What?! (I'm reading the news) Eight year-olds in car booster seats? Absurd. The answer is better-fitting seat belts - for everyone? Or better restraint systems? Or one of those large dog carriers? Or tranquilizer guns?
How about a rock-climbing style harness you wear, then you just clip it to some lines when you get in the car? The harness fits PROPERLY, doesn't bug you as much as a stupid seat belt strap across your neck, and the lines it clips into have the classic acceleration safety stops but otherwise allow free movement? This set-up would be safer than standard seat belts for people of all sizes! Easy snap-on, snap-off before you get into the car.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Idiot Internet advertising
Why is the internet so STUPID ? Rather than ASKING for your permission or ASKING exactly what you're looking for when you want to buy something, advertisers track you without your permission and stupidly and blindly guess at what you might be wanting to buy next. It's clutter and rubbish.
How about this - I enter a list of things I might be buying and a time frame (and where - I'm not going to buy a loaf of bread from the Ukraine when I'm in the US, but if I'm going there on vacation, I might). I can enter exact specifications (I want shoes with a gore-tex lining and a leather midsole) - and the advertisers throw me ads for what they've got that most closely matches my criteria.
How about this - I enter a list of things I might be buying and a time frame (and where - I'm not going to buy a loaf of bread from the Ukraine when I'm in the US, but if I'm going there on vacation, I might). I can enter exact specifications (I want shoes with a gore-tex lining and a leather midsole) - and the advertisers throw me ads for what they've got that most closely matches my criteria.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Motorcycle rain gear
This falls into the "improvement" category, like the Union Suit post... Motorcycle rain gear - I've had several different suits now, and guess where they all leak most annoyingly noticeably? IN THE CROTCH! So let's fix this matter. First of all, standard design has several potentially leaky seams coming together IN THE CROTCH. Get that outta there. I believe the design is called a gusset crotch? - where rather than having the leg seams meet at the crotch, a separate patch of material is used in that area - increasing mobility and decreasing the risk of leakage. I know it's a tough nut to crack - you've got water being forced by strong wind - potentially 100mph, and the wind is pushing that water up the leg seams into the crotch area. So? Design the seams so the water is diverted from that area, not funneled into it?!
Bicycle safety - flashing tracker
Here's the concept: A device that FOLLOWS you on your bicycle, and gets the attention of drivers to wake up, bike ahead. This could be a remote-control toy helicopter or a toy car, but if it's a toy car, it needs to flash big enough and obvious enough to get the driver's attention and get it to slow down. It could be wifi, bluetooth, whatever - as long as it follows you far enough behind to a) catch driver's attention and b) give them enough time to react / slow down / take notice that there's a bike ahead. Heck, it could be gps enabled and get fed your exact track to follow, to keep it on the road. If it's a curvy road, it might follow further behind, since you wouldn't be visible around the curve. If it's a straight road, it might follow a bit inside, to prevent people from sideswiping you.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Union Suit
Not all of my invention posts are actually "inventions" but just improvements on existing designs. Take the union suit...
The idea behind the Union Suit (see example here) is that it gets cold at night, and by golly, this thing will keep you warm. Except most of the ones on the market these days are cotton.
So the first notion is - how about wool - and not the scratchy kind either?
The second notion is totally a matter of practicality. If you're out camping in the woods, what good is a nice warm union suit if you have to take it off to go to the bathroom? A man (or woman) could freeze to death! So most union suits pay homage to this notion by having a back flap. Right. But if you actually tried to use this back flap - well, let me just say I own two union suits, and the back flap would require some pretty extensive maneuvering to prevent it from becoming a smelly mess. Come on designers - SURELY you can make a back flap that actually works. Let's say, something that unbuttons, pulls up to the front, and buttons in front. Because if you're squatting in the woods, sometimes you need both hands - you can't be hanging on to a flap of cloth and toilet paper and maybe a tree branch for stability at the same time. No. Let's make a realistic back flap. Anybody who designs clothes out there hear me? Oh yeah, they're too busy deciding what the new color will be for fall. Which is why it's rare that PRACTICAL clothing gets created.
The idea behind the Union Suit (see example here) is that it gets cold at night, and by golly, this thing will keep you warm. Except most of the ones on the market these days are cotton.
So the first notion is - how about wool - and not the scratchy kind either?
The second notion is totally a matter of practicality. If you're out camping in the woods, what good is a nice warm union suit if you have to take it off to go to the bathroom? A man (or woman) could freeze to death! So most union suits pay homage to this notion by having a back flap. Right. But if you actually tried to use this back flap - well, let me just say I own two union suits, and the back flap would require some pretty extensive maneuvering to prevent it from becoming a smelly mess. Come on designers - SURELY you can make a back flap that actually works. Let's say, something that unbuttons, pulls up to the front, and buttons in front. Because if you're squatting in the woods, sometimes you need both hands - you can't be hanging on to a flap of cloth and toilet paper and maybe a tree branch for stability at the same time. No. Let's make a realistic back flap. Anybody who designs clothes out there hear me? Oh yeah, they're too busy deciding what the new color will be for fall. Which is why it's rare that PRACTICAL clothing gets created.
Submarine Sailboat
The Submarine Sailboat is an invention I'd love to have, but can't afford. Here's the principle: when the weather is nice, you sail. When the seas get rough, you descend below the waves.
My notion, well, most ocean-going sailboats have a keel - a counterweight to the force applied to the sail to keep the boat upright. That counterweight could be ballast water, and the sailboat cabin could be a sealed chamber suitable for submersion. And what sailboat wouldn't be enhanced by a glass viewing window mounted below the waterline up front? Of course the sails will be removed before submersion. What to do with the mast is a matter of engineering. I imagine it might travel best if swiveled parallel to the hull.
I think this idea is quite doable, and could save lives, considering that storms are a major source of sailboat problems. Of course, I suppose submarines have their own set of life-endangering issues. Oh, and there is a unique vessel operated for research that goes part of the way - it's called FLIP.
My notion, well, most ocean-going sailboats have a keel - a counterweight to the force applied to the sail to keep the boat upright. That counterweight could be ballast water, and the sailboat cabin could be a sealed chamber suitable for submersion. And what sailboat wouldn't be enhanced by a glass viewing window mounted below the waterline up front? Of course the sails will be removed before submersion. What to do with the mast is a matter of engineering. I imagine it might travel best if swiveled parallel to the hull.
I think this idea is quite doable, and could save lives, considering that storms are a major source of sailboat problems. Of course, I suppose submarines have their own set of life-endangering issues. Oh, and there is a unique vessel operated for research that goes part of the way - it's called FLIP.
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