i know geronimo

good morning…i must say that i am feeling a bit lazy.  my spin class instructor at equinox has been in hawaii for the week to compete in the ironman, and since i have little faith in his replacement, i have been sleeping until 7 or 730.  it’s quite nice.  i don’t even hear the crows at 6am.  i’ve even had time to post here before work…and prepare breakfast while i listen to an audio book.  I just finished The Wisdom of Crowds, by James Surowiecki ; and now I am listening to The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

They’ve been on my list for a long time…but I’m just getting to them.  The funny thing is that both address the current market events in a direct manner (even though they were written long before things fell apart).  Side note, you should definitely Chinua Achebe’s book if you haven’t.  I’ll consider writing a review, or perhaps just reflections on each of the books…but for now you’ll have to settle for the reviews on Amazon.  I will say that I feel much more informed after reading each book — especially the latter.

Today’s song of the day is by MIA.  If you recall, I was really digging her work last winter.  I even posted a link to Kala, her album.  I also recall thinking that she was just too innovative for most to get their heads around.  You can magine my surprise when I heard "Paper Planes," in a shopping mall.  I was stoked, to say the least.  So I made it the theme song of the day.

and speaking of books…. here’s a free cappuccino at barnes and noble. just print this coupon and bring it in. it’s good until 10/31/08.

homecoming was great. the game went down to the wire….but we won! 

 

 

Today’s theme song is "Night Fever," by the Bee Gees…I heard it on the radio yesterday; and I cannot for the life of me get it out of my head…sooooo catchy.  I was dancing in my car.  I’ll post the real song…but check out this cover:

Here’s a cool cover by the dynamics — reggaefied disco  

 

On a sad note, i just heard about the 3 stanford gsb students who died this weekend. I offer my condolences to their families.

Today is Indigenous People’s Day!

Celebrate! 

up early again - another day of driving/meetings. it’s a good thing that i picked up an audio book. Right now, I am listening to The Wisdom of Crowds…and digging it.

Anyway, since traffic always gets bad right around the airport… i was reminded of this tribe song that i have always liked. it’s the theme song of the day again:

phase 2 is fun…but it’s a lot of work.

I know that I have said this often, but i don’t really think that it stuck with some of my friends. Please know your rights when it comes to traffic tickets. You should know what to do…and, more importantly, how to get out of them. I have used techniques from this guy:

The Ticket Assassin

This definitely applies to drivers in cali — but you may be able to do the same elsewhere.

The following is taken from his site:

When you receive a traffic ticket, the court will usually suggest that you must appear twice to contest it: first to appear and plead not guilty and second to stand trial with the officer present. This is not true. You can contest your ticket by mail without making a single court appearance. Contesting your citation through the mail gives you a better chance of winning your case than at a court trial. Even if you seem to be guilty of violating the law, the procedural hassles for the prosecution will often lead to a dismissal. If the prosecution does not submit its version of events in writing to the court by the deadline date, your case will be dismissed regardless of your guilt or innocence. Dismissals due to lack of prosecution are won in approximately 30% of written defenses.

The law allows you to contest any traffic infraction entirely by mail. You can appear via mail through a Written Not Guilty Plea pursuant to CVC 40519(b). In your plea you can request a Trial by Written Declaration pursuant to CVC 40902. In this way you can contest your citation without appearing at all and, for reasons already discussed, will have a better chance of winning than at trial. Further, if you lose your trial by declaration, you have 20 days to request a Trial de Novo (new trial) pursuant to CVC 40902(d). You then can appear in court for the first time for your second chance of winning.

Why doesn’t the court inform every defendant of their legal right to appear in court via mail (Written Not Guilty Plea), contest via mail (Trial by Written Declaration), and have a new trial (Trial de Novo) if they are not happy with the outcome of the first trial? Money. Most courtesy notices hardly mention or do not mention these rights at all. Many courtesy notices from California traffic courts begin, “To avoid the inconvenience and long lines associated with a court appearance… pay the bail amount listed above.” The justice system uses its own bureaucratic inefficiency to discourage you from seeking justice. Nice.

If they even mention the possibility of contesting a citation, they also mention that this generally requires two court appearances, one to plead not guilty, a second for the actual trial. If you do appear in person to plead not guilty, most courts will make you enter your plea last, inconveniencing you to the maximum. Then it will ask you to return to court for a trial. The two days’ pay lost through these two separate appearances amounts to more than the traffic fine for most people. This is why less than 1% of cited motorist ever bother to contest their citation. Ignorant of their legal rights, confused and intimidated by the courts and police, 99% of Californians ticketed simply pay up.