MMPI-2 type of test to match couples? (my old idea)

When I learned about the existence of the 567 true/false question Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory test for the first time, I thought that it was a pretty interesting way to "map" a personality. Several months later I had a random idea (this was probably around 1998, since my undergraduate psychology course was in the fall of 1997... or was it in 1999 during my abnormal psychiatry course?) In any case - I thought it might be worth a try to create a similar type of test and administer it to couples who have been married for over 30 years. Mapping their answers would provide us with predetermined good matches. Then all that is left is to open a web site and administer the same test to new members. Once predetermined personality matches are found by this service, it would notify the two potential matches... Well - I was definitely not the only one thinking about this. Dr. Warren founded his eHarmony matchmaking service based on a similar method back in 1998... [I am not affiliated with his service in any way, and there is no link because his web site gives you a pop-up ad on exit.]

I think I am on to something. People with original ideas seem to be a dime a dozen, with each not knowing there is eleven more out there with the same idea....

Red/Blue transparent prisms in a highway divider? (my old idea)

I noticed that while I drive, I tend to decrease my speed when I see flashing lights. I usually try not to speed, but this "reflex" works even at low speeds. How about installing groups of red and blue transparent columns as part of the highway divider where the road bends (in dangerous speeding zones)?

In such a set up the headlights of the oncoming traffic would pass through these blue and red columns and create a visible effect of a police car blinker to the cars coming from the opposite direction. No energy source is required. Scared drivers slow down a bit. Works for both traffic directions. Works automagically in the evening or at night, or - in low visibility conditions when people turn on their headlights. The costs of pieces of plastic and their installation are nothing when compared to even a single life saved by decreased speeding on a dangerous curve. Prism shapes can makes such a set up work even for straight sections of the road.

This is one of my older ideas. From now on I'll just mark posts with my old ideas I happened to recall as such in the title field. If you don't see "(my old idea)" in the title - than the idea in that post is fresh! (Well, at least to my brain...)

Bayesian Filter for Slashdot Moderation?

Spam filters using bayesian methods [www.paulgraham.com] are becoming very popular (and accurate!). After learning a bit, they are capable of picking out spam pretty well. How about applying a bayesian filters to Slashdot posts and seeing what happens? The "teaching material" (old posts with scores) is readily available. Will a trained filter recognize a "5, Funny"? or a "3, Interesting"? Who is willing to build such a post judge?

Flipping through channels sometimes makes you stumble on a talk show like this. Can you diagnose the audience members behind the talk show host? (There, I found a good use for my cell phone camera: taking pictures of the TV screen...)

Look at this product! Didn't I describe this idea to you years ago?

Fueled by my own previous post, I have decided to list all the ideas that I have independently come up with, and that I later saw implemented somewhere. This way I can move on to posting the fresh thoughts. You have to admit - its a good feeling when you see a product and can say "Hey - I thought of this years ago!"

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1 :: I think I was 7 or 8 when thought to myself - "Hey - a spiked wheel can be used to separate items on a conveyor belt... Or something." A couple of years later I saw an article in a magazine describing a funnel with such a wheel (and a rotating handle) built in. The item was meant to be filled with sugar from the top, and rotating the handle would dispense a spoonful of it from the bottom... I know the connection is a bit lame here, but this was the very first time I experienced the feeling of "epiphany reloaded." I think this was the time I realized that some things I make up might be useful.

2 :: Why can't you press a button on your VCR or TV and have your remote beep, so you can find it easier? Apparently I wasn't the only one thinking that. A couple of months later I saw a TV commercial highlighting that very same feature of a Magnavox VCR. Philips [Magnavox] TV Model TP3697B also has this feature. Apparently Sony has it now as well, calling it a "Remote Commander Locator."

3 :: While in high school (some time between 1995 and 1997), my father and I decided to attempt to patent one of the ideas from my notebook. This was, to put it simply, a trackball (an upside down computer mouse for those who have never seen one). The difference was that the trackball was to be the size of a room, and a human wearing virtual reality goggles would be the hamster inside the ball. Functionally, it was supposed to be a two dimensional treadmill, allowing you to move on a plane, and allowing the computer to know where you've moved. Applications? Imagine actually running from monsters within the virtual corridors of Doom 3. Or actually walking through the 3D model of restored ancient Rome in a museum. Or playing a full court tennis game with Agassi at your local arcade. Basically it would improve the immersion in a CAVE system. The company did a patent search for us and it showed nothing similar on file with USPTO. Given that the company wanted five thousand dollars to prepare and file a patent, we decided it was not worth it, and let it go. A couple of years later I saw "SPIN" which was basically an implementation of this very idea. Here is a SPIN pdf with more pictures and a full schematic/description. These guys went with projecting the environment on the surface of the ball instead of wireless goggles... I still have a poor man's patent (a sealed envelope mailed to myself with a full schematic) laying around somewhere.

Update 4/11/08: As part of the Cyberwalk Project, European researchers will demonstrate their version of the omni directional treadmill soon. (Courtesy of a Slashdot post)

Update 4/12/08: VirtuSphere has a functioning model in this video. Even better is Virtual Space Devices' Cywalk video (a treadmill within the treadmill design that I thought back then would be too hard to construct; Also seen in the Darken's Treadmill. Moving tiles is another solution.)

4 :: A charger for your cell phone... a charger for your PDA... a charger for your laptop... and your digital camera... and your wireless phone... maybe even your bluetooth headset or your wireless mouse. They all want to be plugged in, like little tamagotchi pets, yearning for your attention. Why not have a big mouse pad with a checkerboard pattern of cathodes and anodes? Have the charger contacts on the outer surfaces of your "digital pets" (make "sticker" adapters for existing ones) and simply have the charger pad feed them when they are carelessly laid on top. The mouse pad would be plugged in and would simply monitor for proper resistance between its surface contacts. Once a certain resistance is maintained, a charge would be applied. No need to plug anything in - simply put the item on top of your [charger covered] desk. Imagine my surprise when a year and a half later I read about MobileWise and their approach, which is as close to what I described as it can get... Hopefully we will see the product on the market soon... Splashpower has an interesting competing technology, which seems to be based on magnetic field. Apparently, existing devices can also be retro-fitted with special batteries in order to work with Splashpower pads...

Update on 4/4/2008: Splashpower is bancrupt, but WildCharge and eCoupled are still working on it...

Update on 11/30/2008: Final product - a wireless charger for game controllers.

Well - this is all I can remember for now. If I recall any more ideas pursued by others, I'll add them to the list.

When your ideas are implemented by someone you've never met

So I am watching the news in Boston before going to sleep and see a report on the "PocketVault." I almost laughed. About two years ago I described this very device to my father and asked him "Why hasn't anyone else thought of this?"

Of course their version includes a fingerprint scanner and a 15 minute life for the magnetic stripe. I admit I didn't think of those two features back then. Overall however the device is just the way I envisioned it. Good job guys ;-) And good luck.

PS: I honestly did think of this all on my own. If I wanted to lie, I'd pick a much more prominent invention to lie about. Like "Hey guys, look! I invented a toaster! Or the Internet! Or sliced bread!" Anyway. Why am I even explaining myself? It's not like I am trying to sell you something...

PPS: I think I am just going to post all my ideas in this blog from now on. Maybe someone will be able to make them useful while I am still in school.

Idea number 555:
1 Create a service which would set up several thousand GMail accounts.
2 Charge company X money to send e-mail (between those accounts) containing keywords triggering Company Y's (Company X's competitor) ads.
3 Exhaust Company Y's ads on bots reading those GMail accounts.
4 Profit!!!

Idea Number 556:
1 Create a service which would set up several thousand GMail accounts.
2 Charge company X ransom money to NOT send e-mail (between those accounts) containing keywords triggering Company X's ads.
3 Exhaust Company X's ads on bots reading those GMail accounts if they don't pay the ransom.
4 Repeat 1, 2, 3 to increase profit!!!

Not letting Jenny sleep in the middle of the night is fun, but I have to let her sleep some time =)

Happy Birthday to xetroVortex Blog!

Maybe now i will actually finish version 3 of my web site. Or not. We shall see.