March 2010 – Page 2 – Simon Fowler

I want pebbles in my shower

The next 8 ideas from Andrew Dubber include a couple I love. An online tape for one person – a 45min mp3 of songs that deletes off the server as soon as it’s downloaded; and a tray of pebbles to stand on in the shower! Photo by Josh Simerman

Suddenly, just thinking about it makes me feel like I’m in Hawaii.

I’m busier than a busy thing wearing busy clothes in Busyville, so the thought of executing a project in 30 days on top of what I’m already committed to is a little daunting. So, I need to choose something that will make-faster/better whatever I’m already doing.

Andrew Wicklander, who is the First Follower of Andrew Dubbers, and who invited us to join him, has already started building idea number 5 (a 30-day calendar tool).

I’d misunderstood the goal, thinking that we’d all execute that one project together, but no, that’d be easy. We observe and help and support but WE have to come up with our own project to execute in 30 days, one of Dubber’s or one of our own.

Anyway, here are ideas 9 to 16:
09: Recordings in Concert
Acoustics and recorded music: People to turn up to a concert hall, sit down, and listen to a record. Listening experience would be curated and explained track by track by the person or people responsible for the recording. Then, after the concert, everyone would be handed a CD copy of the music they’ve just heard.
10: Vinyl scanner: exactly what it sounds like, convert vinyl to mp3 file with a flatbed scanner.
11: Photo Stack-and-Scan: It’s a photo scanner. It scans standard, everyday ordinary prints. You stack them in a box at the back of the machine. You press Go. You leave for work.
12: A Box of Cool: A subscription-based, home-delivered regular package full of things that are undeniably ‘cool’. (e.g. a high quality print magazine that you may not have come across before; a 180g vinyl reissue of an underappreciated recording like Leroy Vinnegar’s Glass of Water; a DVD of a film you probably haven’t seen, but should; a miniature taster bottle of a single malt scotch…)
13: Karaoke-Tube Celebstar Idol: Sing -> Mix -> YouTube
14: I Made You A Tape: Two 30- or 45-minute ‘tapes’ (i.e. several songs on one mp3), with liner notes, for one person. ‘Tape’ & original songs are deleted off the server when downloaded by the person. It only exists for them.
15: Newspaper download codes: < what it sounds like
16: Pebble Splash: It’s a tray. It has pebbles in it. You put it in the shower. You stand on it!

I once threatened to go swimming in speedos

It was just a couple of weeks ago, in fact. My wife and I and a friend were emailing about going to family swim after our daughter’s lesson. Anyway, after my threat, my wife went to her colleague’s (Ruth, also a friend of ours) desk and commissioned her to write a short poem.

By the time my wife was back at her own desk Ruth had created this:

There is nothing you don’t know
But that it is revealed in a speed-oh!
It will cause lots of panic
If you appear in a banana hammock.
You will get a lot of flack
From wearing what’s called ‘a nut sack’.
Stretchy fabrics, a gripping fit!
What’s left to imagine – not a bit!

Don’t do it or else.

First Follower – 8 ideas – What to do?

A quick recap: Derek Sivers -> Andrew Dubber -> Andrew Wicklander -> me & 11 others.
Or, look at it like this (which took 20 mins on dabbleboard.com):

One of the 12 (12? interesting number), DJ Phillips, helpfully summarized the 8 ideas that Andrew D has come up with so far (which I’ve copied below, thanks DJ!). And our intrepid leader, Andrew W, has already jumped on Number 5! I think he’d fail the marshmallow test.

Anyway, take a look below for the summary of the idea (a 30 Day Calendar), and on Dubber’s blog for the detail. What would you pick? I’ve yet to figure out what my role will be on this, but I’m still in the game.

1 – Keymash: It would be a computer program that detects when multiple keys are pressed at once (as when a baby mashes the keyboard) and immediately puts the computer to sleep with a baby-placating screensaver.

2 – Radio Alert: essentially Google Alerts for the radio. You would enter whatever it is you are interested in and the program would alert you when it is mentioned in a radio program.

3 – Only Famous: This idea is for a romantic comedy movie script. The protagonist creates a reality show around an average person taking the whole “famous for being famous” thing to its most literal extreme. And then of course they fall in love and yada, yada, yada.

4 – Modularized Podcasts: splitting radio programs/ podcasts into their sections (news, interviews, weather, reviews, etc.) and then re-packaging them to one’s liking.

5 – 30 day calendar: This idea centers around a blank 30-day template to use for motivational and goal-achieving purposes.

6 – SpringCleanr: a computer program that helps keep your hard drive organized and clutter-free by regularly (upon a customizable schedule) prompting you to “Keep It”, “Chuck It”, “Archive It” or “Action It”.

7 – Street Graffiti Gallery App: This is an idea for a mobile device application that will provide gallery/artist information for graffiti artist.

8 – Coded Business Card: a business card with a bar code that would provide all of your relevant and editable information.