Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Strategic Planning Made Easy

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Michael Froomkin

Weird Al to the rescue:

Easy to adapt for any law school.

Bonus points if you can identify the band whose music this plays off.

Mega-bonus points for anyone spotting the first firm to use this at a meeting without irony.

Posted in Completely Different | 1 Comment

Social Cost of Fighting Face Recognition

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Michael Froomkin

dazzle1It’s large:

Because here is the essence of CV dazzle’s strangeness: The very thing that makes you invisible to computers makes you glaringly obvious to other humans.

via Anti-Surveillance Camouflage for Your Face – The Atlantic.

Posted in Surveillance | Comments Off on Social Cost of Fighting Face Recognition

.ma Meh

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Michael Froomkin

Dog.ma resolves, but isn’t interesting. Opti.ma is parked, which almost seems appropriate.

Enig.ma doesn’t resolve, which also seems appropriate, and it isn’t available. And neither are mag.ma and dra.ma.

Look.ma exists but is boring.

Ma.ma doesn’t resolve and isn’t available. Nor is Kar.ma.

Nor even meh.ma.

OK, back to work now.

Posted in Internet | Comments Off on .ma Meh

B+

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Michael Froomkin

I really wanted to like this initial effort from Represent.us more than I did.

It’s a good effort, marred by some sophomoric stuff. Actually, I like the straight pitch better:

I wonder how they will play in Kentucky? Although facially neutral, to the extent they work these ads have to hit the incumbent worse than the challenger.

Posted in 2016 Election | Comments Off on B+

A Mystery: Miami Property Values Seem Immune to Climate Change Risk

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Michael Froomkin

There’s been a lot of news recently about the dire effects climate change can have on Miami, yet not only has the risk not been priced into real estate but values are rising. What’s up? Are climate change deniers that rich, or is something else going on? Is the risk seen as so far out as to be discounted to zero?

It’s flat here, there’s a lot of coastline, and a sea level rise of only a few feet would turn Coral Gables into New Venice. Even a foot and a half — which apparently has a decent change of happening in the next decade or three — would be very bad for Miami Beach, and also for much of South Florida in that it could impact water supplies and swamp power plants.

How then to explain why none of this is priced into the real estate market? Not only are house prices mostly going up after perhaps over-reacting to the the foreclosure crisis, but so too are waterfront land prices, as evidenced by this $100 million/acre sale of the last piece of undeveloped waterfront in downtown (total price for 1.25 acres was $125 million).

Yes, it could be a bubble. Yes, it could be the musical chairs phenomenon where the buyer thinks they can flip it, or develop it, before the music stops. Or it could be that the buyers watch too much Fox News, or have their own climate scientists.

I’d really like to know what’s going on here — if only because I (co)own a house. Any ideas?

Posted in Econ & Money, Miami | 4 Comments

Should This Be Required Viewing Before Law School?

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Michael Froomkin

“Weird Al” Yankovic – Word Crimes:

Almost all great stuff. I disagree about the Oxford comma — I think it’s essential for legal writing. (I also have some other legal writing tips.) Catchy tune, though.

Posted in Law School | Comments Off on Should This Be Required Viewing Before Law School?