Brent's Two Cents

Jury Duty

Back in December I got a summons from the Sheriff telling me to report for Jury Duty in early January. I did, and sat in the courtroom for three or four hours drinking the Queen's coffee, reading a back-issue of The Walrus (coincidentally containing an article about the International Criminal Court) and waiting for my number to be called. It wasn't, so I went home with a slight caffeine buzz and orders to return later that month for another jury selection. This was a duplicate of my previous Jury Duty experience many years ago, where I sat through two jury selections and didn't have my number come up once. I don't ever win the lottery either, so it was no surprise.

During the next session, we were an hour or so into the process again, and I was working out some jokes to tell my friends about my not getting chosen again when all of a sudden I heard my number. The next thing I knew, I was being affirmed as a witness, and moments later, as a juror and as a "triar", which is a person who has a role in certain kinds of jury selection in Canada. Bang! I was on a jury. I was instructed to show up the next week for the trial.

Frankly, I was pleased. Life's been a little dull recently, so this was going to be an interesting change of pace. Of course, when you tell someone that you're on a jury duty, their first reaction is virtually always "you should have done this to get out of it", usually followed by a wardrobe suggestion, or some lie or exaggeration you could tell the judge that would get you excused. I suspect that those tricks would work, but the legal system probably benefits: If you're willing to lie to a judge to get out of jury duty, then you probably aren't going to make an exemplary juror.

Now that I'm on the jury, I'm eager both for the trial to start and for the whole experience to be over; I'm not very good at waiting. The next step is to actually get to the courthouse, but this has been proving more difficult that I expected. The day before I was instructed to appear, I got a call from the Sheriff moving the date back. That worked out for me, because I had some work to finish up. Again today, I got another call moving the date back again. At this rate, the whole trial experience could take much longer than I expected. I hope not too long. We've got a baby due in April.

One For My Gift List

I am a Smug Virus-Free Mac-Using Bastard. (Alas, the link has expired.)

The End

:-)

Stranger Than Fiction

I have no idea what to make of this.

Attaboy, Brazil

So, the US is requiring people arriving in that country by plane to be photographed and fingerprinted as a 'security measure'. I'm not sure why, but that kind of massive data gathering effort makes me a little nervous, and even as a law-abiding citizen, makes me a little reluctant to visit the States. The photography is one thing, but the fingerprinting seems a little invasive. You normally have to commit a crime to get your fingerprints taken, so it seems that now everyone entering the US is considered to be a potential criminal. I guess I'm showing my age, but I remember when we were considered potential customers.

Anway, the nation of Brazil is taking what I think is a completely fair approach to this situation: Reciprocity. They're requiring Americans entering their country to be photographed and fingerprinted. And guess what? The Americans don't like it. Can you imagine being a US citizen arriving in Brazil on a flight with other foreign nationals, flashing your passport at immigration and being taken aside to be photographed and fingerprinted like a felon while other passengers breeze through immigration? I think every other country whose citizens are subjected to this process should institute the same procedure. Not because it's a good idea, just because it's their right as a sovereign nation, and because it's fair. The US so seldom gets a taste of their own medicine.

Erasing the Stupid Lane

I just read the most fascinating set of web pages by William Beaty, a Seattle commuter who has been doing Traffic Experiments. In a nutshell, he's been doing experiments during his daily commutes on the Seattle highways, trying to understand the dynamics of traffic and traffic jams. His description of results makes me almost wish that I drove more often.

My brother used to always curse the traffic around him. A particular situation I remember is when he'd switch lanes and the new lane would almost immediately grind to a halt. He'd say "D'oh! I'm in the Stupid Lane!"

According to Mr. Beaty, it's possible for a single driver to have a profound effect on traffic jams, in some cases even eliminating them. Quite interesting.