While it’s possible to patent your invention yourself – the “Do It Yourself” and “Patenting for Dummies” books don’t lie – it’s definitely not an easy process. Patent attorneys have to take an extensive exam, required by the U.S. Patent Office, before being registered. Most end up taking the test two or three times before they pass it.

One of the reasons patenting an invention is so difficult is because of how much you have to know about the actual process. For instance, the first step is a search to find out if there are any “prior-art” claims. In other words, to make sure that someone else doesn’t have your invention in their application.

You can either do this on your own through an Internet search, or through a patent attorney. However, the only way that an Internet search will work is if you know that your invention wasn’t possible before 1976, since the Internet patent database only goes back that far.

Another step in the process is filling out all the necessary paperwork. One of the forms, called an “Information Disclosure Statement”, is a list of everything you’ve seen on the market, in newspapers or in any other publications that might be relevant to your invention. For example, if you saw a dustpan and came up with the idea of, say, an electrical dustpan, that’s something you’d need to mention in the “Information Disclosure Statement.”

Patent attorneys do provide a very valuable service. They’re required to have an extensive knowledge of the entire patenting process, as well as knowing the ins and outs of the law according to the U.S. Patent Office. Several things point out a good attorney:
• They should be willing and able to explain what they’re doing when filing your claim.
• They should be interested in the invention, including details, names of specific parts (i.e. “flange”), or anything else that could increase the possibility of your claim being accepted.
• They are knowledgeable in the technological field under which your invention falls.
• They spend more time writing patent claims than in litigation.

The best chance for claim acceptance is that you don’t talk about your invention. If you’ve publically talked about it or offered your invention for sale more than a year before filing for a patent, your application will be denied.

The other is, if you decide to hire a patent attorney make sure that you have all the information you can think of with you. They’ll be sure to ask you many questions, and the process can go quicker if you have the answers in hand. Remember, the entire patent process will take up to nine months or longer; be patient!

In a private enterprise-style system, health insurance companies strive to keep costs down by limiting what they pay to the doctors, what they pay for tests, and how much they give out for prescriptions. Also, there is the issue of high-risk and/or experimental procedures. Most Florida health insurance companies and those in other parts of the country will not pay for such things. So, while health care might be great so long as you can find affordable health insurance, if you can’t, you are dependent on government programs and/or charities.

In the United States today, there are essentially three types of health insurance. The kind you get depends on what is affordable health insurance for you, and what you feel you need. So, let’s look at the variety of affordable Florida health insurance available to you, which you should also be able to seek out across the country.

HMO health insurance

First, there is the cheapest, most easily affordable health insurance, the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO). With this health insurance system, you get a variety of medical benefits for a pre-determined charge. In most instances, you have no deductible, but you do have to pay a small fee for each doctor’s visit. This is the case for this quite affordable Florida health insurance anyway. Also, you need to select a primary doctor, and you are limited in your choice to a listing provided by the HMO. After that, you go to that doctor for everything. Any medical matter is routed through him/her. Once they see you, they will decide if they can handle your problem, or if they will refer you to another physician within the HMO health insurance network. One very critical aspect of an HMO health insurance program is that they don’t pay for any visit to any doctor who is outside of their network, except for some emergency care.

PPO health insurance

Next there is the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), through which you can get Florida health insurance and health insurance for other parts of the USA. This has much more flexibility than the HMO. In a PPO, the health insurance company gives you a list of doctors, specialist etc. and you pick and choose who you want to see, and when. Here again, every visit has a co-pay, and you often have a deductible that you have to pay off each year. How big a co-pay, and how much you pay at each visit, are a function of the level of health insurance service you buy. The higher monthly health insurance premiums you pay, the lower your co-pay and deductible are. Also, with PPO health insurance, you can visit doctors outside of the network, and the health insurance company will still pay for all or part of your bill.

POS health insurance

Finally, there is the Point of Service health insurance (POS). Some people call it a cross between the other two kinds of health insurance. That is because, like an HMO, you have a primary doctor who handles all of your health care. You go to him/her, and (if necessary) they refer you to another doctor. However, if you elect to visit a physician who is outside the network, the health insurance company will pay a part of your bill, but not as much as to a doctor in the network. Usually, they have a standard amount that they pay, and then you are responsible for the rest. In terms of affordable health insurance premiums, the POS falls between the HMO and PPO, which makes sense, as it is a bit of a hybrid of the two.

All these types of health insurance are available in Florida and across the USA.

Armed with new drivers’ licenses and legal ID, the two young guys set up in business as landscaper gardeners. Both had a knack for growing plants under all kinds of conditions – a kind of southwestern green thumb, and they quickly became popular among homeowners in Tucson and in Phoenix. Where these two young fellows went wrong was in getting that bulldog. They had named him Willy, and he was as gentle and loving as any dog in town, but he had that ”pit bull” reputation.

On this fateful day, Cardo and Emilio wound up early in Tucson and headed for Phoenix. Their first customer there was a retired schoolteacher whom they considered more than average picky about how his yard looked. Our landscapers pulled up at his place first and set to work. The customer immediately came out of the house to “supervise.” Willy apparently decided he wanted to get acquainted with this homeowner, leaped out of the truck, breaking his rope, rushed to the man and put his mammoth paws on his shoulders. Horrified, the gardeners grabbed the dog and tied him even more securely in the truckbed. Would the schoolteacher sue them for personal injury? This worry would prey on their minds. They insistently asked him if he was hurt, but he brushed it off, saying that there was no damage, he was s just mussed up a little.

Arriving home that night, Cardo checked the messages on his phone. The teacher, a John Stocker had died. His daughter, who was in the house at the time the dog got loose, was suing them for wrongful death! She had already contacted a Phoenix wrongful death attorney who was more than willing to take the case based on her description alone. Within a short time, the young men had the book thrown at them by the judge. Now out on bail, they saw their savings go down the drain as they scrambled to pay fines and find legal representation. They needed a lawyer to represent them in a wrongful death lawsuit, even though the teacher had assured them that the dog hadn’t harmed him.

We would like to think that all went well for these young men. So soon after their becoming citizens in their new land, they found to their dismay that personal injury lawyers could help people who were victimized, but unscrupulous or just plain overambitious lawyers could also ruin the greatest of dreams. Their innocence prevailed in court eventually, but their negligence in not securing the dog more closely nearly cost them their dream, and definitely cost them a huge share of their earnings.

The woven wood and bamboo blinds will surely add that rustic touch of nature in the chrome and glass jungle we live in and a whispered word of appreciation will most definitely slip through the lips of your guests.

But if you want to usher in the grandeur and pomp of the Roman era, go for those silken roman shades which sway imperially from the ceiling all the while flirting with floor below. The sweep and swish of these grand pieces of fabric can weave magic and leave you with a sense of awe and admiration. Choose the color of your choice and be a gladiator in the urban amphitheatre of daily grind.

In case you want the room to be bathed in the soft glow of light permeating through a translucent screen, put on a single cell honeycomb shade on the glass panel of your main door or on the massive sliding glass windows which overlook the side street. If the light seems too bright, go for a double cell shades for just that feeling of mystery without sacrificing the ‘openness’ of the room.

Some might find all this mystification tiresome and yearn for that glass and chrome slickness which is all too associated with our work-a-day world. They need that shine, polish and clipped accuracy for keeping them ready and running all the time.

For them the aluminum venetian blinds would be the perfect choice. If they go for the motorized option with a remote control thrown in, it can well become a bold statement of an individual high on technology and always raring to go. This impression will undeniably be conveyed to anybody who steps inside.

But for those who crave for a bit of the countryside without ever getting an opportunity to reside there, plantation shutters would be the perfect route to that longed for shelter. These are around for centuries having a tradition of their own and are as useful as they were through hundreds of years.

The flexibility and ease with which you can control the flow of light and air and the fact that they are virtually maintenance free also strengthen their case. The additional benefit of increased security tends to seem rather superfluous when already there are so many pluses in its favor.

An ultra modern office with all the latest trappings or a drawing room with latest gadgets can sport an Ante Bellum basswood plantation shutter as an unmatched style statement. This juxtaposition of the modern with the traditional will create a harmony which can never be overlooked.

I have a rather large stamp collection (20 albums and several million individual stamps!) and have kilos of surplus stamps to sell in bulk but also some very nice individual stamps that I don’t require. Although some of the bigger lots I sell through a big auction site, some of the individual stamps don’t always sell easily so I thought I’d advertise them on my own website.

I don’t know much about the Internet, I buy a few DVD’s online as well as my stamps but that’s about it but I felt no trepidation whatsoever as I took a big step forward by first creating my website. After a little research I found and downloaded a web editor supposedly easy for beginners. It was pretty easy actually, in fact I had more trouble creating buttons with a graphic editor. My select tool kept selecting and discarding the wrong bit ! Eventually I just settled for text links ! I was already used to scanning my stamp photos so that wasn’t a problem. Finally my pages were ready, my home page, contact page and three pages of stamps. They weren’t a work of art but they looked OK.

Onto the next step…
Just try searching for a web hosting service online, have you any idea how many there are on the Internet? 1,380,000,000 when I did it and I didn’t understand a word of what the packs they were selling consisted of when I started clicking my way through them. Searching for Web hosting is not for the faint hearted innocent I found. It takes courage, inner strength and amazing patience. I discovered combinations of letters that I didn’t know existed and normal words in strange contexts; VPS web hosting, SSL certificates, PHP and Perl, CGI scripts and Sugar. I got pretty adept at finding the online chat button and gradually things became clear. Some people were helpful but a lot seemed surprised and disdainful at my lack of knowledge. One woman kept trying to sell me a business hosting pack with 300 emails, 10,000mb web space, 3 databases and 50 sub-domains! I explained I had a total of 5 pages but she wasn’t listening.

I eventually found a web hosting service with a company that actually listened to me and answered my questions. I don’t have a vps hosting or business web hosting pack, I have a Lite pack without databases or SSL’s, I do have CGI and I’m still trying to set up a formail with it and I’ve no doubt with time I’ll manage it. I can be found on the search engines now and I’ve even received a few emails from people about my stamps so it’s looking good. I’m glad I did it, it was worth the problems but why can’t it be made easier to understand?