" A method of rendering a 3D animation in real time on a computer monitor is patentable subject matter. " - why? they are just using software (i.e. a coding langauge) and writing a program/library to run the 3D animation. to me it is the same as making a cake with different recipes because you are using already existing ingredients.

"The law is that to be patentable, it must be a new, non-obvious invention." - agreed but just look how many shit patents there are out there in the mobile phone and computing worlds....

yes, i totally agree but landfill is pollution as well including all the polluting trucks used to transport the plastic to landfill and dig the holes for the rubbish. i guess not a problem for somewhere like the US where they have vast open spaces to create landfill.

If all councils had a small plant in their area to convert the plastics, they could use the oil to run their vehicles and save money until such time all plastics are biodegradable and electric vehicles are the norm.

ok.. Pedantic... :o)

stick a floppy disk in the drive and press "backup"

"make the distinctive 'potato-potato-potato' chug that Harley once tried to patent" - Really???????????????

i'd prefer to call it a mythology class, calling it theology/philosophy gives it credibility for the religious

should also ban teaching kids that father christmas, the tooth fairy exist, prince charming etc exist. it only puts hope into kids brains that there may be another invisible world out there.

yep, but that was a few hundred years ago when the most devout christians of britain were told they couldn't practice discrimination against others so they went to US to set up the freedom to discriminate against others

" I have an aversion to people taking from our country and giving nothing back."

You have to be careful with making statements like that .e.g.

do you ever buy from places that use aliens as cheap labor to keep prices low?
do you pay every cent of tax you are supposed to?
the Rich are bigger freeloaders than the aliens because they don't pay their fair share of personal tax and do their best to avoid it.
Global companies do their level best to avoid paying any tax.

Aliens are a very small part of any problem

"Art" is a very subjective thing. - very true and highly overrated and highly elitist

maybe he's a luddite.......

the point i was making was that they didn't patent the system they developed nor did the others you referenced (well, i couldn't find any evidence of it) and this worked out for the benefit of the industry and consumers. patents are used too often to stifle genuine progress

mercedes refused, for the benefit of everyone, to patent anti-lock brakes and it didn't do them any harm. not everything is for profit, sad life if it is.

"Because the Democrats never see the need to compromise. They will plow ahead with their agenda (as always) and the media will spin it in their favor."

that sounds like ALL political parties