Bush Advisers, With Eye on Dean, Formulate '04 Plans. President Bush's campaign has settled on a plan to run against Howard Dean that would portray Dr. Dean as reckless, angry and pessimistic. By Adam Nagourney and Richard W. Stevenson. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

Flying Ms. Fixit for 5 Secretaries of State. As the traveling information technology specialist for the nation's chief diplomat, Lynn Sweeney has faced harrowing storms, computer meltdowns, and even attacks by wild animals. By Christopher Marquis. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

My three favorite saints in the Bible are St. Dismas (the Good Thief), St. James, and St. Joseph. I'll speak of James and Dismas in due time, but this morning, let's consider the story of that guy in the (mostly forgotten) corner of the church, with a saw in one hand, and toddler Jesus under… Continue reading My three favorite saints in the Bible are St. Dismas (the Good Thief), St. James, and St. Joseph. I'll speak of James and Dismas in due time, but this morning, let's consider the story of that guy in the (mostly forgotten) corner of the church, with a saw in one hand, and toddler Jesus under his other arm. The man had an iron devotion to his wife, and a species of courage I don't think most of us understand anymore.

We who are not Jewish and don't read the Torah are generally unaware that in Joseph's time (and he was an observant Jew, after all) if your fiancee got herself pregnant by some other guy, you were not only permitted but obliged to turn her over to the local authories to be stoned to death. (See Deuteronomy 22:13-21.) Joseph knew this, but he would have none of it; he genuinely loved Mary and although he considered a quiet divorce, he changed his mind (with some help from an angel who came to him in a dream) and not only married her, but raised her child of mysterious fathering as though He were his own. This is so damned contrarian that I have to grin: My kind of guy! Had he interpreted his Scripture literally, Mary and the unborn Jesus would have been toast.

Is there a lesson here? Obviously: The law was made for Man. Man was not made for the law. (This does not mean, as some have implied, that there is no law.) When the law goes awry, love and guts were made to bring it back where it belongs. The story of Joseph is not the story of a Divine Plan being imposed from above, but of a good man following his heart in the direction where he knew his God was leading.  [Jeff Duntemann's Contrapositive Diary

Palm PDA for Lawyers.  Thanks to LawTechGuru for the link to Susan Wilson's Palm Legal Expert Guide, an overview of Palm-OS PDAs from a lawyer's perspective. It includes a list of relevant WWW sites, and advice on Palm OS Internet applications, inluding AvantGo.  [Netlawblog]

Taking Their Lumps of Coal (or Sugar). In the technology industry, some people and companies have been very good this year. But some have been very bad. By David Pogue. [New York Times: Technology]

Fiber to the home deployment schedule. Reuters: “Verizon said Monday that its initial [fiber] deployment plans involve about 1 million homes next year, with the pace potentially doubling in 2005.” So let's see.  Verizon has 30 million residential customers.  If they pass 1 million homes with fiber in 2004 and double that to 2 million… Continue reading Fiber to the home deployment schedule

Citrix Buys GoToMyPC. Oh, no, you can't get rich anymore by starting a Windows-oriented software company. That day is over, right? If you believe that, then what the heck is Citrix doing paying $225 million to buy “GoToMyPC?” Deservedly so, too. I love that software. Buzz Bruggeman gave me my first demo of Active Words… Continue reading Citrix Buys GoToMyPC

Update: DEVONthink Personal Edition 1.7.4. The personal knowledge base and content management application adds integration of Apple's WebKit (the Safari engine) to display HTML pages, internal display of HTTP links (using the WebKit), and many other changes. [MacInTouch]

Strategy and Technology to Support Law Firm Growth.  The Wall Street Journal published Kraft’s Stale Strategy last Thursday (12/18/03) describing how Kraft’s line-extension strategy has failed to develop revenue growth. Before I relate this to lessons for law firms, some backgound…  Line or brand extension refers to taking an existing brand name and applying it… Continue reading Strategy and Technology to Support Law Firm Growth

How the Net Invented Howard Dean. Forget fund raising (though his opponents sure can't). The real reason the doctor is in: He listens to the technology — and the people who use it. By Gary Wolf from Wired magazine. [Wired News]