Our Hometown Newspaper

So McClatchy now owns both major newspapers in the state: Raleigh’s News and Observer and the Charlotte Observer. Now that the dust has settled on the acquisition of the Observer, I’ve been curious to see what improvements subscribers would see.

I’m still waiting. N & O readers are led to believe that the world does not exist outside the borders of Wake, Durham, and Orange counties. There is scant news from the state’s largest city, Charlotte, nor much from any other significant living area. I’d be willing to bet that Observer readers are as in the dark about Raleigh as we are of them. I just don’t understand why a newspaper company with news rooms in both cities isn’t doing a better job sharing that news.

I’ve been living in North Carolina continously since 1992 and first lived here in 1983. Since then the state has grown enormously. Among other things, its become home to megabanks, lured professional sports teams (some of which are national champions), and picked up new seats in Congress as its population swells. Yet in spite of all this supposed progress the N & O still feels like a small-town newspaper. It still does a poor job covering this great state.

The quality isn’t stunning. I found it amusing to read a wire story last week about threats to John F. Kennedy’s life during his visit to Ireland. The N & O’s headline told of threats to “JKF.” Oooookay. Today’s front-page story told of -gasp- Wake Forest University not actually being in Wake Forest! Stop the presses! Throw in the paper’s bizarre obsession with influenza pandemics and you’ve got some top-rate journalism here.

If this is what passes for journalism around here its no wonder that online news sources are eating their lunch.

New Year’s Day Projects

I spent a good portion of the holiday break catching up on house projects. First the Christmas tree and all decorations were packed up and placed back into the attic. Then more mulch was added to the side flowerbed. I turned my attention to the hole dug under the air conditioner by the varmit who visited us earlier, getting it patched up better than new. While there was a break in the rain, I realigned a downspout so it drains onto the driveway rather than the yard. This should help the new grass take better hold in that spot.

I also changed out the kitchen light fixture, something that had been bothering us for months. I also hung the flourescent shop light in the garage, providing much light there. I plugged various holes in the cabinets and other dark places with steel wool to seal out the mice. I cleaned under the fireplace and wiped all the soot off the fireplace glass. It looks worlds better now.

One thing I started but didn’t finish is putting another shelf over our washer and dryer. Hammering and drilling isn’t compatible with napping children so it will wait for another day. Part of that involves moving the existing shelf lower to make even more use of space.

On the geek side, I reflashed Linux onto my Linksys NSLU2 device and got it using the 1GB flash drive I added to it. I put Openslug on it since I didn’t need a web interface for it anymore. Instead I got a barely-usable Linux distro with no support for simple things like USB printers. It took a few hours just to get CUPS installed and working with HTTPS. When I found there was no USB printer support in the kernel (or modules) I threw in the towel. I’m not looking forward to having to recompile (and cross-compile, too) the Openslug kernel simply to get printer support, but it looks like that’s what I have to do. Linux on the NSLU2 isn’t just cutting edge, it’s bleeding cutting edge, only suitable for geek sadomasochists.

I’m sure I’m forgetting something in my list of projects but that’ll do for now.

Wasted On The Way

This seemed appropriate for New Year’s Day.

Wasted On The Way
Crosby, Stills, and Nash

Look around me
I can see my life before me
Running rings around the way
It used to be

I am older now
I have more than what I wanted
But I wish that I had started
Long before I did
Continue reading →

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone from MT.Net. May your 2007 bring happiness, health, and peace to you.

I’ve got a feeling that 2007 is going to be quite an interesting year.

Cafe Capistrano – A Great New North Raleigh Restaurant

We had lunch the other day at Cafe Capistrano, mainly because any restaurant within walking distance of the casa is worth a look. It was the day after Christmas. We were out running a few errands and hungry and thought we’d give it a try.

The restaurant is located right near the railroad tracks on Durant Road, about a mile west of Capital Boulevard. It sits in a new strip mall which is not near much other commercial business. I’ve been a bit worried that a fledgling restaurant in this seemingly middle-of-knowhere location would have a tough time attracting business.

I shouldn’t have worried. The restaurant had an impressive amount of business for an after-Christmas lunch. We were seated immediately. In spite of working the whole restaurant essentially by herself, our pleasant server took our order right away and with no mistakes.

The decor isn’t the most charming as the room’s plain layout is typical of its strip-mall location. Its a quibble I also have about Nina’s – another excellent North Raleigh restaurant tucked into a strip mall. The owners have done a good job of working with what they have, though. The interior is painted a warm color. One wall has paintings for sale by local artists. A pleasant fountain stands in the middle.

Our lunches were brought out quickly and were at just the right temperature. I had a tasty chicken chimichanga, with rice and black beans for $8. The food was excellent and presented well. The portion was huge as well. Kelly enjoyed her chicken burrito, with”smashed” beans and rice for $7. She also took hers home, having too much to eat.

As I was still enjoying my vacation I ordered a margarita for $3. I got a tall margarita in return, made with California white wine. I didn’t taste (or later feel) much alcohol but enjoyed it all the same. The one thing Cafe Capistrano is missing is a bar. I’ve always wanted a neighborhood bar within stumbling distance of the house. On the other hand, it was nice to enjoy lunch without having to talk over a TV showing sports highlights.

The owners are quite friendly. The service was excellent. The food was also excellent. The wine list is impressive. The bill for the whole family, including entrees, margarita, other drinks, an ample amount of leftovers, and tip was $29. You can spend that much at a fast-food restaurant and not have nearly as enjoyable a meal.

Cafe Capistrano is open Monday through Saturday from 11 AM to 3 PM for lunch, 3 to 9 PM for dinner Monday through Thursday, to 10 PM Friday and Saturday. You might want to make reservations for dinner once word gets out.

MT.Net says check it out!

Prediction Market

A few years ago, John Poindexter and DARPA got in hot water for sponsoring the Policy Analysis Market (PAM), a prediction market for future events. The market was designed to help predict future events through wagering. The outcry against it was that it seemed the site was encouraging these acts by the wagering.

I thought it was an interesting idea. Controversial, yes. Anything that provides insight into potential terrorist activities should be worth some study, I say. I understand that it worked, too.

After checking out some unrelated links, I came across the Strategy Page’s Prediction Market. It seems to be a similar approach as the PAM. Its interesting to see the predictions and how they’ve fared. I may have to create a site of nothing but these types of predictions.

Ouch

We spent the day wandering around Durham’s excellent Museum of Life and Science, which we heard was awesome but have never seen in person. It lived up to its billing. I believe its one of the best science museums around. Kelly and I were bemoaning that this was how Exploris should have been, instead of the yawner it is.

I spent more time than usual looking at the NASA collection, as I’ve been reading about the moon missions lately. Hard to believe we had such high hopes for the moon, then suddenly turned away. It was Skylab, then MIR, then ISS, then Mars, all the while the moon is the most plum extraterrestrial destination. Guess we somehow forgot about the moon.

We met Hallie’s friend Natalie and her family there. The kids hit it off as they always do, charging around the museum grounds with Travis chasing after them. A good time was had by all.

A good time, that is, until we got home. The slight headache I had had all morning roared into a full-blown bonecrusher once I got back. I had to interrupt reading Hallie’s stories with an attempt to heave my guts (which no longer works thanks to my fundo surgery). My head pounded for a few more hours and my body fought even the smallest sips of water. Around 6 PM my storm seemed over. I ate a modest dinner and am feeling 90% now. Very unpleasant, but at least over now.