I made a few minor changes to the ol’ blog tonight. First, I added my logo to my RSS Feed… let me know if that breaks anything. Second, I added a blogroll, just because I read a number of great blogs, and I figured they deserve some exposure. If you feel left out of the blogroll, just ask… I think I got everyone, but I’m only human, and it’s late.
Frightening Dream…
February 12, 2005 by
I had a dream last night where I was older, and my memory had begun to fade. That’s not the frightening part. The frightening part was that medical science had discovered that you never really loose any of your memories–they were all intact, in your mind, just awaiting retrieval. It turned out that the reason we became forgetful in old age wasn’t failing memory, it was an inadequate retrieval system. As we got older, we had so many memories accumulated, that our minds just couldn’t search them fast enough.
So we all had personal Google interfaces to our minds.
Yes, I dreamt that I had a personal Google interface in my own mind, and I was using it to recall my own memories.
Frightening.
Stupid Exam Mistakes
February 10, 2005 by
We had a review session last night for one of my exams last semester. Yeah, it’s been over two months since we took the exams, but apparently the law moves slow and academics move slower.
Anyway, I thought I would share with you a mistake that I can only attribute to nerves since it was my very first exam in over 10 years out of school:
“Because John Doe did not die, Mr. Stabby is not guilty of murder.”
(Duh)
“However, he may be liable for murder under the deadly weapon doctrine.”
(Um, you know, if Doe had died.)
I actually laughed when I read that… apparently, so did my prof.
Is this bean your bean? No… aparently not.
February 9, 2005 by
If you haven’t seen “the Bean” at Millennium Park (which is actually by Anish Kapoor and called Cloud Gate) you should. It’s damn cool. Don’t go until summer, it’s undergoing work right now, and besides, it’s cold here.
But when you do go, be careful what pictures you take:
Karen Ryan, press director for the park’s project director:
“The copyrights for the enhancements in Millennium Park are owned by the artist who created them. As such, anyone reproducing the works, especially for commercial purposes, needs the permission of that artist.”
[Via IP News Blog courtesy New (sub)Urbanism]
Mac Users: Advice Needed
February 9, 2005 by
Calling all Mac users… you know you’re out there… 🙂 I need some advice. Two things, really:
1. Do I sell my G4 and get a Mac Mini? I have a dual 800MHz G4. I do love it, but damn is it big. And I have a tiny condo and a tiny office. My PC is a Shuttle, so you know I love the small. I used to do video editing on the G4… but now I have a G5 at work, and well, with school, I barely have time to do much else.
If I sell the G4, I could offset the cost of a sweet little mini that would look great on my desk, and use my existing monitor, etc. However, I would like to occasionally run Final Cut Pro and DVD Studio Pro on it. What do you think?
2. Does anyone know of a good KVM switch for USB devices?
Okay, not necessarily Mac specific. But I have a USB Keyboard and a USB mouse that I would like to use for both my Mac and my PC. Most of the KVM switches I’ve seen are for PS/2 devices. I have found a few, but none that look, well, very good. Any pointers?
The Pitfalls of Biglaw: Part Deux
February 8, 2005 by
I was having a chat the other day with some folks about Biglaw, and the subject of the Yale Numbers came up. We got to wondering what the typical first-year associate makes, hourly, based on those numbers. So here it is:
Based on what seems to be the industry average for starting Biglaw Associates, $125k per year.
Target: 1800 Billable.
Reality: 2434 Hours at work.
Hourly Rate: ~$50/hr.
Target: 2200 Billable.
Reality: 3058 Hours at work.
Hourly Rate: ~$40/hr.
Now, granted, many firms offer yearly bonuses, so that can push the hourly rate up… except that you don’t get bonuses for being a low biller…
…in fact, I did a little digging, and (granted, this is old data) but at one Biglaw firm, first-year associates got a bonus based on–you guessed it–hours billed. The bonus for 2200 hours at this firm was $15,500. Raising the hourly rate to $46/hr.
It’s not hard math to do, but I wonder how many law students ever bother to do it.
Low Moments in Super Bowl Advertisting
February 6, 2005 by
Winner: Anheuser-Busch
The ad was a “Thank you” to our troops, it featured an airport full of people applauding as troops, presumably returning from the Gulf, got off their plane. Where are the troops who are missing arms and legs? Or the casket draped coffins?
Whether you opposed the war or supported it, the ad was in bad taste. Anheuser-Busch was exploiting the image of our armed forces to sell beer.
Runner-Up: Fox
For using “Sunday Bloody Sunday” as the “theme music” for a Super Bowl promo spot. Catholic or Protestant, on the actual Bloody Sunday (January 30, 1972) over a dozen protesters lost their lives when fired upon by occupying British army soldiers. In 1998, Tony Blair opened a new inquiry to try to determine the truth of what happened that day–the new report is scheduled to be issued in 2005. Using it to promote football is just in bad taste.
Honorable Mention: Las Vegas
“What happens here, stays here?” Do they really want that to be their slogan?! It conjures images of dead mob informants, rotting in the dessert. Or soulless husks debased by gambling or alcohol addictions. I mean, c’mon, how “Leaving Las Vegas” do they want their image to be??
Which one?
February 3, 2005 by
“Mr. Martinez, Republican of Florida, made his debut speech on the floor in both English and Spanish, telling Hispanic Americans that Alberto R. Gonzales, President Bush’s nominee to be attorney general, is ‘one of us.'”
Now which “one” do you suppose he really meant? Rich? Republican? Shady member of the Washington power-elite?
Warren Buffett is cool…
February 2, 2005 by
…no, seriously. He’s cool. Check out some highlights from his conversation with Darren Johnson.
Pony Up the Points!
February 2, 2005 by
Jeremy Richey is encouraging everyone to donate their Lexis Points for tsunami relief (via the Red Cross). Just sign into your Lexis account and “shop”… you should see a link to donate to the Red Cross Tsunami relief.
C’mon people! Pony up the points! What the hell were you going to use them for anyway?! Spend the points on something useful!