Airports, schools, public transportation are all affected, and the tail of this storm is still to come tomorrow, just to complete the week.
The next wave of bad weather is supposed to hit us again by next Tuesday!!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Almost at the end....
of the 7th storm of this month, here are some fascinating sights and treacherous conditions today, with blue sky in the background and the sun's attempts to brighten up the view at 7:30am.
Airports, schools, public transportation are all affected, and the tail of this storm is still to come tomorrow, just to complete the week.
The next wave of bad weather is supposed to hit us again by next Tuesday!!
Airports, schools, public transportation are all affected, and the tail of this storm is still to come tomorrow, just to complete the week.
The next wave of bad weather is supposed to hit us again by next Tuesday!!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Jury Duty - final
My jury duty has come to an end, but not the snow falling in NYC. At a pretty steady clip of 2 storms per week, we are unable to unbury ourselves from snow, slush, and, most of all, dangerously slippery conditions on all roads.
On Monday we experienced the coldest temperature in about six years with 6F, without even counting the wind factor. It snowed yesterday, and again this morning, but the balance of the current storm is expected during this evening and night. Thank goodness I don't have to travel anymore downtown. My refrigerator has been restocked and I can work from home. All other, non urgent appointments will follow when there is a respite from bad weather.
The civil case I was on was relatively uncomplicated, involving an unfortunate accident, but the plaintiff's lawyer, notwithstanding his self assurance, failed to demonstrate the burden of proof on the part of the defense; consequently, according to the law, the financial rewards hoped to be gained from the lawsuit did not materialize.
With this case concluded, the jury was discharged and dismissed from serving again for another six years. To complete my posts about this experience, I like, however, to add a couple of remarks.
While cameras and picture taking were obviously not allowed inside the court building, very few were the prospective jurors that did not have a cell phone in their hands, or a portable computer on their lap. On a pleasant side, it was surprising to receive, once inside a jury room, a continuous supply of a large amount of miscellaneous wrapped candies that a police officer would deliver every day, and to watch how quickly this supply would disappeared. On the last day, when we were expected to start our deliberation, the court also ordered and paid for lunches of our choice from a nearby deli.
It took us only a couple of hours to reach a decision that was acceptable to the court, with 5 out of 6 jurors agreeing. To be fair with the 6th juror that attempted to sway others from their conviction, the rest of the group requested the re-reading of several portions of the testimonies from both sides, at the end of which the discordant juror gave up and remained on record as the only one that did not agree on the outcome.
As it happened in past jury duty experiences of mine, I was hoping to be able to make a couple of comments to the judge at the end of the process, but this time it was not possible. What I wanted to convey was the lack of a microphone in the courtroom, which the judge could have used since she had laryngitis, and it could have helped the recording clerk when she proceeded to re-read the testimonies we ask for. She did this from a laptop, while turning her back to the jury!
Oh, well.....above duty performed, now I can turn my full attention to the rather long list of other outstanding things to do that faces me on my desk!!
On Monday we experienced the coldest temperature in about six years with 6F, without even counting the wind factor. It snowed yesterday, and again this morning, but the balance of the current storm is expected during this evening and night. Thank goodness I don't have to travel anymore downtown. My refrigerator has been restocked and I can work from home. All other, non urgent appointments will follow when there is a respite from bad weather.
The civil case I was on was relatively uncomplicated, involving an unfortunate accident, but the plaintiff's lawyer, notwithstanding his self assurance, failed to demonstrate the burden of proof on the part of the defense; consequently, according to the law, the financial rewards hoped to be gained from the lawsuit did not materialize.
With this case concluded, the jury was discharged and dismissed from serving again for another six years. To complete my posts about this experience, I like, however, to add a couple of remarks.
While cameras and picture taking were obviously not allowed inside the court building, very few were the prospective jurors that did not have a cell phone in their hands, or a portable computer on their lap. On a pleasant side, it was surprising to receive, once inside a jury room, a continuous supply of a large amount of miscellaneous wrapped candies that a police officer would deliver every day, and to watch how quickly this supply would disappeared. On the last day, when we were expected to start our deliberation, the court also ordered and paid for lunches of our choice from a nearby deli.
It took us only a couple of hours to reach a decision that was acceptable to the court, with 5 out of 6 jurors agreeing. To be fair with the 6th juror that attempted to sway others from their conviction, the rest of the group requested the re-reading of several portions of the testimonies from both sides, at the end of which the discordant juror gave up and remained on record as the only one that did not agree on the outcome.
As it happened in past jury duty experiences of mine, I was hoping to be able to make a couple of comments to the judge at the end of the process, but this time it was not possible. What I wanted to convey was the lack of a microphone in the courtroom, which the judge could have used since she had laryngitis, and it could have helped the recording clerk when she proceeded to re-read the testimonies we ask for. She did this from a laptop, while turning her back to the jury!
Oh, well.....above duty performed, now I can turn my full attention to the rather long list of other outstanding things to do that faces me on my desk!!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Statistics by flag
After more than six years of blogging, last fall I included a counter showing the number of people accessing my site, which I saw steadily growing over the past 3 months, but the total of which really does not mean very much. Earlier this week, however, out of curiosity, I installed a flag counter in this blog, and lo and behold, I am getting some interesting statistical results.
I started this public diary to share, with friends and relatives, some of my travel experiences and information about my country of origin, knowing that it would also be read by perfect strangers. I never imagined, though, that these individuals would span over so many countries. In about 5 days, people from 15 different nations have accessed my blog.
Due to the nature of my entries, the largest percentage of individuals, obviously, is from the U.S., followed by Albania, which has a large diaspora that lives in surroundings areas such as Montenegro, Macedonia, Greece, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc. But there is also a good percentage of readers from other countries, such as Ireland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, followed by smaller ones from the Netherlands, Romania, and even as far away as from Brazil.
These are the real wonders of today's global society!
I started this public diary to share, with friends and relatives, some of my travel experiences and information about my country of origin, knowing that it would also be read by perfect strangers. I never imagined, though, that these individuals would span over so many countries. In about 5 days, people from 15 different nations have accessed my blog.
Due to the nature of my entries, the largest percentage of individuals, obviously, is from the U.S., followed by Albania, which has a large diaspora that lives in surroundings areas such as Montenegro, Macedonia, Greece, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc. But there is also a good percentage of readers from other countries, such as Ireland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, followed by smaller ones from the Netherlands, Romania, and even as far away as from Brazil.
These are the real wonders of today's global society!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Jury Duty - part 2
What a relief yesterday to be able to go back to Jury Duty without having to contend with bad weather! The sidewalks had cleared a bit and I was able to take public transportation to reach the downtown situated court building.
The reporting hour was set a bit later, but this meant that I would encounter the busiest commuting time in NYC, and so it was, for both the bus taken first and the subway ride that followed. Nonetheless, I reached the JD pool room in perfect time, and settled down waiting to be called. As mentioned, the majority of the people summoned this week are quite young. They all came armed with their super slick laptops that could easily be put online thanks to the Wi-Fi facility provided by the city in the waiting rooms. Mobile phones and related gadgetry were also allowed to be used, but they had to be put into vibrating mode to receive calls.
I decided to only carry my cell phone and to give myself a bit of rest from being online. Cameras had to be deposited at the front desk since no pictures can be taken inside a court building. For a while I enjoyed instead looking around and watching people's behavior and body language, in some cases interesting indeed!
By mid morning my name was called again, but this time it was for a civil lawsuit, which is conducted quite differently from a criminal case. Interviewing prospective jurors is handled by the plaintiff's and defense's lawyers in smaller 'impanelling' rooms,s and not in front of a judge. The typical jury for these cases consists of only 6 jurors, with 2 alternates. Compared to a few years ago current procedures are much more efficient, thus providing much less loss of idle time for everyone.
For civil cases in NY there is now a questionnaire to be filled out that allows the lawyers to quickly gather a bird-eye-view of each juror without having to repeat a preset list of questions, and, instead, to spend their time zeroing in the specifics they are interested in for each individual.
By lunch time yesterday they had picked half of the needed jury team, and by 3pm the entire process was completed. I received my confirmation of inclusion by the duty clerk, who congratulated me in his own office, because the lawyers, after discussing among themselves the results of their interviews, would not reveal publicly their choices.
With a big smile the duty clerk then handed the whole team a slip of paper indicating when we are to report back for the trial. With a day off today, discussion of the case in front of a judge will begin on Friday morning.
Incredibly, NYC is expecting another wave of snow during the night, sooo.....now I have to brace myself to meet more than one challenge tomorrow!!
The reporting hour was set a bit later, but this meant that I would encounter the busiest commuting time in NYC, and so it was, for both the bus taken first and the subway ride that followed. Nonetheless, I reached the JD pool room in perfect time, and settled down waiting to be called. As mentioned, the majority of the people summoned this week are quite young. They all came armed with their super slick laptops that could easily be put online thanks to the Wi-Fi facility provided by the city in the waiting rooms. Mobile phones and related gadgetry were also allowed to be used, but they had to be put into vibrating mode to receive calls.
I decided to only carry my cell phone and to give myself a bit of rest from being online. Cameras had to be deposited at the front desk since no pictures can be taken inside a court building. For a while I enjoyed instead looking around and watching people's behavior and body language, in some cases interesting indeed!
By mid morning my name was called again, but this time it was for a civil lawsuit, which is conducted quite differently from a criminal case. Interviewing prospective jurors is handled by the plaintiff's and defense's lawyers in smaller 'impanelling' rooms,s and not in front of a judge. The typical jury for these cases consists of only 6 jurors, with 2 alternates. Compared to a few years ago current procedures are much more efficient, thus providing much less loss of idle time for everyone.
For civil cases in NY there is now a questionnaire to be filled out that allows the lawyers to quickly gather a bird-eye-view of each juror without having to repeat a preset list of questions, and, instead, to spend their time zeroing in the specifics they are interested in for each individual.
By lunch time yesterday they had picked half of the needed jury team, and by 3pm the entire process was completed. I received my confirmation of inclusion by the duty clerk, who congratulated me in his own office, because the lawyers, after discussing among themselves the results of their interviews, would not reveal publicly their choices.
With a big smile the duty clerk then handed the whole team a slip of paper indicating when we are to report back for the trial. With a day off today, discussion of the case in front of a judge will begin on Friday morning.
Incredibly, NYC is expecting another wave of snow during the night, sooo.....now I have to brace myself to meet more than one challenge tomorrow!!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Jury Duty - part 1
After a quiet Martin Luther King Day holiday on Monday, business resumed Tuesday accompanied by intimidating weather warnings of expected more snow and sleet. And this was the day I had to start my jury duty!?!
After a hiatus of six (6) years, I was summoned again to be a juror last year, but I had to postpone it because of my travel and extensive stay in Albania that took place in the fall. The phone recorded message of the court system instructed prospective jurors to show up early on the first day to allow time for security screening. I also know from experience that commuting from my residence to downtown Manhattan, where most Federal and Court buildings are located, is a long trek requiring lots of time and more than one type of transport.
It was therefore with great apprehension that I walked out of my apartment building when it was still dark, on Tuesday morning, and found that the weather forecast was right on target. It had snowed throughout the night. Another layer of fresh snow covered the old one and the icy spots that formed everywhere due to subzero temperatures that persisted throughout more than 2 weeks. A cold drizzle was also drowning everything on site! What a dreadful sight, and a frightful feeling having to walk very slowly; pausing every few steps to catch a breath against the wind and to figure out where to find a navigable path!!
Very few were the pedestrians venturing out. I soon realized that I would have great difficulty in walking some distance, in boarding buses with obstructed sidewalks, descending and ascending subway's stairs, which, at that hour, remained uncleaned and dangerously icy. Only the vehicular traffic in the middle lanes of the avenues had an edge. While ice, rain and slush covered the sidewalks, all roads' sides were lined with insurmountable piles of previously accumulated stuff and streets intersections were drowning in large pools of water that could not find appropriate drainage.
I quickly decided that my only chance of surviving this mess was to hop a cab, which I was fortunate to find thanks to the early morning hour. I had a good driver, who brought me to destination safe and sound, in less time than expected. I was the first person to arrive in front of the huge court building, but was soon joined by other walk-ins. Unfortunately, we had to wait a bit of time facing rain and wind before we were admitted in the lobby, when the building entrance was opened to the public.
The jury pool room gradually filled up with about 200 individuals, with a rough percentage of 95% young, and 5% mature and seniors. This was on a 3rd floor location, but similar on-goings were also happening on the 11th floor of the same building, and in many other court venues throughout NYC. According to statistics more than 600,000 people serve yearly in this area.
Within an hour all the preliminary instructions, articulated by the clerk in charge and preceded by a short documentary about the history of the judicial system in the U.S., were efficiency taken care of, and everybody settled down waiting to be called according to the needs of each court case.
I only waited half an hour for my name to be summoned. With other 59 individuals I was accompanied by a policeman to another floor in a real court room in front of a woman judge and prosecuting and defense attorneys. Their mere presence indicated that this was a criminal case.
Here again names were picked out of a rotating box, 20 at a time; each juror assigned a seat in the jury box, and interrogated by the judge and the lawyers of both parties. This procedure repeated itself several times, as jurors that were not chosen would be replaced by newly picked names. By 3pm the entire jury of 12 people plus 2 alternates, was chosen and confirmed, and the ones that did not have to get involved in this case, like me, were then returned for recycling to the pool room.
Thus, the first day of Jury Duty came to an end and I was lucky again to find a taxi to return home. The driver, who felt very sure of himself, made me, however, quite nervous with his erratic driving, and distractions. He pushed his way into the maddening traffic and bad road conditions, switching lanes continuously, and getting upset by slower drivers ahead of him. During stops he would read some papers and clean up the front seat next to him. I was really relieved when I finally made it home.
What a day!! What to expect next?
After a hiatus of six (6) years, I was summoned again to be a juror last year, but I had to postpone it because of my travel and extensive stay in Albania that took place in the fall. The phone recorded message of the court system instructed prospective jurors to show up early on the first day to allow time for security screening. I also know from experience that commuting from my residence to downtown Manhattan, where most Federal and Court buildings are located, is a long trek requiring lots of time and more than one type of transport.
It was therefore with great apprehension that I walked out of my apartment building when it was still dark, on Tuesday morning, and found that the weather forecast was right on target. It had snowed throughout the night. Another layer of fresh snow covered the old one and the icy spots that formed everywhere due to subzero temperatures that persisted throughout more than 2 weeks. A cold drizzle was also drowning everything on site! What a dreadful sight, and a frightful feeling having to walk very slowly; pausing every few steps to catch a breath against the wind and to figure out where to find a navigable path!!
Very few were the pedestrians venturing out. I soon realized that I would have great difficulty in walking some distance, in boarding buses with obstructed sidewalks, descending and ascending subway's stairs, which, at that hour, remained uncleaned and dangerously icy. Only the vehicular traffic in the middle lanes of the avenues had an edge. While ice, rain and slush covered the sidewalks, all roads' sides were lined with insurmountable piles of previously accumulated stuff and streets intersections were drowning in large pools of water that could not find appropriate drainage.
I quickly decided that my only chance of surviving this mess was to hop a cab, which I was fortunate to find thanks to the early morning hour. I had a good driver, who brought me to destination safe and sound, in less time than expected. I was the first person to arrive in front of the huge court building, but was soon joined by other walk-ins. Unfortunately, we had to wait a bit of time facing rain and wind before we were admitted in the lobby, when the building entrance was opened to the public.
The jury pool room gradually filled up with about 200 individuals, with a rough percentage of 95% young, and 5% mature and seniors. This was on a 3rd floor location, but similar on-goings were also happening on the 11th floor of the same building, and in many other court venues throughout NYC. According to statistics more than 600,000 people serve yearly in this area.
Within an hour all the preliminary instructions, articulated by the clerk in charge and preceded by a short documentary about the history of the judicial system in the U.S., were efficiency taken care of, and everybody settled down waiting to be called according to the needs of each court case.
I only waited half an hour for my name to be summoned. With other 59 individuals I was accompanied by a policeman to another floor in a real court room in front of a woman judge and prosecuting and defense attorneys. Their mere presence indicated that this was a criminal case.
Here again names were picked out of a rotating box, 20 at a time; each juror assigned a seat in the jury box, and interrogated by the judge and the lawyers of both parties. This procedure repeated itself several times, as jurors that were not chosen would be replaced by newly picked names. By 3pm the entire jury of 12 people plus 2 alternates, was chosen and confirmed, and the ones that did not have to get involved in this case, like me, were then returned for recycling to the pool room.
Thus, the first day of Jury Duty came to an end and I was lucky again to find a taxi to return home. The driver, who felt very sure of himself, made me, however, quite nervous with his erratic driving, and distractions. He pushed his way into the maddening traffic and bad road conditions, switching lanes continuously, and getting upset by slower drivers ahead of him. During stops he would read some papers and clean up the front seat next to him. I was really relieved when I finally made it home.
What a day!! What to expect next?
Friday, January 14, 2011
Albanian National Historic Museum
A welcome news appears today online regarding the plans of the National Historic Museum in Tirana.
Some of my friends and relatives that have visited this interesting museum with me during their travels to Albania in the past few years were surprised not to find the ex Communist era represented in it. This article from BalkanInsight gives them an answer and the hope that in their future visits they can explore also exhibits from this dark past that needs to be shown and dealt with in the new democratic society.
This photo was taken by me a while back. Now the museum front is completely covered by scaffolding since it's being renovated inside out.
Concurrent with this work is the extensive digging taking place in the huge Skanderbeg square that the museum faces, where some city plans are being carried out. Although they were advertised for a while last year, the general public is uncertain of what the final outcome of these changes will be; meantime, Tirana's population must cope in that area with restricted vehicular traffic, rerouting of public transportation, and inconveniences to pedestrians.
Some of my friends and relatives that have visited this interesting museum with me during their travels to Albania in the past few years were surprised not to find the ex Communist era represented in it. This article from BalkanInsight gives them an answer and the hope that in their future visits they can explore also exhibits from this dark past that needs to be shown and dealt with in the new democratic society.
This photo was taken by me a while back. Now the museum front is completely covered by scaffolding since it's being renovated inside out.
Concurrent with this work is the extensive digging taking place in the huge Skanderbeg square that the museum faces, where some city plans are being carried out. Although they were advertised for a while last year, the general public is uncertain of what the final outcome of these changes will be; meantime, Tirana's population must cope in that area with restricted vehicular traffic, rerouting of public transportation, and inconveniences to pedestrians.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Views from indoor living
The winter in NYC, which started early this season with a terrific snow blizzard on December 26th, continues to maintain subzero temperatures. Storms that follow their patterns from west to east show up alternatively every few days with additional snow falls that are not so heavy, but add more layers to the already frozen surfaces and do not allow better cleaning of streets and complete garbage pickup.
The vehicular traffic that is already impaired by ongoing large city projects that require digging the streets for maintenance of underground facilities, was brought to a stand still during these periods of bad weather condition. The vehemence of the December blizzard forced many people to abandon their cars in the middle of roads and that created havoc and impossible salt spreading and snow plowing.
Fortunately I don't have to go out since I can work indoors in my cozy and well heated apartment, where I can also enjoy the sunshine that shows up in between the storms......
Here, in NY, my apartment has a south-western exposure and is extremely quiet since it is positioned in the back of the building and overlooking a small garden area. In Tirana, instead, my lodging has a couple of balconies and can be noisy at times, but offers excellent open views (even during bad weather) of the city and its suburbs since it's on a much higher floor.
Through the small kitchen window that has allowed me to take the snow pictures above in NY, in the evening of the same day I could see an interesting rising moon beside the lit apartments in the high rise a block away.
As I am writing this I hear from my friends in Albania that today they had a real spring day of 63F and had to take their jackets off during midday, while our range in NY is between 30 to 20F, and a new storm is forthcoming by the middle of next week. Better stock up more food in the fridge!
The vehicular traffic that is already impaired by ongoing large city projects that require digging the streets for maintenance of underground facilities, was brought to a stand still during these periods of bad weather condition. The vehemence of the December blizzard forced many people to abandon their cars in the middle of roads and that created havoc and impossible salt spreading and snow plowing.
Fortunately I don't have to go out since I can work indoors in my cozy and well heated apartment, where I can also enjoy the sunshine that shows up in between the storms......
Here, in NY, my apartment has a south-western exposure and is extremely quiet since it is positioned in the back of the building and overlooking a small garden area. In Tirana, instead, my lodging has a couple of balconies and can be noisy at times, but offers excellent open views (even during bad weather) of the city and its suburbs since it's on a much higher floor.
Through the small kitchen window that has allowed me to take the snow pictures above in NY, in the evening of the same day I could see an interesting rising moon beside the lit apartments in the high rise a block away.
As I am writing this I hear from my friends in Albania that today they had a real spring day of 63F and had to take their jackets off during midday, while our range in NY is between 30 to 20F, and a new storm is forthcoming by the middle of next week. Better stock up more food in the fridge!
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Greetings 2011!
While New York tries to bail itself out of the blizzard that has buried the city on December 26th, I am doing the same with respect to the mountain of snail mail and paperwork that has accumulated during my long absence from home, to be ready to tackle the challenges of the new year!
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