Idea #2 - Pedaling for Dollars

May 2007 – This idea was born from a desire to help the homeless

My friend Gerhard called this Pedaling for Dollars:

The Problem:

Imagine you're down on your luck. You're starving and want a meal, or you need a shelter for the night, or you need to call home and it's long distance to Winnipeg. Or you need a fix. Whatever, you need some cash.

Well at every bus stop around the city, there is a stationary bicycle – it's bolted to the sidewalk - and you get on it and start pedaling for say 30 minutes. Not too hard, but it takes a bit of work. It's cold and you warm up fast. You keep going because the meter shows that in 15 minutes you've generated five Canadian dollars!

(Okay - you're singing Dreamer by Supertramp - and you sound good, but read on.)

So after an hour (the system only runs for an hour continuously to give other folks a chance to use it) you jump off the bicycle and it spits out a card that's been credited with twenty bucks. Now you can take that into a convenience store or a bank and redeem it for cash.

The Solution:

So what is happening here?

Recently in British Columbia, our power provider BC Hydro, announced a program that would allow alternative power producers to sell power back to the grid.

The stationary bicycle mentioned above is a simple means to generate that power and it also happens to have a meter that can calculate the earning and create a credit card to transfer the funds. The dream side is that at the current rate for that power here in BC, our friend would have to, in Gerhard's words, “pedal his ass off for the better part of a couple months just to claim $10 in mileage points.”

That might mean this is simply an idea before its time. The homeless certainly aren't going away.

Idea #1 - Noise Level Alert

Date: 29-Dec-2007. I woke up with another good idea. I'll describe it first and then decide what to call it:

The Problem:

Imagine living in an apartment on the second floor. You're tiptoeing around the flat all the time - because you're like that and you don't disturb your neighbours unnecessarily - but one day you run into them and discover...they're deaf. :O
Or have been away in Africa for the past year, or just don't give a shit... Blows your mind doesn't it?

Another scenario is that your upstairs neighbors are both clumsy and they're clod-hoppers. While it doesn't bother you when they drop something from time to time, you really wish you could let them know when their stomping around starts getting on your nerves, without having to confront them or resort to using the broom handle to smash the ceiling.
(And btw, how ARE you going to get rid of those ceiling divets?)

The solution:

So this invention would be a 2 parter:

Part I: A learning system with 'ears' and an input panel that lets you tell it when the noise level is bothering you. It's wired into all other 'ears' in the building and can share knowledge about noise-levels and typical preferences. The input panel refers specifically to the apartment above. (This is the broom handle, but it has a limit that prevents you from using it irrationally.)

Part II: A display mechanism in each apartment – possibly connected to a light switch in a main living area.

How it works:

When the noise from the apartment above gets irritating, you tap the panel and the system flicks the light switch in their apartment above you. Just an on/off (or off/on) to let them know that you're home and are sensitive to the noises coming from their apartment.

Eventually the system learns what you can tolerate and will give the reminder to your neighbours without you having to do anything. The nice thing about this invention is that it acts as an intermediary so people don't have to communicate directly on a subject that is notoriously difficult to address without bruising feelings.

For the 'active' neighbour:

Now you won't have to tiptoe around anymore, you will learn when to moderate your activities, because you've been taught what noise-level your neighbours can tolerate.

Let's call this a Noise Level Alert

Technology Opportunity: Application for Hierarchical Temporal Memory

Raison Detre

Every year around November, I start having these ideas - they cook my brain!

I can't get to sleep. When I shower they're insistent and demand attention, not like dreams which usually just swirl away down the drain. If I'm not already occupied with a project, I pick one of the ideas and start developing it. Sometimes this helps to quiet my mind and the new ideas stop coming, until the next November rolls around, often it doesn't help.

It sounds like a nuisance, but actually I think I'm blessed. I bet many of you are similar. It's a whole nother blog where we could discuss where these ideas come from, but I want this to be a place where they are born.

I've reached a point in my life where I want to stop hoarding wealth and that includes, or relates directly, to ideas. So I'm going to just put them out there. If one of you decides you like one, I say grab it and run with it. Let's see how far it takes you! I wish you the best and maybe you'll let me know how the journey goes~

-Dave