Silence and white/brown noise don't shut up my "yammering little goblin in the back of my brain" (Nice metaphor, by the way... :-D) anywhere near as effectively as the noise-cancelling headphones and the MP3 tracklist I've got up at work. In fact, white/brown noise tends to cause me to drift off to the land of nod instead of making me productive.

I would beg to differ on that subject... Cause != correlation, for starters. Secondly, I spot all kinds of odd things in my and other people's code while listening to my chosen music. Do it better while listening even.

You MIGHT want to look in the dictionary...

gift

noun
1.
something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone, honor an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance; present.
2.
the act of giving.
3.
something bestowed or acquired without any particular effort by the recipient or without its being earned: Those extra points he got in the game were a total gift.
4.
a special ability or capacity; natural endowment; talent: the gift of saying the right thing at the right time.

verb (used with object)
5.
to present with as a gift; bestow gifts upon; endow with.
6.
to present (someone) with a gift: just the thing to gift the newlyweds.

"Gift" is possibly a verb. It is in the usage in question. So...how's that "cannot create a gerund from a noun" working out for you now?

Then why even apply for it? Not that it's not another prime example of the overhaul needed and not gotten of late in the patent system.

They don't have a Lawyer, typically, doing the patent examinations...

What about patentability within the in re Bilski decision. It fails the Bilski test.

Indeed the examiner cited a whole bunch of prior art, including:

PRwire; "Matchmaker.com Creates Business Development Unit for Gift Sales"; Jan. 20, 2000: pp. 1 and 2. cited by examiner .
"GiftCardSwapping.com"; http://web.archive.org/web/20070520051410/http://www.giftcardswapping.com- /; Sunday, May 20, 2007; p. 1. cited by examiner .
"Gift Card Exchange, Buy Gift Card, Discount Gift Cards, Cash Gift Card Swap"; http://web.archive.org/web/20080724163511/http:giftcardrescue.com/- ; Apr. 12, 2008-Jul. 11, 2011; pp. 1-3. cited by examiner .
"CBLS.www.cbls.com.(World Web Watch)."; Advanced Materials & Processes, v160, n6; Jun. 2002; p. 1. cited by examiner .
"Eugene Science"; Edgar Online; May 23, 2006; pp. 1-5. cited by examiner .
Mathieu, Elizabeth; "Opinion: Delaware: An unparalleled home for your trust"; Private Asset Management, v5, n20; Oct. 5, 1998; pp. 1 and 2. cited by examiner .
US Fed News Service, Including US State News;"Publication No. WO/2009/109949 Published on Sep. 11, Assigned to France Telecom for Electronic Gifting System (American Inventor)"; Sep. 15, 2009; p. 1. cited by examiner

There a whole load more patent documents listed in the patent as prior art.

Anyways, if sued I would probably just request a re-exam by the office, its only a couple of thousand bucks.

> When life is tough (which is likely the case when you are poor, since TV explains all day long that success=money), you tend to find ways to stand it, and the easiest way is to seek pleasure.

Makes sense. And, I love giving in to my addictions. I have been playing Alpha Centauri for 10 years. Doesn't cost me a penny to play. My point being, it's not really necessary to shell out 5k for the latest gaming rig and then $300/month on various subscriptions in order to achieve that pleasure. As you said: (..when you spend more money than you earn).

> Sadly, my wife is very addicted to instant pleasure (food, television, shopping, ...), so I'm well aware about this behavior.

:(

He was technically smart, but not necessarily a technical genius. He had a general sense of what was possible, what it would cost, and what needed more R&D.

I try not to be paranoid, but when I see the BSA and the department of Homeland Security are joining forces, I can't help but have a feeling of dread...

It really makes me wonder just what constitutes a botnet. After all, large numbers of computers contributing to torrent downloads are a form of bonnet also.

If this doesn't make you think the government has too much money and free time, nothing will.