We lost power last night right after my last post. Tree branches wandered into the power lines on Glascock Street near Norris. I used the opportunity to visit neighbors.
Summertime power outages create impromptu block parties. I talked to more neighbors in 30 minutes than I could’ve in a year. They’re great people, too.
The power returned after 90 minutes but the friendships continue.
At the State Capitol during today’s Bugfest festival some kids were clambering up the war memorial to get a better look at one of the exhibits. A dour, overweight man walked up to the monument and commanded them to come down.
“Its disrespectful,” he scolded as the kids meekly climbed down.
As I thought about the men and women the monument was honoring, I knew the man had it wrong. These brave souls wouldn’t mind kids playing on the monument. In fact, they would love to watch them play. So many of them were just kids themselves when they died, and so many left their own kids without a father or mother that the last thing they would want is for someone to take a kid’s fun away. And what could make a better monument to peace than a child’s laughter?
I paused a moment for those fellow veterans, sadly shook my head, and then chased my cackling, gleeful children for all it was worth.
Yer So Bad
Tom Petty
(YouTube)
My sister got lucky, married a yuppie
Took him for all he was worth
Now shes a swinger dating a singer
I can decide which is worse
But not me, baby
I’ve got you to save me
Aw, yer so bad
Best thing Ive ever had
In a world gone mad
Yer so bad
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I cast my first vote as a member of the Parks board last night, approving the placement of Jim Gallucci’s Immigrant Gate sculpture at Millbrook Exchange Park. It was a no-brainer vote and a unanimous one, too. If only all my votes were that easy.
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Check out this Youtube video which takes apart McCain’s misleading and deceitful campaign commercials.
And to think I once respected John McCain. What was I thinking?
This afternoon I attend my first Parks, Recreation, and Greenways Advisory Board (PRGAB) meeting as a board member. I’ve already dug int my agenda packet and am mulling my role. There are a handful of committees that I can choose from to get even more involved, such as the Parks committee, Greenways committee, and the Mordecai House committee, for starters. I don’t know how I want to divide my time but I’ll figure it out.
If any Raleighites want to attend the meeting, you’re welcome to do so as they’re public meetings. You can join me at 5:30 at the Jaycees Park Module Building, 2405 Wade Avenue. Or better yet give me a ride, as I’m otherwise taking the bus.
Well, she sure is purdy.
Yesterday’s cold front brought steady rain, cooler temperatures, and a reminder that fall is right around the corner. On yesterday’s bike ride home I found myself chasing the warm bus exhaust I usually avoid. I’m also shivering at my desk as the building AC cools the office down to 71 degrees.
I’ve still got 300+ gallons of rainwater, too, letting the recent rain go without collection. Its hard to feel superior about collecting rainwater when Falls Lake is four feet above normal, the drought is officially over, and the city has relaxed watering schedules. Kelly says the car is getting quite muddy during her business trip to the coast so we can use the water for washing cars!
On a similar note, I popped a bucket underneath our air conditioning’s condensation drain pipe Saturday afternoon and a day later it was full of 5 gallons of crystal-clear water! I toyed with the idea putting a faucet on that pipe before realizing what a dumb idea it is! But I’d like to make use of the water somehow. Maybe I’ll attach a soaker hose to it and use it in my garden. The water trickles out at the perfect rate for watering our tomato plants!
I was looking for some hints on an issue I’m having with the company wireless access point. Googling, as it often does, turned up something else useful: a wireless-savvy geek has figured out how to host multiple wireless networks on his WRT54G.
Why is this useful? Say you’re a giving guy, you know you have more bandwidth than you typically use, and want to make that extra bandwidth available to the public while not exposing your internal network. OpenWRT and a Linksys WRT54G can do this.
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Somsak Saeku, the defendant in my jury duty case, was convicted last week of wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen goods.
I can’t say I’m surprised: he was acting as his own attorney and while I didn’t hear the evidence, from what I read in the news there was a lot of it. Had I been on the jury I think I would’ve found it very easy to render a verdict.
