About those solar panels

Raleigh's going solar

I spent some time Friday at a dedication ceremony for the City of Raleigh Parks Department’s new greenhouse. One might think that a greenhouse wouldn’t be exciting but this is no ordinary greenhouse. It’s got energy-efficient features, it’s fully automated, and for the first time it provides the City the ability to grow any type of plant during any season. Raleigh’s parks, streets, and highways look so sharp because of the work of the Parks and Recreation Department’s horticulture and landscaping teams, who keep Raleigh looking beautiful through the careful stewardship of our trees, plants, and flowers.
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Un-CERT-ain future

Remember that great, free, emergency training I received earlier this summer? It’s now an endangered species. The Raleigh-Wake CERT team is imploding, with the organization’s officers resigning left and right due to lack of funding. It’s a real shame for a program that could provide so much good in the event of a disaster (and did provide so much good in my neighborhood following the April 16th tornado).

From an announcement on their website:

Our organization is all-volunteer and has been sponsored by Raleigh Department of Emergency Management. Unfortunately, we have not had access to ANY funds for about a year now and our volunteers have provided all materials at their own expense. In addition, we were informed recently that our sponsor at Raleigh EM is now providing advisory support only.

Consequently, the President, Secretary/PIO, and Logistics officer of Raleigh-Wake CERT have resigned and as of September 26, 2011, the only standing officer will be the Planning Section Chief.

I’m trying to get some time together with Fin Cert, RWCERT’s former PIO, to find out what happened and see if I can help the org get back on its feet.

Recalibrating

Just got politely turned down for what would’ve been a great position. Now I’m wondering if I’m going about it all wrong.

Ultimately, I want nothing less than to change the world for the better. It’s a pretty high bar, true, but I want to join a team that aims equally high and is equally passionate about that goal. I’m tired of making money for money’s sake. Money’s nice, but that’s not what motivates me. I want to know at the end of each day that I’m making a positive difference for someone. I want to work with with passionate people. I want to leave a lasting impression. This isn’t the kind of role one finds on the job boards.

It’s time to reevaluate my approach and plot a new course for the place I want to be.

Neutrino particle traveling faster than light?

Every now and then, a scientific discovery delivers to us smug mortals a healthy kick in the head: reminding us that for all our bravado we still don’t know squat about how the universe really works!

Neutrino particle traveling faster than light? Two ways it could rewrite physics.

European scientists are shocked by an experiment that showed neutrino particles moving faster than light. The result, if confirmed, could challenge Einstein’s signature theory on relativity or point to a universe of more than four dimensions.

via Neutrino particle traveling faster than light? Two ways it could rewrite physics. – CSMonitor.com.

Smartphone speed-detecting apps

I was walking the kids to school the other morning when I saw a few cars driving faster than they should’ve been driving through the school zone. It made me wonder if anyone has written a smartphone app that can calculate the speed at which a car is traveling via the smartphone’s video camera.

Another app I thought would be useful (or not) is an app which uses the internal gyros, accelerometers, and/or GPS to detect when the phone is in a moving vehicle. It could then either activate “car mode” or, to become more restrictive: locking the keypad so that texting could not be done while driving.

The latter app would’ve been useful had it been on the phone of a driver in front of me on Wade Avenue this morning!

R.E.M. calls it quits

R.E.M. called it quits today after a three-decade run as a band. The band had this statement on their website:

“To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.” R.E.M.

In their own words: The guys share their thoughts on why now.
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Raleigh #1 Best City in Businessweek.com ranking

Businessweek.com ranked Raleigh the #1 Best City in America. It’s just one more in a long list of accolades for my city.

I had to laugh when the article referenced Raleigh’s “attractive pedestrian mall” downtown, siting an obviously outdated city bio in Frommer’s. We got rid of that concrete abomination back in 2006.

Businessweek.com spent months working with data that would help us to identify the best cities in the U.S. We looked at a range of positive metrics around quality of life, counted up restaurants, evaluated school scores, and considered the number of colleges and pro sports teams. All these factors and more add up to a city that would seem to offer it all. When we began the process we had no idea which cities would come out on top. The winner? Raleigh, N.C.

via Which Is America’s Best City? – Businessweek.com.

Update 5:21 PM: Businessweek.com has since removed the reference to Raleigh’s defunct pedestrian mall. Now the only remaining questions are where are the 51 museums, 867 restaurants, and 110 bars cited in the story? Can anyone name them all? I think those stats might apply to a wider area than just Raleigh, though I’d be surprised if even the entire Triangle had 867 restaurants.

St. Aug’s stadium

This afternoon, the Raleigh City Council unanimously approved St. Augustine’s College’s special use permit for a 2,500 seat stadium. While some neighbors continued to oppose the stadium, I had concluded that the conditions the school was applying to the permit mitigated most of the impact the stadium would have on the community. My home is very near the main entrance to the parking area, so I am one of those who would be most affected by traffic and parking.

One thing that bothered me (and still does) is the way school president Dr. Suber played the victim card in her mailing to supporters. There’s no way a 144-year-old college could possibly be bullied by the neighbors, yet she made it sound that way in her appeal for support:
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Eliza Greenough


Congratulations to my friends Erin and Scott Greenough on the birth of their beautiful daughter, Eliza!