Who knew rats could be a good thing?

As featured in this Nicholas Kristof NYT op-ed, HeroRATS finally represent a case where you'd probably be happy to see rats. Trained by Dutch company Apopo, these rats are currently being used in Africa to detect landmines through using their keen sense of smell. Even better, they are too light to set off landmines. As an additional bonus, HeroRATS can also sniff sputum and detect TB much faster than lab technicians.

For more information on HeroRATS or how to donate to this cause, visit the Global Giving website.

Karma Cup: A novel way to reduce paper cup usage

Not that I'm a huge fan of Starbucks (Alterra will always reign #1), but I think it's pretty neat that they sponsored this competition to reduce waste produced from paper cups.The winner of the competition, Karma Cup, proposes to "chart each person who uses a reusable mug. The tenth person to order a drink with a reusable cup will receive his or her drink free. By turning a freebie program into a communal challenge, Karma Cup would create incentives for everyone to bring reusable mugs. (After all, the more people participate, the more free stuff is given away and the more likely you are to get something free.) That, in turn, would eliminate rather than simply redesign the nefarious disposable cup."


Find the full post here.

Honda's "People Mover"

Designed for people with debilitating injuries or for those with problems walking, this cool little motorized unicycle-like chair can help people move around!



Check out the CrunchGear article here. Thanks for the find, David!

DUKE Wins National NCAA Basketball Tournament!!!!!

I have waited four years for this moment. Four years after withstanding people's jeers of Duke's "demise" and lots of hoping and cheering later, we won both UNC games, shared the ACC regular season title, won the ACC Tourney, AND clinched the NCAA title last night. I'm so proud of our boys!



YES!!!!!!!!!!!

750 Words

Writing in diaries seems to be an old-fashioned notion in our digitized way, but 750 Words finds a way to bring it all to our computers. Here's some personal testimony from my brother:

"If you have around 20-25 minutes to spare a day, I recommend 750words.com, it's a pretty nifty site. Basically, it's a private online journal that you write 750 words in daily, or whenever you want to work stuff out.  I used it today, and it's so freaking cool - you can customize everything about it, and when you're done writing the 750, you get an awesome page of statistics: words per minute, distractions, what you felt, what you were concerned about, what your mindset was, what the primary tense was (past, present, future), what the primary sense was, a rating, frequently used words, etc. It's kinda awesome, and you can have a safeword so only you see it.  Just passing along the coolness :)"

Want more information on 750 Words? It's also featured in this Lifehacker article.

Light Blossoms

Philips has come up with a new aesthetically pleasing light fixture that uses both solar and wind energy. Check it out here.

Easter Egg Hunt for TIII

Can you find it? http://www.duke.edu/web/evp/index.html

(Hint: try mousing over the entire web page)

This is why I love Duke.

Thanks, Will!