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The Red Queen’s Race

2026-06-06T23:25:14Z

This week, an amendment appeared on my Expedited docket, giving me a total of two cases there. I wrote and posted an Office Action in response, leaving me with one case one my Expedited docket, a Board of Appeals decision affirming my rejections, which is in Paused status. I also have an amendment on my Amended docket.

I have been working on my oldest Regular New application.

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Artificial Intelligence Isn’t Conscious

2026-06-06T23:20:59Z

There’s a good article by Ted Chiang in The Atlantic, about what artificial intelligence, especially in the form of Large Language Models, is and is not. In particular, he maintains that it isn’t conscious, and cannot be a moral agent, contrary to the impressions which an AI’s verbal output may create.

If you’re not a subscriber, you may be allowed to view a couple of articles for free, or to pay for them individually. Or, of course, you can subscribe.

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Latest Dental Adventure

2026-06-04T06:20:14Z

I saw the dentist Wednesday morning; he found a cavity which he says requires a crown, and also an existing crown which he says needs to be replaced.

When my paternal grandfather was a few years older than I am now, he had a complete set of false teeth (he may well have had false teeth at my current age or when some years younger, but I wasn’t there to see them). I remember as a toddler seeing my grandfather taking his teeth out and putting them back in his mouth.

I might also have false teeth by now if I had been born sixty years earlier; as is, I have multiple crowns and a bridge, with more to come, it seems, and I may someday be toothless. At least modern dentistry can fight a delaying action against tooth loss, which is one reason to be grateful for modern technology. I’m going back to the dentist on Tuesday.

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Am I a Bit Paranoid?

2026-05-30T16:49:50Z

Early in May, having received a physical mailing from Alex Vindman for Florida, I wrote a check and mailed it. On Friday, May twenty-ninth, I paid a visit to the bank’s ATM, and obtained a mini-statement; the check had not been deposited, or at least did not show up yet.

This could be because there are delays in dealing with a flood of incoming mail, and getting checks endorsed and taken to the bank. On the other hand, I do have a nagging suspicion that a Postal Service answering to a Trump appointee might be engaging in a little sabotage.

I have made online donations to various candidates and causes which I support, including Alex Vindman for Florida; I may at some point treat the check as lost, and make an online contribution.

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The Red Queen’s Race

2026-05-30T16:40:26Z

Friday evening, I finished an Office Action, getting my work for the biweek done. I wrote an Office Action on my oldest Amended case, so now I’m down to one application on my Amended docket; I also have a case in Paused status on my Expedited docket (Board of Appeals decision affirming my rejection).

Earlier this week, I finished and posted an Office Action on my oldest non-RCE Regular New Application, and on Friday evening, I finished and posted an Office Action on my single Request for Continued Examination case. This is pretty good, and now I need to keep up production for the remaining two biweeks of the third quarter.

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Ever the Intellectual

2026-05-29T02:32:50Z

After I went to bed last night, I had a dream in which, as best I can reconstruct it, a teacher presented us with some kind of scenario, and asked us what the people involved thought about things. (I can’t remember just who “we” were, besides myself.) I spoke up a bit stridently to say that it was complicated, different people involved would likely have different points of view, and like that. Somehow, saying this, or thinking this way, woke me up.

It wasn’t long after I had gone into bed (I put on my glasses to look at the clock, so I know). I had a bit of trouble feeling drowsy again, worried about getting the sleep I needed, tried turning over in bed, and then tried a breathing exercise to help. Something must have worked, because I did finally get back to sleep.

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Fog

2026-05-25T14:12:24Z

When I opened the drapes this morning, there was fog such that I could hardly see the apartment building a few hundred feet away. We don’t get as much fog in Arlington as I used to see in State College, Pennsylvania, where I grew up, or in England, where I spent several months in 1973. I remember walking to school from the house the family was living in, in Little Shelford, to the school, which was a few hundred yards away in Greater Shelford; the journey involved crossing a small field. One morning, the fog was so thick that I could only see green grass within a short radius around me, and white fog beyond that. I couldn’t see the fences around the field, or anything else, and had to cross by dead reckoning.

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The Red Queen’s Race

2026-05-23T01:42:04Z

Earlier this week, I finished an Office Action on my oldest amendment, so I’m down to two amendments on my Amended docket.

I’m working on my oldest Regular New (non-RCE) application; I hope to churn out an Office Action, and then do two other cases next week.

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Massie Defated

2026-05-23T01:36:50Z

Thomas Massie, agree with him or not, is a Tea Party Republican, concerned about fiscal responsibility, low taxes, and limited government. Donald Trump is fine with big and overbearing government, so long as he is the one in charge, and tens of millions of Americans are apparently fine with whatever Trump the Duce wants, never mind whether it contradicts his previous rhetoric. Hence, a man named Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, defeated Congressman Massie in the Republican primary.

I am reminded of Davy Crockett, an imperfect human being, but a man with a core of decency and integrity, unlike the current occupant of the Oval Office. Congressman Davy Crockett opposed President Andrew Jackson’s intention of removing thousands of American Indians from Georgia, and sending them west on the infamous Trail of Tears, where many men, women, and children would die. When criticized for going against the wishes of his constituents, Crockett replied that he would oppose this evil bill if he were the only man in the United States to do so, and that he would rather be right than President. He lost his seat, and told his former constituents that they could go to Hell; he was going to Texas. I hope that Thomas Massie will someday be remembered somewhat as Crockett is, the alternative being that the Trumpists will win a long-term victory, Constitutional goverment will be dead, and those who opposed Trump’s rise will be portrayed in the school history books as the evil fools.

Speaking of profiles in courage, I note that Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, a Trumpublican and perhaps the least intellectually impressive member of Congress, campaigned for Thomas Massie, causing Trump to excoriate her. Sometimes wisdom and courage can be found in unexpected places.

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Spring Foods

2026-05-20T06:56:25Z

At the farmers’ market this weekend, one stall had some really good tomatoes, much better than those from the supermarket. Another stall had Middle Eastern squash, a great improvement over the green zucchini and yellow squash available at supermarkets during the winter.

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Pseudo-Astound Scammer

2026-05-20T06:52:58Z

I have received a series of emails purporting to be from Astound, telling me that I need to click on a link and accept their revised terms of service, or else I won’t be able to send emails any more. Fortunately, I was suspicious; it could well be phishing. On Monday, I called the real Astound, and a lady informed me that it’s a scam. Be warned.

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The Red Queen’s Race

2026-05-17T02:33:49Z

I finished and posted an Office Action a little before ten o’clock this evening; I have sometimes come closer to midnight. I have now done Office Actions on my two oldest Regular New applications of the biweek, one of them a Request for Continued Examination case, and the other not. I also did a Notice of Abandonment on an application which I rejected more than six months ago.

I still have three amendments on my Amended docket; I am going to have to fund the time to start working on those. Also, I still have a Board of Appeals decision affirming my rejection in paused status on my Expedited docket; perhaps the applicant will let it go abandoned, or perhaps there will be further amendments or appeals.

Anyway, I’m finished for now, and can read the newspaper or look at a website or two. I could also use a little exercise.

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Investing in Houses

2026-05-15T14:00:46Z

There was an article in Reason this week criticizing legislation against letting investors buy multiple houses, typically to rent out, and I agree with the article as far as it goes. Investors are not creating a housing shortage this way, nor making it much more difficult for people who want to buy homes, typically with mortgages, to do so. To the extent that they may possibly drive up house prices, that creates an incentive to build more houses, preventing the price increase from becoming very severe.

However, as a Georgist, I also believe that Senator Elizabeth Warren is onto something, although, not being a Georgist, she doesn’t really understand what. There is an issue with investors buying up land, specifically the land under houses. Doing this does not lead to the construction of more land, and therefore makes homes (land and buildings) more expensive for those who want to buy them.

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An Old Acquaintance

2026-05-15T02:31:07Z

We had USPTO Day today (formerly known as Community Day), so various affinity groups and sub-agencies had tables in the courtyard, and I manned the USPTO Toastmasters table for part of the occasion, as well as touring the other tables, and listening to speeches by John Squires, our current Director, and Andre Iancu, who was Director during the first Trump administration.

While I was at the Toastmasters table (some people did accept swag, and signed up to be on our email list), a man whom I did not remember or recognize approached me. He said that he had seen me occasionally, and recognized me from Professor Rustum Roy’s seminars at Penn State, in which he remembered me speaking up. This was presumably before he got his degree and started working for the Patent Office in 1990, as he told me; I told him about how I got my Ph.D. in 1996, did a post-doc, and was unemployed for a while before starting at the Patent Office in 1998.

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Disappointing Arugula

2026-05-14T03:07:01Z

I bought a bag of arugula at the farmers’ market on Sunday, getting it from a reputable vendor, and included some in my salads Sunday and Monday. One of those bags often lasts me a full week, and well into the second week; this time, the arugula was getting a bit dubious on Monday, so I put a couple of napkins into the bag, to absorb excess moisture.

By Tuesday evening, the arugula was on its way to turning into compost, and I live in an apartment with no garden or compost pile. I salvaged a few undamaged looking leaves for my salad, and the rest went down the garbage disposal.

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The Red Queen’s Race

2026-05-09T00:51:08Z

I have the same three amendments on my Amended docket and one paused case on my Expedited docket as last week. I’ve been working on my oldest Regular New (non-Request for Continued Examination) case this week. I also did some work on something else early in the week.

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Alex Vindman for Senator

2026-05-08T03:27:19Z

Colonel Alex Vindman (Ret.) is running for the Senate in the great and messed up state of Florida. I hope that the good people of Florida will support him, partly because seeing him take his seat in the United States Senate may cause Donald Trump to perish from apoplexy, which is one way to eighty-six 47.

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Food and Wine

2026-05-08T03:23:10Z

I have had a bottle of Cabernet (Baron Herzog, 2023) in my pantry for many months. On Tuesday, I finally opened it, partly to drink a small glass with dinner, partly to pour a splash into the Moroccan chickpea tagine I was making, which I plan to finish tonight. I think the recipe benefits from a little red wine. I also enjoyed my small glass of wine; I am not a great oenophile, up on the proper terminology, but I think that the wine was mellower and less astringent and aggressive than some Cabernets.

There’s most of the bottle in the refrigerator for later occasions. Wine from an already opened bottle may not be ideal, but, as I said, I’m not a great oenophile.

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The Red Queen’s Race

2026-05-03T13:44:54Z

I still have the same three amendments on my Amended docket and one Board of Appeals affirmance on my Expedited docket as last week. Last night, shortly before midnight, I posted an Office Action on my oldest Regular New case to my supervisor for review.

I’ll try to do an amendment or two, or an RCE, this coming biweek, as well as whichever application is now my oldest Regular New.

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The Marriage Gap

2026-05-01T14:21:06Z

Veronique de Rugy has a good article on marriage and its effects, making several points. Briefly, children growing up with two parents who are married to each other are likely to have much better outcomes than children with one parent, or two adults in an unstable situationship. This is a major source of inequality, since people of the upper middle class typically get married, while a larger percentage of the lower classes don’t.

My readers will not be astonished that I saw a Georgist angle: Ms de Rugy criticizes the tax code, which often makes it more expensive for two people to be married to each other than to shack up informally. It occurs to me that if we taxed land values rather than income, these perverse incentives would not arise.

And now to work.

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Deporting Russian Dissenters

2026-04-30T07:31:02Z

I don’t know whether this is a byproduct of general xenophobia, or a deliberate attempt by Dishonest Donald to please his boss, Putin, but American officials have been deporting Russian dissenters back to Putin’s Russia, giving decent Americans yet another reason to be appalled by the current administration.

In a possibly related development, the Washington Post published a column by Senator Mitch McConnell on Wednesday, complaining that aid appropriated for Ukraine has not been sent, and that a Trump appointee stonewalled Congressmen trying to demand answers. Furthermore, Senator McConnell is concerned that we are not sending officers to learn about drones and drone warfare from the Ukrainians, who have a lot to teach us, and who can in turn benefit from our assistance. Is this just bungling, or should we wallow in the paranoid conspiracy theory that Administration officials are serving a foreign master?

No, no, that’s the Russia hoax. Our President himself has said so.

I received another appeal from Turning Point USA the other day, which was nice. Sending the letter cost TPUSA something, and it went straight to recycling.

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Latest Penric Story

2026-04-28T01:19:35Z

A couple of days ago, I downloaded the latest Penric and Desdemona story, “Darksight Dare.” Between my job and other things to do, I have only started on it, but I hope to enjoy the story, and based upon my experiences with the works of Lois McMaster Bujold, I certainly expect to.

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The Red Queen’s Race

2026-04-28T01:13:22Z

Since I didn’t get around to posting Friday or this weekend, I’ll post now. A second case showed up on my Expedited docket, and I posted a swift response. I still have a Board of Appeals decision on my Expedited docket, but it’s in Paused status; I’m not doing anything with it for the moment. I also found another amendment on my Amended docket, bringing the total to three.

I’ve been working on my oldest Regular New (non-Request for Continued Examination case), but haven’t finished it.

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Afghan Refugees

2026-04-24T14:52:28Z

If you have lost track, or if you are not already aware of enough appalling acts of the current administration, the Trumpists are denying asylum in the United States to Afghan refugees who worked with American forces, and negotiating to send them to Congo, where they would not be safe. Gentle Reader, you may speculate for yourself on whether this is due to xenophobia, malicious cruelty, or the desire to serve Putin’s interests by making it harder for the United States to find allies or employees in times to come.

I plan to make a donation to No One Left Behind, mentioned in article, providing some assistance to people in great need, and reducing the tally of my country’s dishonor by some tens of dollars. Others may be moved to do likewise. This is not to be interpreted as a solicitation to make a donation if you have business before the Patent Office, or are a fellow federal employee.

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The Perversity of Sleep

2026-04-24T14:31:27Z

Thursday morning, I woke from a dream at six something AM, tried to get back to sleep, an d couldn’t. I felt adequately slept, so I finally got up some time before the 7:30 alarm setting. I ate breakfast, and drank some coffee, but not very much, since I was scheduled to donate blood (which I did), and I didn’t want to give the recipient a major dose of caffeine. Then I fell asleep on the Metro rail, and some Metro employee woke me up at the end of the line, fortunately only two stops past King Street, which is near the Patent Office, so I took only a few minutes to ride back.

Emerging from King Street Station, I saw a black woman at one of the gates, with a beagle on a leash. I went through another gate, and spoke to her. She assured me that the hound was friendly, and petted him, of which he seemed appreciative. His name was Duke; I told his human that I had had a beagle named Rex as my best friend growing up.

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