Criminal Law

msnbc.com:Abandoned bird becomes mans best friend

Posted on August 11, 2009
How many people would take the time and the effort to do this for an abandoned baby bird? I hope “Jay” continues to return periodically and re-affirm his friendship with the people who saved his life. He’a a wild bird, and did they their best to enable him to live a “normal”, wild life, but [...

Engineer?s guide to Cats II

Posted on July 24, 2009
A new episode of “The Engineer’s Guide To Cats.” This one has cats and humans engaging in strange activities, including the infamous “Cat Polka” and “Cat Yodeling.” These fine young men must have a truly special relationship with their kitties, because I Simply Cannot Imagine my felines putting up with most of [...

Wild Turkeys

Posted on July 24, 2009
This fine family invited themselves down to do lunch in my backyard. I counted 2 mature hens, a young tom, and at least a half-dozen chicks.  My video skills are decidedly mediocre, but I thought this was acceptable for a first attempt.  Incidentally, The Boy is quite proud that I’m keeping up with  21st century [...

Welsh Sparrowhawk

Posted on July 08, 2009
My Avatar, caught in the act in the Conwy Valley, North Wales.  Not too far from where I took the castle picture.  You Go, Bird!   more about “Welsh Sparrowhawk“, posted with vodpod   Posted in Bird-Watcher's Journal, General Silliness, Spirit, Uncategorized

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Bleacher Bum Blues

Posted on June 27, 2009
Long, long ago, more years than I care to count anymore, I was one of the youngest members of the original Chicago Cubs Bleacher Bums.  For three years, I went to nearly every home game during summer vacation, and caught as many games as I could in April and May,  August and September...

Superhero Barak Video

Posted on June 21, 2009
more about "Superhero Barak Video", posted with vodpod Posted in Uncategorized

Business as an Importer?

Posted on June 18, 2009
I just realized recently that due to the Internet,  my fledgling jewelry business has an international component to it.  In the past year,  I have directly purchased: Silver from Thailand and Indonesia “Turquoise”, freshwater pearls, and jasper from China Dichroic glass from Mexico  Jade from a wholesaler in Great Britain Indirectly, as well, I have the following: African and Peruvian opals Bone beads from [...

This was expected

Posted on June 07, 2009
The moon is full today, and I am flat on my back, after the past 2 days day tripping back and forth from the north.  My eyes feel like the drive was through the Sahara, and my legs, though not acutely painful, feel as though someone attached leaden weights to them...

Artistic Credibility

Posted on June 06, 2009
The last time I went to the Grace Chosy Gallery in Madison, WI, they agreed to show eight pieces of my handmade jewelry, out of the collection of about two dozen I brought up for them to look at.  That was last September, 2008.  Then I promptly forgot about them, in the rush of other [...

An Episode Of Mystery Diagnosis?

Posted on June 06, 2009
I’m rather a fan of the digital cable Discovery Health Channel late-night rundown.  They do such charming reality  shows as “Life in the ER”, “Medical Incredible”, “Mystery Diagnosis”, and their latest, “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant!”...

Cat Sworn as Witness

Posted on May 24, 2009
moar funny pictures Posted in Uncategorized

moar funny pictures Posted in Uncategorized

Posted on May 24, 2009
moar funny pictures Posted in Uncategorized

more about "Robin William,

Posted on April 29, 2009
more about "Robin William, keeps up with, politic…", posted with vodpod Posted in Uncategorized

Reversing the Black Cat Curse?

Posted on April 22, 2009
I have, unfortunately, been a Chicago Cubs fan for most of my life.  It’s a tragic character flaw that I cannot seem to overcome.  Every year, I watch, with the same fascinated horror, hoping beyond hope that this might be “The Year”, but knowing, where it counts that my boys will inevitably find some way [...

Cat runs across Wrigley Field, April 21, 2009 Cubs vs. Reds

Posted on April 22, 2009
more about "Cat runs across Wrigley Field, April …", posted with vodpod Posted in Uncategorized

The Daily Bird 17: American White Pelican?

Posted on April 21, 2009
This Bad Bird is WAY lost! Actually, there are at least three, if not four, of them hanging out here, behind the town hall, between the power plant and the railroad crossing, in my small town here in the upper midwest.  Yes, dear readers, this is an American White Pelican...

Squirrel Hunting

Posted on March 12, 2009
By the way, all of you sweet people who have been visiting my blog because of the weird “Squirrel LOL’s” I’ve posted at various places - glad to be of service, and I hope you went on to read something else.  I wish I could claim credit for creating those, but they’re my own appropriation [...

?Educational TV?

Posted on March 12, 2009
We don’t have typical Television viewing habits in this household.  We’ve never watched “American Idol,” notwithstanding the protests of The Boy that “everyone was watching it!”  Prime time sitcoms leave us flat.  We do watch “House” and still enjoy it after four seasons, but that’s about the only network show we can lay claim to...

My Page - Beaders Showcase

Posted on February 27, 2009

The Boy and his Memory

Posted on February 07, 2009
Sometimes my son is phenomenal.  Here is an example. Last March, with his saved birthday and the remainder of his Christmas money, he went to Target with me, and purchased one of those music/video/picture viewers so ubiquitous these days - not an I-pod, but the Microsoft competitor, Zune...

RatSpeak

Posted on February 06, 2009
 The headline on this article caught my eye.  It’s a bit misleading.  The inflatable rat doesn’t speak; it IS a form of speech.  A rather graphic and effective form of speech in the context in which it was used.  Ugly little sucker, though, ain’t he? Court: Giant inflatable rat has free speech rights N...

The latest in avian fashion?

Posted on February 04, 2009
Now, just doesn’t this beat all?  Diapers for your dirty birdie!  Fly free without fear of falling guano.  Who thinks up these things?  That’s what I want to know. Pictures of the day: 4 February 2009 Bird lovers can now let their pets fly around the house without worrying about little parcels of poo falling from the sky, [...

?Just some bird??

Posted on January 12, 2009
    A fully mature bald eagle has a wingspan that can extend some 6 to 8 feet across.  Big Bird.  Really Big Bird.  One went soaring by no more than 30 feet over my head this weekend past, as the Boy and I were on our way to the store.  I slowed down and frankly gawped...

Minus the wool

Posted on January 11, 2009
The phrase “shepherd’s pie” should conjure up the image of a particular sort of dish.  A dish with particular sorts of ingredients.  Like, maybe - sheep?  After all, what does a shepherd do?  Herds sheep, of course.  What kind of meat is a shepherd likely to have?  Lamb...

Hold the feathers, substitute pastry crust?

Posted on December 05, 2008
more animals Posted in Cat-tales, General Silliness      

A comment on seeking employment

Posted on November 10, 2008
One would think it basic courtesy that if you receive an application for a job opening you, as an employer, have posted, you should acknowledge that receipt, or at least to send a “thank you but we’ve filled the position” letter so the applicant knows that their resumes are not just disappearing into a void...

History, future, past and present - a musing

Posted on November 09, 2008
I grew up in Chicago during the 60’s and 70’s mostly.  I can still remember clearly what things were like back then.  The Chicago I grew up in was one of the most segregated cities in the North.  I was born to a professional family, living on the south side of the city, in Englewood...

The Wounded Dragon

Posted on October 10, 2008
A bunch of friends and I got together for a small local Renaissance Fairethis weekend.  It’s an annual event, both the Faire, and my friends crashing at our house for it.  One of my best college friends, Karen, usually plays Her Majesty, Queen Bess, and this year her fiance, William, appeared at her side as [...

More of the elusive tufted titmouse

Posted on October 07, 2008
Caught the little sweetheart actually posing for me this time.  He’s pretty adorable, for a featherhead.                                                   Since putting out the feeders again, there’s been a regular SCB convention going on out in the backwoods and hedges...

Finally Caught - the Tufted Titmouse!

Posted on October 03, 2008
These are not the best of pictures, but I’ve been stalking these shy little birds since last winter, and they have been elusive as the Loch Ness Monster.  Now I finally caught them. This pair of tufted titmouses (titmice?) was lured in to the newly-hung and stocked feeder by my buddythe black capped chickadee...

Beader?s Showcase - Inquiries Appreciated!

Posted on October 02, 2008
My Beader’s Showcase slideshow. Enjoy! more about “untitled“, posted with vodpod       Posted in Greyfeather, Handcrafts, Jewelry, My Artistic Career      

Blast from the Past

Posted on September 26, 2008
The Spouse was switching channels on the TV, moving between the debates and looking for a baseball game, and he stumbled across an old episode of Jenny Jones’ tabloid show.  Lo and Behold, there was my face on screen, some 15-odd years younger, walking out of the courtroom with my clients after resolution of the case...

Invasion vs. Civil War

Posted on September 26, 2008
Did you know that after 3 days of the stomach flu and being unable to eat anything solid, it is possible to get high on chicken soup?  I kid you not.  Campbell’s Chicken With Stars may have some potential street value - doubtful, considering that it’s perfectly legal, entirely natural, and, most importantly, readily available [...

White Birds CAN dance!

Posted on September 21, 2008
more about "White Birds CAN dance!", posted with vodpod Posted in Uncategorized      

Another Venue

Posted on September 20, 2008
The Grace Chosy Gallery on Monroe Street in Madison, WI is no showing (and offering for sale) several of my jewelry items.  The manager really seemed to like the blue-green shades I’ve been working with.   Accepted for display, among others, were these; The turquoise necklace has a matching bracelet that was also accepted...

One of the ?Best of the Bird?

Posted on September 16, 2008
This Friday, I have an appointment with 2:00 PM with a gallery owner in Madison, Wisconsin, to see if any of my jewelry is such that she thinks that her clientele might be interested.  I stopped in  a couple weeks back with a few examples, just on a lark...

What To Do With Turquoise, Part 2

Posted on September 15, 2008
One can work with turquoise without it being in a Southwestern style.  Altough I’m not sure what style you would call any of these.  Anyone care to comment?               

?The Bird? has arrived

Posted on September 08, 2008
For the present, Greyfeather Designs has an on line shop at http://www.artfire.com/shop.php?seller_id=154.  In time, you will be able to simply go to GreyfeatherDesigns.artfire.com, but the website designers haven’t gotten all the bugs out of the site yet...

Semi-Pro

Posted on September 03, 2008
As of late this afternoon, I am the official “Featured Artist” down at “Nikki’s Cafe”, a local coffee shop and gathering place about  a couple miles or so away from my home.  A whole stretch of wall space is going to be hung with my original photographs, which will be offered for sale by the [...

Working on Commission

Posted on August 31, 2008
A friend of mine from Indiana expressed an interest in a designer necklace that included Labradorite.  I was terribly flattered that she thought to ask me, as she does some design herself, and we have other, mutual friends who also do artsy-craftsy stuff...

What To Do with Turquoise

Posted on August 31, 2008
Everyone seems to associate turquoise with southwestern, Native American style jewelry, and nothing else.  That’s such a shame.  Turquoise, whether shaped or left in natural nuggets, is a gorgeous and versatile stone.  The color depends on the content of aluminum or copper in the matrix stone - the more copper, the bluer the stone, and green results [...

Design for the Day - The Bird

Posted on August 26, 2008
I had a lot of fun designing this one.  The center medallion shows a running bird, so I thought, “Hm;  Migration time, therefore autumn.”  And I set out to evoke the mood and the colors of the season. The medallion and all the individual metallic components are Thai Karen Hill Tribe, or Bali artisan silver, the [...

A World of Gems

Posted on August 26, 2008
My design partner and I visited the International Gem and Jewelry Exhibition (Intergem) Show in Chicago last weekend.  It was our first time since registering as a business and being able to purchase from the wholesalers area.  All I can say is WOW! I have never seen so many pretty rocks all gathered together in one [...

Shall we try another way, now?

Posted on August 19, 2008
Well, the public launch of Greyfeather has convinced me of one thing, at least.  The arts and craft show circuit is not for me. In other words, we bombed, almost completely. Now, admittedly, it was a hasty decision, and not very well planned.    While we put up a creditable effort on very short notice, we had a [...

Today?s design - a probable keeper!

Posted on August 14, 2008
This was a sort of a lark, to see how many different elements I could combine in a single piece while maintaining harmony among all the elements.  The focal is a silver Thai Karen tribal shield medallion.  It is flanked by silver bicone stamped beads, also of Thai origin...

Greyfeather Launched

Posted on August 13, 2008
If I’ve been absent for a while, it’s been for a good purpose.  I’ve been preparing for the official debut of Greyfeather Designs, a little artistic conceit of mine own that I hope to make into a source of spare change, or more.  For starters, I’ve done the following: Opened a “buisiness” account at my local [...

The (not so) Daily Bird: Great Blue Heron

Posted on July 18, 2008
This big guy is normally a wetlands bird, hanging out in marshes, lake sides, and other such areas.  This photo looks like such a bird’s normal habitat, doesn’t it?  Marsh, mudflats, open water, all the necessary.  Perfect, eh? It’s the same farmer’s field photographed earlier on...

Rodentia

Posted on July 04, 2008
There was a dead mouse on the kitchen floor this morning.  Right by the cat food bowl. It was about 3 inches long, not counting the tail; small and grey-furred and kind of damp.  It actually looked a great deal like one of those furry mice cat-toys that you can get at any decent pet store...

Fraud and more fraud

Posted on July 03, 2008
Strange things have been happening all this week. Tuesday, my PayPal account got hacked.  Some unknown person used it to pay $403.00 worth of their E-bay sellers fees.  (currently, I don’t sell) The dispute is being investigated, and I had to change all my security information...

Feline Fashion Flops

Posted on July 01, 2008
Due to furballs out of control and mats of undercoat with the density of crafting felt, old Murray here had himself a date with the vet and their resident stylist on Friday last week. I can’t say that I recommend her services for the typical well-groomed and cosmopolitan feline...

Therapy

Posted on June 28, 2008
The following is from “Newsweek” on the web.  I’m posting it here for a reason. “Why do people write confessional blogs? It’s a creative outlet. It’s a forum to vent. It’s an exercise in exhibitionism. To mental-health experts, though, it’s more than that: a blog is medicine...

The Early Bird Gets? Two

Posted on June 22, 2008
I think these speak for themselves.  Note how satisfied young Robin looks with himself too.

Speaking of Employment

Posted on June 22, 2008
Acting the aspiring but starving artist is obviously not all that I’ve been doing, look you.  The resume has been getting sent everywhere I can think of, and I spend several hours daily on line looking at what’s available, posting resumes to job-search and contract/temp legal search agencies, networking with folks I know who are [...

Warning! Alarm! - Not *Quite* ?Jaws?

Posted on June 22, 2008
more about “Warning! Alarm! - ade real 1“, posted with vodpod    

Kingfisher? and not-quite-employment

Posted on June 21, 2008
Check this out.  Just for fun, I messed with some effects on a sub-par photo of an interesting bird.  This:   Becomes this:   Pretty cool, eh? By the way, I’m no longer quite the amateur photographer/artist.  I now have several items of handmade jewelry on display at a local gallery, and some of them have sold...

High water and its strange results

Posted on June 21, 2008
I live in a small Midwestern river town, with a population of about 5 or 6000.  (OK,  know 5 or 6000 isn’t all that small, but I grew up in an urban megalopolis of several millions.  It’s all relative.) Here is what the town fairgrounds and athletic fields behind the town hall look like right [...

The Daily Bird: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Posted on June 21, 2008
Look what showed up in our dead tree yesterday afternoon! We had a brief thunderstorm. and after it was over, the sun came out bright and warm again.  This meant all our fine feathered friends were vying for spots on the bare branches to catch a few rays and dry off their feathers...

A lesson for the spirit in a house wren?s guise

Posted on May 29, 2008
I have been stalking this wee little birdie in the thickets of my back yard and the yards of my neighbors for the past 2 weeks, and finally, finally, I managed to capture the elusive little feather-puff on film, or actually, in pixels.  This is a common house wren, rather the ultimate Small Brown Bird (SBB; [...

Where the men were men? and the sheep kept their distance

Posted on May 22, 2008
I am indebted to Johnathan Jarrett at  http://tenthmedieval.wordpress.com/2008/02/27/buried-with-his-sheep-before-him-this-ones-for-the-smut-minded-out-there/ for this post.  It made for a good laugh at the start of the day. A Corner of Tenth-Century Europe Early medievalist?s thoughts and ponderings 27 February 2008 Buried with his sheep before him (this one?s for the smut-minded out there) Posted by Jonathan Jarrett under Blogroll, Celts, Humour | Tags: archaeology, Early Christianity, [...

Do they actually catch fire?

Posted on May 20, 2008
Quick!  Without going on to look for the source or full text of the article, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind upon reading this excerpt? Explosion Disrupts Digestive Disease Week Meeting  SAN DIEGO — Thousands of gastroenterologists and others attending Digestive Disease Week sessions were jolted today by an explosion that reverberated through [...

What protects the defender? A radical difference in rules

Posted on May 14, 2008
In stark contrast to the jurisdiction in which I used to practice: Appeals court rules against Minn. man who punched defender Published May 13, 2008 ST. PAUL ? Punch your public defender in court and you’re on your own, that’s the message the Minnesota Court of Appeals sent a Chisholm man on Tuesday...

5.12.08 7.8M Earthquake in Sichuan China; Maybe I?m not so bad off after all

Posted on May 12, 2008
from www.youtube.com posted with vodpod   This video was actually taken by a student in his dorm room during the earthquake.  Last I heard, the magnitude of the quake had been re-estimated as 7.9 on the Richter scale.  The shock was felt as far away as Beijing, and as many as 313 aftershocks have been [...

The Daily Bird 13: Summer Goldfinch

Posted on May 11, 2008
I think I have a mated pair out here.  The fellow with the black mask who sits on the branch all puffed up and proud looking is the male of the pair.  The slightly drabber birdie sitting in the fork of the tree is his mate. These little tweters sit still even less than the chickadees [...

Weird British Laws? or is it any wonder the colonies rebelled?

Posted on May 08, 2008
Courtesy of Mirror.co.uk  (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/03/20/did-you-know-it-s-illegal-to-die-in-the-house-of-parliament-britain-s-silliest-laws-revealed-89520-20356691/ ) My own comments will look like this We’ve unearthed some of the oddest laws still in force...

The Bare Facts About Russian Bicyclists

Posted on May 07, 2008
video source posted with vodpod

The Daily Bird 12: A Real Live Bald Eagle!

Posted on May 02, 2008
On the way down to the county seat in the next county southwest to drop off my resume, I almost made myself late spotting this oh, so dignified soul perched high in a tree along the riverside.  I couldn’t help myself.  While I’ve seen bald eagles soaring overhead on a few, rare occasions, I’ve never [...

Unemployment sucks

Posted on May 01, 2008
Today, I found myself in the company of the sorts of people I used to represent down at the unemployment office filing for my own benefits.  It was an experience.  One best not described in any detail.  The personnel were all very nice, expedited and backdated my paperwork for me, since the on line resource [...

Good To Know?

Posted on April 28, 2008
The Dante’s Inferno Test has sent you to the First Level of Hell - Limbo! Here is how you matched up against all the levels: Level Score Purgatory (Repenting Believers) Low Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers) High Level 2 (Lustful) Low Level 3 (Gluttonous) Moderate Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious) Very Low Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy) Low Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics) Very Low Level 7 (Violent) Moderate Level 8- [...

The Daily Bird 11: White Throated Sparrow

Posted on April 28, 2008
You know, I used to think a sparrow was a sparrow.  Single species, urban pest, seen everywhere, with the world’s messiest nest; a nest which it was my grandfather’s delight to rake out from under the eaves of our house, accompanied by much swearing in German which I dutifully filed away for future reference and [...

Engineer?s Guide To Cats

Posted on April 28, 2008
Array

Them Critters Out there

Posted on April 28, 2008
I woke up this morning, and as usual, looked out the glass doors into the back yard. The feeder was on the ground again, and emptied of seed.  I don’t know how they do it! Curses!  Squirreled again! And on another front, I now have pretty graphic proof that I have successfully invited a hawk to dine at [...

There?s a word for it.

Posted on April 27, 2008
There’s a name for it.  I didn’t know that.  In the global community that is the internet, new words are being devised and circulated to describe and/or cover some of the unprecedented situations and interactions that arise online, or in the no-man’s land that is the intersection of cyber-space and the “real world”...

This about says it all.

Posted on April 24, 2008
 No need to comment, I don’t think.

Identification Made!

Posted on April 20, 2008
The sleek brown bird I posted a photo of a day or 2 ago has been identified.  It’s a female brown-Headed Cowbird.  The male of the species is unmistakable, and 2 of them visited the feeding station along with her yesterday morning.  Here they are: And here’s the male standing alone...

The Daily Bird 10: Dark-eyed Junco Female

Posted on April 19, 2008
This one I know.  She’s sleek, darker brown above, lighter beneath, as opposed to her mate who appears to be dressed in a dark grey suit with a white shirt.  These little round birds are avid ground-feeders, and when they’re looking for seed or insects on the edge of the woods, they scratch at the [...

The Daily Bird 9: Unknown - Can you help me ID?

Posted on April 19, 2008
This brown beauty showed up in the local woods, and I’m darned if I can sort out what it is.  My best guess is a female Brown-Headed Cowbird, or some variety of female blackbird.  It was roughly the same size as a Robin.  I wish I could give more information about it, but that about [...

Through the Looking Glass? Sort of

Posted on April 17, 2008
It’s funny how you never know what’s going to attract the attention of the internet bugs out there.  Honey, or garbage, it doesn’t seem to matter.  Something catches the eye of some roving flitter you didn’t know was out there, and suddenly your readership has multiplied by a factor of 5 or 6, and your [...

How does a squirrel go down a tree?

Posted on April 16, 2008
Looking at my “blog stats” page, I note that one of the search terms used by someone that landed them inadvertently on my blog was; “how does a squirrel go down a tree?” After years of astute observation of the beast itself in the wild and in its usual urban and suburban habitats, I have discovered [...

The Daily Bird 8: What kind of finch?

Posted on April 15, 2008
OK.  For all you birders out there, give me an opinion. Is this a House Finch or a Purple Finch?  I can’t really tell.  

Fare Thee Well, Madame Prosecutor

Posted on April 15, 2008
The persecutor prosecutor who was held in contempt by the judge for her eegregious misbehavior during the course of pretrial and trial proceedings in a sex abuse case is no more to be a representative of the people of this county and state.  She got canned first thing this week...

The Daily Bird 7: European Starlings

Posted on April 13, 2008
A pair of European Starlings settled on the roof of my son’s school; two out of a huge flock of them.  These are the birds that flock in droves during migration season in the fall.  Hundreds of them gather together in whirlwinds and stormclouds of feathers and beaks and absurdly slender legs, rising and then [...

Cute Chirpie Overload

Posted on April 12, 2008
Turn off the soundtrack before you view this one.  And then grab a lemon drop as antidote.

The Daily Bird 6: Red Winged Blackbird

Posted on April 12, 2008
After the furor provoked by the post about “Laura,” I had to check this morning to see if I still had an ass, or if it had been chewed down to bare bone.  It’s still there… most of it, at least.  I’m thinking, perhaps I should stick to birds? So:  Here is another avian supermodel that I [...

The Daily Bird 5: Mourning Dove

Posted on April 10, 2008
Having spent most of the day getting thoroughly reamed out by the methadone maintenance advocates, please allow me to extend a symbol of peace to all. This sweet dove is nesting in a tree between the courthouse and the jail.  Let us contemplate her, and the concept that she symbolizes...

The Opiates About Truth?

Posted on April 09, 2008
“Laura” was up for sentencing on probation violations on Monday.  She had been sentenced to a diversionary probation with drug treatment in 2003; if she had complied with the terms of her probation, she could have been done with this 2 years ago, and have had her conviction expunged...

The Daily Bird 4: American Robin

Posted on April 09, 2008
Sort of makes you glad you’re not a worm, doesn’t it?

The Daily Bird 2

Posted on March 28, 2008
Nothing is quite so flashy as a male Cardinal out in the woods before they leaf out in the spring.  And it’s mating season.  So not only is he in his finest feather, he’s strutting his stuff for all it’s worth.  He’s fine, all right...

Liars, Drugs and Money

Posted on March 28, 2008
“Dennis,” the diabetic whose case I mentioned in Wednesday’s  post, did his drop as ordered, after his court appearance Tuesday and before allegedly going to the ER.  Guess what?  It was positive for cocaine.  He was standing there in court stoned , right in front of the judge, probation officer, prosecutor and defense attorney, swearing he was clean [...

A client actually took my advice!

Posted on March 27, 2008
It would seem that after talking to me, “Gregory“, the man with the issues with his drug court PO, set up a meeting with herand her supervisor and cleared the air, settled some of their differences, and decided to make the best of the situation...

It happens to ?them? too?

Posted on March 26, 2008
Due to a scheduled dental appointment, I got to miss the event of the week.  We had another “bolter” - this one, the first to try it from the new Justice Center.  An edited account of the matter taken from the local newspaper follows:  Stuff that looks like this is my emendations to the original...

The Daily Bird

Posted on March 26, 2008
Doesn’t this Woodpecker look as though he has a guilty conscience over something? “Uh, yeah, so I’m eating peanut butter.  With raisins, even.    You got a problem with that?” Picoides pubescens.  Downy Woodpecker.  Male.  There’s a red spot on the back of his head/nape of his neck, although he would not oblige the lens and display it [...

Hearing both sides.

Posted on March 26, 2008
In staffing this morning for tomorrow’s drug court cases, we discussed at some length a particular client, “Gregory”.  His probation officer brought him to the team’s attention not because he had committed any violations (yet), but to warn us of a problem with what she felt was criminal thinking and manipulative behavior...

Kestrel Sighting

Posted on March 25, 2008
On my way to one of the innumerable, never-ending medical appointments I currently have scheduled, I caught sight of a bird on a wire across the street from the local middle school.  It was about the size of a pigeon, and from the vantage of the driver’s seat of a car traveling at 45 MPH, [...

Wild Turkeys

Posted on March 24, 2008
Oy. Major internet problems.  I hate this. Anyway, while I can still stay commected, take a look at what I saw the other day,  Wild Turkeys!  A whole flock of them! And a fantastic shot of my friend, the backyard robin again.  Posed to his best advantage on a tree branch in the woods across the back yard...

Thanks to Science, the existence of the Squirrel Mafia has been proven? in potential at least

Posted on March 22, 2008
from cori1047.vodpod.com posted with vodpod We?ve all known it for a long time, empirically.  Now there?s proof.  Squirrels do in fact conspire with one another and form ?cliques? if not ?gangs?. The squirrel mafia is real

Atonement

Posted on March 22, 2008
Now here’s a rare thing; a neo-conservative re-evaluating his attitude and convictions, and admitting a serious lapse of judgement regarding the Bush regime. Quoting Andrew Sullivan in “What I got wrong about Iraq“: “Misreading Bush“ “Yes, the incompetence and arrogance were beyond anything I imagined...

First Amendment Rights; Assembly Clause

Posted on March 21, 2008
And lest I forget, here are those classics of urban Americana, city pigeons, properly known as rock doves.  I can’t really imagine them as doves.  They’re pigeons.  Rats with feathers.  I wish we had some memorial statue of some Civil War era colonel sitting atop a horse and preparing to lead the troops out, so [...

First Day of Spring

Posted on March 21, 2008
When I was a kid, I firmly believed that when the first robins arrived back from their winter migration, that was a sure sign that spring was really here.  Well they made it right on time.  Yesterday was the official spring equinox, and look who was visiting my lawn!  Along with about a dozen of [...

Heroin

Posted on March 18, 2008
Heroin is a bastard of a drug.  And the local rehab center has no clue how to handle heroin addicts.  Not a single clue. A client was recently in detox for 5 days.  We were hoping the treatment center would be able to transition him immediately into an inpatient bed, preferably long-term...

Nerd Meme

Posted on March 18, 2008
What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Literature Nerd Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You [...

Stupid Questions Deserve?

Posted on March 17, 2008
Conversations overheard in holding today: CONVERSATION NO. 1 PD  “The state is willing to settle your felony probation violation if you agree to spend 30 more days in jail.  Then you just go back to reporting to your PO for the rest of the term” Client:  “But what if I bond out?” PD:  “You’re not getting it...

Spam

Posted on March 17, 2008
Some things in the cyber world are absolutely amazing.  Like, why would a blog that is primarily concerned with indigent criminal defense law, bird-watching, photography, and my personal medical saga attract the attention of “commenters” who leave “messages” about online porn, prescription drug sales, casino gambling and real-estate schemes / other “get rich quick” scams? Beats [...

Squirrels, Hawks, and small chirpies

Posted on March 16, 2008
I got a bit of vicarious vengeance back this morning.  As one of the pestilential rodents was attempting to raid the feeder yet again, Madame Accipiter came zipping through the woods intent on the hunt and literally scared the squirrel into temporary paralysis...

Friday afternoon Lineup

Posted on March 14, 2008
This afternoon’s load of files seems to consist of nothing but drug cases.  Let’s see: # 86373:  Cops served a search warrant on my client’s residence and find 5.18 g. of weed and 1.47 g. of rock cocaine.  Client admits it’s hers...

Vengeance shall be mine!

Posted on March 14, 2008
Give Me A Pellet Gun!  I’ve Had It!  Those dratted tree rats have pulled their last stunt on me!  It’s time to go Rambo-ing!My squirrel-resistant bird-feeder hung on a solid wrought iron hook from a substantial branch in a mature tree in my back yard...

Outcomes

Posted on March 14, 2008
It was a long and productive afternoon.  Here’s some of what was done. # 86373:  Not so clean as it seemed in the police account.  Per my client, she never admitted anything to the cops, and they had no warrant to search her car, nor did she consent thereto...

The Scavenger

Posted on March 13, 2008
Here’s the latest on the bird-watch.  We have a crow - an absolutely monstrous huge crow - collecting something from the side of the road, and flying off with it.  The question is, is it edible, or is it some curiosity to hide in its nest for later contemplation and/or use...

Squirrel bait

Posted on March 12, 2008
I have resorted to paying protection to the Squirrel Mafia. Dried corn on the cob seems to be the preferred rodential snack.  You can get it for about 6 dollars per 10 pound sack, I think it was I paid.  Throwing out a cob or two in a corner of the yard away from the bird [...

Scheduling grief

Posted on March 12, 2008
In the next three weeks, I get to: See an ophthalmologist for some special testing Visit with my counselor, J.C. - who, luckily as it turns out for me, not only deals with PTSD and such issues, but also is familiar with auto-immune disorders, having a sister with RA, a sister with MS, and a case of [...

Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money??

Posted on March 12, 2008
Array

Anyone want to take the conflicts post?

Posted on March 11, 2008
The contract for conflicts counsel for the PD’s office has been posted publically for any takers.  Deadline for application is in about 3 weeks. How many applicants do you think that’s going to get, when the reason for the vacancy is that the last contract holder was murdered? No one’s been officially charged yet...

P.D. Monday

Posted on March 11, 2008
Well, “Diane” managed to make the rant at her probation officer an irrelevant and moot issue.  She turned up back in custody on Monday, not on an illegally obtained bench warrant, but on a new Forgery case.  She still hadn’t had her drug evaluation - I guess she was too busy using and figuring out [...

Autoimmunity and Attitude

Posted on March 11, 2008
I’m not sure if the worst of this auto-immune business is the unpredictability of it all on a day to day basis, or the damned constant fatigue.  Sunday, I slept 16 hours.  Going to the grocery store and throwing together some burgers and fried for dinner was enough to wipe me out...

The dungeon master passes

Posted on March 07, 2008
Oh, dear, I just got hit with a blast from my past.  A legend of my escapist, geeky past has passed on.  Gary Gygax, the original Dungeon-master, is dead. Unlike most of the junior-high-school nerds who now are the majority of role-playing gamers, those of us who got into Dungeons and Dragons on the ground floor, so [...

Spirit Bird

Posted on March 06, 2008
For some reason, I love the way this turned out, blurry and unfocused as it seems.  It feels like an image out of a dream or the Vision that one goes questing for.  My hawk was about again, obviously; on the hunt and soaring.  And I happened to be in place again...

Cat Day

Posted on March 05, 2008
There are things about auto-immune disorders that really suck swamp-reed. Beyond all the obvious things, there is the fact that you occasionally spend a day or two with what feels like a cat’s metabolism.  Find something or someplace warm and padded, and curl up into oblivion...

AWOL

Posted on March 04, 2008
We just had another one. “Missy” sat up in jail for two months, doing the in-house treatment program, and waiting for a bed to open up in a long term program.  60 days is much more than most people do “inside”, whether inside a short-term inpatient program, or in jail waiting for placement...

At last, a positive change.

Posted on March 01, 2008
Our tax dollars are finally at work for something rehabilitative, not just punitive!  The County is pleased to announce the opening of a new, integrated, in-house rehabilitative services center, housed in the old work-release unit and women’s jail, and providing , among other things: Educational programs, including English as a Second Language, GED prep and testing, [...

Beyond ?You can?t Do That!?

Posted on February 28, 2008
So often, you hear law-enforcement-related professionals complain about how defense attorneys in general and public defenders in particular supposedly walk on the shady side of ethics, sandbagging their white-hatted opponents and using so-called “technicalities” to get guilty people “off”...

Autoimmunity, anyone?

Posted on February 23, 2008
It’s a weird feeling to find yourself rejoicing after being told that you most likely have a rare and incurable dysfunction of the immune system.  Quite counter-intuitive.  But from a medical standpoint, it’s progress toward the ultimate goal - finding an appropriate treatment for the intractable and annoying aches and pains I’ve been dealing with [...

I hate Video Games!

Posted on February 23, 2008
One more.  Just one more verbal outburst while screwing up at the current video-game of the month and I swear, I will scream, grab the controller and whap The Boy over the head with it! Hitting the wall on the virtual racetrack is not a matter of life or death, thank you...

Squirrel Special Forces

Posted on February 20, 2008
Squirrel Special Forces Team  (Back to Duncraft.com Home Page) TO:         Duncraft Designers FROM:     The Twin Lakes Squirrel Special Forces Team DATE:       March 18, 2007 Well, we saw The Lady (the human who lives in Salisbury, CT) opening up the package you sent her enclosing a new knob for the Duncraft platform feeder she hangs outside every morning...

And, for today?s breakfast?

Posted on February 18, 2008
from vodpod.com posted with vodpod I do not like them, Sam, I Am  With many thanks to Dr. Seuss.

And there shall follow the Hounds of Annwn?

Posted on February 18, 2008
from cori1047.vodpod.com posted with vodpod

It shouldn?t be happening like this?

Posted on February 15, 2008
In memory of those killed, wounded, or left bereaved by the February 14, 2008 shootings at Northern Illinois University   Death is a dark and curtained door Shrouded and veiled in velvet black and scarlet And beyond, opening into the nameless, formless Light Where all of Mystery at last becomes plain Truth shining forth unmasked And Glorious...

Basketball blues

Posted on February 14, 2008
On a lighter note for a change: The Boy’s basketball team started in on the annual tournament last night.  It was amazing that they even got into the tournament, with a regular season record of 3 and 7.  They have several good players - my Boy among them - but for most of the season they’ve [...

Even closer to home.

Posted on February 12, 2008
I thought that Greg Clarke’s shooting was already too close to home, emotionally.  It just got a little closer. The man who witnessed the shooting, and who ran to give aid for what he thought at first was a heart attack was my family doctor of the last 18 years...

Windy Weather and Birds of a Feather.

Posted on February 11, 2008
It was so bloody cold out there today that the sparrows seeking shelter in the hedge by the kitchen windows looked like tennis balls with beaks, they’d fluffed their feathers out so much.  I doubt it got much over 3 or 4 degrees at best all day today, and we won’t talk about the wind [...

Defendant slugs his own lawyer | Video | Reuters.com Video

Posted on February 09, 2008
Been There. Done That.  I don’t think I’m quite so forgiving as my professional colleague here in Kentucky was.  Understanding, yes.  Forgiving?  Not so much.  from cori1047.vodpod.com posted with vodpod

Do You Know Where Your Clients Are Tonight?

Posted on February 08, 2008
Judge: Attorney?s client part of shooting investigation Feb 08, 2008 @ 03:21 PM By Corina Curry Richard Wanke?s bond was revoked on Wednesday when he became part of the investigation into the shooting death of his court-appointed attorney, Gregory Clark, a judge told Wanke today...

Yet another tragedy

Posted on February 07, 2008
Drug court lost another man to life on the streets this week.  That’s two in seven days. Unlike “Brian“, we can’t say that this one was for sure due to overdose.  “Rob” was older; a middle aged man with a long history of alcohol and cocaine abuse...

Targeted? And why?

Posted on February 07, 2008
News gets around a courthouse incredibly fast.  The official reports are still saying that “the police are questioning several people”, but as early as 9:30 this morning, the talk among the bailiffs and corrections officers and prosecutors and PDs was that the suspect was a  recent client of Clark’s, who had been set for sentencing [...

A new take on the ?obscene phone call??

Posted on February 06, 2008
This one does not  come with a photograph.  Thank god.  What was this guy thinking? Man convicted of sending penis photo by phone BERLIN (Reuters) - A 21-year-old German man has been convicted of sending a photograph of his penis to an unknown woman via mobile phone, authorities said on Wednesday...

[Local] attorney gunned down outside

Posted on February 06, 2008
[Local] attorney gunned down outside home Feb 06, 2008 @ 05:45 PM RSTAR STAFF REPORTS Attorney Gregory H. Clark, 61, was killed when he was gunned down while clearing his driveway on the northeast side of   town this afternoon.Police said Clark was shot several times in the back after a dark blue van stopped in front of his house near [...

She appears?. and then disappears. Again.

Posted on February 05, 2008
My “old friend”, the drug addict who I’ve posted about several times, did indeed get sentenced to drug court last Friday.  It was her own choice.  She knew exactly what was expected of her.  On the record in front of me, the prosecutor, and a judge who is a total asshole (that’s a story in [...

Snow and Politics

Posted on February 05, 2008
We’re in for a hell of a storm.  And a hell of a race. Predictions have gone from 4 to 6 inches a couple of days ago, to 6 to 12 as of last night, to up to 18 inches as of this evening’s 6:00 news.  That’s right.  18 f**#ing inches.  At 3:30 PM, the County [...

A Last Song For ?Brian?

Posted on February 02, 2008
 There was a note in his file, from the junior assistant public defender who was working DUI court that day.  “Holy Shit!” it said.  “Is this the kid who just got his drug SSS [Statutory Summary Suspension of a driver’s license] rescinded by Attorney M...

Musings on a Red-Tailed Hawk

Posted on January 31, 2008
She was beautiful to behold, a song on the icy wind picked out on a harp composed of sinew and feather.  She soared overhead to settle high in a bare limbed brown tree, surveying the frozen landscape as if she and she alone owned it.  When I first saw her sailing over me, wings extended [...

Brunchtime at the Feeder

Posted on January 28, 2008
We’ve had several new visitors to the Avian Diner today. Unfortunately, I was unable to catch photos of any of them, but amid the usual horde, there was at least 1 pair of Purple Finches, (a little hard to distinguish from the House finches who were also out and feeding) a Song Sparrow, a Red-Breasted [...

Ewwwww

Posted on January 28, 2008
 Where’s the rest of my mouse? HELSINKI (Reuters) - A hospital patient in Finland found a mouse head among the steamed vegetables on his plate.“Understandably, he lost his appetite,” said Sakari Kela, chief administrator at the Northern Karelia Central Hospital...

Midnight Serenade

Posted on January 28, 2008
I was getting ready to go to bed, and all at once, the sound began.  Singing in a wail upon a cold wind, punctuated by yips and moans in a lower register.  A calling into the darkness of many throats in unison, communicating something beyond mere human ken...

The Proud and the Plain

Posted on January 27, 2008
More backyard visitors caught for posterity:  First, a bird who shows his colors with pride, believes he owns the yard, and always has a comment to add to the conversation:  The Blue Jay.  I’ve known since we moved into this house that at least one pair of these claimed a corner of our woods...

Does it suit or not? You tell me

Posted on January 27, 2008
I picked up this little exercise in randomness from The Textual Deviant, a blog run by a friend of mine somewhat south and east of me. Fun. instructions: 1 - Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band...

First, Crop Circles; Now?

Posted on January 27, 2008
100 Sheep Baffle Farmer by Forming Circle in English Field Saturday, January 26, 2008 Holy sheep. About 100 woolly sheep formed a perfect ring while grazing in a field in England on Friday, baffling the farmer and other witnesses, the Daily Mail reports...

An Old ?Friend?

Posted on January 25, 2008
A woman who has been the topic of two previous posts was back again today.  Again.  The warrant on the outstanding valid drug case (the one where it really was cocaine) had been served when she got picked up on a prostitution sting.  She was born in 1976, and looks at least 12 years older than that...

Friday wrap-up

Posted on January 25, 2008
Whoooaaa!  Besides the cases detailed in Wednesday’s post, I ended up also standing in for two other attorneys who were attending a seminar this morning in pretrial court.  Talk about chaos!  Among the other cases added to my call were a 17 year old drug addict who got charged with Attempted Burglary for trying the doors [...

What Honesty Counts For

Posted on January 24, 2008
Lesson for the day:  No matter how impatient you get, no matter how long you have to wait, no matter how screwed up things are, and especially if you’re trying to cover up for your own screw-up, do not ever alter documentation that is supposed to go to your probation officer or to the Court...

And Speaking of Featherbrains?

Posted on January 23, 2008
In and among the Breakfast feeding frenzy at the Bird feeder, I managed to catch this: Mourning Dove at rest:                                                                                                         And in Flight Despite the inherent limitations of the camera at full zoom, not being able to “stop action,” she still makes a beautiful image...