Thunder of Wade

I got a jury notice in the mail – but it was somewhat delayed since it was sent to my old address. I read it, noted the date and set it aside. The Saturday before I was on call – I got another notice since I hadn’t filled out the form and returned it properly. I was a little worried about that, but figured I’d wing it. Sunday evening I called and checked the website for jury duty – and my group wasn’t needed. The recording was a little too strident for my tastes and talked down to us a little bit, but at least it was clear.

Monday evening was a different story – my group was on call and I was to report to the courthouse on Tuesday morning. I tried to get things ready for my co-workers as much as I could for my absence and found out later that I prevented some problems with my preparedness. Which was cool – and a little ironic since I was really not prepared for jury duty. I got to the courthouse very early and though I was a little worried about my paperwork, there was no problem. I did a little folding while I waited and watched the room fill up. After a bit, the woman in charge of the area gave a little speech (she was the same one that did the voice recording) and has us watch part of a video – but only part since a bailiff came in and called a large group to go with her. A little more video and then another group was called for selection with a different bailiff – and I was #18. They were very insistent that we remember our number – but of course someone forgot it when it was needed later.

We went up several flights of stairs (some took the elevator if they couldn’t handle the stairs) and waited for a bit in the jury room. We were then lined up by number and brought into the court room. 12 people went in the jury box and the rest of us sat towards the back.

Both sides asked a bunch of general questions, then based on those, they asked a few specific questions of people. One guy had an answer for pretty much every question – it was almost a given that he would be removed. Run ins with the law, medical and childcare, and relation to another judge. A few more got removed for other reasons – usually child care – but a few got removed and we later wondered why. They started to winnow down the jury and they pulled people out and then replaced them in order of the extras. I was #18 and I watched as they cleared out enough people to need me – reassigned to #9. Once the removals were done they had an extra person in reserve and that was it. We were a jury.

But a jury that didn’t get to do anything right away. There was a scheduling conflict and we broke for the day at 12:00. We did get to hear the opening statements – and the comments by the defense prompted the prosecutor’s office to object a couple times, so, that was kinda cool. They even did a sidebar – it was like a real court!

I stopped into work for a bit, then went home. I still did some work from home so I wouldn’t get too far behind – but there were some things that I just couldn’t do unless I was at work.

So, that was day one and I was hoping it would go quickly from there on out.

It was my birthday yesterday – 35 years old. So, on Saturday, my parents, my sister, and my brother-in-law came for a visit. We had lunch, then went to the akron art museum and the mall – then to dinner that evening at Macaroni Grill before cake and presents. They went back home that evening so it was kind of a whirlwind. I think everyone had a nice time and it was good seeing them.

The museum was good – though pricier ($10.00) than last time I was there (free). They were doing a Norman Rockwell thing and the line was massive to get into that section. So, we found an entrance to the main galleries (which I announced to the rest of the group as “Look! There’s art in here!” and checked those out first. And then made our way into the Norman Rockwell area through another entrance. Which was pretty cool. I bought a book on fictional outhouses in the giftshop and we headed out.

One of my presents was the game Overlord for the computer – and it won’t run on my brand new computer. I blame Vista – and to make it worse – the “error” message has no information. It just fails and that’s it – with no way to diagnose. I guess I have to do some research on my own – or wait for an upgrade and hope it helps. Oh, well, at least I can still play Portal.

Watched the third Bourne movie yesterday – pretty good and fast paced. I had a little trouble with keeping the plot together since we got interrupted a few times with phone calls. I liked it and it had some really clever moments.

Well, no jury duty today. I checked the website and then called as well last evening. The voice recording on the phone was… less than stellar. The degree in which they spelled out the instructions was a little insulting and a little scary. If you need detailed instructions on determining your group number and the color of the paper you are holding, well, should you really be on a jury and deciding someone else’s fate?

That’s it for now – back to work…

I found an Aimee Mann song recently called “31 today”. Kind of a sad song – most of hers are kinda sad – but interesting and it has a really good beat. Got me thinking a little about my birthday coming up – though I’ll be a bit older than 31. Worth a look up on youtube if you’re a fan.

Hit the pool today and once again they were reconfiguring the lanes. I ended up in the deep end swimming lenghwise instead of across the pool. So, 32 laps = 1 mile, which I did. I thought about making some kind of comment about swimming “uphill” to the lifeguard in reference to the sloped floor of the pool, but I didn’t want to have to explain it.

I beat Portal last night – it was awesome. Great gameplay, cool challenges, awesome writing and story and a really nifty song at the end. I’m inspired to build my own Weighted Companion Cube now.

In other news… I may have jury duty next week. I’ll have to call on Sunday night to see if I’m needed. It will be a bummer if that’s the case.

That’s it for now… back to work…

Last evening, in perparation for a project for work, I made a light box. Based off of a diagram of a former student assistant, I made a box for taking photos of objects – in this case, origami. The box is just a cardboard box with holes cut in the top and sides. The holes have vellum over them to let in soft light and the front is open and covered with poster board to allow entry of the objects.

Took me a while to do, but it turned out great. The next step was to make some Origami hearts – which I did, including one made out of red vellum. I put them in the box and took pictures, then sent them to my work address.

A little resizing and I had a nice banner made for a valentine’s day dance on campus – since I was doing the credit card application and they hadn’t given me any graphics.

Notice I said “hadn’t”. As soon as I sent the sample page to the coordinators of the dance, they sent back an email with the graphics they wanted to use.

So, that was kind of a bummer. Still, I got the light box made and that will be helpful down the road.

In other news… I called about the elliptical yesterday. After I finally got though a person we diagnosed that the problem was the ‘pivot tube’ – and they were out of stock. So, should be in stock sometime next week and they will ship a new one to us. At which point we’ll be able to make arrangements to have a technician come over to do the install. Annoying since we have to wait, but at least it’s still under warranty.

Chipotle today for the traditional Thursday lunch. It was, as usual, excellent.

Played a few moments of portal last night without a crash – I’ll try again tonight.

That’s it for now… later…

Played Portal last night and made my way around a tricky puzzle. But, wait! It’s a trap! I slip past the trap and I’m in a new area, outside the bounds of the games standard testing environment. Working my way through this cool and somewhat grimy looking place – I get to a new challenge and just as I’m starting to figure out how to get through – the game crashes. Hard.

So, I fire up the game again and get a little further before it crashes again. Ummm… Microsoft? Any chance you’re going to get your operating system fixed any time soon? Thanks.

Frustrated with that, I fire up the playstation Marvel Ultimate Alliance and move my team through Arcade’s MurderWorld. We’re making fairly good progress, though Iceman got killed by a doom-bot. I reach a carnival area and have Thor pick up a big hammer laying on the ground. It’s kinda fun, but Thor already has a big hammer and I drop that weapon and move on. At the end of the area is a gate controlled by one of those strong-man mallet+pole+bell at the top things.

Which Thor’s regular hammer can’t handle.

So, I head back to where I dropped the hammer and it’s not there. Nor has another one re-spawned in the game. I back out of the area and enter again – still no hammer. The only option – reload and start the level over. So, I’m pissed, but I do that. And I’m more careful when I pick up the hammer and how I use it. I make it through the level after rescuing Blade the Vampire hunter from a toy/crane game and then shooting Thor out of a cannon to trick a giant robot to hit himself in the head. Next up, I think we’re headed to hell to fight some demons and rescue Ghost Rider.

Yesterday, I got a message from the Accounts Payable office about a check for my meals when I last traveled. They were calling to verify my address – and it was way wrong. Turns out they track us as “vendors” when they issue checks – instead of tying it into payroll and using my updated address. Annoying, but at least they called. I’m headed over there this afternoon to pick it up and update my address.

That’s about it for now – time to get back to work…

I went to McDonald’s to get a bite to eat before I gave blood yesterday. The food was pretty good – though how fries, nuggets and a drink I pour myself could be screwed up, I’m not really sure.

The rest was a mess. The kitchen area needed to be cleaned up, the clerks and cooks were haphazard, and the random beeping and noise would have made me go postal if I’d had to work there. It made me wonder… how did good tasting food come out of that environment? And more importantly, how did they win so many customer service awards? I’m guessing either low standards or amazing luck to get judged on the “good days” that I always seem to miss out on.

From there I headed to the blood drive. The “greeter” seemed annoyed to be drawn away from her book – but the rest of the staff was friendly. I even got recognised from a previous drive – which wasn’t difficult since I was doing the same thing as last time – namely, folding paper. The history and exam person was funny and did a great job – and then had to get her paperwork reviewed and signed!? If she was a trainee, she’s going to do a great job.

The donation went smoothly and I managed to fold a lily one-handed. Cookies, juice, and a red cross fleece blanket and I was on my way.

I got really tired later in the evening – took my shower early and went to bed. Slept pretty well and didn’t want to get out of bed. Still, did my situps, got ready for work, stopped to get gas and still made it to work on time.

And I should get back to it. later…

Last Friday, I had a couple of meetings that filling up my day. So, I was a bit rushed with my swim – getting a late start and then having to be back quicker than usual. I hit the pool and swam fast, trying to get my laps in quickly. Final results – 32 laps in 37 minutes. Which is not too shabby.

Today I was back to my regular schedule and did 36 lap (1 mile) in however long it took me.

There was something else I meant to cover, but I can’t remember now what it was. Must not have been important.

later…

I think I may have broken the elliptical trainer on Saturday. Or rather, been on it when it broke. My room-mate and I have noticed the occasional squeak from the machine but disregarded it. I started noticing the squeaking increase, along with a squeal that did not sound normal and called my room-mate downstairs to listen. He got a flashlight as well and tried to see where it was coming from. A few more slow revolutions and we noticed a grinding sound. We switched and I looked while he slowly rotated the pedals. Until he couldn’t. It locked up and refused to budge. I suspect there may be some issue with the brakes – which I haven’t even used yet. So, we’re going to call customer support and get it fixed. It’s only slightly older than a month and already broken.

Got my eCheck done – took only a few minutes and no longer costs anything. Went to the BMV to get my tags renewed and there was no line. The process only took a few minutes there too – I was lucky.

Played more Portal this weekend. Kicked some serious ass. The levels I’m in have automated gun turrets deal with a twisted sense of humor, timed buttons across acid pits, and essentially jumping off a cliff to hit a portal at high speeds to fly straight up out of another portal to reach a higher level. Crazy vertigo.

I took down the Christmas lights in record time this year. The weather was nice(ish) and they came down pretty easily – far easier than when my room-mate put them up before Christmas.

Found some additional missed long hairs on my head – that barber did a real hack job. Looks like I need to find yet another place or buy myself a flowbee.

Blood drive this afternoon. They’ve had a couple people calling me and trying to schedule me for an appointment. I’ve made one, then got a follow up reminder call. These people are way serious.

Well, got a couple of meetings today – better get to it. later…

I played a little more Fable last evening – trying out some new things. I bought a house again this time around and I’m spending money on fixing it up. Other villagers are complimenting me on it frequently. I’m also having my character flirt with pretty much everyone in every village that he comes across. Making a lot of “friends” that way, including one that just handed me a huge freaking sword – pretty much just for being nice to them. As a consequence, I’m using that way powerful sword to kick a lot of ass. I’m also doing a bit more fishing and may enter a fishing contest. One thing that still annoys me is the stupid villagers that get in my way when I’m fighting a Balverine or something. I’ve accidentally killed several people just on the backswing. Good game overall though.

I used the elliptical again last night, trying to get back into the swing of things. 15 mintues – 1.40 miles. Not great – but not bad either. Felt pretty good afterwards too.

Got an email from my sister with an HTML question. That was kinda cool putting the notes together for her on how to set it up – but Vista wouldn’t let me get to my site as a web folder to let me upload a sample.

well, my meetings are stacking up today, better get back to it. later…

I saw “I Am Legend” on the 1st – pretty good film, but there were some plot holes and it got a little weak toward the end. Mostly good effects and good acting – CGI was a little disappointing. I’m going to re-read the book again – see how it compares.

I also watched the movie SkinWalkers on DVD. Ugh. Pointless, lame, and not scary.

My room-mate and I tried to get pizza that evening – but the phone at pizza hut just rang and rang. We thought they were just really busy, it being the first of the year and all, but after further investigation we found that the store had been closed. Another pizza hut in the area took up the delivery for our area and we got our pizza – eventually.

I’m in a little bit better mood today – I guess I got caught up on my sleep finally.

Went swimming yesterday and once again the pool was almost filled with a high school swim team. I think they were doing conditioning or something – in any case, those kids were fast. Really fast. I was feeling pretty good about my ‘slightly over a minute per lap’ – but even two lanes away I was getting tossed about by their wake.

I re-downloaded Portal on my new computer last night and fired it up. The extra power and processing speed really ramped up the game and added a lot to it. I got caught up to where I had been before – and this time around I destroyed most of the cameras, prompting a warning from the computer voice each time. Pretty cool.

I’m hoping for a quiet day today – got one training session this afternoon, but otherwise I’m meeting free. later…