I've often woken up to my mother calling to inform me of her newest pet peeve, or have had a girlfriend interrupt my pouting, wanting to talk endlessly about how fabulous her new boyfriend is. I'd rather avoid these calls, and only speak to those in compatible moods with mine.
A temperature sensitive plate, or just a mood strip, could be placed on the receiver near the face, which could be translated into a scale from 1 to 10. The mood number would show up on my telephone along with Caller ID, so I could chose with whom I'd actually like to talk.
I could roll over and go back to sleep when I see my mother's rating at 10, or just continue to pout and grumble when I see my bubbly friend's rating at 1...-- goostas, Oct 23 2002 Sure glad the Insurance Co. Supervisor doesn't have one of these. Gave her 8 weeks of hell over the phone today.-- thumbwax, Oct 24 2002 I like it! Although this idea may lead to several of my friend's calls being ignored on a daily basis...not to mention my friend's ignoring my calls...oh well, still a great idea!-- NeverDie, Oct 24 2002 Get a video phone. Or do what everybody else in New York seems to do, and let the answering machine kick to hear who it is (and how they sound) before answering.-- DrCurry, Oct 24 2002 [DrCurry], I think the intention is to determine the state of mind of the caller BEFORE you answer the phone ......-- 8th of 7, Oct 24 2002 Maybe Dr Balti is on to something though - with a video phone it would be neat if you could see the person at the other end before deciding to complete the connection and allow them to see you. Ah, no, on reading this anno this becomes a WIBNI.-- PeterSilly, Oct 24 2002 Well, I know what my mother looks like when she's mad, so I'd still avoid that call. Unlike video phones, telephone manufacturers could easily install them into existing models unobtrusively and inexpensively. Since more people would have them, the more calls you could avoid... or choose to answer. [thumbwax], the Insurance Co. supervisor dilemma can be solved by speakerphone...-- goostas, Oct 24 2002 [PeterSilly]: Isn't it a WIBNI anyway? How is this "mood strip" suggested to work?-- Gwenanda, Oct 24 2002 Maybe you could also set it up with a mood changer... so if the person calling is bubbly, and you're crabby it can administer an electric shock to the caller to tick them off and make them be crabby with you.....-- Aurora, Oct 24 2002 random, halfbakery