Say Thanks

Whether or not you are in favor of the war with the Hussein regime, at least say thank you to the troops who are there in your place: Defend America Thank You.

“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” –Thomas Paine

The American Flag

“This flag…the symbol of the hopes of man. This cloth of dreams for freedom, justice and opportunity. Its stars like beacons guiding us through shoals of adversity. Its red stripes like wounds of struggle.
“The good in it cannot be had for nothing…like any garden, it must be tended…like any loved one it must be held. Hold high this flag and keep its promise bright, for in it lies the best of hope for all of us.” –Mort Walker, Beetle Bailey creator
(Thanks, Carrie.)

It has begun

Bombs over Baghdad tonight (tomorrow morning in Iraq). Apparently, intelligence on targets of opportunity was such that cruise missiles and F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighters were launched at limited targets of Iraqi leadership.
Apparently, the U.S. military has jammed and co-opted Iraqi State Radio, and is now making statements in Arabic to the people of Iraq.

First firefight of the Iraq War?

London’s Evening Standard is reporting on a firefight that broke out between Iraqi forces in Basra and members of the British Special Boat Service (think SEALs) and U.S. Marines.
Thanks to Dan for the link.

A barber shop

A barber shop. That’s what I want. Not a salon. Not another Supercuts, Great Clips, Sports Clips, or any other generic salon-style chain that have all but killed the Great American Barber Shop. I’m tired of salons. I’m tired of Great Clips, Sports Clips, Supercuts, et al. Salons are for the ladies. Men don’t see stylists; we see barbers.
I want real barber chairs, hot shaving foam, straight razors. The operation overseen by a cast of crusty old SOBs who know how to talk sports, politics, hunting, fishing, power tools, cars; you know, guy stuff.
Call the chamber of commerce, suggests my spouse. Ask them if they know of any in the town. Well, what do you know? 🙂
Just opened this past October, the Back N Time Antique Barber Shop is what I’ve been looking for. The staff isn’t old, or crusty, and I’ve only been there once, so I can’t speak much as to if they are SOBs. But we talked March Madness and hockey. Complimentary sodas. Complimentary snacks & candy. Antique furniture, especially of the barber-shop variety. They have an old cash register that would take at least two guys to carry out the door, more likely three–if it wasn’t bolted to an antique cabinet. An old shoeshine stand stands guard by the front door, which is flanked by barber poles.
Oh, right–the haircut. Aces. I got a great haircut in the kind of atmosphere I grew up with. I will definitely be seeing Steve, Fred, Ace, and Jimmie Z again.

Jury Duty IV

Trial was going pretty good this morning. Got through 4 witnesses, then the defendant had some kind of seizure (I think maybe diabetic/blood sugar), and court was recessed until 9 AM Thursday. So I get to “enjoy” a day at work tomorrow!

Beleaguered Gateway closing stores, reducing work force

I figured it was high time that a computer manufacturer other than Apple had the word “beleaguered” in a headline or story about them. According to a c|net story, Gateway is closing 76 stores and laying off 17 percent of its work force. If this were Apple, stories and editorials on the company’s imminent demise would be rampant.
Maybe if Ted Waitt stopped talking to cows, people would take his company more seriously.

Jury Duty III

I made the cut; I’m one of the six jurors for this misdemeanor trial starting later this morning. The defendant is charged with Deadly Conduct. From what I gathered during voir dire, it sounds like he was either waving around or pointing a handgun at another man. Should be interesting.

Jury Duty II

So I reported for jury duty this morning, fully expecting to sit around all day while they waded through the list. This based on horror stories of jury duty from friends, neighbors, and coworkers.
Denton County, thankfully, does things a little differently than our Dallas brethren. About 250 prospective jurors showed up this morning. After being sworn in by one of the judges and being given a rundown on qualifications and exemptions, the district clerk informed us that the courts needed 232 jurors to fill all of its panels today. That meant 18 lucky folks were walking out of there. I was not one of those 18.
The first case was a felony, and they needed 42 people from the panel, of which the attorneys on either side would whittle down to 12. These first 42 totally lucked out, since as the clerk was getting ready to call their names, she received word the trial had been cancelled/postponed. The next 2 sets of jurors were also for felonies, 42 each. Then came a set of 24 for a misdemeanor trial. Then a set of 20 for another misdemeanor. The room was thinning out; were the odds of getting called getting better or worse? (Didn’t really matter; computer system had kicked out the various lists, completely at random, minutes before, after all jurors had reported in.)
On the 3d misdemeanor trial, my name was called. The good news was that I didn’t have to report to the courtroom until 1pm. Not enough time to go in to the office for a bit, too much time to hang around the courthouse. So I came home for a while. I’ll head back about noon, 1 out of 24, and they’ll take 6 of us.
I don’t really mind one way or the other. Thankfully, my employer pays me if I’m at work or jury duty, and I donated my $6/$10 a day ($10 if you actually sit on a jury, otherwise $6 for reporting for service) to the Boys & Girls Club of Denton County. It’s a misdemeanor trial, which means it shouldn’t go more than a day or two. Should be interesting to see what happens later this afternoon.

Jury Duty

So later this morning I’ll be heading out to report for jury duty. Like most folks, it’s not something I’m looking forward to, but it’s one of our duties as citizens, and one I take seriously. So much so that I test drove the route earlier tonight, to ensure that I would arrive on time. Hey, if I were a defendant awaiting trial, I’d want people who took it seriously in the jury pool, too, even if they didn’t really want to be there.