Adjunct Law Prof Blog

10 Most Educated People On The Planet

Online Degrees, a commercial site, complied a list of the 10 Most Educated People On The Planet. Who is number one? Mr. Michael Nicholson. His background is described as follows:

Michael Nicholson has been racking up college degrees since 1963 and doesn’t have any plans to slow down soon. The 67-year-old has taken full advantage the tuition discounts he and his wife get by working at Western Michigan University. Over his lifetime, Nicholson has amassed 27 different degrees, including two associate’s degrees, 19 master’s degrees, three specialist degrees, and one PhD. Nicholson doesn’t pursue degrees for work, he just loves to learn and likes being able to take advantage of courses that help him learn about a wide range of subjects. His wife has also taken up the college hobby, earning seven degrees of her own. Nicholson is currently working on two more master’s degrees and plans to keep going as long as he can.

Talk about being a career student!

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Hat Tip: Jasmine Hall

Hot Dog Champ Faces Judge

Well, its Friday in the middle of the dog days of August, so I thought I would bring you one of those stories related to law which you just cannot make up. The article is from CNN and available here. 

Its seems like Hot Dog eating champion acted inappropriately at the famous July 4th Contest in Coney Island. Apparently, there was some contract dispute over participation eligibility. As the article states:

Kobayashi was released on his own recognizance a day after he rushed the stage at the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, which he had been barred from this year because of a contract dispute with organizer Major League Eating.

"I went as a spectator to cheer on my friends, and everyone was yelling 'let him eat,' so I was hoping they would let me eat and prove I am still the champ," he told reporters afterward.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

And Your Embarrassed By A Typo!

We all make them. Lord knows I make them on this blog and I often get emails from readers about them. They are typo's. Take a look at this major league typo. A  San Francisco Giant took the field with San Francisco spelled incorrectly. Check out the story and the picture here.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Hat Tip: Prawfs Blawg

Fax Machines; That's So 1980

Legal Writing Prof Blog reported on o this article from the LegalBlogWatch which raised the question whether faxing is dead. Personally, I believe that it is not dead yet, but it is dying. Email is much quicker and more and more people can scan documents in. It is also free. While there may be a place for internet faxing for a bit longer (where articles are faxed into your computer, I would think that market will eventually die out in favor of email.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Bar Mitzvah At Yankee Stadium

Well, today is Memorial Day. I thought it would be nice to find a story with a summer theme.  The closest I could find was Box Mitzvah. It is a June 1, 2010 ABA News Now story about a lawyer who booked his son's Bar Mitzvah at Yankee Stadium, yes Yankee Stadium. Only problem was that a boxing promoted booked the stadium on the same date. You guessed it, Yankee Stadium was large enough to accommodate both parties.

Enjoy Memorial Day!

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Happy Passover

Happy Passover to my Jewish readers. Hey, you do not even have to be Jewish to have a Seder. Just ask President Obama. Details here.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Fantasy Supreme Court

You have heard of fantasy football and fantasy baseball where individuals have fantasy teams which play against one another. Well, now there is fantasy Supreme Court where individuals can predict how the Court will rule. The web site is here. Now is your chance to be the 10th Justice. A CNN article about this web site is available here.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Marijuana College

You read the title right. Michigan just legalized medical Marijuana. A 24 year old found Med Grow Cannabis College where for $485 you can learn how to grow Marijuana. This organization is not really a college, of course, but a business. Why then does it use the title College?? Though I have no doubt that there is a place for the use of medical Marijuana, I also have no doubt that its use will be abused. Hopefully, this business will teach its students how to dispense Marijuana appropriately. I would however, like to know where the founder of this business got his training. A Nov. 28, 2009 New York Times story about this business is available here. This business, which I refuse to call a college, has a web site which is available here.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

 

Video Of The Great Bambino Resurfaces

Well, its that time of year again. Its October and that means the baseball playoffs and World Series. Now, readers of this blog are well aware that I try to stick to legal topics. Today, however, an exception is being made. I draw your attention to a wonderful baseball article in the New York Times about Major League Baseball Productions, the league’s official archivist, which spans more than 100 years and includes about 150,000 hours of moving images. That article is available here. There is also a video of never before seen footage of Babe Ruth.

Yes, you guessed it. I am a Yankee fan. Go Yankees!

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Official Frank Serpico Website

Do you remember the movie Serpicio? It was about a NYC copy who exposed corruption within the NYC Police Department. It was a true story. Now, the real Frank Serpico is establishing a website to help expose corruption. He also has a blog. On his blog, he is very critical of Isreal. What does that have to do with corruption Frank?? Anyway, I thought readers would be interested.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein  

Take Your Dog To Work Day

The June 20, 2008 ABA Law Journal Blog reports that June 20, 2008 was the 10th annual take your dog to work day. What a great idea! I did not even know that this day existed. It may however, be hard to get some work done; on the other hand, it may also make work less stressful.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Blogger Makes Celebrity News Section of Boston Globe

The Boston Globe has reported that Professor Cass Sunstein from AboveTheLaw.com and   human-rights researcher Samantha Power, are engaged. I report on this because I think that it is unusual that such a story would make the Boston Globe. In any event, congratulations!

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Simply Fired

Simply Fired is an interesting web site where former employees vent and gripe about being fired. As the motto of the web site states, some of the stories are laughable and some want to make you cry.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Hat Tip: Joseph A. Hodnicki Law Library Blog and Law X.0 Blog

         

Michael Jackson Sued By His Law Firm For Attorneys Fees

In 2005, the firm of Ayscough & Marar successfully defended Michael Jackson against child molestation type of charges. A court recently awarded the firm $175,000 for having to sue Jackson for fees. This makes the bill total $430,000. Further details are available here. 

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Writing a letter of Reference

Just when you thought you have seen it all, along comes an online letter of reference guide. This web site has several different samples of letter of references for college and graduate school admission as well as for personal references. It even has a fill in the blank reference generator form.

Like attorney George Lenard, I believe that this site does contain some helpful information. The only problem is that a reference letter that looks like 100 others is not very useful. I believe most admission officers and most personnel managers would look more favorably towards unique letters with a personal touch. Therefore, this service is of virtually no value.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein   

Hat Tip: George's Employment Blawg

Blackberry/Treo Syndrome Causing Disabilities

There is an interesting article on www.findlaw.com entitled "Green Thumb - Good; Blackberry Thumb - Bad" discusses the fact that excess use of your thumb writing email can cause injury. As the article states:

According to a recent report by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), hand-held electronic devices, like BlackBerries, Treos and Sidekicks, are rapidly becoming a source of chronic pain and injury for device users.

Hand-held devices can lead to repetitive stress injury, which can cause pain and numbness in the thumbs and hand joints, as noted by Margot Miller, the President of APTA's Occupational Health Special Interest Group. She points out that this results from people spending far too much time using their hand-held devices for sending emails, instant messaging, and surfing the Internet for work and personal reasons.

Ms. Miller explains that hand-held device abusers are more likely to develop physical problems. These are people who use their devices at least several times a day for more than short periods of time. Symptoms can include swelling, throbbing and tendonitis. Furthermore, overuse of hand-held devices can aggravate underlying conditions such as arthritis.

On a more serious note, this does have implications for employers and for Workers Compensation insurance purposes. I guess that is one of the prices we pay for in order to be able to use this wonderful technology.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein