Howdy

Wow. There are a lot of refineries and chemical plants in Port Arthur, Texas. Unlike Jurong Island, these are further apart because there is just so much land. Amazing landscape. Other than that, very flat in every direction except for the bridges which look like roller coasters from afar, maybe to provide some elevation because even the houses are low single-storey affairs. Interesting contrast - very industrial looking yet so sparsely populated it is also kind of rural. And Texans love pick up trucks. So I spent my birthday in a plant, looking at machinery and hardware and software. Hardly idyllic yet rather interesting. I guess I am more like my father than would first appear - he was a self taught electrical and electronics man for the age in which he lived. The folks here are very nice and so friendly.