Ho-Ho-Huh? Ferris Gets a Job
 Freelancer Hangs Up His Lance - Happy Holidays! I wanted to tell you of the unexpected Christmas gift I've received: a real job, the kind with a paycheck and benefits.
Yes, that's right. After 13 years of having only myself for a boss, I will start the New Year as a reporter for EnergyWire, a top-notch news site here in Washington D.C. The publication covers the transformation of the energy sector, and my beat will be energy technology that is shaking things up.
Oh, Ferris, I hear some of you groaning. What about the good fight? What about never again working for The Man? Yeah, well, there's that. I expect the new bridle will chafe at times. On the other hand, The Man has provided me with a plum job. I essentially will be doing what I already have been doing, traveling and interviewing and seeking out stories about how energy is changing our lives. Only now I will do so without the whiff of desperation that comes from never knowing where the next gig will come from, and with the benefits and stability that my lil' family needs. This really is the best kind of present I could have asked for.
 Algae Haus - My 'Innovate' column in the latest issue of Sierra magazine is about a new five-story apartment building in Hamburg, Germany, whose walls are covered with teeming colonies of algae. The Bio Intelligence Quotient house is a bold experiment in making a building's facade into an energy plant, and an attractive one at that. Poke around the infographic for more on its technological breakthroughs. My profile subject is Jan Wurm, an architect who took an untested technology, swaddled an entire building in it, and helped mold it into a commercial product that one day might show up on the walls of factories and office buildings.
 Trash, India's Burning Issue - One of the most interesting stories I reported from India earlier this year has found its way into print. "Out of India's Trash Heaps, a Controversy on Incineration" addresses the unexpected consequences of a seemingly benign decision. New Delhi, one of the world's most populous cities, now sends a quarter of its garbage to a power plant that turns it into energy. What could possibly be wrong with that? Nobody asked the ragpickers, who number in the thousands and derive their livelihood from some of the very same trash that the energy plant uses. I'm gratified that this story appears in Yale Environment 360, a publication you may have never heard of but carries some weight in environmental journalism circles.
 Climbing Capitol Hill - Those of you who don't live in Washington D.C. might not know that "Capitol Hill" isn't just a turn of phrase; it is an actual hill, and by D.C. standards a formidable one. One of the perks of my new job is that the office is literally right at the foot of it. In other words: Convenient hill repeats on my running days! (This is what passes for outdoor adventure in my life right now.)
 Happy New Year! - I am grateful for the tremendous gifts that have come my way in 2013. I hope that you have time in the coming weeks to reflect on the past year and that 2014 bestows many gifts upon you!
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