I decided to censor myself and un-publish my previous entry. Judging by the glut of comments and influx of traffic I received in response to it, I’m sure it’s removal will widely go unnoticed.
I decided to delete it mainly because of it’s bearing on my professional career. Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately) this site pops up when you Google my name. Future (or current) employers could just as easily do the same thing. I’m hearing many more are doing just that these days. I’d rather them hear my thoughts on their workplace in person and not from some remote corner of the interweb.
In other news, I did Google myself tonight (c’mon, you haven’t?) and found out that I have my name attached to several patents from said job. I knew that we had a lawyer applying my boss and I for a patent but wasn’t aware that it was far enough along that it would show up online. I’m not sure if it’s officially official, but heck, it must be if it’s available on Google. Only Wikipedia is more reliable. They let anyone write on there, so you know you’re getting the best possible information.
So, why in the world is my name on a patent? About 3 years ago I helped design and develop a storm door with retractable screens for my company. It’s a pretty neat concept, actually (it wasn’t my idea, I just donated a few little bits of knowledge here and there), and as a result, it’s selling very well. Now, of course, I saw no extra zero’s on the end of my paycheck because of this little invention but I now have the joy of knowing that my name is on a piece of paper safely tucked away in the confines of a U.S. Patent Office filing cabinet.
Hooray.