Graduation picture!

Sorry I'm posting only one; it's pretty much the only one I have that doesn't show my face. (I'm not too excited about posting pictures of myself on my blog, and I know my parents wouldn't be too excited about it!) So I apologize for posting only a picture of my "gold" (since when is orange a shade of gold?) ribbon. I'm not trying to brag about it (it was only by the grace of God!) but at least it's a picture of me that doesn't include my face!

Graduation

I graduate from college Saturday, and I still don't really care. And I feel a bit guilty about it.

I guess it's because I finished classes in December--and that, I did care about. A lot. I could have told you last June how many days I had until I reached that milestone.

But unfortunately, my university doesn't award degrees in December, so I don't officially graduate until Saturday. I really thought about just having the school mail me my diploma, but I suspect that, a decade or two down the road, I'd regret not making the trip to campus to graduate. Besides, certain family members would probably be disappointed if I didn't participate in the ceremony.

It's been funny, though; you know how I said I was counting down the days until I finished classes? Well, last week I thought, "Isn't graduation soon? I guess I ought to look at my schedule and find out when I'm supposed to show up for rehearsal and stuff like that."

And just tonight I realized that I ought to lose five pounds and get my face cleared up before all the photo ops after the ceremony. And also, I haven't the slightest idea where either my digital or my "archaic" camera is, and I probably have neither batteries or film. I guess I ought to look into that...

Like father, like son?

FoxNews does not mention Chappaquiddick in this article. I suppose that, technically, it would be irrelevant...

But I have to admit that, as I walked through the lobby of my office building tonight and saw the headline on the TV that Ted Kennedy's son had wrecked his car, the first thought to cross my mind was, "What did he do, drive off a bridge and kill somebody?"

(I apologize to any Democratic-leaning readers that this blog may have; I really don't hate Democrats. And I don't necessarily like the Republicans all that much, most of the time.)

Jury "consultants"?

Interesting article in the April 2006 issue of Reader's Digest on "stacking" juries. It's the "That's Outrageous" feature, and it begins on page 41.

A quotation:

A recent guide published by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America warned lawyers about jurors who may show "personal responsibility bias." These jurors, the guide said, feel that "people must be accountable for their conduct." Now there's a chilling outlook! The guide advises: "The only solution is to exclude them from the jury." That is, get rid of anyone who might actually care about seeing justice done.

Obviously, the author doesn't mask his feelings on the issue. :) But he makes some interesting points. So, my "legal nerd" friends, what do you think? Does the jury system need reforming?

Cat food...

I went to check on my garden tonight (yes, I planted a vegetable garden! Now to see if anything will actually grow, seeing as the soil is more rocks than dirt) and, out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a frog hop away from me through the too-long grass of the backyard.

I looked more closely, and realized that it was not a frog but a small bird. I think it was a baby, just a bit too young to be out of its nest. What I thought was hopping was actually its attempts at flight. It could barely get off the ground, and could relocate by only a foot or two.

Yes, I'm afraid the poor little thing is going to become dinner tonight.

Thanks a lot...

... to the co-worker who, this morning, announced that he had the "Mission Impossible" theme song stuck in his head, and proceeded to hum a bit of it. I really appreciated the opportunity to join you in humming it all day!

It's interesting...

... how shortly after I link to this site, I usually get at least one hit from this location. (Hi!)

I'm just glad there's not a correlation between my linking there and my getting a hit from the Pentagon!