Latest: Service Generator
Ben Markham, a BYU alumnus who served as an LDS missionary in Ghana discovered a serious problem: as many as 10,000 schools operate without any electricity. So, he collaborated with the BYU School of Engineering and Technology and created a design-based solution. Using existing and affordable parts, he and the students constructed a merry-go-round that acts as a generator. The energy from the spinning playground toy is stored in a battery which in turn powers the school’s low-power LED lights. Brilliant!
The kids get a toy (which are, sadly, rare) and the school gets resources for more effective teaching. As another stroke of genius, the LED lights are themselves rechargeable so the students can take them home with them to continue their studies.
I was touched by the generosity and intelligence displayed through this act of service. It’s stories like these that convince me that there is always something to improve by way of design and God makes it possible for those willing to listen and follow through.
Not Latest
-
Get Daemon Tools working after Vista Ultimate upgrade
It took me a few days of scouring Google searches to find the solution to [...]
-
Tips for Getting Exceptional Performance for Your Site
Yahoo offers tips for optimizing your site’s front-end performance.
-
From Mediocre to Great
Paul Potts’ story is wonderfully refreshing amid the glam-pop culture that pervades our modern society. [...]
-
African MacGyver’s green solution
William Kamkwamba’s blog follows his progress in building and revising a home-made windmill that generates [...]
-
Can Beauty Transcend Context?
A Washington Post article entitled Pearls Before Breakfast begs the question, “Will beauty transcend context?” [...]
-
Design Workflows: sxsw panel site
A South-by-Southwest panel created a great site as a resource for design workflow ideas and [...]
Asides
Wordpress MU 1.5.1 Released
Doncha has done a great job getting Wordpress 2.5 ported over to MU. MU 1.5.1 is available now.
Online LDS Scriptures now available in Portuguese
Hooray! The Portuguese edition of the LDS Scriptures is now online.
iPhone is 2007 Invention of the Year
Time magazine declared the Apple iPhone as 2007’s best invention. Hard to argue with that.
Hilarious Facebook song
Funny guys Rhett and Link put together a Facebook song that says it all. Check out the video.
Best Vista laptop is a Macbook Pro :)
PC World tested and noted that the top-performing Vista laptop is actually a Macbook Pro. The irony is almost painful.
Sneak Peak of Kingkiller Chronicles’ Book 2 Cover
Patrick Rothfuss posted a preview of the book cover for The Wise Man’s Fear. April can’t come soon enough!
