Take University Courses Without Enrolling!

Have you ever noticed that bank tellers have almost been replaced by machines, hence the "Automatic Teller Machine". Radio DJs have been replaced by computerized playlists, ala Jack FM and the like. Movie rental stores have been replaced by Red Box. Human musicians have been replaced by synthesizers- OK that was a long time ago.

So it only makes sense that something like university coursework lectures should be replaced by pre-recorded material. After all, why have someone teach the same thing twice a year, year after year when you can just have the best of the brightest teach it once and be done... and that's what The Teaching Company does. After all, why go to class if you can just listen in the car or while jogging (like the lady in the picture). I've had web streaming video classes- why not have them on DVD where you can work to your schedule? Obviously there's less interaction this way, but if you go to a large university where there's several hundred students in a lecture hall... well, there's no interaction anyways. And this way you don't have to pay an arm and a leg...

New Car Colors (and my version of car technology)

I've noticed lately that there are some newer colors coming out for cars, such as the burnt orange and deep purple colors. But this article mentions the trend of putting an aluminium speckling coat, or possible multiples ones. Cars with colors that change depending on the vantage point sound very cool. I've always wondered why something like this hasn't been done before. My idea is more along the lines of the old t-shirts that used to change color based on body heat, however.
Or more technologically advanced- running a current over the body and realigning the metal speckles to reveal a different color on demand.

Either way, I'm still waiting for windshields that darken when it's very bright out- similar to glasses that turn into sun glasses. Even better yet would be a tracking system in the rear view mirror that tracks where your eyes are with reference to the windshield. It would then darken that small section of the windshield (run an electrical current through it) and effectively blot out the sun from your viewpoint. The idea is that it only "blocks" out the sun and does not darken the rest of the windshield. I promise, invent that and you can totally take that one to the bank.

The Mighty Power of Nature... amplified 112 times.

Over at SolarDeathRay.com, they really know how to have fun. I mean seriously, destroying things using power tools is fun, but way too easy. Destroying things with no electricity and no physical effort takes brains- and usually ends up even more destructive in the end. It's not just a mere child with a magnifying glass frying an ant. This is much more diabolical and clever. They use mirrors instead. So while the power of the Sun is incredible, not as powerful as if it were magnified 112 times. This is where the Solar Death Ray delivers.

Now What?

First it was the switch hitter. Then it was the 7-feet tall basketball players (Yao Ming, Sun Ming Ming, et al). Then it was the linebacker-sized quarter back (see Daunte Culpepper). And now in collegiate baseball there's a switch... pitcher? Fathers, start teaching your young sons to throw, bat, dribble, and take a slapshot ambidextrous!

The pitch was nothing remarkable: Pat Venditte, Creighton University’s temporarily right-handed pitcher, threw a fastball past a Northern Iowa batter for a called strike three. It was his next windup that evinced this young pitcher’s uniqueness and, perhaps, professional future.

As his teammates whipped the ball around the infield, Venditte smoothly, unthinkingly, removed his custom glove from his left hand and slipped it on his right. Moments later he leaned back, threw a strike left-handed to the next batter, and finished the side in order.

Gambling With The Future Of A Town

Got a (financially) depressed town? Easy fix: turn it into a casino like this town in Mississippi did. In Minnesota, northern Indian tribes have lamented the fact that they don't have easy access to half the state's population in the Twin Cities. Imagine if only they were were closer to that revenue stream.

And the folks in the smaller northern towns that once could count on the iron mining jobs and income? Their attempts at luring geographically-independent business haven't been very successful. So what should they do? Open a casino, of course!

Take one of the huge lakes up there (or one of 14,995 smaller ones), put a boat on it, and you've got yourself a casino! Note: in other communities where lakes are not available, you may need to use a river.