Nice Promotion...

We take this break in our regularly scheduled programming (studying for Monday's Torts exam) to share this stroke of genius with you.

Now this is a sweet idea...

Check out this thing. It looks like a great idea but I wonder how well it works in "real life."

Halfway home...(2 down 2 to go)

Well, I just finished my Contracts exam a few hours ago and it was definitely not easy. Just a whole lot of issues packed into a fact pattern. A few of my classmates thought that it was by far the most difficult exam of any they have taken in law school. I've finished up two exams and two more next week (Torts and Property). M is up in Portland for the weekend and I'm going to be studying HARD for Torts. Of course, the fact that it is 75 and sunny doesn't make it very easy to be in the library all weekend.

A few extras:

Here is a great article about former Oregon Duck Joey Harrington. The article shows him as a class act even as he is leaving a bad situation in Detroit. I hope he does great in Miami.

The title of this blog entry reminds me of a song by Jason Mraz I heard once. You'll need a SHN decoder to listen to it.

Memo to Google: If Picasa is such a sweet program, where is the love for Mac users?

Here is a sample question similar to the one I had to analyze on today's exam:

Smedlach Grain Coop. is a wheat cooperative that sells wheat it purchases from local farmers in South Dakota. Frackton & Sons is a grain wholesaler that buys wheat and other grains from Smedlach and other sources and resells them in the grain marketplace.

On April 3, Frackton and Smedlach entered into a “forward” wheat contract— that is, a contract at a set price to deliver wheat at a specified date (or in this case dates) in the future. Specifically, Frackton promised to buy and Smedlach promised to sell it:

400,000 bushels of #1 wheat at $3.10/bu., in two installments: 200,000 bushels on September 15 and 200,000 bushels on December 15.

On June 3, the managing partner of Smedlach, Porky Smedlach, called Buzz Frackton, that company’s CEO, and said, “We are in trouble due to the present drought. Our predicted yield is down 30%— I don’t see how we can deliver for less than $3.20.” Frackton replied: “I’m sorry to hear that, but we can’t agree to a price increase.”

On August 13, Buzz Frackton e-mailed Porky Smedlach: “I am inquiring about your intent regarding our April 3 agreement.” On August 15, Porky Smedlach replied: “Nothing has changed on our end—sorry.”

On September 14, Buzz Frackton again e-mailed Porky Smedlach: “We are requesting performance on the April 3 contract.” Smedlach did not reply and did not deliver any wheat to Frackton the next day.

October 1, Frackton purchased 200,000 bushels of #1 wheat on the spot market (i.e., for immediate delivery) at $3.35 per bushel—two cents more than the spot market price for such wheat on September 15. On December 20, the spot market price for #1 wheat was $3.50 and Frackton bought 200,000 bushels at that price.

1. Does Frackton have any recourse against Smedlach for Smedlach’s non-delivery of wheat? Include in your answer a discussion of the remedies Frackton could hope to recover if it succeeds on the merits. (30 points)

2. How, if at all, would your answer to question 1 change if in his August 15 e-mail Porky Smedlach said that he has discussed the situation with the coop’s lawyer and is informed that the drought has excused the coop’s performance under the April 3 contract? (10 points)

3. How, if at all, would your answer to question 1 change if it were the customary practice in the South Dakota wheat trade to adjust long-term contract prices up or down to account for freezes, droughts, and similar extreme weather conditions? (20 points)

One down, three to go...

I took my Con Law final yesterday. It covered Congress' authority under the Commerce Clause, a state's ability to pass discriminatory legislation (imposing a tax on out-of-state tourists to the state) under the dormant Commerce Clause, and had a bit of individual rights/substantive due process thrown in for fair measure. The questions weren't that difficult and I put down what I thought needed to be included in the analysis. So, now it's time to move on to Contracts, which is the final I have on Thursday.

The final exam period is, without a doubt, the most difficult educational experience I have ever had. It takes a serious toll on the student and on their family/friends/loved ones. Missi has been amazing throughout this time but it isn't easy to basically become a single mom for two or three weeks. I just keep telling myself: only 10 days to go, only 10 days to go...





Currently listening to:
Remedy Drive [Thanks, A-Rob]
The John Butler Trio
Warren Barfield

Mmmmm....Communist scones are good

DSCF0068
Originally uploaded by John W..

Only in Eugene. Here is a bakery a block away from my school that I often visit in the morning to grab a scone. I've noticed that they have a communist party flag in the window. You can't really see it from the picture, but they also have a Benito Mussolini quote in the window. It says something about how capitalism is fascism because it only benefits large corporations or something like that. However, if they were true communists, shouldn't I be getting my scones for free?

Are you a 30 year old guy?

This entry is specifically for JE, SH, BG, and any of my other friends who are 30, or who will be approaching that threshold soon. I still have a few years to go, so I can do all of these things before I hit the big three-oh. Have any more to add? Leave it in Comments.

THINGS A GUY SHOULD NEVER DO AFTER THE AGE OF THIRTY
**Taken from Colin Cowherd's radio show and Esquire mag.**

• Coin his own nickname.
• Use a wallet that is fastened with Velcro.
• Rank his friends in order of best, second best, and so on.
• Hacky sack.
• Hang art with tape.
• Ask a policeman, "You ever shoot anybody with that thing?"
• Skip.
• Let his father do his taxes.
• Tap on the glass.
• Shout out a response to "Are you ready to rock?"
• Use the word collated on his resume.
• Hold a weekly house meeting with roommates.
• Name pets after Middle Earth characters.
• Jokingly flash gang signs while posing for wedding photos.
• Give shout-outs.
• Use numbers in place of words or locations, such as "the 411" for information, or "the 313" for Detroit.
• Hug amusement-park characters.
• Wear Disney-themed neckties.
• Wake up to a "morning zoo."
• Request extra sprinkles.
• Air drum.
• Choose 69 as his jersey number.
• Eat Oreo cookies in stages.
• Volunteer to be a magician's assistant.
• Sleep on a bare mattress.
• End a conversation with "later skater."
• Hold his lighter up at a concert.
• Wear Converse All Stars with a tuxedo.
• Propose via stadium Jumbotron.
• Call "shotgun" before getting in a car.
• Dispute someone else's call of "shotgun."
• Whine.
• Mist up during Aerosmith's "Dream On."
• Purchase fireworks.
• Ride a pony.
• Sport an ironic mustache.
• Say "two points" every time he throws something in the trash.
• The John Travolta point-to-the-ceiling-point-to-the-floor dance move.
• Put less than ten dollars' worth of gas in the tank.
• Read The Fountainhead.
• Watch the Pink Floyd laser light show at a planetarium.
• Own a vanity plate.
• Say goodbye to anyone by tapping his chest and even so much as whispering, "Peace out."

Caution: Slow moving (blog) traffic ahead

Caution: The frequency of blog postings is going to slow considerably in the next few weeks as I go into exams. I'll try to make brief posts here and there, but don't count on too much. I can't wait to be finished with exams. Definitely the most unpleasant experience of law school.

New opportunities for Trevor

My nephew Trevor (Jessica and Phil's oldest son) was born with Down's Syndrome. He is an adorable toddler and Missi and I cherish every moment we get with him. A few days ago, my sister sent me this article about how post-high school opportunities for disabled students are increasing. It's great to think that colleges and universities are recognizing the need for these programs and responding to the need.




No Trevor, "you're the man!"

P.S. Formatting issues...

I have absolutely no idea why, when I host pictures somewhere else, they appear on the blog as larger than the allotted area. I have already used up my space to upload pics directly to blogger, so for now we'll just have to live with the weird sizing issues. It looks tacky but I can't figure out how to fix it.

Weekend Recap

Another busy weekend. On Saturday I drove up to Portland with my classmate Monica, who spent Easter with us. We drove straight to meet Missi for Samantha's first "real" haircut. It went pretty well and the place we took her was awesome. On Saturday night we went to the Buffalo Gap to watch Justin Hopkins' show. It was really fun and I saw a TON of people who I hadn't seen in awhile. There were lots of Tigard High folks who showed up. The place was absolutely packed, which tells me that Justin is developing a pretty good fan base in Portland.

On Sunday we went to church and then went over to Missi's dad's house. We had a nice Easter dinner and the kids had an egg hunt. After eating way too much good food, we headed back to Eugene. Now it's "nose to the grindstone" for the last week before exams.





Samantha gets her first “real” haircut






The girls at Justin’s show






Mike, PQ, and me at Justin’s show






Justin Hopkins at The Buffalo Gap






The Easter Egg Hunt

This looks pretty cool...

Doesn't everyone hate those automated answering services that you get when you call almost every business (large or small) in the country? Well, this website seeks to change all that by giving you the "code" for getting human customer service on the line without having to punch all those annoying commands. I have no idea if it's accurate as I just found out about it and haven't had a reason to try it out, but I thought I'd pass it along.

Going up to Portland tomorrow for Easter. Happy Easter!

Two Great Performances...

I was fortunate enough to see two great performances last night: First, Missi and I went to Drew’s spring program for the kindergarten and first grade classes. It was called “Waddle, Waddle, Quack, Quack” and it was a duck theme (imagine that?!). Drew did a great job saying his little poem in front of everyone. He remembered all the words and spoke clearly and loudly into the microphone. I didn’t get any pictures of it but I got it all on video. I’m sure that there is some way I could upload the video to the blog, but I am not going to spend the time to figure out how to do it.

After Drew’s program, Missi and I headed out to Taylor’s for Justin Hopkin’s show. We got there and met up with Jeff (guitar player) and Holly (Jeff’s girlfriend), who had flown into Eugene that afternoon from Los Angeles. It was great to catch up with Jeff and it was fun to meet Holly. After awhile Justin came back to Taylor’s and we talked with him for awhile. After Trevor Ras opened for them, the guys put on a great show. Taylor’s was pretty packed, which seemed surprising for a Wednesday night. The crowd seemed pretty into it, especially when Justin played some well known covers. They played “I Shot the Sheriff,” “Let’s Get It On,” and a Ray Charles song (“I’ve got a woman”?) Some of the other songs from the EP that were played was “Last in Line” and “We Live Art.” There was some new stuff that was played that sounded really good also. Trevor Ras played sax on a few songs and that sounded good. It was a really fun night!

Got some good news today...

After interviewing yesterday, I got a spot on the Moot Court Board? "What is the Moot Court Board?" you ask.

Well, according to this, "The Moot Court Board is a long-standing and prestigious 20-member student organization comprised of 10 third-year students and 10 second-year students. The Board organizes and runs the law school’s oral advocacy program. Currently, the Board runs six intra-school competitions each year. At these competitions, a regional team is selected by judges from the local legal community. These teams then compete at the regional level against other law school teams for a chance to represent their school and region at the national level."

I will be organizing a moot court competition for the next few years, and in return I will receive one credit per semester. Some of my 3L friends have remarked that it is the "easiest 4 credits they earned in law school."

In Eugene? Go to the show!

If you are in Eugene and free on Wednesday night, you should definitely check out Justin Hopkins playing at Taylor's at 9:30PM. The best way to describe Justin's music is John Mayerish. He's a Eugene guy - he used to live in a house about two blocks away from the law school while he attended the U of O - and it will be good to have in back in town. Come to check out the show!

Here is where I spent 90% of my weekend...

Also known as "outlining central." It was an long weekend of homework and exam prep.

Comments Fixed...

I didn't realize that I had a setting clicked on my blog that only "registered users" could post comments to my entries. I have changed this now so that any and all can comment. No need to sign up for a blogger membership!

The Eugene Chargers and high comedy (not related)

On Friday night I took Drew and a friend to the Eugene Chargers basketball game. They played over at NCC in a game against the Salem Stampede, which featured "The Professor" from And1 Mixtape fame. My friend T-Mel (former GFox Bruin) plays for the Eugene Chargers and we had an absolute blast. We had second row seats, got to see a ton of dunks and sweet passes (good job Trav) and I'll definitely be going back again. The IBL is fun because they have a 22 second shot clock so you see a lot of scoring and fast breaks. A bonus for Drew and his friend was that the pretty much the whole Oregon Ducks mens basketball team was in attendance, probably to support their old teammate Matt Short, who is now playing for the Chargers. The Chargers ended up losing but it was a great time.

On Saturday I did homework in the morning and the I watched Drew, Ella, and Elizabeth in the afternoon. They had come down from Portland because Cyndy had a function here in Eugene. If you have never watched three kids their age for a few hours, I would HIGHLY recommend it just for the sheer comedic value. At various points in the afternoon I had a medieval knight, a firefighter, Super(wo)man, a doctor, and a pack of puppies running around my house. The pictures say it all. While they were playing I also tried to catch a bit of the rain-delayed Masters. After Drew went up to Portland with them to spend the night it was back to my Con Law outline. Oh the glamorous life of a law student...

The view from my place (sort of)

On days like today when the sun is shining and the cherry trees are in bloom, the view of the law school's courtyard is very picturesque.

I like this...

The Best Way

The best way to live is authentically
The best way to give is generously
The best way to talk is honestly
The best way to walk is narrowly
The best way to buy is sparingly
The best way to cry is openly
The best way to win is humbly
The best way to sin is regretfully
The best way to choose is carefully
The best way to lose is gracefully
The best way to pray is thankfully
The best way to pay is totally
The best way to share is willingly
The best way to care is wholeheartedly
The best way to bend is seldomly
The best way to end is happily

August 28, 1998
©1998 Eric Herron

Early morning hike...

Last night my buddy AR called me and asked if I wanted to do an early morning hike up Spencer’s Butte. We met about 7:15 and hiked to the top. It was a beautiful morning and a great chance for us to catch up. We didn’t quite make it to the summit before sunrise, but it was still a great hike.








AR taking a picture from the top.

Best sports week of the year?

Congrats to Florida for dominating UCLA last night in the NCAA basketball championship. I didn't even watch much of the second half because Florida was so far ahead.

I've heard it say that this week is the best week of sports of the year. The NCCA basketball championship, MLB Opening Day, and later this week, The Masters. Also, the Oregon Ducks football team opens spring practice today. The two Ducks blogs that I read pretty regularly are here and here. I'm hoping to take Drew over to practice sometime this week.

P.S. I ended up finishing 13th out of 52 people in my NCAA bracket pool. Not bad considering I only had one Final Four team correct (Florida).

Vietnam pictures

My sister Julie works for an international adoption agency and she is the director of Vietnam adoptions. She went to Vietnam a few weeks ago and took about 300 pictures. I have picked out just a few to post here. I meant to post these awhile back over at myspace but I never got around to it and blogspot makes posting pictures a whole lot easier.

A full weekend...

It was a great, albeit full weekend.

On Thursday Missi left for Portland and work. On Thursday night I hung out with the kids, played a basketball game with Drew, watched The Office, and did homework.

On Friday the kids and I hiked up Mt. Pisgah. It was 1.4 miles to the summit, but it was a pretty good incline most of the way and Drew had to stop fairly frequently. We dodged rain showers and made it to the top.

On Saturday we cleaned up the house and drove up to Portland. We caught a few innings of the Lakeridge-Barlow baseball game (Missi's cousins play for Lakeridge) and then I took the kids over to Tom and Cyndy's. NOTE: Do not try to take a 23 month old little girl to a baseball game. You will get to actually watch about 3 pitches of the game as you chase her up and down the stands and try to teach her how to crack and eat peanuts.

Saturday night was my buddy Jeff's birthday party. It was a casual gathering of friends at Old Market Pub. It was a really great time. Greeley had organized the whole thing and was there, along with Jesse, Craig/Maur, Travis/Anne, Ad came back early from vacation to be there, and PQ stopped by. After watching the NCAA game (where did UCLA come from?) we played some shuffleboard. Jeff and I were the champions of the night. I would've taken some pics but Missi had the camera with her up in Seattle.

Sunday was church and then back home to Eugene. Missi made it back from her girl's weekend in Seattle about 8:00 and we were all happily reunited. I didn't any homework last night as I just caught up with Missi, heard about her weekend, saw her Ikea treasures, and told her about my time with the kids.

Now it's back to school. Only 3 weeks until finals!