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Ready to stamp "patent pending" on your invention? Then you need to file a provisional patent application (PPA), an inexpensive way to claim your hard work. With a PPA, you'll have time to figure out whether you can make a profit from your creation before you invest more time and money.

With Patent Pending in 24 Hours, you have all the forms and information you need to get the job done! Find out how to:

*evaluate hurdles to patentability
*write a clear PPA
*prepare informal drawings of your invention
*conduct a patent search online
*understand basic patent law
*complete all forms required by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
*file your application
*modify your invention after filing

Few guidebooks offer such a comprehensive guide to building codes and interior projects as The Codes Guidebook for Interiors, Fourth Edition. Its wealth of information and easy-to-search format saves research time and effort for any architect or designer, whether you are planning to design a new building or renovate an existing one.

The only guide devoted exclusively to codes applicable to interiors, this award-winning resource provides jargon-free explanations of all the major codes, standards, and federal regulations pertaining to the construction, alteration, and maintenance of commercial and residential interiors of all sizes. The easy-to-navigate format allows you to quickly find specific code topics and their relevance at each stage in the design process. You will find important code information on everything from occupancy classifications and fire protection systems to plumbing requirements and finish/furniture selection. Dozens of examples and an enhanced set of illustrations, including sample floor plans, show clearly how codes apply to actual interior projects.

Revised, updated, and expanded to account for the many recent code changes, the Fourth Edition of this hailed resource provides:

• The latest coverage of the 2006 ICC codes, including the International Building Code.
• Comprehensive explanations of the NFPA codes and standards, including the 2006 Life Safety Code and the 2005 National Electrical Code.
• Introduction to new code concepts based on new and upcoming codes and standards, such as sustainability issues, energy-related issues, and emergency egress.
• Detailed coverage of all related accessibility issues based on the ADA Accessibility Guidelines and the most current ICC/ANSI A117.1 accessibility standard.
• Up-to-date information on working with code officials and documenting projects.
• The newest code tables, design examples, diagrams, and project checklists.
• A thorough review for interior designers and architects taking the NCIDQ and ARE exams.

Running spy networks overseas. Tracking down terrorists in the Middle East. Interrogating enemy prisoners. Analyzing data from spy satellites and intercepted phone calls. All of these are vital intelligence tasks that traditionally have been performed by government officials accountable to Congress and the American people. But that is no longer the case.

Starting during the Clinton administration, when intelligence budgets were cut drastically and privatization of government services became national policy, and expanding dramatically in the wake of 9/11, when the CIA and other agencies were frantically looking to hire analysts and linguists, the Intelligence Community has been relying more and more on corporations to perform sensitive tasks heretofore considered to be exclusively the work of federal employees. This outsourcing of intelligence activities is now a $50 billion-a-year business that consumes up to 70 percent of the U.S. intelligence budget. And it's a business that the government has tried hard to keep under wraps.

Drawing on interviews with key players in the Intelligence-Industrial Complex, contractors' annual reports and public filings with the government, and on-the-spot reporting from intelligence industry conferences and investor briefings, Spies for Hire provides the first behind-the-scenes look at this new way of spying. Shorrock shows how corporations such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Lockheed Martin, SAIC, CACI International, and IBM have become full partners with the CIA, the National Security Agency, and the Pentagon in their most sensitive foreign and domestic operations. He explores how this partnership has led to wasteful spending and threatens to erode the privacy protections and congressional oversight so important to American democracy.

Shorrock exposes the kinds of spy work the private sector is doing, such as interrogating prisoners in Iraq, managing covert operations, and collaborating with the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans' overseas phone calls and e-mails. And he casts light on a "shadow Intelligence Community" made up of former top intelligence officials who are now employed by companies that do this spy work, such as former CIA directors George Tenet and James Woolsey. Shorrock also traces the rise of Michael McConnell from his days as head of the NSA to being a top executive at Booz Allen Hamilton to returning to government as the nation's chief spymaster.