I'm all out of inspiration.
(And my incredible laziness/apathy blanked any chance of perspiration a long time ago)

No "PANIC PIN "or "Tails for all" from me. Hell, not even a "Vagina Jam".

But Lord help me, my heart is still (just about) in it. If only I was given a ridiculous problem to solve - in a ridiculous manner.

I propose notice board style page where a member of the hafbakery can post (for fun) a 'request' for a solution to an imaginary problem. They may add a certain resource or technique that has to be used.

To limit the number of ideas/requests posted, I would suggest that requests are placed on a 1 per 'baker basis. These challenges could last for a small period - say a day or two.

One twist could involve some kind of challenge to a nominated 'baker to come up with a working solution to the problem...
eg. "[riposte] : reduce speeding motorists with an idea involving custard" (hence custard filled speedbumps).

Anyone : Herding a field of livestock with musical instruments.. (hence some kind of Cows-Arse-Hitting Banjo machine)
-- Jinbish, Jul 24 2003

Seeding Hothouse by [Rods Tiger] http://www.halfbake.../Seeding_20Hothouse
Similar in thought to this... [Jinbish, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Idea Dough Garage Swap http://www.halfbake...ugh_20Garage_20Swap
might be useful [RayfordSteele, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Eye eye. http://www.4to40.co...=30&category=animal
[MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 19 2007]

I could've sworn I've seen a 'halfbakery swap meet' or something like that for titles that we couldn't do anything with. [edit] found it. link.

I've been wanting to do something involving blowfish for quite awhile, but the real world is tapping all of my energy as of late.
-- RayfordSteele, Jul 24 2003


What [jutta] said. If you're trying, you're not doing it right. Inspiration comes to you, you don't go to it. That said, I find the "random" button frequently useful.
-- phoenix, Jul 24 2003


Jinbish - I recommend a full pot of strong coffee and a tall stack of back issues of Science News.
-- bungston, Jul 24 2003


Whoa there people! I can see I introduced the idea in a way that I sounded like I, specifically and personally, needed the idea. Not so. (Although my inspiration is somewhat lacking - in HB and elsewhere)

'Twas just intended to provide the need:solution aspect of it. A noticeboard where someone challenges another to come up with a solution to X using Y.
-- Jinbish, Jul 24 2003


I want to see the Cows-Arse-Hitting Banjo machine.

Jutta's right though, Jin. Go hang out at some truly unimaginative site until the muse strikes.

[lurch, thanks. it's the medication.]
-- waugsqueke, Jul 24 2003


Having the problem is halfway to having the solution. For example, you are halfway to the Cows-Arse_Hitting-Banjo Machine. Post it and the inspiration will keep coming.
-- reap, Jul 24 2003


//the ideas themselves are all efforts by one person alone//

...with one exception.
-- DrBob, Jul 25 2003


whats that then?
-- po, Jul 25 2003


Oh, po, wakey wakey.
-- egbert, Jul 25 2003


Is this anything like a ouija board?
-- PainOCommonSense, Jun 04 2004


I just thought of a similar idea.

But maybe the subject could be randomly taken up. It would be up to readers to guess what the current flavour was. For example, FJ recently posted "Bubble Ball Anemometer". So the subject could be taken up by someone at will: "How to measure the speed of the wind", and then post an alternative. If it's an interesting enough subject, then it might become popular for a day or so, generate a few interesting alternatives, then fizzle out ready for the next.

Declarations could be announced by linking the original back to this idea.
-- Ling, Jun 16 2005


Ghost butter. I'm not sure exactly what the problem is (too much/not enough of it about?), but it definitely needs sorting, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life.
-- zen_tom, Aug 10 2006


A serious request for an idea - A kit/set of instructions that anyone can use to take quality close-up photographs of their own iris. The required tools must be easily get-hold-of-able (obviously including a camera of some description - but no special lenses etc which wouldn't be available for your average snappy digital camera) and the resulting image well lit and of a high definition (i.e. where the iris takes up at least 70% of the usual frame size without any post-production enlargement) Any thoughts?
-- zen_tom, Feb 19 2007


a magnifying makup mirror, a tripod and some patience.
-- jhomrighaus, Feb 19 2007


Be a squid [link]
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 19 2007


This challenge board should provide a virtual glove, for the slap.

Oh wait - "gauntlets thrown down". Maybe you could just pick that up and use it. I wonder if that is why people used to throw them down in the first place. I would carry an extra soft pair if that were the case.
-- bungston, Feb 19 2007


// But maybe the subject could be randomly taken up. It would be up to readers to guess what the current flavour was. For example, FJ recently posted "Bubble Ball Anemometer". So the subject could be taken up by someone at will: "How to measure the speed of the wind", and then post an alternative. If it's an interesting enough subject, then it might become popular for a day or so, generate a few interesting alternatives, then fizzle out ready for the next. //

Yep, that happens from time to time, though maybe it didn't back then. Just in the last week or so, there have been a lot of ideas relating to flags and Trump's Wall, which seem to have been inspired by each other.

I find this phenomenon, even when it doesn't lead to a trend or even a single second-generation idea, is a good alternative to this proposed challenge system. When I have a problem in need of an idea, my first reaction is usually not to ask other inventive people how they'd solve it (and when it is, I ask people in my physical company at the time, just because I want to have an answer immediately, even if it's not the best, just for inspiration). What I usually do is wait to come up with a solution myself sometime in the next few days or weeks. While I'm waiting to come up with my idea, I'm thinking "it might not be the best, but I'll post it, and that might inspire someone else to come up with a better one that's more suitable for my problem." Then, when I have the idea developed to the point of being worth posting, it's usually quite applicable to my problem anyway, so it doesn't really matter if anybody else posts an idea inspired by it. Of course, I never get around to applying either my idea or an idea inspired by it to my problem, so this is all quite academic.
-- notexactly, Jan 21 2019


I can name problems all day. I'll stick to the minor ones so as not to depress anyone. Half-bake away:

My feet get cold.
There's no inexpensive source of high quality protein
I miss the trash can when I throw things at it.
I fail to keep in touch with loved ones and friends.
There is no evidence of the supernatural.
My towels are insufficiently absorbent.
There are bacteria in my shower water.
Dental work is too expensive
I must choose between covering my windows for insulation or uncovering them for light. I must choose between covering them for privacy and uncovering them for light.
There's no way to find out which member of the opposite sex is actually interested in me as opposed to just wanting my attention.
The price of printer ink is preposterous.
I am not able to swim across an ocean.
I want an unlimited local supply of honey without getting stung by bees.
I want a sound baffle that can be installed quickly and cheaply.
-- Voice, Jan 21 2019


^ some solve the others and some create the others. How hot do feet feel with bee stings?
-- wjt, Jan 21 2019


"Preposterous" is a metaphor meaning "back to front", so turn your ink cartridges around. Fixed that one; who's next?
-- pertinax, Jan 21 2019


Beetroot juice, with care it can take over most functions of printer ink.
-- not_morrison_rm, Jan 21 2019


Inexpensive source of protein: are bugs high-quality?

Throw things at something else than the trash can, like the television.

Try swimming across a different ocean?

Don't take showers. Solves the towel and water bacteria problem.

Have your phone auto-dial your friends at 3 am to catch up. Soon the problem solves itself.

Don't print things, use a biro.

Honey supply: do your honeycomb raids in pairs. Run faster than the other guy.

Sound baffle: a sock in the offending person's mouth works well.
-- RayfordSteele, Jan 21 2019


• My feet get cold.
→ Wear more insulating, but not constricting, footwear? Move around more? Use chemical or electric foot warmers?

• There's no inexpensive source of high quality protein
→ I've heard it claimed recently that the new vegetable-based meat substitutes, such as the Impossible Burger and Beyond Burger, can be 10–100× cheaper (both monetarily and environmentally) than meat, with similar experience and nutrition. Maybe those technologies will become more common in the next few years, and everyone can afford more protein.

• I miss the trash can when I throw things at it.
→ There are trash cans that see things thrown at them and move to catch them.

• I fail to keep in touch with loved ones and friends.
→ Me too. Let me know if you find a solution.

• There is no evidence of the supernatural.
→ I don't see how that's a problem, unless your goal is to convince others of the existence of something.

• My towels are insufficiently absorbent.
→ Instead of cotton terry towels, buy linen towels. Even flat, they're more absorbent than cotton terry cloth.

• There are bacteria in my shower water.
→ Are they harmful bacteria?

• Dental work is too expensive
→ Time to start a dental robotics company…

• I must choose between covering my windows for insulation or uncovering them for light.
→ There are windows available with low-emissivity coatings, so that they still let light in but don't lose as much heat radiatively. I haven't looked at how well they work, but my parents got them installed, so I guess they were convinced they were worth it.

• I must choose between covering them for privacy and uncovering them for light.
→ Frosted glass? Translucent film? Those fancy windows where you push a button and they turn white?

• There's no way to find out which member of the opposite sex is actually interested in me as opposed to just wanting my attention.
→ Technological mind-reading (e.g. fMRI)?

• The price of printer ink is preposterous.
→ Canon and Epson have both recently released printers with much larger tanks, so it looks like they might be trying to do something about that (though I assume not the point of not making any profit).

• I am not able to swim across an ocean.
→ Hmm. Sounds worthy of a new idea. I'll think about it.

• I want an unlimited local supply of honey without getting stung by bees.
→ Be friendly to the bees. Wear a beekeeper's suit. Apply smoke to the bees to make them docile before taking the honey. Make sure your honeybees are the unAfricanized kind.

• I want a sound baffle that can be installed quickly and cheaply.
→ The YouTube channel Tech Ingredients (which I think everybody on here is going to subscribe to now, if they hadn't already) has a video on making cheap sound-absorbing panels.
-- notexactly, Jan 22 2019



random, halfbakery