Last week, I posted about my reluctant embrace of Twitter. To be honest, I had been hearing about it for a while, but I couldn't possibly see why it would be interesting or beneficial. Twitter isn't for everybody, to be sure, but for all of the scoffers out there, consider this Twitter interaction. About a month ago, I was sitting in my cold office, catching up on some paperwork. I checked Twitter, and my friend Diane in Portland was in her cold studio, where she sent out a tweet about a candle heater that is made out of terra-cotta flowerpots.
I followed the link, and was sufficiently interested (AND COLD) that I decided to order one. When I visited the "order" page, I noticed that it said the heaters were "Proudly made in Humboldt County", which is where I live. The inventor thoughtfully included a phone number, so I reached for my phone and dialed it. Doyle, the inventor of the kandle heeter answered the phone, and I asked him if he sold them in any of the stores in Eureka. He didn't, but he asked where I was. I told him I was at the college, which turned out to be right down the road from his studio.
Half an hour later, I was hanging out with Doyle at my college. I bought two kandle heeters from him, and he dropped them off in person, as he was out running errands. A random Twitter post had brought me face to face with one of the most interesting people in my community. I liked Doyle instantly. Have you ever met an inventor who is constantly marketing their work? Doyle bubbled with enthusiasm about the kandle heeter and other inventions, but not from a money perspective. Doyle knows that his inventions will make the world a better place, and shares his excitement with the rest of us. In addition to my candle heaters, Doyle brought me an egg one of his hens had just laid and an apple from his tree.
We talked about his other inventions, which include a portable greenhouse, several passive solar heating devices and my personal favorite: THE WEARABLE HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER! The above video dramatizes the genesis and construction of the device, which lets the wearer feed hummingbirds from a modified welding mask. The hummingbirds feed from a drip device placed directly between the wearer's eyes! The final product is a monumental work of such whimsy that it can only be described as extreme craft.
Not only is Doyle a great inventor, but he's also a firm believer in the value of D.I.Y. He provides step-by-step instructions for creating your own candle heater. His other inventions are also very accessible--for the most part, made out of everyday materials that Doyle wrings maximum function out of. I'm incredibly glad to have met one of Humboldt County's most interesting people, and it's all because of Twitter, which I initially thought would be a total waste of time. Every time I sit down in my office to write by the glow of my candle heater, I think of the real world connections that the web can bring about.
