Nicole, Missi, and Adrienne
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Some recent photos
Nicole, Missi, and Adrienne
Breaking my blog silence...
I have been meaning to post something on my blog for several days now but I’ve just been caught up in the hubbub of Christmas and haven’t taken the few minutes required to post something up here. As a result, this will be a slightly longer blog post. It’s been so long (over two weeks!) it’s hard to know where to begin…
FAMILY:
We had a very nice, albeit slightly hectic, Christmas. We were in Portland staying with Missi’s mom and we traveled to Salem on Monday afternoon to have Christmas dinner with her mom’s side of the family. The kids seemed to be excited about the gift of a puppy, and we’re all looking forward (with perhaps a bit of fear and trepidation) to January 12 when Zeke will come join our family. I’ve attached a picture of Zeke below. He is the puppy on the left. I got some great stuff for Christmas, but I think my favorite gift was the “12 Days of Christmas” that Missi gave me. I could write a full blog post on just this gift, but ask me about it some time.
In other family news, my sister Julie got engaged a few days ago. Her fiancĂ©e is a great guy named Brian who she met during college. They are thinking about a May wedding in Vancouver, Washington. We’re very excited for both of them. My parents spent Christmas in Chiangmai, Thailand, but I was able to talk to them briefly on Christmas Eve.
SCHOOL/WORK:
I finished up the semester feeling alright about my exams, although it’s tough to say how accurate that feeling was as I haven’t received my grades yet. Taking exams was certainly much less painful this time around than it was last year. I am continuing to work a bit throughout my break, but my hours are pretty limited and my work is extremely flexible with my schedule.
OREGON DUCKS:
The Las Vegas Bowl was extremely disappointing. The Ducks just flat-out didn’t show up to play and nobody (perhaps except Jonathan Stewart) really seemed to care or put any effort into it. Here is a really disheartening article about Belloti’s complacency following the game. At least the basketball team is doing pretty well (12-0, ranked #20 in the country). I’m looking forward to taking Drew to the USC game and going with Missi to the UCLA game, which will potentially be a showdown between two undefeated teams.
EXTRAS:
Here is a good article on the Christmas season.
I’ve spent a fair amount of time this Christmas break learning how to use iMovie. I made a ten minute long DVD for some family members. What a sweet program! Makes me love my Mac even more.
I traded in my Treo 650 for the (allegedly) improved Treo 680 and so far I’m really regretting the decision. My phone keeps freezing up and it won’t hot sync to my computer. I’m getting very frustrated with the situation.
Other miscellaneous highlights from this break (so far):
1.) Seeing my buddy Aaron when he came to Portland. He is a really great guy and it was a treat to hang with him. We had coffee together one day and then dinner with another good friend the next evening. He is preparing to enter the Air Force JAG and if I was a single guy I’d be thinking real hard about following in his footsteps.
2.) Hanging out with my buddy Jeff. We watched the unspectacular Ohio State-Florida basketball game together, and while the game wasn’t too exciting, it’s always great to spend time with him.
3.) Visiting with my grandparents. I had lunch with my grandmother at her nursing home and we spent an evening at The Farm with my other grandparents. Both were really great times and made me appreciate even more the fact that they are all still alive.
4.) Christmas party at the Foglios. Although the power went out for about 90 minutes, we had a great time enjoying a chocolate fountain and being with some of our closest friends. Amazingly Jeff and Mike both sported very festive sweaters like I did (see below). Apparently great minds think alike.
5.) Visiting with Missi’s cousin Jake. Jake is a West Point grad currently serving in the Army. He returned in September from his second tour in Iraq and it was really interesting to hear his take on the situation and catch up with he and his wife, who currently live in Tennessee. The newest member of the Wilson family is on the left.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
That feels good...
I had three exams and I felt pretty good about all of them. The exam that I took yesterday (American Legal Biography) was probably the most difficult, and the main reason I say that is because he asked one question that I had ABSOLUTELY no idea what the answer was. But other than that question I think did OK (The question, if you care, simply said “Dillon’s Rule.” You were supposed to recognize what the rule was, what case gave us the rule, and what judge applied it. The answer was that Dillon’s Rule holds that municipal ordinances are to construed narrowly and the judge was Matthew Deady).
Now that I’m finished, I’m definitely ready for a break. I haven’t been sleeping enough; I haven’t been exercising enough; I’ve been drinking too much coffee; and most importantly, I haven’t been giving enough attention to my family. Missi’s birthday is tomorrow and so we’re all looking forward to that. I’m going to work a bit during the break, but probably only 20 hours per week or so. I also need to work on writing a brief for the National Appellate Advocacy Competition I’m in, but I’m going to take a few days off before I dive in on that. I’m looking forward to being back up in Portland this weekend to seeing friends and family.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
With those formalities out of the way...
1. I mentioned about a week ago that Missi got my a Treo 650 for my birthday. I was pretty happy with it, but it had a few issues (like freezing up at inopportune moments), and Palm just released the Treo 680, which is supposedly an improvement. Given that, I exchanged my 650 for the 680. I really love the idea of a "smart phone" - a PDA combined with a phone - and I think the Treo 680 is going to be great. Here is a comparison of the two that I found.
2. If you have some spare time (like around 8 - 10 hours probably), I'd recommend reading the official report from the Iraq Study Group. I haven't read it, but I've perused it, and I might try to read the full 160 pages over the Christmas break. I'm hoping that it will provide lawmakers with a roadmap out of the mess that is the situation in Iraq.
3. I'm 2/3 of the way done with exams - Evidence and Con Law II done, just American Legal Biography next Monday. I also have to turn in a big paper, which is very close to being done. Fortunately I have several days to finish the paper and study for the next exam. I'll be glad when next Monday at 11:31 rolls around.
I’ve joined the “century club”
As you may know, I can track who actually views my blog (you can see it too – just click on the little hitcounter box in the right hand column underneath the links), and it’s always interesting for me to see how many people has viewed my blog and where they are logging on from. I can usually guess who is logging on from Rizal, Philippines, but when I get a visitor from, say, Germany, I never have a clue who it is.
I always enjoy the comments I get from blog readers, so don’t be shy about posting those. Thanks for checking it out!
Monday, December 04, 2006
Nice sunrise
Friday, December 01, 2006
John Wilson, circa 1993
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Yikes
My parents emailed us to say that a big storm was headed their way, but I had no idea it was this big. At least 109 people dead!? Please pray for the people of the Philippines.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
An odd, but pleasant, tradition
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Birthday recap
- My birthday was yesterday and I had a really nice day. I had class in the morning, followed by Missi and Sam meeting me at my office with lunch. They brought Cafe Yumm, which is always great (sidenote: if you live in Eugene and haven't eaten at Cafe Yumm, you NEED to. If you don't live in Eugene, well, you're missing out). I worked throughout the afternoon and then we had some friends over for a birthday dinner. Missi did a great job of cooking my slightly-obscure choice of birthday dinner - yakisoba and bulgogi beef. For gifts, she and the kids got me some great shoes and a very cool Treo 650. I'm sort of a geek for little electronic gadgets like this so I'm pretty excited. Our friend Monica brought over an ice cream cake from Cold Stone, which was really great. Over all, it was a very good birthday.
- There is a lot that could be said about the Ducks collapse on the football field. To be honest, I don't really have the time or energy to relate all of my thoughts, but in general it was just a really disappointing season. Go here or here to read two of my favorite Duck blogs writting by Oregonian writers.
- If you want to read a really great newspaper column, check out Bob Welch's columns in the R-G. He's a great guy and a great writer. And, after playing against him in a Turkey Bowl, he's a darn good flag football player.
- There's some white stuff on the ground this morning, which is definitely exciting for the kids. Not enough to cancel school, but it's still fun (and CERTAINLY not as much as my sister sees up in Alaska).
- Last note, and this is something of a "teaser." The Wilson family has decided to add a new member to our family. No, this DOES NOT mean we're pregnant (that's for you AZ!). It just means that Christmas morning will be very, very exciting for our kids. Go here for a glimpse.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
See you in a few weeks…
A short trip to Bend
Here are a few pics taken from the road.
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The Three Sisters
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Just a dusting of snow on the Pass
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Self-portrait taken at 70 mph using the camera's timer
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Tuesday, November 14, 2006
We may have an answer!
My estimate is 2.63 trillion rain drops/square mile in 5 minutes when it is raining at 1cm of accumulation per hour, would be a light/moderate steady rain.
Here’s a spreadsheet you can play with to see how many drops accumulate when the severity of the rain and the drop size distribution changes. I got my drop size distribution here: http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2001/IgorVolynets.shtml
This is, after all, the same guy who calculated the total amount of time it would take for the EMU to pass out all of their student football tickets and the points-per-minute ratio on our Property exam. He has a mind like a computer (if we could somehow just get him assigned to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or figure out how to get us out of Iraq I have little doubt he'd come up with a plan). Way to go Charlie!
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Monday, November 13, 2006
Three thoughts for a Monday
2.Did you know I am now a professional blogger? That’s right, I’m actually getting paid to blog for my school. I have to post 2-3 times per month and they refer prospective students to the blog. Kind of crazy that I’m actually receiving money for espousing the virtues of a school that I love!?
3.Here is a theoretical/scientific question for this rainy, stormy season: Do you think it would ever be possible to figure out how many raindrops hit the ground in a one square mile area over the period of five minutes? I was thinking that you could somehow take a 1’ x 1’ box and figure out how many drops hit in during a period of 5 minutes and then extrapolate that figure over the square mile. How could you figure out how many drops actually fell? You could figure out the average volume of each drop, then take the total amount of water collected and divide it by the average size of drops. The equation might look like this:
(Total volume of water collected/average size of each drop=total number of drops)
You would of course, have to take into account wind factors, the variety of different sized drops, etc…But do you really think it’s possible? My head is hurting.
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Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Some new pics
Craig and Kobayashi, the champion hotdog-eater
The Ladies...
The Fellas...
Drew and his soccer buddies
P.S. Sorry for the weird formatting on this post. I can't figure out why Blogger does this to me...
Friday, November 03, 2006
I wish I had an "audio blog" right now
What a day...
5:45: Wake up, get ready to go to basketball, get suit ready
6:25: Leave the house
6:45: Arrive at the REC for basketball games
7:00 – 8:20: Basketball league (I play in the Legal Ballers Association league. Our team was 1-1 on Thursday)
8:30 – 8:45: Shower, change into suit and tie
9:00 – 10:00: Go to part of class (American Legal Biography – discussing Chief Justice Earl Warren)
10:15: Make it into the office, begin prepping for hearing
11:30: Head to courthouse
12:00: Facilitate negotiations with lots of folks who had received citations
1:00 – 2:30: Appear before Magistrate in a weird, convoluted hearing (ask me about it sometime – my defendant appeared in court intoxicated)
2:30: Head back to office, leave to school
2:45 – 4:20: Attend class (Advanced Issues in Criminal Law: Legislating Morality – it’s a really sweet seminar-style class. Today we talked about the collateral consequences to a conviction, i.e. disenfranchisement or the loss of parental rights).
4:30 – 4:45: Talk on the phone to Missi
5:00 – 5:45: In library study room, prepping for Moot Court argument
5:45 – 6:10: Eat dinner, graciously provided by the Moot Court Board
6:15 – 8:30: Continue prepping for appellate argument for Business Law Moot Court competition
8:45: Give oral argument in front of 3-judge panel
9:10: Finally head for home
9:30: Get home, change out of suit, begin working on big paper
10:00: Check email, get good news about results of moot court competition
10:10 – now (11:00): Continue working on paper and take a break to write this blog entry
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Very busy week...
1. Working on a big paper (25+ pages) with a draft due on Friday.
2. Hearing at work on Thursday. I'm scheduled to appear in front of the Magistrate Judge on something
3. Giving an oral argument on Thursday evening as part of the Business Law Moot Court Competition. I turned in the brief last week and haven't even thought about the argument yet.
4. I've got a Law Review hard edit going on right now that is due early next week.
5. All of my other normal class work.
Oh yeah, finals start in just about a month. This isn't going to be a fun month.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Two interesting links
So, this will have to do:
This is a very cool thing that will bring out your inner abstract artist (Click to change colors)
Here’s something else that’s really amazing (You need Macromedia Flash for this one)
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Tour of the new courthouse
Anyway, my co-worker and I had to take care of something in the new courthouse so we walked over. There were some rudimentary signs directing us where to go (“BADGES →”) but inevitably we got lost. Much to our surprise, we walked through an unlocked, unmarked door that led directly into the prisoner’s holding cells and the door locked behind us. Travis and I wandered around for awhile trying to find a way out, to no avail, when there was a booming voice that came over the loudspeaker, “What are you guys doing in there?” We explained that we had just taken a wrong turn and then a voice answered, (laughing) “I guess you’ll have to do your time, then.” Apparently the US Marshals thought it was pretty funny to play a joke on two unsuspecting law clerks. We made a comment to the effect that we were guilty of the crime of stupidity and then they came to let us out.
If you haven’t done so already, make sure you check out The Zimel Zoo. Our best friends are slowly making their way across the country in an RV (with three young boys!), and they’ve been posting regularly as they travel cross-country.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Moo, moo
P.S. I really run the gamut on this blog, don't I? From espousing the virtues of fall to praising organic milk. What a spectrum...
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Friday, October 20, 2006
You gotta love early fall...
1. There is a nice "briskness" in the air. It's what I like to call "layering" weather - you walk out of the house in the morning all bundled up and you come home with your window down and your shades on. In just a few short weeks the dreary rain will lay siege to us and won't let up for several months.
2. The leaves are turning color and falling. I like being able to walk on them and have them make that nice crunchy sound.
3. The sports of early fall. Football season is in full swing. Say what you want, but football holds a special place in most American's heart. I didn't really play much growing up, but it's fun to enjoy the enthusiasm, pageantry, and loyalty that football brings out. This is especially true for high school and college football, although an NFL apologist might disagree (I've never really followed the NFL closely). The Fall Classic is about to begin, and for college basketball fans "Midnight Madnesses" throughout the country mean the season is just around the corner. Does anyone really care about the NBA anymore? And by the NBA I mean the Blazers...Soccer, one of my true loves, is being played on fields throughout the country. It's a great season for sports.
4. Closely related to #3, sons ask their dads to throw them the football. In our house this has meant that Drew now understands how to run a "slant" or "buttonhook."
5. In election years, citizens are forced to engage in the political process by virtue of the myriad of messages thrown at them. Mailings, radio and TV spots, town hall meetings, etc...These things force all of us to analyze where we are going as a society, and whether we want that to change.
6. We're still just far enough away from exams that most law students haven't entered that chaotic haze of mid-November through mid-December.
I know this isn't really a typical post for me, but I thought it would be good to record a few of the thoughts I had on this season. Hope you enjoyed them...
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
A big pile of randomness...
1. We were over in Bend for a short trip towards the end of last week. I had to go over there for work and we were able to stay in a friend's cabin in Tumalo. It was a really fun time - the kids were good, we had dinner at the Bend Brewing Company with some friends, the judge accepted my sentencing recommendation, and we were able to play in Drake Park after the hearing and before hitting the road.
2. On Saturday morning the whole fam woke up early to participate in the Duck Dash. I'd say "run" in the Duck Dash but Drew actually rode his bike and Sam got the VIP treatment in the jogging stroller. We certainly didn't set any land speed records but we had a really good time and I was proud of how we all did. I came up with the T-shirt design for the race through a contest they had for the law students. See below.
3. Missi and I went to the Oregon-Cal game on Saturday. We had two reserved seats that were WAAAAYYYY up at the top of Autzen Stadium, but it was nice to escape the hecticness of the Student Section and all the "activities" that go on therein. We ended up sitting surrounded by several Law School alumni (it was reunion weekend) so we enjoyed visiting with them.
4. My friend Jeff came down from Portland to watch the game and he brought several of his friends from Pepperdine Law School days with him (they were UCLA fans). After the game we went back to our house and watched more football, watched Drew dunk basketballs and Sam dance, and had an awesome time visiting. My buddy Mike also came down from Corvallis where he was coaching a soccer game and hung out for awhile. It was a really great afternoon/evening.
5. For what it's worth, I feel incredibly busy this school year. I know that "busyness" is all relative, but I feel like I start the week by waking up really early on Monday and then all of a sudden it's Friday and everything in the past is a blur. Just a crazy time...
6. Our best friends the Zimels have set off on their cross-country RV trip with their three boys. The stopped in Eugene for a night on their journey south and it was so good to see them. We are going to miss their family tremendously but we are excited to see what new adventures they have in Florida. They are writing a blog that I've been checking every day - it's really entertaining. Check it out.
Now it's back to determining what the difference is between acts of terrorism and hate crimes...
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Monday, October 16, 2006
Monday, October 09, 2006
An absolutely great weekend
It was a great time of beach football, relaxing, fishing (a.k.a. sitting in a boat and not catching anything), good food, apple wars (ask me about it sometime), laughing, making fun of each other, and poker. It was one of the most enjoyable weekends I've had in a long time.
We're gonna miss you AZ!
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The boys outside the RV
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Greeley is truly a man who knows his way around the kitchen
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PQ rockin' the Ducks PJs and enjoying some special Zimel French Toast
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This looks like trouble...
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The fearless fishermen
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Out on the water
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Ad likes his new jeans
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Me and PQ
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Adam and I in Manzanita watching the Ducks game
A short video showing the two boats out on the water (NO SOUND!)
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Extremely sad story
Here are several links about this terrible incident:
The Tigard Times story discussing the aftermath
The Oregonian's Steve Duin's article
Some Indymedia postings about this (including a senior picture of Luke Glenn)
The Myspace page set up by Luke's friends
There is also a transcript and audio recording of the 9-1-1 call from the incident available out on the web, but I'm not going to link to it because it is really difficult to listen to. You hear the entire situation unfold, and it's absolutely tragic to hear a mother go through that.
I'll be praying for the Glenn family and for the officers who were attempting to do their job.
Friday, September 22, 2006
This was a very good week...
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Last Ducks - Sooners post, I promise
Apparently Oklahoma has also been on the receiving end of some horrible calls!
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Death Threats?! You've got to be kidding me...
Monday, September 18, 2006
Pics from the Ducks game
Thursday, September 14, 2006
A whole bunch of pictures
Check them out at www.muskband.com
I didn't think so...