We got back from the balloon launches a little after 8 PM. The kids had a great time seeing the launch process. I wish we could’ve stayed for the recovery but bedtimes beckoned.
And mine is beckoning, too. I think I’ll be spending some time tomorrow night writing up these two wonderful events. And there’s yet another weekend day left.
I just got back from my ridealong. Boy, was it exciting! I actually got to witness some Cops-level stuff, not just your routine expired-tags traffic stop. I definitely want to do it again sometime!
More details tomorrow. For now, a snack and bed. Got a balloon to help launch tomorrow, y’know.
I was trying to finish up work here when I noticed the near-constant stream of traffic outside my office window had come to a halt. In its place are a number of tents, tables, and chairs.
Off to New Raleigh for the answer: today is the first of a downtown music event called the Fourth Friday Downtown Jams.
Sez New Raleigh:
If you’re trying to have a post-work week beverage in the street while checking out some early evening music–then definitely step over to Hargett Street on Friday, July 25th. This blues jam block party will be the first in a new monthly Fourth Friday event featuring Jazz, Blues, Reggae, and Afrobeat jams in downtown Raleigh
If I wasn’t playing Barney Fife tonight I might want to go. There doesn’t seem to be any website showing who’s organizing this (Raleigh Times is my guess) and the New Raleigh site is borked at the moment (note to New Raleigh: check out Apache), but take my word for it: this looks like it’ll be fun.
If the balloon launch wasn’t enough to look forward to this weekend, I’m also going for a ridealong with the Raleigh Police tonight. This is something I’ve wanted to do since my Garner Citizen’s Police Academy class six years ago.
It should provide some substantial blogging fodder.
No, I’m not going up in a hot-air balloon this weekend, but I’m going to be there at the launch of two balloons Saturday evening. Local balloonist Jonathan Trappe, famous for his “Chairway to Heaven” flight last month, will be launching his one-man hot air balloon Saturday evening, weather permitting. Jonathan’s ballooning pal will be launching his traditional gondola hot-air balloon at the same time.
This will be my first exposure to hot-air ballooning and I’m really excited about it. If you’ve got no plans Saturday evening, drop a comment here (or email me) and I’ll tell you how to get to our meeting place in North Raleigh. While you won’t get to ride, it should be fun just to watch the launch.
Hmm. Already I’m wondering what it might take to make this a new hobby. Must … resist … new …. hobby …
To paraphrase Bono, this song is f’in brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
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Walk Away
Franz Ferdinand
I swapped my innocence for pride
Crushed the end within my stride
Said I’m strong now I know that I’m a leaver
I love the sound of you walking away, you walking away
Mascara bleeds a blackened tear, oh
And I am cold, yes, I’m cold
But not as cold as you are
I love the sound of you walking away, you walking away
I love the sound of you walking away, walking away, hey hey
Why don’t you walk away?
Why don’t you walk away?
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Randy Pausch, the Carnagie-Mellon computer scientist with terminal cancer whose “Last Lecture” video lit up the Internet last year, has lost his battle with cancer. He was 47 years old.
His “Last Lecture” video was inspiring, and touching. I remember thinking this healthy-looking, optimistic guy couldn’t possibly be dying, but sadly I was proven wrong. He must have been an amazing professor and a wonderful dad and husband.
Go watch his Last Lecture if you haven’t seen it already, and also see his surprise commencement speech in May. And then go hug your loved ones.
Happy Friday, everyone!!!!!1!!1!!eleven!!one!!!
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The George W Bush Presidential Library is now in the planning stages. The Library will include:
The Hurricane Katrina Room, which is still under construction.
The Alberto Gonzales Room, where you won’t be able to remember anything.
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I took a lunchtime walk down Fayetteville Street to see how ol’ F-street is shaping up. At the south end (the plaza end), workers have removed the 7-foot fencing that blocked the view of Memorial Hall while work on the Marriott was being completed.
I stood there marveling at the view. For the first time ever, I could stand right in the middle of Fayetteville Street and enjoy views of both Memorial Auditorium and the State Capitol.
What a great idea it was to rip out that dilapidated, view-blocking cement monster of a civic center!
I recently switched out our shower head for a low-flow version that spits out 30% less water. Knowing I was saving water satisfied my urge to go green … until I realized that the new shower head doesn’t pour water out in individual streams like the old one but instead sprays it – like an aerosol.
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