Blog Glob: Monday morning shorts

Nation's Leading Divorce Lawyers Finding More Cases Settled Before Trial (Divorce Law Journal)

"A growing number of couples are having more success negotiating settlements with the assistance of their lawyers," said Gaetano "Guy" Ferro, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Negotiated settlement gives the spouses more input into their divorce judgment than does letting a judge decide the issues. It affords the opportunity for more creative resolutions which can minimize adverse tax consequences. Settlement is almost always less stressful for the spouses than trial and, where there are children, makes it more likely that the parties will be able to effectively co-parent."

Excerpt from "Fear, Complexity and Environmental Management in the 21st Century" (Michael Crichton)

[C]omplexity theory has raced through the financial world. It has been briskly incorporated into medicine.  But organizations that care about the environment do not seem to notice that their ministrations are deleterious in many cases.  Lawmakers do not seem to notice when their laws have unexpected consequences, or make things worse.  Governors and mayors and managers may manage their complex systems well or badly, but if they manage well, it is usually because they have an instinctive understanding of how to deal with complex systems.  Most managers fail.

Excerpt from "They'll even plan your funeral" (Globe and Mail)

Bet your mother's banker never asked her whether her kids might fight over her estate, or when her daughter is getting married, or how her divorce is coming along. Depending on their level of wealth, Canadians might be surprised to find out some of the things some banks are willing to do for them these days - for a fee, of course - from guiding boomers on how to get proper health care for their elderly parents, to helping them decide which child to leave the family business to, to connecting them with a good dog-walker.

Excerpt from Iran blocks access to Google (from The Googlization of Everything)

The Iranian government has blocked access to one of the world's most popular search engines, Google. Since Sunday, Iranian websurfers have not been able to access the site.

Hamid Shahriari, the secretary of Iran's National Council of Information, confirmed that access to the site had been denied in an interview with Mehr news agency in Tehran. Shahriari did not give any reason why the step was taken or when Iranians would be able to access Google again.

Excerpt from "The Chicken's in the Oven, My Husband's Out the Door" (Theo Pauline Nestor)

Some marriages grind slowly to a halt. Others, like mine, explode midflight, a space shuttle torn asunder in the clear blue sky as the stunned crowd watches in disbelief. And the hazardous debris from the catastrophe just keeps raining down.

It was late September, still warm but past the last hot stretch of Indian summer. I had waited for a day cool enough to roast a chicken for my husband and two young daughters. When I put the five-pound chicken in the oven, a shower of fresh green herbs clinging to its breast, our marriage was still intact. By the time I pulled it out, my husband had left our house and driven away for good, his car stuffed with clothes slipping off their hangers.

Excerpt from What-To-Wear Calculator (lifehack.org)

Ever get an invitation with a dress code specification like ’smart casual’ and stare at your wardrobe wondering what fits that description? You’re not alone.

To make things easier, DressCodeGuide.com does all the thinking for you by suggesting items of clothing for each dress code.

For instance, if you were going to a corporate event with ‘business casual’ as the dress code - during a summer evening in the USA [or Canada] and you were a male - a collared dress shirt would be required, long sleeve, without cuffs.

Excerpt from 46 Tax Deductions that Bloggers Often Overlook (ProBlogger Blog Tips)

This guest post on Tax Deductions for Bloggers is by Kelly Phillips Erb from Tax Girl.

The most popular question in response to my guest post on Problogger last time was invariably some form of “Can I deduct…?” It makes sense. Figuring out what constitutes income in the blogging world is pretty easy. But what constitutes a proper deduction is another story - and bloggers usually err on the side of not deducting enough (and not the other way around).

Don’t get caught leaving money on the table. Here’s a list of potential deductions that you might have overlooked.

Excerpt from Finding Your Blogging DNA (ProBlogger)

Whatever your posting style, there is usually an optimum “routine” for posting to your blog. I’ve broken these types of bloggers into two (very) generic categories: Musers and Reporters. These two broad categories loosely describe our blogging “DNA”.
. . .
Embracing my blogging mindset was a pivotal point in my blogging career. Previously, I had resolved to post twice a day on LifeDev.  . . .  Now that I’ve embraced my blogging DNA, there is a lot more freedom built into my posting schedule. While I may not post as regularly, my entries have a little more “love” mixed into them. Plus I don’t feel guilty that I didn’t post every day.

Excerpt from Peer mediators resolve conflicts (The Republican-MassLive.com)

"We're teaching these kids that there are peaceful ways of resolving conflict, that conflict is normal. We all have disagreements, it's how you resolve them that's the key," [Ann Marie] Zanfagna said.

Excerpt from Entering the Fundamental State of Leadership: An Assessment and Guidebook (PDF) (Robert E. Quinn)

By fundamental I mean three things. First I mean the origin or starting point of leadership. The dominant mindset in society is that people in positions of authority are leaders. Yet, most of the time, most authority figures are not leading. They are seeking personal and collective equilibrium even when they are espousing change and improvement. Leadership does not begin with authority. It begins with moral power or the capacity to attract others to a more creative state. It is reflected in our fundamental state of being, with who we are, the psychological state we are in.

Excerpt from 73 Reasons Lists Earn Traffic and Money (Legal Andrew)

But aren’t you getting tired of lists?

Heck, I know that I am. Aren’t many bloggers falling into a cookie-cutter routine? Think up something remotely on topic, hammer out 7 or 10 things about it, and hit “Publish.” Rinse. Repeat.

Excerpt from What is it with lists? (Ed Kless)

Last Sunday, the CBS Sunday Morning show featured a story on lists which struck a nerve with me.

Every management consultant these days has their lists — lists of what should be done, lists of what should not be done. For me, it is just too gimmicky.