My friend Scott Reston, an avid cyclist, has some choice words for idiots who don’t give cyclists their space on the road. His post is worth a read.
When you’re driving, please share the road with your neighbors out biking. Its our road, too.
June 2008
Something special
Today is special for some reason. Let me think….let me think…
Oh, yeah! Today’s our daughter Hallie’s sixth birthday! She made parents out of Kelly and me six years ago today. Now she’s a rambunctious kindergartener ready to take on the world. We couldn’t be prouder!
I pedaled my sweaty self from my office to her school today for a surprise lunchtime visit. Although I earned four bells on the MT.Net Stinkometer upon returning to the office, it was well worth it!
If you’re bored today, go back and reread the earliest details of Hallie’s life.
Riding the rails
The governor’s office announced today that a midday train will be added to the Carolinian route between Raleigh and Charlotte. Woot! Woot!
Now if we can only convince our two brain-dead senators that efficient passenger rail service is a vital homeland security issue, we’d be all set.
Dear fellow drivers
Dear fellow drivers,
In case you haven’t noticed, gasoline now costs $4 a gallon. At that price, I want to buy as little gas as I can. Therefore, when I’m first at a traffic light, don’t expect me to burn rubber the instant the light turns green. In fact, you may see me gradually accelerate my not-so-fuel-efficient minivan in order to conserve gasoline.
This is fine. Perfectly acceptable. In fact, you might save gas and money trying it, too! At any rate, we’ll both get to Capital Boulevard’s next red light (and the red light beyond that one, and the one beyond that one) in approximately the same time.
KTHXBYE,
Mark
Newly-discovered planets
I’m always amazed when our scientists discover extra-solar planets, such as the one announced yesterday. Just a few years ago these kinds of discoveries were unheard of. I’m fascinated at how science can pick out these tiny specks orbiting stars that are light-years away.
On a related note, I’ve been unable to find a website listing of all discovered planets. NASA doesn’t seem to have a page, and the various universities and researchers tend to put out press releases with their announcements but don’t seem to collect them anywhere.
Anyone have a good resource showing all the known planets?
Update: Thanks to Wikipedia, I found exactly what I’m looking for: NASA’s PlanetQuest! PlanetQuest even has a widget for your desktop showing the latest planet count. Cool!
We’re up to 292 exoplanets now, for those of you keeping score.
Ty-ed up in red tape
My officemates and I were out on an afternoon walk around the city when I ran into N.C. Rep. Ty Harrell. Almost literally ran into him: he was walking out of the municipal building with a cellphone to his ear just as we were walking by.
Once he got through with his call he told us about his odyssey to get the appropriate ABC permits for his fundraiser tonight at Artspace. He apparently had to go to at least four different agencies to get approval – including one where he needed a background check!
“I had to prove I’m a state legislator,” he said.
Unbelievable. Who knew what kind of red tape would be involved in hosting a party?
If you’re looking for something to do tonight (and you’ve got a little cash to contribute to his campaign), stop by Artspace tonight for Ty’s fundraiser. We’re lucky to have guys like him serving the state.
Tipping the scales
Yesterday must have been a particularly hot morning. My thermal signature was so large I registered a record five bells on the MT.Net Stinkometer.
(In actuality, yesterday was a fairly nice day, in spite of my concerns).
I’m alpha civics geek!
I learned today that my Raleigh Neighborhood College class has voted me the class valedictorian! Not too shabby for a guy who barely got in, eh?
I’m humbled and quite honored that such a fine group of citizens saw fit to name me their leader. Indeed, I’ve learned as much from my classmates as I did the presentations. I will miss the weekly interaction we have enjoyed for the past three months. Raleigh has some sharp citizens, let me tell you!
On the other hand, there’s a good chance my sneaky classmates tapped me just so they wouldn’t have to speak at Thursday’s graduation. Heh.
Spring segues into “sweaty”
Up until Friday we’ve been enjoying a wonderfully seasonal spring: with low humidity, highs in the upper 70s, and lows delightfully in the 50s. That changed Friday morning when summer arrived with a jolt. High temperatures are now in the 90s, humidity levels top 45%, and the joy of being outside that was once abundant is now a distant memory.
I suppose all good things must come to an end, but I was really enjoying having a normal spring for once. It seems that for so many years we would go from too cool directly to too hot. At least this spring we had several weeks of perfect weather.
I guess can’t be surprised since the year is almost halfway over already. Summer is here now, ready or not!
The Pentagon’s ray gun
60 Minutes featured a new nonlethal weapon the Pentagon is testing. Dubbed the “Ray Gun,” it transmits a painful beam of microwave energy to disperse crowds. The 60 Minutes reporter said it felt like being put in scalding water.
While I’m all for nonlethal weapons, I take offense at how they demonstrated it. A group of soldiers playing the role of “peaceful” protesters (complete with “world peace” signs), began attacking uniformed soldiers – only to be cooked by the Ray Gun.
Hey, guys? You’re U.S. soldiers. Your enemy isn’t your peace-loving fellow Americans, its the terrorists of the world. How about suiting up as North Koreans? Or Hamas militants? Or Somali pirate gunboats? How about something a bit closer to the real threats you face?
To show this weapon being used against peace activists shows how low our military has sunk in its original mission to support and defend our Constitution. As a veteran I am ashamed and insulted.