WaterShapes World Blog

Through a Glass, Brightly
This edition of my blog is a bit of an out-of-body experience.  I usually write these essays no more than a few hours before each WaterShapes newsletter is released -  probably a vestige of my time at Pool & Spa News, where I put off writing my every-issue column until the very last minute so it would
Hitting the Road
It's that time of year again:  I've started organizing the things I'll be bringing to Orlando for the 2014 International Pool|Spa|Patio Expo, and I'm getting close to hopping on the plane and fly to what I've long seen as an odd sort of family reunion. I haven't been to Orlando in quite a while, so I'm taking an extra day while I'm there to get out and about.  As I mentioned in a recent Travelogue, I plan on a return visit to
Up with Water!
When I come across headlines about technological breakthroughs, I generally decide about reading further based upon the subject's relevance to what I do either as a private person or as a professional - and I have to say that, most times, I never get past the bold print. A couple weeks back, however, I was intrigued enough by
Dry-Side Adventures
I hadn't thought about LandShapes in years - and my suspicion is that most readers of this newsletter aren't even aware that it existed for a glorious five-issue run between May 2006 and February 2007, by which time it was clear to me that the magazine wasn't going to thrive. It's departure from the scene was a
Stunted Expectations
Back in 2007, I helped a friend through part of the process of updating the exterior of his five-unit horseshoe of courtyard apartments.  I was mostly there for moral support as he reviewed drawings and sought feedback on features for the common space. He had a vision - a small bowl fountain toward the back, a large
Broadcast Merit
Up until recently, I'd watched in frustration as watershaping failed to gain any significant traction on television.  Sure, pools and hot tubs and fountains and ponds have been featured components in more broadcast series than I can count, but what I've really wanted is a good show about watershapes, how they're
The Directory Is Back!
I have the great pleasure of announcing that another major service for users of the WaterShapes.com web site is now fully up and running in streamlined digital form:  The WaterShapes Resource Directory, which we last published as a printed document in December 2010 and have been updating
Rising Tides
As I announced in the last WaterShapes World blog, this edition of the newsletter carries a new/old name:  WaterShapes.  It's a proud title, and I'm happy to bring it back knowing we have so much more to accomplish. *** Our mission isn't much changed since we started out in
What’s in a Name?
I was juggling the content of the newsletter you have before you the other day when something hit me:  When it first appeared in May 2010, it made perfect sense to call this digital entity "WaterShapes EXTRA" because that was what it was - a bonus package of information designed to
Springing Back
The news media have landed a few blows to watershaping's chin in recent weeks. First there were stories about the fact that peeing in swimming pools is a really bad thing, basically because you shouldn't breathe the gas that rises from the water as