I've started playing Equilibria the last couple of days. I must be in some kind of funk. I haven't played it in a long time. I notice an ad for Above The Influence in the side bar, and something abou

I am tired of being unemployed and I am tired of looking for a job. It's not that I am worn out physically, it's that I have not had any real positive results (like an interview, or even an indication of interest) in quite a while. So I decided I needed another approach. I'm a smart guy, let's go talk to the movers and shak

Jonathan Brink has a new book out. Check out the promo videos below: 

As a blogger with a busy “day-job,” I really appreciate it when others do the research for me.Oregon attorney blogs and consumer and financial law websites offer a wealth of useful information, e.g.

There was a column on the Opinion Page in the local paper today by Mary Sanchez of the Kansas City Star. It was on one of my favorite topics, so naturally I had to tell her what I thought, to wit:You've heard that old

Our favorite Justice William W. Bedsworth (not to be confused with Justice William T. Bedsworth), regales us with tales of European travel in his September 2010, Criminal Waste of Space column, in the

Somebody leaned on the towel ring and loosened it's hold on the wall, so I set about fixing it. It's just screwed to the drywall, so it's not the most secure mounting in the first place, but this seems to be the standard for towel racks in modern America. As long as you don't hang on it, it's fine. If you have small kids, w

We were looking for a movie to rent the other day and one that popped up on the Red Box web site was The Ghost Writer, but my wife tells me we've seen it already. Really? I don't remember anything about it.Today Steve sends me a story about

I have written often about the wonderful Oregon Legislative Liaisons, but sadly they are no more.Instead, you need to visit the Legislature’s Support and Contact Information website, where you will find lots of conta

When my wife and kids talk it is kind of light-weight banter, give and take, back and forth, and usually of little or no interest to me. I was at lunch the other day and Steve commented that I talk like I write my blog posts. He gave a brief impression that made me sound heavy and pedantic. My son John imitates me sometimes

I usually read lists once and forget about them, but this one had too many items that hit close to home. From Steve.

I've patched a hole in the wall, now I just need to paint it. Look in the pile of old paint cans and there it is: Devine "Storm". But wait, there's not just one can, but three. Why do we have three? Could it be that one is flat, one is semi-gloss, and one is . . . we don't care. It's enough that one might be semi-gloss and

The OSB Or Con Law section’s Spring 2010 newsletter is an eye-popping 73 pages – that’s not a newsletter, that’s a book!If you want to immerse yourself in some heavy, but interesting reading, here’s

Craig Colby v. Karen Gunson, State Medical Examiner (SC S057691) (August 26, 2010)Excerpt (from August 26, 2010, OJD Media Release):

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Jury Instructions Committee has completed an extensive revision of the Ninth Circuit Manual of Model Criminal Jury Instructions. The 2010 ed

I started off at Tam's place this morning, like I often do, and following some links I ended up reading a couple of articles about

What's going on? It isn't even September yet, and it's raining outside. This is severely disconcerting.

Next up, the Ross store at the Sunset Esplanade. What was the name of the original tenant back when the mall opened up in 1989?

There are excellent consumer law websites all over the web, but sometimes you just need the local touch and a local story. This is because a lot of consumer law is local, that is, you need to know state and local law, practice, and proced

Primarily a nature park, Noble Woods Park was preserved through the work and donations of many citizens after voters failed to approve a funding measure. Now, almost 20 years later, the nearly 40 acres remains as one of the few forests left in Hillsboro.

A couple of curious things happened this week. I got two messages from employment agencies wanting to talk to me, and I got two messages from companies wanting to advertise on my blog. Not bad for not having lifted a finger in either direction.I have been looking on Dice.com f

The police are not here to create disorder, they're here to preserve disorder ~Richard J. DaleyNed has been sending me quotes about order & disorder, and I particularly liked this one, possibly because I read about Ro

I know this is two bikes in one day, but sometimes you just get lucky. This one flashed on the screen for just a second while I was watching Top Gear and I just had to get a picture of it. Just look at it - I mean even the tires are the same color as the rest of the bike, purple or pink or whatever it is.

At least that's what is looks like. I found it when I was cleaning out my bookmarks file. It is fr

I'm reading Dustbury and he points to an article on Knol, which might be an attempt by Goo

New-to-me stuff that came up at lunch today.Robert Wright. Part of the chattering class. More concerned about what people say about what other people say than about anything that actually happens.The Woods

We rented a couple of movies from a Red Box machine at McDonald's the other day. When I went to return the movies someone else was using it, and I had to wait. Minutes. Two, maybe even three.Went to the bank the other day with my daughter to open a new account. While they are filling out paperwork I realize I ne

In terms of wealth distribution, we're on the level of Zimbabwe, rather that Europe. (I read that somewhere, don't ask me to validate it.) - California BobIs it a quote if I don't know who said it? I was kind of surprised when I heard it because Zimbabwe has been my go-to-example of how not t

One of the big complaints I hear from the Left is that the distribution of wealth in this country is becoming ever more biased to the rich. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.One of the big complaints I hear from the Right is that the Left is trying to redistribute money from those that

Could be a handy tool for camping. I wonder about the saw edge though. Anything that can cut steel is going to be slow going in wood. Still, it would be a lot better than nothing. Is there any curve to the blade? I couldn't really tell. Flat would be better for cutting, but not so good for shoveling. You best carry a

By

Watching one of those YouTube videos of a record playing on a turntable, I realized that if your eye can pick up 30 frames per second, and your ears can hear down to 20 Hz, you should be able to listen to something vibrating at 20 Hz and see it move. Is the eye really faster than the ear? At what point does a tone start to

Take a stroll through your memory and guess what used to be where Carl's Jr. now stands on Tenth Street. Yes, there is more than one correct answer, but no prizes other than pride and/or self-esteem.

My wife tells me that airfare for travel on September 11th is really cheap. Evidently even years after the event, people are still afraid to travel by air on that day. Book your flight now.

Just what every science nut needs: a Personal Scanning Electron Microscope (PSEM):

Jack & I were talking about the 33 Bolivian coal minors currently trapped half a mile underground. There is a rescue plan underway, but it is expected to take four months to reach the trapped men. This reminds Jack of a story he heard somewhere,

I found this in a comment on Tam's blog. I think it gives a pretty good explanation of the relative merits of making metal parts via casting versus forging. In this case we are talking about making parts for guns, but it applies equally well to

Jack got a USB cable so he could charge his cell phone from his laptop ($2.50). It appears to work very well. Plug it in the and little battery indicator gives all the signs that it is indeed charging. Wait until it shows that it is fully charged and then unplug it. It will work fine for a bit, but the next day the battery

Mix a little Drano, aluminum foil and water in plastic pop bottle and stand back.They can be dangerous. The Snopes story says they will detonate 30 seconds after being picked up. This makes me think that water is needed for the reaction to occur.

Steve Duin’s column in today’s Oregonian (8/24/10) points us to an interesting report on the Oregon business climate:

"A 52-year-old Aloha man was arrested Friday night for firing a gun at his own wall after his neighbors complained about him doing loud bird impersonations."You can’t make this stuff up! This is why you should always have friends in code enforcement, emergency rooms, and law enforcement. They have t

People who work in the legal community don’t generally ask us this question, but ordinary mortals do. I am an ordinary mortal too, mostly, so the question seemed well worth a blog post on the subject:Before trying to track down that transcriptionist, aka tra

This story from the Law Librarian Blog caught my eye, “Short Takes on the News”:Excerpt: “…If someone lives in Philadelphia and blogs, and collects even a tiny amount of income from that activity,

The website, I Write Like, is wonderful, funny, and inventive (and I’m not inquiring into their algorithms, etc. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow, even if they all lead to Corey Doctorow). Give it a spin.F