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

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

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