Today’s lunchtime news chum brings together a collection of articles that all present innovative solutions to problems:
- Got Poison Ivy? Get Goats. Historic Fort Hancock in Sandy Hook NJ has a problem. It is being overrun with poison ivy — so much so that it can’t be removed by hand. Their solution? Bring in a herd of nubian goats to eat the stuff. (warning-video plays with autostart đ ) Evidently, the goats love the stuff and the irritant oil doesn’t bother them. The only real problem is that they don’t get the roots, but those will eventually die off.
- Technology and Burlesque. Here’s an interesting article from Las Vegas: A burlesque performer is working with a technology company to create virtual clothing and environments. The projection creates the illusion of clothing on her body and furniture, and should provide more creative ways to remove clothing without removing clothing. At least that’s what the artist claims. I’m not sure how effective it would be in real life, and what benefit it brings.
- Women on Currency. Great Britain almost had an interesting situation when it put Winston Churchill’s portrait on the ÂŁ5 note — they would have had no women (except for the Queen) on their currency. However, the problem has been averted: Jane Austin is going to be featured on the ÂŁ10 note.
- Debt Collection. The new Consumer Finance Protection Board is starting to produce some useful solutions — in this case, they have issued a number of boilerplate letters consumers can use to get debt collectors to go away. This might be useful to bookmark. Even if you are current on your debts, the debt collection slime sometimes mistake your phone number or your name (especially if it is common) for one of their targets, and then you get the task of getting rid of them. These will help.
- Dealing with Doggie Boredom. Bored dogs can be bad dogs — tearing up the house, leaving “presents”. Dish TV thinks it has the answer: It is introducing a satellite channel — for dogs. DOGTV will will feature programs with music, visuals, animation and the occasional human that are designed to relax, stimulate and ease the loneliness of home-alone pets. The company, which is in talks and planning to launch the channel in other countries, is also contemplating a TV channel for cats.
- Can I Buy Your Dog a Drink? On a related note, the Rumor Boutique Hotel in Las Vegas has introduced “Yappy Hour”, a monthly happy hour that caters to both people and their pets. Offered on the third Thursday of every month, Yappy Hour is a means for dog-loving humans to meet like-minded humans in a sociable setting as their dogs do pretty much the same. The article does not indicate any plans for a Cat “Yappy Hour” — either this means that cat-owners, or more likely the cats themselves, are anti-social.
- Apps for Drinks. Given that we’re talking about happy hours, one last item. Seems like an enterprising company has come up with an app to send drinks to a person you want to meet in a bar. So, if you don’t have the nerve to — you know — actually talk to them — you can use technology as a crutch. Of course, this raises the question of why, if you were so scared to talk to people, you were in the bar in the first place.
