Check out this remote controlled Tarantula! [via Crunch Gear]

Also, a very cool SHARK costume!

The following business idea was inspired by playing with Roger von Oech’s Ball of Whacks. Whether this constitutes scientific proof that the ball cultivates creativity I guess is up to you:

The ball is about the size of an orange (and breaks apart just like an orange).

So, I think of food.

And, it’s a toy of sorts. So, I think of kids.

Those two thoughts lead me to think of potential food products for kids.

The ball can be mangled and reshaped like kids like to shape their boogers.

Hold on - I need to go back to the ball for more inspiration.

I just made a creature with a spiky back. Hmmm. Reminds me of a crocodile. Kids like crocodiles!

What about a healthy snack (mom’s will like that it’s healthy) that looks like round Crocodile Boogers! It’s marketed as CROCODILE BOOGERS in cool packaging.

Thinking more about edgy concepts kids will find appealing… What about Monkey Vomit? Or, Genuine Australian Kangaroo Poo!

About two years ago when I was researching potential business opportunities in China, I was most fired up about the idea of starting a marketing company that would offer restaurant, beauty supply, food products etc. discount coupons. My sources on the ground in China said that it wouldn’t work because the “Chinese are not used to it,” which is precisely why I was enthused about the opportunity — it’s a novel concept!

The real value would have been in collecting consumer data - via online forms, and there could even be small store fronts, where consumers could fill out questionnaires about purchasing behavior and preferences, and in exchange receive discount coupons. There is virtually no direct mail in China. Credit card penetration is extremely low. Consumer credit reporting is in its infancy. So, I think the opportunity to develop a consumer database in China is huge.

BTW, CellFire is an interesting company in America to watch - you can download coupons onto your cellphone. Also, I just checked up on my friends at Chompz, an In-N-Out delivery service for Stanford students I wrote about here, and they are still going strong, and have expanded into offering restaurant coupons.

Front:

Back:

This week, I had dinner at the Fish Market in Palo Alto, and received a coupon envelop that guarantees I will have to go back soon, because the coupon inside the envelop is good for at least $10, and potentially up to $100 off! Of course, they don’t tell you what the distribution is of $10 - $100 coupons inside, and you don’t know how much the coupon is worth until your server opens it after your next meal, but that’s what’s brilliant about the concept. I could see a promotion like this working for a number of firms, including supermarkets, retail outlets like Gap etc.

[UPDATE 12-2-06: I went to the Fish Market tonight with hopes of redeeming the coupon, even though it expired 2 days ago. They originally told me that they would not honor it, but when the bill came, they generously gave me a discount above and beyond the stated coupon discount of $12 (I think the waitress overheard me say that I would write about it on SharkRide.com!  Or, she just liked me.).]

probably not the most effective, but clever.

[thanks, Signal vs. Noise]

I think Fraser is dead on about the changing role of education, as a result of technology, from learning to remember to learning to understand. What percentage of all the details of your middle and high-school history or science or math classes do you remember? 2-3% maybe? I day dreamed through most of school, and believe I’m not the only person out there to do so, and much of my best learning was achieved via independent studies.

The future of education is experiential learning, and George Lucas is doing some really innovative things in this space. Different people learn differently, but I would wager a hypothesis that teaching is generally more effective via interactivity and engagement vs. passive listening. Teachers who have charisma and truly engage students are so rare.

It has been many years since I’ve played Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, and maybe I should go find and play it so I’m better informed, but I think there’s a lot of potential for exponential improvement of the Carmen concept.

Imagine a website, in the vein of Second Life or The Sims, where students are avatars and have to travel around the world to discover clews and achieve goals. The game would not only incorporate Google maps and National Geographic videos (as I’ve already mentioned is happening in Google Earth), but also 3D simulated spaces, where students can meet and interact with historically significant characters and students from different places and even time. There could be a time machine, for example, where you scroll along a time line and the civilizations of the earth change, depending on where you locate the cursor on the time line , so you can explore the Mayan cities, or the pyramids in Egypt, or the great civilization of China, and learn about the technological and social advancements of the human race. Time and place can be manipulated, but does exist, so your avatar has to travel to the airport, board and travel on an airplane, and find taxis to move around foreign cities, which heightens the realism of the experience. Thoughts?

Check out creativity guru Roger von Oech’s new creativity tool, a ball that consists of 30 magnetic design blocks, so you can transform it into numerous shapes. Check out the Whacks video here. It’s $19.77 on Amazon.

Also, Roger recently launched a blog, a must read!

[UPDATE: I had the great privilege of meeting Roger this afternoon - what a blast to the mind! THANKS Roger for the meeting - it was great to meet you - and I think the Ball of Whacks is going to create BIG problems.  It’s strangely addictive.  I can’t stop playing with it! To prove that it stimulates creativity, I will start a post now featuring a whacky idea playing with the ball inspired.  Stay tuned.]

Every major tech blog covered this, but just in case it’s buried in your feed reader… The Upravlator is a small monitor with twelve buttons, or screens that change based on content, which can be used for shortcuts to streamline interactions in the software of your choice. The device will have open standards and protocols for developers to create applications. It’s expected to be for sale in the second half of 2007.

Krispy Kreme Donuts has clearly lost its luster.

Meanwhile, Sprinkles Cupcakes, a cupcake shop in Beverly Hills, is the newest rage. Why doesn’t Krispy Kreme introduce exotic flavored, and made from scratch with all natural ingredients cupcakes before Sprinkles goes nationwide?

But there’s nothing truly special in my opinion with fresh cupcakes, just as there is nothing truly special with a Krispy Kreme donut.

BUT, FRIED COKE is a different story! An award-winning food inventor introduced deep-fried coke syrup at the Texas State Fair, and it was a hit! It actually sounds delicious, and I’m sure tastes even better than it sounds.

Why isn’t there coke flavored ice-cream or frozen yogurt, by the way, or Sprite or 7 up Sorbet?

Remember when cookie dough ice-cream was introduced? What a great concept. I also liked the idea from The Apprentice of ice-cream with chunks of donut.

Any weird dessert ideas out there?

Toyco Oliblock, founded by architect Daniel Oakley, produces architecturally inspired building block and puzzle play products, and has just launched Oliblock Gears. The gears interlock and connect magnetically.