My Favorite Websites of 2012

Below is a list of my favorite websites and blogs that I’ve read throughout 2012. I have followed some of them for five years, while others are new. Enjoy!

  1. Free Cabin Porn – Probably the best of the year. Simply, this is just one beautiful cabin picture after another.
  2. Kottke.org – My following this blog goes back a ways to 2005. Not sure how I found it, but I’m glad I did!
  3. A Cup of Jo – Her audience is probably mostly women – or maybe not – but I don’t care! The “weekend” posts on Friday offer great links, and it’s always good for ideas about family, children, gifts, and cool stuff.
  4. What Should We Call Me – I can’t not link to this hilarious site of animated gifts. The author’s commentary is spot on, and it also appears that she is in law school. Or was.
  5. @GCTigerTracker on Twitter is another must-have during golf season. Every shot tracked.

My go-to websites each day, in addition to ICLE.com and WestLawNext.com, which I use for work, are Google Reader where I aggregate all of the many blogs I read into a chronological stream of posts and PopURLs.com. I would like to shift my attention to more local news outlets such as the Record Eagle. It’s important to be a well informed citizen.

My Year In Cities 2009

In 2009, I slept at least one night in each of the following cities. The asterisks denote multiple-visit cities.

Note that Concord, NH was home during my three years of law school. Time passes quickly, as the eight months since I was last in New Hampshire are a blurred memory of moving, bar examining and life sorting.

Chicago, IL was home for a brief period during which I thought I wanted to live and start my career there. It is a wonderful city where I have a few good friends, but, upon closer inspection, it didn’t hold a candle to where I’ve chosen to settle down…

I can now call Traverse City, MI home again. For awhile, it was relegated to “hometown” status, but it has been hoisted from shallow depths of my high school memories and, I must say, has reemerged in technicolor with added features.

  • Concord, NH*
  • Traverse City, MI*
  • Ann Arbor, MI
  • Chicago, IL*
  • Austin, TX
  • San Antonio, TX
  • Ishpeming, MI
  • Minneapolis, MN
  • Grimsby, ON, Canada

25 Random Things About Me

Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged (to do it next). You have to tag the person who tagged you.

I was tagged into this meme via Facebook. Here are 25 random things about me:

1. I recently purchased a miniature grappling hook for my key chain.

2. My favorite television show of all time is The West Wing.

3. I’ve recently been reminded of an old nickname: Mr. Elite.

4. I love frozen chocolate chip cookies.

5. I will never believe you can beat me at golf until we’ve played 36 holes together.

6. Looks like I’m headed to Chicago to practice law. Or at least take the bar.

7. I have hiked the Grand Canyon twice. That’s enough for awhile.

8. I would like to live in a small log cabin in the northern reaches of the Adirondack region, write and hike. For a month a year. That would be cool.

9. I am an unforgiving driver who doesn’t realize his own faults. Follow the rules!

10. I have never broken a bone.

11. It is virtually impossible for me to memorize lyrics. I envy those who can pick up a song after listening to it one or two times.

12. I enjoy driving long distances. Either alone or with someone. It doesn’t matter. I like the feeling of “going somewhere.” I like that I might see something happen that no one else will see. If you ever drive past me, you may see me taking pictures out of my car window.

13. One of my favorite places to be is in an airport before my flight departs. Despite being around thousands of strangers, I feel very alone in airports. Nothing can touch me once I’ve passed through security. At that point in the trip, I can exhale, find a coffee shop and start reading.

14. I need to be more Rhett and less Ashley.

15. I will be happy if I end up practicing law, although I imagine that I will be happier if I can do something more creative. That latter, however, requires an equal amount of effort and dedication as does the former. I realize this. But in three years of law school I’ve been unable to fully kill-off that part of me that wants to explore. For some reason I’ve yet to figure out how to join the two interests – law and everything else – but one day… one day…

16. I have more than a few gray hairs. This is because I worry about things and sweat the small stuff. I have some learning to do.

17. I believe that teachers hold tremendous power and influence. As a graduate student I’ve had my share of good and bad teachers. The good professors captivate me, regardless of the subject. The bad ones can ruin even the most interesting topics. What makes a good teacher and a bad teacher is tough to say.

18. I don’t mind cold weather. I’m a tough guy.

19. I appreciate home more now than before.

20. I eat the ends of french fries and hot dogs now without even thinking about it. For many years I had a strict “no ends” policy.

21. No matter how much I like an apartment when I move in, I end up finding something wrong with it within six months. This makes me wary of buying a house.

22. I have never ridden on a motorcycle or a snowmobile.

23. I would never buy a suit from Banana Republic. I really don’t know why, though. It just seems like an odd place to buy a suit, regardless of the quality.

24. I don’t mind doing dishes. It’s relaxing.

25. I need to find a job! This should be #1.

The Smithsonian Life List

The Smithsonian Lift List is below. I’ve been to the Great Wall, The Louvre, and the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is easily the most impressive natural sight I’ve ever seen. The Great Wall was impressive, but it was extremely foggy on the day I visited it. I visited The Louvre in 7th grade and 9th grade. I would have a better appreciation now.

Here is the list:

Portals into the Past
Walk the timeless streets and byways of ancient cities on three continents

– Mesa Verde
– Pompeii
– Tikal
– Petra

Feats of Engineering
The world’s surviving architectural wonders hewed from stone and mortar beckon as ever

– Pyramids of Giza
– Taj Mahal
– Easter Island
– The Great Wall

A Matter of Timing
Choosing the right year, month or even moment can make all the difference

– Aurora Borealis
– Serengeti
– Iguazu Falls
– Machu Picchu

Triumphs of Vision
Come face to face with history’s finest works of art and design

– The Louvre
– Zen Garden of Kyoto
– Uffizi Gallery
– Fallingwater

Scale New Heights
Don’t just see nature’s most spectacular sites—experience them

– Yangtze River
– Antarctica
– Mount Kilimanjaro
– Grand Canyon

In the Presence of Gods
Encounter temples so magnificent then could only have been built by divine inspiration

– Pagan
– Parthenon
– Angkor Wat
– Ephesus

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?
Visit these deteriorating or threatened destinations before they disappear

– Venice
– Amazon Rain Forest
– Great Barrier Reef
– Galápagos Islands

My Year In Cities: 2007

Here is a list of the cities in which I spent one or more nights in 2007. I visited the cities marked with asterisks more than once on non-consecutive occasions.

United States

* Chicago, IL*
* Edmond, OK
* Herndon, VA
* Hilton Head Island, SC
* Ishpeming, MI*
* Lansing, MI
* Newark, NJ
* New York, NY
* Niagara Falls, NY
* Park City, UT
* Portland, ME
* Raleigh, SC
* Richmond, VA
* Traverse City, MI*

International

* Beijing, China*
* Shanghai, China
* Toronto, Ontario
* Xi’an, China