Salt Lake Bees Baseball

Before I get started, no comments about the awesome Relient K videos? Seriously? People get comments when they simply complain about the weather outside (granted, for those of us in Utah, we've had plenty to complain about the last few weeks -- now I know what it feels like to live in Seattle). I guess my posts or so descriptive and thorough that no one else really has much to say.

Anyway, in what has become quite the tradition in our family (family, friends, neighbors, friends' kids, neighbors' kids, etc. all fall within that category), we went to the Bees game last night at Spring Mobile Park (formerly known as Franklin Covey Field). It was a grand old time. Literally. Brandon Wood blasted a grand slam. We were all pretty stoked about that. But the excitement didn't end there.

Later, with a man on third, the Bees went with the squeeze play. You don't see the squeeze play used that much in baseball these days so it was great to see the guy essentially steal home while the pitcher and catcher were scrambling for the ball. Of course, even more exciting was the fact that the squeeze play bunt turned into an in-the-park homerun (albeit scored a triple and an error). I don't think I've ever witnessed a bunted homerun (at least not since I played little league). It was fantastic. The weather was beautiful and we had a great night.


As you can tell, we were sitting on the berm in right field. Several members of our ward were with us, including the Moores, the Buxtons, the Joneses, and the Harrises. Great night for baseball.

Relient K and Owl City with the Whites and the Platts

So, about a month or so ago, I got an email from Aaron White (a neighbor and friend). He noticed that my Facebook profile included a reference to Relient K as a favorite band. Unbeknownst to me, Relient K was coming in concert and Aaron wanted to know if I was interested in going with him and two of his boys, Weston and Jackson. It was a no-brainer. The concert was Thursday, June 4th, at the Murray Theater. It was fantastic. Lance Platt and his daughters came too. Lance, Aaron, and I may have been the three oldest guys there. But hey, good music is good music right? It's not like you get that many chances to see Relient K live after all. Check out the videos of the White boys rocking out.






I also have a video of me and Jax in the mosh pit but, as you can guess, it is a little shaky. Besides, I'm not sure that Laurie would appreciate knowing that I took her little boy into the mosh pit (it was it his request, I promise!). Good times were had by all.

Owl City, one of the opening bands, is really good. Sara has been listening to them all weekend. There is an excellent review / description of them in the Deseret News:

If your household appliances wrote love songs while you were away on vacation, their cheerful blips and bleeps would pour out the windows, sweep through the neighborhood like candy-coated tidal waves, and you would return home to find crowds of people standing on your lawn, clapping and singing along to the happiest pop melodies imaginable. Welcome to Owl City. Based in Owatonna, Minnesota, Owl City features the music of Adam Young.

You should definitely check them out at http://www.myspace.com/owlcity. To keep the concert theme going for the weekend, Sara and I took my cousin, Zac, to the Ryan Shupe concert at the Sandy Amphitheater last night (Friday). The weather looked a little sketchy but it all turned out well. I'll post pics and videos when I get a chance.

Memorial Day Weekend in St. George

If you haven't heard of the infamous St. George Memorial Day weekend extravaganza yet, well, you must have not been there. Here is the deal. Back when we were in law school, the stars misaligned and this odd group of even odder characters ended up in the same study group. Now, being unable to forget those "glory years" of law school, we try to bring back those fantastic memories by crowding everybody into a single house (after we force Mark's parents to go stay in a neighbor's house so we can have complete run of the place).

Anyway, we had a great time. Golf, Wii, Shopping, Pizza, NBA Conference Finals, Swimming, more Golf, and lots of getting ganged up on by a bunch of kids (well, I think I was the only one lucky enough to experience that). Special thanks to Henry and Mary for being so hospitable and providing for our room and board. Here are some of the select pics:

























You can make up your own captions for the pictures. There are too many inside jokes to even start. If you don't get 'em yet, you're never going to get them. For all our law school friends who like to keep tabs on me and my burgeoning legal career, yes, that is Chad (Hoopes), Mark (Mendoza), Layne (Smith), and Sara (my wife -- hands off). We were short a couple of people but hey, their loss (except for the Avaloner; Costa Rica is a close second to spending the weekend in St. George).

The Snows Love Sushi - I Mean Really Love Sushi

Most of you who know us know how much we like sushi. Sara absolutely loves Vegas Rolls from Happy Sumo but we have found several sushi places around town that we really like, including Benihana's (all you can eat) and Mizumi, which is a local place here in Sandy that is fantastic.

But what happens on Sunday when we can't go out for sushi? Well, we found out today. We just made our own. It actually ended up tasting really really good (I like to think that living in Seoul, South Korea for three years and then in Japan helps me in my sushi making skills). The presentation left a lot lacking (and I'm sure the Iron Chef judges would have beat us up pretty heavily on the presentation issue) but, my biggest concern is taste! And with that, I was well pleased. We made four different, but similar rolls (and Sara even threw together a nice yummy asian salad). Enjoy the pictures of our lovely Sunday dinner:

From 090503 - Sushi

From 090503 - Sushi

Like I said, when it comes to taste, it was fantastic. It was actually pretty fun to make too and didn't take too much time. Nor was it particularly hard to make. And when you're paying $15/roll at a restaurant, you certainly get more bang for your buck.

Tyson Loves Tulips

Wow. Two post in one day. How about that. Anyway, when I pulled in from work today, while the sun was setting, I noticed how good our flowers looked. I grabbed Sara and Sara's camera and we snapped some quick pictures. Tulips are far and away my favorite flowers and, as of right now, I think we have the best tulips (and other flowers) on the street, if not in the entire neighborhood. Enjoy:

From 090422 - Front Yard Flowers

From 090422 - Front Yard Flowers

From 090422 - Front Yard Flowers

From 090422 - Front Yard Flowers

From 090422 - Front Yard Flowers

I guess I'm going to have to buy some more tulip bulbs this fall so that we can do even better next year! For the time being, spring has returned to Utah (75 degrees today). Who knows how long that will last. But, while it does, we will continue to enjoy our flowers. The irises should be coming out next.

Parents, Pruning, and Deck Remodeling

Some of you may know that Sara and I (with the help of many others) are in the process of "renovating" our deck. We thought we were going to have to replace the whole thing but, as it turns out, we're going to re-frame a lot of the support structure and then just replace parts of the deck itself. Part of the project involved ripping out a bunch of hedge-like bushes (Sara had fun doing that) and some much needed pruning on a tree next to our house. As the following pictures establish, neither my Mom (Cindy) nor Sara's Dad (Andy) are afraid of trees, heights, or chainsaws:

From 090410 - Deck Remodel (1)

From 090410 - Deck Remodel (1)

From 090410 - Deck Remodel (1)

Thanks Mom! Thanks Andy! The deck is coming along but the tree is now in tip-top shape! (You can click on the pictures to get the "full size" pics).

#1 on Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Directory

Okay, granted, I have not even achieved the highly sought after "AV", "BV", or "CV" rankings that Martindale-Hubbell likes to dish out to attorneys, but this is still pretty cool:



Number one in Utah; number 12 in the entire U.S.A. My ranking on Martindale Hubbell is based on the number of searches and the number of visitors to my Martindale-Hubbell link and page. By referring to my link on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and various other social media outlets, I have achieved a traffic level that ranks me extremely high. So, as I go to bed tonight, I can honestly say that I really am the "#1 attorney in Salt Lake / Utah" (at least based on a semi-independent measuring stick). Way to go me! Just another example of how social media can create name or brand recognition and help you to publicize yourself and your knowledge.

Now I'm gunning for #1 nationwide. You can help by visiting:

http://www.martindale.com/Tyson-B-Snow/4103830-lawyer.htm

Google AdSense and Trademark Infringement

When you are married to a patent/IP attorney and you are as interested in technology as I am, you are bound to have some entertaining discussions. Add the fact that I'm a litigator and that I enjoy IP litigation, and the discussions get even more interesting. We were recently debating whether Google and Google.com should be liable for trademark infringement when they allow competitors to use another companies registered trademark in paid keyword advertising. It appears that Sara's position was the position most inline with current jurisprudence on the subject. Via law.com:

In 2006 a computer repair company called Rescuecom sued Google for trademark infringement, claiming that users would be confused by links to ads from competing companies that showed up on searches for Rescuecom's name. On Friday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit agreed with Rescuecom. The court overturned a lower court ruling dismissing the case, finding that Rescuecom could proceed with a trademark infringement suit against Google. Google is represented in the litigation by Michael Page of Durie Tangri Page Lemley Roberts & Kent. Rescuecom relied on in-house lawyer Edmund Gegan.

The Second Circuit followed the majority of district courts that have addressed the issue and concluded that the purchasing of competitors' names or trademarks to trigger keyword ads raises, at the very least, a threshold question of trademark infringement. Will Google ever respond or adjust its AdSense program in light of the increasing number of infringement suits filed against it? We'll have to see.

Credit: The AmLaw Litigation Daily

International Day of Books - Holiday for Authors

I have no idea whether this is a true holiday or not, but I do trust my friends over at the Legal Writing Prof Blog and, as they say:

Another date to save! April 23 is the Giornata Mondiale del Libro e del Diritto d'Autore -- the International Day of Books and the Rights of Authors. Celebrate with a good book . . . or at least a good author.

Thanks for the tip! I'm sure Sara will be extra keen on celebrating this holiday this year and into the future.

Three Rules for March Madness

Well, the NCAA tournament is about to tip off. With that in mind, let me remind you of my three rules for March Madness. These rules are generally universally applicable but there are slight exceptions here and there. Oh, and thank you to CBS and the Internet for creating an environment where I no longer have to sneak headphones in to listen to games (like I used to have to do during school). Now, for your rules:

1. A 12 always beats a 5.
2. There will not be four 1 seeds in the final four.
3. Regardless of who you picked in your bracket, unless your team is playing, you should always cheer for the upset. Always. This rule has no exceptions.

Rule number three is the most important. I don't care if you picked North Carolina to win the whole thing. If Radford is close as time is running out, you better be cheering for Radford. I'm just saying...

Go Cougs.

--Tyson