Friday, September 22, 2006

All Hail Walmart Again!

Re: [spiers] All Hail Walmart Again!

I agree, Tammy, but some points...

Way to go Linda Hall!!! I wish more people would be proactive in making their
communties a better place to live.

LINDA HALL wrote: It is easy to make these price
comparisons, however, we have to remember:

In the USA, our standard of living is much higher than the Vietnamese. Our
salaries and benefits are better. Our homes are nicer. All this costs $,
and we get it from our salaries. If companies drop prices, what else
happens: they cannot afford to give us the salaries we need or the
benefits.

***Not so quick... companies drop prices, more people can afford their goods
and services... we have not all gotten as rich as King Henry the VIII, just the
cost of all the material benefits he enjoyed are withing the reach of every
american today. Dropping prices is exactly what we need more of...

Drug company jobs will go overseas in spite of the protections...well, because
of the protections... people being paid $30/hour making medicines in USA will
lose their jobs to foreignors, because foreign management does not cozst as much
as usa management costs. USA manavgement costs so much because the cost of the
bloated unnecessary drug biz superstructure has to be tacked on to every
pill.... we mustn't blame the consumer or the entrepreneur o verseas for
relieving the USA consumer of abuse in USA by drug biz... or auto biz..or any
other biz.***

In my state, teachers salaries in my county have been one of the worst. And
nation wide, my state was at the bottom of the list in a study done on
comparing retirement salaries. ...Think about the long term of what we are doing
by all this. There are people loosing jobs while a few get rich....r Capital
building.

I informed students of where they should not apply for a job, where they
would be taken advantage of by low salaries, and even lower retirement
package. Did I get results? Yes, this new school year, and for the next 2
years to come, our salaries are increasing 6% each year. Our state office
revamped our retirement in the last legislature session, and now we are
ranked in the middle of the USA, rather than last.

***Well, the problem with education is the govt is involved... like drugs, if
the govt gets out, and ed is deregulated we'll get more better cheaper faster...
and teacher will get paid more. Where the govt is not involved, the teachers
are paid very well... I get $100 an hour for teaching, and I am not a
teacher..but I work strictly in non-credit ed. As in medicine, the only field
with no subsidies and restrictions is cosmetic surgery. What I love about this
example is in the real world of cosmetic surgery, doctors perfect their skills
on the vain wealthy and commonly take in poor patients pro bono to fix some
kid's cleft palette or other problem. In a free market the rich are guinea pigs
and the poor are beneficiaries, as opposed to social democracies like usa where
it is the other way around.

There is nothing to support the claims that teacher salaries, classroom size,
physical plant conditions, head start, breakfast or any other factor (beyond a
minimum that we have surpassed anyway) has any effect on educational outcome.
There is only one single factor shown to be valid and reliable in student
success, and that is parental involvement. There is nothing that can be done by
a school to improve that.

Teachers dig their own graves by lying to parents:" we will take your children
and educate them and make them critical thinkers and good citizens...etc..."
when that is what parents do. Schools charge too much to claim too much...

Education is big biz, and wide open for a renaissance. Reform is not possible,
because you cannot reform something that is not education to begin with...on the
other hand, a rebirth of education is possible, if the govt gets out of the way.
Where it is out of the way, say in homeschooling, the results are dramatically
improved.

The most radical thing one can do is open one's own school, and then fight the
power. My school would be open noon to five pm and I'd hire college kids at
$12/hr, no benefits, and teach grammar school. My school would outperform all
other schools, govt and Catholic, and make me a ton of money. University of
Phoenix does essentially this at the college level, and the part time, community
college contiuing education teacher who started U of P became a billionaire.

US educational-industrial complex is designed to absorb every reformer, and
destroy them. So don't try to reform it, renaissance is the thing.***

Where the supply comes from is important. Not China or Phillipines, but
from the USA

***Linda, I could not agree more, the trick is re-establishing free trade in
education....***


John




Compete on Design!

www.johnspiers.com


All Hail Walmart Again!

Re: [spiers] All Hail Walmart Again!

It is easy to make these price comparisons, however, we have to remember:

In the USA, our standard of living is much higher than the Vietnamese. Our
salaries and benefits are better. Our homes are nicer. All this costs $,
and we get it from our salaries. If companies drop prices, what else
happens: they cannot afford to give us the salaries we need or the
benefits.

In my state, teachers salaries in my county have been one of the worst. And
nation wide, my state was at the bottom of the list in a study done on
comparing retirement salaries. Yet on the front page of the NY Times this
past winter, there was an article saying Maryland was the 3rd richest state
in the USA. Well, perhaps it is because the $ is not being returned to the
workers as it should. In my county, it had been so hard to find new
teachers because of the bad salaries, and the fact that the county lost 850
teachers last year (due to this) our county found a new idea: Import
teachers from China and the Phillipines. So they hired 85 teachers from
those places, paid them less, and they do not receive benefits. Wow, think
how much the county is saving now!!
Think about the parents who saved for years, for their children's college
education. Think about how hard those kids studied 4 years to become
teachers, and then lost out on a job because the county is hiring foreigners
to fill jobs that our own should fill.

Think about the long term of what we are doing by all this. There are
people loosing jobs while a few get rich. I worked in Vietnam for a year,
and I know I sure would not want to live like them, nor how the Chinese have
to live either.

What to do? I did something for my county. I spread a newsflyer about our
terrible salaries and benefits to all the campuses last year, where our
county recruits for new teachers. I spent weekends doing this for the year,
including out of state colleges where they recruit. I spread these flyers
all over campus: student unions, bathroom doors of classroom buildings,
classroom lecture halls, libraries, office of the president lobby, and
everywhere. I spread them all over car windows at shopping malls at
Christmas, and the streets surrounding our Capital building.

I informed students of where they should not apply for a job, where they
would be taken advantage of by low salaries, and even lower retirement
package. Did I get results? Yes, this new school year, and for the next 2
years to come, our salaries are increasing 6% each year. Our state office
revamped our retirement in the last legislature session, and now we are
ranked in the middle of the USA, rather than last.

Where the supply comes from is important. Not China or Phillipines, but
from the USA

Linda


Thursday, September 21, 2006

All Hail Walmart Again!

Re: [spiers] All Hail Walmart Again!

Until this is made illegal, as you say, it is good news for us all, as
it will pull back the curtain on the price structure in the drug
industry and hopefuly put pressure on regulators in consumers favor.

We know that WalMart is making a profit at 4 bucks a bottle, which
should raise some eyebrows about Rite-Aid's margins.

I wonder if only the generic manufacturers and drugstores will be hurt
by WalMart, as the Gucci-brand drugs will not be sold by them.

Let me confirm your point about the US paying more with a couple of
anecdotes. I am in Taiwan right now, and misplaced my drugs while
shuttling between hotels. So yesterday, I jumped off my scooter and
walked into a drugstore, the pharmacist asked if I had a national
insurance card. Of course no, so he thought a second and eyed my
foreign garb and offered me a supply of generic pills (Smith Kline
brand) at no doubt a super inflated price, $9 a month. I pay $10 copay
with insurance, back in Seattle. Forgot to ask what I would pay with
Taiwan insurance.

Last year, I wanted some "backup" antibiotics while in Hanoi. I
happened to ask a local (I do not speak Vietnamese) to help me buy some
generic Cipro. The lady in the dusty street stall therefore sold them
to me at the local price, which was 1:100 of what I had paid in the
States a few months, earlier.

Now the Vietnamese drug factory workers may be earning 10% of the US
drug factory works, but I doubt their per-pill cost is only 10% of US
per-pill cost. But let's say it is. That means we are paying 10 times
more, with factory costs normalized, than that country. Boggles the
mind that we continue to pay so much in the US for such commodities.
What if flour were $600 a pound? Would we pay it?


On Thu, 21 Sep 2006 12:04, John Spiers wrote:
> Folks,
>
> WalMart plans to test market an offer of a months supply of 261
> different drugs for $4.
>

Please reply to psnyder@alumni.caltech.edu


MORE help for the Poor

Folks,

Whereas the President of the US is on record seeking higher oil prices for USA,

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/high-prices.html

the President of Venezuela is ALREADY shipping "deeply discounted" oil into NYC
for the
poor.

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_264060754.html

Of course, the USA pays the highest prices for everything, and Chavez is only
giving the
Bronx the same price, say, Belize gets. Perhaps the implication is the Bronx is
not part of the
USA.

It does show though, as far as getting low prices to the poor, there are
alternatives to US govt
intervention in the market. An alternative is to get foreign govt intervention.

John


All Hail Walmart Again!

Folks,

WalMart plans to test market an offer of a months supply of 261 different drugs
for $4.

"Each day in our pharmacies we see customers struggle with the cost of
prescription drugs,"
said Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott, Jr., in a statement. "By cutting the cost of
many generics to
$4, we are helping to ensure that our customers and associates get the medicines
they need
at a price they can afford."

Of course there has never been any reason why poor people could not walk into a
store and
buy their own drugs with their own money, just as they go in and buy a box of
laundry soap.

As a practial matter, the drug biz has been rigged to make drugs rare,
expensive, shoddy and
slow to market, so the poor suffer.

Of course, the Walmart relief to the poor will be found to be illegal somehow,
so it will end,
but it shows it can be done.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060921/D8K9A7TO7.html

JOhn


Tuesday, September 19, 2006

New Product Opinions

Re: New Product Opinions

Hi Don,

1) My rough estimates are that about 35% of remotes have room at the
top, 50% have room at the bottom with maybe 15% not having enough
room anywhere. Attaching it at the top would probably be most
people's first choice but it works just as well at the bottom.
Actually it works slightly better at the bottom just because the
light is facing away from the user so there is even less glare
(although most glare is blocked by the top hat). I see no real
disadvantage to attaching it on the bottom. It sure beats not having
one at all. Any design that would allow the light to always be on
the top turns out to be unpractically big. Also I've gotten the base
diameter down to only 15mm so even on remotes without much space on
the top it still might fit. No design is perfect and no design will
work with 100% of the remotes. That's okay because there's enough
remote controls out there that even a small percentage of them would
make for nice sales.

2) These are just estimates and obviously depend on manufacturing
cost which I don't know yet. Keep in mind the price of $5-$8 is for
speciality catalogs and such and by the time it makes it to
Walgreens,etc it will probably be cheaper. Keychain LED lights sell
for over $10 on many websites and anything but the most basic
keychain light sells for about $4 even at Walgreens (I just paid $2
for a cheapy basic LED keychain and $4 for slightly higher-end
model). Surely this product should be able to sell for more than a
keychain LED. It's more complicated and it's unique.

Time will tell on the price. Probably 20% of the people that have
responded have commented the price is a bit high. However, I wonder
if these people realize that keychain lights sell for almost the
same. It's not fair to compare a Wal-mart keychain light price to my
prices for specialty stores. When I do introduce it I'll probably
try different prices at different stores to see how it sells at
different prices. I've had several people suggest prices as high as
$10 but that's way too high in my book. I'm shooting for $4.95 but
it all depends on the cost to make them.

Thanks again for your comments.

John

--- In spiers@yahoogroups.com, D Low wrote:
>
> That's great that most people are interested.
>
> Couple of comments.
> 1. Most remotes do not have room at the top to attach your
light. Attaching it at the bottom is not convenient.
> 2. Also, the price point, $5 to $8, is kind of expensive for
me. I wonder if other people are willing to pay that much for it.
>
> -don
>
> John
wrote: Don,
>
> Thanks for the comments. You're only the second person out of
over
> 40 now that I've polled on various other forums that isn't
interested
> in buying this product. The response has been more positive than
> even I would have ever expected.
>
> As for the patent, John is an extremely bright and knowledgable
> person who has helped me tremendously; however, even he's not
> perfect;) It's not a sin to contradict him. This was submitted
for
> a provisional patent which only costs $100 so why not do it? I
agree
> with John about the patent if it's going to cost thousands but
why
> not do it for only $100. Sure can't hurt.
>
> Thanks again for your comments.
>
> John
>
> --- In spiers@yahoogroups.com, D Low wrote:
> >
> > Nice idea, but sorry, this product is not for me. I know my
remote
> well enough that I can use it in the dark without having to read
the
> text. The few times that I need to, I will turn on the light. I
> personally like the remotes where the buttons can be
illuminated.
> Even then, I rarely use it.
> >
> > Just wondering why you patent the idea which contradicts to
what
> John Spiers teaches?
> >
> > Good luck,
> > -don
> >
> > John wrote:
> > Hello all,
> >
> > I have a new product which I believe really has a lot of
potential
> > and thus far all of my research has been quite positive. I have
> > already submitted it for a patent and now have patent pending
> status
> > allowing me to safely post it here. I'm iterested in getting
some
> > totally unbiased opinions.
> >
> > Here is a link to a flyer showing the product:
> >
> > http://www.johnteel.com/PopupMicroLiteFlyer.pdf
> >
> > Would you buy this product?
> >
> > I plan to present this to various catalog stores next week to
> verify
> > interest.
> >
> > Comments, good and bad, are most appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > John Teel


Pope, Moslems and Sweatshirt Sales

Folks,

One of my favorite countries is the Vatican, the world’s smallest, with less
than a 1,000
inhabitants and voting limited to cardinals who mostly do not live there and
under 80 years
old. It has income of some 250 million dollars per year, mostly donations and
investments.
Big business is banking and printing at the Vatican. If the $250 mil was all
donations from
from the world's 1 billion catholics, that would work out to dues of about 25
cents each per
year to belong to the club. And you gotta love a country where the gift shops
are an
important revenue source. If I was in the rag trade, I’d design a hooded
sweatshirt in white
and yellow, the Vatican colors, with a high relief of the Pope’s crest
embroidered on the front.
I would have bought one when I was there.

Whenever there is a controversy over what the Pope said, I am confident of one
thing: the
Pope is being misquoted. It is guaranteed the press will get the story exactly
wrong. The
antidote is to simply read what the Pope said, and everything he says is posted
on the
vatican.va website (no, the vatican’s website is NOT www.vatican.com).

Now the problem with reading what the Pope says is popes are terribly well
educated, in
several languages, and are usually addressing world-class intellects. Popes are
always
circumspect, and often what they do not say is as important as what they
actually say.

The current controversy got started when the Pope, addressing some German
bishops at a
Catholic university, made the point that there should be truth-in-advertising in
Catholic
Universities; to wit: Catholic Universities should be Catholic, and it is the
bishops job to see
to it. It is the Universities where the questions of the day ought to be
handled. Pope John
Paul II made the same point, and met with much resistance.

A cultural concern in Europe is whether Europe is being overrun by Moslems, a
question of
the day. I can go back to the 1970’s and say “folks, we’ve seen this all
before...” But the
Pope can go back farther, to 1391, and say ‘we’ve seen this all before.”

He brought up a time when Islam had moved into a militant phase and a Byzantine
Emperor
arguing religion with a learned Moslem says “"Show me just what Mohammed brought
that
was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his
command to
spread by the sword the faith he preached". As a side note, the context in
which the pope
makes this quote is one of criticism of the emperor who said it.

Now, this scene brings many ideas to his audience’s minds. We hear the same
thing said
today about Islam, said by people in power. People criticizing militant Islam
are missing the
problem and barking up the wrong tree when they whip up fear of militant Islam.
Militant
Islam has no power, is usually called stateless, except in highly compromised
areas like
Lebanon.

The Pope’s audience knows the Moslems who are immigrating into European capitals
and
building grand mosques and “taking over,’ as some fear, are not suicide bombers,
they are
adherents to the earlier peaceful, powerless Mohammed. They are the ones who
may grow to
a majority in Europe. (The building of those mosques is aided by
socialist/activist anti-
Christian city councils who issue building permits to a few moslems who want to
build a
mosque, yet harass any bishop who wants to repair a church).

Now, what his audience knows quite well is the history of the spread of Islam.
Islam spread
easily and relatively peacefully over lands where heretical Christians were
dominant. And by
quoting this emperor, one of the last Byzantine emperors, the pope recalls this
emperor’s
error in assessing the situation, and intimates even mere schismatics will fall
to Islam.

What checked Islam's advance? The Pope carefully reminds his listeners.
integrated
christianity, authentic christianity, specifically at Vienna, as his audience
knows. Most of the
Pope’s talk recounts how Christianity grew organically with Greek and Roman
science and
philosophy, as well as Jerusalem’s faith. the Pope argues modern universities
are wrong to
teach disintegration of the organic whole. (The Pope calls it de-hellenization
in his talk.)

So what was the Pope’s message? “Worried about militant Islam? You are barking
up the
wrong tree. Your defeat, if it comes, will be at the hands of peaceful Moslems.
How to defend
yourselves? Try Christianity, and better yet, teach it at your universities.
Let Jesus back into
school.” The kind of thing you’d expect a pope to say.

If anything, the Pope is criticizing Christians, not Moslems. He is saying
worry about the
beam in your own eye before you worry about the speck in someone else’s.

So how did this get so out of hand? My guess is the pope was probably burned by
some tenured biology
professor at a Catholic college, embarrassed by Catholicism, who posted to some
extremist
islamic website only the "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and
there you
will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the
sword the faith
he preached" as something “the pope said” in hopes of embarrassing the pope and
fogging
his message. I personally know several tenured professors who have done as
much, and
would do worse if given the chance. If so, whoever the Judas was that did this
got a nun working
at an orphanage in Somalia killed. It’s a bishops job to knock these people
into line.

Instead, we have the Pope bogged down with defusing an unfair situation, on top
of his job
as supreme pontiff. Anyone who would like to get the Pope’s blessing on a new
line of
sweatshirts for the Vatican museum store will just have to wait until this blows
over.

John


New Product Opinions

Re: [spiers] Re: New Product Opinions

That's great that most people are interested.

Couple of comments.
1. Most remotes do not have room at the top to attach your light. Attaching
it at the bottom is not convenient.
2. Also, the price point, $5 to $8, is kind of expensive for me. I wonder
if other people are willing to pay that much for it.

-don

John wrote:
Don,

Thanks for the comments. You're only the second person out of over
40 now that I've polled on various other forums that isn't interested
in buying this product. The response has been more positive than
even I would have ever expected.

As for the patent, John is an extremely bright and knowledgable
person who has helped me tremendously; however, even he's not
perfect;) It's not a sin to contradict him. This was submitted for
a provisional patent which only costs $100 so why not do it? I agree
with John about the patent if it's going to cost thousands but why
not do it for only $100. Sure can't hurt.

Thanks again for your comments.

John

--- In spiers@yahoogroups.com, D Low wrote:
>
> Nice idea, but sorry, this product is not for me. I know my remote
well enough that I can use it in the dark without having to read the
text. The few times that I need to, I will turn on the light. I
personally like the remotes where the buttons can be illuminated.
Even then, I rarely use it.
>
> Just wondering why you patent the idea which contradicts to what
John Spiers teaches?
>
> Good luck,
> -don
>
> John wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I have a new product which I believe really has a lot of potential
> and thus far all of my research has been quite positive. I have
> already submitted it for a patent and now have patent pending
status
> allowing me to safely post it here. I'm iterested in getting some
> totally unbiased opinions.
>
> Here is a link to a flyer showing the product:
>
> http://www.johnteel.com/PopupMicroLiteFlyer.pdf
>
> Would you buy this product?
>
> I plan to present this to various catalog stores next week to
verify
> interest.
>
> Comments, good and bad, are most appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> John Teel


New Product Opinions

Re: New Product Opinions

I assume you meant to ask me and not Don since I'm the one that
mentioned it?

You can get the full details on www.uspto.gov but a provisional
patent is something new the patent office started back in 1995 I
think. Any ways, it's a "patent" that basically buys you a year to
get a full patent. It doesn't have the complicated claims section of
a normal patent and so you can easily write it yourself. Only costs
about $100. It allows you to use "patent pending" and it protects
your product for one year until you file a real patent. It also
protects your filing date. It's great (I think) for inventors and
product entrepreneurs because it allows you a year to see if the
product is worth the money of a real patent (or if you even decide to
get one and I know John is opposed to this).

It was worth a $100 to me just to give me the comfort of some kind of
protection especially since I wanted to get lots of opinions,etc from
forums (and retailers too of course).


John Teel

--- In spiers@yahoogroups.com, Steve Russell
wrote:
>
> Hi Don,
> What is a provisional patent?
>
>
>

> "John"

> spiers@yahoogroups.com

> ions.com>
cc:

> Sent by: Subject: [spiers]
Re: New Product Opinions
>
spiers@yahoogroup

>
s.com

>

>

> 09/19/2006
12:38

>
PM

> Please respond
to

>
spiers

>

>

>
>
>
>
> Don,
>
> Thanks for the comments. You're only the second person out of over
> 40 now that I've polled on various other forums that isn't
interested
> in buying this product. The response has been more positive than
> even I would have ever expected.
>
> As for the patent, John is an extremely bright and knowledgable
> person who has helped me tremendously; however, even he's not
> perfect;) It's not a sin to contradict him. This was submitted for
> a provisional patent which only costs $100 so why not do it? I
agree
> with John about the patent if it's going to cost thousands but why
> not do it for only $100. Sure can't hurt.
>
> Thanks again for your comments.
>
> John
>
>
>
> --- In spiers@yahoogroups.com, D Low wrote:
> >
> > Nice idea, but sorry, this product is not for me. I know my
remote
> well enough that I can use it in the dark without having to read the
> text. The few times that I need to, I will turn on the light. I
> personally like the remotes where the buttons can be illuminated.
> Even then, I rarely use it.
> >
> > Just wondering why you patent the idea which contradicts to what
> John Spiers teaches?
> >
> > Good luck,
> > -don
> >
> > John wrote:
> > Hello all,
> >
> > I have a new product which I believe really has a lot of potential
> > and thus far all of my research has been quite positive. I have
> > already submitted it for a patent and now have patent pending
> status
> > allowing me to safely post it here. I'm iterested in getting some
> > totally unbiased opinions.
> >
> > Here is a link to a flyer showing the product:
> >
> > http://www.johnteel.com/PopupMicroLiteFlyer.pdf
> >
> > Would you buy this product?
> >
> > I plan to present this to various catalog stores next week to
> verify
> > interest.
> >
> > Comments, good and bad, are most appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > John Teel


New Product Opinions

RE: [spiers] Re: New Product Opinions

Can you give us more information on how you got the patent for $100? I
think that will be of interest to everyone.

By the way, I like your idea and wish you the best of luck even though I
will not be able to use it since my wife does not allow me to touch the
remote.


Martin Mendiola
305-445-2525
Martin@Mendiola.US


> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: [spiers] Re: New Product Opinions
> From: "John"
> Date: Tue, September 19, 2006 3:38 pm
> To: spiers@yahoogroups.com
>
> Don,
>
> Thanks for the comments. You're only the second person out of over
> 40 now that I've polled on various other forums that isn't interested
> in buying this product. The response has been more positive than
> even I would have ever expected.
>
> As for the patent, John is an extremely bright and knowledgable
> person who has helped me tremendously; however, even he's not
> perfect;) It's not a sin to contradict him. This was submitted for
> a provisional patent which only costs $100 so why not do it? I agree
> with John about the patent if it's going to cost thousands but why
> not do it for only $100. Sure can't hurt.
>
> Thanks again for your comments.
>
> John
>
>
>
> --- In spiers@yahoogroups.com, D Low wrote:
> >
> > Nice idea, but sorry, this product is not for me. I know my remote
> well enough that I can use it in the dark without having to read the
> text. The few times that I need to, I will turn on the light. I
> personally like the remotes where the buttons can be illuminated.
> Even then, I rarely use it.
> >
> > Just wondering why you patent the idea which contradicts to what
> John Spiers teaches?
> >
> > Good luck,
> > -don
> >
> > John wrote:
> > Hello all,
> >
> > I have a new product which I believe really has a lot of potential
> > and thus far all of my research has been quite positive. I have
> > already submitted it for a patent and now have patent pending
> status
> > allowing me to safely post it here. I'm iterested in getting some
> > totally unbiased opinions.
> >
> > Here is a link to a flyer showing the product:
> >
> > http://www.johnteel.com/PopupMicroLiteFlyer.pdf
> >
> > Would you buy this product?
> >
> > I plan to present this to various catalog stores next week to
> verify
> > interest.
> >
> > Comments, good and bad, are most appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > John Teel


New Product Opinions

Re: [spiers] Re: New Product Opinions

Hi Don,
What is a provisional patent?



"John"
ions.com> cc:
Sent by: Subject: [spiers] Re: New
Product Opinions
spiers@yahoogroup
s.com


09/19/2006 12:38
PM
Please respond to
spiers






Don,

Thanks for the comments. You're only the second person out of over
40 now that I've polled on various other forums that isn't interested
in buying this product. The response has been more positive than
even I would have ever expected.

As for the patent, John is an extremely bright and knowledgable
person who has helped me tremendously; however, even he's not
perfect;) It's not a sin to contradict him. This was submitted for
a provisional patent which only costs $100 so why not do it? I agree
with John about the patent if it's going to cost thousands but why
not do it for only $100. Sure can't hurt.

Thanks again for your comments.

John



--- In spiers@yahoogroups.com, D Low wrote:
>
> Nice idea, but sorry, this product is not for me. I know my remote
well enough that I can use it in the dark without having to read the
text. The few times that I need to, I will turn on the light. I
personally like the remotes where the buttons can be illuminated.
Even then, I rarely use it.
>
> Just wondering why you patent the idea which contradicts to what
John Spiers teaches?
>
> Good luck,
> -don
>
> John wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I have a new product which I believe really has a lot of potential
> and thus far all of my research has been quite positive. I have
> already submitted it for a patent and now have patent pending
status
> allowing me to safely post it here. I'm iterested in getting some
> totally unbiased opinions.
>
> Here is a link to a flyer showing the product:
>
> http://www.johnteel.com/PopupMicroLiteFlyer.pdf
>
> Would you buy this product?
>
> I plan to present this to various catalog stores next week to
verify
> interest.
>
> Comments, good and bad, are most appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> John Teel


New Product Opinions

Re: New Product Opinions

Don,

Thanks for the comments. You're only the second person out of over
40 now that I've polled on various other forums that isn't interested
in buying this product. The response has been more positive than
even I would have ever expected.

As for the patent, John is an extremely bright and knowledgable
person who has helped me tremendously; however, even he's not
perfect;) It's not a sin to contradict him. This was submitted for
a provisional patent which only costs $100 so why not do it? I agree
with John about the patent if it's going to cost thousands but why
not do it for only $100. Sure can't hurt.

Thanks again for your comments.

John



--- In spiers@yahoogroups.com, D Low wrote:
>
> Nice idea, but sorry, this product is not for me. I know my remote
well enough that I can use it in the dark without having to read the
text. The few times that I need to, I will turn on the light. I
personally like the remotes where the buttons can be illuminated.
Even then, I rarely use it.
>
> Just wondering why you patent the idea which contradicts to what
John Spiers teaches?
>
> Good luck,
> -don
>
> John wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I have a new product which I believe really has a lot of potential
> and thus far all of my research has been quite positive. I have
> already submitted it for a patent and now have patent pending
status
> allowing me to safely post it here. I'm iterested in getting some
> totally unbiased opinions.
>
> Here is a link to a flyer showing the product:
>
> http://www.johnteel.com/PopupMicroLiteFlyer.pdf
>
> Would you buy this product?
>
> I plan to present this to various catalog stores next week to
verify
> interest.
>
> Comments, good and bad, are most appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> John Teel


New Product Opinions

Re: New Product Opinions

Congratulations! It's a bright idea!

If the product is really small and sturdy, it'd prove to be quite
useful.

-Mukesh
========

--- In spiers@yahoogroups.com, "John" wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> I have a new product which I believe really has a lot of potential
> and thus far all of my research has been quite positive. I have
> already submitted it for a patent and now have patent pending
status
> allowing me to safely post it here. I'm iterested in getting some
> totally unbiased opinions.
>
> Here is a link to a flyer showing the product:
>
> http://www.johnteel.com/PopupMicroLiteFlyer.pdf
>
>
> Would you buy this product?
>
> I plan to present this to various catalog stores next week to
verify
> interest.
>
> Comments, good and bad, are most appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> John Teel


New Product Opinions

Re: [spiers] New Product Opinions

Nice idea, but sorry, this product is not for me. I know my remote well enough
that I can use it in the dark without having to read the text. The few times
that I need to, I will turn on the light. I personally like the remotes where
the buttons can be illuminated. Even then, I rarely use it.

Just wondering why you patent the idea which contradicts to what John Spiers
teaches?

Good luck,
-don

John wrote:
Hello all,

I have a new product which I believe really has a lot of potential
and thus far all of my research has been quite positive. I have
already submitted it for a patent and now have patent pending status
allowing me to safely post it here. I'm iterested in getting some
totally unbiased opinions.

Here is a link to a flyer showing the product:

http://www.johnteel.com/PopupMicroLiteFlyer.pdf

Would you buy this product?

I plan to present this to various catalog stores next week to verify
interest.

Comments, good and bad, are most appreciated.

Thanks,
John Teel


Monday, September 18, 2006

JennAir

Folks,

I bought a JennAir outdoor grill, after getting permission from the Mrs., of
course, from
Lowe's Home Improvement. I decided on JennAir because it came out in the '50s',
and this
part of the house we are maintaining the 1960's look and feel. (It is a remodel
work in
progress.) JennAir is the top of the line, although the Kirkland brand (Costco)
gets top
rankings). As far as I could tell, JennAir is made at the same place with the
same materials.

The Kirkland version is nominally lower price, but I asked the Lowes Manager for
10% off, and
he gave it to me. They know and I know they have to clear the shelves for the
Christmas
merchandise now, so it was an easy deal. (The check-out gal was did not believe
me, so i
had to get in another line, where the clerk verified the deal.)

Recall earlier this year, the Chinese wanted to buy Maytag, and what an outrage
that was?
Well, Whirlpool got it, which means they got JennAir and Hoover as well.

So I assembled the grill and the instructions carry this notice: JennAir is a
Trademark of the
Maytag Corporation and is used under license to Lowe's Companies, Incorporated.

This formulation means Lowes came up with the particular design, and you'll only
find it at
Lowes, and they slap a JennAir label on the Lowes Design. This is how these
things work.

And here is the fun part: Made in China. So while we argue and battle over
putting labels on
products, the Chinese are not allowed to own this, but they end up making the
products
anyway.

John