I am going to start off and say I do not entirely agree with the ethics behind this idea. Or rather, in general I disagree with censorship intended to limit free speech, and this idea would make censoring people who disagree with your viewpoint easier. However, in the same vein of free speech and following the intentions of my website, I am making this post.
There are many sites that censor aggressively. They have admins and automated bots scowering forums and comment sections on their site. They remove any comments that do not agree with their stated viewpoints. They remove anything that questions their logic or the validity of their arguments. Some sites will report blatantly false information as accurate and prevent anyone from saying otherwise on their site.
Inevitably, if the site is remotely popular, this will spawn a backlash. Perhaps people will discuss the censorship on another website's forum. In some cases entire sites are devoted to the suppression of free speech on just website.
Ultimately, the reason this happens is because people are aware that their freedom of speech has been impinged upon. The best way to do this is simply not to let them know they have been censored.
On many sites, when an admin removes a comment it can be a teaching moment. A person can learn 'ok, foul language is not accepted on this site,' or some similar lesson. However, if a site is removing comments because they criticize the site, they are not going to change the posters mind by doing so. Instead the poster will see that his comments have been removed and become incensed.
The way to deal with this is rather than removing 'undesired' posts, simply hide them. The only user who can see a hidden post would be the user who made the comment. There would be no indication to this user that the post has been hidden. He or she has no immediate reason to assume that they have been censored.
Likewise rather than banning someone, he is silenced. Only the admins would be aware of this, and to the silenced user his account would seem to work like normal. However, all of his posts would automatically be hidden. Any personal messages he sent to other users would never reach their recipients. A user who has banned but never realizes it may not be so quick to create a new account to 'troll.'
Now a user who has been 'censored' may eventually grow wise. If he or she has multiple accounts they will catch on quickly. However, the reason many people create multiple accounts is to work around bans or previous censorship. If they are blissfully unaware that no one is reading their comments, they may never bother creating a dummy account.
The other way in which they may grow wise is if they notice that people never seem to respond to their comments. However, it is not uncommon to make a comment on a website and have no one respond to it, even if they can read it. People often skim longer posts and threads and miss some comments. Depending on the situation, I could see a large period of time passing before someone finally caught on. They could, for some time, simply think the other users are bad at reading or paying attention.
If the site wanted to be really tricky, they would have bots that would create automated replies to any threads that a 'banned' user would create. He or she would be the only user who could see these replies. Effectively it creates a labyrinth of a subform to trap 'trolls.' They may eventually learn of the deception and escape, but until they do, they have been neutralized.
To throw people of the trail the occasional thread could be deleted traditionally and the occasional user could be straight up banned. For example if someone used fowl language, they may even expect to see their post removed, and doing so could keep them from being suspicious. The deception, hiding their posts from everyone but them, could be reserved for only the posts that dissent from the viewpoint your site promotes.
Now there could be even larger backlash if users discovered that this technique was used. However, sites that are already censoring opposing viewpoints are already facing disparaging remarks on other sites and this could let them avoid that. Yes, it is deceptive, but many sites do not mind deceptive. Would I ever use such a system on this blog? No. Of course it may be hard to figure out.
On a lighter note, the method of 'silencing' users rather than banning them could be effectively used even on sites that do not try to limit people's expression. Yes, it is still deceptive, but all sites have to deal with trolls. And sometimes a troll isn't someone who disagrees with you but is a legitimate jerk who is disrupting a site and needs to go.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Extended Museum Exhibits
As time goes on more and more people have 'smartphones,' or at least phones with abilities traditionally attributed to smart phones.
While some organizations have begun to take advantage of this fact, many more have not. I will be discussing some ways in which the capabilities of modern phones can enhance old entertainments such as a museum.
There are several ways in which this idea could work. On its most simplest level an art museum, for example, could release a phone app for their museum. While wandering through the museum the phone could figure out what exhibits you are looking at. This could be done in any number of ways including RFIDs, WiFi, bar code scanning, or even image recognition of the exhibit itself.
The app would then pull up additional information about the exhibit, or information related to it. I know I have been in situations at museums where I wish I had had more knowledge at my fingertips beyond what was provided by the signs and placards in the museum. In our theoretical art museum the app could allow you to bring up a bio of the artist, find the location of 'related' paintings, or perhaps see pictures of other paintings by the artist not on display.
Depending on how the exhibit identified itself, this information could either be transmitted from the exhibit itself, or more likely from central server that the app would reference.
Other 'museum like' locations could take advantage of this. A zoo for instance is a prime candidate. The app could pull up all sorts of additional information on the animals on display. It could even mention the 'personal' histories of these animals for those who were interested: when they were acquired by the zoo or born for example. If the zoo had cameras in the animal's pen, perhaps people could then watch the video feed on their phone.
Now, much of this could be accomplished with signs. But it seems to me, the more signs and more text at any given exhibit the less of it will be read on average. This would provide additional information to those who desired it. It is very similar to renting a set of headphones to listen to an audio tour at a museum. In fact, I see this idea as a natural evolution of those audio cassette tours. It would not even be unreasonable for a museum to charge for this app.
In addition to providing additional information the system could be interactive. The app, in its settings, could perhaps allow for an 'age' preference. This could allow for content to be better targeted to demographics. It would make it easier to create an exhibit that would be both 'kid friendly' while interesting to adults.
I mentioned earlier that there were several ways that this could be implemented. Now, each museum could make their own custom apps, but this would be inefficient. A great opening for a new product would be for a single company to make such an app (and hardware to be installed at exhibits) and market it to museums. The product could be called something like "Museum Plus."
A unified system used by multiple museums would reduce deployment costs. It would also be better for the end user, as they would only ever need to obtain and learn how to use one app rather than a different one for every museum they attend. I feel the potential profit in marketing such a system worldwide could be quite impressive.
While this idea will not revolutionize anyone's life, it is these incremental steps forward that marks mankind's progress towards fully integrating technology into out daily existence.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Dream Recording Clock
The best way to remember your dreams is to get in the habit of writing them down when you do remember them. Doing this regularly will cause you to remember more of your dreams. But this can be difficult early in the morning, especially if you are groggy.
My idea is for an alarm clock, that after waking you up, automatically starts an audio recording. So instead of having to grab a pen and paper, you can simply dictate your dream. The system will save the recording to an mp3 file that can then be transfered to a computer.
This little push may be all that some people who want to have better dream recall need.
As an added feature the clock could allow a person to record a message on it before going to bed. The message would be a reminder to do something in the morning. Then, when they are done recording their dream, the message will play. This could be a useful feature just by itself for people that tend to be forgetful while still waking up.
Ultimately something like this would be a niche product. However, I think its a niche that a large enough number of people would appreciate.
My idea is for an alarm clock, that after waking you up, automatically starts an audio recording. So instead of having to grab a pen and paper, you can simply dictate your dream. The system will save the recording to an mp3 file that can then be transfered to a computer.
This little push may be all that some people who want to have better dream recall need.
As an added feature the clock could allow a person to record a message on it before going to bed. The message would be a reminder to do something in the morning. Then, when they are done recording their dream, the message will play. This could be a useful feature just by itself for people that tend to be forgetful while still waking up.
Ultimately something like this would be a niche product. However, I think its a niche that a large enough number of people would appreciate.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Electronic Tupperware
Tupperware has not changed much over the years, but it could be a lot better.
For me Tupperware has two problems. One, at times it can be difficult to know/remember what is inside the Tupperware (especially if you were not the one to 'pack' it), and two, it's easy to loose track of how old the contents are.
My idea is to have Tupperware lids with a slot to 'clip on' cheap LCD displays. The displays themselves do not need to be anything fancy. Really they just need to be capable of showing a single line of text.
A consumer would purchase a 'keyboard' when they first invest in the Tupperware. The keyboard/keypad would be magnetic and could stick onto a fridge. There would be a slot where the displays could plug in. When a display is plugged in, the consumer simply needs to enter in the label they would like to be displayed. To make things more convenient the keypad would automatically append the date to the label.
Simply by looking into the fridge a hungry person could know what was in each container and how old the stuff was.
The displays, when not in use, would dock with the keyboard and would likely be magnetic themselves. The keypad would then charge the batteries that power the displays. As for how the keypad gets this power itself? Perhaps it could be charged off of batteries as well, or integrated into high-end fridges and just draw power from the mains.
The amount of engineering to create such a product would be minimal. Ultimately the key would be in marketing it. But to me at least, this product is useful enough that all you would need to do is let people know it exists.
For me Tupperware has two problems. One, at times it can be difficult to know/remember what is inside the Tupperware (especially if you were not the one to 'pack' it), and two, it's easy to loose track of how old the contents are.
My idea is to have Tupperware lids with a slot to 'clip on' cheap LCD displays. The displays themselves do not need to be anything fancy. Really they just need to be capable of showing a single line of text.
A consumer would purchase a 'keyboard' when they first invest in the Tupperware. The keyboard/keypad would be magnetic and could stick onto a fridge. There would be a slot where the displays could plug in. When a display is plugged in, the consumer simply needs to enter in the label they would like to be displayed. To make things more convenient the keypad would automatically append the date to the label.
Simply by looking into the fridge a hungry person could know what was in each container and how old the stuff was.
The displays, when not in use, would dock with the keyboard and would likely be magnetic themselves. The keypad would then charge the batteries that power the displays. As for how the keypad gets this power itself? Perhaps it could be charged off of batteries as well, or integrated into high-end fridges and just draw power from the mains.
The amount of engineering to create such a product would be minimal. Ultimately the key would be in marketing it. But to me at least, this product is useful enough that all you would need to do is let people know it exists.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Restaurant Wait App
After thinking about my last idea for a bit I came to a conclusion. While it would be useful and some places would be honest, there needs to be accountability or else many places will simply fudge the wait times as they do now.
There is a fairly straightforward solution, an iphone or google droid app.
When a restaurant quotes a wait time, the user boots the app and enters in the quoted time. The user then presses another button when they are finally seated. Based on GPS coordinates the phone will try to identify the restaurant and suggest the location, but if it is wrong the user can enter it in manually.
This information would be uploaded to a website and restaurants would be ranked by not only their actual wait time, but also their honesty.
There is also sorts of ways the information could be displayed for users. It could show break downs based on time and day. It could also rank the restaurant with the times normalized by different metrics.
If a particular restaurant is all ready in the database, the average wait and honesty score of a restaurant would come up when the user starts the app.
While it would still be possible for restaurants to manipulate the data, it would be much more difficult and they could not simply 'lie.'
The app could even support comments and reviews of places along with average price per person in order to be a complete solution.
If people used this app, less than honest restaurants might begin to see customers turning away from their door. This method of accountability could encourage honesty with wait times and allow the method I outlined the other day to work to its full potential.
There is a fairly straightforward solution, an iphone or google droid app.
When a restaurant quotes a wait time, the user boots the app and enters in the quoted time. The user then presses another button when they are finally seated. Based on GPS coordinates the phone will try to identify the restaurant and suggest the location, but if it is wrong the user can enter it in manually.
This information would be uploaded to a website and restaurants would be ranked by not only their actual wait time, but also their honesty.
There is also sorts of ways the information could be displayed for users. It could show break downs based on time and day. It could also rank the restaurant with the times normalized by different metrics.
If a particular restaurant is all ready in the database, the average wait and honesty score of a restaurant would come up when the user starts the app.
While it would still be possible for restaurants to manipulate the data, it would be much more difficult and they could not simply 'lie.'
The app could even support comments and reviews of places along with average price per person in order to be a complete solution.
If people used this app, less than honest restaurants might begin to see customers turning away from their door. This method of accountability could encourage honesty with wait times and allow the method I outlined the other day to work to its full potential.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Online Restaurant Wait Time Report
It's annoying to drive up to a restaurant and see a huge number of people and just know there is going to be a long wait. The restaurant probably loves the business, but there is a down side for them. After this happens a couple time at the same restaurant I become less inclined to going back even in the off-hours. They just lost a customer. However, if I knew for a fact there wouldn't be a wait, I might still be inclined to go early. Or if I knew that the wait usually died down past a certain hour, then I might consider pushing back my dinner.
Many restaurants are already digitalizes table assignments and food orders. They punch in when people are at a table, and enter in when they leave. Its not hard to imagine that this information could be entered into an algorithm and converted into a 'wait time.' This information could then be dynamically updated on the restaurant's website.When trying to decide where to go to dinner, you could just load up the websites of your favorite websites and see who has the shortest wait.
If they wanted to be really helpful they could provide past averages based on hour and day. So perhaps at 4 pm on a Thursday night, you see that they have a 45 minute wait at the moment, but usually by 6 pm its only 10 minutes. So you decide to do a later dinner.
I could even imagine people creating a website that would spider crawl the restaurants in the area and reports all the wait times at places to eat within a 25 mile radius of your address.
Now restaurants could just lie. It seems to me that they already do this when you ask how long the wait is. Its obvious why. They don't want you to leave, and if you hang around for a bit, even if the wait is twice as long as they said, you will probably end up staying until they seat you. But if they were honest on the site they might ward customers off before they even arrive. However, I am of the opinion, that they are sacrificing long term business for short term business when they lie about the wait.
A system like this would reward places that can keep the wait time down and are honest about it. The wait will become a point in their favor. If they honestly report when their busy hours are, some people who might just walk away when seeing the wait may instead show up at a less busy time. Meanwhile if a restaurant is always reporting fake wait times, well people will hopefully catch onto that fairly quickly.
Some restaurants would need to upgrade their computer systems (or install them completely) to be able to get something like this to work easily. A system that could not be automated would likely be too much work for a restaurant to be worth it.
I think this could be a great feature. It could help make the decision of where to eat, and I could imagine choosing a restaurant that reports its wait time over one that does not. Ultimately there is very little preventing many restaurants from setting up a an Online Wait Time Report system right now.
Many restaurants are already digitalizes table assignments and food orders. They punch in when people are at a table, and enter in when they leave. Its not hard to imagine that this information could be entered into an algorithm and converted into a 'wait time.' This information could then be dynamically updated on the restaurant's website.When trying to decide where to go to dinner, you could just load up the websites of your favorite websites and see who has the shortest wait.
If they wanted to be really helpful they could provide past averages based on hour and day. So perhaps at 4 pm on a Thursday night, you see that they have a 45 minute wait at the moment, but usually by 6 pm its only 10 minutes. So you decide to do a later dinner.
I could even imagine people creating a website that would spider crawl the restaurants in the area and reports all the wait times at places to eat within a 25 mile radius of your address.
Now restaurants could just lie. It seems to me that they already do this when you ask how long the wait is. Its obvious why. They don't want you to leave, and if you hang around for a bit, even if the wait is twice as long as they said, you will probably end up staying until they seat you. But if they were honest on the site they might ward customers off before they even arrive. However, I am of the opinion, that they are sacrificing long term business for short term business when they lie about the wait.
A system like this would reward places that can keep the wait time down and are honest about it. The wait will become a point in their favor. If they honestly report when their busy hours are, some people who might just walk away when seeing the wait may instead show up at a less busy time. Meanwhile if a restaurant is always reporting fake wait times, well people will hopefully catch onto that fairly quickly.
Some restaurants would need to upgrade their computer systems (or install them completely) to be able to get something like this to work easily. A system that could not be automated would likely be too much work for a restaurant to be worth it.
I think this could be a great feature. It could help make the decision of where to eat, and I could imagine choosing a restaurant that reports its wait time over one that does not. Ultimately there is very little preventing many restaurants from setting up a an Online Wait Time Report system right now.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Scam Review Site
There are various sites where people can report scams, but thats not what this idea is about.
If you are familiar with Snopes I envision a site in a similar vein. If you are not familiar with it, basically it is a site that investigates and either debunks or confirms urban legends.
The Scam Review Site basically would do the same thing but with scams.
They would look at as seen on TV products, email Scams, and basically anything that seems to good to be true. They could classify things either as Dangerous Rip Offs (for scams that will steal your identity), Total Rip Offs (for scams that charge you for nothing, or contain hidden fees or hard to cancel subscription), Partial Rip Offs (for scams that sell things that sort of work, but not nearly as advertises), and finally Real Deal (for things that seem like scams but aren't).
The site would rely on a combination of independent investigation and user feedback. Ultimately there are likely too many scams out there to deal with them all, but the site would focus on the 'popular' ones of the day.
A good tag line for the site could be "When it seems too good to be true." And that is basically how you would want to market it. The idea you would want to market is that if someone is online and sees something that seems absolutely amazing, and they ask themselves How can they offer such a great deal!, they will then go to the Scam Review Site to find out what the real deal really is.
As I mentioned earlier I have seen websites that talk about scams, but nothing that seems to be comprehensive. And definitely nothing as recognized as Snopes is in its field of urban legends.
It might take a while for the site to gain momentum, but if made accessible and properly marketed, I could envision it being a big hit.
If you are familiar with Snopes I envision a site in a similar vein. If you are not familiar with it, basically it is a site that investigates and either debunks or confirms urban legends.
The Scam Review Site basically would do the same thing but with scams.
They would look at as seen on TV products, email Scams, and basically anything that seems to good to be true. They could classify things either as Dangerous Rip Offs (for scams that will steal your identity), Total Rip Offs (for scams that charge you for nothing, or contain hidden fees or hard to cancel subscription), Partial Rip Offs (for scams that sell things that sort of work, but not nearly as advertises), and finally Real Deal (for things that seem like scams but aren't).
The site would rely on a combination of independent investigation and user feedback. Ultimately there are likely too many scams out there to deal with them all, but the site would focus on the 'popular' ones of the day.
A good tag line for the site could be "When it seems too good to be true." And that is basically how you would want to market it. The idea you would want to market is that if someone is online and sees something that seems absolutely amazing, and they ask themselves How can they offer such a great deal!, they will then go to the Scam Review Site to find out what the real deal really is.
As I mentioned earlier I have seen websites that talk about scams, but nothing that seems to be comprehensive. And definitely nothing as recognized as Snopes is in its field of urban legends.
It might take a while for the site to gain momentum, but if made accessible and properly marketed, I could envision it being a big hit.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Cruise Control Pacing
This idea is a spin off yesterdays.
Often times as driving I find myself on cruise control and behind another car. I am frequently perfectly happy staying behind the car.
However, there is a problem. I may find myself creeping closer to the car. So I slow down the cruise control by one increment. But now I begin lagging behind. So I increase it a bit, and once again begin creeping up on the car. It is especially frustrating while driving long stretches on fairly open roads.
A nice feature could be a 'pacing' button. A Doppler Radar installed in the front of the car could measure the speed / distance to the car ahead of you and attempt to match speed with it and maintain a steady distance. It could even modify the distance to allow for proper braking time, if need be, based on the current speed.
The system would of course need to have a delay. Otherwise a car speeding by could send your car speeding up. It would have to only react to a signal that has been detected consistently for the last thirty seconds or so.
One issue that this idea could have would be with people who use radar detectors. If the guy in front of you has a detector he may suddenly slow down out of concern that police are nearby, and that could be annoying.
I could also see this idea adding a not-insignificant cost to the cruise control system. This minor improvement may not be worth the cost.
However, if it could be done for a reasonable price, it could remove another annoyance from the road.
Often times as driving I find myself on cruise control and behind another car. I am frequently perfectly happy staying behind the car.
However, there is a problem. I may find myself creeping closer to the car. So I slow down the cruise control by one increment. But now I begin lagging behind. So I increase it a bit, and once again begin creeping up on the car. It is especially frustrating while driving long stretches on fairly open roads.
A nice feature could be a 'pacing' button. A Doppler Radar installed in the front of the car could measure the speed / distance to the car ahead of you and attempt to match speed with it and maintain a steady distance. It could even modify the distance to allow for proper braking time, if need be, based on the current speed.
The system would of course need to have a delay. Otherwise a car speeding by could send your car speeding up. It would have to only react to a signal that has been detected consistently for the last thirty seconds or so.
One issue that this idea could have would be with people who use radar detectors. If the guy in front of you has a detector he may suddenly slow down out of concern that police are nearby, and that could be annoying.
I could also see this idea adding a not-insignificant cost to the cruise control system. This minor improvement may not be worth the cost.
However, if it could be done for a reasonable price, it could remove another annoyance from the road.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Dynamic Cruise Control
Cruise Control is a nice feature.
It makes driving the car less work and more fuel efficient.
However there are certain times when it is annoying to have to adjust it. One of these is when the highway curves. Generally when taking any significant turns you want to reduce your speed to continue driving safely if the road is not banked.
I would like to see a cruise control system that would dynamically reduce the speed while the wheel is turned. When the driver straightens back out the speed would pick back up.
The system would likely have a threshold so that it would not activate while passing another car. The system could also include a sensor to detect if the car is at an angle. This could be used to tell if the car is on a banked road. If the road is banked the system would not have to reduce the car's speed as much.
For people who did not like the cruise control automatically adjusting the speed a switch under the dashboard could turn the feature on and off.
A dynamic cruise control could make using cruise control more convenient and safer.
It makes driving the car less work and more fuel efficient.
However there are certain times when it is annoying to have to adjust it. One of these is when the highway curves. Generally when taking any significant turns you want to reduce your speed to continue driving safely if the road is not banked.
I would like to see a cruise control system that would dynamically reduce the speed while the wheel is turned. When the driver straightens back out the speed would pick back up.
The system would likely have a threshold so that it would not activate while passing another car. The system could also include a sensor to detect if the car is at an angle. This could be used to tell if the car is on a banked road. If the road is banked the system would not have to reduce the car's speed as much.
For people who did not like the cruise control automatically adjusting the speed a switch under the dashboard could turn the feature on and off.
A dynamic cruise control could make using cruise control more convenient and safer.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Romantic Comedy
This idea is something different. Rather than an idea for an invention or organization it is an idea for a plot to a movie.
There is not a whole lot to the idea. It may seem similar to other movies. Its not incredibly different from many other ideas. But that is part of its strength. It's different enough to make money, but safe enough to not be a risk.
The basic concept is that a husband and wife have grown to hate one another. They have recently received a divorce. However, as they put their house on the market so they can split the sales they both loose their jobs. Their mutual friend, their incompetent real estate agent, then informs then that the house will not sell for some time.
So as a result they end up stuck living together still in their home as neither can afford to move out. However, as time goes on the rediscover why they got married in the first place and reconcile in a heart warming moment. Then their friend informs them that the house has just sold.
The End
As I said not much too it, but a lot of people could probably sympathies with the premise.
There is not a whole lot to the idea. It may seem similar to other movies. Its not incredibly different from many other ideas. But that is part of its strength. It's different enough to make money, but safe enough to not be a risk.
The basic concept is that a husband and wife have grown to hate one another. They have recently received a divorce. However, as they put their house on the market so they can split the sales they both loose their jobs. Their mutual friend, their incompetent real estate agent, then informs then that the house will not sell for some time.
So as a result they end up stuck living together still in their home as neither can afford to move out. However, as time goes on the rediscover why they got married in the first place and reconcile in a heart warming moment. Then their friend informs them that the house has just sold.
The End
As I said not much too it, but a lot of people could probably sympathies with the premise.
Monday, July 19, 2010
DVR Profiles
My family has a digital 'cable' service that includes a Digital Video Recorder.
The problem though, is that the recorder has a limited capacity. When the DVR becomes filled it begins to delete old stuff automatically to make room for new items.
Of course this can cause strife in the family if it is felt that certain family members have recorded a large amount of things that they are not watching.
A solution to this could be to allow for recording profiles. Each profile would be for one member of the family and would be given a percentage of the DVR's hard drive.
This way one person would be unable to take up the whole DVR. It would also discourage the 'recording but then not watching' that even I am guilty of.
The only real issue is how to select which profile something would be recorded under. Ultimately this would likely need new buttons on the remote to not be cumbersome.
The problem though, is that the recorder has a limited capacity. When the DVR becomes filled it begins to delete old stuff automatically to make room for new items.
Of course this can cause strife in the family if it is felt that certain family members have recorded a large amount of things that they are not watching.
A solution to this could be to allow for recording profiles. Each profile would be for one member of the family and would be given a percentage of the DVR's hard drive.
This way one person would be unable to take up the whole DVR. It would also discourage the 'recording but then not watching' that even I am guilty of.
The only real issue is how to select which profile something would be recorded under. Ultimately this would likely need new buttons on the remote to not be cumbersome.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Pick your Fast Food Franchise
An entrepreneur, lets say Mr. Smith, wants to open up a fast food restaurant. He has already picked out a location and decided he wants to go with a franchise. However, our hypothetical investor is not married to any given franchise but has narrowed it down to three selections.
The location is in a high traffic area and near a traffic light that tends to have long reds. So Mr. Smith rents out the location two months early. He won't be opening up early but will be launching a clever campaign. Luckily he has the starting capital to afford the rent. The reason he is renting the building early is because of the sign he is going to post out in front.
The sign would read simply:
"
Text (XXX) XXX-XXXX with your pick of franchise
Franchise A, Franchise B, Franchise C
"
If properly promoted it could generate a fair degree of opening day hype. Hopefully the process would choose a franchise that would be more likely to appeal to the local customers. The people who would be texting in would be the people that would be more likely to be regular customers.
Now, if Mr. Smith was feeling adventurous he could even charge people to text. Some people (I would guess more teenagers, who go to school near the location, than other demographics) might be willing to pay to select the franchise.
Now, if Mr. Smith was feeling adventurous he could even charge people to text. Some people (I would guess more teenagers, who go to school near the location, than other demographics) might be willing to pay to select the franchise.
Now I will admit that Mr. Smith would be taking a major gamble with the entire endeavor. Most people will not care. Mr. Smith doesn't need a lot of people to care, but he does need enough people to be interested. If interest did not pass a critical mass Mr. Smith would be just throwing his rent money away.
However, I have never heard of this being done before, and if Mr. Smith was the gambling type it might be worth the risk.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Parking Radar
I am going to preface this post by saying that it is unlikely to be implemented in existing cities due to expense.
However, I do think it is worthwhile to consider because parking in the city can really suck.
A lot of cities are using or considering WiMax or similar systems (essentially city wide WiFi). However, this could serve as a backbone for the city to serve up lots of information about local conditions (as I write this traffic information comes to mind first).
Sensors built into road curbs, on posts next to parking spaces, or in the road itself could detect if a car is currently parked in a particular spot. The way that these sensors would work depends on where exactly it is installed (in the road vs next to it) but is more of a technical discussion. The information gathered by the sensors could then be made available over a WiMax network.
A GPS system in a person's car could be capable of taping into the WiMax network and finding out where the nearest available parking spot is located. If the system was really
So basically GPS systems could tell you where to find parking spots to let people avoid playing the 'search for a spot' game.
Of course it doesn't have to be a GPS. A small radar that shows direction and distance to the nearest location using the network could be made as well.
There are three major issues with such a system:
1) There would be significant cost associated with installing the system, especially in an already existing infrastructure.
2) The system would need to be installed city wide for it to really catch on in popularity. If it was only installed in particular neighborhoods or along certain streets people could not be certain that it would be giving them the nearest spot and it would become unreliable. If drivers are going to trust a Parking Radar, more of the city (at least the areas where parking is an issue) must be supported than unspotted.
3) Unless a standard was decided on (there are methods of large area wireless networking other than WiMax for example) it could quickly become problematic if every city had a slightly different system. Either it would increase the cost of the GPS or some systems would be Chicago compatible while others may be 'New York' compatible. Now this issue is not necessarily a major road block. Several states have their own types of automated highway toll payment systems and for the most part its fine. People spend most of their time in the state they live and people spend most of their time in the city that they live (or are near).
If there are cities close to one another they could work to make sure their systems interoperate just as neighboring states have done with their toll systems.
Now issue number 1 is the big one. This cost is made even worse if a wide area wireless network does not already exist in the city. Of course it is not necessary to use a wireless network. There may be better technical solutions (such as delivering the information over cell networks). But even still, the cost of just the sensors alone would likely be pricey.
Now this cost could be mitigated in several ways. The city could charge for the use of the Parking Radar Service. Basically they would sell permission to use the data available on the Parking Radar Network. If they wanted to maximize profit they could charge differing fees based on a person's address. For example people in the suburbs could be charged less than people who live downtown because they would not be using it as frequently. Of course pricing is an entirely different issue.
By charging for the use of the service they could reduce or perhaps even eliminate the installation and upkeep cost for the system. In fact, depending on demand, I could actually conceive of a city making a profit on such a system.
However, I do think it is worthwhile to consider because parking in the city can really suck.
A lot of cities are using or considering WiMax or similar systems (essentially city wide WiFi). However, this could serve as a backbone for the city to serve up lots of information about local conditions (as I write this traffic information comes to mind first).
Sensors built into road curbs, on posts next to parking spaces, or in the road itself could detect if a car is currently parked in a particular spot. The way that these sensors would work depends on where exactly it is installed (in the road vs next to it) but is more of a technical discussion. The information gathered by the sensors could then be made available over a WiMax network.
A GPS system in a person's car could be capable of taping into the WiMax network and finding out where the nearest available parking spot is located. If the system was really
So basically GPS systems could tell you where to find parking spots to let people avoid playing the 'search for a spot' game.
Of course it doesn't have to be a GPS. A small radar that shows direction and distance to the nearest location using the network could be made as well.
There are three major issues with such a system:
1) There would be significant cost associated with installing the system, especially in an already existing infrastructure.
2) The system would need to be installed city wide for it to really catch on in popularity. If it was only installed in particular neighborhoods or along certain streets people could not be certain that it would be giving them the nearest spot and it would become unreliable. If drivers are going to trust a Parking Radar, more of the city (at least the areas where parking is an issue) must be supported than unspotted.
3) Unless a standard was decided on (there are methods of large area wireless networking other than WiMax for example) it could quickly become problematic if every city had a slightly different system. Either it would increase the cost of the GPS or some systems would be Chicago compatible while others may be 'New York' compatible. Now this issue is not necessarily a major road block. Several states have their own types of automated highway toll payment systems and for the most part its fine. People spend most of their time in the state they live and people spend most of their time in the city that they live (or are near).
If there are cities close to one another they could work to make sure their systems interoperate just as neighboring states have done with their toll systems.
Now issue number 1 is the big one. This cost is made even worse if a wide area wireless network does not already exist in the city. Of course it is not necessary to use a wireless network. There may be better technical solutions (such as delivering the information over cell networks). But even still, the cost of just the sensors alone would likely be pricey.
Now this cost could be mitigated in several ways. The city could charge for the use of the Parking Radar Service. Basically they would sell permission to use the data available on the Parking Radar Network. If they wanted to maximize profit they could charge differing fees based on a person's address. For example people in the suburbs could be charged less than people who live downtown because they would not be using it as frequently. Of course pricing is an entirely different issue.
By charging for the use of the service they could reduce or perhaps even eliminate the installation and upkeep cost for the system. In fact, depending on demand, I could actually conceive of a city making a profit on such a system.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Hand Pump Liquid Deodorant
This is another idea related to the gym.
Frequently I forget to bring a stick of deodorant with me to the gym. So I need to wait until I get home to apply it. Now health club changing rooms often offer a lot of amenities. However, they can't really offer deodorant to their members. People don't want to use a stick that someone else was just using.
Now Axe. and other spray deodorants can be a solution to this, but many people don't like spray deodorants. They can fill the air with an unpleasant scent.
Basically I am envisioning a pump bottle like the ones used by hand soap. However, instead it dispenses some type of liquid designed to be rubbed into the armpits.
People would probably need to wash their hands afterwards (otherwise their hands would be covered in deodorant). However, it would be a way for another 'consumable' amenity to be offered at the gym.
Frequently I forget to bring a stick of deodorant with me to the gym. So I need to wait until I get home to apply it. Now health club changing rooms often offer a lot of amenities. However, they can't really offer deodorant to their members. People don't want to use a stick that someone else was just using.
Now Axe. and other spray deodorants can be a solution to this, but many people don't like spray deodorants. They can fill the air with an unpleasant scent.
Basically I am envisioning a pump bottle like the ones used by hand soap. However, instead it dispenses some type of liquid designed to be rubbed into the armpits.
People would probably need to wash their hands afterwards (otherwise their hands would be covered in deodorant). However, it would be a way for another 'consumable' amenity to be offered at the gym.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Temperature Sensitive Dyes
There are ways to make surfaces sensitive to temperature such that their color will change. The most common example is probably a child's toy that changes color when exposed to hot or cold water.
I would be interested to see if this basic concept could be used to make temperature sensitive dyes.
It could be neat to have a shirt that is white if it is hot out, but then changes color to black when it is cool. The practical benefit is that white reflects light and keeps you cool, where as black absorbs light and gets warmer.
A shirt could also be designed to change color based on what temperature it was washed in
Ultimately the practicality is limited. However, the same applies to a lot of fashion, and as a gimmick I think it would be a neat one.
I would be interested to see if this basic concept could be used to make temperature sensitive dyes.
It could be neat to have a shirt that is white if it is hot out, but then changes color to black when it is cool. The practical benefit is that white reflects light and keeps you cool, where as black absorbs light and gets warmer.
A shirt could also be designed to change color based on what temperature it was washed in
Ultimately the practicality is limited. However, the same applies to a lot of fashion, and as a gimmick I think it would be a neat one.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Streaming Shower Radio
I like to listen to music in the shower.
But after all of my searching come away disappointed in the solutions. The choices available are devices that can play CDs in the radio or play FM/AM radio. Now the moisture eventually ruins the CDs and the radio is inevitably going to get less than ideal reception in many showers. But even if it received decent reception none of them even use digital radio. It' all tuning knob based.
I want a solution that lets me play music from my computer. The best I have seen was a shower radio that came with a low power FM transmitter. So I could listen to my music this way. However, its not a good solution. The transmitter is not very good so the signal is noisy. And to top things off, you have no control over whats playing. And of course, if you forget to start up music and to plug in the transmitter before you get in the shower you are out luck.
I have also seen waterproof IPod cases. Those of course require you to have and IPod and to bring it in.
What I want is a waterproof device that can connect to my home network over wifi. A server program on my PC could then stream music to the 'radio.' Because it is being streamed over wifi the radio can send commands back to the PC server. That means you could have play/pause controls and a method to browser your music collection from the shower.
With an internet connection it could even stream music from online radio services like Pandora.
This is not complicated technology. Devices like this exist in other non-waterproof forms (like fancy alarm clocks). There is nothing standing in the way of a company manufacturing and selling a device like this. It would be significantly more expensive than the low quality shower radios currently on the market, but I can not imagine I am the only person who has a desire for something like this.
But after all of my searching come away disappointed in the solutions. The choices available are devices that can play CDs in the radio or play FM/AM radio. Now the moisture eventually ruins the CDs and the radio is inevitably going to get less than ideal reception in many showers. But even if it received decent reception none of them even use digital radio. It' all tuning knob based.
I want a solution that lets me play music from my computer. The best I have seen was a shower radio that came with a low power FM transmitter. So I could listen to my music this way. However, its not a good solution. The transmitter is not very good so the signal is noisy. And to top things off, you have no control over whats playing. And of course, if you forget to start up music and to plug in the transmitter before you get in the shower you are out luck.
I have also seen waterproof IPod cases. Those of course require you to have and IPod and to bring it in.
What I want is a waterproof device that can connect to my home network over wifi. A server program on my PC could then stream music to the 'radio.' Because it is being streamed over wifi the radio can send commands back to the PC server. That means you could have play/pause controls and a method to browser your music collection from the shower.
With an internet connection it could even stream music from online radio services like Pandora.
This is not complicated technology. Devices like this exist in other non-waterproof forms (like fancy alarm clocks). There is nothing standing in the way of a company manufacturing and selling a device like this. It would be significantly more expensive than the low quality shower radios currently on the market, but I can not imagine I am the only person who has a desire for something like this.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
UV Sponge Holder
This idea is actually inspired by yesterday's post (and a conversation I had a few days ago).
One of the filthiest places in the kitchen is the sponge. Sponges remain damp and cool after use, making them the perfect breeding place for bacteria. Not only do they tend to be filled with bacteria but a lot of the bacteria can be potentially dangerous bacteria.
This idea is for a small tray designed to hold the sponge when not in use. The tray would have a lid, that when closed would make the tray enter into a cleaning sequence. Two things would occur in this sequence.
1) The sponge would be bathed in UV light to try to kill bacteria on the surface of the sponge. While the UV light would not be able to sterilize the core of the sponge the less bacteria on the sponge the better.
2) The holder would heat up and 'bake' the sponge. The temperatures would not increase too high to avoid being a safety hazard, but they would increase enough to allow the sponge to dry out faster. The less time a sponge is sitting around wet, the less time it is serving as a fertile breeding ground.
Now a simpler answer is to throw out your sponges and replace them regularly. However, this tends to happen once the sponge begins to look nasty. Well, by the time it takes on a grimy and filthy appearance it has already been spreading germs for some time.
Once again, rather than trying to change human behavior, it is easier to adapt technology to behavior. If sponges are going to be sitting around, they might as well be getting cleaned.
One of the filthiest places in the kitchen is the sponge. Sponges remain damp and cool after use, making them the perfect breeding place for bacteria. Not only do they tend to be filled with bacteria but a lot of the bacteria can be potentially dangerous bacteria.
This idea is for a small tray designed to hold the sponge when not in use. The tray would have a lid, that when closed would make the tray enter into a cleaning sequence. Two things would occur in this sequence.
1) The sponge would be bathed in UV light to try to kill bacteria on the surface of the sponge. While the UV light would not be able to sterilize the core of the sponge the less bacteria on the sponge the better.
2) The holder would heat up and 'bake' the sponge. The temperatures would not increase too high to avoid being a safety hazard, but they would increase enough to allow the sponge to dry out faster. The less time a sponge is sitting around wet, the less time it is serving as a fertile breeding ground.
Now a simpler answer is to throw out your sponges and replace them regularly. However, this tends to happen once the sponge begins to look nasty. Well, by the time it takes on a grimy and filthy appearance it has already been spreading germs for some time.
Once again, rather than trying to change human behavior, it is easier to adapt technology to behavior. If sponges are going to be sitting around, they might as well be getting cleaned.
Monday, July 12, 2010
UV Dishwasher
I was brushing my teeth when I was reminded of those UV toothbrush cleaners.
Basically they bathe toothbrushes in UV radiation to kill bacteria.
That got me to thinking, why not have dishwashers do the same thing.
Of course you would still want it to go through the traditional wash cycles. Soap and water would still be needed to remove caked on crud. However after the standard cycle is done it could go through a ten minute UV bath. You would know that not only have your dishes been cleaned, they have also been irradiated.
It's not necessary to get a clean dish, but then again it isn't necessary to get a clean tooth brush either. However, it would increase the level of cleanliness.
It would likely require a redesign of the rack layout in order to make sure all of the dishes could be adequately exposed. A design preventing people from placing dishes too close together could likely do the trick. But this would not be a bad idea anyway as it would improve the efficiency of the general wash cycle as well. Certainly the capacity is being reduced, but it simply means people will get into the habit of running loads slightly more frequently.
This also seems like an easily marketable idea.
Not everyone would care about such a design, but there are probably enough people who would to make it worth while.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Integrated Window Fans
Fans are a much more energy efficient way to 'cool' your home than AC. The problem is that fans do not actually cool and only circulate the air. If you have a fair number of fans though you can get a pretty good affect. But then you have fans everywhere.
Now what if each of the windows in your home could act like a full box fan. It could probably do a pretty good job of keeping your home cool without resorting to the AC.
Now if you are not heard of Dyson's new blade-less fans, you may wish to take a minute to check out this link: http://www.dyson.com/fans/. The gist of it is they are fans without blades. Appearance wise they look like just the frame to a traditional fan.
Now imagine one of these in a rectangular shape that could fit in your window. It would be fairly unobtrusive. But lets take it a step further.
Say a house is under construction. Imagine the window frames themselves are built to be the fan frames. The blower motor could be inside the wall and wired directly to the homes electrical system. The system could be designed to engage when the window is opened.
To a casual inspection the window would look like any other window. Closer inspection would reveal groves designed to be aerodynamic and create air flow. Each window would basically be capable of generating its own powerful energy efficient breeze when opened.
Now this type of blade-less design relies on aerodynamics. It may be difficult maintaining the required shape while distorting it to fit into a window and also function as a traditional window frame.
The other issue is that these blade-less fans are absurdly expensive. Now this could just be how they are pricing them, or it could actually cost that much for them to make. At the current price it would likely hamper adoption into all window frames in a home.
However, I could see this becoming a popular trend some years in the future. And if Dyson isn't all ready working on a 'box' fan version at the very least, they should be.
Now what if each of the windows in your home could act like a full box fan. It could probably do a pretty good job of keeping your home cool without resorting to the AC.
Now if you are not heard of Dyson's new blade-less fans, you may wish to take a minute to check out this link: http://www.dyson.com/fans/. The gist of it is they are fans without blades. Appearance wise they look like just the frame to a traditional fan.
Now imagine one of these in a rectangular shape that could fit in your window. It would be fairly unobtrusive. But lets take it a step further.
Say a house is under construction. Imagine the window frames themselves are built to be the fan frames. The blower motor could be inside the wall and wired directly to the homes electrical system. The system could be designed to engage when the window is opened.
To a casual inspection the window would look like any other window. Closer inspection would reveal groves designed to be aerodynamic and create air flow. Each window would basically be capable of generating its own powerful energy efficient breeze when opened.
Now this type of blade-less design relies on aerodynamics. It may be difficult maintaining the required shape while distorting it to fit into a window and also function as a traditional window frame.
The other issue is that these blade-less fans are absurdly expensive. Now this could just be how they are pricing them, or it could actually cost that much for them to make. At the current price it would likely hamper adoption into all window frames in a home.
However, I could see this becoming a popular trend some years in the future. And if Dyson isn't all ready working on a 'box' fan version at the very least, they should be.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Radio Tivo
While it would not be as useful as on the TV, the ability to pause and rewind live radio would be a nifty feature for a radio. It also wouldn't take much hardware to do. The amount of space audio recordings take is far less than for video recordings.
You could also have scheduled recordings. Once again, while not as useful there have been times where this feature would be great. For example a station I like has an hour long period of commercial free songs (as many do). However, it always plays the hour before I get out of work. When I drive home I get to listen to commercial after commercial on that station. But if my radio could be set to record and save for later that music, well that would just be great.
Of course we are getting into the realm where you would likely want to redesign the radio interface. After all if it is recording things you need a good method of selecting / playing /deleting recordings. Well this sounds like a 'luxury' item anyway so why not just give it a touch screen interface. While you are at it you might as well give it the ability to have the user load mp3s on it and listen to them.
Another feature that it could easily have involves some more recent advances in radio. Most radio stations now transmit digital data that identifies the station, the name of the song they are playing, and the artist. Well the Radio Tivo could segment recordings based on this data. It could even split them up into mp3s and automatically tag them. This information would also allow it to easily skip over commercials.
Now there might be some weird laws or regulations that this would violate. If that is the case though I need to ask "why is it OK on TV and not on the radio." If such a device is legal though I have to wonder why everyone isn't using one already.
There is one 'unintended' consequence. If these became popular, music radio stations would half to reconsider their commercial layout. If people were recording, but then skipping over, commercials I imagine that it would hurt their bottom line. However, I imagine that with the advent of cable DVR boxes there is similar data for how frequently commercials end up skipped over now.
You could also have scheduled recordings. Once again, while not as useful there have been times where this feature would be great. For example a station I like has an hour long period of commercial free songs (as many do). However, it always plays the hour before I get out of work. When I drive home I get to listen to commercial after commercial on that station. But if my radio could be set to record and save for later that music, well that would just be great.
Of course we are getting into the realm where you would likely want to redesign the radio interface. After all if it is recording things you need a good method of selecting / playing /deleting recordings. Well this sounds like a 'luxury' item anyway so why not just give it a touch screen interface. While you are at it you might as well give it the ability to have the user load mp3s on it and listen to them.
Another feature that it could easily have involves some more recent advances in radio. Most radio stations now transmit digital data that identifies the station, the name of the song they are playing, and the artist. Well the Radio Tivo could segment recordings based on this data. It could even split them up into mp3s and automatically tag them. This information would also allow it to easily skip over commercials.
Now there might be some weird laws or regulations that this would violate. If that is the case though I need to ask "why is it OK on TV and not on the radio." If such a device is legal though I have to wonder why everyone isn't using one already.
There is one 'unintended' consequence. If these became popular, music radio stations would half to reconsider their commercial layout. If people were recording, but then skipping over, commercials I imagine that it would hurt their bottom line. However, I imagine that with the advent of cable DVR boxes there is similar data for how frequently commercials end up skipped over now.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Finer Temperature Control
It seems like whenever I am driving I need to play a ridiculous game of balancing the AC blower strength and the AC temperature control in order to get the climate in the car just the way I like. If I don''t fiddle with the knobs I either get too stuffy or too cold. The problem is that there are such large differences between each setting on the AC.
Now I will admit that it may be possible that some luxury cars implement the suggestion that I am about to make. I would not know. I do not drive those types of cars.
The thing is, thermistors (electronics that are sensitive to temperature) are not that expensive. It wouldn't be pricey to allow the driver to punch (or dial) in a specific temperature. If the ambient temperature is colder, the car turns off the AC (and possibly turns on the heat). If the temperature is warmer however the car kicks up the AC to optimal level to hit the target.
"But Richard," you might say, "What if the blower is a step motor that can only operate at specific levels." To that I reply there is an easy solution that is still cheap. A bypass vent connected to a servo. If you want to reduce the air from the blower simply redirect some of it elsewhere.
Ultimately I believe that either
1) This actually exists in luxury cars and I just need to drive a higher class of vehicle.
2) This is a good idea and has little barriers to limitation
3) I am simply too picky
Now I will admit that it may be possible that some luxury cars implement the suggestion that I am about to make. I would not know. I do not drive those types of cars.
The thing is, thermistors (electronics that are sensitive to temperature) are not that expensive. It wouldn't be pricey to allow the driver to punch (or dial) in a specific temperature. If the ambient temperature is colder, the car turns off the AC (and possibly turns on the heat). If the temperature is warmer however the car kicks up the AC to optimal level to hit the target.
"But Richard," you might say, "What if the blower is a step motor that can only operate at specific levels." To that I reply there is an easy solution that is still cheap. A bypass vent connected to a servo. If you want to reduce the air from the blower simply redirect some of it elsewhere.
Ultimately I believe that either
1) This actually exists in luxury cars and I just need to drive a higher class of vehicle.
2) This is a good idea and has little barriers to limitation
3) I am simply too picky
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Environmental Labels
One of the ideas behind nutritional labels is that the government doesn't keep us from eating food that is bad for us, but they do make sure that we are informed about it if we want to be.
Now if people want to eat themselves into the grave you can't really stop them. But if people want to eat healthy they can do that easily.
The same thing can not be said about people who want to try to 'live green.'
Certainly people can try simple things like turning off the lights, composting, and not wasting water. But when it comes to making purchases it can become a bit more murky.
I propose, in the same way foods have nutritional labels, other products have environmental impact labels.
Now there are a lot of issues with this that I am going to address. The first one is exactly how do you quantify environmental impact. I believe that such a label should contain the following information.
Manufacturing Emissions: This is how many pounds of CO2 that were produced in the manufacturing of the product. Not only does this include the emissions from the factory where it was built but also the emissions from factories that built required parts. It would also need to include emissions caused by electrical power consumed by the factory. This last number could be reduced easily if a company purchases power from a 'clean' source. This number would be calculated by monitoring the emissions from a factory over a years time and dividing by the number of the product produced.
Transportation Emissions: This would be a measure of, on average, how much CO2 is created in transporting a product from the factory to the store. This is obviously going to be higher for products made oversees. This could perhaps encourage people to buy local. Of course unless labels were printed for each region it would not specify how much emissions were produced getting the product to your particular store.
Manufacturing Biodegradable Waste: Manufacturing is going to produce a certain amount of waste. Luckily some of it may be biodegradable or at least semi-biodegradable. In some cases the waste may even be recyclable. This category as well as the following waste categories would include waste produced earlier in the manufacturing chain in producing any parts or materials that go into the product. This type of waste would have the least negative impact on the environment and a conscious consumer would want to see most of the waste fall into this category.
Manufacturing Regular Waste: The measures how many pounds of non-biodegradable, but non hazardous waste are manufactured in the production process. This would include plastics, metal slag, and the like. While its not great to have this stuff filling our landfills for hundreds of years, there are worst types of waste.
Manufacturing Hazardous Waste: This measures how much hazardous waste is produced. Basically any type of dangerous chemical byproduct that needs special handling would fall into this category. Its inevitable that some products will produce hazardous waste but people would want to avoid products that seem to produce excessive amounts of this type of waste.
Packaging Waste: How much waste is there in the packaging. This might not be a necessary entry as it should be obvious by looking at the product.
Product Waste Breakdown: A listing of the type of waste that will be produced when the product is thrown away. This is more to help put things into perspective with the manufacturing waste scores.
Power Consumption: A clear label of how much power (if any) this product consumes. Rather than just looking for an 'energy star' label a consumer could clearly be able to find the 'peak,' the 'average,' and the 'standby' power consumed by electronics.
These are the only major categories that I can think of that I would want to see on the label and that could easily be measured. They could be given as both straight up values, and also in percentage form measured against the weight of the product.
Note, this isn't requiring companies to meet any types of standards in terms of being 'green.' With these labels they can be inefficient as they want. What it is requiring is accountability. Companies need to keep tabs on how much they are polluting and also need to consider how much their suppliers are polluting. A company may have incentive to switch to a 'cleaner' supplier in order to improve their numbers.
One issue with this is that it would require a fair bit of governmental oversight to ensure that numbers are being accurately reported. Now some of this oversight could be paid for by fining companies for cheating or misreporting.
Another issue would be the international complications. Do you disallow products that lack this information from being imported? What happens if a company wants to buy steel from another country that does not track the environmental impact of their actions.
One option for that last example at least, is that the company buying the steel must assume 'worst case' environmental impact from the steel if they can not get solid numbers. This could perhaps lead them to encourage their supplier to start keeping track of things.
In the end though there is one major problem. It is a similar problem that nutritional labels have. An environmental label can only have a real impact if people actually care. Of course, part of my hope is that the label would make it easier to care.
Now if people want to eat themselves into the grave you can't really stop them. But if people want to eat healthy they can do that easily.
The same thing can not be said about people who want to try to 'live green.'
Certainly people can try simple things like turning off the lights, composting, and not wasting water. But when it comes to making purchases it can become a bit more murky.
I propose, in the same way foods have nutritional labels, other products have environmental impact labels.
Now there are a lot of issues with this that I am going to address. The first one is exactly how do you quantify environmental impact. I believe that such a label should contain the following information.
Manufacturing Emissions: This is how many pounds of CO2 that were produced in the manufacturing of the product. Not only does this include the emissions from the factory where it was built but also the emissions from factories that built required parts. It would also need to include emissions caused by electrical power consumed by the factory. This last number could be reduced easily if a company purchases power from a 'clean' source. This number would be calculated by monitoring the emissions from a factory over a years time and dividing by the number of the product produced.
Transportation Emissions: This would be a measure of, on average, how much CO2 is created in transporting a product from the factory to the store. This is obviously going to be higher for products made oversees. This could perhaps encourage people to buy local. Of course unless labels were printed for each region it would not specify how much emissions were produced getting the product to your particular store.
Manufacturing Biodegradable Waste: Manufacturing is going to produce a certain amount of waste. Luckily some of it may be biodegradable or at least semi-biodegradable. In some cases the waste may even be recyclable. This category as well as the following waste categories would include waste produced earlier in the manufacturing chain in producing any parts or materials that go into the product. This type of waste would have the least negative impact on the environment and a conscious consumer would want to see most of the waste fall into this category.
Manufacturing Regular Waste: The measures how many pounds of non-biodegradable, but non hazardous waste are manufactured in the production process. This would include plastics, metal slag, and the like. While its not great to have this stuff filling our landfills for hundreds of years, there are worst types of waste.
Manufacturing Hazardous Waste: This measures how much hazardous waste is produced. Basically any type of dangerous chemical byproduct that needs special handling would fall into this category. Its inevitable that some products will produce hazardous waste but people would want to avoid products that seem to produce excessive amounts of this type of waste.
Packaging Waste: How much waste is there in the packaging. This might not be a necessary entry as it should be obvious by looking at the product.
Product Waste Breakdown: A listing of the type of waste that will be produced when the product is thrown away. This is more to help put things into perspective with the manufacturing waste scores.
Power Consumption: A clear label of how much power (if any) this product consumes. Rather than just looking for an 'energy star' label a consumer could clearly be able to find the 'peak,' the 'average,' and the 'standby' power consumed by electronics.
These are the only major categories that I can think of that I would want to see on the label and that could easily be measured. They could be given as both straight up values, and also in percentage form measured against the weight of the product.
Note, this isn't requiring companies to meet any types of standards in terms of being 'green.' With these labels they can be inefficient as they want. What it is requiring is accountability. Companies need to keep tabs on how much they are polluting and also need to consider how much their suppliers are polluting. A company may have incentive to switch to a 'cleaner' supplier in order to improve their numbers.
One issue with this is that it would require a fair bit of governmental oversight to ensure that numbers are being accurately reported. Now some of this oversight could be paid for by fining companies for cheating or misreporting.
Another issue would be the international complications. Do you disallow products that lack this information from being imported? What happens if a company wants to buy steel from another country that does not track the environmental impact of their actions.
One option for that last example at least, is that the company buying the steel must assume 'worst case' environmental impact from the steel if they can not get solid numbers. This could perhaps lead them to encourage their supplier to start keeping track of things.
In the end though there is one major problem. It is a similar problem that nutritional labels have. An environmental label can only have a real impact if people actually care. Of course, part of my hope is that the label would make it easier to care.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Waterbed Sealant
Waterbeds may not be as popular as they once were, but they are still darn comfortable.
Recently I had the sad experience of seeing a waterbed put down after one too many leaks. You can patch them but you are only biding your time.
It occurred to me that there could be a market for some type of waterbed sealant, similar to the sealant you can spray into car tires.
Such a product would be a mixture of two chemicals. One chemical would be heavier than water and the other would need to be lighter. When added to the water in the waterbed, one of the chemicals would separate to the bottom and the other would separate to the top. This way one of the chemicals could deal with leaks in the top half and the other would deal with leaks in the bottom half.
Ultimately you would want a chemical that when exposed to oxygen would begin to polymerize. As long as the chemical was in the bed it would remain in liquid form. But if it began to seep out through a leak it would begin to turn into a plasticy goo. The hope would be that it would allow the bed to self seal.
Of course with larger leaks it might not be able to do the job. However, if the chemical was some other color (but one that could wash out of fabric easy) it might make it easier to spot where the leak is to allow for more traditional patching to be done easier.
Now there may be some difficulties finding or designing a chemical that would have the necessary properties. A market for this product might also not really exist. And even if the market is there, the product would have to work well enough to encourage people to actually buy it. In the end though, waterbeds are nice, but it sucks when the leak.
Recently I had the sad experience of seeing a waterbed put down after one too many leaks. You can patch them but you are only biding your time.
It occurred to me that there could be a market for some type of waterbed sealant, similar to the sealant you can spray into car tires.
Such a product would be a mixture of two chemicals. One chemical would be heavier than water and the other would need to be lighter. When added to the water in the waterbed, one of the chemicals would separate to the bottom and the other would separate to the top. This way one of the chemicals could deal with leaks in the top half and the other would deal with leaks in the bottom half.
Ultimately you would want a chemical that when exposed to oxygen would begin to polymerize. As long as the chemical was in the bed it would remain in liquid form. But if it began to seep out through a leak it would begin to turn into a plasticy goo. The hope would be that it would allow the bed to self seal.
Of course with larger leaks it might not be able to do the job. However, if the chemical was some other color (but one that could wash out of fabric easy) it might make it easier to spot where the leak is to allow for more traditional patching to be done easier.
Now there may be some difficulties finding or designing a chemical that would have the necessary properties. A market for this product might also not really exist. And even if the market is there, the product would have to work well enough to encourage people to actually buy it. In the end though, waterbeds are nice, but it sucks when the leak.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
American Politician
So to celebrate this 4th of July, this post is regarding the time honored American tradition of voting.
One issue many people claim to have with our government is the difficulty that third party candidates face in getting recognition.
My proposal is for a TV show in the same vein as American Idol. The idea would not be for the show to replace voting, but rather to increase awareness.
The show would start with 30 some odd third party presidential candidates. The first episode would be designed to let the viewers know a bit about each candidate as a person. The next one would give a brief overview of their political stances. After that each following episode would focus on a particular issue and the candidates would make their views known.
There would be no first party candidates on the show. Furthermore to prevent people from rallying behind party names, the contestant party affiliations would not be revealed until a few episodes in. Granted people could just look them up online, but most viewers wont.
After each episode people would vote by texting their favorite candidate. As the show went, a candidate would be eliminated each week Near the end when only a few candidates remained they could engage in head to head debate.
Viewers would also be able to vote on which issues they would want to see on the show.
Now there are issues with this. I'm not necessarily sure that this is the way I would want my president selected, but thats not the goal. The voting mechanism could also end up having the voting being manipulated, but once again, that is why it would not be official.
Contestants would agree not to do outside campaigning while the show was running. As a nice twist the network that is hosting the show could contribute commercial time to the campaign of the winning contestant.
It might not have any impact on politics in America. In fact such a show could further contribute to the sensationalizing of politics. However, it just might have a positive impact and maybe could make some network money.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Cooling Slats in Cars
When you park your car outside in the sun, it is going to get hot. It will get hotter than the the ambient temperature in fact. You can reduce this by putting one of those ugly reflectors in your window but most people are too lazy for that. Ultimately the only good way to fight this is by leaving your window open and having your car stolen.
But imagine if your car had a metal grating in the ceiling that could be closed up. While it is closed its like it is not even there. While open, the grating acts like a 'screen' and prevents would be thieves from gaining access to your car. However while criminals and other unwanted things could not pass through, the warm air would be able to rise right out of your car being replaced with 'cool' air from outside.
The system could be designed to automatically operate while your car is off. If the interior temperature is rising and it is cooler outside (and not raining) go ahead and open the grate cover. Determining if rain is coming down could be accomplished through a variety of relatively easy methods.
The entire system could run off, or at least partially run off, some small solar panels installed on the grate cover. The days on which it will be needing to operate will be the particularly sunny days when you are parked in the sun. It could even use the power output of these solar cells to determine if it should be opening or not.
While it will not keep your car cool in the same way an AC would, it would be a cheap, green, way to ensure your car does not feel like a pressure cooker when you get in.
But imagine if your car had a metal grating in the ceiling that could be closed up. While it is closed its like it is not even there. While open, the grating acts like a 'screen' and prevents would be thieves from gaining access to your car. However while criminals and other unwanted things could not pass through, the warm air would be able to rise right out of your car being replaced with 'cool' air from outside.
The system could be designed to automatically operate while your car is off. If the interior temperature is rising and it is cooler outside (and not raining) go ahead and open the grate cover. Determining if rain is coming down could be accomplished through a variety of relatively easy methods.
The entire system could run off, or at least partially run off, some small solar panels installed on the grate cover. The days on which it will be needing to operate will be the particularly sunny days when you are parked in the sun. It could even use the power output of these solar cells to determine if it should be opening or not.
While it will not keep your car cool in the same way an AC would, it would be a cheap, green, way to ensure your car does not feel like a pressure cooker when you get in.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Shower Clocks
Another idea related to the health club.
I tend to go with my family. I also like long showers, but don't want to keep them waiting. However, every time I try to speed up my shower, I find myself waiting for awhile for everyone else to get finished.
Of course, I could just take a stop watch. But I am lazy.
If water proof digital clocks were installed in showers it would be easy for family members to decide "lets meet in the lobby in 15 minutes" and then actually do that.
It's a small thing but it would be nice
I tend to go with my family. I also like long showers, but don't want to keep them waiting. However, every time I try to speed up my shower, I find myself waiting for awhile for everyone else to get finished.
Of course, I could just take a stop watch. But I am lazy.
If water proof digital clocks were installed in showers it would be easy for family members to decide "lets meet in the lobby in 15 minutes" and then actually do that.
It's a small thing but it would be nice
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