Interesting hobby

From cnn.com

Tiny librarian is hell on wheels
Story Highlights

• Librarian Beth Hollis breaks stereotypes and, occasionally, bones
• After failing at knitting, she tries her hand (and elbows) at roller
  derby
• "MegaBeth," age 53, is among the fittest players on the team, coach
  says

Will other papers follow FT.com?

This article from the New York Times made me start wondering how many other papers will start charging for articles and restricting access via our other channels.

The Paper That Doesn’t Want to Be Free
By ERIC PFANNER
Published: August 16, 2009
New York Times

Not long ago, when other media executives were convinced that the only way to succeed on the Web was to give away their content, The Financial Times played the eccentric.
...
In another effort to generate additional digital revenue, the newspaper restricted access last year to its content through databases like Factiva and LexisNexis, requiring users to buy special licenses to read archived articles. More than 600 corporate customers, with a total of about 50,000 users, have done so.

continued

Executive Pay

Chart from the New York Times with summaries of executive pay and company gains/losses.

The Pay at the Top

The compensation research firm Equilar compiled data reflecting pay for 200 chief executives at 198 public companies that filed their annual proxies by March 27 and had revenue of at least $6.3 billion. (Two companies, Motorola and Synnex, had co-C.E.O.’s.)

http://projects.nytimes.com/executive_compensation?ref=business

New lawsuit over unpaid time

From the Ars Technica web site:

Off the clock? Hyperconnected workers sue employers

Ubiquitous Internet connections and a proliferation of smartphones have put more employees "on call" than ever before, and many aren't being paid for the extra time. Some are pushing back in lawsuits against their employers, but it may simply be time for companies to draw a clearer line on out-of-office communications.

By Jacqui Cheng Last updated August 10, 2009 12:30 PM CT

Interesting article bringing up the basic question of are you working or not when required to answer work calls/emails after work hours?

Thank you, Ars Technica, for including the court and docket number!

Further reading:

If you have PACER access, the case against T-Mobile is 1:09-cv-02955-RJD-RML in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

New Supreme Court Judge

Sotomayor Confirmed by Senate, 68-31
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/us/politics/07confirm.html?_r=1&hp

Sotomayor Confirmed by Senate, 68-31
By CHARLIE SAVAGEPublished: August 6, 2009

WASHINGTON — Voting largely along party lines, the Senate on Thursday confirmed Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the 111th justice of the Supreme Court. She will be the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the court.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was expected to administer the oath of office to Judge Sotomayor, 55, in the next few days, with a formal ceremony likely in September. She succeeds Justice David H. Souter, who retired in June. (cont)

TexasOnline Partners with nCourt For e-Filings

From Legal Dockets Online...

"Texas Residents Can Now Take Advantage of eFiling for Lower Court Documents Such as Small Claims and Landlord/Tenants Proceedings via the Web..."
http://www.legaldockets.com/files/blogger.html

To read more:

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090803005551&newsLang=en

Technology trend

I noticed an interesting technology trend while at AALL in DC. More people were using some type of laptop to take notes than ever before. What I noticed the most often:

• Netbooks (usually Acer brand)
• Macbooks
• Mid-sized Toshibas
• iPhones
  

I saw some other types when people were sitting at tables (Sony, Dell, H-P), which leads me to believe think that people who had larger laptops were using them to connect back to the office, but those with lighter laptops were taking notes. I was intrigued seeing people using iPhones to take notes. I love my iPhone, but can't type fast enough on it to take notes.

Some tentative conclusions:

• Battery life for smaller laptops and netbooks is getting better, so you can use for multiple sessions.
• Netbooks are small enough and light enough to toss in a bag, and to balance on your lap.
• People were bringing their personal laptops/netbooks, not their work machines.
  
• Any type of laptop helps keep the lap warm during long sessions in cold convention center rooms.

I had my MacBook Pro with me, and when I had the light turned down and the wireless off, I could usually get at least four hours before it started getting into the danger zone. (Hearing Kenny Loggins in my head.) People using the netbooks could go all day without recharging.

Anyone else have any experience in taking notes directly on a laptop during conferences? I found it was much faster than longhand, and I could read it afterward.

Discuss amongst yourselves now.