Who can invent first tricorder?

Eliza Collins, USA TODAY, says the X Prize Foundation, which pays big prizes to inventors, is offering up to $12.5 million for the first generation tricorder a la Star Trek.

The money is being offered by Qualcomm and Nokia.

The thing does not have to look like Mr Spock's--but it must take vitals and detect 15 diseases. It also must be under 5 pounds.

Leonard Nimoy is onboard--he says he always thought the show projected into future developments.

One company, Nanobiosym, will be entering a nanochip onto which you drip bodily fluids.

For more info, go to: http://www.qualcommtricorderxprize.org.

I always liked the Transporter, fevently wishing to be beamed anyplace I was not. But that's just me.

Creativity knows no age limit

iSpeak4U, a company in Connecticut, has developed a handwriting-to-speech app to help people with disabilities to communicate.

It was developed by a 12-yr-old, Eric Zeiberg, whose sister suffers from autism.

You can write in any of 13 languages and the writing is converted to speech.

It costs about $30 and is available from the Apple App Store or go to http://ispeak4u.com for more info.

Want to see it in action? Go to http://www.ispeak4u.com/newscenter.html.

Cool, Eric. We expect more great things.

Got an idea to help the sick or injured?

Applications Now Being Accepted for the
Medical Devices Center Innovation Fellows 2013-2014 Team

The application deadline is Friday, April 19, 2013.

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD – GANDHI

Be an Innovator!
The University of Minnesota is recruiting a cross-disciplinary team for collaborative medical device innovation. Those encouraged to apply include: postgraduate engineers, experienced physicians as well as those in their residency or fellowship training, bio-scientists, seasoned medical device professionals, business professionals, IP attorneys, medical practitioners and others with a special interest in medical device innovation. Applicants must be dedicated to improving human health and well-being. Successful candidates are self-driven and highly motivated individuals with entrepreneurial spirit and committed to working in a collaborative team setting.
The University of Minnesota Medical Devices Center Innovation Fellows Program is sponsored by the University of Minnesota Medical Devices Center, part of the Institute for Engineering in Medicine. The program already has seen much success with more than 100 invention disclosures and more than 50 patent applications filed on those inventions in the program’s first four years.
Responsibilities:
• Identifying clinical needs, inventing, and building & testing prototype solutions
• Generating 15-20 patentable disclosures on medical devices for diagnosis and treatment
• Working closely with clinicians at the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center and partnering with established medical device corporations
Eligibility:
• Degree in Engineering, Medicine, or Biosciences. Medical or Doctorate degrees preferred
• Evidence of creativity and innovation
• One or more years of research training
Benefits:
• Monthly salary and health benefits provided duration of the Fellowship
• Use of first-class facilities in engineering & medicine at the University of Minnesota
• Access to top MDs, PhDs, and innovators at the University of Minnesota and local industry
How to Apply:  
• Fill out and submit the online application, cover letter, and curriculum vitae for Requisition Number 183027 at the University Employment Opportunities website.
• Follow the instructions provided at the Medical Devices Center website to prepare and upload supporting/additional documents required for the application
• Contact three people to send us letters of recommendation. Read the detailed instructions for information on format, content and where your references should email letters.
The application deadline is Friday, April 19, 2013.  The online application and all supporting documents must be uploaded and/or submitted by the application deadline. Candidates for the fellowship are selected on an ongoing basis.  Apply now!
Please direct questions regarding this application process to ifpinfo@umn.edu.

Where the cute, tattooed guy fits in

Demographics. You hear about it all the time. The 18-25 age group. The 30-54 age group.

But what if age is not how you should judge the likelihood of a person buying what you are selling?

What is you went by what they said--their interests, attitudes, and aspirations?

Marketing guru Carol Roth, author of the bestselling book The Entrepreneur Equation (http://carolroth.com), says she used to get pregnancy-related offers all the time based on her age. She was not pregnant. These were wasted.

She also went into a high-end car dealer in gym clothes and was ignored (income level disdained, presumably).

Then a salesman used verbographics instead of demographics or psychographics or other globs of "big data"--he asked her how he could help her. He got the commission.

I used to teach marketing--and I had a list of five reasons people don't buy (attributed to Zig Ziglar maybe?). If you countered them every time, you had a winning direct mail package. The five are: No money, no time, no desire, no need, no trust.

I promise you if you consider all these and listen to people, you will do better than any algorithm.

The man with the tattoos standing in Brooks Brothers may buy six suits--don't assume.  Ask.

Defining the funny

The Other Network (http://othernetwork.com) is a fun site I just discovered. It deals with the ins and outs of comedy writing.

You can even learn how to structure a rant. And here I thought rants just spewed forth like demented lava.

If you ever wanted to be a member of a comedy writing team (and I have, maybe next lifetime), you need to know some of the language.

BEAT THE JOKE. Make it funnier.

BLOW. Joke that ends a scene.

HANG A LANTERN ON IT. Do something to make the joke or information stand out more.

NAKAMURA. A running joke that isn't getting laughs. Supposedly CHEERS had a gag about a character named Nakamura--that didn't work in the table read or before an audience, but was not taken out.

STALL. Place where plot isn't moving.

TWO-PERCENTER. A joke only 2% of the audience will get.

WACKY STACK. Too many jokes on top of each other.

Let's face it, a Glossary is not funny. Sorry. What do you want for free?

It's a gift to be simple

According to the Wall Street Journal's Holly Finn, the best new thing under the sun is a coffee lid with two holes--one to drink from and the other to let out aroma, cool the brew a bit, prevent dribbling, and make a latte taste better.

Genius!

It's called the FoamAroma lid (http://foamaroma.com) was invented by Craig Bailey, who found himself unemployed and decided to develop this little brainstorm.

He fooled around with it in his kitchen, tesitng liquid movement in the cup (it slants to prevent the "geyser effect"). He even used a different material, so the lids can be reused.

Now he holds the patent. Four million sold last year at one-cent each. He makes them in America-- Florida, to be exact.

Interesting side note: Craig Bailey noticed that baristas and coffee shop owners drank from ceramic cups--they didn't even know that lids varied and could dribble and annoy. They never used them!

Art can be an inch away

Magazine editor and art lover Nancy McKeithen has started a high-end digital magazine on the art and artists of West Virginia--yes, West Virginia, otherwise known for a rustic backwoodsiness.

It's called FLUENT and it's beautiful, like the woods and mountains that nurture the creative impulse and shelter and inspire the artists of the state. For a peek, go to http://fluent-magazine.com.

The paintings, sculpture, photography, music, and even chocolatiering that go on in the State of West Virginia remind us that creativity is everywhere, persistently nudging out of the human spirit.

I had a boyfriend from North Carolina, Jerry Newton--back in the "hollers," as he liked to put it. He is a fabulous artist, if that doesn't sound patronizing...art cmes from the heart, not from a stereotype of the surroundings.

Also--how brave and bold is it to start a gorgeous magazine?

Yay, Nancy!