I woke up this morning in a panic and I realized my blackberry was not delivering e-mails. I thought it was just me. That the problem was isolated to Johnstown. Or maybe, the RIM gods were trying to slowly wean me off my habit.
But, sadly. there is a Blackberry Outage throughout North America.
Batten down the hatches. Stock up on bottled water and canned goods. Brush up on your Morse code and dust off that old Telegraph. This could be rough.
So cool. http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/16/scotus.journal/index.html?iref=allsearch
Here are some of my choice quotes:
Forget about baseball, football and the Academy Awards. The hottest new fantasy-league game involves the Supreme Court.A month-old Web site called FantasySCOTUS.net allows people to predict all of the high court’s pending cases.
Josh Blackman, a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Kim Gibson in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, created the game in his spare time.
“In the digital age, everyone has an opinion and is eager to share it,” Blackman said. “They know how a case will come out, and this gives them a way to play a justice.”
The court itself is not involved in FantasySCOTUS, and it does not endorse it. Court sources say, however, that several justices are aware of the fantasy league and find it interesting. Blackman said that to his knowledge, no judges — federal or state — have signed up to play.
“Most of the participants are students, I’d say about 90 percent,” he said. “I’ve been contacted by high schools and middle schools across the country. Teachers are having their students play. They say it’s a great way to get them involved in understanding the Constitution and how laws are interpreted. They can wrap their hands around it. It’s an experience you don’t get by just reading a text.”
Blackman said the campaign spending case inspired him to create his Web site last month.
“A friend asked me how I thought the case might turn out, and I wondered, ‘If [Las] Vegas put odds on it, what would it be?’ ” Blackman said. “And I thought, why not create a site to do just that?”
Blackman said no money is wagered on his league, which requires serious gamers to do at least some research on current and past cases.
“We’ll never know what goes on behind chambers, when the justices decide these very important cases,” he said. “But when you get past the grandeur, the mystery of the court, this league is something where anybody can participate. It’s not just for the legal nerd. The cases come down to facts, to law. It makes people feel like they are more involved in understanding what goes on up there.”
I hate flying. Specifically, because I must turn off my electronics during takeoff and landing. Those last precious moments before takeoff when I receive a cell signal, and those moments during touchdown when I can receive a cell signal again, are the times I most want to use my devices. If my appliances are so dangerous, they should be banned. There is no way a flight attendant can police that I actually turned my iPod off. (Trust me, she has no clue what I’m doing). Now, my theory is vindicated at Gizmodo.
Listening to an iPod or reading a Kindle during takeoff isn’t dangerous. It’s time the airlines stopped pretending that it is.
For years we’ve been told that gadgets produce EMI—electromagnetic interference—that cause glitches in an aircraft’s avionics. A cellphone could interrupt communication between pilots and the tower for a crucial second, or a child’s Game Boy could cause a light on a flight computer to go on the fritz.
We can’t take excess liquids on a plane on only the slimmest evidence of any real threat. If gadgets were such a threat to safety, they’d be banned entirely.
Instead, an arbitrary set of rules established by the FAA and extended by the airlines prohibits iPods during takeoff, but explicitly allow electric shavers to be used during flight.
Hundreds of travelers at this very moment are using electronic gadgets during takeoff after the flight attendants have taken their jump seats. We’re told it’s dangerous. It isn’t. Let’s drop the pretense.*
One wonk told me that takeoff and landing is a vital time when everyone needs to “Pay Attention.” I never bought this, because I refuse to pay attention regardless of what I’m doing. People sleep. People are medicated. Are any of these items banned?
Now, I can also say from personal experience that if you leave your blackberry on, e-mails do filter through at 30,000 feet. The flights from Johnstown to Dulles files at a low altitude, and I can even surf the web midflight. If Wi-Fi is permitted, so should my weak cellphone.
If you’re like me (God help you), Winter poses a difficult time. Wearing conventional gloves, typing on the blackberry becomes impossible. Think Homer Simpson mashing the keypad with his pudgy fingers.
But I think I found the perfect accessory. Freehands® Leather Gloves for IPhones and Cell Phones
They look atrocious when the finger flaps are folded down, but in the sub-arctic weather of Johnstown, these may be a worthwhile purchase. I’ll let you know.
About twice a year, the District Court in Johnstown hosts a naturalization ceremony, and administers the oath of citizenship to new citizens of the United States.
Judge Gibson began by reading from Section I of the Fourteenth Amendment.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
As a textualist, this is music to my ears.
The Assistant U.S. Attorney who petitioned for their admission to the country told the new citizens that they are now part of “We the People.” That brought smiles to all of their faces.
After the ceremony, Judge Gibson took the time to shake hands and take a photo with each new citizen on the bench. He gave each citizen a miniature American Flag. I personally welcomed each and every one of them to our great nation. Next time we have a naturalization ceremony, I will hand out pocket constitutions.
This was a very touching and moving ceremony, and makes me so proud to be an American.