New Years Resolution

Among the very few things I have done in my life that are good for me is the practice of setting a new years resolution.

For 2010 my goal is to: "land my dream job." Or perhaps just one that I am content with.

It is an usual new years resolution in that it could be accomplished in the first month of the year and I feel like a new years resolution should take most or all year to accomplish but given that I am finally finishing school in May this should be the focus of a great deal of my efforts.


Now the list that follows are my previous new years resolutions, that I can recall, and there respective success rates.

2009: Learn Spanish
Result: Epic fail. Listened to the CDs a few times and had one Spanish dinner but abandoned all hope by spring break.

2006: Have 1 glass of milk a day
Result: Close, but it was effective in incorporating much more calcium into my diet.

2002:No soda.
Result: Pretty much a complete success. (Well, there was that one visit to the Sigma Chi house on a game day but that doesn't really count.)

2001: Run 1000 miles
Result: pretty far shy of a 1000 but got me to keep jogging.

I'll be heading to New Orleans tomorrow for New Years and the Sugar Bowl. Send me a text if you are in the area and would like to meet up: 623-BlakeHa

Unretired?!

Head Coach of the Florida Gators Urban Meyer has now stated he will not be retiring but rather taking a one year leave of absence. Meyer looks forward to healing his body while taking time to spend with his family and enjoying activities such as fly fishing, snow skiing, and mountain hiking while he resides in the southern part of Ontario, CA for all of 2010.


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Urban Meyer Retires

It has been a very tragic year for all of us. The great recession continues leaving millions unemployed, Copenhagen failed to produce a binding agreement to limit CO2 emissions, and now Head Coach Urban Meyer announced his intention to retire after the Sugar Bowl on January 1st, 2010.

According to some sources Meyer's role was an antitrust violation having the main student center named the J. Wayne Reitz Union, President of the University Bernie Machen, and the head coach of the football team all members of the same fraternity.

Other sources have stated Meyer's retirement was due to his health problems.

The health problems allegedly stem from a few weeks ago when Urban Meyer became dehydrated after losing to Alabama in the SEC game. Had the Gators won and the team appropriately poured the kooler on him this would have never occured...after all that is why they pour the kooler on the coach, to keep him from getting dehydrated.

Furthermore, Meyer stated he was concerned about trying to receive health care under the recently passed Obama-care and thus will soon be relocating to Tronto.

Meyer stated he plans to spend his retirement with other members who intend to permanently retire from the sport John Madden, Bobby Bowden, and Tim Tebow.

Lastly, there remains the question of did the VC firm who put money down on FireUrbanMeyer.com receive a positive ROI?

If you would like to receive an email for each new BOBH send an email with the subject "add me" to: Blakehar@gmail.com


Sent from my iPhone

An Appealing Christmas.

Last December I purchased two copies of John Grishman's The Appeal (picture below) and gave one to my mom to read and kept one for myself to read. This Christmas a humble 365 days later I finally finished the book. This was the third Grishman book I have read and ranks second, ahead of The Street Lawyer and behind The Brethren.

Originally I bought the book just to learn what the term "appeal" meant prior to graduating from law school. After reading the novel I found the plot to be rather enjoyable. Most reviews I have heard criticized the ending but I felt, for a change, Grishman's managed to conclude his book in a manner that was rather appealing.

For my seminar paper was it okay to site to the:

For my seminar paper was it okay to site to the Blog of Blake Harris? I originally feared this may seem a little circular but because I was not actually citing to myself but rather a website that I contribute to I felt that it would be appropriate. Think about it, is every person who contributes to Wikipedia excluded from referencing a Wikipedia article?

Well that is it. My last fall semester at UF is over. I turned in my International Financial Crimes paper this morning and am off to Bradenton/Lakeland for the weekend before making it home to Jacksonville on Sunday. I believe the paper to be fairly entertaining and very persuasive but too long to be posted on the BOBH. Nonetheless, I would be excited to share it with anyone who may be interested in reading it as I am always looking for feedback on my views.

If you would like to read my International Financial Crimes seminar paper please email me at: Blakehar@gmail.com

Goddle

Goddle- The belief that Google is God.

It is true. Google is all knowing and all powerful and here is the proof;

Through the various Google service available (Gmail, Google Searches, Google text, Google Voice, Google Documents, Blogspot, Google Wave, etc.) Google is able to collect and amass an incredible amount of data about you.

Google is able to learn more about you then you even know about yourself. Through an application of statistics based on the data Google has collected, Google could more accurately predict then you may be able to which state bar you are going to take and the likeliness of you passing the bar.

Google is able to understand public opinion and follow the reaction to popular stories better than any survey company.

The results of the 2010 congressional election will be known to Google long before election night. So called undecided voters will have their decision determined long before election night.

And what's next?

Google looks to buy companies that meet the following criteria:
1. Little to no tangible assets.
2. Access to database of information.

My prediction is Netflix or some live stream only version of a video rental company.

Lastly a little praise to Goddle...

Google has been rumored to begin a legal database creating a free LexisNexis/Westlaw. My regards Bonita.
Google has also been rumored to begin investments in electric companies...Let there be light!

Care to share any other Google rumors? Call my Google Voice at 623-BlakeHa

Y3K

Why isn't anyone freaking out about the turn of the next decade? Isn't there going to be widespread panic when all of the computers reset in 23 days and say it is the year 2000 again?

The Case against Tom's Shoes.

As I understand it the basic deals with Tom's shoes is this; someone buys a pair of shoes in a wealthy country someone gets a free pair of shoes in a poor country.

Sounds great right? No, it is a bad plan and here is why...

Tom shoes could do any of the following instead of giving away shoes.

1. Increase profit to the shareholders.

Shareholders have more incentive to keep the business afloat.

2. Decrease the price to customers.

Customers would provide more support to keep the business in operation.

3. Give aid to some of the poorer areas of the world.

Wait isn't this what TOMS shoes already does? Well, kind of but not really. TOMS shoes is giving something to these poor countries but I don't think at the top of the list of things they want is some tacky footwear. Most of these people are more concerned about water, food, basic medication, and education. If TOMS shoes would like to do something truly charitable they can simply contribute a monetary donation (equivalent to the cost of shoes they are giving away) and allow the people to choose for themselves what they want.

If footwear is what they need then I don't think TOMS shoes is really the answer. The cost of material that goes into making 1 pair of TOMS shoes could probably be used to purchase a dozen less expensive shoes that Blake Mycoskie could be given away.

So what should TOMS shoes do with all the extra shoes? Sell them for top dollar and sprinkle the proceeds as desired among the 3 categories above.

What has Tom's Shoes done well? Marketing. Although misleading quite successful.

Ex-Scam-Soft

It seems I have been a little grumpy lately, complaining about both arbitrary class participation points and inadequate exam styles, and yet again today I have another thing that grinds my gears....ExamSoft.

ExamSoft is a computer program that all students at Levin Law who would like to use a computer to take their exam are required to purchase. The cost is $25 each year and the program is not compatible with Mac's or Linux...aka all hail Microsoft.

Lets do a little math. 1,100 students pursuing a JD at Levin Law * $25 a student = $27,500.

There are a few options the law school could take to get around this program. (Note: If either option #1 or #2 is implemented students would no longer be required to purchase any computer through out their law school experience.)

1. Allow students to take their exams on the undergraduate campus where there are quiet computer rooms intended solely for exams.

2. Take the $27,500 and buy 200 computes that allow for word processing only and let students utilize these computers for exams.

or my favorite option...

3. Have any student with a rudimentary knowledge of computer programing invent a similar program to ExamSoft then charge students $15 to use the program and wire the money to my account.

#3 is a win-win situation as far as I am concerned.

If you have any win-win ideas to share send me a text message at: 623-BlakeHa

Eco-Lies

Would you lie to save yourself $100?
Would you lie to make a million dollars?
What if you had to lie to save a friends life?
Or to save your kids life?
(If you just take your medicine Santa will bring you wonderful gifts this year.)

What about exaggerating a claim or trying to ignore someone else's argument to do all four of the above points?

If some of the world's top scientist truly believe that a threat is so imminent and the only way to prevent a global catastrophe is to exaggerate their claim then are their actions all that different from a parent who lies to their kid to get them to take their medicine?

I am not indicating that dishonesty should be condoned by any means but I am going to say that often people have genuinely altruistic motives in mind when they overstate their own claim or suppress someone else's point of view.

As with any large scale debate there exists false claims, distracting points, and exaggerated information on both sides of the debate. There also exist large incentives to be correct on both sides.

Despite any of the above, the focus of any debate should not center around each side's incentives to be correct nor the misstatements of certain individuals but rather the strength of the known facts and the results of various courses of action.

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The Myth of Energy Efficient Products and the Environment.

One of the most confusion issues about the environment is the misconception that energy efficient products can save the planet.

Switching from a car that gets 8 miles to the gallon to a car that gets 30 miles a gallon but still burns petroleum will have the same ultimate effect on the planet. Releasing CO2 at a slower rate will have the same catastrophic effects as burning CO2 at the current rate...the only potential difference is a matter of a few months. The same is true for using less electricity at home and at work. If humans reduce the amount of coal they burn by 10,20, or even 50% but continue to burn every last piece of coal on earth our "efforts" to save the planet is analogous to rearranging the seat on the titanic. The truth is energy efficient products won't save the planet, eco-friendly energy will. In order to actually save the planet humans must find and use exclusively an alternative clean energy. An energy that neither releases CO2 nor can be exhausted. To Change the outcome the change must start at the source.

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