So Many Laws to Break, So Few Excuses a Licensed Attorney Can Use for Breaking Them

Whoever said that attorneys get all the breaks? Oh, no -- not only do we get to be the butt of 89% of all professional jokes, but we also aren't allowed to break the law. Of course, no one is really allowed to break the law. But while most people can plead ignorance of the law as the true cause of their minor transgressions, a lawyer can't get away with that. (We can try, of course, but no judge worth her weight ought to buy the excuse -- unless the lawyer is a bit lacking in mental faculties (yeah, I know, insert stupid-lawyer joke here -- hardee har har) and might actually be telling the truth (I know, I know -- insert lying-lawyer joke here -- hardee har har again).)

For example, I was going to post an article published last week on the perils of blogging. But then I saw the copyright line at the bottom of the article: "Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed." Now, a non-lawyer might decide that that notice just applies to for-profit publishing, etc., and would have no qualms about posting the article anyway. But an attorney... ah, an attorney knows better. And while AP will likely not come knocking on any doors, to publish someone else's copyrighted material without permission -- and on the internet, no less, where everything published lives on forever in perpetuity -- is just plain stupid! If you're going to break a law, at least do it someplace safe! (Note: Yes, I know that no such thing exists anymore, now that cameras, audio recorders, and wiretaps have been authorized pretty much everywhere. But perhaps the activities undertaken in the dark corner at the very back of your walk-in clothes closet will be undetectable. For now. Until USA PATRIOT II is passed. Then, goodbye clothes closet, too. But I digress.) Disclaimer: I neither engage in nor condone illegal activity.

Which gets us back to the basic premise of the article I'm not posting: what you write in the blogosphere can last forever. And you never know when your writings will come back to haunt you. For example, it's probably best not to keep a blog that identifies you by name in which you discuss your latest escapades while drunk/high. If you do, all a potential employer/partner/roommate has to do to find out just how many chandeliers you have swung from in weeks past is to run a search on your name. Not necessarily the kind of info you want strangers getting a hold of! Just imagine: one day, you might want to run for public office, and... oh, wait -- that info might likely help if you want to become a public figure... in fact, you might even be better off with a few embellishments as well... so, come to think of it, I've changed my mind. Post away. Enjoy this land o' blogs with reckless abandon. Your future awaits!

Casual Fridays

How much do I LOVE casual Fridays?!! Some people feel that productivity goes down when employees are dressed in more... shall we say, casual wear. But let's face it -- productivity goes down on Fridays no matter what we're wearing. It's FRIDAY. There's a weekend coming. We're too excited to work anyway, so we might as well be comfortable!

There's a feeling you get from wearing a soft pair of jeans that you just don't get from slacks or a skirt. And come on, who can ever skip up or down a flight of stairs in prim-and-proper, girlie dress shoes? You need sneakers for that! Well-fitting, shock-absorbing, foot-springing sneakers. What's that you say? Sneakers aren't fashionable enough to wear to work? I beg to differ, my friend. If you've got the personality to get away with it, sneakers merely add to your charm. They give you spunk and pizzazz. (Who coined the word, "pizzazz"? Must be somebody fun.) Make you a girl-next-door, fun-to-hang-out-with glory of a girl who can't be contained by convention or formality. They bring joy to the week-weary toiler. Gladness to the spirit. Life to the lifeless!

Okay, maybe that's overstating things a little bit...

Happy Friday!