David Lidsky's Blog, page 4667

New Urbanism for the Apocalypse

Has the New Urbanism outlived its original purpose? The movement's charismatic founder, Andrés Duany, seems to think so.

Last week's 18th annual Congress for the New Urbanism in Atlanta should have been an unalloyed triumph for Duany and his fellow travelers. Their planning tools for reforming and retrofitting sprawl with denser communities was formally adopted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognized the role of the...

Apple ATM? Patent Suggests Reinvention Cash Machines with iPhone Marriage

Apple's patent applications have got a bit single-minded of late, with lots to do with near-field communications radio--including this one, which has a cool twist: Apple, with its iPhone, wants to reinvent the ATM.

We mentioned a previous NFC-centric Apple patent concerned with paying for stuff before--Apple's intention is that because we take our iPhones pretty much everywhere, then there's no reason why with some tricked-out short-range radio hardware and clever apps they can't reinvent...

U.S. Patent Office's Green Tech Fast Track Program Expands Its Reach

The United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) Green Technology Pilot Program, launched in December to fast track green tech patent applications, has been good to many companies--Skyline Solar, for example, received a patent for its concentrating solar photovoltaic module in 10 weeks instead of the average wait of several years. But the program also turned down hundreds of patent applications because they didn't fall under any of the classes or subclasses (PDF) defined by the USPTO...

Google Teases News on Its Economic Impact--Big Reveal Tomorrow

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Google's just popped up a blog posting that's absolutely, completely, utterly designed to tease: It's titled "Coming tomorrow ..." and it says Google's about to explain what Google does for the economy. All of the economy.

Coming from Galen Panger, a member of Google's Public Policy Communications team, here is the entire body of the message:

Google isn't just a search engine -- it's also an engine of economic growth. And tomorrow morning Googlers will be fanning out to 11 cities across the...

Sightless Mabel's Fancy Footwork a Giant Leap for Robotkind

Robots with legs are, you might think, no great shakes. After all, they come in both four- and two-legged varieties--of the former, Boston Dynamics' Big Dog and Little Dog are the most notable, and you can check out the latest video from small fry here. When it comes to two-legged versions, everyone has heard of Asimo, Honda's uber-robot, whose bottom half consists of a rigid geared drivetrain, meaning there's not a whole lot of coping with uneven terrain that he can do.

Enter MABEL. She's...

BP Logo Gets Oily, Gruesome Redesigns Courtesy of Greenpeace Followers

Greenpeace asks you, gentle public, to redesign BP's logo to more aptly convey its dirty ways. Skulls and crossbones welcome.

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You've seen BP's green-and-yellow sunburst logo, right? Seems
completely out of place now that the defining image of the company is a
dark blob spreading across the Gulf. With that in mind, Greenpeace has
put up the Bat-Signal for a fresh logo that better conveys the oil
company's miraculous ability to ruin the world. (Along those lines, check out this fake BP PR...

Work Smart: Brainstorming Techniques to Boost Creativity

Coming up with good ideas is a major part of your job, so you want to have the right tools on hand to generate as many ideas as possible during a brainstorming session. Here are some tools and techniques for doing just that.

When you want to do free-form thinking and gather ideas and tasks around a central concept, try a mind map. In the middle of the page, write down your topic. Then, all around the topic, jot down tasks, words, ideas, and connect them by drawing lines between...

Made to Stick: Watch the Game Film

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Photograph by Max Wolfe

Dan Heath and Chip Heath ask, Have you been looking closely enough at your business?

Football Coaches pore over game film to spot things they'd never see in real time. Check it out: When the defense blitzes, the free safety picks up the running back. So by picking off the safety, the middle of the field will be wide open for a screen pass. The value of this meticulous observation is intuitive in the sports world. After all, coaches get a week to review a 60-minute game...

Lake Erie Becomes Site for GE's First Ever Freshwater Wind Farm in the U.S.

The U.S. is to see its first ever freshwater offshore wind farm, courtesy of GE and the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo), GE announced today. It's the culmination of a four-year campaign by The Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force, and GE will provide wind turbines and maintenance for a 20-megawatt wind farm, with a long-term goal of 1,000 megawatts for the lake's Ohio waters within the decade. It's looking good for the state's economy, too, as it is hoped that some of...

Lost Legacy - What TV Execs Should Learn From Life on the Island

"There will never be another show like it."

That's the prevailing sentiment as the obsession, addiction, disorder known as Lost ended last night after
six seasons on ABC. At a time when the networks are struggling to retain
viewers and ad dollars and they have yet to generate commensurate revenue for their online
content, Lost in all likelihood is
the last great big-budget network gamble.

Shot on location in Hawaii and starring a huge cast – a
dozen leading characters and even more...