There is some talk now about how much an interruption in the work flow costs when you are, for example, a programmer.

Why not measure it?

Say one sits by one’s computer. One can then have an application with 1 button on it which says “I was interrupted”. This application then tracks the time of every interruption and creates some output like a diagram or some statistics.

Since it is to cumbersome to activate a program to press a button one for instance use AutoHotkey and map a never used key combination or maybe the scroll lock key to press said button.

If one is moving the cellular is oft kept within reach so have an app that reacts on a simple drum solo or morse presses. (one could of course have an ordinary app but since it too much job to grab the phone in the pocket, unlock it, find an application, activate it and then press a button, a simpler user interaction should be used)

This is already done by creating a hole in a board and then jam a chisel in this hole; but it is a clumsy and imprecise.

There are also already perfectly good router planes but they are expensive and have only one cutter and hence only one width.

But… as a carpenter one has a bunch of chisels. So why not have a holder for them that does what a router plane does? It is probably not as good as there isn’t any flat part of the cutter against the wood but for much of the work it should do.

Take this idea further to a rebate or shoulder plane.

Problem:

One cannot see on a stove’s hot parts they are hot; in best cases there is a red dot somewhere else to show the burners are hot.

Possible solution(s):

If a red light cannot be mounted into the very burner, being it metal, glass or any material, have a pin spot mounted in the fan shine a red light on the burner.

I like to put many of my things in boxes.
For my tools I build special purpose boxes, typically out of plywood. It takes time.

Why not have box building pieces like lego, meccano and fischertechnik but more sturdy?

Say the pieces are built of 100mm x 100mm pieces. Then one could build a box in any multiple of 100mm size.
The best would be if the pieces weren’t glued together so when your box is too small, too big or your tool is broken and no longer needs a box – just rebuild.
Still, having a bunch of cheap pieces to just build a glued box is better than having no pieces.

One idea

Build the boxes like log house. The “logs” could be “small planks” with already made corners to fit to each other, like the log houses have, but more relying on fastening and less on timber weight.
The corners could snap together or be fastened with a rod going through or an outside fitting corner piece.

I am not necessarily thinking of only wood as material here; plastic or metal or sturdy paper would be just as fine, possibly even better with mixed material.

Another idea

The construction could be more like ordinary plywood boxes with metal edging but as DIY. The edging is easy – buy it in 500mm lengths and cut as needed. The plywood can be considered easy too, just buy a 2 square meter piece; but that only works if one has plenty of storage space. Instead have them 500mm long and 50 mm high; cut them as needed and fit together with metal edging and some sort of metal not-edging.

Yet another idea

One could get away with less tools if the pieces came in 100mm x 100mm pieces with fasteners already attached. Say continuous casted aluminium profiles made to fit each other with or without a third piece. Just join the pieces and have a box. This idea looks like it would possible to pick apart and rebuild too.

Update

I found the OS project that solves many of the question regarding dimensions.

At Low tech magazine is an article that talks about modularity and reuse.

You’re sitting at your working desk and your desktop computer (or laptop).
Due to a reason or another you want to write some text on your mobile phone. But you don’t since all those keyboards suck.

Why not have your computer talk to your phone (for instance via bluetooth) and write your text on your big keyboard? This way one could do some real emailing and chatting on the phone.

An idea for monitor sharing is here.

I am a developer and I most often use Sqlserver. The most common tool for working with Sqlserver is Sqlserver management studio and it does it’s job; which happens to be everything. Why not create a (relational) database tool targeted towards developers?

Things I normally don’t do

Now, as a developer I normally touch security at the beginning or end of a project. I usual handle just one of a couple of databases (database in sqlserver lingua, I believe it is called schema in Oracle) at a time. Space allocation is only used when doing backup and restore to create new or roll back a database. I have, unfortunately, never touched anything like sharding, replication, availability or other beardy stuff.

Things I normally do

I write queries, lots of queries. Depending on project I write stored procedures and triggers. I have also dealt with having DLLs inside Sqlserver. I do a lot of comparing schema and data with other databases.

What I want

I have a need for an IDE that leaves out all stuff I don’t or seldom use; whenever I need to dabble with security I can fire up Sqlserver management studio.

• awesome intelligence/typeahead/whateveryoucallit in the query editor. Management studios intellisense has become better but I still lack functionality I get with Sqlprompt by Redgate.  There are semi graphical tools for aiding query writing but I haven’t taken a serious stab at using them; I should.
• relations should be visible. When I work with a table I’d like to have indices, triggers and stored procedures in close vicinity, not through an “object explorer” tool window and a deep drill down tree. Say you are writing “select * from User” or selecting the User table in a list somewhere. Why not have a window, toolbar or menu automatically populate with depending tables, triggers and stored procedures?
• drill down possibility. Way to often I write a query and another and another just to find out where data comes from or vice verse. Without spending any time thinking and designing I am visualizing that when a row, say of a User, is found, one can with a click or key stroke get all Roles related to said User through the UserRoles table. Another example is User-> Order-> OrderItem-> Currency-> Country-> Company-> User.
• copy/paste update of table data. I also would like conversion of such copy or paste to a query to run on another instance.

What I want stuff that is really nice-to-have

• global search. I sometimes find a guid or a part of a string that has fled its sanctuary and need to find where in the database it originates. Somewhere I have a stored procedure for this but I’d like to have it built in to the tool and with more intelligence like searching for guids in proper fields and asking before doing a free text search in a million rows table.
• fast backup and restore. To take a temporary backup before doing a big or dangerous change. Then to restore said backup with ease. The Management studio dialogue for this is big, hard to use and error prone. By and by I need to create a copy of a database, say for branching a project, and that can too be made to be done with ease.
• no install. I manipulate data in production and don’t want to have to install anything; an xcopy should be enough.

When I think of computer zombie games it is usually a mêlée and splatter. But zombies can be frightening. There is a Romero remake where the zombies run instead of walk like tired Monday morning; suddenly there is a reason to be afraid.

So why not create a game where the zombies are dangerous? Where being close to them is not only risky but really dangerous and frightening? Let the player have tasks that involves sneaking up on Zs and grab a tissue sample or stay close to them and observe their natural behaviour. If the player is spotted the best defense is to run; this could make up some nice le parkour play. In simple cases or when panicked a blunt instrument could be handy but also risky. Keep a sniper nearby. Well… not too nearby since you don’t want him to be fragged (or whatever it is called when a npc Z catches your team mate).

Everyone wants a server running at home, don’t we?

But not everyone has the geek powers to rebuild an old machine, configure it, secure it, poke proper holes in the fire wall and finally maintain it.

Simplify problem

Not every server has to be run 24/7 and not every server has to withstand big loads or even be public to everyone.

So start small. A mobile phone on 3G is outside your fire wall. It might not be on your LAN even. It is low powered but has quite hefty innards to crunch numbers and is inherently good at networking.

Use some kind of dynamic DNS and start the app manually or automatic when connected to the charger.

When you are at a hotel or coffee shop and connect to the public wifi you don’t know what is lurking on the other side. I consider it unsafe.

Then add a guy like me that has a development machine and quite possibly a port that I have forgotten open. Plus some web sites in different stages of alfa and beta with all debugging info turned to 11. That is unsafe if something.

So I use my phone as hotspot. But why should I? why can’t I use my phone as wifi to wifi router? I know I have a certain small Win7 machine set up as wifi-wifi and wifi-3Gdongle machine so why not my mobile phone too? It would save me a bill abroad at least.

Buy an electric hand tool like a grinder. Get a nice, plastic, case.

But the case does not have room for discs.

It is more a rule than extra ordinary that there isn’t room for drills in a case for a drill, discs for a grinders or sand paper for a sander.

The idea is that when a hand tool manufacturer sends along a case with the tool; the case should also be able to hold necessary parts.
It can’t be that hard. I create wooden boxes for my electric hand tools to keep all the extra stuff.