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  • Proximity to Family

    Paraphrasing The View’s Joy Behar:

    Wealthy families and poor families tend to stick together, while middle class families tend to disperse geographically.

    There are a few ways to take this. Rich and poor children tend to be more dependent on their families than middle class children. Although I don’t have data, it would make sense that poor children would work with their parents to support a larger family unit, while children of wealthy parents are likely to remain under the family “umbrella” for a longer period of time. Conversely, middle class children seem to strive for more financial independence from their families.

    I moved away from my family for college, but I stayed in-state. After college, I moved further away from home because I was eager to work and prove my independence. I think as many 20 to 25 year olds will agree, proving your independence is easier said than done. After working for a couple of years, I opted to return to school and chose a law school further, rather than closer, to home.

    My motivation has been necessity, independence, and a desire to explore. I have not strived to be away from my parents, but rather followed what I thought to be the most enriching opportunity available.

    From being away from home, I’ve learned to appreciate my home town. My attitude has evolved from thinking there wasn’t much going on there to recognizing it is as busy and fulfilling as anywhere else I have lived or traveled.

  • Party Walls

    In England a long time ago someone important decided that the buildings should be made of brick and mortar instead of wood. In order to support the increased weight of the upper floors, wider walls were needed. To avoid significant loss of square footage on the lower lever because of thicker walls, “party walls” shared by neighbors were erected. Each neighbor had a duty to maintain the wall and to refrain from damaging the integrity of the “party wall.”

    New England’s adoption of the “party walls” approach to fences and other such developments between property owners was the inspiration for Robert Frost’s poem, “Mending Wall,” which ends with, “Good fences make good neighbors.” (link)

  • Applying for a Mortgage

    Interesting tidbit from Property Law, which may be obvious to home-owners. (I don’t own a home.)

    Often we hear people say they have a mortgage, or they’re going to get a mortgage. But, they actually give a mortgage as collateral to get a loan.

    Definition:

    A charging of real property by a debtor to a creditor as a security for a debt (esp. one incurred by the purchase of property), on the condition that it shall be returned on payment of the debt within a certain period.

    I just saw in the news that mortgage applications have fallen for the fifth week in a row.

  • Content-Neutral Ban on Billboards

    Sao Paulo recently banned all billboards from its city limits. (Pictures with billboards)(Pictures without billboards) Although the city is in Brazil and not the United States, it highlights an interesting point in my Constitutional Law reading. A “state” may place a content-neutral ban on an entire medium if:

    1. The state interests are sufficiently significant,
    2. The interests do not suppress the freedom of expression,
    3. The law is narrowly tailored, and
    4. There are viable alternatives available.

    The United States Supreme Court has stated:

    A majority of this Court found [in Metromedia] that [aesthetic] considerations would be sufficient to justify a content-neutral ban on all outdoor advertising signs, notwithstanding the extent to which such signs convey First Amendment protected messages. Lakewood v. Plain Dealer Publishing Co., 486 U.S. 750, 783 (1988) (White, J., dissenting)(citing the plurality opinion and the dissenting opinions of Burger, C.J. and Rehnquist and Stevens, JJ.)

    In Sao Paulo’s case, they are seeking to clean up the aesthetics of the city and are not targeting a specific type of billboard ad, but all billboard ads. The fact that an entire medium of communication is being banned could be seen as a content-based interest, however there are likely equally viable options to advertise other than billboards.

  • Price Per Gallon

    When compared to the price per gallon of other liquids gas is relatively modest. I would argue that whether the price per gallon of gas is modest should also be judged with regard to the volume consumed and the demand for that liquid.

    Interesting to note that if my car, like my body, ran on coffee, purchasing 25 gallons of Folger’s home brewed coffee would only cost me $17.50. However, if I filled my car with Starbucks coffee at $1.86 / 16oz it would cost me $378.

    Here are some prices per gallon for various liquids (link):

    * Coffee – $0.70
    * Gas – $2.70
    * Milk – $3.79
    * Eggs – 5.76
    * Beer – $8.88
    * Chocolate Syrup – $13.23
    * RedBull – $30.69
    * Robitussin DM – 109.76
    * Scorpion Venom – $38,858,507.46

  • Virginia Tech Shooting

    The deadliest college campus shooting in history took place this morning at the Virginia Tech University. Over the course of three hours, a single gunman killed at least 32 students before taking his own life. (NYT Link)

    This is a horror that chills my soul on an already cold and stormy day. It’s rare that a headline makes my eyes tear up, but there is little else to do when reading something like this. I want to say this places the fragility of life in perspective, but that doesn’t seem just – not at the expense of 32 innocent students.

    What else is there to say?

  • Indentured Deed

    Here is an interesting excerpt from my property text book that reminded me of those heart shaped best-friends-forever necklaces that split into two pieces.

    In the days before typewriters and carbon paper, and centuries before Xerox, lawyers were faced with the problem of providing duplicate copies of deeds in certain instances when both the grantor and grantee wanted a copy (for example, in case of a mortgage). They found the solution in an indenture. The deed was written out twice on a single sheet of parchment (usually made from sheepskin stretched, scraped, and scoured) and signed at the end of each copy by both grantor and grantee. The parchment was then cut into two pieces in an irregular line, leaving a sawtooth or indented edge. The two halves, forming two separate deeds, one for the grantor and one for the grantee, could be fitted together to show their genuineness.