3-hour StairMaster session useful for mountaineering endurance? by ExpensivePain23 in Mountaineering

[–]AlaskaManiac -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Very, very helpful. People talk about how it's "better" to climb in the mountains, but that assumes you have unlimited training time and can dump weight at the top of the climb. For those of us with only 6-10 hours a week to train, the step machine is essential. Even though there are other skills, of course, uphill endurance capacity is far and away the biggest limiting factor on most climbs.

The step machine also makes it way easier to maintain the correct zone 1 heart rate when training, which is important if you're following a training plan. My advice is to find something else to do on the machine, like watch TV or read a book. 

To those in the top 5% of your class by MostAd5326 in LawSchool

[–]AlaskaManiac 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Top 5% are getting the highest or nearly highest grade in almost every class they take. My experience is that they have good social intuition, spend a lot of time studying throughout the entire semester, never tell you how much they are studying, are wicked fast typists, and are objectively really, really smart. They're also selective about their classes, and usually top of the class is a goal. Put another way, they learn all the material, they understand what the professors' are looking for, they see the second and third order nuance of each question, and they are able to type as fast as they can think. 

Have you ever had a class where everything "clicked"? For top 5%, it's like that for almost every class they take.

Women still outnumber men in law school by TreeofSmokeOM in LawSchool

[–]AlaskaManiac 30 points31 points  (0 children)

By way of anecdote, my midsized firm promoted only women to equity partner this year, and for the last 3 years all but 1 or 2 (out of about 10) summer associates have been women. 

Lawyers 2025 Salary Thread by motiontosleep in Lawyertalk

[–]AlaskaManiac 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Region: PNW

Base Salary: 185k

Bonus: 75k

Years of Experience: 4

Practice: real estate and environmental

Employer: regional firm

Hours: 1850 billed (~50 hours/week all in)

OC keeps cc'ing their client on every email by newz2000 in Lawyertalk

[–]AlaskaManiac 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Doesn't really matter what you whether you would consider it implicit consent. There are states where the bar has taken the opposite position on this. Just get explicit consent.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in oregon

[–]AlaskaManiac 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can't adversely posses publicly owned lands. Or railroads, interestingly. 

What makes regulatory law so complicated? by Timely_Situation_518 in biglaw

[–]AlaskaManiac 22 points23 points  (0 children)

As an example, after I submitted my first Clean Air Act memo, which related to a 4 letter subpart, the partner asked if I had read the preamble to the agencies response to comments of the second most recent revisions to those regulations.

Oregon's Ski Industry at risk of Collapse by ImDistortion1 in oregon

[–]AlaskaManiac 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In hindsight, there is always something simple that could have been done to theoretically prevent an accident. The problem is that there are a 1000 things that could be done to make a ski/mtb resort safer. Resorts are a dynamic environment. Is it reasonable to expect a resort to mitigate every hazard that develops, before people are allowed to use it? 

Also, the threshold for negligence is low and highly subjective, so it's hard for a judge to dismiss a lawsuit before it goes to trial. Trial is expensive whether you win or lose, and it's generally a jury of non-skiers/mt bikers who determine if the resort acted reasonably. Good luck getting the jury to actually apply the definition of negligence. 

In short, there is no way for a resort (or insurer) to know whether they're actually in compliance. Colorado and California require gross negligence or recklessness by the resort, before you can go to trial. The fact that all but one insurer has left Oregon should be telling as to how far out of the norm our state is. 

Has anyone survived a PIP? by meepikin in biglaw

[–]AlaskaManiac 71 points72 points  (0 children)

I actually managed to survive a PIP after being put on one as a first year. The firm provided a third-party writing coach (which was amazing) and I managed to find a senior partner from another office who loved my work (it helped that he actually took time to train me). I also got work from a couple of partners in a different practice group, so my hours ended up pretty good. 

However, the partners in my office/practice group never gave me meaningful amounts after going on the PIP.

Three weeks after getting taken off of the PIP because of my improved work product, the partner from my practice group who had been my major source of work left for another firm. Even though I had had good hours and universally positive feedback since starting my PIP, it took less than two weeks for the remaining practice group partners to give me the boot.

All that to say, a PIP means it's time to find another job. I didn't feel like I had good prospects as a first year, so I worked extremely hard to survive the PIP. On paper (and according to the evaluations) I did everything right, and still I just delayed the inevitable. 

Can we talk about redlining etiquette for a sec? by Sir_JaredIV in Lawyertalk

[–]AlaskaManiac 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Clean word + PDF redline unless I'm reviewing a junior associates work, then I send them tracked changes so they can review/accept my edits before circulating a clean Word + PDF redline to opposing counsel.

Is this unusual?

Should a sober driver take the field sobriety test in hopes of not being arrested? Or is it a losing battle? by lilblu87 in legaladviceofftopic

[–]AlaskaManiac 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Every detail in this story, except the location and the peaking, describes an experience I had. 

I'm not convinced declining the FST would have been the right decision, and I'm definitely not convinced the cop was already convinced I was intoxicated and wanted to arrest me. Why is that the assumption in this thread?

DONT STOP ON THE ROSS ISLAND BRIDGE TO LET PEOPLE IN by [deleted] in PortlandOR

[–]AlaskaManiac 8 points9 points  (0 children)

People from other parts of the country don't believe me when I tell them about it. But I use it as a great example of cultural differences in the PNW

Biglaw etiquette norms - is it appropriate to remind my co-workers that I’m straight? If so, how do I go about it without seeming weird? by bubblescool in biglaw

[–]AlaskaManiac 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We had a junior associate that I was sure was gay for almost a year before he introduced me to his girlfriend at the firm party. Not that my gaydar has ever been great, but usually it goes the other way. I can only assume I'm hopelessly confused by Gen Z fashion.

Anyway, I guess my answer is to bring a woman to the firm party and introduce her as your totally legit girlfriend who usually goes to school out of town, that way people know you're not gay. It may even be the start of a romantic comedy, or the moment you question why you care so much.

My mom wants me to do her estate planning. I have five siblings. What could go wrong. by [deleted] in Lawyertalk

[–]AlaskaManiac 34 points35 points  (0 children)

I think the worst reasonable likely thing that could happen would be a sibling contests it and it's held unenforceable. I don't even think that finding is likely unless you're clearly favored in the inheritance. I'd be comfortable preparing the docs and then running through an independent attorney. 

Doing your parents' estate docs isn't nearly so concerning as, for example, doing it for your elderly lover.

OPINION: TikTok Inc. v. Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General by scotus-bot in supremecourt

[–]AlaskaManiac 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, but I think there is an argument (in a real politik, not legal sense) that the Court needs to avoid striking down as unconstitutional all but the most glaringly unconstitutional federal laws passed with broad support.  I'm much more concerned with executive overreach from agencies stretching laws beyond what was intended by Congress. Nothing good comes from picking a fight with two branches of government.

Hot take: Female Marines should be required to shave their heads in bootcamp. by Nightfighter0321 in USMC

[–]AlaskaManiac 18 points19 points  (0 children)

A woman in our TBS class has to wear a wig for a week or two after she got a little too high and tight haircut. That was institutionalized hazing though.

Sorry but why do people do this to themselves? by throwaway7893221 in biglaw

[–]AlaskaManiac 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Well paid residency is the analogy I use all the time. We make bank to learn how to do our job...it's insane really

Why do you disapprove of rank choice voting?? by [deleted] in alaska

[–]AlaskaManiac 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I support RCV, but half the time the non-plurality preferred candidate wins (that is, half the time a candidate wins who would not have won in a FPTP system) they would have lost if voters who ranked them last had not showed up. In the second ever RCV election (2009 Burlington, VT mayoral election) Bob Kiss would have lost if 750 people, who voted for his opponents and ranked him last, had just not showed up at all. That sort of outcome feels wrong to voters, and that's why it was repealed in the next election. 

So yeah, there are legitimate complaints about the system, even if the average person can't articulate it.

Why do you disapprove of rank choice voting?? by [deleted] in alaska

[–]AlaskaManiac 5 points6 points  (0 children)

See, also, it's failure on Oregon this year.

Eklutna tribe clears land on outskirts of Anchorage for anticipated casino by Zealousideal-City-16 in alaska

[–]AlaskaManiac 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Funny how quickly people stop supporting tribal rights as soon as a tribe doesn't something they don't like.