1. A method of making a pattern for the lost-foam casting of molten metal comprising forming a fugitive foam pattern into a desired shape having an outer surface, coating said outer surface with a gas-permeable refractory skin, and selectively treating a strip of said skin to cause the foam immediately underlying said strip to recede from said skin and form a subcutaneous flow-channel in said surface beneath said strip for directing and speeding the flow of said molten metal across said surface during said casting.
2. A method according to claim 1 wherein said treating comprises applying sufficient heat to said strip to soften and cause said underlying foam to recede from said skin.
3. A method according to claim 2 wherein said heat is applied by contacting said skin with a heated tool.
4. A method according to claim 2 wherein said heat is applied by directing a laser beam onto said surface.
5. A method according to claim 2 wherein said heat is applied by contacting said skin with a jet of hot gas.
6. A method according to claim 5 wherein said hot gas is air.
7. A method according to claim 1 wherein said treating comprises wetting said strip with sufficient solvent for said foam to soften said underlying foam sufficiently to cause it to recede from said strip and form said subcutaneous flow-channel.
8. A method according to claim 7 wherein said treating comprises directing a narrow jet of said solvent on to said strip.
9. A method according to claim 7 comprising covering said skin with a temporary mask having a slit therein conforming to said strip, and applying said solvent to said strip through said slit.
10. A method according to claim 1 comprising covering said skin with a temporary mask having a slit therein conforming to said strip, and treating said skin through said slit.
11. A method according to claim 7 wherein said foam comprises expanded polystyrene, and said solvent is selected from the group consisting of acetone, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, cyclohexane, 1,2dichloro methane, dioxane, ethyl acetate, ethyl benzene, pyridine, tetrahydrofuran, toluene and xylene.
12. A method according to claim 10 wherein said treating comprises applying heat to said strip through said slit, and said mask comprises a thermal shield for thermally insulating such of said skin as lies adjacent said strip from said heat.
13. A method according to claim 7 comprising swabbing said solvent on to said strip.
14. A method according to claim 7 wherein said foam comprises polymethylmethacrylate and said solvent is selected from the group consisting of chlorobenzene, tetrahydrofuran, methylisobutylketone, n-butylchloride, 3-heptanone, and 4-heptanone.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of simplifying task management, comprising:
at a computing device having one or more processors and memory storing one or more programs configured for execution by the one or more processors:
receiving a first task description from a user, wherein the first task description includes a first term;
matching the first term to a first predefined category of entities, wherein each entity has a physical location;
displaying a plurality of entities selected based on geographic proximity of the entities to a location corresponding to the user;
receiving user selection of a first entity from the displayed plurality of entities and storing the user selection;
receiving a second task description from the user, wherein the second task description includes a second term, distinct from the first term;
matching the second term to the first predefined category of entities;
correlating the second task description to the first entity based on the stored user selection of the first entity for the first predefined category; and
updating information for the second task description to include the first entity.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the entities are business entities.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the entities are government entities.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the entities are non-profit organizations.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein each entity is pre-assigned to one or more of a set of predefined categories that include the first predefined category.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the displayed entities are further selected based on pre-assignment to the first predefined category.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein each entity is pre-assigned to a unique predefined category.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein at least one entity is pre-assigned to a plurality of predefined categories.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first term comprises a single word.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first task description comprises a character string and the first term comprises a sequence of adjacent words in the character string.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein each predefined category has a respective set of one or more lookup terms, and wherein matching the first term to a first predefined category of entities comprises looking up the first term in an index that includes the lookup terms for each of the predefined categories, to identify the first predefined category.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayed entities are displayed on a geographic map that includes the location corresponding to the user, and wherein each displayed entity is shown at a respective location on the geographic map corresponding to a respective physical location of the respective entity.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayed entities are sorted in a list based on the geographic proximity, with nearest entities displayed first.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the location corresponding to the user is a home location of the user.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the location corresponding to the user is the user’s current geographic location.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the predefined categories include one of more of dentist, doctor, optometrist, plumber, electrician, locksmith, and florist.
17. A computing device, comprising:
one or more processors;
memory; and
one or more programs stored in the memory configured for execution by the one or more processors, the one or more programs comprising instructions for:
receiving a first task description from a user, wherein the first task description includes a first term;
matching the first term to a first predefined category of entities, wherein each entity has a physical location;
displaying a plurality of entities selected based on geographic proximity of the entities to a location corresponding to the user;
receiving user selection of a first entity from the displayed plurality of entities and storing the user selection;
receiving a second task description from the user, wherein the second task description includes a second term, distinct from the first term;
matching the second term to the first predefined category of entities;
correlating the second task description to the first entity based on the stored user selection of the first entity for the first predefined category; and
updating information for the second task description to include the first entity.
18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein each entity is pre-assigned to one or more of a set of predefined categories that include the first predefined category.
19. The computing device of claim 18, wherein the displayed entities are further selected based on pre-assignment to the first predefined category.
20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs configured for execution by a computing device having one or more processors and memory, the one or more programs comprising instructions for:
receiving a first task description from a user, wherein the first task description includes a first term;
matching the first term to a first predefined category of entities, wherein each entity has a physical location;
displaying a plurality of entities selected based on geographic proximity of the entities to a location corresponding to the user;
receiving user selection of a first entity from the displayed plurality of entities and storing the user selection;
receiving a second task description from the user, wherein the second task description includes a second term, distinct from the first term;
matching the second term to the first predefined category of entities;
correlating the second task description to the first entity based on the stored user selection of the first entity for the first predefined category; and
updating information for the second task description to include the first entity.