NBC Spends More Time on Commercials Than On Actual Sports Action

See this article from the Wall Street Journal.

Abbey Road Studio is Up For Sale

According to this article, the Abbey Road studio is up for sale, but people are trying to save it.  Maybe they can turn it into a museum? 
I do sympathize with drivers who complain about it, though.  Tourists posing in the crosswalk must be annoying.

On What Constitutes Fair Use

In keeping with the intellectual property theme, I heard this discussion of fair use on NPR yesterday.

Olympics and Trademarks

Yesterday (but not today), Google had the Olympic rings on its home page.  Unfortunately for Google, the Olympic rings are protected by law.  The law provides that no one but the United States Olympic Committee has the right to use the Olympic rings for "for the purpose of trade [or] to induce the sale of any goods or services..."  Even if Google is not selling anything, I think that they are definitely using it for the purpose of trade.  If you put aside the commercialization of the Olympics, keep in mind that corporations like Visa probably pay lots of money to use the Olympic rings in their logos.  It's not right for Google to use the Olympic rings on its page without paying.
As an aside, I like the logos that Google is using, because of all the blue and the nice artistic syling.  It's different from what they did for Beijing and Torino.

Snowed In? You can watch National Parks: America's Best Idea

If you're snowed in, PBS' The National Parks: America's Best Idea are posted online. Some have full episodes available.

Blizzard in Washington, D.C.

Today I went out in the blizzard in Silver Spring, Maryland.  I could see, by going outside, how pioneers on the prairies could get lost in the blizzard and not be able to find the town.  Without roads and buildings to frame my reference, I could have gotten disoriented, because I could not see more than a block (and a short block at that).  I had a warm building to retreat to, and didn't have to try to pitch a tent in this weather, or try to start a campfire (which would have probably been impossible).
National Public Radio apparently had the same idea I did.  NPR read some quotes from literature, including one by Laura Ingalls Wilder (best known for Little House on the Prairie/Little House in the Big Woods) from her book The Long Winter.
In searching NPR, I also came across this article which talks about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her life after the events portrayed in the Little House books.  If you read her books, it is an interesting read.

Helmets at Ski Resorts

Saw this article in the Times about how helmets are becoming more widespread at ski resorts.  When I was starting to ski in the boy scouts in the mid 1990s, no one even thought to wear a helmet.  Even when I went skiing a few years ago, I don't remember seeing that many people wearing helmets.  Now, I wonder how people think about helmets with skiing, and whether they are going to become more widespread.
At the same time, though, as one person in the article points out, if you're speeding down a ski slope and crash into a tree, the helmet is not going to do much good.

Poor Choice of Hold Music

Someone my brother knows was on hold with Delta trying to reschedule her flight this past weekend.  Her original flight was canceled because of the snow.  Delta's choice for hold music?  "Let it Snow."

Free Christmas Album on iTunes

iTunes has a free Christmas album available.  See this link.  The song that I like the best is Auld Lange Syne by The Lonesome Traveler Band.  It's a bluegrass version, but I think it is well done.  I'm not sure whether the link will expire on Tuesday, as sometimes Apple only posts free songs for one week.

If I Were Westlaw/LexisNexis, I would be very afraid

Google Scholar now has searchable legal opinions. They're not that comprehensive right now, but they have a primitive equivalent of Keyciting/Shephardizing.

Update:
Here's a link to Google's blog entry.

Free Admission to National Parks on Veterans Day

There is free admission to National Parks (and National Forests) on Veterans Day. See:
http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=8379

Cross Country Uniforms

As a former high school cross country runner (and I remember we were only allowed to wear white T-shirts in addition to our uniforms), I can relate to this article.  Someone in my high school wore a different colored hair band and was disqualified.  While on the one hand, rules are rules, I'm not entirely sure what the point of the rule is.  I mean, so long as one team isn't trying to disguise itself as another team, I don't see why there can't be a slight variation in uniforms.

A Hunch May Be Worth Listening To

According to this piece from the University of Florida, a hunch is worth listening to.  One of my professors at law school said that if you were talking to a client and something seemed off, it probably was.

Google Document Viewer

If you're on the Internet and don't want to wait to power up Acrobat reader, try Google Document Viewer on for size.
It can also create links for blogs.  For example, IRS Publication 17.

Sons of Bill: A Generous Band

Sons of Bill, whom I have mentioned before, is an incredibly generous band.  They posted a whole show of songs on their website to download.  Free.  This is aside from the fact that they are also good musically.

Time Dollar Youth Court

Here is a good video on Time Dollar Youth Court, which one of my friends works at.  See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hqp8MzJzm4M

End of Reading Rainbow

I heard on NPR yesterday that Reading Rainbow is going off the air because no one wants to fund it.  That's unfortunate.  There's also an article on the Wall Street Journal's website.

Skyline Drive History

For anyone in the Maryland Outdoor Club reading this (or anyone else for that matter!), here's a link to a historical site on Skyline Drive.  For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, that's the road that traverses Shenandoah National Park.  There's a picture on the National Park Service's website of what looks like the same overlook that I stopped at last fall and took pictures at.  I'm looking forward to the fall.

Paying Attention on the Taconic Parkway

I read an article in the Times on the Taconic Parkway the other day and agreed with many of the points made.  The Taconic definitely requires attention when driving it.  The lanes are thin, and there is not much space between the shoulder and the center guard rail.  It's kind of like the section of the George Washington Memorial Parkway between I-395 and where it starts to climb up away from the Potomac.

Another thing to pay attention to on the Taconic Parkway is your speed.  The New York State Police love that road.

Still More on United Breaks Guitars

Here is an update to my two posts on United Breaking Guitars.  According to this blog post, the musician packed his guitar for transit in a soft case.  Also, to protect themselves against future mishaps, United now makes you sign a waiver before you ship your guitar with them.  While I agree it would have been nicer if they had been more careful with the guitar, Dave Carroll (the musician) did not help matters when he packed his guitar in a soft case.