education

Generational Joys
Every once in a while, the fact that I'm not getting any younger smacks me right upside the head. This time, it's had to do with becoming a grandfather for the second time - an event that's led me to do more than the usual amount of reflecting in recent days and, in particular, think about instances when I've intertwined my personal and professional lives. My oldest daughter was born in 1985, just before I returned to Los Angeles after a few years' absence to take on the top editor's job with Pool & Spa News.   By the time
The Educational Imperative
'It's great that more and more people in the watershaping business are interested in becoming custom designers.  The way I see it,' wrote David Tisheman to start his May 2001 Details column, 'the future of the industry rests in the hands of those who strive for creativity and excellence in their work.' 'Unfortunately, however, there are those out there who are brash enough to declare themselves
Wow — Just Wow
I'm still stunned by news of the intended merger between the National Swimming Pool Foundation and the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals.  I've been a professional observer of the pool/spa component of the watershaping universe for more than 30 years now, and I was caught completely off guard by
2016/5.1, May 4 — Tile Intricacy, Pond Intervention, Community Interest and more
THE ESSENTIAL E-NEWSLETTER FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS AND BUILDERS May 4, 2016 www.watershapes.com FEATURE ARTICLE…
Powers of Observation
'Science tells us that the human eye can see about seven million colors and that our minds instinctively perceive depth and dimension.  This visual capacity,' noted Stephanie Rose at the outset of her Natural Companions column in April 2006, 'enables most of us to move around without bumping into things, some of us to swing at and somehow hit a golf ball and, in the case of a beautiful garden (we can hope), all of us sense
Swimming Past Barriers
Why don't more of us know how to swim? As I've discussed in several of my blogs through the past few months, I'm a firm believer that everyone should master this basic and essential survival skill.  As fervently, I believe that encouraging comfort in and around water is the key to watershaping's future:  Without it, why
The Big Aquatic Picture
I've written a couple of my recent blogs about public pools, access to them, their cost, their status and my growing concern that, for a complex of reasons, swimming skills and our basic societal inclination to be water-involved is slowly moving onto the cultural version of the endangered species list. It's in this context that I call your attention to
2015/12.2, December 16 — Holiday Fun, Brilliant Mirrors, Old-School Decking and more
THE ESSENTIAL E-NEWSLETTER FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS AND BUILDERS December 16, 2015 www.watershapes.com INTERVIEW Santa’s…
An Expo with a Difference
A couple weeks back, I was figuring that my time at the 2015 edition of the International Pool|Spa|Patio Expo would be quite routine - visiting with old friends, making a few new ones, catching up with our sponsors and recruiting several more. But those easy expectations all changed shortly before the show when the announcement came, first through
2015/11.1, November 4 — Durable Plaster, Rooftop Dynamics, Courtyard Charms and more
THE ESSENTIAL E-NEWSLETTER FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS AND BUILDERS November 4, 2015 www.watershapes.com UP ON…