• Prefab housing rich in the history of the Congo

    by  • February 29, 2008 • 0 Comments

    “The Maison is plug-and-play: there was never any plumbing, and it is wired for electricity. It ships in six containers. Christie’s is compiling a short list of potential bidders with substantial properties in Mustique, Antigua, the Hamptons — name your playground — who might like a 59-foot-by-32-foot–by-16-foot-tall folly/outdoor sculpture/guesthouse/vintage metal toy to park on the [...]

    Read more →

    Works for me! (from the black swan guy)

    by  • February 27, 2008 • 0 Comments

    Random tinkering is the path to success. And fortunately, we are increasingly learning to practice it without knowing it–thanks to overconfident entrepreneurs, naive investors, greedy investment bankers, confused scientists and aggressive venture capitalists brought together by the free-market system. We need more tinkering: Uninhibited, aggressive, proud tinkering. We need to make our own luck. We [...]

    Read more →

    Vacuum-insulated windows patent

    by  • February 25, 2008 • 0 Comments

    http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5005557-description.html Notably it’s about the how, and references older work on the basic concept. Odds-are that means the diode, if it’s covered at all, is under the Australian patents for the Solar Kettle design.

    Read more →

    Lazyweb, I also want a Solar Energy Diode

    by  • February 19, 2008 • 4 Comments

    This is a bit more complex to describe. Here’s how it works. Take two disks of glass, one black, one clear. Let us say they are 4″ in diameter, of indeterminate thickness. Now take a ring, say 1″ thick, 4″ in diameter, made from a strong insulator. Separate the two disks with this ring, enclosing [...]

    Read more →

    Lazyweb I want a solar powered USB jack

    by  • February 19, 2008 • 3 Comments

    Simple: a solar panel, 2.5W, output 5V and 500 mA, with a USB jack attached. In sun, you plug your USB device (ipod, phone etc) into the solar-powered USB jack, and it charges. Pure, simple. Who’s got it? http://www.rei.com/product/770230 – $115 == $40 a watt, that’s Not Right. http://www.modernoutpost.com/gear/details/sf_solar_uno_slim.php – another candidate, fifty dollars, much [...]

    Read more →