Idea Socket

Affordable Sustainability
Commuter Cars
Global Village World View
A Hydrogen Economy
Microlending
Natural Pesticides & Herbicides
Quadratic Computers
Essential Rights
Shoes that Fit
Telecommuting
Save Paper & Ink

Great Ideas

     I’m always coming up with ideas. These are some of my best. I’d really like to see these ideas developed further, but right now they’re not my top priority. So, I’m putting them out in the public domain.
     If you wish to develop them further, I’d like to be involved, at least in a consulting capacity. I’d also like a free copy of the end result.
     I’ve also given honorable mention to a few other great ideas which are not mine.
     You can post your ideas at Half Bakery, WhyNot.Net, and Creativity Pool. If you need a website created for posting your own ideas, let me know. I can usually work out something that’s within your budget.

Commuter Cars – small cars that take one to two people on their commute. Click on the link to more details of The Commuter. I also describe the commuter briefcase. I’ve also provided links to other commuter cars.

I have an idea for a modular car. The basic car/module holds one to two people. For other needs, other modules can be added on. These are modules such as truck bed and back seat. Each module is built so that another module can be attached on the back. So, you could attach the car, a back seat and a truck bed together. Each module is attached at two places rather than one for more stability and greater ease in backing up - if you’ve ever pulled a trailer, you know what I mean. This car has three versions – The Commuter, Nothing To It (stripped down version), and The Way to Go (all the options).

If you want to build The Commuter, I want to be consulted on the design. If you get rich and famous off this idea, I want a portion of the profits. (Remember, you’re rich and famous, so you can afford it.)
And, I’d like a Commuter for free.

Quadratic (Base 4) Computers
Computers are based on Binary (Base 2) Logic. Everything is either on or off; either true or false; either 1 or 0. To tell whether something is true or false, a computer measures the amount of electricity - 1 volt = true (1); 0 volts = false (0). In the early days of computers, measuring (and sending) voltage was not that exact, so anything above .5 volts (or so) was measured as 1 volt, and anything below .5 volts was measured as 0 volts. Now, we should be able to get more exact. So I suggest using 0, .33 (1/3), .66 (2/3), and 1 as the measurement points. Each point would measure plus or minus .10 volts. This way you could have 4 values - 0, 1, 2, 3. 0 for false, 1 for true, and 2 and 3 for other values. Binary logic is great for simple IF/ELSE conditions. More complex ones could make use Quadratic logic. To build a Quadratic Computer, I suggest a combination of quadratic and binary circuits.

Quadratic Computers would be smaller and faster, and Quadratic Disk Drives could hold much more data. Of course an obvious use for Quadratic Computers is to solve Quadratic Equations.

     If you decide to build a Quadratic Computer, please inform me of your progress – I want to be the first to know!
     If your name is Intel, I want lots of money for my idea.
     And, I’d like a free version after you’ve got the kinks worked out.

     Shoes that Fit
     I don’t know about you, but my feet are pointed in the back (heel), not in the front (toes). Perhaps if I only had one toe, my feet would be pointed in the front, but I have one heel and five toes.
     Shoes should be pointed in the back and round in the front. They should be high enough to fit without rubbing, and to allow you to curl your toes. Shoes should have 5 eyelets to allow you to tie the shoes securely, and the shoelaces should be long enough to give you plenty of lace to tie the shoes with. There should also be some lace at the back to secure that area. Also, don’t install arch support in the shoes. Those that want arch support can purchase it separately. Everyone can add as much or as little arch support as they need or want.
     Velcro Socks
Velcro down the inseam, unzips so the bottom of the sock can be flipped over the top. This keep you from slipping on slippery surfaces. Special reacher tool – flip-grip-n-zip helps you undo/redo your socks without bending over. Socks come in neon colors for seeing your way in the dark.

Shoes that Fit would help us heal from the toes up. They would help us relax and not be so irritated.
Other advantages of Velcro Socks – one size fits all; feet no longer get too hot or too cold ...

If you decide to make shoes that fit, I’d really like a pair. P.S. I haven’t found a pair that fits yet!
If you decide to make velcro socks, I’ll take a couple of pairs and my neighbor wants 100 pairs.

In a Hydrogen Economy (vs. a Petroleum Economy), Hydrogen is used to power everything, rather than Petroleum. (I should say Hydrogen along with Solar, Geothermal, Wind, Biodiesel, and other non-polluting fuels.) In a Hydrogen Economy, the Federal Government would give subsidies to non-polluting technologies at the same rate as they do for polluting technologies.

Leveling the playing field in this manner would make non-polluting technologies cheaper than their polluting counterparts. This would also make us independent of foreign oil. Some have written that a Hydrogen Economy would also greatly reduce poverty.

Not my idea, but I think it’s great anyhow.

Microlending
A woman in a small village in Bangladesh applies for and receives a microloan. With this small loan, she’s able to purchase a cell phone. With the cell phone, she sets up a small business of charging others in her village to use her cell phone. Other people in the village call relatives. Farmers in the village can now call other farmers in other villages to ensure they get a good price for their crops.

Microloans are a great economic equalizer. Microloans also work in more prosperous countries, such as the U.S.

Not my idea, but I think it’s great anyhow.

Affordable Sustainability
I’d like to live sustainably, but can I really afford it? Can I afford not to?

The more people that live sustainably, the better off we all are. If you can live sustainably within your budget, then you’ll be better off.

If you learn a trick or two about this subject, e-mail me.

Natural Pesticides & Herbicides
As the CDC is now finding out and as others have known for years, we are being overloaded with chemicals. Although the CDC pointed to cigarette smoke as an overloading factor, many others have shown that pesticides and herbicides are greatly overloading us.

Using natural pesticides and herbicide, we win, the earth wins, and the pests and weeds do not win.

Even though I like this idea, it’s not mine. I’m just providing the links.

Telecommuting
Telecommuting means working from home. For a person to telecommute they need to be able to communicate with other workers – via telephone, internet, or some other means, depending on the companies needs.

If people were allowed to telecommute, they could spend more time with their families, and thus be happier workers. Many of those who telecommute tend to spend more time for the company than they would if they went in to work. People who telecommute tend to be more productive. Companies would save money on office space and office furniture. There would be less pollution if everybody telecommuted, since they wouldn’t be driving to work. And there are tax breaks for running a home office.

OK, so it’s not my idea, but I sure enjoyed it while I was able to telecommute. And I’d appreciate the chance to telecommute again.

Essential Rights
Essential Rights. These are the rights that should be afforded to everybody.

Some items to consider. Perhaps they could be constitutional ammendments.

If you send me a petition for any of these rights, I’d likely sign it.

Global Village World View
If we could shrink the population of the earth to a village of 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look like this.

Puts things in perspective.

Not my idea, but my page has pictures.

Save Paper & Ink
Save Paper – Save Trees – Stop Climate Change. Save Ink – Reduce Petroleum Use – Stop Climate Change.

Perhaps the simplest methods of saving paper and printer ink are presented by Print Greener and Change the Margins. Print Greener sells GreenPrint Software which intercepts what you’re printing on you computer before it reaches the printer and allows you to specify which pages to not print. Print Greener also sells the Evergreen Font which spaces letters closer together, saving paper and ink by printing more in less space. Change the Margins is a campaign which encourages reducing your word processing default margins to three-quarter (.75) inches. Of course you can reduce them even more (depending on your printer and if you want page headers and/or footers). Change the Margins also has a petition to ask Microsoft to change the defaults to three-quarter inches.

Many ideas for saving paper and ink.