The Rogers News

Author: Chris

  • Daily Response: Feb 5, 2009

    Daily Response is a new daily series I’m starting that will be hosted here on my blog and distributed via my Facebook Notes and also on my tumblr. Daily Response is my impromptu comments on any notable news I’ve come across during the day either in real life or here on the Interweb.

    1. Michael Phelps being suspended from the U.S. Swim team is justice. The team has rules and it must respect and obey them. With this said, I believe marijuana should be legalized. We have bigger fish to fry than catching smokers.

    2. There has been an unnecessary public discussion via school wide email today. The short of it is that a student took issue with the content of an email sent by an organization. Instead of addressing this privately, the student chose to blast the entire school with his thoughts. This prompted responses from others telling him to shut up. This is a waste of my email storage space.

    3. This video, “Verizon Math Fail” is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time.

    4. I hate that American banks are being federalized. That the federal government is capping executive compensation is disgusting. We have a capitalist economy. Some regulation is okay, but now we are going too far. These types of moves by the Obama administration make me question whether I should have voted for him to lead my country.

    5. While making toast this morning an idea struck me. Toasters should be offset so that piece one springs up ten to fifteen seconds before piece two, thus allowing time to butter piece one before piece two starts to cool off.

  • Book: The Associate

    I just finished John Grisham’s The Associate. It was good enough for me to spend the last few hours finishing instead of working on my draft order, but not great. The plot – and all there is to Grisham books is sturdy plot – opened with great potential. The first 75 pages drew me in. The book starts by introducing the reader to the protagonist, a third-year law student named Kyle. From there his well ordered life as a high-potential student and editor of the Yale Law Review is thrown into disarray thanks the resurfacing of a long-forgotten college incident.

    The suspense was linear. There were no twists. No big revelations at the end of the book. Nothing that made it necessary to finish. In summary, reading the book was like being promised a bonfire and receiving a smoldering fire pit. It kept me warm, but I had to stay too close.

    I’m going to read The Partner next and see if it’s any better. I’ve heard good things.

  • Spring Semester: Week 4

    It’s already the middle of the week – nearly the end of my school week. I’m done at 10am on Thursdays, which is great for now but will make adjusting to an actual job environment all the more difficult.

    In an attempt to sabotage my studies, I bought and have been reading John Grisham’s latest legal thriller, The Associate. The story is making me want to go into big law and be worked to death to the tune of a $200,000 salary. The character states that if he works 56 hours a week for 11.5 months, he’ll bill approximately 2500 hours. An impressive number.

    Of course, actually getting to 56 (or 2500 for that matter) is harder than it seems. Can’t bill at lunch, in the bathroom, or while chit-chatting. I worked longer hours than 56 during some weeks at Ruckus. I arrived to work at 7am and left at 10 or 11pm. I’m not sure what the hourly breakdown between work and play was, but I worked a lot. I think I could handle the legal work.

    Aside from the novel, there’s lots of reading about various topics of law. We’re finally getting into actual environmental law in Environmental Law. For a while there I thought it was a trick to get me to retake Administrative Procedure and Con Law. We’re still covering Partnerships in Business Entities Taxation. I’ve got a decent grasp on the material, so its somewhat enjoyable. Wait, that was the wrong word. It’s not horrible. The other classes are fine. I have an Order due on Monday for Judicial Opinion Drafting. I’m procrastinating on that with this post.

    Not much else going on at school worth talking about. More next week.

  • Liveblogging the Australian Open Final

    This “liveblog” will be updated periodically as I watch Roger Federer vie for his 14th Grand Slam against world #1 Rafael Nadal.

    8:20 am – Final score: Rafael Nadal defeats Roger Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2. That’s it for me. Have a good day and enjoy the Super Bowl

    8:17 am – It’s funny that the first moments after winning or losing a major tennis championship are spent tidying one’s gear into one’s bag. That just wouldn’t happen in baseball, football, or hockey. Can you imagine, upon winning the World Series, the team taking the time to tidy their bats, make sure their helmets were in their cubbies, etc. No way!

    8:15 am – Federer forehand long – Nadal wins! Game. Set. Match. Championship.

    8:13 am – Props to Federer on saving two match points. Gut wrenching stuff.

    8:08 am – Rafa looks like he was good money. The Nadal family box is entertaining. They are young in spirit, smartly dressed, and consistently standing. Federer’s box on the other hand is always seated and pensive.

    8:07 am – Either way NIKE wins, right?

    7:57 am – Roger’s nervers get the best of him – loses serve. Nadal leads the final set 3-1. Uh oh! This could be over in a matter of minutes.

    7:56 am – I am endlessly impressed by one-handed backhands. It must require a great deal of skill and practice to hit with power and control.

    7:52 am – No commercials in the final set! Like watching the Masters.

    7:41 am – All square. I could have woken up now and it kinda would have been the same.

    7:26 am – Federer holds. If this goes to a 5th set, Nadal might have it. His adrenaline will overpower Federer’s remaining strength.

    7:11 am – Just an afterthought: Growing up I watched Pete Sampras duel with Andre Agassi. I never thought I would see the kind of tennis they seemed to be able to play. But, now that Nadal has stepped up his game beyond just clay courts, these guys captivate me almost as much as Peet and Andre. I have to say though… Sampras would never double-fault to lose a critical set in a major.

    7:08 am – Nadal breaks back. Not sure How I feel about this. Concurrently reading assignments for Judicial Opinion Drafting.

    7:05 am – Oh, Federer. If only you could have broken last set we could wrap this match up before breakfast.

    6:56 am – Rafa takes the third set in a tiebreaker, 7-3. Federer looks tight. I want a donut.

    6:48 am – “Tiebreak to decide the third [set].” ESPN keeps cutting to Roger’s girlfriend. She looks worried. Looks like she just thanked the heavens that Roger held.

    6:42 am – It’s getting light outside. I’m wondering if it’s too early to do my laundry.

    6:35 am – Both Federer and Nadal look fatigued right now – Federer because he hasn’t capitalized on any of the break point chances and Nadal because he keeps almost losing his serve.

    6:30 am – Great service by Nadal. I no longer have to pull for him as the underdog. I’m getting what I wanted – a close match worth waking up for.

    6:15 am – Okay, I’m getting up for real and watching this. It looks good. Third set on serve with one set each.

    4:45 am – Wake up see, see that tennis is on, fall back asleep.

    4:00 am – Alarm goes off and I that Federer was broken in his first service game – the first game of the match. I watch him break back against Nadal.

  • Litigation Batman Style

    I have never wanted to be a litigator because I’m a baby when it comes to public speaking. I’m sure if you examined my childhood there would be explanations for this. Regardless, the following quote from The Dark Knight made me rethink litigation. I would appear in court if just to say this:

    Sometimes, truth isn’t good enough; sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.

    In what context could I say this?

    Is it possible to deliver something better than “truth” in a system that so cherishes it? At what cost?

  • Super Bowl Prediction

    When asked about sporting events I reply that I hope it’s a close game. Most of the time I don’t care about the teams involved. Even if my team is playing, I want the game to be close. I consider spending four hours watching a blowout a waste of my (very precious) time. I want something that will captivate me into the last few minutes. My standards for sporting events are no different that those for a good suspense story – an outcome that hangs on a twist of fate – an extra heave-ho from one team or the other – a four-leaf clover growing on the right side of the field.

    With that said, and acknowledging that I honestly don’t care whether the Arizona Cardinals (9-7) or the Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) win, I pick the Cardinals to beat the Steelers by a score of 35 to 24.

    What is your prediction? Do you care about the game or are tuning in for the commercials alone?

  • Movie: Frost/Nixon

    I saw Frost/Nixon this afternoon at the reduced rate of $7. The movie was worth the time and money. I don’t know much about Nixon beyond the loss in the debates to Kennedy because he looked tired and the Watergate “blemish.” And I’ve never cared much about Nixon as his time was before my time. Regardless, the movie does a good job of doing what it set out to do – get me up to speed on what I need to know about Watergate to have an appreciation for the significance of Frost’s devastating interview.

    Frost/Nixon frames President Nixon as a smart, calculating and well advised individual who was, for most of the movie, a more than worthy adversary for the fumbling Frost. But what is revealed in the final interview – the interview about Watergate – the interview where Frost gets his act together – is a weakened and regretful, but no less dedicated, Nixon. His face shows the burden carried by a man who has failed a country.

    It was at this point that I thought how nearly impossible it must be for any president, good or bad, worthy or not, republican or democrat to carry the burden of their actions – and the effects those actions have on the American people. The presidency is an official office and the president is an official. No matter how regimented of an approach the man elected to that position takes, his conscience must be incredibly heavy at any moment. I’m not sure I would want to be in that position.