This week I've been on Jury Duty. From a pool of about 140 people I got selected to be on a jury for a Civil case. I really don't know how much of the details I can go into, but basically these two people were in a car wreck and one person was suing the other for medical bills and damages.
It was a really short case, and for that I was thankful. It only took the Jury about 30 seconds to figure out who was at fault in the accident. The hard part came in figuring out the damages.
It was easy to figure out how much to award for the medical bills, prescriptions, and towing. We had all those bills. The hard part was figuring out Pain and Suffering. I finally understand why people get these huge judgments from suing other people.
Basically we were supposed to put a number on what a pain free day is worth. Then multiply that number by 365 days times how many ever years this person had left to live.
Well if it was me, I'm 36 years old. I'd have an estimated life expectancy of about 40 years (thinking the life expectancy has to be around 75). Well even at $1 a day, you've got 40 years times 365 days a year, that's almost $15,000. If you say it's worth $10 day, that's nearly $150,000! At $100 a day, you've got 1.5 million dollars!!! That's on top of any medical bills, too!
Well the defense attorney had done an excellent job, in fact, he was certainly the better lawyer of the two, the only problem was all the facts were on the plaintiffs side. But he created enough doubt in our minds about how hurt the plaintiff was, so we ended up going with a really low number.
It would have helped to no end, if the plaintiff had given us a number that he thought we should have awarded for Pain and Suffering. That way we could have debated that number instead of trying for over and hour and a half to come up with one on our own. Maybe they aren't allowed to by law, I don't know.
The pressure to not make a mistake in the Jury room in palatable. I'm glad I went, but I certainly wouldn't want to do this again any time soon.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Mr. Overly Competitve Touch Football Game Player
This was me today. We got about 16 guys together for a game of touch football inbetween Church and Awanas.
I had a really good time, but I got a bit overcompetitive.
You know I don't struggle with a lot of things most guys struggle with. I feel like I'm a good husband and a good Dad, but I do struggle with a very competitive nature. From touch football to Monopoly, every time I go out to play, I always promise myself I won't get overly competitive, but invariably I do. I'm going to have to keep working on it. I KNOW to act better than this, I just don't execute it.
I felt really bad about it, especially in the light that we had one guy who was basically carted off after a collision with 3 guys going for the ball. I found later he needed 18 stitches. I hope he's okay.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Snow
Today my daughter Sarah is 9 years and 1 day old. For the first time in her life, she saw snow. It was tiny little flurries that didn't stick, but it was snow nonetheless.
She thought it was really cool. We drove almost 6 hours during Christmas break trying to get her to see snow, but all we had to do was wait right here.
She thought it was really cool. We drove almost 6 hours during Christmas break trying to get her to see snow, but all we had to do was wait right here.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Blogging
So one of the changes I've decided to make for the New Year is to start Blogging again. I've tried this a couple of times, but each time I peter out and stop posting.
I've been hesitant to announce my blog to my friends because I wasn't sure if I was going to keep it up, but I decided I would announce it anyway.
My first thought was to lock down the blog to only people I invited, but then I decided that would create a barrier for people who didn't want to register. My concern is that I didn't want pictures of my family, and especially my daughter floating out there in the Interwebs. So I've decided to store all of my pictures on my Facebook account.
My other concern was that someone could find this page and use the information to make it seem like they knew us, but I've hidden the blog from search engines so I don't think that's a huge problem.
So here we go again. Hopefully this time it sticks.
I've been hesitant to announce my blog to my friends because I wasn't sure if I was going to keep it up, but I decided I would announce it anyway.
My first thought was to lock down the blog to only people I invited, but then I decided that would create a barrier for people who didn't want to register. My concern is that I didn't want pictures of my family, and especially my daughter floating out there in the Interwebs. So I've decided to store all of my pictures on my Facebook account.
My other concern was that someone could find this page and use the information to make it seem like they knew us, but I've hidden the blog from search engines so I don't think that's a huge problem.
So here we go again. Hopefully this time it sticks.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Wildcard Predicitons
I was 0-4 with my Wildcard predictions. I won't be doing Divisional round predictions, just hoping that the Panthers beat the Cardinals.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Wrapping Up the Trip
Each morning we've gone downstairs and enjoyed a hot breakfast (included in our room charge). They have a cook on duty who will custom make an omelet from any ingredients he has on hand.
We chose Embassy Suites because our friends, the Siegals have always raved about them, and after staying in one, we can see why. The place is very nice, and the staff have been nice and helpful. We will definitely be looking for Embassy Suites next time we travel.
Sarah favorite part of the whole trip was the indoor pool. We went down there every day. In addition to the pool, they had a small Jacuzzi. Sarah made friends every day when she went down for her swim.
We chose Embassy Suites because our friends, the Siegals have always raved about them, and after staying in one, we can see why. The place is very nice, and the staff have been nice and helpful. We will definitely be looking for Embassy Suites next time we travel.
Sarah favorite part of the whole trip was the indoor pool. We went down there every day. In addition to the pool, they had a small Jacuzzi. Sarah made friends every day when she went down for her swim.
Charlotte Day
Friday was supposed to be wet and rainy so we decided to drive down to Charlotte and check out Discovery Place.
Sarah is starting to get to an age where she's outgrowing Children's Museum's a little bit. Discovery Place is a place for kids more suited to her age group. We discovered they had a special exhibit right now on the science of the circus. One area had a place where you could dress up as a circus performer. Sarah loved it. She wants to learn how to juggle. Of course, in order to teach her, I'm going to have to learn myself.
Discovery Place also has something akin to a museum of natural history with animals that have been prepared to look as lifelike as possible. It's a different experience from a zoo. One exhibit showed several animals in close proximity. What was really startling was that the Grey Wolf was nearly as large as a brown bear!
They also had a small aquarium and rain forest exhibit which Sarah really enjoyed.
That night we found a local Cracker Barrel and started packing up.
Sarah is starting to get to an age where she's outgrowing Children's Museum's a little bit. Discovery Place is a place for kids more suited to her age group. We discovered they had a special exhibit right now on the science of the circus. One area had a place where you could dress up as a circus performer. Sarah loved it. She wants to learn how to juggle. Of course, in order to teach her, I'm going to have to learn myself.
Discovery Place also has something akin to a museum of natural history with animals that have been prepared to look as lifelike as possible. It's a different experience from a zoo. One exhibit showed several animals in close proximity. What was really startling was that the Grey Wolf was nearly as large as a brown bear!
They also had a small aquarium and rain forest exhibit which Sarah really enjoyed.
That night we found a local Cracker Barrel and started packing up.
Wildcard Predictions
Playoffs
Philadelphia versus Minnesota. It was really hard for me to pick Minnesota after I started thinking about this game, but that is exactly that I’m doing.
Philadelphia runs the exact kind of offense to give Minnesota fits. The strength of Minnesota’s defense is their two massive defensive tackles which stop teams from running the ball against them. Philadelphia runs a short control passing game in place of it’s running game and completely ignores that strength. The Williams Wall will do little more than remain stationary as McNabb checks it down to Brian Westbrook or his tight ends.
When you flip the script and put Minnesota’s offense and it’s relatively inexperienced quarterback, Tavaris Jackson, against Jim Johnson blitzing defense, it’s advantage Eagles again. While Jackson possess some elusiveness to get away from the blitz, Philadelphia is also likely to force him into some mistakes. Philadelphia will stack the box and try to force Jackson to beat them.
So why in the world am I picking Minnesota. Simply, 44-6. 44-6 was the score of the Eagles last game. It has been my observation that teams rarely do well after such a lopsided win.
In the other NFC tilt, you have Atlanta against an Arizona Cardinals team who was only able to be the least worse out of the four bad teams that make up the NFC West. Yes, Arizona is at home, where they play better, but they are up against an excellent Falcons team that is lead by a no nonsense defensive minded coach in Mike Smith.
I know a lot has been made of Matt Ryan’s being a rookie in his first playoff game. Ryan has been forged in the competitive fires of a tough NFC South and has played playoff intensity football in securing the Falcons a spot. I don’t think Ryan will be phased.
On the AFC side, you’ve got Indianapolis going out to San Diego. Indianapolis is the hottest team in the NFL and really peaking. San Diego is also hot, but when you are 4-8 after12 games, there’s some truth to your record. What San Diego’s remarkable comeback has masked is that they still have a relatively poor defense and really strugglel to stop just about anyone.
San Diego has matched up well against Indianapolis in the past and can give the Colts problems. But like Philadelphia they are coming off a huge blowout win. I fully expect Peyton Manning and the Colts offense to march up and down the field against San Diego and score at will.
The final playoff game matches the Dolphins against the Ravens. The Dolphins are a remarkable turnaround story and Bill Parcells continues to add to his legend with yet another reclamation project. The Ravens has already beaten the Dolphins once this season so the easy route would be to pick the Ravens to win again. While I dismissed the playoff experience angle in the Falcons/Cardinals matchup, I’m giving it a little more credence here. Yes, both coaches are technically first year guys, but Tony Sparano has Bill Parcells in his ear instructing him on how to get a team ready. I’m expecting the Dolphins to pull the upset and beat the Ravens.
TLDR: Give me the Falcons, Vikings, Colts and Dolphins
Philadelphia versus Minnesota. It was really hard for me to pick Minnesota after I started thinking about this game, but that is exactly that I’m doing.
Philadelphia runs the exact kind of offense to give Minnesota fits. The strength of Minnesota’s defense is their two massive defensive tackles which stop teams from running the ball against them. Philadelphia runs a short control passing game in place of it’s running game and completely ignores that strength. The Williams Wall will do little more than remain stationary as McNabb checks it down to Brian Westbrook or his tight ends.
When you flip the script and put Minnesota’s offense and it’s relatively inexperienced quarterback, Tavaris Jackson, against Jim Johnson blitzing defense, it’s advantage Eagles again. While Jackson possess some elusiveness to get away from the blitz, Philadelphia is also likely to force him into some mistakes. Philadelphia will stack the box and try to force Jackson to beat them.
So why in the world am I picking Minnesota. Simply, 44-6. 44-6 was the score of the Eagles last game. It has been my observation that teams rarely do well after such a lopsided win.
In the other NFC tilt, you have Atlanta against an Arizona Cardinals team who was only able to be the least worse out of the four bad teams that make up the NFC West. Yes, Arizona is at home, where they play better, but they are up against an excellent Falcons team that is lead by a no nonsense defensive minded coach in Mike Smith.
I know a lot has been made of Matt Ryan’s being a rookie in his first playoff game. Ryan has been forged in the competitive fires of a tough NFC South and has played playoff intensity football in securing the Falcons a spot. I don’t think Ryan will be phased.
On the AFC side, you’ve got Indianapolis going out to San Diego. Indianapolis is the hottest team in the NFL and really peaking. San Diego is also hot, but when you are 4-8 after12 games, there’s some truth to your record. What San Diego’s remarkable comeback has masked is that they still have a relatively poor defense and really strugglel to stop just about anyone.
San Diego has matched up well against Indianapolis in the past and can give the Colts problems. But like Philadelphia they are coming off a huge blowout win. I fully expect Peyton Manning and the Colts offense to march up and down the field against San Diego and score at will.
The final playoff game matches the Dolphins against the Ravens. The Dolphins are a remarkable turnaround story and Bill Parcells continues to add to his legend with yet another reclamation project. The Ravens has already beaten the Dolphins once this season so the easy route would be to pick the Ravens to win again. While I dismissed the playoff experience angle in the Falcons/Cardinals matchup, I’m giving it a little more credence here. Yes, both coaches are technically first year guys, but Tony Sparano has Bill Parcells in his ear instructing him on how to get a team ready. I’m expecting the Dolphins to pull the upset and beat the Ravens.
TLDR: Give me the Falcons, Vikings, Colts and Dolphins
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Zoo Day
Thursday we drove over to Asheboro to visit the North Carolina Zoo. It was a cold day, and most of the African animals were not out. So we concentrated on the North American area.
One of the really interesting exhibits was the Seal and Sea Lion exhibit. They had a place where you could walk down a ramp and see the Sea Lions swimming underwater. I have seen Sea Lions a number of times at the Columbia Zoo, but this viewing area put me on their level and I was struck by their size and power.
We went over and saw the Polar Bear exhibit. I figured of all the animals in the zoo, this one would be the most at home in the cold weather. We discovered that the Polar Bear they had was very old and had been abused earlier in his life. He wasn't able to move much without pain, and we sort of felt bad for the old guy.
We saw Otters, Bison, Elk, and many other animals at the zoo. They also had a little playground where Sarah could play.
Despite the cold weather we all had a really good time.
I had debated taking the girls over the Wake Forest after the zoo, but it would have been another 45 minutes to an hour. I've told Anna about Wake Forest many times, but I wanted to let her actually see it. I guess I'll have to save that for another trip.
We decided to go to Moe's for dinner, but we had some trouble finding it so we wound up at Qdoba's.
One of the really interesting exhibits was the Seal and Sea Lion exhibit. They had a place where you could walk down a ramp and see the Sea Lions swimming underwater. I have seen Sea Lions a number of times at the Columbia Zoo, but this viewing area put me on their level and I was struck by their size and power.
We went over and saw the Polar Bear exhibit. I figured of all the animals in the zoo, this one would be the most at home in the cold weather. We discovered that the Polar Bear they had was very old and had been abused earlier in his life. He wasn't able to move much without pain, and we sort of felt bad for the old guy.
We saw Otters, Bison, Elk, and many other animals at the zoo. They also had a little playground where Sarah could play.
Despite the cold weather we all had a really good time.
I had debated taking the girls over the Wake Forest after the zoo, but it would have been another 45 minutes to an hour. I've told Anna about Wake Forest many times, but I wanted to let her actually see it. I guess I'll have to save that for another trip.
We decided to go to Moe's for dinner, but we had some trouble finding it so we wound up at Qdoba's.
Old Salem
Wednesday we went to Old Salem after taking a dip in the pool. Sarah's favorite part of Old Salem was the Children's Museum. They put on a nice little puppet show about Moravian Christmas traditions hosted by Herr Kater aka Mr. Cat (and don't you forget it!) Sarah enjoyed the puppet show and then had a blast playing at the meseum. She dressed up in Moravian clothing and played with 3 other girls. They pretended they were 'pilgrims'.
After the Children's Museum we toured the village of Old Salem where tradesmen work their crafts using the tools and methods of the early settlers. Sarah did much better than I would have thought and seemed to enjoy parts of the old village.
Then we spent New Year's Eve in our hotel room and watched the ball drop.
After the Children's Museum we toured the village of Old Salem where tradesmen work their crafts using the tools and methods of the early settlers. Sarah did much better than I would have thought and seemed to enjoy parts of the old village.
Then we spent New Year's Eve in our hotel room and watched the ball drop.
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