How to Let Strangers Decide If You Should Get a Vasectomy
Way back in 2008, I wrote a blog entry called, I Own That Guy’s Arm. In it I proposed that I launch an IPO for myself, letting investors purchase shares in me and have a say in the choices I make on a daily basis. The benefit for the investors is that they could make a [...]
You Are More Beautiful Than You Think
Usually when I watch videos on YouTube, I’m either: ecstatic that there isn’t an ad preceding the video begrudgingly pleased that there is an ad, but I can skip it in 5 seconds hellfire angry that I have to sit though a 15-30 second ad before I get to watch the kitten video I originally [...]
Idea Realized: Pave
A few years ago, I wrote about an idea I had involving a new form of investment: people. Specifically, young people in need of funds to attend the college of their dreams. You choose a student to support, pay a small percentage of their college tuition, and as soon as they start earning money after [...]
Memento Would Have Been Different with Memoto
Have you ever been sitting around the break room table with coworkers or out at a restaurant with friends, and this perfect moment happens that you wish you could have captured, but it’s too late? Have you ever wanted to put away your camera on a trip and just experience everything, but still have photos [...]
Fudge and Puppies
At the end of my Kickstarter campaign, I told all 942 backers that if they ever ran a Kickstarter campaign for a passion project of theirs, I want to support them in some way, whether it be a pledge, a post, feedback, etc. Because many of my supporters were people who started Kickstarter projects during [...]
Can You Meet Your Match at the Pool?
Due to the all-consuming nature of the Kickstarter project I recently ran, I’ve had zero time for dating lately. However, I still get e-mails from the various sites I’ve used over the past few years. One of the more interesting matchmaking (note that I didnt’ say “dating”–I’ll get to that in a minute) websites is [...]
The Future of Group Gifts
I recently had several superb experiences with a web app called Shareagift that I want to share with you. Shareagift is a platform for purchasing group gifts. Say you decide that you want to buy a $2,000 grill as a wedding present for your friend, but you don’t have that kind of cash. Within a few [...]
The Future of Trash Cans
I bet you never thought you’d see that headline on the blog, did you? Up until now, trash cans have been stationary monoliths sitting in the corners of our rooms, their gaping mouths waiting for us to launch trash into them. Sometimes you hit the trash can, but other times you miss, and you end up crawling [...]
The Story of ManCans
This is the story of how a brilliant business model convinced me, a person who does not care about scented candles in the slightest, to buy two candles on the spot. This is the story of ManCans. Last week I got my weekly digest of Springwise’s Top 10 Business Ideas & Opportunities (definitely worth a free [...]
Pet Please #61: Animals Snuggling with Stuffed Animals
The other day I was driving over to a friend’s house when it hit me: animals snuggling with stuffed animals is pretty much the cutest thing ever. (Yes, this is the type of thought that randomly pops into my head.) Immediately my mind started spinning. I could start a Tumblr. People could submit photos of [...]
How to Make $10,501 Off a Single iPad
I have to say, I’m smitten with BigDeal.com (and similar site QuiBids.com). I haven’t even placed a bid there yet, and yet I’m entranced by the homepage, the concept, the copy, everything. And I’m a little jealous I didn’t think of it. BigDeal is an auction site along the same lines of the controversial Swoopo.com. [...]
Freakonomics…and More
You’re getting a triple dose of my weekly shout out today due to some interlinked blogs. If you watched The Daily Show last night, you saw a very nervous Steven Levitt banter with Jon Stewart for a while. Orator he may not be, he’s a great writer and researcher. If you haven’t read his book, [...]
The Future of Telecommuting
Every once in a while an unknown movie comes along that nearly makes me burst with curiosity and wonder. Last year that movie was Let the Right One In. But that was based on early, extremely positive reviews (and they were correct). All I’ve seen of Sleep Dealer is a mediocre trailer and a brief [...]
How to Convert Your Sweat into Electricity
What if I told you that you could walk on a treadmill for 5 hours a day to generate power for someone else’s business? Would that be something you’d be interested in? There’s a new workout center in Portland called the Green Microgym that is using the energy generated by exercise bikes and treadmills to [...]
Google Goggles
I am one to openly laud Google. Most recently I’ve praised the company for Chrome, their new web browser. I’m also loving Google Reader—it’s by far the best way to read blogs, RSS feeds, and websites that you check or refresh on a daily basis. It’s often the smaller touches that make Google memorable. Just [...]
YouSlideshow?
I have a bone to pick with some people who post videos on YouTube. Sometimes I go on YouTube to look at sports highlight videos of my favorite athletes or teams. I’ll search for “Beckham free kicks” or “Ozzie Smith defensive plays” or “Lucy Liu saucy sassy.” But I don’t always get what I’m looking [...]
Please Dress Me
After yesterday’s blog blackout in honor of 9/11, the Truth is back with completely inconsequential entry. I read about a new website today called Please Dress Me that allows you to search for a specific t-shirt among the myriad of t-shirt websites out there. If you see someone walking down the sidewalk wearing an “Incest [...]
Google Stole My Idea
On Tuesday, April 17, I outlined one of the final four ideas in my March of Mad Ideas series: An Online Equivalent to Window Shopping: The idea here is to mimic the mall shopping experience on a website. It’s similar to what Amazon has done, but I envision it quite differently. The website would display a [...]
If These Walls Could Talk
I want to start off by saying that I’m not a fan of wallpaper. I associate it with homes built in the ‘60s—putrid greens, faded yellows, mauve sheets of paper stuck to the walls, curling at the corners. Just doesn’t hold good connotations for me. Plus, it seems like such a hassle to put up. [...]
My Brilliant Idea/Their Brilliant Idea
My Brilliant Idea Caroline, once a vegetarian, now eats organic and free-range meat. Her reason for not eating meat was because of the poor conditions in which animals were raised for slaughter, so now she financially supports stores and farms that treat animals well before humanely killing them. Whole Foods is the prime location for [...]
Web Sights
Every once in a while, I hear about a new website that is redefining or simplifying the way we interact with the internet. Usually I read about the site on another site, or maybe I see it in an online Wired article. I subscribe to the 37signals company blog, which seems to have a myriad [...]
