tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35458148896693794522024-11-01T05:25:32.580-07:00The Lucky CommuterMarc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-73589111669990939572012-09-04T15:28:00.000-07:002012-09-04T15:43:34.727-07:00I'm not happy, RIM. Not. Happy.I started a new job last February, and with my new job came a new phone. The firm let me pick any phone I wanted, as long as it was a blackberry. The office is invested in the BES, you see, and they rely heavily on the security features that Blackberry has for so long been known. I've used a Blackberry before, and was left feeling that the Bold I owned was a little under-powered and slow for the Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-45312673503200033682012-09-04T13:21:00.003-07:002012-09-04T13:21:50.780-07:00"Chaos, Mr. Who. It is our mode and modus."Chaos indeed. So this is my first blog post since finishing law school. Since then I've articled, gotten a position with a new firm (which is really my old old firm), had a baby, had a wife break her leg, had some trouble sleeping...the list could go on. So. Here we are, blog, just you and me. Maybe I can stick with you a little longer this time, eh? If the chaos doesn't erupt again? Worth a try,Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-69622107940387650402011-05-27T11:00:00.000-07:002011-05-27T11:00:07.788-07:00Law School Is Done!There! Done law school! Now on to bar exams. And work. And the new house. What am I doing wasting time on my blog again?Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-30470693551917101892011-02-15T07:42:00.000-08:002011-02-15T07:43:39.394-08:00Crouching Tiger, Hidden Helicopter MomThis article appeared under my byline in the Obiter Dicta, on January 31, 2011.
Like Luke, my partner in editorial crime, I also had strong feelings when I read Amy Chua’s story and book excerpt. “Horrified” might not be too harsh or exaggerated to describe what I felt as Ms. Chua tells us of threatening to leave her three year old daughter out in the cold and under-dressed if the little Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-21156558198626447032011-02-15T07:39:00.000-08:002011-02-15T07:39:03.073-08:00So You Wanted To Manage Your Work/Life Balance....This article appeared under my byline at the Obiter Dicta, on January 10, 2011.
For most of us students here at Osgoode, work/life balance isn’t much of a concern. At this stage in our lives, we are mainly pre-occupied with getting ourselves through all the work of law school, getting established in our new careers, and using what free time we can find to blow off some steam. However law school Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-27051345144464100072011-02-15T07:36:00.001-08:002011-02-15T07:36:06.596-08:00A Long AbsenceOkay, so I haven't posted anything here in while. School has been crazy, family life has been crazy, and I've been following events in the Middle East pretty closely these last few weeks. So to make up for this, I"m going to publish the more recent articles I wrote for the Obiter, and hopefully begin a more regular (or at least more frequent) schedule of posting thoughts.Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-74231766630345185672010-09-21T06:41:00.000-07:002010-09-21T06:41:18.769-07:00The spark.
I think I see it now, the pattern hereAnd here and there. It's such a small partA tiny piece of the picture.But it's here. Can't you see?Let me show you.There. Right. Now you get it.What is it? Why, it's everything.And it's growing.Didn't you know?Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-87230545489913814782010-09-13T06:15:00.001-07:002010-09-13T06:15:36.852-07:00Great Students, or Great Lawyers?
For those of you in 1L, the excitement of O-Week is just starting to fade, and the realities of life as a law student will soon be kicking in. For the rest of us, the first week back also represents a transition, as we jockey for positions on the waiting lists, get ready for OCI’s, or scramble furiously for a precious articling position. The beginning of the year is all about change with chaos, Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-20700231705992788992010-08-29T18:35:00.000-07:002010-08-29T18:35:52.636-07:00The Ten Osgoode CommandmentsThis is the first of my articles for the Obiter Dicta, school newspaper at Osgoode Hall Law School.
1. First Year is the Hardest Year. Getting used to the reading requirements, keeping up with the pace, and having the heaviest course-load of your three or so years at Osgoode Hall will all make your first year a thrilling, scary ride. But the hardest thing you’ll likely learn this year is Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-91757134295194758262010-08-04T12:02:00.000-07:002010-08-04T12:02:01.050-07:00End of Summer EdginessGraaah! I have just under three weeks left to go before I head back down to Toronto for school. I'll be starting even earlier than my classmates, because I have to get down in time to get the Obiter Dicta office set up, get a new computer for the office, and get an issue of the paper ready to go for the next Monday, when classes start. None of this is particularly hard work, don't get me wrong, Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-64241141226047700292010-07-31T13:44:00.000-07:002010-07-31T13:44:54.971-07:00So far, an uneventful long weekendSo with Mel recovering from a surgery and most of our friends either busy or out of town, it's been a pretty quiet weekend so far. Mostly I've been working on the Obiter Dicta website, getting some new functionality into it in preparation for the start of the school year. Mel's been busy with her new website too.
Maybe we'll light a bon-fire tonight, that would be a good long-weekend Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-81964172891753295362010-07-18T18:24:00.000-07:002010-07-18T18:24:54.413-07:00Bannock PizzaMarc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-36604197739858345872010-07-16T08:25:00.000-07:002010-07-16T08:25:55.846-07:00On the Lake, Part IIOur second day out on the lake saw the sun come up and remain clear most of the day. The day was much less windy than even the previous day, so we decided to go out in the canoe for a short paddle, to get some practice. We paddled around the island we were camped on, which turned out to be a little bigger than I'd thought. The water was mostly calm, however, as the island itself provided a Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-57922699531797817422010-07-08T11:26:00.000-07:002010-07-08T11:31:15.746-07:00Out on the Lake -- Part 1So our 4 day trip on Anima-Nip
Didn't go quite as expected.
The day we arrived,
The waves were too high,
We feared that we'd be ejected.
So we went to Finlayson Point Provincial Park the first night, and car-camped there until the next morning. It was a pretty good back-up plan, and we had a great site in the park, quiet and removed from the worst of the park traffic. Alas, it was also a fair Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-63197856800144835272010-07-08T11:12:00.000-07:002010-07-08T11:12:52.684-07:00Anima-Nipissing, 2010Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-48506690120690381042010-07-07T10:10:00.000-07:002010-07-07T10:10:10.349-07:00Heat ProcrastinationI'm going to blog about the family camping trip -- really, I promise -- but right now it's just too hot, and I'm in the process of doing some home tech support work as well. Pictures will also be forthcoming.Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-37529934707055981632010-07-05T04:37:00.000-07:002010-07-05T04:37:52.579-07:00Margaret E. Atwood (MargaretAtwood) on TwitterSaw this on Twitter, a great interview with Margaret Atwood about the future of reading and ebooks. I liked best that she pointed out that the important question isn't going to be "how will we read?" but "who will be literate?"Margaret E. Atwood (MargaretAtwood) on TwitterMarc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-74535143621556482332010-06-30T07:00:00.000-07:002010-06-30T07:00:15.368-07:00Summer HolidayAh, the long weekend is almost here. Mel and I are taking Maddie out on her first proper canoe trip this week, to Lake Anima-Nippissing, a beautiful little lake just south-west of Latchford, Ontario. I'm very much looking forward to getting out of town for a few days, and into the bush for a bit of a re-charge. I think Maddie's pretty eager to go too. Melanie has been doing most of the planning Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-9270554287196706432010-06-27T16:07:00.000-07:002010-06-28T05:45:35.518-07:00The Problem with BPI'm sure nobody needs to be told about the terrible environmental catastrophe that happened in the Gulf of Mexico; unlike most media stories, this one steadfastly remains in the news and on our collective radar, and with good reason. The sheer magnitude of this disaster is unlike any other environmental catastrophe in recent memory.
But why did it happen? I think the root causes of this Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-90146628307281888882010-06-25T05:47:00.000-07:002010-06-25T05:59:57.290-07:00A New DayI'm feeling better today, after a round of complaining and chicken wings last night. I got to have some wine, and do some whinin'. We have a workout scheduled for tonight, and maybe a bit of canoe shopping to do in the morning, so hopefully this spate of physical activity will help chase the blacks away for a while.Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-33918501829647335922010-06-24T12:38:00.000-07:002010-06-24T12:38:32.359-07:00One of those days....I'm having a rough go of it today. Despite my daily dose of SSRI, I seem to be sinking into the black again. I had similar trouble last summer (hence the introduction to SSRI's....) but this summer seems to be tougher. It's getting progressively harder to live at the in-laws' house and not have a home of my own. It's hard on my wife too, but it's her childhood home, so I don't think she feels theMarc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-40884384670210596452010-06-20T12:09:00.001-07:002010-06-20T12:10:32.637-07:00Father's DayIt's Father's Day, I'm sitting in the living-room, listening to my wife practise piano in the basement and my little girl singing and playing in her room (instead of napping like she should be). Life is good.Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-27558671243943751252010-06-20T11:58:00.000-07:002010-06-20T12:00:57.423-07:00Why the Lucky Commuter?You might be wondering why I picked "The Lucky Commuter" as the title of my blog. If you are, then you're in luck, because I'm going to tell you. I'm the Lucky Commuter because my commute to work every day (in Northern Ontario) is 10 minutes long, and the road I take runs along some of the prettiest lakeshore in the province. Traffic is always light, and almost always moving in the opposite Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545814889669379452.post-7938873207345132162010-06-20T11:00:00.000-07:002010-06-20T11:07:23.153-07:00Frrst Psst!Welcome to this, my first post as a blogger. I know what you're thinking, "Why do we need another blogger, anyway?" Well, you're right to think that. The world doesn't need yet another blog by yet another yahoo who thinks he's profound. So you'll be comforted to know that this blog isn't written for you, Gentle Reader, but for me. Aside from all my other interests and activities (law school, Marc Ducharmehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864510960328708036noreply@blogger.com0