Pepsi Natural

I just tried Pepsi Natural (All Natural Cola). It tastes like apple-flavored Coke. I didn't like it, but you might. I will stick with Mexican-bottled Coke (made with sugar, not corn syrup) and San Pellegrino.

Quote of the Day

Quote of the day is from Abraham Lincoln:

As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. (1858)

Law: Edwin Stegman

As an attorney, I enjoy Edwin Stegman's articles. He has a diverse legal background, so his ideas tend to be both realistic and individual-oriented. Here is an excerpt from a June 2009 article on how to reform the legal system:

Motions for summary judgment (MFSJ) were originally a summary procedure to deal with the practice of debtors filing unmeritorious answers to delay collection of their debts. CCP §437c, enacted in 1931, required 10 days’ notice for a motion for summary judgment. The motion is no longer “summary.”

Instead of 10, the motion now requires 80 days notice, if by mail. The court may grant a continuance to conduct discovery; then the judge has 90 days to rule, the loser has 15 days to file a motion for new trial and the court has 60 days to rule. Therefore, it can take more than a year for a creditor to obtain a judgment to collect a debt. As a result, collections specialists say the MFSJ has become so slow, cumbersome and expensive ($200 filing fee) that they rarely use it.

So we’re back to pre-1931 and debtors can again file unmeritorious answers to delay collection of their debts.

Oh, the irony.

Kiplinger's Interview with Robert Shiller

Interview with Robert Shiller (June 2009):

http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2009/06/interview-with-robert-shiller.html

People think that because we have only so much land, and it is getting scarcer, housing prices must rise. But offsetting that is the decline in construction costs, so it balances out...

The figures show that the market is relatively low-priced now. Based on history, we should get something like 10% real [after-inflation] annual returns from stocks for years to come...

The French philosopher Montesquieu said that history is littered with wars and that it would be great if we could create some peaceful methods of diverting humans from their aggressive tendencies. Business is one peaceful alternative.

Shiller always seems to make a lot of sense. I'm not sure I agree that stocks are a sure thing right now. The article doesn't indicate where the S&P was at the time of the interview.

What if Iran Had a Revolution and Not Enough People Cared?

Andrew Sullivan is doing a great job blogging about the mini-revolution in Iran. Here is one email, from Iran:

WE NEED HELP. WE NEED SUPPORT. Time is not on our side, waiting and making sure means more casualties, more disappointment, more brutality.

The most essential need of young Iranians is to be recognized by US government. They need them not to accept the results and do not talk to A.N government as an official, approved one. They need help by sending true information. All the medias are under arrest or close control. Help them have the information.

They only try to show the fraud to the world. Help them please. You can not imagine the level of brutality we saw these two awful days.

Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement Speech

Funny: Charlie Brooker

Hilarious article on great books:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/09/charlie-brooker

Nice to see the British haven't lost their wit.