Dennis Kennedy

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October 27, 2004

Electronic Discovery Research Report from EDDix Released

My pal Michael Clark at EDDix, LLC sends me news of the release of their new research report called Electronic Discovery in Litigation: EDD Supplier Landscape. He describes it as "118 pages of solid, primary research and analysis." Michael has tempted me with a free copy for mentioning the report on my blog, so don't tell him that I would have mentioned it anyway. Details on purchasing the report are at http://www.eddixllc.com/sa_supplier_landscape.asp.

I've got to get into this electronic discovery book business. Both Michael's report and my electronic discovery column co-author, George Socha, have published reports on electronic discovery this year that are priced a little bit higher than my $45 500-page eBooks. Maybe I should have consulted with them before pricing mine. I know who will be picking up the lunch check when I see both of them next.

Seriously, though, there is a crying need for good, solid information about what is happening in elecronic discovery. The market for and the impact of electronic discovery over the next few years will be ENORMOUS. Like the Socha Report, the EDDix report represents a major effort to bring some solid numbers and information into what has been a world of guesstimation. Great work!

George and I's new electronic discovery column should be appearing very soon at DiscoveryResources.org. It's called "Eight Simple Steps for Doing Effective E-Discovery." And, don't forget about the great virtual roundtable of 18 experts on electronic discovery that appeared in Law Practice Today this summer, an article I edited that generated me lots of compliments, all of which are the result of the great work of the contributors.

Posted by dmk at 08:32 PM

The Dennis Kennedy 500 - Blog Posts, That Is

A little milestone.

I noticed that I passed the blog post number 500 milestone. That's chump change for Howard Bashman, but it's nice for me. It reflects well on meeting my original target of 3 to 5 solid posts per week.

Speaking of 500, last summer, I got the chance to take a special tour of the Indianapolis Speedway, riding around the track and seeing places most people don't get to see. As I tell people, if you grew up in Indiana, as I did, or you are a racing fan, it doesn't matter whether you are in a little tour bus, a race car, a bike or walking, when you first round turn four and see that big straightaway open up in front of you, you will definitely get goose bumps.

We also got the chance to get out of the bus at the start/finish line and have a picture taken kissing the original bricks at the starting line. Again, an amazing thing when, like me, you grew up with the Indianapolis 500 being such a big event.

So, now I'm at another 500 milestone. It's cool, but the track tour was way cooler.

Remember, it's still DennisKennedy.Blog Reader Appreciation Week. Return the survey and win a prize.

Posted by dmk at 08:17 PM

Interesting Speculations on CLE, Blawgs and Blawg Channel by Stephen Nipper

In the who was carbon copied on that memo department:

Stephen Nipper, in a fascinating post, raises some thought-provoking questions about the role blawgs, such as The Blawg Channel, which he specifically mentions, might grow to play in the world of continuing legal education and meeting minimum CLE credit requirements. A must-read.

It does make me wonder whether Stephen might have touched on some things that might already be in the works. Not that I'm saying that I mean anything by making that comment, of course.

Posted by dmk at 04:39 PM

October 26, 2004

Oh My! Omea!

It's pretty rare that I get excited about a software program when I first try it out, but the Omea Reader from Jet Brains definitely got my attention.

It uses a "dashboard" style of interface to handle bookmarks, feeds, newsgroups and contacts in one handy place and then lets you easily annotate, flag, link and organize all of this items through categories, views, rules and the like. It's quite impressive and provides much of the functionality I've wanted to see in a personal knowledge management tool.

Here's the description from Jet Brains:

"Omea is an extremely powerful yet simple to use Integrated Information Environment. With Omea, you can access, organize, and quickly search all your digital resources, including e-mails, syndicated Web feeds, instant messaging conversations, newsgroup articles, favorite web sites, personal contacts, and even locally stored files (.doc, .pdf, .txt, etc.), all in one easy to use composite interface that’s well organized and efficient to navigate."

The Omea Reader is free since it is in its Public Beta phase (I crashed it a couple of times with some aggressive use, but I remained undeterred).

Thanks to Shimon Rura who lead me to Omea Reader.

I'll give my usual caveat that your experience with any tool in the "personal KM" category will depend on your preferences and requirements. Omea, after just a few days, appears to hit a number of my biggest needs and has a tool set that fits me well. I'd like to see more than one color of flag, but I suspect that its rules and views will accomplish more than simple flagging can.

You might want to check this one out before fawning all over the Google Desktop, which struck me as being vastly overrated. I've liked the lightning fast LookOut for desktop search for quite a while. Google's security and privacy track record still makes me wary of jumping into any Google release early on.

Posted by dmk at 05:14 PM

October 25, 2004

Announcing DennisKennedy.Blog Reader Appreciation Week

As you probably already know, I've recently redesigned my website and blog. I am so pleased with the work Spry Legal Design has done to make the redesign a reality (thank you Corri and Lance).

There's still some work I need to do on the site, but I wanted to give the redesigned site an "official" launch. The official launch date will be November 1, which will also be the official launch date of my two eBooks and at least one eBooklet. I'll be doing a number of things on November 1 to make the launch official, so be sure to watch for the November 1 launch "event."

As you may (and should) also know, this blog is very important to me. That's another way of saying that the readers of this blog are very important to me. I read all the commentary that you do about the business and marketing aspects of blogs, but the true benefit of blogging is the friendships and relationships that grow out of your blogging efforts. It's no more complicated than that. Well, there's also the two turntables and a microphone thing.

As a pre-launch treat, I wanted to offer a thank you to my readers in a tangible way. I also wanted to give my readers a chance to give me some feedback. I also decided to have a little fun at my own expense and hope that longtime readers of my articles will get a chuckle out of the following title:

Five Ways DennisKennedy.Blog Will Show Its Appreciation For Its Readers Through November 1

1. Free eBooklet. Email me with your response to the survey below and I will email you for free the PDF file for my new eBooklet called "Preparing Your Law Firm for the Internet Era: 150 Steps Toward a 21st Century Practice of Law."

2. Free NoteMap License. Follow the instructions here and Danielle Carwell at CaseSoft will give you the serial number and other info you need to obtain a free license to the great outlining tool, NoteMap. (If you are a litigator, check out CaseMap 5, an essential tool for litigators).

3. 33% Discount on eBook Bundle. My eBooks, "Dennis Kennedy's Legal Technology Primer: Best Technology Practices for Lawyers and Law Firms" and "Unlocking the Secrets of Legal Technology and Technology Law: Finding Your Way in the First Internet Era" are priced at US$45 each, or US$75 for both. If you note on your order form that you are a reader of my blog and send me the order form and your check on before November 1, your price for both will be US$50. You will also get the eBooklet for free if you send me your response to the survey below.

4. 10% Discount on Services. If you become a new client of mine before the end of 2004, simply mention that you are a reader of my blog and you will receive a 10% discount on my project fee or hourly fee.

5. 10% Discount on Seminars. If you retain me to provide one of my seminars before the end of 2004, simply mention that you are a reader of my blog and you'll receive a 10% discount on my package fee (note that a 50% down payment is required to reserve a seminar date).

Instructions for Responding to the Survey.

Copy the survey questions below. Answer the questions. Either (1) paste your answers to the questions into an email message to me, or (2) mail me your answers along with your order form and check if you are ordering the eBook bundle.

DennisKennedy.Blog Reader Appreciation 2004 Survey

1. What do you like best about the website and blog redesign?

2. What improvement(s) would you like to see made to the website and blog?

3. Do you subscribe to the RSS feed for my blog?

4. What topics would you like to see me give more coverage to my blog?

5. What topics that I do not now cover would you like me to cover in my blog?

6. I am considering either category feeds or separate blogs for a number of topics. Do you have a preference for either method, or would you prefer to see my blog continue to collect whatever I want to write about all in one place and in one feed?

7. One of the reasons for the redesign was that people found it difficult to determine what I did or what services I provided. Do you believe that you have a good picture of the services I provide? What might I do to make the picture clearer?

8. I highly value the expertise, experience and suggestions of my readers. In terms of the services and products I'm offering and my business approach in general, what would you do differently if you were me?

9. If you were asked to describe DennisKennedy.Blog in one or two sentences, what would those sentences be?

10. As you may know, CaseSoft and Fios currently are sponsors of my blog. Consistent with current blogging practices, I have not yet placed ads or sponsor logos in my RSS feeds. Would you have an objection to the placement of tasteful, non-intrusive sponsor logos / taglines at the bottom of full-text posts made available through my RSS feed?

Thank you for your responses and thank you for being a reader of DennisKennedy.Blog.

- Dennis

Posted by dmk at 09:31 AM

October 22, 2004

John Kerry Narrowly Avoids Elmer Fudd Moment

When I first heard about John Kerry's goose hunting extraganzer, the two words that flashed across my brain were "Elmer Fudd."

In an era of campaigns that are so controlled, micromanaged and poll and focus group tested, it seemed impossible that any candidate would risk any event when any factor was not subject to complete control, let alone one that had so many factors out of control and all-but-invited a "Dukakis in the tank" moment or, worse, Jimmy Carter's panicked paddle slashing at the rabbit that swam out to his canoe.

Reruns of cartoons of Elmer Fudd kept running through my head. Would Kerry make the mistake of wearing the classic Elmer Fudd hunting cap, a few sizes too large or too small? Even experienced hunters like Bob Knight have had hunting accidents. There are so many things that can go wrong.

What happened to his senior campaign advisors? Are they suffering from campaign fatigue?

I nervously awaited the news footage last night. I would have recommended bringing in a tailor for a custom-fitted hat and hunting outfit. However, even though the hat didn't quite fit, he avoided the Fudd model. He hadn't fallen, shot a wascally wabbit by mistake or anything else. Presumably there is some footage documenting that he is the one who actually shot the goose.

The choice of having one of the manservants actually carry the dead goose is open to some question, as is the wisdom of following up a resounding win in the Nickolodeon kid's presidential poll with the potentially child-traumatizing scene of him shooting an innocent goose. There also was just a hint of Herman Munster on the hunt as he lumbered through the field, although that's a subtle observation that says more about my childhood TV habits than about the candidate.

So, I say bravo! Here's to taking a bit of a risk and stepping outside the totally controlled glass box of today's politics. Bravo, too, for showing that you can shockingly offend the Hollywood PETA and Vegan movement with nary a concern of risking their votes.

Bravo, too, for me in my effort to reach a number 1 ranking in Google for a search on John Kerry and Elmer Fudd.

Posted by dmk at 03:42 PM

Ten Tips For Effectively Managing Open Source Software Legal Risks for Businesses

I'm giving a presentation next week on legal issues businesses must consider when jumping into the world of Open Source software. For the handout materials, I've written a new article I'm now calling, until something snappier comes to mind, "Best Legal Practices for Open Source Software: Ten Tips For Managing Legal Risks for Businesses Using Open Source Software."

My approach is my usual one - avoid the relentless nay-saying and theorizing that many lawyers are known for and try to establish a basis for making informed decisions that reasonably manage legal risks in the context of sound business decisions. Don't get me wrong, debating philosophy and theory has its place, but I'm the more practical kind.

I haven't decided yet how and where I'll publish this article (inquiries welcomed), but I thought I'd excerpt some of it here as a bit of a teaser. The result has a little bit of a Zen feel in comparison to the full article. The full article will be available to attendees of my presentation.

+++++

The following ten tips are intended to help you deal with some of the big legal and practical issues. They are, of course, not intended to cover all issues, but they will give you a good checklist to help guide your discussion and make good decisions.

1. Understand the Different Approaches That the Open Source Licenses Take. It is important not to think about the Open Source licenses in monolithic terms.

2. Pay Special Attention to the General Public License. If you choose only one thing to have policies about and require special review of, it should be the General Public License.

3. Remember the Source Code. In simplest terms, the biggest difference between Open Source software and commercial software relates to the source code of the program.

4. Make Reasonable Comparisons with Commercial Software. It's easy to find frantic concerns about Open Source software over reasons that apply just as easily to commercial software.

5. Think in Terms of Choosing, Rather Than Negotiating, Open Source Licenses. As frustrating as it can be to lawyers, the best approach is to evaluate the available choices and weigh the consequences, not to think in terms of ways to tinker with or improve the terms of agreements.

6. Do Not Confuse Open Source with Public Domain. Make no mistake – Open Source software is real intellectual property that is governed by a real license that puts limits on your rights and imposes certain obligations.

7. Inventory and Assess What You May Already Be Using. It has become very important for both business decision-makers and lawyers to have a good understanding of the technology issues, including what the software does and the alternatives available.

8. Open Source Use Requires Open Source Training. Knowing the right questions to ask is half the battle, but IT staff, contract negotiators and legal personnel, including outside lawyers, must be trained on the legal issues involved with Open Source as well as on the policies and procedures that you decide to take.

9. Reasonable Policies and Procedures Are Not Optional. Many business people believe that if you give a lawyer a look at a business process and he or she will find the need for a written policy. However, a reasonable, evolving set of policies and procedures crafted to fit the business needs and corporate risk comfort level of your company will invariably be the best approach to take.

10. Treat Open Source Policy as a Team Game. If the lawyer only looks at the legal issues and the CIO looks only at the IT issues, you increase the likelihood of finger-pointing when an unexpected, but quite predictable, bad result occurs.

Don't be an Open Source ostrich. Addressing this area from a reasonable knowledge base, with your eyes wide open, only makes good sense in today's business environment. These ten tips will help you get your Open Source house in order and pave the way for effective and wise use of Open Source software with your legal risks kept within your level of comfort.

Posted by dmk at 02:50 PM

October 20, 2004

Interested in Exhibitor / Sponsor Opportunities at ABA TECHSHOW 2005?

As you may know (especially after reading the two companion posts), I'm on the Board for ABA TECHSHOW 2005, by any measure one of the premier legal technology conferences held annually.

If you sell legal technology products or services, let me make this personal request that you put TECHSHOW on your list of conferences to consider for exhibitor/sponsor participation in 2005. TECHSHOW is well-known for its emphasis on education and the large number of attorneys who attend TECHSHOW. In addition, a large proportion of the authors, speakers and thought leaders in legal tech will be found at TECHSHOW (one of the factors that makes TECHSHOW so much fun for me).

The general sponsor/exhibitor info you need to get started can be found at http://www.abanet.org/techshow/toexhibit/index.html

I also want to highlight the Technology Training Institutes we debuted in 2004. The TTIs were very popular and well-received and give vendors an opportunity to provide extended demos, presentations and Q & A sessions for attendees who visit exhibit booths or develop interests from other sessions and want to learn more about specific products. See http://www.abanet.org/techshow/tti/index.html for more info.

You are more than welcome to contact me with questions, but because I 'm not involved in the sponsor/exhibitor sales process, I'll quickly reach a point where my knowledge ends and I'll turn you over to the appropriate contacts.

Posted by dmk at 06:09 PM

Have Some Ideas for Sessions Topics for TECHSHOW 2005?

As you may know, I'm on the Board for ABA TECHSHOW 2005, by any measure one of the premier legal technology conferences held annually.

As we look to finalize the schedule for TECHSHOW 2005, I'm interested in collecting any good ideas for sessions topics that people may have. I feel that our working list is very strong, but I also would like to get a sense of what topics are "hot" or of special interest today so we might make appropriate adjustments.

In addition, if you have feedback on TECHSHOW 2004 or other ideas, comments or suggestions for TECHSHOW 2005, please send them to me and I'll carry them to the Board.

Posted by dmk at 06:00 PM

Interested in Speaking at ABA TECHSHOW 2005?

As you may know, I'm on the Board for ABA TECHSHOW 2005, by any measure one of the premier legal technology conferences held annually.

We will soon be finalizing the sessions and speakers. I always like to make an extra effort to learn about new (or former) speakers we might consider for 2005.

Let me first make this DISCLAIMER. I'm only one of nine votes and speakers are selected by the Board as a whole.

If you'd like me to add you to my list of potential speakers, get me the following information:

+ Short bio, listing relevant experience/expertise, prior speaking engagements, et al.

+ A list of topics you can speak on, arranged more or less in order of your preference and/or strengths. TECHSHOW speakers are generally expected to speak in two sessions.

I'll take it from there and can answer any questions.

Please note that we prefer to use lawyers and others in the legal profession as speakers when possible and, in most years, employees or reps of vendors will not be selected as speakers. However, we do have Tech Training Institute sessions that are intended to be vendor-specific that can be purchased by vendors. The TTI sessions can feature vendor reps and employees and were very well-received when we introduced the concept last year. For more info on TTI sessions, see http://www.abanet.org/techshow/tti/index.html.

Posted by dmk at 05:43 PM

Tech Leasing for Lawyers - Law Office Computing

Hey, that's me in print! I publish so much of my writing directly on the Internet these days that it's fun to see an article appear in print.

My article on technology leasing for lawyers appears in the October / November issue of Law Office Computing along with the customary collections of great articles you'll find in LOC each month. You'll need a password available to subscribers to access the article, but, if you are interested in legal tech, subscribing to LOC would be a wise move to make.

Posted by dmk at 05:35 PM

Upcoming Presentation:

I'm thrilled to be part of a major St. Louis Open Source education event produced by the great people at Washington University's Center for the Application of Information Technology. Bill Darte at CAIT has outdone himself in putting together a group of sessions that address where the rubber meets the road in Open Source use and development.

It will take place on October 28th and 29th. I'll be covering the legal aspects of the Open Source licenses on the afternoon of the 28th and may sneak onto a panel or two on the 29th to provide some legal perspective. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to learning a lot of practical information about real world uses of Open Source software. Note the special fee arrangement for corporate counsel.

Here's a copy of the notice. Registration info may be found at http://www.cait.wustl.edu/courses/OPEN50.co

Open Source Software in the IT Mix

Description: This event will provide a comprehensive view of Open Source as an increasingly important IT alternative to the dominant commercial software alternatives. Across the board from niche security products to mainstream applications development these technologies are taking hold. Linux has made major inroads into the corporate server environment and even the dominant Windows desktop is increasingly threatened. Often thought of as ‘Free’ software, Open Source alternatives can pose a complicated licensing issue for organizations. Many other issues related to contracts, version updates and user enhancements cloud this realm of IT decision making. CAIT will explore this topic using Open Source experts and a panel of local IT professionals who are engaged in analysis or implementation of Open Source solutions.

Audience: IT managers across all technologies will benefit from hearing what colleagues have to say about their Open Source experience. IT executives will benefit from the discussion about policy and licensing issues as will corporate Legal Counsel.

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites.

Objectives: After completing this seminar, participants will be able to:

Evaluate open source alternatives
Understand legal and licensing issues
Know of other open source initiatives in St. Louis

Course Outline:

Day 1
Open Source: A complicated but Important Issue for IT (David Shields - IBM)
Open Source License Legal Issues - Does "Free" Really Mean Free? ** (Dennis Kennedy – Washington University Law School)

** Corporate Attorneys from CAIT Member Companies may attend this session at no charge. 3.6 CLE credits will be awarded for this session through the Missouri Bar.

Day 2

Open Source Alternatives
Linux on the Desktop (Pulitzer Inc.)
Linux as a Server Platform (Tsunami Research)
Open Source Security Tools (Maritz)
Developing Applications with Open Source Technology (Global Velocity)
Open Source Network Management Tools (Maritz)
Other Rational Open Source Policy (CAIT – Washington University)

Pricing

Pricing for 1st Individual
CAIT$ $ 610
Member $ 670
Non-Member $ 820

Pricing for all additional Individuals (1/2 price)
CAIT$ $ 305
Member $ 335
Non-Member $ 410

Lunch is served daily

Note: My earlier articles on the Open Source licenses are now available on my new eBook called "Unlocking the Secrets of Technology Law and Legal Technology."

Posted by dmk at 12:14 PM

October 19, 2004

Coach Steve Porter, RIP

My brother Steve emailed me with the news that our high school cross-country coach, Steve Porter, had died last Friday. My brother called last night to be sure I'd gotten the email. We talked for quite a while.

When anyone dies at age 53, it only makes sense to call it "unexpected," but my brother and I pooled our detective skills and limited information to try to guess what had happened. My brother, a volunteer fireman, had come to his conclusion, probably correct, based on the hospital involved and his assessment of emergency procedures, but expected to talk to others with more information later.

I've thought about Coach Porter over the years, both for the enormous impact of his coaching on me and the puzzling end of his coaching career in what can accurately be called a scandal that was both too public to deny its existence and too confusing to reconcile with the experiences we all had.

I haven't had many links to Vietnam in my life, but Coach Porter's story was one that we all felt showed some of the wounds of Vietnam. He had been a state champion track star who enlisted in the army to become a clerk typist in Indianapolis. He ended up as an MP in Saigon where both his knees were broken breaking up a bar fight. That was the story he told us, with a fair amount of bitterness.

Coach Porter didn't mention the Bronze Star the obituary covered, but neither did my great-aunt who got her star as a POW in the Philippines in World War II.

Coach Porter walked with a limp and, unlike many coaches, he never ran with us. We would joke and tease him about many things, but we left that subject alone.

My high school athletic career was modest at best, and a bit checkered. My focus was on track, primarily the hurdles and quarter-mile, if you are interested.

The unwritten rule at Garrett High School was that you needed to participate in a fall sport – football or cross-country – to run track in the spring. At the end of the summer before my junior year, I had some surgery (my memory is that Richard Nixon resigned while I was in the hospital) that kept me from participating in the fall sports. If I would have done the expected and hung with my friends, I would have securely held down the end of the bench on the football team that won the state small school football championship in Indiana in 1974. Of course, I'd now be making jokes like my friend Mike Wilcox that if they invite him to the championship team reunions, they must also be inviting the tackling dummies.

The following spring track season was a hellish experience that drained most of the enjoyment I had for running out of me. We had a coach who embodied almost every negative stereotype of coaches that you can think of. To this day, you can get my high school buddies to rant for at least 45 minutes straight just by mentioning this coach's name.

Among his other dubious practices, he had an ever-changing and incomprehensible set of zillions of rules, with fines for even the tiniest infractions, and suspensions for almost anything else. I was suspended for a week for going to a restaurant for lunch after my events were over at the day-long Goshen Relays, going the Penguin Point restaurant, which still was in business the last time I drove through Goshen, as track teams had been doing for years. He made a rule against it after the fact and suspended people for breaking it. I was suspended again for telling him that I was going to the academic honor banquet instead of a track meet that conflicted with it. That suspension was lifted as soon as parents and the administration heard about it. If you've ever heard Johnny Rotten singing "No Fun," you'll have a good idea of what I felt like.

At the last meet of the season, I ran a couple of different events and found some of the fun I had been missing. A week or so later, I ran the half-mile in an open event in the neighboring big city with some of my track pals and wondered if I had found the right race for me. My running buddies were all planning to run cross-country and, despite my reservations about running two-and-a-half mile races, I agreed to join up and spend the summer running with them. One of the selling points was that there would be a new coach coming in.

Sometime during the summer, I got into a pattern of running twice a day. In the mornings, I'd run with Neal Esselburn and one or two others. In the evenings, Dan Somers would come over to my house and we'd go for a run in the evening. I'd never trained in anything like that manner nor had more fun doing so.

As it turned out, the summer of 1975 was a magical time in the small town of Garrett, Indiana. The Garrett pool and the big parking lot and park that surrounded it became a gathering point for kids from the surrounding area. I've always wanted to write a book or make a movie about that summer and the way it became the kind of scene that small town teenagers have ever hoped for – kids sitting on cars on warm summer nights, listening to music, hanging out with friends, meeting new people. The movie "Dazed and Confused" captures the time very well, but it's not my movie.

Of course, it all got shut down by the following summer, but I'll still take a swing by there when I'm back in Garrett, just to see if anything is happening. Last time, I found it was against the law even to ride your bike into the parking lot.

Dan and I got into a routine where we'd go out for a long run that always ended up at the pool. It wasn't really a party. It was more of a comfortable gathering spot where young people could hang out with young people in a cool way that I've not often seen. My mom and dad used to comment that we had an unusual running route – we left running at 6:00 and then a carload of girls would drop us off at home around midnight. These were the days before central air conditioning and with windows open, it was hard to keep much secret. As they say, we were all just friends, living a big friendly vibe in our little space.

School eventually arrived and we'd heard rumors of the new cross-country coach, mainly about his military background and the cool car he drove. I'm sure it was Neal who talked us all into buying neon green adidas SL-76 running shoes, which probably distinguished from other small town cross-country teams even more than we expected. In a way, it was a first test for Coach Porter, in what may well have been his first coaching and teaching job. The track coach would have kicked us off the team for wearing shoes he didn't approve. There was no way, constitutionally, that he could have tolerated them. In fact, during the following winter, he made it clear that we'd all have to get different running shoes if we wanted to run track in the spring.

Looking back at the pictures, it was quite a crew that Coach Porter faced when he first met us, with Neal, who had decided to bleach his hair the blondest blonde imaginable, leading us. It was quite a collection of free spirits.

What I'll always admire about Coach Porter is that he met us from the start with an attitude of respect and trust. He expected that from us, but, more important, he gave that to us as well. One of his first announcements was to say that he was not going to have a bunch of rules, prohibitions and curfews. In fact, he didn't expect to have any. Loud applause. He believed that if we cared about the team, ourselves and what we wanted to accomplish, we would do the right things. Plus, he said with a smile, his practices would make us want to avoid the consequences of the behaviors we all knew were wrong.

He liked to schedule early Saturday morning practices, with the subtle threat of moving them to an earlier start time or even scheduling them on a Sunday if he got wind of the types of parties so aptly captured in the movie "Dazed and Confused."

In fact, probably all of us on the team would point to one early morning practice following a big Friday night party that most of the town probably attended. We ended that practice running hundred-yard sprints on the football field, one right after another, until, mutually, the target clearly became one hundred. Tired as we were, winning that hundredth sprint became a badge of honor we all wanted. I was pretty fast at that distance, but I have no doubt that everyone there remembers that he won that last sprint. And that's the way it should be remembered. We won it together.

Coach Porter had that unusual ability to get you to push yourself and get more out of yourself than you ever expected. He'd push and cajole, but mainly he put the challenge out there for you and give you his confidence that you could do it because of his confidence that you could do it. I realized over time that this type of approach and environment of respect, trust, freedom, support, challenge and genuine care about people is the place where I thrive.

Another great memory everyone has involved one of the few times that Coach Porter took on a acting persona that did not match the genuine approach we expected. We had performed well below our expectations in a race where we should have done much better and could have surprised some very good competition. We were as disappointed as he was.

At the next practice, Coach Porter had us sit on bleachers and wait for him to come out to talk to us. When he came out, he was carrying a clipboard and had on what he thought was a very angry face. We thought it was comical but kept very quiet. He launched into a well-rehearsed tirade that was completely out of character, ending when he threw down his clipboard in his "fury." When he threw the clipboard, we all burst out laughing. Seconds later, so did he.

He shared the laugh with us and then spoke simply about his disappointment and our disappointment and inspired us to work harder than any tirade ever could have. It is a rare person who can make that turn. He was also cool enough to tolerate our joking with him later by asking whether it was "time to throw the clipboard again?" I could have imagined at least one other coach who would have kicked us all off the team on the spot.

When I look back, I'm grateful to have had the opportunity and a coach who took me about as far as my athletic skills (and too-high arches) would take me. I have both a mental and a physical memory of what it is like to be in great physical condition, all of which helped me lose a significant amount of weight (and keep it off) over the past few years.

My current approach to cycling is also shaped by that cross-country season, especially the impulse to tack on another mile when I reach the point that I promised myself that I'd stop. That comes from what Coach Porter called the "dreaded fifth man" practice, which was designed to identify the person who would be expected to take up the responsibility for being the final person whose score counted for the team score.

Our running course was on a golf course. In essence, it involved a half-mile start and then two one-mile loops. The idea was that, during this practice, we would have the standard 2-1/2 mile race among ourselves. When we neared the finish line, Coach Porter yelled, "Take another lap!" We hesitated for a second, and then raced another lap. We got to the end and he yelled, "Take another lap!" Away we went. There might have been another round – maybe not. You never know what you can accomplish, and the fun you can have reaching there, until you are challenged by someone who you feel knows what you are capable of.

Unfortunately, in my case, I also learned the limits of running that much on feet that were not built to take the pounding. The "dreaded fifth man" practice probably was the pinnacle of my running career before foot problems set in. I often, however, find myself saying "take another lap!" as I approach home after a long bike ride.

Over time, I found myself adopting many elements of Coach Porter's style and approach to coaching and mentoring, especially trying to create an environment where people can excel at what they do best. If you ever work with me, you'll notice an absence of a bunch of rules, a respect for your professionalism and the assumptions that I can have confidence in you doing what you do best, that you are at heart a responsible person and that you understand and accept the consequences of your decisions and your actions. I will, however, push you to reach levels that I think you are capable of, even if you do not yet realize you can achieve them. And, I try to keep a good sense of humor about things. If I ever tried to slam down a clipboard to make a point, I know I'd fall on the floor laughing at myself.

Coach Porter and I never had a relationship that featured long, extensive conversations. It was always shorter and more to the point. I dragged out my high school yearbook tonight because I knew that Coach Porter wrote something in my senior year book. It said simply, "You're fast. Get faster." It might surprise you to hear that these few words meant a lot to me then. Still do.

I'd like to say that all this came to a happy ending. I'm not sure that it did. In protest, all or almost all of the cross-country team refused to run track the following spring. As I alluded to earlier, the ban against our SL-76 shoes even before the season started indicated what we might expect. For me, a case of mono made it all a moot point anyway.

I heard about Coach Porter over the years from my buddies who occasionally saw him, but I believe I never had the chance to speak with him again after leaving Garrett for college. My youngest brother, Steve, ran cross-country for Coach Porter for a year, maybe two, after I graduated, and was around when things fell apart. Even so, to this day, there's no one else I call "Coach."

Here's where I try to reach the happy ending. Maybe four or five years ago, I got home and played back the phone messages. To my surprise, I heard the voice of Coach Porter. He had found my website and read through it. He decided to give me a call to congratulate me on what I had accomplished, and to say he was proud of what I was doing and had done, and that he had a special place in his heart for that first season. He was pleased to see that I had realized potential that he felt that I had when he coached me back in Garrett. It was more of a statement than an invitation and, in a way, I was not surprised that he left no phone number for me to call him back.

I thought for a while about keeping a recording of that message. Time elapsed and, as these systems work, the message disappeared. If Coach Porter had sent an email, I might be quoting from it now. Instead, I have a memory of a voicemail. My memory, though, is of a message that is exactly the type of message you would hope to receive from someone highly influential in your early life when he or she looked over what you had later gone on to accomplish. In its way, that's a magical thing. It's ephemeral, however, and doesn't quite take the place of a conversation, especially one where you can say thank you.

Coach Porter, this essay is my attempt to say a belated thank you. May you rest in peace.

Posted by dmk at 11:50 PM

October 18, 2004

Barn Synchronicity?

I'm always intrigued by unexpected patterns and convergences. As the commercials say, it helps me "think different."

In Des Moines last week, I was given a gift for giving the keynote speech at the joint fall meeting of the Mid-America Association of Law Libraries and the Minnesota Association of Law Librarians, some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. My gift was a book of photographs of Iowa barns by Michael Harker.

The book was quite appropriate for me, even though they didn't know that I had spent quite a bit of time while growing up on my grandparents' farm in Indiana. My brother now lives at the farm. The barn at the farm always showed its age and wear, and a few years ago, it had to be torn down. It's still a little unsettling not to see it when we go to the farm.

I'll be darned if there isn't a picture of a barn on the cover of this book that reminds me of that old barn. The book itself documents a passing era of barns and I've enjoyed it greatly.

Here's where the synchronicity comes into the picture. In today's mail, out of the blue, I got a sample copy of Metropolis, the design magazine. The cover story on the November 2004 issue is about the way digital design is reshaping the American farmhouse. The picture of the farmhouse and barn on the cover have a Frank Gehry look and feel and reflect a reworking of the traditional farmhouse style. It's cool.

I love the convergence of these two things and am curious to see how they percolate together and what new ideas come from them.

Posted by dmk at 10:33 PM

Blawgs Appear on the Radar Screens of Corporate Legal Departments

Jeff "LawTechGuru" Beard sent me an article from the October 2004 Corporate Legal Times on legal blogs and how corporate legal departments are starting to use them as resources. The Blawg Channel was featured in two ways. First, Blawg Channeler Marty Schwimmer was quoted in the article. Second, The Blawg Channel was prominently mentioned as one of the recommended places to start exploring legal blogs.

I'll also note the article mentions or quotes a number of my blogger friends, including Jeff Beard and fellow St. Louisan George "George's Employment Blawg" Lenard, both of whom have been doing some great blogging lately.

The article is called "Legal Blogs Add Spirit to the Letter of Law," and is apparently only available to subscribers of Corporate Legal Times.

Posted by dmk at 10:30 PM

October 12, 2004

Email Marketing Rules for Lawyers: Wise Commentary, Impossible Results

For many years, Will Hornsby, Staff Counsel at the American Bar Association, has been one of the most respected commentators and experts on the extraordinary world created where legal ethics rules and the Internet meet.

His new article, "Spamming for Legal Services: A Constitutional Right Within a Regulatory Quagmire," should be read by all regulators and regulators-to-be of legal marketing by email. The article, while not yet available online, appears in the Fall 2003 issue of The John Marshall Journal of Computer & Information Law that just arrived in my mailbox. If you are interested in this area, it's worth the effort to track down the print version.

Hornsby has stated clearly some of the paradoxes and difficulties that have puzzled lawyers trying to use email in a normal fashion for anything that might be considered "marketing" in nature. Hornsby has raised the Q word in connection with these rules.

Here are few key items from the end of the article:

Hornsby notes that if, as many experts contend, a lawyer licensed in one state who sends emails to people in other states in which he or she is not licensed is deemed to be subject to the laws of each other state, he or she must comply with the laws of each and every state. As Hornsby notes in my favorite sentence in the article, "This creates a difficult, but not particularly impossible burden."

As he notes, full compliance is not only administratively impractical, but also requires "labeling and disclaimer obligations that distort the message in a way that undermines any marketing benefit that may result from this tool." Based on the discussion regarding the recently proposed Missouri marketing rules changes, a good number of lawyers are actually comfortable with this result.

Hornsby then goes on to point out the irony of the current rules. "As a result, lawyers providing personal legal services are better able to seek clients through unsolicited emails compared to those who are serving the corporate marketplace. This result should be the opposite of the intent of these regulations. Instead of protecting unsophisticated consumers against the possibility of overreaching, the result is the elimination of messages to corporate entities that are best able to assimilate the information and impose marketing controls to eliminate abuses."

Finally, in an argument I have made throughout the debate on Missouri rules changes, Hornsby concludes, "Meanwhile, law firms that could effectively convey a marketing message in a cost-effective way to a wide audience of prospective clients are restrained, if not prohibited, from doing so through this method of communication."

This result reminds me of John Lennon's famous line, "Everything is the opposite of what it is, isn't it?"

Posted by dmk at 10:53 PM

October 10, 2004

Please Adjust Your Feed Subscription

The recent change in web hosts caused some problems with my standard feed, which has a file name of "index.rdf". We have a work-around, but it makes sense simply to change the URL for the feed for this blog in your newsreader of choice to:

http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/index.xml.

For those interested in technical details, the index.xml feed is an RSS 2.0 feed.

For those interested in variety, this blog also has an Atom feed at http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/atom.xml. At the moment, and for the foreseeable future, there should be no substantive difference between the RSS and Atom feeds.

Although I have no problems getting the feed through the old index.rdf URL, I can't guarantee that others will not and it simply makes sense to switch to the direct feed file rather than rely on a work-around.

I apologize for any inconvenience.

- Dennis

Posted by dmk at 11:40 AM

Weekend Project: Home WiFi Network Primer

Home WiFi networks make a lot of sense for many people. With prices continuing to drop, they are suprisingly inexpensive and definitely a project that can be done by the do-it-yourself. Computer security remains an issue, but you can address the security issues in a way that gives you reasonable comfort by taking just a few straightforward steps.

CNET has recently published an excellent primer by Mitt Jones for DIYers wanting to install a simple WiFi network. The article is called "Cut the cords with a WiFi network" and is a great starting place for those wanting to install a home wireless network or to tweak and improve an existing one.

If you want to delve more deeply into WiFi Networking, I like Adam Engst and Glenn Fleishman's The Wireless Networking Starter Kit, Second Edition. Glenn is also one of the authors of the Wi-Fi Networking News blog, a great resource on wireless networking news, reviews and other useful info.

Posted by dmk at 11:06 AM

October 08, 2004

70% - A Number to Remember About Computer Security

I like to mention the topic of computer security from time to time, even though I occasionally get the feeling that many other people care about the topic.

Veerle's Blog has a post called "Security, the reality . . ." that paints a compelling, if bleak, picture of the current state of computer security.

Veerle discusses a quite a few startling facts and figures, but the numbers that grabbed my attention were these:

Odds of winning the lottery: 1 in 135,145,920 (0.000000739 percent)

Odds of getting audited by the IRS: 0.58 percent of individual returns

Odds of getting struck by lightning: 300 in 294,330,406 (0.0000102 percent)

Odds of becoming a victim of computer security breach: 7 in 10 (70 percent)

Required reading, at least for the less than 60% of computer users who remember when they last updated their security protection software. Veerle promises a number of follow-up posts, including a set of recommendations for improving your security.

Posted by dmk at 06:23 PM

October 07, 2004

Show me the (IT) Money

Over at The Blawg Channel, I made some critical comments about the technology priorities of large law firms, as documented in the 2004 AmLawTech Legal Technology Survey. Among those comments is my belief that many firms are wasting large amounts of money on misguided priorities.

As a timely companion to my comments, especially for those who want to take some positive actions to stem the money drain, CIO Magazine has just published a special "money" feature issue. You'll need a free registration to read the articles in the issue, but if you are interested in these topics, you should be reading CIO. I especially recommend an article called "Inside an IT Audit," for its excellent inside story of an actual IT audit conducted by a company. It gives you a great "open the hood" view of what goes on, what to expect and the results and benefits you might expect. The entire collection of articles, built around the theme that CIOs and IT directors should know and be able to speak the language of business, is valuable, but I would also single out an article called "Tips for the Budget Masters" for anyone involved in IT tech budgeting.

While my preference is to consult with law firms and legal departments that want to work on innovative projects, I also can assist with IT audits, budget assessments and the like. If a firm is using all of its tech budget on bread-and-butter issues and projects going nowhere or at least in the wrong directions, even modest corrections can free up significant resources to work on projects that will provide some real benefit to the firm's lawyers and clients. In my book, that's a heckuva good thing. However, you don't have to take my word - check out the "Inside an IT Audit" article and see the real-world benefits that were achieved and decide for yourself.

Posted by dmk at 10:39 PM

October 06, 2004

Australia Calling on Legal Technology

I'm forming an opinion that some of the coolest things happening in technology are being developed in Australia. Earlier this year, I had an amazing conversation with Rod Payne at Quickscribe about some of the cool things he's working on in multi-media.

Tonight, I had a great conversation with two members of the management team at SpeedLegal about the current state of document assembly in the legal market. I've been dabbling in document assembly for about 15 years and have gotten to know a number of the leading experts in the field. There were points in our conversation this evening where I felt like we were completing each others' sentences. I so much enjoy talking with people in the tech business who are doing cool things that show a deep understanding of both how people work and how best to help people accomplish what they want to do. I really like SpeedLegal's approach.

I know that I'll be keeping a much closer eye on what is happening in Australian technology. You might consider doing the same. The Internet makes the neighborhood you can live in so much bigger.

Posted by dmk at 09:51 PM

The Cure is Worse than the Problem

My trio of examples in the last 24 hours of how the tools designed to "protect" us have succeeded in making life even harder. Or, perhaps more accurately, more examples of how we live in a world where we are constant beta testers for unfinished programs.

1. I stand second to no one in the belief that spam filters have destroyed the reliability of e-mail. I sent an email to a lawyer yesterday about a potential referral I might send him. In a reasonable world, I could simply use a subject line of "Potential Referral." Of course, we all know that an email with that subject line has about a 2% chance of making past spam filters. So, I spent about 5 minutes crafting a subject that might work and checking the language in the body of the message. The good news is that it made it through to my recipient. The bad news - I found the response accidentally from my colleague in my junk mail folder. In the meantime, of course, the spammers continue to develope techniques every day to stay ahead of the filters.

2. The pop-up blockers are making it impossible to use the Internet. Hey, want a Gmail invitation? I'd like to give you one but I can't find a way to adjust the settings in either IE or Firefox to let me open the new window that contains the invitations. I actually run both IE and FireFox at the same time specifically to provide an alternative when the pop-up blockers kick in. I don't need any instructions or tips - I've tried everything, including enabling pop-ups on the site and compromising my security settings to get some javascript windows to open. The best approach seems to be to try the other browser if one does not work. It's not that I like pop-ups, but I can at least close them. The blockers keep me from using certain sites.

3. Here's my new favorite. I was at a restaurant using the WiFi yesterday and tried to go to my brother's website, http://www.plantingbythemoon.com, which covers a variety of gardening topics. However, a content filter blocked access to the site because it was an "occult" site! Good Lord! I supose I should be grateful that someone is protecting me from my ignorance about the dangers of viewing a site that discusses how to garden and grow herbs and other vegetables, but I trust my brother a helluva lot more than someone's content filter. I don't suppose the filtering company offers any compensation for the audience that they block from the site. Now I have a better understanding of why Howard Stern gets so nuts about the absurd and arbitrary bleeping he gets in various markets. Maybe someone can put together a "satellite radio Internet" where we don't have to ride around with someone else's idea of training wheels.

Posted by dmk at 09:18 PM

Hey, John Kerry Called Me!

I was a little worried that my negative reviews of John Edwards' performance in last night's debate might have knocked me off the Kerry-Edwards A-List. However, John left me a voice mail message personally inviting me to the post-debate party in St. Louis on Friday night.

It's beginning - the relentless telespamming calls that make the periods before elections a living hell as the phone rings and rings. I've vowed to try to keep my cool in the next few weeks. I'm still feeling a little badly about how I snapped in the primary season and told some luckless volunteer that he had personally guaranteed by badgering me with his call that I would absolutely vote against his candidate.

On the other hand, we were all kind of impressed to hear John Kerry's voice on the message. Perhaps he might record a personal answering machine message for us. President Bush, what's the story? Don't you have time to call us? My favorite of these calls is still when Barbra Streisand called me to urge me to vote for someone. Maybe they can set up a "please have one of these celebrities call me" list so we can hear from some of our favorite celebs.

Posted by dmk at 09:00 PM

October 05, 2004

Instant Debate Analysis

I pity the transcriptionist who has to try to punctuate John Edward's stream-of-conscious statements. I was awash in a sea of buzzwords and catch-phrases as he rushed to include everything but the kitchen sink in each answer.

When I clerked for a trial court early in my career, I ran into a number of trial lawyers who gave rambling, stream-of-conscious summations as they flipped, seemingly randomly, through pages of legal pads. I remember watching in horror and wondering what they thought they were presenting to the judge and jury. I kept flashing back to those memories this evening. I see now why Edwards sticks to the same speech at every appearance.

I suspect that he probably made some good points, but I was lost in the high speed stream of conscious flow.

I also kept being reminded of the Dan Quayle debates, especially the one with Al Gore that was so surreal, but suspect that Quayle is celebrating that his performances no longer represent the nadir of these debates.

I suspect the contrast what just what the Republicans hoped for and what the Democrats feared.

Posted by dmk at 10:46 PM

October 04, 2004

How to Kill an IT Project

The sad secret of many technology projects in law firms is that they have become time and money sinkholes. As hard as getting tech projects started may seem to technology-starved lawyers in many firms, it is even harder to get the plug pulled on bad tech projects that have no likelihood of success.

I commented on this phenomenon in my article "Seven Easy Ways for Law Firms to Throw Away Money on Technology." Heck, I'd be happy to help you get rid of those projects - just the thought of them bugs me and I'm not even the one paying for them.

In an article called "How to Kill an IT Project," ComputerWorld reports:

"Close to 40% of IT projects fail or are abandoned before completion, resulting in annual financial losses of more than $100 billion in the U.S. alone, according to the Center for Project Management. The center has developed a process called ProjectHALT to help identify and cancel doomed projects early."

There's a nice flow chart to help you evaluate your projects and make appropriate decisions. Sit down with your IT director, use this flow chart and add a pinch or two of courage and save some real dollars.

Posted by dmk at 11:00 PM

October 03, 2004

One Terabyte of Storage for $400

For many years, one of my favorite technology newsletters has been The Harrow Report. Jeff Harrow recently made some comments about the rapidly falling price of hard drive storage, especially in terms of how the ready availability of one terabyte of storage had been sneaking up on us and had, incredibly, recently broken the $1,000 barrier.

$1,000 for 1 terabyte of storage beats the heck out of the $1,000 I spent on a 30 megabyte external hard drive for my Macinstosh SE many moons ago.

The price drops are happening so fast and furious that the $1,000 barrier has been shattered. The "cost for a terabyte" number has been falling so quickly in the last week or two that the $1,000 standard has been shattered.

From the incredibly useful DealNews.com comes the announcement of a deal that takes the price (after rebate) of one terabyte of hard drive capacity to an astonishing $400, assuming that you partner up with another "household." Here's the quote:

"**Western Digital 250GB IDE 8MB cache for $100 after rebate** - 9:38 am

Fry's Outpost.com offers the Western Digital Caviar Special Edition
250GB IDE 8MB cache 7200 rpm hard drive, model no. WD2500JBRTL, for
$154.99. A $55 mail-in rebate yields a net price of $99.99, the
lowest we've seen by $10. Shipping starts around $5. Limit two per
household. Rebate ends October 5.

http://dealnews.com/newsdaily.html?article,73162"

It looks to be fairly easy to break the $1,000 terabyte barrier by shopping Internet bargains, and you might even be able to beat the $400 number.

Jeff Harrow's newsletter was originally called "The Rapidly Changing Face of Computing," and his catchphrase is "Don't blink!" In hard drive storage, both phrases are highly appropriate.

Now, we can begin to consider the ramifications of the availability of this amount of storage at these prices.

Posted by dmk at 09:17 AM

"Profiting from and Protecting Your Intellectual Capital"

"Profiting from and Protecting Your Intellectual Capital" is the title of my upcoming presentation at the IMC Consultant's University in St. Louis. My talk will be the most practical talk I've ever given about intellectual property, with lots of examples from my own experiences in writing, speaking and creating learning products.

The IMC Consultant's University is traditionally the best one-day education seminar for consultants in the St. Louis area. The 2005 slate of programs look great. Here's the info:

The Institute of Management Consultants - St. Louis announces:
The Second Annual...CONSULTANT'S UNIVERSITY...A full-day conference for management consultants who want to enhance performance and results!

When: October 15th 2004

Where: The Junior League, 10435 Clayton Road in Frontenac

Time: 8:00 to 4:30

Cost: $75.00 for members/$95 for non-members

Highlights:

. Two motivating general sessions

. Four sets of concurrent sessions to choose from . Lunch and energy breaks included . Vendor area . Lots of networking time . Receive valuable materials from sessions

GREAT TOPICS and TERRIFIC PRESENTERS:

Keynote Speaker: Linda Nash http://www.lindanash.com/ "Rhythm and Blues" - The ups and downs of the consulting business - Nationally known and televised personality.

Concurrent sessions so valuable it will be hard to choose:

"Effective Networking Skills" - Cheri Hanstein .

"Dealing with Difficult Clients" - Jan Daker

"Getting on The List": "How to learn about and get government contracts" - Rich Fyke

"Powerful Questions" - Ron Moore
"Monopolize Your Market": "Marketing the professional services firm" - Danette Kohrs

"Extra Hands or Trusted Advisor" - Jim Mittler

"Profiting from and Protecting Your Intellectual Capital" - Dennis Kennedy

"Mke Your Point Visually" - Wendy Gaunt

Closer: Mike Bitter http://www.bizresults.net/mbitter.html
"Now What?" - Avoiding FTI Disease - The #1 Killer of Great Endeavors - "The Failure to Implement Disease."

3 EASY WAYS TO REGISTER:

CALL 314 416 2240
EMAIL info@imcstlouis.org
ONLINE www.IMCSTLOUIS.org

DEADLINE OCTOBER THE 8TH

Posted by dmk at 08:48 AM

October 01, 2004

My Two Cents on Last Night's Debate: Dazed and Confused

I'm really trying hard to understand this presidential election campaign, but it seems like a losing battle. I know that I'm definitely not part of the target audience of voters for this election, but, gee whiz, most of what I heard last night made no sense. Unfortunately, the post-game "analysis" only made things worse. I thought it might be therapeutic to get this stuff out of my head, so I can free up some space for other things.

So, here are my notes on last night's debate.

Biggest Revelation

Realizing that John Kerry can best be understood as an example of the "trial lawyer" category rather than the "professional politician" category, as I had initially thought. He reminds me of the lawyers who oppose every single point, large or small, regardless of whether it is in the interest of his or her client to do so.

Strongest Accomplishment

Bush - Hammering the inherent difficulty of convincing other countries to participate in the "wrong war, wrong place, wrong time" and "colossal error of judgment."

Kerry - Successfully making Bush irritated and angry and taking him off his game,

Second Strongest Accomplishment

Bush - Wrapping himself in the presidency, especially by stressing personal relationships with (in addition to knowing the names of) world leaders.

Kerry - "He speaks so well" - as strong and polished a performance as I've seen him do. The contrast between speaking styles of the two is especially striking in the audio excerpts. Bonus points: successfully getting Bush to say "nucular" on multiple occasions.

Biggest Negative

Bush - Leaving me with the nagging feeling that he is preparing to fight the prior war.

Kerry - Leaving me with the feeling that he is willing to say anything to become president.

Second Biggest Negative

Bush - Making me wonder whether he can listen to or take into account any opinion that doesn't agree with his own.

Kerry - Is there anything he isn't critical of? When you criticize everything, it's unclear which points are really important.

Strongest Moments

Bush - 1. The complimentary comments about Kerry, especially about being a good father. 2. Struggling not to say "That's crazy" after Kerry insisted on immediately opening bilateral negotiations with Kim Jong Il of North Korea.

Kerry - 1. Turning the "body armor" issue on which commercials have been hammering him into a strong criticism of Bush. 2. Finally getting the sense for good ways to use his military background to give credibility to his criticisms.

Weakest Moments

Bush - Not understanding that, even if the rules prevented reactions shots, the reaction shots would still be used.

Kerry - I initially thought Kerry had simply misspoken on his North Korea comments, but he then insisted on taking a position that undercuts the fundamental logic of his criticisms of Bush on Iraq.

Help Me Understand this Stuff

1. Which is it - global summit or unilateral approaches?

Kerry argues that his first move on Iraq would be to call a "global summit" and bring the leaders of the world together. His criticism of Bush's failure to build a large enough coalition is one of his strongest points. Why in the world would he then undercut the whole argument by advocating bilateral negotiations with North Korea, especially when China, South Korea and others are already involved??? What matters in a president is "judgment"?

2. Pluck?

Did Kerry actually use the word "pluck" in his opening? I'd burst out laughing if anyone I knew used "pluck" to describe someone. It's so . . . quaint.

3. "We've got weapons of mass destruction crossing the border every day, and they're blowing people up."

I wrote down this John Kerry quote because I had no idea what he meant. Still don't.

4. "I've worked with those leaders the president talks about, I've worked with them for 20 years, for longer than this president".

I thought Bush was especially effective at one point in detailing his personal conversations with world leaders. Kerry said that he had been working with the same leaders for 20 years. Yeah, right. It's a debating technique, but why bring your own credibility into question when your goal is to question your opponent's credibility?

5. Get Out of the 1960s!

Maybe I'm too devoted a reader of John Robb's Global Guerillas blog, but I don't get the exclusive priority on nuclear proliferation. I'd like to hear something about the priority of defending against "cascading" infrastructure attacks, multiplying small soft target attacks, "swarming," bioterror and the like. The focus on Vietnam is numbing to me - are we gearing up to fight the war that was two or three wars ago?

6." Global Test."

Don't they have focus groups to help them avoid the use of terms like "global test"?

What's My Take-away?

1. Two very flawed candidates.

2. Can either of these guys admit to making a mistake (other than a mistake in word choice)?

3. How do the "spinners" for each candidate sleep at night? Did they get a high enough price when they sold their souls?

My Advice for Debate 2

Bush

- Lose the suit, especially if the next debate involves audience participation. The whole campaign has been done in shirt sleeves and Bush looks uncomfortable in a suit.

- Ask where Kerry's legislation implementing his plan is? I would have expected that, as a matter of strategy, Kerry would have spent the last few years proposing legislation that he could criticize Bush for not signing.

- Invoke Reagan and the Reagan legacy. The Giuliani convention speech is a good model to study.

Kerry

- Make the "presumptive close." Begin to talk in terms of what you will be doing when you take office.

- Be positive about something. All I'm hearing is constant negativity and criticism of everything. The relentlessly negative attacks should come from the lieutenants, not Kerry. Again, the Giuliani convention speech is a good one to study. Look out the window - not everything in this country is terrible.

- The winning approach is to acknowledge the common goals, but to suggest better ways to get there. E.g., the common goal is justice, but there is a better way to get there than through John Ashcroft.

How to Tell If the Tide Has Really Turned for Kerry

Watch for the debut of Republican commercials using the video of Bush throwing the first pitch in the World Series and including the amazing video of Kerry bouncing the first pitch of a game from a month or so ago.

How to Help Me Out

Would someone focus on being a uniter and not a divider?

Posted by dmk at 12:27 PM