Top 50 Inventions of 2008

[Soylent Brice]

I was just reading a post by Mari333 about the DNA test for ancestry, and I was so intrigued i searched for a little more info on it, and stumbled onto this.

Not sure if anyone has seen this but I thought it was pretty frickin nifty.


http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,,1852747,00.html

lot of crazy stuff in there. my fave was the petraflop computer. i'm reading Accelerando right now, and seeing the petraflop just reignited my hopes up of living with spiny lobsters.

call me crazy.

[Mabus]

1. Interesting stuff

A great find that I get to share with the patent attorneys in my life.

K&R

[Soylent Brice]

2. thanks Mabus!

would you say you have a plethora of patent attorneys?

[Mabus]

7. Actually I have other words for them

which I will decline to use in polite company.

[Soylent Brice]

8. lol. don't be shy. i'm sure my virgin ears will manage.

an unruly bunch, are they?

[Mabus]

9. The words "anal retentive" come immediately to mind

There's nothing like spending an evening with patent attorneys who are talking about really exciting topics like their latest 103 rejection where the examiner's cited prior art does not teach nor suggests all of the limitations of the claims. This usually leads to discussions of Leapfrog v. Fisher-Price that can go late into the night. :eyes: :puke:

Granted, they are as entertained by conversations I have with my friends over Federal Highway Guidelines, NEPA, Environmental Impact Statements and how they comport with the latest guidelines set out by ASSHTO as I am with their 103 discussions.

Suffice it to say that when the patent (they would correct me and say IP, as in "Intellectual Property") attorneys are talking, I slip out of the room and go play online poker. When my friends and I are talking "environmental stuff" my husband leaves and plays online poker. When you come right down to it, online poker has saved my marriage.

[Soylent Brice]

11. interesting.

your marriage has been saved by poker, and yet others have lost their lives due to a poker game. ironic.

[Mabus]

16. We are a little different than most couples.

It also helps that we play together. He started playing first and spent a lot of hours at his computer. I got a little upset and I figured I had two ways to go: I could either bitch at him (which would alienate him) or join him in his hobby (which would give us something to do together). I decided to join him and we've been having fun ever since.

Some evenings, while he's playing I read or set up my laptop nearby and cruise internet or play video games. When he's finishes a tournament we switch off. I play poker and he reads or goofs off on my laptop. We've spent many a wintry evening together in front of the computer screen consulting on hands and how, or if, to play them.

And, fwiw, I wouldn't say that poker saved our marriage. We're just a couple of old hippies that enjoy spending time together. We'd just rather hang out and be encouraging to each another than look for ways to find fault with one another. If I had complained about his poker playing, he would've got resentful and things between us would have gone downhill. This way, I'm here and can tell him if he's going overboard or getting compulsive. Since I don't normally criticize him for playing poker he's more apt to listen when I do say something. And, it works both ways. There have been times when he says I should probably give it a rest. Since he doesn't complain often, I listen. And, there are nights when there is no poker. We watch movies together, read, take the dogs for long walks, have friends over or go out explore the world together. Poker isn't a lifestyle for us, it is just part of what we do together.

[Soylent Brice]

17. sounds like you two have a good thing going.

thanks for the insight also. it gives me a lot to reflect on in my own marriage. lol

the wife and i get along well enough. our poker is scrabble.

thank you for all the great feedback!

[unpossibles]

3. Isn't Accelrando great?

thanks for the link, btw.

[Soylent Brice]

4. no problemo.

yes, Accelerando is friggin sweeeeeeeet!!!

schloss is a genius.

[liberal N proud]

5. The Tesla is my favorite

[NV Whino]

6. I'm happy to see the Tesla way up near the top.

[ColbertWatcher]

10. Very few of these are actually inventions, but rather "new applications." n/t

[Soylent Brice]

12. correct, but at the same time all inventions are built off existing technology.

when was the last time any invention was built not using existing technology?

[Dukkha]

13. how is Hulu.com an invention

incorporating the mind-dumbing TV watching habit on the last frontier of free press

[DS1]

14. Facebook for Spies: I guess they don't need that "DS1 is " feature

ba dum tiss

[Soylent Brice]

15. clever.