10,000 Brilliant Ideas

24/7 dispatch in any storm (Is the water getting close? Give us a call!) preventative service (with guarantee!) must-go taxi service (never miss a flight!) Gear Tough dudes on call (with waders and boots) snorkeled and sealed SUVs and trucks (with winches and the like for clearing roads if needed) Truck-based pumps Gas-powered pumps Tarps and coverings Sandbags car props for getting a vehicle up high collapsible door tunnels (these might not yet exist...) Obviously this plan is very seasonal, but only the gear needs to be sitting around all year. The guys that are needed can just be regular joes with normal jobs that don't have other worries when the rain comes. Their regular jobs will be cancelled during that time anyway.

Hurricane's have huge amounts of energy. More than the world uses in a year. But of course when they blow through you better get your wind turbine turned off or it will snap in half. But what if you designed a wind turbine to handle that speed of wind? 99% of the time it wouldn't do anything, but if a hurricane did come through it would power the world for a day.

When the rain is coming down lightly so that it's a bit annoying in your face, a regular umbrella works wonders. Anything more and it really is lacking. Okay sure your head and hand are dry, but the rain comes down off your umbrella and onto the bottom of your pants. Even with rain boots on, you have to be wearing waders to avoid any splashing. And if there's even a bit of wind, forget it. The other day, I saw a woman with a dome umbrella , which is the kind where you're meant to stick your head up in the umbrella and look out through its see-through self. (I didn't know people actually used these, but there she was). This re-sparked my idea for the ultimate commuter rain gear.  Imagine a set of attractive rainboots with clear durable plastic connected to the tops, which then goes all the way up to connect to a dome umbrella. You take off your shoes, tuck them in a bag, step into the boots, pull the umbrella up over your head and zip up the side. There are plenty ...