Brain Blenders

Finger Ring

From the MIT Media lab, this is the best answer to cell phone interruptions during meetings that I have ever seen. Even though it is very obviously in prototype now, this would be a great way to handle incoming calls for collective group endeavors. I would be glad to have my own calls filtered by a group if we all had the ability to do so to everyone in the room. Here is how it works:

"Finger Ring is a system in which a cell phone decides whether to ring by accepting votes from the others in a conversation with the called party. When a call comes in, the phone first determines who is in the user's conversation (see Conversation Finder project). It then vibrates all participants' wireless finger rings. Although the alerted people do not know if it is their own cellphones that are about to interrupt, each of them has the possibility to veto the call anonymously by touching his/her finger ring. If no one vetoes, the phone rings. Since no one knows which mobile communication device is about to interrupt, this system of 'social polling' fosters collective responsibility for controlling interruption by communication devices. I have found empirical evidence that significantly more vetoes occur during a collaborative group-focused setting than during a less group oriented setting. This system is a component of my PhD work on Autonomous Interactive Intermediaries, a large research project in context-aware computer-mediated call control."

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Crying while eating

Now, one of my favorite websites. Cryingwhileeating.com is a viral website that tells you who is eating the food "Spencer" what they are eating, "Ribs", What he's crying about: "His conjoined twin didn't make it".

It's a great site, and I can't seem to get enough of it. Go get some.

Two Rooms

This is the coolest concept I have seen in a week or so. Two Rooms is a workspace for freelancers, daycare for their kids, and a community space for both.

Here's how it works, if you have a child under 4 years of age, need a space to work and the child to play - you go to Two Rooms. For a monthly fee you get the quiet space to work and your child gets the loud place to play and be supervised by childcare workers. Sounds like a wonderful concept for people who need to get work done during the day, but want to keep their young children with them.

Substantiates my thoughts that young parents are more interested in Quantity Time than Quality Time. See young parents were raised with the concept of their parents spending quality time with them, which meant a few short dedicated hours to the child. Seems they are more interested in having their child with them throughout the day and allowing the memories to happen from the experiences they both encounter. Thus Quantity Time seems to be the call to action.

CES

My dream has come true...I am at CES in Vegas this weekend and all my people are here. And by my people I mean "nerds". Kidding, not just a gaggle of nerds but some super-smart engineers and sales people.

Motivated - you bet. Informed - like none others. Shoulder to shoulder - uhmmm yes.

I loaded fifteen pictures to a photo album on the right of BrainBlenders. Or just click here.

More to come.

This is what consumer frustration looks like

Got this yesterday from my bud in DC. Seems that his frustration regarding his expensive shoes had hit an all time high and this was the email he sent to Cole Haan.

Customer Service,

About a year or so ago, I bought a pair of men's Cole Haan Air Perkins
Slip-On shoes from a local Cole Haan store.  I did my research on these
shoes and delicately advised my wife that paying a tremendous amount of
money for these shoes was beneficial to my happiness.  I explained with
great passion how these shoes would be comfortable and sexy!

On a daily basis, I encouraged my feet that these shoes just needed
"breaking in".  After all, I have pretty tough feet and would feel
comfortable wearing shards of glass so these shoes didn't have far to go to
satisfy me.

I was wrong!

I feel really bad asking this question, but since your shoes have caused me
more pain than passing several kidney stones, how do I get rid of your shoes
from my life?

I was going to give them away to the homeless, but would feel even worse
knowing I hurt those less fortunate than myself.  I thought about burning
them, but then again the fumes from such terrible shoes might be hazardous
to ones health.

The bottom line is I would rather pay even more money to ship them back to
your company for a proper burial.  You must have an ultra-safe facility that
properly removes these shoes from the earth, right?  Remember the fumes!!

Please tell me, you don't send them to outer space either.  I would be
saddened to know space mutants were wearing these shoes.  Can you imagine
the pain they would cause earth civilians if these were the only shoes they
wore?  Oh, the horror!

Please, if you care about this earth, advise me where I can send these
shoes.  Our children deserve to be safe!

Thanks.

 

Mirror Writing

I've started a new viral campaign to promote BrainBlenders...and would love some assistance in the matter. Let me set this up. Last year I stepped out of a shower in a hotel room and noticed, as usual, that the mirror was completely fogged up, but could see clearly where the maid had wiped the glass and had left a good 8 inch gap of uncleaned mirror at the top. So, I thought it would be a great place to write a message.

You know, something like "Call your Mom", or "Eat your Veggies". Then, obviously it came to me...BrainBlenders.com. Simply put...the only message worth putting in a foggy mirror. I've started a photo album with the pictures I have taken, with the location of each pic. Send me yours...if you will and I'll be sure to add them to the cause. ONE LOVE!!