Day 234: Sloppy Dogs

Have you ever had an idea that you were sure was going to make you a multi-millionaire? My brother Jeff always seems to be coming up with plans or schemes that he is sure will help him “hit the jackpot”. His ideas have been numerous and at times creative. My favorite of course was his plan to open up a business selling “sloppy dogs”. A sloppy dog is basically a sloppy joe in a hot dog bun--I think. My brothers and I have never quite understood the sloppy dog and it has been more of a joke among us than anything we have ever taken seriously. Although, we probably should be careful. All famous entrepreneurs have had their skeptics--and now they are laughing all the way to the bank!

Sue also has a plan to hit the big time. Her plan has nothing to do with sloppy dogs. Rather, she has an invention that she is sure will revolutionize the world. I probably shouldn’t mention it in a public forum like this as someone may try to steal her idea. However, for all you out reading this post, consider the following idea patented and protected by copyright. We have a patent lawyer in the family who we may have to employ if anyone tries to copy Sue’s brilliant plan. Anyway, Sue’s idea is to create a call button, that when pushed, will ring a buzzer on a remote control--thus allowing you to find a missing remote. For example, let’s say you lose the TV remote and need to find it fast because the new episode of American Idol is starting in the next five minutes. No problem...you push the call button and whoalla, your remote beeps and informs you of its hidden location. This is especially attractive to those with toddlers in the home who love to take the remote, play with it, and then deposit it at the bottom of a pile of toys. It is much the same idea as the call button you push to locate your cordless phone.

I have often thought of Sue’s idea since I have been in Afghanistan. Her idea could be applied to one widely found object here--the heating and air conditioning units. The picture below shows the hallway of the B-hut where I live (kind of looks like prison doesn’t it). At the end of the hallway, above the door you will see the air conditioning/heating unit. These things actually work pretty well. However, they can only be controlled by remote control. That’s right, if you lose your remote you are stuck...there is no way to change the temperature. There have been a few times, when it was really cold out, that we have been unable to turn up the heat because the remote has gone missing. In those moments, what I wouldn’t have given to have simply pushed a button and then let my sense of hearing guide me to the missing remote.

I’m not sure it is a million dollar idea, but who knows we might be able to make a little money doing this. So maybe after this deployment is over, I will pack up the family and bring them back to Afghanistan and we will start up a “air conditioner remote control buzzer finding business.” I guess if it doesn’t work out we could always sell sloppy dogs.