LSAT, USPTO Operating Status, and Patent of the Week

LSAT
The LSAT is on Saturday, October 5th.  I look forward to doing well on it!

USPTO Operating Status
Earlier this week I received an email from the Acting Director of the USPTO about the operating status of the USPTO in the event of a government shut down.  The USPTO is not an essential government agency like the military, so a government shut will effect the USPTO.  The USPTO has reserve funds for a reason unbeknownst to me.  The USPTO reserve funds will be able to fund the USPTO for a couple of weeks starting October 1st in the event of a government shut down.  If the government is still shut down after the reserve funds run out, I will be put on unpaid administrative leave until the government reopens.

Patent of the Week
U.S. 4,605,000
Abstract:  A greenhouse helmet is provided and consists of a dome containing plants secured within the dome worn completely over the head of a person so that the person can breathe in the oxygen given off by the plants.

It is interesting the plant that was chosen to be the plant inside.  The plant that was chosen was a cactus.  If the plants ever come loose from its base, you will have a lot of spines in your face or head.  OUCH!

Law School Application Update, LSAT, and Patent of the Week

Law School Application Update
I have applied to nine different law schools in the past few weeks.  I will apply to a few more law schools in the future.  The date some law schools, including some of the law school I will apply, start accepting applications has not occurred.  I should start receiving admission decisions in December.

LSAT
The LSAT is in a couple of weeks (Oct 5th).  I am working diligently towards my goal to do my best.

Patent of the Week
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is filled with many interesting patents and patent applications.  To help you know more about the interesting patents and patent applications, I will post some of the interesting patents and patent applications on this blog.

First is U.S. Patent 6,699,778.  Fig. 1 a flow chart of an embodiment of the inventive method wherein a person performs a first step 1, a second step 2, a third step 3, and a fourth step 4 in sequential order.

Navy Air Force Half Marathon and Banana Cake

Navy Air Force Half Marathon
I completed the Navy Air Force Half Marathon on Saturday September 14th.  The race started around 7:30 am.  I met up with a friend before the race to take the metro to the race.  She has done these types of races before and she was able to answer some questions that I had.  My time was 1 hour and 50 minutes (8:26 pace).  It was good enough for 620th place.  The results can be found here.  I was thoroughly exhausted at the end.  My legs are still sore today.  The course started at the Washington Monument, went across the Potomac River, back across the Potomac River, up to and past Georgetown, down and and around Haines Point, and finishing at the Washington Monument.  The course I ran can be found here.  On the course there was a guy was juggling 5 red balls will participating in the half marathon.  He was a good juggler when I saw him because he did not drop the balls while juggling.  There was also a sign that said "Touch here for Power" and had a circle representing where people needed to touch to get more power.  A few people by me went over and touched the sign for the power.  Eventually there will be picture from the race taken by photographers during the race.  The official site for the race can be found here.

Me before the race

Washington Monument before the race

Banana Cake
This week I made a banana cake with chocolate frosting for a church voters meeting.  This is first time I have attempted to bake by myself.  I do not have an electric hand mixer.  I had to use a spatula or wooden spoon with elbow grease to mix the cake batter and frosting.  The cake turned out really well!  You can see it for yourself in the picture below.  The cake was so good, I was not able to take any home after the voters meeting.  Thank you Mom for the recipes and giving direction on how to make the cake.

Banana Cake

Banana Cake with Frosting

FSU Game, About a Week to Half Marathon, and Law School Applications

FSU Game
Last weekend, I watched the Florida State (FSU) vs. Pitt football game with a friend from my LSAT class after we did some studying for the LSAT.  We watched the game with about 8 my friend's friends.  Most of the people were from Florida.  The people were interesting and fun to be around.  The food was good as well.

About a Week to Half Marathon
There is about a week until my half marathon.  I have been training.  The training has not been intense as I would like because of work, the LSAT, and preparing for law school.  This weekend I plan running about 10 miles as my last long run before the real thing on September 14th.  It is not as long as I would like.  When I run the race, the energy from being with all of the people will carry me to finish the race strong.  On a side note, the race packet for the race has be picked up before the race at the army base the Naval Laboratory is located.

Law School Applications
I completed my first law school application this week!  I am excited about it!

Fantasy Football Draft

Fantasy Football Draft
On Saturday, August 26th our family fantasy football team had its drafts.  Our league is unique.  We play 2 quarterbacks, only 1 running back, 2 flex positions, 1 defensive player, and 1 punter.  The punter is new this year.  The punter will not have much effect on the outcomes of games because punters score the fewest amount of points for a position by a wide margin and the variance of the points between punters is small.

I could have drafted better.  Also I could have drafted worse.  My top pick was Aaron Rodgers who helped me the championship last year.  There were a few picks that were reaches.  The picks that were reaches caused my bench to be thin.  My bench being thin is nothing new to me.  It was the same situation for me last year.  Overall I am satisfied with my selections.  Nobody knows how well they really drafted until the games start.  I am looking forward to finding out!

USP 8,506,822

USP 8,506,822
An application I have worked on has become a published patent!  It is USP 8,506,822 titled "Concentration of Suspensions".  On the front page of the patent is my name!  It is in the right hand column in the line starting "Assistant Examiner".  This is the first published application to have my name on it.  You can find the document here, which you can download a pdf.  Below is a picture of the front page of the patent.

USP 8,506,822

Redskin Tickets and Flat Bike Tires

Redskin Tickets
This week I picked Redskin tickets.  The Redskins game is on Sunday October 20th at 1:00 PM ET in Landover, MD against the Chicago Bears.  RGIII should definitely be playing by that point in the season.  Now I am going to have to get a Redskins t-shirt for myself.  There is no way I am cheering for the Chicago Bears.  I will be going with a friend from college who is also working in the DC area.  The seats are in section 215.

View of FedEx Field from our Section (Section 215)

Flat Bike Tires

This week I had 2 flat tires on my bike.  I was riding to the FedEx store to pick up the Redskins tickets when I realized my back tire was flat.  I noticed my back tire was flat because the ride felt bumpier than usual.  To fix the tire I went to a bike store near the river in Old Town Alexandria.  They replaced my tube in the back tire and added air to my front tire.  While biking home again, the back tire went flat again.  I was far enough from the bike store and my townhouse that a walk to either place would be inconvenient and time consuming.  So I called my roommate Jon up to give a ride to the bike store.  He did so.  I had the tire replaced because may have been the problem according to the bike mechanic.  Since having my tire replaced I have had no flat tires on my bike.