For your consideration: Buffista Castle.

California reaction: Huh, only $2 million. Do it.

Atropa, if it were only a matter of finding an appointment I'd suggest that you come over here, as the clinic at the high school this weekend still has slots open - but there is Boaty to and from, and it's a mile and a bit from the terminal to the site.

We managed to get appointments booked! First shot on Saturday, wheeee!

I served on an aggravated sexual assault case. That was fun. But once the jury was selected, everyone took it very seriously. No complaints about having been selected, no indication that anyone wasn't paying attention or resented the loss of their time (three days).

I used to get called regularly, but that seemed to stop when one of my dates to appear was when I was still breastfeeding. In MD, it's not considered an excuse, so I wrote to the court and let them know I was willing, but would need accomodation. They excused me anyway, and I haven't been called since (10 yrs).

For years, I was called every two years for the city court and once every few years for the federal court. Small population, many transients, many people who were either lawyers or in law enforcement, so automatically got tossed out. They lost me for a few years but I expect it will start up again, since I got a new driver's license (a Real ID! so I'm a real girl, right?) which included voter registration.

Most went nowhere, but for one I was dismissed because it was for a place I'd lived where management knew that one of their workers was using his master key to go into apartments where single women lived and rape them. He tried my apartment, but I had the chain on, so he never got in. And I didn't know about it, because building management didn't warn any of the tenants. And, yes, the case ended up setting a precedent for what management companies owe their tenants.

$2mm/6BR is still too rich for my blood, but that is a nice castle. I have been feeling like maybe instead of (or in preparation for or in addition to or something) Buffista island/compound we should have a club like is always cropping up in 19th century novels where members can stay and eat when they are in town (for whatever values of "in town" might be practical, I guess). I haven't thought this through very hard, it just sounds so nice. Sort of a timeshare, I guess, although that doesn't sound nearly as pleasant.

I've only gotten as far as being interviewed for jury service once, and was dismissed from that civil case. And have only had to call in to see if I needed to report a few times. I used to move pretty frequently, though.

the prosecution couldn't prove

Yeah. My two take-aways from my jury duty experience were:

1) The trial mostly comes down to the quality of the prosecutors' preparation and presentation, and whatever holes the defense can poke in it. Not "did he do it," but rather "did the prosecution prove that he did it."

2) A defendant should never take the stand. In the one criminal case, the prosecution left open several areas of reasonable doubt. Then the defendant took the stand, and promptly removed them all.

I've been called four times--twice I went in for the day but wasn't selected. For the other two, one time I had an international flight scheduled that very day, so I was excused, and the other time I'd just moved across the country but was still in the process of changing my address and voter registration, so they just wished me well and took my name off the list.

I have never been called for jury duty, despite being registered to vote everywhere I've lived for at least 20 years.

That is wild to me. I was thinking about this recently, and I don't think I was ever called in Boston, but I've been called in every other county I've lived in since I was 18. I've been on two juries, neither of which had a verdict -- in one we hung, in the other they settled. I was empaneled one other time (as alternate #3!) but they settled that night, thank goodness. That was sexual assault and I was not looking forward to it.

I've been called at least 6 times, but I've never been selected to serve. Three of those times, I called in every day and never had to report. One time I got as far as the voir dire but wasn't chosen.