It Ain’t Easy Being Green, Especially at City Scale

Masdar was supposed to be Utopia. Celebrated starchitect Norman Foster would preside over the design of the world's first "Zero Carbon City" that would rise out of one of the most inhospitable environments in the world: the middle of the Arabian desert, near Abu Dhabi. That project kicked off in 2006, and a decade later, … Continue reading It Ain’t Easy Being Green, Especially at City Scale →

New must-have accessory for your Galaxy Note 7: Flame-proof return box

This whole Samsung Galaxy Note 7 debacle would be really hilarious, if it didn't represent a major risk to life and limb for consumers. Adding insult to Samsung's injury, and in an effort to prevent injury to both consumers and postal workers, Samsung took the unusual step of sending out flame-proof containers for people to … Continue reading New must-have accessory for your Galaxy Note 7: Flame-proof return box →

Bye Bye Blackberry: End of an Era?

My son was just a few weeks old when I got my Blackberry. He turns 15 in two weeks. Risking repetitive stress injury to my thumb, that device allowed me to keep a $500-million R&D campus construction project moving forward, while still being able to go to doctor appointments and spend time with my young … Continue reading Bye Bye Blackberry: End of an Era? →

Rats need pants, and other scientific research subjects of questionable worth

It is Awards season again—no, not the Emmy's or even the Country Music Awards or whatever—I'm talking about the always entertaining Ig Nobel Prize ceremony held last night at Harvard. Every year, for the pasts 26 years, researchers in unique and obscure niches are awarded prizes celebrating their scientific achievements. Just like the real Nobel … Continue reading Rats need pants, and other scientific research subjects of questionable worth →

Improperly secured safety equipment likely responsible for architect’s fall

Some incredibly sad news from New York Daily News: A dizzy spell may have caused the death of a New Jersey architect who fell off a midtown skyscraper, officials said Friday. Bruno Travalja, 52, of Ridgewood, N.J., was wearing a safety harness but it wasn’t tied to anything when he plummeted from a deck on … Continue reading Improperly secured safety equipment likely responsible for architect’s fall →