No. 0020 - Microwave Network

Everyday around 11:30 pm at my work, without failing, there is promised to have this aroma that generates from the vincinity of the copier; that area happens to be where our microwave situates. And within the minute of this first scent, there is also promised to have a queue of frozen dinners and left overs lining up on the table. This is the exact reason why I usually have my lunch slightly before the "microwave rush". However, on this one day, I failed to beat the rush so I actually ended up second in the queue. Luckily, my cube is close enough to the microwave where I can hear the beep, so I can actually get back to my cube and work while the microwave is cooking. But on this particular day, this lady before me must have been cooking a turkey or something (those were my exact wording in my thought. . . . . ironically also the same words my cube-mate used on her just a few days after this incident) because she ding'd her frozen dinner like 50 times at "forever" intervals. Each time I hear the ding, I would get up to find out she is putting it back in which kind of frustrated me a bit.

Now we all live in an age of neighborhood networking and internet; how about linking up our office microwave to the network too? Here is what I'm thinking. There can be this little window program where it will indicate the time left over on the microwave so people can time themselves accordingly. Better yet, how about have the queue on the network where the program will have pop up messages that will warn you when you are up in "approximately 30 seconds" or "now serving ticket No. 34". If networking is too difficult, then how about those devices they give you at restaurants when you are waiting for a table, where the device will vibrate and flash lights (basically freak-out on you) to tell you that you are being summoned. Honestly, with such a device, it would save me from all the anxiety and false alarms that the "turkey lady" puts me (and my cube-mate) through.

Side note: this invention idea is dedicated to Claire for this is her last week at her office. Like many of us, she have also suffered similar "turkey lady" situations (for bathrooms instead) and offered this solution. Bravo!