Ignoring the have-nots in a digital society

Want to use a computer? Take a number

We took the kids to the Cameron Village library last Sunday and loaded up on the kids’ books. As I usually do (being the curious sort) I took note of the crowd making use of the library’s computers. I always like to see what kind of folks are depending on the library’s computers. Like many of my visits there, I found a crowd at the computers. There wasn’t even a single workstation available.

As my kids were checking out their books, I listened as a mom and her 10-year-old son pleaded with the librarian to get a computer. I guessed that he had a school assignment he needed to complete.

“What if they’re not doing anything important – playing games or something?” the mom asked. “Could they give it up then?”

The librarian shook her head. “As long as they’ve got time left on their reservation, they can use it however they like. Now, if they get up and walk away, leaving it unattended, then you could step up and use it.”
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Kids and coaches

I had a up-and-down day yesterday. I was feeling bummed about politics and ran into snafus during my work day that dragged me down. All that changed, though, after 5 PM when I took our kids to Hallie’s soccer practice.

After dropping Hallie off at the practice field, Travis and I went over to the basketball court, where I worked with him on shooting. While we were there, a half-dozen boys Travis’s age wandered up and asked if they could join in. These were immigrant kids, poor and mostly Hispanic, and they looked like they could really use a break. After checking with Travis to see how he felt about it, I agreed to let them join in. I then taught them the game of Pig and we all spent the next hour playing it.
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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.
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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.
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Virgin Mobile’s Beyond Talk plans

This is going to be my next cell phone plan. I’ve been mostly happy with my plain-Jane Net 10 service but I’ve been growing increasingly frustrated by Net 10’s lack of a bona fide smart phone. With my crazy schedule it would be nice to have an easy way to keep my calendar with me. Also, as I travel more with my job it becomes more important that I have a WiFi and 3G-enabled phone to keep me occupied in the airports.

Virgin Mobile’s $40-a-month plan for unlimited network and 1200 minutes a month will fit me just fine. With the LG Optimus V phone that runs Android, I’ll have all I need.

* 3G Nationwide Coverage You Can Count On

* All Taxes & Fees Included, except those charged at the point of purchase

* Pay with Credit, Debit or PayPal for worry free monthly service

* Buy Top-Up cards to pay with cash

via Cell Phone Plans – Pay As You Go and Prepaid | Virgin Mobile.

At The Abyss

I actually did something rare for me last week: I finished a book! The one is At The Abyss: An Insider’s History of the Cold War by Thomas C. Reed and published in 2004. It’s a book filled with Cold War incidents, many of which brought little attention when they occurred but looking back on them seem rather frightening. One of the incidents Reed recalled was the brilliant sabotage of a Soviet gas pipeline in the early 80s that I’d read about before (see: The Farewell Dossier).

Reed helped design nuclear weapons earlier in his career and a narrative runs through his book about the dangers of nuclear weapons. The most frightening parts detail the shocking lack of security that surrounded these ominous weapons during some of mankind’s biggest crises. We are all very, very, lucky to be here now.
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Drescher: How a blogger helped us tell a story

I got an unexpected shout-out from N&O executive editor John Drescher today about my work with the East CAC, quoted by Fiona Morgan in her New America report. We had actually all gotten together back in October after Fiona’s report was released.

I had no idea I would be the subject of Drescher’s column today, but I appreciate the shout-out. I hope other groups will be inspired to spread the word through technology!

The question to Mayor Charles Meeker came from a woman who lives in East Raleigh’s Lockwood neighborhood with her husband and two young children.

She wanted to know about the future of Powell Elementary, the school closest to her home.

Meeker harshly criticized the majority of the Wake school board. He said they were outsiders who didn’t share our values and were trying to isolate the affluent from others in separate schools.

Meeker’s comments last summer, which prompted weeks of community debate, were reported on the front page of The News & Observer. But they likely would not have received news coverage if it had not been for Mark Turner, president of the East Citizens Advisory Council, one of 18 such groups across Raleigh.

Turner, a tech professional and blogger, uses streaming video to broadcast his meetings online, where they are archived for anyone to see, including reporters.

Turner’s efforts show how citizens can help inform a community. His story was told by Fiona Morgan in a report on the availability of information in the Triangle.

via Drescher: How a blogger helped us tell a story – Drescher – NewsObserver.com.

Red flag rules poorly enforced

We went camping Saturday night at Falls Lake’s Rollingview campground. I’d checked the forecast before we went and saw that the dry air and wind conditions were likely to result in a ban on campfires at the park. Sure enough, when we arrived the winds were whipping around so much that the tent was blowing away before I could assemble it.

After the family and I put our tents together, our friends arrived and mentioned seeing a small sign at the entrance about the fire ban. I was surprised that we hadn’t seen a sign when we arrived: it must have been a small sign. Later, we saw an 8×10″ sign taped to the wall of the restroom building and it wasn’t very prominent. It said “Red Flag Warning: no fires except charcoal or gas.” The place it was posted was right in the middle of the building, though the restroom doors were on either end.
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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.
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