DAMPS.com

An American Inventor contestant blog
of the ABC show The American Inventor

April 6, 2006 show four, The American Inventor.

Here we are awaiting show four, in the series Invention Gone Bad.
The show drops from 19 to 42 in the ABC ratings. Not to kick an F Chuck when it’s down, in this blog I will try to focus more on the inspiration, the commitment, the excitement, the passion that is invention. I believe everyone knows by now that I do not see eye to eye with some of the judges. I did take our audition rejection a little personally. You can say what you want about me, DAMPS Technology speaks for itself.

Positive Step for DAMPS Technology
As a positive follow up to our on going footwear technology saga, we had a very strong meeting, with renewed military consensus for our second generation DAMPS II LD Smart Boots. With DAMPS technology, soldiers or anyone can pound out a ten mile march and only receive the equivalent motion shock of an estimated three miles. In addition DAMPS also creates three jewel/watts of DC current when the magnets fields overlap, in motion. We pray our soldiers are going to love DAMPS, in Iraq now and when they come home. The health and productivity gains for anyone on their feet all day long are substantial and you know I believe DAMPS is the future. www.damps.com

DAMPS.com
In addition, our web site www.damps.com was visited by 15, 310 viewers in March. Beginning in1997, our largest viewership ever. People are Goggling for footwear technology. Magnetic Technology the industry has not provided, until now.

God willing and the water don’t rise, my Dad always would tell us, that’s where DAMPS technology steps in. This means we should be manufacturing DAMPS technology footwear.

Show Suggestions
I hope the producers attempt to pick up the creative pace a little. I will try coffee. I pray to see less of the judges and more of the stars of the show, the great American inventors with greater American inventions than we have seen so far. Come on, we know there are inventions out there made the best way, the American away. Made in the USA. Let’s see them!!!

It’s the Invention
Even with the show called The American Inventor, there is a reality miss in keeping the going forward decision focus solely on the inventors, when it is the invention that American’s will be voting on. America will not vote simply because someone cries and pleads or has spent all their money. Our votes naturally will be for the best invention. The best invention speaks volumes for the inventor. The inventor’s passion, his or her spirit is brightly reflected in the invention. That is what America wants to see. No amount of corralling or copycat drama by the judges will tell the influence. Any design of riding the American Idol marketing wave, is going flat.

The show is trying to show that the invention must speak louder than anything an inventor can do while at the same time the judges are sympathetically letting inventors get through to a next round, knowing they will be blown out of the water with the final twelve.

Follow up
In my last blog I introduced fellow inventor, friend Paul Driscoll and his infringement situation with Chan and his flying rescue disk. Paul’s inventive solution to ABC and the young man is a very positive thing for young inventors and invention. I will add a link to his open letter as it becomes available. www.life-safer.com

To the American Inventor Producers
I am an American inventor. I was an American inventor long before the show and I will be one long after the show, God willing. I have and always will support invention. We had great hope for an invention show before there was an invention show. Your questionable and disgraceful treatment of the DAMPS Invention Team is still in question. DAMPS management has discussed options at our disposal re what to do re this situation. For now the bog is letting me vent off steam however sooner or later we are going to require accountability, real answers from Simon Cowell and the producers et al. Stay tuned you won’t want to miss that.

Show four
Four judges, seven cities and ten thousand inventors later opens the show. F Chuck (Doug Hall) is still looking for “substance,” and more abuse. Simon Bowells (Peter Jones) says candidly maybe the show is “America’s worst idea.” Big Red (Mary Lou Quinlan) is still upset over the nudity from show two, oh my God, “Get out of here!” She knows women, she just doesn’t want to see them naked. Sorry I said I was going to be nice but they just keep being themselves.

This audition part of the show is winding down in this episode and the final twelve, (they told us nine) will get $ 50,000 to further their invention.

How Youz Doing?
America’s first inventor is a retired Italian boxer with a new take on a coffee dispenser with a one two punch you just have to love. The inventor enters with music from the God Father and proceeds to come out swinging with an offer all four judges could not refuse. He got his idea for his invention while handling a revolver. He decides I can either kill this guy or serve him coffee. The rest may be history. Forget about it, he’s a made man!

Ed Evangelista
The shows goes into an expose on Ed Evangelista. There is almost nothing Ed hasn’t done. He is a beach guy, he works out, plays guitar, loves to build things, work on cars and fish. His favorite phrase, “I got to tell you.” We only wish Ed would have been more successful in his support of DAMPS technology.

Light a Match
The next inventor tried very hard to keep the business of life from stinking the place up with his odor removing toilet bowl. The judges, working on a friendlier TV face, started off as best friends in this segment. F Chuck the only judge who voted for this invention was literally blown away by this invention. I think it is because he knows stink. Simon Bowells believes his stuff doesn’t stink so he saw no solution to a no problem. He saw the answer as diet, filled with fruit I would guess.

The next inventor the human center piece was so nervous it made me nervous. Ed Evangelista couldn’t stop laughing while Big Red tries to calm the lady down by asking her to take deep breaths. Breathing was not the problem. F Chuck finally ends the misery and all four judges give the human center piece the heave go.

The American night mare was next. $300k spent on developing under garments? What?

No also for Texas Sushi we never saw.

Red Flag
Now we see another inventor in footwear with shock absorbers for women’s high heels. Anything in our invention area get’s my strong attention. Cliff and I had a long talk in our audition with Big Red re DAMPS technology for women’s footwear so we will have to see where this goes. F Chuck busted his chops re contact I formation for the podiatrist that could back his shock reduction claims of 50%. I didn’t know Nike was into women’s high heels, F Chuck I can believe. We too would like to see validation of the shock reduction claims. We will be watching this invention closely if it proceeds.

The next invention the Hollywood Remote Leash was severely lashed by all four judges. Certain style Jerry Garcia would have enjoyed, in the bathroom.

Love & Invention
What can I say about the inventor team with the car armor. Love and invention can be strange. Together they can be freeway weird. Just as in Love, invention can be cruel and the judges split on the blood sweat and tears of this invention team.

The toy figure manipulator, exercise women jumping around, the no damage cookies and full body armor for baseball little leaguers were flown past us. I don’t know which ones made it? Are the producers hiding inventions we have seen little of?

Einstein adds Character
The character building buddy for children started off slow quoting Einstein but soon picked up unanimous support from the judges for her thoughtful educational tool for children in an ever busy and parentless world.

Is There an Echo
The repetition tape for children did not play as well for the judges and this inventor was quickly sent packing. Go away. Go away. Go away…

Back in Washington D.C., the energized man with the advanced cup holder was on a roll that even F Chuck could not stop. This guy could sell socks to frogs. It’s not an invention, it’s a cup holder screamed F Chuck.

For the Record
The placating judges keep telling inventors your invention is novel, but it is not an invention. That is an incorrect assessment. The test for qualifying a new patent is to be unique, novel and non-obvious. So to say your product is novel but not an invention is inaccurate. Let’s get this straightened out OK. Thank you.

Stop the Presses
The producers, working on the continued invention theme of how long inventions can take, gave us our big break. Cliff and I get two seconds of fame. You hear me say “seventeen years” and that’s it. A small price to pay for such prime time exposure wouldn’t you say. What can I say I’m desperate.

Sacrifice
The next inventor gave up a lot for his invention, a kidney for karma, and his wife for the portable coffee ring, but did not fair much better. Again F Chuck the omnipotent has drank out of this type of cup at the North Pole. During his early years working as an elf helper for Santa Claus no doubt. Speaking from experience you don’t have to be crazy to be a serious inventor but it helps. For now, all that really matters is that his son thinks he is a good inventor.

For the Love of a Child
The final inventor an engineer, was driven by the loss of his baby daughter in a car accident to design and build a space age children’s car seat. Anyone who was not touched by this is not alive. Of course F Chuck has to challenge this engineer’s knowledge of physics because that was his best subject in high school. Big Red, having some type of flash back says the car seat reminds her of a womb? What species was this again? Simon Bowells is the only judge to say no. I am thinking because no one in his family lived. We are definitely going to see this product.

Matt Gallant closes the show with a smile and an edited rehash of the loosing inventions, like we needed to see them again and we are now ready to go to the final twelve to see who gets $50,000 to further their invention. More potential exposure down the drain.

First Born
We’d love to see the additional paper work the twelve finalists had to sign in order to receive the $50k to proceed on the show. If it is anything like the sixty seven pages we had to sign to go further in the competition, caveat emptor. As we proceed we can discuss the paper work in more detail re what an inventor signs away to be on The American Inventor. It isn’t pretty.

Where are the Great Inventions?
I still have to ask, Where are America’s greatest inventions? This can’t be all out of ten thousand inventors. Did I miss something? Perhaps the producers are editing the best inventions for last is the only answer I can come up with. No doubt there are some good inventions but nothing over the top like I was hoping for.

The DAMPS Challenge
I formally challenge Simon Cowell to an American invention duel. DAMPS Technology is undeniably at least as good as the final twelve inventions on the show. So why weren’t we picked? If Simon doubts this claim then let’s get four independent representatives to act as judges and let them review DAMPS Technology Footwear. It will take them two steps in the boots. Simon, man to man do you have the balls to accept?

You wanted inspiration, you wanted passion, you wanted dedication, you wanted The America Inventor, well you’re getting one. Can you handle the reality?