November 2011

There were 51 posts published in November 2011 (this is page 3 of 6).

N&O LTE on Raleigh’s open parks

On Tuesday, the N&O printed my letter to the editor, responding to a grumpy writer who claimed that Raleigh’s Parks department couldn’t properly maintain its parks. That rubbed me the wrong way so I wrote this response.

Kudos to the editors who deftly edited my letter, creating a better one than I submitted.

The writer of the Nov. 6 letter “Dix State Park?” says that if the state chooses to turn the Dorothea Dix Hospital property into a state park it will be “enjoyed by all of the citizens of North Carolina.” While Dix’s future is still being debated, I can say that regardless of whether Dix becomes a city park or a state park it will be welcoming and available to all the citizens of our state.

Raleigh’s parks system is one of the best in the nation and continues to enjoy strong support from Raleigh’s citizens. More than that, our parks are open and available to all, providing recreational opportunities not just for Raleigh’s citizens but for those of Wake County and beyond. I invite the public to enjoy all that Raleigh’s parks system has to offer, no matter where you live.

Mark Turner
Chair, City of Raleigh’s Parks, Recreation, and Greenway Advisory Board
Raleigh

Woman finishing up driving test crashes into Fayetteville DMV

This is a sad reminder that at a certain point some folks lose the ability to drive safely when they age.

Cars mean independence. If you take away someone’s driving ability, you take away their independence. We need to build our cities and communities so that one doesn’t need cars to retain one’s independence.

Three customers at a Fayetteville DMV office required medical attention Wednesday after a car came crashing through the building.

Gavin MacRoberts, spokesman for the Fayetteville Police, says a 2008 Acura crashed into the DMV office, located at 841 Elm Street, shortly after Noon.

It appears the driver, 77-year-old Annie Gore, was pulling into a parking space after completing a driving test when she accidentally stepped on the gas and crashed into the front of the building.

via Woman finishing up driving test crashes into Fayetteville DMV | NBC17.com.

Downtown wildlife

Early Monday morning, Kelly and I were awakened by the sound of a critter squealing outside our bedroom. This was followed by two excited hoots from a barred owl that apparently just scooped up a late night snack (a rabbit, in my guess).

That same morning my neighbor told me of being awakened by his dog barking wildly at something behind his home. My neighbor looked to find three deer (a doe and two fawns) standing in Lions Park.

It’s still amazing to me to live so close to downtown Raleigh and still be so close to wildlife.

American Censorship Day pop-up

If you’d like to add your own anti-SOPA pop-up to your blog, simply add this text somewhere on your website:

script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://americancensorship.org/js”>/script

You’ll want to enclose the above “script” and “/script” in angle brackets, of course.

On my WordPress setup, I put this into a text widget and added it to my sidebar. Your Mileage May Vary.

Thanks for spreading the word!

SOPA/PROTECT IP acts will censor Internet

Hollywood is pushing bills through Congress right now to give them the power to shut down any Internet sites they disagree with at will. This law would not only apply to American websites but any website with a .com, .org, or .edu domain suffix.

Ironically, the Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act go against the very First Amendment rights that make Hollywood possible. Free speech isn’t free if it’s more free for some.

Call or contact your Congressional representatives today and let them know that you care about your Constitutional rights! See the EFF or Mozilla.org for more information!

The Virginia Company

As word came in today of the “eviction” of the Occupy Wall Street protesters from Zuccotti Park in Manhattan, I thought about our weekend visit to Williamsburg and Jamestown.

As a kid, the story told in my history lessons was that the Pilgrims came to America for its freedom. What this weekend’s visit to the Jamestown Settlement Museum reminded me of was that the first (European) settlers in America – the Jamestown settlers of 1607 – weren’t seeking freedom at all but riches. Those settlers weren’t seeking to establish a government, colony, or society but a company: the Virginia Company. America’s government was a business.

The other interesting thing was the tour of the historic gaol (jail) in Colonial Williamsburg. The cells housing prisoners were all spartan and exposed to the elements, except for the cell for debtors. The debtors’ cell was the only one that had a fireplace. Financial crimes weren’t considered as serious as robbery or other crimes.

Not a lot has changed in four hundred years, has it?

Landed!

I accepted a contracting offer with a local firm today. I’m excited about the work, the people, and the schedule seems perfect!

I’m angling to begin work on Wednesday but that might be a bit optimistic with the paperwork and other stuff. Regardless of exactly when my new job begins, I’m happy to be rejoining the workforce and looking forward to solving my new challenges!

Solar Shakeout Could Soon Reach China

This is astonishing news.

The race of utilities and dirty-fuel industries to build more power plants or drill more wells is not so much a race against dwindling dirty-fuel supplies, it’s a race against dirty-fuel obsolescence.

Oh, and that Solyndra so-called scandal? It’s a blessing in disguise, caused by the falling price of solar cells.

If oil prices fell from their 2008 peak as far as solar component prices have, a barrel of oil would cost about $10 – a 93 percent drop. Everyone could afford to fuel his own Formula One racecar.

Solar is already competitive with fossil fuel power in many markets around the world, especially where supply is unreliable and diesel backup generation is uncommon. “People are missing out about how cheap solar power has become,” said Ramesh Misra, senior analyst covering solar and technology at Brigantine Advisors in New York. “There is no other energy source that can make that claim.”

via Solar Shakeout Could Soon Reach China – Bloomberg.

Williamsburg

Fife and drum parade

Colonial Williamsburg

We returned this afternoon from a weekend trip to Williamsburg to surprise Kelly’s dad for his 70th birthday. After showing up at his doorstep unannounced Saturday morning, we finished breakfast and headed out to see Colonial Williamsburg.

Thanks to a press release from the Governor’s office, I knew ahead of time that Colonial Williamsburg (or “CW,” as it’s known to locals) had free admission to veterans this weekend in honor of Veterans Day. We were able to score free tickets for my family, which was a nice perk.
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