Hi, still alive

Boy, the Casey Anthony, how about that huh? Wasn't THAT something?

So...what's new?

I've been away from my page for a while, and I'll tell ya why (not that anyone cares). My computer stopped working correctly, our iPad doesn't allow me to post here through it, my iPhone does not either, and I've been lazy. Or, I should say, partially lazy. I've been rising at 5:30 am some mornings to help clean vines off pine trees.

But, mostly, the computer was busted.

Here's why I will always endorse Mac computers: I've had this particular MacBook since 2006. For us, it was a big purchase - they aint cheap. Most folks like them the PC, which I found AWFUL in it's form (ugly) and function (it was s....l....o......w). The MacBook blew it away on both counts.

Yet, I digress from the here and now......

I took this 5 - year old computer to the Apple store near my home because the track pad and "mouse" weren't working properly. I couldn't type or navigate the Web with it at all because the cursor would get stuck. The nice folks at the Genius Bar took a peek and said they'd have it fixed in a few days, and APOLOGIZED for the length of the repair because they didn't have the parts in-house for a computer as old as mine.

NOT THE BEST PART.

The best part was that they fixed it completely and totally FREE OF CHARGE!

I am not pulling your leg, yanking your crank, or blowing smoke up your skirt. I picked it up a few days later and they'd replaced the keyboard and all its' "faceplates". Pretty damned cool.

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The last week of June was fun, I took some of my kids to our beach place to spend a week with my Mom and my nephew. My youngest and my nephew are all of one year apart (the nephew is older), but according to the older child my kid's a "little baby still." Which is funny, that's how I remember kids are at that age. In fact, after spending a week with the fellas, I think my nephew's more like me than I'd like to admit. The boy knows what he wants and he's relentless in his pursuit of money and Slurpees. That's the long way of writing that he's a bit of a nag. I was too, I seem to recall.

And, like little boys do, they split up an hour by being best pals for 20 minutes, then worst enemies for 20 minutes and finally ending up with 20 minutes of complete apathy towards each other.....then being pals again.

Still, in the final analysis we all had fun in the sun and sand for a week.

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Before I actually practiced law I was a Judge's clerk in a courthouse near where I live. I saw several felony trials, but nothing as circus-like as the Casey Anthony disaster (in 1999 I DID see the Linda Tripp wiretapping case, and had a chance to meet Monica Lewinsky before her testimony. Dan Abrams of Court TV was standing out in front of my parking spot necessitating me to choose a different one.....bastard).

Ach, there I go again, making this all about me.......

As we've seen, juries do weird things. Some seem to over-analyze the evidence. Others over-analyze the law as it applies to the evidence (ie -standards of proof, weight, etc). And others seem to just be in a hurry. If I was a betting man, in the Anthony case the jury was over-analyzing the applicable standard of proof while placing insufficient weight on the volume of circumstantial evidence that strongly suggested the Defendant's criminal liability. Some would argue instead that they were actually applying the appropriate standard ("beyond a reasonable doubt"). We're stuck with their findings, however repellant we might find the result.

My take, based on what I heard? A baby-killer walked free. Only in America. In stark contrast to our incredibly inequitable healthcare system, our judicial system, warts and all, is one of the things that makes this country great. At times the result is unsatisfying and seems wrong but I'd argue that most of the time juries get it right.

Just...not recently in central Florida. That gal either killed that child intentionally or by accident, which should've been enough for a hefty stay in prison at the least.

OK, I'm not Nancy Grace so I'll quit here.

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"Hey, wait a minute..."

Y'know there's still an NFL lockout? And there's also one in the NBA? Oh, snap! Yeah, they might not play. Yawn. Team of Destiny is my Detroit Lions, who will (if they play) make the playoffs this year. If they play. If not, well, there are books to read.....other stuff to do. A big, heaping bowl of "Idontgiveadamn." Gas is too expensive. Groceries are too expensive. They're raising the price on my Netflix. Seems like everyone's trying to bleed us dry, but as my checkbook can tell you there's only so much blood.

So, the reasonable reader says....sell your iPad, quit using your iPhone.

Dammit, knew I shouldn't have mentioned all my gadgets.

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I really hate political talking points. Apparently, these days, Republicans are calling rich people "job creators," a blatant assertion of the old "trickle-down" economic theory that's never really left the party since Pres. George H.W. Bush in 1992. The Democratic party counters with...well, nothing. In between this stands Messrs. Boehner and Obama, who had crafted (GASP!) and actual COM-PRO-MISE that would (if media reports are accurate) cut $4 trillion in spending and shave some of that fat from "sacred cow" entitlements AND close some of the tax loopholes enjoyed by those who pay at the corporate tax rate (which is already lower than the tax rates paid by you and I). In other words, there's something in a compromise like that that everyone could hate. The Democrats grumble, like they usually do. The Republicans go apoplectic, and refuse to "raise" taxes on "job creators." Once again, make up your own minds based on the facts.

In a country that seems increasingly hostile to the operation of reasonableness and compromise as a means of governance, we get what we deserve.

How much of this - I ask- is our own fault? I think a great deal of it. We've been inundated with talk of how "great" we are since birth. We're told we can do anything. We're told we live in the greatest nation, go to the greatest school, and play for the greatest baseball team. Everything's a superlative, everyone's an exceptional piece of work. And...when you believe that and start inhaling all of the smoke that's being blown.....why would you HAVE to compromise when you can have it all your way?

Welcome to the tyranny of the dull and stupid.

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Somewhat related to all of that boring political talk, we saw our last space shuttle take off last week. Does that effectively end the era of space exploration? We're (apparently) now going to entrust exploration and innovation to private enterprise. Not sure what happens to the big brains over at NASA now, but I'm guessing it's nothing good. The bean-counters won, I guess, and those fellas will be saying "welcome to Wal-Mart" instead of "the Eagle has landed."

Look at the kids, that's the proper barometer, did you notice any of them caring? I have 4, I sure didn't.

I recall sitting on the elementary school bus excitedly talking with my pal Edwin about the Apollo landings, and new planets. He had some patches that his father had given him from some mission (I can't recall which). Of course, there was "Star Wars" and its' ilk, which helped us dream of spaceships and alien planets full of life and other evil empires to fight that weren't Russian. We talked of being astronauts, explorers, scientists. Well, I probably wanted a real lightsaber, but I was always the dumb one.

And now ? I hear kids talk of wanting to get famous. Actor. Singer. YouTube sensation. Athlete. Why? "Because that's how you can live the good life. Money. Big house...."

And in a world, a country, where only 1/2 a percent of kids ever reach that good life, dreams are snuffed out on a ratio that I can't even fathom. A failure rate of 99.5%. Kiddies? Stay in school, learn your math and science. Enjoy your movies and music and junk-food culture for what it is. Know that some poor kid in another part of the world wants YOUR life and is willing to work hard for it.

Above all? Don't waste time in college saying you want to be a writer. Look how that turned out for one idealistic little nitwit!

Buh-bye