Years ago I had the idea of “public-membership workshops”, a logical extension of hardware stores. You’d go in and rent time on power tools, workbenches, etc. You could bring your own supplies, or buy them there. There would be classes on how to do things: how to turn wood, use a bandsaw, weld, solder electronics, etc, etc.
We were going to call it The Wood Shop, The Metal Shop, The Electronics Lab, and so on. We came to the conclusion that it was impossible because the insurance would make it too expensive.
Last week, my friend emailed me a link to such a place.
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A friend and I have kicked around the idea of a USB sex toy that can interface with a software program to ‘move’ in relation to the porn video being watched. Think similiar to that Flesh-light thing they are always advertising, only high tech. Obviously you’d need a program file for each video, so you could practically give the unit away for free and make money off the video programs.
I have no idea how to take that to the next step, which is probably a good thing since I do not want to explain all that to my girlfriend.
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A few years ago back when TechTV was still about technology, I remember one of the late night shows that featured something like this. I can’t for the life of me remember any details, but it was similar to what you’re talking about. Must not have taken off in the ensuing years since I haven’t seen anything else about it.
And thanks for the link Santo Rugger, I’ll check it out later!
[QUOTE=bouv]
Ummm…you do know that lots of hospitals actually have the doctors carry cell phones now, right? And even the ones that still use pagers would have their signals get blocked. As might EMTs, firefighters, etc… that rely on a paging system to notify them of emergencies.
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I’ve had this great idea for Sukkah (small outdoor booths used by traditional Jews during a week-long fall holiday) decorations that involves little finger-puppets that can be velcroed to a background poster. I probably have enough skill to sew a prototype sample out of felt or some such, but ultimately, they would probably have to be some water-resistant material, and also, if I ever got to the stage of making more than a few, I have no idea where I would find someone to mass-produce a bunch, or how to research the costs involved.
cmkeller, while I don’t know anthing in specific about what you’re talking about, if you’re really interested in pursuing something like that, take a look at the Fab at home site. Basically instructions for making a home 3D printer that you can use to create objects by…well printing them. Sure the initial set up to build one is probably a couple of grand, but once you have the correct 3D template I doubt it’d be hugely expensive to run. You may not be able to retire on it (unless you patent the IP, then license it to a larger company later), but I’m willing to bet that you’d make enough to cover your costs.
[QUOTE=Sunspace]
Years ago I had the idea of “public-membership workshops”, a logical extension of hardware stores. You’d go in and rent time on power tools, workbenches, etc. You could bring your own supplies, or buy them there. There would be classes on how to do things: how to turn wood, use a bandsaw, weld, solder electronics, etc, etc.
We were going to call it The Wood Shop, The Metal Shop, The Electronics Lab, and so on. We came to the conclusion that it was impossible because the insurance would make it too expensive.
Last week, my friend emailed me a link to such a place.
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Along with that a garage to do car work. There is a lot that I can do on a car myself…and I’d love to get a fixer-upper to work on with the kids when they’re getting close to driving age. But I don’t have a garage full of tools or a lift to really be able to work on something like that. So a place where I could rent a “bay” on a weekly or monthly basis that had all the tools I’d need would be great.