I was looking at Raleigh’s Wikipedia entry tonight when I realized there is no Wikipedia entry for Raleigh’s free downtown circulator bus, the R-Line. Well, after an hour or so there now is one.
Wikipedia is a magnet for pedantic people like me.
May 2009
Memorial Day
Happy Memorial Day, everyone!
Zydecopious
After we returned from the dinner party, we put the kids to bed and Kelly stayed put while I went out to join the Dolls and friends for a show by Zydecopious at the Blue Martini. I’m not used to heading out at 10PM but I soon caught up with the crew at the Peace Street R-Line stop and we rode the bus over to Glenwood South.
It didn’t take long for that zydeco music to get our feet moving! We took over the dance floor and had an amazing time! I got the chance to play tambourine on a few songs and even joined the band onstage to play the frottoir (the rubboard) on Mystery Train.
Hopefully there’ll be some pictures on the Zydecopious site that I can point to. In the meantime, make plans to see Zydecopious when they play at Seaboard Music June 12th. And bring your dancing shoes!
[Update: 9:37 PM] Here’s a link to the photos from the show.
Penny wise and pound foolish with napkins
I met some friends for lunch at the farmers’ market’s N.C. Seafood Restaurant last week. My friends were running late so I sat down with my $8 plate of grouper and people-watched while I ate.
I started noticing that diners were often finishing their meals and leaving large stacks of unused napkins, some of which were an inch thick. If the diners didn’t throw these out themselves, the bus staff would later come along and pitch them all into the trash. It seemed pretty wasteful.
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Dinner party
We spent the evening with our friends Lisa and Craig’s home, joining some of their friends for drinks and dinner while the associated kids played in the yard. I had been dragging most of today, with the heat and humidity (and, er, the beer I drank last night while still suffering from a cold) sapping my energy, but I perked up considerably from the socializing.
One of the couples were teachers and they had quite a bit to say about Governor Perdue swiping a huge chunk out of their paychecks without warning in her effort to balance the budget. It wasn’t the first time I’ve heard this complaint. As our friends said, teachers paved Perdue’s way into the Executive Mansion and it will be teachers who will show her the door.
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Recession puts squeeze on parks and recreation
I found out last night that the City of Raleigh’s proposed budget includes cuts in the city’s Parks and Recreation budget which will result in less maintenance of greenways and roadsides, reduced staffing, and reduced hours at many facilities – including some facilities remaining closed one day per week.
According to the proposed Parks and Rec budget changes, hours will be reduced at a number of Parks facilities, with most facilities closing an hour earlier than normal during the weekdays. Some facilities, such as Pullen Arts Center and Sertoma Arts Center, will no longer be open on Sundays. Walnut Terrace Neighborhood Center will be open for four fewer hours during the weekday, opening at 2 PM rather than the usual 10 AM. Lake Johnson and Lake Wheeler waterfront operations will be closed on Mondays during the offseason. Boat rentals and concessions will no longer be available at Shelley Lake.
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Bangkok
Bangkok (YouTube [Warning: saucy video!])
Alex Chilton
Here’s a little thing that’s gonna please ya
Just a little town down in Indonesia
Bangkok
Yeah Bangkok
Two slanty eyed men lyin’ in bed
One got his Mauser, the other said
Bangkok
Ooh Bangkok
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4,000+ posts
This post makes the 4,008th post to MT.Net. I had hoped to mark the 4,000th post but it came and went without me realizing.
Thanks for reading!
Children’s House of Raleigh shutting its doors
I found out recently the Children’s House of Raleigh, the parent-run Montessori-based preschool that gave Hallie such an academic boost, is closing its doors at the end of the month due to the retirement of its two teachers.
It’s sad to think the school is closing as we really put a lot of work into it while Hallie was there. It just never made it over the hump somehow. It was good while it lasted, though. We’ll continue to have fond memories.
Credit cards
Kelly and I have long since kept zero balances on our credit cards. We’ve instead paid an annual fee on our card and enjoyed the perks of frequent-flier miles, free flights, and other rewards that they provide – all without costing us a fortune in interest.
Looks like our free ride is over, though. In the past few days, some of our credit card companies have sent us notices that the rates they charge for interest are going through the roof. The purchase APR will be jumping to 24.41% and the cash-back APR is rising even higher. The reason for this was clearly (and boldly) spelled out in the “other notices” section of the letter:
“The principal factor we considered in amending your account is maintaining profitability on your acccount.