Associations
Do something fun
For part one of this assignment, I decided to go to Chatime with two of my friends and play some board games. It was really nice to take a break from school and get together to drink bubble tea. Additionally, every time I walk past Chatime I see all the board games stacked in the window so I knew I wanted to go to Chatime for this assignment to play some games.
We played many rounds of Scrabble, Scattergories, and Connect 4. Over the summer when I’m at home, I really enjoy our family board game nights, but at school I just own any so it was also really nice to take that time to play some board games.
Mind Map
Suggested Themes
The three sub themes I chose from my mind map are mobile homes, maps, and green vehicles.
Maps: Personally, I think that maps could be a lot more efficient. Although paper maps really aren’t used anymore, I still feel like they aren’t very user friendly. Additionally, I think there are some flaws in some map apps that I use on my phone, so there are solutions to be discovered in that area as well.
Mobile homes: This stemmed off of land transportation and RV’s, and I was really interested in exploring mobile homes more. I think that there is definitely a lot to discover about mobile homes, and from what I’ve seen of mobile homes they are pretty basic so I think there are more needs and problems that could be solved pertaining to a mobile home.
Green vehicles: I really value renewability and promoting greener alternatives for a greener Earth. Sustainability showed up a couple of times on my mind map so I decided to narrow that in a bit more and chose green vehicles for a sub theme. I think that climate change is a pretty prevalent problem that many vehicles/buses/planes/etc are contributing to and there could be ways to implement green alternatives into vehicles to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
10 Silly Ideas
Idea 1 Music Box Bike: I was inspired by the wind up music boxes that only play music when the crank is being turned. On this bike, the pedals act as the crank so music is only playing while the bike is being pedaled.
Idea 2 Rocket Shoes: This idea was definitely inspired by Heely’s, and have that same concept of wheels on the shoes but I added a rocket for more efficient transportation. I think added the rocket propellor changes these shoes from a means of mobility to a means of transportation.
Idea 3 Earth, Wind, and Water moped: This idea was to attach these floating disks under moped wheels that had fans/jets on the ends to propel through water. This way a moped can be ridden on land or in water (also great for rainy MN days when the sidewalks basically turn into rivers!)
Idea 4 Car Crash Stopper: I’ve been in a car accident before and always wished there was some sort of extended bumper/bar in front of my to stop me from touching the cars ahead of me. This idea uses that bar idea and adds a very soft pillow to the front so if in an accident, neither cars sustain any damages.
Idea 5 School Bike: I always see people scrambling to find a spot to lock their bike before class, so I decided to mash a desk and a bike together so students don’t have to waste time looking for a space and can just park their bike in a lecture hall and use it as their desk.
Idea 6 Bridge Glider: I was inspired by the overhead glider play sets at playgrounds. This idea uses one of those but adds rockets to propel, so if you miss the Campus Connector and have to race over to West Bank from East Bank, you can just attach this under the Washington Ave. Bridge and glide across to class.
Idea 7 Tunnel Bus: Driving in Minnesota right now is a mess with all of the construction on all of the major freeways. Whenever I’m stuck behind a bus in one lane construction zones, I am always wishing to pass it. This idea raises a bus up and hollows out the bottom part like a tunnel, so cars can go under and pass the bus. This can also reduce traffic at bus stops in local single lane areas.
Idea 8 Hamster Ball Infrastructure: This idea was also inspired by the heavy traffic on Minnesota roads and it was to create an over road system to get places. I wanted to make a human sized hamster ball as the means of transportation and hamster ball tunnel as routes to avoid traffic.
Idea 9 Map Projector: This idea is perfect for those who walk or bike everywhere and are prone to getting lost. The bluetooth signals in the headband connect with a maps app on your phone and project the map and route in front of you on the sidewalk/or road so you can travel without constantly looking down at your phone.
Idea 10 Cleaner Up Car: The goal of this idea was to reduce littering, so if you have any trash or pick up any trash, you can add it to the trash chute and the machinery inside the car can convert it to fuel to drive your car.
Outline
9/20/18: do the mind map
9/21/18: do the suggested themes
9/22/18: do something fun
9/23/18: 5 silly ideas
9/24/18: 5 silly ideas
9/25/18: finish blog post
