march madness!

it's that time of year when we go wild for college basketball ~ especially those of us who grew up in the land of the big four...tobacco road...ACC Country! despite the apps not making it out of the socon quarterfinals or the pack's less than stellar season thus far and heading into the ACC tourney, i am still excited about march madness. if there is another time of year i enjoy as much as fall football season, it's today with the start of the ACC tournament and the coming weeks of the NCAA tournament! when else do you find yourself keeping several tabs open on your desktop computers with the ESPN scoreboard running live or skipping out of work early, if lucky, to catch some of the roundball frenzy!?! it starts today and i am ready! heck, i've even added an ESPN frontpage widget to this blah of a blog spot. enjoy and go mad a little bit too!

released from duty

i've spent the last three days in court. no i haven't been on trial or subpoenaed as a witness for any trial...i've had jury duty. although i had to plan on week of service, the jury pool was released today since there were no more cases up for jury trial this week in superior criminal court. while most people find jury service annoying and intimidating, i find it very interesting and somewhat invigorating. for a long time i considered law as a career path but things didn't quite work out and my interest changed course. after sitting and waiting as much as i did in a mere three days of court, i'm actually relieved that i wasn't one of the defense or state's attorney's. there are some real idiotic people in the world - namely those who break laws - but i do respect the lawyers and judges who have to face some of that nonsense of the courtroom. i witnessed a lawyer asking to be excused to go to the bathroom in the middle of jury selections, court proceedings interrupted by a fire alarm, a defendant representing himself, and a lawyer inappropriately approaching a juror in the court lobby after a case was decided. there was really never a dull moment, aside from the "hurry up and wait" mentality of the justice system. at least i am excused from jury service for another two years...so i guess i'll simply "hurry up and wait" until my next citizen-duty experience!

better safe than sorry

no matter how you look at it, monday's bizarre campus lockdown was a good test for those of us who call this place home. while i wasn't surprised to learn that the alleged gunman on the loose was simply a hoax, it did spawn practicality to the new emergency plan and communication flow. sure there were kinks and there were holes in the system but overall, and all things considered, we were informed and we reacted. trying to control the rumor mill when events like this unfold is something no one will ever successfully defeat, but i think it was smart to have a lockdown of buildings when there is potential threat to the safety and well being of those around you.

i find it truly idiotic that there are some people out there who are critical of the university for reacting in such a way and so quickly. why are you so quick to judge? what would you have done if you were in the shoes of an administrator(s) who is responsible for the well being of 15,000+ students, several thousand faculty and staff members and a host of other neighbors? come to the reality and realize that we have no way of knowing what might be stewing in a perpetrators disturbed or confused mind. i still believe in the "better safe than sorry" approach. let's take every precaution and every threat seriously. we have a marvelous setting and wonderful people to protect.