[Note to those visiting 3 Geeks for the first time: Check out this week’s Elephant Post on ‘Rightsizing‘]
There have been a number of us in the law library field that have taken an “Inside Look” at the Westlaw facility in Eagan, Minnesota. We get to see the facility, talk with the research attorneys, and marvel at the engineering and technology involved in making sure that Westlaw is functioning at peak performance. However, it wasn’t until today that I really got an “inside look” at what some of the contractors at Westlaw are doing. I can see why the folks at West left this part off of the tour.
According to one of the contractor’s personal blog, “watching TV, You-tubing, and Facebooking” are the main events of the day. Add this with watching three seasons of Friday Night Lights and surfing e-bay for deals. Seems that priorities for at least one contractor are clear… personal time trumps checking data:
I watched three seasons of Friday Night Lights and bought and sold hundreds of dollars of ebay merchandise while all the Novus data I was supposed to be checking went un-checked in front of me. [editor’s note – if you’re a Westlaw subscriber and your database isn’t displaying properly…sorry…It was because I was on Hulu.com during external release testing.]
It makes for great reading if you’re a Westlaw subscriber. Take a look at some of the other posts presented by the contractor about his work at Westlaw:
Findlaw, Thomson Reuters, Lame Jim and Hot Elena
Caroline, Findlaw and Spyhouse Coffee
1st Day at Thomson Reuters. High Hopes…Quickly Dashed
My personal favorite from this blogger is his introduction of his writings through a quick video. What’s not to love about a man, a blog, an amp, and a cold can of Bud.