Lessons from a Garage

Your Inner Alien

April wasn't a particularly good month for blogging.   My wrist is doing much better now.  So, I thought I would start out the beautiful month of May with a fun activity.   This is something you can do while you wait for VCs to call you back.

STEP 1:  Run Sound Recorder.   Sound Recorder is part of the standard Windows O/S.   If you've never used it before, it's under "Programs", "Accessories", "Entertainment".    I don't know why Bill and his friends in Redmond believe that Sound Recorder is "Entertainment".   Apparently it gets pretty boring with all that rain.   Anyhow, this FUN ACTIVITY is perhaps The-Most-Entertaining thing you can do with Sound Recorder.

STEP 2:  Think of a short phrase you'd like to say in an alien voice.   Using Sound Recorder and a microphone, record the short phrase.  Play it back to make sure it sounds as you would expect.   Dick around with settings and try again if not.

Here is a wave file of me saying, "Your inner alien".

STEP 3:  Click on "Effects", the "Reverse".   There aren't many effects in the Sound Recorder "Entertainment" program.  Thankfully, though, all you need is Reverse.

Here is what that same phrase sounds like when it's been reversed.

STEP 4: Listen carefully to the sound of the reversed short phrase.   Play it over and over again.   Practice making the exact same sounds.   It might take a few minutes.  Reversed English language sounds pretty bizarre.

STEP 5:  When you think you've mastered the reversed short phrase, create a new recording using "File", "New".    Then, record the reversed short phrase.

Here is my imitation of the reversed phrase.

STEP 6:  Click on "Effects", then "Reverse" again.   Play it back - this is YOU in your "Alien Voice".   Fun huh?

Here is the resulting alien voice.

You can do this with any phrase, but start with something simple - so you don't hurt yourself.

Thank God for Speech Recognition

Hello .  I have discovered that it is extremely difficult to type with only one hand .  Fortunately my computer is equipped with Microsoft speech tools that allow me to use speech recognition from a long entries and for other entries were documents on my computer .  I've been using the speech recognition tools for a couple of days now .

this is the first time I've tried to use a speech recognition tools for my blood .  Let's see how it goes . 

Yesterday with the doctor's office so that he could check on the rest .  He assured me that my wrist is healing just fine .  you replace the bandage on the incision and gave me a new have cast for my hand .  Once the incision is completely healed to put a awful customer wrists for another month or so .  He told me that once I had that new cast on the deal that type much much better than I can right now . 

It's nice to see that Microsoft has perfected speech recognition .  I remember references to speech recognition as far back as 1982 when I visited John sax is office and Lotus development corporation in Cambridge Massachusetts .  He had a little comic strip on his door which showed a man from the CRT he held the microphone in his right hand he was very agitated he said, "up up up down up up over left left over left left left left down cocaine and delete that ".

having quite surprised by the length of the winter's here in Maine the data and other blizzard last Thursday there is about 15in. of snow that fell and found the and I'm really looking for to the spring, condone what boat and do some fishing with little guys avenue sailboat mumbled for choosing not to one spy and heels .  The intent on to the intelligently about that in the photograph and it began

but he didn't go into chopped onion and all the smart enough to be a good job, but again, would have added into the department of New York often talked about a possible that the U.N. should have bought them have much about any doubt when did you and I'm confident on top of contingent upon and about conducting into holders and a button in more than that of the board of all of a lot of the council can pick and a half on the platform inning to put the puck into the digital form of above the bulk of the game, and that reason," and sharing although the fact he noted above to go the the only one notable www woman another added to it, come a long island .  But in the UK but it didn't want to give a moment about the legal and legitimate innuendo and video component of contract about on the home, back until the did the data, but it needs and lock and lot .

so in summary I just like saying how often is to have these powerful speech recognition tools and how far they've come in as you did that well done, you do not . 

Reality Wrist Fusion

Dr. Samuel Scott of Portland, Maine rebuilt my left wrist last Thursday.  Doctor Scott called it "4 corner fusion".   I call it by a bunch of shorter names, like "oww", "YOW", "DAMN", "crap", "Ooooo", "umph", and "sheeee-it".  My wrist throbs under a few layers of bandages, while I struggle to type at a pace no faster than a typical a CEO.

The procedure involved removing the cashew sized scaphoid bone (labeled "A" in the diagram) using expensive bone-crunching pliers called rongeurs. 

After the scaphoid was removed, the remaining bones were stabilized by fusing the Lunate, Triquetrum, Capitate, and Hamate bones together.  (labeled B, C, G and H respectively).  This fusion (also known as arthrodesis) takes a while.  But once it's complete, I will be able to ride my bike and swim without annoying grinding and pinching.

I'll let you know how it goes.   

Software Patents

Here is a link to a short presentation that I gave to the first grade class at Pacific School in Davenport, California. It is called, "All about Inventing". It talks about the process of invention; the flow of an idea from conception, through production.  I brought some cool old things like light bulbs, video games and circuit boards with me as visual aids.  The kids seemed to like the presentation.

I spoke a little bit about software as well. They really liked that part too. I told them that software is a great medium for invention.

The kids still have a few years to go before they become successful entrepreneurs. Perhaps my blog will still be around when they start prototyping exciting new widgets in their garages. Maybe they will think back on the day that "Mr. Spencer" came to school and gave that great presentation.

Maybe, a few years from now, they will search for me on the Internet and find this blog...

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Dear Kids,

It is freakin' fantastic that you found my blog! I am SO PROUD of you! You guys showed a lot of potential back in 2005, and I am sure that you have developed into amazing software entrepreneurs just like I wanted you to. I am also sure that you got some orthodontic work, cause quite frankly, some of you guys really needed it!

Anyhow, now that you are all-grown-up, I have to confess something. Mr. Spencer had a little bit more to say about patents; software patents in particular.

So, stop eating those crayons and pay attention.

First off - every technical factoid about the patent process is available through the good people at Google and the USPTO. Just like you found my blog, you probably found that stuff too.

Here is one more thing to look at.   It is an article on WikiPedia about the Software patent debate.  It is a sad bedtime tale about software patents in general.    After you read it, you might decide to get out of software all-together.  Maybe you should make a new type of hybrid engine for passenger cars instead.

Next, by now you have heard of "attorneys".  Patent attorneys are nice men and women who provide expert facilitation of the patent process. Most of them are not mean or scary.  A very few of them might be a little "purposefully optimistic" about your idea, just to get your business.  Remember that patent attorneys make money whether or not you actually get a patent.   There are no guarantees.

So, you should not misconstrue a patent attorney's willingness to file a patent as an indication that your idea is unique or marketable.  In fact, the best patent attorneys will regard your idea with a certain degree of polite detachment. If you find a patent attorney who seems unduly excited by your idea - if he or she says, "HOLY CRAP", "WOW!", "THAT'S AWESOME", or "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH ALL THAT MONEY", you should find another patent attorney.

"Bad Patent Attorney"

Also, beware of the professional patent search.  Patent searches result in either "no news" or "bad news".  If you pay for a patent search, and your idea doesn't show up - that doesn't mean that your idea is unique.  It just means that it didn't turn up in the patent search.  Again, there are no guarantees.  If you want to save yourself some money, do the search yourself. DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

If you get a patent, it doesn't mean that your idea is unique. When you apply for your patent, examiners at the US PTO will reject it right away, no-matter-what. You and your patent attorney will make some changes and file it again.  Another rejection. Another filing. Eventually, your patent for "sliced bread crispy cooker" will yield a patent. This doesn't mean that your idea is unique. If there is any example of prior art, your patent will be useless in court.  There may even be other patents on file, or in process, which conflict with yours.  Patent examiners look for obvious problems, but don't necessarily find every problem.

If you get a patent, it doesn't prevent other people from infringing.  Think of your patent as a giant sword.  If you are too small to swing the sword, it doesn't do you much good. Your patent might be valuable if your exit strategy involves acquisition by a big company; Google for example - OR if you think your company is going to grow big enough to actually swing the sword itself.

From the time that you first document your new invention, to the time that your patent is actually issued, money will flow from your piggy bank to your patent attorney. This "money flow process" can take 3 or 4 years. However, there is really good news. You can minimize your expenses for a couple of years.

Be careful though, the following information is for US patents only!

When you invent something important, use a marker to write it down and put a date on it. This date is very important. This is the date of your invention.  You might want to get it notarized or postmarked as well, so that you have further proof of the invention date.

Then, hide it under your bed for as long as possible.  Once you've made your first public disclosure (told someone about it without an NDA, shipped a product that uses it, demonstrated it at a trade show, etc) a special imaginary clock starts running. Once this clock starts, you can procrastinate (i.e. play) for a  year before you have to file a patent. So far, you've spent NO money.

When that year is about to expire, it is time to file a provisional patent application.  A provisional application could be filed by a patent attorney - or you could just do it yourself.   If you have the patent attorney do it, it shouldn't cost more than $200-$300 dollars.

Provisional applications can be pretty "raw". You don't want to use "construction paper", but you can avoid most of the words and diagrams that are required for the actual, comprehensive filing that you'll do later.

Within a year of your provisional application, you have to make a decision if you want to file the real application or not.   The real application, and related follow-on work will be pretty expensive.   $10K - $35K is a realistic range. to think about

Make sure your software patent isn't too broad. If it is, your patent could be invalidated by "prior art". "Prior art" is an example of something that existed before the date of your invention.  It shows that you weren't really the first kid to invent the thing that you patented. So, be careful!

Make sure your software patent isn't too narrow. If you get too specific and too detailed in your claims, other kids might figure out ways to "design around it" - by doing things that are very similar, but different enough to avoid infringement.

When you get a patent, you will receive fake stuff in the mail.  It's fake because it looks like it comes from the government.  It doesn't.  It comes from a place that makes money by laminating the cover page of your invention and mounting it on an authentic piece of oak-veneer.  Go for it.  Send it to your mom. Or, send it to me!

You guys are going to be wildly successful with your inventions, so have fun and play safe!

Yours with loving kindness,
Mr. Spencer

Edmund Fitzgerald

In high school I had an English teacher whose name was Edmund Fitzgerald.   This was ironic because the same year Mr. Fitzgerald was my teacher, Gordon Lightfoot hit the charts with the tragic story of the ship called the Edmund Fitzgerald.  Further adding to this strangeness was the fact that MY Edmund Fitzgerald had one of those captain's beards - you know, where the mustache is shaved, but nothing else.

I remember that these irksome coincidences weighed heavily on my mind.

While the teacher named Edmund Fitzgerald was probably a fine English teacher, the shipwreck came to symbolize both my grades from his class, as well as the 330 that I scored on my English SAT.

Now, 30 years later, I've been vindicated!   Through the good graces of the folks at TypePad, my blog has been chosen as TypePad's Featured Blog!   WHOOOOEEEE!!!!

Thank you TypePad!

...and many thanks to my readers as well!

Important Considerations

Here is a calculation that I perform every now and then just to see how long I've been a computer geek.   I bought my first computer in 1979.  It was a Heathkit H-8.   I spent about $650 for 48K of memory.    The computer I'm using right now has 1GB of memory.

1GB of memory at 1979 prices would cost $14,199,467.

Here's another one.   Back when a computer screen was 24x80 characters, people used "listings" alot.   A listing, for those of you who don't know, is a text file printed on a single sheet of extremely long fan-fold paper.  Staples, for example, doesn't sell fan-fold paper anymore.

Anyhow, printers would typically print 6 lines per inch of fan-fold paper.

I would then figure out, if my computer was a car, how quickly it would go if it were processing assembly language instructions at 6 per inch.

My H-8 had a clock speed of 2Mhz.   An "H-8-Mobile" would then go 32 miles per second.  That's Maine to California in about a minute and a half.

The computer on my desk?   It would go 47,385 miles per second.   Or about 1/4th the speed of light.

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Photo courtesy of University of Washington - Earth and Space Sciences.   Click here to go there.

Solving Problems

I'm an inventor and a problem solver.   I've found that this is usually a good thing.   The one exception is relationships.  Sometimes people just want you to listen to their problems -- they don't actually want you to fix anything.  I have a hard time with that.

For every problem there are important discoveries.  Solutions are one type of discovery.  Sometimes the solution is readily available.   Sometimes you get to invent a solution.   But for me, the most important discoveries aren't the solutions, the most important discoveries are the problems themselves.   I love to isolate problems.   I love to look at messy situations or failed technology and extract the essense of the problem (or problems).   To distill a problem down to a core is as thrilling as solving the problem itself.

I have a pretty effective problem solving methodology.

Hopefully I don't scare you off -- but I solve difficult problems by getting my subconcious mind to dwell on the problem for as long as necessary.    I load my head up with all the details, I'll even struggle with the problem for a while at my computer, or at a whiteboard.   Then, I clear my mind, and sooner or later, the solution arrives.   It turns out that canoes, sidewalks, coffee shops, beaches, and breakwaters are the best places to find solutions to difficult problems.

Photo courtesy of Barbara Cohen.   Click here to go to her site.