December 2012

Winter storm warning

Very excited about this! We haven’t had any snow yet this year, at least not where Ross and I live.

… WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY EVENING THROUGH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY EVENING THROUGH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT.

* TIMING… RAIN WILL CHANGE TO WET SNOW FROM WEST TO EAST LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON INTO THURSDAY EVENING… POSSIBLY HEAVY AT TIMES… LINGERING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP LATER THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE THURSDAY NIGHT.

* SNOW ACCUMULATION: CURRENT INDICATIONS ARE THAT TOTALS OF 2 TO 6 INCHES ARE LIKELY… WITH THE HIGHER AMOUNTS MORE FAVORED TO BE IN THE NORTH AND NORTHWEST SUBURBS OF CHICAGO.

Sounds charitable to me

A bequest to provide a million dollar trust fund for every American 18 years or older by accumulating income for 346 years on the proceeds from the sale of certain property was not charitable and hence violated the Rule Against Perpetuities.

— Dukeminier's Wills, Trusts, and Estates, pg. 758 n.2.

LA auto show

LA auto show

I’m determined to own one of these cars one day.

Body Heat

The movie “Body Heat” has come up in three of my classes now: Property, Criminal Law, and Estates & Trusts. Apparently I really need to watch this movie, it seems to teach you everything you need to know about the law.

Bitter will

Before anything else is done fifty cents be paid to my son-in-law to buy for himself a good stout rope with which to hang himself, and thus rid mankind of one of the most infamous scoundrels that ever roamed this broad land or dwelt outside of a penitentiary.

— Paul T. Whitcombe, Defamation by Will: Theories and Liabilities, 27 J. Marshall L. Rev. 749, 751 n.13 (1994)

Why not to write wills

Sometimes attorneys who make drafting errors in wills have more to fear from their incompetence than a mere suit for malpractice. . . . The intended beneficiary, who lost out on $100,000, became unhinged and shot and killed the lawyer-as well as a life insurance agent who, at the time of the murder, was trying to sell an insurance policy to the 81-year-old lawyer.

— Dukeminier's Wills, Trusts, and Estates

Well, there goes my life.

A 2010 study by the American Cancer Society found that women who sat more than six hours a day were 37% more likely to die prematurely than women who sat for less than three hours, while the early-death rate for men was 18% higher.

— Wired

Excellent way to start the day

I woke up this morning to a sound much louder than a jet, and looked out my window to see a B2 stealth bomber turning east and then disappearing into the clouds. As I always do when I see military aircraft outside my window I had a moment of panic, but when I looked at the time I realized it was a Bears game flyover. It was incredible. I wish I’d known it was coming, I would’ve loved to take a picture of it flying over Chicago. Soldier Field is directly south of us, we have an excellent view of it. I’m going to start paying attention to Bears home games. This is only the second time I’ve seen a B2 flying in person, it was very exciting.