Monthly Archive for October, 2006

What inspires innovation?

According to Peter Diamandis, Money! You can listen to a very interesting talk by him about this topic, here. The talk really is worth a listen. It will either change the way you look at things or at least challenge them, and if nothing else it will be inspiring. He has a way of making you believe that anything is possible.

Often we are aware of a problem or negative situation that we might be in, like for example… oh, lets say… Global Warming. We can see that things need to change, we can even pinpoint the elements that need to change. Often we simply get stuck on the HOW.

auto x prizeYou may have heard of the X Prize, which inspired innovation in space travel. 2 commercial space flights within a 2 week period for the prize of 10 million dollars. Branson’s team one it. More teams than you can imagine entered. Much innovation was achieved in a short amount of time. What about the automotive industry? In the talk above, Diamandis introduces his idea for an Automotive X Prize. It is now becoming a reality. The rules have not all been laid down yet, but when they are I think the challenge is going to be very interesting. No doubt they are going to achieve something that people are saying right now cannot be done.

To learn more check out:
The X Prize Foundation
Automotive X Prize

Help Support Solar Energy

solar energy
I looked into to Solar energy for Urban Grind, but the upfront cost was about $14,000 and believe it on not, we just can’t afford that. At the end of the day we would have been rebated about $4000. For a small business or anyone trying to go solar this is a very attractive incentive. Solar is very expensive at the moment and the only thing that will bring prices down is if people buy it.

The government wants to take away the Solar Rebate. No doubt they want to put the money saved directly into furthering Solar Energy research, but just incase, an online petition has been set up in an attempt to stop the government from removing the rebate. They nearly have 100,000 signatures which is a little shy of 20 million but with your help, you never know what could happen.

Sign it here!

Making Friends with the Climate

cnbalance260.gifIf you have seen the movie, An Inconvenient Truth you will no doubt be trying to make friends with your local climate already. If you have not seen the movie, then you better start coming up with a good answer for future generations when they start asking,

Are you keeping a fast clock too?

seven amI am never early, lucky to be on time, and more often than I would like to admit, I am usually late. Not cool when you have to be open for 7am to make coffee for people (like myself) that want a coffee right then. I should point out, in an attempt to gain your empathy, that I am no morning person. If I could be on your side of the counter at 7am, I would be.

So in an effort to at least be on time I set all my clocks to be 10 minutes fast. But it never seemed to work. I always seemed to feel like I was running late, as people would start turning up before I was finished opening. Then the other day I was picked up on my way to the shop and given a lift. The kind driver was trying to get me there quicker so that I might be ready sooner. Anyway, he asked how long I might be, and I said that going by his clock I should be open in ten minutes. I asked if he ran a fast clock like I do. The reply was that it is a fast clock town, but it never used to be that way. And yes he did.

My clock is not fast enough if all our clocks are 10 mins fast. If everyone else could just set their clocks back 10mins, I will keep mine fast, then when you turn up there is a better chance I will be ready to make your morning coffee. I know that simply sounds like it would make only my life easier, but turning up 10mins before I am open is not actually going to get you to work 10mins quicker. Although most people that turn up early usually help me set up a bit, so don

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