Breakin' All The Rules

I'm breaking one of my rules right now - I'm posting from work. Okay, it's rather early and there are only 3 other people here right now, but I'd long ago made a rule not to post at work. Why? A few reasons. (1) To prevent discovery. I don't want anyone at work to be conscious of this thing. (2) I figure work is for working, not for posting. I haven't changed my view on those two points, I just want to post more often and early-morning at work is a good time for that.

I'm something of an early bird. These days I wake up around 5:30. Leave the house by 7:00 unless I'm running "late." Get to work around 7:00-7:30 or so. I'm not terribly sure why, other than I think it helps me get more hours in. Does it? Results are inconclusive at this time. Mind you I often stay up until midnight-12:30am playing my computer game.

Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying: "Beer is proof that G-d loves us and wants us to be happy." Replace "beer" with "hazelnut coffee" and that's me in the morning. More on that some other time.

Now I have a donut to consume (vanilla-frosted with sprinkles). Oh sweet sugary goodness, transport me from the sunlit, sleepy morn to a place of slumber and contentment.. at least for a minute or two.

ADDENDUM: It looks like I've lost all the comments to previous posts. Not sure why. Maybe my Haloscan account/comments was inactive too long? *shrug* It's a shame but I'm not going to stress over it.

ADDENDUM II: Rather, it looks like there may have been a minor, temporary hiccup with Haloscan. Comments appear to be preserved, in place and accessible. Rejoice yon masses. Or repent. Whatever.

Coming & Going, Going & Coming

I'm still here, still kicking. I think this blog has had its golden age. Although I have no plans for regular posting, I'll leave it where it is, as it is, for now. Who knows - some day I may return to it or start another blog.

I've been working as before. I'm having some issues with work, personal ones. I'd rather not go into detail here. Suffice it to say *I* have issues. Hopefully I can figure things out and get over them before it's too late. It's nothing per se bad, it's just a facet of myself that I have to come to terms with and get past.

For the past 2-3 weeks I've been playing "my game" (World of Warcraft) more than I should. Honestly, I don't care. I'm content playing it a lot. I think I have to work on minimizing its effects on the rest of my life but that's not the problem. My mom is the problem. In the past I've tempered my playing to cater to her. Now I'm not. And I know she's a bit worried and/or annoyed about that but I'm going to continue it for now. Because I want to. Because I can. Because there will come a time in the future when I must temper it, for other things, such as bar studying.

I'm (tentatively) planning on sitting for the Connecticut Bar in February. I sat for and passed the Patent Bar. The Patent Bar was the more important one for work - so that I get registered as a Patent Agent. That's in the works. Yay bureacracy.

Health-wise, I'm doing okay... now. I had a nasty bout of poison ivy. (That'll teach my mom to have me do yardwork!!!) Lasted 2-3 weeks. I ended up seeing a dermatologist and going on a hefty dose of prednisone to get over it. Otherwise I'm doing well. I started some other treatment for my ulcerative colitis - Remicade. It's a medication customarily used for rheumatoid arthritis but it's also used for ulcerative colitis. My rheumatologist put me on it - largely based on my arthritis bout earlier this year (the one that landed me in the hospital for a week). No problems currently.

I haven't spoken to or seen any law school friends in a long time, like 3-4 months or so. I have no friends at the moment (at least none close to him, that I see). This is just like my year of work between college and law school. It'd be cool to have friends only (a) I don't have any nearby; (b) I'm not terribly sure how I'd make new friends (e.g. ones in my age bracket) right now; (c) it would cut into my WoW-playing; (d) I'm not sure I *need* a friend right now; (e) I live at home with my mom.

Points (d) and (e) also hold for girls, especially (e). There's no way in Hell I'm going to go on dates when I can't bring them back to my place afterwards, or hang out there with them. There's also no way in Hell I'm introducing girls to my mom. Did that once. Still scarred by it. To put it briefly: I once brought my college girlfriend (we dated for a few months) home. After my dad died, she expressed her condolences and said "He was always nice to me." And my mom was not. So my mom will meet any girlfriends of mine about 1 week before I propose. Okay, maybe not 1 week, but certainly not much more. As to how I would find dates - yeah, I would have to use the internets. e.g. eHarmony or some such. I know it's.. well, it's probably not ideal, but I hate the bar scene and how else would I meet girls to go out on dates? Anyways, I'll worry about that when I move out. And I'm not moving out until next year sometime. Need to pay off debt, save up some money, etc. I'm a bit reluctant to move out 'cause I do help out my mom quite a lot. And I know she likes having me around, especially as she's on her own otherwise. Well, on her own with the two dogs. And the dogs like having me around.

If you're reading this and feel like it, shoot me an e-mail. I check it every day and usually respond pretty promptly these days. (No guarantees, of course.) Stay safe, be well & Cheers!~

"Let's stop thinking and start drinking."

(Ah, if only!)

From the Two Pints quote generator. Why? Because I needed a title.

I received two, count them, TWO comments to my previous post. And so I shall respond to the TWO comments!

zuska: how's work going? Is your health okay?

Work is going.. okay. Ever since my health issues back in January-February, I haven't quite gotten back into the game, so to speak. I think my brain was on vacation or some other such bs. In any case, my hours were way down for March and that ain't good, especially as I recently received a promotion. (Oh yeah, forgot to mention that in the last post.) ::grin:: So I really need to kill myself (metaphorically speaking!) and put in *LOTS* of time at work this month, get back into the swing and really start producing good work product. Fast and strong. So work is okay but it could be, and will get, better.

As for my health, well... I'm over all the *big* stuff. I'm not quote right in the colon right now and I suspect it's the change in medication 2 weeks ago. It's not that bad though, not at all, and certainly something I can deal with, especially given my incapacitation in January-February. So it's okay. Hopefully it'll get better. (Thanks for asking, zuska!)

Next up we have:

I'll Bite: Any advice for UConn 1Ls preparing to pick classes for next year? Profs to avoid, must take classes, etc.?

Also, have any jobs available for the summer? I know some people...

Ah, class selection! An epic event of such joy and merriment! And thankfully one I won't have to deal with, possibly forever, possibly just for a long time. (Eventually I hope to get my Masters in physics. Eventually. Emphasis on the eventually.)

I recommend these classes (and note that I have no idea on actual course offerings for next semester so these are just picks from my time at UConn Law):

Stark's Evidence - Stark is excellent! And Evidence is a subject I feel every law student should take. It's all about screwing the other attorney before/while they're screwing you. You need to have some exposure with this since, by the time you'll need it later, you'll have wished you'd taken the course. Seriously.

Berman's Cyberspace - I'm not a huge fan of Berman but I loved this subject matter. All of the topics are highly relevant to modern times and changing law. They run the gamut from Civ Pro to.. ummm... Jurisdiction. Anyways, a good course by a somewhat-good prof.

Legal Profession (Ethics) - You'll need this at some point anyways. Can do it now, can do it later. Whatever.

Trial Practice - An excellent course in which you'll learn practical trial skills. Yes, PRACTICAL. It's one of those rare opportunities to learn something actually useful while at law school. I wish I could remember the names of the good teachers. I know it's a pair of them. If you post some names, I'll remember the ones I'd recommend.

CULI (Building Urban Communities) with Breetz et al. - Another excellent course with excellent teachers! Breetz is an old school kind of guy who'll teach you "the art of the deal." (Not kidding.) This is very much like a clinic so expect that kind of devotion and time commitment. But it's worth it. Oh so worth it. This is one course I highly recommend.

Law and Forensic Science - Good lord did I enjoy this course. Taught forever by the head of the Henry Lee Institute and a local Judge, both of whom are extremely knowledgable, this is one of those courses that, if you can get into, you should. It was one of the best courses I ever took. I held the skull of a CT settler in my hand (over 300 years old I think?). I saw (and smelled) dead bodies in the cooler by the morgue. I handled (unloaded) firearms. And oh yeah, I heard a lecture by Dr. Lee himself. (!!!) I also learned a great deal about Forensics and the laws of Evidence. Amazing course. Absolutely, flat out amazing. This is why we are thankful we have one of the best Forensic Institutes in the country in our state. TAKE THIS COURSE.

Right to Privacy by Attorney Daniel Klau - (I've mentioned him before.) An excellent course by an excellent teacher. Could swear I wrote a review of it but I can't seem to find it right now. In any case, even if you're only mildly interested in the subject matter. TAKE THIS COURSE. Just excellent. By far one of the best I took in law school.

Okay, and your second question. I'll try to remember to ask one of my bosses and see if they're interested in a summer intern or associate or some such. I don't want to sound downbeat or upbeat and it's really hard to not sound the former and harder still to sound the latter. But I'll try to remember to ask, that's all I can do.

Though I'll ask whether you're into patent law and/or have taken any IP courses. Just to get a baseline. :)

Any more questions? (This is fun!)

Remember, remember, the fifth of November...

The gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.

I saw V for Vendetta today. A nice translation of Alan Moore's seminal graphic novel. According to an interview, Moore was upset with the movie and did not want his name connected with it. To be honest, it was a fairly good translation of the graphic novel. I rather liked it, even as it was "updated" for modern times, as it must be. I highly recommend you see this one in the theater. Well done.

I've been busy of late. I got back into World of Warcraft. I joined a new guild and am doing some end-game raiding 1-3 nights a week. Keeps me busy for better or worse. Though my Warlock is getting better-outfitted and I'm rather enjoying it. The guild is *excellent* and the game is fun again. Nice for a change.

I very recently purchased components for a new computer. Did lots of research then bought these. I assembled it last week and started *trying* to install the operating system (Windows XP Pro x64). Turning out to be a *BIG* pain, that. So now I'm working on that, on and off. Hopefully I can figure it out so I can get on with installing to then using the computer. Should put my old one to utter shame. (Least it better!)

I'm currently watching "Dark Kingdom" on Sci Fi, a Sci Fi Channel made-for-TV miniseries thing. I think April is their miniseries month and some of them are downright good! This one is very good! I had to miss an hour for the new West Wing tonight and I've been watching it on and off after but from what I've seen, very nice.

That's it for now. Maybe I'll post more than once a month. Who knows? I'll tell you what though, if you reply to this post with a comment, maybe even a question, I'll endeavor to post a post about the topic or with an answer or some such. Maybe I'll get to see who's out there still, eh?

Cheers!

Nightly Activity

The queue to get on my WoW server is at 500. That is, I'd have to wait about 45 minutes in line in order to play tonight. Seeing as I'd like to go to upstairs to bed no later than around 10:30, that might leave me with 15-30 min. to play. No thanks. Not for a 45 min. line. Guess I'll surf the web for WoW-related things!

How I Learned To Change A Car Tire

So I'm coming home last night on the Taconic...

Why was I coming home last night on the Taconic? Well, I was in Philmont, NY appearing for a not-guilty-plead speeding ticket I received on the Taconic in October. I call my appearance successful as I was able to plead guilty at a speed 10 mph lower than the one I was supposedly clocked at (which I maintained was faster than my actual speed, though I admit I was speeding).

Anyways! Before I left, one of the officers told me that my front right tire was extremely low on air and I might want to fill it at a local gas station before heading home. I thanked him and though I stopped at a local gas station, I did not see an air-providing device. So I thought, gee, I made it here on the tire. Surely I can make it home on the tire.

Alas, 2 miles down the Taconic I was proven wrong. Oh so wrong.

My front right tire blew, or at least went flat enough to constitute being undriveable. I pulled off the road onto a grassy area, no problem. I learned I could not get any cell reception. I learned that apparently my trunk takes on water and that water likes to collect in my spare tire well and freeze, thus freezing the tire in.

Wonderful.

Thankfully an extremely nice gentleman who lives very nearby, name is Dan, showed up to assist me in changing my tire. With his help (and his flashlight), we were able to successfully change my front right tire. Apparently he's helped other people on this stretch of the Taconic before with similar tire problems. (He even knew that AAA wouldn't have come - the only help you can get is by calling the state police and having them call the one garage that has a lone tow truck that will come tow your car to that garage. Splendid, eh?) Dan was extremely nice, even refusing any proferred compensation. (I owe someone in this world a big favor in return. I won't forget.)

In any case, I now know how to put the spare tire on my 1998 Buick Park Avenue.

As it is, my car now has 4 new tires after a stop at the tire store this morning. Town Fair Tire in Bridgeport, CT. Excellent place. They even managed to bang out the dent in my spare and reinflate it so I can use it again. (I put 110 miles on that spare getting home last night! When I got home, it was incredibly flat and I couldn't manage to inflate it before going to Town Fair. So I drove over there on my flat spare, nerves tensed the entire way.)

Thus endeth the tale.

The Matador, Olé!

Last weekend I saw The Matador, starring Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, and Hope Davis. IMDB summary:

A chance encounter between a travelling salesman [Kinnear] and a lonely hitman [Brosnan] triggers a strangely profound relationship which provokes each to act in ways neither would have imagined possible. Fate steps in to form a friendship between two men from irreconcilable worlds that will alter the lives of both forever.

Very succinct without really saying much. Then again, it's a relatively short movie where if I tell you much more, there's not much left to it.

I will say that I rather enjoyed the movie. It's light in places and heavy in others. But what really made it shine for me were the characters portrayed by Brosnan and Kinnear. Brosnan's hitman is perfect! He's absolutely nuts. I don't mean he's mentally incompetent but rather that he's 'off' by so much from what one might consider a 'normal' person to be. He's a bit unstable, unhinged, and just generally depraved. He's what I hope a hitman might be like. Very odd and yet very good at his job.

Kinnear's character is in direct contrast. Very down to Earth, very likeable, very much your average man. He has a wife [Davis] and a nice house. Very average and the perfect 'partner' for Brosnan.

It's a strange pairing that really works. Kinnear reacts like the average person would/should and his reactions and acting are spot on. The plot itself is very thin, at times I wondered what the plot actually was, but the acting of the two main characters overshadows this rather large hole.

Not everyone will like this movie. For me, it was Brosnan's assassin. At one point he takes you step-by-step through an assassination. It's chilling and oh so well done. Kinnear is there, of course, and his reactions and 'learning' really serve to reflect the audience.

Anyways, I like it. You may not. If you like Brosnan or Kinnear (or what-I-consider-to-be-realistic assassins), give it a look. It's funny at times, serious at others. I'd label it a drama but even there it's not all that dramatic. It just sort of is. If you can deal with that, enjoy the ride (or at least the acting).

More Work & More Play

A one-day belated Happy Valentine's Day! Personally, I have yet to actually have a Valentine's Day on which I have a S.O. (significant other). No big deal. It just generally means that it's an empty holiday for me. One thing this year, the morning radio show I listen to, Z100's Z Morning Zoo with Elvis Duran, was talking about a musical CD Victoria's Secret is selling called Strip. The CD has a number of songs for one to strip to for your S.O. I mention this because some of the songs were just really good songs, regardless of the underlying strip theory. Next time I hit the mall I'm going to swing by Victoria's Secret and see if I can snag a CD (costs $15-20 though, ugh).

At work today I finally finished a nonprovisional draft I'd been working on for over a week. Granted last week's half-days didn't help but this thing was a beast! I was tying together 10 different embodiments of a tool. I had a provisional to use as the basis for the Description but I ended up adding 3 figures and redoing the numbering for 5 figures. I came out with 35 claims, 9 independents, 4 of which were narrower repeats of previous ones. I thought that was pretty good, to only use 5 independents as the basis for 10 different embodiments. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy. I've now got 4 nonprovisionals (no provisional basis) to draft and one Response to a Final Office Action. In short, plenty of work to keep me busy for a while.

I really do love drafting these nonprovisionals. It's like one big logic puzzle. You're given X pieces of information to start and your goal is to arrive at a final work product that accurately covers the invention as best you can. It really does keep me going, keep me busy, even entertained at times. Not bad if this is my career, to wind up doing something I'm not only pretty good at (if I may say so myself!) but also doing something I actually enjoy at times. Pretty rare I think.

More play.

The whole Cheney hunting incident ceased to be funny when the victim, Harry Whittington, had a small heart attack. On the other hand, if you can get past that, the incident is pretty amusing and has led to some damn funny jokes, one-liners, and such about Cheney and lawyers. Here are some links to some of my favs:

TV joke writers take shots at Cheney [CNN]

Ten ways Dick Cheney can kill you (apols to Chuck Norris) [Boing Boing]

Cheney shoots 78-year old lawyer with shotgun, story held 24h [Boing Boing]

CHENEY SHOOTS ... by all the top cartoonists! [MSNBC-Daryl Cagle]

Of course, some of the jokes are just hilarious:

*Are* lawyers in season right now?

Will Disney adapt this into a cartoon about a baby lawyer having to adjust to living in the wild without his parent?

Is this the administration's new plan for tort reform, No Lawyer Left Behind?

(Boing Boing)

And:

"I think Cheney is starting to lose it. After he shot the guy he screamed, 'Anyone else want to call domestic wire tapping illegal?'" (Jay Leno)

"Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot a man during a quail hunt ... making 78-year-old Harry Whittington the first person shot by a sitting veep since Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton, of course, (was) shot in a duel with Aaron Burr over issues of honor, integrity and political maneuvering. Whittington? Mistaken for a bird." (Jon Stewart)

"Now, this story certainly has its humorous aspects. ... But it also raises a serious issue, one which I feel very strongly about. ... Moms, dads, if you're watching right now, I can't emphasize this enough: Do not let your kids go on hunting trips with the vice president. I don't care what kind of lucrative contracts they're trying to land, or energy regulations they're trying to get lifted -- it's just not worth it." (Jon Stewart)

"The big scandal apparently is that they didn't release the news for 18 hours. I don't think that's a scandal at all. I'm quite pleased about that. Finally there's a secret the vice president's office can keep." (Craig Ferguson)

"Apparently the reason they didn't release the information right away is they said we had to get the facts right. That's never stopped them in the past." (Craig Ferguson)

(CNN)

Okay, enough on that. I really just wanted to post the links and the snippets. They were too amusing to pass up. (And I am happy that Whittington is now recovering nicely.)

Next up, and probably the last item for this post - Chuck Norris! I'd heard of Chuck Norris Facts before but I hadn't actually surfed over to the site until early this week. (Or was it last week? Whatever.) The site is friggin' hilarious!!!

"The chief export of Chuck Norris is Pain."

"Chuck Norris has two speeds. Walk, and Kill."

"The Great Wall of China was originally created to keep Chuck Norris out. It failed miserably."

"Chuck Norris invented Kentucky Fried Chicken's famous secret recipe, with eleven herbs and spices. But nobody ever mentions the twelfth ingredient: Fear."

"What was going through the minds of all of Chuck Norris' victims before they died? His shoe."

I would go on quoting 'facts' but there are so many good ones!!! I was reading this site and barely containing myself from laughing out loud! And the best part? It's gone commercial so you can get some of these sayings on a t-shirt with a graphic of Chuck Norris!!! I so have to get at least one t-shirt! I haven't chosen which one yet but I will get one. I just love it. If you like, check out Norris' response to the website.

Enough for now. I've been working at God of War. I'm about a third of the way through the game I think. Still going strong, still fun, still lovin' it. Grandia III came out today. Reviews have it as a mediocre RPG with an excellent combat system. Only 25-30 hours of play time. I know I'm going to snag it at some point. I think I'll finish God of War first though. It'll be tough not to buy Grandia III sooner but I hate having so many games going at once, especially since I really don't have all that much time to spend on them. The weekends are when I get the most play time in and even then I have to be a little careful not to upset the careful balance of not pissing off the mother. Ah, such is the price of living at home with no overhead.

Cheers!

Of Work

In the spirit of writing posts when I do, here's one on work.

Very recently I've only been putting in half-days as my body recovers and I start approaching some semblance of how I felt 6 weeks ago (as in before I started feeling absolutely rotten). This week I'm going to start attempting more reasonable hours, as in 4-hour+ days (hopefully more like 5-6+, since my goal is 7+ per day, once I'm recovered sufficiently, which I almost am). Of course I have 2 doctor appointments and 2 feet of snow on my car that will attempt to deter me from this lofty goal. So be it. I'm giving myself a pass and doing what I can 'cause there ain't much else I got left these days. Give me a week or two and I should be good for a much closer semblance of 'normalcy' (if normalcy can be said to exist).

See! I'm making less sense than, well, not usual, but certainly less sense! That's a positive sign, I swear!

Anyways, about work. What do I do at work? Patents! I write Patent Application drafts and Responses to Office Actions for prosecuting patent applications. Now, even though I tell people I'm an Associate Attorney, hey - that's what my 'position' lists me as, I'm really a ghost-writer at this junction. That is to say, until I pass the Patent Bar, all of my work is carefully reviewed and signed off by a barred attorney. Honestly, my work will always be reviewed. The only change, once I sit for and pass the Patent Bar, will be that my name starts showing up on things. No big at the moment. In the meantime, it's nice to be working.

I've written quite a few Patent Applications, nonprovisional and provisional alike. I love writing patents. It's honestly fun and interesting most of the time. Taking a disclosure given to me, sometimes very complete and detailed, other times bare bones, and drafting something that almost always doesn't look like what I started with 'cause I add details and write it in patent-speak to be broader and more comprehensive. It really is an art. And it's a learned art at that, not something you can figure out by reading books or such. No, the only way, well the best way, to learn this trade is to do it and have your work reviewed by knowledgable, experienced persons. I am incredibly lucky to be working for the firm I am and have this opportunity. I learn from every patent I write, every document I produce, and I put it into the next ones, hopefully improving my skills while producing good work product and earning the firm good fees.

As noted above, I went to UConn Law for my J.D. Although UConn Law has an Intellectual Property (IP) Certificate Program and boasts many IP-related courses, the patent pickings are extremely slim. Slim as in one guaranteed course on Patent Theory and possible seminars, such as one on IP Litigation Strategies that I couldn't fit into my schedule. So although I know a good deal about Patent Theory from that course, UConn Law didn't actually help prepare me to practice Patent Law or write or prosecute patents. Very sad.

One idea I have in the back of my mind is for 2-3 years down the road. All I do at work is write and prosecute patent applications. Very narrow, relatively speaking (as compared with the whole of IP Law or even with Patent Litigation, which is a whole other animal). One idea of mine is to approach UConn Law in 2-3 years, after I can claim to have some experience, even minimal, and suggest I teach or co-teach a Patent Drafting/Prosecution seminar. Nothing too fancy, maybe only a 2-credit course, but something to help prepare interested students so they have an idea how to write and/or prosecute patents. As I said, it's an art, but one that can be learned with practice. If offered the chance, I know a number of students would be interested in such a course and it would be extremely helpful for post-law school work. Heck, in 2-3 years I could probably use some case files I've written (with client & firm permission, of course!) as examples of good and bad and as practice. Again, this is just something I have tucked away in the back recesses of my mind. Y'know, if I survive that long with some mild sense of sanity intact. (*nudge* *nudge* *wink* *wink*)

In any case, tomorrow I go into work in the morning (though not for my 8-9am goal I suspect, due to the 2 feet of snow on my car and some pressing errands that I really need to take care of asap) and I'll work on drafting a patent application that I was working on last week. Fun stuff. I finished the Background and am now left with reviewing the Detailed Description, probably adding at least one Figure, and, oh yeah, writing the effin claims. Actually, the claims for this one shouldn't be too hard 'since although it is a technology-oriented subject matter (which I won't reveal), the patent/invention is directed to more superficial aspects of the item. Still, I'm enjoying it.

One thing I'm still working on for this blog is figuring out some way of incorporating more law posts into the fold. Since I graduated, the legal content here as diminished to almost nil (or perhaps nil). Not quite what I'd like to see. However, my job is writing patents. What can I write about that? I don't know. I don't want to start writing a 'How To' 'cause that might be trade secret material, infringing on work product, heck it might be bad advice. Plus, providing legal advice in a general context is never a good idea liability-wise.

I don't want to start researching legal material for specific blog legal posts. That would take more time than I'm willing to dedicate and I doubt I'd say much terribly interesting without a good amount of effort and thought.

Yet I don't want to give up on the legal aspect of this blog, what legal aspect there ever was. It doesn't feel enough to merely mention my job and such and call this a 'blawg' -- that feels thin, a sham. No, I want to find something to talk about, I just don't know what.

I'll try to think about it some in the coming weeks, figure something out if I can. The thing is nothing I do at work really dovetails into potential blog-post material. I don't see an in. Maybe the blog becomes more of a personal blog until I find something. Goodness knows it couldn't but benefit from more posts, personal or legal. It just bothers me.

Then again, if I'm not finding interesting legal things to post about, maybe I should be. Maybe I should be trying to keep up on current IP law, like I did at my part-time job during law school. (Granted we had monthly meetings that meant I had to research recent IP Law at least every other month.) I mean, I should stay on top of developing IP Law. I will run into it. But I can't bill for that. And that is what my employment is all about - the almighty billable hour. Thankfully work is a little relaxed in that I don't need to organize my life in 6-minute increments, I can go minute-by-minute, but the almighty billable does reign supreme. And due to my recent illness, I am oh so dreadfully behind thus far this year. I'm not sure I'll be able to make it all up but once I start feeling better you'd better believe I'm gonna try my hardest. (I'm talking 8-9 hour days, weekends, the works.)

Anyways, long enough post. Tangentially related to law. Sort of. And late enough now that I need to take the dogs out, grab a snack & head up to bed. At least I get to read my book a bit before bedtime. W00t for vampire pr0n.

Cheers!

Smatterings

Various things to post.

I'm feeling better every day. Ankles don't hurt, just a little sore in the morning. Knees doing better. Hips don't hurt. Only new thing is some random heart-racing and random bouts of dizziness when shifting position, i.e. standing. That's new as of yesterday. I see 2 docs this week so I'll see what they say. Otherwise doing better and getting better and feeling better.

I'm reading Laurell K. Hamilton's 'Incubus Dreams' now. I'm almost 400 pages into it and going fast. The first 200-250 pages bothered me 'cause it was mostly about relationships and about half-a-day in the main character's life. Now the book is picking up and it's getting more interesting. And yes, this one most certainly is vampire pr0n. No doubt about it.

After I finish that book, I have a Terry Pratchett to read. Can't wait.

Back when I 'began' studying for the Feb. bars, which you will recall I am no longer taking due to my prolonged illness, I stopped playing World of Warcraft (WoW), my game du jour for the past year+. WoW was all-consuming for me. I spent *way* too much time in/on it and it just ran over everything else in my life. One problem is that it's rather hard, when you reach the end-game (level 60), to spend less than a few hours in the game and make any headway. I.e. To find/join a group, do an instance, and have a shot at getting better gear takes at least 3 hours, if not more like 4-5 hours+.

So I stopped WoW for studying. I'm maintaining the WoW-outtage as it frees up my life quite a bit to do other things, like read a book, watch a movie, or anything really. Kind of nice. It's an extended break. The WoW expansion is due out this Fall so I don't honestly expect this to be a permanent break. However, if I can maintain it until after I sit for the Patent, CT & NY Bars, I could be golden.

In the meantime, I've picked up other games to fill the 'void' I have. Playstation 2 (PS2) games that is. As in games I can play for 15-45 min, make progress and stop playing (save my game). I have 3 new games (and an accompanying new memory card).

I picked up Dragon Quest VIII 'cause the reviews were so good on it and Grandia III isn't due out 'til the 15th. DQVIII is good but a bit cartoony for me with the graphics and system. I've put 5 hours into it so far so not a bad investment but I'm not sure if I'll play it through. It's just not quite my taste in RPGs. I anticipate Grandia III is more my style, even if it's gotten slightly worse reviews. I may pick it up in a while, like a few weeks or a month. ('Cause I have 2 other new games to keep me occupied.)

The second game I got is Castevania: Lament of Innocence. Man is this one good!!! It's engaging and the system is well-done. I've made progress on the first board (of 5, before the final boss) and put in ~2 hours or so. Very good game. I will likely play this one through, but not until I finish...

God of War!!! I'd read some excellent reviews on this one. It came out about a year ago and did incredibly well. Unfortunately, Sony stopped publishing it recently so it's hard to find (and impossible to find a new copy). They may be working on a Best Hits version with extra content, who knows. However, I did manage to find a used copy (expensive at $40 for a year-old game) at Electronics Boutique. Snagged it and loaded it up yesterday. Wow!!! *SUCH* a good game! If you have a PS2, GET THIS GAME. I've put ~2.5 hours into it so far and I'm absolutely loving it! In fact, once I finish this post and poke around online reading about God of War, I'm gonna go back and play more. The battle system is great, there are tons of 'hidden' things to find and it's really just very engrossing and forgiving. There are some frustrating parts but they're doable with a little patience. Really just an overall, amazing game. I read somewhere that it has ~17 hours of content or so. Pretty cool length in my opinion. Enough to keep me busy for a while but not enough to be insane like Final Fantasy VII's 70-100 hours. (70 hours for my friend, not doing everything, first time through. 100 hours for me, with manual, doing everything.)

To put the hours in perspective... My main character in Dark Age of Camelot, my original and first MMORPG, had over 18 days playtime invested (18 days * 24 hours = +432 hours). My main character in WoW has over 24 days playtime (+576 hours). And I have a second level 60 who I would otherwise be playing. Don't know her playtime but I'd bet it's over 10-12 days (+240-288 hours). See what I mean by 'all-consuming?'

Anyways, it's snowing outside and I'm inside. Stay warm. Cheers!

Firewall *NOT* A Bomb

My mom and I saw Firewall (starring the illustrious Harrison Ford) on Friday night. Contrary to most reviews, the movie is decidedly not a bomb.

Firewall tells the story of a bank security officer who is held hostage, along with his wife (Virgina Madsen) and two kids (and dog), by a group of bank robbers. (5 robbers, led by Paul Bettany.) As the tale goes, the robbers are after $100 million in electronic funds and Ford is the guy who's going to make it happen. Of course there are problems along the way, leading up to a frantic, last-minute save by Ford. (And I don't think sharing that spoils the movie in any way, shape or form.)

Firewall, at heart, is an action movie. It's not a thrill-a-minute action movie and the characters don't have all that much development, but that's what it is. It's rather reminiscent of other Harrison Ford 'action' flicks, such as Air Force One or Patriot Games (though the plots for those two are inarguably better and more interesting). The movie didn't always have me on the edge of my seat or completely engaged but it's a good ride. It is engaging and interesting and Ford is, of course, excellent.

My biggest problem with the film is the bad guys. There are 5 of them and, of those 5, only 2 of them are truly 'bad,' Paul Bettany (the leader) and his second-in-command. The other 3 are more washed-out bad guys who don't belong in the setting. They're simply not cut out to be hardcore, badass bank robbers who'll do what needs to be done to steal the money. And that's where the movie fails. If the bad guys aren't really bad, aren't believable as an intelligent enemy, then who cares about anything else? Why is it so hard for Ford to win? The answer here is Bettany who brings a glimmer of personality to the mix but even that isn't enough to satisfy me.

On the whole, a decent movie. Certainly not Ford's best but an admirable go and worth watching, either in the theater or not. If you're a Harrison Ford fan, see this one. It's the first thing he's done in 3 years and who knows when we'll see him on the screen again.

Hello From The Land Of Getting-Better

Kind of a lot has happened since my last post. I promised a friend of mine an explanatory blog post in an e-mail and though I don't feel like telling the whole story right now, I'll at least give a shortened version. (Okay, so this is a full account. It's just not all that detailed per se. Deal.)

On Saturday, Jan. 7, I woke up achey (joints achey) and with a head cold. My left eye was red and sore. I generally felt rotten. Very sudden. I just woke up like that.

The following Monday, Jan. 9 I saw an ophthalmologist and he helped my eye out. Follow up that Friday, eyes fine. He did put me on Doxycycline (an antibiotic) for 10 days.

Joint achiness continued throughout all this, some days better and some worse. Some mornings generally hard. Head cold came and went. Also developed pimples, especially on legs. Sores/lesions in mouth. Fever and chills, randomly. Generally ill-being. Achiness was the worst since it started impairing my ability to move, i.e. my knees, ankles and hips.

Saw my gastrointestinal doc in the middle of this. Switched my ulcerative colitis meds a little bit. He said nothing, offered nothing about the rest.

Went to the walk-in after ~2 weeks of this. No help. Suggested I take Advil regularly to help with inflammation.

Saw my regular doc ~1 week after the walk-in. Started doing tests. Posited maybe lyme disease.

Stopped going into work on Thursday, Jan. 26. Achiness was too much. I'd been limping around, moving slowly for a while prior but now it was too much to go into work. Wednesday night was the first night not sleeping in my bed but downstairs in the family room easy chair - I couldn't make it up the steps to get to my bedroom.

Follow up with regular doc on Friday, Jan. 27. Not lyme disease, not Hepatitis. (Though my old Hepatitis shot was working well as I had Hepatitis antibodies.) More tests. Meanwhile, my join achiness and other symptoms continue unabated. Doc prescribes Biaxin, a strong antibiotic. My throat developed stuff on Thursday - hurts to swallow. Hence strep test.

Biaxin is messing with my appetite, making me nautious at times. Did you know one of my cable channels shows The A-Team for an hour or two every afternoon? (Or is it on Saturdays?)

Sunday, Jan. 29, haven't eaten much in past few days. *Really* don't eat much on Sunday. Nautious much of Sunday after 1pm. Can't get out of chair. Call doc, he says go to hospital. Call ambulance ~5:15pm or so. Go to St. Vincent's hospital in Bridgeport. Get fluids, feeling a little better. Admitted to hospital. Transferred to 10th floor that night. Mom & family friend leave ~11:30pm.

Note that doc from my regular doc's office came in at 10pm on that Sunday night to check on my admission. Wow.

Spend next week in hospital. First few days, can't get out of bed. Per regular doc's tests, don't have strep throat, syhpilis, or any other infectious diseases. Infectious disease hospital doc is running tests galore. Won't do anything 'til sure I don't have an infectious disease.

Got incredible bouquet of flowers from work on Monday or Tuesday. *Very* nice. Big. Pretty. (Expensive.) Wow.

On Tuesday, rheumatologist sees me and immediately identifies everything as an auto-immune system response (manifestations) of my ulcerative colitis. Prescribes prednisone (steroid). Start prednisone Tuesday around 6pm. Doesn't hurt to swallow - actually eat breakfast on Wednesday.

Feeling better as prednisone goes on. Start getting out of hospital bed on Thursday or so. Nice not to use urinal or bedpan.

Wednesday rheumatologiest gave me shot of cortisone in right knee. Ow.

Getting better and better. Hurts less to walk around, move. Knees, ankles, hips getting better. Finally get out of hospital on Sunday, Feb. 5. Still achey and sore and tired and run down, but symptoms going away, i.e. rash above ankles.

1st day back at work in 8 days on Tuesday, Feb. 7. Only putting in half-days.

Today, Thursday, first day things started feeling more normal. Better. Still not fully ready. Need rest more. Taking it easy.

Not sitting for Feb. bar. Lost way too much time. Stinks but way it goes.

Gotta run.

Wheel of Fish!!!

No, not really. Though UHF was a pretty funny movie.

I was watching Wheel of Fortune tonight (don't laugh.. okay, laugh!) and one of the prizes was a trip to Iceland. "Hmmm.." I thought. "I've been to Iceland!" And 'lo and behold, it was an Icelandair package, airfare & hotel. I saw the hotel shots and thought, "Wow! Cool! I stayed in that hotel!" After all, when The Lawless One and I went two Springs ago we went because he'd found a good Icelandair package.

And then i saw the "value" of this prize. And I say "value" because they are lying, scum-suckign weasels. According to them, the trip was valued at around $8,600. Which is complete and utter bullshit. I think it cost us around $1,500 for round-trip airfare and 3 nights in the hotel. Let's be unreasonable. Add $500 to that for first class seats. Let's add $1,500 to that for 4 more nights in the hotel. What do we have? $3,500. NOT their purported $8,600. HOW THE HELL DO THEY ARRIVE AT THAT NUMBER???? 'Cause I call bullshit on that one.

Also, looks like the NYC transit strike ended on Thursday afternoon. Kinda funny. No concessions were made. Nothing changed, per se, from the previous two days. No, the TWU board just voted, something like 35-6, to go back to work. Yeah. So who thinks the TWU is now in a better negotiating position than before? The city called their 'bluff' (though it can hardly be called a real bluff since they did strike) and didn't concede one inch. So is the TWU any better off? I think not. I think they're in a worse position now, especially considering the strikers and, just as notably, Roger Toussaint are subject to criminal repercussions. Worth it to strike rather than try and hash things out? I don't think so.

My colon was happy today. I just wanted you to know.

But I still have a cold. Bleh. Yay for a 3-day weekend followed by a 3-day week followed by a 4-day weekend! Yay for WoW! Boo for dogs still going on the floor! Yay for... ummm... ... ... tissues! (Sorry, I drew a blank.)

Happy Holidays Everyone!!! Cheers!

Where were we?

Ah yes, Boston Legal and my colon. No new Boston Legal this week. (Curse you ABC!!!) However my colon is faring the same. That is to say poorly. Couple that with a cold I have developed today and I'm a little miserable. Add in that one of our two dogs at home is having bladder control issues necessitating morning and evening cleaning of the kitchen floor by yours truly ('cause my mom's bad back and bad knee and bad wrist otherwise disqualify her from floor-cleaning duty) and I'm pretty darn miserable tonight.

Sore throat. Stuffy nose. Leaky colon. Recently-cleaned floor that now has a small pile of dog shit courtesy of the other, non-bladder-control-problems dog. *sigh* Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed. (Though I did go to work today so it did pay in the literal sense.)

Work is going rather well. I'm learning more every day. Thus far I've drafted a nonprovisional application and a provisional application. Also many Responses to Office Actions. I'm enjoying it most of the time. Sometimes it's boring or uninspiring but even then I slog through and manage to produce something (hopefully) good. I take heart that my provisional draft, which I turned in for review today, only received minor corrections. Heck, even my flow charts and descriptions thereof passed muster! Not bad all things considered.

One cool thing about work. Since it's the holiday season, the firm gets a number of seasonal cards. The firm also gets a number of edible seasonal gifts, including chocolate, coffee cake, and Mrs. Field's cookies. Oh the cookies. The cookies!!! *Homer Simpson-like drooling noises* Soooooo good. Sooooooooooo good. The worst part is that my desk is very close to the kitchen, where the edible seasonal gifts reside. Hence, whenever I pass the kitchen, which I do on a not infrequent basis, I am tempted to partake of the edible seasonal gifts. Sooooo good. Cooooooookies. Yes, my kryptonite is chocolate chip cookies. Coooooookies.

Sorry about that. Got hung up on the edible fare. By the way, the reason for no new posts of late is work. Some nights I get home and don't even turn on my computer. The nights I do, exepting tonight, I tend to play my computer game and relax. I'll try to post a bit more often but how many times in the lifetime of this blog have I promised that one? Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

I do have some comments, maybe ones that could even be misconstrued as substantive, concerning the NYC transit strike and FISA taps. We'll see if I get around to posting those, though. I will say that watching the news coverage of the transit strike, safely afar here in CT, is pretty interesting. Personally I'm rooting for MTA and the city (Bloomberg, Patacki, et al.). The union is in a bad position, in my opinion. Hopefully this thing is resolved in the next day or two but I wouldn't be shocked if it took a bit longer.

And as for the FISA taps, in an effort to keep my name and this blog off various non-existent lists of persons I shall refrain from using names. Let's just say I'm not a POTUS-supporter. I think that he could have handled this, as with so many other things, including the war, in a much better manner. I'm also a bit concerned over these things, even though I'm not surprised by them. In my opinion, sans any review or review process, these taps are the first step on a road I distinctly dislike, namely one leading to a more dictatorial form of government. When the government starts conducting its affairs in secret, out of the eyes of the public and without any accountability thereto, it's time for the people to take note and be afraid. Makes you wonder what else they haven't told us, eh? And that does scare me.

So maybe you did get my thoughts on those topics. Thhhpppttt.

Man I feel rotten. Hope I can get some sleep tonight. I still plan on going into work. It's at my option whether or not I do but every hour of work I miss is one more I have to make up later. And that ain't good, especially if I get behind. As it is, I was on target this morning after the previous two weeks' deficits (due to first day, snow, and ice). I'm currently a half hour behind. Hopefully I can at least put in a good 5-6 hours billable tomorrow.

The almighty billable hour. I've learned that it's not so hard to manage 7-8 billables a day. There's plenty of work to do and if I get in early and stay to at least 5pm, with a 30 min. lunch break it's cake. Unfortunately that doesn't take into account my colon (which has exacted 45-60 min on a bad day or as few as 5-10 on a good day) or break time (which has exacted as much as 55 min on a bad day). I view break time as occasionally necessary to preserve sanity. Plus, it's my time to use towards billables or make up later. I try not to break if I can help it but sometimes I have to surf over to Slashdot or The Legal Underground and take a brief, unbilled breather.

Is this post that long yet? I suspect it is but I refuse to verify.

CSI is good. If you like, the Spike channel shows it from at least 7-8pm, if not also 8-9pm. Got a double dose tonight. Yay Grissom! I am kind of hoping that Jorja Fox gets more acting roles. I suspect she has potential. (Plus she's pretty good-looking.) Have to see if she gets other parts elsewhere.

Speaking of entertainment, I need to see Chronicles of Narnia and Aeon Flux. I'd like to buy Serenity on DVD, now that I have money in my pocket from my first paycheck. I did watch the movie Rounders on tv. I rather liked it! A good one with Matt Damon and Ed Norton about poker. Good ending too. Two weekends ago my mom and I saw Syriana in the theater. It was okay at best. We both feel like we missed something with it. As in its overall goal, point, story, or direction. Not a good thing to find oneself missing in a movie.

Enough. Peace out.

ADDENDUM: In reviewing the front page of my blog, I remembered one other thing I wanted to write. Apologies go to my friend's fiancee whom I mentioned about 3 posts back. You see, my friend's fiancee is also a friend of mine and apparently she took my reference to her, as "my friend's fiancee," in a negative light. Apologies T-bone!

She voiced this to me when I met up with her and her fiancee, aka my friend, at that shindig a Thursday or two back. Was a good thing, except for the location. New Haven stinks! Took me over an hour to get there! Anyways, she sparked a brief discussion over my reference to her. At which point I sided with her fiancee, aka my friend, in pointing out that I met him before her. See, I was friends with both of them before they were ever a them. I met him at orientation and her in the grocery store late one night. (She was my neighbor and in front of me in line and recognized me and said hi.)

It's actually kind of funny. Each year of law school I was good friends with a different friend o' mine. First year it was T-bone's fiancee. Second year it was The Lawless One. Third year it was Dan-the-Man. T-bone hooked up with his fiancee the end of first year. The Lawless One re-hooked up with his former-ex girlfriend the end of second year. Dan-the-Man commuted so he had nowhere else to go when in Hartford, other than the school. (Hah!) Plus he and I liked computer games. I got him back into Diablo 2 and then World of Warcraft. As it is, he and I became pretty good friends although I wasn't invited to his wedding this past November. I haven't asked him about that yet but then I haven't talked with him much. I will inquire though.

That's another thing. The Cara and The Dave had their wedding in October. Captain Kate and Sneaky Pete had their wedding this October. I think I was the only law student invited to both weddings. The group of friends I assembled is a little odd in that not everyone in the group is friends or even friendly with the rest. Except me. I'm pretty much friends with everyone. I predict that I won't see all of them again until it's time for my wedding, when I invite them all. 'Cause no one else is friends with everyone. Kinda sad. Especially given some of the 'reasons' behind the non-friendship. Also because they all are my friends and it'd be really cool to hang with them all again. At one time. In one place.

Speaking of my wedding, I predict it to be a loooooooong way off. Me living at home does not a good dating life make. Not that me living in my own apartment was much better. But home just kinda kills it. The town doesn't help either. And I'm not really one to cruise bars and pick up women. I sometimes wish I was but that ain't how it works for me. So I spend my Friday and Saturday nights watching tv or playing computer games. At some point, possibly after I lose a few pounds and feel a bit better about myself and have some more dispensible income, I can give it more of a shot. I suspect the Internet will be involved. Yes, that doesn't make me leap with joy either.

By the way, one soft goal of mine next year, besides getting out of debt, is to consider getting a new car. What would I get? Probably a new, spiffy 2006 Shelby Ford Cobra GT500. I just want to throw that one out there. Sometime, in another post, I'll dig out some links, info, and pictures. Me likey.

Okay, enough addendum. Cheers! [9:45 PM]

ADDENDUM II: I really hate my colon. I mean it. I. hate. my. colon. I mean I'm sure I need a colon. And if I do need one, I'm sure it's better to have a colon than not. However I would much rather it be a properly-functioning colon as opposed to, well, mine. *sigh* I think I should just sit on the toilet and telecommute. [9:54 PM]

Boston Legal Roxxors

William Shatner on an immediate trial, to a judge:

Your old. I'm old. Lock and load. Let's do this before we die.

Boston Legal is insanely funny. It's also absolutely hilarious for its legal content and arguments. Like The Practice, at times the legal content is spot on and dead right. Not to mention it's funny.

Watch it. Now. And I mean now, a new episode is on! (Gotta go! Commercials are nearly over.)

I hate my colon.

-MISH- (Message In Subject Header)

Responses et al.

Last week, Anon had this to say:

Why NY *and* CT? Does the firm require both? Right away?

You need to pass one state bar to practice law, not two. You also need to pass the pat bar so you can prosecute patents.

Maybe concentrate on just the two required bars and use the saved time impressing the new firm with your work ethic and product.

I promised I would respond and so I shall.

First off, my firm does not require any bar except for the Patent Bar. I can sit for the Patent Bar fairly soon as it's now given at a professional computer testing center (instead of biannually). I shall submit my application any day now and then it shouldn't be long 'til the exam.

Now, as for the state bars... I didn't pass CT or NY last time around. This time I'll sit for them again. Why? There's no real reason not to. Sitting for 2 bars isn't all that much harder than sitting for 1, at least not when it's CT & NY. I can study for NY and plan on passing CT. Seriously. At worst it's just one extra day of bar exams and I'd rather suffer that than sit for one or the other at a later date. (Yes, I know I can waive in but screw that. I'll take the exam.)

Any other questions?

~//~

Also, fyi, I will not be publishing posts from work. I figure, just to be extra safe, I will not compose or publish posts there. Heck, I'm not even going to surf to the blog's webpage. As far as I know, there's no monitoring of anything other than work e-mail but why chance it. I'd rather be safe than sorry on this one.

Work is going rather well. I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Today I began writing my first patent. I got the claims done. Tomorrow it's the Description and Figures. I'm learning a lot and enjoying the work. Not bad, really. Not bad at all.

On Thursday I have a Holiday Party that a friend invited me to. His law firm is sponsoring it or what not. Should be good. I haven't seen my friend or his fiancee since law school (so that was about 6-7 months ago).

Cheers!

We interrupt this irregularly scheduled program to bring you-SNOW!

It's snowing outside! A LOT!!! We're expected to get between 5 and 9 inches of snow. So far we have something like 3-4 inches and there's more coming down.

Interesting thing here is that my new job doesn't have a snow policy per se. Rather, it's up to me whether or not I go in. (Which makes an inordinate amount of sense since it's me who has to reach my billable hours suggestion every year.) I'll probably go in around 10:30-noon or so, once the heavy snow fall tapers off a bit. Put in around 4-5 hours billable and I'll be good.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled non-broadcast already in progress.