Great idea! Our very own ‘think tank’.

Colonel, I would like to post the following here because I don’t know which other forum would be better. If you can think of one, would you put these leads there also? Thanks.

For anyone who lives near Tampa, Florida, there will be a “Utility Products Conference and Exposition” on March 23-25. “Bringing together buyers & sellers of CATV, telecom, water & power equipment for a unique networking experience. The event will provide attendees with practical solutions to everyday problems….” Go to www.utilityproductsexpo.com for more.

I just received a notice about “free publicity leads every business day. This connection is FREE and will tell you about topics for which journalists and producers are actively seeking experts to interview.” Go to www.ReporterConnection.com/joinNow/?10019.

I will join your idea den Sir Colonel as I fear not my ideas will be stolen since EN thinketh they sucketh. I’ve lost more ideas to inaction anyway. For example, I invented the curved shower curtain rod, the automatic patio screen door closer and the multi-fingered hair die applicator. Waited too long and someone else came along and invented them. I hope this doesn’t turn out like the rest of the forum which I find artificially supportive and encouraging. To me encouragement is a house of hallmark cards built on a calm day. The first strong breeze comes along and blows all those well wishes away. I think cash is the sincerest form of encouragement and flattery. In fact, if anyone likes my ideas, I encourage them to pay the $25 submission fee and I’ll give them 10% of whatever I get for the idea in perpetuity. I’ll enter my first idea soon and hope people will tear into it like a hors d’ouef tata.

P.S. do you think you can move the Idea Den to somewhere where people can find it like under its own heading rather than under other? How about under creativity?

My project in the works that I’m really excited about, is still working. I check it several times a day, its slow right now, but once it warms up it should take off.
I’m leery of giving away too much. But, it runs along the line of the hanging tomato plant thing. I see these all over, yet, i question if they work well. I’ve yet to see one with a giant tomato covered plant in one. I’ve tried growing tomatoes in hanging containers that i’ve made, I’ve found that the plant gets too heavy and if you live where its windy, the plant suffers in being beaten to death. I think its a great idea and apparently a lot of other people do too, so there you go.
My invention will grow a different veggie. Hopefully year round and hydroponically. My only question about it, is if it can grow enough to make it worth doing. My prototype is smaller than i wanted it to be due to finding the perfect base already made and ready to use. This can be changed later on if the idea works, but for now I’m using something already made. If in a couple months i find its working, i may go deeper into producing something that i can call my own.
The target group I’m aiming for are the people with very limited space. Whether it be kids who want to learn to grow their own food, to people who have the urge to grow their own food but don’t have the space, to people like me who do have space but don’t want to gamble with too much water and disease problems. And then the other group, and i fall under this one too, the people who want to avoid pesticides and herbicides and whatever is put on veggies to keep them fresh.
I get so excited about this, and the next second i call myself crazy. One moment it looks like the best idea ever, the next, a waste of time. I hate that…lol

Cowgirl Linda,

Is your invention also quick and easy to use? Does it require minimal time-consuming maintenance? If so, along with the rest of what you described, I think you have a winner.

I have plenty of space for a garden. And I’d love to have fresh veggies. I just don’t have time for all the ground prep, planting, weeding, etc. The success of those upside down tomato plants shows that there are a lot of people like me.

If you want to test your product on someone with no green thumb or gardening experience, let me know.

FYI, my hubby was raised on a farm. He’s the only reason my houseplants are still alive. When I was single, all my plants died. I couldn’t figure out why. Someone told me I overwatered them. Huh, I said. I drink water every day. Why shouldn’t my plants? (;^(

CL, I just re-read your post. I love the hydroponic idea because I hate getting dirty hands. But one concern comes to mind: standing water. Does your idea have a way of doing complete water exchanges to keep the water fresh?

And could your product double as a dog water bowl? (;^)

When not in use, most parts will lay flat and can be hung up. So no bulky thing to store, but, if it works you’ll want to keep it out year round and not just seasonal. You set it up in stages as it grows, adds to the fun. I’ll see how the hydroponic works. It will need fertilizer, but, some sort of organic fert could be sold to maintain the Doohickey, so even after its sold, food for the plant can be sold separately or the owner of the doohickey can just buy regular stuff. And if the hydroponic doesn’t pan out, it can be put in regular potting soil, but i’ll wait until i find out if just water will work. As far as watering, the tank will hold a lot of water to give it weight, so, less need for everyday maintenance. I’d like to keep it soil free, just for fun and disease reasons. Actually, if the way i have it made, the plant will never have water touch it. We’ll see how that goes, may not work in the summer, but, you can move it to shade where this will work. It may only need to be covered like this during winter months when this plant typically cant be grown.
All can be made of plastic. Recycled plastic even better. Will use things around the house typically thrown away, saving space in landfills (another part once growing i have to test). Its a very green item.

I don’t go as far as using green bags at the grocery store but admire u for doing so cowgirl… But I do at least use the plastic grocery bags twice (once to carry the groceries home, and once to line the small garbage can in my kitchen, fill it with trash, tie it off, then carry it out to the bigger can on the curb). Getting two uses out of the bags and not buying actual kitchen trash bags makes me feel a tiny bit less guilty. The only drawbacks are, they leak a little (so u have to pour out any liquids first) and they always fall into the kitchen can and u have to fish them out… So anyway what do u think about designing a small kitchen trash can with two hooks on the top (because grocery bags have those handle holes)?

They already make them, i have one. Ever now and again, i buy more than my green bags will hold, so, I get some plastic bags and i used those for trash bags in my trash bag holder i got at Ross with handle hooks…

Huh, cool, I haven’t seen ’em yet sorry :(

Linda, what beautiful green eye you have!

oh, and has a built in bag holder and the trash part has a lid and its made to screw to a cabinet door. I was very excited when i found this, it has everything i would put on it if i were making it.

Grocery bag / trash bag holders:

http://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/simplehuman-gr...
http://lh3.ggpht.com/G.siewwah/SMyjZ1N7fFI/AAAA...
http://www.stacksandstacks.com/images/product/r...

Wow, that was quick! Maybe next time I should do a little research before I throw an Idea in the Den! Lol

But I won’t… Ok here’s one that’ll stump ya,.. A spring loaded insert ( like a shock absorber) that fits into ur cup holder in the car, cuz I always run out late to work in the morning ( old fasioned ceramic coffe cup in hand ) and it always spills all over the center console the first time I hit a bump.

William,

I did find something like you describe:

Seriously, I did not find much that matches your idea. A few abstract ideas, but nothing feasible. I just did a few searches on Google Patents for “padded cup holder”, “shock resistant cup holder”, “spill resistant cup holder” Maybe there are better terms to use. The spring action might cause accessive spills on certain driving surfaces. We just may have a brainstorming idea…

Maybe a gimbal mount is what your looking for. Like a Loopa for your coffe mug.

Hey.. That might just work and here I am giving it away.

I just had a braindrizzle. What do you guys think about those coffee mugs with lids? Too simple right?

Hahahaha! Cool, and cool picture Colonel but that spring looks like it’s for a one ton coffe cup!.. Mark, what is a gimbal mount?

There are gimbals holders for boats… In the car you have the up and down motion with bumps not pitching and rolling like on a boat. Perhaps an adaptation would work.

No lids, William wants to use his ceramic coffee mug. Last time he used a lid he broke a nail!

Lids??? what’s that?

We can’t keep enough travel mugs in the house. My wife or daughter always has two or three or they are in the dishwasher. I’m like William .. I just run out of the house with a regular old mug.

Having a gimbaled(sp?) mug holder would be sweet… no more travel mugs.

Oh yeah Bruce, I like the ones w lids, But for some reason I sometimes often end up with regular cups n glasses in the car, dunno why.

gimbals  
–noun (used with a singular verb) Sometimes, gimbal. a contrivance, consisting of a ring or base on an axis, that permits an object, as a ship’s compass, mounted in or on it to tilt freely in any direction, in effect suspending the object so that it will remain horizontal even when its support is tipped.

Like the Loopa bowl from EE Season 1.

That could help too, now how to make em fit in existing cup spots

Ps. It took three weeks for my nail to grow back, ouch!

Colonel, Okay a gimbal mount on a spring that fits into the existing cup holder.

It’ a bit over the top, Rube Goldburg way of slolving the problem, but it would work.

What about using the gimbal, but with springs or the like on the two side pivot points that allow for slight up and down motion?

Or don’t fill your mug up with so much coffee…

Hmmm seems to me a 1980’s think tank already solved it and they came up with the cups with lids…

Deja Vu

Now if only we could travel in time.

Not if the lids interface to the on board gps system to anticipate any mapped road irregularities. But enough of this, it’s time to reveal part 1 of my 150 part series, better know my inventions. I’ve decided I need new flooring because my carpet is really beat up from years of not vacuuming. But under the matted discolored surface, I’ve discovered the carpet is still viable if I would just give it a trim. Wood flooring needs to be sanded down every now and then, why not carpeting. So I’ve invented the carpet shaver to extend the life of my carpet. It looks like a giant electric hair trimmer which shaves off the top layer of fuzz from your old carpeting. I just “shaved” myself a couple o thousand bucks. Remember, my offer is still open for 10% of any idea you wish to invest $25 in.

Excellent Colonel now make that thing so it hooks on to my door/window too! ‘N I’ll buy one immediately!

No lids… William breaks his nails opening them.

Mark, yeah a base with a spring or opposite pole magnets contained in a housing.

William they make those… Hold on.

Hahaha That’s kinda gross Ralf… I’d rather buy Hitlers recycled toilet paper!

Well, I stand corrected… at least at this point. I can’t find one for the car door.

Not that kind of cup holder Colonel!

I can just see it now. William, late for a job, puts his FULL cermaic coffee mug in the gimbaled drink holder on his door… SLAM! Coffee everywhere and it is HOT.

Huh, good point, well maybe I’d remember to shut the door first?.. probably not.

The pictured mug is only a half gimbal mount. In needs the other axis to freely rotate in any direction.

Maybe we outta stick to the console ones?

Hitler’s recycled toilet paper is a better idea than my carpet shaver? Boy this Idea Den pulls no punches. I thought Hitler was toilet paper, at least sometimes.

Good point Mark, but I do think there is a pivot point where it mounts.. I could be wrong. Here is one that may shows that pivot point.
http://images.outdoorinteractive.net/mgen/26450...
Looks like a single rivet or something there behind the can cooler.

Ralf, what if you had retractable carpet. Feet or shoes dirty, push a button and the fibers retract into their “Textile Domicile” Much like the sea tube worms

I believe u can make potato chips into any flavor of stuff u can put on a baked potato… has anyone ever seen broccolli n cheese flavored chips?

I bet the teenagers would gobble up anything broccoli flavored :) I have seen the loaded baked potato chips. http://www.amazon.com/Pringles-Potato-Crisps-Lo...

Ever step on tube worms?

These are chips for the elderly then

The ideas are really flying fast and furious. So far we have a hydraulically mounted internet ready coffee cup holder, hitler’s recycled toilet paper, tube worm carpeting and some kind of broccoli flavoured food product. Oh yeah, and the carpet shaver.

I thought tapeworms were for weight loss?

Ralf – rebranding it to Capert Mower! LOL

I wonder if this is how the EN team selects products.

I wonder if they don’t put zip-locks on big bags of potato chips because they want them to go bad faster so u’ll buy more??

A bag of potato chips doesn’t last two days in our house.

The zip-lock would be nice so we don’t have to hunt down the chip clip.
I guess we don’t want animals or bugs getting in them for they arern’t going bad…….