Futurelawyer

I Guess It Would Depend On Whether I Was Getting Oil Lease Checks

What if Your Dream Home Had a View of an Oil Derrick?. It all depends upon your "point of view", doesn't it? If there were Oil Derricks in my front yard, my first instinct would be to hire a surveyor. If they were on my land, I would then expect to get checks every month for the rest of my life, and the derricks would be the most beautiful sculptures I had ever seen. This all reminds me of the "hairy arm" syndrome, which highlights the maxim that perception often misrepresents reality. A man goes into a dark house, and see a big hairy arm sticking out of the wall. He immediately attacks it, cutting off the arm. The owner of the arm bleeds to death, and, upon tearing open the wall, it is discovered that it belonged to a mother protecting her young. So, always be aware that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Or, at least, in the wallet.

Heads Up! Is In Your Face Notifications

Heads Up! - notifications - Android Apps on Google Play. Some of the coming Android L features are already being ported to current phones by developers. This one takes the excellent Google Notifications bar on the top of Android phones, and brings the Notifications you choose front and center, in floating bars on top of the screen. You can tweak the ones you want, or turn them off altogether. I already have my notifications going to my SmartWatch, where it gently vibrates to let me know; but, this looks like another good way to keep up with my day. 

Will Material Girls Like Material Design?

Android L Developer Preview gives a look at the next version of Android | Android and Me. Has Google become Apple? The new Android L OS that kicked off last week with the release of the Developer version for the software developers to use in creating apps, uses a new flexible, material design style that has some substance under the flash. The new design language uses depth, tactile animations, ripple effects, seamless transitions, and floating screens to create a beautiful interface. However, this is more than a pretty face. The fluidity of the design makes standardization across multiple interfaces, from wearables to tablets, much easier. Will this new Apple like infatuation with pretty design win over the material girls and boys? Time will tell. 

SmartWatch Fever

Gear Live. I catch a lot of flak from friends and others about my addiction to SmartWatches. Hey, buying and reviewing the latest in wearable computers is a dirty job; but, somebody has to do it. This is the first time I am waiting on two SmartWatches at the same time. Okay, one of them is a smartwatchphone that I bought from Asia just for fun; but, the other is the Gear Live, which is the newest member of the family of watches I might actually wear. I love my Gear 2 Neo and wear it every day. But, the appeal of an OK Google capable watch that will do anything that I say is very strong. Check the link above for a video preview.

Windows Tablet 2 In 1 For $209 After Rebate

Refurbished: ASUS Transformer Book T100TA 10.1%u201D MultiTouch 2-in-1 Laptop and Tablet with Intel Atom Quad Core Z3740 1.33Ghz (1.86Ghz Burst), 2GB Memory, 32GB SSD Storage, Windows 8 (MS Office Sold Separately) - Newegg.com. If you have been curious about my insistence that tablets that can replace notebook computers are the future, here is a chance to test my theory for around $200. This isn't the tablet 2 in 1 you will need to make the complete switch; but, for very little money, it will give you the experience of Windows 8 on a netbook sized screen, with a detachable keyboard. The Atom processor, 2 Gigs of RAM, and 32 Gigs of storage on board isn't the ideal experience; but, this little tablet will run your Windows software, and all of your cloud applications very well. A competent Windows tablet can become the computer brain that connects to all of your peripherals at home and at the office, and you can carry it around everywhere. Once you are hooked, spend a few hundred dollars more, and get a 4 Gig, 128 Gig SSD tablet, with a Pentium 3560 or Intel Core series processor. This is just a step towards a future in which we carry or wear a little computer everywhere; and, while I won't live to see it, a future in which the computer will become part of us. Are there risks? Sure. But, Terminator isn't one of them. More likely, the risk will come from humans, good and bad. But, what a future it will be.

Parrot Sunday - Florida Parrot Rescue

Florida Parrot Rescue. For this Parrot Sunday, I am highlighting the good work of the non-profit Florida Parrot Rescue, which takes in unwanted or abandoned parrots, without judgment. It finds new homes, or foster homes for them, and is all volunteer. There is a raging debate in the parrot loving community about captive parrots, and captive breeding. In an ideal world, all parrots would roam free in rainforests and natural habitats. However, my four rescues wouldn't do very well in that world. So, we take the world as it is, and provide the best environment we can for those we can. I make no apology for giving a loving home to my four parrots, and I challenge those who disagree to provide a safe and happy alternative for them. These most beautiful creatures, great and small, are in our keeping. Each of us should seek not to judge, nor be judged. Check out this great organization, and learn about them. If you are so inclined, and understand the commitment required, maybe you will want to adopt one of them. 

The Frugal Lawyer - Best Tablet For The Money

VAIO Tap 11 Tablet PC - All VAIO Tap 11 Sony Store - Sony US. The Tap 11 is the thinnest, lightest, most capable Windows tablet on the market. Why Sony has decided to stop their production is a mystery. But, it is good for the frugal lawyer, because a refurbished Tap 11 can be purchased for less than $500. I bought a second one as a spare, and I have been spending a pleasant time installing my software, and getting it ready in case of disaster with my current Tap 11. This little computer won't win any speed competitions; although, it is very quick. It won't do any large video editing tasks; but, it is perfect and fast for day to day editing, document processing, web browsing, email, and all the other stuff lawyers do every day. Check your local Best Buy. Mine had 5 or 6 of these little computers for sale as refurbished items for $499. 4 Gigs of RAM. 128 Gigs of storage. An extra Micro SD slot for another 128 Gigs of storage. I could go on; but, the Pentium 3560 processor is comparable to a Core I3, and almost as fast as a Core I5. Zoom, Zoom.

Three Keys To Happiness

ARG!. Damn! Given the photos, I thought it was cigars, scotch and women!

Big Gulps Are Saved By Lawyers And Judges

Court won't reinstate NYC's big-soda ban. Don't tell me that we lawyers and judges aren't good for society. Sanity has returned to the Big Apple, thanks to some former lawyers serving on the bench. Saying that the New York City Board Of Health "engaged in law making beyond its regulatory authority", the appeals court ruled that the ban on large sodas should be overturned. Administrative agencies have their own branch of the law; but, they are restricted by the terms of the statutes legislators pass which create them. Administrative law requires that rules and regulations which have the force of law fall within the power granted by the Legislature. Thank God there is a judicial branch to rein in the nanny state. Because any Legislature that tried to pull some of this crap would be voted out of office. Of course, I exempt the city of San Francisco, where all nanny staters go to live in peace and harmony, unfettered from those of us who don't want someone else telling us what we can eat or drink, or what our kids can eat or drink. Jeez.

Rat's Theory Of Happiness

I know how Rat feels; especially, after Google I/O.