World View

I don't believe in Kharma, I don't think I ever have. The idea that being good and doing good will somehow result in good things happening to you seems like a nice idea, but in reality I have never seen it to be so. In fact, I have seen quite the opposite. People who are strong, loving, honest and good are the ones who get the raw deal, and the people who win the lottery and find pots of gold in their houses are the people who are dishonest, conniving and have little respect for others.

I don't have a problem with people who are successful, in fact, they inspire me to get off my butt and do something about it, but it does make me angry when people abuse the system to get what they want, and then cry about how "no one respects them". Sorry folks, you can't have it both ways.

To all those people who are successful based on merit, hard work, inspiration or just plain dumb luck... congratulations! Keep it up and don't let anyone stand in your way. To those of you who see the law as "inconvenient" or as a "guideline", and who use other people to get where you are going... I hope someday you are revealed for the fraud you are. However, that likely won't happen, because like I said, I don't believe in Kharma.

Free Cereal.

Yesterday I bought free cereal, and I couldn't be prouder of myself. I still send curses (good-natured ones of course) south of the border... especially to those people who can manage to get carts full of free stuff, but I was able to do it in my own small way.

This all started when Husband told me not to buy cereal for a while, since he eats vast quantities of it, and he has decided to switch to oatmeal for breakfast now that it's colder. Oats are significantly cheaper than cereal, so it's win win. BUT... I can't resist free.

Mini Wheats were on sale at Sobeys this week 3/$9.99 and each box had a "Save $2.50 on milk" coupon on it, so therefore, the total cost was $2.49. What made it FREE was the bonus Sobeys points (to which I am hopelessly addicted) that in the grand scheme of things will get me $2.50 in free groceries. YAY! free!

*Bows*

Diary of an Inventor, Part 10

I admit it. I can't draw. Well, let's make that more clear. I can't draw things that are supposed to look realistic. I can draw wonky, stylized things, but If I had to draw the same thing twice and have it look the same, I would be a miserable failure. I also find drawing people impossible.

Now that I have clarified, you'll understand why I have to farm out the drawing of the diagrams of my invention to someone else. THANKS A! (she hasn't exactly agreed to this officially, but I'll thank her anyway). During the patent search process I was looking at other people's diagrams, and it turns out that mostly, the babies in them seem possessed, so in order to deviate from that trend, I'll bring in the big guns. I think it'll cost me some sewing, or some perogies or something.

Now I need to get cracking on the schematic diagrams (something more my speed, I can handle rulers and straight lines). Granted, this would all be so much easier if there was a Draftsman in the family. Curses.

"Same thing we do every night Pinky..."

It finally came in the mail. My secret, magical potion to make me millions. Ok, maybe not, but I really wish I had come up with this stuff. It seems as though the possibilities for it are kind of endless. This boring little bag of white pellets has so much potential. It's the only way I know of to make plastic parts without selling your arm in the process. All you need is this, some water and a microwave. Luckily I now have all these implements so let me show you how it works.

Step 1: Dump some boring plastic pellets into a cup and put some water in there too. I don't think there is a recipe.

Step 2: Stick it in the nuker and watch it spin for oh, 45 seconds maybe?

When you take it out, the boring little white pellets should be a pretty, clear, crystallized lump of fun.

Step 3: Carefully remove from the water, so as not to burn your dainty fingers. (I used a ladle as you can see here)

Step 4. PLAY! Squish out the excess water and mold till you can't mold no more.

Once it cools, you have a hard, super durable... thing. And the fun thing about this, is if you don't like it, you just dump the whole lot back into some water and start all over again. It's grown-up play-doh at its best. Oh the fun there is to be had!

Frugal is FUN!

Every now and then Husband takes a look at our mortgage statement and goes crazy when he remembers that we pay interest for the privilege of living in our house. (See, this doesn't really bother me, since with the appreciation of the housing market, we could have saved for 10 years and bought the same house for double the price and not ended up any further ahead.) Anyhow, we now have a new plan. Spend less. Well, ok then.

While I don't think we are that dumb with our money, its never a bad idea to check out the accounts and see what's what. Today I thought it might be fun to cancel the movie channels we don't really use, and in the process found out that we were paying $16/month (over and above the movie channels) for channels I wasn't even aware we had. How is that for trimming the budget? I was able to cut $35/month off our bundled TV/internet/phone bill purely by downgrading to lesser packages that reflect what we actually use. I don't think we'll even notice the change.

I was also able to cut $12/month off our cell phone bill (which apparently is already a better plan than they currently offer). I like this, paying less for using what we already do.

Now if only Canada would get on the coupon bandwagon, because I hear there are folks in the US who get groceries for free. (Not mentioning any names)

Well, I'm going to go pat myself on the back. Now, honey, it's your turn. Impress me!

Diary of an Inventor, Part 9

Well, I've taken the leap, moved on to the next step where I file a "Provisional Patent". While it's not a full patent, it allows me to take a year before filing the full patent to gauge the market, and/or sell them, and/or find someone to license it. (Ideally focused on the latter). If at the end of the year, I decide that it's useless and no one wants it, I can just let it dissolve and I'm out less money than if I had the full patent. It's a good compromise. Then I get to slap "PATENT PENDING" all over it (which will do very little other than deter people like me from ripping me off).

This weekend I spent a whole bunch of time cutting and cutting and cutting and sewing. I'll be really happy once I can either pay someone else to do that work for me, or just sit back and do nothing and wait for the royalty cheques to come in. (What can I say? Why dream unless you dream big?).

Strong-willed child?

Girl has officially reached the point where she begins her new career testing her limits, so I have begun my career of saying "no" every 5 minutes (or less). I have decided that I'm not going to move everything she shouldn't touch out of the way, instead, she will just need to learn that coffee tables aren't for chewing (no, I will not remove the table) and candle screens aren't for touching (she's got the latter down, just need to work a bit more on the former).

I realized today, that while this whole thing seems a bit tired after the 52nd time, I'm truly hoping she has a strong will. Let's face it, we are unmatched in a battle of wills, so if she wants to have one with me, I'm game, I'll take her down every time. So really, that side of it doesn't bother me, but with that stubbornness comes a whole other side. If you can teach a strong-willed child the right way, they'll be strong-willed about doing what's right. They won't go along with the crowd because they are too insecure to say anything, they don't need to always be keeping up with the Jones'. More than anything, I want Girl to have her own mind, to feel free speaking it, and to have convictions that are unwavering.

I will consider myself a failure if Girl becomes a "monkey-see-monkey-do" kid that does things only because everyone else does, if she does hurtful things in hopes of getting a laugh, or is so insecure that she is willing to give herself up the first time anyone looks her way.

I'd rather have a stong-willed child. Bring it on baby! Let's see what you've got.

Diary of an Inventor, Part 8

I'm sorry my posts have been very "invention-focused" these days, but it's kind of been the one thing on my mind lately. Luckily I am pretty good at multi-tasking, so I can play peek-a-boo, roll balls back and forth and think strategy at the same time. I finally completed what I believe to be the final prototype, so *fingers crossed*. it may need a bit of tweaking here and there, but overall, the shape is right. I've been making a pile more these days to give away to moms I know (or don't know) who can help me test them. I know it works great for me, but it's extremely valuable to get the honest opinion of others who are there or who have been there.

I have to be honest, I'm really glad that I decided not to worry about making these myself and selling them. As much as I like to make them, it would defeat the purpose of being a stay-at-home mom. It has been enough for me to make 8 of them to give away, nevermind try to keep up with potential demand from selling them. (As great an idea as having a garage sale and selling them there was, I would hope to hit a bigger market.) Yes, I could likely make more money being the sole owner of the business, but I know how much work running your own business takes, I just don't want that. I want to do nothing and still make money. HAH! Isn't that the American dream?! Husband asked me recently "Why are you doing this, when you could just be a wedding photographer and have a guaranteed good income?". He'll forget about that question after I build the indoor pool.

Diary of an Inventor, Part 7

After a lot of thinking, head scratching, and brain spazzing, I have finally come to a decision. A while ago I had decided to change my design to make it only function as one thing, (rather than 2), and after getting my patentability report, I second guessed that idea and have since come to the conclusion that I should change it back. Luckily it won't result in needing another search/report done (Hooray! That's money I didn't want to spend!). So, I will be making a new prototype, (since even when I was working on that, I never managed to make it function correctly), and after discussing with the agent/lawyer I have decided on something called a "Provisional Patent".

Since the intent in this whole process for me is to convince someone else to do all the hard work while paying me to do nothing, a Provisional Patent works. It's not a full-fledged patent (so therefore cheaper), but it allows my invention to sit on the desk at the patent office for a year, preventing others from being able to patent the same thing. As soon as it's filed, I can smack a "patent pending" label on my invention and start shopping it around to businesses. It gives me a year to gauge the interest in this and if no one wants it, I can let the Provisional Patent lapse, and I'm out less cash than if I had gone the full patent route.

It's kind of a compromise, but it's a compromise I'm willing to live with. Now, I just need to finish the prototype, and get that provisional patent filed. At the same time I'll make a dozen more and get some hands-on testing/focus group work done, which will give my proposal some meat when the time comes for me to put on my sales and marketing hat.

I find this whole thing entertaining, because other than the lawyer-mumbo-jumbo, every step in this process is something I have been trained to do. Handy!

Diary of an Inventor, Part 6

It has arrived... the dandy little ditty I was waiting for has come. Now come all the big decisions. While there are similar products already patented, the patent agents believe that I would not infringe on them should I decide to patent my invention, so that gives me a big decision to make. Do I go ahead, get the patent, potentially spending a few thousand dollars, only to find out that no one wants to make the item anyway? Do I do nothing and save myself the money, time and effort? Do I attempt to license it without a patent? It's all a big crap shoot.

Ideally I'd like to get myself into a situation where the patent becomes useless anyway. You see, if I could license my invention to a big company who could put this product out and get brand recognition and a market share, it wouldn't really matter what the patent says, because in reality, brand recognition is far more important than my intellectual property. It is what makes people think "Kleenex" instead of "facial tissue". Regardless of how many other people decide to make facial tissue, Kleenex is still the go-to brand. If I can hitch my star to a company who can get my product that kind of brand recognition, it won't really matter if someone else infringes on my patent, because the population will already know my product as "the original".

The idea of trying to license my product without a patent, while cheaper, seems tricky to me. It can be done and has been done on a number of occasions. That said, if I were a big business and wanted to license a product, I would like to know that the creator did their due dilligence and made sure I wouldn't be infringing on someone else's patent before I plaster my name all over it.

Doing nothing isn't really an option to me. As tempting as it is to just relax in the knowledge that I created a product not yet on the market, I know I would never get over the "What ifs". What if I HAD managed to get this product on the market? Would it have changed my life? Not to mention the idea that someday down the road, someone else might invent the same thing and I'll spend years kicking myself. John often says a German saying and I am not even going to try to write it on here, but essentially it means "If you're gonna do it, do it".

There is no room for halfway with me.