The Next 'it' Thing

[Sonthert]

Oddessey is a BYOH establishment, within parameters, of course. Or you can rent one of ours.

Hookahs are being worked on, looking at the American production possibilities first, then Mexico next, then giving up. I procured some thick tube for the main shank, 18 gauge 304 Stainless Steel. Almost impossible to bend unless your doing it over your knee...working on getting bronze, brass and stainless castings next.

If you come over to Tangiers, I can match a water-based sex lube to your favorite flavor...hooking up with that special someone, smoking some white grape and you whip out White Grape lube. Blam. Pimptastic.

Lime is in process. Got a new sample sitting, waiting for me to love it.

I tried maple syrup based sheesha. Much more expensive, not too much different than molasses in the flavor category. It would run around 25% more in terms of cost.

The amount of heat in a stone cooling off is far, far less than the chemical reaction involved in oxidizing charcoal...not even on the same order of magnitude. Its not a great idea since you would have to be near a heat source to heat the stones up.

[delSol_si]

Hookahs are being worked on, looking at the American production possibilities first, then Mexico next,

I really hope the mexico part was a joke...

[Sonthert]

I;d like to get them here in the U.S. it is my top priority. Mexico might have to be an option, though.


I;d like to see a washable leather 3-piece hose, too.

[ammoura1]

I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to use acrylic or HDPE pipe as the main shaft of a hookah.

[colto]

I don't know about the next "it" thing, but the thing that will change the game will be the replacement of the coal, specifically electrically.

I have been doing a lot of research on making a smarter hookah. Below is a snippet of my current project:

"An electrical heating element is placed inside a heat container with a highly thermally conductive bottom. This bottom is placed onto your bowl and heats the shisha. The heating element itself is only about 1/4 of the size of the container/bowl and is attached to a small motor also contained within the container. This motor will slowly rotate the coal around bottom of the container, effectively smoking all of the shisha during the smoking session. The rotation speed and heat of the element would be customizable via the the inclusion of a small microprocessor on board. By allowing this customization you would be able to get the perfect heat for every bowl.

Another part of the project I'm working on is the Social Smoking Hose/Handle. I am designing a handle (I say handle because it would be better to have the actual hose part washable or interchangeable) which has the controls for the heating element. One side of the handle would house the small lcd screen and customization buttons (for setting heat and rotation speed). A small data cable runs along the outside of the hose, but inside the hose cover, and connects to the microprocessor on the base. The controls would also be used to turn on the "social" setting which would enable a timer for passing the hose. This timer could be set to any number of minutes/seconds OR number of pulls from the hose. A small and silent push button would be located where your thumb is held on the handle. Pressing this button is what changes the heating element into smoke mode from idle/off mode. In doing so shisha is not wasted in the time where one is not actually taking a drag/pull from the hose. This also cuts down on power and is able to figure out how many pulls someone has taken (if that setting is enabled)."

I can not comment on the rest of the system such as power sources, heating elements used, conductors/surfaces used, price range, processor design, etc. as I don't want to give out too much info without patents secured. I hope to get this out in a year or two though, possibly sooner. I will have 3D renders soon as well.

[Barnaby]

self packing hookah ftw, needs to clean itself too

[MN_Clouds]

If you come over to Tangiers, I can match a water-based sex lube to your favorite flavor...hooking up with that special someone, smoking some white grape and you whip out White Grape lube. Blam. Pimptastic.

Brilliant!

[Sherwood]

I really hope the mexico part was a joke...

Why? Believe you me, Egypt does not have a higher standard of manufacturing than Mexico. The physics of a narghile are not hard to reproduce: it's evidently hard to make them consistently inexpensive and attractive. Import costs from Mexico would be substantially cheaper than through Egyptian distributors.

I endorse this plan wholeheartedly, Eric. And by "endorse", I mean I will buy one.

I think a bowl with a resistive heating element in it would be excellent. Bring it up roughly 20% below the level necessary to smoke, then throw one small coal on for the rest of the heat. Saves coals, helps heat management, and solves a lot of the complex problems posed by a non-coal heating source.

[FamiliarJoe]

I don't know about the next "it" thing, but the thing that will change the game will be the replacement of the coal, specifically electrically.

I have been doing a lot of research on making a smarter hookah. Below is a snippet of my current project:

"An electrical heating element is placed inside a heat container with a highly thermally conductive bottom. This bottom is placed onto your bowl and heats the shisha. The heating element itself is only about 1/4 of the size of the container/bowl and is attached to a small motor also contained within the container. This motor will slowly rotate the coal around bottom of the container, effectively smoking all of the shisha during the smoking session. The rotation speed and heat of the element would be customizable via the the inclusion of a small microprocessor on board. By allowing this customization you would be able to get the perfect heat for every bowl.

Another part of the project I'm working on is the Social Smoking Hose/Handle. I am designing a handle (I say handle because it would be better to have the actual hose part washable or interchangeable) which has the controls for the heating element. One side of the handle would house the small lcd screen and customization buttons (for setting heat and rotation speed). A small data cable runs along the outside of the hose, but inside the hose cover, and connects to the microprocessor on the base. The controls would also be used to turn on the "social" setting which would enable a timer for passing the hose. This timer could be set to any number of minutes/seconds OR number of pulls from the hose. A small and silent push button would be located where your thumb is held on the handle. Pressing this button is what changes the heating element into smoke mode from idle/off mode. In doing so shisha is not wasted in the time where one is not actually taking a drag/pull from the hose. This also cuts down on power and is able to figure out how many pulls someone has taken (if that setting is enabled)."

I can not comment on the rest of the system such as power sources, heating elements used, conductors/surfaces used, price range, processor design, etc. as I don't want to give out too much info without patents secured. I hope to get this out in a year or two though, possibly sooner. I will have 3D renders soon as well.

Rotates after so many minutes/pulls?

This is a crazy/awesome idea, but I think your ideas are taking away from the whole hookah experience.

[delSol_si]

I really hope the mexico part was a joke...

Why? Believe you me, Egypt does not have a higher standard of manufacturing than Mexico. The physics of a narghile are not hard to reproduce: it's evidently hard to make them consistently inexpensive and attractive. Import costs from Mexico would be substantially cheaper than through Egyptian distributors.

I endorse this plan wholeheartedly, Eric. And by "endorse", I mean I will buy one.

Wow, ok, lets just ship more jobs to different countries and send even more of our USD over there as well, what a great idea, like we really don't have enough problems with outsourcing and shit like that. Have you looked around at the economy lately? It blows, it is horrible, you know what a majority of it is from??? Outsourcing and importing more shit than we export.

There is no doubt in my mind that mexico will be cheaper, in fact, I bet it would be cheaper, I simply don't like the idea of taking more jobs away from Americans and giving them to Mexicans, along with our money. Edited June 26, 2009 by delSol_si

[Lunatic768]

Tangier's Lime. Nuff said.

Lime was the first tangiers flavor I ever ordered... they sent us lemon lime...

Someday I will have that lime.

+1

x1 million
must have lime....

[colto]

Rotates after so many minutes/pulls?

This is a crazy/awesome idea, but I think your ideas are taking away from the whole hookah experience.

Basically if you have a problem where people like to hog the hose (we call them "babysitters" around here haha) you can enable that function and the handle would either vibrate or play a noise when the designated time to pass the hose had been reached. The entire electrical heating element system is there to save the cost of coals and remove the hassles of moving coals around, clearing off ash, burning shisha, etc. I agree that it is not the mainstream hookah experience but personally I believe that it could make things so much easier in that you can concentrate less on keeping everything in check and more on the people you are with. In this way I feel it improves the overall experience. Consistent smoke, no downtime, less cost over time, universal source of heat (AC outlets are everywhere).

[mustang_steve]

When my idea solidifies and gets patented, you'll all know.

I'm at the prototyping stage as we speak.

[EvansLight]

I honestly think a working electric heating element would be the next big thing. A battery powered one would be even more awesome

if/when battery technology reaches the point it can produce that much energy will be a great day for so many other areas of technology (cars, etc) that a battery powered "coal" will pale in comparison to the other feats that would accomplish.
The closest people I know of making huge strides in that area is Tesla Motors. They have pulled off some crazy shit over there.
If you read about how they built the battery cells and created a 3 phase AC convertor from DC it is amazing.
After reading up on what they've done I think we will see huge strides within the next 5 years in battery technology.

As I stated in the first post on the herbal that where there are outside factors pushing towards technology people start putting lots of money towards R&D in those areas. Give really smart folks resources and they'll always come up with things that blow away everyone elses expectations.

I honestly think current batteries could do it, the problem would be coming up with a low power high efficiency heating element. It would probably use some form of magnetic induction to get the heat going. Granted this is a bit more then what the normal hookah smoker is looking for, but... ya know

In all seriousness, i really think that the next big thing is going to be a new hookah design. Even with all the brands and varieties of hookahs, the basic design has never really changed. I think with the right brains we could come up with a new design. But then again, ya never know.

[theotherone31415]

I really hope the mexico part was a joke...

Why? Believe you me, Egypt does not have a higher standard of manufacturing than Mexico. The physics of a narghile are not hard to reproduce: it's evidently hard to make them consistently inexpensive and attractive. Import costs from Mexico would be substantially cheaper than through Egyptian distributors.

I endorse this plan wholeheartedly, Eric. And by "endorse", I mean I will buy one.

Wow, ok, lets just ship more jobs to different countries and send even more of our USD over there as well, what a great idea, like we really don't have enough problems with outsourcing and shit like that. Have you looked around at the economy lately? It blows, it is horrible, you know what a majority of it is from??? Outsourcing and importing more shit than we export.

There is no doubt in my mind that mexico will be cheaper, in fact, I bet it would be cheaper, I simply don't like the idea of taking more jobs away from Americans and giving them to Mexicans, along with our money.

um. are you suggesting we go with mercantilism again? economics is far more complicated than just having everything made in your country

[gunsboy]

I have seen those 500mW Laser pointers that run on batteries. They can burns paper, matches, plastic bags. Put a couple of those and you got yourself a Laser heater.

[AKammenzind]

I have seen those 500mW Laser pointers that run on batteries. They can burns paper, matches, plastic bags. Put a couple of those and you got yourself a Laser heater.

I could only imagine the shoops that would spawn...

[delSol_si]

um. are you suggesting we go with mercantilism again? economics is far more complicated than just having everything made in your country

Nope, because if everything were made here I believe that would destroy the economy even worse than it already is. I simply think we need to make about 40-75% of the stuff made here and import the rest. It is a global economy, so obviously there needs to be some importing and exporting.

[ammoura1]

Here is a Great Idea. Have them made in Canada,hopefully from a driving distance from me

[speel]

There is a few things to look forward to that I think will happen.

1. HUGE burst of popularity, I mean it, pretty soon you'll be able to pick your favorite tobacco from CVS, Walgreens, or any of those type of stores.

2. American made quality hookahs, this is bound to happen sooner or later but this is one thing that NEEDS to happen.

3. Alternative hookah coal, yea I know that electric coal thing is out there but it's just the beginning.

[redjako]

your not making millions off my ideas j/k I think i would be pretty cool to see a hookah base like those beer mugs that has liquid in it you just put it in the freezer and BAM! 10-20 minutes later pull it out and it's ice cold.

Someone needs warm water


A "starbucks" of hookah is in order, some standardized and simplistic hookah bar.

If I had capital, I'd do it

Edit: what I mean by that is simplifying the process, or retard-proofing the systems for a hookah lounge. Edited June 30, 2009 by redjako

[Sherwood]

I simply think we need to make about 40-75% of the stuff made here and import the rest. It is a global economy, so obviously there needs to be some importing and exporting.

Del, you're only trying to cripple the market by enforcing some arbitrary rule of how much America needs to make in house. There is no magic amount. Anything that can be manufactured for less money (accounting for quality and price of shipping) in another country should be made in that country. It would hurt our economy more to make it here, even if we manufactured absolutely nothing.

This is the law of comparative advantage. Well, it's a crude summary.

[Sonthert]

I disagree, Sherwood. Selective advantage is a failed theory, it doesn't prove out, it should take its rightful place with the Domino Theory and the Trickle Down Theory...fancy BS ideas that don't have any proof or hold an ounce of water. The global market is euphemism for letting the multi-national corporations displace local businesses. Is the average American better off now than before the global economy? I don't think so...real wages for most Americans continue to decline...but the cost of living continues to go up. How has the global economy made our lives better than they were 100 years ago? People can;t afford to buy homes, buying a new car or paying for medical care is becoming increasingly difficult. Finding a good job is nearly impossible. I think America needs to stop buying this line of BS that the Multi-National Corporations lay out to continue their robbing and pillaging. America isn't better off...the average American anyways isn't better off.

That being said, if I do produce things in Mexico, it will be a bridge to prove the demand to be able to establish the process in America. In fact, the EPA regulates things to the point where you can't get electroplating or brass casting done anywhere near San Diego. Its absurd. They take our jobs away, they force the jobs away and then they enact laws to prevent new jobs from being created that aren't working for a Wal-Mart or a Starbucks. Without manufacturing, America has gotten poorer and more unemployed...and they want to make the laws MORE stringent?

I will definitely reveal up front the country of manufacture of each component and each person can decide according to his or her moral beliefs whether they want to buy it or not.

[delSol_si]

I simply think we need to make about 40-75% of the stuff made here and import the rest. It is a global economy, so obviously there needs to be some importing and exporting.

Del, you're only trying to cripple the market by enforcing some arbitrary rule of how much America needs to make in house. There is no magic amount. Anything that can be manufactured for less money (accounting for quality and price of shipping) in another country should be made in that country. It would hurt our economy more to make it here, even if we manufactured absolutely nothing.

This is the law of comparative advantage. Well, it's a crude summary.

My response is very similar to Eric's. So basically in the last several years, we have been increasing importing and decreasing exporting. We have been shipping more and more jobs overseas and manufacturing less and less here in the states. The economy just keeps getting worse and worse. Seems like a no brainer to me. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So you think that we just need to continue doing what we have been doing for the past several years and something magical will just happen and everything will get better? Doesn't work that way. This not my opinion either, it is a fact of life. As nice as it would be, things don't just "get better," we have to work hard to get them to get better. My theory is this: what we have been doing for years (importing more than exporting, shipping all of our manufacturing and jobs overseas) isn't working, so we need to either 1. try something new, or 2. go back to what we were doing before that was working.

Think about this....if you have 50,000 people who each make $100 each, that is $5,000,000. It takes $90 to live. 40,000 people either work in a manufacturing plant that got shipped overseas or they had other jobs that have been outsourced. 10,000 still do have their jobs. That means we have $1,000,000. Because we shipped jobs overseas, living now cost $50. With 50,000 people needing to live, that is $2,500,000 that we need to live now and if everyone shared or jobs got split or whatever, we are still $1,500,000 short of living. You can only spend money you don't have for so long before it catches up to you, which is what is happening in this economy and with our government. Basically what I am saying is if you have worker, and then lay them off to ship his job overseas, he has no money to buy your shit now.

[Bulldog_916]

I think the response that most corporate business men would give is that there is no demand here. Globalization is a term increasingly being used in the corporate community. Basically run a business here, but manufacture and sell your products overseas. Manufacture the product in Mexico and sell it in India or make it in China but sell it in Japan. You almost dont even need the United States in this new corporate picture. More money is going into investment outside the United States this last few years than has been invested inside the US over the last 10 years.

GM is now selling their cars in China, Buick is now a status symbol, Hummer is becoming a weekend warrior's play thing. Fuel efficiency isnt worried about in China because oil is heavily subsidized.

Over the next 10 years, you will see the United States become increasingly like Europe, high unemployment, low wages, low standard of living. As long as US businesses have emerging markets to sell to, they have no reason to worry about the situation here.