PROFILE: SCOTTY MILLAR TWO YEARS AGO, he was front-page news. Today, Scotty Millar is still looking for someone to help finance his “brilliant ideas, better solutions.” He keeps a binder, several inches thick, full of them. Millar is an entrepreneur and an in- ventor. He might even call himself a vi- sionary. “I have so many ideas in my head because I’m one of those people blessed or cursed with vision. I see ahead, always.” In November 2005, the Chroni- cle-Herald ran a 455-word cover story about Millar’s “almost indestructible” houseboat, the Sea Cat. Millar designed and built the boat us- ing a plastic composite made of recycled grocery bags. A Quebec company holds a patent on the material that is mainly used for deck- ing. Millar is convinced the material has much broader applications. Millar says he received only one call from a potential financier after the story ran. And the Herald story wasn’t the first time Millar made the news. In 1999, the Guardian in Charlottetown printed almost 1900 words on the Sea Cat’s dramatic voy- age from Prince Edward Island to St. Mar- garet’s Bay. It’s easy to see why. Millar has a cer- tain charm about him. He’s 68-years-old. He speaks using an electrolarnyx held against his throat. The mechanical-sound- ing speech it produces couldn’t be more at odds with his animated personality. He’s almost exactly what you might ex- pect from an inventor living in rural Nova Scotia, if only you had any idea what to expect. Drive down Herring Cove Road. Drive out past Spryfield. Drive through Harri- etsfield and Williamswood. Keep going. When you get to the tiny community of Sambro, that’s where you’ll find Millar. Sambro is one of those fascinating little fishing communities that dot Nova Scotia’s coast. It’s only 24 km from the Armdale rotary, but it’s small enough to have a store called “The Store.” Millar runs the Dock and Dory Restaurant and Marina. He lives in the rear section of the brown, weathered building. His face is round and rosy. Dark, blue eyes peer out from behind dou- ble-barred glasses. His white hair and beard are cropped short. Still, there’s something wild and untamed about his appearance. It could be the layers of but- toned-down, heavy corduroy shirts he wears as he scurries out of a room stuffed with bookshelves, filled with notes and binders, that stretch all the way up to the ceiling. It could be the knowing smile etched beneath his beard. It could even be the mosaic of graph-paper covered with plans for some new invention taped to the floral wallpaper behind him. Or maybe it’s just the thermostat behind him – the one set to 17°C on a chilly December after- noon. This might not be the place you’d ex- pect to see technology, energy efficiency and cost effectiveness come together in new shapes and forms. But Millar says that’s exactly what he’s done with his de- sign for a house that’s easy to build and virtually maintenance free. He boasts that his house can achieve an R-value of 100 using only 2x4 boards for the framing. “If the power goes out on an Eco-ra home, it will take one week before the temperature inside the home drops two degrees,” Millar proudly ex- plains. And that’s not all. Millar says his house would cost 30% less than traditional hous- es to build. On top of that, the roof would never need to be repaired or replaced in the owner’s lifetime. “If that’s not revo- lutionary, I don’t know what the hell is!” says Millar of his invention. “Without the village, you don’t have a villager,” says inventor Scotty Millar. Millar would like to see governments take a more active role in recognizing, supporting and developing the strengths of individuals. The only way to do this, says Millar, is by building a strong sense of community. “It’s the little people in your nation that count. Those are the people that are your strength, your dignity and your future. Not big guys.” Millar looks to China and the United States as examples of nations that recognize individual contributions while focusing on the big picture. “We don’t need money, per se. We need an attitude that says, okay, here’s a good idea from Joe Blow. Let’s develop that so that we all profit in every aspect.” Brilliant IDEAS, SOLUTIONS BY JONATHAN STRIGHT Better PHOTO: Scotty Millar, 68, poses with a sample of a recycled plastic building material he’s used to design boats and houses. Credit: Jonathan Stright “I have so many ideas in my head because I’m one of those people blessed or cursed with vision. I see ahead, always.”