June 2010

There were 44 posts published in June 2010 (this is page 3 of 5).

Larry Lessig visits Raleigh Tuesday

Lawrence Lessig will be speaking at several events in Raleigh on Tuesday, June 22.

Lessig is a Professor of Law at Harvard and a frequent national commentator on the influence of money in politics. He is currently the Director of Harvard’s Edward J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics where he does work on institutional corruption. Previously, Lessig was a professor of law at Stanford Law School and founder of its Center for Internet and Society, where he helped pioneer the free culture movement. He will be in Raleigh to promote several campaign finance reform initiatives, including the Fair Elections Now Act and an . For a glimpse of Lessig’s current work, read his recent article, “How to Get Our Democracy Back,” published in the Nation, or view one of his rapid-fire power point presentations.

Event Details:

• June 22, 11am, Raleigh: Presentation at Voter-Owned Elections Lobby Day at the NC General Assembly view map).

• June 22, 12pm, Raleigh: Luncheon at Campbell Law School (view map). (Email jglasser at commoncause dot org to register for lunch).

• June 22, 5-6:30pm, Raleigh: Reception to Benefit NC Voters for Clean Elections Busy Bee Cafe (view map)(RSVP to chase at ncvce dot org).

via Raleigh Events with Lawrence Lessig.

Graffiti gets attention

I took a look around Raleigh’s I-440 Beltline yesterday and was happy to see the graffiti I complained about is finally getting cleaned up. There were a few spots that remained, like the overhead sign at the Crabtree exit and the spots on the noise wall near the Six Forks Rd exit, but most of the egregious stuff has been painted over. Also, DOT is painting over it with brick-colored paint, rather than the gray stuff that was used in other cleanups.

Thanks to the N.C. DOT for knocking this out, and thanks to WTVD for help getting the word out. It’s looking better already!

WordPress has Facebook-like link excerpting

Remember when I wished I had Facebook-like link excerpting in WordPress? It turns out I already do: it’s a bookmarklet built into WordPress called Press This.

Here’s how to use it:

In your WordPress Dashboard’s menu, click Tools. Drag the Press This link at the bottom of that page to your browser’s toolbar.

Now, when viewing a webpage that you’d like to add to your blog, simply highlight whatever text you’d like to include in your blog post and click on the Press This bookmarklet you just created. A new window will open up with your selected text already added to the editor and the title of the post set to the title of the webpage you were viewing. You can then adjust the text accordingly (add comments, etc.), and then click Publish. Super easy!

A big hat-tip to Scott Reston for pointing out this nifty feature!

Cheap thoughts: Sound museum

A few weekends ago I was visiting my parents when I thought to look for one of the 1970s-era telephones they had in storage. I had recently realized that my kids had never heard the sound of a real ringing telephone and I thought that was a shame. Modern phones all come with electronic ringers, which pale in comparison to the urgency that a bell provides. The closest they could get to hearing the sound of a ringing bell is a ringtone on an iPhone. I found the old phone I was looking for and made it ring a few times for the kids’ sake (and ok, for mine too). What a contrast it provided to today’s phones.
Continue reading →

Father’s Day

I’m putting the finishing touches on a pretty fun Father’s Day weekend. There was dancing and clowning around at Music on the Porch Friday night; puttering around the house and playground fun at Lions Park Saturday; a friend’s birthday party Saturday night; and projects with the kids, a seafood lunch, and pool time today. It’s been a hot, dry weekend but still my body is feeling pretty happy now.

This evening after the kids went to bed Kelly and I were chatting. “Parenthood is going by fast,” I exclaimed, following it with “ is going by fast!” I will never have another Father’s Day when our daughter is eight and our son is 5-and-a-half. Those events of the past 48 hours that just moments ago filled my senses are now only memories. Happy ones, but memories still: in the book, closed out, and never to be lived again.

The question to be asked at the end of each day is “did I live this day to its fullest?” For today, the answer is yes. I hope that holds true for the rest of my days.

Misleading photo of I-95 bridge

I saw a story in Sunday’s News and Observer about the state potentially adding tolls to I-95. The story was illustrated by a photograph taken by Chris Seward of trucks driving under an I-95 bridge. It included this caption:

At exit 75 on I-95 southbound in Harnett County, tractor-trailers have a tight squeeze at this bridge, one of the interstate’s dangerously low overpasses. If a truck hits one, it can close the highway for hours.

First off, let me say I’m sure Seward is an honest, ethical, upstanding photojournalist and I am not questioning his motives here at all. I don’t think he was trying to mislead anyone with this shot. That said, this photograph gives the viewer the impression that the truck in the center of the frame just barely made it under this bridge. This is obviously not the case as any truck approaching a bridge that low would have to slow down to a crawl. By studying the shadows you can see that the bridge is in fact behind the truck in question and therefore is quite a bit taller than it appears in this picture.

This is the due to the way a telephoto lens distorts the depth of field, making it appear shallower. Again, I don’t think it was intentional but the photograph makes the bridge look a lot lower than it actually is.

(By the way, I support putting tolls on I-95. That highway needs all the help it can get.)

Lions Park playground dedication

Lions Park Playground Dedication

Yesterday was the dedication of the new, community-built playground at Lions Park. This is the park that Kelly, the kids, and I helped build, along with dozens of other volunteers.

It was wonderful seeing the park finally finished. It was only seconds after the ribbon was cut that all the kids present went whooping towards the playground equipment. What a delightful sight that was! I bet Mayor Meeker wishes everything he did got that kind of response!

I posted pictures from yesterday’s dedication on Flickr. Check them out!

Graffiti problem gets attention

The news media have begun picking up on the graffiti problem on state-maintained roads around Raleigh. I’m hopeful that these stories will convince our state transportation officials to take the graffiti issue more seriously.

I got interviewed by Anthony Wilson of WTVD at lunch today, during which I offered my story of how I’ve been pleading with N.C. DOT to give this attention but to no avail. I’m not looking for an overnight solution, either. A little progress on the issue would be enough.

I’ll be watching the news tonight to see if the story runs. There’s a chance that the state will agree to deal with the issue and that might fundamentally change the story. I would be thrilled if my story never ran because the state stepped up to the plate and made the story moot. We’ll see what happens.

Graffiti is a problem that affects us all. It takes a coordinated effort to get rid of it. If one party opts not to tackle it there’s little others can do to pick up the slack. That’s what’s happening here. If the N.C. DOT won’t fix it, let Raleigh crews fix it, or hire a contractor. Putting it off only makes the problem worse.