Ponderings 1/18/16

It has been a little more than a year (September 2014) since I last blogged here. But the goal for 2016 is to do this either once a month or at a minimum once a year.

1. Sports bars have been updating # of TVs, quality of TVs, etc. but I believe there is opportunity for further improvement:

1A. In the same way that silent discos let you dance to your own beat, why don’t sport bars let you listen to your own game. Similar to gyms, a sports bar should have the ability for you to use a headset to listen to your game of interest.

1B. Bars should add interactivity between the patrons e.g., linking to people’s Fitbits/wearables and showing the avg. heart beat at the bar, measuring the overall bar noise, and adding a stadium like dance camera (Not exactly this idea but check out this sports conversation app: http://getgameonapp.com/ Snoop Dogg approves it. )

1C. Adding a simple +1 button that links to the POS system and directly orders another round of what your group is having without requiring your server.

1D. Adding more areas to stand at the bar. Not only will this increase capacity, but it will also make us feel less guilty about watching sports for 9 hours on a Saturday or Sunday. (http://www.wsj.com/articles/sports-sitting-will-kill-us-all-1443635202).

2.  What is the proper etiquette to stop the “sorry, go ahead” loop when two people are trying to talk at the same time on a conference call?

3. One of the best ways to be reminded about something you need to do is to see the person/be reminded of the person that you were supposed to do something for.

I want an app that would flash pictures of folks I frequently interact with via phone or e-mail to help jog my memory. Ideally others would do the same and remember the things they owe me. This app would improve my current method of taking a walk around the office.

4. New Year’s Day comes pretty often in 12 months

If you have already failed your New Year’s Resolutions here are a few renewal options: (I am sure you can find more than these) 1/24-27 Mahayana New Year, 2/8 Chinese New Year,  3/21 Norooz New Year, 4/8 Ugadi New Year, 4/22-4/23 Theravadin New Year, 10/2 Muharram New Year, 10/30 Diwali.

5. Presidential Debates need to be reformatted.  

I wish the presidential debates shifted away from a somewhat arbitrary method of choosing candidates to answer questions and a somewhat arbitrary method of question selection.  Instead I would love a debate with rounds on a set theme e.g., foreign policy, fiscal policy etc. Candidates have a round to present specific plans (which are shared in writing before the debate), a 2^nd round to articulate counter arguments, and then a 3^rd round to share final statements (3 rounds with equal time for each candidate). In today’s format, I believe the moderator has too much power and the candidates are easily able to stay at the surface level of topics.

6. I want the ability to take a photo album from a trip and make that a list of specific recommendations for a friend.

Photo apps should add a feature that allows you to pick the favorite places you visited from your albums, turn that into a list of recommendations (e.g., a picture of a meal into the restaurant name, and a picture of a sunset on a beach into the name of the beach) and share that with your friends that need recommendations for a place you visited. (Folks should check out Bucket if you want something working that does some of above: http://www.likebucket.com)

7.  Why haven’t bagels taken off in more Asian, African, or South American countries?

I can get pancakes, waffles, toast, cereal, oatmeal, but rarely a bagel and cream cheese.