Sunday, February 1 through Saturday, February 7, 2015
Sunday: For the second year in a row, the Seattle Seahawks went to the Super Bowl. It was a big day for the fans in Seattle. Carole and I grew up in Seattle, but we’re not connected to the sports scene. During the decades that I served in prison, I chose to focus all of my energy on preparations for the life that I would lead upon release. That didn’t leave time for following professional sports. Once Carole came into my life, we visited every opportunity that we could. Since visiting hours frequently coincided with NFL games, we didn’t get caught up in enthusiasm for sports. Our life has always been about preparing for the life we would build together once I returned to society. Now that I’m home, we’re still planning in ways that leave little time for television. So we missed the Super Bowl. Carole spent the day working at the hospital, and I spent the day working with a client in my office. After we concluded our work, I saw the disappointing score for the Seattle fans online. Despite losing the game, the Seahawk fans must feel some joy in having their team make it to Super Bowl in consecutive years.
Monday: Today I began coordinating the spreadsheets for our 2014 tax filing. Fortunately, our accountant recommended a bookkeeper. She is going to build all of the spreadsheets that record our personal and our business transactions for the year. I’ eager to file soon because Carole and I will purchase another house this year. We’re intending to buy in Orange County sometime this summer, after Carole graduates.
I spent the rest of the day working on a “live event” strategy. My employer is a real estate developer in the country of Belize. He’s built an amazingly successful company that offers clients extraordinary opportunities to purchase real estate in paradise. The company advertises on national television, but I’ve suggested that we launch a live-event channel. Last December, I hosted two live events that brought magnificent results, selling approximately $3 million worth of lots over the course of two seminars. Now I’m working to scale this effort so we can sell real estate through live events as well as through our traditional sales channel. We’re scheduling an initial “test” event for March.
Tuesday (Article to UC Hastings): Today I submitted a 5,600-word article for the UC Hasting’s Law Review. Editors at the law review invited me to contribute the article that will coincide with a presentation I am scheduled to make next week at the UC Hasting’s Symposium on Federal Sentencing Reform. I’m looking forward to seeing the article published and also to making my presentation at the law symposium. Other speakers include the US Attorney for the Northern District of California and U.S. District Court Judge Charles Bryer; Judge Bryer also leads the U.S. Sentencing Commission. I anticipate that more than 300 people will be present in the audience, all from the legal community. I’ll report next week after the conference.
Wednesday (new book with Justin): I began writing a new book. I’ll collaborate on the book with Justin Paperny, my partner in several ventures. We’ll call the book Federal Prison Advice. Rather than selling the book, we’ll give it away for free. Visitor on PrisonProfessor.com, FederalPrisonAdvice.com, MichaelSantos.com, and other websites we operate will have an opportunity to download the book without charge. The book will help readers understand how we can help defendants whoa re facing charges from the criminal justice system. I anticipate that we’ll complete this project during the first quarter of 2015.
Thursday (Policy article for Pioneer institute in Boston on better government). I received an invitation to contribute an article to the Pioneer Institute in Boston. They asked me to write on “better government.” Obviously, they want me to write about America’s prison system. Our country seems to be awakening to the injustices associated with our nation’s commitment to mass incarceration. I’ll look forward to writing the article and to seeing its publication later this spring.
Friday (Google ad words campaign) My partner in PrisonProfessor launched a test on the Google AdWords campaign. We spent nearly $1,000 on the campaign. The investment did not yield the results we were looking to find. That’s part of this online business model. We must devote considerable amounts of time and financial resources to build our brand. In time we expect to dominate the space for our market. Specifically, we want to provide products and services for defense attorneys and for defendants. My main area of contribution for defendants will be in creating sentence-mitigation strategies. I will outsource prison consulting services to Justin.
Saturday (Speaking at Berkeley). I received another invitation to speak at UC Berkeley. Unfortunately, I’m already booked for that day. On Wednesday of next week I’ll fly to San Jose. Then I’ll rent a car and drive to the Google campus in Mountain View. I’ve never been to the Google campus before, but I really enthusiastic about this opportunity to meet with of the senior leaders there. I’ll speak with them about the great injustices of our nation’s commitment to mass incarceration. Obviously, I’ll talk about my own journey and the three-pronged effort that Justin and I have embarked upon to improve outcomes of our nation’s prison systems. Bonus points to anyone who can articulate our three-pronged strategy.
Miles for week: 10.06
Miles for month: 119.87
Miles for year: 119.87
Weight: 165.5
Link to 2015 running log: Running Log
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x3aPHUQGNBWCvTrc9ib3E0DqBIE9jhKaMt8_iKjqdX8/pubhtml