Google Earth

Apparently Google Earth for the Mac has finally been released. I can’t wait to get home and install it (although, that’s partly because I don’t feel so good and simply can’t wait to go home today). My PC is crappy and I don’t want to run anything like Google Earth, so I will be happy to be able to use it on my iBook. We’ll see how well it works, though.

Okay, how funny is it that Google’s blog is a Blogger site? (So, not that funny, but sort of funny anyway.) I mean, I know Google owns Blogger, but you’d think they could have the Google blog just be “googleblog.com” instead of “googleblog.blogspot.com.” Perhaps a Blogger plug, I suppose.

Happy Friday.

Law geek

I looked up de minimis in Gardner and was disappointed to find no mention of the (patently incorrect) spelling “de minimus”. I see this spelling used so often in legal opinions (although the proper spelling remains the overwhelming majority) that I would expect Gardner to take the space to say, “Idiots, there is no letter ‘u’ in the word minimis.” He totally does that for other words, though I can’t think of an example off hand.

By the way, Alito is awful awful awful and I don’t trust John Roberts. I fear for the rights of criminal defendants, civil rights laws, abortion, the ability to sue bad people and companies, and a whole bunch of other things. [sigh...]

as jack said…

…i’m baaaaaack. back at work, that is. my vacation was great, relaxing, fun, spent a lot of time with my friends, etc.

stupid northwest airlines cancelled my flight to california on 12/30 and basically refused to put me on another airline. so i had to fly out at 6:50 on 12/31 and ended up being really tired on nye, although it was really fun anyway. i was not sober.

maybe i’ll write more about my vacation later…

Here’s my updated list of everything i’ve read since i got to Madison, starting with the present, going backward:
1. Philip Roth – The Plot Against America – just started it, everybody else has read it, so I might as well, too; so far, so good.
2. David Sedaris – Dress Your Family… – haven’t really read much more of this (really none at all since I started Prep, but I figure I’ll go back to it eventually).
3. Sam Lipsyte – Home Land – not bad, a memoirish novel (the genre currently overwhelming America) written in the form of unpublishable letters to a high school alumni newsletter. A bit contrived but a quick read with some good parts. Clearly influenced by Bukowski.
4. Kurt Vonnegut – God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater – I could take it or leave it. Not at all my favorite Vonnegut (faves are Cat’s Cradle and Breakfast of Champions).
5. Mario Puzo – The Godfather – I think I’ve commented on this already, but a decent read; some interesting things illuminating the movies.
6. Curtis Sittenfield – Prep – I’ve commented on this extensively
7. Lynn Truss – Eats, Shoots and Leaves
8. Charles Cross – Heavier Than Heaven
9. Malcolm Gladwell – Blink
10. Michael Chabon – The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

So, I’ve read seven full books, plus partway through two, and finished Kavalier and Clay since I moved to Madison. I’m also occassionally reading from A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (2nd ed.), which I hope to read all of by, say, age 35.

So this is way more books than I read total over three years of law school and possibly more books than I’ve read in total since I graduated college. That’s kind of sad, but at least I’m finally reading again. I’ll probably keep this list updated here.