Abstract: Provided are, among other things, aquatic apparatuses. In one, an aquarium is at least partially filled with water, and a mirror is disposed within the water, the mirror having a reflective surface area that is between 1-40 square inches. In another, an aquarium is at least partially filled with water, and a mirror is attached to, and thereby suspended beneath, a buoyant object in the water. In yet another, a mirror is attached a buoyant object, the mirror having a reflective surface area that is between 1-40 square inches.

Abstract: Provided is an apparatus for capturing live insects that includes an upper section having side walls, a top cover, and plural openings in the side walls that are large enough to permit insects to enter. This upper portion houses a light source and is well-suited to attracting and trapping insects in the first instance. An enclosed lower section is well-suited to trapping the insects on a more permanent basis. Between the upper section and the enclosed lower section is a funnel, having a wide opening adjacent to the upper section and tapering to a narrow opening within the lower section.

Abstract: Provided is a floating structure for use in an aquarium or other aquatic setting, having a manufactured hollow body with a top side, a bottom side and sidewalls extending between the top side and the bottom side. The hollow body is weighted so as to have a stable floating position in water such that the hollow elongated body predominantly remains submerged beneath the water's surface, but an outer surface of the top side consistently remains above the surface of the water.

Abstract: Provided is a technique for displaying information. Initially, a number of data points is obtained, each data point including an estimated statistic. A measure of the statistical significance for each estimated statistic also is obtained, and a graph of the data points is displayed. According to this aspect of the invention, a display characteristic (such as intensity, size, brightness, hue, saturation or any other color characteristic) of each data point is a function of the measure of statistical significance of the estimated statistic included in such data point.

Abstract: Provided is a collapsible ironing board that includes a frame, a primary board and a secondary board. The primary board is pivotally attached to the frame at the rear edge of the primary board. The secondary board is slidably attached to the primary board such that the secondary board can be slid from a stored position in which the top surface of the secondary board is beneath the bottom surface of the primary board to an extended position in which the rear edge of the secondary board is in front of the front edge of the primary board and the top surface of the secondary board is at least approximately coplanar with the top surface of the primary board. An extendable/retractable shaft also is provided and has a proximal end that is pivotally attached to the frame and a distal end that is pivotally attached to the secondary board.

Abstract: A technique is provided in which a shoe is decorated by placing a stick-on tattoo on the outer surface of the shoe. The present invention also provides a shoe having an outer portion made from one or more base materials, as well as a plain smooth plastic strip which is stitched around its entire circumference to the one or more base materials, so as to be surrounded on all edges by the one or more base materials. The present invention still further provides a method for decorating a shoe in which a first decal is applied to an outer surface the shoe, the first decal is then removed from the shoe, and a second decal is applied to the outer surface of the shoe. According to this aspect of the invention, the first decal is less than one millimeter thick, adheres well to smooth portions of the shoe, and can be removed with no more than moderate effort by only scratching with a fingernail even after adhering to a smooth portion of the shoe for more than one month.

Abstract: Provided is a floating dock for use in an aquarium. In one particular configuration, the dock rides along one or more rails that extend into the aquarium, thereby confining the movement of the dock within the aquarium. Such a dock may be used by aquatic life in the aquarium, e.g., for basking and/or for resting.

Abstract: A novel device which efficiently decodes data encoded with a cyclic code in communications systems where a convolutional code is applied after the cyclic code during encoding. Specifically, the device accepts data provided in time reversed order by a Viterbi decoder which decodes the convolutional code. In a preferred version, the device employs linear feedback shift registers with multiple feedback paths. A set of multipliers corresponding to a set of coefficients is interposed in the feedback paths such that when data is shifted through the feedback shift registers, the device performs division by x for an input bit equal to 0, and, for an input bit equal to 1, performs division by x and then adds xk+m?1. The set of multipliers includes a set of weighting multipliers corresponding to coefficients of a weighting polynomial such that addition of xk+m?1 is performed for an input bit equal to 1.

Abstract: Provided are methods and apparatuses for extracting, transporting and/or releasing various kinds of liquid and semi-liquid materials. The materials may have very high viscosity and may include solids. Generally speaking, the apparatus includes a container, a gateway that functions as a valve without moving parts, and a means for controlling air pressure within the container. In addition, the apparatus may include flexible hoses and/or a separator for separating the solids in the material from the liquids. Applications include industrial and manufacturing processes, construction, dredging, remediation, laboratory, and home-based uses. When used in wells, the invention can bail water, oil, and sediment (cleanout operations). The tools according to the present invention are scalable to nearly any size.

Abstract: The value of a target variable is predicted by obtaining historical values for the target variable at each of several time points and obtaining previously predicted values and currently predicted values for each of several predictor variables, the predictor variables being different from the target variable. Values are assigned to parameters of a forecasting model to obtain the best fit of the previously predicted values for the predictor variables to the historical values for the target variable. Finally, a value of the target variable is predicted from the currently predicted values for at least a subset of the predictor variables using the forecasting model and the values assigned to the parameters of the forecasting model.

Abstract: A method of canceling noise in analog circuits is described along with noise cancellation circuits. Analog circuits are sensitive to noise. Especially in mixed signal environments where digital circuits and analog circuits are combined, the noise generated by relatively noisy digital circuits often cause the analog circuits to produce incorrect output signals. Instead of shielding or separating the susceptible analog circuits from noisy digital circuits, additional circuitry is added where one of the added circuits, denoted as the noise separator circuit, produce only the noise component of the output signal, the first output, of the analog circuit adversely affected by the noise. Then, another circuit is used to subtract the noise from the first output, thereby producing a noise-free output signal. Alternatively, the noise separator circuit can be made to produce the inverse of the first output, including the inverse of the noise.

Abstract: A surgical assisting instrument and device having an elongated rectangular u-shaped body with fasteners extending outward therefrom. These fasteners can be of any number and mounted on the top or sides of the body. The body is affixed vertically on the long handle of a tenaculum or other similar elongated handles of surgical clasping instruments. This permits such surgical clasping devices to be anchored or braced onto a fixed surgical device to provide the surgeon with auxiliary clasping and holding assistance.

Abstract: Communication occurs between a source and a destination over plural communications paths by first identifying content to be sent to a destination via a communications system. After discovering that plural communications paths connecting directly to the destination are available, the content is divided into plural different portions and is transmitted to the destination such that each of the plural different portions is routed via a different one of the plural communications paths.