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!