Air is Soooo Tiny !-)

Air is really the Apple Femto...

Air Ad

Nice advert from Apple about air... I definitely want one.

JazzLink ~ Thursday 31 January 2008 ~ 6-9p @ MIT

This Thursday 31 January 2008 from 6p - 9p, MIT grad students & visiting entrepreneurs will attend JazzLink organized by TechLink! This campus-wide meeting of inventive & entrepreneurially-minded students is a great place to unwind and network while listening to live Jazz and sampling tasty morsels. Held in Morss Hall, Walker Memorial. And since we live in a police state -- MA, USA -- which enforces unconstitutional drinking age laws, please remember to bring your 21+ Age ID (passport/driver's license) for drinks. Past JazzLink pix...

Innovations in Sharing Science!

I was just speaking with Philipp Kruger, a former student in my Developmental Entrepreneurship class. He reminded me of the many great businesses and organizations dedicated to participatory science, bringing research to a wider audience, and more. Some key examples of this include: JoVE, the Journal of Visualized Experiments; Seeding Labs, equipping science in the developing world; and OpenWetWare, promoting info-sharing about biological engineers and scientists.

Dove Onslaught...

Dove is trying to be a good corporate citizen through its campaigns. This one appeals to parents and young girls alike...

MIT Legatum Fellowships ~ DUE 31 January 2008

The 2008-9 MIT Legatum Fellowships in Development & Entrepreneurship are DUE this week Thursday! These substantial financial grants are intended to support entrepreneurial graduate students from any of MIT's five schools. Applications are available for both currently enrolled students as well as those concurrently applying for admission.

(The latest MIT Enterprise Forum Link features an interview with me about the Legatum Center and our goals and approach.)

Tashabos ~ Entrepreneurship Education in Afghanistan

The Center for International Private Enterprise developed Tashabos to teach Afghans about economics, finance, and entrepreneurship...

MIT's West African Initiatives

There is an increasing density of MIT entrepreneurial-support action concentrating on Ghana and West Africa more generally. By helping this along, perhaps we can achieve a critical mass of things to the point where enduring institutions take root and we achieve disproportionate impact regionally which could be replicated elsewhere.

Here are some of the MIT activities and organizational actions focused on Ghana & West Africa:

• MIT Sloan Ghana Spring Study Tour -- MIT Sloan-sponsored study tour of Ghana with Special Seminar by Professor Tavneet Suri
• MIT African Business Club -- Newly founded club connecting the many people at MIT Sloan and the Institute more generally who seek to boost business and prosperity throughout Africa.
• MIT D-Lab & G-Lab Projects -- Students working with both Susan Murcott and Rick Locke are traveling to Ghana over IAP 2008 to advise the local entrepreneurs at Pure Home Water and explore market conditions.
• MIT SEID Ghana Projects -- An extracurricular action lab experience with team of MBA students working for an entrepreneurial venture during the semester culminating in a field visit. One example host partner has been Pure Home Water.
• MIT IDRC Seed Grants for West Africa trips over IAP 2008 -- Support for student travel and market research by several entrepreneurial teams: Rice-to-Riches in Liberia; Pure Home Water in Ghana; Village Drug Stores in Ghana; Matchbox in Ghana; and SurePay financial services in Nigeria.
• EPROM Ghana -- Building on the experience of Nathan Eagle in Kenya and East Africa, Don Yansen and colleagues are organizing EPROM Ghana and West Africa more generally. This is an early element in entrepreneurial node-building, which means finding local partners, connecting with entrepreneurial faculty, students, and alumni there, and running a prototype EPROM session or two.
• MIT AITI Ghana -- The MIT student-run African Internet Technology Initiative is planning a Ghana session this coming Summer 2008.
• MIT Global Startup Workshop GSW 2009 Ghana (?) -- Accra, Ghana is one candidate location for the MIT-student run GSW conference in Spring 2009.
• MIT Enterprise Forum Global Chapter Ghana (?) -- There is growing demand for MIT Enterprise Forum Chapters around the world, including in Ghana and West Africa more generally. The general path to a new chapter includes running an escalating series of events and rallying a growing pool of MIT alumni and friends interested in volunteering to organize and even sponsor entrepreneurship support activities.

Hans Rosling Gapcast #9 on Public Services

Swede Hans Rosling, of TED talk fame, illustrates in this Gapcast the provisioning of public services over time, specifically safe water, birth care, and girls education... Most especially, Dr Rosling makes the case for collecting good data because it is through facts that we can best see problems and measure progress towards solutions.

Global Health Delivery Workshop @ MIT ~ 29-31 January 2008

Together with Anjali Sastry & colleagues, I'm helping host a Global Health Delivery Workshop this week 29-31 January 2008 from 10:30a-1:30p in e51-151 at MIT.

Japanese Humor ;-)

Totally ridiculous, but in most cases also quite creative...
How would you react amidst the horde?
A Scream!

Bill Gates on Creative Capitalism helping the Poor Prosper

Nice article and interview by Robert Guth of the Wall Street Journal of Bill Gates about his speech at Davos on Creative Capitalism. Plus video interview...

MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge Executive Director Trish Fleming on HighTechFever

I hosted Trish Fleming, Executive Director of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, on my HighTechFever TV show. We talked about the new StartSmart program, the Ignite Clean Energy Competition, the regular Innovation Series, the specialty Startup and Concept Clinics, and the Winter Workshop on Power Drugs and Money happening on Thursday 7 February 2008 in Boston...

Thin Air

Latest MacBook looks pretty good, minor design quibbles aside. I want one.

Egg in a Bottle!

Boyle'ing an Egg!

Dolphins Blowing Rings!

Just like our Howtoons Air Cannon project, Dolphins also create toroidal vortices!

Do It Yourself...

Regional Economic & Political Blocs

Regional aggregations of nations are one progressive step towards intra-regional free trade, economic cooperation, common currencies, etc...

Evolution ;-)

Dove's Evolution advertisement spoofs the beauty biases of our modern fashion industry...
But even a spoof can be spoofed!
Repeatedly!

Huge Canadian Green Roof

Treehugger has a nice article on the Vancouver Convention & Exhibit Center, which will be totally covered with a multi-hectare green roof...

Lamborghini Reventon

I want one...

Magic Fireballs!

Daniel Rosenberg and I are assembling a whole host of demos which are Banned from Sanders. Here's a great example...

How To Make Fire Balls - video powered by Metacafe

World Energy Activity

Map of World Primary Energy Consumption during the 1990s... Map of World Primary Energy Production during the 1990s... Status of nuclear power globally...

Earth Light at Night

Lights at night are direct evidence of civilization on Earth...

Lemelson-MIT Invention Index 2008

MIT's Lemelson Invention program announced the results of their US national survey to gauge American attitudes towards science and innovation. Among other things they identify a clear need for more project-based learning for kids and young adults.

Liberty in Retreat

The latest Economist has an article on Measuring Liberty: When Freedom Stumbles spotlighting the conclusions of Freedom House about the "profoundly disturbing deterioration" of civil and democratic rights in the short-term, while emphasizing the net-gains over the past couple dozen years, as visualized through this comparative map...

Current Megacities

Cities with over One Million inhabitants in 2006...

Women's Adventures in Science Series

My Howtoons compatriot, genius inventor engineer Saul Griffith, sends this link to a delightful series of books published by the National Academies Press on Women's Adventures in Science. They also have a companion website, I Was Wondering.

MIT Nuts & Bolts of Business Plans ~ First Session of IAP 2008!

Tonight I co-hosted our latest incarnation of the MIT Nuts & Bolts of Business Plans course over our MIT Independent Activities Period (IAP). Senior Lecturer Joe Hadzima gave an overview of the essence of a business plan, serial entrepreneur Yonald Chery introduced our live-case-study, his first startup Virtual Ink and their MIMIO whiteboard transcription system, teaching assistant (TA) Diego Panama highlighted his Endeavor experience and class logistics, and special guest speaker Bob Jones shared his lessons-learned in marketing and sales.

Asheesh Advani, co-founder of CircleLending, now Virgin Money USA, on HighTechFever (Repeat)

Tonight on my HighTechFever TV show, I replayed an old interview I had with Asheesh Advani, the co-founder of CircleLending which was recently acquired by Virgin to create Virgin Money US. The business is all about formalizing and facilitating loans between family, friends, and professional associates. They serve a very interesting segment of the micro-and-personal financial services sector. Apparently Richard Branson thought so too!

MIT Enterprise Forum on IPO Strategies ~ 24 January 2008

The MIT Enterprise Forum is hosting a global broadcast event together with NASDAQ Education Foundation on the topic of Are You Ready for IPO? Strategies and Steps For How and When to Take Your Company Public next week Thursday, 24 January 24, 2008 from 7:00 - 8:30pm Eastern Standard Time. People in the Boston-metro area are welcome to attend live in MIT's Kresge Auditorium (plus participate in the 5:30 - 7:00pm Reception beforehand!)

IDDS 2008 @ MIT ~ International Development Design Summit

MIT is hosting the second International Development Design Summit (IDDS) during the summer of 2008 and is inviting applications (due 10 February 2008). IDDS, which is run by CalTech, Olin, and MIT from mid-July to early-August on the MIT campus, focusses on the needs of the developing world. Participants accomplish this through a hands-on, projects-oriented design-and-build experience. You can get a great sense of the inventiveness and creative joy of participating in this by viewing the Slideshow of IDDS 2007!

Sea Launch Success!

Sea Launch, the multi-nation spacecraft launch system which shoots rockets from an ocean-going delivery pad, has successfully launched the Thuraya-3 satellite! Here's an image from an earlier daytime launch...

Ping, Pong, Punny ;-)

Playing to... enjoy!

MIT Global Startup Workshop ~ Madrid March 26-28, 2008

For over a decade now, MIT students have organized an international conference for the organizers of business plan competitions and others responsible for orchestrating entrepreneurial ecosystems to help nurture and encourage new startups. This MIT Global Startup Workshop or GSW has been run all over the world, except in Africa. And that, I hope, will happen in 2009!

Kiva.org Aggregates & Distributes MicroFinance

Kiva.org is a great example of an internet-enabled microfinance innovation. You pick the specific entrepreneur(s) you find compelling and loan them as much (or little) as you like. Kiva aggregates micro-loans together and engages with both local partners and makes the collective loan to the entrepreneur. Here Bill Clinton describes it to Fox's Greta Van Susteren...

Robin Williams, Genius Comic ;-)

I saw both Dead Poets Society and Good Morning Vietnam clips (and more) just now on the Charlie Rose interview and was reminded once again of the comic genius of Robin Williams. Are you a Poet? "The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?" Designing fashion in Vietnam? "If you're going to fight, clash!"

If you're a Scot, don't be offended. If four-letter w*rds offend, don't watch. This is his priceless description of the Invention of Golf...

Emergent Regions ~ Towards a Greater Aqaba

One of the most promising countries in the Levant and Middle East more generally is Jordan. And within that country, the city of Aqaba is beginning to benefit from an influx of investment. The ASEZA Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority is one key institution attracting financier attention, including the Ayla Oasis, Aqaba Heights, and Saraya Aqaba Project...

Tallest Buildings. Where are the Greenscrapers?

As you can see dynamically on Skyscraperpage.com, there are lots of tall buildings built, planned, under construction (and destroyed). But where are the greenscrapers?

Robot Doors, Electric Glass, Digital Lighting

For reasons of energy conservation, security, and pure aesthetics, I believe robot doors will be an essential fixture of the future...

Also, electric glass will be everywhere, not merely ultra-hip bathrooms...

Finally, digital lighting will pervade all our spaces...

Seamless Art, Electric Attire, Computational Couture

Seamless v.3 happens January 30, 2008 at the Museum of Science in Boston, MA. Art. Technology. Beauty. Seamless.

Humor the Matrix ;-)

The first Matrix spoof I loved was Matrix XP by the Ricke Bros...

Then I saw Matrix Ping Pong...

And now, Matrix Karate...

Mapping More Dimensions of Prosperity & Vitality

The Global Education Project has several nice maps spotlighting different dimensions of the human condition, including Life Expectancy...Percentage of the population without access to safe drinking water...World population density...And Soil Degradation...

Nano Car, Macro Consequences...

Robin Chase, co-founder of Zipcar and GoLoco.org, fears the congestive and ecological consequences of more vehicles in the same amount of space. Add 40% more cars and... pray she says about the TATA low-cost Nano car.

Instead she argues for more sustainable and viable solutions for transportation, things which influence people's behavior through incentives, including congestion pricing, market-rate parking, car sharing, and more, as her solutions-over-time graphic illustrates...

Skyline of the Future?

New York Times article on Hong Kong Power Regulations Based in Part on Emissions visually shocks with low- and high-pollution photos of Hong Kong...

Indian Peugeot ;-)

In the spirit of DIY + India + Auto Invention, this Peugeot commercial sets the tone...

More Auto Inventions -- TATA Nano

India's TATA unveiled their Nano or People's Car...

Auto Inventions -- Disappearing Doors; Bump-Cancelling Shocks; Robot Wheels

Three great example automobile inventions coming soon to vehicles near you. First disappearing car doors...

And then the BOSE active suspension, like "noise-cancellation" for bumps...

And finally Robot Wheels.

Jeff Blander of HST & Bienmoyo on HighTechFever

I interviewed Harvard-MIT Health Science & Technology educator Jeff Blander today on my HighTechFever TV show. Jeff is collaborating with Utkan Demirci to create HST.939 Designing & Sustaining Technology Innovation for Global Health Practice. He also co-directs Bienmoyo, a non-profit foundation for health innovations, together with Philip Kong and Vikram Kumar.

Designing Prizes to Inspire Solutions

A cool new MIT course happening (for MIT people only, alas!) this coming Spring 2008 -- SP.719 X PRIZE Grand Challenges Design Workshop -- where students help devise a Global Healthcare Challenge for the X Prize Foundation!

Cow Power for Laptops in Indian Villages

There are several ways to create the electricity to charge up OLPC Laptops, but this Indian DIY project to harness the power of cows is a clever one. Might scale up to be a village electric utility (after all, having the cowpower of 2-3 cows is very roughly around one horsepower which is almost 750 Watts or the equivalent of 5-10 people pedaling bicycle-generators)...

Pranking the Telemarketer ;-)

Ever wish telemarketers got a taste of their own medicine? Well, Tom Mabe pranked this one good...

McDonough's Greenscraper

William McDonough, ecological architect and co-author of Cradle to Cradle, crafted this Tower of Tomorrow for Fortune (see also the inhabitat Treescraper article)...

Zero City, Masdar in Abu Dhabi

inhabitat describes Norman Foster's Green Desert Utopia, the Foster + Partners design for Masdar in Abu Dhabi, which aims to be a zero-waste and zero-CO2 city (see also the Masdar Initiative)...

Just to Shake You Up...

Happiness is one thing, risk of being shaken up by Earthquakes is another...

World Map of Happiness (a.k.a. Subjective Well-Being)

Adrian White and colleagues at the University of Leicester have published an article on A Global Projection of Subjective Well-Being including this world map of happiness...

Aerion Supersonic Executive Jet

The new Aerion supersonic executive jet promises to bring Concorde-like speeds to the needs of modern capitalists. I want one. See article in Economist entitled Winging It.

India's Dharavi, A Flourishing Slum

The Economist Special Holiday Double Issue has a fascinating story on Dharavi, one of Asia's biggest slums, entitled Urban Poverty in India: A Flourishing Slum The National Geographic also highlighted the area this past year in an article entitled Dharavi: Mumbai's Shadow City And the BBC spotlighted Dharavi in their story Life in a Slum with maps and fotos.

Howtoons in the Wall Street Journal!

There is a very nice mention of our Howtoons in the Wall Street Journal today by Ian Mount in an article entitled Online: Comics -- A Web site uses cartoons to teach kids science! Mount mentions two of my favorite one-pager stories, Das Bottle...
and Spring-Loaded Chopsticks...
(Full Disclosure: Our Howtoons: Possibilities are Endless! book publisher HarperCollins is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp which recently took over Dow Jones & Co and now owns the Wall Street Journal)

Inspiring Greatness in a New Generation

Earlier today I was brainstorming with Chris Resto, founding director of UPOP at MIT and co-author of Recruit or Die, about the new MIT Gordon Engineering Leadership Program. The fundamental goal of that program, as I see it, is to enable and empower every graduating student to go on to found, build, and lead the organizations which will solve the planet's most pressing problems -- social, technical, political, economic, ecological, etc.

Towards accomplishing this huge goal, Chris and I revisited some powerful and practical ideas about educating and inspiring students, including three especially: Brad Feld's ADPrentice initiative, Woodie Flowers MIT Tech Day talk on A Liberal Education for the 21st Century, and Edwin Land's Generation of Greatness talk at MIT in 1957.

Sirocco Skybar in Bangkok

My German friend Patrick Paulisch just returned from Asia travels and sent links to his favorite locales in Hong Kong, Macau, and especially this very spectacular Sirocco Skybar in Bangkok...

Solar Crusader, Harish Hande of SELCO

Congratulations to pioneering solar photovoltaic systems entrepreneur Harish Hande, co-founder of SELCO, who has been named as one the 21 young leaders of the 21st Century -- a Solar Crusader -- by India's Business Today magazine. Harish has been Lighting Up Rural India for over a decade now and is an inspiring example of a developmental entrepreneur.

Glorious Advert; Inspiring Kids!

Genius Inventor Engineer Saul Griffith, my Howtoons compatriot, forwards this delighter from Hydro, the Norwegian technology titan, an advertisement inspiring and celebrating young engineers...