Coyote Cute

I am a sucker for wonderfully impossible animal stories. Check it out.


http://dailycoyote.blogspot.com/

The Real Cost of Smoking

How much is a pack of cigarettes really worth to you? How about $222 off the value of your life if you are a man. And $94 off the value of your life if you are a woman. Kind of scary, huh? It is higher for men because they earn more than women over their lifetimes and have a greater risk of dying from smoking.

The study by Vanderbilt professors Kip Viscusi and Joni Hersch takes into account the cost to the smokers themselves, based on the value that smokers put on their own lives, rather than the cost to society. The researchers note that smoking increases the chances of anyone dying at anytime in his/her life.

It sure wouldn't be worth it to me.

Conservative Talk Radio: The Great Whine Fest

I usually don't listen to conservative talk radio. On the local channel here, they do offer some good specific programming: Dave Ramsey, Handle on the Law, Dr. Asa Anderson. Those shows are good. The rest of the programming is like a train wreck: You really don't want to see (listen to) it, but it is so bad, you can't help yourself.

Today, I was scanning the channels and heard one of the "wonders" of our station talking about how the democrats are the new elite. And in typical fashion, he was saying something really clever like "democrats say one thing and do another."

He was talking about a survey, I guess, that was apparently done by the Heritage Foundation, that said that democrats now represent the majority of the nation's wealthiest congressional districts.

He kept trying to turn it into something deceptive or sinister. Hello???

My first reaction is--how stupid! If democrats are wealthy and live in the nicest neighborhoods, great! What is wrong with that? One of the most tired, worn out cliches about democrats is that they are bad for business, that they don't want business to do well. If they are living in such nice neighborhoods, I would say they are pretty good at business, and good for business.

Further, democrats tend to be concerned about their fellow man. What is wrong with that? And if they are so wealthy, and still concerned about their fellow man, that only means that they are really nice people. They are concerned about the underdog, even though it may have nothing personally to do with them, or it won't help them.

Republicans could really take a lesson from this. Concern about others is a good thing, not a negative thing. Too many republicans are only concerned about themselves and what is in it for them.

When republicans and conservatives go on and on like this, it really looks like they have a huge chip on their shoulder. It is quite obvious they are the underdog (and know it) and losing ground fast when they feel their only recourse is to stoop to such inane chatter.

I can't figure out what is worse: Whether this DJ on our local network really thinks his listeners are this stupid, or if the listeners are really this stupid, which would be much more frightening.

Conservative talk radio can really get irritating with all of the relentless whining. But it can be fun entertainment. After all, these little children need to have their "rants."

I won't be on a conservative talk radio diet, but sometimes you have to have a chuckle or two. And you can get a chuckle listening to these himbos. I'll have some cheese with that whine, once in a while.

I Am PMBRing!

I wasn't sure whether to PMBR or not. The expenses in this last year of law school are mounting up, and the BarBri is high enough. I have read online a number of people saying both yea and nay to doing the PMBR. Some have said it was a waste of time. Others have said it is invaluable.

What made my decision easier is that they had a sale--the review program ended up only being $800. I paid my balance of $599 this week. The PMBR is supposed to be good for the multi-state portion of the bar exam. Plus, they let you do a dry run of the review before you take your review for real. That was what really sold me.

Now, I have to worry about paying for the BarBri. My pot of money to pay for both reviews is fading fast. I have enough to make a little dent in the BarBri cost, but to my dismay, not enough to pay it off. And my balance is $2,187! I have to pay that off by April 1. Hopefully I won't have any trouble, but I have a lot of other expenses too.

Green Power Switch

I have been interested in doing the green power switch for a while, and heard a presentation about it the other day.

Basically you can buy 150-kilowatt-hour blocks (about 12 percent of a typical household monthly energy usage) for $4 each. You are not buying green power to come directly to your house, but you are helping to add green power to the mix.

The renewable sources of energy included in this are wind power, solar power, and methane gas (using methane gas as fuel to power an electric generator helps to reduce air polluation, as opposed to directly releasing the methane gas into the atmosphere as a potent greenhoue gas).

The clearest evidence of the value of using green power switch is that, according to the Nashville Electric Service, paying $8 a month for green power switch is like not driving your for four months! This same investment per month is like recycling 15,322 cans or 1,766 pounds of newspaper!

More Violations for TN Nursing Homes

Twenty nursing homes in Tennessee have had their admissions suspended following a series of violations, an article in the Tennessean pointed out today. The article did not detail what the violations are, but several people quoted in the article said that if admissions have been suspended, then some bad things have gone on at these places. Industry representatives counterd in the article saying that it doesn't necessarily mean that things are worse at TN nursing homes, just that the inspections are getting tougher. I hope that is the case, but in my opinion, any violations are too many.

Elder care is one of my interests; in fact I would like to use my law degree in this area. Even if I can't practice full time, I would like to help the elderly on a pro bono basis. My main goal would be to try to help them stay in their homes. Sometimes the elderly need to go into nursing homes, but I think it should be the last resort. THE LAST RESORT.

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The other day when I posted about Sarah Des Prez and the fact that they have caught the man who they think murdered her, I almost closed the post with the words, "And maybe they will solve Marcia Trimble's murder case soon too. Marcia was a young girl who was also murdered in 1975, when she was in her Green Hills neighborhood selling Girl Scout Cookies. It was a terrible murder, and one that rocked Nashville to its core. Strangely enough, there is some suspicion now that the same man might have committed both murders. The man was a landscaper, which might have put him in the Green Hills area. But still there were some facts about the case that would seem to point away from a perpertrator like this..........


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On another sad note is the suicide of the young girl in Dardenne Prairie, MO. She hung herself after being harassed by a boy she liked, who then turned on her online. Turns out there was no boy, but the harassers were the parents of a classmate who lived down the street. How awful is that? Shame on those adults who reportedly don't seem very remorseful either. At first, there was no law these perps could be charged with. Now the town has passed a law making online harassment a crime. Best line from the article was a quote from the town's mayor: "after all, harassment is harassment, regardless of the mechanism or the tool."

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Marketing Uptick

Things are looking up on the marketing front at our company. The new Website is up and running, even though we are not getting a lot of orders through it yet. I keep telling the others at work that we need to promote the new Website when talking with customers. I hope they are doing it--I am not around to hear what they say to customers in person or on the phone.

Now we are working on the second phase of the Website--where our customers can log in and check the status of their orders. That will be cool!

I have come to realize how far behind our industry is in terms of Website technology and such. Many of the companies don't even have a Website. Yikes! It is good for us though, because it makes us ahead of the pack.

We are also redoing our ad that will run in a trade magazine. I am so glad. The company has run the same stodgy ad for so long. We have created a new ad that will run. It was a rush job--I had mentioned I wanted to redo the ad, but it had not been talked about in a long time. My relative boss came out last week and said let's do it now. The ad is due to the publisher next week. It is a good first start. We will continue working on better ads. Things are looking up!

Sarah "Sally" Des Prez

On the news tonight, there was word that a 30-year old murder case was solved--that of Sarah "Sally" Des Prez. She was 19 years old and a Vanderbilt student. There weren't many details--maybe more will come out later. A news account is pasted below.

I knew her, but only slightly. We were in junior high and high school together. She was older than me, but I knew who she was. I thought she was nice. When she was murdered, I was still in high school. It was shocking. It happened to a very nice person, in a nice community, and at a time when things like that didn't happen much.

Solving the mystery doesn't bring her back, but maybe it helps bring closure to her family and friends. Rest in peace, dear soul.

From NewsChannel5.com:

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Metro Police said its Cold Case Unit has solved a crime that happened more than 30 years ago.
Police arrested Jerome Sydney Barrett,60, Monday in Memphis, Tenn. Detectives said Barrett has been indicted on first degree murder charges. Those charges stem from the murder of Sarah Vannatta Des Prez in February of 1975. Investigators said scientific evidence tied Barrett to the crime.
Police said Des Prez was 19 years old, and a student at Vanderbilt University when she was found dead in her apartment. Barrett spent time behind bars for the 1975 rape of a Belmont University student, but was released about five years ago.

Nap Time

Research came out recently touting the value of naps. Naps help reduce blood pressure and have other benefits. No news there. Other countries with siestas have known that for eons.

I didn't use to be able to take naps, but taught myself how. In my previous job, on occasion, I would close my door, pull up another chair, put my feet up, and nap for 20 minutes. I would feel so much better. A Power Nap.

(One of my colleagues there once told me she had a dream that I was in my office with the door closed, draped over two chairs. I almost choked. "Hmm," I said, "isn't that interesting!' I didn't want to tell her she must be psychic.)

Now in my new job, I don't have an office with a door, so I can't take naps. There have been a few times when I felt I needed one. Oh well, I have survived.

There has also been some other research to come out recently that says women with jobs clean house less. No news there. We have known that for years.......

Getting Backed Up in Law School

I said it wouldn't happen this year, but it has: I have gotten backed up again in law school. When you are working full time and going to school full time, there is no wonder this happens. But I wanted to take a different tack this year. Oh well.

I have already had two final exams this year in domestic relations and negotiable instruments. Neither grade is back, but we might find out what we made in negotiable this week. It was a hard test--too long for the time allotted, and most people think they did badly. I had done well on all the quizzes leading up to the final, but the final was harder. I got to go back and review most of the multiple choice questions during the test period, but my answers on the essay questions were too short.

Because I had spent so much time on these two courses, I got behind in my other two courses. Now, I have to catch up in con law and conflicts. I have a midterm in con law coming up soon, and we suspect we will have a quiz in conflicts. I am terribly behind in my reading and the concepts in conflicts just escape me. So my work is cut out for me the next month!

Project Pyramid

The neat thing about being an MBA student these days is that it seems there are increasingly innovative ways of doing business, and an increasing desire to do good in the world.

I heard a presentation recently about Vanderbilt University's Project Pyramid Program. It's tagline is "Changing the World from the Bottom Up." The program had its genesis at VU's Owen Graduate School of Management but is now an interdisciplinary program involving multiple schools at VU. Their mission is to help alleviate global poverty. Through education, collaboraton and sustained action, the goal is to alleviate poverty by outfitting future leaders of business, law, education, medicine, and religion with tools and the mindset to tackle the problem.

Activities have included a Project Pyramid case competition and a trip to India. An inspiration for the program was Dr. Muhammad Yunus, an economist from Bangladesh, and Vanderbilt alumnus, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for founding Grameen Bank, a microfinance institution. Yunus is a true hero.

The Project Pyramid site has an online journal with interesting comments and observations, and also links to kiva.org, an online microfinance site. As soon as I get a little extra money, I will loan money through Kiva.

Nashville is a Happy City

How happy is Nashville? A convoluted article on the MSN website today tried to lay out the elements. Below are the factors they came up with. I agree with some and don't agree with others.

1) Being married. They say if you are married, you are happier, and you are more likely to be married if you live in the south. I have heard of this before. harrumph! I am much happier single than many married people, thank you very much!

2) Regular attendance at church--their thinking is that church allows a way for people to support each other. I get and give support without going to church, thank you very much!

3) Living in a city with lots of sunshine--according to the MSN story, I should only be about 50 percent happy, because Nashville only ranks 56 percent annual possible sunshine. Say what? It is sunny here alot.

4) Being engaged in your work. Good, I have that one. The unemployment rate they had for Nashville was 3.7 percent.

5) Being healthy helps you be happy. Nashville is ranked 18th in the MSN list in terms of health. That is better than the state of Tennessee tends to rank as a whole for health. Good, because I am healthy!

6) Time for family, friends, and community. The article says we are working longer hours and have less time for friends and family, and this includes longer commute times. I am really engaged with family and friends. The average commute time for Nashvillians is 25.6 minutes. Mine is 15 minutes. In my previous job, it was 5 minutes.

7) How giving are you? I love to do volunteer work. I wish I could donate more money. Well, maybe someday. The article ranked Nashville as 19th in giving. I am totally surprised. This is a very philanthropic city. It should be ranked higher.

8) Good urban design. The article says that good urban design helps people get to know each other better, and therefore they are happier. Whoops--OK, Nashville is not great in this area. Mainly no sidewalks. But neighborhoods are trying to be better.

I really think Nashville is a happier city than what the article suggests. But then I am sure the ones who compiled it don't live here.

Hiring Well

I just read an article in the local paper about how employers are starting to put more emphasis on personality when hiring a new employee. The "how well do they play with others" factor. In recent years, I have come to think of this as very important too.

I remember in my last job, thinking that at least a couple of people there should not have been hired. One was very good at her job, but very manipulative and self centered. I always thought it would be better to have the second best candidate and one who is a good team player and that you can trust.

The other person was neither a good team player nor good at her job. Oh well. I was not the hiring manager in the office, so I did not have a voice.

There is nothing worse than having a bad personality in the office. And usually these people are at least just good enough at their jobs to keep them, so you can't really fire them.

At my new job, I feel there should be more emphasis on hiring well. My relative boss usually just hires someone quickly, if they have the basic qualifications. Most of the time it works out, but not always.

Hiring well, and looking more closely at personality is something I want to emphasize more going forward.

Moot Court Blues--Episode 5

Ok, it is over. That is the best news. But my team lost. The judge decided for the defendant. How did that happen? We thought we had a good case. Our witness waffled a lot on the stand, which had a lot to do with it, I think. She kept answering crucial answers in different ways, which led to her losing credibility. But also the case was stacked against us. The teacher wanted us to lose, it appears. He said today, what do you do when you get bad facts? Um.... OK. But in the real world, we would have been able to supplement the facts and not argue a case on only half the facts. I guess he has a point. But it didn't feel good. I am sure that is how it feels in the real world.

Moot Court Blues--Episode 4

All I can say is AAAAArrrrrrghgghgh!

Our moot court case is today and I don't feel prepared. Well, I guess I am, but I wish I had another week. Coming off of two finals and having to brief a case this week, I have not had enought time to practice.

But D-day is here.

Watch this space.

Beauty Foods

Boy do I need some beauty foods! Foods that make me prettier and younger. Well, I don't know about the first, but I know some foods will make you younger. And thinner. And if I am thinner, I am prettier.

An article in the paper the other day listed some superfoods that protect skin against wrinkling and aging. That caught my attention. I used to be very attentive to these kinds of things, but law school has ruined my diet and exercise.

Here are the foods they listed:

Pomegranates for softening skin
Blueberries for smoothing lines
Spinach and kale for firming
Cold water fish for reducing redness
Green tea for diminishing brown spots
Watermelon for a dewy complexion
Olive oil for a healthy glow

I went to grocery store and bought blueberries, spinach, and my first pomegranates. I hope they are not too tedious to fix, or I probably won't fix them. I already have green tea. I'll shop this weekend for fish, watermelon and olive oil. I need to get back on track with this anti-aging program!

Moot Court Blues--Episode 3

It is so good to be a writer! I got into work today and interspersed writing my opening statements with my work and had the statement done by 9:30 a.m! It is so good to be a writer! Things like that come so easily.

Now I still have to write my closing statements. The problem is I also have a brief due tomorrow night in another class. So will try to write the brief tonight and the closing statement tomorrow. That is cutting it a little close, but is the best I can do.

Went shopping after work looking for a cool blouse, but no such luck. Found some cool shoes for my moot court outfit though.

I still can't believe my accident in the shower this morning. I am fine, but sore. I could have really hurt myself. I think things like that are reminders to be careful.

Moot Court Blues--Episode 2

Well, my moot court trial is approaching, and I am not prepared. I am freaking out. Luckily we have a pretty easy case. I have to do opening and closing statements. I will work on the opening ones today. I got on Westlaw and found some good tips for opening and closing statements. We didn't have much time to prepare for our case to begin with, and then I just had two tests, so my time has been fragmented.

I am so tired today and not sure why. Oh...that's right! No sleep. Or not much sleep. I actually fell in the shower this morning when I was trying to shave my legs--not good. Then I tripped over my shoes in the living room. Not good again. Now I am sitting at my desk at work still half asleep. I better watch out--I seem to be a walking time bomb today. Accident prone--I will be careful.

I did buy a suit for the trial, my first suit in years. I don't like wearing suits--they look horrible on me. This one isn't too bad. It has a short jacket, which fits me much better. I will try to find a cool blouse to go with it. After all, I have to be the hip district attorney! That is if I don't stumble off a cliff by accident between now and then!

Heather's Meltdown

Heather Mills is becoming very messy. Her divorce from Paul McCartney has put her in a negative light in the media. For someone who has been in the limelight for quite a long time, she apparently was never schooled in PR or media relations. (not too late to get some help in this area).

Heather, a quick tutorial: Number one--you were married to a Beatle. That means he is more famous and more well loved than you. You are a very likeable person, and that works in your favor. But despite any of your protestations, people are going to see you as a gold digger. Yes, it looks like the marriage was a mistake. But divorce is good, as it rectified that mistake.

Number two--Please stop talking. The more you talk, the worse it is going to get. You are not going to stop the tabloids. The more you talk the more you feed them. And the more you talk, the more foolish you look. If you want to look better, stop talking and get back to your charity work. Maybe in a different way.

Number three--Lay low. Keep a low profile. The way you are operating now, it just looks like you want to put Paul in a bad light. That is not going to work.

Cramming for a Law Final

It is lucky that I am a good studier and that I can cram well. I do all the things they say not to--I stay up too late too many nights in a row; I get behind in my reading; I study in front of the TV; I do last minute cramming, but I almost always do well, if not really well on my tests.

Tonight I had my domestic law final. I do wish I had one more day to study, but I have to say that by the time I walked into the classroom, I had a good handle on the information, whereas last week, I couldn't have said the same thing.

There was a lot of material though. It was a one quarter class, and I think it could have been a two quarter class. In domestic law, there are a lot of list of factors for everything from grounds for divorce, defenses to divorce, factors when considering awarding alimony and what kind, and factors for custody modification, and on and on and on and on and on.

In my notes from last last week, my teacher had said to make sure to know the 11 factors for custody modification. Unfortunately, I didn't see that note until about an hour before the test, so I panicked and started looking for a list with 11 factors. I searched through my notes and my outlines and could not find it. I found however a 16 factor list, a 10 factor list, the 14 factor list, but no 11 factor list. (I told you there were a lot of lists.) I figured out that he probably meant the 10 factor list and studied that.

For the first time, I developed some mnemonics for these lists. I ususally don't bother because I just figure that is one more thing to remember. But this time I thought it might be worthwhile. So I made up "IbadIcarpHicLaid" for grounds for divorce; "Lisppcccjugdr" for defenses to divorce; "RRRDapesMeco" for factors in awarding alimony; and "LidsmHere" for the comparative fitness test. I stopped at four, unlike one of my study buddies who came up with about six or seven.

Yes, I could have prepared better for the test, but I think I did OK. Hope so at least. I probably won't find out for several weeks. IboPaN--"I'll be on Pins and Needles!"