A prototype of an early trackbar design. I think this was the first of its kind. There were trackballs, but putting a smaller ball beneath the keyboard was something new being seen on some laptops, and this was probably the first discrete design that was meant for desktop machines. Several keyboards came out with a built-in trackball just beneath the space bar. The guts of this working prototype were cobbled from a cheap $5 mouse. The ball was from an old Mac trackball. The late, great Cadillac (AIN) Plastics of Bucktown provided the raw material to make the cabinet, which I welded together and enameled.

Front-view pencil patent drawing of a concept for a tiny disposable nylon tab that would snap tightly over a loop of dental floss, making it easier to floss. The actual size would be about that of a pea when closed, and you would by a package of a hundred. Provisional patent application never filed, but sometimes it is good just to draw it to see where the problems lie. I think the Achilles heel of this one is that if it ever were to pop off and go down someone's throat, it would be bad for the manufacturer.

Side view of above, just for fun. See how it works? It snaps over the floss. You sure you don't want to prototype this?

An idea for a very portable electric guitar whose "strings" are actually long, thin titanium rods that would have the same feel of strings being plucked. (Yeah, right.) This would allow the fretboard to retract into the guitar, facilitating portability. The fretboard would have sensors on it and the pitch adjusted accordingly. I guess you couldn't bend notes with this design. (I should not be on the marketing team for my own products, because I'm good at identifying the negatives.)