Big Flame Update

We were back at Tokyo Steak House this evening. Our waiter was Tom, who we’ve had before. We were comfortable enough to ask him why the Big Flame no longer bursts above the mid-table grills at Tokyo.

According to Tom, the flame is gone because… someone complained. The flame scared their small child. So management decided to douse the flame.

I would have expected someone to have been singed, at least. But, scared?

A Visit to Moore's Lake

I took my lunch hour at Moore's Lake today, and took along my camera.

Moore's Lake is a state-run fishing/boating access point just south of Dover. It includes a very cool dam/spillway and fish ladder.

I found it a very pretty place.

Jury Duty!

I reported to Sussex County Superior Court at 9:00 a.m. this morning to start my latest round of jury duty.

Here in Sussex, we serve in the jury pool for two weeks. During that time, we’re on-call to be picked for a trial. If we get picked for a long trial, we’re there for the duration. Otherwise, we’re back into the pool.

My jury duty started on August 15 and runs through the 26th. We call a special phone number each evening and a recording tells us whether to report or not the following morning. We were not asked to come in until today and today appears to be our only day of duty for this week. Next week? Who knows?

We were there today for a quick orientation to jury duty and for 40 of us to sit as a jury pool for the Court of Common Pleas. I wasn’t among the 40 chosen randomly and so by 10:30 I was headed north to my office.

I looked around the courtroom this morning at what is meant to be a random cross section of Sussex County residents. I think it was. A few young folks, a fair number of retirees; some African American, some Latino, the majority Caucasian.

I would be willing to wager that I was the only – or at least one of the only – folks there who was hoping to sit in the jury box for a trial. Most folks are resentful of an intrusion into their routine; they spend the time worrying about work or wishing they were back home.

I think it really is a part of our duty as citizens to serve on juries. We should vote. We should speak up on issues (after first learning about them). We should serve our jury duty. The legal system really does depend on us; I’m glad to serve.

Also, from a selfish point of view, I’m fascinated by the legal process. I’d like to watch a trial from up-close, without being a defendant, a witness, or a victim.

So, we’ll see what next week brings. If I do get on a jury, though, I won’t be blogging about it. Maybe I will post about it after it ends, but then only about the experience and not about any details of the trial. I think that that would be inappropriate.    

Where Did the Big Flame Go?

We went out to dinner this evening with my brother Matt and his wife and kids. We went to Tokyo Steak House, which is one of our favorites.

Tokyo Steak House is a hibachi-style restaurant, with table settings around a large central grill. The food is cooked in front of you by a chef who mixes-in showmanship, knife tricks and egg-juggling. He slices. He dices. He sprinkles-in spices. The food is very good; the chef’s show is a large part of the fun.

It used to be the case that that show started with a great cloud of flame. The chef would create a puddle of some flammable liquor (Sake?), light a smaller puddle off to the side, and connect the two with a final squirt of the liquor. A flash of flame would rise up into the vent-hood starting the show off with a bang.

This evening, and the last time we were there a few weeks back, there was no introductory flame. I have to wonder, why?

Are there safety concerns? Was there an incident? Did someone loose a substantial hank of hair to singeing? I just don’t know.

I have to say that I miss it. They won’t lose our business; we like the place very much.

But I do miss the flame.

Because You Never Know What the World Will Offer You

Question: Why do you always carry your camera with you?

I found myself behind this truck running lunchtime errands in Dover the other day. Thank you world.

Dead Bug

Dead Bug
Originally uploaded by mmahaffie.

When I got into my car this afternoon, the car's thermometer read 102 degrees. It had been sitting in the sun in a barren parking lot for four hours, so no surprise.

When I got in I found this insect lying dead, spreadeagled on the armrest between the driver's and passenger's seats. It appeared to have been overwhelmed by the heat.

I think it was a mosquito, in life, so I didn't shed any tears.

Portraits of Bert

I've been trying to capture a decent portrait of our older cat, Shoe (aka Shubert or Bert).

He's a handsome cat, but that glossy black coat is tough to photograph.

Finally, I went to the Canon web site and downloaded a copy of the PowerShot S30 User's Manual (I have one on a shelf somewhere; I'm just not sure where). I think I found some settings that might work.

So I took a few photos and added them to my cat collection.

A Return?

The person who was behind Delatacit, which shut down and almost re-started under curious circumstances last year, is apparently sitting in as guest blogger while Mike, author of Down with Absolutes!, goes on vacation.

It's an interesting idea: bringing in someone to keep things going while you refresh and recharge.

I don't think it would work in my case here at Mike's Musings. Who else knows enough about the minutiae of my day-to-day life?

Where's Christina?

Sunday afternoon, we dropped Christina off at Camp Pecometh, a Methodist summer camp on the Chester River, outside of Centreville, Maryland.

Camp Pecometh seems a nice place. Colleen had done a few sessions there and Christina did her first sleep-away -- a mini-camp -- last year. She's a perfect camper; she jumps right into the society in the cabin and makes friends easily. I think she'll have a very nice time.

Odometer Milestone

I rolled 22,222 miles on my Prius today. I noticed while on a back road, so I was able to safely snap a photo. When I rolled 20,000 the other week, I was out on the highway and not able to pull off in time.