So today I am spending the balance of the day studying.  In order to drown out outside noises I’m listening to my collection of New Found Glory albums.  I just picked up their new album Not Without a Fight this weekend.  I didn’t even know they had a new album out, so it was an impulse buy.  But I am a pretty big NFG fan, I’ve seen them live several times and own each of their albums, so I would have eventually bought the album anyway.

Not Without a Fight, is everything I’ve come to expect from New Found Glory: quick mostly upbeat songs about life.  Nothing too experimental or original, but just a quick album full of fun songs. Clearly I’m not much of a music critic, but hey I just listen to what works for me.

New Found Glory is exactly the type of music I enjoy listening to while studying, because it has a consistently quick tempo which keeps me pushing through pages and pages of notes.  So for at least today, I’ve got all of their albums on random.  Back to the Evidence and Securties pages.

[rant] I try really hard not to be one of those people who only writes about things that they do not like, or want to complain about, but I simply have to document this phenomena which turns law students into helpless children.

My least favorite class of the semester is always the class where the professor opens the floor for questions about the final exam.  People inevitably ask the most asinine questions during this class. I know you want a sampling of the types of questions that were asked¹ which inspired the post, so here are some examples from this week:

1. Should we make sure each page of the exam is easily identifiable as our own work in case the pages are mixed up?  Usually this is stated as: Should we write our name/id number on each page? The answer is always yes.
2. How do you want us to staple the pages? All the way around the edge, so no one can open the test.  I still cannot believe someone asked this question.  I really wish I would have had a stapler with, so I could show this poor fellow how to use it.  What kind of parent’s don’t have the staple talk with their kids?  Negligent ones.
3. If we are running out of time on the essays, should we try to quickly write an answer? The choice is between leaving it blank, or trying to answer the question.  You do the math.
4. Does spelling count? Ugh.  I guess pressing spell check on your laptop is awfully difficult.
5. What do we do if the printer won’t work? I say rewrite your entire essay on napkins or paper towels from the bathroom.  Or you could try a different printer, or getting help from the tech guys wandering the halls during finals.

This was only the beginning, the “discussion” went on for 45 minutes.  These ridiculous questions are why I always dread discussing tests and exams during class.  What a giant waste of my time and money. [/rant]

I may have written about something like this before, or maybe that was about clapping.  Well I know I have written about clapping at the end of a class ² but I may have written about this before as well.  If so, I apologize, but reaffirm my position on the subject.

Think before you ask.

After much trouble and practice I’ve finally become accustomed to working from home.  I had to rearrange rooms, and set up several “desk” spaces to make this work.  Unfortunately, now that my apartment is the only place where I’m actually productive, the neighbors have started to drive me crazy.  Well they’re not neighbors really, but construction going on across the street.  Its hard to see in the picture, but they are breaking walls of rock down so they can then truck the smaller pieces away.  This has been going on for over two weeks now, and the really loud noises are making it hard to work.  But the worst part: They start smashing the rocks at 7 am . . . Monday through SATURDAY.  [/rant]

I need my sleep and work space back.  I’ll end on a positive note: At least it does appear that they are close to finishing this really annoying stage of construction.

1. Spent the weekend in Minneapolis. I love that city, even when its 30 degrees colder than DC. I wish we could have stayed longer to see more people, but we could only stay Friday night to Sunday. But we hit up all of our usual hang outs and some new ones: Big 10, The Library, Sally’s, Campus Pizza, Brit’s Pub, The Local, and The Loon.  At the Loon we were lucky enough to take in a Mullet party.  Believe me it was a glorious sight to behold.  It was a great weekend which of course included Grain Belt Premium and Michelob Golden Draft Light, staying out until bar close, and some great catching up and conversations.
2. Read. Besides reading plenty of Evidence, Securities Regulation, Property, and Case Files, I’ve also taken this week and its plane rides to start and finish The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin. The Nine is a really good book especially if you are at all interested in how the Supreme Court operates. I could hardly put the book down.
3. Played Halo 3. I’ve played all of the games in this series.  I’m pretty sure I hit my peak at Halo 2, both because I played that iteration the most, and I had the most time to play video games.  I’m not all that good at Halo 3, but I’m enjoying playing online and getting somewhat back into respectable form.  I mean, it seems like I’m better than most of the 8 year olds again . . . . Its crazy to think about how much time I spend playing video games in undergrad, and how little time I have to play them during law school.  I hope a better balance awaits in the near future.
4. Won bar trivia at Garrett’s Washington Bar. Go team “The Owl Heads.” Hover over the pictures for a description.  We tied for first place in the regular round, and had to answer a bonus question to break the tie.  Needless to say: We are clutch trivia players.

All of this and I still have a couple of days of spring break left!  Time to get back to reading about hearsay.

Wow, it has been a long time since I’ve used either the “Law School” or “Rhetoric” category tags.  This post fits into both categories, but mostly in the former.

On Wednesday, I gave my first closing argument in a class called Civil Trial Advocacy.  Essentially, the class entails going through three mock civil trials to give students some “real world” experience. This type of class is usually called a lawyering skills class.  In a skills class you don’t really learn much law, or theory, but instead focus on the “art” of lawyering.  I took the class because it has been quite some time since I last spent serious time doing public speaking, so I thought what better way to get some practice in public speaking, where I was also learning the ropes of a civil trial.

I have not been disappointed.  This has been my favorite class thus far in law school.  I’ve already had the opportunity to cross examine an expert witness, and this week I gave my first closing argument.

I thought my closing argument went well, but the whole situation gives me the opportunity to talk a bit about rhetorical strategy. I was faced with a much more prepared adversary.  Seriously, who has some much time that they are able to prepare a 35 minute argument when we were only allowed 10 minutes?  To make things worse in my case the Judge let my opponent go on for the entire 35 minutes when I only had prepared for the expected 10 minute speech.  I think she should have been cut off much earlier, but she wasn’t so I was forced to rethink my strategy on the fly.

In my experience in public speaking [which is admittedly somewhat limited] the following are speaking strategies I use when confronted with a much better prepared opponent in a speaking situation:

1. Listen carefully to your opponent’s argument. Every position has it weaknesses.  The longer the explanation takes, the more the other person’s argument’s weaknesses are exposed.  Use this to your advantage.  Instead of trying to respond to every argument in turn, [which you  do not have time to do], try to highlight a couple of your opponents weakest arguments.  Directly reference these weaknesses, and then assert that they are representative of your opponents entire argument.  Hey, if they make a number of flimsy arguments, what makes the rest of their points reliable?  At the very least you’ll force your opponent to address this during rebuttal which will use up some of their remaining time.
2. Take a more conversational approach. What ever you do, do not panic.  Try to personally identify with your audience.  Make eye contact, and speak slowly.  Most audiences don’t like to be lectured, therefore it is to your advantage to act calm and “converse” with the audience rather than hit them with every available argument.  Think about how you like to be spoken to while listening to a speaker.  Act accordingly.
3. Make your opponent play on your turf. Latch onto your opponent’s terminology and turn their talking points to your key phrases.  Taking ownership of your opponent’s key terms shifts the attention from underlying issues to who is accurately portraying the meaning of the word.  This is especially effective when you opponent is incorrectly using a word, or using an uncommon use.  Either way if you opponent comes into this engagement relying on a few key phrases, show the audience why your side/point of view is actually a better representative of those phrases.
4. Focus on the key points. Obviously the other person has said a lot more than you, but quantity does not equal quality.  Attempt to crystallize the key issue in your favor.  While your opponent may have thrown out every argument known to man, focus on slowly expanding your best argument to show that the key issue is falls on your side of the argument.  Of course this also implicitly means that you must suggest that THE key issue of the debate falls to your side.  Therefore make sure to pick an issue to pound away at that you can win.  A thorough explanation of one issue is much more convincing than cursory mention of several.  Remember quality is better than quantity.
5. Ask for the sale. Let me repeat: ASK FOR THE SALE!  This is the one step that I forget most; yet it happens to be the most important.  Go figure.  Ask your audience to act, and let them know what you thing they should do next.  Your best arguments are wasted if you don’t take this last affirmative step to tell a convinced listener what actions they should take next.  No matter what your field: Law, Business, Consulting, Sales, Education, whatever; you must tell your audience what they ought to do.  Otherwise what is the point of you being up there speaking?  Ask for the sale.  Ask the audience to choose you.

Again these are just some of my personal strategies which I employ when debating something in public [well I guess sometimes in private as well, but that's just not as interesting].   Not all are effective at all times.  I tried to use 1-4 this week during my closing argument which worked out pretty well.  Remember, I only had 10 minutes to counter a 35 minute argument.  You are forced at times to pick your battles.  Unfortunately,  I forgot about Asking for the Sale, which was a huge blunder which was then pointed out by the Judge later.  Yuck, don’t put yourself in that situation.  Never forget that step[Note to self . . . ].

Anyone else have any other suggestions, comments, or strategies?

I’ve been doing quite a few photo posts lately without much commentary.  I’m going to continue that trend today as well.  I usually don’t have that much to actually “say” anyway.

Well, since the beginning of time, I’ve always had the urge to brew my own beer.  But alas, I neither have the room, nor the time, for a legitimate operation at this point of my life¹.  Enter Mr. Beer.

While at Bed Bath and Beyond with my fiancee², I came across what I thought was an mirage, a dessert oasis in a sea of girly pillowcases and shower curtains: a product to make my own 8 gallons of beer for under$20!  That’s right, the Mr. Beer kit and refill materials were on clearance at the store!

If you haven’t seen this product, I’ll just say that Mr. Beer is extremely easy to use.  While it didn’t really satisfy my dream of home brewing, for now it is an adequate substitute.  At the very least it should help me to decide whether or not this is a hobby I would like to pursue in the future.  And hell, I had a lot of fun brewing with the Mr. Beer.

If you have $20 to spare, and want to dip your toe in the waters that are brewing, run don’t walk to your nearest BBaB to get your own Mr. Beer. Seriously, 8 gallons for twenty dollars.  Doesn’t that sound fun?  With out further ado I present yickit brew:

[flickr]photo:3230789182(medium)[/flickr]

You’ll notice a couple of things in the pictures after the break, which I’ve bullet pointed to emphasis each:

• Mr. Beer seems to be a quality product;
• Mr. Beer might be the easiest way to brew your own adult beverage outside of trying to turn Welchs into wine. Actually that seems much more difficult;
• Brewing beer for a study break = one happy law student;
• You need empties to fill with your home brew, need I say more?

Alright I should be bottling this stuff, so I should go.  Anybody have good brewing tips?  More pictures after the break:

[flickr]set:72157613034372452[/flickr]

1. Treat School Like Its My Job

I should be spending the balance of standard business hours working on school related projects. I haven’t really done this in the past, but I aim to change this in 2009. No more sleeping in for no reason. I plan to get up at 6 am Monday through Friday as if I were going to work. This shouldn’t be much of a problem for me as I have no problem waking up early. I have difficulty doing school work at night when there are more distractions around and I’m hoping this new schedule will help.

I usually do my homework at . . . home, but that also seems to lead to procrastination¹. Because of this I might have to set up an off site “office” somewhere where I can better concentrate. My workspace at home might still work, so I will play it by ear.

2. Treat My Job Like School

I work for a Judge in a Federal Court. The work that I do at the District Court is far more intellectually stimulating and exciting than my actual law school classes. With that in mind, I want to learn as much as I possibly can while I’m in this position. Maybe I should be taking notes.

3. Turn Back the Clock on My Ambition

I used to be much more ambitious, and less apathetic. I guess I’m trying to “care” more. Its not that I have no ambition, but rather, I’ve decided most qualitative processes are essentially arbitrary. Therefore found it hard to care about the subjective evaluations that are a part of everyday life. I want to² care a bit more about these evaluations for that reason: they occur every day of your life. In a cost benefit analysis I recently ran, it seemed that caring was better than not caring. At least in this case. Enter this nearly impossible to measure resolution.

I thought I would write more about each of these categories, but they all seemed to be pretty self-explanatory so in the interests of brevity I think I’ll leave them short. There you have it, three flimsy and hard to measure resolutions for the next year. Hopefully I will find a way to prove I accomplished these by the time 2010 rolls around.

2009 : Sure to be at least a mediocre year.

Good luck to all of the people I know, and all those who I don’t [to a lesser degree of course].

I know it seems like a “do or die” situation when you take it, but just remember its only a test and only the beginning of a long process. Don’t get to worked up about it and enjoy the rest of your day.

I thought waiting for the results to be posted was worse than the test itself, but you be the judge.

And if you really need some last minute tips:

Yes, I really enjoyed some of the classes and also respected the vast majority of my professors. But the fact is that I pay over thirty thousand dollars a year to sit and listen to these professor talk. The fact that they should be good at their job is expected. If I for some reason expected professors to be bad at their job, and then by some twist of fate, they greatly exceeded my expectations, then I might be inclined to clap for them. Fortunately this is not the case. I generally don’t stop and clap for a McDonald’s employee who made me a particularly good Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, no matter how much I enjoyed it. I generally don’t clap for service providers, no matter how important their service may be.

I clap for performances. Theater, live music, et cetera. I don’t expect professor to perform, I expect them to teach.

I wonder what the professors are thinking when the students clap for them. Do they appreciate it? Or do they think its ridiculous? I suppose it depends on the particular professor.

Either way, I thanked the professors but I didn’t clap.

After the first time, which is legitimately nerve wracking, you learn how the game is played and things get easier.  You have seen a issue spotter essay question [or many] and feel comfortable spending three hours answering it.  You have also seen the types of questions that professor like to ask.  Your outlines and notes are finely tuned to highlight the main points of your classes.  So you finish your outline, and study it for as many hours as you can, and go in and take your final.  Rinse and repeat until all of your finals are over.  Not as big of a deal as it used to be.

But be that as it may, I’m ready for a week or two off in North Dakota.   After two weeks in the tundra I’ll be ready to get back to work in the relatively balmy DC.  Its a foot race to the end right now.