Tech Podcast 277: High-Tech Ski Treadmills, sOccket, and Pecha Kucha for Haiti

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This is no ordinary soccer ball. It’s called sOccket, and it’s got some tech inside that allows it to store up energy while it’s being kicked around. After 15 minutes, the ball’s stored up enough juice to power an LED light, or even charge up something else. Too cool. In this week’s podcast, we’ll talk to one of the people behind the sOccket. We’ll also hear about a high-tech treadmill for training Swedish skiers, and we’ll “embed” with some folks looking to keep information flowing into and out of Iran. We end with a segment on listeners Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein in Tokyo. They are architects who are trying to crowdsource new design and building ideas for post-earthquake Haiti. Wow.

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The skier from Kenya

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Anchor Marco Werman speaks with cross-country skier Philip Boit, the only athlete to represent Kenya at the Winter Olympic Games.

Ghana’s first skier off to the Olympics

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Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong was born in the Scottish city of Glasgow, but he grew up in Accra, Ghana. That never stopped him from dreaming of becoming a professional skier. He honed his skills on an artificial slope in Britain. And now, the “snow leopard” as he’s known will be Ghana’s one-man ski team next year at the Vancouver Winter Games. The World’s Alex Gallafent has the story. Download MP3(Audio available after 5PM Eastern)

• Video: The “Snow Leopard” in action
• Ghana Ski Team