A lot of valuable information is now available of the industries in different databases in the web. Among all those patents the most important and easily available. Patent searching can give insights into the state of the art across any technical field. It can provide a platform to monitor the competitors activities by revealing which companies are involved in a field of technology of your interest. Patent searching data can also reveal the technological road map to a particular invention, the science or logic behind the invention, and its intended application.
However the legal nature of patents makes them an uncompromisingly formal style. They are written in a language sometimes so abstruse that it does more to obscure the nature of the invention than to elucidate it. Also the millions of patents exited are distributed across different databases and in each case coded and grouped according to one of several classification systems. The family patent information is also varied from various databases.
The skilled patent search requires in-depth knowledge of an array of software tools, search commands, searching techniques and classification systems. That’s why patent searching is an expert’s job. In the recent few years the demand for a professional patent searcher has increased.
Main benefits of free-access Web databases are that they provide a low-cost means of doing initial background searches. The problem is that they suffer serious drawbacks for more crucial searches. For example: free databases generally come from the patent issuing authorities (usually national patent offices) so their content is restricted to those patents granted by that particular authority. There is no universal structure, so the same fields may not necessarily be searchable across different databases. There is no ‘added value’ - such as readable abstracts in plain English, which has given patent information-provider Thomson Derwent its enviable reputation. There are rarely any patent analysis technologies. And they do not provide the option of sophisticated, command driven, Boolean searches as offered by powerful tools from host companies such as Dialog, Delphion, Questel-Orbit, MicoPat and STN - which also allow parallel searches across several (commercial and free) databases at once.
More importantly, a quick and easy search on a free site is extremely unlikely to uncover ’stealth patents’ or “hidden patents”- one of the latest IP protection tricks. The authors of these patents deliberately choose obfuscating keywords and try to have their patents inappropriately classified in order that others’ searches do not throw them up. Whereas commercial patent database providers provide access to patent collections throughout the world, along with value-added patent information, various analytical tools and other technologies. A number of these commercial providers have recently released innovative new functionalities alongside the search function
Why Conduct a Patent Search?
A. Patent searches are conducted for many purposes. Among them are to:
1. Determine if a particular invention is unique
2. Identify potential features for new product
3. Identify other possible uses for a new product
4. Determine independent inventors or companies currently or historically obtaining patents in a particular area
5. Find the patent(s) for a particular invention
6. Determine the state of the art in a particular area
7. Identify patents in a specific field for generating citation maps (a tool in determining the relative importance/value of a specific invention
8. Study the rate of innovation in a particular area
9. Determine the patent portfolio of a specific company
10. Determine if an invention infringes upon the intellectual property rights of others
11. Learn about an industry or a specific company
12. Search for potential solutions to design or safety problems
13. Identify potential licensees
14. To identify additional reference materials (journal articles, books, product literature) of use to those working in this area. Patents often list printed reference materials.
15. Identify inventors working in a certain field.
Patent search Procedure:
A. The Steps
1. Search the web to get the up to date information about the area of work and select the specific keywords describing the area of interest and identify the control patents. To start with by searching for any specific patents be aware of in this area, patents of companies work in this field, patents invented by inventors in this field, etc. This step is called “shoot from the tip”.
2. Try a few relevant words in the word search engine and see what turns up. If turned up any patents in the “shoot from the hip” step above, examine them for possible search words. Record the search words on a page in a project notebook and add other words as they come to mind or encounter them in other patents. Usually the word list becomes separated into groups of words covering different aspects of the invention.
3. Access the Classification Index. In paper it is about the size of a small town phone book. Look up your topic and you will find a class number. The area you are interested in may have several class numbers (for example marine propulsion and propellers (impellers) are in two different classes).
4. Access the Manual of Classification (in paper it is a large 3 volume set of ring binders). Turn to or click to the class you are interested in and identify the specific subclass’s best relating to your topic. You may need some assistance in understanding the hierarchial listing of subclasses. Many are subclasses of subclasses.
5. Access the Classification Definitions. It used to be on microfiche, but now you can access it online. Look up the specific class and subclass under study. Make sure you are really hunting for items resembling the definition of this class/subclass. Often additional hints are given for other places to look, including classes no longer existing.
6. Keep cycling through the three tools (Classification Index, Manual of Classification and Classification Definitions) until you identify the appropriate classes and subclasses.
7. Search the database to identify patents in the classes/subclasses identified.
8. Examine the ABSTRACT & IMAGE of these patents to identify those resembling your device. Make copies of the drawings, abstract and description of patents closely resembling your invention and of inventions serving the same purpose.
After completing Steps 1 to 7, examine the patents for:
a. Companies frequently appearing as assignees (patents assigned to them). Search for other patents assigned to these companies in an attempt to identify more patents in the area of interest.
b. Inventors frequently appearing on the patents (both independents and those working for companies). Search for other patents listing these individuals as inventors in an attempt to identify more patents in the area of interest.
c. Look for words and combinations of words in the patents of interest. Sort the words into groups. Some will describe one aspect of the invention and some will describe another. Record the search words on the list started earlier. Search for other patents containing these words in an attempt to identify more patents in the area of interest. Be aware of what portion of the patent you are searching (some search abstract only, front page only, full texts).
d. Examine the patents cited as reference by the patents of interest to see if some of them are of interest as well.
e. Examine the class and subclass info of the patents of interest in an attempt to identify other classes and subclasses that may contain patents of interest. Search these new classes/subclasses for additional patents of interest.
9. Keep cycling through steps 1 to 8 over and over until no more patents of interest are identified.
Conclusion
The patent search has become an effective tool for the mining of the patent data, which help in the competitive analysis. A throughout knowledge of the different patent database, their classification system is required for a in depth patent search. Patent search is crucial for the patentability, validity, infringement analysis etc. Thus a skilled patent search professional must know the various search procedures, databases limitations and technical tools and software to reveal a good search result.
Vinod Kumar Singh
Knowledge Scientist
Email:vinod.patent@gmail.com
Mobile: 91+9393000913
Turnitin.com is undeniably an effective deterrent to plagiarism, but it is the very issue of copyright infringement that has people questioning the legality of the site. What many people don’t understand is that works do not need to be registered to be copyrighted. Every literary work that is saved to a tangible medium (this includes paper, computer disk, etc.) is protected by federal copyright laws. Thus, the works submitted to Turnitin.com are copyrighted and the authors hold complete rights to the works.
What the Turnitin.com system does, however, is it stores the submitted paper on their servers. This is done without the student’s permission. Turnitin.com is operating under the pretense that teachers will force their students to submit to Turnitin.com. Thus, student papers are stored in iParadigm’s (the company that runs Turnitin.com) database. This in itself is a blatant violation of the 1976 Federal Copyright Act. Turnitin.com is duplicating copyrighted material without the consent of the student. The student is forced to submit to the site, so submissions are not considered voluntary. In addition, the site does not ask for permission to store the paper, instead, it is done automatically.
iParadigm and their team of lawyers admit in their legal page that the archiving of papers is treading on shaky legal ground. They affirm, however, that their services constitute “fair use” by grounds that their service does not limit the marketability of the paper. The claim that their service doesn’t limit the marketability of a paper is false. If one were to sell a term-paper that was already in the Turnitin.com database, the paper would be of little use to a potential student buyer because any similarities from the student’s paper would be red flagged. The very addition of a paper to the Turnitin.com database severely limits the feasible marketability of the paper. That is, the archiving of one’s paper eliminates other students with the same assignment as potential buyers of the paper.
Another strikingly illegal aspect of the Turnitin.com service is the fact that many teachers submit student works without the student’s permission. Turnitin.com is operating under the pretense that this is occurring. When a student gives a teacher a paper for grading the assumption is that evaluative rights are given to the teacher. In no way is the teacher entitled to submit the paper to be copied to the iParadigm servers. iParadigm is breaking copyright laws by duplicating a paper without the copyright holder’s consent.
In effect, the paper (but not the copyright) becomes property of Turnitin.com. Turnitin.com is clearly making a profit off the papers that students submit. Without the database of some 60,000 student-submitted papers, the Turnitin.com service would not be as effective. Every paper submitted makes the service more effective and the company therefore yields greater profits. Schools that use the service have to pay large amounts of money in the thousands to ten thousands of dollars range. It is clear that the company is profiting off of students’ copyrighted hard-work. Interestingly enough, the very place that the Turnitin.com service originally started now has grave doubts over the legality of the Turnitin.com service.
Turnitin.com founder John Barrie was a graduate student at UC Berkeley when he started developing the software that the site runs on. Currently, UC Berkeley does not subscribe to Turnitin.com because they feel the site may be infringing upon student’s copyrights.
About The Author
Zack Anderson is currently a student at Beverly Hills High School. He is the publisher of Beverly Underground Newspaper, an online publication that can be found at http://www.beverlyunderground.com
“Daddy, I want to take Karate!”
“Mommy, Jimmy on the bus hit me again today”
There are many reasons why parents want to sign their children up for Self Defense or Martial Arts classes. Once you have made the decision, now you are faced with many different options and questions. What style? How much does it cost? Is my child to young?
Martial Arts and Self Defense Styles
There are as many different styles of Martial Arts as there are religions in the world. You have probably heard of Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Jujitsu, and even Aikido, but there are still numerous styles and offshoots of the Major styles.
So what Style is the Best and what style should I choose?
In reality, it is this author’s opinion that the style of Martial Arts your child will learn is not that important. What is important is the method of teaching and training that your child will undergo. With Martial Arts training your child should learn self-discipline, self-respect, and self-esteem, along with the confidence and ability to defend themselves.
The Instructor, (or Sensei) is the key. I suggest that all parents visit several locations with their children to observe the Instructor at work. Make sure you visit a beginner’s class as well as an upper level class. The beginner’s class is where your child will start.
Does the instructor’s personality and philosophy match your morals and ideals? Does the class participate in any “Eastern Religious” practice that doesn’t match your faith? Do you want your child viewing this instructor as a role model? Most children will look up to their Martial Arts & Self Defense Instructors as role models and will be in awe of their skills and abilities. Make sure that this person who will be dealing with your children matches your values.
It is also important to view an upper level class. The beginner classes are usually very tame, and the teaching philosophy is tailored to a younger audience. However, the older the student is, the “real” teaching and training methods are put into effect. You may feel comfortable with how the instructor “teaches” the younger beginning students, but may not be comfortable with how they handle the older students.
Cost
The majority of Martial Arts & Self Defense Locations (or Dojo’s) run their business on a membership basis. Customers must sign contracts, where they are obligated to pay for a certain time period to participate. The locations are run like a gym membership, you pay for a certain length of time and may participate as often as you desire.
Unfortunately, rarely are the “hidden costs” discussed when signing up for a class or membership. What are the hidden costs? The most over looked cost is the “testing fee”. In Martial Arts there are numerous skill levels that are equated to a belt rank. After a certain period of time and training, the student is ready to advance to a new level or belt in their martial arts style, and a “belt test” will be performed. This “belt test” almost always required the student to pay a “belt-testing fee”. I have seen fees from $50 up to $500 depending on the belt rank. Parents, make sure you inquire about these fees and are comfortable with them before you sign any contract.
Another hidden cost is required items to purchase. Some locations require that you purchase a uniform with the schools logo. The average cost of these uniforms range from $30-$50. As the child advances in rank, protective sparring gear is required. Now this is normally mandatory for the child’s protection and safety, but can be expensive. Normal safety gear for Martial Arts consists of Foot Pads, Hand Pads, Head Gear, Mouth Piece, Groin Cup, and optional Spar Vest. Depending on the style and sizes all this gear together cost about $150 retail or higher.
So Parents, factor in the total cost of classes, testing fees, and required equipment when making your decisions.
Age
At what age should my child begin Martial Arts or Self Defense? Now this is an often-debated issue. I have seen children as young as 4 years old participate in Martial Arts or Self Defense training. Some have been successful while others it was just to young. The age of which a child should start Martial Arts or Self Defense classes should be judged on an individual basis and be determined by the parents. Some key points to consider. Does the child have a good attention span? Has the child participated and flourished in other group activities? Is the child comfortable in larger group settings?
If the child is currently enrolled in grade school and has no problem adapting to those settings or conditions then they should be considered old enough to participate and benefit from Martial Arts or Self Defense instruction.
Article written by Eric J Gehler & Jim Johnson
For more is available on the AIM USA website
Please feel free to publish this article and resource box
in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website.
A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.
Word count is 1025 including guidelines and resource box.
Robert A. Kelly © 2005.
Managers: Do You Trust Your PR?
You can if, as a business, non-profit or association
manager, you can honestly say you are doing something
positive about the behaviors of those important external
audiences of yours that most affect your department,
group, division or subsidiary.
And particularly so when you persuade those key outside
folks to your way of thinking, and move them to take
actions that allow you to succeed.
In its simplest form, of course, what you are doing is
helping achieve your managerial objectives by the simple
tactic of altering perception leading to changed behaviors.
And there’s a reliable guideline that supports that notion:
people act on their own perception of the facts before
them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which
something can be done. When we create, change or
reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-
to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect
the organization the most, the public relations mission is
usually accomplished.
I call that guideline the fundamental premise of public
relations from which a variety of satisfying results can
emanate. For instance, community leaders beginning to
seek you out; capital givers or specifying sources
starting to look your way; overdue bounces in show
room visits; prospects starting to work with you;
membership applications on the rise; customers starting
to make repeat purchases; fresh proposals for strategic
alliances and joint ventures; and even politicians and
legislators starting to view you as a key member of the
business, non-profit or association communities.
First things first, you’ll need to get your public relations
people on board this public relations bandwagon. They
must agree with the vital necessity to know how your
outside audiences perceive your operations, products or
services. Be especially certain they accept the reality that
negative perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that
can damage your organization.
Schedule a special sitdown with PR staff to run through
just how you plan to guage perception and monitor opinion
among your key outside audiences. Go over the questions
to be asked: How much do you know about our organization?
Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased
with the interchange? How much do you know about our
services or products and employees? Have you experienced
problems with our people or procedures?
It’s fortunate for you and I that our PR people are already
in the perception and behavior business and can be of real
use for the opinion monitoring projects. You always have
the option of using professional survey firms, but that can
wind up costing real money. But, whether it’s your people
or a survey firm who handles the questioning, the objective
is to identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded
rumors, inaccuracies, and misconceptions.
One of the aberations you discover will stand out clearly
as your corrective public relations goal - it could easily
be to clarify the misconception, spike that rumor, correct
the false assumption or fix a variety of other possible
inaccuracies.
Simplifying matters is the reality that you can meet that
goal only when you select the right strategy from the
three choices available to you. Change existing perception,
create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it.
Using the wrong strategy is about as satisfying as using
horseradish on your grits! So please be certain the new
strategy fits comfortably with your new public relations
goal. You wouldn’t want to select “change” when the
facts dictate a “reinforce” strategy.
Here, you may come to see this chore as the toughest
part of the job — write a persuasive message aimed at
members of your target audience. Yes, it’s always a
challenge to put together action-forcing language that
will help persuade any audience to your way of thinking.
By all means, pick your best writer for this assignment.
You need words that are not only compelling, persuasive
and believable, but clear and factual if they are to shift
perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead
to the behaviors you desire.
With message writing behind you, you need to identify
the communications tactics you need to carry your
message to the attention of your target audience. Insuring
that the tactics you select have a record of reaching folks
like your audience members, you can select from
speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer
briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal
meetings and many others.
Another reality in this business is that the credibility of the
message can depend on the credibility of its delivery
method. Which could lead you to deliver it in smaller
meetings and presentations rather than through a higher-
profile media announcement.
As it becomes obvious that a progress report will be needed,
you and your PR team will want to undertake a second
perception monitoring session with members of your
external audience. Many of the same questions used in
the first benchmark session can be used again. Now,
however, you will be on alert for indications that the bad
news perception is being altered in your direction.
In the event of a slowdown in program momentum, PR
program such as this usually can be accelerated by
adding more communications tactics as well as increasing
their frequencies.
Trusting your PR program to deliver the bacon is really
a matter of persuading your key external stakeholders to
your way of thinking, then moving them to behave in a
way that leads to the achievement of your managerial
objectives and the success of your operation.
end
About the author:
Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and
association managers about using the fundamental premise of public
relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR,
Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR,
Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communi-
cations, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press
secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree
from Columbia University, major in public relations.
mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com
If you have been a recent victim of a crime, then there is a very good chance that you’ll be entitled to make a criminal injury compensation claim under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
CICA - Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
Great Britain has in place the oldest compensation scheme for people who suffer criminal injuries as victims of crimes, with the first version having been introduced in 1964. Based along the lines of a personal injury compensation claim, the CICA compensates victims of violent crime who have suffered any:
• injury, whether that be physical or mental, as a result of being the victim of a violent crime
• possible loss of earnings that the victim may endure as a result of such criminal injury
• bereavement suffered as a result of a loved one having died as the victim of a violent crime.
Since 1996 the CICA has adopted a fixed tariff criminal injury compensation scheme as set out by parliament in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995 for those who are entitled to make a criminal injury claim.
Making A Compensation Claim
If you plan to make a claim to the CICA for criminal injury compensation, then you’ll need to show that you have suffered either physical or mental harm as a result of having been the victim of the violent crime in question.
Note that you need to show that a crime took place, you do not need to show that a conviction resulted from the crime you are claiming took place.
If you have grounds to believe that you have a criminal injury claim, you can obtain a compensation form from a personal injury solicitor, which you then need to compete and return.
The CICA then acknowledges receipt of your form and should process the claim. Keep in mind that this can be a lengthy process and can take anywhere up to 18 months after you have submitted the criminal injury compensation claim.
Also, as the scheme is for victims of violent crimes, the minimum compensation payable under the scheme is 1,000 and the maximum amount of compensation is 250,000.
Moreover, keep in mind that if you have made a claim for compensation under the scheme and are not satisfied with the initial compensation awarded for the criminal injury you suffered, you are entitled to submit a request to have a review of your criminal injury claim within 90 days of your original award being made.
If you still don’t like the award after this review process has been completed, then you can appeal your criminal injury compensation claim to the Panel of the CICA within 30 days of the outcome of the appeal process. If the Panel of the CICA award still does not satisfy you, you then have the right to appeal your claim to the High Court.
Are There Any Alternatives?
If you have been the unfortunate victim of a crime, you should speak to a criminal injury solicitor as soon as you can following the event. In part this is because the criminal injury compensation scheme is only for those who are the victims of a violent crime.
On the other part, you need to make sure you do this so that you can get the advice from your criminal injury solicitor as to any alterative compensation you may want to seek.
Any alternative compensation claim you do instigate will be based on a civil action for personal injury. As a personal injury claim can be expensive, if you believe you may have a case for personal injury compensation but do not have the funds to pay a costly solicitor, you should talk with a no win no fee solicitor to see if there is any chance they will represent you in your claim.
And Finally…
Finally, as well as being the oldest criminal injury compensation authority in the world, with over 80,000 cases a year paying 200 million in compensation, the CICA is also one of the highest rewarding criminal injury claim boards in the world.
It’s easy to seek criminal injury compensation and gain maximum results without the hassle, costs and confusion. Discover the 12 revolutions of criminal injury claims at http://www.100percent-compensation.co.uk/articles/criminal-injury-compensation.html
What do you think about this message?
“Dear Mr. Craig,
I’ve got this phone call from a Trust Consulting Company and they’ve told me, if my husband or I die, the government will take up to 50% from the estate. I’ve never heard about Trusts or paying taxes if somebody dies. We came from oversees ten years ago and are planning to stay in this country. Is this true what the Consulting Company told me? If yes, will it apply in our case?”
Wow, this is exactly the type of conduct that is being targeted by a class action lawsuit recently filed in California by California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR) and the Institute on Aging (IOA).
What they have found are companies that are using scare tactics against seniors and offering free consultations or free living trust seminars to gain information about the senior’s finances in order to sell them inappropriate financial, annuity or life insurance products.
Most of you know my thoughts concerning your revocable living trust and your estate plan.
Having a good estate planning lawyer is like having a good family doctor. Someone you can trust and confide in. Someone you feel comfortable disclosing your intimate financial and family details to and feel confident that they will maintain your confidence.
Why in the world would you trust your affairs to an unlicensed and unregulated “consultant?” How do you know their qualifications or training? Do they carry malpractice insurance?
I was once asked to review an estate plan and revocable living trust prepared by a “consultant” (who has since then been closed down by the state). This person was so incompetent, he had prepared a document that purported to be a revocable living trust, a durable general power of attorney for health care, a durable general power of attorney for financial decisions, and a pour-over will, all in one document. It was so bad, it was laughable. Except by the person who had given this consultant over a thousand dollars for the piece of trash.
Watch out. There are a lot of sharks out there.
Good luck and until next time,
Phil Craig
P.S. Feel free to forward this on to any friends.
Phil Craig is a licensed attorney and entreprenuer.
He started practicing law at age 25 in 1979.
He does not take on any more clients, but is
advisor to some of the biggest names in the internet
world. He shares his knowledge gained over the
last 25 years at his Living Trust Secrets newsletter site:
click here=========>http://www.LivingTrustSecrets.com
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As we wave goodbye to 2005 and charge into 2006, it is time to get your house in order. This is particularly true for the legal issues in your life.
Legal Planning
As drab as it may seem, legal planning can help you avoid disasters in your life. With the turn of the calendar, now is the time to give your life and business some thought.
On the family front, you should be thinking about changes you experienced in 2005 and if any of them require you to take some steps. If you got married, you need to jump through a few loopholes related to changing names, addresses with relevant companies and so on. If you had a new family addition, have you give consideration to updating your will or family trust? On a less enjoyable subject, are there any steps you need to make with parents who are growing older. Elder abuse, particularly financially, can be a problem and you may want to provide assistance to elder parents so they aren’t taken advantage of.
On the business front, now is the time to take a step back and reflect upon how things are going. Did you meet your goals in 2005? If you didn’t, how do you plan to make 2006 a better year? In making this determination, you need to be honest with yourself and make sure you evaluate your week points. From a legal perspective, are all of your relevant business documents up to date? Have annual minutes been filed for your corporation or LLC?
A particular area where businesses fail to follow up are changes in contracts. When entering a contract, both parties tend to see great success in the future. Inevitably, they discover the agreement needs to be tweaked to allow for circumstances and so on. When this occurs, the parties will often reach an oral agreement or just shake hands on it. Such agreements are not binding on the parties. If a dispute occurs, the business relationship will be evaluated using the original agreement. That can lead to a nightmare of circumstances. If you’ve tweaked an agreement with another party, now is the time to get such an amendment in writing!
April 15th sounds a long way off, but it will come faster than you can imagine. Yep, I’m talking about taxes. Do you feel you pay too much in taxes? Of course you do. This is a god given right of every American. Well, now is the time to do something about it. You should contact your CPA and do some tax planning for 2006. Saving taxes often comes down to how you collect revenues and distribute them. Slight changes can save you tens of thousands of dollars, but you must implement them early in the calendar year.
As the calendar flipped to 2006, you undoubtedly made a resolution to do something. Getting your legal house in order probably wasn’t what you had in mind, but it is something you should do!
Richard A. Chapo is a San Diego business lawyer with www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com - a San Diego business law firm in San Diego, California providing business incorporation services.
Sometimes people end up in trouble and in need of a defense lawyer. If this is you, the first thing you need to do is find a qualified defense lawyer to pull you out of it. But, where will you look? Should you rely on the court appointed defense lawyers as your defense lawyers? Perhaps you are wrongly being accused, who is going to fight for your rights? Defense lawyers are quite in demand. No matter if a crime or wrongdoing was actually made or not, it is still important to have a defense lawyer present to help you resolve your case.
Defense lawyers are available to help just about anyone in just about any case. Let’s say that you are being accused of drug crimes. You will need a defense lawyer to help you win your case. Perhaps it is a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Perhaps you were helping a friend. Perhaps you know that you did do the crime. In any of these cases you will need a defense lawyer to help you. You need that defense lawyer to sort through the charges, to understand your side, to interpret the meanings of the case. In serious cases like drug crimes, you may find yourself lost in what should be happening and who to trust as your defense lawyer. One way to get a better understanding about what drug crimes are and what defense lawyers do is to look online. Websites like www.thesmartattorneys.com express information about these situations in regards to defense lawyers.
Where will you find a defense lawyer then to handle this drug crimes charge? Who will you trust to do the best they can to help you get out of this situation? Defense lawyers are available in every state. But, when you do not know anyone, should you simply just open the phone book and pick a defense lawyer? You would not feel safe with your choice in a defense lawyer this way. Instead, use websites like www.thesmartattorneys.com to help you find qualified defense lawyers who truly want to help defend you against these charges.
No matter what the situation, whether it is drug crimes or something else, if you are in a situation and need a defense lawyers, you will have to do some research, find a reliable defense lawyer, and do your best to help them win your case. It is hard to say whether or not you have a case or not. Only your defense lawyer will know. But, rest assured that your defense lawyer will tell you how to act, what to say, and what to do to get out of your situation. Defense lawyers are invaluable resources in times of need like these.
About the Author
S A Baker is staff writer at http://www.thesmartattorneys.com
Horse owners who are history buffs may recognize the name Jesse Beery. Beery was an enormously famous horse trainer from the 1800’s and early 1900’s.
He learned to train horses at a very young age. It was clear he had a gift for horse training and made it his life’s work.
Among the almost countless things Beery could do with a horse, he taught them tricks. One of the most amazing tricks he taught was teaching a horse to drive without lines. (In layman’s terms, you have no long reins (known as lines) connected to the horse. The only connection to the horse is the buggy hitched to the horse) This trick almost defies belief!
Beery said this about driving a horse without lines: “While I do not advocate it as being a universally practical way of driving a horse, yet it is possible to so thoroughly train the horse to certain signals that he can be controlled more reliably under excitement and in case of danger than it would be possible to manage him with bridle and lines.”
Beery says there are a number of ways to teach this to a horse but suggests his method as the most reliable.
In a nutshell, Beery first turned his horse loose in an enclosure about twenty-five feet square. He would walk in with a whip and teach the horse to have confidence in him and not fear the whip. (The horse is never whipped).
Once the horse has learned to come to handler at the command of “Come Here” and shows no fear of the whip while it’s gently waved over his head and body, and will follow the handler all about the ring, then you have laid a good foundation for further instruction.
Put the horse away until the next day where the horse learns signals of the whip.
That process is as follows: Stand close the the horse’s hip and take a short whip and tap lightly on the right shoulder until the horse, in anticipation of driving a fly off, will swing his head around to where the tapping is. Step forward quickly and hand him a few oats, or a small piece of apple, almost in the act of turning his head around. Step back and continue the tapping and rewarding.
After a while, in his eagerness for the reward, he will take a step or two to the right when the tapping begins. Then caress him and treat him very kindly for that act. Soon, the idea will be conveyed that when tapped on the shoulder the horse will know to turn in that direction.
Remember to train both sides of the horse.
Once both sides are trained now an open bridle can be put on. Use short lines that come back as far as his tail only - but they are used only if he becomes unruly or to convey your idea to him.
The handler’s whip should not be over five feet long at this stage and the handler should stand directly behind the horse. (Beware of kickers) Let the whip extend to about the middle of his mane.
The signal you wish for him to stop for is raising the whip and holding it in a perpendicular position. Associate the meaning of this movement, and position, just as the whip is raised so the horse can see it. Pull hard on the reins and say “Whoa” - all at the same time. After a few repetitions the horse will know what to do. (Assuming you have thoroughly educated your horse to whoa)
The first few times he stops without a pull of the reins step forward and reward him immediately. Much of the success of teaching this trick depends upon how you give the rewards. If the reward is given in a manner so that the horse can fully comprehend it was complying with the handler’s wish, it will greatly enhance fixing this impression on the horse’s brain.
But if not given in the right manner, the reward will be worse than none at all.
In the same manner, the horse is taught to turn left and right. This is done by giving the horse a pretty smart tap on the lower part of the shoulder and immediately place the point of the whip three or four feet in that direction. Should he attempt to jump and go ahead too much, you can hold him in check with the action and signal to stop him.
Essentially, these are Beery’s instructions for training a horse to drive without lines. It’s important to note this is a shortened version of Beery’s instructions and there is more to know.
Andy Curry is a nationally known horse trainer and author of several best selling horse training and horse care books. For information visit his website at www.horsetrainingandtips.com. He is also the leading expert on Jesse Beery’s horse training methods which can be seen at www.horsetrainingandtips.com/Jesse_Beerya.htm.
The Internet and Tom Robbins are both windows into new realities, realities that are prone to incite laughter and ludicrous behaviorisms.
These days I go on to the Internet not having any clue as to what is going to grab my interest on that particular day. What is slowly seeping into my subconscious like sludge into the sewer is the idea that I’m probably going to learn something new of interest to my already strange and twisted human existence. Whether the information turns out to be credible is another issue altogether seeing that my fellow human weirdoes are prone to the occasional exaggeration and ‘white lie’. Nonetheless, every time I go for a so-called ‘surf’ into the deep blue waves of social consciousness I seem to find myself sitting on some new island of information that inevitably causes a smile to crack across my crystallized serious Internet writer’s façade that I must present to my colleagues so that they don’t uncover my secret true identity, that being that I’m a Sweet Medicine Clown from the planet Zepton. That last sentence’s structure is dedicated to the mastery of Tom Robbins.
Today’s particular Internet search was triggered by memories of laughter caused by the reading of books by a fellow named Tom Robbins. Although this guy has written eight awesome novels, most people I ask have never heard of him. After searching for sites dedicated to him I did discover that a lot of other people have read his stuff and actually feel very strongly about it. The main site I found was called the AFTRLife at http://www.rain.org/~da5e/tom_robbins.html. The real buzz I experienced was the biographical information I learnt about Robbins’ personal history, I mean it’s one thing to really be affected by someone’s fictional writing, but another dimension altogether to read about what they supposedly got up to in their life.
With names like: Another Roadside Attraction 1971, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues 1976, Still Life with Woodpecker1980 Jitterbug Perfume1984 Skinny Legs and All 1990, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas1994, Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates 2000, and Villa Incognito 2003 you might get a little insight into the style of this writer. I say you might, because you’ve really got to read it to believe it. In his biography it said that a copy of “Another Roadside Attraction” was found on the floor next to Elvis Presley when he died on the toilet. Maybe Elvis laughed just a little bit too hard! You’ve got to be careful reading these books; they just might bend your so-called ‘normal’ brain into a warped device with unimaginable powers…
It is alleged that he was thrown out of his university fraternity for throwing biscuits at his housemother. Are you catching my drift here? This guy really likes to look at reality from a different angle, actually multiple angles. The first book I read, “Skinny Legs and All” was written from first-person narrative perspectives of inanimate objects like a can of beans, a conch shell and a painted stick- I think there was a spoon in there somewhere as well! Have you ever thought about how a can of beans would perceive the world?
Having made it back from Timbuktu alive and with a son named Fleetwood Star Robbins, Tom Robbins proves to be my kind of human: original and fun. Perusing the Internet has once again added depth to my experience and to my reality. It really is fun learning more about people, places and things that I was already interested in. I’m a sponge soaking up the rays of the sun and then washing the windscreen of the Universe!
Jesse S. Somer, M6.Net
Jesse S. Somer is a fish swimming through the muddy waters of the human condition.


