Techno rave visuals usine MS. Excel

As you may know (I might have written it on here) I LOVE excel.  For some reason it is so fun and awesome.  Anyway I am frustrated by how all artistic visuals that go along with music performaces tend to be these sallow washed out trippy tie dye colors.  Heres my idea: using conditional formatting and the RAND function, together with some other calculations to add control, you can make colors and boxes that move and jump around.  Gonna have to try it sometime.

High School Elective

Its your life... Let's kick ass!!!
A class in high school about having fun with success, getting things done, making time for work but more time for play.  Give HS students a reason to want to have discipline.  Making big bucks! Doing awesome stuff! Living the life they want to live!  I think it will really resonate.  The kids are calling out for this stuff.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Fashion modeling company for any designer

Make a fashion modeling agency that caters to small, independent and home designers.  Give them a venue to show their work, and put on fashion shows that they pay for.

Why do they make subway cars so tough?

Living in nyc now I've been riding on the subway quite a bit.  I've noticed that the subway cars are really strong and heavy, made from lots of steel.  Why do they need to be so strong? I feel like they could have a thin walled skiff and that would mean enegy savings not to mention improved schedules since they could stop faster.  Now, they just seem way ovetengineered.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Rfid Memory cards built into post-its

So you can store text files and other information as 'attachments' to the paper post it, on which can be written a note and a description of the attached file. Would be even better if the file could be read by ones phone or computer using hardware that is already present, like bluetooth or wifi.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Magnetic paper to be used like post-its

Instead of sticky on the back, its magnetic so it can stick to metal.  

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Awesome idea to product website

Found this recently as Kluster.com went out of business, and got merged into this company. Cooler idea - people submit product ideas, people vote on them, then winning ones actually get made into products and then sold. The idea generator has to pay $99 to get the idea in, then they get some of revenue as the product is sold. People who vote and comment also get some of the revenue. Looks like they are also generating a lot of data.

Quirky.com


Pretty darn cool.

Heavy lifter fitness machine

Make a fitness machine that lets you use all your muscles at once (including arms, legs, abs, chest, neck hands, all of em!) to see how much you cam lift.  Cables and gears would connect it all together so the energy you exert from every individual part combines into one force used to lift a weight.  

Bathroom diaper dispensers

They have the changing tables in most bathrooms... Why not sell diapers too?

The power and decline of the polymaths

Great article, a little depressing since I identify with the curiosity and breadth of knowledge that these types of intellects develop. I feel that lots of creative thinkers are not, do not want to be, or simply cannot be specialists, and that there is a real value in this versatility and variety. To a large extent it is the breadth, not the depth of knowledge that inspires me.

http://www.moreintelligentlife.com/content/edward-carr/last-days-polymath

Soundproof sleep chamber

Many people need to sleep in noisy places and sometimes ear plugs are not effective because they do not eliminate all the sounds.  Instead a clear plastic bubble could be created which would block sound (keeping background noise out and snoring noise in), hold in moisture, even purify the air  There are many benefits to the head isolation sleep system.  It even has a built in alarm clock, and a travel version can be created with a pillow built in.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Ice shoes

Walking on ice in the winter can be very dangerous, especially frozen lakes, streams and rivers.  The primary danger comes from breaking through and getting stuck in the water where you cannot get out.  In a river you could even get sucked down by the current under the ice and be trapped  Breaking through occurs when too much weight/force is focused in one place like when someone is standing or running on the ice.  A solution is to wear a type of shoes that spreads one's body weight evenly over a large area.  This would be useful to people who need to cross questionable ice areas, and emergeny responders who need to help people whp have already broken through.  This is taken from the idea of a water skater bug.

Friend Notes

I'm working with my friend Eric Allen on a facebook application that let's people take notes about their friends, whatever kind of notes they want!

I think it's really cool because it lets you now build your own content about your friends. They present themselves, and you record and interpret it through your own lens. For now, all notes are confidential to the user, so the friends and others can't see them, but we're thinking about creating some sort of sharing or collaboration capability in the future... thoughts?

Here's a link!
http://apps.facebook.com/friend_notes/

Book idea: how to get rich with any profession

Thinking that working in any field offers lots of opportunities for financial success.  Artists for example often are early residents in neighborhoods going up in value.  If they buy some of the places they live in they can capitalize on this.  Same thing goes for non profit social welfare workers if they invest in the positive results they are working towards.  Not sure if this would work all the time, but should be enough for a book at least.

Fun combo business #1 Paws and Laws

A law office and a dog sitting place in one.  Good because the lawyers need some distractions to boost up their hourly rates, and they're sitting around most of the time anyway.

Anti-brand Idea

So much energy is devoted to branding yet so many brands are annoying and have strong weaknesses. Brand Hitmen would be a services company that is hired by companies to target these weaknesses in their competitors. Any number of actions could be taken to erode the brand of the target company including publicly poking fun at its name, leading a negative PR campaign against the quality of the brand, turning the brand name into a synonym for poor quality/something gross/etc., doing things to make the brand cheap/trendy/etc., and so on. An example would be making negative connections between the similar sounds of IP phone company "Vonage", and the word "Bondage" such that every time consumers hear the company name Vonage they think of S&M sex, building (for most people) a negative connotation. Viral marketing tactics would be used for them most part. Everything would be legal, and the focus would be on de-branding rather than corporate defamation, like drawing attention to the fact that the company uses sweatshops for example. The focus instead would specifically be on using the target company's own marketing message against them.

Income study of Kiryas Joel

This is a town in new york, orange county I think.  It is supposedly the poorest or one of the poorest municipalities in the US.  It is a hasidic jewish community though and it doesn't seem that poor.  Would be interesting to find out why that is, there could be some economic lesson that would apply to the nation at large.  Apparently the whole town collects welfare, and it may have something to do with the large number of children each family has.  Efficiency or exploiting the system?  Subject for further research.

Idea for a basic trend description website

So there are always these trends like "cloud computing", "Social Media", and "Mobile Internet" that us tech involved people hear about, get pumped about, and understand to some extent, but what about everybody else? I feel like there are lots of places that provide technologist/very early adopter news (focused blogs lets say), and lots of places that only cover things that have become big trends that the general public can understand (the New York Times for example), but what about a place that makes the biggest trends instantly comprehensible to the larger public that can make use of it? I'm talking more basic than Wired, and with a real focus on not only what the tech is, but what the heck its for and how it can help people. Specifically. Concretely. Like Twitter for example, its powerful, but so many people don't even understand what the heck it is for. Sure some of the nuance will be lost in this, but so what? We sacrifice a little richness for a lot of reach. Ok.

Cloud Computing has been the Hot Stuff, but now what? Application Ideas? Post em!

Ok so some readers who have a lot better handle on this may find a mistake or two, but here is a basic description I wrote up for my father, who was asking about what it really was. He needs to know, he works in publishing. The question is, what are some great applications for the cloud that cannot be done with our normal infrastructure?

"Cloud Computing I understand it reasonably well. Remember that before computers became PCs on the desktop, they were mainframes? Then, every user had a terminal, but all the processing was done on a larger computer - the terminal was just the control station where you interacted with the mainframe. Cloud computing is very much going back in this direction. Instead of processing being done on your home computer or your smart phone or whatever, it is done by a larger "computer" somewhere else. The difference now is that this larger computer is not one mainframe, but a giant (and I mean giant) network of computers working together. This is the cloud. Together they have the power to process lots of requests. You can think of what Google does as cloud computing sort of since they have vast warehouses of servers stacked up, each of which is really a pretty humble machine, but working together they form a supercomputer, and with it, they give people access to services. Google docs is a very cloud computing type application, because they take what is normally a desktop application (word processing lets say) and make it into a network application - you just access the internet and use the program running in the cloud. This is why Microsoft is afraid of Google, because if Google does enough of this, the valuable windows operating system becomes obsolete. The crazy thing is that in cloud computing, your computer can become part of the cloud too though. Conceivably, the cloud could be the whole internet if everyone participated."

Voice-to-text app for smartphones

So this idea came to me while I was driving and I was tempted to text someone.  Using voice recognition it turns speech into a text message over the phone.  It should be integrated in an app w the phone's address book, so sending a voice text is as easy as calling someone.  Maybe partner with a speech recognition company.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

New facebook app

Make an app that lets you find very unconnected friends of friends.  I was in a friends facebook page when I clicked on a random one of their friends only to discover that I had another completely different friend who knew this same person.  Wild.  I want to do that more!!

Stock and Economy Ranking Website

Ok so this is simple, people visit this site (and of course there are some cool integrations with other websites, esp social network) and give a thumbs up or thumbs down to a stock. You only rate the stocks you know, and an aggregate opinion is drawn out of this. Whether you want to go with it or go against it, it's an interesting data set. Other analysis can be done and interesting conclusions drawn. You could also yes/no investment in nation's economies, anything really, but I think there would be most interest in things people invest in.

alternate tent idea

i have found traditional tents to be clammy, and inconvenient to both set up and occupy. here is an idea for an alternate tent designed to be drier, lighter, and with a little bit of training easier to set up. (diagram needed).

first is the roof portion. this is a single piece very opaque rectangle of waterproof material. it is essentailly a tarp, but lighter and easier to manage. it is suspended across a line that is set into the ground by two solid tripods (staked down), or tied between two trees. if comfortable with a low roof level, big stakes could be used instead. the the line is fed through loops or grommets to hold it in place. the corners of the roof are staked down all stakes used are of a special design with a small stake within the larger one so that when hammered into the ground, the top of the stake is turned to set the small one perpendicular in the ground, much like an anchor in the water.

to keep dry in the tent area, there is a roll up barrier that is made of plastic and set a couple inches into the dirt to encourage drainage water from uphill to flow around the barrier. properly set up, people's heads are on the uphill side of the camp area, and feet at the downhil section.

the end result of this is a disconnected low roof and wall set that keeps out the elements, is lightweight, and very breathable.

Self-Marketing Idea

Ok so thinking about jobs now - there is so much great creative and idea work that can be done when you are part of a larger whole, and you can work in an area you enjoy. Everything doesn't always have to be completely independent.

Anyway, in getting a job, or even work as a consultant, I had an idea for an interesting way I could market myself:

In New York City there are billboards and signs everywhere to compensate for the fact that people don't watch as much TV. Many of these take the form of maybe 2'x3' posters pasted on walls or the plywood barriers outside construction sites. here's the kicker...
I advertise myself on them. 3-5 different photos of me, with my name, a tagline (possibly "for creative business success"), and a website that leads to a portfolio page of my projects, or simply a resume. It would be fun, funny, and in peoples faces. I could post them outside of leading advertising firms, to advertise back to them that I can come in there and kick ass. The photos would have variety too, one would be of me in a business suit, and depending on how far I wanted to push it, it could range to me in paint splattered clothes as an artist, or me as a rap star with a diamond toothed grill and lots of bling.

A step further would be to cut the tagline and website (or make the website name really small) so it is more of a mystery, and then I just promote myself making my name and face famous. That oughtta generate some valuable opportunities.

Sandpaper Gloves

The process of sanding wood with a piece of sandpaper can be long, laborious, and very tiring on the hands. I think that in many applications, gloves that have sandpaper surfaces would make the whole process faster, easier, more convenient, even more fun! So, it would be a set of gloves that was either sprayed with glue then sand to make the glove surface itself abrasive, or it would be gloves with areas where special sandpaper pads can be affixed. These could take the place of the electric mini sanders in many applications as well. When a job is too detailed/complex to use an electric sander, but too large to make hand sanding practical or pleasant, the abrasive gloves would really come in handy (no pun intended, though it's a good one). They would be amazing for sanding joint compound on drywall seams, given the proper abrasive surface on the gloves.

Phones in Heads

I was just thinking that it seems like people could do this right now if they wanted to. It's the next logical extension from the bluetooth headset. Get a cell phone implanted right under their skin, near their temple lets say, and using the sound transmission properties of the skull, it could speak the phone number calling you, or whatever and no one could hear it. This might be a drawback though: how would you see anything? Perhaps the cell phone is still present so you can see the numbers to dial and this is just a headset implant. The battery life could be really long, and it could be recharged through induction just like my electric toothbrush is today.

Ok so I'll admit it, this is a pretty creepy idea, bordering on the "not good" ideas that I keep from sharing (the ones that I think would be not good for the world), but also how can humanity resist something like this? Once you start getting phones in heads it borders on telepathy and people always want psychic skills, or at least they say they do. You touch your head and communicate with your friends. Do it right, and the numbers go away, replaced with voice command names. It's crazy how doable all this is now. reading a christensen book on disruptive innovations in education. This would be a disruptive innovation in communication - lots of factors that are currently valued in cell phones (nice screen, web, cool features) would have to go away, but whole new applications would be enabled.

thanksforthefavor.com

A website where people can go to give nice things to people who did nice things for them. It is a gift shop, but its not for giving our gift baskets or bottles of wine or anything like that, it's for when people do nice things, you do nice things in return.

For example, someone helps you out because they are being nice, you can go to the website, type them a message, and a handwritten note will be sent to them from you.

If they do something really nice, there will be a wizard interface that will help select something that they really might want. For example, someone lets you use their parking space for a couple weeks because your car is having issues. You want to get this person something they will really like. The interface will ask: "what does this person like", with responses like their car (and they can select specific types), their home, their kids, various hobbies, movies and celebrities, etc. The site has an automatic link that allows the users to buy from established sites like Amazon.com, and gives additional personalization options. Since the person who lent their parking spot loves Porche cars, you get them a sweet picture book about Porche.

boring idea

boring the movie... excerpts of the most boring parts of the most boring movies ever. billed properly this could get some funny reverse psychology market interest.

solar laptop

there must be something like this now but if not, it needs to be done: a skin that is a that goes on the back cover of a laptop. some kind of adapter would be needed for sure but this could be simple and great. credit to Teresa O'brien.

opportunity question

what are ideal uses for frozen tundra? what if it gets warmish in the summer?
purchase marginal land on the tundra in canada and wait for global warming to make it more accessible. Buy as far south/accessible as possible while still keeping the purchase dirt cheap.

book: how to succeed in life, for those who like world of warcraft

funny book but probably will be successful. play on all the character types, team dynamics, points systems, motivational rewards, and that thing that sets a fishhook in yer brain and doesn't want to let go. lots of good content herel

internet thought

how many times does one go to a store, and they don't have the info to help you, but if they had access to the internet there they might. not so often for me but i think it could. I wonder how many sales are lost this way...

making wind turbines fit in better

start a wind turbine painting service to color them so that they fit in more with the surrounding landscape. use exceptionally long lasting paints (or even better, non-fading colored panels) and make the turbines beautiful. this will help get over the NIMBYism and adoption issues over wind turbine installations.

delicious

i'm eating this now:
sort of tough marshmellow peeps (I guess they have gotten a little old) dipped in t. marzetti brand old fashioned caramel apple dip... YUM!! I never would have guessed it is so good!

consulting businesses to start

- Sales for startups
- Idea generation in support of solving a problem
- Business plan development
- Job placement counseling
- General needs biz consulting
- Market research

another new word...

prestalgia: the feeling of nostalgia but for things that have not yet happened. it can be as if they almost happened already, or that the relationship to the idea or vision of the future has become so familiar that it evokes feelings of warmth and longing.

New Word: Chemechanical

Don't know what it would mean, but with all the interaction and cross pollenization going on in the sciences today, there has got to be some situation where this term would be relevant, perhaps a perfect fit... let me know if you use it.

Chemechanical: in my mind it refers to a situation where a chemical and a mechanical process are working simultaneously. Perhaps this will be relevant as nanotechnology grows (no pun intended), and small machines begin working together in chemical-interaction like processes.

Name This

have I ever shared this website? I think it is very good... earlier this winter I made about a hundred bucks naming things, not much money for sure, but it was only a few hours of time, and lots and lots of fun!!

www.namethis.com

wifi bs idea

set up wifi hotspots in places where people always try to connect for free and force advertising on them when they see an open connection and try to connect. at an airport where they charge for access would be good. free internet can be given after clicking a bunch of ads or not. gosh what a bs idea. still could work. adds no value to society. yay.

hazelnut harvesters

ok file this one under crackpot ideas but it coulod have some merit. here it is: train squirrels to harvest hazelnuts. bring a lot up them out of cities to hazelnut farms, make special homes for them that take the hazelnets after the squirrels hide them. they are smart creatures. chalk this idea up to the prodigious gentlemen dan hutchison and perry jones!

boarding pass idea

paper boarding passes for getting on airplanes are obsolete. build a system where check in can be done by cell phone, and the boarding pass is contained in the phone. for example, the phone could use bluetooth to communicate and send a verified message just like the paper boarding pass. If one were to lose their cell phone the traditional methods could still work. saves money for airlines, reduces lost boarding passes, can have other advantages includiong tracking and marketing.