Day 4289

It felt like Fall today. The cold front everyone was expecting arrived this morning and it made a huge difference. Walking was enjoyable again. We had a nice sunrise walk with Dawn and then when I was ready to take my long walk after breakfast, the temperature had dropped even more. I don't know how long this is going to last, but I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

When I mowed the grass this weekend I was worried about my surgery. I should have been worried about my bad shoulder. I must have aggravated something because my shoulder has been hurting ever since. All things considered, I'm really in pretty good shape, but the aches and pains of aging can be irritating. I'm starting to feel like an old broken down machine.

I got a jury summons in today's mail. This was a surprise since I've been exempt from jury duty for  quite a while. The first thing I did when I reached the mandatory age limit was apply for a permanent exemption. I never liked getting selected for jury duty. I'd spend most of the day down at the court house and inevitably end up getting sent home. Occasionally, I'd make it as far as the voir dire process. I never got seated. I learned quickly that if you asked questions during voir dire, either the prosecution or the defense lawyers would decide that you weren't what they were looking for. I'm sure there's a number I can call to get my exemption reinstated. I'll put it on tomorrow's to-do list. I don't know how I slipped through the cracks this time, but these guys have already told me many times that they don't want me as a juror.

Very little happened today. I paid a bunch of bills that had accumulated while I was in Florida, but that was about it. I thought that bills would be easier to keep track of now that I pay everything online. It turns out that getting a paper statement in the mail is still the best way to remember these things. Some folks send me a reminder e-mail and others don't. Who remembers old e-mail anyway? Oh, well. Unless I forgot something, I'm all caught up for the moment.

I haven't heard anything from the observatory lately, but now I can't decide whether I even want to go out to West Texas in October. It's such a long, tiring drive. I've been thinking of taking my own car the next time I make the trip, but after my trip to Florida I think I'll stick with rental cars. There's just too much that can go wrong with a car on a road trip. I wish Southwest Airlines flew to Alpine or Marfa. That's not going to happen though.

It's supposed to be even colder tomorrow. That would be nice. This is kind of the sweet spot as far as temperatures go. It's nice to be outside when the temperature is in the low seventies. It's not jacket weather yet, but you don't get too hot being out in the sun. Fall is beautiful in Texas. Unfortunately, it only seems to last two weeks.

Rowe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2888

I got another jury summons today. When I tried to postpone the summons again, I was informed that I'd used up all my postponements and would have to serve. I've noticed that every time I postponed the summons I would receive a lower juror number the next time. Unless I get kicked out during the Voir Dire Process, I'm almost certain to sit on a jury. Oh, well. This is probably the last time I'll ever get called. As soon as I turn seventy, I'm going to request a permanent exemption.

The whole judicial system seems weird to me. If you've ever been questioned during Voir Dire, it quickly becomes obvious that the lawyers from both sides are trying their best to pack the jury with people who are sympathetic to their case. Jury selection seems to be a lot more about winning than about fairness. Even if you're selected to sit on a jury, there's a good chance that the lawyers will reach a plea deal before you ever enter the courtroom. Judges love plea deals because it saves them a lot of time.

I've heard that in China they are already experimenting with robot judges. People tend to like the robots because they seem to be more lenient than human judges. If robot judges work, maybe we ought to try robot juries too. When I'm out and about and take a good look at who my peers actually are, I think I'd trust a robot more.

My new doctor want me to go in for a Calcium Score Screening to check for plaque in my arteries. Even though this test is very effective, it is seldom covered by insurance. As a result, numerous services have sprung up that offer low cost CAT scans. My scan will cost $79. Sounds fair to me. You just pay cash and the test isn't billed to your insurance plan at all. $79 is a small fraction of what imaging labs usually charge for a CAT scan or MRI. When I've had scans before, my insurance was billed between $500 and $4000 dollars. This is why health care is so expensive. It's not the doctors or the government that makes health care expensive. It's the insurance companies. A lot of times I wish health care was more like taking care of your dog. You pay cash for everything at the vet, but prices are much more reasonable. Dot and Dash have both gone through some very complex surgeries. The surgeons were excellent and the facilities were as up-to-date as anything you'd find in a human hospital. The only difference was the price. The prices for veterinary medicine are fair because the customer actually pays the bill. When insurance companies get involved, prices go through the roof.

My package is still lost. It was supposed to arrive today, but of course it didn't. This might be the last time I order online and and select the option to pick up my order at the store. When you order this way, the store doesn't need to provide tracking. Your order just gets put on the truck with all the other inventory being shipped to the store. There doesn't seem to be any particular hurry. I'm sure I'll get my order eventually, but nobody seems to know when. It's just "in the system" somewhere.

I have my first meeting on the new website project tomorrow. I'll try to keep an open mind. I did a little research on the Wordpress template I'm supposed to use and discovered that it's basically just like every other Wordpress template. I still don't understand why people like Wordpress. It's not rocket science, so I guess I can live with the situation. Anyone who can hand code a site can definitely fill in the blanks on a Wordpress template.

I talked to people today and made decisions. I think I prefer the days when nothing happens.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1673

The wheels of justice turn exceedingly slow. I arrived at the courthouse around 8 AM this morning for jury duty. By 9:30 AM, everyone sitting in the central jury pool had been administered the oath and assigned to a court. The rest of the day was spent in a lengthy and often tedious Voir dire process. I'm sure the attorneys eliminated some people as soon as they opened their mouth, but nobody was excused until well after 5 PM. This came as a shock to many prospective jurors who expected to be back at work by lunchtime.

This was a murder trial and the proceedings took forever as lawyers for both sides tried to find jurors who would be sympathetic to their case.  I don't think anyone wanted to be selected for this case. It appeared that a gang member had murdered another gang member and the defendant, who was in the courtroom, looked somewhat menacing. The defense lawyers asked prospective jurors if they could still be fair and impartial if they knew the testimony was coming from someone who had already been convicted of another crime. They asked us if we thought a uniformed police officer automatically has more credibility than someone with gang tattoos. Both sides asked us so many questions about what we thought constituted self defense that a lot of people, including myself, began to worry that this might turn into another Trayvon Martin trial. Nobody wanted to be on that type of jury. I was sitting on the front row during the selection process, so the judge said we would automatically be on the jury unless the prosecution or defense lawyers used one of their ten allotted strikes to eliminate me. As the day progressed, I became worried that I would be seated on the jury, since I really didn't have any good reasons why I couldn't serve. Luckily, one of the lawyers didn't think I would help his case and I was eliminated at the last minute. I was relieved. I wouldn't have wanted to be on this jury.

The dogs were relieved as well when I finally arrived at the vet around 6:30 PM to take them home again. I had to board them for the day, because I knew I'd be away too long to leave them alone. Nobody, including Dot and Dash, though I'd be down at the courthouse this long though. It was a very long day. Both dogs were indignant when I picked them up after their normal dinner time, but all was forgiven when I fed them as soon as we got home,

Since the judge admonished us several times not to say anything to anybody about the case if we were selected as jurors, I began to worry about the blog. What was I going to write about? Sometimes murder trials can go on for a long time. I even told the bailiff that I was a blogger and had posted something every day over five years without missing a single day. I wanted to know the specific ground rules, because as I told him, I had to write something every day. I wasn't going to let a murder trial stop me. If I couldn't write about the trial, could I write about the judge, or the other jurors? Maybe this is what eliminated me. Or maybe they didn't like that I had a hard time believing everyone truly enters the courtroom on an equal basis. Who knows? Maybe they though it was strange that in over a dozen visits to this courthouse, I had never been selected to sit on a jury. I'm still a jury virgin. Whatever the reason, I was glad to be able to go home at the end of the day and return to my normal life. They asked me to answer their questions honestly and I did. I'm glad they didn't ask if I thought the defendant was guilty, because he sure looked guilty to me.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1306

I'm a little apprehensive about flying into the San Francisco airport these days. I'm even more apprehensive about being selected for jury duty. I'd hate to be selected as a juror in a high profile trial. These things have turned into gladiator events with the media whipping the proponents for both sides into a frenzy. In today's increasingly polarized society, it wouldn't matter whether you reached a verdict of guilty or innocent. Whatever you decided, half of the country would hate you. The courts don't make much of an effort to protect their juries either. Once the trial is over, everybody knows who you are.

I probably don't have much to worry about though. Although I have sat reading magazines in the jury pool room more times than I can remember, I've never been selected for a jury panel. Usually, as soon as I declare my occupation as "writer," I am dismissed. Twice, I made it as far as the Voir dire process, but the lawyers on both sides didn't like the way I answered their questions. I'm not exactly sure what most lawyers are looking for in a jury, but I'm definitely not it.

Even more worrisome than being selected for a jury is the thought of being tried by one. It's a sobering experience to walk into a Walmart and realize that the motley crew of shoppers inside might someday constitute a jury of your peers. This frightening thought has been more than enough to keep me on the straight and narrow.

The dogs hogged so much of the bed last night that I found it difficult to sleep. I had so little room that I might as well have been sleeping on a 2x4 plank. When Dot and Dash were younger, they would curl up in tight little balls when they slept. Now they stretch their legs out as far as they can. It doesn't leave much room for the people. I probably didn't need a lot of sleep last night though. I certainly didn't do much today. It was way too hot. I made juice out of the remaining supply of tangerines. I put clean sheets on the bed. I went to the store and got another month's supply of trash bags and paper towels. The dogs got a short walk too. When the temperature is 102, you try to keep everything you do outside on the short side.

Watson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day