The worst restaurant idea ever
• Sell the leftovers that other people didn’t eat. Of course, that’s not safe.
• So maybe just glean and sell whatever other restaurants had left over at night, refrigerate it until the next day, and sell it.
• Dirty
• Slow
• Nobody to ask if you need something (all automatic)
• Don’t get to choose what you get. Pay a price and see what you get.

The shortest short story (6 words):

Cake died, but Milliemeow arrived. Bittersweet.

The Incredible Couch

Completely washable couch, with many segments, each a different animal. Bear hug section, elephant ears wide section, giraffe section with tall head rest, cat purring massage section, kangaroo pouch section with toys or books in the pockets. For use at pediatric doctor's office waiting room.

The Incredible Office Desk

Treadmill with office desk over it, where you can work while walking. Push a button and the treadmill moves away, and the desk lowers for some sitting time. It also has an automatic filing feature, where you lay your papers on the “file acceptor” and push the button for the letter where it should go, and it puts it in that file. This is the “not lazy but lazy” desk!

Juxtaposition: 2 things you see around you on your desk. fabric scraps + mouse

-mouse pad made of fabric scraps
-company that reuses fabric scraps to stuff things; also recycles computer equipment
-fabric cover for the mouse & other office equipment (keep dust off, decorate for holidays or seasons)
-use fabric scraps as packing (throw in the mouse & it won’t break because of the fabric padding)
-use the mouse to create digital art/creation of personalized fabric
-multi-use desk tool – mouse has hidden scissors (think swiss army knife)
-mouse so small it fits on a keychain/which also has scissors to cut fabric
-I need to clean up the fabric scraps from this workspace after I put the mouse away for the weekend (reality thought)
-use fabric to wrap gifts (mouse or other); use bandanas so they are re-usable
Point to note: someone walking into the room & talking to me when I’m really in a creative groove can be irritating and mess up the creative flow.

Juxtaposition: 2 unrelated things that you interact with: paint, washing dishes

-paint the window over the sink where I wash dishes
-have to clean paint out of the sink before washing dishes
-what about a separate sink for paint cleanup?
-looking out the window over the sink (where I wash dishes), there is snow on the ground. What would happen if I spray paint on the snow? Edit: ENTER FEASABILITY-spray paint would be TOXIC to critters and hazardous for the environment – but kool-aid in a spray bottle or tempera paint would be okay!

Challenge 6: Curiosity (and how the project meandered from its original subject)
• In my notebook, I listed 10 things about my little desk
• One was that the 2 top drawers are curved, unlike the others, for aesthetic purpose
• thinking about curves for a desk
• Stopped to see the sunset, pulled up the mini-blinds to look out, while watching thought of options for mini-blinds or other things to hide what’s in the desk (besides drawers
• This path of thinking meandered to thinking about . . . could there be drawers for a refrigerator that open without having to open the door first? How handy would that be for fresh snacks?!
• And then . . . the heat underneath the fridge that ruins the vinyl – why couldn’t that be vented out in the winter to help warm the room? And dampered in the summer. And why does the motor have to be on the bottom if it does that to the floor?

Challenge 7: reflection

Who - by myself

What - something is not fully meeting the need and needs to be adapted

Where - where I have supplies (so my house) that might be used to improvise

When - the first time I do something - no repetitive projects

Why - to problem solve, to improve something, to help someone else figure out what might work

How - when I have ample time to think or just the right supply (sometimes the odd piece that I pack ratted years ago - extra points when that happens!)

Challenge 8: Bio-Inspiration

Flowers inspire me – their intricacy is amazing, and some of them have such symmetry.
• radial symmetry, disymmetry, asymmetry
• the receptacle is the base of the flower that supports the weight of the flower structure and attaches it to the stem
• think about base of flowers, how they are cupped just above the receptacle
• shoes – use the idea of the cupped shape of the receptable and flower center to provide support for the heel of the foot and the weight of the wearer; consider the cupped shape of a blooming dill flower.
• if the sole were not solid, but a bunch of “stems” – that could allow the sole to bend very easily – people who like the barefoot feeling but need the protection of a sole could benefit from these. Perhaps a larger receptacle for the heel?

J.W. O.

--

1