<VV> Tinkering

[John Kepler]

As a holder of many patents, the intellectual property world is a relatively
bizarre environment. It has little to do with science!

Case-In-Point:  In one of the more "significant" patents I'm associated
with, a portion of the patent app was submitted on bar napkins duly signed,
dated, and witnessed by a rather befuddled bartender.  Our Lead and I did
some damn decent theoretical work after hours in a local watering hole (too
many years working at Bingham Canyon will do that to a guy!), but he was
well acquainted with the "legal drill" the scum-sucking lawyers were going
to require.  Those stupid bar napkins were potentially worth millions of
dollars and our continued gainful employment.  So, what could easily be
facially misinterpreted as "tinkering" was backed up by a multi-million
dollar research lab, a couple decades of collective education and even more
work experience, mathematically-based testing programs with a focused and
heavily researched goal, and thousands of man-hours of hard, dirty,
dangerous work.

"Invention is 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration!"  T.A. Edison.....and
frankly, in my experience, old Tom was being fairly optimistic!