Friday, October 31, 2008

thought

its funny how people adapt to technologty over time. it becomes second nature and part of our being.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

information processing idea

since people, especially executives, dont like to read anything more than a page, develop a summarization service that takes text of all sorts aned boils them down to their essential components. great for theories, concepts, and information related stuff but could even be used for books (oh wait that's kind of like cliffs notes). this could also be a website that does this for news and other info everyday.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

New Opportunities with the Opening of the Arctic Shipping Route

So I've been hearing about this for a little while, but
This Map shows very clearly what is happening with the north pole. Take a look at the reduced surface shipping distance between Japan and Europe with this new route that has just opened up. Is this a result of global warming? Very Likely! But... all change does tend to have its upsides. As the economist Joseph Schumpeter says, radical innovation comes from "creative destruction". Oh well. People have been longing for the Northwest passage for a long, long time. That is even what the Lewis and Clark expedition was all about. Think about the great real estate investment opportunities! This is truly a "Sea Change"

Sunday, October 26, 2008

IP Rights Idea

Make a system for publishers etc to track royalty revenues for all IP over the vast number of possible permissions.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

art idea

oh man this one is so bad but kind of funny in a stupid sort of way. would be kind of nice to see mixed in with a set of stuffy type art. i think that would be the real art in this idea. ok so here it is... you have a little booth sort of like a voting booth for just your head and upper body. the piece is called 'album' - outside it has the title written small but conspicuously. the whole thing looks serious and beautiful. Inside the private curtained area is a book that has a picture of a plumber type dude on the cover. His name is Al. inside the book you have pictures of his bum. al bum. album. like i said, stupid, but the placement, the setup and the experience would make it not bad art. people like to get tricked a little bit and in my opinion its good to suprise people, make them laugh, and question where they are and what they're doing. album. hehehe.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

The Atlantic is Thinking About Interesting Questions

The Atlantic Monthly - the magazine that is in my mind a sort of beautiful but different half-sister to my favorite magazine Harper's - is running a really interesting set of questions about ourselves, our ideas, and our society. You can comment on them, the different perspectives are great. Here's one particularly relevant to this blog...


WHO WILL OWN YOUR NEXT IDEA?

http://thinkagainblog.theatlantic.com/2008/who-will-own-your-next-idea/
Some corporations want to lock up copyright even tighter. Some naive intellectuals want to abandon copyright altogether. Where is a “do-nothing” Congress now that we need one?


Some of the other ones are really good too...
- Should Women Settle?
- Is Google Making Us Stupid?
- What's The Cost Of Being A Nerd?
- Are Good Books Bad for You?
- Why Are Campaign Commercials So Bad?

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

pseudo-energy idea

give carbon offest credits(is this the right term?) for planting trees and other vegetation. when plants are cut down carbon credit must be purchased. possible exemptions for food and other crops.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

thought

the strange thing about the present is that the past and the future are both now

computer idea

disposable screen (or like a jump drive) that can be used to store/display digital documents. easily hand in or share these documents. Used like paper and can be shared around/disposed of.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

toy idea

rc helicopter that holds water and can fly around. can be used to play in waterfights (with supersoakers). someone can sit in the house/out of reach and run the water air support.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

futon idea

make support pillars that can catch a futon that is in bed mode and ready to tip over. often futons will tip over when too much weight is applied to either end of the bed surface. these pillars could be like metal cylinders just shorter than the height of the metal bed frame from the floor, with small bases so that they can be freestanding.

Education Idea

Problem: when teenagers get in trouble and have to go to jail/juvenile hall, etc. any existing problems at school get exacerbated.

Possible Solution: provide a program in the place of detention to keep the classroom continuity going. have HS classes taught there and have some sort of (digital) connection to the schoolwork currently being assigned by the teacher.

Friday, October 10, 2008

game idea

crowd bingo. like regular bingo or in car bingo but to play with your friends while people watching.

collaborative travel idea

make a website where people can catch rides with others flying in private airplanes. Similar to http://www.couchsurfing.com for staying at people's houses, or the many rideshare boards on craigslist and college campuses everywhere. could be a fun and easy way to travel faster, further, and cheaper while exploring the joy of the sky.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Political Idea

Lifted almost directly from:
Edge: WHAT MAKES PEOPLE VOTE REPUBLICAN? By Jonathan Haidt
Interesting article by the way...


The democratic party can develop unity throughout the country by thinking of morality in different terms. By accentuating that social programs are there to keep us together, or by making stronger use of, and in some ways reappropriating the truly American iconography such as our Founding Fathers, or even the American Flag, people can be brought together. The article states that other aspects of morality besides treating each other well explicitly or implictly matter to a large percentage of the population.
"morality is not just about how we treat each other (as most liberals think); it is also about binding groups together, supporting essential institutions, and living in a sanctified and noble way. "

Also interesting quote:
"Most Democrats don't understand that politics is more like religion than it is like shopping."

Thursday, October 2, 2008

tshirt idea

if you can't identify with me by the way i look maybe you can identify with me by the way i think