A lot of this country is just that

I like the country.  Each year, Emily & I drive from New Orleans, Louisiana, all the way to Seattle, Washington, and try our best to alter the route each time.   Usually, my favorite parts of the drive is when we go through those cities and states you wouldn’t ordinarily cross…such as Kansas and Wyoming.

So, I like the country.  But, my goodneess is there a lot of it.

It’s astonishing really, because while we all know its there is a lot of country, I’m not sure if we think about it.  I know I don’t, as I pretty much assume that life-as-I-know-it is life, and that everyone lives with a Starbucks near by, a shopping mall within 10 miles and a move theater close enough to attend without planning.

But everyone doesn’t live this way, and this becomes apparent on just two occassions:

(1) When you’re driving cross-country; and

(2) When you’re watching national election returns.

So, one is obvious, and that’s because my wife and I drive across the country for almost three solid days to get to Seattle, and we go through cities for about a grand total of 45 minutes.

For two, just think about those nights when presidential election returns come in, and candidates collect electorial votes with each of those mid-West states, and each of those counties that we’ve never heard of and never thought of.  Who are these people?  Don’t they blog?!

Well, they don’t blog, and they don’t have protests, and they aren’t very boisterous at all [short of the string of anti-abortion billboards on I-70 in Kansas].  In fact, the only time I ever think of them politically is when national election returns come in, and Iowa and Idaho make the rest of the states’ hold their breath.

For this reason, concentrated folks in the main American cities have fought the electorial system, and they have their reasons.  It’s not 1776 anymore, Toto, right?

Well, that would make us closer to a pure democracy, and I happen to agree with Publius on this type of government:

A common passion or interest will, in almost every case, be felt by a majority of the whole; a communication and concert result from the form of government itself; and there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party or an obnoxious individual. Hence it is that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.

Federalist #10.

Satellite TV Baffles Me

So Emily and I are fully moved into a new place in Seattle, and getting into the groove of things.   Internet gets set up today (presumably), and last week we had Directv install their dish.   Directv being the choice provider because of the ability to watch Saints games from the West coast, of course.

So they come to my house with this 20 some-odd inch disc, attach it to my balony and point it in a precise direction.   Then, it’s time to get the wire to my tv.  Yeah, that’s right…the wire.

Now this is an interesting problem when you have cement outer walls and windows and doors that shut air-tight.  They had to reduce the ordinary 2-wire installation to one wire, and use a flat wire, and run the wire across my building, through a window and to my tv.

Here is a picture of Directv’s satellite, where they beam over 1000 [sometimes] high definition signals from outer-freaking-space.   It is directed from space, to this tiny plastic dish that sits on the balcony of our place…and yet they need to run a wire from the dish to my television, which sits just 5 yards away.

No other complaints though.  Looking forward to football season in the fall.

Follow My Interview Today on 22Twts

Lance Godard at The Godard Group interviews lawyers each week through Twitter and helps lawyers “tell their stories one tweet at a time.”

This afternoon, at 11am pacific / 1 pm central, “22Twts” will interview me.

You can follow the interview at #22Twts, and of course, follow me at http://twitter.com/scottwolfejr.

See you there.

Interview on New Orleans’ Fox 8 about Chinese Drywall

Chinese Drywall is a big story in the Louisiana and Florida construction industry, as well as in the construction law practice area.   According to stories from CNN and Time Magazine, thousands of homeowners are complaining about Chinese Drywall producing a foul odor in their home, ruining their air conditioning systems and electrical wiring, and even causing damage to the home’s building elements.

This is worrying contractors and building suppliers across the country, who may be implicated in the inevitable litigation.

As a construction attorney in New Orleans, LA, Scott was interviewed by Fox 8 news about how contractors and suppliers are implicated in the crisis.   Here is the video:

William Shakespeare, gentleman

On my new Kindle, I’m ready a pithy Shakespeare biography by Bill Bryson.  Bryson is one of my favorite authors, writing one of my favorite books of all time - A Short History of Nearly Everything.

Notwithstanding any of this, there are times when you’re reading about a subject and something clicks to help you understand it.   Here is an excerpt from Shakespeare that helped me understand the fellow’s significance, speaking about the prosperity of the Latin language in Shakespeare’s day:

Thanks in no small measure to the work Shakespeare and his fellows, English was at last rising to preeminence in the county of its creation.  ‘It is telling,’ observes Stanley Wells, ‘ that Shakespeare’s birth is recorded in Latin but that he dies in English, as ‘William Shakespeare, gentleman.’

Just thought I’d share.  Get a Kindle.

Photos Added from Bacchus Ball

Doug was in town from our Seattle office, and we all went to the Bacchus Ball over the weekend to celebrate the carnival season.   We posted about the ball on our Wolfe Law Rocks website here, .

A slideshow of photos from the event are embedded below.

Launch Day For New Wolfe Law Internet Presence

It’s an exciting day online for Wolfe Law Group, a construction law firm in Seattle, WA and New Orleans, LA.

Today, the firm announced the launch of its new blog, and all around Internet presence overhaul.

The firm’s has a new website (http://www.wolfelaw.com), a new public and client relations page (http://www.wolfelawrocks.com), and a new blog (http://www.constructionlawmonitor.com).

The new blog is published through the LexBlog platform, and will commentate and provide insight on construction law issues in Washington and Louisiana.

The firm first began blogging in early 2006, and has since published over 100 blog posts about construction law and the legal issues facing the construction industry.

Although on a new platform and featuring a new user-friendly design, posts and articles from the old blog are still accessible in the new site’s archives.

Scott Wolfe, the firm’s found member, commented on the new page:

“From day one, Wolfe Law Group has tried to present to our clients and the public free useful information about construction law.  This new blog allows us to deliver that information through a better design and format, and with LexBlog’s powerful blogging engine.”

For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release, contact Jessica Hunter or visit Wolfe Law Group’s new media page:  http://media.wolfelaw.com.

About Wolfe Law Group:
Founded in post-Katrina New Orleans in 2005, Wolfe Law Group is a boutique construction law practice with offices in Seattle, Washington and New Orleans, Louisiana.   The firm operates a blog on construction law matters titled the Construction Law Monitor, and prides itself on thinking different in the legal profession.

Contact
Jessica Hunter, director of public relations
Wolfe Law Group, L.L.C.
206-801-1600
http://www.wolfelaw.com

Press Links:
Media Center:  http://media.wolfelaw.com
Press Releases RSS Feed:  http://feeds2.feedburner.com/wlgmedia
Firm Site:  http://www.wolfelaw.com

Cool: Our Wedding in Seattle Bride Magazine

Pretty cool news from the wifey today, as photos from our wedding and a writeup is appearing in Seattle Bride Magazine.

Emily & I got married in Seattle back in September 2008, and now a few months later we’re appearing in the magazine’s “Real Weddings” section.   Take a look at the write up, some photographs, etc. by clicking here.

Scott Wolfe on This Week in Law podcast

Scott Wolfe was a featured guest on the 19th episode of the This Week in Law podcast. The podcast title, “Getting in Trouble on the Internets” discusses Obama’s BlackBerry issues, blogging vs. advertising, the MySpace suicide case, and more.

You can listen to the podcast, and subscribe to TWiL at: http://twit.tv/twil19

Talking points for the podcast are here: http://delicious.com/thisweekinlaw/19.

Scott was invited to speak about Wolfe Law Group’s federal suit against the Louisiana State Bar Association, challenging the new lawyer advertising rules as unconstitutional. Read more about this suit at http://www.protectspeech.com.

Scott Wolfe featured in National Law Journal Article

New Orleans, LA (WolfeLaw.com) December 1, 2008 — Wolfe Law Group and Scott Wolfe Jr. was spotlighted in a National Law Journal article entitled ” La Attorney Fights Rules that Limit ‘New Media’ Use.“

The article discusses the lawsuit filed this week by the firm in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the new Louisiana lawyer advertising rules. The suit, captioned Scott G. Wolfe, Jr., et al. v. Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board, et al., argues that the new lawyer advertising rules restrict the firm’s ability to advertise online and participate in certain online social media.

Founding partner of the firm, Scott Wolfe, is quoted in the piece:

The rules require that a lawyer send a copy of a proposed ad to the Louisiana State Bar Association, which charges a $175 evaluation fee to determine compliance, Wolfe said. Those requirements are particularly troublesome, he said, given the definition of “computer-accessed communications” in the rules. The rules define those communications as “information regarding a lawyer’s or law firm’s services that is read, viewed or heard directly through the use of a computer.”

Read the full article at law.com.