City council appearance

I made an appearance at Raleigh City Council this afternoon for a Parks board item which requested the city apply for status as a Playful City USA. Before I got to the microphone, the Council told me they were all fine with the agreement and promptly voted unanimously to approve it. It took me longer to put on my suit than it did to present the item, which was a welcome change!

The Council also approved making recycling theft a crime. Only District B Councilor John Odom voted against it, which is surprising to me. I thought he would be all for protecting the city from having to raise its recycling fees, and willing to protect the privacy of his constituents by discouraging strangers rummaging through their recycling. I’m not sure his reasoning, since at one point during today’s debate he said he “wasn’t against” the ordinance yet voted against it anyway.

With multiple homes in my neighborhood losing their air conditioning units (one just two doors down) to metal-scavenging thieves, I feel we should discourage these jackasses from prowling the neighborhood. Hopefully this will help.

Update 7 March: In response to a comment on the N&O story about this, let me say again: this isn’t about homeless people, it’s about professional metal scavengers working neighborhoods. Homeless people don’t fill up their pickup trucks with cans (and work in teams, for that matter). Folks need to apply some common sense here.
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U.S. Stands Firm Against Drug Legalization, Biden Says

I’m hugely disappointed in Vice President Biden’s refusal to even consider decriminalizing some drugs. Latin America is being torn apart by drug trafficking violence and it’s entirely fueled by America’s outdated drug policies. It’s beyond time for “market alternatives.” Our Latin American brothers and sisters are pleading for help and our refusal to deal with the problem will doom them.

It’s in America’s best interests to have strong and safe neighbors. It’s time to have a serious conversation about our drug policy. I hope Mr. Biden reconsiders.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. delivered a blunt message on Monday to leaders in Latin America who are contemplating opening the door to the legalization of illicit drugs: The United States will not budge in its opposition. Mr. Biden, beginning a two-day trip to Mexico and Honduras ahead of a regional summit meeting next month, told reporters that he welcomed a debate over legalization, but then he knocked down the arguments in favor of it.

via U.S. Stands Firm Against Drug Legalization, Biden Says – NYTimes.com.

Mandatory 10-Digit Dialing Coming to 919 Region Mar. 31

Went to the city’s website today and found out that Raleigh will require 10-digit dialing by the end of the month. I didn’t hear anything about this until now.

The March 31st deadline doesn’t leave a lot of time for phone system vendors, alarm vendors, and others to update their equipment. This could be a trainwreck in the making.

The growing population in central North Carolina and addition of devices that require a phone number is exhausting the available numbers in the 919 area code. The North Carolina Utilities Commission has announced a new area code is coming to the 919 region. The 984 area code will overlay the 919 area code bringing 10-digit dialing to the region. You won’t have to change telephone numbers, just the way you dial in the 919 area code. The 984 area code will be assigned only for new telephone numbers within the area code.

Effective March 31, 2012, 10-digit dialing – the appropriate area code (919 or 984) + the seven-digit number – will be necessary for local and expanded local calls. It will not be necessary to dial a "1" or a "0" when dialing your local and expanded local calls. Local calling areas and rates will not be affected by this change.

via Mandatory 10-Digit Dialing Coming to 919 Region Mar. 31 – The Official City of Raleigh Portal.

The joys of blogging

A neighbor approached me after school yesterday and began the conversation with “I was reading your blog…” I can’t help but cringe when I hear this, thinking okay, what did I write that pissed someone off? Lately, though, the feedback is positive and I’m pleasantly surprised at how many folks agree with what I’ve written. In my neighbor’s case, she was excited to read about the Little Raleigh Radio project and wanted to find out more.

This morning I discovered the budding blog of an old friend of mine, Deidre Armstrong. Deidre and I were pals in our high school journalism class. Our lockers were also near each other’s. I even took her out on a date once, though we mutually agreed that staying friends was best.
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Revved up before bed

Hallie played her first basketball game in her tournament last night and again I was playing assistant coach. The tipoff was after 8:30 and it was neck and neck most of the game. Then, down by three at the start of the fourth quarter, coach Lamonica Germany put in all of our shooters in a gamble to even the score. Somehow we pulled within one before subs were called and our “first-team” came out.

Before we knew it we were facing a three point deficit again. There were three minutes left in the game when I looked down the bench and saw four of our five top players sobbing uncontrollably (hey, they’re 9 years old). There was a lot of spirit there and I could see how much they wanted to win.

A timeout was called with about two minutes left and our shooters got back in the game. True to form, they used that emotion to step up their games. Within seconds we scored two three pointers in a row to take the lead. With a minute left in the game we had a seven-point lead and cruised to eventual victory.

It was an emotional game, and a real wonder to watch the kids apply their willpower to pull out a win. As amazing as the win was, it was also a bit too exciting for that time of night. I didn’t get to bed until 11 and slept fitfully the whole night. Guess I was a little too pumped up!

Hallie’s team plays again this evening at 6 (and if things go well, again at 8 for the championship game). I don’t know if I can take much more of this!

All the Advertisers Who Are Sticking by Limbaugh

As the parent of a daughter I am furious with Rush Limbaugh’s slandering of women. Any company that still does business with him is on my official shit list (you listening, Netflix?)

Rush Limbaugh said he wasn’t motivated to apologize to Sandra Fluke by the number of companies pulling ads from his show. He insists he’s turned away “millions” in ads and he can always “replace” the ones who’ve left! But it made us wonder exactly who does advertise on Limbaugh’s show. We paid close attention to Limbaugh’s ad breaks on Monday’s broadcast on D.C.’s WMAL. Limbaugh’s sponsor base reveals a lot about how those angry white men of the 1990s are aging — they care a lot more about weight loss, teeth, and gold. So far seven advertisers have pledged to pull their ads: AOL, ProFlowers, Quicken Loans, Sleep Number beds, Sleep Train, Citrix Systems, LegalZoom. Here are all 31 advertisers we heard on Monday’s show.

via All the Advertisers Who Are Sticking by Limbaugh – Politics – The Atlantic Wire.

Update 6 March: Netflix says they don’t advertise on Limbaugh’s show. Good.

Santorum’s sad campaign stop

I happened to be flipping through satellite channels yesterday morning when I came upon a feed from one of Rick Santorum’s campaign stops. I’m not sure where he was yesterday, but the video showed a room full of white people, which was my first clue I was looking at a Republican campaign stop.

The event was in a poorly-lit hotel ballroom. The advance people took the microphone and tried repeatedly to get the crowd fired up by chanting “we choose RED! we choose RED!” The crowd, however, was having none of it and the weak cheer died out after three rounds.

I turned off the audio at that point because I’d seen all I needed to see. The room was lifeless and Santorum did nothing for the room’s energy when he finally took the stage. I haven’t been following the Republican primaries very closely but if this is how Rick Santorum fires up his supporters he’s in a lot of trouble.

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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Two years ago

Gerry Reid

Gerry Reid


It was two years ago today my close friend Gerry was severely injured in a wreck on I-40, passing away three days later. The days and weeks following the wreck were full of pain and tears though I managed to keep busy helping pull his friends together to celebrate his life.

Two weeks ago Kelly and I met with our financial advisor, who happens to have been a mutual friend of Gerry’s. Since Gerry’s death we trade hugs when we see each other, even two years later.

You gotta look out for those you love, and live life to the fullest. All we ever have is today.