Sunday, October 24, 2010

Back home

   This week has been reacclimatizing to our ordinary lives.  We picked up our mail on Monday and included was a notice to appear for jury duty (for me).  I was expecting it (though not so soon) since I had been called earlier but had postponed it for my angiogram.  Went in on Tuesday.  This was for a federal case in the Hatfield Courthouse.  (I didn't even get to the voir dire of jury selection)  But for the first time I did see the inside of the courthouse.  There are  some  interesting art things:  In the entrance hall are three water features.  A very thin layer of water flows down a section of wall / pillar / clear glass panel about three feet wide.  The section is slightly inset and is corrigated like a piece of cardboard  with one side peeled off.  Irregular ripples form in the flowing water (scarcely deep enough to wet your finger) that look like bubbles flowing down instead of up.   It's a nice effect.  On the ninth floor is an outdoor seating area with five 15 X 15 foot planted areas (among other things, each area has a couple of madrones) and several sculptural groupings.  Stylized animals (mostly beavers) engaging in a trial, being tempted by a snake, etc.  All sort of justice related.  It's in interesting installation.  Worth seeing (maybe) if you want to go through the  security screening.  There's also a large tapestry which I didn't see. 
   This afternoon I was going to order Thai for dinner.  Changed my mind since I didn't want to order for dw (she was napping) so I was going to order a pizza when dw came downstairs and we ended going out for pizza. 
   None of it very interesting except I have wanted some Thai since we were in Bismarck N.D. when dw suggested we have some, but (at least according to the yellow pages) Bismarck HAS NO THAI RESTAURANTS.  What's up with that?  Bismarck also has -- and I have photographic evidence -- parking signs at the state capitol building that say "visitor parking" with an arrow pointing to the right, and a one way sign directly below the visitor parking sign (on the same post) with an arrow pointing to the left.  dw and I thought "HUH?"
   And with all due respect to North Dakota -- where we saw some very interesting things, and the people we talked with were very friendly -- their capitol building looks like a generic, anywhere in the world,  20 story office building.  DA

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