Public: Welfare
Flying luminescent squirrels   (+2, -1)  [vote for, against]
Guides you safely home at night in a surreal way.

Breed firefly genes into squirrels (why squirrels -- those darn cute tails) or dachschunds or better yet St. Bernards (yo ho ho and a barrel of rum). Attach (implant?) a small motor. Watch the idea "take off".
-- thecat, Jun 13 2003

Dr. Tomorrow - The Ottawa Citizen http://www.drtomorr...ure/ottawa1018.html
"In another example, scientists transferred the gene that causes a firefly to light up into tobacco, creating tobacco that lights itself up..." [phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Firefly Luciferase as a Reporter for Plant Gene Expression Studies http://www.promega....rhsen/luerhsen.html
[phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

The Glowing Tobacco Plant http://library.thin...oframes/tobacco.htm
"The result was a tobacco plant that glowed green after being administered the correct catalyst (luciferin)." [phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Firefly Gene Lights up to Detect Toxic Dioxin (.PDF) http://www.dioxins....DSpr-10-18-2000.pdf
"A gene from a firefly has been added to mammalian cells so that they glow when exposed to the toxin dioxin, and the cells glow brighter as the level of dioxin increases..." [phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Firefly Genes Light Up Stanford Research Mice http://www.stanford...Contag/firefly.html
"Scientist at Stanford University are using mice and rats that glow faintly in the dark -- thanks to firefly genes inserted into their cells...one mouse was treated so just its ears lit up..." [phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Glowing mice help screen cancer therapies http://mednews.stan...eases/glowmice.html
"Mice that light up when cancer cells are on the rampage and dim when the invaders are poisoned by drugs may help researchers pinpoint effective new anti-cancer drugs..." [phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Firefly genes light the way http://www.spiritcr.../StudyOfLife/a4.htm
"Japanese researchers have created transgenic trout by implanting firefly genes ("luciferase" genes) into fertilized fish roe..." [phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Firefly Light Illuminates Course Of Herpes Infection In Mice http://www.scienced...11/021105080523.htm
"Researchers are using a herpes virus that produces a firefly enzyme to illuminate the virus's course of infection in mice..." [phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Rocket J. Squirrel. http://www.sergioleone.net/ma-7.jpg
Shown here with Moose. [Amos Kito, Oct 04 2004]

Tongue-in-cheek http://www.halfbake...al/help.html#tongue
Perhaps quite applicable. [Worldgineer, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Luminescent Fish http://www.spiegel....1518,253173,00.html
The fish are $15 each, perhaps there is a market for squirrels too. [kbecker, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

An attempt by some to capture the 'unwritten rules.' http://www.halfbake...20etiquette_20guide
Worth a read. [RayfordSteele, Oct 04 2004]

Why motor?
-- kbecker, Jun 13 2003


And why not breed some aluminum and kevlar in there too? And carbon fiber spars, drawn in the glorious gracile patterns of St. Bernard physique.
-- bristolz, Jun 13 2003


Watch the idea "die a horrible, fish-boned death". But then again, cats quite fancy fish bones... (muses)...
-- Cedar Park, Jun 14 2003


I'd favor cockroaches, just to mess with their minds.

Disregard the genetic nay-sayers. What you propose is well within the bounds of possibility (including the motor) but it all seems cruel.
-- phoenix, Jun 14 2003


Q: Why motor? A: So they can *stay* airborne. C: ... Or get a clue about the limitations of genetic engineering A: Humorless grouch!(who also seems to lack the imagination to remember that scientists [for better or worse - see next C:] are making the impossible possible ALL THE TIME. P.S. Do you have a spare piece of amber I can use. C: Watch the idea die a horrible, fish-boned death A: Not if people judge it on it's "merits" (whimsical "usefulness"). The fact is, I do not actually agree with GM in reality. This should be an obvious extrapolation from all my other posts (as I am quite consistent in my beliefs). Are many of you SO pedantic that you can not separate my serious heartfelt stuff from the wacky, better left unbaked stuff. C: Disregard the naysayers A: Thanks for the affirmation C: It all seems quite cruel (The implant*?* was the "spoiler" that should have let people know not to be to serious (animal cruelty, etc.), the motor wouldn't be bred in (that I should have to say this --good grief!) and the firefly with the squirrel, dashschund, St. Bernard what is so awful about this. Think donkeys, etc. Also, I would hope that if my idea was mistaken for "serious" it would have make for a more intelligent discussion of the horrors of GM like putting scorpion genes in wheat, and using rat sperm to aid in human conception.
-- thecat, Jun 14 2003


The flip side is: If you have to explain why it's a good idea, it's not. This is a really bad idea. Despite shoring up the science behind it, I still voted against.
-- phoenix, Jun 15 2003


1) Don't agree (an oldtimer here once wrote somewhere maybe its not the idea that needs anything ...). 2)Fair enough (appreciate the comment about shoring up the science behind it - at least you give me that - HA!)
-- thecat, Jun 16 2003


I think you need to add a goofy drawing as an appeasement.
-- bristolz, Jun 16 2003


Hm, yeah, a luminescent flying St. Bernard definitely takes some imagining!
-- DrCurry, Jun 16 2003


Inspired. What a saving on batteries for my night sight ........

"kill 'em all !"
-- 8th of 7, Jun 16 2003


where u bin, 8th?
-- po, Jun 16 2003


not May 4th?
-- po, Jun 16 2003


Yeah. [jutta] may 4th you to delete this idea.

Silly [buddha_pest]. You tie them to your *shoes* so you can see where you're going...
-- phoenix, Jun 16 2003


[bristolz/DrCurry] Do you know of anyone who can "draw me a picture" and post it as a link.

[bristolz X 2] Nice to see you quoting me ;)

[buddha_pest] Your idea is (IMNSHO) not as "aestetically" pleasing as mine.

[8th of 7] Thanks for 1 of the 2 croissants (I assume). No I did not give myself the other.

[8th of 7 X 2] What is your "name" about? Is it some Star Trekkie thing?
-- thecat, Jun 16 2003


If you'd asked two hours ago, I could have mocked something up in Photoshop. Now you'll have to wait a few days (unless bris has a hand free).
-- DrCurry, Jun 16 2003


// some Star Trekkie thing? //

Someone's asking for a photon torpedo where it hurts ......

Read my profile.
-- 8th of 7, Jun 17 2003


// Are many of you SO pedantic that you can not separate my serious heartfelt stuff from the wacky, better left unbaked stuff. //

The problem is if you start getting into what is essentially GM magic, you open it up to make anything possible. This does not require any particularly inventive thought. Any dolt can make up a goofy GM idea. So that's why they are uninteresting and frequently not as whimsical as the author would like, and why they almost always get a negative reaction.

Stop yelling at people who don't like your ideas. That is not going to make them change their minds. Instead put some effort into coming up with better (i.e., more inventive and clever) ideas.
-- waugsqueke, Jun 17 2003


There may still be money in this (see fish link).

You mave have to leave out the motor though, too many moving parts. Feed them beans instead and genetically engineer their rear end into a RAMjet engine.
-- kbecker, Jun 17 2003


[...squeke] Who's yelling. I think that might perhaps be the cauldron calling the kettle ... (just a thought).

Until we meet again @ the intersection of a shared idea, I bid you adiou -- with kissy kisses - the cat
-- thecat, Jun 20 2003


[8th of 7] Oooh! ;)
-- thecat, Jun 20 2003


[Dr Curry] (& bristolz) hey where's the pleasing appeasing appeasement I know you want to want to dodo.
-- thecat, Jun 20 2003


You'll be paying us at our usual rates, I presume?
-- DrCurry, Jun 20 2003


oh of course, my sweet(s). that would be of course my undying gratitude, warm regards, maybe a wow, cool (if it's kind of cool, oddly enough)a few canadian pennies and well i'm sure I could think of all kinds of nice things like this to give you(s) but *my god, I give and I give and then I give some more and (whew!)when will I ever stop being so noble and giving.

*(ISDE)
-- thecat, Jun 20 2003


mrs. kitty, if you would do some site exploring, (like, say, the help file at the left which gives some general helpful advice, hence, the name 'helpfile'), you'd be able to predict the response this would've gotten ahead of time.
-- RayfordSteele, Jun 20 2003


[R...S...] I don't pander to idea-ology like that. I've been around (this site) alot. But just not to prejudge my ideas with such a extremely authority-centric perspective. If I could have expected a certain result ("predicted the response ahead of time") then this site is obviously full of people who think the same (don't think for themselves) and also that the "autoboner" d-o-e-s exist.

There are a lot of well-educated people on this site, but my experience is it's only about 50/50 (I might be being a little generous) for people who are able to think originally, rationally and without seeking affirmation of an "authority".

Or maybe its just a vocal minority/slight majority. One that keeps its perceived power base/gets a sense of superiority by slamming free-thinkers by being "generous" in giving a feast of fishbones/the use of derogatory terms like trolls, saying it's baked, it's baked, it's baked, and the like.

Ideas, facts, etc. should speak for themselves.
-- thecat, Jun 21 2003


I walked into the chess shop and started playing darts without a dartboard. The locals failed to appreciate this, due to their authority-centric idea-ology, or maybe they just weren't as clever as me.
-- hob, Jul 08 2003


Hypocrisy, smart-assing, half-truths, selective deletions of some less decent bakers own comments to make a respondent look potentially foolish -- none of this has to do with a benign, fun, smart, decent culture RayfordSteele.

You said in a post on another idea that you don't like me and tied it to religion. These are things that make me, no not atheist, but agnostic. If you can't see the problems with "the culture" -- can't see the cowardice, etc. hiding behind authority and the deceitful puffing up of others that share the same nasty tactics while they do the same for the other so that they have "credibility"/breed hopeless apathy in others which is PATHETIC then I am not only not the least bit offended or hurt that you don't like me and hint that I'm mean, etc. and don't live up to your religion (which you didn't state) 's standards I actually am honored. Because I am kinder, more honest, less fearful, not hypocritical and base my decisions (and follow-through) on reason and compassion.

P.S. I DO NOT NEED TO BE TOLD THIS INCLUDES A LONG, INVOLVED SENTENCE. I DO NOT CARE! IT IS A CREDIBLE ONE AND BEATS THE **** OUT OF BS WORDED ONES.
-- thecat, Jul 08 2003


[hob] Perhaps.
-- thecat, Jul 08 2003


// Ideas, facts, should speak for themselves. //

Precisely. This one says nothing at all.

// deletions to make a respondent appear potentially foolish //

Is that what you think goes on here? That people delete things just to make others look foolish? Just relax, it ain't so. Deletions and additions happen all the time, as accounts get destroyed, people change their minds, think of better wording, want to add a comment but not cycle the idea back to the top of the recent list, want to hack out things that aren't relavent, (like this discussion), or simply preserve space on jutta's server, which is highly valued.

I determined I didn't like you much because you struck me as someone who couldn't deal with negative responses gracefully, and then whined about it, making some false assumptions as to why it all happened that way. You hit it off pretty poorly with some that I already trust, for some reason or another, and because of that you had some ground to make up. I was quite frankly 'compassionately' avoiding you for awhile, 'cause you sounded to me so much like alot of others who weren't well-received. At one point many thought you were one rather notorious troll come back to give the whole place grief.

Most people here know eachother pretty well, through email, other sites, real life get-togethers, and suchforth, and so most of the tongue-in-cheek stuff that goes on is seen as pretty harmless by them.

Voting is more complicated than the simple merits of the idea; there's rarely much correlation. Right, wrong, good, bad, or indifferent. People who are seen by others as generally pretty clever and have demonstrated that they understand the place are often given a bit of leeway from time to time. Newbies catch on, and are rewarded or they don't and aren't. It might not be fair, but nobody's that interested in fair. Everyone is given some chance; some improve significantly after awhile in their clarity, originality, wit, etc, others choose to be stubborn, take everything too personally and spill their personal vendettas out all over the site. Humility in everyone is appreciated and rewarded, and arrogance only tolerated. And those are the *facts.*

I didn't tell you my beliefs because it's not relavent to the site; in fact, I was quite pushing my luck as it was with the rules.

If you're so kind, honest, and unhypocritical, why did it enter your head to start comparing? Are you certain you've seen every side of my personality? I doubt it, you tend to bring out the worst in me much of the time.

If people aren't responding to you, that's usually a bad sign, and they're probably filtering you.

Check out some of the annotations on the linked idea above; you'll catch on.

We all recognize a tongue-in-cheek idea when we see it. But this one is just lame. Stringing random words together from random dictionary flips would be as sensible.

Finally, most ideas here are presentations at the outset; conversations are for the anno's.
-- RayfordSteele, Jul 08 2003


Nice try Ray. I'd be interested in knowing who this well respected trusted person is. And I do know that a few things have been deleted for less than honorable reasons &/or in less than honorable ways.
-- thecat, Jul 11 2003


//Voting is more complicated than the simple merits of the idea; there's rarely much correlation. Right, wrong, good, bad, or indifferent. People who are seen by others as generally pretty clever and have demonstrated that they understand the place are often given a bit of leeway from time to time. Newbies catch on, and are rewarded or they don't. It might not be fair, but nobody's that interested in fair. And those are the *facts.*//

I read: "whatever your idea it will most likely be fishboned, even if it's a great idea, if you're new. If you tow the line and don't impose too much when the established 'gang' are chatting then every idea you post won't be dismissed. The people who have helped bring this site to its current state don't care about new blood or new ideas, they just care that their comfortable clique isn't disturbed."

Which would mean that this website is little more than a chatroom for the regulars who use it to back-slap one another and show off their self-appointed superiority to the internet public at large. I don't actually think this is what I've seen during my time here, but it is what you seem to be suggesting?
-- Nickynackynoo, Jul 11 2003



random, halfbakery