November 2009

There were 35 posts published in November 2009 (this is page 2 of 4).

This makes me sad

Kevin_Lindsey_Jr

Saw that a 21-year old kid got charged with armed robbery today. Kevin Lightsey, Jr. was charged with kidnapping and armed robbery.

I always like to see where suspects live, so I punched up Lightsey’s address in Google Maps: 4828 Forest Highland Drive. He lives not in the ‘hood, but in Hedingham: a fancy golf course community. Nice house, too.

Just for fun I looked up Lightsey’s voting record. He registered last year and voted for the only time in the last presidential election.

So how does a kid living in a good neighborhood and who was a one time enough of a citizen to vote turn into an armed robber? He had no prior record. He had better opportunities available to him. What led him to be accused of a serious crime?

Real wheels

We had to take the van in for some last-minute repairs before taking it to Florida so our friends were kind enough to loan us their BMW 328 for the day. I drove it to work today.

The car is 15 years old and is filled with “quirks” but it didn’t matter. It is a stick shift (which I missed as I haven’t driven one in years), it actually hugged the curves, and it had a little power! I didn’t have to slowly creep up that daunting hill on NC 540 over N.C. 54 today – heck, I didn’t even have to downshift!

I’ve been driving the Honda CR-V (and Odyssey) for so long I forgot what it’s like to have a car that’s actually fun to drive. It’s sad that I had to give it back tonight. If only that pot of gold were to appear . . .

My NBC 17 interview

Due to my role as the chair of the East CAC, I was interviewed today by NBC 17 regarding WakeMed and a nearby club, Black Tie. You can view the interview on NBC 17’s website.

Longtime MT.Net readers know what a huge fan I am of WakeMed. Our daughter spent seven weeks there as a preemie and is thriving in every way thanks to the incredible care she got from WakeMed. Even so, I have to admit I don’t think I’ve heard one complaint from residents about Black Tie over the past year. I’m hoping both parties can agree to work together to help strengthen our community.

Here’s a typical day for me

I thought it’d be fun to document the kind of day I’ve had, so here goes:

5:45 AM wake up (usually 5:15 but “sleep in” because I showered the night before)
6:05 AM take dog for walk around neighborhood
6:15 AM spot car at dog park before park opens. consider dialing 911 but let it go this time.
6:25 AM return home
6:30 AM read and send emails
6:40 AM read N&O
6:45 AM finish reading N&O Continue reading →

Camping trip

Family_Camping-20091114

Last week’s rainy weather had all of us itching to get out of the house. In spite of the dreary rainy week I knew the forecast promised a nice weekend: with clear skies and mid-70s temperatures it promised to be perhaps the best weather of any weekend until spring. I decided it would be a good time for us to finally take the kids on the camping trip we’d been talking about the whole year.

It had been four years since we’d camped anywhere. Travis was then just a baby and woke up wailing. It was high time we tried again. I was considering both Jordan Lake and Umstead State Park but chose Umstead this time around. After a few minutes of booking online, we were all set to go.
Continue reading →

Google acquires Gizmo5

Gizmo5-Google-mm

Word came out today that Google acquired the VoIP company Gizmo5. Gizmo5 offers VoIP calling similar to Skype only Gizmo5 uses open standards.

Gizmo5’s service was tightly integrated with GrandCentral, the web-based phone organizer, so that Gizmo5 was the only way to turn an incoming call to a GrandCentral number into an incoming VoIP call to Asterisk or another SIP device. Once Google bought GrandCentral and rebranded it Google Voice it was really no surprise that Google might soon snatch up Gizmo5.

This is the second big payout for Gizmo5 CEO Michael Robertson. Robertson made a fortune early on when he parlayed his MP3.COM domain name into a business he later sold to Vivendi Universal for $372 million. Congrats, Michael!

Update 13 Nov 2009: Oh, and one other important point. Continue reading →

Ida takes her time

IDA

IDA

This is day three of torrential rain from Tropical Storm Ida. Ida never actually made it out of Florida but its presence was still felt. The storm’s low pressure spawned a Nor’easter. The rain almost literally hasn’t stopped in 72 hours.

When I feel like complaining about the rain I think back to the winter of 2007 when we faced a severe drought. Rain becomes monotonous and unpleasant. It causes all kinds of accidents for idiot drivers who can only passably drive when it’s not raining. It can also be depressing not seeing the sun … but, it still isn’t as scary as potentially running out of drinking water.

The really good news is the rain will all be gone in time for the weekend, which should be gorgeous.

One year later

It was one year ago today that I lost my job at AddressDoctor. While at times I wished that job might have lived up to its potential, I certainly don’t miss the headaches involved with the way I was managed. It’s in the past now and as always I landed on my feet. Should I ever again interview for a position I will insist on having only one boss to whom I’m responsible. Anything else is a recipe for disaster.

I don’t even need clearly defined responsibilities, though that certainly does help. I am flexible to change along with my job. In fact, I excel at entering new situations and figuring out my way around. When it comes to setting my priorities I need to hear from one person only.

Tuesday was also the one year anniversary of my totaling the minivan and barely avoiding causing serious injury to Travis. I’m so lucky things weren’t worse.

Yes, in one week alone I crashed our car and lost my job. Things have gotten considerably better since then!

Cheap thoughts: The Good Samaritan policy

Whenever I start my next company (with actual employees this time) I’m going to create a policy for the employees: the Good Samaritan policy. This will excuse any employee from being late if that employee stopped to help someone who was stranded on the side of the road, helped anyone involved in an accident, or helped anyone else who needed assistance.

Too many times I’ve driven by a disabled vehicle and not stopped simply because it would make me late for work. Some things should be more important than punching a clock.

Veteran’s Day

American Flag and Cross in Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

Today is Veteran’s Day here in America. Like my fellow vet Ken Thomas, I’m never sure how to respond when people thank me for my service.

So here’s an idea: if you feel the need to thank me and the millions of other veterans for their service, the best way to thank us is to find a way to serve yourself. You don’t have to join the military, of course: there are many, many other ways to serve.

Read books to young kids at a school. Work on a project to improve your neighborhood. Visit with the elderly and make them feel welcome. Coach a youth sports team. Contribute your time and energy to a good cause – one right in your own backyard. Everyone can offer something.

Heroes aren’t found only on the battlefield: they are all around us. Every day. Become one in your community.

It’s the best way to honor service.