Painting edging tape

I hate applying masking tape when cutting in difficult edges. Even with the new blue tape, it takes too long, it is hard to get the tape into tough corners, the tape is too thick, and the edge is not straight.

Imagine instead a hard-edged plastic sheet, 6 inches long and 1.5 inches wide, with a sticky back. Just like the 3M tabs, but 6 or 12 inches long, on sheets. Easy to apply, and even easier to pull off with the tabs.

Herb garden sensor

A combo solar, water, and tempature sensor, very cheap, to tell you the health of window sill herb gardens.

Can be sold alone, or packaged with a pre-seeded garden pot.

The sensors will tell you if the plants are getting enough light, water and the right temperature.

Each sensor is tailored and sold based on plant type and location (as the range of acceptable levels. The plant name and care instructions are printed on the back.

Branding can be included.

Highway Exit Sign Radio

Tune your radio in to a standard station (like 1000 AM)

In a radius about 2 miles from an exit, a hyper-local radio broadcast is generated. Local businesses at that exit, their hours of operation and their distance from the exit are read over the air in a continuous loop.

Paid for (obviously) by advertising.

This expands the exit signage system, providing easier updates and longer range than the road signs.

The messages can be changed and customized based on date, day of week, and time of day.

Management is through a website and remote updates are instant.

The broadcasts will also be available on the web and through a toll-free phone call system, allowing access from further away.

Local WOW servers

I’d love to see local hosting of World of Warcraft servers, that DMs can customize. let artists and writers create dungeons and items, let the items get graded (and coded),and potentially merged into the official game.

Would Blizzard lose money with this? They could still make each person pay $14 a month to join locally? is there a server cost the people chip in for?

New adventures. New dungeons. New items and weapons. New races and classes. Just like traditional role playing games.

Netflix vending machine at airports

I would love to see a vending machine for netflix movies at the airport.

Top movies in each category would be available instantly. The credit card scanner would verify existing netflix users, or let you rent a single movie (for an extremely high single-movie fee) or sign up for a regular acount

Drop boxes would be placed at gates and near the baggage claim to ease return of movies.

Sink Leak Detector

Leaks in plumbing are often found only after they have done considerable damage.

The leak detector is an absorbent device that attaches to pipes and sounds an alarm when it gets wet.

It can be clipped, stuck or velcroed in place. A simple electronic alarm that is activated when water connects the circuit. The battery should last years, until needed.

Place it at the low point of a pipe where water will collect as it drips, and you are protected from expensive leaks with early detection.

The detector can also be used in boats, basements, and roof systems where leaks are possible.

Custom guitar picks

One of my favorite concert memorabilia items is a guitar pick from an Echo and the Bunnymen concert (Agora Ballroom, sometime in the mid 80s).

I think a lot of other people feel the same way.

But the pick itself is in no way special.

I wonder if bands would be interested in a custom guitar pick, that played the same way they are used to, yet include embedded in the media a photo of the album cover for the current tour, and the date and show location. A whole box of the custom picks would be available at the start of each show, and the guitarist could chuck them at will.

Recording studio in the mall

Harken back to the old days when elvis walked in to Sun Studios and cut a demo for $25 bucks.

Imagine a storefront in the mall, with a picture window on each side of the door looking in to a recording studio, with singers cutting songs. You can go in, play some background music, sing the lyrics and cut a demo on professional quality equipment.

Karaoke for real.

For more serious talent, there could be backup musicians for live recording on call. (Musicians would _love_ live gigs, I would assume)

Pricing options would allow one song, a 5 song minidisc, or a full 10 song album. You can walk away with a CD of your songs, and the music will also be available to you on a website, where you can download mp3s, and order more CDs.

You can get a discount on the price of the studio if people walking by in the mall can watch or listen.

10% off if others can listen. (mic open)

10% off if others can watch. (curtain open). Use light polarized windows for digital instant on/off.

Some money needs to go to record companies/bmi/ascap (for all but performance rights, or performance rights if using backup track)

Tie-ins can include idol-like contests and voting, and karaoke nights in local clubs.

The Pillow Store

Have you ever stayed at your grandmother’s house, or a friend’s house, and absolutely loved the pillows, and wished you could go back 50 years and buy some for yourself? Have you ever stayed at a hotel, and loved the bedding? Or been at a department store and been disappointed in the pillow selection available?

The Pillow Store is a one-stop shop for buying bed pillows. Most large home goods stores have a fairly small and poor selection of pillows. There needs to be a single source to find a broad selection of high-quality pillows, in a wide price range, expert clerks to answer questions, and an onsite seamstress to customize pillows as you wait.

A small storefront in a mall or other existing high traffic area, or can be added to an existing larger store as a self-contained boutique.

Complimentary website for ordering, reordering, store locations.

An onsite seamstress, who can custom make pillows to fit _your_ needs exactly. Pillows can be shaped and customized to exactly fit our contour needs. Your custom pillow patterns are saved, and available again for reorder at any time.

Rehab and cleaning of existing pillows is also provided.

• pillows
• pillow covers.
• instructions on how to choose a pillow
• instructions on how to care for a pillow.
• pillow matching (bring in your favorite pillow, we can match it)

Materials

• down
• feather
• poly
• blend
• thermapedic

This Room is Occupied sensor

I spent 4 days in hotels this week, and was totally annoyed by the cleaning staff trying to enter the room 3 times over 4 days while I was in the room.

I want a motion sensor installed in the room, one in the main room, one in the bathroom, that senses movement. This sets the room “isOccupied” flag to Occupied.

On the door leaving the room, there is another sensor that notices when the door is opened, and sets the flag to Not Occupied.

On the outside of the door, built into the door frame, is a small LED sensor, that is lit green when the room is occupied.

This would instantly let the staff know when someone is still in their room.

This sensor system would also be useful for homes, and for small restrooms in commercial spaces.

It even could serve as a security device in homes, small offices and cars, letting you know that someone is in the building before you enter.