Weekend report.

Good weekend overall... didn't get new speakers in my car, but piddled around running a few errands here and there. Found some yummy chicken and vegetable potstickers at Sam's Club, brought those to Bastrop, and just lazed around. I poked about in the garden for a while, watering and weeding and sorting things out. We watched the first Star Wars movie and crashed pretty early. Sunday we picked up a few things at the Central Market and went home-- I made a Chinese chicken salad to fill lettuce wraps with, and we watched Star Wars episode 5. The Symphony concert was so-so-- Haley joined us, which was nice, but the music was off. A "big" string quartet, but they were playing Gershwin and Ellington and jazzy stuff that sounded too refined and "lah-ti-dah"... no real soul. Plus the "m.c." for the group kept yakking on and on, but she wasn't well-amplified, so sometimes it was tempting to tune her out.

Got up this morning and ran again. I felt plain awful at the start, like my feet were made of lead, but it got better as I went along. After I showered, I realized the toenail on my left foot was lifted up, so I cut it off completely. Now I realize it wasn't really a bruise under the nail so much as a bloodblister-- because the top where the nail was is squishy and soft, and it's like a little blood pillow. Eeww! So I covered it with a bandaid and I hope it gets hardened soon. I'm giving up racquetball this week to let it heal. I'll run in the hotel gym or wherever while in San Diego, but no lateral motion.

I'm rather frustrated with my weight these days. My pants fit a little tight, but I'm being scrupulous about counting calories. I usually eat 1000-1200 a day, and up to 1500 on Saturdays. The websites and internet information I have consulted all think my basal metabolic rate is around 1700-1800 a day, not including any exercise. I should be losing weight at least a pound a week! but Saturdays kill me... last week I was down to 133, and Saturday went up to 136! Maybe it's water. Grrrrr.

Weekend plans..

I'm sitting on Mitch's couch, soaking both feet in a bucket of hot water and Epsom salts, having just taken my morning maintenance dose of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (aka ibuprofen), and thinking I might be starting to get old. My toes did fine in racquetball yesterday (wish I could say the same about me-- 15-4, 15-7, 15-4, to say nothing of all the cutthroat games where I got 4-8 points to Antonio's 15...)

Then we went to Copa for the salsa class... only 3 guys this time! That's rough to teach, but we snagged some random girl to join us and Mitch followed, so it worked out. The early part of the evening (10-12) was very empty, mellow, and I was almost ready to go because there was no one to dance with. Spent a lot of time talking to one of the students, Jack, and enjoying his interest in the dance. He dances lindy and swing now, but is clearly motivated to add salsa and to do it right. Around midnight, a crew of salseros from San Antonio and Corpus Christi showed up, and by then the club was crowded, hot, and annoying. Used to be all the salseros danced up front near the DJ area, but now it's dance at your own risk because of all the posers who flail around, shoving people and careening from one point to the next like bumpercars. It is much cooler in the back by the bar, so that's where I headed to watch Roy and Sidney. I did get one dance with Roy, but it was a salsera-rich environment for him last night and my tootsies were tired, so Mitch and I left around 1ish. It was nice to see Sharlie and her fiance Pipe (Felipe) out and about, too. I danced with him and enjoyed it.

So today, once I'm done soaking, it's off to do errands-- Sam's, Central Market, Best Buy, Movin' Easy (I have a store credit there and a pair of shoes I wanted to try has come in), and the aquarium store, to return those stupid cichlids Mitch got. Then Bastrop to chill out, and back in Austin tomorrow.

Monday, running and racquetball. Tuesday running. Wed-Sat, San Diego for the AGACL conference. Yay!

Eww...

So the recent upsurge in activities for me resulted in two fat bruised toenails-- the second toe on each foot. Yesterday, the right one was so tender and puffy, I knew something needed to be done. I read several websites devoted to running or ballet, and many people suggested seeing a podiatrist to have it lanced. Mitch valiantly volunteered to heat up a needle with a candle flame and do it for free, which I vetoed.

After calling many doctors' offices, I finally found one who could see me right away. Yup-- it needed to be "poked." So the podiatrist anesthetized my toe and made a cut just under the tip of the nail and released a lot of pressure. (The right toe had a blister under the nail; the left one was a bruise under the nail and he said it was healing already, so no point in poking both, just would increase the chances for infection.) My toe was still numb at 11:30pm, some 8.5 hrs later, but I could tell it would feel much better (and this morning I was right.) I ran Town Lake without a problem (well, without problems due to the nail!) this morning. Unfortunately, last night I'd eaten 1 1/2 ears of corn on the cob as part of my dinner, so this morning my tummy was not appreciating all the jostling and joggling around. It made gurgling noises from 2 miles onwards, and I was very happy for a long drink of water at the end.

Tonight I'm playing racquetball with Jamie, whom I've never played before, so should be interesting. Running didn't bug my toe, but I'm interested to see how rball affects it. And then of course there's salsa tonight too.

Tomorrow morning I'm bringing my car to Best Buy for new rear speakers. Considering running tomorrow morning too... maybe too much of a good thing?

We'll see.

Endorphins!

Had a fantastic run this morning with Alan. I'll hasten to correct the impression I'm giving again-- it's still run, walk, run, but definitely more running. It felt AWESOME! More running on the "front" side and more walking on the "back" side, but we sprinted half of the last bridge across the lake, which felt wonderful! Like I was a kid again, but I was conscious of all my muscles working together, and I felt very powerful. So... I think I will run tomorrow and Friday and maybe not need to do 3x a week after all. Which means when I'm in San Diego next week for the conference, I should get up early in the A.M. and use the hotel's gym.

So next week Wed-Sat I'll be attending the AGACL (Assoc. of Gov't Attorneys in Capital Litigation) conference. Gorgeous San Diego, in a lush hotel right on the water... yay! Last year's conference was in D.C. and the speakers were amazing. I am looking forward to attending the trial track again, to keep my skills fresh. I will definitely try to get out and explore the salsa scene in the evenings, too. My friend from high school, Heather Sainsbury, lives a few hours away and she'll be coming in on Friday night to hang out with me and spend the night. Just like the sleepovers we had in high school.

I have lately been turned on to song called Otra Oportunidad by Jimmy Bosch and I was absolutely jamming to it in the car yesterday and today. Because of that song, I am newly motivated to dance more than I have been lately-- it is just too good. (And I'm getting the rear speakers in my car replaced this Saturday, they're awful and they get in the way of my jam!) It starts out very mellow, jazzy, with a distinct clave, some soft piano, maracas, and the tumbao of the congas. Then, during the chorus, a delicious little group of horns starts to wail, the various percussion instruments start filling in, and the sound becomes so rich you just can't stop your body from moving! Your shoulders, your head, your torso, your hips, knees, arms, hands... it's beyond words.

If you are at all interested in knowing how a good (GREAT!) salsa dancer (aka 'salsera') uses the various rhythms in salsa music to inspire her body, please check out imambo.tv. You'll have to register but they won't send you anything... go to the videos link at the top of the page, then go to the 2005 Canada Congress, then click on either "Magna and Jareau" or "Magna and Friends"... have your volume up and prepare to fall in love. Magna Gopal is one of the BEST salseras in the world, her spinning and musicality is beyond compare, and she's so sweet and friendly too.

So-- between running, and rball tonight with Ben, and dinner at Hut's (2-for-1 burgers night) with friends, and my new favorite salsa song, I'm just FULL of endorphins right now!

Sore muscles!

Phew... I'm sore! The worst issue is my bruised toes... the second toe on each foot looks like it has a small blackberry for a toenail. Very painful. Not sure if I got them from dancing (foot slides forward in the jazz shoes a tad) or from running or from racquetball. However I'm not stopping any of those activities so I think the bruise will have a hard time healing.

My hamstrings and quads are sore from running... I took this morning off and think I'll just run 3x a week until I get more fit and adjusted to the motion.

My traps, lats and triceps are sore from racquetball- played a nice two hours last night with Ben, and have scheduled games for Wed with Ben, Thurs with Antonio, and Fri with Jamie. I think I'll join the UT rec sports program ($575 for the year, or $47 a month) and hope to have a consistent rball game 3-5 times a week. While I'm getting in shape I don't mind running 5x week, but I hope I can cut it back to 2-3x eventually. It's just so dang boring.

Keeping up to date.

Teaching a CLE today on deposition skills, and Ben bailed on racquetball (he has tweaked something in his neck.) So, sadly, I am going to have to forego the yummy fries at Hut's when Mitch and I go for 2-for-1 burger night.

Tomorrow is a nice little evidentiary hearing here in Austin, defending my old friend Jim Sawyer on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. I'll be trailing several law clerks behind me and it will be a short hearing, so that's good. I have a few deadlines breathing down my neck and I need to get some real work done!

Weekend fun

Friday was a long day but good-- had lunch with my friend Virginia. She's a defense lawyer in town but we met when we were both prosecutors for Travis County. She's extremely down to earth and not fake at all; you always know where you stand with her. She and her husband James are expecting a little girl in early November- yay! Then more racquetball with Ben. Sad little trauma on the way though-- I set a pair of shoes on top of my car while I was loading up in the morning and forgot them! Boohoo, they were really cutelittle leather sandals and I'd found them for only like $9 at TJ Maxx. I drove back along the road several times and never found them. Ahh well, that will teach me. At least racquetball was great.

Then at 6pm I met Mitch at the Umlauf Sculpture Gardens for Jeff's funeral. It was a lovely setting and people said such nice things.. but it was hot as blazes, I was probably a little dehydrated from racquetball, and after about 30-40 minutes I was getting faint and clammy. I had to put my head between my knees a few times when I started seeing stars and hearing the ocean roaring, so Mitch got me a cold soda and we left in the middle, unfortunately.

Salsa class was good, fun as usual, and then lots of people started showing up from out of town-- San Antonio mostly (Angel and Jessica among others) and Roy from Miami who just moved to Austin as well. Had more dances than usual and didn't get home until 2am.

Saturday we puttered around. Went to Marco Polo for dim sum-- the solution we've found to my picky European tastes (which don't lend themselves very well to some authentic delicacies) is for me to order off the menu. I had some mushu pork and was thoroughly satisfied (which made Mitch feel better, as usually I sit and pick at the food and eat nothing.) We went to my house in Bastrop and puttered some more. Even though it was in the high 90s/almost 100 outside, my house never got more than 84 inside (with the A/C off). I did a little weeding in the garden but nothing strenuous, mostly just laid around and read. Made some pecan brownies with toffee bits for my neighbor Lorraina who brought my garbage can in for me last weekend.

Sunday morning Mitch and I went to the Gospel Brunch at Stubbs'. A group of 7 black guys from Brenham TX were laying down some nice grooves, but the food was sad... lots of fat, lots of grease, some barbecue, and at the end of the buffet, some boxed Total cereal and a melon-pineapple fruit salad. Hmf. You'd think they'd have something a little healthier. We spent the afternoon at home reading and working, then went to Wooldridge Park for the sympony concert (after picking up some Popeye's chicken.) It was the brass quartet, a very nice sound, but the ants were ridiculous. The chicken was ok (I had the naked, no-skin chicken strips, somewhat greasy/oily but yummy spices). Went home, read, and crashed.

I still have my cold-- feel fine, but still coughing up gunk. I'll go to the doctor if I still have it Friday. I have a full plate of work this week, plus property tax protest hearing, teaching a deposition skills course to lawyers in my agency, plus a hearing on Thursday here in Austin. I better get workin'.



G

A snip from Kansas v. Marsh (US Supreme Court, June 26, 2006)

From Justice Scalia's concurrence:

Of course, even with its distorted concept of what constitutes "exoneration," the claims of the Gross article are fairly modest: Between 1989 and 2003, the authors identify 340 "exonerations" nationwide--not just for capital cases, mind you, nor even just for murder convictions, but for various felonies. Gross 529. Joshua Marquis, a district attorney in Oregon, recently responded to this article as follows:

"[L]et's give the professor the benefit of the doubt: let's assume that he understated the number of innocents by roughly a factor of 10, that instead of 340 there were 4,000 people in prison who weren't involved in the crime in any way. During that same 15 years, there were more than 15 million felony convictions across the country. That would make the error rate .027 percent--or, to put it another way, a success rate of 99.973 percent." The Innocent and the Shammed, N. Y. Times, Jan. 26, 2006, p. A23.


The dissent's suggestion that capital defendants are especially liable to suffer from the lack of 100% perfection in our criminal justice system is implausible. Capital cases are given especially close scrutiny at every level, which is why in most cases many years elapse before the sentence is executed. And of course capital cases receive special attention in the application of executive clemency. Indeed, one of the arguments made by abolitionists is that the process of finally completing all the appeals and reexaminations of capital sentences is so lengthy, and thus so expensive for the State, that the game is not worth the candle. The proof of the pudding, of course, is that as far as anyone can determine (and many are looking), none of cases included in the .027% error rate for American verdicts involved a capital defendant erroneously executed.

Since 1976 there have been approximately a half million murders in the United States. In that time, 7,000 murderers have been sentenced to death; about 950 of them have been executed; and about 3,700 inmates are currently on death row. See Marquis, The Myth of Innocence, 95 J. Crim. L. & C. 501, 518 (2006). As a consequence of the sensitivity of the criminal justice system to the due-process rights of defendants sentenced to death, almost two-thirds of all death sentences are overturned. See ibid. "Virtually none" of these reversals, however, are attributable to a defendant's " 'actual innocence.' " Ibid. Most are based on legal errors that have little or nothing to do with guilt. See id., at 519-520. The studies cited by the dissent demonstrate nothing more.

Like other human institutions, courts and juries are not perfect. One cannot have a system of criminal punishment without accepting the possibility that someone will be punished mistakenly. That is a truism, not a revelation. But with regard to the punishment of death in the current American system, that possibility has been reduced to an insignificant minimum. This explains why those ideologically driven to ferret out and proclaim a mistaken modern execution have not a single verifiable case to point to, whereas it is easy as pie to identify plainly guilty murderers who have been set free. The American people have determined that the good to be derived from capital punishment--in deterrence, and perhaps most of all in the meting out of condign justice for horrible crimes--outweighs the risk of error. It is no proper part of the business of this Court, or of its Justices, to second-guess that judgment, much less to impugn it before the world, and less still to frustrate it by imposing judicially invented obstacles to its execution.

What do you think?

I'm back at the office now, feeling a little better and definitely tired of lazing around the house.

Jeff's funeral (sounds like it) will be on Friday evening.

Not really motivated to say anything further.

Still sick... still upset...

Another day of working from home, except that something weird happened to my virtual desktop and I am temporarily unable to connect. Hopefully that sorts itself out soon, or I'll have to drag my feathers back into the office. I'm still hacking a lot, but I feel better, and my nose isn't as sniffy.

I'm still stunned and very unhappy about my friend Jeff's death. We weren't close at all, more acquaintances than anything, but he had such a definite personality, he really stands out in my mind. I liked that he called his wife Mandy "the Pea" which I think was short for "sweetpea." I liked that he had a little weinerdog named Lucy. I liked that he called his friends Kim and Sigmund "Team Bloom" and referred to himself and his wife as "Team Wilson." I liked a lot of little quirky things about him, and from what I can tell, I would have liked to have known him better. But even if he was a little turd... what makes me mad is why he died.

That woman knew better! I could almost be less upset if the driver had been a stupid young kid. Instead, it was a courthouse employee, and an adult more than anything-- how can you get past 18 or so and not know that driving after drinking is STUPID!?!?!? It's pure selfishness. We've all seen the photographs of that young woman Jacqueline in Austin, whose face was horribly scarred because she was trapped in a burning car, the victim of a DWI collision. How can you see that poster even once and ever drink and drive again? Plus this lady worked in a county courthouse-- where one of the most common criminal charges is DWI! Sheesh. I am sorry to sound vitriolic, but I hope she is in agony and I hope it does not lessen for a very long time. I want to SHAKE her!