One of the many things that catch my interest in economics. This visual video presentation is astounding. P.A.
Link to youtube video
Currently in the news with a more detailed explanation.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats - BBC Four
One of the many things that catch my interest in economics. This visual video presentation is astounding. P.A.
Link to youtube video
Currently in the news with a more detailed explanation.
The Administration Starts Its Start-Up Policy
Are we really going to get serious about fostering innovation - innovative startups?
First came the Obama administration’s embrace a week ago of corporate America, by naming Jeffrey Immelt, chief executive of General Electric, head of a White House advisory board, the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.
Next up is the administration’s courtship of the nation’s start-up economy, with a public-private sector initiative it calls “Startup America,” announced on Monday at the White House.
Senior administration officials were there in force, including Gary Locke, the commerce secretary; Steven Chu, the energy secretary; Karen Mills, director of the Small Business Administration; Gene Sperling, head of the National Economic Council; and Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.
Orchestrating private-sector efforts will be Steve Case, founder of AOL and head of the Case Foundation, and Carl Schramm, chief executive of the Kauffman Foundation.
In his remarks, Mr. Case nodded toward the skepticism that will understandably greet the efforts to champion job-creating small businesses — a singularly uncontroversial initiative. “There is a mom and apple pie aspect to this,” Mr. Case noted.
So strip away the political packaging and what remains?
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The Creativity Crisis
A very interesting article about creativity, the need for and the lack of in our country. Personally, in my family we have embraced the need for crea'tivi'ty. We are so enamored with the concept... that our first daughter is named Tiviana. PA
Back in 1958, Ted Schwarzrock was an 8-year-old third grader when he became one of the “Torrance kids,” a group of nearly 400 Minneapolis
children who completed a series of creativity tasks newly designed by
professor E. Paul Torrance. Schwarzrock still vividly remembers the
moment when a psychologist handed him a fire truck and asked, “How could
you improve this toy to make it better and more fun to play with?” He
recalls the psychologist being excited by his answers. In fact, the
psychologist’s session notes indicate Schwarzrock rattled off 25
improvements, such as adding a removable ladder and springs to the
wheels. That wasn’t the only time he impressed the scholars, who judged
Schwarzrock to have “unusual visual perspective” and “an ability to
synthesize diverse elements into meaningful products.”
The accepted definition of creativity is production of something
original and useful, and that’s what’s reflected in the tests. There is
never one right answer. To be creative requires divergent thinking
(generating many unique ideas) and then convergent thinking (combining
those ideas into the best result).
In the 50 years since Schwarzrock and the others took their tests,
scholars—first led by Torrance, now his colleague, Garnet Millar—have
been tracking the children, recording every patent earned, every
business founded, every research paper published, and every grant
awarded. They tallied the books, dances, radio shows, art exhibitions,
software programs, advertising campaigns, hardware innovations, music
compositions, public policies (written or implemented), leadership
positions, invited lectures, and buildings designed.
Link to full article and interesting links including the Torrance t...
Back in 1958, Ted Schwarzrock was an 8-year-old third grader when he became one of the “Torrance kids,” a group of nearly 400 Minneapolis
children who completed a series of creativity tasks newly designed by
professor E. Paul Torrance. Schwarzrock still vividly remembers the
moment when a psychologist handed him a fire truck and asked, “How could
you improve this toy to make it better and more fun to play with?” He
recalls the psychologist being excited by his answers. In fact, the
psychologist’s session notes indicate Schwarzrock rattled off 25
improvements, such as adding a removable ladder and springs to the
wheels. That wasn’t the only time he impressed the scholars, who judged
Schwarzrock to have “unusual visual perspective” and “an ability to
synthesize diverse elements into meaningful products.”
The accepted definition of creativity is production of something
original and useful, and that’s what’s reflected in the tests. There is
never one right answer. To be creative requires divergent thinking
(generating many unique ideas) and then convergent thinking (combining
those ideas into the best result).
In the 50 years since Schwarzrock and the others took their tests,
scholars—first led by Torrance, now his colleague, Garnet Millar—have
been tracking the children, recording every patent earned, every
business founded, every research paper published, and every grant
awarded. They tallied the books, dances, radio shows, art exhibitions,
software programs, advertising campaigns, hardware innovations, music
compositions, public policies (written or implemented), leadership
positions, invited lectures, and buildings designed.
Link to full article and interesting links including the Torrance t...
Obama: 'Spirit of innovation' key to the future
Obama's comments on innovation and our future.....
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 52 mins ago
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, citing fresh evidence the recession is winding down, says the country's future economic prosperity depends on building a new, stronger foundation and recapturing the "spirit of innovation."
"Innovation has been essential to our prosperity in the past, and it will be essential to our prosperity in the future," Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address.
The president cited Friday's Commerce Department report showing that in the last few months the economy overall has done "measurably better than expected." He credited his $787 billion economic stimulus program for much of that progress.
"This and the other difficult but important steps that we have taken over the last six months have helped put the brakes on this recession," Obama said. He mentioned his administration's efforts to limit home foreclosures and unlock frozen credit markets to encourage lending to people and businesses, along with the mixture of tax cuts and spending included in the stimulus program.
Obama reminded the nation that full recovery will not happen overnight, but rather will take many more months.
"Even as we rescue this economy, we must work to rebuild it stronger than before," he said. "We've got to build a new foundation strong enough to withstand future economic storms and support lasting prosperity."
That means having the best-educated, highest-skilled workers in the world, a health care system that fosters innovation by holding the line on costs, building a clean energy economy and investing in research and development, Obama said.
"It is only by building a new foundation that we will once again harness that incredible generative capacity of the American people," the president said. "All it takes are the policies to tap that potential — to ignite that spark of creativity and ingenuity — which has always been at the heart of who we are and how we succeed."
Obama said he will discuss the foundation he wants when he makes a second visit to Elkhart, Ind., on Wednesday. Layoffs in the recreational vehicle industry account for much of the job loss in northern Indiana, which is struggling with an unemployment rate near 17 percent.
"For communities like Elkhart to thrive, we need to recapture that spirit of innovation that has always moved America forward," he said.
Senior administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, are likely to discuss those issues during meetings Saturday to assess administration progress at the six-month mark and plot a course ahead.
Obama was headed to Camp David for the weekend, and was not expected to participate in the sessions.
___
On the Net:
http://www.whitehouse.gov
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 52 mins ago
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, citing fresh evidence the recession is winding down, says the country's future economic prosperity depends on building a new, stronger foundation and recapturing the "spirit of innovation."
"Innovation has been essential to our prosperity in the past, and it will be essential to our prosperity in the future," Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address.
The president cited Friday's Commerce Department report showing that in the last few months the economy overall has done "measurably better than expected." He credited his $787 billion economic stimulus program for much of that progress.
"This and the other difficult but important steps that we have taken over the last six months have helped put the brakes on this recession," Obama said. He mentioned his administration's efforts to limit home foreclosures and unlock frozen credit markets to encourage lending to people and businesses, along with the mixture of tax cuts and spending included in the stimulus program.
Obama reminded the nation that full recovery will not happen overnight, but rather will take many more months.
"Even as we rescue this economy, we must work to rebuild it stronger than before," he said. "We've got to build a new foundation strong enough to withstand future economic storms and support lasting prosperity."
That means having the best-educated, highest-skilled workers in the world, a health care system that fosters innovation by holding the line on costs, building a clean energy economy and investing in research and development, Obama said.
"It is only by building a new foundation that we will once again harness that incredible generative capacity of the American people," the president said. "All it takes are the policies to tap that potential — to ignite that spark of creativity and ingenuity — which has always been at the heart of who we are and how we succeed."
Obama said he will discuss the foundation he wants when he makes a second visit to Elkhart, Ind., on Wednesday. Layoffs in the recreational vehicle industry account for much of the job loss in northern Indiana, which is struggling with an unemployment rate near 17 percent.
"For communities like Elkhart to thrive, we need to recapture that spirit of innovation that has always moved America forward," he said.
Senior administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, are likely to discuss those issues during meetings Saturday to assess administration progress at the six-month mark and plot a course ahead.
Obama was headed to Camp David for the weekend, and was not expected to participate in the sessions.
___
On the Net:
http://www.whitehouse.gov
Closing America's Innovation Gap - We need to inspire innovation.
After first hearing about Judy Estrin on NPR, I came across this interview on Business Week. A very interesting discussion about America's innovation gap and lack of inspiration to close it.
Well worth a listen.
Thanks, Perry
Closing America's Innovation Gap
How to keep the U.S. competitive
Serial entrepreneur and member of the board at firms including Disney and FedEx, Judy Estrin lays out some ways that America can reignite its innovation engine
Business Week interview with Judy Estrin. Click here.
Another interview with Judy here. Innovative parenting.
Well worth a listen.
Thanks, Perry
Closing America's Innovation Gap
How to keep the U.S. competitive
Serial entrepreneur and member of the board at firms including Disney and FedEx, Judy Estrin lays out some ways that America can reignite its innovation engine
Business Week interview with Judy Estrin. Click here.
Another interview with Judy here. Innovative parenting.
Clean, cheap power from fuel cells in a box?
A power cell a fuel cell the size of a bread box that can power your home!
By Julie Schmit, USA TODAY
Silicon Valley start-up Bloom Energy is unveiling a fuel-cell product Wednesday that can power a small office building. It expects to have home systems
within a decade that are about the size of a loaf of bread, it says.
within a decade that are about the size of a loaf of bread, it says.
Bloom's technology gives users the ability to produce electricity — as opposed to buying it from utilities — and has the potential to extend electricity to parts of the world lacking
traditional power systems and lines, Bloom says.
traditional power systems and lines, Bloom says.
Bloom Energy, backed by Silicon Valley's leading venture capitalist, has been in stealth mode for eight years. Today, it's scheduled to announce that 20 companies, including Wal-Mart, Google, eBay, FedEx, Staples, Coca-Cola, Bank of America
and Cox Enterprises, have bought Bloom's fuel-cell boxes. The
commercial-scale boxes are about the size of a parking space and cost
$700,000 to $800,000.
and Cox Enterprises, have bought Bloom's fuel-cell boxes. The
commercial-scale boxes are about the size of a parking space and cost
$700,000 to $800,000.
Bloom CEO KR Sridhar expects home models within 10 years that cost less than $3,000. He says consumers could see the so-called Bloom boxes powering apartment buildings and housing
developments before that.
developments before that.
Sridhar, a professor of aerospace engineering who once led a team developing technology to sustain life on Mars for NASA, says utilities could buy the boxes, too, to power neighborhoods.
With Bloom's fuel cell, air and fuel — such as natural gas, ethanol or biogas — are fed into the cell. The oxygen ions react with the fuel to produce electricity. There's no burning, so the
fuel cell is two-thirds cleaner than coal-fired plants, Bloom says.
fuel cell is two-thirds cleaner than coal-fired plants, Bloom says.
Automakers have been working on fuel cells for vehicles for years. A few companies also sell commercial systems. The big challenge is cost.
FuelCell Energy, a 41-year-old Connecticut firm, shipped its first commercial system in 2003. It still loses money on every unit and has amassed losses of $600 million, says equity analyst
Pavel Molchanov of Raymond James & Associates.
Pavel Molchanov of Raymond James & Associates.
Sridhar says Bloom's technology is cheaper and more efficient than others because of proprietary technology that enables it to use low-cost materials — sand and ink — in
4-inch-by-4-inch fuel cells as thick as business cards. One cell powers
a light bulb. Bloom stacks them together to produce more power.
4-inch-by-4-inch fuel cells as thick as business cards. One cell powers
a light bulb. Bloom stacks them together to produce more power.
Bloom's big breakthrough was reducing breakage by figuring out how to get the cells and the metal plates that go between them in the stacks to expand and shrink at the same rate at
temperatures up to 800 degrees Celsius (1,472 degrees Fahrenheit). The
high heat makes the fuel more reactive and the cell more efficient,
Sridhar says. The heat also enables use of different fuels, making the
tech easier and cheaper to deploy, he says.
temperatures up to 800 degrees Celsius (1,472 degrees Fahrenheit). The
high heat makes the fuel more reactive and the cell more efficient,
Sridhar says. The heat also enables use of different fuels, making the
tech easier and cheaper to deploy, he says.
EBay started using five Bloom boxes in July. They produce electricity to power space for 2,000 to 3,000 employees and shaved $100,000 off eBay's
power bill, says Amy Skoczlas Cole, director of eBay's Green Team. EBay
uses natural gas in the boxes but will switch to methane gas from an
Oklahoma landfill this spring.
power bill, says Amy Skoczlas Cole, director of eBay's Green Team. EBay
uses natural gas in the boxes but will switch to methane gas from an
Oklahoma landfill this spring.
Bank of America plans to use Bloom boxes to power a California call center. Coca-Cola is deploying Bloom boxes at a plant in California. They're expected to provide 30% of the plant's
power while reducing its carbon footprint by 35%, a Bloom press release
says.
power while reducing its carbon footprint by 35%, a Bloom press release
says.
EBay's Cole expects Bloom boxes to pay for themselves within three years, given a 30% federal tax credit and a 20% subsidy from the state of California. "In a few years, we won't require
subsidies to become the most affordable energy," Sridhar says.
subsidies to become the most affordable energy," Sridhar says.
Bloom's lead venture-capital backer, John Doerr, who also helped fund Netscape and Google, says Bloom's technology won't solve the USA's clean-energy needs. "It's not a silver bullet," he says, but a piece of an emerging
clean-energy economy. "Everybody wants clean, reliable, affordable
electricity," Doerr says.
clean-energy economy. "Everybody wants clean, reliable, affordable
electricity," Doerr says.
Don't Be So Square. Why American drivers should learn to love the roundabout.
Smarter ways to do things exist. Roundabouts for safer communities and transportation.
By Tom Vanderbilt
Posted Monday, July 20, 2009, at 6:54 AM ET
Here is a narrative that has been playing out over the last several years in any number of American towns: Traffic engineers notice that a particular intersection has a crash problem or is moving traffic inefficiently. After a period of study, the engineers propose a roundabout. The engineers, armed with drawings and PowerPoint slides, visit a community meeting. They try to explain the benefits of their proposed design in clear language, though they may occasionally drop phrases like entry path overlap or inscribed circle diameter. Townspeople raise concerns. Roundabouts are not safe, they say. They are confusing. They are bad for pedestrians. They will hurt local businesses. They are more expensive than traditional solutions. The local newspaper reports this, adding some man-in-the-street comments from "area drivers," who profess not to like roundabouts, even making dark references to "circles of death." Then, the roundabout is built, the safety record improves, traffic congestion doesn't seem any worse than before, and the complaints begin to fade faster than white thermoplastic lane markings in the heat of summer.
According to best estimates, the United States is now home to about 2,000 "modern roundabouts"—more on that phrase in a moment—most of which were built in the last decade. As engineer Ken Sides noted in the ITE Journal, however, in 2008 Australia built its 8,000th roundabout; by Sides' calculation, the United States would need to build roughly 148,519 more roundabouts to match the Australian rate per capita. Interestingly, Australia—a country whose traffic landscape is rather similar to ours—has, since 1980, cut its traffic-fatality rate to nearly half the U.S. figure. The rise of roundabouts has no doubt played some part.
Link or cut and paste to full article... http://www.slate.com/id/2223035
By Tom Vanderbilt
Posted Monday, July 20, 2009, at 6:54 AM ET
Here is a narrative that has been playing out over the last several years in any number of American towns: Traffic engineers notice that a particular intersection has a crash problem or is moving traffic inefficiently. After a period of study, the engineers propose a roundabout. The engineers, armed with drawings and PowerPoint slides, visit a community meeting. They try to explain the benefits of their proposed design in clear language, though they may occasionally drop phrases like entry path overlap or inscribed circle diameter. Townspeople raise concerns. Roundabouts are not safe, they say. They are confusing. They are bad for pedestrians. They will hurt local businesses. They are more expensive than traditional solutions. The local newspaper reports this, adding some man-in-the-street comments from "area drivers," who profess not to like roundabouts, even making dark references to "circles of death." Then, the roundabout is built, the safety record improves, traffic congestion doesn't seem any worse than before, and the complaints begin to fade faster than white thermoplastic lane markings in the heat of summer.
According to best estimates, the United States is now home to about 2,000 "modern roundabouts"—more on that phrase in a moment—most of which were built in the last decade. As engineer Ken Sides noted in the ITE Journal, however, in 2008 Australia built its 8,000th roundabout; by Sides' calculation, the United States would need to build roughly 148,519 more roundabouts to match the Australian rate per capita. Interestingly, Australia—a country whose traffic landscape is rather similar to ours—has, since 1980, cut its traffic-fatality rate to nearly half the U.S. figure. The rise of roundabouts has no doubt played some part.
Link or cut and paste to full article... http://www.slate.com/id/2223035
No quick end to backlog in sight New patent director says funds stall staff, upgrade..
Another key part of our country's economic future ignored for the most part over the last decade is our patent office 'problems'.
By John Schmid of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Oct. 24, 2009
Declaring that the performance of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office stifles American innovation and economic growth, the agency's new director is warning that a $200 million deficit prevents it from tackling its most urgent problems.
David Kappos, a former IBM Corp. executive who took charge of the Patent Office two months ago, has used recent speeches to break with the agency's previous administration and repudiate as "dysfunctional and backwards" policies that have triggered an unprecedented number of rejections of applications seeking patent protection for new technologies.
The agency began its fiscal year Oct. 1 with a deficit so large that it cannot hire new examiners, nor can it upgrade an antiquated computer system that routinely idles thousands of examiners at a time, Kappos said.
Worse, without congressional action to plug the budget shortfall, Kappos concedes that he doesn't expect to make progress on his most urgent problem: a backlog of 1.2 million patent applications, which nearly tripled in the past 10 years.
"It's a staggering number of applications, clearly unacceptable, clearly stifling innovation and restricting the growth of our economy," Kappos said in a speech this month in Washington.
Kappos has asked for patience as he settles into the job. His predecessors this year predicted it would take six years and mass hiring of new examiners to work through the backlog.
Yet the deficit means "no hiring in 2010," and no overtime is available, Kappos said. As examiners leave amid a hiring freeze, "the office is actually shrinking day by day," Kappos said.
A Journal Sentinel investigation published in August illustrated how the agency's inability to keep pace impedes U.S. competitiveness. Delays for patent approval last year averaged 3.5 years and often took years longer. Amid fast-moving global competition, the delays put inventors at risk of losing their ideas to competitors. And as it has struggled to keep pace with the volume and complexity of its applications, the office imposed new hurdles, costs and improper rejections that hamstrung start-ups and entrepreneurs.
Link to article in JS
By John Schmid of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Oct. 24, 2009
Declaring that the performance of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office stifles American innovation and economic growth, the agency's new director is warning that a $200 million deficit prevents it from tackling its most urgent problems.
David Kappos, a former IBM Corp. executive who took charge of the Patent Office two months ago, has used recent speeches to break with the agency's previous administration and repudiate as "dysfunctional and backwards" policies that have triggered an unprecedented number of rejections of applications seeking patent protection for new technologies.
The agency began its fiscal year Oct. 1 with a deficit so large that it cannot hire new examiners, nor can it upgrade an antiquated computer system that routinely idles thousands of examiners at a time, Kappos said.
Worse, without congressional action to plug the budget shortfall, Kappos concedes that he doesn't expect to make progress on his most urgent problem: a backlog of 1.2 million patent applications, which nearly tripled in the past 10 years.
"It's a staggering number of applications, clearly unacceptable, clearly stifling innovation and restricting the growth of our economy," Kappos said in a speech this month in Washington.
Kappos has asked for patience as he settles into the job. His predecessors this year predicted it would take six years and mass hiring of new examiners to work through the backlog.
Yet the deficit means "no hiring in 2010," and no overtime is available, Kappos said. As examiners leave amid a hiring freeze, "the office is actually shrinking day by day," Kappos said.
A Journal Sentinel investigation published in August illustrated how the agency's inability to keep pace impedes U.S. competitiveness. Delays for patent approval last year averaged 3.5 years and often took years longer. Amid fast-moving global competition, the delays put inventors at risk of losing their ideas to competitors. And as it has struggled to keep pace with the volume and complexity of its applications, the office imposed new hurdles, costs and improper rejections that hamstrung start-ups and entrepreneurs.
Link to article in JS
Obama to honor young inventors at science fair Administration kicks off $260 million plan to boost science, tech education
First posted Nov. 2009
How long over do is this? It is hard to honestly call most of our pro athletes roll models - maybe more so the aspect of pro sports as a whole - I know there are some good outstanding athletes in their personal lives out there but as a whole how 'pro's' are massively over paid, the way alcohol is attached to any and all pro sports events and this is what our youth aspires to 'be'. This is one more small step in resetting our priorities.
P.A.
updated 12:32 p.m. CT, Mon., Nov . 23, 2009
WASHINGTON - Hey kids, grabs those beakers and Petri dishes, the White House is going to hold a science fair.
President Barack Obama said Monday he would convene a national science fair next year to honor young inventors with the same gusto that college and professional athletes celebrate their victories at the White House.
"You know, if you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House," said Obama, a sports fan as much as a science nerd. "Well, if you're a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too. Scientists and engineers ought to stand side by side with athletes and entertainers as role models."
He said they would show young students how "cool science can be." He noted $260 million in companies' donations to take science into more classrooms with television programs and celebrity science personalities.
The president made his remarks as he decried what he described as students' lagging performance.
"Now, the hard truth is that for decades we've been losing ground," Obama said. "One assessment shows American 15-year-olds now rank 21st in science and 25th in math when compared to their peers around their world."
But Obama ignored another set of tests showing that fourth- and eighth-graders are holding their own and even making gains on kids in other developed countries.
Obama cited a test given to 15-year-olds in 30 developed countries, the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA. Some experts caution that PISA is different from other tests, especially those in the United States, and makes American kids look worse than other tests do.
But other tests show that while U.S. kids trail those in a handful of high-achieving Asian countries — Singapore, Taiwan and Japan — they hold their own in the larger group of developed countries that comes next.
In fact, the United States has gained on some of its toughest competitors since 1995, making bigger strides in math than Singapore and Japan, and in science than Japan.
That's according to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS. Researchers involved in TIMSS say the United States is not trailing the developed world by any stretch of the imagination.
Link to full article..
LInk to full article and speech.
How long over do is this? It is hard to honestly call most of our pro athletes roll models - maybe more so the aspect of pro sports as a whole - I know there are some good outstanding athletes in their personal lives out there but as a whole how 'pro's' are massively over paid, the way alcohol is attached to any and all pro sports events and this is what our youth aspires to 'be'. This is one more small step in resetting our priorities.
P.A.
updated 12:32 p.m. CT, Mon., Nov . 23, 2009
WASHINGTON - Hey kids, grabs those beakers and Petri dishes, the White House is going to hold a science fair.
President Barack Obama said Monday he would convene a national science fair next year to honor young inventors with the same gusto that college and professional athletes celebrate their victories at the White House.
"You know, if you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House," said Obama, a sports fan as much as a science nerd. "Well, if you're a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement, too. Scientists and engineers ought to stand side by side with athletes and entertainers as role models."
He said they would show young students how "cool science can be." He noted $260 million in companies' donations to take science into more classrooms with television programs and celebrity science personalities.
The president made his remarks as he decried what he described as students' lagging performance.
"Now, the hard truth is that for decades we've been losing ground," Obama said. "One assessment shows American 15-year-olds now rank 21st in science and 25th in math when compared to their peers around their world."
But Obama ignored another set of tests showing that fourth- and eighth-graders are holding their own and even making gains on kids in other developed countries.
Obama cited a test given to 15-year-olds in 30 developed countries, the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA. Some experts caution that PISA is different from other tests, especially those in the United States, and makes American kids look worse than other tests do.
But other tests show that while U.S. kids trail those in a handful of high-achieving Asian countries — Singapore, Taiwan and Japan — they hold their own in the larger group of developed countries that comes next.
In fact, the United States has gained on some of its toughest competitors since 1995, making bigger strides in math than Singapore and Japan, and in science than Japan.
That's according to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS. Researchers involved in TIMSS say the United States is not trailing the developed world by any stretch of the imagination.
Link to full article..
LInk to full article and speech.
Quick restart of Big Bang machine stuns scientists
Originally posted Nov. 2010
I just find this project very interesting.
By ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS, Associated Press Writer Alexander G. Higgins, Associated Press Writer –
GENEVA – Scientists moved Saturday to prepare the world's largest atom smasher for exploring the depths of matter after successfully restarting the $10 billion machine following more than a year of repairs.
The nuclear physicists working on the Large Hadron Collider were surprised that they could so quickly get beams of protons whizzing near the speed of light during the restart late Friday, said James Gillies, spokesman for the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
The machine was heavily damaged by a simple electrical fault in September last year.
Some scientists had gone home early Friday and had to be called back as the project jumped ahead, Gillies said.
At a meeting early Saturday "they basically had to tear up the first few pages of their PowerPoint presentation which had outlined the procedures that they were planning to follow," he said. "That was all wrapped up by midnight. They are going through the paces really very fast."
The European Organization for Nuclear Research has taken the restart of the collider step by step to avoid further setbacks as it moves toward new scientific experiments — probably starting in January — regarding the makeup of matter and the universe.
Link to article
I just find this project very interesting.
By ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS, Associated Press Writer Alexander G. Higgins, Associated Press Writer –
GENEVA – Scientists moved Saturday to prepare the world's largest atom smasher for exploring the depths of matter after successfully restarting the $10 billion machine following more than a year of repairs.
The nuclear physicists working on the Large Hadron Collider were surprised that they could so quickly get beams of protons whizzing near the speed of light during the restart late Friday, said James Gillies, spokesman for the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
The machine was heavily damaged by a simple electrical fault in September last year.
Some scientists had gone home early Friday and had to be called back as the project jumped ahead, Gillies said.
At a meeting early Saturday "they basically had to tear up the first few pages of their PowerPoint presentation which had outlined the procedures that they were planning to follow," he said. "That was all wrapped up by midnight. They are going through the paces really very fast."
The European Organization for Nuclear Research has taken the restart of the collider step by step to avoid further setbacks as it moves toward new scientific experiments — probably starting in January — regarding the makeup of matter and the universe.
Link to article
Tom Friedman Explains Causes Of America's 'Sub-Optimal Solutions' (VIDEO)
New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman is worried that America is producing "sub-optimal solutions" to big problems like global warming, an education system in decline and a weak economy.
The author of Hot, Flat, and Crowded appeared on The Charlie Rose Show on Friday night to discuss President Obama's recent trip to Asia, and more specifically China. Friedman lamented the failure of US governance and the "forces of paralysis" that surround President Obama. He is worried that China's streamlined, one-party system will be in a better place to implement solutions to large global problems more quickly than the US.
Holding us back, Friedman argues, is a political system too closely connected with money and well-funded interests. Gerrymandering on the part of politicians makes it so that our leaders practically pick us, not the other way around. Friedman also thinks cable news television distorts the truth and that the internet (at its worst) can be a terrible thing for our nation's politics. He also says American businesses have gone AWOL, and hover over America, participating only when it suits their industry's needs.
link to video
The author of Hot, Flat, and Crowded appeared on The Charlie Rose Show on Friday night to discuss President Obama's recent trip to Asia, and more specifically China. Friedman lamented the failure of US governance and the "forces of paralysis" that surround President Obama. He is worried that China's streamlined, one-party system will be in a better place to implement solutions to large global problems more quickly than the US.
Holding us back, Friedman argues, is a political system too closely connected with money and well-funded interests. Gerrymandering on the part of politicians makes it so that our leaders practically pick us, not the other way around. Friedman also thinks cable news television distorts the truth and that the internet (at its worst) can be a terrible thing for our nation's politics. He also says American businesses have gone AWOL, and hover over America, participating only when it suits their industry's needs.
link to video
It’s David vs. Goliath in patent fights
Independent patents applicants see ideas stolen due to backlog
By John Schmid of the Journal Sentinel
I have been waiting (was) 4 1/2 + years for the process..
Posted: Nov. 29, 2009
Mirk Buzdum and Dick "Cappy" Capstran, a pair of garage entrepreneurs in Milwaukee, know full well that their designs for drill bits and cutting tools are good.
"It's obvious that these technologies are valid, because people are stealing them and they're in production," Buzdum said.
But their anger isn't directed only at the multinational companies that they say are ripping off their ideas. A big part of the blame, they say, falls on the agency that is supposed to protect them and the rest of the nation's innovators: the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The patent applications drafted by Buzdum and Capstran are among the 1.2 million applications pending at the agency - a backlog that was the subject of a Journal Sentinel investigation published in August. Hamstrung by a series of problems, including Congressional diversions of its funding since the early 1990s, the Patent Office has fallen hopelessly behind at a time when the technologies it protects ought to be reinvigorating the U.S. economy. And its efforts to catch up have only made matters worse, with the agency rejecting applications at one point at an unprecedented 60% rate - including many that were later proven to be worthy of patents.
Now, under new management, the agency has proposed allowing "small entity" companies with two or more pending applications to accelerate the examination of one of them - but only if the applicant will abandon all rights to another.
To the agency, it's a way to cut into the backlog.
Link to article
To Buzdum, it's like burning the furniture to keep warm.
By John Schmid of the Journal Sentinel
I have been waiting (was) 4 1/2 + years for the process..
Posted: Nov. 29, 2009
Mirk Buzdum and Dick "Cappy" Capstran, a pair of garage entrepreneurs in Milwaukee, know full well that their designs for drill bits and cutting tools are good.
"It's obvious that these technologies are valid, because people are stealing them and they're in production," Buzdum said.
But their anger isn't directed only at the multinational companies that they say are ripping off their ideas. A big part of the blame, they say, falls on the agency that is supposed to protect them and the rest of the nation's innovators: the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The patent applications drafted by Buzdum and Capstran are among the 1.2 million applications pending at the agency - a backlog that was the subject of a Journal Sentinel investigation published in August. Hamstrung by a series of problems, including Congressional diversions of its funding since the early 1990s, the Patent Office has fallen hopelessly behind at a time when the technologies it protects ought to be reinvigorating the U.S. economy. And its efforts to catch up have only made matters worse, with the agency rejecting applications at one point at an unprecedented 60% rate - including many that were later proven to be worthy of patents.
Now, under new management, the agency has proposed allowing "small entity" companies with two or more pending applications to accelerate the examination of one of them - but only if the applicant will abandon all rights to another.
To the agency, it's a way to cut into the backlog.
Link to article
To Buzdum, it's like burning the furniture to keep warm.
Talk about innovation. Jeff and Amazon is all over it. Reading for example.
Talk about innovation. Jeff and Amazon is all over it.
Jeff Bezos, founder and chairman of Amazon.com
The Customer Is Always Right
Since founding Amazon in 1994, he has revolutionized retailing. Now he's out to transform how we read.
By Daniel Lyons | NEWSWEEK
Published Dec 21, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Jan 4, 2010
No one has been more surprised by the success of the Kindle than Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The electronic book reader has become the online retailer's bestselling product. Bezos spoke to NEWSWEEK'S Daniel Lyons about the device, how the Apple tablet might affect it, and the next phase of digital distribution. Excerpts:
No one has been more surprised by the success of the Kindle than Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The electronic book reader has become the online retailer's bestselling product. Bezos spoke to NEWSWEEK'S Daniel Lyons about the device, how the Apple tablet might affect it, and the next phase of digital distribution. Excerpts:
SUBSCRIBE sp_inline_article_subscriptionClick Here to subscribe to NEWSWEEK and save up to 88% »
Lyons: Amazon had an amazing year despite the bad economy. How did you do it?
Bezos: It is the basics. It is focusing on selection, low prices, and reliable, convenient, fast delivery. It's the cumulative effect of having this approach for 14 years. I always tell people, if we have a good quarter it's because of the work we did three, four, and five years ago. It's not because we did a good job this quarter.
Amazon started off as a retailer. Now you're also selling computing services, and you're in the consumer-electronics business with the Kindle. How do you define what Amazon is today?
We start with the customer and we work backward. We learn whatever skills we need to service the customer. We build whatever technology we need to service the customer. The second thing is, we are inventors, so you won't see us focusing on "me too" areas. We like to go down unexplored alleys and see what's at the end. Sometimes they're dead ends. Sometimes they open up into broad avenues and we find something really exciting. And then the third thing is, we're willing to be long-term-oriented, which I think is one of the rarest characteristics. If you look at the corporate world, a genuine focus on the long term is not that common. But a lot of the most important things we've done have taken a long time.
You've talked about Kindle being this example of working backward from the customer. Can you explain that?
There are two ways that companies can extend what they're doing. One is they can take an inventory of their skills and competencies, and then they can say, "OK, with this set of skills and competencies, what else can we do?" And that's a very useful technique that all companies should use. But there's a second method, which takes a longer-term orientation. It is to say, rather than ask what are we good at and what else can we do with that skill, you ask, who are our customers? What do they need? And then you say we're going to give that to them regardless of whether we currently have the skills to do so, and we will learn those skills no matter how long it takes. Kindle is a great example of that. It's been on the market for two years, but we worked on it for three years in earnest before that. We talked about it for a year before that. We had to go hire people to build a hardware--engineering team to build the device. We had to acquire new skills. There's a tendency, I think, for executives to think that the right course of action is to stick to the knitting—stick with what you're good at. That may be a generally good rule, but the problem is the world changes out from under you if you're not constantly adding to your skill set.
Link to full article
Jeff Bezos, founder and chairman of Amazon.com
The Customer Is Always Right
Since founding Amazon in 1994, he has revolutionized retailing. Now he's out to transform how we read.
By Daniel Lyons | NEWSWEEK
Published Dec 21, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Jan 4, 2010
No one has been more surprised by the success of the Kindle than Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The electronic book reader has become the online retailer's bestselling product. Bezos spoke to NEWSWEEK'S Daniel Lyons about the device, how the Apple tablet might affect it, and the next phase of digital distribution. Excerpts:
No one has been more surprised by the success of the Kindle than Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The electronic book reader has become the online retailer's bestselling product. Bezos spoke to NEWSWEEK'S Daniel Lyons about the device, how the Apple tablet might affect it, and the next phase of digital distribution. Excerpts:
SUBSCRIBE sp_inline_article_subscriptionClick Here to subscribe to NEWSWEEK and save up to 88% »
Lyons: Amazon had an amazing year despite the bad economy. How did you do it?
Bezos: It is the basics. It is focusing on selection, low prices, and reliable, convenient, fast delivery. It's the cumulative effect of having this approach for 14 years. I always tell people, if we have a good quarter it's because of the work we did three, four, and five years ago. It's not because we did a good job this quarter.
Amazon started off as a retailer. Now you're also selling computing services, and you're in the consumer-electronics business with the Kindle. How do you define what Amazon is today?
We start with the customer and we work backward. We learn whatever skills we need to service the customer. We build whatever technology we need to service the customer. The second thing is, we are inventors, so you won't see us focusing on "me too" areas. We like to go down unexplored alleys and see what's at the end. Sometimes they're dead ends. Sometimes they open up into broad avenues and we find something really exciting. And then the third thing is, we're willing to be long-term-oriented, which I think is one of the rarest characteristics. If you look at the corporate world, a genuine focus on the long term is not that common. But a lot of the most important things we've done have taken a long time.
You've talked about Kindle being this example of working backward from the customer. Can you explain that?
There are two ways that companies can extend what they're doing. One is they can take an inventory of their skills and competencies, and then they can say, "OK, with this set of skills and competencies, what else can we do?" And that's a very useful technique that all companies should use. But there's a second method, which takes a longer-term orientation. It is to say, rather than ask what are we good at and what else can we do with that skill, you ask, who are our customers? What do they need? And then you say we're going to give that to them regardless of whether we currently have the skills to do so, and we will learn those skills no matter how long it takes. Kindle is a great example of that. It's been on the market for two years, but we worked on it for three years in earnest before that. We talked about it for a year before that. We had to go hire people to build a hardware--engineering team to build the device. We had to acquire new skills. There's a tendency, I think, for executives to think that the right course of action is to stick to the knitting—stick with what you're good at. That may be a generally good rule, but the problem is the world changes out from under you if you're not constantly adding to your skill set.
Link to full article
Bill Gates: We need global 'energy miracles' @ TED conf.
Is climate change realy going to be addressed on a effective scale. Attention like this helps. P.A.
Bill Gates suggested researchers spend the next 40 years perfecting and implementing clean-energy technologies.STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Bill Gates called on the world's tech community to find a way to harness spent nuclear fuel
- Gates: finding a cheap and clean energy source is more important than creating new vaccines
- He urged researchers to spend the next 20 years developing clean-energy technologies
- Microsoft founder spoke Friday at the TED Conference in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California (CNN) -- Microsoft Corp. founder and philanthropist Bill Gates on Friday called on the world's tech community to find a way to turn spent nuclear fuel into cheap, clean
energy.
energy.
"What we're going to have to do at a global scale is create a new system," Gates said in a speech at the TED Conference in Long Beach, California. "So we need energy miracles."
Gates called climate change the world's most vexing problem, and added that finding a cheap and clean energy source is more important than creating
new vaccines and improving farming techniques, causes into which he has
invested billion of dollars.
new vaccines and improving farming techniques, causes into which he has
invested billion of dollars.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation last month pledged $10 billion to help deploy and develop vaccines for children in the developing world.
The world must eliminate all of its carbon emissions and cut energy costs in half in order to prevent a climate catastrophe, which will hit the world's poor
hardest, he said.
Link to full article.
hardest, he said.
Disney says China approves Shanghai theme park
Years ago I read that Disney was creating Asian themed princesses and characters in anticipation of one day building a park in China. It looks that day has arrived.
By Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer
SHANGHAI — China's planning agency has approved plans for a Disney theme park in Shanghai, the Walt Disney Co. said Wednesday, a major step toward setting a deal for the long awaited project.
The approval by the National Development and Reform Commission will allow Shanghai's biggest city, and Disney (DIS) to work on final details for the amusement park, to be located in the city's eastern Pudong district.
"China is one of the most dynamic, exciting and important countries in the world, and this approval marks a very significant milestone for The Walt Disney Company in mainland China," Robert A. Iger, president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said in a statement.
It said the initial phase of the project would include a "Magic Kingdom-style theme park with characteristics tailored to the Shanghai region." Amenities will be consistent with other Disney resorts in the world, it said.
Link to full article
SHANGHAI — China's planning agency has approved plans for a Disney theme park in Shanghai, the Walt Disney Co. said Wednesday, a major step toward setting a deal for the long awaited project.
The approval by the National Development and Reform Commission will allow Shanghai's biggest city, and Disney (DIS) to work on final details for the amusement park, to be located in the city's eastern Pudong district.
"China is one of the most dynamic, exciting and important countries in the world, and this approval marks a very significant milestone for The Walt Disney Company in mainland China," Robert A. Iger, president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said in a statement.
It said the initial phase of the project would include a "Magic Kingdom-style theme park with characteristics tailored to the Shanghai region." Amenities will be consistent with other Disney resorts in the world, it said.
Link to full article
It's time to apply uncubed thought to fix what's accepted on our roadways. In Praise of Traffic Tickets. Don't roll your eyes. They're good for you in more ways than you think.
Reposted for old blog..
115,000 alchol related traffic deaths since 9/11. I'd say it's time to live different more ecocentric lives. A very thought provoking article on reducing horendous traffic related deaths on Slates website. (One use to say accident but impaired driving is no accident.)
By Tom Vanderbilt
Posted Friday, Aug. 28, 2009, at 1:36 PM ET in Slate.
Selected paragraphs taken from article...
Even the most socially abhorrent driving crimes, like a fatal crash involving an alcohol-impaired driver, often evoke curiously lenient legal responses. Consider the nonautomotive case of Plaxico Burress, who accidentally shot himself with an unregistered, concealed gun. Stupid? Yes. Illegal. Yes. End result? A painful leg injury (to himself)—and two years in jail. Now compare that with fellow NFL player Leonard Little, who in 1998 ran a red light and smashed into a car whose driver died the next day from her injuries. Little was found to have a BAC of 0.19, more than twice the legal limit in the state of Missouri. Stupid? Yes. Illegal? Yes. End result? Another person lost her life. Little's sentence, compared with Burress', was minor: 90 days. He missed only eight football games and was able to keep his license.*
One often hears, in cases like this, comments along the lines of "his guilty conscience will be punishment enough." But ex post facto regret is worthless from the perspective of public health, which seeks preventative measures to stop people from dying. Which raises the second benefit of traffic tickets: They help keep people—drivers and those outside the car—alive. Several studies have found a "negative correlation" between someone receiving a traffic violation and their subsequent involvement in a fatal traffic crash.
The consequences of not issuing tickets were shown in a recent study of traffic violations in New York City. From 2001 to 2006, the number of fatalities in which speeding was implicated rose 11 percent. During the same period, the number of speeding summons issued by the NYPD dropped 11 percent. Similarly, summonses for red-light-running violations dropped 13 percent between 2006 and 2008, even as the number of crashes increased. As an alternative approach, consider France, where the dangerous driver is as storied a cliché as a beret on the head and a baguette under the arm. As the ITE Journal notes, since 2000, France has reduced its road fatality rate by an incredible 43 percent. Instrumental in that reduction has been a roll-out of automated speed cameras and a toughening of penalties. For example, negligent driving resulting in a death, which often results in little punishment in the United States, carries a penalty of five years in prison and a 75,000-euro fine.
The program recalls the "broken windows" theory, made famous by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling, which argued, using the metaphor of one broken window on a building inexorably leading to more, that not enforcing smaller, "quality-of-life" issues encourages larger transgressions:
Window-breaking does not necessarily occur on a large scale because some areas are inhabited by determined window-breakers whereas others are populated by window-lovers; rather, one unrepaired broken window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking more windows costs nothing.
Link here to get to full article or cut and past e address..
http://www.slate.com/id/2226509/?yahoo=y
By Tom Vanderbilt
Posted Friday, Aug. 28, 2009, at 1:36 PM ET in Slate.
Selected paragraphs taken from article...
Even the most socially abhorrent driving crimes, like a fatal crash involving an alcohol-impaired driver, often evoke curiously lenient legal responses. Consider the nonautomotive case of Plaxico Burress, who accidentally shot himself with an unregistered, concealed gun. Stupid? Yes. Illegal. Yes. End result? A painful leg injury (to himself)—and two years in jail. Now compare that with fellow NFL player Leonard Little, who in 1998 ran a red light and smashed into a car whose driver died the next day from her injuries. Little was found to have a BAC of 0.19, more than twice the legal limit in the state of Missouri. Stupid? Yes. Illegal? Yes. End result? Another person lost her life. Little's sentence, compared with Burress', was minor: 90 days. He missed only eight football games and was able to keep his license.*
One often hears, in cases like this, comments along the lines of "his guilty conscience will be punishment enough." But ex post facto regret is worthless from the perspective of public health, which seeks preventative measures to stop people from dying. Which raises the second benefit of traffic tickets: They help keep people—drivers and those outside the car—alive. Several studies have found a "negative correlation" between someone receiving a traffic violation and their subsequent involvement in a fatal traffic crash.
The consequences of not issuing tickets were shown in a recent study of traffic violations in New York City. From 2001 to 2006, the number of fatalities in which speeding was implicated rose 11 percent. During the same period, the number of speeding summons issued by the NYPD dropped 11 percent. Similarly, summonses for red-light-running violations dropped 13 percent between 2006 and 2008, even as the number of crashes increased. As an alternative approach, consider France, where the dangerous driver is as storied a cliché as a beret on the head and a baguette under the arm. As the ITE Journal notes, since 2000, France has reduced its road fatality rate by an incredible 43 percent. Instrumental in that reduction has been a roll-out of automated speed cameras and a toughening of penalties. For example, negligent driving resulting in a death, which often results in little punishment in the United States, carries a penalty of five years in prison and a 75,000-euro fine.
The program recalls the "broken windows" theory, made famous by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling, which argued, using the metaphor of one broken window on a building inexorably leading to more, that not enforcing smaller, "quality-of-life" issues encourages larger transgressions:
Window-breaking does not necessarily occur on a large scale because some areas are inhabited by determined window-breakers whereas others are populated by window-lovers; rather, one unrepaired broken window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking more windows costs nothing.
Link here to get to full article or cut and past e address..
http://www.slate.com/id/2226509/?yahoo=y
Patent backlog clogs recovery Agency’s inability to keep pace undermines American innovation, competitiveness
Reposted from old blog....
Just say no. Sounds like a well-known political parties 'strategy'. Agency’s inability to keep pace undermines American innovation, competitiveness. And I can speak from personal experience. Since 2004, yes 2004 we had been pursing a patent on the most innovative 'drive-through' ever devised. We conceived, design and built it in conjunction with our diner of the 21st Century prototype we opened in 2004. We designed in energy delivery lanes (yes, planning for this since 2003) into our drive through. Turning many/all drive-through into electric and/or hydrogen distribution stations. (Breeze-Thru™) our trademarked rebranding to go along with our reinvention of the traditional drive-through. The patent office wasted a lot of my time and money. Alot. No after no by the same guy who didn't get it. Who referred to completely unrelated patents. And when I heard that they the USPO had a strategy to reduce the number in Que by the no strategy - the B.S. came to light...
Perry Andropolis Dir. of Innov. Andropolis Institute
_________________________________________By John Schmid and Ben Poston of the Journal Sentinel
First of two parts
Alexandria, Va. — On a campus of boxy office buildings nine miles outside Washington, D.C., some 6,300 patent examiners hold the nation's economic future in their hands.
The next Google. The next iPhone. The next Viagra.
All could be fueled by inventions awaiting the 20 years of protection afforded by a U.S. patent - if only the patent examiners could catch up.
But they can't. The federal system of granting patents to businesses and entrepreneurs has become overwhelmed by the growing volume and complexity of the applications it receives, creating a massive backlog that by its own reckoning could take at least six years to get under control, the Journal Sentinel has found.
Amid the worst downturn since the Great Depression, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office could be seen as a way to jump-start the economy. Instead, it sits on applications for years, placing inventors at risk of losing their ideas to savvy competitors at home and abroad.
link to full article....
second part
Patents Pending | A Journal Sentinel Watchdog Report
Patent rejections soar as pressure on agency rises
Penalized for flawed approvals, examiners keep pace – and pay – by refusing applications
By John Schmid and Ben Poston of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Aug. 16, 2009
Madison — Issued in 1995, U.S. Patent No. 5,443,036 is titled “Method of Exercising a Cat.” If you move the light from a laser pointer around on the floor, it says, your cat will chase it.
That’s right — it’s patented.
Yet when medical professor Janet Mertz applied for a patent on a new diagnostic test for breast cancer in 2002, she waited five years for a ruling — and was rejected. The hormone-based test, developed and refined for more than a dozen years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was deemed too obvious to merit patent protection.
Just say no. Sounds like a well-known political parties 'strategy'. Agency’s inability to keep pace undermines American innovation, competitiveness. And I can speak from personal experience. Since 2004, yes 2004 we had been pursing a patent on the most innovative 'drive-through' ever devised. We conceived, design and built it in conjunction with our diner of the 21st Century prototype we opened in 2004. We designed in energy delivery lanes (yes, planning for this since 2003) into our drive through. Turning many/all drive-through into electric and/or hydrogen distribution stations. (Breeze-Thru™) our trademarked rebranding to go along with our reinvention of the traditional drive-through. The patent office wasted a lot of my time and money. Alot. No after no by the same guy who didn't get it. Who referred to completely unrelated patents. And when I heard that they the USPO had a strategy to reduce the number in Que by the no strategy - the B.S. came to light...
Perry Andropolis Dir. of Innov. Andropolis Institute
_________________________________________By John Schmid and Ben Poston of the Journal Sentinel
First of two parts
Alexandria, Va. — On a campus of boxy office buildings nine miles outside Washington, D.C., some 6,300 patent examiners hold the nation's economic future in their hands.
The next Google. The next iPhone. The next Viagra.
All could be fueled by inventions awaiting the 20 years of protection afforded by a U.S. patent - if only the patent examiners could catch up.
But they can't. The federal system of granting patents to businesses and entrepreneurs has become overwhelmed by the growing volume and complexity of the applications it receives, creating a massive backlog that by its own reckoning could take at least six years to get under control, the Journal Sentinel has found.
Amid the worst downturn since the Great Depression, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office could be seen as a way to jump-start the economy. Instead, it sits on applications for years, placing inventors at risk of losing their ideas to savvy competitors at home and abroad.
link to full article....
second part
Patents Pending | A Journal Sentinel Watchdog Report
Patent rejections soar as pressure on agency rises
Penalized for flawed approvals, examiners keep pace – and pay – by refusing applications
By John Schmid and Ben Poston of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Aug. 16, 2009
Madison — Issued in 1995, U.S. Patent No. 5,443,036 is titled “Method of Exercising a Cat.” If you move the light from a laser pointer around on the floor, it says, your cat will chase it.
That’s right — it’s patented.
Yet when medical professor Janet Mertz applied for a patent on a new diagnostic test for breast cancer in 2002, she waited five years for a ruling — and was rejected. The hormone-based test, developed and refined for more than a dozen years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was deemed too obvious to merit patent protection.
Sock Puppet Lieberman Demands Pony In Exchange For Health Care Vote
Reposted from my old blog site. A effective way to inform the public. While the real life Joe Lieberman has been busy with his filibuster threats, he's nothing compared to his sock puppet counterpart. In this ad from Moveon.org, the sock puppet Senator (whose appearance is strikingly accurate) makes it simple. If the Democrats want his vote, they're gonna have to pony up. Literally.
Link to article and video.
Link to article and video.
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