Blogging from Mid-Air

As I write this entry, I am flying to Omaha for a wedding this weekend. No, I am not writing this in a word processing application and then porting it over to Blogger-I am literally on-line in midair!!!! Air travel just got a lot more fun.

I remember how bored I used to get while traveling to India as a young lad. The hours passed by interminably, the movies were bad, the stale air seemed to leach into my skin, drying it out with each passing minute, and, by the time I arrived in India, I felt as if I had been on a prison for the previous 18 hours.

Slowly, over the years, things started to change. I first noticed the changes right after the turn of the century, when my numerous flights for the biotech firm I worked for became shorter thanks to my iPod and to my PSP. Even having a computer on the flight was a blessing, for I could watch a movie and kind of tune out the rest of the world. Bringing DVDs with me soon gave way to me saving my DVDs in iTunes format on my hard drive so that I would not need to worry about dvd damage. I made most of my tv show dvds iTunes files, and it seemed as if this was the best it could get. No longer was I a slave to the awful in-flight magazines (you know, the ones that have the world maps at the end just to rub in the fact that there are so many places you will never visit). No longer did I peruse Skymall, thinking that a life sized Yoda would, in fact, make a great addition to my study. I could fire up my laptop and be lost in a tv show that I needed to catch up with. Of course, I also purchased a Slingbox-those nifty devices that allow you to stream live and dvr'd tv shows straight to your laptop. That enabled me, when I was on the ground, to move some of the files wirelessly to my laptop so that I could watch it while in flight.

Still, even with all of these extra-sensory stimuli, I always felt kind of disconnected with the real world (especially on a long flight). As of today, however, I recognize just how much air travel has changed. Once the flight reached cruising altitude, I was able to fire up my laptop and within minutes was surfing the web. I read about Matt Stafford's record setting contract, signed into AIM, and checked my work e-mail. I was even able to log into my work document retention database. How much freedom can one take?

So now I must end the post-I might pass the time by watching Sportscenter...live...on my laptop...while in the air....

I love the age that we live in!

A Birthday Conversation with the Artful Mom

So the Artful Mom turned 67 on Tuesday. That is quite an achievement. I always find it amazing that she has been married to the Artful Dad for 42 years, so she has only spent a little over 1/3 of her life without him!

Me: "Happy Birthday, Mom!"

AM: "Thanks, sweetie. I wish you were here to celebrate with me!"

Me: "I wish I was there too. Did you get my card?"

AM: "Yes, I loved it!"

Me: "Are you and Dad doing anything special to celebrate your birthday?"

AM (keep in mind that my parents are, financially speaking, pretty well off by most standards): "YES! We are going to Chili's! I get a FREE DESSERT because it is my birthday!"

The Artful Parents rock.

Random Thoughts on the Way into Work

1. Damn-people really DO listen to their iPods at too loud a volume. I see all of these kids (and more than a few adults) blasting away with their earbuds who don't know that one can never replace lost hearing. I then smile because the blaring of their iPods will have repercussions, and I am a firm believer in karma. I then grow sad because I know that these idiots will end up being supported by other taxpayers because OBVIOUSLY they are too stupid to understand the volume control on their iPods. I envision them gesturing to me (because, you know, they will not be able to hear) asking me for spare change. And then I am pissed. I want to rip the earbuds from their ears, stomp on them, and inform them of how their poor taste in music is poisoning the entire El experience. And then I laugh. "El Experience"? The overcrowding, the loud-talkers, and the pervasive smell of pee (sometimes)? The experience was spoiled long before the iPod ever arrived. I retreat back into my own private reverie, ignoring, once again, all of those people surrounding me.

2. When getting off the El, I notice a morbidly obese person (seriously) jostling her way in front of everyone near the exit door of the train. I always get on the same train car because I know that the exit doors, upon my arrival to my destination, will open right at the spot where there are stairs that take me out of the station. So this fat person is right in front of the doors. The train arrives, the doors slide open, and the morbidly obese person "rushes" to the stairs-and then proceeds to gingerly take them step by step-all the while holding up the rest of the rush hour passengers trying to get to work. You know, I get it. I am not exactly a svelte individual, but as Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "The right to swing one's fist ends where the other man's nose begins." I know that you have the right to gingerly take the stairs. Stairs are treacherous-especially in the wintertime. However, I see no reason for you, oh morbidly obese one, to push your way to the front only to hold everyone else up. Wait. Everyone else is moving so much faster than you anyway that you will not lose any time. I think to myself that I would not feel this way if she had not PUSHED her way in front of everyone as if she was in a hurry. Oh well. Time to exit the station and get breakfast.

3. The Jamba Juice location closest to my office is packed with customers. I am waiting in line, lost in my own thoughts, when I look around. Wow. Every single customer other than myself is a woman. Not only that-they are Hot (Hawt, even). Holy crap. Namby, you need to meet me for breakfast down here one day and see for yourself. Utterly, utterly ridiculous.

4. Mmmm...apple cinnamon steel cut oatmeal...and now my day begins.

Growing up at the age of 37

As a career student, my own maturation, I believe, was severely hindered by being constantly surrounded by people who were, similarly, not mature. At the same time, many of my own habits and such remained unchanged since I was a pre-teen. This meant the collecting of nerds stuff (comics, toys, etc). I realized early on that I had a bit of a pack rat syndrome. I purchased SO MUCH junk over the years and always kept everything in their original packaging because that way, they would retain their value.

Remember Steve Carrell's character Andy from "The 40 Year Old Virgin?" Ummm....yeah....

After I started working at the firm, my work hours started taking over. My monthly comics shipment sat unread, and after three months, I realized that, FINALLY, I had outgrown this one aspect of my childhood. I canceled my monthly comics subscription. I soon noticed that I did not miss it. I also noticed that my own personal tastes for furnishings and such was developing to the point where I want to decorate my place in a tasteful, yet manly, way. However, in order to do that, there was also the rest of my collecting bug that needed to be kicked to the curb. I want to have a nice place, buy nicer clothes for work, and finally get a newer car. Those obsessions have replaced my childhood ones, and just as I used to get excited about a new toy or some other such nonsense, I find myself looking forward to getting deals on a Hugo Boss suit (this is a shout out to the impeccably dressed Namby Pamby) or a good deal on an off-lease car. This car:


My own interests in things of my childhood (FINALLY) are waning, and at the ripe age of 37, I find myself entertaining a brave new world of shopping as a grown up. I recognize that I still like toys, but the toys (clothes, car, etc.) are bigger and demand that I save up for them. While I recognize that I am giving up the instant gratification of a toy or comic, I recognize that there are bigger things to be concerned with. I want to save for retirement. I want to save in case I get fired. I want to get nicer things but not be in debt. I need to pay my student loan payments.

When did I become a responsible adult, anyway?

Oh right...the minute I saw my brother's new S5. Yup...that will do it every time...

Somewhere, James Beard is weeping

After a tough day at work, I realized that I had not gone grocery shopping in a while AND I had not eaten anything since oatmeal for breakfast.  I knew that I wanted a glass of wine with dinner, but what to eat?

So here I am, enjoying my dinner:

1.  a glass of 2003 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon

2.  3 White Castle Sliders

Wow, this wine really DOES go with everything...

A Sobering Realization

I really cannot complain, you know.  In this economy, with so many attorneys being fired, talk of reduction of salaries, and so many of my law classmates still striving to find jobs, I should not complain.  After all, I have a great job.  I love the people that I work with, I look forward to going into work every day, and I am busy.  While our firm has had some slowdown, we are firing on all cylinders in other respects and are built to weather the recession intact.  We are still looking to hire, too (engineers and scientists with MS or PhDs + JDs), but still, that speaks a lot about the financial health of our firm.  They have not cut down on the amenities at the firm (which are, while not opulent as in some big firms, still very nice).  

As an IP attorney working in biotech, however, there are some crossroads that one comes to.  I have my doctorate in Molecular Endocrinology.  In my previous life, I was a gene jockey.  I love genetics, genomics, and molecular biology.  It makes sense to me just as the notes on a page might make sense to a musician.  When I set out to get my doctorate, I soon realized that a life at the bench was not for me.  I tend to be more social and less the stereotype of the nebbish scientist hunched over tubes writing alone in his office, asking for money for research every five years.  Although I loved the science, life as a scientist was not that appealing for me.  I considered law school right out of my graduate program, but I chose to work as a postdoc and then in private industry.  I recognized that, with the amazing advancements in gene sequencing that I was witnessing (climaxing, for me, with the completion of the race to sequence the human genome), I knew that the law would be the next avenue that would shape accessibility for so much of this information for the rest of the world.  Patent law made sense to me.  After all, it would allow me the chance to make a difference in helping shape the law as it applies to the rapid advances in scientific knowledge that seemed to move ahead of the law.  Witness the great stem cell debate or the new testing centers for genetic factors.  Imagine a world where employers and insurance companies demanded PCR tests and DNA profiles on their clients, employees and customers to determine predispositions to diseases and charging more or less for certain individuals.  The privacy issues alone are staggering if one thinks about it.  

One of the big areas for me has been in the arena of access to affordable pharmaceuticals.  Lined up on one side of the line are big pharma, the companies that are the innovators yet justify the high costs of prescription medications through statements expounding on the high costs associated with R&D.  On the other side are the generic manufacturers, those companies trying to bring products to market that are more affordable yet do not have the R & D expenses (thereby justifying their lower costs).  Caught in the middle of this tug of war between these conglomerates is the consumer, everyone who needs medicine.  Patents exist to reward innovation, but at what cost?  If someone is dying yet cannot afford an expensive medication that is under patent protection, is that just?  At the same time, the argument is that without patent protection, no one would feel inclined to innovate.  Why put up all of the money to create something where others can just swoop in and copy it?  

I always envisioned myself working on behalf of generic companies.  After all, they are working to get the drugs to the people (affordably) faster.  I could see myself involved in litigation with the big pharma companies, fighting on behalf of the underdogs.  There is, however, one problem.  In legal cannon, it is called conflict of interest, and it is exactly what it sounds like.  it pretty much means that you cannot, without a waiver provided by your clients, represent adverse parties at the same time.  Sometimes, the conflict can outlive the case itself and go on for the rest of your career-especially when you are privy to confidential corporate information from one of your clients.  

Last week, I realized that I would, most likely, forever be barred from IP practice in terms of helping generic companies.  This realization came as I was preparing patent applications for 2 of the largest name brand pharma companies in the world.  Because they are such behemoths, I would most likely be conflicted out of any future work for generics against these companies.  

It kinda saddened me.  Here I am, not even a full 8 months into my legal career, and I already realize that I will, in all likelihood, not be able to do what I wanted to do.  Can I still fight the good fight and do good?  Yes.  At the same time, I cannot use my knowledge on behalf of those who need it most.

Oh well-maybe things will change.  I hope so.  People who need medicine should be able to afford it.  People who innovate need some sort of inducement to do so.  What is the solution to this conundrum?