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I'm a LEED AP now :-)

LEED(er)

I've recently taken to studying, and hopefully taking and passing the LEED AP exam.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a certification program for green buildings. It's developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), and it's basically giving a project credits for following its recommendations. Enough credits earns the project a LEED certification. Passing the LEED AP (Accredited Professional) exam just tells the world that I've learned those recommendations and principles.

Although my core job is structural engineering, I've always had an interest (albeit not very active, like most of my interests) in sustainability. I had taken a course in building envelopes while at Ecole des Ponts, then another one on sustainable urban design at Todai. On a personal note, and especially in recent years, I have educated myself about the food industry and its impact on the environment, and generally try to consume less (meat, fast fashion) and better (organic/local food, quality products). It's only natural to try and apply the same principles to my job.

Now, the risk is obviously to get distracted from my core career; but why would I be?

The whole point of my job is multi-disciplinary collaboration. Architects, environmental engineers, they do their job as much as I do. LEED can only give me more awareness of sustainable building issues, but doesn't mean this is all I'm going to do (and actually, I don't really plan on using the AP credentials in the short term). Mainly

Of course, LEED is perfectible. Like any certification of its kind (BREEAM, and don't get me started on HQE). If there's one thing that US does right, is in writing their guidelines/codes/norms. I can tell you that the ASCE codes are much more digestible than the Eurocodes.

Now the trick is to pass the old LEED exam (up until 15 June). The new one is still a mystery. Wish me luck!

#work #LEED #sustainability

Spring cleaning at my parents' house. My cupboard is now empty except for those little treasures. #ecoledesponts

#ecoledesponts

If that became laggy, separated in time, your own mental model for what you were doing would be broken, and suddenly we’d have a much more complex interaction problem to solve for the user. But if we could solve all the problems of the latency and the touch screen, the hardware problem, the speed of the graphics to move it, then suddenly we didn’t have to teach you because we created something that you could process intuitively. We tend to think how can we make it so effective that there is nothing to teach.

Craig Federighi about the iOS intuitive interface — BusinessWeek

#Apple #User interface #iOS7 #Design

I found I agree on many points, and even much so as I am now in the position of being at the start of my career in a challenging, intense workplace, learning how to navigate it and gaining more responsibilities every day.

Our study found that women are less deliberate than men in their career progressions, thinking, "I will learn, grow, and build my capabilities," rather than, "I will create opportunities to learn X and gain experience in Y to get to position Z."

Sometimes management doesn't have time to think about what you need to grow— they're not your teacher or personal coach. I believe you learn by doing, and making mistakes, and taking responsibility for it — your superiors may not give you that responsibility in the first place, and you may feel like you don't have enough experience to take it, but when the opportunity to try and show your worth appears, I think you should take it. While making sure that the managers are aware of (and sign off) any major decisions, I think you should always propose something to them rather than wait for their opinion or advice.

Those who want to move all the way up must create opportunities to understand how the organization works, how it makes money, and who its key people are.

This includes after hours drinks, but sometimes just chatting during tea time or checking up on the latest project news would suffice... I suppose.

Managers can help ensure the strongest leaders rise through the ranks, regardless of gender, by:

Providing employees with an orientation to the organization and the business, and advice for navigating one's career.

Clearly defining the criteria and experiences necessary to qualify for key leadership positions.

We had this discussion with some of my peers recently. Being in a small-ish department in a much larger organisation, our team still needs to work out a clear career path for younger members that would clearly mark the end of our "Graduate" status, define "Senior" status, etc. Managers have a role to play although I believe that we are the ones who should ask them for orientation and advice, as they have others things to do than simply "manage" — I don't really like to use the word "manager", since in my workplace at least this is definitely not their only job; my seniors are more project leaders, and project managers are a totally different group of people who will have nothing to do with my professional growth... at least for now.

Women managers, of course, have a symbolic role to play once they reach the top, though many tend to shy away from it and hide family and "feminine" aspects of work-life balance. Please don't. Be a mentor. Join women's leadership groups. Show those coming up behind you how you prioritize, share your rationales for your personal and professional boundaries (yes, this means it's OK to say you're leaving early for the school play)

And it's OK to say you won't work on weekends even before a deadline, and to leave earlier if sometimes you're going out with friends, because you have worked overtime the days before to make up for it. Not having a family or kids should not be a reason to overlook one's personal life.

#work #women #career

Lean in — the book

Finally, I have read that book. Right after a tough time at work, I needed a little pickup and bought two books on women & work — Lean in, of course, and The XX Factor, which I have just started.

Based on reactions from the media, I was a bit wary of what Sheryl Sandberg had to say — among other things, that her agenda was to make her female employees work more for the same price. For the first few chapters I stayed alert, watching out for whatever mystifying trick she was said to pull out to convince us, little workers, to work more for the Big Business under the cover of feminism.

It didn't last. A couple of chapters into the book, and I was hooked, nodding fervently at some passages, although my attention would shift ever-so-slightly when she started name-dropping (Sandberg did really work with high profile people, but was is necessary to mention every one of them?).

I could, however, understand why reactions were so mixed.

Sandberg's book starts from a simple idea: she's just telling about the woman-in-business aspect of her life, dropping a few anecdotes and ideas along the way, because she feels strongly that women need to be encouraged to lean in. Lean in, not as in "working your ass off and dedicating more time with no more pay to your employer", but rather as in "don't lean back" (as in, "OMG what if I have kids in the next year, I can't accept that promotion!"). She recognises the need for men to "lean back", because men also deserve to have a work life balance and spend more time with their family. She recognises the doubts that many ambitious women have. She's just saying that the current system won't ever change if a few of us don't reach the top, maybe at the cost of a few years of rushing and running everywhere. Or maybe we don't need to be rushing and running, but just to be confident and not lean back prematurely.

From my experience, I feel that women tend to feel discouraged more quickly, and feel generally less confident about themselves than they should be. The book helped me, during one of my first harsh times at work, to take a breath before diving again, where before I was just desperately struggling for air. It gave me that kick to forget about my bad feelings and strive to become even better than I already was. (Yes, positive self esteem is also important from time to time!)

Make no mistake: this is a book that will irritate many of those who don't invest themselves that much into work or career-related issues. Although Sheryl Sandberg constantly tries to deflect that criticism, by insisting that everyone knows what's best for them and that she only tells one side of the story (hers), it's clearly a book aimed at careerist women. (Come to think of it now, I wonder why I thought I would dislike the book!)

In the end, what this book's media treatment has shown is not really that the feminist combat has not ended (isn't that obvious), but essentially that there is no longer one single type of feminism. Women no longer make a single category; different social and geographic backgrounds make as many different segments in that broad category that engulfs roughly half of humanity. Even in the "elite" circles, they disagree with Sandberg; I recall the criticisms of Anne-Marie Slaughter — which are not unfounded. Even in my own social circles, each of us has a different view on feminism.

Hopefully we will find a consensual way to progress on that issue. Extreme positions hardly ever work out, in my opinion — they only polarize the debate, leading it to nowhere. The same applies to ethnic or other gender issues — the day that everyone is truly treated as equal will probably never come, and may not be wished, but at least if we could be more accepting of people's differences.

#Lean In #Work #book #feminism

That pic was taken a couple of years ago now, and each time I see it again I feel this strange mix of nostalgia and admiration. Living in Tokyo was like being in a bubble that popped when we came back to Europe. (Old lady selling veggies in the Yanaka area, Tokyo).

Coming of age in a recession has set back Millennials for decades. The good news? In the age of abundance, they could turn out to be pretty great decades, anyway.

So the positive point is that everything is cheap: culture, clothing, food. You don't have a job, you can't have a family because you can't afford raising kids, but hey, endless free Internet! (Wait, did the author think about the cost of a broadband line? And how cheap food is ruining the environment/people's health/economies of some places? And how cheap clothing is made?)

I would have thought we were better than that. Now, I don't think we should aim for being better off than previous generations: that's something we might not reach anyway, and I don't think endless growth is sustainable. But that's for another discussion.

#generation y

A very true post about friends.

For bridge-otakus, a glimpse of Bixby bridge in (or around?) Big Sur.

Chinese noodle soup! Like in Hong Kong, but actually in San Francisco's Chinatown. Practising my Cantonese food vocab and catching a taste of those egg noodles for the first time in 2 years ;_; (at Chinatown)

From Twin Peaks, look at that beautiful Golden Gate Bridge... Oh wait.

Downtown Santa Cruz has a nice vibe. Our first stop in NorCal after travelling along the coast. (at Downtown Santa Cruz)

On feminism and environmentalism

Feminism, environmentalism, two words that are close to my heart and mind yet I can't fully embrace. The problem with -isms, is that it is usually associated with a vehement defense of whatever the subject of the -ism is.

Sheryl Sandberg's book, Lean In, has kept the "feminism" discussion in the news, following the likes of Anne-Marie Slaughter (who by the way is quite critical of Sandberg), and the nomination of Marissa Mayer as CEO of Yahoo (and her subsequent actions as CEO). These three women are quite inspiring people and, regardless of their opinions or personalities, deserve to be respected if only for their achievements.

The main bone of contention on feminism is the fact that younger women (such as Mayer) refuse to be called "feminists", some going as far as to say that feminism is no longer necessary nowadays (Carla Bruni-Sarkozy). Nowadays, when you think feminism, you may think Femen. And their particular way of advocating feminism (naked).

On the other hand, we have another hot topic on my mind: the environment (and anything related, such as animal rights, renewable energy as opposed to nuclear, etc.). When you think environmentalist, you could think GreenPeace (or PETA for animal rights, or GreenPeace again for anti-nuclear). And, same as for the Femen, you remember their particular way of demonstrating (naked in a cage).

Don't get me wrong. Actions that attract media coverage may still be necessary to keep the subject in the public opinion's mind. Every Greenpeace, PETA or Femen action reminds us that nuclear plants, animal rights, discrimination against women are still an issue of the 21st century.

But at the same time, I'm among those who are wary of generalisations and one-dimensional thinking. What a lot of people remember of these shock actions is the show. Or the stupidity (breaking into a nuclear plant might not be the wisest thing to do; although breaking in is supposed to prove the lack of security of the aforementioned plant, I'm not sure the organisation would be too happy to get one of their members shot dead either). I'm afraid of the "crying wolf" effect. I'm also subject to the same feeling of rejection that Mayer expressed in an interview: I'm not sure I want to be associated to the word "feminism" (and in my case environmentalism as well), because of what it means to the public opinion: half-crazy people who sometimes go naked just for the sake of something they want to defend but we're not very clear what.

I love talking about these subjects though. Talking and thinking about them. How can we advance gender equality (i.e. not only women's rights, but men's as well). How can we eat more sustainably. What are the real environmental implications of renewable energies. How people could advance in their careers as part of a happier life (on that one, I'm a firm believer of work as an important social value, and I'm really keen on the idea that being committed to your job is the first step towards finding satisfaction in it — that is, until you find a better one).

And since I've started being interested in the consequences of how we eat, I've also started reflecting much more on how my actions are accountable, and how every little thing we do can help (and I'm not only talking about meatless Monday; paying taxes without complaining or trying to escape them is also something everyone should do).

So as Hanna Rosin swiftly mentions in her article (link below), maybe we need a new word to replace feminism, and, if I may add, other -isms as well (communism doesn't have a very nice image overall either).

Or maybe we simply need to move away from stereotypes and broad generalisations on these issues. But that would take away the whole point for -isms, wouldn't it?

Some links:

Marissa Mayer Thinks Feminists Are a Drag. Is She Right? (Feminism: is the term useful anymore?), by Hanna Rosin, author of The End of Men: http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/03/marissa_mayer_is_not_a_feminist_is_the_term_useful_anymore.html

Anne-Marie Slaughter's page on The Atlantic, with a whole bunch of cool articles http://www.theatlantic.com/anne-marie-slaughter

Some good references (books I've read):

Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals http://www.eatinganimals.com

Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma http://michaelpollan.com/books/the-omnivores-dilemma/

I may want to read Sandberg's book as well.

#feminism #Environment #women #Sheryl Sandberg #Anne-Marie Slaughter #eating animals #Jonathan Safran Foer #Michael Pollan

Sunrise is now an app! It's a calendar app that does not mean to replace your other services, but combine them: you can connect your Google Calendar account together with Facebook events, SongKick and I think TripIt soon. It's a nice way to have an overview of everything that's happening around you, without having to check each service separately. Especially now that some of the calendars are automated (such as TripIt checking your email to automatically add future travel plans).

Sunrise started as an email service (a bit like Timehop, or Agora from the same founder), with an email in the morning that summarized the contents of your day. The app form is really nice to use. Apparently it got some backlash and bad reviews due to the fact that it was Facebook-login only, but they're working on a Google Connect option — much more logical since the main service they're connecting to is Google Calendar.

To be honest I used to rely on Apple iCal/iCloud integration more than GCal sync, since at some point in the past I had trouble with events appearing twice — but that was before iCloud, and I think it was related to sync problems with iTunes anyway. The app made me think twice and I'm giving another chance to GCal. I will try to work out an easy and seamless way to be able to use it in conjunction with my desktop iCal app — or maybe I will ditch iCal altogether and find another.

I need to rework my calendar routine, and using Sunrise might be a good place to start.

#app #calendar #social

fastcompany

Did you finish all those chips at lunch (even though you vowed to only have half)? Here’s why.

The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junkfood

“So why are the diabetes and obesity and hypertension numbers still spiraling out of control? It’s not just a matter of poor willpower on the part of the consumer and a give-the-people-what-they-want attitude on the part of the food manufacturers.

What I found, over four years of research and reporting, was a conscious effort — taking place in labs and marketing meetings and grocery-store aisles — to get people hooked on foods that are convenient and inexpensive.”

Check out the full NY Times article here.

lnchou

Food. I need to write down all my thoughts about this vast subject, after reading so much about it and the recent meat mess in Europe.

For now let's just say that my diet has progressively turned to almost only fresh produce and homemade, versus prepared and processed, in the past few years, and I won't be looking back.

#food

Some food for thought about racism.

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