Follow-Up

There are 521 posts filed in Follow-Up (this is page 39 of 53).

Raleigh Tornado, Part II

My night did not last long, though. It was too quiet and my urge to put my neighborhood back to right was too strong. I reluctantly left my bed and wandered through a dark home, wondering what I would do without any electricity or daylight.

I ate a breakfast of two cold mini-bagels and cream cheese, with an orange. The fridge temperature was about 50 degrees but I didn’t feel brave enough to get the other items from it. I picked up the paper from the driveway and mulled what to do next. A few neighbors stopped to chat after the sun had come up and we traded stories and tips. I got word that our power would be out for another three days. Turning down a “coffee run” offer, I gathered my gloves and new wheelbarrow and made a decision to go back to Longview to help clear trees.
Continue reading →

Satellite fun, part two

Motor mount


After I had my satellite pole properly set, it was time to aim the dish. While I had little trouble finding a satellite earlier when I simply stuck the dish on the pole and fiddled a bit, I found it much more difficult to make things work when I added the mount motor. That’s because the motor adds its own angle to the mix, so you have two dials to set, not just one. When you couple that with an instruction manual often written with poor English it becomes an even greater challenge.

I mounted the motor to the pole, attached the dish to it, and began fiddling. And fiddling. And fiddling some more. I just couldn’t get the receiver to work. The motor needed to be pointed directly south and I worked a long time to get it correct. It didn’t help that I had my TV and receiver all the way inside while I worked. Though I had a “satellite beeper” device which makes a tone when it detects a satellite, I couldn’t get the receiver to do what I wanted.
Continue reading →

Google still looking to spread Google Fiber

It looks like all hope is not lost on Google Fiber coming to Raleigh (or Durham, or any of the other dozens of NC cities hoping to get it). Tanner points to this update from the announcement on Google’s blog:

Update 4:15PM: We’ve heard from some communities that they’re disappointed not to have been selected for our initial build. So just to reiterate what I’ve said many times in interviews: we’re so thrilled by the interest we’ve generated—today is the start, not the end the project. And over the coming months, we’ll be talking to other interested cities about the possibility of us bringing ultra high-speed broadband to their communities.

Perhaps there’s hope for high-speed Internet in North Carolina after all?

Google Fiber picks Kansas

I was sorry to hear that Google passed on North Carolina for its Google Fiber project. Kansas City, Kansas won out.

I hope it had nothing to do with the animosity our state’s current leadership has shown towards high-speed broadband, but you never know.

After a careful review, today we’re very happy to announce that we will build our ultra high-speed network in Kansas City, Kansas. We’ve signed a development agreement with the city, and we’ll be working closely with local organizations, businesses and universities to bring a next-generation web experience to the community.

via Official Google Blog.

Update 9:26 PM: All hope may not be lost for NC after all.

Parks getting more attention

I was happy to see that a tenacious N&O reporter, Matt Garfield, went the distance in our recent 4-hour Parks and Rec Board meeting. The quote he printed came near the end of that way-too-long meeting.

I wrote before of my disappointment with how the news media covers parks issues. The coverage of Thursday’s meeting is a big improvement and hopefully part of a larger trend to better cover the parks that the people of Raleigh love.

Gerry’s photo, uncropped

Mandy and Gerry at Kelly's 40th birthday dinner

The picture I just posted of Gerry has been a popular one amongst his family and friends. I don’t know how many people know that it was actually cropped from a larger picture taken at Kelly’s 40th birthday dinner. We had just finished a great meal at 18 Seaboard when I looked around and saw everyone was suddenly fiddling with their smartphones. What do you expect when a bunch of geeks get together?

Gerry got as big a kick out of this as I did and as you can see here, Mandy was being teased about it, too!

So … now you know the rest of the story!

A year without Gerry

Gerry Reid

Gerry Reid

Tomorrow marks the anniversary of a dark day for me. One year ago tomorrow, my close friend Gerry Reid was fatally injured in a horrific wreck on I-40. Gerry was like a brother to me and his sudden death shook me to the core.

I remember telling my brother, Jeff, and my friend, Scott, in a moment of misplaced optimism outside of the Duke ER, that one day we would look back on this and laugh. Well, that didn’t pan out. For months afterward, I would collapse into sobbing fits at the thought of my friend. Other times, thoughts of him would frequently pop into my mind during the day. “I wonder what Gerry would think of this” was always a popular saying among his friends. That didn’t change with his death.
Continue reading →

Public personas

A few weeks ago I was running an errand around town when I happened to spot graffiti on a telephone pole. As I’ve done perhaps a hundred times, I whipped out my phone and dialed Raleigh’s Graffiti Hotline. After giving my name and the graffiti location, we got into an impromptu conversation.

“Hi Mark, this is Elaine. It’s been a while since we’ve talked.” I’ve often said half-jokingly that I’m on a first-name basis with the Graffiti Hotline staff but it’s becoming less of a joke. “How are you doing?” she asked. “Everything all right? Your job going well?”

“Oh, sure,” I answered. “I work from home now and love my job.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Elaine said. “I remember you had lost your job and I wondered how you were doing.”

I laughed, thanked her for her concern, and said goodbye. Afterward, though, I marveled at how Elaine had remembered that I’d lost my job. It was over two years ago but I obviously had mentioned it to her and it obviously had made an impression. It blew me away that someone I’ve never even met would care about that – about me and my welfare.
Continue reading →

Chris Colmer a CTE victim?

Since I began wondering about the ultimate fate of former NCSU football player Chris Colmer, I have discovered that I’ve not been alone. Many people have found this blog through Internet searches, looking for details about Chris’s death. A good number of these searches have included the keyword “suicide.”

First off, let me emphatically state that don’t know for sure the details of Chris’s death. I don’t know if he took his own life or it was a simple car wreck as others have stated. I only have the sketchiest of details and no communication with his family, so I only speak for myself here – this is my opinion only. Hell, I’m not even sure why I’m drawn to Chris’s death. I didn’t know him and I’m not the biggest football fan, either. Why this intrigues me is as much a mystery to me as it probably is to you.
Continue reading →