When did I give up on this season of 24? Probably during the episode where Jack Bauer wrangles the developmentally disabled brother of a suspect into a rendezvous with armed terrorists. I could almost hear the producers saying, “Hey, remember that movie Rain Man? Wouldn’t it be cool if we could work something like that into an episode?” It played out like a scene from a Lifetime movie–if Lifetime movies had more guns and terrorists in them. At this point, I don’t even really care if Los Angeles gets nuked again. I can watch a show jump the shark only so many times before I start rooting for the shark.

I experimented with Netflix’s streaming video option this afternoon. For streaming video, the quality is surprisingly good. I watched a bit of The Matrix and a few minutes of an Outer Limits episode. I didn’t notice any artifacting or skipping, and the image quality isn’t much below that of a standard television. All of the video seems to be formatted for a regular 4:3 screen, which looks goofy on my widescreen monitor. And the content selection is not terribly compelling, but I’m sure that will improve in time.

I have tickets to The Merchant of Venice at the Guthrie this evening. I’m in the mood for some good old-fashioned analog entertainment. And it will be a lovely evening for a walk.

My sister asked me to roleplay for her trial practice class, so I’m busy memorizing my script before I have to leave shortly. My memory is fairly good, so I should be able to get away with glancing at it only a couple times. That method worked for me pretty well in college. Not so much in law school.

I’ve always considered myself a mainstream progressive in most regards. I think free trade is generally a good thing. I don’t have a fundamental dispute with our market-based economy. However, it does seem as if the profit motive is creeping into our daily lives a little more each day and usually not for the better. The unfolding story of the improprieties in the private student loan market is a case in point. When I was a law student, I benefited greatly from the federal Direct Loans program. But restrictions on the amount of federal loans that an individual can take out force many students, like my sister, to turn to the private market. And because the private market is largely unregulated and because they are the source of last resort funding for many students, these banks can charge interest rates that will keep these students in debt for most of their working lives. When my sister graduates, she will have the kind of debt load that once could be only be acquired when buying a house.

A college degree is the most reliable guarantor of higher earning power and a life safely out of poverty. We should be encouraging every kid with the desire and the potential to continue their education. Instead, we expose them to the cold machinations of a banking industry that most definitely does not have their interests at heart. The federal government cannot do everything, but I trust it more than Citibank to provide students with loans that have reasonable rates and repayment schedules.  We should be able to agree that corporations shouldn’t be able to make a buck off the educational aspirations of our citizens.

I participated in my second Race for Justice today, an annual race/walk that raises money to provide loan repayment assistance to attorneys who represent low-income clients. I completed the 5K course in about 48 minutes, but I’m fairly certain I could lower my time if I could figure out a way to boost the top speed on my chair. That was a simple task with my previous chair, but the manufacturers of this chair aren’t so trusting.

Next year, I think I’ll put together a team of racers. We’ll call it something like The Official 19th Floor Groupies Club.