RandomFailure

OK, all kidding, etc. aside. If you haven’t been paying attention, the situation in the area affected by Hurricane Katrina is deteriorating by the hour (if not more rapidly). New Orleans is likely to be uninhabitable for weeks, maybe even months. And the rebuilding will take even longer. If you have the means, make a donation. I do not profess to know the first thing about any particular organization to donate to, but Network for Good (see the link in the sidebar) has a long list. Pick one. You’ll feel better.

I think the Philadelphia Inquirer might. Why would I think something as crazy as this? Because if you look at the graphics I chose to include with my post about Hurricane Katrina and look at the graphics used in today’s Inquirer, you will notice that they used two very similar images (sorry, but I can’t find their graphics online). Similar and not exactly the same only because they have an in-house art department and I can’t draw to save my life. Besides, why re-draw when you can link? It’s the nature of the Web, after all… Funny how with the entire Web and a plethora of other sources to use to find graphics, they had to pick stuff similar to what I found on the Web. Plus, their staff blogger also used a similar headline. I’m probably being overly conspiratorial-minded, but at least I don’t wear a tin foil hat.

If not of the week. Today’s Pearls Before Swine is hilarious. Click the strip to see it at full size.

My busy Sunday schedule has prevented me from being the first to make this reference. I refer, of course, to the 1980′s band (see their official Web site) who gave us “Walking on Sunshine” (sorry, no iTunes version of this one). I’m also referring to the monster of a hurricane that is targeting New Orleans. [Link note: this will probably be a dead link in a few days, once the storm passes.]

I remember reading during last year’s hurricane season that New Orleans would be in big trouble if it ever took a direct hit from a hurricane. The reason for this is that the city sits below sea level. It took some looking, but I found a good cross-sectional map of New Orleans which illustrates this. The city is in a bowl between the Mississippi River to the south and Lake Pontchartrain to the north. (This zoomed-out overhead map helps.) Since the levees are only built to withstand a storm surge of 18 feet or less (see this map of floodwall heights), the possible 20-25 foot swells are going to present a huge problem.

Since the city was under a forced evacuation as of early this morning, hopefully everyone has made it out or to a shelter. If you are from New Orleans and reading this, stay safe and good luck.

As a long-time Apple user (I got an Apple IIe in late November 1983, and have had an Apple-branded computer on my desk ever since) and a registered patent attorney, I always find it interesting when people discuss Apple’s patents and patent applications. For the most part, people get things wrong, but I believe that mostly stems from not knowing how to properly read a patent. It seems that most people read the Abstract of the patent and then comment from there. That’s the equivalent of reading the dust jacket on a mystery novel and knowing who the killer is. But that discussion is for another time.

This writing was prompted by the stunning flurry of insanely incorrect and wild conclusion-jumping articles that have been written about one of Apple’s iPod patent applications. A Google news search reveals over 225 articles written on the subject. Some of the articles, such as those from AppleInsider and Macworld, even get around to talking about the application and that it’s under a final rejection. Macworld and a few others also managed to get some quotes from patent attorneys.

However, those questions were apparently asked in a general sense, as not one of the articles I reviewed (not all of them) mentioned the application number.

After a 30 second online search at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, I found the application in question. (All of the information linked to and discussed is public information. Disclaimer: Neither I nor my firm do any legal work for either Apple Computer or Microsoft. Though I would be very happy to do so.) It is U.S. Patent Application Number 10/282,861 (U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2004/0055446). If you are so inclined, you can review the Office Action yourself (click on “Final Rejection” dated 07-13-2005), via the USPTO’s public patent application information retrieval (PAIR) system. (It is a PDF file.)

The Office Action is a final rejection of Apple’s application, and the Examiner’s position is that the claims are anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2003/0221541 to Platt. Interestingly, there is no recorded assignment of the Platt application to Microsoft that is available for public viewing.

All the verbal chaos has surrounded the fact that this is a final rejection based on a Microsoft patent. However, there has not been discussion on what that really means. So here’s a short U.S. patent prosecution lesson: an application can be finally rejected when an Examiner applies the same reference(s) and/or reasoning for rejecting the claims a second time. (You can read the applicable patent practice rule if you like.) However, this does not mean that this is the end of prosecution, which can be re-opened by filing a Request for Continued Examination and paying the required fees. So for all those who think that it’s the end of the world or requires some sort of royalty payment to Microsoft (which to some people may be the same thing), rest assured that this is a normal part of the patent prosecution process. It happens all the time.

If you read the attorney’s Reply to the first Office Action (see Applicant Arguments or Remarks Made in an Amendment dated 04-22-2005), you will see that the arguments are kind of thin (however, without reviewing both Apple’s application and the Platt reference in detail, I can’t say whether that’s a good thing or not). Also, a Declaration was submitted by all of the inventors (see the two Affidavits dated 04-22-2005) stating that their invention pre-dates the earliest priority date of the Platt application (which is May 30, 2002). If you look at them, you even get to see Steve Jobs’ signature (if you’re interested in that sort of thing).

Also interesting to note is that the Platt application was allowed. You can see it’s file history to review (see the Notice of Allowance and Fees Due (PTOL-85) dated 06-27-2005 as it includes the Examiner’s reasons for allowance).

Since it’s been insanely hot and humid here in the northeastern U.S., I think I might have been starting to hallucinate a little in the past few days. But I realized while driving back into Philly late this afternoon over the Betsy Ross Bridge, that it was just the haze that was obscuring everything. It was rather neat (for lack of a better term) to see form the top of the bridge how the haze just enveloped pretty much everything, hanging there like a fog.

And a little later, I really must’ve been hallucinating, because I saw many attractive women at the grocery store. Apparently grocery shopping at 5:30 on a Sunday evening is the place to be. My girlfriend will now kick me in the butt. Literally. But it’s worth it.

Eagles’ wide receiver Todd Pinkston will miss the entire 2005 season due to injury. (Read the Phila. Inquirer story.) I don’t think he’ll be missed at all.

For 2004, Pinkston’s stats looked like this:

Number of receptions: 36
Receiving yards: 676
Average yards per catch: 18.8
Longest reception: 80 yards
Number of touchdowns: 1

Yes, you read that correctly. One freakin’ touchdown. That’s one more touchdown than I had, and I didn’t even play! And I assume you all remember Pinkston’s wimping out on catching a pass against the Redskins back in December (here’s a USA Today story to refresh your memory). These lame stats and overall weak performance lead me to believe that Pinkston won’t be missed. Not at all. Have a nice recovery!

Today (August 7) is my 35th birthday. Happy Birthday to me! I think the most interesting fact about this day is that it is considered to be the midpoint of summer (check out WikiPedia for more interesting stuff about August 7). In case you’re wondering what I did for my birthday: I slept in, made pancakes and bacon for brunch for me and my girlfriend, walked aimlessly around the streets of Philly for a little while, and that’s about it. Pretty much an ideal day.

A few more tidbits that have been simmering in the sweltering heat.

• PA lawmakers are greedy bastards! They recently voted themselves a pay raise (at 2:00 am) to make them the second highest-paid legislature in the country. Normally, pay raises are only effective in the legislative session following the one in which the raise was approved (i.e., it should be effective in December 2006). However, several enterprising individuals (read: most of them) are taking the raise now through an expense-type voucher. Among these people include some who voted against the pay raise. There is a movement afoot (called Operation Clean Sweep: Pennsylvania) to throw all these bums out.
• There are actually scientists out there who don’t believe in evolution. This is rather shocking to me. But I guess I shouldn’t be all that surprised. Read about them here.
• SEPTA is only on “tangerine” alert. A somewhat disturbing news item reveals that the Philadelphia-area mass transit system doesn’t think that it’s really necessary to be on an “orange” level alert, and believes that they are doing enough by floating somewhere between “yellow” and “orange”. This indicates either: (1) a high level of stupidity and incompetence, or (2) irrational hubris. I’m going with option #1. Though I do have to agree that SEPTA would be a highly unlikely target: the trains and buses don’t go to enough places and they’re hardly ever running on time. Imagine how that could screw up a well-planned “event”. (I’m purposely avoiding certain key phrases to avoid having my door kicked in and my computer seized for no valid reason. I denounce any and all “events” or “program-related activities”.)

If you look at this picture from Terrell Owens’ arrival at Eagles training camp yesterday, you will notice that he is carrying a CD player in his left hand. Don’t you think that a guy who makes about $7 million a year should be able to afford an iPod?