It’s a great weekend …to be married to a Buckeye. 🙂
Mod Blanc
September 8, 2007 by
Pilot G2 “Gel Ink” (4) for $8.
Mont Blank Rollerball Refills (2) for $10.
Cut less than 1/8″ of plastic off the end of the Mont Blanc refill and replace the G2 cartridge.
Amazingly fine writing instrument for $7. Net savings of over $200.
I’ve been meaning to try this trick for a while, and tonight I finally did it. It took me longer to open the pen/refill packages than to do the hack.
Now, granted, the pen doesn’t have the same weight in your hand as a Mont Blank, which is part of what makes them such a pleasure to write with. But for the difference in price, I’ll take my mod-G2. It does write as smooth as glass. And if you’re a dork like me who is always losing pens anyway, it’s much better to lose a $7 “Mod Blanc” than a $200+ Mont Blanc.
Yes, I’m a pen nerd.
[Via Instructables]
Yes, I Think I’m a Grown Up Now
September 1, 2007 by
My wife turned to me yesterday and said, “I’m going to call a stripper… and Amy wants us to come over at 4 and smoke some stuff.”
For the record, the stripper charges $85 per door, so refinishing all of the upstairs doors in our house would run us $680. And we _are_ going over to Amy’s later to smoke some stuff. Ribs. And maybe a brisket.
Notes for a Law Lecture
August 28, 2007 by
“There is a vague popular belief that lawyers are necessarily dishonest. I say vague, because when we consider to what extent confidence and honors are reposed in and conferred upon lawyers by the people, it appears improbable that their impression of dishonesty is very distinct and vivid. Yet the impression is common, almost universal. Let no young man choosing the law for a calling for a moment yield to the popular belief–resolve to be honest at all events; and if in your own judgment you cannot be an honest lawyer, resolve to be honest without being a lawyer. Choose some other occupation, rather than one in the choosing of which you do, in advance, consent to be a knave.”
Stephon Marbury: Jackass
August 23, 2007 by
So, Stephon Marbury thinks dog fighting is a sport??
“You know, from what I hear, dogfighting is a sport. It’s just behind closed doors.”
Okay, Stephon. The next time the Knicks lose, would you prefer to be shot, drowned, set on fire, or electrocuted?
Blawg Review #122
August 20, 2007 by
Blawg Review goes back to school with Blawg Review #122. With the school year almost upon us, it’s time for late registration–and you can’t register if you don’t know what courses are being offered. So, without further ado, I present to the Blawg Review Course Catalog.
Your host next week will be the esteemed D. Todd Smith at the Texas Appellate Law Blog. Be sure to visit for the next Blawg Review installment!
Blawg Review has information about next week’s host, and instructions on how to get your blawg posts reviewed in upcoming issues.
Harry Potter and Secrecy
July 20, 2007 by
Seth Godin thinks that the Harry Potter publisher wasted $20 million on security efforts to keep the book under wraps before the release tonight/tomorrow. I think he’s missing the point. They didn’t spend a dime on security. They spent $20 million on marketing. Damn effective marketing, if you ask me. Without the pretense of the “security” the release of the photo images never would have been the headline grabbing stunt it was. The $20 million they’ve ostensibly spent on security measures keeping the book under-wraps has been more effective at keeping the news of the book in the press than $20 million of traditional advertising. Ineffective? Hardly. It even made *me* pay attention–and I’ve yet to read one of the books.
I think his idea of releasing the book with all but the three chapters is interesting. But so what? Then they hype surrounds leaking the last three chapters, rather than the whole book. And what do you gain? Not much. But you lose all that press from the leaking of the whole book…
The secrecy surrounding the release of this book was “security theatre” on a level unmatched except maybe by the TSA. I’m surprised Godin missed that. I think it was a brilliant way to use $20million. Beats the hell out of bus ads.
Sickening.
July 18, 2007 by
Today, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was indicted for dog fighting. Even one dog fight is sick and disgusting. But the allegations against Vick extend to running a *nine* state ring. And taking part in the brutal killing of dogs by such methods as beating, drowning, hanging, electrocution and immolation. Yes, he’s accused of dousing a dog with gas and setting it on fire.
You know who else tourtured and killed animals? Ted Bundy. David Berkowitz.Jeffrey Dahmer.
The torture of animals is a common and frequent indicator of future violence against people. As if the animal cruelty isn’t enough.
I believe in the American legal system and I understand Vick is innocent until proven guilty. But in the meantime, I think the Falcons and the NFL should suspend him pending investigation.
And if even a *fraction* of the allegations are true, he should be kicked out of professional athletics entirely, and spend the maximum sentence (a paltry six years) rotting in jail.
I’m disgusted. If you’re disgusted, you should let the Atlanta Falcons and the NFL know.
Making Up For Lost Time
July 10, 2007 by
I normally don’t see ads on television (thank you, Tivo!) but this week, I did because my wife recorded one on purpose.
It was Elvis Costello shilling for Lexis.
Tonight, my wife comes up to my desk and drops a magazine ad in front of my face. There, in a two page spread…
Elvis Costello shilling for Visa.
For someone who went on Saturday Night Live and broke into Radio Radio, and who has always refused to license his songs for commercials, I guess he’s making up for lost time.
It was a fine idea at the time…
Fun MPRE Facts!
July 1, 2007 by
Yes, I’m going to be taking the MPRE in August. (For those non-law talking types, that is the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, read: ethics test.) I was at school the other day and saw a Barbri review flyer, and since I already put down a Barbri deposit (1st year) I get to take their review for free. Yipee. Anyway, the flyer contain contained these fun facts:
Illinois, Indiana, Kansas and Missouri require a score of 80 to pass. Kentucky, Michigan, South Dakota require only a 75. You can be 5 points less ethical in those states!! But watch out if you are taking it in Minnesota or Ohio… they require an 85, those goodie two shoes.
Best of all, Wisconsin doesn’t require it! You can be as unethical as you want in Wisconsin. Go Badgers!
But the kicker, to me, is that in Illinois you have to have completed at least 60 hours of law school (2 years) in order to take the exam. They wouldn’t want you taking it sooner, you know, because here in Illinois they recognize that after two years of law school you might be less ethical.