ReadWrite – Why Are Dead People Liking Stuff On Facebook?


I had thought that there would be no more news on the Mitt Romney Facebook hacking phenomena. Turns out I was wrong. ReadWrite’s Bernard Meisler shows ths fake likes are still happening on Facebook:

Last month, while wasting a few moments on Facebook, my pal Brendan O’Malley was surprised to see that his old friend Alex Gomez had “liked” Discover. This was surprising not only because Alex hated mega-corporations but even more so because Alex had passed away six months earlier.

The Facebook “like” is dated Nov. 1, which is strange since Alex “passed [away] around March 26 or March 27,” O’Malley told me. Worse, O’Malley says the like was “quite offensive” since his friend “hated corporate bullshit.”

via ReadWrite – Why Are Dead People Liking Stuff On Facebook?.

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.

Raleigh to begin planning Dix park

I was quoted in Saturday’s Midtown Raleigh News about the planning process beginning for Dix Park.

“We’re going to see design talent from all across the country competing for this opportunity,” said Mark Turner, chairman of the city’s parks and greenways board. “You’ve got this land next to a large city. It’s going to attract attention.”

Turner said he would not rule out any possibilities, including an extension of Pullen Park or a spur that would allow the Pullen Park miniature train ride to cross Western Boulevard and enter the Dix campus.

“It’s the public’s park, and the public should get to decide,” Turner said.

While I think the idea of connecting Pullen and Dix is intriguing, logistically it would be difficult to do. I guess at the time I was interviewed I had gotten caught up in the euphoria!

via Raleigh to begin planning Dix park – Raleigh – MidtownRaleighNews.com.

Suddenly buried in gadgets

Well, that didn’t last long. I was all set to eschew getting more stuff when local PC manufacturer Lenovo had its public warehouse sale on Saturday. I wound up buying a new laptop and an IdeaPad K1 tablet. Much of my Copious Free Time has been spent getting these set up, leaving me less time for blogging. I hope to be able to post more starting this evening.

In my defense, this is the first brand-new laptop I’ve ever bought. This explains why there are so many non-working old laptops lying around the house. That, and I’m a packrat and a geek!

The Giving Christmas


My family has been hounding me to give them my wish list for Christmas gifts and, as usual, I’ve been slow at responding. Many years I really can’t think of anything I need so I find it tough to come up with something.

This year I’m doing something different: I’m going giftless. I don’t want even one present. Instead, I want those who wish to get me a gift to donate their money to the charity of their choice. I would like to receive a Christmas card signed by my giver that includes a brief explanation of why this charity is important to him or her.

Let’s face it: I’m a failure as a consumer. I have no interest in collecting things. I’ve got a great family, great friends, great job, great community, and so much else. I’ve been incredibly blessed in life. What more could I ask for?

It’s not the stuff that makes me happy. Helping others makes me happy. So instead of opening a gift of something I really don’t need, I look forward to being delightfully surprised with the choices my family and friends have made towards helping someone else.

Hanging up my RCAC badge

Now I’m the Former RCAC Chair


As I said I would do last month, tonight I officially hung up my RCAC Chairperson badge. Hard to believe a year has gone by. I will miss the camaraderie of my fellow citizen leaders and all that we accomplished. It’s been a true honor to be a part of Raleigh’s Citizens Advisory Councils for the past four years. While this evening I’ve stepped down, I’ll never be too far away.

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.

State, Raleigh agree on Dix Park lease

N.C. Council of State discusses Dix Park lease


What a day it’s been! I had some time this morning to attend this morning’s Council of State session where the lease of the Dix property was on the agenda. It was a hot, crowded room – I was crammed into the very last seat in the corner – but it was so worth it to be there for that historic moment when the Council voted 7-2 with one abstention to approve the lease.

I went back to work after this but tuned into today’s Council session to hear how it would deal with the lease. After about a 30 minute closed session, the council emerged to vote 7-1 to accept the lease. Councilor John Odom was the lone no vote, saying later that he wasn’t against the park but hasn’t had time to review the lease.

I had my monthly Parks board chair/vice-chair meeting today and met with Parks Director Diane Sauer. Needless to say, she was beaming from ear to ear! So were other Parks staff members. It’s been a long journey to get to this point and to have it suddenly a reality is truly surreal.
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Dix Park press conference

Being Raleigh’s Parks board chair, I have a great interest in making Dix Campus into a park. This morning I learned of an afternoon news conference by Dix Visionaries and wrote my friend Bill Padgett to get the details so I could attend.

The presser was on the Dix campus and I arrived in a suit. A gaggle of press were there setting up and I began to chat with the assembled dignitaries. There were big names there: Jim Goodmon, Anne Goodnight, Greg Poole, Bill Padgett, Jay Spain, Susan Bowers. I was there just a supporter but these folks had done a lot of work to get where we are today.
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Cheap Thoughts: Fold-up Christmas tree

The Norbert Thiemann fold-up Christmas tree


The family spent a few hours setting up our Christmas tree yesterday. It took a lot of time, from sorting out the parts (it’s artificial) to stringing the lights to hanging ornaments. It got me thinking how nice it would be to have a tree that folded up like an upside-down umbrella. I mean, if you’re going for an artificial tree, might as well add convenience, right?

A quick search on The Google tells me some enterprising chap patented just what I was thinking back in 1974. Norbert Thiemann came up with a collapsible Christmas tree and was granted U.S. patent 3846213. I’m not aware of Mr. Thiemann’s invention actually being used anywhere.
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