Check It Out

Links to cool places or things.

There are 1,524 posts filed in Check It Out (this is page 126 of 153).

NC-540’s days as free road are numbered

When the NC Turnpike Authority cashed its $1B in loans yesterday, it also set the clock ticking for turning the section of NC-540 between I-40 and NC-55 into a toll road.

From http://www.ncturnpike.org/projects/Triangle_Expressway/

“Northern Wake Expressway (NC 540) is the portion of the Outer Wake Expressway that extends from NC 54 to NC 55. This 2.8 mile long segment, which recently opened to traffic and was constructed by the DOT with
STIP funds, is being transferred to NCTA in support of the project. This section will enable Triangle Parkway and Western Wake Freeway to function as a contiguous toll facility.”
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Lance and team still fuming about Alberto Contador

220px-Alberto_Contador_Paris-Nice_2007Looks like things aren’t settled between Alberto Contador and his Astana teammates. Contador has amazing legs and an ego to match. He has thumbed his nose at his team throughout the race.

Says Lance Armstrong on Twitter just now:

Seeing these comments from AC. If I were him I’d drop this drivel and start thanking his team. w/o them, he doesn’t win.

hey pistolero, there is no “i” in “team”. what did i say in March? Lots to learn. Restated.

Lance then quoted Axel Merckx, who said:

A champion is also measured on how much he respect his teammates and opponents. You can win a race on your own not a grand tour.

The Onion has been “sold” to the Chinese

This week, The Onion (formerly “America’s Finest News Source”) was “sold” to the Chinese. Since then, The Onion has been running articles as if they were written by the Chinese Communist Party. Some bits miss the mark but some are quite clever.

In that theme, The Onion posted this status update on Facebook and made me laugh out loud:

The Onion NEWSWIRE: Disgusting U.S. Citizen Allows Saliva To Collect In Mouth.

As one person commented:

Chris Ross
Whoever is writing this I think has been to China – yes, that’s right, saliva (with the various “additives” they can add to it) belongs on the sidewalk and if that isn’t possible – indoor potted plants.

Any Westerner who has visited China nods knowingly at this fake headline. I saw it myself when I visited China. Thanks, Onion, for the memory and the laugh!

Revolutionary Rocker

dan_zanes2A few weeks ago, Netflix delivered Revolutionary Road to our DVD player. During the middle of this excellent film is a bar scene with a band. As the camera focused on the characters in the foreground, I noticed the guitarist in the background looked oddly familiar.

Then I suddenly knew who it was: musician Dan Zanes, his trademark spiky hair combed into a pompadour for the role. In real life, Zanes has perpetual bed-head at all times, so it was just as amusing to see him spike-less as it was to see him at all.

Raleigh will host the spiky-haired version of Dan Zanes when he plays Saturday at the N.C. Museum of Art in a rare show this far South. It should be a good time.

Don’t piss off a musician

Flying to a gig, the band Sons of Maxwell were shocked to see their guitars being thrown around by United Airlines baggage handlers. When singer Dave Carroll’s guitar came back broken, United was apparently less than helpful in atoning for the mistake. That led the band to take their complaint to YouTube with a video and song called United Breaks Guitars

Catchy song, Sons of Maxwell! Bad, bad, PR move, United!

Update 11 Jul 2009: Taylor Guitars is having some fun with this, too! Also, check out Dave’s latest video statement.