July 2008

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

Misleading

Today’s News and Observer headline story about Mary Easley’s so-called pay raise may be the straw that broke the camel’s back as far as my being an N&O subscriber goes. I have no great love for the Easleys but the only way to describe this is overblown if not downright misleading.

Mary Easley is an accomplished lawyer in her own right. She lectures at NCSU and she recently went from part-time to full-time there. Her salary, while quite large from my point of view, is a pittance to what most attorneys earn. The N&O is twisting the facts. I can’t hep but think its punitive after the governor ducked out on an N&O reporter and his email deletion policy came to light.

Trust is critical to any news source; lose it and its gone for good. I have been an avid newspaper reader since I learned to read but that’s about to end. Unless the News and Observer cleans up its act pronto, it will find itself with one fewer subscriber. At least.

The stinky dishwasher

We were pretty happy with the appliances that came with our house. The stainless-steel finishes add a nice touch to our kitchen. We get a lot of comments about them from our guests.

Fortunately for they don’t get a whiff of our Bosch dishwasher. While its got a spiffy stainless-steel look and is one of the quietest dishwashers I’ve ever heard, it has a B.O. problem.

Due to an apparent design flaw in the Bosch models, water collects in the bottom of the dishwasher – where it festers to the point of being knock-you-over stinky. Even one day after running it! There doesn’t seem to be any real solution to the problem other than spiking the remaining water with some bacteria-killing concoction or replacing the unit altogether.

A Google Search on “stinky Bosch” shows thousands of hits on the problem (like this one, for instance). Be wary of Bosch dishwashers!

California dreaming

Since our San Juan Islands trip didn’t work out we’ve been recalibrating our vacation plans. I’ve always wanted to visit Northern California and its ancient redwood forests. Its well off the beaten path (a 6 hour drive from either Portland or San Francisco) so I’ve never had the chance to “drop by” on a business trip.

We’re checking into where we might find a cabin near the area’s national parks. Hopefully things will fall into place soon and we can visit these wondrous forests.

Why Pat McCrory is an idiot

Infamous bank robber Willie Sutton, when asked why he robbed banks allegedly replied “because that’s where the money is.”

In a press release explaining his position supporting offshore drilling, N.C. Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory asked:

“If we’re not willing to drill off our own coasts, then where will you drill?” he asked. “Off Venezuela? Off Nigeria? Saudi Arabia? Russia?”

Um, maybe someplace where there’s actually oil, Pat? Have you noticed that Venezuela has four times the oil, Nigeria has almost twice the oil, Saudi Arabia has ten times the oil, and Russia has three times the oil we do? And it would be even more lopsided if Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay was excluded?

There is more oil in the Middle East than all other world regions combined. We don’t drill off North Carolina because that’s not where the oil is!

Please get a clue, Pat.