This just in from the National Weather Service. Could freezy stuff be on the way?

A CHANCE OF SOME SLEET OR FREEZING RAIN THURSDAY MORNING

TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO DROP TO BETWEEN 28 AND 32 DEGREES TONIGHT
AND CONTINUE TO AROUND DAYBREAK THURSDAY. A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE
WILL DEVELOP NEAR THE GEORGIA-SOUTH CAROLINA COAST EARLY THURSDAY
CAUSING MOIST AIR TO FLOW NORTHWARD INTO CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA.
THIS WILL CAUSE AREAS OF PRECIPITATION TO DEVELOP FROM SOUTH TO
NORTH…STARTING NEAR THE SOUTH CAROLINA BORDER BY DAYBREAK AND UP
TO THE VIRGINIA BORDER BY 11 AM. Continue reading →

The N&O did a story today on parenting-focused blogging. It ran in this morning’s Life, Etc. section with a nice quote from Kelly. No mention of the Hallie And Travis page, though. Kelly decided she didn’t want it in the article. That doesn’t stop me, though!

North Raleigh blogger and mom Kelly Swanson Turner says friends and family with young children often look for help on her blog, where she writes about her son and daughter.

“Friends will hit parenting roadblocks and say, ‘I wonder if there’s anything on the blog about it and look it up,’ ” she says.

Its kinda nice being married to a celebrity. I could get used to this!
Continue reading →

I was happy to see this morning that Google has released a version of Google Earth for Linux.

I’m fortunate not to need to boot to Windows often but using Google Earth has always been one reason. Now I can have that Earthy goodness using Linux too. Mondo cool, man.

I’m glad to see that one of the biggest Linux-using companies on the planet is releasing Linux versions of their amazing apps.

We had lunch the other day at Cafe Capistrano, mainly because any restaurant within walking distance of the casa is worth a look. It was the day after Christmas. We were out running a few errands and hungry and thought we’d give it a try.

The restaurant is located right near the railroad tracks on Durant Road, about a mile west of Capital Boulevard. It sits in a new strip mall which is not near much other commercial business. I’ve been a bit worried that a fledgling restaurant in this seemingly middle-of-knowhere location would have a tough time attracting business.

I shouldn’t have worried. The restaurant had an impressive amount of business for an after-Christmas lunch. We were seated immediately. In spite of working the whole restaurant essentially by herself, our pleasant server took our order right away and with no mistakes.

The decor isn’t the most charming as the room’s plain layout is typical of its strip-mall location. Its a quibble I also have about Nina’s – another excellent North Raleigh restaurant tucked into a strip mall. The owners have done a good job of working with what they have, though. The interior is painted a warm color. One wall has paintings for sale by local artists. A pleasant fountain stands in the middle.

Our lunches were brought out quickly and were at just the right temperature. I had a tasty chicken chimichanga, with rice and black beans for $8. The food was excellent and presented well. The portion was huge as well. Kelly enjoyed her chicken burrito, with”smashed” beans and rice for $7. She also took hers home, having too much to eat.

As I was still enjoying my vacation I ordered a margarita for $3. I got a tall margarita in return, made with California white wine. I didn’t taste (or later feel) much alcohol but enjoyed it all the same. The one thing Cafe Capistrano is missing is a bar. I’ve always wanted a neighborhood bar within stumbling distance of the house. On the other hand, it was nice to enjoy lunch without having to talk over a TV showing sports highlights.

The owners are quite friendly. The service was excellent. The food was also excellent. The wine list is impressive. The bill for the whole family, including entrees, margarita, other drinks, an ample amount of leftovers, and tip was $29. You can spend that much at a fast-food restaurant and not have nearly as enjoyable a meal.

Cafe Capistrano is open Monday through Saturday from 11 AM to 3 PM for lunch, 3 to 9 PM for dinner Monday through Thursday, to 10 PM Friday and Saturday. You might want to make reservations for dinner once word gets out.

MT.Net says check it out!

A few years ago, John Poindexter and DARPA got in hot water for sponsoring the Policy Analysis Market (PAM), a prediction market for future events. The market was designed to help predict future events through wagering. The outcry against it was that it seemed the site was encouraging these acts by the wagering.

I thought it was an interesting idea. Controversial, yes. Anything that provides insight into potential terrorist activities should be worth some study, I say. I understand that it worked, too.

After checking out some unrelated links, I came across the Strategy Page’s Prediction Market. It seems to be a similar approach as the PAM. Its interesting to see the predictions and how they’ve fared. I may have to create a site of nothing but these types of predictions.

It’s time for my annual Highlights series, recalling ten special events of the previous year. Look for the first entry tonight.

I recently read Fiasco, a damning account of the Iraq war by award-winning journalist Thomas Ricks. Reading the idiotic policies which led to our current situation in Iraq made me so mad at times that I wanted to throw something. It seems that if there was a chance for us to royally screw something up, we took it: with gusto. There are few ways we could have miscalculated as badly as we did in Iraq.

In spite of apparently losing the war, there were some battles that we did win; a few Americans there who understood how Iraqis think. One of them was Travis Patriquin, an Army captain who spoke several languages, including fluent Arabic. Capt. Patriquin worked in the violent city of as Al-Anbar, where his skills actually brought some semblence of peace to the area. Through Patriquin’s work with local sheiks, the citizens of Al-Anbar worked together to oust insurgents, providing a model for other areas to follow.

Capt. boiled down his approach into a PowerPoint presentation so simple even the President could understand it. You need to see it. Right now.

It’s nothing more than simple wisdom and stick-figure illustrations yet its approach is so radically different from the Shock-And-Awe norm, especially in that its actually been successful. His slides have been very popular with the rank-and-file, circulating widely.

If only the rest of the Army had taken the approach that Capt. Patriquin took, perhaps we wouldn’t be mired in the utter disaster we face today. Perhaps we’d have drawn down troops long ago, leaving the Iraqi people in charge of their destiny. Instead our arrogance and ignorance of Arab culture has brought us what we have today. Patriquin showed it didn’t have to be that way.

As brilliantly promising as Patriquin was, he won’t ever see the fruits of his success spreading in Iraq. He was killed by an IED in downtown Ramadi on December 6th.

I think I solved my mystery with the highway patrol’s new vehicles. I drove home yesterday behind an unmarked, bronze 2007 Chevrolet Impala, so new it had only been on the road for a month. If it wasn’t for the nondescript, short antenna on the trunk and clear LED panels at the bottom of the rear window (and the uniformed sargeant driving it) I might not have noticed it.

The NC highway patrol has needed a new fleet for a while now as the Ford Crown Victorias are showing their age. I heard back during one of our previous heavy snowstorms that the Crown Vics’ wheelwells aren’t large enough for troopers to use snow chains! I don’t know if that’s true or not but that’s what the media reported. I hope the Impalas are better in this respect.

[Bonus:] This is the 2,000th post to MT.Net since switching to Drupal. w00t!

I rediscovered that oldie but goodie, the Arnold Schwarzenegger Soundboard. Time for some prank calls.