"Make Your Breakfast Faster with Batter Blaster"

Posted on March 7th, 2008 in Inventors by Chris

In order to understand the title of my post, you have to watch this video. After you have watched the video, check out their web site. The only thing missing is Beaver Cleaver. I am not making fun of this invention by any means. I love pancakes, but I hate the mess. The drips on the stove and the mixing bowl are usually enough to deter me from making them. Not only am I excited about this product, but I can’t wait to try it. As a matter of fact, I searched on the company’s website for a store that carries Batter Blaster.

This product is a perfect example of building a better mouse trap. We all know how to make pancakes; but let’s face it, Americans are pressed for time. Not only do I think this is a great idea, but the branding is phenomenal. I watched the commercial one time and can’t wait to see if they taste good. Maybe its just the Tim Taylor in me, but any product that uses propulsion is something that has my attention. I know my son will love this one, and I am looking forward to making pancakes with him. From a business standpoint, they have sold 40,000 cans. I am sure if the product is even decent that that number will be millions two years from now. Way to go Nate Steck! The article below is just an excerpt. Please read the full article here.

New invention turns pancakes into canned cakes

By MICHELLE LOCKE Associated Press Writer

Article Launched: 03/07/2008 12:02:43 PM PST

SAN FRANCISCO—You want pancakes, but the idea of adding water to powder and stirring it around just seems like too much effort. Enter Batter Blaster, the pancake you just point and spray.

Gastronomic genius? Or sign of the apocalypse?

It all depends on how you feel about really fast food.

For Nate Steck, part of the two-man team that developed Batter Blaster, the product is a way to put something hot and tasty on the table of people who have lost touch with the most important meal of the day.

“If you sit down with your family in the morning, you can cook these pancakes so quick,” he said in an interview in Batter Blaster’s new offices in a south-of-Market alley in San Francisco.

“You can actually give the house that smell of home cooking,” Steck said. “You’re not burning the frozen waffles in the toaster. This heats up the house. The kids like it; they feel like they’re spending some time with the family.”

The contents are pressurized and the can has a nozzle similar to a whipped cream can, which can unleash artistic aspirations in the way of animal, geometric and letter-shaped pancakes.

Preparation: Shake the can firmly before spraying. Clean up: Rinse the nozzle under running water after using.

The product, which is organic, comes more than a century after the launch of the first convenience pancake product, a powdered mix that eventually would be called Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix.

And Batter Blaster begs comparison to other ultra-convenience foods, such as Easy Cheese, that staple of dorm room soirees, and Reddi-Wip, the ubiquitous canned whipped cream.

Some flip for the spray-and-bake breakfasts.

“They’re fantastic,” says Keith Bussell, a Los Angeles software developer who picked up a can of Batter Blaster on a lark and was won over by the ease of making just one or two pancakes sans stirring. “It’s not an approximation of pancakes. They’re really good pancakes,” he said.

The Dream Helmet (A View Into My Mind’s Eye)

Posted on February 20th, 2008 in Inventors by Chris

Sometimes I am not sure if I should laugh or cry when I see new inventions. This particular invention struck me as a little bit comical at first glance. In no way do I wish to make fun of its inventor as it is a seemingly useful tool. However, my mind’s eye has a pretty comical view when I think of an airport full of people wearing their Dreamhelmets which would invariably come in multiple colors such as pink for the soccer mom, black for the conservative business man and apparently camo for the outdoors men.

The Inspiration

This simple helmet is patented sensory deprivation device to help weary travelers get their stage VI sleep. I found it when I was reading an article about “drowsy driving” which, come to find out, is on the government’s list of things to outlaw. I could not help but think of all of the other uses for the Dreamhelmet.

1. A tool for President Bush to continue his budget balancing efforts.

2. A way for dads to make it through Hanna Montana movies.

3. This is the perfect tool to deal with your spouse’s constant nagging and unsightly weight gain.

4. This is a must for the Mr. Miyagi’s School of Karate (God rest his soul)

All kidding aside this invention is getting great reviews and has appeared many times in the nationally syndicated press. I am only a little jealous that I did not think of something so simple.