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« May 2008 | Main | July 2008 »

Red Sox in Second Place

Having lost yesterday 3–2 to the Houston Astros, it’s no surprise that the Sox have dropped into second place.  Quite frankly, the Sox have been playing pitiful baseball recently.

Take yesterday, for example.  They stranded 13 players on the bases, 5 in the first two innings (without getting a run).  Their relief pitching has been plain awful.

Second place?  They’re luck to be there….

RedSoxWhitebkgd

Posted by on June 30, 2020 at 10:13 AM in Business, Entertainment, Games, Sports | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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The Bottled Water Racket

The Washington Post has an informative article today about the ridiculous prices folks pay for bottled water — silly because in most blind taste tests, people can’t distinguish bottled water from tap water.  The reason: it often is just tap water.

Tap water, that is, with a mark-up of 1000 to 10,000 percent.

Don’t get me wrong — some places have nasty tasting water.  Most tap water I’ve had while visiting Florida was awful, for example.

Here in Maine, our water is clean, pure, tasteless and cheap.  Poland Spring gets much of its water from Maine because we have such an abundance of cold, quality water.  I strongly doubt that anyone could taste the difference between bottled water and tap water in Maine.

In these frugal times, why waste money on bottled water? 

Some folks here in Maine say the same thing and are now resisting efforts by companies to take our natural resources and pay little for them.  A recent protest in Kennebunk, Maine shows a backlash against the bottled water industry.

As noted in the Portland Press Herald article, Poland Spring wanted to draw as much as 250,000 gallons of water each day from the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells Maine Water District.  (Poland Spring already gets water from more than 20 wells in eight Maine communities — but it wants more.) 

Protesters helped convince the water district’s trustees to put off a vote on whether to allow the sale to Poland Spring. 

PolandSpringWater

Posted by on June 30, 2020 at 08:53 AM in Business, Current Affairs, Food and Drink, Health | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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$7 a gallon for gas — are you kidding me?

Nope.  As reported last night on CBS news, a new energy report predicts that we could see $7 a gallon gas prices in just two years. 

Two years. 

Just think about what that will do to your budget.  No wonder the stock market tanked yesterday.

Gas-pump

Posted by on June 27, 2020 at 11:34 AM in Business, Current Affairs | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Supreme Court Strikes Down D.C. Ban on Handguns

In a 5–4 ruling, the Supreme Court said that the D.C. handgun ban infringes on the right to own a gun under the Second Amendment.

Read about it here. 

Supremecourt

Posted by on June 26, 2020 at 10:36 AM in Business, Legal | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Federal Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged

As noted in today’s Washington Post, the Federal Reserve has decided to leave the interest rates unchanged for the first time in nine months.  Other months always had a rate reduction but the fed now says the economy is holding up better than it thought and that it’s now more worried about high inflation.

I wonder.

If you ask me, most folks are just as bad off now as they were nine months ago — many are worse off.  The interest rate has already been lowered to 2 percent.

Is the Fed really saying that the economy is doing better — or is it realizing that the rate cuts haven’t done much of anything and that they can’t cut them much lower and have any interest rate left at all?

Interestrate

Posted by on June 25, 2020 at 03:44 PM in Business, Current Affairs, Legal | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Online Prisoner List in Maine Delayed

As noted in today’s Press Herald, the department of corrections in the state of Maine had planned to list online information on all state prison inmates and others who are on probation — roughly 10,000 people. 

As the paper reported: “Officials see it as an aid to police, who would have up-to-date and instant information on a suspect’s probation status, and to crime victims, who could find out whether perpetrators are behind bars.”

Not so fast, said Governor Baldacci.  He wants a thorough public review prior to this website going live.

The Maine Civil Liberties Union expressed concern that the site would include “those who represent little or no threat to society.” 

Hmmm … is it okay to list serious offenders but not appropriate to list those who represent only a “little” threat to society?  And who decides who should be included with the more serious offenses?

Is a repeated drunk driver only a “little” threat?  What about someone who is serving probation for domestic violence — serious offender or not?  Do we have a blanket policy of only listing those convicted of felonies?

Does your state have a registry and if so, what inmates are listed?

Posted by on June 24, 2020 at 10:25 AM in Legal, Politics | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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George Carlin Dead of Heart Failure

The comedy world lost a legend yesterday — George Carlin, 71, died yesterday after checking into a hospital with chest pain.  Full story here in the Washington Post.

He was a wonderul comedian who will be missed….

Here’s a video of George on death:

 

 

Posted by on June 23, 2020 at 12:06 PM in Comedy | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Solo by Choice by Carolyn Elefant

Solochoice

 

Solo by Choice

How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be

By Carolyn Elefant

DecisionBooks

$45.00, paper back, 300 pages, 0-9402019-8-7 (2008)

 

Carolyn Elefant writes the highly popular blog www.MyShingle.com where she provides lots of encouragement for lawyers who are thinking about going solo.  This wonderful book is for all those folks who are frustrated in their legal career and wonder if there is something more. 

            Carolyn captures the focus of her book wonderfully in her preface:

 

Back when you were in law school, you had dreams.  Maybe it was standing before a jury, passionately arguing on behalf of a desperate client … or winning an appeal that would link your name to a new legal precedent … or pulling off a dramatic 11th hour deal that would give your struggling technology client a life-saving infusion of capital.

            But what happened?

            Here it is two, five, eight years out of law school – maybe more, maybe less – and most of these dreams are unrealized:

 

·      You work 60-hour weeks in BigLaw, researching narrow legal issues for clients you never met, toting a partner’s briefcase to court and watching him argue a motion you drafted nights and weekends, and which you know you could argue better given the opportunity.

·      Or, you’re a government prosecutor or Justice Department attorney whose litigation experience is the envy of your large-firm colleagues, but where the work no longer challenges you and you can’t move up any higher without political connections.  Or you want to move to the private sector but your limited tenure won’t bring sufficient value to the firm. 

·      Or, you were let go from a firm because you weren’t partnership material, and now you’re temping at document-review jobs that barely pay the bills.

·      Or, you enjoy your work but you’re plagued with guilt about leaving your children with a nanny five days a week.

·      Or, you just passed the bar, and the prospect of paying off your student loans by slaving away the next seven, eight years on the chance you might make partner has you popping antacid in the middle of the night.

 

Of course, your own situation might not be all this grim, but you’re still haunted by the thought there ought to be greater satisfaction practicing law.

 

Believe me, there is.

 

This book is dedicated to every lawyer who ever wanted to run the show but worried that going solo was career suicide … every lawyer who wanted to solo but didn’t know how to set up the office and make it work … every lawyer who never set foot in a courtroom but dreamed of one day practicing law their way.  In short, this book is dedicated to becoming the lawyer you always wanted to be.

 

            Elefant begins an early chapter by listing six reasons to go solo (autonomy, practical experience, to feel like a lawyer, work flexibility, to own not loan your talent, and career satisfaction) and explains why each reason merits consideration.  She then provides no-nonsense guidelines to follow in planning your solo practice and gives plenty of advice about getting started.

 

            Elefant offers a practical course of action for dealing with clients, billing and fees, generating cash flow, outsourcing and growing your business.  She also has highly informative chapters on both traditional marketing (including Web based marketing) and some nontraditional ideas.

 

            The Appendix is filled with sample business plans, hardware and software basics for starting an office, legal research services, and ideas about creating a sample forms library.  What is also noteworthy about this book is the treasure trove of author notes, solo quotes, sidebars filled with practical advice, and interviews with other solos.

 

            This book is also filled with great ideas for those already in solo practice.  But the real benefit is for those considering hanging out their own shingle.  So if you’ve even had the glimmer of an idea that you’d like to become a solo practitioner, don’t make a move before reading this excellent book.

 

Buy it on Amazon here.

 

Posted by on June 20, 2020 at 01:52 PM in Book Reviews, Books, Business, Legal, Weblogs, Writing | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Flooding Victims

My heart goes out to all the victims of flooding throughout various regions of the country.  The pictures in the papers and on the news of flooded farms, homes, towns and cities is gut wrenching.

So are the scenes of President Bush visiting Iowa.  Here’s what he said in Cedar Rapids:

“Obviously to the extent that we can help immediately, we want to help and then plan for recovery.”

With how he and FEMA handled the flooding of New Orleans, I’d be highly skeptical of any effective federal relief.

Iowaflooding

Posted by on June 20, 2020 at 09:37 AM in Business, Current Affairs, Health, News, Politics | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Celtics Destroy the Lakers 131 – 92

So much for Kobe Bryant — the famed Lakers MVP — carrying his team to the championship.  So much for the glitzy offense of L.A.  So much for all the hype from the west coast.

Game 6 came down to what often wins championships: defense.

The Celtics allowed Bryant only 22 points, stole loose balls all over the floor and made their shots — lots of them.  This blow out of the Lakers leaves no doubt about who is the best basketball team.

Believe it.

Celtics championship number 17.  Get ready to hang another one up.

Celticschampionshipbanners

 

Posted by on June 18, 2020 at 09:13 AM in Business, Entertainment, Games, Legal, Sports, Television | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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