About WDFloyd

Dave Floyd is an attorney, real estate broker, and trivia host in Austin, Texas. He works with the Foskitt Law Office and is an owner of Floyd Real Estate. He was a candidate for Austin City Council in 2014 and lives in the Zilker Neighborhood.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Cycling: Follow Up On Brake Issue

My Burnt Orange Gary Fisher Cobia
Back in August, I wrote a post about the hydraulic brake system* on my Gary Fisher mountain bike and how the brakes were prone to locking up during summer rides.  In said post, I mentioned that the mechanic with whom I spoke at the Bicycle Sport Shop was of the opinion that the fluid in the lines for my hydraulic brake system was expanding because of the summer heat (which, you will recall, was often in excess of 105 degrees during August 2011).  Considering that the brakes would unlock when placed in the air conditioning of my apartment or another building, I assumed that the mechanic was probably right but that I'd have to wait until after the summer to test things out.  I put the mountain bike into my storage unit and focused on my road bike (roads can be ridden at night, trails cannot).

I've recently pulled my mountain bike out of storage and begun to ride it around central Austin.  Within the past month, I've also taken it onto the Shoal Creek trail and into the Barton Creek Greenbelt.  There have been no issues with the brakes locking up while riding in pleasant temperatures.  It seems logical that the problem with the brakes was caused by the heat.  What interests me now is the temperature at which the brake system becomes subject to failure.


*My mountain bike is a 2010 model Gary Fisher (which is made by Trek) Cobia that has on it the stock ProMax hydraulic brakes and ProMax Hornet brake levers.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Events: HYP Build the Love 2012

Austin Habitat Young Professionals' annual Build the Love Fundraiser is this week.  I'm getting quite excited about the event, as it looks like its going to be HYP's best Build the Love yet.  Also, I'm making one of the music playlists... a project which has been a lot of fun.

Here are the details from the HYP site:


Whatever your plans are this Valentine's day season, we'll give you a reason to celebrate. Come help HYP Build the Love!
Join us Wednesday, February 1st from 5 to 8 pm at Moonshine to sample their delicious food & wine tastings and Thirsty Planet's fabulous brews all while raising funds to benefit Austin's Habitat! Plus we'll have a House of Sweets with delectable desserts and a photo booth courtesy of Beth McKinney Photography. No matter your tastes, savory, bitter or sweet, we'll have something for you! Click here to buy your tickets.


Tickets are going fast, so buy one tonight.



New guidelines for social media background checks - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

New guidelines for social media background checks - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Legal issues abound with BYOD (bring your own device) - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Legal issues abound with BYOD (bring your own device) - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Disclosure obligations relating to cyber security risks - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Disclosure obligations relating to cyber security risks - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

It starts! CFPB announces implementation of its nonbank supervision program - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

It starts! CFPB announces implementation of its nonbank supervision program - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Top 10 2011 developments/headlines in trade secret, computer fraud, and non-compete law - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Top 10 2011 developments/headlines in trade secret, computer fraud, and non-compete law - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Removing the ban on general solicitations gaining momentum - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Removing the ban on general solicitations gaining momentum - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

The America Invents Act—from the perspective of the small business - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

The America Invents Act—from the perspective of the small business - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Frivolities and Amusements

Today, while returning to the world of risk management after a lunch meeting, I ran across the sign pictured to the left.  I'd heard the rumors, and today I saw the evidence: there is indeed a skeeball league here in Austin.  According to the Austin Skeeball League site, there are leagues in Lubbock and College Station.  A Google search revealed that adult skeeball leagues also exist in Philadelphia, DC, and Chicago.

A few weeks ago, while sidelined by some intense cedar fever, I watched the entire first season of Portlandia.  One of my favorite skits featured an adult hide-and-seek game.  My first reaction to this skit was to post on Twitter my observation that we don't have an adult hide-and-seek league here in Austin.  Fortunately, I was quickly messaged by a friend who suggested that we do something like this with a philanthropic twist.  I was interested, but only if there were to be an afterparty with 80's karaoke.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Texas' Water Rights System Gets Tested in Drought









  • Earlier this month, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued a notice to a handful of East Texas groups in the Sabine River Basin: Their rights to river water will be suspendedbecause a hunting and fishing club needs more water. The club's right to water predates the others' rights — literally.

    The Sabine River notice is the latest development in what experts say is an unprecedented tug of war between surface water rights holders. Texans with more "senior," or long-standing, water rights can tell the TCEQ that they need more access to water, trumping "junior" rights holders along the same river, who may see their water use limited. And when drought makes water scarce, those senior rights prove to be critical.

    "In modern history, at least as long as I've been paying attention, this is the first time it's really come to the fore," Russell Johnson, of the law firm McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore, said of the junior-senior system.

    The oldest Texas water rights were claimed in the 18th century. "We have water rights that date all the way back to when Texas was a colony of Spain," said Andrew Sansom, executive director of the River Systems Institute at Texas State University.

    Droughts in the recent past have triggered some "senior calls," but nothing like the current numbers. In 2011 there were 15 senior calls, according to Bryan Shaw, chairman of the TCEQ, in testimony before the Legislature last week. By contrast, only one such call occurred in 2009, another drought year.
    All told, Shaw testified, more than 1,200 water rights permits in Texas have been suspended or curtailed recently, with the effects felt in the Brazos, Guadalupe, Colorado, Sabine and Neches river basins. With 99.5 percent of Texas still in drought as of last week, and with many reservoirs and rivers not replenished by the recent rains that have soaked into the thirsty soil, the junior-senior struggles could continue.

    Groundwater, which is managed separately, is not on a junior-senior system.
    Some groups have concerns with surface water hierarchy. "I got a few calls from industrial users who were adversely affected by this," Johnson said.

    The recent decision in the Sabine River Basin will mean less water for a Wood County flood control project, as well as several groups who use water for recreational purposes and two individuals who use it for irrigation, according to the Longview News-Journal.

    In the Neches River Basin, a range of water users has been affected, according to Andrea Morrow, a TCEQ spokeswoman. "Water rights that were completely curtailed included recreational uses, agricultural irrigation, industrial, and mining uses," she said.

    The Texas system is not unusual. Doctrines of "first in time, first in right" are "almost universal west of the Mississippi," Johnson said. And the system has pros and cons, he noted. On the one hand, it protects people who have already been on the land against newcomers taking water the early birds had been counting on. On the other hand, the importance of the use is not taken into consideration.

    Some changes are under way. Recently, the TCEQ decided that water rights holders couldn’t trump cities or power plants. This ensures that the taps keep running and power stays on. However, the TCEQ can ask cities that are "junior" to mandate outdoor watering restrictions. (This may have caused some of the confusion in the Hill Country town of Junction last summer, which thought it had to ban all outdoor watering after a senior call from the downstream city of Llano but later was able to ease off.)
    "Sunset" legislation last year reauthorizing the TCEQ and its mission contained a provision that allows the agency to suspend or make changes to the water rights system during times of drought. Comments on a proposed rule to implement the law closed last month — and it's something the Texas Farm Bureau is watching closely, said Billy Howe, the bureau's representative in Austin.

    Sansom, of Texas State, says that another classic example of "oldest first" is the struggle in Central Texas between rice farmers, growing cities like Austin and residents of the severely depleted Highland Lakes (though this system, managed by the Lower Colorado River Authority, goes beyond and is more complex than the "junior-senior" rights hierarchy overseen by TCEQ). Rice farmers have been using Colorado River water since the 19th century, even before the Highland Lakes were created — and in normal years a few hundred farmers use more water than the city of Austin.

    Speaking about both the LCRA situation and the junior-senior rights system, Sansom said, "It is probably time, based on the fact we're still using a system that is hundreds of years old, to update it to reflect modernity."


    This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/texas-environmental-news/water-supply/texas-water-rights-system-gets-tested-drought/.

    Events: HYP Build the Love (Feb 1st, 2012)

    HYP Build the Love 2012
    Austin Young Professionals:  We're less than two weeks away from the first major fundraising event hostsed by the Austin Habitat Young Professionals.  Here's the information from the HYP Austin site:


    Whatever your plans are this Valentine's day season, we'll give you a reason to celebrate. Come help HYP Build the Love!
    Join us Wednesday, February 1st from 5 to 8 pm at Moonshine to sample their delicious food & wine tastings and Thirsty Planet's fabulous brews all while raising funds to benefit Austin's Habitat! Plus we'll have a House of Sweets with delectable desserts and a photo booth courtesy of Beth McKinney Photography. No matter your tastes, savory, bitter or sweet, we'll have something for you! Click here to buy your tickets.

     Tickets are selling quickly, so buy one for you and a friend/date/significant other today.

    Habitat Young Professionals: Have Fun. Build Homes. Change Lives.

    Outdoor: Fly Fishing

    WDF Fly Fishing in the Big Thomson River
    Recently, while going through my desk at Prism Risk Management, I found the business card of Mike Oatley, a fishing guide I recommended for fly fishing in Rocky Mountain National Park.  In August 2010, I went to Estes Park with a couple of friends and we hired Mr. Oatley as a guide (both for general fly fishing instruction as well as fish finding services).  I subsequently caught a couple of brook trout in the Big Thompson River.  In August 2011, we returned to the Big Thompson but this time decided to skip hiring a guide (not because we didn't like Mike, but probably because we were allocating the dinero for microbrew trips).  While my casting and fly equipment handling skills are much better than in 2010, I had no luck finding any fish.  Not even a flash or a rise.  I did, however, come across some guide trips while working the river.  They appeared to be having more success than me.  Next time I'm in Colorado, as a still novice fly fisherman, I'll be hiring a guide in order to work the local rivers and for advice on flies.

    Wednesday, January 18, 2012

    Lanham Napier: The TT Interview




    [from The Texas Tribune]






  • Curious as to why some of your favorite websites have gone dark today? The answer lies in two acronyms — SOPA and PIPA — that could have a huge impact on the internet.
    Wikipedia, Reddit and Boing Boing are among the websites protesting the Stop Online Piracy Act, filed by U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, and its Senate counterpart, the Protect IP Act, with an internet “blackout” today.
    Both bills aim to curtail online piracy and other cyber crimes, such as the distribution of potentially harmful counterfeit pharmaceuticals. Although many people in the tech community agree that online crimes need to be stopped, they argue these bills would damage the economy, free speech and technological innovation.
    Find more information on how SOPA would target cyber crimes and affect American businesses here.
    To address concerns about SOPA, federal lawmakers had scheduled a hearing for today with expert witnesses from the technology industry. It was postponed after Smith released a statement Friday saying he plans to remove one of the most controversial provisions in the bill, Domain Name System blocking, which would have allowed a federal judge to order American companies to block U.S. customers’ access to an infringing foreign website’s address on the web.
    “After consultation with industry groups across the country, I feel we should remove Domain Name System blocking from the Stop Online Piracy Act so that the committee can further examine the issues surrounding this provision,” Smith said in the news release.
    The controversy surrounding the bills also prompted the White House to release a statement Monday that said the Obama administration would not support legislation that would "tamper with the technical architecture of the Internet through manipulation of the Domain Name System (DNS), a foundation of Internet security." The statement did not specify whether President Obama would veto SOPA or PIPA.
    Lanham Napier, the chief executive of the San Antonio-based web hosting company Rackspace, was one of the experts who had planned to testify at the House Oversight and Government Regulation committee hearing today. Before Smith stated his plan to take out the DNS blocking provisions, Napier discussed the harm of DNS blocking and why Texas businesses, such as Rackspace, are opposed to the SOPA and PIPA legislation.
    Below is a full transcript and audio of the interview.
    TT: Why is the tech community in Texas opposed to the Stop Online Piracy Act?
    Napier: I think the bill as currently filed doesn’t work. Basically, it does not help us battle pirates, and we battle online pirates every day. It introduces technology remedies that create security risks for the internet, and it abolishes the due process framework that’s in place under the current law [the Digital Millennium Copyright Act].  So the bottom line there is basically the bill that’s currently filed doesn’t work. It doesn’t fix piracy, and it causes real problems.
    TT: How would the bills affect American businesses, particularly Rackspace?
    Napier: In lots of ways. I think a real good example is basically the technology remedy in there around DNS blocking, manipulating DNS. [It] is an activity that impacts not only Rackspace, but any company in the state of Texas that runs DNS, which is going to be lots and lots of companies. The bill that’s currently written would require that we go in and make changes to that system. That system is a fundamental lynchpin for how the internet operates. The changes ask us to manipulate the system in a way that it was never intended to operate and in the process creates some security holes in that system. That’s something that literally every company in the state of Texas that is dealing with DNS services would have to address.
    TT: How would the Stop Online Piracy Act affect Rackspace's relationship with foreign customers?
    Napier: If you look at the legal framework here in the States, we’ve had a number of laws that have hurt our ability to do business overseas. Whether there are certain acts, like the Patriot Act, [which] impacted our perception with international customers about the rights and powers the government has to seize data. I think this is another one, another piece of legislation potentially that could have a similar impact.
    Our business is a global business. We’re headquartered here in San Antonio. We have 4,000 folks that work in the company. That’s up from 2,000 just a couple years ago when the Great Recession began. So we’re growing at a high rate, and legislation like this damages our ability to grow and chills innovation in the web. That’s why we want to try to work with members of Congress to fix this.
    TT: Have you been able to communicate your concerns about to the bill to U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith or other members of Congress?
    Napier: We’ve been making our views known. I have the opportunity next week to go to D.C. to participate in a hearing. [That hearing has since been postponed.]  I’m looking forward to that, because I think ultimately in our country we want to pass legislation that makes our country better. The internet is one of those areas where we’ve had a lot of growth, and a lot of innovation. I think the legislation that we pass around the internet needs to make it stronger, not weaker. I think this is a complex problem that requires a lot of thought and effort, and I look forward to being able to help.
    TT: What are some of your ideas on the best ways to combat online piracy and other cyber crimes?
    Napier: You’ll hear more about this going forward from us, and we’re still building our thoughts on it. I think the first idea is let’s not pass a piece of legislation that from a technology perspective won’t work. That’s idea No. 1. Idea No. 2 here is to really think through the issue more broadly about how to get after it. On this call, I’m not really prepared to talk about specific ways to get after it. My mission and purpose right now is to help our leaders understand the risks with their current path.
    TT: What else do you think Texans should know about SOPA or how it will affect businesses in Texas?
    Napier: Generally, I think what happens with the bill as currently written is it’s not going to do anything to battle online piracy. I think it’s going to drive up compliance costs for anybody who runs DNS systems. I think it changes the legal framework meaningfully. What we’re going to get is a bill that introduces security risks, doesn’t battle the pirates and drives up costs on Texas businesses. 







    This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/texas-representatives-in-congress/us-congress/tt-interview-rackspace-ceo-explains-opposition-sop/.

    State Parks Getaways E-newsletter: Winter Edition

    State Parks Getaways E-newsletter: Winter Edition

    SEC issues guidance on use of social media by investment advisers - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    SEC issues guidance on use of social media by investment advisers - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Federal district court invalidates California low carbon fuel standard - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Federal district court invalidates California low carbon fuel standard - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Selecting and protecting your trademark - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Selecting and protecting your trademark - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Final HITECH act regulations amending HIPAA privacy and security will be published in 2012 - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Final HITECH act regulations amending HIPAA privacy and security will be published in 2012 - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    High-tech startup checklist - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    High-tech startup checklist - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    United States Navy procures historic amount of aviation biofuel - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    United States Navy procures historic amount of aviation biofuel - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Tuesday, January 17, 2012

    Texas Businesses Oppose Bill Combating Online Piracy


    Texas Businesses Oppose Bill Combating Online Piracy
    by Becca Aaronson (Texas Tribune)

    U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, says online piracy is damaging the U.S. economy and putting American lives at risk. Foreign websites that distribute American-made entertainment and counterfeit products, such as fake pharmaceuticals, are “stealing our profits, they’re stealing our jobs and they may be endangering the health of Americans,” Smith said.

    Smith introduced the Stop Online Piracy Act in October to tackle the problem, but the bill has received a cold reception in his home state.

    Texas-based technology companies and business advocates agree that cyber crimes are a problem, but they contend that Smith’s bill would cause greater economic damage, particularly to Texas’ growing technology sector. And they add online pirates could find ways to evade the law. Rackspace, Facebook and eBay, which have received economic incentives from the state to create jobs in Texas, are among the companies that openly oppose the bill.

    “In the name of policing the online theft of intellectual property, key lawmakers are pushing a cure that’s worse than the disease,” Lanham Napier, the chief executive of Rackspace, a web hosting business, wrote on the company’s blog in December.

    Existing U.S. laws — used by copyright holders and law enforcement to remove copyrighted or illegal content from the internet — do not apply to foreign websites that operate outside the jurisdiction of American courts. To effectually shut down a foreign site engaging in illegal activity, the Stop Online Piracy Act, known as SOPA, would allow a court to order domestic companies to cut financial ties and block American customers’ access to the site.

    The bill has bipartisan support from the majority of the House Judiciary Committee, which Smith chairs, and is likely to pass out of committee when Congress reconvenes late this month. Smith said there was no language in the bill that would harm American businesses.

    “Unless Rackspace is a foreign website primarily dedicated to illegal activity, it’s not going to affect them or Facebook or any of the others,” he said.

    The technology industry strongly disagrees.

    Ed Black, the chief executive of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, said the bill would fundamentally change technology companies’ relationships with customers.

    “The harm is it ruins the business models for companies,” Black said. “We don’t want companies in a free society to act as secret police.”

    If the current bill passes, a plaintiff could obtain a court order without giving the defendant prior notice.

    A foreign website accused of breaking U.S. law would have 48 hours to request an appeal of the court’s decision. If it does not appeal, American companies would have five days to obey the court order or face liability for enabling illegal activity.

    Google and Yahoo would be required to remove hyperlinks to the accused website in search results, PayPal and Visa would have to stop payment transactions on the site, and Google AdWords would have to discontinue advertisements. (All of those companies oppose the bill.)

    Internet service providers and companies like Rackspace would be required to block American users from accessing the website, or, as Napier put it in his blog post, “censor their customers with little in the way of due process.”

    Rackspace estimates that a quarter of the business it conducts with its more than 160,000 customers is overseas. Its headquarters is in an area of San Antonio just outside Smith’s district, though he represents many of the 2,300 employees who work there.

    Despite the backlash, Smith stands behind the bill, which he said would protect Texans against intellectual property theft. Smith also pointed to Austin as a “ripe target” because of its thriving music and film industries.

     “There is an imbalance in the degree to which intellectual property rights are protected online,” said Chris Castle, a lawyer who represents musicians in Austin and supports SOPA.

    He said Texans would benefit from a more clearly defined set of property rights, because the bill would encourage investment in legitimate Internet businesses that can profit from legally distributing artists’ work. SOPA would force American companies and individuals to take responsibility for promoting criminal activity.

    The bill faces opposition from fellow conservatives in Smith’s home state and elsewhere. Gov. Rick Perry does not support the bill, nor does the conservative business advocacy group Americans for Job Security.

    The measure would force technology companies to divert resources they could spend on innovation, job growth and marketing for “compliance with this new regulatory regime,” said Steve DeMaura, the president of Americans for Job Security. The extra spending on legal counsel would hurt hundreds of Texas-based technology companies, he added, and especially harm start-ups and small businesses.

    Anti-SOPA organizations and individuals online say the bill would “nuke” high-tech companies in Smith’s district, and they accuse Smith of representing the interests of entertainment industry over his constituents.

    According to Opensecrets.org, which is run by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit that tracks money in politics, the majority of Smith’s campaign financing, $59,300, in this year’s election cycle has come from the entertainment industry.

    But Opensecrets.org also reports that Smith has received $392,995 from the entertainment industry and $387,440 from the technology industry since 1998 — a small difference over all.

    The technology industry remains convinced that its views have been under-represented at a committee hearing on the bill and that pirates would find ways to evade the measure’s provisions. Federal lawmakers are attempting to move the bill quickly, Black said, without conducting extensive economic studies or consulting technical experts on cyber security.

    “You would at least hope that there would be an attempt to hear out all stakeholders,” Black said, “so there could be a consensus of understanding where there’s common ground and where there are different views to try to bend.”




    This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://trib.it/xxw8Vu.

    Anti-Piracy Bill Worries Tech Industry Leaders in Texas


    Anti-Piracy Bill Worries Tech Industry Leaders in Texas
    by Andy Uhler

    U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith said in a press release on Friday that he plans to remove controversial provisions in the Stop Online Piracy Act. As Andy Uhler of KUT News reports, some online-business leaders say the legislation, introduced by Smith, R-San Antonio, could cause economic damage.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Download audio file: http://d2o6nd3dubbyr6.cloudfront.net/media/audio/Uhler_SOPA_-_Local_Tech_Industry_MIX_web.mp3
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune

    Obama Administration Responds to We the People Petitions on SOPA and Online Piracy | The White House

    Obama Administration Responds to We the People Petitions on SOPA and Online Piracy | The White House

    15.2 billion gallons renewable energy required - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    15.2 billion gallons renewable energy required - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    SEC investor alert: social media and investing - avoiding fraud - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    SEC investor alert: social media and investing - avoiding fraud - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Employment law: what to expect in 2012 - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Employment law: what to expect in 2012 - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    10 steps for setting up and protecting a new web site - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    10 steps for setting up and protecting a new web site - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Thursday, January 12, 2012

    Laptop claims were mere puffery - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Laptop claims were mere puffery - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Did Microsoft force a stealth monitoring system on cellphone users? - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Did Microsoft force a stealth monitoring system on cellphone users? - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Tech firing on all cylinders! - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Tech firing on all cylinders! - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Retaliation fact sheet issued by USDOL: employers beware - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Retaliation fact sheet issued by USDOL: employers beware - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    OSHA launches new "winter storms" web page - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    OSHA launches new "winter storms" web page - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Privacy litigation--2011 year in review - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Privacy litigation--2011 year in review - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opens whistleblower complaint hotline - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opens whistleblower complaint hotline - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Meta: German Viewers

    Sign From Germany's Booth at 2011 SXSW Interactive
    Fred the Dachshund in Barton Creek
    For reasons Google Analytics has not yet helped me explain, this site experienced a large spike in visits a few days ago.  Most of them were from Germany.  Seeing as I don't post about Hasselhoff and I haven't recently posted about my dachshund or sausage, I can only assume that they were drawn here to find out what happens when one of their automotive products strikes an obese Texas raccoon.

    Anyway, I'm not sure what drew the Germans in.  I sometimes have a spike in Russian viewers, which I attribute to me being confused with the Serbian DJ Dave Floyd.

    Speaking of dachshunds: you may think that a long dog with absurdly short legs wouldn't enjoy hiking.  It is actually quite the contrary.  My dachshund, Fred, will hike 4-5 miles and still have plenty of energy to play fetch when he gets home.  That's impressive for a dog who's about six inches tall and is 11.5 years old.

    Wednesday, January 11, 2012

    Events: HYP Build the Love




    Buy your tickets before 1/15 in order to enjoy "early bird" pricing specials.  Here are the event details from the HYP website:

    Whatever your plans are this Valentine's day season, we'll give you a reason to celebrate. Come help HYP Build the Love!
    Join us Wednesday, February 1st from 5 to 8 pm at Moonshine to sample their delicious food & wine tastings and Thirsty Planet's fabulous brews all while raising funds to benefit Austin's Habitat! Plus we'll have a House of Sweets with delectable desserts and a photo booth courtesy of Beth McKinney Photography. No matter your tastes, savoury, bitter or sweet, we'll have something for you! Click here to buy your tickets.


    Outdoor: Mountain Unicycle


    I saw this guy in the Barton Creek Greenbelt and asked if I could film him.  It was only the second time that I'd seen someone actually riding a unicycle on a trail.  Fortunately, I was hiking in the Greenbelt looking for some places to shoot video segments and I happened to have my camcorder handy.

    Riding a unicycle looks difficult under the best of circumstances.  Moreover, the portion of the trail featured in the above video can be difficult to traverse on a mountain bike; I would have been skeptical of anyone's claims to be about to ride a unicycle through this stretch.  Thus,  I was pleased to be able to shoot a video of a mountain unicycle in action.

    Otherwise, I think my amigos would have thought I was making this up.  ha ha ha

    Note: If you're curious about the equipment, I shot this clip on a Canon Vixia MF M30 camcorder and turned it into a YouTube upload on iMovie.  I bought the camcorder at Precision Camera in Austin.  As for the mountain unicycle, I have no idea what kind of unicycle is in the video.  

    Tuesday, January 10, 2012

    Employer may be liable under federal law for posting entries on employee's personal facebook page and twitter account - but what exactly is being protected? - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Employer may be liable under federal law for posting entries on employee's personal facebook page and twitter account - but what exactly is being protected? - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Think you own your LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook account? Think again - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Think you own your LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook account? Think again - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    FCRA class actions on the rise - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    FCRA class actions on the rise - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Fa la la la la la la la lawsuit! Ring in the new year by keeping employment liability at bay - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Fa la la la la la la la lawsuit! Ring in the new year by keeping employment liability at bay - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    NLRB again postpones posting requirement - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    NLRB again postpones posting requirement - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Hard lessons in the importance of due diligence in hotel, timeshare, and resort property acquisitions - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Hard lessons in the importance of due diligence in hotel, timeshare, and resort property acquisitions - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Stealth Mountain

    So, yesterday I learned that there is a "bot" on Twitter called @stealthmountain which is devoted entirely to correcting folks who tweet "sneek peak" instead of "sneek peek."  Typically, the offending reference is in relation to an early preview of a film or television program, although said offending term can be presented in a different context.  Some folks have reacted to this unsolicited correction in a negative manner.

    While the Stealth Mountain concept is funny and it's drawing some (undoubted sought) attention, I would have to posit that it can be extremely annoying to have one's spelling or grammar corrected by strangers.  Stealth Mountain, however, seems to have a sense of humor about it (in addition to the name see the avatar- it's hilarious) and thus a humorous or witty response would be appropriate (as opposed to rage).  

    What I'm curious about are the plans the creator of Stealth Mountain has once the Twitter feed and the linked blogspot site have attracted enough attention and enough of a following.  Right now, Stealth Mountain has over 4,000 followers on Twitter.  

    Note: I was once given some unsolicited advice from the purveyors of mechanical bulls to not tweet about a rival's brand.  I was tempted to write back "grow a sense of humor, assholes" or something like that, but in the end decided it was wise not to get into an argument with people who sell mechanical bulls for a living.  

    Monday, January 9, 2012

    Food: Steak at Austin Land and Cattle

    If there is one thing that you should know about me, it's that I love steak even more than I love pork products.  And, of all steak places in Austin, Austin Land & Cattle is my favorite.  It's an excellent nexus of price and overall quality, in addition to the fact that the steaks alone are excellent.

    Last time I ate at ALC was for the Prism Risk Management Christmas dinner.  At that event, I had the 16oz rib-eye (my usual stand-by) along with the appetizer sampler.  The stand-out item on the sampler was the buffalo lamb chops.  The goat cheese stuffed green chilies were popular as well.  On other occasions, ALC's seared Ahi has been very popular as a pre-steak warm-up.  The only item I could suggest adding to the appetizer menu is bacon-wrapped shrimp (esp. something with a pepper, like El Arroyo's "shrimp diablos").

    I met some friends at ALC on Friday night, this time deviating from the rib-eye and ordering the 12oz fillet.  That turned out to be an excellent decision, as the fillet was incredibly tender and virtually melted as I ate it.  I don't recall eating a fillet that tasty since my last trip to the Ft. Griffin General Merchandise Restaurant in Albany, Texas.

    Looping back to the value aspect: not only are the steak prices reasonable, but each steak dish comes with a selection of included sides.  You can add on shrimp or lobster tail, but the prices are too steep.  Contrast this with Ruth's Chris and Sullivan's, which charge more for the individual steak and then provide sides on an a la carte basis.

    I'm not the only person who's fond of ALC.  Their 2008 Zagat rating lists them as "very good to excellent" while highlighting the value that comes with the high quality food at moderate prices.

    Friday, January 6, 2012

    Risk: Fat Raccoons

    What a fat raccoon does to a VW Passat
    So.... before last month I never considered raccoons much of a risk while driving on the highway.  Deer?  Yes.  Elk? Yes.  But an animal the Wikipedia claims weighs between 6-20 lbs never seemed like a reason for concern.

    Well, the incident which resulted in the pictured damage happened kind of fast and I didn't have a chance to weigh the raccoon which chose to intersect with my moving vehicle.  What I do know is that the raccoon at issue appeared to be enormous of not morbidly obese.  I probably wouldn't have hit it had I not been driving down a relatively dark stretch of US Highway 87 near Victoria.  The obese animal at issue waddled out of a darkened median at a surprisingly rapid pace.  I attempted to swerve, but hitting a fat raccoon seemed like a better plan than flying into a ditch at 70 MPH.  Moreover, he actually ran toward my car as I started to swerve.  Despite evasion maneuvers, there was no way to miss said raccoon.

    End result: $2,500 worth of damage.

    Yes, that is the correct amount.  When I picked up the car from the body shop, I was handed a laundry list of damage caused by reckless wildlife.  Not only did he cause the body damage pictured about, he also dislodged the radiator and the turbo's intercooler.  Fortunately for me, I carry the full package of insurance on my car and I was able to drive a company vehicle for a week while mine was repaired.

    Take-aways from this experience:


    • Raccoons can seriously mess up your car.  Be alert for them.
    • A reminder that no repair is cheap for a Volkswagen Passat (I've had prior experiences with body damage to this car: all expensive)
    • State Farm was cool about paying for it.  I've gotten my money's worth from their collision coverage.
    • Ellis & Salazar again did great work at a fast pace.
    • It's really annoying for people to chastise you about hitting a sweet, innocent raccoon when you're looking at serious body damage to your car.  
    • It might be time for me to buy a Tahoe.  


    Do you have your umbrella? (Disaster recovery and business continuity planning) - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Do you have your umbrella? (Disaster recovery and business continuity planning) - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Additional protections for individuals with disabilities - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Additional protections for individuals with disabilities - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

    Wednesday, January 4, 2012

    Events: HYP Happy Hour Next Week


    For more information about HYP and what we do, check out the Austin Habitat Young Professionals website.

    Events: HYP Build the Love




    I'm pleased to post that the Austin Habitat Young Professionals will be holding our annual Build the Love fundraiser on February 1st at Moonshine Bar & Grill.  As President of HYP, I'm looking forward to kicking off our 2012 fundraising efforts with this event.   I'd go into more detail, but the text on the HYP site sums things up pretty well:


    Whatever your plans are this Valentine's day season, we'll give you a reason to celebrate. Come help HYP Build the Love!
    Join us Wednesday, February 1st from 5 to 8 pm at Moonshine to sample their delicious food & wine tastings and Thirsty Planet's fabulous brews all while raising funds to benefit Austin's Habitat! Plus we'll have a House of Sweets with delectable desserts and a photo booth courtesy of Beth McKinney Photography. No matter your tastes, savoury, bitter or sweet, we'll have something for you! Click here to buy your tickets.

    I am especially pleased by the support of Moonshine.  They are providing space for the event as well as food. I've been involved with HYP since 2007, and Moonshine has consistently been a great friend to our organization.