LAW TECHNOLOGY

September 26, 2007

New Blog to Check Out: Financial Aspects of Intellectual Property

One of my new favorite blogs is the Financial Aspects of Intellectual Property blog by the folks at the Innovation Asset Group.

According to their “about” page:

Innovation Asset is a leading provider of software for intellectual property (IP) and contracts management. Founded in 2002, we set out to design fresh solutions to the challenges today’s companies face in managing their intangible assets. We’ve quickly gained a national reputation for our flagship product, Decipher™.

So far, their blog has really been a fun and informative read – dealing with meta trends in intellectual property acquisition and valuation.  As a sample to whet your appetite:

We are seeing an evolution – perhaps revolution. Not just in terms of the recognition of IP as the fundamentally core asset for businesses today; but also in terms of the way in which that IP is managed (I think “where” remains the same).

Initially, IP is managed out of the legal department. In a non-strategic mindset, IP management equates to docketing in some of these companies.

As companies embrace the strategic importance of IP and understand the need to move beyond simply docketing, there is an evolution of the role of the legal department. Much the way IT departments in corporate America evolved from a cost center and service provider to a strategic enabler of the business in the past couple of decades, legal departments are making a similar evolution today.

If you picture a pyramid similar to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and similar to the one described in “Edison in the Boardroom,” the bottom of the pyramid represents the least sophisticated IP companies, and the top of the pyramid the most sophisticated.

Well worth a read for anyone interested in intellectual property and what I would consider a “must read” for those within corporate intellectual property departments who must identify, protect and communicate the importance of intellectual property assets.

Sorry for the disruption in the middle of all the “Rules Mess” – we now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 07:41 PM.
Permalink: New Blog to Check Out: Financial Aspects of Intellectual Property
| Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

LAW TECHNOLOGY

September 07, 2007

Fertility Monitoring Device on a Cell Phone? Really!!!?

Cell phones continue to offer more and more features. Not only can you check your email and surf the internet, but someday you may even be able to determine your significant others optimal baby making temperature! Check out this patent application filed by Samsung which states that:

“[t]he present invention relates to a portable device for measuring a user's basal body temperature (BBT) and a BBT measurement method utilizing the portable device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable BBT measurement device and method which can detect a location of a user's eardrum via a predetermined distance sensor, measure the user's eardrum temperature, convert the eardrum temperature into the user's BBT and record the converted BBT into a memory, to generate the user's menstruation information from the BBT recorded for a certain period, e.g. a month, and provide the user with the generated menstruation information.”

 

Maybe I’m a little old fashioned but a fertility monitoring device on a cell phone just sounds creepy.

Posted by Ward Hobson at 09:59 AM.
Permalink: Fertility Monitoring Device on a Cell Phone? Really!!!?
| Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

LAW TECHNOLOGY

February 15, 2007

New FedCirc.us Search Tool Released

The master plan for the FedCirc.us site includes several web features designed to deliver patent caselaw information in a more effective manner.  The first - the GimmeTen! feature - has quickly become the most popular page on the site...and for good reason.  Not familiar with it?  Simply bookmark http://10.fedcirc.us and visit regularly.  That page always provides concise summaries of the ten most recently posted case reviews.  We're confident you'll quickly be hooked.

Today we announce the second feature in our bag of tricks - the travelling FedCirc.us search engine.  By following the steps below, you'll be able to search the FedCirc.us site from anywhere on the web.

The best part is the simplicity -- 5 easy steps (4 for most people).  Five minutes tops.

1.  Make sure you're using either Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox 2.0 as your browser.  If you're not, download the latest IE here or Firefox here (both are free).  For the record, FedCirc.us is optimized for Firefox.

2.  Start your browser.

3.  Visit FedCirc.us.

4.  Pull down the drop-down search box in the upper right hand corner and select "Add FedCirc.us" (in Firefox) or select "FedCirc.us" with the gold star next to it (in IE, see image at right).

5.  Surf the web.  Whenever you want to search the site, simply enter a search string in the box in the right hand corner, pull down the list, select FedCirc.us, and hit return.  You can do this from any page on the web...and you'll immediately be transported to a listing of search results from the site.

I've quickly gotten used to searching by party name or full case name as I'm reading on the web.  This little trick has changed my surfing habits for the better...it's a wonderfully efficient way to find information quickly.  We hope you find it useful as well.

As always, if you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know.  You can e-mail Matt directly at jmb @ rtipllc.com.

Enjoy!

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 05:24 PM.
Permalink: New FedCirc.us Search Tool Released
| TrackBack (0)

LAW TECHNOLOGY

January 31, 2007

The Resolution(tm) -- a new Fedcirc.us Product

FedCirc.us (Matt/Steve/and I) announced earlier today the availability of a free preview issue of The Resolution, the inaugural issue of our quarterly magazine, The FedCirc.us Reader.  Download the .pdf here.

According to Matt:

The Resolution will give you a sneak-peak at the features of the magazine.  It's jam-packed with all sorts of patent-caselaw goodness, including a 'Trend Spotting' article, a featured case review, prosecution- and litigation-focused digests, chronological and alphabetical listings of cases from last quarter (including summaries), and a fun "Quotables" section that includes some of our favorite quotes from cases issued during last quarter.

For this issue, we've even included a brief note about the story behind the FedCirc.us name and domain.

We think you'll agree that the magazine is an exciting and effective new tool for staying current on patent caselaw developments.

Of course, the free preview issue includes subscription details for the magazine.  The site will be ready to accept subscription payments starting tomorrow.

Please download our first copy and let us know what you think.

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 10:20 AM.
Permalink: The Resolution(tm) -- a new Fedcirc.us Product
| Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

LAW TECHNOLOGY

January 16, 2007

Recent jobs on LegalMojo

Recent IP jobs (or at least jobs the IP crowd might be interested in) listed on the LegalMojo legal jobs site:

 

• Director of Federal Government Affairs -- MICRON Washington, DC

• Group Counsel Converted Products - AVERY DENNISON Mentor, Ohio

• Patent Attorney - GPCI Suffern, New York

 

LegalMojo RSS feed:  http://www.legalmojo.com/feedburner.php

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 02:33 PM.
Permalink: Recent jobs on LegalMojo
| Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

LAW TECHNOLOGY

October 30, 2006

Research Help: How many patent attorneys sit on corporate board of directors?

Help! 

I know the erudite readers of PHOSITA may have valuable information I need:

I am working on article regarding the makeup of corporate board of directors and I am trying to get a sense of how many patent attorneys are directors.

If you know of anyone or have a suspicion, please send it my way.

Thanks and hopefully this will be picked up around the IP corner of the blog-o-sphere... hint, hint, hint, hint, hint, hint...

Image via Flickr.

 

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 10:50 AM.
Permalink: Research Help: How many patent attorneys sit on corporate board of directors?
| Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

LAW TECHNOLOGY

October 20, 2006

Where is Dunlap Codding and Rogers Located?

Well, our main office is located in beautiful Oklahoma City!  We also have satellite offices in Washington, D.C. and Perrysburg, Ohio. 

This post is actually a test of a new blog posting software by Microsoft - Windows Live Writer (WLW).  One of the interesting features of WLW is the ability to publish maps, like this one which was created solely within WLW.

While this is certainly a very cool feature, I still enjoy Blogjet and believe that Dmitry's efforts to introduce Version 2.0 of Blogjet will continue to push the boundaries of blogging tools available.

 

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 03:07 PM.
Permalink: Where is Dunlap Codding and Rogers Located?
| Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

LAW TECHNOLOGY

October 07, 2006

LegalMojo - Lawyer Job Board

Well… the Rethink(ip) folks have been promising the unveiling of a number of projects this fall … so, without further ado…

World, meet LegalMojo… LegalMojo, meet the World. 

Now, y’all play nice!

One of the things that we have really enjoyed in our collaborative efforts is the ability to “matchmake” lawyers and other professionals with companies and firms that need their talents.  In fact, we have been doing so much “matchmaking” that we decided to offer a professional site and environment where job seekers can meet up with employers. 

The site has been up about a week now and we are already ahead of all our projected stats — the number and quality of job postings is amazing and the number of people visiting the site has sky-rocketed. 

So – if you are a job seeker, especially an intellectual property professional – head on over to LegalMojo and find something that fits. 

If you are a potential employer – get your ad up quick and enjoy premiere placement.  Placing an ad is easy and painless and we guarantee you won’t find a better value.

So – get your ‘mojo’ working!

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 04:18 PM.
Permalink: LegalMojo - Lawyer Job Board
| TrackBack (0)

LAW TECHNOLOGY

October 05, 2006

Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!

We’ve done it again! Yes, that’s right, we’ve discovered yet another way to cure your boredom blues. But seriously, this is actually interesting stuff. When you get a chance, check out www.oyez.com. Oyez® provides access to over 2,000 hours of Supreme Court audio, biographical information about the justices, and a virtual tour of portions of the Supreme Court building including the judges chambers.

I first learned of Oyez® in my constitutional law class when my professor played audio clips of oral arguments from several first amendment cases. In addition to first amendment cases, Oyez® offers a variety of other cases including several noted patent, trademark, and copyright cases.

If you are curious where the term Oyez comes from or want to know other facts about Oyez®, you can check it out here. F.Y.I., the phrase “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!” (AKA “Here ye! Here ye!”) is used by a court marshal to introduce the opening of the court.

Posted by Emily E. Campbell at 04:25 PM.
Permalink: Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!
| TrackBack (0)

LAW TECHNOLOGY

September 01, 2006

Wiki this

The USPTO has put the brakes on their practice of citing Wikipedia as a source regarding patent validity.  Although Wiki is putting an emphasis on quality, there is always a risk using an encyclopedia that allows anyone to edit it.  I admit that I’ve checked Wikipedia on everything from Big Brother to Walmart, but I can’t imagine using it as a reference since there is always a possibility that my next door neighbor (the crazy one with the cats) authored it.  Sweet lady?  Yes.  Reliable?  Not so much.

Instead of allowing Wikipedia as a source, the USPTO may take the Wiki concept and use it in a pilot program for patent review.   This is in an effort to decrease the backlog and burden on examiners.  Users of the system would be allowed to weigh in on a patent under review similar to the same way you can add to Wikipedia.  Of course, this includes competitors, so to alleviate sabotaging, the program has a rating system and the examiner receives only the highest rated posts.  If all goes well, it looks like the system will roll out in 2007. 

Finally, on my quest in finding Wiki-type information regarding patent law, I ran across Wiki Democracy – a website with a very interesting concept.  Imagine the United States had no laws, what laws would you impose?  Of course, I checked the intellectual property section and to date there are no posts.  For as much talk and discussion revolves around patent reform, you would think someone would have posted at least one law.  Maybe it’s a lot harder than it looks.

 

 

 

Posted by Laura Wood at 11:02 AM.
Permalink: Wiki this
| TrackBack (0)

LAW TECHNOLOGY

June 13, 2006

Rethink(IP) Announcement: New Weekly Newsletter Covering Trademark Litigation

The fine folks over at Rethink(IP) (ok – it is Steve, Matt and I) announce a new service based upon our highly successful “lawsuit filing” email subscription service.

The fact that a lawsuit has been filed can be an incredibly valuable piece of information, especially in the practice of trademark law.  To wit, Rethink(IP) has released a new weekly e-mail newsletter.  Called Trademark Lawsuit Mojo, the newsletter consists of a list of Federal trademark lawsuits that surfaced in the previous week. 

Why is the existence of a lawsuit being filed such a valuable piece of information?

First, the defendant might not know that he/she/it has been sued!

Your company, or your client, might have no idea that a lawsuit has been filed. How can this be? Remember that in the United States, a plaintiff has 120 days from the date of filing to serve a Complaint upon the defendant(s). To reserve a preferred venue/forum, many times a plaintiff will preemptively file the suit and not serve the Complaint, spending up to the next 120 days putting their case together, acquiring additional evidence, and (sometimes) attempting to settle the dispute.

Knowing that your company or client has been sued (but hasn't been served) can be priceless information when counseling them. How's that for a valuable "heads up?"

Second, the filing of a lawsuit can also be a valuable piece of competitive intelligence.

Knowing that competitor X just sued competitor Y may change discussions you're having with competitor X, Y, and/or A! It could also help in decision-making on several issues, such as marketing and product development. Best of all, it may allow you to monitor the case for information that might be helpful in a variety of situations.

As one reader recently put it:

I subscribed last week and already impressed a client yesterday by being aware of a lawsuit filed by one of its competitors.

You can subscribe to Trademark Lawsuit Mojo using one of the below links.  Current rates are $99.99 a year or $9.99 a month.  The first three weeks are free (free trial).  After the free trial expires you can decide whether you would like to continue your subscription.

We don't expect any of us will be quitting our day jobs anytime soon … commercialization of this project (and eventually Copyright and Patent newsletters) is done to fund the “Rethink(IP) Projects Account” and let us provide additional cool tools and services to the legal community.  Apparently computer programmers don’t work for free. 

Please contact Stephen M. Nipper at steve@rethinkip.com for additional information.

$99.99/year
$9.99/mo

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 04:48 PM.
Permalink: Rethink(IP) Announcement: New Weekly Newsletter Covering Trademark Litigation

LAW TECHNOLOGY

January 30, 2006

Carnival of the Capitalists #121

Welcome to the 121st edition of Carnival of the Capitalists!

We here are known as PHOSITA (pho – see – tah) : an arcane bit of patentese that refers to the mythical person of ordinary skill in the art.  If an invention is obvious to PHOSITA, you are SOL and will not be able to obtain your desired patent on a new method of organizing lint utilizing a wiki and some sort of Web 2.0 tomfoolery.

Mainly, we are an intellectual property law firm located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (yes, you read that correctly) with offices in Washington DC and Northern Ohio.  I would also direct your attention to our sister-site, Matt Buchanan’s Promote the Progress, which tracks intellectual property legislation and international patent systems.  Finally, if you are really interested in intellectual property, you might want to wander on over to Rethink(IP) (which hosted the Carnival way back in September, 2005) where I group blog on intellectual property issues with Matt and Steve Nipper of The Invent Blog. 

In combination with last weeks Patent Baristas, there is a whole lotta intellectual property goodness out there awaiting you.

When I think of a carnival, I mainly think of chaos – and that is exactly the mindframe of your humble host this week. As artfully stated by Patent Baristas last week:

We tried to include most posts but not everyone made the cut-off. No offense is meant here to anyone and we'll be happy to refund your full price of admission.

As you might gleam from our most relevant post of the past week, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new member of our family – an arrival that has been “on the edge” since early November.  So while I had all the kinds of witty and insightful intentions for this edition of the COTC, it just ain’t happening. 

SWMBO has me on a constant state of alert, so wade on in to the craziness below and find something you can sink your teeth into…

Most Relevant Post of the Week

From the Webgoonies website comes the The Ancient Art Of Diaper Origami :: “Changing your baby was never meant to be something you can look forward to. It's one of those things that just goes along with being a parent. I believe that whatever you can do to make changing time a little bit easier or more enjoyable, take full advantage of it. So with this thought, I have begun, diaper origami.” 

While our new little dude isn’t quite here yet, the supersize boxes of Pampers are… I don’t suppose he will mind me working on my game a bit.  Thanks to DaddyTypes blog for the pointer… he shoots, he scores!

Favorite Posts of the Week

In a post entitled, Superheated 'Steem hits the Workplace Photon Courier tackles the new generation of folks entering the workforce.  They have everything going for them – including, incredible self-esteem.

Kids who have been exposed to a decade or more of "self-esteem" training as practiced in the K-12 schools are now hitting the workplace. What will the impact be, and what should manager do?

VC Cliche of the Week : I have bought probably ten cars in my life and have never actually kicked the tires.  But the visual of a guy walking around the car, checking it out, kicking the tires, is one that has contributed a classic cliche to the VC vernacular. Due diligence is a critical part of the venture process. No matter how well you know the market and the entrepreneur, there is nothing better than the due diligence process to help you make the go/no-go investment decision.

Favorite Inspirational Post of the Week

Selling the Surfing Lifestyle : I speak to a champion kite-surfer living in Negombo, Sri Lanka whose surf shop (and tourist customer base) was wiped away by the tsunami. Although I am in the supposedly third-world I surmise he is not only streetwise, but wise period. A passionate salesperson Chris Fernando teaches me his own philosophy to "long life."

Favorite Business Posts

What Do You Do When Someone Just Won’t Buy? : No matter how great your offer, you’re going to encounter a good number of prospects that either won’t or can’t buy.  Four out of ten hits at bat get you into the Hall of Fame, what do you do the other 6 times?

8 Ideas To Handle Requests Of Your Business When You Can't Possibly Be There : There is little that frustrates a customer or prospect more than not being able to reach a business when they need to. It doesn’t matter if they’re calling to get an update on a shipment, lodge a complaint, give a compliment, request support, or request information in support of an eventual purchase – if they can’t reach someone in your company, easily, then you might as well not be in business.

Favorite Use of the Word “Moat”…

American Eagle Outfitters Moat Check : This article tries to determine whether American Eagle’s business can generate value by sustaining a long-term competitive advantage.

… and what good is a moat without a speedboat?

The Customer Speedboat Challenge : It's common knowledge that understanding customers' articulated and unarticulated needs is a critical piece of the innovation process.  Gaining that wisdom, however, is much easier said than done.  It's easy to be overwhelmed as we hear and read volumes about ethnography, lead users, customer archetypes and other processes for gaining customer insight.

Favorite Posts that are “Over my head”

Privacy as a Property Right : The Constitutional right to privacy is clearly indicated by Amendments 9 and 10.  Despite this clarity, some prominent people continue to believe that Americans have no fundamental right to privacy.  By addressing information as a form of property, it can be shown that the right to privacy is not only a right unto itself, but also a private-property right, subject to all of the protections of other forms of private property.

It's a (Globalized) Jungle Out There : At times during the last several years I have felt that the business world is being pounded by what seems like a succession of asteroids, in the form of competitive threats and new challenges. These asteroids, much like those that pummeled the earth in the distant past, leave behind a drastically changed landscape, making what seemed like a jungle before even more forbidding.  Those companies that do not adapt to the major changes taking place will be left behind, their place taken by new companies born from the new competitive landscape.  One such "asteroid" or disruptive force is globalization.

Favorite Post from Someone Everyone in my Profession Should Listen To

26% of Your Profitability Is In Your Hands : Bruce MacEwen asks and answers the following questions "Is your  firm as profitable as it could be?   How does it measure up vis-a-vis its peer group?  And what defines that "peer group," precisely?  Do you ever wonder what you could do to improve its margins?  Structurally or strategically, precisely what would that entail?

Favorite Post about something I really don’t care anything about

Power, Truth, and Responsibility : What we learned from the Oprah show.

Posts that describe why I like to speak in public

Help for Public Speakers : Well, I knew it had to happen sooner or later. A news release from Reuters this week said that "Sex Helps Calm Nerves Before Public Speaking".

Dealing with presentation anxiety : Most people get nervous at the thought of having to present in front of a crowd. Is there something in our DNA that makes us fear crowds? Perhaps there was (is?) an evolutionary advantage to staying low and not being noticed by predators, including the human variety. No matter the reason, it's a fact that standing in front of a group of people is freighting to many and provokes varying degrees of anxiety among the rest, including seasoned presenters and entertainers. So what can you do to calm your nerves?

The Carnival

Sometimes it is Just Time to Pull the Trigger : There are many really good business opportunities that never make it past paper. Would-be entrepreneurs agonize over every detail of their plan to the point that it never gets off the ground, or they miss their window of opportunity.

Who Knew? Not All Women Want Valentine Candy or Flowers : Assumptions.  Something to avoid if you are marketing to women...and, if you are deciding on a Valentine's Day gift for your gal, apparently.

Things I learned buying my car : Some credit unions consider new cars to be anything from the last 3 years.

Transparent Generation realizes downside to growing up online : The Internet generation is waking up to the realization that they've created a transparent, permanent record by which potential employers are making decisions about their future.

More Changes to Ford Credit and Other E-Bill Gripes : Ford Credit continues changing their billing and e-billing rules without telling anyone.  Not very nice.

Nagin Works Both Sides of Aisle for Aid : Ray Nagin is not nearly as complicated a person that we make him out to be, especially when he needs to curry political favor on both sides of the aisle to obtain federal and state money to rebuild New Orleans.

The revolution begins on Ken Lay's web site : Ken Lay's “informational” web site pushes the notion that nothing illegal happened at Enron – and that he is just another victim of the government’s brutal, arbitrary abuse of the white-collar worker.

Prescription Drug Marketing Act and Sampling : Pharmaceutical companies rely heavily on sampling to get the "word" out about their drug. Giants like Pfizer, Merck and others spend a large portion of their marketing budget on getting samples of their drugs to doctors. What does this all mean? Well, for starters, pharmaceutical companies have to follow federal regulations (enforced by the FDA) in order to sample their product. However, because states began passing laws and regulations pertaining to sample distribution, companies also have to be cognizant and abide by state laws and regulations.

Should Home Buyers hold off buying for 2006? : “First of all my answer to her question is; it depends!  How is that for a direct answer!”

Drinking the blood of the people : I remind readers that a targeted tax deduction is nothing but a government subsidy in disguise.

Section 105 for Dummies : Guest Blogger Bob Vineyard's tutorial on a controversial, sometimes useful but potentially dangerous, tool that small businesses can use to lower health insurance costs.

Might online-game virtual currencies become a viable alternative currency? : A dream of the libertarian, anarchist and tax resister fringe is a replacement for government money. But most proposed alternative currencies haven't really taken off. Increasingly, though, virtual assets purchased or won in the course of massively multiplayer on-line games are being traded for real-world currency (and more recently, game-world currency is being used to buy real-world products).  Are virtual, game-world economies going to succeed where Time Dollars, labor notes, and PayPal have not?

Libertarian “socially responsible” business practices : Some libertarian-minded folks scoff at “socially responsible” business practices — “the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits,” Milton Friedman wrote — but what will they think about a business that takes a libertarian view of social responsibility that goes beyond the profit motive?

Why I Use a CPA to Do My Taxes : Why it makes sense for me to have my taxes done by a CPA.

Speaking of relevance, Mr. President... : The nation’s CEO has a far worse track record than the auto companies he scolded for not controlling costs and being irrelevant to the public.

McDonald’s on Drive-Thrus, Avian Flu and Negative Comps in China : McDonald's has a large and growing presence in China. Management had some really interesting things to say during its earnings call with analysts this week.

China Surging Ahead, Or Is It ? – Like it or not, China is coming on strong and poised to become an ever bigger part of the world in the future.

Well This Can't Be Good News :General Motors put out its earnings report today, and the news is not good at all.

Sport or Folly? : Forgive me here if I take a position against taxes, but as you may know, it's a bit of a favorite American pastime.  It's OK for everyone else to pay taxes, just don't raise mine, and just don't ask me to pay any more than my fair share.  By the way, if I can figure out a way to avoid paying some of those taxes, don't begrudge my deduction.

Does 81 Return Kobe to Hero Status? : Can becoming a scoring overcome the stain a high profile rape charge and admitted adultery?  It would appear that Kobe Bryant is beginning to restore his marketing status through his on court performance but will his selfishness hold him back?

Way to go, Yahoo! CFO : Did Yahoo! "concede" in the search wars, or did they simply fail to articulate what war they're fighting?

Making Cynics at the Monster Truck Rally : Using fakery to gin up excitement at something as trivial as a Monster Truck Rally encourages cynicism in more important competitions. Employing lies for entertainment value hurts the entire culture, and a society that relies on trust.

A sad day in the neighborhood : A look at Section 230 exemption from liability, where a user posted a suicide note in an unmoderated forum.

What's wrong with being a "big" company? : The Seattle Post Intelligencer ran a story (via Bloomberg News) on Microsoft's newest ad campaign: "Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, will spend $120 million a year on an advertising campaign to fight its image as 'a huge American company.'"  I can't believe that a company would be willing to spend $120 million for this purpose. To begin with, what's wrong with being a "huge American company?"

Gender Pay Gap, Yet Again. : "Part of an ongoing discussion of whether there actually is a gender pay gap and if so, what's causing it."

ChoicePoint Fined $15M for Identity Thefts : ChoicePoint was fined $15M for selling data on 163,000 people to fraudulent companies, or $92 each. So how much should other companies who have lost data pony up?

Google Kowtows : Google would have us believe that compromising their own mission and willingly participating in  the widescale suppression of access to information is the lesser of two evils. To my mind, the only way such a "lesser of two evils" strategy can be justified is when some greater good can be foreseen to result.  I've tried for a few days now and I can't figure out what that greater good is. Can you?

Housing Starts -What’s the big fuss over construction?

Keeping things in the families : We don't just hire people, we hire families. People from the same family often share the same values and work ethic. Chances are, a great employee comes from a family of great employees.

Smart Man Online: Scott Ginsberg - That NameTag Guy : This interview is one of a kind. Scott Ginsberg is talented, innovative, and "good people." Glad I met him at Word-of-Mouth in Florida...and glad to bring his unique approach to marketing, to this corner of the blogosphere.

Payment, Interest Rate and Up Front Costs : Choosing a loan intelligently

Priced out of Brooklyn : But in a surprising twist, a recent front page column in the NYT raises an interesting and unexpected parallel:  It turns out the wealth dichotomy in the U.S. between the Haves and the Have Nots (or more accurately, the Have Less) is surprisingly similar to those of Manhattanites versus the outer boroughs

Title tags: SEO by any other name : One of the fastest and often forgotten techniques, to move a blog or web page higher in the search rankings, is to change the page’s title tags. Title tags are the words that appear at the very top of your web browser, and they tell the search engine what the page is all about.

Chipotle...The Starbucks of Burritos : Chipotle recently went public (ticker: CMG), and prior to the offering, I put together some of my thoughts based on the roadshow presentation, my experience as a customer, and reading the S-1.

Online Marketing Bafflegab for 2006 : A presentation specialist provides a handy translation for an online marketer's mysterious vocabulary.

Why More Corporations than LLCs? : An academic is puzzled at how much more popular S corporations are than limited liability companies.  A practitioner suggests some reasons.

Families, Corporations, and the Blackberry : “On one level I agree with her. The super-turbo-charged-24/7/365-at-the-office career is the enemy of the family. On the other hand, I always get suspicious of big generalizations about "corporate life." I find that one moves rapidly from the reality of corporate life (which is actually remarkably diverse) to the imaginary world of unremittingly eeeveel corporations created by humanities majors and others who think that they know what corporations are "really" like because they saw Oliver Stone's Wall Street.”

The Me2 Revolution : The traditional approach to corporate communications envisages a controlled process of scripted messages delivered by the chief executive, first to investors, then to other opinion-formers, and only later to the mass audiences of employees and consumers. In the past five years, this pyramid-of influence model has been gradually supplanted by a peer-to-peer, horizontal discussion among multiple stakeholders. The employee is the new credible source for information about a company, giving insight from the front lines. The consumer has become a co-creator, demanding transparency on decisions from sourcing to new-product positioning.

Soaring commodity prices : Econbrowser investigates the possible role of U.S. monetary policy in soaring commodity prices.

Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits - a dangerous book : A review of the book Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits.

Why Pioneer Delisted Its ADRs from NYSE (PIO) : Very quietly one of Japan's most famous manufacturers of consumer electronics has delisted itself from the NYSE. Pioneer also delisted from Euronext Amsterdam and Osaka. Costs were a major issue but that's certainly not all and other foreign firms could follow suit.

Wal*Mart: Maryland is Bad for Business : Maryland has dictated that 8% of Wal*Mart's revenue be directed by the Maryland legislature. Continuing a taxing tradition. In the mid 90's Your Business Blogger was President of a (very) modest software company in Maryland. Looking hard for good people and profits. Back then I asked Rudy Lamone, a Professor of Management Science about Maryland's confiscatory taxes and thin talent pool. Would he say there was a causation? Or mere correlation?...

Rate Chaser Calculator - Just Plug It In! : This simple calculator is designed for people who are thinking of transferring their bank deposits to another higher-yielding bank (from Emigrant Direct to ING Direct for example), but are unsure if it is really worth the effort due to the potential interest lost during transfers.

Reinventing yourself - part 2 of a series : Reinvention is not necessarily an "Extreme Makeover" drama as seen on TV, but the results can be spectacular. While dramatic results may result from reinventing yourself, many successful long-term changes come from actions that others cannot easily see, except that you eventually appear to be happier and more successful.

A Meeting of the Minds : If our process-minded CEO had his way, we would create a whole new bureaucracy, with stewardship, management and working committees meeting regularly, if just to know if the committees are working.

Where To First Invest Extra Money : There are certain places where you should place the money your saved first before any other. The number one place? A 401K plan that matches contributions.

Coyote and the Blame Game : In another of Coyote's Workplace Fables, Coyote helps someone discover the person who's truly to blame for all the problems they're meeting in life.

First feedback from our survey : Initial feedback from the Slow Leadership survey gives dramatic evidence of the problems faced by managers and professionals as they try to deal with constant organizational demands and impossible targets.

Investments - Step 1 : Discoving what kind of investor you are.

GDP Lays an Egg : The Fed's interest rate increases are beginning to take effect.  With both real estate price growth and GDP slowing, further interest rate hikes are not necessary.

Advertising isn't dead, but it is dying : I interpret current changes in the world of advertising as death throes for the industry, and argue that the coming death of advertising is a good thing for consumers.

Flight of the Dentists : The socialized dental care scheme of the NHS apparently can't compete with the capitalist rewards of private practice. Consequently, not only are established dentists leaving the NHS, but one-third of those graduating from universities are leaving the country.

How Marketing Research Can Benefit A Small Business : In this special guest post by Joy Levin, you get practical advice on how to research your market, including valuable links to free or top notch research resources.

Noah's McDonalds Theory : Getting people to think about what is important in their lives.

How Available Are You? : Last week, one of the email groups I belong to started discussing the use of a cell phone vs. a landline or other telephone system for their office.  Grant Griffiths of Home Office Lawyer posted about the conversation and his views on using a cell phone vs. land line, and a number of others (including me) joined the conversation and commented.

Panoptopia and the Pushbutton Panopticon : With too many people defending the new levels of surveillance, I thought I would introduce a new word: Panoptopia — a world made wonderful by having so much surveillance that we can catch all the bad guys.

Disrupting Venture Capital? : People (like Doc (and againRick, Dave, Shel and others) are talking about “disrupting” the venture capital business.

Put your Blog on a T-Shirt - SnapShirts : Here’s a fun service for bloggers who can’t bear to be without their blogs might like to use. SnapShirts is a T-Shirt company that can make a T-Shirt with a word cloud from your blog on it!

Why Most Published Research Findings Are False : Ioannidis describes a statistical test for the likelihood of research being false, first without researcher bias and then a second test that includes bias.  The result: it doesn't look good.

BadgeRank (at Davos) : Ever wonder they figure out the pecking order at Davos?

The employee suggestion box should not be a paper shredder : In a post about Ford Motor Company's newfound willingness to tap into the ideas of its workforce (now that the automotive ship appears to be sinking...), Idea Sandbox explains why the best ideas come from employees and how companies can create a nurturing environment for innovation before it's too late.

Don't be stupid : John Battelle wonders why "Yahoo and Microsoft can go into China no problem, but once Google does, then the US Congress gets into the act."

Howard Stern Marketing Vs. Movie Marketing Or, The Mistake Quentin Tarantino Is Making : I've long been of the opinion about movie promotions: "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, but fool me thrice and I'll forever wait for DVD."

And… if you made it this far, my favorite aging-related post

An Aging Society Is a Right-Minded Society : Here is the story of how I came to formulate my hypothesis about increased influence of the right brain on perceptions, thoughts and decisions in later life.

Thanks again for stopping by and I hope you found something of interest in all the links.  As always, I found quite a few new and interesting blogs to go into my aggregator.

Next week’s Carnival of the Capitalists will be found over at AnyLetter.

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 08:33 AM.
Permalink: Carnival of the Capitalists #121
| Comments (4)

LAW TECHNOLOGY

December 06, 2005

colin samuels hosts blawg review #35

Wow!  Colin Samuels has put together what is easily the best Blawg Review of them all over at his Infamy or Praise blog.

As Colin sets out, the phrase “infamy or praise” is from Dante’s Inferno and this week’s Blawg Review is a tour of law blogs categorized according to the differing planes of hell.  Why is this so topical, well….

“In addition to the fact that it provided the name of your host's blog, Dante's masterwork is an appropriate basis for this week's Blawg Review for another reason (and no, I wasn't going to say that all lawyers belong in Hell). Prior to Dante's work in the early years of the 14th century, the divisions in poetry between those with "high" topics and language and those with "low" topics and language was quite strict. Wikipedia provides a good characterization of Dante's impact on this status quo:

Low poems had happy endings and were of everyday or vulgar subjects, while High poems were for more serious matters. Dante was one of the first in the Middle Ages to write of a serious subject, the Redemption of man, in the low and vulgar language of Italian, not Latin as one might expect for such a serious topic.

I cannot think of a better analogue to legal blogging! What are legal blogging generally and Blawg Review specifically if not the discussion of serious subjects in more accessible forums and in more accessible language?”

 

 

 

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 10:08 AM.
Permalink: colin samuels hosts blawg review #35

LAW TECHNOLOGY

November 27, 2005

Blawg Review #34

Here it is, Blawg Review #34 - The Tryptophan Overdose Edition!

As I was preparing this week's edition of the Blawg Review (while finishing my 180th piece of pumpkin pie), I  began reminiscing about all the wonderfully themed editions that have come out these past many months - there was Denise Howell's "spooky" edition and the Patent Baristas "dog gone hot" edition, as well as many fine other creative compilations.

"Self", I said to myself, "we need to come up with a humdinger of a creative angle or we will forever be chased, tarred and feathered by a stink-bomb of a Blawg Review." 

So I thought a little bit.  I ate some pie.  I took a nap.  I reorganized my sock drawer. I reorganized my wife's sock drawer.  I walked around the yard making mental notes of all the work I will have to do in the Spring.  I thought a little bit more and my head hurt.  I counted the number of lady bugs on our window screens.  I ate some more pie.  I took another nap.

"Self," I then said to myself again, "I am just too doggone busy and tired to be able to come up with a creative angle for Blawg Review.  What am I gonna do?"  And then, to my amazement, the empty pumpkin pie plate spoke to me in a calm and pumpkiny kind of voice....

YOUR CREATIVE ANGLE IS THAT YOU HAVE NO CREATIVE ANGLE!

Brilliant - talking empty pumpkin pie plates always have the best answers to life's little problems - even if their suggestion is spookily similar to a line from the 1990s movie Singles that I was watching the other night.  But, ya gotta take inspiration from wherever it comes these days.

So, in deference to the talking empty pumpkin pie plate, here is Blawg Review in a "no creative angle" type of format.

 

Obligatory Terrorism (or “Terrorism-like” since everything is terrorism, these days) Section

From the annals of expanding employer liability . . . this story (from Rod Satterwhite) of an employer who was sued by an employee who was allegedly abducted and almost killed by terrorists in the Philippines (where the employer had sent the employee for job purposes).

The Rule of Law and Secrecy: CIA Prisons and the Plame Affair  - Jerry Monaco comments on one of The Washington Post’s articles on the CIA secret prisons.  According to Jerry, the story proves that for the ruling class of the U.S. "the rule of law" and "due process" is applied selectively.

From the Law Practice Management Blog :: Attorney Brian F. Labovick thought his comments posted on the Trial Talk web site, started by the Palm Beach County Trial Lawyers Association five years ago, were secure from prying eyes. He was wrong!

I really feel bad about putting the Adam Smith, Esq. blog in the ‘terrorism-like’ section, but since I am a small firm kinda guy, anything that has to do with the AmLaw 100 and especially about the fact that “two tier” partnership firms have lower profits per partner is automatically a “terrorism-like” subject.  Sorry, Bruce!   

My wife and I are expecting our first child in February, so The Mommy Blawg’s post about C-section rates hitting an all time U.S. high of 29.1% is scary enough to be included in the “terrorism-like” section as well.  Of course, who you gonna blame when something is as`screwy as this percentage - the lawyers, of course! 

Some may argue that setting legal fees may be “terrorism-like”, so I will include Blog for Business’ post on setting professional service fees.  Mind you – I am not necessarily included in “some”.

Sorry for the diversion, there…. Back to real terrorism subjects -- All Deliberate Speed debates whether the government's failure to prosecute Jose Padilla in a timely manner requires that the indictment be dismissed.   Grits for Breakfast wonders whether requiring two eyewitnesses might keep the government from convicting and even executing the wrong people?

 

Listening

The Rethink(IP) guys (well, really just mostly Steve) whine and moan about how terrible the US patent and trademark office website really is - this time, however, the government listened to a complaint and made a change. 

Business Pundit points to a great Peter Drucker tribute in Fortune Magazine. I too love the quote dealing with “gurus” and think it is highly applicable to those in the law and legal practice consulting as well.   

“That means he was guaranteed fun to talk to on any subject. As it happened, we had something in common, since Drucker had been a journalist as a young man in Germany. He thus had license to be scathing on the topic, as he was also when it came to management consultants who are low on substance but high on marketing pizzazz, of which there are always a few. He had a brilliant line that skewered both groups: “The reason reporters call these people gurus is that they’re not sure how to spell ‘charlatan.”

CCUCEO celebrates failure in a post titled, strangely enough, - Celebrate Failure.  Zane agrees with the authors and goes on to say that “it's not that failure happens it's what happens afterwards that counts towards being a success. What do you do? Well...if you're a success you've always got back up and moved forward until your next failure. Again and again until you have it right.”

Common Craft posted on Learning to Listen (Again) – while it is geared for bloggers (not “blawgers”), the advice applies to all and especially those of us in the business of law – listening and writing.

A couple of posts made me long for the Socratic Method… so, y’all lose.

A question: is your firm/practice more like Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts? 

Follow up: does it matter? 

Moreover, do your actions match your words?  Do they match your firm’s advertising?

Follow up: does it matter?

Finally, to round out the “listening category” I really really really want to stay in one of these hotels.  What if a law firm/practice were to implement some of these techniques – what could your receptionist tell you about your clients?  An even better question – what if your receptionist can’t tell you anything about your clients? (… but then again, the [non]billable hour will always know what your clients want…)  In a similar vein, Decent Marketing highlights Typepad’s service troubles and asks yet another interesting question: “should you let your customers [(er… clients)] choose their remedy for bad service?”

 

Really, you are kidding me – only the lawyers “win” in litigation?

Point of Law focuses the spotlight on the recent opinion in Budget Rent A Car System Inc. v. Consolidated Equity wherein the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote:

"The opinion exhibits a fundamental problem with much of the judiciary: a complete lack of understanding of how much litigation actually costs clients. (This problem is exhibited most frequently in discovery disputes, where judges weighing costs and benefits of permitting broad discovery to go forward regularly and consistently underestimate the side of the equation reflecting burdens.)"

I bet the Anonymous Lawyer couldn’t care less about them “wussy” 7th Circuit judges – and at the very least, Jeremy has the first draft of his book out to the editors!  The dough should be rolling in soon enough.

 

While some blogs entertain, some blogs actually try to educate.

Minor Wisdom tries to get lawyers to listen in a post entitled "Contractors teach lesson in marketing". Raymond Ward, a New Orleans lawyer who recently returned home, needed his roof repaired. His business dealings with contractors offer a valuable business lesson for lawyers.

Online Guide to Mediation made me rethink (sorry, shameless link) some of my inaccurate assumptions about conflict resolution -- Test of Character: Using instruments to probe conflict styles and moral intuition  

Observers of human behavior are intrigued by the ways in which people respond to interpersonal challenges or moral dilemmas-­those times when we are in conflict with others or with ourselves. The choices we make reveal much about who we are. Researchers have developed instruments to help us survey our inner landscapes and to make sense of the contours and borders of the moral and social self. Let us consider two such instruments­one that illuminates conflict styles and another that measures moral intuition.

My Shingle has a great post about the fact that big companies are starting to “pin point” smaller firms for more and more legal work.  It is another great example of insourcing being applied to the practice of law. 

If you give it, they will come in droves… Legal SEO Blog pointed the way to free Web Statistics with Google’s new analytics service.  Unfortunately, too many people followed the advice and the service is currently closed for new users – Google be a fickle lover – she giveth and she taketh.

Finally, Professor Bainbridge asks an interesting question - Why not shareholder activism?

 

Maybe Darwin really was right?

F/K/A - David Giacalone never ceases to amaze me with the stories he finds, and this is a gem. 

"During a traffic stop on various violations, [the motorist] told an officer that there was a gun on the back seat of his vehicle, but it didn't work and he was repairing it for a friend. Tests showed that the gun was inoperable, and thus could not be the basis for a charge of criminal possession of a weapon. However, the innovative Assistant Schenectady County District Attorney, Martin Burke, decided to seek an indictment based on [the motorist's] intent to repair the weapon and thus make it operable."

Can you lose a customer (er… client) by using only two words?  Holly Buchanan at the Marketing to Women Online blog offers some lessons that attorneys can also use to overcome the little things that undercut marketing and client development efforts.

I knew pumpkin pie was the answer to everything, rather than chocolate – and now it is confirmed by May It Please The Court:

"Earlier this month, the USEPA declared a new enemy in its fight against air pollution: chocolate. That's right: the sweet smell of chocolate can apparently lodge particles in your lungs, supposedly to your detriment. Blommer Chocolate Co. has been targeted by the USEPA in response to a singular complaint, and has instituted installation of abatement equipment to eliminate the chocolate (dare I say?) odor."

At CrimLaw, Ken Lammers sarcastically mentions the EU's recent experiment with the federalization of criminal law.  I wonder how long it will take for the EU to institute “trois grèves”.

How crazy are your customers (er… clients) – and how does it apply to you? Check out Seth’s Blog and the post The inanity of the American consumer:

“It seems as though we've marketed ourselves into a corner, where the only way to grow is to find increasingly narrow niches of decreasing utility. The consumer portion of our economy is now dependent on a four-week long debt-fueled race to buy the useless.”

B.L. Ochman points to Media Law Resource Center's online list of libel and related lawsuits against bloggers.  In the “this is absurd” category, the case of Ohio v. Baumgartner is highlighted wherein two bloggers were held on charges of intimidation, retaliation and possession of criminal tools (i.e. a computer).

Over at the Signal vs Noise Blog there is a great story entitled Citibank Horrors: How hard is everyday banking?  What do you make your customers (er… clients) do to work with you? Does your practice have the same horrors as Citibank? You may be surprised at the lessons you can learn at Citibank’s expense.

‘Wait until the Markman hearing hits em, then see what happens.’  PI attorneys are filing patent infringement cases in light of Texas’s limits on pain and suffering awards.  What’s next – patent attorneys filing slip and fall cases?  (hat tip Chris Rush Cohen)

Beyond Management Blog -- How Entrepreneurs Should Choose Investors – Play a little game with this entry, substitute the word “lawyer” for entrepreneur and “client” for the investors.  Pretty spooky. 

“The investor-entrepreneur relationship is vital to the success of a budding company that has acquired private equity capital.  The relationship - as any other relationship - must be based on trust, honesty and integrity.”

 

 

White Bread Leftovers

IdeaFlow told us this week what customers (er… clients) want for Thanksgiving.  Reid My Blog! helpfully provides the 2005 Holiday Gift Guide for Lawyers. 

“Reid has been spanning the globe to find the best gifts for lawyers. Practical gifts, fun gifts, outrageous gifts, and more. Whether you are buying for your partners and associates, or are looking for ideas for your favorite lawyer, here are 10 recommendations that will please even the most discerning barrister.”

Meanwhile, the Servant Leadership Blog reminds us that Thanksgiving is not only about pumpkin pie, it’s also about reflection and introspection.  Similarly, George M. Wallace of "a fool in the forest" is Still Thankful After All These Years. 

Amazingly enough, Ernie is thankful for Hurricane Katrina.

Grand Rounds, affectionately known as "the Carnival of the Caregivers" and leading weekly medical blogosphere roundup, has some news. Medscape.com will be featuring each week's Grand Rounds host in a column to run on their site, called "Pre Rounds" (in the hospital, pre-rounding is what med students and interns do before formally rounding on patients...) The column will feature the best posts from each host, the story of their blog, some anecdotes, and a link to that week's edition of Grand Rounds. The "Pre Rounds" column (registration required -- there's the rub) is up and there's more on the Medscape collaboration here.

It is the beginning of seminar season planning and Jason Womack is on the case for us with an article entitled Seminar-ing for success.

“Attending a seminar differs from other kinds of learning, such as: group discussion, computer-based-trainings, or reading. Asking questions, listening carefully, imagining and visualizing yourself experimenting with the information back in the real world are great methods to enhance your learning experience. Here are several ways to maximize the time you spend in seminars.”

Dennis Crouch at Patently-O: Patent Law Blog, points to some of the patents and trademarks related to Thanksgiving Day that are recognized by the USPTO.

Diane Pfadenhauer, at Strategic HR Lawyer, wonders if anyone will be working on "Black Monday", the day after the Thanksgiving long weekend. Also, known as "Cyber Monday," it has become the biggest shopping day of the year - online.

If you aren’t shopping on Monday, here are a couple of online diversions for you to enjoy :: Evan Schaeffer's Legal Underground has links to "Lawyer, Lawyer" a well-done animated film by Kahye Hwang of the Vancouver Film School;  Andrew Raff, at IPTAblog, has an interesting post about Fair Use, Films and the First Amendment;  Ross Dannenberg, at Patent Arcade, has news about intellectual property sales in Entropia (an online game); John Lambert across the pond – writes about Branding for the Bar; Brandy Karl at bk! tackles the idea of a Blue Thanksgiving; A Fool in the Forest is Still Thankful After All These Years; and Patent Baristas explore “What's A Reasonable Royalty Rate?”

Ok – I threw in that last one just to see if you were still paying attention.

InHouse Blog (among others including Jim Calloway) points to Cornell Law School’s open source legal wiki - Wex.  You never know where wikis are going to pop up in 2006.

While I must confess a love of pumpkin pie, others in my family would rather sing the praises of Stove Top Stuffing – that is why we must say our respects to Ruth M. Siems, the first-named inventor on U.S. patent 3,870,803 and also one of the creators of Stove Top stuffing which was introduced in 1972.  Thanks go to PatentHawk for bringing this to our culinary attention.

That’s All Folks!  If anyone is interested, I am always “thankful” for home made pumpkin pies.  Please send them to my work address – my wife would surely not approve.

Next week’s Blawg Review will be hosted by Colin Samuels over at the Infamy or Praise blog.  According to Colin, Thanksgiving is the best of times and the worst of times… if you are a turkey, that is.

Blawg Review has information about next week's host, and instructions on how to get your blawg posts reviewed in upcoming issues. So head on over!

 

 

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 10:24 PM.
Permalink: Blawg Review #34
| Comments (3)

LAW TECHNOLOGY

November 24, 2005

regional jet sharing may finally come of age and be useful

From BarryBlog comes a link to a new upstart service called DayJet.  Barry has this to say:

Someday in the near future, DayJet will introduce an on-demand air taxi service that will match seats on private airplanes with your destination. And as the site says "All at a price comparable to that of an overnight stay (including airfare, hotel, and per diem)."

If they can pull it off at that cost, count me in.  The whole regional air-travel empire (or fiasco) is reaching the stage of absolute meltdown as far as I am concerned. 

I don’t think video-conferencing is a viable solution yet, so the idea of easier regional travel would be revolutionary as far as I am concerned. I just hope they will offer the service in one-off markets that are not currently served by decent air service for regional flights.  The concept of flying into DFW in order to get to anywhere in Texas, Arkansas, Kansas or Missouri is getting old really fast – anymore, if it is within 500 miles – me and my iPod are hitting the road.

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 12:28 PM.
Permalink: regional jet sharing may finally come of age and be useful

LAW TECHNOLOGY

November 14, 2005

fashionably late to the blawgthink ball

Well it seems that I am destined to be fashionably late to all things BlawgThink these days.

Day 1 – the newest member of DCR (more about that later) and I arrive late due to a very informative and interesting client breakfast.

Day 2 – all the RTIP guys arrive late because of a defective alarm clock : defective in the sense that it didn’t realize it was supposed to go off again even though one of us decided to turn it off when it went off at 5am.

Afterwards – everyone in the blog-o-sphere seems to have already posted their experiences and recollections.  See e.g. Almost Cool, Blogads Weblog, BK!, Knowledge Jolt, and Dave! of Preaching to the Perverted, among many many others.

It was another one of those events where you just gotta sit down and think about it for a couple of weeks.  I got a chance to decompress for all of 12 hours before I was off on a client trip – so I haven’t had much time to really get my ideas and impressions organized – they are spread across a number of folded and crumbled pieces of