Dr. Rupprecht Gabriel is an electrical engineer, inventor and founder of BRAINSTREAM, a manufacturer of witty, intelligent and functional things. More than 40 patents have already originated from Gabriel’s “brain streams” which he trained during many years of research on projects for the electronic industry. He experienced how smart inventions, which had no obvious use in everyday life, never made it to production. He realized that some of these inventions may well prove to be very valuable, if they were just nurtured a bit more and tweaked so that they could be turned into useful devises. Thus in 2001 the father of three started his own business.

His bestselling invention so far  is the PiepEi, a singing plastic egg. Fed up with sunday morning’s eggs not having the right consistency, he came up with a simple devise to help us produce the perfect soft egg. All you do is place PiepEi with your eggs in the water and start boiling it. Once the desired firmness is reached PiepEi plays a melody. At the sound of “Killing me softly” you know the yolk is softly boiled. You must admit: that’s more fun than your ordinary timer??

It gets even better, as PiepEi functions everywhere. Whether is in the mountains – where water already boils in less than 100 degrees centigrade,which extends the cooking process – or in a submarine, or anywhere below sea leavel, where water boils above 100 degrees centigrade, PiepEi helps you produce the perfect soft egg no matter where you are. I wonder, what makes Gabriel tick? Here are seven answers from the inventor of the perfect egg boiler:

1. Describe the source of your vision?

Life.

2. Who or what taught you to be an entrepreneur / problem solver?

Curiosity and laziness paired with the professional ability and Know-How to solve the problems.

3. Describe your entrepreneurial / problem solver breakthrough moment.

I always had fun with my inventions that worked. For example 1975 I came up with electrical Christmas tree lightswhich could be lit with matches and blown out, as if they were candles. There were also more serious ideas like the first field oriented digital drive, the first electronic electricity meter, and of course PiepEi.

4. Which book has inspired you most?

Wikipedia – even if it is not a book.

5. Which technology or invention can’t you live without?

My glasses.

6. Your best advice to other potential problem solvers out there?

 Fuel your brain with knowledge. Knowledge is power, no knowledge no power.

 7. What other problem would you want to solve if you had the time?

Time is not the only  limited resource. For inventions you need money, you need networks, you need to know how to reach consumers. One of my concerns is the sustainable use of na resources. It would be great to move some of the visions that exist from ideas to reality. Take ORC Micro generators that translate unused energy into power, which could prove to be more cost efficient then our current Photovoltaic systems.

Prussian kings and German kaisers dominated the heart of Berlin from the 15th to 20th century. The Berliner Schloss, the Berlin palace was their  residence. Now the people of Berlin will have a Schloss of their own. The castle of the people will be known as the Humboldt Forum and will be rebuilt as a replica of the former Baroque building.

This modern contraption is an antipode to the elegance of what is to be built. However, it serves as a place to experience the construction of the building and it gives an idea of what the Humboldt Forum Foundation has planed.

When built in the years 1700 by architect Andreas Schlüter it became the most important Baroque building in Germany. Following the revolution and abdication of the Kaiser in 1918, the Berliner Schloss was used in many different ways, including a museum, which is what the Humboldt Forum will become amongst other uses as well.

The palace was hit during WWII. But not beyond repair – it was the ideology of the socialist regime of the GDR which decided to demolish the palace in 1950. What the communist party saw as a remembrance of a feudal system was finally destroyed with the help of dynamite. For years the empty space was a parading ground for the party. In 1976 the Palast der Republik, the Palace of the Republic  was built and served as the GDR’s administrative center and assembly chamber.  After unification that had to go too, because by the 1990s asbestos was considered bad for humans. History or asbestos, the marvelous Schloss was avenged. Since 2008 the heart of Berlin has been empty. Every summer the large lawn is a big attraction for Berliners. It is the second year some mysterious dreamer created a humongous heart on it. And the first summer an artist placed blue sheep on it…

A private initiative, the Friends of Berlin Palace, which was born in 1993 would not leave a stone unturned until it convinced Berliners of rebuilding the Schloss. Italian architect Franco Stella won the competition. With the rebuilding of the Berliner Schloss the spatial structure, views and relative proportions of the city of Berlin will be regained. An animation of the future result shows how it all fits together:

The name says it all: The Humboldt Forum, which is named after the famous German brothers Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt, will bring together culture and science and function as a place of knowledge. The concept seeks to juxtapose the Museum’s Island various European art collections with a non-European counterpart consisting of Berlin’s prominent East Asian, Indian, African, Central American and Oceania collections, which currently live hidden from the public eyes in fast depots.

The rebuilding of the palace is to commence in the immediate future. One problem persists: 63 million Euros are still missing. If you go to the Humboldt Box there is a vending machine, which does not sell you anything, but will take your donation and print you a receipt for the tax man!

By poking fluffy wool with a barbed needle you can felt a new shape. Through this action another layer of wool is tightly fused onto the base fiber thereby disguising spots or mending holes. You can continue washing your garment as usual. It is so easy to do and once you’re at it, you can’t stop! So I went a bit wild with one of my cardigans:

Here are a few other examples of what you can do with a cookie cutter to help you create fun shapes:

The One-hole-less repair kits come in three different colour combinations, dark, bright and spring colours. They include all you need for the job – the wool, the needles and the faom, as well as instructions in English and German. As our shop is still under construction, you can now purchase these kits in Berlin Mitte at the famous Hackesche Höfe , Hof 3 & 5, Rosenthalerstr. 40/41, 10178 Berlin.

The shop, called Promobo, has a crazy mix of wares, handy craft and locally designed stuff. Opening hours are Monday through to Sunday  11 am –  19 pm

Why am I saying this even though the web is full of advice and warnings on this subject?  Maybe because another reminder is needed. I went to water a friend’s plants just now and saw her charger plugged to the wall. She has been away for the hole week. The transformer was nicely warm.  And no phone to pick up the power. What a waste! Makes me wonder: How much electricity could be put to better use right now, if all  phone-less yet plugged-in chargers were unplugged? My hunch is lots and lots …

While I was at it, I turned off my friends TV as well as all other devises on stand-by. She had tons of those too! Two TVs, a radio, a toothbrush, an espresso machine.

The problem of stand-by power consumption is, that it is also a huge waste and  essentially a technological concern. More should be done by the appliance industry to help reduce  electricity consumption by equipment in stand-by mode. However, until the production is improved, you can do your part in  problem solving by switching the appliances off totally. That is no more signal lights. Alternatively using a multi-socket power bar can make it easier to turn off several appliances at once.

I really liked the sales pitch:

“You may know your size. You may be mistaken. Can you afford to take the risk?”

And then:

“This version allows you to publish your bra photos and sizes on facebook” . Haha!! Well, I didn’t do that but I will tell you my size later on.

The app allows you to figure out your bra size depending on the bra style and brand. It shows the most probable size but also a couple of other sizes which could also fit. Since there is not the one and only right bra size – as I have now discovered –  this feature is the real problem solver. Plus, it shows you the sizes in the different bra universes such as US, UK, EU, FR, AU.

Here is how it works: measure your underbreast and your overbreast in either cm or inches. Mark both diales. Next you choose your brand (no particular brand is also possible) and style (padded, tight, bikini, bustier etc). This is what the app translated for me:

My best fit is a 70B. If however, the band rides up on the back or does not give the breast enough support, try 60C of 65D. If the band feels right but the cups look tto small, try 70C: if they are too big try 70A. If the band feels too tight, try 70A, or 75A.

No wonder, 75B has never really been the right fit for me. Someone, somewhere in the world in some department store told me this is what I should get. So, I have only ever tried all different kinds of 75Bs until I found a model that more or less did the job. That I should try all these other version – nobody ever disclosed to me!

This app is the thing you want  to bring into the fitting room next time you’re lingerie shopping. I am now expecting my next bra bra to do wonders for your figure….

This nylon bag is made to make shopping with a trolley easy. Its opening can be stretched over the whole width of a shopping cart and hung up there on both sides.

While browsing through the aisles you can use it to fill it with your groceries. If you are smart, you’d place all the “soft ware” (fruits and vegetables) in the bag and the heavy stuff in the rest of the cart. At the check out counter you can start emptying your cart  heavy stuff first. The innovative problem solving really begins when you have a shopping bag waiting for you wide open ready to receive your groceries. Once your done, shut the aluminium bars, take the handles and set off home.  No more repacking and fiddling with nasty plastic bags.

The easy shopper holds up to 15 kilos, and rolled up, it is just slightly  bigger than a pocket umbrella. Besides its sophisticated collapsible design, I liked how the velcro strips join the handles and make for an easy grip. The inside pocket can also come in handy. Then there are two plastic coins in an extra tiny pocket the size of a one Euro coin to help you get a cart in the first place. Good thinking!!

You can buy it from reisenthel at http://www.reisenthel-shop.de/index.php for € 12.90

So 2011 is the year of the shop opening. Please bear with us and be eager for the opening of the ultimate online shopping experience …

As One Problem Less is about new ideas (be they masculine or feminine), originality and energy we gladly accept this number as a positive omen that this year will bring innovation galore!

My last tip  this year concerns your Christmas tree. If the top of your  tree is as naked as this one, get an angel.

I have discovered that felt is the new thing. I have felt curtains, felt sofa pillows, felt place mats and now I have found an angel made of felt.  Below you see it on the top of a wine bottle, but you get the idea how it will cover that tree tip nicely and make it look so much more festive.

Berliners can buy this angel and lots of other lovely felt tree ornaments in the shape of stars, snow flakes, bells, and any other shape that is in season right now at

PARKHAUS, Schröderstrasse 13 in Berlin Mitte

The foundation for the conservation of nature is in full campaign to prevent the massive cutting of trees for paper production. As can be heard in the ads they have prepared for the occasion, millions of trees are cut down every day to make paper. This is a massive problem they  aim to reduce.

Decide for yourself which of your documents don’t need printing and save them as WWF. The WWF format is a PDF that cannot be printed out. It is now so simple way to avoid unnecessary printing. So here’s your chance to save trees and help the environment.

For further information and download of software for free go here. WWF is currently only savable and readable on Mac, but a Windows version should be coming soon.