Un litro de luz: botellas de agua para iluminar casas pobres

No hizo falta un proyecto complejo de tendido eléctrico, ni quemar miles de litros de combustible. Una simple idea ha permitido atrapar la potencia del Sol en una botella para alumbrar las desvencijadas y oscuras viviendas de una comunidad humilde en Filipinas.

La lámpara no es más que una botella transparente de plástico rellena con agua destilada y lejía, que se inserta en orificios abiertos en los techos para aprovechar la luz exterior durante el día.

El efecto es sorprendente. Los rayos del Sol viajan a través del envase y la mezcla genera una refracción brillante de 360 grados, que ilumina cualquier habitación con la misma intensidad de una bombita eléctrica de 55 watios.

La idea forma parte del proyecto "Un litro de luz" de la organización MyShelter Foundation Inc., que tiene la ambiciosa meta de llevar luz a un millón de hogares filipinos en 2012, en un país donde el alto costo de la electricidad es una de las principales preocupaciones.



Con el uso de energía 100% renovable y materiales de fácil adquisición, la inicitiva mejora la calidad de vida de los filipinos, cuyos ingresos generalmente no sobrepasan los 18 dólares al mes.

 El procedimiento es sencillo y no requiere mucho entrenamiento. Se llena la botella transparente de 1,5 litros con agua destilada y se agregan tres cucharadas de lejía. Luego se sella la tapa herméticamente. La lejía (cloro) evita el desarrollo del moho en la solución, que puede durar hasta 5 años, mientras el agua destilada aporta mayor claridad.

Una vez preparada la mezcla, se hace un orificio en una lámina de zinc o fibra de vidrio, donde se inserta la botella hasta la mitad. A continuación se perfora un agujero similar en el techo de la casa y se ajusta con firmeza el artefacto, teniendo como tope la pequeña lámina. Finalmente se aplica un sellador potente para evitar filtraciones.

Compradas 1.000 acciones de Alcoa

Aprovechando la bajada del valor en los últimos meses, hemos entrado en este valor cíclico, esperando la recuperación económica y los buenos resultados empresariales previstos en Estados Unidos.

La compra la hemos realizado a 10,25 $, con un cambio euro-dolar de 1,31.

En el gráfico semanal vemos como el valor intenta dirigirse por segunda vez hacia su resistencia de 11$. Si la supera, como pensamos, el valor intentaría llegar a la siguiente, situada en 12,80$.

El soporte a corto lo encontramos en 10$, con lo que debemos vigilar que no lo perfore. Si no saldríamos del valor, y ya volveríamos a entrar en otro momento.

Ya os contaremos cómo va el tema. De momento no tenemos prisa y esperamos durante este año la subida mencionada.

Hay que notar que esta acción se situaba en los 18$ hace apenas un año, en marzo y abril de 2011.

Suerte y al toro!!

Fernando García

18 Ways To Inspire Everyone Around You

Live by choice, not by chance.  Make changes, not excuses.  Be motivated, not manipulated.  Work to excel, not compete.  Listen to your own inner voice, not the jumbled opinions of everyone else.

This is the way to inspire people!  This is how you can grow into the best version of YOU!
Here are a few more ideas to get you started with inspiring everyone around you:

1. Be authentic and true to yourself. – In this crazy world that’s trying to make you like everyone else, find the courage to keep being your awesome self.  Embrace that individual inside you that has ideas, strengths and beauty like no one else.  Be the person you know yourself to be – the best version of you – on your terms.  Above all, be true to YOU, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.  No it won’t always be easy; because when it comes to living as a compassionate, non-judgmental human being, the only challenge greater than learning to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, is learning to walk a lifetime, comfortably in your own.
2. Stick with what you love. – Take part in something you believe in.  This could be anything.  Some people take an active role in their local city council, some find refuge in religious faith, some join social clubs supporting causes they believe in, and others find passion in their work.  In each case the psychological outcome is the same.  They engage themselves in something they strongly believe in.  This engagement brings happiness and meaning into their lives.  It’s hard not to be inspired by someone who’s passionate about what they’re doing.
3. Express your enthusiasm. – Passion is something you must be willing to express if you want to inspire others.  You can gain a lot of influence just by publicly expressing that you are excited and passionate about a topic.  Expressive passion is contagious because of the curiosity it stirs in others.  You’ll get people wondering why you love what you love so much.  Naturally, some of them will take the time necessary to understand what it is about the topic that moves you.  (Read How To Win Friends and Influence People.)
4. Excel at what you do. – People watch what you do more than they listen to what you say.  Be someone worth emulating.  Most people are inspired by GREAT musicians, writers, painters, speakers, entrepreneurs, engineers, mothers, fathers, athletes, etc.  There’s only one thing they all have in common: They excel at what they do.  There’s no point in doing something if you aren’t going to do it right.  Excel at your work and excel at your hobbies.  Develop a reputation for yourself, a reputation for consistent excellence.
5. Focus on building your character. – Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.  Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others temporarily think you are.  A genuinely good character always shines and inspires in the long run.
6. Care about people. – People don’t care about how much you know, until they know how much you care.
7. Challenge people to do their best. – As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”  If people know we expect great things from them, they will often go to great lengths to live up to our expectations.
8. Lead by example. – Practice what you preach or don’t preach at all. Walk the talk!  Be the change you want to see in the world.  If you really want to inspire others to do something, then this ‘something’ should be a big part of your life.  You don’t necessarily need to be an expert at it, but you do need to be passionately involved.
9. Articulate what everyone else is thinking. – We are very connected to each other in various ways, the most important of which is our thoughts.  Out of fear, or passive shyness, lots of people hesitate to articulate their thoughts.  If you take the risk and say the things others are holding back, you become the glue that brings people together.
10. Make people feel good about themselves. – People will rarely remember what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel.  Start noticing what you like about others and tell them.  Go out of your way to personally acknowledge and complement the people who have gone out of their way to excel.  As von Goethe once said, “Treat a man as he appears to be, and you make him worse. But treat a man as if he already were what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be.”
11. Help people heal. – Instead of judging people by their past, stand by them and help repair their future.  In life, you get what you put in.  When you make a positive impact in someone else’s life, you also make a positive impact in your own life.  Do something that’s greater than you – something that helps someone else to be happy or to suffer less.  Everyone values the gift of unexpected assistance and those who supply it.
12. Share lessons from your successes and failures. – When you can, be a resource to those around you.  If you have access to essential information, don’t hoard it, share it openly.  You have more to share than you realize.  Mine the rich experiences of your life and share your wisdom from your unique point of view.  Be vulnerable.  Be willing to share your failures as well as your successes.  Others will relate to you.  They’ll understand that they’re not the only ones with challenges.  (Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.)
13. Keep your cool in tense situations. – What you do in a tense situation says a lot about your limits.  People take note of how far the pressure or social discomfort around you goes until you lose control of yourself and the situation.  President Obama, who often displays a calm and collected persona, had a joke in his speech at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner awhile back where he said, “In the next 100 days, I will strongly consider losing my cool.”  Obviously this made him appear even more calm and collected.  Bottom line: Keeping your cool in tense situations lets people know you have a mind of steel – a personality trait most people are drawn to.
14. Focus on the positive. – Be happy with who you are now, and let your positivity inspire your journey into tomorrow.  Everything that happens in life is neither good nor bad.  It just depends on your perspective.  And no matter how it turns out, it always ends up just the way it should.  Either you succeed or you learn something.  So stay positive, appreciate the pleasant outcomes, and learn from the rest.  Your positivity will help encourage those around you.
15. Keep your promises and tell the truth. – Inspire people with your dependability and commitment to the truth.  If you say you’re going to do something, DO IT!  If you say you’re going to be somewhere, BE THERE!  If you say you feel something, MEAN IT!  If you can’t, won’t, and don’t, then DON’T LIE.  It’s always better to tell people the truth up front.  (Read The Four Agreements.)
16. Listen intently to what others say. – Make people feel important, and inspire them by showing them that they are.  Eyes focused, ears tuned, mobile phone off.  In a world that can’t move fast enough, someone who can find time to listen to others is always appreciated.
17. Communicate clearly. – Mystery does not inspire.  Say what you mean and mean what you say.  Share your vision and ideas often with those around you.  Also, be sure to maintain eye contact when communicating; it’s one of the most alluring forms of personal communication.  When executed properly, eye contact injects closeness into human interaction, which captivates attention.
18. Be faithful to your significant other. – There’s nothing more inspiring than the unwavering love and commitment between two individuals.  Furthermore, your sustained fidelity in a long-term intimate relationship creates a healthy foundation for everything else you do.

In the end, everything you need to inspire everyone around you is contained within you.  So get out there and start inspiring people with who you are and how you live your life.

Source:  Jeremy Gutsche, CEO of Trend Hunter

50 Most Innovative Companies

Welcome to our annual guide to the businesses that matter most, the ones whose innovations are having an impact across their industries and our culture. All of us should visit each website.

1. Apple For walking the talk
2. Facebook For 800 million reasons to share
3. Google For expanding its hit lineup
4. Amazon For playing the long game
5. Square For making magic out of the mercantile
6. Twitter For amplifying the global dialogue
7. Occupy Movement For embodying all the traits that make a Fast Company
8. Tencent For fueling China’s Internet boom--and boldly moving West
9. Life Technologies For speeding up genetic sequencing
10. SolarCity For brightening up the sun-power business
11. HBO For being the only TV network to delight with digital
12. Southern New Hampshire University For relentlessly reinventing higher ed, online and off
13. Tesla Motors For boosting the art and technology of electric vehicles
14. Patagonia For selling more by encouraging customers to buy less
15. NFL For stoking insatiable, year-round demand for professional football
16. National Marrow Donor Program For matching technology with critical transplant needs
17. Greenbox For inventing the next-generation Chinese fashion brand
18. Jawbone For rocking the mobile lifestyle
19. Airbnb For turning spare rooms into the world’s hottest hotel chain
20. 72andSunny For winning at the intersection of Hollywood and Madison Avenue
21. Siemens AG For its R&D ambitions in energy, transportation, and health care
22. Dropbox For transforming file storage into a very big business
23. Kiva Systems For turning squat robots into e-commerce giants
24. Starbucks For infusing a steady stream of new ideas to revive its business
25. Genentech For making targeted, genetics-based cancer therapies
26. LegalZoom For bringing tech and accessibility to the hidebound legal industry
27. Tapjoy For driving advertiser engagement in a million-app world
28. Polyvore For turning everyone into a fashion editor
29. Red Bull Media House For showing what it really means to transform yourself into a media brand
30. LinkedIn For making itself useful even when you're not job searching
31. Liquid Robotics For going deep in ocean monitoring
32. Gogo For delivering first-class entertainment to the coach-bound masses
33. Bug Agentes Biológicos For breeding a natural alternative to harmful agricultural pesticides
34. Chipotle For exploding all the rules of fast food
35. James Corner Field Operations For creating intimate green spaces out of industrial urban blight
36. Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals For bringing medical care to the masses
37. Recyclebank For making eco-friendly behavior a big game
38. UPS For solving its customers' number-one pet peeve
39. Networked Insights For using real-time social data to make better products and advertising
40. Choban For becoming a dairy superstar
41. Kickstarter For connecting creatives with fans to raise funds
42. SoundCloud For giving the Internet a voice
43. PayPal For recharging the sale
44. Berg For wildly imagining the marriage of the digital and physical worlds
45. Boo-box For pioneering social-media advertising in Latin America
46. Amyris For driving biofuels into the mainstream
47. Knewton For teaching education a thing or two
48. RedBus For taking the wheel of the $2.5 billion Indian bus-travel industry
49. OpenSky For creating a social, celebrity-powered shopping experience
50. Y Combinator For building the next great Silicon Valley mafia 

Source: FastCompany

How To Jumpstart Your Creative Career in a Bad Economy

Times are tough all over. Maybe you were laid off by a company you devoted years of your life to. Maybe your best clients are canceling projects because you no longer fit in their budget. Maybe you graduated with a pile of student loans and no one willing to pay you to do the work you want to do. 

No one ever said being a creative was for the faint of heart, right? Even in times of un(der)employment, we must resist the temptation to languish on the sofa burning through our Netflix queues, and keep putting ourselves and our work out there.

To jumpstart you, we've rounded up a shortlist of events and resources to help you start making connections and drive your career forward:

1. Attend free events, share ideas, and make like-minded friends.

Handing out business cards is all well and good, but building a community of like-minded allies will help your career out more in the long run. The good news for cash-poor networkers is there are tons of free event series targeted at creative professionals. Here are few of our faves:

• Creative Mornings: Created by Swiss Miss, CMs include a 20-minute talk by a leading creative followed by casual conversation over coffee. Past presentations have come from Milton Glaser, Steven Heller, Liz Danzico, and Andrew Zuckerman.
• PechaKucha: A global "open-mic" night for creatives of all stripes to network and share their work. The presentation format of 20 images, 20 seconds each, means it's never a snooze.
• Behance Network Meetups: To connect the creative professionals on our own Behance.net offline, we organize casual gatherings and creative feedback sessions for Behance members around the globe.
• Etsy: The popular crafts website also hosts regular workshops and meet-n-greets -- anything from a holiday gift-wrapping session to a Valentine letterpress workshop.
• likemind: Started by Piers Fawkes and Noah Brier, this free-form monthly coffee gathering brings together "likeminded" strangers all over the world.
• Meetup: Less curated than some of the other series mentioned, Meetup is a grab bag of self-organized events on any topic you can imagine, from startups to crafting.
• Jelly: A rogue co-working event where freelancers, off-site employees, and entrepreneurs colonize a coffee shop to swap tips and ideas while they work.

We must resist the temptation to languish on the sofa burning through our Netflix queues, and keep putting ourselves and our work out there.

2. Share your knowledge and skills.

We're not endorsing under-selling your expertise, but sometimes -- particularly when you're in a holding pattern -- just getting your work out there is as important as getting paid for it. Volunteering your services can create opportunities for expanding your portfolio, not to mention keeping you creatively engaged. Here are a few ways to give back:

• The Taproot Foundation and Catchafire: Two great platforms that connect skilled creative professionals in design, technology, marketing, and more with non-profits for pro-bono work.

• Idealist: A Craigslist for volunteer work, Idealist hosts thousands of searchable listings for volunteer opps in focus areas ranging from education to social enterprise to crime & safety.

• 826National: This whimsical-storefront-plus-tutoring-center chain founded by Dave Eggers & the McSweeney's crew provides fun and meaningful volunteering opportunities with kids.

• Skillshare: Teaching is another great way to stay active in your field when work is slow. And sharing your expertise (and earning money doing it) is easier than ever with new education-focused platforms like Skillshare, where anyone can post a class.

3. Get the cash you need to start executing your project right now.

Then again, maybe you're not interested in a new job. Maybe right now is the perfect time to get your pet project off the ground. If you've already got an idea and an execution plan, here are a few fundraising opps:

• Kickstarter: Unless you live under a rock, you've likely heard of this crowd-funding platform that processed just shy of $100,000,000 in 2011. Check out these tips on launching an awesome campaign from our friends at the Noun Project.

• Quirky: A $10 submission fee gives you access to a pool of designers, developers, and other inventors who will take your idea through Quirky's rapid iteration process and bring it to market if it's voted to the top by the community.

• NYFA Source: Don't be misled by its New York moniker, the NYFA database boasts a comprehensive, searchable list of grants and opportunities across the US for all types of artists.

Source: Todd Anderson via 99%. Todd Anderson is an editorial assistant for The 99%. He is also an NYC-based performance poet and the producer of the Poetry Observed video series. Reach out to him at todd@behance.com.

 

Inspirations: las matemáticas, la mecánica y el arte combinados en una maravillosa animación

Cristobal Vila de Eterea Estudio, autor de maravillas como Nature by Numbers o Snakes, nos envió su última creación: Inspirations, que combine disfrutar en HD. La relajante música de fondo es de Ólafur Arnalds.

Inspirations recrea una combinación de mundos matemáticos, mecánicos y artísticos, todo encerrado en una pequeña habitación. Hay toques Escherianos, rompecabezas y acertijos matemáticos; por otro lado no faltan los juegos y las referencias a las obras clásicas y los autores del género.

Hay que verlo unas diez o veinte veces para captar todos los detalles, referencias y guños; una auténtica maravilla.

Source: Cristóbal Vila

Dentro de 10 años no tendremos que estudiar idiomas

Imaginameos que dentro de unos 10 años pudiéramos liberarnos de las clases de inglés, de los verbos irregulares, del spanglish.... y por supuesto de esas nuevas lenguas como el chino y demás...que, con perdón, ojalá no vengan nunca.... Pues, creo que estamos cerca de lograrlo!!!

Y es que ya disponemos de herramientas aisladas, que podrían hacer que una conversación entre dos personas que hablen lenguas diferentes fuera entendible sin que ninguno supiera la suya, ni el inglés. Veamos qué necesitaráimos:

Primero: debemos disponer de un equipo en el que la otra persona hable y reconozca lo que dice. Bueno, esa es una herramienta de reonocimiento de voz. Y ya existe. La mejor versión que conozco es Dragon Naturally Speaking. Es un software en el que se le dicta al ordenador y reconoce lo que se dice con una precisión increíble. Y además el programa va aprendiendo palabras nuevas según vamos dictándole. 

Así que ya tenemos un equipo que reconoce lo que dice nuestro interlocutor. Hay que hacer indicar que el lenguaje hablado es mucho más sencillo que el escrito, lo cual redunda en una mayor facilidad de captación del software. Un punto a mejorar en la herramienta es el reconocimiento de voz con ruido de fondo, por ejemplo en la calle.

Segundo: el texto que ha captado el software debe traducirse a nuestra lengua materna. Esas herramientas de traducción también existen, por ejemplo las tenemos de forma gratuita en Google Translate. Estos programas deben mejorar también, pero están cerca de poder traducir conversaciones con precisión.

Hasta aquí nuestro equipo imaginario, ha captado lo que nuestro interlocutor ha dicho y lo ha traducido de una manera bastante fidedigna.

Tercero: Necesitamos que el equipo nos lea la traducción del texto. Quizá esta es la parte más fácil porque ya hay desde hace años herramientas informáticas que pueden leer un texto.

Así que cuando alguien nos hable otro idioma, lo único que tendríamos que hacer es disponer de nuestro equipo metido en el bolsillo (imaginemos del tamaño de un mp3), y un auricular en el oido que podría hacer las veces de micrófono.

Y ya está, problema solucionado. Claro nuestro interlocutor tendría un equipo similar. Si yo fuera de Vaughan Sistems, ya empezaría a buscarme trabajo en otro sitio.

Fernando García

The Counter-Intuitive Benefits of Small Time Blocks

It's a common assertion that doing hard, creative work requires long stretches of concentrated attention. And if you have the luxury of big, open blocks of time, it is a great way to get things done. But what if you don't? What if you get interrupted left and right by clients and co-workers? Is there a way to push creative projects forward in this non-optimal environment?

 

I would argue that it IS possible. And not only is it possible, but – in certain ways – as good as or better than waiting for the "perfect" block of time to arrive. Why? Because resisting starting until the ever-elusive perfect moment often leads to extended procrastination. You never have as much time as you'd like to really "settle into" the work so you just keep putting it off – creating a vicious cycle of over-ambitious goals and little-to-no progress.

If this sounds uncomfortably familiar to you, it may be time to own up to the realities of your schedule and consider a different approach.

This "Short & Sweet" process developed in collaboration with one of my time coaching clients shows you how to invest the often-overlooked bits of time into your day in meaningful progress on creative projects.

Here's how it works:

• Write down all possible next steps involved in completing the project without worrying about whether the list is complete or in order. You don't have to "think of everything" or make the "ideal plan."
• Schedule in just 15-30 minutes to move forward on the project. The point is to set aside a short enough block of time that you can commit to it without feelings of anxiety or hesitation about your ability to follow through. (Think baby steps.)
• During that designated time, take action toward your goal by choosing to make progress on one or more of the steps you brainstormed. Don't aim too high. Just tackle a small amount of work that you know you can actually complete in that time window.
• At the end of the time, write down any new steps you discovered on your master list and schedule the next specific day and time when you will move forward on the project.
• Repeat as needed, which may mean for the entire project or may just mean for the very initial messy stages when making a comprehensive plan or setting aside huge amounts of time to move forward is impossible or fills you with dread.

Now, some of you may be wondering: "Will I really get results when I work in these tiny chunks of time? Is it possible to really 'get in the zone'?"

The short answer is: Any action is almost always better than none. But there are a number of reasons why working in small chunks might not only be practical, but also preferable for you:

• Reduces build-up energy. If you haven't made progress on a project for weeks, months or even years, even five minutes of forward movement is an improvement. You can choose to spend longer periods of time on a project, but the Short & Sweet method makes it excruciatingly easy both emotionally and mentally to break through the inertia.
• Makes you like yourself & your project again. When you won't work on a project until the "ideal" moment, you begin to feel a massive weight of guilt and shame that makes you not even want to think about the project that once brought you great joy. Taking small steps forward will help you to feel successful and renew your positive associations with the entire process.
• Gives you time to get help. One of the scary parts of beginning a creative endeavor, especially with a new technology or a new client, is that you aren't quite sure of the total scope of the work. By starting early and starting often, you have time to ask for help, get feedback, make edits or even request a timeline extension before it's too late for you to do so without embarrassment.
• Allows you to unleash your brilliance. As Fred Wilson so beautifully describes in his post on subconscious information processing, as soon as you give your mind a problem to solve, it starts working day and night on the project. By using short bits of time to move forward, particularly in the initial brainstorming phase, you give yourself a greater opportunity to unleash your genius than you could have done in a long single spurt.

--

Over to You…

Do you tend to do nothing unless you can get everything done at once? How have you learned to use short bits of time effectively?

Source:

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time management life coach who empowers clients around the world to go from feeling frustrated, overwhelmed and guilty to feeling peaceful, confident and accomplished with how they invest their time. Find out more at www.ScheduleMakeover.com.