Magnetic Levitating Pot Holder

This is my idea for a levitating pot holder. The idea is that the pot does not touch the supporting surface in any way. This keeps insects from crawling into your food. Combined with a lid this would be perfect for picnics or anywhere bugs are feared. It would also work well as a serving holder for any dinner table center piece or casual dining.

The magnets would be natural magnets and at minimum three would be required however I'm not sure of the size required to make the correct gap and what the weight limit would be.

-Nick

Passenger Train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas

One of the most greatly overlooked public transportation connections in the United States is the train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. This is probably a conspiracy, but out of respect for our overlords I will claim it is due to laziness by the american people.

Some of the reasons why this would be an important connection include:

Las Vegas is an important city.

Las Vegas is an entertainment destination.

Las Vegas is feeling left out.

There would be a savings for the future in terms of energy.

This would promote productivity in so far as giving motivation to workers.

My train includes storage room for 'bins' and large objects. Elevated trains are easier to maintain in my opinion because they have fewer meeting points with the terrain which allow for the terrain to shift underneath. Mag-lev trains are nice, but I always thought a mag-lev train enclosed in a vacuum tube would be even more efficient.

I would also include entertainment cars and even casino cars once the border has been crossed however the journey might not be long enough to bother.

-Nicholas Juntilla

email: nick(at)worldnick(dot)net

The Gravity Train

My latest invention is called the Gravity Train. The gravity train is a series of Lighter Than Air platforms that lift one end of a Gigantic zipline thousands of feet above the ground. Baskets are lifted up to the platform via boyency from either hot air or the compression and decompression of lighter than air gas. The Baskets / Pods / Shuttles / Capsules rise to the Air Platform Station where they are attached to a new materials zipline and dropped down the zipline to a resting station many miles away. The principle is that more energy is conserved from lifting the vehicle than from pushing it along the ground. If you push a vehicle along the ground you have to constantly fight friction, but in a gravity train friction can be harnessed to re-power a battery in the capsule.
In the above picture the left side would be a city like Covin,a California and the right side would be another city like San Bernardino, California. The Gravity Train should re-gain most of the energy lost in powering it in the form of travel and battery energy. As you can see from the picture there is a slight incline at the end of the line if there is any need to help slow the cart however the resistance from the generator should be sufficient. The cart is recycled. These stations could leap frog all around the globe.
There is also a version of the Gravity Train that uses geo-thermal energy to power the up transportation however I do not believe that drilling giant holes in the Earth would be wise. The heat from the Earth's core could be the reason life is possible creating the contrast with the sun and sapping that energy could lead to a closer demise of the Earth life system. This is evidenced by the diminishing size of life on earth as the core cools. It would be wise to power the upwards locomotion with either the above mentioned compressed gas or heat depending on which proves to be more efficient. I have not done the math.
Nicholas Juntilla

Elevated Bike Paths

Elevated bike paths were first seen earlier this century, but I came up with the idea independantly. Basically it is a bike path that is elevated one or more stories above street level like a freeway for bikes. The bike path might be used by electric bikes as well as walking traffic. The path would provide a safe was for non-automobile traffic to traverse Los Angeles. The paths would be enclosed for safety. They would follow above the sidewalk area in places and in other places move to the center of the street. The elevated bike paths would also ad a futuristic and hopeful artistic element to a city that is known for it's dislike of change.

Nick

Public Maps Local Directory

Public Maps is an idea I had a long time ago for a business. Actually I converted it into a business idea because I was in need of money. The real idea doesn't require anyone to make a profit. Any particular city could implement it. If you have ever seen those maps at Disney Land where you will see the listing of attractions or more likely if you have ever been to a mall you will see a public map with the stores listed. With the advent of GPS systems and Google maps it is becoming less necessary, but it would still be a huge boon on any city or innovative private citizen to post maps at 7-11 or Gas Stations. These maps would have listings of local business so that residents would know what businesses are available to them. They would also be very useful to travelers and anyone not familar with the city. Funny, when I had this idea I was amazed that we don't already do this as a people. Of course these maps would have to be updated and have a sturdy case. It might be someone's job to go around the city from business to business and also update these maps. The spirit of togetherness alone would be enough to implement this, but I'm sure you could imagine all the other benefits.

This picture sucks. I originally imagined the map being on the corner, but when I started drawing I messed it up immediately because the map was too small.

As usual please let me know if you are going to fire this one up

Lighter Than Air Plane - Flight Fingers Make Lighter Than Air Planes Possible

This plane solves two problems. It is a lighter than air craft that does not get blown around by the wind and can still achieve reasonable speeds and control without being governed completely by the weather. It is a plane that can hover in one place without using any energy. The flight fingers are air bags that drag behind the craft when it is in forward direction. When the craft needs to hover or stand or land in one place the craft simply powers down and comes to rest under the fingers. The multiple fingers allow some amount of air to travel between the bags. The fingers could also be partially deflated if it helps in forward flight. The aircraft has the flexibiliy of an airplane and a helicopter without the complication.

In the left side of the picture the craft is in motion with the fingers dragging behind. On the right the craft is hovering, landing, or taking off with the fingers above.
Nicholas Juntilla
If you are an aircraft designer please don't call me up and arrange a meeting so you can kill me.

Laptop Case Standards

This is perhaps a couple years too late because laptops may be fading out as a form for computers, but I'm surprised no one has ever thought about standardizing the laptop case the way desktop cases have been for years. People love to buy desktops and upgrade components over the years. The same would be true had a company or group ever decided to standardize the laptop case including a standard dimension for the motherboard and power supply. This would allow people to turbo charge, customize, and fix their laptops if they ever broke. It would give control to the customer. This would allow new opportunity for businesses to sell parts directly to the customer and give the customer the flexibility and longevity they crave. It would also make laptops seem less 'vulnerable' in that 'if one thing goes wrong the whole thing is lost' way. I imagine companies would start to come out with specialized rugged cases and even waterproof cases. The laptops might be larger than the smallest laptops, but we know people are willing to buy larger laptops to replace their desktops. There might also be a smaller case standard like the miniATX was to the ATX.

Nick

Post-It Note Printer or 3x5 Card Printer

Most printing jobs are small or at least the information is. We want directions to the club or a serial number. Maybe you want to copy and paste a phone number from your computer to REAL life. That is where the Post-It Note Printer would come in to play. The printer itself might stick on to the side of your monitor and be attached by USB. A window in the OS would have a blank square where you could just drag information and have it printed right away without the guilt and obvious excess of using entire sheets of paper for every little job. Why don't we have more options? An entire 8x11 inche sheet of paper seems like an enormous amount of space (it is also double sided) to use when you want to print out your google maps directions or maybe even just a note. Printing 3x5 cards would be a bonus for presentations, larger amounts of information and whatever else. When will we have these tiny printers?

Nick

If you spot any of this in the wild please let me know. I don't profit from the ideas, but I'd love to see it.

email: nick(at)worldnick(dot)net

The Level System - Education

The Level System of education is a system where by each student is given a chart. The chart displays the subjects the student has attended on the bottom and the Level of the student's current ability on the left. It is a bar chart. Every student may attend any subject class regardless of age group. To progress in levels the student is required to take a test. There is no limit to how quickly or slowly a student may progress. The level system encourages both competition and life long learning. The Level System Replaces our Current Education System. The Level System allows for teachers to teach one subject all year long. A student may walk in on any class provided there is room. Ideally the building or system of buildings where the teaching is done would be a large group facility like a modern day community college except for students of all ages. It might also be possible to create higher learning institution like modern day private colleges for students of high level or PHD students who have completed all levels of a subject.


An example of the Level System would be a student who has a Level 4 in Basic math, a level 3 in basic reading and writing skills, a level 7 in World History and a level 2 in U.S. History. This student may have many young classmates in his reading class and many older classmates in his history class. This also promotes cross-generational communication. To gain levels the student would have to pass state and or federal exams. The student would be able educate himself/herself according to his/her needs. The student could take more time in some subjects and excel in others. This would give the United States a more accurate assesment of our populations education, it would give employers a better understanding of their employees, and it would give the individual access to the education she NEEDS instead of a generalization based on age. There could also be many sub-subjects and branches from basic splitting into many more advances subjects. I would also recommend there be no requirement to attend school.

Nick Juntilla

Pivot Hammer - New Better Hammer

There hasn't been an improvement to the hammer since... well there has been a few improvements to the hammer arguable the air pressure gun and that thing on the infomercial that pre-loads nails. Regardless of all that when I was a kid I built a lot of tree-houses (forts) and I learned well how to use a hammer. Still I thought of an improvement. The nails I used were weak mainly because I pulled them out of trees and old wood. Bending nails was my worst nightmare because then we would have to go find more which could take all day. This hammer is designed to maintain the optimal striking angle to the nail which is perpendicular. The pivot head snaps to the head of the nail to redirect incorrect force closer to the direction of the nail depending on the tension of the spring. This is one of my first inventions along with off-road roller blades and wheels that move both ways (both of which were invented--I remember seeing the wheel invented by a team of Australian scientists) I don't have a machine shop so I can't build one. I always wanted to. I never really wanted to get into the hammer business and I know patenting things involves a lawyer and thousands of dollars so here it is.




In case you are having trouble readin my hand writing the text says:

Pivot Hammer by Nicholas Juntilla

(Left) Hammer Pivots to perpendicular angle and save(s) nails

(Right) Inside is a high tension spring

Head

Hole

Spring Cavity with rounded edges (This keeps the head pivotable on more surface area of the head [theoretically])

Enjoy! Please give me an email nick(at)worldnick(dot)net if you can test this. I've had a running bet with a few of my brighter friends as to whether this would work.

-Nick Juntilla

Bluetooth Memory Network - Proximity Watch

For each of your devices and objects you need to carry with you at all times such as your wallet and keys you attach a sticker with a bluetooth signal. The signal is picked up by your watch which is the hub. If at any time any of your devices leaves the range then your watch vibrates to alert you that the item is out of range. The stickers can also be placed in coat pockets, on children, on luggage or anything you would like to keep near. If you wear your watch all the time then you will never leave the house without a vital item. This could also be built into a necklace or other wearable item as the hub. The satillite items will need an energy source such as a watch battery or something rechargeable. To recharge the items the tabs and items with stickers could be placed on a 'recharging tray.' There are probably many items you would like to keep track of and I believe for a low power low bandwith system such as bluetooth this is the ideal usage and perhaps what the original inventors intended even if they weren't aware.

Nick Juntilla

If someone wants to draw a picture for me please do. I'm not exactly sure what this would look like yet.

Thanks.

Ideas for Real Time Strategy Games

I only play one type of game. It is called a real time strategy game and there is one company that makes them, Blizzard. Every other attempt at a real time strategy game fails.

The Ideas:

Adjustable commands for unit groups. This is basically a slider whereby you can set how aggressive your group is. A highly aggressive group would attack anything that is near. A fearful group would flee. Every unit should have artificial intelligence 'quick' settings like on a grid. This would allow you to concentrate less on micro managing units and more on strategy. An example would be highlighting a group of soldiers and dragging their aggressive level down. When an enemy approaches they will retreat rather than run to their death. This would also be helpful if you set a unit on patrol. If it found something then it wouldn't automatically engage. The unit should be able to asses it's odds and act according to it's aggressiveness setting.

Interactive Terrain on Three Dimensions. One of the most impressive feats of gaming I have seen is the underground pipe system of SimCity 2000. Being able to build and interact with what is happening underground in real time is something that could easily be applied to a real time strategy game. A player might be building a tunnel under the enemy base while he is distracting his opponent elsewhere. The applications for underground development are endless. Also In-Game Modification of the Terrain where a player might build a wall or dig a trench would also create new elements of strategy. Being able to destroy any element on the map or change the elevation of the map might be interesting and is definitely something that belongs in war simulation. The idea of a map being completely different after a battle should not be unheard of. Special crews might be able to modify terrain like diggers.

Nick

Battery Swap Stations for Electric Cars

Just go to what used to be a gas station and have a robot arm lift out a battery and pop in a charged one. You might pay for subscriptions to different battery companies for use of their batteries or some other system. This is a simple solution to immediate recharges and range limitations on electric cars. Just email me or give me a call for more details. OR Leave a comment I love to reply to comments.

Nicholas Juntilla

Revolutionary Direct File Sharing Service

Since the dawn of the internet we have had the same problem. I want to send you a LARGE file and it won't fit in email. Do I teach you how to use FTP and then look up our IPs temporarily? No not anymore if you were running the Blob Data Service. You could transfer files to anyone on any machine in the world!!

Revolutionary DIRECT file sharing client service fills in all the left over gaps in the internet.

There is a service called No-IP.com that allows you to maintain a constant domain name for you home computer regardless of what IP your ISP has currently assigned your computer. To fill in all the left over gaps in the internet all you would have to do is combine that registration service with an FTP (File sharing protocol) program that looks like AIM. The AIM-like client can send large files like music albums and videos directly to the names of each machine on their lists. The client would be like an FTP server and Client rolled into one, but be as simple as an instant messenger. It would also have a queue. The files would queue to send and when both machines are online the transfer would initiate. The key is creating a name for each of your machines, computers, cell phones, laptops, and friend's machines. Your mother's computer would have a name on your list. Your friend's computer would have a name on your list. The service basically tells each machine what the current IP is of each other machine then the clients talk directly to each via old fashioned FTP server client relationship built into the client application. This makes sharing files with all of your friends easy and private with no middle man like setting up an FTP server on each machine. It would eliminate the need to connect any of your devices together to share files ever again! It would also make sharing files with the people you know easy and reliable. I remember one problem with sending files through AIM and ICQ was that you could only do one at a time, it was unreliable, and not resumable.

The client would look like aim except when you double click on someones name you get a dialogue to send a file or add to queue. When both machines are online the file would transfer, start, stop, etc.. automatically. It could also be integrated with explorer so that you could right click files and send them to your friends.

I think this service would fill in all the left over gaps in the internet and common people to do what all of us tech savvy people have been doing for years, transfer files without email. Because it can be set up on a phone it would even add functionality to phones and portable devices.

The revolutionary direct file sharing client service fils in all the left over gaps in the internet bringing the world truly together.

Bonus: It could also be a torrent client.

I would call it Blob Data Service or something BDS?

-Nick Juntilla

Ride Upright Handle Bars

The ride upright handle bars allow you to ride your bike in the upright position. The most important benefit is that it is more comfortable. I have been able to simulate handle bars like this by flipping my curved ‘drop’ handle bars upside down. These handle bars are intended to make the experience of riding a bike more like a car or pushing a shopping cart. When you ride upright you feel in command of the road and you are sitting in a comfortable position most of the time. Current bicycle philosophy is based on the fact that leaning over gives the rider more power, but it is not necessary. I believe the benefit of feeling comfortable and always upright and aware of your surroundings outweighs the minor performance gains by leaning dramatically forward. If these handle bars were created more people would buy them as is evidenced by the fact that so many people ride beach cruisers and mountain bikes with seats adjusted too low to attempt to achieve the ‘upright’ experience. A BMX also simulates the upright experience. These handle bars are designed for a road bike to give the speed and performance of a road bike, but the comfort of a beach cruiser.



From my early experiments with my ‘drop’ handle bars flipped upside down to bring the handle bars as close to me and high as possible I have discovered I now don’t mind my seat being higher, I am always looking around while I ride, and even the bumps on the road don’t seem as bad. I think most cycle makers have it wrong. Cycle enthusiasts want speed, but we don’t all drive a sports car every day. If they built a bike like this or one where the horn handle bars came toward the rider I think you would be amazed if not by the comfort, by your awareness and even desire/accessablility to ride a bike on a daily basis.

I’ve even found starting and stopping is easier because your head stays level. Hills seem easier to climb because you are near a standing position. Here are my handle bars currently. They are basic drop handle bars inverted, but the gain is good.
Simulated Ride Upright Handle Bars



With these handle bars I feel free to move about the city without being hunched over and snot pouring out of my face. I really cannot describe the many benefits of upright handle bar riding on a road bike. It is the same reason I believe electric bikes should be made out of road bikes. It is the best of both worlds. I also have an idea for horns or trigger style toward the rider if shopping cart doesn’t turn out to work.

Nicholas Juntilla