Writing from the readers’ perspective is what good feature writing is all about. Understanding those readers - whether they’re electrical engineers, first-time homeowners or gardeners in search of the elusive square tomato - and asking the questions they want answered is a skill I’ve learned over the last two decades. Read through the samples here and I think you’ll find a common theme in clear writing that explains without condescending. Then give me a call to talk about the questions your readers want answered.
Feature Writing
A Penchant for Pendants
You might not be used to thinking of a lighting fixture as artwork, but today’s pendant style offerings may make you change your mind. Hanging like solitary jewels – with shades made of everything from handblown glass to natural stone – pendants can add a glowing, visual punch to any room’s design. They also create […]
Sustainable Design and Natural Stone
Stone-tile flooring offers both beauty and durability, but today’s sustainability-conscious home buyers also are seeking assurance their design decisions don’t have a negative impact on the environment or their health. Determining any building material’s “green” credibility can be a complicated affair; stone tile offers a number of environmental advantages for builders willing to spend some […]
Media Servers Hit the Mainstream
On the first day, electronics manufacturers created the VCR. The VCR begat the digital video recorder. The digital video recorder begat the TiVo. Now, the TiVo has given birth to the home media server. When are these guys ever going to rest? For builders, home media servers offer both challenges and opportunities that simply did […]
Kitchen Essentials
We’d all like our kitchens to look like the photos in our favorite catalogs, with design schemes that change with the seasons and drawers stocked with elite gourmet tools. But who has room to store all that stuff, and how often will you really use that specially designed pineapple slicer, anyway? We’ve called on three […]
Super Wired Up
High-temperature superconducting (HTS) distribution and transmission line has been at the nearly there stage for almost a decade, but industry participants say the technology is now approaching wide commercial use. These proponents say the technology offers a potential solution for utilities seeking to expand distribution capacity in cramped urban settings.
http://www.ecmag.com/index.cfm?fa=article&articleID=8035 (Originally published in Electrical Contractor […]
Transforming Today’s Transformers
Beginning in 2009 or 2010, electrical contractors are likely to see a new breed of higher-efficiency liquid-filled distribution transformers hitting the market, thanks to new standards expected to be announced by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in September. Efficiency requirements could climb even higher in 2013, if a proposal supported by electric utilities and […]
In Search of the Weird and Wonderful
Squash that look like smiling human faces. Eighty-pound pumpkins. Square tomatoes. They’ve been around forever in seed-company ads that run in the back of Sunday newspaper supplements and in “Gee Whiz” photos on the front pages of supermarket tabloids. Oddly formed and colored vegetables have long fascinated us as the freak shows of the garden.
Originally […]
High Style for the Lower Level
It’s a word that conjures up images of Ping-Pong tables, dart boards, bad lighting and leftover furniture. Though these ingredients may add up to some happy teenage memories, they certainly don’t match the upscale tastes of today’s custom-home clientele. Added space for entertaining, housing guests and, yes, teenage hideaways are all goals for high-end buyers, […]
The Brains of the Operation
There aren’t many more mundane elements to an electrical system than the meter. It sits. It spins. It ticks off kilowatt hours. That’s about it. But that will soon change, industry forecasters say, as the microchip revolution makes its way to a new generation of “smart” electricity meters, which are destined to turn utility distribution […]
Design/Build: New Opportunities and New Alliances
Just as other DB-team building professionals have reached out to include contractors in their design conversations, those contractors are reaching out to manufacturers and distributors, bringing these important industry players into the design and construction process. Where some might see conflict of interest in this outreach, those involved see strong relationships, forged through earned trust—and […]