On my way to work this morning I saw a guy on a street corner waving a sign that said “Free Small Coffee!” I have to admit that my first thought was “who is this Small Coffee guy and why is he locked up?”
Too much politics on the brain.
Checking In
A catch-all, catch-up post
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Active weekend
We had an active weekend as we wrapped up the last one before school starts again. Saturday was sweltering, with a high of 88F and 74% humidity. We joined Travis for his soccer practice in the morning. Then it took a while for me to mow the lawn as the heat sapped so much energy.
It had begun to sprinkle here and there by the time we grabbed lunch and went to Optimist Pool to dive off their diving boards for a bit. We hadn’t put 20 minutes into it before thunder kicked us out. We hopped over to Target to pick up the game “Clue” before returning to the pool in the hopes that the thunder would pass. We weren’t so lucky as the rain began to come down. So, we returned home, showered up, and played Clue for a while.
Sunday morning we slept in a bit. I took the dog for a walk in the cooler weather. Kelly took the kids to get their pictures taken while I walked the neighboring street with a petition to get its speed limit lowered.
We all returned for a late lunch. Then we scrambled to get prepared for another pool visit in the short time we had until our dinner guests arrived. A fun hour full of dives off the board followed! Then we got home and got ready for our guests.
Last week, Kelly discovered that a high-school classmate of ours lives in the neighborhood next to ours. He and his wife have kids that go to Hallie’s school. Both our families have been living here for a year without knowing about the other. We fixed that by inviting them over for pizza and conversation. The parents and kids both got along very well, so we forsee this as the start of many such visits.
It’s nice to have such cool neighbors in our area!
Time for the flashlight
This morning was the first time since spring that I had to take a flashlight with me on my morning walk with Rocket. Fall is definitely returning.
S.C. judge rules legal drinking age is 18
A South Carolina judge has ruled that the state’s drinking age limit of 21 or over is unconstitutional. Looks like I found the enterprising kid I was looking for in January (his name is Jesse Gottlieb, in case you were wondering. This might be him on Facebook).
As a parent I am concerned about kids drinking. That said, an 18-year-old is no longer a kid: she’s an adult. She can vote, marry, be sent to war, and tried as an adult in court, among other things. In every case except alcohol consumption, in the eyes of the law she is an adult and responsible for her own decisions. A restriction on alcohol consumption is inconsistent with being considered an adult. Period.
When Ronald Reagan and Elizabeth Dole supported the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 which withheld federal highway funds from any state which didn’t raise their drinking age, I thought it was unnecessary meddling in the affairs of states. True, I was nearing the 18 drinking age at the time, but I still feel that way. Now, if anyone wants to get an amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed that declares the age of majority as 21 and not 18, be my guest.
That said, magistrates in South Carolina don’t have to be attorneys, so let’s see if the South Carolina Court of Appeals upholds this ruling.
Slice
I guess I was due for a good finger-slicing since it had been a while since I had one. This morning, Kelly asked me to hand her the bagel slicer from the cabinet. I agreed, and bragged about how I use one of these every week at work.
The next thing I know, I’m fumbling it and then blood is spouting from my thumb. I’m still not sure how it happened.
After putting a band-aid on it and finishing breakfast, I headed over to my local doc-in-a-box (a.k.a., the urgent care practice) to see if it needed stitches. Though it took some time to get seen, the helpful doctor said I was good to go. It was a big relief!
Also, I was happy to learn that the urgent care practice can take your number and call you right before its time for you to be seen. This cuts you loose from the waiting room so you can do something more productive than read outdated magazines.
Zydeco moon
Kelly and I had a chance to go on another date last night, so we went out to see the movie Moon (if you don’t mind spoilers, see the Wikipedia entry.). All the reviews were right: it was a very good movie. Actor Sam Rockwell had a huge burden, as he is the sole actor on screen for almost the entire film. He pulls it off, though.
We left the theater in time to head downtown to hear Zydecopious play at The Big Easy. We stayed out dancing past 1AM. Haven’t done that in a while!
Seeing the Light: touring Wilson’s municipal Internet system
I was invited today to tour the City of Wilson’s Greenlight municipal Internet system, so I took the day off and jumped at the chance. I’d helped win the latest battle against the anti-municipal broadband bill and the folks at the City of Wilson wanted to offer a tour to show their appreciation.
I arrived a little after 10 and met Brian Bowman, Public Affairs Manager with the city. He took me around the office and introduced me to other staffers (as a “famous blogger”…ha!) before giving me a ride out to the Greenlight offices in the city’s maintenance services building.
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Big day for a day off
I had a big day today for it being a day off. I started the day with a trip to Wilson to take a tour of the city’s municipal Internet system. After lunch in Wilson, I headed back to Raleigh to meet a friend for coffee and a discussion of local politics. Then I headed home to have dinner with the family before I left again for the Raleigh CAC meeting.
That’s a pretty busy day off, if I do say so myself!
Happy Independence Day
Happy Independence Day to all of my fellow Americans. Let us take time to reflect on where our country started and where we would like to go.
Gone forth for Fourth
We’re spending day three at Kelly’s parents’ home for the Fourth of July weekend. It’s been a fun one, with lots of bike riding (we brought them with us), bubble blowing, and just having fun. Our bike rack served us well in getting the family’s bikes to Virginia, with the kids’ bikes packed in the back of the van. Even Rocket was comfortable in the back of the van, with the seat down so he could actually see out the window. Never heard him actually wag his tail while in the van before.
The bubble blowing was the biggest hit, though. Kelly’s mom Linda found a recipe for “bubble juice” and made a big bucket of it. We’ve used sticks with straps on them to create enormous bubbles – some 3 feet wide by 20 feet long! It’s been so much fun that we’re going to get our own bubble kit when we get back home!
Today we’re heading to a friend’s stable so the kids can ride the horses. Then it’s off to the pool to cool off. The Virginia weather’s been markedly cooler than North Carolina’s but a swim will be just as welcome this afternoon!