Neighborhood College update

I’ve been slack keeping y’all in the loop on the Raleigh Neighborhood College classes I’ve been taking. In a word, this program is terrific! I thought I knew my way around the city services, having been here for so long, but the resources available are truly impressive.

The class on communications and emergency services was memorable. We got a chance to tour the 911 center: a place I toured eight years prior as part of Garner’s police citizen’s academy. It didn’t seem to have changed too much, though I did notice the addition of multiple large, flat-panel TVs along the walls. Most of them were tuned to traffic cameras, though a few were tuned to the NCAA basketball tournament.

Hey, no sweat, as long as the phones aren’t ringing. And that’s one thing that wasn’t happening: there were few if any calls. I heard one dispatcher remark to another one “wouldn’t you know it. We get guests and there’s nothing going on.” Seems that people don’t hurt themselves or others when they’re glued to their televisions.
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Strange orb in the sky

I awoke to see a strange orb hanging in the eastern sky. It shone brightly and cast shadows all around our new neighborhood. It took me a while but I soon recognized it.

Hello, sun. Nice to see you after two weeks of clouds and rain. Now we get to see what our new home looks like in sunshine.

Snippy Sheehan

N&O columnist Ruth “I Love Jessie Taliaferro” Sheehan gets snippy with councilman Rodger Koopman in today’s column. The man must be doing something right. Perhaps she pines for the days of unresponsive, condescending council representation deep in the pocket of Big Real Estate.

I sure don’t. While I think the goals of the disposal ban were laudable, the people have spoken. Rodger is brave enough to admit he was wrong, and he listens to his constituents. Glory!

Wine and cheese redux

I know the Carolina fan who reads the blog won’t be happy, but its gotta be said. While once I thought they were getting better, Carolina fans are still very much the “wine and cheese” crowd that Sam Cassell labeled them. Witness the response when the men’s basketball team returns to Chapel Hill Sunday afternoon following their Final Four loss to Kansas. News reports said “dozens” of UNC fans were there to greet the team as it returned home.

Dozens? UNC is the second-largest university in the state and was one game away from playing for the national championship and mere “dozens” of UNC fans were there to thank their team?

Only on the bandwagon when the team is winning. Pathetic. The river of Carolina fandom is miles wide and an inch deep.

Falls Lake is full again!

I got the news Saturday that Falls Lake is now full again. In fact, its 1/10th of a foot above normal at 251.6 feet. The non-stop rain we got last week really pushed us over the top. Officials expect even more rain to trickle in and raise the level even further. We’ve sure come a long way from the Christmas Day reading ten feet lower than that.

Now we’re going back to the more lenient Stage 1 restrictions. It remains to be seen whether we’ve learned anything. Rampant development will continue again unabated and we’ll wind up facing the same dilemma again within three years. You watch.

Yet another busy weekend

After a busy week at work, I spent another busy weekend Gettin’ ‘Er Done at home. More unpacking Friday evening, and some time spent on top of a ladder cleaning out the first of our many clogged gutters.

Saturday I spent another 2 hours at the Hobhouse house packing up belongings in the garage. I spent the rest of the day unpacking that load and distributing it around the new home before getting ready for dinner. Satuday evening I joined the rest of the family for a surprise retirement party for my mom. We enjoyed a fun dinner at 18 Seaboard before returning back to our home to take a quick peek at the Kansas-UNC NCAA Final Four game.
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Cheap Thoughts: Express buttons

Why do some microwave ovens have “express” buttons to automatically preset the oven’s cook time? Don’t they already cook fast enough?

Are there really people who say, “oh, if I could just cook this popcorn three seconds faster, all will be well?”