Futurelawyer

Why Lawyers Should Never Play Chess

Paul Morphy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Chess, the Game of Kings. I was obsessed with it as a youth. However, unlike one of my heroes, perhaps the greatest chess player of all time, Paul Morphy, I found enough interest in the law that I made it my career instead. It is speculated that Paul Morphy was so obsessed with the game that he drove himself insane playing blindfolded exhibition chess. Chess can be all consuming, and, while I still dabble with computer versions of the game, I am careful not to become too engrossed. You really can lose track of all else while playing the game. Morphy should have stuck with practicing law. Of course, if he had, we wouldn't have some of the most elegant games in history to replay. And, as any practicing lawyer will tell you, litigation is like chess anyway. You must plan a strategy, counter opponents' moves, and never lose focus from your goal...to kill the King.

Build The Starship Enterprise Bridge In Your Home Or Office

It's geek Friday; and, if you have enough geeky friends, you can get a copy of Artemis, which creates a real feeling and looking simulation of the Enterprise bridge. If you have this many geeky friends, you need to get out more.

 

GameKlip - Play Android Games With A Real Controller

GameKlip - Real controller for real games. Okay, this one is for the kids among you, of whatever age. Seriously, where were these toys when I was 15? However, for fun, there are apps for rooted phones that permit controlling them wirelessly. This is ideal for playing games that require touch controls. This company has invented a clip on for a PS 3 controller that makes the phone into a portable gaming machine. Very cool, for the kids among you. The rest of you can go back to your rocking chairs now.

This Isn't Your Daddy's Nintendo

GameStop to sell Android tablets in over 1600 stores | Android Central. If you have kids, or have had kids in the last 20 years, you have spent some of your time in GameStop or similar store, looking at kids holding tiny video game machines. My kids ran the gamut, and I spent enough money on small game cartridges to bring Greece out of bankruptcy. These handheld game machines were pricey, and I remember spending $149 on one ill fated GameBoy, that mysteriously disappeared from my son's room a few weeks later. Now, it appears that the high end Android tablets are becoming kids' game systems of choice; at least the ones they carry around. With 7 to 10 inch screens, dual core, or better, processors, and dozens of game companies selling games in the the Google Play Store, they are an ideal product for GameStop in this new century. The great graphics, and modern gaming techniques, make the tablets ideal for this stuff. And, the benefit is that you can teach your kid all the productive things they can also do with an Android tablet, like spend hours talking to their friends on Facebook. Some things never change. Only the methods do.

Super Bowl XLVI Guide - There's An App For That

Super Bowl XLVI Guide - Apps on Android Market.

Finally, something on which both iPhone and Android users can agree. Watching the Super Bowl on TV is as close to a national obsession as we are likely to get. And, the official app from NFL Enterprises is the perfect companion. Whether you have an iPhone or an iPad or an Android phone or an Android tablet, this app will give you the layout and virtual views of Lucas Oil Stadium, a live feed of the actual game, video highlights of the game, player interviews and much more. It is the football fan's perfect add on. But, don't take this to a Super Bowl party; especially if you want to actually watch the game. It is tough enough to watch with all those partiers around. Most of them wouldn't know a blitz from a strong side linebacker. 

Atari Greatest Hits Comes To Android

Atari Greatest Hits brings 100 retro classics to Android | Android and Me. I hate Mondays. I really, really, don't want to go to the office, and begin again with the phone calls, and the files, and the stuff that people want. So, I was happy to find this Android download, with 100 original Atari games for $9.99! I was immediately transported in time to my first computer, an Atari 2600 game machine that took $30 cartridges containing ONE game. The graphics and sound were primitive by today's standards; but, games like Centipede and Asteroids rapidly became time sucks of major proportions. The Arcade versions ate more money than I care to admit. How I would like to have the thousands of quarters I invested in Asteroids at the arcade, and have invested it in Microsoft stock. Ah, the waste of youth. But, now, I can relive those days on my Android tablet computer for Ten bucks; although, without a game controller, it really isn't the same experience. But, for a Monday, good enough. Play on!

Wolfram CDF Player - The Intelligent Man's Game Machine

Wolfram Demonstrations Project: Download Wolfram CDF Player. The immense computational power of the Wolfram Alpha engine has made the Internet a veritable answer machine. You can ask the National Debt, and the analysis will show up to the minute statistics, tables, and other valuable information. Now, the Demonstrations Project uses the Computational Document Format (CDF) to create interactive demonstrations on the computer that instruct and entertain. What better way to spend a summer afternoon than to interact with computer simulations? The software is free to download, free to use, and a better use of time than shooting aliens on a computer screen. 

Will I Ever Again Get Any Work Done?

EA's official Scrabble game is released | Android Central. Next to Chess, the biggest time wasting pleasure for the FutureLawyer has always been Scrabble. Of course, finding someone else to waste away the hours on a word game is not easy. And, it just doesn't seem to be something you want to do on a notebook computer or desktop. However, an Android smart phone or tablet computer are just the ticket; and, now that official Scrabble is available for Android, this will be my last blog post. :-)

Just kidding. But, I plan to play this game a lot more than "Shooting Dead Zone Zombies From Hell, With Upset Birds In Tow". 

Storm Appeal - My Shot Jigsaw Puzzles - National Geographic Magazine

Storm Appeal - My Shot Jigsaw Puzzles - National Geographic Magazine. Thanks to Michael Wade, at Execupundit, one of my favorite daily reads, for this link to a game that has some redeeming social value. These beautiful images of our National Parks are reminders of the beauty within our borders. I completed this beautiful image of a coming storm at Arches National Park in Utah in 15 minutes. Can you beat my time? Just click on an image, and the image dissolves into dozens of puzzle pieces that can be manipulated by the mouse. If you feel like wasting a little time on something fascinating and beautiful, you can't do better than this. A word of warning, though; these things are like potato chips. You can't just do one.

 

Who Knew? She Who Must Be Obeyed Likes "Killing Pigs"

Another Million Angry Birds Downloads on Android Means Two Million are Now "Killing Pigs". When I posted about my "new" discovery of the Android download of "Angry Birds", I was surprised to learn that my iPod Touch using She Who Must Be Obeyed was not only already familiar with the game, but had been "Killing Pigs" for the angry birds for some time. Apparently, more than two million of you are out there slaying the egg stealing animals, and the birds are being mollified. My only request is that, after you are done killing them, make some bacon for me.