December Update Goodness

Well, the first third of December is now over, and first up I need to note (for my future reference) that on Friday, Dec. 8, 2006 we had flurries that finally killed off some of my flowers. Prior to that, we'd never actually spent enough time below freezing to kill anything.

Of course, the high today was in the lower 50s.

I am still working as a contract attorney, doing document review.

For now, I'm fairly happy doing that, particularly so long as they can continue to provide solid 40 hour weeks (or better.)

And, I'm looking forward to going home to see my family in two weeks! I'll fly out on the Saturday before Christmas, and then return on January 3rd, very early in the morning.

Election Day Yay!

I get to vote! Woo-hoo!

Costume

I'm curious about the attire you are choosing for this event. Are you dressing like a vampire?
-Terri

As it turns out no, but vampire was definitely where I was headed when I walked into the Halloween Store down on Delaware Ave. But once inside, I realized I could go in a different direction: gangster.

I just got home from the store, and I'm wearing my gangster outfit. I bought the $5 fedora seperately. But most importantly, I bought spats!

Oh, and I also bought white paint for my face so I can be a zombie gangster, or ghost gangster, or something. Anyway, that's the plan!

Party Plans for Halloween

I just bought my tickets for Dracula's Ball on Halloween.

Good News Concerning My Bar Results

At about noon today the bar results were released, and I believe the first words from my mouth were "Thank You Lord." I did indeed pass the Pennsylvania Bar. I am not yet a lawyer, but I will be one very soon.

You can look me up here.

So a great worry is now lifted from me.

Let me again thank all of the people who have wished me well. I appreciated all your kind words and thoughts.

And now I'm to bed in a few minutes so put in another day of work tomorrow.

So it's tomorrow, eh?

The PA Bar Results are coming out tomorrow, October 11, 2006. Not Friday, as had been orginally scheduled. Which means that everyone else at work who'd also taken the bar were paranoid that the release could happen even earlier...like today. So far, that hasn't happened.

If I don't pass I'll be annoyed about the expense and hassle of taking it again in February, disappointed certainly, but it's not a big deal: if I don't pass, I'll take it again and probably will pass.

Still, I reckon I may be a bit distracted at work tomorrow waiting for the results. Hopefully I'll manage.

For now I'm just nervous.

Replacement Lavender

Today I finally received my box of lavender plants from burpee. These plants are to replace the plant stolen earlier in the summer. But this time, I've filled a large green pot, the identical twin to the pot now holding the okra, with six lavender plants.

Lavender is a perennial, and so the idea is to let the plant affix its roots now, in the waning days of the growing season, so that come spring it will be able to take full advantage of the summer.

While I was outside I also watered everything, and noted that, while they are not blooming, the nasturtiums do look like they may put out some blooms before the month is done.

Tomorrow...Back to Work

I left from Clarksville at 6 or so (local time) this morning with my brother, Mom, and Dad. We shared breakfast at the Capitol Hill Grille, where I managed to get a last country-ham biscuit in before flying back to Philly.

This was a happy trip. All of my immediate family in one place at one time. And on Saturday the Pruter family reunion, where I got to see a great number of my relatives and enjoy their company beside Couchville Lake.

Weekends!

I just finished a weekend trip to NYC. It was wonderful, if a bit tightly scheduled. And next weekend I'll be taking a flight to Nashville for a family reunion and to visit with my nephew and niece! It will be a blast.

In the meantime, I don't have any pictures, but I wanted to note that my second planting of Nasturtiums has proven very attractive to some green caterpillars, and that in my okra plant there hides a two-inch plus grasshopper who eyes me warily.

At this point of the year, though, I have no interest in killing any bugs. All the plants have done their primary jobs, and so if insects are interested in muching down on some leaves more power to them.

Hour 41

Overtime begins with the first minute after billing 40 hours in one work-week. (For this employer, that is a Monday through Sunday billing week.)

Tonight, when I left I had worked 41 hours so far this week. Every hour tomorrow and this weekend will be counted at time-and-a-half.

Sometimes, if you pray for work, you get it in spades.

Container Grown Okra

Here is a picture of my Okra plant (Baby Bubba Hybrid). Thursday I moved it to the larger green pot. I had been a little worried about repotting a plant that was actively producing seedpods, but my plant took to it like a champ. In fact just today I boiled up one of the pods to eat. With the temperatures here in the mid-eighties, the okra pods grow fantastically quickly: flower one day, mini-okra the next, four inches the next, and finally six to seven inches after three days.

You'll see some scarring: it was caused by the hot weather while I was away taking the bar. The okra resisted production for a few weeks after that, but now seems to have recovered.

Big Bright Happy Flowers

A law jorb

So, I've gotten my very first law job: document review!

I started last Wednesday, worked but suddenly we ran out of documents to review...

The cool thing is that we get paid, to READ!

What a country!

The bad thing is, well, when we run out of documents, we stop reading and getting paid for it. Alas.

But next week I'm going to try to hit 70 hours! (30 hr of 1.5 Overtime.) It'll rock.

The End of The Post-Bar Vacation

Hi All!

Earlier today I returned from New York City via bus, thus ending my post-bar whirlwind week-o-vacation.

After the mall thursday, I headed back home for a day. That night I ran into the estimable Horrocks and companion, and tried out Crescent City.

Saturday I flew up to Providence, RI and got a ride up to my friend Crandall's Summer BBQ. Great fun, including vast quantities of food, drink, and folks (there were about 50 people at the Party.) I stayed over Sunday and flew back to Philadelphia Monday morning. After a dead-tired nap I finally answered my phone calls, and went to go have dinner and watch Clerks II with Bill, Terri, and Tom! Not only was that a blast, but the next day I zipped up to New York (PS don't try the #94 train, appearently it'll be delayed often), and caught up with them again (along with my special mystery guest) and ate dinner with them in a sadly un-air-conditioned Bubba Gump. Still, the food was great and the party convivial!

Earlier today I took the slow route back home, and have been watering my sadly wilted plants.

Regarding the Bar: Meeting the Bogeyman in Open Combat

I met the Bogeyman.

He threw some strong punches: Essay Question #6; an irritating series of mortgage and lien recording questions; ridiculous joint-tenancy fact patterns. I cannot say I passed for sure, but neither would I be surprised if I succeeded.

So the Bar and I both made respectable showings, and now we've each retreated from the field.

The results should be posted mid-October, and then we'll see if I'll be visiting King of Prussia in February for a rematch, or if any future visit to the mall is purely voluntary.

Bar's Tuesday and Wednesday

The exam is Tuesday and Wednesday. Late this afternoon (or early evening) I'll head up to the Holiday Inn Express at King of Prussia, verify that everything is where I think it is, and then I'll do a little light shopping before the exam.

Personality Test

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Also, Bar Prep continues to be unpleasant

Instead of enjoying a BBQ, I was rereading Bar Bri study materials.

Cleaning out my locker

Thursday I went up to school, enjoyed an Iced Coffee at the Bookstore, and cleaned out my locker. I felt sad cleaning it out, although removing my blanket triggered a fond memory of the time I camped out and took a nap on the lawn.

I've been eating okra every couple of days, thanks to the plant on my doorstep. (Supplemented, when needed, with frozen okra.) Stir-fried and microwaved, mostly. If I had one of these I'd probably be preparing a whole lot more corn-meal breading.

Zinnia on a Hot Day

It's taken me a while to get it growing nice and solidly, but the Zinnia is now doing a great job. Gorgeous flowers.

The Basil plant that used to be in my window is enjoying the sunshine. Note that it's now blooming again. The small little green plants around the base of the basil are marjoram.

One week of study left.

More Plant Theft!

My lavender plant was stolen! The lavender, in the white pot on the left, is seen here in a photo I took on the 13th at dusk.

While I am very disappointed at the loss, I've gone ahead and ordered new plants and pots from Burpee and Amazon respectively. There's not enough time in the season to grow the lavender from seed, so I've ordered the plants instead. Also, when the pots arrive, I'm going to pick up some

Regardless, I have one more day of work, and then I'll switch to study-only mode for the rest of the week. The bar exam is one week from this tuesday.

Tomorrow

I know it's been a few weeks since the last posting: as it turns out I did eventually recover from my sore throat.

Tomorrow is my last day in "class" for Bar Bri. The rest of the week I'll be studying on my own when I'm not at work.

Here in my neighborhood there's been a spate of vadalism: lots of graffiti. I'll try to post some pictures of the miscreant's work later, along with some more flower pictures.

The Dangers of Itunes

I've had a sore throat since friday, and unfortunately instead of getting better by Monday, it got worse. So I've spent the last 72 hours sleeping some 50 hours.

Idle hands are the devil's workshop, so I went to enjoy harmless fun provided by Apple: the Itunes Store.

Now over the years, I've had quite a bit of fun at Bob Dylan's expense. But every once in a while I really want to hear one of his pop tunes. While I could blame illness, instead I'll give credit where it's due.

Thank you Bob Dylan for "Lay Lady Lay".

Other purchases included more Ben Folds Five, Blondie, New Order, Traffic, The Who, Chemical Brothers, Gorillaz, Bush, Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse, Madonna, Laura Branigan, Cake, Blur, and David Bowie.

Are you sure you like cats?

These cats share a facial resemblance to a certain austrian who failed as a painter.

(Thanks NRO.)

A new picture of blooming action

Live Music in my Neighborhood

Tonight I went to listen for a while to music presented at Bardascino Park (less than half a block away, on the south-west corner of 10th and Carpenter.

The music was fine, and seeing all the families sitting around together was incredibly heartwarming. I don't see enough small children running around in my daily life.

Tomorrow in Bar Prep news...3 hours on PA DUI.

Bar Prep is Tedious

Currently, it's almost 10 AM.

If I had managed to wake up at 7:20, I'd just now be nearing the first break in a three hour lecture on PA Professional Responsibility.

Since I'm not there, I'll have to pick up a videotape, or find a time to watch it at one of the other Philadelphia area Bar Bri sessions.

My goodness, this is tedious. Some of the reading is not bad, but as a whole this daily grind of classes and material is quite exasperating. And it means that my entire day is consumed: first classes, then work, then home and whatever I manage to do with the "homework".

The intensity of my external focus in combination with the stress of adapting to a different schedule temporarily destroys my equanimity. It is an unpleasant feeling to be so out of balance, and to know that the imbalance will continue for two more months.

Fortunately, next week is something of a breather; only two days of class for folks just taking the PA Bar (the other days are training for the NJ Essays).

This bar prep foolishness is so bad that looking for a job is starting to appear a welcome distraction. And, I assure you, I hate looking for jobs.

The Permalink doesn't seem to be working, but today, at least, Anthony works a similar theme as his latest post.

Bar Prep, Diet and Fiber, and Cafe de Laos

I've been swamped with Bar prep and work. But even so, I've managed to accomplish a little, like setting up a pretty good budget household budget process for the rest of the summer, and even investigating savings plans for the future (after all, eventually I'll convince someone to hire me, and when that happens I'll need to start building up some reserves.)

I've also been trying to make some improvements to my diet. Of course, I'd tried the same thing earlier in the year, but now I've got a little more control over my time, and I'm finding it easier to prepare stuff at home. One of the big problems when I was going to school is that the classes began at 6 PM. If you leave work at 4, the transit from West Philly to Temple takes about 30 to 45 minutes. That gives a good hour to prepare for class, but not long enough to eat a proper meal.

Which reminds me, I seem to recall having just 25 minutes or so for lunch back in elementary and high school. A terrible policy, and a poor preparation for adult life (where most people are much better off if they eat slowly, rather than wolfing things down.)

Anyway, as part of improving my nutrition, I've been trying to add more fiber to my diet. Which got me curious, why exactly do doctors suggest adding fiber to the diet, anyway.

It turns out that fiber does two things. One, it promotes intestinal health by making it easier for the intestines to push everything on through (specifically, the fiber absorbs water, increasing bulk, which in turn triggers peristalsis) and two, it combines with the cholesterol, which is then excreted, rather than absorbed.

See this article from the Mayo Clinic for more information.

Finally, two weeks ago I went for a late night dinner (9:45 PM) at Cafe de Laos, which is right around the corner at 1117 South 11th Street. The room's decor, with lots of wood and elephant sculpture was great, and I also enjoyed the food. I forget its name, but my entree was sinus-clearing hot and delicious.

For a second opinion, try Philly.com.

Other people to check out

Every once in a while, I try to play Quizzo.

But check out the man, myth, and legend, Johnny Goodtimes.

A report from the field

Graduation was wonderful!

Last week I returned to the Bar Bri classes and work at the Computer Connection, a combo which will be continuing on through the end of July, when I take the PA Bar. For the time being I'm more focused on Bar prep than looking for a job, but I'll try to keep my eyes open if I see anything here in the Philadelphia area. If someone somewhere else wants to hire me, I'll have to figure out the bar implications then.

Now, on to the flowers:



This is the pot that used to be indoors. On one hand, it seems a little scraggly. But this plant is supposed to flower best under difficult conditions, and note the beautiful jewel red color. That's just a fantastic flower.



Here is the windowbox. This is (except for a little topping off) the same dirt I used for the Beets last fall. So the dirt should be fairly exhausted. I suspect that's helping to cause some of the yellow leaves towards the bottom. These plants just started blooming Wednesday, and as you can see, the effect of the color against the green background is just terrific.

Graduation!

Tonight was graduation, and I think it went off quite well. We managed to make good time handing out the diplomas and seeing everyone was a blast!

Thank you Tom for coming! And thank you Bill for calling and wishing me well.

Now I'm exhausted, and I think I'll get to bed.

Also, the McCormick and Schmick's at Broad Street is really, really nice. We had dinner there after the graduation.

Mom and Dad are Here in Philly!

Whoo-Hoo!

Of course, I think Mom's not impressed much with my cleaning abilities.

All of her children are special in their own way, but when it comes to housekeeping it would appear that I'm very special indeed.

Tomorrow...sightseeing ahoy!

Text of my Prepared Remarks

Evening Class Speaker’s Speech


By Adam H. Davis, May 18, 2006
(To be delivered at the Temple Law Commencement Ceremony)


My friends, it’s been a long time, but I would like to say a few words concerning the law of agency.

We today enjoy high honor, and are properly proud of the hard work, the painful travails born to earn these diplomas.

And, personally, I have known no finer men and women than my fellow students, my colleagues. To know you is to be proud of you; to be numbered with you is awfully humbling.

But I spoke of agency, and I meant it.

It is my happy duty to stand and speak for my friends, and say a few words on their behalf. Today is so special because our family and friends have come here to join us.

So first, let me say, We’re Sorry!

Let me explain.

As evening students, we have juggled life, work, and study. Yet law school alone demands, at its hard points, more than a day’s effort crammed in 24 short hours.

How many vacations cut short, legalistic digressions, lonely bedrooms, spent bank accounts, and unanswered calls, emails, and letters stand against us in accusation.

It is a hard, and singularly adult lesson, that to pursue excellence requires sacrifice, sometimes voluntary and sometimes not, from the people who love us most.

But today is a day of gratitude and joy; not sorrow, and certainly not remorse.

Gratitude for our professors, for the administration, and the support staff who keep the school running day and night. And appreciation for the day students and LLM students who shared our classes. And I should personally thank the Bookstore, for the restorative powers of their large iced coffees.

And today is a day of joy, because we can now go forth and serve. To be a lawyer is to be an agent, a servant. Today we may begin to serve our families, our friends, our communities, our nation, and our world more excellently. And we do so with the humbling recognition that we couldn’t have made it to here alone.

My fellow students, I have neither time nor voice to say how much you mean to me. Know how blessed I feel to have journeyed this far with you, and how much I look forward to seeing you in the years to come.

Again, for all who have come to be with us today, thank you so much. Carry that thanks to everyone who could not be here, as well. Mom and Dad, I love you very much.

Thank you all: it has been a wonderful honor.

New Google Toy

Slate pointed me to Andrew Sullivan's post on the new Google trends analysis feature.

Rather than for such heady investigations as the consequences of repression on sexual desire-

Langston Hughes comes to mind: Or does it explode?

-I looked up a sartorial term with considerable Old South connotations.

I did go, and it was a blast

I wanted to hear more stories from newspaper publisher Jimmy Tayoun. But I was also happy to see David Oh, who ran a few years back for City Council, and is now serving (in addition to his regular job as a lawyer) as the republican leader of the 3rd Ward.

This could be a blast

Check it out, I may go tonight and listen for war stories of Philadelphia Ward Leaders.

Also, it looks like a new law may take some of the more egregious polling places here in Philly out of service.

"All Done" & "Notes on Cleaning My Bathtub"

So Monday I handed in my exam for Antitrust, and as I announced to the Deans standing around, I really did not know how I felt.

It is a passing strange emotion to know that not only is the work done for this semester, but it is done forever.

Susie (for whom congratulations are in order!) seems to have been hit with a similar feeling. And it looks like some Columbia folks finished up, too!

I went to the main bookstore to pick up my gown, and then I went, as I did regularly for 3 1/2 years, to the Law School Bookstore and drank an iced coffee and read the New York Times. The subway took me home, and then I took a nap. Around 2 AM I woke up and went out for some House of Chen.

Today I bought cleaning supplies, because my apartment is a wreck, and I want it halfway presentable when my parents come up next week.

I discovered that I don't know how to get my bathtub clean. Well, I know how to get it clean enough for me, but I discovered that getting it sparkling was harder than I thought (I had figured I could just use a sponge and leave the everyday shower-cleaning stuff on longer than usual. But time and a soft sponge didn't make any progress.) So I tried the "scrubbing bubbles," Formula 409 with Bleach, and finally Soft Scrub and a non-abrasive scouring pad.

The spray-on foam was useless. The 409 with Bleach turned most stuff white, but there was still this noticable residue. The Soft Scrub and scouring pad, plus my labor, did eventually clear most everything away, but it took me close to an hour!

If it hadn't worked, I'd have hauled out the Comet, and then considered Brasso.

(Out of curiosity I just looked it up, and the scouring agent Brasso uses is quartz. Which means that it wouldn't just remove grime, it would start removing the fiberglass itself-in addition to whatever the solvent would do.)

Fixing a False Economy

Yes, I'm still writing the exam, but check out this post about one man's attempt to actually improve the lot of workers.

A couple of pictures

Pot of nasturtium flowers (they are normally turned round facing the sun.)

And, after sharply cutting back a basil plant that had gone wildly to seed, I dumped a lot of tiny sweet marjoram seeds into the pot. they've formed a bright green bed that will have to be significantly chopped at once they start to grow.

This weekend is not terribly satisfying

One more day, and then it's complete!

Until I meet with the Dean next Monday about the graduation speech. And Bar Bri next tuesday. And all of the cleaning I've put off during the exam period.

Rejected first lines for the speech include:

Now I can tell you what I really think...

So, yeah, last night I got so wasted...

I'd like to say a few words in defense of the 2nd Amendment

Hey, before I begin, I really need a job; anybody out there need a guy?

Is there anyone in the room who has not accepted Christ?

My last 4 hour exam...tonight

Tonight I get to take the Securities Regulation Exam, and then tomorrow it's back up to school to check out a 74-hour exam for Antitrust. The 74 hour exam gets clocked in, and clocked out, so it doesn't have to be done at school. Instead I'll simply eat sleep and sweat antitrust for the weekend.

So the real live end of school is getting closer all the time.

Oh US Airways, will you never learn

Check out this post.

Unfailingly polite, but incompetent.

Pictures

This Thursday is my exam for Securities Regulation. But since I've been getting all hot and bothered asking myself "what, exactly, is an offer? And how is it really connected to conditioning the market?" I've decided to cool off and give the readers what they really want...pictures of plants.

First (above), a nice shot of a tree planted by the TreeVitalize partnership. A formerly empty stretch of sidewalk now looks much nicer.

Second, a shot closer to home: my lavender, stonecrop, and strawberries to the right.

I am particularly thrilled that the strawberry plant is doing so well. The plant is quite attractive, and just now is displaying its third bloom. And the first bloom, from last week, has already given way to the start of a small green strawberry! I've made sure that every two weeks the strawberry gets an extra push of fertilizer, (I gave it a hit of miracle grow today, as a matter of fact,) and intend to make sure that it gets a good supply of water. I am hoping to have the first strawberry of the growing season before Graduation (May 18). That would be most fantastic.

There's an Election Coming Up

The Committee of Seventy, an indispensible non-partisan guide to Philadelphia politics, has the details on a ballot measure we'll be seeing on the May 16, 2006 Primary Election ballot.

As you may recall, there's been some suggestion of corruption in Philadelphia.

If enacted, this measure directs the Mayor to appoint, subject to Council's approval, a 5 member Board of Ethics, with guaranteed funding of at least $1,000,000 for the first two years.

I'm also curious as to whether the local ward committee members have any plans for fundraisers before the primary.

I blame the Bee Gees

Tonight I wanted to go to Johnny Rockets for dinner. I picked up a newspaper around the corner ($1.25 for the Wall Street Journal?) and then stood at the front waiting to be seated.

Unfortunately, "Stayin' Alive" was playing. At Johnny Rockets, there are some songs that, alas, the waitstaff must dance to.

The problem was that appearantly I showed up just as the song was starting.

You may not recall this, but "Stayin' Alive" runs for about 8 minutes. When you're standing there, waiting for someone to take you to a seat, eight minutes is a long time.

Long enough, in fact, that I gave up.

So now I'm walking down South Street again, thinking about where to eat.

I take a fateful right turn, and wind up at The Famous 4th Street Deli.

I'd seen the place for many years, but appearantly they've only begun serving in the evenings in the last year--hence I'd never eaten there.

The food, the decor, and the service were all swell. But if you feel guilty about leaving food on your plate, be advised that the brobdingnagian portions mean that you'll be carrying a lot of food home.

For the Philadelphia Inquirer's restauarant critic Craig LaBan's review, here.

Circadian...

...just one of the many forms of rhythm I don't have.

Scanning my links, the U&PU Blawg pointed me off to a cool blog on sleep research. (Or, perhaps more properly, chronobiology.)

Jonah Goldberg has a good idea

Let the Iraqis vote about us.

Psst. The next big thing will be...

High Dynamic Range Displays.

Instead of one big backlight, lots of smaller, white LED backlights that are controlled as a matrix along with the LCD panel. Result is a huge jump in the contrast ratio between black and white on the image.

Looks cool as all get out.

International Law Programs at Temple Recognized

It's one of the reasons I came to Temple in the first place. Nice to see that they got to issue a press release and crow a little about the international law curriculum.

Hedging Real Estate Risk

Tuesday, as I was wandering around in an exam-prep haze, I picked up a copy of the Financial Times ($) to read with my meal at the South Street Diner.

I read the article on the dearth of LBOs, and the one about the developing a taste for the stock of super high calorie burger purveyers. But it took until today for me to read the article on Housing Options "Hedge around your home" written by Doug Cameron.

My parents have had to move frequently. And yet, because they have had to move according to the dictates of the Department of Defense, they had little opportunity to hold on to a particular piece of real estate in order to get the best price. That is, frequently they had to sell into a soft market, and frequently had to buy at a premium.

One problem with selling a house is that the price will eventually swing along nicely with the long-term-average for the area, but any particular house, being sold at any particular time, could go for more or for less. The real estate market suffers from an information defect relative to, say stock, because every combination of house and land is considered unique in the whole world. With a stock, you know that if someone, anywhere, just bought it for price x, then you can probably sell it for price x yourself: the individual shares are identical in the bundle of rights they convey to the holder. This leads to excellent reliability in reported prices for shares, while estimates for "how much is my house worth" will vary wildly.

Now, what I've always wanted is the ability to purchase a contract to protect yourself against declines in the price of your home. Say that, for instance, you bought your house for $100,000 dollars. Wouldn't it be nice to get someone to promise that, if you sell your house two years from now, if you sell it for less than $100,000, that they will pay the difference. In other words, if you wound up selling your house in two years in a soft market for $93,000 the holder of the contract would send you a check for $7000 dollars.

Now, you might ask, why would anyone take the trade? Simple, because you would have to give them money for the protection today. (In my example, let's call that fee $1,000--real financial types could estimate the real amount.) And, if the house isn't sold, or is sold at anything above $100,000, the homeowner doesn't get a single cent from the contract.

Now, as it turns out, the system announced in the FT Article is going to be more complex (and frankly, I don't have the time right now to figure out all the details.) From what I can tell, it will use an index based off of housing sales for particular markets, but the underlying idea is the same.

Quoting FT:

A similar shorting strategy would allow homeowners planning to move within a limited time to lock in the current value of their property, with the contract paying out the difference, or at least part of the difference, if house prices decline before their planned move.

Trading should start next month, and here's the link and the brochure (pdf) from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Outlining

Outlining Criminal Procedure. Mmm.

Is this exam material easy, or am I just so completely clueless it just seems straightforward?

Honor Code Violations

For virtually the entire time I've been at law school, we've had no reported honor code violations. It's made being an Honor Code representative very easy. But in the past 3 weeks we've gotten 2 notices from the Dean of violators.

We aren't given the names, but these folks have done stupid stuff: one person spent too much time in a free-slot exam. Three folks found an electronic copy of a paper, and then submitted it as their own (i.e. they stole someone's paper.)

Just in case anyone ever reads this who is thinking of going to law school, know this: cheating in law school is exceptionally serious business.

Because so much depends upon the trustworthiness of lawyers, the profession is extremely sensitive about anything in your past suggesting dishonesty.

Forget your grade for the course, that'll be an F: four months of hard work, gone.

The problem is that to be a lawyer, you must pass the bar, and the bar requires both the skills of being a lawyer (the stuff tested on the bar exam) AND good character.

While I can understand the pressure of law school, and it's possible to make a mistake and still be a good person, academic dishonesty makes me especially angry for a more personal reason.

Cheaters all harbor a common rationalization: everybody does it.

Well, you know what, not everybody does it.

I haven't.

Indeed, almost all of students do what they're supposed to, and accept that sometimes that means getting a worse grade, or working harder than they'd like to get the grades they're hoping for.

Law school grading is competitive: everyone is on a curve.

Cheaters are filthy little thieves of honest students' grades.

Strawberry

When the strawberry plant grows a bit, I may yank the nasturtiums from the borders (or I may simply make sure they grow over the sides.) That bloom is the promise of fruit to come.

How to Procrastinate

The last programming course I had was based on Pascal back in 1994 at CMU. Prior to that were two high school programming courses (interpreted BASIC on Apple IIs), and a crash introduction to C at the Tennessee Governor's School for the Sciences in the summer of 1990.

Friday I bought Beginning Programming with Java For Dummies (2nd. Ed.)

Since it's an introductory book, most of the examples are focused on using text input and output. And guess what, using text input and output it all looks suspiciously like C from 1990.

The biggest difference I've seen so far is the depth of the API and the huge jump in power in the development tools. I just downloaded a copy of NetBeans IDE 5.0, after watching a demo, and it looks really cool.

There are just times in life when only an "if" statement will do.

I wish I had a macro lens

Because if I did have a macro lens, this picture would be much clearer. And you could see all the cool frilly bits. As it is, you can get a sense of the color, and that's about it.

The Sacrifices of Law School

When I read Bill's post about watching the buggy races at Carnegie Mellon's Spring Carnival, I was remained yet again of one of the non-obvious sacrifices that law school requires from me.

The only reason I'm not in Pittsburgh this weekend, visiting all the wonderful people there, is because of law school.

But that sacrifice, though painful, is fairly straightforward. I don't get to see my friends or watch the races, but its part of the work necessary to obtain a law degree.

But there's another sacrifice, too. After all, my friends have to miss me, too. And if my presence could have brought them even a little joy, then that sacrifice is one they have made without any say in the matter.

And, worse, they don't get a JD out of it.

I've been thinking about how to say all this at Commencement.

Our family, and our friends, have given up a part of us, a natural and perfectly right claim to our time and attention, so that we students may pursue our dreams.

The End of School

Most of the time, as I zip through my daily routine, my mind is elsewhere.

I'll be reading, or contemplating problems, or praying, or just talking on a cell-phone. But this Thursday I tried to take special care to be aware of the day, since it was the last like it I may ever have.

First, when I woke up, I didn't rush. I didn't have to, I couldn't sleep past 7:30 anyway. I reckon it was the excitement: the last day of school. It's only been four years, but I don't remember what my last day at Pitt was like. I can't remember which classes ended the final day.

You know, it occurs to me, the University of Pittsburgh has a much earlier graduation than most other schools. I wonder-I just checked my diploma-the diploma date for Pitt, and thus the graduation was April 27, 2002. So the night of my first exam (Criminal procedure) will be the same day that I graduated from Pitt.

My last day of school was a gorgeous spring day, with the cherry trees doubled-over with blooms, flowers everywhere poked up, and abundant sunshine.

After work, I drank my usual iced coffee and read the New York Times at the bookstore.

And then the classes. First antitrust, in K2B (that's Klein Hall, room 2b.) And then Securities Regulation.

Not much fanfare. For the most part I guess the need to prepare for exams, and the bar, takes some of the enthusiasm out of celebrating.

But at 7:30, Professor Porrata-Doria took a moment to note if there were any graduating students in the class. It's a smaller class, but I think four folks raised their hands. (It's the last scheduled class hour for an evening student-we don't have friday classes.)

After that, a trip to the Draught Horse, and then the subway back home.

Graduation Note

Today I won the run-off election for Evening Class Speaker.

On May 18th I will have the opportunity to speak on behalf of the 4L class at Commencement.

I'll have a chance to thank my fellow students so much for their friendship and hard work. To thank the faculty and staff for their dedication, and for their friendship.

And it will be my honor to speak to our friends and family assembled, to recognize the sacrifices they have made so that their loved ones could engage the difficult work of study of the law.

Window Pot of Nasturtiums Ready to Bloom

The first flowers from my spring pot of nasturtiums are preparing to pop out. I just noticed them this evening. For what its worth, the effect of the red popping out against the dark green leaves is even better in person.

Hopefully it'll be in bloom by tomorrow afternoon!

Problem in the IE Address Bar

Microsoft released a patch tuesday to address a number of software vulnerabilites (and some IP rights issues.)

Afterwards something odd happened: the IE address bar stopped working normally. I know a lot of folks don't manually type in URLs, but I do. After the patches installed there was a change in the system: when I typed in google.com in the taskbar and hit return (or enter) nothing happened. IE just sat there, looking at me. If I typed it in as http://google.com it would go just as it normally would. I checked in firefox and netscape and they hadn't been affected.

Turns out it was an incompatability with an HP driver. And, happily, MS published a fix: it takes a little registry editing, but I just did it, and the repair took.

Gambling

Could it be that Donald Trump has chosen the best site for the coming Philadelphia casino?

Inga Saffron suggests that the city may be best served by keeping the slots away from the river.

Make Bella Vista Prettier

I live in Bella Vista, which is the home to the Italian Market.

I walk around a lot, too, and something has bugged me almost as soon as I noticed it.

Wires.

Cable, telephone, electrical. Look up and there's a rats' nest of cables everywhere. Now, I don't know how long this part of town has been electrified, but let's imagine that it happened back in the 1930s. That means that these neighborhoods have had 60+ years of ugly wires and cables overhead. At the very least its been 30 or 40 years...look at all of the huge trees with 'v' cuts in them to protect the wires.

This strikes me as the kind of thing that new construction ought to be paying for. Just like speculative money helped lay down a lot of dark fiber during the boom of the 90s, why not nab the speculators who are bidding up condominium rates here in Philadelphia to bury all of these cables. The benefits will accrue to both the old housing stock and to the new. The city could even sell bonds if it needed to--surely there's some bond outfit at a bank that could use some fees.

Certainly it'll be expensive, but otherwise inertia may lead to leaving these blasted poles in place for another 70 years.

The Last Week of Class...Ever

This is the last week of law school classes, then the exams start on April 27. Sometime this week the stress will start becoming ridiculous, and I'll be just generally a more miserable human being until pen has lifted from the last blue-book.

Since I'm graduating, everything has to be in by May 10, but I'd really like to be finished by the 8th or 9th.

Since Law School doesn't teach you the law of any particular state, most folks will attend bar prep courses. To be a lawyer, I must pass the bar. I'm optimistic I'll pass, but because the consequences of not passing are so bad (9 months of limbo as a JD who cannot practice, paying for the bar again, even harder to find jobs) I went ahead and am going to Bar Bri.

Bar Bri classes start May 16 and 17, with the 18, 19, 20, and 21 off for graduation. And then it's back to class monday-friday, mornings from 9 to 1, with occasional afternoons, from May 22 until about a week and a half before the bar. The Bar Exam is on July 25 and 26, out at the Valley Forge Convention Center. (I'll probably rent a hotel room out there, because it would be ridiculously nerve racking to take public transportation out in the morning.)

Nooks and Crannies

I realized when I was writing the prior entry that I wasn't sure where the term "nooks and crannies" comes from.

Fortunately, the Word Detective has the answer.

Invaders on the Sedum Matrona

Today when I went out for class I checked the plants and noticed something new.

The Sedum at this point has lots of nooks and crannies where the new leaves connect to the stems. Hiding among the leaves were little black specks that resembled big pepper flakes (about 2x or 3x regular pepper.)

Since the Sedum isn't edible, my first instinct is to douse the whole thing in insecticide (recall that last year I had quite a bit of caterpiller damage.)

Yet I may wait a bit. While I never catch them doing it, I know that birds do visit my pots from the feathers they leave behind. Songbirds would be quite happy to eat caterpillars, once they get big enough to be noticable. If the black specks are aphids, then ladybugs will be happy to eat the interlopers.

I've also noticed a little damage to the lavender plant. Only a little, but a few leaves appear to have been cleanly snapped off. I like to think it was from a parent explaining that some plants smell nice, and that the least damaging way to take a leaf from a plant is to snip it off (rather than rip it.) Lavender doesn't grow especially quickly, particularly right now since it's still cool. But hopefully with the day-time temperatures in the lower 70s (and probably 5 to 10 degrees warmer with the southern exposure on my front porch) the lavender will start getting the signal to grow.

And finally, no seedlings have popped up yet in the white planter (the one I used last year to grow beets in). I put 8 nasturtium seeds in there, the vining type, which should poke through the earth by the end of this week, assuming no freak winter weather.

While nasturtiums are among the easiest of flowers to grow, they bloom best in poor soil. Potting soil, by design, is actually a great growing medium. So as it is I'm hoping that the beets last year sucked all the nutrients from the soil. Otherwise I'll get lots of leaves, and very few blooms. Still, the leaves are attractive, which will look nicer than the empty black dirt I've got hanging out on my windowsil right now.

Weather Report

Today it is finally sunny again, after several gray days of chilly winds.

Rather than go outside, I've been cooped up here at home, finishing off my bar application. Sadly, my printer is being a bit balky at the moment, so I'll have to fill out some of the forms at work tomorrow. And pick up a $500 cashiers check from my bank to send with the final paperwork.

I may take a picture outside later of how the plants are doing, but as of yesterday nothing looked terribly exciting. There looked to be a little new growth on the strawberries, which was heartening.

All but one of the zinnia seedlings looks dead; one in the corner might pull through. Replacement seeds are on the way from Burpee and should be here in the next week. If the trooper seedling makes it until the sunshine it'll have the pot all to itself, otherwise the new seeds will go in.

If I were smarter, I would have tried to get two or more of my classes as pass/fail, because I have no enthusiasm for studying for the exams. In the last semester of the last year of law school the bar exam, and hunting down a job, have much greater purchase on my attention.

But, in 39 days I graduate.

Leaping Forward

As it turned out, I went to sleep last night at about 8, and stayed that way until about 7 this morning. So I was blissfully unaffected by the change in the clocks.

Except that I had to figure out what to do at 7 in the morning on a Sunday (a day I generally sleep in on when I don't wind up having to work at the store.)

So, it being the Italian Market, and my green thumbiness activated by the warmer weather, I went out and got omelette fixings in addition to supplements to my growing medium stockpiles.

Above, from left to right are pots of lavender, the large pot of stonecrop (Sedum 'Matrona'), a pot with strawberries in it, and a pot with Zinnia seedlings (var. Zowie.)

The Sedum did a great job surviving the winter, and has responded to the warmer temperatures with strong growth.

The growth is too small to see clearly in photographs with my camera, but when I was checking my pot that I placed the cactus seeds in I noticed a little pink nub poking out of the center of the pot. This is the first sign I've seen that the cactus seeds really were viable.

Law School Prom (AKA Barristers' Ball)

Tonight (March 31) was Temple Law School's Barristers' Ball. An occasion for over three hundred people to eat, drink, dance, talk, and flirt. Semi-formal, women were generally more adventurous than the men, who mostly wore suits. In my case, with a nicely orange tie.

This year I went dateless, but ran into lots of folks I knew (although I was saddened that more of my year didn't make it out. 4Ls Represent.) And Joe came, looking suspiciously like a lawyer.

This year the ball was held at the Ballroom at the Ben, on Chestnut between 8th and 9th streets. Appearently also popular for weddings. A beautiful space, well organized food service, and a cool little bar balcony for people-watching.

Quiet on the Posting Front

Yeah, I know I've not written much. It's just all the petty annoyances of being in your last semester of law school. Like looking for a job, doing your class work, and sending out thousands of dollars worth of bills. Oh yeah, and sometime I need to get my taxes done.

Blah. Wake me up when it's summer.

Are you Experienced? Not Necessarily Stoned but...Beautiful

Hey, some people do college and law school in 7 years.

Other people do it in 14.

As it turns out, I am one of the other people.

Law Day

From 4:30 to 6:00 I was at Law Day, an opportunity for networking and meeting the judiciary. It was fun, and there was a great spread of food.


April 21 Last day of classes
April 27-May 12 Final examinations
May 18 Commencement

Oh Goodness

So, my Spring Break was kinda lame. But now I'm starting to recover my normal vigor (or, if you're from the Kennedy clan, "Vigah".)

Saint Patrick's Day, here I come.

So, how's that warm weather outside?

Yesterday the Weather Channel says it was 76 degrees here in Philly. Right now, at 3 on Saturday, it's 65.

If nothing else, I hope it keeps down my heating bill.

I'm so sick of being stuck at home (in addition to just being sick generally--fever's broken, but now the cough is bad painful) that I'm going to try going outside to get food, fresh air, and iced coffee.

Oh, and in A-Team News.

Spring Break Update

I've been sick a lot this semester, and it is very annoying.

Yesterday I felt rotten when I got up. My hair hurt. I was chilly in bed. And when I started walking to the subway station it seemed like I would never get there. I think it took me 20 minutes to walk what should have taken no more than ten.

I went to work, and started feeling even worse, so I called up Temple's Health Office, and scheduled an appointment. Every gust of wind cut through me, and the pain in my skull was incredible.

So I chat with the doctor, and he thinks I don't have the flu, but another viral infection. With my asthma and past respiratory troubles, the goal is to avoid coming down with pneumonia.

So today I can barely move. Right at the moment I feel hot, rather than chills...I suspect the ibuprofen I'm taking is helping a bit, as is the albuterol and the Sudafed.

Now, as noted in the title, this is the week of spring break.

I had really hoped to be doing something more exciting.

But as it is, I believe I'll be spending my last spring break alone, drinking gatorade, and downing medicine.

Sarcasm

Scientific evidence that authorial tone is difficult to convey via email.

(H/T to Never Eat Alone Blog).

I take it as more support for my modest proposal.

Mmm Federalism...

Check out these notes from the Federalist Society Student Symposium Feb 24 and 25 at Columbia.

Also, I bought a copy of Akhil Reed Amar's new book (which he signed).

A very gracious man, he spoke of the pride he felt in sharing the stage with his former students including:

Professor Catherine Powell, Fordham Law School
Professor Saikrishna B. Prakash, University of San Diego School of Law
Professor John Yoo, Boalt Hall (UC Berkeley) School of Law

Happy Birthday to Me

Thirty-two Years of Adam-alicious Goodness!

And today I'm taking a trip up to New York City for the Federalist Society Shindig. What a blast.

New Word in Antitrust

Tonight we learned a new word!

hendiadys

Section 4 of the Clayton Act requires a private treble damage plaintiff be a "person" who was "injured in his business or property." Is the better reading that "business or property" is a single concept, or two concepts?

Check out this link, for a cool list of arcane linguistic devices.

Pomegranate Growth

Giving in to temptation...for more seeds

As you may recall, I've already spent some cash with the nice folks at Burpee, so why buy more?

I blame Antitrust Law.

Antitrust class last night was extra-long (we are trying to make up for missing a class a few weeks from now.) But while I'm sitting there, trying to focus on the strange death of the Section 1 per se rule (both it and the "quick look" analysis seem to be repudiated by more modern price-fixing cases, at least for trade association rules that have both price-fixing and public safety rationales) but my mind wanders...to gardening.

ORDER DETAIL

Nelumbo nucifera = $ 4.39 Sacred Water Lotus
Coffea arabica = $ 3.84 Coffee Plant
Humulus lupulus = $ 3.62 Hops
Mahonia aquifolium = $ 3.07 Oregon Grape
Mentha x piperita = $ 2.96 Peppermint
Stenocereus thurberi = $ 3.18 Organ Pipe Cactus
Camellia sinensis = $ 4.17 Tea Plant
Punica granatum nana = $ 3.18 Dwarf Pomegranate
----------------------------------------------------
PURCHASE SUMMARY
Subtotal 8 Items ........................... $ 28.41
Postage & Handling .......................... $ 5.00
----------------------------------------------------
Total Order Amount ......................... $ 33.41
----------------------------------------------------
Thanks again for shopping at Whatcom Seed Company !
Whatcom Seed Company
http://seedrack.com/

Two of the plants I am thinking of turning into housplants: the coffee and the cactus. Coffee likes shade and will (after a few years) produce little coffee beans. If I've grown a cactus it was back when I was a kid. I like the idea of trying to grow a nice impressive looking one.

Two of the plants I'm thinking of trying to use as outdoor shrubs. The Oregon Grape is a cold-hearty evergreen from the pacific northwest. A broadleaf evergreen seems like a fine idea here in the dead of winter. Tea plants should also grow without difficulty here in Philadelphia (I'm not sure if they'll keep their leaves in our winters or not.)

I'm still thinking about how I want to use the hops (which are a vine). I may try using it cover the concrete wall in the back alley to the apartment.

The peppermint croaked that I bought earlier this year. It started strong, but moving it to a dim bedroom window killed it. I want to try again, but this time I'm going to be a bit more careful with the environment.

Finally, although I'm pretty satisfied with the pomegranate in my bedroom, I would like to see how it grows when it can get full sun outdoors. And, I may see about sending some seeds down to Mom and Dad. Georgia is quite warm and sunny enough to see really dramatic growth (and possibly fruit!).

Finally, the Water Lotus may not get planted at all this year. But I want to have it if the opportunity presents itself. The Sacred Lotus is famous for its beauty, but it longs for warm still waters and long days filled with bright sun. N.B. 'waters'. It's an acquatic plant. Still, if I ever decide to give it a try, I want to have the seeds on hand. Indeed, the seeds are legendarily tough: some have sprouted despite being over a thousand years old.

Are You Catching Federalist Fever?

This coming Friday and Saturday is the Federalist Society Student Symposium. I'm so looking forward to going I can hardly wait.

Surprise Trip to Boston

The trip wasn't the surprise...the surprise was the point.

Jess (Dave's wife) set up a surprise birthday party for Dave. Pat kindly did the driving to get me to a from public transportation (Amtrak failed again to provide on-time service yesterday, USAir did a surprisingly good job.)

And a good time, as they say, was had by all!

Barry Manilow?!?

Barry Manilow?

Has a number-one album?!

In 2006?

The Sci-fi crew I'd fit in best...

You scored as Deep Space Nine (Star Trek). You have entered the dark side of the Star Trek universe. The paradise of Earth is far from you and you must survive despite having enemies on all fronts. But you wouldnâ??t have it any other way because you thrive in conflict and will know what needs to be done to take care of those around you. Now if only the Founders would quit trying to take over the galaxy. Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 81% Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 81% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 75% Moya (Farscape) 75% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 69% Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 63% Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 56% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 56% SG-1 (Stargate) 44% Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 44% FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) 44% Serenity (Firefly) 25% Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

Snowy Pot of Sedum Matrona

Here in South Philly we got about a foot of snow. As you can see, the stems from the Sedum Matrona stood up to the weight. I'll be curious to see what the little green shoots that had been peeking through the dirt will look like after snow melts.

This picture is for comparison's sake when it's 95 degrees outside. On the left is a beet plant in a pot, on the right is the now-blooming basil plant.

Sunday Snow Day

Today I went out to walk in the snow. It appears the New York Times was not delivered anywhere on South Street, so I made do with a copy of Mother Earth News picked up from the anarchist bookstore (who are all very nice people, by the way) to read as I ate at Johnny Rockets and as I sipped a venti iced coffee at Starbucks.

Late Sun

Around the corner at night

Picture of some Snow falling near the Italian Market

Whoo-hoo Snow

It's finally going to snow. I'll try to snap some photos later tonight.

I'm Going to Miss Arrested Development

I'll miss this show.

Blasted Sore Vocal Cords

My cold has persisted. Today I woke up and am barely able to talk.

This is very annoying. First of all because I like talking. Second, because I'm taking stuff that is working pretty well at keeping my nose almost dry.

Ah well. I should be okay in a few days.

Superbowl Extravaganza

Tonight, I risk the wilds of New Jersey* to watch Super Bowl XL consuming vast quantities of fried foods.

And I get to check out the car pictured here.



*You mean it's not a Temple Owl themed eatery?

Sedum Matrona in Winter

Note that the Sedum keeps putting up shoots!

Also

If you're suffering from a cold, and so you skip a night of class, one of the benefits is that you get to see 24.

Seed Choices for this Spring

It's the end of January, and you know what that means.

Yep.

Seed catalog porn.

They try to excite you with huge blooms and wild colors, all the time claiming it'll be ridiculously easy to grow.

I just sent off $15 dollars to Burpee.

I'm going to try the Zowie Zinnia. They claim it's easy for beginners. I'm a beginner. So it should be right up my alley. Currently, I think I'll try having the plants grow around the Sedum assuming, as seems likely at this point, that the Sedum I planted last year will continue will come back in the middle of my large pot. If I plan it right, I'll get the Zinnias to bloom first, forming a ring around the outside of the pot, and then as fall approaches the Sedum will prepare to bloom again in the middle of the pot.

Before the spring, I'll need to dump some more soil in the big pot. The soil that's in there now has settled over the winter.

Also, I'm going to give another whirl at growing nasturtiums. My hope is that the soil in my front window box is depleted enough from growing the beets (I didn't put any fertilizer in the soil) that it'll support proper blooming. Nasturtiums, unlike some other flowers, have the best blooms in nutrient poor soil.

Photo of a basil getting ready to bolt

If supported, I think the basil plant (on the left) would be about 18 inches tall. I suspect it's flopping right because of the weight of the leaves and because the center of the window gets the most light. It has also started trying to encroach on the space for the beet plant, on the right.

After taking the picture, I clipped off some of the leaves, and cleaned up the debris. In addition, I pushed the two pots farther apart to give the beet a little more room.

Although I don't have a picture of it at the moment, the large pot outside with the Sedum in it is still surprising me. The Sedum just don't want to call it quits, despite the cold overnight temperature's Philadelphia's had. I'm not sure if the Sedum will stick around until springtime, but I have to admit that would be a pretty neat trick for an annual.

Grades Came In

Whoo-hoo!

Three B+'s, and a single C.

The C?

Professional Responsibility.

But C means I pass!

I'm currently just one hour shy of meeting minimum graduation requirements, so I just need to pass one class this semester and I get my JD.

(For those keeping track, the other classes were Comparative Law (Paper), International Law, and Evidence.)

Back at School!

It's the last semester of (what may be) school ever! But for now, I've got to worry about passing at least one of Antitrust, Securities Regulation, or Criminal Procedure I.

Oh, and the bar (in July).

Happy Birthday Todd

Happy Birthday Todd!

He's my little brother who is a junior at Auburn University. I am exceedingly proud of him.

Happy New Years

Woo-hoo 2006!