Things I learned at jury duty yesterday

I had my first jury duty experience in MA, after having been called twice in GA. Those first two experiences ended without my being impaneled at all (one, in fact, ended with a bomb threat). But yesterday's was a bit more interesting.

Things I learned from the video they showed us:

1. Massachusetts pioneered the one day/one juror system (instead of the ludicrous thirty-day system).

2. MA was one of the first to allow black people to sit on juries.

3. And one of the last to allow women.

That sounds educational, but seeing as it was a twenty-minute video, I'm not sure there was a lot of real meat there.

Other things I learned:

5. I could have gotten switched to a courthouse that was closer than the one in Lowell, had I known.

6. Being impaneled is interesting, and not quite like it usually is on TV. At least in this case (a civic one), the only people who were around when I was being questioned were the judge and the attorneys; the case participants, other jurors, etc, were too far away to hear anything.

7. Now that I've served (even being dismissed is considered serving; showing up the key thing here), I've got a three-year respite from being called again.

Things I learned at jury duty yesterday

I had my first jury duty experience in MA, after having been called twice in GA. Those first two experiences ended without my being impaneled at all (one, in fact, ended with a bomb threat). But yesterday's was a bit more interesting.

Things I learned from the video they showed us:

1. Massachusetts pioneered the one day/one juror system (instead of the ludicrous thirty-day system).

2. MA was one of the first to allow black people to sit on juries.

3. And one of the last to allow women.

That sounds educational, but seeing as it was a twenty-minute video, I'm not sure there was a lot of real meat there.

Other things I learned:

5. I could have gotten switched to a courthouse that was closer than the one in Lowell, had I known.

6. Being impaneled is interesting, and not quite like it usually is on TV. At least in this case (a civic one), the only people who were around when I was being questioned were the judge and the attorneys; the case participants, other jurors, etc, were too far away to hear anything.

7. Now that I've served (even being dismissed is considered serving; showing up the key thing here), I've got a three-year respite from being called again.

A few iOS freebies

1. Hearthstone! Hearthstone! Yay! I'm amazed at how well this plays on the iPad, frankly. If you're already a player, even if you prefer your PC, you should play one match on the iPad to win a free pack of cards. If you haven't played HS at all, it's about as close to perfect as an FTP game can get, a great, fun collectible trading card game.

2. Horn. A hack-and-slash in the Infinity Blade style that's gotten some solid reviews.

3. Knights of Pen and Paper. A witty self-referential game that doesn't fall too far down its own rabbit hole, and is also fun so far.

4. Help Me Fly. A fun line-drawing puzzle game. I've had this one for a while, and it's pretty tough under the goofy-looking theme.

5. Warhammer Quest. Yes, there's a ton of IAP expansions, but at least you get the base game here for free. And that's got plenty to play.

6. Ascension. I'm assuming this one's staying free, now, but definitely worth grabbing. And add me in Gamecenter if you do! I'm always up for more games of this. It's probably my single favorite iOS app.

7. Hunter Island. The closest thing I've seen to a truly successful Pokemon game on the iOS, and well worth it for Pokemon or JRPG people.

A few iOS freebies

1. Hearthstone! Hearthstone! Yay! I'm amazed at how well this plays on the iPad, frankly. If you're already a player, even if you prefer your PC, you should play one match on the iPad to win a free pack of cards. If you haven't played HS at all, it's about as close to perfect as an FTP game can get, a great, fun collectible trading card game.

2. Horn. A hack-and-slash in the Infinity Blade style that's gotten some solid reviews.

3. Knights of Pen and Paper. A witty self-referential game that doesn't fall too far down its own rabbit hole, and is also fun so far.

4. Help Me Fly. A fun line-drawing puzzle game. I've had this one for a while, and it's pretty tough under the goofy-looking theme.

5. Warhammer Quest. Yes, there's a ton of IAP expansions, but at least you get the base game here for free. And that's got plenty to play.

6. Ascension. I'm assuming this one's staying free, now, but definitely worth grabbing. And add me in Gamecenter if you do! I'm always up for more games of this. It's probably my single favorite iOS app.

7. Hunter Island. The closest thing I've seen to a truly successful Pokemon game on the iOS, and well worth it for Pokemon or JRPG people.