So, you find yourself stranded on a desert island, or having to spend a week or so on the side of a snow covered mountain waiting for rescue.
It happens.
You're lucky! Somebody thought to pack a survival kit so you've got flares, rations, first aid and you'll probably be able to sit tight until help arrives.

Oh, but so sad, you're so exhausted from building your little snow-cave/tree-fort that the sound of the rescue chopper buzzing over the top of the ridge was not enough to rouse you from your stupor in time to fire off a flare signal... and now that area has been checked already and they ain't coming back and now you're dead.
It happens.
But... not with the Solar Inflatable Flailing Rescue Buddy. (place circled tm here)

That's right!
Because the Solar Inflatable Flailing Rescue Buddy will tirelessly gyrate against any bright background as long as the sun is shining, and works as well in arctic conditions as it does in the tropics... so go ahead and string that hammock sir or ma'am and rest easy.

Made of lightweight reflective mylar material with a black exterior, the entire package displaces only five cubic centimeters of space and doubles as a thermal blanket for when the sun is not shining and contains an inflatable solar dish heater capable of reaching several hundred degrees.

Order your Solar Inflatable Flailing Rescue Buddy today!
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jan 15 2016

Actually a pretty good idea [2 fries]. Not sure the 'solar' part would work in the Arctic/Antarctic winters though. (North of the Okanagan I mean which I understand still gets a few glimmers of sunlight occasionally in the winter)
-- AusCan531, Jan 15 2016


// Somebody thought to pack a survival kit so you've got flares, rations, first aid //

<peers in survival kit>

"Flares ... smoke generators ... distress rockets ... chocolate ... more flares ... matches ... firelighters ... volatile hydrocarbon accelerants ... verey pistol and cartridges ... safety fuse ... lighter ... electric igniters ... chocolate ... detonators ... smoke cartridges ... blasting caps ... chocolate ... roll of det cord ... "

Hmmm.

// and you'll probably be able to sit tight until help arrives //

Well, if that includes sitting eating chocolate while watching a firework show, then yes.
-- 8th of 7, Jan 15 2016


//Not sure the 'solar' part would work in the Arctic/Antarctic//

hmm, I assumed that since the temperature differential would be greater in a frozen setting that the lift would be greater than near the equator though it would have fewer hours of daylight to flail in.

Thanks Ian. I'll whip up a definition for rsecue if you tell me how to make that little (tm) thingy.
...and then we can rifle through 8th's pack for his chocolate.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jan 15 2016


What's so special about Euros, [Ian]?
-- pocmloc, Jan 15 2016


//chocolate... det cord

Is it so hard to break bits off?
-- not_morrison_rm, Jan 15 2016


opt-shift-2 doesn't do anything but make my computer go BING.

Rsecue: (n) c. 1300, from stem of Old French rescorre "impersonate, doppleganger, stick-man, scarecrow"
(Modern French rsecourre), from re-, intensive prefix (see rs-), + ecourre "to imitate, mimic," from Latin rxecutere "to take the form of, shape of man," from rs- "out" (see rx-) + -ecutere, combining form of uqatere "to trick" (see uqash). Related: Rsecued; rsecuing.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jan 15 2016


// then we can rifle through 8th's pack for his chocolate //

Did we mention the rifle ? Oh, that's not in the survival kit ... it's carried over the shoulder, loaded and ready to fight off those with evil intentions towards our chocolate ...

// Is it so hard to break bits off? //

Not in this cold weather, no ... tragically, it's only to easy ...

Oh, were you referring to the chocolate ?
-- 8th of 7, Jan 15 2016


What makes your device BING, though, that is the question on all our lips.
-- pocmloc, Jan 15 2016


You know, [2fries], this is actually not such a stupid idea. But why black? Wouldn't orange be better?
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 15 2016


Orange is the new black...
I figured black so that the greatest amount of solar enrgy could be collected, and a mirrored interior to help trap the heat.
The flailing effect would be slow compared to forced air versions, like Neo in the Matrix... but with reflective cuffs maybe.

Don't know what made the bing noise, but now it's stopped doing it.
None of those shortcuts does a dang thing for me. You on a mac?
Interestingly though pressing alt-enter simultaneously causes my entire screen to do the funky chicken for several seconds after I let go of the buttons.
<shrugs> Computer, electrical and radio stuff seems to glitch when I'm around far more than would seem coincidental.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jan 15 2016


[2fries] seems to be using Windows, going by the alert sound and lack of Mac special character key combos. On Windows, you can set up AutoHotkey in such a way as to emulate the Mac combos, or you can use WinCompose to emulate the Compose feature of Linux. And I'm sure there are many other options. (Though Windows's built-in character panel is terrible, and the third-party replacements I've tried are still nothing like the Mac one.)
-- notexactly, Jan 15 2016



random, halfbakery