From the National Weather Service:

DANGEROUS WINTER CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR TODAY THROUGH MONDAY.

EXTREMELY COLD AIR WILL OVERSPREAD THE S. GREAT LAKES REGION TODAY THROUGH MONDAY. VERY STRONG WINDS WILL COMBINE WITH THE FRIGID TEMPS TO PRODUCE LIFE THREATENING WIND CHILL VALUES & SIGNIFICANT BLOWING & DRIFTING SNOW.

THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. PEOPLE NEED TO STAY INDOORS AND RESTRICT UNNECESSARY TRAVEL. EXPOSED FLESH WILL EXPERIENCE FROSTBITE IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. BLOWING SNOW WILL CAUSE WHITE OUT CONDITIONS & SIGNIFICANT DRIFTING SNOW WILL MAKE TRAVEL ON [NORTH-SOUTH] ROADS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. …

THE NATL WEATHER SVC IN N. IN HAS ISSUED A BLIZZARD WARNING.WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST /11 PM CST/ TONIGHT. THE WINTER STORM WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED. A WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT EST /11 PM CST/ TONIGHT TO 12 PM EST /11 AM CST/ MONDAY.

WEST WINDS GUSTING TO NEAR 50 MPH WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. WHITE OUT CONDITIONS WILL RESULT TODAY AND TONIGHT.ESPECIALLY IN OPEN AREAS. [NORTH-SOUTH] ROADS IN RURAL AREAS WILL BECOME NEARLY IMPASSABLE.

THE STRONG WINDS WILL COMBINE WITH BITTER COLD TEMPS TO PRODUCE WIND CHILLS TO NEARLY 25 BELOW ZERO THROUGH MONDAY. EXPOSED FLESH WILL FREEZE IN LESS THAN 30 MINUTES.

WHILE THE SNOWFALL WILL BE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO MEASURE DUE TO BLOWING, 2 TO 5 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED BY LATE TONIGHT.

Right now, it’s 8° with a wind chill of -14°.

P.S. Punxsutawney Phil, you suck. :)

Texas Governor Rick Perry has issued a Gubernatorial order requiring all girls entering the 6th grade in the state of Texas to receive the HPV vaccine Gardisil, which is sold by Merck. The treatment costs $360. Perry’s order apparently avoids opposition from the Legislature and family rights groups. Merck has been lobbying across the country for mandatory vaccination but stepped up its efforts in Texas, funneling money through the group Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female legislators. The governors mother in law is a state director for the group. Sound fishy yet?

Don’t get me wrong, there are upsides to this as well, the vaccine does indeed help prevent the spread of HPV, a leading cause of cervical cancer. However this method of forcing it on people is a blatant slap in the face to individual rights. Governor Perry claims that this is simply like vaccinating against polio, except for one thing. You can avoid infection by not having sex or only having sex with a partner who is also not infected. Polio was highly communicable through food water and human contact, it was incredibly difficult to avoid its spread, unlike HPV. Gov. Perry has overstepped his bounds and apparently one so due to the influence of a pharmaceutical looking to make lots of money, and is claiming to do so for completely altruistic reasons. Hopefully the measure will be struck down and the families and individuals of Texas will be given the choice about this vaccine.

Today is Groundhog Day, and it seems Brett Favre saw his shadow, so there will be 16 more weeks of Packers games with Favre as quarterback.

Punxsutawney Phil, however, failed to see his shadow — the first time that’s happened since 1999 — and thus predicted an early spring. Wiarton Willie and Shubenacadie Sam agreed. Residents of South Bend, however, may disagree, in light of the forecast for highs in the single digits and lows below zero over the next several days. Early spring, my eye.

For those of you who continue on defending the government’s action in holding people in Guantanamo and elsewhere without having to present any evidence whatsoever that they have committed a single act that would qualify them as a danger to the U.S. and beyond that without giving them a chance to defend themselves, I suggest you read the story of Adel Hammad, a man who was taken from his bed in the middle of the night and has been held at Guantanamo for the past 5 years. Thats right, he was NOT taken in the field of combat, but from his bed, in the middle of the night.

At least 14 people were killed in the storms that smashed through central Florida this morning, emergency officials tell The Associated Press. Visit CNN for the latest.

I’m not the only law student who’s freaking out about the timing of the seventh Harry Potter book and the bar exam. Via Google Blog Search and Technorati, I found several others.

From the blog Gutted: “The date of the release of the new Harry Potter book is 21st July. This is something I am very excited about, yes despite being 22 years old. However, what I am very upset about is that this date is a matter of days before I have to take the New York Bar and so I will have to postpone my usual ‘don’t-you-dare-disturb-me-til-I-have-finished’ attitude until after I have sat the bar exam.” (Side note: taking the New York Bar at 22? Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Doogie Howser, J.D.!)

From Monkeyhead: “Guess who just pre-ordered the new Harry Potter book? Thats right, ME! It comes out on July 21, right before the bar. I am going to have to try really hard not to read it before the test. It will be my prize when I get done.”

From iamthestranger: “I just knew this was going to happen. … Read it right away all at once and return to studying, or put it aside until the next weekend? Do I really even have a choice?”

From William J. McDermod IV: “JK Rowling is evil.”

From Typhoid Mary: “Well, the news is out. The final Harry Potter book will be released the weekend BEFORE I TAKE THE MOTHER F***ING TEXAS BAR. Crappidy crap.”

From Nolo Contendre: “July 21st. That’s when the last book in the Harry Potter Series comes out. Four days before the bar. You bastards! I won’t be able to read it until after the exam!!” A commenter writes: “Damn people - don’t they plan for this? I have no self control! I might have to plan to not see another living soul during that time to avoid (1) spoilers and (2) acts of violence to express my bitterness that I haven’t had time to read it.” To which the blogger responds: “Exactly. Someone is going to spoil it. Like seriously. Not fair.”

And from Amicus Curiae, by a Texas law student named Ruth, whose initial reaction and eventual realization were both pretty much identical to mine:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows scheduled for July 21 release.

In other news… Ruth fails the bar exam.

Thank you, J.K. Rowling. Would it have killed you to push that date back two weeks?

*sobs*

EDIT: On second thought, Bar Bri should be over with by then, so I can easily take the night off, read it in one go, and get back to it. It can be done. It can be done.

Ruth adds in comments: “It’s pretty much the worst possible release date. Actually, take out the words ‘pretty much,’ and the statement becomes more accurate. But there is no way I can wait until after the exam to read it. I just don’t have that kind of discipline.”

It’s not just a question of discipline. Or at least, not of one’s own discipline. I could be disciplined enough to not read the book for five days — but can I count on everyone around me to be disciplined enough not to tell me the ending? That is the real issue.

If it’s just Voldemort who dies, eh, it might be possible to go four or five days without overhearing that news. But what if Harry dies? That will be an absolutely, positively HUGE DEAL. It’ll be the pop-culture story of the year. It’ll be the topic of every water-cooler discussion in America; it’ll be on Drudge; it’ll be everywhere. The mainstream TV and print media will probably avoid explicitly talking about it right away, but they’ll surely hint at it (keep in mind that late July is a very, very slow-news period), with phrases like “the controversial ending of the Harry Potter series” — which would totally give it away, since Harry living and Voldemort dying wouldn’t be controversial!

And c’mon — some bar-exam takers will have read the book, and there will totally be conversation about it, before and/or after the exam. Or at least, it’s a distinct possibility. And we’re lawyers; therefore we’re assholes; therefore somebody might very well say something too loudly. :) Realistically, there is just no way to assure oneself of not accidentally finding out who dies. And once you know, you know; you can’t un-ring the bell. The suspense is ruined, and there’s no way to recapture it. Kinda like when Sean told me Mr. Ludlow’s first name just hours before graduation. (Inside reference, people; move along, move along.)

Hence, I think Ruth has the right idea. Take a day off, read the book, then get back to studying. Fellow bar-exam-taking Harry Potter fanatics of America, this is my advice to you. Screw “discipline.” Read the damn book. It’s the only way.

(Much more discussion of this topic in my previous post and the comments thereon.)

UPDATE: A standard Google search for “harry potter” “bar exam” reveals that Ruth (writing for a different blog, but I’m fairly certain it’s the same Ruth) was waaaay ahead of me on this one. She was worried about this two years ago! In July 2005, shortly before Book 6 came out (a week earlier than Book 7’s release date, but still during bar-exam season), she wrote:

I was thinking about those of you who may be (1) fans of the book and (2) taking the bar exam, and I felt really bad.

That’s when the thought occurred.

The last book came out two years ago. What if Book 7 comes out two years from now? That would put its release in the same time that I would be taking the bar exam.

On the one hand, I know a guy who put off the LSAT for a year because it fell on the same day as the Red River Shootout. But I don’t think I could put off the bar exam for Book 7, even if it is a huge deal. My only hope is that J.K. Rowling will take an extra year with this one.

So, what I want to know is this: for those of you who had a major life event* take place while you were studying for the bar, how did you handle it? I’m not asking about the bar exam in general, but more along the lines of which you chose. Did you keep right on studying? Or did you take a break for the major life event? If you took a break, how long was the break? And did it affect your studying any?

And if you are a Harry Potter fan and studying for the bar… are you going to take time out to read the book? If so, will you read it in one go, or reward yourself with a chapter a night, or what?

* Yes, actually, I do consider the release of Book 7 a major life event.

Heh. Alas, there are no comments (dunno if there never were any, or if they’ve disappeared from the archive), so we don’t know how people responded. But to be honest, I think the release of Book 7 is so qualitatively different from the release of Book 6 that the experiences of those ‘05 bar-exam takers may not be terribly applicable. I mean, yeah, with Book 6, you had the suspense of which main character was going to die (Dumbledore), and who the “Half-Blood Prince” is (Snape), but it wasn’t like this… it wasn’t the ultimate question of how the whole damn series was going to end, the culmination of all these years of suspense, the fulfillment of the prophecy, the fate of the wizarding world, etc. etc. The level of anticipation for the crucial salient facts that will be revealed in Book 7 is about eleventy billion times more intense than for Book 6, so I think the concern about accidentally learning the answers is much, much, much more acute.

UPDATE 2: On the other hand… here’s a blog suggesting that accidental revelations were a problem, even with Book 6. On July 17, one day after the book came out: “I admit I’ve focused mostly on MBE, so this week will be an absolute crash course in everything else. I think that’s why I’m freaked, and that’s why I need to keep telling myself to chill. I’ve seen this before, so I will be ok. Besides, my reward for all my hard work will be Harry Potter. Now, if only people would stop spoiling it for me…” And from July 25, nine days after the book release and one day before the bar: “I should be looking foward to Harry Potter 6, but thanks to Prof. Yin and his lovely rss feed, the book was just spoiled for me. Hello.”

See? See??? And that was just Book 6. (And incidentally, that test-taker — who practiced “discipline” and didn’t read the book — failed the bar. See, discipline sucks!)

Like I said: I’ve concluded, upon obsessive consideration of the issue, that taking a break from bar preparation and reading the book is the only viable solution, unless you’re prepared to accept a very high risk of accidentally learning That Which Must Not Be Learned.

P.S. Those of us who will be reading Deathly Hallows before taking the bar should call ourselves the “J.K. J.D.s.” :)

It’s always a good day when Duke loses. It’s especially good when they lose to a team that crushed Gonzaga earlier in the season. Virginia 68, Duke 66, final in overtime. Nice! The Cavs are now 6-2 in the ACC, in a three-way tie for second place in that league.

(Granted, the Zags lost to Duke, too. But nobody looks askance at a 7-point loss to Duke. A 21-point loss to Virginia, on the other hand, didn’t look quite so respectable. Virginia’s success as the season goes on makes it somewhat moreso.)

Other bubble teams that have gotta be happy about this: Appalachian State, which beat Virginia 80-69 in December, and Stanford, which beat ‘em 76-75.

Meanwhile, in more important basketball news, USC is handling Oregon State. Good.

UPDATE: Trojans 73, Beavers 56, final.

Beat the Ducks!

UPDATE 2: Also in L.A., in a battle for first place in the Pac-10 (not to mention, a showdown between USC’s next two opponents), UCLA beat Oregon, 69-57.

110 on the first night of bowling? It's no 138, but I'll take it. Compare and contrast to the 46 that I bowled the first night of 1L bowling. :)

What in the devil is going on in England? “A growing disaster that could destroy Labour… Downing Street looking increasingly like a crime scene and less like a seat of government… a discredited administration that is falling apart by the day…” Cripes!

…over the Super Bowl. Heh. Excerpt:

FOWLER, Ind. — As Sunday’s Super Bowl approaches, the battle line between fans of the Chicago Bears and fans of the Indianapolis Colts runs right down the middle of the 100 Mile Rib & Chop House.

The 80-year-old restaurant and bar here, named for its location, is about 100 miles from Indianapolis and 100 miles from Chicago. With the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts set to face off in the big game, the restaurant is girding for open intra-bar warfare, and working hard to aid and abet both camps.

Owner John Hoskins has divided the 100 Mile House into two zones. The north side is marked by a 4-foot-tall stuffed bear wearing the Bears’ navy-and-orange jersey. On the south side stands a 6-foot-wide inflatable Colts player in a three-point stance, on loan from an employee who got it as a wedding gift. Team posters and flags are plastered on either side. The bar runs the length of the room.

Later, the article notes that one of the bartenders at 100 Mile House “set a record for tips — $337 — on Jan. 21 during the conference playoffs, when the Bears and Colts played back-to-back games the same day.” It also quotes Wally Parham, 57, as saying, “I hope the Bears win. I hope the Colts win. I’m all confused.”

Read the whole thing. (Hat tip: Barb.)

As you may or may not have noticed, I’ve added a link to LoyCam in my left sidebar. Check out the icicles!

…is brought to you courtesy of Deadspin:

This is the the third day after Barbaro’s death, which if we’re remembering our scripture correctly is the day that He is supposed to return from the dead, emerge from his tomb and speak to the apostles (although it may be difficult moving that heavy round rock with his hooves). We eagerly await any reports from eyewitnesses.

Heh.

On a related note, Law School Bowling starts tonight, and as mentioned previously, my team’s name is “Barbaro’s Glue Factory.” (Not my idea, and sick, but funny.)

La Rev tries out the transitive property:

Gonzaga beat Stanford.
Stanford beat UCLA.
Therefore, March 23, 2006 never happened.

Heh. (For those who don’t remember what happened — er, didn’t happen — on March 23, 2006: here you go.)

Those air-raid-siren-sounding things outside are just a test of the tornado sirens. It’s the first Thursday of the month.