Congratulations, Survivors!

You did it!  I must confess that, not even in my wildest fantasies, did I think that NINE of you would finish the contest (of course, that's partly because blawgs don't usually make it into my wildest fantasies but that's too much information).  Seriously, "you done good!"

As for your prize, my original idea was to provide the winner with a copy of my book and an audio CD of my Cleaning Up the Stress Mess program.  However, as we have so many winners, the prize will have to be divided amongst you.  Therefore, Jill you get pages 1-32 of the book.  David you will receive pages 33-64.   On second thought, perhaps I should just have you pass the book and CD amongst yourselves.  Oh what the heck!  Books and CDs for everyone!  After all, if I can get rid of 9 more books, I might just have a chance of parking my car in my garage before the end of the decade.

Seriously, I'd love to send you the book and CD as my way of saying thanks for indulging my silliness in starting the contest in the first place and enduring my commentary throughout.  Just send me your mailing address and I'll ship them out to you.  Once again, thanks for participating.  It was a blast!

A Nail Biter

It's now 10:30 pm on the west coast and all of our remaining blawgs have current posts except for Wags Outside.  Will we lose another contestant after so many days of flawless and fearless blogging?  The anticipation is killing me ...

What's also killing me is that nagging feeling that I'm just not worthy to have put on this contest.  Each of the remaining contestants has blown away any expectation that I ever had when I thought up this silly idea.  As you know, my thought was that a competition would spur me on to blog daily as I had been promising myself for almost a year now.  Well, you guys took that baton and ran with it like Olympic athletes, just without all of the suspicion of steroid usage and gender fraud.

Not only have you all posted daily but some of you are now posting more than once a day.  For example, Tax Girl, has been posting twice a day over the last week, including three posts on Friday.  And by the way, these weren't Twitter-like "Had great pizza for lunch.  Anyone else really like anchovies?" posts.  These were hardcore "If you'd like an aneurism, please try to understand this section of the tax code and how it applies to left-footed Hungarian miners and why the IRS might consider you to be one" posts.

Likewise, the contest seems to have spurred some rivalries (although no one will admit it).  For example, our employment lawyers have each upped the ante in terms of both content and presentation style over the last two weeks.  Apparently, someone is going for the title of "Best Damn Employment Law Blog" period.  The same is true for our techies.  I salute you with words from one of your heroes, Mork from Ork, "Nanu Nanu!"

Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to pop some popcorn and spend the next 90 minutes hitting the refresh button on my browser to see if Wags can pull out a squeaker.

Just One Down This Week

We finally lost our first castaway this week -- Izzie of Only 3 Years.  She missed Wednesday's post although I wouldn't hold it against her considering that she is in the midst of traveling half way across the world to start law school.  If I've ever heard of a good excuse, that's it.  Nevertheless, "rules is rules" and the remaining castaways will fight out it for the last six days.

Two Days Without a Single Loss

You all seem to have hit your strides nicely because no one has missed a post over the last two days. A few of you are posting multiple times per day and I'm getting a little concerned that one of you is going to be the most prolific homeless blawger of all time given that you can't possibly be finding time to work as well as write.

Seriously, keep up the good work, and if you'd like to treat yourself to some frivolity, here is my take on what Dr. King's I Have a Dream Speech would have been like if he used PowerPoint (Thank God that he didn't).

The Field is Holding

I must confess that, on our first Friday, I expected the castaways to start folding faster than a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.  Fortunately, I was sadly mistaken (not about the Dems but about the castaways).  Over the weekend, we only lost one blog -- Current Employment.  That leaves 10 fearless survivors with just 10 days of blogging left. 

It's going to be interesting!

How Sad Is This?

I've been officially eliminated from my own contest.  In my defense, I was so devastated by the loss of 1L Poet on Day #3 that I was unable to post anything funny on Thursday.  And while most of you are thinking ("When did not being funny stop you from posting?"), that is my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

 

Of course, since I can't win the Grand Prize (a copy of my book), the remaining blawgers will have to go it alone.  See ya!

Yes, I'm teasing!  I'll continue to monitor the contest, post (almost) daily updates, and generally be the annoying S.O.B. that has made me the most sought-after legal personality on the lecture circuit (depending on the meanings of the words "sought-after", "legal", "personality", and "sexual relations with that woman").

In any event, keep it up!  One week down.  Two to go.

How To Cash in on a Law Degree ... Even In This Market

By now, you've probably read the account of the young woman who is suing her alma mater because of her inability to find a job.   She seeks the return of four years of tuition costs -- $70,000 -- plus a whopping $2,000 in pain and suffering for the misery of her grueling four-month job search (sadly, I've looked for my car keys longer than that).

During my weekly legal commentary on the Legal Broadcast Network, I explain why this case could just be the tip of the iceberg.

Two Days in a Row

Wow!  After losing four blogs on the first day, we only lost one blog on Day #2 -- Two Lawyers in a Podcast, which ironically is a blog that I write with my podcast co-host (I believe in setting a good example, you know).  From a technical standpoint, I was actually disqualified on the first day as my August 10th post didn't become effective until August 11th according to the time-date stamp on the site.  I'm almost sure that I posted before midnight Pacific Time, but perhaps, the blog is set to a different time zone.  Or perhaps, I'm not smart enough to tell time (the big hand tells hours, right?).  Either way, I'm out and you could be too so don't wait until the last minute.  This is Blawger Survivor -- not the bar exam!

On the bright side, losing this contest seems to be a good omen.  One of the blogs eliminated on Day #1 -- Out-House General Counsel -- is the most popular blawg on the ABA Journal Blawg Directory today (just think if the author had actually posted something this week ... hehe).

On an even brighter note, today's featured blawg on the ABA Journal site belongs to Cynthia Rowland, the author of Leadership, Women, Lawyers.  You go, girlfriend!  And when you hit the "big-time," don't forget us little people.

The Herd is Thinning Already

On our first day of the contest, we lost four blawgs.  That leaves just 13 fearless blawggers vying for the title of sole survivor.  By the way, I've added a new widget to this site that gives a birds-eye view of the survivors' blawgs (including the time of their last post) so you can now "spy" on the competition without visiting a dozen different websites.

Although, on that note, I suspect that we might not have a dozen castaways for too much longer.  Interestingly, about half of you wrote about this contest in your first entry.  Unless you are planning on devoting your blog to promoting my blawg (be my guest), the creative juices need to start flowing ... and quickly.  You have less than 12 hours to post your next entry.

Body Flab Search

Whenever I slacked off in school, my parents would threaten me with the prospect of eventually becoming a street sweeper, ditch digger or worse, the Republican nominee for President.   For the last few years, I've employed a similar tactic with my teenage son (with a similar lack of success).  However, I think that is going to change when I next threaten my son that if he doesn't study harder in school, he will grow up to become a correctional officer at the Harris County Jail in Texas.

What's wrong with working at the Harris County Jail?  Until recently, probably nothing.  However, that was before it was discovered that a 500-lb man (pictured above) secreted a gun into the jail by hiding it under the folds of his fat.  (See the full story)  This is despite the fact that the inmate had been searched for weapons upon his arrest, upon being booked into city jail and then again at the county jail.

Obviously, the regular procedure of strip searches and body cavity searches wasn't sufficiently "thorough."  To prevent other overweight inmates from sneaking weapons, contraband and Sony Playstations into the jail, the guards will be forced to initiate ... it's hard to even type ... body flab searches.  

By threatening my son with a future of vigorously inspecting the fat folds of a morbidly obese person, I will motive him to try harder in school (or at least, think twice before marrying a Judd).  Either way, I think I will have done my job as a parent.

Blawger Survivor: Outpost, Outread, Outlast

If you're like me, then every Sunday afternoon, you say to yourself, "This week is the week that I start blogging regularly! I mean it this time!" However, before you know it, it's Thursday and you haven't posted a single entry on your blog. So you say to yourself, "Next week is the week that I start blogging regularly! I mean it this time!" In a desperate attempt to break that cycle, I'm inviting you to join me in playing Blawger Survivor.

We've all heard that it takes just three weeks to develop a habit. Hopefully, many of us can develop this habit over the next three weeks by participating in this contest whereby we will be challenged to post an entry on our blawgs EACH day (well, at least, each weekday). And while there is no length requirement for your post, it must include at least one link or reference to another blog (remember, a great blogger is an even greater reader). If you miss even a single day, you are out of the contest. At the end of the three weeks, the winners will receive the coveted title of "Blawger Survivor" (and maybe even a copy of my book, if there aren't too many of you).

Now, because many of us are lawyers, I realize that it's necessary to be extra clear about the rules, so here goes:

You have until 11:59 pm PST on Sunday, August 9th to sign up for the contest. You sign up by simply posting a comment below with the name and URL of your blog (also, any trash-talking comments you'd like to add for the heck of it).  Shortly thereafter, your blog will appear in the list of blogs listed under caption "Blawger Survivors" on the right.  Your blog link will remain in this list so long as you continue in the contest.

You must post a qualifying entry for every day of the contest (Monday through Friday for the weeks ending August 14, 21 and 28).  The official post time will be taken from the time and date stamp on your blawg.  If you fail to post a qualifying entry on any day of the contest, your blawg will be removed from the survivors list.  A qualifying entry must include at least one link or reference to another blog.

I'll be posting daily updates about the contest so make sure that you check back from time to time.  And, of course, feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or suggestions.  Good luck and have fun!

Move Over Jon Stewart ... Here I Come

The Beginning of the End?

My entry into a field of endeavor usually spells the beginning of the end for the field and its institutions.  I ushered in the rise of online brokerage services by joining an offline broker in the early 1990s.  I popped the tech bubble by purchasing my first Internet stock in February 2000.  I later brought on the current financial collapse by working for one of the nation's largest subprime lenders.  Every company or law firm for which I've ever worked has eventually gone out of business.  The only institution that I haven't destroyed by my mere presence is the institution of marriage, which was already ruined when I got to it.

That being said, here is my debut on the Legal Broadcast Network, reporting "live" from the Sotomayor hearings in Washington, D.C.  The countdown to the collapse of the news business can now begin.