During a recent school event, one of Hallie’s classmates suffered a medical emergency. While her other classmates stood around and watched, gripped with panic, Hallie leaped into action and performed first aid (the amusing thing is that up until now she considered the first aid class she took to be a waste of time). Once her friend had recovered, Hallie continued with the event as if nothing happened, and didn’t even mention it to us afterward. We were clueless when the child’s parent passed on her praise Hallie for her reaction, not knowing anything about our daughter’s quick thinking (and acting). It was only last night that we managed to pry the details out of her. To Hallie it was no big deal.
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February 2016
Raleigh’s accent
Some friends were discussing accents the other day. A buddy who was born and raised in Raleigh was told his accent sounded Midwestern. As a Raleigh resident who was raised all over the South, I have to say I don’t hear much of a Southern accent around Raleigh.
Maybe it’s because of the way Raleigh draws residents from all around the country and world. Companies like IBM set up shop here in the early 1960s, bringing new residents in from all over (and particularly the North). As these groups assimilated the accents all blended, too. Raleigh is a melting pot of people and accents. So I suppose one could say that Raleigh does have its own accent but it’s indistinct. Maybe boring. And boring might not be a bad thing.
On a related note, last night I met with a group of very friendly transplants from the North. For all the grief my daughter gives me about suddenly sounding Southern when I’m around my Southern friends, last night I caught myself actually slipping into a New England accent. 🙂
An Open Letter to Bill Clinton, from a Former Neighbor and Bernie Sanders Supporter
Devoted liberal that I was—I now refer to myself as “progressive,” by the way—I defended you in subway stations, in billiard halls, in mall food courts, in tobacco shops. When others accused you of playing politics with Operation Infinite Reach and Operation Desert Fox, I came to your defense. You were my President, and I your devoted voter. (Meanwhile, of course, our military was slaying innocent lives. I am now ashamed I ever supported a person’s political existence at the expense of innocent lives.)
But what the heck, those were the gay 90s. We had a balanced budget. Everywhere we looked there was growth, growth, growth. Glass-Steagall-Schteagall. No matter how one defines “is,” after the Reagan and Bush years, it was good to support a Democratic President. I even once came to your defense in Kramerbooks, of all places.
Yet, despite my years of ardent support, this past week and with a toss of the wrist, you threw me and millions of others, Slick Willie willy-nilly-style, under the Tea Party bus.
Source: An Open Letter to Bill Clinton, from a Former Neighbor and Bernie Sanders Supporter
Quit knocking socialized medicine
A conservative friend posted a snarky commentary on failing socialist countries on his Facebook page. Another conservative friend of his added his comments:
Absolutely. Question to us do we really think our govt can run it any better? They can’t run even things like VA.
This guy knows nothing about the VA. He’s not a native American nor has he ever served in the military. He has no expertise on the VA and he’s calling it a failure.
I’ve been to the VA for healthcare a number of times over the past year. Yes, appointments are made well in advance but they always promptly see me once I arrive. Never have I had to wait an hour like I did when I had to see my ENT last month. When I go to the VA I never have time to even get my phone out of my pocket before they’re calling me back. They make me feel like a rock star.
Too often, I will be lucky if my private practice doctors spend 10 minutes with me before they’re off to the next patient. I rarely have time to describe what’s wrong with me before it’s – BOOM – time for him to go. The VA takes time to listen to me. I have never felt like I was a burden.
I got a copay bill from the VA last month and so I promptly paid it. Yesterday, the Treasury Department mailed it back to me. Covered. Nice.
The one thing I don’t like about VA healthcare is that I have to drive 25 miles to Durham to get my tests done. It could be more convenient – a full hospital could be built here in Raleigh, but then again few in Congress want to actually meet the government’s promise to properly take care of veterans. It’s a shame. Yet in my experience the VA does well with what they’re given.
I still fondly recall how ten years ago the government of Italy cared for our infant son when he got sick during our vacation there. Didn’t cost us a dime. If only we as Americans could grow up and realize we would all save money (and a lot of goddamn frustration, frankly) by totally revamping our sorry health care system. The VA has shown me that it can be done.
Sometimes walled gardens are good
I often knock Facebook as being like the new AOL: a wonderful walled garden designed to keep you from ever wandering elsewhere on the Internet. There’s some truth to that, sure. But it occurred to me that the vast majority of really inspiring, uplifting news I’ve gotten has come from sources like Facebook.
Sure, Facebook gets repetitive (“cat-video-du-jour!” “you won’t BELIEVE what happens next!”) and often the choices made by Facebook’s feed algorithm feel claustrophobic, but a lot of news offered by the traditional media seems too often biased towards the negative (“if it bleeds, it leads.”). To my surprise I’ve discovered I have soft spot for the “fluff pieces” found on Facebook.
Poor Tech Bro Writes Open Letter About How He ‘Shouldn’t Have to See’ Homeless People in SFÂ
This guy is a real douche.
The unfortunate tech bro insurgency in San Francisco continues with a guy named Justin Keller, who has lived in the Bay Area for all of three years (that means we can still return him, right?) and recently felt entitled enough to write the mayor and police chief about his distaste for the homeless. Cool, cool.
In an open letter to Mayor Ed Lee and police chief Greg Suhr— as if those men don’t already know about the homeless situation in a city where they’ve no doubt resided for longer than 36 months—Keller wrote the following fuckshit, excerpted at the Guardian:
I am writing today, to voice my concern and outrage over the increasing homeless and drug problem that the city is faced with. I’ve been living in SF for over three years, and without a doubt it is the worst it has ever been. Every day, on my way to, and from work, I see people sprawled across the sidewalk, tent cities, human feces, and the faces of addiction. The city is becoming a shanty town … Worst of all, it is unsafe.
Poor, poor Keller, founder of some server-centric startup called Commando.io which I hope I never come in contact with, was miffed because he ran into a few drunken and mentally unsound homeless people while his parents were visiting from that place he should go back to. Fine, but his entitlement makes native Northern Californians like myself want to catapult him onto Alcatraz and hope the ghosts get him.
Source: Poor Tech Bro Writes Open Letter About How He ‘Shouldn’t Have to See’ Homeless People in SFÂ
A Medium post by Jim Gavin has a nice response:
As “Justin” says, there is no “magic solution,” but believe it or not, there are many people working really hard to deal with the homeless situation in San Francisco. They are motivated to help individuals who are suffering. That may not interest “Justin,” but in the end they want the same thing he wants: to get people off the street. So next time, instead of crying to the mayor, “Justin” should consider donating to the Homeless Youth Alliance or going someplace like St. Anthony’s in the Tenderloin (links below) and volunteering to serve meals.
Stretching one’s wings
A few years ago I would sometimes take my airplane-crazed son over to watch the planes at RDU Airport. One Saturday we were watching from the General Aviation terminal as a private jet pulled up. A couple about my age hopped out, walked out to their expensive SUV, and drove away. At the time, I didn’t consider this the part of the show that my son wanted to see but the scene stuck with me.
It was a moment where my mind was opened to new possibilities. Who were these people and how do they afford to travel by private jet? How could I one day travel by private jet? This couple didn’t look much different from me and yet they’re high flyers while I’m just a lowly blogger.
I recently set up some simple gear that tracks airplanes as they fly over (I am a radio geek, after all). Occasionally, I’ll see one cruising over at 45,000 feet. Private jet, of course, and I can feel my mind kick into gear again, plotting a course to someday reach that same altitude.
It’s funny how that works. I don’t really want for anything. My life is pretty sweet, and then something comes along that gives you a peek into a new world you didn’t really know existed.
I don’t need to travel by private jet, but it’s fun to imagine being there some day.
Raleigh’s Bike Share is key to Raleigh’s growth
A Bike Share bike rack in downtown Boulder, CO.
Raleigh City Council is considering sponsoring a bike share program. This was a project first begun a year or two ago, resulting in winning a federal grant. Now that grant is in danger of expiring next month if the city does not move forward.
I am reminded of the presentation former Raleigh City Planner Mitchell Silver gave a few years ago on our society’s changing demographics, an eye-opening look at today’s new workforce. Today’s new workforce does not want to drive anywhere (sorry, RTP). The new workforce wants their living, working, and playing all to be nearby. One need only see the massive investments recently made in upscale apartments clustered around downtown, N.C. State, Cameron Village, and other commercial areas. Durham’s American Tobacco Campus is the same way.
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Achievement unlocked: key free
credit: Bohman
I realized yesterday that a week ago I had finally achieved one of my long-sought goals: to go without having to carry keys. Alas, instead of finally becoming President of the United States as my earlier post discussed or having minions now doing my billing, I installed a keyless lock on our home a few weeks back.
For a little while after, I still carried my house keys out of habit. Then a week ago I began to leave my keys at home, not really fully noting that I had achieved my keyless goal.
One caveat: while I no longer have metal in my pockets, I do still carry the (frickin’ giant) keyfobs for our cars and I have a plastic badge that gets me into my company’s office. Thus, reducing the amount of metal I carry has increased the amount of plastic I now carry. Time to solve a new problem?
Hillary’s “SuperPredator” quote
This clip is from the “Young Turks” Internet TV channel, showing Hillary Clinton speaking in Keane, NH in the 1990s about gangs (and, presumably, African-American kids). Some people are disagreeing in the YouTube comments, but I think it’s fair to explore the views held by Hillary during her husband Bill Clinton’s presidency. I think there’s some truth to the claim that the Clinton years were not necessarily good ones for African-Americans.