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On 60 Minutes and the cleantech / Vinod Khosla story

The above piece aired on 60 Minutes last night. It was part of an overall interesting show that profiled volcanoes, clean tech, and Kim Dotcom (who has 60 lush acres in New Zealand and thinks of himself as James Bond for some… Continue Reading

How can we help the homeless when temperatures get this low?

This is kind of a complicated question in the broadest sense, so I won’t post very long on this — because I’m ill-equipped to give an answer. New York, for example, has a cold-weather shelter guarantee, as do many other… Continue Reading

Is Chicago safer, or is it a mirage?

Chicago has been almost the one-word association for U.S. violence over the past 30 months, but their 2013 data seems promising: crime’s down 16 percent and homicides are down 18 percent. New York, Houston, and Los Angeles also saw pretty significant… Continue Reading

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This one paragraph essentially summarizes one of America’s biggest challenges today

More than a third of American colleges and universities have deteriorating finances, according to a 2012 report. While more Americans find that a college degree is their only ticket to the middle class, fewer institutions are able to provide it at… Continue Reading

What might the airport of the future look like?

The process of going through an airport hasn’t changed much with the advent of new technology (it’s obviously changed a good deal since 9/11, but that’s a different story). If you’re flying VIP, there might be a couple of interesting/different… Continue Reading

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So, what was the best TED Talk of 2013?

TED Talks are fairly awesome. I have the TED app on Roku, and I’d say I’d jam out about two-three a day, with that number being higher if I’m sick (as I am currently). I wanted to figure out the… Continue Reading

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What are the perceived big issues, challenges, and stories of 2014?

Everybody loves to predict what could happen in the next year — and how those trends will shape both the short and long-term future. We do this every year. A year from now, we’ll be doing it for 2015, along… Continue Reading

It might be time for smart street lights like Tvilight. We’ll save money and things will remain beautiful.

You can read all about Tvilight at the Smithsonian’s website, but essentially the idea is simple: we have smart phones and we’re developing smart houses and smart umbrellas, so why not smart street lights? Tvilight’s lights will dim when no one is… Continue Reading