Idea of the Day - A new idea each day. Some Don't Suck!

Our Latest Posts About: Opinion

Who's Responsible For Overpriced Military Spending?

Thursday, July 13, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

In defense of defense spending, it's not always the contractor's fault.

One of the biggest misconceptions about "overpriced" military spending is that contractor intentionally inflates prices of everyday items. While that may happen from time to time, most of the blame is on the government representatives that put together the original bids.

The essence of the problem is that when a contract calls for items with very specific details, this adds several major expenses.

First, the contractor needs to spend a certain amount of time doing research to determine if the item already exists, or if it needs to manufacture it. Even if they find that it's an off-the-shelf item, they still needed to pay people to do the research and acquire the items.

Assuming they need to manuf... [More]

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A FIRST For Everything?

Tuesday, June 27, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Enough with all the firsts!

History books are loaded with "Firsts". Some of them are pretty well known, like George Washington, Christopher Columbus, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, or Jackie Robinson. I don't even need to mention what their "Firsts" were, because they're that well known. The trouble is, we've become obsessed with firsts, and it's diminishing the true meaning of first.

For example, when Sonya Sotomayor became a member of the Supreme Court, the press made a big deal of the fact that she was a hispanic woman. The fact that she's a hispanic woman means nothing to me and it diminishes her accomplishments as a judge. Instead of being known for historic cases she presides over, the history books will undoubtedly focus on her gender and ethnicity.

Firsts are firs... [More]

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Statistics Can't Lie?

Friday, April 28, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

I have a hard time trusting statistics. Numbers can't lie, but the people interpreting them can.

I have a hard time trusting statistics, because I've seen how often people twist the results, to prove their point.

For example, some of the most successful drugs in the world are cholesterol lowering Statins, which statistically improve your chance of avoiding a heart attack by 33%, or at least that's what the drug companies would like you to believe.

The trouble with that statistic is it only tells half of the story, because when you look at the raw data, what you find is that people taking Statins lowered their chance of getting a heart attack by only 1%. If there was only a 1% improvement, how can the drug companies say there's a 33% improvement? Easy. They just manipula... [More]

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Why Do Political Arguments End Like This?

Sunday, February 26, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

It seems like whenever people talk politics, sooner or later one of them does this...

If you've been following my blog and my YouTube Channel, you probably know that I rarely talk about politics, but this is something I have to get off my chest. I've noticed that whenever people talk about politics, as things get heated, sooner or later, one side or the other will bring up the "Other" N-Word, the Nazis.

I can't understand why this is so common. It doesn't matter which side of the political spectrum you identify with, Progressive or Conservative, Democrat or Republican, sooner or later one of the sides will try to equate the other side's position as doing "exactly what the Nazis did". You see it all the time on CNN, Fox News, Facebook, and Twitter. They could be debating he... [More]

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Why Have Gender Restrictions In Pro Sports?

Saturday, February 25, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Some of the best athletes in the world are women, yet they aren't permitted to play in the same leagues as men.

Although we can debate whether women (in general) are weaker than men, but there's no mistaking the fact that there are a lot of women who play on the same level as men. Unfortunately, just about every major league sport has gender restrictions, which is a shame.

One of the few exceptions is Danica Patrick, who's been competing along with with men in NASCAR and Indy Racing for more than a decade. Another exception is horse racing, where women such as Rosie Napravnik have even competed in all three races of the Triple Crown.

Other than horse and auto racing, women have no choice but to compete in leagues of their own, such as the WNBA, and LPGA, but what's really... [More]

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Shut Up and Sing (Updated)

Monday, February 20, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

There's a time and place for politics... and its NOT at a concert.

I hate when celebrities preach politics to their audience, so I posted a video about it a while back. This video expands on what I said earlier to clarify my position.

In a nutshell, my main point is that celebrities shouldn't use their fame to promote their political agenda to their audience. That said, I also want to make it clear that I am not suggesting that they shouldn't speak their minds. This is a free country. There is absolutely nothing wrong with getting on their soapbox and talking about politics. My point is there is a time and place for political talk, and it's it is out of place at a show.

When somebody goes to a show expecting to be entertained, they shouldn't get a lecture about politic... [More]

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The On-Demand Generation

Thursday, January 19, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Millennials don't know what it's like to live in a world of patience and anticipation.

Technology has given the Generation Gap a new meaning. Today's Millennials grew up in an era where just about everything they do these days is on-demand.

Not only can they play their favorite songs, movies or TV shows in a matter of seconds, but they can jump directly to their favorite parts. When I grew up, there were only about 7 TV channels, which means we all watched pretty much the same shows at the same time. If you missed your favorite movies or shows, there was nothing you could do about it, unless the networks decided to play them again a few months ago. Classic movies like The Wizard of Oz played only once a year, but most never played more than once... And we accepted that... [More]

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Why Do Students Protest So Often?

Tuesday, December 13, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Students love to protest.

If you turn on the news these days, it seems like there's a protest going on somewhere just about every day, and more often than not, the group is made up almost entirely of students. Why is that?

When you look at the crowd, all you see are young people. Finding anyone older than 25 is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Don't the older generations see what's going on in the world? Don't they want to do something about it? Don't they even care?

The fact of the matter is that older generations are just as informed, and they care just as much as the younger generation, but they aren't as passionate because they've simply seen worse, and they've survived. It's as simple as that.

How else can you explain a group of young students litera... [More]

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The End of Common Media?

Saturday, December 10, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

We no longer live in a Common Media World.

Hundreds of years ago, news and information was spread through a very small number of media sources. Because of this, entire communities shared fundamentally the same news, at the same time. The news you read each day was identical to the news your friends, family and neighbors read.

Until recently, whenever people talked about things they saw in the media, chances are they all saw the same media. Centuries ago, it was the local newspaper, and in the last century, it was a combination of print, TV and radio, but it was still limited to a small number, so the media was still essentially common. Each morning, the majority of people still heard, read, or saw the same news, at virtually the same time.

This is no longer the case.
... [More]

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War Is (Supposed to Be) HELL

Friday, July 15, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

War! What is it good for?

Absolutely... somthing. It's supposed to be a way to break the will of your enemies and (hopefully) bring peace.

I know I'm likely going to get a lot of negative comments on this, but I want to make it clear that I am NOT suggesting that we start or encourage wars, but when war is brought to us, we need to be able to bring our fists and end the fight with no holds barred.

Right now, most of the civilized world follows The Geneva Conventions, which sets limits on how countries engage in wars. It sets clear guidelines about what is allowed, and what is not, so that civilians and non-military targets are preserved.

It's a wonderful concept on paper, but when your enemy does not follow these rules, it gives them an edge because they can take adv

... [More]

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Why Does The Media Only Apply Labels To Conservatives?

Saturday, April 16, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Have you ever noticed that the media only applies labels when they're quoting a conservative?

I find it interesting that whenever somebody quotes a Republican or Conservative they always preface it with a "Conservative" label. It's almost as if they're putting out a disclaimer say "attention people... this is coming from a wacko conservative".

For example, if Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh say something, the news will always say something like "Conservative Host Sean Hannity said XYZ", instead of simply saying "Sean Hannity said XYZ".

It wouldn't bother me if there wasn't a double standard. The label itself is accurate, but they never use labels for Democrats and Liberals in the media. You never hear anyone say "Liberal Host Bill Maher said XYZ", or 99% of the mainstream... [More]

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Understanding the #NEVERTRUMP Movement

Monday, April 11, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why are so many republicans joining the NEVER TRUMP movement?

The "Never Trump" movement started when people started publicly declaring on social media that they would never vote for Donald Trump by using the #NEVERTRUMP hashtag. While this may sound like politics as usual, the interesting thing is that most of the people declaring it are republicans.

What's unusual about it is that they are not only saying they won't vote for him in the Republican Primary, they're also declaring that they won't even vote for him if he gets the nomination.

You would think that a lifelong republican would definitely vote for the Republican candidate in the national election, but the Never Trump supporters say they won't. Here's why.

The main reason for all the fuss is that many t

... [More]

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The REAL Reason Apple TV Doesn't Have a Web Browser

Saturday, April 9, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

There's only one reason Apple doesn't include a web browser in Apple TV... MONEY!

As a followup to a previous post, Apple TV Needs a Web Browser, there's actually a reason Apple doesn't include it, and it has nothing at all to do with the hardware or software. It's just plain greed.

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* Note: The ideas on "Idea of the Day" were posted without any formal research into existing inventions.

In some cases, patents may already exist for these ideas, in other cases, there may not be any existing patents and you are free to develop and explore the viability of developing and patenting the ideas.

The authors make no claim that any of the ideas are safe, practical, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for the results of trying, developing, patenting or using any of the ideas on this site.

For some people, our ideas are just an interesting read, but our goal is to encourage you to take action. If you see an idea that you like, do something with it... Take action.

- Joe

Idea Of The Day. A new Idea Each Day. Some Don't Suck.