This editorial cartoon from Bruce Beattie of the Daytona Beach News Journal sums up my thoughts exactly.
Check It Out
Links to cool places or things.
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I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother
This is a great read from a mother with a mentally ill son.
America needs to start giving mental illness the attention it deserves.
Three days before 20 year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, then opened fire on a classroom full of Connecticut kindergartners, my 13-year old son Michael (name changed) missed his bus because he was wearing the wrong color pants.
“I can wear these pants,” he said, his tone increasingly belligerent, the black-hole pupils of his eyes swallowing the blue irises.
“They are navy blue,” I told him. “Your school’s dress code says black or khaki pants only.”
“They told me I could wear these,” he insisted. “You’re a stupid bitch. I can wear whatever pants I want to. This is America. I have rights!”
“You can’t wear whatever pants you want to,” I said, my tone affable, reasonable. “And you definitely cannot call me a stupid bitch. You’re grounded from electronics for the rest of the day. Now get in the car, and I will take you to school.”
I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.
SolarIndustryMag.com: Costs Of Solar Energy Dropping
For all the right’s whining about Solyndra, the dropping price of solar materials is good news to most everyone else.
I’m thinking it might be time to get another quote for panels on our home.
The installed price of solar photovoltaic power systems in the U.S. fell substantially in 2011 and through the first half of 2012, according to the latest edition of Tracking the Sun, an annual PV cost-tracking report produced by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).
The median installed price of residential and commercial PV systems completed in 2011 fell by roughly 11% to 14% from the year before, depending on system size. In California, prices fell by an additional 3% to 7% within the first six months of 2012.
These recent installed price reductions are attributable, in large part, to dramatic reductions in PV module prices, which have been falling precipitously since 2008, according to Berkeley Lab.
via SolarIndustryMag.com: Costs Of Solar Energy Rapidly Declining Throughout U.S. Market.
BBC News – Swimming robot reaches Australia
This is pretty amazing.
A self-controlled swimming robot has completed a journey from San Francisco to Australia.
The record-breaking 9,000 nautical mile (16,668km) trip took the PacX Wave Glider just over a year to achieve.
Liquid Robotics, the US company behind the project, collected data about the Pacific Ocean’s temperature, salinity and ecosystem from the drone.
via BBC News – Swimming robot reaches Australia after record-breaking trip.
SAS buying rPath’s assets
I learned yesterday that rPath’s assets have been sold to SAS, essentially bringing rPath to an end, it seems.
Business analytics software company SAS is acquiring the assets of Raleigh-based startup rPath.
RPath, which was founded in 2005 by former Red Hat employees, is in the process of shutting down. Some of its staff – 19 employees – will accompany the technology and join SAS, forming the Platform Deployment Technologies group within SAS’ research and development operations.
I interviewed there more than once for a sales engineer position last year. I also set up rPath’s first phone system, based on Asterisk. For a while there I was sure rPath would be the next VMWare. Instead it’s been chopped up. It’s a shame, but I’m glad I didn’t sign up there only to be looking for work now.
via SAS buying Raleigh startup’s assets – Triangle Business Journal.
Holiday Gift Guide: Ideal gifts for the techie on your list
This is probably the coolest thing I’ve ever seen printed in the News and Observer:
For the DIYer
Getting Started with Arduino Kit v3.0: $65
www.makershed.com/Getting_Started_with_Arduino_Kit_V3_0_p/msgsa.htm
The Arduino Starter Kit from Maker Shed is a gift beginners and pros both can appreciate. The kit opens the door to the popular microcontroller lauded by DIY computing geeks, and is designed as a companion to the “Getting Started with Arduino” book by Massimo Banzi, founder of the open source Arduino project. Some minor soldering is required for the power supply, but the other components plug into the board. This should make for some great parent-child team projects. Look out science fair.
BoingBoing also linked to a video made by Arduino cofounder Massimo Banzi explaining basic electronics. Arduino is one project I need to explore further!
via Holiday Gift Guide: Ideal gifts for the techie on your list – Life – NewsObserver.com.
KB Home to build “Oakwood North”
Oakwood North site plan
I found out today that KB Home has filed its subdivision plan (S-28-2012) for “Oakwood North” on the Weatherford Property near my home. Plans call for 39 single-family homes in the subdivision, with Tonsler Dr., N. State St., Edmund St., and Plainview Ave. connecting together.
I’ll miss having the end of our street all to ourselves but I am intrigued about what KB Home intends to do with this subdivision. I am also hoping to use this information to attract a quality supermarket to the flea market property on Capital Boulevard. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Family of Delvote Tisdale sues over teen’s fatal decision
The family of Delvonte Tisdale filed suit against the city of Charlotte today, almost a year after the teenager sneaked into the wheel well of a 737 and died in mid-flight.
Again, it’s a shame that this young man died but he has no one to blame but himself. Only an idiot would attempt to stow away in the wheel well of an aircraft. I hope the courts throw this suit out posthaste.
NeighborWoods shifts focus to tree maintenance
I was quoted in today’s Midtown Raleigh News about NeighborWoods:
With fewer subdivisions being built amid the slow economy, NeighborWoods organizers said they are spending more time searching for new areas where they can offer trees.
The revised approach will put greater priority on pruning and maintaining trees that were planted since the program began in 2003, said Zach Manor, the city’s tree planting coordinator.
A greater emphasis on maintenance makes sense, said Mark Turner, chairman of the city’s parks board.
“I know of several NeighborWoods trees that did not thrive for whatever reason,” Turner said. “Having the opportunity to focus on keeping trees healthy should result in a better outcome.”
Incidentally, I haven’t heard whether the Midtown Raleigh News will also be going behind a paywall, since it gets distributed across the city for free. Thus, I expect to still be able to link to it.
via NeighborWoods shifts focus to tree maintenance – Raleigh – MidtownRaleighNews.com.
Sidewalks
The sidewalks along Frank Street across from Conn Elementary don’t reach to Brookside Drive. Being the civic geek that I am, I thought I would petition the City of Raleigh to put one in.
It looked like a slam dunk to me: the city will install sidewalks and pay for them provided the affected property owners agree. There’s been a well-worn “goat trail” from the Brookside crosswalk to the corner of Frank and Norris from years of kids coming and going to school. The city owns 75% of the affected property, with only one private property owner to deal with.
Therein lies my problem. The city may own most of the property affected but it doesn’t take a position on these projects. Thus it doesn’t count towards the petition. That means instead of getting the normal 75% of property owners to agree, I have to get 100% of one property owner to agree.
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