Poet's Corner: To Her

Stop and stare;

Look around.

Are you aware

That what

you’ve sought

is what

you found?

So grip her firmly;

Don’t let

Go

Until she screams

And lets you

Know

That she can’t

Live

Without

Your

Soul.

So

stop and stare;

Look around.

Do you now

See

What you have

Found?

Do you not

Feel

Forever bound?

‘Social’ Intelligence: Dress to Impress, All the Way to Success, Part Four

Link to podcast:

<< http://www.mixcloud.com/antonipeychev/social-intelligence-dress-to-impress-all-the-way-to-success-part-four/ >>

As some of you might hopefully remember, a few months ago, I did a couple of articles on general advice on the type of suit and shirts that should go for, depending on how your body was built.

As I was walking around the local shopping mall, the other day, I thought to myself that, compared to women, men really DO have a lot less accessories to go for when in formal wear.

There was the tie, the pocket square, the watch, the tie pin, the cufflinks and...well, that was pretty much it, really. It occurred to me that something was missing; there must be, I thought, a way to improve that.

And then I remembered that I have always been a proponent of the ‘quality over quantity’ approach; why not, then, simply improve the few accessories that we are ‘allowed’ instead of coming up with tons of new ones?

Well, today’s entry will present the reader with a several pretty intriguing (at least in my view) ways of wearing your necktie so that it draws attention (in a good way, of course).

Believe it or not, the knot in which the necktie is tied is as important as the pattern of necktie itself; if not more.

So, if you’ve got some spare time over the Easter weekend, do give the following a shot.

The Windsor Knot

The bulkiest of the knots. Does NOT go down well with skinny ties. Goes well with any tie but best with striped ties. Perfect for interviews and corporate meetings as it is pretty conservative.

The Trinity Knot

A knot that stops pretty much everyone in their tracks. Goes well with all size ties but I personally prefer long, wider ones. Use ONLY on plain bright ties as the WOW- effect is otherwise lost. Can be worn at work and social outings; avoid at interviews and corporate meetings.

The Eldredge Knot

Incredibly difficult to pull off but totally worth it. Use on all sizes of ties. Use ONLY on plain ties (both light and dark colours work well) as effect is otherwise diluted. Can be worn anywhere if you want to be the centre of attention; I guarantee you, heads will be turning your way.

The Truelove Knot

A very demanding knot; much like the trinity, use with caution as it is very pretentious. Use ONLY on plain bright ties, preferably red ones. Do NOT use on formal occasions.

The Cape Knot

A masterpiece; use with wider and longer ties. Use ONLY with paisley- patterned ties for optimal effect. Use on formal occasions and for drawing attention at the speed of light.

The Merovingian Knot

<< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRyRFNVmpbo >>

Italian, pretentious, incredibly difficult to pull off. Use with skinny ties. Also, use a pin to fix it in one place. ONLY pastel- coloured ties- dark yellow, brown, orange, that kind of thing. ONLY use on formal occasions.

The Ediety Knot

The most demanding of them all. Extremely difficult to pull off, ONLY use on brighter patterned ties (NOT paisley or striped ones). ALWAYS use with a tie pin on. Use ONLY on incredibly formal occasions.

I can assure you that, even thought not everyone will appreciate the above, your effort will be recognised by those who are fashion- savvy.

After all, being ‘swag’ is long out of fashion; being stylish is what counts in the end.

‘Everyday’ Intelligence: Leave your Comfort Zone; and Fast

Link to podcast:

<< http://www.mixcloud.com/antonipeychev/everyday-intelligence-leave-your-comfort-zone-and-fast/ >>

I am fully aware of the fact that the above sounds unbelievably simple; so simple, indeed, that many of you will opt to ignore today’s entry as they will surely consider it as a rather pointless narrative which is the product of my having nothing else to write about.

That’s fair enough; mainly because such people tend to think of today as a bank holiday and do not want to be reading about knowledge or limits or knowing no limits- they just want their chocolate eggs.

On an unrelated topic, the next person who wishes me a ‘Happy Easter!’ on Good Friday shall be blocked from all of the social media platforms that I am on.

Easter is on SUNDAY, as for Good Friday, here’s a refresher course:

<< http://www.examiner.com/article/holy-week-what-happened-on-good-friday >>

Going back to the topic, though, most of the people who choose to ignore today’s entry are quite comfortable with the way there life is. They like their 9-5 jobs, being around their family and, occasionally, drinking out on Fridays and Saturdays.

There is, of course, absolutely  nothing wrong int that; especially if you want to live a tranquil and stress free life.

There is, however, one major disadvantage in that, namely: if you live comfortably your whole life, chances are that if something UNCOMFORTABLE happens to you, you will have NO idea what to do.

Let me share a little example as an anecdote.

Back at uni, a very good friend of mine was completely financially dependent on his father and was counting on him at all times.

 Long story short, one day the ATM swallowed his international debit card which, of course, left him without any money (save for the tenner in his pocket).

He used to always drive to uni but that day he skipped lectures and slept throughout the whole day.

Why, you ask?

Well, mainly because he had absolutely NO idea what to do. What was he to use the £10 for? Was he to spend it on some petrol for his car and drive to uni? Was he to buy some food to last him until his new debit card arrived? Was he to go out and get a pint to think things through?

What he COULD HAVE done was to explain to me what happened; I would have then lent him some money which would last him until he got his debit card.

What he chose to do, however, was to stay at home for three days, sleeping most of the time, until such time that his debit card arrived.

The above story mind sound quite unbelievable to you but I can assure you that worse things have happened to me when I first came to England as, prior to that, I had NEVER been abroad before (but more on those some other time).

I am by no means telling you to enroll in the army and go fight some insurgent rebel formation or take up crocodile hunting as a weekend hobby.

What I am merely saying is that, every once in awhile, you must put yourself in situations and do things which make you uncomfortable for several reasons:

1. To find out how you react under such circumstances
2. To prepare yourself, both mentally and physically, for any such future scenarios
3. To show yourself and others that you are capable of anything if you put your mind to it

Trust me, it doesn’t cost that much effort to try and the results are almost immediate.

Have a great Easter everyone.

On Sunday.

Food for Thought: BRICS-a-brac- ANOTHER Development Bank?

 Link to podcast:

<< http://www.mixcloud.com/antonipeychev/food-for-thought-brics-a-brac-another-development-bank/ >>

 

A lot has been happening over the course of the last couple of weeks; most notably, the European Commission has agreed to a Cypriot bailout worth ten billion euros.

But I’m sure you’ve all read plenty on that; in fact, I’m so certain that you have that I have chosen to completely ignore the said (or sad?) topic this week and not comment on it at all as the mere thought of it all makes my blood boil.

Thankfully, my decision (as well as many Russians’ decision, I guess) to leave Cyprus alone did not result in my crying over the fact that I would not have anything to write on today.

Luckily for me, the BRICS block (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) had heard that it was my birthday yesterday and decided to formalise an agreement to set up a BRICS Development Bank.

Alas, they had clearly misread my birthday wish list; I don’t remember asking for ANOTHER development bank.

Prior to delving into any detail on the proposed arrangements to set up the first formal BRICS institution, it is worth mentioning that BRICS countries account for more than 20% of the world’s GDP and have a total population of 2.8 billion (40% of the world total).

Further, they’re on three continents and are, thus, a force not to be reckoned with.

And let us not forget that China is one of them; a country whose economy is predicted to become the world’s largest by 2020 (or earlier…).

Finally, a thing that BRICS countries have in common is that few of them are in the US fan base.

For instance, Russia recently introduced a law precluding American citizens from adopting Russian children.

See << http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/28/world/europe/putin-to-sign-ban-on-us-adoptions-of-russian-children.html?pagewanted=all >>

Also, the US has recently blamed China for spying on its news agencies and private companies and sabotaging their operations through Chinese companies selling hardware which can be ‘potentially hazardous’.

See re former << http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323549204578316413319639782.html >>

See re latter << http://www.nbcnews.com/business/chinas-huawei-zte-should-be-banned-us-lawmakers-1C6335293 >>

The above might, naturally, be mere speculations and simple misunderstandings; yet, in my view, they paint the picture quite well.

Going back to the initiative, however, it’s rumoured that the planned initial available operating capital of the future BRICS development bank will be some £ 33bln.

The role of the bank will be to ‘fund infrastructure and development projects throughout the developing nations’.

The only current outstanding issue that is pulling the project backwards is the countries’ inability to agree on their contribution to the bank’s capital.

It has been suggested that the capital contributed should be proportionate to the country’s wealth.

This, would, however, mean that China and India would have a significant advantage over the other three countries; something which might result in an imbalance in their influence on and control over the bank’s future affairs.

But something tells this author that a formal agreement will be reached sooner rather than later because, speculative as it may sound, there are those who have had enough of the ‘supremacy’ of the US dollar in the world’s markets.

In support of that statement, China and Brazil have agreed to a bilateral currency swap line which permits them to trade up to $30 billion annually in their own currencies.

Doing so moves almost half their trade out of US dollars.

See <<http://www.globalresearch.ca/new-brics-development-bank-announced/5328794 >>

In the light of the above, then, one might well be justified in querying what the true purpose of the BRICS meeting and the decision to set up a development bank to rival the World Bank is.

Time will tell, I guess. For now, it all looks too complicated.

That’s why we should all have a break; and have a Kit- Kat.

A Runt’s Rant: What I’d Like for my Birthday

Link to podcast:

<< http://www.mixcloud.com/antonipeychev/a-runts-rant-what-id-like-for-my-birthday/ >>

Rather than ranting on a random topic today, I have decided to share with you a list of the things that I would like for my birthday.

In doing so, I shall try to be as concise and non- sarcastic as possible; mind you, there’s a very slim chance of that happening.

Here we go then (not in order of importance):

I’d like people to stop pretending they’re stupid

It really does scare me when a person, that I know for a fact is smart, pretends to be stupid just so that he can fit in with his surroundings.

Newsflash: it doesn’t do you any justice; why don’t you just find smarter people to hang out with…?

I’d like people to try and be more positive

And, pray, don’t start yammering about how difficult life is and what challenges you need to go through on a daily basis.

Here’s a quick quote reference which should get you started:

‘I stopped crying for new shoes when I saw that there were people with no legs.’

I’d like people to understand that there’s no such thing as being ‘realistic’

You’re either pessimistic or optimistic; reality is what you make it to be. If you don’t push yourself to the limit, you’ll always be able to find lame excuses.

Toughen up; you see ‘impossible’, I see ‘I’m possible’.

See what I did there?

I’d like people to do what they enjoy doing, turning it in their profession

Ultra simple; if you do something that you enjoy doing, you get better at doing it as you often find ways to improve it and, thus, constantly come up with innovative ideas.

It will kind of make the world a better place, right?

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Albert Einstein.

I’d like people to realise that, whatever the natural calamity, crisis, etc., we’re in this together

Give politics a rest; we’re supposed to be Homo sapiens sapiens.

Judging by what the rest of the world has allowed to happen in Africa and Syria, I’d say that, lately, we’ve been anything BUT sapient, let alone sapient sapient.

Stick together or fall apart; not a very complex concept, is it now?

I mean, seriously, if wolves and meerkcats can do it, so can we…

I’d like people to stop eating McDonald’s

Can’t argue with that.

I’d like more people to know about and take part in TED

Because it’s brilliant and because what initially seems like a small idea can lead to big changes and change the world.

See for yourself -->  www.ted.com

I’d like people to go out more

It’s horribly cold and windy outside; why, on Earth, wouldn’t you want to go out for a brisk walk?

But seriously. Do you think it’s normal for a person to get up, watch the news, go to work, sit in front of a screen for ten hours, get back home and watch telly for another couple of hours?

Fourteen hours worth of exposure; how does that sound?

Tell you what: I went for a twenty minute walk on a rainy night and did NOT melt or anything.

Turns out I wasn’t made out of sugar after all; no offence but you aren’t either.

I’d like a giant Belgian white chocolate chip cookie

And I’m off to get one right now!

Happy birthday to me.

Good Idea, Chap: Municipal Bankruptcy; the Rise and Fall of Detroit

Link to podcast:

<< http://www.mixcloud.com/antonipeychev/good-idea-chap-municipal-bankruptcy-the-rise-and-fall-of-detroit/ >>

Let me begin by saying that I am no insolvency expert and am merely writing this article as a bewildered and shocked observer.

As most of you, I’m sure, are aware, during the last couple of years, a good deal of high street brands have gone bust in the UK including big names such as Comet, Blockbuster, HMV, Game, etc.

Some economists blame the companies for causing their own demise by maintaining an unhealthily high degree of leverage (high debt- to- equity gearing ratios, i.e. more debt than equity capital/ shares).

Others, on the other hand, have pointed out that UK’s state of stagnation (the ‘I’m-not giving-my-money-to-ANYONE’ attitude) and the significant decrease in consumer spending might have triggered the chaotic chain of failures.

Whatever the case might be, the failings of those high street brands have heavily affected the UK retail sector.

It has not only made consumers wearier to spend but also more picky and choosy about what they spend on.

As a result, the media coverage on the above has been phenomenal; judging by the sheer amount of articles and reports on the matter, one might well be justified in concluding that the said failures have truly shocked the everyday reader.

Whether that is because the said reader enjoys seeing big names collapse or is worried about his own country’s retail sector and economic financial well- being is a completely different story.

Leaving any speculations aside, it is a fact that the consecutive failings of high street brands has come as a surprise to the general public as all of the above chains have always been considered as ‘too big to fail’ (as were banks, remember…? But let’s NOT go there…).

Alas, it is quite true that the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Furthermore, if the failings of a dozen of retail chains causes so much kafuffle (love that word), just imagine how much commotion will a city filing for municipal bankruptcy cause!

Unfortunately, you won’t need too much imagination to do that as it is currently happening to the, once glorious, city of Detroit, Michigan.

See <<<  http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/03/01/Is-Detroit-Going-Bankrupt-State-Takeover-Possible.aspx >>

At this point, both you and I are hoping that the above is a distasteful joke of sorts; well, it pains me to say that it is not.

Since 2010, the population of Detroit has decreased by some 25%, leaving it with a total of 700, 000 people; it has gone down from the 5^th to 18^th biggest city in the USA.

The unemployment rate has risen to 18% and the crime rate has almost quadrupled.

In January, a financial plan, which was supposed to resurrect the city, was put into place; it didn’t work.

Now, the city has filed for a Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy and is waiting to go into ‘administration’.

See << http://www.nationalbankruptcyforum.com/state-specific-bankruptcy-issues/what-is-municipal-bankruptcy/ >>

Put simply, a ‘manager’ (an administrator…) will be put in charge of dealing with all financial matters- spending, dealing with creditors, etc. Although the manager’s powers are limited under the current Michigan law, a new law coming into force on 28^th March 2013 will allow the manager to deal with the city’s affairs more freely by introducing new powers and extending existing ones.

The story initially struck me as being quite unbelievable; however, upon doing some background reading, I found out that during the Great Depression, quite a few cities and towns in the US have gone through municipal bankruptcy (none as big as Detroit, though).

The above then begs several questions which are worth pondering on, namely:

• How has the US let a city as big and as important as Detroit go bust and who’s next?
• Will Detroit’s filing for municipal bankruptcy have any draconian international implications or will it go unnoticed?
• Considering that the UK did not do much to save its retail sector (as it was private), how much would the Government be willing to do to save a city, if need be and, if so, how?
• Taking into account the fact that cities can, apparently, go bust, do you still think that your local high street shop closing down is that big of a deal?

Make yourself a cup of hot cocoa and have a think; I dare you.

‘Academic’ Intelligence: On Unregistered Design Rights, Part One

Link to podcast:

<< http://www.mixcloud.com/antonipeychev/academic-intelligence-on-unregistered-design-rights-part-one/ >>

Today’s entry shall opt to provide the reader with a brief overview of the law governing the intellectual property (‘IP’) right of unregistered design (‘UDR’) and will focus on the criteria that need to be satisfied in order for it to subsist.

UDR is most often used to protect the design of machine parts as, unlike registered design, it can protect the design of parts which cannot be seen by the end user.

It is worth noting that, as with copyright, UDR (as the name suggests) is a non- registrable IP right and, as such, is not a monopoly right.

Nevertheless, as with other IP rights, it can still be assigned or be granted a partial of full licence of. Such a grant must be recorded in writing (ss. 222 (2), 222 (3)   Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (‘CPDA’)).

The law governing UDR is contained in CPDA. ‘Design’ is itself defined in s. 213 (2) CPDA as:

“…the design of any aspect of the shape or configuration (whether internal or external) of the whole or part of an article…”

Note that, unlike registered design, the definition of UDR refers to an ‘article’ (which is not defined in the CPDA) and NOT a ‘product’.

The criteria for UDR to subsist are as follows:

1. Originality (s. 213 (1) CPDA)

The design in question must be ‘original’. It must be the designer’s own work (and not copied) AND must satisfy the requirement set out in s. 213 (4) CPDA. Namely, that a design will NOT be deemed to be original if it is “commonplace in the design field in question at the time of its creation”.

Thus, if a similar design exists, the degree of similarity between both designs must be objectively assessed; the higher the degree, the more likely that those are ‘commonplace’.

As for the ‘design field’ in question, suffice to say that the courts have adopted a very wide approach to what that constitutes (including, product market, materials used, structure of the article, etc.).

Finally, ‘at the time of its creation’ refers to the time of creation of the claimant’s design and NOT the time of the alleged infringement.

2. Fixation (s. 213 (6) CPDA)

Design must be recorded in a document or outlined in an article; UDR only subsists with fixation.

There are several designs which cannot be protected by UDR and are, therefore, expressly excluded by the CPDA, namely:

• Method or principle of construction - s. 213(3)(a) CPDA

If a certain design is original but the process or technique through which it was created was commonplace at the time, the designer will be able to protect the original design but will not be able to preclude others from using the said process or technique to make different articles.

• ‘Must match’ - s. 213(3)(b)(ii) CPDA

Id est, the shape of the parts of a product which look as they do solely because they need to do so in order for the product to be complete. Note that, unlike the ‘must- fit’ below, this exception only concerns itself with the APPEARANCE of those parts.

• ‘Must fit’ – s. 213(3)(b)(i) CPDA

If the shape of a design/ product is such as to allow for it to fit with the rest of the product (or another design/ product) it will not be registrable.

As an example, most products used to ‘attach’ lamps, etc. to various surfaces are likely to fall foul of the above

• Surface decoration- s. 213(3)(c) CPDA

Colours or patterns (wallpapers, tapestry, etc.) cannot be protected by UDR.

Although the criteria for establishing a valid UDR are not as stringent as with other IP rights, UDR is one of the weakest IP rights available under English law. This will be better demonstrated in next week’s entry which will primarily focus on establishing a valid UDR infringement claim.

Poet's Corner: Laughter

Teach me laughter,

Save my soul.

Embrace my joy,

Don’t let me fall

In Hell’s abyss,

In times of woe,

Where

Dreams are scarce

And hopes are low.

For, we now stand

Before a foe

That

Loathes us both

And curses all

Who dream of times

Which they recall

As times of plenty,

Times of awe.

So as we stand

And guard our krall,

I pray to you

And all I know

To

Teach me laughter,

Save my soul

Or I will always be

A doll…

…devoid of life;

A mindless thrall...

‘Social’ Intelligence: We See What We Want to See

Link to podcast:

<< http://www.mixcloud.com/antonipeychev/social-intelligence-we-see-what-we-want-to-see/ >>

I might have not mentioned it before but I am a massive Terry Pratchett fan and, as such, I should like to share one of my most favourite quotes of a character of his with you.

‘But, surely, as you move around, people around you wonder how can a skeleton wearing a robe and carrying a scythe walk around, right? They must find it bizarre!’

‘NOT IN THE LEAST.’, said Death. ‘EVEN IF SOMEONE NOTICES ME WALKING AROUND, HE WILL IMMEDIATELY IGNORE ME, CONVINCING HIMSELF THAT WALKING SKELETONS DO NOT EXIST. PEOPLE TEND TO SEE WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE.’

Let’s be honest for a second; how many times have you walked past a bloke in a long leather overcoat and a Mohawk and thought that he was a nice guy?

Not many; more often than not, what you see is what you want to see: a dark persona that listens to hardcore metal bands 24/7 and is, at all times, ready to take out a metal chain and show you the meaning of pain.

Why? Well, mainly because it’s a lot easier to judge and be horrible to people than trying to put yourself in their shoes.

Another reason is that if what you see does not fit in with your understanding of the world, you often tend to either automatically dismiss it or twist it in a way that fits your views.

 A recent example of that is the Cyprian bailout; I’m sure that all of you are up-to-date with the recent developments. Put simply, the European Commission wanted Cyprus to levy a tax on its people’s savings (some 9.9% on savings over 100,000 Euros and 6.7% on those under 100, 000 Euros) and the Cypriot government refused to do it.

I shan’t go into any political discussion; those are best left for next Thursday. What I would like to focus on is people’s reaction to the government’s refusal to implement the European Commission’s proposal.

Some are comparing the situation to the battle of Thermopylae (glorifying the Cyprians); the three- hundred brave Spartans against the wrath of the mighty Persian army.

Others, on the other hand, see the government's refusal to the Commission’s proposal as utterly ungrateful as, in their view, Cyprus should not have been allowed in the European Union in the first place.

Proponents of the former see a tale of David and Goliath in that they firmly believe that Cyprus is being bullied into agreeing to a policy which has the potential to damage its people; in their eyes, a country is a creature formed by its people.

Champions of the latter see Cyprus as a liability, more Asian than European, a spare anchor which needs to be cut loose before it drags the whole ship underwater; in their eyes, a country is an economic entity formed by its financial assets and obligations.

The above example might be unnecessarily political but it clearly demonstrates how we often see the world through our own spectacles.

And until we start using our eyes again, we will keep seeing what we want to see instead of what we have to see.

It is quite true that the world is subjective; yet, we must never forget that subjectivity must always be based on solid and logical arguments and not on shaky and biased beliefs.