A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCES ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PORK OBSESSION:  Proof that the Atkins diet has moved from the Beverly Hills Municipal Code to cultural norm:  the trend in applications to the Patent and Trademark Office for carb-related marks.  According to IP Law & Business (which I totally know is sitting on your dining room table, unread, next to the National Geographic and the Economist while Us Weekly does yeoman's duty on the bathroom vanity) everybody wants a slice of the crust-free, sugar-free, fruit-free Atkins pie mark for himself, judging from these numbers:

415 - Applications filed at the PTO for trademarks containing "carb" in 2003.
230  - Applications filed for carb marks in the last quarter of 2003.
100 - Approximate number of applications filed for carb marks in 2002.
55 - Applications filed for marks containing "protein" in 2003.
37 - Applications filed for marks containing "fat" in 2003. (Down from 61 in 2003.)
11 - Companies that applied for "low carb lifestyle" mark in 2003
5 - Companies that applied for "carb conscious" in 2003.
4 - Companies that applied for "carb choice" in 2003.