Not a Potted Plant

The courts conduct the nation’s business. The public’s business.  The courts stand apart from the rest of the government so that they can pass judgment over the government when need be. And the public has a right to see what the courts do.

We fought a revolution for, among other things, public courts and public hearings. Having courts do business in the full light of day where everyone can see what the courts are doing is a fundamental part of the notion of due process.

Normally, you can walk right in to a court and observe the proceedings for no other reason than it’s your right as a citizen to do so, and you need offer no other explanation. (You do not have a right to disrupt the proceedings, of course.)

Some courts, however, have limited seating. Like the Supreme Court of the United States, the court that (other than the one handling your traffic ticket) is probably the one you care most about. For high-profile cases, SCOTUS can be packed. For super high-profile cases like the marriage cases, the line to get in and observe oral argument can be out the door and there are some very odd facets of waiting in line to get in. Professor Dale Carpenter describes nearly scandalous conditions for the line to get in to SCOTUS for the same-sex marriage cases. Very little of it sits right with me, but all of it could be circumvented rather easily. Here’s my solution, and I still can’t understand why it would even be controversial although I expect blowback today as I always get when I jump on this particular soapbox.

Every courtroom in every state in this nation should be on video, streaming to YouTube. Live. Every traffic ticket and every small claims squabble. Every divorce, adoption, eviction, and arraignment. From the moment the court opens its doors until the moment public proceedings conclude. If you could walk in off the street and see it live, you should be able to tune in on YouTube. The courts are public. The public should be able to watch. Period, full stop: it’s a matter of right. How much could this possibly cost? A dollar a day?

This should be especially true for the Supreme Court of the United States which, after all, is the ultimate arbiter of our highest law.

Trumwill: How long is… [Somethingsomething] good for?

Himmclan: I don’t know. A while?

Trumwill: Six years?

Himmclan: Six years?

Trumwill: Six years. Continue Reading →

Science & Religion:

[S1] Looking for alien life in unexpected places.

[S2] Funny letters to God.

[S3] Nate Silver explains, statistically, why your relationship is failing. Remember, to doubt him is to hate science.

Entertainment:

[E1] In retrospect, Captain Power kind of sucked. I had one and remember the disappointment when the screen did not respond to what I was doing. Didn’t stop me from playing it, though. The cartoon was tons better than the actual show, though. Anyhow, it’s coming back!

[E2] Video games at ballpark urinals? Brilliant!

[E3] Music piracy is falling. I mention this because I have commented that the music industry has done everything asked of them (free streaming, paid streaming, DRM-free files, etc.) and the continuation of privacy undercuts arguments that the piracy is caused by intransigent content-owners. Another argument, that artists don’t make significant money off music sales, appears to be wrong. Meanwhile, cracking down on illegal movie downloads appears to boost legal movie downloads.

[E4] Why was the government of the 50’s so eager to believe that comic books were being used to manipulate minds? Experience.

[E5] The best movie sets ever made.

[E6] Hogwards, LEGO-style.

Health:

[H1] There’s an interesting battle brewing in Britain over midwifery.

[H2] The disturbing world of sleep-eating disorders.

Technology:

[T1] LibreOffice is making inroads, but OpenOffice is still winning. Still waiting to see what they do with the IBM/Symphony code before I make a decision.

[T2] Is the future of smartphone screens sapphire? Vertu uses sapphire, but they charge thousands of dollars for their phones. The sapphire screens only cost $30 or so, which to me would absolutely be worth it.

[T3] Will we have a supercomputer in every living room? Absolutely not. It’s absurd. Super-computers will go in a closet somewhere.

World:

[W1] Solar power in Germany may be taking over, in a way that’s not totally good.

[W2] A thing in Japan.

[W3] America really is exceptional.

Psychology:

[P1] This is why more Republicans who believe in gay marriage need to come out in favor of it. And why we should encourage those who do.

[P2] I’ve commented to my wife that she should never expect me to admit that I am wrong in the course of a debate or disagreement. But that, if I am clearly wrong, I will resign myself to it after mulling it over. Apparently, I’m not alone.

[P3] Keiran Healy and LA Paul explain that there really is no way to know if parenting is right for you until it’s too late.

Business:

[B1] Well, that’s one way to change the name of your company against your will.

[B2] Is the future of showroom exploitation prevention a cover charge? (via Kazzy)

[B3] Is the housing bubble back? Here’s a look at the last housing bubble, wherein one of the problems was… the mortgage sellers believe in what they were selling.

[B4] Employers may finally be lowering their standards. This, however, may not be a good thing. I don’t think I buy the logic.

[B5] I happen to think that a la carte cable would be bad for the consumer. But I don’t think the current state of affairs is great, either.

Crime:

[C1] Sometimes, just sometimes, the media doesn’t understand how the law (in this case, crime sentencing) works.

[C2] In the same way that I don’t think having the government take care of my health care gives the government a right to make health choices for me, I am wary of police protection allowing a government to dictate how a burger joint is run.

[C3] Six military fakes that fooled everyone (for a time).

All this week on the front page, the League of Ordinary Gentlemen has been running a symposium on higher education. I’ve contributed five (!) 2,000-3,000 word posts on legal education. Necessarily this involves some exploration of the interplay between the practice of law and how law is taught; necessarily this involves some examination of the motives to study law as well as the rewards of doing so. Readers here who wish to explore what I’ve written may do so at these five links:

1. Motives.
2. Admission.
3. Licensure.
4. Practice.
5. Reforms.

I hope you enjoy them.

I put in some contacts and I cannot remember ever seeing so clearly. Alas, this is my last pair from this set. I can’t get another set because it’s based on a prescription that’s over five years old. Apparently, none of my subsequent prescriptions were as good as that one. It’s not even close. I really, really wish I could just go to 1-800-Contacts and say “Screw what the prescription says, this is what I want.”

The left eye doesn’t even account for my astigmatism. And it’s still better than any prescription I have gotten since. Apparently, the best eye doctor in the world works at a Walmart Vision Center in Deseret.

If there’s been one surprise about parenthood – and it really shouldn’t have been a surprise, and there’s been more than one – it’s that it makes things more complicated. Every day things. I have had to re-learn how I do things I used to do without having to think about it. Before, if I wanted to do laundry, I would simply sit down, turn on the TV, sort clothes, and get started. Now I have to do it in bits and pieces while the baby is asleep or while Clancy is feeding her or otherwise taking care of her. This has turned into a big deal when, as the baby sleeps, it’s also been my job to move from the old house to the new.

One thing I haven’t really figured out was getting a haircut. Haircuts have never been simple in Callie. There is one barber, he doesn’t take reservations, and every time I go in there he’s “booked.” So I’ve been getting my haircut while taking trips to Redstone. I can’t leave the baby with Clancy while I drive an hour each way, though.

My hair has been cut only once since she was born. Back in Colosse, when I had parents looking after Lain. That was four months ago. I’m due.

I’ve not actually grown my hair out since I worked for Mindstorm in Cascadia. At the time, I figured, “Hey, this is an employer that doesn’t care if I look professional or not. Why not take advantage of it and grow my hair out?” It didn’t last because it felt like I was operating behind my station in life. Long hair is for the young and carefree. I was a thirty-n-change aged professional. It lacked what I personally consider to be age-appropriateness*.

This would go doubly for parenthood, which is another phase in life and one where I would consider shaggy hair to be even more inappropriate. Yet shaggy my hair has become. And I don’t get to shower every day like I used to. Or I don’t get around to it. I have less excuse there, I just need to re-learn when to shower (basically doing so at night instead of in the morning). Because I shave in the shower, my facial hair has grown into more than just a stubble. Besides, if my hair is shaggy, why bother with my face? I’m already a hippie freak. Grooming is less a priority than it was before more generally.

None of this is as it is supposed to be. But a broader lessen hear is that parenthood doesn’t give my vanity all that much time. If I have spit-up on my shirt, I have spit-up on my shirt. The pee stain was where I drew the line (though I’m really glad it was on me and not the sofa!).

I plan to fix the hair thing next week. Clancy has an appointment in Summit and I will be driving her. After her appointments, we find a discreet place to park so that she can breastfeed. This used to be dead time, but lately we have been parking in some shopping place’s parking lot so I can go in and shop while she feeds the baby. So this is how I am going to get my hair cut, I think. I will park in the Walmart parking lot, go in and get my haircut. She’ll likely finish before I am done and so she will shop.

Which, to me, has always been the primary greatness of Walmart. It’s never been about the prices. It’s been about the collapsing of multiple things into one thing. I’ve not historically gotten my hair cut there, because Great Clips has my preferred haircut on file. But I’ve got a baby now, and vanity is the first thing to go.

* – Of those, this day in age, age doesn’t mean what it used to. The notion of age-appropriate isn’t what it used to be. This is a tide with which I do not roll. Consider it a character flaw, if you like.

I learned a long time ago that part of what makes people of different faiths about to get along together is to not mock one anothers’ beliefs. If I wish tolerance for my own world view, I must offer it to others. This ethic is what makes a culture of multiple belief systems work.

Which is why the London Daily Mail, and the New York Post, as linked today on Memeorandum, ought to be ashamed of themselves and apologize as soon as possible, even though the apology is owed to a man accused of a crime. Continue Reading →

A friend invited me out to go shoot nine yesterday, and I had a fantastic time. Given that I hadn’t actually swung my sticks in anger on a real course for nearly a year, I was pleased with how well I shot. My slice eventually came under control — maybe my distance wasn’t great but I cleared the ladies’ tees every time and mostly I shot straight.

I wouldn’t say I played “well” in the sense that I could hang with and compete with people who do this every week or more often than that, but for an occasional golfer, I felt good overall. But as pleased as I was with my performance, I was also reminded of some of the frustrations that are involved with being out on the course. Bear with me as I seem like an ingrate and vent those frustrations.  Continue Reading →