Osler's Razor

Browsing around the student blogs (and from the demeanor of certain students today) I gather that last night was the "Law Buddy Party." Apparently, a giant supercomputer matches older students with younger students to create pairs of "Law Buddies" who then... well, I'm not sure what comes next, but it seems that there is often the fervent hope that one's law buddy will be an attractive member of the opposite sex.

I didn't know this was coming, but I recently received a letter from my dean telling me that I am basically the "faculty buddy" to one of the new faculty members. [I'm not making this up] We are supposed to attend in tandem a series of six dinners at Harrington House, where we will be entertained with a bunch of lectures about Baylor.

Sadly, the Dean did a lousy job of building up any suspense at all about who my faculty buddy was going to be, as the students apparently do. I would have enjoyed standing anxiously as the pairings were announced at Buzzard Billy's, but the letter just blurted out the secret.

And my faculty buddy is... Jim Wren. Which, frankly, is kind of intimidating. Prof. Wren is one of the best-known trial lawyers in the state, and widely respected for good reason. The first time I heard of him, I was at a restaurant with a judge in town, who nudged me and said, "You know who that is?" while gesturing at the celebrity in the corner... Jim Wren.

So, this is pretty much like having Roger Federer be named your "tennis buddy."

I do have the laser pointer. Perhaps I can impress him with that.