Microwave Repaired-ish

The microwave repair guy came by this afternoon to fix our over-the-range microwave oven. He had previously ordered the parts so today was just about installing them. Getting it down was a minor pain as the bottom right corner was having a hard time releasing from the bracket. Once he got it down he removed the part that needed to replaced, and one screw decided to fall and get wedged somewhere such that it wouldn't fall out even after shaking the microwave. He eventually got it and got the new part put in, and then noticed a couple of moderately deep scratches on our Corion countertop. He was frustrated that he caused that and apologetic. He gave me a number I need to call to have someone come out and buff out the scratches.

Finally it was time to put the microwave back. The two screws that hold it in place were hard to twist in. I offered my drill which helped very briefly due to the battery not being charged enough. His drill was too tall to fit. He couldn't get the right screw in and it seemed to have gotten stripped so he just ordered a new top which comes with new screws. So the microwave works but it doesn't look pretty. Once the new parts arrive we'll set up another appointment and get it securely bolted and looking like it used to.

We tried to use the heater tonight, the first time since it was repaired, and after clicking on for a few seconds it failed to begin heating. So I guess tomorrow I'll be calling Service 1 Heating & Air Conditioning and have them someone back out.

Heater Repair

Yesterday the heater repair guy came to look at our non-functioning heater. It turned out that some part had overheated which triggered a switch that needed to be manually reset. But instead of just resetting it, he was kind enough to completely replace it with a switch that would automatically reset itself should it ever happen again, thus I wouldn't need to climb up into the attic, unbolt the side panel, and stick my arm inside a dark piece of equipment. He didn't have the switch on him so he had to go get it. He also gave us a new disposable air filter to replace the reusable one we've had for years.

Jury Duty Concludes

It was raining on the drive to the courthouse for jury duty this morning, and also on the walk to the courthouse. I didn't have an umbrella, just a jacket and a hoodie, so I kept my head down while I walked and got a bit wet. We continued our deliberation, going over the murder charge more, and ended up finishing at 10:30am. When everyone was back in the courtroom our verdict was read out loud and we each had to confirm the verdict.

Now that the case is over I can open up about some of the details. Tyler Christopher Schweizer was charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and second degree murder for killing Wallace "Pete" Shelton on February 11, 2015 when his red pickup collided with Mr. Shelton's white pickup at the intersection of Highway 273 and Thomas Road. Schweizer's defense attorney conceded the manslaughter charge in both his opening statement and his closing argument but argued that Mr. Schweizer actions did not constitute second degree murder.

I had kept an open mind throughout the entire trial. Once it ended and we entered the deliberation room I still did not have a decision in mind regarding the murder charge. We started discussing the manslaughter charge first since that one seemed much easier. We ignored the fact that the defense attorney conceded that charge, but all the evidence presented made it very clear that he was guilty.

The murder charge took much longer to decide as it had to do with his knowledge and state of mind at the time. We went through all the evidence multiple times, the witness statements, the photographs, the diagrams, and even had the testimony of the only actual eye witness to the collision read back to us. We also went over each of the points needed to prove second degree murder many times, breaking down the wording and meaning behind it, and how they applied to this case.

We had a great jury foreperson that helped make sure everything was gone through multiple times, that everyone had a chance to voice their concerns and opinions, and that all perspectives were covered. I also felt that we had a very fine group of people in our jury. Some of them had gotten to know each other during the lunch breaks, but being shy I ended up not getting to know them until we entered into deliberations. It seemed to me that everyone was being fair, considered all the evidence, and did not rush to judgment. Nobody in our jury tried to convince anyone else to think the same way they did. If someone expressed concern over a specific area then we would all discuss that and look at it from different perspectives. Should I ever find myself in the position of needing a jury, I would accept this one in a heartbeat.

After the verdict was read and we were dismissed, some of the ladies went out for lunch at Mary's Pizza Shack. They invited me along and I accepted, because it felt good to be out of the house and interacting socially. Plus, our heater is broken and it's like 60 degrees outside so I was in no rush to go home. Dee was nice enough to give me a ride since I am not familiar with the downtown area and had no idea where the restaurant was. One of the alternate jurors met us there and we all had a nice lunch and discussed the case. I was still fairly quite but I did make an effort to speak up a few times.

I didn't enjoy waking up early, and finding a man guilty of second degree murder was no easy feat, but overall I did enjoy my jury experience and am glad I didn't try to get out of it. Who knows, maybe the next time I receive a jury summons I won't throw my head back and groan loudly in annoyance.

Kong: Skull Island

Yesterday we went to see Kong: Skull Island with our friends, Ray and Dawn. We saw it in 3D, and like most movies I see in 3D I barely noticed any of the 3D elements. I notice them only in the very beginning and then I just kind of get used to it and stop noticing. But the movie was good. At least, we all enjoyed it. I liked it more than Peter Jackson's King Kong and way more than 2015's Godzilla reboot, which happens to take place within the same universe Kong: Skull Island. Most of the human characters could have used more development, and more to do, but there was a lot of Kong action and all that was fantastic.

Hard Drive Failure

I've been having hard drive problems for the past couple weeks that just kept getting worse, and yesterday I got the black screen with white text saying Windows didn't exist so I had to break down and order a new drive. I have a backup image so once it arrives I should be right back to where I left off.

The Trial Begins

I had jury duty again today. The trial was scheduled to start at 9AM but the judge had some other business to take care of and was running behind so we all to wait out in the hall for until 9:50am. I can't discuss any details about the trial, but I can say that things move a lot slower than they do on TV and in the movies. For every picture the prosecuting attorney wanted to show he had to first show it to the defense for them to approve and then show it to the testifying witness and ask if the picture was indicative of what they saw on the day and then ask the judge for permission to display the picture and then the judge would ask the defense if there is any objection and then finally he would show the picture. And yet somehow things moved faster than expected and we were released for the day an hour ahead of schedule.

Microwave on Strike!

Our over-the-range microwave decided enough was enough yesterday morning, that it wasn't going to take and heat up any more of our food. It lets know by making a loud throaty sound when we tried to use it. So that kind of sucks. We have a another microwave we got for free of Craigslist some years back but it's much smaller and not as powerful so it takes longer to heat stuff up.

Deep Cleaning

I had a deep cleaning at the dentist this afternoon. I had the left side done last month so today was the right side. Even though the entire side of my face (and my tongue) was completely numb, it was still quite uncomfortable and my gums were very sore afterwards. Apparently using a water flosser instead of actual floss isn't good enough, so I've returned to regular flossing every night as I don't ever want to go through that again.

My PC experienced a major crash today. There was a notification that errors were found on the hard drive and it wanted to reboot in order to run chkdsk to repair the errors. So I let it, and the next thing I know I'm seeing a blue screen with some error code saying it can't boot. Even attempting a repair didn't help as it couldn't find a Windows installation. Thankfully I have it do daily system image backups so I was able to restore from a system image backup. It did take a while, though. This was the second crash in the last couple weeks, I hope that doesn't indicate hardware failure.

Juror No. 9

The jury selection process continued today. For the past two days juror after juror kept getting dismissed, and that trend continued today so it didn't take long before I found myself sitting in the jury box, even before our first break. Getting dismissed by either the defense attorney or the prosecutor would have been quite simple, but I decided to not do that as I found myself curious about participating in the whole trial process. It's scheduled to take place only three days a week and I'm at the tail end of a project so it wouldn't interfere too much with my work. By the 3PM I was sworn in as a juror along with the 11 others in the jury box. We then took a short break, after which four alternates were chosen. By the end of the day, of the 150 people we originally started with 3 days ago only two remained. Next week the trial begins and although I'm not sure what to expect I am confident it will be an interesting experience.

Jury Duty Again

I had jury duty again this morning. This time I didn't have to be there until 9AM, which is definitely better than the 8:15AM time of the first day but still a little early for me. The downside is that the boiler wasn't working so it was about 59 degrees in the courtroom all morning. We got a lunch break at noon and the heat was partially working when we returned. Apparently it has been breaking down constantly and they are going to be replacing it, but doing so its a big deal so it won't happen before this trial ends. During the shorter 20 minute break at 3PM I ran up and down the stairs to get some exercise in and get warmed up. By the end of the day they still hadn't finished picking the jury so once again I'll be heading back there.

Pacific Heat

I had a platelet donation appointment today. It was cold and rainy out and I had work to do, but I went anyway. While in the chair having my lifeforce drained I watched a hilarious animated show call Pacific Heat. It reminded me of Archer and Moonbeam City, and I was surprised to find out later that it only scored 17% on Rotten Tomatoes and 5.1/10 on IMDb. I'll admit it's not as good as Archer but I found it quite entertaining and funny. I hope the low ratings doesn't mean that we'll miss out on a second season.

Working on a Saturday :(

Treese went to a bachelorette party this evening while I stayed home and worked. Before heading out she made some of her salsa to bring over, and as usual I got to help taste it. The jalapeños we got at the store last night when we were buying the needed ingredients turned out to be pretty mild. There wasn't time to get more so she just took it as-is. It was still good, though, just not too spicy. I worked pretty much all day today. Such fun on a Saturday! So did Treese, though. She worked from home on her work laptop. I much rather would have been playing videogames, but unfortunately we're not independently wealthy yet. We got some hail this afternoon while we were working. Hearing what sounds to be a ton of little pebbles slamming into the house is a bit distracting and can make it hard to focus on work. Thankfully it only lasted a couple minutes.

Jury Duty

I had jury duty yesterday, and it was the first time in quite a while I had to get up at 7AM. Ugh! That's not easy when you're used to going to bed at 3AM. There was a long line leading into the courthouse as people went through the security check, and it was pretty cold outside which made it that much more fun. If you've ever been to jury duty then you know there is a lot of waiting involved so I practiced my Duolingo for a bit then read a novella called The Last Days of Seabreeze by Ray Garton. I got through pretty much the whole thing while I was there, only needing to finish the last couple pages at home, and I really enjoyed it. Very creepy! I was disappointed when it was over because I wanted more.

Jury duty lasted until 4:30PM with one lunch break and one 10 minute break. Unfortunately they didn't finish the jury selection process so I'll have to go back next week. The case is about a dude who was allegedly speeding and crashed into someone, killing them. I wouldn't mind hearing more details, but there's still of ton of people up for jury selection so odds are I won't be one of the choose few.