City LifeCity LifeIn Memorium- April 24, 2007 I cannot think why I was not more devastated at Kurt Vonnegut&8216;s death. He was the only writer I have truly loved. He was the most depressed writer I have ever read. People in the lifelong grip of depression view death as a relief. Yet Vonnegut, to the end of his days, embraced life. He thought that our big brains made humans a blight on the planet. He was quite probably right but he, like the rest of us, couldn&8216;t stop being human, and involved. When I was very young I thought I...http://www.jroller.com/bobfoster/entry/in_memorium Nothing About Patents Is Obvious- April 23, 2007 In my Patently Obvious post I cheerfully concluded that, since I had just published a novel data structure in the article, that would constitute prior art and nobody coming along later would be able to patent it. &8220;Not even me.&8220; Um, no. First of all, would a blog entry be accepted by the USPTO as a prior publication Not at all clear. The language in the statute seems to be &8220;printed publication&8221;. A quick browse through the citations at ip.com in recent months didn&8216;t...http://www.jroller.com/bobfoster/entry/nothing_about_patents_is_obvious I Stand With Kathy- April 5, 2007 Martin Fowler recently blogged about the Kathy Sierra situation. He&8216;s usually such a concise writer, he must have been very upset. One small point: Web site owners (places where people post offensive material) aren&8216;t liable for the content, at least, in the United States. This has been tested several times in the federal courts. Hosts aren&8216;t liable unless they actively encourage unlawful behavior. Then they are. On the other hand, individuals who make threats that can be...http://www.jroller.com/bobfoster/entry/i_stand_with_kathy Peaceful Streets of Baghdad- April 3, 2007 Sen. McCain Out For a Stroll in "Safe" Baghdad Market Too funny. John McCain pointed to his market visit as evidence that the war is working. Rep. Mike Pence described it as &8220;like a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summertime.&8221; Judging from the picture, Indiana must be a scary place! Possibly the congressmen felt so safe because, the New York Times reports, &8220;The delegation arrived at the market&8230;with more than 100 soldiers in armored Humvees.&8220; While...http://www.jroller.com/bobfoster/entry/peaceful_streets_of_baghdad |