I'm currently serving my third jury duty and so far, like the last two times, I've done nothing more than read a book, shuffle my feet, pace around and try not to die of intense state-sponsored boredom. Isn't there a better way?

I understand the value of peer juries and all that, of course, and I understand why a pool of on-the-spot potential jurors is key, but as I looked around at the dozens and dozens of Milwaukee County residents doing basically nothing -- some actually appeared to simply gaze at their feet for hours on end -- I thought about the wasted manpower.

During the course of the entire day, I believe three -- maybe four -- groups of about 20-30 people were called to courtrooms. But by the time everyone was sent home at the end of the day there were still many, many people who had been sitting idle all day.

Maybe we could pedal while we're sitting there and create some renewable energy. Or assemble some product and get paid a factory wage for the day. That would save the County $19 per person.

Tomorrow I go back for day two. I'm not sure whether I prefer another day like today -- frustrating because I spend much of the time thinking about things that need doing and that I can't do because I'm watching people do crosswords -- or if I hope to get on a jury.

The latter worries me slightly because, as you know, Summerfest starts this week and at OnMilwaukee.com, that's akin to the Christmas rush at the malls. It's one week that's especially difficult to be away from work.