Law Students

Happy Towel Day!

Posted on May 25, 2009
Kevin A. Thompson is hosting Blawg Review this week, on Towel Day. So mix yourself a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster and check it out... but very carefully....

Some Thoughts on the Kindle 2

Posted on March 26, 2009
We've had a Kindle 2 in the house since they were released--I actually bought one as a Birthday/Christmas/Promotion present for my wife last year, but it never shipped because of the Kindle 2 Launch. Recently, we added another Kindle to the house for my birthday...

LexThink

Posted on January 29, 2009
Matt Homann has posted 10 reasons why you should attend LexThink:Innovate in March. And while I can actually cook 2 'three minute' eggs in less than six minutes, the LexThink conference format is both innovative and effective. Well worth the time, in my book...

The "Natural"

Posted on January 14, 2009
Thankfully, I live in Chicago, so my pizza options are boundless. However, I'm led to believe that in some parts of the country, people must resort to ordering pizza from a "hut". Well, last night, I saw a very disturbing Pizza Hut ad for a new pizza they are touting...

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Blogging and Fatherhood

Posted on December 14, 2008
I've wanted for some time, since the birth of my daughter really, to blog about my experiences as a new father. I think writing in general provides a path to clearer thinking and new ideas. That's been my experience with blogging in general. However, in blogging about fatherhood, I also...

Trust me, I'm a lawyer...

Posted on November 07, 2008
No, seriously... I'm a lawyer!!! I was sworn in yesterday by Thomas R. Fitzgerald, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. The long journey through law school is complete, I can now practice law in Illinois. Frightening....

Yes... We Did!!!

Posted on November 04, 2008
First, I am absolutely giddy... not just because "my candidate" won the election, but because this is an historic milestone in the history of a great democracy. Second, my wife and I had the pleasure of meeting President Elect Obama at a backyard barbecue fundraiser for his Senate campaign...

Everyday is Like Sunday...

Posted on November 02, 2008
So, I'm watching the Bears... not something I would normally be doing (I grew up in Indiana... where basketball is king). Anyway, a commercial came on for NFL.com, and I noticed the background music sounded familiar. So I rewound and replayed it... sure enough, it was Everyday is Like Sunday,...

Blawg Review #182

Posted on October 19, 2008
Just when I though it was safe to pack up the practice tests, I found out that passing the Illinois bar exam was only the first step. There is no reciprocity in the jurisdiction of Blawg Review! You will be given three hours to complete this Blawg Review...

Joe, the plumber?

Posted on October 16, 2008
Like many of you, I suspect, I thought both McCain and Obama's constant invocation of "Joe the Plumber" to be rather gimmicky. However, there are some important issues that have come up since, related to Joe, which kind of make Joe the Plumber look a little questionable: 1...

Who won the debate, my friends? That one.

Posted on October 08, 2008
Dear Sen. McCain: With all due respect, I'm not your friend. I'm a voter. Every time you say, "My friends" I think you're trying to sell me something I don't want to buy. It gets a little sleazier each time you say it. I don't want you to be my...

Bailout? Shmailout.

Posted on October 07, 2008
Wait a minute. So you mean to tell me that, even though jackasses in the media insisted that the bailout was necessary to save us all from doom and that our puny middle class brains couldn't understand the gravity of the situation. Or that even though jackasses in the administration...

Book Review: Your Witness

Posted on October 05, 2008
Your Witness: Lessons on Cross-Examination and Life from Great Chicago Trial Lawyers Edited by Steven F. Molo and James R. Figliulo 368 pages; Law Bulletin Publishing Company Disclaimer: The publisher provided a free review copy of this title for review...

Fools Rush In...

Posted on October 02, 2008
So, the Senate approved the "Splurge" last night... 74 to 25. Now it's the House's turn... what will they do? I suspect they'll turn tail and pass it. Sad. Look, I am a middle class guy, living in a middle class suburb, working a middle class job. I understand the...

Hallelujah!!!

Posted on October 01, 2008
Dear Mr. Gulbransen, We are pleased to advise you that you have passed the July 2008 Illinois bar examination....

Questionable Music Choices...

Posted on September 05, 2008
Okay, so I watched both the DNC and the RNC... and I have to wonder who the idiots who program the music are?? Seriously, I know her nickname is "Sarah Baraccuda" but c'mon. I mean, the lyrics to the song include: If the real thing dont do the trick, No,...

Palin Problems

Posted on August 29, 2008
Okay. Let's set aside the facts she is pro-life, a lifetime member of the NRA... Palin is a disaster of a choice for vice president. Here's why: 1. Does McCain really think Palin will appeal to Hillary voters? Seriously?? First, it's ridiculous for someone who really believed in Hillary to...

Some thoughts on the Olympics...

Posted on August 24, 2008
1. The Opening Ceremony. Wow. I was floored, I honestly could care less that the "feet" fireworks we saw on television were CGI... they were a cool concept and looked great. But beyond that, there were the awesome drummers, the wrap around screen in the Bird's Nest, and that completely...

Great News for "Open Source" Licensing

Posted on August 14, 2008
Good news for open source/Creative Commons licensing proponents. It seems the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued an opinion in Jacobsen v. Katzer. The case involved some open source code which was licensed under the Artistic 1.0 license...

ATT: Nationwide? Shamsionwide.

Posted on August 03, 2008
I have Sprint service, had for years, with no real reason to switch... until the iPhone 3G. My contract with Sprint was up some time ago, so I go to the ATT store today, to sign up and switch, but apparently AT&T are retarded. You see, I have a family...

The Waiting is the Hardest Part...

Posted on August 02, 2008
Well, the July 2008 Bar Exam is over and I've mostly recovered, thanks to some good meals and some good wine (more on those, later). I don't want to say much about the exam, from sheer superstitious paranoia, but here are a few impressions... Day one is essay day...

Good Luck!

Posted on July 27, 2008
To all my fellow Bar Exam takers who will be joining me in hell on Tuesday and Wednesday, good luck!!!...

The Dream Police...

Posted on July 13, 2008
Last night I had a dream that I went to see Stephen Malkmus with a bunch of friends. It was a great show and after we got to hang out with him. He had an acoustic guitar out, and was playing some new stuff that he'd been working on... he...

Chicago's Best: Marion Street Cheese!

Posted on June 26, 2008
The Chicago Reader's Best of Chicago 2008 is out, and I just wanted to give a shout out to my local cheese monger, Marion St. Cheese--which The Reader pegged for best cheese selection. As noted in the article, they are getting ready to move across the street into some swank...

Cool Tools!

Posted on June 18, 2008
One of my suggestions (Armour Etch) made Cool Tools today! If you don't read Cool Tools, you should... they have great tips on time/money saving tools, or just tools that are more efficient for a particular task. It's a helluva a useful blog. Plus, the content is generated by readers,...

Essen-Haus

Posted on May 20, 2008
I was in Madison, Wisconsin last week for a conference and after finishing my last law school final exam one night, I decided to go out and have a mini-celebration. As luck would have it, there was a German restaurant not too far from my hotel: The Essen-Haus...

Dave, JD!

Posted on May 19, 2008
Graduation was yesterday. My wife, Kristyna, was able to hood me, because she's an alum (J.D. '00). I can't believe it's over. Well, I do have to wait for my final grades to come in! How weird is that? But barring some catastrophe, I'm done. At least for a...

Piper's Pyramide

Posted on May 15, 2008
Unquestionably, some of the United State's finest goat cheeses are being made a Capriole Farms by Judy Schad and Piper's Pyramide is no exception. Piper's Pyramide is modeled after the French Valencay, and is a bloomy rind cheese, which is dusted with paprika...

American Idle

Posted on May 06, 2008
I should be working on my last take-home exam... ever. Which means I'm procrastinating and watching American Idol. Which really sucks this season. I just cannot get excited about any of the final four. They just really aren't very good--and not being very good for American Idol is pretty sad,...

This is the way law school ends

Posted on April 29, 2008
Not with a bang but a whimper. I am officially done with my classes. No more class meetings. No more assignments. In fact, I only have one last take home final exam, with an 8 page limit. Eight pages left between me and the end of law school!!! *With sincerest...

Cimonino Semistagionato Valsassina

Posted on April 21, 2008
I was at Whole Foods the other day with my wife, and while she was buying the food we actually needed for the week, I was hanging out at the cheese counter. (I always say support your local cheese monger, but if you're in a grocery store with time to...

Seed.

Posted on April 10, 2008
Has anyone ever been to the Seed Conference? With speakers like Jason Fried, Jake Nickell, Jeffry Kalminkoff, Jim Caudal and Gary Vaynerchuk, it sounds like it would be "conference" right up my alley. And with almost four years of law school under my belt, I sure could use a creative...

Whee!

Posted on April 10, 2008
Okay, I've been having way too much fun with the Wii lately. I got hooked when I played with one at a friend's house for their little boy's birthday party... but I was going to hold off on getting one--until I found out I could get guitar hero for the...

Clinton: A Fundamental Misunderstanding of Voters

Posted on April 08, 2008
I don't think it's a secret I'm an Obama supporter. However, recently, I've crossed over to being a Hillary opponent. If Hillary is the nominee without winning the popular vote and pledged delegates, I will not support her run for president. And here's why...

Baby Stuff.

Posted on March 31, 2008
No, seriously. Baby stuff. I had no idea babies had so much stuff available for them: clothes, blankets, bedding (which is more than blankets), changing pads, wraps, carriers, car seats, nasal aspirators, humidifiers, wipes, wipe warmers, diapers... It's all making my head spin...

Presidential Experience

Posted on March 18, 2008
I like McCain?I do give him credit for being an independent thinker (for the most part) and I don?t think all of his campaign platforms are unreasonable. But in my mind, the choice for president is quite clear. On one hand, we have an eloquent speaker who is intelligent and...

Idle Idol...

Posted on March 18, 2008
Well, I was not going to blog about American Idol. My favorite part of the show is the schadenfreude of the "audition" portion of the show. Plus, last week I cringed as the dorks (for the most part) butchered some of the greatest music of all time. So, imagine my...

Shake It Like a Polaroid What?

Posted on March 13, 2008
Well, I knew it would happen eventually... last month, Polaroid announced they will no longer be manufacturing instant film. Many artists are mourning because Polaroid film had some pretty unique properties, which I don't think digital has managed to capture--yet...

My Best Test Result Ever

Posted on March 06, 2008
Two test's confirmed it: But it didn't seem real until the ultrasound images!...

MovableType: Apparently, We No Longer "Get It"

Posted on February 27, 2008
We'll it appears that the upgrade to MT4.1 broke commenting on my blog. Now, this wouldn't be so bad--if I had any idea how to fix it. Or, if, when I clicked the "Help" link from within my blog management console, it didn't take me to this page: http://www...

You Can Rent My Mind

Posted on February 26, 2008
Prof. today... "That's what I get paid for, my mind. You're all renting my mind. And when you work as a lawyer, that's what you're doing: renting out your mind."...

Dear Class Eater

Posted on February 26, 2008
I am not unsympathetic to hunger. Check out this blog. I enjoy food. I also understand that hunger can be distracting in class, especially an evening class. And when my blood sugar gets low, I get really cranky. Like now. You know what else makes me cranky? YOUR CONTINUED CHOMPING...

Do you have stomach problems?

Posted on February 25, 2008
Do you have stomach problems? Originally uploaded by dgulbran....

Wee!

Posted on February 17, 2008
Okay, I want a Wii. I am not a big gamer, but on two occasions in the past few weeks I've had the opportunity to play games that are seriously fun and relaxing... First, there was just about everything I played on our friend's Wii... she has a 4 year...

Trial Advocacy

Posted on February 06, 2008
I've been meaning to post about this for quite some time... At the end of the summer, just before the fall semester, I took "Intensive Trial Advocacy". It's an eight-day intensive course--and at my school, you have to take the follow up ("Trial Ad 2") the next semester...

Vote!

Posted on February 05, 2008
I already have... Kristyna for Judge! Have you?! If not, get out and do it!!...

Dalessandro's Cheesesteaks

Posted on January 31, 2008
I told you I'm not a food snob. Yes, I do love a really, really good meal--one that takes hours and involves many dishes, so you can relish the different flavors and enjoy the entire experience. But there's more out there to experience than just posh places--there's places like Dalessandro's...

Morimoto

Posted on January 31, 2008
Last November (yes, November) my wife and I visited Philadelphia for a wedding. While there, I couldn't resist visiting Morimoto. Morimoto: Toro Tartare For those who may not know, Morimoto is Chef Masaharu Morimoto's restaurant in Philly, which was his first in the United States...

I'm Back!

Posted on January 31, 2008
Well, I never really went away... but my posting frequency dropped off significantly. Last semester was crazy busy for me, with both work and school. So, even though I still had many things to say (I always have many things to say) I never had the time to write them...

How Law School Warps Your Brain

Posted on November 12, 2007
There are some commercials I’ve seen on television a few times (those rare few times I’m watching live TV, mostly games) from Liberty Mutual that disturb me to no end. They show people doing nice things for people… a woman pulls a guy back to the curb and saves him...

Bathtub Cheese

Posted on October 28, 2007
I enjoy all kinds of cheese. I love queso fresco and queso oxaca. But under no circumstances would I advocate, let alone eat, bathtub cheese....

Wikipedia Ban?

Posted on October 18, 2007
Apparently, there are schools or teachers that are “forbidding” students from using Wikipedia for researching homework assignments. Why they would do this is beyond me. Seth Godin brings up a good point: the way we find facts and information has fundamentally changed...

Don't Make Me Bleg...

Posted on September 27, 2007
Okay, I’m going to bleg anyway… Anybody out there have a Grand Central invite they could pass my way? Update: Got one (thanks, Ken!)....

Speaking, Naturally

Posted on September 22, 2007
I write a lot. I write for work. I write for school. As a result I spend a lot of time in front of the keyboard. Lately, my wrists had been giving me some problems. Ironically, most of my wrist problems don’t come from the keyboard but the mouse...

Fifth-Third Bank: Does Nice Customer Service Overcome Gross-Incompetence?

Posted on September 21, 2007
My mortgage is with Fifth-Third Bank. The first thing I have to say is that, at least in Chicago and on the phone, they have some of the nicest customer service people I?ve ever dealt with at a bank. They are just sweet. Unfortunately, they are (expletive deleted) incompetent...

First, Appalachian State. Now Oregon.

Posted on September 09, 2007
It’s a great weekend …to be married to a Buckeye. :)...

Mod Blanc

Posted on September 08, 2007
Pilot G2 “Gel Ink” (4) for $8. Mont Blank Rollerball Refills (2) for $10. Cut less than 1/8” of plastic off the end of the Mont Blanc refill and replace the G2 cartridge. Amazingly fine writing instrument for $7. Net savings of over $200...

Yes, I Think I'm a Grown Up Now

Posted on September 01, 2007
My wife turned to me yesterday and said, “I’m going to call a stripper… and Amy wants us to come over at 4 and smoke some stuff.” For the record, the stripper charges $85 per door, so refinishing all of the upstairs doors in our house would run us $680...

Notes for a Law Lecture

Posted on August 28, 2007
“There is a vague popular belief that lawyers are necessarily dishonest. I say vague, because when we consider to what extent confidence and honors are reposed in and conferred upon lawyers by the people, it appears improbable that their impression of dishonesty is very distinct and vivid...

Stephon Marbury: Jackass

Posted on August 23, 2007
So, Stephon Marbury thinks dog fighting is a sport?? “You know, from what I hear, dogfighting is a sport. It’s just behind closed doors.” Okay, Stephon. The next time the Knicks lose, would you prefer to be shot, drowned, set on fire, or electrocuted?...

Blawg Review #122

Posted on August 20, 2007
Blawg Review goes back to school with Blawg Review #122. With the school year almost upon us, it’s time for late registration—and you can’t register if you don’t know what courses are being offered. So, without further ado, I present to the Blawg Review Course Catalog...

Harry Potter and Secrecy

Posted on July 20, 2007
Seth Godin thinks that the Harry Potter publisher wasted $20 million on security efforts to keep the book under wraps before the release tonight/tomorrow. I think he’s missing the point. They didn’t spend a dime on security. They spent $20 million on marketing...

Sickening.

Posted on July 18, 2007
Today, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was indicted for dog fighting. Even one dog fight is sick and disgusting. But the allegations against Vick extend to running a nine state ring. And taking part in the brutal killing of dogs by such methods as beating, drowning, hanging, electrocution and immolation...

Making Up For Lost Time

Posted on July 10, 2007
I normally don’t see ads on television (thank you, Tivo!) but this week, I did because my wife recorded one on purpose. It was Elvis Costello shilling for Lexis. Tonight, my wife comes up to my desk and drops a magazine ad in front of my face. There, in a...