July 2008

There were 64 posts published in July 2008 (this is page 3 of 7).

Downtown vistas

I took a lunchtime walk down Fayetteville Street to see how ol’ F-street is shaping up. At the south end (the plaza end), workers have removed the 7-foot fencing that blocked the view of Memorial Hall while work on the Marriott was being completed.

I stood there marveling at the view. For the first time ever, I could stand right in the middle of Fayetteville Street and enjoy views of both Memorial Auditorium and the State Capitol.

What a great idea it was to rip out that dilapidated, view-blocking cement monster of a civic center!

When obsessions conflict

I recently switched out our shower head for a low-flow version that spits out 30% less water. Knowing I was saving water satisfied my urge to go green … until I realized that the new shower head doesn’t pour water out in individual streams like the old one but instead sprays it – like an aerosol.
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Mind in the gutter

My mind was in the gutter yesterday. Or at least my gutters were on my mind. Yesterday afternoon was the first rain since I put the gutter guards on my house. I can say the guards worked with flying colors: all gutters handled the rain beautifully.

Of course, I’d expect the first one to do well, as I cleaned out the gutters before I capped them. The real test will be to see how clean the gutters remain. So far so good, though. It could be that the dozen tiny cuts I sustained to my hands when wrestling with the gutters will have been worth it.

Satellite TV call to my mobile

Now these telemarketing clowns are pitching satellite TV to my mobile phone. This time the caller ID read 949-256-9106.

This is getting quite annoying. And potentially expensive. And it looks like I’m going to have to set up a separate category for these telemarketing scams.

Breezes

A stiff wind pushed against me as I rode home one day last week. Its strength and steadiness reminded me of a sea breeze and it surprised me how intensely I miss the sea.

Kelli Woolard found

The human remains found near the car of missing Johnston County woman Kelli Woolard were identified as Woolard, police say. Police say there were “no indications of foul play.”

If you’ll recall, Woolard’s car was in the parking lot of a day care center and her remains were found in the nearby woods. This was four miles away from her job at Duke Raleigh Hospital. I’ve seen nothing in the news to indicate she was a mother and I assume Woolard wasn’t into geocaching and so would not ordinarily be wandering through the woods. How is this not foul play? Or does “no indications” mean the Johnston County Sheriff is still gathering evidence?

I wonder if the autopsy revealed how she died. Heart attack, maybe? As a nurse, wouldn’t she know how to get to the nearest hospital?

Questions, questions.

Update: Apparently Woolard had a drug problem and killed herself. Sorry to hear that.

Warranty scammers now calling my cellphone

Great. The Great Atlantic Warranty scumbags are now calling my cellphone with their warranty scam recording. Got one at 11:12 this morning. This is even more annoying than the calls to the house because each and every call costs me money. Today’s call came from the bogus caller id of 562-288-7125. The previous call was from 408-587-2143.

I’ve not given these jackasses much attention lately but that has now changed. Its time to give them the full-court press.

East CAC

After some discussions with the current chair, I’ve volunteered to take over as the chair of Raleigh’s East CAC. I was nominated for the post at last night’s meeting but will be (hopefully) voted in next month.

The volunteer job consists of running a monthly meeting where things of interest to our neighbors are discussed: such as crime, new developments in the area, etc. I’ve been impressed with the number of regular attendees at the meeting so I’m hopeful there will be plenty of participation, too.

This all builds on my Raleigh Neighborhood College experience so I’m glad to have an opportunity to put it to use. And I get to work with Charlene Willard again. How could I say no?