Swim, bike, run: Week 2

Swim: 21 laps (.65 miles)
Bike: 8.3 miles
Walk/Run: 2 miles

Swim, bike, run

First week of the tri club. Let's see if I live to tell the tale...

Swim - 16 laps (1/4 mile)
Bike - 7.3 miles
Walk/run - 1.75 miles

Followed by a big, fat nap!

Survey STILL says...kill your TV!

I grew up without one and am raising my kids without one, so you'll find no fan of television here. And the data is still pouring in favor of strictly limiting screen time for babies and toddlers. Here's the latest from Time magazine.

Yet, we live in a society that insists that television is a necessity, not a luxury - hence the government's appropriation of $1.34 billion for TV converter box coupons for the switch from analog to digital TV. What if this money had been spent on early childhood learning? Or education? Or health care? Or [insert your child-friendly cause here]?

Study says swimming lessons lower drowning risk in toddlers

A long-awaited study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine concludes that swimming lessons for children ages 1 to 4 lowers the risk of drowning.

Makes me relieved to know the two years I spent being clawed by a wet, screaming toddler weekly at the Mommy and Me lessons may pay off.

Here's the chatter from TwitterMoms about this post

A working mom in *this* economy?

I've just returned from the 4th meeting in as many weeks regarding my employer's budget and possible job losses over the next 6 months. As a professional, the prospect of losing my job is devastating, but the impact it may have my family will be on the scale of nothing we, as a family, have ever had to deal with. I'm wondering about other working moms out there: Are you thinking about it? Have you revised the family budget to accommodate a possible layoff? Will you try to find work right away or recoup your childcare costs and stay home? How will you communicate with your partner and kids about it? Have you considered playing the "mommy card" (i.e. lots of cute photos of your kids around the office, dropping hints that losing benefits would be awful for your family) to try and avoid the "short list"? Are you a veteran and can offer tips or advice? Or, are you taking the we'll-cross-that-bridge-when-we-get-to-it approach?

Here's the chatter from this post on TwitterMoms.

TV - digital or analog or...who cares!

I just have to rant about all of the press about the switch from analog to digital TV. Politicians and the industry come at it from the angle that we NEED TV - that people who only have analog and won't be able to receive the digital signal are in dire straits. Here's a thought: what if we hadn't created a society that relies on TV? TV is NOT a necessity. Food is a necessity. Shelter, health care, education, medicine...those are necessities. My family hasn't had a TV for 6 years and seem to keep up with the news and (gasp) find perfectly suitable ways to entertain ourselves (my husband would pipe up here and point out that this is all well and good until you talk about live sporting events, but this isn't his blog, is it? :-) What if we spent taxpayer money on new models of communicating with the poor, those in rural communities, or the disadvantaged? Just a thought.

Vacation and snow

The big hubub at the UW lately concerns employees having to take vacation time following the campus closures last week, aka the "Suspended Operations Policy". Different rules apply to different classes of employee. It always makes for an unpleasant work environment when the administration segregates employees.

The Frightening Economy - Parts 1 & 2

"This American Life" has had two good and really informative shows that explain why we (the average American who is not working on Wall Street, investing $50 million a day, or holding onto a sub-prime mortgage) should be concerned about the financial crisis:

Part 1 - The Giant Pool of Money (May 2008)
Part 2 - Another Frightening Show About the Economy (October 2008)

Death row exoneree addresses UW law students

Juan Roberto Melendez-Colon spent almost 18 years on Florida's death row before being exonerated and released in 2002. He will speak to UW law school students about his experience Thursday, October 2 at 12:30 in Room 133 of William H. Gates Hall. More...

Professor Schnapper to Argue before U.S. Supreme Court

UW School of Law Professor Eric Schnapper will argue for the plaintiff in Crawford v. Metro Nashville on October 8 in a legal case that could have significant impact on U.S. employment law. More...

Law Professor Paul Miller Inducted into College of Labor and Employment Lawyers

Law professor Paul Steven Miller was inducted as a fellow into the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, the premier non-profit professional association of labor and employment lawyers. More...

UW School of Law hosts law dean Chemerinsky

Erwin Chemerinsky, founding dean of the UC Irvine School of Law, will be speaking at the UW School of Law Tuesday, September 23 from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in William H. Gates Hall Room 138 on the University of Washington campus. More...

Afghan Scholars Find Legal Footing in U.S.

With the experience and education they received after three long years, three visiting Afghan scholars were rewarded for their sacrifice and hard work by receiving LL.M. degrees from the UW School of Law. More... (King County Bar Bulletin, September 2008)

UW Conference Looks at Legal Education

The UW School of Law will host a working conference, Legal Education at the Crossroads — Ideas to Accomplishments: Sharing New Ideas for an Integrated Curriculum, September 5-7, 2008. (more...)

recyling car seats

I found this blog ("mom go green: recycle car seats?") while trying to find a way to toss our old car seats (Nat just moved up to a booster seat). According to someone I talked to at theWashington State Booster Seat Coalition, there are no car/booster seat recycling programs (unless you live near Portland, OR).

It amazes me there is no program in WA state to recycle car seats. Parents are REQUIRED by LAW to have a car seat or booster for your child until their 8th birthday or are 4'9". And, the legal "life" of a car seat is 5-6 years. If you have 2 children and 2 cars, you will own (and toss) at least 4 car seats. So, in Seattle, you will be charged 20 cents to use a plastic grocery bag, but there is no incentive to keep you from tossing car seats in the landfill. Huh?

FTC, UW School of Law Host Meeting to Explore Contactless Payment

College and university students and professors are invited to attend a meeting on July 24, 2008 at the UW School of Law titled "Pay on the Go: Consumers and Contactless Payment," a free event examining emerging uses of contactless payment devices and their implications. More...

The Docket features UW School of Law faculty, symposium

The Docket: July 6, 2008


In this edition of The Docket, Professor Deborah Maranville is featured as representing a client in a case heard by the Washington State Supreme Court, Sara D. Spain v. State of Washington. Also included are highlights from The Prosecutorial Ethic: A Tribute to King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng.

The 4th in Everett

After a spectacular weekend, it has to be noted that Everett, Wash. is a pretty great place to live. The parade and fireworks on the 4th were great (given that this is only a town of 100,000 souls). Ended the weekend with an Aqua Sox game where the Frogs almost pulled off a great comeback in the bottom of the 9th. All in all, we live a nice little community!

LRAP Campaign Makes Goal

With the support of students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends, the UW School of Law is proud to announce that we have met the challenge by the Washington State Legislature to raise $250,000 by June 30, 2008 for a loan repayment assistance program (LRAP) endowment fund. (More...)

UW Regent Stan Barer Pledges $4 Million to UW School of Law

The University of Washington School of Law has received a $4 million pledge from UW Regent Stanley Barer '63 and his wife, Alta, to create the Barer Institute for Law and Global Human Services.