i wish powerpoint would simply freeze when a presenter reads the slide.

the sound of the first shovelful of dirt landing on the coffin lid will echo in my mind for a long time. the california sun was reflecting off of the sheen of perspiration of the black clad gathering. it was quiet. except for that unique tone of a blade penetrating soil. again and again. the immediate family, friends and extended family of colleagues each took their turn. the rabbit told us that we should think of this as putting a final blanket over him, like we do over our loved ones to keep them warm.

it should be our destiny to conduct the rituals of passage thru death for our parents. it hurt to see his parents their daughter-in-law and three small grandchildren forced to bring that moment forward. he was such a good guy. a mensch.

i landed at SFO after and short stay in cincinnati. the blackberry nearly fell out of my numb fingers as my brain processed the email which told me that Jonathan Markowitz had been killed in an automobile accident on sunday. i was sure that this fun-loving husband, and father of three, leader of our seattle office, could not be gone. and yet, it was true.

it is but a very thin line that holds us to this world. his snapped. it makes me think, again, of the priorities that each of us have. reminded me of the promises i made laying on my back 18 months ago wondering if i would see another day. i had that option. he did not. i was here for a conference on eco cities. fate brought me here today for a different reason.

the service was held in berkeley. the main room filled. they had to open the back wall to extend the space so that all the mourners could have room to sit. the hardest part was to watch his father come forward to make a reading. as a father, i could only begin to imagine the incredible pain that he must have felt. he spoke clearly in a measured voice of the need to acknowledge loss and to move on.

it was a beautiful california day.

one which he would have loved to have enjoyed.

what a beautiful location. a well secured, walled entrance gives way to an impressively horizontally orientated grey granite and glass edifice. after pushing the little red button, getting photographed and announcing our presence, circular doors slip away to reveal an amazing view out over the lake to the mountains beyond. there is only a slight glazed facade between us and the horizon. the meeting rooms were all well appointed. not too much. just elegant and comfortable.

befitting of the organization....it is a good half-hour ride from the airport which takes one thru the city, so i can easily imagine that the time only goes up at rush hours.

i have been here for a week with my 10 year old daughter. it has been fantastic to see this fabulous city and its life, thru her eyes. her favourite has been the shower toilets. it is 'normal' for toilets here to have a function which will spray warm water onto your bottom to wash it. many also have dryers.....this has given her many moments of mirth!

i always knew that Tokyo would be beautiful during the Cherry Blossom time. i had no idea how beautiful. i did not know that the blossoms erupt along the branches prior to the leaves so that all one sees is fields of white pixels from afar. and then to walk under and thru the trees is really other-worldly. the timing of this trip could not have been plannned any better. monday there were pregnant buds all over the city and by the petals were out.

the city has a spiritual relationship with this time. the blossoms are only on the trees for about two weeks and then they slowly fall like large snow flakes. it would be amazxing to experience the entire cycle. everyone is happier during this time. and now, having been here to experience it, i can understand why.

the best job add i have seen in ages!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPz1Mou-Xxk

a "killer statistic" from Duncan Green (Head of Research, Oxfam):
For every 1 person killed by terrorism, 20 women die in child birth, 60 die in traffic accidents and 170 children die through malnoutrician.

sent to me by Simon Roberts.

a GREAT movie that is a MUST watch!!!!!

http://storyofstuff.com/

Dear all, From a man who loves information and statistics, take a look at this interesting site on the state of the world:

http://www.worldometers.info/

Makes you think, huh?

Adrian Joyce

Today I came across this:

http://www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock.swf

I thought it might be interesting to the group.

Vlassis Rizopoulos
_______________________
great! thanks Vlassis! CHL

everything you never know that you would want to know......about Geko Hairs
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/01/29_gecko.shtml

in a meeting this morning, Cecil Balmond spoke to a piece of advice that he was given when he joined the firm. it implied that yo could do whatever you wanted [with reason] as long as you did it really well. i like this and it should be a bit of a life philosophy.

incredible experience at 'Clarks' today at a mall near London. we found a pair of shoes for my son [8 years old] in the sale rack. the fit perfectly and were just what we needed for the new term. we took them to the check-out counter..... 'sorry, i cant seem to find them in the book. would you mind waiting for a moment while i find the bar code" came fthe response from the person behind the counter. we waited a minute while she flipped through pages of Black+White line drawings of every pair of shoes in the store. each one had the name and a bar code beneath them. amazing. she flipped thru the book twice, then called over another guy. they looked rapidly thru it again. By this time, i was really getting ready to leave. Since, she could not find the right bar code in the book, she could not complete the sale. they were £16. i had the cash in my hand, but she could not complete the sale until she found the bar code. five mintes later she had found a code.........for the wrong pair of shoes, but she could sense that she was about to loose me.

so what does it mean when you 'cant find the bar code' becomes a barrier to a transaction. fascinating to extend this out. how many times does this happen every day? when a legal, valid transaction cannot be completed because a code cannot be found to give to a machine? perhaps not that often. perhaps alot? what use is the inventory that the bar code should give the store if the codes are not valid? useless data all around.

Jan Figel made a great statement in his keynote at the CISCO public services summit in Stockholm

without life long learning, there will be less and less life long earning!

too true.

'it should not be a privilege to have a job'
the closing remark from molly tschang at the socially inclusive growth session at the 2007 cisco public services summit.

taking inspiration from the fluter of a blade of grass and the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse, this guy has come up with a brilliant idea of how to generate electricity.... the video says it all...

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4224763.html?series=37

impressive array of events laid on in this vibrant city. i spoke at two venues. the first was the opening of the interactive design media research series on future scenarios [http://www.designsingapore.org/Default.asp?Page=262] and the second at the Architectural Festival called Archifest [http://app.singaporedesignfestival.com/event/event_details.asp?id=25]. it is incredibly well organized and a real pleasure to ork with the Design Council.

it is a privilege to have the opportunity to meet the designers of wonderful architecture. they presented their work as part of the Archifest event. the floating roof kindergarden is unforgettable. i suggest that a peak at it is worth it. [http://www.g-mark.org/search/Detail?id=33708&lang=en]

and they are really nice people too which makes it all the better.

i simply wasn't fast enough to get my camera to the ready. stopped at a light on my way to the airort i look over to the left to see if i could discern the origin of the telltale two-stroke whine. i expected to see a bored boiler-suited person blowing dust into the sky to ensure that urban asthma statistics would continue to climb. much to my pleasant surprise, i observed the opposite. a youngish chap was taking a long tube and hoovering the sidewalk and gutter of smallish litter. this had the side effect of also removing the obvious piles of dust and other detritus which normally accumulates in the city. what a difference from the new tube station at St Pancreas which already has a legion of dust bunnies running the freshly painted corridors.

The media has enveloped our lives in many ways. this website is full of stories that really do MATTER.

http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/4/

I do not believe that ‘money’ will ever disappear. Humans have always needed a way in which to exchange good and services. If one looks at the development of this exchange over the past 2000 years that we know about, this exchange has evolved in many different ways – essentially from the direct to the abstract. The direct was barter. The abstract the belief in the value represented by a piece of paper or plastic one holds in the hand [notes].

I feel that if you really want to talk about the future of money you need to talk about how this ‘exchange’ will take place, not the hard stuff that we hold in our hands [or not]. In thinking about this some more as I write, I think that the question is really wrong. What one really needs to do is to posit what will be exchanged. In the past, the items of most value have varied from humans to salt to gold.....what will it be in another 100 years?

Another beautiful lounge. this one is fulled with natural daylight and has plenty of electrical sockets spread around both the periphery and throughout the lounge area. large leather couch area. carpet could do with a good steam clean. the design is a wonderful mixture of modern and local. i wish more lounges has this kind of glocalized feel!

what a pleasure an airport lounge can be. its simplicity and variety of spaces true to 'scan-design' form. free wireless with great bandwidth [at 0600] and furniture that is both functional and comfortable. this is the way a lounge should really be.

http://www.millennium-project.org/

http://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/Search.html

these are awesome maps and representations of data!
http://maps.maplecroft.com/
some of the best that i have seen....

http://sos.noaa.gov/index.html

wow!

this is a must watch for anyone who has kids or is thinking about it......she gets it sooo right!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsSuvUveUWo

This is a really interesting article which was passed on to me from a participant at the Outlook Event in Washington. It is worth a read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/magazine/21water-t.html?_r=1&incamp=article_popular&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1193412783-V5RHRZd5hDkLDap1s6qrLw&pagewanted=all

http://www.fringehog.com/
a very interesting website with podcasts about the future. worth a view periodically

every once in a while there is a little piece that is a must watch. this is one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDsIFspVzfI

after you finish. take a deep breath.

well, i have now on my lap my new 17" MacBook Pro. what a wonderful machine. it allows me to go betwen both operating systems at will.....and it works! it is such a pleasure to have it. and it makes it much easier to work.

all i need to do is to get this keyboard replaced.....then it will be perfect!

it is hard for me to reconcile my own carbon footprint. i often woder how i can. i travel around the world to work to inspire groups to change their ways in order to save the planet, and yet i am actively damaging it. should i worry about this as much as i do? there are so many who travel even more than me and do not care at all.... i see them every week i the BA lounges. yet, in a strange way, this inspires me even more to get the message out and to challenge myslef to think of ways that we can continue to make a difference in as many people's lives as possible. i know that this is my/our opportunity and repsonsilibility. how can i/we be more effetive? how can i/we reach even more people? i know that we can and must!

Global hospitality industry is VERY highly geared. There are cases in the states of 100% debt financing. more typical is 90% for construction and then again the same for the managment activities. this is putting many properties into very precarious situations if/when interest rates increase.

i did a 'talk' in Second Life yesterday. it was really cool. fun. strange. connective. communicative. all of the right things that make an experience 'real'. we are going to work on how to do workshops in-world. this will be fun!

what would you do if the power went out and you had no idea when it would come back? an increasingly familiar state of affairs for many around the world already. and guarenteed to become more common as large power companies continue to protect their long-vested interests against far more redundant and logical distributed power generation.

i arrived at my hotel [ the Fairlawns in Johnesburg, SA] after a journey made slightly arduous by all the traffic lights being out along the road. a large cadelabra and smiling faces [albeit slightly strained] greeted me. they were wonderful. the entire property was candlelit. from the rooms to the bar and dining room. it was amazingly beautiful. we all cheered when the lights blinked on momentarily. the 'batle' had been won....but not really. when the electrons flowed about an hour later time, the noises of our modern daily life returned. no one cheered. i suppose that all to often we neglect to remember the things that we have lost as we have 'progressed'. don't get me wrong, i love my expresso machine. but i also loved the flickering candlelit hotel and the surrounding quiet.

i am in new york. time shifting so i wake up pretty early. it is sunday morning. turned on the television to check out the news. a tele-evangalist was on. the first, the jimmy swaggart somethingorother, told the audience that if they did not donate to a ministry that was spreading the 'word of the cross' around the world, then their donation DID NOT COUNT. the message was disgusting in that it implied that only donations/charity that helped ministries was any good - NOT helping your neighbor, or enhancing the situation in the local comunity around you - ONLY the ministries afar.

another station.

a super church in the mid west. very charismatic 'bishop' speaking about 'the stand-off'. PROTECT YOUR STUFF was his message. again, incredibly scary. the message was clear. THEY are out to get US and to take our stuff from us. nothing about equality of the distribution or consumption of the STUFF.

Everyone has a choice Michael Dell identifies three key areas in this rallying cry for greener technology. He calls for simplicity, creativity and partnerships and urges customers to choose products that will have least environmental impact during their lifecycle.

Financial Times, 18 April 2007, 1082 Words, en

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA

a must view.
thanks to Gian Carlo!

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/005785.html.

it starts at the 54th minute.
skip the ABSURD speech by representative Mr Hall that preceeds the testimony

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/energycommerce/032107.eaq_joint_hrg_science.climate_change.wvx

Can you imagine having your foot scanned? I couldn't. But, I did in the Left Foot Company sales room in Helsinki. An essentially spartan room with a shelf on one wall full of examples of the styles, colours and soles of shoes that I could 'mix and match'. The 3D scan of both feet complete I then only had to try on a 'tester' pair to fine tune the scan to MY perception of a perfect fit. Three weeks later, a pair of beautiful mass-produced hand made, custom-fit shoes arrived by Royal Mail at my door. And, they were wonderful. Now, all I need to do is to go on-line and order my new shoes to replace my old one in the same style, or another style. I love it. Really. I enjoy shopping - except for shoes. I find it tedious to try on all those stiff shoes that take months to break in. These Left Foot Company shoes fit from the first time and continue to fit. A week after my first pair, I tried to order two more, but got frustrated and bailed out. Now, I have replaced my first pair with a few clicks at the website. A great example of 'back-to-the-future'.

the fifth warmest year....ever.
see the visual data at one of my favorite sites from NASA - http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17553

These days, donating is like watching cable television: There are thousands of specialized possibilities. Even after you narrow your field - to one disease, one social problem, one continent - you'll still confront too many choices. Fortunately, charities have watchdogs and reviewers to measure them against various yardsticks. Want to know how much of your money will end up with folks who reallly need it rather than spent on administation? Or do you simply want a list of non-profits that are best at, say, fighting disease in Africa? These wesbites deliver:

Charity Navigator
www.charitynavigator.org
Boasts a seachable sortable database plus top 10 lists in myriad categories

American Institute of Philantrophy
www.charitywatch.org
Issues letter grades for charities nationwide

Guidestar
www.guidestar.org.
Has a massive database of nonprofit financials.

Better Buiness Bureau Wise Giving Alliance
www.give.org
Identifies charities that spend at least 65% of their money on programmes.

I lived in HK for the calendar year of 1996; the year before the hand over. i love Hong Kong.

10 years is all that it has taken for the once blue skies to turn grey. Even then the development from just north in the 'special economic zone' was starting to penetrate into the area. but it seemed that the ocean breezes would flush the nastyness away every evening. now you can barely see the peaks and troughs of Hong Kong.

the bright smog not only stings the eye, but hurts the heart.

wow. what an evening! can anyone think of any better way to change the world than to work on erradicating poverty?

more to come

A new study of the mass of ice capping Greenland reveals that the giant ice sheet burying the island has rapidly lost mass in recent years due to melting and iceberg calving. Between 2003 and 2005, the island’s low coastal areas shed 155 gigatons (41 cubic miles) of ice per year, while snow accumulation in the interior of the ice sheet was only 54 gigatons per year. The amount of ice lost in two years is roughly the same as the amount of water that flows through the Colorado River in 12 years.

To read the full NASA press release on this study please read Greenland Ice Sheet On A Downward Slide [http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/greenland_slide.html]

The latest global Freshwater report is at
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/freshwater/index.cfm?uNewsID=77900

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Living Planet Report 2006 is now available at
http://www.worldwildlife.org/news/

under the link
New WWF Report Details Global Impact on Natural Resources 10/23/2006

Chris

I know you like these sort of stories. I do.

Haier, China's largest white goods manufacturer prides itself on after-sales service. A high number of washing machine faults started being flagged by their maintenance staff and when they took the machines apart found vegetables cuttings trapped in the filter. Oh, said customers, we use the machine for washing our vegetables too.

Rather than ruling the warrantee invalid, Haier took the challenge back to R&D and within a week had found a solution; modify the pump, open the filter a bit, etc, and within a month had the new model back on the market proclaiming best for washing your clothes and your vegetables!

Sales leapt again.

Terry
CEO Arup

I was so pleased wednesday at about midnight when my bleary eyes could rest and my soggy brain had dealt with the last of 408 emails in 36 hours [that was about half of my inbox]. after the glow of the stupendous accomplishment wore off [in milliseconds], images of the movie BRAZIL began to swim into my consciousness....i was so proud of essentially sorting hundres of messages into folders. i had become a FILER. Flippin' Imbecile Letting Email Rule my life.

not pretty. think about it. are you one?

went on a lovely walk for the hope and homes charity yesterday through the hertfordshire countryside. there were nine stations at which one collected stickers to coincide with the countries in which the charity is active. along the way [at station five i believe], at the foot of a long sloping hill, a man sitting in a green canvas folding chair and exchanged pleasentries....mostly about the weather. then he asked if i was listening to the Ryder Cup? I asked him why? he replied 'well, you are clearly from north america so i assume you are following the golf!'

i think it was the Victorians who wrote about the distinguishing features of the classes. how victorian to still be so clearly categorized by language stereotypes. will we ever rise above this? can we?

great meeting with Alex Steffen from worldchanging.com this afternoon. it is incredible what a six month deadline can do to sharpen the mind. the book looks great as does the new website.

we have no idea how to get there. or do we? how far would it go if we simply banned incadescent light bulbs? or forced every automobile to be decommissioned as soon as it began to pollute? but then again, is this a dream of the rich?

Arriving by boat at sunset. Wow! Venice has not lost a bit of its charm, even though it is overrun by an ant army of tourists. Took the water bus all the way to the end. Then, walked around for 45 minutes as each person I asked for directions assured me that they knew the location of the Pensione…..not. finally called the front desk who walked me there. Room 60 is what was once the attic. Pine tree rafters occupy the gabled ceiling space. Suspicious gaps between a few of the members make me wonder if they are as old as the house, or as old as the air conditioner.

Arup and SIIC sponsored the opening party of the biennale. The Drivers of Change was chosen as the theme. It looked GREAT! Spent a good bit of time with Mr Ma, who is the Chinese partner behind the Dong Tan project, chatting thru an interpreter. The ex-mayor of Bogota joined us. The conversation was really interesting – especially about how we evaluate happiness. He spoke about the impossibility for Columbia to reach monetary parity [GDP] with the US or China. And posed the question ‘how can I tell the young people of my country that they will never be a rich as the Americans?’ he answered with ‘we have to look at other ways of achieving, and measuring, happiness’. Naturally, I had to pepper both of them with lots of questions.

Spent the wee morning hours at the foot of the Rialto Bridge with a subset of the team that is helping to make Dong Tan a reality. An international, passionate, group. Jason King and I decided that we would work together to try to make sustainable urbanism a reality in Africa as well.

Took the water taxi back to the airport. Ridiculously expensive [100 Euro], but the ride was glorious and worth it. The water bus [12 Euro] is clearly the vest value if time is not an issue. It is a slow tub that meanders along the main waterways. The ambiance unique. The taxi takes a much more direct route along some of the ‘back alleyways’ which gives one a view of a totally different Venice.

Arriving by boat at sunset. Wow! Venice has not lost a bit of its charm, even though it is overrun by an ant army of tourists. Took the water bus all the way to the end. Then, walked around for 45 minutes as each person I asked for directions assured me that they knew the location of the Pensione…..not. finally called the front desk who walked me there. Room 60 is what was once the attic. Pine tree rafters occupy the gabled ceiling space. Suspicious gaps between a few of the members make me wonder if they are as old as the house, or as old as the air conditioner.

Arup and SIIC sponsored the opening party of the biennale. The Drivers of Change was chosen as the theme. It looked GREAT! Spent a good bit of time with Mr Ma, who is the Chinese partner behind the Dong Tan project, chatting thru an interpreter. The ex-mayor of Bogota joined us. The conversation was really interesting – especially about how we evaluate happiness. He spoke about the impossibility for Columbia to reach monetary parity [GDP] with the US or China. And posed the question ‘how can I tell the young people of my country that they will never be a rich as the Americans?’ he answered with ‘we have to look at other ways of achieving, and measuring, happiness’. Naturally, I had to pepper both of them with lots of questions.

Spent the wee morning hours at the foot of the Rialto Bridge with a subset of the team that is helping to make Dong Tan a reality. An international, passionate, group. Jason King and I decided that we would work together to try to make sustainable urbanism a reality in Africa as well.

Took the water taxi back to the airport. Ridiculously expensive [100 Euro], but the ride was glorious and worth it. The water bus [12 Euro] is clearly the vest value if time is not an issue. It is a slow tub that meanders along the main waterways. The ambiance unique. The taxi takes a much more direct route along some of the ‘back alleyways’ which gives one a view of a totally different Venice.

for twenty five years about 6000 people have gathered at a meadow in the sierra foothills near yosemite valley over the labor day weekend. it is effectively an event which mixes the best of blue grass and california hippie cultures......the ponderosa pines, the dry heat and very cold evenings, the informal circles of just plain normal people who share a love of music playing thru the night, the hundreds of kids running around and loving every minute of it.

every culture has done this for ever. getting together to share music and song about everyday life. how easy to forget how alike we all are.

fate is an incredible force in life. it is so mimportant to be open to the opportunities, and challenges, which fate presents. a snapshot at a breakfast led to a dedlightful dinner last night at the home of Jessica Schwizer. She invited another 10 interested, and VERY interesting, individuals to gather to hear me talk about the Drivers of Change 2006 work. the group exuded passion, committment to positive change and goodwill. If the world only had access to more of that!

on my way to the Strawberry Music Festival which has been held or years in Yosemite National park area. stopped at a Starbucks to get fuel. able to upload the 60 emails from the plane. what a change from 30 years ago when a stop meant ice cream and a pee.

Each year TED hosts some of the world's most fascinating people, among them an interesting mix of mavericks and cultural icons. For the first time ever they are making the experience more widely accessible via TED Talks, a weekly audio release of fascinating talks given by some key figures.

Among the first TED Talk series are Al Gore and David Pogue. Worth a listen.