Construction kits for big kids

It's a project to develop an open source hardware standard for builders, hobbyists, and anyone else who needs to create structures with lightweight, sturdy, reconfigurable and extensible metal parts. They are now in the process of raising funds through Kickstarter through October 24th. If that goes well, look for the first production runs to be done before the the year is out.
Update: Funded, with plenty of room to spare! I'm happy to be one of the first backers of what should be a fantastic enterprise.
Update to update: Still waiting in 2024.

The world's dullest console game

I have an MP3 player by Nextar like the one in this picture, and I like it because it plays MP3s, it doesn't insist on crippling DRM, it is fairly durable, and didn't cost too much. One place that took some getting used to, however, is the operation of the controls. Here, for instance, is the sequence of button presses you need to do if you are listening to a track you are tired of, want to erase it, and start listening to the next track:

S-L-L-S-S-L-S-L-S-C-R-S-R-C

where S is the button on the side, L and R are the buttons to advance and go back, and C is the button in the center of the ring. (You don't need to touch the up or down buttons or the A-B button.) Typically I need to execute this maneuver one-handed, while driving, not looking at the screen, and I'm getting pretty good at it. Still, it seems like they could have done away with a prompt or four to simplify what should be a rather common operation.

Robot barber

I picture something that fits over a person's head and uses some means (static electricity?) to separate the 100000 or so strands of hair on a person's head and catalog each of them in a custom database for that individual. The hairs would also be analyzed for color, split ends, oiliness or dryness, and type of curl, so that all of this information could be combined to present the user with a palette of possible choices for their hairstyle

When the selection is made, a vast number of nanobots would go to work on the person's hair, clipping, coloring (or bleaching), crimping (or straightening), and application of product, while a gentle airflow carries away the clipped ends and the spent chemicals. If you had a number of bots comparable to the number of hairs, it should only take a couple of minutes before the final result might be ready for styling into a unified hairdo. All the bots would be suctioned away, or maybe a few thousand maintenance units might be left in to keep things in order after the visit.

Or it could be the kind with the silver arms and a straight razor like this one, I don't know. It all depends on what one would willing to pay for the tech. Given the right programming, I think one could achieve results that would make today's < a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20061103102948/http://www.mariska.xdh.nl/index-eng.html">extreme hairstyles look tame.

Update: It seems to have been devised independently (broken link), static included, sadly sans nanobots.

And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest

Ligando os pontos - Connecting the dots
Originally uploaded by ®oberto's.

People have dove releases, butterfly releases, and balloon releases at their public outdoor ceremonies, but I think what people really want is an angel release. A flock of animatronic winged beings equipped with tiny motors would waft up in formation, singing praises and hymns, circle once around the spectators, then disappear into the distance (to be picked up elsewhere for reuse). I am pretty sure a wizard of special effects could get the technology to work.

Another car improvement

While I'm going on and on about how cars can be made better, I thought of one more annoyance that can be remedied along those lines. Usually, though not always, I arrive in my car someplace and have to unload some items I have with me. While I'm turning to pick up what I need, usually the driver's side door that I've opened slowly, then more quickly, swings shut on its own, sometimes narrowly missing crunching one of my limbs. Usually I have to say a bad word and kick the door back open with my foot, and if I'm on a hill I might even have to hold it there to make my exit. It seems to me that there's a better way to do this.

Doors could instead have a ratcheting mechanism to help hold them in whatever position one opens them to. The pawl holding the door in place would be released by the user by means of a button on the inside door handle or by the outside handle itself. If one does not like the crikkk sound of a ratchet, it could also be just a friction latch that has pads that press against the rubber surface and are released in the same way as the pawl. I can see that this would be especially useful for those with motor disabilities who might not want to deal with wayward doors on top of the other aspects of getting in or out of a vehicle.