Cool, Edg (as re BiteLite search and find mission). You know, maybe the field of Civil Law is full of tight asses, but humor is such a huge positive in life, and that's true in the courtroom, too; and particularly so when you're in front of a jury. I love jurors to laugh and unburden their hearts a little bit, even moreso when the subject matter of the trial is distasteful or gruesome.
Just yesterday I was in court all afternoon with a new-ish judge doing a double misdemeanor calendar call (i.e., she was calling her own court's misdemeanor pretrial cases and the misdemeanor pretrial cases for another judge's courtroom who was unavailable). I was carrying about 30-35 cases myself and there were maybe 90-100 cases called total. Normally, I'd be done by 4:00-4:30, but I didn't get out till 6:00. Everyone was overworked, the court clerk was audibly complaining about having to work so hard and trying to keep up with all the cases (the court clerk makes a running log of all the Court's orders and findings which are printed up and distributed as the minutes for the files), the courtroom was packed with impatient and unhappy misdemeanor defendant's. Every appropriate opportunity I got I'd insert some more-or-less humorous comment into the litany of negotiations, pleas, and continuances. Like you, I was always a wise- ass in school, always getting in trouble for saying the wrong (but funny) thing at the wrong time; but now I find that with a little discretion that wise-ass stuff pays real dividends in the day-in-day- out grind of the job. I kept it as light as the situation allowed and by the end of the calendar everyone was happy to be done and mostly smiling. As to the mental work, for the most part it doesn't burden me internally, but there is a lot of it to do. If you look at my dining room, the table and the floor is loaded with witness files, discovery, and research for a murder trial I start at the end of next month. The trial will last 4-6 weeks and I spend some time with it every evening and each weekend; there's still motions to write, witnesses to locate, problems to anticipate, but I trust that my mind will do what it has to do and when we get to trial I'll be as ready as I need to be. It's mostly automatic and I don't fret too much about it. Meanwhile, I've got two other attempted murders, one kidnapping, one robbery, two attempted robberies, a mayhem, a child molest -- all going to trial this year -- and lots of misdemeanor cases that come in every week, some of which will also end up going to trial. It's more work than I'd choose to take on but it's classic public defending and I get a kick out of doing it, regardless. The one year I did in civil law when I was back in Saint Louis was the unhappiest year of the last 10, and when I got a chance to come back to California and do criminal defense again I was stoked, and remain so. The FF kids who were busted for their grow are down around Chico, so they'll be represented by a public defender down there if they don't get private counsel. I'm in Humboldt County, so there's no way I could help them. Every jurisdiction has its own habits and customs regarding the "perennial" cases they all deal with. If they were in Humboldt, and they had no prior criminal record (or very little), they'd be given felony probation, maybe a little jail time. The money would be confiscated, of course ($180k is a lot of money), but that would be it. The authorities are more interested in the money than anything else. But, as someone else pointed out, if the Feds get involved (and that money may be the honey that brings them in), then they'll likely do some prison time. ** --- In [email protected], Duveyoung <no_re...@...> wrote: > > Marek, > > I might have a Bite Lite around here somewhere....stay tuned. > > And, yeah, I am kid's kid and always have been -- except for the fact > that I, you know, raised four kids, had jobs, made money for my guru, etc. > > I don't think I've ever been in any other frame of mind than "let's > play!" This is my burden -- I've never been able to quite overcome > it, and I'm pretty much unemployable, but I play at "playing a real > person," so I have not been readily fired from my jobs but probably > should never have been hired for half of them. I really hate those > meetings where I know I can't shout out a joke from the back of the > crowd. I have a severely bitten bottom lip. > > I remember this meeting with three patent attorneys, a President of a > company, and his right hand guy, and then me all on the 40th floor of > some Chicago skyscraper. Huge huge room, 30 foot ceiling, wall to > wall windows overlooking the city's vistas, and everyone in the room > getting, arrrgh!, $500 per hour to be there -- except me. Ya don't > waste time with a joke, then, let me tell ya, but I burn, I burn, I > burn like Spock in rut to bust out a pun. > > But you, an attorney, have this as your daily fare. How often do you > get witty? > > I went through this legal process last year in which I had to do eight > hours a day, five days in a row, with my attorney to prep for a > disposition. I got a few jokes inserted into the process, but man, > you lawyers are nit-picking, deep-thinking, focused cusses. That week > was for me a real eye opener about your profession. I don't know how > you can leave your work at the office. During that week, I literally > couldn't enjoy anything -- went back to my motel, and didn't bother to > watch TV or anything and couldn't sleep without having dream after > dream about the legal material. I complemented my attorney about > this, and he said, "I know, I know, I try to tell my wife about this, > but she just can't know the intensity of the mental work I do." > > Hey, any chance you can help the FF pot kids? > > Edg > > --- In [email protected], "Marek Reavis" <reavismarek@> > wrote: > > > > Wow! Very cool stuff, Edg. Many more (and more varied) than I had > > expected. 35 seems way too old for your brain, Edg; 16 seems more > > likely to me. Is the Bite Lite still around? I'd love to get one > > for the granddaughter. > > > > Marek > > > > ** > > > > --- In [email protected], Duveyoung <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > "Marek Reavis" wrote: So, Edg, what toys have sparked from your > > fire? > > > Playful minds want to know. > > > > > > Marek, > > > > > > Geeze, I've got hundreds of ideas, and most of them cannot be > > detailed > > > herein because they've not gotten to retail and might turn a profit > > > for me or my kin down the line. > > > > > > But, let me tease ya. In my box of secrets, I've got: > > > > > > 1. A non-electric gizmo that stores up to a dozen photographs -- > > each > > > of which is instantly viewable by a mere slight shift of the hand > > > holding the device. > > > > > > 2. I've got a device that is merely two sheets of plastic with > > > meaningless smudges on them, but overlay them, and a photo > > > appears....a neat secret decoder thingy that also might have serious > > > security uses. > > > > > > 3. Geo-Quest Card Game that teaches about geography and animals. > > > > > > 4. Aha -- a card game that a four year old can play with almost the > > > same skill that an adult would have -- as much fun for mom and dad > > as > > > the kid. > > > > > > 5. A game that makes doing samyama fun. > > > > > > 6. Artificial intelligence programming concept that I haven't seen > > > bandied in the literature yet, which would have many game > > applications. > > > > > > 7. A game in which the players are involved in a mad frenzy -- a > > melee > > > in which all players are playing all the time with their hands > > > grabbing and discarding objects in rapid fire fashion that requires > > > that each player watches what the other players are doing more than > > > what they are doing. > > > > > > 8. A maddening updating of the game of hide and seek where all the > > > players are running around like mad and then suddenly freezing for a > > > few seconds and then running like mad again. One player just stands > > > there and smirks. > > > > > > 9. Wind chimes for inside -- that work on the slight air currents > > > found indoors. > > > > > > 10. A construction set that has many pieces that are all identical > > but > > > from which many objects can be created -- but each object is like a > > > jigsaw puzzle and must be "solved" in order to be constructed. > > > > > > 11. A game that only can be played by folks who truly are in love > > > because it is so sweet and intimate -- non-sexual but it cannot be > > > played if any non-lover is observing. > > > > > > 12. A game like Scrabble and Risk combined -- gotta spell, gotta > > > conquer, but a ten year old might beat an adult. > > > > > > 13. A stamped plastic object that one looks at until one sees > > famous > > > faces in it.....several. > > > > > > 14. A 3D playing board with grooves that allows game pieces to be > > slid > > > around in a territorial competition for dominion. > > > > > > 15. Eight strips of paper which can be woven into a pot-holder sized > > > mesh that yields a geometric shape -- Hundreds of shapes to achieve, > > > each shape a puzzle to figure out how to achieve it using the same > > strips. > > > > > > 16. A three piece puzzle device into which three images can be > > > programmed. Tens of thousands of ways for the three pieces to be > > > combined, but only three of those orientations yields an image. > > Patented. > > > > > > 17. A jigsaw puzzle with pieces that are photos of everyday objects > > > which have been cut-out along their outlines. These pieces then are > > > used to create a large image by interlocking with each other ala > > > Escher-esque tessellation. Lions and tigers and bears and washing > > > machines and bikes and telephones and ANYTHING are used to create a > > > photo-realistic image by snuggling with each other. > > > > > > 18. A jigsaw puzzle in which all the pieces are not used unless one > > > has completely solved the puzzle, but if there are pieces left over, > > > doesn't matter because the image is still formed. The amount of > > > pieces left over is inversely proportional to one's I.Q. > > > > > > 19. A card game in which one determines one's I.Q. while in > > > competition with others doing so also. > > > > > > 20. Boo -- a haunted house treasure search game. If you see a > > ghost, > > > you're in trouble, if another player sees your ghost, he's getting > > > closer to winning. > > > > > > > > > Ideas that got to retail are: > > > > > > Bite Lite -- a small fuzzy creature that bites onto a child's pajama > > > lapel and hangs on with tiny monster teeth -- a child's friend who > > > also has a tiny flashlight attached for revealing if there truly are > > > monsters in a dark bedroom. > > > > > > Celebrity Notebook Game -- players try to be actors who by tone of > > > voice deliver their lines such that a precise "target meaning" is > > > created. The other players must guess the meanings. The more the > > > audience is correct, the more points for the actor. > > > > > > Hex a Box -- a few puzzle pieces that can form a certain pattern, > > but > > > there's millions of wrong ways to put the pieces together. > > > > > > Omni Jigsaw puzzle -- a set of jigsaw puzzle pieces that can form > > not > > > merely one image but any image. The retail version of it had seven > > > images that could be made from the pieces, but in reality, any image > > > could be created by them. Users would buy separate instructions for > > > additional images. > > > > > > Whew, that's enough. Don't get me started bragging about all the > > > Internet services I've imagined that are just laying around -- > > > hundreds of them just waiting for passion, time and money. I've got > > > two human powered vehicle concepts collecting dust too. Then > > there's > > > all the video games I've imagined. There's several dozen 900 phone > > > line ideas somewhere in a folder -- but the 900 line business is > > dead. > > > > > > Ideas -- dime a dozen. > > > > > > Success -- sweat, risk, time, and lots of luck needed. > > > > > > I might as well toss in my great American novel while I'm at it. > > Have > > > written only one chapter -- a decade ago -- sigh. It's about the > > > birth of God. > > > > > > Edg > > > > > >
