Links – Facebook Hate Groups, Quicken Question
I hope you’re having a good Sunday. No matter what your religious beliefs, hopefully Sundays are a time for relaxing and connecting with loved ones.
For your reading enjoyment, check out these articles:
Facebook = Elder Hate (via Stephanie West Allen) – Stephanie pointed me to this insightful article about hate groups on Facebook. Sadly, I verified that these exist, and the comments are horrid. I also found other hate groups, including some against women. Very sad.
Is Quicken Really Quicker? – Brett considers whether or not Quicken and MS Money really save time for finances. We should only use tools when they’re helping us, not just because we can.
[tags]quicken, ms money, facebook[/tags]
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5 Life Lessons from the Bar Exam
Last Tuesday and Wednesday, I joined several hundred other budding lawyers in Roanoke, Virginia. We sat through 12 hours of examinations, and I think everyone survived. I’m not sure that I know anything about the law, but I learned some good lessons about life.
1. Sneakers don’t go with a suit
Virginia is definitely stuck in the past. We all had to wear suits for both days of the exam. But to keep the noise down on the hard floor, we had to wear soft-soled shoes. For most people, this meant sneakers. Needless to say, we weren’t there for a fashion show.
Brooks Brothers + Nike = ridiculous
2. Always test your equipment
A lady from the Board of Bar Examiners sent an email to us, with some FAQs about using our laptops for the exam. We had to install special software, so it took a little learning. I followed the instructions, tested twice, and everything worked without a hitch.
However, some people didn’t even do a test run with the program until they arrived for the exam. I couldn’t believe it. Sadly, things didn’t go so smoothly for them.
3. Even leaders make mistakes
The examiners gave us time warnings at 30 and 15 minutes. We were working along through a 3-hour section. About halfway through, we hear a booming announcement: “30 minutes remaining.” After we panicked and checked our watches, we realized the Bar Examiner got off on the time. Everyone had a good laugh, and we got back to work.
4. Scantron forms still suck
If you’ve never filled out these little bubbles, you must be from a different part of the world, perhaps another planet. You’ve got to fill the circle completely, leave no stray marks, and totally erase any wrong answers. They’re still a pain to fill-in. And we still have to sit through the complete directions. Seriously, if you can’t fill out a scantron form on your own, do you deserve a law license?
Scantron has been around for 30+ years. When is somebody going to develop a better system?
5. People listen to threats
I’ve never seen people respond to threats more quickly. When you hold the keys to someone’s career, they’ll listen to and heed your commands.
It was a bit odd that we couldn’t even have water at our tables, but nobody dared violate the rule. And no one uttered a peep even on the way to the restroom, for fear they’d be disqualified. You could smell the fear in the air. Powerful.
[tags]bar exam[/tags]
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41 Reasons Why Craigslist Kills Classifieds
One way to increase your productivity is to purge unneeded items. And a great way to do that is by selling them. Clear out some space and earn some extra cash all at once. Who doesn’t like that?!
Local classifieds suck
We’re moving in a week, so we decided to sell some furniture that we no longer needed. I carefully photographed the items, wrote a short description for each one, and selected a low asking price.
I posted ads in our three local papers. One is the main paper, while the other two are weekly publications. The ads were online and in print. They ran for about a week.
I got ONE inquiry.
Needless to say, it was an extremely disappointing experience. That inquiry did result in a sale, but that’s only ONE from all my hard work. So I looked for a better way.
Craigslist came through
So I posted the remaining furniture on craigslist. I used the same photos, descriptions, and prices.
41 responses came in 48 hours.
Within a day, we sold my kayak and a bookshelf. We only have one piece left, and it will probably be gone tomorrow. Amazing!
But craigslist supports porn
The only problem is the moral dilemma involved. Craigslist allows “adult” personals, escort services, and other practically pornographic materials. I find that objectionable. Why does such a useful tool have to cave to our disturbed society?
The bottom line is that I’ll never pay craigslist a dime. And I’m not surfing it looking for things to buy. But if you need to sell something, it’s the place to go.
[tags]craigslist, classifieds[/tags]
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I’m a Professional, Now What?
For the past 25 years, I’ve been a kid. During most of that time, I was a student. I’ve had my share of jobs, but they were all just stepping stones to the future.
But now I’m a professional. I have a JD. I just took the Virginia bar exam. I start my first, permanent, full-time job on August 6. I’m not a licensed attorney yet, but I’m definitely part of the professional adult world.
What do I do now?
I’ve been pondering this day for a while. And the full implications probably haven’t even hit me yet. It’s literally the start of my professional life, and I don’t know what to make of that.
I know how to be a good student. I can take a mean set of notes. I’m a spiffy test taker. But will those skills help my career? Maybe, maybe not.
How will I stand being in the same office at least 8 hours a day, 5 days a week? Won’t I get sick to death of that space?
Perhaps you’ve encountered this situation as well. You’ve been through transitions between schools or careers. But what about the day when you’re done with school, and it’s time to storm the career world?!
I need your help
When I started this post, I thought I’d write a list of tips for new professionals. But I realized I had more questions than tips. So now I’m asking for your ideas.
What is your best tip for a newly minted professional? What piece of advice do you wish you learned on day 1?
[tags]professional advice[/tags]
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Wise Bar Exam Words Heard at Church
I try not to get too religious on this blog. It’s about productivity, lawyering, technology, and my random babbling.
But today’s Gospel from Church really applies to all that. Bear with me here.
I’m doing my best to stay calm for the bar exam, but it ain’t easy. And then some great words of Christ were in today’s Gospel. Basically, we shouldn’t be worried and anxious about petty things. Only one thing really matters, and it isn’t the Virginia bar exam.
The specific passage is Luke 10:38-42 (emphasis added):
As they continued their journey he [Jesus] entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary (who) sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.”
The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
This principle is important to remember throughout our lives. No matter what religion you subscribe to, it’s what matters. The small things on this world are important, but not the most important. They’re fleeting, and they always fall into non-existence. Only one thing exists forever.
[tags]bar exam[/tags]
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Facebook Isn’t Private, and 7 Other Things You Should Know
If you have a computer, you’re probably on Facebook. You’re networking with friends, adding personal details, storing your email address & cell phone number, uploading pictures, and much more.
But have you bothered to read Facebook’s Terms of Service (“TOS”) or Privacy Policy? What legal relationship have you agreed to? Who has access to your data and personal details?
Thanks to Chris Brogan, I started asking these questions. Then I waded through their terms and policies. Here are some things I found.
1. The terms can change any time
This is probably standard for a website’s TOS, but this disclaimer jumps out toward the top of Facebook’s TOS:
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify, add, or delete portions of these Terms of Use at any time without further notice.
Since the rules can change at any time, you’re deemed to accept those changes by continuing to use the site. Even if you didn’t know of the change. Yeah, you’re the little guy in this relationship.
2. Personal use only
LinkedIn is all about jobs and business. MySpace is full of profiles for companies and products. But Facebook is supposedly only for personal use:
You understand that except for advertising programs offered by us on the Site (e.g., Facebook Flyers, Facebook Marketplace), the Service and the Site are available for your personal, non-commercial use only.
That theoretically means that only actual people can create profiles. And you’re not supposed to profit from it. But lots of charitable organizations have profiles, which doesn’t seem to fit the “personal” requirement to me. But be especially careful if you’re thinking of creating a profile for your business; you might get banned.
3. A single, individual user account
Along the same lines, every user account is supposed to be tied to an individual person, not a group:
In addition, you agree not to use the Service or the Site to: … register for more than one User account, register for a User account on behalf of an individual other than yourself, or register for a User account on behalf of any group or entity;
This also means that you can’t have two accounts on Facebook, in case you wanted to keep your alter-ego separate. Too bad.
4. You’re giving up a HUGE license
Facebook thrives (in part) because of the content users post there. But did you know that posting content gives Facebook a license to do whatever they want with your content?
By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute such User Content for any purpose on or in connection with the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing.
In plain English, this means you’re giving up copyright control of your material. If you upload a photo to Facebook, they can sell copies of it without paying you a cent. If you write lengthy notes (or import your blog posts!), Facebook can turn them into a book, sell a million copies, and pay you nothing. This deserves careful consideration!
5. Applications are NOT guaranteed safe
You might think that Facebook is watching your back with the security of third-party applications. You’d be wrong:
[W]hile we have undertaken contractual and technical steps to restrict possible misuse of such information by such Platform Developers, we do not screen or approve Developers, and we cannot and do not guarantee that all Platform Developers will abide by such restrictions and agreements.
In other words, “installer beware.” A malicious application developer could break through Facebook’s security protocols and expose your info. That would probably be difficult to do, but Facebook wouldn’t have to take the blame.
6. Disputes are arbitrated under Delaware law
If Facebook does something horridly wrong and you want to sue, guess what? You can’t (for most claims). You’ve agreed to “final and binding arbitration” for resolving most disputes with Facebook. I’d quote the language here, but it’s only interesting to us law geeks.
Suffice it to say, you probably won’t have a day in court with Facebook. If you did, it would be in California (required by the TOS), and the court would follow Delaware’s laws. That’s typical lawyering. 🙂
7. You surrender all submissions
Ever had a thought for a better Facebook? If you send it to them, it becomes their property:
You acknowledge and agree that any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, feedback or other information about the Site or the Service (“Submissions”), provided by you to Company are non-confidential and shall become the sole property of Company.
This is probably typical of a large company. But you might not send them your latest award-winning idea. If you have something really great, keep it under wraps. Heck, maybe come up with a formal business proposal and some way to skirt this legal term.
8. Privacy is NOT guaranteed
I’d think twice before posting really private things on Facebook. From their Privacy Policy:
[W]e cannot and do not guarantee that User Content you post on the Site will not be viewed by unauthorized persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Site.
If somebody hacks Facebook, steals all your content and contact info, then does something nefarious with it, you have no remedy against Facebook. The hacker would definitely be in trouble, but Facebook is the deep-pocketed corporation.
Besides, Facebook’s own third-party contractors might misuse your information:
We may provide information to service providers to help us bring you the services we offer. … Where we utilize third parties for the processing of any personal information, we implement reasonable contractual and technical protections limiting the use of that information to the Facebook-specified purposes.
But most importantly, Facebook doesn’t guarantee your privacy:
Please keep in mind that if you disclose personal information in your profile or when posting comments, messages, photos, videos, Marketplace listings or other items , this information may become publicly available.
If a company laptop is compromised, and all your personal data gets stolen, tough luck. You were warned.
Anything else?
The Terms of Service and Privacy Policy for Facebook are long. I’ve only covered a few points that really jumped out at me.
Do you have anything to add? Also, if you think I misunderstood something, please correct me.
[tags]facebook, myspace, linkedin, social networking[/tags]
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Dymo LabelManager Review – GTD Heaven
A few weeks ago, I read Brett Kelly’s post about a labeler he had just received for review. Being the GTD and tech geek that I am, I checked it out and posted a comment that I was envious of his new toy.
Lo and behold, the great folks at CableOrganizer.com decided to send me a labeler!! It’s amazing what a simple blog comment can do these days.
Now I’m the proud owner of a Dymo LabelManager 450. And you get to learn about all its cool features!
Basics
This isn’t your everyday labeler. The LabelManager is a desktop unit, made to churn out labels in a busy office. It’s loaded with features, and here are just a few:
- QWERTY keyboard
- Prints up to 5 lines per label
- 7 fonts, 5 heights, 12 styles, 6 boxes, 7 background patterns
- 10-label internal memory
- Barcode printing in 6 formats
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The LabelManager uses DYMO labels, which come in different widths and colors. A 23′ roll of 3/8″ label tape costs about $18. But that sucker should do a lot of labels.
PC integration
If these features weren’t enough, the LabelManager comes with a USB cable and software, so you can print directly from your computer. Installation was pretty smooth, although I had to fiddle with when to plug the labeler into the computer.
Then you can manage labels directly from the software. This lets you save labels and use them again. You can also imbed images and graphics right from your computer’s hard drive!
One caveat – I’m running Windows Vista w/ Aero enabled. The software’s internal popup dialogs didn’t play too nicely with that, but Windows handled it all right. Hopefully better Aero support will be forthcoming.
The software can also tie in with your address book, so you can quickly print off a single address label or a whole bunch. And it can save your return address, for quick bill paying.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a sweet labeler for your office, go for the LabelManager 450. It’s going to have a place of honor on my desk. It even displays the current time when it’s turned off! And did I mention the automatic label cutter? I would highly recommend this machine to anyone in need of a quality labeler.
I now have a quick and easy way to label my file folders. No more crummy Avery inkjet labels for me. These will be faster, more efficient, and longer-lasting. It’s going to be great for GTD!
Do you have any specific questions? I’m happy to answer them. Or if there’s some feature you’re curious about, I can test it out and report back to you. Just drop a comment below.
[tags]labeler, dymo, labelmanager, cableorganizer[/tags]
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Law School Admissions Help
Thanks to my good buddy, Brett McKay, I found out how you can attend a law school admissions webinar for FREE.
Ann K. Levine is a law school expert, and she is trying to help you get into the law school of your dreams. She’s even started a blog now!
She’s hosting a webinar on August 4 entitled “I’ve Taken the LSAT; Now What?” To gain your free attendance, you have to go read the instructions at Brett’s blog, The Frugal Law Student. It’s quite simple, and it will save you $150 on this great opportunity. Can you really afford not to sign up?
[tags]law school, admissions, ann k. levin, law school expert[/tags]
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Bar Exam Home Stretch – Tips for Success
As I write this, thousands of aspiring attorneys are staring at the most important test of our careers. Failing the bar exam isn’t fatal, but nobody wants it to happen. You can retake it, but that delays your license, costs more money, requires more studying, and might even cost your job.
My exam (and other Virginia examinees) is less than four days away. So what should I be doing right now? What should you do? How are these final days best spent?
1. Review the big picture
Now is not the time to try to study tiny exceptions for every rule. If you don’t know it by now, it’s likely a write-off.
But you can try to get the big picture in your head. Review the broad strokes of each subject. Recall the primary rules that govern.
2. Study your best subject
You still have a little time for studying, but you have to be selective. You likely have a strong subject, where you usually do well. Study that.
You may think this is crazy, but you might improve performance in this area and pick up a few extra points. Your brain obviously retains a lot of it, so maybe you can remember a couple more exceptions or examples.
3. Focus on your worst subject
On the flip side, maybe you can spend a few minutes on the most treacherous subject. If several are equally difficult for you, pick one.
Don’t try to master the entire subject at this point. But try to retain some of the important points. Perhaps one subtopic is weak for you; study that. Again, you’re just trying to pick up a few extra points on the exam, not to master this material.
4. Make a packing list
If you’re traveling to take the exam, you’ll need to pack appropriately. Now is the time to reflect on your needs. Start making a list with all the essentials.
You’ll need clothes for the test – if you’re in Virginia, pick out your most comfortable suits. For you slackers elsewhere, dress comfortably, but in layers so you can adjust to the room’s temperature.
Don’t forget some items to help you be comfortable outside the test. Maybe even pack a swimming suit, so you can take a dip in the evening. Or bring your exercise clothes for a relaxing jog.
5. Confirm travel arrangements
If you have a hotel room or rental car booked, be sure it’s confirmed and ready for your arrival. The last thing you need is a travel screw-up before the big day. A simple phone call will help ease your arrival and check-in.
6. Have a fun weekend
Yes, you should study some this weekend. And you shouldn’t get drunk. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have fun.
I think my wife and I are going to see the new Harry Potter film (yeah, we’re dull). But it will be a temporary escape from the books. That’s what you need. Your brain needs some rest to perform well next week.
Any other ideas?
These are just my thoughts on our final days here. If I fail the bar, I’ll rename this post “what NOT to do.” Hopefully that won’t be necessary.
Do you have specific plans for the weekend? How are you going to spend these last few days? Let’s talk about it in the comments!
[tags]bar exam, study[/tags]
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Alexa Toolbar for Firefox – Get Sparky!
Alexa has long ignored Firefox users by only having a toolbar for Internet Explorer. As of this week, that has now changed.
On Monday, Alexa released it’s Firefox toolbar: Sparky. Supposedly, they waited this long to release it on Alexa’s 10 year anniversary. Sure. Whatever.
The important thing is that you can download Sparky and have your web usage counted by Alexa. This means that Firefox users now matter in Alexa rankings. It will be interesting to see if traffic rankings change a little, due to some sites being frequented more than others by Firefoxers.
By the way, urge your blog readers to install the toolbar. That will boost your own Alexa ranking by ensuring that their visits are tracked.
[tags]alexa, sparky, firefox[/tags]
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About Andrew Flusche
Lawyer, bicyclist, husband.
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