Oh to be a child again, to look up in wonder at a lonely kite sailing on a late summer breeze. During my childhood there were several kites. Every one of them came to a similar ill fate. Some broke away from their strings, never to be seen again. Some plowed into power lines and would stay there for weeks, mocking me every time I looked up. Even worse, some would slam into the ground in the middle of the street, only to be smashed to kindling by passing cars. None of my kites ever survived for long. As a result, I quickly lost interest in kiting; frustration and anger overwhelming my curiosity for their amazing ability to soar through the sky. It seems that not everyone has had the same disappointing experience that I felt. Several grad students at Delft University of Technology had actually found a practical use for kites. Using what they have dubbed a laddermill, a series of interconnected kites, they have found a way to harness the tremendous stores of energy contained in the winds of our atmosphere. The theoretical kite arrays would stretch 30 thousand feet into the sky and harness enough energy to power 10 thousand homes. Although it seems like a flight of fancy, the concept was proven recently in a small scale test. 10 kilowatts of energy were produced by the test; enough energy to power 10 homes. This is a prime example of innovation solving old problems with wild new solutions, and that’s why I’m jonesin’ for it.