The 50 Best Inventions of 2009 according to 'Time'

Time Magazine just released a list of 50 inventions that they state are the best of 2009. Here is what I think (thought) of them when they first made the news. And even though I scour the daily tech blogs as part of a daily ritual, I'll be the first to admit that there were some of those that I had not heard of until now.

1. NASA's Ares Rockets - I'm not that interested in the Space Race. Just keep the Near Earth Objects at bay and I'm good.

2. The Tank-Bred Tuna - This must interest someone. I'm not that someone. My Tuna was bred in a can and I'm OK with that as well. Unless of course, the tank in question, is a Sherman!!!

3. The $10 Million Light bulb - This is probably one of the most interesting items on the list. 10 years ago I would constantly tell Lynda how LED's would be the lighting of the future. Now they're ubiquitous, appearing everywhere from toys to lighting on vehicles and signalling. However Philips has taken this up a level beyond what I expected. I will go out and buy this.....

4. The Smart Thermostat - Not too impressed. Give me a thermostat that connects to my router, has it's own IP address and is accessible anywhere for simple GUI programming. One that has a built in humidistat with an external sensor to self adjust humidity levels based on current levels and internal and external temperatures.

5. Controller-Free Gaming - Really. This made the list!!!

6. Teleportation - It's with Data only so far. With people, visions of 'The Fly' creep to mind.

7. The Telescope for Invisible Stars - Maybe if there was a telescope for visible stars, the Paparazzi would keep out of their face.....

8. The AIDS Vaccine - A long time in the making, now let's get on out for Cancer

9. Tweeting by Thinking - Really!!!! We find that we can convert our thoughts to a mechanical process and Tweeting is the best use for it?????

10. The Electric Eye - Imagine living without the faculty of sight. To be unable to see the beauty of Tulips in spring, the joy on children's faces in splash pads across the nation during summer, the sheer majesty of fall, and the wonder of standing in the midst of a snowstorm in Winter.

11. The Mercury Probe - We needed this right?? Right? Hellooo anyone????

12. The Personal Carbon Footprint - My wife and kids probably hate me for yelling out to put off the lights when they exit their rooms - It might be purely a financial motivation, but it has to start somewhere.

13. The Solar Shingle - Oh Joy! Bring this on. Make it reasonably priced, throw in some Regional, Provincial and Federal Rebates, interest free loans from lenders as well as Credits from the Utility company for buying back the surplus electricity and we've got a winner. Basically if you give it to me for free, you can have all the surplus electricity at no cost.

14. The Handheld Ultrasound - I can see the uses for this in the field.

15. The YikeBike - Hmmmmmm.

16. Vertical Farming - Read this in Pop Sci recently. I still don't buy the benefits of this v/s traditional farming. Maybe I did not understand what I was reading.

17. The Planetary Skin - It's debuting 2010. Why did it make this list???

18. The $20 Knee - It's simple and it will do the poorest of poor a world of good. Put this at the top of the list

19. A Watchdog for Financial Products - Make this a rabid Pitbull.

20. The Electric Microbe - Fun in concept.

21. The Bladeless Fan - I have a beef with this one. Sure Dyson has made some exceptional products like his vacuums and the airblade, but this seems very ripoffish to me. 15 years ago I remember holding in my hand a Parker-Hannifin product that used compressed air as a starting point to create a large volume of airflow. I did not fully comprehend the usage at that point, but this 'fan' uses the very same principle.

22. The Custom Puppy - Cloning dogs is just wrong.

23. The Cyborg Beetle - I like my Beatles as part of my audio collection.

24. The Biotech Stradivarius - Very interesting. It has do do with music, so it get my vote - sort of.

25. The Nissan Leaf - Okay.

26. The Robo-Penguin - I can envision uses for this.

27. The Universal Unicycle - I can envision people falling off this and making it to 'FAILBlog'

28. YouTube Funk - I can see why this made it to the list

29. Dandelion Rubber - ????

30. Wooden Bones - Cool. Poor Sheep get tested on everything

31. The Living Wall - This made it to all of the home magazines and design blogs and I can see why.

32. The School of One - People need interaction with each other however I can see how the personally tailored approach works.

33. The No-Punt Offense - Football should be played with the feet as the name suggests, not held in the hand. Players should rely on their agility with the ball not brute force. Soccer is the real football. Enough said.

34. The Human-Powered Vending Machine - This will be fun. I cannot see anyone needing anything from a vending machine that bad.

35. The Handyman's X-Ray Vision - This I want sooooo badly. Drop the price down from 500 to 50 and I'll go out now to buy it.

36. Meat Farms - So so scary.

37. Packing, Improved - It's an algorithm. Did Al Gore have rhythm???

38. The Foldable Speaker - If you ever buy this expecting High Fidelity, you my friend, are an idiot.

39. The Levitating Mouse - Poor poor mice. But I suppose it is for a good cause. Me next.

40. The Edible Race Car - Certain things should just be left alone

41. The High-Speed Helicopter - Spectacular in concept

42. The Supersuit - So not interested.

43. The Eyeborg - I'm ripping my eye out as we speak. Sign me up for one.

44. Spiderweb Silk - Do show me the practicality of this invention

45. The Sky King - Origami at it's best

46. The Smart Bullet - What about a smart gun. One that does not fire......

47. The Fashion Robot - Hey don't talk about my wife like that

48. The 3-D Camera - Gimmicky at best

49. The Newest Cloud - Invention or discovery????

50. The World's Fastest (Steam-Powered) Car - This could so blow up and badly