The dream is to eventually have the best handheld device and run it on the best wireless network.

I call this dream the Carrierless Phone.

Today we have major carriers with locked in handsets.

Customers hate the arrangement, the customer service, and especially the vendor lock-in.

What are your options?

I’ve highlighted 2 (it’s really one – a WiFi only phone):

1. No Data Plan for Me
2. Pay as You Go 4G Hotspot
3. Virgin Mobile has no contract pay as you go internet

Update: Lifehacker.com talks about using an iPod as an iPhone and they say the exact same things I have! They share a cost breakdown of purchasing an independent device like the Sprint Overdrive or Roku Puck. Here is that graphic:

I always used a wet rag to catch the drywall shavings, but that occupied one hand.

This is a great method that I will definitely be using from now on.

I would like to create a platform to hold 9 (nine) box fans.

It would be a 3 x 3 square layout which would allow for up/down and left/right manipulation of the fans.

Essentially it would be possible to:

• Make the wall-o-fans aim all fans in one direction
• Adjust the left and right column of 3 fans to the left & right (center remains straight ahead)
• Adjust the top and bottom rows up and down

Probably cost: $200

I don’t know if anyone would want this or not, but it seems like a really cool idea.

I have shared many times about my DIY (do it yourself) attitude.

I have wanted to start a square foot garden, setup rain barrels on all my down spouts, and setup my own drip irrigation for a long time.

1. Washing machine incinerator (ellisbenus.com)
2. Compost instead of using the trash (ellisbenus.com)
3. The square foot garden
4. Wired.com Square foot garden
5. Double Barrel Composting
6. Storage container self watering tomato planters
7. Maximize savings in a small garden with profitable plants
8. My favorite: Geek Gardening: A Wired.com Guide to Domestic Terraforming

Here is another great article about choosing to grow foods which will cost less to grow than to purchase.

There is no (little) point in growing something which you can purchase at the store, or your local farmer’s market, for less money (unless you just want to).

So MSN Money tells us about 5 foods that are much cheaper to grow than purchase.

1. Fruit trees
2. Lettuce
3. Herbs
4. Vine vegetables
5. Bell peppers

I am the most excited about the vine vegetables and fruit trees as my wife and I both love fruits and vegetables, but everyone knows these are among the most expensive purchases at any grocery store.

MSN also points out 5 foods to avoid growing because they are cost prohibitive:

1. Potatoes
2. Carrots
3. Celery
4. Asparagus
5. Wheat

Finally, the second part of the article gives some tips on gardening cost efficiently, my favorite being the last, “Be a Minimalist.”

• Choose cost-effective crops for where you live
• Use drip irrigation
• Do the work yourself
• Buy seeds you can reuse
• Plan to put food away for winter
• Use as few chemicals as possible
• Compost
• Be a minimalist

As I’m trying to turn over a new leaf and actually do some of the crap I think up, I plan to be posting about my own raised, square foot garden (similar pictured above) soon!

Our Young Adult Pastor, Heath, gave a great message Sunday night.

He used an illustration to get us thinking about our home lives:

Imagine someone had a camera in your home and they observed everything you did at home (in a non-inappropriate way) for a month. If this observer didn’t know anything about you, and did not see any other aspect of your life, would they know you were a Christian? Would this person watching your life at home see Christ exemplified in your relationships, you actions, how you spend your time, the things you watch and listen to, etc…?

Obviously this got me thinking. We all always need to keep working on our lives, but I got an idea while Heath was talking. I decided to put up a small sign on my computer at work that says: “Smile, You’re on Camera” to remind me that people are always watching and my co-workers will only ever see me in my work environment. They won’t see me at church or at home. They won’t know all the stuff I do, or the times I pray at home.

The sign is to remind me that someone is constantly observing me and my actions. Most importantly, it is a reminder that if I slip up just one time it might cost my Christian Testimony (reputation) to whomever witnesses.

Finally, I hope this small sign will be a witnessing tool to share my faith with others around me. Surely someone is going to ask me what the sign is there for, and hopefully the Lord will give me the right words to share with them.

For everyone out there, remember, someone is always watching, and it only takes one time to ruin your reputation. Guard yourself.

God Bless.

This seems like a really good do-it-yourself project that I would enjoy.

Just find a crappy old washing machine, rip out the stainless steel drum, add a stand, and voila, a nice waste burner and heater for the winter.

Stainless Steel Garden Incinerator – Patio Heater from recycled scrap.

Information Week just wrote an article about Facebook Faces FTC Complaint.

Why do we keep using FaceBook when they keep doing this to us?

I do have a Facebook account, and I’ve never really cared about the privacy settings because I don’t put much personal information on there.

However, this is becoming an increasing concern…

Identity Theft is rampant, and criminals are finding it easier and easier to get the information previously held so close to the chest by people, but is now blasted out as Status Updates and Tweets.

So, what do we do?

Can Facebook even do anything about our new lack of privacy?

A Wired areticle this month really got my heckles raised talking about Engineered Obsolescence in America’s Technology. A book they mention in the article is a must read, Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America by Giles Slade.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves.

Design Products Woot Style

An idea I’ve had for a very long time would be a business that specifically designs products Woot.com style. Start with just one product, say a blender and engineer it to last forever, then sell just that product until it takes off and makes the company financially stable enough to continue.

Simple Tech that Lasts Forever

Yes, you read that right, use modern technology and the art of simplicity to design a device that will literally run forever. Sure, dropping it, or running gravel through the machine would tear it up, maybe, but under normal wear and tear it should not stop in our lifetime.

Break it, and Buy it. Buy it, and it will Break!

Businesses figured out that by engineering products to break, they guaranteed themselves repeat business and product turnover. This new company, lets call it Forever Inc. would have no such compulsions. Before the Forever Blender sales started to decline they would begin engineering their next Forever product, like a Forever Toaster, Forever Lawnmower, or Forever Coffee Pot.

Forever Inc. is working for you.

The idea behind Forever Inc. is that they plan to kill each market they enter. Sales of the Forever Blender, and proceeding products, would spike as people realized they would last forever, then after “every household” had a Forever Blender, sales would decrease. But who cares? At this point the founders of the company, their employees and shareholders would all be very wealthy, America would have a phenomenal product, Forever.

Keep the Forever products coming… Forever!

As Forever Blender sales tapered off, Forever Inc. would release their next Forever product. The Blender sales would continue for some time afterward, even if not at the same level.

Companies around the would would hate this company and strive to see them destroyed, but with the power of crowd sourcing and the grass roots power of the internet behind Forever Inc. the people would prop them up, defending this benevolent company that finally gave them what they wanted, a product Engineered to Last Forever!

Use My Idea and start Forever Inc.

ForeverInc.com and ForeverProducts.com is already taken, but that should not stop you from starting this company. As I explained in this is an Idea Blog and I would love to see people use my ideas.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Who would have thought of an internet enabled vehicle that senses other vehicles, and more? Oh yeah, I did!

Read my take on Car’s Driving themselves.

My main points were:

1. Why Don’t We Have Self Driving Cars Now?
2. Computer’s Could Drive Better than Any Human
3. Humans Can Only Concentrate On So Much. Computer’s Are Unlimited.
4. Computers Are Networked, So Shall Our Cars Be

InformationWeek posted an article showing off Segway’s new P.U.M.A. Even though the name sure reminds me of my favorite machinima program, Red vs. Blue.

This serves as the introduction of the Warthog; Grif suggests calling it a Puma, as he does not think it looks much like a warthog.

The InformationWeek article has a statement from Mr. Larry Burns himself, the Vice President of Research and Development for General Motors:

“Imagine small, nimble electric vehicles that know where other moving objects are and avoid running into them. Now, connect these vehicles in an Internet-like web and you can greatly enhance the ability of people to move through cities, find places to park, and connect to their social and business networks,” Larry Burns, GM’s VP of R&D and strategic planning, said in a statement.

Larry, were you inside my head, or did you just read my blog post?

Alright, Enough Arrogance

I’m done airing my grievances. Besides, if someone finally creates a self driving car then I am going to be so excited, I won’t care who came up with the idea, I just want one!

This new Segway P.U.M.A. while very exciting, is not much of a step forward for us Mid-West dwellers, where a trip to Wal-Mart is 10 miles. However, if the technology is being developed then there is no reason it cannot take over an SUV later.

An Internet Enabled, Self Driving, Hummer H1 Alpha

These diesel behemoths are the apple of my eye, and my dream vehicle. While you may want to argue that I’m a planet killing psychopath, I counter with Golden Fuel Systems right here in Missouri! Your gas “saving” Prius cannot stand up to my vegetable oil burning H1. Moreover, an electric conversion for a 40 mile commute in a Hummer would not be difficult as the vehicle is perfectly setup for this sort of retro-fit!

Trusting a Computer to Drive?

I addressed this in my own article I mentioned above, check it out!

Let me know what you think in the comments.

After only 186 posts on EllisBenus.com I figured out what kind of blog this needs to be.

If you are a fellow blogger, then you have read at least a dozen articles about focusing your blog, or picking a niche to write about. Until now, I’ve never had any idea what my blog was about. There has never been an overarching theme or consistent post type which I wrote.

EllisBenus.com Is Now an Idea Blog

In October 2007 I wrote a post that went without being noticed or acted upon. The name of that post was Get Famous by Sharing all your Ideas. Over 2 years ago I said this was going to be an idea blog, and I somehow forgot about it. Go figure, it was just another one of my ideas!

What Is An Idea Blog?

Great question! As I shared in October, tons of ideas assail me everyday. Whether they are money making ideas or just small experiments, I cannot act upon all of them.

Here, at EllisBenus.com, I want to unload the burden of these ideas upon the crowd. If anyone decides to run with one of the ideas published here, Go For It! Just share it with us here. It would be truly enjoyable seeing how something I envisioned came to pass.

My First Post as an Idea Blogger

As a young(er) man, 24, I have started paying more attention to politics and the world around me. A large part of that has to due with taxes and starting my own business several years ago. Unfortunately, I am deeply troubled by what I see.

Since I have only recently started attempting to get involved, it’s been frustrating to figure out how to do so.

Starting a Political Blog

I would really like to start a Political Blog which, instead of being about politics, world & national events, etc… it would instead cover one person’s journey from absolute political ignorance to an informed and involved political citizen of the United State of America.

The blog would start off with Post #1, “I want to get more involved” and hopefully take everyone step-by-step through the process of learning, researching, speaking, sharing, contacting, and becoming involved in politics.

This does not necessarily mean becoming a politician, but merely one informed and active voter.

Thank you for your time.

The whole idea of a blog is to share, so please do in the Comments.
If you decide to start a beginners journey political blog, please let me know and I would love to link to your new site!