Organize Your Day Like Ben Franklin
Found this interesting and unique website about the daily routines of people. Here is Benjamin Franklin's day from Daily Routines:
Source: CulturalOffering.com
January 04, 2009
January 02, 2009
Ten Useful Resources to Start the New Year
From HR Web Cafe comes ten useful resources for you to explore. Happy New Year!
Photo by travelingwild via Flickr
Quicken Online recently eliminated their $29.95 a year fee and the online version is now free. Users can consolidate and manage bank and credit card accounts, get bill reminders, view a 10-day forecast to project the impact of upcoming expenses, and even get text messages when they're overspending. It allows users to budget better and to see where their money is going.
Healthy Dining Finder aims to provide consumers with a centralized resource for identifying the healthier choices and corresponding nutrition information from restaurants nationwide. Developed in collaboration with the National Restaurant Association (NRA) and with partial funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the site aims to provide U.S. diners with information that, in many cases, is not available anywhere else.
Fuelly is a free site that allows you to record and analyze your mileage and to see how much money you could save with small driving changes. You can see how your mileage compares with EPA estimates and the mileage of other drivers using Fuelly. The free site also offers tips and a discussion forum.
BillShrink is a free, personalized savings service for everyday services like wireless and credit cards. The site's goal is to save users time and money through highly-personalized analysis of complex service usage and then finding the best wireless plans and credit cards based on that usage. The site can also automatically repeat the analysis on a regular basis as usage changes or as better product offers come to market.
Greenzer is a free shopping engine designed to make environmentally conscious shopping easier. Browse, compare and shop thousands of greener products from dozens of merchants selected for their commitment to environmentally friendly practices and products.
Child Care Aware is a program of the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA). The service offers information on various child care options and what to look, as well as a local search tool.
Aging Pro - bills itself as the best one-stop destination for a comprehensive set of caregiving tools, resources, community support information and access to professionals in aging on the Web. It is a resource for caregivers, professionals, and people planning their future.
Campus Explorer is a free online resource with information on more than 6,000 colleges and institutions of higher learning. It claims it will provide everything one might want to know, from tuition to average temperature and boasts direct partnerships with schools so that users can be put directly in touch with admissions officers.
See the other resources at: HR Web Cafe
December 24, 2008
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays from the University of Minnesota Law Library!
Reminder: We are open today Dec. 24, but closed Dec. 25 and Dec 26.
Some Holiday Links for Your Reading Enjoyment:
Deck the Halls
Many of the traditional holiday songs in English contain words or references that have changed in meaning or fallen out of common use. Read more...
Military center tracks Santa's sleigh ride
Have A Mixture of Religions in Your Workforce? Wish Them a Happy Festivus...
December 12, 2008
Lied About Any Good Books Lately?
Photo via Flickr by Valentinian
Lied about any good books lately? The British sure have.
According to a recent survey over there in connection with the national Year of Reading, half of all men and one-third of all women have falsely claimed to have read books in order to impress friends and potential mates.
Read the whole story at the NYTimes Paper Cuts blog
November 26, 2008
Thanksgiving and the Law
Photo via Flickr
Happy Thanksgiving! Just a reminder that the Law Library closes at 4:30 pm today and is closed Thursday and Friday Nov 27-28, with regular hours resuming on Saturday Nov 29. (UMN Law students will still have access through their UCards)
Here are some fun Thanksgiving Legal (and other) Resources:
Congress Establishes Thanksgiving: http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/thanksgiving/
Did you know that a lawyer invented the classic jellied cranberry sauce ‘log’ produced by Ocean Spray? Marcus L. Urann, lawyer and co-founder of Ocean Spray, came up with the idea for canned jellied cranberry sauce as a way to use up excess cranberries. Source: WSJ Law Blog via Ross-Blakley Law Library blog
Thanksgiving Thoughts on Toleration: http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/11/thanksgiving-thoughts-on-toleration/
Thanksgiving Dinner in Space: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2008/11/26/thanksgiving-dinner-in-space/
Thanksgiving 2.0--TurkeyTracker.com: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/20516
November 21, 2008
Are you Civics Literate?
How knowledgeable are you on American history, government, and economics? According to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, more than half of Americans who took its test on civic literacy failed, and elected officials scored even lower than the general public.
Read the report and take the quiz at http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/
See also: The Center for Civic Education for more resources.
Source: Ross-Blakely Law Library Blog
October 24, 2008
Happy Birthday LexLibris!
Today is LexLibris' birthday! We're two years old. This is the 405th post. To mark the day in a fun way, here are some upcoming Halloween events at campus libraries (and more).
Halloween Treats @ the Law Library
Join us Friday Oct 31 for muffins and beverages starting at 9 am, and cookies and candy starting at 11 am, in the Law Library Lobby.
Halloween Blood Drive @ Wilson Library
What: Blood Drive
Where: Wilson Library
When: Monday, October 27, 2008 • 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
To sign up, visit www.mbc.org and use code 3450.
For questions please call Lois at 612-625-8387.
Leslie S. Klinger, author of The New Annotated Dracula
What: Author appearance and book signing
Where: Elmer L. Andersen Library
When: Monday, October 27, 2008 • 7 p.m.
Free and open to the public.
A reception will follow with author signing; books available for sale courtesy of Once Upon a Crime Bookstore. Attendees in costume will be entered for a chance to win a free signed copy of The New Annotated Dracula.
Dracula has gripped readers since its first publication in 1897. While the book has been studied by scholars in virtually every academic discipline, none have accepted Bram Stoker's declaration that the work was based on historical fact. For the first time, Klinger examines all of the evidence, both internal and external, including contemporary travel books, scientific texts, Victorian encyclopedias, as well as Stoker's notes for the narrative and the original manuscript itself (privately owned by Paul Allen, Klinger is one of only two researchers to have seen it in recent years).
Klinger is the editor of the three-volume collection of the short stories and novels, The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes. He is the winner of the Edgar Award for Best Critical/Biographical Work and nominated for every other major award in the mystery genre.
One more, just for fun:
Great Scary Stories
September 26, 2008
Book Talks Galore
Connie Martinson Talks Books [Quick Time, Real Player]
http://ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu/col/cmt/
Connie Martinson has been in love with literature for her entire life, and she has parlayed that particular passion into the program "Connie Martinson Talks Books". Her long-running program has played host to Gore Vidal, Studs Terkel, Joyce Carol Oates, Ray Bradbury and many others. The series is taped in Los Angeles, and over the past few years Claremont College has been actively involved in creating this digital archive of the program.
The Drucker Institute and the Transdisciplinary Studies Program at Claremont College are directing this digitization initiative, and interested parties can take a look at the fruits of their labors on this site. Visitors can browse all of the talks and they can also look at a list of interviews organized by book title or subject. It's a very nice collection, and visitors will find that the site is worth several return visits.
Source: From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2008.
http://scout.wisc.edu/
September 05, 2008
MN Oddities--Football Trophies
Here's a little Friday Fun post:
12 Unusual College Football Trophies
As the college football season kicks off, teams are ready to vie for the two national championship trophies. But that’s not the only hardware that will change hands this season, since many intercollegiate rivalries have their own special trophies. Some are pretty standard silver cups or plaques, while others are a bit more esoteric. Here are a few of our favorites.
6. Wisconsin vs. Minnesota—Paul Bunyan’s Axe
Wisconsin-Minnesota is the oldest rivalry in the NCAA’s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision; it stretches all the way back to 1890. The two teams have met 117 times, and since 1948 have duked it out for Paul Bunyan’s Axe, which is a pretty neat trophy. However, the giant axe is no match for the more bizarre trophy it replaced, the Slab of Bacon. The Slab of Bacon was just a piece of walnut wood topped with a football that featured carvings of the games’ scores. From 1930 to 1942, the Slab of Bacon traveled to the winner’s campus, but after the Gophers won in 1943, coach George Hauser refused the trophy. (This sort of killjoy behavior would be tolerable from, say, Knute Rockne, but Hauser’s career record was only 15-11-1.) The Slab of Bacon was misplaced, and the schools thought it had been lost forever. In 1994, though, Wisconsin’s athletic department found it in a closet during a renovation, and now it’s proudly on display in their offices.
7. Minnesota vs. Michigan—The Little Brown Jug
Something about Minnesota just invites odd trophies. The Little Brown Jug, which goes to the winner of the Minnesota-Michigan game, dates all the way back to 1903. When Michigan coach Fielding Yost took his squad to Minnesota that year, he was worried that the Minnesota fans might resort to any sort of chicanery they needed to pull out a win, including tampering with the Wolverines’ drinking water. The coaching staff dispatched student manager Thomas B. Roberts to buy a vessel for clean water, and Roberts returned with a five-gallon jug he’d purchased for 30 cents. When Gopher fans stormed the field at the end of the tie game (the first game Michigan hadn’t won during Yost’s entire tenure as coach), the Wolverines left the jug behind. When a janitor brought the jug to the to the Gophers’ coaching staff, they wrote the score of the game on the side. Although Yost asked the Gophers to return his jug, they quipped that he’d have to win it back, and a traveling trophy was born.
8. Minnesota vs. Iowa—Floyd of Rosedale
In 1935, Minnesota Governor Floyd B. Olson made a little wager with Iowa Governor Clyde Herring. The previous year’s contest between the Hawkeyes and Gophers had been a bit contentious as Minnesota players gunned for Iowa’s African-American running back Ozzie Simmons. So the two governors thought a bet might alleviate the simmering tensions. Olson sent Herring a telegram proposing that the winning team’s governor would get a prize hog from the loser’s state. Herring happily accepted, and the two men started making jokes about their bet to lighten the mood. (Not everyone saw the fun, though; activists in Iowa tried to get Herring in trouble for breaking gambling laws. For his part, Herring gamely retorted that it wasn’t gambling if Minnesota had no chance of winning.)
Minnesota won the game 13-7, and the following week, Herring showed up at the Minnesota Capitol building with a live hog in tow. The pig was named Floyd of Rosedale after Minnesota’s governor and the Iowa town where it was born. Sculptor Charles Brioscho made a trophy in Floyd’s likeness, and it’s still passed between the two teams.
Read more at: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/17964
July 11, 2008
YouTube Review: Eminent Domain
Every so often, we'll review what we find on YouTube that could be used for legal research or education. Today we feature an interview from last fall between the Dean of Massachusetts School of Law and an author/reporter on the topic of Eminent Domain.
November 29, 2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgAkeod7bjM
In eminent domain cases The Constitution requires that just compensation be paid, and that the land be taken for public use. However recent court rulings have sanctioned government seizure of private property to benefit the private enrichment of large companies. In this installment of "Books of Our Time," Dean Lawrence R. Velvel of the Massachusetts School of Law interviews Steven Greenhut, a reporter for the Orange County Register and author of "Abuse Of Power: How The Government Misuses Eminent Domain".
The full interview is available at http://www.clipsyndicate.com/publish/video/466474/the_repeal_of_private_property_rights. The Massachusetts School of Law also presents information on important current affairs to the general public in television and radio broadcasts, an intellectual journal, conferences, author appearances, blogs and books. For more information visit mslaw.edu.
MSLAW podcasts are available on itunes (just search for mslaw) and at http://mslaw.libsyn.com/rss. MSLAW videos can also be found on Google.
June 27, 2008
Shakespeare's Legal Puns
The Bard is well known for his characters’ comments apropos of all things legal. This Time magazine article from 1964 offers an amusing overview of Shakespeare’s wittier references to the law.
Photo by umjanedoan via Flickr
May 09, 2008
YouTube Review: Contract Law
Every so often, we'll review what we find on YouTube that could be used for legal research or education. On the topic of Contract Law, we find Legalmax.info. It has "Contract Law lectures, Contract Law tutorials, Contract Law tips, a Contract Law essay ranking exercise, Contract Law cases & materials, Sale of Goods lectures, & as an added extra: a Web Law Library."
We also find Diana Wallis' remarks before European Parliament on European Contract Law and an episode from the UCBerkeley Graduate Council Lectures from June 2007 featuring "distinguished law scholar Elizabeth Warren, [who] teaches contract law, bankruptcy, and commercial law at Harvard Law School. She is an outspoken critic of America's credit economy, which she has linked to the continuing rise in bankruptcy among the middle-class."
Among the news items that pop up, we find this video piece on labour law in Hong Kong:
"Legal and human resources professionals in Hong Kong will have a growing role advising foreign firms on the Mainland's new Labour Contract Law, which is expected to be enacted soon. So says Stella Hou, General Manager of human resources consultancy, Hewitt Associates. She says the new regulations will oblige Mainland employers -- including foreign-invested enterprises -- to re-think their terms of employment. For example, "term" contracts can't be terminated by employers at will under the new law. Ms Hou says the requirement for basic regulation compliance to enhance China's national theme for a "harmonious society" will give Hong Kong HR professional firms plenty to interpret for their clients."
You can generate a list of these topics and more, by going to YouTube.com and searching for "Contract Law."
May 02, 2008
Shakespeare and the Law
Kenji Yoshino, Yale Law Professor (joining NYU School of Law in the fall), has contributed his thoughts on "Shakespeare and the Law" to Bigthink, a website devoted to "direct, unfiltered interviews with today's leading thinkers, movers and shakers."
Photo: umjanedoan, flickr.com
Among his interesting comments:
"Civil rights does not belong to lawyers--civil rights belongs to all of us."He is writing a book on Shakespeare and the Law and hopes to bring non-lawyers to have conversations about justice through the texts of Shakespeare. Previous writings include: The Lawyer of Belmont, 9 Yale J. L. & Humanities 183 (1997), Why Bush Is Our Most Shakespearean President (posted on the Slate blog), and Covering : the hidden assault on our civil rights (NY: Random House, 2006).
April 25, 2008
YouTube Review: Employment Law
Every so often, we'll review what we find on YouTube that could be used for legal research or education. On the topic of Employment Law, not only will you find informational videos that deal with specific topics such as discrimination, compensation, or non-compete agreements, but you'll also find fun videos that feature a "sing-a-long" review of employment law reminders for Human Resource professionals (see below).
You can generate a list of these topics and more, by going to YouTube.com and searching for "Employment Law."
Source: Career Revolution Blog
April 04, 2008
Video Contest to Award $10,000 Law School Scholarship
Student lender Access Group has announced a contest entitled “One Less Worry.� The contest will award $10,000 to the most deserving video posted on YouTube describing “what law students worry about.� Access Group will select the ten finalists based on “creativity, humor, quality, realism and overall appeal� and and then open up public voting on July 1. Whoever gets the most votes by July 31 will win a $10,000 scholarship for the 2008-2009 academic year.
View the video annoucement at the Law Librarian blog.
Good luck!
March 20, 2008
Government report on ... coffee cans?
Why does the Bureau of Land Management care about what coffee cans looked like in the 1910s? For a very good reason. According to the document's introduction, Hill's Brothers Coffee cans are a great way to date digs dating back to the late 1800s because of the tendency of Hills Brothers to change their can designs every so often.
You can read the 39-page PDF document here.Download file
Hills Bros. coffee can chronology : field guide, published by U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management in 2006.
Source: Free Government Information Blog
February 28, 2007
Lighter Side of the Law
February 05, 2007
New Law Journal: Consortium
From The Billable Hour comes news of a new journal: Consortium: The Journal of Legal Nonsense.
"Although we like to think we have the legal humor market cornered, the fact is that there are enough absurdities in legal education and practice to fill more than one publication. That's why we're happy to tell you about Consortium: the Journal of Legal Nonsense.
Consortium avoids legal precedents, pivotal cases, and high-minded legal theory. Instead, it discusses the social interactions and professional lives of lawyers and law students in a lighthearted manner.
Consortium is the brainchild of Pete Holiday, a law student at Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, and Charlsie Paine, a recent graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law.
The law students and lawyers who write weblogs were the inspiration for Holiday and Paine, who also serve as Consortium’s editors. "There are all sorts of great writers saying funny, insightful things on their blogs," explains Holiday, "and we thought that, if we could condense even a small fraction of that down into a regular publication, it would be fantastic."
In another departure from traditional law journals—which eschew images in favor of densely-packed text—Consortium is visually striking, from its landscape format layout to its use of color and imagery. "As much as I love what a yellow highlighter can do for black and white text, sometimes I just have to let loose and remember there is more to life than black, white and neon shades of gray," Paine muses thoughtfully.
The inagural issue of Consortium is on the web at www.ConsortiumJournal.org. Readers can subscribe to Consortium at www.ConsortiumJournal.org/rss.php.
So check out Consortium (and look for our ad with a coupon for a free song download just for Consortium readers) today!"
Looking for Love This Valentine's Day?
Too busy for the usual dating scene? Interested in meeting other legal professionals in a social or romantic setting? Check out Lawyers In Love!
From the Site: Lawyers in Love is the premier online dating site for professional singles - lawyers, law students, and legal professionals looking to match other lawyers, law students and legal professionals. If your schedule makes it difficult for you to meet other professional legal singles, if you are still working during happy hours and other social events, if weekends are devoted to writing briefs or studying for your next law school exam, you will love this unique opportunity to find romance on the Web. Lawyers In Love provides lawyers the opportunity to match with other legal professionals. Finally, legal singles have the opportunity to date other legal professionals. Whoever thought finding a dream date with a fellow lawyer could be this easy!
January 12, 2007
Friday Fun: Welcome Back!
*NOTE: Fridays are for fun! Every Friday, we'll post something that is not as serious as other posts. Enjoy!
To prepare for the start of spring semester, Stanford brings you "Legal Research: The Movie"
A group of students in their advanced legal research class created a short (3 minute) silent film.
It's on Youtube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCX3RkVTRkI
Enjoy the show! Welcome back, students!
Source: Paul Lomio, Stanford Law Library
December 29, 2006
Friday Fun: Happy New Year!
*NOTE: Fridays are for fun! Every Friday, we'll post something that is not as serious as other posts. Enjoy!
The Countdown has started!
Trying to find a New Year's Eve party? Check out newyears.com's list!
Brush up on Auld Lang Syne before the stroke of midnight.
Staying in? Watch Times Square via webcam!
View the top New Year's resolutions.
Review of the year's discoveries/inventions
The world's number 1 shows that the most popular car color in the US is silver, while the most popular dog breed is the Labrador retriever. Click the link to view more.
December 22, 2006
Friday Fun: Holidays 2006
*NOTE: Fridays are for fun! Every Friday, we'll post something that is not as serious as other posts. Enjoy!
Legal Tech Expert E-Mails His Wish List to Santa
CPSC Warns of Fire, Other Hazards Related to Holiday Decorating
Vintage Holiday Recipes...Boar's Head, anyone?
The Year in Pictures from:
MSNBC
Time Magazine
American Photo magazine
Reuters
December 15, 2006
Friday Fun: Cold and Snowy (Yeah, right...)
*NOTE: Fridays are for fun! Every Friday, we'll post something that is not as serious as other posts. Enjoy!
With no snow or very cold temps in the forecast, here are some tidbits for you to dream of a deep-freeze:
How many times a year does the sun set and rise in the Arctic? Once
A "hoar" is a type of frost formed by flat frozen crystals
One in four people buried in avalanches survive the ordeal
Icicles most often form on the south side of buildings
What is a "toque"? The word Canadians use for winter hat
80% of fresh snow is composed of air
What was the world record for the most snowfall in a 24-hour period? 76 inches in Silver Lake, Colorado
Joseph-Armand Bombardier of Quebec invented the snowmobile
Try this on for size:
Frosty the Snowman was a jolly happy soul,
With a corncob pipe and a button nose,
and two eyes made out of LexLibris.
Frosty the Snowman
from the Holiday Song Generator.
December 08, 2006
Friday Fun: Winter Hunger
*NOTE: Fridays are for fun! Every Friday, we'll post something that is not as serious as other posts. Enjoy!
Think your computer is too slow? It's probably a descendant of this ancient 72-gear analog device.
Feed on this Lawsagna, the blog for tips, tools, and useful advice for law students.
Hungry for a Muppet-related news fix? Get your fill on the Muppet Newsflash!
Make your fast-food drive-through window clerk's day! Rap your order!
December 01, 2006
Friday Fun: Self-Preservation
*NOTE: Fridays are for fun! Every Friday, we'll post something that is not as serious as other posts. Enjoy!
As students prepare for finals and the stress of the holidays starts to bear down on us, please be kind to yourself and to others. Here are some tips to help.
Mayo Clinic's Stress Center has useful information and tips to beat the stress and blues that occur this time of year.
Ditto for Medline Plus' topic on stress, which compiles the latest news on the topic and provides tips for teen and childhood stress as well.
Boynton Health Service offers helpful tips for stress management, including exercises.
How about trying some Laughter Yoga? Might take the edge off.
November 17, 2006
Friday Fun: Thanksgiving and Law Fun
*NOTE: Fridays are for fun! Every Friday, we'll post something that is not as serious as other posts. Enjoy!
Duhaime's Law Fun Do lawyers and law students have a sense of humor? You bet! This site will give you the standard lawyer jokes, dumb things said in court, "outrageous" lawsuits du jour, and other fun stuff.
Weekend Reading: "The help of Harry Potter and other fiction in client representation, plus how Hollywood shapes client expectations and attorney behavior" This link points you to the idealawg blog with links to three interesting and humorous articles:
Harry Potter, Ruby Slippers and Merlin: Telling the Client's Story using the Characters and Paradigm of the Archetypal Hero's Journey by Ruth Anne Robbins at Rutgers School of Law - Camden. Seattle University Law Review, Vol. 29, No. 4, p. 767, Fall 2006;
Fiction 101: A Primer for Lawyers on How to Use Fiction Writing Techniques to Write Persuasive Facts Sections by Robbins and Brian J. Foley. Rutgers Law Journal, Vol. 32, No. 2, p. 459, Winter 2001; and
Dressed for Excess: How Hollywood Affects the Professional Behavior of Lawyers by Nancy B. Rapoport at University of Houston Law Center. Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy, Vol. 14, p. 49, 2000
November 10, 2006
Friday Fun: Miscarriage of Justice Stumper
*NOTE: Fridays are for fun! Every Friday, we'll post something that is not as serious as other posts. Enjoy!
Miscarriage of Justice Stumper
Take this quiz over at MentalFloss.com to see if you can match the defendants with their charges.
Weekend Reading Suggestion: The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law By Mark Herrmann
Chapters include: How to Fail as an Associate, What They Didn't Tell You in Law School, and the Curmudgeon's Guide to Building a Practice.
Brutally honest, but awfully funny. Pick up a copy from an area library or shop your favorite bookstore.
Veterans Day Information from Wikipedia