(14) Invention Contest and Sirius
The application for the History Channel/Modern Marvels InventNow! contest is almost finished; I do it in spurts. Must do it in Word, saving frequently, and then cut and paste into the online application developed (but not system tested!) by IBM. I lost my data typed online once (with a nasty Java error), and have learned the lesson. Also, the number of characters per line allowed in the draft edit pane, is one more than that allowed in the preview pane, so the lines wrap unexpectedly. Abhorrent system testing, I'd speculate.
The main delay is awaiting notice from my company that there's no conflict of interest; the intellectual property counsel called today and said there's actually some kind of waiver that can be executed, that documents the company's disinterest and disassociation from the intellectual property. With this, they can't claim that the invention is their property, having been submitted by an employee.
In the contest application, the last part asks how the prize money would be spent. Being that this invention is likely to start a business and perhaps an industry, there's so much to spend it on that it's hard to be concise. I'll try to focus on spending the prize money on true value add for the invention itself, in safety testing, marketing studies and the actual first production run logistics. Perhaps even start a set-aside fund for gifts/grants - the invention would be very helpful to handicapped persons and those with limited incomes. Anybody who uses personal conveyances, but especially those with little children (big hint!).
Met with the designer for lunch, and he showed me the CAD drawings on his laptop. It appears just about ready to submit to a rapid prototyper to construct. He had to, in fact, get electronic CAD files from another company for the wheels I'm using (hint!), to make sure they matched up exactly to the other parts in his drawings. They were a bit reluctant to share, but we've established a good relationship (after they shipped me some defect product!); it's a small company, and everybody's cool. The designer, having worked in this area for a while, has several ideas and contacts regarding rapid prototypers. More to come on that. Really want to get going, in order to be able to 'launch' testing and marketing at my community yard sale this spring.
As I've turned 40, it turns out that a time machine has come on the market to transport one back to the formative years of music appreciation. It's called a Satellite Radio (Sirius). Since installing it a week ago, I've listened (on my hour-long drive to work) to songs and artists that I haven't heard for 30 years, and all the 'good' stuff on the Album B sides. Clapton, Costello, Springsteen, Whitesnake, Blink-182, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, the Dead, Phish, Traffic, Lennon, etc. And best of all (the whole reason for buying it), Howard. I was introduced to Stern sometime around 1979 or so, and have listened or tried to since. Just some amazing collections of playlists, organized into an incredible assortment of categories covering the entire spectrum of my interests. I don't want to get out of the car.
Other research:
- If you want good, professional advice from a broad pool of experts, go to www.inved.org
- If you want decent, practical advice from a limited pool, mixed with junk, go to www.inventorshq.com
- If you want decent advice with a bit of community, but mixed with the rantings of a few self-serving, self-aggrandizing inventors of flotsam, go to http://groups.google.com/group/alt.inventors
- If you want to see interesting topics from those engaged in similar activities, go to www.daddytypes.com, or www.mominventors.com.
The main delay is awaiting notice from my company that there's no conflict of interest; the intellectual property counsel called today and said there's actually some kind of waiver that can be executed, that documents the company's disinterest and disassociation from the intellectual property. With this, they can't claim that the invention is their property, having been submitted by an employee.
In the contest application, the last part asks how the prize money would be spent. Being that this invention is likely to start a business and perhaps an industry, there's so much to spend it on that it's hard to be concise. I'll try to focus on spending the prize money on true value add for the invention itself, in safety testing, marketing studies and the actual first production run logistics. Perhaps even start a set-aside fund for gifts/grants - the invention would be very helpful to handicapped persons and those with limited incomes. Anybody who uses personal conveyances, but especially those with little children (big hint!).
Met with the designer for lunch, and he showed me the CAD drawings on his laptop. It appears just about ready to submit to a rapid prototyper to construct. He had to, in fact, get electronic CAD files from another company for the wheels I'm using (hint!), to make sure they matched up exactly to the other parts in his drawings. They were a bit reluctant to share, but we've established a good relationship (after they shipped me some defect product!); it's a small company, and everybody's cool. The designer, having worked in this area for a while, has several ideas and contacts regarding rapid prototypers. More to come on that. Really want to get going, in order to be able to 'launch' testing and marketing at my community yard sale this spring.
As I've turned 40, it turns out that a time machine has come on the market to transport one back to the formative years of music appreciation. It's called a Satellite Radio (Sirius). Since installing it a week ago, I've listened (on my hour-long drive to work) to songs and artists that I haven't heard for 30 years, and all the 'good' stuff on the Album B sides. Clapton, Costello, Springsteen, Whitesnake, Blink-182, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, the Dead, Phish, Traffic, Lennon, etc. And best of all (the whole reason for buying it), Howard. I was introduced to Stern sometime around 1979 or so, and have listened or tried to since. Just some amazing collections of playlists, organized into an incredible assortment of categories covering the entire spectrum of my interests. I don't want to get out of the car.
Other research:
- If you want good, professional advice from a broad pool of experts, go to www.inved.org
- If you want decent, practical advice from a limited pool, mixed with junk, go to www.inventorshq.com
- If you want decent advice with a bit of community, but mixed with the rantings of a few self-serving, self-aggrandizing inventors of flotsam, go to http://groups.google.com/group/alt.inventors
- If you want to see interesting topics from those engaged in similar activities, go to www.daddytypes.com, or www.mominventors.com.
posted by T | 7:28 PM
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