Research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart working in conjunction with their colleagues from the company Logos Innovationen have found a way of converting this air humidity autonomously and decentrally into drinkable water. “The process we have developed is based exclusively on renewable energy sources such as thermal solar collectors and photovoltaic cells, which makes this method completely energy-autonomous. It will therefore function in regions where there is no electrical infrastructure,” says Siegfried Egner, head of department at the IGB. The principle of the process is as follows: hygroscopic brine – saline solution which absorbs moisture – runs down a tower-shaped unit and absorbs water from the air. It is then sucked into a tank a few meters off the ground in which a vacuum prevails. Energy from solar collectors heats up the brine, which is diluted by the water it has absorbed. ...

“Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure. Never forget your Personal Legend. Never forget your dreams. Your silent heart will guide you. Be silent now. It is the possibility of a dream that makes life interesting. You can choose between being a victim of destiny or an adventurer who is fighting for something important.” ...

Viewers who haven’t thought much about how all that food in the grocery store got to be there will likely find it hard to toss a few packages of pork chops and some Froot Loops in the cart and call it a day. Some viewers will undoubtedly look away during the meat cutting and processing scenes. For parents the eye-averting moment will come during repeated slow-motion scenes of a 2-year-old’s last vacation. His mother, now a food-safety advocate, explains in a tearful voice-over the gruesome details of his death after he ate hamburger tainted with E. coli. ...

So bottom line: Copying hurts you. You miss out on what makes something good. Instead, try to be exposed to a variety of perspectives and points of view. Take whatever you find useful and leave the rest behind. Fill in the gaps with your own ideas. In the end you have make your own way forward. [via 37signals.com] When I first decided to learn HTML, I cruised around the World Wide Web, surfed even, looking for sites that I liked. “View Source” became my new best friend. I ripped code from page after page, threw it into a text editor, made changes, poked, prodded, and flipped code to see how it all worked. ...

[via enjoymentland.com] More “Hooray!” please.

Have you ever noticed that when Microsoft makes a product announcement that people actually get excited about, it’s almost always for a product that isn’t scheduled to ship for a year or more? The Project Natal demo sure looks cool, but Microsoft has long ago burned through its “cried wolf” credibility for me. This thing is vapory even by Microsoft’s standards. Let’s see it when it ships. John has it right. Microsoft needs to take at least one page from the book of Apple marketing tricks and stay silent until a release is imminent. Or as Shakespeare wrote, “Seal up your lips, and give no words but mum.” ...

Gene Kelly was such an athletic and fun dancer, no?

“Use your time wisely. Say beautiful things, inspire, forgive, act physically to protect and help.” –Thich Nhat Hanh Earlier this week, we arrived home from a vacation in the Caribbean. The beaches were relaxing and warming. The mountains and rain forest were invigorating and refreshing. The company was entertaining and enjoyable. Vacation always give me a fresh perspective on life and manages to rejuvenate my abilities of perception. The sights and sounds of a foreign place jog the senses from the slumber of mundane rituals. ...

John Gruber of Daring Fireball writes today about the iPhone and how the complexity of the device has evolved from the simplicity of the initial vision. In “Complex”, he states, If there’s a formula to Apple’s success over the past 10 years, that’s it. Start with something simple and build it, grow it, improve it, steadily over time. Evolve it. John makes several good points, the best of which is that background processing is available on the iPhone (ever listen to your iPod while playing a game?), but Apple will not allow third party developers to use it until the hardware technology has evolved to a point where it can be supported well. ...

Allow me to clarify. I will not teach you to be rich, but Ramit Sethi might. I Will Teach You To Be Rich is the title of his newly released book which borrows the title from his web site. I’ve been following Ramit for a couple of years now, and I will admit to ignoring his solid financial ideas quite often. He recently released his book, and I was not planning on purchasing it, until he sweetened the deal with a contest. Yes, I know. For shame. If I really liked Ramit’s writing and information, I would have purchased the book sight unseen and without any need for extra compensation. But! I was attempting to save money since I’m a helpless bibliophile. ...