Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
Make mine a double.

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The Compleat Mug

For the cubicle generation
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Roland picked up the double-walled, stainless steel mug and took a swig. The water was, as always, cold and utterly tasteless.

As he put the mug back into its cradle, he marvelled again at the technology behind it.

The miniature airconditioning unit in the base cradle doubled duty as a pollen filter, cooled the immediate area around his work space, and gently ionised the air it emitted to keep him bright and alert. The moisture condensed from the atmosphere was filtered, then collected in the mug, to provide a refreshing cold drink of water every hour or so, depending upon ambient humidity levels. They were rapidly becoming the executive toy of choice, amongst early Gen-Xers.

Roland quietly congratulated himself on having purchased one for everyone in the office. Sick leave levels were down, absenteeism was down, productivity was up and downtime and gossip were radically reduced, with no more "water cooler pity parties" to distract the staff.

"I wonder if there's a way to recycle urine through these things?", he dreamed.

UnaBubba, Nov 23 2003

For yama http://dictionary.r...m/search?q=compleat
'cause I had to look it up too [half, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004]

[link]






       Finally an office gadget for someone other than coffee drinkers.
half, Nov 23 2003
  

       I considered making it USB but the power requirement would be too high.
UnaBubba, Nov 23 2003
  

       Oh well, maybe USB 3.0 will contain provision for powering refrigeration units.   

       'fraid it mightn't condense enough water to satisfy my daily requirement though. Things is mighty drah 'round these heah parts, most 'specially with the A/C a goin' nigh on ta year round and winter bein' even draher thun summer.
half, Nov 23 2003
  

       Massive office-wide versions posing as the 'water-cooler,' please.   

       Why the archaic spelling?
yamahito, Nov 23 2003
  

       Not archaic, rather descriptive. The word 'compleat' means: Of or characterized by a highly developed or wide-ranging skill or proficiency... Being an outstanding example of a kind; quintessential.
I figured that for a best fit, [yama]. 'Complete' is a less descriptive word with limited meaning, in this context.
  

       [half], this *is* the airconditioner. Might I suggest breathing more heavily, to add to the atmospheric moisture content?
UnaBubba, Nov 23 2003
  

       that's a new definition to me - but I'll admit the only dictionary I have bookmarked at the moment is Mirriam-Webster, which is really another language... Where did you source your definition, out of curiosity?
yamahito, Nov 23 2003
  

       Oh. Then where does the extracted heat go? Someone else's cubicle?   

       I usually don't do my heavy breathing in the office. But, your suggestion contorted to apply to Roland's dream...
half, Nov 23 2003
  

       [Yama], I took the text of the definition from dictionary.com As for the initial use... it's just one of those things bobbing about with the other jetsam in my mind.   

       [half], we pipe it (the hot air) away, to heat coffee for the poor, sad addicts.
UnaBubba, Nov 23 2003
  

       Heh. As I suspected.
Yup, tis halfbaked all right.
half, Nov 23 2003
  

       Before you ask, yes... the urine, too.
UnaBubba, Nov 23 2003
  

       Heh. The poor, sad addicts.
half, Nov 23 2003
  

       I'd make sure that only the heat passes from urine to coffee... honest!
UnaBubba, Nov 24 2003
  

       Afraid I wouldn't use it much in the wintertime. It's much too dry in this office as is.
RayfordSteele, Nov 24 2003
  

       We all bought ourselves air purifiers after September 11, not trusting the official pronouncements on air quality (the chronic asthma of the allergic seemed a more sensitive measure than the little machines they stuck all over the place), so you certainly got my vote.   

       Except for the ionizer part - those things always seem to create a lot of ozone, which is going backwards in terms of air quality. And given how dry most offices are, I think your device should be a net user of water, with a humidifier unit.
DrCurry, Nov 24 2003
  

       I've often wondered about the production of ozone, by ionisers, [DC]. Isn't their primary purpose to impart an electrostatic charge to dust particles, to remove them from the air?   

       Re: water usage... humidity is a problem where I come from, so aircons tend to extract a lot of water from the air. This state is the opposite to somewhere like Phoenix, where water is scarce and humidity merely a distant, fuzzy concept.
UnaBubba, Nov 25 2003
  

       That is their purpose, but if you can smell the ozone, which you can around these things, then you're being poisoned, which doesn't seem like an especially good trade-off.
DrCurry, Nov 25 2003
  

       I guess not. Dealing with chronic asthma is a tradeoff, anyway.
UnaBubba, Nov 25 2003
  
      
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