Windmill That Can Provide Fresh Water From Seawater Directly

“The combination of windmills and desalination installations is already commercially available. These windmills produce electricity from wind power, the electricity is stored and subsequently used to drive the high-pressure pump for the reverse osmosis installation. The storage of electricity in particular is very expensive. Energy is also lost during conversion.

In the TU Delft installation, the high-pressure pump is driven directly by wind power. Water storage can be used to overcome calm periods. The storage of water is after all a great deal cheaper than that of electricity”…. <More>

Prefab: Port-a-Bach Portable Cabin from Atelier Workshop in

“The Port-a-Bach, from Atelier Workshop in New Zealand! It reminds me of BARK’s All-Terrain Cabin, in that it is created from a 20ft. shipping container. 

The Port-a-Bach portable cabin sleeps two adults and two children, is power, water and sewer independent, has one wall that folds down to create an open living space and folds back up to secure the unit for storage or relocation.

Via It has a kitchen and complete bath, and can be hooked up to external services, as well”… Via the Excellent The Excellent Materialicio.us/

Statistics: Knowledge Wealth of Nations Part 1

This website has amazing statistics that lists all nations. It is surprising to me for example that Cuba tops all Nations in educational spending…

#1	Guinea-Bissau:	86,430.675 per 1,000 people	2001 …
#2	Gambia, The:	39,339.247 per 1,000 people	2001 …
#3	Gabon:	35,699.28 per 1,000 people	2001 …
#4	Serbia and Montenegro:	1,015.98 per 1,000 people	2001 …
#5	Canada:	399.557 per 1,000 people	2001 …
#6	Djibouti:	105.113 per 1,000 people	2005 …
#7	Niger:	98.232 per 1,000 people	2005 …
#8	Congo, Republic of the:	94.081 per 1,000 people	2005 …
#9	Comoros:	91.474 per 1,000 people	2000 …
#10	Burkina Faso:	90.868 per 1,000 people	2005 …
#11	Mali:	82.307 per 1,000 people	2005 …
#12	Sudan:	81.924 per 1,000 people	2000 …
#13	Eritrea:	69.975 per 1,000 people	2005 …
#14	Côte d’Ivoire:	69.499 per 1,000 people	2003 …
#15	Burundi:	63.575 per 1,000 people	2005 …
#16	Solomon Islands:	57.746 per 1,000 people	2003 …
#17	Angola:	57.084 per 1,000 people	1998 …
#18	Liberia:	55.924 per 1,000 people	2000 …
#19	Namibia:	55.539 per 1,000 people	2005 …
#20	Ghana:	51.072 per 1,000 people	2005 …
#21	Mauritania:	42.436 per 1,000 people	2005 …
#22	Rwanda:	41.278 per 1,000 people	2005 …
#23	Pakistan:	40.464 per 1,000 people	2005 …
#24	Mozambique:	40.391 per 1,000 people	2005 …
#25	Maldives:	38.114 per 1,000 people	2005 …

The NAtion MAster Web Site

US Government Announces End of the World In 2012

“Let’s go to the official government report, which we should totally trust because the government always makes perfect predictions

*The next 11-year cycle of solar storms will most likely start next March and peak in late 2011 or mid-2012 — up to a year later than expected.

*Solar flares and vast explosions, known as coronal mass ejections, shoot energetic photons and highly charged matter toward Earth, jolting the planet’s ionosphere and geomagnetic field.

*Power grids will collapse”…. <More>

Prefab: The QUIK HOUSE

“The Quik House is a prefabricated kit house designed by Adam Kalkin from recycled shipping containers. The Quik HouItse is 75% recycled materials by weight. Further green options include solar and wind energy sourcing, a green roof system and a super-insulating R-50 system.

It has three bedrooms and two and one-half baths in its 2,000 square foot plan. The shell assembles within one day at your site, you will have a fully enclosed building. From start to finish, it should take no longer than three months to complete your house”…. <Quick Build Website>

Prefab: Loq•kit House

“As housing costs climb, the demand for a more-affordable home construction technology grows.

Technology is the solution. A home assembly system that is less crafts-based (where individual parts are created by carpenters, and each part is custom-fit), and more technology-based (where parts are designed and engineered prior to fabrication in a way that eliminates custom installations), would have great potential for reducing housing costs.

Loq•kit’s mission is to spur innovation and interest in the development of a market viable, technology-based alternative to the high cost of current home construction methods”…. <More>

Prefab: Solar Carport-LifePort by Envision Solar

from their website “LifePort is the first fully integrated, system-built photovoltaic solar carport for residential, commercial and light industrial markets worldwide …homeowners and businesses can own cost-effective, attractive shade structures to protect their cars, as well as their own a clean, renewable energy, solar power plant! LifePort is available for purchase as a do-it-yourself kit for you or your contractor to install. Make solar easy – be cool, park solar! ” <LifportSolar>

Google’s Overall 2007 Global Hot Topic Queries

Google compiled the overall 2007 hot topic queries globally (and regionally for the year 2007 with some interesting trends…. <More>

 

Fastest Rising (Global) 1.   Iphone 2.  Badoo 3.   Facebook 4. Dailymotion 5.   Webkinz

Fastest Falling (Global) 1.   World Cup* 2. Mozart 3.  Fifa 4.  Rebelde* 5.  Kazaa

Global Crafts : Cool Gifts, Global Benefits

Their Mission Statement is a simple one and their prices extremely affordable, I really like Global Crafts

>>> “Our Mission is to offer income-generating opportunities to craftspeople in developing countries by following fair trade practices including paying in advance at least the market price for items, ensuring that craftspeople receive payment, and ensuring that the craftspeople work in fair working conditions. We work directly with artisans, craftspeople, and producer groups to achieve these goals and hopefully help improve the lives of some of the people with whom we share this planet”….. <Global Craft’s Web Site>

Solar Powered LED Lanterns For The Developing World

“Breakthroughs in solid-state lighting technology offer rural, off-grid poor the first economically sensible alternative to oil lamps, which are still the main light source for over a billion people worldwide”…. <More>

Analysis: The Demographics of Gadgets

Interesting Stats on how gender choices play out when shopping for Christmnas-UK based … “We came across this interesting claim from John Lewis that it expects to sell more electrical goods to women than men for the first time this Christmas….. It is also interesting to look at the top 10 product search terms sending traffic to the electrical retailers that are most over indexed amongst men (eBuyer) and women (Asda Electricals). Boys, it seems, will always be boys (with their toys), while women have slightly different priorities. “….. <More>

Portable Light: Solar Cells + LEDs

“In collaboration with Global Solar Energy of Tucson, Arizona, they have developed a cheap, practical and portable way to capture the sun’s rays by day and release them by night as useful light, wherever it is needed.The idea, called “portable light”, combines solar cells with light-emitting diodes attached to the surface of a fabric that can be made into bags, and thus carried around during daylight hours. In sunlight, the cells generate electricity that is stored in batteries stitched into the material. When it gets dark, the batteries power light-emitting diodes that are also sewn onto the cloth.

The solar cells themselves are made from a substance called copper indium gallium diselenide, Global Solar Energy’s speciality. This is not quite as good at capturing sunlight as silicon, the material from which solar cells are usually made, but it is less rigid and easier to work with. Crucially, a working cell can be made by spreading a thin layer of the stuff on another material, such as a sheet of plastic. The result is flexible and fairly robust”…. <More>

Ubiquitous connectivity – WiFi ? WiMax ? or Cellular?

Question: “Ubiquitous connectivity – WiFi ? WiMax ? or Cellular?

What do you see as the next coming up technology for ubiquitous connectivity? WiFi or WiMax or 3G or EVDO ? Any other ? Will the emergence of this technology be region specific ? If so, which one is likely to be the one in Asia, US and Europe ?

Part of Answer # 1

“What do you see as the next coming up technology for ubiquitous connectivity? WiFi or WiMax or 3G or EVDO ? Any other ? Will the emergence of this technology be region specific ? If so, which one is likely to be the one in Asia, US and Europe ?

“The big question is – can WiMAX catch up w or replace Cellular adoption and maturity? Intel and Samsung would like to make it the big connect-anywhere feature for new UMPC’s, but I note that for instance Sprint just delayed its planned US rollout – so we have to wait and see.

Korean WiBro is a Govt supported service up and running, and I have heard that Indian operators will now look to WiMAX for gaining cheap RoW into cities and across slums areas instead of trenching-in fiber”….   Via Linked In Answers

Prefab: DH1 Disaster House

Natural disasters kill less people than they do homes, creating a person-storage problem that can exacerbate the human tragedy far beyond the immediate need for medicine, food and water. Gregg Fleishman’s DH1 Disaster House is intended to be the ultimate in fast, cheap, day 1 prefabricated dwellings”…. <More> 

Slideshow: Shipping Container Prefabs

Shipping Container Prefabs

The Latest High-Tech Solar Homes

This piece covers the Solar Decathlon (2007)which is a competition that showcases Solar Technology in dwellings“There was nothing Spartan about these homes. In fact, the name Decathlon is a reference to the ten categories that these homes can rack up points in the contest: architecture, engineering, market viability, communications, comfort zone, appliances, hot water, lighting, energy balance (bonus points if you generate more power than you use), and “getting around.”

These houses are completely “off the grid”—they’re not connected to the utility companies. Yet the teams have to live like normal Americans”…. <More>

GeneTree: Linkedin FaceBook Style Via Your DNA

A cool website Facebook Style with a DNA Social Networking Twist…..>>

“For a fee of £73, GeneTree will analyse a mouth swab and compare it with the 100,000 DNA samples and 6m ancestral records on its database.

“Suddenly, people are able to find and communicate with relatives they never knew they had from all over the world, and discover their deep ancestral roots.” …. <Article>

Instructions For Collecting Your DNA Sample for processing Via GeneTree

“Please follow these directions carefully:

1.Don’t eat or drink one hour before the sample collection (preferred, not mandatory).

2.Open the GenetiRinse container and pour mouthwash into your mouth. DO NOT SWALLOW.

3.Swish the mouthwash vigorously in your mouth for AT LEAST 45 seconds.

4.Spit the mouthwash slowly back into the container. Tightly replace the lid on the container.

5.Place container in plastic bag with white paper square and seal tightly.

6.Write your name and mark your gender in the proper box of the plastic bag.

7.Place paperwork (signed consent form and 4-generation pedigree*) into the pocket on the back of the bag.

8. Return the bag to the GeneTree box in which the materials arrived. Place the box in the mail within 24 hours of completing the DNA sample. Follow the instructions for re-sealing on the box.

Lost Child Of War, Refugee, Super Model!

Alek Wek fled her home in war-torn Sudan as a 9 year old with only the clothes on her back. Now she is a supermodel.

“I WAS born, the seventh of nine children, in a little town called Wau. Alek means “black spotted cow”, a symbol of good luck for my people, the Dinka. I got my long body from my father – I’m 5ft 11in tall – and my mother gave me my smile. My inky skin came from both of them…..

The Dinka are divided into clans, which are split into smaller groups that each control just enough land to provide water and pasture for their beloved cattle. These animals are so essential to the Dinka that, even though my parents raised us in a town, my mother still kept about 15 head of longhorned cattle.

“Don’t forget to pick up the manure,” she would say to us before we went to school”…. <Full Article>

Prefab: Zero House

<ZeroHouse.Net Slide Show & Text>

“ZeroHouse is a 650-square-foot prefabricated house designed to operate autonomously, with no need for utilities or waste connections. It generates its own electrical power, collects and stores rainwater, and processes all waste. Shipped to a site on two flatbed trailers, it can be field-erected in less than a day. The house, fully air-conditioned and heated, is configured to comfortably support four adults with two bedrooms, a full bathroom, a kitchen/dining room, and a living room. In addition, two elevated exterior terraces and an outdoor shower extend the living spaces”….. Via Texas Architects..for full Article < Go here>

The New Psychology of Leadership

“Even the way leaders dress can help them appear representative of the groups they lead. Bush’s leather jackets and cowboy clothes round out the image of him as a regular guy. In the same vein, the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat adopted the headscarf of the peasantry to identify himself with his people. The founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, wore a dress made of distinctive items from the various regions of the new country, suggesting a newly unified national identity and establishing himself as its figurehead.

Such examples counter the notion that leadership requires a particular set of personality traits or that leaders should behave in a fixed way. The most desirable traits and actions have to fit with the culture of the group being led and thus vary from group to group. Even some of the most oft-touted leadership traits, such as intelligence, can be called into question in some settings. Some people consider being down-to-earth or trustworthy as more important than being brilliant, for instance. Where this is the case, being seen as too clever may actually undermine one’s credibility as a leader, as Bush’s tactics suggest.

Followers may also shun an otherwise desirable trait such as intelligence if doing so helps the group differentiate itself from competitors. In a study published in 2000 by Turner, now at the Australian National University, and one of us (Haslam), we asked business students to choose the ideal characteristics for a business leader. When the students were confronted with a rival group that had an intelligent leader (who was also inconsiderate and uncommitted), the students wanted their leader to be unintelligent (but considerate and dedicated). But when the rival leader was unintelligent, virtually nobody wanted an unintelligent leader”…. <More>