thenotsomightyom

March 6, 2026 · 7:25 am

#HeadlineTherapy ‘Could be a lifeline for 2 billion people’: Nobel Laureate builds a machine that harvests water from desert air

Thanks to The Times of India Science Desk for the Headline.

Water for some countries covered in desert is more important than oil to survival. So being able to harvest water from the desert air would be a game changer for drought prone regions and disaster struck populations in need of a clean and regular water supply.

Based on using a metal organic framework (MOF) of porous material which can trap water vapour even in low-humidity environments the system can be powered by sunlight and be totally self sufficent and generate up to 1000 litres of fresh water a day.

The unit collects vapour overnight and produces the water using condensation and heat from the sun during the day.

On the practical side the unit has to be the size of a shipping container to produce enough water to be useful and the materials that make up the (MOF) perhaps are expensive and hard to come by. However, the Nobel winning Chemist who has invented this is addressing these issues with a view to manufacture.

Though perhaps a small unit would be useful for a rescue craft or a outward bound kit, where a small amount of water is needed.

AI Generated Image

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

Leave a comment

Filed under Short Stories

March 6, 2026 · 7:00 am

Do you have any allergies?

Daily writing prompt

What is one question you hate to be asked? Explain.

View all responses

I would say that being asked by a complete stranger about my allergies always makes me extremely nervous. I always say no, but I really don’t know for definite if I or my pet (whom I may be answering on behalf of ) have any or are likely to develop them in the next five seconds.

The context in which I’m asked usually is health related, or pet health related. I jokingly say

“not that I’m aware of”

But all I get is a blank look and

“we’ll get on then.”

They’ve asked the question, they’ve covered their back sides and left me to worry about the unknown. The possibility that one of those weird ingredients on whatever has just been injected into me will turn me into a quivering mass on the floor, gasping for an epi-pen. Or as in the case of my AI Generated Image, not being able to understand what is being said to me by the worried looking medical man.

AI Generated Image

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

Leave a comment

Filed under Short Stories

Tagged as dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1869

March 5, 2026 · 7:45 am

#HeadlineTherapy Norwegian influencer buys failed property development in Spain to build ‘self-sufficient’ eco-community

Thanks to Beatriz Olaizola of El Pais 50 Online for the Headline

So what happens to old property developments when they get old and die because they ran out of money, it happens quite a lot, the money flushes around and we wait while someone comes up with a bright idea to resurrect something from the rubble.

The Joya de Planes ( The Jewel of Planes) was one such project with plans for 450 houses beside a reservoir in the mountains of Alicante. Political skullduggery allowed this plot of land to be developed as it was previously owned by a Politician and despite many objections the approval for development was given and disruptive work continued until the property bubble burst in 2008 .The developer had no more funds to complete the work. Under new laws the land has now received protected status due to it’s high environmental value.

Enter in essence a new developer, a Norwegian and her Romanian Husband. They bought the land from a Bank and two private Citizens for an undisclosed sum. They do have plans which they are going to submit to develop an” eco-village”, including a school, shops and even a health centre which will need to be approval in this area of Environmental Interest.

The houses will mainly be attractive to foreigners and the development is likely to take the form of a sort of gated village, separate from the local residents who currently number 700 people. The development has received the support from the local mayor of Planes who also happens to be the deputy chief of the Infrastructure Department of the Regional Government of Valencia.

This project is mainly based on a Social Media Project run by the Norwegian lady who has gendered over 1 million hits and has started selling plots on the proposed development. Little has been agreed by the local villagers.

Surprisingly though the Mayor is already saying that any costs such as street lighting and road maintenance will have to be covered by the New Developers themselves as they local Government will not be able to afford it from their tax revenue.

The development of a Modern Eco -Village is a development by any other name and it remains to be seen what happens to the development and if it does indeed bring any benefits to the local area. Without sound financial backing , I’m not sure it’s going to work.

AI generated Image

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.

Leave a comment

Filed under Short Stories

Tagged as #HeadlineTherapy, environment, housing, news, sustainability, travel

March 5, 2026 · 6:48 am

Failure Fallacy

Daily writing prompt

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

View all responses

We all suffer from failure fallacy even if we don’t always understand the circumstances. To believe in success or failure of anything we need to make a judgement or have an external judge. Infallibility is not possible , so judging is by it’s very nature open to interpretation.

What is really happening is that we are “doing ” or “trying” and that is never wrong when the reason behind it is to achieve something or improve something both for our own benefit and even better for the benefit of others.

AI generated Image

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

Leave a comment

Filed under Short Stories

Tagged as dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1868

March 4, 2026 · 5:19 am

#HeadlineTherapy Gas and oil prices soar and shares tumble on fears conflict could escalate

Thanks to Osmond Chia and Natalie Sherman from BBC Online News for the Headline.

The main talk around what is happening in the Middle East in our house centres around prices , that everything will go up and fuel and energy prices which have seemed to have steadied will now become unaffordable. Suddenly the prospect of not being able to do things that we now take for granted comes into play.

In truth , the advisors and analysts can produce as many graphs and detailed comments on the effect on inflation and interest rates as they like. The real effect is that we are being asked to not do things, not travel, not buy what we like from the shops, reduce our consumption, live like monks and not to rely on having any power ( energy wise or voting wise).

Waste is everywhere and certain governments just want to ensure that their War Machines and the Business’s behind them don’t collapse. Forget the little people.

It does feel incredibly unstable and for what reason? The Middle East is incredibly beautiful and it’s big enough land wise for it’s various populations, they need to learn to live together and Western Governments need to stop interfering with their infrastructure and their economies.

Also they need to stop encouraging us to buy Heat Pumps as they are not efficient and we really need to find ways of looking after our consumption of energy more rationally. I predict the traffic on the roads will reduce and having a car will become a luxury. The problem is that business’s and therefore choice will not survive.

The British Government have thought they can take the consumer for a ride , well there’s no more to give or take; with House Prices, Fuel Costs and Education loans, I think most working people are actually broke and looking at their standard of living dropping like a stone.

I saw on the news that President Trump has a rash on his neck, well if I’d got myself into the mess he’s made I think I’d develop a rash too.

AI Generated Image

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

Leave a comment

Filed under Short Stories

Tagged as #HeadlineTherapy, climate-change, energy, environment, politics, sustainability

March 4, 2026 · 4:46 am

To Whom it may concern, I don’t read reviews.

Daily writing prompt

You’re writing your autobiography. What’s your opening sentence?

View all responses

The first sentence would be the hardest

The task would seem ginormous,

To start a tome ,

That was my own,

About me and the quirks of life,

So much fun and the odd bit of strife,

To be honest I’ll never crack it,

So no reviewer will ever get to hack it.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

AI generated image

Leave a comment

Filed under Short Stories

Tagged as dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1867

March 3, 2026 · 5:26 am

#HeadlineTherapy Bus drivers will ‘resume strike’ on Friday if ‘serious proposal isn’t met by Isle of Man Government.

Thanks to ITVX News online for the headline.

I’ve always been fond of buses and public transport generally , ever since being driven to work by a bus driver who had to deal with heavy snow, take a diversion and pick up passengers who otherwise would have been stranded. In my mind he was as heroic as Indiana Jones.

So I was saddened to read about the Vannin (in my mind Valiant) Bus Drivers on the Isle of Man having to resort to strike action to achieve equal rights for all drivers whether full-time, part-time or casual. When they are working, whatever hours they are doing they are all doing the same job and should be given the same reward.

The dispute relates to fair , consolidated and pensionable pay and requires fairness to be applied. I really don’t think that the Isle of Man Government and Bus Vannin Management have a leg to stand on.

AI Generated Image

Namaste and Thank You for Reading🙏

Leave a comment

Filed under Short Stories

Tagged as #HeadlineTherapy

March 3, 2026 · 5:03 am

Objects

Daily writing prompt

What are three objects you couldn’t live without?

View all responses

Funny enough, when you have nothing , everything is taken away , you are stripped of the things that you thought important. What is left? Objects, do they matter and could you live without them? Sometimes you have no choice. In the past people have had no choice and have survived by adapting to circumstances or by fortuitous accident or coincidence.

A receptacle to hold water when you have flowing water all around you and without a receptacle you cannot have a drink. ( cupping your hands satisfies a need). You have wood to make a fire but no match, this is hard as suddenly the wood seems useless. Without a match, fire and warmth could you live without them? Perhaps there is a spark somewhere? Finally , nutrients, how would you sustain yourself , you don’t need plates and a knife and fork, but you look for food that you can eat again with your bare hands.

Objects are not what life is about, they do make life’s processes easier however.

AI generated image

Namaste and Thank You for Reading. 🙏

1 Comment

Filed under Short Stories

Tagged as dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1866

March 2, 2026 · 3:40 am

#HeadlineTherapy Waste firm starts turning used nappies into fuel.

Thanks to Hugh Casswell BBC News Online for the Headline

Using four chambers on a new machine that cost £1.5million to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

The first chamber in the machine will crush the nappy and sanitary waste into a compactable form while the rest of the chambers use aerobic digestion, biology and drying to safely break down the waste and convert it into inert non-organic matter, which can then be burnt and used to create energy. The material that comes out of the process is a kind of floc which can be used as a coal replacement but with a much smaller carbon footprint and of course with no biological nasties.

It sounds a no brainer as the modern nappy and sanitary towel is something that is made not to break down for convenience sake of the user. However, the waste will remain present in landfill for up to 500 years.

It’s estimated that about 400,000 tonnes of nappies are sent to waste every year, heaven knows what the amount of sanitary products are , currently most will end up in landfill.