim, it's time now.

0:09:15.202,0:09:18.617
I got a job for you as a foreman[br]on a framing crew. Time for you to go."

0:09:18.641,0:09:20.392
"Dan, I just don't think I'm ready."

0:09:20.416,0:09:23.382
"Jim, now it's time.[br]You're the down -- oh!"

0:09:23.406,0:09:24.757
So we hired on.

0:09:24.781,0:09:28.258
And he was out there with a tape measure,[br]going through the trash heap,

0:09:28.282,0:09:31.382
looking for header material,[br]or the board that goes over a door,

0:09:31.406,0:09:34.627
thinking he'd impress his boss --[br]that's how we taught him to do it.

0:09:34.651,0:09:37.502
The superintendent walked up[br]and said, "What are you doing?"

0:09:37.526,0:09:39.446
"Oh, just looking for header material,"

0:09:39.470,0:09:40.631
waiting for that kudos.

0:09:40.655,0:09:44.113
He said, "I'm not paying you to go[br]through the trash. Get back to work."

0:09:44.137,0:09:45.845
And Jim had the wherewithal to say,

0:09:45.869,0:09:49.243
"You know, if you were paying me[br]300 dollars an hour,

0:09:49.267,0:09:51.284
I can see how you might say that.

0:09:51.308,0:09:54.385
But right now, I'm saving you[br]five dollars a minute.

0:09:54.409,0:09:55.757
Do the math."

0:09:55.781,0:09:58.105
(Laughter)

0:09:58.129,0:10:01.343
"Good call, Tulles. From now on,[br]you guys hit this pile first."

0:10:01.367,0:10:03.842
And the irony is that he wasn't[br]very good at math.

0:10:03.866,0:10:07.272
(Laughter)

0:10:07.296,0:10:09.947
But once in a while,[br]you get access to the control room,

0:10:09.971,0:10:12.080
and then you can[br]kind of mess with the dials.

0:10:12.104,0:10:13.669
And that's what happened there.

0:10:14.438,0:10:16.837
The fifth thing is that maybe,[br]after 2,500 years,

0:10:16.861,0:10:20.179
Plato is still having his way with us[br]in his notion of perfect forms.

0:10:20.203,0:10:24.375
He said that we have in our noggin[br]the perfect idea of what we want,

0:10:24.399,0:10:27.376
and we force environmental[br]resources to accommodate that.

0:10:27.400,0:10:29.858
So we all have in our head[br]the perfect house,

0:10:29.882,0:10:32.112
the American dream, which is a house,

0:10:32.136,0:10:33.723
the dream house.

0:10:33.747,0:10:35.526
The problem is we can't afford it.

0:10:35.550,0:10:37.526
So we have the American dream look-alike,

0:10:37.550,0:10:38.862
which is a mobile home.

0:10:38.886,0:10:41.176
Now there's a blight on the planet.

0:10:41.200,0:10:42.454
(Laughter)

0:10:42.478,0:10:44.198
It's a chattel mortgage,

0:10:44.222,0:10:46.199
just like furniture, just like a car.

0:10:46.223,0:10:49.355
You write the check,[br]and instantly, it depreciates 30 percent.

0:10:49.379,0:10:52.586
After a year, you can't get insurance[br]on everything you have in it,

0:10:52.610,0:10:53.881
only on 70 percent.

0:10:53.905,0:10:55.654
Wired with 14-Gauge wire, typically.

0:10:55.678,0:10:56.846
Nothing wrong with that,

0:10:56.870,0:10:59.716
unless you ask it to do[br]what 12-Gauge wire's supposed to do,

0:10:59.740,0:11:00.943
and that's what happens.

0:11:00.967,0:11:02.448
It out-gasses formaldehyde --

0:11:02.472,0:11:06.613
so much so that there is[br]a federal law in place

0:11:06.637,0:11:11.201
to warn new mobile home buyers[br]of the formaldehyde atmosphere danger.

0:11:11.225,0:11:13.271
Are we just being numbingly stupid?

0:11:13.295,0:11:15.102
The walls are this thick.

0:11:15.126,0:11:18.103
The whole thing has[br]the structural value of corn.

0:11:18.127,0:11:20.010
(Laughter)

0:11:20.034,0:11:22.606
"So ... I thought Palm Harbor[br]Village was over there."

0:11:22.630,0:11:24.668
"No, no. We had a wind last night.

0:11:24.692,0:11:26.264
It's gone now."

0:11:26.288,0:11:29.526
(Laughter)

0:11:29.550,0:11:31.951
Then when they degrade,[br]what do you do with them?

0:11:32.359,0:11:34.063
Now, all that --

0:11:34.626,0:11:37.374
that Apollonian, Platonic model --

0:11:37.398,0:11:39.961
is what the building industry[br]is predicated on,

0:11:39.985,0:11:42.661
and there are a number of things[br]that exacerbate that.

0:11:42.685,0:11:45.203
One is that all the professionals,

0:11:45.227,0:11:46.894
all the tradesmen, vendors,

0:11:46.918,0:11:49.296
inspectors, engineers, architects

0:11:49.320,0:11:50.966
all think like this.

0:11:51.438,0:11:53.644
And then it works its way[br]back to the consumer,

0:11:53.668,0:11:55.112
who demands the same model.

0:11:55.136,0:11:57.955
It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.[br]We can't get out of it.

0:11:58.271,0:12:00.847
Then here come the marketeers[br]and the advertisers.

0:12:00.871,0:12:03.295
"Woo. Woo-hoo."

0:12:03.319,0:12:06.526
We buy stuff we didn't know we needed.

0:12:06.550,0:12:09.082
All we have to do[br]is look at what one company did

0:12:09.106,0:12:11.097
with carbonated prune juice.

0:12:11.121,0:12:12.526
How disgusting.

0:12:12.550,0:12:14.342
(Laughter)

0:12:14.366,0:12:15.674
But you know what they did?

0:12:15.698,0:12:18.774
They hooked a metaphor into it[br]and said, "I drink Dr. Pepper ..."

0:12:18.798,0:12:21.792
And pretty soon, we're swilling[br]that stuff by the lake-ful,

0:12:21.816,0:12:23.527
by the billions of gallons.

0:12:23.551,0:12:26.688
It doesn't even have real prunes![br]Doesn't even keep you regular.

0:12:26.712,0:12:28.472
(Laughter)

0:12:28.496,0:12:30.526
My oh my, that makes it worse.

0:12:30.550,0:12:33.746
And we get sucked[br]into that faster than anything.

0:12:33.770,0:12:36.479
Then, a man named[br]Jean-Paul Sartre wrote a book

0:12:36.503,0:12:37.988
titled "Being and Nothingness."

0:12:38.012,0:12:40.934
It's a pretty quick read.[br]You can snap through it in maybe --

0:12:40.958,0:12:42.022
(Laughter)

0:12:42.046,0:12:43.198
maybe two years,

0:12:43.222,0:12:44.954
if you read eight hours a day.

0:12:45.550,0:12:47.863
In there, he talked[br]about the divided self.

0:12:47.887,0:12:50.965
He said human beings act differently[br]when they know they're alone

0:12:50.989,0:12:53.049
than when they know[br]somebody else is around.

0:12:53.073,0:12:55.375
So if I'm eating spaghetti,[br]and I know I'm alone,

0:12:55.399,0:12:56.867
I can eat like a backhoe.

0:12:56.891,0:13:00.105
I can wipe my mouth on my sleeve,[br]napkin on the table,

0:13:00.129,0:13:03.446
chew with my mouth open,[br]make little noises,

0:13:03.470,0:13:05.447
scratch wherever I want.

0:13:05.471,0:13:07.331
(Laughter)

0:13:07.355,0:13:08.802
But as soon as you walk in,

0:13:08.826,0:13:11.304
I go, "Oops! Lil' spaghetti sauce there."

0:13:11.328,0:13:13.181
Napkin in my lap, half-bites,

0:13:13.205,0:13:15.438
chew with my mouth closed, no scratching.

0:13:15.462,0:13:20.397
Now, what I'm doing[br]is fulfilling your expectations

0:13:20.421,0:13:22.303
of how I should live my life.

0:13:23.819,0:13:25.601
I feel that expectation,

0:13:25.625,0:13:27.041
and so I accommodate it,

0:13:27.065,0:13:30.311
and I'm living my life according[br]to what you expect me to do.

0:13:30.335,0:13:32.606
That happens in the building[br]industry as well.

0:13:32.630,0:13:35.485
That's why all subdivisions look the same.

0:13:35.509,0:13:39.625
Sometimes, we even have[br]these formalized cultural expectations.

0:13:39.649,0:13:41.526
I'll bet all your shoes match.

0:13:41.550,0:13:43.735
Sure enough, we all buy into that ...

0:13:43.759,0:13:45.409
(Laughter)

0:13:45.433,0:13:47.858
And with gated communities,

0:13:47.882,0:13:50.258
we have a formalized expectation,

0:13:50.282,0:13:51.860
with a homeowners' association.

0:13:51.884,0:13:53.582
Sometimes those guys are Nazis,

0:13:53.606,0:13:54.953
my oh my.

0:13:55.930,0:13:58.906
That exacerbates and continues this model.

0:13:59.712,0:14:01.619
The last thing is gregariousness.

0:14:02.408,0:14:04.321
Human beings are a social species.

0:14:04.345,0:14:07.043
We like to hang together in groups,

0:14:07.067,0:14:08.947
just like wildebeests, just like lions.

0:14:08.971,0:14:10.627
Wildebeests don't hang with lions,

0:14:10.651,0:14:12.301
because lions eat wildebeests.

0:14:12.690,0:14:14.136
Human beings are like that.

0:14:14.160,0:14:16.256
We do what that group does

0:14:16.280,0:14:18.136
that we're trying to identify with.

0:14:18.682,0:14:20.665
You see this in junior high a lot.

0:14:21.291,0:14:25.662
Those kids, they'll work[br]all summer long -- kill themselves --

0:14:25.686,0:14:29.894
so that they can afford[br]one pair of designer jeans.

0:14:29.918,0:14:32.176
So along about September,

0:14:32.200,0:14:34.177
they can stride in and go,

0:14:34.201,0:14:38.415
"I'm important today. See?[br]Don't touch my designer jeans!

0:14:38.439,0:14:41.276
I see you don't have designer jeans.

0:14:41.300,0:14:44.996
You're not one of the beautiful --[br]See, I'm one of the beautiful people.

0:14:45.020,0:14:46.208
See my jeans?"

0:14:46.232,0:14:48.618
Right there is reason[br]enough to have uniforms.

0:14:49.185,0:14:52.219
And so that happens[br]in the building industry as well.

0:14:52.678,0:14:56.897
We have confused[br]Maslow's hierarchy of needs,

0:14:56.921,0:14:58.526
just a little bit.

0:14:58.550,0:15:01.904
On the bottom tier, we have basic needs:

0:15:01.928,0:15:05.462
shelter, clothing, food,[br]water, mating and so forth.

0:15:05.486,0:15:07.824
Second: security. Third: relationships.

0:15:07.848,0:15:10.866
Fourth: status, self-esteem --[br]that is, vanity --

0:15:10.890,0:15:13.488
and we're taking vanity[br]and shoving it down here.

0:15:14.343,0:15:15.749
And so we end up

0:15:16.827,0:15:18.803
with vain decisions,

0:15:19.605,0:15:21.797
and we can't even afford our mortgage.

0:15:21.821,0:15:24.575
We can't afford to eat[br]anything except beans;

0:15:24.599,0:15:28.170
that is, our housing[br]has become a commodity.

0:15:28.813,0:15:31.472
And it takes a little bit of nerve

0:15:32.123,0:15:34.526
to dive into those primal,

0:15:34.550,0:15:36.753
terrifying parts of ourselves

0:15:37.550,0:15:39.494
and make our own decisions

0:15:40.002,0:15:41.979
and not make our housing a commodity,

0:15:42.003,0:15:45.526
but make it something[br]that bubbles up from seminal sources.

0:15:45.550,0:15:47.327
That takes a little bit of nerve,

0:15:47.351,0:15:50.076
and, darn it, once in a while, you fail.

0:15:50.973,0:15:52.764
But that's okay.

0:15:53.180,0:15:54.968
If failure destroys you,

0:15:54.992,0:15:56.222
then you can't do this.

0:15:56.246,0:15:58.752
I fail all the time, every day,

0:15:58.776,0:16:02.488
and I've had some whopping[br]failures, I promise --

0:16:02.512,0:16:05.526
big, public, humiliating,[br]embarrassing failures.

0:16:05.550,0:16:06.990
Everybody points and laughs,

0:16:07.014,0:16:10.110
and they say, "He tried it a fifth time,[br]and it still didn't work!

0:16:10.134,0:16:11.514
What a moron!"

0:16:11.538,0:16:13.526
Early on, contractors come by and say,

0:16:13.550,0:16:15.313
"Dan, you're a cute little bunny,

0:16:15.337,0:16:17.495
but you know,[br]this just isn't going to work.

0:16:17.519,0:16:19.850
What don't you do this?[br]Why don't you do that?"

0:16:19.874,0:16:22.380
And your instinct is to say,

0:16:22.404,0:16:24.071
"Well, why don't you suck an egg?"

0:16:24.095,0:16:25.526
(Laughter)

0:16:25.550,0:16:27.214
But you don't say that,

0:16:27.238,0:16:29.344
because they're the guys you're targeting.

0:16:30.191,0:16:33.170
And so what we've done --

0:16:33.194,0:16:36.587
and this isn't just in housing;[br]it's in clothing and food

0:16:36.611,0:16:39.464
and our transportation[br]needs, our energy --

0:16:39.488,0:16:42.063
we sprawl just a little bit.

0:16:42.996,0:16:45.526
And when I get a little bit of press,

0:16:45.550,0:16:47.510
I hear from people all over the world.

0:16:47.859,0:16:50.678
And we may have invented excess,

0:16:50.702,0:16:54.119
but the problem of waste is worldwide.

0:16:55.184,0:16:58.161
We're in trouble.

0:16:58.185,0:17:01.239
And I don't wear ammo belts[br]crisscrossing my chest

0:17:01.263,0:17:02.633
and a red bandana.

0:17:03.375,0:17:04.995
But we're clearly in trouble.

0:17:05.598,0:17:09.526
And what we need to do is reconnect

0:17:09.550,0:17:13.187
with those really primal[br]parts of ourselves

0:17:13.211,0:17:15.257
and make some decisions and say,

0:17:15.281,0:17:20.010
"You know, I think I would like to put[br]CDs across the wall there.

0:17:20.034,0:17:21.398
What do you think, honey?"

0:17:22.011,0:17:23.706
If it doesn't work, take it down.

0:17:24.859,0:17:27.835
What we need to do is reconnect[br]with who we really are,

0:17:28.462,0:17:30.438
and that's thrilling indeed.

0:17:31.483,0:17:32.666
Thank you very much.

0:17:32.690,0:17:36.550
(Applause)