New Job

I’m starting a new job tomorrow. I’m not sure what this will mean for Infrastructure Watch. I’ve made no secret of the fact that blogging takes a back seat to paying work. Even so, I’d like to keep this blog going even though I anticipate having less time for it.

I don’t know the impact my new position will have on this blog. I anticipate it will mean fewer posts, at least in the short term. Because of the focus of my new position, it may mean focusing more on environmental issues that infrastructure issues. Though Infrastructure Watch has always been a personal blog, it has also always been influence by my professional concerns and interests.

In any case, I hope to continue Infrastructure Watch in some form. I hope it will continue to be a source of useful and interesting information for you.

To those who have followed this blog or it’s Twitter account (@infrastrucwatch): Thanks.

What You Are Looking For

Infrastructure Watch is not above self-promotion, but we try to focus on the topics related to infrastructure and the environment.  Even so, we got a little curious about what draws readers this blog.  We checked out the top Google search terms that linked people to this blog.  They are:

Infrastructurist blog

We noted the farewell of The Infrastructurist, a blog that was more professional, better researched and better written that IW.

On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis

On this blog (and on Keenan’s Book Reviews), contributor Keenan Patterson posted a review of Warren Bennis’ classic leadership book that he wrote for a class back in 1997.  Judging from the popularity of this search, it is still assigned reading in many classes. 

Plagiarists beware, if you can find this review so easily, so can your professor.  If you just need to talk about the book as if you’ve read it, good luck.  You might also want to check out Keenan’s review of How to Talk about Books You Haven’t Read by Pierre Bayard.

Blogger

IW isn’t a prominent blog, but apparently referring to yourself as a blogger who makes no money from it (and linking to the complaint on your Google Plus page) is enough to get you in the top search results for the topic.  Now everyone will be doing it.

Recovery Act infrastructure criticism

IW hasn’t exactly been a critic of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (ARRA), at least not when it comes to the infrastructure funding that was part of the supplementary appropriations bill.  An IW contributor spent a fair amount of time doing ARRA-funded work in 2011 (I think we just mention this blog has not made any money, though it would be nice if it did).  Even so, we’ve posted several things related to ARRA including a summary of reviews of the program’s performance.

Whatever your reason for visiting Infrastructure Watch, thank you.  We hope you find the posts and links here useful.  In addition, thanks to those who link to us on your blogs and social networking profiles.  We welcome comments, especially from other professionals in environmental and infrastructure design, planning, construction, management and policy.

Infrastructure Watch Internal News

I’ll be working full-time for a new employer through the end of the year. My main project will be a utility waste landfill. Because of this, I’ll probably be posting on Infrastructure Watch less often and giving more attention to solid waste and energy. I’m still a water geek, so I’ll keep an eye on drinking water, wastewater, water resources and related subjects, too. I hope you’ll find plenty here to keep you reading and coming back. Thanks.

Infrastructure Watch Now on Twitter

If you’re a Twitter user, you can now follow Infrastructure Watch at http://twitter.com/InfrastrucWatch.

Home Page

Welcome to Infrastructure Watch. This blog is intended to be a source of news, commentary and links on infrastructure and environmental issues provided by the staff of Infra Consulting LC.

You can quickly navigate this blog by using the topic labels on the right-hand sidebar. We are particularly interested in water infrastructure, including both drinking water and wastewater. We also follow some of what is going on related to agriculture, brownfields, critical infrastructure, energy and transportation. There is a lot of infrastructure and environmental legislation we try to keep an eye on. For something lighter, take a look at our book reviews.