Residential roadway volume control

Having recently moved back to the Tri State, I am woken up several times a night by wailing sirens. I live in the downtown area, so I figure the ambulances and police are driving through since its the most logical path through downtown. So anyway here is my suggestion. You know how on the highway there are those special walls that are built to take sound waves and deflect them back across the highway at the grooved walls so that the sound doesnt escape the horizontal span of road. Well, imagine that in a residential area, perhaps built into the walls of homes - deflecting the sound waves, and at the top some sort of mirrored triangulation to capture the waves and stop them from rising, like a top covering (twisting/curving/bending sound waves), so you have a 50 ft by 50 ft box, which contains the sound waves force_field_ed to street area. This way the sirens noise is only bothering those who it is pertinent for, drivers who need to get out of the way.

API tie-in mashup

Big data business idea, Tie into popular utility web B2C portals like phone, power, cable to extract monthly billing data and perform cost–benefit analysis on the account history. This would produce a clear graph chart of all usages, so that the end user could glance at clear averages and advises re: plan specifics or adjustments, making the most logical and desired metrics easily viewable. This could also rate service in contrast to other providers, and provide other interesting account analysis metrics.

Systemwide self-learning data input correction

This notion comes to mind via speech recognition, but it applies to any platform where multiple inclusive functions correlate. I notice on my android phone that I am constantly correcting the voice to text output. The same mistakes occur over and over. My idea is for the speech software to notice the type of text edits I am retyping, and utilize that data to amend it's own errors for future voice scanning. If it could learn from my corrections, and thereby tweak itself to be more in tune with me, by anticipating my intent -next time it wouldn't keep making those same errors. Subtagged: Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing Technologies, Speech segmentation, Speech recognition

Posthumous post

This is an idea for a website, which allows users to verify their identity, and gives them a platform to input text, images, and video into a profile page. This would be released posthumously and only made public upon the user's confirmed death. This would be a great way to share some final intimate feedback with the world that you otherwise might be uncomfortable to share, and it would be an official last statement that could be read at one's funeral. I am pretty sure that a legal will can't occur online, but this is more of a lighthearted sharing time capsule. Another cool use of this would be that if you deal with someone shady,  you could note it, or there could even be a cellphone app add-on which logs your GPS. This way in the case of unnatural death, the data could help police investigations.

Hypothesis about the purpose of bugs and plantlife

When you zoom in on bugs, they definitely exhibit some traits reminiscent of humans, like physical structure (arms, legs, face), eating/defecating loop, behavior patterns, struggle for survival. We rightly should feel bad when squishing a bug, if not alone for the wasting of meticulous technology and nature's creation. Maybe there could be an eventual significant usage for this overbearing presence in our atmosphere.

At present our relationship with animals is as 'pets' (irrational beasts with fangs), or seeing-eye dogs, or simply the quest to exterminate bugs, so we invent dog collars, and mosquito shock lamps and restrict the bugs from our boundary, which results in them getting tazed or poisoned.

Imagine a future where bugs are controlled by manipulated airwaves, or maybe a mobile app that emits specific tonal patterns. The bug's mind is re-programmed and delegated with a task suited for it's composition. All bugs would be programmed not to harm humans, so if you saw one, you wouldn't be freaking out, but rather assuming your technology would provide it with a flight-plan of usefulness, and take into account the bugs feeding and survival! Some of my intended usage for the bugs:
 · A wall of bugs standing guard at a certain GPS parameter.
· Utilizing bugs to observe and report for other dangers or climate concerns.
· Use bees to enrich and balance weather patterns.
· Repair the ozone, etc.

Similarly, plantlife could be algorithmically contoured, (mashed-up, grafted, DNA spliced) to be custom grown to conform to specific moldings for product manufacturing purposes (speed growing custom designed lumber), or for personal useage, such as a small flower or plant, which is built in sync with your personal DNA, to provide specific nutrients based on individual medical shortcomings, and taste preferences.

Humanize Phone Prefs UI

Humanize phone settings to standardized human-based labels like: SELECT ACTIVITY: Eating, Sleeping, Restroom, Casual Meeting, Business Meeting. For each of these the user could choose the interruption level (quiet ring, vibrate, vibrate and ring, etc). A user would just inform their phone what they were doing, and the phone would adjust accordingly. Then in your contact specific record you could select when you want that contact to interrupt/ring you (ie. eating, business meeting). Sure the ringtone setting app exists, but I am talking about making the UI more centered around physical human logic, using labels that directly apply to human life as a universal standard UI toolkit.

If a user is sleeping, and they get a phone call from their friend who they opt to share location/activity streams with, it will notify the friend that they are sleeping, or on another call with category: 'business meeting'. The option for sharing would be part of the per user > ring options.

Type tone

Using alpha numeric keyboards or telephone number buttons - to transmit information instantaneously. So that in billing situations, you don't need to to shout out your personal details for 10 minutes. Rather I ought to be able to input and transmit this data with my telephone or PDA keyboard, in a non obtrusive way (no loud tone noise for the receiving party). The info should instantly appear in on their monitor. This sort of exists with automated phone ordering systems, but that's not as seamless as it could be.

Gel-padded luggage

Here is an idea for transporting delicate electronics (like a large CPU) in the airplane cargo. Buy an oversized hard shell suitcase. Fill with gel foam padding (same material as the wrist-pad gel protector) 3 inches thick, bracketed to the inside of the suitcase shell, when the metal CPU is placed inside, if the suitcase is thrown 2 feet in the air, when it lands on that thick gel, it should cushion the impact.

Insta-feedback audience

(This idea stems from my previous post; temple diodes). TV show rating reportings / statistics are sharpening with the advent of new technology (digital GoogleTV), so these metrics can be better quantified. I think that the audiences capacity to anonymously like/dislike shows will become more apparent thereby reflecting future programming. Imagine in the center of the audience of a talkshow, is a robot (3 times the size of a normal human) sitting there. The face of the bot is programmed to show basic emotions. It would be controlled via viewers in their private homes. Based upon how funny or unfunny the show is, this audience robot, would react. Thus providing an instantaneous indicator of feedback to the show host. I think this idea came from watching Spartacus, where he is forced to fight to the death in a Roman amphitheater because that's what the audience wanted, but when cornered, an audience member wouldn't admit to wanting to see that. So the anon nature of reporting metrics could push pop media into a funny place with this robotic feedback... /random

veggie carbohydrate desserts

I recall hearing food inventors producing vegetarian tofu with the exact texture and crunch of real chicken meat. What about potato cookies and tuna fish cake?

'What we are hungry for' is controlled by our mood and hormones as opposed to the body. The stomach signals for hunger are because of the body's need for vital nutrients, yet statistically chocolate is the most commonly craved food in the United States (conditioned subconscious Pavlovian taste aversion).

People crave items high in fat and calories, since fatty, sugary foods, which are not even hunger satiating, release opioids into our bloodstream which bind to brain receptors and provide feelings of pleasure and mild euphoria.

Maybe we could eat healthy food at the same time as outsmarting the mind's food cravings by enjoying vegetables engineered to look and taste like cookies.

brain-controlled warm weather

One of the things that blows about winter is the cold clammy, rigid, sticky-dry feeling of moving your joints / muscles against cold shirt fabric. In situations where I am outdoors or in a big space without great heating, I wish there was a pill I could take that would trick my brain into feeling warm and ignore the coldness in the room and on my skin.

Drinking liquor or alcohol to stay warm actually only tricks you into feeling warm, while it actually makes surface blood vessels open wider. This changes the blood flow and causes the core to lose heat faster. You will feel warmer but actually be getting colder.

Could the brain be chemically programmed to temporarily think and feel like the weather conditions weren't quite as cold. This would take the edge off and make an annoying situation one is stuck in anyway -more comfortable. I am not talking about a hypothermia risk, all I need is for my brain think that it is 10-20 degrees warmer. It seems more economical to turn up the heating thermostat neurologically. And from what I've read, the (moderate) cold weather helps immunity.

thermo indicator on metal cookware

When baking in the oven, once the food is cooked and on my plate, I put back on the oven mitt, and place the hot metal baking sheet back inside of the oven -to cool off. The reasoning for this is because if someone else in the house, happens upon the kitchen and touches the cookie sheet, they'd get singed. This may already exist, but anyway, my idea was for a cheap thermo indicator to be embedded into the side or rim of the metal cookie sheet. Preferably with a blue/red light diode to indicate cold/hot, or a thermometer to signify the temperature of the metal. Sort of like how some AA batteries have a power indicator that you push with your thumb. Only this one is meant to indicate 'not to touch'.

Ideally the whole metal grill/rack piece should change color to red when the temp is hot enough to burn human flesh...

The next application of this would be a sink faucet having an LED on the top of the spout, which indicates the heat level of the water coming out.

Coca Cola flavored toothpaste

Who was the jerk that invented mint toothpaste? Who determined that all adults love the stinging stench of menthol mint. Mint stings my tongue really bad, many other people had identified with this sentiment. This is an emergency plea on behalf of people with taste receptors. Bubble gum and Coca Cola flavored toothpaste for adults is urgently needed. WTH why do big companies only produce that stuff for kids?

Cipher Drinking glass

An empty glass resembles a meaningless colorful mosaic, until a liquid is poured into it, revealing its name. Each side of the glass is reserved for a specific drink.

The Dekrypt glass though complex in appearance in fact runs on a very simple idea. Differently colored shapes are scattered across the glass surface in a seemingly random pattern, however their position is hardly accidental. The true purpose of the glass mosaic is revealed when colored liquid is poured into it (orange juice, milk, Nescafe or coke) The pattern of shapes and empty spaces on the glass combined with the color of the liquid inside the glass end up forming a textual sign, revealing what exact drink or refreshment you are having, with each side of the glass reserved for a specific drink. Besides being a novelty item with entertainment value it can also serve as a marketing item for beverage companies as it has a promotional potential.

Idea by: relogik.com/cipher

Mousepad mouse

My idea is for a mousepad sized (large size) touchpad (like the little mouse touchpad on laptops). On the left and right side, there would be a slider which zooms scale in or out, so the user could comfortably scroll/navigate closer to their intended destination - at the same time as zooming-in or out.

Disclaimer: this probably exists already, but since I am not sure, I am posting anyway.

chair to table

Every time I pull into my desk, I sit on my rolling office chair, and grip the edge of the table with both hands, and slide myself in - close to the desk. I have noticed that I need to use both hands, since I guess my weight weighs on the chair. This is probably also intentional, so the chair doesn't slide loosely, although that could be acomplished with wheels that glide much more smoothly, and control to stabilize the chair, like the clicker some chairs have on one of the wheels.

I remember hearing about how midgets exert themselves, when clamoring to sit on a regular sized chair, and this lowers their lifespan years. So I was thinking about a cord that pulls the seat, close to the table, and you can snap it off with a simple seatbelt like buckle. But actually- this could probably be done with a strong magnet. In the future we may see furniture with a button pad near the seat-arm side which controls sliding the chair back /from the table edge, and stabilizing it from rolling to unmovable position.

Transparent trap

Imagine an ultra thin strip about 12"x3" with sticky glue on the top/front and griplike material on the back, the transparent mousetrap (or wood tiling). The idea could be applied for flying insects, by having a sticker on the back of a sliding transparent shelf.

Which led way to me thinking about undetectable traps, by placing traps in a certain situation where you would be expected to be by a criminal attempting to harm you.

In a robbery holdup, the teller is expected to hold their hands up, and not hit any signal. A hidden foot trigger inside the toe of the shoe could be a solution, or, the cash register is rigged with a (visually hidden) motion sensor under the bills, and if all the bills get scooped up without an unnoticeable specific alarm code, the police are alerted.

Or for home protection, a second code that goes into the alarm, which gains you entry, but also notifies the police that you are being coerced.

natural endurance/durability excersized electronically

I'm worried about when I sneeze, and jerk my head to the side, that i am shaking my brains, and they fall back against the inside of my skull like a wave, and I shudder thinking about it.

Any time I shake my head fast, I have this scenario playing in the back of my mind, where I am damaging my brain as a result. I mean, this is a pile of mush in the top of my head surrounded by water blood and bones, its all quite surreal.

Obviously medicine isn't as evolved as it will be in future years. Perhaps in the future people will sleep in bubble wrap, because when someone is sleeping their limbs get all mangled and this probably bears significant negative consequence as far as bodily wear-and-tear is concerned. Maybe that's a contributing factor to us all getting brittle and dying at age 80.

temple diods

Imagine something that affixed to my right temple near my eye/ear which basically is just a red or yellow light. Chemicals in our physiology, (pheromonal/dna) or even a toe triggered pedal, could activate either the red or yellow diod.

The idea would be for pleasure to be yellow, and anger to be red, this way, if you are interacting with someone in close proximity or quarters and you step on their toes accidentally, rather than let it slip because people aren’t always talking and communicating, if the light turned red, the other person might say- “Oh! what did I do to offend you?” with a non-egoist eagerness to learn what was interpreted as hurtful, so it doesn’t re-occur.

Electronic pest control still requires inventor. Uncool.

You would think by 2008, we would have the capacity to somehow electronically get rid of insects, fleas, & pests.

Staff of the Federal Trade Commission's Division of Enforcement announced that they have sent warning letters to more than 60 manufacturers and retailers of ultrasonic pest-control devices, stating that efficacy claims about those products must be supported by scientific evidence. FTC staff reviewed print and catalog advertisements and conducted a "surf" of Internet sites marketing such devices. They found that many of the advertisements make explicit claims about the products' ability to eliminate rodents or repel insects. According to staff, these types of claims may not be in compliance with the FTC Act, which prohibits false and deceptive advertising. (src FTC)

Summary: Various devices on the market claim to repel bugs and rodents with ultrasonic or electromagnetic energy. These devices have repeatedly failed to do what they claim to do in scientific trials.
Jack DeAngelis, PhD
OSU Ext. Entomologist