Asymptomatic

On a whim and a wish to watch something with the kids that was not yet another animated film (not that I dislike them, but they seem all that the kids will tolerate in entirely) I threw in a copy of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I'm not sure I expected them to really watch the whole thing, but being that Indiana Jones was a favorite of mine over the years, I had hoped they would enjoy it as much as I do. As it turns out, my hopes have come true.

Tonight when we were out to dinner, I suggested to Abby that we pop some corn and watch another Indiana Jones movie. Her eyes flew wide open in shock, as she was surprised to learn that there was another movie!

I was only too happy to put Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade into the player to watch. We've been nibbling popcorn and watching Indy chase down the holy grail now for a little while, and I'm happy to report that the movie has her rapt attention....

I wrote this entry on June 20, 2006, but did not post it until today.

After a nice evening dinner and playtime in the park - spawned by yet another evening of a completely uninhabitable eating area at home - we returned home to prep the kids for bed and another day's cycle of painters-gone-wild self-inflicted eviction.

Riley was the first to bathe, and Abby whined insistantly (a habit that I am soon to break her of in likely unpleasant ways) that she wanted to spend a few minutes across the street with her friends. With Berta occupied, I was the only one "available" for the task, in spite of the growing mound of after-hours work that isn't being done due to - dare I mention it again? - the blasted painters. ...

Yesterday was a trial as we attempted to do some not-so-serious house hunting in the nearly perfect weather. Why? Riley was in "scream continuously" mode.

It's rare that he does this these days because mostly he has very specific wants and knows how to communicate them. For example, when he wants a bottle (when will he finally accept sippy cups??) he'll say "Ba?" And when he wants his blanket, he says "Ba?" And when he wants to play with a ball, he says "Ba?" And even "Ba?" when its time for that bath he loves. It's a very flexible word.

Also in his vocabulary is "Bu" for book and "Boo" for balloon. Oh, and there's "Tee" for TV, and "Tee" for tree. "Ee" for ear. "Car-car" for car, because just one isn't enough, or perhaps due to Elizabeth Mitchel, whose CD suggests that we "go ridin' in the car, car". ...

This is the last post about this trial, I promise. Instead of starting directly in with trial details, let me write a bit about jury duty itself, which should expose a few details that might be of general interest.

When I arrived on Monday morning, there was a line for the metal detectors at one of the two public entrances to the courthouse. You would think that after learning of the metal detectors - which they should know are set far too sensitively when they pick up candy foil wrappers - that people would leave their hunting knives at home. But no. Maybe they think it's amusing when they have to check their foot-long knives with the sherrif at the detector. Whatever.

Also on the hitlist at the detector were cell phones with cameras. I guess you're not allowed to take photos inside the courthouse. I'm not sure whether this prohibition extends to regular cameras or other devices with cameras embedded, or if it's just with phones. In any case, you can avoid holding up the line by simply leaving the thing at home. But how irritating!

Enough with these annoyances, though. What can you expect as a juror ar Chester County Courthouse? more

This weekend marks another trip to Johnstown to visit Berta's family. Without intentionally disconnecting myself from the outside world, this is one of the few times I can't connect to the internet. And boy oh boy, it's like quitting crack cold-turkey.

Johnstown isn't a very high-tech area. Most of its residents are elderly, so I wouldn't expect much of an uptake in internet connectivity. They do have DSL and cable connections there, and there is a business-grade fiber installation company out there, but Berta's family are not as computer-dependent as we are to have contracted any of these services.

So if I'm to connect my notebook to the net at all, it's going to happen via dialup over a very old POTS line. Ugh. I have been trying to find some alternative solutions to my connectivity problem, and I'm coming up short. more