Trying out BlogSkins. Kind of fun. They promise eventually to be able to integrate existing links and other template customizations, which should go a long way toward getting us outside more often.

"Blawg" addition: LawMeme, a blog maintained by Yale Law School students, provides a wealth of current legal news and commentary.

Wow. Houston, we have Mac. And they say the new car smell is good. So far (about ten minutes into my life as a Mac user) I am dazzled and amazed. The setup on these things is effortless. OSX immediately recognized and used my less-than-conventional ISDN connection, which I was pretty sure would take futzing about with. I'm off to connect more peripherals -

Finally had to say goodnight to the iMac, but it was a sorrowful parting. Apple's got this down. Even the packing and packaging for these things is clean, simple, effective and visually pleasing. I can't get it to see a Belkin 4-port (F1U200) switch and the USB peripherals attached to it, but the "genius" at the Mac store told me that probably would happen (I am not being facetious - that was his Title). Ah well, gotta have something to troubleshoot. Oh, and the Blogger interface loses some editing buttons in the Mac version of IE, for some reason. Otherwise, all systems G-O.

What is it? And Blogging the Law. Computing tool, or bobbing bird toy? Whatever, it's still in the box at the moment. Will let you know if it actually fires up.

On a different note, I seem to be one of the only "out" lawyer/bloggers in the State of California. Let me break that down - I mean lawyers who admit to blogging, and bloggers who admit to lawyering. This is surprising, since California has one of the highest per capita lawyer populations in the U.S. The lawyer-blogging divide won't last long, and I'm afraid I may be speeding its demise (before I tell you the next part, please move away from any blunt instruments - thanks). I'm nearly done with an article on how blogging could transform legal institutions, for the Daily Journal (California's legal newspaper). This is bound to get more lawyers - and maybe judges - blogging, and while you are free to disagree I tend to think this is a good thing, entirely in keeping with Cluetrain-y oaths and visions. As demonstrable evidence, I submit some new "Blawg" additions to the Menage. First, there's Law and Everything Else, an informative, comprehensive and clever blog maintained by Burt Hanson (who seems to hail from beyond the U.S., based on his spelling preferences and global focus?). In light of our Kelly v. Arriba discussions, Frank will appreciate his link to an article about the Ninth Circuit's record of Supreme Court reversals, and the old joke: "Judge, I'm appealing a ruling from the 9th Circuit, but I have other reasons as well." (Fang will also appreciate Mathilda.) Second, there's Instapundit, the blog of law professor and music enthusiast Glenn Reynolds, who tags himself (via PRAVDA) as "The New York Times Of Bloggers." Glenn's example is particularly powerful. Legal institutions - courts, law schools, large firms - traditionally have been locked down and inaccessible. The University of Tennesee's law school now is less so, thanks to Professor Glenn: "For me, it's an enjoyable way to get thoughts out that don't merit a 20,000-word law review article but that I think are interesting. And it offers immediate feedback -- and I mean immediate. Sometimes e-mails come in within 30 seconds of a post going live." (From the Minneapolis Star Tribune article noted by Doc yesterday.) Links from Glenn's blog include Overlawyered, a critical look at the legal system's myriad excesses and gaffes. Finally, there's Organized Anarchy, a blog maintained by solo-practitioner Chuck Hartley in San Diego. (Chuck also suffers from the widespread blogger-canine obsession - not sure what all this means, but Rand no doubt has a study in the works.) So, beware - the lawyers are here and more are coming. There is solace in the fact that "I can get you One Million Dollars!" will not make for particularly linkable blog-fodder. - Update: another blogging law professor, David E. Sorkin, of the John Marshall Law School in Chicago. Also Larry Staton, Jr., who fuses "law, economics and technology" with a firm grasp on all three, and Kentucky lawyer moved left-coast C. Dodd Harris, IV.

Justice Bedsworth's monthly column has been updated. He's also over there in the Menage, although his column - sadly - is not a blog. I mean to speak with him about this, honest, but am working on how to broach it. In these times of heightened security, an opening conversational salvo with a Justice of the Court of Appeal that goes "Hi Bill, we really need to discuss blogging" is likely to earn you a shopping spree at the orange jumpsuit emporium. In any event, this month Beds dissects the Kerkorian child support case. I particularly enjoyed his unique blow-by-blow of how the couple reached their litigatory impasse, which includes observations like, "She had to agree to divorce him within a month of the marriage. Sounds like a bad Ally McBeal episode, doesn't it? Ally McBeal, hell, it sounds like something the Brothers Grimm would have come up with if mescaline had been available in 18th century Germany." Oh, it's good. As usual. If checking in on Beds regularly doesn't start to convince you that the courts might be in good hands after all, nothing will. Meanwhile, back at the law firm, Kiefer Sutherland is in the house - or on the plaza, actually - filming his show 24, which despite good notices I am unable to warm up to. The plot seems as though it might have made an ok X-Files episode - but just one, not a whole season. The show must go on though, that's the thing about LA. If you can't land yourself at least one TV or movie spot a week, you're simply not trying. There is a little-known city ordinance that requires the number of active production crews to equal the number of Starbucks franchises on any given day. You can look it up.