A Self Made of Words
by Carl H. Klaus
Iowa, 2013
Recently a Buddhist acquaintance suggested I read Simone Weil because of her work on attention. She writes, for example, that “Absolute undivided attention is prayer,” which lends a Buddhist flavor to…
2013
by Jeff McMahonFirst you notice the nests. We’re used to seeing yogis rolling out their mats, collecting blocks and straps, perhaps a bolster or blanket. But at a Gong Lab event, they build nests. Some bring pillows from home—head pillows, eye…
Second of two parts. Read part one here.
If you're an electricity thief, watch out for the Smart Grid.
"Utilities have been using the Smart Grid data to find all kinds of creative ways that people have been stealing electricity," said Mel Gehrs, a…
First of Two Parts
As the electric grid gets smarter, vast quantities of data are arriving at utility companies that have no idea what to do with them, according to electric industry experts who gathered in Chicago this morning.
Electric utilities…
Prospects look dim for meter readers in an era when meters can read themselves and communicate instantly with the home office, but representatives from two large Midwestern utilities all but promised Monday there would be continuing jobs for meter…
The U.S. boom in solar installations has disrupted revenue, workflow, and forecasting at large utilities, according to utility consultants, partners and affiliates who gathered this morning in Chicago.
Solar power installations grew by 76 percent in…
Bus rapid transit, in which buses in dedicated lanes perform like rail lines, can not only spur development, but can do so far more efficiently than light rail and streetcars, according to a study due out later this month from the Institute for…
by Jeff McMahon You roll out of savasana feeling at peace, open-hearted, one with everything and everyone, and then someone on the next mat says, “I didn’t like that class.” Or maybe something more subtle—”What was up with that playlist?” or “How…
After installing micro radar sensors in the pavement to monitor the behavior of bicyclists, Chicago has figured out how to make them obey traffic signals: give them their own.
"If you actually give a cyclist their own space and you give them their…
Struggling to adapt to a nation that relies less on automobiles, the U.S. Department of Transportation is turning to cities, pioneers of the complete streets movement, to help it stay relevant and funded as people shift to bicycles, public transit,…
