Checking In

A catch-all, catch-up post

There are 1,132 posts filed in Checking In (this is page 30 of 114).

Introducing Little Raleigh Radio

Little Raleigh Radio


One of the initiatives that’s been taking up my Copious Free Time is helping start a low-power FM community radio station in Raleigh. A few months ago, a friend mentioned the Little Raleigh Radio (LRR) project and I became determined to help this project succeed.

I’ve been following low-power FM (LPFM) for quite some time so when I learned that the FCC’s window for granting new licenses may be opening again, I felt I had to help.
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Beware when it’s quiet

The problem with getting a lot of stuff done is that there’s often little time left to blog about all the stuff that’s getting done.

I’ve got a project at work I’m finishing up this week, after which I should have time to catch up on all the blog posts I’ve been meaning to write. Stay tuned!

End of the week relief

It’s been a challenging week for me, with work issues heating up, two city board retreats I’m having to plan, yesterday evening’s Parks board meeting, early release day from school for the kids, and helping coach the kids’ basketball teams.

When I was feeling down yesterday, I was cheered for a bit by N.C. State’s success against Duke during their visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium but they couldn’t protect their 20 point lead in the second half and wound up losing by 5. I went to bed anxious.

Work went better for me today, the kids kept themselves busy during Early Release, and I got to help coach Hallie’s basketball team tonight. Unfortunately, our team lost by two points in a tough-fought game. Rather than hang our heads, though, we went out for a very fun dinner with our friends Joe and Toddi.

Tomorrow morning I spend four hours facilitating the RCAC retreat. Then less than half an hour later, I’m off to Chavis Park for the carousel building groundbreaking. Then, as soon as that’s done, I’m off to Travis’s basketball game. Once that’s done, I fly solo with the kids again while Kelly goes to a PTA planning meeting.

Good grief, life is busy lately.

Playing catch-up

I’ve got a lot on my plate now with work, the RCAC, the Parks board, and running the house while Kelly is away from work. It doesn’t leave me much time for blogging at the moment, thus the radio silence.

I’m hopeful I will come up for air by this weekend. Got a few posts pending but need the time to compose them.

Active day

Wow, what a day! It started off with a lazy start. After breakfast I spent time upgrading our home’s main Linux fileserver. This was followed by some family basketball practice.

After basketball practice, I headed over to attend the first anniversary celebration of the St. Monica Teen Center, a center where magic takes place in Southeast Raleigh. It was good to chat with folks there and to see how proud those kids are to have that center.

After the St. Monica party, I grabbed lunch before heading out the door for Travis’s basketball game. The Salvation Army was short on referees today so I was “volunteered” to referee the game (along with a coach from the other team). The teams played a good game and I had fun with it, too.
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Leadership North Carolina Forum

Leadership North Carolina Forum

I spent the day today at the Fifth Annual Leadership North Carolina Forum. While the panels and speakers were fascinating and informative, what captivated me the most was watching my lovely and talented wife while she was working. Kelly held herself with grace and aplomb, seeming so comfortable conducting the question and answer sessions with a roomful of hundreds of participants. I smiled as I thought about just how quickly she got up to speed in doing what she’s doing, yet you’d never know it from how confident she seems.

I’ve known for 14 years how special Kelly is. Now everyone knows it, too.

Neighborhood watch nabs burglar!

That burglar never knew what hit him. This guy rides a bike into our neighborhood, thinking things are easy pickings here, and he rides out in the back of a police car.

My neighborhood is quickly gaining the reputation of being the place crooks go to get caught. The hapless crook must not have gotten the memo.

It all began a little after 7 AM as I was out walking the dog. As I neared home, I saw this guy riding towards me on a bike. Since I walk this way every other day, I’m usually quite familiar with the people I see this time of day but this kid was a stranger. Nevertheless, as he approached I gave him a friendly “good morning,” and he cheerfully replied. Cheerful greeting or not, I decided to get a close look at the clothes of this stranger – just in case.
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Saying goodbye to the East CAC

This evening I chaired my last meeting of Raleigh’s East Citizens Advisory Council (East CAC). It was a bittersweet moment for me, knowing how much work I’ve put into it over the past three and a half years.

And yet, I leave it in very good shape. I accomplished almost everything I set out to do. The new leaders are engaged and ready to take it to new levels, too. It’s time for me to turn over the reins and let some of my fantastic neighbors take over.

As I said last night, I don’t know what the future holds in store for me but I don’t know if I’ll ever do anything more rewarding than what I’ve done with the CAC.

What’s up with 3:05 AM, besides me?

What is up with 3:05 AM that’s waking me up at 3:05 AM? Every single morning this week I’ve awakened at exactly 3:05 AM and I have no idea why.

It started the morning of my Zombiehead post. That night (Wednesday) I went around to all the computers in the house to put them on mute. It’s not the computers.

When I woke up anyway, I assumed that maybe Kelly has been shifting around and waking me. Last night she spent the night away for work, though, so that isn’t it.
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