Tile the countertop of a bar in pressure-sensitive LCD screens. The LCD screens *could* be used to display big swirly patterns across the whole bar (+ scrolling text messages, song lyrics, etc.), but this could be a little nausea-inducing. What would be better would be to have the screens pick up the pressure of a drink being placed on the bar, render this as a circle matching the bottom of the glass, and use it as the 'seed' pattern for a "Conway's Game of Life" style auto-generating pattern. How rewarding it would be if the pattern created by you putting your drinks on the bar ended up taking over the entire 40-foot bar!
-- hippo, Oct 23 2001

Game of Life http://www.google.c...ient&q=game+of+life
In case you don't know what "Conway's Game of Life" refers to. [hippo]

LCD Desk http://www.halfbake...com/idea/LCD_20Desk
Just like this, but different. [hippo, Oct 23 2001, last modified Oct 21 2004]

LCD Desk http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/LCD_20Desk
Just like this, but different. [hippo, Oct 23 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Game of Life - In Colour http://www.fastlane...~fishbulb/golc.html
*ta da* [Detly, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Wonderful. But I'd also like a big arrow appearing pointing to me every time I try to buy drinks.
-- pottedstu, Oct 23 2001


Can be arranged. You can have the bar 'feed' you chat-up lines as well if you like.
-- hippo, Oct 23 2001


Use the bar to keep track of whose turn it is to buy drinks.
-- sdm, Oct 23 2001


One of the few occasions you can actually find the answer at the bottom of a pint glass.
-- st3f, Oct 23 2001


[UB] If the lyrics scrolled along the bar, reaching different people at different times, this would be useful for singing 'rounds'.
-- hippo, Oct 23 2001


I'm slightly disappointed that no one commented on the clever Buggles reference.
[And a sidenote to all of these LCD ideas in the HB - I read yesterday that IBM have developed a 200dpi LCD screen - initially for radiography and MRI applications, but give it a few years and they will be in high-end laptops...]
-- hippo, Oct 24 2001


The Game of Life LCD Bar would also go down a storm in Amsterdam's coffee-houses, I'll bet.

BTW, has anyone else been wondering when somebody's going to bring out "DVD Killed the Video Star"?
-- Guy Fox, Oct 24 2001


I want something like this to go in a big band around my bedroom wall now. I would love something that top play wonderfully phsychadeliclly(sp?) soothing images as I drifted of to sleep. This would also be amusing in bars as someone very drunk is likely to go out of their mind trying to figure out whats happening to his/her vision.
-- kaz, Oct 24 2001


I imagine the game of life idea could become quite competitive it your little lifeforms were of a defined colour. You could send armies sweeping up the bar by taping or drawing your pint across it. Se if you could take over or see how quickly they could reach a friend up the bar!
-- dare99, Oct 25 2001


I've written a colour Game of Life applet, so if you're interested, see link.
-- Detly, Oct 29 2003


Bathroom for barfing:
<------------<<<
This way
(animated flowing arrow)
-- Cedar Park, Oct 29 2003



random, halfbakery