Roundtuit

I must have left keys to the various places I’ve worked and lived all over the world. You give a key to a friend, or a tradespersons, they may make copies, you forget, it’s a personal security nightmare. But changing locks is sure to keep locksmiths in business.

What about this. A lock that opens with a scanner, reading a key pattern that you can change via wireless. You could setup keys that only work for certain time spans, and even send key images via encrypted email.

Contributed by Rob Smith

…bring to a boil, then cover and simmer…

Those instructions appear in about 90% of all recipes, so why the hell can’t technology help! I’d like to have a little device that I place in a pan of food that will beep me when it comes to a boil. Is that so much to ask. Then I can go watch Stargate for a few more minutes.

Even better, I wish my stove had a probe that would sense the boil, and then turn things down to simmer. I can’t imagine life any longer without this, seriously.

Contributed by Rob Smith.

…says a guy on his mobile, with a stuffed bear on this lap.

From the people you overhear on the train, it would seem that location announcements are a primary use for mobile phones. But the content of these calls is so inanely standard that it drives everyone nuts.

So, why not have a service, where you can register (for some specified period of time) a number that will be sent an SMS that tells the recipient where you are. Of course, this is just one of the many possible location-based services that are possible, but I haven’t heard anyone else mention it. And it doesn’t require very high positional accuracy, at all.

Contributed by Rob Smith

Here’s an old roundtuit, that’s not only been done, but probably been done better! Roundtuiteer Julie Schulman (who has requested her email be withheld to avoid evil spammers) read my old Bibleizer post:

You know those clever web gizmos that translate any web page into the linguistic style of Yoda, Smurf-speak, etc.? If I had the time, I’d write one that provided something like the following …

As thou knowest, all ski bindings are pretty much mechanical, in accordance with prophecy.
Why does thou not mount two sets of 2 or 3 axis strain gages on a simplified binding that is electrically programmable, as it is written in the scripture?

Julie found The Faith Convertor, which does this one better. It actually translates from one religion to another: Atheism, Biopsychosocialism, Buddhism, Christianity, Communism, Confucianism, Druidism, Falun Gong, Hinduism, Islam, Juche, Judaism, Keynesianism, Linux, MacEvangelism, Mahanism, Maoism, NIMBYism, Roman, Scientology, Shinto, Sikh, Stalinism, Taoism, Thatcherism, Trotskyism and Veganism.

I’d try it out, but it’s OS X, and I’m one of Bill’s minions. Wonder if it’s a plugin architecture? Someone should write a pastafarian module, dontcha think?

Thanks Julie!