The things that aren't said - thoughts on the "public" aspect of public transit

On the subway, there is a certain distance that is kept between passengers, a sort of, "I have to be here in close proximity to you, but you don't have to acknowledge that I am." To some extent, it is a matter of courtesy, since the co-commuter doesn't have much choice in whether they are there, and it isn't fair to take advantage of their helplessness by pressing them into conversation. But still, there are the occasional things that you want to say. For instance, to certain individuals I have seen,

"It's nice to see the Seersucker still in use. It looks great on you."

"I like seeing someone with the boldness to do a crossword in pen."

"You know, even though you have removed the dust jacket, people can still see that you are reading Harry Potter. It's a great book, but you should have the confidence to just read it."

Interestingly, there are things that should probably be said but aren't. For instance, yesterday, the person behind me in a crowded car probably should have said,

"What do you have in that backpack, bricks? Did you know that if you take if off your shoulders and put it on the floor, it will save space and also not hit me in the face when the driver brakes."

And then there are the things that are fun to say, but aren't said much. When I used the urban rail system more for transit and less for pure commuter purposes, I ran into a lot more tourists who didn't know much about the system. One could be kind to them, and it was often worth doing, but sometimes they were oblivious enough that it took a loud

"Walk on the left!"

to get them to gather up their selves and children and bags and other obstructions and let people through.

Another favorite category of mine are the things that are said by body language, specifically, the exercise of force or momentum. For instance, if a group of people are standing in the train's doorway, and have seen you make maneuvers to get to the door, you could say,

"Pardon me, but I need to get off at this stop. Would you please step out for a moment? You can get right back on when I have exited."

Or you could just lower your shoulder and take them with you. The talking way risks miscommunication or the need for further negotiation and convincing of the possibility of your getting off, all of which takes time which you and those behind you may not have before the doors snap shut. The keep-moving way is a sure thing (even for a little guy like myself - just yesterday I ran into a guy who weighed about half again what I do and had about 8 inches on me, and who was walking directly at me, but I hit him a little off center, and he spun out of the way like a shrub off a truck's brush guard). Besides, the looks on their faces is priceless.

Music, in its more modern forms

I have a question over on our other blog. Here's how it is: I know a lot about music in the sense of how to make it, how to create interesting motion within it, how to write it down, etc. However, I lack a certain depth of immersion in pop culture that your combined experience does not. I would find myself in your debt should you share your portion of that immersion. Thank you for your input.

Offworld Beverages

Have you ever noticed how one of the big "advances" of alien civilizations in sci-fi is powerful beverages that "really do it to you"? Romulan ale, Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters, etc.? I mean, we on earth already have readily available liquid concoctions that can make you blind, that can cause you to halucinate, or that can knock you unconscious instantly. Just how much room is there for new avenues of perfection in chemically altered states of mind?

Quote of the day

"Growing up in Serbia, we didn't know whether the Americans or the Russians would win, so in the schools they taught us both English and Russian."

--Nik, our pool's lifeguard

Back to class

In another week, my summer is over, and I hit the books again. (So is my wife, but only for one class.) I have a few interviews lined up for post-graduation work; it's something to think that I will finally be done with the full time student thing and have to move out into the somehow more-"real" world. I will also be working some during the semester, which will be nice. Books and ideas are nice in their own way, but I enjoy more working out actual problems for real people.

In Brief

I haven't posted any personal news in about three months, and you probably don't have the time for an extensive update, so here you go in bullet points:

1. Exams were fine. Sometimes I feel like I'm in Lit class again - as long as I know who the characters are and what they did, I just have to let go and "feel the force" as I answer. Granted there are more details to have to know in the first place, but the open-endedness of the answers is a combination of fun and unsettling. (So much for my intended bullet points...)

2. I am working this summer for a small firm in Fairfax.

3. My wife and I are preparing for a few familial guests this coming week. I was mentioning this fact to someone at church the other day, and they asked if we had any interesting activities planned. It was at that point, of course, that I realized that had I mentioned in the first place that they were going to be in town for a funeral, it would have saved my friend a bit of embarrassment.

4. Work is fun. I love helping people. And ruining peoples' days. People on the other side.

5. Hospitality is great fun. We have been having people over somewhat regularly, and greatly enjoyed ourselves. Hopefully, the feeling has been shared by our guests.

Little Beeblebrox no more

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5032906.stm

Grr. Arggh.

Pville Town Council

School president to student: "Get on the internship bus and leave governing to real people."

Why the change in tune for Mike "if you get elected to the House of Delegates, I'll give you 15 credits of DRW" Farris? Could it be that the idea of a student making decisions about the school's water and construction requests is more frightening than that of one making grand changes to the commonwealth's religious liberty, freedom of contract, and civil liberty protections? Perhaps concerns about allegations of the school "leaning on" a member of the council with whom they have a relationship of trust? Six years atop the institution just left him more jaded about the present potential of those little rising leaders? We report, you decide...

(article here for the next few weeks)

(In the interest of fairness to Mr. Farris, note that his DRW offer of long ago was not meant seriously or literally at the time. It is not inconsistent with his general interest in the ascent to positions of influence, but was understood as light-hearted encouragement, not a bargain.)

Schedule

Having neglected this blog for some time, I am hoping that the following will serve as adequate excuse for my so doing:

4-25 AM - Int'l Business Transactions
4-27 AM - Conflicts of Law
4-28 PM - Corporations
5-4 AM - Law in Cyberspace

The 30-page paper for Law of War I turned in last week. All in all, this semester has been great, the classes enjoyable. Prayer appreciated as I try to solidify what I know into a ready-made gel for glooping back onto the exams. (Yes, open book exams are a wonderful thing, but they can be more work than closed, because of how much more detailed your preparations can be and how little you need to worry about actually memorizing the stuff...)

Cut scenes

Robert Duvall, discussing his role of Lt. Col. "Napalm in the Morning" Kilgore in Apocalypse Now, reportedly claims his greatest disappointment about the movie is that F. F. Copola cut a scene in which he places a baby in his medevac helocopter after personally shooting both its parents. He thought the scene made his character more complete.

Too many Lawsuits?

For better or worse, however, no limit exists on the number of lawsuits one individual can bring in a lifetime.

--Chancellor Chandler, in In re Fuqua Industries Shareholder Litigation, 752 A.2d 126 (Del. Ch. 1999)




Counsel for the [board of directors] point out in their [brief] that, "plaintiffs and their family appear to have been singularly unlucky investors--they are named plaintiffs in at least thirteen lawsuits (including this one) challenging allegedly improper conduct [citations omitted]." It is unclear what nefarious intent the defendant directors would have me infer from this statistic. While the Kahns' experience might qualify them as icons of Delaware corporate jurisprudence, in my view, their wisdom in forum selection should hardly subject them to a presumption of misconduct. But cf. [the judge sua sponte cites seven suits, "among others" in which the directors were named defendants].

--Chancellor Chandler in Kahn v. Icahn, 1998 Del. Ch. LEXIS 223 (Nov. 12, 1998), n.1.

Woman wins fight against British Primary Care Trust

Ann Rogers of Swindon, Wilts, England won on appeal the right to drugs for treating her breast cancer. The treatment costs about £20,000 annually. The court held that the factors on which the government denied her treatment were irrational and did not prevent discriminatory treatment (of some patients but not others).

While this gets to the obvious problems with socialized medicine (low prices create an artificially high demand, meaning long lines or arbitrary denial of service, etc.), it also gets to the ultimate inability of any system to create equality. The British system attempts to provide medical treatment without reference to ability to pay for it. However, where that system fails, as it inevitably will, ultimately, only those with the money to afford effective lawyers will end up with treatment.

To paraphrase Enemy at the Gates' Danilov, "We tried so hard to create a society that was equal, where there'd be nothing to envy of your neighbour's. But there's always something to envy. Medicine, legal aide, something you don't have and want to appropriate. In this world, even a socialized one, there will always be rich and poor."

(article here)

Student Associations

Yesterday, I was asked to join a group called "Law Students for Choice."

Freaking Arminians.

How do aliens relax at the end of the day?

266 million mile long alcohol stream found in space.

Ok, it's methanol, not ethyl, but who's to say that the aliens don't prefer that sort of alcohol?