Justin Merkert

Great thoughts speak only to thoughtful minds, but great actions speak to all of humankind. How do great actions speak to all of humankind? Great actions can be presented in many different ways. They can be small like helping a neighbor, or quite large like trying to change something that affects the entire world. Taking little steps in the right direction can often do more good than trying to take a big step right away. If everyone would start helping friends, neighbors, or even strangers the world would become a better place. Helping each other would bring people closer and make them more respectful. If people respected each other there would be less crime. Which then would start making the would a better place.

Good design is a blend of form and function. What product would you design that would improve peoples lives? I would create a device that can tune and wax a snowboard easily and in minutes. If your snowboard is not properly tuned and waxed riding it will be much harder. With a well waxed board you can go much faster, with tuned edges you can turn much easier. Tuning a board today is not to quick or easy. You have to melt the wax you choose, drip it all over your board, and then use a wax iron to melt and spread the wax. Then you have to scrape off the excess wax. Once your done waxing you have to use a file to sharpen the edges. This process can become very annoyingand time consuming. With a device to do all of this for you, you can spend more time on the slopes and less time preparing.

This device would be similar to an iron that is used for clothing. It would be around eight inches wide and ten inches long. This way you could wax you entire board in just two passes. It would be super heated to insantly melt the wax.  With this new iron you would no longer have to rub or drip wax on to the board. This iron would have a compartment in the top that you could put precut bars of wax in to. Once the iron was turned on it would heat the wax until it became liquefied.  There would be a button that when pressed would allow the melted wax to come out of tiny holes that cover the bottom of the iron. This would ensure an even coat of wax and eliminate the extra time it sakes to spread out the wax.

Then next thingthat needs to be eliminated is the time it takes to scrape off any excess wax. The way this device would do this is by having a scaper on both ends. By have ing a scraper at both ends it will take off any old wax, apply new wax, and then remove excess wax. The less old wax there is the better the new wax will work, and depending on snow conditions you may want more or less wax. Because of this the scapers will have to be adjustable. With scrapers built in there will be much much less time and efort needed after the wax is applied.

 The final part of this device would be a file that extends down from the side of the iron. This file would be used to sharpen your edges while you wax your board. The file would have to be adjustable. Depending on your riding style you may like your edges to be squared off “tuned”, or you may want them to slant away from the bottom of the board “de-tuned”. For just riding down the mountain tuned edges will give you more control, de-tuned edges are better for riding rails in the park, and slightly de-tuned edges are better for all around use. With this adjustable file you can sharpen your edges any way you like.

 With this new tool you can tune your board all at one time. You would never again have to waste more than a few minutes getting your board ready compared to wasting a minimum of an hour now.  Your board will be exactly how you want it everytime. For once your iron is set it will never need to be adjusted. With this new device tuneing your board will be easy and fun. You will also be able to spend more time one the slopes and less time tuning your board.

There are many important inventions that have greatly benefited society. A few are, The automobile, the telephone, the Internet,and many others. However In my eyes the most important technological invention to benefit society is the cell phone. Cell phones allow you to do many different things. They can also be extremely helpful. You can do almost anything with just a cell phone. You can use the Internet, make calls and even use a built in GPS.

With the Internet on your cell phone, you can look up all kinds of information that you may need for a project or just for fun. You can also play games to have fun in your free time. You can type and save work. You can also communicate with anyone it the world that has internet access. Do to all of these abilities the Internet is like an encyclopedia, game system, and word processor all in one. That is one reason why cell phones are so beneficial.

Cell phones make everything very accessible. If you have one you can use the Internet, make calls, text message, and get directions from almost any where in the world. You can look something up for a job you have to do from where ever you are. You can check the weather if your hiking or camping so you can know weather or not to seek shelter from rain or snow. You can even instant message your friends of check your Myspace if you get bored.

With your cell phone you can use its built in GPS to find out where you are or get directions to anywhere. You will never be lost again. It will give you a map and step by step directions to get you where ever you tell it to take you. Even if your in a remote area where you’ve never been before you GPS will tell you how to navigate through it. You will now be able to go any where you desire with out the fear of getting horribly lost.

These are just a few examples of why cell phones are the most important technological invention to benefit mankind. If you invest in a good cell phone you can now eliminate the cost of a GPS, Ipod, and maybe even a computer. For a cell phone is all of theses in one small hand held device. New cell phones even have a keyboard to make them more “computer like.” With all of these benefits and capabilities buying a cell phone is a no brainer.

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