Zotero & FastestFox: Apps For The Firefox Browser

March 30, 2010

Are you a student or writer?  Are you looking for ways to stream line web surfing?  If so, this post may be for you.

I am always looking for new applications to optimize my browser.  A long time ago I ditched Internet Explorer for Mozilla’s Firefox browser and never looked back.  I’ve never regretted the switch because Firefox has essentially eliminated annoying pop-ups and spyware that Internet Explore could never seem to shake.

If you go to the add-on page of Firefox you will see thousands of free add-ons that are only a few clicks away from being yours.  But how do you decide what apps are best for you?  Well here are two that you might find very useful in your day to day affairs.

ZOTERO

Creating Quick Citations in Microsoft Word & OpenOffice

Have you ever noticed that it takes just as long to compile your citations as it does to write the contents of your paper?  Well, Zotero is a fantastic resource that streamlines citations, footnotes, and biographies in Microsoft Word and OpenOffice:

Zotero is, at the most basic level, a citation manager. It is designed to store, manage, and cite bibliographic references, such as books and articles. In Zotero, each of these references constitutes an item.

It even allows you to choose the citation format (ie: Chicago style).

Here’s a video showing you how it works in Word & OpenOffice.  Intrigued?  Go here to find the User Guide and installation instructions.

Digital Library

Zotero also acts as a digital library for your browser, allowing you to manage, organize and cross reference hundreds of bookmarks and links.

If you’re like me, you have difficulty keeping track of all your bookmarks.  Zotero allows you to create folders (called “collections”) within which you can assign links, files, and attachments.  Sounds like the bookmark system built into Firefox right?

Not exactly.  You can also assign tags to your collections so that you can conduct quick searches.  Furthermore, you can assign notes to your links and folders, making it easy to refresh your memory when you come across unfamiliar collections.  Finally, you can combine the digital library with the citation functions to maximize Zotero’s use.

Because Zotero runs within Firefox, it is simple to create new items from information available on the internet. If a capture icon appears in the address bar, Zotero can automatically create an item of the appropriate type and populate the metadata fields. If a full-text PDF is available, it will be automatically attached to the item.

FASTEST FOX

FastestFox (also known as SmarterFox) is especially useful for those of you who use Wikipedia and Google Search.  FastestFox adds a “related articles” sidebar to Wikipedia, allowing you to instantly cross reference your primary search with related subjects and topics.

This app also streamlines your searches.  Whenever you highlight a word or phrase, a popup bubble appears, providing you the option to search for the word or phrase in 1) Twitter; 2) Google; 3) OneRiot; or 4) Wikipedia.

Although I find the app convenient and easy to use, my wife finds it incredibly annoying.  But never fear!  You can easily turn the app off by going to tools -> SmarterFox.  For those of you who use multiple accounts on your computer, you can easily isolate the app so that it only works on selected accounts.

FastestFox also provides you with an enhanced URL search, so that Google search results automatically appear as you type.

Finally, FastestFox brings the qlauncher to the table, which is best explained by this quote:

The qLauncher allows you quickly visit your favorite webpages. To invoke the qLauncher press Ctrl-Space. If you are using a Mac or Ubiquity, you might need to change the shortcut since Ctrl-Space might already be in use. (Do so by going to Tools -> SmarterFox). After the qLauncher panel is open simply press another key to open the corresponding site. qLauncher’s settings integrate right into Firefox’s bookmark system so it will be backed up alongside your other bookmarks if you use something like Xmarks. The bookmarks for qLauncher are included in the folder named “qLauncher” on your bookmarks menu. To add a bookmark to qLauncher simply click on the + button on the qLauncher itself or copy it into the folder. To assign a shortcut key, tag the bookmark with “qlauncher:k” where k is the key you want to use. You do not have to do this however: qLauncher can pick one for you automatically. If you find the bookmark folder obtrusive you can disable the qLauncher and delete it.

I hope you find these applications as helpful as I do.  What other applications do you use on a regular basis?

2 Comments | Browser Apps | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by TimSutherlandLaw

Excerpt From A Time To Kill & The Rainmaker: Solo Practice & The Law Of Probabilities Versus Reality

March 18, 2010

~

From time to time I come across various snippets that reflect past or present situations in my life.  For one reason or another, the below excerpts connect with me.  Because they state the issues in a far more eloquent, effective manner than I ever could, I am replicating them below for your reading pleasure.

I highly recommend these reads.  These two books are very interesting with excellent character development, containing themes with excellent moral centers.

Excerpt from A Time To Kill, by John Grisham, p.113

“Look Stan, we’re not all filthy rich.  A law degree is not worth what it once was –too many of us.  Fourteen in this little town.  Competition is tough, even in Clanton –not enough good cases and too many lawyers.  It’s worse in the big towns, and the law schools graduate more and more, many of whom can’t find jobs.  I get ten kids a year knocking on my door looking for work.  A big firm in Memphis laid off some lawyers a few months ago.  Can you imagine?  Just like a factory, they laid them off.  I suppose they went down to the unemployment office and stood in line with the ‘dozer operators.  Lawyers now, not secretaries or truck drivers, but lawyers.”

Excerpt from The Rainmaker, by John Grisham, p.191 – 92.

“I started law school less than three years ago with typical noble aspirations of one day using my license to better society in some small way, to engage in an honorable profession governed by ethical canons I thought all lawyers would strive to uphold.  I really believed this.  I knew I couldn’t change the world, but I dreamed of working in a high-pressure environment filled with sharp-witted people who adhered to a set of lofty standards.  I wanted to work hard and grow in my profession, and in doing so attract clients not by slick advertising but by reputation.  And along the way, as my skills and fees increased, I would be able to take on unpopular cases and clients without the burden of getting paid.  These dreams are not unusual for beginning law students.”

“To the credit of the law school, we spent hours studying and debating ethics.  Great emphasis was placed on the subject, so much so that we assumed the profession was zealous about enforcing a rigid set of guidelines.  Now I’m depressed by the truth.  For the past month, I’ve had one real lawyer after another throw darts in my balloon.  I’ve been reduced to a poacher in hospital cafeterias, for a thousand bucks a month.  I’m sickened and saddened by what I’ve become, and I’m staggered by the speed at which I’ve fallen.”

“My best friend in college was Craig Balter.  We roomed together for two years.  I was in his wedding last year.  Craig had one goal when we started college, and that was to teach high school history.  He was very bright and college was too easy for him.  We had long discussions about what to do with our lives.  I thought he was shortchanging himself by wanting to teach, and he’d get angry when I compared my future profession with his.  I was headed for big money and success on a high level.  He was headed for the classroom, where his salary was subject to factors out of his control.”

“Craig got a master’s and married a schoolteacher.  He’s now teaching ninth-grade history and social studies, She’s pregnant and teaching kindergarten.  They have a nice home in the country with a few acres and a garden, and they are the happiest people I know.  Their joint income is probably around fifty thousand a year.”

“But Craig doesn’t care about money.  He’s doing exactly what he always wanted to do.  I, on the other hand, have no idea what I’m doing.  Craig’s job is immensely rewarding because he’s affecting young minds.  He can envision the results of his labors . . . .”

“Things must improve.  But before they do, there are still at least two more possible disasters.  First, I could be arrested . . . and second, I could flunk the bar exam.”

2 Comments | Reflective Thinking | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by TimSutherlandLaw

Alaska Airlines & The Machiavellian Lay Off

March 10, 2010

It was a few weeks back when my uncle awoke and showered, preparing for yet another day at Alaska’s Oakland Airport facility.  So far, he’d avoided the economic flu that had afflicted millions of other Americans.

He maintained a modest salary working in a managerial capacity for Alaska Airlines.  His position would provide excellent retirement benefits so long as he stayed for a certain period of time (around fifteen years).

Alaska, like most large corporate entities, had attracted my uncle through their generous pension plans, which would reap excellent and hard earned rewards if he stayed with company for a certain period of time.  Based on this reliance, my uncle chose Alaska over other airline companies.

Before his employment with Alaska, he served twenty years in the U.S. Air Force, servicing cargo planes on the flight line.  Given his superb credentials, Alaska hired him.  For over twelve years my uncle was the faithful servant of a corporate giant.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by TimSutherlandLaw

Road to the Bar: Part Two

March 4, 2010

This is a two-part story about my experience studying for and taking the California state bar exam.

~ Part one can be found here ~

Finally I had completed the California bar exam. Three days of endless hell and somehow I made it through the nightmare with my sanity still intact (except for a terrible brain cramp pounding in my skull).  As I stand outside the entrance to the Sacramento Convention Center, I gaze up at the empty sky where I see a flock of birds flying over the tall buildings before me.

I wonder to myself how I did on that wretched man-made creation.  I once again ponder its purpose; wonder why I even bothered suffering through its torment.  Sometimes I wish I was one of those birds, without a purpose, without goals, without ambitions.  Sometimes I wish I could see the world as they do; in black and white, without awareness of those shades of grey, green, blue and the millions of other colors that dominate and control our lives.  But alas, I am aware of the world of colors, one that does not exist in black and white.  I am thus rendered to once again contemplate my future . . . hopefully as a lawyer.

I cross the street with the thousands of other cattle who’ve just completed the exam.  Unlike some of the other J.D.s who have just completed this monstrosity, I do not have the luxury of throwing away $20 to park directly across the street from the Convention Center.  In fact, my wife and I desperately need me to pass this thing.  We have bills coming up, loans that need paying, and I’m having difficulty finding work since our move from Oregon in May.  Our savings dry up in September and from that point forward, things will become ever more difficult.

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2 Comments | Bar Admission | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by TimSutherlandLaw

Back and on track

March 3, 2010

So 16 hours and 15 minutes of testing later, I’m back from Washington and things are returning to normal (not in a good way).  The substantive portion was 14 hours and 30 minutes of testing spread over 2 days. I think I did pretty well, so I’ll be surprised if I did not pass it.

However, the second portion of the exam, the ethics portion, I’m not so sure on. We were only permitted 2 hrs, 15 minutes to complete 6 questions (about full page length of facts and what not). I failed to finish the second half of the final question and I am not sure how bad that will hurt my grade. I’ll get my results at the end of April, beginning of May. You have to pass both portions to be licensed to practice, but you only have to retake the portion you did not pass.

I suppose I’ll be somewhat satisfied if I passed the substantive portion but have to retake the ethics portion. The substantive portion requires about 2 months of study, something that is very difficult to accomplish when you’re working trying to keep your financial head above water. The ethics test only requires a few days of limited study.

Unfortunately, they only provide bar testing twice a year and the next exam is not until the end of July. if I don’t pass both portions, I cannot retake the exam (either segment) until then and wont receive my results until September. The things one must do to achieve his dream . . . .

By the way, the next posting (I promise) will be Part 2 of my road to the bar, how I did on the California bar, how the Wa. bar went, and how I studied for the exams.

And I really need to get this site spruced up (customized header, new skin, et cetera), the current look bothers me . . . .

4 Comments | Bar Admission | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by TimSutherlandLaw