UND-Pilsa Blog

As the technology age creeps upon us and forces us reevaluate our personal lives in everything that we do, the same can be said for how lawyers practice. Partners who have been tied to their pen and paper presentations are now being confronted with a phenomenon that has started to pick up speed since the early 90’s- Electronic Discovery Requests.

In the general practice of law, opposing counsels will ask for relevant and pertinent data from each other under the aegis of full disclosure. But what happens when this information is contained on someone’s computer, more specifically an email, word document, or even an excel spreadsheet? Precisely, many lawyers do NOT know what to do.

This is where the niche practitioners of the field of electronic discovery come into place. These consultants and technologists assist lawyers and firms every day with their electronic discovery needs. From assisting with drafting proper discovery requests, to helping the firm understand how to deal with electronic discovery vendors to process their information, it truly is a growing field in this day and age.

So why is it that many law firms are not up to speed on this segment of practice. For many firms, there is no necessity yet to embrace this technology. But that will change in the near future as more opposing counsels levy electronic discovery requests against them to fulfill. Courts are starting to require firms to electronically file briefs and other court papers.

As you can see, the legal system will drive itself to accommodate the electronic discovery field. Pertinent data resides on cell phones, PDA’s, computers and even voice mailboxes. These are all discoverable under the federal rules of law. Lawyers will need to become educated as well as confident in their understanding of this new field. The pen and paper dinosaur will still be there, but in order for him to survive, he and his associates will need to adapt, and not be so afraid of this new world. Otherwise, they can be looking at extinction.

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In a device such as a digital camera it is very important to understand the very basic aspects of the device so as to properly operate it and give it the due respect it deserves. Such a topic is interpolation! These are accessories that help the digital camera to perform the technologically advanced features that it is capable of. In extreme explanatory and simple terms it can be summed up as that interpolation refers to software programs that can effectively enlarge image resolution beyond the actual resolution by adding extra pixels using complex mathematic calculations. Now, this is a feature that can be absolutely useful in providing a good success to a user.

Looking into the technical aspects it can be stated that interpolation is a technique where the spatial resolution of an image is increased from its original size to a higher or larger resolution. The spatial resolution of an image is simply its horizontal x vertical pixel count. For example 1600 x 1200. Again getting into further intricate details it can be stated that there are two techniques of interpolation commonly used, they are software and hardware. Again software interpolation can be performed on a digital image using a one of a number of image editing programs such as PhotoShop. This is often termed as resizing and is done with a computer, performed on an image file from a digital camera that already exists in a file format such as JPG. Hardware interpolation involves the resizing of an image, but it differs from software interpolation in that the image is resized algorithmically inside the camera during the image processing sequence and before the image has been saved as a JPG image file.

Also, it can be noted here that JPG is a compressed image file format. Whenever a file is saved as a JPG file, image data is lost in the compression process. Image data is thrown away in exchange for file-size efficiency. Software interpolation is a process performed after the JPG losses have been applied. Hardware interpolation occurs inside the camera prior to JPG compression and before JPG losses have been applied. The resulting hardware interpolated images are of superior quality to a comparable image interpolated in software.

These are basically the important points as discussed in the above lines regarding the digital camera interpolation. The explanation is worth for every user who can be a novice as well as an expert and thus uncovers another great feature of a digital camera, the process of interpolation.

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snapjunky.com. Visit his digital camera guide and learn how to take better pictures with your digicam.

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Come Joseph P. Barker, Sr., and Betty L. Barker, the paternal grandfather and paternal step-grandmother of Susan R. Barker, through counsel, and respectfully move this court for an Order permitting them to visit with their granddaughter and, as to the reasons therefor, would show this Honorable Court as follows:

1. Susan Barker has been a ward of this court since 1999.

2. Her whereabouts are unknown to them.

3. Prior to Susan becoming a ward of this court she was in the custody of your petitioners.

4. Because of a determination by this court that she required treatment for conditions unrelated to movants’ custody, Susan was removed from their care and placed into the custody of the Tennessee Dept. of Children’s Services.

5. Susan would greatly benefit from visitation with the petitioners under such circumstances as may be ordered by this Court.

6. The present case is governed by Tenn. Code Ann. 36-6-306, which provides in pertinent part as follows:

(b) (1) In considering a petition for grandparent visitation, the court shall first determine the presence of a danger of substantial harm to the child. Such finding of substantial harm may be based upon cessation of the relationship between an unmarried minor child and the child’s grandparent if the court determines, upon proper proof, that:

(A) The child had such a significant existing relationship with the grandparent that loss of the relationship is likely to occasion severe emotional harm to the child;

(B) The grandparent functioned as a primary caregiver such that cessation of the relationship could interrupt provision of the daily needs of the child and thus occasion physical or emotional harm; or

(C) The child had a significant existing relationship with the grandparent and loss of the relationship presents the danger of other direct and substantial harm to the child.

(2) For purposes of this section, a grandparent shall be deemed to have a significant existing relationship with a grandchild if:

(A) The child resided with the grandparent for at least six (6) consecutive months;

(B) The grandparent was a full-time caretaker of the child for a period of not less than six (6) consecutive months; or

(C) The grandparent had frequent visitation with the child who is the subject of the suit for a period of not less than one (1) year.

(c) Upon an initial finding of danger of substantial harm to the child, the court shall then determine whether grandparent visitation would be in the best interests of the child based upon the factors in 36-6-307. Upon such determination, reasonable visitation may be ordered.

7. The factors that the court will consider in awarding visitation to the grandparents are

provided in Tenn. Code Ann. 36-6-307:

36-6-307. Determination of best interests of child for grandparent visitations

In determining the best interests of the child under 36-6-306, the court shall consider all pertinent matters, including, but not necessarily limited to, the following:

(1) The length and quality of the prior relationship between the child and the grandparent and the role performed by the grandparent;

(2) The existing emotional ties of the child to the grandparent;

(3) The preference of the child if the child is determined to be of sufficient maturity to express a preference;

(4) The effect of hostility between the grandparent and the parent of the child manifested before the child, and the willingness of the grandparent, except in case of abuse, to encourage a close relationship between the child and the parent or parents, or guardian or guardians of the child;

(5) The good faith of the grandparent in filing the petition;

(6) If the parents are divorced or separated, the time-sharing arrangement that exists between the parents with respect to the child; and

(7) If one (1) parent is deceased or missing, the fact that the grandparents requesting visitation are the parents of the deceased or missing person.

8. Petitioners have a strong, loving bond for their granddaughter, Susan Barker, and have maintained a room for her within their home, and the items of personal property that she left behind, in the hopes that Susan would one day return to living with them or at least would visit with them again.

9. Social Worker Cheryl Quinn has advised this court that Susan is displaying suicidal ideation, poor hygiene, lying, and stealing. According to Cheryl Quinn, Susan has required numerous foster care placements, and she has sabotaged all foster-to-adopt attempted placements for her. Petitioners believe Susan’s actions reflect a deep-seated desire to live with her natural relatives, and that the first step in that process is to allow visitation between the petitioners and their granddaughter so that they can renew communication and family ties.

WHEREFORE, Petitioners respectfully move this Court for:

1. An expedited hearing on this Motion.

2. That at the hearing, Susan, who is now age 13, be brought forward to declare her

interest in renewing visitation and contact with the petitioners.

3. That at the hearing they be permitted to visit with Susan at such times and under such circumstances as this Court shall deem reasonable.

4. That they may have such other, further, and general relief to which they may be entitled.

Respectfully submitted this 7th day of August 2002.

__________________________________

Dr. Michael A. S. Guth, BPR # 019039
Attorney for Petitioners
116 Oklahoma Ave.
Oak Ridge, TN
37830-8604
Phone: (865) 483-8309

Dr. Michael A. S. Guth, Ph.D., J.D., is an attorney at law based in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. His practice focuses on enabling people to represent themselves pro se without a lawyer (and thereby save on legal fees), as well as full representation for appellate practice. One area his work has particularly emphasized is child support defense and elimination of the unconstitutional debtor prisons that now saturate our court jurisdictions across the nation. For more information, see URL http://riskmgmt.biz/prose.htm and http://riskmgmt.biz/samplepleadings.htm

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In the early nineties, Redux was the original miracle diet pill. A predecessor to fenphen, Redux was just the “fen”, fenfluramine in the form dexfenfluramine. The drug increased the production of seratonin, which gave the brain feelings of satiety, or fullness. Overweight people felt a great responsibility lifted from their shoulders. In Redux, the drug industry promised a thin, healthy body without painful exercise or unpleasant diet restrictions! Within three months, doctors were writing 85,000 prescriptions for Redux every week.

We now know how this story ends. Like most miracle drugs, Redux was too good to be true. The increase of seratonin caused people using Redux to be moody and disconsolate. Soon the fenfluramine cocktail drug fenphen replaced Redux on the shelves. This is not the end of the story, however. Soon after thousands of Americans had swallowed fenphen pills, the mortality reports began coming in.

Redux and fenphen work the same way, by flooding the brain with chemicals that trigger that full feeling. Because the patient feels full, they do not feel the need to eat. The drug imparts a comfortable form of anorexia. While this is unhealthy in and of itself, denying the patient essential nutrients, it was not the worst aspect of the drug. The drug did not simply elevate seratonin levels in the brain, it flooded the whole blood stream with seratonin. When this chemical reached the heart it weakened the heart valves, causing massive heart valve disease in people using either fenfluramine drug, Redux or fenphen.

When this deadly side effect became known the drugs were immediately recalled, but the damage was already done. Thousands of people developed heart disease, underwent surgery, or died as a result of their exposure to the chemical. Those patients who did not change their habits to include healthy lifestyle choices like exercise and diet restrictions gained the weight back. Nothing very good came of America’s brief affair with fenfluramine.

People are still suffering from heart disease as a result of this drug. If you or someone you know is a victim, contact a lawyer and discuss your circumstances. The drug companies should repay you for your pain and medical costs. Hopefully America will not simply forget this brief affair with fenfluramine and be more careful about the pills we swallow so carelessly.
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To find out more about Redux lawyers and dangerous drug cases and read about Redux side effects, visit our website at hugesettlements.com.

If you have any questions or concerns about this drug please contact a professional Redux lawyer right away!

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Ahhhhh………… A Bunker

You either love them or they put the FEAR OF GOD into you, and turn a certain par into a double or triple bogey

Wellif you struggle with bunkers, you are not alone.

Last season my bunker play was certainly not what it should have been and I needed to address this part of the game somehow. I knew how to set up for the differenet types of Bunker shot but just could not seem to execute them properly. You probably know how it goes, one minute you thin one, the next minute you leave it in the sand and the next you put it right next to the pin

So I asked a local pro at our course in Warsaw if he could help me iron out or make my Bunker play more consistent.

Well let me tell you there is no magic formula here. It really is simple.

I was given two drills to work on. At first I thought they were barmy, and you might agree with me, but practice does help. It didn’t make me perfect by a long shot but it certainly gave me a great foundation to improve my bunker play.

Drill 1

Find an area that has a greenside bunker and just dive in. The first thing you need to do is take your sand wedge and just start hitting sand onto the green (Well I did say it was barmy) but to make it more challenging what I was told to do was to place a tee peg in the green at different distances from the bunker, say 10 feet, 15feet and 20 feet.

Now just use your normal bunker technique and hit the sand so that it reaches the tee peg. Now where the sand lands is where your ball would land if you were using a ball. The key thing about this exercise is that it helps you judge the distance and gives you the correct feeling of how hard you need to hit the sand just to get the ball 10, 15 or 20 feet.

Let me tell you, you will be surprised how hard you have to hit the sand to propel the ball just these short distances.

This exercise really makes you learn how to commit yourself to the shot and gives you the confidence to attack your bunker shots and judge the distance.

Drill 2

It’s all very well being able to judge distance but how did I learn to get the ball out.

The first thing I was told to do was to place 5 balls in a line about 6 inches apart.

Take my normal stance and just hit the sand behind the ball.

What happened?……… I thinned one, left another one in the
bunker, thinned one, left another one in the bunker and then
finally got one out.

It was not the result I was expecting after the first drill when i was managing to get the sand out to my tee pegs.

But this is where it started to become simple, or should i say
easier.

The pro told me to leave the balls to one side, get back in the bunker and make small circles in the sand each one about 4 or 5 inches in diameter, about the size of a small plate or saucer.

Now take your sand wedge and hit the circles out of the bunker, thats right, he told me to make sure to hit the circle of sand out of the bunker. Well that was simple enough.

Now make the circles in the sand again but this time place a ball in the centre. Now I was told to hit the circle of sand out again. Focus only on the circle and forget about the ball. Think about how far you want to hit the circle of sand and just do it.

The ball was now starting to come out of the sand on a regular basis.

Believe me this does work Just give it a try and I am sure you will be as surprised as I was.

Good luck with these drills.

Richard

Richard Smith is the founder of the The Big Golf Lesson http://www.biggolflesson.com.

The website offers a FREE 14 part e mail course for golfers wishing to improve their golf game andlower their handicap

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