I had an idea about two months ago, which I thought I had posted here on the blog, but it appears that I did not get around to it.  So, here it is ;)

Over the last couple of years, I have heard more about researchers trying to figure a way to get energy generation up into the sky, to take advantage of the stronger wings.    While my idea may not be able to reach as high as others are trying, it is a focus I am not sure has been fully explored yet.

One of the common ideas is to have a floating platform with generators onboard to convert the wind to electricity and run that down the tether line to the ground station.  This requires having very heavy machinery up in the air.  To me, this seems like it will consume quite a bit of energy to produce energy and comes with a host of problems.

My idea is to keep the conversion to electricity, here on the earth.  You might wonder how I plan to pull that wind energy down to the earth to convert it.  Well, my idea is to convert the wind energy to another type of energy and which will power the ground based generators. 

When you fly a kite, there is an almost constant pull on the line, not a big pull, but there is some force there depending on the strength of the wind and the gusts.  I do not know of a method to convert that simple form of “pull” into electricity.  But, what if that “pull” is transformed into a tugging type cycle or pulse which is easier to convert to electricity?

The idea is have some form of flying device that can climb high enough with the weight of a strong tether for areas that have strong continual winds and change into a wind cutting, then wind blocking device.  Would be kind of like hitting the brakes in the sky, have a portion of the surface change into a wall and then flip back down.  This would cause a huge force change of a “tug” on the tether.  This tugging motion would be easy to convert to electricity.

I have thought of several different methods to cause the wall type break and how this could be built so that the cycle from braking style back over to cutting style would be automatic and not require any power other than the wind in which it is flying.

The flying devices do not have to be large (while they could be large) a station could use an array of these devices.   There could also be multiple tethers and different forms of lifters.

Oh, there could be many issues with the implementation, but idea here is to cause a cycling type tugging on the tether to transfer power and use generators on the ground to do the electricity generation.

 ---

 Note: The ideas posted by me are simply ideas that I have come up with over the years.  They may or may not already exist and possibly used for years, but I am unaware of their existence. If you are interested in any of them, you need to do research first to make sure they are not already in use.

IF ANYONE MAKES A PROFIT on any of these ideas, it would be nice to have a simple 5% kickback of those profits :)

--

Be sure to stop by my sites:

http://www.WhatsNewLocally.com - Local Yard Sales, Events and Merchant Specials
http://www.HintsAndTips.com - Tips on various topics from all over the world
http://www.MyQuickPoll.com  - Easy way to add free polls to your site or blog
http://www.OurLocalArea.com - For those in the USA only
http://www.TheAwakening.com - Be more than just Christian pew potatoes
http://www.OurLocalChristians.com - Christians reaching other local Christians
http://www.OrganizedPrayer.com - Can you pray for just one person daily?
http://www.ExpandingMyKnowledge.com - Free article site on various topics
http://www.ReflectedThought.com - My blog site

While cooking the turkey, I came up with a new style self-basting roaster (or at least I think it is new, may have already been done, but a quick online search did not show any).

Most self-basting roasters work on condensation, that is the water in the pan turns to steam and then condenses when it hits the lid and falls back on the food.  Well, how about a roast that can still be self-basting even with no lid?

It seems that a simple design, much like the old coffee pots would work well as a self-basting roaster.  In this model there would be a small well around the bottom of the pan where juices gather.  Along the sides of the pan there would be small metal tubes with directional caps that would carry the juices back to to the top and spray them out over the contents as the juices boiled.

With this design,  you would not have condensed water falling over the contents, but it would be the actual juices basting the contents and doing so with volume.  I have not tested this design, but it seems like it would make for a far more flavorable end product.

 ---

 Note: The ideas posted by me are simply ideas that I have come up with over the years.  They may or may not already exist and possibly used for years, but I am unaware of their existence. If you are interested in any of them, you need to do research first to make sure they are not already in use.

IF ANYONE MAKES A PROFIT on any of these ideas, it would be nice to have a simple 5% kickback of those profits :)

--

Be sure to stop by my sites:

http://www.HintsAndTips.com - Tips on various topics from all over the world
http://www.MyOwnWebsiteBusiness.com - Owning you own business, easier than you think!
http://www.BizSite4U.com - Empower your business with a quality inexpensive website!
http://www.MyQuickPoll.com  - Easy way to add free polls to your site or blog
http://www.OurLocalArea.com - For those in the USA only
http://www.TheAwakening.com - Be more than just Christian pew potatoes
http://www.OurLocalChristians.com - Christians reaching other local Christians
http://www.OrganizedPrayer.com - Can you pray for just one person daily?
http://www.ExpandingMyKnowledge.com - Free article site on various topics
http://www.ReflectedThought.com - My blog site

Two months ago, we had an electric range gave to use when ours died (and the new one happens to match the other appliances).   The element light on the stove is a bit dim and at times, hard to notice if a burning is on or not.  Yep, twice I left a burner on, once overnight.

After leaving the burners on a couple of times, I thought of a handy feature to put on electric cooking tops to help eliminate the possibility of leaving a leaving a burner on unattended.  One solution is to place a weight sensitive measure under the burner unit, when the item you placed on the burner is removed, it could trigger a timer to automatically shut the burner off after a few minutes.  This would mean that you simple take you pan of the burner and the range automatically shuts it off for you. 

Does not seem like it would take a lot to add such a feature, but could save lives!

Note: The ideas posted by me are simply ideas that I have come up with over the years.  They may or may not already exist and possibly used for years, but I am unaware of their existence. If you are interested in any of them, you need to do research first to make sure they are not already in use.

IF ANYONE MAKES A PROFIT on any of these ideas, it would be nice to have a simple 5% kickback of those profits :)

--

Be sure to stop by my sites:

http://www.HintsAndTips.com - Tips on various topics from all over the world
http://www.MyOwnWebsiteBusiness.com - Owning you own business, easier than you think!
http://www.BizSite4U.com - Empower your business with a quality inexpensive website!
http://www.MyQuickPoll.com  - Easy way to add free polls to your site or blog
http://www.OurLocalArea.com - For those in the USA only
http://www.TheAwakening.com - Be more than just Christian pew potatoes
http://www.OurLocalChristians.com - Christians reaching other local Christians
http://www.OrganizedPrayer.com - Can you pray for just one person daily?
http://www.ExpandingMyKnowledge.com - Free article site on various topics
http://www.ReflectedThought.com - My blog site

I had an idea today that might already be out there, since it seemed simple and fairly inexpensive.

The concept is to use digital magnification as a portable reading aid.  Imagine a small hand held device that is nothing but an LCD screen on top (could range from tablet size down to a few inches in size depending on model) with a camera  (inexpensive video) on the other side along with possibly a small light.  A person would move this screen over the top of what they want to read and it could enlarge almost any usable magnification.

Controls might be:

• Wheel dial on the side for amount of magnification
• Button to turn on/off built in light
• Button to take a snapshot image
• Possibly a wheel dial to select stored snapshots if allowed more than one

This simple device could be used by those with poor vision virtually anywhere.  Additionally, with the snapshot button, a person could click take a picture of what they need to read then go somewhere else more comfortable to actual do the reading.  An example would reading the serial number on an appliance, you could click a snapshot when you had it enlarged and have that snapshot ready when you were one the phone talking to support.

With the low price of video/still digital camera technology, a small handheld unit should be able to be produced for under $100 and be able to fit in a purse.

Of course, this does not have to be just handheld, it could be a book reading tool in a fixed format along with possibly a tablet size version that can be held by both hands to read.  The nice part is that if it uses a video chip, it is like a window to what you want to see directly on the other side of your magnifier!

---

Note: The ideas posted by me are simply ideas that I have come up with over the years.  They may or may not already exist and possibly used for years, but I am unaware of their existence. If you are interested in any of them, you need to do research first to make sure they are not already in use.

IF ANYONE MAKES A PROFIT on any of these ideas, it would be nice to have a simple 5% kickback of those profits :)

--

Be sure to stop by my sites:

http://www.HintsAndTips.com - Tips on various topics from all over the world
http://www.MyOwnWebsiteBusiness.com - Owning you own business, easier than you think!
http://www.BizSite4U.com - Empower your business with a quality inexpensive website!
http://www.MyQuickPoll.com  - Easy way to add free polls to your site or blog
http://www.OurLocalArea.com - For those in the USA only
http://www.TheAwakening.com - Be more than just Christian pew potatoes
http://www.OurLocalChristians.com - Christians reaching other local Christians
http://www.OrganizedPrayer.com - Can you pray for just one person daily?
http://www.ExpandingMyKnowledge.com - Free article site on various topics
http://www.ReflectedThought.com - My blog site

There are times when a simple novelty item could also be truly useful and this is one such product!

Almost every day, I drink at least one cup of hot Lipton tea, in which I use two tea bags because I like it strong!  There I am night after night, heating up the water then dunking those tea bags for a few minutes.  While it takes little effort to dunk those bags, it is however, boring standing there doing it.  I know, I could just let it is sit there and steep for a few minutes, but I want it now ;)

Well, that got me thinking!  Make a stand with a boom like arm out the top which moves up and down, driven by a small motor.  You would attach your tea bags to the end of the boom and turn it own.  It would then continue to dunk your bags while to do something else for the minute or two.

Yes, it is a trivial product, but would make a great novelty gift for those that drink tea.  At the same time though, it could be useful for those times you do not want to stand there dunking by hand ;)

---

Note: The ideas posted by me are simply ideas that I have come up with over the years.  They may or may not already exist and possibly used for years, but I am unaware of their existence. If you are interested in any of them, you need to do research first to make sure they are not already in use.

IF ANYONE MAKES A PROFIT on any of these ideas, it would be nice to have a simple 5% kickback of those profits :)

--

Be sure to stop by my sites:

http://www.HintsAndTips.com - Tips on various topics from all over the world
http://www.MyOwnWebsiteBusiness.com - Owning you own business, easier than you think!
http://www.BizSite4U.com - Empower your business with a quality inexpensive website!
http://www.MyQuickPoll.com  - Easy way to add free polls to your site or blog
http://www.OurLocalArea.com - For those in the USA only
http://www.TheAwakening.com - Be more than just Christian pew potatoes
http://www.OurLocalChristians.com - Christians reaching other local Christians
http://www.OrganizedPrayer.com - Can you pray for just one person daily?
http://www.ExpandingMyKnowledge.com - Free article site on various topics
http://www.ReflectedThought.com - My blog site

Today, there was another skydiver accident causing one to die.  This brought back to mind and idea I had a few years back to help make parachutes safer.

The original idea came to me after seeing a video where a skydiver's shoot colapsed from some freak gust of wind and he died as a result.  Another died base jumping when his parachute did not open.

Well, the idea is basically a small rubber tube that would line the edge of the parachute.  It would have to be researched for the added weight.  The tube would be inflated with a small Co2 cartidge when the parachute opens.  This would make a rigid edge ensuring he parachute fully opens and remains open as it could not close until the release was opened to let the air out.

---

Note: The ideas posted by me are simply ideas that I have come up with over the years.  They may or may not already exist and possibly used for years, but I am unaware of their existence. If you are interested in any of them, you need to do research first to make sure they are not already in use.

IF ANYONE MAKES A PROFIT on any of these ideas, it would be nice to have a simple 5% kickback of those profits :)

--

Be sure to stop by my sites:

http://www.HintsAndTips.com - Tips on various topics from all over the world
http://www.MyQuickPoll.com  - Easy way to add free polls to your site or blog
http://www.OurLocalArea.com - For those in the USA only
http://www.TheAwakening.com - Be more than just Christian pew potatoes
http://www.OurLocalChristians.com - Christians reaching other local Christians
http://www.ExpandingMyKnowledge.com - Free article site on various topics
http://www.ReflectedThought.com - My blog site

This is one of those inventions that I wish I already had as I could greatly use it to help us train our new cats. This invention may already exist, but so far I have not found one.

We added two new members to our family this last Christmas:

These two boys just do not want to stay off the counters and table. We have tried many things but nothing seems to work while we are out of the room.

What we have had the best success with is stacks of cans along the edge so when they jump on the counter, the cans falls and scare them. This births the idea!

Image an audible alarm driven by several remote motion sensors, which you place on your counter and then place the sensors a few feet apart towards the back of the counter. When the fluff-ball jumps on the counter, it triggers the alarm and startles it right back off.

The remote sensors should be sensitive to only about two feet. This would allow you walk by the counter without triggering them but still have enough distance to cover the counter. It would really be nice if the sensitivity could be adjusted on each remote sensor to enable coverage on different shapes of area. It would also be great if they could be wireless.

In addition to the standard sensors, the system could offer specialized sensors (perhaps at additional fees). One such sensor could be placed in the center of a table and cover the entire table surface.

The alarm base should be placed on the area to be protected as the sound would probably be most effective if coming from the area of the offense. While research would be required to find an alarm sound that would be the most effective, it would be great if the device offered many different alarm sounds along with possibly recording one.

Another variant of this would be to have a light area where the animal breaks the light been they would set off the light. This might work well for a large flat area, however the remote sensors would probably work better as they are flexible.

Update: I did find a couple devices, one that is strictly a motion detector system:

http://catscrams.com - Training device

The above device is suppose to work on a wave length that only cats can hear.  Some people mentioned that with some types of cats it would not work.  Would probably be best to have an audible alarm so that you know when they are making the offense.  Also, it could be a problem if your motion is setting it off and driving the cat bonkers.

I also found one (do not remember the link) which uses a special collar that when it comes near the device it sounds off.  This design makes more sense to me.

There there are a few that work as mats so when the cat gets on them they trigger the noise. 

All in all though, I would rather see a device that allowed for multiple sensors that were small and easily not noticed.  However, I guess there is a plus with the Cat Scram device above, it looks like a household alarm :)

I have pondered the idea of making my own device.  If you combine an inexpensive motion detector and gut a cheap inexpensive smoke detector, it should be a trivial process of combining the two.  Now if I can just find the time to build it :)

---

Note: The ideas posted by me are simply ideas that I have come up with over the years.  They may or may not already exist and possibly used for years, but I am unaware of their existence. If you are interested in any of them, you need to do research first to make sure they are not already in use.

IF ANYONE MAKES A PROFIT on any of these ideas, it would be nice to have a simple 5% kickback of those profits :)

--

Be sure to stop by my sites:

http://www.HintsAndTips.com - Tips on various topics from all over the world
http://www.MyQuickPoll.com  - Easy way to add free polls to your site or blog
http://www.OurLocalArea.com - For those in the USA only
http://www.TheAwakening.com - Be more than just Christian pew potatoes
http://www.OurLocalChristians.com - Christians reaching other local Christians
http://www.ExpandingMyKnowledge.com - Free article site on various topics
http://www.ReflectedThought.com - My blog site

Just yesterday, I tried out Yahoo! Message with Voice 7.0.  It has really came a long way since the last time I used it a few years ago.  The main reason I looked at it is the voice mail features that allow people to leave messages for you when you are away.

This begins to address a need I see in the business world that is yet to filled (from what I have seen).  The need is for simple online voice mail communicator systems for small businesses.  Features much like typical voice mail systems such as:

• Voice mail navigation system such as “press (digit) for ...“
• Direct inbound phone calls to target people (PBX style)
• If target person not available, options include leaving message or speaking to someone else.
• One click option to reply to a call
• Phone options such a conference call, hold (with music or message loop)
• Nice interface for people in business to use to place calls to the outside world, either PC-PC or PC-Phone.
• Inbound phone number to allow calls from the outside world.

This is my dream list, but it could start with a simple answering machine type system much like Yahoo! Messenger but more targeted at the business community.

I want it now :)

This is probably not a new idea for many, but for me, this has opened a new world of use to my outside grill.  I posted a tip about it on my www.HintsAndTips.com site at:

http://www.hintsandtips.com/ShowPost/389/hat.aspx

Be sure to check this out, your grill could be even more useful!

There has been a lot of talking about electronic voting and security.  With the currently technology that is in place, it seems to give a lot of space for voting fraud and corruption in the voting system.  We need a better system that is truly verifiable.

I do not know if this idea is already in use or not.  It is my own simply view of verifiable, secure electronic voting system.  If this system were in place today, everyone citizen could be assured that his or her vote was counted and validate the choice is correct.

The way I envision the voting process, a voting machine would allow you to make your selections and upon completion, would print a small ballot slip with your choices and a reference number.  The machine could generate this reference number as it places your vote or the reference number could be on the ballot itself and simply read by the machine. 

The reference number is anonymous and has no ties to the individual, meaning that there would be no method available to tie a vote to a specific person.  What the reference number would do is allow a person to check their vote against what was recorded and verify that what they voted was the vote they placed. 

In this system, all votes would be made public in that it would have a database where a person could enter a reference number and see if they vote they actually recorded is accurate.  That works well, but still could be hacked or modified in such a way to display what the actual vote was but really count another.  As an example, let us say that someone wanted to throw the vote and got into the system.  When person accessed their vote by the reference number, they modified site would display what you voted for by that reference number, but feed false data to the master vote.

To solve the problem entirely, the complete voting data is be made available with reference numbers.  Remember, the reference number is anonymous and there is no way anyone could know who voted what.  What this does though, is allow anyone to run a count on the data and see clearly if the results match the publicized total.  Can they not just publish a counterfeit list that totals up the same?  No, everyone has their own reference number and can easily validate that their vote is in there and that it is correct.  Only a couple of those being incorrect would show corruption.

Here is a run through of how the system would work.  You go to a polling station or (other possible solutions to cast a vote).  At the machine, you cast your vote (probably a touch screen or something like that which is easy to use and verifies with you, they selections you made.  Once you approve the vote, it will contact the master server and place your vote.  At that time, it will receive a reference number and print it out along with your selected choices.  You then either take the slip home or throw it away.

After the polls close, all votes transfer to the central processing server and the totals announced.  Shortly after, the data consisting of a anonymous reference number and the choices for each vote, is made available for public inspection and download.  This all count happen in a matter of minutes after the polls close and all happen automatically. 

At that time, a person would be able to download the entire file and locate their vote to validate it against the vote they placed, or they verify the vote by searching for the specific reference number online.  Either way, they would know in a matter of minutes from the time the polls close that their vote was accepted correctly and they no one has tampered with the voting results.

Through this system, there would not no possible method to allow someone to corrupt the vote and insure that allow the public to know for certainty they the vote is correct.  This has never been possible in all of history, but with technologies help, it would be a reality.  Finally, a voting system that is accurate without any recounts and has almost instantaneous results.

---

Note: The ideas posted by me are simply ideas that I have come up with over the years.  They may or may not already exist and possibly used for years, but I am unaware of their existence. If you are interested in any of them, you need to do research first to make sure they are not already in use.

IF ANYONE MAKES A PROFIT on any of these ideas, it would be nice to have a simple 5% kickback of those profits :)

--

Be sure to stop by my sites:

http://www.HintsAndTips.com - Tips on various topics from all over the world
http://www.MyQuickPoll.com  - Easy way to add free polls to your site or blog
http://www.OurLocalArea.com - For those in the USA only
http://www.TheAwakening.com - Be more than just Christian pew potatoes
http://www.ReflectedThought.com - My blog site

An idea has come to my mind a few times over last couple of months when I think about swimming pools.  Two problems with pool ownership are pool depth and liability.

Pool Depth

If you have an in ground pool, you may have one end deep for adults and one end shallow for children.  Even with this model, you have to devise a method to keep the children out of the deep end of the pool.  If you want to play pool games, you usually have to use the shallow end and lose all the deep end space.

If you have an above ground pool, what depth do you buy?  You may not plan to have children under a given height, but you never know with friends or family, what will be your needs in the future.  If you get a pool too shallow, it will not be as useful for adults and if too deep, it will not allow young children.

Pool Liability

Liability is one problem many pool owners do not think about until it is too late.  For in-ground pools, you may be required to have a form of fence and gate around the pool so no children happen to get into the pool and injury themselves or drowned.  In the case of above ground pools, you must remember to remove the ladder for the same reasons.  There are problems of keeping children safe and not allowing them in deeper areas than they can manage.

Solution

The idea coming to my mind lately,  would be the use of one or more adjustable platforms.  Each platform could be sturdy plastic with small holes to allow water to flow without having holes large enough to notice with your feet, essentially a false bottom.  It would be adjustable in height and could easily be set at any level from the top to the bottom. 

The platform could be set at the top of the pool allowing people to safely walk on the pool, or could be set to only a foot or two deep for small children to play without fear, while it could be set for adults to be the full depth of the pool.  Adjustable platforms allow the depth to meet the current need.

In some pools, people may want to have several platforms to all for different depths at one time.  However, with multiple platforms, it would require a special joiner attaching platforms that would have a heavy plastic or rubber sheet to seal off between the platforms if they are at different levels so that no one can get beneath the higher platform.  As an example, if you have a platform at three feet and another at six feet, there would be gap from the top edge of the six-foot platform to the bottom of the three-foot platform where people could end up under the top platform.  With a webbing like sheet attached to the edges, it would have a form of wall in that gap to insure safety.

The adjustment mechanism could be manual or possibly motorized.  Would be handy to push a button and have the platforms raise or lower.

There are two downsides to this idea, which I think can be easily managed.  One is with the platforms covering the bottom of the pool, it could be hard to clean.  Some method of opening the platform for easy cleaning could help.  Of course, with the platform in place, there will be far less material ever make it to the actual bottom of the pool as it would be on the platform itself.

The other possible problem is water temperature.  If the platform is raised the sun will not be reaching the lower part of the pool.  For in ground pools though, most are heated and this may not be a problem and may actually help to hold the heat into the pool requiring less heating at night or cold days.  There is also the possibility of designing the platforms to function as a solar cover at the same time.  That would mean when the pool is not in use and the platform is raised to the top (providing maximum safety for the pool), it could act as a solar cover to heat the water below if designed as such.

All in all, the idea of having an adjustable pool bottom could have some real benefits and be one more thing made flexible to fit our changing lives.

 ---

Note: The ideas posted by me are simply ideas that I have come up with over the years.  They may or may not already exist and possibly used for years, but I am unaware of their existence. If you are interested in any of them, you need to do research first to make sure they are not already in use.

IF ANYONE MAKES A PROFIT on any of these ideas, it would be nice to have a simple 5% kickback of those profits :)

--

Be sure to stop by my sites:

http://www.HintsAndTips.com - Tips on various topics
http://www.MyQuickPoll.com  - Easy to add free polls to your site or blog
http://www.OurLocalArea.com - For those in the USA only
http://www.TheAwakening.com - Be more than just Christian pew potatoes
http://www.ReflectedThought.com - My blog site

Here is an idea I would use if available!

Currently, it appears that pocket audio players such as CD players, MP3 players and radios have the focus of tuning the world out and allowing the listener to hear only the player.  A good example is the new noise canceling earphones that block outside noise so that you hear only the music.

Well, this kind of design can be a problem at different times such as jogging or driving a vehicle.  If you have these in your ears, you cannot hear when someone walks up behind you or someone is trying to get your attention while driving.

My idea is basically, a simple device to insert into the headphone jack on the player and then you insert the headphones into this small device.  The device would have a built in microphone bringing in ambient sounds and mixing them with your music.  It would have a control to adjust the volume of the outside world from nothing to very loud over the top of your music.

With this device, you can feel safe again while listening to music, knowing that you will hear everything around you!  I would imagine at times, you might catch people saying things that they think you cannot hear because you are listening to music…

---

Note: The ideas posted by me are simply ideas that I have come up with over the years.  They may or may not already exist and possibly used for years, but I am unaware of their existence. If you are interested in any of them, you need to do research first to make sure they are not already in use.

IF ANYONE MAKES A PROFIT on any of these ideas, it would be nice to have a simple 5% kickback of those profits :)

--

Be sure to stop by my sites:

http://www.HintsAndTips.com - Tips on various topics
http://www.MyQuickPoll.com  - Easy to add free polls to your site or blog
http://www.OurLocalArea.com - For those in the USA only
http://www.TheAwakening.com - Be more than just Christian pew potatoes
http://www.ReflectedThought.com - My blog site

Today I was reading about a local company that plans to expand their scuba diving business to include kites.  After some research, they found that our area is great for flying kites and we have zero kite companies here locally.  Sounds like a good addition.

This inspired me to share some of the ideas I had years ago for form of enhanced kites.

Many years ago, I did some research and came up with a number of ideas that utilized fiber optics (as you find in those the old fiber optic fountain lights or the fiber optic Christmas trees). 

For those with that still do not know what I am referring to about fiber optics, they usually are strands similar to a wire, built out of glass or a polymer.  The fiber's design allows light travels directionally though it from one end to the other.  The effect is that when a light is placed at one end, the other end appears lit (as if you where looking at the light directly) regardless of the bends and curves of the fiber.  These are commonly used for decorations.

The year I was researching fiber optics, I went to our Oregon coast and they had a kite festival with thousands (so it seemed) kites.  They had all kinds of kites from large to small, but it all came to an end about sunset.

I was surprised to learn about the different stunt kites and how they flew.  Up to this point, my kite flying experience was limited to store purchased standard and box kites that you tried to see just how high you could get them to go.  After this festival, I realized there are many people who do tricks with kites that fly only about 30-50 feet from them.  They could do some incredible tricks and it amazed me they did not fall into a tangled mess ;)

This is when I combined the idea of fiber optics and kites.  Seemed like a natural fit to me and opens many different design thoughts.  Kites could have fiber optics attached (or embedded) to their material coverings.  The light source end of all these fibers would all lead up to a specific point.  As the sun would hit that group of fiber ends, the kite would explode in the light pattern designed with the fibers.  Every time sun would hit that point, the light would flash around the kite.  The ends of the fibers could be grouped and covered with different colors of plastic, this would allow the designer to use different colors in different places on the kite for great layouts.

It is also possible to place a plastic disc with different colors over the entire group of fiber ends (where they come out to point to the light) and have a small propeller at the top of the kite that would turn the disc as it flew.  As the disc turned, all the colors on the kite (the fiber optic ends) would pulsate different colors or just at different rates, depending on the design of the disc.  Many changes could take place by changing to different discs.  There might also be some method to control the speed of the turning to slow the rate of the color rotations.

For even more variations, you could have groups of fibers terminate in different locations on the kite.  The result would be different fibers lighting when the kite was in different directions (sun hitting different groups of fibers).  This would create even more design options.

Since the fibers on the kite require a single light source, it would be possible to use a bright LED driven by watch batteries.  The weight should be minimal, but the result is a kite easily flown at night.  With the new low power LEDs of today, this should be feasible. Imagine what they could look like on the beach at night, with those colorful fiber optic patterns.

The basic idea here is not just fiber optics, rather the premise of adding light to a kite.  In such, it may be possible to use small battery packs and the new bright lightweight LEDs to color a kite.  Just a few of them can really make a difference at night.  Of course, this requires a bit of research to see just how much you can add without weighing down the kite. 

They idea of night flying in areas where the wind persists enough at night can expand the world of kite flying and competition.

---

Note: The ideas posted by me are simply ideas that I have come up with over the years.  They may or may not already exist and possibly used for years, but I am unaware of their existence. If you are interested in any of them, you need to do research first to make sure they are not already in use.

IF ANYONE MAKES A PROFIT on any of these ideas, it would be nice to have a simple 5% kickback of those profits :)

While I say "Non-violent", I consider this a game where the goal is not to hurt someone.

For some time now, I have played the game called Quake 3 online.  The version of game servers I use are for what is known as "Rail - Freeze" style.  In this game, you shoot a gun that is type of laser and when you hit members of the other team, they freeze.  This frozen member can no longer play until either a team wins the round by freezing all members of the other team or a member of your team comes over and waits next to you for a few seconds to melt you.  Of course, this is a violent game and you actually explode once all members of your team are frozen and someone won the round.

The enjoyment I get from this type of game however is a plus.  It teaches teamwork and requires you to help others to win the round.  If you are a loner and do not help your teammates, your team will probably loose.

This kind of play works well, so I figured, a great game would incorporate these features and be very similar in game play.  That is when I came up with the idea of:

SNOWBALL WAR!

Yep, I thought a cool game (no pun intended) would be a big snowball fight where when you get hit by a snowball (or maybe will require more than one), you would freeze in place until another teammate came over and hugged you enough to melt you.  When everyone on the team was frozen, the round would go to the opposing team and your team would thaw out for the next round.

Now that might seem a little dull, but you could really spice it up with snow forts to hide in, different forms of snowball equipment such as snowball rapid shooting devices, catapults (would require more than one person to operate and teach even more teamwork skills,  snowball sling shots, boogie-boards for fast drive by snowballing or escapes, etc.

I think there would a lot of potential to the game and would appeal to the entire family!

---

Note: The ideas posted by me are simply ideas that I have come up with over the years.  They may or may not already exist and possibly used for years, but I am unaware of their existence. If you are interested in any of them, you need to do research first to make sure they are not already in use.

IF ANYONE MAKES A PROFIT on any of these ideas, it would be nice to have a simple 5% kickback of those profits :)

--

Be sure to stop by my sites:

http://www.HintsAndTips.com - Tips on various topics from all over the world
http://www.MyQuickPoll.com  - Easy way to add free polls to your site or blog
http://www.OurLocalArea.com - For those in the USA only
http://www.TheAwakening.com - Be more than just Christian pew potatoes
http://www.ReflectedThought.com - My blog site

We have a house cat that has to remain inside year around.  Too many cats in our area have been killed on the road or mangled by dogs.  It would be nice to allow the cat out into the yard, but cost and inconvenience to cat proof the property so that he could not get out of the yard would be too high.  We have looked at enclosures, but they did not seem to fit the bill.

This sprung a new idea to mind a few years ago to solve this problem.  I refer to them as Kitty Trails for a lack of another name.  The system is basically various modules that can be connected via collapsible path tubes (nylon or other light weight materials) of approximately one foot in diameter and in various lengths such as 10, 25 or 50 feet.  Picture the tubes similar to air ducting in the attic.  The path tubes would be flexible enough to bend or flow over the terrain. Similar to a coil of lightweight wire covered with nylon.  They could be completely enclosed or have plastic windows or mesh to allow the animal to see out.

The path tubes would connect to modules such as an open area box where it would have a floor and a mesh top and sides where the animal could experience the outdoors but not get out of the containment of the system. You could run these around different areas of your property and the feline(s) could easily stroll around in the system whenever they like.

Picture something similar to the guinea pig modular habitats where the tubes run into other modules.  This system would be very similar but for cats and probably made out of heavy nylon.

Some ideas for modules would the open area box type (as described above), a connected module to attach to a "cat door" on the house so that the feline could go out any time they like, maybe even a kitty littler box module.  Would be nice to have perch type module that have an incline and an open area box (screened in with mesh) at the top allowing the cat to survey the area from a higher perspective.

With this system, you could connect different modules and tubs all around your property and allow your animal out without having to worry it will leave your property. If built of the right materials such nylon, you could take this with you by having it all fold up into a bag.

 ---

Note: The ideas posted by me are simply ideas that I have come up with over the years.  They may or may not already exist and possibly used for years, but I am unaware of their existence. If you are interested in any of them, you need to do research first to make sure they are not already in use.

IF ANYONE MAKES A PROFIT on any of these ideas, it would be nice to have a simple 5% kickback of those profits :)

--

Be sure to stop by my sites:

http://www.HintsAndTips.com - Tips on various topics from all over the world
http://www.MyQuickPoll.com  - Easy way to add free polls to your site or blog
http://www.OurLocalArea.com - For those in the USA only
http://www.TheAwakening.com - Be more than just Christian pew potatoes
http://www.ReflectedThought.com - My blog site