Please Hillary--Don't Quit the Race

I am so dismayed that people are trying to get Hillary to quit. They are saying she should step aside and let Obama nail down the nomination. Who are they to make these rules up? What they don't understand is that would not only be unfair to Hillary but it would also be unfair to all the people who support Hillary, and it would also be unfair to the states that haven't had their primaries yet. There will be plenty of time to square off with John McCain when the time comes.

Walmart Sucks

Walmart is a disaster. Just as they were starting to look better with their environmental initiatives and fits and starts toward being a more responsible company, here they go again: Suing a brain damaged woman for the money she needs to lead a decent life. Details on Anderson Cooper tonight. She was an employee of Walmart who was injured in an accident. She won a settlement; now Walmart is suing to get some of their money back. It is not that they are not entitled to do so. What is at issue is their backwardness. Their cold heartedness. Their utter stupidity about business in this day and age, and their backasswardness when it comes to public relations. I love it that they are getting such bad press about this. They deserve it.

Count Down to Graduation

I am sitting here after class exhausted, and panicked about the next five weeks. I have so much to do before graduation, and I don't see how I can get it done. Moot court oral arguments, three tests, and haven't even really started studying for any of them yet. Fill out the bar application. Try to get at least a little sleep. Try at least to clean up my hopelessly dirty condo. Not lose my mind. Continue trying to lose a few pounds. Forget about even trying to do exercise. I love school too, and I hate that my last five weeks are going to be so awful. I did order my cap and gown yesterday, so that is a good thing. Another good thing is it looks like I am going to graduate. Another good thing is I will pull this off. Flip switch. Flip switch. Flip switch. Know that I will get through this and do well.

New Look for BizABiz

I decided it was time for a change for BizABiz and chose a new template. As much as I liked the other scenic one, it just didn't fit the subject matter very well. I am a writer/editor (in addition to the other things I am) and this template seems more like news or magazine column type, so it makes me feel more at home. Plus a change now and then is good.

Phil Valentine Off Base

Even though I am a liberal, I listen to the wackadoo conservative radio shows sometimes, often because I am tired of music and sometimes because I want to get my jollies. Lately, I have been wincing every time I listen to the Phil Valentine show because he is so wrong about courts. He discusses the Supreme Court's "precedents" as if they were something untoward. He says the court should interpret the Constitution and stop relying on precedents. Um....hello! Obviously, he is either ignorant about the Supreme Court and the Constitution, or he is relying on the fact that his audience is naive. The Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution is the law, and begets precedents. It is then decided law. I hope most of his listeners understand his mistakes. I think a civics lession is in store. I hate to think of all the misinformation he is spreading.

PMBR--Day 2--Property

The second day of the PMBR was scarier for me than the first. It was over property. I did very well in property in school, but it is one of the subjects that can vacate your head very quickly. The good news is the teacher said don't worry about studying about the Rule Against Perpetuities for the Bar Exam. Woo hoo! The bad news is there are lots of other property questions on the test. I did not do the practice questions before the review session, and that was a big mistake. After hearing the lecture, I did the practice questions and still missed 18 out of 50 questions. But the other good news is this is only the pre bar review session, so I will get to do it again in May. I disagree with all of those who I have heard say PMBR is a waste of time. It is a good review, and even better because I am doing it so far in advance.

PMBR--Torts and Snorts

I started the PMBR review this week and was looking forward to the first lesson, which was on torts. I really wanted the review: It has been 4 years since I had torts and I felt like I had forgotten most of what I learned. I got a C in the course so was afraid I never learned it that well to begin with. The course offered a wonderful collection of attractive nuisance, slip and fall, defamation, and other eclectic cases. While it was fascinating and often entertaining, it also had a reputation for flunking students out. And sure enough a large portion of our class succumbed. My goal was to shore myself up on the subject, to get rid of my deficiency there. But, who has time to revisit old courses when you are still taking new courses? So the PMBR review was the first look at torts for me in a long time. It felt good to get some of those concepts back in my head and get a better understanding of them. I know torts is traditionally offered in the first year of law school, but I really think I could have gotten more out of it if I had taken it in a later year.

Self Sabotage at Work--Fear of Progress Variety

There are a number of ways people sabotage themselves at work, and I have been very aware of one kind recently. I work for a business in a mature industry. That means we have to be on our toes and on the lookout for ways to grow in the future or we will become irrelevant. We have had a number of good ideas, and we get them started, and they.........all fizzle out. Or at least most of them. Why is that.? Because the projects linger on the owner's desk. It is very strange. He wants the company to grow and succeed, but then he doesn't follow through. Or he takes such a long time that all momentum is lost. He loses steam, and then people lose interest, and then he seems to wonder why things don't get done. And then he tends to blame other people for things not getting done.

Huh?

I can't figure out why he would do this. My only thought is that he is really afraid of the outcome. What if we get a lot more business? Or that we have to start thinking in other new ways? With our Website, people will now be able to access their own information rather than coming through us to get it. Does that wierd him out?

All I know is that I hope he will stop this soon or that I can shake him out of it. After all, it may be my company someday, and we need to stop just talking about the future and actually do something about it.

Eliot Spitzer's Wife

Tonight when I saw the press conference when Eliot Spitzer resigned over his dalliances with a prostitute, I just wished his wife had hauled off and slapped him on camera. He looked so unconcerned about her, even as he spoke his words of resignation.

PA Primary

Tonight after the Mississippi primary, the pundits were looking ahead to the Pennsylvania primary. There is no doubt that Pennsylvania is still the Keystone State. The whole Democratic nomination could hang on it. Howard Fine from Newsweek magazine was on MSNBC tonight saying that PA is "Pittsburgh and Philadelphia with Alabama (white Alabama) in between. Having lived in PA and loving PA and the people, I am afraid I might have to agree with that statement, at least a little bit. And that is a negative.

What Not To Say in Class

When you are taking an upper level law class, taught by a justice on the Supreme Court, it is probably best to not use vulgar language when addressing him. The other night in class, a student did just that, even though he meant no harm. In asking a question, the student used the word f*** (not that four letter word, but the one that means a bodily emission). The minute that word came out of his mouth, there was an audible gasp from a number of people and a faint titter that ran throughout the room. There was also a lot of wincing, including from the Justice. This goes under the category of "What were you thinking???"

Clean and Green

My mother recently gave me an article detailing the dangerous chemicals in many personal care and home cleaning products. Not only are the chemicals bad for the environment, but they often contain carcinogenic chemicals. I am always worried about cancer, as so many people in our family have died from the disease, so that article caught my attention.

I had heard about Shaklee vitamins before and how good they were, but I did not realize they had a whole line of Green Planet Health items for personal care and home care. I looked up the personal care items, and they include moisturing shower gel, hand and body lotion, gentle action cleansing bar, soap free cleansing bar, multi purpose cream, among other items--all made from natural ingredients.

Their home care products also look very good. Their Website talks about how common cleaners can contain such toxins as chlorine, phenol, ammonia, or formaldehyde. Their home care products do not contain such ingredients, and they also come in recyclable packaging, so it is not only good for the body, but it is doing its part in creating a healthy planet.

Seeing Red

I am seeing red, and it's not because of a lack of sleep from school or because of "bar review." I am seeing Red because of the project (Red) that Bono and Bobby Shriver started. When you buy designated products, a portion of the purchase price goes to the The Global Fund, which helps women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa. One hundred percent of that money goes to the fund. That is a great way to bring attention to this horrible problem. Their Website says that to date, Red partners have generated more than $60 million for the Global Fund. There are a number of products included in Red, and they are going to keep on adding more. I am a little cash strapped until after school, but the ones I can buy are the Hallmark Cards and the Gap shirts. I would like to buy the shirt that says Inspi(red). That would be a neat way to help spread the message.

Snow Day!

It snowed and classes were cancelled today! yay! A day off. I am trying not to waste it. But waste it is a relative term. If I were to sleep in and watch movies after weeks and months of ongoing stress, would that be a waste? Or would that be smart? I think it might be smart. wink, wink. But I also need to clean. How I need to clean! I am going to think of flylady and do housework in 15 minute increments. If I do that all weekend long, I might actually get some of it done.

Mortgages in TN

I just had a test on mortgages, so I can volunteer a little info on the subject. Actually in TN, mortgages are really deeds of trust. It is a three party transaction, as opposed to a two party transaction as in a mortgage. With a deed of trust, a mortgagor executes a deed of trust, and it gives legal title to a trustee. A granting clause in the deed of trust gives the trustee the power of sale. This means that a property can be foreclosed non judicially, which saves time and money.

TN is also a title theory state, which means that the mortgagee holds title until the property is paid off. Unlike the lien theory states, where the mortgagee just basically has a lien on the property.

TN also enforces due on sale clauses as written. Bored yet? I could go on, but you may not be listening.

I am just floating on air because I think I did well on the test. Maybe even an A! I hope so, but you never know with these dang law tests. Here's to positive thinking!

Renting Movies

Movies and renting movies have played a big part in my life. VCRs made life wonderful. If you didn't have a date, you could run to Blockbuster on Friday night and load up on movies for the weekend. In the early days, I even rented my VCR from the store! Even when you had a date, you could rent movies and get cozy. That made a fun and laid back date night. I would rent all kinds of movies: new releases, drama, comedy, suspense, foreign. I started watching The Sopranos in the third season, so of course I had to rent the first two seasons. And on and on.

Now you can get movies from Blockbuster online. For a nominal fee, you can order as many online movies as you want--you can have three out at any time and keep them out as long as you want. (This would be good for my friend who watched Titanic about 900 times.) You can order online games as well. (Once in a while, I get in a mood where I want to play games. I found a spelling game online today and had a blast. I may have to visit the site again tonight!) You can return movies and games by mail or return them to a store to exchange for a free movie. (Sometimes you need that movie NOW!)

I have had to miss a lot of movies while in school. Blockbuster will help me make that up!

Dirty Dancing

Once in a while a movie captures the mood of the country. Or at least part of the country. Dirty Dancing was one of those. I was young and all of my friends and I saw that movie over and over. We loved the music and played it all of the time. We loved the story. Many tried to dance the way they danced in the movie (to no avail). Today I heard that Patrick Swayze has pancreatic cancer. That makes me so sad.

Next Steps With Our Website

Now that we are closer to full functionality with the Website at our company, we need to look even further ahead. Once our customers can log in and order over our Website, they might want to pay for it online as well. As of right now, we do not have any international customers, but our customers are nationwide. So it is not like everyone can walk in the door, pick up their product and pay by check.

But if we incorporated ACH check payment processor solutions, they would be able to pay online with a virtual check. I personally do that all the time when paying my phone bill and such, and it works great.

We do accept credit cards at work, but someone here inputs credit card information for customers. We might also want to look into signing up for an Internet credit card processor for another online payment option. I think accepting credits cards on Website would making doing business with us even more easy and convenient.

Lining Up Bar Exam References

As the year starts on the downhill slide, my mind has turned to the infamous bar application. Like everything connected to the bar, the number of references we need seems excessive. There are several categories we have to nail down.

First, we have to have three letters of recommendations from our law professors. I received my third one today (all three from judges). I am so thrilled, and they seemed happy to comply with my request for the letters. I will attach them to the application.

Not surprisingly, we also need employment references. I have asked a current colleague and lined up three from my last place of employment. I really only need one, but I was there for such a long time, I thought maybe I should ask three, and they all said they would speak of me glowingly. They don't have to write a letter but have to respond to questions the bar examiners may have.

Then there is the general reference category, and we need six of them. I have asked six friends and/or colleagues and they have all agreed. Two of them are deans, four of them are professors (two are law professors), another is a judge, four are lawyers, and one is on staff of an agency where I used to serve on the board of directors. I think this is a good mix, and I am so grateful to know such good people and that they think well of me to do this.

One more step accomplished on the road to the bar exam!

Moving is Hell

I probably won't have to move again for a few years and that is a good thing. Moving is just one of those things you dread. Even when I just moved some furniture from another state a few years ago, that was an ordeal. Hiring a moving company was going to be too expensive, so I rented a van and moved it myself. But lining all of that up was difficult too. So whenever I buy a house, I will hire a reputable full service moving company to save my sanity.

When I was getting quotes before, I was afraid of getting the runaround. Too many times, you will get a quote, but then it ends up being a lot more expensive than you thought. Or they keep your items too long and don't deliver them on time.

When I do buy a house and move, I am going to give myself plenty of time to find a good moving company. Researching on the Internet is a way to find a reliable source. Many good moving companies will work with you on your move, and let you know what you are responsible for, and what your rights are. They will take a lot of the pain out of moving!

Enhanced Fax Systems

I have been wondering lately why anyone would want or need to use faxes anymore in this age of email. Seems so antiquated lately. I know a lot of our customers still ask for quotes via fax, but I was thinking that slowly they would get weaned over to doing so via the Website.

But then I got to thinking that we could still use faxes--maybe a fax to email system, where they could send a handwritten or handrawn item to us to reproduce. Such an email to fax system would utilize fax integration services and allow access from documents anywhere through our business process.

I did some research and have found some great systems. From what I can tell some of these new solutions can be deployed without the need for dedicated fax hardware, among other advantages. This will get more of my attention for our business for sure!

Channel 2's Concept House Benefits Cystic Fibrosis

Channel 2 in Nashville is promoting its 2nd annual Concept House, going on right now. It is an amazing house in a wonderful neighborhood. In fact, it is a dream house! When I toured the home this past week, not only did a I dream of someday owning a nice house like that (or maybe something at least a little bit like it) it also inspired me to take better care of my current house. After touring that wonderful place, I had to go home and face down the dust bunnies and clean clothes that still had to be hung up. Being in that dream house revived my dream of living better and in a more organized and luxurious fashion right where I am. The best part of the tour though is that the proceeds benefit cystic fibrosis, a life threatening disease that needs donations badly and has a great track record of using donations very wisely.

Marathon Eating

I was thrilled to be a participant in San Diego's inaugural Rock n' Roll Marathon. What a great event. Even though the weather was about 10 degrees hotter than it ever is in San Diego, we had a blast. We meaning members of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. There were groups from all over the country who had raised money to fight leukemia and had trained to walk or run a whole marathon. What an accomplishment--both for ourselves and in raising money for a dreaded disease.

We spent the night before the marathon downing carbs to prepare for the big race. Then after the race. we were sore and achy but wanted to go out and have a good time. This particular event was actually in the late 90s, so I do not remember where we ate, but believe me, there is many a fine San Diego restaurant!

I have a friend who lives near San Diego, so at some point after law school graduation, I want to head back out for another visit. While I am there, I want to try out some of the best San Diego restaurants. I will do my research and really know where I want to go, and treat my friend and her family to a couple of great meals. I found a Website that not only offers information on restaurants but also offers a San Diego restaurant coupon for many nice establishments. You can print them out and take them with you. That will help stretch the travel budget!

Vanderbilt's New Chancellor

Vanderbilt University, my alma mater, today announced only its 8th chancellor in its history: Nick Zeppos. I have met Zeppos and think he is a fine choice. A law professor and provost, he is very intelligent, witty, and will put on a very good face for the university. I had heard rumors that they might want to choose somebody from outside the university family, but they decided to stick with one of our own. And they made a good choice, IMO.

Click Marketing

Now that we have our new Website up and running (for the most part), we need to attract more visitors to the Website. I would like us to investigate the possibility of pay per click advertising, which could help bring us increased numbers of targeted visitors, a higher click through rate, a lower cost per click, and a higher ROI.

We have talked about this in the office before, but we adopt technology at a snail's pace. Thank goodness, our industry seems to be lagging in adoption also, but I would like to see us get ahead of the pack.

Search engine optimisation helps get your Website on the first page of Google and other search engines. There are a number of things you can do to get more traffic and hence get higher up in the page rank. But to simplify matters, you can work with a company that helps you with search engine optimisation. Such a company may help you with creating a site map, submitting optimised page URLs to search engines, monitoring those search engines to make sure the entries get properly indexed, and optimising code and html code, etc. I think it would be well worth the money to get more exposure on the Web. Hopefully sometime soon we can do this.