Luckily, I ran into a really nice guy at an auto shop that is continuing to store the desk for me at his house, but how am I going to get the desk back? It would certainly be hella expensive to have it shipped back to Cincinnati because of its odd shape, and I can’t say when I might be back in the area to pick it up. I may just bite the bullet and have it shipped, but there must be a better way.

I think that better way is for someone to start a community website in the the spirit of eBay and CouchSurfing.com enabling individuals to help each other with long distance shipping. This could be done for free or perhaps a small fee, and put a dent the businesses of existing commercial shippers. Think about how often people are traveling long distances and have a little extra space in their vehicle. I bet this happens fairly often, and with the right technology in place, this unused capacity can be harnessed to meet the unserved demand.

I don’t know how all of the logistics would work, but I do know that most people are willing to help each other out a lot more than is commonly thought. One striking example of this was recently highlighted on an episode of the ScobleShow where the community website Front Porch Forum was profiled, a service that aims to connect neighbors with each other. A young couple with a newborn baby was looking to move house, and sent out a request for help on the website. There were dozens of people that replied, and within a couple hours, everything in their old house was packed, moved, and completely unpacked at their new house – completely free of charge, crib assembly and all.

This is an amazing example of how technology is enabling communities to help each other out and not be so dependent on “the establishment.” I wish someone would apply this idea to shipping so I can get my damn desk back without paying a small fortune!

So I was having dinner with my friend Priscilla at a Japanese restaurant last night, and realised that Asian restaurants are missing out on a huge opportunity. As with almost any non-Asians, both of us had pretty much no idea what all of the options were on the menu, and we ended up making a little game out of the experience of guessing what we were ordering.

So instead of keeping their customers in the dark, or futily trying to explain all of the options for their patrons, I think Asian restaurateurs should leverage this opportunity by providing an incentive for the customers to play such a game.

I think the best model would be to provide one free desert for each group table and letting the customers pick and mutually judge their own game – something like “Pick a random menu item, and whoever’s order turns out closest to their guess will get the desert.” A little card on the table could explain the incentive and provide game suggestions.

This would have a couple of positive effects: encouraging groups to patronize the restaurant, incentivizing the “losers” to buy their own deserts, creating a memorable and fun experience, and most importantly, creating repeat business in a highly competitive industry.

So would you play the Asian Mystery Menu game?