(Not So) Used Ideas

So today, was out, and it rained.

Happens every day in some place in the world, right?

But we’ve got the internet!

So, just as my Google Calendar will send me a text message before my dentist appointment, why can’t I get the weather messaged to me?

Well, that’s not too revolutionary. But what about I only get bothered by the weather when it’s going to bother me? Give me a chance to decide when I want to be notified – let me choose to get an email when there’s a 50% chance of rain, or if it’s going to be a high below 40 F? That way, I can forget about looking, worrying, etc. Just let me know and I’ll plan accordingly.

Okay, I just received an SMS that my toast is done.

How about an office supply store which just carries leftovers from the past? Actual leftovers… old trapper keepers, Pee-Chees, etc. Would hit the nostalgia of all the Gen-Xers looking for some of their youth.

You may or may not have noticed that the dates on these posts seem a little off. At least in the sense that a blog started in 2007 has posts from years before that. Well, I sometimes like to think I’ve been blogging in my head for decades now, but short of that grand delusion of mine – I’m just trying to make posts relevant to when I scribbled down the idea. A sort of ideagraphical journey through time & space.

Okay, it’s only taken me 4 years to get to this first entry, but I guess that’s better than nothing.

Yes, I came up with the idea 4 years ago to have a site to showcase all of the extra ideas I came up with that I had little enthusiasm, or little energy to do anything with.

That doesn’t mean these are bad ideas. Doesn’t even mean they’ve been “used.” But rather it just means they are of a type or a direction, a size or of a nature that I don’t feel like I wanted to persue.

I have followed so many different ideas in so many different directions since I started this web thing back in 1994 (The Electrical Socket). I often wonder how I had so much time back then and how I managed to dabble in so many things. Much of that is due to growing older, getting a life (and a job) as well as some of my sites growing in size where they really do need a lot of time and energy to maintain.

Some I have parted with (The New Baby Name Index) which I gave to a friend to maintain, others I have shut down. But most still exist. Some in fragile forms (The Tribe of Woolgatherers), others at increasingly humungous sizes (The Firm List).

But what to do with all of the other ideas? Well, I’ll attempt to capture them here.

Why? Well, perhaps you’ll find some inspiration? Maybe you’ll take one of these ideas I didn’t have time for and make it come to life? I sure hope so.

And how about you write me when you do, so I can come and check it out?

Thanks,
Matte

How about a book filled with acceptance speeches for all occasions? It could be entitled “Be Prepared” (or something similar) and could give you either the beginning spark for a speech of your own or the whole thing verbatim.

It could include speeches for when you win:

• President of the United States of America
• President of some lesser country (of your choice)
• Nobel Prize (Peace or other one)
• Smaller Prizes (Elk’s Club, PTA, “Best Dad”)

I did some preliminary research, here’s a text file with some awards I found:
award list