Country Lane Defence!

Don’t know why, but yesterday I couldn’t help coming up with a solution to the common problem of defending a country lane from potential attackers, including tanks.

Rather cunning, i thought. And economical, too.

Let’s just hope that society doesn’t crumble and that we’ll never have to use these booby traps. Hmm, might just make sure that crow scarer is handy, though.

Cheers,

Philip

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Population Explosion

The reasons for the population explosion of the 19th and 20th centuries became clear shortly after society crumbled, sometime in the 21st century.

It was at about this time, sadly just too late for many, that a power source both clean and immeasurable was discovered. Such was the depth and beauty of this source that engines for harnessing its power could be built with the simplest tools by anyone half conversant in the new technology.

The ready availability and exceptionally low cost of this power source had an equalising affect on the population of the Earth at that time. All material goods, personal gain and one-upmanship became something of a misnomer, once any person could produce as much of any item as they desired. There suddenly seemed to be no point to it all.

And, by and by, this lead to the invention of the time machine. It behoved people to return just a short time in the long history of this planet, (you could only stay on this planet; travel to other solar systems or even other planets was clearly a complete waste of time, due to the ridiculous distances involved), to the period perceived as the ‘boom-time’ in the long story of the Earth – the industrial and technological revolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries.

It must have been a great time to be in, went the reasoning, as there were so many people around at the time…

As you may be able to tell by now, what actually happened is that almost half the people on the planet at that time were in fact not from that time, but from a short time in the future.

The situation was such that you had people leveraging their knowledge and savvy to become the oligarchs of that famed period in hostory, whilst certain ‘thrill-seekers’ spent time in the most overcrowded and inhospitable areas of the world – living life on the very edge of survival.

It got to such a point that these people, somewhat foolishly, did not keep track of the date. Hence, society duly crumbled, due to obvious reasons, and the majority died with the rest of humanity.

Those that were left after that horrendous time had a different perspective on it all, and promptly invented the new power source – and so it went on.

Airport Tourist

In June 2005 a man wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, white knee-length shorts and no shoes passed through the security gates at Terminal 2, Heathrow Airport.

The security guards didn’t like him: he had no shoes, so they could not order him to take them off. He had no bag, so they could not search it. He did not set of the metal detector as he had no coins, keys or belt.

In fact, all he did have was a passport and boarding pass in the breast pocket of his shirt. It was a busy day, so they let him through.

The men monitoring the security cameras didn’t like him either. He stuck out like a clean patch on a soiled tea-towel, so they followed him with their cameras and they were surprised at what they saw.

The man, smiling faintly, walked every aisle of every shop, yet never touched or picked up any item.

He stood in every que at every coffee shop and fast food concession, yet every time he got to the front he just walked calmly on.

After he had done all this, he left the airport and was not seen again.

He was the worlds first airport tourist.

Begining to Start to Think

Okay, so i don’t feel ‘like’ other inventors. There are websites. there are clubs. but they don’t feel right.

The world, IMHO, does not need more electric carving knives or rotary toothbrushes. How about products that help people learn or, better yet, help people want to learn? I came up with an idea a while back for a bookmark that will help people doing research – books, dissertations etc. That felt right, or at least along the right lines.

Somehow i want to help people open up their lives a little bit, engage with the scary, uncomfortable but real world. Where i am at the moment it seems like that means less products, not more.

I feel like a politician proposing the dissolution of all governments. And thats not going to be an extremely popular idea. In fact, its scary and uncomfortable.

Play is another thing. Not idle play that is just a distraction, but real play that is inspiring and full of wonder. That, i guess, is why i came up with the marble game.

Learning is the same – not consuming factoids at an ever-increasing rate, but real, inspiring, wonderful learning that helps you look at the world in new and unexpected ways.

I’m not sure what this all adds up to yet, but the direction feels right. As long as i can stay away from this being simply an artistic or aesthetic concept. If i can put this into practice, then that will feel right, to me.

Cheers,

Philip

PS: If, for some reason, you do not have full motor control of your arm or wrist, as many people do not, then electric carving knives are a good, helpful product. Thing is; for what proportion of electric carving knife owners is this the case?

Nice idea, but no.

Would you buy this?

So many products, so little time!

Okay, there’s plenty of products out there, many of them good, wholesome products that will really change your life.

SO WTF ARE THEY DOING LOOKING LIKE THIS??!!

Time and again i’ve seen the products that can actually make your life better (i have no idea whether i’m endorsing this product or not), but the execution is so off-key that it alienates the people who really want to use it.

I can see this product delivered, internet order only, in a brown paper bag with the label ‘gift item’ to throw off any nosey neighbours who might catch you actually taking delivery of this heinous product.

There are a couple of things about this product that get me:

• What does it support, apart from kidney failure?

• In this, the twenty-first century, is there really room for products that have no relevance to how people feel and act? Okay, ‘does-what-it-says-on-the-tin,’ but who wants to wear that thing?

This is the opposite of inclusive design – it says ‘if you wear me, people will point at you and laugh, knowing that they are fundamentally better human beings than you are.’

I’m sorry, but that is just not acceptable.

Let the inventors of the world unite to bring people more beneficial products that they will be PROUD  to wear. Even in public!