Judge Judge, may I present Major Major

The Register (a British tech site) is reporting that tech-addled jurors undermine justice. The judge, Lord Judge of Draycote, complains that younger jurors are used to doing their own research and so apparently can't sit still, listen to arguments in court, and make their decision based on what they hear. According to Lord Judge,

Orality is the crucial ingredient of the adversarial system

In a bootnote, the Reg reports that "Lord Judge, formerly Judge Judge, was christened Igor Judge. Whilst the
evidence of names predestining an individual for a career is a tad
shaky, in this case, the parents of the young I Judge appear to have
been spot on."

Crime in suburbia

From The Landmark (subscription required):

Holden

Monday, November 3

7:48 p.m. Report of request to neighbor to turn down car stereo, then consequent threat of restraining order; advised no grounds for restraining order

Tuesday, November 4

12:24 a.m. Three suspicious kids on John St.
1:23 p.m. Youths on bikes at Subway on Main St.
3:45 p.m. 911 Call from confused resident
7:22 p.m. Disabled motor vehicle on Hillside Dr.; waiting for gasoline

Wednesday, November 5

8:59 a.m. Dumpster reported sticking out into road on Zottoli Rd.; no problem found
5:25 p.m. Three suspicious vehicles driving in fields behind Dawson School; using headlights to play football

Thursday, November 6

2:09 p.m. 911 hang up from River St.; attempting to dial 411
6:16 p.m. Questions about dumpster in road on Tannery Dr.

Friday, November 7

5:33 p.m. 911 Caller hard of hearing; spouse said window popped out
8:28 p.m. Kids hanging out behind Honey Farms
8:41 p.m. Kids at Honey Farms

Saturday, November 8

6:19 a.m. Caller heard gunshots on Wachusett St.; advised it was hunting season
7:29 p.m. Two 911 calls about loud explosion noises near Holden St.; two kids on bikes reported near Red Barn

Sunday, November 9

1:59 p.m. Pet pigeon landed on porch on South Rd.
8:41 p.m. Dog found

Paxton

Wednesday, Nov. 5

6:21 a.m. Caller reports vehicle has been parked in area overnight, Pleasant St. Worried about owner's welfare. Talked with owner's wife. He's okay.

Thursday, Nov. 6

6:28 a.m. Caller reporting giant tree blocking Marshall St. Tree is on the Leicester side of street.

Friday, Nov. 7

8:45 a.m. Dead raccoon, Pleasant St.
11:10 a.m. Suspicious person, Walnut St. Negative contact.
3:11 p.m. Caller says she thinks a group of juveniles are in garage next door to smoke marijuana. She smelled it withinthe last 15 minutes. Officer at scene reports the garage door is closed and doesn't smell anything, Orchard Dr.

Saturday, Nov. 8

6:51 p.m. Caller reporting large black bear on porch, Nanigian Rd.

Princeton

Monday, Nov. 3

11:59 a.m. Assist animal control officer, Bigelow Rd.
10:49 p.m. Request for animal control officer, Ball Hill Rd.

Tuesday, Nov. 4

2:26 p.m. Request for animal control officer, Sterling Rd.

Wednesday, Nov. 5

7:17 p.m. Suspicious incident, Beaman Rd.

Thursday, Nov. 6

10:32 a.m. Suspicious incident, Willson Rd.

Friday, Nov. 7

12:25 p.m. Request for animal control officer, Brooks Station Rd.
3:36 p.m. Request for animal control officer, Sterling
6:10 p.m. Request for animal control officer, Goodnow Rd.

Saturday, Nov. 8

11:21 a.m. Request for animal control officer, Hubbardston Rd.

Sunday, Nov. 9

10:23 a.m. Request for animal control officer, Mirick Rd.
1:00 p.m. Request for animal control officer, Hobbs Rd.

Rutland

Monday, November 3

12:04 p.m. Walk-in to report an item lost or stolen, Main St.
12:12 p.m. Caller reporting a lost or stolen chocolate lab who will not let the kids off the kindergarten bus, Marjorie Lane
10:08 p.m. Multiple calls on white strobe lights from cell tower, Campbell St.

Friday, November 7

2:15 p.m. Party was looking for 411 dialed 911 accidentally
5:04 p.m. Party reporting that she was running on the rail trailand saw a man lying on the side of the trail. He  looked at herbut didn't say anything.

Saturday, November 8

12:46 p.m. Hubbardston PD dropped off an elderly female at Town Line Variety. She is now walking towards Worcester, East County Rd.

Sunday, November 9

1:32 p.m. Squirrel in chimney, Main St.

Sterling

Tuesday, Nov. 4

8:34 a.m. Theft of political sign, N. Row Rd.
8:43 a.m. Theft of political signs, James Rd.
8:44 a.m. Theft of Jerry Fisher road bike, Redstone Pl.
12:45 p.m. Missing political sign, Twine Rd.
1:52 p.m. Missing political sign, Bean Rd.
3:34 p.m. Officer asked to assessors office to deal with disgruntled taxpayer, Park St.

Wednesday, Nov. 5

8:25 a.m. Fox stumbling around area, Bean Rd.
12:47 p.m. Missing small brown dog, from Bolton
1:07 p.m. Goat found on porch of home, Cynthia Ln.
9:05 p.m. Report of something pumped through garden hose over guardrail, Leominster Rd.; determined to be sewerage

Thursday, Nov. 6

6:41 a.m. Loose goat, Flanagan Hill Rd.
3:07 p.m. Caller captured loose goat, Flanagan Hill Rd.

Sunday, Nov. 9

6:32 a.m. Report of bulls in the road near the Sterling Ice Cream Bar, Clinton Rd.
11:16 a.m. Beagle on porch, Rugg Rd.
12:17 p.m. Gun shots, John Dee Rd.
5:02 p.m. Goat walking in and out of traffic, Clinton Rd.

Hey, buddy, wanna buy a bridge?

Alaska may have its bridge to nowhere, but Finland has a bridge between two somewheres that you can't pronounce:

Helsinki City Council approves plan for 900-metre bridge across Kruunuvuorenselkä to Laajasalo

It took eight years after my mother's passing to reach this point.

Post office $2.8 billion in the red

The mail being sent dropped by 9.5 billion items.

Remembering Spot

We had a cat named Spot. He was a mainly white cat with a large black spot on his back. (We can thank RSM for his insightful naming.) Spot was a dear cat, friendly and mellow, He also had grand mal seizures that caused him to twitch and flip and bounce around. The seizures were infrequent and mostly harmless. Mostly. Unless he was at the top of the stairs, in which case he looked like this, except that his descent was faster:


via Slinky Cat

Making the Baby Jesus cry

At the risk of being labeled an enemy combatant in Bill O'Reilly's War on Christmas, I'd like to note that radio stations that play non-stop Christmas music this early are doing the moral equivalent of dousing the manger with high fructose corn syrup and then inviting legions of ants to crawl all over Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
Starting last week, two Boston stations, WODS (odious?) and WROR, have adopted an all-Christmas format. Yeah, I know, just change the station. Blieve me, I do, as fast as I can. I stumble on this dreck when I hit the scan button, looking for a decent tune. I hit the scan button again and, most often, wind up somewhere on the left end of the dial, listening to a college or other non-commercial station. Tell me this, which is more dangerous to the soul of the nation - George Carlin's seven dirty words or the merciless repetition of Jingle Bell Rock that's like a steady drip of battery acid on our spirits?

I wanted to be...

According to these folks, there's a 77% likelihood that this blog is written by a dude.

Dept. of Wait, What?

According to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), American Express may seek $3.5 Billion in U.S. Aid. under TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program). Apparently, even the big-spenders who carry AmEx cards have cut back on their spending and so the company is lining up with all of the other troubled banks and bank-like companies, awaiting a fresh infusion of gummint money. What's even sweeter is that they don't even have to worry about the competition getting more loot. The WSJ reports that, "Rivals Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc., which operate processing
networks, aren't eligible for TARP[1] because they technically aren't
financial institutions."
These guys aren't even pretending to be capitalists any more.

The news from Finland is bleak

First of all, they have an influx of wretched stray dogs and Tukish sausages.Next, their shoes are too small. The Herring Fair was a bit of good news: "The meals sold well, and customers were apparently not afraid of any pollutants or toxins potentially found in the fish in the Gulf of Finland." But, the Santa Park had to close due to a fungus.

This week's blog post on Real Worcester

Worcestershire Journal - Canals : Real Worcester - Worcester News and Blogs

On the 11th hour ...

Ninety years ago, the guns fell silent, if only for a time.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae

from Wikipedia article