Most of our environmental and economic problems result from an out–of–date way of doing business. Industry has continued to depend on the same old “heat, beat, and treat” methods that were mechanized in the industrial revolution, but these methods simply aren’t sustainable. Nature, on the other hand, constantly evolves, survives, and thrives, while not using up or endangering its base resources. It reinvents itself, […]
Heat, beat, and treat—or maybe not
Hidden in plain sight
I’m often fascinated by natural camouflage, and even included a bit about it in the book:
Nature is also the true master of camouflage. From the almost invisible stone flounder and octopus to the snow fox, leafy sea dragon, and praying mantis, stealth is the difference between life and death. Unless mating, nature’s creatures do not like […]
(I) like it on Facebook
One of the pleasures of having a Facebook page is the chance to share interesting things that pop onto my radar. I run across things during my travels online, people send me links, and books and articles that I read elsewhere have links as well. But I’m quickly learning that Facebook itself is a great source of information and dialog about bio-inspiration, spiral geometries, […]
The Land Down Under
“I come from a land down under
Where beer does flow and men chunder
Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover.”
Down Under
Men at Work (Ronald Graham Strykert / Colin James Hay)
My wife, Francesca, snapped […]
Smarty Plants!
With the traditional human bias for things that are somehow “like us,” we tend to favor demonstrations of intelligence that reflect our own intellectual assets: gorillas that have mastered sign language; dolphins that can communicate; tool-using apes; pig IQ tests. And we see those less-animate things (like plants) as, well, dumb. (There’s even a plant called the dieffenbachia that’s nicknamed “dumb cane,” though […]
Watch this space!
Actually, watch our Events page.
We’re starting to book events and speaking engagements for 2014, which we launched with a lovely appearance at Book Passage in Corte Madera, just a stone’s throw from my California home. This is a Bay Area mecca for readers, writers, and everyone in between. They host an amazing series of Author events nearly daily (and in two locations), […]
Paperback Writer …
Just a short update on the paperback release date, which is September 2014. I’m also looking at a few updates and revisions. Because biomimicry and bioinspired design is an emerging industry, there’s always a lot of new stuff coming to light. This paperback edition gives me the opportunity to add a few things. Truth is, I anticipate that every future […]
The Flight of the Bumblebee
Apparently, the folks over at Harvard University have decided that bees may indeed know a little something about flight. According to an article from the BBC, Dr. Sridhar Ravi and his research team are looking at how bees can maintain stable flight even in adverse weather conditions. I’ve always said that bees flight abilities and the way the […]
Happy New Year to all …
Francesca and I, and our colleagues at White Cloud Press wish everyone a new year filled with prosperity and optimism.
And some exciting news: we’ve ended the year by looking at scheduling the paperback release of The Shark’s Paintbrush. (More on this in 2014 …)
A wonderful year
2013 has been a truly amazing year with the publishing of a book I have long labored over. Like most authors, it felt like it was taking forever! I was genuinely surprised at how long it takes a book to travel from “idea” to “volume-in-hand,” but this was the year I held that very book.
The end of a year is a time to express […]