Neuse Radio almost here

I’ve been perfecting my Neuse Radio streaming station lately and I’ve almost gotten it to the point where I can let the world listen.

It’s running on the open-source Rivendell radio automation suite, patched through the open-source JACK audio server, encoded with the open-source DarkIce encoder, streamed with the open-source Icecast2 server, and hosted on my CentOS-based VPS in Ashburn, Virginia.

It’s so automated that I don’t have to do anything to keep the music flowing. If I want I can add some chatter (called voice-tracking in the industry parlance) between songs to give it a live sound, but I tend to let the music run without interruption.
Continue reading →

iRP Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs


Unless you were under a rock somewhere, you learned the news that first shot through the wired world about 12 hours ago: Steve Jobs, the iconic Apple CEO, died yesterday. Jobs was quite an individual. Not only did he shape the company that’s synonymous with his name but he put his mark on all of Silicon Valley as well. It’s hard to imagine a Silicon Valley without Steve Jobs, actually.

I played this clip for the kids of Jobs comparing a computer to a “bicycle for our minds” and I couldn’t help staring at Jobs as he spoke. In his 20s at the time, Jobs is every bit like a big, excited kid. Those eyes burn fiercely with a childlike curiosity, like he’s hopped aboard a rocket that will soon be blasting off to points unknown.
Continue reading →

Press released

In my inbox today was a request from the City of Raleigh’s public affairs department for my resume and bio. The city is apparently working up a press release about my becoming chair of the city’s Parks board and my fellow boardmember Kimberly Siran becoming vice-chair.

Of course, it would have to take a really, really slow news day for this to get into print anywhere. I’m talking like double-dog slow. Even so, it’s pretty novel for me to be the subject of a press release.

At least one news source will be covering it: my blog! Once it’s released I’ll post a copy!

St. Aug candidate forum

I attended a candidate forum at St. Aug Monday where two mayoral candidates and all the District C candidates were addressing the mostly-student audience. The audience was a bit reserved and the candidates mostly spoke of vague goals. In general, the forum seemed kind of dull.

Then Raquel Williams, one of four candidates for the District C seat, stood up and told her remarkable story. Ms. Williams is a smart, hard-working woman who has far more education than I’ll ever have and she earned it as a single parent of four children. Her personal narrative described her path through college, which was sidetracked four times by pregnancies.
Continue reading →

It begins at home

I was talking to a teacher who was helping the kids move safely through the school’s carpool line. While we both watched in amazement, an impatient father pulled into the line and his son hopped out, racing across two lanes of traffic to the sidewalk. The teacher marched right up to the car and rightfully berated the father for letting his kid run through the parking lot.

“It’s an emergency,” the man pleaded. “Just this one time. I promise I’ll never do it again.”
Continue reading →

Too Much Time On My Hands

This not-having-a-job stuff is getting old.

Too Much Time On My Hands
Styx

Yeah, I’m sittin’ on this bar stool talking like a damn fool
Got the twelve o’clock news blues
And I’ve given up hope for the afternoon soaps
And a bottle of cold brew
Is it any wonder I’m not crazy?
Is it any wonder I’m sane at all?
Continue reading →

Safe neighborhoods

Two weeks ago, one of my neighbors reported on our neighborhood email list that his girlfriend’s car had been broken into and her iPod stolen. While it’s a shame her $100 car window was broken to steal her $50 iPod, what caught my attention was what the responding officer said: that this was the first motor vehicle larceny our neighborhood has suffered in months. I’m flabbergasted we went nearly the whole summer without any car break-ins.
Continue reading →

Karaoke

Belting it out (with bonus Elvis sneer)

We went to a neighbor’s 80s-themed birthday party Saturday night which featured a karaoke machine. I’d been bragging about how it’s impossible to drag me away from a karaoke microphone, and that I used to work at a karaoke company, but this was different. I love to sing but I usually only do it when I’m alone. My previous karaoke performances have always been around family and good friends. Could I get up in front of total strangers and sing?
Continue reading →

New Raleigh bonds earn Triple A rating

There are some who want to make a big deal about Raleigh’s debt. In reality, Raleigh’s AAA rating has been earned over decades and provide our city with the cheapest financing for making our investments in our city.

It’s smart money.

Fitch Ratings has assigned its highest Triple A rating to two new general obligation bond packages, totalling $34.5 million, being sold by the City of Raleigh.

The agency also reaffirmed the AAA status of the city’s other $219 million in outstanding general obligation, or GO, bonds. The ratings outlook is stable.

via New Raleigh bonds earn Triple A rating from Fitch – Triangle Business Journal.

Magic Mushrooms Can Bring About Lasting Personality Changes

Interesting.

Taking magic mushrooms (psilocybin) can have a lasting change on the individual’s personality, making them more open about their feelings and the way they perceive things, researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA, wrote in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. The authors explained that those who had mystic experiences while on psilocybin were more likely to subsequently exhibit certain personality changes, making them more forthcoming about their feelings, becoming more focused on being creative, curious, and appreciative about artistic things.

via Magic Mushrooms Can Bring About Lasting Personality Changes.