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Democrats will not win House, Republicans will lose it

Tomorrow is Election Day in the United States. Every member of the House of Representatives is up for re-election, and one third of the United States Senate. It is difficult living in the greatest democracy in 12,000 years of civilization, and not after a while grow use to the freedoms that our ancestors gave their lives for.

The Constitution and Declaration of Independence could only have been created by a specific generation in the 18th century, the time known historically as the “Age of Reason”. These men, and they were men, knew more about the history of ancient Rome and Greece than we do. They had studied and read Plato, and Aristotle. They met in groups and talked and educated one another.

I dare say that today in a country of 300,000,000 Americans, we could not replicate the brilliance of the individuals, and their youth that met long ago and formed our government. It is truly one of the miracles of history, and this grand experiment has evolved and lasted for more than 200 years. It has survived the Civil War, a conflagration that consumed more lives than all other wars combined that the United States has been in since. We survived the Great Depression, thanks to the leadership of Franklin Roosevelt. Viet Nam and Watergate ripped the social fabric of this country apart, and we survived it.

Now tomorrow November 7, 2006 is our first opportunity to pass judgment as voters on the Republican’s handling of the Iraq war, and indirectly terrorism. President Bush is not up for election, and this means that people must vote indirectly on his policies. This vote will be communicated through the House of Representatives. I believe that people will not be voting for the Democrats tomorrow. I believe they will be voting AGAINST Republicans.

The momentum or perhaps anger against the President’s policies is so strong that the House of Representatives will switch hands, and with it will go the power to slow down the President’s momentum, and perhaps reverse many of his policies. Of course, we have the benefit of hindsight in looking at how our country has been guided over the last several years, but let’s revisit some of what has gone on, and decide the merits of the President’s actions.

IRAQ We know now that the basis for the war was without merit. The underlying assumptions that Saddam was manufacturing Weapons of Mass Destruction, and perhaps would have used them to create great calamity for others was FALSE. Nevertheless we must now deal with the aftermath of the invasion. Iraq can not turn out well for us at this point. Regardless of what happens from this day forward, it will not be a friendly end for our involvement, just as Viet Nam did not end well. When you open Pandora’s Box, you do not know what will come out. Politically Pandora’s box is the equivalent of the “Law of unintended consequences.” We are paying a price for opening the box, America with its treasure, and energy, and more importantly our soldiers with their lives, and limbs.

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Does Your Vote Count…Wouldn’t You want to Know?

I just watched an amazing, scary and astonishing TV documentary on HBO, “Hacking Democracy.” A small group of citizens curious and frustrated by the vote counting and tracking system, headed by a grandmother, asked the tough question that most public officials should have asked, but were afraid to ask: ‘IS YOUR VOTE SAFE?”. And..

The Answer Will Shock You

It will be showing again on (please check you local listing to verify times and channels) HBO #504 – 11/2/06 – 10:00PM HBO #502 – 11/4/06 – 10:00AM HOB #501 – 11/5/06 – 7:00AM

The following is an expert taken from their web-site with their permission. For the complete article go to Public Interest Pictures (dot) Org. “Hacking Democracy: This cautionary documentary exposes the vulnerability of computers – which count approximately 80% of America’s votes in county, state and federal elections – suggesting that if our votes aren’t safe, then our democracy isn’t safe either. Electronic voting machines count 80% of the votes cast in America today. But are they reliable? Are they safe from tampering? From a current congressional hearing to persistent media reports that suggest misuse of data and even outright fraud, concerns over the integrity of electronic voting are growing by the day. And if the voting process is not secure, neither is America’s democracy. In 2002, Seattle grandmother and writer Bev Harris asked officials in her county why they had acquired electronic touch screen systems for their elections. Unsatisfied with their explanation, she set out to learn about electronic voting machines on her own. In the course of her research, which unearthed hundreds of reported incidents of mishandled voting information, Harris stumbled across an “online library” of the Diebold Corporation, discovering a treasure trove of information about the inner-workings of the company’s voting system. …. In Florida, Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho presided over a trial “mini-election” to see if the vote could be hacked without being detected. Before votes were actually cast, computer analyst Harri Hursti “stuffed the ballot box” by entering votes on the computer’s memory card. Then, after votes were cast, the results displayed when the same memory card was entered in the central tabulating program indicated that fraud was indeed possible. In other words, by accessing a memory card before an election, someone could change the results – a claim Diebold had denied was possible. Ultimately, Bev Harris’ research proved that the top-secret computerized systems counting the votes in America’s public elections are not only fallible, but also vulnerable to undetectable hacking, from local school board contests to the presidential race. With the electronic voting machines of three companies – Diebold, ESS and Sequoia – collectively responsible for around 80 percent of America’s votes today, the stakes for democracy are high. …. HACKING DEMOCRACY was directed by Simon Ardizzone and Russell Michaels; produced by Simon Ardizzone, Robert Carrillo Cohen and Russell Michaels; executive producers, Earl Katz, Sarah Teale and Sian Edwards; edited by Sasha Zik. For HBO: supervising producer, John Hoffman; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.”

Read more: Does Your Vote Count…Wouldn’t You want to Know?

Patent Practitioners: Separating the Good from the Bad

If you choose to hire a patent practitioner, they will help you throughout the complex patent process. You may even consider granting them power of attorney over your patent application. This means they will be responsible for acting as a liaison between you and the USPTO in regards to your patent. In these instances, all the correspondence received from the USPTO will be handled through your patent practitioner. They will need to file all responses to Office actions, send in fees, etc…

Therefore, it’s imperative your patent practitioner keep in touch with you and let you know how the patent prosecution process is going. It is best if they are willing to send you copies of the correspondence they receive so you know exactly where you stand. The examination of a patent may take years, so a good practitioner will form a solid bond with you and follow through with all the paperwork, keeping you posted on any news.

This makes a patent practitioner’s job twofold. First, they must file a well written application, complete with all the required paperwork, and novel, descriptive claims resulting in the broadest patent protection possible (that way, it will be less likely for a competitor to infringe on your invention). Second, they must act as the liaison between you and the USPTO throughout the long and tedious patent prosecution process.

This second part is very important. If even one deadline is missed, your application will be abandoned. That means all the time and money you have spent up until then was for nothing. In addition, the profit potential for your invention can dwindle to nothing if you lose out on the patent.

The lesson is that if you choose to use a practitioner, you need to stay in touch with him or her and make sure they are doing their job. Do not just leave it all up to them – your invention is far too important. Even if you have a practitioner handle the correspondence, make sure you contact them frequently and let them know if you move – they may need to ask you questions, or they may need more money for fees that come up during the process.

Read more: Patent Practitioners: Separating the Good from the Bad

The In’s and Out’s of Gaining a Patent

Please note that there is more to gaining a patent than just filing an application and waiting. It is possible that this is all you will have to do, but unlikely. Once a patent application is sent in to the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), it will be assigned to a patent examiner. The examiner will determine whether your invention really is patentable based on the criteria set up by the PTO.

If the examiner does not believe your invention is patentable based on these criteria, he or she will reject it and send you an Office Action. This action explains to you that your invention was rejected and it describes exactly why.

You may receive up to 3 Office Actions before your application will be … well… to put it bluntly “thrown out”. Your patent attorney will likely have a fee schedule set-up for how to charge you for these Office Actions.

Therefore, you will likely be charged a fee for the attorney to write and file your patent application and you will need to pay for its prosecution. Depending on how many Office Actions you receive and the complexity of the prosecution, things can get fairly expensive. Now, it is always possible your invention will be allowed to patent – obviously, the sooner this happens, the less expensive it will be for you.

Here’s just a summary of the expenses associated with paying your patent pracitioner (these may of course vary all across the board and there can be additional charges)…

Patent search — $1,000

Patent application – typically $2,500 up to $6000+ (there is also a filing fee that must be paid to the USPTO)

Fees for prosecution — $1,000 and up ($10,000+) depending on what happens during prosecution

If your invention is allowed to patent, you will need to pay an issue fee and maintenance fees on your patent to keep it in good standing with the PTO. These fees are at the discretion of the Patent Office so you will have to check on the current costs.

Read more: The In’s and Out’s of Gaining a Patent

Prepare & Practice to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking

Public speaking is one of the most common fears around. Ironically, public speaking is a mandatory task for career success and social advancement (through networking or charity work). Even getting together with a group of people for after-work drinks can be viewed by some as a presentation! There are so many situations in life that call for public speaking… and so many benefits to successfully delivering a quality presentation.

So, if you want to advance in your career, or be an active member of a local club or organization, how do you calm those nerves, keep your heart from leaping out of your chest, and keep the audience glued to your words? How do you conquer the fear of public speaking?

OVERCOME YOUR FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING WITH PREPARATION One of the secrets is to prepare. Even if you aren’t aware of an opportunity in which you’ll be speaking, it’s a good idea to have a couple standard presentations on the tip of your tongue. For example, imagine a typical business situation you might be in (for example, a sales conference or a meeting) and put together a simple presentation of who you are, what you do, and how your work contributes to your customers’ success and your company’s bottom line. This is a good general presentation to use in work situations and can be easily modified “on the fly” for situations where some of the information may be irrelevant to the audience you’re speaking to.

Result? Imagine this: you’re sitting in a sales meeting and someone announces that they are going to call you up to the front to discuss your department’s recent success on a project. Rather than bolting for the door or declining the opportunity, you can stand confidently and stride to the front. You may not have been aware that you’d be speaking, but you are prepared with (at least) a majority of your speech already. Deliver it and add a line or two as appropriate (which will come easily once you’ve confidently delivered your prepared speech).

OVERCOME YOUR FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING WITH PRACTICE Prepare a typical speech and be sure to practice it regularly: several times a day for a month until it can be delivered with ease. Then scale back to once or twice a day after that. Soon it will be an automatic skill you’ll possess!

But don’t stop there. You can overcome your fear of public speaking in other situations, too, with additional speeches for the aspects of your life. Are you involved in a local charitable organization? Put together a speech for that situation, including what the charity does and what your role is.

And don’t forget that many other parts of life also call on us to “present”, even if we’re not behind a microphone. Perhaps you are in the market for a job, or you’re dating, or you have an active social life, or you’ve just moved and are meeting new people.

Think of every situation in which you might have a typical response and prepare that response ahead of time. With preparation, you can easily overcome your fear of public speaking.

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Bumper Sticker On Cars

So, I’m sitting in morning rush hour traffic today, and getting some entertainment from reading the oodles of bumper stickers on the car in front of me. There were so many plastered on the rear of their car that I had to really look to see what color the car really was. It was blue. I know that bumper stickers are a great way to express yourself to the entire world, but pick something in particular. Don’t have bumper stickers for every cause that exists. Honestly, this car had political stickers, foul language, humorous sayings and abortion stickers all over the place. I’m not sure if they knew what they believed in. The absolute best part of this was that on one side of the car they had a bumper sticker that said ‘Jesus Loves You’ and on the other side was a sticker that said ‘Evolve’. Um, okay – that makes no sense whatsoever.

Almost everywhere you go anymore sells bumper stickers. They say everything imaginable and hold nothing back. I’m not a big fan of censorship but I don’t need to see offensive words staring at me from the back of someone’s car. Nor does my pre-teen. It is great to want to show the world what your personality or interests are, but do so respectfully.

During election time, which is upon us, I always enjoy seeing the political bumper stickers that people actually permanently stick onto their vehicles. Have you ever tried to remove a bumper stickers? It isn’t easy. Anyway, my opinion on who to vote for isn’t going to be changed by how many bumper stickers I see for each candidate. I have never been on my way to vote and still up in the air about who I want to cast my vote for, seen a bumper sticker with someone’s name on it and said, “That’s who I’ll vote for.” Perhaps some people do make their decisions that way, but I definitely don’t. I love seeing the vehicles with the political bumper stickers after the election is over. Even if they lost, they need to drive around with the bumper sticker that basically now says Loser on it.

Bumper stickers aren’t just used for humorous or political purposes. Many companies advertise by passing out bumper stickers. Their employees might put them on their vehicles. I had a company make me do that once, and instead of permanently putting it on my bumper and ruining the quality of my car, I taped it on the inside of my rear window. It had the same effect and I had the comfort of knowing it wasn’t going to be there forever. I might have to reconsider having bumper stickers if my daughter ever makes it on the honor roll….

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Clarity Crafted from Common Sense!

A massive show of political unity at home will affect
troop morale, on both sides!

Read more: Clarity Crafted from Common Sense!

Iraq and the Misery Index

The other day it occurred to me that during Ronald Reagan’s run for the Presidency he created a “Misery Index”. This index represented a total of the rate of inflation, plus the prime rate, as an indicator of how the American people felt about how they were doing. No one has suggested resurrecting this index in recent years. My thought was to create a “Happiness Index”. How happy are you with the leadership of the country. The problem is that other than taking an outright poll, how do you determine happiness? Could you merely ask people if they are happy, or not with the way things are going?

Think about it for a moment, and try to objectively look at what’s been going on the last couple of years. For the last fifty years, the Republican Party successfully presented itself as the people’s choice for as a strong anti-communist party versus the former Soviet threat. Republican President after President was elected on the basis of toughness versus communism.

By 1992, communism was no longer an issue as Russia, and the satellites went democratic, and the Berlin Wall had fallen. Suddenly, the Republican Party felt its foreign policy legs come out from under it. The communist bogeyman which was real since 1917 was no longer an issue. A sitting Republican President, George HW Bush was defeated handily by Democratic Candidate, Bill Clinton who had NO foreign policy experience, or even an understanding of things foreign. During the campaign that followed, foreign policy was a NON-ISSUE. There was no communist bogeyman for the Republicans to pin their hopes on.

The tragedy of 9/11 changed everything. When the tragedy struck, the current President of the United States was handed terrorism on a silver platter as an issue. Terrorism could then be used as a replacement for communism as the next boogeyman. Anti-terrorism would serve as the underpinning of the Republican Party the same way anti-communism served for over 70 years.

The President attacked the Taliban in Afghanistan who had harbored Osama Bin Laden, and his allies for years. When it came to finishing the job, and surrounding Osama in the mountains of Tora Bora, Afghanistan, we let this mass murderer get away by leaving the job to foreign hired mercenaries, the anti Taliban Afkan nationals. I assume we simply did not want to take the American manpower losses that might have been demanded.

The President then committed the American army and wealth to destroying the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. Our entry to this war was based on false premises. There were no weapons of mass destruction. We are now left with chaos and civil war in that country, and no EXIT STRATEGY. As Americans, not one of us, including the President has any idea how this war will finish. He, the President has now placed our country in the same position as we were in during Viet Nam – Quagmire.

When Americans enter a war, they need to know the objective. During WW II, it was the taking of Berlin in Europe, or the fall of Tokyo in Japan. In Viet Nam, there was no mission, except the ephemeral objective of keeping South Viet Nam from going communist. What does that mean? Depending on how you calculate it, the Viet Nam war went on for about 15 years. How long will Iraq take?

I believe the President has been notified by the American people in the recent Congressional election that he is on a “short leash” when it comes to Iraq. What is the objective in Iraq? It can’t be democracy any longer. These people do not understand democracy as we understand it. The concept of democracy in that part of the world has not existed in thousands of years.

Democracy is everybody’s SECOND choice in Iraq. The Shia and Sunni’s are killing each other on a daily basis in large numbers, some of which are unreported. Good, decent American troops, none of which are sons of any member of Congress, are dying in a war without an objective, except for “Stay the Course”.

These policies should be unacceptable to all of us as Americans. The Republican Party in Congress was a surrogate for President Bush in this election. The voters could not vent their ANGER at President Bush direct. The electorate chose instead, to vent their pent-up anger towards Republican incumbents, who took a “thumping” as the President said. Yes there were other issues like corruption, but Iraq was the emotional issue. Had President Bush been up for re-election, he would have been soundly defeated by even a paraplegic blind mute this time around.

Let’s get back to that “happiness index” I spoke about in the beginning of this article. Are any of us happier with the progress of our country over the last six years than we were before that period? Are we more optimistic about the future of our country now than we were a few years ago? Do any of us believe we are headed in the right direction, or even where we are headed at all?

I believe we are now facing MASSIVE UNRESOLVED PROBLEMS that if not addressed will get worse, and our present leadership is not even aware that they exist. America has moved from a farming economy pre 1900, to a manufacturing economy in the 20th century. It must now complete the move from a manufacturing economy, to a services / post industrial society in this the 21st century. This is going to be a tough move with big unanticipated downdrafts that can knock us for an economic loop.

China and the Asian rim want to manufacture everything, leaving us with nothing. Some of our brand name companies are more than willing to accommodate them. Nike manufactures nothing – everything comes from Asia. The massive oil companies in this country including Exxon, and others manufacture nothing – they are strictly distribution and marketing entities. GM and Ford can not compete against Asian manufacturing, and then there’s Wal-Mart, which really functions as a distribution arm for China. Eighty percent of everything Wal-Mart sells comes from China.

This President does not have his eye on the ball, and we are in danger of losing our economic fire power in the next decade. He is asleep at the switch, and must realize that we can no longer afford the loss of precious lives, and national wealth on wars without objectives in countries that none of us have ever been to.

We do not have a “Happiness Index” in this country, but if we did, I believe we are near a low in our emotional happiness in this country. Things have to change, and they have to change in a hurry. Time is NOT on our side. Other countries want to eat our economy for lunch, and displace us as the world’s only remaining superpower. This President would do well to act his act together, and start thinking about how to maintain national economic wellbeing in the face of the coming foreign economic threats that are looming.

Richard Stoyeck
http://www.stocksatbottom.com

Read more: Iraq and the Misery Index

The Beginnings of a Quality Patent Search

Hopefully you realize that before you do much of anything, you need to look at the marketability of your invention.

Remember, you don’t want to do anything until you have a good feel for whether or not you can actually make some money from your invention. Of course, you can’t ever determine with 100% accuracy if you will make money or how much, but you can gain an idea by looking at other products available in the marketplace.

So you need to become an expert at products in the marketplace similar to your invention!

Once that’s done, what’s the next step?

Well wouldn’t you know it, it’s actually a little more of the same! That’s right; you need to become even more of an expert at product’s similar to your invention. This time, in the form of a preliminary patent search.

You can’t patent it if it’s not new. Remember that phrase. It absolutely, positively, must be a novel invention. Now yours can be similar to something else, but it should have a feature or even better yet, features that make it stand apart. The novel feature(s) is what you eventually will seek to gain a patent on.

So in addition to searching through what is already sold and marketed, you need to determine if your invention has ever been written about. Whether in a publication, a patent or even in a thesis shelved away in the library, you need to make sure your invention is novel.

Of course, a patent search will be performed by an examiner when your patent application is received by the USPTO. But since filing a patent requires quite a bit of time and a decent amount of money, you should do your own preliminary patent search first. Make sure your idea really is new.

Wouldn’t it be nice to know if all this initial trouble was going to get you somewhere?

Read more: The Beginnings of a Quality Patent Search

You Are Being Politically Manipulated

Have you ever had a friend hit you with the classic word trap, “Have you stopped beating your wife?” Answer yes or answer no, and you incriminate yourself. This joke is based on the technique of using an implicit premise. While it may get a laugh, it is also used by politicians as more than a joke.

Political manipulation is most effectively accomplished when you control the framework in which others can argue and, ultimately, think. For example, if you want to get your viewpoint accepted without openly debating it, you make it an assumption, a premise for any other debates. Not only will you win the public over to your view, but you will effectively exclude the possibility of any serious opposition.

Suppose many years ago a government wanted to expand it’s power to by having control over what people put in their bodies. There may have been real debate among the populace as to whether this is an appropriate function of law or government. Many may not have wanted such a “war” on drugs, which, after all, is just a war on people who ingest certain plants or chemicals.

How, then, does the government get the public to accept such control? By simply presuming that all people want to see drug use controlled, and arguing only on the basis of the best way to do that. The politicians and the public can argue all they want about whether more treatment or stricter laws are needed. In fact, such argument only strengthens the underlying premise.

Soon anyone who questions whether there should be any government involvement in this area is on the “fringe.” They are not allowed in the “serious” debates, because they don’t share this now “obvious” premise. The control of government over what goes into a person’s body is assured, and it’s power to regulate peoples lives in other similar ways is easily expanded.

As I write this the U.S. government has held people in prisons for years without charges or access to attorneys. They claim this is okay because these prisoners are not citizens. The public accepts this, because the premise has been firmly established in their minds that “rights” are granted by governments.

The founders of this country explicitly stated that rights are inherent in all humans. They fought against the idea that rights are mere “privileges” bestowed by governments. However, this second idea has become the basis for all argument now, and so even the opposition is unable to make logical arguments against these current violations of human rights. Implicit premises are a powerful method of control. We should get in the habit of recognizing the premises hidden in political debate.

Rule Their Language – Rule Their Thoughts

Another way to politically manipulate is to carefully choose the labels or words used. For example, social security is referred to as a “fund” or even a “retirement fund.” Of course, not a penny was ever actually invested in any “fund.” The payments are taken from current tax revenues, so it is a welfare program, to be more precise.

Welfare, of course, is less acceptable to the public, so the truth of this pyramid scheme (a much more accurate label) is hidden behind better labels. You can see how the words used control the debate. If you are for this kind of “welfare program,” you get get more mileage out of “social security retirement fund.”

Words matter greatly. It might be politically difficult to get millions of dollars to spend on bombs designed to cut people to pieces, right? Perhaps that’s why they are called “daisy cutters.” Start paying attention, and you’ll see how words are being used to influence and politically influence you.

Read more: You Are Being Politically Manipulated

Short Guide to Patent Protection and Patentability

What can be protected?

Determining what qualifies as a patentable invention is a highly difficult and complicated task. Patent laws state that “Anything under the sun that was invented by man qualifies as patentable”. Simple enough, but if you notice, there are hundreds of pages full of exceptions and details on the idea of patentability following this phrase. Scores of appeals and patent court cases have arisen due to questions regarding patentability because it still hasn’t, and probably never will be entirely pinned down.

So, defining what is patentable is not as clear cut as black and white. Inventions can encompass a wide variety of areas, even living subject matter so long as the subject matter is the result of human intervention. An example of a patentable living organism is a microorganism or a plant which is produced or altered through genetic engineering. The key is that the living matter must be a product of “human ingenuity” and not merely a naturally occurring object, such as a shrimp with its digestive tract removed. The living matter must be altered to yield unique properties for it to be patentable.

However, the alteration can even be the mere fact that the living matter is simply isolated or purified. For example, unaltered pieces of DNA may be patentable provided they have been sequenced. The PTO has decided that the act of isolating and sequencing a strand of DNA is the result of human intervention. Currently, there is huge debate surrounding the patenting of biotechnology related “inventions” like DNA. Is a piece of DNA really an invention at all? Or what about a microorganism that happens to degrade oil? Is that an invention? Should it be?

As you are probably starting to see, the patent office has its work cut out for them as many of these questions are not black and white.

Read more: Short Guide to Patent Protection and Patentability

Article On Leadership

It is amazing how much you can learn by doing, and how much more you can learn by explaining. When I used to work as a

tutor, I would always have to explain writing and comprehension skills to my students. I would have to tell them how to look at a book, read a chapter, and get all of the important information out of that chapter. Many of them had serious learning disabilities, so it could be a serious challenge to get them to understand and remember all of the relevant facts. Working that job made me a better reader, as I learned to use the tricks that I told the students in my own personal reading.

The article on leadership that I wrote had a similar effect on my leadership skills. You see, at work we had sort of a slacker culture. I won’t say that we didn’t get the job done, but we certainly did not go above and beyond and give it 110%. We tried leadership seminars, leadership courses – if it involves leadership, we tried it. We tried NLP, Life Coaching – all of that trendy stuff. Finally, the boss had the revelation that we would only learn by explaining it to others. He gave each of us the assignment to write an article on leadership, and then we shared them in a group.

Well, I can tell you, none of us were thrilled by this article on leadership business. We much preferred the seminars, where we would be paid to listen to some self-appointed guru of life skills psych us up with commonsense notions and feel-good slogans and provide us with a free lunch. In the course of these seminars, we had already read many articles on leadership. We all figured that it would be easy to write our own article on leadership, using the same tired slogans that we had heard week after week.

When we finally did get down to sharing the articles on leadership with each other, it became clear that something interesting had happened. Instead of faking our way through it, we all actually took the time to think about leadership, and came up with some useful observations. By having to explain what leadership meant to us, we had to get in touch with our own feelings about it. We were forced, in writing an article on leadership, to actually become better leaders. It worked much better than anyone – even the boss – expected.

Read more: Article On Leadership

Detailed Patent Search Tutorial

You can get a reasonable patent search for a few hundred dollars. An in-depth comprehensive search will cost more (around a $1,000).

But before you spend any money at all applying for a patent, reducing your invention to practice, or building an expensive prototype, you can start searching around all on your own.

Thanks to the internet, it is fairly simple to get started on your own patent search. The USPTO has a very detailed website with patent searching capabilities. Best of all, it is free. That is the number one place to begin your quest in determining if your invention is novel. The USPTO’s website makes it simple to check out issued patents all the way back to the 1970′s. You may access older patents from their archives, but depending on the nature of your invention, you may not need to look that far back (technology has its limits you know!).

You may begin a very preliminary patent search by writing down all the words you can think of that describe your invention. You would then want to perform a keyword search using the USPTO’s database.

Remember that you need to consider patents disclosing inventions that might not be just like yours, but are similar to yours. You should note all these and then study them. Check through the existing patents and take notes of the most relevant ones. You should even print these out and begin building a stack of relevant prior art.

By studying existing and similar patents you may learn many important facts in addition to determining whether your invention is new or not. These facts might include other potential uses for your product, finding potential licensees or assignees (people who may buy the rights to your invention from you), or other product features that you hadn’t thought of. You can also study the background sections and the data that others with similar inventions included in their patents. This can help you find references that relate to your invention without having to look everywhere all on your own. All this will help you make the process easier, help you to create a more unique invention, and give you a competitive edge in the marketplace.

As you can imagine, you’re going to uncover quite a bit of important information as you search through inventions that are similar to yours. So you need a system for keeping everything organized. If you haven’t already, you should start a notebook with all the important findings you’ve uncovered through your market research and your preliminary patent search.

This notebook may just turn out to be priceless!

Read more: Detailed Patent Search Tutorial

So You’ve Invented Something, Now What?

So you’ve invented the next big thing (or at least something that may solve a problem for a select group of people)? Now what?

Well, sorry to say, but there’s quite a bit you need to tackle. To give you just a taste, there’s patenting, licensing, marketing, and manufacturing. So goodness, where do you start?

First of all, you need to figure out if you are going to be able to make a profit from your invention. Patenting and marketing your invention are not inexpensive, easy tasks. They are very costly and take time!

Chances are you’d like to make some money out of all this, so you first need to do a little research. Find out if you can make enough money from your invention for it to be a worthwhile endeavor.

So first things first, do a little digging around on the marketability of your invention.

The reality is, a patent in and of itself is worthless. It is a piece of paper. Sure, your friends and family might be impressed with your patent, but there is no additional value to it. Only when the invention has the potential to make money is the patent worth anything. But how can you tell if an invention has money making potential?

For starters, if people find it beneficial and are willing to buy it, you stand to make some money. The beauty of a patent is that it guarantees you with a virtual monopoly on your invention. Therefore, if you gain a patent, you are legally allowed to exclude anyone else from making or selling your invention. Imagine the potential a marketable invention holds!

So, that’s the key. Before you really get started with the patent process, you need to make sure your invention will really generate some money for you. But again, how can you ever know this?

Unfortunately, you can’t ever know it for sure; there is always some risk involved in inventing, marketing and patenting. But fortunately, you can do a little research to help determine your invention’s potential appeal in the marketplace. This research will allow you to judge whether or not you should continue along with your invention by refining it, reducing it to practice, and then patenting it, or if you should just drop it now and move forward in a different direction.

You may start by looking at existing inventions that are similar. Surely you’re invention isn’t so novel and unique that nothing else precedes it? Be realistic. Research of this type can include going to stores where similar products are sold or to industry shows, and looking through trade journals and catalogs. Make a list of all the similar products and record all the information you can find about them including price, manufacturer, features, where it sells, how it is marketed, and even how well it works.

Read more: So You’ve Invented Something, Now What?

About Intuition and How You Can Enhance Yours

Do you believe in synchronicity? Do you believe in ESP? Have you ever felt a strong hunch?

Have you had that eerie feeling that something is about to happen, and to your surprise, it eventually translated to reality?

Welcome to the world of intuition! This is when you feel strongly about something without logical explanations. All shamans have a developed sense of intuition and it enhances thier life in many ways. Here are the types of intiution…

Intuition comes in three impressions: clairvoyance or “the third eye”, sensing clearly, and feeling through listening.

Clairvoyance refers to the capacity to see beyond what others see. This is when you are able to second guess what is happening somewhere or what is about to happen.

Sensing clearly is what we commonly know as “hunch” or “gut feel.” This is the time when you are overwhelmed with a feeling and you cannot explain it. All you can say is, “I just know.”

On the other hand, feeling through listening or clairaudience is the capacity to “listen” between the lines. Intuition also happens at times when a certain sound, like car’s honk or a bird’s twitting – ushers in an intense feeling.

Some groups argue that women have greater intuition powers than men. Astrologers even insist that people born under the Scorpio or Pisces signs are naturally intuitive. However, studies have shown that anyone can develop intuition.

What go the trouble of unlocking the powers of intuition? What do you stand to gain?

First, intuition promotes better relations. This is so because intuition makes you more sensitive of the thoughts and feelings of other people. This makes you more conscious on how to convey your messages in such a way that you will not hurt or offend anyone. It helps you communicate better, especially with those whom you love, because you are intuitive enough to understand them.

Second, intuition enhances your creativity. Intuition stimulates the release of creative juices as you search for venues for expression. Some intuitive persons engage in painting, writing poetry, gardening, sewing, pursue music or drama, etc.

Lastly, intuition helps you find your authentic self that lies buried through out the years. In this sense, intuition has healing powers. Although not in the physical sense, it allows you to delve deep into your soul to eradicate some negative energy buried in it.

With these reasons, are you ready to develop your intuition? Here are some ways to unlock this gift:

1) Think Good Thoughts

Worry and fear block your intuitive powers. Improve your intuitive ability by cultivating a worry-free and fear-free state of mind. Stay positive in order to attract good energy and enable you to recognize imminent feelings and events.

One of the best ways to attract good energy is to be happy.

Happiness attracts immense power and such power includes intuition. In tapping your intuition, your motivation must be happiness and contentment. Given that premise, intuition will fall to you easily.

2) Trust A Higher Source and Have Patience

Trust that a higher source knows what is best. Trust means believing that you will get it, despite not knowing how. Do not get too stressed about developing intuition. Relax and let it flow.

After letting go of all those things that stop you from thinking and feeling clearly, never expect for an answer right away. Never expect that the “hunch” would fall on your lap immediately. Give it a little time then you would be surprised that you will get your answer in a variety of ways.

3) Believe in your first impressions.

First impressions last. When meeting people for the first time, be observant of what you feel. One time, I introduced myself to a fellow. Upon our initial handshake, I felt a sense of discomfort or dislike towards the person. As it turned out, he duped his business partner before moving on to our neighborhood. Initial impressions are signals to us by intuition.

4) Work With A Certified Hypnotist

Get yourself hypnotized. Our image of old style hypnosis consists of a pendulum moving back and forth. Work with an expert. The internet can be a source of hypnotic programs that can strengthen your intuition.

5) Meditation

Technically, meditation is being in the alpha state. Meditation allows you to find inner peace. Those who are new on this may opt for a guided meditation. There are books and tapes on this topic.

Meditation is a technique to clean the clutter in your mind and heart and unload you of the hurt buried deep within you. A cluttered mind makes it difficult for intuition to come in. There are so many ways to meditate: take a yoga class, or just simply practice some breathing that could bring you straight to Zen.

Intuition is helpful and practical. It can sometimes facilitate the achievement of your dreams and goals. Many find it easier to make decisions when relying on this gift. It can even save lives.

Develop intuition now and reap benefits you have never imagined.

Read more: About Intuition and How You Can Enhance Yours

Anatomy Of A Lie

People, businesses and governments lie for all sorts of reasons. For example, lies are told to gain power, profit, votes and simple solutions. Here is a lie that accomplishes all of these for the various parties involved.

The Lie

Business owners don’t want regulation, but they need to be regulated.

The Truth

Business owners almost always want more regulation, not less. Business owners fight regulations that harm them, but at the same time push for those that harm their competitors. Of course they want regulations – the ones that help them.

For example, once an industry develops to a certain point, existing players quietly call for licensing. Why? To exclude competition or make it harder for them to compete, in order to increase profits. Politicians get votes for picking up the cause, claiming that licensing is for the public good. But is it? Do we really think it’s a terrible crime to give a haircut without a license?

A carpet cleaner told me about “cutthroats” that clean too cheap. They don’t have the expensive training and equipment this guy has, so they can charge less. He doesn’t like that, so what is his solution to this problem of free competition? “Carpet cleaning should be regulated and carpet cleaners should be licensed.” That would force the cutthroats to upgrade equipment and training. “Better for the consumer,” he assured me.

Of course the “cutthroats” would either quit the business, or spend the money to comply with the new regulations, and so have to charge more. This, of course, means that the bigger players could compete more easily. That is the real point of such regulation.

Years ago I used one of the “cutthroat carpet cleaners.” Did he clean my carpet as well as the more expensive companies? Absolutely not. But it was good enough, and half the price. Now I have more income and would choose a better cleaner, but I like having the choice. Still, if they ever regulate the carpet cleaning industry it will be in the name of the consumer, and the cleaners will be the ones pushing for the regulations.

Such regulations are rarely meant for the public good. “Public good,” is a concept lawmakers use to hide the fact that they are creating regulations for the benefit of specific businesses and industries that have lobbied them. Politicians get votes from this lie, businesses get profits, bureaucrats get power, and the public gets simple solutions to imagined problems.

With enough money, you already have the ability to buy what you want, right? Want a higher quality bicycle or bed or house? Just pay for it. A rich man doesn’t need regulations that force all businesses to comply with certain standards. He can pay for what he wants.

What about if you don’t have much money? In that case such regulations take away your cheaper options, making life more difficult for you (I just wouldn’t have had my carpet cleaned). So who do these regulations really benefit? Businesses, politicians, and bureaucrats.

What do we get from accepting the lie that businesses don’t want regulation but we need it? For some, it is the pleasure of “punishing” businesses owners with regulations (who ultimately want them anyhow). For the rest of us, it is fewer, more expensive options. By what logic could we expect higher quality or safety without higher cost?

The consumer, then, is the one that loses most from this lie – but rarely understands what is happening. As Warren Buffet says, “If after twenty minutes at the poker table you can’t tell who the patsy is, it’s you.”

Read more: Anatomy Of A Lie

Inventors… Make Sure Your Invention is a Success!

Discover some of the important strategies all inventors should know to help ensure that their invention is a success.

This list of tips was compiled from successful inventors. They are sure to steer you in the right direction and help you ensure success for yourself…

1. Educate yourself on the in’s and out’s of patents, product development and invention marketing. There is plenty you can do on your own. Even if you plan to hire a patent searcher and a patent practitioner to prepare your patent application for you, you will still need to be aware of what is going on. Professionals may charge hundreds (even thousands) of dollars for their advice and expertise; imagine how much it will cost for them to fill you in on the basics.

2. Perform a preliminary patent search on your own before you invest too much time and money in your invention. Remember, you don’t want to re-invent the wheel (literally). If your invention already exists, you don’t need to continue.

3. Invest time researching the marketability of your invention. If you won’t make money from it, don’t pursue it! Spend your time and energy developing something else.

4. Do not hire the services of an all-in-one invention submission company. Many use fraudulent methods and will overcharge you (at the very least). Even the ones that are legitimate have flaws. Inventing and marketing are not done best by all-in-one shops. If you need help, stick with professionals who specialize; good bets are patent searchers, patent practitioners, prototype development specialists, marketing and licensing companies.

5. Keep good records of your invention in a bound laboratory notebook and have witnesses periodically sign it. Secure your receipts to it and keep it professional.

6. Make the best prototype you can afford. At the very least, have drawings, photos or a model that works well enough to demonstrate your invention. This will help you and your patent practitioner find more unique features and increase the strength of your patent. It will also help you if you plan to look for investors, licensors or marketers.

7. Talk to other inventors. Learn what challenges they faced and how they overcame them. Networking with other inventors can lead you to useful references; such as whom to trust for a patent search, patent practitioners, etc…

8. Set realistic deadlines for yourself and approach all possible contacts; such as investors, licensors, manufactures and consumers in a professional manner.

9. Recognize that there is a risk involved with patenting and marketing your invention and do not spend more money than you need to – definitely don’t spend everything you have. Do as much as possible on your own before hiring anyone.

10. Do not let the excitement you have for your invention blind you from reality.

11. Don’t give up – keep trying, expect to receive some rejections and get over them quickly.

12. Don’t expect someone else to do all the difficult work for you.

13. Once you’ve applied for patent protection, put up a website. The internet is the most global reach you could ever hope for. You may want to gear it toward your investors, licensors or even consumers. It is possible to completely market your invention all on your own right from your own website.

Read more: Inventors… Make Sure Your Invention is a Success!

Manufacturing Your Invention

Unless you’re able to license your invention right away, you will need to seek out invention manufacturing services. It is possible that even if you do license your invention, you will still be responsible for finding an adequate manufacturer.

Obviously, you need to sell your invention in multiple units to make the most from it. So you need to find a way to make these multiple units efficiently and inexpensively.

As I’m sure you realize, you don’t need your own factory to manufacture your invention.

You may use a single manufacturing company or multiple companies depending on the complexity of your invention. When using a multiple source, it is helpful if one of the sources agrees to assemble the finished product; otherwise, you will need to outsource the assembly of the parts.

Visiting and researching a number of invention manufacturing service providers will help you uncover the lowest cost, highest quality method for making your invention in bulk. For example, should you use a plastic injection mold? Or should it be steel? Or aluminum?

It is important for you to stay within your budget. Therefore, you must have an idea of how many units you expect to sell. This is called a forecasting. In the early stages, when you initially launch your invention to the marketplace, you may want to (or need to) start out small. But if your invention is a wild success, you will need more of your product made quickly. Be sure the invention manufacturing service provider can accommodate this situation in a reasonable manner.

Keep in mind you will also need a warehouse to store your inventory. Some manufacturing services will store your completed product for you; otherwise you will need to find a separate warehouse.

Lastly, you will need your manufacturers to sign a non-disclosure agreement before you ever disclose your invention to them. In addition, when you decide on a particular invention manufacturing service, new ideas may spring up as you work out the details of manufacturing. Be sure you get a signed document stating any ideas that develop during this manufacturing process will belong to you.

Read more: Manufacturing Your Invention

I Need Help For College Money

Where are you going to get college money? This is actually not a bad question. It’s a crucial one if you intend to go to college. Furthermore, it can be applied to virtually anyone. As you probably already know, folks of all ages, races, creeds, and colors are going to college these days. However, it is an expensive venture, no doubt. The truth is that you’re going to need some serious dough or financial assistance to attend a University. What have you checked into so far for college money? Well, if you’re done hitting up the parents, then it’s time to move on. Hey, the folks can’t take care of you forever. Just look at me; I paid my own way through college with financial aid and student loans. Are you ready to get started?

When it comes to college money, things can get a little hairy at times. As we all already know, attending a university for 4 years or more is quite pricy. And maybe even extremely pricy if you attend certain ones. Check out the tuition for a year at Harvard for example. That will blow your pants of. On the bright side, college is almost imperative in this day and age. Therefore you certainly shouldn’t feel bad about going. It’s one of the necessities. You take it seriously and get your education. This is return leads to much better job positions. That’s what you’re ultimately striving for, right?

Anyway, a great place to start your search for college money is on the World-Wide-Web. Ah, that’s not so bad is it? You don’t even have to go anywhere. Just pop open you laptop and go to town. In no time you will be sorting through a number of financial aid resources. Find ones that apply to you. You never know until you try. You may be able to acquire grants. This is wonderful because it’s college money that you don’t have to pay back. In my opinion this is the absolute best type of college money. Search for federal and state grants. Also, check out subsidized loans. This is a common route for college students. Yes, you will have to pay this money back when you’re through with school, but it’s well worth it regardless.

So, have you decided on a college yet? Well, you’d better get cracking with that much-needed college money then. Once school starts, you will need plenty for tuition and books. I know, I know, the world is a cruel place filled with oodles of expenses. That’s just life and you have to take it as it comes. Get online and find your college money source now.

Read more: I Need Help For College Money

The Inventor’s Dilemma

So you’ve done your homework (or are planning on being diligent about it at least). And you’ve decided to definitely forge ahead and gain a patent on your invention. So now what? Well, first of all, be warned that patenting your invention will cost you several thousand dollars. The fee varies widely; you will ultimately need to receive an estimate from the professional you choose.

So wait a second, who should you choose? How do you choose them? Can’t you just do all this yourself?

OK, let’s address these questions one at a time. Yes, you actually can patent your invention without the help of a professional. You can also do all your taxes yourself, put in a new transmission the next time your car needs a new one, and go out and start building yourself a home. If you’re the do-it-yourself type, there really isn’t anything you can’t do (give yourself a haircut, perform dentistry on your own… OK I’ll stop now).

I’m sure you see where I’m going. You can try to patent your own invention as well as a whole list of other things, but should you? That’s the key point. Should you really try to patent your invention on your own? As a registered patent agent myself, I’m going to share a little with you.

The U.S. patent system is complex. You can patent your own invention, but it’s probably best to at the very least have a professional check it out for you before you file it. Patenting your invention isn’t something you can achieve by simply filling out a short form over the internet. Like I said, it really is complex. I have nothing to gain by telling this to you… I don’t accept clients so I’m not trying to get you to use my services. I actually want you to succeed.

Here’s just one example of how an inventor can royally screw things up for themselves when running off and trying to gain a patent on their own. Let’s use a fictitious inventor named Jay in this story.

Jay comes up with a great little contraption for peeling potatoes. Simply, yet effective. So he runs off and downloads some of the forms from the Patent and Trademark Office website and spends some time on his application. He does everything by the book as best he can, sends the paperwork in and waits.

Time passes. And passes. And passes.

Finally, Jay receives an official looking notice in the mail from the Patent and Trademark Office. Excited beyond belief, he tears the envelope open.

Inside, he discovers that …

… the Patent and Trademark Office has rejected his initial attempt. They cite a number of rules and laws in their explanation as to why the patent application was rejected.

The thing is, this isn’t really terrible news. Most patent applications are rejected after the first round, not a big deal. Jay realizes this after he takes his application to a patent attorney in the city nearby. Relieved, he decides to let the professional help him get his patent.

The patent attorney works diligently to overcome the rejections and get Jay’s patent in shape. However, there’s a trick. Once a patent application has been filed, you may not ever, ever add in new matter to that particular application.

Here’s what I mean by this. Let’s suppose Jay’s invention was rejected because his potato peeler is just too darn similar to what already exits. The Patent Office decides it isn’t novel. Jay didn’t know what he was doing, so when comparing his invention to other patented inventions, he really didn’t hit on the new features. He actually missed a couple.

And here’s where the bind is. After digging through the application and all the previous patents on potato peelers, Jay’s attorney determines that Jay’s potato peeler really does have some new features that may have made his invention more novel in the Patent Office’s eyes. The problem is, none of these new features may now be added into the application he originally filed. New matter may not be added in at this point.

So where does this leave Jay? Well, pretty much back at the starting point. He will have to pay for a new application of sorts to be drafted. But since about 2 years have passed at this point, it’s possible someone else has already patented these features. They aren’t going to have been protected by the application he previously filed since they weren’t mentioned. So if he had done it right from the start, he’d be ahead of the game now.

I’m sure you can imagine how frustrating a scenario like this would be. Fortunately, you don’t have to repeat it.

My suggestion is, if you really want to do most of the legwork yourself, that’s fine. But before you send the application in, have a professional at least look it over. It can really save you in the long run.

Read more: The Inventor’s Dilemma