The Original Intent of the Earl of Sandwich

Ann Althouse goes medieval on modern-day perversions of the Earl of Sandwich’s dream. I heartily concur. See The Sandwich Manifesto

Good Morning Gloucester on the Pregnancy Story Follow Up

Joey over at Good Morning Gloucester was approached by a journalist from Marie Claire magazine who was seeking a comment on the Gloucester “pregnancy pact” non-story. (I blogged on this here)

Joey had a brilliant encounter with her. He concludes:

If the media that reported on the Gloucester would have spent just a little bit of time here like Jana, instead of rehashing stereotypes from behind a keyboard in Plaineville USA they would have got the right story instead of regurgitated misrepresentations.

You really should read the whole thing though.

Lets hope that Marie Claire’s writers and editors aren’t the same kind of lazy and unethical asshats that write for TIME magazine.

Blood Alcohol Champion!

Wow… Stanley Kobierowski, 34, of North Providence Rhode Island was arrested with a … wait for it… a .491 blood alcohol content.

Lets put that in perspective for you. This is the highest reading that Providence police have ever seen in a person who survived.

The legal limit in Rhode Island is .08. A blood alcohol of .3 is classified as “stupor,” .4 is “comatose” and .5 is considered fatal, according to the health department. (source)

Hat Tip to A Public Defender

Death to Voicemail!

Techcrunch says “Think Before You Voicemail” and I wholeheartedly agree.

The whole Techcrunch article is worth reading, but it boils down to this:

Voicemail is dead. Please tell everyone so they’ll stop using it.
…
It takes much longer to listen to a message than read it. And voicemail is usually outside of our typical workflow, making it hard to forward or reply to easily.

Voicemail is an out-dated form of communication. I find it really annoying to leave a voicemail and even more annoying to receive one. I don’t even have voicemail on my cell phone. This annoys a few of my less with-it friends, but it keeps me happy.

I have caller ID, and I call everyone back when I get a missed call message. Even better, I have TEXT MESSAGING. If 13 year old kids can use it, then grown ups can learn to use it too. Think about how wonderful texting really is. It forces you to figure out exactly why you are communicating with someone and what you have to say and boil it down to a 160 character synopsis. That makes it very easy for the recipient to prepare for the call back, either professionally or emotionally.

Professionally, voicemail sucks. As a lawyer who bills by the hour, I can tell you that the clients who text me have smaller bills.

Even on a personal level, texting is much better than voicemail. Nothing is more annoying than listening to my little sister go on and on as if she is talking to a real person. I keep doing that hand-in-a-circle motion waiting for her to get to the point. Usually, she never does. I just delete her messages as soon as I hear her voice, and then I call her back. My wife, on the other hand, is a text addict. A text saying, “u pick up milk?” is much better than a call that interrupts what I am doing at the time. Even “miss u” is wonderful. That way I can put my office phone on do not disturb for a five minute, “I love you” call when I am working late. I don’t think my marriage could survive if Jennifer used voicemail instead of text messaging.

Please, lets kill voicemail.

Hat tip to Ann Bartow.

The Dude…

Dedicated to Scott and Jon.

Lessons Learned from Square Watermelons

A cool article from Hard Knox Life.

Goodbye Windows!

This is my first blog posting from my new Mac.

I went over to Windows during law school, because you had to have special software to access Lexis and Westlaw, and they only made it for Windows. Finally, after 9 years of hating every computer I have used, I’m back.

Windows is for suckaz!

More tangential ruminations on D.C. v. Heller

As I dwelled on what D.C. V. Heller meant for First Amendment rights, it appears that William Patry was similarly ruminating on how D.C. v. Heller illustrates how the Court interprets Constitutional clauses. This being Patry, naturally he focuses on the copyright clause. See Guns and Copyright.

Sex offender wins the lottery

I’ve argued that if you go to jail, you should get a bill for that stay, payable from any windfall profit you may get in the future, lottery winnings, or tort awards.

Here’s proof that this is a good idea:

According to the Corrections Department’s offender profile, [Fred] Topous pleaded guilty to breaking and entering charges in 1984 and 1988 and to assault with intent to commit sexual penetration in 1999. In the latter case, Topous was charged with having sex with a 13-year-old girl, USA Today reported. (source)

And in your Beavis & Butthead moment of the day, from the same story:

The Michigan Lottery told Grand Rapids television station WOOD that anyone can play the lottery except those under 18 and those who work for the agency.

Yes, the radio station’s call letters are WOOD.

HT to 12XU

Celtic Pride - Sweet 17

Somewhere, Red Auerbach is lighting up a cigar. And right here, my inner middle schooler is still recovering from a sleepless night.